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President George Albert Smith
George Albert Smith, Conference Report, April 1950, pp. 3-7
One hundred twenty years ago today six members constituted the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Today more than a million souls claim membership in the Church, and this morning the Tabernacle is filled to overflowing, and many hundreds more are in the Assembly Hall and on the grounds. It does not seem possible that so many people could be here this morning.
GEORGE B. MARGETTS
But there is one man missing, and I think you will all remember him. He always has been here; he has not failed, since I can remember, to be in a conference. He always has had a boutonniere in his coat. He came in from the north side of the stand to see that everybody was seated. In the providence of our Heavenly Father that good man has been summoned home. He has gone back to the God that gave him life. I refer to our faithful usher, George B. Margetts.
One by one we are going. The years are passing. A year ago I was only seventy-nine years old myself. Now I am eighty. There are those on the stand who are older than I. The Church is getting older, but fortunately, to take our places in the ranks are the younger people, not only of the Church, but who are coming out of the world into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the various nations of the earth.
BLESSINGS OF CONFERENCE
It is wonderful to be here this morning. It hardly seems possible that there would not be room for everybody on a busy weekday, but the Tabernacle is filled to capacity, and the thing that impresses me most is that our Heavenly Father is keeping his word when he said, if even two or three shall meet together in his name, he will be there to bless them.
But this morning we are here in great numbers, and this morning the Spirit of the Lord is here, and all of us who have come prepared to be edified under the influence of it will not go away disappointed.
CALLING OF JOSEPH SMITH
Conditions in the world remind us of the fact that our Heavenly Father, knowing what would occur -realizing that the people of the world were not paying attention to him, and that those who were in charge of religious worship in the various nations of the earth had disregarded his teachings-a little over a hundred and twenty years ago called a boy, not yet fifteen years of age, one who had not been spoiled by the philosophies of men, but one who believed in God sufficiently to go out in the woods and ask the Lord which of all the churches he should join. He was no doubt astonished when the Father and the Son appeared to him and told him to join none of them, that they were all astray.
As a result of that remarkable experience of Joseph Smith as a boy, we see in the world today hundreds of thousands of men and women who have turned to our Heavenly Father, who have understood the purpose of life, and who have accepted the gospel of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Today we have more than five thousand of our brothers and sisters of this Church scattered throughout the world as missionaries, urging the people of the world not merely to be satisfied with what they now have, but to seek the Lord and go on, with the promise that if they will do that, they may know the truth. The Lord himself has said,
If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
Our work in the world, my brethren and sisters, is to reach out after all of our Heavenly Father's children at home and abroad, and if we will do that, the Spirit of the Lord will dwell in our souls, and we will be happy; and our homes will be the abiding place of his Holy Spirit.
NEED FOR REPENTANCE
When we realize the uncertainty that exists in the world today realize that the strongest nations of the earth as well as the weaker ones are arming to the teeth preparing for war, we may know that it is only a question of time, unless they repent of their sins and turn to God, that war will come, and not only war, but pestilence and other destruction, until the human family will disappear from the earth.
The world does not know that brothers and sisters. Our Father's other children who are in different parts of the earth do not understand that-those who are not members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They have an idea that they can legislate and fight it out, but there is only one way to enjoy peace and happiness in this world, and that is for the children of men to repent of their sins, turn to the Lord, honor him and keep his commandments. That is the only way.
Because the Lord knew that, one hundred and twenty years ago he established his Church, and from that time until now his sons and daughters have been going through the world pleading for the opportunity to share with their fellows the joy and happiness that results from keeping the commandments of God.
I am very grateful indeed to be here this morning. Since I was here with you last, I have not been in many parts of the world but I have traveled, and I have found faithful members of the Church, found the wards and branches of the Church increasing in some sections to the point that their meetinghouses will not hold them. The result is that two wards, and in some cases three wards have to meet in same house.
GROWTH OF CHURCH
Since World War II closed, we have built more than two hundred meetinghouses and dedicated them, and we are still building and are short of places in which our people may worship. The Church has increased during the past year more than any other year since it was organized. It is not our Church. It is the Church of Jesus Christ. God gave it the name, and it is flourishing. How happy we should be, not that we have increased in numbers in the organization that we belong to, but that more of our Father's children, more of his sons and daughters, have been brought to an understanding of the truth, and are coming into his organization that he prepared to teach us the way of life and lead us along the pathway of eternal happiness.
APPRECIATION FOR REMEMBRANCES
I want to take this occasion personally to thank you, my brethren and sisters, for your kindness to me. I have received a host of birthday congratulations and cards that it will not be possible for me to acknowledge, and if any of you do not receive any word of acknowledgment, I want you to know that I appreciate just the same your kind remembrance of me in my advancing years.
WORK OF THE LORD
This is the work of the Lord. This is the Church of Jesus Christ, and we have all the blessings that may be enjoyed by anybody anywhere in the world. That is what the Lord promised.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
As we sit here in comfort in this marvelous auditorium today, listening to the sweet strains of music of the sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, listening to the voices of those who are called to address us, we do so in peace and quiet, not in anxiety, as is the case in so many places in the world. Here we are in the land of Zion, and in this part of it that our Heavenly Father set apart for the gathering of his people more than a hundred years ago. Ought we not to be grateful?
BLESSINGS TO FAITHFUL
I cannot understand how people can be other than happy under all these circumstances. Think of our opportunities. There is not a desirable blessing, and all blessings are desirable, that we may wish to have that we may not enjoy if we are faithful to God and honor our membership in his Church. He has promised us that all things will come to us if we are righteous.
This morning among the many things that we enjoy, we are meeting in this house, built during the poverty of the Latter-day Saints, erected for the worship of our Heavenly Father; and as I look over this audience, I see people from nearly every section of the country and from parts of other nations of the world. We have the mission presidents who are here from their various fields of labor, as well as presidencies of stakes, bishops of wards, and presidents of branches. This audience is an example of a gathering of the Latter-day Saints.
I am sure that as we come together to worship we will go from here feeling grateful that we have had this privilege. Now again, may I say this is not the work of man. This is not the Church of Joseph Smith nor any of those who have succeeded him in the presidency. This is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, named by the Lord himself.
I bear you witness of it in love and with a desire that all of our Father's children may learn the truth and accept of it, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President George F. Richards
George F. Richards, Conference Report, April 1950, pp. 21-25
The following is a quotation from the Pearl of Great Price, the word of the Lord to his servant Moses, the Prophet:
For behold, this is my work and my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
MAN'S SALVATION
Hence we have the gospel and the Church of the Master as enjoyed by the Latter-day Saints of today, for it is through these sources that he purposes the accomplishment of all his designs pertaining to man's salvation.
There are therefore tremendous responsibilities resting upon his Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, pertaining to the salvation of the children of men; one of the greatest of which is to preach this gospel of the kingdom in all the world as a witness unto all nations before the end shall come.
And what is the Church doing about it? It is keeping about five thousand missionaries in the mission fields and stake missions of the Church, with several hundred in excess of that number at the present time in the nations of the earth and on the islands of the seas, where an intensive work of proselyting is being carried on and a wonderful work of conversion is being accomplished. There is also a condition at home, in the stakes of Zion, which calls for able missionaries who are zealous for the cause of the Master, and for the welfare and salvation of their fellow men.
ADULT MEMBERS OF AARONIC PRIESTHOOD
According to the latest statistics compiled in the office of the Presiding Bishopric, there are 53,392 male members of the Church over twenty-one years of age who hold some office in the Aaronic Priesthood who have not received the Melchizedek Priesthood. These are designated as adult members of the Aaronic Priesthood. There are 17,643 male members of the Church over twenty-one years of age who hold no priesthood at all. Taking these two groups together, we have 71,035 male members over twenty-one years of age who do no hold the Melchizedek Priesthood; a sufficient number to fill this Tabernacle to seating capacity seven times over, estimating the seating capacity at ten thousand.
These figures are appalling, and they represent only those living in the organized stakes of the Church. The missions have their quota also.
Worthy boys of the Church at twelve Years of age are supposed to receive the office of a deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood at fifteen years the office of teacher; at seventeen years, the office of priest, and at nineteen years the office of elder in the Melchizedek Priesthood.
IMPORTANCE OF PRIESTHOOD
Statistics show that there are in the Church 3,648 male member between the ages of twelve and twenty-one years who hold no office in the priesthood.
One may ask, how important is it that male members of the Church should receive the priesthood; and how serious for them not to do so? The Lord answers this question on this wise:
And wo unto all those who come not unto this priesthood.
As Latter-day Saints, the goal of our existence and purpose in life is to obtain an exaltation in the kingdom and presence of the Father and the Son; and a man may not attain to that glory without receiving the Melchizedek Priesthood. This being true the importance of receiving the Melchizedek Priesthood by the men of the Church is as important as is salvation itself.
The holy endowments administered in the temples of the Lord are to prepare men and women to enter into the celestial kingdom and presence of God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. But to receive these endowments a man must first receive the Melchizedek Priesthood. Marriage for time and eternity as ordained of God is necessary for man's salvation.
...neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.
ETERNAL MARRIAGE
But a man must receive the Melchizedek Priesthood and endowments before he can go to the temple and be married for time and eternity-hence, the importance of receiving the Melchizedek Priesthood.
Of the 71,035 men of the Church over twenty-one years of age who have not received the Melchizedek Priesthood, a large percentage of them, no doubt, are married and rearing families Not having received the Melchizedek Priesthood, we know that their marriages are not for eternity as ordained of God, and that their children are not being born under the new and everlasting covenant of marriage. Men of the Church who have been married for time only are in danger of losing their wives and their children if they do not take the necessary steps to receive the priesthood and sealing ordinances "... my Spirit will not always strive with man...". Neither will the patience of a good woman. For example, a man and woman came to the temple recommended for marriage, and with them were two children born to the woman by a former husband. The mother desired the children to be sealed to her and to the man to whom she was about to be sealed. But how about the father of those children and his rights in the matter?
RULES IN TEMPLE WORK
There is a rule governing in temple work which says:
Children should not be sealed to other than their own parents, except for important reasons, and then only by special authorization of the temple president.
Hence, the appeal to the temple president: The rights of the father in this case must receive consideration. The father being dead, the mother was the only witness available. Her story was as follows:
The father and mother before marriage were members of the Church, and when contemplating marriage, she desired to go to the temple for marriage, but he had not been living his religion so as to be counted worthy of a recommend for that purpose. She decided to marry him by the civil law with the understanding, and his promise, that he would make himself worthy, and they would later go to the temple and be sealed. He failed to keep his promise. Several years after these children were born, he was taken ill and finally passed away. She said she nursed him through a long spell of sickness before his death and felt that she had done her full duty by him as his wife, but she did not want to be sealed to him for eternity, and she wanted her children to be sealed to her and the man of her choice.
The temple rules provide that where a man and woman are married by the civil law and have children and are afterward separated, so that the children cannot be sealed to both parents, if one has been altogether worthy and the other unworthy, the children may be sealed to the worthy parent and his or her sealed companion.
Under this rule, permission was given for the children to be sealed to the mother and the man to whom she is sealed; thus the father, through his unworthiness and neglect, has lost his wife and his children. This is but one case in a class which is far too numerous.
LOSS THROUGH NEGLECT
There is another class of members who, without the element of unworthiness, but by pure neglect, may lose their wives and children. A Latter-day Saint girl and boy contemplating marriage decided that they would marry outside of the temple and later go to the temple for sealing. Time went by until they had three children, and the husband became ill and died. Sometime later a Latter-day Saint man came along, courted and married the young widow, with the understanding that they would go to the temple later, and he would act as proxy in having her and her children sealed to her dead husband. This contemplated work was delayed until she had three children by her second husband, who now thinks that he has as much right to her for eternity as has her dead husband. The woman desires to know to which husband she and her six children should be sealed. She was told that she would have to decide to which husband she would be sealed, and that to him and her all the six children are to be sealed. She is likely to take the living husband, in which event the first husband loses his wife and his children, through his own neglect. This represents another class of cases, and they, with slight variations, are numerous in the Church: evidences of the folly of neglect of religious opportunities.
LOSS THROUGH UNWORTHINESS
Another unfortunate class consists of those who have been married for time and eternity, and later the husband becomes lukewarm, inactive, and unworthy, resulting in a very unhappy marriage. The husband dies; the wife obtains a cancellation of their sealing: she later marries a man for time and eternity; the first husband has lost his wife, and possibly his children, through his unworthiness.
For the benefit of these men, their wives, and their children no stone should be left unturned in an effort to improve these conditions. For the Lord's sake and that of his Church, also, we should try to love these people into activity and service. He needs them in the leadership and organizations of the Church, in quorums, wards, stakes, and missions. They owe it to the Lord that they put themselves in a position and condition to be used in his service.
MISSIONARY WORK
Individual missionary work on the part of active members conforms to the Lord's way with indifferent Church members and with non-members alike. In the Doctrine and Covenants we have the word of the Lord as follows:
Behold, I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor.
Wherefore, they are left without excuse, and their sins are upon their own heads.
From this revelation, I understand that the Lord expects every person who has received the gospel to be a missionary for him throughout his life-not necessarily to go abroad by special call only, but to seek opportunity to preach the gospel to his nonmember neighbors as well. We should not be afraid to offer to our neighbor or to any person who is desirous of obtaining salvation, that which, if accepted, and its precepts followed, will be to them as valuable as it is to us, which is of more value than anything else in life or than life itself.
That there are living among us many people who need what we have to offer-the gospel message-there can be no question from the fact that they are being converted in great numbers within the stakes and wards of the Church. The souls of these inactive members and nonmembers among us are as precious as the souls of people in foreign countries and in the islands of the seas where our missionaries are laboring. In conclusion let me read a few lines of poetry.
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.
May the Lord add his blessings, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1950, pp. 31-37
Most sincerely I join President George Albert Smith in expressing appreciation for the inspirational singing furnished us this day by the Brigham Young University students, and equally inspirational is their presence here-three hundred and twenty Young men and young women devoting their service willingly, gladly, to the inspiring and up building of the members of the Church in attendance at this conference.
ANCHORED TO THE TRUTH
I feel impressed to say to you young folks that I know of no greater blessing you can receive than to be anchored to the truth, and by that I mean three things: First, always to feel a surety that this Church is divinely guided. Second, that the Lord has authorized his servants and placed upon them the duty to proclaim to the world the restoration and truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Third, and most applicable to us all, that inspiration from the Lord is a reality, just as real as the love each one of us has for his loved ones. Young men and young women, God bless you that this testimony may be yours as it is mine this day!
INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY
... Remember, my brethren... ye are free; ye are permitted to act for yourselves; for behold, God hath given unto you a knowledge and he hath made you free.
These words taken from the Book of Helaman indicate the purport of what I should like to say this afternoon. I pray for his inspiration and your sympathy and prayers that I may give this message in accordance with his will.
Next to the bestowal of life itself, the right to direct that life is God's greatest gift to man. Among the immediate obligations and duties resting upon members of the Church today, and one of the most urgent and pressing for attention and action of all liberty loving people, is the preservation of individual liberty. Freedom of choice is more to be treasured than any possession earth can give. It is inherent in the spirit of man. It is a divine gift to every normal being. Whether born in abject poverty or shackled at birth by inherited riches, everyone has this most precious of all life's endowments-the gift of free agency; man's inherited and inalienable right.
Free agency is the impelling source of the soul's progress. It is the purpose of the Lord that man become like him. In order for man to achieve this it was necessary for the Creator first to make him free. "Personal liberty," says Bulwer Lytton, "is the paramount essential to human dignity and human happiness.''
The poet summarizes the value of this principle as follows:
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 a right- And bless with wisdom, love and light- In nameless ways be good and kind, But never force the human mind.
Freedom and reason make us men Take these away, what are we then? Mere animals, and just as well The beasts may think of heav'n or hell.
-William C. Gregg
With free agency there comes responsibility. If a man is to be rewarded for righteousness and punished for evil, then common justice demands that he be given the power of independent action. A knowledge of good and evil is essential to man's progress on earth. If he were coerced to do right at all times, or were helplessly enticed to commit sin, he would merit neither a blessing for the first nor punishment for the second.
Says the Prophet Lehi,
Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other...
Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great mediation of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.
MAN'S RESPONSIBILITY
There is more of that in 2 Nephi to which I call your attention.
Thus we see that man's responsibility is correspondingly operative with his free agency. Actions in harmony with divine law and the laws of nature will bring happiness, and those in opposition to divine truth, misery. Man is responsible not only for every deed, but also for every idle word and thought. Said the Savior:
... every idle word that men shall speak they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
As a boy I questioned that truth when I first heard it expressed by my father. I remember saying to myself, "Not even the Lord knows what I am thinking now." I was very much surprised, therefore, when later as a student in the university, I read the following in James' psychology about the effect of thought and action on human character. I am giving it today for the young people particularly:
SPINNING OUR OWN FATES
We are spinning our own fates good or evil, and never to be undone. Every smallest stroke of virtue or of vice leaves its ever so little scar. The drunken Rip Van Winkle, in Jefferson's play, excuses himself for every fresh dereliction by saying, "I won't count this time." Well! he may not count it, and a kind Heaven may not count it: but it is being counted none the less. Down among his nerve cells and fibers the molecules are counting it, registering and storing it up to be used against him when the next temptation comes. Nothing we ever do is, in strict scientific literalness, wiped out. Of course, this has its good side as well as its bad one. As we become permanent drunkards by so many separate drinks, so we become saints in the moral, and authorities and experts in the practical and scientific spheres, by so many separate acts and hours of work. Let no youth have any anxiety about the upshot of his education, whatever the line of it may be. If he keep faithfully busy each hour of the working day, he may safely leave the final result to itself. He can with perfect certainty count on waking up some fine morning, to find himself one of the competent ones of his generation, in whatever pursuit he may have singled out. Silently, between all the details of his business, the power of judging in all that class of matter will have built itself up within him as a possession that will never pass away. Young people should know this truth in advance. The ignorance of it has probably engendered more discouragement and faintheartedness in youths embarking on arduous careers than all other causes put together.
PERSONAL INFLUENCE
There is another responsibility correlated and even coexistent with free agency, which is too infrequently emphasized, and that is the effect not only of a person's actions but also of his thoughts upon others. Man radiates what he is, and that radiation affects to a greater or less degree every person who comes within that radiation.
Of the power of this personal inkiness William George Jordan impressively writes:
Into the hands of every individual is given a marvelous power for good or evil-the silent, unconscious, unseen enhance of his life. This is simply the constant radiation of what man really is, not what he pretends to be. Every man, by his mere living, is radiating sympathy, or sorrow, or morbidness, or cynicism, or happiness, or hope, or any of a hundred other qualities. Life is a state of constant radiation and absorption: to exist is to radiate; to exist is to be the recipient of radiation.
Man cannot escape for one moment from this radiation of his character, this constantly weakening or strengthening of others. He cannot evade the responsibility by saying it is an unconscious enhance. He can select the qualities that he will permit to be radiated. He can cultivate sweetness, calmness, trust, generosity, truth, justice, loyalty, nobility-make them vitally active in his character-and by these qualities he will constantly affect the world.
PROGRESS THROUGH FREEDOM
Freedom of the will and the responsibility associated with it are fundamental aspects of Jesus' teachings. Throughout his ministry he emphasized the worth of the individual, and exemplified what is now expressed in modern revelation as the work and glory of God-"To bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man". Only through the divine gift of soul freedom is such progress possible.
Force, on the other hand, emanates from Lucifer himself. Even in man's preexistent state, Satan sought power to compel the human family to do his will by suggesting that the free agency of man be inoperative. If his plan had been accepted, human beings would have become mere puppets in the hands of a dictator, and the purpose of man s coming to earth would have been frustrated. Satan's proposed system of government, therefore, was rejected, and the principle of free agency establish in its place.
FORCE RULES TODAY
Force rules in the world today; consequently, our government must keep armies abroad, build navies and air squadrons, create atom bombs to protect itself from threatened aggression of a nation which seems to listen to no other appeal but compulsion.
Individual freedom is threatened by international rivalries, inter-racial animosities, and false political ideals. Unwise legislation, too often prompted by political expediency, is periodically being enacted that seductively undermines man's right of free agency, robs him of his rightful liberties, and makes him but a cog in the crushing wheel of a regimentation which, if persisted in, will end in dictatorship.
The Magna Carta, signed by King John at Runnymede, June 15, 1215, was an expression of freedom-loving men against a usurping king. It was a guarantee of civil and personal liberty. These guarantees later found fuller and complete expression in the Constitution of the United States. Today, seven hundred years later, consider what is happening in Great Britain! With nationalization of industries, planned economy, control of all productive power, including persons and property, that country of liberty-loving people is on the verge of a totalitarian state as dictatorial as that which the feudal barons and the people wrested from King John. People are bargaining their liberty for a chimera of equality and security, not realizing that the more power you give the central government, the more you curtail your individual freedom.
GOVERNMENTS THE SERVANTS
Governments are the servants, not the masters of the people. All who love the Constitution of the United States can vow with Thomas Jefferson, who, when he was president, said,
I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.
He later said:
To preserve our independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. We must take our choice between economy and liberty, or profusion and servitude. If we run into such debts, we must be taxed in our meat and drink, in our necessities and in our comforts, in our labors and in our amusements.
If we can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under pretense of caring for them, they will be happy. The same prudence which in private life would forbid our paying our money for unexplained projects, forbids it in the disposition of public money. We are endeavoring to reduce the government to the practice of rigid economy to avoid burdening the people and arming the magistrate with a patronage of money which might be used to corrupt the principles of our government.
FREEDOM OF WORSHIP
This principle of free agency and the right of each individual to be free not only to think but also to act within bounds that grant to every one else the same privilege, are sometimes violated even by churches that claim to teach the doctrine of Jesus Christ. The attitude of any organization toward this principle of freedom is a pretty good index to its nearness to the teachings of Christ or to those of the Evil One. For example, I read recently the statement of a leading clergyman who claimed the divine right of his church, wherever it was in power, to prohibit any other church from promulgating its doctrine... And, "if religious minorities actually exist, they shall have only a de facto existence without opportunity to spread their beliefs."
He who thus tramples underfoot one of God's greatest gifts to man, who would deny another the right to think and worship as he pleases, propagates error and makes his own church in that regard as far as he represents it a propagator of evil.
Contrast this unchristianlike stand with the statement of the Prophet Joseph Smith:
We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
REVELATION ON GOVERNMENT
And, again, in one of the greatest revelations on government ever given, we read the following:
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.
That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man.
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 be times with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou host reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;
That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death.
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 distill 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.
If you can find more sublime thoughts anywhere in literature than expressed in that great revelation, please let me know where they are.
PRESERVATION OF FREEDOM
In conclusion, I repeat that no greater immediate responsibility rests upon members of the Church, upon all citizens of this Republic and of neighboring Republics than to protect the freedom vouchsafed by the Constitution of the United States.
Let us, by exercising our privileges under the Constitution-
Preserve our right to worship God according to the dictates of our conscience,
Preserve the right to work when and where we choose. No free man should be compelled to pay tribute in order to realize this God-given privilege. Read in the Doctrine and Covenants this statement:
... it is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another.
Feel free to plan and to reap without the handicap of bureaucratic interference.
Devote our time, means, and life if necessary, to hold inviolate those laws which will secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property, and the protection of life.
To sum up this whole question: In these days of uncertainty and unrest, liberty-loving people's greatest responsibility and paramount duty is to preserve and proclaim the freedom of the individual, his relationship to Deity, and, the necessity of obedience to the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ-only thus will mankind find peace and happiness:
... 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.
God enlighten our minds to comprehend our responsibility, to proclaim the truth and maintain freedom throughout the world, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Thorpe B. Isaacson
Thorpe B. Isaacson, Conference Report, April 1950, pp. 37-41
President Smith, President Clark, President McKay, my dear brothers and sisters, friends of the radio and television audience, I sincerely ask you for an interest in your faith and prayers, because I need that sustaining power.
I confess to you, and I confess to all of the young people of the Church that I have humbly prayed and fasted for the blessings of the Lord while I should speak to you. I want to bear testimony to you, humbly and sincerely, that I couldn't say anything worth while, I am sure, without the blessings of the Lord.
I know that God hears and answers prayers. I know that he sustains us in righteousness and in humility. Without him we cannot succeed, and with him we cannot fail.
PURPOSE OF CONFERENCE
We have met here as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to worship God, our Eternal Father, and to bear testimony as to the truth of this work. We have assembled to receive counsel and advice, given under the inspiration of the Lord. We come here to this great Tabernacle conference after conference because we know that God lives, and we are anxious and happy to bear that testimony to the world.
Many who cannot attend this conference listen to the radio, others see on television, and thousands of others will read the proceedings of the conference. We come here not for any selfish reason: we come here in humility; we come here and assemble in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and the Lord has said to us, as President Smith reported this morning, and quoted,
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them,
and his Spirit is here with us, and it has been with us today in rich abundance.
There isn't anyone who attends these conferences or any conferences of the Church in the stakes of Zion but who can partake of the Spirit of the Lord if he will come to those conferences humbly. We come here together in prayer, extending thanksgiving to God, our Father. We come here to thank him for the blessings that we enjoy as a Church, and I am referring to the entire membership of the Church. We should try to be truly grateful and loyal to the Church, first and always.
We come here to unite our faith. We come here to pray to God our Father for the blessings of the world at large. We pray for the sick and the needy and the poor, for those who are discouraged. We pray for the inactive. We love all men, and we love God our Eternal Father.
TESTIMONIES
I have enjoyed so much visiting the stakes of the Church, listening to the testimonies given at these stake conferences, and my testimony has been strengthened. My faith has been made strong because I have listened to men bear testimony in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ.
I am grateful for the privilege of coming among you in the stakes, for your kindnesses and your tolerance and your courtesies extended to us. As Nephi 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 things that he has commanded them.
Yesterday we had the privilege of going to the temple and listening to the reports of the mission presidents, and oh, how I wish the world could listen to those testimonies. How I wish all of the membership of the Church could have heard their testimonies, and seen their great faith, their love for the Church, and their love for the service, and their great affection for your boys and girls, their missionaries. Truly they are servants of God, and he has blessed them and magnified them. They live very close to the Lord. You can't listen to them but what you know that they are partaking of his Spirit very richly each day of their lives. The spirit and the power they possess could come only to those serving God and their Eternal Father with all their heart, might, mind, and strength.
MIRACLES TODAY
Miracles are performed today. The power of healing is in the priesthood and in the Church. Some wonder whether or not miracles are performed today. If they could hear the testimonies of these missionaries in the stakes and these mission presidents, they would have no reason ever to wonder about miracles. But sometimes our faith is not strong enough. Sometimes we are too weak to accept the blessings of the Lord as miracles. Sometimes we are inclined to call them just a coincidence. Sometimes we say, "Oh it's just one of those things." That's because our faith is not strong enough to recognize the hand of the Lord in these miracles and the healing power of the priesthood that is in the world today.
MAGNIFIED IN SERVICE
I want to bear testimony that when men are called to work in the ministry of the Lord, if they will accept these calls in humility they will have no need to worry. I am very deeply impressed when I see professional men and businessmen giving of their time and talent in the service of the Lord, and I have watched them magnified, and I have seen the Lord bless them. I feel sorry for the man who takes upon himself the feeling that he hasn't the time to work in the service when he is called.
There are many men who may be inclined not to accept a call when it comes to them. There are men who feel that perhaps they are not qualified, but I want to bear testimony to you that if you will accept those calls in humility and pray to God your Father for help and guidance and comfort, he will not forsake you, but he will make you capable for the responsibilities that are assigned to you.
Testimony inspires testimony, and faith promotes faith, and most of us gain our testimonies through prayer and through work and study, and I think that is as it should be, but we can increase that testimony if we will try to draw close to God our Eternal Father, and have faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ. Faith is so essential to the souls of men. Sometimes we are inclined to be discouraged. Sometimes we are inclined to feel as though it is no use, and oh, if we could just then call upon the Lord for his help.
INACTIVE MEMBERS
I would like to say a word to the inactive members of the Church and the adult members of the Aaronic Priesthood. It is never too late to start over again. When men are discouraged, when men have made mistakes, that's the time they should go to God their Eternal Father and pray to him with all their hearts, but sometimes in our weak moments, we may feel that it's no use, and then we just draw a little farther away from the Lord, and then perhaps we fail to feel his influence.
It is not always easy to be humble. We are living in a very busy world, in a world where there are so many things that may tend to take our minds and our attention away from the things that are really worth while. If we can draw close to the Lord and not let those things come first, I am sure that when we are discouraged and our hearts are heavy, we will have the strength to feel that that's the time we should go to the Lord and ask for his blessings.
Now there are men who feel that they have perhaps drawn so far away from the Lord that they can't pray. Sometimes we are careless in our praying, and yet we have been designated as being a praying people, and we want always to stay a praying people. I would like to encourage those men who are not as prayerful as they might be, that we should not consider prayer as a duty. We can consider prayer as a privilege. We can consider prayer as a blessing. We can consider prayer as a comfort.
You mean to tell me that it is a duty to commune with God, your Eternal Father? If that isn't a comfort and if that isn't a blessing and a power to the souls of men, then I don't know where they will ever receive that comfort and power.
Yes, "God so loved the world", and that love is so sweet and so powerful, so comforting, that if we can partake of it, we will receive the happiness and joy we never receive in any other activity. I would say to men who perhaps have not become as active as they might be, that it is not too late to start over again. You can overcome the things that are keeping you inactive if you will supply your soul with that spirit that comes from God your Eternal Father, and he will give you the power and the desire and the strength to put those things aside that perhaps have taken you from activity in the Church, when perhaps you are not quite so close to the Lord as you should be.
A WAY OF LIFE
Accepting the gospel, and accepting the Church, and living the gospel is a daily way of life. It affords man that something that he can't get anywhere else. It is not alone a plan of eternal salvation. It is the comfort and the happiness that every man loves and craves.
Let us live so that the Lord will not leave us alone. Let us stay so close to him that we can go to him with all our problems. I think it isn't wrong to take our problems to the Lord, because President McKay just told us there isn't any thought or any act that He is not well acquainted with. And so let's humble ourselves. Let us put away that false pride, and let us try to live so that we can have the Spirit of the Lord with us each day of our lives, and when our day is over, if we've made mistakes, and probably most of us will make mistakes every day, we can go to the Lord and acknowledge those mistakes, and he will forgive us, and he will help us to overcome them.
There is a statement that has given me some happiness, and I'd like to repeat it to you:
O may we empty our soul to God our Eternal Father so he will fill it again.
TESTIMONY
I want to bear you my testimony that I know God lives. He has blessed me so abundantly, I can never repay him for the comfort and the strength that I have received from him. I hope that I can stay humble and become even more humble, that he will not leave me, but that he will stay with me each day in all the efforts in righteousness that I undertake to do.
God bless each of you, that the things that are here and the things that you will read and every talk that you will hear may lodge in your hearts so deeply that they will stay with you the rest of your lives. God bless each of us that we may comfort one another, that we may stay close to God our Eternal Father, that he will magnify us in our callings, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Albert E. Bowen
Albert E. Bowen, Conference Report, April 1950, pp. 49-55
If I can manage it, I should like today to make a little comparison.
Something more than nineteen hundred years ago, twelve obscure men with conviction and a message entered upon an undertaking which turned the world over and shaped the course of history.
COMMISSION OF THE LORD
They were acting under a commission given them by the risen Lord as the final injunction of his early ministry. Coming to them at an appointed place on the occasion of his last appearance, he made this epoch marking announcement, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth". That was a monumental assertion of authority. It was the premise upon which he based his solemn charge:
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.
As Mark narrates the incident, the commission was accompanied by a promise of equally positive and sobering import: "He that believeth... shall be saved". To be sure, certain requirements were enjoined upon believers as a condition to the fulfillment of the promise, but they would follow as a consequence of genuine, sincere belief-the kind of belief that Jesus was talking about. A tremendously arresting quality of this whole matter is the tone of finality of it all. There is no uncertainty, no qualification, no temporizing. It is the voice of complete assurance, supreme confidence, final authority such as is not to be matched in the words of any other man who has lived in mortality. It is in keeping with the character of one who had declared himself to be the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world.
During the period of his mortal ministry, the crowd had perceived this quality in his utterances and said in wonderment one to another that "he taught them as one having authority". Neither does one get the sense that there is any bombast or vanity or pretentious arrogation of power. Straight and clear in the calm authoritative tones of one who had conquered death and thus redeemed the race from its power came the words, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth". It is the bedrock upon which the foundation of all his teachings rests. No one else in all the world has ever spoken like that, and no one can disprove the assertion. On the contrary, there have been and are vast multitudes who for nearly two thousand years have proclaimed and now proclaim assurance of its truth.
AWESOME ASSIGNMENT
It would be difficult to conceive of an assignment more awesome than that one just referred to as being given by the Lord to his chosen disciples. Consider for a moment their station. They were humble men-fishermen and peasants-without wealth or social position or high-placed friends. They had neither political prestige nor armed might. They lived in a remote province of the haughtiest and mightiest empire of the earth, whose proud legions had carried its banners to remote corners. Members of a turbulent, troublesome, and therefore unpopular race, they were directed to carry an unknown and hitherto unheard-of message to all the world, calling upon its inhabitants to observe all things whatsoever the crucified Lord had commanded promising salvation to all who believed and complied. Before the magnitude of that task, the stoutest heart might well have quailed.
What their personal feelings were we are not told. The record is silent. We are left to inference from what they did about it. They seem not to have been overwhelmed or weighted down with apprehension. Perhaps they were not too much startled because they had previously been sent out as emissaries under the personal direction of the Master and had had personal experience of his sustaining power. During the period of his mortal ministry they had been under his personal tutelage and had heard him with unwavering assurance declare:
... I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
And again:
For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
And this is the will of him that sent me that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
With like definiteness they had heard him declare:
I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
... This commandment have I received of my Father.
They had seen him crucified and, in fulfillment of his words, rise from the dead. All this must have given them an immensely fortifying trust in his promise. At any rate they went unhesitatingly to their work.
FAITH PUT TO TEST
The quality of their faith and their courage was soon enough put to the test. When Peter and John, going up to the temple, healed the crippled man, they got themselves hailed before the rulers who demanded of them by what power or by what name they had done this thing. Peter boldly answered.
Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.
They were forbidden further to teach in that name, and ignoring the warning, were thrown into prison. Being liberated, they continued their teachings and were beaten and enjoined from teaching: but still they persisted, saying,
... Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.
For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.
Peter told his inquisitors to their teeth:
The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.
Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
That was the power of their message, and the basis of their strength.
PERSECUTIONS
Their numbers multiplied with amazing rapidity, and so did the persecution. They were hunted down, driven into hiding, beaten, and stoned. From the account of Saul of Tarsus something of the bitterness of their suffering may be learned, but still they pressed on, their multiplied number spreading throughout the empire and to the very capital itself. An edict of extermination was decreed against the sect. They were driven into hiding, cruelly tortured, thrown to the beasts in the circus for the amusement of the populace, where they were torn limb from limb. But still the work spread, a triumph of fidelity to a cause and sincerity in its advocacy.
These men believed. Men do not endure that kind of persecution without deep conviction. Here was no lip-service or sham or apologetics or denaturing to suit the doctrines to the tastes or practice of listeners. That is the kind of belief and these were the kind of men who perpetuated the teachings of Jesus in the earth, rescued them from fading into forgetfulness, and carried the Christian faith triumphantly to its establishment as the worship of the majority of the people of the empire which once had proscribed it and decreed the extermination of its adherents. That is the kind of belief of which Jesus spoke when he said, "He that believeth shall be saved".
THE SON OF GOD
In the execution of their commission, the disciples clearly perceived that it was their first task to get him accepted, to get men to believe that he was the Son of God, the resurrected Lord who had redeemed the race from the bondage of death. All their teaching accordingly revolved around that central theme. Without that, there could be no hope of inducing the world to accept his moral and religious doctrines.
The pattern of their discourse was foreshadowed by Peter's bold declaration to the rulers: "Be it known to you all and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole". That is what gave authoritative sanction to their teachings about the way of life which Jesus taught, and which so profoundly influenced the whole world.
INFLUENCE OF CHRISTIAN TEACHINGS
It was clearly the intent and purpose of the Savior that men and peoples and nations should come to order their lives on the basis of principles he laid down, and it is something to marvel at how deep those teachings finally penetrated into those nations that espoused the Christian faith and furnished the standards of values and judgments to which they profess to cling. The nations formed from the breakup of the Roman Empire, as well as new nations which sprang or were peopled from them, in general fell under the influence of the Christian teachings and were called the Christian nations. The very frameworks of their governments were colored and shaped by these principles, and their Christian convictions have made these nations dominant in the world for fifteen hundred years.
Various Greek philosophies, and Roman too, taught rules of life, but such of them as have survived have done so by penetrating into the Christian faith which overshadowed them as the dominant spiritual power of the western world. In the Christian nations when men have judged conduct or the validity of principles, they have evaluated them as good or bad according to their conformance or nonconformance to the standards laid down in the Christian code. Before Mussolini and Hitler could corrupt the youth of their countries they had to undermine and break down and destroy belief in the principles taught by Christ which for centuries their countries had been taught to revere as ideals, howsoever short they may have fallen in practice. While the Christian church compromised many of its vital principles and in that degree weakened itself and subverted its initial purpose, it nevertheless still gave lip-service to the Christ and a certain veneration for him and his precepts, which gave controlling color to the institutions and practices of the Christian world.
DISQUIETING SIGNS
But something ominous is happening now. There are disquieting signs that all over Christendom the underpinnings of the Christian faith are being knocked down. The crumbling of the Christian pattern is of grave portent. Ancient supports may be torn away, but what shall buttress us then? It begins to look as though the world is slipping back to the position it held when the Lord commissioned his disciples to carry his message to all the nations. The task again seems to be to get men to believe in him-to get him accepted. There is something highly suggestive about the fact that the upheavals which are threatening the destruction of the civilized world follow so closely on the heels of open denial by professed Christians of belief in Christ as the Son of God and of the divinity of his teachings.
I suppose it has always been true that individual persons have disavowed belief in Jesus as the Messiah, but generally this has not been true on a mass scale. Where such unbelief has been declared, it has generally been professed that nevertheless the moral and ethical teachings of Christ were still recognized as of the highest value and valid without acceptance of the claim of his Messiahship or his resurrection. But repudiation cannot go halfway and stop. Denial of his divinity is only the first step in the process of complete denial to which the logic of the position inevitably drives. And now we seem to be experiencing on a scale never before thought of the disavowal of any superior validity to the whole Christian creed. In other words, we are now driven by the logic of events to recognize that you can't have Christianity without Christ, and those who have decided to get along without him are driven to choose whether to compromise on their principles, too. This is of almost worldwide consequence because Christianity has penetrated into non-Christian nations far more than their creeds have penetrated into the Christian world.
CRITICISM OF CHRISTIANITY
It is only two or three years ago that the president of a worshiping body in our country, which formerly was assumed to call itself Christian, said:
Christianity has been guilty of spiritual arrogance on a worldwide scale, labeling all other religions false, and asserting that only when all mankind accepts the one true religion will there be any hope for worldwide cooperation and peace. That amounts to spiritual imperialism and is as out of date in our world today as any other form of imperialism.
In a recent writing, an ordained minister who had held many pastorates proposes and argues the necessity for a new religion for a new age. He begins by demolishing the Christian God, and tearing to bits the Christian church, Protestant and Catholic alike. He tells us that Christianity is a minority group even in America, and ridicules the idea that the great majority are going to surrender their own beliefs to accept "the Christian God."
But that is precisely what Christ directed his disciples to teach the world to do. Moreover, that is what the great body of the Roman world professedly did in its conversion from paganism to Christianity.
The writer of the article dogmatically asserts, "God doesn't talk to you." All forms of religion as known today, he says, and all ideas of God are man-made. They are not eternal; they grew out of the feeling of man that he was impotent to achieve his ideals and turned the job of carrying through to a supernatural power. He proposes as a religion for the modern age one that is secular, presided over not by a ministry or a clergy or anyone acting under an ordination but managed by professional and businessmen and workers and artists. He depicts the organization of a brave new world where every man who has a talent will be expected to use it. It will be noted on careful perusal that in this scheme of things there is no place for God. The writer makes it abundantly clear that He does not exist, nor is there any future estate for man. It would appear that man himself, and certainly religion, is to be but a tool of the state.
ALTERNATE PROPOSALS
It is possible to agree with much of what the writer says about the failure of the Christian Church to bring about the desired condition of peace and good order in the world and harmonious living among men. He points to war and frustration and the disappointments of human hopes through lapses in human behavior. But in all the principles and practices which he sets forth as those to be embodied in his new religion, there is not one that is not already laid down in the teachings of Jesus Christ. He proposes no new virtues. Just how the ideal of the good life for all is to be implemented by supplanting the gospel taught by Jesus with a secular-political-economic-sociological regime is not made clear, though there is some indication that this is to be managed through the authoritarian powers of an omnipotent state, which is a concept in direct variance from what Jesus taught. Right here I should like to interpolate without using more words the stirring discourse we have just listened to from President McKay relating to human dignity and the right of all men to be free.
A REVELATION OF GOD
So we come at the end to the simple question whether religion is a revelation of God with enduring validity in all times, and through the practice of which man may work his way up to perfection, or is it a human creation with no higher sanction than the wisdom of man and subject to change with the passing moods of changing times? The one gives stability and constancy and purpose to life, the reason for being, with freedom to choose one's course: the other sets man adrift with nothing enduring to hold on to and little hope to inspire noble living.
In the brief time at my disposal, I have known that I could not make a complete portrayal of the idea that is lying in the back of my mind. I had dared hope that I might advance something suggestive enough to set your minds working on the idea sufficiently so that you might fill in what of necessity I have left incomplete.
I have had more particularly in mind those who by their daily pursuits or association or environmental influence might be confused or even disturbed by the godless humanism that is so prevalent in the thought of the day. If you want to meet scholasticism with scholasticism to bolster up your trust in the teachings and promises of the Master, you may take comfort in the knowledge that many of the profoundest scholars of this and of other times still place trust in God, who may be communed with through prayer.
I recall here the words of Henry George, the economist and political scientist, many of whose political and economic and sociological views are in greater favor today than when he first propounded them: "Political economy and social science," George said, "cannot teach any lessons that are not embraced in the simple truths that were taught to poor fishermen and Jewish peasants by one who 1800 years ago was crucified."
May all men learn to revere the teachings of the Lord and Savior. May they come to know that in them is saving power and that outside of them within the realm of human wisdom there is nothing that can save, I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder Joseph F. Merrill
Joseph F. Merrill, Conference Report, April 1950, pp. 57-62
Brethren and sisters:
It is trite to say we are living in perilous times. There are numberless troubles, disputes, dissensions, dangers, complexities, everywhere. People in every land want and earnestly pray for peace, and yet the outlook for peace is seemingly becoming darker and more gloomy. Talk of war is getting louder; and war preparations are being accelerated, particularly in means so destructive that if generally and widely used, nearly total extinction of human life would result. The recent world war was so expensive and destructive that everywhere the feeling was prevalent at its close that nations never again would engage in such a foolish and disastrous conflict. But what do we now see? Notwithstanding, no treaties of peace with major nations have yet been made, rearmament programs are going forward as rapidly as is feasible.
DISTURBED CONDITIONS
Why do the conditions here indicated exist? There are many reasons, some of which have been stated many times from this pulpit. These may all be summed up in a single sentence-failure to live as the Lord has indicated we, his children, should live. Some fundamentals of this way are given to us by the Prophet Joseph Smith in articles 11, 12, 13, of our faith, which are as follows:
11. We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
12. We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring and sustaining the law.
13. We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men....
Article 11 is an ideal statement of religious tolerance, a condition sadly lacking in the world today, as indicated in so many places, examples of which are the bloody conflict that has recently cost the lives of thousands in the deadly fight between Moslems and Hindus in Pakistan, and the expulsion from Czechoslovakia of missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Religious tolerance is perhaps the most difficult of all types of tolerance for devout people to grant, giving which they could also be tolerant in other matters related to moral standards.
THE GOLDEN RULE
Speaking of how the Lord would have us live in all our relations with human beings, there is another sentence that beautifully expresses the way. It is: "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you". This is known as the Golden Rule. The second great commandment requires us to love our neighbor as ourselves. To do this, must one not comply with the requirements of the Golden Rule?-not always an easy thing to do, but a divine requirement, nonetheless. If all individuals, peoples, and nations would do this, peace would come at once to every part of the currently disturbed world. The measure of peace that we have or shall have will be proportionate to the degree of fullness to which the aggressor observes the Golden Rule.
But as to aggressors, they are found everywhere-locally, nationally, and internationally; and wherever found they all have in common at least one fault-excessive and inordinate selfishness. They want, and usually insist on having, more of something that does not rightfully belong to them and, if necessary, will fight to get it. As a rule, however, they prefer to satisfy their unrighteous desires and wicked cravings by other means than physically fighting for them. Blood shedding is not as general, therefore, as it might otherwise be; for example, does Russia want war? Why should she? Has not communism made rapid progress in the control of peoples and nations since fighting ceased in World War II?
But the fear of a war, of appalling bloodshed, is so great in this country that our government is spending many billions of dollars annually to ward it off, seemingly believing that an up-to-date readiness to fight is the surest preventive of war. The people of the United States most certainly do not want another war of nations, and the majority of them are willing to do everything feasible to prevent it. How far it is necessary to go to attain this objective is a debatable question.
DANGERS WITHIN
But it is not of war between nations and the danger of it that I desire to speak further, for I feel that an immediate greater danger of destruction of the best interests of the people in the United States lies within our borders rather than beyond them. And these dangers are rooted in the unreasonable and damnable selfishness that is manifest on every level of our society by individuals, groups, and organizations.
For many years this country has had anti-monopoly laws to govern business corporations. The federal government and the states have set up controls and boards and commissions to administer these laws, the purpose being to protect the public against unfair commercial practices and unreasonable charges for the goods and services of corporations. The intent of these laws has met with overwhelming public approval. But during recent years another form of monopoly has been developing that, if not controlled, imposes a type of slavery on the country unknown and undreamed of by the founders of our glorious republic, which, from its beginning, has served as a cherished ensign to all the world of personal liberty and free enterprise.
But these two essentials of a free people are being more and more restricted in this country. They have been practically destroyed in Russia and some other communistic controlled countries where it is claimed a people's democracy rules-a highly absurd claim in the light of the facts.
FREE ENTERPRISE
What do I mean by the words "free enterprise"? I mean individual freedom of action and of opportunity. Everyone born in mortality, according to our teachings, comes from God, our Father, with the priceless gift of "free agency" and will be held accountable for its use. Naturally, in the exercise of this gift one may not, without sinning against God and man, do anything knowingly to hurt, or injure a fellow human being. Further, our Church teaches that the Constitution of the United States as given to us by the founding fathers of our republic is a divinely inspired document, designed to protect the citizens in the enjoyment of their inalienable rights among which are ''life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.' Hence, are not restrictions to our freedom of action, insofar as we do not harmfully interfere with others, violative of the spirit of the Constitution and our Bill of Rights?
America has become great in many lines of human endeavor, in fact the greatest nation on earth, due unquestionably to its free enterprise or capitalistic system. This system is our pride and the envy of some other peoples. Because of our great corporations, industrial and financial, America astonished the world, particularly Adolf Hitler, by the speed of her preparations and participation in the recent world war.
DEVELOPING TENDENCIES
But there are developing tendencies, sponsored by selfishness, greed, and ambition that, if unchecked, will soon or late bring sorrow and ruin to our country. Among these tendencies is that of "something for nothing," at least "more and more for less and less"-more pay for less work. And as I see it, in whatever words these tendencies are expressed, they all lead to some type of national socialism. And generally, socialism is an enemy of free enterprise in the development of which, I repeat, this country has become the greatest on earth. Then why does any honest, patriotic, intelligent citizen of America prefer socialism to free enterprise? Is it not in free enterprise that free agency, a divine gift to every human being, finds an environment favorable to growth and development and to living in harmony with our beautiful doctrine of eternal progression?
LABOR UNIONS
Now to give point to what I have said, let me give a few illustrations.
Recent experiences have convinced us that some labor unions have a monopolistic power that, if fully exercised, would spell ruin to industrial America. The exercise of this power employs a method that is a twin brother to that used by the bank robber. The corporation hands over just as the cashier does. In the case of the corporation, you and I-that is, the public-pays the bill. The recent settlements between coal-and-labor and steel-and-labor are good illustrations of this fact. Immediately following the announcements of the settlement of the disputes, up went the price of steel and of coal. Yes, when costs go up, the public pays and almost always does so if the corporation is to remain solvent.
After fighting ceased in the last war, a labor union operating in the automobile field demanded an increase of wages of thirty cents an hour but insisted there should be no increase of prices-an absurdity. In any productive enterprise, labor is a large factor in the cost of operation. In our competitive free-enterprise system how can labor costs materially go up unless prices go up, if the corporation is to remain solvent? What answer does recent history give? Beginning in the autumn of 1945, wage increases occurred in nearly all productive industries. A rise in prices followed. Because of this, labor demanded and got a second wage increase. Prices again rose, followed by a demand for and receipt of a third wage increase. More recently, steel and coal workers have received a fourth raise in wages and other money benefits resulting, as I said a moment ago, in another rise in prices.
But why cannot a prosperous corporation raise wages without raising prices, is a question that many ask. I have already given an answer, but I now explain a bit by quoting from an annual report I received about two weeks ago from a large corporation:
Costs of operation in 1949 remained high, and additional expenses were incurred in changing models and in preparing for the introduction of new products. At the same time, to strengthen the business and to prepare for the future, the company intensified its marketing efforts to meet more competitive conditions and expanded its research and engineering programs to provide a continuing flow of new and improved products on a long-range basis. The expenses resulting from these activities had a marked effect on the company's profits for 1949, which were 9 percent of revenue.
USE OF PROFITS
Every other large productive corporation could make similar statements. Compare 1950 models of automobiles with those of 1920. Have not huge amounts of money and time been spent to perfect and manufacture the modern automobile? Where did this money come from? Of course from profits, stockholders, and borrowings. How absurd for well-paid workers to say that the profits belong to them! But in the long run, who gets most of the profits? I answer, the workers and the public, not the stockholders: the workers, in jobs; the public, in better goods and services. But it is the savings of these thrifty stockholders who risk their money and are satisfied with relatively small returns on their investment that make it possible for corporations to come into existence and create jobs for the workers and goods for the public. How foolish and senseless to contend that the stockholders should get no returns on their ventured money, and that depreciation reserves should not be set up! Fourteen years ago when we were in London, we came to know that labor leaders in Britain were agreed that working invested capital was entitled to five percent annual dividends and that funds for depreciation should be provided. But in these respects I fear that Britain has since been influenced by what she sees in America-selfish demands of unions, irrespective of what is fair and just.
Now, in view of the eminent leadership position American industry has attained in the world, how is it that in recent years moves have been made that ultimately will practically destroy our free-enterprise system and end in socialism or statism or a welfare state?-moves that are substituting highly inflationary financial policies for the time-honored soundness of the past and moves tending to create the feeling that the government offers the best social security available in this country, etc.
OFFICE-HUNGRY POLITICIANS
In giving answer I am speaking on my own responsibility, expressing my personal views and speaking plainly, using homely, everyday language. As I see it, the leaders of these moves are in general office-hungry politicians, longing for the emoluments, influence, and power of public office. These candidates for office have courted, and are courting, the support of selfish, ambitious, and powerful leaders of labor unions, as well as the ne'er-do-well elements in our population. Through the abundant and widespread use of misleading propaganda in which they have indulged and do indulge, the minds of the public in great measure have become confused and multitudes won over. Compare, if you please, half-century-old platforms of political parties with those that go out today under the same party names.
TWO ALTERNATIVES
Time allotted to me will not permit of further elaboration, but I appeal to all honest, patriotic people and lovers of freedom to whom my words may come, to make careful study of the matters of which I have spoken with the view of determining what is the wise and safe thing for them to do in order to serve unselfishly the best interests of the people of this country and of other countries who accept our moral standards. In every case let us beware of the bearers of "Trojan gifts."
As I see the situation, we are faced in this country with two alternatives, repentance or slavery-turn away from indulging in the unreasonable, excessive, and wicked selfishness manifest in many of the things we do or lose the freedoms that have been our pride and glory, the freedoms that every parent should desire from the depths of his soul to pass on to his descendants. Yes, it is repentance or industrial slavery. Which will you choose?
My remarks are directed particularly to Latter-day Saints, for they believe, as I do, that our religion is so broad and practical that it covers every phase of our life's activities, material as well as spiritual. "Faith without works is dead". Our faith in a real, personal, Living God is unquestioned among us. Let us humbly, diligently, and persistently, through earnest prayer and righteous living try to keep ourselves in tune with the mind and will of God as it has been revealed to us, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Redeemer. Amen.
Elder Levi Edgar Young
Levi Edgar Young, Conference Report, April 1950, pp. 62-66
My brethren and sisters: We are reminded this day that one hundred years ago Latter-day Saint missionaries were called to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in Germany. From that time on, hundreds of the people of that land and Switzerland have accepted the revealed word of God, and have migrated to Utah and have contributed much to our culture and development. The German music particularly has been of enduring joy to us, for in this very Tabernacle where we are assembled, the creations of Bach, Mozart, Wagner, Haydn, and the oratorios and operas of Handel have been heard with deep appreciation of the masters. In hundreds of homes the writings of Goethe and Schiller are well-known. I believe and have faith in the German people and feel that they will emerge from their days of sorrow and tragic condition and will come back to their former culture in days to come.
DIVINE LIFE OF JESUS
Tomorrow, Sunday, is the Easter day. Millions of Christians will kneel at sacred shrines and in churches and pour out their souls to God in deep gratitude for their knowledge that God lives and that death is but the entrance into immortal life. "How blessed is the king that comet in the name of the Lord". Beautifully does the prophet Nephi write of the divine birth of the Savior Jesus Christ:
And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the great city of Jerusalem, and also other cities. And I beheld the city of Nazareth; and in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white...
And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the Spirit; and after she had been carried away in the Spirit for the space of a time the angel stake unto me, saying: Look!
And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms.
And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father.
It was in the hearts of the humblest and most faithful poor people that his words found lodgment. Whenever he was overtaken with deep sorrow, he left his disciples and went into the woods to pray. The words of Jesus lived in the fullness of their truth. The soul of man was to be unafraid and was to deal direct with God. We read in Mark that "All things are possible to him that believeth". He had been baptized by his beloved John who declared that "the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the good news." He founded his Church, and his disciples were dominated by the Spirit of the Living Christ. They came to know the power of the Holy Ghost and the ideal life of the kingdom. Repentance and faith signified attachment to God. With his crucifixion, his life was destined to change the history of mankind more deeply more widely, and more permanently than any other from the beginning of time unto the present hour. It was the resurrection that gave the knowledge of eternal life to all the children of God. St. Luke gives us a sacred description of the resurrection:
Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.
And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.
And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.
And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:
And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?
He is not here, but is risen: remember how he stake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,
Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.
And they remembered his words.
And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest.
It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.
And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.
Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass
AMERICA'S DESTINY
In after ages America was discovered by Christopher Columbus, who was directed by the Spirit of the Lord to cross the mighty deep. His prayer on landing was a dedication of this land to God. Then came the people from England and other countries of Europe to America, and they brought in their little ships not money, not merchandise, but they came weighted with religion, learning, law, and the spirit of men. Strong in God and their own heroic patience, they began their combat with danger and hardship. They built a house for God, then for themselves. They established education and a stern but august morality. They gave their sons to God; through him to virtue, and through virtue to the state. So they laid their foundations of government and life.
In time the government of the United States was established with its Constitution, which we believe was written by the blessing and power of God. The formation of the republic of the United States was an event ordered of God for the bringing of his kingdom upon the earth.
De Tocqueville wrote,
A Republic is the highest form of political institution, and the highest form of Republic is one made up of different nationalities, brought under one government and one flag.
Generations before, John Winthrop, one of the pioneers of Massachusetts, wrote:
It will be a great service to the Church of great consequence to carry the gospel into those parts of the world to help on the coming of the Gentiles.
And generations later, George Washington uttered the prayer:
Almighty God, we make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection; that Thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government; to entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow citizens of the United States at large.
LAND OF LIBERTY
We read in the Book of Mormon how Lehi's son Jacob taught the people the sacredness of America as a land preserved by the hand of God for his future holy work.
But behold, this land, said God, shall be a land of twine 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 I will fortify this land against all other nations.
And he that fighteth against Zion shall perish, smith 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.
Wherefore, I will consecrate this land unto thy seed, and them who shall be numbered among thy seed, forever, for the land of their inheritance, for it is a choice land, saith God unto me, above all other lands, wherefore I will have all men that dwell thereon that they shall worship me, smith God.
The nineteenth century saw many new changes in economic, social, and religious thought. America became a land of freedom, and men could worship God as they pleased. In time, America became a nation of different churches. Christianity became more divided. Churches began to dispute with one another, and the divisions of Christianity became an affront to the divine teachings of the Redeemer. "The world had become filled," says Matthew Arnold, "with unprofitable disputes. The Church had been turned into an academy, and religion into wrangling. It had fallen into endless schism." The simple teachings of Christ our Redeemer had been lost.
CHURCH REESTABLISHED
In the day when the Prophet Joseph Smith lived, the divisions of Christendom were seen. His going into the woods to pray was a divine act, for through the deep faith of the boy, God spoke to him. We all know the story. God reestablished his Church, the priesthood of God was restored by John the Baptist, and Peter, James, and John. They came again to earth as resurrected beings. Thus Joseph Smith came to understand the supreme test of religion-revelation. Religion as a purely human product, valuable at it is to human life and progress, has not the inner vigor to retain a place of commanding power. Religion requires revelation. "The completest carrier of revelation can be no other, or less, than a chosen personality." This was the Christian conception in the beginning. So we have the restored gospel today. The Church has its priesthood with its Apostles, seventies, and all the other offices in the Holy Priesthood of God. Our foundation is the divine truth:
We believe in God the Eternal Father, and in his Son, Jesus Christ and in the Holy Ghost.
DEDICATORY PRAYER
I commend to you seventies and to all who hold the priesthood of God the dedicatory prayer of the Prophet Joseph Smith as given in the Kirtland Temple in March 1832. Among the many thoughts he expressed was:
Thanks be to thy name, O Lord God of Israel, who keenest covenant and showest mercy unto thy servants who walk uprightly before thee, with all their hearts-
... And as all have not faith, 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...
O Lord, we delight not in the destruction of our fellow men. Their souls are precious before thee...
Have mercy, O Lord... upon the rulers of our land, may those principles which were so honorably and nobly defended, viz., the Constitution of our land, by our fathers, be established forever;
Remember the kings, the princes, the nobles, and the great ones of the earth, and all people, and the churches, all the poor, the needy, and afflicted ones of the earth.
And may all the scattered remnants of Israel, who have been driven to the ends of the earth, come to a knowledge of the truth, believe in the Messiah, and be redeemed from oppression, and rejoice before thee.
MY REDEEMER LIVETH
What a divine admonition for all of us on this Easter day! We can all bear testimony to these truths and to the truthfulness of the words of Job:
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.
In conclusion, I want to give you the prayer of John Drinkwater, the English writer:
We know the paths wherein our feet should press, Across our hearts are written Thy decrees, Yet now, O Lord, be merciful to bless With more than these.
Grant us the will to fashion as we feel, Grant us the strength to labour as we know, Grant us the purpose, ribbed and edged with steel, To strike the blow.
Knowledge we ask not-knowledge Thou hast lent, But, Lord, the will-there lies our bitter need, Give us to build above the deep intent The deed, the deed.
I pray that we may all be blessed this Easter day with the sacred knowledge that God lives, that Jesus Christ is the Redeemer of the world, and that Joseph Smith lives and is a prophet of God. Amen.
Elder Eldred G. Smith
Eldred G. Smith, Conference Report, April 1950, pp. 66-71
I hope the Lord will bless me with an interest in your faith and prayers while I stand here before you. I appreciate the honor and privilege that is mine to talk to you at this time. I am grateful for the many blessings given to me and mine, and above all I am grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
A BLESSED PEOPLE
The Latter-day Saints as a people are more blessed than any others on the face of the earth because we have this gospel which offers to us such great blessings, both for this life and for all eternity. Perhaps the very magnitude of the blessings makes it difficult for us to comprehend them. I wonder if that is why some of us are not taking advantage of our opportunities. We cannot appreciate what we do not understand. Perhaps our parents or our teachers neglected to instill in our minds the glorious blessings promised for keeping the commandments of God.
I would not hesitate to say that many of our failures to comply with the laws and ordinances of the gospel come from a failure to understand completely the blessings gained therefrom. No one in his right mind would knowingly turn down such gain for a fleeting satisfaction. How great is our responsibility then as parents, teachers, or missionaries to try to instill these teachings in the minds and hearts of our children, neighbors, and fellow men.
We might do well to look to the methods of our teachings. We are all familiar with the slogan, "If the learner hasn't learned, the teacher hasn't taught."
METHODS OF TEACHING
In our schoolrooms, teaching has become an art instead of a mere presentation of fact. Material that used to be dry as dust to me as a child has now been made so attractive that children learn because it is fun, a pleasant experience. Children learn because they want to. It has been said that the only satisfactory way to make people do things is to make them want to do them.
Truly, my dear brothers and sisters, this is an age of advert tiring. Products both good and bad are made so enticing that we think we cannot live without them. The art of salesmanship must first attract interest, and then create a desire. Is not the gospel important enough that we use this proved psychology in selling it to others? I do not mean by this that we must use billboards along the highway or glamorous ads in the magazines, etc., but can we not present the blessings promised for faithfulness in keeping the commandments of the gospel in such a way that the desire for the blessings will be far greater than the temptations to do wrong?
STRENGTH OF GENTLENESS
We have found in teaching children that each child responds differently. When we are teaching our own children, therefore, we must know their nature and appeal to them accordingly.
It is said that there is nothing so strong as gentleness, and nothing so gentle as real strength. Be careful, you parents and teachers. Explain the beauties of the gospel, play up the blessings that the Lord promised as a reward for faithfulness. Sheer force rarely accomplishes anything.
I cannot help thinking of the father of a large family, who ruled by force. Every meeting must be attended by every child. Tithing was enforced, departure from the truth was punished by physical violence, but there was little love and less teaching of the principles of the gospel in an attractive form to make the children want to do right. As a result, when each child grew old enough to rebel, it left home. It is hard for others to penetrate this rebellious spirit and right the wrong that has been done. If we cannot teach by love, then we cannot really teach at all. It is a human failing to resent being told we must do thus and so without being given a reason. Even some reasoning does not produce the desired results.
BLESSINGS FORFEITED
I am thinking now of a young man who came from a good family, who had been taught that tobacco was poisonous to the system and did great bodily harm. He had been told of the great waste of money involved in the use of tobacco. This young man resented the curtailing of his actions. He said it was his own business. The Church had no right to order his personal actions. Well, the result was the same as in thousands of other similar cases. He could not feel comfortable in church because he reeked of tobacco. He forfeited his chances to increase his knowledge, to associate with his brethren in sacrament and priesthood meetings, and to advance in the priesthood. Not permitted to enter the temple, he has given up eternal blessings in exchange for the fleeting satisfaction of a little tobacco. Why? I cannot think that he knew the blessings he was passing by.
TREASURES OF KNOWLEDGE
The most important part of the Word of Wisdom is that which we so often fail to emphasize-the blessings promised. Beginning with the eighteenth verse of the 89th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord said,
And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings,
Now I believe that has reference to what is given in the 89th Section. And then he continues,
... walking in obedience to the commandments.
I think that means more than just the 89th Section, I think it means to keep all the commandments and all the laws and ordinances of the gospel.
... 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.
Those treasures of knowledge, I think, are the greatest part of the promises given in the Word of Wisdom,
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.
If we really understood these blessings, would we so thoughtlessly transgress the law?
IMPROVEMENT IN TEACHING
I do not intend to give a talk on the Word of Wisdom. It is the method of teaching that I wish to stress, that we make the reward for the blessings for obedience stand out so high above everything else that we create a desire to do right to obtain these blessings.
I think our teaching methods can stand improvement when we find such statistics as these. As I stated, nearly eight and a half million dollars were spent for cigarettes in the state of Utah in 1949. A total of $33,531,951.00 was spent for cigarettes, beer, and liquor for the same period, and I think the adjoining states surrounding us don't have any better record. That's over thirty-three and a half million dollars in the state of Utah in one year. Compare that with the figures President Clark gave us the other day on expenditures of the Church. The total expenditures were something near twenty million dollars, yet in the state of Utah we spent thirty-three and a half million dollars for liquor, beer, and cigarettes.
The result is this: over thirty-five percent of the adult male members of the Church do not hold the Melchizedek Priesthood. That is the total to which President Richards referred the other day: Those male adult members who hold no priesthood and those who are adult members of the Aaronic Priesthood comprise over thirty five percent of the male population of the Church.
Also, fifty-eight and one-half percent of the marriages of members of the Church in the stakes in 1949 were outside the temple. It sounds to me like we need to check up on our teaching methods. There is something wrong with our teaching. It is my opinion that such people have not been taught the valuable blessings and full meaning of these blessings, or no one could keep them away from the temple.
I could tell you of a number of experiences where I know that the people are not being taught what temple marriage or celestial marriage means.
We are all familiar with the methods and results of force with which the past generation was sometimes ruled, and which sometimes still continues. Today there is a tendency to swing to the other extreme. The child is encouraged to choose for himself. Yet if he is to choose for himself he needs to be taught proper values; he needs to understand above all else the blessings promised to those who would adhere to the gospel principles.
APPRECIATION OF PRIESTHOOD
Not long ago a father from one of our prominent Latter-day Saint families proudly told me of his son who was achieving a great name for himself in the scholastic world. He had turned down the opportunity of being ordained an elder for fear duties in the priesthood might interfere with his studies. He is now married-not in the temple. Yes, he may attain great heights in this world, but at the risk of losing the blessings of eternal life.
Contrast that with what I heard the other day. One of our mission presidents said that he valued more highly his ordination as a high priest than his doctor's degree from Cornell University. That's the kind of faith that the priesthood is made up from; that's the kind of faith that I thank God we have in the Church.
JOYFUL LIVING
I tell others, many of them, the difference between civil marriage and celestial or temple marriage is the difference between slavery and godhood for eternity. The Lord makes it sound a little nicer when he says those who reject the law of celestial marriage will be ministering angels, and worlds without end shall have no increase. Waiting on others with no further progress is an eternal existence but is not real living. Living involves progress. Many people are just existing in this life, but not really living. It is the inner consciousness of righteousness and progress that makes for happiness. It is no wonder that good Latter-day Saint people are often said to be the happiest people on earth. We have more to live for.
A recent convert to the Church was telling me how much happier her life has been since she has accepted the gospel. Always before she had lived in constant fear of death, and, to her, the unknown beyond. Now the gospel plan and the knowledge of the future have taken away all fear and put in its place a happiness and joy beyond description, but well understood by true Latter-day Saints.
REWARDS FOR OBEDIENCE
Brothers and sisters, let us familiarize ourselves with the blessings the Lord has promised and stimulate a desire in others to receive them, and we will find that the price set to receive them will dwindle into insignificance in comparison with the magnitude of the blessings promised. We are rewarded for obedience in attending meetings, by partaking of the sacrament, renewing our covenants that we may have his Spirit to be with us. For paying tithing the Lord has said,
... Prove me now herewith... 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.
Further, the Lord says in the Doctrine and Covenants, 84th Section,
And also all they who receive this priesthood receiveth me...
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.
The gospel is full of many such glorious blessings. May the Lord bless us that we may so live to receive them and teach them to others, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Ezra Taft Benson
Ezra Taft Benson, Conference Report, April 1950, pp. 71-79
My beloved brethren and sisters: If I may have an interest in your faith and prayers and a portion of the Spirit of the Lord, I desire to give expression to a few thoughts which I have had in my heart since returning from the shores of war torn Europe some three years ago.
A MIRACULOUS DRAMA
I should like to speak with reference to a rather miraculous drama that is taking place today before our very eyes. In large measure it is unobserved, particularly by spiritual leaders, and yet it has been predicted by prophets anciently thousands of years ago, and in modern times has been referred to frequently by Latter-day prophets during the past one hundred and twenty years.
In spiritual matters mankind seems inclined to worship the past and ignore new revelation of the present. People generally revere prophets dead and persecute or ignore the living while disregarding current fulfillment of ancient and modern prophecy. This condition was evidenced in the Meridian of Time as the people proclaimed Moses and Abraham and rejected the greatest of all prophets-yea, even the Redeemer of the World. In large measure the same spirit characterizes the present.
This great event of which I speak is one of the signs of the times, and is very important, it seems to me, particularly to all Christian people. It is transpiring in a small strip of country about one hundred and ten miles long and fifty to sixty miles wide, in an area about the size of the state of Vermont. This little section has a population of approximately three million, divided as follows: about 1,700,000 Arabs; approximately 140,000 Christians and other relatively minor sects; and about 1,000,000 descendants of Judah, the son of Jacob.
The number of Jews has multiplied in recent years in this area in a rather remarkable manner. Plans are underway for the incorporation of about a million and a half more during the immediate months ahead, and projected plans call for an eventual population of some four million in this small area.
This one and a half million to be added during the next few months according to plans, will bring approximately two hundred thousand Jews from displaced persons' camps throughout war-torn Europe; about seven hundred thousand other European Jews; some six hundred thousand now living in Moslem countries; and approximately one hundred thousand from other continents.
In connection with this great drama, it seems to me that the words of the Lord through Isaiah are being fulfilled again, namely that in the last days the Lord would proceed to do a marvelous work and a wonder, that the wisdom of their wise men should perish, and the understanding of their prudent men should be hid.
THE JEWISH PROBLEM
While in Europe in 1946, when mention was frequently made in the European papers of the Jewish problem, I received a comment from one of our great industrial leaders in this country who is a student of this particular problem, in which he said the only salvation the Jew has is to be as good a citizen as he possibly can of whatever country he is a resident.
Then later, one of our prominent business leaders quoting a high church authority whose church numbers into many millions in the South American countries, stated that the Jewish people would do their cause much more good if they attempted to move their people from places where they are not wanted to places where they are wanted, for example, South America, where there is ample room.
As Latter-day Saints, familiar with ancient and modern prophecies, we of course do not agree that some other more suitable place should be and will be found for the descendants of Judas. We believe in the over-ruling power of Providence in the affairs of men and nations. We believe that the Old Testament prophets clearly predicted the dispersion and scattering of Israel and the eventual gathering of Judah in the land given to their fathers.
LACK OF WISDOM
Some of our magazines have commented editorially on this same problem. I have before me a quotation made in 1948 from one of our most popular magazines and reprinted in the New York Herald-Tribune, which has a wide circulation through their European edition printed in Paris, in which the author states:
What the Jews really need is not a national state, but the right sort of world. "If the nations carried out the provision in the United Nations charter for universal respect for, and observance of, human rights, and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion," it would do far more to solve the Jewish problem than any multiplication of the Jewish population in Palestine.
In 1949, about a year ago, the United States News and World Report commented on the miscalculations of government officials and military experts with reference to the outcome of the struggle then being waged in Palestine, and reported that the "prophecies of the military experts, in particular, have had to be revised." Then it continued by outlining the predictions of military authorities in our own country and in Great Britain particularly, to the effect that it was only a matter of a very brief time until the Jews would be overcome and be wiped out and "the Arabs would win quick control of Palestine. Now," the article continues, "these official but private forecasters are in a state of confusion," and the "U. S. and Britain, as a result, have to adjust their diplomacy, their military strategy to this fact of a strong Israel in the midst of Arab weakness."
It seems as though this probably is one more evidence of the fact that the wisdom of the wise shall perish. The prophecies of economists, would be statesmen, and military experts fail, while those of the Lord through his prophets are vindicated.
An interesting sidelight on this recent development is the fact that many of the descendants of Judah who have assembled in Palestine seem to look upon the events of the last few months as being nothing short of miraculous. It is a common comment among them that victory, in their eyes at least, was a miracle which cannot be explained in purely military terms. Some of our recently returned missionaries from Europe who have visited that land bring back the same report.
PROPHECIES CLEAR
Now the prophecies are very clear with reference to the dispersion and scattering of Israel and Judas. Moses, Ezekiel, Amos, Jeremiah, and others made clear predictions that Judah would be scattered. The Master referred to it when asked by his disciples for a sign as to the end of the world. The Lord said,
And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
Jeremiah made it clear that they, the Jews, would be persecuted with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence and that the Lord would
... deliver them to be removed to all kingdoms of the earth to be a curse, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them:
Because they have not hearkened to my word, saith the Lord.
Is it possible that the times of the Gentiles are nearing their fulfillment, that the time is approaching when the gospel will be carried to the descendants of Judah? I think one of the saddest chapters in history is the account of the dispersion and suffering of Judah.
SUFFERINGS OF JUDAH
I have before me a quotation of Will Durant in his book, The Story of Civilization, in which he states that "no people in history fought so tenaciously for liberty as the Jews, nor any other people against such odds." He says further, "No other people has ever known so long an exile, or so hard a fate."
Then referring to the siege of Jerusalem under Titus, lasting for 134 days, during which 1,110,000 Jews perished and 97,000 were taken captive: he states that the Romans destroyed 987 towns in Palestine and slew 580,000 men, and a still larger number, we are told, perished through starvation, disease, and fire.
Nearly all Judea was laid waste. So many Jews were sold as slaves that their price fell to that of a horse. Thousands hid in underground channels rather than be captured. Surrounded by Romans they died one by one of hunger while the living ate the bodies of the dead.
Scarcely eight thousand Jews were left in all of Palestine. And even their banishment and scattering didn't end their persecution. Efforts were made to drive them from various countries. Some nations made an effort to banish them completely. They were accused of causing the "Black Death" that spread through Europe in 1348, and many Jews were crucified therefore.
I have said nothing regarding the Crusades and the dastardly deeds perpetrated in the name of Christianity upon the remaining Jews in Palestine. Yes, the prophecies regarding the dispersion and the suffering of Judah have been fulfilled. But the gathering and reestablishment of the Jews is also clearly predicted.
GATHERING OF ISRAEL
The gathering has three phases: the gathering of Israel to the land of Zion, the American hemisphere; the return of the Ten Tribes from the countries of the north: and the reestablishment of the Jews in Palestine as God's chosen people.
This miracle of the return of the Jews was to be one of the events to precede Christ's second coming, and the scriptures are very clear with reference to this fact. Isaiah said that they shall gather "the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth" and "set them in their own land," that they will "build the old waste," and "repair the waste cities".
Jeremiah, who predicted so clearly their dispersion, also states that the Lord will "cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it," and "build them, as at the first".
The prophets of the Book of Mormon even more clearly predict the conditions under which they will gather. These prophets also foresaw the time when they would begin to believe in Jesus Christ, that the kings of the Gentiles would be as nursing fathers and their queens nursing mothers in helping to bring about their return. These prophets make it clear that eventually the fullness of the gospel will be carried to Jerusalem and to the descendants of Judah.
In our day, in that first visit of Moroni to the Prophet Joseph, mention was made that the "dispersed of Judah would be gathered from the four corners of the earth". Thirteen years later, when Moses delivered the keys for the gathering of Israel and the Kirtland Temple was dedicated, the Prophet Joseph made further reference to the promises made to Judah and appealed to the Lord that the time may soon come when the children of Judah would return to the land promised to their father, Abraham.
In some of the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants, particularly the 133rd Section, reference is also made to the fact that the elders would go to the nations of the earth, to the Gentiles first and also to the Jews, that the Jews would "flee to Jerusalem," and that "Judah, after their pain shall be sanctified".
DEDICATION OF PALESTINE
As Latter-day Saints, from the very inception of this latter-day work, we have had a deep interest in this group of our Father's children, the descendants of Judah. One hundred and ten years ago, at this very conference, two of the elders of the Church, Elders Orson Hyde and John E. Page, were called to go to the land of Palestine and dedicate it for the return of the descendants of Judah.
Ten years before, the Prophet Joseph had predicted on the head of Orson Hyde that in due time he should go to Jerusalem, the land of his fathers, and be a watchman to that people. History tells us that Elder Hyde did go and dedicate the land in 1841, and in 1873 Elder George A. Smith went to that land and again dedicated it for the return of Judas.
In Elder Hyde's prayer of dedication on the Mount of Olives, he prayed that the barrenness and sterility of the land would be removed, that springs of water would burst forth, that the land would become fruitful again, that the Lord would subdue their unbelief and "incline them to gather in upon this land." He also prayed that God would inspire the kings of the earth to help bring about the promises made to Judah.
Other prophecies were made in connection with this event. Great Britain was referred to particularly as one of the nations which would play a very prominent part in helping to bring this about. And almost immediately following the visit of George A. Smith to this land, organizations began to come into existence, the purpose of which was to sponsor the return of the Jews to the land of Palestine.
PROPHECY OF WILFORD WOODRUFF
At about this same time, President Wilford Woodruff uttered a very important prophecy, prayer, and testimony with reference to this people, in which he said,
... the Lord has decreed that the Jews should be gathered from all the Gentile nations where they have been driven, into their own land, in fulfillment of the words of Moses, their lawgiver. And this is the will of your great Elohim, O house of Judah, and whenever you shall be called upon to perform this work, the God of Israel will help you. You have a great future and destiny before you and you cannot avoid fulfilling it you are the royal, chosen seed, and the God of your father's house has kept you distinct as a nation for eighteen hundred years, under all the oppression of the whole Gentile world. You may not wait until you believe on Jesus of Nazareth, but when you meet with Shiloh your king, you will know him; your destiny is marked out, you cannot avoid it.
Then he said further that the time would come when the armies of the Gentiles would be gathered against them, but he promised further that the time is not far distant when the rich men among the Jews would be called upon to use their abundant wealth to gather the dispersed of Judah and purchase the ancient dwelling places of their fathers in and about Jerusalem, and rebuild the holy city and temple.
It is rather significant that up to 1948 more than seven hundred million dollars had been expended by American Jews alone in helping to bring about the fulfillment of this prophecy by President Wilford Woodruff. The part that Great Britain played in the liberating of Palestine from Turkish rule is a matter of history which occurred during World War I in a remarkable manner. Then Lord Balfour, secretary of foreign affairs for the British government, made a very significant statement of policy to the effect that his Majesty's government would view "with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object."
This statement of policy was later supported by the Congress of the United States and was endorsed by President Wilson and all of his successors that it is the policy of our own land to look with favor on the establishment of a national home for the descendants of Judah in Palestine.
RETURN OF THE JEWS
So today, my brothers and sisters, in fulfillment of these ancient and modern prophecies, a great drama is being enacted in Palestine. The Jews are returning as one of the events of the last days. Resources are being built up through reclamation, rehabilitation, and modernization.
I read the other day of one authority who stated that there is more scientific "know-how" concentrated today in Palestine than in any similar area upon the face of the earth. I wonder if there isn't purpose behind it. I noted, too, in the report of the Anglo American Commission which was made of their study in 1946, that they commented that considerable numbers of the Jews are being converted to Christianity and that their attitude toward the Christ as the Redeemer of the world is rapidly changing. There has been much confusion over the Palestine question-much talk of division of the land, of quotas, import restrictions-but out of it all I cannot help feeling that we will see a complete fulfillment of the prophecies which have been made regarding this people. These prophecies are in rapid course of fulfillment before our very eyes today.
PERSECUTION OF JEWS
While in Europe, traveling through the war-torn countries, I was deeply impressed with the fact that the Lord had used, as a means of prodding the Jews and bringing about a fulfillment of his purposes, legalized persecution under the great and terrible Nazi program. The Jews were persecuted and driven, I presume, like no other people under heaven.
I remember standing on the ruins of what was the largest Jewish ghetto in Europe, in the Jewish section of Warsaw, Poland, in August 1946. There we were given a description of what had transpired as being somewhat typical of that which had gone on in various parts of Europe through the establishment of the medieval ghetto.
Here 250,000 descendants of Judah had lived prior to the war. Under the Nazi rule, through forced labor, they were required to build a wall around the ghetto. Later some 150,000 Jews from other parts of Europe were brought into that area. Then finally the entire section was destroyed, wiped out by bombing after the people had been robbed and ravaged.
As we stood on the crumbled brick and mortar and the rubble some fifteen feet deep, with only the spire of one burned synagogue showing-no other building in that vast area-we were told by the guide that some two hundred thousand bodies, it was estimated, still remained under the rubble of those once great buildings in this section of Warsaw.
We visited some of the concentration camps and the crematoriums where it is estimated, six million of the sons and daughters of Judah lost their lives, reducing their world population from seventeen to eleven million.
DETERMINATION TO RETURN
We were impressed almost to tears as we visited some of these wanderers, these persecuted and driven sons of our Heavenly Father, to find how doggedly they were determined to return to Palestine. Ofttimes, as they would come into relief agencies to get temporary help, we would ask them why they did not settle nearby. Sometimes they were invited to stay. But they had one desire, and that was to return to the land of their fathers.
I recall that a survey was made by UNRRA, United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, in which they interviewed 3,629 Jews in displaced persons' camps to determine what they would like to do if they were given their freedom to move and locate as they pleased. Of this number, 3,619 indicated that they would like to go back to Palestine. Nine of them expressed a desire to come to the United States, and one to Australia. This desire-which is almost a passion-was so great that it was as strong as life itself.
Of course, much of the movement then was done through the underground and by smuggling. I hold in my hand a short clipping, one of many we took from the papers in London. This one is entitled, "One Hundred Jew Ships Now." It is taken from the London Evening News, November 5, 1946. It is an Associated Press dispatch and reads:
British Naval Intelligence Officers in Jerusalem revealed today that Jewish underground has bought at least one hundred ships, many paid for with U. S. funds, to carry refugees to Palestine from southern European ports.
Crews are promised 10 a head for each refugee smuggled into Palestine.-A.P.
FUTURE EVENTS
Yes, my brethren and sisters, this great drama goes on before our very eyes, in large measure unnoticed by the Christian world. One hardly ever hears reference to the prophecies regarding Judah's return. Yet, the promises are clear that it would be one of the great events of the last days. And, of course, we know from modern revelations and prophecies that much more is yet to occur. Read the fourteenth chapter of Zechariah and the eleventh chapter of Revelation with reference to other great events that are yet to come, affecting directly this chosen people, the House of Judah. Eventually their city will be encompassed by Gentile armies. Yes, during their last great struggle, the Master will make his appearance as the Mount of Olives cleaves in twain for their protection.
Then, no doubt, will be realized the fulfillment of the glorious statement made by the Lord in the Doctrine and Covenants through the Prophet Joseph with reference to Judah, which I read in conclusion:
And then shall the Jews look upon me and say: What are these wounds in twine hands and in thy feet?
Then shall they know that I am the Lord; for I will say unto them: These wounds are the wounds with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. I am he who was lifted up. I am Jesus that was crucified. I am the Son of God.
And then shall they weep because of their iniquities; then shall they lament because they persecuted their king.
God help us, my brothers and sisters, to realize the importance of these great and stirring events as signs that the second coming of the Master is approaching rapidly, and may they be the means of emphasizing to us the importance of putting our own houses in order, maintaining the faith, and doing all in our power to help further this glorious work of the latter day, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Alma Sonne
Alma Sonne, Conference Report, April 1950, pp. 79-82
My brethren and sisters, it seems most proper and fitting that I should follow Elder Ezra Taft Benson as the speaker this morning for I followed him to Europe, and I followed him as the president of the European Mission, which I consider was a great privilege and certainly a great honor. It was my second mission to Europe. I went there first in the year 1910.
KINGDOMS SHAKEN
At that time, as a missionary in Great Britain I delivered a gospel tract which had been written by President Charles W. Penrose. In this tract, as a conclusion, President Penrose wrote, "The Lord is about to shake terribly the kingdoms of this world... He will break in pieces the nations as a potter's vessel"; and as a warning to the readers he said, "Salvation has come unto you; reject it not, lest ye fall and perish." I have seen some of the scenes described so well by President Benson this morning, and here in this holy place I feel singularly isolated from a world torn asunder by tumult, contention, and misunderstanding. This place is like an oasis in a desert land.
WAR-WEARY WORLD
Europe is faced with uncertainty everywhere, and it seems to me some of its nations are floundering spiritually, economically, and politically. When I traveled through the countries of Europe the first time with President Benson, I saw a war-weary world. The people were sick and tired. Some of them were cold and hungry. The ravages of war had cut deep into their lives. I shall never forget the grim and solemn scenes which met our eyes. President Benson, with his benign and reassuring personality, was an inspiration wherever and whenever he appeared. The people needed to be reassured and strengthened. Worldly possessions had been lost. Homes had been destroyed. Landmarks had disappeared. Hopes and aspirations had been shattered. Food, clothing, and shelter, so essential to humanity's welfare, were scarcely available. Fear and anxiety haunted the lives of the people.
The winter of 1946-47 was the worst in a century. A good meal and a warm room were luxuries. I shall not forget the supreme satisfaction I felt when I saw the welfare supplies which had been shipped from Salt Lake City safe and secure in the warehouse in Geneva, Switzerland. It is a bold undertaking, this welfare program, for the Latter-day Saints are now scattered throughout the world. No Latter-day Saint in Europe then doubted the prophetic inspiration back of the welfare program. Here was life; here was hope for the starving and suffering members of the Church. But proper distribution to those who needed it was a problem. President Benson with characteristic energy and wise supervision had already opened the door, but problems continued to arise. The German relief committees in Berlin, Stuttgart, and other places, did not fully understand our welfare program. Many explanations were needed. The real problem was to reach our own Church members.
RELIEF EXTENDED
Other charitable organizations made a general distribution through agencies which had been set up for that purpose. The Church and its members had been liberal in their contributions as you know, for that purpose, but the welfare program was intended primarily to assist members of the Church who had suffered reverses and setbacks, I am glad to report to you today that most of them were reached, lives were saved, distress relieved, and the ordinary comforts restored.
Expressions of gratitude came from every quarter. News papers and magazines recognized and praised the project and pointed to it as a great Christian endeavor. I would be derelict and ungrateful if I failed to mention the gigantic task which rested upon the general welfare committee of the Church. Their work was well and efficiently done. Shipments reached their destinations without serious losses or delays.
GOD AT THE HELM
I do not believe the Church will ever fail in any great emergency. God will always be at the helm to inspire and direct its leaders.
The pioneers succeeded under such inspiration. They laid the foundation of a great commonwealth and did whatever was necessary to safeguard the work established by Joseph Smith, the Prophet. No failure was anticipated in the work to be done. "No unhallowed hand," said the Prophet, "can stop God's work from progressing."
Said the Lord Jesus, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away".
MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE
The missionary enterprise of the Church has gone forward under divine inspiration and protection. It has survived bitter persecution, misrepresentation, scurrilous falsehoods waged against it by opponents who would not and could not understand. It has withstood slander, abuse, and mobocracy when the Church was young and its members few. Today it is more firmly established than ever. The barriers are crumbling, and the doors are being opened by an unseen power for the proclamation of the everlasting gospel. It will not fail.
God's purposes are ripening in the earth, and the predictions concerning the last days are being fulfilled. The gospel is being preached without fear or favor wherever religious freedom has been established. The preservation of that freedom rests upon you and me and all free men. The adversary of truth and light is organizing his forces in the world. He is the great enemy of freedom and human rights, both of which are God-given. I have seen the adversary's system in operation in Europe. It stifles all progress and destroys happiness and independence. It makes for slavery and paves the way for sorrow and disappointment. It is the exact opposite of Christ's plan of life and salvation. The two can never be blended.
BOOK OF MORMON
I want to testify that the Book of Mormon is well-nigh indispensable in the great missionary work which is going forward in the world. Its Importance cannot be overstated. In some of the missions of Europe, copies of the Book of Mormon have not been available, and the demand for them has been great. The scriptural productions of Joseph Smith the Prophet are powerful and irrefutable testimonies to the divinity of his calling.
GOSPEL OF SALVATION
It was my privilege to meet and to be interviewed by many newspaper representatives in Europe during my stay there. One of them, after a lengthy interview, made this statement to me:
God will give the British people a chance. That chance will come from your Church. You can save England; you can save Europe; you have everything. It will be a long, tough job; it will take a generation. I can see this, but I haven't the genius to explain it; I don't know enough. You have done one hundred years of constructive work without a slip and without misrepresentation and you have not found it necessary to lie and deceive as have some other churches.
God's work is going forward in Europe, and it is the gospel of salvation. May we appreciate it, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Marion G. Romney
Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, April 1950, pp. 83-88
"It is only a question of time, unless people repent of their sins, until war will come, not only war but pestilence will come, until the human family disappears from the world. There is only one way to enjoy peace and happiness in this world-repent and turn to the Lord. That is the only way."
In these words President Smith introduced the theme of this conference at the opening session last Thursday. This statement went down into my heart like fire, because I did not accept it as the statement of a man but as the word of God through his living prophet to this living generation. I desire to say a few words about this theme. It reminds me of the eloquent statement of Alma.
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 t e 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.
Here indeed is a consummation devoutly to be wished.
FIRST PRINCIPLES
In the Prophet's journal under date of March 1, 1842, he made the following entry:
At the request of Mr. John Wentworth, Editor and Proprietor of the Chicago Democrat, I have written the following sketch of the rise progress, persecution, and faith of the Latter-day Saints.
The sketch thus introduced, he concluded with the Articles of Faith, the fourth one of which reads:
We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; Repentance; Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
You will note that in the sequence here followed by the Prophet, repentance as a principle of the gospel is preceded by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is clear from the three articles preceding the one I have quoted that to have this faith requires first, belief in God as our Eternal Father, in Jesus Christ as his beloved Son and in the Holy Ghost; and second, acceptance of the doctrines that men will be held accountable for their own sins, and that through the atonement of Christ they may be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel.
REPENTANCE LEADING TO SALVATION
To one believing these truths and, in the light of them, having faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance means not only "a turning with sorrow from a past sinful course of action"-as it has been defined-but, in addition thereto, that through repentance he may bring himself within the reach of the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, so that thereby he may be cleansed from the effects of his transgressions and obtain forgiveness of them. His repentance is a preparation for baptism by immersion for the remission of his sins and reception of the Holy Ghost.
While turning from a sinful course at any time and for any cause is commendable and desirable, the repentance which "worketh... to salvation", as Paul puts it, is inseparably connected with the other first principles of the gospel.
TRUE REPENTANCE
Many sober and earnest people are recognizing the need for men to repent of their sinful ways and are advocating that they turn to God. This is good as far as it goes, but the only people who can call the inhabitants of the earth to true repentance are the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The reason this rather sweeping statement is true is because such a call to repentance cannot be made without a divine commission.
For such repentance to be declared under divine commission, as President Smith declared it at the opening of this conference, is by no means a new thing. It was not new in the days of the Prophet. It is as old as this world. In the morning of earth's temporal existence, an angel commissioned by the Lord himself declared repentance unto the first mortal man, saying,
... thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore.
And the Lord God called upon men by the Holy Ghost everywhere and commanded them that they should repent;
And as many as believed in the Son, and repented of their sins, should be saved; and as many as believed not and repented not, should be damned; and the words went forth out of the mouth of God in a firm decree.
NEED OF THE HOUR
From then until now, men have lived upon the earth, and particularly in the land of America, under this firm decree. As it has been in the past, so must it continue to be, for the Lord Almighty has spoken it. It seems to me, therefore, that the most desperate need of this hour is repentance, and that quickly, for it is later than we think. As long ago as 1829 the Lord said:
Behold, the world is ripening in iniquity: and it must needs be that the children of men are stirred up unto repentance.
Time and time again in the past, as men and nations have faced destruction, the Lord has sent his commissioned servants to declare unto them repentance as the way of escape. "Noah called upon the children of men that they should repent," and although ''they hearkened not unto his words," he "continued his preaching unto" them, saying,
Believe and repent of your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God,... and ye shall receive the Holy Ghost... and if ye do not this, the floods will come in upon you; nevertheless they hearkened not.
Melchizedek, king of Salem, was commissioned by the Lord and declared repentance unto his people. He... having exercised mighty faith, and received the office of the high priesthood according to the holy order of God, did preach repentance unto his people. And behold, they did repent; and Melchizedek did establish peace in the land in his days; therefore he was called the prince of peace.
REPENTANCE IN AMERICA
Upon our own beloved land of America, God has repeatedly commissioned his servants to call the people to repentance that they might escape destruction. The Prophet Ether "... came forth in the days of Coriantumr" king of the Jaredite nation, and at the Lord's direction sought out Coriantumr personally and prophesied unto him
... that, if he would repent, and all his household, the Lord would give unto him his kingdom and spare the people-
Otherwise they should be destroyed, and all his household save it were himself.
... And it came to pass that Coriantumr repented not, neither his household, neither the people; and the wars ceased not.
Fifteen and a half centuries ago, because of their unrighteousness, the remnants of the Nephite race were in a death grapple upon this land with their brethren, the Laments. Among them stood the mighty prophet-leader Mormon, to whom the Lord said,
... Cry unto this people-Repent ye, and come unto me, and be ye baptized, and build up again my church, and ye shall be spared.
And I did cry unto this people, but it was in vain; and they did not realize that it was the Lord that had spared them, and granted unto them a chance for repentance. And behold they did harden their hearts against the Lord their God.
Therefore, they, as well as the Jaredites, were wiped off this land. This was true notwithstanding the glorious promises made in the Book of Mormon, some of which were quoted this morning by President Young. All those promises were conditioned upon repentance.
UNRIGHTEOUSNESS TODAY
The world in which we live today is sick nigh unto death. The disease of which it suffers is not a new one. It is as old as history. Its name is unrighteousness. The cure for it is repentance. The Lord foresaw our present extremity long ago and prescribed the remedy. On November 1, 1831, he said:
... I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and stake unto hum from heaven, and gave him commandments;
And also gave commandments to others, that they should proclaim these things unto the world.
Two things which the Lord had done in preparing a way of escape are here referred to. First, he had given commandments, and second, he had commissioned men to proclaim them.
One of the commandments was this.
Hearken, O ye people of my church, saith the Lord your God...
Hearken and hear, O ye inhabitants of the earth. Listen, ye elders of my church together, and hear the voice of the Lord; for he calleth upon all men, and he commandeth all men everywhere to repent.
And surely every man must repent or suffer.
And here is the commission:
Hearken, O ye elders of my church... hearken and hear and obey:
Behold, verily I say unto you, I give unto you this first commandment that ye shall go forth in my name...
And ye shall go forth in the power of my Spirit... in my name, lifting up your voices as with the sound of a trump, declaring my word like unto angels of God.
And what shall we declare?
And ye shall go forth baptizing with water, saying: Repent ye, repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
OUR RESPONSIBILITY
We who today bear the priesthood of God are the legal heirs to this great commission. Ours is the responsibility of officially declaring repentance unto all the inhabitants of the earth. None are exempt. We must discharge this responsibility, regardless of the manner in which our message is received. With respect thereto, we are under the same obligation to this generation as was Ezekiel to the house of Israel in his day. You will recall that the Lord said to him,
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 shalt surely die; and thou gives him not warning, nor spookiest 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.
I regard this commission to declare the saving principle of repentance as a great blessing. I am grateful to my Father in heaven for it, for there are few things more tormenting to me than to be faced with a distressing situation about which I can do nothing. The commission we bear gives us a positive course to follow in meeting the problems we face. It is a sustaining and comforting feeling to know that the course we are trying to get people to take is the course the Redeemer would have them take if he were here in person.
NO OTHER WAY
To those who contend that the way of repentance is too slow, I can but reply there is no other way. Our prophet has so declared in this conference. If we do not come to ourselves soon and repent, individually and as nations, of our light regard for human life, our unchastity, our lying and deception, our pride and boastfulness, our covetousness, envying, greed, and thirst for power, our drunkenness, our lack of humility, reverence, and prayer, our desecration of the Sabbath day, our lack of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and, in short, of all our unrighteousness, we shall find it is too late, for other proposed remedies to the world's present predicament will prove futile. There are no armaments, no governmental schemes, no international organizations, and no mechanisms for the control of weapons which can preserve an unrighteous people. "Wickedness never was happiness", declared Alma to his wayward son Corianton; and Samuel, the Lamanite prophet, said to an unrighteous generation of his day,
... ye have sought all the days of your lives for that which ye could not obtain; and ye have sought for happiness in doing iniquity, which thing is contrary to the nature of that righteousness which is in our great and Eternal Head.
Alma has given us compelling evidence of his conviction that repentance is more effectual than arms in maintaining peace. You will recall that he was the elected chief judge of the Nephite nation. As such he was the governor of the people of Nephi and commander-in-chief of their armies. Seeing many of them dissenting and conniving with the enemy, he, notwithstanding his power to strengthen and command his armies, placed the affairs of state in other hands that he himself might cry repentance unto the dissenters. The reasons for his unusual actions are given in the following quotation:
And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just-yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them-therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God.
MESSAGE OF HOPE
Now, my brothers and sisters, there is nothing vindictive in the message of repentance which we bear. It is a message of salvation and hope, and not of condemnation. It is our purpose to declare it to our fellow men in charity and love, but we are in no sense apologetic for it. We know it is of God. We bear it at his command and, we trust, in the power of his spirit.
May the Lord help us to keep in mind the place of repentance in the plan of redemption, the need for it in the lives of men and nations, and our commission to proclaim it. May he help us to make it a daily practice in our own living that, when we do proclaim it, we may effectively hasten the great day envisioned by Alma when there shall be "no more sorrow upon all the face of the earth", I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Elder Milton R. Hunter
Milton R. Hunter, Conference Report, April 1950, pp. 89-96
My dear brethren and sisters, I would like to acknowledge my deep appreciation to my Father in heaven this afternoon for the privilege I have of belonging to the true Church of Jesus Christ along with you good people. I also wish to express to each of you my gratitude for your kindness to us when we come out to your stake conferences. I do humbly ask our Father in heaven to guide what I say this afternoon.
TWO GREAT COMMANDMENTS
When the Son of Man was upon the earth some two thousand years ago teaching the gospel, a certain lawyer came to him and asked a question. He asked: "Master, which is the greatest commandment in the law?" The Savior answered and said:
... 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.
The Son of Man on that occasion declared that the very foundation of all religious life, the very foundation and the heart of the worship of God was love-a love for God and a love for our fellow men. In fact, his whole message throughout his three years of ministry upon this earth was centered in the great law of love.
THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS
The last part of Jesus' statement to the lawyer, "upon these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets," can be explained as follows. In the days of the Savior, the Hebrew scripture was divided into three main divisions. The first division was called the "Torah" or "Law." It was composed of the five books of Moses. The second division was called the "Prophets." It consisted of the teachings of the major and minor prophets and some of the historical books. The third division was called the "Writing." It was composed of the remainder of the Old Testament books as we have them today.
The Law and the Prophets were very highly canonized, or, in other words, accepted as scripture or as the Word of God in the days of the Savior. The Writings were in the process of being canonized at that time. Therefore, when Jesus Christ said, ''On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets," he was saying, "On these two commandments hang all the teachings of the Holy Scriptures." In fact, in answer to the lawyer's question, "Which is the greatest commandment in the law?" Jesus quoted, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God" from Deuteronomy 6:5, and, "thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself," from Leviticus 19:18.
COMMANDMENT OF LOVE
In the very beginning, the Only Begotten Son of God gave the commandment of love to Father Adam and has repeatedly revealed throughout the generations that we should love God and that we s old love our fellow men. In fact, this dispensation we are living in is the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times, wherein all things are to be restored: therefore, the Lord told the Prophet Joseph Smith:
Wherefore, I give unto them 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.
I think that the modern revelation is even more beautifully stated than the one recorded in the New Testament.
CRITERIA OF LOVE
How do we know when we love God with all of our hearts? What criteria do we have by which we can judge? The Savior himself gave us the criteria. He said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments". Therefore, only to the extent that we keep the commandments that God has given us do we love the Eternal Father and his Only Begotten Son.
The night before the Savior's crucifixion, he gave his great last known discourse and instructions to his Apostles. Some of the most beautiful sentiments found in the New Testament were recorded by John in his report of what occurred on that occasion. I would like to quote just a few lines from that wonderful discourse.
As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
These things I command you, that ye love one another.
The Lord has also re-revealed in modern days the criteria by which we can tell whether we love God or not. He said to the Prophet Joseph Smith-and of course that commandment is to us through the Prophet-
If thou lovest me thou shalt serve me and keep all my commandments.
Notice the phrase, "keep all my commandments." Our promise of exaltation in the presence of God is based on that phrase.
COMMANDMENTS
Now the commandments are very numerous, and we haven't time to discuss them in detail on this occasion. You know them as well as I do. But I would just like to call to mind a few of God's commandments to us. We have the great law of tithing, wherein the Lord has declared that if we do not pay one-tenth of all that we possess to him, we rob God. Among the other great commandments are the law of chastity and the Word of Wisdom. These laws pertain to keeping our bodies clean and pure. There are also the laws and commandments pertaining to honesty, love, charity, patience, kindness, reverence, and numerous others. In fact, the Lord has said that if we receive exaltation in his kingdom, we will do so only on condition that we render obedience to "every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God".
I should like to emphasize the fact that today is the day for Latter-day Saints to prepare to meet God by keeping all of his commandments, lest the night cometh wherein we cannot repent. If we do not render obedience now, we might find ourselves at the judgment day in the condition that the lady found herself in a dream, as reported by one of the stake presidents at a conference I attended in Salt Lake City about a year ago. I do not recall the stake, and so I don't know which stake president to give credit to for this story.
STORY OF THE TEAPOT
He reported that there was a certain lady living in his ward who had joined the Church over in Europe when she was a Girl; and like many of the European people she had formed the habit of drinking tea. After she joined the Church of Jesus Christ, like quite a few Mormons she continued the habit of drinking tea. She reared a large family. Her children married. Her husband died, and she became a widow. And then she became a temple worker. Day after day she went to the temple, and no doubt the consciousness of the tea-drinking habit she had bore rather heavily on her mind or on her conscience. One night she had a dream. She dreamed that she died and that she passed on into the other world. There she came into the presence of the Savior, the Prophet Joseph Smith, and many other great and good people who had lived on this earth and whose lives had been such that they were now worthy to become celestial beings. Very sweet, serene, and happy were the feelings that she experienced there In fact, there were no words to describe how beautiful the conditions were there, until she looked down into her hand and saw her old dirty, black teapot. Then her happiness turned to sorrow and shame. She immediately looked all around in the heavenly realm for some place to hide that teapot, but she couldn't find any place. She had to hang on to it. Then she awoke. Cold drops of perspiration were running down her face. She got out of bed, turned the light on, dressed, and went in the other room. There on her stove sat her old dirty teapot. She picked it up, went down to the back of the lot and threw it into the Jordan River, and she said, "There! I am not going to take you to heaven with me."
My brothers and sisters, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, now is the time for you and me to get rid of all of our old dirty, black teapots. In other words, we should get rid of all our sins. We should repent, as Brother Romney just pointed out in his address, and show God that we love him with all our hearts, with all our mind, and with all our strength.
LOVE OF NEIGHBOR
We shall now devote our attention to the second great commandment, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself". I do not know whether each of us has thought of this idea very much or not. A man cannot love God with all of his heart unless he loves all of his fellow men with all of his heart. If a man says that he loves God and does not love his fellow men, according to the teachings of the prophets, that man is a liar. He is not telling the truth. For example, John made this very unusual and wonderful statement:
Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
If a man say. I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
And this commandment have we from him. That he who loveth God love his brother also.
ANALYZE THE HEART
Now, I would like to ask every one of us this afternoon to analyze his or her heart for a moment or two and see if we really love our fellow men. If we do love them, let us see how deep our love is for them. The commandment is to love our neighbors as much as we love ourselves. I know that is most difficult to do. The first law of nature is the law of self preservation, and people pretty generally follow that first law. In fact, I think the most important person to almost everybody in this world is himself or herself.
A good Latter-day Saint husband may think he loves his wife with all his heart. He may think he loves her more than he loves himself, but if he happens to express an idea that she doesn't agree with and she voices her disagreement, then his hair immediately stands on end. He builds up all sorts of arguments against her in defending his own position. In fact, he feels a resentment in his heart.
Too many people-and I mean, definitely, too many Latter day Saints-gloat over the sins of their unfortunate neighbors. In fact, it seems to build them up a little bit to learn that somebody else has made worse mistakes than they. If the telephone rings and the party on the other end of the line tells the story that he has heard about a sin committed the previous night by one of his neighbors the one who received the telephone call immediately goes over to his next-door neighbor and says, "Did you hear what happened last night?" Then he repeats the account of the unfortunate happening and greatly exaggerates the story. Is that true love? Is that charity? It is not!
True and pure love and charity are found where a mother and father are concerned. In the cases where parents of sinful children are concerned, the parents don't go to the telephone and tell their neighbors, but they go to their private chambers. There they wet their pillows with their tears, and they pray to God that he will save their son or their daughter from sin and from the ways of error into which he or she has fallen.
LETTER OF THE LAW
Ofttimes you and I have met members of our Church who seem to live all the letter of the law. They pay their tithes and offerings, they keep the Word of Wisdom, and they attend Church regularly. In fact one would think that they were excellent Latter-day Saints. Yet too many of these people have professional jealousy cankering their hearts. They have envy, strife, malice, and even hatred in their hearts. They fail to treat the ones with whom they associate with love and with charity. They don't express the Golden Rule in the way they treat the ones with whom they work and associate. Yet they claim to love God. John declared that such individuals are liars and that they cannot love God and at the same time hate their fellow men. Now to what extent are we guilty?
LOVE OF ENEMIES
The Savior not only taught that we should love our friends, but he also taught that we should love our enemies. To quote:
And behold it is written also, that thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy;
But behold I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you.
Is that teaching going too far? Can we really love our enemies? I would answer that if we get that godliness in our hearts, the pure love of Jesus Christ that we should have, we can love our enemies.
Many of the great prophets have demonstrated that they could love their enemies. Jesus Christ demonstrated far beyond the shadow of a doubt that he could love his enemies. For example, a few days prior to his crucifixion, you recall that the Son of God and his Apostles were in Jerusalem. He knew that the Jews were going to betray him and that he was going to be crucified. On that occasion he felt greatly concerned about what was going to happen to the Jews because they had rejected him and the gospel which he had proclaimed. He prophesied regarding the calamities which would come upon his people, and then he lamented as follows:
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.
EXAMPLE OF JESUS
And then Jesus told his Apostles about the great calamities that would come upon his people and upon the remainder of the inhabitants of the earth before his second coming. The scriptures report that the Son of God was touched so deeply on certain occasions because of the sins of the people and the calamities that would befall them that "Jesus wept".
How many of us are so concerned about the sins of the people of our home towns that after we have done all we can to teach them the way of eternal life, we then sit upon a hill overlooking our home town and weep? I am afraid that very few of us do that. We do not have that much charity; we do not have that much feeling; we do not have that much love in our hearts for those who fall into transgression.
I firmly believe that when Jesus Christ was hanging on the cross he showed the greatest expression of love that has ever been shown in history. He was suffering the terrific pain which accompanies crucifixion. The jeering multitude was down below the cross, saying, "If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross". The ordinary man would have cursed the taunters and revilers, but the Only Begotten Son of God while suffering such excruciating pain and reviling merely cast his eyes toward heaven and prayed,
... Father, forgive them: for they know not what they do.
This great example of love reminds me of the martyrdom of Stephen. While the Jews were stoning him to death, the scripture reports:
And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
NEEDED QUALITIES
All Latter-day Saints who work in the Church and hold any Church position must love God; and if we are going to be acceptable to him, we must love our fellow men. In fact, we have received a divine commission in our day. It applies to the General Authorities of the Church, to all the stake presidents, bishops of wards, and to all stake, ward, and branch officers and teachers. This is the word of the Lord:
And no one can assist in this work except he shall be humble and full of love, having faith, hope, charity, being temperate in all things, whatsoever shall be entrusted to his care.
The greatest poem that I know of devoted to the subject of love or charity was written by Apostle Paul. It is found in First Corinthians, chapter thirteen. Time will not permit a discussion of that great poem here. Suffice it to say that Paul mentioned a lot of godly attributes that we might possess. And then he summarized by saying that if we possess all of those godly attributes and have not charity, we are nothing. He put charity and love as the greatest of all attributes.
TEACHINGS OF MORMON
I would like to quote from Mormon the great teachings he gave on love and charity. He wrote.
And again, behold I say unto you that he cannot have faith and hope, save he shall be meek, and lowly in heart.
If so, his faith and hope is vain, for none is acceptable before God, save the meek and lowly of heart, and if a man be meek and lowly in heart, and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, he must needs have charity: and if he hath not charity he is nothing, wherefore he must needs have charity.
And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never filth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail-
But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and who so is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all the true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure.
In conclusion, my beloved brothers and sisters, I humbly ask our Father in heaven that he will let a rich abundance of his Holy Spirit enter our hearts; that the pure love of Jesus Christ might dwell in our hearts; that we might do away with all envy and strife; that we might be filled with love; that we might really love the Lord our God with all our hearts, might, mind, and strength; that we might really and truly serve God in the name of Jesus Christ and love our neighbors as ourselves. This I ask in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Harold B. Lee
Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, April 1950, pp. 96-102
If I might enjoy the Spirit of the Lord to direct me for a few moments this afternoon, I would like to talk about a subject which has been discussed in all the general conferences of this Church by members of the First Presidency-in every conference, so far as I can recall.
BLESSINGS OF UNITY
I refer to the importance of unity and oneness of the Latter-day Saints.
As I have pondered the importance of this matter, I have recalled some of the blessings we could enjoy if we would be united as a people. If we would be united in paying our fast offerings and observing the law of the fast as fully as the Lord has taught it, and if we were united in carrying out the principles of the welfare program as they have been given to us by our leaders today, we would be free from want and distress and would be able fully to care for our own. Our failure to be united would be to allow our needy to become the pawns of politicians in the public mart.
If we were fully united as a people in our missionary work, we would rapidly hasten the day when the gospel would be preached to all people without and within the boundaries of the organized stakes of Zion. If we are not united, we will lose that which has been the lifeblood and which has fed and stimulated this Church for a generation.
If we were fully united in keeping the law of sacrifice and paying our tithes as we have been schooled today, we would have sufficient to build our temples, our chapels, our schools of learning. If we fail to do that, we will be in the bondage of mortgage and debt.
If we were united as a people in electing honorable men to high places in our civil government, regardless of the political party with which we have affiliation, we would be able to safeguard our communities and to preserve law and order among us. Our failure to be united means that we permit tyranny and oppression and taxation to the extent of virtual confiscation of our own property.
If we are united in supporting our own official newspapers and magazines which are owned and operated by the Church and for Church members, there will always be in this Church a sure voice to the people, but if we fail to be united in giving this support, we permit ourselves to be subject to abuse, slander, and to misrepresentation without any adequate voice of defense.
If we were united in safeguarding our youth from promiscuous associations that foster marriages out of the Church and out of the temples, by having socials and recreations as a united people, as has been the practice from our pioneer days, we would be building all our Latter-day Saint homes on a sure and happy foundation. Our failure to be united in these things will be our failure to receive eternal blessings that otherwise could be ours.
If we were united in safeguarding the Church from false doctrines and error and in standing as watchmen upon the tower as teachers and leaders in watching over the Church, then we would be free from these things that cause many to stumble and fall and lose their faith. If we are not thus united, the wolves among us will be sowing the seeds of discord, disharmony, all tending to the destruction of the flock.
If we were united in our temple work and in our genealogical research work, we would not be satisfied with the present temples only, but we would have sufficient work for temples yet to come, to the unlocking of the doors of opportunity to those beyond who are our own kin, and thus ourselves become saviors on Mount Zion. Our failure to be united will be our failure to perpetuate our family homes in the eternity. So we might multiply the blessings that could come to this people if they were fully united in the purposes of the Lord.
MASTER'S PRAYER
The importance of unity was prayed for by the Master of us all. In that last great prayer-you will recall it-he prayed:
... I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are...
Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
That they all may be one; as thou, rather, 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.
The purpose of unity in the Church has been expressed by the Lord both from a positive standpoint as herein expressed, and also in a negative way as given in a revelation at the beginning of this dispensation. The positive purpose of the unity of Saints here is clearly suggested: 'that the world may know.' May know what? That this is the Church and kingdom of God on the earth to whom Jesus, the Christ, was sent.
"YE ARE NOT MINE"
In the command which he gave in this dispensation, the Master again expressed this same thought from a negative view,
... be one; and if ye are not one, ye are not mine.
If we are not united, we are not his. Here unity is the test of divine ownership as thus expressed. If we would be united in love and fellowship and harmony, this Church would convert the world, who would see in us the shining example of these qualities which evidence that divine ownership. Likewise, if in that Latter-day Saint home the husband and wife are in disharmony, bickering, and divorce is threatened, there is an evidence that one or both are not keeping the commandments of God.
If we, in our wards and our branches, are divided, and there are factions not in harmony, it is but an evidence that there is something wrong. If two persons are at variance, arguing on different points of doctrine, no reasonable, thinking persons would say that both were speaking their different opinions by the Spirit of the Lord.
In the writings of the Apostle Paul to the Ephesian saints, after describing the nature of the Church as it was organized in his day he said this organization was given for the purpose of the "perfecting of the saints... till we all come in the unity of the faith". When men receive the Spirit of God by living righteously, truth and error begin to disappear.
COMMAND TO BE ONE
One of our early Church leaders nearly a hundred years ago made an expression with reference to this important subject in these words;
The command to "Be one" embraces all other commands. There is no law, statute, ordinance, covenant nor blessing, but what was instituted to make the Saints one. This is the ultimate end and aim of the great plan of salvation. For this, Jesus suffered and died; for this, his servants have toiled and labored day and night in our fallen world; for this, all the powers of heaven will be exerted, until Satan shall be overcome, and the Earth be redeemed, and all the glorified inhabitants thereof become one.
If it is so important, then, that this people be a united people, we might well expect that upon this principle the powers of Satan would descend for their greatest attack. We might well expect, also, that if there be those of apostate mind among us, they would be Inclined to ridicule and to scorn this principle of oneness and unity as being narrow-minded or as being unprogressive. We would likewise expect that those who are enemies would also seek to fight against that principle.
There were handed to me recently some arguments which were presented before a congressional committee in Washington, D. C. in 1888, by a former mayor of Salt Lake City, in which he said this about this same matter. "The theocratic tenet of the Mormon Church is a great evil, and opposed to our American institutions. What is a theocracy?" "It is government by the priesthood through a direct authority from God... The thing I wish to accomplish is to pass laws which will strike at the foundation of the theocratic system." To put his words plainly, the thing he wished to strike at was the unity of the Latter-day Saints, who believe in a government through a direct revelation from God through his appointed agents.
PLAN FOR UNITY
The Lord has given a plan, a three-fold plan, by which this unity might be fully realized. Unity centers in heaven, even as the Master prayed, "Father, that we might be one". The Saints might become one with the Father and the Son, spiritually begotten by baptism and through the Holy Ghost even unto the renewing of their bodies as the Lord tells us, and thus "... become the sons of Moses and of Aaron... the church and kingdom, and the elect of God", and thus become adopted into the holy family, the Church and kingdom of God, the Church of the Firstborn.
Then, besides those ordinances by which we are adopted into that oneness with the Father and the Son, he has given to us principles and ordinances all intended to the perfecting of his Saints, that this same unity might be realized.
Then, finally, the Lord has given this generation another principle, that through his appointed Authorities he would teach his laws and administer his ordinances, and through them he would reveal his will. On the very day this Church was organized, he made this principle clear to the Saints when he said,
Wherefore, meaning the church, thou shalt give heed unto all his words and commandments which he shall give unto you as he receiveth them, walking in all holiness before me;
For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith.
For by doing these things the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name's glory.
About a year later the Lord expressed that same thing in these words,
What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself... whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.
That is a bold doctrine, those who are not members of the Church and those who are members of the Church who have no faith may think, but I would remind all such that it is also a bold doctrine when we declare that this is the Church of Jesus Christ, the only true Church upon the earth. This could not be the Church of Jesus Christ except for that other defined principle of revelation through the prophets of the Lord.
TEST OF UNITY
May I test your unity as Latter day Saints? Have you received a witness of the Spirit to your souls testifying that this is the truth; that you know this is the Church and kingdom of God; that you have received by baptism and by the laying on of hands the power of the Holy Ghost by which that unity of testimony might be accomplished? Have you that testimony in your souls?
May I ask you another question? Are you living each day so to improve your lives by living the principles and ordinances of the gospel that you are moving toward that day when you will overcome all things?
Finally, do you believe that these men whom we have sustained in this conference are the men through whom the channels of communication from our Heavenly Father are open? Do you believe-as Enos, the grandson of the great prophet Lehi, declared in his writing when he said he went into the mountain and prayed and "... the voice of the Lord came into my mind, again saying" -do you believe that the voice of the Lord comes into the minds of these men? If you do, then you believe what the Lord said that
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.
COUNSEL IN TEMPORAL AFFAIRS
Some there are who are prone to say, "We will follow their counsel in spiritual matters but not in temporal affairs. If they counsel us in other than that which pertains strictly to the spiritual welfare of the people, we will not follow them." Have any of you ever heard such comments?
Brigham Young tells us that this subject had been discussed early in the history of this Church, and there were some, even the early bishops of the Church, who held out that the Prophet Joseph Smith should not direct them in temporal affairs. He said,
In all ages of the world that we have any knowledge of, when there was a people on the earth whom God acknowledged as his people, he has invariably dictated them in spiritual and in temporal things. This question was agitated year after year in the days of Joseph. The first two bishops in the Church-Edward Partridge was the first, I was well acquainted with him, and Newel K. Whitney was the second-questioned the propriety of Joseph having anything to do with temporal things. Joseph would argue the case with them a little, and tell them how things were, and bring up scripture to show them that it could not be otherwise-that it was impossible for the Lord to dictate people unless he dictated them in temporal affairs...
There were Wm. E. McLellin, John F. Boynton, and Lyman Johnson, who belonged to the Twelve; Frederick G. Williams. second counselor to Joseph, and two-thirds of the High Council, all talking about this and I went to the Temple and just challenged them to show wherein the Lord ever conferred upon any man in the world the power to dictate in spiritual affairs, that he did not in temporal affairs? They could not do it.
LOYALTY TO LEADERSHIP
As I have labored among the brethren here and have studied the history of past dispensations, I have become aware that the Lord has given tests all down through time as to this matter of loyalty to the leadership of the Church. I go back into the scriptures and follow along in such stories as David's loyalty when the king was trying to take his life. He wouldn't defile the anointed of the Lord even when he could have taken his life. I have listened to the classic stories in this dispensation about how Brigham Young was tested, how Heber C. Kimball was tested, John Taylor and Willard Richards in Carthage Jail, Zion's Camp that received a great test, and from that number were chosen the first General Authorities in this dispensation. There were others who didn't pass the test of loyalty, and they fell from their places.
I have been in a position since I came into the Council of the Twelve to observe some things among my brethren, and I want to say to you: Every man my junior in the Council of the Twelve, I have seen submitted as though by Providence, to these same tests of loyalty, and I wondered sometimes whether they were going to pass the tests. The reason they are here today is because they did, and our Father has honored them.
I have that same witness about at least two members of the assistants to the Twelve, Brother Marion G. Romney and Brother Alma Sonne, for I saw it, and I know the nature of the test, and I know how they proved themselves to be the sterling men that they are. And so God has honored them, and it is my conviction that every man who will be called to a high place in this Church will have to pass these tests not devised by human hands, by which our Father numbers them as a united group of leaders willing to follow the prophets of the Living God and be loyal and true as witnesses and exemplars of the truths they teach.
BRIGHAM YOUNG'S LOYALTY
Brigham Young in his day was invited into a group of some of those who were trying to argue against that principle of unity. After he learned that they were trying to "depose" as they said, the Prophet Joseph Smith, he stood before them and said something like this: "You cannot destroy the appointment of a prophet of God, but you can cut the thread which binds you to a prophet of God and sink yourselves to hell."
It was that kind of fearlessness which was manifest in him that made him the peerless leader he was to become. It is that same kind of courage, though not always popular, but the kind that has been demanded of every man whom our Father would honor with high places of leadership.
I heard President Smith, and you heard him, four years ago from this stand, after there had been some scurrilous articles written about the Prophet Joseph Smith. He said this, and to me it was the ringing voice of a prophet speaking.
Many have belittled Joseph Smith, but those who have will be forgotten in the remains of Mother Earth, and the odor of that infamy will ever be with them; but honor, majesty, and fidelity to God exemplified by Joseph Smith and attached to his name will never die.
I paraphrase those words today and make them meaningful to us: "Many there are today among us who would belittle George Albert Smith, and J. Reuben Clark, Jr., and David O. McKay, but those who do will be forgotten in the remains of Mother Earth, and the odor of their infamy will ever remain with them: but honor majesty, and fidelity to God exemplified by the First Presidency and attached to their names will never die."
God grant us the strength of living to be united with the Saints, to live the principles of the gospel, to listen to these men as the leaders among us directed by our Heavenly Father, all to the end that his full blessings might be upon his Church, I pray humbly, in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Richard L. Evans
Richard L. Evans, Conference Report, April 1950, pp. 102-106
I recall President Grant's having said many times, "That which we persist in doing becomes easy." I have presented myself many times at this pulpit these past years, and I am not aware that it has become easy-or even any easier.
In all earnestness, if speaking here today to this congregation and to those outside, is to be less than impossibly difficult, I Shall need your help and that of my Father in heaven and I earnestly hope that I may have it.
PRIVILEGE OF REPENTANCE
With Brother Romney, I have been impressed that the theme of this conference has been repentance. I was much impressed with the statement he read from President Smith's opening message of two days ago; and I remember a phrase from Dr. Merrill's talk of this morning: that we shall either have repentance or slavery.
I remember also a reassuring sentence from President's Smith's talk of two days ago to the effect that every blessing may be ours on condition of repentance and of keeping the commandments of God. I am very grateful for the privilege and the power of repentance, and I think there is evidence that we should all be lost without it.
I don't know what the Lord's eternal timetable is, but I am sure that he is happy to have it modified by the acts of men in the use of their free agency in bringing themselves to repentance. I feel sure that there is no dire prediction of any of his prophets that he would not be happy to have set aside by the repentance of his people.
EXPERIENCE OF JONAH
On this point I have heard two sermons within relatively recent times from the Book of Jonah, both of which have impressed me: one by Dr. G. Homer Durham in which he used the phrase the "Nineveh Cure." The "Nineveh Cure" of course is just plain and simple repentance. The other was by Brother Marion D. Hanks, who serves us so well on Temple Square. He used the phrase the "Road to Tarshish"-which is the road of running from responsibility.
You recall the experience of Jonah, that after trying to run from his responsibility he finally did what the Lord asked him to do and proclaimed that destruction should come upon Nineveh in forty days: and from the king to the lowest of his subjects there was repentance in that great city, and it was not destroyed. But Jonah, being human as well as a prophet, was somewhat disappointed that his prediction of destruction had not been fulfilled. He failed to understand, apparently, that the prediction was dependent upon obedience or disobedience, upon perversity or repentance, and that the Lord is happy to revise his timetable concerning the affairs of men on conditions of repentance.
CURE FOR ILLS OF WORLD
Again I am grateful for the privilege and power of repentance and am convinced that there is nothing wrong with this world that couldn't be cured by repentance-and I find this hopeful fact and Brother Romney suggested it also-that regardless of what we may do with the opportunity, it is there. For a man to have a disease for which there is no known cure is quite a different matter from having a disease for which there is a known cure if he will only avail himself of it and pay the price. I am grateful that there is a known cure for the ills of this world. The picture would be one of darkest despair, much darker than any yet painted, if it weren't that there is a plan and a pattern for peace in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that there is the power and privilege of repentance if men will only avail themselves of it.
I say again, I do not know the Lord's timetable, and I think there is ample evidence that it is not for us to know it; "the day or the hour no man knoweth". We read in the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, before the ascension of the Savior, this word to his Apostles:
It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father has put in his own power.
There are many things that men are permitted by our Father to change in the use of their free agency. I recall a comment from President Boyer of the British Mission, made a day or two ago when we met with the mission presidents, to the effect that "so long as I have life, I shall fight for the privilege of having enough freedom to make a few mistakes." In the use of our free agency we have made a few and more than a few mistakes. Some of them are costly, and we shouldn't repeat them, and we should avoid making them in the first place, if possible. But the contrary plan was the plan of Lucifer, the plan whereby men would not have been permitted to have freedom to make mistakes, and being able to repent are great privileges which our Father in heaven has given us.
ABRAHAM'S BARGAINING
I do not know what degree of repentance would be required of us to avert some of the things that might be imminent or at least remote possibilities. You recall Abraham's bargaining concerning the destruction of Sodom, how he pleaded that the city would be spared if there were fifty righteous souls, then forty-five, and so on down to ten. I doubt that we shall realize terms as favorable as Abraham was able to secure for Sodom. Apparently he was an astute bargainer, but the ten weren't found, and Sodom wasn't saved. I don't know that ten of a city would be enough to save us today, but I am sure that the degree of our repentance will be taken into consideration. And I earnestly hope and pray that we may give full repentance, and others with us, to the end that our Father in heaven in his mercy and in his patience and in his love for his children, which he has declared, and in whose immortality and eternal life he has stated his earnest interest, will revise his timetables, whatever they may be, according to the degree of our repentance. If he would agree to save a city for ten repentant souls, think what he would do for a whole nation or people who repented!
FAITH IN FUTURE
I recall some five years ago one of the world's eminent philosophers and historians-a British philosopher and historian-making some dire predictions following shortly in the wake of the war He said, "It is the end," and then went on to elaborate that statement. But it has been five years since then, and I believe that this is a Church that has faith in the future. The statement of President Smith here yesterday is to me evidence of it-the statement that some two hundred or more places of worship have been built by this Church since the philosopher said, "It is the end." There must be many more than this number in the building or in prospect, which is another evidence of our faith in the future. It seems to me that our building program alone, and all our other plans for the future, are evidence of our faith in the future of this Church.
We must have faith in the future regardless of the ultimate eventualities. One of the greatest calamities in this world would be the calamity of sitting down and waiting for calamities. We must not let the things we can't do keep us from doing the things we can do. We must not let remote possibilities or even imminent probabilities keep us from moving forward with all earnestness and all effort.
I should like to say to the young people of this generation that they too must have faith in the future. In spite of all the uncertainties, they must go forward and prepare themselves as best they can for all the problems and opportunities of life. Whatever may come here or hereafter, the future will always be better for those who are best prepared.
No generation has ever lived without facing uncertainty. If those who faced the uncertainties of ten or twenty-five or fifty years ago had sat by and waited for what seemed to them to be imminent calamities, we should not have had the able and ready and well qualified men that we have today, and that we need and shall need in the next generation.
So I say to these youth of ours: go forth and live your lives with humility, with gratitude, with repentance, keeping the commandments of God and having faith in the future and preparing yourselves for the future, as the Church itself continues its building. There is nothing to lose by having faith in the future, but there is much to lose by not preparing for the future.
I was grateful to hear President Smith say that last year was the year of greatest growth for this Church. We have so many things to be grateful for.
TIME OF THE END
I recall a reported statement, attributed, as I remember it, to President Wilford Woodruff. Some of the brethren of his time are said to have approached him and to have inquired of him as to when he felt the end would be-when would be the coming of the Master? These, I think, are not his exact words, but they convey the spirit of his reported reply: "I would live as if it were to be tomorrow-but I am still planting cherry trees!" I think we may well take this as a page for our own book and live as if the end might be tomorrow-and still plant cherry trees! In worrying about things that are beyond our reach, we should not overlook our opportunities with our own families and friends; in worrying about possible eventualities we should not neglect the things that need to be done here and now, and that are within our reach; the things for which we are immediately responsible; we should not neglect or present opportunities and obligations.
I should like to close with a statement of William Allen White: "I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today."
ASSURANCE OF EVERLASTING LIVE
I am grateful to my Father in heaven for the assurance in my soul that he lives and that he is mindful of his children. I am grateful for his assurance of everlasting life. It has sustained my family these past three months when two sudden deaths have fallen upon us, and we would not have been sustained except for this assurance. And I would leave with you the witness of my soul that God does live, that Jesus is the Christ, that these things to which we are committed here in this conference and in this Church are his work and are of divine origin, and that it is our responsibility to carry them forward.
May his peace be with each of us, and with our children in the perplexing problems that confront them, and give us guidance and give them guidance, I pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop LeGrand Richards
LeGrand Richards, Conference Report, April 1950, pp. 106-112
I feel humble, my brothers and sisters, as I stand here today. My heart is full of gratitude to the Lord for my membership in this Church and for my fellowship with the Saints and the brethren. To me, the conference started last Wednesday when we met with these grand mission presidents for two sessions in the temple and heard them tell of the fine work that is being accomplished in the mission fields and the wonderful spirit they have in their work One who had just been released said, "I find it difficult to become interested in my business." Another of the presidents said, "I prayed that the Lord would let me stay a few months longer, and when my successor arrived and apologized for being late, I said 'You don't need to apologize. You just answered my prayers.'" It is wonderful how these men can make the sacrifices they make and then feel as they feel. I felt the same when I returned from my first mission. I went into Oregon selling bonds for a company. Every home I entered, I found it difficult to offer them bonds to purchase I wanted to offer them the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
EARTH CRAMMED WITH HEAVEN
I couldn't help thinking as I sat through these meetings: Isn't it really a pity that it is so hard for truth to get its boots on and to be able to reach the honest in heart of the earth? If they just knew what we have-if their eyes were opened to see and understand! How wonderful it would be for all of our Father's children who really want to do right, if they could know the truth, instead of having to wait, many of them, to get it, possibly, in the eternal worlds.
I thought of the words of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, when she said,
Earth's crammed with heaven, And every common bush acre with God; And only he who sees takes off his shoes; The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.
-from "Aurora Leigh"
And I thought, if the world could only know how the Lord has crammed the earth with heaven, and how every common bush is afire with God, through the restoration of the gospel. We have heard it referred to here today. "A marvelous work and a wonder", and it is all of that, far beyond the ability of any man or any woman to comprehend. The greatest mission of the Latter-day Saints is to be able to understand and appreciate what the Lord has done, and then make their lives conform thereto. The Lord said, in a revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith, that "against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things". I acknowledge the hand of God in all things. I believe that he rules in the heavens above and that he rules upon this earth. We have heard the brethren today speak of the fulfillment of prophecy, and Peter of Old said,
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.
KINGDOM OF GOD
You heard Brother Sonne this morning read from one of the tracts that Brother Penrose wrote of how the kingdoms of this world would be destroyed. We read in Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream, in which he states that the kingdoms of this world should become as the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind should carry them away. We have seen them one by one being carried away. But that was not all Daniel saw. In the more sure word or prophecy which holy men of old gave us under the inspiration and power of the Holy Ghost, he saw that the God in heaven should set up a kingdom in the last days which should never be destroyed, but like a little stone cut out of the mountains without hands, should roll forth until it should become a great mountain and fill the whole earth.
One of our missionary boys preached on that theme down in Florida while I was president of the Southern States Mission, and I think that boy is in this congregation today. At the close of the meeting a minister who was present at that meeting met me at the door-I always went to the door to meet those who had honored us with their presence-and he said, "Mr. Richards, you don't mean to tell me that you think that kingdom is the Mormon Church, do you?"
I said, "Why not?"
He said, "It couldn't be."
"And why couldn't it?" I said.
He said, "You can't have a kingdom without a king, and we haven't any king, and so haven't a kingdom."
"Oh," I said, "my friend, you did not read quite far enough. You just read the seventh chapter of Daniel, and you will see that Daniel saw one like the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven and unto him was given the kingdom, that all other kingdoms powers, and dominions should serve and obey him. Now, how can the kingdom be given to him," I asked, "when he comes in the clouds of heaven, if there is no kingdom here prepared for him? Maybe you would like to know what is going to become of that kingdom. If you will just read it, you will see that Daniel said,
And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall Serve and obey him.
The Saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, and as if that were not quite long enough, Daniel adds, 'even for ever and ever'".
PART OF KINGDOM
Now, brothers and sisters, if you can see heaven in earth, if you have eyes that see, ears that hear, hearts that understand, you know what you are a part of as members of this Church. You are a part of that great kingdom that is being established in the earth.
President John Taylor once made this statement:
We are gathered here for the express purpose of carrying out the purposes of God. The world, however, do not understand it. But I will tell you what they will do, by and by. You will see them flocking to Zion by thousands and tens of thousands, and they will say, We don't know anything about your religion, we don't care much about religious matters, but you are honest and you are honorable and you are upright and just and you have a good, just, and secure government, and we want to put ourselves under your protection for we cannot feel safe anywhere else".
IMPRESSIONS OF VISITORS
During the last six months I have had occasion to hear people express themselves as to how they feel about this. We were in the Hotel Utah with one of the greatest economists in the world, and after President Smith had spoken, this man stood up. He was overcome; he had to shed a few tears; then he told us that never in his life had he been in such presence or in such influence. Then he paid us some compliments about our people and said he had felt it on the street and wherever he went.
We had another great national leader here not long ago who made a similar declaration. He said, "I have to come out here in these valleys of the mountains to get inspiration," but he did not want us to tell what he had said because he has to live with those people back in the East, but he said it just the same.
A few weeks, ago a lady from Orlando, Florida, came into the office of the Presidency. The receptionist called me and said that this lady would like to know something more about the Church and would I have time to interview her. Well, I had preached in Orlando, Florida, many times, and built a little chapel there, so anyone from Orlando looked good to me. I said, "Send her up." She wanted to know all about the Church. She said, "Mr. Richards, I have traveled all over the United States-I just came from California." But she said, "I don't know what it is, but I feel it everywhere I go. You are different here; you have something different here than I have felt anywhere I have been."
"Well," I said "that is simple, we have the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ."
STORY OF MINISTER
If we just had eyes that could see, ears that could hear; if we could see heaven crammed into this earth in this great work that God has set his hand to do, and every common bush afire with God-we could understand the story one of the mission presidents told in the report meeting at the temple, of the missionary who called at the home of a minister. This missionary offered to leave a tract, and the minister would not accept it; so, as he left the door he put the tract in the mailbox, and when he came back the next time the minister invited him in. Now, to make the story short, what that man read impressed him, and finally he paid for the publication of a thousand copies of the Book of Mormon. He gave nine hundred of them to the missionaries and kept the other hundred for his family. When the mission president invited him to speak at one of our conferences, he said "Well, if you call me, I will preach what I have always preached."
The mission president said, "You preach anything you want to as long as you preach the truth."
Then he said, "Hand me your Book of Mormon," He stood up, held up that Book of Mormon before them and said, "Here is the greatest book I have ever read." Then he pledged his loyalty to the Bible, but he said, "I've got something out of this book that I haven't got out of any other book, including the Bible." That was a minister speaking.
If every minister in all the world professedly of the Christian Church could only humble himself enough to put that book to the test, we might have a great army of men all over the world bearing to their faithful people the witness of the great and mighty work the Lord has set his hand to do in this day, the new witness for the Lord Jesus Christ in the earth.
MESSAGE FROM GOD
Speaking of these marvelous things, I heard Brother Ballard make this statement when he visited our mission. He said that one of our greatest national commentators, and he told the name but I will not give it here today as it will serve the purpose without, said he was asked what message could be broadcast to the world that would be considered more valuable than any other message that could possibly be broadcast. After giving the matter some thought and consideration, he decided that to be able to say to the world over the radio that a man who had lived upon the earth and had died had returned again with a message from God would be the greatest message that could be broadcast to the world. Well, that being true, we have the greatest message, for we announce to the world that not only one man, but many men, prophets of the living God who have lived upon the earth have returned again with messages from God; not only messages, but also keys and power in order that the kingdom of God might again be established in the earth as promised by Peter when he said, that the heavens must receive the Christ until the restitution of all things spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets since the world began. Do you mean to tell me that if we believe in the words of the holy prophets as I have referred to today, that we have any right to expect the Lord Jesus Christ ever to come in fulfillment of this promise made except there first be a restitution of all things? There isn't time for me to go into the restitution of all things here today. We have built a monument in the state of New York to just such an individual to Moroni, who lived upon this continent four hundred years following the crucifixion of the Savior and returned again to deliver the plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated to the Prophet Joseph Smith. There stands that majestic monument to his honor, the only one like it in all the world.
Think also of what John the Baptist brought-the Aaronic Priesthood, Peter, James, and John, the Melchizedek Priesthood; the prophets Moses, Elijah, and Elias came with the keys of their dispensations.
HOLY PRIESTHOOD
Then I am reminded of another story one of the mission presidents told in the temple last Wednesday. He took out of his pocket a letter from a minister and read it to us, in which he stated that he never believed that he did not have as much authority as any other man in the world to administer the ordinances of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ until he met the Mormon missionaries and read the Book of Mormon. Now he admitted that he had to accept baptism at the hands of the missionaries of this Church.
We have been told in this conference that we have to have the Priesthood, and I want to tell you that if the world understood and knew the value of the sealing power and ordinances of the Holy Priesthood that God has sent to us in this dispensation, it would revolutionize this whole world.
TEMPLE WORK
I have one more thought I want to leave with you in the next few minutes, and that is about this temple here, and the rest of our temples. When the corner stone of this temple was laid, Brigham Young said something like this,
We are gathered here today upon one of the most momentous occasions that this world has ever known since the foundations thereof were laid, an occasion that has caused the tongues of prophets to speak and their pens to write.
You read the words of Isaiah, where he saw the mountain of the house of the God of Jacob established in the tops of the mountains in these latter days, and he added,
All nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths.
I want to tell you, outside of these holy temples and the sealing ordinances therein, men cannot learn fully of his ways, nor can they walk in his paths.
I have some wonderful testimonies in regard to this matter, but I will only take time to read a few words from a sermon President Woodruff delivered from this pulpit in 1898, as recorded in the conference pamphlet.
I am going to bear my testimony to this assembly, if I never do it again in my life, that those men who laid the foundation of this American government, and signed the Declaration of Independence, were the best spirits the God of heaven could find on the face of the earth. They were choice spirits, not wicked men. General Washington and all the men that labored for the purpose were inspired of the Lord.
Another thing I am going to say here, because I have a right to say it. Every one of those men that signed the Declaration of Independence with General Washington, called upon me as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the Temple at St. George, two consecutive nights, and demanded at my hands that I should go forth and attend to the ordinances of the House of God for them.
I wonder what the ministers of the world would say if they only knew that this were true, and it is true. When these great men who framed the Constitution of our nation came back they were not interested in the future destiny and the development of this great land of America. They came back to request that the ordinances of the house of God be administered for them.
So I say,
Earth's crammed wit heaven And every common bush alive with God; And only he who sees takes off his shoes. The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.
May God help us to see and understand his marvelous work I pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, April 1950, pp. 172-173
I wish to address my remarks particularly to the bishops and the presidents of stakes, and yet we are all concerned with the records of the Church.
KEEPING OF RECORDS
In the days of Adam, one of the first things the Lord did was to call upon him and others following him to keep records. You will read of that in the Pearl of Great Price.
In Section twenty, which was given at the time of the organization of the Church, and in the next Section, Section twenty-one, of the Doctrine and Covenants, you will find written instructions in regard to the keeping of records in the Church. What would we do, what condition would we be in if records had not been kept in days of old? We would not have our Bible; we would not have our Book of Mormon; and in our own day we would not have the Doctrine and Covenants, nor the Pearl of Great Price. You all know how valuable these books are, and the Lord preserved them that they might be a benefit to us in learning of His ways and in the keeping of His commandments.
WARD AND STAKE RECORDS
Now the Church has given instructions that records be kept in every ward and in every stake of Zion. We send out the blanks with definite instruction printed upon them as to the nature of the information which is to be gathered. We try to make it easy for the clerks. And I want to say that it is just as important, ordinarily so at least, to have a good, efficient clerk, as it is to have a good efficient president of a stake, one who has the desire and the ability to keep the records.
These records should be kept in duplicate and one copy sent in quarterly to the Historian's Office and one filed in the stake. Records should be kept in the wards. The stake clerk should keep a record of all events, taking from the ward records the material that is essential to place in the record of the stake.
All recorders know, or should know, the nature of the recording that they ought to make.
HISTORICAL REPORTS
Now we have had a great deal of difficulty in getting these historical reports. Sixty-three stakes and two missions failed to send in reports for 1947 and 1948 and 1949. We have some stakes and some missions that have not reported for much longer periods of time, and yet these are quarterly reports. We are under the necessity constantly of sending out letters asking for these historical records to be sent in to us so that they may be filed and preserved according to the commandments of the Lord.
COMPLETENESS AND ACCURACY
I would like to call attention also, to the fact that, notwithstanding the information we ask for, that many of these reports are not complete. Every name should be written in full. Clerks should be appointed, or historians, in the wards and stakes who can write legibly so that their records can be read.
Some of them evidently do not read the instructions that are on these blanks. Many valuable matters pertaining to the records are not included. We would like to call your attention to this. We have been after you and some of you know that we are after you because we are writing constantly, and some of the stakes have been busy and they have gone to work and have complied, although they have had to go back years to do it.
UP-TO-DATE RECORDS
Too many mistakes are made because information is not written at the time. Everything should be recorded as nearly at the time of the event as it is possible for it to be. I know from my own experience that I cannot trust to my memory, and when things are neglected for any length of time mistakes are bound to enter into the records, in regard to certain incidents and as to the time when matters have been performed.
Now brethren, will you look into these matters in your stakes and see that this record is kept up to date? This is the way we are keeping the record of the Church. It is most valuable; it is absolutely necessary, and we ask you for your help, for your support in these matters, that we may have our records up to date, kept neatly, written in permanent ink, or upon the typewriter with a permanent ribbon, and in a manner that it can be preserved eternally.
I thank you for the opportunity of presenting this matter to you. May the Lord bless you all, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report, April 1950, pp. 179-183
My brethren, as always I come to you in fear and trembling and in humility, and I ask our Heavenly Father to bless me, that what I may say tonight may be of some value to us in our work.
POWER OF THE PRIESTHOOD
I am again impressed, as always, by the strength of the priesthood. I have seen it work in the lives of many men. I have seen them grow under its power and its influence. I have seen men moving in the walks of life of the world increased in power and in influence, far beyond their natural abilities, and I am sure the only reason for it was the possession of the priesthood.
The priesthood, of course, must not be taken lightly, and as I have said to you before, the priesthood cannot be taken off and put back on at will as you would a coat. Once endowed by the priesthood it remains with you. You may forfeit its power, the power may go, but your priesthood is still there, and in the days to come God will judge us by the use we have made of it, and we can no more escape that consequence than we can escape death. That fact should be with us always and never absent from us.
UNITY
I wish again to refer tonight to my favorite subject of unity. I sometimes think that for me this is sort of an air on the G string that I play every time.
I am grateful to Brother Harold B. Lee today for making some variations to my tune. I adopt them: I am grateful for them. But with his permission I want to play my tune again.
I say to you again, brethren, as I have said every priesthood meeting night for years, that if you are united, if you will act as one man in carrying out the purposes of the Lord, there is absolutely nothing that can withstand your power.
LOYALTY
An essential part of unity is loyalty. There can be no union where loyalty does not exist. Loyalty is a pretty difficult quality to possess. It requires the ability to put away selfishness, greed ambition and all of the baser qualities of the human mind. You can not be loyal unless you are willing to surrender. There is no growth mental, physical or spiritual, unless there be some curtailment, some sacrifice, may I say, on the part of him who would be loyal. His own preferences and desires must be put away, and he must see only the great purpose which lies out ahead.
CASES OF DISLOYALTY
I have spoken in the past about loyalty to authority. You remember reference has already been indirectly made to this tonight by Brother McKay, speaking of Peter. You remember how when the Lord told what was going to befall him, the Lord, Peter avowed his loyalty to the Lord. The Lord picked him up very quickly and told him that before the cock should crow he would deny Him the Lord, thrice. And Peter said: "Oh no, though I should die, yet I will not deny thee." And yet before the cock did crow the next morning he had three times denied his knowledge of an acquaintance with the Lord.
President McKay has referred tonight to the fact that at the cross when the Son of Man was offering himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world there was only one apostle there and that was John. The rest, apparently, did not have the loyalty to go and see the Master die.
Loyalty to themselves has been a highly prized and sometimes too rare a virtue with all the brethren who have stood at the head of the Church, some more than others. Joseph suffered from disloyalty, and this has been referred to during the conference, for even those nearest to him plotted to overthrow him and he charged some of them with plotting his death. Brother Brigham had his critics-men who could not be loyal, men whose own ambition, own greed, own objects, prevented them from following Brigham and helping him out. There were tens of thousands, however, who did have the loyalty and who followed.
You cannot have loyalty and be a carping critic. That just cannot be.
OBEDIENCE THROUGH FAITH
Now another point, brethren. Sometimes local presiding officers say, why, why should this be done, why should this course be followed? This does not apply to our local situation and that does not apply to somebody else's situation. Do you remember that after Adam was driven from the Garden of Eden he was offering sacrifice and an angel of the Lord came to him and said: "Why dost thou offer sacrifice unto the Lord?"
He said: "I know not, save the Lord commanded me."
And then the angel explained to Adam what the sacrifice meant, and the point I want to make from that is that obedience must often precede knowledge.
We are prone to try to rationalize and to say that the things we cannot understand cannot be. Well how much is there in the physical world that we do not understand and that even the wisest of our scientific savants do not understand. They theorize about it. None of us here, perhaps one or two of us may, but very few of us here, can understand the atom bomb, can understand whence comes the power and the heat of the bomb that cause such great destruction. The fact that we cannot understand it makes no difference at all. The atom bomb, unfortunately, works, and metes out its terrible destruction whether we know or not. Nations, apparently, are prepared to do anything, stoop to any level, to try to discover about the hydrogen bomb which is supposed to be so much more terrible than the bomb we have. Those of us here, the great bulk of us, know nothing about the hydrogen bomb. Does that make any difference to the fact of the bomb, the destruction still comes. The human mind cannot fully fathom the purposes of the Lord. We see them dimly. We see as through a glass darkly, but that does not change the fact that the purposes are there, even though we do not understand them.
LINCOLN'S FAITH
What a narrow measure it is to try and judge and calculate the infinite by the little our finite minds know. A story is told of Lincoln, who was supposed to be a great skeptic in his younger life. When he was down at Richmond as the war was drawing to a close one of his early companions-I think it was General Reynolds-suddenly came around the corner of the tent where the President was living and found him reading the Bible. The General began to twit him about reading the Bible, basing the raillery on the early life, as he understood it, of Lincoln. Then Lincoln said: "Well, I have grown older and wiser. I now read the Bible. I believe all I can and I take the rest on faith."
And that is about where all of us are when it comes to the infinities that are involved in our spiritual welfare.
LOYALTY ONE TO ANOTHER
I want to say a word now about unity in the mass, our loyalty one to the other. It is not enough that you be loyal to those who are in authority over you. You must be loyal, one to another, and you will appreciate on a moment's thought what that loyalty will require in your dealings, one with another. Unless you can be loyal, one to another, the strength of the priesthood cannot be exercised, and I repeat, that means that out of our hearts must go the greed and the avarice, the ambition, that sometimes we let lodge there.
A short time ago some gentlemen came here to write an article about us, and as frequently happens, they came to see the First Presidency, and as frequently happens, their approach was kindly more or less respectful, almost deferential. They were going to do a great job. We have become accustomed to that approach and try to keep our guards up as well as we can. They wrote a story and the title of it, as I recall it, was, "The Mormons Move Over." The implication as I remember it was that we are sort of being crowded out, surrendering our position. We were on the downgrade.
Well, there was a time, brethren, when we moved over as we were bid, or forced, but if we have unity and loyalty we do not need to move over until we wish.
A GROWING CHURCH
This is a growing Church. It has the priesthood of Almighty God in it and directing it, and God will honor His priesthood if we, its bearers, honor it.
I read a story once. A judge was out driving one Sunday morning in Hyde Park, London. He had a coachman and a very spirited team. The park was filled with other buggies, teams, baby carriages and nurses and all the rest, and suddenly his team took fright and started to run away. As the coachmen dodged in and out among the other vehicles, the judge got more and more excited. He could see possible suits for damages for large amounts as he gazed at some of the handsome equipages they were narrowly missing. As the horses gained momentum he moved farther and farther to the front of his seat and then he called out to the coachman: "Henry, for goodness sake, drive into something cheap."
We were "cheap," once. Everybody considered it within his right and it certainly has been within his power to treat us, write about us, talk about us as he wished. But we are not "cheap" anymore, brethren, if we will be united and loyal. And the respect which men have for us is built, almost entirely, upon our loyalty and devotion to the cause which we represent. We do not need to put ourselves into a position where anybody can think that it is his power and his right to write spurious articles about us. They will be written but they will not be believed.
SCRIPTURE READING
One thing more before I sit down. I would like to urge you brethren to read the scriptures, not somebody's interpretation of them. Read them. They are the original sources. You go to them and read them. Make up your own minds about them.
When the Prophet, Seer and Revelator speaks, when he interprets, we follow. So with the brethren when they speak under the influence of the Holy Ghost. We have a growing lot of books, a growing lot of courses of study, but I urge you to read the scriptures, so that you may get your own idea as to what they mean.
I close as I began, brethren, that there is nothing that should be done, that we cannot do, if we shall be united and loyal, united in our purpose, loyal to those who preside over us and to the cause which we represent. That we may be so united and so loyal, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
President George Albert Smith
George Albert Smith, Conference Report, April 1950, pp. 184-188
I wonder if there is anybody in the audience tonight, other than the man I am going to have stand, who is ninety-four years of age. I do not see very many hands up. I would like to know whether any of you have attended a hundred and thirty-five general conference meetings, and never missed a meeting. All those who have raise their right hand..
Brother Walter Cox of Provo is always at meeting, never misses anything, and he is the man I have been talking about and I thought I would like to have you look at him. He appears to be good for another ten or fifteen years.
WORK AMONG INDIANS
This is a great Church. Today we have had a number of Indians in the congregation and I thought we might be able to locate some of them tonight, but we hope to find them by tomorrow morning. I mention the Indians, because in this particular case, the men I am referring to have been in the Church a long time and they are very faithful. One man came to the Temple within the last two or three days and had his wife sealed to him. This means they are moving our way, in the direction that we are going, and that causes me to call your attention to the fact that the way is opening for the dissemination of the Gospel of Jesus Christ among the Indians.
Dr. John R. Nicholls, who is the Commissioner of Indian Affairs was here some months ago and he seems to be very friendly to our work among the Indians, not more than to any other Church, but some of the other Church organizations have sought to keep us out of the reservations. Within the last year or two we have appointed a committee whose duty it is to find a way of reaching the Indians in the various sections of the country, wherever they may be.
INTERMOUNTAIN INDIAN SCHOOL
The Intermountain Indian School is located at what was formerly called the Bushnell Hospital at Brigham City. Dr. George Boyce is the Superintendent there, and he has manifested his kindness in every way. He wants to help the Indians all he can, their children who are there.
I take this occasion to say to our people who live at Brigham City, and I hope you will carry the message on to your wives who are not here, that you are doing a fine piece of work in looking after those Indians that are in the school at Brigham City. They are our Father's children. If they were not Indians a good many people would be concerned about them, but because they are some people are not so concerned. You people who hold the priesthood, not only at Brigham City but in every part of the world, enjoy a blessing from our Heavenly Father that carries with it a responsibility to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with all of His children, and that includes the Indians.
IMPORTANCE OF INDIANS
These Indians in the western world are the descendants of Father Lehi who left Jerusalem, centuries ago at the direction of our Heavenly Father. They are His children, and I hope that there will be no member of the Church, in any department, who will feel that because it is the Indians, they are not important. They are just as important as are the whites. They are entitled to the priesthood if they live to be worthy of it, and our Heavenly Father is anxious that they should have that blessing. I want to emphasize this to all you brethren, tonight.
Of course it is not necessary to say anything to the General Authorities of the Church. They know that a committee has been appointed, that we can no longer neglect our responsibility of carrying the Gospel to the Indians. And I hope that the presidents of stakes and bishops of wards and those who are in the mission field will feel the responsibility that is ours. And if we will do our duty the Lord will bless us for it, while he is blessing his Indian children. That is one of the matters that I had on my mind tonight.
Reference has been made to the development and growth of the Church. This meeting tonight is an evidence of the growth of the interest in the Church, because a good many of you people have come from afar to be here, and we appreciate it.
FRIENDLY MINISTER
A good many people are friendly with us. I had a visit with a good man not very long ago who is not a member of the Church. In fact, he is a minister. He is just as friendly and nice as can be, in fact, I received a birthday congratulation from him. The last time I saw him he was not very well, and he seemed to be afraid I was going to preach to him. He gave me to understand that he was not able to believe that Joseph Smith could have been a prophet. He was just in the same condition exactly that Nathaniel was in the days of the Savior when Philip said to him: "We have found our Lord."
Nathaniel asked: "Where did he come from?"
"Why, he came from Nazareth.
"And then this good man said: "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?"
And Philip, who was talking to him, said: "Come and see."
And when he went to see he became a devoted follower of the Savior and was the one whom the Savior later referred to as "an Israelite without guile".
So I am not worrying but what our brother, if we can just get him to come and see-and not only him but hundreds of others-will understand as Nathaniel did, eventually, that this is our Father's work that we are identified with.
STATISTICS
Utah's birth rate was 33.9 per thousand in 1947. It was 31 percent above the national average of 25.8. New Mexico alone, had a higher birth rate than Utah.
Our death rate in Utah was 7.8 percent per thousand in 1947 and was 22 percent below the national average, and was the lowest in the nation.
The ratio of Utah's population attending school in 1940 in the age group of five to twenty-four was sixty-four percent. This is the highest ratio in the nation and is twelve percent above the national average of fifty-seven, according to the statistical abstract.
I thought you would like to know that this Church you belong to is not only better informed about the purpose of life, better informed as to where we came from and where we expect to go than any other organization in the world, but we believe in education and refinement and culture, and we believe that we will be saved no faster than we gain knowledge and apply that knowledge in our lives. We have nothing to apologize for among our brothers and sisters of the various churches.
I congratulate all of us who are here that we can be here in peace and quiet. Can you think of a more delightfully quiet place to be than here, and have the joy and satisfaction and companionship of good men, the very finest men and boys in all the world. And when we go from here I hope we will not forget that it is our privilege to carry the message that has been so beautifully portrayed to us today with regard to our responsibilities, by the brethren, carry the message to those to whom we may minister and with whom we associate.
DUTIES OF PRESIDING OFFICERS
There is one more thing I would like to emphasize. We have had quite a number of our boys and girls, due partly to the war conditions, that have become careless. In some cases the bishops have kept in touch with them not only in their own wards, but where they have moved away have had others contact them, and see that they did not stray away from the Church and lose their virtue. I thought when I heard of this how beautiful it was. Here was a father of a ward of six or seven hundred people and yet he had time to go outside of his own area to follow this boy or this girl, children of our Heavenly Father, and try to hold them in a path that would entitle them to eternal life in the Celestial kingdom.
Brethren, you men who are presidents of stakes, and bishops of wards and presidents of missions, branch presidents, holding positions of authority, you have tremendous duties, and I want to say to you that they carry with them tremendous responsibility. Let us not neglect our opportunities and our privileges. Let us labor while the day lasts.
We may not all live to be as old as Brother Cox here, ninety-four, ninety-four years of activity, always on hand when there was an opportunity to hear the Gospel preached or partake of it. He is always at the Brigham Young University affairs because there he can meet with members of the Church. Let us each year, as the years continue to come on, lay up our treasure in heaven so that when the time comes for us to go to the other side, our Heavenly Father will be able to welcome us home because we have not neglected our opportunities and because we have been anxious to share his Gospel with his other children.
THE POWER OF LOVE
There is one other thing that I should like to mention. The increase in the Church for 1949 was 16,261 members. Think of that in one year, and so it goes and goes if we will do our part, as the brethren have called to our attention tonight, if we will be true to one another, be true to our Heavenly Father, and if we will use our authority with kindness and love. We cannot drive these young people, and our neighbors and friends into the kingdom of heaven by scolding them and finding fault with them, but I want to tell you that we can love them into the direction of our Father in heaven, and by and by, perhaps, lead them there too.
That is our privilege. Love is the great power to influence this world, and if we do not find more love in the world soon, if people do not get together better than they are, then, as you have already been told, the predictions that are in the scriptures will be fulfilled.
MINISTRY OF THE SAVIOR
Reference has been made to the fact that the Son of our Heavenly Father appeared in Jerusalem and his own race refused him. He was crucified in the home of his friends, so to speak, but he was resurrected. Now a good many people in the world do not know what the resurrection is. Do you teach your children and your associates what it means?
Reference also has been made to the fact that the Father and the Son appeared to Joseph Smith. There are many people who do not believe it, but it is true just the same. And then we have the additional information of the appearance of the Savior after he was crucified when he came to this Western Hemisphere. as he had told them in the East: "Other sheep have I that are not of this fold, and them must I bring that there may be one fold and one shepherd", and so he came to the Western Hemisphere where the descendants of Father Lehi were, and appeared among them and while they had been told that he would come, and while he came in the clouds of Heaven with power and glory, when he came to them, so that there could be no question, he said: "I am Jesus Christ for whom you have been looking".
MEANING OF RESURRECTION
There could be no question about it. His resurrection is plain to the Latter-day Saints who understand the gospel, but there are so many who do not understand what it means. But how beautiful it is to know that in our day, not only the Savior, but our Father in heaven appeared, and other resurrected beings in addition, the Angel Moroni, John the Baptist, Peter, James and John men that have lived upon the earth as we have lived, who have gone on and performed their part and have been resurrected and sent back to earth. That is what the resurrection means, and the purpose of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is to prepare every man woman and child for the time when all those who have died will be brought forth from their graves, and when our Heavenly Father will establish his kingdom upon this earth and the righteous will dwell there and Jesus Christ will be our King and our Lawgiver.
This is my testimony tonight. I want to thank you all for the delightful privilege I have of being with you. When I go out among the people of the Church, they are always so kind and helpful and I pray that the Lord may bless them and bless you for all these good things, and I do it in the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, Amen.
President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report, April 1950, pp. 114-119
On the second morning after the day of the crucifixion, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Salome, Joanna, and other women, came early to the tomb where Jesus had been laid on the evening of the crucifixion, "and entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. And he smith unto them, "Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified." "He is not here: behold the place where they laid him." "He is risen." "Remember how he stake unto you when he was yet in Galilee".
The crafty plan of the fearsome chief priests and Pharisees, to guard the tomb lest his disciples should come and steal him away; the mighty power of Rome witnessed by the Roman watch set to prevent the theft of the body, the sealing of the tomb to make certain no one could enter-all came to naught. The Christ that died to atone for the Fall of Adam, had risen from the dead to make secure the resurrection of all men from the grave. For had he not said months before, speaking to the Jews in Jerusalem: "I am the good shepherd... I lay down my life for the sheep... Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, 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".
As he came out from the tomb that early morning, the darkness that had covered the earth since the day Adam fell, rolled back before the divine light of the risen Lord, and then was come to pass the fruition of the divine plan that as in Adam all had died, so in Christ had all been made alive.
APPEARANCES of RISEN LORD
In the morning of the resurrection he came forth a being of flesh and bone, even as he laid himself down. Though he forbade Mary Magdalene to touch him, the other women who came to the tomb "held him by the feet, and worshipped him". Sometime during this first day, he showed himself to Peter, and in the late afternoon, to the two on their way to Emmaus. "And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself." As he sat at meat with them, "he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them". Their eyes were opened, they knew him, and he vanished from their sight. They returned to Jerusalem, met with the Twelve, except Thomas. The doors were shut. They told of their visit with the risen Lord. Even as they spoke, Jesus stood amongst them. He reproved and calmed their fears. "Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have." He asked for food. They gave him and he ate a piece of boiled fish and honeycomb.
Eight days later, the Twelve being again in a room with the doors shut, Thomas now being with them, Jesus again suddenly stood in their midst. He bade Thomas to look at and touch his hands; to thrust his finger into the spear wound in his side, and then, said he, "be not faithless, but believing".
On the shores of the sea of Galilee, he appeared to Peter, and Thomas and Nathanael of Cana, to the sons of Zebedee and two others, who had gone fishing.
"After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once," and of James.
Eleven of the disciples visited him on a mountain in Galilee, where he had appointed them to come.
ASCENSION
Finally, after forty days, he assembled them together in Jerusalem, and then leading them out as far as Bethany, where Mary and Martha and Lazarus lived, and while they still beheld him, "a cloud received him out of their sight." Two men stood before them in white apparel, and said to them: "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven".
There is no word in the record that does not bear witness that the actual body that Joseph and Nicodemus had laid in the tomb had come forth out of it, a resurrected, glorified being, a body of flesh and bone, as he himself said.
Sometime after his resurrection, he came to this continent, set up his Church and did mighty works.
From the beginning of his ministry he had foretold this mighty miracle of death and resurrection. To the multitudes in the temple courts, challenging his first cleansing of the temple and demanding a sign of his authority, Jesus said: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." They thought he spoke of the marbled courts, the holy place, the holy of holies, "but he stake of the temple of his body".
MESSIAHSHIP AFFIRMED
Declaring to the Jews his relationship to the Father, he said: "When ye have lifted up the Son of man then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself".
To the Jews in the temple, Jesus declared: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said signifying what death he should die".
Time and again he declared his Messiah ship. First by implication when, in the Temple at twelve years with the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions," he asked, on Mary's reproof, "Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?".
To the woman of Samaria who said that when the Messiah came he would tell them the truth, "Jesus smith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he".
At Caesarea Philippi, Peter, replying to his question: "But whom say ye that I am," declared: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," Jesus blessed him, saying, "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven".
When the Jews, lifted up in the pride of their hearts, proclaimed Abraham their father, Jesus said: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am".
To the impudent demand of Caiaphas, "Art thou the Christ the Son of the Blessed?" Jesus replied: "I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven".
Thus did Jesus testify again and again to his own Messiah ship; thus did those touched by a divine testimony, likewise testify.
THE REDEMPTION
The central point in the great plan framed in the Grand Council of Heaven before the world was formed, was the redemption from the mortal death brought by the Fall, and this mortality was necessary that the spirits of men might be tabernacled in the flesh. His whole earthly career was pivoted about his atoning sacrifice, his crucifixion and resurrection. He, himself, had proposed the plan. Yet, so tutored, so led, so destined, so knowing, as the hour of his sacrifice drew near, his mortal heart grew fearsome.
In the temple, after saying, "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit," he added, sensing the approaching sacrifice, "Now is my soul troubled: and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour but for this cause came I unto this hour".
In Gethsemane, he prayed: "Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me," but then, immediately, the divinity in him rising and taking command, he said, "nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt".
As they met the Judas-led multitude coming to arrest him, Peter cut off the right ear of Malicious. Jesus said unto Peter: "Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?".
On the cross, in the agony of expiring mortality, he cried aloud to the Father: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?".
THE MESSIAH'S PLACE
Of the Messiah's place in the divine economy of God's universe, John declared: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness: and the darkness comprehended it not".
To the woman of Samaria, of whom Jesus asked a drink of water drawn from the well of Jacob, Jesus said about himself: "If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water... 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".
To the multitude, 5,000 strong, which he had fed with the five loaves and two fishes, he declared his place: "I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst".
Again as he taught in the treasury of the temple, he spoke to the Pharisees concerning himself: "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life".
To the people in the temple courts, he declared: "I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness".
And in the upper chamber on the night of the last supper, discoursing to his disciples, he said: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comet unto the Father, but by me". He told them of his going away, saying, "Whither I go, thou cast not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards". On the Mount of Olives, he said: "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou host sent".
Out near Bethany, at the ascension, as a cloud enfolding him, hid him from sight of his disciples, an angel declared: "This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven".
Stephen, before he "fell asleep", battered to death with stones, "being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God".
HE IS RISEN
Even as the angel said to the women at the tomb in the early morning of the resurrection:
"He is risen" and "the people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up".
"He is risen," leaving with us the word that salvation is in him alone, "for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved".
"He is risen," with the glorious promise to us that if we seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, the things of this world will be added.
"He is risen," trailing death his captive.
"He is risen," the "firstfruits of them that slept".
"He is risen," that all men may likewise rise, each to the station and glory to which his life and works and testimony entitle him, and when we are risen, "shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?".
"He is risen," that as in Adam all died, so in Christ shall all be made alive; for even "the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live", and hearing, shall be "judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit".
TESTIMONY OF DIVINITY
For well nigh two full millenniums since he walked and talked with men and from today till time merges into the eternities to come the divine message vouchsafed to the humble Martha, "cumbered about much serving", shall bring joy to God's children: "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?".
Then from this household drudge came the glorious testimony unequal led, among the sayings of all others with whom the Christ mingled in Palestine, save alone by the words of the fisherman, Peter: "Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God which should come into the world".
May this testimony, which is also mine, grow in the hearts of all who now have it, and may it come to all who yet seek till they find it, that they may have eternal life, I humbly pray, in the name of him who died that men might live, and who is now risen. Amen.
Elder Matthew Cowley
Matthew Cowley, Conference Report, April 1950, pp. 123-125
I think by now we are convinced, brothers and sisters, that the theme of this conference is repentance. We have been called to repentance in sermon and in prayer. For thirteen years I have spent much of my time among people who know how to repent. I have never seen such beautiful repentance in all my experiences as I have seen among the people of the South Pacific.
SPEEDY REPENTANCE
And while I have been thinking about this principle of repentance, there has come to my mind one experience I had during the war years when our young men were going from New Zealand to the war. There came into my office one day two young Maori brothers. They were in uniform. They had volunteered. Natives of New Zealand are not drafted or conscripted in the military service; they have to volunteer. These two young men were about to embark for the Near East and when they came into my office, I detected the odor of liquor. But I was not surprised when they asked for a blessing, for I knew them well; I had lived at the home of their mother on my first mission. I said to them, "Do you deserve a blessing?" They knew what I meant, and they said, "We think we do now; we repented a few minutes ago." That's the speed with which a Polynesian repents.
Under ordinary conditions I think I wouldn't have given them a blessing at that time, but as I looked at them in the uniform of soldiers who had volunteered to give their lives that I might enjoy liberty, religious freedom, and all the other freedoms, the Spirit prompted me to bless them. In my blessing I called them to repentance and told them that the blessings were conditioned entirely upon repentance. I promised them that through their repentance and their righteous examples as soldiers in the theater of war to which they were going, they would return home. And how proud one of those young men was just a year ago when he came to me and said that he was counselor to the president of one of the branches in New Zealand, and that his brother was very active in the Church. From the minute they repented, coming to my office, up Queen Street in Auckland, New Zealand, they had not broken the Word of Wisdom.
DISCERNMENT NEEDED
I think one of the great responsibilities we have, we who hold the priesthood, is the responsibility of acquiring a discernment, a spirit of discernment, so that we may really know when a man has repented.
I was walking along the street in one of our towns in New Zealand one day with my mission president during my first mission. I had been staying at the home of one of our Church members, and that's all he was, just a member. He had been a heavy drinker for years, and I had seldom seen him without his pipe in his mouth. The president and I met him on the street. We walked up to him, and the president said, calling him by name, "I want you to get ready to take your wife and go to the temple of God and be sealed to each other." When I went back to New Zealand on my second mission, that man was the president of the best district we had in the New Zealand mission, and how I thrilled when I heard his testimony that from the minute he was asked to repent by the priesthood of God he had never broken the Word of Wisdom. And he not only came to the Hawaiian Temple, but he also came to this temple and received the blessings which God gives to all who properly repent.
UNDERSTANDING POLYNESIANS
I love the spirit of repentance in those people. And I am reminded now that this is the centennial year of the Hawaiian Mission, a mission made great by such missionaries as President George Q. Cannon, President Joseph F. Smith, Lorenzo Snow, and many others. And as I have been laboring among those people, and as it has come to me to judge them even when their membership in the Church was involved, I have always said to myself, "What would Joseph F. Smith have done in this case? What would President George Q. Cannon have done in this particular instance?" I have spent much of my time in finding out or trying to find out what the attitude of those grand and noble men was toward the Polynesian Islanders, and I have yet to hear that President George Q. Cannon or President Joseph F. Smith ever uttered anything but words of love to those people, whether they were active or inactive in the Church. So also my heart has always gone out to them in great love.
They are different from us. They have to be treated differently. We have to understand them, but don't we have to understand ourselves, as well? And in this business of repenting and forgiving men and women of their sins, we must understand one another. We must try to see them as much from their own eyes and get their own viewpoint as we do from our own.
How we need to pray to God for the spirit of discernment! How we need to know that God is love, and that he forgives those who repent!
SPIRIT OF FORGIVENESS
Just yesterday I had copied from one of the sermons of President Joseph F. Smith a few words which he delivered from this pulpit at one of the general conferences. It was on the last day of the conference, and they were his last words to that great assembly. I would like to read them here. I think you will read into these words the spirit of love, of forgiveness, which I know President Smith acquired from his association with those wonderful people in the Polynesian Islands. "Brethren and sisters, we want you to be united." We have heard that theme also in this conference, and many of us need to repent because we are not one; we are not as loyal as we should be.
We hope and pray that you will go from this conference to your homes feeling in your hearts and from the depths of your souls to forgive one another and never from this time forth to bear malice toward another fellow creature. I do not care whether he is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or not, whether he is a friend or a foe, whether he is good or bad. It is extremely hurtful for any man holding the priesthood and enjoying the gift of the Holy Ghost to harbor a spirit of envy, or malice, or retaliation, or intolerance toward or against his fellow man. We ought to say in our hearts, "Let God judge between me and thee, but as for me, I will forgive." I Walt to say to you that Latter-day Saints who harbor a feeling of unforgiveness in their souls are more censurable than the one who has sinned against them. Go home and dismiss envy and hatred from your hearts; dismiss the feeling of unforgiveness; and cultivate in your souls that spirit of Christ which cried out upon the cross, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. This is the spirit that Latter-day Saints ought to possess all the day long. The man who has that spirit in his heart and keeps it there will never have any trouble with his neighbor... but he will always be at peace with God. It is a good thing to be at peace with God.
"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right," let us strive, brothers and sisters, to finish this great work we are in, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder John A. Widtsoe
John A. Widtsoe, Conference Report, April 1950, pp. 125-130
My dear brethren and sisters, I am very happy to have this opportunity of mingling my testimony with yours concerning the truth of this great latter-day work.
I always marvel at conference time to see these great throngs assemble in the Tabernacle, and on the grounds surrounding it. Yet I have no real reason to marvel. Truth is always alive and vital. We have the truth. God be thanked for the gift of truth!
EUROPEAN MISSION CENTENNIAL
One hundred years ago at this conference, the brethren then in authority, Brigham Young and those who assisted him, sent out a small army of men into the world to preach the gospel. These were scattered far and wide. Some went into the non-English speaking parts of Europe and there founded missions which are celebrating this year the hundredth anniversary of their beginning.
Rich harvests were gathered. Through the years since that time a stream of men and women, lovers of truth, have flowed from those countries to us here. Even today hundreds and thousands come from those countries to share with us in the blessings of this land and our associations. The fruits that came from the work were further illustrated yesterday, when we had the pleasure and enjoyment of listening to the splendid singing of the Swiss-German Choir. The Church maintains in Salt Lake City and beyond the borders of the city organizations which conduct meetings in several languages. In fact there are seven different language organizations in Salt Lake City. They are maintained to assist these newcomers from foreign lands.
It is not easy, brethren and sisters, for men and women, no matter how much they love the gospel, to come at a mature age, and most of them are mature, into a new land, to learn a new language, and to become used to new customs. But it does not take long for them to adapt themselves to conditions here. They become very valuable citizens, both of the Church and of the land which has adopted them.
Our hearts go out to these brethren and sisters. We want to help them all we can. Their response is tremendously generous. My heart frequently overflows with emotion when I read the letters that come from these newcomers, not only from the foreign speaking countries, but also from England-letters that bear testimony of their gladness in the possession of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and gladness to be with a group of Saints larger than they can find in their native lands.
THE RESURRECTION
In this conference we have talked a great deal about Jesus Christ and his resurrection. Jesus the Christ is the central figure of the gospel. His resurrection from the grave is an integral part of the Father's plan for man's eternal progression.
We can never say too much about Jesus the Christ and his work. It is always refreshing to hear the old story told, as it was told this morning by President Clark, and the words of Jesus later repeated to us by President Evans. It is always a delight to hear this old sacred story. It is the most important story upon the face of the earth for the blessing of the children of men.
The resurrection is a certainty, not a delusion. That has been told us time and time again in the last few days. I think as modern knowledge has advanced, as men have learned to look more clearly into the mysteries of things, that more than ever before, the resurrection seems logical, rational, and necessary. There are not so many thinking people today as there were yesterday who question the possibility of a resurrection. Multitudes know, thank heaven that Christ rose from the grave, yet there are many who need our teaching and our help.
FEAR AND UNCERTAINTY
Despite the fact that this certainty of knowledge gives comfort to us all, there is much fear and uncertainty in the hearts of men today. As far as I can remember, in my lifetime there has never been a time when men and women have been so anxious about the future. There is fear of the future in their hearts. Fear is the devil's first and chief tool. With fear he destroys humanity. Men have learned to let loose the forces that hold together the very ground under our feet. Of course, without the steadying power of faith, men are afraid. Sometimes they say the type of chain reaction talked of by physicists may be set into such motion that the whole earth will vanish in a flash. That, of course, is an idle dream. That will not happen. Only when the Lord speaks will the end come.
But uncertainty remains. Men are unhappy. Some people, however, declare that we have too much knowledge; that it would be better for us if we had not quite so much; that if we knew a little less, we would be happier and stronger. That, also, we know is a mistake.
USE OF KNOWLEDGE
God has told us that we should secure to the best of our ability all knowledge. The well of truth will never be drained dry. The problem is not how much knowledge we possess, but how wise we are in using it properly for our own good in accordance with God's commands. Use and misuse lie at the foundation of every good thing that comes to humanity. Therein lies the right of the free agent.
So we can lay aside the doctrine that we have too much knowledge. We do need, however, to secure mastery over ourselves. This lies at the foundation of life in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It has been talked about here time and time again. To conquer an army, it was said in olden days, is a very great achievement, but to conquer oneself is greater still. It is the duty of Latter-day Saints to learn little by little to be conquerors of themselves. Self-conquest is the great desire of all Latter-day Saints who understand the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Under the power of self-conquest knowledge becomes precious to man. The Lord has given us an abundance of truth.
I wonder if in the scriptures given us by the Lord there may not be some fundamental basic solution of the world's difficulties, those that have been discussed so eloquently in this conference.
VISITATION OF MORONI
There is a story in our history, one almost revered, it is so dear to us. Some three years after his first great vision, the Prophet Joseph Smith, a lad about eighteen years of age, lay in his bed pondering upon life and its mysteries, his relationship and duties to God, and also grieving about his mistakes in life. While so meditating, a heavenly, resurrected being appeared before him. His name was Moroni, a well-known name, a well-known figure to Latter-day Saints. We Latter-day Saints do not stop with the fact of the resurrection, for we declare solemnly that in our day men have appeared who have tasted of death, have gone down into the grave, and have come out again resurrected through the almighty power of our Father in heaven. One of these beings stood by the bedside of the young man and told Joseph about his calling, the things he was to do, and the consequences to follow. His duties and obligations, the conditions under which he was to labor, were laid before him.
Moroni quoted liberally from the Bible, much as the quotations stand in King James' version of the scriptures, the Bible in common use at that time, except in one instance. When he used the words of Malachi, he changed one verse of Malachi so completely that it is now looked upon as the first great written revelation of the Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith through the lips of Moroni. It stands in our book, the Doctrine and Covenants, as Section Two:
Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the treat 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.
The Lord here teaches how the earth may be wasted. It will not be through one of the atom bombs. If I read this revelation correctly, it points out that humanity will win no peace, nor harmony, nor salvation, as we use the word, unless we learn to love one another.
SPIRIT OF BROTHERHOOD
It is a message telling us that in the spirit of brotherhood alone lies the safe future of humankind. That places a heavy responsibility upon us. We are not followers; we are leaders, else we are far astray. We are the ones who must develop and inculcate the spirit of brotherhood in the world. Among us must be the spirit of brotherhood which all the world will notice.
All this has been said by previous speakers, but it is well to repeat it. It is well to call attention to this basic revelation of this dispensation. In it lies the doctrine that unless we have the spirit of brotherhood developed within us, if we remain selfish, self-contained, unwilling to help our fellow men, there will be no salvation. The earth may then be utterly wasted.
The brotherhood of this revelation is more than the brotherhood existing between living people. It is relatively easy to love the living. But there is a higher type of brotherhood enjoined upon us in this revelation, which we must take to heart if the earth is not to be utterly wasted. We must establish a spirit of brotherhood among us and those who have gone before, most of whom we know only as names. The human race is one great family-all children of God. Christ came out of the grave for all of us-those of the past, present, and future. The blessing of the resurrection is for all, not for a handful. There is no aristocracy in heaven except as we obey or disobey the commandments of God.
So the Lord has laid upon us the great duty of universal brotherhood, to save the world, to give to those who have gone before us the opportunities that we enjoy here in life of receiving the blessings that lead to eternal life, and which many failed to receive while on earth. This is one of the greatest responsibilities placed upon man.
REDEMPTION OF THE DEAD
The Prophet Joseph Smith before his death concerned himself greatly with this work. He thought and wrote about it, he spoke about it, he urged upon his people that they forget not the redemption of the dead, for in that redemption lies, as I have said, perhaps altogether, the final solution of the things that vex mankind.
In obedience to this obligation, we as a Church have temples. In the temples alone can work for the dead be done. We are a temple-building and a temple-using people. We began in 1836 and have been building temples ever since. We are a temple-building people for the very purpose of obeying the injunction given to us in Section Two of our Doctrine and Covenants.
My message to you today, following in general the spirit of the resurrection of the Christ, is that we turn our hearts steadily and forcefully towards this duty, the duty of laboring for the dead. We cannot be saved without doing so. The earth cannot continue to its destined end unless we so do. There is much work to be done, for those who have passed on are many. The great number of people that have gone before us who have not heard the gospel have not had the opportunity to partake of the necessary sacraments of the gospel. These we must serve in spirit and in deed. Some will say as I close, "Well, I live far from the temple, I can't do the work required." Well, you can pay someone else to do it. That's not the best way, but it can be done, and I think the Lord will accept it. But there is work we can do at home. There is the field of genealogy; we may keep in correspondence with our genealogical society here in Salt Lake City, one of the greatest and best and finest in the land, in the world, for that matter. Opportunities will come if we seek them. It is marvelous how the troubles of life vanish in the presence of such work, and how the problems of life find their solutions in such work.
The Lord is mighty: he has control of all mysteries. He opens the door whenever it may be needed.
NEED OF TEMPLE WORK
I have felt that as one with you this morning I wanted to say this to you, my brethren and sisters, and call to your attention again the need of work in the temples. We haven't enough temples. We are a million strong, we were told two days ago by the President of our Church. The temples of the Church would not accommodate us if we did our duty in behalf of universal salvation. Let us do our duty for ourselves and for the future of this earth upon which we love and which we hold so dear. And let us remember always that the spiritual forces centering in our temples are more powerful than atom rays or any earthly force discovered by man. I thank the Lord for his many messages of truth to us and for this great fundamental message. May the Lord give us strength to accept it and obey it. May it find lodgment in our hearts as well as in our deeds and bless us all according to our needs. May this Church of God and of his Son Jesus the Christ continue to grow and prosper, as it will do if we do our work, I pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie
Bruce R. McConkie, Conference Report, April 1950, pp. 130-131
Joseph Smith was asked: "What are the fundamental principles of your religion?
He replied:
The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.
ATONEMENT OF CHRIST
The atonement of Christ is the most transcendent and important event that has ever occurred, or ever will occur, in the history of this world. Everything pertaining to life and salvation, all that the aunts have or that they may obtain, center in that most glorious event. Christ came into the world chiefly for the purpose of working out the infinite and eternal atonement.
He said:
... I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me.
And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross;....
That was to the Nephites. To the Jews, while in his mortal ministry, he said:
I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep...
... I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
No man taketh it from me, 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.
FALL OF ADAM
Adam had come into the world; had been the first man, the most noble member, save Jesus only, of the human race; had fallen, as the scriptures recite; and had brought temporal death and spiritual death into the world.
Spiritual death is to be banished from the presence of the Lord. Temporal death is the dissolution of the body and of the spirit. The atonement of Christ came to ransom us from the effects of the fall of Adam. That atonement gives all men temporal life. "As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive". That atonement offers to all men who will believe and obey the principles of the gospel eternal life or spiritual life again in the presence of the Eternal Father.
GOSPEL IN ITS FULLNESS
We Latter-day Saints have the gospel in its fullness and in its perfection. Authorized teachers reveal its doctrines to us; legal administrators are among us to perform the ordinances of salvation. We are on the path to eternal life, and if we endure to the end, we will be saved.
Those in the world who will repent, who will come into the Church, believe the doctrines, and receive the ordinances, will have their sins forgiven. They will be washed clean in the blood of Christ because of the atonement. Those who decline and fail to do this, who will not repent, but who stay outside the reach of mercy, will-in the justice of God-have to pay the penalty for their own sins. They will be required to suffer, even as Christ suffered, which suffering caused himself, "... even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit..." and would that he might not drink the bitter cup.
There is no more important thing in this world, nor will there be, than the single act of the atonement of Christ; and we can be participators in the blessings of it. We can inherit the glories of eternity, and all the rewards that God has promised the Saints, if we will abide the law that he has given us in this day.
To King Benjamin, a righteous and faithful Nephite, an angel of God said this:
For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord Seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.
That we may so do I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Joseph L. Wirthlin
Joseph L. Wirthlin, Conference Report, April 1950, pp. 132-137
My dear brothers and sisters, we have enjoyed a great abundance of the Lord's spirit during this great conference. All of the previous speakers have been richly endowed with it, and I pray it may be the source of my inspiration.
The Lord Jesus Christ declared,
But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
SECURITY
This statement of the Savior's involves two objectives to be achieved: first, spiritual security through seeking the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and second, temporal security to be added unto us through our efforts.
The word security has become one of the most used and abused words in the vocabulary of many people. The dictionary defines it as the apprehension of one's well being as to the necessities of life, such as food, clothing, and shelter-a guarantee from want.
In the beginning, when Adam was in the Garden of Eden, he had temporal security. All of the necessities of life were made available by the Lord; but after the fall he was forced into the cold and dreary world with the mandate from the Lord, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, placing squarely upon his shoulders the responsibility of providing himself with temporal security.
In the minds of holy men there have always been two categories of security, spiritual and temporal. Without the spiritual phase, temporal security could not be achieved. It was a sacred undertaking wherein the blessings of the Lord were needed. Involved in it were holy practices such as prayer, divine principles of faith, thrift, integrity, and endless effort. It demanded supplication to the Lord for his blessings; and at the harvest time the firstlings of the flock and the best of the fields were brought and burnt as offerings of gratitude and thanksgiving to the Lord, representing a great achievement in that a man of his own faith, works, and with the help of the Lord, had provided himself shelter, food, clothing, and the comforts of life, with some marginal reserves to provide for himself and family during periods of illness and in his declining years.
Abraham, beloved of the Lord, had great wealth represented in herds and fields. He had cattle on a thousand hills, and yet with all this wealth he labored diligently for spiritual security. His herds were driven up to the land of Melchizedek, the high priest, where they were tithed, returning to the Lord that which belonged to him.
REJECTION OF THE LORD
After Israel had made the long trek from Egypt to the Promised Land, being ruled by the Lord through his servants, the prophets, for generations, the people arose and cried, give us a king to judge us that we may be like all the nations, that our king may go before us and fight our battles. Samuel, the Prophet, in deep sorrow went to the Lord saying, "They have rejected me." But the Lord said unto Samuel,
... Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.
And he said, this will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.
And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.
And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive-yards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.
And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.
And he will take your men servants and your maidservants, and your godliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.
He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.
And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day.
ISRAEL IN BONDAGE
The battles of the people were not represented only in physical combat with the enemy but also in the struggle for security. Israel had forsaken the Lord: Israel had softened in faith and had been disobedient; Israel was indolent. And they gave up their sons and daughters to the king and his officers. The king took over all of their resources, and the price they paid for a king was their freedom. Under this arrangement the kings of Israel prospered, but the people were downtrodden and found themselves in bondage. The kings forgot the spiritual phase of security; they forgot the Lord. Saul counseled the sorcerer rather than the Lord. David fell from grace because of a grievous sin he committed. Solomon sought after other gods. Dissension rent the kingdom in twain, and a powerful nation took Israel into captivity. This is the history of a nation that rejected the Lord's way of achieving temporal and spiritual security.
HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF
Does history repeat itself? Yes. Today the term security is best defined in the promises of economic kings and politicians in the form of doles, grants, and subsidies made for the purpose of perpetuating themselves in public office, and at the same time depleting the resources of the people and the treasury of the nation. The word security is being used as an implement of political expediency, and the end results will be the loss of freedom, and temporal and spiritual bankruptcy. We have those among us who are calling for an economic king, and the voice of the king replies in promises wherein the individual is guaranteed relief from the mandate given to Adam, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread". Disobedience to this mandate involves the penalty of loss of free agency and individuality, and the dissipation of the resources of the individual. These economic rulers have advocated, and do practice a vicious procedure called the "leveling down process," which takes from the man who has achieved and distributes to those who are not willing to put forth like effort. Taxation is the means through which this "leveling down process" is implemented. Taxes in the United States during the last decade have increased five hundred percent. If such increases continue, it will mean final confiscation of the property of the people.
CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN
A clear-cut example of the promises of economic kings to the people, with all of the penalties involved, stands out in the case of Great Britain. Great Britain, with fifty years of rule over the seas of the earth, the sun never setting upon her empire, finds herself now in a convulsion of spiritual, political and temporal bankruptcy. She has a king, but he is merely a symbol of her past greatness; but the people, like those of Israel, cried for a new king, an economic king, and the king has responded with the rule of dictatorship, bringing deterioration to the character of the individual, loss of ambition, freedom, individual progress through the right to work when and where he would, and regimentation. The people are forced to heed the call and feel the iron hand of the dictator. Above all, they have lost their free agency. The British people are but mere cogs in the great machine of socialism. The state is paramount; the citizen has been subdued. Their resources have been absorbed, the treasury of the government depleted, and had it not been for the generosity of this great republic, where a few of the fundamentals of freedom, personal initiative, and free enterprise remain, Great Britain would have been but a memory. Just as it was in Israel, so will it be with Great Britain-dissension, division, and communistic captivity.
CONTROLLED ECONOMY
What does this mean to you and to me? We have those among us, too, who over the years have cried for a controlled economy. We have those among us who give succor and support to such a plan, which plan of controlled economy involves the same theories and false philosophies that ruined Israel and are now destroying Great Britain. Economic kings have responded to the call of some people, promising them security against want for their votes. In the attempt to meet the desires of these people, the treasury of this great nation is being depleted, and it covers deficit spending with promissory notes. Expansion of this disastrous policy will deprive American citizens of their God-given freedom, the right to work when and where they will, freedom of speech, freedom of the press-and who knows but what some day the right to worship God according to the dictates of one's conscience may be taken away. It is destroying, and will continue to destroy, the very fundamentals upon which this nation and its people have found prosperity and genuine security. These are not idle words, but the counsel and the words of the Lord as they have been revealed to this nation through prophets and the founding fathers of this great republic. For one hundred and twenty years modern-day Samuels have pleaded with the people to preserve the fundamentals of temporal and spiritual security by being obedient to the gospel, through work, being thrifty and staying out of debt, and above all by remembering the Lord. We have continually been counseled to conserve our resources to provide temporal security during periods of sickness, unemployment, and the days of old age. This people has been taught by the prophets of God that to waste the bounties of the earth is a sin, and surely there is a penalty therefore. The Lord cannot bless an individual or a nation with the bounties of the earth and have that individual or nation deliberately and wantonly waste them, without the law of retribution of want and famine being imposed.
WELFARE PROGRAM
Economic kings have advocated the doctrine that those in distress should be provided for abundantly with no obligations on the part of the recipients, but the Lord has revealed through his prophets a great welfare plan which does not rob individuals in distress of their freedom, personal initiative, and the right to work. In the welfare program the individual is the objective, and through the generosity and cooperative efforts of the membership of the Church, the individual is assured of temporal security, not as a dole or as a gift, but as a bridge to cover the gap of unemployment or illness until the individual can again stand upon his own feet and work out his temporal security. It is required of him that during this period of assistance from the welfare program he shall give freely of his labor, if physically fit, in the production of the things he needs, and out of it all he becomes one of the independent sons of the Lord, having not only received but having also given.
PROMISES KEPT
Modern-day Israel should heed the admonitions of the living oracles of God and close their ears to the teachings of false prophets, remembering always that the Lord has made definite promises to this people, a covenanted people, through his servants, the Apostles and the Prophets. The Lord declared through the Prophet Brigham Young:
If the Latter-day Saints will walk up to their privileges, and, exercise faith in the name of Jesus Christ, and live in the enjoyment of the fullness of the Holy Ghost constantly day by day, there is nothing on the face of the earth that they could ask for, that would not be given to them. The Lord is waiting to be very gracious unto this people, and to pour out upon them riches, honor, glory, and power, even, that they may possess all things according to the promises he has made through his Apostles and Prophets.
There may be those of little faith who will cry out that circumstances and situations arise wherein the people cannot help themselves, but again the Prophet Brigham Young declared in the name of the Lord:
When a person is placed in circumstances that he cannot possibly obtain one particle of anything to sustain life, it would then be his privilege to exercise faith in God to feed him, who might cause a raven to pick up a piece of dried meat from some quarter where there was plenty and drop it over the famishing man. When I cannot feed myself through the means God has placed in my power, it is then time enough for him to exercise his providence in an unusual manner to administer to my wants. But while we can help ourselves, it is our duty to do so. If a Saint of God be locked up in prison, by his enemies, to starve to death, it is then time enough for God to interpose, and feed him.
THE LORD PROVIDES
The Lord keeps his promises in this day as well as in the days of old Israel. When Israel was making the trek from Egypt to the Promised Land and circumstances arose where there was no food in the camp of Israel, the Lord caused the quail to come into Israel's camp in great abundance providing them with meat, and the next morning manna was on the ground to provide bread. The Lord is the same yesterday, today, and forever, for within the memory of all of us is the story of the pioneers who had planted crops which promised a bounteous harvest, but clouds of crickets flew over the valley settled upon the crops and commenced to devour them. The hearty pioneers, men and women, went to work with fire and water to destroy the plague; but their efforts were in vain. Then one of the great fundamentals of spiritual security, faith in God and supplication to him for assistance, was implemented by the people. Upon their knees in the fields, in their homes, and in the houses of worship they pleaded for the Lord's help. The answer was readily given in the form of myriads of sea gulls who settled upon the fields destroying the crickets, and the crops were saved.
SECURITY IN GOSPEL
Economic kings cannot answer the prayers of the people, for they are but false prophets. They are comparable to the gods of Baal, whose false prophets forced the people to lay upon the altar of sacrifice their resources and their right to worship the true and Living God. In return the people were rewarded with slavery and subjection. Security, spiritual and temporal, can only be found in the restored gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Through revelations, both ancient and modern, the Lord's word is infallible, and his promises are kept when predicated upon faith and obedience. The Lord declared through the Prophet Joseph Smith in Section 27, verses 15 to 18, of the Doctrine and Covenants:
Wherefore, lift up your hearts and rejoice, and 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, which I have sent mine angels to commit unto you:
Taking the shield of faith wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked;
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of my Spirit, which I will pour out upon you, and my word which I reveal unto you, and be agreed as touching all things whatsoever ye ask of me, and be faithful until I come, and ye shall be caught up, that where I am ye shall be also.
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness: and all of these things shall be added unto you".
May the Lord bless us in the achievement of spiritual and temporal security to the end that we might enjoy a place in his celestial kingdom, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Clifford E. Young
Clifford E. Young, Conference Report, April 1950, pp. 137-141
As we go out to the stakes of Zion and the wards of the Church, we feel the warmth and the friendliness of the good people who always makes us so welcome, and as we come into your assemblies, there is a friendliness, and we are made to feel at home. But as we meet here in the Tabernacle with all of you together, it becomes a real challenge, and I sincerely trust that while I stand here I may have an interest in your faith and prayers.
COST OF MISSIONARY SERVICE
The other day at the opening session of conference some rather imposing figures were presented. Among them was the cost of our missionary service, a cost amounting to over four million dollars, which comes from the general funds of the Church. To that should be added the contributions of the families that make possible the boys and girls called to the mission field.
We have nearly five thousand missionaries. The average cost for each missionary a month is about fifty-three dollars. That alone would amount to three million dollars a year. Then add to that the equipment, clothing, and other personal accessories, and railroad fares for the missionaries to reach their fields of labor, which costs are largely borne by the families of the Church, and it would probably amount to another million dollars; so that we have something like four million dollars cost in the sending of our five thousand missionaries to the nations of the earth. I doubt that that figure would cover the entire expense. Then, as has been suggested here the money that these boys could earn were they to remain at home represents another imposing figure.
Brother Sonne remarked the other day that the Bishop of York, who spoke from this pulpit a year or more ago, on his return to England had been quite complimentary to the Church. Among other things he had said that the Mormon Church must be a very wealthy institution to maintain such an impressive missionary service.
The funds for that service come from all the people, rich and poor alike, and if the truth were known, it would be found that most of these funds come from the very humble of the Church-those of very limited means. So this does represent a great contribution on the part of Church members, and it brings home to us what it costs to be a Latter-day Saint.
SACRIFICES OF CONVERTS
But there is another phase to it that transcends all the material costs. I have reference to those who have made great sacrifices in coming into the Church. Brother Widtsoe touched on it briefly this morning when he mentioned the immigrants who come here many learning a new language, making new adjustments, the conditions altogether different from those they left in the Old Country. Many of them have had to sacrifice their own kindred and loved ones, being told in some instances that they had to choose between this new religion and their own families, and their new-found religion has been their choice. This has been a common experience in this Church from the beginning.
CONVERSION OF GRANDMOTHER
I remember my worthy grandmother, a Quaker, who was converted in Pennsylvania through the coming of some of the missionaries in the days of the Prophet Joseph. My mother at one time had a great decision to make, one that was to try her to the very depths. Grandmother said to her in her typical Quaker style, "Thee will find that it is not always easy to live the truth, but thee will also find that there is joy and peace that comes in thus living." This grandmother and her people, including her mother and seven daughters, had had the restored gospel presented to them by the missionaries, and they accepted it. They found the witness; they believed. The father in that home was to say to them, "You can either choose this so-called religion or me." The witness had come to them, and with that witness there always comes a responsibility. The Savior said:
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
When that witness comes into the human heart, it brings, I repeat, a responsibility-a responsibility that we cannot escape. And this good Quaker grandmother felt that she could not escape it.
She did not believe the Book of Mormon when it was first presented to her. She read it and read it again and she could not get away from it. Finally the witness came, and that's when she made her decision. She had no other choice, and finally she said to her husband, "If that's it, then it must be." So she, with her seven daughters and some of their families, started for Nauvoo.
There was nothing inviting when they arrived in Nauvoo. Nauvoo had been built up and was now a lovely city, but persecution was rampant. The economic conditions of the people were not good; apostasy prevailed; the Prophet was being undermined on every hand; and into this influence came this good family. I wonder sometimes what some of us would do under similar circumstances; and yet they never wavered; they never failed.
President Grant's mother had to face the same problem. She was told that it was either her new-found religion or her inheritance and her family. She chose her religion because she, too, had received the witness.
I have always been thrilled in reading the story of Brother Widtsoe's mother. She may be no different from hundreds of Scandinavian mothers who have come here. They had to make decisions. They had to decide whether it was their relatives, their friends, or this unpopular religion. So I repeat, my brethren and sisters, the foundation of this Church has been laid at a great cost.
BLESSINGS RECEIVED
The cost we pay today is minor-comparable to the great blessings received, it amounts to nothing. The Lord has blessed us abundantly, has given us of his substance that we might use it to build up the Church and kingdom, so that we need have no anxiety about any of these costs. I repeat, they are minor.
But the greatest cost of all is that cost we pay which gives strength and character to our people, a cost that has built a foundation against which the gates of hell cannot prevail.
Now today what does it all mean to us? What did it mean to these good people? I could name many more who made great sacrifices, and we have them today. We have our modern pioneers out in the world who are giving up their all because of the witness they have in their souls. And that will always be. But what does it do? I repeat again what my worthy grandmother said to my mother, that it brings peace and joy to the human heart.
JESUS THE CHRIST
That is why Easter means so much to the Latter-day Saints. It isn't the symbolism, the pageantry, that we are conscious of today. It is the fundamental truth that Jesus is the Christ, that he lives, and what he appeared in this day to the Prophet Joseph.
When I say "in this day," have you ever stopped to think how close that is? There are men sitting on this stand whose fathers knew the man who communed with Jehovah. The man to whom God the Father, and Jesus Christ, the Son, appeared and bore witness again of the reality of the life of Jesus Christ, that the resurrection is true, the literal resurrection as President Clark explained to us this morning in his impressive address. That is how close it is.
STATEMENT OF LOUIS PASTEUR
A consciousness of this truth brings peace to your soul and mine. I read recently a statement by one of the French scientists, Louis Pasteur, who lived about eighty years ago, at a time when skepticism prevailed throughout France. He was trying to prove before the French Academy that the theory of spontaneous generation was not true. When he was chided by his associates for only accepting that which he could prove, he said:
This is not to be taken to mean that, in my beliefs and in the conduct of my life, I only take account of acquired science: if I would, I could not do so, for I should then have to strip myself of a part of myself. There are two men in each one of us: the scientist, he who starts with a clear field and desires to rise to the knowledge of Nature through observation, experimentation, and reasoning, and the man of sentiment, the man of belief, the man who mourns his dead children, and who cannot, alas, prove that he will see them again, but who believes that he will and lives in that hope, the man who will not die like a vibrio, but who feels that the force that is within him cannot die. The two domains are distinct, and woe to him who tries to let them trespass on each other in the so imperfect state of human knowledge.
He was deeply religious. He had a spiritual concept. Most men of science have that deep concept and a deep humility in their search for truth. He said:
I see everywhere the inevitable expression of the Infinite in the world; through it, the supernatural is at the bottom of every heart. The idea of God is a form of the idea of the Infinite.
In other words, the spiritual is just as real as is the side of a test tube. The spiritual is just as real as the physical. That was the fundamental doctrine of the Prophet Joseph.
And so today, Easter means something to you and me. It is worth while-this great cost. It was worth while to our forebears, my brethren and sisters, and it is worth while to us. I join with you and with my associates in expressing the gratitude of my heart for the peace that has come to my soul and comes every day, in the confidence and the knowledge that I have of the divinity of this great work.
God help us to be true to it, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Henry D. Moyle
Henry D. Moyle, Conference Report, April 1950, pp. 147-149
Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.
Closely allied with this statement of the New Testament is our Third Article of Faith.
We believe that through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
EXALTATION THROUGH OBEDIENCE
Just as surely as our Savior became the author of our eternal salvation, so must we through that same degree of obedience become the authors of our own exaltation. We celebrate this Easter Sabbath with a knowledge that we shall come forth in the morning of the resurrection. We likewise know that we shall be judged according to that which we do in the flesh. We shall not be saved by grace alone. And how grateful I am to my Father in heaven for the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ that has taught us the importance of obedience to his will and to his command.
We sometimes feel that we need further light and knowledge from our Father in heaven in order to carry out the duties and the responsibilities of our calling. It is my humble conviction that if we were able to make ourselves entirely submissive to the will of our Heavenly Father, his direction to us would be complete.
Closely allied with the day which we celebrate today was Christ's ascension to heaven. He realized well that he had been the stay and the staff of his disciples during his ministry here upon this earth. It would hardly have been possible for them to carry on in his absence unless another comforter were given to them, and that comforter was indeed promised them, and the disciples of old received it. It is my testimony to you today that every son and daughter of our Father in heaven here upon this earth who lends obedience to the first principles and ordinances of the gospel receives this comforter. 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.
Just as John of old records:
...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.
So he will today. Without that gift and without that power of the Holy Ghost you and I would not be able to become submissive to the will of our Heavenly Father. We would not know what his will is, except by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost. Then when we know what his will is, we must be as clay in the hands of the potter to permit our lives to be molded in the pattern that the Savior of mankind set for us.
SUBMISSION TO GOD'S WILL
I am grateful beyond measure this day to know that I have the privilege of associating with men who have been called of God, to lead and guide Israel in these latter days. I know that as we submit ourselves to the will of our Heavenly Father there comes into our life a consciousness, a peace that passeth all understanding. It is through submission to the will of our Father in heaven that we receive all of the blessings that are essential for our welfare and our happiness and our advancement in his kingdom. Following the resurrection, in which we shall participate, we shall stand before the judgment bar of God with our record before us-one I hope of which we shall be proud, one which will entitle us to associate with those of our loved ones who have gone to the great beyond, and who will be there to welcome us. May we all enjoy the blessings and the privileges which we desire through our obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel. If we can become entirely submissive and obedient to the will of our Heavenly Father, our problems will be solved temporally and spiritually. When we are called upon to mourn there will come a comfort and a consolation into our hearts "that passeth all understanding." I stand here before you today to express my thanks and gratitude to my Heavenly Author for this knowledge, this conviction, this witness that has come into my life.
TESTIMONY
The birth and the mission of Jesus Christ is just as real to me as was that of my own earthly father. Christ was born and died for the sins of men. I know his resurrection from the grave was as real as his life, and that before he ascended to heaven he stood before his disciples and gave to them a promise of a comforter which would be sent to them. They received the comforter, and that same comforter has made itself manifest in the lives of thousands and hundreds of thousands of Saints in this the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. I know that comforter exists today and builds us up and strengthens us and qualifies us for every responsibility and every duty and obligation of life. The power and gift of the Holy Ghost can draw us close together, can make us united, can make us discern the word of the Lord when we hear it from his servants, that we will be immediately obedient and susceptible to his will thus expressed.
REPENTANCE FOR ALL
I want to say that when we hear a sermon on repentance, it is meant for you and me. Sister Choules of the Southern States Mission addressed an audience at Macon, Georgia, at the dedication of the chapel, and in that talk she expressed this beautiful thought: "Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all sit and listen to a sermon on repentance and not immediately think of our neighbor?" I knew she had in mind such sermons as we have heard in this conference. They were intended for you and me.
May the Lord help us to realize that we need repentance, that we need to be obedient and susceptible to the will of our Heavenly Father; and may he bend us to his will, I pray humbly in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Oscar A. Kirkham
Oscar A. Kirkham, Conference Report, April 1950, pp. 149-152
I pray that I may enjoy the blessings of the Spirit of the Lord.
I am very grateful today that across our good land millions of Americans have wended their way to the great churches, to the hilltops, and to the mountaintops, where they have listened to the word of the Lord. They have been lifted up on this glorious Easter day as you and I have been lifted up.
GRATITUDE FOR AMERICA
I am grateful for America. My path has led me into the companionship of men from nearly every state in the Union. I have in my meditations this day tried to place myself where they might be-fine Christian men! And I am grateful and I have faith in this glorious land. That faith has been built up because of my religious training and the words that have been spoken through the prophets of this land as recorded in the Book of Mormon.
Someone has said recently, and I sincerely believe that it is true, that what America says and does in the next fifty years will mark the destiny of the world. How important is our place among the children of men! And we, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the majority of us tucked away in these western hills, having received the word of God-how great is our responsibility and opportunity!
I have faith that great works are not only requested of us through the prophets of today and yesterday, but that they shall also be fulfilled.
POWER OF THE SPIRIT
The great Thomas Edison said of Steinmetz that he had the greatest mind of any American. On his deathbed, Steinmetz, with his students about him, said, "Most of our discoveries have been of the material world, but the discoveries of tomorrow will be of the spirit." I have faith in that. I believe we will witness new powers upon the earth, and they will be of the spirit.
Napoleon said there are two powers in the earth: that of the spirit and that of the sword. Then in a moment of reflection he added, "But the spirit always overcometh the sword."
In the 127th Psalm are these great words of counsel: "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it". I feel that I am not taking any undue privileges if I may add to those sacred words. Except the Lord build a life, they labor in vain that build it. Except the Lord build the city, they labor in vain that build it. Except the Lord build the state and the nation they labor in vain that build it.
I would like to read the words of one of our great presidents.
Our civilization cannot survive materially unless it be redeemed spiritually. It can be saved only by becoming permeated with the spirit of Christ. Only thus can discontent be driven out, and all the shadows be lifted from the road ahead.
BRIGHAM YOUNG'S COUNSEL
From this very pulpit Brigham Young counseled with the Saints.
When you go into the field to plow, be sure you take the Lord with you. When you go about your business, be sure the Lord is with you, also in your dealings with men.
And here are his words further,
No man of counsel should sit to judge the people but what should judge in the Lord, that he may righteously and impartially discern between right and wrong, truth and error, light and darkness, justice and injustice. Should any legislature sit without the Lord, if it does, sooner or later it will fall to pieces. No nation ever did live that counseled and transacted its national affairs without the Lord, but sooner or later went to pieces and came to naught. The same is true of all the nations that now live or that ever will live.
UNITED NATIONS
You and I are living in a great time. But in my reading and in my meditations I have been tremendously interested in what fifty-nine nations of this earth are now doing about these great principles of which we speak. When they first met in San Francisco, they said, "No, we cannot have vocal prayers. Here is the Confucianist, here is the Buddhist, here is the Jew, here is the Christian. We must have no certain prayers." They started about their business, and soon they found that something greater than themselves must come among them if they accomplished that which was in their hearts to do. They agreed on one minute a day of silent personal devotion. And then time went on, and if you have recently been to New York City, and gone down 42nd Street to the East River, you will see where blocks of buildings have been torn down. Through the leadership of a great Christian American institution, the Rockefeller Foundation, a glorious gift has been made to these fifty-nine nations and to those who may follow later. They have built a great building, it is now nearing completion. And in the center of it is a chapel to prayer. There are no pulpits, no stained windows, merely a granite slab that marks the great sacrifice of millions. But above it, a shaft of light falls from the heavens, representing that eternal power and promise which will strengthen the hearts of men and give them faith in the great cause of peace.
Yes, except the Lord build a house, they labor in vain that build it. And when we think of the great purposes of our Heavenly Father in the destinies of men and nations and our humble part, we must be patient, we must have faith. God grant to us that working faith that you and I can participate in daily.
Let every man and woman in this assembly feel, "I am a missionary-I'm a part of that great league that is working for peace and happiness of all men throughout the world." That neighbor that lives nearby-speak to him. Don't be afraid. Courageously go, carry to him the word of God. The Lord will sanctify your words and open the hearts of men. You are the messenger of truth and happiness.
WORK FOR BROTHERHOOD
Let us work for the brotherhood of man. I was happy to receive a report from one of our seventies quorums in Utah County. On the highway one day an automobile ran over a fine boy and killed him. The father and mother were broken-hearted. But the next morning twenty-one men were on the porch. Twenty-one men were extending love and comfort-showing real brotherhood in offering their services to bless that home.
I walked down the street of a small village in Maui one day with a Hawaiian woman, one of the presidency of the Relief Society. As we walked along, she said, "You see that building over there? Well, I have a very dear friend, a Chinese woman, who lives there. I went to visit her when we were building the temple at Laie. I asked her if she would like to contribute to the building of the temple. And although not a member of the Church, she said, 'Oh, yes, I believe in temples; I'd love to assist.' We chatted for a few minutes and then left her. Eight months later I was coming down this way again, and I thought, 'Why, I haven't been to see my Chinese friend.' So I went over and said, 'Have you forgotten our conversation?' She said, 'No, I've been waiting for you to come. Have you a purse or something to put the money in?' I took out of my bag a small black purse, and she said, 'Oh I'm afraid that will not hold what I have saved for you.' She went into another room and brought back a bowl containing coins and other money. She said, 'If you'll kindly open your apron.' I opened it, and the Chinese woman poured the money into my lap. I said to her, 'Is this all for the temple? Do you mean for me to take it all?' 'Oh, yes,' she said, 'you may have the money. I have the blessing.'"
May God help us to know when we turn our hearts in love toward mankind that the resurrection then is happening to us, the gift of God is with us-the greatest gift bestowed upon mankind. The Lord is then building the house.
For these things I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Mark E. Petersen
Mark E. Petersen, Conference Report, April 1950, pp. 152-153
As I have listened to these beautiful sermons on repentance, I have thought over and over again about one of the commandments given by the Savior in the Sermon on the Mount. In it he said,
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
PERFECTING OF THE SAINTS
Paul tells us that the Church organization was given to us, among other reasons, for the perfecting of the Saints. In spite of this commandment, and in spite of this statement of Paul, there are some people who believe that it is impossible for us to become perfect. Perfection is not for this life, they say, and so why try?
I would like to say that I believe with all my heart that if the Lord had any idea that we could not begin in mortality on the march toward perfection, he would never have given us that commandment: neither would he have given us a Church organization for the perfecting of the Saints.
100% PERFECT
I believe that in many ways, here and now in mortality, we can begin to perfect ourselves. A certain degree of perfection is attainable in this life. I believe that we can be one hundred percent perfect, for instance, in abstaining from the use of tea and coffee. We can be one hundred percent perfect in abstaining from liquor and tobacco. We can be one hundred percent perfect in paying a full and honest tithing. We can be one hundred percent perfect in abstaining from eating two meals on fast day and giving to the bishop as fast offering the value of those two meals from which we abstain.
We can be one hundred percent perfect in keeping the commandment which says that we shall not profane the name of God. We can be perfect in keeping the commandment which says, "Thou shalt not commit adultery". We can be perfect in keeping the commandment which says, "Thou shalt not steal". We can become perfect in keeping various others of the commandments that the Lord has given us.
I am confident that one of the great desires of the Lord our God is that we shall keep that great commandment which says, "Be ye therefore perfect", and that we may do so is my humble prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, April 1950, pp. 153-159
For a number of years on the editorial page of The Deseret News this has appeared:
We stand for the Constitution of the United States with its three departments of government as therein set forth, each one fully independent in its field.
THE CONSTITUTION
I thought it would not be amiss or out of order to say something about the Constitution, to give a little history of it perhaps briefly; for I am convinced that the people generally of the United States have not studied it. Many of them have never read it, and some know nothing concerning what it is all about.
At the close of the Revolution the several states of this American government became independent of Great Britain, but they were confronted with dangers of disintegration, or falling apart. They did not have a stable form of government. Some of the wiser statesmen among the patriots saw this danger and attempted to divert it. George Washington, in a circular letter to the state governors, wrote in June 1783, saying:
It is yet to be decided whether the revolution must ultimately be considered as a blessing or a curse.
This is the moment to establish or ruin national character forever. There should be lodged somewhere a supreme power to regulate and govern the general concerns of the confederated republic without which the Union cannot be of long duration.
CRITICAL PERIOD
John Fisk, the historian, in treating of this period says that the period between 1783 and 1789 was the most critical in the history of the United States. John Fisk was right. That was a critical period. We are today facing another critical period, one which evidently the majority of the citizens of this country fail to realize exists, but nevertheless that is the situation.
At the time the war ended as well as during the period of the Revolution, the states were joined by a very loose confederation. The war had held them together. After the war each state looked upon itself practically as an independent government. They were a number of small nations that had entered into an agreement to live together and act in concert in relation to their common welfare. The idea prevailed that this federation could be severed at any time. Each state reserved the right to withdraw at will from the union thus far created. From July 4, 1776, to March 1, 1781, when the confederation was adopted, the United States was governed by the Continental Congress under the "Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union between the States." This union had no president, no supreme court, and consisted of one house of congress made up of delegates elected by the legislatures of the states, and the jurisdiction was greatly limited. There were so many defects and restrictions in this confederation that the wise men of the nation, like Washington, readily perceived that something more nearly perfect, more powerful and binding upon the colonies was essential.
CONVENTION IN PHILADELPHIA
It was with this object in view that in May 1787 a convention of delegates from all the states except Rhode Island met in Philadelphia. The number of delegates was fifty-five, but only thirty-nine of them signed the Constitution after it was framed. Most of these delegates were men in the prime of life, few of them were aged. Benjamin Franklin, the dean of the Convention was in his eighty-second year, but it is said of him that he was very active and alert. I think the names of these thirty-nine who signed the Constitution are worthy of our remembrance, and I am going to take the time to name them. They were:
George Washington, President and Deputy from Virginia
John Langdon and Nicholas Gilman, New Hampshire
Nathaniel Gorham and Rufus King, Massachusetts
William Samuel Johnson and Roger Sherman, Connecticut
Alexander Hamilton, New York
William Livingston, David Brearley, William Paterson, and Jonathan Dayton, New Jersey
George Read, Gunning Bedford, Jr., John Dickson, Richard Bassett, and Jacob Broom, Delaware
James McHenry, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenefer, and Daniel Carroll, Maryland
John Blair, James Madison, Jr., and George Washington, Virginia
William Blount, Richard Dobbs Spaight, and Hugh Williamson, North Carolina
Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, Robert Morris, George Clymer, Thomas Fitzsimmons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson, and Gouverneur Morris, Pennsylvania
John Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles Pinckney, and Pierce Butler, South Carolina
William Few and Abraham Baldwin, Georgia
The following were appointed as delegates to the convention but never took their seats: John Pickering and Benjamin West, New Hampshire; Francis Dana, Massachusetts; John Nelson and Abraham Clark, New Jersey; Patrick Henry, Virginia; Richard Caswell, Willie Jones, North Carolina; George Walton and Nathaniel Pendleton, Georgia.
The following refused to sign: Eldridge Gerry, Massachusetts; Edmund Randolph and George Mason, Virginia.
These delegates, after a stormy period of nearly four months in which some of the delegates almost despaired of ever coming to a peaceful agreement, brought forth the Constitution of the United States. As you have heard, some of the delegates refused to sign; some absented themselves at the time of signing. After the document was prepared and approved came the struggle for ratification. Washington, Franklin, Madison, Hamilton, and Marshall we understand, took the leading part in drafting the Constitution and after it was adopted by the convention, Madison and Hamilton used their untiring efforts to have it ratified by the various states. Some of the states ratified at an early date; others delayed. Rhode Island and North Carolina delayed for some months but finally joined with their sister states in ratification.
The Constitution went into operation March 4, 1789, and thus became the vital and basic law of the United States. George Washington was elected President of the United States April 6, 1789 and was inaugurated on the thirtieth day of that same month.
WE THE PEOPLE
Now in this statement from The Deseret News we read: "We stand for the Constitution of the United States with its three departments of government as therein set forth, each one fully independent in its own field." I hope that every member of the Church subscribes to that declaration-also to The Deseret News. The preamble to the Constitution does not begin, "I, the king", nor does it begin, "I, the President of the United States." It reads:
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
It is "We the people."
It was understood that the people would govern; of course, it would have to be by representation, but the control of government would be in the hands of the people. As we read in the Book of Mormon, when the righteous rule, everything is well. King Mosiah gave up his throne with the idea that the people would have a republic, and he called attention to the dangers of a kingdom and a centralized government and the dangers that would arise should the wicked rule. The Lord has taught us to choose wise men and just men, and that was the understanding on the part of these men who formed the Constitution of the United States.
THREE GOVERNMENTAL DEPARTMENTS
The three forms of government spoken of in the strip and referring to our government are: the legislative, the judicial, and the executive. Channing, in A Students' History of the United States, has this to say of these three branches in our government:
Each is given power to defend itself against the encroachments of the other two, and each acts as a check on the others. The Constitution framers had good reason to attempt the accomplishment of this difficult purpose; in the old colonial days, which most of them remembered, the governor of the royal provinces had exercised all three functions, greatly to the dissatisfaction of the colonists; and the legislative body of Great Britain had held the supreme power. To avoid establishing a government which would develop into either of these forms, the framers of the Constitution sought to give each department its due share of power, and prevent any one department from making itself supreme. For instance, the executive power is vested in the President; but he also exercises important legislative functions in his veto, and judicial power in his right to pardon. The legislative power is lodged in Congress, but the Senate acts as an advisory council to the President-without its consent no important appointment can be made and no treaty ratified. The judicial power is entrusted to the Supreme Court and inferior courts; but, as no law can be enforced which the Supreme Court declares to be unconstitutional, the Supreme Court, in fact, exercises supreme legislative functions. Finally, the House of Representatives, by means of its initiative in taxation, exercises a most effectual control over the executive department.
The legislative power is confined to certain subjects enumerated in the Constitution and is further restricted by the first ten amendments, especially by the tenth, which declares that "the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States, respectively, or to the people." The Supreme Court is the authorized interpreter of the fundamental law, and has construed the Constitution in the broadest possible way; following these decisions Congress has exercised powers, many of which were probably never dreamed of by the framers of that instrument or by the members of the ratifying conventions, whose votes gave it the force of law. Acts of Congress are "the supreme law of the land," unless the Supreme Court declares them unconstitutional, and hence null and void
The people should, with jealous care, guard against the time ever coming when any, one of these three branches may surrender its rights to any other or be swallowed up and overcome by some other branch of the government. Today there are many who advocate the destruction of these safeguards given us by the framers of the Constitution who were men inspired to make this document as near to the fundamental doctrines of the kingdom of God, as it was possible under the circumstances for it to be.
The Constitution proclaims the following:
This Constitution and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land: and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.
The senators and representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.
CONSTITUTION DESERVES VENERATION
There is much more that could be said, and I wish to read another statement. The English statesman, James Bryce, in his excellent work, The American Commonwealth, has said:
The Constitution of 1789 deserves the veneration with which the Americans have been accustomed to regard it. It is true that many criticisms have been passed upon its arrangement, upon its omissions, upon its artificial character of some of the institutions it creates,... Yet after all deductions it ranks above every other constitution for the intrinsic excellence of its scheme, its adaptation to the circumstances of the people, the simplicity, brevity, and precision of its language, its judicious mixture of definiteness in principle with elasticity in detail.
What is the stand that is taken by the Church in regard to this great document? We have the word of the Lord:
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.
In Section 101, the Lord has said:
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:
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.
Here is a statement that this document should be maintained, that every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral agency which the Lord has given him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment.
STATEMENTS OF JOSEPH SMITH
If I may be permitted, I would like to quote the words of the Prophet Joseph Smith on this subject:
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 its liberty, like the cooling shades and refreshing waters of a great rock in a thirsty and weary land. It is like a great tree under whose branches men from every clime can be shielded from the burning rays of the sun...
We say that God is true; that the Constitution of the United States is true; that the Bible is true; that the Book of Mormon is true; that the Book of Covenants is true; and that Christ is true.
It is one of the first principles of my life and one that I have cultivated from my childhood, having been taught it by my father, to allow everyone the liberty of conscience. I am the greatest advocate of the Constitution of the United States there is on earth. In my feelings I am always ready to die for the protection of the weak and the oppressed in their just rights.
I must not take more time but to add this: The statement has been made that the Prophet said the time would come when this Constitution would hang as by a thread, and this is true. There has been some confusion, however, as to just what he said following this. I think that Elder Orson Hyde has given us a correct interpretation wherein he says that the Prophet said the Constitution would be in danger. Said Orson Hyde:
I believe he said something like this-that the time would come when the Constitution and the country would be in danger of an overthrow; and said he: "If the Constitution be saved at all, it will be by the Elders of this Church." I believe this is about the language, as nearly as I can recollect it.
Now I tell you it is time the people of the United States were waking up with the understanding that if they don't save the Constitution from the dangers that threaten it, we will have a change of government.
The Lord bless you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Stephen L Richards
Stephen L Richards, Conference Report, April 1950, pp. 161-166
I believe in the gifts of the gospel. I believe they will come to those who live and strive for them. I believe that the gifts of the gospel comprehend more and wider powers and attributes than those specifically mentioned in our Articles of Faith, namely: "... the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.". I believe that these listed gifts and others of comparable seemingly supernatural nature have come to men and women of faith, and I believe that they will continue to come from time to time as conditions and circumstances warrant. I place no limitation on the power of the Lord to manifest himself through his children and his chosen servants, however miraculous many may think the manifestation to be. I do place one limitation on those who exercise such powers-that they be very sure the inspiration is from the right source.
GIFTS OF THE GOSPEL
There are gifts of the gospel which are not usually thought of as being miraculous or supernatural. They would commonly be spoken of as mere attributes of character, but I believe they have spiritual foundation. This conclusion seems to be borne out by the scriptures. The Apostle Paul tells his brethren:
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 all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit dividing to every man severally as he will.
Modern revelation emphasizes this diversity:
To some it is given by the Holy Ghost to know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God....
To others it is given to believe on their words.
The Book of Mormon, as usual, brings further clarification:
To one is given by the Spirit of God, that he may teach the word of wisdom;
And to another that he may teach the word of knowledge...
And to another, exceeding great faith; and to another, the gifts of healing,
... to another, that he may work mighty miracles;
... to another, that he may prophesy;
... to another, the beholding of angels and ministering spirits;
... to another, all kinds of tongues;
... to another, the interpretation of languages and of divers kinds of tongues.
While this wide diversity of gifts mentioned in the scriptures may bring to our Father's children greatly varying talents and capacities, I feel sure that there are some highly important gifts of the gospel, which it is intended that all men of faith shall enjoy at least to some extent. It is to these precious gifts, available to all the Church and to many good men and women outside the Church that I would direct attention.
GIFT OF DISCERNMENT
First, I mention the gift of discernment, embodying the power to discriminate, which has been spoken of in our hearing before particularly as between right and wrong. I believe that this gift when highly developed arises largely out of an acute sensitivity to impressions-spiritual impressions, if you will-to read under the surface as it were, to detect hidden evil, and more importantly to find the good that may be concealed. The highest type of discernment is that which perceives in others and uncovers for them their better natures, the good inherent within them. It's the gift every missionary needs when he takes the gospel to the people of the world. He must make an appraisal of every personality whom he meets. He must be able to discern the hidden spark that may be lighted for truth. The gift of discernment will save him from mistakes and embarrassment, and it will never fail to inspire confidence in the one who is rightly appraised.
The gift of discernment is essential to the leadership of the Church. I never ordain a bishop or set apart a president of a stake without invoking upon him this divine blessing, that he may read the lives and hearts of his people and call forth the best within them. The gift and power of discernment in this world of contention between the forces of good and the power of evil is essential equipment for every son and daughter of God. There could be no such mass dissensions as endanger the security of the world, if its populations possessed this great gift in larger degree. People are generally so gullible one is sometimes led to wonder whether the great Lincoln was right, after all, in the conclusion of his memorable statement, "You can't fool all the people all the time." One does feel at times, however, a sense of pity and sympathy for some of the peoples of the world whose education, information, and exposure to higher ideals and exalted concepts have been so arbitrarily and ruthlessly restricted.
There is a class of people now grown sizable in the world who should possess this great gift in large degree. They know how the gift is attained. They have been educated in its spiritual foundations. They have been blessed with the counsels which foster it. They know how to order their lives to procure it. You know who they are, my brethren and sisters. Every member in the restored Church of Christ could have this gift if he willed to do so. He could not be deceived with the sophistries of the world. He could not be led astray by pseudo-prophets and subversive cults. Even the inexperienced would recognize false teachings, in a measure at least. With this gift they would be able to detect something of the disloyal, rebellious, and sinister influences which not infrequently prompt those who seemingly take pride in the destruction of youthful faith and loyalties. Discerning parents will do well to guard their children against such influences and such personalities and teachings before irreparable damage is done. The true gift of discernment is often premonitory. A sense of danger should be heeded to be of value. We give thanks for a set of providential circumstances which avert an accident. We ought to be grateful every day of our lives for this sense which keeps alive a conscience which constantly alerts us to the dangers inherent in wrongdoers and sin.
GIFT OF WISDOM
The next gift of the gospel which I present is that of wisdom. Wisdom cannot be disassociated from discernment, but it involves some other factors, and its applications are rather more specific. Wisdom is sometimes defined as sound judgment and a high degree of knowledge. I define wisdom as being the beneficent application of knowledge in decision. I think of wisdom not in the abstract but as functional. Life is largely made up of choices and determinations, and I can think of no wisdom that does not contemplate the good of man and society. Wisdom is true understanding, and we are told in Proverbs that
She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.
Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.
Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace...
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom.
I do not believe that true wisdom can be acquired or exercised in living without a sound fundamental knowledge of the truth about life and living. The cry of the world is for wisdom and wise men. This is so particularly in the field of human relations. Why are they not found? It is because men are so blinded to the truth. Nearly one-half of the world are steeled against it, and the other half not too well-fortified in past and present performance to promote it. We have had for centuries a formula for peace. Wisdom for composition of the world's troubles is available, but the minds and hearts of men are not prepared to receive it. It is the mission of the Church of Christ to teach them how. We need wisdom in so doing, and we need to maintain our divinely appointed society in the wisdom which comes from God.
The really vital things in life are relatively few, my brethren and sisters-the body, family, property, and relationship to man and God. You may have wisdom about health, housing, marriage, children, economics, education, and even government if you truly seek it and live for it. The fundamental knowledge which the Church brings to you will bring you understanding. Your testimony, your spirit, and your service will direct the application of your knowledge; that is wisdom. Every man needs it a hundred times a day. Every woman needs it. Every youth needs it. The foolish and the wise are the antipodes of mankind as are the two poles of the earth. The foolish build on the sand; the wise on the rock. The one perishes; the other endures. Thank God for the gift of wisdom.
GIFT OF COMFORT
I shall have time to mention but one more gift of the gospel-that of comfort. I speak of comfort in the spiritual and scriptural sense bringing consolation, peace of mind and soul, resignation, tranquility, and serenity in times of bereavement, suffering, fear, doubt, and uncertainty. Very few are without some kind of trouble and many think their own troubles most severe. I remember years ago on one of my first visits to the beautiful memorial church at Stanford University reading an inscription engraved in stone on one of the walls. In substance it was as follows: If every person in the world should wrap his troubles in a bag and then throw it in a heap with all the packages of troubles of all the people, and if each were then told that he could go to the heap and select the package of troubles which he would bear, each would go to the pile and bring back his own package. So it may well be in the providence of things that each should have troubles of a kind suited to his capacity and experience in life. However this may be, we all need comfort and perhaps the self-sufficient ones who do not recognize the need really require it more than any others.
Physical pain is torturing, hard to endure. I am a witness to the fact that it may be assuaged by spiritual blessing and comfort. Thousands there are who testify as to the efficacy of prayer and the healing and the comfort of the priesthood, but even the torture of pain is not more excruciating than the humiliation and stigma of disgrace or the consciousness of guilt. Thank the Lord for the gift of repentance which has been so beautifully portrayed, to the transgressor, but it often happens that even the greater sorrow comes to the innocent. A wayward child brings tragedy to a family, shattering a reputation and good name it may have taken generations to build. A drunken or otherwise perverted husband or wife smashes a good home. A rebellious son or daughter stabs a knife into the hearts of loving parents as he or she discards the loyalties of a lifetime. These are cases for comfort beyond the merely human touch that call for deep understanding, for spiritual fortification, for a resignation that is divine.
And then there are the lonely. They who have been bereft of the companionship of loved ones, sometimes left all alone without kin about them. I was reading the other day that there are more than six million widows in the United States, many of them being widowed at as early an age as forty with an expectancy approximating thirty years of life without their mates. Some are without the companionship of children. In the immediate circle of my own friends and associates, many sad partings have come. Decades of loving and most beautiful association have been sadly interrupted just at a time when it seemed to mortal ken the ripest and richest years of holy wedlock were in the offing. I know many a friend who needs comfort. I am deeply grateful that for the most part my immediate friends have this consolation of the spirit. They are buoyed up by an unfaltering trust that the sad separations are but temporary. They give themselves and their great service to the master to requite in part at least that which he gives to them-comfort and peace to the soul.
RICH BLESSINGS
I am aware that in the Christian world and perhaps outside of it as well, there are countless thousands of our Father's children who are the beneficiaries of the gifts of the gospel. There are many of all faiths and conditions of life who love the Lord; and in return for this love and obedience to his commandments, he blesses them with his spirit. I am grateful indeed that it is so; but, my dear brethren and sisters, with the superior knowledge which the Lord has brought to us, with a more perfect understanding of his holy gospel, with the gift of the Holy Ghost, how much more should we so favored enjoy its precious gifts! If others of our Father's children throughout the world observe these manifestations of his special blessings to his chosen people, they will be led to investigate and seek the truth.
It seems to me as we near the conclusion of this great conference with its uplifting and inspiring teachings and testimonies, we could do no better thing than to highly resolve that henceforth and always our loyalty, our lives, and our love shall be such that our Father may pour out his rich blessings upon us in the gifts of the eternal gospel with discernment, wisdom and comfort to all. I know that he lives. I know that he will reward the faithful. I pray that in his mercy he will bring light and truth to all the world, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report, April 1950, pp. 166-167
I had hoped and supposed that my many speeches before the various groups at this conference would relieve me from saying anything more, particularly I had thought that this morning's sermon would count as something said here. But President Smith has asked that I say a word or two. I shall not detain you long because we must have President Smith close this conference.
REPENTANCE
So many things have been said, so much good has been told us, that it would be folly to try to summarize or repeat, but I think that most of us will leave this conference with two matters principally in mind-that of repentance and its reciprocal, forgiveness. The call has been made: Repent, for the hour of his judgment is nigh.
The Lord has said,
By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins-behold, he will confess them and forsake them.
I would like to point out that to me there is a great difference between confession and admission, after transgression is proved. I doubt much the efficacy of an admission as a confession.
FORGIVENESS
In the ancient days, men made sacrifice that they might be forgiven. Today we are told that we must bring to the Lord for our forgiveness a humble heart and a contrite spirit. As to forgiveness, the Lord has said,
"I, the Lord will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men",
which means, as I understand it, that where there is repentance, we shall forgive and receive into fellowship the repentant transgressor, leaving to God the final disposition of the sin.
TESTIMONY TO RISEN CHRIST
This is Easter, and I have already borne my testimony to the risen Christ but I do want to read from the 76th Section the verses we all know, part of which was quoted by Brother Evans this morning. This was the great vision that came to Joseph and Sidney in 1832:
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 renew the bearing of my testimony that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world, the firstfruits of the resurrection, the Only Begotten of the Father.
And I cannot but remember that glorious message that came out of the chamber on that night most memorable perhaps in all the history of the world, the night before the crucifixion, when he had his disciples together and gave them his great final discourse:
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.
That message to the disciples in the chamber is a message that comes to all of God's children, that peace be with us always, and may we live so that we may rightfully ask therefore, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
A Humble Heart and a Contrite Spirit
President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report, April 1950, pp. 166-167
I had hoped and supposed that my many speeches before the various groups at this conference would relieve me from saying anything more, particularly I had thought that this morning's sermon would count as something said here. But President Smith has asked that I say a word or two. I shall not detain you long because we must have President Smith close this conference.
REPENTANCE
So many things have been said, so much good has been told us, that it would be folly to try to summarize or repeat, but I think that most of us will leave this conference with two matters principally in mind-that of repentance and its reciprocal, forgiveness. The call has been made: Repent, for the hour of his judgment is nigh.
The Lord has said,
By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins-behold, he will confess them and forsake them.
I would like to point out that to me there is a great difference between confession and admission, after transgression is proved. I doubt much the efficacy of an admission as a confession.
FORGIVENESS
In the ancient days, men made sacrifice that they might be forgiven. Today we are told that we must bring to the Lord for our forgiveness a humble heart and a contrite spirit. As to forgiveness, the Lord has said,
"I, the Lord will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men",
which means, as I understand it, that where there is repentance, we shall forgive and receive into fellowship the repentant transgressor, leaving to God the final disposition of the sin.
TESTIMONY TO RISEN CHRIST
This is Easter, and I have already borne my testimony to the risen Christ but I do want to read from the 76th Section the verses we all know, part of which was quoted by Brother Evans this morning. This was the great vision that came to Joseph and Sidney in 1832:
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 renew the bearing of my testimony that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world, the firstfruits of the resurrection, the Only Begotten of the Father.
And I cannot but remember that glorious message that came out of the chamber on that night most memorable perhaps in all the history of the world, the night before the crucifixion, when he had his disciples together and gave them his great final discourse:
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.
That message to the disciples in the chamber is a message that comes to all of God's children, that peace be with us always, and may we live so that we may rightfully ask therefore, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
President George Albert Smith
George Albert Smith, Conference Report, April 1950, pp. 167-170
I am very grateful that I have been able to attend the sessions of this conference; thankful that I have had the companionship of this great group, most of them in this building. I want to take this occasion to express my appreciation and invoke the blessings of the Lord upon these men, women, and children who have stood during these long two hours of meeting, with no place to sit but have stood here in the house of the Lord to be edified by those who have done the speaking. I am sure you will receive your blessings, and I am sure they will be sufficient to compensate you for any weariness that may have come to you as a result of this experience.
SECURITY ON LORD'S SIDE
The gospel of Jesus Christ is the only means by which we may hope to find a place in the celestial kingdom. Sometimes we feel that we are sure of it because we have membership in the Church. I take this occasion to call to the attention of the older members of the Church, who have lived a part of their lives and feel quite secure, the fact that nobody is secure unless he is on the Lord's side of the line.
All temptation and evil are on the devil's side. If I had time, I could tell you of an experience of a man who was magnified and was a great preacher of the gospel, and because of his failure to stay on the Lord's side of the line, he went into the dark and died a bitter apostate.
None of us are secure except we keep the commandments of our Heavenly Father. The pathway of righteousness is the highway of happiness. There is no other way to happiness.
PURPOSE OF LIFE
Today the people all over the world are talking about the same subject we have been speaking of, the resurrection. When we think of the resurrection of our Redeemer, I am reminded that the purpose of his life was to prepare us all, to make a path that we could all walk, that would bring us eternal happiness in his presence as well as in the presence of one another. He gave his life and testified by the shedding of his blood that he was a Son of God, and then as we have had it called to our attention, his appearance since that time has demonstrated beyond any possible doubt that he was what he claimed to be.
The Church is organized, and the missionaries go out in all the world to share the gospel, not to give some new truth, but to share the truth that the Lord has already revealed.
When he was asked to pray-I am reminded of a part of that prayer-he said,
... Our Father which art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.
UNIVERSAL RESURRECTION
That is the purpose of the gospel, and today we are thinking of what a marvelous thing it was when the Savior was resurrected when he took up his immortal body to live forever.
But he wanted this earth to become a heaven, and that is what the gospel is intended to do, to teach people so that it will become a heaven. What a wonderful condition it would be! We rejoice because of the resurrection, and he held out to us that it would be a universal resurrection, and that this earth would be redeemed, and the people who dwell here would live in happiness forever.
Brethren and sisters, we ought to be grateful for our blessings. We ought to be thankful for the companionship of such men and women as we have. We ought to feel a desire to do all that we can to set an example, that others, seeing our upright lives may be constrained to keep the commandments of God.
We are coming to the close of a most interesting and instructive conference. As I look at these beautiful flowers that came from the Berkeley Stake, I want to take occasion again to thank the people who sent them, for I don't know of any place where flowers are more appropriate than in the house of the Lord. And these beautiful lilies that we have, have made this house a beauty spot that it would not have been but for them.
HOUSES IN ORDER
Brethren and sisters, let us go to our homes. If our houses are not in order, let us set them in order. Let us renew our determination to honor God and keep his commandments, to love one another, to make our homes the abiding place of peace. Each of us can contribute to that in the homes in which we live.
It will not be long until calamities will overtake the human family unless there is speedy repentance. It will not be long before those who are scattered over the face of the earth by millions will die like flies because of what will come.
Our Heavenly Father has told us how it can be avoided, and that is our mission, in part, to go into the world and explain to people how it may be avoided, and that people need not be unhappy as they are everywhere but that happiness may be in their lives-because when the Spirit of God burns in your soul, you cannot be otherwise than happy.
GRATITUDE FOR SUPPORT
I take this occasion to thank the brethren who are giving all their time to developing and building the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I want to thank these men who stand by my side, who are so willing to support me in the responsibilities that are tremendous for one man to carry-my counselors, and the members of the Quorum of the Twelve and their assistants, and the First Council of the Seventy, the Presiding Bishopric, and the Patriarch.
I want to add to that the stake presidencies, the bishops of wards, the presidents of missions, and the presidencies and general boards of all the auxiliary organizations. I am grateful for the things that they are doing, because they are trying to bring this world into a condition that will be heaven. The Lord has said it could be if we will do our part.
BLESSING
In conclusion I desire to leave the blessing of our Heavenly Father with you all, that you may go to your homes renewed, refreshed, and invigorated, determined to carry on and to do all you can to make this earth heaven.
I bless you that you may have joy in this, that you may go to your homes in peace and in safety, and that you may carry with you that spirit which our Heavenly Father has bestowed upon us here so generously, and that we may look forward to the time when we may meet again in the name of the Lord, with assurance that a blessing will follow, because he has said it always would, even if two or three meet in his name.
Remember, we all have responsibilities. We may not be called to some definite duty, but in every neighborhood there is opportunity for each of us to radiate a spirit of peace and love and happiness to the end that people may understand the gospel and be gathered into the fold.
TESTIMONY
To some it may sound selfish to hear us say, "This is the only true Church". But we are only repeating what the Savior said, and he knows. It is the Church that he recognizes, and it bears his name. We do not say that in unkindness to our brothers and sisters, and they are our brothers and sisters, in other churches, or in no church, but we say it with the hope that they may feel the love that is in our hearts when we reach out to them with the desire that the happiness that has been ours may be theirs and may continue, not only now, but also throughout the ages of eternity.
God lives. Jesus is the Christ. Joseph Smith was a prophet of the Lord, and the gospel as it was restored through him is the power of God unto salvation to all those who would accept it and apply it in their lives. I bear this testimony in love and in kindness, and with my blessings as a servant of the Lord upon all of you, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President George Albert Smith
George Albert Smith, Conference Report, October 1950, pp. 4-9
This is a beautiful picture this morning, to see the Lord's house filled with his children who have come here to worship. Since our last conference many things have occurred. While our Singing Mothers were singing, I thought of one of our brothers who went to the South Seas with me about thirteen years ago. When we arrived at British Samoa, the people were having a holiday. We had been persuaded to stay aboard the boat at night because it could not go around the reef, and we could not land in small boats in the dark. We were told that the people wanted to give us a welcome, so there was nothing else for us to do. We could not wade it, so we had to wait until they took us in.
WELCOME IN APIA
The boat anchored, and the next morning out came a war canoe all decorated and rowed by great husky men, one oar to a man, and there were fifteen oarsmen including the captain. They had persuaded us to wait because they said they wanted to give us a royal welcome, and when we arrived, it was a real welcome. Everybody was out, apparently. People were all along the shore. Among them was a group of women, more than a hundred, all dressed in light colored dresses of tapa cloth made from the bark of the mulberry tree. They had made them themselves for that occasion.
When I saw this group of Singing Mothers all dressed alike this morning, my mind went back to Apia and Brother Rufus K. Hardy who was with me on that trip. He has been gone a long time.
Those Singing Mothers sang beautifully at our meetings and at such celebrations as they had, as our sisters have sung this morning. And since that time I have heard the Singing Mothers in many places, but I think I have never been more impressed with them than I was there in the islands.
BRETHREN WHO HAVE GONE
Our first meeting was in the open air, and there were between two and three thousand people whom the Singing Mothers entertained. But the thought that came into my mind is that Brother Hardy is gone. He has finished his work. Since our last conference President George F. Richards of the Council of the Twelve has finished his mission and has gone to find his reward. I miss these brethren.
I am glad that Brother Thomas E. McKay is here this morning. He has had a long siege of illness. I am sure that Brother Stephen L Richards and those with him are having a real experience. In all probability they are in the vicinity of Jerusalem today.
JOY OF CONFERENCE MEETINGS
It is a joy to come to one of these conference meetings and meet people not only from all sections of the United States, but also from other parts of the world. It is one of the greatest gatherings of religious people that meet anywhere in the world, and you will find no other such place in all the world dedicated to the Lord for worship.
I would like us all to remember that this is the Lord's house. You will find no other place in all the world dedicated to the Lord that gathers together a congregation such as is here this morning, many of whom have come thousands of miles, not to see and be seen, but to wait upon the Lord. And he has promised us that if even two or three shall meet together in his name, he will be there to bless them.
This morning, that we may claim our blessings, there are approximately ten thousand here in the Tabernacle and in the Assembly Hall-all at worship. There are thousands more enjoying the conference by means of radio and television. We are here in the name of the Redeemer of mankind, and I am sure when we go from this conference back to our homes, we will have an intense desire to live the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the only gospel that is the power of God unto salvation in the celestial kingdom.
OBSERVANCE OF COMMANDMENTS
This morning, brethren and sisters, I congratulate you: Not that you are here, but that you are here to worship. What a privilege it is to worship the Lord and to do it in the way he has indicated. There are some people who are members of the Church-their names are on the record, and they have an idea that that is all that is necessary-but the time will come when they will have to face their record, and their admission into the celestial kingdom will be conditioned upon the way they have observed the advice of our Heavenly Father right here upon earth. How grateful we ought to be, not to be uncertain as to where we are going.
I had a man say to me one day after I had taught the gospel to him for an hour or so on a train, "I'd give a lot to have the assurance that you have." And I replied: ''You do not have to give anything to have the assurance that I have except to keep the commandments of the Lord. If you do that, you will know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is on earth. You will know that the authority of the priesthood is on earth." How beautiful it is to realize that men who are worthy may receive that priesthood, and in the authority that is given them, do so many thinks that are a blessing to our Father's other children.
FAITH GROWS WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS
Within the week, I listened to one of the brethren who has just returned from the mission field. He has been out nearly five years, and he told of some of the experiences in the weld. He told of people that had illness and the doctors did everything they could for them, but they could not heal them. But the humble missionaries, the humble men who held the priesthood, placed their hands upon the heads of those who were afflicted and rebuked their ailments, and they were healed.
That would not occur without faith, and our faith is conditioned upon our righteous lives. We cannot live improperly and have faith as we should, but if we keep the commandments of the Lord, we can have faith, and it will grow and increase as our righteousness increases.
POLITICAL CAMPAIGN
I am happy to be here with you, my brothers and sisters, in the Lord's house to wait upon him. We are right now in the midst of a political campaign here in America. It ought to be a source of education to the people. It ought to inspire men and women to choose for their officers in the various sections of the country, particularly in the nation, men and women who believe in God. That is their privilege, but unfortunately so many times people become allied with a group, and they insist on everybody supporting the individual that they support, and the result is a campaign of bitterness.
Brethren and sisters, you have your agency; you do not have to be angry with your brother and your sister because they do not see as you do. We are not supposed to criticize and find fault with the members of the Catholic Church, the Presbyterian Church, the Methodist Church, because they cannot understand all of the gospel.
I think it is fine to encourage them to understand all that they have and then add to it. Now if that is true in regard to our religious belief, surely we will not lose our way during a political campaign, and cultivate anger and displeasure and hatred for those who do not believe as we do.
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES
And that brings me to something that is frequently on my mind. No nation in the world has a constitution that was given to it by our Heavenly Father except the United States of America. I wonder if we appreciate that. The Lord gave us a rule of life for this great nation, and as far as we have lived up to it and taken advantage of it, the nation has grown, and the people have been blessed. But there are many people who prefer, or at least they seem to prefer, something else.
As one man said to me, "Why not try what Russia has tried and Germany has tried?" And my answer to him was, "Why try something that has already failed? Why not hold on to what the Lord has given?" The Constitution of the United States was written, it is true, by men, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and others who were their associates, but we have in this book that I have in my hand, the book of Doctrine and Covenants, a revelation in which the Lord tells us that the Constitution of the United States was prepared by men raised up by him for this very purpose.
As Latter-day Saints we ought to know that there is nothing better anywhere else. And so we should cleave to the Constitution of the United States and in doing so, earn the blessings of our Heavenly Father.
OBSERVANCE OF TEN COMMANDMENTS
It was a long time ago that the Lord gave to Moses the Ten Commandments. If the people of the world had observed the Ten Commandments from that time until now, we would have a different world. There would be millions of people who would live longer than they have lived and be happier. The Ten Commandments are in force today, and if we are good Latter-day Saints and are observing what the Lord has advised, among other things, we will honor the Sabbath day and not make it a day of pleasure. The Constitution guarantees us liberty that no other nation enjoys. Most of the nations are losing the liberties they have had because they have not kept the commandments of the Lord.
Most of the difficulty is the bid that is made by the leadership of nations to people that if they will follow the plan that the leaders map out, they will be fed and clothed without having to work so hard for it, but it does not work. People are being misled with the idea that they can get something for nothing and are not encouraged to work for what they need and desire.
Brothers and sisters, you are approaching a political campaign. Go to the Lord in prayer. Seek his guidance. We do not want to turn this nation over to the folly of the teachings of other nations that have failed. What we should do is to cling to what we have, and it is wonderful what the Lord has given to us in this nation.
Now it does not make any difference to me what a man's politics is; as long as he observes the advice of our Heavenly Father, he will be a safe companion and associate. We should not lose our tempers and abuse one another. I want to say that nobody ever abused anybody else when he had the spirit of the Lord. It is always when we have some other spirit.
SEEK THE LORD
Seek the Lord, brothers and sisters. We do not have to live as they are living in many other parts of the world. We can continue to live under the influence of the Spirit of the Lord and worship. One of the most populous nations in all the world restricts the people in their worship. They cannot worship as we do here, and yet there are many people in our land who would like to try what they are doing over there because they want something different.
I hold in my hand a copy of the Doctrine and Covenants, and in it the Lord tells us another thing, to pray for and sustain the Constitution of the land and those who represent us in its offices. So, pray for the President of the United States, pray for those who have been elected to Congress, pray for your governor and the members of your legislature. If they have the Spirit of the Lord, they cannot go wrong; but without it they can go a long way on the bypath.
HAWAIIAN CENTENNIAL
Here we are this morning, on a beautiful day. No people could be more comfortable in worship than we are this morning. I am so grateful that I am able to be present. Recently I, with a group of my brothers and sisters, went to Hawaii to celebrate the centennial of preaching the gospel in the Hawaiian Islands. Some of our party expected to find most of the people Hawaiian. But it was found there were Hawaiians, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, Samoans, and several other nations I might name, all living there at peace. When our meeting was held in a large building, all of those races were there as members of the Church.
GOSPEL FOR ALL PEOPLE
The gospel of Jesus Christ is not just for us. It is for the people of the world, all our Father's children, and at the present time we have over 5800 missionaries out in the world, from this little Church. What for? To go to all these people and say, "Keep all the good things that you have, keep all that God has given you that enriches your life, and then let us share something with you that will add to your happiness and increase your satisfaction." That is the spirit of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our happiness is conditioned upon our loving our fellow men, all of whom are children of our Heavenly Father.
Right here on this block is one of the greatest missionary fields in the world. I see a man sitting down here in the audience who spends much of his time with the people on this block. He is a wonderful missionary and just as happy as he can be when he is talking about it. When we are doing missionary work to bless the people, we are doing it under the influence of the Lord, and we are sure to be happy.
SPIRIT OF PRAYER AND GRATITUDE
We welcome you all here this morning. Let us all come into this house, into the houses that may be necessary to be used for the conference, with a spirit of prayer, the spirit of gratitude. Let us appeal to the Lord to bless us, and then those who address us will be inspired. I pray that we may all live in such a way that our Heavenly Father can have us in his keeping, that we may have joy and satisfaction, and we will have if we have this Spirit.
I pray that his peace may be with us during the continuance of this meeting and the other meetings of the conference, that we may meet with a feeling of gratitude for all our blessings. And when the conference is concluded, and we return to our homes, may we do so with the appreciation of the fact that we did wait upon the Lord and that he fulfilled his promise and was with us to bless us. I pray that we may be filled with that spirit that comes from him, and that is a spirit of love, of kindness and helpfulness and of patience and forbearance. Then, if we keep that spirit with us in our homes, our boys and girls will grow up to be what we would like them to be.
That the Lord may add his blessing, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, October 1950, pp. 9-13
President George Albert Smith says that this is a wonderful sight. To that I agree. It gives me great pleasure to look into the faces of men and women whose lives are clean; who have faith in God; who have made covenants to serve. President Smith further says that salvation comes through the keeping of the commandments of God. We do not believe that salvation comes from lip service, merely a confession with our lips that Jesus is the Christ. It comes through obedience to every principle and eternal truth pertaining to our exaltation. Let me read to you words of the Lord given to his disciples on this continent as he stood in their presence.
And it shall come to pass, that who so repenteth and is baptized in my name shall be filled; and if he endureth to the end, behold, him will I hold guiltless before my Father at that day when I shall stand to judge the world.
And he that endureth not unto the end, the same is he that is also hewn down and cast into the fire, from whence they can no more return, because of the justice of the Author.
And this is the word which he hath given unto the children of men. And for this cause he fulfilleth the words which he hath given, and he lath not, but fulfilleth all his words.
And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing untruth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins and their faithfulness unto the end.
These words that I have read to you are from the twenty-seventh chapter of 3 Nephi, verses 16-19 inclusive.
LAMB'S BOOK OF LIFE
One of my great sorrows is that so many members of the Church fail to recognize this truth which I have read. We are not going to be saved in the kingdom of God just because our names are on the records of the Church. It will require more than that. We will have to have our names written in the Lamb's Book of Life, and if they are written in the Lamb's book of Life then it is an evidence we have kept the commandments. Every soul who will not keep those commandments shall have his name blotted out of that book.
WORLD REJECTS BLESSINGS
I am exceedingly grateful this morning for the knowledge which I have, limited as it is, of the gospel of Jesus Christ; of the things that have been revealed for our salvation: for the opportunities which come to us to give service to the Church and to our fellow men. We have so many blessings that the world does not have. The world could have them, but it will not. As the Savior said, speaking particularly of the Jews, many a time would he have gathered them as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, but they would not. I wish that every honest soul in this world would read the Book of Mormon; would read the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price, besides reading the Bible. What a glorious privilege is ours. The so-called Christian world, divided and subdivided maintains that the Bible contains all of the word of God. To them the Lord has never given a revelation. According to its teachings nothing has come from the heavens by way of counsel and advice or revelation, comparable to that which we find in what they are pleased to call the canon of scripture.
Not long ago, as I was on the train coming home, a minister said to me that the Book of Mormon was a fraud because in the last chapter of the book of Revelation the Lord so declared it. Let me read those words.
And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
I said to him, "My good friend, don't you know that when that was written we had no Bible?" This Bible was not compiled as we have it when that was written. That has reference merely to this Book of Revelation. Then he was sorry that he had spoken. Well, all they have is what is contained in this book, this record that closed nearly two thousand years ago.
ADVANTAGES ENJOYED
See the advantage, brethren and sisters, that we have. Not only do we have the revelations given to the prophets of ancient Israel, given by our Savior when he was on the earth and by his disciples in that first century, but the Lord has continued to speak; he has given many revelations to others. We have them. We are blessed with the Book of Mormon which contains the principles of the gospel so clearly stated, that we do not stumble over them. We have the Doctrine and Covenants, which is our book particularly, containing the revelations given to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and to all the world if it will have them. This book isn't just for us, but we have it. The world won't have it. See what it could have if it would. It could have information, knowledge and wisdom pertaining to the salvation of men, that can't be found in the Bible. I have said, and I think I am right, that there isn't one principle pertaining to the salvation of men that is so clearly stated in the Bible, as it has come down to us, that men do not stumble over-not one thing. There is not one principle they can be united on that has been so clearly stated that they don't find their interpretations of it conflicting.
THE VISION
Do you want to know about the resurrection of the dead? Who is going to be saved in the celestial kingdom of God? Then read your Book of Mormon. Read your Doctrine and Covenants. The seventy-sixth section of the Doctrine and Covenants, known as The Vision, is the clearest, most concise statement regarding salvation that I know anything about, and I doubt if the Lord ever gave to any people at any time upon the face of the earth anything clearer than this revelation. Do the people of the world know where they are going when they die? No. They sing about a beautiful isle of somewhere. They don't know. Can they find out in the Bible? Yes, we can find it. They could find it if they had the right inspiration, but with the added help that we obtain from the records the Lord has given us, we don't stumble over that. We don't stumble over baptism and how it should be performed and by whom. We have a clear and perfect understanding of the nature of God. Now, I can find that in the Bible; so can you. So can they, if they would search for it in the spirit of faith; but they stumble over it; and yet they are not willing to accept the revelations of the Lord given in the day and dispensation in which they live that would set forth clearly to them all these principles of eternal truth. How greatly are we blessed!
BOOK OF MORMON
Then I have this regret, that so many members of the Church do not avail themselves of this information. The Lord was kind enough and so deeply concerned in the matter that he sent an angel from his presence to reveal the Book of Mormon. For ages he prepared the Book of Mormon that it might come forth to the convincing, it says, of both Jew and Gentile and the remnant upon this land, that Jesus is the Christ. It was to come forth in a day when men would be denying the Christ. Isn't that true? Is not the world today getting farther and farther away from a knowledge concerning the Son of God? Are not the peoples of the earth beginning, if they have not already reached the point, to deny the literal resurrection of the body and are questioning the resurrection of the Lord himself and his godhood? The Book of Mormon said that would be the case and that it was to come forth as a testimony, as a witness to men that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Redeemer of the World, and that men will be saved and exalted in the kingdom of God by keeping their hearts pure and obeying all of his commandments. These things the Lord has impressed upon us.
COVENANT AT BAPTISM
In conclusion let me read the covenant we make when we are baptized and come into this Church.
All those who humble themselves before God and desire to be baptized, and come forth with broken hearts and contrite spirits, and witness before the church that they have truly repented of all their sins, and are willing to take upon them the name of Jesus Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end, and truly manifest by their works that they have received of the spirit of Christ unto the remission of their sins, shall be received by baptism into his church.
What do you get out of that? I get this: that every soul baptized, truly baptized, has humbled himself; his heart is broken: his spirit is contrite; he has made a covenant before God that he will keep his commandments, and he has forsaken all his sins. Then after he gets into the Church, is it his privilege to sin after he is in? Can he let down? Can he indulge in some of the things which the Lord has said he should avoid? No. It is just as necessary that he have that contrite spirit, that broken heart, after he is baptized as it is before.
POWER TO REACH MEMBERS
Oh, I wish we had the power, we who hold the priesthood, to reach every soul who is not faithful, who is not humbled in his heart-members of this Church-that we might bring them back to a full understanding of the gospel. Is it true that some among us have an idea that it matters not that we sin so long as it is not a grievous sin, a deadly sin, that we will yet be saved in the kingdom of God? Nephi saw our day. He said that people would be saying that. But I say unto you, we cannot turn away from the path of truth and righteousness and retain the guidance of the Spirit of the Lord.
May the Lord bless the Latter-day Saints. May he bless all people. Oh, I wish that we would all humble ourselves and seek the truth which the Lord has declared to us by his own word in this day in which we live. The Lord bless us all, help us to be true and faithful and keep his commandments, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie
Bruce R. McConkie, Conference Report, October 1950, pp. 13-17
President George Albert Smith said this morning that it was not enough for people to have their names on the records of the Church in order to be saved in the kingdom of God, but that it was necessary to keep the commandments.
Then Elder Joseph Fielding Smith said the same thing and read to us the covenant of baptism, that is the covenant which we take in the waters of baptism.
A COVENANT PEOPLE
We are a covenant-making and a covenant-taking people. We have the gospel which is the new and the everlasting covenant: new in that the Lord has revealed it anew in our day; everlasting in that its principles are eternal, have existed with God from all eternity, and are the same unchangeable laws by which all men in all ages may be saved. The gospel is the covenant which God makes with his children here on earth that he will return them to his presence and give them eternal life, if they will walk in the paths of truth and righteousness while here.
We are children of the covenant which God made with Abraham, our father. To Abraham, God promised salvation and exaltation if he would walk as the Lord taught him to walk. Further, the Lord covenanted with Abraham that he would restore to Abraham's seed the same laws and ordinances, in all their beauty and perfection, which that ancient patriarch had received. "For as many as receive this gospel," the Lord said to him, "shall be called after thy name, and shall be accounted thy seed, and shall rise up and bless thee, as their father".
Now we have this same everlasting covenant. We have the restored gospel, and every person who belongs to the Church, who has passed through the waters of baptism, has had the inestimable privilege of making a personal covenant with the Lord that will save him provided he does the things he agrees to do when he enters into that covenant with God.
ALMA'S EXPLANATION
Alma recited this personal covenant of salvation at the waters of Mormon in language like this-all of it is, of course, summed up in the promise to keep the commandments of God-but Alma gives these particulars: He says that when we go into the waters of baptism we covenant that we will come into the fold of Christ and be numbered with his people. We covenant that we will take upon ourselves the name of Christ and be Saints in very deed. We covenant that we will bear one another's burdens, that they may be light. We covenant that we will mourn with those that mourn. We covenant that we will comfort those that stand in need of comfort. We covenant that we will stand as witnesses of Christ and of God at all times and in all things and in all places that we may be in, even until death. Then, by way of summary, Alma says we covenant that we will serve God and keep his commandments.
THE LORD'S PART
In return, that is, if we do all these things, the Lord on his part promises us that we will come forth in the first resurrection and be redeemed of him: that he will pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon us while we are here in this life; and that we will have eternal life in the world to come.
I don't suppose that the Lord is making any useless covenants with any individual, and so, any person who will keep this covenant, and do all the things required by it, can have in his heart the assurance that he will go to the presence of God and have eternal life in the mansions that are prepared.
RENEWING OF COVENANT
So important is this covenant in the eyes of the Lord that he has provided for us a means and a way to renew it often. The ordinance whereby we renew this covenant is the ordinance of the sacrament. Every time we partake of the sacrament worthily, with humble hearts and contrite spirits, we agree again that we will take upon ourselves the name of Christ, always remember him, and keep his commandments which he has given us. And the Lord agrees with us again that we will always have his Spirit to be with us; and further, that we will have eternal life in his kingdom in accordance with the revelation which says,
Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
To be saved is to go to the celestial kingdom of heaven. To be exalted is to gain the highest heaven or degree within that glory. Not only have we been permitted as Latter-day Saints to take the covenant of salvation, and to renew it from time to time, but we have also been privileged to enter into covenants which will give us exaltation in our Father's kingdom. After a man has taken the covenant of baptism and has pressed forward in righteousness and steadfastness before the Lord, and has desired to keep his commandments, and manifested by his works that he places the things of the kingdom of heaven first and will let the things of this world take care of themselves, there comes a time when he is called and chosen and ordained to the higher priesthood. Ordination to the higher priesthood includes a covenant of exaltation.
The Lord revealed this covenant to Joseph Smith in this language:
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 receive 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.
FULNESS of BLESSINGS
Now, according to the revelations which we have received, the fulness of the priesthood, meaning, I suppose, the fulness of the blessings of the priesthood, is had only in the temples of God, There is an order of the priesthood which is named the new and everlasting covenant of marriage. When people enter into that order of marriage, administered in the temples of the Lord, by the Lord's servants, having the Lord's authority, they make a covenant of exaltation, a covenant that will bring them up in the resurrection as husband and wife. The family unit will continue and they will gain the highest reward and the greatest honor and glory that our Father can bestow on any of his children. They will be gods, even the sons of God, and all things will be theirs, for they will receive of the fulness of the Father.
These covenants which we take in the waters of baptism and when we partake of the sacrament, if we keep them, will guarantee us a place in the celestial world. These covenants which we take when we are ordained to the higher priesthood, and when we enter into that order of priesthood which is the new and everlasting covenant of marriage, if we keep them, will guarantee us a place of exaltation in eternity.
And as with the covenant of baptism, so with the covenant of marriage: I don't suppose the Lord is making a useless covenant with us or offering us something that we are not able to obtain. In each instance, if we keep our part of the bargain and do the things we know we should, the Lord has promised to do his share and keep his part of the bargain and give us the promised reward.
BAPTISM A GATE
Sometimes someone will say: "Well, I have been baptized into the Church; I am a member of the Church; I'll just go along and live an ordinary sort of life; I won't commit any great crimes; I'll live a reasonably good Christian life; and eventually I will gain the kingdom of God."
I don't understand it that way. I think that baptism is a gate. It is a gate which puts us on a path; and the name of the path is the straight and narrow path. The straight and narrow path leads upward from the gate of baptism to the celestial kingdom of heaven. After a person has entered the gate of baptism, he has to press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, as Nephi expresses it, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men; and if he endures to the end, then he gains the promised reward.
And so it is with marriage and exaltation. Sometimes people think they can enter into the ordinance of celestial marriage and then be indifferent or lukewarm or even commit iniquity and sin, and yet figure that eventually, in the eternities that are prepared, after they have paid the penalties for their sins, they will come up as husband and wife and enter into their exaltation. Such is not the case. The same principles apply to marriage and exaltation as apply to baptism and salvation. There is no such thing as gaining salvation or exaltation except by obedience to those laws upon which the receipt of these blessings is predicated. Salvation never has been and never will be the fruit of sin.
COVENANTS TO BE KEPT
After we have been baptized, after we have been married in the temple, after we have taken all these covenants, we have to keep them. Every promise that we receive is conditioned upon our subsequent faithfulness. It is expressly so stated in the marriage covenant itself. We have to be obedient, faithful, and diligent, valiant in the testimony of Christ, walking by every word that proceedeth forth from his mouth. By such a course we will sanctify our souls. When we become sanctified and pure, we are capable and eligible and worthy to stand in the presence of our Father. No unclean thing can dwell in his presence. The whole process of salvation, this whole probation that we are undergoing in mortality, is to permit us to cleanse and perfect and purify our souls. It is to permit us to take evil and iniquity and carnality and everything that leads away from God out of our souls, and replace those characteristics with righteousness and virtue and truth and obedience, which, if we do, degree by degree, will perfect us until eventually we are clean and spotless and pure and are able to stand the glory of the celestial world. If we can't stand the glory of the celestial kingdom, we won't be able to go where God and Christ are.
BLESSINGS TO FOLLOW
We get the greatest blessings that it is possible for men to get here in this life by living the gospel. The world may be in turmoil, torn and disheveled; there may be blood and carnage on every hand, but if we keep the commandments of God, we will get the Holy Ghost for our companion and guide. Those who have the Holy Ghost get the peace which passeth understanding. Now, that is the greatest gift that a person can get while he dwells in mortality.
And then by having kept those same commandments and having walked in that same path, having kept those same covenants, we get the sure promise that we will be inheritors of a celestial exaltation in the mansions that are prepared. The gospel gives us the greatest blessings it is possible to receive in time, and assures us of the greatest inheritance it is possible to gain in eternity. How grateful we ought to be for it! How anxious we should be to keep the commandments of God, and the covenants that we have made, so that we may have all the choice and rich things the Lord promises the Saints. It is my prayer that we may so do, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Joseph L. Wirthlin
Joseph L. Wirthlin, Conference Report, October 1950, pp. 17-23
I sincerely trust, my brethren and sisters, that I might enjoy an interest in your faith and prayers during the few moments that I shall stand before you. I have the high honor and privilege of laboring with the youth of the Church; and it is a distinction and an honor to associate with Bishop Richards and Bishop Isaacson, who have the welfare of the young people at heart.
PAUL'S ADMONITION
The admonition of the Apostle Paul to his younger associate Timothy is so applicable to youth:
Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
Through the great youth program of the Church, the admonition of Paul to Timothy is being adhered to. On every hand we see the evidence in the lives of these young people of their belief, faith, charity, and purity.
FAITH OF YOUNG PEOPLE
Sometime ago while I was visiting in the southern part of the state with Sister Wirthlin, we decided to remain overnight at Bryce Canyon. We arrived in the afternoon, meeting some of the young people who were employed there. They came to our cabin and held what I would call a fireside chat. These young men and women told us of ambitions and objectives to be achieved and of their great faith in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I remember one young man who told us that he came to Bryce Canyon with the hope of earning enough money to pay his school expenses for the coming year. He was promised a certain salary, but later the manager indicated that the salary could not be paid in the amount first mentioned. The young man was deeply worried, knowing that the income for the summer would not be adequate. He said he worried about it for several days and wondered whether or not he should seek employment elsewhere.
"Finally, one day," he declared, "as I was driving out among the cedars to gather firewood for the lodge, I said to myself, 'Why not ask the Lord about it?' So I stopped the truck and walked out among the cedars, knelt down, and talked to my Heavenly Father. And there came to my heart a feeling of assurance that I should remain at Bryce Canyon and things would work out. A few days later the manager came to me and said, 'We have decided to give you the salary promised you in the first place.'"
You couldn't convince that young man that the Lord hadn't answered his prayer. He believed implicitly in God, and because of that great faith he took his problem to the Lord and found the solution.
The next morning when we went to the lodge for our breakfast I noticed on the table the name of the waitress, an old familiar Latter-day Saint name. When the young lady came in, I asked her where she lived, and she answered, "I live in Bountiful."
I asked, "I suppose you are a member of this so-called Mormon Church?"
She replied, "Yes, I am."
Then I asked, "What kind of church is it?"
She declared rather emphatically, "It's a good church."
And then I put the next question quite strongly and asked her if she thought it was the only true church. In a very positive way she gave me to understand that it was the true church. At that point Sister Wirthlin told the young lady who I was, and that ended it. But the thrill of the whole thing was that this young woman, talking to a stranger, was willing to bear testimony to the fact that she belongs to the restored Church of Jesus Christ.
FAITH OF SERVICEMAN
Some four weeks ago I had a rather interesting and inspiring experience. A young man whom I have known since he was a boy came into my office. He said, "I'm a reserve officer, and I have been called into the army."
He had been married only about four or five years and has two lovely children, and I sorrowfully replied, "Paul, I'm sorry, in a way."
He said, "Brother Wirthlin, don't worry about me, I have come here this morning to get some tracts that I might do some missionary work among my companions in the army; and furthermore, I have a promise, which I look upon as a divine promise, that I shall live to see the day when my father, who is not a member of the Church, will join it. I'm so impressed with that promise, I'm not worrying about the experiences that are immediately ahead of me." Such faith-so simple, and so profound! This young man will enjoy the blessings of our Heavenly Father because of his sweet, clean life and his faith in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the priesthood.
We often hear young people bear their testimonies to the divinity of this great work, and what a thrill it is; although, at times, there are evidences of a negative attitude on the part of older people. They say these young people cannot stand up and testify that they know this is the Church of God, that God lives, that Jesus is his Son, and that Joseph Smith was a true prophet. Brothers and sisters, young people, even a child at the age of eight who has been baptized, can stand up under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost and bear sincere testimony that he knows the Heavenly Father lives, that Jesus is his Son, and that Joseph Smith was his chosen instrument. There is no question about that in my mind.
DAY OF PENTECOST
Go back to the days of Peter, the Apostle, after Christ had left the disciples, and they had received the Holy Ghost. They stood before a great multitude of people on the Day of Pentecost and preached to them the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The throng of people were so pricked in their hearts that they arose as one man and asked, "... Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Peter answered them and said,
... 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.
Any child who attains the right age, who has faith and repents of his sins and is baptized for the remission of sin under the hands of authorized servants of God, can receive the gift of the Holy Ghost; and under the inspiration of that sweet spirit, he can bear his testimony. Did not the Christ declare:
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth which proceedeth from the Father he shall testify of me.
SPIRIT OF TESTIMONY
I recall a friend of mine who had a great sorrow to bear. He had sought solace in many places. Finally, one fast Sunday he said to his wife, "Let us go over to fast meeting." He hadn't been too active in the Church. In the fast meeting he saw many of the young people bearing their testimonies. The spirit of testimony took hold of him, and he stood up and bore his testimony. That same afternoon he asked another associate of mine if he could have some place in the activities of the Church, and he was called to serve. Today he is a loyal, devoted, and fruitful servant of our Heavenly Father.
Now, what about the young men who are being called into the armed forces of the nation? After all, we use this axiom: Old men for counsel and young men for battle. In the bloody struggle of war, it is youth who suffer. Their blood is spilt; their lives are sacrificed; and many are denied the blessings of having a companion and rearing a family. We owe much to these young men. First, we owe them encouragement. We owe to them letters in a constant stream to keep them encouraged, to keep their faith built up. Then if death should come, because of their sweet, clean lives, they will regardless of what happens to them if death should come, because of their sweet, clean lives, they will be able to meet the great Judge who will extend his hand to them and give them that heavenly salutation: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant".
AARONIC PRIESTHOOD PROGRAM
The Aaronic Priesthood program of the Church is most vital. It is a training field for the young men of the Church. And what a grand and glorious thing it is to know that a boy at the tender age of twelve can receive divine authority from on high and become a servant of God. Whenever I think of these twelve-year-old boys, I always think of another one who lived nearly two thousand years ago-the boy Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. At the age of twelve we find him attending the Feast of the Passover with his parents in the city of Jerusalem, and in the course of events he found his way to the temple. There he was discussing the problems of the day with the great, the wise, and the learned. Later his mother missed him, and in looking for him, found him in the temple. In effect, she said to him, "Do you not know that you have caused your father and me a good deal of sorrow and grief?". Then he gave her that memorable answer, "... wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?". That should be the slogan of the Aaronic Priesthood, in which every boy at the age of twelve commences his ministry in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Aaronic Priesthood affords opportunities that young boys cannot afford to miss, if they will take advantage of them; just as Paul said to Timothy,
Let no man despise thy youth: but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
AUXILIARY ORGANIZATIONS
Then, too, we have the great auxiliary organizations of the Church. We have the Sunday School which provides lessons covering the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ; we have the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association and the Young Women's Mutual Improvement Association. We have our seminaries and institutes. We have our great welfare program, too, which should play a pertinent part in training our youth to be thrifty, ambitious, and willing to sustain themselves by the sweat of their brows and the toil of their hands. The Primary Association of the Church makes a great contribution in the spiritual, vocational, and recreational training of our children. It is the Primary that takes the child at a tender age and guides his footsteps in the paths of prayer and faith; and it teaches him how to use his hands effectively. The Primary Association is closely related to the young men who become holders of the Aaronic Priesthood, as it provides a preparatory course for all young men of the Church who anticipate receiving the Aaronic Priesthood. May I say, emphatically, the Primary Association has been one of the great factors in giving young men a vision of their responsibilities in the future. May God always bless and sustain the fine sisters who have been and who are carrying on this splendid work.
BOY SCOUT PROGRAM
Another great and very important project of which little is said is that of the Boy Scout program. I want to say to you, as the vocational and recreational program of the Church for the Aaronic Priesthood, there is nothing finer than scouting. I say this because I have three sons, two of them are Eagle Scouts, and the other one a Life Scout. As I have observed their work in scouting, to me it has been almost comparable to a college education. Many times there are those of us who feel scouting is strictly a recreational program, but that is only a part of it. We are faced today with a big problem in knowing what to do with the leisure time of our boys, especially during the vacation period. The scouting program will take up all of this leisure time, provided we encourage our boys to participate in it.
About a year ago a Scout was sent to me for an oral examination covering the project of producing beef. I asked many questions of the scout pertaining to the production of beef, and I was quite surprised when he answered every one of them correctly. With the knowledge he has accumulated through the merit badge project in scouting, he will be able to go forward in the beef industry on his own, although he is tender in years.
There are many other projects which can be most helpful to young men in working out their future vocations.
As a father of three sons, and all of them Scouts, if I were to choose someone to supervise their recreation, I would choose the scouters of my own ward, because I know they would be in good hands and nothing would happen that would be detrimental to their character.
Where we have the right kind of Aaronic Priesthood work, we will have the great scouting program supplementing it; and where there is good scouting, there is good Aaronic Priesthood work. I plead with you to support the Boy Scouts.
MISSIONARIES
I haven't forgotten the 5800 young men and young women out in the world, meeting people far beyond them in age and experience. With the sword of truth in their hands for defense and offense, they are convincing men they have a great message, and as a result thousands of people are accepting the gospel of Jesus Christ in this nation and all over the world.
SUPPORT OF YOUTH
So, we plead for your support, for your help in encouraging the youth of the Church to participate in the great Church youth program, with the aim that they may be prepared when the time comes to take over the responsibilities that we older people now have. Returning to Paul's admonition to Timothy, "Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity". Impress every young man with his responsibilities and obligations in the priesthood, that when temptation crosses his path, he may remember the answer of the boy Savior in the temple when he said, "... wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?". This I humbly pray, will be the blessing of every young man and every young woman in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Amen.
Elder Matthew Cowley
Matthew Cowley, Conference Report, October 1950, pp. 23-27
I am indeed grateful this morning, my brothers and sisters, for the counsel which we have received. I am grateful for the counsel we have received which has come from the President whom we sustain as a prophet, as the mouthpiece of God to his children here on earth. I endorse his timely counsel with respect to our conduct in the coming political campaigns and the keeping of our tempers. I am reminded of a story that was told of Senator Chauncey Depew when he was launching into a campaign for the Senate of the United States. His opponent came to him and said, "Senator, let's make this campaign clean."
The Senator replied, "I fully agree. If you will promise not to lie about me, I'll promise not to tell the truth about you." How clean the campaign was, I am unable to say.
NEVER LOSE A FRIEND
When I was a youngster employed in the Senate of the United States, there came into the office one day a former governor of this state. While we were visiting, he said, "I'd like to give you a little advice."
I said, "That's fine, I appreciate advice from one of your experience."
He said, "Never lose a friend over politics or religion."
I have tried to keep that counsel in my mind all my life. I was in politics a little bit at one time, for which I have since repented. I was successful in one election. I was defeated in another. But I am very thankful that I can say today that I still have the friendship of my opponents. I cherish their friendship. I respect the principles for which they stood, and I am sure they respect me in the same light.
Brothers and sisters, we are children of God, we are Saints of the Most High God. There is no place in this kingdom upon the earth for God's children to make enemies, one with the other, both professing to be members of the Church, over politics or religion.
BLESSINGS OF GATHERING
I am reminded now of the opening prayer. In that prayer we thanked God that he had sought us out from far and near places to gather here. How thankful we should be that we have been sought out to gather where we are. And as I stand here this morning, I see two in this congregation who have come all the way from New Zealand, two good Maori Latter-day Saints who have come to receive the blessings in the temple of God. These are the only two who have had the opportunity to come from New Zealand during the past thirteen years. There are thousands of us living in the shadows of the temples of God upon whom there is no financial burden to go to these temples. How I thrill this morning when I see this grand couple who have saved and saved and prayed and prayed that they might one day come to the temple of God and receive their blessings. They have come eight thousand miles to spend a few days with us and to return back home. I trust that they have listened to the admonition which has been given all of us this morning, to keep the covenants which we have made with our God, to remember the blessings which are theirs if they remain faithful to the end.
I see also our good Hawaiian sister, Sister Kauhini, the president of the Relief Society of the Oahu Stake. I see also some of our Japanese and some of our Indian friends. Yes, I thank God that we have been sought out from places far and near to gather here. After this conference I am going among the Indian people of the Southwest Indian Mission. Brothers and sisters, they are our people. The salvation of these people rests upon us. The rewards to which they are entitled must come through us and the service we are willing to render to them and for them.
LOVE FOR NATIVE RACES
I love these native races. They have given me something that I could have received from no other source. Even though some classify them as heathen, yet I have never seen the veil between God and man so thin as I have seen among these native races. God has restored his gospel for all people. We have had eleven thousand missionaries in the field since 1946, going to all parts of the world where they are permitted to go. As has been mentioned they are young, unexperienced men and women. But whether in New Zealand or in Hawaii or among the Indians of this nation or wherever they may go in the world, God magnifies his priesthood, and his priesthood speaks as having authority, and the people give listening ears.
Sometimes they are warned, the people of the world, to beware of these Mormon missionaries; and they are referred to the prophecy that one day false prophets would come among them. God never fulfills his purposes through false prophets. It is only through true prophets that he fulfills his purposes among men. It is a matter of historical record that God said he would scatter Israel. It is a matter of historical record that he said he would gather Israel from the four corners of the earth. And this congregation today is a witness to the world that it is a matter of historical fact that through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, God is gathering Israel.
PROPHECIES FULFILLED
God said that in the last days the house of the Lord would be established in the tops of the mountains, and exalted above the hills, and all nations would flow unto it. It is a matter of historical record that he uttered that prophecy through one of his prophets. It is a matter of historical fact that the mountain of the Lord's house has been established in the tops of the mountains, and all nations have been flowing into it. It is a matter of historical fact that the stick of Judah has been written and is in the hand of God as one of his mediums of bringing salvation to his children. It is a matter of historical record that there was also to be a stick of Joseph, and that these two should be one in the hand of God. It is a matter of historical fact that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is now distributing this record, this stick of Joseph along with this stick of Judah to the thousands and thousands of those to whom the missionaries are going with their testimonies of the restoration of the gospel. It is a matter of historical record that God was to send Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord to turn the hearts of the children to the fathers and the hearts of the fathers to the children, lest the earth be smitten with a curse. It is a matter of historical fact that in this dispensation Elijah has returned to the earth, for the hearts of the children have been turned to their parents and those of the parents to the children. We know to whom that prophet came. It is a matter of historical record that God said through his Apostle that another angel would fly through the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell upon the earth. To the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints it is a matter of historical fact that that angel has flown through the midst of heaven, and the everlasting gospel has been restored to the earth. It was said by the Master that this gospel of the kingdom should be preached as a witness to all nations, and then should the end come. It is a matter of historical record and fact that there are right now 5,840 missionaries representing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints out in the world, bearing witness to the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
GOD'S KINGDOM ESTABLISHED
Brothers and sisters, what more do we need other than the testimony of these historical facts to confirm the fulfillment of God's prophecies as prophesied by his servants? And we know as explained by Daniel that God would set up a kingdom in the last days. We know the story of the image which was seen by Nebuchadnezzar in a dream and the interpretation by Daniel under the power of God of that dream. We know that those kingdoms and empires symbolized by the head, shoulders, and breast, the belly and thighs, and the legs, all passed away, and that during the existence of none of those kingdoms did God set up his kingdom never to be destroyed. But in the days of the kings symbolized by the toes, God did establish his kingdom in the earth, and it will never be destroyed.
LOYALTY TO PRIESTHOOD
The priesthood of God is among men. Let us who hold it be faithful and loyal to this priesthood. We represent God, brethren. God must work through you to fulfil his prophecies; therefore, prize your priesthood, be loyal to it, be humble before God, and you will accomplish his purposes in the building up of his kingdom, and this work shall go forth into all the world and will reach out and will touch those who are to be brought out, two of a family and one of a city, and gathered to Zion.
I repeat, I thank God that we have been sought out from far and distant places to gather here. I thank God for the young missionaries who many years ago found my ancestors on the Isle of Man and brought them out, and they came in poverty and found their way to Nauvoo. They met the Prophet. One of these young lads was almost to be attacked and destroyed by a mob as he was lifting water from the Mississippi River, but his life was spared as it had been prophesied it would be. Yes, I thank God with all my heart that we have been gathered out from the world, and I thank God that these people, these islanders, and these Indians are responding to this message, and that once in a great while, these people in their poverty find a way to get to Zion and go into the temple of God.
THANKSGIVING FOR NATIVES
I offer up my thanksgiving to my Father in heaven for these natives who are here today. My, how much I owe to them! I remember during the war years that this fine couple were both in the military service of their country. And after the service was completed, as we had no missionaries in New Zealand, they both responded to mission calls. One day as I was going to visit them in the city of Rotorua, I discovered that they had built a beautiful new house. As I went into that home, I noticed that over the door there was a beautiful little printed sign with the name on it, Matthew Cowley. That was to be my house whenever I was visiting in that area of the mission. And when my family and I left New Zealand, it wasn't enough that we had lived in their home, they took the blankets from the beds on which we had slept and insisted that we bring those blankets back home with us.
Are these people, brothers and sisters, these islanders of the sea, these Indians of the reservation, worthy of the blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ? Yes, a thousand times, yes!
God bless us all. May we be faithful and devoted to this cause, obedient to the principles of the gospel, sustaining one another in our respective positions, honoring each other in our homes, preserving the integrity of our families, the integrity of our priesthood quorums, and of all the auxiliaries, that God may continue to be and abide with us. This I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Clifford E. Young
Clifford E. Young, Conference Report, October 1950, pp. 29-31
Our testimonies have indeed been strengthened so far in this conference, and I share with you in gratitude to our Heavenly Father for his goodness, for the manifestations of his Spirit, and above all I am grateful for the Church, for the testimony of its truth, and for the fellowship with you, my brethren and sisters.
MORMON CHURCH A CHALLENGE
Some weeks ago I was handed a clipping taken from a Los Angeles paper in which appeared a report of some remarks made over the radio by one of the distinguished clergymen of Los Angeles. His broadcasts are in the nature of a questionnaire, and one of the questions submitted to him was this: "There are said to be more Latter-day Saints in Los Angeles and its environs than there are in Salt Lake City. Do you not regard this as a threat?" Dr. Fifield, in answering the question said,
No, I do not consider this a threat. I consider it a challenge. The Protestant churches, I think, have much to learn from the Mormon Church. There is no church in the world that does so much for its young people as the Mormon Church. I personally know most of the dignitaries of the Mormon Church. I visit in Salt Lake City frequently, and I know of no finer or more high-minded people anywhere. They live the cleanest and most temperate lives of any religious sect that I know of. Their people support their church generously with their tithing system, and the church in turn supports its people and provides a way for their social care so that none of them is on any public relief roll.
As I read that, I wished that were true. The possibilities of it are like the possibilities in the Church for all things that are in harmony with the mind and will of God. But sometimes some of us do not always conform. If all the Latter day Saints conformed to the counsels of the Church, this would be verily true. But we do have within the Church this possibility. It isn't a dream. It's a reality, if we will. And then he goes on.
Of course, I do not accept the story of the finding of the golden plates and the translation thereof of the Book of Mormon in the manner related, but I do think that as a religious organization, holding its people to a high level of culture and education and social progress, the Mormon Church has no parallel in our time. No, I do not think the Mormon Church is any threat to other churches. I think it is a challenge to them to do better work with their members and their converts.
PRESIDENT CLARK'S BOOK
As I read that, I recalled a very constructive criticism of President Clark's book, On the Way to Immortality and Eternal Life. A brief review of that book appeared in the Unitarian Christian Register in the April number of this year. This is a magazine that is 124 years old, a magazine that carries each month criticisms and reviews of the leading theological, religious, and philosophical books as they are published from time to time. Outstanding works they are, and it was certainly in keeping with the dignity and the scholarly atmosphere of Brother Clark's book to have this criticism appear in this magazine. In the final statement, and that is the point I wish to emphasize, the critic says this: "It is an excellent introduction to the contemporary position of one of the most influential religions on the American scene." Now, of course, we all like to hear nice things about our Church, but the thing that we are interested in, my brothers and sisters, is this: Are we worthy of this trust-this pedestal on which we are placed-as set forth in these statements? That is the challenge for us. Are we meeting this challenge? Do we in very deed in our living represent the Church and kingdom of God? On one occasion the Savior, as he was speaking to his disciples and telling them of the events that should come to pass in the last day, after making certain predictions and promises, said, "And this gospel of the kingdom," and that was quoted here this morning, "shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all the nations; and then shall the end come".
WITNESSES OF THE TRUTH
On the Sabbath day, as we partake of the sacrament, we witness unto the Lord Jesus Christ that we will keep his commandments, that we will live in harmony with his will. And so I repeat, we have this challenge. Are we witnessing the truth to the world? We can only witness it as we live in harmony with those concepts that have been revealed by our Heavenly Father. Lip service is not the service that is required in this Church. It is a constant daily service to our fellow men. I alluded to it a minute ago with reference to people being on relief. We have a challenge there to see to it that those of our people who are in distress shall not be neglected but shall be provided for, and if we fail to measure up to that challenge, and that is the reason why we have people on public relief, we are failing in our responsibilities as leaders and members of the Church. The Lord has pointed the way. We should walk therein. We know the way, but it is in our neglect and in our failure to live up to that which we know to be true, that we fail to witness that we are keeping his commandments, that we are a witness of the truth. This applies not only in this but in other walks of life also. We are told in James 1:27,
Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
CONSTANT SERVICE REQUIRED
In our community recently, we had a very serious tragedy. One of the young men of our city, a very promising young man, met with a tragic death. The community responded in love and sympathy to the family; and when the funeral service was held, it proved to be one of the largest attended in a long time. One couldn't help feeling the love and the sympathy there manifested. But the next day, then what? And the days to follow. These are the things that should give us concern. It isn't just a spasmodic move or a gesture, but it's a constant service that is required of us as Latter-day Saints in all we do, in our various walks of life. Therein our religion can be exemplified as we each day experience problems such as this.
Now, I do not regard this as difficult. I believe we can do it. I believe the Lord is cognizant of our weaknesses sufficiently to overlook them, and to make it possible, in spite of those weaknesses, for us to carry out to the world that we do have a living, vital religion, that we have something that the people can live and exemplify in their lives. Otherwise the gospel would not mean to us what it does. I repeat again, it isn't a lip service. It is one that presents a constant challenge of daily labor, laboring for good, for the establishment of truth, for the amelioration of suffering. We'll never have peace in the world in any other way. It will come only if we translate into our lives these divine concepts and these truths.
I pray, that the Lord will give us strength and power to do this, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder Oscar A. Kirkham
Oscar A. Kirkham, Conference Report, October 1950, pp. 31-34
I pray that I may enjoy the blessings of the Spirit of the Lord. I thank him for my membership in this Church. I wish I had the power and the ability to make that expression of appreciation more real, that it might be not only more helpful to me but also to those with whom I associate.
MUCH GIVEN AND EXPECTED
Much has been given to us. Much is expected of us. I sincerely feel that there never was a time when greater opportunities faced our Church. I know that every year, every score of years, brings to that group and that generation like feelings, but truly great things are now being wrought in the world, and great opportunities now face us. Nations fear each other. There is much that is being done, but we have a task that challenges truly the best that is within us, me in my home, you in yours, all of us wherever we may be.
These lines from John:
He that hath received his testimony has set to his seal that God is true.
BAPTISM OF KARL G. MAESER
I want to refer to the baptism of Karl G. Maeser, one of the great spirits of our Church, one of the great leaders of the Brigham Young University. Just after his baptism in Germany, he said these words:
On coming out of the water, I lifted both my hands to heaven and said, "Father, if what I have done just now is pleasing unto thee, give me a testimony, and whatever thou shouldst require of my hands, I shall do, even to the laying down of my life for this cause".
Soon after this covenant with the Lord, he and President Franklin D. Richards of the European Mission received the answer to this promise to the Lord, for while neither one of them could speak the language of the other, that is, Brother Richards could not speak German, Karl G. Maeser could not understand English, yet the Lord gave them the gift of tongues and of understanding. The promise was fulfilled at once. You know, hundreds of you in this audience today, that the Lord continued his blessings with Karl G. Maeser, for numbered among his pupils were George Sutherland of the Supreme Court of the United States, Reed Smoot of the United States Senate, William H. King of the United States Senate, and many, many others. I feel in like fashion we have also in our hearts with all good intent made a like promise to the Lord. And again I repeat, this is our opportunity to prove to the Lord that promise.
GLORY OF THE GOSPEL
At one of our recent conferences in one of the stakes, we asked a young lady to tell of her experience at a national convention. She had received lovely honors. She told the story in some detail of what had happened at the convention, but then as the detail of it got wearisome to her, she took hold of the stand and seemed to rise several inches higher as she said, "I want to bear my testimony. That is what is on my heart." Then this youth in all her glory expressed what her testimony meant to her.
Years have been somewhat many in my life. I'm easily up to the top of the crest, but I challenge myself with you, the great majority of this audience, if we do not take the opportunity that is ours to serve him and courageously do his will, he will bring forward a generation that will keep his commandments and prove the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
SPIRIT OF AMERICAN YOUTH
I listened to a talented pressman a few days ago who had just returned from Korea. He said the question was often asked of the soldiers up in the front lines what they were fighting for. He told only one simple incident. He said they know. Down the highway when thousands of Koreans were evacuating a city, there came a young fellow in a jeep. In the crowd that was hurrying on in confusion was an old lady bent with age, a large bundle on her back. The jeep stopped, the GI boy threw the bundle in, then lifted the old lady into the seat. Down the road they went to safety. Well, the pressman made quite a bit of that simple incident, and I believe that I caught the spirit of it. Surely the American youth know what they are fighting for. God bless them with courage when they return home, that they will take their place and do their best. May the destiny that is theirs to have and enjoy be with them.
SERVICE OF MISSIONARIES
A like spirit has gone out with 5800 young men and women into different parts of the world. One simple, yet to me a glorious, experience was enjoyed last month in the East Central States Mission. As is our custom, we meet with all the missionaries as we go through a mission. Their testimonies are truly inspiring. We are thrilled as we listen to them. I seldom leave a meeting but what I have to hold back my tears of pride and joy for the youth of this Church. I received a lovely reflection of their service in one experience. A brother came to me after the dedication of one of the little chapels in the mission and said, "Brother Kirkham, I have been in the Church now for about nineteen years, and I am extremely grateful for what God has given us. The light and the truth of the gospel has truly enriched my life. Let me tell you how it happened."
He said: "I had a young missionary come to my home. I used to drink a cocktail occasionally. I smoked freely, but the young chap clean, sweet in his nature, and in his appearance so delightful, came to our place and told us that he had something for us. I called Mother in, and we sat and listened. This continued for several evenings, until one night when we were quite free in our conversation and felt we knew each other quite well, I took the liberty of rolling a cigarette. And the young man said: 'I suppose it's time that I told you about another great principle of the Latter-day Saints.' He said, 'I want to read you what we call the Word of Wisdom', and he started to read to me. I had taken the cigarette out of my mouth and, as this young chap read this Word of Wisdom, something happened to me. I found myself trying to crush that thing in my fingers. I felt the fire once but held my nerve and kept crushing it, and I said, as now I say to you, Brother Kirkham, he spoke the truth. This boy brought me a message from God and cleared up my life."
ACCEPT OPPORTUNITIES
Well, these opportunities are also ours. Just over the fence from where we live is someone waiting to hear us speak the word. Consider the way we accept our opportunities in citizenship. Yes, I appeal to every Latter-day Saint: Vote-it's one of the high privileges of your American citizenship. Bear your testimony every opportunity that comes to you. "Stand up and be counted with the Lord."
God bless us and help us that these great hours may to us be great realities and opportunities. May it be said of us, "Much was given to you; much was expected; and you did your part." God bless us and be with us that we may make of our glorious religion a reality. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder John A. Widtsoe
John A. Widtsoe, Conference Report, October 1950, pp. 34-38
I confess, my brethren and sisters, that the call to occupy this position this afternoon is somewhat unexpected. I am to give the Church of the Air sermon next Sunday morning. It was intimated that because of that appointment I would not be asked to speak from this stand. So I have no special message in my heart. I suppose I'll have to depend upon the Lord. That is good practice for Latter-day Saints
I am always happy to bear my testimony to my brethren and sisters that this is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I rejoice in it; I know it to be true. The truth of it has lightened my life and has given happiness to me and to my family. That I can say always to my brethren and my sisters.
YEAR OF ANNIVERSARIES
This has been a year of anniversaries. A short time ago, within the last few weeks, the President of the Church went to Hawaii to celebrate the coming of the gospel to those islands one hundred years ago. You have read of what happened there. He mentioned it briefly himself this morning in his address.
It is also a hundred years ago since the gospel was brought to the foreign-speaking lands of Europe. Up to that time we had only once attempted to preach the gospel in foreign tongues, namely in the South Sea Islands. But a hundred years ago the missionaries sent out by the First Presidency of that day entered the Scandinavian and other countries of Europe and bore witness of the restoration of the gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ. They made notable progress at that time, a progress which has resulted in a large influx of men and women, faithful men and women, to the valleys of the mountains here.
SCANDINAVIAN CELEBRATION
It was my privilege to be sent to Scandinavia a few months ago to take part in the celebration which the Saints of those countries were holding and enjoying, because of the great anniversary. I visited the three Scandinavian countries. I was given the privilege primarily, I suppose, because I am able to speak a little of the tongues of those countries. I visited Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, in addition to stopping briefly in England. I came back feeling thrilled with the manner in which the gospel had developed and spread from the humble beginnings of a hundred years ago in those countries. You know, of course, that here in these valleys, among the stakes and wards of Zion, the blood of those countries through intermarriage has spread until a large proportion of our people here carry some of that blood.
The brethren and sisters of the Scandinavian countries had planned large celebrations. I was able to attend fully the ones in Stockholm, Sweden, and in Oslo, Norway. They were carefully laid out after the pattern that had been planned for our celebration here at home and were splendidly rendered, fully as well as the celebration here at home. I missed the beginning of the celebration in Denmark because of my hurried call and trip, but later on I met with the Danes and enjoyed their company and partook of their spirit and learned of the excellence of their celebration.
GOSPEL CHANGES MEN
It was interesting to me to note how the gospel changes the very nature of men and women, and how faithful and devoted men and women may become to the cause of truth once it sinks into their hearts.
Norway is a long country, nearly a thousand miles long. Up in the icy north, we have two or three branches, one very recently established, and I was pleased to find in Oslo, which is nearly at the south end of the country, people who had come from the far north to celebrate and to thank the Lord for the coming of the gospel to their land. The same happened in Sweden: also in Denmark, which is a small country. All had a very large representation of their Church members in attendance at the celebrations. There was a spirit of faith and devotion like that we have here today. Many people had traveled hundreds of miles to sit by one another in meetings like this and to listen to discourses on the simple principles of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It was interesting to note, also, how men grow and develop under the influence of the gospel spirit. Let a very humble man be touched by the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he becomes transformed. He is no more the same man, no longer the same person. He has changed completely. I am reminded of the statement of the Prophet Joseph Smith at one time, when talking about the children of Abraham; he said that any person who accepts the gospel of Jesus Christ becomes of the seed of Abraham. A subtle change occurs in the very physical system of the man, which makes him indeed one who belongs to the family of Abraham, the family of the faithful. This notable change I observed a good many times this trip to Scandinavia this summer, that men are transformed for the better, their powers multiplied, their vision increased, their understanding and comprehension brought out in new forms so much more vigorous because of the gospel which they have received, because of the truths of the gospel. I am happy to bear this record to my brethren and sisters at this conference.
GREETINGS FROM EUROPEAN SAINTS
I am very happy also to bring you the greetings of the people, our brethren and sisters of the covenant, of the faraway missions in Europe. They send their greetings to; you and their blessings also, and their blessings are quite worth while for they come from common sources. They love you, they watch you; they follow you: they try to emulate and to imitate that which you do here.
MEETING IN OSLO
Some years ago, I have forgotten just how many, I had the privilege to go to Oslo, the capital of Norway, with President David O. McKay and Elder Reed Smoot. The three of us came into the city rather late in the afternoon. I think two of us at least were unannounced. Perhaps Brother McKay was announced, the president then of the European Mission, I am not sure about that. But we made our way at once to the meeting place of the Latter day Saints. I shall never forget that meeting. We were not expected by the members present. The meeting as composed of the people, the men and women, who had been called to labor as missionaries in the city of Oslo. It was a report meeting. One after another the people, young and old, got up and gave a report of what they had done. I recall one elderly lady who said that she hesitated to make her report; for it was such a poor report. She had only had time during the last month to bring the gospel to two hundred different homes. I thrilled as I thought of the faith of that woman, the strength of her faith; and how many of us fail to appreciate what we have received as she did appreciate it. Many go by day after day, having received the great gift of the eternal gospel, the greatest of all gifts, but forgetting to pay back to the Lord as he would like us to do a part of our time and strength and power to assist in the advancement of the great kingdom of God here upon this earth. I am sure that good sister received the gift of joy from her labors.
There is much I might tell you even after a brief trip to Scandinavia this summer about the conditions of the people. They are faithful Latter-day Saints, second to none in the wards of Zion. I just touched old London for a few days and found it the same wonderful old London, in the same condition as of the past. The people there, our people, are reported to be faithful and true to their covenants with the Lord, through their baptism into the Church.
WORLDWIDE MESSAGE
I would like to say, before I close this brief report, that I was greatly thrilled this morning as I heard Brother Cowley give his report, and added to that we have heard from Brother Kirkham a few moments ago. The message of the Church is not to the valleys of the mountains alone. It is not to be confined in these valleys surrounded by these everlasting hills. We have a worldwide message. Our army of missionaries, five thousand eight hundred strong as was reported this morning, implies our belief in the spread of the gospel over the whole earth. The Lord has said himself that every ear shall hear the gospel in these latter days. That means not only the ears of the people who are here in this beautiful, blessed land of America, but far beyond over the seas, on the islands, everywhere, the gospel has been preached and must continue to be taught. And we're doing this sacred work to the best of our ability. As we do that and continue to do it, the Lord will bless us and magnify us and make us powerful and strong, acceptable to him. Let us never forget the worldwide nature of our obligations before the' Lord. Our missionary system must be cherished and be kept alive constantly and forever, until that last great day comes and the Lord says that the work is done.
WE HAVE THE TRUTH
My brethren and sisters, I bear you again my testimony that I know this to be the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the truth. As Brigham Young used to say, "Men ask me what the gospel of Jesus Christ is, what name does it bear? And I say to you, its name might well be truth." We and the Church, if we are faithful, as we have been taught this morning by the President, the prophet of the Lord, shall conquer. We cannot fail. Truth is never defeated. It blesses all who possess it. We have the truth. If we will keep the truth and if we cherish it and practice it in our lives, then victory over error will be ours from the smallest household in Zion to the farthest outpost of Zion, wherever that may be. Thus through the restoration of the gospel in our day, the whole world shall be blessed.
May the Lord bless us and fill us with an understanding of this mighty work laid out for us in these latter days and make us able to do the Lord's work, which we can do if we are faithful, I pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Eldred G. Smith
Eldred G. Smith, Conference Report, October 1950, pp. 55-58
I have paid particular attention in this conference to the prayers that have been offered. They have been indeed a good example for all of us to follow. I hope that I will receive in turn my full share of prayers asked in behalf of those who take part here in this conference as I am sure those who have preceded me have received.
In the beginning, as Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden of Eden, they were shut out from the presence of the Lord, but the Lord did not expect them to be without some contact with him. That one avenue he left open for man to reach God while in this life of mortality was prayer; so Adam called upon God, and he received guidance in all things. Neither does God expect us to get along without his help. Throughout the Old and New Testaments and the Book of Mormon the Lord gave instructions to pray constantly. The Doctrine and Covenants is filled with like exhortations. The disciples asked the Savior on one occasion. "Lord, teach us to pray."
PRAY TO FATHER
Among other things the Lord said, "Pray to our Father in heaven." And herein, I think that we need to be careful, because very often we open our prayer with the expression of praying to our Father in heaven, then during the prayer we use the term "Lord," and before we are through it is hard to tell whether we are addressing the Father or his Son, Jesus Christ. We should pray to our Father in heaven, for he is indeed the Father of all mankind on the earth, and because he is our Father, he wants us to come to him often with our joys and our sorrows and thank him for all that he has given us. Then the Savior gave us a good suggestive sample of the things to pray for and how to pray.
As Jesus told his Disciples, our Father in heaven knows what we are in need of before we start; yet he has commanded us to pray. He wants us to be thoughtful of others as we are of ourselves. "Forgive us as we forgive our debtors". He did not intend that we should always use the exact words that he gave in the sample or to use pre-written prayers. In so doing we would become as those Christ referred to when he said, "They draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me". Do you think Joseph Smith would have received that wonderful manifestation if he had simply read a prayer? How much of our heart goes into a prayer of that nature? How much faith can we exercise with words and thoughts that are not our own? Prayer without faith is dead, and if we add to the faith which President Ivins has just spoken to us about, that prayer, I'm sure will have results, and we'll have an increase of the statistics President Ivins has referred to in actual fact and continue as such.
BE IN TUNE
We do not read our prayers in this Church, but some of us get in almost as bad a rut. We are so bound by set words and phrases at times that we hardly remember what we are saying. We must have a spirit of deep humility, of repentance, an open mind, to receive the will of God. We must not be hampered by any anger or meanness or hardness of heart, or any selfish desires. We must tune our minds and our hearts to the Spirit of God just as we tune our radio to receive the program from the broadcasting station. We want no interfering static from outside influences. In the attitude of true repentance we should seek forgiveness of our past mistakes and guidance for improvement. I like the little poem used so much in our home:
To say my prayer is not to pray, Unless I mean the words I say, Unless I think to whom I speak, And with my heart his favor seek.
Then let me, when I come to pray, Not only mean the words I say, But let me strive with earnest care, To have my heart go with my prayer.
SINCERITY OF CHILDREN
Unless our whole heart is in what we are doing, we are not really praying. A child is naturally sincere and can be taught to pray almost with its first words. His own private prayer should become a habit never to be broken. If he greets the day with a prayer for guidance and help, if he goes to sleep with a prayer of thanksgiving, more than half the battle is won in trying to do right. The Lord tells us in the Doctrine and Covenants, sixty-eighth section, twenty-eighth verse:
And they shall also teach their children to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord.
Children will learn more from observation than they ever will from just being told. If parents have a prayerful attitude, the children are more than likely to have the same. Family prayer cannot be too highly praised. In no other way can we obtain such a spirit of unity, nor is there any better place for the child to learn to pray in public. The Lord also tells us in the Doctrine and Covenants, nineteenth section and twenty-eighth verse:
And again, I command thee that thou shalt pray vocally as well as in thy heart; yea, before the world as well as in secret, in public as well as in private.
FAMILY PRAYER
It is surprising how soon a child can take his turn in family prayer, and just think of the good that comes to the family. If we kneel down together and unitedly thank God for his many blessings; pray for guidance, for peace and love in our hearts; if we pray for others who are in need; for the advancement of God's work here; can it help but make our home a better place? Can we help but be more thoughtful of others, more kind and loving? A man and wife who will pray together and pray vocally will have more love and contentment in their home. If we would learn to call upon God more often, we should not have to call upon the divorce courts so much. Teach your children the one source of strength that will never fail them. Help them to realize that they have an everlasting friend, one that they can call upon when their hearts are filled with joy as well as when they are filled with doubt or sadness or despair. Then when they have grown up and are on their own, living at home, away at school, or in the far-flung battlefields of war, they have God as their partner; they are not afraid. This would bring peace, happiness, and joy. A sin-sick world could be lifted from its depths if we could only turn to the Lord in prayer. What more could we do for our children? I pronounce the blessings of God upon all who humbly seek him in prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Milton R. Hunter
Milton R. Hunter, Conference Report, October 1950, pp. 58-63
This is indeed a humbling experience-to occupy this position. I do, therefore, ask an interest in your faith and prayers and that the Spirit of God might rest down upon me.
More than two thousand years ago an ancient Hebrew prophet, speaking for the Lord, said,
Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
FAITH EXHIBITED
During the past five and one-half years since I was made a member of the First Council of the Seventy, I have had the wonderful experience and opportunity to travel throughout the stakes of Zion and in the mission fields, I have observed with much joy the great amount of faith expressed and exhibited by the Latter-day Saints. Thousands and thousands of them are paying their full tithes and offerings to the Lord, contributing in the welfare programs, sending their sons and daughters into the mission fields, and in practically all respects living the gospel of Jesus Christ. They are doing all of those things and much more because they know that God lives; they know that Jesus is the Christ and the Savior of the world: they know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and that the true gospel has been restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith in our day.
I have ofttimes felt that I am sure God is pleased with the Church in general and with many of the Latter-day Saints in particular.
LAW OF TITHING
On the other hand, however, I have also observed that there are certain members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints-and possibly thousands of them-who are fulfilling Malachi's prophecy or prediction at the present time. They are robbing God in tithes and offerings. I've ofttimes thought and have even expressed the idea that I believe that practically all members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, if they understood the law of tithing, thoroughly; that is, if they knew the will of God in this respect and especially if they could be taught to know of and appreciate the great spiritual blessings which would be received as a result of rendering obedience to this law, they would pay their tithes and offerings to the Lord in full. I have suggested in priesthood leadership meetings as I have traveled throughout the Church that the leaders of the stakes, presidents of quorums, bishops, and stake presidencies endeavor to teach the people the law of tithing.
Yet I also recognize the fact that there are certain ones in the Church who would argue against the law. They might say, "But, Brother Hunter, you quoted Malachi, and he lived four hundred years before the Savior lived. He was a Hebrew prophet and was talking to the Jews. Would his teachings apply to us?"
I would answer, "Yes, I know that he was a Hebrew prophet. He was talking to the Jews, and yet his teachings would apply definitely to us. Why? Because he was giving us the will of God-the absolute mind and words of God the Eternal Father which he had been commanded to teach."
LAW GIVEN TO NEPHITES
Now why can I be so definite on that point? Because of an event that took place after the resurrection of the Savior. The resurrected Lord appeared to the Nephites here on this continent. He taught them the same gospel plan that he had given to the Jews while in mortality. On one occasion he said to them,
After you people left Jerusalem a great prophet of God came among the Jews and my Father commanded him to teach the people certain things, and since you haven't a record of what that prophet taught, I have received instructions from the Father to tell you what Malachi taught.
So he gave them the teachings of Malachi and he asked them to write those teachings down. After this had been done, he explained to them all that Malachi had taught.
He quoted the exact words of Malachi,
Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say: Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
Now since Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world, the great Judge, the Redeemer, the very One under whom the gospel came to us, the gospel being named after him; then certainly when he says that these teachings on tithing are the doctrine and will of his Father, those teachings would apply to us.
TITHING REVEALED ANEW
Furthermore, a hundred years ago and a little more, the Lord revealed the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Prophet Joseph Smith. As part of that great restoration was the restoration of the principle of tithing. In a revelation to the Church the Lord said that this commandment would be an everlasting law unto the priesthood of the Church. It is, therefore, a law that you and I must obey if we expect to receive the blessings that God has in store for those who love him and keep his commandments.
EXPERIENCE AT INTERVIEW
I would like to relate a little experience that I had about a year ago. A young man came into my office to be interviewed to be ordained a seventy. I asked him if he would like to be a seventy. His face lighted up with joy: and he said, "Yes, Brother Hunter for a long time I have wanted to become a seventy. I have never been recommended before, but I do hope that I am now worthy. I do hope that you ordain me a seventy today."
After I got this gush of enthusiasm from him, I asked him a question rather point-blank. I said, "Would you steal $150.00 from your neighbor?" A look of indignation came over his face. If I could have read his thoughts, he probably would have been thinking, "Well, you have your nerve, Brother Hunter, to think that I would steal."
Finally he looked at me and said, "No, sir."
I wasn't exactly satisfied, and so I said, "Would you steal a cow from your neighbor?"
He shot back this reply instantly, "I wouldn't steal thirty-five cents from my neighbor."
I remarked, "This is very, very interesting to me, that you wouldn't steal thirty-five cents from your neighbor; and yet, you would rob God."
A questioning look came over his face, and he asked, "What do you mean? I don't understand you."
Thereupon I turned his recommendation card over and read these words, "Part tithepayer."
He looked at me rather flushed, and I might say, turned a little red, twisted around in his chair a little, and finally he said to me "Well, I guess it's this way, Brother Hunter: the Lord isn't here to check up on me. My neighbor is. If I robbed my neighbor, he would put me in jail."
I replied, "Brother, you are partly right and partly wrong. Certainly your neighbor would put you in jail if you robbed him. He should put you in jail, but when you got out of jail, your neighbor would have no more influence or claim on you. You would have paid your debt. But God also is checking up on us, and we are working with him for eternal life. He declares that eternal life is the greatest gift he has in store for man, and it is reserved for those that love him and keep his commandments. To receive eternal life in the presence of God would be worth more than all the money in the world." And I continued by saying: "Now it is my opinion and feeling that if you or I or any other Latter-day Saint feels that he must rob somebody, I think probably it would be far better to rob our neighbor than to rob God."
He replied, "Well, I've never thought of it that way before."
And then I asked, "What are you going to do in the future?"
"I am going to be a full tithepayer," came quickly the positive and unqualified answer.
I was delighted that he took that attitude because he now understood more about the law of tithing and had reached a determination to obey it in the future.
COVENANT TO OBEY
We are told by the prophets of God that the earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof; that you and I are merely stewards, merely landlords, so to speak. Our rent is one-tenth of all that we earn. Yesterday, in a very beautiful way, Brother McConkie spoke of a covenant with God. Every one of us has entered into a covenant with God to the effect that we will pay one-tenth of all that we earn to the Lord. When we entered the waters of baptism and became members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we accepted all of the principles of the gospel, including the principle of tithing.
The Lord has given us the law of tithing in order that he might test our honesty. When we use any portion of God's one tenth, we are robbing him.
The Lord has given us the law of tithing in order that he might test our love for him. He has declared that if we love him we will keep his commandments; therefore, to the extent that we pay a full tithing, to that extent we have given tangible evidence that we do love the Lord our God.
The Lord has given us the law of tithing to test our obedience. The purpose is to see if we will be faithful in all things that God commandeth us.
Furthermore, the Lord has given us the law of tithing to test our preparedness to enter the kingdom of God, to enter exaltation.
TEACHINGS OF JOSEPH F. SMITH
The prophets of God have taught the things I have been mentioning here this morning. I would like to quote from the teachings of one of the great prophets in our day, the Prophet Joseph F. Smith. He said in regard to tithing, this:
By this principle the loyalty of the people of the Church shall be put to the test. By this principle it shall be known who is for the kingdom of God and who is against it. By this principle it shall be seen whose hearts are set on doing the will of God and keeping his commandments; thereby sanctifying the land of Zion unto God, and who are opposed to this principle and have cut themselves off from the blessings of Zion. There is a great deal of importance connected with this principle, for by it ye shall know whether we are faithful or unfaithful. In this respect, it is just as essential as faith in God, as repentance of sin, as baptism for the remission of sin, as the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. or if a man keep all the law save it be one point, and he offend in that, he is a transgressor of the law, and he is not entitled to the fulness of the blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ. But when a man keeps all the law that is revealed, according to his strength, his substance, and his ability though what he does may be little, it is just as acceptable in the sight of God as if he were able to do a thousand times more.
President Smith also made this statement:
The law of tithing is a test by which the people as individuals shall be proved. Any man who fails to observe this principle shall be known as a man who is indifferent to the welfare of Zion, who neglects his duty as a member of the Church, and who does nothing towards the accomplishment of the temporal advancement of the kingdom of God. He contributes nothing, either, towards spreading the gospel to the nations, and he neglects to do that which would entitle him to receive the blessings and ordinances of the gospel.
Could the Lord have established or could he now establish another way to take care of the economic needs of the Church? I am positive that he could. He could say, "President George Albert Smith, in yonder hill or mountain there is a great deal of gold. Have the brethren of the Church mine that gold. Use the money to build church houses, to send missionaries out in the mission fields to take care of all the other needs of the Church. The Latter-day Saints have been faithful in the past in paying many contributions, so from now on they can rest. They don't have to pay any more money to the Church."
BLESSINGS TO FOLLOW
Certainly he could do that if he wanted to, but he won't. He is too wise a God to do that. He recognizes the great spiritual blessings which come from paying tithing. They far outweigh the economic blessings. He recognizes that "where a man's treasure is, there his heart will be also". He recognizes the fact that if we contribute much money to help build a church house, we might come to church to get our money's worth. He recognizes the fact that if we give donation after donation to the Church for various purposes, our contributions tie us into the Church. As a matter of fact, we own part of it. We belong there. It develops us spiritually to pay on welfare, to pay tithes, to pay fast offerings, to pay and pay into the Church.
Brethren and sisters, it is a blessing, an opportunity in your lives and in my life to have the privilege of paying into the Church. It helps us to get rid of the selfishness in our hearts. It makes us love each other more. It makes us love God more. In fact, it makes us more godly. In other words, tithing is a spiritual law which God has given us for the purpose of preparing us to come back into his presence and receive eternal life. Therefore, his course is a wise course. Every wise Latter-day Saint will accept it. Not one of us can afford to be part tithepayers nor non-tithepayers. We need the blessings of the Lord.
I humbly ask our Father in heaven to let his Spirit rest down upon you and me and upon every member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whether he be a full tithepayer or not; may the full tithepayers remain full tithepayers: may the part tithepayers accept this principle of the gospel and repent of their past negligence. By doing so we might all prepare ourselves to come back into the presence of God and receive exaltation. And for this I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, October 1950, pp. 63-69
My brothers and sisters, I should like to express here my great love and admiration for President George F. Richards who was with us in our last conference but has since passed away. Of all the men I have known in my life, none has risen to greater heights, in my opinion, than Elder George F. Richards in saintliness, in vision, in understanding, and in love, humility, and power.
PRAYERS FOR LAMANITES
I was glad that President Beckstead mentioned in his prayer the Lamanite program. I thought, as he was praying, "Wouldn't it be glorious if two hundred thousand Latter-day Saint families every morn before their breakfast, in their family prayers, were asking that the work of the Lord among the Lamanites might be furthered; and if those same two hundred thousand families might also be on their knees before they retired that night to ask again, among other things, that the blessings of the Lord might be brought to this great people?"
PLAN DEVISED BY THE LORD
The Lord has devised a very comprehensive plan, and I have a firm conviction that the blueprint that he worked out many millennia ago will be followed, and the structure will be built in accordance therewith.
The Prophet Joseph Smith dedicated the Kirtland Temple in 1836. His prayer, which he stated later was a revelation from the Lord, covered many matters, and in it he made this statement:
And cause that the remnants of Jacob, who have been cursed and smitten because of their transgression, be converted from their wild and savage condition to the fulness of the everlasting gospel.
Our Father began to speak through the mouths of prophets long centuries ago, outlining in prophetic words the history of those many centuries which were to follow. I'm sure that he inspired a little boy, Christopher Columbus, to stand on the quays in Genoa Italy, and yearn for the sea. He was filled with the desire to sail the seas, and he fulfilled a great prophecy made long, long ago, that this land, chosen above all other lands, should be discovered. And so when he was mature, opportunity was granted to him to brave the unknown seas, to find this land which had been cut off from the rest of the world long centuries, and to open the door, as it were, to the teaching of these people and bringing them back to their Heavenly Father.
I have a firm conviction that the Lord led the Pilgrims and the Puritans across the ocean, perhaps permitted the persecutions that would bring them here, so that when they came to the American shores with their righteous blood and their high ideals and standards, they would form the basis of a nation which would make possible the restoration of the gospel. I am sure that since there was not religious liberty, not political liberty here, the Lord permitted these few poorly-armed and ill-clad men at Valley Forge and elsewhere to defeat a great army with its trained soldiery and its many mercenaries, a few against the many, but the few had on their side the Lord God of heaven, that gave them victory. And there came political liberty and religious liberty with it, all in preparation for the day when a young boy would come forth and would seek and make contact with the Lord and open the doors of heaven again. Following that great manifestation to Joseph Smith came the opening of Cumorah Hill and the speaking of the dead from the dust.
PURPOSES TO BE FULFILLED
I am sure that all this was for a well-planned purpose. The Lord knew exactly what he was doing, and though evil forces were at play, they were all brought to bow, so that the purposes of the Almighty would be fulfilled.
I should like to quote to you a paragraph from Wilford Woodruff, stated by him in 1873:
I am looking for the fulfillment of all the things that the Lord has spoken.
For long centuries the Lord has said how this chosen people would fall into transgression and how some centuries after Christ they would be so deep in sin they would lose the faith, and that certain ones of them would be destroyed. Now, Brother Woodruff says he knows that these things will all be fulfilled,
... and they will come to pass as the Lord lives. Zion is bound to rise and flourish. The Lamanites will blossom as the rose in the mountains. I am willing to say here that although I believe this, when I see the power of the nation destroying them from the face of the earth, the fulfillment of that prophecy is perhaps harder for me to believe than any other revelation of God that I have ever read.
Brother Woodruff lived in the day when the Lamanites were being destroyed. They were the "Vanishing Americans" at that time, and they were being persecuted and driven and killed and reservationed about that time of the nation's history. He continued:
It looks as though there would not be enough left to receive the gospel; but notwithstanding this dark picture, every word that God has ever said of them will have its fulfillment, and they, by and by, will receive the gospel. It will be a day of God's power among them and a nation will be born in a day. The chiefs will be filled with the power of God and will receive the gospel, and they will go forth and build the New Jerusalem, and we shall help them. They are branches of the House of Israel and when the fulness of the Gentiles has come in and the work ceases among them, then it will go in power to the seed of Abraham.
WORK COMMENCED
We are given to understand that the work commenced when the book came forth, for in Ether, fourth chapter, we read:
Therefore, when ye shall receive this record ye may know that the work of the Father has commenced upon all the face of the land.
The Prophet Joseph Smith gave us the thought that the Lord brought us out here from the East to bring the gospel to the Lamanites. One of the most important things that can possibly happen in this Dispensation of the Fulness of Times is to bring to the Lamanites a knowledge of God. He says:
... there will be tens of thousands of Latter-day Saints who will gather in the Rocky Mountains, and there they will open the door for establishing the gospel among the Lamanites, who will receive the Gospel and their endowments and the blessings of God.
Brigham Young seemed to catch the vision of it. He said that the Lord could not have devised a better plan than to put us where we are in order to accomplish that very thing of educating and teaching the Lamanites. Our ancestors came a thousands miles across the desert, under terrific persecutions and hardships, to locate where the Gentiles had scattered the Lamanites. They had pretty well "reservationed" them here in the western states. They were in our every county, and the Lord brought us out here that we might teach them the gospel.
Brothers and sisters, that work has continued with some interruptions through the century. Now the Lord has made another step. It seems to me he is bringing the Lamanites back to us. They were sent onto reservations all over the west, and now the largest, the Navajo Reservation, will not support its people. The Navajos are being starved out. They are coming back among us into the beet and cotton fields, on the railroads, and in the mines to find employment. They are coming back into the stakes of Zion where we have stake missions and where we have thousands of good Latter-day Saints who live the gospel, and thousands of devoted stake missionaries who will teach them the truth. Here is our great opportunity. The Lord seems to have planned everything for our sake. If we fail our opportunity, I am sure the Lord will not easily forgive us.
LAMANITE MEMBERSHIP
You will be interested to know that there are some forty thousand Lamanite members of the Church in the world, including the islands of the sea. There are probably ten thousand Lamanite members in North America in the Mexican missions and the Indian mission. There are 902 Lamanite members in the English-speaking missions in the Eastern, Northern, Central States, and other North American missions. And this work has gone forward splendidly under some of our mission presidents. We have baptized 1823 Lamanites in the last two-and-a-half years in the three missions that specialize in Lamanite proselyting in North America. We have baptized 480 Indians down in the little Indian mission, with a token number of missionaries. About an equal number have been blessed children under eight years of age who belong to families of friends and investigators and members, so that we now have more than twelve hundred members there in our short period of missionary work. We have approximately seventeen hundred Indian members in the stakes of Zion. We have baptized 347 in the sixty-five stakes which have reported so far, in this period, since the work was inaugurated.
In the missions in the United States and Canada, we have baptized 248 Indians in this short period. You will be interested to know that we are baptizing more Indians for each missionary than the Church is baptizing in the rest of the world. There were three and three-tenths baptisms for each missionary in the Indian mission in 1949, compared to about two-thirds that many for the other missions in North America. We have about fifty baptisms of Indian youth who have come from the reservation and who are living in the homes of Latter day Saints on a daughter-mother and son-father basis. Here the Indian boy or girl becomes an unofficial member of the family, and is neither a servant nor a guest, where foster parents are taking care of them and are giving them education and training, and they soon come into the Church at their own request. We have about fifty-one Lamanite missionaries in the mission field now, and they will be increasing very rapidly, I am sure. We have a full-blooded Navajo girl who goes into the mission field Monday morning, the first from that nation. We have a Pima Indian in the mission field now, and we have a Catawba Indian coming from the East who goes into the mission home soon, en route to one of the other missions in the Church. Brother Smith told us yesterday there were ten Lamanite missionaries from Hawaii who were over in the Orient, I believe.
EARLY BRETHREN QUOTED
I should like to give you a few quotations from some of the early brethren. Joseph Smith said that this work was extremely essential, and he sent Oliver Cowdery, Peter Whitmer, Parley P. Pratt, and Ziba Peterson out as early as October, 1830. It wasn't very long after the plates had come out of the Hill Cumorah. In section thirty-two of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord Jesus Christ says of those Lamanite missionaries:
... and I, myself, will go with them, and be in their midst... and nothing shall prevail against them.
And then the Prophet Joseph Smith said,
... and there they will open the door for the establishing the gospel among the Lamanites who will receive the gospel and their endowments and the blessings of God.
And Brother John Taylor said:
... the work among the Lamanites must not be postponed if we desire to retain the approval of God.
Oliver Cowdery, even in that early day, had found the Navajos in the far Southwest, and he reported it to the brethren, feeling that it was a very important thing. Then Wilford Woodruff said this further, as he went down into the southwest, in New Mexico, and visited among the Indians there. He said:
In my short communication of the second inst., I promised to give a fuller account of my visit to the Isletas which I will now endeavor to do.
The Isletas are one of the Pueblo groups down in New Mexico.
I view my visit among the Nephites one of the most interesting missions of my life, although short. I say Nephites, because if there are any Nephites on this continent, we have found them among the Zunis, the Lagunas, and the Isletas, for they are a different race of people, altogether, from the Lamanites. I class the Navajo, Moquis and Apaches with the Lamanites, although they are in advance of many Indian tribes of America. I class the Zunis, Lagunas, and Isletas among the Nephites.
And then he goes on to say, that as soon as they dismissed this particular meeting among the Isletas, and were going to leave, one of the Nephites arose.
... full of the spirit of the Lord and said, "Friends, why do you dismiss us and leave us this way? This is the first time we have heard of our forefathers and the gospel and the things we have looked for from the traditions of our fathers. If our wives and children are weary, let them go home. We want to hear more. We want you to talk all night. Do not leave us so."
Brother Brigham Young said: "It is our duty to feed and teach these Indians." Let me quote a few lines from him. He advised us to "educate them and teach them the gospel" so that many generations would not pass ere they should become a white and delightsome people.
This is the land they and their fathers have walked over, called their own. And they have just as good right to call it theirs today as any children have to call any land their own. They have buried their fathers and mothers and children here. This is their home, and we have taken possession and occupy the land where they used to hunt. Now the game is gone, and they are left to starve... The Lord has given us the ability to cultivate the ground and reap bountiful harvests. We have an abundance of food for ourselves and for the stranger... We are living on their possessions and at their homes.
I should like to quote again from President John Taylor. He said:
The work among the Lamanites must not be postponed if we desire to retain the approval of God. Thus far we have been content simply to baptize them and let them run wild again, but this must continue no longer; the same devoted effort, the same care in instructing, the same organization and priesthood must be introduced and maintained in the House of Lehi as amongst those of Israel gathered from Gentile nations. As yet God has been doing all, and we comparatively nothing. He has led many of them to us, and they have been baptized, and now we must instruct them further and organize them into churches with proper presidencies, attach them to our stakes, organizations, etc., in one word, treat them exactly in these respects as we would and do treat our white brethren.
HISTORY OF LAMANITE WORK
Brigham Young put this into practice, the proclaiming the gospel to the Lamanites, and he sent missionaries up on the Salmon, over in Carson Valley, over into Moab, down on the Santa Clara up around Blackfoot, and elsewhere. He also sent a mission out to the Indian territory. We made five attempts to establish the work in that area. There were twelve missionaries went in 1855. The missionaries were withdrawn from almost all of these places when Johnston's Army came to Utah. And so the work ceased in many places. Malaria, persecution, and death hampered the work, and by 1860 the Indian territory mission work had lapsed. There were few missionaries to send, the Civil War was on, and conditions at home were difficult, and we had just begun to get established here in the West. A period of seventeen years elapsed, and those converts and investigators were lost, of course, with no one to teach them. In 1877 another group of missionaries went to the Indian territory. After six months they returned. The malaria was too much for them. A year later Elder George Teasdale was sent with some other missionaries, and the work began again, but they also returned in about six months. The malaria was most severe.
Two years later a fourth attempt was made to establish the work, and missionaries were sent again. Though the malaria was severe, they remained, and the mission went on to the present time: but other changes that were severe came upon the Indian work. Texas, Kansas, Missouri, and other states were added to the Indian Territory Mission, and it became the Central States Mission, and the emphasis was gradually transferred from the Indians to the non-Indians. When I was in that mission in 1914, no mention was ever made of Indians, all the work being done among the whites. About two years ago President Francis Brown of that mission sent missionaries again to work among the Indians in Oklahoma, and the work is again going forward.
OUR RESPONSIBILITY
It is time now that we began to give proper emphasis to this great work of bringing the Lamanites to a knowledge of their God. It is our responsibility and our opportunity. Now, brothers and sisters, in the stakes and missions you will have a chance to teach the Indians. Let your prayers ascend to the Lord in behalf of them and then do your utmost to bring them to higher standards, and above all, give to them the gospel of the kingdom and the knowledge of God, as they once had.
May the Lord bless the Lamanite people, and bless us that we many realize our responsibilities toward them. This I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Albert E. Bowen
Albert E. Bowen, Conference Report, October 1950, pp. 69-75
One often hears the question: Why a church? I should like briefly to consider it. I shall hope to suggest to your minds that the question is tantamount to asking: Why religion?
WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL MESSAGE
It was one hundred fifty-four years ago this very month, his second term of office as President of the United States drawing to a close, that George Washington announced to the country his determination to retire, and requested that he not be considered available for re-election to the office he was about to lay down. He made it the occasion for a farewell message which partook almost of the nature of a last testament, bequeathing to his countrymen the fruitage of his rich and varied experiences.
As a participant in the long and oftentimes acrimonious disputes which eventuated in the political severance of the American colonies from the mother country, as Commander-in-Chief of the untrained, poorly-disciplined, ill-equipped, scantily-clad, under-provisioned, and ofttimes unpaid Continental Army, as witness to the bickerings and jealousies and petty greeds which, following the war, so threatened the wreckage of the infant nation that he often wondered whether the winning of the conflict with Britain would prove to be a blessing or a curse, as president of the convention which fashioned the Constitution of the United States of America and as it first president, he had seen human nature at its best and almost its worst. Under stresses and strains, sacrifice and suffering, he had seen men rise to noble heights of patriotic devotion. Likewise, he had seen them usurp and abuse power, quarrel and bicker, resort to petty scheming for advantage, exhibit mean little greeds, and stoop, under the spur of selfish ambition, to ignoble deeds.
Drawing upon this ripe knowledge of human behavior with all its foibles and inconstancy, he so packed into that testamentary legacy perennial wisdom that it never grows old, but is valid for all peoples and all times.
Among the nuggets of pure gold tucked away in that admonitory address are Washington's observations about religion and morality. Here is what he said:
Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness-these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity... And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Without doubt, when Washington spoke about religion, he had in mind the Christian religion. By and large that is the only religion Western man knows. When I speak, in what I shall say today, about religion or the church, I shall have in mind the Christian religion and the Christian church, which encompasses the moral and religious teachings of the Old Testament as well as the new.
The church has had many ups and downs since Washington's day as well as before. It has had periods of strength as well as periods of questionings and doubts. Agnostics and atheists have ever been with it. It has taught that man, the individual as well as the race, is of very great consequence. As a child of God endowed with divine attributes, he is capable of infinite advancement in the scale of being, even to ultimate perfection. He must have faith in himself and his high destiny. Thus far, the Christian is a humanist, and the church is humanistic. But when man loses his humility and arrogates to himself a self-sufficiency which denies God or any other power higher than himself, then the church must part company with the humanistic creed or compromise its principles.
INFLUENCE WEAKENED
Under the impact of agnosticism, atheism, and the extreme humanism which denies God and makes man the source of all meaning, the Christian church as a body has compromised its basic doctrines to make its teachings more harmonious with the current of popular opinion. And where has it got itself? It has lost its saving faith, weakened its influence, and almost forfeited its moral leadership. In consequence, men are floundering about in confusion, not knowing what they ought to do, but well-assured that the fair promises of irreligion and unbelief and human sufficiency have failed them, and they are casting about for anchorage. That is the sorry plight of man in this age.
REVIVAL OF FAITH NEEDED
Men of distinction in the world of letters, scientists, men of wide learning in almost every realm of scholarly research are asserting with great earnestness that the only thing that can save our civilization is a revival of religious faith. In one of his notable addresses, Robert Gordon Sproul, president of the University of California, said:
There is a great need for some directive force to rally the recuperative powers of mankind and win the race with catastrophe. Education cannot provide such a force, important as it is, because it is not the minds, but the souls of men that must be regenerated if catastrophe is not surely to come... Our American heritage cannot long endure without a firmly grounded religious faith.
Only day before yesterday, General Marshall said that military force alone cannot defeat the enemies of the United States. It must be buttressed by the weight of moral force.
These utterances are but typical of the warnings that are repeatedly being sounded by thoughtful people who are concerned about the state of men and women in this modern world. Thus is the wisdom of Washington's reminder that religion and morality are Indispensable supports to political prosperity and that morality cannot be maintained without religion vindicated by the compelling logic of events in this disordered topsy-turvy world. One of the most frequently urged indictments against the Soviet system of government as directed by the polit-bureau is that it seeks to destroy all religion and forbids freedom of religious practices to its people.
UNIFIED ACTION REQUIRED
If, then, it can be conceded, as is so vigorously asserted, that a sound religious faith is essential to the saving of our blighted and withering civilization, the question demanding concrete and immediate answer is: How is a religious faith equal to this supreme task to be regenerated? I do not assert or mean to say that the average run of our people is irreligious or anti-Christian. Christian standards of morality have too long been bred in their bones for that. The teachings of Christ still furnish the best standards by which to measure values that the world knows, and the people of this land out of long habit, instinctively turn to them. At least we pay lip service to them. But clearly that is not enough to furnish the crusading fervor essential to rousing the people of the Christian nations to that mighty endeavor. It is not a matter for individual, uncoordinated confession of faith. It requires action, unified action. That means an organized agency or instrumentality to give the movement direction and solid purpose. The only such organization at hand is the church. That is its office. But there are too many people who profess religion and would probably be insulted if charged with being irreligious or non-Christian, who at the same time refuse to unite with their fellows in the effective practice of religion. They tell us that they do not believe in organizational religion.
RELIGIOUS ISOLATIONISM
Who has not heard amiable, good men say: "I have my own religion and do not need to be bolstered up by church affiliation to have a good life? Even if that were so, it may still be that others need the bolstering up their superior strength would afford, and after all, they owe some obligation to those who need their help. But apart from that, if this sinking, trouble-torn world-order is to be saved through a resurgence of religious fervor, then it is incumbent on every believer to throw in with his might. We hear much said these days about isolationism and isolationists. The least excusable form of isolationism and the most reprehensible of isolationists is that one who holds himself aloof and refuses to lend his strength with fellow-believers to the supreme job of saving civilization and the world.
The gospel taught by Jesus is a gospel of action. It does not consist in a passive profession of faith. Of himself, Jesus said that he came to do the Father's will, not to talk about or profess it. He made a parable about the man who heard his sayings and did them not, likening him to a foolish man who built his house upon the sand, and when the rains descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house, it fell because it was built upon the sand. That man who heard his sayings and did them he likened to a wise man who built his house upon the rock, and it withstood the fury of rain and flood and tempest.
A GREAT BROTHERHOOD
The Christian church was not established by isolationists who separated themselves from each other or the body of believers. They were formed into worshipping bodies who collectively fought their way to victory against dire persecutions, torture, and death. They constituted themselves a great brotherhood cemented together for the fulfillment of a purpose in which they believed. Let him who in placid aloofness luxuriates in the freedom and comfort and security and ease which Christianity has brought to the nations, contemplate what his status might have been if there had been no Christian church.
Organization is but another name for order and stability. Its opposite is turmoil and confusion and weakness and ultimate disintegration. If no political body in the world has ever been able to exist without orderly coordinated authoritative organization, how can it be presumed that religion can carry on its high commission to resuscitate a sagging world without the church which is the organizational instrumentality through which it carries out its great work? Here is reason enough for a church.
EFFECT ON FAMILY LIFE
There is one other vital consideration, namely, the effect on family life and succeeding generations of the neglect of participation in organized church practices. A few years ago I recited from this pulpit the story of a disturbed woman's perplexities. She had just visited a dear friend of her college days who by then had a well-grown daughter and a son. She was both embarrassed and shocked by the behavior of these children. The boy came and went as he pleased, and no questions asked or answered. The mother's admonitions and protests against the indelicate indiscretions of the daughter in her behavior with young men were met with jeers at the mother's prudery and lack of sophistication. The last night of her visit, she was awakened by a disturbance in the house. The girl had come home from a late party thoroughly intoxicated and was leading her escort in like condition to her room when they were intercepted by the aroused parents. A noisy scene ensued before the boy was finally sent off home and the girl put to bed. So the embarrassed visitor went home to clear her head and do some thinking. She remembered the home environment in which she was reared.
The religious note was strong in that home. The Bible was read and believed in. Daily the family on their knees talked to God who was revered and was a reality. They were church-going people and set apart one day a week as a holy day on which to do reverence to the Author of life. They sang majestic hymns which carried messages to their expanding souls. They heard the simple, direct words of the gospels whose grandeur somehow carried over into their hearts and furnished their ideals for living. These ideals, through practice, were silently woven into the pattern of their lives, and they came out with established characters and stable guides to conduct which made them secure against the waves of laxity which washed about them with the passage of time. Her home and family experience were typical of those of the youth of her time including the friend she had just visited. That friend, along with herself, in the days of their girlhood association had spontaneously as a matter of habit and acceptance observed the conventions and proprieties.
She explained that she and her friend and their associates had in their college years given up the simple faith of their youth, had ceased to give credence to the beliefs which had sustained them had given up their Bible reading and their church-going and their Sabbath observance and their prayers. They could live the good life without these "artificial props." They didn't need the church. They said they had their own religion, but really it had shriveled up to a mere code of ethics now cut loose from its roots and no longer nourished from the parent stem. Then with an incredible lack of recognition of the relation of cause and effect, she professed amazement at the moral bankruptcy of her friend's children. The truth was that these children by the neglect of their parents had been cut off from the very character-forming influences upon which her own character, and her friend's character and the character of their generation had depended for formation and growth.
RELIGION A STABILIZER
While the instance I have cited may in some aspects be extreme, it nevertheless illustrates a result naturally to be expected. The moral foundations established through active participation in the activities of the church may carry through for one generation but scarcely go beyond that. When parents detach themselves from active church affiliations and leave their children free to neglect it too, they have no right to be surprised when their children fall below their own standards. Religion is a powerful stabilizer, and the church is the medium through which it is made effective.
I have but merely mentioned some of the reasons why there must be a church if religion is to be a force in the world or wield any influence or power. Many other cogent reasons will occur to you.
The church, however, is but a dry and barren mechanism unless energized by the burning faith of a vital religion. That is the spark that gives it life.
It would seem to be the part of wisdom that all professing the same creed, the rich and the poor, the mighty and the humble, the laborer and the professional man, the unlearned and the scholar should rally together and with united strength exert a power in the land.
SOLID CONVICTION REQUIRED
To merit the name, religion must rest on solid conviction. It must stand for something. It cannot temporize or compromise. The Christian church rests on the premise that Jesus is the Son of God, the resurrected Lord, the author of eternal life for man. So long as it stood unyielding on that base, it was a force in the world. When the guardians of the faith, in their several denominations, wavered and watered the doctrines down till the virtue was gone out of them, they ceased to be the prop and support to morality and political prosperity which Washington said was indispensable. So long as that is the case, the world will totter and reel. We seem to be trying now to rear a government whose proponents and sponsors cannot even invoke divine blessing upon their deliberations or its destiny. What chance do you think it has to heal the wounds of the world?
If religion is a necessary prop to the political government, so likewise does the religious body, the Church, need for the protection of its guaranteed freedom a righteously administered civil government, which depends upon an intelligent and jealously guarded use of the franchise. That is the citizen's protection against abuse and usurpation.
So far as Latter-day Saints are concerned, I pray that as President Smith admonished at the beginning of this conference, they may have the wisdom and honesty to put their religion above their partisan politics and unite together as a solid phalanx to weed out prostitution of power and debauchery and subversion of the God ordained freedom guaranteed by the glorious Constitution of this land, by voting into office without regard to party affiliation those who will preserve it unpolluted and uncorrupted, the protector and guarantor of individual liberty.
Elder Thorpe B. Isaacson
Thorpe B. Isaacson, Conference Report, October 1950, pp. 86-91
I am very glad I made it this far. At the opening session of the conference President Smith said this was a beautiful picture, and it certainly is a magnificent sight, but I would like to have some of you brethren looking at it now.
My dear brothers and sisters, you of the radio audience, and you who are following the conference on television, I am grateful for the privilege of attending this conference in this house which was dedicated to the service of the Lord. Nevertheless, I always fear and tremble as I stand here, and I will be very grateful if I might have an interest in your faith and prayers, because I know I need the Lord now-I need him always. I confess that I have waited upon the Lord. I believe I know my limitations. I have prayed, and I have wanted to be humble, and I believe my soul is bowed.
TRIBUTE TO PRESIDENT RICHARDS
I, too, would like to pay tribute at this time to President George F. Richards. I am very grateful to my Father in heaven that I had the privilege of knowing him intimately. He loved this people. He loved this Church, and the people loved him. These conferences were a great comfort to his soul, and he, in turn, always gave us beautiful and wise counsel. He was truly one of God's noblemen. I am particularly grateful for a blessing that I received at his hands, and I sincerely pray to my Father in heaven that he will never permit me to forget that choice blessing.
I had a birthday a few days ago, a month after the passing of President George F. Richards, and on the day of my birthday I received a letter signed by President George F. Richards, written in his own handwriting, that his good wife had kept and mailed to me the day before my birthday. He had written that letter just the day before he died. I shall always treasure that letter, and in it he gives me some advice that I need.
This great tabernacle that we are meeting in now was commenced in the year 1863, nearly a hundred years ago. The Lord inspired the brethren to build this house, and it was first used for a general conference such as this in the year 1867, and it was dedicated as a house of the Lord.
CONFERENCES STRENGTHEN SPIRITUALLY
Spiritually I am strengthened as I attend these great conferences of the Church. The Lord revealed to the Brethren that conferences should be held, both general conference and stake conference, so that we could be spiritually strengthened and instructed in our duties.
It is very good to be here to worship God, our Eternal Father, together. We are here for no other purpose. We have no selfish interests. We come here to thank our Father in heaven for the blessings that we enjoy as a people. We come here and unite our faith, and when all of us together can unite our faith humbly, then the Spirit of the Lord is here in rich abundance. It is good to be here and pray together, and when we say "Amen" to these prayers, we have prayed together, and the prayers have been so beautiful and strengthening. It is good to be here and sing together. It is good to be here and hear the word of the Lord as we have heard yesterday and today and that we will hear during the remainder of the conference. It is good to be here and be taught the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is good to be here and partake of the Spirit of the Lord, and as is stated in Genesis: "Truly this is God's house."
MISSIONARY LETTER
As we come here to be instructed and to draw near to the Lord, I am reminded of a letter that I received the other day from a nephew of mine who is on a mission over in Finland. Brother Stephen L. Richards had just been there and spoken to these missionaries, and I would like to quote from a paragraph in this missionary's letter.
Last week it was a real privilege to hear Apostle Stephen L Richards and also to see and feel the example that he is, the spirit which he radiates. I sometimes am afraid these Apostles of God which live in our midst today may not be appreciated for what they really are. Many people do not realize that these men are truly Apostles of God in the same sense of the word that Peter, James, and John were Apostles of God, our Father. This great Apostle who was inspired of the Lord stood in front of us this day and told us about the things of our Father in heaven, and I shall never forget one thing that he said to us: "The things of men are understood by the spirit of men, and the things of God are understood by the spirit of God".
LORD INSPIRES LEADERS
I, too, know and bear testimony that every one of these Apostles is truly an Apostle of God, our Eternal Father. I want to bear testimony in all humility that I know that the Lord inspires his leaders. Many times I have seen decisions made that for the moment I could not understand nor could I comprehend, but it was only days, yes, only hours, until I knew that the decisions that had been made were truly the decisions inspired of our Father in heaven.
I am grateful for the privilege I have of living in this day and age when the gospel has been restored. I am grateful for a little old grandfather who in his youth accepted the gospel in far-off Denmark. I am grateful that the Spirit of the Lord came into his bosom and told him that it was true. I am grateful that he had the courage and that he listened to that spirit. He had to leave his native land, his parents, and his brothers and sisters, never again to see them; but oh, how he loved the Lord, and how the Lord blessed him all the days of his life.
MISSION OF PROPHET JOSEPH
I am grateful for the mission of the Prophet Joseph. I am grateful that he read that passage of scripture because he lacked wisdom He was confused. He read that passage of scripture that we ought to read today and practice:
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.
He believed in God, and he went into the Sacred Grove, a natural place for him to go and kneel down and pray, just back of his father's home. I don't suppose we can ever imagine how he must have felt when God and his Son appeared to him. He saw them; they spoke to him; and as a result of that great event, one of the great events of the ages, it has been made possible for you and me to be members of the Church of God, our Eternal Father. I am grateful for our parents and our grandparents who had that faith, who did not have the learning of men, but oh, they had the faith of God. Their testimony was indeed strong. Yes, if we lack wisdom, let us ask of God. He has promised us if we would seek after him, we would truly find him. I know that God hears and answers prayers. I can confess humbly, publicly, that I know I would not be able to do my work if the Lord withheld from me his blessings in response to my petitions and my prayers. God has said: "Pray always, and I will pour out my blessings upon you". Yes, he has said,
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.
Other promises and other blessings go with all the commandments of the Lord.
REDEDICATION OF LIVES
Now as we attend these conferences, oh if we could rededicate our lives, and put aside those things that matter little. Sometimes I ponder over the things that I have foolishly placed value on that mean little or nothing.
I would like to ask you, "When are you the happiest?" You're the happiest when you are trying your best to serve the Lord with all your heart, with all your might, and with all your strength. And I would like to ask you when you're the most unhappy? You're the most unhappy when you fail to do those things that the Lord has commanded you to do. Happiness, true happiness, comes from serving the Lord every day as best you can, trying just a little harder today than you did yesterday.
It is marvelous to be associated with the Latter-day Saints. We love you as we come to you in your wards and your stakes. You're a great inspiration to us. Sometimes we try to encourage you, but, oh, the comfort you bring to us from your faith and your prayers and your encouragement to us.
OUR SERVICEMEN
Now I would like to say just one word about the servicemen. I wish you could all have heard Brother McConkie last night at our bishops' meeting. My heart goes out to this group of boys who have been called away from their loved ones; who have been called away from their wives, their farms, their businesses, their schools; many of them wanted to go on missions. They'll not have that privilege now, at least temporarily, but, oh, I hope that as a Church, that as a people, not only we who have sons of our own, but that all will unite our faith that the Lord will bless these young men. They didn't bring this on themselves. They go because it is their duty to their country. They don't like war; they don't like hatred, and they don't like killing. But they are called into the service of their country. Many of them have just been married, some of them only married a couple of years, some of them only a short time. They are entitled to live and to love and to rear their families and build their homes. It would not matter so much if it were some of the rest of us who have nearly lived our lives; but may our faith and prayers go out to these young men. Pray for them diligently, for as Brother Bowen said this morning, ''If this Church could unite our faith, if we can humble ourselves and petition the Lord regularly that these boys may be blessed, I'm sure that God will look down in his tender mercy upon them." May we pray every day of our lives, pray harder than we have ever prayed before that God in his mercy will stay the hand of the leaders of nations, that this conflict may not become a dreadful conflict that could ruin thousands and millions of innocent young men, leave many widows, and many children fatherless.
LETTERS OF ENCOURAGEMENT
May we write to those young men diligently. May we promise them that we are praying for them with all the faith and prayer and testimony that we can muster. It isn't enough that we leave that just to the parents of these boys. Surely they will write to them nearly every day of their lives. They'll need you. They are not in places of worship. They are in an environment that is not good, and you know it, and I know it; so when we know that, is it asking too much that we exercise our faith and our prayers in their behalf that they can come back, that they can yet have the privilege of living and loving and raising their families as God intended? Oh I am sure the Lord must not be pleased with the world conditions of today.
Many of these young men returned from the service three or four years ago. They didn't ever expect to be called back to the armed services again. Some of them signed up as reserve officers, but they did not expect to be called back into bloody conflict in just four or five years. Many parents have already received that sad letter which starts out "We regret to inform you." Oh, may we pray to God Almighty, that he will spare the lives of our boys, that they can come back and fulfil their places in the Church as they have desired to do.
THE LORD'S PRAYER IN KOREA
I did receive a ray of hope today when I read that just yesterday the United Nations commander directed the Lord's prayer. Seldom has the Lord's prayer been uttered in such solemnity or in such grim surroundings. Yesterday it was spoken in a battered Korean capital, in the legislative halls where glass came tinkling down from the wrecked dome at intervals, and where the galleries were guarded, where they kept close watch in all directions, and where the Korean guards stood outside, draped in grenades. They themselves were walking bombs. The leader of the Lord's prayer yesterday was General Douglas MacArthur. He stood behind the speaker's desk on the speaker's platform, with light showing the gravity of his lean physique. Before him the congregation at this place of thanksgiving consisted of brass hats in army uniforms; haggard, unshaven marines and soldiers; and many weary-looking war correspondents and other people. The war air was tainted with smoke and death; smashed and burning buildings stood along the streets; columns of reverse refugees were now trying to find home. Then Douglas MacArthur came to that part of his address where he was about to read the Lord's prayer, and he hesitated for a very long solemn moment, and then that great man raised his hands and stood up and asked everybody to quote the Lord's prayer, and he stated, "In humble and devout manifestation of gratitude to Almighty God for bringing this decisive victory to our arms, I ask that all present rise and join me in reciting the Lord's prayer." There was the rumbling shuffle of many rising to their feet such as you might hear in a great church. Off came the camouflaged helmets, the canvas hats, the navy caps, the snappy, blue air-force hats-all were bowed as they repeated the Lord's prayer. It was truly the act of a Christian gentleman. Oh, that that same spirit, that same confidence in God, our Eternal Father, could be in the hearts of all men who are holding responsible positions!
I bear you my testimony that I know that God lives. I know that the spirit of the Holy Ghost is understandable. I know that it is clear. I know that we can hear it if we will only try and listen to it as it speaks to us. And in closing, I would like to give my favorite little quotation:
Oh, the joy and comfort that comes from feeling safe with a group like you, having neither to weigh my thoughts nor measure my words, but pouring them out from my heart, just as I have today, chaff and grain together, feeling certain that some kind friend here will accept what's worth keeping and with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away.
God bless you, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Henry D. Moyle
Henry D. Moyle, Conference Report, October 1950, pp. 92-97
My brethren and sisters, I am indeed grateful for this opportunity to bear my testimony to you and to those who listen in. I am grateful to be counted a member of the great Church and kingdom of God here upon earth. And I am especially grateful that my life was touched as closely and as intimately as it was by the life of our departed President, George F. Richards. I want to join with my other brethren today in paying respect to his memory. He will always stand in my memory as a man of God whose testimony of the divinity of the work in which we are engaged will ever burn in my heart. It has increased my testimony and the intensity thereof because I know that what he knew and what he testified to was true. I am also very grateful for the close association I have had both in the Church and out with our departed brother, Frank Evans. I had the privilege of practicing law in the same courts and in the same counties as did he. And whether it was in his profession or in his Church activities, he exemplified the highest virtues that we find in our fellow men.
ARMY OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
As I have sat here during this conference and looked into your faces, I have been conscious of the fact that we represent but a small part of this great body of men and women whose lives are dedicated to the work incident to the establishing of the kingdom of God here on earth. If we had a building which would hold twenty times as many people as are here today, we would hardly have as many people as we meet every three months in our quarterly conferences throughout the Church. Just think of it: A great army of righteousness contending against evil! What a power and what a force we are in the world. It was in 1899 that President Heber J. Grant spoke these words:
The Latter-day Saints are indeed, as the Prophet Joseph Smith said they would be, a mighty people in the midst of the Rocky Mountains and we are simply in our infancy. We are beginning to grow and become a mighty people, but we are nothing to what we will be. There is no question in my mind but what the Lord is going to multiply the Latter-day Saints and bless them more abundantly in the future than he has ever done in the past, provided of course that we are humble and diligent, provided we seek for the advancement of God's kingdom and do not do our own mind and will.
WHAT IS IMPORTANT?
I'd like to say a few words this afternoon about that latter subject. There are so many people on the earth today who desire to do their own will rather than the will of the Father. And whenever I think of these people, I wonder what there is that we can do in our ministry to touch their lives, cause them to realize the blessings that are incident to obedience to the laws of God. What is there in life, after all, that is so important that we cannot and should not set it aside to do our full duty to our maker? The Savior said to his disciples of old:
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
Is there anything the world has to offer us today that is as precious as the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ? The gospel brings comfort and joy into our lives, gives us a sense of security which the world cannot offer to us. Some people today, and today is a day of prosperity, become so attached to their wealth that they become sufficient to themselves. They cease to be dependent upon God. They sense no necessity for any direction from him, and they go their own way. Just as certainly as they do, they gradually lead themselves on toward destruction. When the Lord blesses us with wealth and with prosperity, we have a great mission to perform. We can utilize that which the Lord has given us so beautifully to build up his kingdom, to help one another, and to accomplish good, and to be the more dependent upon our Father in heaven rather than less. As a matter of fact, prosperity, economically speaking, is not the only force in the world that draws us away from the things of God and builds us up in our own estimation-leads us to criticize the prophets of God here upon the earth, thinking that our judgment and our wisdom are superior to theirs. It seems that when men gain power on this earth, whether it be political or otherwise, they build up within themselves an egotism which destroys that simple faith in God which is so essential for men who are charged with important responsibilities in public life and elsewhere to possess.
RELIGION, MORALITY NECESSARY
Brother Bowen read to us this morning from the farewell address of President George Washington. Washington realized that religion and morality are the pillars which uphold the Constitution of the United States, and without which the Constitution would fall. Washington also realized and exemplified in his life the necessity for religion and morality in the lives of those charged with the responsibility of maintaining our Constitution, and without which men will be led away from the truth. Men will be led to follow the course which will ultimately destroy the Constitution rather than uphold it, against their very oaths of office, if they once throw off the cloak of morality and of religion. No one can fail to uphold the Constitution and be a good citizen, much less a worthy public officer. One who disregards the Constitution is not worthy of our patronage, politically or otherwise.
It grieved me very much this year to hear a man running for public office decry the fact that another man in the opposite political camp had religion with him, as though that totally disqualified him for public office. When men, in the exercise of the power which they hold by virtue of the offices in the government to which they are elected, begin to discredit religion, they cease to become fit to hold public office. And I hope and pray that we as a people shall be led to exercise the rights which are ours in this great government of ours to vote for those men who have some religious conception and who seek to ordain their lives in accordance with the principles of truth and of right; men who respect, uphold, obey, honor, and sustain the Constitution of the United States.
ORGANIZATIONS SPRING UP
We have in our midst social organizations. They seem to be springing up every day in one shape or another; and because there is some power, some distinction, some prerogative that goes with those who become members and the heads of these organizations, many seem to think that's more important in their lives than to magnify the callings which are theirs in the priesthood. We have heard something said this morning about learning, and the same thing holds true for that. As we become absorbed with the wisdom and the learning and the philosophy of men, unless we have a humility and a faith about us, we shall be led astray just as certainly as wealth or power might accomplish the same purpose. There is a very slight margin between good and bad in our lives. Sometimes when I see my friends erring a little, I wonder why it is they can't remove that margin and be as strong and faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord as their neighbor.
I want to say that my heart goes out to you brethren and sisters here today and to those in the wards and stakes of the Church who are so faithful to the callings which are yours, and who seek so earnestly to magnify the priesthood which is yours. I am sure that history in no age of the world could record any greater faithfulness than we find today in the lives of our bishops, our stake presidents, and those who labor under them in the stakes and wards of this Church. When I look into the faces of these brethren who have returned from their missions as mission presidents, I have a sense of reverence for their integrity, their loyalty, their faithfulness, their courage. These men have been willing to give up their business and their professions, leave their families and homes, and go out into the world, and remain just as long as their call extends, not worrying about what happens in the future. There is no wealth, there is no political position, there is no power or social distinction which could come to these men that could tempt them in the least.
INSTIL FAITH, DEVOTION
And so it is our purpose in the Church to go out among the people in the wards and stakes and see whether we can instill in their hearts the kind of faith and devotion which we find in these great mission presidents of ours. It is one of the joys of my life to be able to go into a mission and become intimately acquainted and associated with these men as they direct the efforts of the sons and daughters of Israel in the mission field. They give to us an example which we, that is, most of us, endeavor to reflect in our own lives. I am sure that as we reflect this into the lives of those over whom we preside, this great Church and kingdom of God on earth will continue to grow and develop even as President Grant said it would in 1899. I am sure that prophecy is yet unfulfilled. We are still in our infancy, and we still have all these worldly forces and powers to combat and to overcome.
We have a few simple remedies which have been given to us of the Lord by which to accomplish his purpose; I don't know of any remedy more effective than ward teaching. If the bishops and the stake presidents would see to it that this work was entered into in the true spirit of the priesthood, the spirit of this work as the Lord intended it, we'd be able to touch the lives of these people. As a matter of fact, we'd even be able to live close to those who hold public office if our ward teachers visited them once a month and called their attention to the duties and responsibilities they owe to the people who elected them to that office.
RIGHTEOUSNESS IN OFFICE
I would like to say one more word about public office. There seems to be a tendency among us in this state, and I presume even more so in others, to think that when we act as mayor of a city or in a city council, we are not required to exercise that same degree of righteousness that we would in our own individual lives. I have particularly in mind today a case where a mayor and a city council thought that it was perfectly proper for them to violate the laws of the state of Utah and to carry on in their city parimutuel betting, gambling in one of its worst forms, in connection with horse racing held there during one of their city celebrations. They seemed to think, when their acts were challenged, that because they held public office and the city treasury received the income from those vices they were completely justified. Let us stop for a moment and see where such reasoning would ultimately lead us. If every city in Utah did that same thing, then the mayors and the city councils would nullify the laws of the state legislature. They would take unto themselves powers that do not belong to them. They would abrogate the law by their own illegal and immoral practices. But, say the people of this one town, they don't all do it, and we're the ones that got this idea up and we ought to be able to continue to profit by it. I asked them one simple question. Who is it that comes to your city to attend these races? Well, they come from all over the state. Now isn't that the answer? Has any mayor, has any city council the right to carry on illegally, gambling in the city under the auspices of the police power of the city and invite everybody else from the state in, so that city might profit by preying upon the weaknesses of others, inviting as it were the public to come there and not only exhibit their weaknesses but also lose their money. It cannot be any more objectionable for the individual to carry on gambling within the city than it would be for the city itself. It seems to me, as a matter of fact, that those who have taken a solemn oath to uphold and sustain the laws and the Constitution of the land should be the last to violate them no matter in whose name they might do it.
EXERCISE FRANCHISE INTELLIGENTLY
I hope and pray that this coming election will indicate to the world the steadfastness of the Latter-day Saints in their determination to move forward as an army of righteousness, to fight evil in all its forms wherever it is met by putting into office men and women who will stand for our highest ideals, morally and religiously. We should be discerning when we seek to exercise any of the rights that are ours. We should see that those rights are exercised intelligently, that we know whom we are voting for, and what they stand for when we vote for them. It is our privilege, yes, our duty, to know the position legislators will take on all matters of interest to us. Will those who seek our patronage at the ballot box, if elected to the legislature of this state, vote for sale of liquor by the drink? Will they vote for horse racing with parimutuel betting, gambling on the side? Will they otherwise let down the bars of morality and permit men to come into our communities and prey upon the weaknesses of the flesh. No man ought to be very proud of his accomplishments if those accomplishments consist of capitalizing upon the human weaknesses and frailties of others. Generally speaking, it is the young people, the boys and girls, who are naturally inclined to be a little reckless. They get in the groove, as it were, in the habit of gambling, by learning that most vicious habit of trying to get something for nothing. It is prevalent today in the individual lives of our people and in all of our government units to give the people as much as possible for nothing and to see how little the people shall ultimately be required to work for what they get. I hope and pray that the day will come when every Latter-day Saint will stand for the enthroning of labor and industry and thrift. God bless us to be wise, to be discreet and discriminating and discerning, and to utilize every force and every asset that we have to see to it that our governments are conducted by men who uphold the Constitution unconditionally, who believe in God, who lend obedience to his commandments, I pray humbly in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report, October 1950, pp. 99-103
I feel very humble, brothers and sisters, standing before you today, and it is my dearest hope that the spirit which has thus far been present in this conference will continue with us while I speak. And to that end may I humbly ask for faith and your prayers, that I may be led to say something that will be helpful to you and to all who are listening in.
I might begin by adding my tribute to that great soul who is not with us today, who was here last time, President George F. Richards. I have never known a man of finer spirit, greater integrity, more devotion, more loyalty than President George F. Richards possessed or exercised in his life
Brother Frank Evans also was a splendid character, a man of great ability, a man whose place it will be hard to fill.
We are met here today as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints-and I am impressed with that name, The Church of Jesus Christ. I would like to say a few words today based on the necessity of our remembering that name and of our yielding loyalty and obedience thereto.
SERMON ON MOUNT OF OLIVES
Out on the Mount of Olives, the day before the crucifixion, the Lord preached a great sermon to his Apostles, in which he spoke of the times that were to come. The Prophet Joseph has given us a revised translation of that great speech. In that speech he spoke of the times when the anti-Christ would come. He also spoke of the destruction of Jerusalem and what should precede that event, apparently the destruction which came under Titus. You may have to read the discourse with care to determine when the Lord was speaking of the one and then of the other, but the revised translation will help you in your study.
At that time, the Apostles seemingly felt, and they felt thereafter, that the second coming of the Savior was near at hand. That was nearly two thousand years ago. In those early days of the Church, shortly after the Apostles began their work, there began to be "fallings away" from those who had joined the Church. There were a number of things that led to that: perhaps not a full understanding of the gospel, their association and proximity, their elbow rubbing with pagan religions, and other things. But in that time, Peter warned them of what he called "damnable heresies", and the Apostle Paul, in his epistles to Timothy and to Titus, spoke more specifically of the wickedness and the transgressions which were among the people, and warned Timothy and Titus to warn the people.
In our own modern revelation, the Prophet Nephi has spoken of these days when men would set up their own reason and their own learning against the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he warned us to beware of such doctrines.
HERESIES NOW PRESENT
I want to refer briefly to two or three of the old heresies that are now present amongst us. You will hear among our intellectuals not infrequently that the God of the Old Testament is different from the God of the New Testament; that the God of the Old Testament has evolved into the God of the New-rather a rapid evolution, if it were true. That doctrine had its base in what we know as Marcionism, which appeared very early in the church. The doctrines of Marcion seem to have been founded upon the hatred which he bore toward the Jews and his determination to try to wipe out belief in all that God had done with the Jews, and to destroy the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. When that doctrine is reduced down, it means this: that God is what man conceives him to be; that man creates his God, instead of God creating man. No greater falsehood can be promulgated than that.
ARIANISM
Another heresy which appeared in the early days was known as Arianism and that was called Sabellianism, which identified as one being, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. This man Arius, apparently a resident of Alexandria and a member of the Egyptian church, in order to get away from that concept, developed the idea, the doctrine, that Jesus was merely a mortal man, a man of exceptional power, wisdom, and with a great code of ethics. That was in substance the contention. Marcionism destroyed God and Arianism destroyed the Christ. These two false doctrines shook the early Christian church. That doctrine of Arianism is with us today. As a matter of fact, it would seem that the Protestant churches themselves are largely tinctured with it. They no longer, apparently, preach the simple doctrine that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God, but on the other hand they gloss that over and talk about his greatness, which, of course, he had. I want us to be warned against the appearance of these doctrines, because they are grievous sins.
PAGANISTIC IMMORALITY
The third thing I want to mention is paganistic immorality. Among some ancient peoples it had advanced, immorality had, to such a stage of depravity that they actually set up in the worship of some of the pagan deities, religious prostitutes, who, as a matter of religion, offered themselves in the temple precincts to those who were devotees of that religion.
The same elements that had to do with that doctrine are at work amongst us. There is an effort made in some quarters to destroy all idea of the sanctity of chastity. In some quarters it is taught that the urge of sex is like the urge of hunger and thirst and should be equally satisfied. That doctrine is from the devil and will lead to destruction for any man, any woman, any people that espouse it and practice it.
Now, coming back to the Savior, he said: "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?".
EVIDENCE ABOUT THE SAVIOR
The evidence about the Savior and his identity has been accumulating over the years, both by experience from him, himself, and by the testimonies of those who have been privileged to receive a testimony and a knowledge that he lives. We will note some great testimonies.
On several occasions the Savior himself declared to those who were about him that he was the light of the world, the light that shineth in the darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not. He made this statement to the multitude who remained after he had forgiven and dismissed the woman who was taken in adultery. He made the same statement to those who were in attendance when he healed the man blind from his birth at the pool of Siloam. He has made it in modern times, in our modern revelations, over and over again, where he has said, changing it a little bit: "I am the life and the light of the world". When he was in the temple shortly before the crucifixion, when he was speaking to the Father, he said his soul was troubled: should he say save me from this hour: yet, he added, for the very purpose of enduring this hour he had come. He asked the Father to glorify his name, and the Father said: "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again". Some of the people thought it thundered; others thought an angel spoke. Jesus understood.
LACK OF UNDERSTANDING
There has always been to me a great lesson in that incident. We do not always understand the Savior. We do not always understand the messages from heaven. We are not in tune. When the Savior was introduced upon this continent, the Father spoke from heaven. The people heard the noise but did not understand. He spoke again, but they did not understand. Finally, the third time they heard and knew what he said: "Behold my Beloved Son".
When Jesus was before the Sanhedrin on the night before the crucifixion, Annas and Caiaphas were there, and the rest of them. Finally, they said to the Savior, "Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" And he replied to them, "I am".
You remember when he was met by Martha: you remember that colloquy at the time of the death of Lazarus. Just before Lazarus was raised, the Savior said to Martha, in the course of their conversation and near its end, "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live
"And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die".
I want to read you John's testimony found at the beginning of the gospel:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.
In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not...
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.
VISIONS GIVEN
I can only refer to the great vision of Stephen and to his testimony as he died. After they had gnashed at him with their teeth and beaten him with stones, he cried out that he saw the Son sitting on the right hand of the Father. And then, as the scriptures say, before "he fell asleep" from his beating, he implored our Heavenly Father to forgive them.
Then I refer to the First Vision and its testimony when the Father and the Son came to the Prophet Joseph in the most glorious vision ever recorded in history-two beings, the one introducing the other, and the other giving the instructions. I am always lifted up by reading what is recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants of the time when Joseph and Sidney had their vision and another testimony:
The Lord touched the eyes of our understandings, and they were opened, and the glory of the Lord shone round about.
And we beheld the glory of the Son, on the right hand of the Father, and received of his fulness;
And saw the holy angels, and them who are sanctified before his throne, worshiping God, and the Lamb, who worship him forever and ever.
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!
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.
TESTIMONY
Out on the Mount of Olives on the night before the crucifixion, just before he went into the garden, the Christ said: "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent".
My brothers and sisters, this is the testimony which we have. This is the testimony that we must retain, I bear you my testimony, born of the spirit, that Jesus is the Christ; that as Peter said: "There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved"; that he is the Only Begotten of the Father; that salvation comes through him and only through him; and I bear you my testimony that we have the restored gospel, that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and that all those who have followed him as Presidents of the Church are prophets, seers, and revelators, I bear you this testimony in the hope that it may strengthen others as well as strengthen my own, and I pray that God's choicest blessings be with you, and I do it in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, October 1950, pp. 162-168
When we realize that the twelve thousand or more members of the priesthood quorums assembled here tonight can say, each one in his own heart, "I know that my Redeemer lives," we can sense at least dimly the strength of this Church, for upon the priesthood rests the structure, the entire structure of the Church of Jesus Christ.
EVIDENCES OF PROGRESS
We have cause to be thankful that we have many evidences today of the marvelous growth of this work. In the mission fields we have more missionaries than we have ever had before, nearly six thousand, not counting the missionaries in the stakes of Zion; tithing is greater than ever and increasing; baptisms in the field are greater; only within the last two weeks we had reports of a hundred and fifty baptisms in one mission in August; another, in the same month, two hundred and sixty-three, and these are converts, not children. The stakes and wards are increasing. More Church edifices are now under construction than we have ever had before in the history of the Church. All these are sure evidences of progress; and this attendance tonight is another-one of the most encouraging. As President Smith has said, you are not here out of curiosity. You are not here because of any special attraction. You are here because you respect your calling. You honor your priesthood because of the sense of the responsibility that you carry. Each of you who holds the priesthood carries a certain amount of responsibility for the success of God's work. That realization that willingness to respond to duty, has brought together tonight on this September 30, 1950, the largest assembly of priesthood, I believe, ever held in the Church at a priesthood meeting.
The assembly of itself is an inspiration, especially when you contemplate its significance, and realize that in the brotherhood of Christ we are all one, supporting one another. It is sublime.
I pray for your sympathy, for your faith and prayers, and above all, for the inspiration of the Lord, that what I may say may be of worth, of interest, and contributive to the advancement of God's work.
NEED OF REVERENCE
I have, really, on my mind but one message. I am going to say one appeal for this vast audience of leaders. I believe there is one great need in the Church which you presidencies of stakes, bishoprics of wards, presidencies of quorums, and officers in auxiliaries, can supply. I have in mind the need of more reverence in our houses of worship, better order and discipline in our classrooms, in quorum meetings and in auxiliary groups.
The more we try to cultivate the attributes of the Savior, the stronger we become in character and in spirituality, and those are the two great purposes of life, so to live that we may be susceptible to the inspiration of the Holy Ghost and to his guidance.
OVERCOME EVIL TENDENCIES
I do not know who it was who wrote many years ago that the whole purpose of life might be summed up in these words: "To subdue matter that we might realize the ideal."
When I first read that I thought I could paraphrase it and say, "The whole purpose of life is to bring under subjection the animal passions, proclivities and tendencies, that we might realize the companionship, always, of God's Holy Spirit." I think that is the ideal. One chief purpose of life is to overcome evil tendencies, to govern our appetites, to control our passions-anger, hatred, jealousy, immorality. We have to overcome them: we have to subject them, conquer them, because God has said: "My spirit will not dwell in unclean tabernacles, nor will it always strive with man".
A DIVINE ATTRIBUTE
The principle of self-control lies at the basis of reverence and good order in classrooms. I do not know how to define reverence but I do know how to classify or to place it as one of the objectives of nobility, indeed, one of the attributes of deity.
Love is the divinest attribute of the human soul. I am not so sure but sympathy is next to it-sympathy for the afflicted, for suffering animals, for our brethren and sisters. That is a God-like virtue.
Kindness is also a sublime virtue. The first sentence in what is now known as the Psalm of Love is this: "Love suffereth long and is kind".
However, in my thought tonight, I am prompted to place reverence next to Love. Jesus mentioned it first in the Lord's prayer: "Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name...". Hallow-to make holy-to hold in reverence.
When Jesus cleansed the temple, he was filled with reverent indignation because men were desecrating his Father's house, selling doves and lambs to be offered as sacrifice. Money changers were there for the convenience of those who came from other countries, so they could give in local currency their temple contributions. Seemingly, in their own eyes, they were justified, but they were doing these things in the House of God. We are told that he overturned the money changers' tables, and said to the sellers of doves, "Take these things hence. Make not my Father's house a house of merchandise".
REVERENCE DEFINED
"Reverence," wrote Ruskin, "is the noblest state in which a man can live in the world. Reverence is one of the signs of strength; irreverence one of the surest indications of weakness. No man will rise high who jeers at sacred things. The fine loyalties of life must be reverenced or they will be foresworn in the day of trial."
Charles Jefferson, the author of "The Character of Jesus" writes: "Men in many circles are clever, interesting, brilliant, but they lack one of the three dimensions of life. They have no reach upward. Their conversation sparkles, but it is frivolous and often flippant. Their talk is witty, but the wit is often at the expense of high and sacred things."
You can tell a true soul of wit by the things of which he makes light. The best humorous writers avoid making light of religion, or of sacred things.
Jefferson continues: "One finds this lack of reverence even in the church. In every community there are those who treat the House of God as they treat a streetcar, entering it and leaving it when they please. Even habitual church attendants often surprise and shock one by their irreverent behavior in the House of Prayer. Those persons are not ignoramuses or barbarians; they are simply undeveloped in the virtue of reverence.
ORDER IN CLASSROOMS
Our classrooms are sometimes places of boisterousness. Here is where we need good teachers. A teacher who can present a lesson interestingly will have good order, and when he or she finds students who are rebellious, flipping papers, paying no attention, stumbling, kicking one another, he or she may know that the lesson is not being properly presented. Perhaps it was not even properly prepared.
One of our mothers recently went to a Sunday School class to try to find out why her son was losing interest. There was so much boisterousness, so much confusion, so much noise, that she felt heartsick; and as she arose to leave she said to the teacher: "I thought this was a Sunday School class, not bedlam!"
SELF-CONTROL EXEMPLIFIED
I have said something about self-control, self-mastery, as being one of the fundamental purposes of life. You see it exemplified in the life of the Savior, on the Mount of Temptation, when he resisted the tempter, who said: "If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread,"-an appeal to his appetite. "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God".
"If thou be the Son of God," again strong in his taunting, "Cast thyself down; for it is written"-he quotes scripture-"He shall give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone".
"It is written," said the Savior, "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God".
In the next temptation Satan is not taunting, but pleading. "All these things will I give thee," showing him the kingdoms of the world, "if thou wilt fall down and worship me".
That is a lesson of life. The tempter was foiled, taunting at first, strong in his assurance that he could tempt, but at last pleading, and finally banished. "Get thee hence, Satan, for it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve". And angels came and administered to him.
Now then, there is a lesson of life to us all. Satan tauntingly tempts us, and unless we resist and have in mind a higher goal than the mere indulgence or gratification of the physical, we are going to weaken, and the tempter will gain in strength.
TO BEGIN IN CHILDHOOD
The lesson of self-control should begin in childhood, in the home. Little children should have a sense of freedom to do as they wish up to a certain point. Beyond that point they cannot go, and that is when that freedom interferes with the rights, comfort or convenience of another member of the family.
I have told before about an incident that occurred in a zoo. It is simple, and some probably may think we should not go to the monkeys for lessons. I think they can teach us some. Sister McKay and I stood one day, I believe it was at San Diego, watching a mother monkey with a new born babe. She was guarding it, her quick eye watching the other monkeys in the cage; but the little babe was free to do just as it pleased, hopping around, weak in its infancy, getting hold of the bars, starting to climb. When it would reach a certain place, the mother would reach up and bring it back. When it got into a danger point, that mother instinctively guarded it and said, "Back this way." And then the babe was free again, but only within certain limits.
I said to Sister McKay, "There is a lesson of life in guiding children."
RIGHTS OF OTHERS
In the classrooms children should be taught, should be free to discuss, free to speak, free to participate in class work, but no member of the class has the right to distract another student by jostling or making light and frivolous remarks. And I think in this Church, in the priesthood quorums and classes and in auxiliaries, teachers and superintendents ought not to permit it. Disorder injures the child who makes it. He should learn that when he is in society there are certain things which he cannot do with impunity. He cannot trespass upon the rights of his associates.
Let children learn this lesson in youth because when they get out in society and try to trespass against the law they will feel the restraining hand and probably suffer punishment.
Good order in the classroom is essential to instill into the hearts and lives of young men and young women the principle of self-control. They want to talk and they want to whisper, but they cannot do it because it will disturb somebody else. Learn the power and lesson of self-mastery.
Reverence should be particularly manifest in sacrament meeting in quorum meetings, in Sunday School, in M.I.A., in Primary, yes and in Relief Society. This is a missionary Church. People come here for light and knowledge, for instruction, and they have a right to find it when they come.
EXTRACT FROM LETTER
The following extract from a letter that came to the First Presidency last week will illustrate my point:
"About one month ago two of your missionaries came to my door with a Book of Mormon. Since I am a Catholic, and a Catholic writer for our press, and since I am fully acquainted with Catholic doctrine and our Holy Bible, I at first refused the offer of the Book of Mormon. They, however, persisted, and as I have permission to read other books, it being given me by my pastor since I am a writer I finally took the book. Of course you might well guess what happened. Having been trained during my sixteen years as a Catholic to recognize the truth when I see, hear or read it, I could not very well fail to recognize also that the Book of Mormon is true. This was even more the case when they later brought what might be termed its companion book, The Doctrine and Covenants.
"Surely this is not the kindly, gentle Jesus, as most Catholics are taught to know him, but just as surely in the Doctrine and Covenants this is the voice of Jesus as he spoke to the Apostles, the Pharisees and scribes, and all the people during his three years of public ministry on earth. Consequently, I began taking instructions, and your missionaries came twice a week to hold cottage meetings.
"Then I was taken to some Church meetings over in Rodeo three miles from here, and I must admit that each time I have returned home broken-hearted and mourning to myself, 'Oh, poor Jesus, surely you have made the most miserable failure in your life in trying to establish your Church anew with these people.'
"During the distribution of the bread and water I can discern no spirit of prayer or prayerful reception among the congregation. They are just as liable to be smiling and whispering together as not, scarcely discerning the body of the Lord."
"Your own defects to know, Make use of every friend and every foe."
IRREVERENCE IN SERVICES
On September 13 there came to my desk this letter from one of our stake workers:
"I refer to pronounced irreverence in our church services, with the noise, laughter and confusion that often accompanies such a condition. This is responsible for considerable criticism and dissatisfaction and results in absenting many members from the meetings. Our home, stake missionaries, are seriously handicapped in their work as many fear to bring investigators to our meetings while this condition of irreverence prevails.
"The trouble is often intensified by reason of frivolous remarks by speakers on the stand, and outbursts of laughter from the audience in which the children feel free to participate. This is a sad admission in connection with the true Church of Jesus Christ.
"Irreverence in God's house is not conducive to the best interests of the sacrament administration and God must be displeased with the insincerity of his children who partake of the sacred emblems carelessly, devoid of reverence that should characterize true worship."
IMPROVEMENT NOTED
I should like to say here that my observation leads me to believe that we have made a wonderful step in that. I have not been in a house of worship, either in Sunday School or in sacrament meeting, where the order during the administering of the sacrament has not been just as perfect as it is at this moment in this building. A baby's voice, perhaps, somewhere, but God is not displeased with a baby's voice, when the parents and others are reverently thinking of the covenants they are making. However, the writer of this letter seems to have had a different experience.
I plead with you to develop this Christ-like attribute of reverence in our houses of worship and better discipline in our classrooms. And I believe that you brethren can lead in it.
ELDERS EXAMPLE FOLLOWED
I remember in 1923, attending a conference at Burnley, Liverpool Conference. Brothers and sisters came from various parts of the district, and happy to see one another as you missionaries know they are, shaking hands, members of the Church happy to see the elders, shaking hands with them, and the elders joining in social greetings.
The meeting was held on the third floor of a public hall. In the adjoining room the sisters were preparing the lunch. We could hear the rattle of tin pans and of other receptacles. Ten o'clock came and there was still noise. It was fully five minutes before there was order.
Six months from that time when we held a meeting with the elders in that district, prior to the opening of the conference, we said: "Brethren, the Lord is not displeased with our greetings, expressions of love and brotherhood, but he is displeased with the irreverent attitude, and we have some choice people, strangers who are not used to this free intercourse of greetings so characteristic of Latter-day Saint meetings. So tomorrow morning, after you have greeted your friends from various places, without any announcement, at seven minutes to ten o'clock, you quietly take your seats. Do not say a word. You just go to your assigned places."
They did so and at four minutes to ten o'clock every member of that district in attendance at the conference, following the example of the missionaries, was in his or her seat, and there was order even before the hour of opening arrived.
REVERENCE ENJOINED
It is said that "Where two or three are gathered in my name there will I be to bless them", and I tell you when he is present we should be reverent.
Someone said if Shakespeare were to enter this hall tonight, we should all stand up to greet him, but if Christ entered, we should fall on our knees and worship him.
God bless you, brethren, as leaders in Israel, as guides to youth to increase your influence with those among whom you labor. The Lord help us to sanctify our houses of worship, that our chapels may be indeed sacred places in which we meet to worship God, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report, October 1950, pp. 168-172
My brethren, again I sense that this is a great privilege to stand before you for a few minutes, and to say something to you that I hope may be helpful. Before I finish I shall want to return to my solo on the G string, "Unity," but I want to say a little something beforehand, and I trust the Lord will be with me that what I say may be in harmony with what He would have said.
THE PRIESTHOOD
The question of the priesthood has always been to me an alluring question, and not only alluring, but more or less elusive. We use the word priesthood apparently in at least two, if not three senses. We use it sometimes to mean the power of the priesthood I suppose in fact the priesthood is power. We use it sometimes to indicate the organization through which the priesthood operates and we use it sometimes, apparently, to indicate the service which the priesthood is to render.
I am going to read two or three extracts from the brethren of the past regarding the priesthood. The Prophet Joseph said: "The priesthood is an everlasting principle and existed with God from eternity, and will to eternity, without beginning of days or end of years. The keys have to be brought from heaven whenever the gospel is sent. When they are revealed from heaven it is by Adam's authority." On another occasion the Prophet said that Adam received the priesthood before the world was created.
PRE-EXISTENT CALLING
You may remember that as the account is given in the Pearl of Great Price, Book of Abraham, the Father told Abraham that sometime he had come down and organized the spirits, and then he told Abraham that when he came down among them he found many that were great and good, and further on he said to Abraham, and I will read this to you:
"... 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".
Following upon this general principle, the Prophet Joseph said: "Every man who has a calling," every man, "to minister to the inhabitants of the world was ordained to that very purpose in the grand council of heaven before this world was. I suppose," said he, "that I was ordained to this very office in that grand council".
BRIGHAM YOUNG QUOTED
Now I think I might read two statements from Brigham Young: "If anybody wants to know what the priesthood of the Son of God is, it is the law by which the worlds are, were and will continue forever and ever. It is that system which brings worlds into existence and peoples them, gives them their revolutions, their days, weeks, months, years, their seasons and times, and by which they are rolled up as a scroll, as it were, and grown to a higher state of existence".
And on another occasion he declared the priesthood to be "a perfect system of government, of laws and ordinances, by which we can be prepared to pass from one gate to another and from one sentinel to another until we go into the presence of our Father and God".
These various quotations must inevitably lead us to a great deal of reflection, and as I have indicated, to me they suggest we are using the term, priesthood, in the manner that I have spoken about.
ANALOGY MADE
Now, I have often wondered if I could find an analogy to the priesthood, and the best I have been able to do is to liken the priesthood to citizenship. Potentially every citizen of the United States is a president of the United States, speaking generally and disregarding the limitations as to who may be president, but we are not all presidents. Every one of us may be a senator or a congressman. We have that power as citizens. We may be governors; we may be state legislators; we may be city councilmen; we may be county commissioners; we may be judges. All of these or each of them or any of them may come to any citizen, but in order to exercise any particular function we must be duly appointed to it or duly elected to it.
Now there are many differences between citizenship and priesthood, many. One that occurs to one offhand is that a man elected to be a judge in one locality, one jurisdiction, loses that power when he moves to another jurisdiction. That is not true of the priesthood. A man remains a deacon wherever he goes, or a high priest, and may perform his functions under certain limitations and rules.
But we do not now have the keys to do some of the things which Brother Brigham said the priesthood was to do, or that the priesthood did, for example, the creation and the governing of worlds. I can think of this situation, this power in terms of human government, civil government; the powers of sovereignty that rest in the people and that are delegated to government, to be exercised, by this man as a governor, by that man as a senator, and by another man as a president of the United States. So do we in the priesthood. Each one of us, as it seems to me, has certain functions of the whole priesthood. A deacon has his, the teacher has his, the priest his, and so on. And while under the priesthood, a man in a high place may perform all the functions of those who are below, the one in the lower bracket may not perform the functions of anybody in the higher bracket. This principle does not of course obtain in our civil government.
ORDINATION IN GRAND COUNCIL
I do not know whether we have a right to interpret the Prophet's statement, "Every man who has a calling to administer to the inhabitants of the world was ordained to that very purpose in the grand council of heaven, before the world was," I do not know that we may interpret that to mean any but those who have charge of dispensations or are leaders therein, but I like to think that it does include those of us of lesser calling and lesser stature. We have been told ever since I was old enough to remember that those who are coming forth among the Latter-day Saints were choice spirits, and I like to think that perhaps in that grand council something at least was said to us indicating what would be expected of us, and empowering us, subject to the re-confirmation here, to do certain things in building up the kingdom of God on earth.
EACH PART HAS OWN FUNCTION
Now the lesson that I would like to get out of that, has been referred to by President McKay, and that is that this whole priesthood organization-I am now using the term in the sense of organization-each part of it, has its own function, and each man belonging to the given order of priesthood, deacon, teacher, priest, and so on, has certain things to do. If a quorum fails in a ward, the ward is not carrying on as it should. If a member fails in a quorum, the quorum is not carrying on as it should. We are all bound together as one, and insofar as we fail, as individuals, to carry on the work which we are supposed to do, we are to that extent hindering the carrying on of the work of the Lord and to that extent we are responsible for the lack or fulness of growth that may occur on account of our failure.
There is no escape, as I see it, brethren, from that conclusion.
PERFECT SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT
Now, before passing to the unity matter, I wish to call your attention to the fact that the Prophet said we had a perfect system, "the priesthood was a perfect system of government."
Have you ever thought, and if you have not I suggest you do think about it, that if the civil government of any of our communities were to be suddenly wiped out, that the Church organization could govern the community if it were given the necessary civil sanction. To illustrate, our teachers who are to keep the Church in order, could act as the police force. Our bishops are authorized to hold court, the high council and the president of the stake another court, both of appellate and of original jurisdiction, with an appeal to the Presidency of the Church from that decision. And in the First Presidency of the Church, the President of the Church resides the power and authority to make all necessary rules and regulations for the government of the people.
We have already, therefore, set up in this Church of ours, an organization of the Priesthood which could govern any community if it were given the necessary civil sanction, and if chaos should come, and if we travel along our present line far enough it will come, some of you may live to see the necessity of such an action as that.
INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY
Now, brethren, coming back to our individual responsibility for the welfare of the carrying on of the work of the Lord. Every man having his own place must, if he is to fulfill his full duty and perform his full functions, work with those about him. He cannot go off on a line of his own and still help to carry on the work of the Lord. The quorum must be united if it is to function properly, and united means seeing and working eye to eye. The ward and all the quorums in it must so function if the ward is to carry on and do its work as it should. So with the stake and so with the Church as a whole.
URGES UNITY
And now I will repeat to you, brethren, what I have said to you every time I have had the opportunity to talk to you, and that has been every time since I came into this position, and I believe I have attended every general priesthood meeting since then; if we were united there is nothing that the body of priesthood of this Church might not do within the functions of the priesthood, no matter what it is. And I say to you further that if we saw eye to eye on matters of civil government, which we are not likely to do, there is nothing we might not accomplish there within the places and jurisdictions where we live.
Now, brethren, I again pray, as I have always, that we will be united. The Lord has laid down with sufficient clearness that none of us needs have any doubt about it as to what his will is. He set up this government under his divine guidance, and so far as I am concerned, as I have said before so I say now, this government of ours under the Constitution, being thus set up by the Lord, is a part of my religion, and we shall not succeed, and we shall not preserve our independence, our free institutions, our liberties, unless we safeguard our rights under the Constitution.
This was said to us in the opening session of the conference by President George Albert Smith.
May God give us his power and his wisdom and his inspiration to help us do the things that we should do, to help us magnify the priesthood which we have, which is a delegation of the power of God himself-how greatly sobering that concept is-that we may bring to pass the things which he has declared we should do, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus, Amen.
President George Albert Smith
George Albert Smith, Conference Report, October 1950, pp. 172-183
Reference has been made to the responsibility of the priesthood, and I wonder if we fully appreciate what it means to have conferred upon us a portion of the authority of our Heavenly Father to officiate, and to teach the children of men. The condition of the world today is pitiable. Nobody knows what the outcome will be.
A train pulled out of one of the stations here this week with quite a large number of men, mostly young men, who are going out to take part as a portion of the armed forces of the United States. Every one of those men has lived where he could have received the priesthood, I am sure. I do not know how many of them have received it, but some of them have filled missions. History is repeating itself. War and distress are giving anxiety and deep sorrow to the peoples of this earth.
GROWTH OF CHURCH
In 1830 the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized with six members. Today the Church numbers more than a million souls. From the six men who were in that meeting when the Church was organized, and those who have followed, the Church has continued to grow and develop into a great organization. It may interest you to know that it is estimated that in Barratt Hall and the Assembly Hall and here in this building tonight there are approximately fourteen thousand men and boys who hold the authority of the priesthood. As has been intimated, this is the largest gathering of priesthood in a priesthood meeting that we have had, and the work continues to go forward.
There was a time when to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints brought ridicule and annoyance to the one who was recognized as such. How different it is today. Many offices in the states and territories and the Islands of the sea where our people are located are held by men who hold the priesthood.
I can remember a visit that I made in Washington at a time when our Representative from this state was not a member of the Church. I thought I would like to go and pay my respects to him, but when I called on him he was annoyed. I was only a young man at the time. Since then that great body that meets as a Congress in the United States has been honored by representatives of this Church and they have made friends for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, because of the dignity of their attitude among their fellows.
There is not any position, from the President of the United States down, that may not be held by a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints if the Lord wills.
POWER OF THE PRIESTHOOD
When I see this marvelous group of men and boys here tonight I think, "what a power we have in the world that is not recognized by the world in many cases." I spoke of the political privileges that are ours, each of us having a right, if we have qualified, to cast our vote; and when we go to the Congress of the United States we find members of the Church there who receive us with consideration, and seek to look after our interests and keep us where we ought to be, not trailing along, but pushing forward.
The Priesthood is what I am thinking about. What a wonderful privilege it is to represent our Heavenly Father by holding the priesthood, and it does not prevent us from going anywhere in the world in honor, if we dignify our calling. There are those who do not like us. That is because they do not know who we are, but little by little, and very rapidly now, the men such as are sitting here tonight are going out into the world and mingling with the people, and it is remarkable what a host of friends there are scattered over the earth not members of the Church, who have been brought to realize the dignity and the worthwhile attitude of these men who have the priesthood.
THE VOICE OF WARNING
I want to read something from the First Section of the Doctrine and Covenants: "Hearken, O ye people of my church, saith the voice of him who dwells on high, and whose eyes are upon all men; yea, verily I say: Hearken ye people from afar; and ye that are upon the islands of the sea, listen together. For verily the voice of the Lord is unto all men..."
That covers a good deal of territory, particularly when we realize that the voice of the Lord, the instructions of our Heavenly Father, must be carried by those who are authorized by Him to carry His messages. You see, we have a great responsibility.
"For verily the voice of the Lord is unto all men, and there is none to escape; and there is no eye that shall not see, neither ear that shall not hear, neither heart that shall not be penetrated. And the rebellious shall be pierced with much sorrow; for their iniquities shall be spoken upon the housetops, and their secret acts shall be revealed.
And then He goes on and says: "And 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."
It is not a question of our choice. It is a question of following the instructions, and direction of our Heavenly Father.
"And they shall go forth and none shall stay 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".
GOSPEL TO BE PREACHED
That is a portion of the First Section of the Doctrine and Covenants. We who are here tonight have been told that there are approximately six thousand of our missionaries scattered throughout the world, and yet that is not a drop in the bucket, but in the Lord's own way, and He says it will be done by those that He directs, all the people of the world must be reached if possible and the Gospel of Jesus Christ brought to them as far as we can go. So we have a great responsibility, my brethren, a tremendous responsibility.
I remember when I was a child, I thought how few we were. At that time there were some difficulties and our people were being annoyed; but then somebody said: "Oh, never mind, the Lord and one man is a majority." So it is not a question of how many of us there are. We have the responsibility, and in order that we may carry that responsibility we will be placed in all kinds of positions of honor and trust, not only in the Congress of the United States, but in our great Universities, and at the head of our great businesses. It is marvelous how many things occur.
VISIT TO ALBANY
I think I will tell you a little incident that occurred many years ago. I was in Washington and so I wrote to the Governor of New York who at that time was Charles Seaman Whitman and told him that I was on my way home and if he was going to be in Albany on such and such a date, I think it was on Thursday as I remember it now, that I would be glad to get off the train and call and pay my respects and take the next train on home. I received a telegram in reply, reading, "Come right along. I will receive you here."
The result was that I got through in Washington a day earlier than I thought so I arrived in Albany a day ahead of time and went to the Hotel Teneyck, with the expectation of staying all night and filling my appointment the next day. I then telephoned the Governor's office and learned that he was out of town, and I told his secretary I had an appointment with him. He said: "Yes, I know and the governor will be here in time to fill his appointment tomorrow."
I thought, "why not do something in the meantime?" I have always found that I feel so much better when I am busy trying to disseminate the truth. The result was I went out and located two of our missionaries, just humble young men. They were about nineteen, possibly twenty, years of age. I found them and asked if there were some place we could spend the evening and do a little missionary work, and they said: "Yes, we will go and call on the photographer. He and his family are members of the Church, and they will be happy to have us come."
I said: "All right." I went into the office of the hotel and said to the clerk: "If by any chance anybody calls for me here, I am going out to spend the evening, but I would like to have them call me-I had the telephone number of the photographer-call me there."
CALL PROM GOVERNOR
The missionaries were delighted and we went down and were having a lovely visit. About nine o'clock the telephone rang and the good sister answered the telephone and then she came in, and my, her eyes were nearly popping out of her head. She said: "Why Brother Smith, the Governor of New York wants to talk to you on the telephone."
Of course I was wonderfully surprised. So I went to the telephone and when I took it up I said: "Is this you, Governor?"
He said: "Yes."
I said: "This is George Albert Smith of Salt Lake City. I am glad to hear your voice."
"Well," he said, "I am glad to hear yours. You are coming to see me, aren't you?"
And I replied: "Well, I stopped here for that purpose. What time shall I come?"
He said: "Ten o'clock."
I asked: "Ten o'clock tomorrow morning?"
He said: "No, ten o'clock tonight."
I said: "I do not want to disturb you at your home. I thought I was going to go into your office and shake hands with you and visit a few minutes."
He said: "If you wait to get into my office we won't have any visit. Come on down tonight, at 10 o'clock."
VISIT AT GOVERNOR'S MANSION
I went back and excused myself from the family and said to the young missionaries: "Will one of you go and help me find the Mansion House?" I did not have any idea where it was. Elder Peterson went with me.
When we got down to the house-it was during World War number one and the house was surrounded by militia-they would not let us in the gates until I insisted that they go to the house and find out that I had an appointment. They did and came back and escorted us to the house. When we went there the Governor received us very graciously and said: "Come with me and we will go up to my den and we will have a good time together. Nobody will bother us up there, not even the telephone."
The young missionary was about as much surprised as anybody could be to be received in the home of the Governor like that. It was just like we were members of the family.
When we got upstairs, the Governor seated himself. By the way, it was in a room about fourteen feet square and there was a table on one side and all around the room were cupboards of books. It was the private office of the Governor, and when he wanted to be by himself that is where he went.
DISCUSSION OF WORLD WAR I
He sat in his chair, on one side of the table, and Elder Peterson and I sat opposite him. We had hardly gotten seated until the Governor said: "Do you folks know that there is a war on?"
I said, "Of course we know there is a war on."
He said: "You are way out there in Utah: I didn't think you would know." He continued: "You are out of danger; you cannot be reached out there."
I said, "Governor, we are American citizens and we are real Americans, and I want to tell you we have furnished our quota of men, and there has not been a draftee-everyone has volunteered." I said: "We have taken our full quota of bonds. We have paid our full share of Red Cross assessment. We have done everything we have been asked for. Now, why don't you think we know there is a war on?"
He replied: "You have done better than we have back here." "Well," he repeated, "how is this war coming out?"
I answered: "Don't you know?"
He said: "No, I don't know who is going to win it."
"Where is your Book of Mormon?" I asked.
He just turned around in his swivel chair and reached in the cupboard behind him, took down a copy of the Book of Mormon and laid it on the table in front of me. Elder Peterson was astonished to see a copy of the Book of Mormon in the Governor's library.
I turned to the Book of Mormon and I said: "Governor, I am not going to take a lot of time, but you can find out right in here how this war is coming out." I said: "We are going to win the war," and then I read to him what is found in the Book of Mormon with reference to the people of this nation, in which the Lord told us: "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... I, the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king", and then He refers to the fact that if we keep His commandments-that is what I want to bring home to us tonight-if we keep His commandments we have the promise from Him of His preservation and His watchcare.
The Governor said: "I had not seen that."
"Well," I said: "you are not doing a very good job reading your Book of Mormon."
SUBSEQUENT MEETING WITH MISSIONARY
He thanked me. We had a lovely visit. We went away and I did not see that missionary for a long time. In fact, I had forgotten what his name was, until about two years ago in the Hotel Utah when I attended a meeting of oil executives. I happened to be there as an invited guest, and I was made acquainted with some of those present, but when someone attempted to introduce me to one young man he said: "You cannot introduce me to President Smith. I know him and he knows me. We have done missionary work together."
I was puzzled. And then he told the story of how he took me to the Governor's home and then of course I remembered him. He is now the President of one of the great oil corporations in California. But one of the most interesting things was, after I had explained to the Governor that the Book of Mormon contained the word of the Lord: that it was not what Joseph Smith had said, but what the Lord had said-when I laid the book down, the missionary picked it up as quick as he could and looked to see how on earth it got into the Governor's office. On the front page was this inscription: "To the Honorable Charles Seaman Whitman, Governor of New York, with compliments and best wishes of George Albert Smith."
OPPORTUNITIES TO TEACH GOSPEL
Brethren, I have mentioned the Book of Mormon. I wonder how many of our families have read the Book of Mormon. There are a good many things in there that could be referred to, as well as this commandment or revelation of our Heavenly Father, of what we must do. We are distributing the literature of the Church where we can in all parts of the civilized world and we are not doing all that we will have to do because we have not reached very many people.
Our representatives in the various barracks, schools, and in the various state legislatures and the national legislature, members of the Church everywhere, all have an opportunity, and most of them take advantage of that opportunity, to explain to the people what the Gospel of Jesus Christ really means.
That is a large contract that we have. Each of us has the responsibility. We may begin by training our boys and girls at home so that they know what the Gospel is and then when opportunity comes they will be able to share it with others.
FRIENDLINESS EXPERIENCED
If I had time I could tell you many experiences I have had, similar to the one just related, and I have always found that the people who gave me an opportunity to sit and talk with them followed me up after that and went out of their way to be friendly. I may add that the Governor of New York used to send me an invitation to his public functions. I never had the opportunity to go but once and then I got stuck in the snow and could not get there.
People are friendly with us if we will give them a chance. It has not been very long since I was invited to offer the invocation at the opening of the United States Senate. This invitation was extended to a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a stranger there except for the fact we had members and friends there who knew us. That could not have happened fifty years ago, but there is no end to the opportunity that is ours, and the thing for us to do, no matter where we are, is to seek to share with others the joyous teachings that have come to us from our Heavenly Father in all of the scriptures, the Old and the New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price. We have a marvelous library, brethren.
RESPONSIBILITY TO TEACH GOSPEL
I am not going to ask you to hold up your hands now, but I would like you to ask yourselves, how many of you have read anything to your families out of these books from time to time, called them together to teach them the things that they ought to know. I am afraid many of us would have to say we have been too busy.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is on the earth, and think of the number of men there are here tonight who are authorized through the priesthood they hold to speak for our Heavenly Father and to teach his Gospel.
It is a joyous thing to me to know that the way is opening all the time, and it becomes easier and I say to you brethren, I do not suppose there is hardly a week passes, not a month anyhow, but somebody of prominence from these United States or from other parts of the world, comes into the office here, the President's office, to find out what we are doing.
VISIT OF RAILROAD PRESIDENT
Only last week the President of one of the great eastern railroads came in, the first time he has ever been here in Salt Lake City, and he came in and we sat down and visited for quite a long time. He asked questions and they were answered, and he went out, wanting to see what there was to see. He was leaving that night, but he said: "I never dreamed I would find what I have found here."
I could not go with him so some of the other brethren, Brother Haycock, my secretary, and one of the other brethren, saw to it that they found our welfare organization, saw the monument to the pioneers up here and other points of interest.
There is always something to interest them while we are teaching them the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So let us not lose our opportunity, let us not lose the privilege that the Lord has given to us to teach His truth. The more we teach it the more we will appreciate it, and the more we will be appreciated by those we associate with.
PRIESTHOOD MEETING A DELIGHT
Tonight, this great priesthood meeting is a delight to me. I am grateful to be able to be here. I am glad I can remember when I was just a young man, and I was a missionary in the Southern States. Some of the very finest people in the South would receive us if we would go to their homes in a dignified way. They were not always interested in the Gospel of Jesus Christ but they would treat us kindly, in most instances, but of course in some cases they were not so kind.
I am thinking of our opportunity. What are we going to do? Here we are, the representatives of the Church, a very great portion of the representatives of the priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints tonight, and our Heavenly Father has warned us that difficulties are coming. If I were to read more in the Doctrine and Covenants I could call attention to many things there that put us on notice that we have something more to do than to just go on and take it easy.
EXPERIENCES OF NOAH AND ABRAHAM
Remember that in the days of Noah, he preached the Gospel for approximately a hundred years and the people would not repent, but by and by, the warning that had been given to them was realized and they were all wiped out except the few that were in the ark.
You remember the experience of Abraham when he was visited by a holy being on the way to Sodom and Gomorrah to destroy the people, and he began to plead for them. He knew there were some good people there. He had relatives there. And so finally he asked, "Are you going to destroy the good people?"
"No, if there are good people there, enough of them, they can save the whole situation."
And then Abraham began: "Well, if there are fifty, will you save the cities?"
"Yes, if there are fifty."
"If there are forty?"
"Yes, if there are forty."
And Abraham kept on going until he got down as far as he thought he could go, I guess, and was told, that if ten righteous people could be found there in those two great cities that the cities would be spared. But he could not find them.
CONDITION OF AMERICA
Now I wonder what about America. What proportion of the population of the land we live in is a righteous portion. It is righteousness that will preserve us.
The Lord's promise to be our king and our law-giver is on the condition of righteousness, and my, what a wonderful opportunity He gives to us and how happy we ought to be to take advantage of it and bless our fellows by carrying the message to them.
DISBELIEF OF WORLD
The people of the world may not believe it. They did not believe it when the Savior came to John at the waters of Jordan. They did not believe He was the Savior of the world. When He came unto John and asked for baptism, John said: "I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?"
Jesus replied: "Suffer it to be so now for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness." "And he suffered him."
Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Mary, went down into the water, and when He came up out of the water, the Holy Ghost descended upon Him in the form of a dove. If John had had any doubt about what he had accomplished surely that would have brought him to a realization, and then a voice from heaven said: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased".
John did not find fault with Jesus for letting him baptize Him. John was a very humble man. John then went his way and tried to save his own people, his own race. And they finally took his life and that has been the history of the world all the way down. There have been war and destruction and now we are faced, not with any ordinary situation, but we are faced with a war by Anti-Christ against the people who believe in the divine mission of the Savior.
SET HOMES IN ORDER
What are we going to do? We have our responsibility, and I am sure we will not disappoint those who have depended upon us to do our part. But the most important thing that we can do is set our own homes in order, to see if there is carelessness or indifference in them, teach our families, and unite them and make them happy in keeping the commandments of our Heavenly Father, because only on the condition of righteousness can even this great Church continue and endure to do the work that it has to do.
Brethren, you have come from many parts of the world, mostly, of course, from the Western Hemisphere, but you will be returning to your homes. Do not fail to appreciate that the Lord has given you a wonderful blessing, but it will only be a blessing to you on condition that you observe His laws and keep His commandments.
WAITING UPON THE LORD
We are all brethren here tonight, meeting together in the Lord's House, waiting upon Him, and I am sure we will have a happy time tomorrow in our meetings.
I trust everybody has a place to stay tonight. I hope that the adjustment has been made before this. We sometimes have had our people come from the outlying districts thinking they could go into a hotel at any time, only to find they could not get a place to stay. Now, if there are any of you people here tonight who live away, who haven't any place to stay, you see if you are sitting by a real Latter day Saint or a make-believe, and tell your troubles to your neighbor, and if he cannot take you to his home he can find a place where you can stay, and you will be happy.
GRATITUDE FOR COMPANIONSHIP
I pray that the Lord will bless us all. I am so grateful for the companionship of such men as are sitting here tonight, grateful to be able to shake your hands and meet you wherever I find you, grateful to welcome another member into the Quorum of the Twelve. The Church continues to grow, and while Brother George F. Richards has filled a great mission, performed a great part, and the others that we have mentioned here, Brother Frank Evans and others, what they have done they will be blessed for, but if we want to be among those whose names are recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life as being entitled to a place in the Celestial Kingdom when this earth becomes that kingdom, we have got to earn that ourselves, individually. The Lord has given us the priesthood given us the opportunity, given us all these wonderful revelations contained in the scriptures, and I am sure we are not going to waste our privileges and fail to do our part.
BLESSINGS ASKED
I pray that the Lord will bless us all, that we will be worthy to bear the priesthood that He has offered to us and conferred upon us, that wherever we go people will be able to say, "That man is a servant of the Lord."
When you go to our homes tonight, please be careful. It is dark. The automobiles are running in every direction, pretty near, except straight up, and we will have to be careful and not be hit. Be as careful as you can, and then when the conference is finished and you go to your homes, be equally careful, because somebody is losing his life as a result of unnecessary accidents practically every hour of the day.
I pray that the Lord will bless us, that we will be real brothers and that if we have families that we will be real fathers and husbands in our homes, not just make-believes. Do not fail to have your family prayers, brethren; it brings a blessing that not anything else does.
That we may all so conduct ourselves that when the Lamb's Book of Life is opened disclosing those who are entitled to a place here upon this earth in the Celestial Kingdom, to live forever in the companionship of Jesus Christ, our Lord, and that all our names will be found recorded there and those we love, not one missing, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Elder John A. Widtsoe
John A. Widtsoe, Conference Report, October 1950, pp. 183-188
Dear Radio Friends: Our day is one of much confusion, uncertainty and fear. This unhappy condition is worldwide. Too many mature people look with sincere longing upon the past; youth on the threshold of life's activity are inclined to view the future with distrust. There is a feeling of helplessness in the air. The enthusiasms of life are vanishing.
This is neither natural nor normal. It darkens the day and clouds our every task. It develops slavery to unknown, dreaded forces. It is destructive of human joy
This should not be so. The new world, our world, made one by audible, visual and physical communication, and by the free interchange of personal opinion, should yield days of such satisfactions as have not been known before.
There is evil in the world, ever designing to destroy humanity. That goes without saying. Evil offered itself to the first man; it will pound, however uselessly, on the ears of the last. Evil forces, in whatever disguise, must be fought, desperately if needs be, and brought to their knees; else life's sweetness will disappear. This battle between right and wrong, between good and bad, has been waged, and often has raged, through the generations of time, and will continue to the end.
Normal men, made in the image of God, have always accepted cheerfully the challenge of evil as a part of life. The battle really has given zest to existence. Moreover, and this gives courage to weak man, history records that in every struggle evil has gradually been defeated and at length has been beaten down.
Incarnate evil, despite its assiduous endeavors, has always lost ground. Finally victory has been on the side of right.
Thereby has come man's marvelous conquest over surrounding forces, and the steady improvement in the last few hundred years of the conditions of the human race. Always, if on the side of righteousness, man has managed to banish the gilded tyranny of evil.
Yet, despite the lessons of the past, fear, unnecessary fear, lurks in many human breasts. What of tomorrow? is shouted by the forces of evil. In the consequent din is forgotten the glorious promise that "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof". Forgotten also is the ancient truth that fear is the devil's first and chief weapon. Make a man or a nation afraid, and his strength like that of Samson shorn of his locks, is gone. He is no longer useful in the work of the world. He becomes a tool of the unholy forces which seek to destroy mankind.
Gideon, mighty man of ancient Israel, was called to rescue his people from a seven-year oppression by the Midianites and associated people. He raised therefore an army of thirty-two thousand men to fight the enemy. But in those days, as in ours, battles were won not by numbers but by men of quality. So he was commanded to proclaim:
"Whosoever is fearful and afraid let him return. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand...".
It was a high percentage. It is probably as high in the world today. Nevertheless Gideon's army was stronger because the faithful ones were left. Fear never fails to lead a man or a group of people to weakness and to ultimate failure.
The fears of man are legion. They float to the surface from submerged corners in our consciousness. They are often the products of our imagination.
Really what have we to fear? Physical destruction perhaps, first. We are naturally afraid of pain. We look with dread, for example, upon the A-bomb, and the theoretical H-bomb, and other devices of somewhat lesser horror, produced by the misuse of powers placed in the hands of man. At the worst, their effects will be local, and minimized as the common sense of the nations develops.
The frequent, recent fear arises that a day may come when the whole world will be annihilated by an atomic chain reaction. That is an idle fear. It is not yet within the power of man and may never be. The earth is old; the stars in the sky made of earth-like elements are old. Earth and stars have long hung in space. The universe is not going to explode into atomic rays-not in our day-of that we may be certain. That fear is groundless and with the accompanying dread should be cast out.
Civilized man needs food and clothing and shelter. In the turmoil of the new day, he fears that he may be deprived of these necessities. He forgets that the earth has not changed, except in spots. As the seasons come and go, the needs of man will be supplied by mother earth as in the past, if man does his part. It is easy to awaken a fear; as easy to banish it if reasonable thinking is used.
Then there is the fear of other men-people with the wrong conception of life, to whom a neighbor is but a tool with which to protect themselves, often to satisfy their lusts. To them life has no meaning beyond the flesh of the day. They do not know the spiritual world, which is the greater and more powerful world. Such travelers in the muck of life promise much to gain their ends, but keep no promise. Such men are more dangerous than material weapons, however horrible.
Usually evil philosophies use evil material tools. The great danger in these philosophies is, however, that they simulate truth. They are deceiving; and by their deceit often secure as adherents otherwise honest people. We should for our protection uncover these masked devils.
Here also, fear is rule. Righteous men if united are masters of their generation and can and should cast out all such fears, and should sternly set about to root out such weeds of existence. False teachings fall before truth.
It would be better for man's happiness to substitute for such fears a proper control of the use of his powers, whether of his natural endowment, or those that have been discovered by the patient searchers for truth.
For example, there should be less glibness about the use of atomic energy in warfare, and more about its possible use in peaceful arts. More should be said about the futility of war with its devilish destruction of human life and property. More should be said about the nobility of man, and his possible Godlike approach when he uses his time, talents and power to supply natural human needs. Whenever that is done, much fear will disappear. More should be said about the good earth and its willingness to yield bountifully to man's toil.
An evil philosophy of life can best be stifled when it is given no corner in the discussions of men. Clubs would do better to discuss the principles of our own free government than the remote doctrine of an ancient poet. Whether fear shall engulf us or not is a matter in our own hands.
Men who lay aside fear become the masters of the day.
It is a pity that many who allow themselves to fear seek refuge in the temporary forgetfulness that follows the satisfaction of unnatural appetites. Instead of a wise and intelligent approach to the apparently difficult problems of life, multitudes have turned to nerve whipping drugs, which often have become daily companions, or to the shame of immorality, or to the mania of chance. To such persons, fear may temporarily be lost in the brutality or sinful indulgences, but it remains under cover to poison the full joy of life. There is no happy future for mankind, no removal of fear, while in the society of sin.
More terribly fear-begetting is the doctrine that the world in which we live is purposeless.
Freedom from fear comes only when the earth and all upon it are conceived to be expressions of a mighty divine purpose. The unhappy ones of this age, which is full of possible joy, usually can see no purpose in life. That is a great calamity, perhaps the greatest in human lives. The Lord placed his children on earth in his love for them and for their good. They are here in harmony with this mighty divine purpose.
Our purposeful world is under the direction of the Lord. It cannot be conceived that the Master would place his children on earth and then forget them! That is not the method of Divinity Chance does not rule in the heavens or on earth. Men who harbor fear may rest assured that in the providences of the Lord, righteousness will triumph on earth. The Lord's purposes will prevail. That knowledge drives out fear. The highest attainable joy of man, of any man, is the certainty that he lives in a purposeful world made for his good. Fear cannot dwell with such a faith.
Those who do not believe in a purposeful world are to be pitied. They cast God out of their lives. They are atheists, creatures without home or anchorage. Thrown back upon themselves, upon their own weak powers, with no help but that of men, such persons are unspeakably lonely. Fears overtake them, and force them to seek unnatural excitements. The convictions of such men rest upon insecure foundations. They cannot be safely followed.
The confusion and contention, the uncertainty in the world come from the failure to take God into partnership in the acts of our daily lives. We must battle for the right, if needs be. Give evil no quarter. To put trust in God, when we have done our best, is the final refuge of mortal man. Men must give heed to God's voice, as heard through the centuries. If that is done, all is well; but when the Lord is forgotten, disaster overflows the world.
All who have fear in their hearts should turn willingly to him who created the earth and all upon it. The wise ones of old have warned us. When ancient Israel was depressed, as many are today, Moses spoke to them:
Be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, He it is that doth go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
And David, king of Israel, completed the thought:
Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.
Though all this is true, all who seek to drive away fear, must be active in the battle. Evil, the cause of fear, will turn to good only as righteousness prevails. The Lord will solve all earthly problems only as man makes himself worthy of divine kelp. Men must be anxiously engaged in a good cause", the cause of the Lord.
We must be vocal in our opposition to evil, we must be eager to cast evil out from among us. In the home circle, in our churches, in our places of toil, wherever we walk and talk, as members of society and as citizens of our land, we must stand as enemies of evil. There must be no yielding to the whisperings from the dungeons of existence. Then the Lord will add his power and his blessings; fear will flee.
We need everywhere throughout our sunlit land men who are strong enough for righteousness to face the enemy.
When Gideon of old was left with only ten thousand unafraid men, other tests were given this remainder of his large army. Gideon could take no chances. The cause, the freedom of his people, was too great. So he watched his men.
When the army, marching in the heat of the day, crossed a creek, some loitered, took their time, lay down to drink; others, however, only three hundred of the ten thousand, eager to meet the enemy could not wait; they merely cupped their hands and drank as they marched hurriedly along. They caused no delay. These three hundred became Gideon's army; the others were sent home. With these three hundred Gideon won glorious victories.
With such men, in any day, every fear vanishes.
The feeling of depression that bows down many of our people today should be replaced by a song of courageous gladness. The Lord is at the helm. Therefore, we should be full of courage. Our task is to keep the law of the Lord, to reject every evil offering, and to assist eagerly in the solution of present-day problems. Then we can safely trust the future. Then we shall no longer be afraid. Those who may suffer will be those who will not do these things.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, October 1950, pp. 108-112
With President Smith and others of the brethren and with all of you I miss President George F. Richards, and our other close associate, Brother Frank Evans. However, who knows but that they may be nearer to us than we think.
TEXT
"And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
"Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, where dwellest thou?".
About forty years ago, a stranger sat in this Tabernacle and listened to a message such as those messages to which we have listened throughout this conference. My informant didn't tell me who spoke on that occasion, but he thought it was President Charles W. Penrose. As the stranger and his host walked out from that meeting, the visitor said to his companion, I would give all that I possess if I knew that what that man has said this afternoon is true".
Well, he would not have to give all that he possessed to know that: if he had but followed the example of these two disciples, he might have learned, as they, the truth of what President Penrose, or whoever it was, gave on that occasion.
PATH TO KNOWLEDGE
With your cooperative help and the inspiration of the Lord, I should like to mark out that path.
"What seek ye?" and the answer, "Master, where dwellest thou?" And thereby, "Come and see". These two disciples sought Jesus upon the testimony of John the Baptist, whom they had been following, and who only a day or so before, seeing Jesus walking near Jordan, said, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world". It seems that none left John's side, at that time, but the next day John repeated his testimony, and these two disciples, one of whom was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, followed Jesus. We can only conjecture how clearly or deeply they sensed the fact that in thus seeking the Son of Man they were taking the first step toward eternal life. But this we do know, that the Savior has given the divine assurance that "... this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent".
QUESTS DETERMINE SUCCESSES
Man's success or failure, happiness or misery, depends upon what he seeks and what he chooses. What a man is, what a nation is, may largely be determined by his or its dominant quest. It is a tragic thing to carry through life a low concept of it.
The great writer Carlyle says, "The thing a man does practically believe, the thing a man does practically lay to heart, and know for certain concerning his vital relations to this mysterious universe, and his duty and destiny there, that is in all cases the primary thing for him, and creatively determines all the rest. This is his religion; or it may be his mere skepticism and no religion; the manner it is in which he feels himself to be spiritually related to the unseen world or no world. I say if you tell me what that is, you tell me to a very great extent what the man is, what the kind of things he will do is."
THE ALL-IMPORTANT QUEST
The disciples' answer to the question, "What seek ye?" gives a key to man's highest and noblest quest: "Master, where dwellest thou?" saying in effect, We desire to know thee and thy teachings. They stayed with Jesus all that day, for it was the ninth hour. And later Andrew sought his brother Simon and said, "... we have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ" . "If... thou seek the Lord thy God," is the promise coming down through the ages, "thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul".
This, then, brethren and sisters, is the all-important quest of life: To seek God and Jesus Christ, to know whom is eternal life.
HOW WE MAY KNOW GOD
The messages given in this conference have directly and indirectly answered the question of how we may know him. Jesus expressed it clearly on one occasion when, attending the Feast of the Tabernacles in Jerusalem, he declared to the Jews who marveled at his preaching, "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".
In his Sermon on the Mount, he expressed the same thought in these words: "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".
HIS WILL
These statements awaken in the mind of the honest investigator the great question, "What is God's will?" If we knew it, surely we would obey it.
Well, Christ has not left us, with that question unanswered. His will is summarized in the memorable reply he gave to the lawyer who asked him the question with a desire to entrap him, "Master which is the great commandment in the law?"
Answered the Savior: "... Thou shalt love the Lord they 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".
Further, regarding the will of God, the Apostle Peter particularized when, on the Day of Pentecost, with one accord the people asked him and the other Apostles, "... Men and brethren, what shall we do?"
"Repent," answered Peter," 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 this 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".
To repent-this we should note carefully-is to feel regret, contrition, or compunction for what one has done or omitted to do. It means to change one's mind in regard to past or intended actions or conduct on account of regret or dissatisfaction. It means to conquer selfishness, greed, jealousy, fault-finding, and slander. It means to control one's temper. It means to rise above the sordid things which pure nature would prompt us to do to gratify our appetites and passions, and to enter into the higher or spiritual realm.
Thus we become, in the words of Peter, "... partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust". Then Peter adds, "And beside this giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
"And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
"And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity".
Now note this great promise: "For if these things be in you and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ".
JOY FOLLOWS OBEDIENCE
These are the signposts along life's highway which if followed will lead any man to do the Lord's will, to know his Son, the Redeemer of the world, to know whom is eternal life. And while we are gaining this great knowledge which leads to immortality, we find the greatest joy in mortality that can be experienced by the human soul.
"The best of all men are they who realize in daily life their luminous hours and transmute their ideals into conduct and character. These are the soul architects who build their thoughts and deeds into a plan, who travel forward not aimlessly but toward a destination." All the happiness that comes with spiritual gifts may be theirs-love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, friendship, communion with the infinite; I repeat, communion with the infinite. All these and a thousand other blessings that God gives free of charge are theirs.
"Earth gets its price for what earth gives us.
"'Tis heaven alone that is given away,
"'Tis only God may be had for the asking."
LIFE'S GREAT EXEMPLAR
High in the scale of manhood stand those who ceaselessly aspire toward life's great Exemplar. This great Exemplar is Jesus Christ, who among all leaders in history has wielded the greatest influence upon the human family.
You have asked yourself, as have thousands of others, wherein lies the secret of his greatness? You have probably answered, "Why, it is in his divinity." Well, that is true, but he came to earth as you and I, took upon himself mortality, and he exerted an influence among his fellows, in keeping with the natural laws just as each individual here exerts a natural influence. Wherein is the secret of his greatness, aside from his divinity? He defeated the lawyer in argument, healed the sick where medicine failed, inspired the greatest music ever written, filled hundreds of thousands of libraries with books, inspired missionaries to go to all the world, even to the darkest depths of Africa; yet, in none of the realms in which men and women ordinarily win their laurels do you find historians referring to Christ as having succeeded.
SUPREME IN CHARACTER
"In the realm of character," writes Charles Jefferson, "he was supreme. The only thing which places a man above the beasts of the field is his possession of the spiritual gifts which develop that Christ-like character. Man's earthly existence is but a test as to whether he will concentrate his efforts, his mind, and his soul upon the things which contribute to the comfort and gratification of his physical instincts and passions, or whether he will make as his life's end and purpose the acquisition of spiritual qualities."
Aren't you students thrilled-I hope you are-with the recent tendency among the alleged best thinkers, and I think some of them are, particularly the man who wrote Man Does Not Stand Alone, in their appeal for humanity, for mankind to rise above the low, the sensual, and develop the spirit that is within man. I think we have made the turn from agnosticism into the realm of spirituality.
PRIESTHOOD MEANS SERVICE
Last night we had here in the Tabernacle, Assembly Hall, Barratt Hall, an estimated 14,000 men who hold the priesthood. I don't know that you can find a more inspirational gathering anywhere on earth. Just to be with them was an inspiration. To those 14,000 and to those 250,000 throughout the Church who hold the priesthood I should like to say: Our lives are wrapped up with the lives of others. We are happiest as we contribute to the lives of others. I say that because the priesthood you hold means that you are to serve others. You represent God in the field to which you are assigned. "Whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it". This paradoxical saying of the Savior contains the crowning element of the upright character-crowning, I say. Here we touch an important phase of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Selfishness is subdued, in which greed and avarice must be subordinated to the higher principles of helpfulness and of kindliness.
"DO HIS WILL"
"If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself". Choosing the right with unvarying and unwavering determination, resisting temptations from within and from without, cheerfulness in the face of difficulties and experiences, reverence for God and respect for your fellow men, willingness to assist in the establishment of the kingdom of God-these, though you might miss some of the emoluments of the world, will bring peace and happiness to your soul, and through obedience to the principles and ordinances of the gospel, bring immortality and eternal life. Your soul will rise in ecstasy and clearer understanding of that great word of God given in modern revelation: "This is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man". That friend who said he would give all in the world if he knew it was true can know if he will follow the example set down by the Savior.
In conclusion, as sure as you can tune in on the radio and hear voices from afar, so sure am I that God our Father lives, and the soul of man can commune with him through the Holy Spirit. I give you that as my testimony; I know it. So sure am I that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, through whom and only through whom may mankind find happiness and peace. So sure am I that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored through Joseph Smith and the authority to represent God on earth is again given to man. Oh, may he give us power to proclaim these truths to an unbelieving world, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Levi Edgar Young
Levi Edgar Young, Conference Report, October 1950, pp. 113-119
May my words express a love for God and mankind while I speak to you, my brethren and sisters. A few friends of mine from New York, members of the Episcopal Church, are in attendance at these services. At home they attend their services at the church of St. John the Divine, one of the most beautiful places of worship ever erected in America. We bid you welcome. We are glad to have you hear something of our beliefs, something of the great truths of the Living God. We respect you in your worship and your religious beliefs. It is one of the rich sayings of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, that we believe in worshiping God according to the dictates of our own consciences, and we allow every man the same privilege, let him worship how, where, or what he may. We honor you in your worship.
TESTIMONIES OF CHURCH MEMBERS
You will hear from this pulpit this morning the testimony of every Latter-day Saint who speaks. Far and wide in the world you will hear the same testimony concerning this latter-day work which was given to the world by the word of God to the Prophet Joseph Smith. We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in his Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. It is our testimony that God has given us the gospel of Jesus Christ, and that Joseph Smith, the Prophet, was the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Testimony with us is a very divine thing. It is a sacred trust and can come only to one who has opened his heart and mind to hallowed living with earnest prayer and deep faith in God and Jesus Christ. It is the most divine gift of all, and this testimony lies deep in the heart of every member of the Church.
A MODEL CITY
When the Latter day Saints crossed the Mississippi River in the winter of 1846 and began their journey to the far west, they left the city of Nauvoo, a city of beauty and high religious and civic life. It had been built within a short period of time, but it came to be, under the direction of the Prophet of God, the greatest city, morally, in America. There was a civic consciousness that can well become the model of the cities of our country today.
The people were rich in the Spirit of God, and they had a culture all their own. The men and their families were reduced to humble circumstances. They had little to eat, but living in their wagons drawn by mules and oxen, they were making their way to their new home in the West. They carried copies of the Bible and the Book of Mormon with them. They had come to love books of literature and history, and they sang their psalmodies by night and by day.
HERITAGE OF AMERICAN INDIAN
We have heard some of the brethren speak of the American Indians in this conference. We are carrying the gospel to all the tribes of America, and we have become particularly interested in the traditions of these people. The Night Chant of the Navajo and the Hako of the Pawnees have been translated into English. They are mysterious but beautiful dramas. The Indians, if understood, developed fine artistic feeling; and it has been said that their traditions will yet become the foundation for the richest American literature and feeling. Everyone knows that the American Indian passed on to us, and through us to the world, a heritage of utility beyond the dreams of avarice. This was in such homely things as the inestimable food plants, which he had brought from the wild to a high state of domestication. Few seem to know that he has prepared a second heritage of beauty, a gift of fine arts, illusions, and immaterial creations which rise above mere utilities as the mountains rise above the plain. "The English find in the Arthurian romance a never-failing inspiration." Americans in the future will surely realize an epic grandeur in the song sequences and world stories of the first Americans. We know that they once had their testimony of the Living God and Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. The following short poem will give an idea of the beauty of their thoughts. It was written by a Tewa Indian:
Oh, our Mother, the Earth; oh, our Father, the Sky, Your children are we, and with tired backs We bring you the gifts that you love. Then weave for us a garment of brightness; May the warp be the white light of morning, May the weft be the red light of evening, May the fringes be the falling rain, May the border be the standing rainbow. Thus weave for us a garment of brightness That we may walk fittingly where birds sing, That we may walk fittingly where grass is green, Oh, our Mother, the Earth; oh, our Father, the Sky!
HIGH REGARD FOR YOUTH
We Latter-day Saints have a high regard for the youth of the world. It is our desire to have our homes influenced by the Spirit of God, that our children may grow in a knowledge of what true religion is. I think we are all agreed that one great need of the hour is to bring back the fine concept of the faith in God which our forefathers had.
Yesterday Bishop Isaacson in his address referred with feeling to this Tabernacle. In the early days of this state, the Mormon pioneers built many public buildings and memorials that bore witness to their love of the beautiful. Everything that they did to create homes and cities showed a mingling of definite religious feeling with the creations, and they thought of it all as God's work. It was from their faith and trust that their genius developed in the days of hardship and toil. There was something of emotional color in what they did, a something that made them strive to unite the work of their daily duties with the light of heaven. It was Ruskin who said that:
The power of the human mind had its growth in the wilderness; much more must the conception, the love of beauty be an image of God's daily work.
MORMON TABERNACLE
This Mormon Tabernacle expresses something of the strength of character and religious idealism of the Latter day Saints. The only building of its kind in the world, it is unique in the history of American architecture. While its massiveness suggests a people strong in spirit, conviction, and purpose, its lines indicate a splendid adoption of scientific principles in architecture. It is a plain, oval-shaped building, studded with heavy entrance doors all the way around; there is no attempt at ornamentation of any kind. The building is a fine example of the utilizing of the resources of the land for the purpose of having a place for divine worship. The building impresses one as an immense, irresistible force, "humanly super-human," an expression of sovereign intelligence and feeling. It is as the great Ibsen has said of all art, "an illumination of life." The interior impresses one with its majestic, vaulted ceiling, and "the vastness of the place grows upon one and inspires one with mingled feelings of solemnity and admiration."
WORLD-FAMED ORGAN
The building of this world-famed organ is a dramatic story. It is inseparably connected with the name of Joseph Ridges, a native of England, who went to Australia as a youth and later emigrated to America. In Australia he worked in an organ factory: while in Sydney, Elder Ridges constructed a small pipe organ, and having joined the Church, he was advised to take his instrument to Utah. He immigrated to Utah, and shipped his little organ, in tin cases, to San Pedro in California; he afterwards brought it to Utah by ox team.
In the early sixties Elder Ridges was selected by President Brigham Young to build an organ in the Tabernacle. After submitting preliminary drafts to President Young and his counselors, Elder Ridges began making arrangements for the construction of the instrument and was assisted by his associates, Shure Olsen, Neils Johnson, Henry Taylor, Frank Woods, and others. Meetings were held with these men almost daily, and the reports of each man's work were heard. While one was collecting various specimens of wood from the canyons of Utah, another was making good tools with which to carve the wood, while still a third man was experimenting in making glue. Specimens of wood were sent by people from all over Utah, and it was finally decided that the best wood was found in the hills around Parowan and in Pine Valley, about three hundred miles south of Salt Lake City. It was a fine grain of white pine variety, free from knots and without much pitch or gum. For the large pipes, it was especially well-adapted.
The large pipes, some of which measure thirty-two feet, required thousands of feet of timber. Over the long, lonely roads labored the oxen, day by day, hauling the heavy logs to Salt Lake City. At times there were as many as twenty large wagons, each with three yoke of oxen drawing its loads. The roads were rough and dusty, and many streams had to be bridged that the wagons might pass over them without difficulty.
About one hundred men were employed constantly in the construction of the organ, and it was dedicated in October 1867. It is a majestic creation, and to this day, thousands come to listen to its melodious strains. It is one of the great instruments of the world.
STATUE OF MORONI
Casting your eye to the pinnacle of the center tower of the temple, you see Cyrus Dallin's statue of the Angel Moroni, a beautiful creation by that noted sculptor, who was a native of Springville, Utah, and who died recently in Boston. I had the honor of his acquaintance. He was one of the noblest men I ever knew. One time in discussing his work, he said:
To believe in angels marks one who lives near to his God. It is one of the most beautiful concepts a man can have. I am glad I came to believe that Moroni, whoever he was in history, came back to earth again as an angel from God's throne.
This is why Dallin created his masterpiece on yonder temple.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF PIONEERS
Wherever you go, you will find the buildings of pioneer days always great structures with artistic features. The State of Utah had its beginning over one hundred years ago when the pioneers arrived in this valley, and it was in 1850 that the Territory of Utah was organized. The people brought with them their ideals which they had developed at Nauvoo. That city had a university and public schools. The people built a "Seventy's Hall of Science," which was to have a great library. This is what a Methodist minister, a Mr. Briar, wrote concerning the city before the Mormons had left it:
Instead of seeing a few miserable log cabins and mud hovels, which I expected to find, I was surprised to find one of the most romantic places I had visited in the west. The buildings, though many of them were small and of wood, bore the marks of neatness which I had not seen equaled in this country. The farspread plain at the bottom of the hill was dotted over with habitations of men with such majestic profusion that I was almost willing to believe myself mistaken; and instead of being in Nauvoo, Ill., among Mormons, that I was in Italy at the City of Leghorn... I gazed for some time with fond admiration upon the plain below. Here and there arose a tall, majestic brick house, speaking loudly of the untiring labor of the inhabitants, who have snatched the place from the clutches of obscurity, and wrested it from the bonds of disease; and in two or three short years rescued it from a dreary waste to transform it into one of the first cities of the west... I found all the people engaged in business-much more than any place I have visited since the hard times commenced. I sought in vain for anything that bore the marks of immorality.... I could see no loungers about the streets, nor any drunkards about the taverns... I heard not an oath in the place. I saw not a gloomy countenance; all were cheerful, polite, and industrious. I conversed with many leading men and found them well-informed, hospitable and generous. I saw nothing but order and regulation in the society...
Joseph Smith himself became a student of Greek and Hebrew, and classes in the ancient languages were organized in the Kirtland Temple, which the Prophet Joseph attended. The Mormon pioneers established schools in Utah at the beginning of their activities here. In 1850 they organized the first university west of the Missouri River, and in 1851 a library was brought across the plains by ox team. It had been purchased in New York City by Dr. John M. Bernhisel and was the finest collection of historical, philosophical, scientific, and literary works in the history of the American frontier. This collection contained the works of the classical writers of ancient Greece: Homer, Sophocles, Plato, Aristotle; the Latin writers, Virgil, Tacitus, and Herodotus: and the modern great writers, Shakespeare, Milton, and Bacon. These are just a few of the authors of the books that were brought in this great collection. The library from the beginning received copies of the New York Herald, New York Evening Post, the Philadelphia Saturday Courier, and the North American Review. Of the scientific works there were Newton's Principia, Herschel's Outlines of Astronomy, and Von Humboldt's Cosmos. The treatises on philosophy included the works of John Stuart Mill, Martin Luther, John Wesley, and Emanuel Swedenborg.
MUSIC AND DRAMA
The ideals and daily lives of a people are judged by their standards of amusements. Among the fine arts encouraged by the pioneers of Utah were music and the drama, and hardly had the colonizers planted their fields of grain and begun building their homes when they built a theater in this wilderness-a theater that in pioneer days noted actors visited, among whom was Sir George Pauncefort of Drury Lane Theatre in London. He played Hamlet, and from that time on great artists graced the stage of the old theatre, including Edwin Booth, Lawrence Barrett, and many others. So successful were these early pioneers in carrying out their ideals that M. B. Leavitt, in his Fifty Years of Theatrical Management, says:
Sweeping as the statement may seem, I do not believe that the theater has ever rested on a higher plane, both as to its purpose and its offerings, than at Salt Lake City, the capital of Mormondom.
LOVE FOR BEAUTY AND TRUTH
Even when the early-day Missionaries went to England-and this as early as 1837-they went with open minds to learn everything they could that would be conducive of the ways of God. Let me here recite to you an example of love for beauty and truth when three missionaries from Salt Lake City in 1857 wended their way to the Missouri River, called as they were on missions to England. Seymour B. Young, Phillip Margetts, and David Wilkins pulled their handcart from Salt Lake City to the Missouri River, where they were able to take a train at Council Bluffs for New York. During that long journey on foot-for they walked all the way, camping at night on the streams of water-they would have their supper, consisting of dried meat and bread, and before rolling up in their blankets to get their rest, they always had their prayer to God. One night, we are told by one of these men in his journal, they sat by their fire, and Phillip Margetts, who became one of the noted actors of the Salt Lake stage and who was known in New York and London for his ability as an actor, recited the words of Hamlet:
... What a piece of work is man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculties! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals!
And then he gave another of his favorite quotations, from Macbeth:
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow Creeps in this petty pace from day to day To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player, That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, And then is heard no more...
APPRECIATION OF IDEALS
To the youth, to the boys and girls of the Church, if you could only realize how our forefathers expressed their ideals of culture and learn to abide by those ideals today, you would know what happiness means. If this appreciation could grow in your hearts, there would be a revival of the stage as we used to have it, which would be a revival of the plays of Shakespeare and Moliere and Corneille, and all the masters of the great literature of the past. There would be an appreciation of music and the drama, of literature and sculpture, and the old ideals would come back to us as expressed by the Prophet Joseph Smith:
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.
And do thou grant, Holy Father, that all those who shall worship in this house, may be taught words of wisdom out of the best books, and they may seek learning even by study, and also by faith, as thou hast said.
O Lord, we delight not in the destruction of our fellow men: their souls are precious before thee.
Remember the kings, the princes, the nobles, and the great ones of the earth, and all people, and the churches, all the poor, the needy, and the afflicted ones of the earth.
These are just a mere semblance of the teachings of Joseph Smith. Think of what they should mean to the students of universities and colleges. Think of what America will regain when nations accept this divine truth; as the Prophet Joseph Smith expressed it:
"I teach them correct principles and they govern themselves."
To the youth of this land I give these words of Sir Francis Drake, who sailed up the Pacific Coast at the close of the sixteenth century, and then on around the world:
Men pass away, but people abide. See that you hold fast the heritage we leave you, yea, and teach your children its value, that never in the coming centuries their hearts may fail them, or their hand grow weak. Hitherto we have been too much afraid. Henceforth, we will fear only God.
May God ever direct us all in our holy work, I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Joseph F. Merrill
Joseph F. Merrill, Conference Report, October 1950, pp. 120-126
Many who are not visibly present may be listening to the proceedings of this conference by reason of the marvels of modern radio. I greet you all.
CAUSE OF TROUBLOUS CONDITIONS
Much is said and written these days about the troublous conditions prevailing locally, nationally, and internationally. The war in Korea during recent weeks has perhaps claimed most attention in newspaper headlines. But talk of war and rumors of war also has come from other quarters. Rising costs and prices have likewise claimed much attention. Labor-management troubles have shared in the headlines. Partisan politics have stirred up anger and bitterness. Looking in any direction you will see anything but harmony and peaceful conditions. Why all of this, one may ask. Are all these things necessary? Does God will them? In their ignorance some say, "Yes."
During the three years we traveled about Europe, 1933-36, we learned that the feeling was more or less general that there is no God whose children we are, and who loves us as a kindly parent loves his children; if so, he would not have permitted the great World War. Such a statement implies that God is responsible for wars-something that is wholly false. God has given "free agency" to every child born into mortality, a priceless gift for which each recipient will be held accountable. God is not responsible for our wars nor for any other of our many troubles and sinful acts. This truth is one of the many characteristic teachings of Mormonism, defined as the teachings and doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
LAW OF CAUSE AND EFFECT
We bring our troubles upon ourselves, be it ignorantly or otherwise. We live in a world and a universe governed by immutable laws which, if fully obeyed, result in beautiful harmony and peace. This is true of both the material and the spiritual realms-so teach authorities in the fields of science and religion.
According to the Prophet Joseph Smith,
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 predicated.
Human experiences testify to the truth of these statements. Scientists have long taught that every phenomenon in nature is the result of antecedent causes. This fact is commonly known as the law of cause and effect.
RELIGION A WAY OF LIFE
Last April, a few days following the annual conference, a lady spoke to me on the street and asked how I dared to mix politics and religion in a conference address. My reply was that I understand our religion is essentially a way of life and therefore covers in a broad way the whole field of moral human relations as indicated by articles eleven, twelve, and thirteen of our faith. As you all know, we do not limit our religion to the teaching of a set of theological doctrines. One of our fundamental teachings is that faith without works is dead.
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.
So said Jesus in his great Sermon on the Mount. On another occasion, a lawyer asked Jesus,
Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Jesus said unto him, 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.
These teachings we wholeheartedly accept. We interpret the word "neighbor" in this commandment as meaning our fellow men. In a brief amplification of the second commandment, Jesus said:
... whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
This requirement is generally called the Golden Rule. This requirement is implied in the thirteenth article of our faith, which is stated as follows:
We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men....
REPENTANCE NEEDED
I began this talk by naming a few of the many troublous conditions that afflict this country. Why do these conditions exist? They are all man-made, hence could be eliminated if men had the desire and the will to eliminate them. But this will never be done until men repent of their evil ways and stop doing the things that have brought about these conditions. To be more specific, among other things we must control our selfishness, not an easy thing to do; for selfishness is an inherited weakness, an inborn quality that every man possesses to a greater or less degree. However, it may be manifest in ways that are commendable or damnable. In the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew is written a beautiful parable wherein the Lord said,
For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink...
Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me....
Asked when they had done this, the Lord replied,
... Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Yes, we serve the Lord by unselfishly and righteously serving our fellow men. And this is what our missionaries at home and abroad are trying to do. As a reward, they develop a deep love for the people among whom they labor and experience joys, delights, and satisfactions to a degree and of a nature that enables them to say truthfully they greatly enjoyed their missions and would gladly return to them if called to return. Yes, these missionaries were out there at their own expense giving their full time to unselfish efforts to deliver a message that if accepted and lived would be an everlasting blessing to the recipients.
CAUSE OF TROUBLES
Many different answers may be given to the question: Why is the world-people in every land and clime-in an uncertain, troubled condition? The nature of current troubles is such that many people are looking ahead with fear and almost hopeless despair as to the outcome. There are intelligent and informed people who see the third world war as imminent and certain to come in the not distant future. And hearing or knowing something of the enormous destructiveness of current implements of war, they have reason to feel panicky by thoughts of World War III.
But why is there danger of such a war breaking? One answer is the inordinate, wicked selfishness of men in positions of power. Was there a more selfish, greedy, ambitious national head than Adolph Hitler at the outbreak of World War II? If uncontrolled, the selfishness of men in power will lead to the deadliest war this world has ever known.
But most of our perplexing troubles are not of an international nature. They arise in our homes, communities, and nation, and many of them are also due to some type of wicked selfishness.
What is the basic cause of the inflationary tendencies of the last few years? I know the answer that economists usually give. It is more or less stereotyped. I am not an economist, only a layman, but I have an answer, and I believe it is a correct one. The basic cause is selfishness. But selfishness may be commendable or damnable. It is commendable selfishness that motivates our missionaries-their desire to help and bless their fellow men. They are activated by the spirit of the Golden Rule. But selfishness ceases to be commendable when it goes beyond the limits of the Golden Rule. It then becomes more or less sinful, depending, of course, on the circumstances.
WAGE AND PRICE INCREASES
About the time of the surrender of Japan in 1945, the officers of some labor unions began to stir up an agitation for an increase in wages. They insisted that their members should continue to have the same weekly income as they received during the war-the same for forty hours each week as previously received for forty-eight hours. Hence a demand was made for a wage increase of thirty cents an hour. But they insisted there should be no increase in prices, no increase in the cost of living-an absurdity. When the cost of production goes up, must not prices also go up if business is to continue? Well, what was the outcome? There were demands, strikes, disturbances, etc., and finally a settlement was made, on the recommendation of the President, giving a wage increase of eighteen and one-half cents an hour. This increase became general in all the big production industries. How about prices? Of course they rose-the cost of living went up. On this account, the following year there were more demands, agitations, strikes, and finally settlements giving a second wage increase, followed by another rise in the cost of living. This was essentially the story of the third year, of the fourth year, and now of the fifth year, the result being an inflationary spiral, which still continues, with the highest wages in history for labor in the productive industries and a corresponding increase in the cost of living. It seems, therefore, that increased wages are largely responsible for inflation in this country during recent years. But a sad part of the story is that the majority of workers in the country have been wronged by the inflation that has followed wage increases-their incomes have not increased as fast as prices have risen.
INFLATION HURTS MILLIONS
In another way, inflation has hurt the millions of loyal, thrifty Americans who invested their savings in war bonds. A depreciation of the purchasing power of the dollar has resulted in the loss of many billions of dollars to those who bought the bonds. The many millions of insurance policies of all kinds have been deflated, of course. And these facts seem not to have bothered in the least those who are running the government. At any rate, I have not heard of it. As a matter of justice to all, should not the government do everything feasible to keep the purchasing power of the dollar constant? Who has been benefitted by inflation? Certainly the vast majority have been hurt.
TAFT-HARTLEY LAW
I spoke of labor union bosses. There are undoubtedly officers of labor unions who are good, honorable men who are willing to do what is fair, right, and just in their dealings. And certainly the majority of members of the labor unions are good, loyal Americans and would not knowingly be guilty of doing things hurtful to their fellow men. But it appears that multitudes of these are misinformed by some of their crafty leaders who have told them, for instance, that the Taft-Hartley labor law enslaves labor and that all its congressional supporters should be defeated in the coming November election. But if I understand the matter aright, this law does limit the power of selfish union bosses, but gives a correspondingly larger measure of freedom to union members than they hitherto had. I am willing to trust informed, honest, loyal American workers. All I ask union members to do before they vote for candidates demanding the repeal of this law is to make a study of the law that their leaders demand shall be repealed and then vote conscientiously. In this country the ballot is secret. Everyone has the God-given right of free agency, but God will hold him responsible for how he uses it.
LABOR UNION BOSSES
Speaking of labor union bosses, may I ask if you read the Deseret News editorial published September 24, 1950, entitled "John L. Lewis Bares Fangs Again With a Grisly Grin and Growl." In that editorial attention was called to an epistle written by Lewis in which he says:
Taft was born encased in velvet pants and has lived to rivet an iron collar around the necks of millions of Americans. He is the relentless, albeit witless, tool of the oppressors of labor.
Do you see why I urge all members of labor unions to become familiar with the provisions of the Taft-Hartley law before they vote? Let them see for themselves if the law does not give them freedom rather than enslavement.
Here is another illustration of dogmatic selfishness shown by union bosses. During several weeks recently, the General Electric Company was trying to negotiate new contracts with one of the unions representing its employees. In the company's News Letter of August 4 were these statements:
The burden of I.U.E.'s argument is now admittedly that it just doesn't count whenever we willingly offer or put into effect any benefits that do not publicly appear to have been wrung out of us by the union... And I.U.E. argues that it can't afford to credit us with anything we are willing to do voluntarily... I.U.E. inferred that others had never been rugged enough in collectively bargaining with us.
Do these statements show any desire to be fair?
PRICE INCREASES UNWARRANTED
Speaking again of sinful selfishness as the chief factor in producing inflation, may I suggest that most of us are more or less guilty of sinful selfishness-we go beyond the limits of the Golden Rule in promoting our own interests. This is understandable but hardly justifiable in the light of our teachings. To the extent that we do thus go, we violate the second great commandment, do we not?
When the Korean war broke, prices immediately went up. Why? Because of the sinful selfishness of those who had things to sell. When goods become scarce, their price is increased. Why? For the same reason. In such cases the production costs have not increased, but the selfishness of vendors must be satisfied.
About forty-seven years ago Cache Valley in northern Utah had a long winter. The price of hay for cattle rose sharply. Marriner W. Merrill, president of the Logan Temple, was told by the manager of his farm affairs that he had several tons of hay to spare. The demand was keen. Fifteen dollars a ton and more was being offered. Brother Merrill was silent for a few moments and then advised that as much hay be sold as could be spared. And the price? Eight dollars a ton. That, he added, is a fair price for the cost of production, but do not let more than one ton go to the same individual. If the spirit he indicated prevailed throughout all America, how much better it would be for all of us and how much greater our happiness! Then officials of corporations and labor unions would be motivated to be fair and honest in all their negotiations.
LIVE THE GOLDEN RULE
Yes, among the troublous situations that America faces are inflation, communism, and the monopoly of labor union bosses; and the most imminent of these three are inflation and monopoly. Both of these would disappear overnight if all concerned would immediately repent and live the Golden Rule, And this all members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are obliged to do by the covenants they made in the waters of baptism and in partaking of the holy sacrament.
TESTIMONY
Now in conclusion, may I say that three years ago last April I stood in this pulpit and asked the question: "Did Joseph Smith, the fourteen-year old boy out in the woods actually and really see two highly glorious heavenly personages, God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son, and hear the voice of each one?" If a fair, open minded, competent judge were required to make a thorough study of all relative material and then give answer to the question, it undoubtedly would be affirmative-so strong is the evidence. For myself I am very sure that just as certainly as you are sitting there and I am standing here, I know that God lives and that this is his Church. He, himself, through the Holy Ghost, has revealed this to me. In answer to prayer I have been the happy recipient several times of revelation direct from God, given verbally, once orally. Hence I positively know that he lives. In recent years I have publicly related some of these experiences many times. Many thousands of other Latter-day Saints have testimonies as strong as mine. But all true Latter-day Saints are firm in our precious faith. May all of us let it be our guiding light and keep us loyal to the leadership of the First Presidency of the Church, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Marion G. Romney
Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, October 1950, pp. 126-128
I earnestly invite each of you, my brethren and sisters, to say a prayer that while I stand before you, you may get something out of what I say that will do you good, and that what I say will inspire what you get. I rely wholly upon the Spirit of the Lord to direct me on this occasion.
TEACHINGS NOT NEW
During this conference I have listened intently to everything that has been said. What has been said has thrilled me, although I have not heard anything much that is new. During the past weeks I have read many conference addresses given from this pulpit during the last twenty-one years, and I have not found much in those addresses that was new, but I thrilled with every one of them.
Truth, sufficient to guide us through our lives and back into the very presence of God, was revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith during the early years of this last dispensation. The Lord counseled the brethren in that day that they were to pretend to no new revelation. They were to speak and teach what had been revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith. In the main, that is what we are still doing.
I know, of course, that there have been new revelations given since the days of the Prophet Joseph Smith. I know that every man who has stood at the head of the Church from then until now has received revelations from the Lord. I know President Smith receives them today. But not many new doctrines have been revealed since the Prophet's time.
BUILD-UP OF SPIRITS
What we get out of general conference is a build-up of our spirits as we listen to those particular principles and practices of the gospel which the Lord inspires the present leadership of the Church to bring to our attention at the time. He knows why he inspired Brother Joseph F. Merrill to give the talk he just gave. He knows why he inspired the other brethren who have talked in this conference to say what they have said. It is our high privilege to hear, through these men, what the Lord would say if he were here. If we do not agree with what they say, it is because we are out of harmony with the Spirit of the Lord.
WELFARE WORK
I desire to say a word or two about the work that I give a great deal of my time to, the welfare work. I hope they will be worth remembering. There are few of the brethren who so consistently go to all the stakes in the Church as I. I go because I am sent. I feel very humble in it and very grateful that the brethren have enough confidence in me to send me about the Church to tell the stake presidents, bishops, Relief Society presidents, and other welfare workers some things about the welfare program.
I thank you, my brethren and sisters, for your faithfulness in coming to the regional and stake welfare meetings that we call. I have never called one, and I never shall call one that is not authorized by the Presidency of the Church. Last year, of the 173 stake presidents invited to attend the welfare budget meetings, 163 attended. Of the 172 Relief Society stake presidents invited, 163 attended. That made the attendance record of the Relief Society presidents about 55/100ths of one percent better than the record of the stake presidents. The record of attendance of the bishops and the independent branch presidents was, however, 61/100ths of one percent better than the record of attendance of ward and independent branch Relief Society presidents. Thus the attendance record of the brethren was about 5/100ths of one percent better than that of the women-quite a record for men. Welfare workers who attended those meetings traveled 488,323 man-miles coming and going. You have, my brethren and sisters, made a marvelous record of loyalty to the welfare plan.
1951 WELFARE BUDGET
Just now we are in the midst of touring the Church with the proposed 1951 welfare production budget. We are not inviting so many people to the meetings this year as we did last year, because we want to get down in our conferences with you to the discussion of some of the details of the welfare operations. We do not feel we need to promote the welfare program as an idea so much as we have done in the past, because we believe that most of the people are now converted. But we do need to perfect its operation.
First, we want to get to the point in the program just as soon as possible where the necessity to call upon the Saints for cash contributions to meet the annual Church welfare production budget is eliminated. We are presently doing two things to accomplish this. In the first place, under the direction of the brethren we have taken out of the proposed budget a couple of items which required the raising of cash: transportation of coal and cash for the purchase of cloth. As a result, the 1951 welfare production budget will be $132,000 less than it would have been with these two items left in.
Second, with these items eliminated, we are urging that the budget be produced in commodities and not in cash. This can only be done by getting in hand the means with which to produce the commodities-permanent welfare production projects. We have nearly enough projects to produce our budget needs, but we are a little out of balance. Some projects are larger than they need be, while in some places there are no production projects. If, somehow, those who have no projects could buy into the larger projects, so that all the production could be turned into the welfare program, it would help. All those who have no projects will, of course, need to get them. We are stressing this matter as we go about the Church.
NOT A DOLE
Another thing we are doing is emphasizing the counsel given by the brethren from the beginning that the welfare program must not become a dole. Our people must be given the opportunity to work for what they get. In the spirit of the Master let us give them an opportunity to work so that we do not violate the primary purpose of the welfare plan. When they set it up, the brethren said, "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 a dole abolished, and independence, industry, thrift, and self-respect be once more established among our people... Work is to be re-enthroned as the ruling principle of the lives of our Church membership."
PRINCIPLE OF THE FAST
Now one more point: We desire to encourage throughout the Church the principle of the fast-abstaining from the eating of two meals on fast day and giving the equivalent thereof to the bishop. A minimum fast offering is the equivalent of the two meals and a maximum fast offering may be measured by the greatness of one's heart. God bless you that you may continue in this great program with all the energy of your souls.
If I had time, I would like to give you a lesson on it out of the first six verses of the 105th section of the Doctrine and Covenants, but I do not have time. I will simply say this: The reason the Saints did not go back into Jackson County, Missouri, and redeem Zion at the time the Prophet came from Kirtland with Zion's Camp was because the members of the Church in Zion would not impart of their substance, as becometh Saints, to the poor and afflicted among them. We may find that just such a consequence rests upon our performance.
God bless you, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Harold B. Lee
Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, October 1950, pp. 129-132
As another great conference of the Church draws near its closing session, it remains for each here in attendance at the conference or listening on the air to formulate for himself that which to him has been the cardinal teaching and central theme of the conference and then to apply it in his own practice. As I have sat here, I have tried to do that for myself. I would like to tell you what my feelings are about that which has transpired in this conference.
INFLUENCE OF PRESIDENT RICHARDS
The first thing which has characterized it has been the feeling, particularly among the members of the Twelve and to some degree by all the General Authorities, and put into words by President McKay this morning, that this conference has been greatly influenced by President George F. Richards, and likewise, perhaps, in a degree, by all those who have departed this life as leaders of the Church. President George F. Richards was one of the noblest among them. I have felt his influence as President McKay has expressed our feelings.
FALSE PROPHETS TO DECEIVE
The second thing, that to me has been the cardinal theme, is that we must prepare to meet that of which the Master warned when the disciples asked him how they would know that his coming again was nigh at hand. He said to them:
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.
The Prophet Joseph Smith, in his inspired version of that same scripture, added these significant words: " who are the elect, according to the covenant". This is what has been said, in effect, in this conference: Unless every member of this Church gains for himself an unshakable testimony of the divinity of this Church, he will be among those who will be deceived in this day when the "elect according to the covenant" are going to be tried and tested. Only those will survive who have gained for themselves that testimony.
CONCERN OF MISSIONARY
I heard from a young man up in the Northwestern States Mission, who had only been there a few months-a fine, stalwart, handsome young man-he had just received what he had interpreted to himself as a testimony. He told how he had been anxious in the circle where he had lived, because members of his own household and the circle of his friends had ridiculed ofttimes, after the conference had ended, what had been said in those conferences, and he had been shocked about it. Then he said, as the tears filled his eyes after he had borne his own testimony, "If I could hear my own father and mother stand up and bear their own testimonies, it would be the greatest thrill of my life."
CRITICISM OF AUTHORITIES
The other day one of the bishops from the Big Horn country of Wyoming came to my office, and told me that frequently there came to their conferences visiting brethren who talked about those who criticize the General Authorities of the Church, and about the "isms" that are springing up in apostate groups. He said, "You know, Brother Lee, our people don't know what these brethren are talking about up there in our ward. We never hear these criticisms. They accept you brethren as the representatives of the Living God, and we don't hear what they say is happening elsewhere."
As I thought of that bishop's statement, I remembered the words of Brigham Young:
Were your faith concentrated upon the proper object, your confidence unshaken. your lives pure and holy, every one fulfilling the duty of his or her calling according to the priesthood and capacity bestowed upon you, you would be filled with the Holy Ghost, and it would be as impossible for any man to deceive and to lead you to destruction as for a feather to remain unconsumed in the midst of intense heat. And then this:
I am more afraid that this people have so much confidence in their leaders that they will not inquire for themselves of God whether they are being led by him. I am fearful they settle down in a state of blind security, trusting their eternal destiny in the hands of their leaders with a reckless confidence that in itself would thwart the purposes of God in their salvation, and weaken that influence they could give their leaders if they know for themselves by the revelations of Jesus Christ that they are led in the right way. Let every man and woman know by the whisperings of the Spirit of God to themselves whether their leaders are walking in the way the Lord dictates or not.
DIVINE APPOINTMENT OF LEADERS
To me, there is a tremendous truth. It is not alone sufficient for us as Latter-day Saints to follow our leaders and to accept their counsel, but we have the greater obligation to gain for ourselves the unshakable testimony of the divine appointment of these men and the witness that what they have told us is the will of our Heavenly Father.
I had a shock and a startling truth borne in upon me by an experience six months ago, when following April conference, the General Authorities and their wives met in a semi-annual party and dinner up at our Institute of Religion near the University of Utah. As a part of the program, the committee in charge had arranged for a recital of the conferences a hundred years ago, from the preceding October. They read the minutes from the conference of 1849. They then brought quotations from the sermons delivered by the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve in October 1899. Then they reproduced on the public address system quotations from the sermons of every one of the present Presidency and the Council of the Twelve. When they put into my hands the quotation from the one in that other Council fifty years ago, whose place I was now filling, I was startled, for I was to read the last recorded statement of a man who lost his standing in the Council and later his membership in the Church of Jesus Christ. And I was more startled when I read this statement from his last recorded sermon. This is what he had said:
I know that the children of men never were converted till they saw that the power of God rested upon his servants, and the spirit of God went down into their hearts like fire.
He knew, and he came to know by the bitter experience of his own apostasy that the thing which lost him his standing in the Church was that he lost his testimony of the divine appointment of the prophets of God, and that the fire which once burned in his heart had gone out. When I realized that one like him had failed and that I was now sitting in the chair once occupied by him, it gave me a tremendous feeling of responsibility and a fear lest I might fall, by foolishness and because of the deceit and cunning which I have come to believe may overtake any of us. False prophets and Christs, as foretold by the Savior, may come to deceive us not alone in the name of religion, but if we can believe the history of Italy and Germany and Russia, they may come under the label of politicians or of social planners or so-called economists, deceitful in their offerings of a kind of salvation which may come under such guise.
PERSONAL TESTIMONY
Five years ago, following the death and burial of President Heber J. Grant, the Council of the Twelve met in one of the most solemn meetings I have ever attended as one of the junior members of the Council, in one of the upper rooms in the Salt Lake Temple. They had met there to consider the appointment of a succeeding President of the Church. The chairs usually occupied by the First Presidency were vacant, and for hours the members of the Twelve, each in his turn, expressed his feelings fully on the matter of the new appointment. After the decision was made, President George Albert Smith took his place and called to his side President Clark and President McKay. There was something that happened to me in that meeting. I was willing then, as always, to listen to the brethren and to follow them, but as they took their places at the front of our council room, there came into my heart a testimony and an assurance that these were the men who had been chosen by God's appointment, and I knew it because of the revelation of the Spirit to my own soul.
May I close with only this one thought taken from one of our own hymns:
Soon the earth will hear the warning, Then the judgments will descend! Oh! before the days of sorrow, Make the Lord of Hosts your friend.
Then, when dangers are around you, And the wicked are distressed You, with all the Saints of Zion, Shall enjoy eternal rest.
From "See, the Mighty Angel Flying"
God help us to gain that divine, assuring testimony which I have in my soul. I know that God lives and know that this is his work. I know that these men are divinely appointed servants of God. And I bear you this testimony in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Alma Sonne
Alma Sonne, Conference Report, October 1950, pp. 135-138
My brethren and sisters, I have been full of anxiety during all the sessions of this conference. It has been said that everything comes to him who waits. I have been waiting and waiting, and here I stand well-nigh exhausted. It reminds me of a young man who stood before his fellow missionaries over in Norway to bear his testimony for the first time. He said, "I am told when you are weak, you are strong; but when I am weak, I'm just weak."
EXPANSION OF CHURCH
I rejoice with you in the growth and expansion of the Church, in the marvelous progress which it has made since it was organized in the year 1830. I am proud of the achievements of the men and women who first planted their feet in these Rocky Mountains and laid the foundation for all we have and are. I am also proud of the men and women who built the great city of Nauvoo and erected there a temple of the Lord. I am equally proud of those who built the Kirtland Temple in times of great hardship and adversity. I rejoice in the success which has attended the Latter-day Saints in this dispensation, and particularly in the success of the great missionary enterprise which is going forward in the world. I tell you the opposition is crumbling, and the Lord's work is going forward. Never before have we had the friendly reception which we are receiving today in all the nations of Europe. Our message is being listened to by people everywhere, and the Lord is preparing the hearts of men and women for the gospel message; and so I view the situation throughout with optimism and delight, so far as the Church is concerned.
WORLD ATTITUDE CHANGING
Just before leaving London, I purchased a book. Its author is Dr. Ernest William Barnes, the famous Bishop of Birmingham, England. I did not get time to read the book as thoroughly and carefully as I should have done, but I noticed as I scanned through its pages the learned man called attention to this one thing, namely that infant baptism was unknown in the days of Jesus Christ and his Apostles. In another place, he quoted the words of Paul, the Apostle:
Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead?.
He then concluded that there can be no question but that the early Christians were baptized for their dead relatives and friends. Why is the attitude of the world changing respecting these doctrines? Because, brethren and sisters, the endeavors of the humble men and women who have gone forth as missionaries have been eminently successful, and people in all the walks of life are reading our literature About a year ago I rode on the train from northern England to London. When we came to the city of Darlington, the door to our compartment opened, and a minister of the Church of England entered. He looked us over rather carefully and finally said "I am curious to know why you Americans should come from a land of plenty to a land of scarcity."
My companion, a young missionary, who was always eager for a gospel conversation, turned to him and replied, "We are missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," and then with characteristic bluntness, "commonly called Mormons."
ARTICLES OF FAITH
The minister was not shocked. I think perhaps he had surmised who we were. The young missionary, true to form in all respects reached into his pocket and produced a little card on which were printed the Articles of Faith. The minister read the articles very carefully and handed them back to the missionary with the remark, "I can believe most of these fine declarations of faith." And then good naturedly, "Of course, I am not prepared to believe that Zion is to be built upon the American continent". But he went on to talk about these thirteen Articles of Faith and referred to them as "a great religious document."
I have always said, and I now repeat it, there is something more than man's genius back of these thirteen Articles of Faith. How could anyone devise a better introduction to a gospel conversation for our missionaries? These articles are not antagonistic. One follows the other in proper sequence. They are sound and scriptural and have a strong appeal to those who are familiar with the Holy Bible. They are neither dogmatic nor unfriendly. The Prophet showed great wisdom, it seems to me, and a rare insight into human nature, when he used the words, "we believe," in presenting this powerful message to the world. Is it any wonder that they have been translated into so many languages? They are not only well-stated, but they are also well-selected from all the beliefs of the Latter day Saints. They have stood the test of one hundred years, during which time they have been analyzed and scrutinized by thousands of investigators. Not a single alteration has been necessary. These declarations are an important part of the Prophet's literary and scriptural productions. They are neither threadbare nor obsolete.
REACTION TO TRACTS
When our minister had finally finished reading them, my missionary companion handed him another of our tracts. It was the one entitled "What Is Mormonism?" written years ago by Elder John A. Widtsoe. He read it from beginning to end. It was much longer. It took him an hour to read it. He was equally complimentary when he returned it to us. "It is one of the best religious papers I have read," he said. Then my companion did a bold thing. He reached into his brief case and took from it another tract called Joseph Smith Tells His Own Story. Our friend read it, but the expression on his face changed. His attitude was different. His friendliness disappeared. He handed it back without comment except to say, "The answer to that gospel tract is either 'yes' or 'no.' " And I believe he was right. There is no middle ground upon which you can consider the claims of Joseph Smith. He was either prophet or fraud, for he did his work like one called of God.
EXPLANATION OF JOSEPH SMITH
I also picked up in England another book, written by Dr. James Black of Edinburgh, Scotland. He was a prominent clergyman in the Church of England in Edinburgh. He wrote numerous articles against the Latter-day Saints over a period of fifteen or twenty years. These articles were bitter and were directed primarily against the leaders of the Church and against the missionaries who were then in England. One chapter in his book is devoted to the Mormons in Utah, and in it the reverend gentleman made a confession that he has failed after years of study to understand Joseph Smith. Said he in his statement:
The real problem in Mormonism is how an ill-educated man like Joseph Smith could have invented an elaborate system of rules and ideas with many historical references, ingenious speculations and imaginative flights, and moreover, how he could have expounded them in a style of writing apparently foreign to his ordinary speech and range of culture.
He goes on:
On the other hand, the charge of his enemies that the whole system is merely an invention and a fraud does not touch the problem, for this charge does not explain and cannot explain how such an ill-educated man could produce such an elaborate system. This is a bigger problem than most people imagine. It requires an exceedingly able scholar to foist a highly wrought-out fraud to last for over a century upon the public.
Who will explain Joseph Smith? Is there any explanation of this great prophet of the latter days? Only one, brethren and sisters, and that is the one which he himself gave. No one will explain this prophet of the nineteenth century except those who accept him as a prophet of God.
May the Lord bless this great work which has been established upon the earth in the last days. May he bless his servants and handmaidens who are going forth in the world to present this gospel of salvation, and may we live so that our lives may shine like a beacon light to lead the world towards the truth, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Richard L. Evans
Richard L. Evans, Conference Report, October 1950, pp. 138-142
I am sure that no one knows as well as I know how much I need help as I face this congregation here and those who may be listening and looking on the air, and I earnestly hope that I may have it.
I have jotted down from time to time mentally or actually, these past three days, things that I think it might have been well for me to have said at this conference, and I have repeatedly scratched them out as others have said them. They make a rather long list.
I heard some weeks ago a set of figures presented by Brother A. Z. Richards, which I felt deserved wider circulation as a point of historical perspective. I should like to extract a few of these figures from a longer list:
FIGURES QUOTED
When Joseph Smith was born, the population of the United States was about one-half the present population of California
In 1820, the population of the entire United States was about the population of New York City today.
In 1830, when the Church was organized, New York City was about one-third larger than Salt Lake City is today.
In 1837, when our missionaries first went to Great Britain, New York City was smaller than Denver is today.
In 1847, there were only two United States cities larger than Salt Lake City today; they were New York and Manhattan, both of which are now part of the present greater New York.
When Martin Harris went to New York with the Book of Mormon characters, New York City was only slightly larger than Salt Lake City is today.
Before Nauvoo was abandoned by our people, Washington, D. C., was about the same size as Nauvoo, but Nauvoo had been only three or four years in the making while Washington, D. C. had been designated as the seat of national government more than a half-century before that time.
I think these latter figures, and others which might be presented here, bring to us with some considerable force the kind of people that our pioneer forefathers were-people of great courage and conviction. I think we can see from these figures, too, something of the basis of the concern of some of their neighbors-with all of the social, religious, political, and economic implications inherent in growth of this people, and the vigor and purpose they displayed in rising repeatedly from their poverty.
Two more figures I think may be of interest to you: In 1850 the population of Utah has been recorded in official records as being about 11,380. Three years later our people started building the magnificent temple which now stands to the east of us.
MEN OF COURAGE AND FAITH
In 1860, the population of this state has been recorded as being about 40,273. Three years later than that they began to build the Tabernacle in which we meet today, which, when it was projected, probably would have seated about one out of every five people in the entire state. If we were to do likewise today, proportionately, we should have to project ourselves to the building of an auditorium that would seat considerably more than a hundred thousand people.
Men of courage, men of faith in the future in spite of all the uncertainties and the drivings and the depredations that they experienced, they began again and again, and rose from their poverty again and again, to produce what we see before us and what we are the beneficiaries of. These walls and these buildings on Temple Square are part of the evidence of their purpose and their faith, and I hope and earnestly believe that something of their spirit still lingers here.
UNCERTAINTIES TODAY
Now times have changed, but human nature hasn't changed very much. We face other uncertainties today, and sympathy and appeals for faith and prayers and for encouragement to our young people who face the uncertainties of our generation have been expressed repeatedly in this conference. I should like to add my appeal for faith, for prayers, and for understanding for these young people who live in confusion and suspense, and who wonder when they are going to be relieved of all this uncertainty, when they can settle down, what they can count on for the future, whether to pursue their education and their preparations for professions or to give it all up.
What can they count on? Well, I think it was Heber C. Kimball or one of his associates who said that he had started all over again seven different times and left his home and all behind him. I hope this generation will not be faced with any such extremities, but I do know that we must have faith in the future, and when we see what our forefathers did with what they had, and the conditions under which they did it, I feel sure that we can surmise something of what might be expected of us, and of what might be accomplished by us, in faith, in that unity of which President Clark so often speaks, and in righteous purpose. There is much expected of us with what we have, compared with what our pioneer fathers did with what was theirs.
YEAR OF ANNIVERSARIES
They did some other things also: It has been mentioned that this is a year of anniversaries. For one thing, it is the centennial of the University of Deseret, now the University of Utah. The second act of the territorial legislature, as I recall, was the founding of this educational institution. This month we also observe the seventy-fifth anniversary of the founding of Brigham Young University. Did the founders of these institutions have their eyes on the future? They believed in seeking knowledge out of the best books. They believed that "the glory of God is intelligence", and "that whatever principle of intelligence we attain to in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection". And they established institutions of learning wherever they went. The pursuit of learning was an important part of their lives.
ACCEPTANCE OF TRUTH
I am aware today, not only of those who are facing uncertainties in the armed forces, to whom our hearts and prayers go out, but of those who are pursuing knowledge in institutions of learning, who sometimes run into areas of confusion and seeming conflict in their pursuits. I am grateful to belong to a Church that has committed itself to the acceptance of all truth, that encourages its people to pursue truth and to push farther and farther the frontiers of human knowledge. And I am grateful also that the things I don't understand don't destroy my faith in the things that I do understand.
There is so much that men don't know that we can afford to wait for all the answers where there seem to be areas of conflict and confusion in the pursuit of knowledge.
OBSERVATIONS AT MT. PALOMAR
I was reading recently an article on the new telescopes lately put into service on Mount Palomar, California-the Schmidt telescope, a smaller one of rather radical design with forty-eight-inch lens and the much larger one with a 200-inch lens. Since early 1949 so says the writer, the smaller of these two telescopes has provided new clues on the creation of the universe," "has already revealed hundreds of thousands of island universes and millions of stars... which had never been seen before," and can see and photograph "clear, undistorted distances of three hundred million light years away or about two thousand billion-billion miles!" And the larger telescope penetrates about a billion light years away! "What is man that thou art mindful of him!".
And shall we say that these millions of stars that have just been "seen" within recent months did not exist before we could see them with the aid of these more acute instruments? I think we should ask ourselves some of the questions that were asked of Job by the Voice out of the whirlwind, and see how many we can answer when we run into some of these areas of seeming conflict. If we were to sit down and list those things which have been discovered even in our own generation, which were not before known, and then think of infinity and of all that is not yet known by man, we should be humble indeed in our small knowledge, even the most learned among us.
CLING TO ETERNAL VERITIES
I should like to say to our young people: Keep your lives well-balanced. Pursuing any narrow field of knowledge or activity to the exclusion of all others will reach a point of diminishing returns. Give some of your time to the things of the spirit, and always reserve some of your means to the purposes of your Father in heaven. Look broadly as well as intently, and keep your lives well-balanced in your pursuits.
I would say today to those who are in the classroom, to farmers in the field, to the laborers in factories, to men pursuing professions, to young men in military service, to all of us in life, whatever the discouragements, whatever the seeming areas of conflict and confusion, whatever the infinite area of things we don't understand, cling to these eternal verities always: that God lives, that men were made in his image, that life is purposeful, that men are immortal. Cling to the commandments and give observance to them and to the knowledge that it is our Father's plan and purpose to bring immortality and eternal life to man. If we will cling to these eternal verities in simplicity and truth and keep our lives well balanced in all our pursuits, we shall reach a glorious end, with ever-growing knowledge. By all means seek knowledge out of the best books, in all fields of thought and learning that are constructive, and, if possible, it would be wonderful to push the frontiers of knowledge beyond where they are now. But always keep lives well balanced and reserve some time for the things of the spirit.
PURSUE PURPOSES OF LIFE
Now as to this discouragement and confusion: I think the enemy of men's souls wouldn't care too much what means he used to render our lives ineffective, just so long as he did render them ineffective. I don't think he would care too much whether it was by indolence or indifference or by withholding willing work, or by doubt, or by discouragement, or by uncertainty-so long as he could render us ineffective, it would please him. And it must be our purpose to see that we pursue our purposes regardless of the things we don t know which we hope sometime to know. It must be our purpose to pursue with all earnestness every righteous purpose.
No matter how much we may be discouraged or how often we are set back, we must begin again and again, if necessary, and earnestly pursue the purposes of life, full of faith for the future. Enduring to the end is exceedingly important. Pursuing the opportunities and the duties of every day is exceedingly important, and repenting while there is still time to repent is also exceedingly important.
PRAYER FOR YOUTH
I hope that we may set our lives in order, and that our Father will bless these young people of ours, whether they be called to the service of their country or whatever in righteousness they may be called upon to do, and give them strength and faith, and let them be of good courage, and help them to keep their lives well-balanced and always to keep their feet firmly on solid rock. May he bless all of us with all our problems, with our families, with our professions with our work, and with all that is ours to undertake in life.
I wish to express to you the conviction in my soul as to the reality of those things which have been spoken of here in this conference, that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that the gospel has been restored, that it has within it the answers to the problems that beset this generation, and the only answers to permanent peace. May we pursue it in unity and with righteous purpose, ever keeping the commandments and bringing our young people with us, full of faith, understanding, and courage. I pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Ezra Taft Benson
Ezra Taft Benson, Conference Report, October 1950, pp. 142-149
I come to you, my brethren and sisters, as we approach the close of this glorious conference, in a spirit of fasting and prayer in the hope that the Lord will see fit to sustain me during the few moments I stand before you. As I have been contemplating with anxiety this sobering experience, I have had reason to thank the Lord many times for his blessings.
SUPPORT OF FAMILY
While I was sitting alone in a room at my home following the morning session today, one of my boys came into the room and said, "Dad, I've observed you've been fasting and praying a good deal during this conference. I just wanted to come in to tell you that I have been doing the same. The Lord bless you."
As I left the room, I was met by my good wife, ever loyal and devoted, who said, "The younger children have suggested that it might be well if we kneel in family prayer." Then she added, "We had prayer this morning, but they'd like to join with you in prayer now." I am grateful, my brothers and sisters, for the support of our families.
GRATITUDE FOR BRETHREN
I am grateful for the spirit of this great latter-day work. I am grateful for my brethren among whom I labor-for their support, their confidence, and their faith. My heart has responded to every message given at this conference and every testimony that has been borne.
My soul echoed the sentiments expressed in behalf of our great leader, President George F. Richards. I loved him almost as a son loves a father. I recall vividly standing in his presence-alone with him in his office-just before I left for the shores of war-torn Europe. I recall his last words of counsel. I shall never forget them and the sweet embrace which he gave me as I was about to leave on that emergency mission under the direction of the First Presidency.
I was happy to hear the words spoken regarding my good friend and brother, Frank Evans, whom I have loved many years and who was not only loved in the Church but also was loved by the people throughout rural America.
I am happy, my brethren and sisters, in the appointment of Brother Stapley to our Council, and I'd like to say to him, and I'm sure I echo the feeling of all of my associates, that he will see and feel and witness a love that is not excelled among men anywhere in the world as he sits in the Council of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve. I am grateful for these rich blessings.
I am thrilled, my brethren and sisters, with the sweet summary of the conference given by Brother Lee this morning and particularly with his testimony. I thank God that he has implanted in the hearts of men-strong men, good men-a burning testimony of the divinity of this great latter-day work.
SPIRIT OF BROTHERHOOD
There is a real spirit of brotherhood and fellowship in the Church. It's a very powerful thing, somewhat intangible, but very real. I feel it, as do my associates, as we travel throughout the stakes and wards of Zion and throughout the missions of the earth. It matters not where we go. We may meet in a group with the priesthood, in one of the stakes, or out in one of the missions, but there is always that feeling of fellowship and brotherhood. It is one of the sweet things in connection with membership in the Church and kingdom of God. I have felt it way up in Alaska as I met with our brethren and sisters there. I felt it far up in East Prussia, throughout the missions of Europe, down in Mexico, in some of the islands of the sea and throughout this land of Zion. It is very real. Oh, I know, my brethren and sisters, it isn't what it should be; it isn't what it could be; it isn't what the Lord would have it be, but nevertheless, there is nothing like it in all the world. It is one of the marks of the divinity of this great latter-day work, and I rejoice in it. The most important thing of all, to me, is the spirit of this great work in which we are engaged. It is that spirit which brings to our souls a conviction of the divinity of this work. One cannot fully explain it, and yet it is very powerful and very real.
SPIRITUAL UPLIFT EXPERIENCED
One of my non Mormon friends who passed away only a few days ago, who was rather prominently known, who wrote for national magazines, and was chairman of the board of trustees of one of our great universities, some months ago came to this city to address a meeting of dairymen, most of whom were members of the Church After the meeting was over, he came up to my home for the purpose of a visit and a renewal of friendship. As I drove him back to the hotel that night, he turned to me, after being quiet for several moments, and said, "I don't know what it is, but each time I come among your people I experience something that I never experience anywhere else in the world. It's an intangible thing, but it's very real." He added, "I've tried to analyze it, I've tried to describe it; but the best thing I can do is to say that every time I come among your people, I get a spiritual uplift. What is it that gives me that feeling which I get nowhere else?"
Brethren and sisters, what is it? You feel it. We feel it in these great conferences of the Church. We feel it out in the stakes of Zion. We feel it in little branch meetings or in meetings with missionaries in the far parts of the earth. It's a sweet thing. It's a priceless thing. It is a mark of the divinity of this great work in which we are engaged.
I recall while living in the East some years ago, I invited one of my good friends, not a member of the Church, to attend our sacrament meeting. He promised that he would sometime. Weeks went by; I met him on the street one day following a Rotary luncheon, and he said, "I was up to your meeting last Sunday night, but you weren't there." I explained that I was visiting another ward, and then he said in answer to my inquiry as to whether he enjoyed the meeting, "Yes, I enjoyed it, especially the spirit of it, but," he said, "I wish you would tell me one thing. Why is it that when your people come to the end of a meeting and the benediction is said that they don't seem to have any place to go?" He said, "That group stood up, recognizing the meeting was over, but they just stood there and visited and visited until I thought I was never going to get out of that building. Finally, when I got into the foyer, it was more congested than ever." Well, that is a further evidence of this spirit-this spirit of love, this spirit of brotherhood that is so real, my brethren and sisters, in the Church.
IMPELLING FORCE OF GOSPEL
We witness it in our missionary activities. I recall vividly, and it was called to my mind by the remarks of Brother Sonne this afternoon, standing on the shores of war-torn Europe following the war and watching the mission presidents-several of whom are here before me this afternoon-come back to the shores of Europe. I wondered in my heart, What is it that causes them to leave the comforts of their homes and come over to these war-torn lands where there is a shortage of everything necessary for civilized living? What is it that causes a man to sell his grocery business and come way up into Norway on his third mission? What is it that causes a man to sell his business down in California and go up to Sweden? What is it that caused a man to turn over his furniture business in Salt Lake City and come over to the shores of war-torn Holland, where there was shortage of food, shortage of clothing, shortage of fuel and transportation, and where there were practically no comforts? What is it that causes a man to leave his chair in a university surrounded by all the comforts earned by a long life of service and go back into war-torn France? And so on. I tell you, my brethren and sisters, it is marvelous. There isn't anything like it anywhere.
What is it that causes our young missionaries to want to go out and serve without any hope of material reward? I interviewed one of them down in a California stake recently. We couldn't accept him because he wasn't old enough. He broke down and cried. He said "Brother Benson, ever since I was a deacon I've wanted to go on a mission." He stated, "The last few months my fiancee and I have been planning my mission and what would follow, and what support she would give while I was out in the field." And he told how his parents had prayed that the time might come that he would be considered worthy to go out and represent the Church in the world. Nearly six thousand of them are out in the world as we meet here today. What is the impelling force back of it?
How did the Prophet Joseph know as a young man that men and women would respond to the call to fill missions, to go out into the world representing an unpopular cause, to carry this glorious message? How did he know that the Saints, when and if they accepted the gospel, would respond to the call of gathering and come to Zion. Yes, the spirit of this work, my brethren and sisters, is a marvelous and a priceless thing.
CRITICAL PERIOD
Now during this critical period, and it is a critical period that we are passing through, I hope that we will keep ever burning in our hearts the spirit of this great work which we represent. If we do so, well have no anxiety; we'll have no fear; we'll not worry about the future because the Lord has given us the assurance that if we live righteously, if we keep his commandments, if we humble ourselves before him, all will be well. I turn to two passages of scripture today which I'd like to read:
... Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
This was the Lord's admonition to his son, Joshua, encouraging him to trust in God. Joshua answered that admonition in counsel to his people in these words:
... choose you this day whom ye will serve... but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
ESSENTIALS FOR SECURITY
Embodied in these two passages of scripture are the two principal essentials for security and peace: first, trust in God; and second a determination to keep the commandments, to serve the Lord, to do that which is right. Latter-day Saints who live according to these two admonitions-trust in God and keep the commandments-have nothing to fear.
The Lord has made it very clear in the revelations that even though times become perilous, even though we be surrounded by temptation and sin, even though there be a feeling of insecurity even though men's hearts may fail them and anxiety fill their souls if we only trust in God and keep his commandments we need have no fear.
In modern revelation the Lord has pointed this out very clearly. Even before the Church was organized, when there were only a handful of people following the leadership of the boy Prophet, the Lord said to his Saints,
Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail...
Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.
He has also said,
... it is my purpose to provide for my saints, for all things are mine.
REAL DEDICATION REQUIRED
My brethren and sisters, it is not going to be enough just passively to accept the teachings, standards, and ideals of the Church. It will require real activity, real dedication to the principles of righteousness if we are to face the future unafraid. But if we have the courage, sound judgment, and the faith so to do, then no matter what happens we will be able to face any situation with courage and with faith and with the assurance that God will sustain us. I know this to be true, my brethren and sisters. I know that now is the time probably more than any other time in our lives to live the gospel. We should not be lulled away into a false security as Nephi said many would be in the last days. We should not be pacified and feel in our hearts that we can sin a little, that we can attend to our meetings part of the time, that we can pay a token tithing, that we can live the gospel when it is convenient, and all will be well. We must not be "at ease in Zion" and say, "Zion prospereth, all is well". But we must live the gospel plan every day of our lives in its fulness. Therein is safety. Therein will come a satisfaction which comes from righteous living which will enter our hearts, give us the courage and the strength that we need. There is no security in unrighteousness. The sinful always live in despair.
NEED FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS
We have a great mission. We must be prepared, both young and old. We must stand as a leaven among the nations, true to the principles of righteousness.
We need to be humble. We need to be grateful. We need as families to kneel in family prayer, night and morning. Just a few words added to the blessing on the food, which is becoming the custom in some parts, is not enough. We need to get onto our knees in prayer and gratitude, as Alma admonished. We need the spirit of reverence in our houses of worship referred to by President McKay in his beautiful address last night at Priesthood meeting. We need to keep the Sabbath day holy. We need to close our businesses on Sunday, and as Latter-day Saints, refrain from making purchases on the Sabbath except in cases of emergency. We need to refrain from going to moving pictures on the Sabbath, and if we are operating show houses, we should close them on Sunday. We should not seek pleasure in any form on the Sabbath day. We should stand firm in opposition to Sunday baseball and other amusements regardless of what much of the Christian world may do. We should oppose gambling in all of its forms including the parimutuel betting at horse races referred to so effectively by Brother Moyle. We should refrain from the habit of card playing against which we have been counseled by the leaders of the Church. We should stand united in opposition to the wider distribution and use of alcohol and other things declared by the Lord to be harmful.
COMMANDMENTS TO OBSERVE
If we keep the commandments, we will refrain from joining secret orders and lodges. Our first allegiance will be to the Church and the priesthood quorums. We will attend our meetings. We will take our families with us to the sacrament meeting and sit with them and worship with them. If we keep the commandments, we will pay our tithes and offerings, our fast offerings, and our welfare contributions. We will respond to the calls in the Church, and we will not resign from office when called under the authority of the Holy Priesthood. We will follow the counsel of the leadership of the Church and call our families together periodically in home evenings in order that the home might be safeguarded and the solidarity of the family increased. We will read the scriptures in our homes as the Lord has admonished us. We will not violate the sacred covenants we have taken upon ourselves in the waters of baptism and in the temples of the Lord, nor will we desecrate or cast to one side the garments of the Holy Priesthood. We will attend to our temple work. We will become saviors on Mount Zion in very deed.
GOOD CITIZENSHIP
If we keep the commandments we'll be good citizens. We'll exercise our right to vote. We'll follow the counsel which the Lord has given in the revelations regarding our obligation to seek out "honest men and wise men" who will stand for principle, men who will put principle ahead of political expediency. We will seek men of faith who believe the Constitution was inspired and that this nation has a spiritual foundation. If we are living the gospel, we will feel in our hearts that the First Presidency of the Church not only have the right, but are also duty bound under heaven to give counsel on any subject which affects the temporal or spiritual welfare of the Latter-day Saints, regardless of whether or not some men may think such counsel may have political implications.
We must stand firm for that which we know to be right, my brothers and sisters, and uphold these men who have been sustained as our leaders in modern Israel. All this we will do, and more, if we live the gospel. We will keep ourselves clean and unspotted from the world. We will live lives of purity. We will be true to our wives and families. We will live according to the gospel plan.
BLESSING
May God bless us, my brothers and sisters, that we may trust in God and keep his commandments. That is all the Lord expects of us. Joy and happiness will enter our hearts as we do so. It is the wicked who flee when no man pursueth. The righteous are bold as a lion. People who live righteously have nothing to fear. In spite of the turmoil, anxiety, and insecurity which may seem to be everywhere we will be able to stand erect and go forward with courage and faith. We must not compromise with evil. "They enslave their children's children who make compromise with sin."
God bless Us to live the gospel, to be grateful for all that we have and are, and for all that we enjoy, in this the kingdom of God, I humbly pray, and I bear fervent testimony to you to the truth of the words that have been spoken at this conference, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop LeGrand Richards
LeGrand Richards, Conference Report, October 1950, pp. 149-154
My brothers and sisters, from the depths of my soul I thank the Lord for the privilege of being here to worship with you in the sessions of this conference. I think of the words of the Master when he was tempted to turn the stone into bread to prove that he was the Son of God. He replied, "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God". And I am sure we have been fed the bread of life eternal during the sessions of this conference.
APPRECIATION OF FATHER
President Smith has already indicated that I am a son of George F. Richards. I would like to take this occasion, representing his family, to express appreciation to those who have paid tribute to Father during the sessions of this conference and the many, many friends who have written their tributes since Father's passing away. Many have said that they thought he was one of the finest men that ever lived. As his son, I would like to tell you that I don't know of any man that I think lived nearer the Lord than my father. When he spoke in prayer, he just talked to the Lord. And when he made a promise to me, it was just the same as if the Lord had made it. He has left us a great heritage and a great responsibility, and I hope his posterity will not fail him.
I should like also to mention Brother Roscoe Eardley. Brother Roscoe and I had much in common. We each filled two missions in Holland; we each presided over that mission. Roscoe was a great missionary, and the Dutch people loved him. He loved the Church and he was loyal to it in every way. I also worked side by side with Brother Frank Evans in the Church offices, and I think he was one of the grandest men it has ever been my privilege to know. And I thank God for the presence of Brother Thomas E. McKay in this meeting. We have been praying for you, Brother McKay, for months, and we thank the Lord that you are here to worship with us on this occasion.
FAITH COMMENDED
While riding to my conference a week ago last Saturday, one of my companions said, "Bishop, what do the Saints need to be told more than anything else?" I answered, ''The one thing they ought to be told is how wonderful they are in the payment of their tithes and their offerings, in helping to build meetinghouses, in sending their boys into the mission field, in helping with the great welfare program of the Church, in the buying of projects and helping with the budget, in maintaining their wards, and in the other things they have been asked to help with, such as the Primary Children's hospital the Relief Society building, and the BYU fieldhouse." I tell you, my heart goes out in admiration, in thanksgiving to God for the faith of the Latter-day Saints, and I love them. For over twelve years now I have had to do with the financial affairs of this Church, and we haven't passed one year that the Saints haven't paid a greater tithing than the year before. We are already away ahead this year over last year. I don't think they are making undue sacrifices, because of the faith I have that every effort they put forth in the building up of the kingdom of God shall be in the words of the prophet, as bread cast upon the water which after many days shall return.
When I was a boy, my father said, "My son, there is no organization or corporation or institution in this world that will pay you as great dividends on the investment of your time and your talents and your means as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." After nearly fifty years since my father made me that promise, I stand before you to say that I have seen it verified in the lives of the Latter-day Saints and the lives of my own family, and of my own loved ones. And so I say, God bless the Saints for their faith and for their integrity.
SACRIFICES OF SAINTS
Brother Benson has just talked of the marvelous sacrifices being made to carry on the great missionary work of the Church; then there is the building of meetinghouses. We have about four hundred of them in the course of construction at the present time, and the way the Saints sacrifice in order to raise their portion of the money, to me, is a marvelous thing. My daughter called me a few nights ago after I had retired. She said, "Daddy, I was afraid you were in bed but we just came from our ward, and we raised tonight fifteen thousand dollars to make the final payment on our meetinghouse." And she added, "To cap the climax, the bishop gave another thousand." I say God bless the Saints and leaders like that.
This same daughter was sent out to collect money. She went into the home of one student. He'd given his part, but they had to have more. The building cost more than they had anticipated, He said, "Well, now, I don't know where I can get it tonight, but give me a few days, come back again." He gathered up his books that he had finished using at school and took them to the university and sold them to get money to pay another contribution on the meetinghouse.
Sister Richards and I were in Idaho a few weeks ago to dedicate a meetinghouse. When we heard the stories of those Saints, how they had sacrificed, we were thrilled. One good sister told how she had taken her cow and had it killed and cut up, and had stood on the street corner of the little town selling beef sandwiches in order to raise her portion for that meetinghouse. There isn't time to tell you more of these stories. But I do want to say that just as long as the Lord will keep putting that kind of faith in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints, you just can't stop the kingdom from growing. No power under heaven can do it. And I thank God for your faith.
SPIRIT OF DARKNESS
Now, as I love the Saints for their faithfulness, I also feel remorse and sorrow for those who fail to have that kind of faith, for those who are not willing to do their part, for those who have discontinued attending their meetings. Brigham Young said that when we fail to attend our sacrament meetings and observe our prayers, the Spirit of the Lord will withdraw himself, and a spirit of darkness will come over us. Now there are a great many people in our midst who have ceased attending their meetings, and who do not observe their prayers. Some of them are near to us, some of them are dear to us, but the Lord does withdraw his Spirit. Just within the last week I had a woman in my office who told me how her husband had quit doing his duty and how the Lord had withdrawn his Spirit. She said, "Sometimes I think he is almost possessed of the devil." Well, the Lord knew that we could not be disobedient to his commandments and still enjoy his Spirit. I want to read the twelfth verse of the ninety fifth section of the Doctrine and Covenants.
If you keep not my commandments, the love of the Father shall not continue with you, therefore, you shall walk in darkness.
And when people walk in darkness, they cannot love the brethren; they cannot love the Lord; they cannot love the people; they cannot love this great Latter-day cause, the greatest movement the world has ever known, aside from the great atonement of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. At least that is my appraisal of it. I think that is what the Lord had in mind when he said in a revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith:
But behold, verily I say unto you, that there are many who have been ordained among you, whom I have called but few of them are chosen.
They who are not chosen have sinned a very grievous sin, in that they are walking in darkness at noon-day.
The noonday is the brightest period of the day, and with all this glorious truth about us, some walk in darkness.
LORD'S SPIRIT WITHDRAWN
When the Lord has withdrawn his Spirit, and one walks in darkness, he says: "Well, I'm not religious."
We represent the adult group of the Aaronic Priesthood, many of whom are indifferent. One good brother wrote in and inquired: "How can a man effect a complete annihilation of his soul and his body?" Why, because he has not observed the commandments of God. He was not attending his meetings. He was not praying; so the Spirit of the Lord withdrew and left him walking in darkness; and when a man walks in darkness, he has little hope to look forward to.
When a man says he is not religious, does he mean that he believes that when he dies that will end it all? In the words of the Savior, speaking of the days of Noah, he said: "They shall say, come, let us eat, drink, and make merry, for tomorrow we die". Does it mean that he believes that will end it all? Paul said that "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable". And the Savior said,
For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?.
Oh, I tell you, brothers and sisters, the glorious gospel that we have is worth more than all the wealth in the world.
MEANING OF RELIGION
When a man says he is not religious, does he mean that he would not be interested if religion could tell him where he came from why he is here, and where he is going? Does he mean that he is not interested in these things, when he says he is not religious? Suppose you had never seen your own father, and yet you had had communications from him from Europe or elsewhere, and he had been kind to you, but conditions hadn't been such that you could visit him. Wouldn't you want to see your own father? Wouldn't you some day want to be acquainted with him and enjoy his association?
Paul tells us that
... we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?.
When religion can teach us that we are the very offspring of God the Eternal Father, how could any of us not look forward longingly to the day when he will take us by the hand and say. "... 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".
ADDED UPON
If what we read in the Pearl of Great Price is true, that those who were faithful in keeping their first estate should be added upon but that more blessed is he who keeps his second estate, for he shall be added upon forever and forever, does a man mean when he says, "I am not religious," that he would not like to be added upon forever and forever? There is an eternal life, and we have that right awaiting us if we will just live for it.
Does a man mean, when he says he is not religious, that he does not care whether his wife and his children belong to him throughout the countless ages of eternity, that they mean nothing to him.
I was in the Arizona Temple not so long ago. We spent a day there, and the Primary teachers of one of the wards brought their children to do baptismal work for the dead. While the children were doing this work, we held a testimony meeting with the teachers and in that meeting sister after sister stood up, and with tears in their eyes, they bore their testimonies and said that the greatest desire of their hearts was for the day to come when their husbands could take them into the temple of God and be sealed to them for time and all eternity, that they might have claim on them and their children.
Do we mean when we say we are not religious care anything about such matters?
THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS
How are we going to find out these things? You remember the story of the rich man and Lazarus, how Lazarus died and was received into Abraham's bosom and the rich man into torment. He called to father Abraham and said: "Have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame." Father Abraham explained that there was a gulf between them. Then the rich man's thoughts turned to his five brothers who were still upon the earth, and he said, "I pray thee therefore, Father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:
"For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment."
Abraham saith unto him, "They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them."
And the rich man said: "Nay, Father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent."
Father Abraham said: "If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead".
I pray that God will put it into the hearts of our loved ones and those of the Saints of Zion who are not as faithful as they should be, who do not think they are religious, that they will realize that we do not only have Moses and the prophets, but also the living prophets of God who are sent to show us the way; that they will listen unto them. When I think of all the Lord has revealed in the establishment of his Church and kingdom on the earth in these later days, to me it is all Isaiah described it to be when he said the Lord would proceed to do a marvelous work and a wonder, and the wisdom of their wise men should perish, and the understanding of their prudent men should be hid. God help us to touch the hearts of those who cannot see and who are walking in darkness, and God bless you faithful Latter-day Saints for your integrity and your devotion to his great cause, I humbly pray in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
President George Albert Smith
George Albert Smith, Conference Report, October 1950, pp. 154-160
You have just listened to the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, LeGrand Richards, and while he has been talking, I have been thinking of this great audience. Reference has been made repeatedly to missionary work. We have been told that we have nearly six thousand missionaries out in the world today. Of course they are coming and going all the time. For a small church, such as we are, having membership a little more than a million, approximately six thousand missionaries is a marvelous record. As I sit here looking at the faces of the men and women that I know here, and I can see people here from all over it came into my mind to ask the question: How many of you have filled a two-year or longer mission during your lifetime? Raise your hands. Thank you very much. This is a missionary Church. Sometimes people might think, from the way we refer to finance, that we are a bank, but we are not. Think of the buildings that are on this block, every one of them built many years ago. This tabernacle and the temple were built in the very poverty of our people when they were trying to make homes here in the valleys of these mountains. But the Lord said, "Seek ye first,"-not last-"... seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you".
COMFORTS AND BLESSINGS
When I travel, as I have, approximately a million miles in the world, in many nations and places in the world, and come back here, I do not know of any place where people have more comforts and blessings than we do right here in this place that 103 years ago was a desert land, with only one tree growing in this valley. My grandfather came with the first company of pioneers. There were 143 men, three women, and two children. After he had been here for five or six years, one of his non Mormon friends asked him, "President Smith, why did you leave Nauvoo and all that fine country back there in New York and Missouri and come out to this God-forsaken land?"
The reply of my grandfather was, "Why, we came here willingly, because we had to."
In other words, the people, about twenty thousand of them, when they were expelled from Illinois, had their choice. They could have stayed there and lived with so-called Christians, or they could leave and come out here and live with the Indians. That was their choice. They preferred the Indians. Now that was not because our people did not believe in Christianity. I know of no people in the world who believe as firmly in the divine mission of Jesus Christ as do the membership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I remember I have had many people say to me, "Why, you people do not even believe in Jesus Christ."
I have said, "What is the matter with you? If we do not believe in Jesus Christ, why do we call the Church, the Church of Jesus Christ?"
"Oh, I didn't know you called it that, I thought it was called the Mormon Church," they have replied.
DIVINE MISSION OF JESUS CHRIST
I remember I attended a conference in Canada once, and it so happened that I referred in my remarks during the evening to our faith in the divine mission of Jesus Christ, that we believed that the Lord prepared the way for the coming of Jesus of Nazareth; prepared Mary to be his mother and Joseph to act as his earthly father. And then Herod, in an attempt to destroy him, sent out a decree that the children in Bethlehem and the country round about who were two years old and under were to be slain, and he became one of the greatest butchers of all time. Joseph and Mary took Jesus and departed from the land of their birth and their home and went down into Egypt. They returned later when that wicked king had died, and the boy grew up in Nazareth and other places in that section. When he was twelve years old, he went with his parents to the temple. They were there to perform services in the temple as was customary with those good Hebrew people in those days. When Joseph and Mary started home, they missed the boy. They returned to Jerusalem and found him reasoning with the wise men in the temple. When he was reproached by his parents for causing them such anxiety, his answer was, "... wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?". Remember he was only twelve years old.
When Jesus became a man, he went to the River Jordan where John was baptizing "because there was much water there", and he needed more than a teacup or a basin full-Jesus of Nazareth, who was to become the Savior of the world, went to John and applied for baptism, and John recognizing him as an unusual character said, "... I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?"
"And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him". And Jesus of Nazareth went down into the water and was baptized by John, and when he came up out of the water, the Holy Ghost came and descended upon him in the form of a dove.
And a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased". Could there be anything more definite than that? Our wonderful Bible contains all that information and much more, of course. When people say or think that we do not believe in the divine mission of Jesus Christ, let them know that we believe all that the Bible teaches in reference to him. We believe the story of how he organized his people and taught them, and how eventually, at the insistence of his own people, he was crucified by the representatives of the Roman government; not for any wrong he had done, but because he was too good to live among that people.
THE RESURRECTION
We believe all that. But that was not the end. The Bible tells us that he had been taken down from the cross where he had been crucified and placed in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. After three days, when the women went to the tomb with spices and other things to prepare his body for burial as was customary, they found that the tomb was empty. They began looking around. Mary was standing near the sepulchre weeping when she saw someone who she thought was the gardener. She asked where Jesus was, and He said, "Mary," and she recognized his voice. I suppose Mary would have embraced him, but he said, "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father" -that was three days after his crucifixion-but to go and tell his brethren, and gave her other instructions.
Not very long after that, his disciples were gathered together in a room; because of their fear of their enemies, the door was closed. All at once he materialized in that room-he did not have to wait for a door or a window to open. Thomas, who had not been present at the time of the previous appearance of Jesus, had been told by the disciples. Realizing that there was some doubt in the mind of Thomas, Jesus said, "... reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side".
And when Thomas had done it, he cried out, "My Lord and my God". He identified the body as the one he had seen on the cross. And then the Savior said. "Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed". But that was not the end. He said to his disciples, "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd".
VISIT TO OTHER SHEEP
What did he mean? We do not know from the Bible, but there is another glorious record, the history of the ancestors of the American Indians, another scripture, the Book of Mormon, and in this scripture is recorded how he fulfilled that promise of going to his other sheep. At the time of his crucifixion this earth was rent, and the mountains were made valleys, the valleys were made mountains, and buildings were destroyed, and many of the people who lived on the land lost their lives. They had been looking for the time when the Savior should come, for Samuel, the Lamanite prophet, had told them about it and all that would occur. They were gathered around the temple; and all at once they heard a voice, but they did not understand it. And they heard it a second time; and still they could not tell where it came from. And then they heard it the third time, and this time they understood, and looking up, saw the heavens open, and a glorified Being came down and stood among them. Had there been any doubt in their minds as to who it was, he dispelled it, because he said, "Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world".
Brethren and sisters, we have all the information that our Christian brothers and sisters do with regard to the life of the Savior in the Bible, and in addition to that, we have the story of his coming to the people on this western hemisphere, as recorded in the Book of Mormon. And when he came among them, he talked to them as he had to those in the old world. When he was ready to leave them, he blessed them, he healed their sick and took their children up in his arms and wept over them. And after being with them two or three days, coming and going, they saw him ascend into heaven.
EXPERIENCES OF JOSEPH SMITH
In 1820 Joseph Smith, the boy prophet not yet fifteen years of age, seeking to know what Church he should join because of the confusion in his neighborhood-his mother insisted he belong to one church and his father to another-went out in the woods to pray This boy had read in the Bible, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him". He went out into the woods and put it to the test. As he knelt there, the adversary sought to overpower him and he was stricken, but suddenly a bright light appeared. Two glorified Beings were standing in the air above him in the woods near Palmyra, New York. He saw them, and they asked him what he wanted, and he asked which of all the churches he should join. One of them spoke to him and said, pointing to the other "This is My Beloved Son, Hear Him!". Almost the same language that was used by the Father when Jesus came up out of the waters of baptism-"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased". So when Joseph the boy wanted to know what to do, he was told by the Savior himself.
ADDITIONAL LIGHT
I say to you we not only have all that the world has with regard to the divinity of the mission of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Bible but also we have the story of another book, known as the Book of Mormon, and the account of his appearing in this western hemisphere, the tradition of which has been among the Indians ever since and we also have the story of another man who gave his life as a witness that he knew that God lives and Jesus is the Christ. I refer to the Prophet Joseph Smith.
My brothers and sisters, if men and women, with all the truth that they have, would retain all the wonderful things that have been passed on through the prophets of God, and then let us share with them the additional information the Lord has revealed since the Holy Bible was made accessible to the world, what a difference it would make. I remember a very fine doctor, who was a good member of the Jewish church in Atlanta, Georgia, and who read the Book of Mormon. I became well-acquainted with him, and he said to me one day, "There isn't a man living in the world today that could write the Book of Mormon. It must be something more than the work of man." I have known many people, who, having read it, and prayed about it, have received a witness that it is true.
INSPIRATION OF ALMIGHTY
What I want to emphasize is this: Not only do we have all that is contained in these sacred records, but also when you have received the gospel, been baptized, had the hands of the servants of the Lord laid upon your head and received the Holy Ghost, you have a right to the inspiration of the Almighty if you live to be worthy of it Ought we not to be grateful for our many blessings? What a wonderful thing to live in a land like America and to have all the advantages that we have. I feel so grateful for my privileges in the Church of Jesus Christ, for my companionship with the men and women of this Church and of other churches. I am grateful to have a host of friends in the various churches of the world, scattered in different places. I am grateful for those friendships, but I will not be satisfied until I can share with them some of the things which they have not yet received. And that is the thing we must keep in our minds; it is our responsibility to bear the word. Let us do the things the Lord wants us to do and keep his commandments and be worthy of the blessings that we enjoy that are superior to those of most people in all the world.
OBEDIENCE BRINGS BLESSINGS
This is the closing session of this great conference. It will be another six months before we are again brought together in this capacity, as far as we know now. But in that six months we do not know what may occur. Reference has been made to the fact that many of our boys and some of our girls are already being taken away preparatory for another war. War is the result of sin, not righteousness. And if we want to avoid war and avoid the responsibilities that come, our duty is to keep the commandments of God, and he has promised that if we will do that we will enjoy blessings that we cannot enjoy in any other way.
I am happy to be with you today. We have had a wonderful time. We are grateful to this wonderful choir that sings to the world every Sunday, a choir that has rendered 1102 programs, broadcast to the world. We are not depending entirely upon the nearly six thousand missionaries. We also have the radio, and thousands of people listen in to the program that is given each week by this wonderful choir, an unpaid organization that is doing missionary work for the blessings of mankind.
Now are you happy? If you are keeping the commandments of God, I am sure you are happy. We have much to do. You have heard something about preparing a temple at Los Angeles.
PLANS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The first plans have been approved so that the temple may be constructed just as soon as the detailed plans are prepared. It will add another temple. We are the only people in the world who know what temples are for, and how wonderful it is that we can build a temple without feeling the loss of the expense. We have been building temples and building meetinghouses all these years. Since the war, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, the people that belong to this organization, have sent 130-odd carloads of food, bedding, and clothing to the people across the sea because they needed it, and they were made a present of it. Yet our granaries are filled today. Our root cellars are being filled now. Our little workshops where clothing is made and where second-hand clothing is repaired and made desirable are filling up again, and I want to say that I do not know of any people in the world that are more richly blessed than we, notwithstanding our constant giving that has been referred to here. They who give to the poor, but lend to the Lord, and he is a wonderful paymaster.
Brethren and sisters, let us do our part. Harken to the advice that has come to us here during these sessions of conference. This is the Lord's house. His Spirit has been here, and we have been uplifted and blessed thereby. I pray that the power of our Heavenly Father may go with you workers of this Church, you members, wherever you go, that your homes may be the abiding place of the spirit of our Heavenly Father, that your sons and daughters may grow up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, that you may love your neighbors, and that means members of the Church and those that are not: That means all who seek to be what the Lord would have them be. I pray that each of us may feel day by day the assurance that so many of you have, that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the Living God. I know that as well as I know that I live, and I bear that witness to you in humility, and realizing the seriousness of such a statement if it were not true, I still bear this testimony to you in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Elder Marion G. Romney
Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, April 1951, pp. 19-24
Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take; The clouds ye so much dread Are big with mercy, and shall break In blessings on your head.
If I can enjoy the Spirit of the Lord, for which I earnestly pray, I desire to give you a message of hope and courage. I am prompted to this desire by the fact that in my recent travels among the people, I have sensed a growing spirit of uneasiness and foreboding.
SPIRIT OF UNEASINESS
Following a welfare meeting held a few months ago on the Pacific Coast, in which we had counseled the people to obtain permanent welfare production projects that they might produce the necessities to carry on our welfare work without calling upon the Saints year after year for cash contributions, a sister told me she was comforted by our advice, that she felt it would not have been given if the people were not to stay there permanently. She had been disturbed and worried by talk that bombs might be dropped in that area, necessitating their moving inland.
This brought to my mind the experiences of youth, when in the colonies of Old Mexico we were agitated over whether the troubles incident to the Madero Revolution would necessitate our leaving the country. At the peak of the disturbances, our stake president who was my uncle, Junius Romney-planted an orchard of young apple trees. I well remember how my mind was relieved by hearing people say that if we were facing expulsion, the stake president would not be planting trees which would take years to mature. Notwithstanding the comfort I got out of that assurance, we did have to leave.
NEED FOR HOPE AND COURAGE
I was, of course, unable to advise the good sister whether bombs would be dropped, nor did I know whether the city would have to be evacuated, but I did have a great desire to give her some comfort and courage which would ease her mind.
I remembered that President Joseph F. Smith had said that leaders in the Church "should be men not easily discouraged, not without hope, and not given to foreboding of all sorts of evils to come," that if they "sometimes feel the weight and anxiety of momentous times, they should be all the firmer and all the more resolute in those convictions which come from a God-fearing conscience and pure lives. It is a matter of the greatest importance," he concluded, "that the people be educated to appreciate and cultivate the bright side of life rather than to permit its darkness and shadows to hover over them."
CALAMITIES AHEAD
I could not give her, nor can I extend to you, much hope and courage based upon an expectation that we are about to enter upon a period of world peace and security. I do not expect any such happy circumstances to prevail in the immediate future. As I read the signs of the times, in light of the revealed word of God, we are in line for something quite different.
A long time ago the Lord raised the curtain on the scene of destruction awaiting the inhabitants of the earth if they followed to the end the course they were then pursuing. More than a hundred years ago, he said that a desolating scourge should go forth among the inhabitants of the earth, and if they repented not, it should continue from time to time until the earth was empty and the inhabitants thereof utterly destroyed.
For all flesh is corrupted before me; and the powers of darkness prevail upon the earth, among the children of men.
... all eternity is pained, and the angels are waiting the great command to reap down the earth, to gather the tares that they may be burned
I am convinced that the overwhelming majority of men have chosen to continue down the path they were then following. I can discern no change in their course sufficient to justify in me a hope that the calamities which the Lord said he knew would come upon the inhabitants of the earth will be turned aside.
COURAGE OF FAITH
But we Latter-day Saints must not let ourselves be so engulfed with forebodings that we fail to obtain and enjoy such hope and courage as is within our reach-the hope and courage born of faith in the power of righteousness to ultimately triumph. I have boundless confidence in that power. I am persuaded beyond all doubt that the destiny of men and nations is in the hands of the Almighty, who has respect for righteousness, and not in the hands of conniving politicians whose wisdom has perished, whose understanding has come to naught, and who have no respect for righteousness. If it were not so, I should be in utter despair. I believe that the record and the word of God justify us in so placing our hope.
CHARGE TO JOSHUA
I cite your attention to the calling of Joshua, the successor to Moses, whose mission it was to lead Israel over Jordan and divide among them the promised land which was then inhabited by an armed and hostile people. It was a difficult and arduous assignment. To strengthen him for it, the Lord gave Joshua a great promise and a great charge. This is the promise:
There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
And this is the charge:
Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. Only be thou strong and very courageous...
Now note with care how Joshua was directed to show his strength and courage, and also that prosperity was to follow his performance.
... that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
Moses had been the living prophet during the days of Joshua.
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous and then thou shalt have good success.
The book of the law was the standard church work of that day.
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
As I read this scripture, I felt that Joshua's obedience to the teachings of Moses and to the contents of the book of the law was the test of his strength and courage. The extent to which he was to prosper, be unafraid and undismayed, and have the Lord with him, depended upon his rating in that test. We can demonstrate our strength and courage in the same way, and be unafraid and undismayed and have the Lord with us whithersoever we go, by observing the teachings of the living prophets and observing to do according to all that is written in the standard works of the Church.
TEACHINGS OF WILFORD WOODRUFF
During the last years of President Woodruff's life, his mind dwelt much upon the calamities which were coming upon the earth, and he gave many warnings of them. But he did not leave his hearers in despair. Always he held out to them hope and courage, conditioned on their righteousness. Here is a sample of his teachings:
Over the millions of people on this earth, there hangs a cloud of darkness almost entirely upon their shoulders. Can you tell me where the people are who will be shielded and protected from these great calamities and judgments which are even now at our doors? I'll tell you. The priesthood of God who honor their priesthood, and who are worthy of their blessings, are the only ones who shall have their safety and protection. They are the only mortal beings. No other people have a right to be shielded from these judgments. They are at our very doors; not even this people will escape them entirely. They will come down like the judgments of Sodom and Gomorrah. And none but the priesthood will be safe from their fury.
But he concluded with this note of assurance:
If you do your duty, and I do my duty, we shall have protection, and shall pass through the afflictions in peace and in safety.
On another occasion he had this to say:
I will say to the Latter-day Saints, if they will be faithful, and do what they should do, and listen to the counsel given to them, they need not have any fears about anything, for the whole work is in the hands of God, the destinies of nations lie there. It is better for a people to be wise, to get righteousness, to be the friends of God, than to occupy any other positions in life.
PROTECTION OF RIGHTEOUS
Nephi, speaking of our day which by the power of God he had seen in vision, said the Lord would not suffer the wicked to destroy the righteous, but that he would "preserve the righteous by his power, even if it so be that the fullness of his wrath must come, and the righteous be preserved, even unto the destruction of their enemies by fire. Wherefore, the righteous need not fear".
The Lord renewed this same promise of protection to the righteous in 1831 when he said he was angry with the wicked, that he was withholding his Spirit from the inhabitants of the earth, that he had decreed wars upon the face of the earth, and that the wicked should destroy the wicked.
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.
Two or three months later, he continued:
... 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.
And also the Lord shall have power over his saints, and shall reign in their midst.
I am persuaded that a complete surrender to the principles of righteousness would lift God's people out of the turmoil of this present world. Such has been the record in the past, as witness the experiences of Enoch and his people and the record of the Nephites following their visit from the risen Redeemer.
ZION A PLACE OF SAFETY
I believe a similar performance by us in our day would bring the same results. I not only believe, but I know it would, and that it will yet be done. I don't know just how soon, but I am looking forward with certainty to the fulfillment of the words spoken by the Lord to the Church in its infancy, when he directed the Saints to gather together their riches to purchase an inheritance in Zion which he said was to be a land of peace, a city of refuge, a place of safety for the Saints of the most high God. There the glory of the Lord is to be a terror to the wicked and a comfort to the righteous. Zion's inhabitants are to be the only people that shall not be at war one with another, and every man that will not take up his sword against his neighbor must flee unto it for safety.
And it shall come to pass that the righteous shall be gathered out from among all nations, and shall come to Zion, singing with songs of everlasting joy.
HOPE IN THE FUTURE
Now, I know, my brothers and sisters, that we will have our souls tested before we reach these glories of the future, but if we have them in view and live righteously, we shall thereby be sustained for the trials we must endure. Paul said it was the glory set before Jesus for which he endured the cross, and President Young said it was the vision of Zion as it shall be which sustained the Saints as they pulled their covered wagons from ruts and mudholes and trudged across the plains. Therefore, with hope in the future, let us lift up our hearts and rejoice, and with strength and courage let us gird up our loins and take upon us the whole armor of righteousness, that we may be able to withstand these evil days, that having done all, we may be able to stand.
And as we journey through these anxious times,
The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:
The Lord make his face shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
This I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Eldred G. Smith
Eldred G. Smith, Conference Report, April 1951, pp. 24-27
My brothers and sisters, I wish to express my feelings along with others in this conference regarding the passing of our late President, George Albert Smith. I, for one, have lost a great friend. I don't think anyone has been more able to take the place of my earthly father than President George Albert Smith has done. I think he emulated in his life all of the principles of the gospel, and no matter what subject is selected during this conference by the General Authorities or any of those who speak here, it will be a subject of which President George Albert Smith was an excellent example.
KEY TO HAPPINESS
And I pray the Lord will be with me as I express today what thought I have had in mind on the principles of the gospel and the foundation upon which we may have happiness in this life and happiness in the life to come; for no happiness comes without success, or without growth and progress.
Reading from the Doctrine and Covenants, Section twenty-nine, verses 36 to 40,
And it came to pass that Adam, being tempted of the devil-for, behold, the devil was before Adam, for he rebelled against me, saying, Give me thine honor, which is my power; and also a third part of the hosts of the heaven turned he away from me because of their agency;
And they were thrust down, and thus came the devil and his angels;
And, behold, there is a place prepared for them from the beginning, which place is hell.
And it must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of men, or they could not be agents unto themselves; for if they never should have bitter they could not know the sweet-
Wherefore, it came to pass that the devil tempted Adam, and he partook of the forbidden fruit and transgressed the commandment, wherein he became subject to the will of the devil, because he yielded unto temptation.
And reading from Moses:
And in that day the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam, which beareth record of the Father and the Son, saying: I am the only begotten of the Father from the beginning, henceforth and forever, that as thou hast fallen thou mayest be redeemed, and all mankind, even as many as will.
And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying: Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God.
And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.
In both these references we are given the key to happiness in this life and happiness in the life to come to carry throughout all eternity.
Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.
PRESENCE OF GOOD AND EVIL
Joy comes as a result of progress, as a result of accomplishment for good. That is why we all shouted for joy when the opportunity was given to us to come to this earth and partake of the blessings through obedience, made possible to us through exercising free agency. For man to exercise free agency he must have both sides to choose from. In every decision made there must be both a good and an evil influence; for if we had all of the good or all of the evil we would be right in the same path which Satan tried to establish in the first place, that of predestination. And so there must be both sides to choose from in every case.
As the Lord said in the Doctrine and Covenants in the verse from which I previously read:
And it must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of men or they could not be agents unto themselves; for if they never should have bitter they could not know the sweet.
Therefore, in all that we do we must be tempted. Then our growth depends upon our obedience. The first step in our progress for the eternities is accepting the gospel of Jesus Christ. We do not convert others; missionaries do not convert others. We teach them to think for themselves; and when they have a desire within themselves to receive knowledge and express that desire in action, by being obedient to the desires of God, then they have fulfilled that law upon which that blessing is predicated, which brings a knowledge of the gospel to them through the Holy Ghost.
Baptism is the fulfilling of an ordinance which is an act of testifying that we will be obedient in keeping the commandments of God. The greatest blessing promised in the Word of Wisdom is that of knowledge. The promises given are:
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.
DESIRE TO BE OBEDIENT
I am reminded of a story of a man who once tried to discontinue the use of tobacco. He became almost a nervous wreck. He worried himself sick about how much he was going without tobacco. It was on his mind constantly until he became so nervous and so shaky that he couldn't hold his hands still. Then later on, the elders-the missionaries-contacted him and told him about the Word of Wisdom and he said, "If that's what the Lord wants, then I'll do it." And with the idea in his mind that he was going to do it because of obedience to the commandments of the Lord, he discontinued the use of tobacco; and he held his hands out in front of the visitors with him and said, "Look how steady I am; I'm as steady as any of them and I have gone without tobacco for some months."
Our mental attitude has much to do with whether or not we want to be obedient to the commandments of the Lord.
The same is true in respect to paying tithing. If a man pays his tithing because he wants to be obedient to the commandments of God he will receive more blessings as a result, and it will be much easier to pay. And so it is with all other requirements of the gospel; for example, attendance at sacrament meetings. What is said at Church is not always remembered, but we receive the blessing for being obedient. As a result we carry the Spirit of the Lord with us in our work between meetings and in our various activities until we again gather with the Saints.
BLESSINGS FOLLOW OBEDIENCE
Some people sacrifice all the blessings of the temple endowment and sealing, including the blessings of godhood and exaltation just because they do not want to be obedient in wearing the temple garment. The greatest blessing that comes from wearing the garment is the result of obedience. Then the Lord will bless us. The success of our entire earth life depends upon how well we learn to be obedient. There can be no obedience without free agency which gives us both good and evil to choose from. Thank God for the gospel plan and the power God gives us to resist evil and choose the right.
And may the Lord be with us and give us those blessings that we need, to carry us through these troubled times, for as long as we are obedient to his will and do that which is in our power, the Lord will take care of the rest of it. And we needn't worry about distressed times, for as long as we have the gospel plan and live it with the idea of being obedient to the desires of our Heavenly Father, his way is the best way, and all other things will be taken care of. Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and all else shall be added unto it.
May the blessings of the Lord be upon this people and those at this conference and those who shall follow me in occupying the time here, I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Levi Edgar Young
Levi Edgar Young, Conference Report, April 1951, pp. 27-31
Death has brought deep sorrow to us all this day. President George Albert Smith has been called to the great beyond, and though we know it was the will of our Father in heaven, yet his passing will be keenly felt by the thousands of people who had come under his influence. His life was one of noblest effort to attain a knowledge of the purposes of the Lord. He never held aught against his neighbor, and every day witnessed a divine act for someone who was in need. Could each one who knew him vow to do his little task even as he did his greater one, in the manner of a true man, not for a day but for eternity, what a better world we would have. He was the spirit he worked in. As an Apostle and President of the Church of Jesus Christ, he was a light unto his people and pointed the way by his purity of life and constancy to the divine purposes of his God. Traveling hopefully on day by day, he gave every hour of his life to the dream of establishing the kingdom of God upon the earth. According to the promise, he looked for a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. He lived "... to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace".
His comforting word this day would have been:
Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.
For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
I should like to speak briefly to you seventies and to the priesthood of the Church in general.
PRESENT-DAY CONDITIONS
We are all greatly concerned with the present-day social and religious conditions of the world. For all the wrongs that are in the world today, for all the false teachings and terrible wars that we have experienced, all the tragedies and sufferings of humanity caused by sin and the loss of faith in God, our children will have to pay in the future. It was the historian Froude who wrote:
History is a voice forever sounding across the centuries the laws of right and wrong. Opinions alter, manners change, creeds rise and fall, but the moral law is written on the tablets of eternity. For every false word or unrighteous deed, for cruelty and oppression, for lust or vanity, the price has to be paid at last: not always by the chief offenders, but paid by someone. Justice and falsehood may be long-lived, but doomsday comes at last to them, in revolutions and other terrible ways.
Our civilization has arrived at its present state after ages of conflict between right and wrong. All its achievements and all its hopes of greater things are now in a critical hour for better or for worse. Many men and women in governmental affairs have no clear idea of their responsibility that humanity should have towards the future of mankind.
INSPIRED MEN
It is true that good men do rise to their responsibilities. They understand the great problems of the hour. There are men who in the hours of human history have messages from God. They have been inspired because they approached life with deep faith. Fortified by faith these men have gone quietly about teaching the world the dream of moral and spiritual perfection. Such men are few, but their messages are universal. You and I, my brother seventies, know deeply in our hearts the meaning of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are deeply convinced that we have the insight to listen to the voice from heaven. You must become profoundly convinced of your divine mission, and you will also come to know that there are men living today whose lives are lives of revelation. It is from Christ, our Redeemer, that we learn the lesson of eternal life and become conscious of the immortality of spiritual values.
A DIVINE TITLE
The seventy of the Church bear a noble and divine title. To understand the words used to designate the meaning of our priesthood gives a better understanding of ancient life and thought. We sense more clearly the deeply religious atmosphere of Biblical life, which will awaken within us a more ardent missionary zeal. There was under Moses, and apparently in all ages, a senate or council of elders numbering seventy or seventy-two on whom lay a special responsibility as the advisers of the nation. Shortly after leaving Sinai, a council of seventy was chosen from among the elders or chiefs of all the tribes except Levi and solemnly set apart to their dignity by Moses, as a kind of senate to aid him by their counsel. After being confirmed in their dignity by the people, they assembled around the sacred tent, and the whole number broke out into prophetic enthusiasm under the influence of the Spirit of God. The seventy chosen from all the tribes anticipated, in their prophetic gifts, a characteristic of future generations. Says Geikie:
It is singular to notice the constant recurrence of the number Seven: Seven priests go before the Ark with seven trumpets, for seven days, going seven times round the city on the seventh day. The Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles each lasted seven days. To ratify an oath was to "seven it." The number seems to have been regarded as the symbol of completeness or perfection, and to have been as such, connected intimately with everything relating to God.
We recall the seven virtues or gifts of the Spirit, known in ancient times to the seventy elders. Balzac, the French historian, quotes Louis Lambert of whom he writes as declaring that the word "seven" is the "Formula of Heaven." Therefore as you live and express your thoughts, as you think, as you act, must be in accordance with the fundamental ideals of heaven. We see the beauty and the sacredness of the word "seven." We understand the meaning of the kingdom of God because we possess its power. We are reminded here of the saying above the door of the Harvard School of Music:
To charm, to strengthen, and to teach-these are the three great chords of might.
PEOPLE NEED THE GOSPEL
The people of the world need to be taught the gospel of our Lord and Savior. Teaching is unfolding the divine spark within every person into its fullest majestic purpose and scope. Teaching is from within out. A teacher must know something about the subject he is explaining to a listener. For this reason every missionary should be a student, and this means hard work. It means self discipline and the desire to live the "simple life," the life that reaches out to God. Of course the missionaries are idealists, caring first for the welfare of men to awaken them to a sense of what life really means. No one can deny the force or the beauty of the desire for extending one's own belief and hopes to others, for imparting to them the comfort and light of one's own salvation. This was the thing that characterized the life of Paul the Apostle and that inspires the mighty hosts of missionaries of today. Life in the missionary's heart is made over, and no sooner has the faith and the hope of an illuminated future taken hold of him than he is desirous to disseminate this possession to all the world. It is the power of the gospel truth that gives him what he calls his "testimony." There is a splendor of spirit and often a grandeur of achievement which bring to him hallowed feelings and a grateful heart for what he, through the Spirit of God, has been able to accomplish.
CALLING OF THE TWELVE AND SEVENTY
At an early period in his ministry, Jesus, after a night of prayer in a lonely mountain spot, chose twelve men for his Apostles. It was an important event in history, for it indicated the design of the Master to organize his ministry that the work of teaching the gospel might be inaugurated at once. The Apostles were to go forth two by two that the Master might become known. They were to work miracles, heal the sick, and bless the lowly. Reverently does James in his epistle describe how they prayed and anointed the sick with oil in the name of the Lord. After choosing the Twelve, Jesus called the Seventy. We read in Luke 10:1, these words:
After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.
When the Apostles and Seventy were chosen, it is natural to believe that a discourse on the ideal life under the sovereignty of the Father, was delivered by Jesus. This was the Sermon on the Mount, for he wished to teach his disciples the way of life that they might enter into the true significance of his doctrines. It was an ideal of principles, and not a code of rules. This viewpoint, that the Sermon on the Mount was the ordination sermon, is that of Luke and many modern writers on the life of Christ.
Jesus founded his Church upon the rock of revelation, and he set forth in clearness that his Church is an organized reality, small in numbers, in its beginning, but destined to become a world movement. He inspired his Apostles and Seventies with a definite consciousness of unity. The men he called were not great men in the ordinary sense; they were representative of the common people, possessing neither wealth nor great learning. They were qualified for their calling by their deep desire for goodness and truth. In him they came to find the Word of Life.
TEACHERS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
You seventies are the teachers of righteousness to all nations. You bear your faithful testimonies to the divine light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The spirit with which you go forth is that of the Sermon on the Mount. The results of your teachings will be far-reaching. The world of today is awakening and looking to the future with renewed faith and hope. A spiritual epoch is upon us and a spiritual freedom is being made by mankind. President Brigham Young once said that "the one way to scatter doubt is for all to begin work." Hopes are more real than fears: faith more potent than uncertainty. Beautiful were the words of the shepherds of old when they said: "Let us now go unto Bethlehem, and see this thing that has came to pass". The world must turn to Bethlehem.
May we Seventies come to a deeper realization of what our duties are, and so long as we are pure in heart and humble in spirit the way will be made clear by our faith in God. I ask the blessings of the Lord upon us all, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Harold B. Lee
Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, April 1951, pp. 31-35
I sincerely pray for the sustaining power of your faith and prayers for the few moments that I shall stand before you this morning.
THE HAND OF DEATH
As we sit this morning with the present reminder of the hand of death, all of us moved with a common impulse of feeling toward our great leader, I have recalled a remark that was made to Elder Lorenzo H. Hatch and myself, as we waited down at Las Vegas, Nevada, a few weeks ago for a late, delayed train. We chanced to be in conversation with a life insurance salesman who is reputed to be one of the outstanding salesmen in America. He expressed a sentiment that has intrigued me, and I want to repeat it to you because of the impression it made upon me. He said, "If you ever want to stir a man into action, you want to back up the hearse and let him smell the flowers prepared for his own service."
At first that seemed to be a terribly gruesome prospect, but as I thought about it the more, it seemed to me that after all it was but a crude way of stating a great eternal truth that has been thundered to us by the prophets from the beginning. All through the scriptures we have had a counsel given us that all that we should do, we should do with an eye single to the glory of God, which glory the Lord declared to Moses, was to bring to pass immortality and eternal life, that very reminder that death draws nearer each day that we live. It was that same thought expressed by the Apostle Paul when he said:
If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
... For as In Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
THE TIME TO PREPARE
It was also the great prophet Amulek's testimony in which he declared,
For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God... to perform their labors.
... for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed.
For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil and he doth seal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked.
It was this very reminder that the Angel Moroni gave to the Prophet Joseph, which he records in that famous Wentworth letter when he quoted the Angel Moroni as saying that
... preparatory work for the second coming of the Messiah was speedily to commence; that the time was at hand for the gospel in all its fullness to be preached in power, unto all nations, that a people might be prepared for the Millennial reign.
GOSPEL TO BE PREACHED
In making for that preparation, the Lord has defined certain great responsibilities for his Church. He said as one of the signs of his coming that the gospel of the kingdom was to be preached unto all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then should the end come, or the destruction of the wicked. That witness we have understood, was to be a witness of the mission of the Messiah. It was to be a witness of the divinity of his mission. It was to be a witness that the gospel of Jesus Christ had been restored in all its fullness, in this the Dispensation of the fullness of Times.
A LIGHT TO THE WORLD
But there was something else that we were supposed to witness which is also spoken of in the revelations. Alma spoke of this to his people who were about to be baptized. As a part of the covenant which they were about to enter, he said that they were to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that they might be in, even until death. In one of the earliest revelations given in this dispensation, the Lord said,
And even so 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.
He again admonished us, on the day when he gave the name by which the Church was to be called. After giving us the name,
... thus shall my church be called in the last days, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Verily I say unto you all: Arise and shine forth, that they light may be a standard for the nations.
As I have thought of those scriptures, I have remembered a statement that was made by an official of the United States Steel Corporation after I had spent an hour or two with him and his company of officials down at Welfare Square. He said to me, "This is a practical demonstration of the gospel of Jesus Christ, in giving aid to the needy and the less fortunate."
WITNESSES BEFORE THE WORLD
That was a new concept to me, that in the welfare program we were standing as witnesses before the world of the divine way by which the Lord's work was to be done.
So, we witness in our missionary work the magnificent spectacle of young men and young women, for the most part, to all the ends of the earth, that by their unselfish services they stand as witnesses at all times and in all places of the divine responsibility upon the Church to teach the gospel.
So, in making sacrifice, in the payment of our tithes, and in fasting and paying our fast offerings, in raising money to pay for meetinghouses and temples, again we are witnessing that the law of sacrifice is required of all true Saints if we would claim kinship to him who gave his life that men might be.
In our social conduct, in our dancing, in our play, we must never forget that in that play we are witnessing also that we are his special witnesses of the divinity of the organizations who sponsor our play.
So, every boy in military service, and every girl in her social conduct, every businessman in his dealings with his neighbor, is a witness as to whether or not this work in which he believes is divine. The Church rises or falls on the tide of these personal witnesses.
A few weeks ago I sat in fast meeting in the South Eighteenth Ward and heard a lovely girl in her mid-twenties stand to bear her testimony. It was a thrilling testimony of a beautiful Latter-day Saint girl. She told in her testimony about a morning out on the farm in a little country district where at four o'clock in the morning she went out with her father to milk the cows. And as the father and she went out towards the barn, her father took her by the hand and said, "My girl, you are the product of this Church of Jesus Christ, and you are also the product of a true Latter-day Saint home. If you fail, so far as you are concerned the Church has failed and your home has failed." That girl from that time has realized that she, as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, was a witness of it to all the world either for good or for bad.
Oh, the majesty of Joseph sold into Egypt, who shamed the beautiful but apparently unloved wife of Potiphar, when she would have tempted him to a serious sin, and he said, "My master trusts me, and thou art his wife. How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?". He, too, felt his great responsibility in being a true witness of the divine truths which he professed to believe.
In one of the revelations the Lord said something else that to me has significance here. He said,
For Zion must increase in beauty, and in holiness; her borders must be enlarged; her stakes must be strengthened; yea, verily I say unto you, Zion must arise and put on her beautiful garments.
JAPANESE MISSIONARY GIRL
I heard a lovely Japanese missionary girl down at Kamuela on the island of Hawaii a few years ago make what I think was a personal application of that principle as it pertained to her home. There were few missionaries in that day, the war was not yet ended, and this young lady and her companion were two of the only four missionaries on that island. We had in the audience eighty-five United States marines, all Latter-day Saints, who were being trained there supposedly for an invasion of Japan, the homeland of these two lovely missionary girls. Our sister missionary was called to speak before that kind of audience. Tremblingly she stood at the pulpit, and this is what she said: "When my father came to me and told me that they wanted me to go on a mission, I said to him, 'No, Father, I can't go on a mission.'" He pressed her as to why, and she said, "Oh, I just can't." But he urged further, and then she said, "I can't go because if I go out into the mission field I'll be expected to preach certain principles of the gospel, principles which my own father and my own family are not living."
The father asked, "What are we not doing that you'd have to preach?"
"Well," replied his daughter, "I'll be expected to teach the law of sacrifice. You're not even paying your tithing. I'll be asked to teach them about family prayers, and we never have family prayers. I'll be expected to teach the Word of Wisdom; we're using coffee and tea in our home. I'll be expected to teach the importance of giving service in the Church, and you are shunning that service. No, Father, I can't go out and be a hypocrite."
I think that father spent a sleepless night. "The next morning," our Japanese sister said, "Father came to me and said, 'You go, my dear, and your father will try to live as his daughter will preach.' "
Two days later, I met her over at Honolulu at a missionary conference, and she had just been home for the first time in nearly two years. And during the course of the conference I whispered to her, "How did you find things at home?" She smiled, and tears were in her eyes as she said, "It's all right. Father is, and I'm happy."
Youth that we send out from us rarely ever will be stronger than the kind of homes and environment from which they come. The challenge of this time, what with military service of young men eighteen years, young girls disturbed in their social life, is to see to Zion is increased in holiness. We must increase in beauty. Our homes, our quorums, our wards, and our stakes must be strengthened. Zion must arise and put on her most beautiful garments.
COUNSEL OF SUSANNAH WESLEY
A short while ago I read wise counsel from a lovely mother, Susannah Wesley, mother of John Wesley, famed in religious circles. This was what this lovely mother said to her son, which was a criterion by which he could judge right and wrong, in pleasure, and for that matter in all the affairs of life. These were her words:
Would you judge the lawfulness or unlawfulness of pleasure? Then use this rule: Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sight of God, takes from you your thirst for spiritual things, or increases the authority of your body over your mind, then that thing to you is evil. By this test you may detect evil no matter how subtly or how plausibly temptation may be presented to you.
Oh, I wish that every youth would use that rule and measure everything presented to him in order that he might choose the right. God grant that we may strengthen Zion within ourselves, that we might live nobly and prepare to present ourselves in honor at the end of our lives here, before him whose name we bear as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I humbly pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop LeGrand Richards
LeGrand Richards, Conference Report, April 1951, pp. 39-45
My brothers and sisters, I feel humble as I stand here this day but grateful to the Lord for my association with his people and his great Church. I should like to express the love of my father's family and myself and my wife and children for our worthy president, President George Albert Smith. He has been a great friend to all of us, and we have loved him deeply, and we have honored him in his high and holy calling as the President of this Church. What I say this afternoon, I pray the Lord will direct, that it will help to inspire others to want to live nearer to the Lord and keep his commandments and help to build his kingdom here in the earth.
VISIT OF YOUNG LADY
A few weeks ago, a young lady phoned me for an appointment; and when she came to the office, she sat there and cried for a little while and then she said: "I guess I'm jittery."
" Well," I said, "that's all right." Then when she had composed herself, she said, "Bishop, what is there for the young people today? We have war. They are taking all the boys; it looks like another great war is ahead of us. What do we young people have to live for?"
I looked at her for a few minutes and said, "Have you ever thought of the other side of the story?"
She said, "What side?"
"Well," I said, "you remember the story of the two buckets that went down in the well; as the one came up, it said, 'This is surely a cold and dreary world. No matter how many times I come up full, I always have to go down empty?' Then the other bucket laughed and said, 'With me it is different. No matter how many times I go down empty, I always come up full.'"
I said, "Have you ever stopped to realize that of all the millions of our Father's children, you are one of the most favored? You are privileged to live in the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times that the prophets of old have looked forward to, when there is more revealed truth upon the earth than there has ever been in any other dispensation of the world's history, and where we enjoy blessings and comforts of life that kings did not enjoy a few years ago. Have you ever stopped to think of that side of the story?"
And before she left, she decided that probably it wasn't as cold and dreary a world, after all, as it might be.
I said, "You just go on, and live right, and don't you lose your courage, and don't think that life isn't worth while and isn't worth living. Whether you live or whether you die or whether you are permitted to live a long life or a short life isn't going to be the thing that is going to determine the success or failure of your life; it's how you live. And if we only live right, it will not matter whether the time is short or long; we won't have to worry much about it."
SIGNS OF THE TIMES
As I thought about that conversation, I thought of the words of the Savior. On one occasion, the Pharisees and the Sadducees came to him, and tempting him, asked him to show them a sign from heaven. And Jesus answering said unto them,
... When it is evening, ye say. It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.
And in the morning, It will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?.
If the world could discern the signs of the times, it would not be difficult for them to understand that the God of Israel has set his hand to do a marvelous work and a wonder among his people in the earth and that there is a kingdom established that is ultimately destined to fill the whole earth. And it will do it because it is God's work and not the work of man.
While I was president of the Southern States Mission, one of our missionaries wrote in from Florida and said, "President Richards, I have been reading about the signs of the coming of the Lord." He said, "When the sun darkens and the moon ceases to give its light and the stars fall from heaven, everybody will know that he is coming.
And I wrote back and said, "Probably they will know. The newspapers might announce some great phenomenon in the heavens, misplacement of planets, that have caused this consternation, and scientists will have their explanation to make of it, and unless they have faith in the Living God, unless as Jesus said, they can read the signs of the times, they may not know anything about what is going on in the world.
"Why," I said, "if the inhabitants of this earth had the ability and the power to read the signs of the times, they would know that already the Lord has given far more than the darkening of the sun or obscuring the light of the moon or causing the stars to fall from heaven, for what he has accomplished in the establishment of his kingdom in the earth in these latter days, and the unseen power operating in the world for the accomplishment of his purposes, are greater signs than any of these phenomena that we read about-the signs of his coming."
GATHERING OF ISRAEL
Now, I want to bear my testimony to you that I know God has set his hand to gather scattered Israel, just as Moroni told the Prophet Joseph, as part of this work, before there was any organization of the Church, before there was any priesthood or power to officiate in the name of the Lord.
The Angel Moroni told the Prophet Joseph that, quoting the words of Isaiah, the Lord should gather scattered Israel and bring in the dispersed of Judah and set up an ensign for the nations. Well, hasn't he done it? Let us consider what has happened here in these valleys of the mountains as a part of the fulfillment of the promises the Lord has made through his prophets of old: how he should cause the waters to flow down from the high places where it has been reservoired in these mountains, how the rivers should flow in the deserts, and how the waters should spring up in the dry places. When I was in Arizona recently, I saw pipes at least twenty inches in diameter running day and night, all the time, full of water, and as I saw them, I said to myself, this is what the prophets saw when the Lord declared through their mouths that he would turn the wilderness and make it to blossom as the rose. And we are living here in that day.
PROPHECIES BEING FULFILLED
And then he said that he would cause the daughters of Zion to come up and sing in the heights of Zion, and where in all the world is there anything to compare with what has gone out of this tabernacle from the heights of Zion, week after week, for these twenty odd years as the Tabernacle Choir has broadcast to the world?
Where could you pick a group out of any other school like this group that is here today?
God bless the youth of Zion. They are following in the footsteps of their parents. They love the Church, and they have a testimony of the divinity of it, I know, through my association with these young people.
And then read the words of Isaiah, where he saw the house of the Lord established in the tops of the mountains in the last days and he saw that all nations should flow unto it, and they would say:
... Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths.
Has that ever happened in this world before? And if the Lord is about to come, as he has indicated that he would in these latter days, in the establishment of his kingdom, should we not have a fulfillment of these promises? And then Isaiah goes on to tell us when that time would be, because he adds:
And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Ever since I was a small boy, I have thrilled every time I have heard the words spoken to John upon the Isle of Patmos when the voice from heaven said, "Come up hither and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter". Then John said:
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.
I have always understood that the coming of this angel with the everlasting gospel, and there can be no other, should precede the great judgments of the Lord.
SIGNS OF SECOND COMING
You will remember, when Jesus was upon the Mount of Olives his disciples came to him, and he told them how the temple should be broken down, that there should not be one stone left upon another. Then they said,
Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?.
He proceeded to tell them of the wars and destruction that should come upon the nations, and that there should be tribulations such as had not been known from the beginning of the world and should not be known until the end.
Those of us who know of the numbers who were killed during the last world war know that we have lived in the day when tribulations have come to this world the like of which the world has never known from the beginning of time. Of course, we do not know just what that the end is going to be, or whether we have reached that end or not. As another sign, the Savior made this statement:
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
MISSIONARY SYSTEM
A friend of mine sent me a newspaper clipping from Los Angeles the other day. It gives a report of the growth of the churches. It goes on to say, "The Mormon Church, devoting a great deal of effort to the missionary field, is one of the fastest growing orders in the world"-not just in the Rocky Mountains-but in the world. How could the gospel be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations before the end should come, without a system of having it preached such as the great missionary system of this Church. To me it is one of the most marvelous things this world has ever produced. To think that the Church can send missionaries by the thousands, and they don't have to be paid for going!
One sister came into my office a few weeks ago for me to interview her missionary boy, and she said: "Bishop, I have a son in Switzerland. I have a daughter in the Great Lakes Mission. Here's my last boy." She was not very well clad. And I looked at her and said, "Sister, can you do it?"
She replied: "We will make it some way."
That is the kind of faith that is going to carry the gospel message to every land and every clime. And that kind of faith has been in this Church from the very beginning, and it will continue because it is God's work, and that unseen power that motivates it will continue to carry it on.
NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S DREAM
When you read an article such as the one I just quoted from the newspaper in Los Angeles, it is not difficult for you to understand what Daniel saw when he interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's dream, when he saw that the God of heaven in the last days should set up a kingdom, like a little stone cut out of the mountain without hands, that should roll forth and fall upon the kingdoms of this world, and they should all be destroyed, and the little stone should become as a great mountain and fill the whole earth.
Why will it become as a great mountain? Because it is builded upon eternal truth!
And God can plant in the hearts of his children, for he created the feelings of the human soul, a willingness to preach the truth until it shall ultimately triumph over all the kingdoms of this world.
In Florida, one of our missionary boys preached on that subject in one of our meetings. At the close of the meeting I stood at the door to shake hands with the people, and a minister of the gospel came up and introduced himself to me.
He said, "You don't mean to say that you think that little stone is the Mormon Church, do you?"
I said, "Why not?"
He said, "It couldn't be."
"Well, why couldn't it?"
He said, "Well, you can't have a kingdom without a King. And you don't have a king, so you haven't a kingdom."
"Oh," I said, "my friend, you didn't read quite far enough. You just read the seventh chapter of Daniel, and there you will see that Daniel saw one like the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, and there was given him dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve him. "Now," I said, "tell me, how is a kingdom going to be given to him when he comes in the clouds of heaven if there is no kingdom prepared for him? Maybe you would like to know what is going to become of that kingdom. And if you will read a little farther, you will see that Daniel said: 'But the Saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever.' And as if that were not quite long enough, Daniel adds, 'even forever and ever'".
That is what the Latter-day Saints are working for. That is the work they have to do. That is the blessing the Lord has in store for them. And there is no power under heaven that can stop it growing because it is his kingdom, and he will see it on to its ultimate destiny. It is the only time in the history of the world that God has set a work afoot with a promise decreed that it should ultimately subdue all the powers and the kingdoms of this world and should stand forever.
DISPENSATION OF THE FULLNESS OF TIMES
My time is gone. You add to this, in your own thinking, the coming of Elijah, the prophet, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord should come, because the whole earth was to be utterly wasted at the coming of the Lord if Elijah failed to come. Then add the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, the companion volume of scripture which the Lord promised he would join to the Bible and make them one in his hands. Then remember Paul's declaration that the Lord had made known the mysteries of his will, that in the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times, he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth; even in him. There has never been a program to accomplish that objective in the history of the world, so far as our records indicate, until we had the coming of Elijah with his great sealing power of binding the dead that have gone beyond, as Paul said, "for they without us cannot be made perfect, nor we without them".
Now, brothers and sisters, if your boys and girls are worried about what is going to become of them, just let them acquire in the depths of their souls a testimony of the value of being privileged to live in this the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times, when God literally has set his hand to do a marvelous work and a wonder, as he promised to do, and then let us not be like the hypocrites, "Ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?".
God help us to understand the signs of the times, I pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Ezra Taft Benson
Ezra Taft Benson, Conference Report, April 1951, pp. 45-51
I pray for the inspiration of heaven and your faith and prayers, my brothers and sisters, as I stand before you this afternoon. My soul has been subdued and my heart made tender through the passing of our great leader, President George Albert Smith. I have mingled feelings of humility, sadness, and gratitude, at the passing of a prophet of God. All Israel, I am sure, has been weeping. And yet, back of it all has been a feeling of thanksgiving for the life of this great man. The Lord said in this dispensation:
Thou shalt live together in love, insomuch that thou shalt weep for the loss of them that die....
And so it is fitting that we should have sadness in our hearts and should weep at the passing of one we love, and one whom the Lord loves and has magnified. He was a man without guile, and as President McKay said this morning, with Christlike attributes.
"A REAL MAN"
Since Wednesday night there have been going through my heart and through my mind, these lines under the caption, "A Real Man":
Men are of two kinds, and he Was of the kind I'd like to be. Some preach their virtues, and a few Express their lives by what they do. That sort was he. No flowery phrase Or glibly spoken words of praise Won friends for him. He wasn't cheap Or shallow, but his course ran deep, And it was pure. You know the kind. Not many in a life you find Whose deeds outrun their words so far That more than what they seem, they are.
There are two kinds of lies as well: The kind you live, the ones you tell. Back through his years from age to youth He never acted one untruth. Out in the open light he fought And didn't care what others thought Nor what they said about his fight. If he believed that he was right. The only deeds he ever hid Were acts of kindness that he did.
What speech he had was plain and blunt. His was an unattractive front. Yet children loved him; babe and boy Played with the strength he could employ Without one fear, and they are fleet To sense injustice and deceit. No backdoor gossip linked his name With any shady tale of shame. He did not have to compromise With evil-doers, shrewd and wise, And let them ply their vicious trade Because of some past escapade.
Men are of two kinds, and he Was of the kind I'd like to be. No door at which he ever knocked Against his manly form was locked. If ever man on earth was free And independent, it was he. No broken pledge lost him respect, He met all men with head erect, And when he passed I think there went A soul to yonder firmament So white, so splendid, and so fine It came almost to God's design.
-Edgar A. Guest
TRIBUTE TO PRESIDENT SMITH
God bless the memory of President George Albert Smith. I am grateful beyond my words of expression for the close association which I have had with him in the last few years. I am grateful that my family has lived in the same ward and has come under the benign influence of his sweet spirit. I shall never cease to be grateful for the visits he made to my home while I was serving as a humble missionary in the nations of war-torn Europe at the end of World War II. Particularly am I thankful for a visit in the still of the night when our little one lay at death's door. Without any announcement, President Smith found time to come into that home and place his hands upon the head of that little one, held in her mother's arms as she had been for many hours, and promise her complete recovery. This was President Smith, he always had time to help, particularly those who were sick, those who needed him most.
Last Monday evening at the Lion House, there was held a party for those who had served on the general boards of M.I.A. in years past under the leadership of Brother George Q. Morris and Sister Lucy Grant Cannon. It was to have been an April Fool party, a fun party, but the gathering turned out to be a spontaneous meeting of tribute to the man who, probably as much as any other who has ever lived, inspired and loved the youth of Zion. I wish you could have heard the tribute paid by dear Sister Ruth May Fox, ninety-seven years of age, as she stood on her feet and bore testimony to the worth of President Smith and the inspiration which he has been to the youth of Zion through all the days of his life.
I wish you could have sat with me the past two years in close association with the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America and heard leaders of industry, financiers, business executives, and leaders in the professions speak of the fine life of President George Albert Smith. Their first words after greeting were usually, "How is my good friend, George Albert Smith?" Many of them would add, "A man of God, if there ever was one." Then as we parted they often said, "Take my love and greetings to President George Albert Smith." He loved all men. They reciprocated that love. What an example he has set for us all, my brothers and sisters, in this spirit of love, fellowship, and brotherhood!
SAVING OF SOULS
His great objective has been to help save the souls of the children of men. You remember, the Lord said to the Prophet Joseph:
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.
The Lord said to Moses:
For behold, this is my work and my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
This is our first interest as a Church-to build character, to save and exalt the souls of the children of men. President Smith was interested in this project above all others. He realized that in the youth of Zion there must be established real character as the one thing they can take with them into the world to come; that they must prepare themselves here for exaltation. I am grateful that he had faith in them. I am grateful for the inspiration that he brought to the youth of Zion. Yes, we do have faith in them. We have faith that they will carry on, that they will measure up, that they will maintain the standards of the past, the standards of their parents and their grandparents. It often would grieve President Smith when he would hear people discredit the youth of the Church and suggest at one time that what they need is a few more models and not so many critics.
I have faith in the youth of Israel, my brothers and sisters, inspired in large measure by President Smith. I have seen them in action, as you have. I rejoice to see our missionaries go out into the world, to meet them on the street corners and hear them bearing testimony to the truth of this great latter-day work. I thrill as I see them in action on the basketball floor. I thrilled with them as they received what was probably the last telegram which President Smith sent, which went to our B. Y. U. basketball boys back in Madison Square Garden. I am stirred as I see our boys out in the service of their country, maintaining the standards of the Church and living the gospel in the face of temptation, sin, and evil all around them.
COMMENTS OF CHAPLAIN
I recall an incident which occurred shortly after World War II. With the president of the Northwestern States Mission, I was making a tour of that mission, and we were up in Alaska. While there we visited one of the camps and held a meeting with our servicemen in the little army chapel. I noted as the service progressed that sitting down in the far corner of the building at a table was a Protestant chaplain. Apparently, he was trying to give the impression that he was working, but we could tell he was listening to every word that was said in that service. This one group of servicemen led the singing, offered the prayers, administered the sacred emblems and bore testimony. As we finished our meeting and were leaving the building, I went over to the chaplain to express gratitude for the use of the building. As I did so, he said in substance, "I wonder if you realize the kind of young men you have represented here in this camp. They are truly a marvelous group of boys." Then he went on to say, "They don't need a chaplain; any one of them could take my place." I thanked him for the compliment and started leaving when he added, "One other thing. I have two boys of my own-eleven and thirteen-and you know, I couldn't wish anything better for them than that when they grow a little older, they become members of your Church and develop into the kind of young manhood I have seen represented here in your group of Mormon boys."
FAITH IN YOUTH
My brethren and sisters, it is my conviction that the finest group of young people that this world has ever known anything about has been born under the covenant into the homes of Latter-day Saint parents. I have a feeling that in many cases at least these choice spirits have been held back to come forth in this day and age when the gospel is upon the earth in its fullness, and that they have great responsibilities in establishing the kingdom. I presume that no generation has faced more serious difficulties than they face. They live in an age which seems to question all the standards of the past, and which is discarding many of those standards. Yes, they live in a period when even some spiritual leaders, so-called, point out that the question of smoking, drinking, and carousing has no relationship to salvation, that these are personal matters.
I have the conviction that these young people, if they have the benefit and blessing of the full program of the Church, are going to come through, in spite of the temptations, with colors flying in a way that will make us proud of them. However, they will need more than material things. They are going to need more than real estate, stocks and bonds, life insurance, or even democracy. They are going to need a sane spiritual foundation, if they endure, if they are going to be able to live clean and to maintain the standards of the Church. God expects great things of them. He expects them to develop into noble characters, into good citizens-citizens which may eventually provide in part, at least, the leaven which may help to save this great nation. He expects them to live clean even in a wicked world. He expects them to grow up with a testimony of the gospel. He expects these young men to live so that they can receive the holy Melchizedek Priesthood and so that eventually they can be married in the temple of God to worthy companions for time and eternity. He also expects them to know the glorious blessings of honorable parenthood and eventually to be exalted in the celestial kingdom of God.
CHURCH PROGRAM
I am convinced, my brethren and sisters, that we have in the Church the finest program available anywhere to help bring about these objectives, if our children are only put in touch with this program. I am thinking now of the blessings which come to our children in the full and rich program of the Primary. They have just held a convention here on this block. Are we missing any of our children? Is the Primary program reaching them? And the same with the Sunday School. Are our children in Sunday School? Are they being taught the gospel in the Sunday School classes? Are our boys and girls attending M.I.A.? Are our boys receiving and enjoying the rich blessings of the program provided through the scouting and Explorer program? Are they being ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood, and are they active in the rich program which is provided?
TITHING
I know that the one great reason why President Smith has been so active for many years in the scouting program is the fact that the ideals of scouting follow closely the ideals of the Church. The scouting program is not a substitute for the Aaronic Priesthood program. The most important possession that a boy can have is the Aaronic Priesthood. But scouting is a supplementary, a complementary program. It works hand in hand with the program of the Primary Sunday School, and the Aaronic Priesthood, and is an important and vital part of our program for our boys.
Scouting is dedicated to a four-fold program: First, it teaches the boy his duty to God-reverence, observance of the Sabbath, and the maintenance of the spiritual standards and ideals of his Church. Second, it teaches duty to country-true patriotism-a love for the constitution, for our free institutions and our American way of life. I was thrilled as I stood in Valley Forge last summer facing over forty-seven thousand representative boys as they saw depicted before their eyes that terrible winter of 1777-8 when Washington and his bedraggled forces all but perished there in Valley Forge. These boys' hearts were touched as they saw the father of their country leave his troops and go off into the trees in the snow and bow in humble prayer before the Almighty that this young nation might be preserved. This was part of the two-year Boy Scout theme to "Strengthen the Arm of Liberty." Third, it teaches the value of service to others-willing, unselfish service, and that the greatest among them must be the servant of all-symbolized by the "good turn." Fourth, it teaches duty to self-that they must keep themselves physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight. They must be prepared for any eventuality to serve themselves, their Church, and their country.
There is held up before them the Scout oath and the Scout laws, which focus attention on those things that are worth while-that a Scout must be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, reverent. To be a good scout he must be faithful in his religious duties. Scouting provides a program of training and experience. It is a program for character development. It is a supplementary educational program, a program of citizenship training and vocational exploration. Many boys have found their vocations through this program-through the 111 merit badges which are concentrated courses in vocational guidance in fifteen different active fields. Scouting teaches boys the crafts and the skills and to do something useful with their hands.
And so, in view of the richness of the scouting program and the fact that these ideals coincide with the ideals of the Church, President Smith has urged our full support in these words: "It is my desire to see scouting extended to every boy in the Church." Under his leadership and inspiration the Church has moved forward to an enviable position with something over 2290 scouting and Explorer units, an increase of 180 during this past calendar year. But there are still approximately fifteen percent of our boys who are not enjoying the benefits of the scouting and Explorer program.
LEADERSHIP NEEDED
One of our great needs, of course, is effective leadership. Some of our boys are not being reached by this program. Some are not being reached by the Aaronic Priesthood program. Some of them are missing the benefits and blessings of Primary. It is largely a question of leadership. Boys want the scouting program, we want them to have it; and if we have the right kind of leadership through real boys' men, they'll have it, enjoy it, and receive the blessings which come from the program. The responsibility rests with the priesthood-stake presidencies and bishoprics-to see that this leadership is provided and that every boy is reached.
And so, my brothers and sisters, we have a well-rounded program for the youth of the Church. And we are not dealing with ordinary young people. We are working with choice spirits who need the full Church program. We want them to have the benefit of this program in its fullness, that they might develop into the kind of young men and young women which the Lord would have them become. Of course, these programs are not ends in themselves. They are tools. They are a means to an end. The end is the salvation and exaltation of God's children.
But these programs are not optional programs. They are the youth program of the Church, approved by the leadership thereof. May God bless us, my brethren and sisters, that as leaders in Israel we may have the power and the inspiration to make our young people want to enjoy the full program of the Church offered through the Sunday School, the Primary, the M.I.A., and the Aaronic Priesthood program, that they might eventually meet the expectations of their parents, their Church leaders, and our Heavenly Father. God bless us to this end. God bless the youth of Israel everywhere, that they may grow and develop into sterling characters, faithful and true to this great latter-day work, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Joseph F. Merrill
Joseph F. Merrill, Conference Report, April 1951, pp. 51-52
Brethren and Sisters: To stand in this pulpit to address the many thousands who assemble here
and the countless thousands who listen to the radio broadcasts is to be greatly humbled by a
keen feeling of heavy responsibility to such a vast audience to say something that will be
worth listening to. I am comforted, however, in my humility, by the thought that Mormonism,
the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, is so fraught with precious truths that any of these we
may talk about are worthy of the attention of every one of us-of every normal human being.
But are not all Latter-day Saints familiar with these truths, having previously heard them
discussed many times? Yes, this may be the case, but if they love them, a restatement or
discussion will be listened to with more-or-less satisfaction. At least this is my experience. I
hope it is yours.
A PECULIAR PEOPLE
Mormonism, as I have just defined it, is not a Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, or any other faith
as taught by other churches. It is characterized by many teachings and doctrines not accepted
by other churches. This fact is sometimes indicated by the statement that we are a peculiar
people-something of which we are proud yet very humble and grateful for; for we believe
and testify that these characteristic teachings are absolutely true because they have come to us
through visitations and revelations from heavenly sources from God and his messengers.
It is trite to say that Mormonism is an everyday religion because it requires its adherents to
implement in their daily lives the teaching that faith without works is dead-as the Apostle
James stated it;
they must practice all those virtues that will make them Saints in very deed.
Some of these virtues, however, are considered basic to an acceptable Christian life by all
Christian churches. A statement of some of these is found in articles eleven, twelve, and
thirteen of our faith and are as follows:
"11. We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own
conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they
may" -an
ideal statement of religious tolerance, something much needed today but denied to
millions of human beings in the past.
"12. We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers and magistrates, in obeying,
honoring, and sustaining the law"
.
Loyalty to country and obedience to constitutional laws are
requirements for full fellowship in our Church.
"13. We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all
men".
It is the emphasis we place upon some of these things-chastity, for example-that makes
our moral standards higher than those maintained by some other religious groups.
PRESIDENT GEORGE ALBERT SMITH
At this point may I digress a moment to say a word of tribute to our greatly beloved departed
President, George Albert Smith. We have been friends for sixty-two years. Late in the eighties
he and I were fellow students during one year at the University of Deseret. Since that time I
have been more or less closely associated with him in Church work. For several years we
were together in the superintendency of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association in
the Salt Lake Stake, when the stake covered the entire Salt Lake County. I have said many
times that I have never known a man who I thought tried more sincerely and harder to love
everybody than did George Albert Smith. Not that he approved all people did, but the farther
off the beam they were, the more he seemed to sympathize with them because of their greater
need for help.
MORAL STANDARDS
Looking out into the world today, what do we see relative to the moral standards expressed
by these three articles of our faith? No matter in what direction we look, and not going
beyond the boundaries of our own country, we see moral conditions are bad, in some places
very bad. Wickedness of the blackest and most abominable kinds exists nearly everywhere. I
speak of these things only that we may be reminded that it is our duty, as I see it, to
minimize and eliminate indulgence in these evils among us insofar as it is in our power. But
is there not existent in many places among us a reprehensible indifference and laxity relative
to these things? Yet do we not teach tolerance and free agency? is a question sometimes
asked. Why interfere with other people's business? This is a Satan-inspired question. We
certainly are expected to defend ourselves against the marauder, the robber, the despoiler of
the sanctity of our homes and families and the destroyer of things we hold sacred and
dear-as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Free agency is a priceless, God-given right to every child born in mortality, but it does not
include the right to mar, hurt, or destroy the well-being of our fellow men. Did you read
recent newspaper statements relative to the existence of vicious narcotic rings which specialize
in the teenage trade and encourage morphine-marijuana parties of boys and girls that
sometimes turn into orgies? You have heard, of course, of the countrywide slot machine
racket, the income of which amounts annually to billions of dollars; of gambling and
horse-race betting-these being other activities where billions are lost. Evils attendant on the
consumption of alcoholic beverages have also reached an enormous magnitude. To these and many other evils are we not
more or less indifferent?
THE LIQUOR PROBLEM
The National Safety Council and other agencies repeatedly warn that alcohol is responsible for
large numbers of our accidents, troubles, sorrows, and deaths. Then why do we consume
alcoholic beverages? To what extent is this indulgence due to advertising? The brewers are
reportedly doing a good sales promotion job. Just now they are hammering at reaching a
consumption of one hundred million barrels of beer a year and are looking forward to 120
million barrels. Much of this consumption they want in the home, for it is there they can best
develop the use of beer by women and young people. So it is said, brewers are giving a great
deal of attention to the principles of store-selling. Most beer advertising is directed to the
home, exploiting the great interest in television; also extensive use is made of the pictures of
young girls on billboards. This invasion of the home to advertise beer by means of the radio
and television has, of course, met with vigorous denunciation.
What can we do about it? This is a problem that every home should try to solve. Let us not
forget the warning divinely given us in the Doctrine and Covenants and "evils and designs do
and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days"
.
Loyalty to our doctrines and
principles demands that we shall be alerted and active in keeping evils and wickedness as far
from us and our fellow men as we can. Let us not forget, but act.
RELATIONS WITH FELLOWMEN
There is another class of evils that I desire to refer to-evils that permeate relations with our
fellow men. When asked by the lawyer which is the great commandment and the law,
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord the God with all thy heart, and with all
they 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
.
We accept another statement of Jesus as being another version of the second commandment.
It is as follows:
... whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is
the law and the prophets.
In this streamlined age we call the statement of this law The Golden Rule. This rule is also
obviously implied in the thirteenth article of our faith.
To what extent to we live the Golden Rule in all of our relations with our fellows?
Immediately following the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, the price of foods and
many other things began to go up-not that the cost of production had risen so soon. Then
why? Almost simultaneously, or even before this in some cases, a demand for an increase of
wages was made by the leaders of some organized labor groups. Why? Did the Golden Rule
motivate those responsible for raises in price of commodities, or those who clamored for
increased wages?
GREED AND SELFISHNESS
Oh, but, it is said, the law of supply and demand governs these things. To say that this is true
is an outrage on the ordinarily accepted meaning of the word law as is applied to the
phenomena of nature or to enactments of legally constituted human groups authorized to make
enactments. To be plain and frank, does not the law of supply and demand mean, as practiced
in commercial affairs, "Get all you can for what you have to sell, whether it be commodities
or labor or services"? And are not greed and selfishness among the real motivating and
dominating forces operating in all our commercial affairs whether they be big or little,
whether the participants be businessmen, professional men, or laboring men?
We complain of inflation-rising costs that deflate or lessen the purchasing power of the
dollar. In the last analysis are not selfishness and greed responsible for inflation? Who in the
U.S. is injured by inflation? Everyone who has bought a government bond, everyone who has a savings account, an insurance policy, or a pension, everyone who works for wages or a salary that does not
rise, percentage-wise, as fast as the cost of living goes up,
and all other people except the very few who are paying off debts incurred years ago. Then
to avoid injuring people, should not more than ninety-nine percent of us, even as a matter of
self-interest, and more importantly, all of us who want to be honest and believe in the Golden
Rule, do all we can to stop inflation?
Our country is facing one of the most critical periods in its history. Selfishness and greed are
tearing it asunder. The devil is riding high and shouting in Satanic glee at the utter
foolishness displayed on all levels, in all grades and ranks of human society.
In this country we are rapidly preparing for war, arming ourselves with the most destructive means and implements that human
ingenuity can devise. The amazing advances made in the discovery and implementation of
the forces of nature are miraculous marvels of the modern world. These are due to the
achievements of research scientists and ingenious inventors. What advances have we made in
the realms of social science? The art of living agreeably with one another-our fellow
men-the finest of all human arts, is still in its infancy.
THE GOLDEN RULE
How can the dangers threatening America, internally and externally, and all the world, for
that matter, be overcome, and peace reign everywhere supreme? The answer is short; it is
simple. Let every human being repent and live the Golden Rule. This means to keep the two
great commandments. Then the threat of war would vanish, troubles would disappear;
wickedness would cease, and righteousness prevail. There is not a sane person in all the
world who can successfully controvert this truth. Then why do we not repent and let the
Golden Rule govern our lives? Who has the answer? Mormonism has it; you have it; Satan
has it, and he will not repent. And myriads of our fellow men will not repent either because
Satan has them in his power. So peace will not come to the earth and be worldwide until
Satan is bound. But the millennium is coming-the Lord has said it. But when it will come,
no man knoweth, for neither the day nor the hour has yet been revealed
.
However, brethren and sisters, it is your duty and mine, the duty of everyone who believes in
God and his righteous purposes to try, try, try to bring the Golden Rule into our lives. This
we can do measurably well with the Lord's help, that he will readily give to each of us if we
worthily seek it.
Let me recite two actual occurrences relative to the Golden Rule Years ago, the winter in
Cache Valley was long, and an acute shortage of hay resulted. A Church official was told by
his farm manager that they could spare several tons of hay and that the going price was
fifteen dollars a ton. The manager was told to ask only eight dollars a ton, that being the
reasonable cost of production. I told of this occurrence in the last October conference.
Another one: Years ago an eight-room house in Salt Lake City was sold on a monthly
installment plan. About two years later the purchaser said he would have to give up the
contract, not being able, because of financial reverses, to continue it, and he was moving out
into a three-room shack. The vendor asked the man to estimate the equity his two years'
payments had made in the house, the vendor telling him that the excess payments would be
gladly returned. The man insisted that his monthly payments had only been reasonable rent.
He refused to accept any refunds. Notwithstanding the provisions of the contract to the
contrary, both parties to the arrangement were actuated by the spirit of the Golden Rule.
NEED TO REPENT
I said we have several characteristic teachings and doctrines. To these we are converted, and
we readily accept them. But to implement them in our lives is something else. We are human
beings and have more or less inherited the weaknesses of the flesh among which are
unworthiness, selfishness, and greed. Further, we are so enmeshed in worldly ways of doing
things in the conduct of our businesses and ways of making a living, that we find the easiest
way to get along is to do as the world does. In so doing we may grievously sin by departing
more or less widely from the standards of the Golden Rule. To the extent that we do this, we
need to repent.
What have selfishness and greed done? They have brought on all the major wars in history,
resulting in the misery, suffering and death of countless millions of human beings and the loss
of billions of property dollars. They have brought wickedness, crime, debauchery, loss of
freedom, and slavery to every part of the earth.
NEED OF THE HOUR
Because of the things I have mentioned and several others, this country is facing a very
critical situation. What is the great need of the hour? The answer of course is, as I have
already stated, repentance. And repentance is a call that has been made from this pulpit many,
many times. Current threatening conditions are not likely to improve much unless
more-or-less repentance takes place. And while complete repentance may not be expected
until Satan is bound
,
there is one source of trouble that I think can be removed, and all lovers
of America should demand its removal-the more-or-less continuous dispute between
management and labor relative to wages, working conditions, etc. Lockouts, strikes, and mass
picketing should be outlawed. In all disputes of the type indicated, the public has a vital
interest which the law should protect. How can this be done? My answer is by compulsory arbitration.
It is unlawful for individuals to settle their differences by fighting with fists,
knives, or pistols. Courts are set up to which they may go for a peaceful settlement, and this,
even though the public may have no interest in the settlement. But the public always has an
interest in how labor-management disputes are settled. To settle peacefully such disputes on a
basis of what is fair, right, and just to all concerned, can a better agency be found than a
qualified, competent arbitration court?
Yes, the public should demand that such courts be set up.
As I see it, if wise, compulsory arbitration courts had always been functioning during the past
dozen years or so, there would have been but little if any inflation. This country would have
prospered to a greater degree than it has, and the outlook for America would be much brighter
than it is today.
Brethren and sisters, we who have covenanted in the waters of baptism and at the sacrament
table to keep God's commandments are in honor bound to be true to these obligations. I pray
that with the Lord's help we may always have the desire, the strength and the courage to be
true to our faith. This I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, April 1951, pp. 57-59
I feel humble, and also I feel the loss of our beloved President, just as you who are assembled here feel that loss. With the help of the Lord, I shall bear my testimony. I am very grateful to the Lord for the knowledge that I have of the truth of this divine work. I was baptized when I was eight years old. It was impressed upon me at that time that through baptism I had received the remission of sins and stood pure, clean, before the Lord. I had a sister who was very kind, as all my sisters were, who impressed upon my mind the need of keeping myself unspotted from the world. Her teachings to me the day I was baptized have stayed with me all the days of my life, and I honor her memory.
DIVINE MISSION OF PROPHET
I have a perfect knowledge of the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith. There is no doubt in my mind that the Lord raised him up and gave him revelation, commandment, opened the heavens to him, and called upon him to stand at the head of this glorious dispensation. I am just as satisfied in my mind that in his youth when he went out to pray he beheld the actual presence, stood in the actual presence, of God the Father and his son, Jesus Christ; in my mind there is no doubt; I know this to be true. I know that he received later the visitations from Moroni, the Aaronic Priesthood under the hands of John the Baptist, the Melchizedek Priesthood under the hands of Peter, James, and John, and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized on the sixth day of April 1830 by divine command. These things I know. The Lord has revealed them to me, and this knowledge I have had since the day I was baptized. I know that the power of the Almighty is guiding this people, that we are under covenant to keep his commandments to walk in light and truth. It is my firm conviction that every member of this Church should be able to bear witness and declare by words of soberness that these things are true, that the Book of Mormon is true, that the revelations given to the Prophet Joseph Smith are true, that the destiny of this latter-day work is true, and according to the revelations, must and will be fulfilled.
SECOND COMING
I believe that the coming of the Son of God is not far away, how far I do not know, but I do know that it is over one hundred years nearer than it was when Elijah the prophet came to the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple on the third day of April, 1836. Elijah's words point to the fact that we are that much nearer. And this ancient prophet declared that by the restoration of those keys we should know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at our doors. I have opened these scriptures to the seventh chapter of Matthew, and I want to read the seventh and eighth verses:
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
ALL MAY KNOW THE TRUTH
Is there any good reason why every living soul cannot know the truth and where it can be found? Is there any reason that any members of this Church can give why he does not know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God, and that this is his work? If we lack that understanding, we have no one to blame but ourselves. I had perfect confidence in the sayings of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ; and when he says, "Ask and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For everyone that asketh receiveth," I am just as sure that every member of this Church may know within himself or herself that God lives, Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that this is his work which he has established. We have no excuse whatever for not knowing and having the absolute faith and confidence in this restored gospel of Jesus Christ. It is our duty to know. In a revelation given to the Church many years ago, that is, in the days of the Prophet, he warned the members of the Church against false prophets, false spirits, against those who lie in wait to deceive. He gave us a key then by which we may know, but I repeat, this key, given by our Savior in his Sermon on the Mount is just as true today as it was nearly two thousand years ago. It's his word and can be accepted, can be proved today just as well as it could by his disciples as he spoke to them in this Sermon on the Mount. In interviewing missionaries I frequently ask them, nearly always do, if they have a testimony of the truth. Some of them say, "No, I do not. I think it is true, but I do not know, but I have the assurance that if I go on this mission I will learn that it is true." Down in their hearts they give an honest answer, but I think they know better than they say. However, it is the right of every baptized member in this Church to know for himself by the revelations of the Spirit of the Lord that all that I have said in regard to the establishment of this work is absolutely true. There is no reason in the world why any soul should not know where to find the truth. If he will only humble himself and seek in the spirit of humility and faith, going to the Lord just as the Prophet Joseph Smith went to the Lord to find the truth, he will find it. There's no doubt about it. There is no reason in the world, if men would only harken to the whisperings of the Spirit of the Lord and seek as he would have them seek for the knowledge and understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for them not to find it-no reason, except the hardness of their hearts and their love of the world. "Knock, and it shall be opened unto you." This is my testimony, I know it is true. I know that just as well as I know I stand here. The Lord has revealed it to me as he has to my brethren. The Lord bless you all, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Mark E. Petersen
Mark E. Petersen, Conference Report, April 1951, pp. 60-64
When the Prophet Isaiah forecast the coming of the Savior, he said this:
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised and we esteemed him not.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
DESPISED AND REJECTED
When the Savior came in the flesh and labored among men this prophecy was literally fulfilled. He was despised and rejected of men. The people did turn their faces from him, and they did go their own way. They rejected him as they rejected his teachings, and it grieved him. One day as he stood in their capital city, he said,
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.
When the Lord used that one little expression, "ye would not," he described the stubbornness, the wilfulness, the selfishness, of a people who would not obey the divine truth, but who turned their faces from him, each one going his own way.
Oh, that stubbornness! If only they could have realized what it did to them.
When he first began his ministry, he healed their sick; he even raised their dead. He fed them by the thousands in a miraculous way. But when he asked them to keep his commandments, the crowds melted away. Those who followed him were there no longer. So great was that falling away that he asked his Twelve:
... Will ye also go away?
Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.
But the people rejected him. In their blindness and in their stubbornness, as he offered to bless them and take them into his arms as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, they turned away And in doing so, according to the words of the Savior himself, their house was left unto them desolate.
WILFULNESS OF MEN
As I have read that scripture from time to time, I have often wondered about its application to us who live today. I have often wondered whether the Lord cries out to us, disappointed at our disobedience, saying, "How oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not". How many of us are stubborn? How many of us are selfish and wilful, and turn our faces from him, and would rather not obey him?
This sort of thing applies in various phases of our lives. It applies in our own homes, sometimes with our own children. Have you sons or daughters who are wilful and stubborn and selfish, and who turn their faces from you, you the loving parents who would take them into your arms and nurture them even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings? Do they reject you, these children in their wilfulness? Some of you have them, and you know how they break your hearts.
And then there are some in some in the Church who ought to know better, who have the commandments of God, but will not repent, but are wilful and stubborn. Even though the blessings of God are offered to them, they turn their faces, and each one goes in his own way. We reject God as we refuse to obey him. We must remember that faith without works is dead. There is no salvation except through the Lord Jesus Christ. He has said:
... I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me...
If ye love me, keep my commandments...
He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me...
He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings.
OBSERVANCE OF COMMANDMENTS
You know whether you keep his sayings or not. Do you observe the Sabbath day? Do you uphold the Authorities of the Church? Do you pay a full and honest tithing? Do you fast on fast day and pay a proper fast offering? Are you honest? Do you pay your debts? Are you morally clean? Do you keep the Word of Wisdom? You know whether you keep these things or not. If you do not, contemplate your disobedience and remember that the Lord calls out to you and says, "How oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not."
Sometimes in our communities we reject the Lord. Have you ever wondered about the community in which you live? Here in the state of Utah the Latter-day Saints are definitely in the majority. The Latter-day Saints have the commandments, and among them is the Word of Wisdom. Judging from our state records, do we accept the Word of Wisdom as God has given it to us? To what degree do we break the Word of Wisdom and thus reject the word of God?
EXPENDITURES FOR LIQUOR AND TOBACCO
Ten years ago in the state of Utah, eleven million dollars was spent for alcoholic beverages and tobacco. In 1950 that figure was up three hundred percent. It reached nearly thirty-four million dollars. In 1948 the figure reached nearly thirty-five million dollars.
What will thirty-five million dollars buy? The last temple built by the Church was that at Idaho Falls. A temple like that could be built in forty-two states of the Union with the amount of money that is spent in the state of Utah in one year alone, for alcoholic beverages and tobacco.
The amount of money spent here each year for tobacco and alcoholic beverages is almost identical to the amount we spend in this state for education. In the fiscal year ending June 30, 1950, $ 5,653,000.00 was spent for operating our school system and maintaining our school buildings in the state of Utah. Think of it! We spend as much in Utah for "booze" and tobacco as we spend for education! It is almost incredible.
The amount of money we spend each year in Utah for alcoholic beverages and tobacco is greater than the combined assessed valuation of the cities of Provo, Logan, and Brigham City.
The amount of money we spend in Utah every year for alcoholic beverages and tobacco is nearly twice as much as we spend for the construction and maintenance of our state highway system.
In Utah we spend one hundred times as much for liquor and tobacco as we contribute each year to the American Red Cross.
In Utah we spend two hundred times as much for alcoholic beverages and tobacco as we contribute to fight the dread disease of poliomyelitis.
About half of our state expenditure for alcoholic beverages and tobacco is spent right here in Salt Lake County. Do you know that in Salt Lake County we spend fifty times as much money every year for alcoholic beverages and tobacco as we pay into the Salt Lake Community Chest?
In view of all this, what do you think about the scripture that the Lord gives us: "How oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not?
CONDITION OF THE NATION
What about the nation? A century ago the Lord offered the American people a blessing if they would repent. In a revelation given over a hundred years ago, the Lord said concerning the American people:
... I will gather them as a hen gathereth her chickens, under her wings, if they will not harden their hearts;
Yea, if they will come, they may, and partake of the waters of life freely.
It is estimated that the total crime bill for the United States last year reached twenty billion dollars. According to the records of the F.B.I. last year, a serious crime was committed in the United States every eighteen seconds. In an average day last year, 301 persons were feloniously killed or assaulted; 146 robberies were committed: 1129 places were burglarized; 468 cars were stolen; 2861 thefts were committed.
The criminologists of the United States are of the opinion that in the last few years, a great moral depression has come to the United States.
J. Edgar Hoover, the head of the F.B.I., in speaking on March 26 of this year before a special committee to investigate organized crime, said this:
Those who engage in widespread vice activities and rackets could not long survive without their ally, the political renegade. No community in the land is contaminated by rackets and corruption without the assistance of local interests which hold law enforcement in restraint. Law enforcement officers are the people's representatives. They are not persons with unlimited power. They must obey those under whom they hold office. If they are dominated by criminal-aligned politicians, ruthless rackets and vice are inevitable.
To what extent does America obey the God of the land?
What about the world at large? In their blindness, the nations cry for peace but at the same time they reject the teachings of the Prince of Peace. The Lord spoke to the nations in a modern revelation and said this:
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.
POSITION OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
Latter-day Saints, what is your position? Are you willing to hearken unto the Lord your God who cries out to you and would nurture you and gather you together even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings? The Lord said something to you also about this:
Listen to the voice of Jesus Christ, your Redeemer, the Great I Am, whose arm of mercy hath atoned for your sins:
Who will gather his people even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, even as many as will hearken to my voice and humble themselves before me, and call upon me in mighty prayer...
For the hour is nigh and the day soon at hand when the earth is ripe; and all the proud and they that do wickedly shall be as stubble- and I will burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that wickedness shall not be upon the earth;
For the hour is nigh, and that which was spoken by mine apostles must be fulfilled; for as they spoke, so shall it come to pass;
For I will reveal myself from heaven with power and great glory, with all the hosts thereof, and dwell in righteousness with men on earth a thousand years, and the wicked shall not stand.
I declare to you in all seriousness that I, too, know that God lives. I, too, know that George Albert Smith was a prophet of Almighty God. And I know that the man who will take his place is likewise a prophet and that he holds all the keys, powers and authorities that were ever restored to the Prophet Joseph Smith in these last days.
When he takes up the reins of office here in this Church, he will preside by virtue of all the powers that were restored through angelic ministry in these the last days.
God will speak to you through him, and he will say to you: "How oft will I gather you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if ye will not harden your hearts".
May we humbly follow him and obey the Lord our God, I earnestly pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
LeGrand Richards
LeGrand Richards, Conference Report, April 1951, pp. 164-165
INVOCATION
Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thou seest that we are met here this day as family members, loved ones, friends, and fellow saints of Zion, in this beautiful and sacred building to offer our appreciation and pay tribute to the life and the labors of thy worthy servant, thy prophet, seer, and revelator unto thy great Church.
Father in Heaven, our hearts are heavy with sorrow because of the loss of friendship, privileges and associations that we have enjoyed with thy worthy servant in the past. We do not sorrow, Father, because of him, for we feel that his life has been as fine an example to thy children everywhere as any man we have known. He has walked in thy ways. He has kept thy commandments. He has labored for the salvation and the blessing of his fellow men. In this he has been unselfish and devoted all the days of his life.
We thank thee Father that his life has been such that we have been able to listen to the tributes that have already been read in our hearing this day. For these we thank thee, and for the many others that have not been read. And we pray now, Father, that as we are thus gathered together, that thy Holy Spirit may be poured out upon those who take part in these exercises, those who furnish the music, and the Brethren and those who have been asked to speak, that they may speak words of comfort and consolation, that may be an encouragement and a comfort to those who mourn most, the intimate loved ones of thy servant.
Father, as these exercises come to a close and we have listened to the tributes that will be paid, may there be added to them the tribute that each of us feels in his heart for his association with him and for his wonderful kindness and his noble example, for we do love him, Father. Thou knowest all things, and thou knowest the love we bear for him.
Father in Heaven, as he has brought honor to the name that he bears and has proven himself worthy to stand in the presence of his father and his grandfather, both of whom have occupied positions in the presidency of thy Church, we feel that nothing would please him more nor please thy Church more than that his posterity unto the latest generation of time may continue to bear luster to that name, and be worthy to bear it among the children of men and the saints of Zion everywhere.
Now Holy Father, thou hast declared through thine Only Begotten Son, "For blessed are they which do mourn, for they shall be comforted". We ask that these services this day may prove a comfort to all who mourn, that thy spirit may be present in rich abundance, that we may do honor to thy noble servant, all of which we ask, and we thank thee for all our blessings in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, Amen.
Elder Matthew Cowley
Matthew Cowley, Conference Report, April 1951, pp. 165-169
This is indeed the most humbling experience of my life, and I pray God to strengthen me in my humility, that I may give utterance to what I have to say under the direction of God's inspiration.
SEVENTEENTH WARD ASSOCIATIONS
The kindest, the most generous, the most appreciative, the most considerate, the most forgiving, the most loving neighbor I have ever known has passed on. His mortal remains lie here within a stone's throw of where he was born. North West Temple extends from South Temple on the south to First North on the north.
From my early childhood to my early manhood I lived in that area. No better people ever lived than lived within those two blocks on West Temple during that period of my life. No greater, no sweeter, no kinder neighbors ever lived than lived there.
At the head of the street on the south was the home of this man of God. At the head of the street on the north was one of the homes of his wonderful father. Their homes were properly placed on that street of good neighbors. Since the day of his birth until his passing, this man of God traveled a million miles or more abroad in the earth in doing good.
He loved the people in the old Seventeenth Ward, but he had so much love that he could not spend it all in that small area, and so God called him from the Seventeenth Ward and gave him to the world, and he went about the world among all nations giving his love and the love of God to his fellow men.
FRIENDS IN SOUTH PACIFIC
I journeyed with him to New Zealand in 1938. I know how the people of the Pacific loved him, and he loved them. When the message from Tonga was read by President McKay I was reminded that on my first visit to Tonga about three and a half years ago, I called at the office of the Prime Minister, Mr. Ata. The first thing Mr. Ata asked me was, "How is my good friend, George Albert Smith?" He said, "I have never met a grander man in all my life than that man."
When I called on the crown prince, the Honorable Tungi, he brought from the drawer of his desk an Improvement Era which he had just received from President Smith.
In all the islands of the sea he is loved and revered, and on his last visit to Hawaii during the centennial of that mission, in his last testimony to those people, he said, "It is an honor to have my name numbered among yours upon the membership records of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."
GOOD IN EVERY ONE
All those million miles which he traveled during his lifetime were used in distributing love wherever he went. Only a few weeks ago I went to the hospital to inquire about his health. On hearing that I was out in the hall he sent for me to come in, and when I went in, I walked up to his bedside and he reached out and took me by the hand, and gripping my hand firmly he said. "Young man, remember all the days of your life that you can find good in everyone if you will but look for it." The last message, the last instruction to me-"Remember always you can find good in everyone if you will but look for it."
He loved everyone because he could see the good within them. He did not look upon sin with the least degree of allowance, but he loved the sinner because he knew that God was love, and that it is God's love that regenerates human souls and may, by that process, transform the sinner into a saint.
Maybe there are sinners who mistook his love for respect. He didn't respect the sinner, but he loved him. I am sure that love found response in the hearts and in the lives of those whom he loved.
AN APPROACHABLE MAN
I have never met in all my life a more approachable man. I never hesitated to go to him for confession and for counsel, and I always received that for which I went, whether it was forgiveness of shortcomings, or counsel which I would need in the work to which I have been called and to which he ordained me and set me apart.
Truly he forgave all men. He was aware in all of his life of the commandment of God: God will forgive whom he will forgive. As for us, we must forgive all men. He could do that, and then refer the matter to God. As he forgave I am sure he forgot. When one who forgives can forget, then truly that man is an unusual man, indeed a man of God!
When he moved from the Seventeenth Ward, he just left the geographical area. He never left his neighbors. I read a letter from a man who was in the army of occupation in Germany following the first war. He was a Seventeenth Warder, and he said in that letter, "While I was on furlough in Italy, President George Albert Smith came to Coblentz to see me." He always knew where his neighbors were, and he was always concerned with their well-being.
When he left New Zealand for Australia in 1938-he spent a month in Australia-and when he came back he said, "I saw one of our good Seventeenth Ward neighbors way over in west Australia. He came down from the mining camps to see me." This man was a mining engineer.
I said, "How did he know that you were there so he could come down to see you?" And he said, "I sent him a telegram." That man had not lived in the ward for many years, but his neighbor knew where he was, and he sent for him to come down and see him.
PRESIDENT SMITH'S CREED
President George Albert Smith had a creed. To those of us who knew him, it is not necessary to read that creed because his life was the creed. All of us who knew him could have written his creed. What an achievement! What an accomplishment! To be able to write the creed of your fellow man by the life which he lived.
If it is possible that there is someone within the sound of my voice who didn't know this wonderful neighbor, who has not heard nor read his creed, I will take the time now to read it.
"I would be a friend to the friendless and find joy in ministering to the needs of the poor.
"I would visit the sick and the afflicted and inspire in them a desire for faith to be healed.
"I would teach the truth to the understanding and blessing of all mankind.
"I would seek out the erring and try to win him back to a righteous and a happy life.
"I would not seek to force people to live up to my ideals but rather love them into doing the thing that is right. I would live with the masses and help solve their problems that their earth life may be happy.
"I would avoid the publicity of high positions and discourage the flattery of thoughtless friends.
"I would not knowingly hurt the feelings of any, not even one who may have wronged me, but would seek to do him good and make him my friend.
"I would overcome the tendency to selfishness and jealousy and rejoice in the success of all the children of my Heavenly Father.
"I would not be an enemy to any living soul.
"Knowing that the Redeemer of mankind has offered to the world the only plan that will fully develop us and make us really happy here and hereafter I feel it not only a duty but a blessed privilege to disseminate this truth."
It would be easy for us to memorize this creed, my brothers and sisters and friends, because it can all be briefed into one word-love. That was his creed. And with what grandeur he has swept the threshold of heaven as he has passed with this, his creed! How his heart and soul and his virtue and strength went out to the distressed, to the unfortunate, even to the criminal. I am reminded that someone once touched the garment of the Master, and he felt virtue or strength go out from him.
Everyone in distress, everyone beset with illness or other adversity, whoever came within the presence of this son of God, drew virtue and strength from him. To be in his presence was to be healed, if not physically, then indeed spiritually.
HIS HEART WAS PURE
During the span of his life he was nigh unto death on several occasions. Many men more robust in health could not have survived the illnesses which beset him periodically during his life. But his strength was as the strength of ten because his heart was pure, and so he survived.
Men like this never die. He is an eternal being. God attracts the godly, and I am sure that the shortest journey this man of God ever made in all of his travels has been the journey which he has just taken. God is love. George Albert Smith is love. He is godly. God has taken him unto himself.
I have loved his family. I have grown up with them. I have been at school with them. All I can say now to them and to all of us is we can't honor a life like this with words. They are not adequate. There is only one way to honor his virtue, his sweetness of character, his great qualities of love, and that is with our deeds. Let us walk in his footsteps, we who knew him. We know what he wanted of us. We must never let him down.
Let us all be a little more forgiving, a little more tender in our associations with each other, a little more considerate of one another, a little more generous of each other's feelings. Let us so honor him that when we come to die we may be saved and exalted in the celestial presence of God our Father, and in that presence we will find his noble and prophetic son, George Albert Smith.
God grant that that boon and blessing may be ours I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, April 1951, pp. 175-178
I stand in reverential awe, almost breathless awe, in this auspicious moment in these services of President George Albert Smith.
A scribe came to the Lord Jesus Christ one day and said:
Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him... Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength...
Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
And then the scribe added that to love the Lord and to love his neighbor more than himself "... is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices". And then the Lord said, "Thou are not far from the kingdom of God".
Whenever I thought of our beloved President, I have always felt that he was very, very near that kingdom.
It seemed to me that every act, every thought of our President would indicate that with all of his heart and soul he loved the Lord, and loved his fellowmen. Is there a mortal being who could have loved them more?
INTEREST IN AMERICAN INDIANS
As his great love for his fellowmen began to grow into a great compassion, he saw in vision a certain whole people who went down from the proverbial Jerusalem to Jericho and they fell among thieves. He saw them stripped of their raiment and sorely wounded. He saw them deserted and deprived. He saw priests come by who saw their plight and passed by on the other side. He saw modern Levites who came and looked and passed by on the other side. President Smith determined it was time to do something constructive for these Indian people who had fallen into misfortune. He determined that it was time to bind up their wounds, and to pour thereon the oil.
He went to President Heber J. Grant,, and asked him for permission to do work among the Indian people which was granted. A committee was organized and the work began in a small way as many programs do.
These words he said in one of his talks: "I have been intensely interested in doing something for the American Indians. I have traveled through several of the reservations; I have seen the need of something more being done for these children who are growing up. It remains for us who know and feel that these Indians, as we refer to them, are our Father's children.
"These Indians are descendants of a prophet of God who left Jerusalem 600 years before the birth of Christ. I have been in their homes, in many places, and have seen their poverty, their patience, and their forbearance." And then he went on and said: "I have had an interest in those Indians, and felt the urge to help, and only within the last two or three years have I had this opportunity and power to do something." He lived to see this work grow, from an infant organization, the Navajo-Zuni Mission, to the full fledged Southwest Indian Mission with more than a hundred missionaries.
He had already seen the effectual work among the Lamanites down in the South Sea Islands, in Mexico, in Spanish America, and in other places, and now he was to see practically every North American mission with vigorous proselyting work being done among the Indians. And then he lived to see many of the 184 Stakes of Zion with intensive proselyting being done in the Stakes among the Indians.
LATTER-DAY SAINT INDIANS PRESENT
He loved to see many, many hundreds of Lehi's descendants join the Church, receive the priesthood, and their endowments, and be organized into branches, and today there are in this congregation, more than a hundred of the Indian brothers and sisters from far up in the north to far down in the south, representing the Navajos and the Zunis, the Hopis and the Apaches, the Cocopohs and the Yumas, the Utes and the Piutes, the Walpis, and many, many others.
Never before, in modern days at least, has there been in a conference, and at a funeral, such a large aggregation of Latter-day Saint Indians, and I know that if President Smith could see them here today his heart would go out to them in compassion, love, and appreciation.
VISIT TO NAVAJO RESERVATION
About four years ago President Smith made a visit to the Navajo Indian Reservation, taking Elder Cowley and myself with him. It was a missionary meeting, there being priests and ministers present from many of the sects and denominations. A hundred and fifty men and women were there. There were some disputations. Apparently some missionaries had gone to the hospital patients of other sects to bring relief and succor, and heated suggestions were made to restrict missionaries to visit only their own people.
President Smith in majesty stood up, and obtained the floor and said: "My friends, I am perplexed and shocked. I thought people went to the hospital to rest and get well. If I were ill, it would please me very much if any good Christian missionary of any denomination would be kind enough to visit me and bind up my wounds and pour on the sacred oil."
And then President Smith went on to tell them that this Church not only believes in tolerance, but also in understanding, and expressed the thought that long years ago Father Scanlan, a Roman Catholic Priest, conducted mass in the St. George tabernacle at the suggestion and with permission of one of the Council of the Twelve and the president of the stake, who were there.
That happened on May 25, 1879. The priest had complained that he had no place in which he could conduct a mass for his people in southern Utah. The suggestion came from our brethren, and the mass was held. He had said, "We have no one to sing the Mass." The brethren had said, "You furnish the score; we will furnish the singers." And Catholic mass was conducted in a tabernacle.
He also told the group of ministers that the Church had also assisted some of the Protestant denominations to get started in Salt Lake City, and in Utah.
There was a general applause from these church dignitaries and it was as though a magic word had been spoken, like the Master spoke when he said "Peace, Peace, be still". The waves of suspicion and antagonism became calm and placid.
PERFECTION OF LIFE
The Lord Jesus Christ told us, "Be ye perfect even as your Father, which is in heaven is perfect". And so to compare President George Albert Smith with our Lord and Master I do not count a sacrilege, for perhaps he came nearer than the great majority of his contemporaries to that perfection.
The Savior said, "When ye come into an house, salute it, and if the house be worthy let your peace come upon it". And President Smith was much like that. There are homes from ocean to ocean and then from ocean to ocean again who have felt the peace that a great prophet has left in their home.
And the Lord said "Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves", and we have all seen the harmlessness of this good man as well as his wisdom and his inspiration.
The Lord said "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth", and we have seen in him personification of meekness and lowliness of heart, for the Savior said of Himself, "I am meek and lowly in heart", and President Smith has approached it closely.
And then He said, "Well done thou good and faithful servant, thou has been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many". He was good, he was faithful, and he has been ruler over many, but he will yet rule and reign over the many things throughout the eternities.
Way up in the north of this Palestinian country, the Lord asked Peter and his associates, "Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" and Peter said, "Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God." And then the Lord said, "Blessed art thou Simon Bar-jona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but my Father which is in Heaven".
May God bless his memory and bless us that we may follow him in the righteous things which he has exemplified to us, I pray, and bear you my testimony also, that I also know that this is the truth, that he, President George Albert Smith, was a prophet of God and that he followed several others who were also prophets of God, and that the Gospel has been restored, and it is here for all the billions of peoples in this world. This I bear in great solemnity, and with a great love for my leader, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report, April 1951, pp. 178-181
My brothers and sisters, and friends: Under all circumstances it is difficult for me, with the words at my command, to express the thoughts and the feelings that are in my heart. But on this occasion it is particularly difficult because it is hard for a man to control his feelings and his thoughts, on occasions such as this, when he has lived and worked as closely as have I and President McKay with a great man of whom it has been properly suggested that his real name was Love.
A TRUE SERVANT TO THE LORD
He was universally kind and considerate of both of us who were privileged and honored to work with him. I fully endorse from my own knowledge and observation all of the good that has been said of him here today, and nothing but good has been said, or could be said.
There lies before us the worn and wilted suit of clothes he wore here: all that we knew and loved and admired, all that led to his accomplishments, all that inspired his love, all that helped him to live righteously, still lives, and is, and will live throughout the eternities to come: he lives, a great soul who spent his life, his strength at the expense of his health in the service of his master.
It was impossible to get him to ease up. He never would quit till he had to go to bed. Time and time again we have urged him, that he go home and rest. Time and time again he has indicated that he would, and an hour or two hours or three hours later, I have looked him up and found him still working. He could refuse nobody an opportunity to talk with him, and no one ever came to him, as has been said here, and went away empty. He was a true servant to the Lord.
HELPFULNESS OF LOVED ONES
I should like to say a word regarding the family, and particularly the two daughters, Emily and Edith. No father ever had tenderer care, more solicitous attention than these two gave to President Smith, their father. It was Emily's opportunity, because she lived in the home with him, to be a little closer to him in the sense of administering to his wants and needs. Emily has been on duty for weeks past 24 hours a day and Edith has always been at hand to help.
The Lord will bless you two daughters for what you did for your father.
The son, Brother George Albert, was not here. His lot was in other places, but as soon as he returned, he, too, did all he could to help his father as a devoted son.
While not a member of the family I should like to add just a word to what has already been said regarding Brother Arthur Haycock. No father ever had a son more devoted, more loyal, more willing, more available, day or night, than Brother Arthur was available and willing to help President Smith. President Smith could not have lived so long as he did save for the help which this good, devoted, loyal young man gave to him, and the Lord will bless him, too, for that.
ANOTHER LEADER WILL COME
But, I should like to say to the people that another leader will come in due course. Another leader will carry on. He, too, will have love in his heart for you. He, too, will live as President Smith has lived, near to the Lord, and this work, under him and under those who will follow him, will roll forward just so surely as we live.
The world expected the Church to go to pieces when the Prophet Joseph died. It did not. People thought that when Brigham Young passed, great soul that he was, that the work would dwindle and fade away. We used to hear that the Church could not survive the third generation. We are in the fifth and the sixth, and the Church still lives and grows.
So to the Saints I say, while you mourn today be of good cheer, for the Lord has not forgotten you, nor will he, and he will lead you in the future as he has in the past.
STRENGTH OF TESTIMONY
I repeat, his was a great life. He knew the truths that lie behind those immortal words of that great tragic figure of all time, Job. He, too, could say, "I know that my redeemer liveth". That was the moving, the guiding, the energizing testimony that kept President George Albert Smith going. He never forgot that, and that testimony never dimmed. It was with him as the merest youth. It was with him the day of his death, and every day and hour that lay between.
He also knew what we all know, that there will be a resurrection. The body and spirit shall be reunited to make the soul. He knew the truth expressed by Martha in that great interview between Martha and Christ at the time of the raising of Lazarus.
"Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died".
Jesus said, "Thy brother shall rise again." "I know," replied Martha, "that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day."
Then came those great statements, "I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
"And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?"
"Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the son of God, which should come into the world".
That was the testimony which burned in the heart of President George Albert Smith.
HIS WORK FINISHED
We shall miss President Smith, miss all the qualities of which so much has been said and deservedly said, and truthfully said, which he possessed but we shall not grieve, because his body was worn and torn; living, he would have been an invalid. His work, I am sure, was finished and more than once he expressed himself to me and to others that he wished to live no longer than the Lord wanted him to live. He was ready to go as the Lord desired.
He greatly exemplified those wonderful words of Paul: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith". What a summation of a life, and how true that summation is of this our beloved and departed president, George Albert Smith.
May God give to his family and to the people, for I assure you, the family, that the people of the Church mourn with you, may he give to you and to them the peace which He alone can give, the peace of which the Savior spoke on the last night in the chamber, the night before the crucifixion: "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 God give this to you, the bereaved immediately, and to us, the Saints, whom he loved so much, and to the world for which he had likewise a deep and undying love: that all of us may profit by the great example which he set, so that we, too, may live righteously, loving our fellow men that we may be with him in the times to come, through all the eternities that are to follow, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1951, pp. 181-182
In the announcements made of groups who have sent messages of condolence and sympathy, we mentioned ministers of other churches. May I announce to you today that the president of the Reorganized Church, President Israel A. Smith, kinsman of President George Albert, is here in person paying his respects to the family and is sitting among the mourners.
The family very graciously asked if I would speak on this occasion. Out of consideration to you and in face of the fact that much has been said in tribute to our departed brother, which need not and should not be repeated, I will content myself to a few words of summary, and trust that this will be acceptable to my dear friends who are members of this illustrious family.
PURPOSE OF SERVICES
The purpose of these services is to pay tribute to our departed brother, and, secondly to bring solace, and peace to the sorrowing hearts of the bereaved. We have listened to tributes, as great I think, as could be paid to any great leader.
May I now say a word about the second purpose of a funeral service: To bring solace and comfort to sorrowing hearts. This is done by three principal means.
First, in contemplation of the fact that he, whose departure strains the heart strings, has lived a useful, noble life. What consolation that will bring to any bereaved father, mother, or child.
Second, comfort in the consciousness that loved ones were true and loyal as his children and kinsfolk, and that particularly during illness they did everything humanly possible to administer to his needs, to alleviate his pain, and to give him comfort.
And third, comfort in the assurance of the immortality of the human soul; the assurance that their father is just away.
In the highest degree you children and kinsfolk should find peace and consolation from these three contributing factors.
COMFORT IN BEREAVEMENT
Secondly, and I speak advisedly here, for I have seen these children, son and daughters in action, the tender attention, thoughtful, efficient care rendered by you daughters and by Albert and other members of the family, your having left nothing undone, nothing unapplied, which might contribute to your father's restoration or to his comfort, should now in this hour of bereavement bring consolation to your aching hearts. And not only in this hour, but throughout the coming years.
And thirdly, as sure, as certain as Christ's spirit visited other spirits in the eternal realm while his body lay in the borrowed tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, so lives the immortal spirit of your father our friend, our beloved leader, President George Albert Smith. We said in the opening that we believed he is aware of our presence here today. Why shouldn't he be? Christ was conscious of the nearness of His Father when he stood at the grave of Lazarus and said, "I know thou hearest me always".
Last Tuesday night Brother George Albert Smith lifted his hand to Sister McKay and me and said, "Goodnight." That was his last word to us. Twenty-four hours later he awoke in a glorious morning in the presence of those loved ones who had gone before, and realized the truth of Christ's saying on earth, "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".
God bless his memory and bring comfort to your souls today and always, you choice children and members of an illustrious family, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Richard L. Evans
Richard L. Evans, Conference Report, April 1951, p. 183
BENEDICTION
Our Father in Heaven, we thank thee for the peace and sweet assurance that we have felt here. We thank thee for the privilege that has been ours of association with thy son, President George Albert Smith, in whose passing we have sorrowed, and in whose life we have found reason to rejoice.
Grant our Father that the spirit of love and peace and kindliness, which was exemplified by him may move increasingly among men, and that the principles of the Gospel by thy Son, Jesus Christ, to which he devoted his life may speedily move forward in the earth.
We thank thee for the assurance of life everlasting, and for the promise of renewal of association with men such as he whom thou hast taken home.
Comfort and sustain his family our Father, and as he so often prayed and pleaded, grant that we may all live so as to find our names written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Go forth with us from here with thy peace and protection, with thy guidance and direction and with renewed earnestness in pursuing thy purposes, and let the spirit of thy Son, the Prince of Peace, prevail in the earth, we pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Elder Joseph L. Wirthlin
Joseph L. Wirthlin, Conference Report, April 1951, pp. 66-71
I sincerely trust, my brethren, that I may have an interest in your faith and prayers. I feel keenly the responsibility in addressing this great body of the priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
HOSPITALITY FOR WARD TEACHERS
Last night in our bishops' meeting, we discussed the great priesthood activity of ward teaching. There was one factor omitted that I should like to draw to your attention, and that is the manner of receiving the ward teachers in our homes, Reports have come to us that in many homes there is an attitude of indifference. Perhaps the radio is on, or the television, and the proper hospitality is not accorded the servants of the Lord.
We plead with you bishops, to admonish your people to receive these servants of God with kindness and consideration. I recall about two years ago of visiting the home of President J. Reuben Clark, and as I left, there was a humble man at the door. I heard the president say to him, "What can I do for you, my brother?" And he introduced himself as the ward teacher. I was deeply impressed by the degree of hospitality that a member of the First Presidency extended to this humble man. I wish that all of us could have the same attitude and feeling towards these men that are sent to us as representatives of the bishop; extending to them the highest degree of cordiality, call the family in, and hearken and listen to their instructions.
About a week ago I was asked this question: Are the general authorities assigned subjects to discuss in general conference? My answer was "No." The individual who was asking the question said, "It seems rather odd that in all of the general conferences there is a definite theme discussed by the general authorities." And so during this great conference I could not help but observe that after Brother Romney gave his wonderful address pointing out the dangers and the feeling of insecurity, almost every speaker following him talked on that particular subject. And that subject is on my mind tonight.
SECURITY THROUGH THE GOSPEL
The other day a sixteen-year-old boy was heard to make this declaration, "I wonder what kind of a tomorrow there will be for me. When I am eighteen or nineteen, no doubt I will be drafted into the armed forces, which will mean a service of at least two years, and if there is war, it may mean an indefinite period of service." "And after that, if I'm lucky enough to come out, I want to go on a mission, and have four years at college. By the time I've done all of these things, I'll be twenty-seven or twenty-eight years of age." He seemed to express a spirit of frustration. He was down-hearted and discouraged because of an uncertain future.
I believe that we can so instruct our youth that regardless of what events transpire in the world's history, there will be in their hearts a feeling of security, security given to them through a testimony of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm sure that our youth will understand the gospel more fully if there is gospel instruction in the home, for has not the Lord declared:
And again, inasmuch as parents have children in Zion or in any of her stakes which are organized, and teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ, the son of the living God, and of baptism, and of the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of 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. And their children shall be baptized for the remission of their sins when eight years old and receive the laying on of hands. And they shall also teach their children to pray and to walk uprightly before the Lord.
INSTRUCTION OF CHILDREN
I wonder when a child is approaching the age of eight, whether or not the head of the family, the father, he who holds the Melchizedek Priesthood, calls his child to his side and gives him some instruction with reference to having faith in the Lord Jesus Christ explaining to him what repentance means, the great significance of the baptismal ordinance, wherein having been baptized their sins are remitted, and the great significant fact that when they go into the waters of baptism, they are buried with the Christ in death, coming up out of the water is symbolical of His resurrection. I do not feel that these teachings are beyond the understanding of a child eight years old.
I am certain that a child of eight years of age will understand the significance of the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. If a child has been properly taught and has a proper concept of the Godhead, he will know that there is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost in the Godhead. And this great spiritual being, called the Holy Ghost, can be so explained to a child that he will understand what the Holy Ghost is. And along with that, teach him that when the authorized servants of God lay their hands upon his head, that individual so laying his hands upon his head has the authority to do so-restored authority in these the last days. And through the imposition of hands and receiving the promise of the gift of the Holy Ghost, if that child is taught to live a sweet, clean life, the Holy Ghost will come and be his companion. I think he can understand that he will be led into the path of truth and light, that he will be blessed with a sense of perception which will give him the power to differentiate between that which is good and that which is evil. I think it would be an excellent practice to read to children the scripture wherein the Savior declared; found in John 14:16-17, including verse 26,
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another comforter that he might abide with you forever, even the spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive because it seeketh him not, neither knoweth him. But ye know him, for he dwelleth with you and shall be in you, But the comforter which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you.
If children who are about to be baptized receive these instructions, they will understand the significance of them, creating a desire to live so fine the Spirit of Truth will come into their souls, giving them the assurance, yes, more than that, the testimony that their Heavenly Father lives and that the boy of Nazareth was his son, the Redeemer of the world; and that a fourteen-year old boy who went into the woods asking for divine guidance, was visited by the Father and the Son, his prayers were answered, and they, too, can have their prayers answered. The Holy Ghost will give them a blessing of security as to the future and the eternities, that regardless of what events transpire, they will understand that their Heavenly Father rules over all for good.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PRIESTHOOD
Then there comes the time when worthy young men at the age of twelve receive the priesthood of God. I do not know of anyone who is better qualified to sit down with his son than a father and explain to him the great significance of the priesthood. Define priesthood: Point out to him that when he receives the priesthood of God, there is bestowed upon him Godly power that gives him the right to represent the Lord and to function in certain assignments when called upon to do so by those in authority. If these important lessons with relationship to the priesthood were taught to our sons, these young men would have a higher regard and respect for the priesthood.
Think if you will of the wonderful relationship in the home, when a father holding the Melchizedek Priesthood instructs his son in the ways of the priesthood who holds the lower or the Aaronic Priesthood. The Aaronic Priesthood is an appendage to the Melchizedek or the higher priesthood, just as a son is an appendage to his father. I feel that if in our homes fathers will take the time to teach these young men what the priesthood means-its significance, its powers, what is expected of them who hold it, it will contribute to the feeling of security that youth is seeking for. If fathers and mothers invite their sons and daughters to attend Sacrament Meeting with them, the sacrament meeting will become such a sacred, such a solemn, and such an impressive meeting that young people would not miss it. Partaking of the emblems of the Last Supper should be a source of inspiration and comfort to them, and the obligations they make with the Lord.
Young people should always feel impressed with the fact that Joseph Smith actually saw the Father and the Son just as plainly as I can see you. It had to be so for the world to know what our Heavenly Father is like and that Jesus Christ is his son.
Then, too, if as fathers and mothers, we are carrying out the mandate of the Lord wherein he has given us instructions to teach our youth the gospel, please invite our youth to attend fast meeting, teaching them first the significance of the fast offering principle, that they abstain from two meals, giving the equivalent in cash to a member of the Aaronic Priesthood who comes to collect it for the bishop impressing upon them that their contribution will be used for those who are in distress.
FIRST GREAT COMMANDMENT
All during this conference, and particularly during the funeral of President Smith today, the first and great commandment was referred to many times-first, to love the Lord our God with all our might, and secondly to love our neighbor as ourself. Teach the youth of Israel to love their neighbors as themselves, then they must do something for that neighbor. Teach them that whatever they contribute in fast offerings is expressing a real love for the widow, for the aged, and for the orphan. Love, after all, is something that creates and demands service. It isn't lip service, but service that goes for the benefit and the good of someone else. Teaching our children to observe the fast offering principle, contributing to those who are in need, inviting them to attend fast meeting with the promise that if they will stand and bear witness that God lives and his goodness unto them, God will reward them with a testimony. The spirit of testimony only comes through the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost, and if they desire to experience the power of the Holy Ghost, the place to go to have that experience is in the fast meeting.
I am sure there isn't a young man or young woman that bears testimony to the divine existence of God, but what they feel in their souls something that is far above themselves, and it is a gift, the gift of the Holy Ghost. Brigham Young declared that no man can testify only through the power and the gift of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, so through observing the fast offering principle and attending fast meeting there will come to them spiritual rewards which will bud into a testimony.
IMPORTANCE OF PRAYER
The Lord has admonished us to teach our children to pray. If they're not introduced to the Lord in the family circle of prayer, they will not know him. And knowing him not, they will not have faith. So one of the first and most important lessons in every Latter-day Saint home should be teaching our children to pray. I am convinced that every spirit that leaves the presence of God and comes into mortality has a spark of faith in its heart. Hence the responsibility devolves upon the parents to so teach the children that the gospel spark will burst into a flame of faith. Having faith through prayer and obedience they will understand the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and let come what will, they will know that God lives, that he will be with them, bless them, and sustain them. And I know that any individual who has a testimony of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, as Brother Romney indicated yesterday, will have a feeling of security, will have a positive, affirmative feeling and not a negative one in spite of all the terrible events that are transpiring at this time.
If the young of Israel will live the gospel they will know what the old prophet Joel said would be a reality:
"And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams and your young men shall see visions, and also upon the servants and upon the handmaidens in those days I will pour out my spirit".
And then again the Lord has said:
"Wherefore children shall grow up until they become old. Old men shall die but they shall not sleep in the dust, but they shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye".
PROMISES OF THE LORD
With a burning testimony in their hearts, there isn't any question but that the youth of Israel will accept the word of the Lord at its face value, and with the promises involved, why should they be downcast or why should they ask the question, "Will there be a tomorrow;" There will be a tomorrow for them, not only tomorrows of mortality but tomorrows of eternity, where they will enjoy every blessing that the Lord has promised the faithful, the loyal, and the devoted. For has not the Lord declared:
"And in that day the enmity of man and the enmity of beasts, yea the enmity of all flesh shall cease from before my face".
For in the day when enmity between man and beast and between man and man ceases, we shall have eternal peace.
And after we have taught our youth the gospel principles and in turn they have obeyed them, might they well feel as Paul declared to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:7,
"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind".
Paul declared to the Corinthians, in 1 Corinthians 16:13:
"Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit ye like men. Be strong".
And the strong people will be the Saints of God, who have lived his word, and kept his commandments. Finally, when these young people stand upon the heights of their tomorrow, as Joshua stood upon the heights of the promised land and looking upon it for the first time, may our young men hear that sweet, small voice which said to him:
"Only be thou strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the Eternal One is with thee whithersoever thou goest".
And in response to that voice, they will declare:
I'll go where you want me to go, dear Lord, over mountain or plain or sea, I'll say what you want me to say, dear Lord I'll be what you want me to be.
Fathers of Israel, teach your children the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in their childhood, and when they are old they will not depart therefrom, and may the feeling of security and testimony come into their hearts in the place of fear and doubt knowing the Lord lives and this is his work, which I humbly ask will be the blessing of every young man and woman in Israel, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Richard L. Evans
Richard L. Evans, Conference Report, April 1951, pp. 72-74
I had assumed a sort of immunity at this session of conference, and checked my briefcase and my thoughts in one of the outer rooms. With all respects to President Clark, it takes more than a rounding up of one's shoulders to give utterance before this congregation, and I ask for an interest in your faith and prayers as I face this responsibility.
RESTRICTED BY TIME'S LIMITATIONS
I heard some weeks ago someone ask one of the secretaries of one of the brethren-someone who apparently had tried repeatedly to make an appointment-"What it would require for a humble member of the Church to have an audience with the First Presidency." The only answer I could think of was "More time," which unfortunately we cannot extend or increase.
Also occasionally one hears someone say: "You haven't ever been out to our ward." When I heard this remark a few weeks ago I made a mental note of how many Sabbaths it would take to visit all the wards in the Church, and it would require about thirty years of Sundays for any one of the brethren to go to all of the wards and independent branches now existent. But by the time they got around that first thirty years, there would probably be another thirty years of new wards waiting for them, considering the growth of the Church.
I made another mental calculation along this same line, prompted by this same question-"What would it require for a humble member of the Church to have an audience with the First Presidency?"-and multiplied the number of hours in a day by the number of days in the year, and the number of years in an average life expectancy and found that in this life, if we are fortunate enough to live that long, we have only about six hundred thousand hours to do all that we have to do. But take from that approximately one-third for sleep, and then take another substantial slice for the years of our youth, for preparation, for going to and from, for waiting for late people and late appointments, and a good many other of the essentials, and it reduces itself down to a very limited time in total hours of life. With a Church of more than a million people, with a Church which is rapidly growing, it must become apparent, brethren, to all of us, how much more of the weight of responsibility must continually be carried back in the wards and the stakes, in the priesthood quorums, by the ward teachers, by all of the organized agencies of the Church which were set up for this very purpose and which, if functioning properly, would care for all these needs and would make fewer and fewer personal demands upon the time of the First Presidency and of the other brethren here at Church headquarters.
THE BASIS OF STRENGTH AND GROWTH
I know that these brethren, many of them, cannot extend the physical limits of their time. I know that President McKay's car, for example, is down in the parking lot behind the office at six or seven o'clock almost any morning. And I heard a request made of President Clark to attend an evening function not long ago, and heard him make the statement that he was working on the scriptures almost every night till midnight and after. And with the other brethren it is, in an approaching degree, at least, a similar situation.
With these fullest of days, full beyond filling them further, with many weighty decisions to be made, with many demands upon every hour of every day, and with time not being subject to extension, the answer is of course a great statement by the Prophet Joseph Smith, repeated by his successors, frequently quoted, and basically true: "Teach them correct principles and let them govern themselves." That's the basis of strength and growth in this Church and kingdom-provided we follow the correct principles. They are there; we have been taught them; the plan of operation is in the handbooks and elsewhere; the scriptures and the revelations are before us. And many of the decisions, I am sure, that we refer on up rather than take the responsibility of making them within the limits and scope of the offices we hold, we could readily avoid passing up, if we would prayerfully and earnestly follow the correct principles we have been taught and govern ourselves, each one according to his calling.
THE TIME TEST
About six hundred thousand hours of life, brethren, for him who lives three score and ten, minus the years of youth and of preparation, minus the hours of rest, minus many other things I wouldn't be surprised if in a man's effective career, his actual disposable time might not come down to something more like two hundred thousand hours, or even less, when all these other things are considered-which means that we must be about our Father's business and give everything we do the time test. It means that there is no time for any shabby or shoddy thing. In all that we read, in the books with which we become familiar, which we make our companions, in the entertainment to which we devote our time, in all else that we do, we must give it the time test, and as we have been taught, we must acquaint ourselves with the correct principles and govern ourselves, and assume the responsibility of the offices and callings to which we have been called.
INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY
The Prophet Joseph Smith made an eloquent utterance on this question of free agency and of the assuming of responsibility. One hour of righteous freedom on earth, he said, is worth more than an eternity of bondage. The Lord has given us our agency and our individual responsibility. We have it in the Church and we have it in all that we do. May we go forward and use our agency in accordance with correct principles, and give all that we do the time test, and relieve the brethren over us as much as we can within the line of prescribed procedure, within the line of those things which we have been taught and those things which we read in scripture, I pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Thorpe B. Isaacson
Thorpe B. Isaacson, Conference Report, April 1951, pp. 74-78
President Clark, President McKay, my other beloved brethren of the General Authorities, and my dear brethren of the priesthood, truly this is nearly breathtaking, and I feel very humble in standing here tonight. I am sure we didn't expect this tonight, and I will be grateful if I can have an interest in your faith and prayers.
Yes, this is very much a humbling experience. I wish all of you could have the experience I am now having of looking over this vast audience. I have prayed to the Lord that when I should be called to occupy this position that he should not leave me. I have prayed to him first because I believe in prayer and, second, because I know I need the blessings of the Lord. I confess to you that without those blessings and his sustaining help and influence that I am nothing.
PROPHETS OF GOD
Surely one's testimony is strengthened as he comes here and listens to the brethren, listens to the words of the Lord given to us by his servants, yes, by prophets, seers, and revelators of God, our Eternal Father. We often hear them referred to as prophets, but I am wondering, members of the Church and particularly holders of the priesthood, if we give serious thought to the full meaning of that term. I recognize them as prophets of God, I know you do but there are times, perhaps, when we pass that thought by lightly. Do you feel toward these brethren, prophets of the Lord, as you would had you known the prophets of old? I want to bear my testimony to you that I know they are prophets of the living God, I know they are inspired of our Father in Heaven in their calling. I hope you will have the same feeling burning in your hearts and accept their teachings, because they are inspired of our Father in Heaven. If as members of the Church and particularly the Priesthood, we could only have the faith and the assurance and the conviction that these brethren are prophets, seers, and revelators, I believe we would pay more attention to what they tell us. Yes, spirituality is as essential to a man's soul as vitamins are to his body.
ADULT MEMBERS OF AARONIC PRIESTHOOD
As I look into this great congregation tonight, I have been thinking of the adult members of the Aaronic Priesthood, many of them who have never been inside this building. If we could move this body of men from this building on out to the north and then fill it again and again with adult members of the Aaronic Priesthood in the Church, we could fill this building just as full as it is now, seven or eight times. You know, I'm one of those who believes the Lord loves these men. I believe their wives love them just as much as our wives love us, and their children love them as much as our children love us. If you had a wayward son, would you love him? Well, I only have one son, and I love him very much, and if he were a wayward son, I believe I would love him just the same. What makes you think that the Lord doesn't love his wayward sons?
NEED FOR GUIDANCE
Many of these men haven't the strength to get back into activity in the Church on their own power. Therefore, they do need your guidance, your encouragement and your patience; yes, I'd say they need you. They need someone to call on them, someone to come and see them, someone to encourage them and help them forsake those things that are keeping them out of the Church. The Lord has asked us to repent, he has asked all of us to repent, and then he said; If you truly repent and come unto me, and forsake those things that you're doing, or that you have done that you shouldn't have done, I will forgive you and remember them no more. But he wants us to truly repent. I believe these men would love that privilege. Well, you may say, they have the privilege. Why don't they take it? Well, they haven't the strength yet, until they can absorb some of the teachings of the Church and of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which they haven't had for a long time. They have perhaps become spiritually weak, because of habits that have kept them from church activity or for other reasons. They're not strong enough yet to put those things aside. And then you must remember that many of these boys and men have not been taught in their homes. As Bishop Wirthlin told us, they were not taught their many duties when they were young. I believe there are many fathers in the Church today, although I think they're not justified, that are leaving the teachings of their sons to you brethren entirely. If you fail, where are they going to get those teachings? Many adult members of the Aaronic Priesthood, after they come back into activity, are so delighted and so anxious that they put a great deal of enthusiasm in their work.
I talked to a brother, who is now a bishop but who was an adult member of the Aaronic Priesthood five or six years ago. I couldn't help but recognize the joy and the happiness that has come into that man's soul. I talked to his wife. She didn't have the ability nor the words to tell me how grateful they were. Yes, sometimes I think they're perhaps more grateful than some of the rest of us, after the spirit has touched their souls and they've accepted it.
WORKERS NEEDED
Someone has said, "He who knows books knows much, he who knows nature knows more, but he who knows God has reached the goal of human wisdom." Many of these men are brilliant men, in their own right, successful men in their own business, and they do know books, but they have perhaps neglected their knowledge of God. As leaders, I hope that you make yourselves acquainted with these thousands of adult members. It's too big a load for just two or three in each ward, or a dozen or so in each stake. There are many stakes in the Church that have four or five or six hundred, and some stakes with even seven or eight hundred adult members of the Aaronic Priesthood. Do you know how many men could be called to work with a group like that, a group of five or six hundred men? You can't preach to these men in Sacrament meetings, because they're not there. You don't get them into your priesthood quorum meetings because they don't come out. Therefore we must put the shotgun method away. We must now have individual contact and use the rifle method where we can go in and teach those men the principles of the gospel, the teachings that you and I were fortunate and blessed enough to have in our lives, but which many of them, not of their own fault, have been denied.
Oh, I hope that you'll somehow or other organize yourselves that you'll be able to touch at least one man. The Lord has said to us, "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! 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!".
FATHERS AND SONS
Now fathers, how close are you staying to your own sons, so that the group of adult members will not be increased? Do you fathers have close relationship with your own sons? Can your sons come to you and tell you all about their problems? Oh, I feel sorry for a boy that can't go to his dad and tell him all about his mistakes, all about his sorrows, and all about his problems. I think that that kind of relationship, in not being able to become close to a father, can only tend to bring that boy, perhaps, more delinquent than ever. I know boys will make mistakes, but oh, I feel that if they can go to their dads and talk over those mistakes with them, that those boys will be stronger and will not repeat their mistakes too many times, if they can come to their dads. Do you dare to go to bed at nights and not know where your sons are? Do you know whom they're with, or where they are, or do you know when they're coming home?
Awhile ago I was at a dinner party one night, and about eleven or eleven-thirty, the telephone rang and one of the men was called to the phone. We couldn't hear the conversation on both sides, but we could hear what he had to say. When he took his seat his wife said to him, "who was that calling?" He said, "Well that was our son John. He just called to tell us that he wouldn't be home at twelve o'clock." He told his father he was going to a waffle dinner after the show or the dance, I don't recall which it was, but he called to tell his father that he wouldn't be home until twelve-thirty or one o'clock. I turned to that man and said, "How old is your boy?" I thought he was a youngster calling up. He said, "He's twenty-three years old." I thought, what a marvelous relationship, what a marvelous thing that this boy would take the time and make the effort to call his father at a party to tell him that he would be a little later than usual.
Only that father said, "We can go home now tonight, and we don't need to worry about our children. They're going to be home at a certain time, or they're going to call us." Well, there isn't anything wrong in that kind of discipline. It isn't because it's strict discipline, it's because there is an understanding between father and son.
CLOSE RELATIONSHIP
And then, fathers, do your boys, at night, when they do come home, come into your bedroom and kiss you goodnight? Sometimes we have encouraged our daughters to do that with our wives, their mothers, but we fathers perhaps have not practiced that with our own sons. What's wrong with a son coming into his dad's bedroom at night and sitting on the side of his bed and telling him how he liked his girl, or how the party was, or how they got along tonight. Don't you think if a boy will do that, don't you think he'll go into his own bedroom and kneel down and say his prayer after he has said goodnight to his dad? Don't you think if he is that close to his dad, that he can pour his heart out to you after he sometimes stubs his toe or makes a mistake? I don't like to see any boy or for that matter any man, live with his mistakes, because I think it eats the best out of him that is in him. Oh, I hope he can go to his father and tell his father about his problems, and about his mistakes and about his sorrows. There is no reason, fathers, why we can't be that close to our sons. Does your boy kiss you goodnight? Does your boy kiss you when you leave in the day, or when you leave for a trip? Or have we left that to our wives and our daughters? I'll confess that I was guilty of that for years, but I'm happy, so happy somehow or other that I've changed that in my own life. I'm glad that I can kiss my boy when he comes around me. I'm glad I can kiss him when I leave: I'm glad I can kiss him when I return. I don't want to be denied that beautiful blessing. I recommend to you fathers that you start living a little closer to your sons, that you love them, that you are not so strict with them that they can't come to you with anything.
Well, brothers, I didn't intend to say those things to you. May the Lord bless you that you may try and stay close to your sons, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report, April 1951, pp. 78-80
My brethren: It is again a great opportunity to face you and to try to speak to you for a few moments. You who bear the priesthood of God, there is in you, and the rest of us who bear this priesthood, the greatest power and force that there is in the world. That power and that force when understood and exercised, involves the control of all the elements that go to make up the universe; compared to that power and that control the H-bomb is a mere tiny firecracker.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
There are certain great principles that underlie our existence here on this planet and that are to be guiding principles for us. First there is the great principle of free agency given to us before the world was. Because of the exercise of that free agency, Satan rebelled and has since fought from the day of the great council in heaven until now, the plan of life and salvation that was submitted by the Son and adopted by the Father. The principle of free agency is fundamental to all of our freedom and all of our living.
One of the first commandments given to Adam relating to mortal life, perhaps the first that we have record of, was to multiply and replenish the earth. And behind that great principle and that commandment lies the eternity of the marriage covenant, the creation of bodies to tabernacle spirits that our Heavenly Father created, and to bring them to this earth so that they might have mortal bodies, live according to the commandments of God, that they might in their next estate begin and go on through all the eternities in eternal progression.
Another great principle to which I would like to call your attention is the command given to Adam when he left the Garden of Eden: "By the sweat of thy face thou shalt eat bread". This is the great law of work, and the Lord has given us no greater blessing, given us no commandment that will be more helpful in carrying out his plan than this law of work. In addition to that, he gave us the gospel which has been with us since the days of Adam, in one form or another.
CONDITIONS IN THE WORLD
Now, my brethren, I wish merely to invite your attention to what is going on in the world today. The principle of free agency has been virtually blotted out among 140 or 150 millions of people, and that virus, the destruction of free agency, has been scattered over the world as if by the wind until today it affects us here in increasingly growing proportions. Our agency is being destroyed, and when it is gone then will your freedom to worship, your freedom to believe what you wish to believe, your freedom to build your own lives, your freedom to teach your children, this and all other freedoms, will go with it.
The commandment to multiply and replenish the earth is being defeated by those ideologies which are destroying the liberties of the peoples of the world because they are breaking down the marriage relationship. They are encouraging illicit relations; they are taking over the children and instructing them to that import. They are teaching children only what they want them to know for their own purposes.
Labor, we already know enough about that, even in this country-less work more pay, less work more pay, less work more pay. Men should have, the Lord intends they should have, a proper return for their labor, but the Lord does not countenance in any way my stealing from my neighbor, whether I go out and steal a horse from his barn or whether I, instead of working, loaf down in the field where my employer can not see me.
And the gospel, the standards of the gospel-well, take up any national magazine, look at the ads and, if you can stand the filth, read some of the stories-they are, in their expressed and suggestive standards of life, destructive of the very foundations of our society. Hardly an advertisement, that is an exaggeration, but many advertisements carry illustrations that are intended to suggest and do suggest illicit sexual relations.
WORK OF THE DEVIL
All of this, brethren, if you consider it, and I am only suggesting, falls into one pattern. It is the pattern of one great mind, a near divine intellect. It is the work of the devil. He is back where he was at the time of the great council in Heaven when he would have taken away the free agency of men, save them in their sins, indeed there would have been no sin; thus under his plan there would have been no development, under his plan eternal progression would have been ruled out. We would have become mere automatons, living and breathing, and eating if we could get something to eat, and breeding like animals. What are we going to do about it, brethren? I say to you again, that the power of the priesthood which we hold can conquer all of this, but we can not do it as individuals working alone.
POWER TO SAVE THE WORLD
And so I come back to my theme song in all of these meetings: We must have unity. We must work together. We must submerge our individual likes and dislikes. We must follow the plan that has been made and given to us. And if we do, then the body of the priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can work, not only miracles, but can revolutionize the world. Unity cannot be manifest nor exercised by fault finding, back biting, complaining about those in authority over us, substituting our ways for the ways which are given to us by those who are our leaders, finding this excuse and that excuse for not doing what we are asked to do. Now, brethren, I appeal to you as earnestly as I know how, and again I urge the same appeal I have made here, conference after conference, for eighteen years. Be united, united in our wards, united in our quorums, united in our stakes. Support the men whole-heartedly, fully, unequivocally, unhesitatingly for whom we hold up our hands and vote at our various conferences. And if we do not do this, then what right have we to ask the Lord to bless us.
Now I know, brethren, I am talking to people who do most if not all of these things, and when I speak as I do, I do not intend to speak complainingly. I am only trying to point out the condition of this world as it seems to me, and I am trying to tell you what I know as well as I know that I live, that the power which we have if we would merely magnify our priesthood, will save the world. May God give us the strength so to do I humbly pray in the name of Jesus, Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1951, pp. 80-83
Though Brother Clark felt a little irked when his assigned duty to direct was slightly modified, he has set a good example to us all. He did as he was told.
There are in attendance tonight, as reported, a total of 15,050 members of the Priesthood-10,250 in seats, aisles, and doorways of the Tabernacle: 300 in the Baptistry; 2,200 in the Assembly Hall; 1,000 in the Barratt Hall, and an estimated 1,300 on the grounds.
Six months ago, we were blessed with the presence of our beloved President, George Albert Smith. Tonight we are deprived of his earthly companionship. How uncertain life is. The silent, inaudible foot of time is marching on bringing each of us nearer and nearer to the end of our earthly careers. Before his passing there were a few items scheduled for presentation at this priesthood meeting, and I shall just mention them briefly before making a few concluding remarks.
MISSIONARY RECOMMENDATIONS
One relates to the interviewing of prospective missionaries by bishops. Will you please be more careful about recommending men about whose health may be a question. Missionary work is strenuous when it is done properly, and we do not like missionaries to go out and not do it properly. If there is any question about their health, please sit down and have a talk with them and tell them that their services here in the home missions will be just as acceptable to the Lord as their labors out in a foreign mission. The Lord would like them to live and serve. Do not put them under an environment that will probably aggravate some physical weakness. It is surprising how eagerly the young women and some married women seek calls to go on missions. We commend them for it, but the responsibility of proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ rests upon the priesthood of the Church. It is quite possible now, in view of the present emergency, that we shall have to return to the standard age for young women, which is twenty-three. The last few months we have been calling young women twenty-one years of age when they have special qualifications. Bishops and presidents of stakes will please bear in mind that from now on they should not recommend young women under the age of twenty-three. That is merely returning to the standard already approved by the brethren. Now, that does not mean that the young girls who have already received calls or whom you have already interviewed who are only twenty-one may not have their recommendations completed. In this connection, we advise that mothers who have dependent children, that means children who are in their teens or under or unmarried, should not be called on missions even though the grandparents are willing to take care of the children. No nobler work in this world can be performed by any mother than to rear and love the children with whom God has blessed her. That is her duty, and that is far greater than going out into the world to proclaim the gospel, because somebody else can do that who does not bear the responsibility of rearing and loving the children who call her mother.
TEMPLE WORKERS
Last evening we held a long meeting with temple presidents and out of that meeting comes this recommendation, and there are strong reasons back of it, brethren! Will the bishops please take more care in recommending members to do temple work, to perform temple ordinances. Now the great majority of those who are going through the temple are worthy, and it is a glorious work. But if one or two unworthy get into the company and make some objectionable remark or leave an objectionable sign somewhere it tends to retard the spirit and to discourage some young man or young woman who came anticipating a glorious spiritual feast.
SUNDAY SCHOOLS
Next, it has already been recommended that Sunday Schools be not dismissed on quarterly conference day. If the conference is held in the ward house, of necessity, Sunday School will have to be adjourned, but that is the only exception. The reason for that will be readily seen if I read you the following letter without giving the name.
"Last Sunday I was in X town visiting my son. Feeling that I should like to visit a Sunday School in X town on Easter, I drove there. Calling at the home of a friend I was informed that stake conference was being held and that Sunday School had been canceled. I informed the lady of the house that Sunday Schools are conducted on conference Sundays. She then called one of the Sunday School teachers and was given definite assurance that no Sunday School service would be conducted in that ward. Three women in the vicinity dressed their little girls in their Easter outfits and sent them to the Community Church."
INSPIRATION OF PRIESTHOOD MEETING
Now, just a few concluding remarks: One of our business men, non-member, who attended the funeral this afternoon, looked over the audience and said, "Look at that audience. It cannot be duplicated anywhere else in the world." I wish it were possible for him to see this audience tonight. Ten thousand men who hold the priesthood of God. What an inspiration! What an opportunity is ours to succeed in life!
Bishop Wirthlin referred to some who are discouraged. We have heard from Bishop Richards also, and others, young men now being called into the field and into the armed forces, so many young women without close companionship of young men of their age, some entered in their school and missions are discouraged. But let me just give two suggestions that will lead to success in any boy's life or any woman's life, will lead to the success of any person in the world and particularly those who hold the priesthood.
ATTENDANCE TO DUTY
The first is, attend to the immediate duty in hand. No person living in this Church can say he or she has not an immediate duty. It may be attendance at a priesthood meeting; the Aaronic Priesthood or Melchizedek. It may be fasting on the first Sunday and giving fast offerings for the poor. Do not say those are insignificant duties; it may be the duty of attending worship on the Sabbath day, either in Sunday School, Priesthood meeting or Sacrament meeting or Mutual at night; it may be visiting a sick neighbor; or it is the payment of tithing. Whatever the immediate duty, perform it. That is the first step.
Outside of the Church you have a problem before you in your business or in social or political circles. Before you take that step ahead, ask yourself whether you can justify taking it if you were called into the presence of your Father in Heaven. If you can, take it. One of our American writers, some do not call him a poet, expressed this thought very impressively:
Who does his task from day to day, And meets whatever comes his way Believing God has willed it so Has found true greatness here below.
Who guards his post no matter where Believing God must need him there, Although but lowly toil it be Has risen to nobility.
For great and low there's but one test, 'Tis that each one will do his best. Who works with all the strength he can Shall never die in debt to man.
LOVE FOR FELLOWMEN
The second great guide to success has been illustrated during the last week particularly, or last few days, more impressibly right in our midst than perhaps we have ever seen it before and it may be a long time before we see it again. It is the power of the greatest thing in all the world-love for fellow men. The poet Browning who has Paracelsus say to his friend Festus, "There was a time when I was happy; the secret of life was in that happiness."
"When, when was that?" asked Festus. "All I hope that answer will decide."
Paracelsus: "When, but the time I vowed myself to man?"
Festus: "Great God, thy judgments are unscrutable."
And then Paracelsus concluded: "The answer to the passionate longings of the human heart for fullness is this: Live in all things outside yourself by love and you will have joy. That is the life of God; it ought to be our life. In him it is accomplished and perfect; but in all created things it is a lesson learned slowly and through difficulty."
I will conclude that thought by reading to you that wonderful statement of Paul on love: "... charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever". Love suffereth long and is kind. Love envieth not, love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Love never fails".
God help us to exemplify in our lives that love which was so well exemplified, ideally exemplified, in the life of our beloved leader, President George Albert Smith, who sought to approach the love of Christ, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Stephen L Richards
Stephen L Richards, Conference Report, April 1951, pp. 85-88
The responsibility which comes to one who is invited to participate on Columbia's "Church of the Air" program is very considerable. This occasion is projected as a period of worship-an invitation to the whole nation, who will listen in, to pause in secular pursuits and contemplate the ways of God. To stimulate such spiritual reflection is a task I approach with the deepest humility for I am aware of the fact that it is the spirit in man, rather than the mind, which must be touched to bring divine worship into his soul.
ESSENCE OF WORSHIP
If you and I, my friends, were together in an assembly-not too large, the task would be easier. Our personalities would react on each other; we would say, "We could feel of each other's spirit," and perhaps a bond of common interest could be established among us. May it not be that this "feeling of each other's spirit" is of the very essence of our joint worship?
It is true that declaration of the Word and exhortation have their place-an important place in religious services, but I doubt if there is anything which contributes more to our spiritual uplift, and our good resolutions too, than the stimulus of association of kindred spirits.
I believe God planned that it should be so. We are all His spirit children in antemortal life. We come to earth "to be tabernacled in the flesh." In earth life we are, in large measure, the creatures of our environment, but we never entirely lose our spiritual investitures. Perhaps Shakespeare had something of this in mind when he made one of his famous characters say, "There is a divinity that shapes our ends, rough hew them how we will."
KINSHIP OF SPIRITS
We are told that the Spirit of God always strives with men and it is the spirit in man which responds to the extent to which the sensitivity of the spirit has not been drugged or killed by ignorance or by infraction of His laws. It is doubtful, my brethren and sisters in the family of our Eternal Parent, that anything is more important and vital to peaceful association in the world than a recognition and acceptance of this kinship in the spirits of men.
Herein lies a solid, understandable foundation for the spiritual brotherhood of the world. It has always seemed to me most difficult to establish fraternity without paternity. Surely those who acknowledge the Omnipotent God to be the Creator of the Universe, should find no difficulty in according to Him His place of distinction as the Father of all men-"Our Father who is in heaven". How else could He be "Our Father" except as the progenitor of our spirits, the begetter of that part of us which is deathless and immortal?
How regrettable it is that man, seemingly oblivious to this honorable and sacred relationship, should profane His holy name and blaspheme Christ. Do you think that a son can damn his father and love him?
FATHERHOOD OF GOD
Some may say this procreation of spirits is too realistic, involving an assumption of personality in the Father inconsonant with the ethereal nature sometimes ascribed to Him. Don't you think, my friends, that we can safely rely on the recorded words of His Son, our elder brother, and the prophets in the interpretation of this all-important relationship of man to God? To those acquainted with the Scriptures there is no need for quotations, they are filled with references to the veritable fatherhood of God and support for a divine personality which, in terms of human understanding, can be conceived only as one in whose image we are created.
It is doubtful if there are any people in the world today who retard more seriously the progress of humanity in finding solutions for the world's problems, particularly the one of living together in peace, than those who deny and teach denial of the personality of God and His fatherhood of the spirits of men.
By so doing, they rob brotherhood of its firmest prop, they rob man of the dignity of a noble lineage, and they take from him the most impelling incentives to live to be worthy of his inheritance and to come back again into the eternal presence of the author of his life. I do not see how it is possible for men of religion to do much for this sorry world unless they can establish and re-establish this fundamental doctrine of the veritable fatherhood of God.
SOVEREIGNTY OF SAVIOR
I grant that good may come, and does come, from teaching and extolling the attributes of Deity, and particularly the virtues emanating from the life and ministry of the Savior of the world. His incomparable teachings to be most effective, must be authentic. We cannot consistently worship at the shrine of the attributes and deny the sovereignty of the King. The Lord is a teacher, a persuader, and a guardian, but He is first of all a-creator and a lawgiver, and the Supreme Judge of all. He is not only the exemplar of right: He is the author and the source of right. There is no right that is not compatible with His law and His will. To know His mind and His will should be the quest of every life.
SPIRITUAL NATURES
It is ordained that man should have joy. Joy and happiness are truly achieved where living conforms to law-divine law. Divine law is spiritual in origin and application; its constraints and rewards are likewise of a spiritual nature. That is why, if we are to have joyful living, we should be ever conscious of our spiritual natures and our lineage with the Father.
We keep alive this consciousness in prayer and spiritual exercise. Spiritual association is of immeasurable value in spiritual growth. Not infrequently you hear a man say, "I don't need to go to church. I can worship in nature and in the works of creation."
Such a man discounts the value of religious association, the commingling of spirits and the interaction of personalities. I believe that man has divine attributes emanating from divine lineage. The Spirit of the Father is distributed through the Universe, and influences all life and all things.
There is a spirit in man which, within the limitations of his contacts in life, radiates from him and touches the lives and things about him. This spirit may be called personality. Whatever it is called, it exists and it is a potent force. When once set in motion it cannot well be controlled, but fortunately it is within our power to determine the characteristics which go into the structure of our lives and thus determine the influences and radiations which come from us. Our living will mold these characteristics into our lives.
I am well aware that these are commonplace statements. There is no novelty in them. Where, my friends, is there novelty in the Word of God? The only place I have been able to discover any failure in the Word is in the novelty of man's interpretations. The Word of God is not difficult to understand. It is the words of men about God that perplex us.
RESPECT FOR DIVINE LAW
The greatest of all knowledge is to know God, and the greatest achievement of all life is to so live that the Father can bestow His highest blessings on us. The spiritual laws of the Universe are just as inexorable as are the laws of Nature. Every blessing is predicated on obedience to the law.
This applies to a nation as well as to an individual. There can be no spiritual growth in a nation which does not respect divine law, and all nations will die without spiritual growth. Material prosperity alone will not suffice and will not endure. The measure and manifestation of spiritual growth is goodness. So, my good friends, the worship of this hour, and all true worship, is rededication of self and life to goodness.
We all know how much the world needs that dedication today, but I know of no way of carrying forth the process of spiritual regeneration except that which seems a painfully slow method of each person touching the spirit of another with the radiation of his own innate goodness. The only thing that our country has to fear is spiritual disintegration within ourselves.
ABSENCE OF SPIRITUAL KINSHIP
I had a striking example of the absence of and the need for the recognition of spiritual kinship in man a few months ago as I traveled through the countries of Lebanon, Syria, and Trans Jordan to Arab Jerusalem. I have never seen before, except perhaps in East Berlin, such suspicion, distrust, and enmity written on the faces of men. To an American accustomed to cordial greetings and friendly smiling faces, although sometimes a bit clouded with aloofness and pretended snobbish indifference, it was a distinct shock to see human nature so perverted in the relations which men in the Lord's providence bear to each other.
This perversion was particularly noticeable and regrettable in Jerusalem, the very land where the Savior spent much of His earthly life and performed His transcendent mission. The intense and cruel animosities built up between the peoples of this so-called Holy Land were a most painful refutation of everything that was taught and practiced by the Prince of Peace. I could not discover even a vestige of adherence to His marvelous doctrine which He left with His disciples in that loving declaration, "Except ye are one ye are not mine".
REMEDY FOR SICK WORLD
Do you think, my friends, that such a sickly spiritual world can be cured by the mere external application of economic salves? I know we all wish and pray that the underprivileged and distressed peoples of the world might have food, raiment, and shelter: and I believe that most of us are willing to sacrifice to that end.
I saw the dire need for relief in the terrible conditions prevailing in the camps of Palestinian refugees around the big cities of the Near East, but I am just as sure as that I speak to you this day that there is one, and only one remedy which can bring complete recovery-and that remedy is of the spirit. I give first place in such remedy to the teachings of the Lord, some of which I have tried, very inadequately, to outline for you today.
The Lord keep us humble, free from arrogance and self-sufficiency. May we never forget that He is the Father of our spirits that our lineage is noble, that life is not cheap, and that the kinship of spirits is the foundation of brotherhood. We long for peace; we pray for the enduring peace of goodness in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1951, pp. 92-98
Brethren and sisters, I deeply sense my inadequacy in trying to express in words the message I have in my heart this morning. I earnestly pray therefore for your sympathetic mental attitude and particularly for your spiritual support.
TESTIMONY OF REDEEMER
"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".
Thus was spoken the heartfelt assurance of Job, expressed in humiliation when everything else was taken from him and even his body utterly wasted in affliction.
If a few more million men in the world could feel that testimony-the testimony of the reality of our Redeemer-selfishness would be less manifest, war among nations would be eradicated, and peace would reign among mankind. Do you believe that, my fellow workers?
"What think ye of Christ?" was the question Jesus put to a group of Pharisees when they, with scribes and Sadducees, sought to entrap, to confound the Great Teacher by asking him entangling questions. He silenced the Sadducees in their attempt to ensnare him with regard to paying tribute to Caesar. He satisfied the scribes regarding the first and great commandment. Now he put to silence the Pharisees regarding their anticipated Christ.
To this congregation, to the Church, and to the world, I repeat this question as being the most vital, the most far-reaching query in this unsettled, distracted world.
CONTRIBUTIONS OF GREAT MEN
Great minds in all ages who have contributed to the betterment of mankind have been inspired by noble ideals.
History is replete with men who, as Wordsworth expresses it, "By the vision splendid, were on their way attended." There is John Milton, for example, inspired with a desire as a boy of twelve to write a poem that would live for centuries. As a result, the world has Paradise Lost, and later in life, though blind, the poet as he approached the closing moments of his life, exclaimed: "Still guides the heavenly vision." Sir Walter Scott, as you know, wrote almost day and night to pay off a debt for which he was not really responsible.
George Washington, guided by the desire to build a noble character and to be of service to his country, cried: "I hope I may always have firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider to be the most enviable of all titles-the character of an honest man." Abraham Lincoln's lofty soul, expressing himself thus: "with malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nations wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."
These and others who live to their best are the men "who realize in daily life their luminous hours and transmute their ideals into conduct and character. These are," continues the writer, "the soul architects, who build their thoughts and deeds into a plan: who travel forward, not aimlessly, but toward a destination; who sail not any-whither but toward a port, who steer not by the clouds, but by fixed stars. High in the scale of manhood these who ceaselessly aspire towards life's Great Exemplar."
HIGHEST OF ALL IDEALS
But let me explain again, the highest of all ideals are the teachings and particularly the life of Jesus of Nazareth, and that man is most truly great who is most Christlike.
What you sincerely in your heart think of Christ will determine what you are, will largely determine what your acts will be. No person can study this divine personality, can accept his teachings without becoming conscious of an uplifting and refining influence within himself. In fact, every individual may experience the operation of the most potent force that can affect humanity. Electricity lightens labor in the home, imprisons alike on a disc the warbling tones of the mockingbird and the convincing appeal of the orator. By the turn of a switch, it turns night into day. The possibilities of the force resulting from the breaking up of the atom seem to be limitless either for the destruction or the blessing of life. Other and greater forces are already glimpsed.
THE MAN OF GALILEE
None, however, is so vital, so contributive to the peace and happiness of the human family as the surrendering of our selfish animal-like natures to the life and teachings of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. George R. Wendling in The Man of Galilee confirms this thought as follows: "Believe it! The most wonderful work in all the world is not to take iron, steel, and brass and make a locomotive nor is it to take gold and diamonds and cog-wheels and make a watch; nor is it to take canvas and colors and brush and paint an Angelus; nor yet is it to take pen and parchment and write an Iliad or Hamlet, but an infinitely greater work than all is to take an ignoble, cruel, impure, and dishonest being and transform him into an upright, gentle, noble, and pure man. Here we touch the creative power of the Galilean-and bow before the mystery.
"Here we find the crowning glory of all the evidences, attested by millions of intelligent men and women, the fact, mysterious but not illusory, that His very presence is found, is realized, is verified, and that He is as helpful, as vital, and as inspiring now as when the matchless Beatitudes fell upon the ears of a listening multitude two thousand years ago."
PETER AND PAUL TRANSFORMED
Peter, the chief Apostle, is a striking example of this transforming power. He was a humble, reputedly a rough, uncultured fisherman to whom Jesus of Nazareth became an inspiration. The vision that bade him say, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God", became the guiding light of his life. Conditions occasionally made him falter, but he regained the lightened pathway. Bigots scoffed at him; religious zealots, political charlatans arrested, imprisoned, and shackled him as a dangerous enemy to society, but the heavenly vision lightened the darkened dungeon, burst open prison doors, struck off the fetters that bound his wrists, as well as his wavering soul, and gave him courage and strength to face his accusers with the sublime testimony: He "whom ye crucified, Jesus Christ, is the only name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved". Only a comparatively well-to-do man, making a fairly good living by fishing of whom the world would never have heard had he not been inspired by a testimony of the divine mission of the Man of Galilee-just a humble fisherman, who, by the light of that inspiration to him and to other members of the Twelve, and disciples, "many of the world's loveliest things have been created, many of the world's finest minds inspired."
Another good example is Paul, a contemporary of Peter, whose early life and teachings were entirely different from those of the fisherman, but who, when the vision of the Risen Lord pierced his prejudiced mind, was inspired throughout the remainder of his days by one guiding thought expressed on the occasion of his great vision: "Lord, what wouldst thou have me do?".
Paul, as Peter, had his hours of discouragement. Pride sometimes perturbed him, and conformity to church authority was occasionally difficult. He, too, was mobbed, beaten, and imprisoned, put in stocks in a dungeon, but the heavenly vision of the Risen Lord ever guided his footsteps.
EXAMPLE OF JOSEPH SMITH
May I remind you also of the Prophet Joseph Smith, who declared: "... I had actually seen a light, and in the midst of that light I saw two Personages, and they did in reality speak to me; and though I was hated and persecuted for saying that I had seen a vision, yet it was true; and while they were persecuting me, reviling me, and speaking all manner of evil against me falsely for so saying, I was led to say in my heart: Why persecute me for telling the truth? I have actually seen a vision; and who am I that I can withstand God, or why does the world think to make me deny what I have actually seen? For I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew 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".
Through railings, scoffings, mobbings, arrests, imprisonments, persecutions that led to martyrdom, Joseph Smith as Peter and Paul before him, ever strove to the utmost of his ability to follow the light that had made him a "partaker of the divine nature".
INFLUENCE OF SAVIOR'S MISSION
I quote these three outstanding leaders in the realm of religion to show how the assurance of the divine mission of our Lord and Savior not only transformed their personal lives to a greater or less degree, but also influenced for good the entire world.
Since man's first advent on earth, God has been urging him to rise above the selfish, groveling life of the purely animal existence into the higher, more spiritual realm. After several thousand years of struggling, mankind even now but dimly recognizes the fact that the greatest of the world's leaders are those who most nearly approach the teachings of the Man of Galilee. This is psychologically sound, because the thoughts a man harbors determine the realm in which he serves. "Be not deceived," writes Paul to the Galatians, "God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting".
GREAT WORLD DRAMA
At the moment there is being enacted a great world drama, the final act of which we can only dimly surmise. In Korea, one of the bloodiest wars of modern times is raging. But here is a singular thing. Engaged in it are soldiers from South Korea, United States, Great Britain, France, Turkey, Greece, Netherlands, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Thailand, the Philippines, South Africa, and one or two other nations-all enlisted under the United Nations' banner.
Political relationships leading up to their fighting as an international army need not concern us this morning, but there is one significant fact most worthy of attention: Battling for the same cause are Buddhists, followers of Confucius, Moslems, and Christians. Opposed to these are Communists, openly avowed to be anti-Christ. Two hundred twenty-nine thousand casualties are already reported in this conflict! It would almost seem to be the beginning of the great battle of Armageddon.
More destructive to the spreading of Christian principles in the minds, particularly of the youth, than battleships, submarines, or even bombs, is the sowing of false ideals by the enemy. Particularly, during the last five years Communist Russia has gained for the time being conquests over the satellites under her domination, including China, and is now threatening Japan by sowing seeds of mistrust in the body politic.
Misrepresentation, false, propaganda, innuendoes soon sprout into poisonous weeds, and before long the people find themselves victims of a pollution that has robbed them of their individual liberty and enslaved them to a group of political gangsters. Let us draw a lesson from this.
THOUGHTS DETERMINE DESTINY
So it is with evil thoughts that may be permitted insidiously to enter and to find lodgment in the human mind. Thoughts harbored determine destiny.
"My spirit," says the Christ, "will not dwell in unclean tabernacles". The corruption that is in the world through lust, as mentioned in one of Peter's epistles, has its source in thoughts and schemes harbored in the individual mind. A man who takes advantage of his neighbor in a business deal when the opportunity offers has prepared himself for the occasion by dishonest thinking. Young couples do not lose their chastity, named by the Book of Mormon as "precious above all things", without their having previously in thought justified the act.
The husband who coolly turns from a loyal wife and family and seeks illicit relationships elsewhere, perhaps with a disloyal wife of a neighbor, has previously poisoned his soul with immoral ideas. Disgruntled members of society, faultfinders in wards and stakes, do not become such merely because of some offense, real or imagined. What they say and do have been preceded by selfish desires or unattained ambition.
CORRUPTION FROM WITHIN
I mentioned Communism in its war against individual liberty and free enterprise as surreptitiously sowing poisonous seeds within the body politic. It is also from within, morally speaking, that our cities become corrupt, not from outward, open assaults on virtue, but from insidious, corrupt actions of trusted individuals. Our government, as you know, has recently uncovered a gambling ring that covers a twenty billion dollar business in vice. Many large cities in the United States are connected with it and contaminated by it.
Too many of these city officials license darkened rooms wherein men and women, and not infrequently teenage boys and girls, may guzzle beer and whiskey and indulge in other vices sought by persons of low ideals. For the permission and perpetuation of such dens of iniquity in our cities, the public is not entirely free from blame. However, those who are elected to office-commissioners, peace officers, trusted servants of the people-are most directly responsible.
Generally speaking, these men are honest in their intentions and actions to enforce the laws and if possible to eradicate, at least to reduce to a minimum, the evils upon which the underworld thrives. One or two, or a half a dozen unprincipled men, however, can frustrate the most earnest efforts of the upright officials. For example, officers informed that minors are permitted to enter a certain "joint" will find when they get to the place that the proprietor has been "tipped off" and seemingly everything is within the law.
If and when appreciation for such "tips-off," and other favors, is expressed in secretive payments of money, those participating in the graft may meet in a room, a club, or in a private residence, ostensibly to play a social game of poker and under this guise divide their ill-gotten gains. Thus do our cities, as individuals, become corrupt from within.
Such exploitation of the poor unfortunates whose thoughts and desires lead them only to gratify their appetites, indulge their passions to exist by deceit, cunning, and crime, are among the corruptions that Peter says "are in the world through lust".
Let us always remember that, "There is no vice so great but we can kill and conquer it if we but will."
CHRIST OUR IDEAL
Christ came to redeem the world from sin. He came with love in his heart for every individual, with redemption and possibility for regeneration for all. By choosing him as our ideal, we create within ourselves a desire to be like him, to have fellowship with him. We perceive life as it should be and as it may be.
The chief apostle Peter, the indefatigable Paul, the Prophet Joseph Smith, and other true followers of the Risen Lord recognized in him the Savior of the individual, for did he not say, "This is my work and my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man?" -not the sacrificing of the individual for the perpetuation of the socialistic or communistic state.
Members of the Church of Christ are under obligation to make the sinless Son of Man their ideal-the one perfect being who ever walked the earth.
Sublimest Example of Nobility Godlike in nature Perfect in his love Our Redeemer Our Savior The immaculate Son of our Eternal Father The Light, the Life, the Way
I know he lives and his power is potent: that he is the Son of God, and that he has restored in this dispensation the complete plan of salvation. God bless us all that we may hold him as our ideal and pray for power to be like him, I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder John A. Widtsoe
John A. Widtsoe, Conference Report, April 1951, pp. 98-102
My dear brethren and sisters, I am always glad to bear testimony to the faith within me. Yet I confess that standing before such an audience, I feel a sobering effect. Brigham Young felt it in his day. He declared that since we are all children of God, there is within each one of us a part of God's very nature, and that to stand before a great group of Latter-day Saints, the accumulation, so to speak, of their godliness, lifts a man to a feeling that he stands before the great dignity of the Maker of us all.
I have listened with great interest to the messages of this conference. We have had a good time together. I know we have all been touched by the eloquent words just spoken by President McKay. He has touched the very center of our spiritual being, of our membership in the Church of Christ.
KINDNESS OF GEORGE ALBERT SMITH
During the events of the last few days, many memories have crowded in upon my mind. In a late afternoon of a warm, sultry day in August or September, I sat in my office rather tired after the day's work. The University of Utah had had internal dissensions which had been fanned by enemies into a nationwide scandal. I had been called in to assist others who were trying to return the institution and its work to a normal condition. It was the third time in my life that I had been obliged to serve my state in such a capacity. I was weary. Just then there was a knock upon the door, and in walked George Albert Smith. He said, "I am on the way home after my day's work. I thought of you and the problems that you are expected to solve. I came in to comfort you and to bless you."
That was the way of George Albert Smith. Of the many friends I have throughout the state and beyond, he was the only one, except a few of my intimate friends, who took time to give me the loving help in the work I had to do. Of course I appreciated that; I shall never forget it. We talked together for awhile; we parted, he went home. My heart was lifted. I was weary no longer.
You see, love, of which we have spoken so much during this conference, is not a mere word or a sensation within. To be a worthy love, it must be brought into action. President Smith on that occasion did that. He gave of his own time, his own strength, to me. I hope that those of us who have attended this conference these last few days will understand that the test of love is whether the person who loves gives of himself, of his powers, to the loved one. There is no true love unless that is done. The husband must give of his own self in a large sense, to the wife he loves; and she must give of herself surrender perhaps, for him, the things that she would like to keep and have. Parents and children must have the same relationship. There is no true love without sacrifice for the loved one. Since we have spoken so much about love, perhaps we might keep that in memory.
THEME OF ADDRESS
Shortly before the death of President Smith, I heard one of his addresses, perhaps it was his last, I am not quite sure. He chose as his theme, the unhappy condition of the world at the present time. He laid down a principle which I believe to be correct and inspired, that there will be no peace, no final solution to the world's problems, until this body of people, comprising the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, cleanse themselves, accept the doctrines of the Lord Jesus Christ, spoken of so beautifully this morning, and set to work to battle for righteousness and for truth; only then can we hope for peace. He admitted that of course it was a tremendous claim, but the claim is eternal. Truth is always the winner, truth is never defeated. In the words of the old poet: "Truth crushed to earth will rise again." He left on that occasion the message to me and to others that we must cleanse our hearts, as said here today by President McKay. We must gather up our courage, and we must set forth to battle for righteousness in the world. Then, just as a leaven leavens the lump, so we shall leaven the whole world. A tremendous mission, isn't it? Tremendous to think about-that this handful of people have within themselves the power, if properly used, to change the whole world for good or for evil.
EXAMINATION OF TESTIMONIES
I have felt on many occasions, especially after that sermon, that what we need to do, each one of us, is to begin to examine our own testimonies of the truth. After all, with our testimonies as our chief weapon, we go out to battle evil. We speak of a testimony, yes; we say we have a testimony-but is the testimony of a kind that will enable a man to accept and obey the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ under any and all conditions? It might be good for us Latter-day Saints to begin to re-examine our own testimonies. A man who goes into battle cleanses his sword, looks after his gun, and he is ready for the battle when it comes. We are in the midst of a great battle today, the battle of the ages, foretold by prophets throughout the long ages of the past. We must begin with a certain understanding of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and a willing, ready acceptance of it, as indicated by President McKay. There is no other way. But have we done that? Have we looked into our own hearts, to our testimonies, and added that which is wanting, taken out that which is unworthy? We should be fit for the battle.
In the words of President Smith, we, like the leaven, shall leaven all people. His life of love was merely an illustration of that larger view of the concern of all who follow the Christ.
A UNIQUE PEOPLE
I think that we Latter-day Saints can afford to be a unique people. Once in awhile I meet a young person, sometimes an older person who says, "Well, that may all be true, but I don't want to be different from other people. I want to be like other people. Why can't we be like the others? It's so much easier then to go through life."
But we can't help it, my brethren and sisters, if we are different. We are different-in righteousness, in virtue, in the teachings of the eternal gospel-we are different. We can't escape it. If our testimonies are sound and true, we know that we cannot be like other people unless they, too, accept the truth as we possess it.
I don't know of a figure in the last two thousand years who was more different from the mass of humanity, the millions of men and women, than the Prophet Joseph Smith. He stands alone, unique-the only such religious leader in two thousand years, since the days of the Christ. He received his commission from God himself: he was instructed by God himself; he spoke at one time with God himself. No other man in the midst of the great apostasy from simple truth has ever been able to make that claim. And we know it to be true. Of course we are a different people. Since I mustn't take too much time today-many of us are yet to speak-let me say to you that we have the right, in searching our testimonies, in getting them ready for this great battle, to remember that a testimony is a living thing, not a static, dead thing-it is alive and sometimes fills a man and a woman until the visions of heaven are opened to him or to her. By that token of life, a testimony must be fed, cared for and nurtured, kept in its right place and position, protected if needs be. In doing that, we have the right and the need to take all evidences that lie about us, all evidences of the truth of this great latter-day work. The Lord himself told us so to do. We may read in the Doctrine and Covenants, section twenty, when the foundations of this Church were laid, when our Church constitution, so to speak, was written, that by the evidences that lie all about us we shall be judged. Joseph Smith set up evidence after evidence of the reality and truth of all that he said and did.
WITNESSES TO PROPHET'S WORK
I am thinking of one great argument in favor of Joseph, debated and talked about for over a hundred years: He had witnesses, human flesh and blood witnesses, such as we are, of his work. He was alone in the grove when the first vision came; he was alone when Moroni called; the Church had not then been organized, hardly begun. But from that time on, almost everything he did of a spiritual nature, his communions and communications with the Almighty and divine beings, were shared by him with others. It is really a wonderful thing. The great spiritual leaders of the last two thousand years have gone into the woods, fasted and prayed, and come back with these messages, alone. They have gone into caves-Mohammed, for example-always alone. But this great latter-day prophet, after the beginning of the work, had companions who shared with him his great experiences. Twelve honorable men of unquestioned probity saw the plates of the Book of Mormon; when the priesthood was restored by John the Baptist, Oliver Cowdery, an honest man whose integrity has never been questioned, received the priesthood with Joseph. When Peter, James, and John came to give the higher priesthood, Oliver Cowdery was there. When the great messages in the Kirtland Temple came, which we frequently overlook in their greatness, Oliver Cowdery was by his side. When the message that men shall be judged by their works-a tremendous doctrine in that day of apostasy-was given, Sidney Rigdon was with the Prophet Joseph Smith. And other men, ancestors of some of you men who are here today, were in the room with the Prophet time and time again when the revelations of God came to him. Some of them have described in writing how it occurred.
We don't stand alone. We have witnesses to our faith. We are a unique people. All about us are witnesses to the truth of this great latter-day work. It might be well in building our testimonies to begin with the simple foundation-events. Ultimately we will then win that greater testimony, the testimony of the spirit which is the testimony, but which we must achieve little by little, in a natural manner that the Lord has prescribed:
A WORLD MESSAGE
So brethren and sisters, let us look into our testimonies. Are they just words on our tongues, or do they really represent our convictions? If they need mending, mend them; if they need building, build them. Remember that our message is a world message-I have said before from this stand that we are not confined to these valleys and mountains-our message is for the whole world. For every nation, every tongue, and every kindred, we have responsibility.
God bless us and be with us, not only in our search for truth, but also in our use of truth, for the accomplishment and the completion of the great purposes of the Lord in these days, I pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Matthew Cowley
Matthew Cowley, Conference Report, April 1951, pp. 102-103
I have been thinking, my brothers and sisters, since the meeting of the Twelve in the temple on Thursday, of the words of the Master when he was about to take his departure from the Twelve, and he said unto them:
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.
QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES
As this Council of Twelve met in the upper room of the temple on Thursday, the Spirit of God bore witness to my spirit that Christ was saying there to the Twelve: "... and, lo, I am with you always even unto the end of the world." And where there is no Quorum of Twelve in God's ministry upon the earth, Christ is not there as the leader of his Church and his kingdom. This testimony has sunk deep into my heart since that meeting and during this conference which has been presided over by the Council of the Twelve with President McKay as its presiding officer. When Christ came to the earth he organized his Church, and at the head, under his leadership, he had Twelve Apostles. And when he left, he left his Church under the direction of the Twelve. When he came to the American continent he organized his Church, and at the head of that Church, under his leadership, he placed Twelve Disciples. And when he left them, he left his Church and his Saints under the leadership of that Twelve. And when the gospel was restored again, Christ came back and appeared unto him who was raised up to be the Prophet at the head of this dispensation. And under his direction the Church was organized for the last time, and at the head of the Church under the Presidency of the Prophet were the appointed Twelve. And when the Prophet was taken from the earth, sealing his testimony with his blood, the Church was left under the direction of the Twelve. And down through the years when the leadership of the Quorum of the Presidency has been taken away, the keys have remained with the Twelve.
"... and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."
As God has borne witness to me in that meeting in his holy house and in this conference, so I bear witness to you that where there is no Quorum of the Twelve, the true organization of Christ's Church is not here upon the earth, and that is my testimony to you, which I bear in all humbleness and in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, April 1951, pp. 103-106
My brothers and sisters, these are momentous days. The experiences of this week we will not soon forget. I am impressed, too, as Brother Cowley expressed, with the importance of the body to which I belong. This is the first general conference I have ever attended which was conducted by the Council of the Twelve.
STATEMENT OF PAUL
I am reminded of the statement by Paul to the Ephesians when he said:
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.
And then he outlines carefully for what purpose they were called:
For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.
And then he goes further and makes a statement that I think is very important indeed to every Latter-day Saint:
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive.
CHOSEN LEADERS
In many other places Paul also warned us against the deceivers who would come even before his departing. And they have continued to come, and they are among us today. The authorities which the Lord has placed in his Church constitute for the people of the Church a harbor, a place of refuge, a hitching post, as it were. No one in this Church will ever go far astray who ties himself securely to the Church Authorities whom the Lord has placed in his Church. This Church will never go astray; the Quorum of the Twelve will never lead you into bypaths: it never has and never will. There could be individuals who would falter; there will never be a majority of the Council of the Twelve on the wrong side at any time The Lord has chosen them; he has given them specific responsibilities. And those people who stand close to them will be safe. And conversely, whenever one begins to go his own way in opposition to authority, he is in grave danger. I would not say that those leaders whom the Lord chooses are necessarily the most brilliant, nor the most highly trained, but they are the chosen, and when chosen of the Lord they are his recognized authority, and the people who stay close to them have safety.
I am reminded of when Moses was called to his tremendous responsibility of leading the children of Israel out of bondage, and he complained to the Lord and said, "I am weak, I am slow of speech", and the Lord gave to him a voice in his brother Aaron. But the Lord didn't replace him by that voice.
NEED OF BEING VALIANT
The Lord is at the helm, brothers and sisters, and he will continue to be there, and his work will go forward. The important question is whether we, as individuals, will be going in that same direction. It's up to us. This is a gospel of individual work. I wish our Latter-day Saints could become more valiant. As I read the seventy-sixth section of the Doctrine and Covenants, the great vision given to the Prophet Joseph Smith, I remember that the Lord says to that terrestrial degree of glory may go those who are not valiant in the testimony, which means that many of us who have received baptism by proper authority, many who have received other ordinances, even temple blessings, will not reach the celestial kingdom of glory unless we live the commandments and are valiant.
What is being valiant? I believe that John, in the book of Revelation, says something about valiancy. He is speaking to the people at Sardis, one of the cities which Paul had proselyted. He is speaking to the Saints, mind you, not to the people in the world. He says: I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead".
SPIRITUALLY DEAD
There are many people in this Church today who think they live, but they are dead to the spiritual things. And I believe even many who are making pretenses of being active are also spiritually dead. Their service is much of the letter and less of the spirit. Again I notice he speaks to another group, the Laodiceans, and says:
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Those were Saints who had been baptized into the kingdom, received the Holy Ghost, we would assume, and were supposed to be on their way to exaltation. But they weren't faithful, they weren't valiant. The Lord says again in these verses through John:
Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.
He says again of these Sardis members of the Church:
Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
I remember a great people of long ago who belonged to the Church of our Lord, who became so righteous as a group that they were translated into heaven. And I wonder why other groups have not been taken. The only conclusion that I can reach is that whole groups have not been sufficiently righteous. We buried a righteous man yesterday. If all of the people in this Church were as righteous as he was, perhaps there might be further translations. But we are not living the commandments of the Lord as well as we know. Many of us are not valiant.
GREATER CHURCH ACTIVITY
I pray the Lord will bless us all, that we may catch a vision of greater activity in this Church, all of us. That none of us may stand by and feel self-righteous as did the hypocrite who with the publican went to the temple to pray:
The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
Then Jesus goes on to say:
And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
We are all sinners. We all need to repent. We all need to change our lives and to make them more righteous, and become valiant as the children of Enoch were valiant, so that we may receive the blessings which are promised to us and which we are striving for. Many of us have not yet surrendered, or if it has been a surrender it has been a conditional surrender, with many reservations.
God help us, brothers and sisters, that we may unconditionally surrender to the Lord and his program and to the spirit of the work I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Clifford E. Young
Clifford E. Young, Conference Report, April 1951, pp. 108-110
My brethren and sisters, this has been a most impressive conference. I think in my experience I have never attended one more impressive, and it has been my privilege to attend conferences since the passing of President Woodruff when vacancies have been filled in the presidency of the Church. I remember President Woodruff well. He knew me by my first name, largely because my father attended him professionally, and it was my privilege to drive my father from place to place as a boy. So, I say, in my recollection I never remember a more impressive conference.
GOSPEL BRINGS PEACE
It's a great pleasure and a privilege and a blessing to be here and to feel the warmth of the hearts of the people. Although there has been a shadow of sorrow in all of our hearts, yet there has been that peace that comes to the human soul through the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are all striving for peace, and we wonder how it's going to come. I sometimes think we look upon it as sort of a tangible thing and perhaps there are some tangible aspects to it, but in a larger sense, it is most intangible. I think we were conscious of that yesterday as we assembled in this room paying our respects and showing our love to our great leader. As we sat here, I couldn't help but think, here we are evidencing peace in the world. Our hearts are free from strife, that's what peace means. We have nothing but love and kindness one toward another, and regardless of creed, regardless of color, and there were many here yesterday who are not of the white race, we were all dedicated to one purpose and that was peace and love. It's true, that was inspired by our leader, but leaders can do that, and they will do it, and peace will come through the inspiration of men whom God will raise up and who will establish in the hearts of men, because of their righteous lives, these great concepts of peace.
PEACE THROUGH SUFFERING
And then, too, we had another most striking experience as we sat here. We listened to that lovely blind woman, Sister Jones, pay her tribute, one from whom the beauties of this world have been shut out-I mean the tangible beauties. I couldn't help thinking of it as I saw those beautiful flowers. She couldn't see them, she can't see the shadows of a fleeting day or the rising sun, or these delicate lilies. Tennyson, you know, it was, as he was going along one time, seeing a little flower in a crannied wall, said:
Flower in the crannied wall, I pluck you out of the crannies, I hold you here, root and all, in my hand, Little flower-but if I could understand What you are, root and all, and all in all, I should know what God and man is.
This lovely girl can't see those flowers. But she does see something, my brothers and sisters, beyond what you and I see. She has a perception of beauty; she has peace in her soul; she has something Christ-like that God exemplified, and it brings home the fact that there is great wisdom in the experience of suffering and sorrow, and it's in that suffering and sorrow that we acquire these divine attributes. God understood it; he didn't let the cup pass when Jesus supplicated that it might. He knew. And so, some have to go through life missing some of the tangible things you and I enjoy, but partaking of some of those intangibles that transcend them all. We had a great lesson here yesterday, not only of how peace may come into the human soul, but also of how men and women exemplify the teachings of our Lord and Savior and the great virtues of love and sacrifice.
STORY OF BLIND WOMAN
I remember many years ago of reading, I believe it was in the old Juvenile Instructor, a beautiful story, and it has stayed with me all these years. It is said that on one occasion President Young left his home, over where the Bee Hive House stands, and started down State Street. There used to be a stream of water, part of City Creek, flow down the street, and the sidewalk, such as it was, or the trail, meandered along this ditch; and as President Young was making his way down he saw coming up the trail an old lady with a cane, following her way along the ditch. She couldn't see. In the goodness of his heart President Young stopped and, taking her by the hand, he said, "My dear sister, God bless you. Let the light of the gospel be the light that shines beyond the rays of the setting sun." It's the gospel of Christ that brings peace to all of us and as was said here, appropriately, the reason that we could feel it so impressively yesterday is because we were paying tribute to one who had exemplified these divine virtues.
EXERCISE OF AGENCY
And so, brethren and sisters, there is hope for all of us. There's hope for this suffering world. President Clark called our attention last night to one very potent thing, however: namely, that we can lose our agency. We have the agency to make these things possible; we also have the agency to lose them because God, in giving his promises to his children, has not taken it from us. We have the right to do, or not to do, and we have the right to establish righteousness. We have the will to do it or the will not to do it. Therein lies the great danger, and if we fail, or if failure occurs, it will be because of us who know better. But we have great hope as we visualize what has happened these last hundred years. Someone has said that one man alone with a message of peace and righteousness can revolutionize the world. The Prophet Joseph stood alone a hundred and twenty years ago. Today we number 1,100,000 people, and that's not counting the hundreds and thousands who have passed to the other side. It merely illustrates what one man alone can do. Jesus stood alone when he stood before Pilate, even Peter had deserted him-he knew him not, he said, and thus Jesus stood alone. One man alone can give hope and life and vitality to this world. And one man stood alone a hundred and twenty years ago and today we're the recipients of his great message of eternal truth.
I bear you my testimony, my brothers and sisters, again thanking my Heavenly Father for the blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ and for the peace that it brings to the human soul, and I do it in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Zion Must Arise
Elder Delbert L. Stapley
Delbert L. Stapley, Conference Report, April 1951, pp. 116-120
My brothers and sisters, I rejoice in being with you in this conference today. I feel very weak and humble in this position, and I do earnestly pray for an interest in your faith and prayers.
I wish to extend my appreciation and gratitude to the great number of you who received me so kindly in this appointment. I appreciate the many prayers that have gone up in my behalf. With you, I feel a keen loss in our beloved President George Albert Smith. Coming from an outside stake, I feel in a measure that I represent the good people who live on the fringe of the Church, who do not always have opportunity to express the love that is in their hearts for these great leaders who depart from among us.
LOVED BY ALL
President George Albert Smith was close to me, he always seemed to be around for some of the important events of my life. I appreciated sincerely his confidence and love, and I rejoice that it was he who called me to this present assignment. As a boy, I remember his coming into my father's and mother's home to attend quarterly conferences representing the General Authorities of the Church. And as I relive those occasions, I rejoice in the goodly effect that he had upon my life. He was loved by all good members of the Church everywhere. He radiated a kindly and lovable spirit wherever he went, he brought good will to the Church and its people. As has been said, he was a man without guile. I think he has left with us a gem of counsel as so many times in his talks he has advised us to stay on the Lord's side of the line. That counsel will live throughout eternity in our hearts. A very simple statement, yet one that will produce great good in the lives of individuals if they will but follow it.
The eighth chapter in the leadership of this Church has been closed in the departing of this good man. As I reflect back over the eight spiritual leaders of this people, in my heart I feel that God wanted each of them to lead his people, and that each was specially fitted and endowed for the work of his time and generation. The chapter now closed in the book of the life and activities of President George Albert Smith is a glorious one of great attainment on the part of the Church. He built ably upon the foundation laid, so now this people can continue to go ahead in the accomplishment of the great purposes that God has for his people to accomplish.
GOD AT THE HELM
As I have thought about the past three days and all that has taken place, my testimony has increased in relation to the work we are engaged in. All plans have gone forward for this great general conference of the Church. And almost on the eve of the conference meetings, the Lord took from us our beloved President. At first there was a great feeling of loss, but I don't think ever a feeling of frustration, for the Quorum of the Twelve realized that vested within them were all the powers, authorities, and keys necessary to carry forward the important work of this great Church. Committees were appointed to plan the services that would honor and recognize our beloved prophet-leader. Everything seemed to fit into a proper pattern, the services were held, and our hearts were touched by the beautiful thoughts expressed, the consolation given to members of the family and to all of us who mourn the passing of our President.
Yet the 121st annual conference went on as scheduled and there was a feeling that God was at the helm; that the affairs of his Church, even at such a critical time, were being properly handled. And so we come here today, not disturbed in our faith, not disturbed in the leadership now handling the affairs of the Church. Everything has fit into a pattern, for God established the pattern, and the people know where the authority of leadership is vested when the President prophet-leader is taken. There has hardly been a ripple in the scene of our work or activities, and yet we have paused properly to honor and recognize our great spiritual leader.
Brothers and sisters, this is to me a testimony of the strength and divinity of this work. In my heart, I feel that God is with us and directing his work, that as we go from this conference to our homes, we will not be confused, nor will we feel in our hearts that this work will stop. there will be unity in our faith, we will go away in confidence, knowing that the work of the Lord will continue to go forward and fulfil its destiny in the earth. And as I reflect upon these things, I remember what the Lord said to the Prophet Joseph Smith before the Prophet had been endowed with the priesthood and before the Church itself had been organized. He said that "a great and a marvelous work is about to come forth unto the children of men"; and surely this is a great and marvelous work which we represent. Very shortly after the organization of the Church, less than a year and a half, the Lord speaking to the elders of the Church said:
Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.
According to the law that God had revealed, and in keeping with the law of the land, this Church was established with only six members. Yet the early rise of the Church from that humble beginning was great and marvelous, the Lord was pleased, and the brethren engaged in the work of the ministry had been very diligent and devoted. The Lord didn't want them to be weary in well-doing because they were laying the foundations of a great work. In the preface to the book of Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord said:
... those to whom these commandments were given, might have power to lay the foundation of this church, and to bring it forth out of obscurity and out of darkness, the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth.
And then again, a little later the Lord said:
For Zion must increase in beauty, and in holiness; her borders must be enlarged; her stakes must be strengthened; yea, verily I say unto you, Zion must arise and put on her beautiful garments.
MEN OF STRENGTH
We know the Church passed through many trials and many tribulations, that brethren along the way deserted the Prophet, and the Saints suffered mobbings and all types of hardships and privations, but there were in the Church men of strength and character men who believed in this great latter-day work; and the power of the Lord rested with them. They were undaunted in the face of these difficulties. But the work of the Lord went on, and our people were led here to the valleys of the mountains by President Brigham Young. He had the vision of enlarging the borders of Zion and sent out groups to colonize and settle the fertile valleys of these mountains, both north and south and east and west. Thus the great work of the Church has continued to grow, even until the present time, and each of our prophet leaders took his place, gave of himself and of the talents that God had blessed him with to establish firmly the foundations of this work. And as surely as we are here today, it has been brought forth out of obscurity and out of darkness, and stands as a beacon of light upon the hill to all peoples and nations of the earth. We have witnessed in the progress of the Church, a great enlarged program to take care of our people. This program encircles the entire life of the Church membership and gives them every opportunity for growth, for development, and for training. Surely in this work, the Lord has been with his people; so today with pride in our progress we claim almost sixteen hundred wards and branches of the Church, 184 stakes, scattered up and down this western area with some to the east of us. We also have many missions established throughout the world, and with all our program and activity, the Church itself is known far and wide and assuming its place of leadership and of power in shaping the lives of men and of nations.
PROSELYTING IN STAKES
And it seems to me, my brothers and sisters, that the Lord in this enlargement of our borders has been with this people, and has so arranged it that we are now established in the population centers of this western area. We have built our places of worship, our places of recreation, and in all this building, and in all this planning, and in all this preparation, the leadership of the Church under the inspiration of God have not had in mind only that we should take care of our own, but that the facilities we have provided should be made available to our friends. We have been counseled to warn our neighbors, not to hide our light under a bushel, but to place it where it can be seen of men, that they may have the opportunities and the blessings this Church affords and that you and I enjoy.
And it does seem to me, brothers and sisters, in this present critical situation where it is impossible to send all the missionaries into foreign fields we need to send, that we must take advantage of the proselyting opportunity that is ours in the branches, wards, and stakes of the Church; and through our stake missionary program make available to those who are investigating, the facilities of our Church, that the children of our friends and investigators can come to Primary, to Sunday School, the young men and women to Mutual, the mothers to Relief Society, and all to our sacrament meetings. If we as God's people would warn our neighbors, and if we would be friends with our neighbors, we will invite them to come with us and investigate this thing we know to be true and of God.
INVITATION TO COME AND SEE
I think it was only a year ago that President George Albert Smith from this pulpit said that we should invite our friends and our associates to come and see. There is much in the Church for people to come and see, and if we who are members of the Church would live as we should live, we would never be ashamed of that which our friends and our associates do see. Not so long ago in attending a conference, I heard a young lady missionary in making her report say that in her missionary experience she felt the Spirit of the Lord working with her. And I thought what a grand thing it would be if all people of the Church felt that in their callings and appointments the Spirit of the Lord was working with them. I am just as confident as I can be that regardless of our calling and appointments or holding the priesthood, we who are the men of the Church, that unless we have the Holy Spirit of the Lord abiding with us in our work and ministry, we will never accomplish the purposes of God. We need the Holy Spirit, we need its power and its gifts and its influences with us in our callings and offices if we carry out successfully the responsibility associated with those callings and appointments.
I have a testimony of this work, I know it is true. I hope and pray, brothers and sisters, that we will devote ourselves to its high responsibilities. It is the most important thing we have at hand to do. May we be appreciative of the Church, of its leadership, of its doctrines, and all the blessings we enjoy, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Albert E. Bowen
Albert E. Bowen, Conference Report, April 1951, pp. 120-125
Naturally the thoughts of the speakers at this conference have turned to President Smith, so recently departed. Mine run the same way. If he were standing here today where I stand, I can easily conjecture him as pleading with the people to live their religion that is, to live in practice up to the high standards of what they have been taught.
JUDGED ACCORDING TO WORKS
I should like, if I may, to say a little about that, with particular reference to the personal responsibility of each individual for what he turns out to be.
It was permitted to John the Revelator to glimpse the future as the revelation of things to come passed in panoramic view before his vision. Among other things, he says:
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God... and they were judged every man according to their works.
Two lines of thought closely related and of tremendous consequence to all of us are stimulated by this graphic statement. First, there is implicit in it the thesis that death is not the end of man. Those marshaled for rating had died, for it was the dead whom John saw. Second, their classification and recompense depended upon their own deeds, what they had done while they yet lived. It is this second feature of the vision to which I wish to direct attention.
As the hosts from the dead passed before the throne, they were judged every man, according to his works. That is justice in the highest sense of the term. It is judgment founded in righteousness. It reaches completely up to the perfect ideal. No fault can be found in it, for every man is to be classified and rewarded on the basis of his own individual performance. It has always been the conception of enlightened nations of free men, particularly those whose laws are rooted in the Christian code, that only to that degree in which judgments have embraced righteousness have they approximated justice. Long ago the Prophet Amos coupled the two together in their proper relationship, and no right-thinking man has ever been able, or tried to sever the bond which inseparably unites them.
Amos admonished his nation:
... let judgment roll down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.
MEANING OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
I hesitate to use the word righteousness because it has come to have attached to it the malodor of hypocrisy. Too commonly, one who is spoken of as possessed of the quality of righteousness is derisively sneered at, as if the term characterized him as a pretender, a self-exalter, one who arrogates to himself superior virtues, as exemplified in the parable of Jesus about the Pharisee who publicly thanked God that he was not as other men and loudly proclaimed his own virtues. Jesus said that the publican who, standing apart, alone, humbly prayed God to be merciful to him a sinner would be justified before the other.
No sense of opprobrium properly attaches to the term righteousness. It signifies that which is in accordance with right, or characterized by uprighteousness or morality. There is no other word to take its place. I am therefore obliged to use it and trust to its being understood in its proper sense.
John's statement about the basis of judgment must be read as affirming that there are things which everybody is expected to do. The promise of rewards based upon works presupposes that there are requirements prescribed. Where there is no law, there can be no judgment under the law is a principle of divine as well as secular governance. The prescribed requirements, naturally, are to be sought in the teachings of Jesus for John was his disciple. And by his revelation, John tells us, he was shown the things he saw.
OBSERVANCE OF LAW
On his final visit to the disciples before his ascension, as has before been stated today, Jesus commissioned them to carry his message to all people, telling those whom they proselyted to observe all things whatsoever he had commanded them. Here, then, is the law on the basis of which all are to be judged. So far as I can discern, there is not one thing in all that Jesus taught that would not, it practiced, promote righteousness and justice in the earth. Nobody would be harmed by universal conformance to every rule governing human conduct which he promulgated. One cannot think that it was ever intended that man should be consigned to live perpetually in this earth amid the carnage and bestiality and bickering and hatred and cruelty; the plundering of one by another; the deception and greed; the striving for advantage of one over another; the despoiling of fellow creatures; the stifling and crushing out of all sentiments of mercy and human kindness by the violence of brute force and by submerging righteousness and everything that makes life beautiful, under the vile, putrid, hideous, and ugly flocks of vice which swirl over the land. All this and all the groveling ugliness of human degradation paraded before us in the daily press are in direct antagonism to the benevolence and brotherhood, the worth and dignity of the human soul with its God-given right to be free from the bondage of oppression; the admonitions to love and mercy, to be pure in heart, and to hunger and thirst after righteousness, expounded as guides to righteousness and abundant living by the Christ.
The other day J. Edgar Hoover told the Senate committee investigating syndicated crime in America that gambling could be cleansed out at once if officials in states and cities would honestly enforce the law, instead of conniving with those who are willing to pay the price of protection for the violation of the law. Following gambling would go the whole brood of loathsome evils spawned by it. If that could be done, how infinitely more could the earth be cleansed by a simple observance of the laws laid down as the basis for divine judgment and justice.
BE YE THEREFORE PERFECT
On another occasion, even before his crucifixion, holding up to view the mission and purpose of life, the goal of man's striving, his ultimate destiny, the Lord said, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect". This terse sentence epitomizes all that Jesus taught about the mission of life and the destiny of man. It seems on its face a hard saying, and many have felt that it sets a task beyond all possibility of accomplishing, and that there is no use trying; that it projects an ideal so utterly unrealistic as to make it of little value. There might be some validity to this objection, if life is to be thought of only in terms of mortal probation. To get full value of the admonition we need a broader understanding of the work of life.
President Brigham Young let some light in on that in one of his sermons. After quoting the saying, he remarked: "If the... passage I have quoted is not worded to our understanding, we can alter the phraseology of the sentence, and say: 'Be ye perfect as ye can,' for that is all we can do."
"When we are doing as well as we know how in the sphere and station which we occupy here, we are justified in the justice, righteousness, mercy, and judgment that go before the Lord of heaven and earth. We are as justified as the angels who go before the throne of God. The sin that will cleave to all the posterity of Adam and Eve is that they have not done as well as they know how".
RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT
That puts the admonition to be perfect on a practical working basis. It is within the range of the possibility of attainment. It tells us, too, something about how high a prerogative rendering judgment is. It requires for righteous dispensation of justice divine omniscience. That is perhaps why God reserved judgment to himself. They whom John saw stood before God.
He would have complete knowledge of all the essential facts, which mortals rendering human judgments perhaps never have, and which so often results in miscarriage of justice. God would have complete understanding of all the influences that have gone into the shaping of the life to be judged; the knowledge possessed and the opportunity for knowing; the capacity for understanding what he had been taught; the kind of association and society he has the capacity to mingle congenially with, and from all the manifold factors involved, put the one judged where he belongs, which is what final judgment really is.
PROGRESSIVE BEINGS
This interpretation introduces the principle that it is not intended that we shall accomplish everything in this life, but that we are expected to be progressive beings, growing toward our final destiny. But that principle in no way excuses us from doing the best we can, or from acquiring all the knowledge that we have capacity and opportunity to assimilate as we go along. We have some very specific teachings about that. The scriptures say:
Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.
And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.
Intelligence has been interpreted as the ability to comprehend and respond to light and truth. But it is clear from what has been quoted that knowledge and intelligence are congenial companions; and moreover, that to achieve them requires industry, study, diligence, and obedience. Their acquisition is governed by the universal law of reward for effort. They do not come as gratuitous bestowals upon the idler or the indifferent.
EXCELLENCE THROUGH EFFORT
This is the point I wanted especially to emphasize here today, and it is the reason, perhaps, for all that I have said before. There is nothing in all the history and experience of the race, nothing in the teachings of Jesus, nothing in the doctrines of the Church, which warrants the assumption that excellence may be attained without effort, either in the spiritual realm or the temporal domain, or that high exaltation may be achieved by a mere profession of faith, or passive adherence to a creed or body of doctrines. Jesus made that abundantly clear in saying:
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my father which is in heaven.
It is to be noted that the teachings of Jesus pertained mostly to this life. From time to time he gave us glimpses of a glorious future. But these were conditioned upon what we do here, just as by John's revelation the dead were judged by the works they had done while they lived. We are not here just to prepare to die but rather to live, and to use all our powers to perfect ourselves by acquiring knowledge, developing our talents, building virtue unto ourselves, conquering evil, by practicing the things we know. The progress we make here determines our status hereafter.
A PRACTICAL RELIGION
We have a very practical religion. It pertains to our lives now. And the reward of observance of the law is not altogether postponed to a future on the other side of the grave. Building up the kingdom involves some very practical things. It is not altogether concerned with the non-material lying out in the ethereal realm. The building of meetinghouses, places of worship, schools, temples, for example, clearly is for spiritual purposes. But they involve a large element of the material. They are essential to the building up of the kingdom of God. And where would you classify the beautifying of your home; the making of refined surroundings? It is necessary to provide the things that sustain life, to master the arts and crafts and trades that meet the needs of progress and improvement. I do not think I can find the line that divides the spiritual from the temporal.
Nobody in this life can gain proficiency in all the realms of human knowledge or skills or endeavors, yet they complement each other, and each is essential to the completeness of the whole. By the cooperative endeavor of all in an organized body, each doing what his talent suits him for, the kingdom can be prepared. I suppose the rightness of what either one does depends upon the purpose or the motive which stimulates the pursuit, whether that be the promoting of good among men, the furtherance of righteousness or whether it be the gratification of a selfish ambition, to be achieved without regard to consequences to others, or its influence on human progress or improvement.
GROWTH THROUGH ACTIVITY
Knowledge lying dormant and not employed to useful purposes is of very little value. One may attain membership in the Church, for example, by complying with all the requisite initiatory ordinances, but if he stops there, as some do, he may not assume that his salvation is assured, no matter how correct in the abstract his personal conduct may be. One must progress or retrograde. One cannot stand still. Activity is the law of growth, and growth, progress, is the law of life. Obedience to the governing law, cooperation with others, helping them to build up the kingdom of God is indispensable.
There are, properly speaking, no laymen in this Church. There is labor for all, and labor, toil, effort in harmony and accord with established law is the only known road to progress. Salvation is a relative term, admitting of varying degrees. There can be no other meaning to John's revelation that "each will be rewarded according to his works". The slothful or indolent or indifferent can expect no high rating, no matter how voluble in professions of faith, or how profuse they may be in protestations of devotion to their creeds.
And I humbly pray that each of us as we go from here will go with a full realization that whatever we hope for, whatever we aspire to achieve will be dependent upon our willingness to pay the price in individual endeavor. We may not lean upon any other human being but can be aided by the help we receive from God if we serve him faithfully and keep his commandments every day, which I pray we may do, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder Alma Sonne
Alma Sonne, Conference Report, April 1951, pp. 129-131
My brethren and sisters, I trust I may have the benefit of your faith and prayers during the few minutes I shall stand before you. First of all, I want to express my gratitude for the strength, the comfort, the consolation, and the increased confidence which have come to the members of the Church in the passing of President George Albert Smith. I think, in one way or another, he must have touched all of us more or less closely during his entire ministry.
SERMONS OF PRESIDENT SMITH
I remember as a boy in my teens I heard President Smith for the first time deliver a sermon in the Logan Tabernacle. The theme of his discourse was "Observance of the Sabbath Day." It was a timely message because at that time, in Logan, particularly, there was some controversy as to what extent Sunday amusements should be commercialized and carried on. President Smith's sermon was powerful. He said, among other things, "Sabbath observance is one of the great pillars of civilization." I have thought of it many times, and I am sure as I have reflected upon it that President Smith was right in his conclusions.
Years later I heard him discuss before an audience in the same place the Ten Commandments. As he often did, he referred to each one of these Commandments, and after he had made his comments he turned to the audience and said, "You may break these commandments if you want to, but if you do, they will break you." I have never forgotten those words.
And so, President Smith has brought a vital message into the lives of each of us. When I was first called to the position in the Church which I now hold, one of the first assignments given me was to the St. Johns and the Snowflake stakes in Arizona. To my surprise and to my delight, President George Albert Smith was to be my companion. We journeyed together to St. Johns, where the conference was held. During the afternoon session, a telegram came to President Smith, who was at my side. He opened it and read it, folded it up, put it in his pocket, and when the session was ended, he came to me and said, "I have been called back to Salt Lake City. It will be necessary for you to fill the appointments which I have made." He thereupon handed me a little sheet of paper, and on it was a schedule of meetings which he had arranged in the little villages and settlements around St. Johns and Snowflake. I mention this fact only because it illustrates the zeal, the energy, and the diligence with which President Smith assumed his responsibilities in the ministry.
GIVE THE LORD A CHANCE
When I left for Europe to take on a great responsibility, one I felt that was altogether too great for me to assume, President Smith called me to his office. He gave me only a very brief admonition, and I suspect he has given it to many. Said he, "Remember, Brother Sonne, give the Lord a chance." I believe that admonition remained with me throughout my mission over in Europe. I'm not sure that I needed it so much, for I was very humble and prayerful in the work I had to do, but the advice was so good and so sound, that I never forgot it. And I feel what success came from our endeavors over in Europe during a crucial time was due in large measure to the help which we received from our Heavenly Father.
And so I hope and pray that the members of the Church and particularly those who bear the Holy Priesthood, will put forth the same effort which our great leader has demonstrated in his life.
DEVOTION OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
I recall at this moment a testimony which I heard from a young missionary in the French Mission. He had but recently arrived in the field. As he stood up, he said something like this: "My grandparents joined the Church in Southampton, England. Soon after being baptized, they emigrated to Nauvoo, Illinois. They bought a home and expected to live there indefinitely. But," said the missionary, "a mob burned the home, and they were left practically destitute. Then my grandparents loaded all of their earthly possessions on a handcart and pushed it over the plains to the Rocky Mountains. I thank God," said this young man, "for the faith and the integrity, the determination and the conviction, which prompted my grandparents to be thus faithful to their trust." Such devotion has been characteristic of the Latter-day Saints and their leaders from the beginning.
I rejoice, brethren and sisters, in my testimony of the truth. I know God has spoken from the heavens and established his Church upon the earth. We have received a great shock during the past few days; we'll receive other shocks, in all probability, but I tell you this Church will never receive a setback. It will go forward in the future as it has in the past, and truth and righteousness will triumph in the earth. I pray that it may be so, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, April 1951, pp. 152-153
We have just witnessed, and taken part in a most solemn, wonderful manifestation of fellowship, unity, and love.
PLEDGE OF SUPPORT
First, I wish to say before this vast congregation of priesthood and members of the Church that I pledge myself to support my brethren of the First Presidency. They have my full support, my love, and fellowship, and I pray that the Spirit of the Lord may rest upon them in great abundance to guide them and direct them in all things pertaining to their high and holy callings.
I feel humble in standing here, considering myself the weakest of my brethren. I love each one of them: the First Presidency, the Council of the Twelve, and the other brethren whose names have been presented and approved here this day. And may the Lord be with us to help each one of us to magnify his calling.
I realize the position I have been called to fulfil is one of great importance. It makes me humble. I am grateful for the expressions that I have received from my brethren. They have expressed their confidence, and already have given me their support.
It is wonderful to see a great body such as we have here today, raising their hands enthusiastically, feeling in their hearts to give their support, and they do give their support with all their hearts to the brethren who have been sustained.
I thank the Lord for the gospel of Jesus Christ, for my membership in the Church, for the opportunity which has come to me to give service. I have only one desire, weak as I am, and that is to magnify to the best of my ability the calling which is mine.
FAITH AND PRAYERS NEEDED
I need the faith and the prayers of the members of the Church. These brethren of the Presidency need them, too. We should support them, uphold them, sustain them by our faith and by our prayers, that they may feel the influence that radiates from this great body of priesthood and from the membership of the Church.
There is an influence that radiates forth. In fact, every individual radiates some influence. Our influence should be for good, for the building up of the kingdom of God. We should have no other purpose, only to bring to pass this great work and see it established in the earth as the Lord would have it.
ESTABLISHMENT OF ZION
In the early days of the Church the brethren came to the Prophet Joseph Smith asking what the Lord would have them do. The answer given to them was "to bring forth the cause of Zion". That is our work, to establish Zion, to build up the kingdom of God, to preach the gospel to every creature in the world, that not one soul may be overlooked where there is the possibility for us to present unto him the truth.
As we have heard during this conference, we are all going to be judged according to our works, every soul. I have often thought of my place and responsibility in this Church. What a dreadful thing it would be to be going forth to teach, to lead men, to guide them into something that wasn't true. I think the greatest crime in all this world is to lead men and women, the children of God, away from the true principles. We see in the world today philosophies of various kinds, tending to destroy faith, faith in God, faith in the principles of the gospel. What a dreadful thing that is.
The Lord says if we labor all our days and save but one soul, how great will be our joy with him; on the other hand how great will be our sorrow and our condemnation if through our acts we have led one soul away from this truth.
TESTIMONY
Again I bear my testimony to you. I know that God lives. I know that Jesus Christ is the Only Begotten Son in the flesh of our Father, the great Elohim whom we worship. I have perfect faith in the mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith and those who have succeeded him.
I know that we have the truth of the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ, just as well as I know that I stand here before you. If I did not know it, I wouldn't want to be here or have anything to do with this work. But I know it in every fiber of my body. God has revealed it to me. May the Lord bless us all I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report, April 1951, pp. 153-154
My brothers and sisters, I begin by bearing again my testimony that this is the work of the Lord, that Joseph Smith is a prophet, that those who have followed afterward have been his prophets, and that the one whom we have sustained is the ninth in regular succession, as a prophet, seer, and revelator to this Church and to the world.
I know that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world. I know that he is the firstfruits of the resurrection, and that by and through him we are redeemed from the Fall, and thus able to overcome the results of the Fall and get back into the presence of our Heavenly Father.
I thank President McKay for his kindly words about myself. I thank you for your sustaining votes, and I earnestly pray that I may be the beneficiary of your prayers as time shall go on, and that I may be able to do the things which I am supposed to do with an eye single to the glory of our Heavenly Father.
PLEDGE OF DEVOTED SERVICE
In the service of the Lord, it is not where you serve but how. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, one takes the place to which one is duly called, which place one neither seeks nor declines. I pledge to President McKay and to President Richards the full loyal devoted service to the tasks that may come to me to the full measure of my strength and my abilities, and so far as they will enable me to perform them, however inadequate I may be.
May the Lord help me so to serve, to serve President McKay and President Richards and to serve the Lord, all for the advancement of his work. This I humbly pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
President Stephen L Richards
Stephen L Richards, Conference Report, April 1951, pp. 154-156
I call upon the Lord to come to my rescue in this, the most trying hour of my life. It reaches beyond my understanding to know why I have been privileged in the providence of God to stand before you, my brethren and sisters of the Church, in the capacity in which I have this day been presented to you.
FRIENDSHIP OF GREAT MAN
For more than forty-five years I have had a great man as a friend. I don't know how I have deserved his friendship as he has given it to me. His friendship has been one of the main factors of encouragement in my life. My association with him has brought more richness into my life and my experience than any other association outside that of my own flesh and blood.
This great man has stimulated me in times of discouragement to go forward and give the best I could to this work. I shall never live long enough to pay the debt of gratitude I owe my friend. I respond to his call with the deepest humility, with a great sense of inadequacy, but with an obligation to give to him my best.
DEVOTION OF WILLARD RICHARDS
One of the few ways in which I can account for this which has transpired lies in another friendship. My grandfather, Willard Richards, was an intimate and close friend of the Prophet Joseph Smith. I am honored to learn and to know that the Prophet prized his friendship, and is said to have remarked on one occasion that no one could ever have a finer friend than was Willard Richards.
You recall that at one time he was discouraged by his superiors to follow the Prophet to Carthage Jail. He replied by an offer of his life for the Prophet, if he would accept it, and he went with the Prophet and his brother, witnessed their assassination, and then with his great love and heavy heart took their bodies back to the people of Nauvoo, assuaged their excitement, and gave them counsel to be calm.
I have often felt that the only reason for my being in the presiding councils of the Church is in the devotion of Willard Richards to the Prophet Joseph Smith. I believe there are councils on the other side. We have had testimonies of them, and while I cannot understand I can believe that the Prophet, out of consideration for his friend, has had a voice in bringing me into the Council of the Twelve through President Joseph F. Smith, and also in that which has brought me to this position. I would like to be as true a friend to President David O. McKay as my grandfather was to the Prophet, and in some measure show to him my appreciation of his marvelous kindness to me.
PRESIDENT J. REUBEN CLARK
I have had the pleasure of long acquaintance with President J. Reuben Clark, and I have loved him and still love him as an exemplar, as one of the most true and solicitous friends that a man can have, and as a man of such high ability and outstanding achievement as to command the respect of all, not only within the confines of our Church but also in the nation and the world.
I have gloried in his achievements. I have felt that the credit he has reflected upon the Church has been of immeasurable value in setting this work forward. It will be a great pleasure to have even closer associations with him, and as I pledge my love and support to the President, I pledge it to him also.
CONFIDENCE IN LORD'S PROMISES
I cannot go forward in this work, my brethren and my sisters, without the aid of the Holy Spirit. I must have confidence, however, in the promises of the Lord that if we will faithfully serve him he will sustain us. We must have the faith of Nephi of old. If it is of any qualification for the work, I declare my love for it. I love the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I accept all of its principles. I accept its authority. I accept the great and marvelous organization of the Church as being calculated to raise humanity to the highest destiny men and women may reach.
TESTIMONY OF DIVINE ORIGIN
I know that it is of divine origin. I am realistic enough to believe every word that the Prophet Joseph Smith gave to us regarding his early experiences in the restoration of this work. There is nothing about his story that is not literal to me. I know it is the truth, and I know that he lives, as we sang today, in the heavens above, and has gone to a reward, the like of which few, if any, men shall ever be permitted to attain.
I know that Jesus Christ is our Elder Brother and our Lord and our Savior and the God of this Earth, and that testimony permeates every fiber of my being.
I saw one of my brethren down here in the audience today-President Piranian. He will remember when he guided us into the land of Jerusalem, concerning which we spoke a little yesterday. As I went to the places made memorable and now preserved as shrines by the works and ministry of the Savior, my heart was full of meditation.
I never saw a thing in the actions of men, I never saw a thing in the paganistic buildings that have been constructed to remind me of the Savior, but I remember that it was here that he labored and I said to myself with the deepest humility, "Brother Piranian and I are the only men in all of this so-called Holy Land who really represent the Christ about whose shrines those ignorant, deluded people were quarreling and fighting-the only men having the priesthood of Almighty God given from an angel of the Lord," and I was subdued as this overpowering thought came to me.
I know that this priesthood is divine. I know that it is more than a mere name. I know that there is virtue and essence in it, if I can discern anything by the interpretative senses God has given me. I have felt the essence and virtue of this Holy Priesthood go out as I have administered the ordinances of the gospel.
APPEAL FOR BLESSINGS
I thank the Lord from the bottom of my heart for this great power that has come to men and been so generously and widely bestowed among them, and I pray to him that I may be worthy of the investiture of that power and use it for the building up of his kingdom and the blessing of his children.
I humbly pray that the administration which has come into being this day by your concerted action may prove to be a boon to this work that shall go beyond anything which we now may contemplate, and I humbly invoke the blessings of God upon our beloved leader, that vision may be given him to see the way in which we shall go. I ask God to bless us all that we may follow him and support him to accomplish the mighty works that God has in store for his people. I do so humbly in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1951, pp. 157-159
My beloved fellow workers, brethren and sisters: I wish it were within my power of expression to let you know just what my true feelings are on this momentous occasion. I would wish that you might look into my heart and see there for yourselves just what those feelings are.
RESPONSIBILITY OF LEADERSHIP
It is just one week ago today that the realization came to me that this responsibility of leadership would probably fall upon my shoulders. I received word that President George Albert Smith had taken a turn for the worse, and that the doctor thought the end was not far off. I hastened to his bedside, and with his weeping daughters, son, and other kinfolk, I entered his sickroom. For the first time, he failed to recognize me.
Then I had to accept the realization that the Lord had chosen not to answer our pleadings as we would have had them answered, and that he was going to take him home to himself. Thankfully, he rallied again later in the day. Several days preceding that visit, as President Clark and I were considering problems of import pertaining to the Church, he, ever solicitous of the welfare of the Church and of my feelings, would say, "The responsibility will be yours to make this decision," but each time I would refuse to face what to him seemed a reality.
NEED FOR SUPPORT
When that reality came, as I tell you, I was deeply moved. And I am today, and pray that I may, even though inadequately, be able to tell you how weighty this responsibility seems.
The Lord has said that the three presiding high priests chosen by the body appointed and ordained to this office of presidency, are to be "upheld by the confidence, faith, and prayer of the Church". No one can preside over this Church without first being in tune with the head of the Church, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He is our head. This is his Church. Without his divine guidance and constant inspiration, we cannot succeed. With his guidance, with his inspiration, we cannot fail.
Next to that as a sustaining potent power, comes the confidence, faith, prayers, and united support of the Church.
I pledge to you that I shall do my best so to live as to merit the companionship of the Holy Spirit, and pray here in your presence that my counselors and I may indeed be "partakers of the divine spirit".
SPIRIT OF UNITY
Next to that, unitedly we plead with you for a continuation of your love and confidence as you have expressed it today. From you members of the Twelve, we ask for that love and sympathy expressed in our sacred Council. From the Assistants to the Twelve the Patriarch, the First Council of the Seventy, the Presiding Bishopric, we ask that the spirit of unity expressed so fervently by our Lord and Savior when he was saying good-by to the Twelve, may be manifest by us all.
You remember he said, as he left them: "And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are."
"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
"That they all may 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".
Brethren and sisters, brethren of the General Authorities, God keep us as one, overlooking weaknesses we may see, keeping an eye single to the glory of God and the advancement of his work.
HELP OF MEMBERSHIP
And now to the members of the Church: We all need your help, your faith and prayers, not your adverse criticisms, but your help. You can do that in prayer if you cannot reach us in person. The potency of those prayers throughout the Church came to me yesterday when I received a letter from a neighbor in my old home town. He was milking his cows when the word came over his radio which he has in his barn that President Smith had passed. He sensed what that would mean to his former fellow-townsman, and he left his barn and went to the house and told his wife. Immediately they called their little children, and there in that humble home, suspending their activities, they knelt down as a family and offered prayer. The significance of that scene I leave for you to understand. Multiply that by a hundred thousand, two hundred thousand, half a million homes, and see the power in the unity and prayers, and the sustaining influence in the body of the Church.
Today you have by your vote placed upon us the greatest responsibility, as well as the greatest honor, that lies within your power to bestow as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. Your doing so increases the duty of the First Presidency to render service to the people.
EXAMPLE OF SERVICE
When the Savior was about to leave his Apostles, he gave them a great example of service. You remember he girded himself with a towel and washed his disciples' feet. Peter, feeling it was a menial work for a servant, said, "... dost thou wash my feet?... Thou shalt never wash my feet."
The Savior answered "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me."
"Nay then," said the chief Apostle, "Not my feet only, but also my hands and my head."
"He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit.
"What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter".
And then he washed his feet, and those of the others also. Returning the basin to the side of the door, ungirding himself, and putting on his robe, he returned to his position with the Twelve, and said:
"Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.
"If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet".
What an example of service to those great servants, followers of the Christ! He that is greatest among you, let him be least. So we sense the obligation to be of greater service to the membership of the Church, to devote our lives to the advancement of the kingdom of God on earth.
BLESSING AND TESTIMONY
God bless you, brothers and sisters. May the spirit of this occasion remain in our hearts. May it be felt throughout the uttermost parts of the earth, wherever there is a branch in all the world, that that spirit might be a unifying power in increasing the testimony of the divinity of this work, that it may grow in its influence for good in the establishment of peace throughout the world.
I bear you my testimony that the head of this Church is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I know the reality of his existence, of his willingness to guide and direct all who serve him. I know he restored, with his Father, to the Prophet Joseph Smith the gospel of Jesus Christ in its fullness. I know that these brethren whom you have sustained today are men of God. I love them. Don't you think anything else. God's will has been done.
May we have increased power to be true to the responsibilities that the Lord and you have placed upon us, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, October 1951, pp. 4-11
My brethren and sisters, in behalf of the General Authorities and in humility I bid you welcome, you who are here assembled in such large numbers, filling this historic Tabernacle to capacity, and also the tens of thousands who are listening in by radio and television. I pray for your help and assistance, and especially for the inspiration of the Lord, that we may sense his presence, and that everyone who is called upon to take any part in this conference may be guided by his inspiring influence.
It is with mingled feelings of joy and satisfaction, encouragement, anxiety, and apprehension, that I stand before you this morning.
GROWTH AND PROGRESS OF CHURCH
I rejoice in the continued growth and progress of the Church. It is a great source of satisfaction to the General Authorities, and I am sure it will be to you, to know that from all parts of the world where the gospel is being preached, reports show substantial advancement in nearly every line of endeavor. The stakes and wards are growing in number, as also are the organized branches in the missions-in the Americas, Europe, and in the islands of the Pacific.
There are more houses of worship in the Church today than ever before in its history, and at the present time there are 420 buildings under construction. Temple ordinances performed since January 1, 1951 to August 31, 1951 exceed those for the corresponding period last year in all temples excepting one, and there is a slight decrease there, but the decrease is explainable. That is in Hawaii.
Notwithstanding this great building program and the other work being carried on in which ward members contribute fifty percent and missions and branches twenty and thirty percent of the cost of construction, tithes and offerings are steadily and consistently increasing.
UPRIGHTNESS OF SERVICEMEN
Because of the call to military duty the number of missionaries in the field is not so large as one year ago. The missionaries are returning and reporting for military duty by the scores every month. Reports of uprightness in the lives of these returned missionaries indicate that by example they will still continue to be good missionaries while serving their country.
I think I shall take time to give you just an extract from one of these reports. A letter dated September 4, 1951 from a major says this:
"This is quite a group we have, With the exception of two fellows it is made up entirely of returned missionaries. This morning we all ate together in the enlisted men's mess hall, and not a single one of them had coffee, even though boiling pitchers full were set at each table. I noticed a peculiar look on the mess sergeant's face as he scratched his head in bewilderment when thirty-two soldiers all took milk."
It is only a little incident, but it speaks volumes for the loyalty of our missionaries who are entering the service in their determination to maintain the standards of the Church. God bless them!
SUBVERSIVE TEACHINGS
All these and other favorable incidents and reports give cause for satisfaction and gratitude, but as I said, there are other things which give rise to feelings of apprehension. For example, the prevalence of pernicious ideas and subversive teachings which pervert the minds of the unstable and uninformed, and in some cases divert the youth from Church standards. In this regard there is reason for concern, too.
The quorums of the priesthood and the auxiliaries, and especially the parents, may not be doing all that they should to counteract these poisonous influences. Religious leaders, civic officers, and all lovers of law and order are today deeply concerned, and not without justification, about the recklessness and lawlessness of youth. Even young folk themselves are deprecating the disobedience of parental authority manifested by some of their companions.
It is a dangerous sign, brethren, when home discipline breaks down, and the loving advice of a wise father and a loving mother is defied. We are told by an elderly American explorer that among the Iroquois Indians "the crime which is regarded as most horrible, and which is without example, is that a son should be rebellious toward his mother"-an ideal that might be well cherished today among men who esteem themselves high in the scale of civilization.
MESSAGE TO YOUTH
Our country's most precious possession is not our vast acres of range land supporting flocks and herds; not productive farms- not our forests; not our mines nor oil wells producing fabulous wealth-our country's greatest resource is our children, our young men and women whose characters will largely determine our nation's future. If it were possible for me this morning to speak directly to the young men and women of the Church, I would say that you should always remember that true joy of life is found, not in physical indulgence and excesses, but in clean living and high thinking; in rendering to others, not inconvenience, injury, or pain, but encouragement, cheer, and helpfulness.
This is simply saying to them that satisfaction in daily life is found in trying to keep the simple law, "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you". Right actions toward others always bring joy; wrongful deeds result in pain, and not infrequently, remorse.
OBEDIENCE BRINGS BLESSINGS
Conformity to the Lord's word or law will invariably contribute to man's happiness and salvation. Those who do not what the Lord commands, we are told, will be subjected to justice and judgment. In other words, there is eternally operative in the moral world a law of compensation and retribution-compensation commensurate with conformity to law; retribution in actual degree to the extent of disobedience.
In this sense I use the word law as having a deeper significance than a rule or dictum prescribed by authority for human actions. It means, rather, ''a uniform order of sequence" as operative and unvarying as the law of the inclined plane, or the law of falling bodies.
Confirmation of this may be found in the Lord's statement to Cain, the first disobedient son in history. "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door".
It is also stated by the Prophet Joseph Smith, "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 predicated".
It is said, parents, boys, and girls, that "the soul in the formative period of youth, while it is yet unspotted from the world, may be likened to a block of pure, uncut Parian marble, in which lie boundless possibilities of beauty or of deformity. From the crude marble one will chisel a form of exquisite grace and symmetry; another, a misshapen monstrosity, each visualizing in the formless stone the conception of his brain. Thus we are molded by our ideals."
NEED FOR RIGHT THINKING
Thoughts are the seeds of acts, and precede them. Mere compliance with the word of the Lord, without a corresponding inward desire, will avail but little. Indeed, such outward actions and pretending phrases may disclose hypocrisy, a sin that Jesus most vehemently condemned.
"O generation of vipers," he exclaimed, "how can ye, being evil, speak good things?". The Savior's constant desire and effort were to implant in the mind right thoughts, pure motives, noble ideals, knowing full well that right words and actions would eventually follow. He taught what modern physiology and psychology confirm, that hate, jealousy, and other evil passions destroy a man's physical vigor and efficiency. "They pervert his mental perceptions and render him incapable of resisting the temptation to commit acts of violence. They undermine his moral health. By insidious stages they transform the man who cherishes them into a criminal."
EXAMPLE FROM CHARLES DICKENS
Charles Dickens makes impressive use of this fact in his immortal story, Oliver Twist, wherein Monks is introduced first as an innocent, beautiful child; but as "ending his life as a mass of solid bestiality, a mere chunk of fleshed iniquity. It was thinking upon vice and vulgarity, that transformed the angel's face into the countenance of a demon."
That great writer says this: "It is almost impossible to believe that such a devilish nature as Bill Sikes, depicted in the same book, could be found in human form," but Dickens says: "I fear there are in the world some insensible and callous natures that do become, at last, utterly and irredeemably bad. But whether this be true or not, of one thing I am certain-that there are such men as Sikes, who, being closely followed through the same space of time, and through the same current of circumstances, would not give by one look or action for a moment the faintest indication of a better nature. Whether every gentler human feeling is dead within such bosoms, or the proper chord to strike has rusted and is hard to find, I do not know, but the fact is so, I am sure."
I am trying to emphasize that each one is the architect of his own fate, and he is unfortunate, indeed, who will try to build himself without the inspiration of God, without realizing that he, grows from within, not from without.
THE GREAT STONE FACE
I have mentioned these negative things, but I call attention of the youth to the story of The Great Stone Face by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Ernest one day said to his mother, as they sat looking at an immense rock in which nature had chiseled a man's face with noble features, and an expression, to quote Hawthorne, "at once grand and sweet, as if it were the glow of a vast, warm heart that embraced all mankind in its affections and had room for more-"
"Mother," said Ernest, "if I were to see a man with such a face, I should love him dearly."
She answered, "If a prophecy come true, we may see him some time or other with exactly a face like that."
That face, as you know, was finally depicted in the countenance of Ernest himself. Having lived a life in which he had constantly kept before himself the vision splendid, there was chiseled in his own countenance the benign features of the great image.
What a man continually thinks about determines his actions in times of opportunity and stress. A man's reaction to his appetites and impulses when they are aroused gives the measure of that man's character. In these reactions are revealed the man's power to govern or his forced servility to yield.
DISOBEDIENCE BRINGS RETRIBUTION
No man can disobey the word of God and not suffer for so doing. No sin, however secret, can escape retribution. True, you may lie and not be detected: you may violate virtue without its being known by any who could scandalize you, yet you cannot escape the judgment that follows such transgression. The lie is lodged in the recesses of your mind, and impairment of your character will be reflected sometime, somehow in your countenance or bearing. Your moral turpitude, though only you, your accomplice, and God may ever know it, will some day canker your soul.
"The more I know intimately the lives of other men, to say nothing of my own," said Huxley in a letter to Charles Kingsley, "the more obvious it is to me that the wicked does not flourish nor is the righteous punished."
"The ledger of the Almighty is strictly kept, and every one of us has the balance of his operations paid over to him at the end of every minute of his existence. The absolute justice of the system of things is as clear to me as any scientific fact. The gravitation of sin to sorrow is as certain as that of the earth to the sun, and more so, for experimental proof of the fact is within the reach of us all, nay, is before us all our lives, if we had but the eyes to see it."
Associate with that the saying in the Book of Mormon, "Sin is never happiness". Man is endowed with appetites and passions for the preservation of his life and the perpetuation of his kind. These, when held under proper subjection, contribute to his happiness and comfort; but when used for mere gratification, lead to misery and moral degradation.
PROSTITUTION OF LOVE
Associated with these natural instincts, young folk, is a sin that always seeks seclusion. It is the prostitution of love, the noblest attribute of the soul. God has instituted marriage and the family as the proper condition of expressing in our lives this divine virtue. But sometimes men and women with low ideals and weakened wills permit their passions, like unbridled steeds, to dash aside judgment and self-restraint, and to cause them to commit sin that may sear their conscience and leave in their hearts an everlasting regret.
In this day when modesty is thrust into the background, and chastity is considered an outmoded virtue, I appeal to you to keep your souls unmarred and unsullied from this sin, the consequence of which will smite and haunt you intimately until your conscience is seared and your character sordid. A chaste, not a profligate life is the source of virile manhood, the crown of beautiful womanhood, the contributing source of harmony and happiness in family life, and the source of strength and perpetuity of the race.
Remember, too, the significance of the Savior's saying that if any shall commit adultery even in his or her heart, he shall not have the Spirit, but shall deny the faith and shall fear.
Resist evil, and the tempter will flee from you. If you keep your character above reproach, no matter what others may think, or what charges they make, you can hold your head erect, keep your heart light, and face the world undauntedly because you, yourself, and your God know that you have kept your soul untarnished.
The only thing which places man above the beasts of the field is his possession of spiritual gifts. Man's earthly existence is but a test as to whether he will concentrate his efforts, his mind, his soul upon things which contribute to the comfort and gratification of his physical instincts and passions, or whether he will make as his life's end and purpose the acquisition of spiritual qualities.
FACTORS IN INFLUENCING YOUTH
I said we had a little apprehension that quorums and auxiliaries were not doing all possible to guide youth along these lines. In the Church we have two great divisions: first, organized stakes, composed of wards and other groups-quorums and auxiliaries; second, the missions, divided into branches in which are also, to a limited degree, quorums and auxiliaries. These groups should become greater factors in influencing youth. Consider for a moment what the quorums might do, if the presidency of each quorum, the leaders of each group, and the members would wield influence upon their fellows as the Lord intends they should.
The quorum is an essential part of the Lord's plan for rendering mutual aid. No other organization in the world is so effectively organized into working groups as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints; for example, there are today approximately 137,000 men holding the Melchizedek Priesthood, men inspired with the same ideals and similar hopes, bound by a solemn duty to help one another to secure economic as well as spiritual aid and comfort There are also approximately 57,000 men under twenty-one years of age, associated together in the Aaronic Priesthood. There are 57,000 others holding the Aaronic Priesthood, or a total of 114,000 in the Aaronic Priesthood. What a mighty force for good these quorums would be if the spiritual welfare of each member and his obligation to the Church were considered the special duty of each presiding officer! That is a possibility of achievement.
All others not enrolled in quorums should be enlisted in the auxiliaries, and the whereabouts and attitude toward the Church of each one known by at least some teacher or officer.
THE HOME
But even more potent in influencing child life is the home. Upon the parents the Lord has directly placed the responsibility of teaching their children. I wish this paragraph could be written and put on the wall of every home in the Church:
"... 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 of the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents".
The character of a child is formed largely during the first twelve years of his life. It is estimated that in that period a child spends approximately 3,200 hours in school; 416 hours in Sunday School and Church: but 52,500 hours in the home, not counting twelve hours a day for sleep.
In other words, he spends sixteen times as many waking hours in the home as in the school, and 126 times as many hours in the home as in the Church!
Thus, "In the homes of America are born the children of America, and from them go out into American life American men and women. They go out with the stamp of these homes upon them, and only as these homes are what they should be, will children be what they should be."
I shall not take time to quote all Luther Burbank said about the training of children as he trained plants, but he says the use of an influence over and over again is necessary, keeping everlastingly at it. This is what fixes traits in plants, the constant repetition of an influence until at last it is irrevocably fixed and will not change. "Parents, you cannot afford," he says, "to get discouraged. You are dealing with something far more precious than any plant, the precious soul of a child."
Parents who do not know where their children are at night are recreant to the sacred obligation of parenthood, and untrue to the high ideals of the Church regarding home life.
Do not say now in your minds that that is impossible. Just go back to your own homes and the care that you know your father and mother had regarding you.
UNDERMINING FORCES
I must not elaborate upon this further, but I wish to mention another condition that gives cause for concern and apprehension, and that is the insidious influences, as well as the blatant heralding of ideas that undermine century-tried principles of peace, of justice, and of advancement toward the day of universal brotherhood.
We are grieved when we see or hear men and women, some of whom even profess membership in the Church, looking with favor upon the pernicious teachings of these groups, especially Communism. These credulous, misguided persons claim to be advocates of peace, and accuse those who oppose them as advocates of war. They should remember that all of us should ever keep in mind that there are some eternal principles more precious than peace dearer than life itself.
Our revolutionary fathers sensed this, and their innermost feelings were expressed in the words of Patrick Henry: "Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?"
Free agency, for example, is a divine gift, more precious than peace, more to be desired even than life. Any nation, any organized group of individuals that would deprive man of this heritage should be denounced by all liberty-loving persons. Associated with this fundamental principle is the right of individual initiative, the right to worship how, where, or what one pleases, and the simple privilege to leave a country, if one choose, without having to skulk out as a culprit at the risk of being shot and killed.
At heart Communism is atheistic, and Fascism is equally antagonistic to freedom and to other Christian principles-even denying the divinity of Jesus Christ, and the existence of God.
NEED FOR INTEGRITY
Today there is a great need in the world for men of integrity, men of honor, men whose words are as good as their bond, leaders of nations who will consider international agreements sacred.
The philosopher Thoreau said, "It matters not half so much what kind of ballot you drop into the ballot box once a year, as what kind of man you drop out of bed into the streets every morning."
Man's greatest need is real conversion to the eternal truths of the gospel-to the truth that Jesus Christ came to give life and light to the human family. I feel that with all my soul, and so do you fellow workers who sit before me.
Recently, a group of friends presented one of their number with a valuable, practical gift. In accepting it, the man said that wherever he might travel, the possession of that gift would be a constant reminder of his friends' affection and regard.
Brethren and sisters, all life is a gift of God. Appreciation of that fact should inspire us with a desire to live daily exemplary lives, that others, seeing our good deeds might be led to, glorify our Father in heaven, of whose existence and inspiration I testify before you this morning, and of the divinity of whose Church I bear testimony, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Amen.
Elder Henry D. Moyle
Henry D. Moyle, Conference Report, October 1951, pp. 12-16
I join with you my brethren and sisters in expressing to our Father in heaven our thanks and gratitude for our great leader and president who stands at the head of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints here and now. I hope that we shall all have that faith in his admonitions which will permit us to go forward and enact in our lives the teachings which we thus receive through the mouthpiece of our Heavenly Father, here on this earth.
DIVINITY OF THE WORK
I know that I speak the thoughts of all who are here assembled when I say that we uphold and sustain President David O. McKay as our prophet, seer, and revelator. And so it is with great humility that I stand here before you and in his presence, in the presence of my brethren, to bear my testimony to you of the divinity of the work in which we are engaged.
I am grateful for the unity which exists among the General Authorities of this Church, and I know that there is, thus, an example set to the people of the Church by which they could very well profit. That same unity should extend into every stake and into every ward, every mission, every branch of the Church. I am grateful for the sustaining power and influence that comes into my life and assists me in my work as a result of your faith and prayers, my brethren and sisters. I am grateful for the affection, the sustaining power and influence, the faith and prayers of my brethren with whom I have the privilege to associate day by day, and acknowledge before you and my Heavenly Father that our ministry would be empty were it not for these sustaining influences. I know with all my heart that God lives and that Jesus is the Christ, and I want for nothing but to dedicate my life, my energy, to proclaiming this testimony to the world, to let my fellow men know that there can be no joy in life, and certainly no salvation hereafter, unless we understand the laws of God, given to us for our happiness and our salvation, and in turn lend obedience to them.
OBEDIENCE TO LAW
I feel to repeat the revelation given us by the Prophet Joseph Smith, which President McKay has already quoted you this morning,
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 predicated.
The Lord has said:
I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.
President McKay has told us here this morning the responsibilities we have resting upon us as fathers and mothers in Israel. I testify to you that if we do that which we have been commanded, our children and our children's children will be blessed and will be encouraged to walk in our footsteps and will be crowned eventually with us in the glory of our Father's kingdom.
For a long time past I have been tremendously impressed with the fact that God is no respecter of persons, that his Church and kingdom here upon this earth is governed and regulated and controlled by law, and that that law is your law; it is my law; and to that law there are no exceptions.
We have been told in the scriptures that,
For there is no respect of persons with God.
For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law; and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law
I say that those of us who have received the law must of necessity be judged by it and be responsible for any disobedience we contribute to it.
For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
That is the law of the gospel, and so, as we understand these simple fundamental laws of the gospel, we must live them; we must teach them to our children; we must be bound by them; and we must claim no exemption for ourselves.
NO SPECIAL PRIVILEGES
Brother Widtsoe, who is absent from our midst today, has recently written, "Full happiness within the Church demands that men comply with all its laws, regulations, and ordinances. Obedience is incomplete if a person decides to obey one and disobey another gospel requirement. Usually, an attempt to select some practices and ignore others leads to a weakening of the will for righteousness, and soon complete disobedience sets in". I am sure we will accept that as true, that we must do nothing which weakens our will.
I have a feeling that sometimes we are inclined to exempt ourselves from the law. We seek special privileges. I don't know whether it has become so common in the world for men politically and socially to claim exemptions from the operation of the civil law as applied to them that they think maybe, within the realm of the kingdom and Church of God they are likewise entitled to special privileges. I am sure of one thing, that President McKay does not claim any special privileges for himself, and that the General Authorities follow his example, and we know and we believe that we are bound by the law.
STRICT CONFORMITY
I believe it is time when many of us should feel that it is important to hew strictly to the line, to keep our own houses in order. So I ask you in light of these suggestions, should we insist upon going on a mission or sending our sons unless we are worthy? Can we meet the requirements that have been laid down for those entitled to go? Should we ever feel it necessary to call upon our bishop or our stake president for a recommend to go to the temple if we know that we have not first met the law in respect thereto and have made ourselves worthy to receive this special privilege? Some of us may feel that we can impose upon the bishop a little bit, that we will be forgiven. I wonder how many of us realize that we cannot expect, if we go to the House of the Lord unworthily, the same efficacy will attach to our work as would to the work of those who go to the House of the Lord worthily. Let us think about that, and in place of asking for a special privilege, see that we keep the laws of God in our own homes and in our own lives, and encourage our own sons and daughters to do likewise in order that they might go to the House of the Lord worthily.
The same could be said of the Word of Wisdom, the payment of tithes, fasting. We have carried on in the Church, all this year, a great campaign connected with the welfare program of the Church to encourage our people to fast. I say to you today that there are none of the blessings of the fast that can come to you and me unless we fast. We must all fast in the same manner. There is no exception to the requirement that we do fast if we are ultimately going to have a real interest in the kingdom of our Heavenly Father, as King Benjamin once said.
In speaking of charity, Brigham Young and the Twelve said, in April, 1842, while building the temple in Nauvoo:
This is not all. It will be in vain for us to build a place where the Son of Man may lay his head, and leave the cry of the widow and the fatherless unheard by us ascending up to the orphan's God and the widow's Friend. It is in vain we cry "Lord, Lord" and do not the things our Lord hath commanded, to visit the widow, the fatherless, the sick, the lame, the blind, the destitute, and minister to their necessities.
I call attention to prayer. Can we accomplish the purposes that President McKay has outlined for us with reference to our children if we do not pray, as a family, in the home, bring into our homes and into the lives of our youths the spirit as well as the power and inspiration of prayer? And so I say that no home should be surprised if its children do not receive the same strength and courage that other children reared in a home of prayer receive, if they are reared in a household which is a stranger to prayer.
HONESTY IN DAILY LIVES
Some of us claim the privilege of withholding support from our bishop, our stake president, and some of us feel that for one reason or another it is not incumbent on us to sustain the General Authorities of the Church, each man in his office and calling. But I say to you that we cannot fail to respond, especially those of us who hold the priesthood and our wives and our families, to the requirement which God has written into his law in respect thereto and receive the blessings that might otherwise be ours. In our daily lives it is impossible for us to cheat a little and still be honest.
The commandment is to pay every man his dues, and no man can get to heaven who justly owes his brother or his neighbor, who has or can get the means and will not pay it; it is dishonest, and no dishonest man can enter where God is.
It is impossible for us to take advantage of one another in any way, shape, or form and still have that brotherly love which should characterize the membership of the Church of Jesus Christ. We could go on and review all of the activities of life and come to the same conclusion on each. It is therefore proper for us today to
Bring forth fruits meet for repentance,
And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father; for l say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
In other words, no matter whether we today boast of being of the seed of Abraham, just as the house of Israel did in the days of old, we are nevertheless to be justified only by our obedience to the law of God.
And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear.
We must never forget.
That which breaketh a law, and abideth not by law, but seeketh to become a law unto itself, and willeth to abide in sin, and altogether abideth in sin, cannot be sanctified by law, neither by mercy, justice, nor judgment. Therefore, they must remain filthy still.
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap.
For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
I hope and pray, my brethren and sisters, we shall as a result of this great conference go to our homes, to our work, to our wives, and to our families, and realize and appreciate that we must teach the law as it has been revealed to us in these latter days and then lend strict obedience to it, and dedicate our lives to our families and to our children that they might likewise be obedient, and this I humbly pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Thomas E. McKay
Thomas E. McKay, Conference Report, October 1951, pp. 16-19
President McKay, Counselors, President Smith, brethren and sisters, while being so affectionately helped by my son from where I was sitting to where I am now standing, a statement flashed through my mind attributed to a good friend, the late J. Golden Kimball, when he stated, "If you wish to live forever, just get an incurable disease and take care of it." Yes, I confess that I am guilty of having such thoughts about others, and it is stated that the measure ye mete unto others shall be meted unto you again; so it is all right if some of you are thinking that of me; I hope that you are because I'd like that measure that I have meted to others to be wiped out or balanced before I go to the other side. I have always had an idea, a strong one, that it would be much better for all of us if we could repent of all our sins before we go to the other side. And as it has been stated this morning by President McKay also by Brother Moyle, we may get by on this side by a little lying and a little cheating and a little stealing, but we will have to meet it, brothers and sisters, as sure as we live. The Lord is just, and these things will have to be paid for before we can progress as we would like to on the other side.
POWER OF PRAYER
I am delighted beyond expression to be here with you this morning, and I wish openly to thank my Father in heaven for hearing and answering the prayers that have so thoughtfully been offered for me, and especially do I thank you, brethren and sisters, my dear friends, for remembering me in your prayers. I believe with all my heart in the power of prayer. I have always believed in and accepted prayer as one of the great principles governing us in our lives, and I am thankful that so many are now thinking of prayer. They are speaking of it from the pulpit, in the press, and also over the radio. Just last night we listened to a play, the Home Theatre, I think it is called, over the Mutual Broadcasting System, and the sponsors of this play generally make this very pertinent statement at the close: More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of." The other statement, very applicable especially to this day where divorces are so prevalent: "The family that prays together, stays together."
PRAYER IN THE HOME
I am sure that many young couples who have started life, opening their homes for themselves, have heard that statement and would like very much, perhaps, to begin again by having prayer in the home. I know the young wives would like to have it, and maybe the young husbands, but some of them perhaps do not know how to pray. I know we had missionaries arrive in the field who didn't know how to pray. You could tell always when a missionary came from a home where they had family prayers and had had the opportunity to take part in that family prayer. And to avoid embarrassment of these young missionaries, who hadn't had that opportunity, because of neglect of their parents, I generally made it a point in our first meeting with the missionaries to help guide them in knowing how to pray. I told them, among other things, always to express appreciation in their prayers, followed by their requests, and if they thought of prayers divided in that manner, it would be of help to them, even if they had never prayed before. If they would just stand up and say, "We thank thee, Father in heaven," and then name the blessings: for health and strength, for our parents, for the privilege of being in the mission field, for the Church, for our citizenship, then they could go on. If they would just express their appreciation and then follow it by the requests that they have: "Continue to bless us, bless us in our family life that peace and love and unity may continue. Bless our brother who is in the war," perhaps. Well, if people would just think of prayer as being divided in that way, it might help them.
There may be young couples who are listening in who listened to that play last night, and when it was stated that "The family that prays together, stays together," I am sure they thought they would like to begin, and I hope that they will.
EXPRESSING APPRECIATION
Expressing appreciation: Do not ever forget to express appreciation to our Father in heaven for the blessings that we have received from him. There would be more love in the home if we expressed appreciation for our wives, menfolk. We love them as much as ever, but we don't tell them. We used to take them flowers occasionally, especially when we were courting them, but I am sure there are men listening in now who have never given their wives bouquets of flowers. This theme was developed in one of our stakes with scattered wards, some of them nearly fifty miles from where the conference was being held, and the presidency of the stake very wisely organized a transportation committee, comprised of adult members of the Aaronic Priesthood and adult members who have no priesthood, and even some non-members. They took their appointment seriously, and they made it possible for every person in that scattered community, stake, to be in conference. In that way the presidency, of course, had a large number of the adult members of the Aaronic Priesthood there.
After this theme had been developed, it was told that one of the men thought that the speaker was speaking directly to him. He was working at one of the defense plants at the time, making a lot of money. The men were paid every two weeks. They cashed their checks right there where they were working for convenience. As this man was driving home one night after receiving his two weeks' pay, making more in two weeks than he usually made in two months, he stopped at the drugstore and bought a box of candy, the kind he used to take to his sweetheart during his courting days. He saw a flower shop in the corner of the drugstore, and he thought ''Well, I believe I will get a bouquet of flowers. I know my sweetheart liked dark red roses." So he had the flower girl make up a beautiful bouquet of roses.
He took them home, gave his usual three rings to announce to his wife that he had arrived. She came hurrying to the door as usual, just as he was awkwardly pushing the door closed with his back. He handed the roses to his wife and then awkwardly pushed the box of candy towards her, blushing, I guess. She looked at the flowers, then the box of candy, then at her husband and said "John, let me smell your breath." Well, he was overdoing it a little perhaps all at once, but as she placed those flowers in the vase, tears came into her eyes. And as they were munching over the candy in the evening, she said, "John, remember this is the kind of candy you brought me the first time you called to see me, and I was so embarrassed because father kept returning for just another piece?"
And he said, "Yes, I do remember, and how pleased I was that your father did keep returning. I was worried because I thought maybe he wouldn't like me, and I saw that he liked my candy anyhow, and maybe liked me."
APPRECIATION BRINGS LOVE
I want to tell you brethren and sisters we would have more love in our homes and in our wards and in our stakes if we just took time not only to appreciate our wives, but also to tell them that we love them, not only to appreciate what our bishops are doing for our boys in the Aaronic Priesthood, but also put our hand on the shoulder of the bishop and tell him, "Bishop, how I do appreciate what you are doing for my boys." Tell the superintendent, and the Sunday School teachers, and tell your ward teachers. Next time they come, make them feel at home, and when they get up to say good-night after delivering their lesson, kneel down and pray with them, receiving their blessings.
May we, my brethren and sisters, have the will power to express our appreciation-not only to appreciate, but also to express that appreciation more, and to pray together oftener.
TESTIMONY
And in conclusion, may I, my brethren and sisters, express with all my heart my gratitude to my Father in heaven for giving me a testimony of the divinity of this work in which we are engaged. I know that he lives, that he is our Father. We are all his children. I know that Jesus is the Christ, and that his Church is upon the earth, and that the men who have stood at the head of this Church from the time of the Prophet Joseph Smith to the present time when President David O. McKay stands at the head, have all been called of God, and they have been set apart by the laying on of hands to preside over the Church, to preach the gospel, and to administer in the ordinances thereof. I bear you this testimony humbly, and in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Mark E. Petersen
Mark E. Petersen, Conference Report, October 1951, pp. 19-20
I am grateful, my brothers and sisters, to meet with you in general conference again. I was greatly impressed by that masterful sermon of our President as he opened the conference; and with these other brethren. I surely sustain him as the prophet, seer, and revelator of the Lord.
I was more than happy to see Brother Thomas E. McKay here, and I am so glad that he bore that wonderful testimony to you. I think I would like to tell you another testimony about Brother Thomas E. McKay, and I believe I will make that my address to you here in this conference.
INCIDENT OF HEALING
Not very long ago I was down in one of the California stakes attending a stake conference. At the close of the morning meeting, one of the bishops brought his mother to the stand as she wished to shake hands and send a message back home. When she reached the stand, she said, Will you give a message from me to Brother Thomas E. McKay?
I said, "I shall be very glad to."
She said: "It has been a couple of years since he was here to stake conference, but I want you to take a message to him."
At that time I was holding in my hands a Book of Mormon that I had used during the conference. She took the Book of Mormon from my hands and opened it and read a paragraph to me then she closed the book and gave it back.
She said, "Two years ago Elder Thomas E. McKay was down here to our stake conference. I was blind. I knew that if he would lay his hands upon my head I would receive my sight again. I sent over to the conference and had him come. He and the other brethren laid their hands upon my head, and blessed me. Now you see that without even the use of glasses I have been able to read a paragraph from your book. When you get back to Salt Lake City will you tell him what I have done here today and express to him the gratitude I feel to the Lord that one of his chosen servants came down here and was willing to lay his hands upon my head? Whereas I was blind two years ago, now I can see and I can read without glasses".
A TRUE SERVANT
I thought that was a beautiful testimony she bore to one of the servants of God. I have loved Brother McKay ever since I first became acquainted with him some years ago. I can testify to you along with this good sister from California that indeed Thomas E. McKay through his life has been a true servant of God, and I am glad that he stood here today and bore that fervent testimony that he knows that God lives; that he knows that Jesus is the Christ; that he knows that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God; and that all the men who have succeeded him in the presidency of this Church likewise are prophets of the Lord.
I bear you this testimony also because I know that these things are true, and I give you this testimony in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Richard L. Evans
Richard L. Evans, Conference Report, October 1951, pp. 20-23
I wish that Brother Petersen had followed me instead of preceding me, for I should have tried to see that he had more time and I had less.
I should like to express my appreciation for my association and membership with you, my brethren and sisters, and for the confidence and encouragement of the First Presidency and my other brethren among the General Authorities, and to express my support and prayers for them in the heavy burdens they carry.
EVIDENCE OF FAITH
President McKay's report this morning of one item reminded me of an interpretation that I have placed for my own personal comfort upon the fact of our tremendous building program, and I have stated it previously to this congregation: I believe that some four hundred and twenty buildings actually in the course of construction at the present time is a great and tangible evidence of the faith of this Church and its leadership in the future, and I like to accept it as such.
TEMPLE SQUARE ACTIVITIES
Perhaps you will be interested in knowing of some of the activities on Temple Square this past year. Up to the close of September, we had had some 895,439 visitors come through the gates of Temple Square for this year of 1951. The general travel index, in this area, at least, is a little down, as compared to last year, as indicated by the business barometer of those establishments that largely deal with tourist trade. But it looks again as if we may reach or exceed, or at least closely approach, the million mark again-a million visitors who have come to see us as we are on Temple Square during this year of 1951. And we are pleased to report that despite some decrease in general tourist travel and in the number of visitors who have passed through our gates, we have had the privilege of conducting tours and telling our story to more people this year, up to this time, than ever before on record, in a like period of time.
We have the great privilege of meeting here some of the finest people from almost every part of the world, and it is encouraging and gratifying to partake of their spirit as they come here-asking and with open arms, and they are gracious guests, as we try to be gracious hosts-to Temple Square, which I believe to be the greatest ten acres in the world, that I know anything of, at least.
I remember one fine, elderly lady from a remote part of the country, who not many weeks ago looked over the valley and said, "No wonder Brigham Young and the pioneers chose this place." Well, it looks easy after the work is done- it looks desirable. But every time I look at the tabernacle and the temple, and every time I hear the organ, I am made humble in thinking of what they did with what they had.
CHURCH AFFILIATIONS
Brother Harold Lundstrom invited my attention to a most interesting figure or two from the 1951 Yearbook of American Churches published only last month. Sometimes people ask us why we send missionaries to Christian peoples. This yearbook, published by the National Council of Churches, indicates that there are about 256 religious groups in the United States at the present time, to which some eighty-seven million people belong. Only about fifty eight percent of the population of the United States of America claims or is counted as having affiliation with any church group, which means that beside those who are somewhat disaffected or disinterested or inactive or who haven't found what they want in their own churches, there are some sixty to seventy millions of people right here among us in our own nation, who are not claimed by, and do not claim, any church. Certainly one of the greatest missionary fields in the world is here at home, besides our abundant opportunities abroad.
OBLIGATIONS TO CHILDREN
President McKay and other speakers have mentioned our obligations to our children, and some thoughts have been running through my mind concerning them: It doesn't matter what you have if you don't deliver it, no matter what talent or ability or capacity. It doesn't matter what truth you possess if you don't use it. And, so far as the next generation is concerned, it doesn't matter what you have learned if you don't pass it on. Every generation needs teaching, not only by example, but also by specific word, and, as indicated by President McKay, the great number of hours we have with our children in the home, as compared with their hours in schools and the churches, is somewhat indicative of the ratio of our responsibility concerning them. Every generation is a relay station to pass on the great, eternal truths to the next generation, and I pray that we may do so and that no part of this eternal message may stop at our relay point but may be continually passed on to the next generation-to our children and our children's children.
A PECULIAR PEOPLE
We sometimes hear the phrase applied to us that we are a "peculiar people". The word peculiar is not peculiar to us; it is peculiar to scripture. It is a word by which the Lord describes a generation that he will have, peculiar in purity, in honor, in righteousness as indicated in both Old and New Testament texts. And I believe the opportunity we have with our children and with the visitors who come here prompts us more than ever to have in mind that we must be in some respects set apart and in some respects different-not queer that is not the connotation of the word as applied in scripture-but I think we should be peculiarly honest, peculiarly dependable, peculiarly industrious, peculiarly willing in our work, peculiarly kind, peculiarly hospitable, peculiarly understanding, and peculiarly, happy.
And I am sure that our young people are peculiarly blessed in many ways. For one thing they are blessed with membership in a Church that is committed to the acceptance of all truth. They are blessed in knowing that there is no truth that they could ever discover that their Church would not accept in any field of thought or learning. All that the Church asks is that what it is asked to accept shall be beyond theory, beyond supposition, beyond private opinion. They are peculiarly blessed in belonging to a Church that will accept every truth they ever discover in any field or from any source.
We should be, and I think we are, peculiarly sustained in hardship and in times of difficulty, and peculiarly comforted in times of sorrow and uncertainty; and I ask our Father in heaven that his blessings may be upon these young people of ours who are faced with uncertainty and difficult situations that they may be peculiarly blessed as they live for these blessings and keep their covenants and are faithful in the performance of their duties, wherever their country may call them, wherever mission service or any other essential service may take them.
And may this be a time for teaching our children of the mission and message of him who said, "of such is the kingdom of heaven"; and may his peace and the fulfillment of his promises be unto all of us; and may we repent where we need repentance and conform to the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ and live so that those who come to see us will sense our "peculiarities" in the constructive sense in which the Lord used the word in scripture.
I ask that the blessing of our Father in heaven may be with each of us in all of our problems, in all of our decisions in life, in our counseling of our children, in our teaching them the great and eternal truths, and in all our meetings with others, so that our lives may be consistent with our convictions and with the commandments of God, that our conduct may be consistent with those things we profess, and I do it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Harold B. Lee
Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, October 1951, pp. 25-31
I think I have never stood before a conference congregation when I have felt so utterly dependent upon the Spirit of the Lord and upon your sustaining faith and prayers. I lean heavily upon you and ask for an interest in your prayers.
Before you and my Heavenly Father I confess my weaknesses, my shortcomings, and ask for his pardon, that I might be in such a condition as to have the direction of the Holy Spirit, not only as I shall occupy these few moments, but also as I go forward and attempt to undertake the great responsibilities that devolve upon one called to serve in this great Church.
AN ABIDING TESTIMONY
I have searched my soul, and I feel that I can say to you that I count by far the most valuable of all the things which I possess today an abiding testimony in the divinity of this work. I know that my Redeemer lives. The certainty and conviction that I feel in my soul today is as certain as that night follows day.
I have been grateful that I have found myself in full harmony with that inspiring message of our leader, President McKay, this morning. His remarks and the prayer that was offered at the commencement of this service by Patriarch Gaskell Romney have led my mind into a train of thinking, which, if the spirit will bless me, I desire to follow.
PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS
Patriarch Romney, in his prayer, said that the greatest weakness among us today was from within. The Master taught a great truth in a lesson which has been given to us for generations since that time to prepare us and to teach us in things that pertain to our day, and the events which are to come. This is the message, the words of which are not new to any of you who listen:
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
This was a parable, as with many of the Master's teachings, based upon customs with which the people, his hearers, were already familiar.
The purpose of this lesson was to impress upon those called to the ministry and upon his followers and upon the world that there should be an unceasing watchfulness and preparation for the day which he had predicted when the Lord would come again in judgment upon the earth.
The bridegroom of the parable was the Master, the Savior of mankind. The marriage feast symbolized the second coming of the Savior to receive his Church unto himself. The virgins were those who were professed believers in Christ, because they were expectantly waiting for the coming of the bridegroom to the marriage feast, or they were connected with the Church and the events which were to transpire with reference to it.
MODERN REFERENCE
That this parable did refer particularly to the believers in Christ with a warning to them is further indicated by what the Lord has told us in modern revelation in which he said:
These are the things that ye must look for... even in the day of the coming of the Son of Man.
And until that hour there will be foolish virgins among the wise; and at that hour cometh an entire separation of the righteous and the wicked,
undoubtedly meaning a separation of the wicked from the righteous among the professing believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord defines the wise virgins of his parable in still another revelation in which he said,
For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived-verily I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day.
Here is clearly indicated a truth we must all recognize, that among the people of God, the believers in the Savior of the world, there are those who are wise and keep the commandments, and yet there are those who are foolish, who are disobedient, and who neglect their duties.
PROCESS OF PREPARATION
President Brigham Young corrected an error with respect to the preparation necessary for the enjoyment of the presence of the Lord when he comes, in this statement:
Tradition has taught us that the great purpose of religion is to prepare people to die, that when they have passed through a change of heart, become converted, they are ready for glory at any moment, and to dwell with the Father and the Son in the heavens to all eternity. This is a mistake, for they have to improve, become substantially changed from bad to good, from sin to holiness, here or somewhere else, before they are prepared for the society they anticipate enjoying.
Preparation for that achievement is a process. For that very purpose the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored in its fullness in this dispensation. So the Prophet Joseph Smith was told by the Angel Moroni, as the Prophet has recorded in his history:
This messenger, proclaimed himself to be an angel of God, sent to bring the joyful tidings that the covenant which God made with ancient Israel was at hand to be fulfilled; that the preparatory work for the second coming of the Messiah was speedily to commence; that the time was at hand for the gospel in all its fullness to be preached in power, unto all nations, that a people might be prepared for the millennial reign..
A VOICE OF WARNING
The responsibilities of the prophets in every dispensation have been to sound a warning for the nations to repent and to come unto the Lord and avoid the judgments that otherwise will be sent upon mankind.
President Wilford Woodruff, in a sermon delivered to temple workers in Brigham City in June 1894, made a remarkable prediction and a statement with regard to these matters. A part of his sermon is as follows:
We cannot draw a veil over the events that await this generation. No man that is inspired by the spirit and power of God can close his ears and his eyes or his lips to these things. When I have the vision of night open continually before my eyes and can see the mighty judgments that are about to be poured out upon this world; when I know these things are true, and are at the door of the Jew and Gentile; while I know they are true, while I am holding this position before God and this world, can I withhold my voice from lifting up a warning to this people and to the nations of the earth?... And from this very day they shall be poured out. Calamities and troubles are increasing in the earth, and there is a meaning to these things... Read the scriptures and the revelations. They will tell you about these things. Great changes are at our doors. The next twenty years will see mighty changes among the nations of the earth. You will live to see these things whether I do or not. I have felt oppressed with the weight of these matters, and I have felt that I must speak of them here; it is by the power of the gospel we shall escape.
He enumerated a number of the calamities which he had foreseen, and then stated: "They are at our very doors, and not even this people will escape them entirely."
Twenty years later, as he had predicted, lacking one month, the great world war of July 1914 broke in all its fury. Many of you here have been witnesses of the fulfillment of what President Woodruff said, and from that time to the present time there has been an increasing intensity of the troubles and difficulties upon the earth.
He sounded a note of comfort and blessing, however, in his closing statement.
Remember this, and reflect upon these matters, he said,
If you do your duty, and I do mine, we shall have protection, and shall pass through the afflictions in peace and safety.
WARNING OF PRESIDENT SMITH
Shortly after the general conference a year ago last April, I met a man on the street who was inclined to be critical of the fact, he said, that the Church was not receiving revelations, and why was it that the Lord wasn't revealing his mind and will to his leaders. I happened to have in my pocket a clipping from President George Albert Smith's last address, and I took it out and read this to him:
Said President Smith at the April conference just one year before his death:
Brethren and sisters, let us go to our homes; and if our houses are not in order, let us set them in order. Let us renew our determination to honor God and keep his commandments, to love one another, to make our homes the abiding place of peace. Each of us can contribute to that in the homes in which we live.
It will not be long until calamities will overtake the human family unless they seek speedy repentance. It will not be long before those who are scattered over the face of the earth by millions will die like flies because of what will come.
Our Heavenly Father has told us how it can be avoided, and that is our mission, in part, to go into the world and explain to the people how it may be avoided.
President Smith could not have made that statement except as the Lord revealed it to him.
OBLIGATION TO FOLLOW COUNSEL
The Lord in a revelation has told us that it is the obligation of the Latter-day Saints to listen to the counsel of their leaders. In the preface to the Book of Doctrine and Covenants the Lord has said this in plainness.
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.
Could it be that these who will be cut off, of which the Lord spoke are the foolish virgins in the parable of the Master? As I thought back over the admonitions of our present leaders, President McKay, President Richards, and President Clark, I have wondered how much the Latter-day Saints have tried to recall and keep in their minds and hearts the admonitions of these, the Lord's appointed servants. May I merely mention but a few of the admonitions of our present leaders to impress the importance of heeding the counsel of the prophets of our day:
Did you listen carefully to hear President McKay re-echo what he has said on past occasions, that we should use the divine gift of agency to put to flight the degenerate tendencies in men and nations, and thereby find the way to eternal life? And did you hear him say that what you sincerely think of Christ in your heart will determine what you are, and will largely determine what your actions will be? Have you heard President Richards plead with us to keep the commandments of God; and to preserve the sacredness of the home: and heard him say that one of the greatest deterrents to wrong doing has been the fear of losing a place in the eternal family circle?
Those are messages that we should not have forgotten and should have sought to apply in our daily conduct.
President Clark's admonitions and pleas for the unity of the Saints by following the leadership of the President of the Church; his warnings against false heresies, and his efforts to arouse the people to protect our liberties as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States, certainly are messages which we could not well afford to overlook in this day of stern judgment if we would escape the calamities of which the prophets have warned.
"A LAMP TO YOUR FEET"
Every baptized member of the Church may become a virgin of purity through baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, through the atoning power of the Lord Jesus Christ. At our baptism we had hands laid upon our heads, and we were told by the officiating elders words that went something like this,
Receive the Holy Ghost, which will be a lamp to your feet, a guide to your path, which will bring all things to your remembrance, which will show you things to come, and will even reveal by its power the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
All of those promises, of course, are conditioned upon obedience and faithfulness in keeping the commandments of God.
The Lord gives us, each one, a lamp to carry, but whether or not we shall have oil in our lamps depends solely upon each one of us. Whether or not we keep the commandments and supply the needed oil to light our way and to guide us on our way depends upon each of us individually. We cannot borrow from our Church membership. We cannot borrow from an illustrious ancestry. Whether or not we have oil in our lamps, I repeat, depends solely upon each one of us, it is determined by our faithfulness in keeping the commandments of the Living God.
We must buy from the only source from which we can obtain this kind of oil referred to by the Master-from the fountain of eternal supply.
God grant that we won't forget these admonitions, and that the parable of the ten virgins will have a meaning to us, to all leaders throughout the Church to go out seeking in the highways and byways of the Lord's kingdom to prepare the people, that except they repent and turn unto the Lord these things which have been predicted will surely come. May all Church members remember that in the day when the Lord said peace would be taken from the earth and the devil would have power over his dominion, he also said that he, the Lord, would reign in the midst of his Saints when he would come down in judgment upon Idumea, or the world.
So he is reigning in the midst of his Saints, revealing himself to his leaders, that through them to this people we might never be left in doubt but might know of a certainty that he will do nothing save he reveals himself to his servants, the prophets.
I bear you my humble witness that I know these things are true, and the Lord has spoken and is speaking to us today in a way that he has talked to his people in every dispensation, and I bear it humbly in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Antoine R. Ivins
Antoine R. Ivins, Conference Report, October 1951, pp. 31-34
My beloved brethren and sisters, as I stand before you this afternoon to bear my testimony to you, I am reminded that it is twenty years ago this month since I first had this privilege, if you will call it such, and I find it no easier today than it was then. Why it shouldn't grow easier, I don't know, except that one comes to understand greater the responsibility of the office that he holds.
TWENTY YEARS SERVICE
During those twenty years it has been our purpose, that of Sister Ivins and me, to serve you faithfully. She has stood by my side, done everything that she possibly could to help me in what I have to do. That whole time she has never made a complaint because I have had to serve or placed an obstacle in my way. I appreciate her, and I want you all to know it.
In that service I have become acquainted with many, many fine men and women, and if in it all I have been of any aid or any comfort to anyone, it is all the blessing-all the compensation I would ask. I have never ever had any other major purpose since coming to this Council than to serve you to the best of my ability. I have had the privilege of serving under three presidents of the Church, and I want to bear you my testimony that in that acquaintance I have come to love them dearly, and I have never seen anything in their actions that I have felt to complain over. I bear you my testimony that they are in the service of God, and they are called of God; that their motives are high and holy and pure; that their whole service is in your interest and in the interests of the Church.
Now we are gathered here today to give our testimony to each other and to stimulate our faith in so doing. If we can leave this conference feeling a little more loyalty to the Church, with a little stronger resolution to do our duty, those of us who have cause for it, and a little greater determination to repent and correct our lives, even though there be but a few that need that last admonition, the conference will be well worth while. I trust that we may have just that result, that as we go away we may know better our duty and have a greater determination to serve.
FAILURE TO APPLY GOSPEL
We worry about the conditions of the world, and they are not to our liking, that is true. We would like to know the causes and the cures for them. It seems to me that the major reason for the unsavory things that are happening in the world is the failure of men to apply the gospel of Jesus Christ to their lives. First, we must know him, know what he would have us do, and then do it.
I remember that soon after my father passed away, I found in going through his papers a magazine published by the Jewish Israel Movement in which there was a purported interview with a Jewish rabbi who had cast upon Christianity the blame for all the persecutions that his people had suffered and who finished by saying that Christianity is a failure in the world. As I read it, I thought of the Crusades and I thought of the suppression of learning of the Middle Ages and many other things which people don't like which they say form part and parcel of the history of Christianity; but it appealed to me that it is not Christianity but the failure to apply Christianity that we are looking at, and those evils come not from its observance but from its non-observance.
THE WORLD'S NEED
If we could teach the world the proper concept of God and Christ and our relationship to them, and do it in such a way that it would sink into their hearts and impel them to study the teachings of the Savior, then apply them in their lives, all these troubles that we worry about now would cease. But the trouble is, men are avaricious; they are selfish; they are ambitious for power. They have nearly all of the attributes which, if left unbridled, lead to these terrible consequences. It is only the Spirit of God and Christ coming into the heart of man that can change his nature so that he will serve properly his fellow men. That, I think, is the purpose of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that we should learn that great commandment of God, the second, that we should love our fellows as we love ourselves. If we love God and serve him, we will serve our fellows because serving them is the only way we can manifest to him that we are willing to serve him.
THE PLACE TO BEGIN
Now, we are a small group. It is a tremendous task to think of remaking the world, but if we are going to have any influence on it, where must we start? I think that we must start with ourselves individually first, then in the family. During the conference of the Relief Society, which ended yesterday, we listened to some very wonderful talks on the family, how it should be organized and its purpose. Right there, it seems to me, is the place where we should begin to clear up these things. If every family in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were a model family, if every family were presided over by a man holding the Melchizedek Priesthood, a man who is understanding as to his responsibilities, who has the power of leadership with his children, we could form such a strong body that all the rest of the world would eventually have to take notice of it and recognize its power, and its influence in the world would be good.
But I learn in studying the records of the stakes I visit that perhaps not more than seventy or seventy-five per cent of the families of the Church have a man standing at their head who holds the Melchizedek Priesthood. Then out of that seventy or seventy-five percent, as the case may be, there are many who make no effort to magnify this priesthood. They accept it for certain reasons, but they make little effort to magnify it.
MARRIAGE FOR ETERNITY
I have visited stakes where there were as few as thirty-two percent of the families represented in the Melchizedek Priesthood others where it ran as high as ninety-seven percent, and there I think, brethren and sisters is the place we ought to start to correct our ills. Those of us who have children at the age where they should pair off should be tremendously careful to impress upon their minds the value of a proper family organization, the value of marriage in the temple of God for time and for all eternity. We should impress upon our children the fact that when they go to that temple they should go prepared to make it a lifelong and eternal undertaking, and that they should be serious and sober in the selection of their companions. I believe, if the proper attitude were taken toward marriage, the divorce problem which we face would be mitigated, if not abolished within the Church. There is an opportunity, there is a responsibility to teach young people the values of that institution. It is one of the characteristic things of the Church; it is the only place in the world where a marriage of that kind is celebrated; and it is desirable because it is a true institution ordained of God; and if people enter into it with the proper spirit it is the greatest safeguard for their future conduct that has been given us by God.
We should not only teach these young people that they should go into that relationship with the determination that it is going to endure, but we should also teach them that they should expect it to endure because they are clean and pure and wholesome when they begin, and they are going to stay that way throughout. There are too many of us who miss right there. We don t seem to appreciate those things. Now is it possible to teach young people these things so that they will appreciate them? I believe it is. Sister Ivins for a number of years was a guide over at the Lion House. One day there came a group of fine young people there to visit. During that interview she took occasion to teach them this thing. After it was over, one young woman, who had expressed, on the way in, that she was not going to be married in the temple, came back with the statement that she had enjoyed the visit and she was going to insist upon a temple marriage. Can we teach them that? We can if we will, I believe, and I believe it is one of the greatest duties of fathers and mothers.
PARENTS TO SET EXAMPLE
To begin with, of course, parents should have been married there themselves, and they should be true to each other. They should observe the standards of the Church so that the example they set will be above reproach to their children. and there ought never to be a thing happen between husband and wife that would abash or embarrass a son or a daughter, so that when those sons and daughters grow to maturity they can say as I can testify to you today, "My father never did a thing that I was ashamed of or gave me an instruction that I had to blush for." That's your privilege and your duty, you fathers and mothers, to teach young people, these things as plainly as you can; then if we can build that kind of family, the family that grows up under that influence will go into a ward organization with the same type of loyalty, and passing through the ward organization will approach the stake organization with the same loyalty and desire to conform. And, of course, out of your strength in your families, your wards, and your stakes grows the strength of the Church.
DAILY REPENTANCE
The place to begin, brethren and sisters, is with ourselves and our own, and if we can come to realize the imperfections of our own practices and change them, God will bless us. That is nothing more nor less than repentance, which all of us should practice daily.
Now I hope that out of this conference there will go a determination on our part to better our lives, starting with ourselves, to develop in our young folk a loyalty to their fathers and mothers, to their ward organizations and their stake organizations and the Church. That loyalty will reduce the adverse criticism that there is. There are many of us that find fault with the things that those of us who stand here try to do in the interest of the people, but loyalty would reduce that, and we would be happier even if we should not realize perfection in sustaining the policy of the Church.
God grant us help in it, I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Bishop Joseph L. Wirthlin
Joseph L. Wirthlin, Conference Report, October 1951, pp. 34-40
I sincerely trust, my brethren and sisters, that I might enjoy an interest in your faith and prayers during the few moments that I shall stand before you.
With you I have been deeply moved and inspired by the proceedings of this great conference. I am sure the address of our beloved President this morning inspired each and every one of us to resolve to live better lives exemplifying the principles of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ as we live it day by day.
In the days of the Master there was an Apostle called John the Beloved. He was given that title because he loved the Savior with all his heart. He loved the people. It is a grand thing to know that in this day we have an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, a prophet, a revelator, and a seer, who, because of his kindness and his love for the people, and his manifestations of tenderness toward them, will be known as David the Beloved. I thank the Lord today that he has been restored in his health and strength and pray that the Lord will always bless him to the end that he may be enabled to perform the great tasks that devolve upon him.
PRINCIPLE OF BELIEF
Some few weeks ago, returning from an assignment in Los Angeles, I met a man on the train who introduced himself as the representative of a great business which was sending him to Salt Lake City to establish one of its branches. He had made a previous visit, and during the visit he made a tour of the Temple Block, being deeply impressed by all that he heard and saw. I told him that I had the honor of being one of the General Authorities of the Church, after which he launched into a discussion of religion, saying he felt this great nation could be saved only through the application of spiritual principles.
He seemed to be a very devout man, as he attended the services of his church and met his financial obligations therein. His whole hope for salvation was upon the principle of belief only, and he indicated he had no responsibilities in his church other than those already mentioned. The attitude of this gentleman stimulated some thinking on my part as to the value of belief which might not develop into an abiding faith.
The Savior at no time during his ministry or in the restoration of the gospel ever promulgated the doctrine that man can be saved on the basis of belief. Rather, he made it very clear and implicit in the following statement:
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.
In the analysis of this statement of the Savior, it is made very plain that belief in and of itself is not sufficient for salvation, but-"He that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."
James made it perfectly clear when he made this statement:
What doth it profit my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
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.
Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
STEPPINGSTONE TO FAITH
We cannot wholly discount the principle of belief, for it is the first steppingstone to faith. The Apostle Paul declared: "... for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him".
Therefore an individual with a firm desire to know God and his purposes, expressing a willingness to keep his commandments, can be a recipient of that divine gift called faith.
The Prophet Joseph Smith declared that faith is the moving cause of all action. It is that great stimulating force which brings into fruition the plans and the desires of mankind. The genius of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in ancient days, and in the restored gospel of this day, demands a program not only which requires faith but also works on the part of the individual who has for an objective salvation and exaltation in the kingdom of God.
We are told that the glory of God is intelligence, that no man can be saved in ignorance. Therefore, if we are to gain the intelligence and the knowledge that is necessary for a place in the celestial kingdom, it will only come about by mental and spiritual effort and works.
THE PRIVILEGE OF WORK
God, in restoring the Church of Jesus Christ, so organized it that there would be an opportunity for each and every worthy member to have the privilege of work. The restoration of the priesthood is an evidence of this. Priesthood is the power of God given unto men whereby they may act as his representatives upon the earth and fill certain assignments when called upon by those who preside over them.
Hence, with this authority upon both the older men and the young men, there is an opportunity for service, for the accomplishment of great work; for example, we think of the missionary work, wherein are involved thousands of men and women, both young and old, who are out in the world preaching the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.
The same is equally true of the great project of teaching the people at home the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We call it "ward teaching." If ward teaching were done as it should be, it would require the services of every worthy member of the priesthood in the Church.
GENEALOGICAL WORK
If there are any of us who are seeking to do the work of the Lord and feel that we do not have an opportunity, all that we have to do, brothers and sisters, is to become engaged in the genealogical work of the Church. I am sure those who have been touched by the spirit of Elijah, and had their hearts turned to their fathers have gone into this work with eagerness and a desire to see that the work is going to be done or has been done or will be done for those who have not had the privilege in this life of hearing the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The other day while visiting the St. George Stake, I was introduced to an elderly brother who is ninety years of age, and I was told that he had done the work for ten thousand people. What an achievement! What an accomplishment! I could not help thinking that when that brother passes through the veil and meets these thousands of people, they will rise up and call him blessed. This is an example of faith and works together, for the benefit and blessing of thousands of people.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR SERVICE
It is not only intended in this great organization of faith and works that all of the work is to be done by the priesthood, but that our sisters shall have opportunities of service which are found in the auxiliary organizations of the Church, teaching the children and in rendering assistance to those who are in distress of any kind.
Consider for a moment if you will a ward organization in its requirements of personnel with the presiding authorities of the ward, the officers of all the auxiliaries, and the ward teachers. Opportunities for work in the kingdom are immediately available for at least two hundred members, while in the churches of the world, only one or two people would have this opportunity.
The work of which James spoke in connection with faith is divided into two divisions; that which has to do with the spiritual and that which has to do with the temporal works. In illustrating the point of temporal works, Brigham Young declared:
Everything connected with the building up of Zion requires actual, severe labor. It is nonsense to talk about building up any kingdom except by labor; it requires the labor of every part of our organizations, whether it be mental, physical, or spiritual, and that is the only way to build up the kingdom of God... If we build up the kingdom of God, or establish Zion upon the earth, we have to labor with our hands, plan with our minds, and devise ways and means to accomplish that object.
WELFARE PROGRAM
One of the great temporal works of the Church is found in the welfare program. It affords an opportunity for all to participate, from the young boy or girl to the aged man or woman who is physically fit. It requires much physical labor, but out of our physical effort comes a spiritual blessing-a spiritual blessing wherein, brethren and sisters we keep part of the first and great commandment to "love thy neighbor as thyself". If we actually love our neighbors as ourselves, we are going to endeavor to do something for those who are in distress of any kind.
Construction of meetinghouses demands physical effort which in reality contributes much to the building up of the kingdom. There has never been a time in our history as a Church when so many meetinghouses have been erected as in the last five or six years, and the most inspiring factor in this great project of building is that members of the various wards have contributed physically of their labor as well as having made financial contributions.
ST. GEORGE TABERNACLE
Last Sunday it was my privilege to attend the conference of the St. George Stake, and when it is my privilege to visit the city of St. George, I am always thrilled and inspired as I admire the beautiful tabernacle erected almost a century ago by the pioneers. This lovely building is an excellent example of architectural and structural achievements. Its walls are just as straight and true today as the day that the pioneer masons laid stone upon stone. Out of the construction of this lovely building, the Lord answered the prayers of the people, and his blessings were abundantly bestowed upon them in a time of stress and difficulty. When President Brigham Young requested the people to erect a tabernacle, some were surprised because of its size and the small membership which there was to attend, but without question and with profound confidence in their great leader, they went to work.
Finally, when the roof had been placed upon the building, and it came time to buy the windowpanes, it was necessary to order them in New York. These windowpanes were shipped down along the east coast of North and South America and around the Horn and up to San Francisco, and finally transported to the city of Stockton.
Upon arrival in Stockton, the brethren in St. George were notified that the windowpanes were there, and were now ready to be delivered for a cash consideration. By this time the cash resources of the people had been exhausted and when they were asked to pay for the windowpanes, they did not know what they were going to do; but great faith was manifest by the leaders of the people, which impressed them to call upon God for assistance. Thereafter, preparations were made to make the trip to Stockton. Finally, before departure, the brethren gathered together and supplicated God to the end that they might have the cash with which to pay for the windowpanes. In the midst of their supplication, a knock came on the door. It was opened, and an old Scandinavian brother who lived in the Washington Ward just north of St. George placed in their hands a bag containing between six hundred and seven hundred dollars which was enough to pay for the window panes.
The faith of these brethren was so great that their teams had been hitched up and they were ready to leave immediately after their prayers, which is an evidence of the profound faith which motivated them to go forward with their building program even though the necessary cash was not in sight, and hence, the St. George Tabernacle and the temple stand as a monument to the faith and works of these great pioneers.
FAITH AND WORKS
In the days of the Prophet Joseph Smith when the gospel was being restored, the Lord declared to the Prophet, "I will pour my Spirit out on all flesh".
The outpouring of the Lord's Spirit generated in the hearts of men a degree of faith that moved them to great works which have brought manifold blessings to humanity. For instance, Thomas Edison had faith so great in the utilization of electricity for lighting that after hours, days, and months of work, the electric light bulb was made available in addition to many other electric appliances which have brought comfort and luxury to the people.
Another outstanding example of faith and works is the Wright brothers who were thought to be mentally weak when they advocated the idea of flying through the air with a contraption heavier than air itself, but out of their faith and their works there has now been developed one of the greatest methods of transportation that the world has ever known. Radio and television have come as the result of the faith and the works of their inventors.
LINCOLN'S FAITH
There were great souls that had a profound faith in the principles of righteousness, of whom Abraham Lincoln is a great representative. As a young man he visited the city of New Orleans where he witnessed the sale of human beings over the auction block. He declared: "If I ever have a chance to strike this thing, I will strike it hard."
His faith in the great principle of freedom motivated him to take action when he was president of the United States. He struck slavery hard, and the shackles were removed from the thousands and thousands of oppressed people who now enjoy their liberty.
Brethren and sisters, I feel in my soul as the Apostle Paul felt when he declared: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation". The godly power Paul speaks of is the combination of faith, the divine motivator, and the works of the individual. These together make salvation and exaltation in the kingdom of God a certainty.
CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION
Some few days ago the office of the Presiding Bishop was visited by a Hindu doctor from India. He said he was a Christian. He pointed out to us that as he traveled from the southern boundary to the northern boundary of the state of Utah noticing the many meetinghouses that had been erected, he was convinced that he was among a Christian people. And after becoming conversant with the gospel and the religion of our people, he declared: "This is Christianity in action." Faith and the works of the gospel constitute Christianity in action as Jesus Christ revealed it to the Prophet:
Verily I say unto you all: Arise and shine forth, that thy light may be a standard for the nations.
If our light is to be a standard unto the nations, then well might we follow the admonition of James when he said:
Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works; shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
This people have the greatest obligation of any people in all the world; for first they have covenanted with God their Eternal Father that they will manifest their faith and their works in the cause of his beloved Son, Jesus Christ, and that the world seeing their works will declare as Isaiah of old declared: Come let us go up to the house of Jacob's God and learn of his ways and walk in his paths, to the end that the world and all of us may be free of the pernicious doctrine that men can be saved by belief or grace, and that we may know that salvation and exaltation in the kingdom of God rests wholly upon faith and works, which I pray will be the blessing of all of us, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Albert E. Bowen
Albert E. Bowen, Conference Report, October 1951, pp. 40-43
And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
That last is the particular passage in this prayer that I want to call attention to. If we have learned anything through the proceedings of this conference this day, it is that this gospel is not something to talk about. It is something that requires deeds. It calls for action, and it is only what we do, not what we say or what we profess, that counts.
The people of this Church can carry this message with them to their homes or wherever they may chance to go and lay it down as the foundation principle of their faith, the promise of the future.
FORGIVENESS
It is only as we do the will of God that we have claim upon the promised blessings, and one of the particular things that I want to stress is the principle inherent in this sentence in the sublime prayer which I have just read: "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors". That calls for action. It calls for self-control. It calls for putting into practical effect one of the teachings that the Lord has given us.
It is not easy to practice. We are all disposed to be very charitable toward ourselves and our own misdeeds, our own failures and weaknesses. We hope the Lord will be charitable to us, that when we stand before the bar of justice, notwithstanding the exactions of the law which must be obeyed, and notwithstanding our own lapses, he who knows the heart, and knows the desire, and knows the effort, and consequently being possessed of all the factors essential to a righteous judgment, will somehow be kind and generous and will take into account our good efforts, our attempts to live righteously, the piety of our purposes, the struggles we have made against odds, and he will balance all these worthy desires of the heart and struggles of the flesh over against our failures, and the things wherein we have sinned and failed to measure up to the full standard of complete perfection.
We all hope that on behalf of ourselves, but it is not so easy for us to accord the same generous consideration to those we feel have trespassed against us. We are more likely to be disposed to exact the full payment of the debt to us personally, while hoping in our hearts that God will be lenient in his judgment of us.
LOVE OF NEIGHBOR
I think there is involved in this principle the doctrine of the first great commandment, and the second, ''... Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself". Those are easy words to say, but do we ponder what they mean? How do I love myself? Certainly I do not wish myself any ill luck. I do not wish myself any misfortune. I hope my efforts will be prospered. I hope I will be spared misery and distress and sickness and suffering. I hope I will have power to do the things I have it in my heart to do, and to succeed in my undertakings. If I love my neighbor as I love myself, then I must be equally anxious for him, that he shall be prospered, that he shall escape misery and suffering and trial and distress, that his endeavors shall be fruitful of good.
I cannot hope to climb to the position I desire to achieve by stepping on the back of another and crushing him down in order that I may gain his favorable place. Suppose I am a violinist. I excel in my profession, my art. I have enjoyed the reputation for a long time of occupying first place among the members of my community. I am the greatest of them all. Then one day a younger man comes along, as will inevitably be the case, and he chances to excel me in the art, and I stand in jeopardy of losing my position as first.
I suppose I should wish for him that he break his hand so that he cannot play any more, and so that I will not be toppled from the pinnacle that I have occupied, and can still be supreme in the practice of my art. That is not keeping the commandment. That is not loving my neighbor as I love myself. I would not wish myself any such misfortune. I would always want to do my best, freed from artificial hindrance. I should, if I would obey the commandment, without regard to the consequences to me personally, my own ambitions and desires, rejoice in the excellence of the performance of my rival, and wish only for him all the good I would wish for myself.
I will, if I am honestly observing the commandment, wish for him the success, the glory that has been accorded to me by reason of my past station. It is easy to say those words, ''Love your neighbor as yourself", but how hard it is to bring them right down to actual practice, even when our own superiority of position might be involved, the sacrifice of it. If we really could bring ourselves into full accord with that commandment, we should rejoice exultantly in the good fortunes that attend the efforts of our fellows, no matter in how great a degree they might eclipse us or how far they might excel us. You see, it requires that we root out envy, that we root out selfishness, and that is the way we grow in the development of character and the cultivation of those perfections which God has directed that we strive to achieve.
"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect", was the admonition of Jesus and if we would attain that station and bring ourselves to that degree of conquest of our own ambitions, then we shall have to rejoice in the good fortune, the achievements, the attainments of our fellow men without regard to the eclipse of ourselves.
FORGIVE AND BE FORGIVEN
Returning to the text, we cannot expect that God will forgive us if we refuse to forgive those whom we have found occasion to criticize. The measure of man's achievement lies not altogether in where he gets to. You have to have regard for the place which he started from, and the degree of his advancement, though he has not reached so high a place as one of his fellows, may be greater because of the handicap of position from which he set out.
We all hope and trust and pray and depend upon the mercy of God. We hope he will be merciful to us, but we have no right to expect the extension of his mercy to us in any further degree than we are willing to extend mercy and charity and forgiveness to our fellow men, whose actions we scrutinize with much more care and less leniency than we scrutinize ourselves and our own deeds.
DOERS OF THE WORD
Those are some of the things we have to learn to do. That is putting into practical application some of the positive requirements of this gospel. We are learning to do, to be doers of the Word and not hearers only. So it is with every other precept. There is no teaching in the whole compass of the gospel of Jesus Christ that ever brought injury or harm to any man.
The following of those brings only happiness and joy and peace and comfort and progress. There has never been anything required of man that would degrade him or lower him in the scale of being. We are safe when we keep the commandments.
But we must analyze the commandments. We must know what they signify. We must know what they require of us individually and personally, and our greatest concern is not with somebody else. Our greatest concern is with us. Are we measuring up?
May God grant that in our daily pursuits, in our daily efforts, we shall always be mindful of the fact that it is not what we profess or what we pretend, but only that which we do and the degree in which we comply in our own actions with the commandments of God that counts.
This I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder Marion G. Romney
Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, October 1951, pp. 60-63
My beloved brothers and sisters, coming to this stand and speaking to you is not a new experience. This is the twenty-second time I have climbed up here in the last ten and a half years. I am not a stranger to you. Many of you know me-some of you may know me too well. This call has set up a tremendous emotional reaction in me. I didn't think there could be such a big tempest in such a little teapot. I suppose that I need the help of the Lord now more than I ever needed it in my life. Will you please ask him to give me strength to make a few remarks appropriate to this occasion.
RESPECT FOR OFFICE
The great respect I have always had for the office to which I am now called contributes greatly to the emotional strain I am experiencing. Men who held these offices were godlike men in the eyes of my parents. When they came to Old Mexico where I lived as a little child, I almost thought they were of a different race.
I remember what we thought of President Joseph F. Smith when he came. I don't remember any of the brethren who are now living coming down.
I have always thought of this office as the office of a special witness of the Redeemer of the world, and when I think about the Redeemer of the world, I think about the great council in the spirit world when he undertook to be the instrument and made the sacrifice to put into operation the gospel of redemption. I understand that God the Eternal Father was the author of the plan. I get that from President John Taylor. Jesus sponsored it.
"I will go," he said. I believe Brother Whitney put it in these terms: "Mine be the willing sacrifice, the endless glory thine".
EVENTS IN LIFE OF REDEEMER
Next I think of the Redeemer on the mount with the brother of Jared twenty-two hundred years before he was born in the flesh as the infant child of Mary. There I get the idea of what I think a spirit looks like. The brother of Jared thought he had beheld flesh and blood, but the Spirit spake to him saying, "Thou hast seen that I shall take upon me flesh and blood".
Then he said, "Seest thou that ye are created after mine own image? Yea, even all men were created in the beginning after mine own image.
"Behold this body," said the Spirit Jesus Christ, "this body, which ye now behold, is the body of my spirit; and even as I appear unto thee to be in the spirit will I appear unto my people in the flesh".
And then I think of the Redeemer, that great spirit who created the world under the direction of God, our Eternal Father, entering the body of a tiny infant in a manger in Bethlehem.
I think of him in the temple at the age of twelve already somewhat conversant with his mission, when he said to his mother-I don't think in any sense of disrespect when she chided him a little about being there without her knowledge: "... wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?".
I think about him through his ministry. I could mention many cases, but I shall not take much time. I think about his baptism as the beginning of the pattern that we must follow. I think about him at the well with the Samaritan woman when he said that whosoever would drink of the water that he would give would never thirst again, because that water would be a well of living water, springing up into eternal life.
I think about him when Lazarus had passed away, and Mary and Martha came out to meet him. I don't remember the conversation exactly, but I believe Martha said, "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died," and Jesus said, "... I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die".
I think of him in the temple during those last days of his mortal life. I think of him in Gethsemane. I will pass the scene. It moves me too deeply. He suffered for me there, and for you. I think of him on the cross. I think of him in the Grove with the Prophet Joseph, and the Father, his Father, the Father of that Spirit of his which appeared to the brother of Jared, the Father of my spirit, as President Clark has just explained, the Father of the spirits of all men.
When I think about being a special witness of him, and I remember that Peter, James, and John could not stay awake through his last suffering in Gethsemane, I think of some who have failed. I don't want to fail.
I think of those who have given their lives for the witness. I have counted that. If it should be necessary, I hope I will not falter to give my life for the testimony of Jesus. I know he lives. I doubt if I will know it better when I meet him.
LOVE FOR THE BRETHREN
I shall not go further. I would like to pay my respects to these men, I know President McKay holds the authority that the Prophet had, and I know the Prophet held the authority that Peter held. I have loved President McKay for a long, long time. He doesn't remember when I first fell in love with him. I guess he doesn't remember when you did, either.
It was down in Los Angeles in the winter of 1912 and 1913. We were known then as Mormon refugees. We had lost our home in Mexico-invited out down there. Brother McKay came to Los Angeles; he came to Sunday School, and he took a glass of water. He had a pen in his hand. He showed us how clear and beautiful the water was, and then he dropped a drop of ink in the water, and it clouded it all through, and he said to us little fellows, "That is what sin does to a life," and I have ever since then, President McKay, been trying to keep that sin out of my life.
I met him over in Australia. I got frightened of him over there. I was president of the conference. They used to call districts "conferences." I was conducting, and when he looked at his watch, he said, "Brother Romney, I believe it is thirty seconds late." So the next time we started a meeting we weren't late, and Brother McKay looked at his watch and said, "Brother Romney, I believe it is fifteen seconds early."
Then he didn't take me with him when he went up to visit the Genolean Caves; he took Elder Bischoff. I remember when he came back and taught us a lesson, telling us how those great stalagmites and stalactites in the caves were made by infinitesimally small deposits from drops of water.
Then he told us that was how a life was built. Every thought we thought, every word we spoke, every deed we did, registered on our character. I never have forgotten that, either.
I have always loved President Richards since I knew him. I went out with him in my early work as an Assistant, and I remember how he conducted conferences. He did it with the skill with which an artist paints a picture. I think everything he does is done beautifully. I sustain him with all my heart.
Then this great man, President Clark, has been closest to me of all the Presidency, in the administrations of President Grant and President Smith and now President McKay, because he has been directing for the Presidency the work that I have been assigned to. I don't think there is a man in the world who loves righteousness and is acquainted with Brother Clark who doesn't love him. He has been to me as a father. I love you, Brother Clark, with all the strength of my life.
I love Brother Smith, President Joseph Fielding Smith. He has been most kind and thoughtful of me. I thought he treated me especially good until I got talking to the other brethren about him and found out that he treated them all the same.
Now I love all the brethren, every one of them. I don't go down through the Twelve, except to mention Brother Lee and Brother Moyle. They are my closest associates. Brother Lee is a seer. I know I'll never go wrong if I'm with him, and I know I'll never go hungry if I'm with Brother Moyle because he is so liberal.
I love the brethren I have worked with, Thomas and Clifford and Alma, and Nicholas who passed away, the Patriarch, the Seventy, the Bishopric, and these new men who come in. Some of them I have been close to.
GRATITUDE FOR HERITAGE
Now I would just like to say I am grateful for my heritage. Both my families are of long-standing in the Church, the Redds and the Romneys. I am claimed by both of them. The Redds claim I am a Romney, and the Romneys claim I am a Redd, but I am proud of them both. I am very grateful for my father, the late George S. Romney, and my sainted mother who sits here today in tears. I am grateful for the righteous home they reared me in-Mother, I tell you I am grateful.
I am grateful for my own family and their support of me: my sons and daughter-in-law, my sixteen-month-old granddaughter who gives me lots of joy, and last, but not least, my beloved companion, the sweetheart of my youth, and the mother of my children. They have never put a straw in my way. We had been married seventeen years when I became an Assistant to the Twelve, and I had only been away from home, leaving Ida alone two nights. When I first started traveling around the Church, it was hard for her. She used to cry every time I left and every time I came back. Now she only cries when I come back.
LOYALTY OF MEMBERS
I am very grateful to you, my brothers and sisters. I love every one of you. I know some of the contributions you make. As I go about the Church and see you come to the meetings the brethren authorize me to call, I learn your hearts and your loyalty.
I sat in a meeting this morning with two regional councils, and I saw them yield to the decisions that have been made by these great men of the Presidency with the finest spirit of unity that I have ever beheld. I love you for what you have done for me as you have received me into your homes.
I will do everything I can to serve you, and I will do everything I can to honor this high calling. God bless you, and God bless me, and will you please pray for me that no enemy shall dent the small sector of the line which I am assigned to defend, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Levi Edgar Young
Levi Edgar Young, Conference Report, October 1951, pp. 64-67
"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord".
My brethren and sisters, I pray for an interest in your faith and prayers, for this is a holy place from which to speak.
In the dedicatory prayer in the Kirtland Temple given by the Prophet Joseph Smith we have these words, "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".
But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?
Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living.
The depth saith, It is not in me; and the sea saith, It is not with me.
It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.
It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold...
Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.
LACK OF WISDOM
To me, one of the great defects of our day is the lack of wisdom. If there were wisdom enough in the world to direct the course of human conduct, we need not have wars. If we were wise enough we would search for truth in solving all of our problems. We would try to discover the causes of these problems, and we would seek more wisdom in their solution. We would search for the truth without prejudice, but with an understanding mind and heart until through wisdom we could agree among men on important solutions for permanent peace and the betterment of mankind. Such wisdom demands that we have a deep faith in God, active minds, with insight and understanding of the realities of life, and the teachings of the Redeemer. In the book of Ecclesiastes we read,
Wisdom is better than strength...
Wisdom is better than weapons of war.
SEARCH FOR TRUTH
We Latter-day Saints are searching for truth in ourselves in order to contribute to the peace and the betterment of the world. Yet we cannot find truth without hard work, patient and sincere work in the form of study, over a long period of time.
This is what a French writer meant when he said, "Nothing is really known until it has been known a long time." Wisdom considers things in the long run; it considers life from the standpoint beyond the individual, beyond the local, beyond the temporary and changing. It looks upon society from a high plane and in the pattern of eternal progression. In other words the goal of wisdom is the building of the kingdom of God upon the earth.
EDUCATION OF YOUTH
The young people of today must be taught to work and study hard that they may establish a good beginning in their search for truth. We read again, "The things that thou hast not gathered; in thy youth, how shall thou find them in thine old age?" How important it is that the early education of our children be encouraged and developed that a sound basis of study may be established. There are only a very few years in every life, when the mind is fresh and plastic and the memory able to retain. These years should not be wasted; they should be used to every possible advantage in the search for light, in the development and growth of thought and deeds. Let everyone remember that the work he does shall rise up in judgment against him, and the roots of self-respect lie in work done to the best of man's abilities.
President Joseph Young, who for many years was the head of the First Council of the Seventy, taught that the most effective way to satisfy one's noble impulses is training one's intelligence to its highest pitch, having a depth of faith in Almighty God. Such training means years of study of good books, years of devotion to the search for truth. This is what the gospel of Jesus Christ demands of you and me.
NEED FOR TEACHERS
Every man to be educated on any rung of the ladder must have a teacher, not necessarily in the schoolroom, but he must be taught by a good book, a good friend, a leader. Let us not be accused as were the Stoics of ancient times that "The nourishment of religion was drawn from the shallow springs of their own intelligence." That is our trouble today.
Let me read to you from the Acts of the Apostles. One Philip is admonished by the angel of the Lord to go to the man of Ethiopia to be taught and to understand what he is reading. As a result the Ethiopian was converted to Christianity.
And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.
And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, a man of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,
Was returning and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.
Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understand thou what thou readest?
And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
PAUL'S SEARCH
The great missionary of Christ, Paul the Apostle, was a man that was ever searching for truth, ever alert, never at any time mentally inactive. His was an active mind, seeking truth in the university at Tarsus. He was a student of the great teachers Gamaliel and Hillel. When Paul received the vision and was converted on the road to Damascus, even then was his mind active in his intense search to understand the word of God and obtain the wisdom of the great message. Paul knew that the life spent in the search of truth was not an easy one. He realized that his mission was to gain understanding of the truth of Christ and to teach this truth to others. Paul might have said: "The easier road I leave to others, I have chosen the harder one." It was Emerson who said, "God gives to every man the choice between truth and repose; he cannot have both." But when Paul said, "I have chosen the harder road," he might have added, "but I have also chosen the happier one," for the search for truth is a happy search, an interesting one, an adventuresome, exciting road to travel.
A child begins his search for truth with his mother to guide him, in the reading of childhood rhymes and stories and classics, Bible stories, tales of heroes, and as he grows and develops, he continues his search in the study of history, certainly one of the great fields in which the wisdom of the ages is contained. Unexcelled in the field of history are the Old and New Testaments, in connection with the other great works of Holy Writ. We find in the scriptures the words of great poets, great writers-the highest, the most exalted expressions of human thought.
SCHOOL AT KIRTLAND
Every student of Church history knows about the high school established in the Kirtland Temple. The students were taught English by reading the best literature and the ancient classics. The principal of the school was Professor H. M. Hawes. There were also established Hebrew, Greek, and Latin classes; the professor of Hebrew was Joshua Seixas. I have found out that the attendance at these classes on the part of the elders was very large, and we have from the records the statement of how the Prophet Joseph Smith attended night in and night out the Hebrew and Greek classes. He undoubtedly felt and responded to the beauty of these languages, for only those who have studied Greek and Latin and Hebrew know of the beauty and richness of the literature that has come down to the present day from those far-off times. The Prophet Joseph Smith shows us the majesty of the statement, "Seek ye knowledge out of the best books", and Joseph Young, president of all the seventies in his day, insisted that the seventies in their respective quorums become students of literature and philosophy and religion. Thousands of them adopted the motto that, "Knowledge Is Power." The beauty of this idea lies in the fact that the concept of what knowledge means with the Latter-day Saints is this truth that God blesses us as we approach him with deep faith and ask his blessing in our obtaining knowledge. Our minds and hearts are opened, and we become students in the true sense of the term, for it is under God's direction that we learn, and Jesus Christ our Redeemer becomes our greatest teacher.
KNOWLEDGE THROUGH FAITH
The young student devotes himself to the study of literature and art, engineering and medicine, and whatever he may choose, and in all he learns the truth and beauty of morality, the truths of nature, and of life itself, the truth by which he gains the understanding and knowledge of God through his faith. Then these young people are on their way to life everlasting. They put into practice our Thirteenth Article of Faith:
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-Joseph Smith.
I pray that we, and all America, may hark back to our forebears in our American history, to those who gave us by the divine will of God the Constitution of the United States, and who saw in this government the grandeur that God himself wished, for the word of the Lord is right, and all his works are true.
He loved righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth...
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.
May the American people bring back the ideal of the search for wisdom through faith in God, may God become again the Lord of this nation, I ask in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Elder Stayner Richards
Stayner Richards, Conference Report, October 1951, pp. 68-72
My dear brothers and sisters, during my life I have had a number of shocks, but this one that has come to me today is the greatest of them all. Like Elder Romney, I have always loved, admired, respected, and in my humble way, attempted to support the General Authorities of the Church. I have placed them upon a higher plane. I have appreciated their wisdom, their judgment, their counsel, and their righteousness.
GRATITUDE FOR APPOINTMENT
Now, realizing my inability, my inadequacy, to be asked to step in and associate with those brethren completely overwhelms me. I would be ungrateful if I did not thank them for this appointment, and thank you for sustaining me today, and all I can do is to promise you that I shall give to this calling the best that I have.
If you will pardon a personal allusion, I would like to say that throughout all my Church life, in the bishopric, stake presidency, and in the mission field, I have had a wonderful example in the life of my elder brother. Because of his great devotion to the Church, and the study and the preparation and the effort that he has made to qualify himself to measure up to what was expected of him, he has been an inspiration to me.
Knowing as I do his great appreciation of propriety, of ethics, and how sensitive he is pertaining to these matters, in making sure that none of his family or relations ever received any favoritism, I want to assure you now that if you regard this appointment as a mistake, as I do at the present time, that you will not blame Brother Stephen L for it.
Possibly the only resemblance we have is that we have about the same amount of covering to go over our heads, and if you will observe, we both part our hair in the middle.
MISSIONARY LABORS
I shall take just a few minutes to tell you about missionary labors in Great Britain. First, I would like to say that that's a beautiful country, with its green pastures and countryside the year round. They are good people that inhabit those islands. Most of you, I think, can trace your genealogy and your blood strain back to those people.
They are courteous. They are honest. They have a sense of justice, and I regard England as one of the cradles of real democracy. No one can come into that land as a refugee from any country where he has been persecuted, but what he finds asylum. I have a high regard for the English people.
Right now they are greatly concerned about the health of their monarch, and I would like to advise if it is not already being done by those of the English people, that they pray for King George VI. He and his family are real Christians as they understand Christianity. They are very self-sacrificing and they are greatly loved and respected by all their subjects.
In the mission field, I am happy to report, conditions are quite satisfactory. Sister Richards and I have had the pleasure of trying to build upon the fine foundation that was laid by President and Sister Boyer. They did an excellent work there. The mission will always be grateful to them for the excellent work that they accomplished and the devotion that they gave to the cause.
Our auxiliary organizations are functioning very well considering the obstacles that they have to face. Most of them are officered by local people, and those local people are assuming their responsibilities with a high degree of seriousness, and they are meeting with considerable success.
GENEROUS SUPPORT
I would like to thank on behalf of the presidency of the British Mission the fine parents who have maintained those missionaries that we have there. We thank you for the encouragement that you have given to them, and the financial support that has made their presence there possible.
May I tell this group assembled today that among those parents we have found those who were very willing to give of their means to help out in the cause. We have had two of them who have each given a thousand copies of the Book of Mormon for the work. One couple gave $1680.00 to purchase an automobile for the two special representatives of the mission presidency to travel over the different districts. We had a couple that gave $675.00 to make it possible for those branches that could not afford new song books to receive an adequate supply.
Also in the mission field we have those with generous hearts. As we concluded one district conference, one good brother and his wife came up to me and handed me an envelope and said, "President Richards, there is one hundred pounds that I wish you would use for the missionary work."
Just before I left, I was called to the hospital to see a brother who has been sick for some time, and for whom we have prayed to the Lord that he might be blessed and made well. When I arrived, he handed me a piece of paper and said, "Would you read that?"
As I read it, I found out that it was a codicil to his will in which he had provided that when he died, a sufficient amount of his money should come to our Church to pay the full cost of one of the new buildings that we contemplate building.
These acts of generosity naturally make us feel that the gospel of Jesus Christ is penetrating the hearts of the people, who are being made to realize that, after all, it isn't what you have, but it is how you use it, and they love the gospel so much that they are willing to give of their means for its support.
MISSIONARY PLAN
Our missionaries are a wonderful lot. Sister Richards and I love them with all our hearts, just as we do our own children. We adopted, when we went into the mission field, what is called the Anderson Plan of proselyting. I may possibly not be considered out of order when I pay respect to Elder Anderson and whoever assisted him in working out that plan, for we found out that it is a very practical and methodical way of presenting the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I remember well forty years ago as a missionary when we used to pass a series of three tracts to the door, attempt to get a conversation, or attempt to get a cottage meeting, and finally carry on in that work.
Brethren and sisters, that is only the A B C's compared with this plan. Christ told his disciples, "... Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature". That is what the missionaries are doing with this plan. They go to the door and with smiles on their faces, and the best personality they can develop, hold up the Book of Mormon, and they try for fifteen minutes to preach the gospel. They try to lend that book and then secure a cottage meeting. Then they carry on twelve different lessons in which they take up one at a time the principles of the gospel and try to secure an agreement on the truth of every one of those principles.
FAITHFULNESS OF MISSIONARIES
I don't know about the other missions, but I know that it is working among our missionaries, and I thank God for the way they work. They are willing to work from nine o'clock in the morning until ten or eleven o'clock at night, and they love it.
They are happy because they are busy, and I think I will try to prove to you just how hard they are working.
The last report showed that some districts are averaging 107 hours tracting a month among the missionaries, twenty-six street meetings a month, twenty-eight copies of the Book of Mormon lent a month, and as high as forty-seven cottage meetings a month, which means that each missionary is attending ninety-four because each missionary takes credit for only the ones that he conducts. That can't be done without work, and work in the Church never hurt anybody; and it never will.
As a result of their work they have lent out up to date over 29,000 copies of the Book of Mormon. They have had the pleasure of baptizing, because of the Lord's blessings upon them, almost eight hundred, and at the present rate they should lend out about 40,000 copies of the Book of Mormon by the end of the year, and they should be servants in the hands of the Lord in bringing in between 1,000 and 1,100 new members into the Church.
We rejoice in the great work that they are doing. May I say that they are living so close to our Father in heaven that they feel to call upon him on every occasion, and when the question comes up among the investigators, "How can we give up tea, coffee, and tobacco that we have used all our lives?" these missionaries, with their faith in God, say, "You kneel down and ask your Father in heaven to help you, and he will take the desire for those poisons away from you that you will never feel the urge to take them again."
When they ask, "On the amount that we make, how can we pay one-tenth into the Church?" they tell them the same way, that if they will trust the Lord, the Lord will bless them so that the nine-tenths that they have left will go farther than the ten-tenths that they receive.
EFFORTS REWARDED
The Lord has answered their requests in the most wonderful ways. I wonder if you realize how much faith these missionaries have. It is a marvel to me.
One of our district presidents went into Colchester in the Norwich District there. He just happened to be there at noon with his companion to work with the two missionaries. One of them said, "Will you go out and hold a street meeting with us?"
He said, "Why, you are not going out in a rain like this? It is raining cats and dogs outside."
The other replied, "Sure, we are going out."
He said, "All right, I'll go with you."
They knelt down and had a word of prayer. By the time they got to the corner and started their street meeting the rain ceased, and that is unusual in England. They held their street meeting and started home, and the rain started up again. That elder told his president that every time that week it had been exactly the same way.
Our missionaries entered upon a program for six months of preaching love and kindness. Let me tell you how it worked with one of the missionaries. He was on a street meeting corner in Leeds and as he stood up, one of the hecklers gave him one of the worst lashings of invectives that any man could receive. He tore him down and tore the religion down.
What did this elder do? He lived what he had been preaching. He stepped down, walked over to the gentleman and said, "You have given me an awful calling down today. Possibly it is all right. I just want you to know that I hold nothing against you for it, that I love you, brother, and I would like to shake your hand." Then he went back to the stand.
A young woman was heard to comment to another, "I didn't know that anything like that could happen outside of the New Testament."
THE LORD'S BLESSING
There are other things that I could tell you, but I must not take more time. I must not close without saying that if I have given the impression to any that I claim any credit for what has been done there, and is being done, I am sorry, because I claim no credit at all. It has all been done by the missionaries, and the Lord's blessings that have attended them. Sister Richards and I have been merely innocent and admiring bystanders on the sidelines urging them on.
I would like to say that I do appreciate my beloved wife. All my life she has been a wonderful companion. She is so full of faith and devotion to this work that she has been an inspiration to me, and I think it is only fair to say that I feel she has done an excellent work in presiding over the Relief Society there in the British Mission.
May God bless you, my brethren and sisters, bless all the missionaries throughout the world, and cause that his Spirit may ever attend them in their labors is my humble prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Acceptance of a Call
Elder ElRay L. Christiansen
ElRay L. Christiansen, Conference Report, October 1951, pp. 74-77
My brothers and sisters: In spite of the many kindly and sincere words of commendation and confidence that have been spoken to me in the past two hours, I stand before you in the depths of humility, and with fear and trembling do I accept this calling that has come to me at this time. Never once have I thought that such a great assignment would ever be given to me, but I can assure you that inasmuch as it has come through the proper authority, I shall do my utmost to do honor to the position and to the work that I am assigned, and to this great Church, and to serve the Lord and you people with all my heart and strength.
WILLINGNESS TO SERVE
Long ago, I promised the Lord that I stood ready to give or to do anything and all things which he would ask of me through his servants. I have tried to do that, and again I commit myself, in your presence, to that course in life.
I have never yet been up against a task that was difficult for me but what I have found the immediate and sustaining support of my wonderful wife, and along with that, the encouragement of my children. That support has been one of the most helpful, strengthening influences that has come to me in my life. With their help, and with the help of the Lord we have gone along and done our best.
I remember one time, a few years ago, I was asked if I would serve as the first counselor in the presidency of the East Cache Stake. I already had what I thought was all I could do. I was given about an hour to decide whether I would or would not accept the call. I was debating it seriously, although I knew in my heart that I couldn't refuse. My son, my only son, was at home;, and after conferring with my wife about it, I decided to call him from his room and tell him what had happened and see what he might say. I said, John, they have asked me to become first counselor in the presidency of this stake."
Before I could ask his opinion he said, "Well, you're going to take it, aren't you?" And so I hesitated no longer. How I appreciate that! Now that this call has come, I am sure that my family will help me to become composed and to do my duty.
I have wondered just how long this stupor lasts when one is called into these positions. I have felt as if I were in a daze, and it doesn't seem to leave quickly, either.
LOVE FOR GENERAL AUTHORITIES
I have learned to love these brethren, the General Authorities of the Church, and I have tried to sustain them, and I here pledge that I shall sustain them continually in their work. Some of them toured the mission with us. We were "greenhorns" at the work, but the comfort and encouragement and assurance from these wonderful men I shall never forget.
We sang with them as we journeyed and talked with them intimately. They pointed out needful and useful things that we might do, commended us on the few that we had done, but the confidence they inspired and instilled into us was most helpful and heartening. I can never forget that! Then the association now and again in the transacting of the business that I have had to do with the other brethren; their coming into our stakes; the kindness and the wisdom that they show is beyond compare.
I am sure that they will yet be patient with me, and tolerant and helpful. I beg this of them, along with the help of my family which I may well expect. And, I still can look to my Father in heaven for added support, and be assured that as he has always done, he will continue to strengthen and help me in the work that I am to do in his Church and kingdom.
I like that song we sang this morning, "I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand." I am sure that help will be forthcoming.
TESTIMONY
Brethren, and sisters, I have a testimony of this gospel. Were it not so, I would not accept these assignments. I know that God lives; that Jesus is the Christ, and that Joseph Smith was the instrument in his hands to restore to the earth the gospel, the power of the priesthood in the last days for the last time. There is no doubt about this in my mind, and I testify to you that it is so.
I realize that this testimony, in order to be sincere and genuine, and any testimony which we declare, should be accompanied by good works and by serving our Father in heaven; by doing his will and keeping his commandments, otherwise it is merely as sounding brass.
Two passages of scripture have helped me greatly as I have come along through life. When I first read them, they made an impression upon me.
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.
That helped me.
And the other one which has helped me to dedicate my time as needed is found in the 103rd section of the Doctrine and Covenants and reads:
Let no man be afraid to lay down his life for my sake; for whoso layeth down his life for my sake shall find it again.
And whoso is not willing to lay down his life for my sake is not my disciple.
I hope I shall never falter in my determination to serve him, for I love the Lord with all my heart.
STAKE WORK
There are things that I would like to have finished that we have begun in our stake. We have a 372-acre farm as a stake welfare project, and I, along with my brethren, have had a great deal of satisfaction out on that farm this summer, working hard and seeing these buildings being erected and equipped to carry on our dairy project. It has been a great thrill to be out there with the brethren and enjoy the fellowship and the association that come under those conditions.
We have some little cards that we have the brethren fill out at the end of each day's work showing the amount of time they spend and the type of work they do. I looked over some of those cards one day and found one of the young elders, who was out there for the first time, had been digging a trench part of the day and running cement the other part. Opposite the question as to the nature of the work done, he wrote in big letters, "Hard." Well, it has been just that, but it has been enjoyable.
I know that this farm and the other affairs will be in good hands because I have had wonderful help in the association of my counselors, the high council and the bishoprics of the wards-and the brethren of the priesthood. It has been an inspiration. The work will go on, and I will watch it with great eagerness and with great interest.
My work in directing the affairs of the Logan Temple has been most satisfying and enjoyable. The devotion of those who serve there is commendable and praiseworthy.
I must not speak longer, but I pray God to bless you, my brothers and sisters, that we may be faithful and be counted among those who would, if necessary, give our all for his sake as he has given his for our sake, and that I may so be ready, I pray. And I ask you, my friends and associates who know me so well and know my limitations as I know them, to help me and to pray for me. I need your prayers. May God bless us to be faithful and true, I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder John Longden
John Longden, Conference Report, October 1951, pp. 77-79
I am still surprised, amazed, and shocked at the glorious honor that has come to me. I assure you that I am most humble in accepting this responsibility. The experience of the last seventeen or eighteen hours I would not trade for anything of a monetary value.
President McKay called me to his home last evening, pulled up a chair next to me, took my hand and looked me in the eyes: there was a chill went up my spine. It was a warm chill, that I shall never forget, and I have been impressed since with the thought that if each member of the Church could have such an experience as I had last evening, he would gain strength and a support the like of which he has never experienced.
VOTE OF CONFIDENCE
It is consoling to know you have the vote of confidence of the membership of the Church assembled here. I am reminded of a story of a man who was running for the Senate in one of the states recently. He had made what he thought was an excellent speech, after which one who was in the audience came up and shook his fist in his face and said, "I wouldn't vote for you if you were Saint Peter." The would-be senator said in return, "If I were Saint Peter, I wouldn't need your vote because you wouldn't be in my district."
I am grateful that I am in your district, brothers and sisters, and that I have had the privilege for about a year and a half of coming into some of the stakes and partaking of your spirit and fine hospitality and kindness. This gives me strength to face the task ahead.
If my life is of no value to my friends, I assure you that it is of no value to me. Sister Longden and I have said many times, that we would like to die with our boots on in the service of the Lord.
TESTIMONY
I have a testimony of this gospel, that it is the gospel of Jesus Christ, that his Church is restored to the earth in its fullness. I am grateful for that testimony. I am grateful for faith in a divine, living personal God. I am grateful for faith in the divine mission of Jesus Christ. I am grateful for faith that his gospel has been restored in its fullness. I am grateful for faith in the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith.
And most of all I am grateful that there is a spirit burning within me that tells me that these men whom we have sustained today are our leaders; that they are divine; they are men chosen of our Heavenly Father through his Son Jesus Christ to lead us in this the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times, and that they lead us with love and kindness. I bear you witness and testimony that if we will do the things that these men whom we have sustained counsel us in, we will have no need to fear.
GRATITUDE FOR BLESSINGS
I am grateful for a loving wife, one who has overlooked my shortcomings, errors, and mistakes, and has been most patient with me now for twenty-seven years. I am grateful for two lovely daughters that we have been permitted to rear thus far, one who three days ago bore a son. I am grateful for these blessings.
Everything I have I owe to this Church. How grateful I am that the missionaries came and sought out my parents in England some sixty years ago, and that they listened to their warning voice.
Let the Spirit of the Savior be in our hearts whether we are working in the shop, or whether we are in school. You young people need not be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I don't care what you might be doing by way of earning your livelihood. As you testify of his goodness, he verily will bless you. And so I realize as I stand before you today that in and of myself I could accomplish nothing, but I understand the scriptures, and I believe it was the Savior speaking to Nephi when he said he would not command anything of his children unless he prepared the way and made it possible for them to accomplish those things. I have faith in that teaching of the Savior. I know with your help, with your love, with your prayers and faith that I will be able to accomplish the bit which I have been called upon to fulfill.
May God's choice blessings be upon us, may we have the spirit of love in our homes as we were exhorted this morning.
EXPERIENCE AT SCHOOL
I recall a glorious experience just a few months ago in taking a group of young junior high school students to the deaf and dumb school in Ogden. It was a thrilling experience to see a patient teacher with children seven and eight years of age who could not hear and could not speak, yet with the aid of the child's hand upon the teacher's throat, a mirror in front of them, and with an arm around that child, she was able through the vibrations to teach some sentences. They were these: "I love God." "I love father." "I love mother." "I love my neighbor." To me that was the action of the commandment of Jesus Christ in very deed.
May we have this love in our hearts as we go back into our wards and into our stakes, I humbly pray, as I bear my testimony to you with all sincerity and humility that this is the Church of Jesus Christ, and I do it in his name. Amen.
Elder Eldred G. Smith
Eldred G. Smith, Conference Report, October 1951, pp. 79-82
It is truly a privilege and honor to be here and partake of the spirit and influence of this occasion. I pray that the Spirit of the Lord will be with me while I occupy this time. I want to acknowledge my gratitude for the prayer that was offered in my behalf and in behalf of the other patriarchs at the opening of this conference. I rejoice in the spirit of this conference and in the influence that radiates from such gatherings. I appreciate the privilege of being in the presence of the General Authorities and such a multitude of the priesthood and Saints. Truly, this is a happy people, and why shouldn't we be happy? We possess the greatest knowledge given to man-the knowledge of the gospel. Then the greatest happiness comes from our efforts to give it to others.
Henry Thoreau wrote:
It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue and to so make a few objects beautiful, but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look-to affect the quality of the day. That is the highest of arts.
THE ART OF LIVING
Thoreau is trying to remind us that great art is not restricted to painting, music, sculpture, and writing. There is an art to living, too. Who of all people are better prepared to affect the quality of the day for others than are the members of the Church of Jesus Christ? The art of living should be at its best among the Latter-day Saints. One must first have his own house in order. He must first live the gospel himself; then he can affect the quality of the day for others.
What can bring greater joy to man than a knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ, to know that God lives and that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, to know the plan of salvation, and to know that he has an opportunity to follow that plan and receive salvation-yes, even exaltation. Then take that knowledge and give it to others, paint the atmosphere and medium through which they look.
It thrills me to see the faces of converts to the Church fill with joy when they tell me their experiences through which they joined the Church, to see the reverence paid to those missionaries who brought them the gospel; how they, too, know that God lives and that Jesus is the Christ; and that his gospel has been restored to the earth. Those missionaries were the greatest artists.
Such art is not confined to the ordained missionaries. Every member of the Church can so live as to change the atmosphere around him for the benefit of others. Teach the principles of the gospel through your very deeds, acts of kindness; be sincere in your religion and live it strictly, that through your deeds others shall follow.
Said the Savior,
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Christ was speaking to his disciples in that greatest of all sermons, the Sermon on the Mount, when he gave this commandment. It was to those same disciples that Jesus had explained the gospel plan in all its fullness. They had listened to him, talked to him, come under the influence of his divine personality. They had witnessed the miracles he had performed, so because of their greater knowledge and their great privileges theirs was the responsibility to let their light so shine before men that others might see their good works and glorify their Father, which is in heaven.
EXEMPLARS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
Today, my brothers and sisters, that command is directed to us. We have received a light and knowledge that was given to the disciples of old. It is our responsibility to let our light so shine until it really reaches the ends of the earth.
If each individual member of this entire Church would sincerely strive to do his or her best, just think what might be accomplished. We can spread gloom around us, we can spread good cheer, or we can be such an example of righteousness that others will want to follow the pattern of our lives. A chain reaction goes on that is endless in its effects. When a knowledge of the divinity of the gospel is given to you, you can pass it on to others. If you are living the gospel, they will hear your testimony. Remember the saying: "How can I hear what you are saying, when what you are is ringing so loudly in my ears?"
POWER IN TESTIMONIES
Live the gospel first, then teach it to others. Declare your testimony to others on every occasion. There is a power in bearing your testimony.
I remember an occasion in the mission field in Germany, when I had been tracting. I was getting a bit discouraged, having met nothing but passive attention. After climbing some stairs I knocked on a door, and a large man opened it and with a very gruff attitude greeted me. I gave him my brief message, as we did in those days in presenting a tract at the door; he turned and picked up a handful of leaflets off the table near the door and shook them in my face and declared to me that I was the fifth person who had been to his door that day with just such leaflets. He was a large man and very rough in his approach. I expected any moment that I might be thrown down the stairs, but he declared that none of us knew that we had the gospel. He said, You all say that it is true; this is the way; you all say that. None of you know."
I met the challenge, and I stood straight before him and looked him square in the eyes, and I bore my testimony to him that I knew that this is the gospel of Jesus Christ and the only method by which he could gain salvation, and I went on at some length bearing my testimony to this man. Afterward I was surprised at the fluency of my speech because I had not been in Germany very long, I did not understand the language very well, but when I had finished, he had changed his tone entirely and very humbly begged my pardon and promised to read the tract, which I am sure he did.
I am sure that as we bear our testimonies in our sacrament meetings, that same effect goes out to others and assists others in strengthening their testimonies. And as we have heard testimonies here in this conference, they are a strengthening power to all of us. It was the strengthening power of their testimonies of the divinity of the gospel that was the motivating power to the pioneers in their trek across the plains; it gave them the courage to face the hardships and trials of that long journey.
A testimony is more than a mathematical calculation. It is more than the result of a given experience. As a young man enumerated a number of experiences in the process of his conversion, after each experience he said, "That was not what converted me." Again, "And that was not what converted me." It was the accumulation of many experiences with sincerity and prayer which put him in tune to the promptings of the Holy Ghost. And so it is with me and all others who have a testimony. The Spirit testifies from within.
THE SPIRIT WITHIN
Yes, I have had many experiences in the mission field and at home of healings, the blind made to see, the evil spirits rebuked, but the testimony of the divinity of the gospel comes not alone from these experiences but from the spirit within, which testifies of God and that he lives, that Jesus is the Christ, and that he has established his gospel in the earth, with the full power of the priesthood through which all the ordinances unto salvation and exaltation may be performed.
That knowledge burns within me, and even though Satan has tried to take it from me, he has not succeeded and never shall, for I know this is the gospel of Jesus Christ, the power unto salvation, the light and life of the world. I know that President David O. McKay has been chosen of God to lead this people in this day. I sustain him and his Counselors and all the other General Authorities, and I pray God's blessings upon them.
May the Lord bless each of us with a burning testimony of the divinity of this gospel, and may the Lord help us to extend it to others that they too may receive the joy and blessings of the gospel, that the earth may speedily be prepared for his coming. May we all carry with us from this conference a renewed determination to go forth proclaiming his gospel in deed and in precept is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, October 1951, pp. 82-90
My beloved brethren and sisters, I want to assure you today of my humility and my desire to say something which will be helpful. I assure you also of my loyalty, my love for, and my faith in the prophet, seer, and revelator, President David O. McKay, and his Counselors.
As the statistics were read this morning of the growth of the Church, the thought came to me that perhaps our beloved President George Albert Smith, President Heber J. Grant, President Joseph F. Smith, all of whom I knew personally, and those others who have presided in this Tabernacle and over this Church, would be gratified to see the tremendous development in the Church. We hope that the spiritual growth has kept pace.
NEW CHURCH OFFICERS
Today we have sustained some new men in official positions as General Authorities of the Church. Having known each of these men, my heart is filled with gratitude to have them close to us. I have watched Brother Longden grow these past eight years since I met him first. I have been in Brother Stayner Richards' stake and have seen the precision with which his work was carried on. With Brother Moyle I helped to install Brother ElRay Christiansen as president of the East Cache Stake over which he now presides, and there I came in contact with a man of God, one whose love for his Heavenly Father was unsurpassed. It was my privilege just very recently to spend a week with President George Q. Morris in the Eastern States. I had never had the privilege of getting intimately acquainted with him before, but this week convinced me that he is one of God's great servants. And so I am grateful for these four men who are going to be associated with us a little closer than they have been in the past, and I am sure you people will be inspired by them. For a decade Brother Romney has been growing ever closer to his Maker. He has served faithfully; he has proved himself; he has stood the test and measured up. I am grateful to have Brother Marion Romney as one of our Council, and I shall fully sustain him.
As I think of the calling of these brethren, I am reminded of the statement made by the Savior in the ninth chapter of Luke, in which he says,
And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
And Jesus said unto him, foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.
And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
Five men today have put their hands firmly on the plow, never to turn back. They have been willing to make adjustments, whatever is required, and the adjustments will not be few. They do not fear sacrifice. And so it is with the members of the Church to a greater or lesser extent.
"PROVE THEM HEREWITH"
Before we came into the world, the Lord said to us and to the great multitude,
... we will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell; And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.
I believe it was from this very pulpit that my grandfather presented a sermon in which he said, "The test, the test, the TEST is coming." Well, the test is here. The test has always been here. We came into the world as a test. All the way down the line there are adjustments to make. There are sins to overcome. There is much to learn. There are weaknesses above which we must rise. We must gain self-mastery, become righteous, and attain unto perfection.
In the early days of the ministry of the Savior, he gave to us in a great sermon:
And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.
And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
And he says a little later,
... 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:
... For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
SPIRIT GIVETH LIFE
The letter killeth and the spirit giveth life, and in all of our activities we should remember that.
Brother Romney spoke of the beautiful life of the Savior, his life of sacrifice. I wonder as we go into our testimony meetings if we ponder on the atonement and his sacrifice. The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. Do we take the bread and the water in remembrance of the body, the flesh and the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, or do we just take bread and water?
When we pray to our Heavenly Father, do we follow routine procedures and pray a prayer of words or do we pray unto the Lord with all our hearts and souls? The letter killeth, and the spirit giveth life. Just this week a young woman said to me that she had been praying for light and for the solution to some of her problems, but though she had uttered many prayers she felt that her petitions had not gone higher than the ceiling.
And with the other principles of the gospel-are we sincere and devout? Do we pay our tithes with a great devotion-with a gratitude for the privilege, or do we pay as a matter of fact and through routine, or because we feel under pressure? It is my candid opinion that the Lord does not need the tithes we pay. Certainly he puts them to beneficial use, in the erection of chapels, temples, in missionary work, in educational endeavors, but the Lord could find other ways and means to finance his program without the tithes. It is you and I who are blessed when we pay the tithes. We have obeyed a principle; we have mastered our desires; we have obeyed a commandment without necessarily knowing fully why. You will remember that the angel said to Adam, "Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me". Adam was a man of God with a great faith, and he continued to offer sacrifices unto the Lord because it had been commanded, even though he did not fully understand why, and even though it meant a considerable financial sacrifice to him. Why did he offer sacrifices-because it was a commandment of his Heavenly Father. He had been told to perform this act by one whom he knew to be his God. He had absolute faith and confidence that blessings would come through such obedience, and he did not hesitate. After he had lived the law, then came the understanding, for the miracle follows the faith rather than faith the miracle. The angel explained to him that it was to keep him in constant memory of the coming of the Christ who would save the world, and exalt those of the people who would live the commandments.
Had Adam waited until he could have fully understood and rationalized the program, perhaps in the meantime his family would have fallen away from the truth, and he himself might have lost his faith. He needed something tangible-a constant sacrifice-to help him to remember the coming of the Savior at a later time. And so we partake of the sacrament to remind us of the sacrifice that the Savior did make, and now we may pay our tithes which will be a constant reminder to us of the promises and the requirements of our Heavenly Father. So each time we pay our tithes it is a personal sacrifice and brings with it a blessing in faith and closeness to our Heavenly Father.
THE WORD OF WISDOM
Frequently I hear people talk about the Word of Wisdom and emphasize the fact that it will increase the period of their lives if they observe it strictly. I, also, believe that it is the Lord's law of health and that it will extend our lives and will give us better health while we live. But that is not the reason I obey the law of the Word of Wisdom, and I wish to digress to emphasize again that the Word of Wisdom is a law. From this very pulpit it has been declared by prophets of God to be a law-not just a suggestion.
President Francis M. Lyman, in the April 1908 general conference said:
... I believe the time is ripe for the Latter-day Saints, particularly, to place themselves in accord with this revelation, the Word of Wisdom, which was given in the beginning by the Prophet Joseph as a Word of Wisdom, with promises which are very precious. In the beginning, it was not laid down as a strict commandment. I do not know whether or not the Lord took into account the fact that our forefathers, and our fathers had been so used to many things forbidden in the Word of Wisdom that it might be difficult for them to order their lives in harmony with those requirements: so we were given perhaps thirty to forty years of training and experience before the Lord announced, through his servant the Prophet Brigham Young, that the Word of Wisdom has now become a commandment of the Lord. President Young laid it down very strictly and exactly from this stand that from that time henceforth the Word of Wisdom is a commandment from the Lord, and all Latter-day Saints are required to observe it.
The Lord has insisted upon our refraining from the use of liquor, tobacco, and tea and coffee. I am sure that such abstinence will increase the length of our lives and increase the vigor of our lives. But I am sure that a deeper value comes from the observance of the Word of Wisdom than the mere length of life, for after all we must finally all pass away. The time will come when our bodies and spirits are separated, and our bodies will be laid in Mother Earth to go through the regular process, and though we do wish to continue our mortal existence as long as we can consistently, I am confident that there are greater blessings which will come to us than the strictly physical.
OBEDIENCE BRINGS BLESSINGS
When I refrain from the use of these forbidden things, I am obeying my Heavenly Father, and whether or not I understand the purpose I will still receive the blessing. The Lord has promised to all of us who obey his commandments and live his statutes that all that he has is ours. The living of the Word of Wisdom is a test. Perhaps he chose to make a part of this test those things which would be universally used and would take character and courage and strength to leave alone. It was given as a principle and "... adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all saints, who are or can be called saints". If one obeys the Word of Wisdom only because of the physical, perhaps it is of the letter. But if he can stand the test and prove himself that he will obey the commands of God, then it is of the spirit, and he will reap rich blessings. There may be other things which are destructive to the body, but since the Lord through his prophets has specifically mentioned certain items, then these we must refrain from using. Should the Lord later include in the Word of Wisdom any other things which are difficult, we will also obey them.
LAW OF THE FAST
The law of the fast is another test. If we merely go without food to supply welfare funds, it is much of the letter, but in real fasting, for spiritual blessings, come self-mastery and increased spirituality.
In the fourteenth chapter of Luke the Lord says,
... When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbors; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee.
But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:
And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.
Are we interested in what we can get or are we interested in what we can give? The Savior's life was one of unselfish service. The Savior's doctrine and gospel is one of selflessness. Are we interested in the glamorous and in the spectacular? Is our Church service like the prayer of the Pharisee or like the Publican? You will remember the Savior gave us the parable,
Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
And the publican, standing afar off would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
THE MANSION
In his booklet, The Mansion, Henry Van Dyke gives us a most interesting picture of the type of man who prays for show and for his great words, who makes his gifts where they will bring him personal return, who serves himself first and his neighbor as a convenience to himself. His story is of one John Weightman who lived in a large stone house which carried the air of calm and reserved opulence. Like his house he was a self-made man, firm, solid, successful. The stern architecture of his home was symbolical of his social position, religious doctrine, and business creed. He gave generously to established charities. There were foundations which he established. He gave his family luxuries, trips, court presentations, seasons on the Riviera. His name was known and respected far and wide. Over a hundred million dollars had sat around his table at banquets.
Weightman had expressed to his critical son, "I have never made a single dollar that the courts would not uphold, at least in the long run, and yet my affairs have prospered. Not one of my charities but has brought me in a good return, either in the increase of influence, the building up of credit, or the association with substantial people. Of course, you have to be careful how you give to secure the best results. No indiscriminate giving, no pennies in beggars' hats."
His check in the collection plate was far more valuable to him than an equal amount in cash would have been. He identified himself with all public drives and reminded his son, "You will learn, my boy, that it is wisdom to put your gifts where they can be identified and do you good also."
His son would have him assist a sick man whose business was failing, but the father said, "Give him a few hundred, but don't overwork your gratitude. All you'll get from him will be a letter of thanks. Don't get sentimental. Religion is not a matter of sentiment, but principle."
When the son had left, John Weightman sat alone in his carved chair feeling strangely old and dull. On the library table were clippings praising him for his benevolence. One editor called them the "Weightman Charities." There were hospitals he had endowed, schools he had helped, community enterprises which he had fostered. His son's denunciation had caused him to think. Could he be wrong in his philosophy of life? He sat at the table; the opened Bible lay before him. His eyes fell upon the words, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth" then sleepily, heavily, he tried to fix his mind upon it. He read further, "... but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven". The book seemed to float away-the light vanished. Could this be death? The thought came quietly, irresistibly. He sank to the table and slipped into the blank unknown.
His life seemed to be returning to him after a blank interval and Mr. Weightman found himself in a strange land traversing paths and meeting friendly groups clothed in white, among whom he recognized the old village doctor, a plain, hard-working, self-sacrificing man. Another one he recognized was a poor bookkeeper who had slaved through the years to care for a crippled daughter while the mother was in an institution for the insane. This also had been a life of sacrifice. He saw a widow who had labored long and with much sacrifice for her children: a schoolmaster who had devoted himself to the training of youth, and many others with joyful countenances and light steps-all these people seemed to be going to the Eternal City to possess their mansions.
As the stream of people came to the Holy City, a robed personage welcomed them. "Come in, your mansions are ready." One by one the individuals left the party and entered the mansions which were prepared for them. There was evidence of surprised joy, as though their buildings were lovelier than they had expected. From within came sweet voices of welcome, low laughter, and sweet songs.
The largest mansion and the most beautiful of them all was pointed out to the doctor as his, and John Weightman was left alone with the guide.
"Where do you wish to go?" asked the guide. And Weightman recounted his many charities, his gifts, and his endowments, and when the guide stopped before a rude hut, small as the shepherd's shelter, apparently made of discarded scraps and cast-off materials, the earth-man was shocked! Surely there must be a mistake! He renamed the many things he had done for schools and churches and hospitals, and the angel-guide said, "We have saved and used everything you sent to us-this is the mansion prepared for you. All the things you did on earth-many of them were good-but verily you have had your reward for them. Would you be paid twice? The good you accomplished in the world counted where you counted it, but it does not belong here."
The deep, searching, flaming look of the guide seemed to strip John Weightman naked and withered him as he winced and cried brokenly, "Tell me, then, if my life has been of such little worth, how came I here at all?"
"Through the mercy of the King," it came softly.
"Then how have I earned it?" John asked.
"It was not earned-it was-given. Only that good which is done for the love of duty, only those plans in which the welfare of others is the master-thought, only those labors in which the sacrifice is greater than the reward, only those gifts in which the giver forgets himself. Was there nothing like that in your life?"
"Nothing," he sighed. "If so, they were few, and I have long ago forgotten them."
The guide smiled gently, "These are the things that the King never forgets; and because there were a few of them in your life, you have a little place here."
"John Weightman's numbness prickled into normalcy. Bodily weariness and lassitude weighted upon him, but he was calm, resolute, and light of heart. What had happened to him he knew not. But this he knew-great truths had been forced into his consciousness.
This man Weightman, like many of the moderns, forgot the admonition of the Lord when he said:
But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
They also forget that the Lord said:
And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
They forget also that the Lord said again:
Moreover, when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
GRATITUDE FOR UNSELFISHNESS
I am grateful that all through this great Church there are many people who live unselfishly, who pray in the quiet of their homes, who are far more interested in paying their tithes of which no one knows except their bishop, than they are to pay large contributions which may be heralded far and wide. I am grateful that there are numerous people in this Church who go quietly week after week to attend their meetings; worship the Lord in their assemblies; bear testimony in their fast meetings; serve faithfully as ward teachers, stake missionaries, or in the auxiliaries or priesthood quorums without glamour, without praise, without public notice.
God bless us, brothers and sisters, that we may "seek first the kingdom", that we may forget all else, and that we may project ourselves out of ourselves into the great world of service to our fellow men, realizing that after all, the two great commandments which the Lord gave to us did this very thing. He did not mention ourselves, he mentioned others. He said,
... thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength... love thy neighbor as thyself.
All of this is service to others-love of others, not love of nor service to ourselves. May the Lord bless us that we may be unselfish in this kingdom, give of ourselves generously that we may live by the spirit rather than by the letter, that we may continue to rear large families, training them in righteousness to the end. And all this I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Oscar A. Kirkham
Oscar A. Kirkham, Conference Report, October 1951, pp. 91-93
I sincerely pray that I may enjoy the blessings of the Lord as I speak to you.
GEORGE Q. MORRIS
For years I labored at the side of Brother George Q. Morris, the absent member of the newly sustained brethren, Assistants to the Twelve. He truly is a noble man, a devoted man.
I would like to pay a tribute to Brother Morris. Some time ago I visited a university in the South. In the great rotunda of that university was the statue of a man, but at the base of it no name was carved. All that was said was, "A Southern Gentleman," and on the wall on a bronze plaque were these words: "Robert E. Lee, on leaving the battlefield lighted from his horse and gave help to a Union soldier." I think of George Q. Morris as a Latter-day Saint gentleman, one of the very finest men that I have ever met. Thank God for the contribution of his fineness, his sturdy testimony, and his helpfulness.
In the Thirteenth Article of Faith we find, "If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things". Where you find truth, there you find part of Mormonism: we seek after it.
WORLD JAMBOREE OF BOY SCOUTS
I am humbly grateful for a great privilege that came to me during this last summer, when the First Presidency of the Church allowed me to fill an assignment and sustained me in it with their blessing. I attended the World Jamboree of Boy Scouts. I want to say a few words about it, for I sincerely feel that it has in it hope; it has in it great purpose.
Seventeen thousand youth of the world came to camp at Bad Ischl, Osterreich, far away in a lovely valley in the heart of the Austrian mountains. They came from forty-seven nations of the world-seventeen thousand of them. It was truly a world gathering of youth.
Men are looking everywhere-serious and thoughtful men-to see if there isn't something positive to tie to, and as has been the history of youth through the ages, men of great responsibility have always looked to them for help. Yes, I love to think that it was a twelve-year-old boy who was in the temple, challenging the wise men. I love to think that it was a boy, kneeling at the sacred Grove, whom God heard and through whom he brought in this dispensation of his glorious gospel.
It was wonderful to see these chaps come from all over the world with their color, their enthusiasm, their desire to meet their fellows from everywhere. The leadership of this gathering had put into it very serious purpose. They tried to fasten the ideals that they wanted to establish around three great words-friendship, brotherhood, spirituality.
FRIENDSHIP AND BROTHERHOOD
For an expression of friendship Austria lighted on seven of her highest peaks fires of friendship. No meals were eaten without boys of other lands being present. Somewhere in the group at their campfires were lads that had been invited from other countries.
When the closing exercises of this great gathering of youth came, we were invited not to go with our own but to find a new friend. That night I took to the campfire a dark-skinned man from Pakistan and a man from Denmark. We watched the dying embers of a great campfire fade away, then from a high tower we heard a voice saying, "Soon you will be back to your homes again. Do not forget you have made new friends, you have found new brothers."
Then, when bands were playing, and finally when prayers were offered, out from that high tower there flew four hundred homing pigeons, and all of them circled the tower and then flew back again to their homelands. Austria tried to say, "So you must go back with love in your heart from this camp to those dear to you, and may God help you to take the message to all of friendship, brotherhood, and spirituality."
SPIRITUALITY
Spirituality came in the great religious services of the churches of the world. The cardinal of Vienna came and gave mass to thousands of boys. The archbishop of Austria came and gave his blessing to Protestant boys. A Jewish rabbi from Jerusalem stimulated the hearts of the children of Israel. These boys had, just a few days prior, been to a sacred spot where sixty thousand Jews had been killed during the recent war.
LATTER-DAY SAINT GATHERING
May I humbly say that the small band of Latter-day Saint youth and friends rallied, after these larger gatherings to a quiet spot in the forest. We heard the story from two Vienna mothers who said, "When you get home, tell your brothers that we are so grateful they brought us the gospel of Jesus Christ, for when the trials were very difficult, then the gospel gave us strength." These mothers lived only a few miles away from the Iron Curtain. A brother from West Germany said, "We are building twelve new meetinghouses. Do not forget us in your prayers. We have not lost our faith." A new building place for a Latter-day Saint chapel has been purchased near Vienna in the American quarters.
A man one day said to me, on the ship going over, "Kirkham, I want to know something. Today, I was deeply impressed. I saw two of your boys kneeling when you had your sacrament service, and they blessed the sacrament, and asked the Lord, as they renewed their covenants, to help them to keep his commandments. Won't you sit down and tell me more about this? These youth have definitely stimulated me." A thousand doors are open. Brethren and sisters, everywhere the world is hungry for the word of God. The call has gone forth. Rally to that call. I love the testimony of Heber C. Kimball. When the Prophet went down the aisle in the Kirtland Temple and said to him, "Heber, the Lord wants you to open up the mission in England," he replied: "Oh, but my tongue is stammering. My family is in want." But he went, and fifteen hundred were baptized in the first eight months by Heber C. Kimball.
Brethren and sisters, in all humility, and with a deep prayer in my heart because of this lovely experience, I know the world is now awaiting the word of God-Answer the call.
God be with us as we bring this glorious message to the children of the earth, that the blessings we enjoy may be theirs also, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Alma Sonne
Alma Sonne, Conference Report, October 1951, pp. 93-95
My brethren and sisters, something over a year ago when Sister Sonne and I boarded the great ocean liner to return to our homes from Europe, the news was flashed to the passengers that Harry Lauder, the Scotch comedian, had just died. We read in the paper the next day something about Mr. Lauder. I recall now that he lost his only son in the Battle of the Marne in World War I.
Lauder was heartbroken. He was inconsolable, and he grieved much. After a week or two he received word from the military authorities that he might visit the graveside of his boy, buried over in France. Thereupon, with some of his friends, Harry Lauder crossed the channel and went to the cemetery where his son lay buried beneath the sod of France.
The little group with Mr. Lauder stood around the graveside. Someone in the group said in a whisper, "I wonder if God weeps when such laddies fall?"
Harry Lauder stepped forward. He looked down at the grave of his boy and said to those assembled there, "When a man has been struck as I have, there are three roads open to him. One road leads to depravity and drink. Another road leads to despair and suicide. A third road leads to God. I am determined at this moment to take the road that leads to God."
He forgot all about his commercial engagements; and he volunteered his services to the British and American armies and began to sing his Scotch melodies and to tell his stories to the British and American soldiers.
UNSELFISH SERVICE
After all, brethren and sisters, how do we find God except in the service of our fellow men? I know from actual experience and observation that the leaders of this Church are unselfish in their service and in their devotion. I was greatly impressed this morning when they announced the additions to the General Authorities of the Church.
For more than ten years now I have leaned heavily upon my friend and associate, Marion G. Romney. As a result I have come to love him and to depend upon him, and when I went over to Europe, it was Brother Romney with whom I had correspondence relative to the distribution of welfare supplies in the countries across the sea, and together he and I and others have sat in council many times.
I thought of these men who have been called to be Assistants to the Quorum. I knew President George Q. Morris for many years when he led the great M.I.A. movement. He used to come to our stake when my chief responsibility was with that organization. I met Brother Stayner Richards forty years ago, in Newcastle, England, where he was serving as a missionary.
I have also met the other brethren: Brother ElRay L. Christiansen lives in my home town, the place I call home, and the place I visit occasionally as opportunity permits. I know something about his work in the Logan Temple and in the East Cache Stake of Zion. I can truthfully say he is a man of God.
I have visited the stakes of Zion with Brother John Longden. I have heard him preach the gospel, and I have heard him sing the gospel, as he can do. Brethren and sisters, the Church is growing and expanding. It has never gone forward at a more rapid pace than it is at this moment.
The barriers which were raised against it at one time are crumbling, and we are permitted to preach the gospel in the lands of the free.
A GREAT CHURCH
Just before leaving London, I attended a district conference. At the close of the morning session, a man who had been sitting in the audience came to the front. In a loud tone of voice, so everyone could hear, he said, "I resent the audacity of your claims," and he followed it up with these words: "You refer to yourselves as a great church. It isn't great," he said. "You have only a membership of a million. I belong to a church that has a membership of two hundred and fifty million."
Then a young man stepped forward. He was a missionary of the Church in the British Mission. Calmly he stepped up to the man and said, "Well, from a standpoint of numbers yours is a great church, perhaps the greatest church amongst all Christian denominations. But," he said, "I recall that at one time the primitive Church which was established by the Lord Jesus and the Twelve Apostles was but a small group. The Savior entrusted his gospel message to a very few people, most of them unlearned but very humble."
Then the young elder continued, "That primitive Church, though small in numbers, was nevertheless a great Church. It was great in its missionary endeavor. It was great in its calling to preach the gospel to the civilized world of that day. There is something in a church that makes it great besides its numbers."
WORK TO GO FORWARD
I frequently think of that circumstance. God's work will go forward in the earth. I am sure it will never be weaker than it is today. It will grow in strength and in influence until this gospel of the kingdom has been preached as a witness in all the world, and until every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ.
May we, you and I, assist in this great enterprise, and may we work out our salvation in fear before our Heavenly Father, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop LeGrand Richards
LeGrand Richards, Conference Report, October 1951, pp. 162-168
Brethren, I have certainly enjoyed this conference with you, and the spirit thereof, and I appreciate the privilege this night of addressing this great body of Priesthood.
A CALLING OF SERVICE
As I thought of the Priesthood being gathered here, knowing that this Tabernacle is full, and the Assembly Hall, and Barratt Hall, representing the Priesthood of this great Church, I thought of the Apostle Paul, speaking of the Priesthood of his day, when he said that the Lord had given 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, until we should all come to a unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God,-that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive.
Now, if you will analyze this statement you will see that Paul understood that our calling is a calling of service; the work of the ministry-the great missionary cause of this Church. The edifying of the body of Christ, and the perfecting of the Saints:-all this work that we do in the wards and the stakes of Zion, and in the branches, in order to try and teach the Gospel, so that the people, after they take upon them the name of Christ and become members of His great Church, will not be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, but that we watch over the Church and see that they are taught the Gospel.
I hope that in all of our efforts, we will try to plant a testimony in the hearts of the membership of this Church so that they will be able to stand no matter what teachings may come among us.
KNOWLEDGE OF GOSPEL
In some of our Priesthood council meetings, there has been some apprehension for fear that our own might be led away from us because of the missionary efforts of other churches. One large church in the land has publicized that their greatest missionary effort for the next ten years would be conducted right here in the state of Utah, and we have lost a few. I think we have gained more from them than they have taken from us.
We wonder how any of ours can ever leave us if we have taught them the Gospel, and are watching over them as the Priesthood of the Church, so that they will not be led away by these false teachings.
I was interested in attending a conference here in Salt Lake a few weeks ago, in visiting with Sister Williams who used to be on the M. I. A. Board of the Church. Formerly she wrote a column in the Deseret News called the "Question and Answer" column. She told about a young girl, one of our Latter-day Saint girls who went east, and wrote home, and said something like this:
"I have been asked so many questions about our Church and what we believe in since I have come here, that I am writing to ask you to tell me what the first principles of the Gospel really are. I know the first two are that we should not use coffee or tea or play cards."
That was about her conception of what the first principles were, but she had that testimony that burns inside and she wanted to know more about our teachings.
ADVICE TO MISSIONARY
I had a missionary write me once, who said something like this: "I met a minister the other day who knows more about religion than I ever dreamed of. I told him if he had something better than I had, I would join his church."
I wrote him back, and said, "You said just the right thing exactly. If he has something better than you have you ought to join his church. But," I said, "have you ever stopped to figure out how it is possible for him to have something better than you have. Has he something better than a personal visit from God the Eternal Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth to open a new gospel dispensation? And in answer to the question of the boy prophet, which of all the churches he should join, he was told that he should join none of them for they all taught for doctrine the commandments of men. Now why worry about all of the other churches with an answer like that coming direct from the Savior of the world, the one who has the right to speak and to pronounce judgment upon all the Christian churches in the world?"
Then I went on to add, "Does he have something better than a visit from Moroni with the plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated, a visit from John the Baptist with the Aaronic Priesthood, Peter, James and John with the Melchizedek Priesthood and the keys of the holy apostleship?" and then I continued by referring to the coming of Elijah the Prophet of whom Malachi testified that if it were not for his coming the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming, and then of Moses and Elias. Then I said, "If he has something better than that you join his church."
STORY OF PROPHET JOSEPH
I usually make a similar statement to the missionaries when I interview them for their missions. I say "when you go to buy a suit, it either fits or it doesn't fit. Now," I say, "Take the story of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Does it fit, or doesn't it fit?" Then I enumerate these things, and then add, "If you can believe the Prophet's story, you know we do not have just another Church but we have the only true Church, for no other church is built upon such a foundation. When you hear that song of what rapture filled his bosom because he saw the God of love, I think of it so many, many times. I think of the rapture that fills the bosoms of our missionaries when they get in the field and catch the spirit of this work. I have seen many of them that I think could have given their lives and given them gladly for the testimony of Jesus that they had because of the rapture that filled their bosoms because of the spirit of this great latter-day work.
My feeling is that if we could get that spirit into the hearts of our young people we could trust them anywhere. They don't need to know all of the answers to the scriptures. They don't need to be able to explain all of the writings of Holy Writ. They need to know what the God of Heaven has done in our day, and then the rest of it is only a process of study and information in order that they might be able to better preach and teach and know of the teachings of the prophets of old.
When I went on my first mission, President Anthon H. Lund addressed us missionaries, and said something like this:
"Now, brethren, when you go on your missions, if you ever lack for anything to say, just bear testimony that you know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and the Book of Mormon is true, and I promise you that you will have something to talk about."
MISSIONARY EXPERIENCE
I have put that promise to the test. One time while I was secretary of the Netherlands Mission, and had only been there a few months and did not know the language very well, the Mission President told me that if I would write down the addresses of the brethren, including President Grant's who was then president of the European Mission, he would not call on me to speak.
But there was one greater than the mission president there, and that was President Grant, and he said, I want to hear from Brother Richards." So while I was sitting down in front taking the minutes of the meeting I was announced as the next speaker. As I walked up on that platform with an audience of some 1500, many of whom came with their stovepipe hats and their walking sticks, I thought of the promise of President Anthon H. Lund that if you ever need anything to talk about, just bear witness that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that the Book of Mormon is true and the Lord will give you something to talk about, and one of the finest testimonies of my life came out of that experience that night. There are some Latter-day Saints here in Salt Lake today who give credit to my testimony that night for having started them to investigate our message. I have truly learned the truth of the words of the scripture: "for the letter killeth but the Spirit giveth life".
I just feel that if we could feel that rapture in our bosoms from telling these glorious stories, and that our young people could feel it, we would not need to worry too much about interpretations of the scriptures.
STRENGTH OF THE MORMON POSITION
I am impressed with a statement that Brother Orson F. Whitney used to tell from this stand, and published in the little pamphlet he wrote on the "Strength of the Mormon Position." He told about an interview he had with a prominent Catholic priest who once occupied this pulpit here in this tabernacle, in these words:
"Many years ago a learned man, a member of the Roman Catholic Church came to Utah and spoke from the stand of the Salt Lake Tabernacle. I became well acquainted with him, and we conversed freely and frankly, a great scholar with perhaps a dozen languages at his tongue's end. He seemed to know all about theology, law, literature, science, and philosophy. One day he said to me, 'You Mormons are all ignoramuses. You don't even know the strength of your own position. It is so strong that there is only one other tenable in the whole Christian world. That is the position of the Catholic Church.
"'The issue is between Catholicism and Mormonism. If we are right, you are wrong. If you are right, we are wrong, and that is all there is to it. Protestants haven't a leg to stand on, for if we are wrong they are all wrong with us since they were a part of us and went out from us, while if we are right, they are apostates whom we cut off long ago. If we have the apostolic succession from St. Peter as we claim, there is no need of Joseph Smith and Mormonism. But if we have not that succession, then such a man as Joseph Smith was necessary, and Mormonism's attitude is the only consistent one. It is either the perpetuation of the Gospel from ancient times, or the Restoration of the Gospel in the latter days." And we know it has been restored and so that is all there is about it. That ought to settle all disputes when we have to discuss religion with any other church.
They might be able to out-argue some of our young people, but they can't take away the visit of the Father and the Son nor the visit of the other holy messengers, nor the visit of Moroni and the information contained in that Book of Mormon.
EXPERIENCE IN SUNDAY SCHOOL
When I was a boy in the little town where I was raised, I had the privilege of leading the Sunday School in reciting the testimony of the three witnesses. I remember upon that occasion Karl G. Maeser and Brother George Goddard were there. Brother Goddard used to teach us to sing, "Take away the whiskey, the coffee and the tea. Cold water is the drink for me," and "Who's on the Lord's Side, Who? Now is the time to show. We ask it fearlessly, who's on the Lord's Side, who?"
I will never forget that experience, and the testimony of those three witnesses has never left me. It is a marvelous thing when the Lord touches your heart to realize that these things that He has given unto us are divine, and that they come from Him.
MARRIAGES OUT OF THE CHURCH
As we travel about the Church we see a good many people who have strayed away from the Church. Sometimes their testimonies become dim for a time because some of them have married out of the Church. They think they can get away from the Church. I remember that while I was president of a stake in California a young lady came into my office one day selling neckties.
She said, "I guess you don't remember me, do you, Brother Richards?"
I said, "No, I don't believe I do. Who are you?"
Then she told me that she had taught Sunday School under me here in Salt Lake when I was superintendent of a ward Sunday School. Then I remembered her and said, "What is the rest of the story?"
She said, "I fell in love with a Catholic boy, and I loved him so much that I didn't think it would make any difference to the Lord whether I worshipped him in the Catholic Church, or the Mormon Church, so I went all the way with him, and we were married by his priest, and I agreed to raise my children in the Catholic Church. Now we have three children, and I told him the other day that I was the biggest hypocrite in the whole world, that I didn't believe a thing that was going on in his church, that I knew that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, that the Book of Mormon was true. I don't know what is going to become of you and me and the children, but I am going back to my Church."
I was in New York some time ago, and the president of the stake told me about a woman there who, on her deathbed, called the stake president and her bishop. She had married a Catholic, a Salt Lake girl, and she went east with him, and he died, and he left her quite an estate, but he left his old maid Catholic sister to administer it, with the instructions that if she attempted to bring her children up in the Mormon Church she was to be cut off entirely from the estate.
On her deathbed, with her son and daughter having entered their twenties she plead with her bishop and stake president to see if they could not do something to save her children to the Church.
She said, "I made an awful mistake. If I had it to do over again, I would crawl on my hands and knees back to Salt Lake City in order to raise my children in the Church, if I had to go out washing every day to earn a living for them."
I was in Chicago attending a conference meeting, and a little mother with a baby in her arms sitting down in the center, at the close of the meeting came up and said, "Bishop, I would like to shake your hand."
I said, "I would certainly be glad to shake yours." Then she started to cry, and I said, "You're a western girl, aren't you?" I got a nod of approval, and I said, "And you married out of the Church?" and I got another nod. She couldn't talk. Her emotions had gotten the best of her. I said, "And your husband does not like you to come and meet with your people?" and I got another nod. Then I said, "And you're homesick-homesick for your Church and for your people." With that she sat down on the front bench, covered her face in the shawl that wrapped her little baby, and wept like her heart would break.
TESTIMONY OF THE SPIRIT
I tell you this world is not big enough that you can run away from the testimony that the Lord plants in your heart-as President Clark tells us so often-"the testimony of the Spirit."
I want to bear witness of that testimony. I would like to see us plant it in the hearts of our young people. I would like to see them encouraged to bear their testimonies in Sunday School and in our fast meetings. President Brigham Young is accredited with having said that we can get a testimony quicker on our feet than we can on our knees, and I believe it. As I have gone around this Church and listened to men who have been called to represent the Adult Group of the Aaronic Priesthood, I have seen those men stand up and weep. One man right near here recently said he had lived in his ward 16 years, and his bishop had never asked him to do anything. He stood there and wept with gratitude and thankfulness for the opportunity he had to speak.
I heard another man who manages a chain store, who was called to represent that group, and before he got through, he had caught the spirit of it, and he said, "I haven't done as I should have done but I am here today to tell you that before this year ends I am going to be ready to ask my bishop for a recommend to take my wife and children to the temple and have them sealed to me."
He had had a long time to think about it but he had to get on his feet before he felt inspired to make such a resolution. It is a little like the story they tell of the old lady who came home from fast meeting one day, and said to her daughter, "That is the best fast meeting I have ever attended."
The daughter said, "Is that so, Mother? Who spoke?" "I did," she said.
There is something about this testimony of the spirit that is the most wonderful thing in all the world. It was what Peter had when Jesus announced that he was the Son of God, and that was more than the multitude could take, so one by one they went away. Then Jesus turned to Peter and to the apostles, and asked them why they did not leave also. Then Peter replied, "Whither shall we go, Lord, for we know that thou hast the words of eternal life?".
RESPONSIBILITY OF PRIESTHOOD
Brethren, you are called in this great Priesthood of the Lord for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, for the perfection of the Saints, and it is our responsibility to plant in their hearts a testimony of the divinity of this work, so that no matter where they go, and no matter what arguments are brought, they know that these fundamental facts are true-that God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ did appear to the Prophet Joseph, and if these facts are not true then we have no right to be holding this conference because then the whole thing is a deception.
Our testimonies of this great latter-day work to many are like the testimonies of the women who went to the tomb, and saw that the body of Jesus had arisen and when they told this story it seemed to the people to be but idle tales. Many think when we bear them our testimony of the marvelous work and wonder the Lord has brought forth, that it is nothing but idle tales.
But it is God's eternal truth. Of this I bear you my testimony in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report, October 1951, pp. 169-172
The Bishop is a hard man for a quiet man to follow.
I always enjoy the Bishop. He has such a marvelous enthusiasm, a wonderful testimony, and a wide experience, that he always stirs me. I thank him for his sermon tonight, and for its uplifting thought and word.
POWER OF THE PRIESTHOOD
Again, brethren, it is a great privilege to meet with you here in this Priesthood meeting. Again I am impressed with the power of the Priesthood. Again I am reminded that this is the greatest gathering of Priesthood-these gatherings of ours-that can be held in the world. Greatest because of the great number of men who come together with one thought, one allegiance, one Priesthood. Greatest, because in the second place, we hold the Priesthood of Almighty God, with all the powers, rights, and authorities which are incident to that Priesthood.
I wonder if we believe that? I wonder if in our hearts we all have that firm conviction that we are possessed of the Priesthood of God that that Priesthood gives us certain powers, certain rights, spiritual rights? I hope we do.
AN EVERLASTING ENDOWMENT
My brethren, I wish we could all appreciate that wherever we go, this Priesthood goes with us. The Priesthood is not like a suit of clothes that you can lay off and take back on. It is an everlasting-depending upon ourselves-an everlasting endowment. If we could get that into our minds and hearts, so that it was really a part and parcel of us, we would be far nearer to a solution of our many difficulties-the difficulties of life that beset us-than we are today.
If we really had that thought, that conviction, and that recollection of the character of the Priesthood which we hold, and that we could not lay it aside, and that God would hold us responsible if we prostituted it, it would save us from doing a good many things, save us from going a good many places. If, every time we started a little detour away from the straight and narrow, we would remember, "I am carrying my Priesthood here. Should I?" it would not take us long to work back into the straight and narrow.
I often think that I should try, and I do try, never to be anywhere or engaged in anything, so that if suddenly called to the bedside of the sick, and particularly of my own, I would have to go blushing, or trying to forget where I had been, what I was doing.
Brethren, if we could just hold a few simple little things like that in our minds we would find it so much easier to tread the narrow way. If you were called to the bedside of your loved one, not in the condition, and not so you could invoke as a right, and feeling you had a right, the power of the Priesthood, and the worst happened, what are you going to do about it? What are you going to think about it? What is your wife going to think about it? For the chances are the wife is living more nearly as she should than you, if you were thus guilty. Oh, my brethren, don't sell your birthright-your Priesthood birthright-for a mess of pottage.
CHASTITY TO BE GUARDED
I would like to urge you young people to guard, even as you guard your life, your chastity. I would like you to remember and to know that for a moment of ecstasy you can have an eternity of pain. It is not worth it, and if you would keep yourselves straight, then never make the first approach. I am telling you boys that if you will conduct yourselves properly, if you let it be known to your associates of the opposite sex that you are strict, you will never have much difficulty with them. It is only when you begin to edge over that they, if they be bad, come along.
INCIDENT IN LIFE OF SAVIOR
I was thinking this afternoon, after I went home from meeting, of an incident in the life of the Savior. I was moved to this thought, more or less following out some of the ideas I tried to express this morning. You remember that awhile after the Savior was crucified and resurrected, Peter, Thomas, Didymus, Nathaniel of Cana, James and John, and two others-seven of them altogether-responded to Peter's suggestion that they go fishing. Peter evidently thought that it was all over. Even though the Savior had visited them at least twice before, he did not understand what it was all about.
So they went fishing. They fished all night and caught nothing, as you will remember. The next morning, as the day dawned, they were near shore, and they saw, standing on the beach, a man. The man asked them if they had caught any fish, and they said no. He said, "Throw your net on the other side." They did, and it was filled.
Then John said, "It is the Lord." And I think John had in mind an earlier experience at the beginning of the Savior's mission, when on one occasion, he entered a boat belonging to Peter, and had him push it out from the shore so that the people could not gather round too close to him, and preached a sermon. Then he told Peter to row out and get some fish. Peter said, "I have fished all night and have not caught anything, but if you say so, I will row it out." So he went out a little distance. The Savior told him to throw out his net, and he caught the fish, so many that he had to call for his partners, the sons of Zebedee, to come and help him.
At that sight, Peter said, "Depart from me. I am a sinful man, O Lord." And after a little conversation, the Lord said, "Fear not, as hereafter you will catch men."
I think that John remembered that as he heard the direction to put the net on the other side, and then he said, "It is the Lord." You will remember that they caught the fish, great quantities of them.
Peter-I love Peter. He had a little trouble the night before the crucifixion, but Peter was a great man, the man whom the Lord chose to be the senior in the presidency. Peter girded his coat about him, for he was naked. I have always thought there was a lesson in that-that Peter would not appear before the Lord nude.
At golf clubs and other places you men run around nude. I wonder if that is quite right. I would think about it if I were you.
Peter went ashore, and the other men came ashore. They saw it was the Lord, and the Lord told them to bring some more fish. He had fish, and he had bread. The fish was cooked. They ate their meat there on the seashore, there in the early morning light.
CHARGE TO PETER
When they had finished, the Lord said to Peter, "Peter, lovest thou me more than these"
And Peter ignored the second part of the question and said, "Lord, thou knowest I love thee." The Lord said, "Feed my lambs."
Then he renewed the question, "Peter lovest thou me?" "Yea, Lord, thou knowest I love thee." And the third time the question came and then as the record says, Peter was grieved, and said, "O, Lord thou knowest all things. Thou knowest I love thee." "Feed my sheep".
I have always thought that that was a commandment that was just as pertinent, and belonged just as much to us as it belonged to Peter. It was an everlasting command to the bearers of God's Priesthood.
And so to you brethren I repeat that the Lord has said you are to feed his sheep. What are you going to feed them? Are you going to feed them-spiritually, I mean, of course-the right kind of food, or are you going to feed them with doubt, with rationalizing? Are you going to try to feed them on mysteries? Are you going to try to weaken the commandments of the Lord regarding the Word of Wisdom by yourselves smoking or drinking? Are you going to feed them alleged spiritual materials that are not spiritual, but are destructive of their faith?
ONLY ONE WAY
Here I want to return to my theme song, unity. The Lord has told us, in the books what are his commandments. He has laid down the truth. Read the books. I think we sadly lack the reading of the scriptures. They are wonderful books. You can find no more interesting stories, if you will, than you find in the Bible, and none that are more interesting, more faith-promoting, than you find in the history of our Church. Read them. You learn the food you should feed, and then feed it.
And the unity comes in this: that there are not two ways, there is only one way. We should always feed the same food to all of our youth.
Brethren, the weight of our responsibility as parents, grandparents, we who bear the Priesthood, the Priesthood of Almighty God-the weight of that responsibility, if we really sense it, is almost crushing. Yet, Brethren, if we shall live righteously ourselves if we shall serve the Lord, if we shall keep his commandments, he will give us the strength and power to live as we should, to teach as we should, to lead as we should, and we shall get that strength and that power in that direction in no other way.
Brethren, I plead with you, magnify your Priesthood. Remember it is with you always, never do anything to prostitute it or pollute it. Live righteously always.
TESTIMONY
I bear my testimony to the truth of the Restored Gospel, that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that Joseph was a prophet, that those who have followed him, down to and including our present prophet, seer and revelator, are prophets of the Almighty. It is our duty as the Priesthood so to recognize, so to honor, and so to obey. May the Lord help us so to do I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Stephen L Richards
Stephen L Richards, Conference Report, October 1951, pp. 172-178
It seemed to me that I could feel the strength of your testimonies in that glorious song, and that helps to fortify me for my attempt to fill this, my first assignment in my present capacity, to address the General Priesthood meeting of the Conference.
I feel deeply humble in this undertaking, and I sincerely ask for the Spirit of the Lord to attend me and for your cooperation and faith and prayers.
I understand that it is appropriate and desirable at this meeting to bring before the Priesthood, which includes our presiding officers in stakes and wards and missions, some items which need attention. So with your indulgence and President McKay's permission, I will bring before you a few items first affecting our missionary service, in the hope that their mention here may be helpful to the carrying forward of our missionary procedure.
These items are not necessarily related.
INTERRUPTIONS TO MISSIONARY WORK
We would appreciate it, and we speak for the mission presidents, if you would discourage parents, other relatives and friends, visiting missionaries in the missions. We have had a large number of instances brought to our attention where serious interruption has come to the missionary work by reason of these visits, some of which have been very protracted. If you can use your influence and give the information to discourage these visits and ask the parents and their other friends to let these missionaries pursue the courses which have been arranged for them, they will contribute very greatly to our work.
We have had numbers of requests for leaves of absence for missionaries to come home to the funerals of their kinspeople. We appreciate the fact that their hearts are touched on these sad occasions, but we have learned that very frequently the visit home only serves as an interruption to the mission, that no considerable good is accomplished, and that the missionary himself is often disappointed to think that he left the mission field, his companion, and his assigned work to go home for such funerals.
I am very grateful to note that it has been the disposition of most of our missionaries in the field to desire to stay with their labors, and they themselves, have, in a number of instances, discouraged their kinspeople from requesting their return. If you can bring this matter, as occasion requires, to the attention of the families, it will serve a good purpose in the continuity of our missionary work.
CALLING OF SEVENTIES
Now we are confronted with some new questions in missionary work on responses to the call of the seventy to go into the mission field. May I first express for the First Presidency appreciation and gratitude for the generous response coming to this call. We have on file at the present time responses from many stakes of the Church, indicating that they will fully comply with the request, and that their quotas will be met. This is encouraging.
IMPORTANCE OF GOOD HEALTH
There are, however, brethren, in the sending of these older men, some safeguards that should be considered. First, the question of health. Our mission presidents have advised us that many of the older men have not been able to endure the rigorous work, the climate in some cases, and the exactions that are put upon our missionaries. These older missionaries are often asked to be companions to younger men. You heard this day something of the vigorous work that they do, the long hours they spend, entailing a good deal of walking and very strenuous exercise.
It is not possible in many instances to assign older men to the so-called easier jobs. If they are to make their greatest contribution they must fit into our missionary program, and in order to do that they must have good health. We have a great sympathy for our mission presidents. They have many problems, so many, indeed, that a great part of the time their attention must be given to exceptional cases, so that we ask you brethren as you send these older men to us, to make careful inquiry into their health. Sometimes our doctors' examinations-we are generally grateful for their service-are not too searching and we find when they get to the mission field, particularly some of our older brethren, have some weaknesses that deter them, and sometimes preclude them, from carrying forward their missionary work.
I know that it is difficult to get the older men to come, but we must have them in good health. There may be a few exceptional cases where older couples with a car can do some special service in a mission, but generally speaking the seventies must enter into the work with the same vigor and we hope with full physical equipment to carry forward the mission program as the younger men.
WELFARE OF FAMILIES
We have discovered, too, in recent months in the coming of these older men, that very considerable apprehension is feared for the welfare of some of their families. It is reported in cases that come to us that families are left without adequate support, and we have a few cases where couples have been recommended with the understanding that they would leave minor children with relatives or friends and without parental guidance.
President McKay has long taken the position that that is not wisdom to call parents away from their children, even for this great missionary service, so before both of the parents are sent, they must always be free from the parental responsibility that goes to minors in the home. Where the man is sent, care must be exercised to see that his family may have proper care in his absence. That will entail a discernment on the part of the bishop, and he should exercise caution and wisdom before recommending a man whose children and family may suffer too greatly in his absence.
We do not want to take the sacrifice out of missionary work. We know the history of it in the past, and we know that it does entail, sometimes great deprivations and sacrifices, but we want to use wisdom in taking men away from their families.
MISSIONARY EXPENSES
Another item-it is a part of our traditional missionary custom for the family to pay missionary expense. Exceptions are made. There are friends sometimes who like to contribute. Sometimes the ward, sometimes the quorum, will contribute. But it is deemed preferable to have men sent, who, either by themselves, or through their families, can make some substantial contribution to their missionary labors.
We do not look with favor, because we feel that it lacks in certain material elements in our missionary work, upon having support come wholly either from the quorum or from the ward, or from outside sources. It is true that there are many generous people who send funds into the Church itself, to be helpful to missionaries who need help, and I assure you that it is a great satisfaction to have at our disposal some limited funds which can help out a missionary who hasn't quite been able to finish, whose parents have perhaps reached the end of their financial resources. But in the main it is preferable to send missionaries who can contribute substantially to their own support.
THE LANGUAGE OF PRAYER
We have discovered in the mission field in particular, and in other places, also a lack of proper teaching with reference to prayer. I know that I myself have been shocked out in the mission field as I have heard missionaries called on for prayer who seem to have had no experience or training whatever in the use of the language of prayer.
I do not know that it is a matter of vital importance, but I think, my brethren, that in the quorums and in the classes, you would do well, as in the homes also, to teach the language of prayer-"Thee and Thou," rather than "you." It always seems disappointing to me to have our Father in Heaven, our Lord, addressed as "you." It is surprising how much we see of this in the mission field among the young men who come to serve there. I think you might make note of it, and avail yourselves of any opportunities that may come in order to teach the sacred and reverential language of prayer.
SUPPORT FOR DESERET NEWS
That is all that I had for you, my brethren, with reference to the missionary items. I would like to take a few moments to mention a few other items of general import, and also with reference to our Priesthood work. I am not going to preach about it, but I know that Brother Petersen will not object if I say to you that I think that the loyalty of this Priesthood can well be shown in supporting the official organ of this Church, the Deseret News. I don't think that we ought to have to appeal for your support in that respect.
We need an organ for the Church, of course we do, and a good one. We have one. Why should Latter-day Saints forsake that paper and give help to competition? I believe we can seriously think over that matter. Personally, I love the paper. My grandfather was its first editor. I am proud of it, and proud of its history. I appeal for your support for it.
APPEAL TO ELDERS
Now, brethren, I have taken occasion on times before, and there isn't time now, to elaborate much, to make as earnest an appeal as I know how to make to the elders of this Church who have been neglectful and careless, and who have set themselves in process of losing that Priesthood of which President Clark has so impressively spoken.
I do not suppose that I can appeal to too many of them here tonight. They are probably not here. They are in your quorums. Their presidencies are here, at least in large measure. Brethren, will you obey the injunction given by President Clark to go out for these lost sheep and bring them in, and succor them, encourage them, and if necessary, rebuke them in order to bring them to a realization of what they are losing.
Some years ago I took the liberty of sounding a little slogan to our brethren, as I went around the Church, in the care of these people. It was a very simple thing. I do not know whether you will agree with it or not. "If they don't come to us, we will go to them." I put that forward once, and a young elders' quorum president said, "I don't believe it." He said, "We provide the quorum facilities for them. If they don't come it is their own fault."
Of course it was not long before he changed his mind when we reminded him that that was not the missionary spirit. I think we can't go to any who need our help more than to these brethren who have been careless and neglectful about their Priesthood.
I sincerely hope that in the administration of the quorums you are emphasizing the fraternal aspects of these great institutions. I have long been persuaded that these quorums ought to be our clubs. They ought to be the places where we find our dearest associations and we need not look far beyond them for that fraternity which we all crave. The fraternity of the Priesthood in our own quorums!
NEED FOR EFFECTIVE VISITING
In your visits to these people, I am sure that you need to exercise great discretion and judgment. I wish all of the Melchizedek Priesthood-perhaps many of them did last night-might have seen the demonstration in the bishops' meeting which was held on this stand last evening. There were some very excellent constructive suggestions which were given.
I believe, my brethren, that you will make far more progress in frankness than in attempting to beat about the bush with these men. I believe if you have the proper spirit you can go to them and talk about their condition, and their needs without spending time in visits talking about the weather and politics and current affairs.
One of the most successful missionaries that I ever knew, when I asked him what the elements of his success were, said, among other things, that he always told people on whom he called that he never had time to talk anything else but the Gospel, and be begged them to excuse him from any other discussion.
I am persuaded that if we went to our members and talked to them about their faith, and the things they were losing, and the things the quorum and the Church hold out for them, that we would make more progress in their reformation. It requires some courage, it requires some tact, and most of all it requires love. They say love is, in the end, the only irresistible force in the world, and if we have love sufficient, and friendship, and these brethren know our love for them, I think we can approach them and speak frankly to them, and thus help them. I sincerely trust that we may.
Nearly all of these men are good at heart, but careless. There are a few that are mean. Perhaps they deserve rebuke, and rebuke might be the best means of bringing them to an understanding of their position, but remember how that rebuke has to be made, "reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost". That is the only rebuke that is permissible under the constitution of the Priesthood.
PRIESTHOOD DIVINE
Now, my brethren. I love this Holy Priesthood. I know that it is genuine. Every interpretive sense that the Lord has given me testifies to me that it is divine. I have felt its influence as I have administered in the ordinances of the Gospel. I have felt its stimulation. I have felt an essence pass from me in administering to the Saints that I know was of divine origin. I have seen its results. I know that it is divine. I know that it is authentic. Its source is not far removed from us-into the area of dim antiquity. We do not have to debate about its origin. Why, it is proximate to us.
A man today said that I ordained him a High Priest some time ago, and asked if I had a card to give him the derivation of my Priesthood. I said, "No, I don't have a card for you, but I think you can remember it-four steps. I was ordained by President Joseph F. Smith. He was ordained by President Brigham Young. Brigham Young was ordained by the three witnesses, one of whom was Oliver Cowdery, who with Joseph was ordained by angelic ministers."
That is how close it is to us. There is no debate about it. There is no question about the authenticity of this great power. We are fortunate indeed not to have to search the records of ancient days in order to establish this divine authority, upon which the Church and Kingdom of God is founded.
GRATITUDE FOR ASSOCIATIONS
I express my gratitude for it, and I express my gratitude for my association with my brethren of the Priesthood. I have had a most impressive experience in the last six months. I had thought I had always been close to my brethren, but I found that I had never been into the full confidence of this wonderful relation until I came to be associated with my beloved President, and President Clark-without any reservations, without a necessity of concealing private feelings, but with a freedom of thought and expression welcomed by all, that to my thinking, is the badge of true friendship, brotherhood and understanding.
I thank the Lord that somehow, in his providence, I have been brought to that great blessing, and I ask the Lord to help me that I may be in a measure worthy of it. And I ask the Lord to bless every one of you, my brethren, that each may magnify the sacred calling that the Lord has vouchsafed to him.
I do so humbly in the name of Jesus. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, October 1951, pp. 178-183
My esteemed fellow workers in the Priesthood:
My heart is filled with gratitude tonight, as it has been throughout this conference, for the knowledge I am sure we all have that God is with this people. That expression of brotherhood, love, just given by Brother Stephen L. Richards is akin, indeed it is identical with the spirit that prompted the Apostle of old to say, "I know that I have passed from death unto life because I love the brethren".
That is the sublime feeling which every member holding the Priesthood may experience if he will do his duty and live uprightly before the Lord.
UNBECOMING GAMES
I have in mind only one or two items to give at the conclusion of this impressive conference. One that I mention by way of caution is that in your carnivals that you hold in order to raise money for building purposes, you avoid those games which are unbecoming, or that will cast in any way reflection upon our young girls or men who hold the Priesthood. We know the difficulties that you have to raise fifty per cent of the cost of these edifices, and we commend you highly, and our sisters, for the effort you put forth. But there are some games which are carried on in carnivals outside the Church which are unbecoming the recreation furnished by the Church officers.
One I will name is a feature in which young Beehive Girls come out in public in bathing suits, sit on a spring board before young men who throw balls to hit a certain spot which will loosen the spring-board, and cause the young girl to drop into a tank of water.
I have seen colored and white men do that for so much money, but let us not have our young girls do it, nor men who hold the leadership in the Priesthood.
FELLOWSHIP IN THE PRIESTHOOD
Now, there are three other items which I will name, just briefly I hope, and I will illustrate each by practical experiences. The first is the value of companionship in quorums, already mentioned by my counselors.
One of the most pleasing experiences of this great conference was meeting a bishop who came to the stand and said, "I am here with some of my deacons, whom I should like to have the privilege of meeting you." A true leader accompanying his quorum boys to conference!
Fellowship in the Priesthood! If we can get the bishops to fellowship the priests in every ward, and in some way, at opportunities favorable, meet those young men and young women of corresponding age in some social or groups or meetings, and win their admiration and confidence, we can avoid some unpleasant things which are occurring in our towns. For those priests and girls determine largely the moral atmosphere of your town. You bishops are the leaders. Your counselors can aid you in associating with the teachers and the deacons.
This companionship applies also to Elders.
There are many ways in which we can get these indifferent elders together without inviting them to do things which are difficult. Some of them do not like to pray. They hesitate about standing in public to preach, and some of them would rather go fishing or playing golf on Sunday than attend meeting. But, not one of those indifferent elders will refuse an invitation, for example, to come to a funeral of one of the townsfolk, or one of their members, or of one of their members' wives, and if you will come as a quorum and sit together as a quorum, there is one means of fellowship. Our High Priests are doing it more than Seventies or Elders.
I have attended a number of funerals where I have seen reserved seats for High Priests, in paying respect to a departed brother. There is group fellowship.
Again these indifferent men will come to your quorum socials. Make those socials of a high order, and thus you will come in personal contact with them.
We must be mutually helpful. This world would not exist if it were not for the mutual aid we give one another from the time we are born until we are laid away.
REVERENCE
A second principle to which I wish to refer is reverence. I have spoken upon this several times, and intend to continue to speak upon it, because I look upon reverence as one of the highest qualities of the soul. An irreverent man is not a believing man. I think a man cannot testify of his knowledge of the existence of God and take God's name in vain. He can do it by words, but as the old king in "Hamlet," his words will fly up, but his thoughts remain below.
I was deeply impressed with the lesson that President George Q. Morris taught his missionaries in the Sacred Grove. They have an entrance there now, a sort of fence and a gate leading into the sacred spot, where they hold the service.
There as you enter the gate is a sign, "Quiet Please." I wish everybody in the Church could experience that quiet attitude of several hundred missionaries in that Sacred Grove, and as soon as the Amen of the benediction was given, these elders retired without consultation, without shaking hands, to the outside part of the grove.
In our meeting houses today we have reverence just as soon as the hour comes for worship, but in Sunday Schools particularly, at the change of classes there is a hub-bub. That is not educative to our children. They have done away with the marching we used to have when I was in the Sunday School work in Weber. They now think it undignified for older persons to march.
Well, Superintendents, you may do this, at least-when you separate for class work, let a class rise and pass out to the room, and then another class follow, without this careless, sometimes boisterous attitude of everybody's mingling and talking as he goes to his class.
Reverence indicates high culture, and true faith in deity and in his righteousness.
KINDNESS TO ANIMALS
The third is kindness. The first line in what is now known as the "Psalm of Love" is this: "Love suffereth long and is kind".
A true Latter-day Saint is kind to animals, is kind to every created thing, for God has created all. He is right, the author of the "Ancient Mariner" when he deplores the killing of the albatross, when he wrote these lines:
"He prayeth best who loveth best all things both great and small,
For the dear God who loveth us, he made and loveth all."
I am mentioning this because I have seen, in my travels, such cruelty in the world, particularly in the Near East. I was touched with the treatment that those people gave, and probably now give the humble little donkey. Every caravan is led by that poor, humble creature, carrying a heavier load than his own weight, it seemed sometimes. Often the driver, the leader of those camels, if he became weary would climb on top of the load the donkey was carrying. As you drive along those highways, on the roads you would see the carcasses of the donkeys that walked and carried, struggled and staggered until they fell. They were unloaded and left for their bones to bleach on the side of the highway.
Camels, if a bit obstreperous, would have steel prongs piercing the sides of their jaws. If they happened to pull back, the clamp would close and those prongs penetrate not only the skin but the flesh as well.
However, we need not go to the Near East to see cruelty to animals. We see it around here if we but open our eyes. It is a good thing to teach our boys to be kind. A man who was working for me once on the farm came home about sundown, and said, "I have just killed a porcupine over there."
I said, "Why did you kill it?"
"Oh," he said, "just for fun." And I said, "Did you kill it or is it over there suffering?"
"Oh, I killed it." Well, I wondered, so I just took time to cross those two creeks and go over to the little hill. He had not killed it. The poor creature was just stunned, its head was beaten, and he was struggling. What fun can there be in treating dumb animals in that cruel way!
KINDNESS TO WIVES
But I mention this now, because I think we are cruel to our wives. I have here two letters, one anonymous, another signed by a woman. They are asking "What shall we do? Our husbands are cruel to us."
Says one, "My husband has a terrible temper. He comes home and scolds the children. He is cruel to me. At first he seemed to be a good, loving husband, but when my first baby was born, then was born my troubles."
Brother Bowen is aiding greatly in taking care of appeals for cancellations of sealings. I am grieved, brethren, I say "I" because the responsibility of canceling those sealings rests upon the one who holds that key. I am grieved indeed to note in those appeals the number of instances which indicate that some husbands treat their wives cruelly.
I cannot imagine a man's being cruel to a woman. I cannot imagine her so conducting herself as to merit such treatment. Perhaps there are women in the world who exasperate their husbands but no man is justified in resorting to physical force or in exploding his feelings in profanity. There are men, undoubtedly, in the world who are thus beastly, but no man who holds the Priesthood of God should so debase himself.
Some of us are now past the threescore and ten. We can look back over the short life, and it does seem short, and treasure those things which seem most precious. Tonight, one of those things, one of the most precious possessions is my memory of a home in which love was supreme, in which I cannot recall ever a cross word having passed between father and mother. We owe that blessing to our children.
"Love suffereth long and is kind".
The spirit of kindness is as enduring as love itself. Let us go home, and if we have been cruel, either by treating our wives with indifference, or by scolding, or loud talking, if we have been cruel to our children by neglect, or by striking them, let us see if we cannot repent and look introspectively and see whether or not we are not to blame for some of the conditions that arouse these passions.
CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCE
Now, brethren, I wish to bear you a testimony which I think I have never before given in public. Since childhood it has been very easy for me to believe in the reality of the visions of the Prophet Joseph Smith. What I am going to say may seem very simple to you, but to me it is a heart petal.
When a very young child in the home of my youth, I was fearful at night. I traced it back to a vivid dream in which two Indians came into the yard. I ran to the house for protection, and one of them shot an arrow and hit me in the back. Only a dream, but I felt that blow, and I was very much frightened, for in the dream they entered, one a tall one, and a smaller one, and sneered and frightened mother.
I never got over it. Adding to that were the fears of mother, for when father was away with the herd or on some mission, mother would never retire without looking under the bed, so burglars or men who might enter the house and try to take advantage of mother and the young children were real to me.
Whatever the conditions, I was very much frightened. One night I could not sleep, and I fancied I heard noises around the house. Mother was away in another room. Thomas E. by my side was sleeping soundly. I became terribly wrought in my feeling, and I decided to pray as my parents had taught me.
I thought I could pray only by getting out of bed and kneeling, and that was a terrible test. But I did finally bring myself to get out of bed and kneel and pray to God to protect mother and the family. And a voice as clearly to me as mine is to you, said, "Don't be afraid. Nothing will hurt you." Where it came from, what it was, I am not saying. You may judge. To me it was a direct answer, and there came an assurance that I should never be hurt in bed at night.
EASY TO BELIEVE
I say it has been easy for me to understand and believe the reality of the visions of the Prophet Joseph. It was easy for me in youth to accept his vision, the appearance of God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ to the boy praying. I thought of nothing else. Of course that is real. It was easy for me to believe that Moroni came to him there in the room. Heavenly beings were real from my babyhood on, and as years came those impressions strengthened by reason and strengthened by the inspiration of God directly to my soul.
I know that those visions were real, and that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and when we say this it means that I know that Jesus lives, that Christ is our Redeemer and that this is his Church. We are merely his representatives. When we accept that, then the reality of God the Father, Father of our spirits, is easy to accept.
These things being real, brethren, we cannot do anything else but try our utmost to do what Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, asks us to do, for he has given us the Gospel that bears his name, and in the words of Peter, "There is none other name given under heaven whereby we must be saved".
God bless you. With all my heart I bless you, and pray that peace and love and kindness will abide not only in your hearts, but in your homes, that your wives, our wives and our children may have memories sweet of a home in which God was pleased to dwell.
May this be our lot, our experience, throughout the Church in all the world, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Matthew Cowley
Matthew Cowley, Conference Report, October 1951, pp. 101-106
The matter we discuss briefly this Sabbath morning I trust shall not be considered as too far removed from practical application to command your interest. The subject of this discussion was suggested by an episode in the early ministry of our Lord, and the title is taken from the memorable words addressed to His adversary on that occasion.
MAN SHALL NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE
It will be recalled that soon after His baptism by John in the waters of Jordan, Jesus retired into the wilderness where He sought communion with His Father. During this period of voluntary seclusion He engaged Himself in prayer and fasting. At the end of forty days, during which His body had been without bread or other physical sustenance, the tempter appeared and challenged Him to exercise His Divine Power to provide food for His famished body, with these words, "If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread".
Suffering though He was from extreme physical weakness induced by prolonged hunger, the Master quickly discerned the treachery behind the tempting suggestion and the danger of providing bread on the terms proposed. Knowing that the strategy of the tempter's challenge would mean the provision of physical sustenance alone, to the exclusion of spiritual requirements, Jesus immediately replied, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God".
During forty long days he had been constantly aware that not only does the body of man need bread, but that the spirit of man needs God. Even without bread during an extended fast, communion with God sustained the Son of God though He suffered the throes of hunger like unto a son of man.
WORTH OF THE SOUL
Later in His ministry Christ was to remind His disciples that the soul of man was worth more than bread, more even than the wealth of the world. He said to them, "For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?".
A man's soul is too exorbitant a price to pay for bread alone, even if the whole world is his loaf.
A man's worldly wealth may determine his social standing which side of the tracks he will live on, which school his children will attend, which golf club he will belong to, the horsepower of his car, and which pew he will occupy in his church; but it is not the sole determining factor as to the fullness of his life. That is determined not by his material possessions, nor by his lack of them, but by his living by the words that proceed out of the mouth of God.
The supreme joy of living cannot be measured by a man's financial rating. It can be measured only by his willingness to accept a divine influence as the controlling force in his life. Neither the millionaire nor the pauper can live by bread alone, but both can live and enjoy living to the fullest degree if they will accept the spiritual influences that sustain the soul of man.
HAPPINESS IN WORD OF GOD
In unfurnished thatch-roofed huts in the South Seas I have witnessed greater peace of mind, more happiness and contentment, enjoyed by simple natives than exists in too many of the luxuriously appointed mansions of the rich.
In the humble native hut man is not existing by bread alone. The words of God play a great part in the program of his living. Each day is commenced by invoking the blessings of heaven upon himself and his family, and at the close of each day prayers of gratitude are offered for blessings received.
His profound knowledge of sacred books, which may be the only literature translated into his native tongue, is his most prized possession. The great value he places upon divinely inspired literature may be appreciated when one hears him say these words about his European brother: "When the white man came to these islands we had the land and he had the Bible. Now after a hundred years he has the land and we have the Bible, and we are still richer than he." His bread gives sustenance to his physical being only. The words of God give life to his soul.
GOLD WITHOUT GOD
On the other hand, in the homes where there is an abundance of the material things that gold will provide and where divine principles are rejected-where man is striving to live by bread alone-there may be an excessive gratification of physical appetites, but there cannot be a fullness of living.
There is deep damnation in the possession of gold without God.
The sorrow, the fear, the frustration and confusion which beset men all about us may be traced to an impulse, which is not restrained, to live by bread alone. Disruption of family ties, moral degeneration, addiction to the use of stimulants and narcotics, dishonesty in dealing with one's fellow men, and all other manner of crimes and vice are the natural concomitants to a bread-alone diet.
If living is not tempered by the divine will, man is not prepared to face unexpected losses of wealth and other forms of adversity. He finds it impossible to step down from living with the Joneses, and his life becomes of so little value that he takes it by his own hand, I need not remind you of the high incidence of suicide which cuts down the lives of men of financial means who thought they could live by bread alone. They simply cannot make the adjustment when the rations are reduced. Neither need I call to your attention the unethical, immoral, illegal and gangster methods which have recently been exposed by investigating committees, as the means whereby men in both high and low places give their souls in exchange for the goods of the world. Even their country's soul is considered not to be too high a price to pay.
NATIONAL SPIRITUAL NEEDS
If the individual cannot live by bread alone, neither can the nation. This great country owes its birth and preservation to men who were guided by spiritual values. The Pilgrim fathers who first set foot upon the rugged shores of New England and the great pioneers who conquered the mountains and deserts from the Atlantic to the Pacific were men of God. They survived the hunger and hardships incident to colonizing and pioneering because they were motivated by a quest for God rather than by a lust for gold.
They penetrated the forests and pushed on to forbidding waste lands with confidence that with the help of God they would live, and that without His help they would perish. They broke the scorched earth, turned the virgin soil, planted their crops and then called upon God to bring forth the harvest. They lived by His words and He provided them with sustenance.
LESSONS OF HISTORY
History records the decline and fall of great nations and empires, both ancient and modern, which have rejected God and denied man the right to live in accordance with His divine will.
The institutions of our own nation, which were founded by men who invoked divine aid, may be lost to future generations if the lessons of history are ignored. If God loses control in the affairs of this great nation, the decline and decay of its structure of freedom and liberty will surely follow. The loss of its soul will be inevitable because ours is a nation which cannot survive on material values alone.
To say that "it can't happen here" is to disregard the destructive forces of evil that are abroad in the land. If credence can be given to recent reports, then never before has the underworld wielded the influence that it does today. Its tentacles are reaching into the vitals of society on every level, into business institutions both large and small, and into both local and federal governments. The complacent attitude of decent people toward these diabolical practices indicates an almost universal rejection of God as the sustaining force in the lives of men.
LINCOLN'S PROCLAMATION
At another time in the Nation's history when men were trying to live by bread alone and were forgetting God, Abraham Lincoln issued a timely proclamation which reads as follows:
"And whereas 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, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the holy scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.
"And, insomuch as we know that by His divine law nations like individuals, are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of war which now desolates the land may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation of a whole people? We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; 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 the God that made us."
PRESENT SPIRITUAL NEEDS
This proclamation, which was timely in Lincoln's day, is certainly not untimely in our own. How well he himself knew the futility of trying to live by bread alone. Often in his own life, as he was wont to say, "I went to my knees because I had nowhere else to go." In his darkest hours he sought the sustaining influence which comes from God.
Is it out of order to assert that we need that divine influence and regenerating force in this day just as the nation did in Lincoln's time? Are we not passing through times more perilous than the darkest days of the Civil War?
Our nation is spending billions for defense against enemies beyond our borders yet, may I ask, what have we to defend if enemies within our borders are permitted to stalk abroad in the land and destroy our faith in God and induce us to live by bread alone? Is it not time that we all, like Lincoln, go to our knees and ask God to implement our armaments with His power and to give us the will to stem the tide which is carrying men to Caesar and turning them from God?
ORIGIN OF AMERICAN SYSTEM
An editor of Fortune Magazine, writing in the issue of January, 1940, had this to say, and I quote only in part:
"By no conceivable set of circumstances could materialism have produced the great 'solution' of the Eighteenth Century that we have come to know as the American System. The American System has its origin, on the one hand, in passionate religious sects who believed in the spiritual absolutes that today are lacking; and on the other hand in those rationalists of the Golden Age of the American colonies for whom reason was not merely mechanistic but divine. Similarly, by no conceivable set of circumstances, will it be possible to solve by materialism the titanic problems, domestic and international, with which humanity is faced today. The ultimate answers to the questions that humanity raises are not, and never have been, in the flesh."
In seeking a solution to our present difficulties, he concludes:
"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... Without it we are no more capable of saving the world than we were capable of creating it in the first place."
THE WORD OF GOD
If man in his seeking for the word of God does not find it, it is not because God has withdrawn from man, but because man has withdrawn from God. I bear testimony that he has not left us without direction. Both in times of old and in our generation His voice has declared the way. To survive the ills that beset us on every hand let us lift up our eyes and lend listening ears to Him who said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God".
President Stephen L Richards
Stephen L Richards, Conference Report, October 1951, pp. 109-118
"Up, awake, ye defenders of Zion! The foe's at the door of your homes; Let each heart be the heart of a lion Unyielding and proud as he roams."
These are the opening lines of a militant hymn by the late Charles W. Penrose, written on the occasion of a great threatening danger to the communities of the Latter-day Saints during their early establishment in the valleys of these mountains. The foe was an army, with a mission inimical to the liberties, the interests, and the aspirations of the people. This clarion call, which but echoed the proclamations of the leaders, electrified the people. "To a man" they responded to their various assignments. There is no record of any dissension. The defenders saved Zion.
CHALLENGING CALL
I believe, my brethren and sisters, in the Restored Church of our Lord, that it is within the proprieties and the urgent needs of the hour to issue another such challenging call today. I would not welcome the charge of "alarmist," but I would endure it if I thought such a militant call would arouse our people to a state of alarm over the ominous conditions which threaten us.
"The foe at the door of our homes" is not an army of marching men with military equipment, as it was nearly a hundred years ago. And the homes to be defended are not the houses in which we dwell.
The foe today is far less tangible and discernible. He is widely diffused and insidious. His methods are multiple, and it is much more difficult to prepare for defense, for the foe of the present-day attacks both within and without the Church.
If in the time allotted to me in this great conference, I can add anything, however small, to the admonitions of my brethren, which may serve to alert our people to dangers confronting them, I shall be extremely grateful to my Father in heaven.
ZION AND THE WORLD
I repeat, the foe of today assumes many forms. I think, however, they may be generally classified under the caption, "Aping the Ways of the World." I know of few more salutary things for a Latter-day Saint than constantly to bear in mind the distinction between Zion and the world. Both terms are somewhat confusing because they are used with varying meanings and applications. Both have geographical application, and both have theological and moral import.
For my purpose here today, I shall look upon Zion as being a condition and not a place, and the world likewise.
"... verily, thus saith the Lord, let Zion rejoice, for this is Zion-the pure in heart".
There is no fence around Zion or the world, but to one of discernment, they are separated more completely than if each were surrounded with high unscalable walls. Their underlying concepts, philosophies, and purposes are at complete variance one with the other. The philosophy of the world is self-sufficient, egotistical, materialistic, and skeptical. The philosophy of Zion is humility, not servility, but a willing recognition of the sovereignty of God and dependence on his providence.
A PRINCIPLE OF STRENGTH
The critics of Zion mistake humility for weakness. In their ignorance or shortsightedness they have failed to observe that generally speaking, the humble of the earth have been its greatest benefactors, in science, in statesmanship, and in great movements for the elevation of humanity, foremost among all being the Author of humility, our Lord and Savior. It is sometimes difficult to comprehend how humility can be a principle of strength and power, and why the great victories of life have gone to the humble.
I think the explanation is this: The self-sufficient are not in a position to call to their aid the one greatest and most effective force in the world-the Spirit of God. The humble depend upon this power; it does not fail them. The battles for righteousness and liberty which is a divine endowment can always be won if those who wage the war are worthy of victory. This is the explanation and the lesson which, more than any other, the world needs today.
I feel hesitant to say it, but I am constrained to make the assertion, even though it may seem highly presumptuous to many who hear it, that the Restored Church of our Lord, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is in better position, is more specifically charged with the responsibility, and has greater revealed knowledge than any other institution to teach to the world this one vital lesson it so sorely needs.
In making this statement I intend no disparagement of the righteous and pure in heart of the world. I have not time to try to define their relationship to the Zion of the kingdom. They will receive the Lord's compensation for their own goodness, and lasting gratitude for their contribution to the welfare of mankind.
We can effectively bring this lesson to the world only as we build up Zion and protect her from her foes. I propose to enumerate, with your indulgence, and I hope not offensively, some of the attacks which the subtle and insidious foe, coming from the world and its philosophy and practices, is making against Zion.
ATTACKS UPON THE HOME
I shall begin with the home, the most fundamental institution in our society. The foe is attacking our divinely-given concept that marriage is an eternal compact between a priest and a priestess of the Most High, charged with the sacred mission of bringing children into the world, and then guiding them safely back into the presence of God, whence their spirits came. President Clark gave us a most illuminating and impressive discourse on that subject yesterday. The fulfillment of this mission involves sacrifice. The ever-growing practice of the world would eliminate that sacrifice.
It would emancipate women. It wouldn't have them stay home as much as they have in the past. It would have them better educated in general culture and in civic responsibilities, which sounds very good and seems highly desirable, except for one serious flaw in the program.
This worldly practice in many instances takes a woman out of her home so much of the time, and absorbs her attention to such an extent, that she cannot and does not give to her family the loving, patient, intelligent care which they so much deserve and need. There are mothers whose club work has ostensibly been devoted to social improvement, whose very offspring have been the problems of the society they seek to serve.
There are other more frivolous distractions drawing mothers away from their homes. These are justified by the allegation that mothers need more relaxation and more freedom from the responsibilities of home. We grant that such allegations must be true with women who have never discovered the art of happy, contented living in their homes and with their families. In Zion we say to mothers, it's true, you need some diversion. Even though you love your home life, a respite from your work and cares is desirable.
The Church presents many opportunities for your service in social, educational, charitable, missionary, and recreational fields. You will find more lasting happiness and satisfaction in a Relief Society meeting than in a bridge club; and generally speaking, your social diversions had better be had in company with your husband. The world is making butterflies out of women and a prison out of home.
CURTAILMENT OF FAMILIES
Perhaps the most serious aspect of this attack of the foe being made on our homes is in the arbitrary curtailment of the size of families. The proponents of this worldly doctrine grow bolder and bolder every year. They claim support from mathematical prognostications as to the increasing demands of populations, and the limited supply of the earth's sustenance. They claim improvement of the race by its limitation. They have been making these claims for many years, and they have won many adherents to their cause, especially among the so-called intelligentsia of the world.
For the most part the world has been under the leadership of this birth-restricting intelligentsia for many years. And where are we? We have more physical comfort, more education perhaps. Do we have better government? Are we making more progress in developing the Christian virtues among men? Do we have more brotherhood, peace, and unselfishness?
I doubt if there exists in all the world any place or institution comparable to a big family for the inculcation of the principle of unselfishness and mutual consideration, the high qualities of character so indispensable in the solution of the world's problems. I know there are bad big families and bad small families; but take it by and large, I would assume that there is a thousand percent better chance of a great leader in a good cause coming from a family of ten than from a family of one.
Now, if I am not careful, I will be debating this issue. I don't want to do this, first, because I am sure I am not fortified with all the arguments, and I might get bested, depending on who the judges are; and second, because we of Zion do not have to debate this issue. We know of the doctrine that emanates from the revelations of the Lord.
We know that he has commanded the replenishment of the earth from the homes of his people, as President Clark said yesterday. The Lord pity those who subject themselves to his rebuke for denying entrance to the spirit children whom he would send into mortality, and the Lord pity those sophisticated couples who would pervert the sacred institution of marriage into an arrangement for social convenience and selfish personal gratification.
SYMPATHY FOR PARENTS
Now, fathers and mothers of the Church, some will conclude after hearing these comments that I am without sympathy for the sacrifice mothers make, and for the hardships put upon fathers in rearing a family in these oppressive economic times. Those who so conclude are partly right and partly wrong. I don't have too much sympathy for a father, a Latter-day Saint father, who decides that a baby cannot come into the home until a ten or fifteen thousand dollar house has been built and furnished, and the money is in the bank to pay expenses, and who will let his wife go to work to bring about this so-called economic security. I don't have too much sympathy for Latter-day Saint couples who do not have faith that if they do God's will, he will bless them.
I do have sympathy, however, for all parents in these days in the Herculean effort required to keep children in the paths of virtue and truth. I have sympathy for the endurance, the sleepless nights of excruciating anxiety of parents who don't know where their children are and what they are doing; and my heart bleeds for the innocent ones who are the victims of disgrace brought upon their families by the sins of the wayward,
I am persuaded, my brethren and sisters, that there is no remedial measure which offers more promise in the alleviation of domestic distress as affecting husband and wife, and parents and children than the firm establishment of the sacred and religious character of family life, marriage in the Church and in the temple; and, as a necessary adjunct thereto, the reestablishment of the God-given principle of sacrifice in discharging parental and filial obligations.
We want to relieve mother of drudgery. If I could, I would put a dishwasher in every home, but good mothers and good fathers, with the vision of home vouchsafed to them in the restored gospel, don't want to be relieved of the obligation to expend their strength and energies, and to give their lives for God's children entrusted to their care.
ATTACK ON MORAL PURITY
There is another threat to Zion perhaps transcending all others in serious import. It is the attack of the foe on our traditional concept and standard of personal moral purity. This attack is so evil and so repugnant to our sense of decency and virtue that I will not discuss it in this reverential presence.
I must content myself with the prayer that God, who sees our need, will come to our rescue, and that he will arouse the mighty power of Zion against this devastating enemy, that every man, woman, and child among us may be fortified with the armor of righteousness and virtue, that the offenders may be rebuked, and repent in sackcloth and ashes; and that the watchmen on the towers, the officers and the priesthood of the Church, may be alerted to the enemy, discharge their solemn duties, and protect us.
I have taken so much time in the endeavor to point out what we have to fear in the encroachment of worldly concepts and practices on home life and virtue that there is little time remaining for me to mention other aspects of great dangers confronting us. I trust, however, that the serious nature of these items will warrant a brief consideration of them.
CRITICISM OF UNITY
The foe is attacking our unity. We in Zion have enjoyed a most uncommon reputation for unity of purpose and achievement. This has come about because it has ever been our disposition to follow and yield obedience to our leaders. Our critics, who have not understood our concepts, who have observed our unanimous voting in sustaining officers, and other evidences of our concerted action, have called it blind obedience, induced by some sort of fear or other compulsion.
I haven't time to analyze and point out the false premise of this criticism, but I flatly deny its validity. The obedience we render is voluntary and not blind, but intelligent; and the unity we manifest arises out of a common understanding of our purposes and a common devotion to their achievement. We seek for and enjoy the influence of the Holy Spirit, which, in the larger aspects of life, motivates us all alike. Our unanimity is in response to that Spirit.
That condition is not generally prevalent in the world. Division, divided views, and debate thereon are commended. Perhaps when people don't know where they are going and have no defined objectives, criticism and debate are commendable. Men and women within and without the Church fail to observe this distinction. They want to debate our objectives. They have forgotten that they are divinely set for us and beyond debate. They seem to think our unity belittles us. This is a worldly doctrine. It has no place in Zion.
A threat to our unity derives from unseemly personal antagonisms developed in partisan political controversy. The Church, while reserving the right to advocate principles of good government underlying equity, justice, and liberty, the political integrity of officials, and the active participation of its members, and the fulfillment of their obligations in civic affairs, exercises no constraint on the freedom of individuals to make their own choices and affiliations. I am authorized by President McKay to say that any man who makes representation to the contrary does so without authority and justification in fact.
FAIRNESS IN POLITICAL VIEWS
It is reasonable to assume that men may entertain honest differences of opinions with reference to governmental policy. In America, and in many other countries, an orderly system has been devised for the determination of issues arising out of such differences. With such methods available, why should any men, particularly those in the brotherhood of Zion, permit themselves to entertain personal animosities against their opponents. There is surely nothing Christian in impugning motives merely because of a difference of opinion.
I hope with all my heart that men of the priesthood, of the same quorum perhaps, and women of the sisterhood of the Church will not permit themselves to be estranged in any degree by these considerations, and that they will always subordinate such differences and their own personal ambitions to the achievement of the lofty and exalted goal to which they have pledged their eternal allegiance-the building of the kingdom of God.
I have been going about this Church for nearly thirty-five years, filling assignments to install officers in stakes and wards and missions, and I have never yet asked a single person about his politics, and in very few instances have I ever had any knowledge on the subject. I think my own experience has been comparable to that of my brethren. We have been fair with you, my fellow members of the Church. Now we ask you to be fair with each other.
THREAT OF INDIFFERENCE
Perhaps the greatest threat to both our unity and our progress in Zion is that of indifference and neglect. These deficiencies are not new. They have existed in some degree throughout our history. I am forced to believe that they have increased as a deterrent force in recent years. I believe also that this regrettable indifference to duty and opportunity is in large measure ascribable to "aping the ways of the world."
A man of the priesthood, we will say, is associated in business, in club life, and in other capacities, with a man of the world. This man may be his neighbor. He sees his neighbor on a Sunday morning out on the porch smoking his pipe and reading the newspaper, or he sees him go off to a golf game, or on a fishing trip. It all looks relaxing and pleasant to him, and then he forgets who he is and where he is. He forgets that he has been commissioned as a servant of God, and he forgets that he is in Zion; and forgetting, he steps out of Zion into the world, not all in one step, sometimes so gradually that the change is almost imperceptible to him, and he is loath to acknowledge his new status. He persuades himself that this comfortable, easy life is very enjoyable.
Then he goes farther-farther than he intended. He succumbs to many practices he once abhorred. He stops paying tithing, and the twinges of conscience he once had about forsaking duty gradually subside. He is comfortably out of Zion. After awhile he comes to the realization that his growing sons are disposed to ape his own practices, as he does those of the world.
He also begins to realize that his dear, devoted wife is suffering great disappointment. She sets great store by the promises made at their marriage and realizes that the eternal blessings are obtainable only through the faithfulness of herself and her man. She sees him losing his priesthood through neglect. It saddens her, and if his conscience is not too deadened, he perceives her sorrow. He has the power to change, to gladden the hearts of his wife and children, but he lacks courage and resolution.
The worldly habits have fastened themselves with a hundred tentacles into his very soul. He cannot throw them off, He despairs; and then one day something touches him-a death, a tragedy, a friend, his bishop perhaps, or quorum president, or a missionary. Finally the light that he had lost is re-kindled in him. The Spirit again comes to dwell within him. In penitence and humility he cries out, "O God, forgive me for my neglect." Thank the Lord there is forgiveness and mercy for those who repent, and surpassing joy in the reclamation of those who have strayed. Let no man among us be ashamed of his priesthood. Nothing greater will ever come into his life.
DISPARAGEMENT OF ORTHODOXY
One more item and I shall conclude. There is a worldly threat to our theological teaching and to the faith of youth. Sporadically it has always been so, but in recent years it is more pronounced. This is not a frontal attack by the foe. We have never had too much difficulty in meeting open charges or criticisms. The foe is striking from ambush, with snipers and fifth columnists, with traps for the unwary.
A part of the propaganda is that there is no warrant for official interpretation of the doctrines and standards of the Church, that everyone may read and interpret for himself, and adopt only so much of the doctrine as he chooses, and that he may classify the revelations as essential or non-essential. These propagandists are either ignorant of or ignore the Lord's declaration that "no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation". They disparage orthodoxy as such and pride themselves on liberal thinking. Many of them maintain their loyalty to the Church, and some may honestly believe they are doing the Church a favor and a service in advocating their so-called broad-minded concepts.
Unfortunately, some people within the Church subscribing to these views do not realize that they are falling into a trap themselves. They are giving aid and comfort to the foe; they are undermining their own testimonies and those of others, I warn the Church against them, and I warn them against themselves; and I plead with them to desist, to abandon their agnostic discussions, and to join with the faithful in promoting the cause which in their hearts they once loved, and I think they still love.
ATTACKS ON JOSEPH SMITH
Not a few of these snipers delight to take a shot at Joseph Smith. In some surprising way it has become somewhat popular, stimulated, I presume, by books which have been written for students and scholars, to undertake exhaustive research into the life of this great man. In some instances, perhaps, the purpose of the research projects may be laudable, to exploit the great and noble things in the life and works of the Prophet, but in all too many instances I fear the purpose of the research is merely exploratory, with the hope of discovering something that would make for sensational reading and perhaps a profit for the writer. I have never been able to discover any very substantial reason for these researches other than that I have just mentioned.
Here is a life recently lived. Many of us here in this assembly today have known and talked with persons who knew the Prophet, and yet you would think from the way the researchers go after him that he was a person of great antiquity, and that something in the nature of excavation for prehistoric materials had to be undertaken to discover the facts of his life. I doubt if there is a person who has lived in the last two centuries whose life is more fully documented than that of this man, unless perchance it be among royalty or those in high public office.
Almost every important event in his life has been recorded by himself, by his mother, and by those who immediately knew him. His life is not a mystery; it is an open book, at least to members of the Church who have access to the knowledge which he brought to the world.
I rebuke the members of the Church who cast aspersion upon the honored name of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and who in any manner disparage his noble work. By so doing they destroy faith, their own and that of others, and the Lord will hold them accountable.
TESTIMONY OF DIVINE MISSION
I repeat what I have said in this pulpit before: My grandfather was the close friend and companion of this man. He knew him as intimately as one man may know another. He had abundant opportunity to detect any flaws in his character and discover any deceit in his work. He found none, and he has left his testimony to his family and to all the world that this man was true, that he was divinely commissioned for the work he had to do, and that he gave his life to the fulfillment of his mission. I have complete assurance that Willard Richards did not lie about his friend, and on my own account, independent of my grandfather's testimony, borne out of the spirit within me, I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the Living God, and the work he was instrumental in setting up in the earth is the veritable kingdom of our Father in heaven.
Having that knowledge and a deep reverence for his illustrious name, I deplore and resent the miserable attempts made to discredit him; and I predict that they will all come to nought, that he will survive every attack, that he will yet win the esteem and respect of all good men, and that the Father has already glorified him.
PRESERVATION OF ZION
If I have been able in any degree to clarify our understanding about Zion and her relationship to the world, if the Spirit of the Lord has entered into your hearts, my brethren and sisters, to give you a greater love for Zion and awake within you a keener apprehension of the dangers which the foe has brought to our very doors, and if resolution shall now grip your hearts to arise and defend Zion, I will be profoundly grateful. And some day the righteous of the world will be grateful, for "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted?".
O God, help us, thy favored children, to preserve Zion, I humbly pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, October 1951, pp. 118-122
With the help of the Lord, which I seek, and your faith and prayers, I shall try not to trespass too far upon the excellent remarks that we have heard by others in this conference. But I have been impressed with the thought of saying something in addition to what has been said in relation to the sacred and holy covenant of marriage.
MISUNDERSTANDING OF SCRIPTURES
There is plenty that can be said, I think, without my crossing the lines and necessarily repeating. The Lord never intended, never designated nor designed that marriage should come to an end with death. There isn't anything in the scriptures when properly understood that indicates anything of that kind. It is due to a misunderstanding through a lack of the guidance of the Spirit of the Lord that has led the world almost universally to believe that marriage is for time only, that when death comes, there comes a separation of husbands and wives, and children are left without any claim in the eternities upon their parents.
The one passage of scripture above all others that is relied on in the world to attempt to prove that marriage comes to an end and that there is no marriage hereafter is taken from the remarks of our Savior to the Sadducees who came tempting him. You recall that these Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection. They came with a story, which no doubt is fictitious, to the effect that a woman had been married consecutively seven times, and trying to catch him in a trap, they asked him which of these seven husbands would be the husband of the woman in eternity. Our Lord gave them the proper answer because he was speaking to people who did not believe in the hereafter. So he said in answer to their questions: "The children of this world marry and are given in marriage." I call your attention to the fact that the Lord said that he and his disciples did not belong to this world; the Sadducees did. To continue: "But they which shall be counted worthy to attain that world and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage". This is absolutely true.
And the Lord has revealed this same doctrine to the Church in the day in which we live. He says unto those who are married for time only, and those who do not believe in marriage for eternity:
Therefore, when they are out of the world they neither marry nor are given in marriage; but are appointed angels in heaven; which angels are ministering servants, to minister for those who are worthy of a far more, and an exceeding, and an eternal weight of glory.
For these angels did not abide my law; therefore, they cannot be enlarged, but remain separately and singly, without exaltation, in their saved condition, to all eternity, and from henceforth are not gods, but are angels of God forever and ever.
So the Lord says those of that class, who may be worthy to enter the kingdom of heaven, shall be like the angels, and they remain separately and singly in eternity.
MARRIAGE AN ETERNAL PRINCIPLE
But the Lord very definitely has declared that marriage is an eternal principle. That is recorded in our scriptures, in the Bible. I call your attention to the fact that the very first marriage on the face of this earth was performed by the Lord, and it was not for time only because there was no time. That was declared, and that ceremony given, to a couple who were not subject to death. Therefore, marriage was not intended to come to an end. And after the Fall, when Adam and Eve were driven from the Garden of Eden, the Lord did not say that they should return to the dust, and their bodies should remain, but he gave them the promise of the resurrection; nor did he say to them that this marriage that was performed for eternity, if you please, would come to an end.
When the Lord was confronted by the Pharisees, who believed in the resurrection, his answer to them was a very different one. Likewise they came tempting him. They wanted to know if it is lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause. And the answer was given them:
... Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
And said for this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?.
Where is any idea of separation in that remark? "Wherefore they are no more twain"-that sounds like eternity. "No more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder".
MARRIAGE BY DIVINE COMMANDMENT
In the temples of the Lord men and women are sealed, married for time and for all eternity. The Lord has commanded it. Children born to them will be their children not only in this life, but also in eternity; and the family relationship, according to the plan of the Lord, is not designed to come to an end. But, of course, if people will not accept marriage by divine commandment, it cannot be recognized. What God has joined together must be something that will endure, for he does not perform ceremonies for time only. The Lord did not say to these Pharisees, "There is no marriage in eternity," but he said, where God joins, it endures forever. That, I read into this passage of scripture, and I think I read it correctly.
COVENANTS AND OBLIGATIONS
Now I want to plead to my good brethren and sisters, good members of the Church, to go to the temple to be married for time and all eternity. I want to plead with those who have been to the temple and have been so married to be faithful and true to their covenants and their obligations, for in the House of the Lord they have made solemn covenants and have taken upon themselves before God, angels, and witnesses, obligations that sometimes are broken.
What does marriage mean to members of the Church? It means that they are receiving in that ordinance the greatest, the crowning blessing, the blessing of eternal lives. Now that's the way the Lord puts it, "eternal lives", which means not only will the husband and the wife enter into eternal life, but their children who were born under the covenant likewise will be entitled through their faithfulness to eternal lives. And further, that the husband and the wife after the resurrection of the dead will not come to an end. By that the Lord means that they will have a continuation of the seeds forever, and the family organization does not come to an end.
REASON FOR DIVORCE
We have too many marriages in the temple of the Lord where the parties entering into the covenants violate them. If we as members of the Church were living in full accord with the principles of the gospel, living by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God, divorce would practically disappear so far as the Church is concerned; that is, among those who are married in the temple.
When divorce comes to those who are married in the temple, it has come because they have violated the covenants and the obligations they have taken upon themselves to be true to each other, true to God, true to the Church. If they will continue to live in that faithfulness, if they will have love in their hearts for each other, respect each other's rights and not one attempt to take an advantage unduly of the other but have the proper consideration, there will be no failures. When the separation comes, as I say, too frequently, it is because of violation of the covenants and obligations of this sacred and holy ceremony.
And when a man and a woman are married in the temple for time and all eternity and then seek through the courts a separation, and perhaps come to the President of the Church to get a cancellation, what have they done? Children likely have been born, and as we have already heard, these children belong to God; they are his children sent to that home with all the rights of protection from father and mother, guidance from father and mother, to be built up and strengthened in the faith, and to go into the heavens, into the celestial kingdom with the father and mother to sit with them in exaltation and glory. But frequently a man and a woman cannot live together, many times because of some trivial thing that arises, and they separate. What have they done to those children? They have destroyed their God-given rights, taken them away from them, destroyed a family. And how are they going to go into the eternities and face their Maker under those conditions?
Now I realize, the Savior realized it, I did not read far enough to take that into consideration because that was not what I was talking about at the time, that there are some cases where a wife needs to have a separation, perhaps a husband should have a separation, but always because of a violation, a serious violation of the covenants that have been made. But here you have the broken home; children left without one and maybe without both parents, to be taken perhaps through the mercy of the Almighty into some other faithful family to he adopted in such a family to be theirs through all eternity.
Now time will not permit me to say more. There is so much that could be said, much perhaps that ought to be said. But those who violate this sacred and solemn covenant are going to have a sorry time of it if they are guilty when they come to the judgment seat of God, for they have broken the bands of an eternal union and lost their promise of exaltation in the kingdom of God.
The Lord bless you I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Delbert L. Stapley
Delbert L. Stapley, Conference Report, October 1951, pp. 122-126
My brothers and sisters, I rejoice with you for the blessings of this conference. I have completed one year of service, and I am most grateful for the experiences of this past year. I want to welcome Elder Marion G. Romney into the Council of the Twelve. For years I have admired and respected him for his devotion and for his friendly spirit. I am sure we will all be happy with the quality of the service he is able to give the people of the Church. I also want to welcome those who have been selected as assistants to the Quorum of the Apostles, and pledge them my love and support.
I hope, my brothers and sisters, I will not detract from the spirit of this conference. I earnestly pray for the blessings of our Heavenly Father. Through the sessions of this conference we have had a tremendous spiritual uplift, and the counsel given to keep the commandments of God and to stand in holy places has been timely indeed.
FASTING AND PRAYER
As I have traveled about the Church these past few months with members of the general welfare committee and listened to their talks on fasting and prayer, I have felt this principle has great spiritual power and opportunity for the blessings of God to the people of the Church and to the Church itself. I have been impressed by its great spiritual significance. It seems to me it is a source of strength, a source of power, a source of blessing that perhaps as a people we are not using enough; that it does have tremendous spiritual value to those who observe the law, and who apply it faithfully. It also seems to me that fasting and prayer can be employed to bless others, and if we would faithfully observe the law, the blessings of our Heavenly Father would collectively be given to the people of the Church.
President Joseph F. Smith said, speaking of the fast, that "the law to the Latter-day Saints as understood by the Authorities of the Church is that food and drink are not to be partaken of for twenty-four hours, 'from eve to eve,' and that the Saints are to refrain from all bodily gratifications and indulgences." Most Latter-day Saints, I think, understand the doing without two meals in connection with the monthly fast and giving the cash equivalent to the bishop as fast offerings, but I am wondering along with our fasting do we gather our families together and pray with them that they may enjoy the blessings of the Lord? Do we also understand that the true fast presupposes self-restraint and purity of body by refraining from all bodily gratifications and indulgences? It seems to me that the soul cannot be humbled nor sanctified for the blessings of God unless this is true.
OBSERVANCE BRINGS BLESSINGS
The Saints by fasting and praying can sanctify the soul and elevate the spirit to Christlike perfection, and thus the body would be brought into subjection to the spirit, promote communion with the Holy Ghost, and insure spiritual strength and power to the individual.
By observing fasting and prayer in its true spirit, the Latter-day Saints cannot be overpowered by Satan tempting them to evil. This morning in the radio address of Elder Cowley, titled, "Man Cannot Live by Bread Alone," he emphasized the forty-day fast of the Savior. As I have thought about the Savior's long fast and prayers unto God, I know his spirit was humbled, his soul was sanctified, and it gave him the moral strength and the spiritual power to resist the temptations of Satan. It also prepared him to go forward and complete the great mission that God had sent him on earth to perform in the interest of mankind.
It was through fasting and prayer that the angel of God appeared to Cornelius, and gained for him and his household the gospel of Jesus Christ. When Peter came to the home of Cornelius, he wanted to know for what reason he had been called. Cornelius said:
Four days ago I was fasting until this hour, and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house and behold a man stood before me in bright clothing and said, Cornelius thy prayer is heard and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God.
SONS OF MOSIAH
When Alma was traveling southward from Gideon to the land of Manti, he encountered the sons of Mosiah returning to the land of Zarahemla. These sons of Mosiah had spent fourteen years doing missionary work among the Lamanites. Alma in all this time had not seen them and was overjoyed at this chance meeting. He was made glad because they were still brethren in the Church and kingdom of God, and says Mormon in his abridgment of Alma's record:
... yea, and they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God.
But this is not all; they had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and authority of God.
This indicates the great blessings that come to those who observe and keep this very sacred principle of fasting and prayer.
MISSIONARY OBSERVANCE
Recently it was my privilege to tour the Northern California Mission, and as I listened to the missionaries, your sons and daughters, make their reports and bear testimony, I was so pleased when they referred time and again to fasting and prayer, and this they resorted to often to obtain God's blessings for themselves in their work. They fasted and prayed for those who were sick among them and when they found it difficult to impress people with the gospel message of the restored Church, they fasted and prayed about it and received great blessings from such fasting and prayer.
Many of them were fasting and praying that their folk at home, inactive, would become active in the Church. It seems to me you who are leaders would do well to fast and pray for the Holy Ghost to guide you in the selection of officers and teachers for Church positions. Let the Lord give unto you by his Holy Spirit the men and women whom he has chosen.
CALLING OF BRETHREN
We read in the thirteenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles that there were in the Church at Antioch certain prophets and teachers, that among these were Barnabas and Saul. The record says,
As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
We had occasion in the upper room of the temple the other day to witness a similar experience in the selection of Elder Romney to the Council of the Twelve. As his name was presented, there was a unanimous feeling that this man had been called of God to the important position that he now occupies.
NEED FOR SPIRITUAL POWER
I feel, my brothers and sisters, that in our work, and our callings also in our homes, that we individually need the spiritual power, the strength, the guidance, and the blessings that fasting and prayer will obtain.
On one occasion when Jesus came to his disciples, he found the scribes asking them questions. When he inquired as to the nature of their questions, a man stepped forward and said he had brought his son, possessed of an evil spirit, to the disciples, and they could not cast him out. He pleaded with the Savior to cast out this evil spirit that was sorely vexing his son. The Savior asked him if he believed, and he said, "Lord I believe; help thou my unbelief". The Master did cast out the evil spirit from the son and restored him to the father. As he entered into the house, the disciples came to him and said, "Why could not we cast him out?". And Jesus answered, "This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting".
It seems to me, my brethren and sisters, particularly my brethren holding the Melchizedek Priesthood, that when we are called to administer to the sick who are sorely afflicted, if we would humble our souls through fasting and prayer, we would be close to our Heavenly Father and have claim upon him for the blessings to those we love and seek to help.
CITY OF NINEVEH
In the interest of saving time may I say that there are great powers, virtues, and blessings in this divine law. When Jonah was sent to the city of Nineveh to warn them of their destruction because of wickedness, they repented in sackcloth and ashes, and by decree all in that city fasted and prayed. Their flocks and herds were also required to do without food and drink. God accepted this display of repentance and humility through fasting and prayer and turned aside his anger and the city was not destroyed.
It seems to me that if a city could obtain such a blessing by fasting and prayer, a nation also could be similarly blessed of God. We as a people, by emphasizing this principle, could obtain great blessings for ourselves and for the Church in general.
Many times during this conference we have been reminded that conditions are serious, that the affairs of the world are in a muddle, that there are many uncertainties, that men in and of their own wisdom and learning are not finding the great answers to the problems of humanity and the world. And as a result, the hearts of men are failing them. Surely in these conditions of uncertainty, these conditions of wickedness and vice we need the sustaining and guiding power of Almighty God, which we can obtain from our Heavenly Father through the exercise of this great principle of fasting and prayer. As a people we need the direction, the revelations, and the blessings of Almighty God, which we can only obtain by humbling our souls through fasting and prayer and in keeping God's commandments. Therefore, we should fast and pray for those in high Church positions, that God will favor them with the revelations of his mind and will that we may be guided through this period of uncertainty and darkness.
EXAMPLE OF NEPHITES
We read in the Book of Mormon that in the beginning of the fifty-first year of the Judges, the people of Nephi enjoyed peace, prosperity, and plenty, but yet they were a faithful people in keeping the commandments of our Heavenly Father. However, during this year of the Judges, pride started to creep into the hearts of the people, and those who had been lifted up in this pride began to persecute their brethren; therefore it was difficult for the faithful members to exercise the freedom of their church beliefs. The account reads:
Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God.
My brothers and sisters, if we fast and pray often I am sure that we, too, can wax stronger and stronger in our faith and in our humility that our hearts will be filled with joy and consolation; that we will also purify and sanctify our hearts, which sanctification will come because we do yield our hearts unto God.
May God bless us, may he help us to understand this great principle of the fast, help us to observe it in its true spirit, help us that we may give to the bishop the cash equivalent of the meals we do not partake of in the interest of the poor of the Church; and I am sure, and I promise you that as a people we shall be blessed. You will also be blessed individually in the observance of this great principle. May this be true, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop Thorpe B. Isaacson
Thorpe B. Isaacson, Conference Report, October 1951, pp. 129-133
President McKay, President Richards, President Clark, and my dear brothers and sisters, I feel very humble this morning.
I think the service that started here in the Tabernacle at eight o'clock this morning has been heavenly and divine. I sincerely pray that the Lord will sustain me, give me the strength and the inspiration that I know I need while I stand here. I have prayed humbly, I believe, that the Lord would purge my soul of everything that is not of him.
SPIRIT OF CONFERENCE
I have rejoiced with you in the spirit of this conference. The Spirit of the Lord has been here in rich abundance. No one could attend these sessions and not feel the holy influence of our Father in heaven. No one could come here with the right spirit, with the spirit of peace and love, and the spirit of worship, and not know that these brethren are inspired of the Lord.
We come here by the thousands. The first conference in this Tabernacle was held eighty-four years ago now this October conference, and we have assembled semi-annually since that time with very few exceptions. Many of the men and the brethren who have attended are not here now.
I am thinking of Bishop Marvin O. Ashton who spoke here five years ago at the Sunday session of the October conference. As I have gone about the Church, many of you fine brethren have expressed your great love and affection for Bishop Ashton. Yes, he loved the people, and the people loved him. He loved the Church, and he loved the Lord.
Many who have come to this block are impressed with the feeling and the spirit they have while they are here. Many of them tell us that they feel different here than they do anywhere else. Well, that is right. They do feel different here because this is a sacred block-this building, and the temple to the east have all been dedicated to the work of the Lord, and his influence is here.
INSPIRATION OF TEMPLE SQUARE
I would like to read a paragraph from three of the people who were recently here. One of them from Arizona sent this paragraph:
The inspiration which we derived on Temple Square will always be remembered, and there will always be a fond spot in our hearts for the people of Utah. Those who come from outside your state can only marvel at the wonderful feeling which we felt there. It brings a new understanding into our lives to realize that we are all the children of God, and it has meant much to me to know that life can still be joyous and beautiful.
Here is one from Delaware:
What golden memories we have from being in Salt Lake City. It seems to me that it means more because of the setting, and because of the spiritual uplift and devotion to principles and ideals. As I entered that great Tabernacle, I felt a peace, and that feeling has remained with me. We went from there filled with the highest admiration for your people and for the wonderful principles for which you stand.
Then this one came from Ohio:
The thought keeps going through my mind that God was really in that place. The unusual way in which all of your people demonstrated the true living of your religion gave me a real insight into Mormonism which we would have had in no other way. I am very grateful personally for the opportunity of my enlarged understanding of your principles.
People that come here in the right attitude feel the holy influence of our Father in heaven. It is up to you and me to make sure that they do not leave here with an incorrect feeling. Oh, my brethren and friends and associates, in the Church and out of the Church, who are somewhat inactive, and who are uninterested, I would plead with you with all the earnestness of my soul that you repent of your wrongdoings. Let the Spirit of the Lord come into your hearts, and you will know joy that you have never known before.
REPENTANCE OF WRONGDOINGS
Repent of your wrongdoings, and the Lord will forgive you, because he has told us that if we would repent and overcome our weaknesses and imperfections and come unto him,
... the same shall be clothed in white raiment: and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
Let us repent of our wrongdoings, humbly and truly, so the Spirit of the Lord can dwell with us. To you, my brethren, who may be listening in on the air or who may be watching television or who may read the proceedings of the conference, I would plead with you that you not divorce yourselves longer from the activities of the Church because it is impossible for you to know the happiness that is waiting for you without the blessings of the Lord.
To our young people, stay very close to the Church. You young men in business, you young professional men and you boys in college, you young married people, don't feel any longer that you can get along alone. Take the Lord into your confidence with all your hearts. It ought not to be hard when we recognize and understand that he knows the feelings of our souls, anyway. Let us put aside that false pride, and you young people don't be too anxious for success. Don't be in a hurry. Don't want to make all the dollars you can, and while you are so doing, divorce yourselves from the Church.
IMPORTANCE OF FAITH
Oh, the blessings that await you if you will only come and mingle with the Saints of the Church! Attend your sacrament meetings. It seems that our people need to be continually encouraged to attend their sacrament meetings. They should come to sacrament meetings in large numbers as often as possible. We should partake of the sacrament and renew our covenants with the Lord, so that during the following week we may be able to withstand those temptations with which we are confronted.
To you young people, do not lose faith in the Church. Do not lose faith in the government. There may be things done by men in high places that you do not approve, but do not judge the government by that. Think of your founding forefathers, of your Constitution, divinely inspired of the Lord, and you will not lose faith in your land or in your government.
LETTER FROM KOREA
Have faith in the Lord at all times. I have a letter here from a young man in Korea that I would like to read, and if a young man in Korea can live and write as this young man has lived and has written, you likewise can go and do the same.
From Korea he wrote:
Dear Bishop: I wish I could find the words to explain my feelings while I read your most welcome letter. In a war-stricken world as I am now living in, I couldn't have received a more warm and appreciative wish than you gave me. A guy's soul gets so low and tired of seeing the world about one fall in ruins, and taking thousands of innocent people with it.
It makes a guy like me realize how lucky the American people are, but I wonder if they appreciate it. I have been here in Korea ever since the war broke out. I am really getting pretty tired, and I will be so glad when this mess is all over with.
My entire life has changed so much since I came here over two years ago. It seems more like ten years to me, since I have experienced so much in these last two years.
Before I left home I didn't realize what nice people I was accustomed to, but after seeing the outside world I now appreciate my family for teaching me the good things that they taught me. I begin to see the difference between people I was used to living with and those of the outside world. I have missed decent people who were taught the ways of the Lord, which he has asked us to live. I have missed friendly neighbors who always greeted me with a smile. I miss my Sunday School and the association of my people. All that I have seen here are temptation and sin that I would never have been able to fight down had it not been for the teachings that I received in my home and in this Church.
It seemed as if every time sin crossed my path because of loneliness I would then see my mother's face and my people at home looking at me as though they trusted me and expected me to be an example of right living until I returned home, to live so that I would be worthy of a fine girl and have life's happiness and a home and children.
God only knows the torture a guy goes through from being so far from home under such trying circumstances. I will say with all my heart that I believe in God and prayer. Otherwise I never would have succeeded and survived. When I felt alone, I would walk at night so that I could pray to my God. I prayed that he would help me live a clean life and find satisfaction and happiness in living that way. For that reason, I have been successful.
I went to school and was graduated, and then I went to Japan. I worked in an office as a typist. I found a liking for the work, and I worked hard to keep it and earn promotions. My most trying time in Korea was when the United Nations forces were so hard pressed. There I lost my best buddy. He was shot down through the head right before my eyes. I will never forget that as long as I live. That is my deepest regret in coming to Korea.
I have had several terribly close calls, but I know that God has saved my life and saved my soul. I trust him completely with it, and my wish is for him to be the judge. I guess I should have fear, but I don't any more. After seeing my buddy die, I feel I am no better than he was, so far that reason I want to leave it for God to decide, and I don't worry about it. We have lost lots of good boys over here, probably many more than the people of America realize. I know I would be the happiest guy alive if I was home to attend your meetings, and be part of them, and it is the true work of God that is striving to keep the world at peace today.
No person could be doing more to make a peaceful world than to live and teach God's ways of living. My prayer will always be with all of you in your work.
Our hearts and prayers go out to these boys that are there, and the thousands who will yet go. Oh, is it asking too much that we pray for them daily? Whether they are our own or not, they are somebody's boys. Let us pray for them. Let us write to them. Think how you would feel if you were a young man in the service, way over in Korea, and at the end of a hard day if you came to your bunk at night and found a letter from some of your folk or your friends, to help buoy you up.
TESTIMONY
Well, I want to bear you my testimony that I know that God lives. I know that he hears prayers. I know that his Spirit can dwell with men, and I know it can withdraw from them, and I know it is up to you and me to live close enough to the Lord that we can have the companionship of his sweet Spirit.
May the Lord bless us that we may take to our homes and apply in our lives the messages of these conferences. Oh, parents, stay close to your children. Love them with all your hearts. Hold them near and dear to you. They need you today as they have never needed you before.
May God bless the youth that they may stay close to the Church, and that we will be mindful of them, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Joseph F. Merrill
Joseph F. Merrill, Conference Report, October 1951, pp. 134-139
Brethren, sisters, and radio listeners: During the few minutes allotted to me, I purpose talking about a few matters that I feel are important enough to justify my asking your attention to them. They are not new, but they are current and vitally concern us in our daily lives. They have been much discussed but are in need of more attention than they have yet received from many of us. They have to do with both our material and spiritual well-being. They are directed to our own Church people, but we invite all others to consider them.
The Apostle Paul wrote, as you know, these words:
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.
THE WORD OF WISDOM
As a means of preserving our bodies from certain types of defilement, the Lord gave to the Church in its very beginning, and to the human family generally, a revelation that has properly been called a law of health, better known among us as the Word of Wisdom, printed as section eighty-nine of the book of Doctrine and Covenants. Years ago I was present in a meeting where a prominent non-Mormon doctor of medicine referred to the Word of Wisdom as the Lord's Law of Health and said so far as he knew it was the best brief statement in the English language of the conditions that must be observed if good health continued. This is a truth related not only to the material world but to the spiritual realm as well, as has been said several times in this conference, quoting Joseph Smith in the Doctrine and Covenants. We get no blessing from God except by obeying the law upon which the blessing is predicated. I repeat, good health is continued only if we obey the laws of health.
In the revelation referred to, the Lord said liquor and tobacco are not good for man -truths that have since been abundantly confirmed by the observations and research work of highly-qualified investigators. However, in the revelation the Lord did not give reasons, it was unnecessary to do so. Some of them were already known. The Lord knew others would be discovered by his inquisitive children.
Let us summarize a few of the authoritative statements relative to the effects of liquor and tobacco. As to tobacco, it contains nicotine, one of the most deadly poisons known to the pharmacist. It affects injuriously the heart, the brain and mental powers, the nervous system, the kidneys and elimination organs, the muscular system, etc., thus weakening the body with the result that it is less resistant to various kinds of disease.
FACTS ABOUT TOBACCO
Dr. Irving Fisher of Yale University, long noted as a writer on matters relative to human health, wrote, among other things in the preface to Dr. Frank L. Wood's book What You Should Know about Tobacco, the following:
I have had unusual opportunities to become familiar with the many sided tobacco problem. The evidence now exists sufficient to show that no one who smokes can achieve the best of which he or she is capable. whether this be a foot race, a prize fight, a golf game, a rifle score, writing, speaking, singing, acting, performing on violin, piano, or typewriter, attainment of health, strength, endurance, beauty, glamour, or any other excellence on which men and women set their hearts. It is time that those ambitious in all other lines of work should also learn the truth that tobacco harms, never helps.
The use of tobacco shortens life, This fact was satisfactorily demonstrated to the scientific world by Dr. Raymond Pearl of Johns Hopkins University, who published fifteen years ago a research paper in which he showed that on an average heavy smokers die about ten years sooner than non-smokers and moderate smokers from three to five years sooner. Everybody knows that college athletic coaches do not permit their boys to smoke. Yes, the use of tobacco is injurious to man.
EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL
Now relative to alcohol: Some of the facts relative to the injurious effects of consumed alcohol are briefly stated by the eminent authority, Dr, Haven Emerson, as follows:
1. We have learned that alcohol, as commonly used today, causes more diseases, disability, and death than any other cause of ill health which is wholly in the power of the individual to prevent and avoid.
2. Medical sciences have learned and found that alcohol is not a food, a stimulant, or harmful only in drunkenness. That was the former belief. The liver, stomach, and heart were supposed to suffer only from drunkenness. Those are the least of the damages alcohol causes. Deaths from alcoholism are the least of the harm that alcohol causes. It is the constant and severe interference with human relations, the disturbance of the conduct of people to each other, that is the major damage that alcohol does in our society today.
3. Alcohol is a depressant narcotic drug, not a stimulant. That cannot be too often repeated. The effects of alcohol are almost entirely, if not wholly, to be experienced by its toxic damage to the central nervous system, the brain, and spinal cord. It is upon those tissues that the action of alcohol shows most strikingly. The only thing that distinguishes man from the brute is his power of self-direction, self-control, judgment, discretion. Those things are the first qualities of man that are destroyed by alcohol, long before there is any obvious interference with the muscles and motor functions of the body.
4. Alcohol is not describable as a food which forms any part of a wholesome diet.
5. In recent times, it has been observed that the lifesaving reflexes of the body are all slowed from five to ten percent by amounts of alcohol too small to be socially appreciable, and in amounts far smaller than can ever be registered under the law or by the police as indicating intoxication. In amounts too small to be appreciated, alcohol slows the reflexes of the body, which we are endowed with to protect ourselves from destruction-the nervous reflex action of the eye, the ear, the muscles-which we depend on in this world of speed and power and uncontrolled human association. The evidence shows there is no form of human activity so far tested which does not show inferiority of performance as the invariable sequel of the absorption of alcohol in amounts smaller than would be recognized as of toxic significance.
6. Perhaps the most important of all is the positive statement that no evidence of improvement in human health has so far been found to result from the use of alcohol in the normal human being.
7. Alcohol, as used, causes many times more deaths than the infectious diseases.
CAUSE OF HIGHWAY ACCIDENTS
Thus writes Dr. Haven Emerson, a world-recognized authority on the effects of alcohol on the human body. Scientific observations and experiments absolutely prove that alcohol in amounts as small as only "a drink or two" causes a slowing of the reflexes of the body sufficient to result in many highway accidents. But the driver usually believes that this small amount makes him more alert-a safer driver after the drink than before. But this is not the case, as every traffic officer knows. Alcohol is a deceiver; it lies to the driver. Instead of making him more alert, it really makes him less alert and less safe in his driving. According to the estimates of the National Safety Council, and others qualified to give estimates, from twenty-five to forty percent of all highway accidents are due to drinking drivers-the majority of them having had, so they say, only "a drink or two." Such a driver is far more dangerous than the one who knows he is drunk.
This matter of traffic accidents in the United States is very important. It is said that they resulted last year in thirty-six thousand fatalities-more fatalities than we suffered during the same period in the Korean War.
SOCIAL AND SPIRITUAL EFFECTS
So far I have spoken only of the effects of alcohol on the body of the drinker, but there are social and spiritual effects of far greater importance that result from his drinking.
It is perhaps not so important what the drinker does to himself great as this is-as to what he does to others-how his drinking affects others. At the conference of the American Association of Industrial Physicians and Surgeons last April, it was said by the medical director of a large steel company that hangovers cost factories one billion man-hours every year, a tremendous loss in goods and wages, thus affecting many more people than the drinkers.
FIRST PRESIDENCY MESSAGE
In a session of the October conference of the Church in 1942, President Clark presented a timely message of the First Presidency in which was written the following:
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 and arm with poverty; its companions are disease and plague; it puts chastity to flight; it knows neither honor 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.
In the light of these factual statements, forcibly and eloquently put by President Clark, how is it that any sane member of the Church believing in the divine call of Joseph Smith, would dare to indulge in drink? Does he not know the sin and the danger of indulgence? This action not only harms him in person, thus defiling his body, but it makes him a danger to his family, to his associates, to society, and an offender of God.
DANGER OF MODERATE DRINKING
But there are many people who protest that drinking in moderation is not harmful. Have I not pointed out that the most dangerous potential killer on the highway is the driver who has taken only "a drink or two"? Is it not through example that we yield our most potent influence? Drinking a single glass is likely far more strongly to influence others to drink than would drinking a jug, Yes, the example of participation in a cocktail party, of drinking in a convivial set, of taking a glass with a friend-any of these is likely to be taken as a license by the unwary to indulge.
There is a grave danger in alcohol of which the novice may not be aware-the danger of becoming an alcoholic of becoming one who drinks to excess, unable to control his drinking. Mrs. Marty Mann, a recovered alcoholic, executive director, National Committee for Education on Alcoholism, said a few years ago in a national radio broadcast that the years of her acute chronic alcoholism were the most painful years of her life. "I suffered constantly," she said "not just one kind of pain, but all kinds of pain. I suffered physically mentally, emotionally, financially, and socially-in every department of my life. I tell you, honestly, and on behalf of those three million human beings that alcoholism is the most painful disease known to man."
A careful study shows that about one of every sixteen persons who takes his first glass becomes an alcoholic. But whether this will be his fate cannot be determined in advance, strange as it may seem. Hence, safety demands a refusal to take the first drink.
But it is not always easy to say, "I do not drink." Natural curiosity to learn how the stuff tastes, the invitation of agreeable companions, the fear of being regarded as a sissy or of leaning over backwards, or of throwing a damper on a jolly group, memory of attractive advertisements seen or read-one or more of these and other temptations must be waved aside by a refusal. But the fact that it is "smarter not to drink" is a truth that will give the necessary courage to everyone who is accustomed to pray and to respect himself. The Lord helps him who worthily tries to help himself.
THE PROBLEM OF DRINK
The problem of drink looked at in the light of national interests is one of the most difficult and dangerous this country faces. The custom of drinking prevails in all strata of American Society, among the rich and the poor, the old and the young, the educated and the ignorant, the strong and the weak, the official and the military. Drink is responsible, in part at least, for many of our existing difficulties. The per capita consumption in the District of Columbia is much the highest in the country-5.37 gallons in 1951, compared with 1.24 gallons for the whole United States, more than four times greater in Washington than the average. The consumption in Utah was 0.74 gallons, fourteen percent of that in Washington.
Does this great consumption in Washington have any significance? It was reported that at the conferences with Stalin at Teheran and Yalta during the war an abundance of liquor was in evidence. Did the presence of liquor have any influence on the harmful agreements that were reached?
Crime in its many varieties is current in the United States, and the records show that nearly all criminals use liquor and tobacco. And as you know, many crimes are committed because the perpetrator is under the influence of liquor. As you also know, many destructive fires, causing loss of many lives and enormous losses of property, are due to the carelessness of smokers.
EVILS OF INDULGENCE
Indulgence in alcoholic beverages and tobacco is not only injurious to body, mind, and spirit-therefore hurtful to the consumer and greatly so to society-but it is very expensive, estimated to be about fifteen billion dollars annually in the United States-more than is spent for education, libraries, and charity. The picture is dismal indeed. Why is it, how is it, that intelligent, sensible human beings will persist in consuming liquor and tobacco in the light of the many, some dreadful, evils resulting from this consumption? Can it be that they are not well-informed of these effects? This is probably true in many cases, especially with the youth. Hence education is one of the means that should be employed intensively among all ill-informed persons. So many and great are the evils of indulgence that all feasible means should be employed to eliminate them. Certainly all schools should participate in this movement.
But as this movement is intensified, so will counter movements be, we may be assured; "conspiring men" will intensify their "evils and designs". Satan, the devil, is not asleep.
But Latter-day Saints-members of this Church-believing and knowing that God has spoken in modern times on the subject of liquor and tobacco, will you not be aroused, become converted and abstain from indulgence in the use of these things? Nothing less is expected of you by the Church and by non-members who know our teachings relative to them. Be wise, not foolish.
May the Lord help all of us to be sincerely obedient to his will, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Milton R. Hunter
Milton R. Hunter, Conference Report, October 1951, pp. 140-145
My dear brethren and sisters, I humbly ask an interest in your faith and prayers, and the Spirit of God to rest upon me on this occasion.
PREACHING OF GOSPEL
Shortly before the ascension of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Master, he gave his Apostles their final commission, saying unto them:
... Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
After the ascension of the Lord, the Apostles went forth humbly faithfully, diligently, from town to town, from village to village, from city to city, declaring the good message which the Lord had given them; preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, establishing Christian communities. Gradually, one Christian community after another arose in the Mediterranean world. The gospel spread from land to land.
But also as time passed, the Apostles received very severe persecutions, which resulted in the death-the martyrdom-of all of them except John the Beloved. They sealed their testimonies with their blood, dying for the eternal truths which they had embraced.
FALSE TEACHINGS
As time went on, and as Paul the Apostle and others of the great prophets had predicted, heresies crept into the Christian Church. False teachings and false doctrines came into Christianity. Especially is this true toward the end of the fourth century A. D. At that time the Roman government made the Christian Church the state religion and outlawed all pagan religions. This resulted in thousands and thousands of pagans flocking into the Christian Church, naturally without being converted. They brought with them their choice pagan ideas, practices, religious rituals and doctrines, bringing about an adulteration of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which resulted in what is known as the Great Apostasy.
If the Savior had come back to earth at the beginning of the fifth century A.D., I doubt whether he would have recognized the Christian Church as the one that claimed descent from that which he had established, so far had it gone astray. Christianity had actually become a composite of Christian beliefs, practices, and doctrines, Jewish teachings and rituals; Greek, Roman, and Egyptian pagan philosophies: and pagan religions of various brands. The Holy Priesthood had been withdrawn from the earth. The power of godliness was no longer present in the Christian Church. Thus there was a complete falling away from the gospel which had been established by the Son of Man. The Church lay in darkness, and the darkness enveloped the earth. This spiritual darkness continued for hundreds and hundreds of years.
GOSPEL RESTORED
Finally, during the early part of the nineteenth century, Jesus Christ, the God of heaven and earth, stretched forth his hand again to reveal once more the gospel plan of salvation to the human family and to establish his Church upon earth. This great and marvelous work came about in fulfillment of the prophecies made by many of the ancient prophets. They had predicted that there would be a restoration of all things in the latter days and that all the rights, rituals, doctrines, powers, priesthoods, and ordinances necessary for the salvation and exaltation of the human family would be restored.
From heavenly beings this gospel was restored to the Prophet Joseph Smith, and the promise given by the Lord that it would never be taken from the earth again nor given to another people. As part of that restoration, the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood was brought back to earth again. The Savior, as he had done in the Meridian of Time, established offices in that priesthood. In this dispensation they consisted of a First Presidency, Twelve Apostles, seventies, elders, and others to carry forward the work of the Lord.
COMMANDMENT IN PRESENT DAY
The commandment from Jesus Christ, our Savior, came to the Twelve in modern times, just as it did to the Apostles in his day:
Therefore, go ye into all the world: and whatsoever place ye cannot go unto ye shall send, that the testimony may go from you into all the world unto every creature.
And as I said unto mine apostles, even so I say unto you, for you are mine apostles, even God's high priests; ye are they whom my Father hath given me; ye are my friends;
Therefore, as I said unto mine apostles I say unto you again, that every soul who believeth on your words, and is baptized by water for the remission of sins, shall receive the Holy Ghost....
Verily, verily, I say unto you, they who believe not on your words, and are not baptized in water in my name, for the remission of their sins, that they may receive the Holy Ghost, shall be damned, and shall not come into my Father's kingdom where my Father and I am.
And this revelation unto you, and commandment, is in force from this very hour upon all the world, and the gospel is unto all who have not received it.
ASSIGNMENT TO THE TWELVE
Acting in accordance with this revelation and also several others, such as the one which appointed the Twelve Apostles to hold the keys of opening the doors of the gospel of Jesus Christ to every nation throughout the earth; the revelation to the effect that the gospel should be taken to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people preparatory to the coming of the Lord, and other similar pronouncements, the Twelve Apostles did go forth throughout the world. During the past one hundred and twenty-one years, they have opened the doors of the gospel to most of the nations.
The history of the work of the Twelve in carrying forward their missionary assignment presents a marvelous story. In addition to the great work that they have done, the Apostles also have sent many other gospel messengers to the places where they could not go.
OTHERS CALLED
Now, the Lord, in establishing the gospel on the earth in the latter days, did not give revelations entirely to the effect that the Twelve were to be the only ministers of the restored truths. He also gave revelations to the seventy, designating them as "especial witnesses" of Christ, and calling them to be ministers of the restored gospel, "... first unto the Gentiles and then to the Jews". And again, he also gave a revelation to every faithful elder in the Church, commanding him to proclaim the message of salvation. He said unto the elders:
Go ye into all the world, preach the gospel to every creature, acting in the authority which I have given you, baptizing in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
And he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned.
During the past hundred years, thousands upon thousands of elders have gone forth in harmony with this divine command. I believe there is no time in the history of the human family where a Church has put forth a greater missionary effort in accordance with the command of God than has the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during the past one hundred and twenty-one years.
The Lord not only commanded the elders to go forth and preach the gospel, but he also gave a command in a revelation to Joseph Smith to the effect that every person who is baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is morally obligated in the sight of God to do missionary work. In other words, he is to proclaim the words of eternal life to the honest in heart. In fact, the commandment of the Lord to every baptized member of the Church of Jesus Christ is as follows: "... and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor".
If every Latter-day Saint would take that revelation seriously thousands and thousands of the honest in heart who live among us would gladly receive the words of eternal life and affiliate themselves with the true Church and kingdom of God.
LIVING OF GOSPEL
If all Latter-day Saints would live the gospel in every detail, as it has been revealed from the mouth of Jehovah through the prophets, our lights would so shine to the world that multitudes of good people would actually ask to join the Church of Jesus Christ. Our neighbors would see the light shining forth from Latter-day Saints, because the gospel had made them live such good lives, and they would readily accept this Church as being "the only true and living Church upon the face of the whole earth". Certainly the gospel would then roll forth throughout the world, as Daniel predicted it would, like a great "stone cut out of the mountain without hands". It would roll forth until it "filled the whole earth."
One of the obstacles we meet in our efforts to spread the gospel message is the fact that so many Latter-day Saints do not live the gospel. And, on the other hand, many members of the Church do not take the time to tell their neighbors about the gospel. They do not invite their neighbors to attend Church with them nor to come in contact with Church influence in other ways. I sincerely believe that there are many honest in heart who would like to investigate the gospel truths and later on probably join the Church if they were invited to participate and were encouraged to do so. God will hold us accountable to do our share along this line. We must warn our neighbors.
MISSIONARY ASSIGNMENT
When the Lord established the gospel through the Prophet Joseph Smith, he gave the members of the Church many great assignments. I believe that there is no assignment that the Lord gave to the Church greater than that of missionary work.
If one should read the Doctrine and Covenants through and tabulate the various subjects that the Lord revealed information on, he would find that missionary work holds a dominant place. In my study of modern revelation, I have found that there is no subject that the Lord revealed more about, that he talked on more times and in more ways than the missionary assignment. In fact, the gospel of the kingdom must be taken unto every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people preparatory to the coming of the Lord; and after this great assignment has been successfully completed, according to the words of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, "... then shall the end come".
Not only must the gospel be taken "to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people" here in mortality, but it must also be preached to all of our departed ancestors in the spirit world. A great missionary campaign must go forward until all who have died without the law of the gospel will have the opportunity to accept or reject it. Temple work will not be completely effective without missionary work. In fact, the people in the spirit world have to learn the various gospel truths, receive the gospel plan of salvation, repent of their sins, and prepare themselves to receive the temple ordinances which have been performed for them vicariously before that great work reaches a fulfillment and gives to the people the blessings that they should receive.
Therefore, it is very evident that missionary work is one of the greatest assignments which God has placed upon the Church. In fact, the Prophet Joseph Smith on one occasion said, "After all that has been said, the greatest and most important duty is to preach the gospel ".
THE THING OF MOST WORTH
When the gospel was being restored to earth during the early part of the nineteenth century, a number of brethren came to the Prophet Joseph Smith and asked what the Lord would have them do in this great work. Their concern was to learn what would be the most important thing for them to do. The word of the Lord came to the Whitmer men as follows:
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.
I believe that that revelation applies as aptly to you and me as it did to John and Peter Whitmer, Jr. I know of no way whereby we can help to bring salvation to our own souls better than by doing all that we can to bring salvation to the souls of others. In other words; we save our own souls in proportion to the service we render to the honest in heart who are seeking after truth by giving to them the gospel of Jesus Christ, or the plan of life and salvation.
There are many other revelations that could be cited which indicate the importance of the missionary assignment, but we haven't time on this occasion to quote them.
ENCOURAGEMENT TO SEVENTIES
As a member of the First Council of the Seventy, the duty rests upon me and others of the Council to help carry the message of salvation to the honest in heart and to do our utmost in promoting missionary work. I would like to take this opportunity, therefore, to encourage all the seventies throughout the Church to engage in missionary work that they might magnify their callings as seventies. If we fail to do this, we may stand under condemnation at the judgment day for not having magnified our priesthood.
The First Presidency has asked for three seventies from each quorum-a thousand seventies-to go into the mission fields this fall. I should like to encourage the stake presidents, the bishops, the seventies, and all who are concerned, to cooperate on this great assignment and to respond to the call of the First Presidency.
The call from the First Presidency is a call from the Lord, because these men are the duly authorized servants of God here upon the earth. They hold the keys of the kingdom; and God the Eternal Father and his Only Begotten Son accept all that they do in the office of their calling as if these acts had been performed personally by Jesus Christ.
STAKE MISSIONARY PROGRAM
Also, I would like to encourage all of us as Church members to take greater advantage of the stake missionary program. I am sure we have done a good job in the past, but I feel confident that we have hardly scratched the surface. I am of the opinion that there are thousands and thousands of seekers after truth who live among us who would receive the gospel of Jesus Christ if they had a fair chance. If we would spend more time in doing missionary work, great would be our joy in this life, and eternal should be our reward in the world to come. The Savior made this point clear and definite wherein he said:
Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God...
Wherefore, you are called to cry repentance unto this people.
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!
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!.
My dear brothers and sisters, I do humbly trust and pray that God will bless us to the extent that we will not only continue with the great missionary spirit that we have shown in the past, but that we shall also catch a fullness of the spirit and greatness of this assignment and vigorously carry it forward until we do prepare the world for the coming of the Savior, that he may reign as Lord of lords and King of kings.
TESTIMONY
I bear testimony that this is the true gospel of Jesus Christ. I know this fact as I know that I am alive. I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and one of the greatest prophets that has ever lived on this earth. I know also that if you and I will live according to the teachings of the commandments that we have received in the Church of Jesus Christ, someday we shall come back into the presence of God and receive exaltation, which he has declared to be the greatest gift that he has in store for those who love him and keep his commandments.
May God bless us in carrying forward this great missionary assignment and in all of our walks of life, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie
Bruce R. McConkie, Conference Report, October 1951, pp. 146-150
Two great truths must be accepted by mankind if they shall save themselves: first, that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Only Begotten, the very Son of God, whose atoning blood and resurrection save us from the physical and spiritual death brought to us by the Fall; and next, that God has restored to the earth, in these last days, through the Prophet Joseph, his Holy Priesthood with the fullness of the everlasting gospel, for the salvation of all men on the earth. Without these truths man may not hope for the riches of the life hereafter.
Those words were given by the First Presidency of the Church in a testimony to the world on the occasion of the one hundredth anniversary of the establishment of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in this dispensation, and if the Spirit will give me utterance, I would like to say a few things with reference to them.
SALVATION CENTERED IN CHRIST
We are the people of God. We are the members of the kingdom of God on earth, which is this Church, and we have the knowledge and light and revelation which causes us to know that salvation is centered in Christ. We believe in Christ. We are the Church of Christ. We believe that through his atoning blood and the sacrifice which he worked out, all men will be raised in immortality, that is to say, the body and the spirit will be reunited, a resurrection will be brought to pass, and we believe that those who obey the laws and ordinances of the gospel will gain, in addition to immortality, the glorious gift of eternal life.
We have the witness and knowledge that Christ was the Firstborn of the Father, that in the spirit world, in the pre-existent eternities, he obeyed the laws of the Father and by diligence and righteousness ascended even there to the status of a God.
We recognize him as the Creator, under the Father, of the world and all that in it is. We worship him as the God who revealed his saving truths to all the ancient prophets, those mighty leaders who have come in every age when he has had a people on the earth.
We believe that he came into the world, born of Mary, literally and actually, as we are born of our mothers; that he came into the world, born of God the Eternal Father, the Almighty Elohim, literally and actually, as we are born of our earthly fathers.
We believe that he had the power to lay down his life, and the power to take it up again, because Mary was his mother and God was his father.
We certify of Christ; we preach of Christ; and we have the knowledge that salvation is in and through him and him alone. "Salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent", and "how great the importance," as Lehi expressed it, "to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth".
ACCEPTANCE OF PROPHETS
Now it is not possible, in my judgment, for people in the world to accept Christ and come to salvation, unless at one and the same time they accept the prophets whom Christ has sent and receive the administration of holy ordinances under their hands.
Christ and his prophets are one. We could not believe in Christ if there were not prophets to declare Christ and his saving truths unto us. The Apostle Paul reasoned on this subject, and he said:
... how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
And how shall they preach, except they be sent?.
Except for Christ, there would be no salvation. Except for the prophets of God, sent in the various ages of the earth's history, the testimony of Christ would not be borne, the message of salvation would not be taught, and there would be no legal administrators who could perform the ordinances of salvation for men, that is, perform them so they will be binding on earth and sealed eternally in the heavens.
So it is that the Lord has sent prophets. No one would suppose that he could believe in Christ and reject Peter, James, and John. The Lord and his prophets go hand in hand. Christ said, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman"; then he said to his Apostles, "Ye are the branches". The branches and the vine are connected. He taught also that if the branches were torn away from him, they would wither and die and be cast into the fire. If people in the world would pick the fruit of eternal life off the branches, they have to accept the prophets, for the branches are the prophets.
GOSPEL DISPENSATIONS
This has been the system that the Lord has had from the days of Father Adam to the present moment, and it will continue eternally. The Lord sent Adam in the beginning to teach the principles of salvation. Adam had a dispensation of the gospel, that is, the Lord revealed direct from heaven to Adam, dispensed to him, the saving truths; and anybody that lived in the days of Adam, to be saved in the celestial kingdom, had to accept Jesus Christ in whom salvation lay, and also had to accept Adam as the revealer, the prophet, the legal administrator who taught the laws of salvation and administered the ordinances thereof. It went in just that manner in every succeeding dispensation.
In the days of Enoch, if a man would be saved in the celestial kingdom, he accepted Christ as the Savior of the world and Enoch as his prophet. And so in the days of Abraham, of Moses, of Peter, James, and John, and of this day.
I suppose that the Church procedure was not too different in former days. They had testimony meetings then, and when people stood up in them, as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost, they bore witness that Jesus Christ was the Son of God who would come, and that Adam was his prophet, or Enoch, or the head of whatever dispensation was involved; and that is the way it is today. We certify of Jesus Christ, and we certify of Joseph Smith, and they are one. They are united perfectly.
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.
VISION OF ABRAHAM
Now may I mention the great vision that the Patriarch Abraham had? You recall that the Lord showed him the pre-existent hosts and, more particularly, the noble and great in that world. Abraham saw them, the intelligences, the spirit sons of God our Father, the noble and great spirit who were among them, and the Lord said to him, "... Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born".
As with Abraham, so with all the prophets of God. Sometimes someone may wonder, that is, someone in the world, how is it that the Father and the Son would appear to a fourteen-and-a-half- year-old boy in the spring of 1820, to usher in, as we express it, the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times.
Joseph Smith sat with Father Abraham in the councils of eternity, and Joseph Smith was ordained as Abraham was ordained to come down and be the head of a gospel dispensation here. He had ascended by virtue of obedience, intelligence, progression, and righteousness to a high state of spiritual perfection in that world. When he came here, he brought with him the talents and abilities, the deep spirituality, and the innate righteousness that he developed back there under the tutelage of God the Father.
In the eternal worlds, the Firstborn spirit offspring of the Father was Jehovah who is Jesus Christ. He was pre-eminent. Standing next to Christ was the great spirit, Michael. Christ was ordained as a lamb slain from the foundation of the world, chosen to come here and be the Redeemer. Michael was prepared and chosen and sent here as Father Adam, the first man of all men, the first flesh upon the earth, the head of the human race, and the presiding high priest, under Christ, over all the earth.
PLACE OF JOSEPH SMITH
The spirit men who were associated with Christ and with Adam in the pre-existent eternities, and who were more valiant than all their fellows, were the ones chosen to head the various dispensations of the gospel. One of these was the Prophet Joseph Smith. It doesn't take much reflection then, it seems to me, for us to know that Joseph Smith was one of the dozen greatest spirits that God the Eternal Father had in all the councils of eternity; that he came so as to be here at the appointed time and at the express hour and at the very moment that the Lord designed to open this dispensation He was here to take his part in that event.
I do not think that the Father and the Son would have appeared to an ordinary fourteen-and-a-half-year-old boy, if he had gone out into that grove of trees to ask the Lord which of all the churches was right. I think the Lord had been preparing Joseph Smith for that event from all eternity; that Joseph Smith had the spiritual stature, the strength for righteousness that enabled him to endure the vision; that he had the talent and ability to press forward in righteousness in the kingdom of God on earth: first, to establish it; and then, somewhat, to perfect its organization before he was taken home, before he sealed his testimony with his blood.
In my judgment Christ and his prophets are one; and salvation in this day is, first, through Christ and his atoning sacrifice, and it is, second, through accepting the atoning sacrifice and the doctrines of Christ as they have been revealed by the Prophet Joseph Smith, and as they are taught by the living oracles who wear the mantle of the Prophet and stand at this moment at the head of the kingdom of God on earth.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
May I just tell you one experience that I had. I have never told this to any person before, except my wife. Six months ago in the Solemn Assembly, when the First Presidency of the Church were sustained, as I sat down here behind one of these lower pulpits, the voice of the Lord came into my mind as certainly, I am sure, as the voice of the Lord came into the mind of Enos, and the very words were formed, and it said:
"These are they whom I have chosen as the First Presidency of my Church. Follow them"-those few words.
I have had a testimony of the divinity of this work from my youth. I was reared in a family where love was the motive force, where my parents taught me righteousness, and I have grown up with a testimony. But that witness was an added assurance. It meant to me, if I hadn't known before, which I did know before, that this is the Lord's Church; that his hand is over it; that he organized it; that these men who preside are called of him: that they are his anointed; that if we will follow them as they follow Christ, we will have eternal life, which is my prayer for myself and for all Israel. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Clifford E. Young
Clifford E. Young, Conference Report, October 1951, pp. 150-153
It has been a refining influence to attend this great conference. I cannot recall when I have felt more at peace than I have during these sessions. It seems to me that from the very beginning with President McKay's opening address, followed by others of the brethren including Brother Thomas E. McKay who spoke so beautifully and tenderly, everything done and said has contributed to a peace that I am sure we all feel, and we all felt as we sang that beautiful hymn.
MARION G. ROMNEY
I was very grateful in the selection of Brother Marion G. Romney to the Quorum of the Twelve. I have been intimately associated with him for the past ten years-I had not known him prior to our being called to be Assistants-but I have learned to love him and to appreciate him for his sterling worth, for his integrity: and I say to you, my brethren and sisters, without any fear of contradiction, that I know of no man who has ever been chosen to fill this high and sacred trust who is better prepared and more worthy than is Marion G. Romney. I hope he will not feel embarrassed because of my saying this, but I say it from the depths of my heart.
I love these men. I have learned to love the Authorities as I have never loved them before. I was reared in a home where the Authorities of the Church were always held up to us as servants of the Almighty, men who were trying to their utmost to establish the Church and kingdom of God in the earth, men who were unselfish in their service. In our home it was regarded almost as a sin for anyone to say anything unkind of those whom God had chosen to direct the affairs of the Church.
I have been grateful for that heritage. I have tried to implant that in the hearts of my children. My wife was reared in the same atmosphere, and she too reflected in her life that absolute confidence and deep appreciation of those whom the Lord had chosen.
LESSONS FROM MISSIONARIES
I have recently had the experience of visiting two of our missions. Two very striking lessons were brought home to me as we labored with these missionaries, as we heard their testimonies, listened to their reports, and felt of their spirits. They told how they were proselyting, how they would go into the homes where they were invited in-many times they were turned down-and how they would teach the people.
First the missionaries would present to them the message of the restoration and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. This would open up the way for a cottage meeting, and then they would teach the families how to pray. They would teach them that God hears and answers prayers. They would unfold the story of the restoration of the gospel, which of course would take them back to the teachings of our Savior and the promises that he made when he instructed his disciples:
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.
The elders go into homes, and they teach the investigators these divine concepts, prayer, faith in God, confidence in his work, to observe all things that the Lord has commanded, to render obedience to those divine principles by which we may enter into his kingdom and into his Church, teaching them the law of tithing, the Word of Wisdom, all of these things, my brethren and sisters, these cardinal concepts, and as we listened to the missionaries explain their methods, the reaction of the people to them, I felt and I say to you that people now are responding to the truth, perhaps more than ever in the history of the Church. As we listened to these reports, I thought, can we do less here at home than follow these divine concepts? Should we do less than teach in our homes family prayers, kneeling down and supplicating our Heavenly Father with our children night and morning? Should we do less than teach our children to observe the law of tithing, the law of the fast?
Can we do less than teach them all of these principles that we proclaim to the people of the world, obedience to which makes them eligible for membership in the Church?
That lesson has come home to me. Are we doing at home what we expect our missionaries to do in the world, and are we ourselves hiding our lights, setting our lights under a bushel, or are we letting our lights so shine, that others, seeing our good works, may be led to glorify our Heavenly Father?
MISSIONARY SACRIFICES
Another lesson that impressed me was this: We listened to some of the missionaries tell of their backgrounds. One young boy told of coming from a home in Idaho, of his widowed mother, with five children, the mother being left with a mortgaged farm, and the bishop came and asked if one of her boys could go on a mission.
The oldest was asked to go, and the mother said, "Bishop, he may go." That young man told of the struggles of his mother to make ends meet and to help him in the performance of his missionary labors, and he bore a strong testimony of the goodness of the Lord, not only to him, but also to that devoted mother who was making possible that mission.
Another one was by a young girl, and I never heard a stronger testimony-it was of another widowed mother. She comes from a stake in the east. The mother, going out and taking day work, made possible that girl's service in the mission field.
On my way home I happened to stop in the home of my daughter in Chicago, and she, not knowing that I knew, was telling me of the sacrifice of a widow in her ward that was making it possible for her daughter to labor in the mission field.
"Why," she said, "Dad, that good little woman takes whatever she can get to do without complaint."
PRESENT-DAY FAITH
We are inclined to tell about our forebears, of the heritage they have left for us. We have been reading in The Deseret News serially of the great work of President George Albert Smith's grandfather, Elder George A. Smith, of his colonizing in southern Utah and the struggles of their living in wagons, of babies being born in those wagons, as they sought to establish a settlement at Parowan. All of these we read and are deeply touched and inspired. These things are a great heritage to us and to our children, but I say to you, my brethren and sisters, that we have today just as much faith in Israel as we ever had, and if we could hear all of these experiences that are a part of the lives of these missionaries, we would hear of the struggles, and many times the heartaches, that make possible these young men and women going into the mission field and giving of their time for two years or two and a half years to preach the gospel which means so much to you and to me and to the world.
EVIDENCE BUILDS TESTIMONIES
Verily, it is a testimony to us of this great work. Testimonies do not come all at once. They are accumulations of evidence, and these are just a few. They are the simple things.
I remember on one occasion of President Grant being in our home and having with him a good friend, a banker, from the East as his guest. President Grant had given him the story of Joseph Smith to read, and during our visit Brother Grant had had Sister Young sing, "Come, Come, Ye Saints."
As Sister Young concluded, that gentleman remarked, "That is an epic! That is one of the finest expressions of faith that I have ever heard in poetry." Then he made this remark: "President Grant, I have read 'Joseph Smith Tells His Own Story,' and I say to you that no imposter ever wrote it. It was written by one who believed in his own destiny."
Now, brethren and sisters, that is the beginning of a testimony, and if that man would follow through, from just those two little things, God would finally, through the power of the Holy Ghost, reveal to him the truth of all things. This is the promise that is made to the people of the world-
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.
And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.
That is the way testimonies come. Those are the promises that are given by our missionaries to the world. Can we do less at home than to accept those promises, to accept the Lord as we ask our friends in the world to accept him?
May God help us so to do, my brethren and sisters. I leave with you my testimony. I thank the Lord for my standing in this Church and for its great privileges and blessings; and I can sing with you as we sang a few minutes ago, "I Need Thee Every Hour," and I know he is near to us if we will serve him and keep his commandments. God bless you, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder Ezra Taft Benson
Ezra Taft Benson, Conference Report, October 1951, pp. 153-157
My beloved brethren and sisters, there is something comforting in the scriptures regarding "he that shall endure to the end" . I must confess, however, that this to me has been one of the most glorious conferences that I have ever attended or ever expect to attend. I stand before you this afternoon in fasting and prayer, with a heart full of gratitude and thanksgiving to the Lord for the opportunity which has been mine to attend this conference.
RICHNESS OF CONFERENCE
I cannot recall another, unless it was the conference which I attended in April of 1947 after spending a year in war-torn Europe, that has impressed me so deeply as this conference which now draws to a close. And as a father in Israel, I am grateful beyond my power of expression that my wife and my family of six children have come under the influence of the spirit of this conference and the counsel which has been given by the brethren.
As we left the Friday morning session, my good wife turned to me and said, "Of all the conferences I have attended in the Church, I have never felt so richly the spirit as I did this morning during President McKay's opening address." I am sure she but echoed the feeling of hundreds of others. Truly, it has been a time of rejoicing. I would to God, my brethren and sisters, that every man, woman, and child in the world could have heard the counsel which has come to us during this conference and could have in their hearts a desire to accept that counsel because I have never seen greater evidence of spiritual statesmanship than that represented in the counsel given to us by the First Presidency of the Church. With all my heart I sustain them.
GRATITUDE FOR THE BRETHREN
I am grateful today that as a young man in far-off England I came under the influence of the leadership of President David O. McKay. I love him almost as I love my own father, and I sustain him with all my heart as prophet, seer, and revelator, which I testify to you he is. And I love with him his counselors as men of God. I love all these brethren with whom I have the glorious privilege of associating.
I am very grateful for the brethren who have been added to the General Authorities in this conference. I have known them all for a number of years, and to know them is to love them. I have received sufficient witness of the Spirit to satisfy my soul that the inspiration of heaven directed the presidency in the selection of these our brethren.
I am happy to welcome Elder Marion G. Romney into our Council. He knows something of the joy and happiness that awaits him in this body of men, and their close association with the First Presidency of the Church. I first met Brother Romney thirty-three years ago on a basketball floor in Rexburg. We were representing two Church schools in a friendly but vigorous competition. I have always felt that he saw very clearly, but on the question of the final score in that game he has never been fully clear. I have loved him for his devotion, for his integrity, and for his testimony, and I love these brethren who have been added as Assistants to the Twelve.
STREET MEETING EXPERIENCE
I have but one thought to add, my brethren and sisters. I have set aside two or three times that which I had in mind to say, as it has been treated much better than I could have treated the subject. I would like to bring this thought to your attention through a brief experience. Some months ago while attending a meeting of agricultural and farm cooperative leaders in an eastern city, I had occasion to leave my hotel room and cross the street to the nearby post office to mail some letters. As I entered the door of the post office on a side street, I heard words coming through an open window at the opposite side of the building, which sounded very much to me like a Mormon missionary preaching on the street.
After mailing the letters, I eased over to the open window, and there I saw two young men in blue serge suits standing on the corner of the steps of the post office. One young man was bearing his testimony regarding the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and the mission of the Prophet Joseph. He was earnest; he was sincere; he spoke with conviction. I thrilled with what he said. Some fifty or seventy-five people were listening in addition to the moving congregation that is always part of the street meeting. Standing at his side was his companion. In one arm were copies of the Book of Mormon and the hats of the two brethren in his other hand.
When the street meeting ended, I went out and introduced myself, visited with them a moment, and then I turned to the young man who had been holding the literature in his arm and said, "Elder, what were you doing while your companion was preaching and bearing testimony?" The answer filled my soul with thanksgiving. He said, "Brother Benson, I was praying to God that my companion would say the right thing that would touch the hearts of the people and bring them a conviction of the truth of this great latter-day work."
SUPPORT FOR ONE ANOTHER
Support for one another, that is the one thought that I have to leave with you, my brethren and sisters. One of our great needs as a people is greater, more loyal support for one another. You see it demonstrated in the leadership of the Church. It is very common out in the stakes and the missions, and, oh, how important it is that we uphold and sustain one another in our labors.
What do you do when one of your associates is standing before the public attempting to do his duty? And when he does a particularly good job, maybe performing even beyond your own ability, what is the reaction in your heart? Do you have a little pang of jealousy, or do you rejoice and thank God for the manner in which he has magnified your associate? If you do the latter, you have one of the marks of greatness. If there comes a feeling of jealousy, a wish that you might be in his place, then you have not learned the lesson fully of mutual support and true loyalty.
God help us to support one another. May it start in the home as we support our families. May there be a spirit of loyalty, unity, love, and mutual respect. May husbands be loyal to their wives, true to them, love them, strive to ease their burdens, and share the responsibility for the care, training, and the rearing of the children. May mothers and wives show a spirit of helpfulness to their husbands, uphold and sustain them in their priesthood duties, and be loyal and true to the calls that come to them from the priesthood of God.
SUPPORT OF WIVES
Occasionally when attending stake conferences, and members of the stake presidency and other local brethren are speaking. I indulge in this practice-I look over the audience and try to pick out the wives of the men who are speaking. I like to look into their faces as their husbands are up bearing their testimonies and preaching the gospel.
Sometimes you will find a wife who puts her head down as if she felt sorry for the poor man. But more often you will find the type of support which brings her to look squarely at him, and you can just feel and see in her face that she is praying for him, that she has faith in him, that she wants him to succeed. In such cases it is likely that before they came to the meeting, they knelt together in family prayer, and if she were called upon to lead in that prayer she invoked God's blessings upon her husband, in the event he would be called upon in the conference.
It is a glorious thing to have that kind of support. I am grateful for it beyond my power of expression. I am thankful that in my home I have that loyalty-not only prayer, but fasting whenever there is any great responsibility pending.
God help us, my brethren and sisters, to support one another. May we support our bishops in the wards in which we live and express our gratitude for their leadership. Let them know that we love them and that we sustain them. Give the same support to our Relief Society workers, teachers in the other auxiliary organizations, and in the priesthood quorums. Let us support one another.
RESOLUTION TO HEED COUNSEL
May we go from this conference with a resolve in our hearts to heed the counsel which has been given, my brethren and sisters. If we do so, we have nothing to fear, no matter what the conditions of the world might be, for the God of heaven has given us his word that it is his purpose to provide for his Saints. He has said of his servants, "They shall go forth and none shall stay them, for I the Lord have commanded them". In the early days of the Church, yea, even a year before the Church was organized when there was only a handful of followers of the Prophet Joseph, the Lord said this.
Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail... perform with soberness the work which I have commanded you. Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.
God bless us that we may go forward without doubt and without fear, but with resolute hearts to live the gospel of Jesus Christ, and that we may heed the counsel that has been given in this glorious conference, because I testify to you that it has come from servants of God under the inspiration of heaven.
This is God's work, my brethren and sisters. God the Father and the Son did appear to the Boy Prophet in the Sacred Grove. I know that to be true as I know that I live. God lives. Jesus is the Christ. Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God. These men whom you have sustained as the Presidency of the Church and the other General Authorities are also men endowed with the same authority and with the same power to bear off the kingdom. God help us to support them and to sustain them in their leadership, and to go forward united as a people, supporting one another, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, October 1951, pp. 157-161
My brethren and sisters, the time draws near for the closing of this, the one hundred and twenty second semi-annual conference of the Church.
APPRECIATION EXPRESSED
Whenever we receive a favor or a gift, the least we can do is to express appreciation by saying "thank you." Very often those words seem very feeble in expressing the feeling we have of a favor bestowed.
In your behalf I should like to say "thank you" to groups, perhaps some individuals, who have conferred favors upon us since last Friday morning. I hesitate about naming persons, because undoubtedly in so doing we may miss others who equally merit our appreciation.
First, I wish again to express appreciation of the service rendered by our Singing Mothers. Just their presence, I repeat, was an inspiration. I wish to commend Sister Madsen upon her ability to train that choral group so ably in attack, expression, interpretation, and those mothers for having taken the time to practice in their various wards and at least once or twice as a group. The Lord bless them for the service they rendered in this conference!
I wish to mention also in appreciation the men's chorus of the Tabernacle choir under the leadership of J. Spencer Cornwall, for the inspirational numbers they gave us last evening in that memorable priesthood meeting.
And of course, we must not close the conference without expressing appreciation to the Tabernacle choir, its leader, assistant, to the organists, and to every member. That singing group has attained, through merit, outstanding recognition as one of the great choral organizations of the world. They merit the gratitude of all members of this Church. I do not know of another choir in the world that gives so much time and means, financially, in their service, as the members of this choral group. In your behalf, I thank them with all our hearts for their unselfish devotion and continual attention to this great duty.
I wish to express appreciation to KSL and the specialists who have given us such efficient service, and to the other stations in this state and surrounding states, that have graciously given us of their time. On one or two occasions, as you know, we have run overtime, but this red signal has continued, undoubtedly at great financial cost. We thank these stations, one and all.
I should like to say a word of appreciation to the ushers in the Tabernacle, to the caretakers on the Tabernacle block and on the Church Office grounds-ushers and laborers under the direction of Irvin T. Nelson, Brother Marble, and other able overseers. You do not see them at work, as some of us do, but you see the results of their labors in these beautiful grounds, and if you would happen to be at the Church Office some morning before seven o'clock, you would see one of these brethren already at work, and if you were to say to him, "Well, you are early," he would say, "Yes, I always come early because I want all this lawn to be well sprinkled before the brethren come to their offices."
TRUE NOBILITY
To them and to all faithful workers I should like to repeat in appreciation one of the two choicest poems that Edgar A. Guest has written:
"Who does his task from day to day And meets whatever comes his way, Believing God has willed it so, Has found true greatness here below.
"Who guards his post, no matter where Believing God must need him there, Although but lowly toil it be Has risen to nobility.
"For great and low there's but one test: 'Tis that each man shall do his best. Who works with all the strength he can Shall never die in debt to man.
-"True Nobility," Edgar A. Guest
The Lord bless these workers, one and all!
I wish to express appreciation to the presidencies of priesthood quorums, and especially to the bishops who have come to this conference with groups of their lesser priesthood. I mentioned one case last evening. At the conclusion of that priesthood meeting, a bishop met us with two of his quorums of deacons. I commend that fellowship.
On our way home today Sister McKay commented upon the number of young people in attendance at conference, and I said, "That is a good sign." If we can get some of the boys under the influence of the bishoprics, boys who perhaps have unfortunately come from broken homes, or more unfortunately, homes in which God does not dwell, we shall save souls here at home equally as precious as those whom we are seeking out in the world. Continue in that good work.
We express appreciation also to the sisters and to all who are laboring in the auxiliaries-in the Relief Society, the Sunday School, the Young Men's and Young Women's Mutual Improvement Association, and in the Primary. Time will not permit to elaborate, but these general boards and stake boards and the officers and teachers on the firing line are rendering to you parents and to the Church generally a wonderful service. God will reward them.
EXPERIENCE OF PAUL
In conclusion, may I call attention to the experience that Paul had just as he neared Damascus with papers in his pocket to arrest all who believed in Jesus Christ. A light suddenly shone about him, and he heard a voice saying, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?"
And he said, "Who art thou, Lord?"
The answer came, "I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks."
Saul said, "What wilt thou have me do?"
The voice answered, "Go into the city, and it will be told thee what thou must do".
There are two elements in that incident, commenting briefly upon which I will close my remarks. The first is that the Savior recognized his authority on earth. He could, in a few words, have told Saul what he should do, but there was a branch of the Church in Damascus, presided over by a humble man named Ananias, and Jesus recognized that authority. He knew Saul's nature. He knew that in the future it would be difficult for him to recognize the authority of the Church, as instances later proved.
He said, "Go into the city, and there it will be told thee what thou must do," and Saul had to receive from the very man whom he was going to arrest instructions regarding the gospel of Jesus Christ.
There is a lesson for us all in this Church. Let us, too, recognize the local authority. The bishop may be a humble man. Some of you may think you are superior to him, but he is given authority direct from our Father in heaven. Recognize it. Seek his advice, the advice of your stake presidents. If they cannot answer your difficulties or your problems, they will write to others, the General Authorities, and get the advice needed. Recognition of authority is an important principle.
DIVINE INTEREST IN CHURCH
The other element in that incident to Paul near Damascus is the great fact that Jesus, our Lord, is interested in his Church, and in the members. As he was interested then, so he is interested today.
I like to feel that he is watching over us, that he is grieved when we do not comply with the ideals and the standards he has given us in the gospel. He was grieved with Saul, a chosen servant, who was going about blindly to destroy the Church. He is delighted when he finds the brethren whom he has appointed doing their duty and trying to live clean, upright lives, living in accordance with the standards of the gospel.
I like to feel that his servants whom he has chosen in this dispensation are also interested and I hope that President George Albert Smith, who was with us not long ago, is pleased with what we have done during the last six months. I am sure he is pleased with the setting apart of the temple site in Los Angeles because I know that was an enterprise that was dear to his heart.
I like to feel that President Heber J. Grant is near us, ready to help, especially pleased to see that the Church is growing. And President Joseph F. Smith, President Lorenzo Snow, President Wilford Woodruff-those men, I have met-President Woodruff, in our home, closely associated with President Smith, and as you know, with President Grant and President George Albert Smith.
I like to think that President John Taylor is equally interested, also President Young, and especially the Prophet Joseph. The work over on the other side is real, and the curtain sometimes between us and them is very thin. I hope the Lord will help us to go forward as these, his former representatives, would like us to go forward, that we shall always realize, as has been said once or twice in this conference, that this is the Church of Jesus Christ, who is our head.
Now let us go back to our homes with that testimony.
IMPORTANCE OF THE HOME
Among the many great messages that we have received I should just like to emphasize two: One, of course, is the home. Thirteen thousand men of the priesthood were here last night. Every one should go back to his home and look around and see wherein he can make it more ideally a Latter-day Saint home.
One day a young son, just married, invited his father to visit him and his bride in their new home. The young son took the father from room to room and showed him the furnishings, the paintings on the walls and so forth, and the father said, "This is lovely. I congratulate you, but, son, I have looked in vain for anything that indicates that you have a place here for God."
In writing about it later, the young man said, "I went through the rooms later, and I found that Father was right."
Let us go back to our homes and see whether the spirit of our homes is such that if an angel called, he would be pleased to remain.
PRIESTHOOD ACTIVITY
The other great message is for the priesthood quorums to be more active, to reach out and get the indifferent, approaching them personally, and, as has already been said, "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".
The Prophet Joseph Smith could not have written that of his own wisdom. That is one of the great flashes of inspiration that prove his divinity.
LOYALTY TO COUNTRY
Finally, let us be true to our country and to our country's ideals. Nearly three thousand years ago an ancient prophet said that this is a land choice above all other lands, and it is, and the government of the United States as given to us by our fathers is the real government under which individuals may exercise free agency, individual initiative.
Oh, let us oppose any subversive influence that would deprive us of our individual freedom or make this government a dictator instead of a servant to the people.
Time is up. In conclusion I repeat the words of the Lord, "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".
God help us all, that we may live more nearly to the ideals of our Savior as revealed in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, I pray in the name of the Redeemer. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1952, pp. 11-16
It is truly a joy to meet with you, my brethren and sisters. Another six months have passed since the Church met in general conference. How the time flies! There is an old hymn, now unpublished, which could be sung appropriately:
How swift the months have passed away, 'Tis conference again. And Zion's untold thousands come To swell the joyful strain.
A seat occupied six months ago is vacant this morning-a voice valiant and vigorous then in defense of the restored gospel is silent today. We miss Dr. Joseph F. Merrill, member of the Council of the Twelve, and make loving reference to his noble character and distinguished service.
And now, my dear fellow workers, it is with mingled feelings of gratitude, satisfaction, and apprehension that I greet members of the Church assembled in this opening session of the 122nd Annual Conference.
GRATITUDE
We are grateful for the blessings of the Lord to his Church in all the world, and for the assurance of his divine guidance and inspiration. With deep gratitude we acknowledge in your presence, his nearness and his goodness; and in that spirit of prayerful appreciation proclaim that our souls respond in harmony with the spirit of a glorious vision given to the Prophet Joseph Smith: "Hear, O ye heavens, and give ear, O earth, and rejoice ye inhabitants thereof, for the Lord is God, and beside him there is no savior.
"Great is his wisdom, marvelous are his ways, and the extent of his doings none can find out.
"His purposes fail not, neither are there any who can stay his hand.
"From eternity to eternity he is the same, and his years never fail".
ENCOURAGEMENT JUSTIFIED
It is a source of real encouragement to contemplate the loyalty and energetic efforts of the priesthood of the Church including of course the General Authorities, stake and ward officers, presidencies of missions, missionaries, officers, and members of branches throughout the world. I believe I can say in truth that the standard of efficiency in missions and in organized stakes has never been so high. A hasty glance at what quorums and auxiliaries have achieved during the past year will confirm this.
FIRST: QUORUMS OF THE PRIESTHOOD
According to reports that have been received, the Melchizedek Priesthood of the Church is showing an increase in the number who pay a full tithing, who observe the Sabbath day, who attend sacrament meetings, and who hold regular family prayers.
There has also been an increase in the average attendance at weekly priesthood meetings. In a five-year period the following increase is shown:
1947 1951 High Priests 46% 48% Seventies 39% 44% Elders 18% 20%
In participation in all phases of the Church program, the following marked increase is shown in the same five-year period:
1947 1951 High Priests 67% 91% Seventies 54% 89% Elders 31% 70%
SECOND: RELIEF SOCIETY
A memorandum from Sister Belle S. Spafford, president of the Relief Society indicates that there has been an increase in membership in that organization of from 126,550 in 1950 to 132,451 in 1951, or an increase of 5,901.
Teachers have made 2,055,803 visits-an increase of 145,141 over last year.
Visits to sick and homebound-193,558, or an increase of 11,200 over last year.
Choruses of the Relief Society Singing Mothers are increasing, thus furnishing the sisters with an opportunity for spiritual expression through choral singing.
THIRD: SUNDAY SCHOOL
The general board of the Deseret Sunday School Union has been emphasizing during the year 1951 the importance of proper spiritual teaching in our Sunday Schools. As a result there has been a notable increase in teacher training classes and enrolled teacher trainees over the previous year.
Reports indicate an increase of 67% in the number of classes held, and an increase of 13% in number of trainees. Better order and more reverence in opening exercises and in class work has been a most commendable aim.
Enlistment, or Sunday School missionary work, has been stressed. There has been an increase of 12% in the enrolment. The average attendance at Sunday Schools has increased 13%. It is estimated that about one-third of the entire membership of the Church now participate in Sunday School.
FOURTH: Y.M.M.I.A.
In the 183 stakes, 10 missions reporting, including 1,638 wards and branches, the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association reports a total membership of 104,383, with an average attendance of 53%.
In participation in joint Y.M. and Y.W.M.I.A. stake recreational activities there has been an increase. Departments averaged an increase of 20% to 50%, the greatest increase coming in the M Men-Gleaner and Scout-Beehive Departments.
The general board of Y.M.M.I.A. is endeavoring to have every boy in the ward attend M.I.A. regularly, with a result that the enrolment has grown from 81,253 four years ago to 104,383 this last year.
FIFTH: Y.W.M.I.A.
The Young Women's Mutual Improvement Association had an enrolment in 1951 of 110,095 as compared with 105,309 the previous year.
In December 1949, there was an all-over Church average for the girls 12 to 19 years of age of 48% attendance at sacrament meetings. This is a very commendable feature. Also 61% attended Sunday School, and 59% M.I.A. In December 1951, the average had increased to 53% at sacrament meetings; 63% at Sunday School; and 64% at M.I.A. This substantial increase shows a great spiritual growth, for it means that our girls are attending more Church meetings and hence gaining a greater knowledge of the gospel.
SIXTH: PRIMARY ASSOCIATION
Last year marked the completion of the Primary Children's Hospital, the dedicatory service having been held on March 2 of this year.
A most commendable project for 1951-52 stressed four phases of reverence for boys and girls. I will read those:
1. We will act as we should in our Heavenly Father's house. 2. We will greet our friends quietly. 3. We will not take the name of the Lord in vain. 4. We will respect those chosen by our Heavenly Father to lead us.
Another very commendable feature is the "Kindness to Animals Club" being sponsored by The Children's Friend. I commend that to your attention, especially when we sense the reports that we have had recently regarding some sadist young boys who have been going around with "22's" shooting, just for mere sport, the starving deer.
GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY
In 1951 there were 31,726 persons who undertook research through the books of the library, and approximately 13,000 individuals who used the records in the Archives Department. At the close of 1951 there were sixteen million cards in the Index Bureau files. The records of two hundred thousand separate family units were examined at the Index Bureau.
A total of between twenty-five and thirty million pages of records were placed in the files of the microfilm library during the year 1951, and a total of 2,334,058 lineal feet of film were developed in the laboratory in Salt Lake City during 1951.
These are just a few highlights giving cause for satisfaction. There is a general response, as the figures and reports indicate, on the part of the people of the Church everywhere. The responsibilities they carry, the undertakings that they adopt and employ to raise 50% of the cost of their houses of worship are most remarkable.
I think I will give you an instance. Last February a meeting of all the presidents of the stakes of southern California was held. President Waite and his associates and the committee presented to those brethren a suggested plan whereby the stakes and wards of that region might raise a million dollars to assist in the construction of the Los Angeles Temple. Three weeks later, as the First Presidency sat at the table in their regular daily meeting, they read a telegram that came that morning from President Russon of the Los Angeles Stake, stating "We have already canvassed the wards in our stake, and they have subscribed 256% of their quota." And while we were reading that, the telephone rang and President Waite of the South Los Angeles Stake at the other end said, "I thought you would like to know that the Los Angeles Stake has gone over the top 256%. We were a week later starting our canvass in the South Los Angeles Stake, so we have reached only 10% of the people, but we have 90% of the quota subscribed from the 10%." Last evening the presidents from those stakes met with the First Presidency and reported $1,666,000.00 subscribed, and more subscriptions coming in.
Now that is indicative of the spirit that animates the members of the Church in their efforts to further the interest of establishing the kingdom of God. Well, we commend you and bless you, and God will bless you.
CAUSES OF APPREHENSION
But now, brethren and sisters, we have cause for apprehension. I refer to the efforts to deprive man of his free agency-to steal from the individual his liberty.
Next to life itself free agency is the greatest gift of God to man.
The two most important documents affecting the destiny of America are the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. Both these immortal papers relate primarily to the freedom of the individual.
Founded upon that principle of free enterprise fostered by these documents, the United States of America in less than two centuries has achieved a greatness that exceeds that of any other country in the world.
The deep concern of every loyal citizen regarding this threatened loss of our freedom has been well expressed by a Mr. Fred G. Clark, Chairman of the American Economic Foundation, wherein he expresses the fear that the code of the people is replacing the code of God. Here are his own words. I shall tell you when I end the quotation: "The American giant towers over the world in its physical strength greater than that of all the rest of the nations put together.
"But something is wrong with America.
"At this high moment of history when the task of world leadership has been thrust upon us, we stand confused, reluctant, hesitant, and ineffectual.
"We are no longer certain what we stand for, and this, I believe, is because we have forgotten the circumstances surrounding the birth of our nation...
"For decades it has been popular in America for the cynical intellectuals to sneer and scoff at what we call the traditions of Americanism.
"The instruments of this sabotage were words and thoughts-plausible half-truths, sly appeals to that spark of larceny that lurks in every human heart, subtle suggestions of an atheistic nature, and the careful nurturing of a patronizing attitude toward everything America has held to be fine and sacred.
"The people who planted these words and thoughts may have been either stupid or vicious, fools or foreign agents, smart-alecs, or smart organizers.
"What they were does not now matter: the thing that does matter is to counteract what they have done.
"Everybody in every position of leadership has to get into this act because the damage has affected every phase of our life.
"The places in which this sabotage occurred were the schools, the churches, the communist-dominated labor halls, the lecture platforms, the motion pictures, the stage, the pages of our newspapers and magazines, and the radio. Every means of communication has been utilized against us...
"The man who has a plan-a way of life-in which he believes, has mental security.
"To destroy this security, one must destroy that man's faith in his plan.
"Reliance on a code of life which, if held in common with one's fellow men, brings peace of mind, develops the abilities of the group...
"The degree to which the American code of life has been weakened can best be demonstrated by simply calling attention to the degree to which the foundation of that code has been weakened.
"Many people become self-conscious when discussing this foundation: I am not one of those people.
"That foundation is made up of the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule.
"Within this moral code, we have a complete way of life.
"Acceptance of these precepts takes care of every phase of human life-spiritual, political, social, and economic...
"America was a nation of people who had faith in their political and economic systems because they had faith in God and had built those systems around the teachings of God.
"Every collectivist from Karl Marx to Stalin has agreed that faith in God must be destroyed before socialism can take over.
"Therefore, it was obvious that the problem of sabotaging America's faith in America was the problem of transferring the people's faith in God to faith in the State.
"That thing called morality in politics, business, and private contracts, had to be broken down.
"To an increasing extent the people have come to look upon morality as an old-fashioned superstition.
"Religion has for many church members become a safe way of dying rather than a good way of living."
I commend his entire speech, from which I have taken these extracts.
Add to this threatening upset in national standards the increasing tendency to abandon ideals that constitute the foundation of the American home, and you will agree with me that there is cause for apprehension.
Now what shall we do about it? That concerns us.
When Paul was a prisoner in Rome, he sent a letter to Timothy, saying in substance:
"Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
"And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables".
It is as important today as when Paul wrote that farewell message to Timothy that officers and teachers in the Church "preach the word; be instant-that is, eager, earnest-in season and out of season."
Today, in the midst of the world's perplexity, there should be no question in the mind of any true Latter-day Saint as to what we shall preach. The answer is as clear as the noonday sun in a cloudless sky.
In the year 1830, there was given to the people of this land and of the world, a divine plan whereby individuals can find security and peace of mind and live in harmonious accord with their fellow beings. In all man's theories and experiments since history began, human intelligence has never devised a system which, when applied to the needs of humanity, can even approach this plan in effectiveness.
In simple words, then, this is the Word which we should preach-the gospel plan of salvation.
FAITH IN GOD
The founders of this great republic had faith in the economic and political welfare of this country because they had faith in God. Today it is not uncommon to note an apologetic attitude on the part of men when they refer to the need of God governing in the affairs of men. Indeed, as has already been said, the success of communism depends largely upon the substitution of the belief in God by belief in the supremacy of the state.
Preach in season and out of season belief in God the Eternal Father, in his Son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
Bear witness that "God and the unseen world," to quote a leading thinker, "are not mere objects of surmise... Religion standing on the known experience of the race makes one bold and glorious affirmation. She asserts that this power that makes for truth, for beauty, and for goodness is not less personal than we. This leap of faith is justified because God cannot be less than the greatest of his works... When, therefore, we call God personal we have interpreted him by the loftiest symbol we have. He may be infinitely more. He cannot be less. When we call God a spirit, we use the clearest lens we have to look at the infinite."
Second: Latter-day Saints proclaim that fundamental in this gospel plan is the sacredness of the individual, that God's work and glory is "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man".
Under this concept, it is a great imposition, if indeed not a crime, for any government, any labor union, or any other organization to deny a man the right to speak, to worship, and to work.
Third: Preach that the plan involves the belief that governments were instituted of God for the benefit of man. Man was not born for the benefit of the state. Preach that no government can exist in peace, and I quote from the Doctrine and Covenants, 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".
Fourth: Preach the sacredness of family ties-the perpetuation of the family as the cornerstone of society.
Fifth: Proclaim the necessity of honesty and loyalty, doing an honest day's work for an honest day's pay. Preach that honesty in government is essential to the perpetuation and stability of our government as it is necessary to the stability of character in the individual. "We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men... If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report, or praiseworthy, we seek after these things".
To summarize: Let us be instant in season, and out of season, declaring that a kind and loving Heavenly Father is as ready and eager today as ever to bless and to guide all his children who will sincerely seek him, and I bear you witness to that truth.
Proclaim that his Beloved Son, the Redeemer and Savior of mankind, stands at the head of his Church that bears his name-that he guides and inspires those who are authorized to represent him here on earth-authorized by the priesthood when heavenly messengers bestowed upon the Prophet Joseph Smith and others associated with him divine authority.
Preach that the responsibility of declaring this plan of life, this way of life, this plan of salvation rests upon the entire membership of the Church but most particularly upon those who have been ordained to the priesthood and who have been called as leaders and servants of the people.
To them today, as Paul said to Timothy, we give the admonition:
"Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine".
In Zion let God's name be praised Who has a feast prepared, The glorious gospel standard raised The ancient faith restored. Swift heralds, the glad news to bear O'er land and ocean fly; And to the wondering world disclose The message from on high.
God give us power to fulfil this destiny of the Church, and to perform our duties, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop Thorpe B. Isaacson
Thorpe B. Isaacson, Conference Report, April 1952, pp. 16-20
President McKay, President Richards, President Clark, my dear brothers and sisters, and friends:
This is always a very difficult assignment for me, one which nearly overwhelms me, and I do feel very weak and very humble today. Personally, I am very grateful for the beautiful prayer that was offered at the beginning of the conference. Prayers always give one needed strength. Yes, "Prayer is the soul's sincere desire, uttered or unexpressed." Surely today, prayer is my soul's sincere desire.
We have all been greatly touched, blessed, and inspired by the words of the President of the Church, President David O. McKay, a prophet of the true and Living God.
The Spirit of the Lord will be at this conference in rich and great abundance if the thousands who assemble here can come with their hearts turned toward our Father in heaven.
Yesterday, in a meeting in the temple of the General Authorities of the Church, there was in evidence a beautiful and great spirit, one that I question whether anyone can absolutely and accurately describe or explain. It was the spirit of peace and love and harmony and unity. Yes, that was the spirit of our Father in heaven.
I know that there is great love and harmony and unity among the brethren of the General Authorities of the Church. No one should ever infer that there is any lack of unity or harmony or love or brotherhood in the Church. I only wish that all of us, one to another, could exhibit the same friendly love and unity that we saw in existence and that we experienced yesterday.
There is no place in the Church for lack of harmony, or lack of unity; there is no room for criticism in the Church. You may not agree with what individuals do or say, and none of us professes to be perfect. We shall be grateful to you if you will come to us and tell us of our shortcomings. But I am sure that you should not criticize those who serve in your bishoprics and stake presidencies, your auxiliaries and your quorum offices. I remember a statement that my little old grandfather once made to me, and I shall always try to remember it, when he said, "It does not take much brains to criticize." I am sure if we shall only stop to think of that, we will be more careful when we exhibit any degree of disunity.
I confess that I have humbly prayed to the Lord to forgive me for my shortcomings and imperfections. I have prayed to him daily to help me when my call should come to stand before you. I prayed, first, because I believe in prayer, and second, because I need the blessings of the Lord as one of the weakest among you.
The beautiful music today has caused us to put ourselves in tune with the spirit of the Lord, that we could come here and be truly strengthened and built up in our faith. Yes, faith in God is a requisite for the salvation of each of us. Oh, Israel, trust thou in the Lord, he is thy help and thy shield! A testimony of Jesus Christ should be the desire of every individual here. It may be necessary for each of us to make a right about change in our own life and turn our energy and our thoughts and our ambitions to our Heavenly Father. It may be necessary for a national crusade so that we can turn back to God, our Father; this may be an immediate essential, because of our apparent drifting, as individuals and as a nation, away from the teachings of our Father in heaven.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of great wisdom. A good understanding have all they that do keep the commandments of God. Faith in God, our Eternal Father, and in his Son, Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of the world, the Savior of mankind, is essential to every one of us if we are to have happiness and partake of the blessings of the Lord.
It has been an inspiration to me to travel around the Church and throughout the wards and stakes and see these beautiful new meetinghouses being built and to see the enthusiasm and the contribution of the members of the Church. The Lord has truly blessed us.
Sometime ago I was in a ward, and I met the bishopric and their wives. It was not a large ward nor a rich ward. The people were trying to raise their portion to build a meetinghouse. They were having some difficulty. But a member of the bishopric told us that he and his wife decided to kill one of their cows. They did not have many; they were not in the dairy business; but they killed one of their choicest cows and had it slaughtered and the meat cut up. They made that meat into sandwiches and sold those sandwiches at basketball games and other functions to raise money so they could build a meetinghouse where they could assemble and renew their covenants with the Lord and worship God, their Eternal Father, according to the dictates of their own consciences.
I heard a man bear testimony recently of a time when he had been out on strike for two or three months he was not a rich man; he had a large family; and his savings were nearly all gone. He did not have a job. One Sunday afternoon two of the brethren of his ward came to his house, since they were trying to finish their meetinghouse, and they said to him, "We are here to collect money to help finish our meetinghouse." They did not know his circumstances, and they said, "Your assessment is forty dollars."
He smiled, went in the bedroom pulled out a drawer, and there was forty dollars, his last forty dollars. He looked at it and wondered if he should go back in and tell the brethren that he would pay half of it now, or if he should go back and beg off and tell them that he would pay part of it later; but then the thought came to him that he and his family had been blessed abundantly, and he took the forty dollars, buckled up his belt, went out into the room smiling, and said to the two brethren, "Here, I am glad to give you my assessment of forty dollars."
They gave him a receipt, not knowing the sacrifice that he had made, and bade him good-bye. Of course, he wondered how he was going to meet his current bills, but he is a man who prays diligently. And, of course, that night, in his family prayer, he asked the Lord to open up the way where material things could come to him, so that he could provide for his family. He testified that the next morning before breakfast a stranger knocked at his door and introduced himself to him. They had never heard of each other nor met before, he said, but this man introduced himself and said, "I have learned that you are a mechanic. Can you operate one of our machines?" He said he thought he could. Then the stranger said, "We would like to employ you; we need such a man as you. The job isn't in this community, but we will have our company vans move you to the adjoining community where we need your services. We will furnish you with a modern house."
He was so anxious for that job that he hardly knew how to answer him. But he put him off for a moment and said, "Let me go into the kitchen and ask my wife how she feels." He went in there and told his wife of the visit of this gentleman who, by the way, was not a member of the Church.
He rushed back to the man and said, "Yes, we will consider that position. Would you mind telling us the salary?"
The man said, "No, I hesitated doing that because I wanted to know if you would really like the job."
He said, "Yes, we would like it very much."
And the stranger then told him the salary, it was twice as much, nearly, as he had ever been able to make before in his life.
He accepted the position; they shook hands; and the man said, "We will make that retroactive to the beginning of the year."
Well, some people may call that a coincidence but not that good brother. That was the blessing of the Lord that came to him because of his faithfulness.
These beautiful new meetinghouses will be a power of strength to the membership of the Church. There are no such things as great sacrifices in this Church. There may be great responsibilities, but with them come great blessings. These meetinghouses will be a great value to you and your children, if you will only go there and partake of the sacrament. Sometimes I wonder if our people really understand and appreciate the value of the sacrament. Some of our wards are satisfied with 20% and 25% attendance at sacrament meeting. With these new, beautiful meetinghouses, we ought not to be satisfied with less than 50% attendance at sacrament meetings.
Oh, parents, if we would only take our children and go to sacrament meeting! If there were nothing else there but the singing of those hymns, and the prayer, and the beautiful administration of the sacrament, we would be abundantly blessed and strengthened, if we would assemble in the house of the Lord on his holy day and partake of the sacrament and renew our covenants with the Lord.
And when we partake of the sacrament, we make three covenants with the Lord: First, we covenant with the Lord that we will take upon us the name of his Son, Jesus Christ. And it means that we will endeavor by our works and our deeds to be in accord with him, whose name we have taken upon us. Second, we make a covenant that we will remember him, Christ, the Savior of the world, who died that we might live; to call to our mind the sacrifice and the suffering, that we remember his body, and that we remember his blood that was shed for us, that we might have eternal life and the remission of our sins. And then we covenant, and we promise that we will keep the commandments of God, our Eternal Father.
Oh, if we could only accept the blessings of the sacrament and partake of it regularly, filling those meetings to overflowing, I believe we would do better. I think we would be more blessed. I think we could overcome our shortcomings more successfully than where we stay away weeks and weeks without the sacrament. Every Latter-day Saint should assemble there on the holy day and take his children there for the sacrament.
Recently I read a statement by the American Legion and its auxiliary, and I thought it was a very worthy aim:
"Finding their way back to Almighty God and his ideals," and an aim to "attend Church, not only today, but every Sabbath day."
"Yes, parents, it would be well if we would not let a Sunday go by unless we assemble in our houses of worship which have been dedicated to the Lord, and there renew our covenants with our Father in heaven."
Oh, we may have to change our attitude a little bit about the Sabbath day, and really keep it holy. We may have to read those beautiful prayers again. If we would only read them and follow the prayer in our sacrament meeting, I am sure we would be glad and grateful that we have been in attendance.
I hope, fathers, that we can be close to our sons, yes, that we can help them increase their faith, that their testimonies may be strong. There are some today who would shake the faith of a boy or girl. There are some who would tend to destroy, perhaps innocently, but there are those who profess to know more than the boy who has faith, and therefore, as fathers and mothers, we should be close to our sons, so that no one will get an opportunity to shock their faith.
A father just handed me a letter that he received from his son and I want to read it to you. He received it just before Christmas.
Thanksgiving is just over, Father and Christmas will soon be here, and it has turned my thoughts toward you and my home, but the thing that has been most in my mind is the gratitude that flows in my veins for the wonderful family that I have at home, and for the teachings that you have given me. Remember, Father when you and I worked side by side and while working, you were constantly giving me advice. I never said very much about the things you told me nor expressed my gratitude which I had for your companionship. I was more or less hoping that you could tell the way I felt by my actions and by my conversation. But I guess, Dad, my actions proved to you just the opposite sometimes. But now Father, I want you to know that all you have taught me and all that you have done for me have not been taken as just something you owed me. Quite the contrary, Father. I am so happy that you have given me the chance to enjoy the beauties of this world. I am grateful for the testimony that you have given me, and especially I am grateful for being able to come on this mission. This is one of the many things I will never be able to pay you for, Dad. I have never seen such a change come over a person as I saw in you when Mother passed away. But I am sure the change was not in you but in me. I found that you weren't the person I thought you were. You had seemed cross with me, sometimes, and I misunderstood it. I don't see now, how I could ever have thought any different of you, Father. I have a great love and affection for you, not only as my father, but as my companion. I guess I am going to have to get new glasses, Dad; I can't write this letter without my eyes getting full and blurry with tears.
Yes, boys will be grateful for the faith that we help them maintain, for the testimonies that they have. I want to bear you my testimony. I know that God lives. I know that he has heard and answered my prayers. I acknowledge his hand because without his help I could have done little or nothing. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I know that he went into the Sacred Grove, and I know that God and his Son appeared to him, and spoke to him, and I know he received heavenly messengers on many occasions. I know that President David O. McKay is a living prophet of God, a spiritual prophet. I know that these men are prophets, seers, and revelators, and servants of the true and Living God. I know that he inspires them and reveals his messages to them. Sometimes, I will admit, it is hard for us to be as humble as we might. We do have to make an adjustment in our lives, often, so that we can be in tune with our Father in heaven.
May God bless us that we may be grateful for our membership in this Church, that we may have his Spirit always to be with us, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, April 1952, pp. 20-24
I pray for the Spirit of the Lord to accompany my remarks. My brothers and sisters, my heart goes out to you who are attempting to live the commandments of the Lord. The "strength of the hills" is with you.
It is a great joy to me, and my heart is overflowing with gratitude, to shake your hands, to look into your smiling faces, and to feel your spirit.
We heard this morning that seventeen thousand newly converted people are today enjoying the blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ, are pointed in the right direction, and are on their way toward eternal life and exaltation. Ten thousand foreign and stake missionaries have been instrumental in bringing the message to them. These new members are here because these thousands have borne witness and testimony to them.
To all the millions of good, honorable people who live among us, we extend an invitation to investigate the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation and to exaltation. It is the pearl of greatest price. It is the most glorious, the most far-reaching, the most wonderful program in the world. It is not conceived by men, but is conceived by God, our Eternal Father.
Sometime ago a sister said to me "Why is it, Brother Kimball, that those who do the least in the building of the kingdom seem to prosper most? We drive a Ford; our neighbors drive a Cadillac. We observe the Sabbath and attend our meetings; they play golf, hunt, fish, and play. We abstain from the forbidden while they eat, drink, and are merry and are unrestrained. We pay much as tithing and for other Church donations; they have their entire large income to lavish upon themselves. We are tied home with our large family of small children, often ill; they are totally free for social life-to dine and to dance. We wear cottons and woolens, and I wear a three-season coat, but they wear silks and costly apparel, and she wears a mink coat. Our meager income is always strained and never seems adequate for necessities, while their wealth seems inexhaustible and wholly adequate for every luxury obtainable. And yet the Lord promises blessings to the faithful! It seems to me that it does not pay to live the gospel-that the proud and the covenant breakers are the ones who prosper."
Then I said to her: "As I remember, Job in his great distress made a statement which parallels yours."
But Job answered and said... Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power?
Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes.
Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them.
Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth and casteth not her calf.
They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance...
They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave.
Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.
What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have if we pray unto him?.
And the Prophet Jeremiah asked the same question:
Righteous art thou, O Lord, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?...
How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein?.
And again Malachi quotes the Lord as saying:
Your words have been stout against me saith the Lord. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee?
Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts?
And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up, yea they that tempt God are even delivered.
The parable of the wheat and tares is the Lord's answer:
... The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
And the interpretation of the parable given by the Lord himself makes clear that the books are not balanced daily but at the harvest-time. The time of reckoning is as sure as is the passage of time and the coming of eternity. All who live shall eventually stand before the bar of God to be judged according to their works. The final assignments will constitute rewards and punishments according to deserts. Read Malachi further:
Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.
And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.
For behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings....
The Lord admonishes his servants to remain faithful always and
Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come...
But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My Lord delayeth his coming;
And shall begin to smite his fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
And the Prophet Zephaniah interprets the way of the Lord:
And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil.
Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof.
The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.
That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness...
And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.
Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy.
Then I said to the disconsolate sister, "You have many blessings today. For many rewards you need not wait until the judgment day. You have your family of lovely children. What a rich reward for the so-called sacrifices! The great boon of motherhood is yours. With your limitations, a great peace can fill your soul. These and numerous other blessings which you enjoy cannot be purchased with all your neighbor's wealth."
Then I reminded her of the parable of the net and the fishes:
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:
Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.
So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,
And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
No one will escape the reward of his deeds. No one will fail to receive the blessings earned. Again the parable of the sheep and goats gives us assurance that there will be total justice.
When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
If we can walk now by faith, if we can believe in the rich promises of God, if we can obey and patiently wait, the Lord will fulfil all his rich promises to us:
... 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 blessings following righteousness are enjoyed both in mortality and in eternity. Hear the words of the Savior:
And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold and shall inherit everlasting life.
And ponder upon the great promises made for us even in this life:
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.
Extravagant rewards are offered. Blessings beyond one's understanding will come. The land will yield bounteously and peace shall abound. The unfaithful, proud, and wealthy can never enjoy the sweet savor of the rewards for fasting and dispensing to the poor:
Then shall thy light break forth as the morning and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward.
Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am...
... then shall thy light rise in obscurity and thy darkness be as the noon day:
And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
What more could one ask? The companionship of the Lord, light and knowledge, health and vigor, constant guidance by the Lord as an eternal never-failing spring. What more could one desire?
Again rich promises:
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. Amen.
Think of it! Knowledge-strength-physical vigor and immunity from the destroying angel! Remember also that here comes protection from that more deadly destruction:
And 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.
But the Lord knows the weakness of men, and he says in the 58th section of the Doctrine and Covenants:
I command and men obey not; I revoke and they receive not the blessing.
Then they say in their hearts: This is not the work of the Lord, for his promises are not fulfilled. But wo unto such, for their reward lurketh beneath, and not from above.
The Lord promises again:
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
Great shall be their reward and eternal shall be their glory.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
To those who live for tomorrow, the rewards are beyond their conception. And even though some of the blessings are for future enjoyment, is it not far better to enjoy the spiritual luxuries of tomorrow, which is an eternity, rather than to revel in the physical comforts of today?
Peace, joy, satisfaction, happiness, growth, contentment, all come with the righteous living of the commandments of God. The one who delights in all of the worldly luxuries of today, at the expense of spirituality, is living but for the moment. His day is coming. Retribution is sure.
The Lord gave us the impressive parable of the prodigal son. This squanderer lived but for today. He spent his life in riotous living. He disregarded the commandments of God. His inheritance was expendable, and he spent it. He was never to enjoy it again as it was irretrievably gone. No quantity of tears or regrets or remorse could bring it back. Even though his father forgave him and dined him and clothed him and kissed him, he could not give back to the profligate son that which had been dissipated. But the other brother who had been faithful, loyal, righteous, constant, retained his inheritance, and the father reassured him: "All that I have is thine".
When one realizes the vastness, the richness, the glory of that "all" which the Lord promises to bestow upon his faithful, it is worth all it costs in patience, faith, sacrifice, sweat and tears. The blessings of eternity contemplated in this "all" bring to men immortality and everlasting life, eternal growth, divine leadership, eternal increase, perfection, and with it all-Godhood.
May God bless us all that we may live his commandments more faithfully, more perfectly day by day, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Thomas E. McKay
Thomas E. McKay, Conference Report, April 1952, pp. 24-25
President McKay and Counselors, President Smith and other General Authorities, and brethren and sisters: Never before in my life have I felt so thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ, and for the testimony that I have that it is true-a great plan of life and salvation. I have felt very much impressed this morning with all that has been said, especially about the gospel, which is the great plan of life and salvation as revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith.
I have felt the nearness of our angel mother, especially during the time that President McKay was speaking. Her great faith and courage have had much to do with his being where he is today. When my father was called on a mission in 1881, it was just a few weeks after they had buried my two older sisters. It was a very hard blow for my father, since they were just at the age, eleven and nine, where they could be of much help to my mother; and my father was always very kind and considerate of her. It was difficult for Father to recover from this loss, and then this call came from Box B to go on a mission. It worried him. He could not eat or sleep. He loved my mother with all his heart, of course; and out of consideration for her and her condition, he finally decided that he would ask for a postponement of that mission call. He told Mother of this decision. She appreciated that love and consideration, of course; but she looked at him and said, "David, you go on that mission. You go now. The Lord wants you now, not a year from now, and he will take care of me." My father accepted the call.
Of course, it was a trial for him to leave, as he left on the nineteenth of April in the spring of 1881, and ten days later, on the 29th, my sister Annie was born. That made four of us-my brother, President McKay, seven years old; I was five; my sister Jeanette, three; and that sweet little darling baby, Annie, just born.
I am going to take time to refer to this incident in connection with the wonderful sermon that was delivered by President McKay this morning to illustrate how the great gospel plan operates.
In order to get a little ready cash to send to my father, my mother planned for that next winter. We were greatly blessed with good crops-more than the sheds would hold of the hay-so we stacked the surplus just outside of the stables. Instead of selling that hay, Mother decided to take a few cattle from others to feed, among them a big yoke of oxen, and the owners were to pay monthly. In that way she got the money to send to Father. My mother never did the chores. We hired a man. In fact she was very much frightened of the cattle, especially of these oxen. But she was a little worried. She was getting a good cash payment, and she wanted to see that they were taken care of. I remember one evening after the hired man had gone, she took us boys and slipped out to the barn to that stack of hay. We had a homemade hay puller of maple, and she would pull the hay out of that stack, and David O. would put it in his little arms and carry it into the oxen. He wasn't afraid. I was. I stood right by Mother, and I would pull out a little hay. After making about five or six trips feeding those oxen, he put a little extra in his arms about the sixth trip. He hurried in and then ran out and said, "Come on Mama, let's run now before they eat that."
Brethren and sisters, it was because of the decision of that angel mother that my father went on that mission, and went on it then, not a year from then that we are here today. That set the example.
In 1897 the test came again. There were four of us, those four that were the babies in 1881, were then at the university. We had borrowed money, of course, but we had it all planned. David O. and Jeanette had been there two years before, and Father sent us down to get acquainted before they graduated. They were to graduate and teach and help pay the debts, and keep my sister, that missionary baby girl, and myself in school. Just before school closed in June, another letter came from Box B. It was forwarded from Huntsville to Salt Lake City where we were living. The girls had already gone to school that morning. I was writing a composition. The doorbell rang and David O. answered. The mailman handed him the letter, and as he read I glanced up and saw that he was quite agitated. I said, "What is the matter? Is somebody sick at home?"
He threw the letter across the table in disgust and said, "Isn't that heck?" He used a stronger word.
He was deeply concerned for several days. The rest of us were a little worried. I know my parents were worried but they did not interfere; they did not write. But because of that angel mother who told my father to go on that mission, David O. did not turn that call down. God bless the memory of that angel mother.
God bless this gospel plan, that gives us so many opportunities. May we brethren and sisters, live in accordance with the gospel, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the plan of life and salvation, and from this time on resolve to "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you", I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, April 1952, pp. 26-28
I am very grateful for the meeting that was held this morning and for the good counsel that was given to the members of the Church. I pray that we will heed it and remember that we are living in a wicked world where men's hearts have turned from truth to untruth, from righteousness to wickedness; when men are unrighteously ambitious, seeking for power; when the liberties of the people are in danger. It behooves us as members of the Church to heed the counsels that are given by those who stand as our leaders under Jesus Christ.
I am grateful for the gospel, for all the privileges which are mine to give service, for the privilege that is mine to honor my Maker and be a true servant to our Master, the Savior and Redeemer of the world.
We are all aware that we are in imminent danger-danger because Satan rages in the hearts of the people. This has all been predicted, and the predictions are coming true. Antichrist is gaining power, and Satan has put into the hearts of the people-the majority of them-greed, and the desire to dominate and take advantage of those who are weak.
Our duty is to keep the commandments of the Lord, to walk uprightly, to defend every principle of truth, to sustain and uphold the Constitution of this great country, to remember the Declaration of Independence, for, as we heard this morning from our President, upon these principles our country was based. They stand at the foundation, the cornerstones of the liberty that our fathers fought for, and which brought to pass according to the word of the Lord, the redemption of this land by the shedding of blood.
There is no other course for us to take but the course of righteousness and truth. An ancient prophet on this continent said, "... the natural man is an enemy to God". The world today has become carnal, as much so now as in the beginning when Adam attempted to teach his children the principles of eternal truth, and Satan came among them and commanded them to believe it not.
And we read, "From that time forth man became carnal, sensual, and devilish".
Surely we see these indications prevalent in our own land and in foreign lands. Men have become carnal. They have become enemies to God. They are seeking for their own advancement and not for the advancement of the kingdom of God.
Let me call your attention to this fact which you, of course, all know that we are living in the last days, the days of trouble, days of wickedness, spoken of as days of wickedness several hundred years before the coming of Christ by Nephi, as it is recorded in the twenty-seventh chapter of Second Nephi.
But, behold, in the last days, or in the days of the Gentiles-yea, behold all the nations of the Gentiles and also the Jews both those who shall come upon this land and those who shall be upon other lands yea, even upon all the lands of the earth, behold, they will be drunken with iniquity and all manner of abominations.
And when that day shall come they shall be visited of the Lord of Hosts, with thunder and with earthquake, and with a great noise, and with storm, and with tempest and with the flame of devouring fire.
That was said many hundreds of years before the birth of Christ. We are living in the days of the Gentiles when this prediction was to be fulfilled. We see it being fulfilled, and we must remember, my good brethren and sisters, that members of the Church are not members of, and do not belong to the world.
In the wonderful prayer of our Redeemer, as recorded in the seventeenth chapter of John-I can hardly read this chapter without tears coming to my eyes-wherein our Lord, in praying to his Father in the tenderness of all his soul because he knew the hour had come for him to offer himself as a sacrifice, prayed for his disciples. In that prayer he said,
I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
If we are living the religion which the Lord has revealed and which we have received, we do not belong to the world. We should have no part in all its foolishness. We should not partake of its sins and its errors-errors of philosophy and errors of doctrine, errors in regard to government, or whatever those errors may be-we have no part in it.
The only part we have is the keeping of the commandments of God. That is all, being true to every covenant and every obligation that we have entered into and taken upon ourselves.
Brother Kimball in his remarks this morning spoke of a man who could not quite understand when he paid his tithing and kept the Word of Wisdom, was prayerful, and tried to be obedient to all the commandments the Lord had given him, and yet he had to struggle to make a living; while his neighbor violated the Sabbath day, I suppose he smoked and drank; he had what the world would call a good time, he paid no attention to the teachings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and yet he prospered.
You know, we have a great many members of the Church that ponder that over in their hearts and wonder why. Why this man seems to be blessed with all the good things of the earth-incidentally, many of the bad things that he thinks are good-and yet so many members of the Church are struggling, laboring diligently to try to make their way through the world.
The answer is a simple thing. If I sometimes, and once in a while I do, go to a football game or a baseball game or some other place of amusement, invariably I will be surrounded by men and women who are puffing on cigarettes or cigars or dirty pipes. It gets very annoying, and I get a little disturbed. I will turn to Sister Smith, and I will say something to her, and she will say, "Well, now, you know what you have taught me. You are in their world. This is their world." And that sort of brings me back to my senses. Yes, we are in their world, but we do not have to be of it.
So, as this is their world we are living in, they prosper, but, my good brethren and sisters, their world is coming to its end. It will not be many years. I can say that. I do not know how many years, but Elijah said when he bestowed his keys: "... by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near even at the doors". I am sure that over a hundred years later I can say that the end of this world is drawing to its end.
The day will come when we will not have this world. It will be changed. We will get a better world. We will get one that is righteous, because when Christ comes, he will cleanse the earth.
Read what is written in our scriptures. Read what he himself has said. When he comes, he will cleanse this earth from all its wickedness, and, speaking of the Church, he has said that he would send his angels and they would gather out of his kingdom, which is the Church, all things that offend. Then we are going to have a new earth, a new heaven. The earth will be renewed for a thousand years, and there shall be peace, and Christ, whose right it is, shall reign. Afterwards will come the death of the earth, its resurrection, its glorification, as the abode of the righteous or they who belong to the celestial kingdom, and they only shall dwell upon the face of it.
Let us be true and faithful, keep our covenants, be true to every obligation the Lord has given us. I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder S. Dilworth Young
S. Dilworth Young, Conference Report, April 1952, pp. 28-30
Many years ago I walked into Richards Ward of this city to hear President Charles W. Penrose deliver an address. I have not the least idea about what he intended to speak but I saw before us the text upon which he did speak. Someone had placed upon the rostrum for the benefit of those who, I suppose, needed it-the youngsters of Sunday School age-a sign which read, "Order is the First Law of Heaven."
I suspect that Brother Penrose was impatient for the preliminary exercises to be finished because immediately afterwards he took the floor and spent the whole evening explaining why order is not, but that obedience is, the first law of heaven. I cannot remember what he said. I do remember that this was the first time in my life that I had heard this principle explained thoroughly.
I recognize the fact that this Church is a Church of revealed principle. From the Lord come the revelations which establish the principles. I should like to bear my witness that there must be an interpreter for the Church of those principles.
If we had no revelator to do it for us, each man and each woman would interpret, explain, and take into his own life only that portion of each principle which he would wish for himself, and this people would be disunited and divergent in its views. I do thank my Lord that there sits on this stand a Prophet of the Lord, who, with his Counselors and the Twelve, are empowered to tell us how as a united body we are to explain and entertain the principles.
Now, the matter of having a principle explained is one thing, teaching its application is another thing, but getting obedience to it is a third thing. As I have gone through my life, I confess to you folk that I have never been coerced. The obedience I have chosen to render to the principles has been entirely my own, and completely voluntary. I have always been able to choose whether I would accept the interpretation of the Presidents of the Church or whether I would figure out my own interpretation. I have found that the interpretation of the Church has had safety for me. I have found myself wandering far astray when left to my own devices on things about which the prophet of the Lord has spoken.
I believe that all of the crises through which the Church has passed have been safely weathered by the application of the principle of obedience, voluntarily expressed. Even in the sharp days at Nauvoo when men did not know whither to turn or what to do, President Young did not tell the people they had to leave. If I remember history correctly, he is reported to have said to his people:
"I am going to cross the river and start west with my family and my teams. All those who wish to follow me, do so."
Well, the majority wished to follow him, and the majority did so. We have never heard what happened to those who did not come, except for a very few about whom the Church was vitally concerned. Those who came, who were obedient, did not live to see it, but their children's children are the faithful of today. And those who did not come, where are their children, may I ask? One never hears of them.
When the Church moved south at the coming of Johnston's Army, President Young again said: "I am going south. Those who want to come may come." Nearly all of them went with him, and at Provo when the crisis was over, he stood up on a wagon tongue and said to the people:
"I am going back to Salt Lake City. Those of you who care to follow may do so."
I have observed that never do the prophetic leaders tell the people what they must do but rather advise them what it is wise and expedient to do.
More recently, in our day, when the welfare program was announced, and the brethren from this pulpit explained to those assembled how they wanted to work it, from my position among the rank and file I heard a great deal from certain people who wanted to do it differently. They did not want to interpret it the way the brethren wanted to interpret it.
Where are they today? I do not know. They are not in positions of responsibility, certainly. Those who were willing to follow the lead voluntarily, with faith, believing that their leaders spoke with inspiration from Almighty God, are those in whom the responsibility is rested.
So I suppose it must always be. As we come to crisis after crisis, as the events of the world make changes necessary in policy, the leaders will speak, and those who are wise will give unquestioning obedience. I did not say unintelligent obedience. I said unquestioning obedience.
I should like to make an application of what I have been saying today. We have now come to a time, I see by the newspapers, when we are to have announced this evening, a missionary policy.
Now I confess to you people here that I do not know personally much more about that than you do. Suppose that the policy is not in harmony with what you had thought to be the direction in which it ought to go, suppose it to embody detail which I should like to see done some other way. Applying the principle of obedience to myself, I stand here now and say to you here assembled that it is my intention to follow, as nearly as the Lord will give me light, those plans and policies regarding missionary work that are to be announced by my file leaders.
I shall not want to improve on their ideas, but I shall give all my strength, and all my courage, and any talents with which the Lord may have blessed me, to doing what will be announced.
I think that we have come to a time now when we are going to see some changes. Times are ripe for changes. The world is changing. The Prophet Joseph Smith changed the missionary system two or three times in his own life. At one time he told the missionaries to go out two by two. Shortly after he told them they might now go one at a time and alone. Other changes have been made. I am for the changes.
May I close by reading you a verse of scripture which I think applies to me personally. Maybe you can apply it to yourselves. It was said by Samuel on an occasion which I think justified the saying.
... Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
There I stand. May we all do likewise, I humbly pray, in the name of Christ. Amen.
Elder George Q. Morris
George Q. Morris, Conference Report, April 1952, pp. 30-32
My dear brethren and sisters, I am very thankful for the privilege of being with you here today. I have thrilled with the spirit and instructions of this great conference.
Having now been released from missionary work, as has been explained, I wish to express my gratitude to my Father in heaven and to my brethren for the privilege I have had of laboring in the missionary field. I know of no work that gives greater joy and satisfaction.
The work has been progressing in the Eastern States Mission because of the faithfulness of the missionaries and the Saints who are there; to whom I pay tribute. More branches are being established; chapels are being erected; the Saints are increasing in their faith and in their understanding of the gospel, and in their devotion to it; and they are enjoying the fruits of the gospel-joy and happiness and peace. Their hearts are turned toward us here in this center in the west.
It has been a great privilege to labor with the young men and women who have been sent out as missionaries. It is one of the marvels of this Latter-day work to see them in action. They come quite inexperienced and untrained. They have lived the gospel as children and youths but have been engrossed with school and occupations, and other matters that have filled their lives; then they are suddenly sent into the field to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.
Many of them do not know just what it is. Many of them cannot quote you a scripture, but their hearts are right. Most of them have looked forward to a mission and are joyous in having come into the missionary field. Being there, they get down on their knees and get into the scriptures, and they become humble and contrite. The Lord takes hold of them, and in a few weeks they are preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, no other gospel. They are not taught of men. They are not sent out to be taught of men. They are sent out to be taught from on high the revealed word of God taught through the priesthood of God, and the Lord is close to them; and they grow in power and faith; and the gospel is preached-the gospel that the Lord Jesus Christ preached, that Peter, James, and John preached-the identical principles.
Its power is effective today. Men and women are being changed in their lives. After a short association with these young people, many of them drop habits that are harmful to them. They have found a new spirit, a new type of manhood and womanhood. A new power has come into their lives. They just do not at once realize what it is, but they grow in a knowledge of the truth, and they are converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then they enter into a new life. The Bible is a new book to them. Their homes are new homes to them. Relations with the family are new relations and the world is a new world.
The power of God unto the salvation of his children is here in the world today; and through the ministrations of these young men of the Church, in their humility and their faith, the heavens are opened; and the power of God is manifest for the healing of the sick as well as for the healing of sick souls and the giving of light to people in darkness.
I rejoice in their labors. The Lord has blessed and prospered them. I have been standing on the sidelines, but I have been made a partaker of their blessings, and I thank the Lord for it.
Now I am called to a new position. You know how humble I feel and how small I feel. We have a wonderful age retirement plan in this Church. I have never believed in arbitrary age retirement. We grow younger in this Church as we work in it, and the age retirement plan goes in reverse. The older we get and the longer we labor in the Church the more there is that we can do. There is no need for any person in this Church to have an empty mind, an empty hand, or an empty heart. God has provided that our lives may be full and rich as long as we live, and as we live the gospel, then our lives become glorious, and we enter into a fullness of life.
I thank the Lord for the gospel of Jesus Christ. With joy and gratitude I go into this new work, and meager as my services and ability may be, they will be given with all my heart. I love this cause. I have admiration and love for my brethren under whom I have been laboring, and with whom I have long been associated, more or less. I have loved them and appreciated them for the examples they have set me, for the teachings they have given me, for the kindness they have manifested towards me.
So, my brethren and sisters, I am happy to find myself in full accord with all that this Church is and all that it does. Its divine leader, Jesus Christ, is my leader and my Lord. Its leaders on this earth are my leaders. The principles of this Church are my principles. The objectives of this Church are my objectives. The welfare of this Church is my welfare.
I give myself to it with all my heart and pray that God may enable me to do some good in the sacred ministry unto which he has called me.
This is the Church of Jesus Christ, the Creator and the Redeemer of the world. The keys of the kingdom of God are here in our presence. These operate and will operate throughout all the world among all mankind, through the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood, which is always present when the Church of Jesus Christ is upon the earth. And when this power is not upon the earth and where this power does not exist among men, the Church of Jesus Christ does not exist.
Thank God for the great revelations-key revelations-that point the way for us and enlighten us and preserve us.
May God help us to be true and faithful, and devote ourselves with all our hearts to this work, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder John A. Widtsoe
John A. Widtsoe, Conference Report, April 1952, pp. 32-35
My dear brethren and sisters: It is good to be here. The ancient words of those who dwelt in the presence of the Savior are our words today.
Six months ago circumstances combined so that I was not here, and I have felt since a sense of loss, loss of the spiritual power, the spiritual support and elevation that come to all Latter-day Saints who attend Church gatherings in the name of the Lord, whether in general or stake or ward capacity.
With you, I have been thrilled to note that the Church of Jesus Christ is not standing still but, guided by heavenly forces, is growing and increasing and becoming mightier in the service of God's children here upon earth. With you, too, I enjoyed the spirit of the sermon of the man who has been called by God to preside over the Church. It is well for me, it is well for you and it is well for all in the world to listen to the chosen head of the Church as he speaks from time to time. Therein lies the path to safety.
Six months ago I was not here because, with the approval of the First Presidency, I had accepted an invitation from the Canadian government to assist in solving some of their problems relating to the reclamation of the dry lands of the Dominion. Canada is much like the United States, with two seaboards, one on the Atlantic and the other on the Pacific, with ample rainfall, and a dry section between, in the interior, such as we have here. The prairie provinces of Canada offer only scant and difficult living to those who attempt to cultivate them because of the lack of the plentiful rainfall on either coast. So the practice of irrigation has gradually grown in the province of Alberta, where many of our people live. It has been found that the enlivening power of water used in irrigation increases the crops many-fold and what is better, permits a close settlement, and in time the building of a state. There is water aplenty in the land of our neighbors to the north. Great streams filled with water to overflowing, usually, roll into the oceans on both sides of the Dominion, and the problem is how to use that water on the dry lands of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and other neighboring provinces, to build the Dominion of Canada, now great, into a greater country.
The commission to which I was appointed was given the responsibility of passing on one of the huge projects proposed by the country, one that will redeem and bring into cultivation nearly half a million acres of land and involve an expenditure running from $100,000,000 to $200,000,000. Sometime it has to be done, for these dry lands when irrigated offer future possibilities of happy homes for thousands of families, not to be overlooked in the process of statesmanship.
It has always been a curious thing to me, curious is not really the right word when I reflect upon the history of our own people, how we were led by the hand of God, as a people, and were brought over the deserts and over the mountains to be settled in this country. We did not know at that time, and the world did not know, that one-half or more of all the land surface of the earth lies under low rainfall. These vast stretches of land can be reclaimed only by the twin arts of dry farming and irrigation, best of all by irrigation for dry farming at its very best is only a minor practice to be followed by people who live near the cultivated areas. But our people came here and for the first time in the history of civilization demonstrated that a successful manner of community living might be built with the irrigation ditch. The Lord guiding us took us to a protected home, but not only that, he made us teachers of the world in these twin arts of successful soil conservation. In this state, from which we have spread over the west and are spreading over the world, has come the birth of modern irrigation. Most countries which lie in part under low rainfall have sent agents or representatives here to find out what we did and how we did it, and whether they can do it also. We have a worldwide reputation in reclaiming desert lands by the use of water. Our work has served humanity greatly. We have preached the everlasting truths of the gospel by thousands of missionaries, but we have also preached by our example here, before the great nations of the world, how their resources may be utilized more fully and more completely and how the needs of humanity may be more fully met.
It has never seemed to me a mere chance that the Lord brought us here. There seems to lie in that part of our history a distinct evidence of the divine guidance of this people. It may be of interest to us here today, as many of you know, that not only did we as a people begin to show how a modern civilized group of people could live under irrigation, but that here, also beginning in our own Utah State Agricultural College at Logan, experiments and tests were and are made to place this art of irrigation on a scientific orderly basis. This is not the place to discuss that, perhaps, but we do have the honor of being not only the generators of modern-day irrigation, but also of placing that ancient art on a modern scientific basis.
Some very remarkable things have been discovered from time to time in this field that are tremendously interesting. Our farmers are gradually learning more and more about these precious truths. The farming people, you know, move slowly. They want to know before they do anything, but little by little that which we have garnered and gained throughout the years will be used.
And so a Latter-day Saint, working as I had to work last fall in behalf of a great agricultural, irrigation project, is stirred in his feelings when he looks back upon what the Lord has asked his people to do-to toil, to struggle, to compel the desert to yield; and also to teach all the world that which the world is hungry to know.
Well, perhaps that is all I should say about my irrigation work and why I was not here in attendance six months ago. But you know there is a great symbolism in irrigation. As a lifelong student of the subject I have always been impressed by the fact that the dry desert soil contains nearly all the elements of fertility. All that it needs is the enlivening power of a stream of water to flow over that soil. Suddenly the land begins to yield, and it becomes powerful. Is it not so in our spiritual lives, I wonder? Men according to our theology are children of God not created under the old idea, but being literally children of Almighty God, contain all the elements under the law of eternal progression that will lead them into the likeness of their Father in heaven. When this being, this divine being, because in one sense we are all divine, is touched by the power of the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit, the power that flows from God, suddenly a man blossoms into a new life, new possibilities arise, new powers develop. As I have lived in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a member since my very early boyhood, I have come to understand that perhaps the greatest miracle in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is the transformation that comes to a man or a woman who in faith accepts the truth of the gospel and who then lives it in his or her life. That transformation is marvelous. I have seen it in the mission field, where I first heard the gospel. I have seen it here at home. I see it every day. Every person has a measure of God's Spirit given to him. We are all in God's presence through his Holy Spirit. As new and greater truths come, as the understanding of them develops within us if we accept and live them, we are transformed from ordinary men into new powers and possibilities.
The weavers of the midlands in England, the coal miners of Wales, the fishermen in Norway, the trudging farmers of Denmark, very common ordinary people, who accept the gospel from the lips of some humble Mormon missionary become so changed by those enlightening truths of the gospel that they are not the same people any longer. They have been fertilized, so to speak, by the Spirit of God that flows from eternal truth, just as in irrigation the barren, dry soil is fertilized by diverting the stream of water from the irrigation ditch onto the thirsty land.
It is a comparison worthy of our thought, because we are the bearers of the irrigation message to all the world.
I remember the man who baptized me into the Church, a very common, ordinary man to begin with, a ropewalker with a jug of beer two or three times a day, a glass of whiskey a little later, and a cud of tobacco mostly all day long, living a useless, purposeless life, except for three meals a day, and the satisfaction of some of the carnal appetites. He heard the gospel and accepted it. It was good. It was something he had been longing for. The man grew in power and stature in the Church. As I recall it, he filled five or six missions and presided over one of the missions of the Church. He was the same man, with the same arms, same feet, same body, same mind, but changed because of the Spirit that comes with the acceptance of eternal truth. Have not we seen this in our own families and friends, in the little towns in which we live? Have not we felt our own strength grow mightier in love for our fellow men, in love for our daily tasks, in love for all the good things of life? If you question yourself or question us here who have the responsibility of conducting this conference, we will all bear witness to it. But remember, when irrigation began in Utah, it was a struggle with the earth. It required toil. The water did not flow down these canyon streams to the farms just by asking it to do so, but men dug and drilled and shoveled and made canals. We have a remarkable illustration of that in one of our enterprises in Utah. It was called the Hurricane enterprise. The story of that has never been told quite fully, but it is stirring and thrilling. And to some degree in every enterprise in the building of this state toil had to be faced and used. And so to get that spiritual stream that I have been talking about, it must be sought for; it must be fought for; it must be labored for. It will come, but we must ask for it and seek it and labor for it. Then comes that great change-an overwhelming change. It changes men to a Godlike phase of life and living.
Well, you know the comparison as well as I do. I must not take any more of your time. It is good to be a Latter-day Saint. It is good to be here. It is good to hear the words of inspiration that come from the mouths and lives of these inspired men. I am glad to feel the responsive spirit from the thousands of people who are here and who listen over the radio.
May we all so live as to have a great measure of the enlivening, spiritual, fertilizing stream that comes from God because of our virtuous lives, our earnest actions in seeking after truth. May we all be blessed according to our needs. Let us determine to cling to our heritage here in this land where we were led by the guiding power of God, and may the descendants of our pioneer fathers refuse to sell their birthright for gold lest it turn to a "mess of pottage". May we remember our heritage in this Church of land, of water, and of spiritual power, I pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Henry D. Moyle
Henry D. Moyle, Conference Report, April 1952, pp. 35-37
I am very grateful unto my Heavenly Father for the opportunity which is mine to meet with you, my brethren and sisters, in this great conference and to partake of the Spirit of the Lord that is here with us in such rich abundance.
I feel indebted to the Lord for the health and strength which is mine, and I am certain that he has blessed me with this health and strength in answer not only to my own prayers but also to the prayers of my brethren and sisters in the Church.
I have had a great affection for the leaders of the Church as far back as I can remember. I have always desired of the Lord that he would give me the strength to honor and to sustain those who presided over me in the priesthood with all my heart and soul, and I do that today. I am grateful for the leadership of President David O. McKay and of President Stephen L. Richards and President J. Reuben Clark, Jr. I know these men receive from our Father in heaven his inspiration and direction in the work which they are called upon to perform for you and for me. I have this great affection and love not alone for the Presidency of the Church but for President Joseph Fielding Smith as President of the Council of the Twelve and all my associates in that Council, and all of the General Authorities. In fact my affection extends to all of my brethren and sisters. No man could have a richer heritage on the face of this earth than to be really worthy to be numbered among the Latter-day Saints.
The statistics that we heard read this morning demonstrate the results of great inspiration and leadership. I say that my affection for my brethren in the Church creates within me a further and similar desire that we might have governmental leaders in our nation and in our state and in our counties and in our cities of the same caliber.
I am always impressed when I read the 134th section of the Doctrine and Covenants:
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 do not believe it just to mingle religious influence with civil government, whereby one religious society is fostered and another proscribed in its spiritual privileges, and the individual rights of its members, as citizens, denied.
But that does not mean, because we have within our hearts a deep-seated religious conviction, that we are at the same time not qualified to participate in government. Unless we have faith in God and fear him and keep his commandments, we can hardly be worthy to hold high positions in government. The Prophet Joseph has told us in this statement through the inspiration of the Lord that we must have righteous men in order to have righteous government. If we are to be a God-fearing nation and enjoy the blessings of peace, then each one of us who has a faith in God must do our duty, take our part to accomplish our purpose in government. We should become intimately familiar with those who are active politically; we ought to be part and parcel of them. They should not be strangers to us. We should see to it that those men who have true qualities of leadership are placed in positions of trust and responsibility in the government; these fundamental principles of truth apply to every political party alike. There is no hope and can be no hope for our government, or any government, to which this principle does not apply.
I think a good place to start is always at home. Each one of us should resolve that we in and of ourselves will develop qualities of leadership and of honesty and of integrity and of justice and equity. We should be willing to take these principles, these characteristics, the ability which we thus create within ourselves, and give ourselves to the benefit of our city and of our county and of our state and of our nation.
This year there will probably be no more than fifty percent of the qualified voters in this great nation who will exercise their franchise. The officers who may be elected in the great elections to be held this year will be elected by minorities and will not represent the vote or the will of the majority. You know there are two kinds of offenses in the world-offenses of commission and offenses of omission. We sometimes do things that we should not do, and then again, we do not do some things that we should. I hope that Latter-day Saints will not permit themselves, political-wise, to fall into this latter category and be classed among those who give offense because they fail to do that which they should do. I would like to know if a reason exists that would justify a Latter-day Saint in not exercising his franchise for the party and the man of his own choice.
No political party is justified to continue in existence unless it clearly states the principles which it advocates, the platform upon which its candidates stand, and then with integrity, when and if elected, carry out those principles and live up to that platform. Except that be the case, we as Latter-day Saints should not align ourselves to any party, because we do not have the basis upon which we can make an intelligent decision. We must know what they stand for before we can favor them with our vote. I do not ask you, my brethren and sisters, to go to the polls and just vote, important as that is; but that when you vote, you vote intelligently for those principles and those things and those men which will give to you the kind of government you want, the kind of environment that you desire for yourself and for your posterity.
We have received a great deal of light concerning the things of life from our Heavenly Father through the revelations which he has given us. We are told once again in the Doctrine and Covenants in the 101st section:
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;
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.
Can we accept that as one of the sacred tenets of our faith and be derelict in our duties toward our nation? The answer to me seems to be self-evident. The Apostle Paul of old said,
For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?.
We must have leadership in this nation whose voice will be clear; whose virtue, clarity, and certainty will give us the assurance that the course the government pursued under their leadership is right. Then we can put our whole heart and soul back of our government and sustain those who preside in government and feel toward them even as we do toward those who have been divinely chosen to guide and direct the affairs of the Church.
I hope and pray, my brethren and sisters, that we will not feel that politics has become so degraded that we are too good to participate. If any of us believe politics to be in that kind of state, we need only to enter into politics, go into it with our honesty and our integrity and our devotion to truth and to righteousness, and the standards will be raised. We cannot expect in this country a better government than the leaders are good, and so if we want a good government we must have good leaders. Let us participate in our mass meetings, in our party organization meetings, in our conventions; then when we go to the polls, we may have somebody worthy of our vote on our tickets.
May the Lord bless us to uphold and sustain the great Constitution of this nation and to maintain ourselves pure and unspotted from the sins of the world in all of our undertakings, and call down the blessings of our Heavenly Father upon us and upon our neighbors.
This should be a challenge to us as members in the Church of Jesus Christ and to all our friends and our neighbors and all people throughout the earth who stand in favor of good government, for righteousness in government; who have and foster the same ideals that are so close to our hearts. I hope and pray that the Lord will thus bless us all that we may fully accomplish the purposes of our creation, and be grateful to him day by day for the blessings he bestows upon us, and this I ask humbly in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Eldred G. Smith
Eldred G. Smith, Conference Report, April 1952, pp. 37-41
I pray that I shall have your faith and prayers, my brothers and sisters while I occupy this position, as has been the case with those who have preceded me. And I thank my brethren who have offered prayers at the beginning of these meetings in behalf of all who have to talk to you, that the Spirit of the Lord will be with us.
I truly am very grateful for the blessings of the Lord, the blessings that have come to me personally. I am grateful for the blessings which have come to this people as a group, individually as well as collectively. I am grateful for the privilege of living in this age, which is a choice age-a choice dispensation.
It seems it is an inherent desire for all of the faithful children of God to receive a blessing from him. It has been so since the very beginning. Adam called upon God and received blessings; and then in his turn he called all of his righteous descendants together at Adam-ondi-Ahman and blessed them; and they, in turn, blessed him.
Noah, in his turn, received the blessings of the Lord, and then after the waters of the flood had receded and he came forth from the ark, he blessed his children.
Abraham, in his turn, received blessings from the Lord and blessed others. We today are receiving the benefits of the great blessings which were given to Abraham in fulfillment of the promises given to him.
As Abraham was departing with Lot the Lord said to him:
And I will bless them that bless thee and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
And today we are realizing the fulfillment of that promise, for all the families of the earth are receiving the blessings of the Lord, through Abraham, more than they have ever done before.
Isaac, in his turn, also pronounced the blessings of the Lord upon his descendants. There is the very interesting story of the blessing of Jacob and Esau. When Isaac was old, he felt the need to give his sons blessings. He called Esau, telling him to go out and kill and prepare venison for him. He said "... make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die". And Rebekah, mother of Esau and Jacob, heard him and knowing that Jacob was divinely called to receive the birthright blessings, called Jacob and sent him to fetch two kids, saying that she would prepare savory meat for her husband such as he loved for she knew how to prepare it. And thus Rebekah assisted Jacob to receive the blessings of birthright.
Jacob blessed his twelve sons and gave them each a blessing suited to their individual rewards and pronounced promises that should come to them. Joseph received a special blessing which we are most interested in because we are his descendants, the most part of us, and the blessings of the gospel have come through this line, for Joseph Smith, Senior, was a true descendant, through Ephraim, the younger son of Joseph.
You know the story of how Jacob blessed Ephraim and Manasseh, how he crossed his hands and gave them each a blessing and gave unto them promises. The history of blessings is meager from then until now. In the Book of Mormon we are given the information, definitely, which declares that a descendant of Joseph should be raised up in these the last days. It has been made known that Joseph Smith, Senior, was that descendant, and he received the blessings of Ephraim.
Then in this day and age, and I think if our records were more complete, we would probably find something similar with those of ancient times, the Lord tells us in the Doctrine and Covenants that:
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.
Thus today we have more than one patriarch; we have one or more in each of the stakes of the Church; and they are represented in the group here on my right. We always have a section here reserved for the stake patriarchs. They are outstanding, faithful members of the Church, who have been given the responsibility of blessing the people in their stakes, blessing those who desire blessings. And just as it was in ancient times-today, too, the Lord's people desire his blessings. And as a Church we have the priesthood and the authority through which these blessings may be given. These blessings given today are more formal than those given in ancient times, that is, judging from the meager records which we have. A patriarchal blessing today, given by an ordained patriarch, should contain a declaration of lineage, that is, the tribe of Israel through which the promises of inheritance shall come, even as assignments of inheritances were given in ancient Israel.
Now we know that some of the inhabitants of the earth are not descendants of Israel. We know that some of the inhabitants of the earth who join the Church are not direct descendants of Israel. It is given to us that the descendants of Shem and Japheth, sons of Noah, if they receive the gospel, are entitled to the priesthood. Only the sons of Cain are not entitled to the priesthood, and you can read why in the Pearl of Great Price. So all the descendants of Shem and Japheth, as they accept of the gospel of Jesus Christ are entitled to the blessings of Israel, because that was the promise given to Abraham, that through him all the families of the earth should be blessed.
And so, as these patriarchal blessings are given, there is given a declaration of lineage, or an assignment; for a pure Gentile who joins the Church becomes by adoption of the seed of Abraham and of Israel.
We have people on the earth who we know are not descendants of Israel yet in the acceptance of the gospel of Jesus Christ they are entitled to the blessings of Israel, and through the power of inspiration the patriarch will assign them to Israel.
It is required that patriarchal blessings be recorded in the Church records. The body of the blessing usually contains sacred promises for comfort or for counsel or warning, according to certain possibilities of blessings. All is predicated upon obedience to divine laws and faithfulness. The closing of a blessing is the sacred sealing of the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood. The blessing pronounced, with all it contains, should serve as a comfort and guide through life according to faithfulness and is sealed forever upon the conditions of faithfulness to the laws of God, which includes the laws of nature. Patriarchal blessings have been a source of guidance and comfort to tens of thousands of members of the Church. Their faith has been quickened and strengthened through them.
An example of what a patriarchal blessing can do came to me in a story which I have repeated many times, which a woman told me. As a young woman she lived in a small town. When she finished high school, there was no further opportunity to continue her education; there was no further opportunity to get work so that she could be independent; so she came to Salt Lake City where she found herself a job. As time came for registration at the university she became very anxious to go to school again, and knowing that there was not a possibility, under present conditions, she felt quite disheartened. She went to the patriarch and received her patriarchal blessing, and in the blessing he promised her that she should receive a good education. She was elated, and she went out of the office feeling very happy. Before she had gone half a block, she said she fell to earth out of her cloud with a realization that going to college cost money, and she did not have any, nor the means to get it. The opportunity and possibility of going to college at present did not seem to be at all possible, which made her very downhearted again. And the thought came to her to go visit her aunt, who was living in Salt Lake City. Without stopping to analyze that impression she turned, and instead of going back to work, she went to visit her aunt and told her aunt of her experience, cried on her shoulder, and her aunt said to her, "I know an elderly woman who lives down the street a few blocks. She has at various times helped young girls get through college in return for the help the girls can give to her. I do not know whether she has help now or not, but," she said, "this woman knows who I am. Go down and see her and tell her I sent you."
She went on the run to this elderly woman's home, and within two weeks from the time she received her patriarchal blessing, she registered at the University of Utah, signed a promissory note to pay for her education, and eventually paid for it. She said if she had stopped to question the first impression she got to go visit her aunt she would have said to herself, "Why should I go visit my aunt and tell her my troubles? I came to Salt Lake City to be independent; why not be independent? She cannot help me with my troubles; she has enough of her own. She doesn't have space in her home to let me sleep there, let alone board me nor help me. Why need I go and bother my aunt?" But she did not stop to analyze that impression; she acted on it. As a result she met the woman who gave her the opportunity of receiving her education.
Similarly, many experiences have come to people in making decisions. I have had many experiences myself of giving patriarchal blessings, and then afterwards the individual would comment to the effect that he had now made up his mind and knew what course to follow. Often I ask whether individuals have any particular problem or worry. Just recently, a young woman said, "Well, Tom is coming home in a few months, and I am going to wait for him, and then we will get married in the temple." She said another young man had been wanting her to marry him, but she said, "That would not be a marriage in the temple, I am going to wait for Tom." Many times these experiences come to patriarchs.
Many men and women have been given courage to carry on, in battle and at home, in positions of responsibility in Church work, and even the will to live in times of sickness through which they have been raised from the grip of death by means of administration through the priesthood. It is the right and privilege of every baptized member of the Church to receive a patriarchal blessing. In the past many received more than one blessing. This practice has been discontinued. After a person has received a patriarchal blessing through an ordained patriarch, in which his lineage is declared, he is in possession of his patriarchal blessing, and to repeat the lineage is superfluous. We are asked, what about additional blessings? These additional blessings need not be given by an ordained patriarch. Through the patriarchal order of the priesthood it is the right and duty of a father to minister unto his own individual family. That is, the father in the home has a perfect right or duty to bless his children. That is, if the father holds the priesthood which authorizes him to do so, he may bless his own children, and also baptize them and confirm them, with full consent and appointment from the duly authorized officers in charge.
I was at a fast and testimony meeting one day, and the bishop received a baby in his arms, from a woman in the congregation, and as he did so, he looked around the room. Finally he said hesitatingly, "This is the child of Brother and Sister Brown." After pausing a minute he said, "Brother Jones will bless the child." A man who was standing in the group of officiators spoke up and said, "No, Bishop, that is my child, I will bless him." And so the bishop recognized the father. He had been looking around the audience to find the father and not seeing him was under necessity to appoint someone else. But the father spoke up and said, "I will bless the child," and he did. That was correct.
Bishops should not only invite a father to administer to his own family but should also seek permission before substituting for the father. Naturally, if a child is going to a meeting, say for instance, a young man is going to a meeting where he is to be ordained a deacon, and the family knows that he is to be ordained a deacon, the bishop should invite the father, if he is a faithful man, to ordain his son. The bishop is the father of the ward. It is his duty to be the father of those families who do not have fathers in their own homes or where fathers do not exercise their priesthood; and it is the right of the bishop to ordain or to appoint someone to ordain boys in these families. It is a courtesy for the bishop to invite a father to ordain his own son.
An ordained stake patriarch has the privilege, by the same token, of blessing his own family, wherever they are. He is also the father or patriarch for the other families in his stake who do not have a father who is an ordained patriarch. A stake patriarch, then, is a stake officer, and he does not have authority to officiate outside of his stake, only as he may give blessings to his immediate family. Those who need or desire additional blessings may receive a blessing from any elder in the Church but not to be recorded.
I have an example in my mind, and there are many families in the Church that do likewise, where the father blesses the children when they are named; he baptizes them when they are of age, he confirms them and ordains them to the various offices of the priesthood as they grow in position to be so ordained, but always with the consent and approval of the bishop. When children start out to a higher school of learning, when they leave home to go on a mission, when they leave home to go into the service, and at the time of their marriage, a father may bless his children and place the blessings in his family record, rightly for the benefit of the family, and the family reflects the spirit of those blessings.
Now, may the blessings of the Lord be with all of us and help us to magnify our callings in the priesthood. The Lord has told us in the Doctrine and Covenants, section 84, verse 33.
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.
And if you will continue reading in section eighty-four, the next few verses, you will get more instructions regarding that priesthood.
Brethren, magnify the callings of your priesthood, and the strength of the Lord will be with us all, which I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Stephen L Richards
Stephen L Richards, Conference Report, April 1952, pp. 43-49
I sat in the Tabernacle a short time ago listening to beautiful music. After the concert was over I was a little embarrassed inwardly to recognize that I had heard but very little of what went forward, for almost at the beginning of the program my thoughts turned to this great building in which we are met today. Somehow or other, its place in our history and its connotations assumed such proportions in my thinking that I decided that it might be worthy of a little of our attention as we ponder the progress and mission of the restored Church of our Lord.
This Tabernacle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, erected on what we designate as Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, has come to be one of the most interesting and widely known buildings in western America, and perhaps in all America, excluding structures at the national capital and at points of great historic interest in the formation of the republic.
The first work on the Tabernacle was begun in the spring and summer of 1863. The first foundation stone was laid July 26, 1864. The Tabernacle was completed, so far as to be usable, by October 6, 1867, when the first conference was held in the building. The following is a quoted notation in the record:
"The gates to the Temple Block were opened at nine o'clock, and the people flooded in. Long before ten o'clock, the time for the commencement of the conference, the seats in the great Tabernacle were filled, the aisles and door ways were crowded, and many were left outside. The stand was filled with the Church officials and the various choirs who were present to take part in the service."
The conditions here described are not difficult for the present generation to visualize.
The organ was only one-third completed by this time but was used to accompany the singing. Temporary seats were used since the installation of permanent seats was not completed until sometime during the summer of 1868. The gallery was not completed until later, and was first used at the postponed general conference of the Church on May 5, 1870. It is recorded that this additional seating capacity was much appreciated, and that the installation of the gallery improved the acoustics of the building.
The Tabernacle was not dedicated until October of 1875. I shall speak of the dedication later.
Perhaps one of the first significant items about the building is its size. It is 250 feet long by 150 feet wide; 6 feet to the ceiling, 75 feet to the top of the roof, standing upon 44 stone pillars with 16 doors 10 feet wide, and 4 doors 4 1/2 feet wide, allowing the exit of 13,000 persons in 5 minutes. Its architect, Henry Grow, claimed that it was the largest hall in the world unsupported by columns. I have made no research to determine for how long a time the architect's statement may have been true.
The huge capacity of the building is most tangible evidence of the firm conviction of the builders in the growth and destiny of the cause they upheld. Without its great size it never could have served its mighty purpose. In the early days of our settlement in these valleys of the mountains, communication was very difficult. Even after the coming of the telegraph and the railroads, people had to come and see and hear to get correct impressions and information. Had the building been smaller, countless thousands would have been deprived of opportunities and blessings they have most highly prized. Then, too, it seems to me worthy of note that the building was built just about as large as it could have been built so that an audience within it could be made to hear, long before the day of electrical magnification of sound. The acoustics of the Tabernacle have been the subject of comment by scientific persons and others for many years. I don't know that a full treatise has ever been written, but it would make a deserving and interesting thesis. This great structure, enormous at the time of its building, is the physical embodiment of a mighty concept that the work of God is expansive, all-embracing, with room for all who will come and listen and receive.
The Tabernacle has been a great cultural center. For eighty years it has housed substantially all of the major concerts, symphonies, bands, choirs, and vocal and instrumental artists who have come to this section of the country. It is safe to say that without it the communities in this area would have been deprived of innumerable opportunities to see and hear the outstanding talent of the world. It has been the scene of great pageants that will long live in our memories; and in addition to being the greatest stage for artistic presentations in our community, it has been a place of instruction and rehearsal for thousands upon thousands of children, young people, and adults, developing talent and artistic appreciation wholly beyond our power to measure. Throughout the years the building has generally been contributed to almost every conceivable cultural project which has come our way.
In thus extending the use of the building, the Church has had what I believe to be a unique experience. I don't know that there is a comparable situation in the country. It has always been the effort to maintain standards of conduct in this building and on the grounds roundabout which comport with the beliefs and standards of the Church. Those who come here are asked not to smoke or drink or use profane language, and I think that, with few exceptions, they who are not of our faith, and who do not practice our standards, have been sufficiently respectful of our views to observe the decorum of this building. We appreciate their consideration.
This Tabernacle has been, in some respects, a civic center. It has been a forum for Presidents of the United States, candidates for the Presidency, notables from foreign countries, and lecturers, and for the discussion of some of the most important issues which have ever confronted the nation. It has been used as a gathering hall for great national conventions, and it has played a part in the advancement of important civic causes. It has paid tributes of homage and honor to our national heroes; it has met the demands of emergency; it has been through the years an invaluable asset in our community life.
More important than any of these however, in the history of this great Tabernacle, is its place and function as a house of worship.
Since singing usually begins our public worship, at this point I would like to speak a little of the choirs of the Tabernacle. Here is and has been for over seventy-five years the home of the Tabernacle Choir. I would not venture to say whether the Tabernacle has made the choir or the choir has made the Tabernacle famous. It is sufficient to know that all through the years we have had a great choir in a great setting. As many as sixty years ago the Tabernacle Choir had a national reputation. Through eisteddfods, its high placement in contest in the World's Fair, and through concerts in big cities, east and west, it early attained renown in musical circles. In recent times, through national and international broadcasts, the Tabernacle Choir and the Spoken Word are household words throughout the land. During its history, both before and after enlarged facilities became available, two aspects of its work have been outstanding and conspicuous: First, the devotion of the members; and next, the excellence of its leadership. I doubt if any comparable volunteer organization of its size and responsibilities can present as fine a record for as long a time. The Church is and has been for these many years proud of this great organization, and I believe we all feel a lasting debt of gratitude to the great conductors, the great organists and technicians, and the great members of this illustrious organization. I attribute their greatness, in large measure, to the deeply religious fervor which has always actuated them. I know that with their artistic temperaments they have loved to sing, but the consistency of their performance has come out of a sense of conscientious duty and opportunity to serve the Lord and advance his kingdom. From that sentiment have come some of the great contributions which the choir has made-contribution which breathe the spirit and essence of the latter-day work, contribution which have inspirited the missionary for his work, which have honored and venerated the pioneers who laid the foundations, which have extolled the glory and virtue of Christ our Lord and his honored prophets, and which have brought comfort and solace to the poor, the discouraged and bereaved. Here is a choir which, through the generations, has seen purpose in its work, which has striven steadfastly to advance a great cause, which has made art serve its Author, the Lord of the universe. God bless our Tabernacle Choir, from the beginning through the generations, as an emissary of art and truth in the earth.
Housed within the building is the great organ. Its impressive facade of colossal pipes and ornamental column and caps makes it appear as an ornate temple within the auditorium, beautiful and intriguing to behold. The history of its initial construction is itself a glorious record of pioneer achievement. Its melodic voice now heard in nearly all civilized portions of the globe has been a thing alive, proclaiming in sonorous and tender tones the solemn and the sweet message of the Savior's gospel to all who have the heart and the ear to interpret and apply. Just as the choir is integral with the Tabernacle, so is the organ with both.
I stand today in a pulpit sanctified by its history. When I recall the noble servants of our Heavenly Father who have stood here and given inspired counsel to the people, and borne testimony with such power and conviction and spirit as to electrify every soul who heard; when I contemplate the operation of the still, small voice, which has come from simple and lowly word given here, which have touched the hearts and sympathies of the people; when I think of the vast volume of precious truth which has been proclaimed from this stand, I feel very small and weak within it. My only comfort comes from the realization that the noble ones who have graced this pulpit have been called to speak here as I have been called, and that they were common men, so far as the aristocracy of the world is concerned, drawn from all walks of life, just as my brethren and I are today.
What a difference in the history of the Tabernacle it would have made had the building come to be merely a great preacher's church. We have had in America such preachers and such churches. For periods of time eloquent men have enthralled audiences, achieve wide distinction, and have undoubtedly done much good. In the providence of the Lord, this pulpit has never been any one man's forum. Rather it has been the oracle of a divine dispensation where the cause has overshadowed the man, where humility has higher rating than self-assurance, where worship is measured in deeds rather than protestations.
Ponder for a moment, my brethren and sisters, and all who listen, the glorious and vital truths which have been proclaimed in this building-the nature and composition of the Godhead, the organization of the universe, the history and placement of man in the earth, his purpose in living, and the divine destiny set for him, the laws governing his conduct and his eligibility for exaltation in the celestial presence the true concept of family life in the eternal progression of the race, the truth about liberty and the place of governments in the earth, the correct concept of property, its acquisition and distribution, the sure foundations for peace, brotherhood, and universal justice. All these elemental things, and many others incident thereto, have been the burden of the message of truth which has come from this building through the generations.
These messages have not changed with the passing of time. The Lord revealed these enduring principles. They are part and parcel of eternal truth. Man may, by his faithful research and study, discover more about them, but he will never change them. I would not discourage the inquiring mind in its exploration of the universe and quest for truth. My only caution is to begin with recognition of the divine source of truth and the revealed word of God.
What confidence and assurance it brings to us to know that our men and women of today, surrounded by an environment radically different from that of our forebears who brought this great building into existence, proclaim the same doctrine as did they. How upsetting it would be if we had to choose between the principles and doctrines of their time and ours. We in this Tabernacle hear the same message as did the people in Kirtland and Nauvoo.
It is true that methods and practices change. They have done in the past, and they may be expected to in the future. It is within the province of a receptive priesthood, obedient to the inspiration of our Father, to adopt and adjust methods, looking toward the advancement of his kingdom. It is also within the province of his chosen servants to interpret and apply the law, but they will never change it, for the law of God is eternal.
I wish to say a word about the comfort and solace which have come to our Father's children in this great building. Funeral services have been held here for many noble men and some women. Heavenly music has been rendered, so inspiring and touching that it seemed as if those from the other world could have joined in the singing. Sermons depicting the transition into immortality, and expounding the atonement and redemption wrought by our Savior, have been given with such convincing assurance as to elevate the aggrieved and despondent to the sublimity of resignation, hope and firm faith. Within these sacred walls have the great of our community found opportunity for the expression of their noblest thoughts and convictions, and from here they have been laid to rest in the closing of their lives. All the life dramas that have here been enacted, all the vital episodes in this historic setting will never be recounted; but they are all known to one who keeps the record, and every resolution, every change of heart, every contrition arising out of the service rendered in this building, will be a fitting tribute to the purposes it has served.
In some respects the Tabernacle may appropriately be designated as the center of our missionary work. More sermons expounding the doctrines of the Church and calling the world to repentance and defining the way to life eternal have been preached from this pulpit than from any other place in the Church. These sermons, testifying to the divine calling of the Prophet Joseph Smith in the restoration of the holy gospel, have been heard not only by the vast congregations who have assembled here, but also they have been printed, translated into various languages, and circulated in many countries throughout the earth. The pronouncements from this very stand have furnished to our armies of missionaries, in large measure, the material for their work among the people to whom they are sent. In the earlier days the missionaries were personally called from the stand in this Tabernacle. One can well imagine the thrill and deep impression made by such procedure. Here the courses of life were changed by assignments from the Presiding Brethren. Here the spirit of sacrifice chastened the soul, and men and women were dedicated to the work of God. Here was the true spirit of missionary work-love and sacrifice for fellow man-developed and fostered.
In more recent times the Tabernacle with its wonderful Sunday morning program, has made an invaluable contribution to our missionary endeavor in bringing to our missionaries a more kindly and considerate reception as they bear the message of the gospel from door to door out in the world. Also in later years, with visitors to Temple Square reaching more than a million a year, this historic structure has achieved a position subordinate to but few places in the country in tourist interest. Thousands there are who come here every year, whose unfavorable preconceptions are altered, and who must go away with unforgettable impressions emanating from the teachings and influences coming from this building and the grounds round about. Surely a large part of Isaiah's prophecy has been realized. The Lord's house has been established in the top of the mountains, and many nations flow unto it. We await the day which will surely come when the remainder of this great prediction shall be fulfilled, when
... many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
Can we doubt, my brethren and sisters, that these things have been wrought by the hand and power of the Lord? In all humility I bear witness that here is the seat of the government of the kingdom of God, here is the place where the authorized servants of our Lord are sustained and confirmed by the voice of the people. Here in this venerated Tabernacle has every President of the Church, save only one been upheld as prophet, seer, and revelator, and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. From here has gone forth the law out of Zion, and the blessings, the love and compassion of the servants of the Lord for his children.
For nearly half a century I have been the beneficiary of the teachings and the influence coming from this historic building. I thank God for it. I do not wish to worship things material but I bow before the inspired vision and the lofty aspirations which brought this sacred edifice into being. If my regard for it, and my meager recital of the part it has played in the advancement of beauty and righteousness and truth in the earth shall bring any measure of increased deference and respect for the Tabernacle and the holy cause it represents, I shall be profoundly grateful.
I said I would refer again to the dedication of this building. The notation in the record is that the dedicatory prayer of the "New Tabernacle in Salt Lake City was read by Elder John Taylor" on Saturday, October 9, 1875. In my opinion the prayer is a masterpiece in composition, and in its comprehensive recital of the conditions and aspirations of the people at that time. It breathes a spirit of humility, repentance, deep gratitude, and a faith so realistic and compelling as to overcome all obstacles in the achievement of the mighty destiny conceived for God's work in the world. I wish every member of the Church could read it. The Deseret News printed it three-quarters of a century ago. Perhaps they might care to do it again at some convenient time. This remarkable prayer went into great detail. In it were dedicated not only the usual components of a great building, but also "the mortar which binds the foundation stones together," the "nails, bolts, and straps of iron, of copper, and the brass, the zinc, the tin, and the solder wherewith the metal is soldered together," the plaster of the building, even "all the lath and the nails and the sand and the lime," the locks and the hinges on the doors and windows, and the paint and the varnish "and all the ornamentation of this building, both within and without." All these minute things represented work and sacrifice which made them sacred.
Every portion of the building was dedicated that it might fulfill its sacred purpose. Listen to the words regarding this historic rostrum, where my associates of the General Authorities of the Church now sit in your presence: "And we dedicate and consecrate that portion of this house where our president and thy servants now are, to be a holy and sacred place wherein thy servants may stand forth to declare thy words and minister unto thy people in the name of thy Son forever....
"May thy holy angels and ministering spirits be in and round about this habitation, that when thy servants are called upon to stand in these sacred places, to minister unto thy people, the visions of eternity may be open to their view, and they may be filled with the spirit and inspiration of the Holy Ghost and the gift and power of God; and let all thy people who hearken to the words of thy servants drink freely at the fountain of the waters of life that they may become wise unto salvation, and thereby overcome the world and be prepared for an everlasting inheritance in the celestial kingdom of our God....
"We pray thee to bless the Twelve Apostles; fill them with the spirit of their office and calling, clothe them with the intelligence of heaven, the light of revelation, and the gift and power of God."
Then followed prayers, in the order indicated, for the Patriarch to the Church, for the seventies, the high priests, the high councils, the elders, the Presiding Bishop, the priests, teachers, and deacons. There were prayers for the Jews, for the Lamanites, and for all who desire to do good in this and all other nations. There were prayers also for the cooperative institutions, for those who entered into the United Order "according to thy word," the Relief Societies, the Retrenchment Societies, the Sunday Schools, and then this mighty appeal: "Let the comforting influence of thy Holy Spirit rest upon the Saints, and the quickening power of the Holy Ghost unite thy people in sympathy, affection, kindness and interest. May thy people, O God, be one-one with Jesus as he is one with the Father... one in spirit and feeling and interest; one in temporal and one in spiritual things, a band of brethren; one in rolling forth the kingdom, united together by eternal, indisputable ties; one in gathering thine elect, in building Temples and administering to the living and for the dead; one in building up the Zion of our God; one with all the redeemed and all the angelic hosts, in introducing the principles and laws of life to all of Adam's race and ushering in the millennial reign."
My brethren and sisters, I re-utter that prayer in your presence today. It is the supreme desire and ambition of my life that this glorious destiny for our people and God's work be realized. I testify that Jesus the Christ lives, that he is the Lord of the earth, and the Author of our salvation, that his precious gospel and his Church have been restored and reestablished through his chosen servant, the Prophet Joseph Smith, and that the Holy Priesthood and the authority to represent the Lord have descended upon our present leader in authentic succession, and that he stands before us today in humility, in heart and mind receptive to the divine Spirit, to lead us in the greatest cause ever committed to men. I give you also my firm conviction that if we will but follow the teachings and the counsels of our President and his associates, all of which are in conformity with the pronouncements and principles given in this sacred Tabernacle for nearly a century of time, there will be fulfilled every prophecy and glorious promise ever made to Zion. God bless us to this end, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder Delbert L. Stapley
Delbert L. Stapley, Conference Report, April 1952, pp. 49-52
I sincerely ask for an interest in your faith and prayers, my brothers and sisters, and hope that part of the Tabernacle dedicatory prayer pertaining to the speakers, may also be enjoyed by me.
An important duty of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is to assist its members to attain the full measure of their possibilities and powers. This would give great strength to the Church and bring joy and happiness to the membership of the Church.
As sons and daughters of God, created in his image and likeness, possessing, however imperfectly, his characteristics and attributes, we should nevertheless be inspired to perfect ourselves and become like him. The duty therefore of each of us is to develop and prepare ourselves to become worthy children of an Eternal Father.
The Church provides every opportunity for us to use our God-given talents, gifts, and powers. However we must learn obedience to authority and to keep all the commandments of God.
The Prophet Joseph said of the Savior, that he suffered temptations but gave no heed to them. And Paul writing to the Hebrew saints said that in all points he was tempted as we are, yet without sin. The Savior perfected himself through obedience and by obedience became the author of eternal salvation.
There must be on our part a willingness to accept responsibility in all faithfulness and devotion, it makes possible the attainment of our divine heritage and blessings.
The Lord said to the Prophet Joseph Smith:
... 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.
The right of free agency and choice belongs to all of us, but God holds us accountable for our individual acts. The Lord has placed Prophets, Apostles, and teachers in his Church to interpret and point the way for his people and all the world in spiritual and temporal matters. Safety is in following divinely appointed leadership and counsel. The rights and powers of these leaders stem from the Savior himself, and each can trace his priesthood and authority through an unbroken chain to this divine source.
The keys of this power and authority center in the president of the High Priesthood of the Church. It is not given to any other man to so represent God here upon the earth. The Lord expects his people to unite and follow under this leadership and not permit themselves to be tossed about by those who would find fault or would claim revelation and teach contrary to what God has revealed to his chosen prophets.
The Latter-day Saints need to be careful that they do not become persuaded to false ideas and teachers. There are some among us who seize upon one or more appealing principle, truth, or law, then twist it to their own desire or profit until they become all-consuming obsessions with them. They are not satisfied or content to hold these views to themselves, but with Satan's encouragement, desire to entice others to their way of thinking; they seek followers and persuade not only those who are weak and unfaithful but also many of the faithful are deceived. Somehow they forget or fail to understand that this Church is not built upon one principle, or one law, or one truth, but the true gospel is built upon many principles, laws and truths, complete acceptance and obedience to which is necessary to give us joy, happiness, satisfaction, and eternal glory.
Many of these people pledge allegiance to the Church, yet they separate themselves from Church meetings and encourage others to do likewise. Those who follow them become children of evil, lose their faith and testimony, and the history of such followers is that if they do not repent, they are excommunicated from the Church.
Satan is employing every method to deceive not only non-members of the Church, but also particularly those who are members. Each of us must be careful that we are not out of harmony, that we enjoy daily the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God in our lives.
The Lord has said,
... 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.
Every person who goes contrary to the Church and says that the brethren are fallen or are out of the way or are teaching false doctrines, unless he repents will never in this life or eternity realize the full measure of his possibilities and powers. God will not suffer his Church, established for the last time in this the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times when a restitution of all things is to be accomplished, to be led by a fallen prophet, or by someone whom he does not want.
The Prophet Joseph Smith, in a letter to William W. Phelps, quoted Section eighty-five of the Doctrine and Covenants, and, commenting upon the mission of the one mighty and strong, said:
Now Brother William, if what I have said is true, how careful men ought to be what they do in the last days, lest they are cut short in their expectations and they that think they stand, should fall because they keep not the Lord's commandments.
In The Deseret News of November 13, 1905, President Joseph F. Smith and his Counselors, commenting on this statement, said:
Perhaps no other passage in the revelations of the Lord in this dispensation has given rise to so much speculation as this one... the Church of Christ and of the Saints is completely organized, and that when the man who shall be called upon to divide unto the Saints their inheritances comes, he will be designated by the inspiration of the Lord to the proper authorities of the Church, appointed and sustained according to the order provided for the government of the Church.
So long as that Church remains in the earth-and we have assurance from the Lord that it will remain in the earth forever-the Saints need look for nothing of God's appointing that will be erratic or irregular, or that smacks of starting over afresh, or that would ignore or overthrow the established order of things. The Saints should remember that they are living in the dispensation of the fullness of times when the Church is established in the earth for the last days and for the last time and that God's Church is a Church of order or law, and that there is no place for anarchy in it.
And then in Gospel Doctrine, President Joseph F. Smith says:
If any man in that position should become unfaithful God would remove him out of his place. I testify in the name of Israel's God that he will not suffer the head of the Church, whom he has chosen to stand at the head, to transgress his laws and apostatize; the moment he should take a course that would in time lead to it, God would take him away. Why? Because to suffer a wicked man to occupy that position would be to allow, as it were, the fountain to be corrupted, which is something he will never permit.
The Prophet Joseph Smith made this important statement:
I will give you one of the Keys of the mysteries of the Kingdom. It is an eternal principle, that has existed with God from all eternity: That man who rises up to condemn others, finding fault with the Church, saying that they are out of the way, while he himself is righteous, then know assuredly, that that man is on the high road to apostasy, and if he does not repent, will apostatize, as God lives.
In Section 121 of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord said to the Prophet,
Cursed are all those that shall lift up the heel against mine anointed, saith the Lord, and cry they have sinned when they have not sinned before me, saith the Lord, but have done that which was meet in mine eyes, and which I commanded them.
But those who cry transgression do it because they are the servants of sin, and are the children of disobedience themselves.
I testify to you, my brothers and sisters, that your leaders are doing that which is meet in the eyes of God. They may have their faults and their failings, but when it comes to devotion to their high calling in this Church and kingdom, there is no question but what they are doing all within their power to set forward the interests of the Church, and the interests of the people of the Church. And this leadership, my brothers and sisters, must stand firm, and teach all truths, and all principles and all laws that God has revealed. God has not given to man the authority to change eternal truths, principles, or laws. If people are honest, and surely no person can be honest unless he keeps the commandments of God, they will expect their leaders without equivocation to defend and teach the commandments of God as revealed; otherwise they would not accept them as leaders; they would not follow them; they would not respect them, for such vacillating leadership would not be acceptable to the body of the Church.
There are those who might say:
... Eat, drink and be merry; nevertheless fear God, he will justify in committing a little sin, yea, lie a little, take advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.
Do we, my brothers and sisters, want to belong to that kind of Church or accept those who teach that kind of doctrine? Is there hope, is there satisfaction in following such teachings? Surely God would not rob justice. Those who break his laws must suffer the penalty for broken law. The Lord we are told, does not look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. If God cannot, can we-and justify ourselves or others for such doings?
The Lord said to the Prophet in Section 132 of the Doctrine and Covenants:
For all who will have a blessing at my hands shall abide the law which was appointed for that blessing, and the conditions thereof, as were instituted from before the foundation of the world.
And those who fail to obey set themselves up for temptation and evil. Again Satan is ever alert to his opportunities to deceive and to lead the people of this Church astray, for he knows the power of this Church, its destiny and purpose in the earth, and he will do all that he can to see that the work does not prosper.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, we need to be faithful, we need to support our leaders. And when we go to our bishops and our stake presidents for counsel, let us accept it, for God will prosper us as we follow the leadership of those appointed to preside over us. If we attain, therefore, the full measure of our possibilities and powers, we must obey and follow leadership and keep all the commandments of God. If we can keep with us the spirit of the gospel, which is light and truth, then it will not be too difficult for us to obey and follow the leadership that God has called and appointed to direct his people.
May our Heavenly Father bless us, give us the strength that we require, keep us true to the faith and faithful in our responsibilities, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Levi Edgar Young
Levi Edgar Young, Conference Report, April 1952, pp. 52-55
In the thirteenth chapter of First Nephi, we have the words of the Prophet who writes:
And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land.
And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the many waters...
And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord, and the power of the Lord was with them.
I have always recalled with joy in reading these words that they referred to Christopher Columbus and the Pilgrim fathers. When Columbus stepped upon this western land in 1492, he uttered these words in prayer:
O God, our Father, eternal and omnipotent, creator of heaven and earth and sea, we glorify Thy Holy name, praise Thy majesty, whom we serve in all humility, we give unto Thy Holy protection this new part of the world.
We are told that Edward Winslow, the third signer of the Mayflower Compact, recorded the following parting words of Pastor Robinson, as the Pilgrim fathers left the shores of Holland on their long journey into the unknown West. He said:
Brethren, we are now quickly to part from one another, and whether I may ever live to see your face, on earth any more, the God of Heaven only knows; but whether the Lord hath appointed that or not, I charge you before God and His blessed angels that you follow me no farther than you have seen me follow the Lord Jesus Christ. If God reveal anything to you, by any other instrument of his, be as ready to receive it as ever you were to receive truth, by my ministry; for I am fully persuaded, I am very confident, that the Lord has more truth yet to break forth out of his holy word.
Columbus was inspired and led by the power of God to these shores of America, and the Pilgrim fathers and others likewise, for we believe that the time had come for the American Indians to be found, for they are the remnants of Joseph. It is interesting to note that many of the early adherents to the gospel of Jesus Christ, as received in the early part of the nineteenth century, were descendants of the old Puritan stock who came from England. Such men were the Prophet Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and many others of that early day. And thus began the great work of occupying the whole country of America by different peoples of the world. We have become a rich and powerful nation, potentially the richest and the most powerful upon the earth.
As President Richards spoke about the building of this Tabernacle in which we are worshiping God, I recalled that it is just one hundred years ago that President Brigham Young stood before the two thousand people and more who had assembled for the same reason that you and I have done, to worship God and Jesus Christ our Redeemer. They had a Tabernacle which had just been built of adobes and could seat two thousand people. The seats were mostly of logs, although a few chairs had been made for the brethren who sat in front. People came from all parts of the territory, some by ox team and in wagons drawn by horses. Many of them walked long distances to attend the conference. At the close of the last meeting on Sunday afternoon President Young arose and announced that he had called approximately one hundred of the brethren to go on missions to different parts of the world. The nations mentioned were those of Europe, and China, India, Persia, and Siam in Asia, and then the Islands of the Pacific. One cannot conceive what this meant in those days when the missionaries walked to the Pacific Coast to take a boat to the countries of the Pacific. Then think of the long journey by way of the Atlantic Ocean as they set out for India, Siam, and Persia. The history of these men will be written some day by a master historian, and the world will stand amazed at their courage and faith in God. Many of the journals of those missionaries have been preserved. President Lorenzo Snow was already in Italy, and President John Taylor was president of the French Mission. We have heard during the conference much about the subject of teaching which the missionaries experienced, and in a few words, I should like to add a thought concerning the teaching of the gospel to the people of the world.
It has been said in many different ways that "In our children lies the future of our world." If we believe this, and we do, then the education of our children deserves our foremost careful attention. Every father and mother every mature person in our land should be profoundly interested in the education of our youth. Our honored President, David O. McKay, has during the last year given to us and our nation more than one great talk on the aims and ideals and the far-reaching importance of education. He has told us that it flourishes on character, and without character it lacks any strength. There must be character and goodness as its chief obligation-goodness is its real power. True affection in those taught and in those who are teachers must never be wanting. In all good teaching there are things that survive, and have survived, strong and unshaken from the earliest times. The master Teacher who lived two thousand years ago said love is the foundation on which to build all growth, all progress, all faith-love of God, love of neighbor.
Teaching is an art, and an art has to be learned. Our missionaries must be taught better how to teach the gospel. Our seventies at home must be taught how to teach the gospel, remembering always that we can teach only that which we know. We are admonished to seek, to knock, to ask to search diligently with faith unwavering, and we shall be rewarded. We are told by the Prophet Joseph Smith to "Seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom".
If our schools and colleges teach the things that are really important, the mind is required to do hard work, to attack a difficult problem and think to a correct answer. One of our well-known writers has said,
There are only a very few youthful years in every human life when the mind is fresh and plastic, and the memory able to retain. These years should be used to teach the best and most beautiful things man can know-power over language, a mastery of pure science, exposure to great literature and art, a basic knowledge of history, philosophy, and religion. No matter what a young man or woman does to earn his living, his education will have been worthless unless he has learned to know and to use the first-rate in whatever line he pursues-and also learned to love it.
It is in the realm of religion that most of us teach. We want our children to know the gospel, and to live it to the very best of their ability. We want righteousness to be made practical in every phase of life. We hope to direct our youth into a pattern of life that is eternal, founded on a sure and firm belief and faith in the teachings of the Savior, and the prophets of old and of the new and restored gospel. Our aim is to teach our children to carry forward the purposes of God. In doing this we follow the words in Section 4 of the Doctrine and Covenants,
... ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind, and strength.
We must begin to teach our children while they are very young, for it is written, "The things that thou hast not gathered in thy youth, how shalt thou find them in thy old age?"
And Jethro counseled, "And thou shalt teach them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do. They must be patiently, gradually taught. Being God's people, they must live his laws, they must worship in his ways".
Man needs a long vision in life that he may fulfil a pattern of eternal progression and salvation although the strains and tenseness of daily living favor short sight. Perhaps both are necessary, but the one should not crowd out the other more realistic and basic one. The man who is trying earnestly and with all his strength to catch sight of the vision of a better world, and to incorporate what he can see in the life of himself and his society, helps us to do what we could not do without his help. We can raise ourselves on the shoulders of those who have walked on higher levels. There is a profound wisdom in the saying, "Let us now praise famous men." This is what is meant by the warning of the prophets, "Lift up your hearts." Learn of the greatness and goodness of prophets and leaders in trying to follow their teachings.
Religion holds up to us all the noblest examples of living. Disraeli said, "Nurture your minds with great thoughts: To believe in the heroic makes heroes."
Read the Bible to get not only great truths of living but also great feeling and enlarged vision. Read it to get the depths of life. Make it your companion through life so that you may not live only on the surface, but on permanent effect. Do likewise with the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price. Religion is the greatest instrument for raising us to the best of the highest life.
We have had great teachers in our day. I think of one: Dr. Karl G. Maeser, who came to America from Germany as a convert to the Church and who was for many years a teacher in Brigham Young University in the early days of that institution. It is only recently that Dr. Joel Francis Paschal of Princeton University has written the Life of Justice George Sutherland, who first was elected congressman and then senator from the state of Utah. Dr. Paschal tells about the influence that Dr. Maeser had on the life of Senator Sutherland, and says:
Dr. Maeser's knowledge seemed to reach into every field. Of course there were limits, but they were not revealed to me during my course at the Academy. That he was an accomplished scholar I knew from the first. But the extent of his learning so grew before my vision as time went on that my constant emotion was one of amazement. I think there were days when I would have taken my oath that if the Rosetta Stone had never been found, nevertheless he could have easily revealed the meaning of the Egyptian hieroglyphics. He spoke with a decided accent; but his mastery of the English language, of English literature, and of the English way of thought, was superb.
Maeser's influence was not merely that of an instructor. Says Sutherland,
He was a man of such transparent and natural goodness that his students gained not only knowledge, but character which is better than knowledge.
I like to remind myself of the saying of Emerson,
God offers to every mind its choice between truth and repose: take which you please, you can never have both.
The mothers of Zion begin the teaching of their children when they are in the cradle. They remember always that, "Love grants in a moment what toil can hardly achieve in an age."
The very first thing every child should be taught is respect for every human being. We should learn to have a great and good opinion of human life, for all are made in the image of God and have a dignity and a destiny. This will lead naturally to the principle of the Golden Rule, "Do unto others what I would that others should do unto me."
It is extraordinary how many kinds of men and women make desirable teachers because the pupils display a variety of human traits and cannot all be moved and reached by the same teaching. Remember, too, that a mastered subject, and a person committed heart and soul to teaching it, with the spirit of God, will be near to the discourse of men and angels.
We need not be graduated of schools and colleges to know these truths of religion and teach them to our children. The Savior has told us that if we ask it shall be given to us: If we knock, it shall be opened unto us, and we need only to pray and work earnestly and with faith to receive the blessings we desire to become teachers of the gospel.
Sir Richard Livingston, an educator and classicist, and president of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, tells us in a lecture at Springfield, Massachusetts, "It is amazing that a person not intellectually bright, perhaps not even educated is capable of grasping and living by something so advanced as the principles of Christianity."
The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
For he hath founded it upon the sea, and established it upon the floods
May our faith be strengthened and may we have power to teach our children the truth and the beauty of the gospel, I humbly pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie
Bruce R. McConkie, Conference Report, April 1952, pp. 55-57
We believe that God has revealed himself in our day that men again may be able to gain eternal life in his kingdom. The knowledge of God, the knowledge as to the nature and kind of being that he is, is the rock foundation upon which all true religion is based, and without that knowledge and without revelation from him, it is not possible for men to hope for or gain the blessings, honors, and glories of eternity.
The Master gave the key to this principle in his great intercessory prayer when he said,
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
The Prophet Joseph Smith said,
It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the character of God and to know that we may converse with him as one man converses with another.
This knowledge of God, always coming by revelation, has been had in every age of the earth's history when the gospel has been here. The prophets have known of him and have borne witness to the people concerning his attributes and his laws. He created Adam "in the image of his own body" and then walked and talked with him, with the very man whom he had created in his own likeness. He sent his Firstborn spirit Son, Jehovah, to commune with Moses "face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend". And then in the Meridian of Time he sent this same Son, among other reasons, to manifest to the world the nature and kind of being that he is, so that men might know him and worship him and keep his commandments and thereby be entitled to come back into his presence again.
Christ said that he was the Son of God. He said that he came forth from the Father, that he came to bear witness of the Father. It is written of him that he is the express image of his Father's person, and this knowledge was had in all ages. And yet when the period of dark apostasy set in, men without revelation, without the Spirit of the Lord, sat down in conventions and conclaves and wrote creeds which attempted to define what kind of being he was. They said that he was in some mystical way three in one, that he filled the immensity of space, that he was everywhere and nowhere in particular present, that he was incomprehensible, unknowable, uncreated, incorporeal, and all the rest. And that is the understanding that prevailed in the world in the spring of 1820 when the Prophet went into that secluded place in a grove of trees to ask the Lord which of all the churches was right and which he should join. The Prophet said,
... I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.
... When the light rested upon me I saw two personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name, and said, pointing to the other-This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!.
From that moment the knowledge of God began to roll forth in the world, and we expect to see a day, eventually, when the knowledge of God will cover the earth, as the waters cover the deep, when it will no longer be necessary for any man to say to his neighbor, "Know the Lord," for all shall know him from the greatest to the least.
We have a scripture that says,
The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's, the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit.
If we had lived in the beginning, in Adam's day, and had received the knowledge of God as taught by revelation from the mouth of Adam, the presiding high priest in the Church, we would have seen that the very name of the Father, literally interpreted, meant Man of Holiness, for as the scripture says,
... In the language of Adam, Man of Holiness is his name, and the name of his Only Begotten is the Son of Man.
When Christ repeatedly referred to himself as the Son of Man, he was certifying that Man of Holiness, God the Eternal Father, was his Father, and he had no reference to his mortality his birth as the son of Mary.
All of us who have received the gospel have power given us to become the sons of God. We can do that by faith. And Paul says those that become, by adoption, sons of God are joint heirs with Jesus Christ, entitled thereby to receive, inherit, and possess, as Christ has inherited before. The Apostle John, beloved disciple of the Lord, wrote these words:
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.
And now note particularly what he says:
... 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.
To that same John, who had written these words as moved upon by the Holy Ghost, the Lord said:
He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
And then again:
To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
These New Testament scriptures, and many others that could be cited, teach the doctrine of exaltation, a doctrine of eternal life and eternal lives, a doctrine of joint heirship with Christ the Son. And this knowledge has been given again, with more particulars, by revelation in this day. We are taught that Christ received not of the fullness at the first but went from grace to grace until he received a fullness, and that he finally received all power both in heaven and on earth. After having this truth recorded in the revelation, the Lord says that he is doing it so we may know what we worship and know how to worship, and that if we keep his commandments, we can go from grace to grace until, one in him as he is in the Father, we may inherit a fullness of all things.
Now the knowledge of God is the beginning of true religion. Without it there cannot be faith in God. The knowledge of God is the end of all true religion. If we have that knowledge and seek, as John says, to purify ourselves as he is pure, we can go on in eternal progression, having reached the blessings of peace and happiness here, and being assured of an eternal reward in the mansions that are prepared, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Ezra Taft Benson
Ezra Taft Benson, Conference Report, April 1952, pp. 57-61
Beloved brethren and sisters, in humility I invoke the inspiration of the Lord and seek an interest in your faith and prayers as I stand for a few moments in this pulpit. I should like, if the Lord will bless me, to give vent to some thoughts that have been deeply impressed upon my mind for several weeks now. I hope I shall not be misunderstood. It seems to me that the day in which we live demands a frank and forthright consideration of some of the problems which face us not only as a Church but also as a great Christian nation.
With you I thrilled at the opening address of our great leader, President McKay. As I have thought of his remarks regarding this land of America, its achievements, and its needs, I have felt that I could characterize best what he said in two words: Spiritual Statesmanship. With you I love this land in which we live. I am proud of our heritage; I am grateful for the American tradition; I am thankful that the Lord has given through his prophets information regarding this great nation.
However, it seems to me that there are certain tendencies, trends, and practices which endanger very greatly our way of life and strike at the very foundation of much that we hold dear as a great Christian nation. Of course, the conditions of the world generally give us cause for concern. We seem to live in a world of conflict, insecurity, uncertainty, and almost bewilderment. We appear to be groping blindly, aimlessly, unable to find the way. Were it not for our faith in the prophecies of God I fear sometimes we would almost be tempted to give up.
We are in the midst of continuing international crises. The outlook for world peace and security is dark indeed. The gravity of the world situation, it appears, is increasing almost daily. The United Nations seems unable to settle the troubles of the world. In truth we are faced with the hard fact that the United Nations, it seems, has largely failed in its purpose. Yes, the days ahead are sobering and challenging ones. We might well ask, America-what of the future?
I never travel across this great land and note its broad, fruitful farms, its humming factories and gleaming cities but what I am impressed with the marvels of this great nation. Yes, we have made unequaled material progress. We have become the greatest and the richest nation in all the world. This has been done on about 6% of the land area of the world by a relatively small group of people, only 7% of the world's population. Yet it is reported that this small group of people produce today approximately half of the world's total wealth in usable form to satisfy human needs. It is reported that in the year 1950 almost half of the food and fiber of the world was produced here in the United States. Our productivity has increased one-fifth every ten years since 1850. Through the use of machines much of the drudgery and toil so common in many other nations has disappeared. Our engineers have estimated that the average worker today has the equivalent of 99 mechanical slaves working for him. The Twentieth Century Fund recently predicted that by 1960, 96% of all the energy going into physical work in America would be performed by machines, 1% by horses, and 3% by men. The average American worker has an output per hour six times his output in 1850. Yes, we have made unprecedented achievements in material things.
The prophets of God foreshadowed these achievements when they predicted that this would be a land choice above all other lands and that it would be preserved for a righteous people. Those who were to dwell here, if they served the God of the land, should be free from bondage and captivity. Lehi, who led the second colony which came to this great land, was told that he was leading that colony to a land of promise and that none should come here save those who would come here under the influence of heaven. This land would be consecrated unto those whom the Lord would guide here. It would be a land of liberty. Lehi's son, Jacob, said there should be no kings upon this land, that the God of heaven would be their king that this land would be fortified against all other nations, and that he who would fight against Zion should perish.
Reference has been made by President Young to the coming of Columbus. The scriptures tell us that the Spirit wrought upon Columbus, and upon those who followed him, and that they came here under the inspiration of heaven. Nephi predicted that when they arrived, they would humble themselves before God, that the power of the Lord would be with them, and that they would prosper. Our history clearly records that the early peoples who did come were humble, God-fearing men and women. Bradford records that their first act upon arriving here upon American soil was to go upon their knees in humble prayer and bless the God of heaven.
The impelling force in their hearts it seems to me, was a love for basic ideals and principles, which were dearer to them than life itself. Among these were their love of God, faith in his divine purposes, their love of freedom industry, thrift, decency, and honor. Yes, this nation had its beginning in a high-minded manner. The rules of conduct established by the early colonists and our founding fathers were taken from the scriptures. They were embodied in the Decalogue and in the gospel. The Sabbath was set aside as a sacred day. Profanity and other vices were condemned, and gambling was forbidden. People were encouraged to keep good company and to repeat no grievances. They emphasized the spiritual virtues.
Washington but echoed the general feeling of the early colonists when he acknowledged God's direction and emphasized the importance of spirituality honor, and moral courage. He 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 stated:
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.
His successors spoke in similar vein. Lincoln emphasized the same thought when he acknowledged that "God rules this world," and that "It is the duty of nations as well as men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow..., " and then quoting from the scriptures, "and to recognize the sublime truth that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord." Yes, my brethren and sisters, they spoke of self-evident truths-inalienable rights.
When the Prophet Joseph came upon the scene to open a new gospel dispensation, he shed even further light upon the establishment of this great nation and the coming forth of the Constitution, which he stated was a glorious standard, founded in the wisdom of God. Through revelation the Lord said to him, as was quoted by Brother Moyle yesterday,
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.
We have enjoyed divine favor through much of our history, but what of the future? It seems to me, my brethren and sisters, that the lessons of history, many of them very sobering, ought to be turned to during this hour of our great achievement because I feel in my own heart that during the hour of our success is our greatest danger. I feel firmly that even during the hour of great prosperity, a nation may sow the seeds of its own destruction. This may happen even during a period of great income, relatively full employment, and high business activity. History reveals that rarely is a great civilization conquered from without until it has weakened or destroyed itself within.
I read recently volume three of that monumental work by Will Durant, The Story of Civilization. This volume entitled Caesar and Christ, covers the rise and fall of the Roman Empire and the coming forth of Christianity. It covers a period of 1125 years, from 800 B.C. to 325 A.D. At the end of this six-hundred-page volume, the author writes an epilogue under the caption "Why Rome Fell." It is generally agreed that not infrequently history repeats itself. The author lists the major causes why this great civilization fell apart. I wonder if there is anything in what he says for us to take note of today. As a read this volume I was caused to reflect on the similarity of conditions and practices then and now. May I give you briefly his summary:
The first group of causes he termed biological, and no doubt most fundamental. They had to do with the limitation of families, the deferment and avoidance of marriage, the refusal of men and women to shoulder the great responsibilities, God-ordained, of honorable parenthood. He mentioned that sexual excesses were indulged in commonly, both in and outside the marriage covenant. The operation of contraception and abortion was common. This, together with other things, resulted in reduced fertility. Sex ran riot, and moral decay resulted.
He mentioned as another cause of Rome's decay, the waste of natural resources in mining, deforestation, erosion, the neglect of irrigation canals but most important of all, the negligence of harassed and discouraged men the failure to teach high moral principles so necessary for the building of real character.
Then he lists with great emphasis the rising costs of government because of armies, doles, public works, expanding bureaucracy, a parasitic court, depreciation of currency, absorption of investment capital by confiscatory taxation.
Is there anything suggestive in this summary?
May I give you the following figures on this last grouping particularly, taken from what seem to be reliable sources? According to projected estimates, our federal government will spend during the coming fiscal years, 1952-53, more than the total income of all the people west of the Mississippi River-22 states. The federal payroll in 1952 will top 22 billion-4 billion above last year and 16 times the 1929 total. Nearly one out of every four adult Americans is receiving regularly federal checks. At the present rate, by 1953 the government will be spending approximately 38% of the national income. During only three of the last twenty years has our federal budget been balanced. It requires today approximately 2 1/2 million civilians to staff the federal bureaucracy.
In the matter of the depreciation of the currency, it is reported that the present dollar is worth only 38 cents compared to the 1913 dollar, and that the dollar today will purchase only about half as much as it did in 1935-39.
As to taxation, the federal government took in taxes during all past administrations up to six years ago-156 years-248 billion dollars. In the last six years we have taken in taxes 260 billion, and still we seem not to have enough to pay our current bills. With a debt of over one-quarter of a trillion dollars the annual interest payment is 6 billion dollars plus, more than all government expenditures in 1933.
Now, my brethren and sisters this author lists other causes. Political causes, he says, were rooted in one fact that through centralized control and the increasing despotism of the state, the citizens' civic sense was destroyed and dried up, thus destroying statesmanship at its source. Men felt powerless to express themselves and lost interest in government. Yet, I presume, Rome has had no equal in the art of government. She achieved a democracy of free men and then destroyed it with corruption and violence.
With you, I love this great land in which we live. I pray for the chief executive and his cabinet and the legislative and judicial branches, the officials of our states and our cities. But I wonder sometimes, my brethren and sisters, what our founding fathers, our pioneer fathers, would do and say if they were here today. I'm sure they would give serious reflection to present conditions. I wonder if they would not recognize that our liberties have already been abridged, that there has been too much of a tendency for us to call upon our federal government every time we felt the need for the accomplishment of any particular objective. I wonder if we haven't had a tendency to call for help for those things which our forefathers would have done willingly for themselves. Yes, I presume as a people we are to blame, but I feel that if they were here today, they would apply some very definite tests before any new service or new program were approved. May I just mention three:
First, I think they would ask the question: Can this service, assuming it is needed, be done more efficiently, more effectively by our federal government or should we do it ourselves on the local level? They believed that government is best which governs least. Government seems to be inherently wasteful and inefficient. Possibly it is because the profit motive and competition-the very life of private enterprise-are largely absent.
Second, How will it affect the morale and the character of the people? This seems to me to be of great importance. They were interested in the building of character. They recognized that character, not wealth or power or position, is of prime consideration.
Third, they would possibly ask: How will it affect our free institutions-the church, the school, the home, and our local form of government?
I believe if they were here, they would look for the answers to the decline of public morals. As they looked searchingly for the answers, they would probably observe evidence of weak and vacillating leadership in many places, not confined to one group or one party. They would find a tendency for men in high places to place political expediency ahead of principle. They would be concerned with the alarming growth of a something-for-nothing philosophy, a failure of people to stand on their own feet. They would probably find bad examples by unscrupulous politicians and by delinquent parents, and possibly a weakening of religious training, and the substitution therefore of a faith-destroying materialism.
I think, my brethren and sisters, as Latter-day Saints, and as American citizens, we need to rouse ourselves to the problems that confront us as a great Christian nation. We need to recognize that these fundamental, basic principles, moral and spiritual, lay at the very foundation of our achievements in the past. If we are to continue to enjoy our present blessings, we must have a return to these basic and fundamental principles. Economics and morals are both parts of one inseparable body of truth, and they must be in harmony. We need to square our actions and our policies with these eternal principles.
I wonder if we have forgotten the counsel of the prophets, the founding fathers, and our great statesmen. Surely we need a nationwide return to these fundamentals. We need a nationwide repentance to rid this land of corruption. We must return to the fundamental virtues that have made this nation great. There is a force in the universe which no mortal can alter. This nation does have a spiritual foundation. It has been established in keeping with great spiritual and moral principles, but there seems to be a tendency for us to lose our sense of uprightness and to do wilfully those things which we must know to be wrong. This cannot be done with impunity.
God help us to raise our sights beyond the dollar sign, beyond material things. May we have the courage to stand up and be counted, to stand for principle, for those principles and ideals which guided the founding fathers in the establishment of this great land. Thank God for the promises that have been made regarding the future of America. I hope and pray we shall realize the fulfillment of these promises because we merit their fulfillment. I am grateful that the Lord has said through his prophets that this nation unto the righteous shall be blessed forever, and that he will be a light unto them forever that hear his words.
God help us that we may not drift farther from the principles of faith and honor established by those noble founding fathers and the pioneers who settled these valleys. We need this faith, we need a close adherence to these basic principles. It is my conviction my brethren and sisters, that this nation or no other nation will be saved materially unless in some way it is strengthened, redeemed, and regenerated spiritually. God bless us in that redemption, that we may go forward and live the principles that have been so basic and so fundamental in bringing this great nation to its present standing in the world, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Albert E. Bowen
Albert E. Bowen, Conference Report, April 1952, pp. 63-66
For almost two days now I have been looking out over the faces of those who have congregated here, noting the evidence of devotion to the purpose which has brought them together. Every aspect of their features has indicated that they have come with solemn intent. Not that there is sadness, there is a joyous sobriety manifest in their countenances.
I note, too, a manifestation of expectancy written all over your faces, and that is very sobering because I realize that you expect something from those who assume this position. The purpose, I have no doubt, is that you might draw some fortification for your faith, and some strengthening help to face the issues of life and wrestle with its problems as they come to you day by day.
We very rarely pick up a magazine now or a newspaper, that does not advise us somewhere along the line that somebody has said that the great need of this world today is increased spirituality. That idea is voiced in varied forms. Sometimes it is expressed as a greater dedication to religion, a more complete incorporation of the principles of religion into our lives, and that is heralded as one of the things that could cure the ills of the world.
But as I listen to further expositions I find a great deal of vagueness in those expressions. I am not sure that I know just what those who use them mean. I am not sure that I know just what, in their minds, religion signifies.
There are a great many learned disquisitions about what religion is the features that constitute it, and, what the essential factors in it are.
It is not my purpose here to go into any of those discussions. This is neither the time nor the place for that. But I am going to assume that I can tell you what our religion is, and I intend to say and do say that our religion comprises the teachings and life and actions of Jesus of Nazareth. That constitutes our religion.
It all centers in Jesus the Christ. So far as I know, in all the reading I have been able to do, all the research made there is no principle of right action, no ethical principle, recognized in the world today that is not comprehended in the teachings of Jesus Christ. I believe that if all the books on ethics were burned today, and we had left the utterances of the Christ and the teachings of the Apostles whom he commissioned to carry his message to the world, we should have a perfect and concrete guide to human conduct.
Our religion comprehends more than just the ethical code. It contains a body of principles, through the observance of which we are promised the great reward of eternal life and salvation in the kingdom of God.
I want to turn here to the words of Peter, as recorded in the Acts,
But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
But this is that which was spoken by the Prophet Joel;
And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:...
Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it...
Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
That is the kind of teaching that introduced the gospel of Jesus christ in the ancient day. There is no equivocation, no temporizing, there is no dodging of the issue. There is the straightforward declaration that this man who had lived among them was recognized of God, that they had taken him in foul hands and had destroyed his life, but that he was raised up and had become and was recognized of God as both Lord and Christ.
That is our religion. That is what we believe. Wipe that out, and we have nothing left upon which to rest our faith. It is basic to every principle that is acknowledged in our teaching or in the teaching of those who, under guidance of the Christ, were his messengers to establish his work.
This is a great teaching Church. Its business is to teach. Men can be persuaded, their lives reformed through persuasion. No man may be coerced, and no belief was ever established by attempted coercion or force. Jesus resorted to the method of persuasion and our business as his representatives is to persuade people over whom we may have influence to accept the doctrine, and when they have accepted it in their hearts, they are born again. They do not want to resort to the evil practices from which they have been converted. They want to order their lives according to the purity of his teachings.
Foremost among the teachings that Jesus uttered was his recognition of God the Father. To him he prayed. He said that he was come to do the Father's will, not his own. He told his disciples that he had done nothing except what he had seen the Father do, putting himself into humble submission before the omnipotent power of the God of heaven.
As he directed his messengers to go out, he told them that they should carry his message and teach it to all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, and teaching them to observe all things "whatsoever I have commanded you". That is all that is required of any man.
If we would do all the things whatsoever God commanded, or his Son Jesus Christ, which is the same thing authoritatively, we would have no troubles in this world. There would be peace and harmony and good will. War would be impossible. All the ugliness of life, everything that destroys beauty and desirability would be cleansed out from the earth. In that instruction is comprehended the whole sweep of the gospel teaching.
He taught that man has a destiny, what that destiny is, and how to achieve it; that it is all dependent upon conformance to the plan given. We have heard something in this conference about a plan. It is a designed plan. It is the only plan that assures salvation to the children of men, the promise is predicated upon the assumption that we obey the teachings of that plan.
All that we know of record about the earth life of the Son of God is contained in the books of the New Testament-the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles. It has been said that if you blot out the books of the Acts, you would leave a great blank covering a very important period in the life and ministry of Jesus prior to his death and resurrection, as well as occurrences after that period.
We turn to those books as the authoritative source of our information, accepting them as the word of God for the guidance of his children. And that same fidelity of purpose the same courageous conviction and declaration of it as was voiced by Peter on that pentecostal day, has rung down through the ages since that time.
Paul was not of those who had lived with the Christ, walked with him. He was rather a persecutor of his saints-by his own account he had viciously persecuted them, but he became a great expounder of the faith. This is how it happened.
Standing in bonds before Agrippa to answer the charges made against him, he 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.
It is the testimony of those who walked with him during his mortal life. It is the testimony of those who received their testimony and became convinced in their own souls. It was the testimony of Paul. It is the one sure way to live by the teachings which he expounded, and that same authoritative declaration of personal knowledge has come down through all the ages of time and has been repeated in our day, and thus we read that the Prophet Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, in the temple, declare this:
And while we meditated upon these things, the Lord touched the eyes of our understandings and they were opened, and the glory of the Lord shone round about.
And we beheld the glory of the Son, on the right hand of the Father, and received of his fullness;
And saw the holy angels, and them who are sanctified before his throne, worshiping God, and the Lamb, who worship him forever and ever.
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.
Here is a sober declaration of men just as those who had been associated with the Christ gave their testimony of what they had seen and heard, and those testimonials may not be idly brushed aside. They are entitled to every credence that is normally accorded to the words of any honest man whose integrity has not been impeached.
That is the foundation of our religion. That is the kind of teaching that won its way until it had established itself as a recognized religion of the great empire of Rome after a period of persecution. That is the only kind of faith that will keep men safe in the course that leads to eternal salvation.
It did happen. It happened by slow degrees. Nobody can tell just when it first began, but these sober declarations began to meet with some doubt, and men began to philosophize about these sober declarations. Gradually questionings began to have their effect by infiltration and dilution, until this profound faith was sadly shaken.
By the third or fourth century it was almost blotted out as a simple declaration of faith through an attempted admixture with Greek and other philosophies. Such is the inevitable consequence when men try to rationalize the word of God, the testimony of his servants, to accommodate it to the teachings of their philosophies, and make it more palatable to their understanding or their likes. From that day to this, the Church has been derelict in its duty to proclaim the undiluted word so that now when men say to us, "We need a revival of religion," a lot of them who use those phrases do not even believe in the existence of God.
They do not believe that Jesus was the Son of God nor that he was resurrected from the dead. They are using idle phrases. If men really believed, they would do something about it, and if that belief were implemented into the lives of men in this world, it would cure the ills under which the world is groaning.
During the war, the editor of a national magazine, the magazine Fortune, to be exact, wrote out a series of questions that he distributed to a large body of the clergy, asking their opinions about certain beliefs. Their answers disappointed him by their wordy circumlocutions and avoidance of positive commitments.
He wrote a most penetrating editorial about it. This, among other things, is what he said:
A 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. 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 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 his experience is disillusionment.
This is the profound and absolute spiritual disillusionment arising from the fact that when we consult the church we only hear 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 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 that 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 this 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 entirely lost. Without it we are no more capable of saving the world than we were of creating it in the first place.
That is a penetrating analysis of the cause for the ills of the world. To gain favor, to enhance our popularity, to avoid giving offense, we have adopted the theories of men and tried to integrate them with the teachings of the Son of God, and they will not mix. The result is that the church, instead of setting the pattern, marking out the path, has been adopting what has been adopted as practice among the men of business-the laboring men, the laity of the world-and the voice of the laymen, modified and given essence by the things they want to do and like to practice, guided by their selfish interests, has drowned out the voice of the church, and the leaders of the church have lost their powerful, guiding influence. Men refused to heed its words, finding in them only the echo of the words of the laity that are spoken about.
In my view there is only one safety; there is only one cure; and that is to take the pure and unadulterated word of God and set that up as our standard of measurement, and measure every creed and doctrine and dogma by that yardstick. That which will not square with the declarations of Almighty God we can lay aside as unsuited for the need of man, and orient ourselves again in that declaration of Peter, re-echoed by Paul, by all the disciples of the Christ, so long as his teachings remained undefiled and uncorrupted, and set that up as the guide to our course of life.
Then we shall not have these appeals, we shall not need these appeals to men to modify their governments because their governments will be founded in righteousness, and righteousness will prevail.
God grant it may be, I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder Richard L. Evans
Richard L. Evans, Conference Report, April 1952, pp. 67-68
I am sure that the sense of expectancy, of which Brother Bowen spoke, is indeed overpowering to all of us, and that we are all well aware that of ourselves it will not be satisfied. I pray that it may be satisfied through the direction and blessing of him in whose name we are met here.
There has been running through my mind a sentence spoken by President McKay during the last few days: "Give encouragement to the people." It came before me again as the combined choruses of Brigham Young University so beautifully sang here yesterday, "He watching over Israel, slumbers not, nor sleeps. Shouldst thou walking in grief languish, he will quicken thee".
The adverse and long winter, the uncertainties of the times and seasons, the perplexities and problems of our young people have suggested another long-cherished passage of scripture found in Genesis in a promise to Noah:
While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
I am sure that there are many other things also which shall not cease including truth, association with those we love, the possibilities of progress, and a glorious future to work for and to live for, and I am indeed grateful.
We can find encouragement despite some of the physical facts that we face.
A thoughtful person who lives across the mountains to the east has sent within the last two or three days a statement or two that I should like to read briefly into the record. I wish I knew who wrote them so I could give credit. One sentence carried this thought: We may be faced with a lowered physical standard of living, but we need not be faced with lowered standards of thinking. And there was enclosed this series of simple suggestions:
Learn to like what doesn't cost much.
Learn to like reading, conversation, music.
Learn to like plain food, plain service, plain cooking.
Learn to like fields, trees, brooks, hiking, roving, climbing hills.
Learn to like people even though some of them may be... different from you...
Learn to like to work and enjoy the satisfaction of doing your job as well as it can be done.
Learn to like the songs of the birds, the companionship of dogs.
Learn to like gardening, puttering around the house, and fixing things.
Learn to like the sunrise and sunset, the beating of the rain on the roof and the windows, and the gentle fall of snow on a winter day.
Learn to keep your wants simple, and refuse to be controlled by the likes and dislikes of others.
We are reminded of another beautiful thought accredited to H. G. Wells by a contemporary writer, and which suggests that man should not allow "the watch and the calendar to blind him to the fact that each moment of his life is a miracle and a mystery."
I think we can take encouragement in the many marvelous things there are to enjoy regardless of other physical facts that we may face.
I think we can take encouragement in some other things also. Some of the ponderable problems, the unanswered questions, the seeming injustices and discrepancies and uncertainties, some of which President Smith and Brother Kimball spoke of yesterday, which we often have a difficult time in reconciling, will find answer and solution and satisfaction if we are patient and prayerful and willing to wait. Part of them are the price we pay for our free agency. We pay a great price for free agency in this world, but it is worth the price we pay. One of the cherished sentences I recall from the utterances of the Prophet Joseph Smith is that one which says that "an hour of virtuous liberty on earth is worth a whole eternity of bondage." So long as men have their free agency, there will be temporary injustices and discrepancies and some seemingly inexplicable things, which ultimately in our Father's own time and purpose will be reconciled and made right.
There are many other things that give us cause for encouragement-and I shan't take time to name them now-I know that President McKay is under the pressure of time but I shall pass over to one last one quickly: Encouragement to our young people in the uncertainties they face. I should like to say to them before I close that our Father in heaven sent us here not to fail but to succeed, and he has made it possible for us to succeed. He knows us better than we know ourselves, and he knows the circumstances and uncertainties we face. It is his declared purpose to bring to pass our immortality and eternal life, and to give us joy, if we will, and he hasn't presented any impossible set of circumstances or any impossible plan or purpose for us to achieve.
Despite all the uncertainties and difficulties, there is a glorious and worthwhile future for all of these young people of ours, if they will set their sights on some permanent, worth-while goal, look a decade or two ahead, pay the price they have to pay to achieve it, accept the interruptions as they come, and have faith, to work, to prepare, to pray, to keep the commandments of God, to pursue their lives with calm, quiet purpose. If they will do this they will be blessed; they will find great, rich treasures in life, of knowledge, and of other things also, they will surmount all the difficulties and discouragements of the day, and all the interruptions, and all else, if they will continue in faith.
It is, after all, a wonderful world that our Father has given us, in which everything is possible on the basis of repentance and obedience, and on observance of the principles on which the blessings are predicated.
Life passes quickly. I pray that we may all endure to the end, and keep the spirit of encouragement, many more reasons for which we might have mentioned and all of which are contemplated in our Father's plans and purposes for us and are within our reach, according to our obedience and our devotion to the gospel of Jesus Christ, notwithstanding what environment or what companions or what conditions we find ourselves faced with. May God be with us and bless us and give us the courage and the wisdom to endure to the end in faith, I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Elder Clifford E. Young
Clifford E. Young, Conference Report, April 1952, pp. 68-71
As I awoke this morning and looked out over this beautiful valley, conscious, as no doubt all of you are, of the hard winter that we have had, I opened the Bible, and read the nineteenth Psalm:
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork.
Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun.
Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.
His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure making wise the simple.
The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.
Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.
Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins, let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.
As I contemplated these lines, and thought of the beauty of this day in contrast to our severe winter, I thought how much it is like life. We have difficulties, hardships, struggles. We have the storms and the clouds, and then we have the warmth of the sunshine to gladden our hearts, to give us renewed hope and faith. They are all necessary-these changes. It is all in keeping with the providence of the Lord. He never intended that we should have things easy. He intended that through sacrifice and struggle we should learn these great lessons of life and be able to adjust ourselves to them.
I remember one time listening to Sister Elsie Talmage Brandley relate an incident that happened as she traveled about for the Church. She was a member of the general board of the Mutual Improvement Association, and at one time associate editor of THE IMPROVEMENT ERA. Sister Brandley had a fine mind and a great faith. She told of her experience in Canada, how she and her husband living on a ranch had had sickness come to their home; they were too far away for medical help, and there was no way to summon help. She had related this incident to a friend who was not in sympathy with the tenets of our faith and who had asked Sister Brandley if she ever had any pleasures out of life. She replied, "Yes, I have great pleasures in life." And then she related this incident. She said, "You know in our Church our men have a special blessing known as the Holy Priesthood. By right of that they are able to bless their children, and in the authority of that power, it may be to rebuke disease; and the Lord hears those prayers." And then she went on to tell of this experience on the ranch where one of their little ones had been ill, and how her husband had blessed it by the power that the Lord had given him. She said, "Those are our pleasures; those are our joys."
And so it is, my brethren and sisters, in our lives. Sometimes the shadows overwhelm us, but behind them all comes the sun, with its glory, as we saw today, and it radiates into our souls the reality of God, the consciousness of his great blessings, and the assurance that he is our Father, and that we are his children.
Job the prophet taught this lesson forcibly. Probably no man suffered more than he. All of his friends had deserted him; he had lost his crops; he had lost his flocks and his herds; and even his own children had gone. Then when someone said to him that there was nothing left for him to do but to curse God and die, there came to him a consciousness of the reality of God. And he said,
Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book!
That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!
For I know that my redeemer liveth.
He knew notwithstanding all these things,
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.
Seeing beyond the shadows-what a blessed faith it is, my brethren and sisters that we can do that, that we can adjust ourselves to the problems of life as they come. Our people have been very much concerned, especially our agricultural people in these mountain areas, during the last few weeks. Our livestock men fear that they can't get their flocks on the lambing grounds; feed is very short. It is a disturbing time. It is difficult. We have had these difficulties before. Our people have always had them. But in these struggles, in these economic adjustments we have to make from time to time, there come to us greater blessings just as they come spiritually, and greater powers come to us. The Lord seems to have understood that as he endowed us and placed us here in the earth. And so there is a great ray of hope. The Lord declares his goodness. Everything about us proclaims his blessing, proclaims the reality of him in whose name we are met here.
We heard so much yesterday, so much to inspire us about the growth of this Church, its great power, and how the stakes in California are responding to this great trust incident to the erection of the temple. These things perhaps are regarded by those not of our faith as very material; they think that we judge our works by the material things. That is not true. They are the symbols of a magnificent faith in this great work. I don't know whether you noted it but for the last three or four conferences, we have been told of the expenditures for the administration of this Church that come from non-tithing funds. I don't know whether you know the significance of that, but I recall as a young man, when this Church was in debt. It had lost much of its property at one time; it had been escheated by the government; and on its restoration to the Church, about 1896 it was, the Church was heavily in debt. And then when President Snow came into the Presidency on the death of President Woodruff through the inspiration and the revelations that had come to him in the St. George Temple, he promised the people that if they would be true and faithful to their trust, the Church would be relieved of bondage, and that promise was verily fulfilled.
When President Joseph F. Smith became the President of the Church he made certain sound investments for the benefit and blessing of this Church. And I recall that those not of our faith and who had no right to criticize, went up and down this land, in print and otherwise, maligning the Presidency of the Church, accusing the Church of a materialistic attitude, of not being a spiritual organization, of misleading the membership of the Church. That didn't make any difference. The leadership carried on just the same, and we have seen the benefits and blessings of that great leadership, and today we see that leadership, the spirit of it, the inspiration of it manifest.
And when I heard, I think the first time perhaps four conferences ago, when President Clark read the report, was thrilled when I heard him make the statement, "From non-tithes of the Church," are the expense of administration paid. Think of the wisdom, the inspiration of your leadership, the leadership of this Church. And so in these things that are regarded as material, there is a great spiritual power. There is evidence of the inspiration of the Almighty. There is evidence of the Lord directing his work, giving power and strength to the leadership thereof, and that is the way it will always be, because this is God's work, and it will not fail, no matter how the shadows may come, how the difficulties may come, no matter what sacrifices, seeming sacrifices; in the end they are not sacrifices; they are blessings. They are the accumulation of great powers that come to the members of this Church, and they become a sustaining force.
May God help us to appreciate these things and be true to our obligations. The Lord is in the heavens. Everything proclaims his goodness. Everything about us proclaims the divinity of this great work in which you and I are engaged, and the divinity of Jesus Christ, and the prophetic mission of the Prophet Joseph, whose name we praise, he who communed with Jehovah, and talked with God, a reality, the greatest evidence of our day of the divine mission of Jesus Christ. God bless you. Amen.
Elder Antoine R. Ivins
Antoine R. Ivins, Conference Report, April 1952, pp. 71-73
My beloved brethren and sisters, I stand before you with a good deal of timidity and trepidation. Although I have been doing this for a good many years now, I never get quite used to the feeling. I hope that you will help me with your faith and prayers, that there may be in what I say something that may be helpful to some of us, to give us renewed courage and faith. My sole purpose is to be of help.
When Dr. Widtsoe was talking the other day of his experiences and how he was called in as an expert on irrigation problems, I got to thinking about the similarity there is between that and life. I once read from a Spanish writer this statement: "There are more uncultivated souls in the world than lands."
Now the purpose of irrigation, of course, is to bring under cultivation lands that otherwise are not so useful and not productive, and the accomplishment of it represents some of the fundamental principles of our lives and our faith.
To begin with, the waters that we bring on to our land, when they are uncontrolled, may be the source of tremendous danger and damage to us. Sister Ivins and I stood on the banks of the river in Elmira, New York, and watched houses go by under the bridge, watched the water come into the city and fill all the basements of the town, and read in the newspaper of people who were drowned in the flood. And why? Because the waters of that river were beyond control.
Now, when we can bring water under control, and through our faith and works bring it onto the arid lands, those lands become productive. But to do so, there must be a fundamental application of the principle of faith. Without it we would never make the effort. Then there must be such structures erected as will keep the water which we bring onto the lands under absolute control; furthermore, to make efficient use of it, it must have direction, wise and adequate direction.
When we can apply all those things to it we reap a harvest, a rich harvest. But if at any time, during that process, we become lax and lose control, the hope of a season, and sometimes of the future, may vanish in an hour.
That is a good deal like life. The purpose of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is to redeem and cultivate the souls of the people. The purpose, even, is to build up and strengthen and make better the lives of the people who have come already to recognize the power of God, his restored priesthood in the earth, and become members of the Church, for none of us is perfect.
The development of those souls is the greatest responsibility of life. There is, of course, the time when that control must be exercised by others, just as we exercise control over the life-giving elements we lead on to the soil. Custody of a soul begins when a man is born-a puny, powerless, helpless child. There is, however, implanted in him by God a power which can develop, and if controlled, would redound to the benefit and blessing of mankind. It is the duty of the parents of that child to see that its early years are properly guided and its activities properly directed, that the selfish, jealous, evil things which carnal man is subject to, may be taught out of the nature of that child, that it may be taught the virtues, the higher virtues of life, so that in its formative period it may be safeguarded from the evils that surround us in such great number.
Sometimes, as fathers and mothers, we do not realize that responsibility. We take children more or less as a matter of fact; we do not realize that they are the sons and daughters of God, and that in their care and custody, we are the representatives of God, our Heavenly Father. If we could sense that fully, I am sure that we would be more serious in the care and direction which we give to the life of our children.
Now there comes a time, of course, when the father and the mother may have done all that was within their power, and they send their sons and their daughters out into the world to struggle with its changing conditions. Then these young people have this direction within their own power; they have to direct their course; they have to direct their efforts; Father and Mother are no longer in control.
Now in that process the principal element of success, it seems to me, is faith, for without faith in God we are not likely to seek his aid, and without his aid we would lack inspiration, and without inspiration we may be subject to the baser tendencies of the body.
This writer says, "uncultivated souls"; and the Prophet said, "The spirit and the body is the soul of man". Consequently, if we are going to cultivate the soul well, we must pay attention to the spiritual development, and likewise to the physical development of the body. Without a proper relationship of the two we may not succeed.
Now, faith in God then becomes the fundamental principle of life. The great principle of the gospel is love. But how can you love God without having faith in his power, and his interest in you, and his ultimate direction of the affairs of this world of ours? To love him, you must have faith in him. With that faith there will come a love of God, and an effort to do his will, to keep his commandments, to develop ourselves, that we may be ultimately valiant and useful servants unto God in developing his program in the earth.
Without faith, there can be no love between a man and a wife. Without faith there can be no love between a son and a father. Faith must go in both directions, it seems to me. But if that faith can be developed, we will strive to meet the full requirements of our lives; to develop ourselves to our utmost and ultimate capacity. It requires a struggle, constantly, to drive jealousy out of our hearts; it requires a constant struggle to prevent hatred from coming into our feelings and our attitudes; it requires a constant struggle to develop the higher facilities of the body and the mind, but it must come from faith-faith in God, faith in each other as well. But in the beginning is faith in God, because from that develops love, the fundamental principle of the gospel, and from love develops the fidelity that should exist in all family relationships.
We have been told what a wonderful thing it is that we can enjoy our companions here, with the expectation that if our lives are proper, we will have that association throughout eternity culminating in the grandest blessing of the gospel of Jesus Christ; But if we do not have the faith that prompts us to love and respect each other, to honor the pledges that we make in marriage, we will fall far short of the realization of that great and wonderful privilege.
I have come to believe, in this great struggle, that the greatest victory a man can make is the victory of self-control. It did Alexander the Great no good to conquer the world and die a drunken, debauched person, in early manhood. Because he had no self-control, he lost all the advantage that he had gained by his unholy conquests.
So I repeat, it matters not what your conquests are here in other directions, if you fail to gain absolute self-control, you have failed in the greatest victory of life. It is the greatest battle, too, because man, abandoned by the spirit of God, we have been told already, is carnal, and that carnal man is an enemy of God. Without that struggle, without the Spirit of God, we are going to surrender ourselves to our baser and more ignoble tendencies. We must not do it, brothers and sisters. Man or woman, we must have faith in God in order to serve him properly, and make this tremendous struggle that is necessary to overcome these baser faculties.
We must never so mistreat our bodies that we surrender the controls that we have gained over these propensities to the unsettling influences of narcotics or things of that sort. We must live, brothers and sisters, through the faith we develop in God, true to all the commandments that have been given us, and to all of the pledges that we have made.
Now, when we lead the water out over the soil, we may have planted a crop which is the result of months and months of labor, and then, because in an unguarded moment, we relax our control and our watchfulness over it the whole work may be carried away.
And I have known men, and women, too, who apparently have made this successful struggle until well along in years, and then either feeling secure or indifferent, I do not know which they relax these controls; they succumb to temptation; and in an unguarded moment, they destroy their hopes for the future.
I have seen men disorganize marriages that should have carried over into eternity because in an unguarded moment they failed to exercise their faith in God and the controls that come from it.
I believe, brethren and sisters, the greatest need we have today is the development of faith in God and the controls over ourselves which come from that faith; and if we can do so, our future is secure. If we can do so as individual families, the security of our children should be secure. If we can impress those basic principles upon them so that they will adhere to them for the rest of their lives, the generation that they bring into the world should be secure; the whole future, brothers and sisters, depends upon our faith in God, and the exercise of these controls that come through that faith, and the inspiration of God which we get through it.
Now, may we realize these things, brothers and sisters, and may we live true to them, for the pledges we make in the waters of baptism and in the temples of God are serious. There are wonderful promises held out to us. The breaking of these pledges is a serious thing, and has most, what shall I say, most unwanted results, terrible, destructive results in our lives. Have you ever seen persons who forget these things, lose their standing in their communities, sink to oblivion and die, unmourned? I believe you have. Why? Simply because we allow ourselves to forget God, and in the forgetting of him, we lose faith in him because faith is maintained by the exercise of our faculties in the service of God. And when we stop exercising those faculties, that faith may decrease, and with its decrease, our controls may likewise decrease; we may wake up one sad day to find that the blessings which should have been ours are impossible to us.
God grant that we may understand our relationship to him, that we may learn to love him, and have the faith which will guide us, and help us to direct our efforts to the greatest development of ourselves and those dependent upon us, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report, April 1952, pp. 80-82
Brethren, this is a humbling experience. I pray the Lord to bless me for the few minutes that I stand before you, that I may be able to say something that will be helpful and encouraging.
Thirty years ago, from this pulpit, in a public meeting, I voiced a warning against what we then knew as Bolshevism and Socialism, and what we now know as Communism. I thought I saw it coming, and it came. No one can listen to what we have heard tonight, without joining in the feeling that President Stover expressed, thank God for this country and for our citizenship. And there is nothing that we should not do to preserve this country, and its liberties, and its free institutions.
Brother Stover is not telling us fairy tales. He knows what happens over there, and he has told it in language that we can all understand. A system destructive of the great principle which lies behind our great plan, that utterly wipes it out and makes it as if it did not exist, the great principle of free agency.
Brethren, I do not suppose that any of you have had communistic leanings. I suppose that all of you love your country, love the Constitution, love the free institutions under which we live, love our freedoms. But if there be any, may I ask you, prayerfully and humbly, think this thing over, because if it comes here it will probably come in its full vigor and there will be a lot of vacant places among those who guide and direct, not only this government, but also this Church of ours.
Brethren, I urge you, think this thing over in the light of the facts. And I know that Brother Stover has not told us tonight, a tithe of what he could tell.
That brings me rather naturally to my favorite theme before you brethren. "If you are not one, you are not mine". Now, that should mean, and must mean, if we are to preserve our freedoms and our liberties, that we shall be one.
Last night I voiced the thought that I feel is sound. I can think of this Church as having three great functions. The first function is to maintain and build up the body of the Church as we exist, those who already belong to it. The second function is to warn the world and to teach the truth to those who wish it. And the third function is to do the work for the dead.
We cannot successfully carry on the latter two without having a strong central Church, and to build a strong central Church requires unity, real unity, not verbal, make-believe unity.
We need unity in administration, from the deacons' quorum, up. We do not want deacons' quorums going off on their own and handling the meetings as they wish; the members going when they wish, and coming when they wish, and talking about what they wish. That is not the way to build a deacons' quorum.
You bishops of the wards, you do not want your auxiliary organizations carrying on, each one by itself, without any regulation or any control. You presidents of stakes do not want your wards carrying on in that way. And I can assure you that the presiding authorities of the Church cannot do their work unless they have unity among the stakes.
Do not, brethren, get the idea in your minds, that you have a very unique situation in your own place. We hear that frequently. But when we analyze it down, we do not find the uniqueness that sometimes you feel you have.
Be a unit. Follow your file leaders. Do what you are asked to do, and do it willingly and do it with a determination to make it a success.
You need this unity, brethren, if we are going to build this Church and if we are going to fulfil the mission which the Lord has given to us.
And you need unity in doctrine. I incorporate by reference these two fine sermons we have heard today, one from Brother Stapley and one from Brother Bowen. I endorse all that each of them said. The principles of this gospel are clear and reasonably few, that we need to act upon. And there is only one man on earth who has the final word as to what is the true doctrine of this Church and that is President David O. McKay today. When there comes a time to change the doctrines of the Church, he will let you know.
Read your books. There is a startling parallel between the course that is coming in to us today and the course that was in the early Church, so startling that one becomes fearful. We have these little groups going off on their own doing their own interpreting of the scriptures, more or less laying down their own principles. They are small now, of no particular consequence, but that is the way it began in the early Christian Church, and these little snowballs grew and grew and grew until they became great.
"Scholasticism" took its root among those early peoples. There were a number of "schoolmen," they were called who undertook to define the doctrines of the early Church, then developing into the great Catholic Church-Bede, Alcuin, Damiani, Scotus, and others, Thomas Aquinas-they began the development, these individuals, of great heresies that took hold of the imaginations of the people and finally were adopted by the Church.
Now, of course, the Church in those days was not organized as we are. The bishops were independent, one from the other. They had no real, there was no real central control. The pope exercised some, but it was very ineffective and inefficient. Some popes ruled some of these heresies wrong as heresies, then later other popes came along and ruled them as truths. We must be united in doctrine, we must follow the scriptures. Do not try to wander off too much brethren, I beg of you, into the mysteries. Do not write in to the First Presidency and ask them to solve every mystery that you can think of, either.
Then there must be a unity of faith.
When I say a unity of faith, I am distinguishing between what we ordinarily term as unity of faith, which is a unity of doctrine, and a unity of the exercise of faith. What I mean is illustrated by what happened at Jericho, when they marched around the city and the walls fell. What I am thinking about is a statement in the scriptures, that if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed you can say to yonder mountain, remove ye hence, and it will be removed.
And that great crusade under Peter the Hermit, made up in good part, of the ragtail and bobtail of the whole western Christian Church, who were promised an indulgence if they went on that crusade and the forgiveness of all the sins they had committed in the past, and all that they might commit in the future-I am not talking extravagantly, I am telling you what that indulgence really was-when the crusaders got to Jerusalem the clergy that were with them tried to imitate the great miracle at Jericho and so they marched round Jerusalem, but the walls did not fall. Finally they took the place by storm, and one account says that the narrow streets leading up to the temple mount flowed in the blood of victims up to the horses knees. These crusaders, apparently dedicated to the redemption of the Holy Land from the pagans, took babes and dashed their brains out against the wall, took them by the legs and threw them over the wall, shut them up in houses and went in and slaughtered them, piled up the remnants in great piles.
I assume if he told all he knew Brother Stover might almost equal that.
Now, brethren, we must have unity in faith. Let us practice the unity, brethren, before it is too late. We well may be the leaven that shall leaven the lump. We well may be the few that will save this country, even as the Lord told Abraham he would save Sodom and Gomorrah if he could find ten righteous persons. I appeal to you, brethren, in all earnestness, in all kindliness, that we become united, united in following the directions of those who preside over you in the matter of administration; united in the matter of doctrines, that we do not permit ourselves to be led astray, that we study the scriptures and that we hold fast to the few, simple and elemental principles of the gospel, which are all-sufficient to gain us our salvation.
I urge unity in the matter of faith, let us have faith, let us exercise it, let us fit ourselves that we can exercise it, if, when, and as the time comes.
May the Lord bless all of us, give us his inspiration. I bear my testimony that Jesus was the Christ, that Joseph was a Prophet, that those who have followed him since then, including President McKay, are his prophets. Let us all give them our support, let us give President McKay our support, our loyalty, and our devotion, in order that he may carry forward the great responsibility which rests upon him, and I ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Marion G. Romney
Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, April 1952, pp. 88-91
I come to you this morning representing a people for whom the inscription on our national coin, "In God We Trust"-has real significance. For we know that an effective relationship persists between God and this land and its people.
Centuries ago the Lord designated America a goodly land, choice above all others, to be reserved for a righteous people. While it was yet unknown to Eurasians, He decreed that it should be discovered only under His guidance and promised its inhabitants from that time henceforth and forever that they should "... be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven", if they would serve him. On the other hand, he warned that if they would not serve him, "they should be brought down into captivity, and also into destruction both temporally and spiritually".
Preceding the advent of Columbus, two mighty peoples dwelling upon this land prospered in obeying God's commands and, rebelling against them, sank into oblivion. Their records are eloquent proof of the certainty in God's warning and promise.
The builders of modern America, though without knowledge of the divine decree, have been aware of God standing within "the shadow keeping watch upon his own."
Columbus, not knowing it had been given, yet witnessed to the truth of the declaration that the discoverers of America should be led by divine inspiration. "God gave me the faith and afterwards the courage so that I was quite willing to undertake the journey," he said to his son, and in his will he wrote:
In the name of the most holy trinity who inspired me with the idea and afterwards made it perfectly clear to me that I could navigate and go to the Indies from Spain, by traversing the ocean westward.
The early settlers of the Atlantic seaboard testified that they were led and sustained by the power of God. The colonists, rejected the tyranny of King George, appealed "to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of" their intentions and, "with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence" struck for freedom.
At a critical point Franklin thus addressed the constitutional convention,
We have been assured, sir, in the sacred writings, that "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it". I firmly believe this, and I also believe that, without his concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel.
In his 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation, Washington made seven separate references to the Almighty, whom he acknowledged as the source of all the nation's blessings, including victory in the Revolution and "opportunity to establish a form of government for" our "safety and happiness."
Perhaps no American, save the prophets only, has put such implicit trust in God as did the Great Emancipator. Out of his personal experiences he testified he was as certain that God acts directly upon human affairs as he was of a fact apparent to the senses, such as that he was in the room where he was then speaking. He said:
I have had so many evidences of his direction, so many instances when I have been controlled by some other power than my own will, that I cannot doubt that this power comes from above. I frequently see my way clear to a decision when I am conscious that I have not sufficient facts upon which to found it. But I cannot recall one instance in which I have followed my own judgment, founded upon such a decision, where the results were unsatisfactory; whereas, in almost every instance where I have yielded to the views of others I have had occasion to regret it.
A marked diminution of our trust in God has taken place in America since the days of Lincoln, the effect of which is everywhere apparent. We and our beloved country are today at the crossroads in our efforts to maintain our glorious American heritage of political, temporal, and spiritual freedom, won and bequeathed to us by the fathers who had inscribed in their hearts, as well as on their money, "In God We Trust." In every hamlet of our land arises a plaintive cry for a return to that trust in God by which the fathers built our nation. I believe we are approaching almost an unanimity in our feeling that the great and imperative need of this hour of decision for America is to vitalize our trust in God.
I believe we can do it. I know we can do it if we are but willing to pay the price. Possessing a sure knowledge of the truth of what I say, I point out two prerequisites to the realization of this our great need: First, we must in humility seek the God in whom we trust in earnest prayer; second, we must dedicate ourselves to the keeping of his commandments.
"Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near," counseled Isaiah.
"Evening, and morning, and at noon will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice," sang the Psalmist.
"Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation", taught Jesus. And in his perfect life he set the pattern. He prayed and fasted forty days at the beginning of his public ministry; he prayed in the wilderness; he prayed at the beginning of the day; he prayed a whole night preceding his selection of the Twelve Apostles; he prayed for strength in Gethsemane; and finally, on the cross in the hour of his death, he prayed.
All men who, "under God," have advanced the cause of righteousness in America have been praying men. Who has not heard Isaac Potts' account of Washington on his knees in the snow in prayer at Valley Forge? Lincoln's sublime trust in God came after he had many times been driven to his knees in prayer. He thus explained to General Sickles the reason for the serenity he experienced while the outcome of the battle of Gettysburg hung in the balance:
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 hands, and that things would go right at Gettysburg, and that is why I had no fears about you.
If we would vitalize our trust in God, we-you and I-must get down on our knees and pray to him as Lincoln prayed, with all the energy of our souls. And we must do so as did the Psalmist, evening, morning, and at noon. We cannot leave it for the other fellow; we must do it ourselves, and we must do it now. If we will begin and close each day by praying unto our Father in heaven in secret, as the Savior admonished, thanking him for our lives, his protection over us and our loved ones, our material comforts, the freedom we enjoy in this glorious land; if we will plead with him to guide us in the paths of righteousness that we may merit a continuation of his mercies; if the head of every household will daily call his family about him and, praying with them and they praying with him, truly worship the Lord, the first long and sure step will be taken toward vitalizing our trust in God.
To take the second step, we must learn that in the relationship between God and ourselves both parties have obligations. We must stand by the Lord, as Lincoln promised to do, for he has promised to give us protection against temporal and spiritual bondage, and against all other nations under heaven, only if we serve him. Praying is one way to serve him, another way is to keep his commandments. There are numerous ways in which we are violating them in America today.
On many points the Lord has given us specific guidance with respect to the conduct of our lives; for example, he has said,
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.
In harmony with this command Washington issued the following order in 1776:
The General is sorry to be informed that the foolish and wicked practice of profane cursing and swearing, a vice heretofore little known in an American army, is growing into fashion. He hopes the officers will, by example as well as influence, endeavor to check it, and that both they and the men will reflect that we can have little hope of the blessings of heaven on our arms if we insult it by our impiety and folly. Added to this, it is a vice so mean and low... that every man of sense and character detests and despises it.
What respect is today being paid to this prohibition against profanity? If you hear what I hear, you know we have not placed the Lord in our debt through its observance.
"Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy", is another familiar command.
That it was revered by the great Lincoln is evidenced by a general order to the army and the navy, signed by him November 15, 1862. From that order I quote:
The President, commander-in-chief of the army and navy, desires and enjoins the orderly observance of the Sabbath by the officers and men in the military and naval service... The discipline and character of the national forces should not suffer, nor the cause they defend be imperiled, by the profanation of the day or name of the Most High.
How do we, as a nation, stand upon this matter today? Is it not rather noted in the breach than in the observance?
"Thou shalt not commit adultery", spake the Lord amidst the thundering and lightning of Sinai, against one of the most debasing of sins, a practice which has preceded the disintegration of every fallen civilization. Paul's pronouncement that our bodies are the temples of God, that "If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy", is an eternal principle still in force. Much of our sorrow and distress stems from a violation of this divine command.
We might continue with others, "Thou shalt not steal," "Thou shalt not bear false witness," "Thou shalt not covet", but we now have in mind enough to persuade us of many ways in which we may improve, if we really, in truth and without hypocrisy, are committed to keeping the commandments of God.
I plead with you, my friends, for a vitalization of our trust in God through earnest prayer and a careful keeping of the Lord's commands. Every substitute we have tried has left us deeper in the mire. Our integrity, our liberties, our treasures, are slipping like sand through our fingers. Our cynicism and godless learning lead us ever farther from the truth. Why should we not put to test the one untried plan of self-disciplined conformance to the plain and simple commands of the God in whom we profess to trust. Doing this, turning not to the right hand or to the left, we shall become strong and of a good courage. The Lord will be with and prosper us, whithersoever we go. Our trust in him being thus vitalized into an all-powerful present reality, the strongest bulwark in all our defenses, we shall sing with strong conviction,
Our fathers' God to thee, Author of liberty, To thee we sing; Long may our land be bright With freedom's holy light; Protect us by thy might, Great God, our king.
That we may do so, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report, April 1952, pp. 95-98
I come to you in deep humility, sensing, at least in part, my responsibility, and with a prayer in my heart, which I hope will be echoed in yours that I may be led to say something that will tend to our upbuilding and leading us into that narrow way of life which our Heavenly Father has marked out for those who would come back into his presence. May the Lord be with us during this whole session, and the session that is to follow even as he has been with us to the present time.
As I sat here yesterday, something brought to my mind that I am the oldest member of the General Authorities. This is an honor that has been thrust upon me by time. It is an honor that any of my brethren can reach, if they will live for it. I say this, neither by way of boasting nor for the purpose of inviting sympathy, but I say it that I might make use of what I hope is some experience of value and the result of some reflection.
I have lived long enough and there has, year by year, come more into my consciousness, the knowledge that the principles of the everlasting gospel are beyond my power of rationalizing. Furthermore, I am persuaded that there is none who, unaided by the spirit of the Lord, and there is only one in this Church and in this world, who has the right to rationalize, and that is, at the present time, President David O. McKay, our prophet, seer, and revelator-I have come to feel that there is none who can safely rationalize. And I am persuaded more to that by what happened in the early Christian Church, which, lacking a head that was effective during the early centuries, drifted away because they tried to make God's plan accord with their reason, and with the reason of the pagan philosophies.
I am persuaded we must watch carefully that we do not follow along those paths. Some of the greatest heresies that have crept into the Christian religion came in through a very few men who held no real official position, mostly, but who spent their time and their talents, and they were great, in trying to rationalize the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is some evidence-these were called "schoolmen," and the results of their work "scholasticism"-and I am persuaded that we have some tendency in that direction as among ourselves, and I hope that the people will not listen to the rationalizing of men who undertake to make God's plan conform to what they think it should be in their weak and ineffective reasonings.
I am grateful to have lived in this day and age when the gospel has been restored. I take it there is no man or woman who sits down calmly to think, in the Church or out of the Church, but more particularly out of the Church, for light has come to us who are in the Church, who does not ask himself or herself, "Where did we come from? Why are we here? Whither do we go?" We Latter-day Saints have been instructed in that, and the instruction has come to us in modern revelation.
The book of Abraham, found in the Pearl of Great Price, tells us of the beginning, how the Lord came down among the intelligences, and as a result of his coming down, there was a great council in heaven. The record in Abraham which precedes the account of the council, is devoted to explaining that there are inequalities in God's creation, and inequalities among the intelligences, not all are equal. The Lord said to Abraham, calling attention to this great group of intelligences, that there were among them those who were the great ones, and declared to Abraham that he was one of those who were to be rulers.
I want to read just two or three verses, and I am reading from the third chapter of Abraham:
And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell.
I call attention to the two succeeding verses which I shall read, because they are filled with certain great elemental truths. He continues:
And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them."
That was the purpose for creating the earth. We were all there, all participating; we thus knew of the plan from the very beginning.
And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever".
Thus we know whither we came, and why we are here, and where, to what place we shall go. The whole plan is summed up in those few words.
Now since we came here to be proved, the Lord did not leave Adam in doubt about what he should do, or how he should do it, for the Lord gave to Adam the gospel, and the gospel which he gave to him included the revelation and the knowledge that there would come a Redeemer. You will recall, you who know the scriptures, the angel of the Lord asked Adam why he offered sacrifice. He said he did not know except that he had been commanded to do so. I think there is a great lesson there. They who rationalize, try to say why we do this, why we do that. Adam set the example. Why did he do it? Because the Lord had commanded it. And then the angel of the Lord explained to him the great atonement that was to come.
Now, that gospel so revealed to Adam has been in the world to a greater or less extent, sometimes less, from that time until now. It taught us what we should do, and what we should not do. We have never, when his Church has been on the earth, the Church of Christ, been in any doubt on these two points.
You will examine the Bible for some detailed statement of the principles of the gospel, up until the time of Moses with but scant success. But if you will read carefully the book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price, you can glean, and will glean from there the great principles of this gospel, even as they have been revealed and are taught to us today. When Moses came, we had the Ten Commandments given to us. They are the guiding star for the world civilization today. Blot out the Ten Commandments, and you have the darkness which rests upon Russia and those nations which follow her.
I call attention to the fact that the Ten Commandments, every one of them, have in them a spiritual element. There is nothing in them that, if obeyed, does not build the spirit. From then until now there has been, effective in the world, a part at least of the great gospel. Men have known what they should do, and what they should not do.
Now time will not permit me to develop what we should do. We do as we are commanded, in order that we may meet the design of our Heavenly Father, who said,
For behold, this is my work and my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
That is the purpose.
Now, I am happy, very happy, that the Lord not only told us what we should do, but has told us what we should not do. He has told us the things that will prevent our gaining this immortality and eternal life. Sad indeed, would have been our situation, had we been merely told what we might do. But he has not left us in darkness as to what we ought not to do.
And since doing the things we ought not to do forfeits the glory which the Lord has marked out for us, and if you want to know about that read sections 76 and 88 of the Doctrine and Covenants, then we must refrain from doing the things which he has commanded us not to do, refrain from misdoings of various kinds, refrain from sin, and all transgressions. And I thought perhaps it might not be without value if I were to read to you, for you to reflect upon some of the things that we are told we ought not to do, some of the offenses we should not commit under the penalty that if we do commit them we shall not reach the full glory which the Lord has marked out for us.
And I am going to read just a few things from Paul. Paul said:
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: from such turn away...
But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
That was to Timothy. Again to Timothy:
O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called.
Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand...
Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
And that was the burden of Paul, "flee from idolatry," and leave the food offered to idols alone. We Latter-day Saints do not worship idols, we do not worship relics, we do not have shrines. I wonder sometimes, however, if there is not something of idolatry among us. I call our idolaters, worshipers of dimes and chasers of nickels.
But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.
Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.
Peter said:
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
I read these to show you that the Lord has not left us in doubt nor in darkness as to the things, some of them that we should not do. We add these to the Ten Commandments.
Now, my brethren and sisters, salvation is ours, if we will but live for it. We shall forfeit it if we do the things which his prophets have declared unto us should not be done. Read, I repeat sections 76 and 88 and see what the Lord has laid up for us when we live the principles of the gospel.
My brethren and sisters, he who will read needs have no doubt of the great future that lies ahead of us, he will have no doubt of the place to which we go, of the associations which will be his; he will have no doubt but that the eternities that are to come are worth in happiness and joy, all of the giving up of the pleasures, so-called, of this life, from which we are asked to refrain.
I am sure the prize is worth the restraint. And after all, all the things that we are asked to refrain from are things which lower our standards of joy, lower our standards of life, lower our respect for humanity and humanity's respect for us, and leave us debtors to the whole list of Christian virtues.
May the Lord help us to keep his commandments, help us to earn that which he has provided for us.
And I bear my testimony to you at this time that God lives, that he hears and answers prayers, for he has heard and answered mine. I bear you my testimony that Jesus is the Christ, that he is the Son of God, the Redeemer of the World, the First Fruits of the Resurrection, that through his redeeming blood all mankind shall be saved, that is to say, shall be resurrected, and that those who keep the commandments and live the life which he gave and lived will have an eternal glory in the celestial kingdom.
I bear you my witness that Joseph Smith did have a vision, that the Father and Son did visit him, that holy angels came to him; that the priesthood, the Holy Priesthood of God which had been lost to the earth for centuries was restored through him to this earth; that those who have followed him in his high and great calling of President of the Church, the Presiding High Priest of the Church, have the same rights the same privileges, the same authority which he held even from Joseph's time down to President McKay, who holds those rights, exercises those functions, possesses all of the spiritual powers of the priesthood which Joseph had; and that this Church will continue to go forward, that those who follow President McKay will enjoy the like privileges, the like authority, and exercise the like functions.
There is no doubt about this, my brothers and sisters, and if we could just take this into our hearts and understand it, make it part of ourselves, not a mere expression, not lip-service but service by act, the power of this people would be unlimited.
God grant that to all of us and to each of us may come this testimony, to the end that we shall continue to spread the gospel in the world, continue to build up our own Church, and for ourselves individually, and as an incident to all that, gain eternal salvation in his celestial kingdom, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder John Longden
John Longden, Conference Report, April 1952, pp. 98-100
I realize more than anyone else, excepting my Heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ, my utter weakness in and of myself to occupy this position this morning. I am sure with an interest in your faith and prayers ascending to our Heavenly Father that I may be blessed with his Spirit and we may be recipients of his blessings.
I haven't words to express adequately my appreciation and gratitude for the rich blessings which have been mine during the past six months in visiting the stakes and the wards throughout the Church. It has been an inspiration and makes me humble as I endeavor to teach the restored work of God. I would like publicly to mention here this morning that I am grateful for the words of kindness and felicitations that have been extended to me in receiving this call six months ago, by members of the Church and by many who are not members of this Church.
I am sure we have been deeply impressed, I know I have, with the dignity with which these meetings have been presided over and conducted by President McKay and those in authority. I am sure we have felt of their power and strength, as we have listened to the words of salvation. Jesus Christ, as he faced a group of Pharisees on one occasion, questioned them when he said, "What think ye of Christ?". That is a question that might be asked of us today. We can answer it in our own minds. We do not have to answer it orally or in writing. "What think ye of Christ?"
These men, our leaders, have exemplified to me their love of God and their love for their fellow men, their neighbors, and I shall always be appreciative of the rich experience which was mine in having one assignment with Elder Joseph F. Merrill the first week following the last general conference, and partaking of his spirit. I could not help realizing that here was a man scholastically trained, educated in the sciences and in the engineering field, and yet, young people, he was not swerved from the path of truth and righteousness. He was not ashamed to bear witness that Jesus was the Christ and that the Prophet Joseph Smith was and is in very deed a prophet of God. You young people can take heed of this fine example from such noble leaders, as all these men are who are guiding and directing the work of the Church and kingdom here in the earth.
I should like to have you review with me for a moment or two an incident which took place just eight years ago. A young man of this Church who had put on the uniform of his country to defend freedom and liberty and the rights of the individual found himself from his home town in Boise, Idaho, on a beachhead in Normandy, about a month before D Day. As if he had a premonition of what was going to happen, he sat there and wrote a message to a friend of his in Boise. And he said, concluding that letter,
"I should like to give you the formula, or the requisite for peace, if you please. It is nothing new, but I ask you that we rediscover the things which we already have, and that were given to us by the Master some two thousand years ago in a single sentence, when he said. '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'".
This boy made the supreme sacrifice a few days after writing this letter.
These are truths that we might well reflect upon this morning, my brethren and sisters, as we also review an incident in the New Testament. The Savior had been teaching his doctrine, the saving principles of salvation and exaltation. He was queried by a lawyer who said to him, "What good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?"
He was endeavoring no doubt to trap him, because the Master counter-questioned him and said, "What is written in the law? How readest thou?"
The lawyer answered, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself."
And the Savior said, "If you will do these things, thou shalt live."
Then trying to justify himself, the lawyer said, "And who is my neighbour?"
The Master then gave that glorious example of the Good Samaritan, where a certain man going from Jerusalem to Jericho had been set upon by thieves and stripped of his clothing and his material things. And so he was left half-dead in the roadway. A priest came along, and seeing this man, even though he professed Christianity, crossed to the other side, and left him. Then a certain Levite came down the street and likewise saw this man, and he also crossed to the other side. But there was the Samaritan who beheld the condition of the man and administered to him by anointing his wounds with oil, putting him upon his own beast, and taking him to an inn, where he might receive assistance. He left funds that he might be taken care of, and advised the innkeeper that he would be back and if it took additional funds, he would gladly see that those expenses were defrayed. Then the Master said, "Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?"
And the answer was, "He that sheweth mercy on him." And there followed the great command of the Savior, which is significant to me, "Go, and do thou likewise".
Yes, my brethren and sisters, if we truly exemplify this teaching of the Master to love our Heavenly Father sincerely and deeply, then we will love by natural consequence our neighbor. Thus many of the conditions in the world today which are contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ will be overcome. There would not only be peace in the world, but also we would have peace in our hearts and in our souls. And I humbly pray as I bear witness to you, my brothers and sisters, that this is true, that Jesus Christ gave us this commandment for a purpose. May we have the energy and the desire within our own hearts, and the fortitude within our souls from this moment on to put it into practice more fully in our daily lives, that we may reap the rich blessings which are predicated upon these truths. I bear witness to you that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that the Prophet Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and those who have succeeded him as President of this Church down through the years to our present President David O. McKay have been men divinely inspired and called of our Heavenly Father. May we uphold and sustain them, and the revealed truths of the Lord, which are given to us by them from time to time, that we may be doers of the words, and not only listeners, I humbly pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Oscar A. Kirkham
Oscar A. Kirkham, Conference Report, April 1952, pp. 100-101
I pray that I may enjoy the blessings of our Heavenly Father. I have been deeply impressed, as you no doubt have, with the words we have heard. And I have been deeply impressed by something I have seen this morning. It has impressed me so sincerely that I want to give you the benefit of it. In the crowded condition of this Tabernacle, there came at the beginning of the service a mother with four children. The usher provided a blanket for the children to sit upon, and then the mother took a seat quite a way up the aisle. These children behaved themselves in splendid fashion. I thought how lovely it was for a parent to have such confidence and faith. And then I was thrilled when we all stood to sing "We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet" to see these children, as if they stood in the Sunday School or Primary, sing with enthusiasm. So deeply was I impressed, and so near is it to what is now in my heart to say, that I have taken the liberty to bring this illustration here from our very midst: that of a parent who had trained well and then had faith in her children.
O this is the day of our salvation-now, not in some great future time but now. This is the day of our salvation! These things that are all about us, this is our opportunity to live, and to practice the glorious teachings of the gospel.
One or two things have come to me as I see this day of salvation, things that perhaps we might do. May the Lord bless me that I may be understood in their presentation. They are very simple things. The first is to study prayerfully the word of the Lord-study prayerfully. That is the key to it-the word of the Lord.
I went to the North Jordan Stake quarterly conference not long ago. I was a little early. As I drove my car to the parking place, I saw a young man reading. As I looked closely, I saw it was the Book of Mormon that he was reading, and I walked quietly to the car, and the young man said, "Good morning, Brother Kirkham."
And then his father extended his hand toward me, "Well, is this Brother Oscar Kirkham?"
I said, "Yes."
He gave his name and said, "My son has just been reading the Book of Mormon for me. We read together the word of the Lord very often. We greatly enjoy the Book of Mormon." He was a blind man; for eight years he had been blind. And in the conversation that followed he told of the many things that he was grateful to the Lord for, one of which I recall: "I have three sons down at Brigham Young University. They have earned their way. We are a very happy family."
This is the day of our salvation. That brother will meet the tomorrow and enjoy it to the full.
This is the day that we must be mindful of, and devote our best to its many blessings. Let us study prayerfully the words of God. The great Shakespeare when asked by Bacon, "Where did you get your inspiration for the great plays which you have written?", replied: "From the Psalms of David." I want to read just a few lines from one of these great psalms, the word of God. These lines have stood the test of time. They are most worthy of our careful reading and meditation. Here are words that have been read by millions and set to some of the finest music in the world. You will recognize them at once but read them again. There are deep and beautiful inspirations in them. Just the first few lines:
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside still waters.
He restoreth my soul.
Alma in the Book of Mormon gave these words of counsel to his son Helaman:
... for I do know that whatsoever 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.
... but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.
And from a revelation given through the Prophet Joseph Smith on the day when the gospel was opened up in England to Thomas B. Marsh, these lovely words are taken, this glorious admonition:
Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers.
God bless us. This one step we can take today, tomorrow, and the next day: Daily, prayerfully, read the word of God. Live and enjoy the gospel of Jesus Christ. Carry the word to a friend somewhere that his life may be blessed. Then peace shall come, and God will love and bless us. Now is the day of our salvation. May the Lord bless us, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Matthew Cowley
Matthew Cowley, Conference Report, April 1952, pp. 102-104
The strength I need on this occasion, my brothers and sisters, must come from your faith and prayers in my behalf. I plead with you not to forsake me. It is very difficult for me to talk to a congregation which is not within the range of my vision, but this morning I would like to be oblivious to your presence here in the Tabernacle, and to speak to those of us who live way out on the periphery of our great Church. I have been impressed with a desire to do this since listening to the remarks of President Stover last night. I would like to talk to you people in Great Britain, in the Scandinavian countries in Holland, in Germany, Czechoslovakia, France, Switzerland, Austria, Palestine, South Africa, the South American nations, those who dwell within the great Polynesian triangle in the Pacific and to those fine people, few in number in the far-off Orient.
I would like to say to you that I know that in your hearts this day there is a longing to be here at the hub of this great Church, a longing which you cannot realize; and in a sense I am pleased that you do not have that desire fulfilled. You are needed where you are. You know, as we know, that this world is in need of a new birth of freedom and that a new birth of freedom cannot come without a new birth of righteousness; and that you in your far-flung areas, away from this hub of Zion, are the leaven of righteousness. This will be the seed, we pray to God, which will bear fruit and bring back to this depressed and sordid world the freedom for which we all so earnestly pray.
You have been great in your contributions to this nation and to this Church. You will read in the reported sermons delivered from this pulpit that this land is choice above all other lands. It is only choice because from your shores have come your great, your humble, and your God-fearing men and women, and they have brought from your shores the fundamental concepts which made it possible for the birth of the greatest palladium of human liberty that was ever written by the hand of man-the Constitution of the United States. And I want you to know that greater than that has been your contribution to the building up of Zion and her borders.
You in Great Britain have contributed to the leadership of this Church as has no other nation. In the veins of those who have presided over this modern kingdom, your blood courses. In Scandinavia, your contribution has been great and magnificent. You have contributed prophets, seers, and revelators. In Germany you have contributed great educators, great Saints, and to all of you in those faraway areas, I will say, great is our debt to you for that which you have contributed.
We encourage you to stay where you are because you are needed there, where the light is going out, and we say to you: Stay close together; attend your meetings regularly, even though your numbers may be limited by law to four or to two; stay together. Renew your covenants with God by partaking of the sacrament, and I tell you that you cannot have your lights darkened because this work cannot be blacked out by the legislation of man. They may close your chapels; they may deny you the right to assemble in worship; but behind your own doors you have the priesthood of God; and in your homes where the priesthood of God exists, there is Zion. And to you whose lives are committed to righteousness, I say unto you, You are Zion.
To you in South Africa, you who have never had a visit from one of the leaders of this Church, I know that your prayers will one day be answered. To you in South America who are struggling to build yourselves into a mighty people on that great continent, which is precious in the eyes of God, I say, be strong. To you in the isles of the sea, I say unto you, were it not for you, I would not be standing here this day. To you in New Zealand, and when I speak to you I speak to all those who dwell on those beautiful isles, were it not for you, implanting within my heart as a seventeen-year-old boy your simple faith, your knowledge of God, your demonstration that the veil between God and man can be very, very thin, I wouldn't be standing here today at the hub of Zion, speaking to you way down under, in this capacity. This is not my calling alone, you good Maori people; this is yours.
You in the Hawaiian Islands who have had come to your shores missionaries, one only in his sixteenth year, who later became the leader of this Church a noble prophet, seer, and revelator: I tell you that on that island of Maui where he and President George Q. Cannon had their great theophanies and experiences, there is a spirit and an atmosphere, which I have felt nowhere else in all the world.
To you in Tahiti, who were the first in the isles of the sea to receive the gospel in this dispensation, my heart goes out. For more than a hundred years you have been listening to this message of regeneration. You have contributed of your tithes and your offerings, your widow's mite, and not one of you has yet come to a temple of God. You are worthy. God will reward you for your faithfulness and devotion. His principles are eternal, and in his kingdom and his presence, that which you have been denied in this life will be added unto you. Great has been your contribution to the building up of this Church.
Australia, the great continent down under, there where our people are scattered over such a vast area, how great has been your contribution! During the war years, when you were without missionaries from Zion, your leadership rose up and magnificently carried on. And there sits among the councils of the Church this day one of those missionaries who went to your shores many years ago and whose testimony was strengthened by you until it became an anchor to his faith. God bless you for this great contribution.
You in faraway Japan were left alone for many years, but there had been implanted in your hearts a testimony of the restored gospel, and when the way was opened up for the missionaries to return to you, they found you, though small in number and in membership, still faithful and devoted and loyal. You at Hiroshima, where was felt the death blow of the first atom bomb, and where soon after you raised the sign which should be an ensign unto the world, not written in your language, but in the language which all nations understand, the English language, "No more Hiroshimas." If all men could write in their hearts the words of that sign which now stands over the place where that atom bomb exploded, peace would return to the earth and dwell regnant in the hearts of all men. You have contributed much to the building up of this kingdom and could you hear my words I could tell you that there sits before me now one who is at the head of one of our great institutions of learning who spent a number of years among you, who partook of your spirit, who knows you as an industrious people, who knows that in your land, there are no weeds; and I know that much that actuates him in his great purpose in instilling within the hearts and souls of the youngsters of this community, a knowledge of things which are true, he received under your influence.
To you in faraway China I say: Keep the faith, be valiant; you will not be forgotten, and one day the missionaries will return to you. Yours is a light shining in darkness. Keep it burning and the Father of us all will bless you.
God bless you people out in these areas of the earth. And I testify to you that much strength comes from you to us, and if you remain strong where you are, we will not become weak here at the hub. In your hours of need, we will do our best. We will keep our storehouses bulging with the necessities of life, and when you need them, the freight cars will be loaded, and the ships' bottoms will be filled, and we will send that over to you which you need. And we say to you, and I speak for all, that where there is no power, where there are no facilities, where there is no program to save you materially as well as spiritually, there is no power of God unto salvation. We will not fail you spiritually nor materially.
And I leave my witness with you in all of your fair lands, that I know that God loves you. He will attend you and that which you do not hear as we speak in our great conferences in Salt Lake City, you do hear in your humble cottage meetings, wherever they may be, or in your rented halls which may reek with stale tobacco smoke, and which have been cleared of empty flasks and beer bottles the night before. Those same testimonies you bear, and I believe that I can say to you in behalf of most of my brethren that that which we have experienced in life which makes it possible for us to stand here and address you as special witnesses, we received in our associations with you as young missionaries. And again to you in New Zealand I say: Because of you, because of your kindliness, your humility, your patience, your great faith, I can stand here and say that I know that God lives and because of you, I am a special witness of his Son. All power be to you and God bless you forever, and bless us all, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Mark E. Petersen
Mark E. Petersen, Conference Report, April 1952, pp. 104-107
I am very grateful, my brothers and sisters, for the opportunity of meeting with you in general conference once again. I always receive a great uplift from these conferences. I would like to express appreciation, too, for the blessing that I receive in going to your stakes Sunday after Sunday, meeting you wonderful people who strengthen my faith and my testimony and help me to accomplish the work which is assigned to me.
I am grateful beyond words for this great Church, and for the testimony I have of the divinity of this work. I am grateful for the privilege of doing a little in this Church, so that I may help to work out my salvation and help others to work out theirs.
This morning once again I would like to address the young people of the Church. I love the young people. I am thrilled with their faith and their devotion.
Last June I had the privilege of standing here and talking with the young people who came to the M.I.A. conference. I told them about a little family up in Canada, which had joined the Church, and as a result had suffered great persecution. To bolster their courage, this little family rewrote the words to a hymn they used to sing, and made one of the verses go like this:
Dare to be a Mormon; Dare to stand alone; Dare to have a purpose firm; Dare to make it known!
I invited the young people who were here last June to develop the same kind of courage held by this wonderful Canadian family, and in the face of all forms of opposition to stand firm and true to the faith.
That opposition might come in various forms. It might be persecution, as in the case of that Canadian family. It might be temptations, or it might come in the form of teachings from people who would like to destroy your faith.
When those temptations or those persecutions or those false teachings come, will you have the courage to be real Latter-day Saints, to have a purpose firm, and to stand by it?
A week ago a young man told me about the trial that came to him in school. Some of the teachings he received from an instructor who had no faith appeared to have weakened the faith of this young man.
I am always sorry when I hear about teachers in our public schools who try to destroy the faith of our young people. It always grieves me to hear of instances like this. I know that the great majority of the schoolteachers, themselves, are wonderful people; they are believers in God. Many of them are devoted students of the scriptures. But unfortunately, occasionally we find a teacher, whether in the field of philosophy or science, who seems to take it upon himself to destroy the faith of our young people.
I appeal to our young folk to realize that true science is not anti-religion, and that there is no unity among the scientists with respect to many things now being taught by some instructors who interpret them to mean that there is no God. Science has never come to a unity of understanding on that point, young people, so do not be disturbed by the godless teachings you may get in the classroom.
I would like you to know that some of the great scientists, many of them, in fact, are devoted believers in God, and some of them have declared that atheism has no place among the true scientists.
I was glad to read not long ago in This Week Magazine, an article by Dr. Arthur H. Compton, a Nobel Prize winner, who said this:
Few scientific men today defend the atheistic attitude. Never yet has there been adequate refutation of the argument that design in the universe presumes an intelligence. Evidence points to the existence of a Beginner, a Creator of the universe. A physicist's studies lead him to believe this Creator to be an intelligent Being. The intelligent God has an interest in and relationship to man, and it is reasonable to assume that he would be interested in creating a being intelligent like himself.
I was glad to get a copy of a little pamphlet entitled, "A Scientist Confesses His Faith," written by Dr. Robert A. Millikan. Among other things in that little pamphlet, Dr. Millikan says:
I think you will understand me when I say that I have never known a thinking man who did not believe in God.
In speaking of the controversy between science and religion, Dr. Millikan said something else which I believe, young people, you should remember when some of these faithless, godless teachers who are trying to destroy your religion, talk to you in your classrooms. Said Dr. Millikan:
I am not going to place the whole blame for the existence of this controversy upon misguided leaders of religion. The responsibility is a divided one, for science is just as often misrepresented as is religion by men of little vision, of no appreciation of its limitations, and of imperfect comprehension of the real role which it plays in human life, by men who lose sight of all spiritual values and therefore exert an influence upon youth which is unsettling, irreligious, and essentially immoral. I am ready to admit that it is quite as much because of the existence of scientists of that type as of their counterparts in the field of religion, that the fundamental controversy has flared up today, and it is high time that scientists recognize their share of the responsibility, and take such steps as they can to remove their share of the cause.
And then Dr. Millikan quotes Lord Kelvin as saying:
I believe that the more thoroughly science is studied, the further does it take us away from anything comparable to atheism. If you think strongly enough, you will be forced by science to a belief in God, which is the foundation of all religion.
I was interested to note that Lord Kelvin's biographer said this:
It pained him, to hear crudely atheistic views expressed by young men who never had known the deeper side of existence.
Further to quote Dr. Millikan:
If I am accused of calling merely on the testimony of the past, on the thinking which preceded the advent of this twentieth century in which we live, I can bring the evidence strictly up to date by asking you to name the dozen most outstanding scientists in America today, and then showing you that the great majority of them will bear testimony, not only to the complete lack of antagonism between the fields of science and of religion, but to their own fundamental religious convictions.
So young people, when you are faced in your classrooms by faithless men who stand before you and try to destroy your faith, think of what these great scientists have said. Remember that even Dr. Millikan says that you can name the top scientists of the world, and he will show you that most of those men not only believe in God but also bear testimony of it.
I tell you there is nothing outmoded about faith in God, and when you go to school, you do not need to believe everything that is told you by these faithless men, whether in philosophy or science classes. You do not need to accept their evidence alone. And if you are disturbed by their persistence in teaching you these false things, just ask yourself the question: Which is the greater scientist, your instructor or Dr. Robert A. Millikan? Ask yourself, who is the greater scholar, your instructor or Lord Kelvin? Ask yourself, who is the greater authority, your instructor or Dr. Arthur H. Compton, or some of the other scientists who give the lie to the teachings of these men who say there is no God.
I shall never forget when I was in a sociology class I saw the professor, a short, bald-headed, bewhiskered man stand there in front of our class and actually defy us to believe in God. He defied us to believe in a special creation or that man is a child of God.
I have always understood that it was against the law to discuss religion in the schools. But these men apparently claim academic privilege of some kind academic freedom, I think they call it in taking the right to destroy the very faith which the law prohibits us from teaching in the public schools. And when they do it, I think they are in violation of the spirit of the law, just as much as if they were teaching religion. Young people, remember the great men of the world believe in God.
We do not get our faith from science, however, and I hope you will never take the position that we must even seriously regard what science says about religion. Faith comes by revelation. No matter what science might do to promote religious faith, it can never save a man. Salvation comes through revelation and the power of God restored to men in these last days. And that revelation is available. That revelation has come. The power of God and his priesthood are now here among men and salvation comes through them.
How much do you know about the revelations of God to man? When Brother Kirkham stood here and asked you to study the scripture prayerfully, I was glad for the way he talked. I also appeal to you to make an investigation for yourself about the gospel of Christ. I ask you to be a part of this day of study and research, by making a study and research of your own religion. Do not be ignorant of what your own Church teaches. The glory of God is intelligence; there is no salvation in ignorance.
When you go to school, you study mathematics or chemistry or some foreign language. You do not just take the teacher's word for what is given there. When you study mathematics, you actually work out the equations and know by working them out that they are true. And when you study chemistry, you learn about the truths of that subject by actually performing the experiments that are given to you, and by performing them you discover the truth of the principles you are taught.
But if you went to school all your life and did not study mathematics you would never know anything about that subject, would you? You might go to school all your life and never learn one thing about chemistry, unless you studied chemistry. And you can be in this Church all your life, and never know what this Church teaches unless you study it.
Will you not take the advice o Brother Kirkham and study your own religion? Open the pages of the Bible; read there of the hand dealings of God to man. Read there of the life of the Savior. Learn of his teachings. He actually was here on the earth, and he taught men the principles about which you have heard today and in the preceding days of this conference.
And read the Book of Mormon. Study its pages. Know what is inside the covers of that great book. And will you study also the revelations that are given in that very small but great book The Pearl of Great Price? It is almost unknown among many people, and yet it contains some of the greatest revelations of God to man.
And then, young people, will you really make a study of the life of the Prophet Joseph Smith and read the revelations that God gave to him? Discover Joseph Smith. Find out what motivated him. Be thrilled with the rest of us as you read the story of his going into the woods and there kneeling down and asking for light; and in response to that prayer seeing the Father and the Son standing there before him not in some dream, but in a real experience.
And then read of his visits with the Angel Moroni, a personage who came back from the dead and ministered to Joseph Smith, gave him direction, and helped him in the production of the Book of Mormon. And then read the story of Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith who received ministrations from John the Baptist, and the Apostles, Peter, James, and John.
Read the story of these two men as they knelt in the Kirtland Temple in prayer, and there suddenly came before them a glorious vision. In the Kirtland Temple, here in the United States of America, stood the Savior, the Redeemer of the world. They saw him and talked with him. That one experience was worth more than all the philosophies and scientific theories that men have produced in all time. They saw him; they heard his voice; they knew that he lived; and they did not have to take anybody else's ideas nor hypotheses pertaining to it.
After his appearance there came other glorious personages, Elijah, Moses, Elias. Why, this Dispensation of the Fullness of Times is so filled with actual experiences which men have had with God, and with the testimonies of those men, that you do not need to doubt. You may know for yourself as well because as you study these things, and as you work in the Church, if you will pray, as Brother Kirkham asked of you, then the Lord will bless you with a knowledge of the truth of these things. You will receive a testimony, and you will know for yourself that God does live, that Mormonism is true, that the Savior has a modern ministry, and that we are a part of it.
Dare to be a Mormon, Dare to stand alone, Dare to have a purpose firm, Dare to make it known.
I humbly pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Elder LeGrand Richards
LeGrand Richards, Conference Report, April 1952, pp. 111-115
I suppose only the men on this stand can know what has gone through my mind and my heart since President McKay called me to his office following the morning meeting.
I first want to tell you that I'm proud that Brother Wirthlin has been called as the Presiding Bishop of this Church. He and I have labored side by side for fourteen years, and I doubt if any two men have ever been closer to each other than we have been. He is a noble character, and he is as true and loyal to this Church as any man I have ever met. If we ever questioned the instruction of the brethren, he would say, "Well, you know, if the brethren were to tell us to put the Presiding Bishop's Office up on Ensign Peak, there it would go." That is the kind of faith he has.
And I have learned to love Brother Isaacson so much in these few years, five and a half years, that he has served as my counselor, and I am so happy that Brother Wirthlin saw fit to choose him to stand by his side.
And I love Brother Buehner. I have only been out with him once or twice but I think they have made a wonderful choice.
Now I want to pay a tribute of respect and an expression of deep appreciation to the employees of the Presiding Bishop's office. We have some wonderful help there, and they have been so loyal and willing to do anything we have ever asked them to do. I should like to name them, but the list would be too long. God bless them in their further responsibilities in that office.
I cannot find words to express what is in my heart. I think of what Brother Alonzo Hinckley said when he stood here in a similar position and said "My soul is subdued." I do not know what it takes to subdue the soul of a man, but for the past two hours, I have been trying to figure out how I could measure up and not disappoint you people, and not disappoint the Lord.
How grateful I feel to the brethren President McKay and his Counselors that they have enough confidence in me to nominate me for this position and that the Quorum of the Twelve, knowing that I should become one of them, sustained them in the nomination.
And I thank you for your sustaining vote here this day, and I pledge you all the strength and ability that the Lord has given me to continue to help build up his kingdom on the earth.
I thank God for the opportunities that I have enjoyed of working among you, and in his Church, the missions that I have been able to fill, and the other sundry odd jobs, because I truly love the work more than anything else in this world, and I know it is true. I could live better without the limbs of my body than I could without the testimony of the Holy Ghost and the Spirit of the Lord.
When I returned from my first mission, I was called to speak in my ward. I told the Saints that the greatest desire I had in my heart was that I might be able so to live now that I was home that I could enjoy the same spirit I had enjoyed in the mission field. And I added, I hope the Lord will send me on a mission just often enough so I can keep that spirit. Maybe that is the reason I filled four missions. I thought when I got in the bishop's office, I would never get another, but who knows what might happen now?
I have loved my work with the youth of this Church, and with the Aaronic Priesthood, and for a time we had the girls' program. And we have lived to see some real achievement in the work with these boys. When we came into the office fourteen years ago, many a ward was still using the Melchizedek Priesthood in the administration of the sacrament. We tried to get the Standard Quorum Award going. We could hardly get a quorum to get twenty-five percent of the boys to attend sacrament meeting. And now the average for the entire Church is forty-one percent. It is not much to boast about, but it is up a long way to what it was.
And the girls were up to fifty-five percent, so they have to help the boys along a little, or the boys will not be worth their marrying a little later on when they want companions.
The growth of the Church during these fourteen years has been tremendous. I have been privileged to travel around the stakes of Zion, and it seems to me that every conference I attend they say it is the largest crowd they have ever had. The way the brethren have been dividing the wards and stakes is indicative of the growth of the Church.
In tribute to the faithfulness and the integrity of the Latter-day Saints, I want to give you two or three figures of what has happened since we came into the Presiding Bishop's office.
The membership of the Church in that time has increased 46.1 percent.
The tithes of the Church have in the same length of time increased 653.3 percent.
Forty-six percent increase in membership, 653.3 percent increase in tithing, and then you say the Latter-day Saints do not have faith.
And then you add to that what the brethren have already reported during this conference of the gifts of the Saints that are not counted as tithes, and I say the Saints are wonderful. God bless them everywhere for their faith and for their integrity.
I never come home from a stake conference but what I say to my wife, "You just have to get out in this Church to know the power of the Lord that is in it." How anyone in the world could be familiar with the Church and what it is doing, and the spirit and the power that is in it, and think that it comes from man! He would have to be a very bright man, wouldn't he?
The fast offerings in that time increased 230 percent. There have been 65 new stakes of Zion added, 458 wards and 73 new independent branches.
I thought these figures might interest you and show that the Saints are coming along pretty well.
Now, brothers and sisters, if there is anything that I am sure of, more than anything else in the world, it is that this work is divine. It is not the work of man. It is the work of God, the Eternal Father, and his power is in it and I tell you in all sincerity that the Holy Ghost, the Comforter that the Savior promised to send to guide us in all truth and bring things to our remembrance, is just as much a reality to me and just as necessary for our well-being as the sun that shines in the heavens is to the seed that is sown in the ground, and the plants as they germinate and come forth. I know the power of the Holy Ghost is in this Church.
When the Lord sent his servants out in this day, he told them they were not going to be taught of men, but to teach that which he would give unto them by the power of the Holy Ghost. I do not know very much about the philosophies of men, but I know that God created the feelings of the human heart and the human soul, and I know that God has a way of bringing joy and happiness into the souls of men, when they seek after him, and when they enjoy the gift of the Holy Ghost, far beyond anything that men can purchase with their money.
I have been in homes of rich people. I have never seen any tears of joy shed because of anything they could purchase with their money, but I have been in groups of missionaries and groups of Saints, when for hours at a time there was not a dry eye there, just because the spirit of God was there. Like Nephi of old said,
He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh.
I feel sorry for Latter-day Saints if they have never felt that power, and that blessing, unto almost the consumption of their flesh.
That is what Paul meant when he said of those who have tasted of the power of the world to come, and then fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, which gave me to understand that Paul understood that in this life, men could taste of the powers of the world to come. Surely that was what Paul experienced when he stood before Festus and Agrippa, there in chains as he was, and bore witness of the ministration and the appearance of the Savior to him on the way to Damascus, how he had seen the light, and heard the Voice saying,
... Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
... it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
And after Festus and Agrippa had listened, Festus said,
Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad.
But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness....
Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.
And there he was in chains, and his reply was something like this, "I would to God, that not only thou, but all men everywhere were as I am, save these chains that hold me bound". That is what the spirit of the Lord does.
And you remember when Jesus appeared to the people here in America following his resurrection, and established his Church and ministered among them, the historian says that the joys that filled their souls no pen could write nor tongue express. And that is the thing the Lord gives to those who serve him, and that is the joy of service there is in this Church.
A few weeks ago I attended a stake conference, and a stake president told me about two visits he had made to an adult member of the Aaronic Priesthood, to try to induce him to quit his tobacco so that he might receive the Melchizedek Priesthood and be prepared to go to the house of the Lord with his family; and he said he had been unsuccessful. So I said to this stake president, "Did it ever occur to you that you might have been getting the cart before the horse, so to speak? If you would go to that man and teach him the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he would become converted, you would not need to ask him to quit his tobacco."
I think of the many, many homes into which I went in the mission field. I have in mind one now. The first night there, because we would not smoke with them, and we could not drink their coffee with them, the man said, "Well I would never join your Church." Well, we did not discuss the Word of Wisdom any more for a few weeks, until we got him a little farther along. And when we got a little farther along, we did not have to ask him to lay away his coffee; it just disappeared. We did not have to ask him to quit his tobacco; it went out the window the same way. I remember one man past his eighties who had been in the government service, walking up and down the streets and lanes in Holland for years and years of his life, and all he had for a companion and friend was his cigars. He chewed them instead of smoking them. And when he heard the gospel and became converted, he laid them away; he used to chew a little licorice root to take the place of the cigars.
I never hear of men like the one the stake president referred to but what I think-if they were only converted to the truth, they would not have to be asked to quit their tobacco. I could not help thinking the other night when we had this demonstration of missionary work, if every member of the Church could see it and hear it, and all the youth of the Church, we would not have so much transgression.
I have another thought before I close. You remember what the Lord said to Peter, he said,
... Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.
But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
I tell you, brothers and sisters, the Latter-day Saints are becoming converted, and they are strengthening their brethren, but there would not be a man or a woman in all Israel who would ever buy a pound of tea or coffee or a cigar or a cigarette or tobacco, in any form, if they were only converted.
You just think of Peter. He said "Though all the world forsake thee, I will not forsake thee." But the Savior knew that even though he thought he was converted he was not quite converted. And so you remember how the Savior said that ere the cock should crow, he would deny Jesus thrice, and he did. And he was the first one to say, "I go a fishing" after the Savior was crucified, but when he had remained at Jerusalem according to the Savior's command, until he had been endowed with power from on high, the Holy Ghost, then he went forth fearless as a lion, and when he was commanded that he should no more preach Christ and him crucified in the streets of Jerusalem, he replied: "Whom shall man obey? God or man?". And you will remember that finally he rejected the privilege of being crucified with his head up, because he thought he was not worthy to be crucified as was his Lord.
Brothers and sisters, if we could just get the Holy Ghost, the testimony of the spirit in the hearts of all Latter-day Saints, we would not have any of them saying that we harp too much on the Word of Wisdom. After all, God gave it.
God help us to so live his commandments that we may enjoy his Spirit, that we may ever be found walking in his ways, and keeping his commandments, I humbly pray, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop Joseph L. Wirthlin
Joseph L. Wirthlin, Conference Report, April 1952, pp. 115-118
My beloved brethren and sisters, I approach this task with mingled feelings this afternoon. The only difference between Bishop Richards' and my situation has been that I was asked to visit President McKay last night at five-thirty. Hence the turmoil in my soul has existed for twenty-four hours whereas in his case, he has only had two hours of it.
I would like to say that this change has brought about an end of one of the sweetest experiences that I have ever enjoyed. The last fourteen years in association with Bishop Richards has been a great source of inspiration, joy and happiness for me.
I found him to be a man of great faith. He has an abundance of humility and in his heart of hearts there is a great love for all people. There has been a beaten trail to his door over the years by those who have been in distress, and they have never left his office empty-handed or without some inspiration and encouragement. And as he leaves us, we shed tears at our parting, but we are only two floors apart.
It was just fourteen years ago this month when the telephone rang in my office, and someone said, "President Grant would like to speak to you."
I answered the phone. The President said, "This is Heber J. Grant. We are reorganizing the Presiding Bishopric today. LeGrand Richards has been asked to accept the position of Presiding Bishop, with Marvin O. Ashton as his first counselor, and we are asking you to take the position of second counselor." I was shocked, and I suggested to President I should like to talk to him about the matter.
He then declared, "There are only thirty minutes before the next session of the conference takes up, and I want to have some rest. What do you say?"
I answered "Yes," and I have never regretted having answered yes to that call and all calls that have come to me in this great organization.
I think of Bishop Ashton today. I learned much from him. He had a heart that was full of kindness and love for all mankind. I say, "God bless his memory."
This great honor that has come to me today I accept as a tribute reflecting back to those who made it possible for me to enjoy all the blessings of this great Church.
I think of my Swiss grandfather and grandmother, my English grandfather and grandmother, who paid a dear price from a physical point of view for the acceptance of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
My Swiss grandfather came into the valleys of the mountains in destitute circumstances. He married his Swiss sweetheart and took her to a mansion out on Eighth East and South Temple-a dugout-where they lived for two years. But they were happy in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. In a short time my grandfather was called on a mission to Switzerland.
At that time they had three children. He accepted the call without any reservations. They had no resources except the family cow, and that was sold to the end that his traveling expenses might be paid, and my grandmother sewed salt sacks for one dollar a thousand in order to sustain her family and help her husband who was out preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
My English grandfather was a man of great faith. As a young man he had the feeling in his heart that the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ must be upon the earth somewhere, and that the Church of Jesus Christ could be found.
So he prayed to the Lord earnestly that he might find the Church and the gospel. Finally one Saturday night before retiring, he knelt down and asked the Lord in faith whether or not the Church was upon the earth, and if it was, could he find it.
During that night he had a dream, and in the dream he saw a street in the city where he lived, and in that street there was a hall, and in that hall two men were preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
When he awoke the next morning he was so impressed by the dream that he got up, dressed, and went to the street, found the hall, and there found two servants of God preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. He came to this country amidst hardships. Because of the faith of these forefathers of mine, I am here, living in peaceful valleys, in the shadows of great mountains, and, above all, within hearing of the voice of the latter-day prophets.
So I owe to them a debt-a debt of gratitude, and a debt that can best be paid in service to this great cause. I was blessed with wonderful parents, a father who taught me the importance of integrity and virtue, and a mother of great faith-a mother who taught me the lessons of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ at her knee. She taught me the story of the visitation of the Father and the Son, and I accepted that story without any reservations.
She taught me with reference to Jesus Christ and his divine mission. She taught me to honor the men who stand at the head of this Church as prophets, seers, and revelators. And as I have lived and grown older in life, I have found that her teachings were right, that they are true, and because of her I owe to this great organization a service which I pray the Lord will give me the strength to render in such a way that those who have asked me to accept this position will be satisfied, that I will please the Lord, and please you, my brethren and sisters.
I have been blessed with a fine companion, my dear wife. I remember the time in the early years of our married life when it was a struggle, and I labored in the bishopric of my ward; she gave me encouragement. Many times I have come home from work late. My clothes were spread out, my meal was prepared. I ate it quickly, changed clothes, and visited in the ward until late at night, arose early the next morning before my children were awake, and went to work.
For days at a time I did not see my children when they were awake. So this companion of mine has the credit of rearing our family, and since I have been in the Presiding Bishopric, being away for weeks at a time, she has taken over, and has done a great service as far as my family is concerned, and I say, "God bless her."
In connection with this work I realize that I am following a great leader. I know of no man who has had at heart the welfare of the youth of this Church more than Bishop LeGrand Richards. As a bishopric, we have counseled long and often together in the endeavor to find means and ways whereby greater service might be rendered to the Aaronic Priesthood of the Church.
Bishop Richards has received the inspiration of the Lord's holy spirit, and rightly, too, for he has lived a life that qualifies him for the association of the Spirit, and out of it plans have been provided whereby both the young men and young women of the Church have been stimulated to draw nigh unto the Lord.
I have three sons. I love them with all my heart, and I have the same love for the young men over whom we now have the responsibility and privilege of presiding.
Brethren and sisters I recognize that the Presiding Bishopric has a great responsibility in the matter of seeing that home teaching is carried on in the Church. This great priesthood assignment from the Lord makes it clear to us that it is the teacher's duty to watch over the Church always, to be with them and strengthen them, to see that there is no iniquity in the Church, backbiting, or evil speaking, to see that they attend to their meetings, and that all of them do perform their duties.
The word all has impressed upon me the fact that under no consideration are we as the teachers of the Church, as the servants of God, to teach the several and see that they do their duty but to see that all of them do their duty.
So, with this great assignment resting upon the shoulders of the Presiding Bishopric, with the help and support of the Melchizedek and Aaronic priesthoods, we should be able to provide the teaching of the gospel in every home, to watch over every home, to be with the families of the Church, strengthening them in their faith, testimony, loyalty, and devotion to the Church.
The greatest authorities on the science of teaching indicate the best teaching is done where the listeners have an opportunity to participate in the discussion.
As of February of this year, a plan has been worked out where the ward teachers leave in each home a small slip on which is printed the topic or doctrine to be discussed during the coming month, and therewith are several scriptural references. This is an invitation to the families of this Church to prepare for the visit of the ward teachers to know something about the subject to discuss and enter into the discussion freely. We have the hope that the teachers of the Church will be fully prepared, and as they enter each home the family will know of the preparation made because of the intelligent discussion that will follow under the direction of the Lord's holy spirit.
I am convinced that there are many young people in this Church who have questions in their minds relative to the gospel of the Lord Jesus.
Only the other day a sixteen-year-old boy asked his father, "What is the Holy Ghost? What form is it in? What are its functions? Do the General Authorities of the Church receive revelations through the Holy Ghost?" These are all intelligent questions, and they are pertinent. They indicate that this sixteen-year-old boy was thinking.
In any Church family where the gospel principles and doctrines are studied, the questions of the youth can be answered fully and particularly in the presence of the ward teachers, the servants of God.
"The glory of God is intelligence".If we are going to have a house of God in our homes, it must be a house where we study the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and as we gain knowledge in our homes, knowledge of the gospel, then the glory of God will be in that home. His Spirit will be there in rich abundance. There will be the spirit of love and peace and good will. And finally when we have finished our course here in life, we have been promised a mansion on the other side, for the Christ said,
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.
... that where I am, ye may be also.
Brethren and sisters, the heavenly mansion of which the Savior speaks will depend entirely upon how much intelligence we gain in this life, and how much of it we apply in our lives from day to day. We are all candidates for the celestial kingdom, and if we gain that knowledge and apply it in our lives, there is no question but what we will inherit the celestial kingdom.
I sincerely trust that we may have an interest in your faith and prayers. For these two grand men who will stand at my side, I have deep respect and love. Bishop Isaacson has proved his worth, and when I discussed with him the matter of remaining with me as one of my counselors, he said, "I don't want you to feel that you have to take me. If there is someone else you would rather have, feel free in selecting him." Brethren and sisters, knowing him as I do, knowing his faith, knowing of the great work that he has done with the adult members of the Aaronic Priesthood, knowing something of his fine judgment, I just felt that I could not give him up.
In Brother Buehner, I recognized a great youth leader, a man who accomplished a great work as stake president a man who has splendid judgment, a man of humility. So I feel that with these two men by my side, with an interest in your faith and prayers, and with the help of our brethren, the First Presidency, the Council of the Twelve, and the Council of the Seventy, and with the help of the Lord, we can fill the assignments that have been given to us. I couldn't help feeling the other morning, after President McKay had finished that great address, to say in my heart, "Prophet of God, thank you for that revelation." I had that same thought in my mind last night when the three members of the Presidency stood up and counseled the great multitude of the priesthood: "Prophets of God, I thank you for your counsel. I thank you for your blessings."
Brethren and sisters, these men stand in relationship to the Church as did Peter, James, and John. They are the servants of God. The light of inspiration and revelation rests upon them mightily. That is my testimony. And what I say about them is equally true of these twelve witnesses to the world the Twelve Apostles. Every one of these men represents the Church as Christ would have it represented. They have my love, and they have my respect, and they have my support. The same is equally true of the brethren, the Assistants to the Twelve, and members of the First Council of the Seventy, and the Patriarch to the Church. And I would have you know that we of the Presiding Bishopric are your servants. If there is anything we can do to help stake presidents and bishops with their problems, we invite them to come and counsel with us.
I pray that the Lord will bless us that we will be united in all of our endeavors, for I know that this is the Church of the Christ. I am just as sure of that as I live. The visitation of the Father and the Son to Joseph Smith is a reality to me, not a dream. And the visitation of John the Baptist, and Peter, James, and John, and all of the heavenly beings who visited the Prophet, giving him the keys wherein the gospel was restored in its simplicity and its fullness, and finally the establishment of the Church as it existed in the days of the Christ, are all realities to me. There is no question about it.
And I pray that the Lord will bless me that I shall be built up in my faith. That he will forgive me of my weaknesses, that I shall have his spirit with me always, I humbly ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder ElRay L. Christiansen
ElRay L. Christiansen, Conference Report, April 1952, pp. 120-122
With you, my brothers and sisters, I take great joy in sustaining, in a real sense, these valiant servants of the Lord who have proven themselves so well in the past. I sustain them in their new positions with all my heart.
After three days and two evenings of hearing the inspiring remarks of the brethren who have addressed us, I can assure you that the only comfort one gets at this stage is the comfort that comes from knowing that that which he thought to say has been more adequately expressed than he could have given it. That is my situation.
I think we have had a most wonderful conference in that there have been sobriety, seriousness of purpose, earnestness of feeling, and it seems to me, a desire on the part of everyone to accept that which has been given us. The words that were given to one of the characters by William Shakespeare seem to express my feeling:
O God, who lends me life, lend me a soul replete with thankfulness.
I hope, my brothers and sisters, that we can go from here, each of us, with "a soul replete with thankfulness" for the abundance of blessings which are ours; for the truth which we have; for the authority to act in the name of the Lord and to officiate in his name, and thereby bring salvation not alone to ourselves but to our loved ones and to all those who will heed the call.
We should be thankful, as I am sure we all are, for these inspired men who lead and direct us in such a splendid way.
If I could condense into a few words the general theme of this conference, it would be something like this: Forsake the vain practices of the world and serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ.
Now, if we can go from here heeding that general thought, this conference will have produced much. I have often wondered why Latter-day Saints should need to be constantly admonished when we can declare in testimony and in truth that God lives and that Jesus is the Christ, that Joseph Smith was an instrument in his hands in restoring the gospel. I have very often thought that that should be sufficient for any of us and like Adam, as President Clark mentioned this morning, to know what our Father desires should be sufficient.
And as with Adam, so with Abraham-no matter how great the sacrifice, he did not equivocate. He did not hesitate. He did not ask questions. I hope, my brothers and sisters, that we can approach this in our faith and our determination to serve the Lord.
We are, however, exposed to the philosophies and the practices of the world, and sometimes become intrigued with certain innovations which many people would have us think are the things to do. Therefore, we need to be reminded from time to time of the things which really count, to put first things first, to love the Lord with all our hearts and with all our might and with all our strength.
We Latter-day Saints need not subscribe to those practices which are around us, of which we have been warned in this conference. We need not minimize the religious standards and ideals which have been set up for us to heed and to follow. We need not be "lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God," as Paul has said that many in the world would be in these last days. We need not and should not be "high-minded" nor self-sufficient, but as true Latter-day Saints we should walk humbly before the Lord and remember that he is our God.
If we can be humble and submissive gentle and easily entreated, we will grow in strength and in stature and be able to meet the vicissitudes of life, and to withstand the "... evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days", as we have been urged to do.
There is an old Spanish proverb which says,
He that loseth wealth, loseth much. He that loseth friends, loseth more. But he that loseth spirituality, loseth all.
It seems to me that there is a depression on spiritual things. We are in a worldwide "spiritual depression." As I go about and observe the conduct of many men and women, this seems all the more convincing. And we are told
... the whole world lieth in sin, and groaneth under darkness and under the bondage of sin.
And by this you may know they are under the bondage of sin, because they come not unto me.
For whoso cometh not unto me is under the bondage of sin.
And whoso receiveth not my voice is not acquainted with my voice, and is not of me.
That was given to the Church in 1832. I doubt that the world has improved much since then. Maybe we have learned a lot more devilment in the intervening time. I am not sure, but it would appear that way.
Now, my brothers and sisters, through these days of confusion and of doubt where can we find security? On what foundation can we safely build?
Speaking of the conditions that would exist in these days, a revelation through the Prophet Joseph Smith gave us this assurance:
For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived-verily I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day.
And the earth shall be given unto them for an inheritance; and they shall multiply and wax strong, and their children shall grow up without sin unto salvation.
For the Lord shall be in their midst, and his glory shall be upon them, and he will be their king and their lawgiver.
How marvelous it is, my brothers and sisters, to contemplate such a blessing. It is ours if we will just heed the requirements for it. I very often turn to the scriptures when I speak to these young people, or did do in the temple, in an effort to get them to hold to the course which is good for them, giving them this admonition in the words of Helaman:
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 fall.
I commend that to the Latter-day Saints, and to the young people particularly, who are making a struggle to establish themselves in their homes and in their lives as husbands and wives and fathers and mothers, to build upon that sure foundation, for if they do, they cannot fall, and they will not be deceived by the practices of the world.
I sustain the brethren with all my heart. I know that this is the work of the Lord. This is not just another Church. This is the Church of Jesus Christ, and he heads it and directs it through these instruments, these holy men in his hands.
I testify to this, and pledge my allegiance to it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Milton R. Hunter
Milton R. Hunter, Conference Report, April 1952, pp. 122-125
My brethren and sisters, I humbly ask an interest in your faith and prayers, and the Spirit of God, to direct the few things that I may say this afternoon.
I have a strong desire and feeling in my heart in this closing session of the conference to encourage the Latter-day Saints to keep God's commandments. I know that there is nothing in this world that is as important to members of the Church as to keep all the commandments. In fact, the very purpose, the reason for our existence here in mortality, is to prove us, to see if we will "... live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God".
As President Clark pointed out in his masterful discourse this morning, Jesus Christ, at the grand council in heaven declared that the sons and daughters of God would be placed upon this earth to "... prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them." And the Master gave the promise to them that those who were successful in doing so, would "... have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever".
In due course of time, Father Adam and Mother Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden. They partook of the forbidden fruit. The Fall came about; thus they became mortal beings. A veil was drawn over their minds, and they forgot their pre-mortal existence and the gospel by which they had previously lived in the spirit world. It was necessary, therefore, for Jehovah, even Jesus Christ, to reveal to them the gospel plan.
As time passed, time and time again little by little, line upon line, precept upon precept, doctrine upon doctrine, the gospel was revealed by the Savior to Father Adam and Mother Eve. They rejoiced in all the revelations that they received; and faithfully they rendered obedience to the commandments of God. We read in the Pearl of Great Price:
And he gave unto them commandments, that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord. And Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord.
And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me.
Now, some people may regard Adam's answer as one of blind obedience. I think his answer is one of the most sublime illustrations in the scripture of faithful obedience. Although he did not know the full answer why, yet he knew that God would not tell him to do anything which would be harmful for him. He was convinced that all that God commanded him to do was for his own good; therefore, he obeyed, and later on he received light.
It would be a wonderful thing if all the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would follow Adam's example. When the holy prophets-the First Presidency of the Church, the Twelve Apostles, God's anointed prophets, seers, and revelators upon this earth-give instructions to the Church members, if we would all render obedience to their instructions, having a firm conviction in our hearts that they speak the word of God; although we do not have the answer yet, knowing in due time we should receive light as did Father Adam.
It is my testimony that such would be the case. I am not only willing to follow the counsel of the brethren but also glad to obey God's commandments as given by his prophets.
We are told that there are two masters in this world. The one Master is Jesus Christ; the other master is Satan. The Savior himself taught:
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Alma, one of the great Book of Mormon prophets, taught: "For every man receiveth wages of him whom he listeth to obey". If we list to obey Jesus Christ, as our Master, we walk in the light: we receive peace, happiness, prosperity and the other good blessings of this life, and in the world to come, eternal life in our Father's kingdom. If we choose to follow Lucifer as our master, we shall receive the wages which are his to bestow upon us. On certain occasions those who obey Satan receive as their wages misery, unhappiness, sorrow, and disappointment in this life; and, one might say, on all occasions, they experience the loss of their eternal rewards in the world to come.
One of the most apt illustrations of one who chose to follow Lucifer, that comes to my mind at this time, was Cain. We read in the Pearl of Great Price:
And Cain loved Satan more than God. And Satan commanded him, saying: Make an offering unto the Lord.
Cain was obedient to Satan's commandment. Of course, God rejected that offering, and Cain became very angry. And then the Lord appeared unto Cain, and said:
... Why art thou wroth? Why is thy countenance fallen?
If thou doest well, thou shalt be accepted. And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door, and Satan desireth to have thee; and except thou shalt hearken unto my commandments, I will deliver thee up, and it shall be unto thee according to his desire.
Yet Cain continued to love Satan more than God. He entered into a secret covenant with Satan to murder his brother Abel for gain. "And he gloried,, in his wickedness". And after this terrible crime had been committed, Cain received his "wages from him whom he listeth to obey." He was cursed by the Lord with a dark skin. He lost the Holy Priesthood. He lost his eternal soul, becoming a son of perdition. Thus, he was turned over to Satan-his master.
God, our Eternal Father, is very much concerned about you and me and every one of his children here upon this earth regarding their keeping his commandments. When we keep his commandments, it gives him joy; his heart is caused to rejoice. When we disobey his commandments, his heart is caused to sorrow.
Enoch had the privilege of looking down through the stream of time in a vision. He and God were observing human history in that vision. When the scene came to the period of the time of Noah and they were observing what was taking place during that period, "God wept". Enoch was very much surprised to see that God would weep, and asked: "Why is it that God weeps? Everything is happy in heaven, everything is peaceful there, everybody worships you." In fact Enoch could see no reason why God should weep; but God said:
... Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto them their knowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his agency.
And unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment, that they should love one another and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood.
... among all the workmanship of mine hands there has not been so great wickedness as among thy brethren.
Because God knew the calamity that should come to those people, he wept and declared that the heavens also wept over them.
In his conference talk, President S. Dilworth Young gave a wonderful illustration on God's concern over our obedience which I would like to repeat today.
King Saul had recently come to the throne when an invading Bedouin tribe from the Arabian desert came into the land of Canaan and molested the Israelites. The voice of the Lord came to Samuel, the prophet, commanding him to command King Saul to take his armies and go in pursuit of those invaders, the Amalekites, and destroy or kill every man, woman, and child, both male and female, and all the animals as well as to destroy utterly all of the properties. Saul received this commandment, went in pursuit of the Amalekites but did not fully keep the commandment. He brought back the fattest and best of the sheep and cattle as spoils of war.
God was very displeased with Saul's disobedience; and the voice of the Lord spoke to Samuel again, telling him that Saul had
... turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments.
And then the Lord explained to Samuel what Saul had done. Thereupon Samuel went out to meet King Saul as he was coming home from the war. Saul heard that Samuel was coming, so probably he hid the cattle and sheep behind a hill. When those two men met, Saul greeted Samuel as the chosen prophet of God, and said: "Blessed be thou of the Lord: I have performed the commandment of the Lord"; stating that he had obeyed God's command in detail having completely destroyed the Amalekites.
And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of oxen which I hear?
And Saul said, They have brought... a few of the fattest and best of the cattle and sheep for the purpose of offering sacrifice unto the Lord thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.
And then Samuel made this memorable statement:
Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
I would that every Latter-day Saint would place deeply that statement in his heart and keep it there forever. Furthermore, I would that every Church member from this time forward would repeat every few days: "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams"; and obedience is even better than the wealth of this world or than any position or honor that mortal man can bestow upon us. Best of all our attainments, therefore is to obey the voice of God in all things and at all times.
We have been told by the holy prophets throughout the entire course of history that we will receive our blessings from the hand of God according to the obedience that we render to his holy laws. Therefore, the rewards and punishments are, one might say, based upon a scientific formula. The Lord revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith:
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 predicated.
God, our Eternal Father is not as greatly concerned over which race of people we belong to nor over the color of our skins as he is over our righteousness. He is not concerned with how wealthy we are-whether we drive a Cadillac or walk; nor does he care to which family we belong; but he is deeply concerned over what kind of hearts we have. In other words, it makes a vital difference to him whether we render obedience to his commandments or not.
The question ofttimes comes to the minds of thinking people, especially young people: "What rewards come as a result of obedience to God's commandments?" Even from the very beginning, and in every gospel dispensation, the followers of Jesus Christ have been told by the holy prophets that those who render obedience to God's commandments eventually will find rest in the presence of the Lord. There they will receive a blessed immortality. In fact, in the very beginning when Adam and his posterity began to populate the earth, the scriptures report:
And the Lord God called upon men by the Holy Ghost everywhere and commanded them that they should repent;
And as many as believed in the Son, and repented of their sins, should be saved; and as many as believed not and repented not, should be damned; and the words went forth out of the mouth of God in a firm decree; wherefore they must be fulfilled.
When you and I became members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and were baptized, we entered into a covenant to keep God's commandments-all of his commandments. We did not covenant to obey just the gospel laws that meet our convenience the ones that we like to keep, but all of God's commandments.
When we received the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood, we received it with an oath and a covenant; and the oath and covenant is that we will live "...by every word that proceedeth forth out of the mouth of God". Jesus Christ has promised that if we do so all that the Father has will be given unto us.
Now, what does the Father have? The greatest blessing that he has to give to his faithful children, according to his own declaration, is eternal life. Also, he has called this gift exaltation in the presence of God. Godhood is another way to describe that same gift. Therefore, all those who love God and keep his commandments will receive eternal life, godhood, or exaltation, which means that they will rise in the resurrection and enter into celestial glory to be made joint heirs with Jesus Christ and receive all that the Father has.
I am as thoroughly convinced as I am that I am standing here speaking to you people, in fact, I know that if you and I will keep God's commandments day by day, walking humbly with our God, with "a broken heart and a contrite spirit," as the Lord has commanded us to do eventually we will hear the voice of God invite us into his presence; and, as the scriptures state, we shall "... pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to... exaltation and glory in all things".
If we prove faithful in keeping all of God's commandments, we shall receive a glorious celestialization, a comparable degree of happiness, joy, peace and power with that which God, the Eternal Father, and the Only Begotten Son have attained. In other words, all that the Father has will be given unto us. This is what is in store for the faithful Saints, for those who love God and keep his commandments.
I humbly ask our Father in heaven to bless every Latter-day Saint in the world; that all of us will vow to keep God's commandments and that we will walk by every word that proceedeth forth from his mouth from this time forward. I do so, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Harold B. Lee
Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, April 1952, pp. 126-127
I want President McKay to know that it does not make any difference to me whether he remembers my name or my middle initial; all I want him to know is that I want to be counted as one who loves the Lord, and who loves our President, as our prophet, seer, and revelator.
I am sure that because of the lateness of the hour, and the desire of all of us that we have a closing word from President McKay and his blessing before this conference closes, you will indulge me the discretion of not presuming to discourse on what I may have prepared to say at this conference. Therefore, I shall close my remarks by only bearing my testimony.
With all my heart I welcome four great, noble souls to new positions among the General Authorities of this Church: LeGrand Richards, Joseph L. Wirthlin, Thorpe B. Isaacson, and Carl W. Buehner. I think there is no man or no person in this Church happier than I at the changes which have come to give these men their present positions.
I am thinking back, to that brief moment up in Idaho, when Brother LeGrand Richards lay at death's door. The doctors had thought that Brother Richards might not be with us long, because of a serious heart attack. The late Bishop Marvin O. Ashton and I drove up one Sunday afternoon to Grace, Idaho, to visit him. In a brief moment when my hands were on the head of Brother Richards, I knew that the Lord loved him and that he was going to live. The certainty of that was as sure to me then as it is today that he was spared for a great and glorious mission.
The Prophet Moroni enjoined his people to seek for the great gift of faith in words that, as nearly as I can recall were something like this:
... Faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.
Eleven years ago this morning, I climbed the steps and took my place on the stand where Brother Richards is today. In eleven years, to the day, I have moved from the arm rest to my left, to the arm rest to my right. That call was an overpowering experience, as only these, my brethren, know, but the greatest experience was not eleven years ago today, but eleven years ago the week following today.
It was on the day or so following conference that President Stephen L. Richards, who was then chairman of the Church radio and publicity committee, approached me and said, "Brother Lee, next Sunday is Easter, and we have decided to ask you to give the Sunday night radio talk, the Easter talk, on the resurrection of the Lord." And then he added, "You understand now, of course, that as a member of the Council of the Twelve, you are to be one of the special witnesses of the life and mission of the Savior and of that great event." The most overwhelming of all the things that have happened to me was to begin to realize what a call into the Council of the Twelve meant.
During the days which followed, I locked myself in one of the rooms over in the Church Office building, and there I read the story of the life of the Savior. As I read the events of his life, and particularly the events leading up to and of the crucifixion, and then of the resurrection, I discovered that something was happening to me. I was not just reading a story; it seemed actually as though I was living the events; and I was reading them with a reality the like of which I had never before experienced. And when, on the Sunday night following, after I had delivered my brief talk and then declared, simply, "As one of the humblest among you, I, too, know that these things are true, that Jesus died and was resurrected for the sins of the world," I was speaking from a full heart, because I had come to know that week, with a certainty which I never before had known.
I do not know whether that experience was the realization of the workings of the gift of the more sure word of prophecy, but this much I came to know: neither the Prophet Joseph Smith, nor any who have followed since, have ever received a personal visitation from the Master, nor have they ever received a special witness of his life and mission, except they have had a supreme faith. Until that faith had been tried and tested, only then did they receive the witness.
This much more I know, and bear humble witness, that only shall I receive a greater witness than I today have, that he is, when my faith through trial shall have become the more perfect.
I know with all my soul today, God being my witness, that the Savior died, was resurrected, and lives today, so close to us in the councils of the priesthood, so near to those whom he has chosen as his mouthpieces, that if they will but open their hearts and minds, they may know with a surety that they have done his will and that he has spoken.
I am thinking today of the quoted testimony of a great defender of the faith recorded in Brother Barker's splendid priesthood lessons which we are now studying in the priesthood quorums, when he told how his testimony came. This is what that faithful Cyprian said: "Into my heart, purified of its sins, there entered a light which came from on high, and then, immediately, in a marvelous manner, I saw certainty succeed doubt."
God help us, as the sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, that we having the right to the witness of the Holy Ghost, shall by faith so purify our hearts that the light from on high may enter into them, that in a marvelous way we, too, may see all doubt flee in the face of absolute certainty. God help us to this end, and keep us in the faith, worthy of the testimonies of the reality of the mysteries of heaven and godliness, I humbly pray, in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1952, pp. 127-129
Elder Harold B. Lee of the Council of the Twelve has just spoken to us. His address marks the last of a series of addresses given during this conference by the General Authorities of the Church, all of whom you have heard excepting Elder Stayner Richards who is presiding over the British Mission. Elder Romney, as you know, gave the Church of the Air address this morning. Thus comes to a close a great conference, another glorious opportunity that the Church has had of meeting together, making new resolutions, receiving timely instructions, and sustaining the Authorities of the Church. The weather has been most propitious. The attitude of the individuals who have assembled in the various gatherings, including the Primary conference, has been hopeful, promising, eager; that of the congregations, most responsive.
The messages of the General Authorities have all been timely and inspirational; the cooperation of the city officials, ready and efficient. The assistance rendered by the various radio stations here in our own city, in Idaho, Colorado, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, and Mexico, has been the means of permitting tens of thousands of people to hear the proceedings of this the 122nd Annual General Conference of the Church. To all we extend words of appreciation, heartfelt expressions of gratitude, for all combined to make this a most memorable occasion.
To our singers, the Brigham Young University chorus of young people, to our own Tabernacle Choir, we again express our thanks.
What a glorious opportunity we have had in listening to these two great organizations. To our choir, I believe I will express not only your gratitude but also that of the entire city and of the state, for the Salt Lake Tabernacle Choir is now an institution, not just an organization, appreciated by every member of the Church, and I think by every fair-minded citizen of our glorious state. God bless them, and those young people who came up from the Brigham Young University to sing at the opening sessions of conference.
I have much in my heart to say to you, but I will conclude by calling your attention to the words of a very practical servant of the Lord who was blessed to labor in the companionship and shadow of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Indeed, I think he is his own brother. James said:
"What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
"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.
"Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works".
As we depart now to go to our various homes, let us make real the good feelings that have been aroused in our souls. Let us not permit to evaporate from our minds and feelings the good resolutions we have formed. First, let us resolve that from now on we are going to be men of higher and more sterling character, more conscious of our own weaknesses, more kind and charitable towards others' failings.
Let us resolve that we shall practice more self-control in our homes, control our tempers and our tongues, and control our feelings, that they may not wander beyond the bounds of right and purity, more seeking the presence of God, realizing how dependent we are upon him for success in this life, and particularly for success in the positions we hold in the Church.
As we leave this conference, let us not only resolve to be more loyal to our quorums but more devoted to the duties assigned us, one of which is attendance at our quorum meetings, in order to strengthen that group and increase the power of fellowship and brotherhood, more loyal to our country. This is an election year. Upon you devolves the responsibility of choosing our servants in government, for whoever is elected to preside over this country as President, as senators, members of the House of Representatives, are your servants, not your rulers. And do not be slothful on the day of election, but come out and exercise your right and privilege as a citizen of this great republic. What doth it profit though a man say he hath faith not works? Here we should prove ourselves loyal citizens.
As we depart, let us be more determined to make beautiful homes, to be kinder husbands, more thoughtful wives, more exemplary to our children, determined that in our homes we are going to have just a little taste of heaven here on this earth.
With these resolves in mind, with all my heart I say, fellow workers, God bless you. Cherish in your hearts the testimony of truth, make it as solid and as firm and unwavering as the fixed stars in the heavens. May there come into everyone's heart and in all our homes the true spirit of Christ our Redeemer, whose reality, whose inspiring guidance I know to be real.
God bless you, keep you, and magnify you in the eyes of your associates. May he make more powerful than even before in the history of this Church the influence of this divine organization, that its potency may be felt throughout the world, and men's hearts turned to serve him as they have never before been influenced, that we may avert the terrible threatening war, and peace be established among the nations of the world, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Stayner Richards
Stayner Richards, Conference Report, October 1952, pp. 12-16
My dear brethren and sisters, it is a very great privilege and pleasure to be back home again, to be with loved ones and friends and to partake of such a wonderful influence as we have at this conference today.
I have not made an accurate count, but from appearances the number present here today is a little larger than we have in our district conferences in the mission field, but the spirit is just the same.
A year ago I had the opportunity of reporting missionary labors of Sister Richards and myself in the British Mission. Consequently I will not duplicate this morning but only mention a few subsequent happenings. Since that time King George VI has passed on; his charming and lovely daughter Elizabeth, designated "the Second," now reigns over that wonderful country and in that great empire. She is greatly loved by all the people because of her Christian virtues and her charming way. The Socialist Party was defeated at the polls, and the Conservative Party under the leadership of that great statesman Winston Churchill was elected into office.
The affairs of the British Mission are going forward in a fine way under the very able direction of President and Sister A. Hamer Reiser. Our missionary experiences there constituted one of the richest times in the lives of Sister Richards and myself. We did so appreciate the association of the fine missionaries, and we rejoice in the great development that came to them. We shall ever be grateful to them for their support, their cooperation, and their hard labors, and we rejoice in the way the Lord blessed them.
We were thrilled, also, my brethren and sisters, in witnessing what the gospel of Jesus Christ does to those people who accept it, how it changes their lives from confusion, uncertainty into lives of knowledge of our Father in heaven, his purposes for his children here upon the earth, and especially for the feeling of security that it gives them and the hope of salvation and eternal life.
Oh, it was wonderful to see how happy it made these converts that accepted the truth, and in their homes the conditions changed, there was more love between husband and wife and between parents and children.
Of course, the crowning event in our missionary labors was the visit of President David O. McKay and his lovely wife, his son Lawrence and his wife, Mildred. I trust that President McKay will let me fill in just a few items in connection with that trip pertaining primarily to himself, as he would be too modest to mention them himself, and I shall mention them not just as a matter of interest, but in order that we might all be benefitted by the virtues, the exemplary life of this man, our leader.
Between the time of the two dedications in Scotland that he has mentioned, the President with the members of his party and about twenty-six missionaries, took a bus tour up through the highlands of Scotland, around the Cossacks, around Loch Lomond, Ben Lomond, the Brig o' the Kirk, and those places made famous by the immortal words of Sir Walter Scott and other great poets. During that tour the President delighted all of us by reciting from memory stanza after stanza from The Lady of the Lake and other great poems. He made us all feel that as visitors in foreign lands, we should study the history of those countries; we should learn of their poets and their artists and secure all of the cultural value that we could from such visits.
But there was something else, that may not be new to you who know President McKay well, but I observed that throughout that tour, as we got on and off the bus, as we walked to one place of interest and back to the bus, there was in President McKay the perfect gentleman; always as he approached a lady he removed his hat, not to show that beautiful stand of white hair that he has, but through the natural tendency on his part always to be courteous.
And then I observed how kind and considerate he was of his lovely companion, how he was always there to assist her on the bus, to help her off the bus, to make sure that she had a proper vantage place in looking over the different sights, and then I observed that he always seemed happiest and most contented when he was sitting next to her.
They have been married for over a half a century, but time and the passing of years has not dimmed that great love that he has for his wife, not only love, but the tendency also to show every consideration and every attention as he did during his courting years.
Oh, my brethren, what a lesson there is for us, and may I say just a word to you here, I want to ask of you, how long since you told your wife you loved her? How long since you brought a few flowers home to her, and her alone? How long since you brought some candy? How long since, after a fine meal, you have told her what a fine meal that was, and after the meal and you were going out, have you stated, "I am going out block-teaching but when I get back, I want to take you down to the corner for an ice cream soda."
Oh, these are just little things, but how they would add to the joy and the happiness around home. I remember hearing of one of our brethren, when his neighbor spoke to him after the wife had served them a fine meal and said, "My, you have a fine wife." He said, "Yes, I almost told her so, once, and I think before I die, I will tell her."
Now, brethren, in this connection, may I say if you are going to reform along this line, make it gradual. Anything else might be a shock and might be misunderstood by the womenfolk.
I cannot refrain from telling about another party that called on his neighbor and friend, who happened to be the judge in the town, and said, "Judge, Liz and I are going to break up; I have come to see you about a divorce." He said, "Jim, I wonder if you have always been kind to your wife?" And then he gave him certain instructions, and he said, "Now, you come back tomorrow and tell me how you get along." Jim returned the next day, and the judge said, "Well, how did you do?" "Terrible;" he said, "I did just as you told me. I took a fine box of candy, a lovely bunch of flowers home to my wife; and just as soon as I presented them, I gave her a big kiss, and she broke out crying, and she said, 'This has been a terrible day. This morning the cat got run over; at noon the grocer failed to send the groceries; and now here, tonight you come home dead drunk.'"
I would like to mention another observation that was certainly pleasing to me, as I am sure it was to the other members that witnessed it. At the close of the dedicatory services in Glasgow and Edinburgh, the President took time to greet all of those people. There were three hundred in one place and two hundred in another. As they came up to him, especially the little children, extended presents to him, one of them giving a present of an automobile robe with the McKay colors on it, and others gave flowers to the ladies. The President's extending appreciation and blessing those little tots was beautiful.
And then, as some of the older ones who knew him fifty-four years ago when he was on his first mission came up and took his hand and placed their heads on his breast and sobbed with joy, you could see and feel the fullness and devotion of his friendship and his love for those people. Oh, indeed, he was a great friend to them.
I am wondering if all of us who have friends would not like to take a lesson from that and manifest a deeper degree of friendship, let their joys be our joys, and let their sorrows be our sorrows.
We left Edinburgh 10:20 at night to take the sleeper train for London. As we left that station, there were those faithful Saints, headed by one of the missionaries with such a fine voice, who sang in Scotch, rendering songs of farewell to the party. When we went into our compartment, there were boxes of delicious lunch, the finest that could be prepared, which were extended by the Relief Society sisters of that Edinburgh Branch.
On arriving at London, early in the morning, we were met by the missionaries and a number of the Saints of the London District. Flowers were showered upon the womenfolk; greetings were extended in the most cordial way to the President. The next few days, of course, were very busy days for him in London.
On Sunday, it happened to be the London district conference, and though we pleaded with the President to spend the forenoon in visiting some of the great churches, such as St. Paul, Westminster, and so forth, in order to spare him from speaking so many times, he chose to attend the priesthood meeting, the afternoon and the evening meetings. There were approximately eleven hundred people present at the meetings.
Wonderful sermons were given by him, and after those meetings he consented to shake hands with all of those people. Have you ever tried greeting individually so many people? When you realize also that the shake of President McKay's hand is not just a limpid affair, but it is a firm grasp with a greeting from that big heart, you can realize the fatiguing, and the exhausting effect of that ordeal.
May I make another observation? President McKay enjoys that Christian virtue that was taught so many times by the Master himself, of losing one's self for others, in forgetting self and thinking of others, that he gave no thought to what that exhausting experience was doing to him. He only realized that it was giving joy and happiness to these people, many of whom had come into the Church because this Church has apostles and prophets. And now they were to greet the prophet of the Lord, the President of the Church. You can imagine the thrill that came to them as they did so.
And as the little children came, the little tots, they received an equal greeting. Like the Master of old, who said "Suffer little children, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven", so this great man gave these little kiddies a handshake and a blessing, and they went on their way.
President McKay performed this act in the nine other European missions.
He will never know the amount of good that came to these people and the thrill that they received. They will tell it to their children, and their children's children.
In one place it was reported that the people were shaking hands with the other Saints with the left hands, and when they asked why, they said, "Why, this hand shook hands with a prophet of the Lord, and we are holding that hand closed." One good sister, who was sick and could not be there, sent her two little daughters and said, "You go shake hands with the President, then come back and shake hands with me, and then I will be all right again."
I know, brothers and sisters, that you agree with me, that this was the greatest event that ever happened to the European missions.
And speaking of the President, I think, myself, that his going from here across the ocean to those countries, constituted also a visit of one of the greatest Americans. President McKay went over there with a message of peace, based on righteousness, and according to the principles of the gospel, thereby, creating the only peace that would be lasting.
And now, what about those that accompanied him? Sister McKay and the others were urged to speak at practically all of the meetings, and she spoke in such a lovely way, such a motherly and tender way, especially to the sisters, to the Relief Society workers. The son, Lawrence, who is one of the general superintendency of the Deseret Sunday School Union of the Church, spoke especially to the children, giving them a message from the Sunday School and then his lovely wife, Mildred, a member of the general board of the Primary, gave her message to the Primary workers and the Primary children. Therefore, the causes of these three organizations were greatly enhanced.
Another thing should be noted; President McKay and his party traveled as a unit and for those people to see a Mormon family journeying together, manifesting such love, and consideration for each other, exemplifying such a perfect family life, did much to create better homes and better family lives through all those countries.
So I want to pay my humble tribute to President McKay, and to tell you, as I know that you realize, that he exemplifies the Christian principles as taught by the Master, the virtues that he taught his disciples in a finer way and more completely than any man that I know of. And as he loved all the people, all the people loved him.
He is such a kind man. May I mention just one more personal thing? Just before he departed at 11:40 at night from Prestwich to come home, imagine his being so kind as to call up Sister Richards and myself, just common people, down in London, over the long distance telephone, and realizing that we were to sail the next day, to wish us bon voyage. We will never forget that kindly act on his part.
And now, in closing, my brethren and sisters, if we love this man, I think there is only one way to show it, and that is for us to take a lesson from his example and live the gospel of Jesus Christ in every detail, day by day, and that will please him more than anything we can do.
God bless you all, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Harold B. Lee
Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, October 1952, pp. 16-19
During the few moments that I occupy this position, I seek humbly for an interest in your faith and in your prayers.
I should like to take, if I may, a text from an inspired prayer that I heard President McKay offer several months ago in a sacred place, the burden of which was a plea for increased faith in God, which would act as an effective weapon against the great anti-Christ, to which he has made reference this morning, communism and dictatorship in nations, and sin and wickedness in men.
In this expression, President McKay is in full harmony with that which has been taught by all the prophets from the beginning. The Prophet Ether, 2400 years before Christ, gave expression to that same thought, when he said:
Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works.
The Apostle Paul impressed that same great truth in a negative way, when he said,
If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
Some while ago, I chanced to be visiting on the campus of Stanford University, and there on the walls of the memorial chapel, I saw written by some unnamed writer, what might be considered as a translation of that great truth into a formula of action, as a guide through life. This is what was written there:
An eternal existence in prospect converts the whole of your present state into a mere vestibule of the grand court of life, an introduction, a beginning of what is to follow, an entrance into that interminable extent of being which is the true life of man. The best thoughts, affections, and aspirations of a truly great soul are fixed upon the infinitude of immortality. Destined as such a great soul is, for immortality finds all that is not eternal, too short, and all that is not infinite, too small.
As I pondered the meaning of those words and the prayer of President McKay and the expressions of the prophets regarding the need for faith, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, I remembered what the Lord said in the earliest commandment which was given to parents,
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... the sin be upon the heads of the parents.
And in that same inspired declaration by revelation, the Lord gave us what we might style as a five-point program by which parents could teach faith. First, he said, their children were to be baptized when they had reached the age of accountability at eight years; second, they were to be taught to pray; third, they were to be taught to walk uprightly before the Lord; fourth, they were to be taught to keep the Sabbath day holy; and fifth, they were to be schooled not to be idle, either in the Church, or in their private lives.
All parents who have followed that formula and have so taught their children have reaped the reward of an increased faith in their family, which has stood and will yet stand the test of the difficulties into which their children would yet go.
I read not long ago, an expression from a young man in military service, in which the young man gave expression to a faith in which undoubtedly he had been schooled by his parents who had followed that instruction of the Master to parents to which I have already made reference. This was the boyish way our boy in the military service declared his faith:
We thank God that we have discovered that he will always help us to give our very best, and that we must take more and more from him in order that we will not let him down. We have learned that he will not fail us and that we must not fail him. Thank God for God.
Someone has aptly said, "You do not need to train a boy to be vicious, just let him go without training and he will be vicious of his own accord." In that regard, I remember what Thomas Carlyle wrote:
A man without a purpose in life is as a ship without a rudder, a waif, a nothing, a nobody. Have a purpose in life, and having it, throw such strength of muscle and brain into your work as God has given you.
The youth who has been trained in a Latter-day Saint home has been schooled in what that purpose of life should be, "to gain immortality" and "to gain eternal life". Having such a purpose, our boys in military service, anchored by an abiding faith in the omnipotent power of the Almighty, might have written as a fitting epitaph to them as was written upon the tombs of early American heroes,
So nigh is grandeur to the dust, So near is God to man, When duty whispers Lo, thou must, The youth replies I can.
It is fruitless for us to try to enjoin youth to be chaste by merely doing as the military have sought to teach, merely because of a fear of a loathsome disease if he is unchaste, or as some of our schools would teach, merely because of the harm that would thus come to society as a result of his unchastity.
Paul, the Apostle, taught that we must be girded with a girdle of truth. What truth shall we be girded with? Our loins must be girded with the truth that every handsome young man and every beautiful young girl is winged for a heavenly flight.
How can we enjoin an alcoholic against his debauchery except we lift the shades of a darkened soul and let him glimpse himself as a son of God, as a child of God. The program of the Alcoholics Anonymous starts with two basic pillars: first, that the individual has a desire to quit the use of alcohol and second, he must have faith in a Supreme Being. Any program upon any other basis intended to reclaim those in the vices of that vicious habit is doomed to failure.
In short, we might well say, echoing that which was written on the Stanford Memorial Chapel walls, we must teach all such, and our youth, that "all that is not eternal is too short, and all that is not infinite is too small."
Patriotism and loyalty in defense of the Constitution of the United States is constantly enjoined upon us. President McKay again this morning has made reference to the cause of liberty in his remarks. To be effective in such teaching, we must begin by inspiring in each heart the faith that the Constitution of the United States was written by inspired men whom God raised up for that very purpose.
It was Joseph Smith who has been quoted as having said that the time would come when the Constitution would hang as by a thread and at that time when it was thus in jeopardy, the elders of this Church would step forth and save it from destruction.
Why the elders of this Church? Would it be sacrilegious to paraphrase the words of the Apostle Peter, and say that the Constitution of the United States could be saved by the elders of this Church because this Church and this Church alone has the words of eternal life? We alone know by revelation as to how the Constitution came into being, and we, alone, know by revelation the destiny of this nation. The preservation of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" can be guaranteed upon no other basis than upon a sincere faith and testimony of the divinity of these teachings.
We have been given a serious responsibility in preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. We have been told in meetings even preceding this conference session that we must reach out to the minorities. Our beloved Brother Kimball has urged others and has devoted his energies for the past few years to an energetic, proselyting urge among the Lamanites and those minority groups. But again, how can these backward children of our Heavenly Father be brought out of darkness and uplifted?
A lifelong missionary, in commenting about his work among the Indians out in the west Shoshone reservation in Nevada, in reporting on various uplift activities to reclaim the Indians, made this very significant statement:
All their zealous and patient efforts to help the Indian's plight tend to become another crutch that the Indian depends upon. Those Indians who have become progressively independent apparently have become so because of personal and religious factors wholly unrelated to the government program.
What he is saying, in effect, is that the building of faith and testimony in these people is fundamental and essential to this redemption.
It was that same thing the Master said about the reclaiming of the Jews, when he declared that:
... the fulness of my gospel shall be preached unto them;
And they shall believe in me, that I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and shall praise the Father in my name.
Then will the fathers gather them together again and give unto them Jerusalem for the land of their inheritance.
It has been a great source of satisfaction to me to know that those who are now planning for a standard missionary program to be given out to the stakes and to the missions of the Church, have laid as the foundation for the introduction of the gospel to those who are our friends and investigators, a testimony of the divinity of the Godhead of this world, and a belief in the mission of Jesus Christ, as the Son of the Living God.
To me the reclaiming of the souls of men must be begun by building faith, just as the parents in this dispensation were taught must be so in their own families. In the early rise of his Church, the Lord 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;
And also gave commandments to others that they should proclaim these things unto the world...
That faith also might increase in the earth.
God grant that the gospel of Jesus Christ might be so effectively taught in all the world that the prayer of our President might be fully realized, that it might be an effective weapon against communism and dictatorship in nations, and sin and wickedness in men, I humbly pray, in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Antoine R. Ivins
Antoine R. Ivins, Conference Report, October 1952, pp. 19-20
My beloved brethren and sisters: I suppose I shall never approach this task without a keen sense of dependence upon your faith and prayers in my behalf, that perchance what I shall say may be helpful to some of us.
I feel to bear my testimony to you today that I know that we are engaged in the work of God, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that this work was established by him.
When he was talking to his disciples, he said to Peter, "... upon this rock I will build my church", and as I read that scripture, I believe that rock refers to a revealed testimony that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I fancy that if I should ask you who are before me today who can bear testimony to that fact through the Spirit of God to stand upon your feet, you would all arise. That testimony, brethren and sisters, is what should impel us to service in the Church in the interest of our fellows. A true testimony that we are engaged in the work of God should bring us to love our fellows, for love has been given by Christ as the great and underlying principle of the gospel-that we should love God and love our fellows as we love ourselves.
The Savior said, "If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments", and I gather from that, that loyalty to this testimony which we profess must impel us to the service which indicates our love for our fellows.
I told you before of the statement which I once read which says there are more uncultivated souls in the world than lands. Our purpose is to cultivate our souls and the souls of other people. Work in behalf of others implies sacrifice, and sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven. That service is manifest in many ways. I have in mind the early missionary work of the Church, in which men, President Young, for instance, undertook a mission while on a sickbed. I have in mind the service of men who had come by very tedious and difficult toil to these valleys, and who turned around and returned to the east, pushing a handcart from here all the way to the Mississippi River. I have in mind the service of my grandfather who began in his seventeenth year, I believe it was, as a missionary for the Church, and died without ever relinquishing that service. In it all I can see a certain element of sacrifice in the interest of others. We look upon it as sacrifice. In its ultimate result, it proves to be not a sacrifice but a blessing. But we are in the habit of looking at those things as sacrifice, and when we serve in that spirit, and that spirit only, there is a development and a growth and an enlargement of the soul of man that come no other way.
Now as members of the Church, we testify that God lives and that Christ is his Son, also that the priesthood has been restored, that through that priesthood the Church has been reorganized in this modern day, and that certain of us hold that priesthood-the priesthood, which they have to translate, according to Brother Clissold, into Japanese, as the power of God. We hold it and we give that testimony to the world without embarrassment but deliberately. Now if we have that testimony, and if we are loyal to that testimony, it implies that we should serve the Church. There are many ways of doing this-some in the missionary service, some in local presidencies, some as ward teachers, and many other ways. But today I have in mind another type of service. It is a service which impels one to reach down into his pocket, to take therefrom the funds that he might use for his pleasure and satisfaction and bestow them upon the Church for its benevolent purposes. Regardless of the wonderful progress that has been made in the payment of tithes and offerings as indicated today, and in appreciation of the tremendous contributions that have made possible the building program of the Church, my mind goes back to a time when the Church had no funds. My wife's grandfather told me of an occasion when he and a brother companion had the privilege of contributing nine hundred dollars to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to pay the interest on its obligations, which the tithes of the Church up to that time had not equaled. Now we have made tremendous progress, but we are still far from the goal that is set in that respect. In the twenty-one years that I have ministered with you and unto you as a member of the First Council of the Seventy, I have never yet visited a stake where every officer of the stake and the wards claimed to pay what we used to call a full tithing, which we now call a tithing. We have a distance to travel yet if we would meet that goal.
Now the scripture says, "Try me and see if I won't open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing upon you which you can scarcely contain". What type of blessing is it you look forward to when you pay your tithes and offerings? Is it a temporal blessing, an increase in your flocks and herds that you have in mind?
And if you do, I suggest that perhaps it is a selfish motive, and self-interest never develops and enlarges the soul of man. I have seen men who were so selfish that they couldn't see their own interest and welfare. Now if we are going to test our Father in heaven, what are we going to expect when we make our tithes and offerings? I suggest that the blessings that are to come to us from that service should be expected to be spiritual blessings, the enlargement of the soul, the increase of our love toward God and our fellow men, an increased determination to serve and the peace and the happiness that come into the heart of man upon the realization that he has done his bit to help the Church in its work of redemption, for that is our great purpose. There could be no greater blessing, it seems to me, come into your hearts than peace and tranquility, devotion to the work of God and love for your fellow men. I myself believe that that is the type of blessing that comes not only from the payment of tithes and offerings, but also from service in all the other branches of the Church.
May God give us a determination to serve him, with that single purpose, the purpose of blessing others, let happen to us what may come as a result of that service. God bless you. Amen.
Elder John Longden
John Longden, Conference Report, October 1952, pp. 25-26
Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.
I am grateful this afternoon for faith and testimony in this truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for I know and testify to you that the Savior is our Redeemer, and that if we will obey his truths, we will be blessed abundantly because all blessings which we receive are predicated upon obedience to the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Savior was the great example in this truth. When he applied for baptism at the hands of John, he was told by John, "I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?" And the Savior said, "Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness". If it was necessary for Jesus, the Savior of the world, so to submit himself, in humility, to the will of the Father, that he might be able to fulfil all righteousness, then how much does it devolve upon us to do these things, and to live in obedience to the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I am grateful as I visit with the leaders of wards and stakes throughout this Church, to see their faith, their devotion, to see their obedience to the principles of the gospel. Just a few months ago it was my privilege to be on the campus of one of the leading universities in the Middle West. I saw there inscriptions on one of the science buildings. Under each quotation was the name of the author, yet there was one on which the author's name was missing. This was the inscription: "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free". If we are to be obedient to the truths of the gospel, we must have a deep, abiding testimony and love of truth.
Just about one hundred and fifteen years ago, there were seven missionaries who left this great land of America to take up the call of missionary service to Great Britain. Among those seven missionaries were Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, and Willard Richards. They arrived at Liverpool on the 20th of July, 1837. They were inspired to move on farther, so they went to the city of Preston. When they arrived in that city, there was a big celebration in progress. On one of the banners they read: "Truth will prevail." And they uttered in unison, "Amen, thanks be to God, for truth will prevail."
Yes, my brothers and sisters, we do not deal in half-truths. We deal in the whole truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That only comes to the leadership of this Church because of believing in the divine principle of revelation and being obedient to that principle and teaching. Oh, I realize that we have discouragements. That is only human. They will come just as long as we live in the mortal flesh, because one of the tools of the adversary is to discourage and to give half-truths, and not sustain the full truth.
I was interested some time ago to read an incident which happened in the life of the French actress, Sarah Bernhardt. She had toured the United States on many occasions, and this particular time, returning to her native France, she slipped on board ship, injuring her leg. She would not allow the ship's doctor to give her any attention; she desired to wait until she arrived in her native city of Paris where she would have her own physician take care of her, but it was too late. It was necessary that her leg be amputated. As they were wheeling her into the operating room, the attendants, the doctor, and the nurses were trying to cheer her up, but she gave them this simple bit of philosophy which I pass on to you today: "It isn't so much what happens to you in this life, it's how you take it that counts." She proved that she could take discouragement. She did not let the fact that she had only one leg deter her from following her beloved profession for many years after that.
The message of our Savior to us as he came into this mortal existence and labored here, knowing that we would have discouragements, that we would need clothing to cover this physical body of ours, knowing that we would need food to sustain physical life, was: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you". The obedient are promised in Matthew, twenty-fifth chapter, that when he comes in his glory, he will divide the children of men and those who have been righteous will be on the right side, and those unrighteous on his left side, and he will say: "For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me." And they were somewhat surprised, and said, "Lord, when did we do these things unto thee"; and his significant reply, was: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me", thus showing that those who were righteous could not have been so classified unless they had had a deep, abiding faith in the truth of the gospel and were obedient to those truths. I humbly pray, my brothers and sisters, that we will take heed of this scripture.
As Jesus Christ was with his disciples on the Mount of Olives, he said unto them, "Fear not, little flock, for it is my will that I should give unto you the kingdom". As we live in obedience to these truths, we can enjoy the blessings of the kingdom, and live for the day when we will be reunited with our Heavenly Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, who is the Author of our salvation.
In closing, I am reminded how Samuel taught Saul the lesson of obedience: "... Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice". We remember the story there that Saul had taken out the best of the flocks and kept them as burnt offering and sacrifice, which was his own idea and not in obedience to the command given him. Let us then live in obedience to the counsel which comes to us from these great leaders of our Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Let us follow the teachings of Paul as he gave them to us, "Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?".
O my brethren, may we catch the importance of being obedient and train our children likewise, that they may follow our worthy example, for I bear witness to you that these are true. I am grateful for my testimony, for my membership in the Church of Jesus Christ and pray our Heavenly Father to bless us that we may have a deep, abiding faith in this restored gospel and strengthen our testimonies by living in obedience to the truths thereof. This I humbly pray in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Matthew Cowley
Matthew Cowley, Conference Report, October 1952, pp. 26-29
I have been coming to these conferences as a member of the Council of the Twelve for seven years now, except when I have been absent in the islands of the sea. I enjoy immensely these meetings, but this is always a frightening experience for me. I ask for your faith and prayers while I occupy your time here.
I listened to the sermon which Brother Stayner Richards addressed to me this morning, and I want him to know that it cost me ten dollars during the noon hour when I went to buy my wife some flowers. I was a bit surprised when I went into the florist shop, and the lady said, "You know Brother Stayner Richards is the best friend we have here." I do want to thank him for not suggesting mink coats. I want to say in all seriousness that the woman God gave to me is worth a mink coat, worth more than anything Brother Richards could ever suggest, and I thought when President McKay said that the experience he had as he stood at the side of his wife in the room where his sainted mother was born was a personal experience and was not of general importance to us, how wrong he was! That is an important experience for all of us, my brothers and sisters. What a beautiful sermon, his standing at the side of his wife, where he has stood for lo these many years, and in the presence of his mother, who also stood at the side of her companion for many years! There flashed in my mind when he briefly related that experience the symbol which is over the long narrow window on the east and west end of that great temple, the symbol of the clasped hands. How important that symbol is in the lives of all of us! We men of the priesthood who have knelt at the sacred altar and on that altar clasped the hand of a sainted companion and have entered an eternal triangle, not a companionship of two but of three the husband, the wife and God-the most sacred triangle man and woman can become a part of. But my heart sinks in despair when I witness so many who have and are withdrawing that hand from one another. They don't do that until they first divorce God from that triangle, and after divorcing God, it is practically impossible for them to stay together side by side. We pledge eternal fidelity to one another as we kneel at the sacred altar, and the words we hear are not "until death do you part," nor "for as long as you both shall life," but "for time and for all eternity".
There came into my office within the past week a sister who said she had divorced her husband, married in this Holy House; the handclasp had been severed. I said, "What are the grounds?" She said, "Drunkenness. I have been living with a drunken swine." I said, maybe without thinking, "Sister, don't you know that only God and women can make men of swine, can make men of beasts?" I said, "Now, your companion is no longer your husband in the eyes of the law, but now he is your brother, and there is no law under heaven which can destroy that relationship. Now, work with him as your brother, and I have suggestions which may help you."
I expect her to come back. I still know that the influence of that woman will lead her husband into sobriety, and under the goodness and mercy of God there will return the clasp of the hand.
Brother Lee referred this morning to the Alcoholics Anonymous. That is my organization, brothers and sisters. Only recently, as I attended one of their meetings, I heard a man stand up and bear his testimony. Members of all religious denominations were there, but these men and women are all of one mind, and that's to stay aboard the raft of sobriety by helping one another. And I heard this man say, "Five years ago I was a drunken sot. I was in the gutter, and then I met some of you men. I haven't had a drink now for five years. My wife had divorced me. She had the custody of the children. The court awarded her everything I had, which wasn't much, but she was entitled to it. Now," he said, "I have my wife back. I have my children back. I have converted my wife to the Church. Last week I was ordained an elder, and the bishop said, 'Bill, one year from now you can take your wife and those children to the temple of God and be sealed for all eternity.' "
I anticipate in supreme joy the experience they are going to have, kneeling together, with their hands clasped, and the hands of their children upon their hands, those children being brought within that sacred triangle, the man, the woman, and God.
Yes, sisters, you can make men of us beasts. And, brethren, do not withdraw your hand in the greatest hour of need of your companion. Sisters generally do not withdraw that hand. I thank God that when my hand maybe has tended to slip away, that the grip of my companion has been as strong as bands of steel, and I have been brought back.
I was in a home recently in one of our stakes where a man was lying upon his bed. The only part of his body that he could move were his eyes and his tongue. He could speak and he could see, but that was all; no life in his arms; no life in his legs. The home was immaculate; his bed linen was immaculate; he was immaculate. Maybe there was no life in his hands, but his companion held that hand in a grasp as strong as life itself. The clasp of the hand, brothers and sisters-it has meaning! And when you are away from one another, if you don't feel a spiritual clasp stronger than the physical clasp, rush back to one another as quickly as you can. You know true love is not looking at each other in one of these old-fashioned loveseats looking into each other's eyes. That isn't true love. True love is that love which comes into your heart and motivates your life when you arise from the altar and both of you look in the same direction, down through eternity. That is true love, where both are looking in the same direction.
The Maori in referring to his wife says: "Taku hoa wahine."
That means, "My companion wife." The wife, in speaking of her companion, says: "Toku hoa tane." "My companion husband." I like that a little better than just saying "My wife," or "My husband." "My companion wife," "My companion husband!" Companionship implies a oneness of direction, right down through eternity.
I see in this congregation men who are here, maybe not many of you, but I know some of you, and you are here today because sometime in the past when your hand was slipping away, and a little finger maybe was being loosened from the clasp, there came a grip from your companion wife which held you firm. Eternal fidelity, brothers and sisters, I thank God for it. I thank God for a hand which will always reach out and grasp mine.
I go about the Church, and I hear my name read out as one of the Authorities of this Church, and hands are raised to sustain me, but I say within myself, "My companion wife is being sustained, and that's the reason I am being sustained."
Thank you, President McKay, for that beautiful picture of you and your wife, side by side, touching each other's hands in the room where your sainted mother was born.
When I went to New Zealand as mission president, I went around among the people. Those natives have great memories. They would quote from the sermons of mission presidents, but there had been one president out there whom they did not quote, but he preached to those people the most beautiful sermon they had ever witnessed. Wherever I would go and we would refer to that grand man, the natives would say, "He was always holding hands with his wife." When they would sit down together at the table, their hands would just naturally go toward each other, and they would hold hands-the greatest sermon that was ever delivered in the history of the New Zealand Mission, the sacred clasp of the hands of man and woman.
I thank God for your devotion, for your loyalty, brothers and sisters, to one another. I thank God for the youth about whom Bishop Buehner has spoken. I have seen them come into the temple, a young man and a young woman, to be sealed and to clasp their hands with a pledge of eternal fidelity, and their own fathers and mothers couldn't come inside the little gate on Main Street. Yes, brothers and sisters, in many cases the youth are our examples. The youth are building up the power of the kingdom, and that type of youth will never be satisfied until they can come to that temple gate and walk through, holding the hands of their mothers and their fathers.
I thank God for the clasp of the hand. I thank God for the symbol of the handclasp, with all of its eternal significance. God grant that I may always have the strength to clasp the hand of my companion wife and that she will always have the strength to hold my hand as if it were in a vise. God bless her with that strength, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Mark E. Petersen
Mark E. Petersen, Conference Report, October 1952, pp. 29-32
Once again I am grateful, my brothers and sisters, for the opportunity of attending a general conference. These meetings are indeed stimulating, and they are very faith-promoting. I am always built up a great deal by my attendance here, and I am sure that you are, likewise.
I have been deeply touched today by the remarks that have been made by the various speakers. I would like to join with some of them in making an appeal on behalf of the young people of the Church that the parents do all they can to build faith in the hearts of their children. I am sure that all of us, as parents, love our children. I am sure that we desire that they may have the best in life. But I also know that many parents by their daily lives, by their daily habits actually undermine the faith of their own children and take from them the incentive to live the gospel of Christ.
One time, when the Savior was in mortality and the throngs brought their little children to him seeking a blessing, and the disciples attempted to protect the Savior and prevent the children from coming, he said,
Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
As I see some parents living so carelessly and setting examples of disobedience to their own children, actually destroying their children's faith by their own irreligion, I can almost hear the Savior speaking to those parents, saying,
Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
I remember so well a good sister coming to my office one day. She sat at my desk in tears and kept saying over and over to herself, "Why should this happen to me? Why should this happen to me?" When she was able to compose herself, she told me about her boy who was in jail, having committed a serious crime. And she said again, "Why should this ever happen to me?" The boy had committed his crime under the influence of alcohol.
When I found out more about this family, I learned that this was the case: The father and mother used to argue a good deal over the breakfast table. The mother loved her cup of coffee. She simply had to have her cup of coffee. The father always talked with mother about it, asked her to live the Word of Wisdom, asked her to drink something else for breakfast, and always mother would say, "You can't tell me that a cup of coffee will ever keep me out of heaven. You can't tell me that the Lord is going to be so narrow-minded that he will keep me out of heaven when I go to Church regularly, just because I drink a cup of coffee." Always she justified herself in breaking that part of the Word of Wisdom.
There was sitting at that breakfast table, a little boy. That little boy listened to the conversation between father and mother, and as the mother defended her infraction of the Word of Wisdom, as the mother said that the cup of coffee would not matter and the Word of Wisdom really did not matter, either, that little boy believed his mother.
When he got a little older, he still believed his mother. When he started going with boys who smoked, he began to smoke. His mother had taught him that the Word of Wisdom really did not matter. "If it did not matter to Mother, if it would not stand in the way of her salvation, why should it matter to me? How can it keep me out of heaven, if it does not keep Mother out of heaven?" he would say to himself as he also justified his actions.
And so as the mother taught him to break the Word of Wisdom, he took up the habit of smoking. When he went to college and joined a certain fraternity where drinking was the custom, he began to drink. One night under the influence of liquor he committed a serious crime and went to jail. And now the mother sat at my desk, weeping and saying: "Why should this ever happen to me?"
There is another couple. They also talk over the breakfast table, and over the dinner table, and by their conversation they also teach their children certain things. Mother and father see eye to eye in this family. They agree perfectly, and they talk over the things on which they agree as they sit there at dinner or breakfast. And do you know what the principal topic of conversation is? The bishop. How they despise the bishop! How they could tear him limb from limb! Everything the bishop does is wrong. Why, nothing in the world that bishop does could possibly be right. That father and mother sit there picking at the bishop and pulling him apart, and depreciating him, and doing all they can to make each other feel that the bishop is a most unworthy representative of the Church.
Did it hurt the bishop? The bishop went right on doing a fine job in the ward. But somebody was hurt. There was a little boy in that family, also. Whom did he believe? He believed Father and Mother. He had no reason to disbelieve them. They were his ideals. They were the law in that family. And when they, who laid down the law, constantly taught that boy by their own conversation to have no regard for the bishop, no regard for anything that the bishop did, they taught the boy to disregard everything for which a bishop stands.
That boy is now a grown young man. He does nothing in the Church. He has no respect for the Church, no respect for his bishop, nor for the men who installed the bishop.
Who is responsible?
Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
I have a friend who has a son, and every Sunday this friend goes out fishing or hunting. He is a member of the Church. He thinks he is a pretty good member of the Church, except that he does not observe the Sabbath. He does not pay his tithing. He does not observe the Word of Wisdom. But if you ask him, he is a good member of the Church.
He always used to send his little boy to Sunday School and to priesthood meeting. But when the little boy got old enough to realize what the father was doing and to realize what a strong interest there is out there on the stream with a rod in your hand, he wanted to go with his dad. The dad at first protested, not so much because he did not want the boy to stay away from Church, but because he thought the boy would be pretty much in the way. Nevertheless the boy continued to ask to go with the dad, and finally he did. Then, every Sunday that father gave that son firsthand lessons in how to violate the Sabbath day, firsthand lessons in how to stay away from meeting, how to choose fishing on Sunday instead of going to Church.
What chance did the boy have of becoming converted to the gospel when the father was teaching the son how to break the law of God?
"Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not" by continuing in any bad habits that you have "forbid them not" by teaching them violation of the commandments, "forbid them not" by setting the wrong kind of example, "for of such is the kingdom of God."
The Savior said something else:
Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
The Lord also said at another time:
Woe unto the world because of offenses! for it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!.
I believe that one of our great Americans is J. Edgar Hoover, the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. At one time, Mr. Hoover talked about the juvenile delinquency problem, and, among other things, he said this: "Our youthful delinquency is a problem which strikes into practically every home in America. It is something to which every parent should give the deepest consideration, because the responsibility for youthful law infraction today lies more on the doorstep of the adult than it does on that of the youth. It exists largely because of a lack of discipline. It is due to a tendency to evade responsibility that parents in many instances have allowed their children to stray without proper guidance, and in straying, commit thousands of crimes which send so many of our boys and girls yearly into prison."
Last Saturday there was an editorial in the "Church Section" of The Deseret News which had to do with the example of parents to children in regard to the drinking habit. This editorial indicated that the great majority of drinking parents have drinking children, and the great majority of non-drinking parents have non-drinking children. It was based upon a study made by one of the large colleges in the eastern part of the United States. The editorial goes on:
The example of parents and its effect upon children is not at all limited to the use of liquor. It enters every other phase of the child's life.
Have you seen many children who were converted to prayer, for instance, who had parents who never prayed?...
Have you seen many children who are regular Church attenders whose parents never come? There are some, it is true and they are to be commended most highly for it. But such are in the minority.
And when you find parents who criticize the practices and officers of the Church do you find a tendency in the children to do likewise?
When parents openly express disapproval of the law of tithing in the home, are the children apt to pay tithing?
When father and mother go fishing and hunting or on outings to the canyon on the Sabbath, do the children prefer to remain at home alone and go to Church?
Although parents do not realize it, every act of their lives has its effect upon their children. It is true that many children love higher principles than do their parents and hold to those principles regardless of what their parents do. Such children are grieved at the weaknesses of their own parents, and wish it were otherwise. Children of that type are made of sterling qualities, and should receive the encouragement of every person in the Church.
And then it concludes,
When the wise man of old said, "Train up a child in the way he should go", he certainly had in mind the power of example on the part of the parents.
Parents, you can encourage or discourage your child's faith and religious activity. By your own acts, you can either promote faith or you can destroy faith. Which will it be? "Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God".
May we follow that instruction, is my humble prayer, in Jesus' name. Amen.
Elder Marion G. Romney
Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, October 1952, pp. 32-35
My beloved brethren and sisters, I ask for an interest in your faith and prayers, and I extend this invitation to the people who are watching over television and who are listening in on the radio.
I, too, would like to consider youth for a few moments, but I shall direct my remarks directly to them.
With the help of the Holy Spirit, for which I earnestly pray, I desire to encourage you young folk to put your trust in the Lord, and by keeping his commandments, live for his promised blessings. This I do because I know that no other course can qualify you to meet successfully the issues of life which lie ahead.
It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.
It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.
In these lines the psalmist has voiced an eternal truth which every soul will recognize and acknowledge sooner or later.
Some people, like Cardinal Wolsey, to their sorrow, learn it later. You will recall that he gave a long life in the service of three English sovereigns and enjoyed, while he did it, great wealth and power. Finally, however, he was shorn of all his greatness by an impatient king. It was only then, as he stood disillusioned among the ruins of his life, that he said, Had I but served my God with half the zeal I served my king, he would not in mine age Have left me naked to mine enemies.
Now, my beloved young brothers and sisters, in the words of Alma I testify to you that I do know, as I know that I live,
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 plead with you to determine now, in your youth, to trust in the Lord and live for his promises. For there are promised blessings which follow, as the night the day, obedience to each of the Lord's commands.
Take for example, the promises given in the Word of Wisdom. Says the Lord,
... 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.
This reference to the destroying angel passing by the children of Israel brings to mind that to persuade the Egyptians to let Israel go,
... the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.
... and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.
But in his death-dealing mission the "destroyer" was to pass by, and did pass by, without slaying the firstborn therein, the homes of those Israelites who had marked their door lintels and side posts with the blood of a lamb as directed by the Lord.
From this promise in the Word of Wisdom and other scriptures, it appears that there are destroying angels who have a work to do among the peoples of the earth in this last dispensation. The Lord told the Prophet Joseph Smith that because all flesh was corrupted before him, and the powers of darkness prevailed upon the earth, these angels were:
waiting the great command to reap down the earth, to gather the tares that they may be burned.
That was in 1831. In 1894, President Woodruff said:
God has held the angels of destruction for many years lest they should reap down the wheat with the tares. But I want to tell you now, those angels have left the portals of heaven, and they stand over this people and this nation now, and are hovering over the earth waiting to pour out the judgments. And from this very day they shall be poured out. Calamities and troubles are increasing in the earth, and there is a meaning to these things.
Now, my beloved young brothers and sisters, in view of this revealed knowledge and understanding which the Lord has given concerning what is transpiring about us, is it not a glorious thing to have the assurance that if we will clothe ourselves with bodies purified through observance of the Word of Wisdom, these destroying angels will pass us by, as they did the children of Israel, and not slay us? Well, this is one of the blessings to follow observance of the Word of Wisdom.
The promised blessings for obedience to the law of tithing are many. One of them has to do with the productivity of the soil. I remember being impressed with this thought twenty-three years ago this conference as I listened to the remarks of Elder James E. Talmage. Said he,
Do you know that the soil can be sanctified by the tithing of its products? The land can be sanctified. There is a relationship between the elements and forces of nature
This statement is in harmony with the sentiments of President Brigham Young. Said he,
Talk about these rich valleys, why there is not another people on earth that could have come here and lived. We prayed over the land, and dedicated it and the water, air and everything pertaining to them unto the Lord, and the smiles of heaven rested on the land and it became productive.
A companion reward for paying tithing sounds almost like crop insurance. Listen:
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in my 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 fruits before the time in the fields, saith the Lord of hosts.
President Grant's boundless faith that the Lord would prosper those who were liberal with their means in building his kingdom has had a distinct effect upon my life. Many of you will recall his account of attending a Thursday morning fast meeting at which his bishop made an appeal for donations. President Grant, though a very young man, had $50.00 in his pocket which he intended to deposit in the bank. But he was so impressed by his bishop's appeal that he tendered the whole $50.00. The bishop took $5.00 and handed him back $45.00, stating that $5.00 was his full share. President Grant replied, "Bishop Woolley, by what right do you rob me of putting the Lord in my debt? Didn't you preach here today that the Lord rewards fourfold? My mother is a widow, and she needs two hundred dollars."
"My boy," queried the bishop, "do you believe that if I take this other forty-five dollars you will get your two hundred dollars quicker?"
"Certainly," replied President Grant.
Here was an expression of faith which the bishop could not withstand. He took the remaining $45.00.
President Grant testified that on his way from that fast meeting back to work "an idea popped" into his head, acting upon which he made $218.50. Speaking on this incident years later, he said, "Someone will say that it would have happened anyway. I do not think it would have happened. I do not think I would have got the idea... I am a firm believer that the Lord opens up the window of heaven when we do our duty financially and pours out upon us blessings of a spiritual nature, which are of far greater value than temporal things. But I believe he also gives us blessings of a temporal nature."
Another reward for paying tithing is a guarantee against being consumed in the burning to accompany the advent of the Savior. In the eighty-fifth section of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord explains that his purpose in tithing his people is "to prepare them against the day of vengeance and burning", and in the sixty-fourth section he says,
Behold, now it is called today until the coming of the Son of Man, and verily it is a day of sacrifice, and a day for the tithing of my people; for he that is tithed shall not be burned at his coming.
Personally I have always considered tithing to be the law of inheritance in the land of Zion, for the Lord said when he gave the law that all those who gathered to Zion should observe it or they should not be worthy to abide among the inhabitants of that land.
And now, the last specific commandment to which I direct your attention is, "Thou shalt not commit adultery".
You will recall, of course, Alma's teaching his son Corianton that unchastity is the most serious offense there is in the sight of God, save murder only. You will remember, too, these words from Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians:
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.
Ten years ago the First Presidency said to the youth of the Church, "Better dead clean, than alive unclean."
I remember how my father impressed the seriousness of unchastity upon my mind. He and I were standing in the railroad station at Rexburg, Idaho, in the early morning of November 12, 1920. We heard the train whistle. In three minutes I would be on my way to Australia to fill a mission. In that short interval my father said to me, among other things, "My son, you are going a long way from home. But your mother and I, your brother and sisters will be with you constantly in our thoughts and prayers; we shall rejoice with you in your successes; and we shall sorrow with you in your disappointments. When you are released and return, we shall be glad to greet you and welcome you back into the family circle. But remember this, my son, we would rather come to this station and take your body off the train in a casket than to have you come home unclean, having lost your virtue."
I pondered that statement at the time. I did not then have the full understanding of it that my father had, but I remembered it every time I approached temptation. I understand it better now, and I feel the same way about my boys as he felt about me.
I can think of no blessings to be more fervently desired than those promised to the pure and virtuous. Jesus spoke of specific rewards for different virtues but reserved the greatest, so it seems to me, for the pure in heart, "for they," said he, "shall see God". And not only shall they see the Lord, but they shall feel at home in his presence. Here is his promise:
... let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God.
The rewards for virtue and the consequence of unchastity are dramatically portrayed in the lives of Joseph and David.
Joseph, though a slave in Egypt, stood true under pressure of the greatest temptation. As a reward he received the choicest blessings of all the sons of Jacob. He became the progenitor of the two favored tribes of Israel. Most of us take pride in being numbered among his posterity.
David, on the other hand, though highly favored of the Lord-indeed, he was referred to as a man after God's own heart-yielded. His unchastity led to murder. The consequences-like Lucifer he fell; he lost his families and his exaltation.
And now, my young brothers and sisters and friends, I shall not say more except to renew my plea that you believe in and live for the promises of the Lord. Don't be as the people were in the days of Malachi. They argued that it was unprofitable and vain to serve God because, as they saw it, the proud were made happy, the wicked set up, and they that tempted God were delivered. Have the good sense to realize and remember that today, as well as in the days of Malachi, a book of remembrance is written before the Lord for those that fear him and think upon his name,
And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.
For, behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
Says the Lord in a glorious promise to the righteous,
But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
Oh, my beloved young folk, believe in and live for the promises of the Lord by keeping his commandments. If you will do this, even though you do not now have full confidence in those promises, I assure you that that confidence will come.
... never be weary of good works, but... be meek and lowly in heart; for such shall find rest to their souls.
O, remember... and learn wisdom in thy youth; yea, learn in thy youth to keep the commandments of God.
Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord: yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.
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.
God grant that it may be so, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Amen.
Elder Milton R. Hunter
Milton R. Hunter, Conference Report, October 1952, pp. 36-39
My dear brethren and sisters, I do humbly trust and pray that the Spirit of God will direct me in the few remarks I make this afternoon and in bearing my testimony.
There has been a growing tendency during the past few years for ministers of various Christian religions, writers and numerous others to deny the divinity of Jesus Christ. They put forth the claim that he was a great teacher and class him among the prophets, but they deny that he was literally the Son of the true and Living God.
We, the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, revolt against such teachings, because we know different. We accept Jesus Christ as our Lord, as our God, as our king, as our Savior and Redeemer, as the Only Begotten Son of God here in the flesh, and as the embodiment of all that is good. In fact, in his pre-mortal life, even before this world was created, he enjoyed the status of godhood. Acting in that capacity, along with the Eternal Father, he helped to create this world, as well as many other worlds.
Before human beings were placed upon this earth, the gospel, the plan of salvation, was named after him, namely, the gospel of Jesus Christ; and he became known as the Author of the plan of salvation. Also, the priesthood was given to him, and named after him, being called the Holy Priesthood after the Order of the Son of God.
After mortal beings were placed upon this earth, and throughout various gospel dispensations, he served as the Mediator between the heavens and the earth. Acting in that capacity, he revealed the gospel truths, the will of the Father, through the holy prophets to the human family from age to age as the needs required.
He came to earth in the Meridian of Time, being born of a mortal woman, a virgin, and being the Only Begotten Son of God in the flesh. Thereby he was endowed with a superior amount of godliness. He lived a perfect life while in mortality and through example taught us how to live. He closed his mortal probation by enduring that great suffering which was necessary for him to go through in order for him to take upon himself the sins of the world. So intense was his pain that it caused him to sweat blood from every pore of his body; and this he did that we might not suffer if we will keep his commandments. In modern revelation he declared:
For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;
But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;
Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit.
Finally, after being crucified, on the third day he rose from the grave, broke the bands of death, and brought about universal resurrection. Therefore, every man, woman, and child that has ever lived, or ever shall live upon this earth, regardless of how righteous or how wicked he or she may have been, will rise from the grave and receive immortality through the grace of Jesus Christ. But to those who take upon themselves his name and faithfully keep his commandments, he has promised a blessed eternal life.
After Adam and Eve had been cast out of the Garden of Eden, having passed through the Fall, having had a veil drawn over their minds so that they had forgotten their pre-mortal existence and the gospel plan of salvation, Jesus began his work as the Savior here upon this earth by revealing to them the gospel. Line upon line and precept upon precept were revealed until they had received the same gospel plan in its fullness as we have it today.
Part of that gospel plan was that Adam and his posterity should offer sacrifices. One day Adam was offering a sacrifice unto the Lord, and an angel appeared unto him and said:
... Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me.
And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.
Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore.
On another occasion Adam and his posterity were also given the commandment to repent of all their sins and be baptized in the name of the Only Begotten Son. Even in that early age Father Adam was told that the name of the Only Begotten was Jesus Christ and that that name was "... the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men".
Enoch, Noah, and the other great prophets of antiquity received revelations similar to the ones that Adam had received; and they preached unto the people, saying unto them: "... repent of your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ... even as our fathers".
The Book of Mormon was originally written and brought forth in the latter day primarily for the purpose of testifying to the divine calling of the Only Begotten. It serves as a new witness that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world, the Only Begotten of the Father, and the only name which shall be given under heaven whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men.
In his old age, King Benjamin, one of the great kings and prophets in the Book of Mormon days, called his people together for the purpose of turning the kingship over to his son, Mosiah. As part of the ceremony, he delivered to the people one of the greatest sermons that we find recorded in the holy scriptures. His instructions had such an overwhelming and powerful effect upon the members of his kingdom that they all fell upon the ground in humility and cried unto God to purify their hearts and forgive them of their sins through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. They covenanted with the Lord to keep all of his commandments from that day forward. And then King Benjamin told those people that one of the principal purposes for calling them together was to give unto them a new name. He stated that the name that he gave them that day was the name of Christ. He said unto them:
... therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives.
King Benjamin's people took upon themselves the name of Christ and entered into a covenant to keep all of his commandments.
And it came to pass that there was not one soul except it were little children, but who had entered into the covenant and had taken upon them the name of Christ.
Benjamin also instructed:
And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you...
And under this head ye are made free, and there is no other head whereby ye can be made free. There is no other name given whereby salvation cometh....
Following the Savior's resurrection, he appeared to the people here in ancient America and taught them the same gospel plan of salvation that he had taught to the Jews while in mortality. After he had ascended into heaven, the people were discussing what they should name the church that he had established, and so the twelve disciples united in mighty prayer and fasting. As a result of their faith, prayer, and fasting, Jesus stood in their midst and asked what it was that he should do for them. They replied that there had arisen disputations among the people regarding what they should call the church, requesting:
We will that thou wouldst tell us the name whereby we should call this church.
And the Lord said unto them:
Have they not read the scriptures, which say ye must take upon you the name of Christ, which is my name? For by this name shall ye be called at the last day...
Therefore, whatsoever ye shall do, ye shall do it in my name; therefore ye shall call the church in my name; and ye shall call upon the Father in my name that he will bless the church for my sake.
And how be it my church save it be called in my name? For if a church be called in Moses' name then it be Moses' church; or if it be called in the name of a man then it be the church of a man; but if it be called in my name then it is my church, if it so be that they are built upon my gospel.
The early Christians in the Mediterranean world took upon themselves the name of Christ. As you all recall, they were known generally as Christians. But as their numbers began to spread and become rather numerous in the Mediterranean world, and as the seeds of apostasy began to grow, about 185 A.D. the leaders decided to change the name to Catholic, meaning universal. Thus by choosing to call themselves "Universal" they lost the name, or set aside the name, that God had decreed would be the only name given under heaven whereby mankind may be saved. This loss of the name of Christ went hand in hand with the loss of the priesthood and of the true ordinances and doctrines of the Master by the Catholic Church, thereby constituting the Great Apostasy.
The early Christian reformers broke away from the Catholic Church because of the numerous man-made, false doctrines, teachings, and practices that had corrupted the entire organization during the period of the Great Apostasy. One after another of these Christian reformers organized churches of their own. None of them, however, claimed divine revelation or restoration nor direct commission from Jesus Christ; but in a natural way their churches came into being, and they named them after men or after movements; for example such churches as the Lutheran, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterian, and numerous others, all man-made, and lacking divine authorization, came into existence as a result of the Protestant Reformation.
It should be kept in mind that not one of these early Christian reformers definitely took upon himself the name of Christ by calling his church in Christ's name. The Eternal Father was reserving that name for his Church, the Church which the holy prophets had predicted would be restored in the latter days. Therefore, on April 6, 1830, the Prophet Joseph Smith and five companions in Fayette, New York, acting in line with divine revelation from heaven organized the Church of Jesus Christ. They took upon themselves the name of Christ; and they built that Church upon his gospel, as the Lord had pointed out that such should be a requisite for his Church. In his preface to the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord Jesus Christ declared that he had given the Prophet Joseph Smith and his associates
... power to lay the foundation of this church, and to bring it forth out of darkness, the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which I the Lord am well pleased....
You and I, as Latter-day Saints and members of Christ's kingdom, are humbly and prayerfully looking forward to the great day when the Son of Man shall come to earth in his glory to reign one thousand years as the Lord of lords and King of kings. We long for that priceless day when all people throughout the entire earth shall turn unto him and accept Jesus as their Christ their Savior, their Lord, their God, and their King. At that day they shall take upon themselves his name and keep his commandments. Peace and righteousness will prevail universally.
At the end of that one thousand years' period of time, this earth, which has been living under a celestial law, will die. Like the human family, it will be resurrected. At the time of that resurrection, it will be quickened by a celestial power and raised a celestial orb, being the celestial degree of glory for all the people throughout the various gospel dispensations who have taken upon themselves the name of Christ and have kept his commandments sufficiently well to come back into his presence to dwell. This earth will be crowned with the glory of the Father, and it shall be given to the Son. It will then be Christ's world, his kingdom, for he has atoned it through the work that he did and the blood that he spilled.
Thus, after this earth is celestialized, the Only Begotten of the Father will reign here as the Lord and God of this earth. Those righteous Saints who have kept the commandments while living in mortality will, in accordance with their merits, enter into Christ's kingdom, even the celestial realms. They have become Christ's children, having been given to him by the Father. Thus, they "... have become his sons and his daughters... and shall be called by the name of Christ".
Now, my brothers and sisters, I would like to bear my testimony. I know as I know that I live, as I know that I am standing here, that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world, the Only Begotten of the Father, and that his name is the only name which shall be given under heaven whereby we can be saved. I know that by his sufferings at Gethsemane and Golgotha, sweating blood from every pore of his body, and by his atoning sacrifice, he took upon himself our sins and our sufferings if we will repent and keep all of his commandments. You and I who belong to the true Church of Jesus Christ should remember at all times that we have entered into a solemn and sacred covenant to render obedience to all of God's commandments. If we will prove faithful in doing so, I am as sure as I am sure that I am here today that we will rise with the just and, after standing before the judgment seat, be brought into the celestial world to be crowned with glory and exaltation. We shall be found "at the right hand of God" , being heirs to Christ's kingdom; and we will be permitted to live eternally with our Savior upon this earth as celestial beings. At that day we will be counted his, even sons and daughters of Jesus Christ, and shall be known by his name, as a result of having taken upon ourselves the name of Christ and having proved faithful in all things.
May God bless you and me, even every member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that we will keep all of the Lord's commandments and thereby live worthy of these great blessings and eventually receive the reward that comes to the faithful. May we someday come back into the presence of the Father and the Son, and be known by Christ's name eternally, the only name given under heaven whereby man may be saved, I humbly pray, through the holy name of the Only Begotten Son. Amen.
President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.,
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report, October 1952, pp. 41-43
My brothers and sisters, I should like to say just a word in appreciation of this magnificent music that we have heard, yesterday the Singing Mothers, today the singing German Saints, and tomorrow we shall have the great Tabernacle Choir. We are a singing people, and I am sure that the Lord loves a singing people. God bless our singers, sweeten their voices even more sweet than they are now, that they may sing his praises.
My brothers and sisters, I stand before you asking in humility and in sincerity an interest in your faith and prayers, that what I may say may be helpful to all of us. You know, we ask these blessings in stern reality not as a matter of form, but in a reality that we have that without the help of our Heavenly Father, we are not able in and of ourselves to do much.
Not only are we a singing people, but we are also a praying people, and our prayers go to our Heavenly Father knowing that he can hear, does hear, and will, in his wisdom, answer, perhaps not always in the way we think they should be answered, because our prayers should always be that they be answered in accordance with his mind and his will, and the answers so come to us. When we pray, we should, of course, express our desires as to the things we wish, but we should always pray with an open mind, asking the Lord to bestow the blessings upon us in his wisdom. We should not pray and ask the Lord to give us what we ourselves, want, and importune him to that effect, except all subject to his will.
This question of prayer, and the answer of prayer, is basic with us. Behind it lies the full doctrine of continuous revelation, because we pray that God will give us his revelation and his inspiration. Over the years, I know that every person in this great Tabernacle has seen manifestations of the power of the Lord in answer to prayer.
The record indicates that when the Savior, himself, approached great crises in his career on earth, he always went to his Father in prayer and asked for help and for guidance, and the Father never failed.
You remember the first great prayer that opened this dispensation. It was uttered in response to those statements of James:
"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
"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 that he shall receive any thing of the Lord"-unless he so prays.
From this prayer thus motivated, came one of the greatest visions in recorded history, the visit of the Father and the Son to the young boy praying in the woods, the Prophet Joseph Smith.
I say once more, this is the motif of this whole modern dispensation. Pray, pray always, has been the counsel of our leaders, of our prophets, and of our Heavenly Father.
During those great discourses which the Savior preached the night before the crucifixion, he continually recurred to this thought:
"... whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you".
But we should have in mind, in connection with that, the words of the Prophet Aaron on this continent, when he said we must ask in faith, with a repentant soul. That is the only basis of prayer that will bring us the things which we seek.
If you would know what prayer and faith combined can do, read the account of the brother of Jared, when he went before the Lord and requested that the Lord provide light for the vessels that were to carry them over the sea.
You remember that the brother of Jared prayed so mightily that he saw the finger of the Lord touch the stones that would give them light, and the account says that his faith was so great that he could not be kept outside the veil; he went beyond the veil that beclouds our eyes and saw the finger of the Lord. The Lord asked, what else did you see, and he said, nothing but the finger, and told of his humility and of his anxieties. Then the Lord showed himself to him as he was to appear on earth.
You remember that well-known incident of Elijah and the priests of Baal, how Elijah, in faith and in prayer thwarted the designs of the priests of Baal, vanquished them and brought down from heaven the fire which consumed not only the bullock that was offered for sacrifice, but also the wood on which it was laid, the stones on which that was laid and then licked up the water that had been poured over it all and had collected in the trench.
"Prayer is the soul's sincere desire." Pray, my brothers and sisters. Pray for inspiration. Pray for wisdom. And if you would know for what you might pray, read the words of Amulek when he told you you might pray for your crops and your herds, that you might pray that you would not be overcome by your enemies, and for all the rest of the things that you need in your daily lives. But remember the teaching of Aaron: Prayer must have as a foundation, repentance of sin and faith.
I refer again to the words of the Savior on that last night. You would do well to read those last chapters of John. Ponder them. They contain so much that is of value to us.
Recall the miracle at the Gate Beautiful performed by Peter, when he said to the beggar who was carried there each morning, lame from his mother's womb: "Look on us." And the beggar looked, expecting alms, and 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 the man rose up and walked and leaped and went with them into the temple, and then the leaders in Israel had Peter arrested, and he and John were tried, and sentence passed.
But the thing I want to refer to is what Peter said to the Sanhedrin, when asked by what name he did this:
"... by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth... for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved".
I want to add my testimony to those that have already been borne, to the Messiahship of Jesus, the Christ.
I have a spiritual knowledge that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. That he lived, moved, preached, acted, performed his miracles, was crucified, laid in the tomb, and on the morning of the third day he rose from the tomb. That he was seen thereafter, first, apparently, by Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. It was remarkable that a woman of that kind should have had the faith to be the first to view the Savior after his resurrection: That he then appeared to the women of Galilee and then to the two on the way to Emmaus, and sometime during the day to Peter. Then to the ten assembled in the chamber at night, and a week later to the eleven. Then to the multitudes on the Sea of Galilee, and then to James, and then to Peter, James and John, Nathanael and Thomas called Didymus, and two others on the Sea of Galilee, then to the eleven prior to his ascension. That then he appeared on this continent to the Nephites. And finally to Joseph in the woods, introduced by the Father, himself, in person; later to Joseph and Sidney in the temple.
To all of these things I bear witness that the Spirit has borne its witness to me.
Brethren and sisters, pray, pray in humility, pray always, pray in your families, pray in secret; live, keeping the commandments of the Lord, so that your prayers may ascend to our Heavenly Father. So live that when occasion comes, you may go to our Heavenly Father and in faith seek his aid in behalf of your loved ones who are sick. I testify to you that the lord can hear the prayers of his Saints, when they seek him, in humility, in behalf of their sick. I know it.
May the Lord add to the testimony of each of us, build us up and strengthen us, may he give us the spirit of prayer, that we may at all times be able to go to him, and that he at all times will feel able to come to us, in answer to our prayers, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, October 1952, pp. 46-51
I am deeply conscious of the fact mentioned by Brother Thomas E. McKay that not only Brother McKay but most of you would rather hear some speakers than others, and it makes me very apprehensive indeed. I appreciated greatly his testimony. It is good to have Brother McKay with us again.
I appreciated very much the remarks upon prayer by President Clark who has preceded us, and recently it came to my attention that some statistics covering the last eight years were very encouraging, showing that there was a considerable increase in family prayer among the high priests, a greater increase in the seventies, and almost a hundred percent increase in the percentage of elders in this Church who are now having their family prayers, as compared to eight years ago.
I pay tribute to you, my brothers and sisters. I express to you my affection for all the time you devote, the effort you expend, the consecrated energy you give to the Church. It is a disappointment sometimes, however, to find some who are not willing to trust the Lord-to trust in his promise when he says, "Prove me and see." I often wonder why men cannot trust their Lord. He has promised his children every blessing contingent upon their faithfulness, but fickle man places his trust in "the arm of flesh" and sets about to make his own way unaided by him who could do so much.
The Lord has promised:
... prove me... 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.
The Prophet Moroni stopped abruptly in his abridging to offer his own inspired comments concerning the matter of faith:
I would show the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.
Father Adam understood this basic principle.
... an angel of the Lord appeared unto him, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me.
He showed his unwavering faith-his almost unbelievable faith-and since the witness and the miracle follow rather than precede the faith, the angel now sought to enlighten him:
And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father.
In faith we plant the seed, and soon we see the miracle of the blossoming. Men have often misunderstood and have reversed the process. They would have the harvest before the planting, the reward before the service, the miracle before the faith. Even the most demanding labor unions would hardly ask the wages before the labor. But many of us would have the vigor without the observance of the health laws, prosperity through the opened windows of heaven without the payment of our tithes. We would have the close communion with our Father without fasting and praying; we would have rain in due season and peace in the land without observing the Sabbath and keeping the other commandments of the Lord. We would pluck the rose before planting the roots; we would harvest the grain before its planting and cultivating.
If we could only realize as Moroni writes:
For if there be no faith among the children of men, God can do no miracle among them...
And neither at any time hath any wrought miracles until after their faith; wherefore they first believed in the Son of God.
The Master said:
But, behold, faith cometh not by signs, but signs follow those that believe.
And these signs shall follow them that believe.
To the scribes and Pharisees who demanded signs without the preliminary faith and works the Lord said:
... An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign.
The Lord made it clear that faith was not developed by miracles. John said:
But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him.
In our own modern times we have eloquent evidence of this. Sidney Rigdon did not retain his membership in the kingdom even though he had, with Joseph Smith, witnessed marvelous signs. Had he not participated in the Great Vision and had he not been the recipient of many revelations? And in spite of all these manifestations from our Heavenly Father, he did not remain in the kingdom.
Oliver Cowdery saw many signs. He handled the sacred plates; was visited by Moroni, the ancient; saw John the Baptist; received the Higher Priesthood from Peter, James, and John; and was the recipient of many great miracles, and yet they could not hold him to the faith.
Amassed evidence in signs and works and miracles failed to touch the stony hearts of the Savior's Galilean cities:
Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:
Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida!
... And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shall be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom it would have remained until this day.
Paul speaking to the Hebrews said:
By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house.
As yet there was no evidence of rain and flood. His people mocked and called him a fool. His preaching fell on deaf ears. His warnings were considered irrational. There was no precedent; never had it been known that a deluge could cover the earth. How foolish to build an ark on dry ground with the sun shining and life moving forward as usual! But time ran out. The ark was finished. The floods came. The disobedient and rebellious were drowned. The miracle of the ark followed the faith manifested in its building.
Paul said again:
Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.
Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.
So absurd it was to be told that children could be born of centenarians that even Sarah doubted at first. But the faith of a noble pair prevailed, and the miracle son was born to father multitudes of nations.
Exceeding faith was shown by Abraham when the superhuman test was applied to him. His young "child of promise," destined to be the father of empires, must now be offered upon the sacrificial altar. It was God's command, but it seemed so contradictory! How could his son, Isaac, be the father of an uncountable posterity if in his youth his mortal life was to be terminated? Why should he, Abraham, be called upon to do this revolting deed? It was irreconcilable, impossible! And yet he believed God. His undaunted faith carried him with breaking heart toward the land of Moriah with this young son who little suspected the agonies through which his father must have been passing. Saddled asses took the party and supplies. The father and the son carrying the fire and the wood mounted to the place of sacrifice.
"Behold the fire and the wood," said Isaac, "but where is the lamb for a burnt offering". What a heavy heart and sad voice it must have been which replied: "My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering".
The place was reached, the altar built, the fire kindled, and the lad now surely knowing, but trusting and believing, was upon the altar. The father's raised hand was stopped in mid-air by a commanding voice:
... Lay not thine hand upon the lad... now I know that thou fearest God, seeing that thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
And as the near perfect prophet found the ram in the thicket and offered it upon the altar, he heard the voice of God again speaking:
And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
This great and noble Abraham:
Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations...
And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb:
He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
Father Abraham and Mother Sarah knew-knew the promise would be fulfilled. How-they did not know and did not demand to know. Isaac positively would live to be the father of a numerous posterity. They knew he would even though he might need to die. They knew he could still be raised from the dead to fulfil the promise, and faith here preceded the miracle.
Paul again said to the Hebrews:
By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land.
The Israelites knew, as did Pharaoh and his hosts that
... They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in.
And as Pharaoh's trained army approached with all the horses and chariots of Egypt, the escaping multitudes knew full well that they were hemmed in by the marshes, the deserts, and the sea. There was no earthly chance for them to escape the wrath of their pursuers. And in their terror they indicted Moses:
... Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness?
... it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.
No hope on earth for their liberation! What could save them now? The gloating armed forces of Egypt knew that Israel was trapped. Israel knew it only too well. But Moses, their inspired leader with a supreme faith, knew that God would not have called them on this exodus only to have them destroyed. He knew God would provide the escape. He may not at this moment have known just how, but he trusted.
Moses commanded his people:
... Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.
The Lord shall fight for you.
The mighty warriors pressed on. Hope must have long since died in the breasts of the timid Israelitish souls who knew not faith. Deserts and wilderness and the sea-the uncrossable sea! No boats, no rafts, nor time to construct them! Hopelessness, fear, despair must have gripped their hearts, and then the miracle came. It was born of the faith of their indomitable leader. A cloud hid them from the view of their enemies. A strong east wind blew all the night; the waters were parted; the bed of the sea was dry; and Israel crossed to another world and saw the returning sea envelop and destroy their pursuers. Israel was safe. Faith had been rewarded, and Moses was vindicated. The impossible had happened. An almost superhuman faith had given birth to an unaccountable and mysterious miracle that was to be the theme of the sermons and warnings of Israel and their prophets for centuries.
Israel was later ready to cross into the Promised Land, the productivity and beauty of which could probably be seen from the higher hills. But how to get there? There were no bridges nor ferries across the flooding Jordan. Too deep for crossing in ordinary times, it was now at the time of harvest impossible to ford. A great prophet, Joshua, received the mind of the Lord and commanded, and another miracle was born of faith.
... and as the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water...
... the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap... and those that came down failed, and were cut off...
... and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.
And when
... the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did before.
The elements find control through faith. The wind, the clouds, the heavens obey the voice of faith. It was by and through the faith of Elijah that the drought, which devastated Israel, prolonged for three interminable years, was finally terminated when repentance had come to Israel.
... Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.
And Elijah the prophet declared:
... there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.
The brooks dried up; rivers ceased to run; forage was scarce; famine was upon the land; and a king and his people were begging for relief-a people who had lost themselves in the worship of Baal. At Mount Carmel came the contest of power, which was mentioned here by President Clark, when a spectacular incident occurred. At Elijah's command fire came down from heaven and ignited the sacrifice and shocked the Baal worshipers once more into repentant submission.
Miracle followed faith again, and though the heavens were still clear and there was no indication of rain on the parched land, the prophet warned King Ahab:
... Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not.
With his face between his knees, as he sat on Carmel, Elijah sent his servant seven times to look toward the sea. Six times there were cloudless skies and calm sea, but on the seventh he reported: "Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand."
Soon the heavens were black with clouds, and the wind was carrying them to Palestine, and "There was a great rain" and a dry, parched land was drenched in moisture, and the miracle of faith had again made good the promises of the Lord.
It was by the supreme faith of the three Hebrews that they were delivered from the fiery furnace of their king, Nebuchadnezzar. And the king asked:
... Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king: True, O king.
He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
... these men upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire passed on them.
Now, if you would discount these miracles of the Old Testament, how can you accept the New Testament? You would also have difficulty in accepting Paul and his associate Apostles, and the Lord Jesus Christ, for they have verified and documented those miraculous events.
Now, brothers and sisters, how can these stories of faith be brought into our own lives? Faith is needed here as much as ever before. Little can we see. We know not what the morrow will bring. Accidents, sickness, even death seem to hover over us continually. Little do we know when they might strike.
It takes faith-unseeing faith-for young people to proceed immediately with their family responsibilities in the face of financial uncertainties. It takes faith for the young woman to bear her family instead of accepting employment, especially when schooling for the young husband is to be finished. It takes faith to observe the Sabbath when "time and a half" can be had working, when sales can be made, when merchandise can be sold. It takes a great faith to pay tithes when funds are scarce and demands are great. It takes faith to fast and have family prayers and to observe the Word of Wisdom. It takes faith to do ward teaching, stake missionary work, and other service, when sacrifice is required. It takes faith to fill foreign missions. But know this-that all these are of the planting, while faithful, devout families, spiritual security, peace, and eternal life are the harvests.
Remember that Abraham, Moses, Elijah, and others could not see clearly the end from the beginning. They also walked by faith and without sight. Remember again that no gates were open; Laban was not drunk; and no earthly hope was justified at the moment Nephi exercised his faith and set out finally to get the plates. No asbestos clothes or other ordinary protective devices were in the fiery furnace to protect the three Hebrews from death; there were no leather nor metal muzzles for the mouths of the lions when Daniel was locked in the den.
Remember that there were no clouds in the sky nor any hydrometer in his hand when Elijah promised an immediate break in the long extended drought; though Joshua may have witnessed the miracle of the Red Sea, yet how could he by mortal means perceive that the flooding Jordan would back up for the exact time needed for the crossing, and then flow on its way to the Dead Sea.
Remember that there were no clouds in the sky, no evidence of rain, and no precedent for the deluge when Noah builded the ark according to commandment. There was no ram in the thicket when Isaac and his father left for Moriah for the sacrifice. Remember there were no towns and cities, no farms and gardens, no homes and storehouses, no blossoming desert in Utah when the persecuted pioneers crossed the plains. And remember that there were no heavenly beings in Palmyra, on the Susquehanna or on Cumorah when the soul-hungry Joseph slipped quietly into the Grove, knelt in prayer on the river bank, and climbed the slopes of the sacred hill.
But know this: that undaunted faith can stop the mouths of lions, make ineffective the fiery flames, make dry corridors through beds of rivers and seas. Unwavering faith can protect against deluge, terminate droughts, heal the sick, and bring heavenly manifestations. Indomitable faith can help us live the commandments and thereby bring blessings unnumbered with peace, perfection, and exaltation in the kingdom of God. May this be our desire to develop this kind of faith and may we finally attain the blessings which such perfect faith can bring, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder ElRay L. Christiansen
ElRay L. Christiansen, Conference Report, October 1952, pp. 53-55
My brothers and sisters. During the year that I have now served as a high priest assigned to assist the Quorum of the Twelve, I have increased my admiration for all of you people who are serving the Lord; for those who are willing to lay their own affairs aside to work on welfare projects; willing to travel for miles and miles, time after time, to attend their meetings, willing to give of their substance, their all, if necessary, for the work of the Lord, without equivocation I have increased my admiration for these, for you, for all who have thus testified before the Lord that they love him-receiving from the Lord; giving to the Lord. That is as it should be.
How well trained, how well prepared, and how well tested, how useful they will be to him, when he comes again to reign upon the earth! They, I should think, who have proved themselves thus, would be among those whom he shall call forth to administer the affairs of his kingdom under his personal direction.
It is evident that the families of those who are thus engaged in Church work are among the happiest families in the world, because those who thus serve the Lord are recipients of that great blessing, peace of mind, which I think is one of the priceless blessings of life.
But whenever I think of these groups and individuals who thus serve the Lord, I wonder about those who, with us, have membership in this great Church and yet are satisfied merely to have their names upon the records; who do not feel impelled to give of their substance and of their time and talents, but who are willing to let suffice the fact that they are members of the Church.
Usually, they are born of goodly parents. They are willing to give passive acknowledgment of the truth of the gospel and of the reality of the Church of Jesus Christ. They, sometimes, give contributions but desire to be left alone, requesting that the ward teachers and Relief Society block teachers pass them by, feeling that the teachers can do them no good. How I wish we could do more for these members!
They point with justifiable pride to the devotion to and sacrifices for the Church made by their ancestors, and it is well that they should. My brothers and sisters, we should all be proud of our progenitors. Some of us forget however, that as someone rightly said no matter how tall your grandfather was, you have to do your own growing. So it is in this great Church-we all must realize that salvation is an individual matter, that none of us can be taken into the celestial kingdom on the backs of others. We must earn our own position, both here and hereafter. It is not merely an acknowledgment that God lives and that this is the Church of Jesus Christ that will save us, but the application of that knowledge in good works.
Jesus once declared,
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.
And Jacob, speaking to the people in his day, some five hundred years before Christ, spoke of this same thing. He used stronger terms than I would care to use, if I were not quoting him.
But wo unto him that has the law given, yea, that has all the commandments of God, like unto us, and that transgresseth them, and that wasteth the days of his probation, for awful is his state!
O that cunning plan of the evil one! O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of men! When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. And they shall perish.
But to be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God.
And so, my brothers and sisters, our knowledge must be translated into service; into good works.
Last spring, I attended the quarterly conference in one of the stakes in southern Idaho. Among the missionaries who reported was Sister Santana, a young woman of Mexican nationality. She had come to that stake to report her mission to those who had sent her. One of the families there had provided the funds for her mission, and it was reported that this Mexican girl had been instrumental in bringing into the Church more than fifty people during her time in the mission field. Among other things, she said through an interpreter; "My testimony is the brightest gem in my possession. It is of more worth to me than is my life. I hope to bear it in good deeds." And she added, to those who had helped her, "Muchas gracias." It touched our hearts to see her with this priceless combination of treasures, a testimony, and a desire to bear it in good deeds.
Any individual who has a testimony that is borne in clean living and in good works can expect to feel in that testimony a tremendous motivating power. It will help to direct him in his life, to guide him, to prompt him, to warn him. It becomes a formidable weapon against evil itself.
Some have asked, "How may one receive a living, impelling, life-directing testimony, such as you speak of? How is such knowledge obtained?" The question was answered by Jesus, 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.
So any individual who will qualify himself by doing the will of God, may find this same assurance, and there is no other way that I know anything about.
The source of this knowledge was also explained by the Lord when in speaking to his disciples he asked this question:
... But whom say ye that I am?
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Now, Latter-day Saints accept these teachings, and multitudes testify, from their own experience, that they are true. Testimonies borne by individuals in conformity to the laws of the Lord, and through engaging in good works, are sure to induce happiness and bring contentment and peace to such individuals and to their families. Such testimonies may well lead one to exaltation in the kingdom of God.
On the other hand, those who may say, "Oh, I believe these principles all right, but I am not living as I should," or "I am too busy to accept an assignment in the ward or the stake or the quorum," or "I feel that when I have worked all week at my job, I should have the Sabbath day off, to seek pleasure and relaxation and to do whatever I would like to do." They have a testimony, it seems to me, that is barren and fruitless. To that individual, and perhaps to his family, it will cause them to lose many of the sweet things of life such as we have heard related here this morning. Indeed such a philosophy may become the means of preventing the realization of the great eternal blessings which the Lord God would have them enjoy!
Again, those of us who bear testimony should live in harmony with our beliefs, declared in the Article of Faith, "We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men", and we should reflect these attributes in our daily lives.
Not long ago I was told of a man in one of the professions, who bore his testimony in good deeds, and in "doing good to all men," at least all men who came to him. In spite of the pressure from the group to increase the fees that were being paid by their patients-in spite of recommendations to "make them pay, and to get all you can while you can," this fine man continued to pursue the practice he had followed in charging reasonable rates for his services and avoiding what he thought to be exorbitant and excessive charges.
Now, it seems to me, he is bearing testimony in good deeds, as Sister Santana wished to do. He has peace of mind. He has his self-respect. He has the respect of his friends, his clients, and incidentally, he has almost more business than he can take care of.
A true measure of one's devotion to a principle is measured not by what he professes, but by what he manifests-day by day.
Twenty-five hundred years ago, a great philosopher, Confucius, put it this way: "Those who know the truth are not equal to those who love it, and those who love it are not equal to those who live it."
Well,
What doth it profit, my brethren, although man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?...
Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?.
Throughout the Church, thousands and thousands are testifying by their upright lives that God lives, that they are affiliated with the true Church of Jesus Christ upon the earth and by their untiring service and their desire to keep the commandments of God, leaders and members alike, as Abraham did, testify by their willingness to perform any and all duties that may be required of them of the Lord.
Like Sister Santana, they bear their testimonies in good deeds. They are "... doers of the Word, and not hearers only".
May each of us feel some responsibility in reaching out to those other wonderful people, well-born, well-qualified, and capable, and try to help them to translate their dormant testimonies into works and service of which the Lord approves. This I pray, and bear my testimony to the truth of this work, and I do it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, October 1952, pp. 58-60
I shall take for my text a few verses from the forty-sixth section of the Doctrine and Covenants:
"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.
President Clark said we are a singing people, but I am inclined to think, while that is true, we are not a studious people, that as members of the Church we have not taken advantage of our opportunities to learn, to make ourselves acquainted with the plan of salvation, the commandments of the Lord pertaining to our exaltation. We have not considered the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price as thoroughly as we should have done, and that is also true of the Bible.
The Lord in his mercy and kindness sent angels from his presence to reveal gospel and to make known the record of the ancient inhabitants of this continent, the Jaredites and the Nephites and Lamanites. Likewise by the inspiration and guidance of his Spirit, he revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith many of the precious things that were taken out of the writings of the prophets, and we have them restored again. But are we reading them? Are we making ourselves acquainted with these commandments, these precious truths which have been made known for our salvation? Have we ever stopped to think of the great advantage that we have over the rest of the Christian world in this fact, that they maintain that the Bible contains the full word of God, that revelation from him ceased nearly two thousand years ago? Men are left now to depend upon that written word. But the Lord has revealed to us the history of these other ancient peoples. He has given unto us the commandments and the revelations that were given to them, and so earnestly did he feel the responsibility of giving to us additional information that he sent angel from his presence to reveal it.
Are we, who profess to believe in the mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith, to testify that angels came to him, and through them that the gospel was restored, the priesthood again revealed and given to men? Do we feel that we are under any responsibilities to search these scriptures and make ourselves familiar with them? I wonder. It is my understanding, I hope I am wrong, that a great multitude of members of this Church have never read the Book of Mormon, are not acquainted with the Doctrine and Covenants, who have not taken the time to consider the commandments that have been revealed for our eternal good, and that to our detriment.
Now we know that there are many spirits abroad in the land, and as the Lord says, some of their doctrines are doctrines of devils; some are the commandments of men. Are we prepared by our knowledge and understanding to segregate these doctrines which are of men and which are of devils, from the truth? Are we living near enough unto the Lord to have that spirit of discernment, that we are entitled, as we would be through our humility and faith, to know the truth that would make us free?
In an earlier revelation, the Lord said:
"And whoso having faith you shall confirm in my church, by the laying on of the hands, and I will bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost upon them". We have the right to the guidance of the Holy Ghost, but we can't have that guidance if we wilfully refuse to consider the revelations that have been given to help us to understand and to guide us in the light and truth of the everlasting gospel. We can't hope to have that guidance when we refuse to consider these great revelations which mean so much to us both temporally and spiritually. Now if we find ourselves in this condition of unbelief or unwillingness to seek for the light and the knowledge which the Lord has placed within our reach, then we are liable or in danger of being deceived by evil spirits, the doctrines of devils, and the teachings of men. And when these false influences are presented before us, we will not have the distinguishing understanding by which we can segregate them and know that they are not of the Lord. And so we may become prey unto the ungodly, to the vicious, to the cunning, to the craftiness of men.
We all have a right to know the truth. It is a requirement the Lord makes of every member of the Church that he know for himself and have a testimony of the truth in his own heart and not be under the necessity of depending upon anyone else to know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God or that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. If there is any person in the sound of my voice, a member of this Church, who does not know in his heart that the Father and the Son appeared to Joseph Smith, revealed themselves, and made known again the true doctrine concerning God, then that person has not lived up to his or her requirements, the commandments the Lord has placed upon us, for we should know that fact. We should know that John the Baptist came and restored the Aaronic Priesthood. We ought not to have to depend upon any other source, only the light of truth which is planted in our hearts by the Holy Spirit through our faithfulness. We should know that Peter, James, and John came and restored the Melchizedek Priesthood with all its powers, so that the gospel again could be preached, the knowledge of God declared, and righteousness again be found in the earth, for the salvation of all those who would repent of their sins and turn unto God.
I have in my pocket here an invitation sent to me personally; it may be many of you have received one that was sent to you personally, inviting me to attend one of the churches to make myself familiar with the doctrines. Now the man who sent this had a perfect right to send it. He has a right to send this to you and to give you that invitation, but do you have faith enough, knowledge enough of the gospel of Jesus Christ that you would not be deceived if you should accept the invitation, and go and listen to the doctrines of the church to which this man belongs? Do you know the truth?
I have a testimony, definitely, positively, that our Father in heaven restored the gospel of Jesus Christ, that Joseph Smith told the truth. I know that the Father and the Son appeared to him, just as well as I know I am here. I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world, the Savior of men who will repent and receive his gospel. Are we all prepared so that we will not be subject to the cunning craftiness of men, to the false doctrines that are in the world, the teachings that are contrary to the plan of eternal salvation? If we are not then we need to repent.
I am going to read to you a statement that I made some time ago which I think is true, and which is a guide to me and I hope may be to you.
So far as the philosophy and wisdom of the world are concerned, they mean nothing unless they conform to the revealed word of God. Any doctrine, whether it comes in the name of religion, science, philosophy, or whatever it may be, if it is in conflict with the revealed word of the Lord, will fail. It may appear plausible. It may be put before you in language that appeals and which you may not be able to answer. It may appear to be established by evidence that you cannot controvert but all you need to do is to abide your time. Time will level all things. You will find that every doctrine, every principle, no matter how universally believed, if it is not in accord with the divine word of the Lord to his servants, will perish. Nor is it necessary for us to try to stretch the word of the Lord in a vain attempt to make it conform to these theories and teachings. The word of the Lord shall not pass away unfulfilled, but these false doctrines and theories will all fail. Truth, and only truth, will remain when all else has perished. The Lord has said, "And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come".
The Lord bless you, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Eldred G. Smith
Eldred G. Smith, Conference Report, October 1952, pp. 61-63
Brothers and sisters, I sense very keenly the responsibility in standing here before you, and needless to say, I seek your faith and prayers in my behalf.
It is truly a responsibility and an honor to stand before you, and one cannot help, in standing here, but be conscious of the developments of this age and the many blessings that are ours. Truly this is a choice time, a choice generation in which to live. We have many blessings, beyond our ability to count them.
We have our troubles and difficulties, yet there is none of us who would care to exchange our opportunities in this generation for those of another. There are opportunities, for example, in education, beyond anything we have ever had in the history of the earth. We have educational buildings, school buildings, university buildings much better equipped than they have ever been before. We have instructors better prepared, with a greater knowledge and a better method in teaching, than we have ever had before. We have books which contain knowledge which has never been given to man before. We have greater opportunities to go to school, to get knowledge and education. There are more scholarships offered. The opportunities for the masses to receive a higher education are increasing. A larger percentage of people are receiving a higher education all the time.
God has poured out knowledge in abundance. This is very evident in the field of science, and especially in medicine, in communication, in transportation. These scientific developments are the minor blessings of this generation. Add to these blessings that of the gospel, the priesthood and the blessings of eternal sealings.
We have a knowledge of the plan of life. We know where we are going. We then should know that this life should be full of hardships and trials, and only thereby can we grow. Trials which come to us are not those which came to our ancestors. Our posterity will have still different trials, yet we would not care to trade our opportunities of living in this generation for that of living in any other generation we have known of.
Yet, when we look ahead of us in this world of confusion and chaos, my heart goes out in sympathy especially to the youth who have a war and military service staring them in the face. They say, "What is the use of all this education, training, preparation for the future?" We look ahead, and we see political and economic confusion, so complicated, I wonder whether mortals have the ability to solve the problems at hand.
Satan is always trying to thwart the work of the Lord, and the Lord repeatedly uses Satan's efforts to fulfil his own purposes. Satan tried to break up our missionary work, but the Lord is at the helm, directing the affairs of man, and especially his work on earth. What was the source of our missionary supply, was taken and put into one of the greatest mission fields of the day, the armed services. There is a most important missionary work among the servicemen that can be done by none other than the servicemen, themselves. If these servicemen will but live the gospel and teach it to their associates, teach it to those with whom they come in contact, they will do a very great missionary service, that no one else can do.
We have had innumerable experiences from World War II, where people have joined the Church because of watching some serviceman who lived the gospel. And if the servicemen who are members of the Church will be real Latter-day Saints and live the gospel, using what leisure time they may have in a productive, beneficial manner, and in teaching others by example as well as by precept, they will be doing a most important missionary service.
After reading the Book of Mormon, ask yourselves, how long would this Korean conflict last if ten percent of the United Nations armed forces were living righteous lives? Then go another step in your imagination, say, if ten percent were Latter-day Saint men living the gospel, and about fifty percent of all the servicemen were living righteous lives, the power of God would touch the hearts of men and bring peace into the world. And I do not know how we can have real peace any other way.
Circumstances are so complicated I wonder whether mortal man has the ability to solve them without the help of the Lord.
We as Latter-day Saints must keep the faith in the future, faith in man, faith in God, live the gospel so that everyone who sees our actions will have a desire to be as we are. They will then sense the happiness and the joy that come to us as the result of our knowledge of the gospel and that are displayed in our everyday life. Thus we will be teaching the gospel.
God will never permit trials to come upon us beyond our power to withstand them, as long as we will put our trust and faith in him.
I think the story of Job is a very good example of that, an example of what life is here on the earth. Briefly and without quoting exactly, the story of Job, to me, tells the story of Satan making the statement to the Lord: Yes, Job is a righteous man; you surrounded him with so much I cannot reach him, but if you would let me go just a little way, if you would take just a little from him, I would show you that Job would curse the Lord. And so the Lord said, All right, I will permit you to go just so far. And so much was taken from Job, and Satan tried again and came back again, and said: If you would let me go just a little farther, I will show you that Job will curse the Lord. And each time, the Lord permitted Satan to go only so far. Satan could not go beyond that which the Lord permitted him. And time after time repeating it, until finally the Lord said, all right, Satan, you may have full control over Job except you cannot take his life. Job by this time had become so strengthened, the Lord had permitted only that to come upon him which Job had strength to resist. Job had thereby been strengthened from it until he had the ability to withstand all the trials of Satan. He had come to a state of perfection. And is that not the state which we all seek to attain? Then, without trials, how can we get there?
Have faith and show your faith in your works. Be of good cheer, Satan cannot stand cheerfulness which comes from right living. Accept the present as having the greatest opportunities of life and the future to become greater.
The modern scientific developments are a testimony to me that God is assisting the growth of his work on earth. Most of which has come since the restoration of the gospel. How would it be possible to carry on the administrative affairs of the Church, all over the world, and keep the Church in the unity of one faith and one doctrine, without the benefits of modern methods of scientific developments which we enjoy. How important is the press which makes possible standard instructions in doctrine, and through which we have the scriptures, and other methods of keeping our doctrine a unity all over the world.
How, too, could we do the abundance of sealing work for our dead, without microfilm and other like methods of obtaining records. How blessed are we that the Authorities can travel through the stakes and missions the world over and return so often to report and keep the unity of the doctrine together all over the Church.
How great are the blessings to the world because we have means of travel which permitted President McKay to make this wonderful trip to the missions of Europe, and in such a short time.
Thank the Lord for his blessings. May his choicest blessings be upon us, his people, with ever increasing faith and trust in him, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop Thorpe B. Isaacson
Thorpe B. Isaacson, Conference Report, October 1952, pp. 63-66
President McKay, President Richards, President Clark, and my beloved brothers and sisters, I am very grateful and thankful for the opportunity of in attendance at this great conference of the Church, where we can be spiritually built up and strengthened in our faith, for surely we have felt the Spirit of the Lord here in every session of the conference, and we have been built up in our faith, and strengthened in our testimony.
We are here to receive instructions and to listen to the words of the prophet, seers, and revelators and servants of God, our Father.
The Lord said in the Doctrine and Covenants, 88 and 63:
Draw near unto me and I will draw near you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
It is my humble and sincere desire and prayer that my Father in heaven draw near unto me while I speak to you today, and I shall be grateful for interest in your faith and prayers. It is always a very difficult assignment for me, and I am grateful to the Lord for his sustaining influence on previous occasions. The Spirit of the Lord has been here in rich abundance. Before the conference started, the General Authorities met together, and with the beautiful prayer offered by Brother Lee, surely we felt the Lord's influence. We are meeting in his name. We are meeting to bear testimony as to the truthfulness of his work.
Before I say more, I should like to pay tribute, as suggested by Brother Stayner Richards and Brother Cowley yesterday, to my wife. I am one of that type of men who have a hard time saying the things I ought to say as often as I ought to say them. It is her birthday today, and I want her to know that I am grateful for her. I am grateful that she took me by the hand, as Brother Cowley so beautifully portrayed to us. I am grateful that she has given me encouragement when she has known that I was discouraged and down. I am grateful for her faith. Everything that I do of any consequence, I must credit in a large measure to her and to my Father in heaven.
Sometime ago I had in this great Tabernacle a man and his wife and a boy from the East, a man with whom I have been associated in business but who had never been here before. As he came in here and stayed awhile, after the recital, he said, "There is something different here. What is it?" I gave him a Book of Mormon, and then we walked around, and he asked me again, and I said, "It is a little hard to explain, but I would like to tell you what I think it is. This is a house of worship, and if you could read the prayer that was offered at the dedication, you would know that this is a sacred building, and the thing that makes it different is that the Spirit of the Lord is here." It was not long until he spoke and said: "Well, it has to be something like that."
I want to say just a word to the youth of the Church, the young men and women, the young married couples. I would like to say a few words with reference to the value of your personal testimony, probably your most precious possession.
I realize there is great stress being placed on education, and rightly so. This Church has always sponsored and fostered education. Ever since the Pioneers came here, this Church has supported and sustained schools and universities, seminaries and institutes. The authorities have believed in education but they have also stressed greatly spiritual, religious education in the hearts and souls of our young people.
Education has brought great credit to the Church and to this state. Just recently, there were four educators making a survey, an educational efficiency survey, on one of our great institutions in the state. They were all from the eastern part of the United States, none of them are native sons; and they have studied the trend of education in this state. They made great research, and the chairman of that committee came to me a while ago and said, "We have discovered two very unusual but very prominent factors about the education in the state of Utah." We are a small state and a poor state, and as we learned this morning from Dr. Woodward, speaking to the welfare workers, only three percent of the soil in this state is tillable, so we are not a rich state. The two factors that this great educator said astounded him were: there is a greater percentage of the population in the state of Utah twenty-five years of age and over who have a high school education than in any other state in the union; and there is a larger percentage of the people of Utah twenty-five years of age and over who have a college education than any state in the union. That is a great tribute to our pioneer fathers and to this Church and to this state.
But I would like to tell you, also, another word from Newton N. Riddell when he made this comment, speaking of spiritual, religious education:
He who knows books knows much; he who knows nature knows more; but he who knows God has reached the goal of human wisdom.
To the young people, your personal testimony will give you great happiness; a testimony as to the divinity of the Savior of the world, born as a babe in Bethlehem, a testimony as to the teachings of the Savior, the life of the Savior, his crucifixion on Calvary, the actual resurrection of the Savior from the tomb. What for? So that you and I could have eternal life.
Yes, a personal testimony as to the restoration of the gospel in this dispensation, the visit of the Father and the Son to Joseph Smith, the Prophet, as so beautifully given to us by President Joseph Fielding Smith. He was truly God's servant. Then he sealed that testimony with his life's blood as did that marvelous brother of his, Hyrum. Young people, you do have a testimony that this is true, and it will be a source of comfort to you in the hour of need.
Yes, the object of all gospel teachings is to promote faith and build a testimony. Without a personal conviction or without a personal testimony, our teaching may lack warmth and light. Testimony inspires testimony; conviction begets conviction.
A personal testimony after we have received it, I have learned, and I am grateful that I have learned it, needs to be constantly reinforced. We may have had some faith-promoting experience in our lives, and many of us have; we may have even witnessed a miracle, and some of us have. Someone has said our testimony may be a dynamic concept based upon evidence, proof, and revelation. It may have been acquired through study and prayer, but if our testimony ceases to grow, it may finally cease to be.
Therefore, it requires each of us daily to try to improve our lives, strive to discipline ourselves and properly to conduct our behavior.
Our testimony needs to be constantly cultivated and strengthened to remain forceful and alive. A testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, a testimony a to the mission of the Prophet Joseph is a blessing earnestly to be desired, to be prayed for, and to be lived for. When once obtained, that testimony will shine as a beacon to others, and its flame will burn that other torches might be lighted but if our testimony ceases to glow, it may be lost.
In the New Testament, we read of the experience of Saul of Tarsus. H was contending against the truth; he was persecuting the saints. He denied the divinity of Jesus, and then as he was en route to apprehend them and imprison them, he was suddenly confronted by the Master. He saw a blinding light, and he heard the Master say "Saul, Saul why persecutest thou me?" And Saul said, "Who art thou, Lord?" And the Lord said, "I am Jesus whom thou persecutest". Saul was stricken blind and led away, but later he was miraculously healed of that blindness. Surely, if any man had had a testimony to justify the feeling of having arrived, if any one experience would seem sufficient to entitle anyone to say, "This is enough, I need no more," Saul had that experience. He had been made to see, but if he had been content to relate his experience to his friends or if he had stopped growing, he would never have become the great Paul the Apostle. Saul of Tarsus was the acorn, and Paul the Apostle was the oak.
During the balance of his life he taught as a great missionary. In bonds he bore his testimony to kings, and on the ship, and in the dungeons. He was inspired by his testimony, and he bore that testimony the rest of his life.
The youth of the Church may sometimes wonder if they have a testimony. They may ask how it may be obtained. Some young people may be discouraged and they may compare their knowledge and testimony with that of others, but let me plead with the young people never to become discouraged. Always remember that the full-bloom rose was once an unopened bud and that the ripened fruit was once just a blossom and that all great things came from small beginnings.
Yes, it is our individual problem, and probably a continual one, for all of us to make sure as best we can that our lives are such that we can hear the promptings of the Holy Ghost which we have received, that great Comforter, the whisperings of the still, small voice.
The Lord once said,
But he that believeth these things which I have spoken, him will I visit with the manifestations of my Spirit and he shall know and bear record. For because of my Spirit he shall know that these things are true; for it persuadeth men to do good.
And whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do good is of me; for good cometh of none save it be of me. I am the same that leadeth men to all good; he that will not believe my words will not believe me-that I am; and he that will not believe me will not believe the Father who sent me. For behold, I am the Father, I am the light and the life, and the truth of the world.
Come unto me, O ye Gentiles, and I will show unto you the greater things, the knowledge which is hid up because of unbelief.
Come unto me, O ye house of Israel, and it shall be made manifest unto you how great things the Father hath laid up for you, from the foundation of the world; and it hath not come unto you, because of unbelief.
Prayerful, humble seeking will give you the answer, young people. I would say to all of you whenever you are in doubt, you need never hesitate to know where you can go and get the answer. The Lord will hear you; he will remove those doubts from your mind.
Oh, a testimony does not all come at once, but if continually developed and cultivated, it is a power and a strength that will be felt forever.
As Latter-day Saints our own personal testimony is not alone sufficient. Once acquired and reinforced, it is our duty as individual members of the Church to bear that testimony constantly to the world, to preach the gospel, and to bring salvation to the souls of men.
The Savior said:
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!.
Oh, the Master must have placed great value on every soul; precious are they in his sight.
An ancient philosopher once said:
Unless you bear with the faults of a friend, you thereby betray your own.
Young people, do not lose your testimony. You may discover sometimes that you are in doubt. I think we all have. You may sometimes wonder if your testimony is waning, but let that be a signal to you, let that be the time that you come to one of your brethren, one of your friends; that is the signal for you quickly to associate yourself with the Church and become very active in the Church, that is the time that you must confide in God your Eternal Father.
The person whose fate is most distressing is he who has lost his faith and his testimony. He may live near you or me-he may go about performing his daily work, yet he is very much alone. He is unhappy, and he lacks a sense of belonging. Life seems to have no purpose to him; he is the man who having had a testimony has now lost it, but faith and prayer can return him to us and bring about a renewal of that testimony. It has happened to many, and it will happen again.
I want to plead with my friends and my associates, my brothers, my acquaintances, and with all men, to put aside those things which may be keeping you inactive in the Church. I would say to all men, repent of that which you have done that is wrong, go to your Father in heaven, go to your brethren whom you love. There is no reason you cannot go to your brethren. We love you; your bishops love you; you can come to us about anything; and we will treat you truly as our brothers. Do not live longer on the outside, no matter what is keeping you inactive in the Church, whether it be your profession, whether it be your habits, whether it be that somebody has hurt your feelings; no matter what it is, put it aside. Come back into the pales of the Church, and receive those blessings that the Lord has in store for you. Great will be your joy; great will be your happiness.
It ought not to be hard for us to repent. None of us feel good when we do wrong. All of us feel better when we can go to the Lord and ask his forgiveness and when we can go to our brethren and put our hands in theirs and tell them of our shortcomings. Surely no man will take advantage of that kind of confidence. That is the feeling that exists in this Church. That is the brotherhood that is intended between us as brethren in the priesthood and brothers and sisters in the Church.
God grant that we can each have a strong testimony to pull us over those rough spots in life. I am satisfied the happiest men I know of are these men, and I know why they are happy and you know why they are happy, because of the great testimony they have, because of their living close to the Lord and partaking of his wonderful and sweet spirit.
May God grant that we may always have that brotherhood that President Stephen L Richards often talks about. Just the other day I heard him say something like this: "All great men are engaged in some great cause," and what greater cause is there than the cause that we are engaged in, the cause of bringing salvation to the souls of men, and eternal life?
God grant that we may be strong, that we may stay close to the Lord, and when he says, "If you will draw near unto me, I will draw near unto you"; may that be our happy lot, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Oscar A. Kirkham
Oscar A. Kirkham, Conference Report, October 1952, pp. 67-68
I humbly pray that the Lord will bless me, as I address you. How serious and important is this responsibility!
Yesterday I read from the Book of Isaiah; the first lines were a theme for the M. I. A. some time ago.
Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is near...
Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward.
I would like to address myself, with the blessings of my Heavenly Father, to my sons. I am very happy that one of them is in the audience today. The others are scattered in different parts of the world. This is the admonition I would give to them: Be worthy, and advance in the priesthood of God.
What a glorious thing it is to be sufficiently humble, to live sufficiently worthy that one may speak and perform and bless and grow in the name of the Lord! What a glorious blessing our Heavenly Father has made possible in his great plan of salvation for the men of his Church to receive the priesthood of God. This great blessing I pray may be part of the blessings that the gospel brings to my sons. I hope they are worthy to advance in that glorious opportunity from deacon to high priest. A truly great adventure? Yes, adventure with the Lord, full of blessings the like of which no man can give you, it will bring them to spiritual heights, and the enjoyment of full living.
How happy I was last summer on shipboard with 627 American youth going to Austria to a world jamboree of Scouts. When the Sabbath day came, we were having a sacrament service. Two of our young men took care of this sacred ordinance of the Lord. A stranger was standing in the door watching the ceremony. He was listening carefully to what was going on, and after these boys, holding the priesthood of God had humbly performed their sacred duty, he walked across the dining room and said to me,
I want two hours. I want them as soon as possible. I have seen nothing like this. I have felt nothing like this on our journey. These young men, blessing the sacred sacrament, calling upon the Lord that they may renew their covenants with the Lord to keep his commandments, that they may have his Spirit to always be with them. This is deeply impressive. Let me meet with you soon.
Yes, truly this is the greatest blessing from God, to speak and perform, to bless and grow in his holy name.
And I would like to express another wish to my sons and I say it with reverence, and with sincere desire: "Be an active Christian citizen." On September 1, President Clark on his eighty-first birthday, was interviewed by the press. I was impressed by the message he gave to them. "This is a great day for each youth," said President Clark, "but he must conquer it for himself, by work, and by right living." This is a theme for a young Christian citizen.
Not long ago I read a story of Benjamin Franklin. On one occasion he went to visit a friend. He took with him his seventeen-year-old son. When he came to the home of his friend, he said to him, "I wish you would bless my boy." The aged man put his hands upon the head of this youth, and said to him, "My son, God and liberty. God and liberty-remember these two words." So I say to my son, and your son, to every mother's son throughout the land, as you exercise the glorious right and privilege of Christian citizenship, let this be ever in your heart and mind, "God and liberty."
Next summer, July 17 to 23, fifty thousand boys will camp on the hills of southern California. My, what a glorious experience, a high privilege will be theirs, learning the art of living happily together, and to live as Christians, at least all have expressed their faith in God. I hope your son will be there. I would love to pitch my tent next to his. I would love to see him, as I have seen thousands of others, and before they retire at night, hear them give their prayers to God in thanksgiving and for guidance.
I have a friend whose son was killed in Japan. When his effects were sent home, the parents found a note in his uniform. The note read:
If I happen to die in this war, here is something I want you to do. I have a ten-thousand-dollar insurance policy, and I want you to take that money, and when the war is over, bring to America a Japanese boy and educate him, so that when he may go back to that enemy land, it will help him that he may build his life in the spirit of our democracy.
There is Christian citizenship in its high expression.
I would love to have my son fill a worthy and honorable mission, yes, humbly and worthily. I just returned from touring the Canadian Mission. When I asked the young missionary men what is their greatest spiritual need, nearly all of them would answer, "To be humble, that's my need. To seek the Lord, to know the strength which comes when he is near." What a glorious experience it is for a young man to have the privilege of going on a mission, as a servant of the Lord, and I appeal to this great audience, today, and those listening on the air, God grant to you that high privilege, for the world is on its knees, waiting for you or your son or my son to come and bring the gospel's glorious message, that their lives may be made more beautiful before the Lord with spiritual blessings.
A final wish I make:
Son, go courting with a lovely Latter-day Saint girl, and go to a temple of the Lord and be married there, and build a good Latter-day Saint home.
What a lovely thing it was one year at M. I. A. time when nineteen couples came from California and were married in the temple here at Salt Lake City. How charming! What a delightful excursion that was! How eyes were filled with tears of rejoicing as they stood before the altar of the Lord and were married for eternity. What a beautiful experience when eleven young ladies of one of the Ogden stakes made a dress, a wedding gown, together, and in their turn, as opportunity came, each one of them was married in this lovely dress. There are no more beautiful experiences than these. What a grand expression of love and appreciation it was in Prescott, Arizona, for a Brother Johnson and his good wife to sacrifice and save and plod along through the years until their seven boys and girls had had the privilege of going on a mission. Then one happy wedding anniversary time, the boys and girls had saved quietly and the bishop had spoken to them about their father and mother, and they also were privileged to go on a mission. What a glorious blessing, and I wish it for my sons and daughters-a happy Latter-day Saint home.
These things I wish for my children and your children, and for them I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder George Q. Morris
George Q. Morris, Conference Report, October 1952, pp. 69-71
My dear brethren and sisters, I am thankful for the privilege of being with you in this great conference. As I approach this duty that has been assigned me, I humbly pray for the Lord to direct that which I should say and I invite your sympathetic feeling and prayers in my behalf.
I think there is nothing any man can say of himself that will tend toward our salvation. The Lord has said that we can do nothing in this work without him. I have been grateful in my heart during these services that we have the truth. How wonderful it is to have the truth upon which to stand; and to have it as a guide, as a support, as an enlightenment. The Apostle Paul referred to the gospel as "the power of God unto salvation". Truth is of God and only truth tends towards salvation. There is no power in error except to destroy, to spoil, to bring sorrow and regret and failure. We often speak and frequently dwell upon the need for salvation. May we assume that we accept the truth, that we need salvation. We are here in the earth, banished from the presence of God until we come back into his presence through faith and through his gospel and through obedience. We can only come there through principles of truth and righteousness. We can come back into his presence, where we belong, only by following the plan that he has outlined for us. No one else could outline it. That is his prerogative. It is his work and his glory to bring salvation to his children, and he is the one to plan for that salvation. It is planned according to eternal principles.
I urge our young people with all my heart to learn the doctrines of this Church, for in its doctrines, in its precepts, in its teachings is the power of God unto our salvation. I urge the young people in this Church to accept as a fact, that whatever success they may attain to in life, if they do not secure salvation in the kingdom of God, then that success is failure. We are the children of God. We belong back in his presence when this life is over. If we do not reach there, we have failed. Only the principles of eternal life taught in the gospel will bring us to that salvation.
So many people say, "Well, we want to be honest. We want to be good citizens. We want to be true to our neighbors and our friends. We need no intermediary between us and God. We will do what is right and trust to the future." Well, they are leaning on a broken reed. God has prescribed the principles that will save us and exalt us in his presence, and they are embodied in the teachings of the Church. And we are taught these principles because they are necessary for our salvation. I would that all our young people would study the doctrines of this Church faithfully, be constant readers of its scriptures, and know what is truth. Then when they go forth in the world, in their affairs, in college, in their occupations, they would have standards by which to judge all things; and if any things are contacted in their lives that do not conform to the teachings of this Church, that are contrary to it and the teachings and principles of the gospel, then those things should be rejected or laid on the shelf. They should not be adopted.
Now the Lord teaches us that we are the children of God, that we have a Father in heaven. That is a fundamental truth of the gospel. And that we are to worship him and keep his commandments. I remember not long ago reading of a survey made among college students. They were asked to give their conception of what God was like, and one of them said he considered that God was like an oblong cloud. Well, now I don't know where he got that idea, that God was an oblong cloud. He didn't get it out of the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ or the gospel of Jesus Christ. What salvation can there be in believing that God is an oblong cloud. It is an error. It cannot save. It can only destroy. We frequently go, and our elders have gone to others to bring them the message of the gospel, and as we begin to teach them the reality of God as our Father, they immediately reject the idea of God being in the form of man or being in any form that we can conceive of and understand because they say, in their superior knowledge, that God is unknowable. If we could know God, they say, he wouldn't be God. Well, to such extremes have gone the speculations and rationalizings of men who have not known the truth. Can there be inspiration? Can there be help, such as the brethren have been speaking of in having blessings and guidance and comfort and support, from an unknown God? The teaching of the gospel is that a knowledge of God and of his Son, Jesus Christ, is essential for our eternal life and salvation.
We are taught to believe in faith and repentance and baptism, for admission to his Church and kingdom. Can we believe in something else and be saved through it? It is impossible.
I went into a great New York church, one of the finest in New York, at the beginning of last year. There was a splendid audience of men and women. I respect them and give them full credit for sincerity in their worship. It happened to be the time when they received new members into their church. There stood up on the front row about five or six people who had come to join the church. One of the ministers came down to the front seat and said to them, "Do you believe in Jesus Christ?" They said, "Yes." He stepped up to them and shook hands with them, and said, "We welcome you into the church." Now does that mean salvation for them through that church? He didn't say, "I welcome you into the Church of Jesus Christ." He was consistent in that, because people are not brought into the Church of Jesus Christ in that way. The Apostle Peter told them how to come into the Church- when they had repented of their sins to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of their sins that they might receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. That's a true principle. If we believe in that and obey that principle, then there comes salvation to us as we go forward obeying the truth. And so we may progress with respect to all truth.
The statement is frequently made that the gospel embodies all truth, and I can see one very good reason for saying that, because the Lord says that if we will keep his commandments, we will grow in knowledge and in truth until we have all truth. It is our prerogative as children of God, by obedience to gain all truth. It is all embodied in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I hope that when our young men go out to college that they will continue their study of the scriptures, that they will continue their activities in the Church insofar as it is possible where they are located; and if they are desiring with all their hearts to continue in their activities, they will probably find a way of doing it. I believe that young men may go through college and preserve their faith and grow in faith and in intelligence and understanding if they will be faithful and true to their religious obligations, but if they do not do that, they may lose their faith. If there is anyone who wants to go to college and hasn't the spiritual capacity to take on a college education without losing his faith, he had better stay on the farm and do his duty in the Church and serve his fellow men and serve God and grow in knowledge and intelligence and power there, because all the things he might get in colleges do not lead to intelligence. If a thing is true, it does. If it isn't true, it does not.
So, my brethren and sisters, thank the Lord for the truth. Thank the Lord for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank the Lord for the splendid leaders God has raised up to instruct us and counsel us and direct us. Let our youth preserve teachable hearts and minds, enlightened by the spirit and power of the Holy Ghost. Then they can go through all the colleges in the world, and all the occupations and needed experiences in the world, and preserve their faith and be successful as men among men, and always be thorough Latter-day Saints and then they are successful indeed.
May God give us power, and the youth of our Church power, to hold on to the faith, to love it with all their hearts, to incorporate it in their lives, to give it first place, so that God may bless and preserve them, and may we all do this and follow this principle, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Henry D. Moyle
Henry D. Moyle, Conference Report, October 1952, pp. 71-73
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!,
was the statement of the Prophet of old.
I am sure today in our lives many of us wish that we were something other than we are, thinking likely that their lot is preferable to our own. But Alma said further:
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.
But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish, for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me.
I believe that we, as fellow workers in the priesthood, might well take to heart the admonition of Alma and be content with that which God hath allotted us. We might well be assured that we had something to do with our "allotment" in our pre-existent state. This would be an additional reason for us to accept our present condition and make the best of it. It is what we agreed to do.
We are told in the Doctrine and Covenants that:
He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things.
Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be.
Then the Lord says:
All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also; otherwise there is no existence.
For that to be true, we had our own free agency in our pre-mortal existence and whatever we are today is likely the result of that which we willed to be heretofore. We unquestionably knew before we elected to come to this earth the conditions under which we would here exist, and live, and work. So little wonder it is that Alma of old said that we sin in the thought, or in the desire or in the wish that we were someone other than ourselves. He said further:
Now, seeing that I know these things, why should I desire more than to perform the work to which I have been called?
Why should I desire that I were an angel, that I could speak unto all the ends of the earth?
For behold, the Lord doth grant unto all nations, of their own nation and tongue to teach his word, yea, in wisdom, all that he seeth fit that they should have; therefore we see that the Lord doth counsel in wisdom, according to that which is just and true.
I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy.
I have a conviction deep down in my heart that we are exactly what we should be, each one of us, except as we may have altered that pattern by deviating from the laws of God here in mortality. I have convinced myself that we all have those peculiar attributes, characteristics, and abilities which are essential for us to possess in order that we may fulfil the full purpose of our creation here upon this earth.
Once again, that allotment which has come to us from God is a sacred allotment. It is something of which we should be proud, each one of us in our own right, and not wish that we had somebody else's allotment. Our greatest success comes from being ourselves.
I think that we can console ourselves best by believing that whatever is our allotment in life, whatever is our call in the priesthood, the Lord has been wise and just, and I might add, merciful, in giving to us that which we need to accomplish the particular purpose of our call.
Furthermore, when we are in the full exercise of our faculties, and live in obedience to the laws and commandments of God, that which we do in fulfillment of our call as holders of the priesthood or officers in the Church is all that the people who are thus affected deserve. Otherwise, God could not be just, and we know he is.
If we apply that principle to our lives, practically, does it not mean that when the bishop or the stake president, or the President of the Church, calls upon us to fill an office or to render a service to our fellow men, we should accept that call with an assurance that we possess the essential qualifications given to us of our Heavenly Father in order to properly fulfil that mission?
I think this is peculiarly true of those of us who may be called upon missions to go into the world and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, the highest calling that can come to man, that call which the Savior of mankind gave to his disciples last of all, preceding his ascension to heaven, to go into the world and preach the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.
I wish we could take to heart the admonition of President Joseph Fielding Smith today and utilize those faculties which God gave us that have been religiously and sacredly allotted to us for our use in the fulfillment of life's mission, that we might be fully qualified through our own efforts, as well as through that endowment which we inherited and received from our Father in heaven, to go into the world and preach his gospel to his children, who wait in darkness to have truth and light brought to them by men who have been qualified by endowment, and by perseverance, and by their own work, thus to accomplish this purpose.
We cannot be satisfied with the fact that we are Latter-day Saints and that we have received the priesthood, and that various calls have come to us. If we have the true perspective of life and of our mission, we would qualify ourselves from youth to meet any and every responsibility that might come to us. That is peculiarly necessary for a people to believe and to practice when they profess to the world that the men who preside over them in the Church and in the priesthood of God have been called of God by those who are in authority to preach the gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
If we truly believe the Fifth Article of Faith, if we truly believe that we have such a mission upon this earth to fulfil, then indeed will we be diligent in preparing ourselves to meet the responsibilities of life. We shall feel qualified to go anywhere and to listen to any doctrine, whether it be of man or of the devil, and be sure before we go that we will come back firm in the knowledge of the eternal truths that God has revealed in these latter days through his prophets.
We need not fear the philosophies of the world. We will not need any enlightenment or any instruction or any assistance from anyone but the Comforter. For I bear witness to you today that if we accept of the Lord the allotment which he has given to us as our birthright, as our inheritance, and we build upon it as we should, that we will enjoy all through our lives that Comforter which the Savior promised his disciples.
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.
I hope and pray, my brethren and sisters, that we will be diligent in understanding and appreciating the eternal truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that we will live and not merely exist. There can come into our lives no greater thrill than to be conscious of the fact that we have taken those faculties that God has given us and utilized them as our Father in heaven intended that we should.
I was thrilled beyond measure the other day. I have a little grandson three years of age. I found him and myself in front of a show window. He said: "Granno, buy me something." I looked hastily over the articles, and I thought every article in the window was intended for a little girl, dolls, etc.
I said, "There is nothing there for a boy," but almost in an instant he looked up at me with his big eyes, and he said, "Why, Granno, there is a truck there. Men drive trucks."
I was thrilled to think in that mind three years of age that that power to utilize the intellect, to think and to reason existed there so early in life, and brought to that young man, at the moment at least, the desired results.
Now I hope and pray, my brethren and sisters, that we will all place ourselves in the position where we can utilize these faculties just as that child did, in every circumstance of life, and have come before us, through our obedience, and through the guidance and direction of the Holy Ghost the right answer to all our problems.
May God so bless us I humbly pray in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop Joseph L. Wirthlin
Joseph L. Wirthlin, Conference Report, October 1952, pp. 78-83
With ten thousand eyes upon you with ten thousand receptive minds and ten thousand open hearts before you, an individual in this position must approach his assignment in the spirit of prayer and with a spirit of humility to the end that the Lord's Holy Spirit will give him inspiration for the moment or two that he stands before you. That is my earnest prayer.
One of the most thrilling and inspiring events in connection with the restoration of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, took place when two young men who were translating a holy record, came across a passage that had to do with the ordinance of baptism.
It was not clear to them, and as they were wont to do, they went into the woods on the banks of a great river in the state of Pennsylvania, and supplicated the Lord mightily that they might have an understanding relative to the ordinance of baptism, and in answer to that prayer, a heavenly being appeared unto them, announced himself as John the Baptist, indicating to them that he had been sent by Peter, James, and John, the First Presidency of the Church in the days of the Apostles, the Presidency of the Holy Priesthood.
Peter, James and John had sent John the Baptist to restore the Aaronic Priesthood, and laying his hands upon Joseph Smith's and Oliver Cowdery's heads he said these words: "Upon you my fellow servants in the name of Messiah I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness".
Brethren, when we think of the marvelous restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood, that divine power that John the Baptist held at the time Christ was upon the earth, it is no small matter to hold the Aaronic Priesthood.
Joseph Smith said, "The Priesthood is an everlasting principle that existed with God from eternity, and will to eternity, without beginning of days or end of years." The keys have to be brought from Heaven whenever the Gospel is sent, the Aaronic Priesthood had been taken from the earth because of the great Apostasy that took place shortly after the Apostles, and in order for it to be restored to mankind, it had to be brought from the heavens. Hence John the servant of God who had held those keys 2000 years previously returned with it.
Joseph Smith said again: "It is that which places a man in the condition to receive the ministration of angels and to enjoy the presence of God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ."
In this Church, the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, there are 113,000 holders of the Aaronic Priesthood. There are thousands of men who hold the Melchizedek Priesthood, and with this precious gift, the Lord expects us to be diligent and earnest in his service. He declared in the 107th Section, 99th verse, of the Doctrine and Covenants: "Wherefore, now let every man learn his duty, and to act in the office in which he is appointed, in all diligence".
We find in the 113,000 members of the Aaronic Priesthood there are 60,000 over the age of 21 years, and 53,000 under the age of 21. In 1951, 3,300 of these brethren over the age of 21 were advanced to the Melchizedek Priesthood but there were 2516 men who joined the older group of the Aaronic Priesthood, 2516 more than were advanced to the Melchizedek Priesthood.
Some of the factors contributing to the size of the older group of the Aaronic Priesthood of the Church are these: We have noted over the war years that many have enlisted in the Armed Services of the nation at the age of 16, 17, and 18 and have remained in the Armed Services so long that by the time they have returned home they have attained the age of 21, which has left them without a quorum affiliation.
Another contributing factor is that we do not make enough contacts with these brethren. There seems to have grown into the Church a feeling of segregation. These brethren have felt that they are somewhat apart from the rest of the Aaronic Priesthood. There is a lack of a feeling of belonging to some quorum, and no doubt they have the right to that feeling because these 60,000 men have no quorum affiliations.
With the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood, the Lord revealed to the Prophet its organization. There were to be quorums of deacons with twelve members; quorums of teachers with 24 members; quorums of priests with 48 members; presided over by a presidency a quorum president, his two counselors and a secretary, and the head of the whole ward Aaronic Priesthood presidency would be the bishop as the president, and his two counselors.
If all of these 60,000 men were organized into quorums, as the Lord indicated they should be there would be 2793 more Aaronic Priesthood quorums in the Church. If officers were selected for the teachers' and the deacons' quorums, three members in the presidency and one secretary, there would be brought into activity to officer these new Aaronic Priesthood quorums, 7064 officers. Just imagine the potential strength in 2793 new quorums, the available service, and the activity that individual members would derive from priesthood assignments, fulfilling the mandate of the Lord, found in Section 107, verse 99 of the Doctrine and Covenants: "Wherefore, now let every man learn his duty, and to act in the office in which he is appointed in all diligence".
So after careful consideration, the Presiding Bishopric presented the following plan to the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve which they have approved. The plan is as follows: We have felt for a long time that the title, "Adult Aaronic Priesthood," should be changed for many reasons. Hence, the names, senior deacon, senior teacher, and senior priest were suggested to the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve, which they approved. The older group of the Aaronic Priesthood will now be known as the Senior Aaronic Priesthood. Its members will be known as senior deacons, senior teachers, and senior priests.
In addition to this vast number of older men holding the Aaronic Priesthood, we have another group of men over the age of 21 who hold no priesthood. There are 20,000 of them. The bishops of the wards are responsible for this group because they are members of the various wards in which they reside.
We are inviting the bishops of the wards in the Church to make a very careful survey of all members of the Aaronic Priesthood over the age of 21, to the end that they might be organized in quorums of deacons, teachers, and priests as the Lord revealed to us through the Prophet Joseph Smith. From their numbers the bishopric should select men to preside over these quorums as presidencies with the exception of the priests' quorum over which the bishop presides.
In addition to organizing these quorums and calling 7000 men to officer them there will be a great need for the help of elders, seventies, and high priests, and in the wards of the Church there are many elders, there are many seventies, there are many high priests who are available for this glorious service to assist this vast army of the Aaronic Priesthood to effect quorum organizations to the end that they might render the service the Lord expects of them.
The present plan provides one Melchizedek Priesthood adviser to every five men. This plan will continue these advisers in the Aaronic Priesthood quorums will be of great assistance to the presidencies, each senior member of the Aaronic Priesthood to be visited, persuaded and counseled to join his quorum.
This work demands of all Aaronic Priesthood workers the spirit of tolerance, the spirit of patience and the spirit to persevere and never give up. These men cannot be criticized into activity, neither can they be preached into the Church, but by the spirit of love, tolerance and patience, brethren, they will follow us if we will but mark the way for them.
We will set up as of the first of the year, a study course for the senior members of the Aaronic Priesthood, and as a text we have chosen the book, "A Marvelous Work And A Wonder," written by Elder LeGrand Richards of the Council of the Twelve, one of the great missionaries of the Church, a man, who because of his understanding of the Gospel and his missionary experiences, has had the ability to put into book form the teachings that are necessary to convert people to the Gospel.
We feel that many of these men will need conversion and hence this splendid text will be used during the year 1953. In addition thereto, there should be an activity program. It is true that they have rendered a great service in the Welfare Program. They enjoy working in the Welfare Program, and when they are organized into quorums they should have assigned to them definite projects.
We have the blind in our midst. A survey is now being made of the Church to determine how many of our members are blind. We know in the state of Utah there are over 1200 of them, and we wonder how often they get to sacrament meeting. How many times do they have the privilege of attending Sunday School or their Priesthood meeting?
This would be a fine project for the senior members of the Aaronic Priesthood to take care of, and see that these older brethren and sisters and the blind have the privilege of attending all of their meetings.
We think it would be a fine thing if senior Aaronic Priesthood quorums might organize a personal welfare committee for the purpose of helping any of their fellow quorum members who might be in distress, where there might be sickness and unemployment.
In connection with the Aaronic priesthood work, it seems over the years that one barrier to the activity of our brethren has been the matter of age. The Lord is no respecter of persons with reference to age.
When the Aaronic Priesthood was organized in the days of Aaron and Moses and at the time that Moses was taken away, and the Melchizedek Priesthood was taken away with him, the Aaronic Priesthood was the only Priesthood that the Children of Israel had in their midst. Aaron stood at its head. Twenty-two thousand members of the tribe of Levi were given to him to render the service needed in that priesthood, and in that group of 22,000 men, there were older men and there could have been younger men.
Now in contrast to that I want to call to your attention the ordination of John the Baptist. You will recall that through the centuries, from the time of Aaron to the advent of John the Baptist the Aaronic Priesthood had deteriorated. It had become an instrument in the hands of wicked men, its powers were taken back into the heavens, and in order to prepare the world for the second coming of the Christ, the Lord sent his servant, John the Baptist, to preach the Gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and to call all men to repentance for, said he: "There is one that will follow me that is greater than I".
John the Baptist was called into the service of the Aaronic Priesthood at a tender age. The Lord revealed this interesting event to the Prophet Joseph in Section 84, verse 28 of the Doctrine and Covenants, when he indicated that an angel from Heaven came down and ordained John at the age of eight days, and so brethren, as far as age is concerned, it is of no consequence.
In the days of Aaron, the Lord selected older men, and in the case of John the Baptist, he selected a child. So as far as the Aaronic Priesthood is concerned, and its responsibilities and the service it must render, age is no barrier.
During the presidency of Peter, James and John, those selected to render service in the Aaronic Priesthood were older men. Paul's message to Timothy declared, "Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre;
"Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.
"And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon being found blameless.
"Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things.
"Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well".
This quotation is an evidence that in the days of the Apostles, men were called to serve in the office of a deacon, in the office of a teacher and in the office of a priest.
As I consider the duties of the Aaronic Priesthood and the duties that Senior members of the Aaronic Priesthood should accept and fulfill with all the dignity and the honor at their command there are some services in the Aaronic Priesthood wherein experienced and older men are needed.
I refer particularly to the 84th Section, verses 107 to 111 of the Doctrine and Covenants, where the Lord had revealed to the Prophet Joseph that the time had come when the elders and the members of the Melchizedek Priesthood should go out into the world and preach the Restored Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord declared: "Therefore, take with you those who are ordained unto the lesser priesthood, and send them before you to make appointments and to prepare the way and to fill appointments that you, yourselves, are not able to fill.
"Behold, this is the way that mine apostles, in ancient days built up my Church unto me".
Here is a mandate coming from the Lord to the holders of the Melchizedek Priesthood to use members of the lesser priesthood to go before them and to prepare the way, make appointments, and should there be occasions where these brethren of the Melchizedek Priesthood could not keep their appointments, then these brethren of the lesser priesthood are to have that responsibility.
Again the Lord speaks: "Therefore let every man stand in his own office and labor in his own calling, and let not the head say unto the feet it hath no need of the feet; for without the feet how shall the body be able to stand?
"Also the body hath need of every member, that all may be edified together, that the system may be kept perfect".
So, by the use of the lesser priesthood in connection with the promulgation of the Gospel as the Melchizedek Priesthood carried it forward in the early days of the first Apostles, the Lord requires the use of the lesser priesthood to the end, as he said, that the system may be kept perfect.
I am sure we want to keep the system of the Priesthood perfect today, that the Melchizedek Priesthood cannot say to the lesser priesthood, "I have no need of thee," neither can the Lesser say to the Melchizedek Priesthood, "I have no need of thee," but that they labor together, and be edified together, as the Lord indicates in this revelation.
Again, the Lord goes on to say: "And behold, the high priests should travel, and also the elders, and also the lesser priests; but the deacons and teachers should be appointed to watch over the Church, to be standing ministers unto the Church".
And should the time ever come again, and it might come, when the Melchizedek Priesthood will be called out to preach the Gospel to all the world, and that those who shall be left behind to stand as ministers unto the Church may well be deacons and teachers as the Lord reveals-should that time come, I am sure it will require members of the Aaronic Priesthood, men of experience, and men of judgment.
And, there is definitely a place in the Aaronic Priesthood for older men, and there is no such thing as an age barrier. I think as these Aaronic Priesthood quorums are organized and begin to function, and these men qualify to render service, it would be a grand and glorious thing to call upon a senior quorum of deacons to pass the sacrament.
I know of no more inspiring experience than to participate in the administration of the Lord's last supper, and the matter of collecting the Fast Offerings. I am sure they could be most helpful in connection with the younger deacons, particularly in the widely spread areas of the Church, where they might take their automobiles and with a younger companion, visit the homes of the Saints, and gather up the Fast Offerings, that the necessities of life might be in the Bishop's Storehouse, and those who are in distress taken care of, the orphans, the widows, and the unemployed, which Paul called "pure and undefiled religion".
The duties of the ordained teacher are inspiring and uplifting for all who participate in this glorious project of teaching. Senior members of the Aaronic Priesthood should be called upon for this service as soon as they qualify, to go out at first with a member of the Melchizedek Priesthood, to teach the people the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, to watch over the Church always, to be with and strengthen them, and to see that there is no iniquity in the Church, etc..
I am quite sure that any man who has the spirit of his calling in the Aaronic Priesthood as a teacher would feel it a glorious and a grand opportunity to follow in the footsteps of the great teacher, even Jesus Christ.
The office of a priest offers many glorious and inspiring experiences, particularly when a priest has the assignment to perform the ordinance of baptism. Taking the candidate into the water and raising his arm to the square, he repeats the revealed baptismal prayer which is as follows: "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".
This is a short prayer, but in it there is a great revelation to the world, and that revelation, the restored commission to baptize people in the name of the Father, in the name of Jesus Christ and in the name of the Holy Ghost, was returned to the earth when John the Baptist bestowed these keys upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. This sacred opportunity every senior priest should gladly accept with a testimony in his heart that he has a divine commission and authority.
My, what a glorious experience comes when a priest kneels beside the sacrament table and has the privilege of blessing the broken bread and the cup in commemoration of the sacrifice of the Son of God.
I am sure that all of these services and all of these experiences will go to building into the hearts of the senior members of the Aaronic Priesthood in this Church, a testimony that they indeed hold authority from on high.
Now in connection with our brethren who hold no priesthood, and who are over the age of 21, they will be invited to attend the deacons' quorums, where they, too, might receive instruction with reference to the Gospel, and the duties of the priesthood.
The question may be asked, "When can these men render service?" May we say they can render service as quickly as they qualify. Among these men there are thousands and thousands of men with noble hearts-good men, good citizens, fine individuals. All they need is leadership, kindness, patience, and I assure you that many of them will readily accept the opportunity of becoming affiliated with one of the priesthood quorums of the Church of Jesus Christ.
May I emphasize again that the bishoprics of the wards stand as the presidency of the Aaronic Priesthood. They do not preside over the Melchizedek Priesthood. That presidency rests in the presidencies of the stakes and the First Presidency of the Church. The bishops of the wards only preside over Melchizedek Priesthood members as members of the wards, but as members of the ward they can be called upon by the presiding authority, the bishop, to render such service as he may deem necessary.
Now, brethren, if we render service in this, the Priesthood of God, he has made us definite promises, and God always keeps his promises to those who are faithful and obedient. He has promised us in the 84th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants, verses 33 and 34, this:
"For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining of 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".
Can you anticipate any blessing more desirable than to become the very elect of God? To become the very elect of God anticipates that when we return to him and live with him through the eternities yet to come, it will be in the Celestial kingdom, and that is the objective for which all of us are striving here in mortality.
But all of these blessings are contingent upon this mandate given to us in the 107th Section and the 99th verse of the Doctrine & Covenants: "Wherefore, now let every man learn his duty and to act in the office in which he is appointed, in all diligence".
I humbly pray that the Lord will bless all of us, that we will learn our duty, that we will act in the offices to which we are appointed with all diligence, to the end that we may become the very elect of God, and live with him in the Celestial kingdom, which I humbly pray will be the blessing of all of us, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President J. Reuben Clark
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report, October 1952, pp. 84-85
My brethren, from his vision, his enthusiasm, and vigor, we seem to have a real Presiding Bishop. I hope that all you bishops will get in training, because if you keep up with him, you are going to have to run. I congratulate him on the very thorough consideration which he has given to the problems which are within his jurisdiction.
My brethren, again, it is a great, I can hardly say pleasure, because this is not a pleasure for me, but it certainly is a great privilege, and a great honor to stand before this great body of the Priesthood, and a great responsibility to try to say something that would be helpful to you, encouraging to you, and perhaps instructive. I do not intend to speak long. President McKay and President Richards are still to talk, the house is warm, and I am sure from the way you are packed in, that you are not too comfortable. We up here have plenty of room. Somebody said, "There is always room at the top."
I have thought I might say just a word, and I can crystallize what I have to say in a very few words, about our living up to our opportunities and our privileges and our rights. We hear so often that these are troublous times and dread times, that we become weary of the constant reminder of something of which we are practically all too fully aware.
I recently had an experience, I am still having it, in my own family, of a dread disease, polio. As I have watched this little granddaughter of mine, who is getting well very rapidly and is promised a full recovery, I have become conscious of how relatively helpless we stand in the presence of some of these modern diseases. It seems as if the medical profession no sooner gets hold of some disease, but so soon as the medical profession gets hold of them something else, unknown, pops up to take its place.
This morning in the Welfare meeting, Dr. Woodward was explaining how they were building resistance seeds, and he referred to the smut which affects our grains. He said that nature was just as busy inventing new varieties of smut that we did not know anything about and could not handle, as we were busy in trying to find some way of fighting those we knew about. And it does seem to me sometimes as if that is the way in which nature acts with reference to the bodily ailments of the human family.
Now coming to the point: Brethren I know, as I know that I am talking to you, that the spirit of the Lord can help, and does help, where medical science is helpless. You have all had, I am sure, that experience. I do not need to tell it to you, but if you have not had it, then if you do have it, you will feel yourselves blessed beyond all measure if you are in a position to go to the Lord and ask for his help.
When physicians tell you that little can be done, that they know nothing about the disease, I tell you, you fall back awfully fast on the Lord and if we go to the Lord, in humility having lived reasonably righteously, the Lord will hear us. And I am sure the Lord overlooks many, many imperfections, overlooks some transgressions, doubtless. He gives us the benefit of all of the doubts, and then, it being his will and in his wisdom, he gives us the blessings we ask for, for ourselves or for our loved ones.
I am told that the three-year-old son of Brother Darley, our assistant organist, has just been stricken today with polio. I know what is in that poor man's heart and the heart of the mother. May the Lord bless and heal his little one.
Now, brethren, are you living, and this is the point I want to get out, are you living so that you can go to the Lord with reasonable confidence that he will hear you? Can you go and ask him to heal your little ones? Or yourselves? Or your wife? If you can, when the time comes you will be happy and you will go to the Lord in faith, and the prayer of faith availeth much.
As I said this morning, it has always seemed to me that in our prayer, and in our faith, we should always say to the Lord, "not our will, but thine be done".
Now, brethren, do not put off putting yourself in order, if you are not in order, yielding obedience to the commandments of the Lord, so that when the time comes, if it comes, and I pray that it will not come to any of you, but when the time comes, you will be able to go to the Lord with a pure heart, and invoke his blessings upon you.
I have often, I think always, since I have been talking to you here, I have spoken of unity. The Presiding Bishop tonight has pointed out in a striking way, how we can unitedly help to save these tens of thousands of our brethren bring them back into the fold, get them active, get them so that they have a right to enjoy the blessings of the Priesthood, the rights to which we are entitled. Join hands with the bishop, help him to work out his problems, help to bring these brethren to a knowledge of the truth.
Somewhere in them, if they have ever been baptized and if they have not, if they come from Latter-day Saint families, there is a spark which may be but faintly glowing, but spark it is, and with a breath of helpfulness, solicitation, you can fan that spark into a flame that will build in that man or that woman with faith in God, and ultimately develop in him, a testimony of the Restored Gospel.
Brethren, I wish I could make you feel the urgency of this. I do not know when the Lord is coming. I have no idea about it. But I do know this, that the signs we have today are the signs which he said would precede his coming. Similar signs have been in other days and he did not come. But these signs we do now have, and if the Lord's prophecies, the prophecies of his servants shall come true, and they will, we shall have more than one plague against which to preserve ourselves, against which we shall want to call all the faith that we can possess, to buttress our call to our Heavenly Father for his sustaining power, his comfort, his consolation, and for the healing influences of his Spirit.
God pour this Spirit into the hearts of all of us, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, October 1952, pp. 88-90
Last evening in the meeting of the bishoprics of the Church a youth chorus furnished the music. It was inspiring. At the singing of the closing song I had to leave this building. Tonight, in the presence of all of you, I apologize to those young men and young women and to you bishoprics, 4000 of whom, approximately, were here assembled. It is true, I had an excuse, to meet some eastern men at nine o'clock who had to leave the city at seven this morning, and we met that appointment. But that in no way lessened my sense of having shown what to me, always seems disrespect, if not irreverence, on the part of anybody who leaves a house of worship before the close of the exercises. To the Bishopric, to you bishops, to you leaders who had those young people there, and to them especially I offer my apology.
We have had tonight, as we had last night, presented to us by the Presidency of the Aaronic Priesthood, an expanded vision, of the great work of the Lesser Priesthood. God bless you, the Presiding Bishopric and the bishops throughout the Church, as you enter upon this new activity, and he will bless you if you follow the instructions of your leaders and the impressions that the Spirit of the Lord will give you.
Tonight I have a message in my heart, whether I can give it to you, as I should like, it may be a question, and I pray for your sympathy and faith and prayers.
I am going to lead up to the topic by referring to a kind of will that a man wrote to his son. Among other things he said, "It has not been my fate, in life's sharp struggles to win the honors other men have won. Mine has not been a life of great achievements; I have not done the deeds some men have done. But I have kept unsullied and untarnished that thing, a name entrusted to my care. I have not let dishonor dim its luster, nor have I let shame leave its black mark there." And then, he finally tells what he has done, "I have made, instead, my name synonymous, in all men's minds, with things the most worthwhile." And here, in his opinion, they are: First, "with strength to do the right, though none might see me." Second, "with grit to meet disaster with a smile." Third, "with loyalty to those with claims upon me." Fourth, "with justice equally toward foe and friend." Fifth, "with honor, truth, integrity, square-dealing-'My word my bond.' "
All the virtues he had striven to develop, it seems, he climaxes, with "My word my bond." And that is the subject of my message to you. The sacredness of promise.
Recently, in this city, a prominent physician lay dying. Realizing that the end was near, he called his sobbing wife to his side and said, "Years ago when I was on a mission I promised I woman who was ill in the hospital that if she did not recover I would do her work in the temple. She did not recover. I tried to get her genealogy but could not, but I have her name, and I ask you now to see to it that my promise to her is fulfilled." His word was his bond. He was called to the other side before he fulfilled it, but he transferred that responsibility to his wife. She came to me following his death, and said, "I have promised to do that woman's work." Now this wife is not a religious woman, and has done very little in the Church, but she has given her promise and she wants it fulfilled. Her Word her Bond!
I have told you before about a man a prominent English lord, who had to borrow funds from his two friends. To the first he gave his note, but before he could pay that note, his lordship found himself in financial distress again and borrowed from another friend, to whom he gave his promise. When his lordship's income was sufficient to repay those loans, the two men were present. The man who held his lordship's note was surprised to learn that both could not be paid, and that the gentleman intended to pay the second lender, first. To that the first protested, saying, "Your lordship, I was first to lend you and therefore should be paid first." His lordship answered, "You have my note, guaranteeing payment; this gentleman has only my word of honor. I shall redeem my word of honor first." At that the holder of the note pulled the note from his pocketbook, tore it into shreds and threw the pieces into the wastebasket, saying, "There, your lordship, I have only your promise." "As you have put it upon that basis, you shall be paid first."
Only a little, simple incident of a man outside the Church who sensed that his word was his bond.
Fellow members of the Priesthood, do you so esteem your word? In all sincerity I ask it, tonight. You and I have given our words, our covenants.
Do we hold them as sacred as did the people of Ammon, the story of whom you find in the Book of Mormon, who made an oath that they would never shed blood, and the time came when their benefactors were being punished, persecuted, killed, and the people of Ammon thought they would break that oath, but Helaman said no. And so those good men and women preferred death, if necessary, rather than break their word, violate their oath.
You know the story of how two thousand boys went out to sacrifice their lives if necessary, so that their parents would not violate that oath. I wish to read something about those boys.
"And they were all young men, and they were exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and activity; but behold, this was not all-they were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted".
That is a great story, and an inspiration to young men in all the world.
Now, the application-Do you realize that we made a promise, a covenant at the water's edge? You and I are pretty well along in years, some of you, but we remember our baptism on our eighth birthday. There was a sense that came to us that we would not swear after that baptism, that we would do whatever our parents asked us to do, that we would do our part, or render service in the Church when called upon to do it. We were only children at eight years of age, that is true, but I can remember those feelings and sentiments as clearly as though they were yesterday. Don't you?
Later we realized what that covenant is. We buried the "old man", with all of his weaknesses, his jealousies, his tendency to slander, that we might come forth and walk in the newness of life. We refer to it now as the covenant made at the water's edge.
You made it, you gave your word. Is your word your bond? I ask the Church, and especially the men who hold the Priesthood.
Again, every Sunday in Sacrament meeting we give our word of honor, that we are willing to take upon us the name of the Son, that we will always remember him, that we will keep his commandments which he has given us, that we may have his Spirit to be with us. What a covenant! And we make it in the presence of one another and in the presence of God whom we are worshipping that day.
Another promise: do you remember what you said when you took your sweet wife through the Temple, your confidence in her, her purity, her worthiness was supreme-as pure as a snowflake, as spotless as a sunbeam, as worthy of motherhood as the purest of virgins. And she had that same confidence in you, as a husband and father; and together you stood in the House of the Lord and covenanted with each other that you would be true.
Is your word your bond? If so, then there should be no divorces, and the man who, because of his tendency to drink, abuses his wife and severs that connection, the man who, through desire to gratify his passion, becomes untrue to his wife, violates his word. There is no other explanation for it.
We are a covenant people. I am thankful we are. We develop the virtues mentioned by the gentleman to whom I referred at the opening of my remarks. We keep unsullied and untarnished our name; we have not let dishonor dim its luster, nor have we let shame leave its dark mark there. We pray for strength to do the right, though none might see us. We want grit to meet disaster with a smile. We teach loyalty to all who have claims upon us. We advise to exercise justice equally to friend and foe. We teach honor, truth, integrity, and square-dealing, but to all this we add sacredness of our word of honor.
God help us to keep our covenants. With all my soul I pray that the Priesthood of the Church may have that power in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder LeGrand Richards
LeGrand Richards, Conference Report, October 1952, pp. 91-94
I greet you this morning as one who, for many years, has been particularly interested in the problems of youth. I have come face to face with thousands of the young people of this great land. I have looked into their promising countenances, have grasped their hands, have shared their dreams and aspirations. I love them and I feel concern for them. I have come to feel that, more than anything else, they need to be taught faith in God and in His eternal principles. They live in a world of changing standards and attitudes; but God has not changed, for He is the same yesterday, today and forever, and His principles and commandments are immutable.
And so today I should like to direct my remarks to the youth of the land, and to all who lead them. They are at the crossroads, and I speak with their future happiness in mind.
Jesus, the Great Teacher, in order to help men choose the proper course of life, the road which would bring them eternal happiness, said:
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.
To every individual comes the responsibility of choosing his way; the wide and broad way, that leadeth to destruction; or the strait and narrow way which leadeth unto life-and, I should like to add: to respect, achievement and happiness.
With this in mind, I call attention to three of many problems with which our youth are faced. The first I mention is the growing practice of profanity. Our young people are particularly susceptible to it. During the war many communications were received from men in the Armed Forces containing alarming statements such as this:
"I have been amazed, astonished, and disgusted at some of the things I have seen and heard in the six weeks that I have been with Uncle Sam. I never expected to hear the swearing and vile talk that I have heard, not in a so-called Christian country. Where have the parents been to let a generation grow up so morally wrong?"
And to this question might be added: Where have the teachers of our youth been, and have we of the clergy done all that we might have done?
The Lord has never rescinded the commandment He gave to Israel of old through His great Prophet Moses:
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.
Have we as parents taught our children this great commandment in sincerity, so they may have reason to feel their parents believe the Lord meant what He said? It is difficult to understand how a person may truly approach God in prayer, seeking a blessing at His hand, and at the same time be so disrespectful as to take His name in vain. During the dark days of the Civil War, Lincoln issued an order to the Army and Navy which contained the following statement: "The discipline and character of the National Forces should not suffer, nor the cause they defend be imperiled by the profanation of the Sabbath Day or the name of the Most High."
We are told that he went "so far as to admonish a certain general, who was addicted to the habit of Profanity, to abandon the habit himself and to use his authority to discourage it among the soldiers."
Profanity is incompatible with reverence. Surely at this critical time in our nation's history, when we need the sustaining help of God, we should see that we offend Him not by reason of our language. I appeal to our young people everywhere to hold in reverence the sacred name of Deity, that they may walk acceptably before the Lord and so that should there come a time in their lives when they need His sustaining help they may go to Him with good conscience and call upon Him with faith that He will hear their plea.
I now pass to a second problem confronting our youth, and that is the indiscriminate and intemperate use of alcoholic beverages. A short time ago I was asked to speak to the inmates of a state penitentiary. At the close of the meeting quite a number remained to discuss their problems with me, and I was invited to return and talk to the Alcoholics Anonymous group. I listened to the stories of some of this group. The leader, a comparatively young man, said something like this: "I thank God for the privilege of being in this institution." I was surprised at what he said, but he went on to explain: "Before I came here I was no good to myself, to my family, or my country. I was just no good-period. But now I have hope that when I leave here I will be worth something to somebody."
Can you imagine a man having followed the "broad" road so far that he could thank God for the privilege of being behind prison bars in the hope that he might be able to extirpate himself, and again be able to plant his feet on the strait and narrow way "which leadeth unto life"?.
One cannot go among such men without having his heart touched with great sympathy for them and their families. You think of all the factors which brought them to this status. You think of blighted hopes and aspirations. You wonder if perhaps their parents set them along this path by reason of a bad example. As you look at a man helpless, no longer master of himself, you think of the man who induced him to take his first drink.
The Lord has made it clear that our bodies are the tabernacles of our spirits. We cannot abuse and offend the body without offending our Creator. To our young people I should like to say that we live in a time when competition, whether in war or in peace, demands clear minds and steady hearts. It becomes each of us to refrain from those substances which in any way might impair our abilities or which might place us in a position where we no longer would feel that we were on the Lord's side.
I have time to mention only one other matter and I do so with concern in my heart for our young people. I speak of virtue and chastity. It is encouraging to find men and women in all walks of life who are seriously disturbed about our moral standards. I state my case with a quotation from the "Woman's Home Companion" of September, 1949, under the heading "Is Chastity Outmoded?"
"Today we talk about sex with an unembarrassed frankness that would have filled our grandparents with amazement and horror. This new liberty of speech has its counterpart in behavior. In many circles the traditional restraints in sex conduct are considered stuffy and out of fashion. Chastity, say modern people, is outmoded."
People may have changed their thinking, but God has not changed. His laws are eternal. Truth is eternal. If we will save our civilization, it will be because we return to an observance of God's laws.
The Lord gave unto ancient Israel the commandment: "Thou shalt not commit adultery". And the Savior put His stamp of approval upon this commandment and added:
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
In the light of such a statement, surely no Christian can feel that chastity is outmoded.
An American prophet, Alma, taught his son Corianton that adultery was "most abominable above all sins save it be the shedding of innocent blood or denying the Holy Ghost"; that "wickedness never was happiness"; and that "no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of God".
I am happy to represent a people who have taught such from the beginning of our history. We are striving to teach our children, as our parents have taught us, that there is no double standard of morality and virtue in the sight of God; that He expects every man to protect his virtue, and that of every woman, even though it might cost him his life so to do. To the boys of our Church, upon entering the Armed Forces and leaving their homes, the Presidency of the Church made this statement: "Better dead clean than alive unclean."
During the last war, a doctor who was returning from service in the Islands of the Pacific, said to me: "In the islands everyone lets his standards down." Then he added, "But there was a young nurse there from your community whom no man could touch. She said, 'I left my home clean and I am going to return the way I left.'" It was her faith in God, and her respect for the teachings of her parents and church that gave her the courage to choose the strait and narrow way, "which leadeth unto life."
Surely her children and her children's children unto the latest generation will call her blessed for the nobility of her soul. When I think of this girl, and thousands of others throughout the land like her, I compare them with Joseph who was sold into Egypt by his brothers and who later became the savior of his father's family. Potiphar's wife tried repeatedly to seduce him, but as he resisted her and fled from her he said:
... How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?.
"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."
And so I plead with the youth, keep yourselves clean. Virtue may be old-fashioned, but it is the foundation on which great characters, and great families, and great nations are established; and without it decay is inevitable.
I have some fear that we, the spiritual leaders of the people, in our interpretation of the word of the Lord with respect to the great principles of repentance and forgiveness of sin, have so emphasized the principle of forgiveness that an attitude of complacency is growing among us based on the assumption that if we sin a little we may be forgiven to go on our way without loss. I am inclined to believe that we are in need of placing greater emphasis on abstinence from sin and less on forgiveness, for God has not abrogated the law that as ye sow, so shall ye reap.
And so, in conclusion, I should like to urge our youth as they go into the Armed Services, or as they prepare to meet life, to resist the temptation to profane the name of Deity that they may be blameless before the Lord; to keep their bodies free from those substances which will impede their progress; and to live according to the laws of virtue that generations to come may call them blessed.
Finally, a word to those who teach and lead the youth of the land: Our great responsibility is to teach the youth, with the full power of example and precept, that the Lord desires that His children should be happy, and that the way of happiness is righteousness.
If we are remiss in this responsibility, God will not hold us guiltless.
My parting counsel and advice I give unto you in the words of the Prophet Joshua who said in speaking to the hosts of Israel:
... choose you this day whom ye will serve... but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
God help us to choose the right and to assist others so to do, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
President Stephen L. Richards
Stephen L Richards, Conference Report, October 1952, pp. 97-103
I feel very deeply the responsibility of this great opportunity. I assure you I need the aid of the Holy Spirit, and I humbly pray that I may enjoy it.
I desire to use this opportunity to extend an invitation. In giving this invitation I feel that I shall have the approval and support of my associates in the Presiding Councils of the Church, not necessarily in its manner of presentation, but in its substance, and that they will sustain me in speaking for them as well as for myself. To the people of the Church, there is nothing novel in this invitation. Although it has gone out to the people of the world for more than a century, there are still few of the world who fully understand its import.
This is the invitation, addressed:
To All Men, Women, and Children
Dear Friends:
You are cordially and earnestly invited to participate in building the kingdom of God in the earth.
Place-Everywhere. Time-Now.
Signed:
THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
The acceptance of this invitation will not materially alter the living habits of many good people. Those who have within their hearts a love of God and their fellow men, and devote themselves to Christian service, will discover in identifying themselves with our Father's kingdom a significance to their high idealism and their humanitarian service which will surpass any concept of living they have ever known. They who have not conformed their lives to the divine will and have succumbed to the weaknesses of the flesh, will discover that in participation in the kingdom there is help, merciful and understanding, which fosters repentance and forgiveness and gives strength and courage to overcome and be happy.
I shall try to tell you something about the kingdom and some of its features which hold so much of attraction and promise to all the various segments of the world society.
First, there is the common man of the world. I use "common" in no derogatory sense. The world makes distinctions among men on the basis of education, wealth, and position. Fundamentally, I make no such distinctions, but we are all obliged to admit that the great preponderance of all men are not in worldly preferential classes. This common man in some respects is the most important element in the world society. In democratic nations, where aristocracy, caste, and statism do not circumscribe his activities, he often rises to leadership. Likewise in democratic countries, he chooses the leadership because of his voting preponderance. Perhaps even more importantly, he is at the head of most of the households of the world. He begets its populations, supports its infancy and youth, influences and in large measure determines social and other trends.
What does participation in the kingdom do for the common man? First, it brings to him an enlarged and more adequate understanding of himself. It defines for him in a realistic and not merely in a visionary way his relationship to his God and his fellow men. Second, it brings conscious purpose into his living. It dignifies his service and enables him to distinguish between the really worthwhile and the frivolous, or less important. It gives to him the legitimate pride of being associated with a great cause, the greatest in all the world; and third, and perhaps in importance greatest of all, membership in the kingdom makes it possible for him to receive the delegation of divine power itself and rejoice in the blessings brought by it to our Father's children.
This wide distribution of the Holy Priesthood is one of the most distinctive features of the restored kingdom of our Lord. There is creditable evidence to believe that when the Savior set up his Church in the Meridian of Time, he caused a wide distribution of the priesthood to members of his Church then as he has done in his restored Church. How logical it seems, upon reflection, that this should be his desire. Why should he wish to restrict the holding of his divine power, which may be delegated to men, to any favored group or ecclesiastical order? If men are the sons of God created in his image and endowed with divine attributes, why should not all who make themselves worthy in righteousness be eligible for the divine commission of the priesthood? All are eligible in the kingdom of our Father. Adherence to his law is the only requirement, and the officers of the kingdom are under compulsion to bring this great benefaction to all who are worthy.
If I had time at my disposal, I should like to give to the men to whom I present this invitation a more complete explanation of the nature of the Holy Priesthood and the manner of its exercise, as set forth in revelations given at the founding of the Lord's kingdom in this dispensation. T must content myself merely with the statement that the priesthood of Almighty God, bestowed upon his servants, is a very different thing from what many men of the world suppose it to be. It is an authoritative power given by divine commission, but in essence and use it is invested with the virtue, kindness, mercy, and judgment of its Divine Author, the Savior himself.
Now to the common man-he who has not known the emoluments and preferments which the world gives-what a distinction, what an encouragement, what an uplift of spirit, and what high hopes await him as he shares with his brethren the Holy Priesthood in the Lord's kingdom. The common man has aspirations, even though their attainment may seem remote and very dim. Improvement and progression are the laws of life. Here, with the investiture of the Holy Priesthood lie opportunities unlimited for the fulfillment of worthy and lofty ambitions for the common man, as for all men of high or low station in life.
It must have seemed a great and daring project to build a Church without a professional clergy. It was even a greater innovation to set one up without laity, where every man and boy is a minister of religion. Joseph Smith had no precedent for such an organization, save only in the Church set up by the Master himself in his own earthly ministry. It is no wonder that such a novel concept was shocking to the Prophet's contemporaries. It undermined the necessity of the callings of the "gentlemen of the cloth" and wiped out the need for the so-called spiritual experts. While the new doctrine abjures ignorance and acclaims intelligence, its objective is to make every man his own spiritual expert, with divine power in himself to understand and apply the laws of the gospel to himself and those dependent on him. This universal and generous bestowal of the priesthood makes every recipient a teacher and preacher of the word of God; whether or not he be called to a special position, his diocese is as large as his circle of family, friends, and acquaintances, and he is under obligation to teach to them the revealed truth. If he has limitations of utterance, there are no limitations to the power of his example and the radiation of his personality among those who know him. Here in the Lord's kingdom is the most perfect exemplification of his great law of fairness and equality that "God is no respecter of persons".
Now I have very great pleasure in extending this invitation to all women. I am sure I cannot make it as attractive as it could be made, but perhaps I may be able to point out a few items which should be of serious concern to women and which may intrigue their interest. It would be expected that in the women's world I should first bring forward the subject of the home. Despite modern social trends, and the so-called emancipation of women from the alleged drudgery of home life, I am sure we need no statistical proof to convince us that the great preponderance of our women want husbands and families and I am optimistic enough to believe even in the face of shocking figures or divorce, that the overwhelming majority of women would like to keep their husbands and preserve the enduring solidarity of the home. If these assumptions are correct or nearly correct I am justified in giving women the assurance that in no other place or institution in the world will they find such high and lofty concepts of marriage and home as in the restored kingdom of our Lord. Here a woman is neither a slave nor a doll, but a real partner in the enterprise of building the kingdom. The part she plays is one of great dignity with opportunity for the abundant expression of all the finer feelings, the tenderness, the patient love, and the ennobling qualities which are attributes of her sex.
In the kingdom a woman does not hold the priesthood, but she shares it with her husband, and she is the immediate beneficiary of many of its great blessings. When she unites in marriage with a man of the priesthood in one of the temples of the kingdom, the blessings pronounced upon her are of equal import to those given her husband, and these blessings are to be realized only through the enduring compact of the marriage, for "man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord". If every woman fully understood this lofty concept of marriage she would want no other. It is not a marriage solemnized with elaborate ceremony and pageantry, for show and social prestige. No great church is filled with spectators; only a few are present-the contracting parties, a humble man of the priesthood to officiate, the witnesses, usually the parents, and a few of the family and close friends. Such a marriage contemplates taking the Lord into the partnership, so the participants meet in his house and make their covenants with him and each other, in privacy, in humility, without ostentation, safeguarded from the stare of the curious or the praise of the indulgent. Does a man or a woman seek public acclaim for a private prayer? Why should a couple, entering into the most solemn engagements they will ever make in their lives of a private and personal nature, expose themselves to public scrutiny, and distract their minds from a sacred ceremony by the exigencies of style and show? I am speaking of the marriage ceremony, not the wedding reception. I remember once reading an article written by an old minister who had officiated many years in Trinity Church in downtown New York. He said that during his time he had seen the Christian ceremony of marriage, at one time sacred and impressive, degenerate into a paganistic pageant designed to achieve social notoriety. That can never happen to a temple marriage. It is a calamity for it to happen to any marriage, for such a tendency may be in no small measure responsible for the instability of marriage in recent years.
The home-loving women will find in the kingdom other revealed concepts about life, which will bring to them great happiness and hope and satisfaction. They will learn that the home, of which they are such an indispensable part, lies at the very basis of purposeful living here in this life and of our aspirations for the higher blessings in the life to come. They will learn that a couple, rightly married, are called to officiate in a transcendently beautiful and vital service. As a priest and priestess in the temple of the home, it is their high privilege to receive the spirit children of our Eternal Father into mortality; then to nurture, train, and lead these chosen ones coming to their home back into the eternal presence whence they came. It takes but a moment to say this sentence; it takes a lifetime to fill the mission of parenthood. It is a glorious mission when it is accepted and fulfilled. It is a tragic experience when it is resented. Women of the kingdom find the supreme joy of their lives in their families despite the sacrifices and self-denial entailed in their care and training. They are taught and they believe that the highest blessings of heaven will be realized through the projection of their homes into eternity. They have complete confidence in the perpetuity of the family relationship when sanctified and sealed under the power of the Holy Priesthood. If a child is parted from the family group they do not feel that he is lost. They confidently expect a reuniting in the eternal family circle, and while they are sorrowful at earthly partings, the only thing they really fear is sin which may deprive the erring one of his place in the eternal home. Women who enter into these eternal unions with their husbands are far better fortified to withstand irritations not uncommonly incident to domestic life. They and their husbands look ahead, and in their long-range vision, they are disposed to overlook many of the temporary obstacles to happy, compatible living. Just think of the tragic plight of innocent children averted by this concept of enduring marriage. Every woman who has serious concern for the attainment of a full and happy life will do well to ponder the eternal truths of the kingdom.
There is an ever-increasing tendency for women to seek activity outside the home. I count it as fortunate that modern conveniences have served to shorten the hours necessary for a mother to spend in home and family care. You will observe that I did not characterize a mother's duties as drudgery. It has been my observation that devoted mothers have never so regarded their duties to their family, however long the work may have taken. Even when home care required very long hours, mothers of the kingdom found time and means for countless acts of mercy and kindness in both organized and private capacity. Now under the favorable conditions mentioned, a large part of the work of the kingdom of our Lord is carried forward by good women. They have immediate responsibility, under the direction and counsel of the priesthood, for great organizations of women, and they give invaluable assistance in substantially all of the institutions of the Church. They have so many avenues of service that there is opportunity for the utilization and expression of all their talents and great abilities. There is no place in the world where women can render service more completely acceptable to the Father and more satisfying to themselves than in his kingdom.
And now I must extend the invitation to youth, boys and girls in school, on the farm, in the factories, in the military establishments, wherever youth is found. I invite all of you young people to come to a divinely appointed society where there is more knowledge about your beginnings, your needs, and your legitimate purposes and ambitions than is to be found in any other place in the world. I am aware that you may regard that statement as arrogant and presumptuous, but I think you may view it differently when I tell you that the knowledge of which I speak is not man-made; it is not the product of scholastic research; it is God-given, revealed by him for his kingdom. This knowledge brings reconciliation of all truths, however much at variance the findings and statements of men may seem to be. The whole learning process is simplified. All aspects of life and living are properly evaluated and the objectives made clear, freeing youth from the frustrating uncertainties of much of modern philosophy and teaching.
My young friends, you can scarcely appreciate what a relief it will be for you, and how much it will contribute to your peace of mind and your happiness to have clearly defined objective to which you can confidently direct the energies of your life. I invite you into activities which will stimulate you to the development and exercise of the best within you. Your latent talents, your love of people, and all of your native abilities shall find opportunity for abundant expression. This society will teach you how to acquire happiness in goodness, which is the only lasting happiness. It will teach you how to become master of yourself, to control appetites and passions, and thus acquire the attributes of great character. It will thus contribute to your success in occupations of your choosing because no permanent success comes to those who do not possess good character.
Perhaps your greatest acquisition in coming into this society and allying yourself with the kingdom will be the knowledge of God and how you can best serve him. You will discover for the first time your mission in life, what the Father has for you to do. You will rise in your own righteous self respect. Young men will be endowed with the Holy Priesthood. They will discover, while not foregoing the happiness of youth, that much of its frivolity and levity may positively be replaced with joyful service in a great cause. Young women also will discover the same thing and be made to rejoice in the good they can do. I have seen thousands of young men and young women go into the mission field. I have heard these testimonies and witnessed the great happiness the work of saving souls has brought to them. I have heard them proclaim these years of unselfish devotion to the Master's work the finest of their lives. Where my young friends, can you find comparable opportunities to those furnished to you in the kingdom of the Living God?
And now, my friends, both old and young, I ask you this question: Is it well to procrastinate your decision on the matters I have briefly submitted to you? Is the tenure of life so secure that we can safely wait until next year for the consideration of matters so vitally affecting our lives here and hereafter? I attend many funerals. Some lives are terminated very abruptly, most unexpectedly. I witness the sorrow of loved ones in sad partings. A funeral is not a time for criticism. We think and speak of those who are gone in charitable, kindly terms. We leave the judgments to the Great Judge, but I think that many a family suffers its greatest sorrow in parting with a loved one in a remembrance of opportunities lost, omissions and commissions, that they sadly wish might have been averted. Such are the hazards in the postponement of our reconciliation with the Lord, and the acceptance of the holy gospel. None of us can be sure that he can finish the course of life in perfect faith and devotion, but all of us can be certain that we can never run the course without starting. My invitation is to start the course of life in the Lord's way, now, while there is time.
I cannot close without saying a word about my own personal experience in the kingdom of our Father. If I have any justification in doing this, it is in the hope that there may be some who listen who may find a measure of encouragement in what I tell them. I was not trained for the ministry in the sense in which the world understands such training, a condition which I share with my brethren for reasons I have heretofore explained. I was trained in a limited way for the law and for business. Perhaps my most liberal education has come out of contacts with men in many walks of life. With few exceptions I have admired the men and women I have known, and men and women of high intelligence, deep learning and capacity to serve well in good causes have commanded my respect and esteem. In the presence of a great mind, I have a feeling akin to reverence.
There has been over the years, however, one observation which I have made, which, I may say frankly, has reduced my admiration for many able men and women, and has brought to me great concern about them. I have observed that many, successful in material achievements, have seemingly taken pride in emancipating themselves from spiritual things, with a boastful indifference expressed in such statements as "I am not naturally religious"; "Religion is for the women and the children"; "I carry my religion in my wife's name." Personally I think these attitudes are defensive tactics, not truly representative of the inner feelings and sober consciousness of those who present them. I am not speaking now of men who have permitted sin to deaden their conscience. I am speaking of men whom I have known in the world of business, and countless others like them.
I wish to make this statement to all such men and women, and I hope I can do it without appearing boastful. I have known professional ambition. I have had association with business institutions for almost a half century of time. I have served in various capacities in commercial and community enterprises, and have enjoyed the emoluments, the satisfactions, and friendly relationships emanating from such associations. With this background of experience, not as a preacher, although it is my duty and privilege to preach, I give to my friends the assurance that if they will recast their ideas and attitudes about the relative importance of the spiritual to the material, and bring themselves to participate in the mighty cause of establishing God's kingdom in the earth, they will find a satisfaction, a sureness of purpose, a peace and contentment, surpassing anything they have ever known. They will not be ashamed to say to themselves and to their fellows that God and his work come first. When they can develop the faith and the courage to make this acknowledgment, self-sufficiency and egotism will be replaced by humility of spirit. The brotherhood of man will become real to them. Their service will be ennobled, and they will lay the foundation for the attainment of the highest rewards and blessings vouchsafed to humanity.
I have observed that ambitious, intelligent, "red-blooded" people are seldom satisfied except with the best. When I invite men and women into the kingdom, I invite them to come and get the best, which is obtainable in no other place or institution in this wide world. I know that is true, and the reason I know it, and the reason you should believe it is that the Lord himself has declared that it is so. The prophets of old predicted it, as did the Lord and his disciples in the Meridian of Time, and irrefutable evidences of the authentic establishment of the kingdom in our day invite the scrutiny and investigation of all honest people.
In addition, there is available the testimony of the Holy Spirit, more confirmatory and more personally satisfying than all other evidences. I promise you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that divine testimony will come to you, my friends, if you will enter the reestablished kingdom of our Lord and participate in his glorious work in the world. I pray that the Lord will bless you and remove prejudice and bitterness and indifference from your hearts, and bring to you a humble desire to share the truth with your brethren and sisters in the family of God, who loves you. I so pray in the name of Jesus Christ, the Lord of the kingdom. Amen.
Elder Levi Edgar Young
Levi Edgar Young, Conference Report, October 1952, pp. 103-107
My brethren and sisters: The history of the Latter-day Saints since the organization of the Church in 1830 is one of the most marvelous stories of all time. The glory of its history is the fact that there has been a divine purpose and ideal to be worked out in this life. This divine purpose is based on faith in God, intelligence, and foresight. Many visitors from all over the world come to ask about the real meaning of our religion. A few days ago there sat in my office a Mr. Walter Mallin, a representative of one of the surviving newspapers of Western Germany. With two other newspapermen, he had been sent to America to make a study of the government, the education, and the religion of America. He came to Salt Lake City, as this was one of the centers he had been directed to visit, for he knew that we had many German converts. It would be impossible to tell you the many questions he asked, but the most important one to him was how our religion has worked for education. He was told about our ideals of education and religion.
In a recent book entitled Education-America's Magic by Raymond M. Hughes, President Emeritus, Iowa State College, and William H. Lancelot, Professor of Vocational Education, Iowa State College, we have the latest statement concerning education in America and in the respective states of America. Speaking of the place of the states of the Union in education, the authors of this book tell us that, "Utah has first place among the states by a wide margin." In speaking of the place of Utah, we find it leads all the states in adult education.
This appears to be due almost wholly to the high value placed on education by the people of Utah, coupled with high efficiency in the expenditure of funds devoted to school purposes. This combination of great effort and high efficiency in the utilization of school funds seems to have operated in a remarkable manner to overcome many handicaps.
The general condition of education in Utah is also made by Professor Ellsworth Huntington of Yale University in his interesting book, entitled Civilization and Climate, when he writes:
The proud position of Utah is presumably the result of Mormonism. The leaders of that faith have had the wisdom to insist on a thorough system of schools, and have obliged the children to attend them. The "Gentiles" have in self-defense been forced to do equally well, and the result has been admirable. Whatever one may think of Mormonism as a religious belief, it must be credited with having accomplished a remarkable work in spreading a moderate degree of education almost universally among the people of Utah...
Furthermore, the German correspondent was told what his compatriot, Count Keyserling, once wrote. The learned philosopher visited America a few years ago, and on his way across the continent, he stopped off in Salt Lake City. As a result of his visit, he wrote in his famous two-volume work these words:
Undoubtedly Joseph Smith and Brigham Young were just as genuine prophets as were Moses, Luther, and Calvin; only they were exceedingly uneducated.
Then he continues:
We Occidentals are not men of understanding, but men of action. The same Mormons whose religious ideas seemed so childish, have achieved a civilization hardly attained by any other people; in barely half a century, they have changed a salt desert into a garden. They are moreover admirable citizens, law-abiding, honest, and progressive...
It is the farsightedness, the quiet and confident patience, the supreme faith in God with which our people have worked. Beginning with the Kirtland Temple, they built, not for present satisfaction, but for some deep and noble purpose for their God. In the Kirtland Temple, the Prophet Joseph Smith showed a great love for education and established Hebrew, Greek, and Latin classes, and attended them himself. In Nauvoo, schools were established and a university founded, all for a great and noble purpose. Their lives were the embodiment of political, civil, and religious faith. Let us consider for a moment just one line of thought, an idealism that remains always among the Mormon people. We speak of schools in Kirtland and later in Nauvoo, activities in educational pursuits that eclipsed all other peoples on the American frontier.
Taking their name from a number of our Lord's disciples, the "Seventies" of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints form the central council of the missionary activity of the organization. As early as the Nauvoo period of Mormon history, the need for a fine library was keenly felt, for the seventies must then as now be eagerly reading and searching for the truths of the gospel. In Times and Seasons, January 1, 1845, the following item was published:
Among the improvements going forward in this city, none merit higher praise, than the Seventies' Library. The concern has been commenced on a footing and scale broad enough to embrace the arts and sciences, everywhere: so that the Seventies' while traveling over the face of the globe as the Lord's "Regular Soldiers," can gather all the curious things, both natural and artificial, with all the knowledge, inventions, and wonderful specimens of genius that have been gracing the world for almost six thousand years... the foundation for the best library in the world!
Nauvoo was destroyed while the Saints were marching to their new home in the far west. But the dreams of the people were never lost, and on July 15, 1851, we read in the Fifth General Epistle of the Church, describing Salt Lake City, the following:
On November 27th, the quorum of Seventies in conference assembled, agreed to erect an extensive rotunda in Great Salt Lake City, to be called the "Seventies' Hall of Science," and Joseph Young, their President, was appointed trustee and superintendent of the work. The foundation of the hall is commenced on East Temple and Second South streets. ... The design is highly commendable to the brethren and such a building is much needed in this place.
Truman O. Angell, later named as the architect of the Salt Lake Temple, was commissioned to draw the plans for the building, as shown by the long forgotten drawing recently found.
Had the project been carried out the structure undoubtedly would have possessed unusual architectural interest, for it had a majesty and beauty all its own, surpassing anything on the frontier in originality and dignity. Truman Angell's plans show his response to the contemporary Gothic revival, then in its early stages. It was designed to be the repository for the first library brought to Utah in 1851, but owing to the poverty of the people who were just beginning to establish their homes, President Brigham Young prevailed upon his brother Joseph, President of the Seventy, not to build for some years to come. For this reason the edifice was never started. The seventies continued collecting books however, and they soon had a fine library of the modern and ancient classics. From the time of the organization of the First Quorum of Seventy in Kirtland, their duties were pointed out by the Prophet Joseph Smith, and they came to realize that they were to be the teachers, the missionaries of the Church. Sensitive to the words as found in the 109th section of the Doctrine and Covenants:
... 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.
They had a deep desire to have a library of religious, historical, and literary works, that would give them the urge for self-development.
The seventies became readers of the finest literature of the world, beginning with the Holy Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the two other Church works. The people were poor in purse, but they were concerned with certain influences which were given in the writings of great authors. Sublime was their reverence for knowledge which is akin to the love of truth. They knew that a great work of any sort could only be achieved by the power of some ideal. And it is high ideals in the conduct of life that survive.
There was hardly a family living in remote parts of the territory but what had books, and I think many of you can recall the libraries of the Sabbath schools of the early days. President Joseph Young and his co-laborers in the First Council of the Seventy continued through the years to collect books, and the Mormon people became great readers of literature. Many of you older members of the Church can recall the great teachers that were once in the schools and colleges here. A Princeton University professor in his Life of Mr. Justice Sutherland has written reverently of Dr. Karl G. Maeser, and others have given the history far and wide of many of the glorious intellects of this people who lived back in pioneer times. There were writers, too, in the earliest days, and it was William Cullen Bryant who chose one of the poems of Sarah E. Carmichael to be in his anthology of American verse. Many of the missionaries who went abroad long years before the railroad, carried in their handcarts the works of Shakespeare and the German writer, Goethe. My own father carried with him to England in 1857 the essays of Francis Bacon. Practically in every ward of Utah, a library was established in connection with the Sabbath schools. Fortunately, we have in our possession a catalogue of the Seventies Library, which does not classify the books, but there were writings on religion, languages, government, education, ethics, and the various phases of the sciences.
In addition to the Seventies' Library was the territorial library brought by ox teams to Utah in 1851. It had been purchased in New York City by Dr. John M. Bernhisel and was a wonderful collection of books. There were the works of Shakespeare, Milton, Bacon, Homer, Juvenal, Lucretius, Virgil, Euripides, Sophocles, Plato, Montaigne, Tacitus, Spenser, Herodotus, Goldsmith, and many others of the great masters of the world's best literature. The library received copies of the New York Herald, New York Evening Post, the Philadelphia Saturday Courier, and the North American Review. Of the scientific works there were Newton's Principia, Herschel's Outlines of Astronomy and Von Humboldt's Cosmos. These books were also well-known to Orson Pratt. The treatises on philosophy included the works of John Stuart Mill, Martin Luther, John Wesley, and Emanuel Swedenborg.
The subject of education was just one phase of the conversation with our German visitor. The most important subject was that of religion and our sacred books: the Holy Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price, which took up many hours of the three days our friend was here. I called his attention to the scholarly statement made by the famous German scholar, Adolf Harnack, rector of, and professor of church history in the university, and member of the Royal Prussian Academy, Berlin:
Gentlemen, it is religion, the love of God and neighbour, which gives life a meaning; knowledge cannot do it. Let me, if you please, speak of my own experience, as one who for thirty years has taken an earnest interest in these things. Pure knowledge is a glorious thing, and woe to the man who holds it light or blunts his sense for it! But to the question, Whence, whither, and to what purpose? It gives an answer to-day as little as it did two or three thousand years ago. It does, indeed, instruct us in facts; it detects inconsistencies; it links phenomena, it corrects the deceptions of sense and idea. But where and how the curve of the world and the curve of our own life begin-that curve of which it shows us only a section-and whither this curve leads, knowledge does not tell us. But if with a steady will we affirm the forces and the standards which on the summits of our inner life shine out as our highest good, nay, as our real self; if we are earnest and courageous enough to accept them as the great Reality and direct our lives by them; and if we then look at the course of mankind's history, follow its upward development, and search, in strenuous and patient service, for the communion of minds in it, we shall not faint in weariness and despair, but become certain of God, of the God whom Jesus Christ called his Father, and who is also our Father.
To close our conversation, mention was made of the life and work of George Santayana who was once professor of philosophy at Harvard University and one of the greatest philosophers of our day. We had read the thirteenth chapter of 1 Nephi in the Book of Mormon and quoted the reference to a man who was called from among the Gentiles.
And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land.
And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles, and they went forth out of captivity, upon the many waters.
George Santayana once wrote a beautiful poem entitled "Faith" which concerns this first journey of Columbus. The opening words are:
O world, thou choosest not the better part! It is not wisdom to be only wise, And on the inward vision close the eyes, But it is wisdom to believe the heart. Columbus found a world, and had no chart, Save one that faith deciphered in the skies; To trust the soul's invincible surmise Was all his science and his only art.
To you, my brother seventies, let me say, "That which thy fathers have bequeathed to thee, earn it anew if thou would possess it."
Be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
May the Lord bless us all, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop Joseph L. Wirthlin
Joseph L. Wirthlin, Conference Report, October 1952, pp. 107-111
I sincerely trust, my beloved brethren and sisters, that I might enjoy the Lord's favor during the few minutes that I shall stand before you.
I should like to read to you the thirty-fifth verse of the first section of the Doctrine and Covenants:
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.
As we observe conditions in the world today, I am sure we are all agreed that peace has literally been taken from the nations of the earth. We see in Korea a bloody struggle which seems to have no end. Europe is an armed camp. On the other side of the Iron Curtain preparations are being made for a great Third World War. In Iran and in Egypt we observe rebellion. There seems to be a spirit of unrest all over the world. We have been in the midst of war for almost thirteen years. It is true that the representatives of nations have tried to negotiate peace, but we have no peace.
We have all of the difficulties that the Lord spoke of, that peace would be taken from the earth, and that the spirit of Satan would have dominion over the world.
I question if those who sit at the peace table have in their hearts the real spirit of peace. The spirit of peace is the spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ. I regret when the United Nations was founded the name of the Redeemer of the World was not used, and for that reason I feel the genuine spirit of peace has not and does not influence the dealings of peace negotiations.
Those who have been sitting around the so-called peace tables of the world, have been cunning and cagey men, negotiating for the sole purpose of acquiring more power, more territory, and in the final analysis of it all, millions of people now find themselves under the heel of the dictator; they have lost their free agency and liberty. They have lost their land.
And as I contemplate these terrible conditions that exist in the world, with me you ask, what counsel or advice has our Heavenly Father for us? Please read the eighth verse of the eighty-seventh section, therein you will find the counsel of the Lord. He said:
Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come; for behold, it cometh quickly, saith the Lord.
What are these holy places? They are the holy temples of God. They are the meetinghouses, one in each ward, dedicated to the worship of our Heavenly Father. I would say that our homes can become holy places, if we cultivate the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ, the spirit of peace.
As I look into the faces of this vast congregation and I think of the vast radio audience, I know there are many among you who live under a cloud of uncertainty. Present are fathers and mothers and sons and daughters, wives and sweethearts of the soldiers engaged on the bloody battlefields of Korea. The word may come that your loved one has made the supreme sacrifice, or that your loved one has been wounded and is maimed for life, or your loved one is a prisoner in the hands of a heathen enemy.
There are other perplexing problems that many of us have. Men of affairs walk the floor at night, wondering how their problems are to be solved. We fail to think of the Savior, of his counsel and his teachings.
I quote to you the twenty-eighth to the thirtieth verses in Matthew eleven wherein 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.
And again he said to us, in the twenty-third verse of the nineteenth section of the Doctrine and Covenants:
Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me.
These declarations of the Savior are the peace-call to the faithful, to the obedient, to those who have accepted him as the Redeemer of the World.
With the peace-call comes this admonition to attend the peace meeting of the Prince of Peace.
But remember that on this, the Lord's day, thou shalt offer thine oblations and thy sacraments unto the Most High, confessing thy sins unto thy brethren, and before the Lord.
And again the peace-call comes,
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.
Here we find the source of real peace in the house of the Lord, upon the Sabbath day, here a peace conference is in session with the Savior of the World. The presiding officers of this peace conference are three high priests, the bishopric of the ward. Under their direction the peace table is prepared by the Aaronic Priesthood, the emblems of the broken body and the spilt blood are laid upon the table before the congregation. Those officiating are priests, teachers, and deacons of the Aaronic Priesthood. And in turn, the sacramental prayers are offered.
I think of the sacramental prayers as prayers of the covenant, for after all, in the blessing upon the bread and the blessings upon the cup there are covenants that we all ascribe to. First, when the bread is blessed, it is sanctified to all those who partake of it. Secondly, they covenant to eat in remembrance of the body of the Prince of Peace, they covenant to remember the spilt blood. Thirdly, they agree to witness unto God their willingness to take upon them the name of Jesus Christ, and remember him always. To take upon one the name of Jesus Christ, to me, means that we will accept the Son of God as the Redeemer of the World, that we will accept his plan of salvation and live it as he has commanded us, and then to remember the great sacrifice that he made upon Calvary's hill.
I feel as we attend the peace meeting of the Savior in holy places of worship, that we have no idea of the suffering that the Savior passed through both in the Garden of Gethsemane, and also on the cross.
We covenant to keep his commandments which he has given us. And the Lord covenants with us, if we will keep his commandments, if we will remember his great sacrifice, if we will accept him fully, that he, in turn, will reward us with the association of his Holy Spirit.
And as the Sabbath comes to an end and we return to our homes, we should go forth with the determination to keep the commandments of the Savior of the World. The first one being:
... love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind...
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
We speak of love. As I define it, it is the great motivating, stimulating passion which activates us to render service to God, to keep his commandments, and to express our love for him by obedience to his commandments. And if we love our neighbor we will render service to him, whether it be of a materialistic or a spiritual nature.
Third, the Savior said to pray always that ye may not faint. I am sure that we will all agree these are times when the hearts of men are faint, when their hearts fail them.
But in our homes, with the Spirit of Jesus Christ in our souls, we can pray to God, father and mother, sons and daughters meeting together around the family altar of prayers, the Spirit of the Christ will be there in rich abundance giving us the spirit of love for one another, the spirit of wanting to serve God, the spirit of unity, and the spirit of cooperation in all of our endeavors.
Fourth, that we garnish our thoughts and our minds with virtue. Only clean minds and clean bodies can enjoy the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ, the spirit of peace.
Fifth, as servants of God, holding his Holy Priesthood, we will recognize our responsibility therein and perform our duties with willing and prayerful hearts.
Sixth, that we will remember the widow, the orphan, the unemployed, and the aged, that we will pledge our support to the welfare program, to the end that there will be in the storehouse of the bishop, the necessities of life to take care of those who are in distress.
This is pure and undefiled religion. Herein we are expressing love for our neighbor who may be in need.
We must remember our dead ancestry, that we will follow the admonition of the prophet, when he declared the time would come when the hearts of the fathers would be turned to the children and the hearts of the children would be turned to the fathers lest the Lord come and smite the earth with a curse.
We will meet all of our obligations with glad hearts, remembering that if the kingdom of God is to grow and expand in the earth, it is necessary that finances be available to pay for the operation and the expense of the Church. That none of us are going to find means and ways where we might deduct from the Lord's tenth this item or that item. If we will pay our tithing in full, the promise of the old prophet will be ours when he said if we would take our tithes to the storehouse of the Lord, the heavens would be opened and abundant blessings would come upon us to the extent that we would not be able to hold them.
Brethren and sisters, if we love the Christ, if we keep our covenants at his peace table, each Sabbath day, and keep his commandments throughout the week, there is no question in my mind but what our homes will become holy places, where the Spirit of Christ will abide in rich abundance, and where we will be protected from harm and the evils of the world. I am sure if we will do this, subscribe to the peace covenants made at his peace table, through his Holy Spirit the words will come,
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.
Yes, there may be war, there may be famine, there may be the disturbances of nature, nations may crumble into dust at our feet, but I promise you that our Redeemer, the Prince of Peace, will keep his covenant with us. He will give us hope and assurance, and whether it be in death, or whether it be in life, he will receive us.
How many of us are attending the peace meeting of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the Church at the present time twenty-five percent of its members at-tend the sacrament meeting on the Sabbath day. However, it is inspiring and encouraging to know that the Latter-day Saint girls between the ages of twelve and nineteen attend sacrament meeting in the summertime to the extent of forty-eight percent and in the wintertime fifty-five percent. The average attendance at sacrament meeting of the Aaronic Priesthood bearers is thirty-seven percent.
What a grand and wonderful thing it would be if this holy place of the Lord on the Sabbath day were filled to capacity, that each and every individual member of this Church that has made covenant in the waters of baptism, would follow the commandments of the Christ and in particular attend the sacrament meeting.
Who am I to say that we should have a fifty percent attendance at sacrament meeting, or a seventy-five percent attendance at the sacrament meeting? I have no right to put a limitation on the number that should attend. The Lord has put no limitation on it any more than to expect every member of this Church to attend to the revealed meeting, the most important meeting of the week, the peace-meeting of the Lord Jesus Christ and to partake of the emblems of the Last Supper and renew our covenants with him.
And in partaking of the sacrament it is well that we follow the admonition of Paul to the Corinthians:
But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
Paul declared to the Romans in the seventeenth verse of the fourteenth chapter of Romans:
For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.
I submit the question, "How many of us think that the kingdom of God is meat and drink, made up entirely of the materialistic things of the world?" When we spend our time in the fields plowing, when we spend our time in our businesses, when we spend our time in seeking pleasure in the world on the Lord's day, it is an indication that we accept the kingdom of God as one of meat, drink, and the materialistic things of life, rather than righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, the things of the kingdom of God.
There is a growing tendency in the Church to think if we attend Sunday School on the Sabbath morning and partake of the sacrament, all of the requirements have been met. I hear the words of the Prophet Brigham Young on this point. He said, speaking of the sacrament,
Teach its observance to your children; impress upon them its necessity. Its observance is as necessary to our salvation as are any of the other ordinances and commandments that have been instituted in order that people might be sanctified.
He further declared,
In some of our wards and settlements the administering of the sacrament has been introduced in the Sunday schools. It is very pleasing and gratifying to the spirit that I possess, for the parents to see that their children attend Sunday school, and receive the proper instruction with regard to their faith.: After the Sunday school is over, let the parents take the pains to bring their children to meeting.
What meeting? The sacrament meeting, the peace meeting of the Prince of Peace.
The Sunday School is under mandate to teach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to the membership of the Church. I am sure in the Sunday School they teach the children the significance of the sacrament, and I am sure along with it, they also teach them the necessity of attending the sacrament meeting.
The sacrament meeting, brothers and sisters, should become the family meeting of the Church, where father, mother, sons, and daughters attend together and renew their covenants as they partake of the emblems of the Last Supper.
The Lord Jesus Christ said:
Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
If we fail to take our children to the sacrament meeting, we are not taking them to the Savior as he commands us I am sure that every child that partakes of the sacrament, and has an understanding of it, must feel the kindly spirit of the Savior of the World.
The Lord Jesus Christ keeps his promises if we keep ours. This terrible war is constantly upon my mind. I think of young men in the foxholes and in the bunkers on the rocky hillsides of Korea, where under the direction of their group leader, or possibly one of our chaplains, they surround the peace-table of the Lord Jesus Christ, partake of the emblems of the Last Supper make covenant with him to always remember him, and as a reward, I am sure that his Spirit whispers to them "My peace I give unto you". They are comforted, they have solace in their hearts, and whether in life or in death, the Lord will bless them and receive them unto him.
The great obligation that rests upon us as long as we enjoy membership in the Lord's Church, is to attend the peace meeting, to participate in the negotiations of the sacrament table wherein we again renew our covenants with the Lord Jesus Christ. And just as surely as we live, regardless of what the conditions in the world may be, the word of the Savior will be kept when he said,
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.
Brethren and sisters, in these hours of distress, war and destruction, I promise you if we will go to the peace meeting of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, every Sunday, his Spirit will be there in rich abundance, we will take it into our homes, and by keeping his commandments our homes can become a holy place, they can become houses of God, which blessing I pray we will all enjoy, in the name of the King of Peace, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Alma Sonne
Alma Sonne, Conference Report, October 1952, pp. 111-113
My brethren and sisters: I trust and I pray that the good spirit which has been present throughout these conference sessions may continue with us during the few moments I stand here. I am convinced that there is something greater than man's wisdom back of the great conference system, which was inaugurated by Joseph Smith, the Prophet in the early days of the Church. We have come here, you and I, to be refreshed and to be strengthened; to be edified and reassured in our faith. We have never gone away disappointed. The Lord has blessed his people abundantly and will continue to bless them in the future. Who can estimate the influence and the spiritual power which emanate from these inspiring conference sessions? We come here full of eagerness and anticipation; we listen to the sermons, to the fervent prayers, to the music and the songs of Zion, to the stirring hymns sung by the congregation and last but not least to the anthems and the renditions by our great choir. We are deeply touched and uplifted. Surely, it is good to belong to a Church that is progressive, farseeing, and inspirational in its program-a program that is calculated to prepare us as members for the eventualities which are sure to come.
We recognize and are aware of a similar power and influence emanating from the missionary system of the Church. Who can measure the influence of just one missionary who goes into the world to proclaim the gospel message? The missionary spirit which rests upon him, somehow or other, reaches out to the home from which he comes, to his relatives and friends and to all with whom he comes in contact. His life becomes a great missionary force in the world.
The Latter-day Saints believe in a God who is not only the Creator, but who is also the Ruler of the universe. He intervenes in great crises when God's plan is in jeopardy and his divine purposes are threatened. I recall, as an example, an incident in the Civil War. It occurred when the Confederates brought out the strange battleship known as the Merrimac. The people of the North were alarmed. The advisers of Lincoln became hysterical. Fear and apprehension took hold of the people. Many complaints came to President Lincoln. "They will shoot down the Capitol," they said. He replied, "God will not permit it. This is his fight." I am sure Lincoln prayed. I feel certain he trusted in God, for on one occasion he is reported to have said, "I have been driven to my knees with the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go." Lincoln's prayer was answered, because on a beautiful morning, there appeared in the same waters opposite the nation's Capitol, another strange battleship. It was John Ericson's Monitor. The battle that ensued between these two ships was not unlike the battle between David and Goliath. The Merrimac was defeated as was the great giant, Goliath.
I recall, four years ago, driving through the ruined city of Dunkirk, the city which has become famous in world history, because it has suffered ruin and devastation so many times. As we drove through the city, I remember the road led us along a narrow canal. On the right of us lay the ruined city, almost entirely destroyed, on the left was the open country over which the German army approached. Three hundred and fifty thousand British soldiers lay with their backs to the ocean behind improvised fortifications. It looked like annihilation, capture, or defeat for the British army, but at the crucial moment when Britain's soldiers needed help, the God of heaven intervened. What happened? At that moment, a dark, black mist settled down directly over the narrow canal. All visibility disappeared and military operations ceased. How long? Just long enough for Britain's soldiers to escape and make their way across the channel to English shores. I firmly believe that the Almighty can and does intervene in great crises for the benefit of his children, especially when freedom and liberty are at stake.
Another incident is recorded in world history. It happened in the year 1588 when King Philip of Spain sent his "invincible armada" out to destroy the inferior British navy. The British navy was no match for the powerful Spanish fleet of one hundred and twenty ships armed and equipped for battle. Once again the Almighty came to the rescue of the British. At the right moment a storm arose on the high seas, and the Spanish fleet was scattered. A few of them made their way into the French harbor of Calais, but were forced to leave. They were eventually overtaken and destroyed by the British. Thus the tyranny of Spain came to an end, and a new era in human history was begun. Do you question this intervention of God who presides over the destiny of nations?
When President Levi Edgar Young and Bishop Joseph L. Wirthlin referred to Christopher Columbus as the discoverer of the New World, I thought of him standing high on his little craft fighting and defying, not only the elements and the turbulent waves, but also the superstition and ignorance of his crew to discharge his God-appointed mission. It was no accident that he was permitted to reach the shores of San Salvador in the flimsy vessels he had at his disposal. He was right when he said he was "moved by the Holy Ghost" to achieve his ambition. And thus a new world, new opportunities, and new ideas were given to men to be developed and to be used for God's purposes. Neither can we doubt that Brigham Young, prophet, statesman, and colonizer, was similarly called and inspired in his great pioneer achievement. He and his people were protected in their migrations. By every law of probability they should have perished in the desert. But they did not perish, for God's protection was upon them.
I pray that we may appreciate our membership in the Church and that we may be true and faithful to the standards by which we are guided. An investigator once said to me, "Your Church is the only Church on the face of the earth that advocates high standards and noble ideals." His conclusion I hope, was not correct, but we must preserve the standards, the ideals, and the faith committed to us through Jesus Christ. May we do so, I pray in his name. Amen.
Elder Delbert L. Stapley
Delbert L. Stapley, Conference Report, October 1952, pp. 121-124
My brothers and sisters-I have rejoiced in the spiritual messages of this conference. My faith has been stimulated. I have resolved to be more devoted and more diligent in my service to the Master. I do not want to take much time this afternoon, and the things that I had thought of saying, I think I shall reserve for some future time.
I need the strength of the Lord as I talk to you for a few moments, and do solicit an interest in your faith and prayers, my brothers and sisters.
This conference has been devoted to a love for and an appreciation of the great blessings that the Church affords to each of us. We have been challenged to devoted service and to live according to the standards, the ideals, and the teachings of this great Church of ours. I also hope we have felt the need of searching for the blessings of the fathers that those things enjoyed by the ancients may be restored to us and enjoyed by us in this the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times.
I remember that the progenitor of the great Israelite family was not satisfied with the conditions found in his homeland, and said to secure happiness and peace it was necessary for him to seek for the blessings of the fathers, and the right to administer the same. He had been a follower of righteousness, desiring to receive instructions and to keep the commandments of God, and sought the great blessings of the priesthood, and to be a father of many nations.
And as descendants of this great leader, we, too, should be followers after righteousness, and should seek to know the mind and will of God in order that our lives might conform thereto.
I remember the great devotion of Enoch, who labored constantly and faithfully to perfect his people that they might behold the face of God, and enjoy his presence. He labored valiantly as a servant of the Master and while many failed to accept the gospel message of salvation, there were many who did, and through obedience to the gospel, they were perfected, and were not only permitted to look upon the face of God but were privileged to dwell in his presence and became so sanctified that the Lord received them to himself.
Moses the great deliverer of the Israelites, sought through the Holy Priesthood and the gospel of the Redeemer to perfect and sanctify the Israelites as they wandered in the wilderness, but they would not obey the great law of the gospel. They could not forget the idolatry and the fleshpots of Egypt; they sought to worship images and do things that were contrary to what God would have them do, and as a result this great leader was unable to perfect his people to behold the face of their God as he attempted to do, therefore God took Moses, the Holy Priesthood and the gospel, from the Israelites, and in the place of the gospel with its great blessings, gave them the carnal code of laws.
The Savior came at the appointed time, and this carnal code of laws given as a schoolmaster to prepare the children of God for his coming, failed in its great purpose.
But the Lord established his work called chosen servants to assist him in the service of the ministry, and as the Apostle Paul said to the Ephesians,
... 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.
These devoted servants gave their time and talents willingly to the saving of souls, but apostasy crept in, and the great work of the apostles and others in a measure, was lost. They failed to perfect the people to behold the face of their Redeemer.
And again in this day, the same officers are in the Church and kingdom of God, and have the same commission of perfecting the Saints and edifying the body of Christ.
Now, my brothers and sisters, it seems to me we do have a great responsibility as members of the Church for the Lord has placed upon us the responsibility of carrying this gospel message to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. I do not think we can accomplish the great purposes the Lord has placed upon us unless we perfect ourselves and sanctify our souls to enjoy the inspiration and the direction of the Holy Ghost, that each of us is entitled to as baptized and faithful members of his kingdom. I believe a bishop called to preside over a ward, needs to perfect and sanctify himself above that of his brethren and sisters, otherwise he cannot give the quality of leadership required in his ward.
I think that same principle holds true for a president of a stake, and on up to and including the President of the Church. I am sure that in our beloved President we have an individual who has well perfected himself, enjoys the love of our Creator, and is inspired of him in the great ministry and service he renders to his fellow men.
My brothers and sisters, we need to incorporate into our lives all the refining influences of the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is much that pertains to the gospel we need to know, and that we need to use for our own benefit and blessing.
Not so long ago I heard a man excommunicated from the Church indict the leadership of the Church for their failure to teach the virtues of life as the cause of his downfall. Now, I am wondering if as leaders of this people, are we failing to teach the simple virtues of life, that would prevent many of our brothers and sisters from going astray and doing things that cause them to fail to receive the great blessings of this Church?
We need to consider the principle of honesty. Our beloved President mentioned it in his talk to the priesthood last evening. We must be honest and sincere as a people. We cannot lie nor cheat in our dealings. We should not take advantage of our fellow men. We cannot receive something that we have not worked for and earned. As a people, we need to teach the principle of honesty; it is a virtue that makes for character and good Latter-day Saints.
We need to be true. We need to be chaste. We have heard much said about chastity in the sessions of this conference.
Now, my brothers and sisters, there are many other simple virtues that go to make up good character. Let us consider these simple virtues as important in the perfecting and sanctifying of our souls, that in obeying these divine principles we may perfect and sanctify ourselves not only to behold the face of God, but also to be worthy when he comes the second time-to enjoy his presence and be with him in the great ministrations that he has to accomplish among the children of men.
We need also to consider, as parents and particularly couples of the age that can expect more children in the home, and also our young people who are anticipating marriage, when they accept the great responsibility of bringing children into this world they cannot take the position that because they have gone into the temples of our God and been sealed by the power of the priesthood for time and all eternity, that is all that is necessary to assure to their children every blessing and benefit it is their right to expect.
I would advocate that every Latter-day Saint young man and woman anticipating marriage, go into the temples of our God and by the authority of the priesthood be sealed for time and for all eternity. But I would want them, and I would want all other married couples expecting children into their homes to remember that they must ever be faithful to their covenants. I want them to remember that they must utilize their God-given gifts, these heavenly endowments of the spirit, that each is blessed with, that when children come, they may receive all parental gifts and blessings that they should enjoy, and have a right to expect being born under the new and everlasting covenant of marriage.
Now, it is important to us parents to remember our responsibility in respect to all of these holy ordinances and covenants entered into in the temples of our God. We must keep them sacred, and do nothing to violate the provisions of these covenants, otherwise the blessings that are pronounced upon us, and all blessings are predicated upon our obedience, will not be ours to enjoy and perhaps we shall not bestow to our children the gifts and endowments they have a right to receive.
And I know, that in addition to keeping sacred and holy these ordinances and being faithful throughout our lives, we must also develop the native talents God has blessed us with, and they can be developed in the service of this Church, for if men and women will develop their talents, they have an opportunity of passing on to their children these great blessings and gifts of the Spirit. And so, when we consider perfecting ourselves and sanctifying our souls to behold the face of God and enjoy his presence we must think of our children and their children's children.
Parents who live righteously and develop every natural gift and talent through service are entitled to choice spirits from our Heavenly Father and have a greater opportunity to endow them richly with their own perfected qualities and virtues which should assure their children a happy and useful life. My brothers and sisters, what joy and happiness would come to us as a result of our own righteousness? The greatest dividends we could experience would be ours, and these dividends can only come as we honor the holy ordinances and covenants that we have entered into. May we do this and be faithful and true in all our obligations and duties I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie
Bruce R. McConkie, Conference Report, October 1952, pp. 125-126
Just this brief word:
Be clean, be pure, be chaste, for no unclean thing, no impure thing, and no unchaste thing can inherit the kingdom of God.
God spoke to Father Adam and said,
... teach it unto your children, that all men, everywhere, must repent, or they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God, for no unclean thing can dwell there, or dwell in his presence.
The voice of the Lord was given by Amulek, saying,
... no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore how can ye be saved, except ye inherit the kingdom of heaven? Therefore, ye cannot be saved in your sins.
And when Christ summarized the plan of salvation to the Nephites, he did it by saying,
And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end.
Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day.
No unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of heaven. "... Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord". In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, October 1952, pp. 128-131
As we draw near the closing hour of this great inspirational conference, I think we can say in the words of Peter on the Mount of Transfiguration "Lord, it is good for us to be here".
I believe conscientiously nearly every person who has assembled with the vast audiences beginning with the Relief Society last Wednesday to this moment may feel a gratitude in his or her heart for the conferences that have been held.
We can express this feeling in prayer and gratitude. At this moment we have a prayer in our hearts that the Lord will bless those of our number who are ailing. We pray that comfort and healing may attend our beloved brother Albert E. Bowen. What a strength he has been to me personally! Brother Bowen, I want you to know we are not unmindful of your loyalty and your hours and hours of devotion to the special assignment given you during the last two years. Today one heart, throughout the Church, says, "God bless you.
Brother Widtsoe, our prayers go to you, also. Your loyalty and faith we all know. Now, as your body is somewhat weakened, we unitedly pray our Father in heaven to sustain you.
Our hearts go out to those in the Church who are grieving and worried because of sore affliction to their loved ones, and to those who have recently been bereft of loved ones, particularly through polio. As I look over those to whom we should express appreciation, I notice the absence of Brother Roy Darley, one of our organists. He and his wife are at the bedside of their only son, stricken with polio. Our prayers go out to them, and to President Clark and his daughter. President Clark's little granddaughter, Luacine, has been suffering from that same affliction. We are thankful that she is recovering. We want the parents whose little child was stricken last evening, necessitating the father's being called out from the priesthood meeting, to know that our prayers are that that dread disease may not be fatal to your loved one.
That goes to all parents whose hearts are filled with anxiety because of afflicted ones. This is a prayerful Church. We are one body, and when one suffers we all, to a degree, share that suffering.
I wish to express appreciation for the sustaining help of these noble counselors, President Stephen L. Richards and President J. Reuben Clark, Jr. No man-I make no exception-has been more blessed with the strength and wisdom, loyalty and devotion, of two counselors than I, and I express in your presence deep gratitude for their loyalty.
Likewise to the members of the Council of the Twelve and to the other General Authorities of the Church-I want them to understand that I am not unmindful of their willingness to minimize my weaknesses which often stand out so glaringly, and of their magnanimity in magnifying any virtue they might see. They are loyal men, seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Thank you, noble fellow workers!
We thank the members of the Church for their sustaining prayers in behalf of the General Authorities of the Church. You may know, we wish you to know, that these prayers are effective, and I wish to testify to you, to the Church, and to the world that the inspiration and protecting care of a kind Father in heaven are real. He is closer to the Church than anybody outside the Church-and some within the Church-realize.
The Lord is not just an absent, faraway source. He is a kind father, solicitous of the welfare of his children and ready and willing to hear and answer their call. The answer may be negative, as sometimes a wise parent gives a negative answer to the pleadings of a child, but he is ever ready to hear and to answer.
His Beloved Son stands at the head of this Church. It is his Church. Oh, may the world realize that in the very near future, open their minds to study the needs of the war-torn world, and see that those needs may be supplied by obedience to the principles of the revealed word of God!
This is Christ's Church. God help us all that we may be faithful members therein, and so live that others, seeing our good deeds, may be led to glorify our Father in heaven.
We wish to express appreciation to the choir. What a glorious work these faithful men and women are doing! We appreciate the effort and ability of the conductors, the organists, the officers of the choir, for their work at the conferences, and for their regular broadcasts.
We are grateful for the excellent weather we have enjoyed, unexcelled in all the world, grateful for the responsiveness of the audience to the messages that have been given, grateful for your co-operation, your ready adherence to any suggestion that will be helpful to the Church or to others.
We appreciate all who assisted in any way during this conference, the cooperation of the city officials, rendering ready and efficient service, the traffic officers who have stood at the crossings who have guarded well the safety, and perhaps the lives, of some who might have otherwise been injured, who might have placed their lives in jeopardy.
We are grateful for the flowers from kind hearts that were prompted to place these silent messengers of love here for your pleasure and your inspiration. We thank the ushers who have been so attentive, careful, who have kept these grounds so clean and neat, and in that respect we thank everyone of you for your assistance and care.
We are grateful to the radio stations for their gratuitous service in enabling thousands and thousands to hear the messages of the General Authorities of the Church.
Now, in conclusion, may I venture a suggestion. Twice, during the conference, reference has been made to the fact that we are approaching a general election, in which tension becomes high; sometimes feelings are engendered; often false reports are made; and innocent people are misjudged.
Recently we heard that in one meeting, for example, it was stated authoritatively by somebody that two members of the General Authorities had said that the General Authorities of the Church had held a meeting and had decided to favor one of the leading political parties over the other, here in this state particularly.
In Utah and surrounding states, contests for victory at the polls are being waged on national party lines. Regarding reports already received that the General Authorities of the Church have held a meeting and decided to wield their influence in favor of the candidates of one of these political parties, we will say:
This report is not true, and I take this opportunity here, publicly, to denounce such a report as without foundation in fact.
In the Church, there are members who favor the Democratic party. There are other members who sincerely believe and advocate the principles and ideals of the Republican party. The First Presidency, the Council of the Twelve, and other officers who constitute the General Authorities of the Church, preside over members of both political parties.
The President is President of the Church, not favoring in this election either political party. The welfare of all members of the Church is equally considered by the President, his Counselors, and the General Authorities. Both political parties will be treated impartially.
The Deseret News is the organ of the Church. It will be equally fair and impartial in the treatment of both political parties. This does not mean however, that error will be condoned. Teachings and ideologies subversive to the fundamental principles of this great Republic, which are contrary to the Constitution of the United States, or which are detrimental to the progress of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, will be condemned, whether advocated by Republicans or Democrats.
We are all united in admonishing the members of the Church to register. We confirm the admonition already given from this pulpit regarding that important duty. We advocate the necessity of all members of the Church showing appreciation of your franchise, your citizenship, by voting, exercising your right to say who shall be your leaders. They become our servants. That is the spirit of the Constitution.
You hold the right-I hope we still have it-to say who shall direct this nation and who shall direct our affairs in state, county, and municipality. Everybody in Utah and our surrounding states where our people are influential should exercise this right.
Now in conclusion, my brethren, I should like to say just a word to the priesthood of the Church, eighteen thousand of whom gathered here last evening. Let us all follow the example of our great Leader and Savior, Jesus Christ, when he sat with his Twelve in that upper room and taught them the lesson of humility. He walked to the doorway where a basin of water stood, covered by a palm leaf, according to the custom of the day, girt himself with a towel as a servant, and washed the disciples' feet, and wiped them with the towel.
You will remember that when he came to Peter, the chief Apostle protested: "Thou shalt never wash my feet."
"If I wash not thy feet thou shalt have neither part nor parcel with me."
"Nay then," said impetuous Peter, "Not my feet only, but my hands and my head", and then after the Savior completed that ceremony, he ungirt himself, took his place at the head, and said:
"Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.
"If I then, your Lord and Master have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet.
"For I have given you an example that ye should do as I have done to you".
In the 121st section of the Doctrine and Covenants, we have one of the greatest lessons in government ever given. I, as you, have studied pedagogy, a little psychology, but in principles of government I think you cannot find anywhere such sublime principles as follows:
"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.
"That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man".
"We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.
"Hence many are called, but few are chosen.
"No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by longsuffering, 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"-not when moved upon by selfishness, retaliation, or enmity-"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".
And to all, we close with this: "Let thy bowels also be full of charity toward 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".
O Father, grant that we may magnify these high ideals of government and instill in our hearts and the hearts of those over whom we preside a love and confidence in thee and thy Beloved Son. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1953, pp. 12-19
In behalf of the General Authorities of the Church, I wish to extend to the ten thousand people or more assembled here in the Tabernacle and on the Tabernacle Block, and to the tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of listeners a cordial welcome to the opening session of this, the 123rd Annual Conference of the Church.
The General Authorities sense deeply the responsibility that rests upon them. Everyone, I am sure, feels, as I, the weight of this responsibility, and each one prays for your prayerful sympathy and your co-operation in the carrying on of this great work of establishing the kingdom of God on earth.
We are especially pleased this morning to note in the audience, His Excellency, Honorable J. Bracken Lee, governor of the state of Utah; His Honor, Mayor Earl J. Glade, and representatives of the leading educational institutions, President A. Ray Olpin of the University of Utah, President Ernest L. Wilkinson of Brigham Young University, Superintendent M. Lynn Bennion of the City schools, and Superintendent E. Allen Bateman, state superintendent of schools. I am not sure whether President Louis L. Madsen of the Utah State Agricultural College is present or not; if he is, we bid him welcome with the others. We wish to welcome also Dr. Franklin L. West, Church commissioner of education, and his associates, Dr. John L. Clarke, president of Ricks College, and other leading educators.
May we have your sympathy-I appeal to all who are listening in to give us your faith and prayers, as we present to you this morning the messages that will come from those who will be called to occupy the pulpit.
In addition to the statistical and other data just presented to you by the Clerk of the Conference, you will undoubtedly be interested in the following items which pertain more directly to the spiritual interests of the Church. This is merely a summary, and I shall present it as quickly as possible.
The activity of the men holding the Melchizedek Priesthood is especially gratifying. A summary of the past five years discloses the fact that there is an increase in the following activities: in the number of full tithepayers, the number holding family prayers, the number attending weekly group meetings, the attendance at sacrament meetings shows no increase, and visits by quorum officers to quorum members show a decrease of two percent, but participation in Church work, an increase from forty-four percent to eight-one percent. These figures refer only to Melchizedek Priesthood workers. Favorable as the record is, we admonish them to more activity and urge them to participate more generally in Church activities.
The Relief Society of the Church gives an equally pleasing report, growing in membership, accomplishment, and spirituality. During 1952 there were 7900 names added to the membership. The sisters fully co-operate with the priesthood and lend great strength to wards and stakes, missions and branch activities, such as building programs and welfare projects.
The compassionate services are receiving careful attention. During 1952 there were 209,890 visits made to the sick and the homebound, and 22,500 eight-hour days bedside nursing on a voluntary basis. This is particularly important in view of the pronounced nurse shortage. The sisters have strong testimonies of the truth of the gospel, as is attested by the righteousness of their lives, and evidenced in the testimonies borne during the testimony period held in connection with the monthly theology lessons.
"It is our personal opinion," say the Presidency, "that the Church has never had a generation of Relief Society women more spiritual, more diligent, or more devoted to the work of the Church."
The Sunday School-a goodly number of Sunday Schools whose superintendents have been left in that position long enough to catch the spirit of effective Sunday School work-has made strides in increasing the testimony and spiritual attunement of a large proportion of members by the following means: first, ward teacher training classes for prospective teachers; second, increasing numbers of stakes are holding monthly union meetings which had to be abandoned during the war; third, great numbers of Sunday School teachers report having been helped immensely by the inspiration, the lesson enrichments, and the teaching "know-how" contained in the great magazine for Sunday School teachers, The Instructor; and, fourth, by double use of ward chapel and classrooms; for example, one overcrowded Sunday School has increased its average attendance from a crowded 342 in 1950 to a comfortable 424 in 1952. And that is not an increase in the membership of the ward.
Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association-Increase of enrolment during last year, 29,000. Last year over 30,000 young people participated in choral productions; not one of them failed significantly to lift the spiritual sights of the participants. Over 25,000 individual talks or speeches were given, most of them on spiritual topics. Over 35,000 young people participated in some way or other in an M.I.A. drama.
Young Women's Mutual Improvement Association-The great purpose of the Young Women's Mutual Improvement Association is to build testimonies in the lives of the young women of the Church, both members and investigators. This purpose is promoted in three major ways: First, there is the girls' program which stresses, along with full activity in the Church, regular attendance at sacrament, Sunday School, and M.I.A. meetings. For the past year over 25,000 individual awards were given to girls.
This means that they attended at least seventy-five percent of the Sunday School and M.I.A. meetings, fifty percent of the sacrament meetings. Over 2000 leaders received an award, which in their case, also indicated attendance at seventy-five percent of the leadership meetings. In December 1952, all girls, twelve to nineteen, in the Church, achieved an average of fifty-seven percent attendance at sacrament meeting, sixty-six percent at Sunday School and sixty-seven percent at M.I.A. This is an increase over the previous year of four percent at sacrament meeting, and three percent at Sunday School and M.I.A.
Primary-Four objectives have been highlighted in the Primary Association this year: first, stimulate interest in the reading of the Book of Mormon; second, promote greater reverence in our chapels-a most commendable objective third, teach the children to pray-equally important; fourth, stress the importance of the boys receiving the Aaronic Priesthood. Thirty-two thousand officers and teachers have been reading the Book of Mormon as a scripture assignment.
Primary teachers throughout the Church have been urged and advised to accept the responsibility and privilege of teaching the children to pray and to help them to trust in our Father in heaven, believing that he will hear and answer their prayers. Over 7000 boys have been graduated from Primary and have been assisted in their preparation to receive the Aaronic Priesthood.
I wish that the ten thousand people here assembled might have seen the program that was given to the presidents of the Primary Associations in the Hotel Utah last Thursday evening.
We commend the priesthood workers and all the auxiliary workers of the Church. God bless you in your sincere and untiring efforts to teach the young ones and the older ones the principles of truth and salvation.
TWO FUNCTIONS
And now, my dear fellow workers, a few words in general, regarding the great mission that is yours in preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. In anticipation of this hour, I have been impressed to emphasize two great functions of the Church: first, the putting in order of our homes, and keeping them in order; and second, the proclaiming of the divinity of the mission of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. With these two objectives in mind, may I have your attention, your faith and prayers.
"For what is a man profited," said the Savior, "if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"
The first recorded question of the Savior after his baptism in the river Jordan, was, "What seekest thou?". In the text I have just read, he again refers to the dominant incentive prompting man's actions in daily life. If a man seek wealth, worldly honors, pleasures and all that riches and honor can bestow but neglects and leaves undeveloped the eternal riches of his soul, what is he profited?
Thus does the Lord emphasize in a simple though majestic comparison of material and spiritual possessions.
On another occasion, in the Sermon on the Mount, he admonished his hearers to seek "first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you". Seeking to establish the kingdom of God and to foster his righteousness should be the paramount purpose of life. I think none will gainsay that.
Leading statesmen, clear-thinking educators, in public addresses and in magazine articles, frequently refer to what they declare is an apparent spiritual poverty of the present age, and they cite the need for higher moral and ethical standards.
Some months ago, you will recall, a British jet plane crossed and recrossed the Atlantic Ocean in about eight hours. Shortly thereafter a cartoon appeared in the New York Times which pictured a jet plane traveling at fantastic speed. The plane was labeled, "man's scientific progress." On the ground was a huge turtle moving slowly and ponderously. It was labeled, "man's moral progress."
Commenting upon this, Professor William G. Russell, instructor in the Memorial High School at Pelham, New York, writes:
"In a vivid way this cartoon symbolizes what could be the tragedy of the modern age, and what is without doubt one of the most compelling reasons for greater attention to moral and spiritual values in our homes and in our schools."
And then he adds as a school man: "Courses required of all students in our public schools should include all the important areas of study that directly or indirectly provide the student with opportunities for spiritual growth and religious inspiration.
"From such study," he continues, "it is reasonable to expect that our students will better understand how vital has been the role of religion at critical moments in history, how important spiritual insights and religious faith can be in the lives of men and women how closely related are true human greatness and such qualities as honesty, integrity, humility, generosity, compassion. We may expect in our students more idealism and less of cynicism, more of a wholesome courage and faith in the future and less of pessimism and foreboding and fear.
"We may hope for increased tolerance of racial and religious differences, increased respect for those of opposite political views or of lower social and economic levels, increased awareness of the basic and inviolable dignity of the individual man or woman. We may contribute to the development of a more sensitive social conscience, a greater sense of responsibility for the less fortunate in our society. We may even, perhaps, without knowing it, bring a boy or girl closer to God." I cite that because of the opportunities which I think lie ahead of us in our public schools.
In his great inaugural address, President Dwight D. Eisenhower referred to this same great need. "In the swift rush of great events we find ourselves groping to know the full sense and meaning of these times in which we live. In our quest of understanding, we beseech God's guidance. We summon all our knowledge of the past, and we scan all signs of the future. We bring all our wit and all our will to meet the question:
"How far have we come in man's long pilgrimage from darkness toward the light? Are we nearing the light-a day of freedom and of peace for all mankind? Or are the shadows of another night closing in upon us?
"At such a time in history, we who are free must proclaim anew our faith.
"This faith is the abiding creed of our fathers. It is our faith in the deathless dignity of man, governed by eternal moral and natural laws.
"This faith defines our full view of life. It establishes, beyond debate, those gifts of the Creator that are man's inalienable rights, and that make all men equal in his sight.
"In the light of this equality, we know that the virtues most cherished by free people-love of truth, pride of work, devotion to country-all are treasures equally precious in the lives of the most humble and of the most exalted.
"The men who mine coal and fire furnaces, and balance ledgers, and turn lathes, and pick cotton, and heal the sick, and plant corn-all serve as proudly and as profitably, for America as the statesmen who draft treaties and the legislators who enact laws.
"This faith rules our whole way of life. It decrees that we, the people, elect leaders not to rule but to serve. It asserts that we have the right to choice of our own work and to the reward of our own toil.
"It inspires the initiative that makes our productivity the wonder of the world. And it warns that any man who seeks to deny equality among all his brothers betrays the spirit of the free and invites the mockery of the tyrant.
"It is because we, all of us, hold to these principles that the political changes accomplished this day do not imply turbulence, upheaval, or disorder. Rather, this change expresses a purpose of strengthening our dedication and devotion to the precepts of our founding documents, a conscious renewal of faith in our country and in the watchfulness of a divine providence.
"The enemies of this faith know no god but force, no devotion but its use. They tutor men in treason. They feed upon the hunger of others. Whatever defies them, they torture, especially the truth."
And so we have the call of men of clear vision and sound judgment, for a re-dedication of schools and homes to moral and spiritual values.
Our most precious possession is the youth of the land, and to instruct them to walk uprightly and to become worthy citizens in the kingdom of God is our greatest obligation.
Religious freedom and the separation of church and state are clearly set forth in the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and no governmental agency can have any supervision, control, or jurisdiction over religion. Though our public schools may emphasize moral, ethical, and spiritual values as essential elements in the public school program, they cannot favor any particular religion or religious system. The teaching of religion is therefore definitely a responsibility of the home and the Church.
In discharging this responsibility, I say again, members of the Church should ever keep in mind two paramount obligations: to put and to keep your home in order; and, to proclaim the divinity of Jesus Christ and the essentiality of his teachings to the salvation of the human family.
If, upon examination, you were to find that termites are undermining the foundation of your house, you would lose no time to have experts make thorough examination and have the destructive insects exterminated. You would have the weakened materials removed and the foundation strengthened and, if necessary, rebuilt.
Well, more important than the building of your house is the rebuilding and purifying of your home.
"Our home joys," says Pestalozzi, "are the most delightful earth affords, and the joy of parents in their children is the most holy joy of humanity. It makes their hearts pure and good; it lifts them up to their Father in heaven."
Well, you know, and I know, that such joys are within the reach of most men and women if high ideals of marriage and home be properly fostered and cherished.
But there are destructive termites of homes, as well as of houses, and some of these are backbiting, evil-speaking, faultfinding on the part either of parents or of children. Slander is poison to the soul. "Slanderers are like flies that pass all over a man's good parts to light only on his sores." In the ideal home, there is no slanderous gossip about day schoolteachers, about public officials, or Church officials. I am more grateful now, as years have come and gone, to my father, who with hands lifted said, "Now, no faultfinding about your teacher or anybody else."
Quarreling and swearing also are evils that lower the standards of the ideal home. I cannot imagine a father or mother swearing in the presence of children or even letting it pass their lips.
George Washington set us a good example in this regard. When he learned that some of his officers were given to profanity, he sent a letter to them on July 1, 1776, from which I quote:
"The general is sorry to be informed that the foolish and wicked practice of profane cursing and swearing, a vice heretofore little known in an American army, is growing into fashion. He hopes the officers will, by example, as well as influence, endeavor to check it, and that both they and the men will reflect that we can have little hope of the blessing of heaven on our arms if we insult it by our impiety and folly. Added to this, it is a vice so mean and low, without any temptation, that every man of sense and character detests and despises it."
Another deterrent to happiness in the home is the refusal to bear the full responsibility of motherhood and fatherhood. Members of the Church who are healthy and normal should not be guilty of restricting the number of children in the home, especially when such action is prompted by a desire for a good time, or for personal gain, or to keep up with the neighbors, or by a false impression that one or two children in a family can be better educated. These are excuses which members of the Church should not harbor, for they are unjustified.
The question of size of families, I know, brings up many problems: the question of woman's career, the false cry of "quality, not quantity," which one writer rightly says should read "extinction, not preservation," or the matter-of-fact question of daily living and getting on in the world.
With the high ideal of marriage as revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith members of the Church should have but one goal, and that is to keep in mind the fact that marriage, the foundation of society, is "ordained of God" for the building of permanent homes in which children may be properly reared and taught the principles of the gospel.
The following, I am sure, will strike a responsive chord in the hearts of the majority of parents in the Church. I quote:
"Every period of human life is wonderful; the irresponsible age of childhood, the thrilling years of adolescence and courtship, the productive, fighting, burden-bearing era of parenthood; but the most wonderful time of life comes when the father and mother become chums of their grown-up, successful sons and daughters, and can begin to enjoy their children's children...
"Youth is confined with restrictions, limitations, schedules, and dominations; adolescence is full of mysteries, longings, and defeats; early fatherhood is absorbed in struggles and in the solution of problems; extreme old age is shadowed by eternal mysteries; but middle age and normal old age, if life has been rightly and fully lived, are filled with the thrills, not merely of success but of companionship with children and grandchildren.
"Every normal individual should complete the full cycle of human lift with all its joys and satisfactions in natural order: childhood, adolescence, youth, parenthood, middle age, and the age of grandchildren. Each age has satisfactions which can be known only by experience. You must be born again and again in order to know the full course of human happiness. When the first baby is born, a mother is born, a father is born, and grandparents are born; only by birth can any of these come into being. Only by the natural cycle of life can the great progressive joys of mankind be reached.
"Any social system which prevents the individual from pursuing the normal cycle of life, from marrying young, from rearing a family before the age of fifty or so, and from obtaining the deep peculiar joys of middle life and grandparenthood defeats the divine order of the universe and lays the basis of all sorts of social problems.
"When a young man and woman of the right biological type marry in the early twenties and are prepared to earn a living and support and rear a family they have started in the normal cycle of life. They are likely to give society far fewer problems of crime, immorality, divorce, or poverty than are their unmarried companions. They will have children and rear them while they are strong, enjoy them when they are grown up and successful, depend upon them in weakness, and profit by the finest type of old-age insurance ever invented by man or God, an insurance which pays its annuities in material goods when necessary, but which mainly pays in the rich joys of love and fellowship... The crowning joys of human experience will come in middle age and onward, through the companionship, love and honor of children and grandchildren."
We appeal to all members of the Church to set their homes in order and to enjoy the true happiness of harmonious family life.
As already stated, the second paramount obligation is to proclaim the divine mission of Jesus Christ. Nineteen hundred years ago, a valiant defender of that cause said: "This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders which is become the head of the corner.
"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved".
The man who thus declared Jesus to be the one and only safe leader and guide in the world was an ordinary fisherman who lived nearly two thousand years ago. He grew to manhood, experiencing life among common folk such as you and I. He was not a dreamer. He was thoroughly a man of action, though somewhat impetuous. He was fairly prosperous, possessed qualities of leadership, and, above all, he was honest.
Circumstances drew Peter into close relationship with Jesus of Nazareth. For nearly three years this hardheaded fisherman accompanied Jesus almost constantly. He became intimately acquainted with the Master. Jesus' philosophy of life became Peter's philosophy. Not suddenly, but gradually, through careful, critical observation and inward experience, Peter arrived at a firm and sublime conviction, expressed clearly and unhesitatingly when he declared before his accusers, the leaders of the Jewish Sanhedrin, "... there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved".
MODERN VIEW OF SALVATION
Saved is a trite word, frequently applied by religious leaders to a real or imagined instantaneous change of heart. The sense in which we use it this morning is expressed by Dr. Charles Foster Kent, professor of biblical literature in Yale University, who, in answer to the question, "From what does man need to be saved?" writes:
"This question must be answered today, not in the light of metaphysics or abstract theology, but of physiology, psychology, political science, economics and sociology. In the light of modern psychology, it is apparent that while a man may experience instantaneously what is commonly called conversion his salvation is not attained in a moment but is a continuous educational process. It is accomplished not by negations, but by developing within him nobler impulses and ideals and by bringing him into normal relations with his environment and by teaching him how to function, that is, effectively to accomplish his lifework in the environment in which he is placed.
"This is precisely what Jesus did for the needy men and women who gathered about him during his work in Galilee. And what he did for them then he is able to do for men today, for the needs and the processes of salvation are eternally the same. He was able to perform his saving work because he himself had felt many of the same needs and had found the only way of satisfying them.
"No teacher of the past was more awake to the weakness of human nature than Jesus; but he also saw and proclaimed clearly its divine possibilities. He saw that those possibilities could be realized only as each individual was brought into normal living touch with the Heavenly Father. A man's recognition of his sonship to God opens his eyes at once to the fact that all men are his brothers. Herein lies the miracle of the religious life. It is the eternal mystery of conversion.
"When once a man enters fully into his filial attitude toward God and fraternal relations with his fellow men, he suddenly finds himself saved from the dominance of his passions, his selfish impulses, from worry and fear. Even the consequences of his past sins no longer master him, but a great alluring field of service opens before him. With this self-forgetting service there come peace and the joy and exultation that crown worthy achievement."
Furthermore, members of the Church declare at Easter season, and throughout the year, that the Church of Jesus Christ stands with Peter, with Paul, with James, and with all other Apostles who accepted the resurrection not only as being literally true, but as being also the consummation of Christ's divine mission upon the earth. Religious leaders since history began have taught virtue, temperance, self-control, service, obedience to righteousness, and duty; some have taught a belief in one supreme ruler and in a hereafter; but only Christ broke the seal of the grave and revealed death as the door to immortality and eternal life. To the unimpeachable evidence of the ancient Apostles to the resurrection of our Lord we add the sublime declaration of the Prophet Joseph Smith:
"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!".
As Christ lived after death, so shall the human family, each one taking that place in the next world which he or she merits through actions during earthly life. Since love is as eternal as life, the message of the resurrection is the most comforting, the most glorious ever given to man; for when death takes a loved one from us, we can look into the open grave and say, he is not here; he is alive.
Happy homes give to their inmates a taste of heaven on earth-acceptance of the divinity of Christ's mission and compliance with the principles of his gospel, give assurance of immortality and eternal life.
I testify that a knowledge of his existence and of the truth of his gospel is the source of the greatest comfort and happiness to man.
May the day speedily come when honest, sincere men and women throughout the world may have in their souls this assurance, I earnestly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, April 1953, pp. 19-21
Yesterday, with my Brethren, I was in session with some thirty missionary presidents. We heard a report from all in relation to their work and the work of the missionaries who labor under them. At the close of the meeting, and all through the meeting, we felt to rejoice because of the glowing reports that they were able to give to us.
There is one reason why these missionaries go forth and that is to fulfil the promise that was made by our Redeemer that his gospel of the kingdom should be preached in all the world as a witness before the time of his second coming. In his discourse as recorded in the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew which came in response to the request of his disciples to know concerning his second coming, and the events that would take place before his coming, he told them of the calamities, the distress among the nations, the wars, the rumors of wars, the commotions, men's hearts failing them, and that they would turn away from the truth. Then speaking of the latter days he said to them:
"And again, because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold; but he that shall not be overcome the same shall be saved.
"And again, this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come, or the destruction of the wicked".
Fulfilling that prediction that the gospel would again be preached, inferring that there would be a time when it would not be preached and it would have to be restored, these missionaries are going forth and spending their time which is appointed among the nations of the earth.
Unfortunately, because of conditions which cannot be controlled by the Church, our missionary forces are reduced. We need missionaries. It is true today, as it was one hundred years ago, that the field is wide; the harvest is great; but the laborers are few. Likewise the field is white and ready for the harvest. In a revelation given to the Church November 1, 1831, the Lord said he would send forth his missionaries, or his servants.
"And 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 have decreed in them shall be fulfilled".
Now the Lord has said that his missionaries shall not be stayed and that they shall go forth until he says the work is finished. In this same revelation he also says this:
"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.
"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 fullness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world, and before kings and rulers".
And so in fulfillment of these promises to the world, our missionaries go forth. No power has been able to stay their hands. It has been tried. Great efforts were made in the very beginning when there was only a handful of missionaries, but the progress of this work could not be stopped. It cannot be stopped now. It must and will go forth that the inhabitants of the earth may have the opportunity of repenting of their sins and receive the remission of their sins and come into the Church and kingdom of God, before these final destructions come upon the wicked, for they have been promised.
There is in the world today distress, turmoil, trouble, commotion, and contention among the nations. There is no peace. There will be no peace until the Prince of Peace comes to bring it. And his warning is to the world to repent. This I might have read, for it is the first verse of this revelation I have been quoting. The righteous have been called on to come out of Babylon, or the world, to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ as it has been restored, and find a place in the kingdom of God.
And these missionaries, mostly young men, untrained in the ways of the world, go forth with this message of salvation and confound the great and the mighty, because they have the truth. They are proclaiming this gospel; the honest and sincere are hearing it and are repenting of their sins and coming into the Church. The ungodly will not repent. This truth is also stated in this revelation. They will not repent because today, as in times of old, men love darkness more than light.
I wish to testify to you, my brethren and sisters, and to all the world, that God lives, that he has spoken again from the heavens, and the heavens have never been closed against those who are honest and true, who earnestly seek the guidance of the Lord. The Lord never closed the heavens. Men closed the heavens and said there should be no more revelation, no more commandments, only those which are in the canon of scripture. It was men who said that, not God. Men have said that the Lord finished his work. They have said there could be no more coming of angels, no more scripture, and that we would have to depend on the dead letter of the law as it is recorded in the books contained within the lids of the Bible. Men are saying that-God did not say it.
And he has restored to us the everlasting gospel and has given us revelation and made known to us many of the plain and important things pertaining to his kingdom-things revealed anciently, and also in the day in which we live, and he will give revelation to this Church from time to time according to the needs of the people, for the heavens are not sealed, only as men have sealed them against themselves.
Let us seek to know his will, hearken to the counsels of the First Presidency of this Church, and the President, who is the mouthpiece, the servant of God, with the authority to receive revelation for the guidance not only of the Latter-day Saints, but also for the people of all the world if they will only hearken to it. The Lord bless you, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Harold B. Lee
Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, April 1953, pp. 24-28
I am overwhelmed, and my soul is subdued by the marvelous spirit of this great conference. I think no one needed more the message of that beautiful number just sung by the choir than I-"Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid". I seek therefore earnestly for an interest in your faith and prayers for these next few minutes.
Several years ago in company with President S. Dilworth Young and his wife, we toured the New England Mission. At Glace Bay on Cape Breton Island we were introduced to a lovely sister who had been studying the gospel with our missionaries and had been very much attracted to them, but as we talked with her about her understanding of what they had taught, she said:
"I cannot accept this part of your teachings about the gospel of the second chance."
As we talked on, I discovered that what she was alluding to were the teachings of the missionaries with reference to the statement of the Savior when he said:
Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
For as the Father hath life in himself: so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself.
She was referring to the missionaries' interpretation of the words of Peter as he wrote them to the Saints in his day,
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
Which sometime were disobedient when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
They had taught her what Peter explained from what the Master must have told of his visit to that spirit realm, when he said:
For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh but live according to God in the spirit.
I answered her, "You misunderstand our teachings. We don't believe in the gospel of the second chance. We do not believe in the gospel of the first chance but we believe in a chance or full opportunity for everyone to hear and to accept the gospel."
Then I recalled to her what the Master had said,
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
I quoted to her from revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith in which the Lord said:
Behold, I sent you out to testify and to warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor. Therefore, they are left without excuse, in the day of judgment, and the sins be upon their own heads.
I read to her from the words of the Prophet of the Book of Mormon where he declared:
For after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed.
I told her of the vision of the Prophet Joseph that he had in the Kirtland Temple in January 1836, when he saw in vision Adam and Abraham, and saw his own father and mother. He saw his brother Alvin, who had departed this life before he was baptized, saw them in the celestial kingdom, and he marveled, and then the Lord spoke to him and said:
All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God; and those who die henceforth without a knowledge of it who would have received it with all their hearts shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom, for I, the Lord, will judge men according to their works, according to the desires of their hearts.
Many times I have thought back over that conversation, and I believe now I am beginning to understand what the Master meant when he said to Peter, after Peter had declared his testimony of the divinity of the Savior. The Master had told him that this was a revelation from God, and then added,
And I say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
There are those with limited or little understanding who believe that statement to refute our teaching that there has been an apostasy. They say, "If there was an apostasy, then the gates of hell did prevail against the Church, contrary to the words of the Savior to Peter."
As I have thought of the true meaning of that statement, I have said to myself, "Oh, how great is the wisdom of God as contrasted with the foolishness of men."
What was the purpose of our Father concerning us and his work? He declared it to Moses:
This is my work and my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and the eternal life of man.
It was John who said that Jesus was as a lamb "slain from the foundation of the world" or, in other words, Jesus was prepared for an atonement; his sacrifice was to be made as a ransom for all of those who would obey him and keep his commandments.
The Prophet Joseph Smith in speaking about this matter said this:
The great Jehovah contemplated the whole of the events connected with the earth, pertaining to the plan of salvation before it rolled into existence, or ever "the stars of morning sang together...for joy"; the past, the present, and the future, were and are with Him, one eternal "now"... He knows the situation of both the living and the dead, and has made ample provision for their redemption, according to their several circumstances, and the laws of the kingdom of God, whether in this world or in the world to come.
That plan, which had been laid in the heavens before the foundations of the world were laid, contemplated a testing in the spirit world. It contemplated the plan of salvation given in various dispensations of the gospel here upon the earth.
As President Joseph Fielding Smith told us this morning, it was not God who sealed the heavens following a dispensation of the gospel. It was man. Hence, we are to believe that there would have been but one dispensation beginning with Adam and reaching down to now, except had it been for the wickedness of men.
That plan contemplated the preaching of the gospel to those who were in the spirit world, who had departed this life without having had ample opportunity of hearing the gospel. It contemplated the vicarious work to be carried on in behalf of those who had died without that knowledge in holy temples here in order that they might be judged as though they had heard the gospel here in the flesh.
The gates of hell would have prevailed if Satan had been victorious in the war in heaven, and if his plan which would have nullified free agency had been the order. The gates of hell would have prevailed had there ever been a time when the power to administer the saving ordinances of the gospel would not have been in each dispensation of the gospel upon the earth.
The gates of hell would have prevailed if the gospel had not been taught to the spirits in prison and to those who had not had ample opportunity to receive the gospel here in its fullness. It would have prevailed if there was not a vicarious work for the dead, and had it not been instituted to provide for those in the spirit world who desired to accept the gospel.
The gates of hell would have prevailed were it not for other vicarious work pertaining to the exaltation which those who accept the gospel might receive, both ordinances for the living and for the dead.
Now, as I think of that plan, so perfect in its conception, it is clear that this plan could not have existed except it had been by the revelations of the Living God.
So we begin to understand what the Lord meant when he said to Peter,
... upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
He was speaking of the revelation of the Lord to his authorized servants and all the forces of hell combined could not prevent it.
Several years ago while I served as a missionary, I came to the door of one who belonged to an apostate faction which fell away after the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith. For a considerable time we had a rather spirited discussion, although not unfriendly, in which she argued her case, and that we, the Latter-day Saints, and not their faction, were the apostates from the truth.
As we talked on into the afternoon there came an interesting turn to our conversation. It developed that this couple had had but one child, a little boy, who, when about seven years of age, was stricken with an incurable disease. When he came to the age of accountability, of eight, he was still sick, and at nine or shortly thereafter he passed away, still unable to be taken into the waters of baptism.
Now, they accepted the revelation of the Lord through the Prophet Joseph that at eight years of age, the age of accountability, children are to be baptized, except for which they should not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
"Now," she asked, "what do you think we ought to do for our child?"
I replied: "Oh, that is easy. Have him baptized for in the temple. That is what temples are for."
But she said, "We have no temple."
Then there came into my mind a scripture in which the Lord said,
Now the great and grand secret... and the summum bonum of the whole subject that is lying before us, consists in obtaining the powers of the Holy Priesthood. For him to whom these keys are given there is no difficulty in obtaining a knowledge of facts in relation to the salvation of the children of men, both as well for the dead as for the living.
Truly as I thought about her plight the gates of hell had prevailed against her church because the keys and the power to reveal knowledge from heaven was not to be found in that church.
In other words, the Lord has said to Joseph Smith what he said to Peter and what he has said to every prophet in every dispensation. He gives to each the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and the power to receive revelation in order that the gates of hell shall not prevail against his plan.
What he said to Peter was tantamount to saying to Joseph, if I can make this meaning clear-
And I say unto thee, thou art Joseph, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
What he said to Joseph, might well have been said to Peter:
I give unto thee the keys to the kingdom of heaven, for he to whom these keys are given shall have no difficulty in obtaining a knowledge of both the salvation of the living and the dead.
The importance of revelation on which to found this Church was again impressed on the day this Church was organized, when the Lord said, to the Church, not only to those few who were then members, but also to all of us who have since been members,
Wherefore, meaning the church, thou shalt give heed unto all his words and commandments which he shall give unto you as he receiveth them, walking in all holiness before me;
For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith.
For by doing these things the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name's glory.
In other words, the Lord has said it was not only important that there be revelation to his Church through his mouthpiece, the one who held the keys, but his Church must also be founded on personal revelation, that every member of the Church who has been baptized and has received the Holy Ghost must be admonished so to live that each might receive a personal testimony and a witness of the divine calling of him who was called to lead as the President of the Church so that he will accept those words and that counsel as if from the mouth of the Lord himself. Otherwise, the gates of hell would prevail against that individual.
It was exactly that meaning that the Apostle Paul intended to convey when he wrote to the Ephesians,
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.
In other words, he organized the Church and set up the proper officers, "that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the slight of men and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive". Upon this rock, the rock of revelation, to individuals who have the power of the Holy Ghost, and revelation from God to his Church, the Lord in wisdom has designed that therefore the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
In the midst of travail and suffering the Lord sent this word of comfort to the Prophet Joseph:
God shall give unto you knowledge by his Holy Spirit, yea, by the unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost, that has not been revealed since the world was until now... According to that which was ordained in the midst of the Council of the Eternal God of all other gods before this world was, that should be reserved unto the finishing and the end thereof, when every man shall enter into his eternal presence and into his immortal rest.
Thus the rock of revealed knowledge has built his Church, and the gates of hell have never prevailed against it.
With that overpowering thought that the plan of the Almighty has been so laid that never has Satan been able to shake it, how we should rejoice at the word of the Lord to Joseph when he said:
... What power can stay the heavens? As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed course, or to turn it up stream, as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints.
I am grateful as I stand here this afternoon to realize that this is his Church. We have at the head of this Church an earthly head who presides as the President thereof, the mouthpiece of God. In this day to those who will believe and will listen to counsel, the gates of hell shall never prevail. Those who die without a knowledge will have the right to hear that truth in the spirit world, and if they accept it, work may be done vicariously that they might be judged and blessed even as though they had accepted it in the flesh.
Thanks be to God that the devil's power has never prevailed against his plan of continued revelation to his servants, and never will prevail so long as the earth shall stand, for the gospel plan was laid in heaven and will continue throughout the eternities for the purpose of bringing about immortality and eternal life.
I bear you that humble testimony in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Eldred G. Smith
Eldred G. Smith, Conference Report, April 1953, pp. 29-30
I, like the other brethren, am in need of your faith and prayers, and I appreciate your faith and prayers in my behalf, especially while I stand before you.
As I look at this vast audience and think of the hundreds of thousands listening over television and radio, the responsibility is frightening in the extreme. There is only one consolation for me: even though you do not remember all that is said here today, there is more to be gained than from the words you hear or than your memory can hold. This is true when you are attending any meeting. You leave the meeting encouraged, your faith renewed, your testimony quickened, the spiritual uplift is beyond measure.
I am reminded of the story which is so often told, and which you all know, of the bishop who visited a member who had become inactive in the ward. They sat in front of an open fire in the fireplace in silence, and, presumably, the bishop thinking about how he could approach the subject, reached forth with the tongs and lifted a hot live coal from the fire and set it on the hearth in front of the fire. They sat in silence and watched the hot, live coal gradually turn cold and black and lifeless. Then the bishop picked up the coal with the tongs again and set it back into the fire with the other living coals and watched it again regain its life and its fire and its heat and its warmth. Still nothing was said. Finally the man said, "Bishop, I see what you came here to tell me."
Through meeting together the fire of our testimony is kept alive and glowing. It is through meeting and working together that we grow in faith and in knowledge. When we withdraw from Church activity, we become as the lone coal on the hearth, cold and lifeless.
We are fulfilling a commandment of the Lord by attending meetings, but to grow in the Church, that alone is not enough. If we stop there, we would not differ much from those of other churches. James tells us:
Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
Now the perfect law of liberty referred to here is the law of free agency. So if we were to say,
But whoso useth his power of free agency and chooses the right way, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the word, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
So exercising our free agency and overcoming evil we become heirs to the blessings of the Lord, not just passive hearers of the word, but active doers of the word.
James also says,
For as the body without the spirit is dead so faith without works is dead also.
Many have expressed the thought that if they receive a written patriarchal blessing it will be fulfilled to the letter without any effort on their part.
Which reminds me of the young woman who declared that she was going to be married in the temple when she got married and that was very certain and all her friends understood her attitude, yet when she was married, she not only married out of the temple, but she married a non-member of the Church. When one of her friends said to her afterwards, "Why, Mary, I thought you, of all people, were going to marry in the temple," she answered "Well, my patriarchal blessing promised me that I would be married in the temple, so I guess I will someday."
We must serve the Lord diligently and intelligently, keeping all his commandments, if we expect to receive his blessings.
When the question arises if the blessings come from our efforts in righteousness in fulfilling the law upon which the blessing is predicated, why have patriarchal blessings? We will get our blessings anyway, if we live for them. And that is very true, because "we must live for our blessings if we get them, but there comes great comfort and consolation from having our blessings both promised and sealed upon us by authorized servants of the Lord in obedience to his word and law, for the Lord has placed authorized agents on the earth to bear his power and his authority, not only to pronounce, but to seal these blessings, that the Lord may have an anchor upon the souls of men and women forever, for neither death nor the destroyer will end these blessings, but the receiver will possess and enjoy them forever and ever."
A patriarchal blessing gives us courage to live as we know we should live.
It helps to keep us from yielding to temptation, to do the things we have been taught to do.
Quoting James again,
Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
After he has received a patriarchal blessing, after he has been taught the Word of Wisdom, the law of tithing, been taught to attend sacrament and priesthood meetings, and been taught the law of celestial sealings, and then he does contrary to those teachings, to him it is sin. After he has been taught honesty, and there is no truth in him for him it is sin. If he has been taught charity, and he has no charity in his heart, to him it is sin. He who has covenanted to devote his time and talents to the service of the Lord and does not do it, to him it is sin. He who has the gospel and teaches it not to others by example as well as by precept, to him it is sin.
Let us live worthy of the blessings of the Lord, by living the gospel every day. Let us show our faith by our works, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Levi Edgar Young
Levi Edgar Young, Conference Report, April 1953, pp. 30-34
MAN'S ENDOWMENT
The Lord created man of the earth, He endued them with strength by themselves, And made them according to his image, And put the fear of man upon all flesh, And gave him dominion over beasts and fowls. Counsel, and tongue, and eyes, Ears, and a heart, gave he them to understand. Withal he filled them with the knowledge of understanding. And shewed them good and evil. He set his eye upon their hearts, That he might shew them the greatness of his works, He gave them to glory in his marvelous acts for ever, That they might declare his works with understanding. Beside this he gave them knowledge, And law of life for an heritage. He made an everlasting covenant with them, And shewed them his judgments. Their ways are ever before him; And shall not be hid from his eyes.
So many words in holy writ will create within us the Spirit of the Lord as we hear them today, for it is the Easter time. All of the Evangelists write beautifully of the resurrection. We read the words of Mark:
And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
And very early in the morning, the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.
And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.
And he said unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.
Every year at Easter time, our hearts are gladdened by the commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. Jesus died that we might by our faith be accounted worthy to attain eternal life. "It must needs be," he said, "that the Son of man should suffer and be put to death and rise again". "Because I live, ye shall also live" is the divine message that has brought heavenly solace to millions of souls who have come to the knowledge that death is but the beginning of the greater and truer life.
An ancient prophet, Isaiah, in speaking of the resurrection of the Savior in language, poetic and lofty, says:
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation: that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!.
This knowledge is the deepest need of mankind today, for while we honor his name and his call we test our lives by other times and by other peoples, never allowing ourselves the one thing we need most of all-vision of the kingdom of God. The last words of Jesus from the cross were: "Father, into thy hands, I commend my spirit...", words of perfect trust and confidence. In all his life, there was that divine knowledge that from God he came and to God he would return. This is why the outward incidents of his life were vested with the splendor of eternity. When he died upon the cross, he assured us of the greater life beyond the grave.
The Spirit of the Lord has been in the hearts of the people who are assembled in this holy house. The lessons of the meaning of life which we will take home will long remain with us. Our minds may be open to the truths of the gospel. We cannot listen to the brethren who speak without being impressed with a new sense of power and a new source of comfort, because we have come to know God through the life of the Master: the Savior of the world. What could be more divine than to turn our thoughts to Jesus Christ our Savior at Easter time? The learned British author, Lord Ernle, has written:
The belief in immortality rests on the belief in the government of the universe by one supreme, moral, and spiritual being. Happy are those whose faith on this point has survived the shock of recent years, and not the least part of their happiness lies in the sure and certain hope of a future life.
From the days of father Adam down through all centuries, God has made manifest his truths to his children. The divine light has ever shown forth to inspire the sacred teachings which will bring the children of God back to his holy throne. In Homer's Odyssey we have the religious beliefs of the Greeks of ancient Athens. "Men and gods are divine," says Homer. "In this life the spirit and body are one, and to escape worldly influence we must become purified by denying ourselves certain kinds of foods and dress and avoid contact with impurities. One must become as near to God as possible, and that means to become righteous and holy with the help of wisdom." Concerning the Hindus, their philosophy of life is found in their Bible, the Rigveda, which says: "All children are and have been of heaven and earth. All souls in time can be gods. Their highest ethical figure is Varuna, who is unified with a glorified body."
Then comes the conception of the ancient Hebrews. Job shows not only his belief in immortality, but also in the resurrection of the body when he gives utterance to the noble words:
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.
How beautifully Daniel has written:
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
And they that be wise shall shine in the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
How beautiful and with what deep humility the American Indians in the past have spoken words of faith in the Great Spirit. In Francis Parkman's biography of the celebrated Indian Chief Pontiac, we have a statement concerning the Indian's faith, which was uttered when he surrendered to the English in 1765. He spoke in behalf of the several nations assembled at the council of the English warriors and the Indians, and said:
Father, we have all smoked out of this pipe of peace. It is your children's pipe; and as the war is all over, and the Great Spirit and Giver of Light who has made the earth and everything therein, has brought us all together this day for our mutual good, I declare to all nations that I have settled my peace with you before I came here. And now deliver my pipe to Sir William Johnson, that he may know that I have made peace and have taken the King of England for my father, in the presence of all the nations now assembled. Father, we are thankful to you for lighting our council fire for us, and desiring us to return to it.
Every group of people in all history has looked to God and has known of the "life beyond." A shrine, a temple, or a church is a part of the great picture book of humanity and testifies alike to the goodness and beauty of human life.
Centuries ago, God gave the children of Israel through the Prophet Moses the Ten Commandments, in which are written sublime truths:
I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage...
Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy.
Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
The Ten Commandments became the constitution of the Holy Land, and they have influenced the civic and political life of all civilization since that time.
All through the ages, since God sent his servant Adam to this earth, a divine power has ever directed mankind and given him a knowledge that God lives. The holy Bible is the product of men inspired of God, covering a period of four thousand years. The holy book shows that the Hebrew prophets gave their lives to the service of God. They wrote by the power of the Holy Ghost. God directed them.
The life of Christ our Savior, as given in the New Testament, is to old and young alike the most moving and convincing truth that he came from some higher sphere into our earthly history with the mission to reveal God and save man. He preached the gospel of the kingdom; and forever even until all the eons have been closed, and earth itself, with the heavens that now are, have passed away, shall every one of his true and faithful children find peace and hope and forgiveness and his name shall be called Emmanuel or God with us.
We always keep in mind that in the great literature of the world's history, writers have extolled the powers of the mind and intelligences of mankind. Ever since the recording of history began, the divine power of man has been made manifest. "No other single force has entered so widely, so powerfully, so continuously into the renewal of the mortal spirit of man, into the shaping of men's ultimate ideals, and into the formation of personal character, as the sense of contact between the human and the divine." One of the old Hebrew singers-possibly David-summed up the lesson of Judah in these words: "They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed but abideth for ever".
Today as we look forward to the time ahead, our vision will be clear if we have prayed and worked to have a testimony of the word of God among his children. We know of the truth that God lives and that Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of the world, will come again. With understanding hearts, we recall the words of Isocrates, an Athenian philosopher of the fifth century, B.C.:
The age in which we live should be distinguished by some glorious enterprise... Let the leaders contrive to put an end to our present troubles. The treaties of peace are insufficient for their purpose; they may retard but they cannot prevent our misfortunes. We stand in need of some more endurable plan, which will forever put to an end our hostilities, and unite us by the lasting ties of mutual fidelity and affection.
The writer of the Acts of the Apostles gives an account of the last meeting of the risen Messiah with his disciples in Palestine, and his last words to them:
And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight.
And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
Mosiah writes gloriously in the Book of Mormon:
But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ.
He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death.
Even this mortal shall put on immortality, and this corruption shall put on incorruption, and shall be brought to stand before the bar of God, to be judged of him according to their works whether they be good or whether they be evil.
God the Father and Jesus Christ came to this earth and restored the gospel to Joseph Smith, and the Church of Jesus Christ was organized. Through the years the Prophet's life was filled with sorrow and bitter struggle to have men understand. A few came with him-men of great character and women of great souls, "That faith might increase in the earth, and that mine everlasting covenant might be established and proclaimed unto the end of the world". The world is weary of the religion about Christ. What it wants is the religion of Jesus Christ. To follow Jesus Christ means to have a part in the building of his kingdom on earth. Here we merge into the sunshine of a great experience.
In words that are forceful and clear we have our Tenth Article of Faith as written by the Prophet Joseph Smith:
We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion will be built upon this continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.
When Jesus Christ gave his holy prayer in speaking to the people on the mount, he uttered words which to this day are given by the millions of people who hold him as the Savior of the world. He said:
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
And so we await his kingdom. We live day by day in preparation of his coming, for Christ will come again.
It was John Fiske, the historian at Harvard fifty years ago, who wrote:
The future is lighted for us with the radiant colors of hope. Strife and sorrow shall disappear. Peace and love shall reign supreme. The dream of poets, the lesson of priest and prophet, the inspiration of the great musician, is confirmed in the light of modern knowledge and as we gird ourselves up for the work of life, we may look forward to the time when in the truest sense, the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdom of Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever, the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
Elder ElRay L. Christiansen
ElRay L. Christiansen, Conference Report, April 1953, pp. 34-37
How beautiful it is, my brothers and sisters, and how satisfying to the soul that hungers and thirsts after righteousness to sit here and listen to the voices of these inspired leaders as they teach us and expound the truths of the gospel, unadulterated, and unchanged, and everlasting! I have been thrilled with the proceedings of the meetings so far in this conference, and I am grateful to these brethren who are so firm and steadfast, so unassuming, and yet so vigorous in the defense of the truth.
I hope that you will bear with me, brothers and sisters, for a few minutes. I should like to talk about a virtue which I think becomes all of those who claim to be the children of God, the Saints of the Lord, his followers. I concluded to do this after listening yesterday to the mission presidents as they reported their labors, their successes, and the success of the missionaries. They did it so humbly that I concluded that humility must be one of the great virtues that helps to bring about success in doing the work of the Lord.
As I sat in that meeting, I turned to the songbook that was there and found a song, the words of which were written by Eliza R. Snow. I had never before noticed it. I should like to read two stanzas.
The trials of the present day Require the Saints to watch and pray That they may keep the narrow way To celestial glory. For even Saints may turn aside For fear of ill that may betide Or else induced by worldly pride And lose celestial glory.
If we examine the history of the nations of the past that have been great and powerful but that have fallen, we will find nothing in them, I am sure, that would lead us to believe that any nation, or any civilization, or any people can find security merely in its own power and its own self-sufficiency.
The facts of history remind us that where nations and peoples continue to ignore the principles of justice and of right in regard to their peoples and the peoples of other nations, and where they put aside the teachings of God, they experience difficulties, hardships, calamities, and, in the due time of the Lord, history has proved that many of them have been destroyed.
A love of power and personal ambition in the hearts of individual leaders and their associates, pride and self-sufficiency that go with ambition and power, cause them to forget that the real God of the earth is Jesus Christ; that the "earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof", and that it does not belong to any people, or any nation, or any combination of nations.
Now, that same pride, my brothers and sisters, and the same self-sufficiency that nations and their leaders sometimes feel give them security, may cause an individual to forget that the Lord is God, and may cause him to lose faith in these principles which have been expounded here today unless he repents and turns to Christ, and takes upon him the name of Christ, recognizing him for what he is, the Son of God, the Savior, and the Redeemer of the world, who was crucified, and who in three days came forth from the grave, making it possible for all to receive redemption therefrom.
King Benjamin, recognized the destructiveness of pride and the necessity of humility. He taught this to his people saying to them:
For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.
And he continues to remind his people, saying:
For behold are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment and for gold, and silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind?.
My brothers and sisters, we are all dependent upon the Lord. The riches of the earth are his and are provided us through his mercy only. Pride and self-sufficiency would lead us to believe otherwise. They are destroyers of the best that is in men, but on the other hand, humility, submissiveness, willingness to abide by the teachings of the Lord bring out the best that is in men because they become teachable and can be molded into agents usable to him. One must constantly remind himself and guard against pride or he will find himself taking to himself part of the glory that the Lord has said is his.
President Grant once reminded us that there are two spirits striving with all men-one telling them what to do that is right, and the other telling them to do that which will please themselves, that will gratify their own pride and ambitions. So, as King Benjamin said, unless we yield "to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man... and becometh as a child," meek and submissive, and gentle full of love, we are likely to spend our time in gratifying our own pride and following our own ambitions, and thus fail to develop the spiritual attributes and power. We will be led away from the divine destiny which may be ours.
Now, humility is not an abject, groveling, self-despising spirit. It seems to me that it is rather a right and proper estimate of what one is in the sight of God. When we have that estimate of ourselves, we become as children, and we realize that he controls the universe. We learn then, to appreciate even the very air that we breathe, and our ability to go and come and to see and to do, and to accept and to reject. But until he can submit himself to this status, man is an "enemy to God."
True humility, in my opinion, implies acknowledgment, thanksgiving, prayerfulness, all those virtues which become a Latter-day Saint. It is becoming to an individual no matter what his status in life, to acknowledge the Lord for his goodness and for his mercy, to be humble and prayerful and submissive to his will. True humility is uplifting, ennobling.
Alma, speaking to his son, Shiblon, emphasized this very thing, when he said:
See that ye are not lifted up unto pride; yea, see that ye do not boast in your own wisdom, nor of your much strength.
Use boldness, but not overbearance.
I think that most fathers could accept that counsel and give the same to their sons.
Pride and ingratitude in the hearts of men are grievous sins in the sight of God, and all of us are guilty of them; I know I am; I suppose you are to a degree as are people generally. When we stop to think, as has been expressed here today, that the Son of God created the world and all that in it is, and that by the shedding of his blood he made possible the redemption of men from the grave, we should not become self-sufficient, but we should remember that we are here living simply because of his mercy and of his kindness and of his love.
Humility, in my opinion, implies a grateful heart, and the Lord has warned us against ingratitude, for in the Doctrine and Covenants he has 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.
How can a man or a woman or a child learn to become humble and submissive, and gentle and meek? He has made that plain also here in the fifty-ninth section of the Doctrine and Covenants, and I would like to read a verse or two.
Wherefore, I give unto them 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. 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;
For verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High.
And yet, only a part of us see fit to do some of these according to our statistics and reports. The person with true humility will not seek to aggrandize himself. He will serve for the sake of service. He will give his gifts in secret and let it be found out by accident. He will realize that all knowledge comes from God-for he knows all. He will not be contentious, unruly, or critical. He will not profane the name of Deity. As a literal child of God, he will feel it a privilege to do his will and keep his commandments.
Finally, the Lord has left us this: In order to shape ourselves to be fit candidates for his kingdom by leading lives of meekness and humility before him, he admonishes us to "let every man esteem his brother as himself, and practise virtue and holiness before me".
And if ye seek the riches which it is the will of the Father to give unto you, ye shall be the richest of all people for ye shall have the riches of eternity; and it must needs be that the riches of the earth are mine to give; but beware of pride, lest ye become as the Nephites of old...
And let your preaching be the warning voice, every man to his neighbor, in mildness and in meekness.
What I have tried to say is that in order to be usable in the hands of the Lord, we must banish pride and self-sufficiency and be meek and humble. We must be submissive and easy to be entreated. We must love the Lord with all our heart, mind and strength and our neighbour as ourself.
I appreciate the opportunity to receive this training in this great Church. I testify to you that I know that God lives, and that Jesus is the Christ, and that he, through Joseph Smith, restored the gospel to the earth in this day as it is predicted in the scriptures of old, and that only by following the pattern given by the Savior can we receive the blessings of eternal life.
To this I testify and do so in the name of Jesus Christ, the Lord. Amen.
Elder Antoine R. Ivins
Antoine R. Ivins, Conference Report, April 1953, pp. 37-38
My brethren and sisters, if I say anything that will be helpful to you this afternoon, it will be because you join your faith and prayers with mine that the Lord may bless me.
The other night Sister Ivins and I attended a meeting in the Assembly Hall in which the theme of the Mutual Improvement Associations was treated:
... be thou an example of the believers in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
I would like to tell you the thoughts that that has brought to me.
Be thou an example of the believers-
I would like to add there the faithful Christian believer-"in word." What is the word of the faithful Christian? In those days the most electrifying thing that the world had experienced in years was so close to them that they no doubt were still startled by it-the resurrection the actual, glorified resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord. We are going to celebrate it now, but it was a new thought in that day, that it could be possible. It became a reality, and it was the thing that was passing from believer to believer, publicly and in private conversation. The resurrection of Jesus Christ verified the statement that he was and is the Son of God, and that must have been the theme of every devout Christian of that day, just as it must be today. Of course, they would amplify it, after bearing testimony that Christ had risen, that he was the Son of God, that he was born of Mary by miraculous means, then they would pass on to his teachings as to how men and women should live to gain an exaltation in the kingdom of God. That, it seems to me, would have been and should have been and must have been the "word" of every faithful Christian in that day. Likewise it should be your "word" and my "word" today. We, however, have something to add to that because we must tell the world not only these things but also that not too far back Christ the Lord and his Father appeared to the boy Prophet Joseph Smith and brought back to man the testimony that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Then we must teach also that Peter, James, and John, John the Baptist, the Angel Moroni, and the men who had held the keys of the various past dispensations, came back to the Prophet Joseph Smith restoring unto him the keys, all of the keys that had ever been given to man through the various dispensations of time. We are under that obligation, too, and we must do it, not only publicly, but we must do it in our conversations. This should be the theme of every religious conversation of a good member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And it should go out as a living testimony that it is true. Of course when we bear that testimony to others who have not received it, we should do it in all charity, but we should do it with spirit, fearlessly, courageously, and never doubting. If we can develop the faith that will enable us to do that, a faith that God is the Father of our spirits, that he is the Father of Jesus Christ, that Jesus Christ is the Redeemer of the world, and that if we will repent and purify our lives, he will carry the burden of the sins of the world,, if we can develop that faith in our hearts, then we should be able to carry on. We must not only develop that faith, but also the faith of a good Latter-day Saint, the faith of a good Christian must be in himself, in his neighbors, and especially in his leaders, that the Church shall go forward vigorously, courageously to a wonderful realization of its purposes.
Now I say, it must be done very largely in conversation, and in that each one of us becomes a missionary for the Church. He who is warned must warn his neighbor, and if we have that testimony given to us by the Spirit of God, it remains for us to pass it on by word of mouth to those who have not received it. It does not require a call from President McKay to enable us to bear our testimonies to our neighbors. We have been warned. God himself has given us the charge to do it. Then it is not only by word of mouth that we bear testimony, but it is also by purity of life. Through the power we hold in the priesthood of God, we must be able to demonstrate by our lives its value. We can if we will. Our problem is to will to do it, and we must do it in good spirit. I wonder if many of us are sorry that we have so many things that we are told we ought not to do, whether or not they become burdensome to us. I frequently tell the missionaries when I talk to them that they must consider the rules that are set up in the mission field for their protection, and so it is with these things which we ought not to do as members of the Church. They are for our protection; they are the reflection of purity of life.
Brethren and sisters, if we will be an example of the faithful believer, all these things we will do, and in this time of decreasing missionary help, those of us who can should make available our services and go forth to bear this testimony. There is no compromise with the testimony that Jesus Christ was born of Mary by miraculous means, that he is the Son of God, that he was the firstfruits of the resurrection, that through that resurrection he made possible to you and me a return to the presence of God our Heavenly Father, contingent only, that is, an exaltation in his presence is contingent only upon faithful service unto him and our fellows. Let us let that service be in good spirit. Let us be glad to give up the things we are asked to give up. Let us be glad to devote ourselves to His service. Let us do it without fear, without compromise, with great courage, and with all the energy which we may possess. If we will do this, my brethren and sisters, we will always enjoy the Spirit of God, that testimony will always remain with us, and the devil will never prevail against us. God grant it, I pray, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder Ezra Taft Benson
Ezra Taft Benson, Conference Report, April 1953, pp. 39-42
My beloved brethren and sisters: I pray for strength that I may be able to control my emotions and give vent to my feelings. I thank the Lord for the inspiration of this conference. I could wish that it might go on not for two more days but for five or ten. I have thrilled with the proceedings of the day and with the sweet, quiet, peaceful influence that is here. The past three months have, to a degree at least, been a study in contrasts.
I am sure, my brethren and sisters, you will never know how very deeply I appreciate my associations in the Church. I appreciate the hundreds and thousands of messages that have come from all parts of this nation and foreign countries expressing confidence and love and giving assurance of your faith and prayers in the new assignment which came to one of the humblest of your number.
You will never know how deeply I have missed the experiences in the Church that have been mine from week to week during the past eight years. Of course I have missed my family and the peace and quiet and love of my home, and I want you to know how much I appreciate the messages that have come following a near-tragic accident to two of my loved ones. Messages have been received from all over the Church and from outside as well.
I want you to know how much I have missed the weekly visits to stake conferences, the opportunity of visiting in the missions. I want you to know how deeply I have missed the associations with my brethren of the General Authorities. I have missed the opportunity of performing sacred ordinances of blessing people at stake conferences and at the Church Offices. I have missed very deeply the privilege of performing ordinations and setting apart my brethren to positions of trust in the Church and kingdom of God. I have missed the visits of humble members of the Church to my office in the Church Office Building.
I have missed the opportunity to go to the temple frequently to perform sacred ordinances, to officiate at marriages for young couples, and to have the opportunity of visiting with them intimately before and after marriage. I have missed very much my contact with the youth of the Church and with the great Mutual Improvement Associations with which I have had the pleasure, under the direction of the First Presidency, of serving.
And I have missed, even more, those Thursday meetings in the temple with my brethren, the sacred hour of prayer around the altar in the temple of God, and I have missed the meetings with the members of the Twelve as we have assembled quarterly. I have also missed the fast days on the first Thursday of the month.
I have been deeply grateful for the good people of the Washington Stake under the faithful leadership of Brother J. Willard Marriott, for their kindness, their love, and their understanding.
I think my testimony of the truth has never been so strong as it is today. I love this work. I know that God stands at the head of it, that he lives, that he is directing this work on the earth. I know that his priesthood and power and authority are here among men, and I know, my brethren and sisters, better than I have ever known before that, even during hours of trial and anxiety, it is possible to draw close to the Lord, to feel of his influence and of his sustaining power-that one is never alone, if he will only humble himself before the Almighty. I am grateful for that testimony, for that assurance.
I know, my brethren and sisters, that the sweetest work in all the world is the work in which we are engaged in helping to save and exalt the souls of the children of men. There isn't anything so important, so precious, so enjoyable, so soul-satisfying.
I have been happy in the privilege to serve, in a small way at least, this great country and the government under which we live. I am grateful to the First Presidency and my brethren that they have been willing, not only to give consent, but also to give me their blessing as I responded to the call of the chief executive. I am grateful for their prayers and their faith, and I know that my leaving has, in a small way at least, added to the heavy load they were already carrying.
To me it is a great honor and a privilege to serve the government of the United States of America. Our problems are numerous, complex, and difficult. The responsibility is heavy but I have felt the power of the faith and prayers of the Saints and Christian people generally throughout this nation, who believe in many of those eternal principles that are embodied in the gospel, the principles for which we stand as a people.
I am grateful that I have been able to get men closely associated with me who love America, who believe that the Constitution of this land embodies eternal principles. They are men of faith, men who are willing to join with me weekly in prayer in our staff meetings, men who love our free institutions, men who want to keep America strong, men who are willing to sacrifice financially in order to serve the government of the United States, this blessed land in which we live.
These men believe firmly that the supreme test of any policy, whether it be agricultural or otherwise, is this: How will it affect the morale, the character, and the well-being of our people? They are men who know that we need, and the world needs, a strong America for the critical years ahead; men, whose philosophy of life squares with the philosophy which has come to me through the teachings of the Church and kingdom of God, a philosophy which is based upon eternal principles which to me are priceless, a philosophy which teaches that freedom is a God-given, eternal principle vouchsafed to us under the Constitution.
This freedom must be continually guarded as something more priceless than life itself. Any program that would tend to weaken this freedom is inherently dangerous and should be guarded against. I will not say more today about this philosophy-this philosophy of individual freedom and citizenship responsibility, based upon the principle of helping the individual to help himself, and discouraging people from expecting the government to support them, but encouraging them to support their own government. I am grateful for this philosophy, and I am grateful to learn that this philosophy is accepted generally and rather widely in the hearts of our people throughout this land. I hope and pray that it may be accepted even to a greater extent in the days ahead. I trust that our great purpose shall be to strengthen the individual integrity, freedom, and moral fiber of each citizen.
Brethren and sisters, I love this great nation in which we live. To me it is not just another nation. It is my firm belief that the God of heaven raised up the founding fathers and inspired them to establish the Constitution of this land, and I believe that is Mormon doctrine. This is a part of my religious faith as it is of yours. This is a great and glorious nation, with a God-given, divine mission to perform for liberty-loving people everywhere. This mission cannot be performed unless America is kept strong and virile, unless this people adheres to those eternal principles embodied in the gospel and in the Constitution of our land.
So today I pray to God that no act of mine or program that I shall ever advocate will in the slightest tend to weaken this nation in the accomplishment of that God-given mandate.
Now, my brethren and sisters, we have recently, since our last general conference, passed through a great political campaign in which we have exercised our freedom, our God-given right at the polls. I rejoice in this privilege, that we have been able to go to the polls and express ourselves freely, with heads erect, unafraid. We have differed, as is our privilege, and I pray to God we may never lose this privilege. Many of us have supported men who were not elected. The American people spoke on election day. We chose one of our number as the chief executive, and he has a tremendous responsibility.
I was impressed with that responsibility a few days ago when I was invited to attend a prayer breakfast at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington D. C. Gathered there at an early hour were men of various political faiths various religious affiliations. Brief messages were given; prayers were offered. We heard an inspirational message from the President of the United States. I sat at a table with the Vice President, a prominent congressman from up in the northwest, several southern Democratic friends, and as we visited together and enjoyed the inspiration of that occasion, I couldn't help thanking God that in America it is still possible for men of differing political faiths to come together and in unity appeal to the Almighty for his blessings upon this land of America and him who has been called to serve as the chief executive.
One piece of literature distributed at that meeting came from Conrad L. Hilton, the head of the Hilton chain of hotels. It was a picture of Uncle Sam upon his knees in prayer. I learned from Mr. Hilton later that this had come as a result of an address he had given in Chicago over one of the national broadcasting chains in which he had tried to point out that if we are going to have victory in our battle for peace, then it must be obtained through greater spirituality and dependence upon the Almighty. The response to his message, through letters and telegrams, seemed to carry one theme from people of various walks of life from all over America. The theme was that final victory rests not on munitions upon money or soldiers but that the final victory rests with the God of heaven.
Mr. Hilton was so impressed that he tried to picture this sentiment by showing Uncle Sam-America-on his knees in prayer. "... not beaten there by hammer and sickle," as he said, "but freely, intelligently, responsibly, confidently, powerfully." And then were added these words, "America now knows it can destroy communism and win the battle for peace. We need fear nothing or no one... except God."
Then there was penned a simple prayer beside this picture of Uncle Sam. I have taken the liberty of changing the pronoun in that prayer that it might conform with our language of prayer as we use it in the Church. I would like to read it to you:
Our Father in heaven:
We pray that thou wilt save us from ourselves.
The world that thou hast made for us, to live in peace, we have made into an armed camp. We live in fear of war to come.
We are afraid of "the terror that flies by night, and the arrow that flies by day, the pestilence that walks in darkness and the destruction that wastes at noonday. We have turned from thee to go our selfish way. We have broken thy commandments and denied thy truth. We have left thine altars to serve the false gods of money and pleasure and power.
Forgive us and help us.
Now, darkness gathers around us, and we are confused in all our counsels. Losing faith in thee, we lose faith in ourselves.
Inspire us with wisdom, all of us of every color, race, and creed, to use our wealth, our strength to help our brother, instead of destroying him.
Help us to do thy will as it is done in heaven and to be worthy of thy promise of peace on earth.
Fill us with new faith, new strength, and new courage, that we may win the battle for peace.
Be swift to save us, dear God, before the darkness falls.
Now, my brethren and sisters, a written prayer is not enough. A spoken prayer is not enough. If we are going to realize the hope that is in the hearts of all of us, then as American citizens, as Latter-day Saints, we must live worthy of the blessings for which we pray.
In closing, I would like to appeal to the Latter-day Saints, and all within the range of my voice today, that we seek to promote a spirit of humility throughout this great land, that we pray for the President of the United States. He is our President. He needs our faith and prayers. He has my confidence, as do the men associated with him in the cabinet.
As we bow our heads in prayer in cabinet meeting each Friday morning, I thank God that we still have in America men of faith who are not too proud to bow before the Almighty and seek his inspiration. We may not agree with all of the President's policies, and I hope if we do not, we will express ourselves vigorously and freely, either policies advocated or policies adopted. I hope the issues will be debated freely from one end of the land to the other because therein is safety. There is always safety in an informed public.
But let us pray that the chief executive will make no serious mistakes. Let us pray for the Congress of the United States. They are made up mostly of good men, fine public servants, who want to do what is right. They also want to please their constituents, and I hope you will be wise in what you ask of them. Don't ask them for anything that is unsound. Don't put your own selfish, narrow desires ahead of the public welfare. Give our legislators your faith and your prayers.
Pray also for the great judicial branch of the government-these men who have been called and given the great responsibility of interpreting the laws of the land. May they have the power and influence of the Spirit of heaven that as they interpret those laws they may do so in keeping with the spirit of the Constitution in a manner pleasing to our Heavenly Father.
God bless us, my brethren and sisters, as Latter-day Saints, that we may wield our influence to the very maximum in promoting peace, in promoting spirituality among the people of this great nation, that this great country of which we are a part, may be preserved, and may continue to be, through all the days to come, a beacon and an inspiration to liberty-loving people everywhere. God grant his blessings to this people and upon this great land, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report, April 1953, pp. 52-56
My brethren: Obedient to President McKay's request, which is founded I know, on a good reason, I shall take a little more time tonight than I had intended to take, but I do not intend to deprive you of the pleasure and profit of having a few words from him.
I suppose from President McKay's observation about the duty of the ushers, that he has not yet received an estimate of the number of the Priesthood who are here, on the grounds, in other buildings, and of course, we do not know the number that are listening in at the Field House at the Brigham Young University, but I am sure it is a great multitude. I suppose it is the greatest gathering of Priesthood, the true Priesthood, that has occurred in the history of the whole world.
The Lord tried to make a nation of priests out of Israel, but Israel would not, and so the Lord had to organize as he did, giving the Priesthood to one tribe, withdrawing the Melchizedek Priesthood from their midst, and setting up the Priesthood of Aaron.
We have been more fortunate, more blessed, and I hope we may say, in truth, more obedient, than ancient Israel, we do have a nation, a people of priests, for all our male members over twelve years of age do bear the Priesthood. This Priesthood has been known by various names, but apparently the full name is the Holy Priesthood under or according to the Order of the Son of God.
I want to read to you some verses from the Book of Moses, 1st chapter and the 31st to the 33rd verses, part of the 35th and then the 37th and the 39th. "And behold, the glory of the Lord was upon Moses, so that Moses stood in the presence of God, and talked with him face to face. And the Lord God said unto Moses: For mine own purpose have I made these things." "Here is wisdom and it remaineth in me.
"And by the word of my power, have I created them, which is mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth.
"And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten. * * *
"... For behold, there are many words that have passed away by the word of my power. And there are many that now stand, and innumerable are they unto man; but all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them. * * *
"And the Lord God spake unto Moses, saying: The heavens, they are many, and they cannot be numbered unto man; but they are numbered unto me, for they are mine".
This revelation given to Moses, thousands of years ago, now finds its fruit through the great telescopes that have been recently erected, which show that there are universes, galaxies, unnumbered, some of them as much as a billion or two billion light years away, that is, it takes a billion or two billion years for light traveling 185 thousand miles per second, as I recall, to come from them to us.
Moses goes on: "And as one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof even so shall another come; and there is no end to my works, neither to my words."
The modern astrophysicists suggest that galaxies may have been formed in the past and disappeared, that the galaxies now formed may disappear, and that others may be formed to take their places, for there is no end to space.
Moses continues, "For behold, this is my work and my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
The Lord said that he did these works, the creation of the worlds, "by the word of his power," which is his Only Begotten Son. It seems as if when God speaks, the chaos of space answers, universes are formed, universes disappear, new worlds are created, old worlds disappear, and all this suggests, as I just read, the end is not yet.
Now, what is that "word of my power," which does these mighty works in the universe? I want to read to you what Brother Brigham said about that. He said: "If anybody wants to know what the Priesthood of the Son of God is, it is the law by which the worlds are, were, and will continue for ever and ever. It is that system which brings worlds into existence and peoples them, gives them their revolutions, their days, weeks, months, years, their seasons and times, and by which they are rolled up as a scroll, as it were, and go into a higher state of existence."
That is, these measureless creations have been formed by the power of the Holy Priesthood of the Order of the Son of God. This Priesthood we, you and I, and all who stand in like places, possess, not in its fullness, as to the exercise of its power, but we do have the Priesthood. How great and how multiple are its powers, which we do in fact possess, some of you, all of you, have witnessed at one time or another in your lives.
I would like to read what the Prophet Joseph has said, some of the things he has said, about the Priesthood:
"The Priesthood," said the Prophet "is an everlasting principle, and existed with God from eternity and will to eternity, without beginning of days or end of years." Adam ... Adam stands next to Christ, who is the great High Priest. Adam obtained his Priesthood "in the Creation, before the world was formed."
And the following statement of the Prophet is, to me, most significant "Every man who has a calling to minister to the inhabitants of the world"-note that-"Every man who has a calling to minister to the inhabitants of the world was ordained to that very purpose in the Grand Council of heaven before this world was. I suppose that I was ordained to this very office in that Grand Council".
I like to think that not alone did such men as Adam and the Prophet Joseph receive the Priesthood before they came here. I like to think, I can give you no scripture for it, I like to think that those of us who are set apart, chosen and set apart, to come forth in this the last dispensation of time, which is to draw together all other dispensations, had a like conferring of Priesthood though not perhaps a like setting apart.
The Prophet continues, "If a man gets a fullness of the priesthood of God, he has to get it in the same way that Jesus Christ obtained it, and that was by keeping all the commandments and obeying all the ordinances of the house of the Lord."
That lets us glimpse the fact that we poor humans, weak and clogged with mortality, cannot obtain the priesthood fullness here, not now at any rate, nor until we have yielded obedience to all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord; but when we do, that fullness will be ours.
He goes on: "It is the channel through which the Almighty commenced revealing His glory at the beginning of the creation of this earth, and through which He has continued to reveal Himself to the children of men to the present time, and through which He will make known His purposes to the end of time."
Now brethren, I take it that we can all glimpse something of the nature and the power of this Priesthood, which each of us has. With the possession of that power, there comes a tremendous responsibility, so great indeed, that to contemplate it seriously, is almost to crush us. Certainly, it is a humbling thing to think and try to understand and to contemplate that you and I are clothed with that Priesthood, the same Priesthood that obtained in the creation of heavens and of worlds. But remember, we do not have and so we cannot exercise, save only a fraction, a very small fraction, of the fullness of the Priesthood, and we must be most careful in our attempted use of what we have.
Years ago, I did a little work classifying somewhat the powers of the Priesthood exercised by the Savior, as recorded in the New Testament. First, I discovered that he had exercised certain creative powers, the powers of creation: witness the turning of water into wine, the feeding of the 5,000 and the 4,000, and I repeat what I think I have said here before, about those latter miracles, please do not accept the explanation that is made by those who are tinctured by this "higher criticism," please do not accept the suggestion that the reason the 5,000 were fed was because they had taken their lunches with them.
He exercised control over the elements. You will recall that he acted in seeming disobedience to some of what we call the laws of nature. He stilled the troubled waters on the sea that night when the disciples thought the boat was about to be swamped, and they awakened him in their dire distress and fear. He calmed the waters. On another occasion, while the disciples were going across the Sea of Galilee, in their boat, they having left him on the other side of the lake, he came to them in the night, walking on the water. They thought he was a spirit. When they found out who he was, Peter, the impetuous Peter, asked the Savior to bid him to come to him. The Savior bade him, Peter went over the side and started to walk towards him. But the waves piling up in front of him, his faith failed him and he began to sink. He called to the Savior to save him. The Savior said, "O ye of little faith".
He controlled life. You will remember he raised the dead, he healed the sick, and the infirm, all of these manifestations, in one sense or another involved great creative powers. Most of these exhibitions of his power have been repeated in our time by the exercise of the powers of the Priesthood we hold. I hope that if you have not recently read, you will read the Life of Jacob Hamblin. There is a man to whom the Church has not yet paid due tribute. He was a great missionary. He was a diplomat of the highest order. He was a statesman. He, time and again, used these great priesthood powers to assist him in his work. I wish that we would reprint that faith-promoting series that we had once, and would use them in our schools to build up simple faith instead of sometimes furnishing material whose sole function seems to be to raise doubts.
Brethren, have simple faith, for faith is the implementing force of the Priesthood. I want to read to you what Brother Brigham said about that. He said, "If we speak of faith in the abstract, it is the power of God by which the worlds are and were made, and is a gift of God to those who believe and obey his commandments."
If you brethren will run over in your minds the use of the Priesthood you yourselves have made, you will find that all the uses which have to do, at any rate, with the alleviating of human suffering, the bestowal of spiritual powers and graces, all of these works we do are brought about through the exercise of faith.
Now, brethren, here we are, agents of the Lord, and he, our Lord and Savior, the agent of God, the Father. That is the power we have, that is the responsibility that is ours. We must ask ourselves what kind of agents are we? How well are we magnifying that agency, how nearly are we living in accordance with the commandments of God through which action only shall we ever receive a fullness of the Priesthood which we now possess.
I confess, brethren, that to me this is a tremendously important subject. It is a subject that can occupy our time and attention, and upon which we may exert all the mental powers we possess in order that we may gain some understanding thereon and thereof.
Brethren, let us take all of this to heart. Let us not treat the Priesthood lightly. Let us not think, as I have said to you before, that we can lay it off tonight and go out somewhere and do as the lust of pleasure dictates, and then come back and put it on and go forward again. The Priesthood cannot be treated in that way.
We should never go into a place, save we are sent on a spiritual mission where there would be any likelihood that the Spirit of the Lord could not go with us. We should never engage in any act and so far as possible, we should not harbor any thought, to which we might not invite the Spirit of the Lord to participate with us.
Do not, let us not, I speak to myself as I speak to you, let us not think lightly of this priesthood, let us bend every effort which we possess to do nothing that will either deprive us of the Priesthood, or that will in any way impair our ability and power to exercise it.
During the last week of his sojourn on the earth as a mortal in Palestine, the Lord, returning from Bethany to Jerusalem one morning, became hungry. He saw a fig tree in the distance, and thinking to relieve his hunger, he went to it and found that it had only leaves no fruit. So finding, he cursed the tree and declared that thenceforth forever it should not furnish fruit to any man. Critics have some difficulty in understanding that act. I do not intend to try to explain it, but I can think of it as an illustration of what will come to us, if we shall prostitute our Priesthood. Prostitute the Priesthood and I am sure it will be a long, laborious task to recover it in the measure to which we had it before. And when you think of what that Priesthood means, you men of families, with children-how glorious it is to be able to go to the Lord when one of them is ill and particularly when the doctors tell you there is no hope, how glorious it is to go to the Lord and ask for his help, doing this through the power of the Priesthood which you possess, and with the knowledge that if not contrary to his wisdom, he will grant that help.
And what a tragedy it would be, if, when that time should come, and it will come to most of you, sooner or later, what a tragedy it would be, if your right to invoke your Priesthood had been lost through your transgression. What a tragedy to find you were in the position of the fig tree that had been forbidden thereafter ever to bear any fruit.
I can testify to you, my brethren, out of my own experience, that God hears and answers prayers. I can testify to you that through the exercise of the Priesthood and prayer I have seen miracles performed, persons healed. There is no question about that. One such healing of a loved one, otherwise lost as to mortal life, is worth a thousand times more than all that it costs us to live so righteously that we do not lose our claim upon our Heavenly Father to honor our Priesthood.
Brethren, I cannot speak too earnestly and invoke too intently the wish that we shall, all of us, realize what this Priesthood means; that we shall keep ourselves clean so that nothing shall stand betwixt us and the Lord. I have spoken of the extreme case, in a way, the healing of the sick of our dear ones, but there is no hour of the day or the waking hours of the night, when we do not stand in need of comfort, of peace, of inspiration, of wisdom, that can come only from our Heavenly Father. Our priesthood is our authority to go to the Lord in times of stress.
Let us not, my brethren, do anything that will rob us of this agency of ours, agency to represent the Lord, and he, out of his agency, to represent the Father. We stand where, in a limited way at least, we may exercise the powers which God himself might exercise if he were present.
May the Lord be with us, encourage us, help us to live as he would have us live, help us to keep his commandments, help us to act straight and to think straight, help us to guide our footsteps away from temptation, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1953, pp. 58-60
When President Robertson referred to the freedom we enjoy in this great country, and gave us a glimpse of barbarism going on in China and other places, these lines came to my mind:
"Breathes there the man, with soul so dead, Who never to himself hath said This is my own, my native land?"
Let us thank God every morning, every night, in our family prayers, that we live in the United States of America, the Constitution of which vouchsafes individual freedom, and let us pray also, that the Lord will frustrate the plans of the Communists who would deprive us of that freedom.
There are in the Tabernacle tonight, 10,432; in the Assembly Hall 2,932; in the Barratt Hall 1,220; on the grounds 1,792; the Field House at Provo reports 839; making a total of over 17,000 men of the Priesthood assembled tonight.
It has always been my nature to enjoy the company of my associates. I love to be with my friends. The older I grow the more intense becomes my appreciation of fellowship in the Brotherhood of Christ. I sense that tonight more deeply, more sincerely than ever before. As I have looked into your faces, partaken of your spirit, as I picture those in the Assembly Hall in the Barratt Hall and on the grounds and down in the Field House, I feel that it is one of the greatest privileges, one of the most inspirational experiences in life to associate with men who hold the Holy Priesthood.
I have nothing but blessing in my heart for you. I love you. I like to call you my beloved associates and fellow workers, and that love is akin to the love we have for our wives and our children, and if we can keep this unity, this confidence, nothing in the world can stop the progress of this work.
You note tonight that the theme has largely been missionary. We have called these brethren from China, Australia, and Switzerland merely illustrative of how wide-spread our Gospel is. We have had them from the Islands, from South Africa. They are calling, calling for missionaries. Within the last few weeks, prominent visitors from India, Indo-China, from Hong Kong, have extended a cordial invitation to us to come to these places. This is a world-wide religion, brethren. It is the Gospel that must be preached to every nation, kindred, tongue and people.
Let me thank you and those of your families who have sent in checks by the scores, recently, with promises to repeat those checks monthly, to aid local missionaries in spreading the Gospel. We do not want any missionary in Australia or New Zealand or in any of the American nations, or in Mexico to have his or her expenses paid entirely but we will assist whenever possible local missionaries who need supplementary assisting. The response to suggestions of some of the brethren for such missionary funds is surprising and gratifying. As far as possible we let the donors know the names of those to whom this money is sent.
How the way opens up for the preaching of the Gospel! The calling of the boys into the military service has of course crippled our missionary work, more than it should have done. If anybody tells you that members of this Church are not carrying their share in the military work, you may just tell them that they do not know what they are talking about. I just take this opportunity to thank all who are contributing to the missionary cause.
Another phase of this missionary work tonight-Professor James L. Barker for years has urged that we give classes in foreign languages, that our young men may have an opportunity to study at home and get at least the fundamentals before going to a foreign country. Well, it is a good suggestion, but we have not yet been able to make it practical. It seems now that the time has come when we must do something. I have here before me an appeal for the teaching of languages in our high schools. I have a note from one who says that among all our senior high schools, only 15 offer one or more courses in foreign languages. In the Church there are men and women from every country in the world, in which there are missionaries. I should like to encourage our young men and young women, young men particularly, to include in their high school and college courses, some of these languages.
President Wilkinson informs me that twelve foreign languages are taught in the B.Y.U.-German, French, Portuguese, Greek, Syrian, Russian, Arabic, Latin, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch. In the University of Utah I learn that they have 810 students registered in 12 languages, and so the opportunity is at hand.
Recently there appeared in a local paper here an excellent editorial on the necessity, on the advisability of teaching languages here in our State, and in the United States. "Modern languages are not as widely or as successfully taught in United States schools as they should be to meet the requirements of the nation's position. The high school student who takes a language often finds he has practically forgotten it within a year or so. That may be due, in large part, to the fact that there is little opportunity to exercise language skills. The need to learn foreign languages should be accented and the acquisition and use of such languages stimulated. When men can talk together, they can get together."
The responsibility of preaching the Gospel rests upon us. When the people in Macedonia called to Paul, and the spirit told him to go over, he answered that call. They are calling for us in various nations they are calling for more missionaries now in the missions already established, and we must answer that call.
Brethren, in conclusion, let me urge more diligence in living the principles of the Gospel. We may preach, we may write, and publish books, but the most effective way of preaching the Gospel to the nations of the world, is by example.
"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine," said the Savior, "and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
"And the rain descended, and 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".
May God add his blessings to the instructions and the reports given this night, may we depart with greater determination in our hearts to serve the Lord and keep his commandments, may we go forth with greater resolution to defend and keep his commandments, may we go forth with greater resolution to defend one another in righteous living, to defend the Church, not to speak against our neighbors, nor against authorities of the Church, local, stake or general. Let us avoid evil speaking, let us avoid slander and gossip. These are poisons to the soul to those who indulge. Evil speaking injures the reviler more than the reviled. I heard a recent convert who came from Europe say, "I am surprised to hear how many people talk against the Authorities here in Salt Lake City." She was grieved, she had the right ideal of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that we should speak well of one another.
Brethren, peace be in your hearts peace and harmony be in your homes. God bless every man and every woman who has entered the waters of baptism with a testimony of the truth, I bear that testimony to you tonight with all my soul. I know that the power of God rests with his servants. I know that he will reveal and does reveal his mind and will to them. The communications of man's spirit, of one holding the Priesthood, with our Father in Heaven through the Holy Spirit is real. Is there anything in the world more precious than that knowledge! It is more precious than life, because it gives assurance that if death does come, that spirit continues. I bear you that testimony, that communication with our Heavenly Father is real, that Jesus Christ, our Lord, stands at the head of this Church. and that he desires the members so to live that this truth, this Gospel, may be preached in all the world as a witness and then the end will come.
With all my soul I bless you my fellow workers and pray that his inspiration will abide in your hearts and that peace and harmony and love may abide in your homes, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report, April 1953, pp. 64-65
My brethren and sisters: To my own prayer I humbly ask you to add yours, to strengthen me in my weakness, and to so order it that what I shall say in the few minutes I stand before you may be helpful and upbuilding to all of us.
Today is the day in which we commemorate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Always on this day, I like to run over in my mind the events that happened on that morning of the resurrection. We cannot be too certain of the order, but it could have been, and probably was, as I shall attempt to narrate.
Before it was light, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene, the great lover, went to the tomb of Jesus and found the stone rolled back. Looking in, she perceived the body was not there. She hastened back to Peter and John and told them. They, running, John outrunning Peter, reached the tomb. John looked in but did not enter. Courageous Peter, coming up, strode in and saw the burial clothes lying about. They then apparently returned to their quarters.
MARY FOLLOWED
It seems that Mary followed along after Peter and John, and, seeing a figure, she approached the figure, thinking it was the gardener, and asked where they had lain her Lord. The figure spoke, "Mary". She recognized him and would have embraced him but he said, "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God".
Shortly afterwards, the women from Galilee, carrying spices with them to prepare the body of Jesus for its final burial, came up. They looked in and the angels inside the tomb said, "Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified". "... Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen". I am sure that at this moment, if not before, the dense darkness that had enshrouded this great Western Hemisphere broke, the clouds rolled back, the light came, for the life and the light of the world had left the tomb.
The angels told the women to go and notify the disciples. They did, but the disciples thought the words were idle tales and believed not.
APPEARS TO PETER
Later in the day, two of the disciples were on their way to Emmaus. The Lord drew near and walked with them. They did not know him. He inquired as to their sadness as they walked. They asked if he did not know what had happened in Jerusalem in these days. He feigned an ignorance of what they were thinking. They recounted the arrest, the trial, the crucifixion, and the empty tomb. Declaring to them, "O fools, and slow of heart to believe", he explained to them all the prophets that had prophesied concerning this great event. They entered the village and sat at meat; he broke bread and blessed it. Then they recognized him as he vanished from their sight.
During the same day he appeared to Simon Peter. In the evening, of the same day, the ten disciples had assembled together in a room. The doors and windows were shut, but suddenly Christ stood in their midst. They were affrighted. He disclosed himself to them, and ate with them.
A week later, the disciples were again assembled together, Thomas this time being there. He had said he would not believe unless he could touch the body of the Savior. Christ came again to them, though the doors were shut, and again instructed them.
Thereafter, at the sea of Tiberias, he appeared to several of the disciples, those who had gone fishing, thinking their work was over. Then took place that great conference, where he asked Peter if Peter loved him, and Peter saying "Yes," Jesus said, "Feed my sheep".
He appeared to James, apparently separately, then to a great multitude, then again to the disciples at the time of the ascension. He continued to walk with them at times over a period of forty days, and then came the ascension.
Thus his resurrection was abundantly verified.
The Jews and the pagans of the time seem to have had little difficulty with the idea of a Messiahship. The pagan theology was filled with pseudo-gods and goddesses who were merely glorified human beings. They could glimpse Messiahship. But they seemed to have had no concept of the resurrection.
APOSTASY BEGAN
Early in the Christian Church there began to arise heresies regarding the Christ. These heresies were aided by the attempt of the early Christians to harmonize their beliefs with the pagan beliefs, by adopting pagan beliefs. But finally, in the main, these basic anti-Christ heresies disappeared, and Jesus was recognized as the Christ.
Then the apostasy began. The Church began to transgress the laws, to change the ordinances, and to break the everlasting covenant. The simple principles of Christ's gospel were lost or changed. That was the first great apostasy.
But as time went on, some of the ancient heresies reappeared, and this reappearance has been increasing in volume. The heresies began to question whether Jesus was the Christ, and that question, of course, really questions the Messiahship. Today one great body of the Christian world has abandoned Christ as the Messiah, the Atoning Sacrifice, the Redeemer of the world; they regard him now only as a great teacher and philosopher.
Another great section of the present Christian world has more or less taken away from the Savior a great part of that spiritual personality which he gave himself, and which his early Apostles gave, and which we give him. They are dividing their worship between him and his mother.
We know, and it is our responsibility to carry forward what we do know, that Jesus is the Christ, that he is the Son of God, that he was in truth an atoning sacrifice for the fall, that through him and by him all mortals, whoever they are, will be resurrected, that through his gospel and by it, all may be saved, not only, but exalted in the kingdom of God.
It seems that we are almost alone in clinging to the Christ as he described himself and declared himself. This must be because we are the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Ours is the responsibility to see to it that no act or thought or teaching of ours shall in any way question the divinity of Jesus, nor in any way question that he was the Son of God, nor in any way question the atoning sacrifice which he made for us. If we do, we shall become guilty of that great offense where we shall crucify to ourselves the Son of God afresh, for which I am sure we shall hardly gain forgiveness.
Brethren and sisters, cling to the Savior. Accept him as he, himself, described himself: "I am the light and the life of the world". Salvation comes only through him, and as Peter said to his accusers: "... there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved".
May the Lord help us to keep this testimony in our hearts and increase it; may he give us the courage proudly to proclaim it; may our influence in the world be extended until we shall be able to bring the righteous everywhere to the knowledge which we possess that they, along with us, if we shall hold our course, shall be saved and exalted in the celestial kingdom, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder Clifford E. Young
Clifford E. Young, Conference Report, April 1953, pp. 66-69
My brethren and sisters, may I express to you my deep gratitude for the privilege of attending this conference.
The opening, impressive address of President Clark to which we have just listened has stimulated our faith and given us renewed hope, and I therefore trust that I shall say nothing to detract from it, for I have in my heart on this occasion to say only that which will add to the spirit of this glorious day.
There are one or two things that come to my mind as I contemplate the mission of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ: things that apply to us in our daily lives. You will remember that as the Savior hung on the cross, his suffering was such that he sweat great drops of blood, yet he offered that memorable prayer, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do".
A few days after the Savior had ascended into heaven, Peter and John went to the temple to pray. It was the ninth hour of the day, and as they entered the temple, they noticed a beggar, one who was brought to the temple everyday to ask for alms. He had been afflicted from his birth, and was unable to walk. Peter seeing him 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 he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple walking, and leaping, and praising God.
This incident created quite a sensation because later on multitudes followed Peter and John seeking to know more of the power by which this great miracle had been performed. And then Peter, recognizing that some of the very throng were those who had participated in the crucifixion said to them:
"And now, brethren I wot that through ignorance ye did it as did also your rulers". We read that there were rulers with the multitude at the crucifixion. "I know that through your ignorance ye did it," is what Peter said to them; thus in accord with what the Savior had said, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do". Then Peter went on to say:
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.
This is an impressive lesson. It is a lesson to you and me, who have been made partakers of the truth. Much is expected of us, because we know. Jesus made it clear. Peter made it clear that in cases of ignorance, the Lord would be merciful, and kind, and just but with those who know and who have the responsibility, it is a different matter. It is knowledge that brings responsibility.
I remember one occasion when President Grant attended one of our Alpine Stake meetings where at that time I was presiding. We called all the priesthood together and had invited members of the Church who had been indifferent to their responsibilities, and during that meeting President Grant made a characteristic talk on the Word of Wisdom. At the close of the meeting, one of the brethren remarked that he thought President Grant was rather harsh in his appeal for Latter-day Saints to keep the Word of Wisdom. I told Brother Grant of the comment, and he replied. "I was not talking to the outsiders, I was talking to you, to Latter-day Saints who know better." I repeat, it is knowledge that brings accountability.
And so we have this lesson. The Lord is merciful and just and kind because he recognizes that there is a difference in degree, that his children are not all reared under the same environment. Some come from good homes, from Latter-day Saint homes, where they have been taught the truth and where they know, or should know, the truth. Others have come from broken homes, where there is some question in their minds as to the divinity of this work and where there is a lack of understanding of the truth and of its great power. To them the Lord is merciful and kind. That is illustrated beautifully in the story of Jonah. You will remember that the Lord had told Jonah to warn Nineveh and he had failed in his responsibility. He thought he knew better than the Lord, and finally, after a serious experience on the sea, and being cast up on the shore by a great fish, the Lord appeared to him again and said, "Now, Jonah, you do as I told you to do." And this time Jonah went to Nineveh and warned the people that if they did not turn from their evil ways they would be destroyed. He did not understand that there was an opportunity to repent. After preaching to the people he went over on the side of a hill and sat under a gourd which the Lord had caused to grow up to protect him from the sun. By and by the gourd wilted, and as Jonah waited and the city was not destroyed, he sulked and felt sorry for himself and the gourd. Then the Lord came to him again and said,
... Thou hast had pity on the gourd for the which thou hast not laboured neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:
And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand.
And so I say, my brothers and sisters the Lord knows and understands the hearts of the children of men. He knows our intent, our desires, and he also knows what is expected of us. And we should know what is expected of ourselves. In harmony with this thought, I would like to read a statement that was made by Elder Albert E. Bowen from this pulpit about two years ago. He said, "The measure of a man's achievements lies not altogether in where he gets to. You have to have regard for the place from which he started; and the degree of his advancement, though he has not reached so high a place as one of his fellows, may be greater because of the handicap of the position from which he set out."
We do not all start from the same source.
Another thought in connection with this seems to me to be fundamental to repentance. The Lord has said that it is his glory and his work to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of his children. We know from our earthly experience how our hearts are drawn toward our children, and the great love and compassion we have for them even in their weaknesses. How great must be the compassion and love of our Heavenly Father for us, his children! He does not condone sin, but he exercises mercy for his children. He knows their weaknesses, and because of this understanding he exercises justice and mercy in connection with the operation of his divine law.
There is another matter to which I would like to call attention. I can only touch on it briefly. It is a matter, however, that emphasizes the need on our part of an understanding heart toward our children and also impresses us with this fundamental doctrine of the Church of eternal life, of living again. We have a glorious privilege given to us through the restoration of the Holy Priesthood by which we are permitted to go to the temples of the Lord and we may officiate in holy ordinances where parents may be sealed with their children for time and all eternity. Have you ever stopped to think what this connotes, my brethren and sisters? It is eternal life. The very gift that was made possible on that first Easter morning through Jesus Christ, that we may live again, that we shall not only live, but that we shall also have those whom we love who are dearer to us than life itself. Think what that means. That is another of the blessings that have been vouchsafed to us through the ministry of Jesus Christ.
In this connection we as parents have an obligation to our children to help them to prepare for these blessings. I sometimes think we are a little lax in not better preparing our children for the responsibilities of temple marriages. I think bishops could do much in that field, in helping our young people to prepare for this great responsibility so that they will have understanding hearts and will appreciate the great blessings of going to the house of the Lord and making holy covenants that will preserve them and their families forever. If all the young people of the Church could be impressed with the importance of temple marriage, with all the sacredness that goes with it, the keeping of covenants, the preservation of love and virtue in every home, it would indeed be one of the greatest factors in banishing hatreds, in eliminating broken homes and all the sorrows incident thereto. It would ultimately bring peace to the world. This is another of the great blessings that come to you and me through the ministry of Jesus Christ.
Now one closing thought-my grandmother on my mother's side was a Quaker. She joined the Church in Westchester, Pennsylvania and with her family immigrated to Nauvoo. After the martyrdom of the Prophet she was among those who moved out to Winter Quarters and then came west in 1847. I like to think of her as one of those of the "Last Wagon" that President Clark so beautifully speaks of in his book. Before her death she lived with my mother, and I remember on one occasion as we sat around the old fireplace, Grandmother seemed to be conscious of the fact that she would not be here very long. She had a strong testimony and a very deeply rooted faith. She had no fear of death. She seemed to realize fully that it was merely the passing from this life to the other side. After discussing some of the blessings of the gospel and expressing her gratitude that she and her family had been made partakers of its blessings, she remarked to my mother in her typical Quaker style, "Ibbie, when I am gone, thee must not come to the cemetery. I will not be there." I could not quite understand it then, but I do now. Reference has already been made to the statement of the angel to the women at the tomb of the Savior, "... Why seek ye the living among the dead?". And I repeat, why seek ye the living among the dead? We will not be there. That's the message of hope we are speaking of and thinking of today. Our spirits are eternal. They do not die. It is the cloak that covers our spirits that we lay aside. I know, brothers and sisters, that we do not understand the processes, but that does not change the eternal truth.
Every day we learn of great discoveries that are being made-the work of the astronomers, the galaxies that are being discovered-millions of them, beyond number. This scientific age is an age of miracles, and when we contemplate them, we cannot help thinking how presumptuous of us to question the miracle of being able to lay this body away, the cloak of our spirit, but that our spirits may continue to live. I repeat again, we will not be there because our spirits are immortal! Some day we will come back just as the Savior came back; and our bodies will be healed through the great natural processes; our spirits will again enter them; and we will become living souls. That does not mean we will live again; we have lived all the time, just as the Savior while his body was in the tomb, was preaching to those spirits in prison.
We will have responsibilities. But let us not forget that at the cemetery we are not there. I do not want to detract from the sacredness that you feel in your heart as you go to the resting place of those whom you love, not that at all. But, brothers and sisters, there is something far and beyond it all. As Jesus was the Christ, the Redeemer of the world, and lived again, so we live again eternal lives, and we will continue to live.
May God help us to appreciate this and sanctify to our good the lessons learned from this great Easter day, I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder Oscar A. Kirkham
Oscar A. Kirkham, Conference Report, April 1953, pp. 69-70
I humbly pray that the Lord will bless me this Easter morning. This is truly a great day when we contemplate what is happening across the earth. In ten thousand churches, on a thousand hilltops, everywhere, men and women are declaring their faith in the divine mission of Jesus Christ. We of the Latter-day Saint Church join our voices happily with the multitudes that declare their faith in God.
One of the most striking expressions of the Savior is, "He went about doing good". With my life's work with youth I have constantly been reminded that I must be practical. Youth lives in action, in doing. "He went about doing good."
I read also these words from Psalm 27:11: "Teach me thy way, O Lord and lead me in a plain path". Recently in a small village in Nevada, I was called to dedicate a small, lovely chapel. The story was told by the bishop of how they had a great struggle to raise the money and do their part. He said "The time came when we had to get the last five thousand dollars to do our part." He went before the people and literally not figuratively, but literally took off his coat, and said, "I will not put on my coat again, with the Lord's help, until we have raised our part." And he went forward, and his family was with him. And then I saw the joy of the accomplishment. My heart was thrilled. People came from distant states. They rode down the valley from everywhere to be with their friends and neighbors, and when it was all over, a delightful thing happened. Although an appointment called me to hurry away to a neighboring city, as we looked back from the car window, we saw the crowd was still there, shaking hands with neighbors and friends, enjoying the loveliness of the occasion and the spirit of their accomplishment.
May we also "take off our coats," to do our part in this hour of challenge and opportunity. May I suggest one or two simple things, plain things, as David said in the Psalms, which are also the teachings of the Latter-day Saint Church?
Help someone in need: Rushing from one city to another to escape bombing not long ago, people by the thousands were trying to find a way to safety, in one of the cities of China. All at once in the rush the crowd crossing the bridge stopped, for someone was holding up the traffic. It was a boy. He could not cross the bridge. He heard the cry of a child that had fallen. Quickly he went to help-to help someone in need. When the child was made safe, he again hurried on his way.
Did you read the other day that on Baldy Hill fifteen American soldiers were commissioned to go and bring out a number of boys that had been left, unfortunately not able to get away under the fire? They worked and worked; they heard of another buried somewhere out in the debris. They went again very early in the morning before it was light. As they came to a nob of the hill, they heard a voice crying, "Water, water." They quickly dug. They rescued a young man from death and by the grace of God carried him safely down the hill where he received further help. There are many everywhere calling, "Water, water."
Stand for the truth and the right with all good men: In this very tabernacle I heard one evening an appeal made by the queen of Holland. She told of the sorrow of her people, many of them giving their lives, but she ended that beautiful appeal of deep sincerity with these words, "Let us all do our best, and leave the rest to God."
President David O. McKay, addressing the graduating class at the University of Utah, said:
Young men and young women: The future awaits you! It's yours! If you would end war and give peace to the world, you have campaigns to organize and conquests to achieve. These will be campaigns planned for the establishment of justice. These are the conquests of the soul: whether it is better to walk along the easy road to selfishness and indulgence than to strive through self-mastery and service in the realm of spirituality, you must decide.
Have courage for prayer. That must be part of the high resolve of this conference. Courage for the right! So much is happening in public places, so many are brought into contact where public opinion is a power. I am proud and you are proud, when you heard the President of the United States before he gave his inaugural address say, "I want to say a little prayer."
I went one day down to the station with a group of missionaries to say goodbye. A father, my neighbor, was with me. There was a group about us. The stationmaster came out and said, "It will be about twenty minutes before the train leaves. Don't go far away." Then I saw my neighbor walk through the crowd quickly, his son on his arm through the station, and they were gone for a time. Then I saw him return just before the train pulled out. He kissed the boy good-bye, and the boy was off. I walked over to my friend and said: "I want to ask you a personal question. I have a thought that I want to ask you about your boy." I said, "Where did you go when you took your boy? Now, pardon me, if this is too private, you do not need to answer, but I have an idea." He said "Oh, I think you have the right idea. I took my boy home. We went to the bedroom alone. I said, `Son, I am so proud today,' and I finally mustered up courage to do what I should have done probably many times before. `Sit on the edge of the bed, I want to bless you. I am proud of you. Mother is proud of you. This is a great day.' And I blessed my son."
One other closing story: I heard it in the temple from one of the mission presidents. The children of neighbors and friends often come with their playmates to the auxiliary organizations of the Latter-day Saint Church. One little girl had caught the message on several occasions about family prayer. When she came home one day, she said to her parents, "Have I got any rights in this family?" The father answered, "Why, certainly you have, dear." "Well, I want family prayer." "Well, my dear, you shall have family prayer." But it went on, and when the occasion came again, the child said "Have I got any rights in this family?" There was a longer pause, more reflection, then, "Yes, dear." And family prayer was said.
May God bless us. May we help someone in need. May we stand for the truth and right. May we have courage for prayer. "Teach me in thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path". May we as he did ever go about doing good, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder LeGrand Richards
LeGrand Richards, Conference Report, April 1953, pp. 71-74
At the opening session of this great conference yesterday, President David O. McKay gave us two great objectives: the one, to put our homes in order, and the second, to proclaim the divine mission of the Redeemer of the world. We have listened to some beautiful talks on those subjects, and particularly on the mission of the Redeemer of the world since that opening address, especially appropriate in view of the fact that today is Easter, when all the Christian world is celebrating that event.
I should like to tell you an experience I had while laboring as a missionary in New Bedford, Massachusetts some years ago. We were approaching the Easter Sunday, and I had a discussion with a minister of the gospel about the mission of the Redeemer of the world. I had him explain to me the God in whom he believed. Naturally, in keeping with the ordinary orthodox Christian view, he explained how God the Father, and God the Son and God the Holy Ghost were one God, and then he went on to indicate their work and said, in substance, that they were so large that they filled the whole universe, and so small that they could dwell in our hearts; that they were the life of the plants and flowers and everything around us. And then I interjected this question, "What are we celebrating this week?" And he said "The Easter." I said, "What does that really mean?" "Well," he said, "it's the resurrection of Christ." I said, "Just what do you mean by the resurrection of Christ?" Then I led him to explain. I said, "You mean that the stone was actually rolled away and that when the women came to the tomb that the angels proclaimed that he was not there, that he was arisen, that the very body that was taken down from the cross and laid in that tomb had arisen?". And he admitted that that was true.
And I said that in that body he appeared to his disciples and when doubting Thomas questioned the fact that he was actually the Redeemer whom they had known, he asked Thomas to put his hand in the wound in Jesus' side and feel the prints in his hands, and see that "I am the same," for, said he, "A spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have". And to indicate further the fact that he had that same body that was laid away in the tomb, he took fish and honeycomb and ate with them. I said "Now that was the same body that he laid away in the tomb, wasn't it?" And he agreed that it was.
And then I led him on through the experience of the Savior in ministering among his disciples for forty days until in the presence of five hundred of the brethren he was carried away in the clouds of heaven, and two men dressed in white apparel stood and said, as the brethren gazed into heaven to watch him ascend, "... Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven". And he agreed that that actually happened.
And then I said, "My friend, where is the body that Jesus took out of the tomb, if he and the Father are one and an essence everywhere present in the world? Would you say that Jesus died a second death and laid his body down again?" And he thought for a few minutes. He said, "I am afraid I can't answer that. I have never thought of it before in that way."
Now, brothers and sisters, I thank God that we have a recommitment to this earth in our day and time that he does have his body, that he does actually exist as the Redeemer of the world, that he did break the bands of death, that the grave might have no victory in that it delivered up his body as it will do for all of us, of which we have heard such wonderful testimonies here in this conference.
Sometime ago, Brother Clifford Young gave a Church of the Air address. He told me following that of some of the letters he had received commenting on his address. And one was from a minister of the gospel, in which he said something like this: "It pleases me greatly to know that the Mormons believe in the Christ." I have thought a great deal about that statement since, and I have thought of the feeling the world has toward our people. I have compared it to the time when Paul stood at Rome to be judged, and they said unto him, "... we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against". Why did they speak against it? Was it not the same when Paul stood there bound in chains, when he delivered that marvelous testimony before Agrippa and Festus, when Agrippa said, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian". And Festus said, "... thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad". To which Paul replied "I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness". And then he said: "I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds". Think of Saul just shortly before that, when they laid at his feet the cloaks of those who stoned and put to death Stephen, the prophet of God. And you remember how Stephen gazed into heaven and saw Jesus sitting on the right hand of his Father. And then Saul went from that experience into Damascus with an order to persecute the Christians.
That is just like the world. They don't understand, and so they malign us, and they tell all manner of things that are not true, and they do not have the right conception, just like Paul of old. But when the testimony had come to Paul, he was a different man. The Church hadn't changed; Christ hadn't changed; his truth was the same; but Saul of Tarsus had changed. He was now Paul, the Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.
A short time ago I sent one of our Church books to a distant relative on my mother's side, back in Massachusetts. My cousin, Merlin Steed, had been there and had visited him. He wrote Merlin a letter and said he had spent three weeks reading the book. He said, "It is a great eye opener to me. It is the first book I have ever read in favor of the Mormons." And then he added this statement, "I doubt if you have any idea of the fantastic yarns that are current in New England concerning the Mormon Church. Some of them are so wild that I doubt if the persons who tell them really believe what they are saying themselves."
That is what we have to meet in the world. If the Lord would but take that prejudice out of their hearts! I ask this question: Why did they persecute the saints of old? Why did they put to death the Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ? Why did they crucify our Lord? Only because of the darkness that covered their minds and the efforts of the evil one to destroy the work of God in the earth, and for that same reason, they misunderstand the motives of this great Church today.
I had an experience in Oregon after my first mission. I had spent some time with a prominent businessman. He didn't know I was a Mormon, and he painted the Mormons and the Mormon missionaries so black it almost made my blood run cold. When he was through, I said, "My friend, now don't you feel embarrassed, because," I said, "you are sitting right here at the side of a Mormon missionary." He went red in the face, and I said, "I forgive you," because I had qualified him before. I said, "Have you ever read a Mormon book?" He said, "No." I said, "Have you ever met a Mormon?" And he said, "No." I said, "I forgive you because you are not supposed to know any better. Where did you get your information from?" "Oh," he said, "you hear it on the streets, and you read it in the magazines and in the newspapers; everybody knows what the Mormons are."
Now, brethren and sisters, if there is any Church in this world that really believes that Jesus is the Christ, surely it is the Latter-day Saints. No Church has ever exalted him as has this Church. He is the head of the Church, literally as the man is the head of the woman; the Church bears his name; and there was no other Church in the world that bore his name when he committed it to this Church and commanded that the Church should be named after him. The whole premise of Mormonism is based upon the fact that the Father and the Son literally appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith. They couldn't have done that if they were only an essence, everywhere present in the world. With that glorified body that Jesus took out of the tomb, he appeared to Joseph Smith, and if that thing did not actually transpire, we have no right to be assembled here in a conference claiming to be the Church of Jesus Christ. And if it did actually transpire then all the people of this world will ultimately have to accept of the work that he established through the Prophet that he raised up in this dispensation.
We have had testimony borne here today of how he appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, and I would like to leave this thought with you. It wasn't only what Jesus taught. You remember that he said to those of old, "If ye believe not my words, believe then my works". Here are the works of the Lord Jesus Christ, the establishment of his great Church.
As I have sat here in this conference, I have thought of the words of Nephi of old who saw our day and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and the establishment of the kingdom of God upon the earth, and he said he saw the Saints of God scattered upon the face of the whole earth and the power of God resting upon them in great glory. And I testify to you that the power of God is with this Church in great glory today.
I would like to add another thought. Jesus 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". In the world today, in the Christian world, there are too many just saying, "Lord, Lord," and they are not doing the will of our Father. Then I remind you that when Jesus stood on the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem and recalled how they had rejected him, he cried out, as it were, in the anguish of his soul,
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!.
And then he said,
Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
Now I want to tell you that when God the Eternal Father, through his Son Jesus Christ, sends a prophet unto the inhabitants of the earth, when they reject the prophet of God, they reject Christ the Lord. That, he has declared through his own words.
I would like to call your attention to the promise in the Book of Mormon of the prophet that God declared he would send, the promise he made to Joseph who was sold into Egypt that in the latter days out of his seed, he would raise up a choice seer and prophet like unto Moses. And then I remind you that in holy writ we read that there was no prophet in Israel like unto Moses because Moses talked with God face to face, as one man speaks with his friend. According to the scriptures, most of the prophets received the word of God by inspiration, but Moses talked with God, and God declared that in this day he would raise up a prophet like unto Moses. And then he said, "Unto him will I give power to bring forth my word," and there isn't time to recount, but you just think of what the Lord has brought forth through this modern Prophet. Then he said, "And not to the bringing forth my word only-but to the convincing them of my word which shall already have gone forth among them", and that is what the missionaries of this Church are doing all over the world. They are opening the Bible, the stick of Judah, and teaching the people things they have never heard of. I have told people in the mission field plenty of times that I would show them out of that book things they had never read in their lives, I didn't care how many times they had read it. And then the Lord declared that "the thing which the Lord shall bring forth" by this Prophet like unto Moses, "shall bring my people unto salvation".
Brothers and sisters, I leave my testimony with you that the resurrected Christ lives today, that he is directing his Church, that he has raised up a Prophet like unto Moses of old, and that if we will follow his teachings they will lead us unto salvation. May God help each one of us to do this I pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie
Bruce R. McConkie, Conference Report, April 1953, pp. 74-76
The Holy Ghost:
is the gift of God unto all those who diligently seek him, as well in times of old as in the time that he should manifest himself unto the children of men.
For he is the same yesterday, today, and forever; and the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world if it so be that they repent and come unto him.
For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round.
The Father, a personage of tabernacle having flesh and bones, begat us as spirits in the beginning and ordained the plan whereby we might have power to grow in intelligence and knowledge and become like him.
The Son, his Firstborn in the spirit and Only Begotten in the flesh, under his direction, became the Creator and Redeemer of the earth and all things that are on it. From time to time he has revealed to men the plan of salvation, the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Holy Ghost, a personage of spirit, is their minister, who has been given the power and assigned the functions of bearing record of the Father and the Son, of revealing the truths of salvation to men on earth, and in due course, of revealing to them, all truth.
Now, when Christ was here in his ministry, he told his Apostles that when he went away, he would send them another Comforter -that is a Comforter other than he, himself, for he was a comfort unto them-and that this Comforter would recall to their minds all things that he had told them, and would guide them into all truth. And when he said they would be guided into all truth, I believe that he meant it literally, and that in due course-not in time, but in eternity-they would obtain a fullness of truth, even as Christ himself, having gone from grace to grace, has received a fullness of truth, and a fullness of the glory of the Father.
But the thing that we are concerned with here in mortality, is to have the Holy Ghost reveal to us the things of God, the knowledge that God is our Father, that Jesus Christ is his Son, literally born of him in the flesh, and that the kingdom of God has been set up on earth again for the last time, that we with the ancients, might be heirs of the fullness of the Father's kingdom.
We believe that it is life eternal to know God and Jesus Christ, whom he has sent, and that these glorious beings are manifest by the power of the Holy Ghost.
We believe that man is saved no faster than he gains knowledge, meaning knowledge of God and of his laws, as these things are revealed by the Holy Ghost.
We believe that no man can be saved in ignorance, meaning in ignorance of God and his laws, of Jesus Christ, and the truths of the gospel, as these things are made manifest by the power of the Holy Ghost.
You will recall it was Paul who 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.
Now the truths about God and salvation are not gained by the wisdom of men. They are not to be found by the research of the world. They are not found in the creeds of men, for the Lord has said that those creeds are an abomination in his sight. God stands revealed, or he remains forever unknown. Knowledge about God and about the divinity of Jesus Christ and the great atoning sacrifice which he worked out is had in the world today by us, because God has spoken in this day, and has given these truths again, by the same direct revelation that he gave them in times of old.
The Holy Ghost has been given to righteous men from the beginning so they could certify of the truths about God and salvation. He has been the companion of those who have presided over the Church and the kingdom in every age, and by his power they have received revelation and given guidance to the people of the Church and to all people in the world. And when these brethren speak, these brethren, the First Presidency and the Twelve who are prophets, and seers, and revelators, it is by the power of the Holy Ghost and what they say is the mind and the will of the Lord.
Last night when President McKay said, speaking of present-day conditions and what is needed in the world now that the Lord desired that this gospel roll forth and be taken to every nation kindred, tongue, and people, he was telling what the Lord wants done in this day. And so it is for what other counsel we have received. It should be, and is, as the mouth and the voice of the Lord to the Latter-day Saints.
The Holy Ghost is a revelator. He will reveal to any person who is honest and God-fearing and diligent in seeking truth, the fact that this is the Lord's work, that Joseph Smith is his prophet; that he is the greatest witness of Christ that there has been in the world since the day that Christ himself proclaimed that he was the Son of God. And there is not any reason or any excuse why anyone who is upright and honest should not have this knowledge. Every Latter-day Saint should have it.
You will recall that in ancient Israel after Eldad and Medad had been called of God to a high calling, that his Spirit fell upon them and they prophesied in the camp. Then Joshua came before Moses and said, "... My lord Moses forbid them." But Moses who himself had this gift of the Holy Ghost, this spirit of revelation and of prophecy-and it was by this power that he had led Israel through the Red Sea-said: "... Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!".
There is no greater gift that a person can earn and enjoy for himself, in mortality, than the gift of the Holy Ghost, which gift is the right to the constant companionship of that member of the Godhead, and which gift is actually enjoyed only on condition of individual righteousness.
In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Milton R. Hunter
Milton R. Hunter, Conference Report, April 1953, pp. 76-80
Today the hearts of millions of people throughout the world are turned in adoration to the Master of life and salvation. We, the members of the true Church of Jesus Christ, in this great conference assembled, bow our heads in reverence and from the depths of our hearts thank God for the mission of Jesus Christ and the marvelous atonement which he so gloriously brought about. Already in this meeting we have listened to some wonderful testimonies given by the various speakers regarding the resurrection of the Son of God. Especially is that true in the case of the testimony which was so beautifully presented by President J. Reuben Clark. I also want to voice my testimony here on this glorious Easter morning, because I also know that my Redeemer liveth, and my heart is filled with gratitude for that knowledge.
I have never read a statement in any of the holy scriptures dealing with the work of God which is as important as the one found in the Pearl of Great Price. It is as follows:
For behold, this is my work and my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
That marvelous statement contains two distinctive features. The one is the immortality of man; and the other, the eternal life. Each of these items means something entirely different, distinctively different, from the other. Immortality means the resurrection from the grave. Eternal life means the type of life that will be lived in celestial glory by those who showed their love for God by keeping his commandments while living in mortality.
When the Eternal Father appointed his Only Begotten Son to be the Savior of the world, he gave unto him two major assignments. One of these assignments was to break the bands of death and thereby bring about the resurrection of all of God's sons and daughters. In other words, Jesus was to give immortality universally to the human family. The other assignment was to proclaim a gospel plan of salvation to the inhabitants of the earth, granting all men their free agency and promising that all those who would obey that gospel plan, which contained the words of eternal life, eventually would be brought back into the presence of the Father and the Son and receive eternal life.
In the meridian of time, Jesus Christ came into the world; and in three short years' time of public ministry he marked out the pathway which leadeth unto eternal life. In other words, by the life he lived and through the teachings he gave, he proclaimed to the human family the gospel plan of salvation, assuring exaltation to everyone who proved faithful in doing "all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them". And then, having been rejected by his own, he was crucified, dying as a ransom for the sins of the world.
As was so beautifully explained by President Clark in his address a few moments ago, early on that first Easter morning, Mary Magdalene and others of the women from Galilee who loved Jesus very much went to the tomb for the purpose of giving the Master's body a more proper burial. As has been pointed out, upon finding the tomb empty all the women returned to Jerusalem except Mary Magdalene. She lingered near the doorway of the tomb weeping, and then she looked inside. There she saw two angels dressed in white and heard one of them declare:
I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
He is not here: for he is risen....
Thus, as had been predicted by the holy prophets even from the very beginning, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, had broken the bands of death. He had now overcome the tomb and the grave and thereby had given assurance to the human family that as he had risen from the grave, each of us also shall rise from the grave and take upon ourselves immortality.
The holy prophets had proclaimed that Jesus Christ was the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world; that he would die and rise again; and that every man, woman, and child-bond and free, rich and poor, righteous and wicked-would receive immortality as a result of his atoning sacrifice.
Regarding this vital subject, the Lord revealed the fact to the Prophet Joseph Smith that through the redemption of the Only Begotten Son the human family would be raised from death
... in immortality unto eternal life, even as many as would believe;
And they that believe not unto eternal damnation....
Amulek declared that resurrection or immortality would come to
... all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous...
... the wicked remain as though there had been no redemption made, except it be the loosing of the bands of death.
The other part of that great scripture, previously quoted, is:
For behold, this is my work and my glory-to bring to pass... the eternal life of man.
Eternal life is very, very important. A careful study of the scriptures reveals the fact that it is the most desirable and important thing of all that exists.
In modern revelation we read: "Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich". The Doctrine and Covenants also states that "... eternal life... is the greatest of all the gifts of God". Therefore, eternal life is the blessing that comes to the individual who keeps the commandments in their fullness.
Since eternal life is the greatest of all of God's gifts to man, it should be of more importance and much more worthwhile to you and me to put forth every effort to attain eternal life than it would be to accumulate a million dollars, or even a million, million dollars, or to rise to any position of leadership in this world, or to gratify any or all of our mortal desires.
A careful study of the statements on this subject found in the scriptures, especially those found in the Doctrine and Covenants reveals the fact that eternal life is the gift received by husband and wife who are married for eternity, and has reference to their power of eternal increase or a continuation of the seeds forever and ever. Also exaltation may include less than a continuation of the seeds and Godhood may convey a slightly different shade of meaning. In many of the quotations in the scriptures, "eternal life" and "life eternal" are also used with meanings closely akin with those other words or phrases. Therefore, all of those terms, although possessing slightly different shades in meaning, seem to lead to a similar final goal. In order to come to a more thorough understanding regarding the meaning of those terms, we shall refer directly to latter day revelation. In Section 131 of the Doctrine and Covenants, it is written:
In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees;
And in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood;
And if he does not, he cannot obtain it.
He may enter into the other, but that is the end of his kingdom, he cannot have an increase.
Section 132, that marvelous revelation on celestial marriage, explains and clarifies the quotation I have just given, and also tells definitely what is meant by eternal life, exaltation, etc. In that revelation the Lord has informed us that if a man and a woman, members of the Church of Jesus Christ, refuse to enter into God's holy order of marriage, but accept instead a man-made order, and if this man and woman live all of the other principles of the gospel sufficiently well to go to the celestial glory, they will not attain exaltation. To quote the words of the Lord as received by the Prophet Joseph Smith:
... they... are appointed angels in heaven; which angels are ministering servants, to minister for those who are worthy of a far more, and an exceeding, and an eternal weight of glory.
For these angels did not abide my law; therefore, they cannot be enlarged, but remain separately and singly, without exaltation, in their saved condition, to all eternity and from henceforth are not gods, but are angels of God forever and ever.
We also read in the same revelation that if a man and a woman enter into the holy covenant of marriage, according to God's law, and are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, living in accordance with the covenants made therein, rendering obedience to all of his commandments and enduring faithful to the end, they shall rise in the resurrection and be assigned to dwell with the Lord in the celestial glory. And then the revelation states:
... they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fullness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.
The Prophet Joseph Smith points out that this "continuation of seeds forever and ever," means to have children in the celestial glory.
To continue the revelation:
Then shall they be gods, because they have no end...
Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye abide my law ye cannot attain to this glory.
For strait is the gate, and narrow the way that leadeth unto the exaltation and continuation of the lives, and few there be that find it, because ye receive me not in the world neither do ye know me.
And then the Lord explained the meaning of eternal lives. He said:
This is eternal lives-to know the only wise and true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent....
Now how can we come to know God fully, and completely? Such a knowledge or status cannot be obtained completely in this world. A full knowledge of God can be attained only in the celestial degree of glory by those who ultimately become as he is. When one thinks as he thinks, acts as he acts, attains power comparable to that enjoyed by him, then that individual has attained exaltation or eternal life. To such a person, Jesus has promised: "... all that my Father hath shall be given unto him".
The question of importance which lies deeply imbedded in the hearts of each of us is: How may we gain eternal life?
Jesus Christ, our Lord and Master, came to the earth and pointed out the path which leadeth to eternal life; and he commanded us, saying:
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.
A summary of Jesus of Nazareth's teachings regarding the pathway that leadeth to eternal life is as follows:
First, we must have faith, faith in Jesus Christ and in the gospel plan which he promulgated;
Second, we must repent of all our sins;
Third, we must be baptized by one having proper authority;
Fourth, we must be confirmed members of the Church of Jesus Christ and receive the Holy Ghost;
.
Fifth, we must receive the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood and honor and magnify that priesthood;
Sixth, we must enter into the law of celestial marriage and keep all of the covenants made therein;
Seventh, we must demonstrate to the Lord through the lives we live and by rendering obedience to his commandments that we are willing to consecrate all we possess-our talents, our time, our means, and our very lives if need be-to the upbuilding of the Church and kingdom of God here upon the earth and also to the salvation of his sons and daughters;
Eighth, we must continue to press forward with unshaken faith in the words of Jesus Christ, whether spoken by himself or through the mouths of his prophets, proving faithful in keeping all of the commandments, pressing "forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men," and enduring faithful to the end, then, according to the promise of the Eternal Father, we "... shall have eternal life".
Thus, if we prove faithful in walking along the pathway enumerated in those eight points, "... feasting upon the word of Christ... there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God", then our election shall be made sure, with the glory of eternal lives as our reward; and then, as the revelation previously quoted states, those faithful ones "... shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads".
I would like to bear my testimony, which testimony has been given to me through the power of the Holy Ghost. I know that Jesus is the Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God. I know as I know that I live that he died for you and me, and on the third day he was resurrected, thereby breaking the bands of death and giving immortality to the human family. I have a strong conviction that some of God's children will rise through immortality to eternal life and others will rise through immortality to eternal condemnation. It is also my testimony that through the blood that Jesus shed and the sacrifice that he made, he atoned for the sins of those who receive him and keep his commandments; but, on the other hand, as Jesus of Nazareth declared, those who will not receive him and repent and keep his commandments will be required to suffer even as he, the greatest of all, suffered; and his suffering was so intense that it caused him "to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit".
I know also that if we will render obedience to all the commandments given us by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and also those given through his holy prophets, someday we will come back into the presence of God and hear the voice of the Lamb, saying: "Well done, my beloved servants, enter ye into your exaltation"; and as King Benjamin has said, through the covenants we have made and by taking upon ourselves his name, we become sons and daughters of Jesus Christ and shall dwell with him eternally in the celestial degree of glory. This blessing and glory will be ours if we press forward "with an eye single to the glory of God" and endure faithful to the end.
May our Eternal Father bless us as Latter-day Saints, who are now on the pathway which leadeth to eternal life that we will be diligent and faithful in all things and eventually receive that great blessing which is "the greatest of all the gifts of God", namely, eternal life, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Mark E. Petersen
Mark E. Petersen, Conference Report, April 1953, pp. 81-85
May I read again the beautiful words which have just been sung to you by our wonderful choir.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
That is a great testimony. I am grateful that the choir sang this number, giving this testimony of the psalmist because this has been a conference of testimonies-testimony after testimony to the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ testimony after testimony to the goodness of the Lord our Father to all men who will follow him and really make him their shepherd. People who thus follow him, testify anew day by day indeed that the Lord is their shepherd; they shall not want and say, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever."
I remember also that this choir has sung words from Isaiah, "All we like sheep have gone astray". And then I remember this beautiful story of the Savior:
How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?
And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.
Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.
The work of the Church is a work of conversion. This has been well demonstrated by the testimonies and the wonderful addresses which have been given here, and by the appeals which have been made for further conversions. We seek for conversion of ourselves, of our children, and of all mankind who will listen to us-conversion to the point where we and they will be willing to accept the teachings and commandments of the Lord our Savior and by following them work out our salvation. As the Lord says here, "... it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish".
But in spite of all the work that is done in the Church in the way of conversion and teaching, and so much wonderful work is done, there are some instances where people go in reverse and fall away. Sometimes they accept the teachings of false leaders and false teachers who lead them astray.
Often I have asked myself why it is that some people apostatize from the truth. I have never believed that a person falls away suddenly, all at once, any more than a person who has been righteous and honest all his life would go out and suddenly rob a bank. There is some preparatory work done in advance. There is some "softening-up" process which leads to the apostate condition. Big sins generally are preceded by little ones, and I believe that this is true with respect to people who fall away from the truth.
Seeds are sown, seeds of doubt, disbelief, distrust, disrespect. These seeds are watered; they are nurtured, and finally they become fully developed until they produce their evil fruit.
Who sows these seeds of doubt and distrust? They are sown in many ways. I might mention a few.
I have heard of a man who claims to be a very good Latter-day Saint. He claims that he loves the Church, but he also loves the world, and he lives as close as he possibly can to the line of disobedience without actually violating the letter of the law. He does not realize that he must avoid even the very appearance of evil. He does not realize, possibly, that by living as close to the line of disobedience as he can he sows seeds of doubt and distrust in the minds of others.
There are those who live in open rebellion against the word of God and violate the commandments continuously and intentionally, and of course they always leave doubt in the minds of others, with some disrespect for them themselves.
And then there are the seeds that are sown by some of our teachers and preachers within our own organization who like to advance some new doctrine, or some new interpretation, or some speculative theory, or advance something that is sensational, because to advance the sensational seems to feed their ego inasmuch as they become the center of a discussion.
Most of our teachers and preachers are wonderful. They teach the truth; they bring about conversions in the minds and hearts of those who listen to them. But there are these few teachers who sow seeds of doubt by speculative and unsound doctrines, and as they do so they "soften up," to use the army expression, some of their hearers who might later be taken over by the apostate teachers who come among them.
It is my full belief that whenever any of us accepts a position of any description in the Church, we accept along with it the responsibility of that office, whatsoever it may be. I believe that if a person accepts a position as a teacher in one of our organizations, or if he accepts the responsibility of preaching from the pulpit, such person accepts the responsibility which goes with that call. He becomes a representative of the Church in that position. Every teacher and every preacher therefore is duty-bound, upon accepting such a call, to represent the official views and doctrines of the Church, and to teach those official doctrines in his class or from the pulpit, with the one thought in mind that conversion is to come about in the hearts of those who listen to him. I do not believe that conversion to the truth comes through the teaching of half-truths or untruths.
Our classrooms and our assembly rooms have been built at great expense with only one thought in mind, and that is that in them we may teach the truth so that we may convert those who come there, so that they in turn will live the gospel and work out their salvation in the earth.
I do not believe that the classrooms or the pulpits of our Church are for laboratory purposes in which to experiment with new doctrines and speculative notions. They are exclusively for the use of those who are willing to convert men and women and boys and girls to the truth.
There is only one man in all the world who has the right to introduce a new doctrine to this Church, and that man is the President of the Church. So teachers, until you become the President of the Church, will you be willing to content yourselves with the present officially accepted doctrines of the Church?
I do not believe that we can escape the responsibility of starting someone off on the wrong way if we teach wrong principles. I do not believe that any of us can afford to take that responsibility.
I do not believe, therefore, that we can bring into our classes or our sermons views and doctrines which are not accepted and officially advocated by the Church.
I do not believe that any teacher in any organization has the right to discard the prescribed lesson course and substitute in its place magazine articles, philosophical discussions, lectures, or any other extraneous matter.
I do not believe that we can bring into our classrooms or sermons the philosophies and doctrines of uninspired men of the world, no matter how well educated they may be, and present them as accepted truth.
I do not believe we should accept every theory advanced by men of science as though it were true. These men change their minds much too often for that.
I do not believe we should bring into our classes and sermons the doctrines of other churches and teach them as accepted truth.
I do not believe we should teach the doctrines of the British-Israel or similar organizations, sensational though they may be, presenting them to our people as though they were true.
I do not believe we should give time in our classes to discussions of the alleged interpretations of the measurements of the Great Pyramid of Egypt, fantastic and unreliable as they so often are.
I do not believe we should accept the current views that the lost ten tribes have been found in the northern nations of Europe or that they have been named, indexed, and classified.
I do not believe that we can accept the peculiar notion that the mythical Odin of the North was in reality the Savior of the world performing his work among the northern nations of Europe or the ten tribes.
I do not believe we should give credence to the highly speculative theories about Book of Mormon geography.
I do not believe that there were two Hill Cumorahs, one in Central America and the other one up in New York, for the convenience of the Prophet Joseph Smith, so that the poor boy would not have to walk clear to Central America to get the gold plates.
I do not believe we can be good Latter-day Saints and question the integrity of Joseph Smith.
I do not believe we can be good Latter-day Saints and question the testimony of the eleven witnesses of the Book of Mormon.
I do not believe you have a testimony of the truth if you question the accuracy of the translation of the Book of Mormon.
I do not believe you have the facts or are being honest with yourself if you question the Manifesto as it appears in the Doctrine and Covenants.
I do not believe we should try to establish our personal fads as Church doctrine. I do not believe my eternal salvation will be affected in any way if I eat white bread or white sugar. I do not believe the doctrines of the Church are in any way involved in whether my whole wheat is stoneground or steel-cut.
I do not believe we can be good Christians, regardless of the denomination, if we refuse to believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross. I do not believe anyone can be a good Christian, regardless of denomination, if he questions the reality of the literal, physical resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his crucifixion.
I do not believe we can be good Christians of any denomination and reject the Old Testament. I do not believe we can be good Christians of any denomination and reject the epistles of the New Testament.
I do not believe we can be good Latter-day Saints, or that we are loyal to this Church, if we accept alleged revelations of men and women who claim to have received them for the membership of the Church when we know that the Lord designates the President of the Church as the only one on earth to whom he will reveal his mind for the Church at large.
I do not believe that we can be good Latter-day Saints or good Christians of any denomination and accept the teachings of some that death was a mistake that it can be avoided, and that we can achieve immortality without passing through death, just by following the teachings of some false prophet.
I do not believe that we can ignore the teachings of the Savior when he said,
... there shall be no disputations among you, as there have hitherto been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the points of my doctrine, as there have hitherto been.
For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.
On the other hand, I do believe most positively that if we bring false teachings into our classes or sermons we do our people a great disservice, for we confuse their minds, we make them doubt the truth when it is given to them, and we "soften them up" for the attacks of apostate teachers who come among them.
I do believe positively that whenever we teach any speculative notion or try to unravel any mystery, or advance any doctrine not accepted by the Church, we contribute to the spiritual delinquency of those whom we influence.
I do believe that whenever we by our acts or our teachings reflect discredit upon the Church or its doctrines, we contribute to the spiritual delinquency of those about us.
I do believe that God will hold us accountable for every act and word by which we contribute to the spiritual delinquency of other people.
I do believe that the President of the Church is in very deed the mouthpiece of God on earth, the prophet, seer, and revelator of the Lord, and that he and he alone has the right and power to give to the Church any new doctrines or new interpretations of existing doctrines.
I do believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Eternal God, Creator of heaven and earth, that he died on the cross and was resurrected the third day, literally and physically.
I do believe positively that as we all die, even so, through the power of Jesus the resurrected Christ, we, too, will literally and physically be resurrected.
I do believe that the revealed doctrines and teachings of the Christ will save us without any additions by unauthorized persons.
I do believe that the Lord has given to the Latter-day Saints a fair amount of intelligence. I do believe that he expects us to use that intelligence in studying his revealed word and following his prophets here on earth, so that we will not be tossed about by every wind of doctrine.
I do believe that he expects our teachers and preachers to use the common sense he has given them to teach the simple truth which saves, rather than the speculations and theories of men, which only confuse the mind and lead some of our people right out of the Church.
I do believe that by proper teaching of the revealed truth we can convert ourselves and our children and all others who are willing to listen to us.
I do believe that people are converted to the truth only by the truth and not through the teaching of half-truths and untruths.
I do believe that only in loyally teaching and living the true principles of the gospel can we fulfil the responsibility which God has given us, and this is my testimony in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Alma Sonne
Alma Sonne, Conference Report, April 1953, pp. 85-87
My brethren and sisters, I hope all the teachers in the Church will have available to them, the splendid discourse delivered by Elder Mark E. Petersen. I believe the spirit of the anti-Christ is rampant in the world and is asserting itself as never before. That places upon the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a great responsibility because it is our mission to preach Jesus Christ and him crucified.
In this great conference of the Church at this season we are celebrating two great events, as I see it. The Easter time, commemorating the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the 6th day of April, 1830. I have before me the statement made by Joseph Smith, the Prophet, relative to that first organization meeting, where six humble men met together and initiated the great movement which is going forward so rapidly today. The Prophet writes:
Having opened the meeting by solemn prayer to Our Heavenly Father, we proceeded, according to previous commandment, to call on our brethren to know whether they accepted us as their teachers in the things of the Kingdom of God, and whether they were satisfied that we should proceed and be organized as a Church according to said commandment which we had received. To these several propositions they consented by a unanimous vote. I then laid my hands upon Oliver Cowdery, and ordained him an Elder of the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," after which, he ordained me also to the office of an Elder of said Church. We then took bread, blessed it, and brake it with them, also wine, blessed it, and drank it with them. We then laid our hands on each individual member of the Church present, that they might receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and be confirmed members of the Church of Christ. The Holy Ghost was poured out upon us to a very great degree-some prophesied whilst we all praised the Lord, and rejoiced exceedingly.
I need not tell you, my brethren and sisters, that the Church, commenced with such a humble beginning, grew and prospered. The organization was completed with Apostles, prophets, high priests, seventies, elders, priests, teachers, deacons, patriarchs, and bishops. It was the only Church on the earth thus organized, even though these callings in the priesthood existed in the Primitive Church.
I observed that in the account given of this meeting, three important procedures were introduced: first, the principle of common consent that no man can preside in the Church without the consent of the membership; second, the introduction of the sacrament of the Lord's supper which was very appropriate because the first principle of the restored gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and third, the ordinance of laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost when a person is confirmed a member of the Church, or, when he is ordained, or set apart, for any responsibility in the Church.
The Church, organized in this manner, has from its very beginning felt a strong urge-an impelling motive to preach the gospel in all the world, and to build up God's kingdom upon the earth.
Not long ago, in Gordon B. Hinckley's book, What of the Mormons?, I read the dramatic account of Samuel H. Smith's missionary journey in the region near his home. It was probably the first missionary undertaking in this dispensation. Samuel was nineteen years old and a brother of the Prophet Joseph Smith. He carried with him copies of the Book of Mormon in a knapsack thrown over his shoulders. After walking twenty-five miles the first day he was refused lodging by the innkeeper. Continuing his journey the next day he called on Reverend John P. Greene, a Methodist minister. Reverend Greene accepted a book but refused to buy it. During his absence while visiting his circuit, however, his wife read the book, and like many others, was deeply impressed. Mrs. Greene urged her husband to read the book. This he did, and as a result both joined the Church.
Samuel H. Smith returned from his mission, somewhat discouraged, feeling that he had failed. But, unknown to him, the book had fallen into the hands of Brigham Young. He read it and began to investigate Mormonism. He did so for two years, and then he, too, joined the Church. Samuel H. Smith's mission had not been a failure. The book distributed by him and others also fell into the hands of Dr. Willard Richards of Boston, Massachusetts, who, when he had read the first page, remarked, "Either God or the devil wrote that book." When he finished the book, he concluded it had come from God, and he, also, joined the Church.
Later, the volume was read by Parley P. Pratt, a minister in the Campbellite Church. He was similarly impressed and joined the Church to become one of its outstanding missionaries. I read his testimony: "As I read, the Spirit of the Lord was upon me, and I knew and comprehended that the book was true as plainly and manifestly as a man knows and comprehends that he exists. My joy was now full, as it were, and I rejoiced sufficiently to more than pay me for all the sorrows, sacrifices, and toils of my life."
Parley P. Pratt took the book to his brother, Orson Pratt, then a young man nineteen years of age. He, like the others, read the book and became a convert and a great power in the Church.
One of the mission presidents stated yesterday that twenty-five percent of the converts in his mission were brought into the Church through reading the Book of Mormon. Surely, it is a powerful book. It is a great converter. It should be read and studied by all Latter-day Saints, for it will strengthen their faith and give them courage and hope to go forward in the great work of the Lord.
The Church from its very beginning in this dispensation has put forth every effort, it seems to me, to tell the world about the restoration of the gospel and the mission of Joseph Smith, the Prophet. This impression came to me with great force as I read an epistle to the members of the Church under date of April 7, 1851. This was less than four years after the pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley. The epistle was signed by Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Willard Richards, and was addressed to the "Saints scattered throughout the earth."
I learned from that epistle that all of the Twelve Apostles were then abroad except Wilford Woodruff and Ezra T. Benson. Their President, Orson Hyde was in Kanesville, Iowa; Parley P. Pratt was on his way to Chile, his mission was to all the lands bordering the Pacific Ocean; Orson Pratt was somewhere in the States on his way to the valley to become associated with the University of Deseret; John Taylor was in Boulogne, France "preaching, publishing, and translating"; Lorenzo Snow was in Italy, visiting the Italian states; Erastus Snow was in Copenhagen, Denmark, where he was translating the Book of Mormon; Franklin D. Richards was presiding over the British Mission with headquarters in Liverpool, England; Amasa Lyman and Charles C. Rich were on their way to the Cajon Pass, and George A. Smith was presiding in Iron County. All of them were preaching the gospel "to every nation, kindred, tongue and people". What better evidence could they give of their sincerity and integrity? The best leadership of the Church was surely needed here in the valley, where the foundations of a great commonwealth were being laid; cities, towns and villages were being laid out and settled; churches and schools were being erected; and roads and bridges were under construction. But the paramount obligation resting upon the Church then as now was to preach the gospel and to proclaim the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith. In this tremendous responsibility the leaders of the Church have been diligent and determined. May we be given the faith and the understanding to continue in this great enterprise and thus discharge the solemn obligation resting upon all of us, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop Thorpe B. Isaacson
Thorpe B. Isaacson, Conference Report, April 1953, pp. 90-93
President McKay, President Richards, who is following the conference on television, whom we miss very much, President Clark, and my dear brothers and sisters: I enjoy very much listening to the sermons of the Brethren. They are comforting to me. They build me up in my faith and in my testimony. I love these Brethren, every one of them. I pray for them daily, as I beg of them and beg of you to pray for me, one of the most humble, I believe, among you. I know these men are true servants of the Lord. I bear testimony to you that many times I have felt and witnessed the inspiration from on high come to them when I little expected it. I came from the business world to meet with these brethren, practically strangers, and I didn't know it was possible to love men as I have learned to love them, and as I know they love one another. I pray that I might have the right attitude and the right spirit while I occupy this position, so that I can receive the favor of the Lord and his sustaining influence and power. I shall be grateful to you if I can have an interest in your faith and prayers because I know I need the blessings of the Lord, and I will be grateful to you for your kindness, your co-operation, and your love.
This is a frightening experience, especially for me. The spirit here today has been beautiful. It has been uplifting, the spirit of brotherhood, and the spirit of love. I am sure that all of our young children today, on this particular day of Easter, have enjoyed what it means. My own little grandson came at noon just as I was leaving, only five years of age, but he had some Easter things, and I said, "What are those things, Bodie?" And he said, "O, it's Easter for my Jesus." How grateful we should be for that kind of lesson that is taught to the youth of this Church.
There are problems in life that come to all of us. The day and age in which we live has brought forth some new theories, new standards, and there is a feeling that we should perhaps be more concerned about the word security than about other things in life. Now the true feeling of security is a wonderful feeling, but there is a great deal more to security than just the longing for it. We make our own security in a large degree, at least we should, both spiritually and temporally.
Sometimes incidents happen in the lives of men that disturb them, and they may become irritated, and then they may start finding fault, and then they become critical, and before long they may become bitter, and at that time we lose the finest things in life. True, the world is not at ease. We have been at high tension for a number of years. We have seen great changes. We have just finished a very bitter political campaign. There has been prejudice develop, misunderstandings develop, but it is best that we forget them entirely.
Real security to the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will come to us as individuals through the living of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the gospel are found the laws of truth, the laws of mankind, and if we live the principles of the gospel, the security that men seek and the security that men desire will come to each one of us. If we are not careful, however, living under these particular times and under this atmosphere, we may lose track of some of the finer things of life, and allow someone to mislead us. We may develop prejudices. We may be led off the true course. None of this is the Spirit of the Lord. None of this is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the spirit of the adversary, working upon the minds and hearts and souls of men to discourage them, to cause confusion, to create antagonism and misunderstandings one toward the other.
In the gospel of Jesus Christ is found the complete law of happiness-the laws that govern our daily lives, the laws that we can follow without any hesitation or without any misgivings. As members of the Church, we need no security other than the gospel. If we live it, there will come to all of us everything that we may need and everything that we may desire, for the Lord has said.
He that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father's kingdom: therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him.
The security in the gospel to the brethren of the Church is the kind of security that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. It is the kind of security that the world does not understand. This security is given to the brethren of the Church who hold the Holy Priesthood of God, the power delegated to man to act in the name and in the place of our Father in heaven here upon the earth in the building up of his kingdom. The power of the priesthood is the greatest power and the greatest force on the face of the earth. Talk about real security! That will be with us if we keep the commandments of the Lord, and if we keep the covenants that we have made with the Lord.
There is a security that comes to all members of the Church who have received the great Comforter spoken of by Elder Bruce R. McConkie this morning, the power and the gift of the Holy Ghost. And the Lord said regarding that great Comforter,
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.
As members of the Church this type of security is the type of security that will be enduring and everlasting.
We must not expect perfection in the other fellow because we ourselves do not give perfection. We might be more tolerant with one another. Yes, we may have our differences, but we should have faith in our fellow men; faith in ourselves; faith in our friends and associates; and above all, faith in God our Eternal Father and in his Son, Jesus Christ; faith in the mission of the Savior who was crucified on Calvary.
When we talk of that, I wonder whether we stop to think of the great suffering that He was willing to go through for us. We should have faith in the mission of the Redeemer of mankind, the Savior of the world; faith in the mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith, truly an instrument in the hands of God in bringing forth the restored gospel that should make our lives sweeter, more tolerant, and more considerate. There isn't any teaching in the gospel that teaches us bitterness; in fact we are taught to be tolerant and forgiving and understanding. The Spirit of the Lord can be found in our own hearts. If we are out of harmony with the Lord, our spiritual well-being is not in accordance with the wishes of the Lord.
Yes, men may have their differences and often do, but these differences can all be settled if men will go about settling those differences as the gospel has prescribed the brethren of the Church to do. The Lord said,
But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of his judgment. And whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; and whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
Therefore, if ye shall come unto me, or shall desire to come unto me, and rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee-
Go thy way unto thy brother, and first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come unto me with full purpose of heart, and I will receive you.
Oh, brethren, if we can only follow that principle when we have our differences, they would fade away as the snow in the sunshine.
The doctrines taught in early times are real truths and principles. Time has worn well with them, and their victory stands firmly before the world. The security that men sought for in early years was that afforded by the blessing of opportunity.
The liberty of man may be circumscribed, his hands and his legs may be chained and his body may be tortured, but as long as his soul is free to commune with God he will never really become enslaved by any destructive force.
Men in the Kremlin who have had their satellites in Europe and Asia have been unable to date to permanently purge religion from their borders, and they will never purge the belief in God from the souls of men.
May we have the true Spirit of the Christ. May we remain faithful. We should never permit uneasiness or antagonism or bitterness to come into our souls. We must not judge too harshly unless we ourselves bear the mark of perfection.
Talking to the young people about that word security that we read so much about, an educator recently informed me of a survey that he had completed of a group of seniors to see exactly what was foremost in their minds, and he asked them about twenty practical questions as to what was really their greatest concern. He asked them whether they wanted to start in business and work their way up, or whether they wanted to go into the government service, or whether they wanted to render social service, or missionary service, what they thought of their fellow men, what they thought of opportunities and security, and to his surprise, a large group of those young men interviewed listed the thing that was uppermost in their minds was that of security. They were not concerned too much about opportunity, and yet in this land, men have prayed that we would have opportunity, and we have been blessed abundantly with opportunities. Our grandparents never thought of that word temporal security. They were willing to make their own. All they desired and prayed for was the opportunity to do so.
My association and some of my assignments have brought me in contact with fine men who for some reason or other have become inactive in the Church, and I want to bear you my testimony that I have seen these men literally changed. I want to tell you that when the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ touches the souls of men, they are transformed into real, humble servants in his work. No man when he is humble and prayerful can resist the Spirit of the Lord if he will put himself in tune with communication with the Spirit of the Lord. And as the poem states from Boubar:
Great Master, touch us with thy skilful hand. Let not the music that is within us die. Great sculptor, hew and polish us, Nor let hidden and lost thy form within us lie. Spare not the stroke, Do with us as thou wilt, Let there be not unfinished or marred. Complete thy purpose that we may become thy perfect image, For thou art God, our Lord.
I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. I am grateful for the mission of his brother, Hyrum. Oh, what a brother! An elder brother to the Prophet. What a lesson he could preach to all the brethren of the Church, brothers, I mean, in families. He stayed with the Prophet until his death. I know that Joseph Smith and Brigham Young were true prophets of God. I know it by the dictates of the Holy Spirit and by the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost. I know that all the Presidencies and Apostles from that time to this have been called of God, and divinely called, and that they are inspired each day of their lives. I know that President David O. McKay is a true, living prophet of God, and that he does receive inspiration and revelation from on high, and that the Lord reveals his will to him and that the Lord has protected him as though in the hollow of his hand.
May we keep the covenants that we have made with the Lord. It is my testimony that there is no enduring security other than the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. This security will comfort our hearts; this security will sustain our souls. God grant that we may remain faithful, that we may keep the lines of communication open so that not alone in time of need, but every day of our lives we can humble ourselves, as Brother Christiansen talked about yesterday, that we can go to the Lord, that we will not have to face the problems of life alone. Our big problem is to keep ourselves in tune with the Spirit of the Lord so that we can hear the dictates which prompt us through the power and the gift of the Holy Ghost; this I humbly pray for in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Matthew Cowley
Matthew Cowley, Conference Report, April 1953, pp. 93-95
I would like very much to welcome my friends who have come from far-off Hawaii, to this conference, Aloha mai, aloha nui loa.
Yesterday morning, had I been called upon to speak, I would have attempted to speak about the integrity of the home. Had I been called upon yesterday afternoon, I would have talked about this nation under God. Had I been called upon last night in priesthood meeting, I would have urged the brethren to keep in training with respect to the priesthood which they hold. Had I been called upon this morning, I would have talked about John the Baptist who was the forerunner of Christ, whose resurrection we commemorate this day. But I was told this morning that an inquiry had been made about when I was going to speak so that a little friend of mine could listen in, and so I am going to talk about my little friend, my little friend, Joe, who is in the polio ward of the county hospital.
A few weeks ago I went with a young bishop to visit Joe. I did not know how old he was, I could not see how large he was, all I could see was his head protruding from an iron lung. He was unconscious. He was afflicted with polio and double pneumonia. When we went in, the nurse placed robes on us, and we had to put masks over our faces. We prayed over little Joe. Two weeks later we called again at the hospital and asked if we could see the little lad. The nurse said, "yes," and when she called him, he came running up the hall to meet us.
I said, "Do you know who I am?" He replied, "Are you Brother Cowley?" I said, "Yes." He then said, "I was unconscious when you came before, wasn't I?" "You certainly were," I said and then he replied, "No wonder I don't recognize you."
He took us into his room, and lying in an adjoining bed to his was another young chap, twice the age of Joe. And after visiting for awhile, we were about to go when little Joe said, "Wait a minute, don't forget my partner." I said "What do you mean?" And he said, "You pray over my partner, and then he can thank you for a prayer the same as I did."
And so we turned to his companion, a young lad sixteen years of age, stricken with polio, and he said, "I would like a blessing. I am a teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood in my ward." And so we blessed Joe's partner. Two weeks later we called back again. On this visit little Joe was rather sad, and we asked him what was the matter. He said, "I am lonely. Maybe I shouldn't have asked you to bless my partner. He got well too soon and has gone home."
Well, little Joe is probably listening in, and maybe he can see me on television as I speak, so I want to say to you, little Joe, we are thinking about you. We are praying for you. We have been told here by the great leaders of this Church that we should have a simple faith. Christ himself says that we should have faith like yours, the faith of a little child, and unless we have your faith, we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Joe, you are of the kingdom of heaven because yours is a faith which has not been tarnished by learning, by the wisdom of men. It is simple. And there are many of your companions down there with you. We are thinking of them. There are the little Joes and the little Janes who are there, some in iron lungs and some on rocking beds, some being fed with a spoon. We are thinking about them, and I know, my little friend, that your faith can do much to make them whole. And over in the other ward there are others adults, those who are old enough to be your parents, who are reaching out for help because they feel that medical science may fail. And with your faith they can know that when medical science has to lay the burden down, the power and priesthood of God can pick that burden up and restore them to health and strength.
Up there in another ward of that hospital there is another sweet friend of mine. She is almost ninety-three years of age, still clear in her mind. I visited her on one of her birthdays, and at the side of her bed was a little vase of flowers. I read the card, "Many happy returns of the day from the Moose Lodge." She did not know anything about the Moose Lodge. All she knew about was the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All she knew about was the years that she had spent in the temple of God, saying as the Master said to that thief upon the cross, "Today shalt thou be with me", as she worked for the dead.
Joe remind me that I must not forget her birthday this coming July. There must not only be flowers from the Moose Lodge, but there must also be flowers from the ward to which she belongs.
I also have another friend about whom I am thinking. She is not in the hospital. She is at a home. Her limbs are rigid. She cannot use her hands. She cannot walk. Her eyeballs appear to be frozen in their sockets. She has been that way for twenty-five years, and yet when I call on her, she laughs, or tries to; she tries to joke; she asks me to take her to a dance.
And so, Joe I am talking to you. I hope you are listening. There are many others like you, and we remember them, too. We may not have the time to call often. I know others who must not be forgotten. Oh, I am thinking of the sisters who live on the top floor of the Constitution Building, over here on Main Street. Some of them near unto ninety, who cannot get out, but who love the Church, who appreciate the blessings of the priesthood, and who are praying for you and for me and for the brethren of this Church.
God bless the eight-year-olds of this Church, those who have been baptized. When you were baptized, Joe, you were not sprinkled; water was not poured upon you; but you, like the Master, to commence to fulfil all righteousness, were taken down into the water; and you were immersed; and now yours is the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of your Savior and be like unto him.
God bless you, my young friend, with the power of the priesthood of heaven. God grant that his Spirit may be and abide with you and with your partners down there in that polio ward. Thank your doctors and your nurses for me, they who are so kind and so gentle and so concerned about the restoration of health to you and your companions.
But, Joe, continue to rely upon your God. Whatever the results may be, you are of the kingdom of heaven. God grant that we may all have your faith, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop Joseph L. Wirthlin
Joseph L. Wirthlin, Conference Report, April 1953, pp. 95-100
I sincerely trust, my brethren and sisters, that I might enjoy the inspiration of the fine, sweet spirit that has inspired the previous speakers. It is a glorious honor and distinction to hold membership in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Through the restoration of the Church and its establishment upon the earth a part of the kingdom of heaven is upon the earth to prepare men for the second coming of the Prince of Peace, and hence, this great organization is one of divine government.
Brigham Young declared that the priesthood of the Son of God which we have in our midst is a perfect order and system of government, and this alone can deliver the human family from all the evils which now afflict its members and insure them of happiness hereafter.
One of the grand and glorious blessings of this great priesthood government is the fact that every man and young man who holds the priesthood of God, if he will fill his assignment rendering the service that is required of him, becomes an officer in the priesthood government of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The priesthood government of the Lord Jesus Christ is comparable in many respects to civil government. It has various departments. There is a department of education, a department of health, a department of recreation and culture, a welfare department, a judiciary department, and a finance department.
So, without going into detail with reference to all of these departments and their various functions, I should like to talk to you for a moment about the finance department of the priesthood government of the Lord Jesus Christ.
There stands at its head the prophet, revelator, and seer of the Lord Jesus Christ. He directs the great finance department of this government. The Presiding Bishopric are fiscal agents of the First Presidency, and the many bishops and presidencies of independent branches who receive the finances of the finance department are agents, too, and, under the direction of the First Presidency and various committees, disburse the same as the needs of the Church demand.
The sources of income for the finance department are four:
The first is tithing in cash; the second is tithes in kind; the third is fast offerings; and the fourth, commercial income of the Church.
I should like to discuss for a moment the commercial income of the Church. There are many people who are curious about it. Certain groups speculate as to what the wealth of the Church is what its investments are, as to what the amount of the commercial income might be.
The commercial income of the Church provides funds to carry on the operation of the Church for approximately fifteen days out of the year, so you can readily see that it is an infinitesimal part of the funds that are needed to finance the program of the Church, particularly in view of that fact, as was stated yesterday morning, in the financial statement of the Church, some twenty-three millions were expended from tithing funds for various purposes.
Out of the question of commercial income, the question arises, "Why is the Church in business?"
We are in business to some extent because in the early days of the Church it was necessary for this organization to help establish industry; for example, in the days of President Brigham Young, most of the retailing of merchandise was controlled by those not of our faith. Exorbitant prices were charged. To solve the problem, a great mercantile institution was established for the sole purpose of selling merchandise to our people at a fair and equitable price.
At the same time, there was established what was known as mercantile co-ops. There was the Eleventh Ward Co-op established on the corner of First South and Seventh East; the Tenth Ward Co-op established on Eighth East and Fourth South; the Twentieth Ward Co-op on the corner of Fifth East and South Temple. These co-ops were also established throughout the settlements of the state for the sole purpose of providing merchandise for our people at the right price.
The Church, to some extent, is still interested in these pioneer enterprises. In the great mercantile institution established by Brigham Young and his associates, the Church still has a minority interest. There are literally hundreds of others holding shares in this great institution.
We are asked the question: "Why are we in the sugar business?" We are in the sugar business because of the fact that in the days of Wilford Woodruff, those who were engaged in the field of agriculture had difficulty in disposing of the kind of crops produced. Hay, grain, and livestock were not marketable. So, in order to solve the problem, the President of the Church and his associates gave consideration to several solutions.
Finally it was decided that sugar beets would grow in this area. The climate was right, and out of it there were established sugar factories that our farmers might have channels through which their products could be sold, and where, in return, they might receive cash income.
With reference to the establishment of the sugar industry, there was inspiration in it. President Woodruff made it a matter of prayer, and when he had a positive attitude toward the establishing of the sugar industry, there came to him light. When his attitude was negative, all was dark. There is no question but what the prophet of the Lord was inspired and directed in establishing the sugar industry to the end that our farmers might produce a crop which would bring to them a cash return.
The Church never was and is not the sole owner of the sugar industry, today, as there are hundreds of other shareholders.
The question is asked: "Why are we in the radio and television business?" Solely for the purpose that the voice of the Church might be heard over the air. I am sure our interest in the radio business has more than paid us many dividends in the opportunity provided by the Sunday morning broadcasts of our great choir, and the fine sermons of Elder Richard L. Evans, which are heard by millions of people, and in addition, the broadcasting of general conference.
I have met many people not of our faith who have declared: "My church is the Sunday morning broadcast of the great Tabernacle Choir and the sermon of Richard L. Evans."
It is true that the Church is interested in some real estate, most of which surrounds this block, purchased for the sole purpose of protecting the temple block from business that would be derogatory to the atmosphere and the spirit of the house of the Lord.
The Church has some interests in ranching projects which have grown largely out of colonization projects, particularly in Canada and Mexico.
A large ranch was purchased in Canada; parts of it were sold to our people who settled there; and out of it there was left a large tract which was open domain whereon people ran their cattle for years; later it was fenced. Sheep and cattle were placed upon this ranch, and out of its earnings, the ranch operation has been expanded and the dividends returned from this operation have been spent in the erection of chapels in Canada, and paying some of the maintenance expense of the Church in that part of the Lord's vineyard.
So the matter of our commercial income should not be one of great curiosity nor speculation, for as I have indicated, it is but an infinitesimal part of the funds needed to finance the priesthood government of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The bulk of Church income is derived from tithing, based upon the faith and the testimony of the membership of the true Church. It thrills me as I travel over the Church and see the lovely meetinghouses that have been erected, the cost of which is paid partly from the tithes, and the other part from the contributions of the people.
I do not believe that I would be contradicted if I were to make the statement today that of all the religious organizations in the world, this Church at the moment is erecting more places in which to worship God than any other religious organization.
The tithes in kind amount to little. There are a few cases where individuals pay their tithing in crops or livestock, and these are immediately converted into cash, and forwarded to the office of the Presiding Bishopric.
Tithing is a just and an equitable law. The amount that we are asked to pay as a tithe was fixed by the Lord through revelation and direction to his servants. Tithing is a principle that is as old as the Lord's work itself.
We read of Abraham who went to the high priest, Melchizedek, to render unto the Lord a tithe or one-tenth of his crops and herds. Isaac and Jacob paid tithes. As you follow through the history of the ancient prophets, it was the financial law by which the Lord financed his work upon the earth.
In the days of the Savior, tithing was used to finance the work of the Lord.
But, if you compare tithing with the tax laws of the land, you find tithing is a fixed amount of one's income-ten percent, no more or no less.
In civil government, the tax laws are flexible, and usually flexible upward. The average income tax and taxes paid by the ordinary citizen of this country run between thirty and thirty-five percent of his total income, and there are some cases in which an individual could pay as much as ninety percent of his income to finance the government.
However, in the priesthood government of the Lord Jesus Christ, the maximum requirement is ten percent, whether it be from the widow's mite or from the rich man's income.
Brigham Young said:
Everybody should pay their tenth. A poor woman ought to pay her tenth chicken, if she has to draw out ten times its value for her support.
In civil government if the tax laws are not adhered to, there are certain penalties that are inflicted, fines and imprisonment. But in the priesthood government of the Lord Jesus Christ the matter of tithing comes as a voluntary contribution. If there are any penalties involved and there are, they are self-inflicted because if we refuse to obey the commandments of the Lord we deny ourselves the blessings of heaven. The Lord made it perfectly clear in the 119th section of the Doctrine and Covenants, the 6th verse, wherein he said,
And I say unto you, if my people observe not this law, to keep it holy, and by this law sanctify the land of Zion unto me, that my statutes and my judgments may be kept thereon, that it may be most holy, behold, verily I say unto you, it shall not be a land of Zion unto you.
The land of Zion is where the Spirit of God can be found in rich abundance. It is a place where we may enjoy peace, brotherly love, and the temporal blessings needed to sustain life.
I think of the time when the great pioneer prophet Brigham Young on coming into the valley declared we blessed the land and dedicated it to the end that it would be productive enough to take care of all who come into the valley. Said he, "All of these blessings are contingent upon our obedience." Since the days of Brigham Young after he dedicated the land that it would be fruitful, literally hundreds of thousands of people have come into what Brigham Young saw as a desert, a barren wilderness, and now it blooms as the rose; and hundreds of thousands of people are provided for and taken care of as far as their temporal needs are concerned.
The Lord revealed in the Doctrine and Covenants, section 85, verse 3,
It is contrary to the will and commandment of God that those who receive not their inheritance by consecration, agreeable to his law, which he has given, that he may tithe his people, to prepare them against the day of vengeance and burning, should have their names enrolled with the people of God.
And in these days of difficulty, bloodshed, and war a tithed people according to this promise should have their names enrolled with the people of God and enjoy the promised protection that will come through obedience.
How many times the question is asked, "What is a tithe?" The very word itself denotes one-tenth. A tithe is one-tenth of the wage earner's full income. A tithe is one-tenth of the professional man's net income. A tithe is one-tenth of the businessman's net income. A tithe is one-tenth of the farmer's net income, and also one-tenth of the produce used by the farmer to sustain his family which is a just and equitable requirement, as others purchase out of their income such food as is needed to provide for their families. A tithe is one-tenth of the dividends derived from investments. A tithe is one-tenth of net insurance income less premiums if tithing has been paid on the premiums. May we follow the admonition of Brigham Young:
We do not ask anyone to pay tithing unless they are disposed to do so, but if you pretend to pay tithing, pay it like an honest man.
May we meet our tithing obligations fully and therefrom derive the promised blessings both spiritual and temporal.
As to the handling of tithing, according to the revelations, the following officers of the priesthood government of the Lord are responsible: the President of the Church who is trustee-in-trust; the Presiding Bishopric, and all of the bishoprics who preside in the wards, and branch presidencies who preside over the branches. Once a month all the tithes received by the ward bishoprics and the branch presidencies are forwarded to the office of the Presiding Bishopric in full; the bishoprics and the branch presidencies do not retain any of the tithing. The tithing is accompanied by duplicate receipts of the receipts issued to the donors. In the office of the Presiding Bishopric a personal tithing account has been set up for each donor. At the end of each three months of the year there is returned to the bishoprics of the Church a tithing statement drawn up in the office of the Presiding Bishopric listing all who have paid tithing during that period and the amount. By this arrangement, the bishoprics of the ward have a record of what each tithepayer has paid for any three months of the year or for the whole year, which makes it possible at tithing settlement time for each tithepayer to receive from the bishop a personal record of tithes paid.
All tithing received by the Presiding Bishopric is transferred in full to the First Presidency.
The shining example of integrity on the part of the brethren who handle the tithes in the wards and the branches of the Church is without parallel. I doubt if in civil government you will ever find a record of integrity comparable to that which we find in the priesthood government of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The question is often asked, "How is the tithing disbursed?" The plan for disbursement is found in the 120th section of the Doctrine and Covenants and is as follows:
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 of the bishop and his council, and by my high council, and by mine own voice unto them, saith the Lord....
And so in compliance with this revelation, a council called "The Council for the Disbursement of Tithing," composed of the First Presidency, the Council of the Twelve, and the Presiding Bishopric has been organized, and under the direction of this council for the disbursement of tithing there has been organized a budget committee composed of two members of the Council of the Twelve and a member of the Presiding Bishopric. Each year the budget committee analyzes the financial needs of the various departments of the Church from the point of view of eliminating unnecessary expenditures. The budget, when compiled, is presented to the council for the disbursement of tithing, where again the First Presidency and the members of the council analyze the budget very carefully to assure themselves of no extravagant spending, and under the direction of this council for the disbursement of tithing there is another committee called "The Expenditure Committee" of the Church who are authorized to approve expenditures as they are required by the departments of the Church. This committee meets once a week. It is composed of the First Presidency, three members of the Twelve, and the Presiding Bishopric. And over the fifteen years that I have had the privilege of being a member of this committee, I have been inspired and thrilled by the careful appropriating of Church funds. Civil government could well afford to follow the example of the expenditure committee of the priesthood government of the Lord Jesus Christ.
What are the tithes used for? By revelation they are used to assist the poor, to erect temples and meetinghouses, for the maintenance of temples and missions, for the erection of school buildings, seminaries, and institute buildings, and for the other operating expenses that are necessary. Tithing may be used for the purchase of land. In the 42nd section and 35th verse of the Doctrine and Covenants, it is indicated surpluses might be used to purchase land for the public good of the people.
The Prophet Malachi declared:
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.
I am not going to say to you, because you pay your tithing that tomorrow morning there may be a Cadillac in your garage or that you may all be blessed with a mansion in which to live. That promise I cannot make.
The Lord promised us that he would bless the obedient with the necessities of life. He will bless us with the inspiration to wisely handle our income and use it in a thrifty way to the end that we will be able to meet our obligations.
In many wards of the Church where chapels are in the course of construction, members are paying and have paid more tithing than they had previously, which is an evidence that the Lord directly and through the inspiration of his Holy Spirit, blesses us in our temporal affairs when we obey the commandment of tithing.
At the time President Lorenzo Snow took over the administration of the priesthood government of the Lord Jesus Christ, it was at the end of a terrible period in its history. The Church had been prosecuted and persecuted with reference to the question of plural marriage. Its properties had been confiscated; money was borrowed at the rate of twelve percent interest; and the total income of the Church at the time President Snow came in was required to pay the interest on these loans.
The Prophet supplicated God mightily for divine direction and received a revelation indicating to him that if the people of the Church would obey the law of tithing their lands would be productive, the rains would come, and the financial problem of the Church would be solved. The promise of the Lord was kept through the obedience of the people; the credit of the Church was saved; and today it rests upon a strong financial foundation.
There are spiritual blessings-the blessing of faith, the blessing of testimony, the divine power that motivates you and me to meet this divine commandment and out of which comes spiritual understanding, and that greatly needed virtue to be honest with our Father in heaven, honest with ourselves, and honest with our fellow men.
Happiness comes, and full fellowship in that we enjoy the association of our Heavenly Father's Holy Spirit. These are rewards of which Malachi spoke.
Brigham Young declared:
If we live our religion we will be willing to pay tithing. We are not our own, we are bought with a price, we are the Lord's our time, our talents, our gold and silver, our wheat and fine flour, our wine and our oil, our cattle, and all there is on this earth that we have in our possession is the Lord's and he requires one-tenth of this for the building up of His Kingdom. Whether we have much or little, one-tenth should be paid in for tithing.
In conclusion, my brethren and sisters, if there is any question in your minds about this divine law, I ask you to follow the admonition of the resurrected Savior wherein he counseled as follows:
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.
I promise you as God lives, through the spirit of the Holy Ghost, that testimony will come into your hearts that the law of tithing is a divine law, and it is necessary to carry on the functions of the priesthood government of the Lord Jesus Christ.
May God give us the strength to obey all of his commandments, that we might enjoy salvation and a place in the celestial kingdom, I humbly ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, April 1953, pp. 105-110
My beloved brothers and sisters: I pray for the blessings of the Lord, as have those who have spoken before me, and I enlist an interest in your faith and prayers. This morning I am missing from our number Elder John A. Widtsoe, our beloved brother, and I pay tribute again to him. I am grateful for his rich life of devotion to the Church and the delightful association we have had with him.
It shall be my great pleasure to sustain and to receive into my heart and into our Council, Brother Adam S. Bennion, whose life of rich and varied experience, his wealth of training, and his stalwart faith will bring to the people of the Church great blessings, and I am sure that you will love him.
Much has been said in this conference about missionary work. Nearly every speaker has referred to it. I am tremendously interested in the missionary work of the Church, both foreign and stake. I wish to direct my remarks this morning more toward the stake missionary service and of that work, the minority program, and of the minority program, particularly the Lamanite phase.
The Lamanite is the forgotten man, and though there has been much progress and though there have been friends raised up to him, he still is the forgotten man and is in need of assistance. It seems to me that if the Lord Jesus Christ were here with us in person, he would emphasize the work among these people. I remember that as early as July 1828, the Lord said:
And again, verily I say unto you, O inhabitants of the earth: I the Lord am willing to make these things known unto all flesh.
Nevertheless, my work shall go forth, for inasmuch as the knowledge of a Savior has come unto the world, through the testimony of the Jews, even so shall the knowledge of a Savior come unto my people-
And to the Nephites, and the Jacobites, and the Josephites, and the Zoramites, through the testimony of their fathers-
And this testimony shall come to the knowledge of the Lamanites, and the Lemuelites, and the Ishmaelites, who dwindled in unbelief because of the iniquity of their fathers, whom the Lord has suffered to destroy their brethren the Nephites, because of their iniquities and their abominations.
And for this very purpose are these plates preserved, which contain these records-that the promises of the Lord might be fulfilled, which he made to his people;
And that the Lamanites might come to the knowledge of their fathers, and that they might know the promises of the Lord, and that they may believe the gospel and rely upon the merits of Jesus Christ, and be glorified through faith in his name, and that through their repentance they might be saved. Amen.
A little later in the same year, 1828, the Lord seemed to have this on his mind, as he dictated:
And I said unto them, that it should be granted unto them according to their faith in their prayers;
... that my gospel... might come unto their brethren the Lamanites, and also all that had become Lamanites because of their dissensions.
In September 1830, the Lord said:
And now, behold, I say unto you that you shall go unto the Lamanites and preach my gospel unto them; and inasmuch as they receive thy teachings thou shalt cause my church to be established among them....
That same month, through the Prophet Joseph, the Lord said to the Whitmers to go with Oliver Cowdery,
... for I have given unto him power to build up my church among the Lamanites.
And again in October of that year, he revealed, "And Ziba Peterson also shall go with them," that is, with Oliver Cowdery, Peter Whitmer, and Parley P. Pratt, "and I myself will go with them and be in their midst; and I am their advocate with the Father, and nothing shall prevail against them".
Then in March 1831, through the Prophet there came a revelation to Sidney Rigdon, Parley P. Pratt, and Leman Copley-
But before the great day of the Lord shall come, Jacob shall flourish in the wilderness, and the Lamanites shall blossom as the rose.
And then I am remembering the prayer of the Prophet Joseph in the Kirtland Temple in 1836 and his reference to these people again, and he supplicates the Father,
And cause that the remnants of Jacob, who have been cursed and smitten because of their transgression, be converted from their wild and savage condition to the fullness of the everlasting gospel.
The Prophet Joseph Smith in 1841 was receiving a great many Indian chiefs and their groups in Nauvoo. They came over on the ferryboat and two flatboats to see the Prophet Joseph. And he says:
I accordingly went down, and met Keokuk, Kis-ku-kosh, Appenoose, and about one hundred chiefs and braves of those tribes, with their families. * * * I conducted them to the meeting grounds in the grove, and instructed them in many things which the Lord had revealed unto me concerning their fathers, and the promises that were made concerning them in the Book of Mormon. I advised them to cease killing each other. * * *
Keokuk replied that he had a Book of Mormon at his wigwam which I had given him some years before. "I believe," said he, "you are a great and good man; I look rough, but I also am a son of the Great Spirit. I have heard your advice-we intend to quit fighting, and follow the good talk you have given us".
Now, all through the Doctrine and Covenants, all through those early years, it would seem that the Lord intended that the work among these great people should not be hampered or delayed but should go forward without any delay.
President John Taylor said, and I have quoted this before,
The work among the Lamanites must not be postponed, if we desire to retain the approval of God. Thus far we have been content simply to baptize them, let them run wild again, but this must continue no longer. The same devoted effort, the same care and instruction, the same organization and priesthood must be introduced and maintained among the house of Lehi as amongst those of Israel gathered from Gentile nations. As yet God has been doing all and we comparatively nothing. He has led many of them to us and they have been baptized, and now we must instruct them further, organize them into churches with proper presidencies, attach them to our stakes, organizations, etc., in one word, treat them exactly in these respects, as we would and do treat our white brethren.
Many changes have come since those days. Nations have been annihilated; lands and forests and streams have been appropriated; royalty has been humbled; and great peoples have been subdued and brought to extremes in want, poverty, ignorance, superstition, and deprivation. They have been scattered and driven according to prophecy. They have been hissed and spurned, and the full weight of a big nation has pressed down upon them.
But a new day is dawning. The Lamanites are putting on their beautiful garments; they have made much progress with our limited assistance and much on their own. We have the priesthood among them. Many hundreds are occupied now in positions of responsibility. The Church has been established among them, to a limited degree, and we hope that it will continue. There are Lamanite wards and branches in many parts of the Church. In the islands of the sea, of course, this is a program extending over a century. But here among the Lamanites, as Brother Cowley said so beautifully last night in our Sunday School conference, it is rather a new thing. We have baptized this year 2500 Lamanites in the Church, and we have now approximately 45,000 of them on the records of the Church. We have in the El Paso Third Ward a Lamanite bishop, a high priest in the Church, and you should have seen the tears of joy of his people as he was installed in this high and important place.
We have a Pima Indian bishop in the Papago Ward in the Maricopa Stake, a forty-five-year-old man who runs a grade A dairy and operates a 1200 acre farm. He has been on the tribal council, and is a man of power and influence.
In the Mexican Mission we have the advisory council, twelve strong, faithful men. We have district presidencies and branch presidencies, and it was the privilege of Brother McConkie and myself in November to meet with many of these groups of branch presidencies, and in their very humble circumstances they sat and with their books and pencils were taking notes of suggestions which we gave them as to the conduct of branches and districts in the organization and teaching of their people. These branch presidencies and these Lamanite bishops are interviewing people as to their worthiness and they have the power to withhold or to give temple blessings and other Church privileges to their members.
All through the Lamanite world we have leaders, and they are emerging now with greater strength and power. We have in the Mexican Mission forty-five young people who are filling full-term missions in addition to the fifty white boys and girls from other areas. There soon will be a preponderance of Spanish-speaking missionaries in that field. They are being supported by the special missionary fund of the Presidency of the Church and by individual donors who are helping them.
Down in the Navajo area, we have branch presidencies now who are conducting sacrament meetings, who are leading, who are speaking, who are praying, and we have "singing mothers" groups among them. It is glorious to see them growing and expanding and coming into their own. The work is developing among them. A great need is missionaries. In Mexican cities we met in groups where we had as many as two or three hundred people, hungering and thirsting for the word of the Lord, and three-fourths of them were not members of the Church.
We have branches down in Navajo land and Hopi land, with 105, 140, 160 members of the Church carrying on in normal fashion. This coming from what were termed the primitive Indians yesterday is a great advance, and we are grateful for it.
Temple work is going forward. Through the work of Sister Ivy Huish Jones, wife of the mission president in the Spanish-American Mission, 10,000 sheets of family groups have been prepared, and all through the Spanish-speaking missions the work is going forward.
It would do your heart good to see numbers of Lamanite brothers and sisters sealed in the temple. Seventeen couples in San Antonio alone have been sealed in the temple, fifty-three in this small El Paso Ward have been to the temple and had their endowments; 281 people in the Mexican Mission, coming as far as a thousand miles have had their endowments in the holy temple. It is a great joy to see the Hawaiian Temple as I saw it one day filled with Japanese members doing their work, and all of the workers in the temple were Lamanites-Samoans and Hawaiians.
The question is asked me nearly every day when the Indian program is mentioned: Will they stay with the Church? Will they retain their faith? Or, will they go back "to the blanket?" And I want to tell you that few will return to the blanket when they have had their opportunities in education and the gospel.
President Golden Buchanan of the Southwest Indian Mission wrote me this: "We have had no excommunications, and with the exception of two or three, none have apostatized nor joined other churches, nor gone back to their own church... It is my opinion that our loss through apostasy is probably smaller than any other mission or group of people."
Their superstitions are giving way. The medicine man is being replaced by the administering elders, and also the M.D.'s. They are taking inoculations and vaccinations; they are going to hospitals for their babies. Twenty-three hundred Navajo boys and girls are up at the Intermountain Indian school at Brigham City. They are all taken care of with chest X-rays and complete physical examinations. They are learning that there are germs in the world, and by avoiding them they are increasing their health.
Superstitions held them down but they are giving way and twins are now permitted to live. That was not possible yesterday. Twins were a bad omen and they were not allowed to live but were starved or otherwise permitted to die. But today twins are living. Down in Arizona the other day two boys whose names were Franklin Roosevelt and Wendell Willkie Gallerito were dancing for tourists, and you can guess their ages by their names.
Marriage has come to have a different significance. The first formal modern wedding was performed in Yakima recently. One of our young couples was married by one of our elders. The Yakima paper stated it was "the first formal wedding in the history of the Yakima Indian tribes."
Their burials have changed, that is they are changing. It is a gradual process. Instead of cremation, they are being buried. A few years ago with President Flake, I visited Chief Baha Alchesay, the last hereditary chief of the 3800 Apaches in Arizona. He set a pattern for his Apache people when he asked for Christian burial. He had a great funeral; the governor of the state of Arizona was the speaker, and it was conducted by a Protestant minister of the church to which he belonged.
The Indians wept as they followed him to his grave. They shot no favorite horse; the widow did not clip her hair; no food or water was left in the casket or near it. He was buried in a blue serge suit with a white shirt and with a four-in-hand tie. He was the last of the hereditary chiefs. He did not put the mantle of his chiefship upon his son, as had his father upon him. The work now is carried on in a democratic way by the tribal council groups who are elected by their members.
The Apaches are quite well-to-do and the Navajos have come into some money, and the Utes out here have received some money; and it is the privilege now of the missionaries and all of us to help teach them to use their money in beneficial ways for themselves instead of squandering it.
The Indian now has the franchise. Theoretically he has had it ever since World War I, but until last year it was not a reality in Arizona, where the greatest number of the Indians reside. Now they may vote. In the Shonto precinct last fall there were twenty-six voters and of them, twenty-two were Navajo votes. Of the election board, five out of six were Navajos, three men and two women. It was their first chance to vote for the President of the United States. There were 768 Navajos registered last year. About a quarter of the Apaches were registered for the election.
I should like to say that Dr. George A. Boyce is doing a good work with the 2300 Indian boys and girls at Brigham City. One hundred and seven of them are Latter-day Saints, and you saw ten or fifteen of them here last night at the Sunday School presentation. One little boy wrote at election time:
The President promised to protect and defend the government of the United States. He said he would try to stop war and live in freedom. This is what he said. I hope he will.
Living advantages have increased. There are refrigerators in many homes, and there are also electric lights. Fourteen communities now are being considered for gas in the Navajo reservation-gas and electric lights in a Navajo hogan! It is coming. About one out of every four hogans is said to have a radio in it now.
In Gallup they have a radio station, and they give an hour a week in the Navajo language to send their messages to the people out in the hinterlands, and every day fifteen-minute-broadcasts are heard.
This, of course, is old for many of the Lamanites in other areas, but it is new here.
Employment is increasing. Thousands have found in their service in the war that it was good to sleep between sheets, and to have three good, varied meals a day and to have good clothes and money in their pockets, and to have all the advantages that white people have, and they have come back to the reservations dissatisfied and now thousands of them are working on railroads, in the mines, on the farms; and this brings to us another great opportunity to teach them the gospel as they come among us, instead of shunning them as many do.
The Indian converts are firm and steadfast. One Lamanite sister was in a group of women sitting together, and something came up about what the bishop was going to require of them, and a white sister said, "Well, we just are not going to do it, are we, Sister Poogy?" And Sister Poogy said, "Whatever the authorities ask us to do, that I am going to do."
They attend their meetings faithfully. Brother McConkie met 1144 on the Navajo reservation down there a few months ago when he was visiting the mission. They preach; they teach all phases of the gospel; they teach the Word of Wisdom; they teach chastity; they teach the restoration; they call the people to repentance; and they are living the commandments well.
And I could tell you many stories about their honesty and their integrity, about their cleanliness of living, about their love for the program of the Church.
Brothers and sisters, there is much I should like to say to you this morning about this great program, but time will not permit, but I would like to close with one or two further thoughts, and then I am through.
Here is a letter from a good brother who had been in the Church only months. Here is real devotion to the Church. He wrote:
Dear Friend: I am going to write to you for about Miss Mary ________. She is in school at ________ place, and she is write me a letter and she finds that they don't let her go to Mormon Church. Do you know why they don't let her go to our Church, and what can I do for her for she can go to Mormon Church, because I ask her and she my girl? You know we belong Mormon Church. Will you please write to me and let me know and maybe you know what I do for it? I am sure like it for her to go to Mormon Church. She said they let her go to another kind of Church. You know her. She was down with last month ago when is baptized. I just want to let you know about why they don't let her go to Mormon Church. Answer soon. Please.
The Lord bless the Lamanite people. They are a great people. They are intelligent, and I repeat my theme song: The difference between them and us is opportunity. It is your privilege and mine through education, through employment and every other means, and particularly through bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ in all kindliness and brotherliness to them, to give them that opportunity which will make of them enlightened, faithful sons and daughters of God with all of the blessings which are promised to them.
I pray with one of our Lamanite sisters, who pleaded, "Heavenly Father, please bless the missionaries, that they won't get discouraged with us Indians, and please bless the Indians that they will always listen." This is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder George Q. Morris
George Q. Morris, Conference Report, April 1953, pp. 110-113
My dear brethren and sisters: I rejoice in being with you here this morning. I have been very much interested in Brother Kimball's references to the Lamanite people, and I recall a beautiful scene up on the borders of the Dominion of Canada, a winding river with a background of forest and soft, green sloping banks, where a Mohawk Indian, dressed in white, baptized his family into the Church of Jesus Christ.
I sincerely pray that the Lord may direct me to say that which he would have me say. I rejoice in the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the power of God unto salvation, and what it is doing for the Lamanites, it is doing for all people who will accept it.
There is a statement in the scriptures made by the Apostle Paul, at least so translated,
Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection.
I haven't time to deal with the various versions of this passage except to say of course, it doesn't mean that we can discard any of the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we cannot, after joining the Church, leave behind and discard the principles and ordinances that we call the first principles in the articles of our faith. The rendering of this passage by the Prophet Joseph Smith in the inspired version is, "Therefore not leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on to perfection." I believe we should be more cognizant of the fact that we need the first principles of the gospel every day of our lives. It is by these principles that we live.
They are: faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. By these two principles and the principles involved in these two ordinances we come into the Church, and it is my opinion that it is by the operation of these principles that we stay in the Church, and that we grow in the Church. Without them we could not remain faithful, and with them, we may advance to salvation and perfection through the power of the Lord.
It is sometimes said it is humanly impossible to keep all the commandments of God. The Apostle said we should go on to perfection, and the Lord said in his Sermon on the Mount,
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
It is not humanly possible for us to become perfect and to keep all the commandments of God, but we are not talking about a human institution. We are talking about what the Apostle Paul said "is the power of God unto salvation", and it is by the power of God that these things are done, as we place ourselves in a position for these principles to operate upon us.
It is the purpose of the Lord to bring us all back into his presence, if we will keep his commandments and enter into covenant with him and walk uprightly before him and serve him and keep his commandments all the days of our lives. Now, I am sure everyone here every day needs some repentance, and we need to have a remission of our sins, which comes by virtue of the fact that we repent and that we have been baptized into the Church. And above all, we need the Spirit and power of God. The older I grow, the more I am convinced that the chief thing that we do need, and the highest achievement in the world to which we can attain, is to be guided by the Spirit of God. We can do that by keeping his commandments and in no other way that I know of. The Lord has outlined that most wonderfully in the ninety-third section of the Doctrine and Covenants, referring to the operation of that principle and these principles of the gospel that have been given to us. He speaks of the reference in John, to the Lord Jesus Christ as having become perfect by receiving grace upon grace and advancing from grace to grace until he had a fullness. That is set forth as the method, the progress toward salvation and exaltation in the presence of God, and it is held up as the method by which we may progress.
We will obtain the advantage of these principles by having faith. In our first principle, it is not the abstract principle of faith that we hold to as the first principle of the gospel, but faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And the only true faith in him is a faith in him as the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world, who atoned for our sins, who opened the tomb and instituted the resurrection from the dead. He is the light and the life of the world, the Lord omnipotent. When we have true faith in him, all necessary things are possible, and it is by the power of God, through this faith, that we are to be perfected and made fit to come back into the presence of our God. We need that faith every day in our personal conduct, in overcoming our shortcomings, in keeping the commandments, in being forgiven for our transgressions, in having an increase of the Holy Spirit with us to guide us and direct us.
Every principle requires faith. I was very much edified by Bishop Wirthlin's reference to the law of tithing and the appeal that we should pay tithing. I think that is a good illustration of this principle of faith. I think when people say they haven't money enough to pay tithing, they should say they haven't faith enough to pay tithing. It is my conviction that we pay tithing with faith and not with money, because when a man has so much money that he has a large tithing, he can't pay tithing. He has too much money and too little faith to pay tithing, and just feels he can't afford it. I know a man who must have earned twenty-five thousand dollars or fifty thousand dollars a year, and he sent in a little pittance of three hundred dollars so that he would be on the tithing list. That wasn't tithing. I won't say what it was. I knew another man who was in financial distress, losing his home, harassed, but his tithing always came through. He didn't have money to spare for tithing in one sense. He didn't have money enough to pay his debts, his pressing obligations, but he had faith, and by faith he paid his tithing and remained straight with the Lord. I urge with all my heart that all the members of this Church who should pay tithing, pay an honest tithing-and don't scrape the measure off too level. Put a little offering of gratitude there, to heap it up just a little. The Lord heaps things up until they are running over with the blessings we receive from him. Let's be true and faithful. It is an interesting thing in this matter of tithing, which the Lord has set it up as his means of carrying on his work. It is through his blessings that all our money comes to us, and our means. It is a gift from him. The singular thing is that he has arranged that he must give $10,000 to get $1,000 back for his work. That may seem a very odd way of doing it, but that is his generous method, and the only way the Lord can get $1,000 contributed to the carrying on of his work under the tithing system is to give $10,000. I will leave it for you to figure out to whom he is going to give $10,000, whether it will be to those who keep it all, or whether it will be to those who turn back the $1,000 that he requires for his work. If we will pay our honest tithing to God, he will bless us and prosper us and increase our faith, and I believe the Lord has a lot of things to do that he can only do through people who have faith to pay their honest tithing.
I speak of that only as an illustration. I think the same principle applies in all our conduct, as far as our characters are concerned. Through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ we may correct ourselves and have our sins remitted and have an increased portion of the Spirit of the Lord.
Now what is the process. The Lord outlines that most wonderfully in the ninety-third section of the Doctrine and Covenants, as I have said referring to the Savior, advancing from grace to grace, he applies the same principle to us: "For if you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fullness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father". That is the direct, clear word of the Lord Jesus Christ to every man in this world, if he will accept the gospel, and to us who have the gospel. We are promised that we shall be glorified in him, as he is in the Father. Again.
The Spirit of truth is of God. I am the Spirit of truth, and John bore record of me, saying: He received a fullness of truth, yea, even of all truth;
And no man receiveth a fullness unless he keepeth his commandments.
He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things.
That is spoken to us as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and applies to all people of the world. The process is the same with us as with the Lord. From grace to grace we advance until we are glorified in truth and know all things. The Lord in this section says that "the glory of God is intelligence", and that is what the Lord is speaking of in this I have just read when he said we were to receive truth and light because he defines intelligence, which is the glory of God, as light and truth. I thank the Lord for that definition of intelligence because one may become greatly confused as between intelligence and mental brilliance and other unusual qualities that men have. Satan was the Son of the Morning, evidently a powerful spirit in the councils of God called "Lucifer, the Son of the Morning", but he was without intelligence. The Lord said "he was a murderer from the beginning", the father of lies. Those are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ who knew him, for he it was whom Satan tried to dethrone.
So that is the course of advancement. It is within our reach not by our power alone, but through the power of God.
Now what is the opposite of that? It is set forth in this same section,
And that wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth through disobedience from the children of men.
Here is set up the controlling principle of all advancement in the kingdom, that of obedience. Anything we hope for, anything we desire, anything we should have will come to us through the principle of obedience and by the same token all may be lost by disobedience. How simple the gospel is! The requirement is an obedient heart, an obedient heart.
In another place the Lord said,
If you keep not my commandments, the love of the Father shall not continue with you, therefore you shall walk in darkness.
May the Lord give us power, humility, and meekness, that with determination and in gratitude and thanksgiving to him, we may be intelligent enough to keep his commandments and glorify his holy name, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Delbert L. Stapley
Delbert L. Stapley, Conference Report, April 1953, pp. 117-120
My brothers and sisters, I should like to pay tribute to our late beloved departed associate, Elder John A. Widtsoe, a man who has contributed much to this Church and its people. He left many books, manuscripts, and leaflets that we can all use and profit by. I, too, want to welcome Elder Adam S. Bennion into the Quorum of the Twelve and assure him that he has my love, my prayers, my blessing, my help. I know he will contribute a great deal to the work. He is filling the shoes of a very important individual, but I know he will rise to the great responsibilities of this call.
I would like for you to keep in mind, my brothers and sisters, as I speak to you, the talks of President David O. McKay on the home, of Bishop Thorpe B. Isaacson on security in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the talk of President Bruce R. McConkie on the Holy Ghost, its powers and functions.
Toward the close of his ministry, Christ taught his disciples that he must suffer many things and be crucified and would rise again the third day. Peter rebuked the Savior saying, "Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee." Jesus turned to Peter and said "Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men". If the Lord walked among us today, would we be an offense unto him and subject to chastisement for savoring the things of men more than the things of God?
Our modern scientific material world with its great achievements, conveniences, comforts, and tempting prosperity has diverted many a good man from his avowed plan to serve God faithfully. Opportunities for riches, and the power that goes with them, often impels men to pursue increased possessions, money, and the honors of men more than the love and favor of God. The faith of many such men often is destroyed and their spiritual opportunities and blessings sacrificed. They become cold and indifferent to religion and pierce themselves and families through with many sorrows.
... it is the will of God that man should repent and serve Him in health, and in the strength and power of his mind, in order to secure his blessing, and not wait until he is called to die.
We have the responsibility as parents of providing for our own, and in our best endeavors to do so there are normally accumulations of material possessions. There is nothing against a person earning and enjoying material possessions provided he is not spiritually hurt in the process and fulfills completely his heavenly covenants and sacred obligations to his God. "For a man's life," says the Savior, "does not consist in the abundance of the things which he possesses".
The Lord has given us the good things of the earth that we might better serve him. Somehow people get mixed up in values and fail to recognize the important purposes of earth life that a kind and loving Heavenly Father has so graciously provided for them.
Our most important possession is the gospel. It has no counterpart. It encompasses all truth. It is the only plan for life and salvation that is eternal and applies to all mankind. Obedience to its principles, doctrines and ordinances is our only hope for protection and peace in a disturbed world. The Lord has counseled us "to seek first the kingdom of heaven and its righteousness, and all else will be added". The Nephites, following Christ's ministry among them, for two hundred years realized the full benefits of following this counsel. There was an unprecedented era of righteousness and faith among these people. They had all things common among them. There were not rich and poor, bond and free, and there were no contentions or disputations among them. They dealt justly with each other; the Lord prospered them exceedingly; and they builded large cities. In Fourth Nephi we read,
And it came to pass that there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people.
And there were no envyings, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness; and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God.
God did bless them in all their doings, but later, however, wealth, pride, and the desire for influence and power led to their complete destruction as a people and a nation. Moral decay has ever been the downfall of peoples and nations.
Faith in God and in his son Jesus Christ must find lodgment and full and continued expression in every heart or man will be destroyed by his own ignorance and materialism. Today, man's world with the Christ and his teachings is on the brink of disaster. As I think about it, I wonder what condition the world would be in if it did not have a Christ and did not have his teachings with the great plan of salvation as we know and understand it. No doubt the people of the world would have been destroyed long ago.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has gained influence and prestige among men. Its opportunities to do good are unlimited. If the Church is to be as a light upon a hill and a beacon to all people, I am firmly convinced that our most important duty is to be true, faithful, and devoted disciples of Christ, and not as people of the world, for the Lord has called us out of the world, a people peculiar unto him. In 1 John we read,
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him;
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
This does not mean the Lord will deny to his people the good things that modern science and invention have provided for the better enjoyment of life, but we are counseled to forego worldly pursuits and pleasures in favor of heavenly and spiritual things.
In this great land of ours we have enjoyed twelve prosperous years. No previous time begins to compare with it either for volume or duration. It would now seem prudent, wise, and timely to stabilize our financial positions, making safe our holdings and possessions to assure security, proper living standards, cultural and economic advantages for ourselves and families, and also make possible our most sacred duty in building up the Lord's kingdom in the earth.
The Lord has counseled his people to pray over their flocks and herds, which applies to every man's interests. If we faithfully live the gospel and honor the Holy Priesthood of God, we have a right and claim upon him for his blessings and the inspiration to guide us in making proper decisions for the conduct of our businesses in this period of economic uncertainty. There are serious rough spots ahead, flashing warning lights of caution that Latter-day Saints cannot ignore. This past week the stock market ran for shelter on indication of possible peace in Korea. Business and markets are sensitive to any change in world conditions. We must recognize the signs of the times as indicated by prophecy and have vision and wise understanding of national and world trends to safeguard our interests and thus strengthen the cause of Zion, even as Joseph of old so wisely planned and prepared against the days of famine and adversity, and thus became a great benefactor to the Egyptians and his father's family. We need all the help that faith, prayer, and inspiration can give.
The Latter-day Saints by getting out of debt and thus securing their holdings could set a good example for all people. We were advised recently from this pulpit by President Stephen L Richards to get out of debt, and that counsel now under present economic conditions, and particularly in the light of the past week's happenings, is most timely and wise. With such admonition there should be no cause for us to err in our judgments as to the course we should follow.
We are acquainted with recent government economy moves which, I hope, we all approve and commend our national leaders for, but it does indicate a cautious trend in our national life and is bound to spread to other fields. We have also witnessed an adjustment in farm commodity and livestock prices. In spite of heavy government military orders, consumer merchandise is becoming more plentiful and shortages progressively fewer in number. Prices in some lines are softening, and the cost of living index is lowering. The long sustained inflationary boom period made possible by war scare, high taxes, a staggering government debt, also increasing serious world problems with peace in the balance, are danger signals that call for caution and wise decisions. The economic adjustments now taking place should over the long pull be helpful to our national economy, but some segments of our economic life cannot help being hurt by lower prices caused by such adjustments. Some of our people have already experienced serious and costly losses.
It is generally conceded that 1953 will be a good business year, the first half favorable, the last half perhaps doubtful, and 1954 rather clouded. The Latter-day Saints should take advantage of whatever remaining good times that are ahead to get out of debt, make secure present holdings, and not take chances with odds against them for a high rate of prosperity continuing. No one can ever be criticized for consolidating his position and holdings to assure security and opportunities for himself and family. We must remember that we pay obligations and meet our commitments out of what is left after taxes. Taxation is a heavy taskmaster and a hard teacher. I wonder whether heavier tax burdens leaving us less to show for our labors and thrifty habits are necessary before we realize what the true values of life are.
The Prophet Joseph Smith has issued this warning,
I will prophesy that the signs of the coming of the Son of Man are already commenced. One pestilence will desolate after another... Some may have cried peace, but the Saints in the world will have little peace from henceforth... Wars are at hand... We ought to have the building up of Zion as our greatest object.
I call your attention to the statement by President Joseph Fielding Smith in last Saturday's conference session when he said peace would not come to the earth until the Savior brings it at his second coming.
Now in this talk, my brothers and sisters, I am not intending to cause panic or fear in the hearts of the Latter-day Saint people. Again, 1953 is conceded a fair year, however, an orderly and planned program of debt liquidation with protection of interests, eliminating all risk hazards should be very helpful and not harmful to the national economy, and as I interpret present conditions, it appears to me the wise course to follow. I know it will bring peace and comfort of mind and a glorious sense of security and well-being for those we love and who depend upon us with full trust and confidence for life's necessities and opportunities.
My soul is full with the spirit of this latter-day work. It is most important. It must not fail. God has called us to holy callings and depends on us to keep free of entanglements and financial involvements to serve him freely and effectively and to promote his glorious kingdom on earth. May we ever keep in mind these suggestions and be faithful and true in our Church obligations I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Marion G. Romney
Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, April 1953, pp. 122-126
Somehow I don't feel like giving the talk which I had prepared for the conference. I would, however, like to discuss with you a few things that are in my mind, without attempting to make a speech or deliver a discourse.
In the first place, I extend my welcome to Brother Bennion, who has today been called into the Council of the Twelve. He has great talents and the ability to do great service in the Church. He touched my life for good more than thirty years ago when he gave me encouragement in a trying time.
I express my regrets, too, at the passing of Brother Widtsoe, a great man who for many, many years was one of the outstanding leaders of the Church. I am sure our hearts go out to Sister Widtsoe and to her family. Just a year ago Brother Widtsoe gave his last conference talk. He had recently returned, you will remember, from a very important assignment in Canada. He talked about preserving water and making it available to the land. He told how putting water on land turns barren soil into fertile, productive soil. From this he drew the following gospel lesson:
The weavers of the midlands in England, the coal miners of Wales, the fishermen in Norway, the trudging farmers of Denmark, very common, ordinary people, who accept the gospel from the lips of some humble Mormon missionary become so changed by those enlightening truths of the gospel that they are not the same people any longer. They have been fertilized, so to speak, by the Spirit of God that flows from eternal truth, just as in irrigation the barren, dry soil is fertilized by diverting the stream of water from the irrigation ditch onto the thirsty land.
I am sure we shall long remember the labors of Brother Widtsoe.
I would like to say a word to you Brother Bowen, if you are listening. Our hearts go out to you; we love you; we recognize the strength of your great character and your unusual intellect. I would like to put in the record a statement from the address you delivered here a year ago. You were explaining how the adoption of the precepts of men had changed the doctrines of the Christian Church. You were, of course, speaking of churches generally, not of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Then you concluded-and I remember these words as you spoke them:
In my view there is only one safety; there is only one cure; and that is to take the pure and unadulterated word of God and set that up as our standard of measurement and measure every creed and doctrine and dogma by that yardstick. That which will not square with the declarations of Almighty God we can lay aside as unsuited for the need of man.
I know, Brother Bowen, you would love to be here today. We would love to have you, and we give you our faith and our prayers.
Now may I call your attention to President Richards' conference address given six months ago. You will recall that he extended an invitation to the peoples of the world. It began with these words:
I desire to use this opportunity to extend an invitation... To the people of the Church, there is nothing novel in this invitation. Although it has gone out to the people of the world for more than a century, there are still few of the world who fully understand its import. This is the invitation, addressed: To All Men Women, and Children. Dear Friends: You are cordially and earnestly invited to participate in building the kingdom of God in the earth. Place-Everywhere. Time-Now.
President Richards, we remember that great talk. We have re-read it. We pray God, our Eternal Father, to bring you back that you may give many more such talks.
President McKay, in the opening address of this conference, said there were two things that we should do. One of them was to put our homes in order; the other was to bear witness of the Redeemer. He was thus quoted in the press:
President McKay, in his opening message to the Church membership, emphasized what he termed two great duties of Latter-day Saints: to put their homes in order, and to proclaim the divinity of the mission of Jesus Christ.
I would like to say just a word about my testimony of the mission of Jesus Christ. I want to go a little farther back for a moment, if I can be given guidance by the Spirit of the Lord to speak the truth accurately, and mention the great condition precedent to the efficacy of the mission of Jesus Christ. That condition precedent is the mission of Father Adam, because without the mission of Adam there would have been no need for the mission-the atonement-of Jesus Christ.
I have an assignment from the First Presidency to serve on the Church publications committee. This committee is expected to read and pass upon the literature proposed for use in the study courses of our auxiliary organizations. It would please me immensely if, in the preparation of this literature, we could get away from using the language of those who do not believe in the mission of Adam. I have reference to words and phrases such as "primitive man," "prehistoric man," "before men learned to write," and the like. We sometimes use these terms in a way that offends my feelings; in a way which indicates to me that we get mixed up in our understanding of the mission of Adam. The connotation of these terms, as used by unbelievers, is out of harmony with our understanding of the mission of Adam.
"Adam fell that man might be". There were no pre-Adamic men in the line of Adam. The Lord said that Adam was the first man. It is hard for me to get the idea of a man ahead of Adam, before the first man. The Lord also said that Adam was the first flesh which, as I understand it, means the first mortal on the earth. I understand from a statement in the book of Moses, which was made by Enoch, that there was no death in the world before Adam. Enoch said:
... death hath come upon our fathers; nevertheless we know them, and cannot deny, and even the first of all we know, even Adam.
For a book of remembrance we have written among us, according to the pattern given by the finger of God; and it is given in our own language.
I understand from this that Enoch could read about Adam in a book which had been written under the tutelage of Almighty God. Thus there were no prehistoric men who could not write because men living in the days of Adam, who was the first man, wrote.
I am not a scientist. I do not profess to know anything but Jesus Christ, and him crucified, and the principles of his gospel. If, however, there are some things in the strata of the earth indicating there were men before Adam, they were not the ancestors of Adam.
Adam was the son of God. He was our elder brother, not older than Jesus but he was our brother in the same sense that Jesus was our brother, and he "fell" to earth life. He did not come up through an unbroken line of organic evolution. There had to be a fall. "Adam fell that men might be".
I will go on now and read this scripture before I forget it:
For a book of remembrance we have written among us, according to the pattern given by the finger of God; and it is given in our own language.
And as Enoch spake forth the words of God, the people trembled, and could not stand in his presence.
Some men speak of the ancients as being savages, as if they had no intelligence. I tell you this man Enoch had intelligence, and Adam had intelligence, as much as any man that ever lived since or that lives now. They were mighty sons of God.
And he said unto them: Because that Adam fell, we are; and by his fall came death; and we are made partakers of misery and woe.
If Adam and Eve had not partaken of the forbidden fruit, they would have had no children, and we would not have been.
I do not look upon Adam's action as a sin. I think it was a deliberate act of free agency. He chose to do that which had to be done to further the purposes of God. The consequences of his act made necessary the atonement of the Redeemer.
I must not go into a longer discussion, but I say again that I would be very pleased if, in our teaching of the gospel, we could keep revealed truth straight in our minds and not get it confused with the ideas and theories of men, who do not believe what the Lord has revealed with respect to the fall of Adam.
Now, I believe with Enoch, "... Because that Adam fell, we are; and by his fall came death"; that every man must die, as Brother Petersen said yesterday. I believe that to meet the demands of justice, it took the atonement of Jesus Christ to redeem men from that death, that they may be raised again and have their spirits and their bodies, which are separated through death, reunited. I believe that through the atonement of Jesus Christ whatever "transgression" Adam committed was paid for, and that as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive, every living creature. I believe, too, that through the atonement of Jesus Christ my individual sins, your individual sins, and the individual sins of every human being that ever lived or ever will live upon the earth were atoned for, upon condition that we accept the gospel and live it to the end of our lives.
I know that my Redeemer lives. I shall not know it better when I stand before the bar of God to be judged. I know that Jesus is the Redeemer. I bear that witness to you, not from what people have told me; I bear it out of a knowledge revealed to me by the Holy Spirit. As to this knowledge, the Lord, after commanding the early Apostles of this dispensation to testify that the words he had spoken to them were of him, said:
For it is my voice which speaketh them unto you; for they are given by my Spirit unto you, and by my power you can read them one to another; and save it were by my power you could not have them;
Wherefore, you can testify that you have heard my voice, and know my words.
I am willing to bear this witness to all the Saints and to all men and women everywhere, saints and sinners, in all the world, for it is the eternal truth.
I know that the Prophet Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I know he saw God, the Eternal Father, and his Son, Jesus Christ, as he says he did. I was not there, but I have read his account many, many, many times. From his account I get in my mind a mental picture, but I did not get my knowledge that he had the vision from that source. I received it from the whisperings of the Holy Spirit, and I have had those whisperings in my mind the same as Enos had when he said, "... the voice of the Lord came into my mind".
I know that God revealed every principle of salvation necessary to the salvation of men to the Prophet Joseph Smith. I know that his successor who sits here today, David O. McKay, holds every power and every authority and all the priesthood that the Prophet Joseph had-unless it be the keys of this last dispensation-but every power that is necessary to the salvation of men, he holds. Nobody has a testimony of the gospel that will save him unless he knows it, too.
It is an easy thing to believe in the dead prophets, but it is a greater thing to believe in the living prophets. I will give you an illustration.
One day when President Grant was living, I sat in my office across the street following a general conference. A man came over to see me, an elderly man. He was very upset about what had been said in this conference by some of the Brethren, including myself. I could tell from his speech that he came from a foreign land. After I had quieted him enough so he would listen I said, "Why did you come to America?"
"I came here because a prophet of God told me to come."
"Who was the prophet?" I continued.
"Wilford Woodruff."
"Do you believe Wilford Woodruff was a prophet of God?"
"Yes," said he.
"Do you believe that his successor President Lorenzo Snow, was a prophet of God?"
"Yes, I do."
"Do you believe that President Joseph F. Smith was a prophet of God?"
"Yes, sir."
Then came the "sixty-four dollar question." "Do you believe that Heber J. Grant is a prophet of God?"
His answer: "I think he ought to keep his mouth shut about old age assistance."
Now I tell you that a man in his position is on the way to apostasy. He is forfeiting his chances for eternal life. So is everyone who cannot follow the living prophet of God.
I want to say one more thing before I sit down. Today being the twentieth anniversary of Brother Clark's call to the First Presidency, I want to pay him a tribute. I love him. Although the Lord had to go all the way to Mexico City to find him, I am grateful that he brought him back to give us this twenty years of service. I want to read a statement from the message he gave twenty years ago. In it he spoke of his great humility and of the apprehension he felt as to whether he could meet the requirements of his new position. In telling of the joys he anticipated, he said:
We shall have the joy of work, too, for man also is that he might work, he went forth from the innocence of Eden to the God-like knowledge of good and evil, with the Divine blessing-not curse-as it seems to me: "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread". And save in extremity, no man may rightfully violate that law by living by the sweat from the brow of his brother. It is the eternal, inescapable law that growth comes only from work and preparation whether the growth be material, mental or spiritual. Work has no substitute. Idleness brings neither profit, nor advantage, nor good-only a withering decay and death. The world is near to forgetting all this; I hope that we as a people shall keep it ever in remembrance, for in proportion as it is forgotten, evil will rule.
I have watched him work through these years, as have the other brethren. We greatly appreciate the example he has set for us.
In conclusion, let me say this by way of general statement. Work, brothers and sisters, work in the kingdom. Get the testimony of the gospel. I think it is a disgrace for men and women to stand on the same ground day after day in their testimony, their knowledge of the gospel, and their work in the Church. We should go forward. We ought to be on our mettle all the time, reaching, perfecting our lives, doing more work, going forward preparing to meet the Redeemer. We live in the day just before his coming. We must speed the day, speed the work in preparation for that great day, that we may rest our souls in the kingdom of God, which I hope we may all do, and so pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Henry D. Moyle
Henry D. Moyle, Conference Report, April 1953, pp. 126-128
We have all been thrilled with the marvelous, inspired, testimony of Elder Marion G. Romney. Every word that he uttered found a responsive chord in my being. And I should like to say amen to all that he said.
I have a feeling akin to the last statement which he made, concerning the necessity for us to show in our lives by our works, the faith that we have in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
If we believe, as we profess, we should constitute the greatest body of friends the earth has ever known. I have been reading recently the statement of a great writer who must have had a deep insight into the subject of friendship, though his attitude toward the same may have been somewhat cynical. He said, and I am quoting from Emerson:
The higher the style we demand of friendship, of course, the less easy to establish it with flesh and blood. We walk alone in the world. Friends such as we desire are dreams and fables. But a sublime hope cheers even the faithful heart, that elsewhere, in other regions of the universal power, souls are now acting, enduring, and daring, which can love us and which we can love. We may congratulate ourselves that the period of nonage, of follies, of blunder, and of shame, is passed in solitude and when we are finished men, we shall grasp heroic hands in heroic hands. Only be admonished by what you already see, not to strike leagues of friendship with cheap persons where no friendship can be. Our impatience betrays us into rash and foolish alliances which no god attends. By persisting in your path, though you forfeit the little, you gain the greater.
I am conscious today that had there come into Emerson's life that which has come into yours and mine, the power of the priesthood of God, he would have had a different idea, a different conception of friendship. We have spoken frequently during this conference of our testimony of the divinity of the work in which we are engaged. We know that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ. We know that the Savior of mankind is the only Begotten Son of the Father. I bear witness to these facts in all solemnity, and I likewise want to bear witness to the fact that there is a brotherhood of man, that just as Jesus is our elder brother, so are we brethren ourselves. We belong to a society in which there can be a perfect friendship. It requires of us but one thing, and that is that we keep the commandments of God. It is this fellowship, this brotherhood that makes it possible for us to magnify the priesthood of God which has been conferred upon us as men of Israel in these latter days.
I want to bear witness to you today, my brethren, that none of us can magnify our callings in the priesthood, none of us can exercise the power of the priesthood efficaciously, and none of us can have that witness come into our hearts that gives us that knowledge supreme of the existence of God and his Son Jesus Christ, unless we are true brothers, unless we belong to a society of men who love one another, and who are devoted to one another, who have confidence in one another, and who are much more apt to forgive the mistakes of one another than to criticize that which we may see amiss in our neighbor.
Emerson goes on to say in that beautiful essay of his on friendship, I love to read it, that it is difficult if not impossible for true friendship to exist between more than two people. He writes further:
Friendship demands a religious treatment. We talk of choosing our friends, but friends are self-elected. Let me be alone to the end of the world rather than my friend should overstep by word or look his real sympathy. I am equally balked by antagonism and by compliance. Let him not cease an instant to be himself. I hate when I looked for a manly furtherance or at least a manly resistance to find a mush of concession.
Oh, how I wish that he had felt that brotherhood of God which exists in the lives and in the hearts and in the spirit of the men of Israel today, who are magnifying their callings in the priesthood.
As President McKay, at the opening of this great conference, spoke of the home, I could not help feeling that the degree of brotherhood, that degree of friendship which you and I exhibit in our lives may well demonstrate the contacts, the experiences, the influences of the homes in which we are raised. I know as I live that if I reflect in my life the love and the affection, the devotion that my father had for my mother, then I must constantly pray to my Heavenly Father for the strength and the courage to do his will and to keep his commandments. I am sure that there is nothing that we can do, brethren who hold the priesthood, more important in our lives than to bring into our homes that greatest power of all, love. We should bestow love, affection, and devotion upon our wives and let that radiate from us into the lives of our children. May we all go from our homes and throughout our lives in our contacts with our fellow men radiating that love, that affection for mankind which will give to mankind a confidence, a respect, even an obedience to that which we profess.
I was impressed this morning when Elder Harold B. Lee was talking to the missionary meeting in the Assembly Hall as to the qualifications of missionaries. I tell you, brethren, there is no power on earth by which we can penetrate the souls of men, the equal of that radiation of love and affection which will naturally pass from us to those to whom we bring truth and light and knowledge and understanding.
We owe this sort of friendship in the family, this love and affection, for our own brothers and our own sisters in the home, that that might reflect itself in our lives, in our contacts with the world. What we are will bear witness to our friends more eloquently than any words or any testimony that we can speak.
Elder Romney's testimony this afternoon would not have had the effect upon me that it had if I had not known that in his heart he has a love for his fellow men, willing to devote himself, his life, all that he has and is, all that he ever hopes to be to bring to them the satisfaction that the testimony of his has brought to him.
I am grateful for the opportunity I have of associating with men who know what it is to belong to an association of true friends, bound together as we are by the bonds of the Holy Priesthood. I bear witness to you today that as we create these friendships and affections that we have for one another, we can continue them eternally through our obedience to the principles of truth and right. When you brethren come up to me and shake my hand as your brother and pay respect to the office to which I have been called, there comes into my being a consciousness that that friendship is of no limited duration, but it is just as eternal in its nature as the priesthood which we possess and which causes us to assure one another by that handshake that we truly love one another as sons of our Heavenly Father.
I pray that we may go away from this meeting, from this great conference, with our testimonies renewed, and with our desires to serve the Lord and keep his commandments increased. Maybe, after all, there are only two great commandments. We have spoken a great deal about them both. I love the Lord with all my heart, and with all my soul, and I have no other desire in life than to serve him. I hope that I may go on in life to the end of my journey, retaining that love which I have in my heart for him. I have no greater desire than to have that same love for all my fellow men. I hope I may be bound closely to my brothers and my sisters in the kingdom of God and that that relationship may be eternal and be righteous, I pray, humbly in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Stayner Richards
Stayner Richards, Conference Report, April 1953, pp. 128-130
After almost a lifetime of acquaintance with Adam S. Bennion, I want to assure him and assure you that I can support him in his new position one hundred percent. I am sure with his intellectual talents, the faith that he has in God, that he will add greatly to the strength of the Church.
In listening to the reports of the twenty-five or more mission presidents I noted that each one paid a glowing tribute to his wife. Certainly these sisters and the others of the Church are doing a wonderful work and, incidentally, are equal to any occasion, and possibly I may be pardoned if I tell a little experience that would prove this to the brethren.
On one occasion a small boy returned from Sunday School where apparently they had been talking about the Darwinian theory, and as he entered the home, he said, "Mother, am I descended from a monkey?" She said, "I don't know, Jimmy, I didn't know your father's folks very well."
If I may enjoy an interest in your feelings and the Spirit of the Lord for a few minutes, I would like to speak upon a subject that I have chosen to call "Monuments to Spirituality." First I would like to make mention of the new temple under construction in Los Angeles. It was my privilege just a week ago this morning, after attending a conference in the Los Angeles Stake, to be shown through the construction work there by Elder Soren Jacobsen, directly in charge of building operations. And I think that he must have had in mind the spirit of the ancient prophet who said, "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it", for you will be interested to know that every morning before they start work, he calls the workmen together and there have a word of prayer. I'm sure that that practice is going to pay dividends in finer construction and certainly a greater interest in the work. And I was happy to notice that during the hour and a half I spent going through those workings I never saw one man loafing, nor anyone using tobacco, and I never heard one man profaning. Now, that may not always be the case, but at least we hope that it might be.
As I have traveled through a number of the stakes of Zion, I have been thrilled and impressed with the wonderful new buildings that have been erected in the wards and stakes. Indeed they constitute a source of pride to every Latter-day Saint, and they are a credit to the community, and a still greater credit to the Church. They all have a spire pointing heavenward, indicating that they are houses of the Lord. They are well designed and built of fine materials. After the landscaping of the grounds around them, they are an inspiration and incentive for all the members of our Church living in those communities to beautify their own places.
As you enter these buildings, you are thrilled with the wonderful facilities for worship, classwork, and recreation provided for the old and young alike. The chapel, recreation hall, and all other rooms are so artistically decorated, with the colors of the walls, drapes, and floor coverings blending into such an attractive picture, that you know expert attention has been given to these items.
The building of these lovely edifices has afforded the opportunity of bringing into activity many of the inactive members of the Church. I think it is safe to say that because of the construction since the war of these nine hundred or more buildings that have been dedicated or are ready for dedication or are now under construction that in each case there have been at least ten or twelve inactive men brought into the Church, and that would mean at least 10,000 families, formerly inactive in the Church, now active and enjoying the great blessings of the gospel.
This building program hasn't been confined to the stakes and wards but has spread out into the mission fields in all parts of the foreign lands except behind the "iron curtain," and the isles of the sea. I know that every mission president present here today and those still out in the foreign fields can testify that these new places, and those that have been purchased, providing lovely places in which to meet, have been a great help to them in the proselyting work. You have no idea how wonderful it is for a missionary after working with certain investigators to be able to invite them into a suitable place in which to worship.
I was asked by the president of the Western Canadian Mission as I met him the other day to please tell my brother that the prophecy which he made at the time he dedicated the beautiful chapel up in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, in which he stated, "This building will be a missionary of the Church," has been literally fulfilled, and that many prominent people of that rapidly growing city are becoming interested in the Church.
Over in the British Mission a number of years ago, I understand that consideration was given to the closing of the Scottish District because there were only a very few converts being made there. During the last three years there has been an average of seventy-five to a hundred baptisms, and I think to a great extent it is because of the fine, suitable places of worship owned by the Church now in the cities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, and Aberdeen. Just a short time ago I had the privilege of interviewing a returned missionary from France, and he told me that he attended the last baptismal service held in that mission and that a number of those that were baptized first got their interest in the Church because of the fine building that the Church now owns in Paris.
It has been stated that each fine building is equal to ten missionaries. If this is the case, then there have been added 9,000 or more silent but effective "preachers of righteousness" to the force.
These buildings, my brethren and sisters, are all made possible by the payment of tithes and contributions of cash and labor by the membership of the Church, and I say unto you, God bless you, my brethren and sisters, for your faith and for your generosity. Also I am sure that we're all grateful and often go to our knees in prayer in appreciation to the Lord for the First Presidency of our Church, for their foresight and their wisdom in inaugurating this great building program of the Church. We have been growing rapidly, spiritually, and it became necessary to grow in a physical way to take care of the membership of the Church.
Possibly it may not be considered inappropriate to say a word about the building department of the Church under the direction of Elder Howard J. McKean and his associates. They have caused these monuments to spirituality and faith to be erected with good designs, excellent materials, and fine workmanship. Because they are practical builders, they have been able to effect substantial savings to the Church and to the wards and stakes. Great faith has been manifested by the bishops, stake presidents, and local building committees in undertaking the construction of these lovely buildings. A faith-promoting volume could be written about the rich experiences that have come to them. The blessings of the Lord have known no bounds. It would seem that the spirit of the pioneer builders had returned, for they built by faith. As an outstanding example, may I mention about this Tabernacle in which we are now worshiping. It is 150 feet wide by 250 feet long and 70 feet high. It was built between 1863 and 1867 when no finished materials or bolts or steel nails or modern tools were available. They had only the timbers of the nearby canyons and very crude tools and machinery. Under these conditions, it took strong faith to undertake the erection of this unusual elliptical roof. The lattice trusses fitted together with wooden pegs and cowhide must span 150 feet. The least spreading of the trusses would kick out the stone piers below. A prominent engineer of the east, after examining this roof on the inside, stated that it constituted the greatest demonstration of faith that he had seen in any construction.
Now, my brethren and sisters, and especially you bishops and stake and mission presidents, we now rejoice in and are grateful for these beautiful buildings. May I make just a few suggestions to you? In the first place, let us keep them all clean and in order and maintain them in good condition. Then let's encourage all of our people to show respect and reverence to them as houses of the Lord. Above everything else, let us follow the advice just given by Elder Moyle: Let us serve as leaders in the wards, and stakes, and missions in these buildings, in the spirit of love and kindness. Let us carry on our work as the Master says, "Serve each other in love," in such a way that no offenses can be taken by anyone. Finally, though it may not be possible to have neon signs at the top of all of these spires as I would like to see, with these words: "Jesus is the Christ," let us hope that the testimonies of the leaders and members alike bear witness of this great truth and this work is of God, and that the gospel as established in the last days is for the salvation of all honest people throughout the world. And then again, let us invite all visitors to come to these places and assure them that they will never be embarrassed by having a collection plate passed before them. Freely we have received, and freely we give unto the world. God bless you all, my brethren and sisters, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Richard L. Evans
Richard L. Evans, Conference Report, April 1953, pp. 130-133
First of all, I should like to thank Brother Marion G. Romney for his thoughtfulness for some great men, for whom I have deep affection, some present here, and some absent. At the risk of some seeming repetition, I do not feel that I can proceed without acknowledging how much I miss Dr. John A. Widtsoe, scientist, educator, author, public-servant, personal counselor, friend, and man of God. May his memory be blessed, his family be blessed and comforted, and the purposes and principles for which he gave his life be prospered.
And to President Richards, and to Brother Bowen likewise, my sincere affection and appreciation and blessing. Likewise to President McKay, and President Clark, and President Smith, and these other brethren with whom we have the privilege of associating among the General Authorities. It is a choice and rich friendship and fellowship.
And to Dr. Adam S. Bennion, a word of welcome from me: presumptuous though it may be, I feel that I must speak it. I have been privileged to have many satisfying associations with him. I recall when he was Church commissioner of education, and I was a student in high school: How wise and mature and old he looked to me when I was sixteen, and how able and mature and young he appears to me now that I am somewhat past sixteen. I am sure that I have changed much more than he has.
I am convinced that thoughts are contagious. The evidence of it is that many if not most of those subjects that any of us might have spoken on at this conference have already been so wonderfully well covered, and we have been the beneficiaries of a marvelous outpouring of the Spirit of our Father in heaven. But I could not help thinking as I heard the opening report and message of President McKay, and the statistical data concerning the progress of the Church at the same session, of some of the experiences and hardships and contrasts of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his associates. I went to the office following that session and sought out some things that I had read some time ago, including two comments concerning the Prophet and the dire circumstances in which he found himself during the difficult Kirtland days. One is from April 17, 1834:
I attended a meeting agreeable to appointment, at which time the important subjects of the deliverance of Zion and the building of the Lord's House in Kirtland were discussed by Elder Rigdon. After the lecture, I requested the brethren and sisters to contribute all the money they could for the deliverance of Zion and received twenty-nine dollars and sixty-eight cents.
About a year and a half later, approaching the Christmas season, December 9, 1835, the Prophet Joseph Smith writes again:
At home. Wind south, strong, and chilly. Elder Packard came in this morning, and made me a present of twelve dollars, which he held in a note against me. May God bless him for his liberality. Also, James Aldrich sent me my note by hand of Jesse Hitchcock, on which there was twelve dollars due, and may God bless him for his kindness to me. Also the brethren whose names are written below opened their hearts in great liberality, and paid me at the committee's store, the sums set opposite their respective names.
There follow twenty names with contributions ranging from fifty cents to $5.25, totaling $40.50, for which the Prophet says,
My heart swells with gratitude inexpressible, when I realize the great condescension of my Heavenly Father, in opening the hearts of these my beloved brethren to administer so liberally to my wants.
May God help us to do as well with what we have as they did with what they had.
I think we shall go from here today with an awareness in our hearts that we have been taught well. I hope that we shall go from here with an awareness that we must be doers of the word and not hearers only, that we must not stand by and listen only. I think it was Emerson who said, "'Tis man's perdition to be safe, when for the truth he ought to die." I should like to paraphrase this sentence and say, " 'Tis man's perdition to be complacent and inactive, when for the truth he ought to live, when he ought to be doing what he knows he ought to be doing." I return to a favorite theme of mine: As we stand before the Great Judge of all of us, I think it shall not be what we don't know that will get us into trouble or that will cause penalties to come upon us. I think we know enough for our salvation and exaltation in the highest that the Father can give us. I think our difficulties will come rather from what we do know and ignore and fail to live up to; and merciful as our Father may be, kind and indulgent and gracious as he may be, there are some things he cannot give to us, as there are some things we cannot give to our own children, except as they earn them and live them and are deserving of them and make them a part of themselves.
I recall from the tenth chapter of Mark the request of James and John the sons of Zebedee, that they be permitted to sit on the right hand and the left hand of the Savior, and how he said unto them, "Ye know not what ye ask... to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give". No matter how much he may love us, there are some things the Father cannot give us except as we learn them, except as we live as well as we know how to live, except as we keep his commandments, and do what we know we should be doing.
Now, I should like to close with a thought that I take from our new associate, Dr. Adam S. Bennion, whom you have sustained this day. I have never heard a finer baccalaureate address than he delivered at the University of Utah a year or two ago called "The Candle of the Lord," in which he told in his extemporaneous remarks how puzzled he was in his youth upon having heard or having read in Sunday School the passage of scripture in 2 Samuel in which it recounts that "it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house".
I was much impressed when I heard Dr. Bennion say how that passage puzzled him because all the roofs that he had known in his youth in the area in which he lived were so steeply constructed that the king could not well have walked upon them. And Brother Bennion told how he inquired of his teacher and received no satisfactory answer, but as soon as he later learned that there were places in the world in which there were not only flat roofs but where people also made a practice of living a part of their lives upon them, walking upon them and resting upon them, the question was cleared for him.
I am sure that many of the unanswered questions that confront us will be answered as easily as this one was for him, when he couldn't understand how the king could walk on a roof in the evening because he had only known steep, sharply constructed roofs that were made to shed the snow.
To our young people: Go forth and search for truth, without fear, but with faith. Where you find discrepancies, or seeming discrepancies, reserve judgment. There is time ahead of us, and eternity also. Theories are changing; textbooks are constantly becoming outdated; new discoveries are being made; and when all the pieces are put in place and everything is added up, and the picture is complete, the answers will seem as simple and satisfying as the answer to this lad, who was puzzled by a king walking on the roof.
Keep to a life well-balanced. Keep some of your time and means for the service of the Lord. Study the things of God as well as the other things that you must study to qualify yourselves for certain activities, and go forth with faith, with trust. I think the world is going on for some time. There is great work to be done. Our building program, our temple in Europe, and other things seem to me to be the evidence that this Church believes in the future and I say to you young people, go forth and live your lives with faith without fear, reserving judgment where you need to, and trusting to the Lord God to lead you into all truth.
May I leave with you my testimony. I was not one of those who had to decide to leave father and mother and family and friends and other things to become identified with this Church. My grandparents did that for me, and in one instance my great-grandparents. My sons represent the fifth generation in the Church. I congratulate those of you who did face this decision and who did come into the kingdom. But I have faced some other decisions. I have earnestly considered the alternatives, and I should not know where to go to find the answers to the ever ageless questions of life if I could not find them here. I leave you the witness of my conviction of the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ, of the divine calling of the Prophet Joseph, and after him, of the like calling of all those who have succeeded him. May God bless us, every one, I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Elder John Longden
John Longden, Conference Report, April 1953, pp. 133-135
"How Firm a Foundation, Ye Saints of the Lord"-
I am sure I gained strength from the last verse of that song. I have prayed for each one who has occupied this position during the last three days, and in return I know I shall receive of their faith and prayers in my behalf as I stand here for a few moments this afternoon. This was manifest when my associate, Elder Christiansen, placed his hand on my arm a few moments ago and said, "Hold on, we're with you."
I, too, am happy to sustain Brother Bennion who was chosen here this morning as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. I recall along with Sister Longden, how about twenty-four years ago he brought into our hearts and our souls the words of the Savior to help comfort us. We were called to undergo a serious tragedy in having our three-year-old daughter, our first-born child, taken beyond the veil. His words at that time have rung true through the years. I know he will contribute much with his talents and his leadership to stir the membership of this Church as he visits throughout the stakes.
As I returned to this building just a while ago with President Ivins and his good wife, it was beginning to rain. I heard the strains from the organ playing "God Moves in a Mysterious Way His Wonders to Perform." The words to one of the verses come to me:
"Ye fearful Saints, fresh courage take; The clouds ye so much dread are big with mercy And shall break in blessing on your head."
I realize that we have had great blessings here in the past three days in the sessions of this conference; one in particular-that we have been brought out of the darkness of the world and into the light of the glories of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I cannot help reflecting upon the words of Peter, that great Apostle, when he said in his day to that generation,
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.
Yes we have been made partakers of the glorious light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We have had great manifestations of the inspiration of our Heavenly Father in these sessions of the conference. I have been reflecting as I have listened to the speakers that there has been no improvement in the Ten Commandments, and it is reported that they are some thirty-five hundred years old. There has been no greater wisdom given than that which was given by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in his great Sermon on the Mount, almost twenty centuries ago. And there has been no greater teaching than that which was given by the Prophet Joseph Smith when he was asked over a hundred years ago what were the tenets of our faith. He gave what we now know as the Articles of Faith. They teach the world that we believe in God and in his son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost, and they also confirm those principles which were taught by the Savior as to how we might gain exaltation and eternal life. These truths are contained in the gospel which has been restored for us today. Those Articles of Faith state that men should have authority to perform the ordinances which pertain to the salvation and the exaltation of our Heavenly Father's children. Also, we believe in the same organization that existed in the primitive church. I am grateful that in those Articles of Faith it teaches us that we believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly. I am further grateful that I belong to a Church which enables and encourages me to have a Bible in my home and to peruse it and study it and understand its teachings.
And then the thirteenth article of our faith,
We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, 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.
Obedience to the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, and our own Articles of Faith revealed in this day will bring the glorious light of the gospel of Jesus Christ into our lives. We have partaken of a real spiritual feast these past three days. We have exercised some of our God-given senses. We have come, and those of the listening audience on radio, and the viewing audience on TV, have also seen and heard. I hope we will take these things into our hearts that they might register deep into our souls, that we might carry these messages back into our wards and our stakes, that there might be truly an upsurge of spirituality.
There has been reference made here to the powers which are manifest in the earth: the power of Jesus Christ on the one hand, and on the other, the power of the adversary. Everything that is contrary to the teachings which we have heard in this conference is promulgated and taught by the evil one, and I testify to you that Satan is real. He is not a myth; he is not a superstition; but he is real, endeavoring to thwart the work of our Heavenly Father. But how thankful I am for the precious light of the gospel which shines upon us and gives us the strength to hold on to the truth. Power will be given us to overcome evil if we live close to the teachings of this conference. We have no greater example than that given by the Savior himself as he had been tempted and tested, if you please, for forty days and forty nights. He was able to subdue Satan in several instances as recorded in the fourth chapter of Luke. You will find there it states that Satan departed for a season, giving evidence to me and to all of us that there is never a time when we won't be subject to the temptations of the adversary as long as we live in the mortal flesh. I call your attention to the other scripture which says that the Savior returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit.
My brothers and sisters, I'm sure we have been filled with the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ by the truths and light which have been given to us in this conference. May we go back to our homes in the power of that Spirit, for I bear witness to you that these things are true, that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, and that we have a prophet, seer, and revelator, a mouthpiece of our Heavenly Father directing the affairs of this Church in the earth today, and these men whom we have sustained as Apostles are literally the true servants and special witnesses of the Master. This testimony I bear to you in all humility and sincerity and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1953, pp. 135-138
The hour that marks the close of this great conference is here.
As you know, four members of our General Authorities have been disabled recently, and are unable to carry on their regular duties. We are thankful to say, however, that two of them have been with us during the sessions that mark the inspiration and uplift of this gathering.
Elder Thomas E. McKay has been incapacitated for several months. He and the others have had to pay the penalty of overwork, over exertion. When he collapsed several months ago, his heartbeats went down, according to the doctor, to sixteen. We are told that when they get below thirty life is precarious, but from that time, when Thomas E. called his family together to say good-bye, up to the present, he has shown gradual improvement and now he counts his heartbeats at thirty-six, thirty-eight, occasionally they reach forty. He acknowledges, and we acknowledge, the hand of the Lord in the preservation of his life, and we appreciate, and he appreciates your faith and prayers in his behalf.
Elder Clifford E. Young recently met with an accident, but he, as you know, is sufficiently restored to be enabled to take his part as one of the speakers in this conference, and has given you his message, as has also Elder Thomas E. McKay.
Elder Albert E. Bowen, also stricken, has been confined to the hospital for several months. It is said that one element of true greatness is to choose the right with invincible resolution. That, our Brother Bowen has always done, and expounded the principles of the gospel with a clarity so characteristic of him. Our hearts ache as we note that some of his muscles are not responding. However, we want him to know as we close this great conference, that he still has and will continue to have our faith and prayers for his restoration to health; and we pray that the Lord will give him a desire, and increased faith, to receive the blessings which we hope the Lord will give him. With all our hearts we say God bless you, Brother Bowen.
President Richards, another great leader, has been putting forth too much effort also, and his physical condition requires rest. I am pleased to report to you he is sufficiently recovered to meet occasionally in meetings of the First Presidency. President Clark and I have had three meetings with him during the three days that we have been assembled in this conference, to all the proceedings of which he has been listening over the radio and television.
At the conclusion now he sends this message: "President McKay: I should be very pleased if you would express to the people my deep gratitude for the inspiration of the conference, and also extend to my brethren and sisters my love and my prayers that the united efforts of all the Saints may bring great advancement to the cause we love. Affectionately, Stephen L Richards."
Brother Stephen L: Let me assure you that there is but one heart in this great audience today, and it responds in reciprocation of your love and blessing. God bless you!
Now, may we take a few moments to express our gratitude to all who have contributed to the inspiration of the sessions held since last Saturday morning.
First, you who were here yesterday morning listened to an inspiring anthem, entitled "Out of the Silence," written by Elder Cyril Jenkins, one of our members and a holder of the priesthood in Australia, who has rendered great service to the Church in having the excellent selections of the Tabernacle Choir put on the radio stations in that far-off land, and who is now in Great Britain, arranging with the British broadcasting stations to have the people in that land have the privilege of hearing the excellent music rendered by this organization. We thank you, Brother Jenkins, and say God bless you, that you may achieve the noble purposes you have in mind.
We express gratitude and commendation for the responsiveness and attentiveness of the audiences. I wish particularly to commend you for your reverential attitude. This is a sacred building, used for many purposes, it is true, until we get an auditorium that will take care of some secular assemblies of the sessions. It is sacred, and we have noted that you have governed yourselves accordingly. From the moment that the clock marked the beginning of a session, perfect order has prevailed. We ask that this example be followed by all the Saints in their ward chapels and in halls in which you meet to worship.
We express appreciation for the cooperation of city officials. Their ready and efficient service has been noted. The traffic officers have rendered valuable service in handling increased traffic. We have already expressed appreciation to the Berkeley Stake for the calla lilies that have beautified the building.
Our ushers have done excellent service! They volunteered last evening to put up a platform. They had it removed early this morning. They have been ready and willing to look after the people who had need of the emergency hospital, which has been on the grounds, and in every way have rendered service to add to the convenience of the many visitors who are here.
Especially we mention appreciation to the various radio stations: here in our own city, KSL, and others in the state of Utah, in Idaho, in Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, California, Hawaii. Managers of these stations, no one can tell how many people have been blessed by your magnanimity and co-operation. We thank you!
We express appreciation to our singers. I do not know that we have ever had for every session such inspiring music rendered by the combined Scandinavian choirs Saturday, the Men's Chorus of the Tabernacle Choir Saturday night, by our own Tabernacle Choir Sunday and by the combined choruses of Brigham Young University today. I can scarcely refrain from commenting on the inspiration that the presence of these young men and young women gives to us.
"How beautiful is youth! how bright it gleams With its illusions, aspirations, dreams! Book of Beginnings, story without end, Every maid a heroine, and each man a friend!"
How glorious is youth, and here are several hundred of them in our presence contributing their talents to the inspiration of our conference. Again, thank you.
To all others who have in any way contributed to the excellency and the inspiration of this, the 123rd conference, we express our gratitude.
Now, may I trespass upon your time a few moments to say a final word to you mission presidents, to you presidencies of stakes, bishoprics of wards, to you officers, stake and local, to you mothers who are doing so much to make these new buildings to which reference has been made, so attractive, and in other ways contributing to the advancement of the work.
Much of what you brethren and sisters do we never hear about, and it seems as though you are working without any visible results, but no good deed, no kind word can be spoken without its effect being felt for good upon all. Sometimes the good may be infinitesimal, but as a rock that is thrown in a pool starts a wave from the center which continues to enlarge until every part of the shore is touched, so your deeds, silent, many of them, unknown unspoken, unheralded, continue to radiate and touch many hearts.
We are not unappreciative of what you are doing. Nobody can go out to a dedicatory service of one of these meetinghouses, hear incidents, details, illustrations of what seem to be sacrifices of the hours and hours of work, given freely, without being deeply impressed with the integrity and sincerity of the members of this Church.
Thursday morning this building was crowded to capacity by Primary workers, representatives of one organization. That night, the hotel ballroom was crowded with former workers, general board workers of the Primary, present workers, present officers from stakes. I wish the ten thousand people here could have seen the illustration and the examples they gave showing the growth of the Primary during the last seventy-five years.
Friday night this building was crowded to overflowing by the bishoprics of the Church, under the direction of the Presiding Bishopric.
Saturday, seventeen thousand members of the priesthood filled this house the Assembly Hall, Barratt Hall, Field House at BYU, representing the priesthood of the Church.
We have had a meeting of the patriarchs, another of mission presidents, another of welfare workers, and one of stake missionaries.
Why all these, and all other meetings in the Church? Tell me! They are held for the good of the individual-for your son and my son, your daughter and mine. The Lord has said, "... 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! 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!".
The whole purpose of the organization of this great Church, so complete, so perfect, is to bless the individual. How that stands out in striking contrast, in opposition, to the claim of the communist who says that the individual is but a spoke in the wheel of the state that the state is all in all, the individual being but a contributing factor to the perpetuation and strength of the state.
That idea is diametrically opposed to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus sought for a perfect society, "not by agitating the people to revolt against political or social organizations, nor by any reorganization of existing conditions, but by perfecting the individual. He recognized the fallacy in the dream of those who hoped to make a perfect society out of imperfect individuals." In all these labors and associations, he sought the perfection of the individual.
His goal always set before his followers was the emancipation of men and women from greed, from anger, from jealousy, from hatred, from fear; and in their place he hoped to bring about a complete and normal development of the individual's divine powers through right thinking and unselfish efficient service.
He promised no material rewards but he did promise perfected, divine manhood, as we have heard in this conference. "Be ye perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect". And with that divine manhood comes the resultant happiness, true happiness.
FINAL BLESSING
God bless you, my dear fellow workers, you General Authorities, stake presidencies, bishoprics, every officer and teacher throughout the land, every member. May the Spirit of the Lord abide in your hearts, and in your homes, that people partaking of your radiation of honesty, integrity, uprightness, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ will be led to glorify our Father in heaven.
Many years ago-a Chinese philosopher expressed the thought that I am trying to give you, and the result of individual righteousness as follows:
"If there is righteousness in the heart there will be beauty in the character. If there is beauty in the character there will be harmony in the home. If there is harmony in the home there will be order in the nation. If there is order in the nation there will be peace in the world."
God help us to bring about that peace in the only way that it can come, and that through obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ, I pray in his holy name. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, October 1953, pp. 5-12
Elder Joseph W. Anderson has just read the vital statistical data, the changes in ward and
stake organizations, and the obituaries of the Church.
There are a few more items which might be mentioned, in which you will probably be
interested.
The Church construction of chapels, classrooms, and recreation halls continues without
abatement, indeed, with acceleration. During the last nine months, the Church has spent
$5,568,000.00 in stakes, and $2,109,000.00 in missions, a total of $7,677,000.00, or a total to
date this year, including local funds contributed for this purpose, in stakes, $10,337,000.00,
and in the missions, $2,704,000.00, or a total of
$13,041,000.00.
TEMPLE CONSTRUCTION
You already know about the dedication of two temple sites in Europe-the first in the history
of the Church-one at Berne, Switzerland, and another between London and Brighton,
England.
The construction of the temple in Los Angeles is proceeding satisfactorily. We wish to
commend the members of the Church in the Los Angeles Temple district for their
magnanimous contribution to this edifice. As has already been announced, they volunteered to
contribute over a million dollars towards the construction and completion of this edifice, and
their payments are practically up-to-date. In addition to giving this large cash contribution
they recently volunteered to assist in the landscaping, and even now they are planting
shrubbery and getting trees so that at the time of dedication of the temple, the grounds will be
properly and beautifully landscaped. May the Lord bless these faithful people and enable them
to fulfil their promise in order that this edifice may be completely paid for by its dedication
within a year and a half or two years.
The plans already are drawn for the temple in Switzerland, and the architect and contractor
are proceeding so that that edifice will be completed without delay.
STAKE MISSIONARY WORK
You will be interested to know that the stake missionary work is meeting with unprecedented
results: 6518 stake missionaries are now working within the organized stakes. To date there
have been 3441 who have accepted the gospel through the efforts of these stake missionaries,
and the work is continuing with unabated zeal.
YOUTH PROGRAM
We might mention, too, for your interest, that the youth program is being carried on most
ably. I shall not take time to weary you with statistics, but in the girls' program, covering all
the girls from twelve to nineteen, for August 1953, there were 56,332 enrolled. We believe
that is one hundred percent of all the girls between those ages. The average attendance of the
girls at the three meetings for this month, August, were as follows: Of those young girls,
forty-nine percent of them attended sacrament meetings; fifty-nine percent attended the
Sunday Schools; and fifty-four percent attended the MIA meetings. We commend you, sisters.
A very definite program is carried out by the MIA for getting in touch with inactive girls and
in trying to interest them in the Mutual Improvement Association.
In YMMIA during the past three years there has been an increase of 11,872 in enrolment in
the scouting program. According to a report, on Sunday evening, during the jamboree at Los Angeles, July 19, a
great convocation was held. Attending were more than forty-five thousand Boy Scouts, and
there were present fifty thousand or more visitors. During the convocation great attention was
paid to the churches of America, and religious training, and our Church received favorable
attention. This made us happy to see an organization such as scouting bring such favorable
comments about the work that is being done for the young in the Church.
I have notes before me emphasizing particularly what the Primary Association is doing for
our eleven-year-old boys who are now taking up preliminary Scout work, also commending
the high percentage of attendance at Primary meetings, and the most excellent work that is
being done by the Primary hospital.
UNIFICATION OF CHURCH SCHOOL SYSTEM
Since our meeting of last April there has been a unification of the Church school system. We
have had, heretofore, as you know, a Church board of education with a commission presiding
over the colleges, institutes, and seminaries. Then we had a board of trustees presiding over
Brigham Young University. Those two great branches of education are now
united under the direction of Dr. Ernest L. Wilkinson, who is appointed administrator of the
Church board of education, in addition to his presidency over Brigham Young University.
Here I wish to say a word of commendation for the excellent service rendered by
Commissioner Franklin L. West. For years he has devoted his entire time to the advancement
of the institutes and seminaries and colleges of the Church. His heart has been in the work.
He has expressed and radiated a fervent testimony of the divinity of the restored gospel, and
his heart has been centered upon the instructing of the youth in the fundamentals and ideals of
the Church of Jesus Christ. He retires with the confidence and blessing of the Authorities of
the Church.
Under his direction there has been a steady increase in the number enrolled in our institutes
and seminaries. Last year there were enrolled 36,081 seminary students, 4202 institute
students, 1140 in the schools of the islands of the Pacific, or a total of 41,423.
I am glad to report to you that the Church is moving on with great rapidity and its influence
being extended throughout the world.
PASSING OF TWO GENERAL AUTHORITIES
Since our last meeting, as already reported by Brother Anderson, two members of the General
Authorities have passed away: Elder A. E. Bowen of the Council of the Twelve, and Elder
Stayner Richards, Assistant to the Twelve-two stalwarts, clear in vision, sound in judgment;
men loyal and true to their callings, to the ideals and doctrines of the Church! We pay respect
to their memory. May their acts and services during their lifetime continue to reverberate for
good in the hearts not only of all members of the Church, but of all those outside of the
Church who were fortunate enough to come in contact with these two great men.
COMMENDATION OF TEACHERS AND CHURCH GROUPS
I have mentioned particularly the work of the Church among the youth, because the future of
this world is largely determined, as Goethe says, "upon the opinions of its young men under
five and twenty."
If that be true, to awaken in the minds of the youth of the land a desire to achieve life's truest
values is to render the greatest of all great services to our country.
With this thought in mind, I commend the teachers in our public schools, who under present
difficulties, are remaining true to their post of duty. Let us hope that they will continue to do
so, and not go off on a tangent vainly seeking redress in unions, which will only aggravate a
condition already regrettable. We have confidence in the teachers. They will be loyal to their
profession, teaching the young to be loyal and true to our country, to love the best in life,
rather than to seek that which leads to selfishness.
This morning I want, also, to commend the Presiding Bishopric, the bishops of the wards, the
presidencies of the Aaronic Priesthood quorums, for their efforts to bring into activity all the
boys between the ages of 12 and 19, and what is equally commendable, they are reaching out
to incorporate in this great spiritual uplift those who are classified as the "senior members of
the Aaronic Priesthood," a group of potential power for great good, not only in the Church,
but in the world, many of them leading businessmen and professional men. I commend you,
brethren, for organizing these able men into groups that their influence may be felt for good.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD OR CATASTROPHE
With this in mind, I should like to give the following message, feeling as I do this morning,
the potency and divinity of the gospel of Jesus Christ. With all my soul I feel this morning
that there is truly "... none other name under heaven given among men,
whereby we must be saved".
I cannot see how men can doubt that.
When I was a boy, there hung above the pulpit in the chapel in Huntsville,, a picture
of President John Taylor. Under it in gold letters were these words:
"The Kingdom of God or Nothing."
In childhood I gave little if any thought to its implication, nor in youth did I try to
comprehend its significance.
This morning, with world conditions in mind-international suspicion and
enmities-threatening war clouds-"man's inhumanity to man," and other discouraging aspects of human
relationships, I am inclined to paraphrase that motto to read: "The kingdom of God or
catastrophe."
Tradition tells us that Peter, when on the Appian Way going toward Rome, was met by this
question "Quo Vadis?" Were that question put to people today, many
pessimists would answer that we are headed for catastrophe, if not total destruction. One has
already said of Europe:
"On the whole, during many generations, there has been a gradual decay of religious influence
in European civilization. Each revival touches a lower peak than its predecessor, and each
period of darkness, a lower depth. The average curve marks a steady fall in religious tone.
Religion is tending to degenerate into a decent formula wherewith to embellish a comfortable
life.
"Russia officially sanctions irreligion, and approves a system of sex relations lower than any
sanctioned by the lowest African tribe.
"The paleolithic savages so far as we know had no such practices".
WHAT MEN THINK
And Hayden, writes as follows: "Today, as never before, mankind is seeking social
betterment. Today, as seldom if ever before, human society is threatened with disintegration,
if not complete chaos. All the ancient evils of human relationships, injustice, selfishness,
abuse of strength, become sinister and terrible when reinforced by the vast increase of
material power. The soul of man cowers, starved and fearful, in the midst of a civilization
grown too complex for any mind to visualize or to control. Joy and beauty fade from human
living. Yet life, abundant, beauteous, laughing life, has been our age-long labor's end. What
other conceivable worth has the mastery of the material world, the exploitation of the
resources of nature and the creation of wealth, except as a basis for the release of the life of
the spirit. We are witnessing either the crumbling of civilization under the weight of its
material mechanism or the birth of a new organization with a spiritual ideal."
Oswald Spengler thinks, and has so written: "This machine technics
will end with the Faustian civilization and one day will lie in fragments, forgotten-our
railways and steamships as dead as the Roman roads and the Chinese Wall, our giant cities
and skyscrapers in ruins like old Memphis and Babylon. The history of this technics is fast
drawing to its inevitable close. It will be eaten up from within like the grand forms of any
and every culture. When, and in what fashion, we know not."
These references indicate what some men are thinking about the present-day conditions, and
where such conditions are leading. Whether you accept them as true, or not, we must face the
fact that we are in a changing world, and that the destruction of present-day civilization is a
possibility.
But, brothers and sisters, the Lord has something better in store for his children than complete
destruction. Nations may be born, live, flourish for a time, and through internal corruption or
other causes, die or be destroyed; but the human race will continue, and the kingdom of God
be established.
"... behold," said Daniel, "one like the Son of man came with the clouds
of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days...
"And there was given him dominion and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and
languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass
away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed"
.
The paramount need in the world today is a clearer understanding by human beings of moral
and spiritual values, and a desire and determination to attain them.
Never before in the history of the world has there been such a need of spiritual awakening.
Unless there is such an awakening, there is danger of catastrophe among the nations of the
world.
But I feel this morning, with all my soul, that the sun of hope is rising. Many thinking men
and women are recognizing the need of man's looking up towards the heavens instead of his
groveling in response to his animal nature. One man commenting on this said, that "If all the
destroyers of civilization could be eliminated, and the traits of the rest of us could be
eliminated, an approach to the millennium some hundred years hence is by no means
inconceivable."
The Savior of the world said: "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have
it more abundantly".
Whether we live miserably or live abundantly depends upon ourselves. Look introspectively,
young man and young woman, and determine whether your innermost thoughts hold you on
the animal plane or whether they tend to lift you into the mental, moral, and spiritual realm.
And you be your own judge. Are you scheming to exploit another for personal gain? Are you
justifying a lie? Are you entertaining the thought of robbing a young woman of her virtue?
Are you, young woman, justifying an act of unchastity in exchange for the attention or favor
of a male companion? If these or any other selfish sinful thoughts obsess you, then you are
not following the path of the abundant life, but are contributing to the continuance of a
sordid, unhappy world.
FOUR FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS
In the brief sojourn of Jesus upon the earth, he marked clearly "the way the truth, and the
life".
I shall take time this morning to call your attention to four incidents in his life, and mention
probably, but of course, briefly, some connotations of those incidents, I repeat, because I feel
and know, that through him and through him only, and by obedience to the gospel of Jesus
Christ, can we find happiness and salvation in this world and eternal life in the world to
come. But I am thinking particularly of happiness and joy here and now, in this atomic age.
First, recall His experience on the Mount of Temptation
.
In that experience we find taught the
sublime necessity of subordinating the animal part of our natures to the spiritual. Man is a
dual being-he is human, physical, of the earth, earthy, but he is, also, divine the offspring
of God.
Well might Carlyle say: "There are heights in man which reach the highest heaven, and
depths that sink to the lowest hell-for are not both heaven and hell made out of him,
everlasting miracle and mystery that he is?"
"Beloved," said John, "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".
On the Mount of Temptation Jesus resisted every appeal to his physical appetite-"...
command that these stones be made bread"; every appeal to his vanity-"If thou be the son of
God cast thyself down"-from the pinnacle; every appeal to his selfishness and pride, every
bribe offered by way of power and wealth in exchange for spiritual companionship with his
Father.
Resisting all he said to the tempter: "Get thee hence, Satan: for it is
written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve"
.
VALUE OF NOBLE THOUGHTS
Then during his brief mission among men, he emphasized the value of entertaining noble
thoughts, what you think will determine your character, not alone what you do, and knowing
that what one thinks about in one's secret moments determines what he is
. He "decried the
fatal effects of hatred and jealousy in the mind of the individual more vehemently than he did
the acts that hate and jealousy prompt. Modern physiology and psychology confirm the
practical wisdom of his teachings. These evil passions destroy a man's physical vigor and
efficiency-they pervert his mental perceptions and render him incapable of resisting the
temptations to commit acts of violence. They undermine his moral health. By insidious stages
they transform the man who cherishes them into a criminal. On the other hand, if they are
banished, and wholesome, kindly thoughts and emotions take their place, the man is incapable
of crime. Right thoughts and feelings, if persistently kept in the forefront, inevitably lead to
right acts." "A good tree bears good fruit; an evil tree, evil fruit". A good
tree, he says, cannot bring forth evil fruit, nor an evil tree bring forth good fruit
. That
teaching lies at the very bottom of Christ's ethical teachings. His whole effort was to make
the tree good, for when that end was achieved, the good qualities of the fruit were assured.
Resist evil, members of the Church, young and old, and the devil will flee from you.
The second incident I take from the Sermon on the Mount-a mountain in the vicinity of the
Sea of Galilee. "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the
other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and
mammon".
Then he added, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his
righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you"
. Do you believe
that? I believe in every word that Jesus spoke and to me the teaching is applicable in my life
and yours.
Keeping in mind the fact that we are the children of our Father in heaven, when we seek the
kingdom of God, first we become conscious of a new aim in life. To nourish and delight the
body with its appetites and passions, as animals do, is no longer the chief end of mortal
existence. Spiritual attainments not physical possessions become the chief goal. God is not
viewed from the standpoint of what we may get from him, but what we may give to him.
Only in the complete surrender of our inner life may we rise above the selfish sordid pull of
nature.
"Giving God the glory" is a sure means of subduing selfishness-a willingness on the part of
the individual to keep God as the ideal in his life. Faith, therefore, is a foundation element in
true character building; for an upright character is the result only of continued effort and right
thinking, the effect of long-cherished associations with Godlike thoughts. He approaches
nearest the Christ spirit who makes God the center of his thoughts; and he who can say in his
heart, "Not my will, but thine be done"
,
approaches most nearly the Christ ideal.
TWO GREAT COMMANDMENTS
The third incident is the scene with the Pharisees when a lawyer asked him: "Master, which is
the great commandment in the law?
"Jesus said unto him, 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"
.
For two thousand years, practically, men have considered this sublime doctrine as
impractical-too ideal, they say, but if we sincerely believe in Christ's divinity, that he is "the way, the
truth and the life",
we cannot consistently doubt the applicability of his
teachings to everyday life.
True, there are weighty problems to solve-evils of the slums, the ever-recurring conflicts
between labor and capital, drunkenness, prostitution, international hatreds, and a hundred other
current questions. But if heeded, Christ's appeal for personal integrity, honor, fair-dealing, and
love is basic in the proper solution of all these social and economic difficulties.
CHANGE MEN'S HEARTS
Most certainly before the world even approaches these ideals, men's hearts must be changed.
Christ came into the world for that very purpose. The principal reason for preaching the
gospel is to change men's hearts and lives, and you brethren who go from stake to stake and
hear the evidence and testimony of those who have been converted recently through the stake
missionary work, can testify how the conversion has changed their lives, as they have given
their testimonies. By such conversion they bring peace and good will to the world instead of
strife, suffering. On changing men's hearts Beverly Nichols, author of The Fool Hath Said,
writes truly:
"You can change human nature. No man who has felt in him the spirit of Christ even for a
half 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... 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."
"Live in all things outside yourself by love," says Browning through Paracelsus, "and you
shall have joy. This is the life of God; it ought to be our life. In him it was perfect, but in all
created things, it is a lesson learned slowly and through difficulty."
LESSON FOR YOUTH
The fourth scene I name is with his disciples just before Gethsemane, when he said, "And
now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world...
"I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them
from the evil".
There is your lesson, young folk! You are in the midst of temptation, but you, as Christ on
the Mount of Temptation, can rise above it.
We can so live, it is possible, that as members of the Church we can say to all the world in
the words of Thomas Nixon Carver: "Come, our way of life is best because it works best. Our
people are efficient, prosperous and happy because we are a body who aid one another in the
productive life. We waste none of our substance in vice, luxury, or ostentation. We do not
dissipate our energy in brawling, gambling, or unwholesome habits. We conserve our
resources of body and mind and devote them to the upbuilding of the kingdom of God, which
is not a mystical but a real kingdom. We believe that obedience to God means obedience to
the laws of nature, which are but the manifestations of His will; and we try by painstaking
study to acquire the most complete and exact knowledge of that will, in order that we may
conform ourselves to it."
Yesterday, in this Tabernacle, seven or eight thousand women gathered-our mothers,
members of the Relief Society. I wish the whole Church might have partaken of the spirit of
that great conference. If so, we should have greater assurance in our souls that these ideals to
which I have made brief mention will be effective throughout the world in bringing about a
desire for greater spirituality, a greater need for the testimony that God lives, that his Son
Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, and that divine beings restored to the
Prophet Joseph Smith the gospel of Jesus Christ as he established it in the Meridian of Time.
I bear you that testimony this morning and pray that the influence of priesthood quorums, of
auxiliaries, and of the missionaries may be more effective from this time on than ever before
in leading the honest in heart of the whole world to turn their eyes upward to the worship of
God, our eternal Father, and give them power to control the animal nature and live in the
spirit, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop Joseph L. Wirthlin
Joseph L. Wirthlin, Conference Report, October 1953, pp. 12-16
President McKay, my beloved brethren and sisters, this has been a most inspirational hour. I am sure that the Lord has manifested through his servant the course that he wants his children to follow and pursue here in mortality.
Brothers and sisters, do you believe God is the same yesterday, today, and forever?
Do you believe he is a God of order in all things?
Do you believe that he governs the universe by the application of divine law?
Many would answer these three questions as follows: some in the affirmative, some not sure, and possibly some negatively. Those who are not spiritually inclined might indicate that they believe there is a God, a higher intelligence which governs the universe, and they point out some of the evidences that are found in the many forms of nature-the orderly sequence of the seasons, each in its place, spring, summer, autumn, and winter, and to the creation of storms based upon the application of divine principles; the sun, the moon, and the stars all held in their orbits by the application of the laws and powers best known to the Creator.
The scientist in his laboratory slowly unravels the wonders of the creation which evidences the existence of a divine being by whom the universe was created, by whose hand the animal world, the vegetable world, and the mineral world are ruled.
I wish to submit another question: What of man and woman, son and daughter of the Creator of the universe, created in his image, according to Genesis 1:27?
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Then another question: Is there a definite set of laws for the spiritual and the mental growth and progress of man to the end that he might enjoy salvation and exaltation in the kingdom of our heavenly Father? Again some may answer in the affirmative; some may doubt; some may have a negative attitude.
Definitely fixed laws and powers govern nature, planets, and the universe which can only be changed by the will of God. Man, the greatest of God's creations, can and does fix the laws that govern his mortal life regardless of any divine plan that was devised for his good. He is blessed with intelligence far above all the other creations. Hence, he knows the difference between good and bad, and being blessed with the divine gift of free agency, can decide what course he will pursue in life.
Recently, a noted reverend doctor declared, "There is nothing to the One Church Idea," which, from my point of view, is an admission by the reverend doctor that there is not anything to the idea of a divine plan for the blessing of our heavenly Father's children. There are many who think as the reverend doctor, and they say, "After all, we are all striving towards eternal life. It makes no difference which path we follow, for our destination is the same." To advocate there is but one God, one faith, and one baptism is considered by many to be narrow and unjust.
In this day and age the words of Paul are applicable when he declared to the Galatians:
I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel.
The concept of the Godhead has changed since the days of the Savior. He said:
... he that hath seen me hath seen the Father....
The idea of one Church, one gospel and in fact, one Savior, in the minds of many, is a fallacy.
It would not be consistent thinking to believe that God is orderly in the governing of the universe and indifferent and disorderly in providing a plan of life and salvation for his greatest creation, namely, his children.
But in the midst of all of this confusion and so-called broadmindedness by the teachers of man-made religions, the voice of a young Prophet was heard, coming from western New York, a young man who again declared that there is one Church, one God, one faith, one baptism. This young man dared to tell the world that he actually saw the Father and the Son. He reaffirmed to the world that God was a personage with body, parts, and passions; that Jesus Christ, the despised Nazarene who was crucified upon Calvary's hill, actually lived. He conversed and talked with him. He received definite instructions and among other things, the resurrected Savior said:
... they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me....
This young American Prophet boldly declared to the world that an angel had appeared to him and entrusted to his care an ancient record which contained the history of the dealings of the Lord with the people that lived upon this, the American continent in ancient times, and there was contained in this sacred record the divine plan of salvation given to mankind through Jesus Christ when he visited the people upon the American continent.
He declared to the world that John the Baptist appeared to him and conferred upon him the Aaronic Priesthood; that Peter, James, and John, the former apostolic Presidency, bestowed upon him the Melchizedek Priesthood; that Elijah came and gave him the keys for the work of the dead, Moses the keys of gathering, and Elias the return of the spirit of the gospel.
In fact, he declared to the world that the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ had been restored to the earth with the priesthood of God and all the offices and officers that existed in the ancient Church.
The reaction to his divine message and tidings of great joy was received with scorn. He was looked upon as a bigot, narrow-minded. Finally, he sealed his testimony with his blood.
Now, let us go to the law and the testimony to determine whether or not the claims of the Prophet Joseph were false or true. All Christians accept the Bible as the law and the testimony.
First: Did the Savior establish one Church or many churches?
Second: Were there definitely assigned officers in the Church?
Third: Was there divine authority upon the earth and one gospel?
Reading from 1 Corinthians, 12th Chapter, 28th Verse:
And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
Here we see the servant of God speaking of the Church, one church not many churches.
And again we read in Ephesians 5:23:
For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
One Church, only one, of which Christ was the head.
Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
Here is evidence where Christ is the head of the Church, one Church not many churches.
And again in Ephesians 4, Verses 4 and 5:
There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
One Lord, one faith, one baptism.
These are a few of the evidences found in the law and testimony which bear out the great truth-there was but one church organized by the Savior during his ministry, and in the establishment of his Church, there was but one organization, and in that organization there were definitely assigned officers endowed with divine authority from on high.
We read from Ephesians 2:20 and 21:
And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord.
Here twelve men were duly ordained and set apart as the Twelve Apostles of the first Church. We read in Mark 3:14, that he ordained the twelve, "... that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach", the gospel, to represent this great organization, the one Church, and proclaim the gospel to the known world of that time.
We read in Acts 11:22:
Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch.
Here we see a duly authorized servant of God being sent by the Church by those who were in authority in Jerusalem to Antioch to take care of Church affairs.
The Savior makes it very clear when he stated to the people in Matthew 7:13-14:
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.
This statement of the Savior to the world is definite and clear to the point that there can be but one way, his way, through his organization, the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ-the one Church.
In his Church are found according to Paul in his message to the Ephesians 4:11:
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.
Christ was a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. We read in Hebrews 3:1:
Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus.
In other words, all of the Apostles received the Melchizedek Priesthood. They received their apostolic calling from Jesus Christ.
We find in Luke 10:1, where there are seventies spoken of and who were sent out two and two to every city and place, whither he, the Church, would come.
In Acts 15:2, we read where Paul and Barnabas were going to settle a certain dispute, and they were sent up to Jerusalem to consult the Apostles and the elders about this question, elders in the Church.
We find in Philippians 1:1:
Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons.
There were bishops in the organization of the Church as Christ established it.
In Luke 1:5, we read of Zacharias, the priest. We read of this same priest in Luke 1:8.
In Ephesians 4:11, Paul speaks of ordained teachers. In Philippians 1:1 the deacons are mentioned.
In Ephesians 4:11, are found evangelists or patriarchs.
As we carefully peruse the law and the testimony, we find there was but one Church organized by the Christ. He gave to the world but one gospel plan for the salvation and exaltation of mankind, and the priesthood of God and in it officers duly ordained and authorized to serve in his kingdom upon the earth, his Church-one Church.
There were certain initiatory ordinances that had to be met to gain citizenship in the kingdom or membership in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. This was best illustrated on the Day of Pentecost when a multitude of people were gathered together, and Peter bore his testimony so strongly and impressively as to the mission of the crucified Savior that that great multitude arose as one man and asked the question, "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.
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.
Here are the principles and the ordinances whereby the children of our heavenly Father might enjoy membership in the one Church, the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I might digress long enough to say that there are different forms of baptism upon the earth, I speak specifically of baptism by pouring or sprinkling for children. As I understand the words of Peter on the Day of Pentecost, baptism was for the purpose of forgiving sins. Small children are not guilty of sins because they do not know the difference between good and bad, and the Savior said, "Suffer little children to come unto me... for of such is the kingdom of God".
It was a great source of inspiration and encouragement to future generations when Peter promised in a distant day the gift of the Holy Ghost or the spiritual baptism would be available to those afar off and those who were afar off, I believe, are the people that live in this generation.
And coming back to the Apostles of Christ's day, they observed a falling away-the apostasy was underway, for Paul declared to the Galatians:
I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel.
The Apostles were blessed with prophetic vision for we read in Acts 3:19:
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 continuing on in Acts 3:20 and 21:
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
The apostasy was foreseen, and God revealed there would be a restitution, a restoration of all things before the second coming of the Christ.
I think all Christians will admit that Christ atoned for all men hence all men will enjoy the blessings of the resurrection.
Joseph Smith taught the world that in the plan of the gospel as it is represented in Mormonism, there will be a place for all of the Lord's children on the basis of merit as revealed in Revelation 20:12:
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Modern revelation teaches us in the 76th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants, that all men, the sons and daughters of God, will enjoy a place in one of the glories prepared for them, according to their deeds in the flesh.
I ask you if this is narrow. I ask if this is bigotry. But I want to say to you, brethren and sisters, this is the broadest plan of salvation that has been given to the world since the Savior was crucified for the sins of all men:
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.
It is a glorious truth and blessing to enjoy membership in the Church, the one Church of the Lord Jesus Christ restored to the earth in exactly the same form as it existed when Christ established it first twenty centuries ago. Each and every one of us can testify by the Spirit of the Holy Ghost that we know that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever; that he is a God of order in all things; and that he spoke personally to the Prophet Joseph and assigned him the great task to establish upon the earth the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, the one Church, the one gospel, and teach the world that there was but one Savior, the Son of God.
Personally, I am not ashamed of the restored gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ as it has been given to us through his Prophet. I want to testify to you that there is but one Church, and that is the Church that carries his name, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I want to testify to you, brethren and sisters, that there stands at the head of this one Church of the Christ, a Prophet, an Apostle, who has all the same rights, keys, and authority that were enjoyed by Peter in the beginning, and that the same is equally true of the Twelve, and all of those who preside in high places in this great organization.
Certainly, when God the Father declared:
For behold, this is my work and my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man,
he devised a plan whereby this could be done, and an organization through which it could be accomplished, namely the organization of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
That is my testimony to you. I thank God for it. I hope that every member of this Church will have that same witness in his heart and that the children of men, as the prophet of God called all men this morning to repent of their ways and accept of this divine plan and thus prevent the catastrophe which now faces the world. If the world will follow this divine counsel, there is no question but what we can live in the Spirit of the Christ, namely, the spirit of peace, for which all nations are struggling.
May God bless us. May we express our appreciation day by day for our membership and our many opportunities for salvation and exaltation in the kingdom of God, I humbly ask, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder S. Dilworth Young
S. Dilworth Young, Conference Report, October 1953, pp. 17-18
This morning as President McKay and Bishop Wirthlin spoke, I thought to myself that it is our job to implement the work of the Church, the divinity and purpose of which President McKay bore witness, and the inspired organization to which Bishop Wirthlin testified. Somehow we must, ourselves, through the inspiration of the Lord, and through his guidance, make the destined goal a reality.
There were in the Church, in the stakes of Zion, on December 31, 1952, 1870 quorums of the Melchizedek Priesthood that totaled, in round numbers 138,400 men. All of these hold the right and the privilege to preach the gospel, when called, to any portion of the earth or within their own stakes. Twenty-eight thousand, nine hundred fifty of these men, for various reasons, are not available to the wards or to the stakes in which they live. Some are on missions; 15,000 are engaged in Church activity other than quorum work, five thousand are away from home; and more than five thousand are in the armed services. That leaves a total of 109,000 men, however, who are available. It depends upon the strength of their testimony and upon what they intend to do with this great gospel, as to whether or not we are to succeed in what President McKay has so earnestly pleaded for this morning.
I estimate that there are in each quorum of the Melchizedek Priesthood, an average of forty-eight men who will not, normally, have direction from any ecclesiastical heads as to what they shall do except by their quorum presidents.
They will not be used by bishops in the wards; they will not be used by the stake officers; and if they have any assigned tasks, it will be because the presidents of their quorums assign them. Therein, in my opinion, lies the acid test of quorum leadership.
When I was a good deal younger, I read a verse of scripture. The first reading thrilled me. I was filled with wonder, and awed at its implications. This is the scripture:
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.
I confess that when I read these words for the first time, there sprang into my heart an intense hope, if a person can have a hope in reverse order, that I might, personally, have been one of those in whose midst the Savior stood when choosing those to be born as leaders on earth. I believe every young man who has any feeling for this Church gets that thought. I think I am not alone in it, at all.
The Lord revealed to Abraham that he was one so chosen. Now Abraham was called by the Lord out of the Chaldees to go and settle in Canaan. The Lord was testing him. I believe that the Lord tests his leaders, even his greatest leaders, by entrusting them with small positions where they will lead but few people. If they prove worthy, and unwaveringly lead these people toward their exaltation, he then adds more and more responsibility until there is no limit to capacity, development, and glory of that leader.
I remember with a good deal of feeling the words with which Abraham described his action. He left the Chaldees with such souls "as we had won in Haran". I think those souls were few. In my humble opinion Abraham led out of that land a group of people corresponding in size to a quorum of elders. Probably when he first started out, he had perhaps fifty or sixty, and the Lord tested him to see if he would lead them as directed, and he did.
Now, brethren, statistically you have about fifty men in your quorums available for assignment. You young elders' presidencies, you young men who have enthusiasm but not yet much practice in the business of doing Church work, if you are to lead fifty men and can lead them into righteousness, if you do it successfully, the Lord will enlarge you and will bring upon you greater leadership, until finally you will find place among those to whom he referred when he spoke to Abraham as being among those who would become his leaders.
You do not have to preside over the Church, or over a stake, or over a ward to qualify for such a great thing. However, I do think that if you preside over a quorum of the priesthood, if it is your responsibility to bring into activity any man, then unless you bring that man into activity, you are not measuring up to what the Lord had in mind when he inspired the president of the stake to call you to that exalted position.
And what I say about an elder applies equally well to a seventy or to a high priest. It matters not. All are offices in the Melchizedek Priesthood, and it is this priesthood which will enlarge this Church and fill the earth.
Let us not, therefore, brethren, fall down in that responsibility. Let us not worry, brethren of the quorums about the men whom the bishops call. Those men are taken care of, they have something to do. But let us not rest until the men who do not have exact responsibility are given such responsibility through quorum activity. Then we shall grow and then we shall flourish upon the mountain. Great will be our joy, for we shall sing praises and hosannas to the most high God, as we see his great work coming to fruition.
I add my testimony to that of Bishop Wirthlin, that there stands at the head of this Church a prophet, a seer, and a revelator, and that those who preside with him, and who, under his direction, direct the affairs of this Church are likewise prophets and seers and revelators, and I uphold and sustain them with all my heart. I pray that I can do it with all my strength, for unless a person does it with all his strength, as well as with his heart, not much is accomplished.
This is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Clifford E. Young
Clifford E. Young, Conference Report, October 1953, pp. 20-23
My brethren and sisters: It seems to me that every time I stand in this position I feel less sure of myself. I recognize that as we go out in the stakes, there is a warmth of feeling between the congregation of the Saints and those who visit their conferences from time to time, and there should be no difference in this meeting, because that same spirit of warmth and fellowship is multiplied by the increased numbers that are here, and yet notwithstanding that, this vast congregation, and consciousness of the fact that there are so many listening in on the outside, presents a challenge indeed.
I have undertaken today to write what I would like to say in the interest of time, and I sincerely hope that the Lord will be with all of us, that what I shall say may be of benefit to you and to me, and give us increased faith.
Since our last conference it has been my privilege to visit two of the missions of the Church, one in southern California and one in eastern Canada. I have been thrilled with the splendid work that is being done by our missionaries. It seems to me they are doing more effective work than ever in our history. They do not go out with a spirit of antagonism toward any church or any people, but rather in the spirit of the counsel that was given in the early history of the Church by the Prophet Joseph when he said that we should contend against no church, save it be the church of the evil one, that we should take upon ourselves the name of Christ, and speak the truth in soberness, and that as many as repented and were baptized in his name, which is Jesus Christ, and endured to the end, should be saved. He also said that we should declare glad tidings, publish them upon the mountains and upon every high place and among every people that we should be permitted to see. We should do it with all humility, trusting in him, reviling not the revilers, and of tenets we should not talk, but should declare repentance and faith on the Savior, and the remission of sins by baptism and by fire, yea, even the Holy Ghost. It is in this spirit that our missionaries are counseled to go from house to house, preaching and bearing witness of the restored gospel of Christ. We recognize the fact that the world is full of good people, that they have their religious convictions and traditions, traditions that are deeply rooted from ages past. We do not ask them to give up any truths that they have, but we do ask that they re-appraise their faith and their religion, their church, to see if they harmonize with that which was taught by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Our missionaries do not present a message of a new church; it is a message of the restored Church. We do not have a new gospel. It is the gospel that was preached by Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. Our position as Latter-day Saints is that we are entrusted with the responsibility of establishing the kingdom of God in the earth, that it may prepare mankind for the kingdom of heaven that is to come. We feel that there is no greater message that can be brought to the children of men than one that will make men conscious of error and turn them to the truth. Repentance is a grand Christian act. It is not only Christian, but it is also divine.
This missionary activity is a great contribution to our missionary's life whether he be young or old. For two or more years, he is in the field of a spiritual uplift. He learns to pray as he never did before. He learns to draw near to God, and he finds that God draws near to him. He learns that there is only one way to every human heart, and that is through humility and prayer. He learns to be tolerant with his fellow men. Through study he learns to enrich his mind, enlarge his soul with the thoughts of great men, men of God, prophets of God, and thus he grows in knowledge and wisdom.
In the mission field a missionary is often tempted, but he does not yield. Thus he becomes brave and strong, physically, mentally, morally, and above all, spiritually. A missionary often has great decisions to make, decisions that many times are beyond the wisdom of his youth.
I recall an experience that was related by President J. Robert Price, former president of the Central Atlantic States Mission, as he met with us on one occasion in the temple, telling of two young missionaries who had just recently come into the field, neither of whom had had much experience. Brother Price had received a message that one the families was having some difficulty, marital trouble as I remember, and so these two young, inexperienced missionaries were sent to this home. On entering the home, one of the elders asked if it would be in order with the family that they first kneel in prayer. And so they all knelt down, and the young elder who led asked that the Lord would guide in the proceedings that should follow, that the differences would be composed in that home, and that peace could be established. And he prayed for the home, and in the sincerity of his heart he brought conviction to those who listened. And when they all arose from their knees the father, who seemingly had been the leader, who had been the source of the trouble, approached the missionary; taking him by the hand, he said, "We do not need you longer. You have touched our hearts, and we will compose our differences, and you can depend upon it that we will not fail." And Brother Price in reporting it said "Surely, out of the mouths of babes and sucklings hath the Lord ordained strength".
And so it is in this spirit that our missionaries go forth, and they have great decisions to make, and they are equal to them.
The missionaries also learn the injunction that was given by Isaiah the prophet, that they should seek 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.
Our missionaries learn to love their contacts, the people whom they meet, although they do not always see alike in matters of religion and do not always agree, yet they recognize that the world is full of good people. Many honest-hearted and upright men and women have not accepted and do not accept Mormonism because they cannot comprehend it. As the Savior said to Nicodemus, "They cannot see". And yet through the fine work that they are doing, our missionaries are gradually breaking down prejudices. They are being invited into homes that are blessed because of the faith and the testimony that they bring to them. There is no greater joy that can come to the human heart than to bring this message of eternal truth to those who do not have it. And so our missionary service becomes a great spiritual factor in the lives of those who have this unusual experience. There is nothing equal to it anywhere. Our boys come home filled with a testimony of the truth, acknowledging the goodness of the Lord to them and conscious of the fact that they have been able to do some good, not only to themselves but also to those with whom they have come in contact.
Thus has been laid a foundation of faith and spirituality and strength of character in our young people that has contributed greatly to the growth and the strength of this Church. It is no wonder the Bishop of York was led to say after his visit to Salt Lake City, on his return to England, as reported, I think, by Brother Sonne on his return from Europe, "The Mormon Church must be a wealthy Church, for it maintains so many missionaries in the world." At that time I think there were five thousand missionaries, and at an average cost of sixty dollars a month for each, you can see that would amount to $300,000.00 a month, or over $3,500,000.00 a year, and so the Bishop of York was calculating it in dollars and cents. He did not understand that the wealth that maintains these missionaries is not gold and silver, but faith, sacrifice, devotion on the part of parents in most cases, parents of limited means, not of wealth, but rich in faith and in a confidence in this great work. It is not gold that has built our temples and our meetinghouses, but the same faith and devotion to the Lord on the part of those who also support the great missionary system of the Church.
In conclusion, my brethren and sisters, may I read an extract from a sermon delivered in this pulpit many years ago by President George Q. Cannon. I think it was in 1871. It was subsequently reported in the Church Section of the Deseret News. For some of you who are younger, President Cannon served as counselor in the First Presidency from the time of President John Taylor on to the time of President Snow. I think it was during President Snow's administration that President Cannon passed away. He was one of the great leaders of this Church-a brilliant mind. He knew the Prophet Joseph. His father had come from the Isle of Man with his family. They had become converted to Mormonism, and had settled in Nauvoo, and were there at the time of the martyrdom. I think I may safely say that President Cannon's tribute to the Prophet Joseph in his biography is one of the finest that has ever been written regarding the Prophet Joseph. It was written from an intimate touch that the Cannon family had with the Prophet, and George Q. Cannon as a lad fourteen years of age remembered the great leadership and the spiritual power that characterized the Prophet of God, to whom the Lord had revealed his great work. And so I quote in conclusion some remarks from President Cannon:
The Latter-day Saints are not so uncharitable as to imagine that they are the only ones with whom God is dealing, or are they the only people over whom and toward whom his providences are being exercised. Such a thought has never entered into the hearts of those who are intelligent and reflecting in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is true that we believe and testify that we have been called to proclaim the everlasting gospel in its ancient purity and simplicity, with the plenitude of its gifts and graces, as enjoyed in ancient days, that we have been called to lay the foundation of that work which is destined to grow and increase and spread until it fills the whole earth from north to south and from east to west. Yet we do not on this account arrogate to ourselves all the kindness, all the mercy, care and goodness which God dispenses to his creatures here on the earth, but we firmly believe in every nation and among every kindred, tongue, and people, and in fact in every creed on the face of the earth, there are those whom God watches with particular care, and to whom his blessings are extended, and we believe that his providences are over all the works of his hands, and that none is so remote, friendless, or isolated that he is not the object of his care, his mercy and his love. This is our belief, and when we see the events which are taking place at the present time, when we hear of revolutions and wars, of nation rising against nation, of the various judgments and calamities, as well as the various kindnesses and mercies, that are bestowed upon and extended to the inhabitants of the earth, and to the various nationalities into which they are divided, we see in all these things the hand of our kind and beneficent Creator. We see his providences. We behold his going forth, and we acknowledge his goodness, and we also think that we can discern his overruling care and providence for the bringing to pass the great events of which he has spoken, which will eventually result in the emancipation of our race from the thralldom of evil, under which it now groans.
It is in this spirit, my brethren and sisters, that our missionaries go out into the world to proclaim the restored gospel, and I have nothing but commendation for these fine men and women who are sent out, and for the splendid men and women who preside over them. These mission presidents and their wives, outstanding in their faith and in their devotion to the work of the Lord give these missionaries proper direction, and inspire them in the great work to which they are called. I am grateful to stand here today for the privileges and blessings that were mine over forty years ago to be called to the mission field to preach the gospel. I am grateful for the foundation of faith that was established in my soul because of this unusual experience, and I humbly acknowledge on this occasion these blessings, and also the goodness of my parents in making such an experience possible. I express my gratitude to my heavenly Father, and I bear my testimony of the divinity of this great work in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Harold B. Lee
Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, October 1953, pp. 23-27
In President McKay's address this morning he told of a picture that hung in the Huntsville meetinghouse, a picture of President John Taylor under which were the words, "Where the kingdom of God is not, there is nothing." That statement encourages me to talk about something about which I have been thinking for a long time. If the Lord is willing and I might have his Spirit, I would like to speak about a subject which I will introduce by quoting a question asked by a missionary, and a statement from a great thinker. The missionary asked, "Since the restored Church claims that it is necessary to have the same organization that existed in the primitive church, particularly Twelve Apostles, how then can we claim that the kingdom of God and the gospel were upon the earth before the time of the Savior when they had no Apostles?"
The statement which I wish to read is from Napoleon I, while he was in exile in 1817. It reads as follows: "I could believe in a religion if it existed from the beginning of time, but when I consider Socrates, Plato, and Mohammed, I no longer believe."
There are those who believe that the kingdom of God was not established until after the advent of the Savior and that the gospel of Jesus Christ was not upon the earth until the time of his advent.
As I have thought of that question of the missionary about the organization of the Church, and about Napoleon's statement, three questions have formulated themselves in my thinking: The first, How old is the kingdom of God and the gospel upon the earth? The second, What are the essentials of a gospel dispensation in the world? And third, What officers are necessary in an organization to constitute the Church and kingdom of God? I realize that to answer those questions fully would take much more time than is allotted to me, so I shall comment only briefly and make a few observations in answer to these questions.
In the Lord's revelation to Abraham he spoke of the purpose in sending spirits upon the earth, to "... prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them", with a promise that if they would keep their second estate they should have glory added upon their heads forever and forever.
In the first chapter of the writings of John, the nature of that glory spoken of in the revelation to Abraham is implied. John said,
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God....
In a modern revelation that same statement is repeated with slight variation and then clarified, in these words:
But to as many as received me, gave I power to become my sons...
And verily, verily, I say unto you, he that receiveth my gospel receiveth me; and he that receiveth not my gospel receiveth not me.
And then the Lord proceeds to define the fundamental principles of the gospel in these words:
And this is my gospel-repentance and baptism by water, and then cometh the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost, even the Comforter, which showeth all things, and teacheth the peaceable things of the kingdom.
The gospel plan, as these scriptures would indicate, was laid in the heavens before the earth was organized and spirits were placed upon it.
That this gospel and the essentials of salvation have been upon the earth in every dispensation from the time of Adam, there can be no doubt. In an early revelation to Moses, which we have contained in the Pearl of Great Price, the Lord, speaking to Adam, said this:
If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking all things in his name, and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given you.
Then there follows an account of the baptism of Adam, and this declaration by a voice speaking out of heaven to Adam:
Behold, thou art one in me, a son of God; and thus may all become my sons.
In writing to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul said,
And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
He was speaking of the ordinance of baptism in Moses' day when he wrote these words to the Corinthians:
... how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
And were all baptized unto Moses....
And then of the children of Israel under the leadership of Moses, Paul again wrote to the Hebrews, and said,
For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
All of these statements thus recorded in the Bible have been confirmed by modern revelation.
Just as in the dispensations of Adam, Abraham, and Moses were those fundamental teachings given and those fundamental ordinances of the gospel administered, so we hear the Savior speaking to Nicodemus,
Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
To suppose that God would initiate ordinances on which salvation would be conditioned, and then allow four thousand years to pass without any authority or any organization to administer those ordinances, is untenable to the thinking man. A thinking man would have to conclude with Napoleon, "Unless a religion existed from the beginning, I cannot believe."
Now for just a moment, let's take a hasty look at the Church organizations that have existed in each of these dispensations from the beginning. To Adam was given "... dominion... over every living thing that moveth upon the earth". The government in his time was patriarchal, the priesthood ruled. Men holding the priesthood ruled by direct revelation and commandment. In Enoch's time likewise, his government was patriarchal. Zion, the City of Holiness, was established, and Enoch gave a perfect economic law, known to us as the Order of Enoch. There was likewise a similar government from Noah to Abraham, as we are informed by modern revelation in these words,
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.
From Moses to the Prophet Samuel, Israel was governed by judges, who were from among the people. And then you will recall, because they were "peculiar" in that type of government, they sought for a king, to be like other peoples; a king to rule over them in secular matters, while a prophet would continue to guide in spiritual affairs. You will recall that Saul was then chosen, followed by David, and by Solomon, and then the division of the children of Israel into the kingdom of Judah and the kingdom of Israel under Rehoboam and Jeroboam.
With the advent of Jesus, the Jews were in a state of apostasy, and you will recall he chose twelve men to be his special witnesses, and to one of these twelve, Peter, he gave the keys to the kingdom of God. The significance of that commission of the keys of the kingdom to Peter is better understood in the words of a revelation given to us by the Prophet Joseph Smith, when the Lord said this, speaking of the Prophet Joseph,
Unto whom I have given the keys of the kingdom, which belong always unto the Presidency of the High Priesthood.
In other words, Peter, holding the keys of the kingdom, was as much the president of the High Priesthood in his day as Joseph Smith and his successors, to whom also these "keys" were given in our day, are the presidents of the High Priesthood, and the earthly heads of the Church and kingdom of God on the earth.
The Apostle Paul describing the Church organization in his day said,
And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets... after that... helps, governments... etc..
But in all of these Church offices we are told again in the revelations
... there is never but one on the earth at a time on whom this power and the keys of this priesthood are conferred....
We are living today in the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, and we were given a statement, inspired by the Lord, to the Prophet Joseph Smith in these words, which make some explanation of what the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times contemplated. He said,
... for it is necessary in the ushering in of the dispensation of the fulness of times, which dispensation is now beginning to usher in, that a whole and complete and perfect union, and welding together of dispensations, and keys, and powers, and glories should... be revealed from the days of Adam, even to the present time. And not only this, but those things which never have been revealed from the foundation of the world... shall be revealed... in this, the dispensation of the fulness of times....
The Apostle Peter spoke of that, in referring to this same Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, when he said there would be a
... restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
It seems clear then that were the Church organization today to be devoid of that which Jesus gave, therefore, in the way of organization, this dispensation would fail by that same token to be an established kingdom of God upon the earth in the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times in which was to be restored "all things." Undoubtedly the organization the Master gave was to be the pattern of organization more perfected than in the past dispensations. There is evidence of this in the fact that after he had left the people here following his resurrection, he went to the Nephites, and there again he chose twelve disciples, whom he set up to govern his Church and that part of the kingdom here on this continent among the Nephites.
We might then ask, what is the kingdom of God? And again we are not left without an answer, for the Lord replied, "The keys of the kingdom of God are committed unto man on the earth.... " Where there are the keys to the kingdom, there is the Church of Jesus Christ, and it is the stone which was cut out of the mountain without hands, as told in Daniel's interpretation of the dream, which was to roll forth and smite the image and break it in pieces and to roll on until it should fill the whole earth.
The Prophet Joseph Smith makes this definition of the kingdom of God:
Some say that the kingdom of God was not set up upon the earth until the day of Pentecost, and that John did not preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, but I say to you in the name of the Lord that the kingdom of God was set up upon the earth in the days of Adam to the present time. Whenever there has been a righteous man on the earth unto whom God revealed His word and gave power and authority to administer in His name, and where there is a priest of God... to administer in the ordinances of the gospel, and officiate in the priesthood of God, there is the kingdom of God... Where there is a prophet, a priest, or a righteous man unto whom God gives His oracles, there is the kingdom of God; and where the oracles of God are not, there the kingdom of God is not.
This is but another way of saying what the picture in Huntsville declared as related by President McKay, "Where the kingdom of God is not there is nothing."
Just as the Master said in his day, the kingdom of God cometh not by observation, meaning that there would be no outward signs or no political changes, so today, it is now among us, as it has been in every dispensation of the gospel since the days of Adam.
Another statement was made by the prophets of the New Testament which to me has some significance. They are quoted as having said that "... the kingdom of God is within you". A more correct translation probably would have said, "The kingdom of God is among you or in your midst," but as I thought of that other statement, "The kingdom of God is within you," I recalled an experience that we had with a group of students from Brigham Young University, who were gracious enough to come under the leadership of President Wilkinson to a little group over in the Lion House, and there sixteen, representing sixteen foreign countries, were asked to stand and tell how they came to know about the gospel and accept it, why they were at Brigham Young University, and to bear their testimonies. It was a most intensely interesting evening. We heard from young men and women from Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, the Scandinavian countries, France, and England. The story was the same. When they began to relate how they came to find the gospel, it was this: They were yearning for truth. They were seeking for it. They were not satisfied, and in the midst of their search, someone came to them with the truths of the gospel. They prayed about it and sought the Lord intensely, intently, with all their hearts, and came to receive a divine testimony by which they knew that this the gospel of Jesus Christ. One woman said, "I had been studying the gospel, and this night I came to a meeting and I heard them sing, "Joseph Smith's First Prayer," which gave in song the story of the first vision, and before they had finished that song, into my heart the Spirit bore testimony that this is the Church and kingdom of God. So within the heart of everyone, every honest seeker after truth, if he has the desire to know, and studies with real intent and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God may be within him, or in other words, the power to receive it is his.
I bear you my humble witness that this is the Church and kingdom of God in the earth. This is the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. Except for the fact that it is but a continuation of the same gospel, the same fundamental principles, the same authority which has existed from the beginning of time, we would have to say with Napoleon I,
Except you can prove to me that this religion has been from the beginning, I will not believe.
God help us to take this message out to the world and convince them of the power of the gospel and the power which is within them to receive the kingdom of God while it is yet day, I pray humbly in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop Thorpe B. Isaacson
Thorpe B. Isaacson, Conference Report, October 1953, pp. 27-30
President McKay, President Richards, President Clark, my beloved brethren and sisters: I feel very humble this afternoon in standing before you and in occupying this position. I sincerely pray that you will have a prayer in your heart for me, and I humbly pray that the Lord will sustain me. There is a very beautiful, sweet spirit here; there was this morning. We recognize that spirit as the sweet Spirit of our Father in heaven.
As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we have a great responsibility, we have an individual responsibility. Membership in the Church is not for the idler, nor for one who would seek an easy way to salvation. However, it should not difficult for us to keep the commandments of the Lord if we have a desire in our hearts to do so and if we are willing to make the effort. True, we must form good habits of righteous living, and good habits are just as easy and in fact easier to form than are bad habits. It should not be too difficult for us to be truthful and honest and prayerful and to meet our obligations honestly.
Yes, we have the right to choose which way we want to go. Thereby we develop our own strength of character. However, if we do only the things required of us, we may not gain full development. To do right only because we are forced to do so, rather than because we have a desire to do so, does not contribute to proper development of character; for the Lord, speaking to us in the Doctrine and Covenants, Section 58, Verses 26 to 29, says:
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.
Probably our first and greatest responsibility is to see that we ourselves live righteously and well. When a man fails in life, the cause is sometimes within himself. We are often destroyed from within as well as from forces without. Wrongdoing destroys our morale and makes us an easy victim to outward forces that would also weaken us spiritually; and spirituality is as essential to a man's soul as vitamins are to his body.
Unless we can banish indifference, conquer indolence, renounce injustice, overcome intemperance, expel intolerance, and abolish ingratitude from our souls, we may not be good representative members of the Church, for has not the Psalmist said: "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it".
Let us for a moment consider indifference. Indifference can bring great tragedy into our souls, whether it be indifference to the laws of the land or indifference to the laws of God or indifference to the rights and privileges of each other. When we break the laws of the land, there is a penalty. When we break the laws of God, there is likewise a penalty, and when we show indifference to each other, somebody suffers.
Consider desecration of the Sabbath day. Surely our Father in heaven must have felt that this was important when he gave us the commandment concerning the Sabbath day, for he said to us beginning in Exodus 20:8, and if we could only think of this when we break the Sabbath day, I think we would be more careful about it:
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Six days shalt thou labour, 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 the 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.
To so many people, Sunday is now spoken of as a holiday, not a "holy day". Let us consider this before we break the Sabbath day.
Now there are many ways of being truthful. We may not exactly tell a lie, but if we fail to raise our voices to set a situation right when we could, aren't we as guilty as the one who fails to tell all the truth? Indifference is one way to start one on the road to sorrow.
Indolence is another destroying characteristic. One of the greatest factors in building character is work and our attitude toward that work. I remember hearing President Clark one day say to some of us, "I am grateful for the blessings of work." Personally I consider it a challenge. I consider it a cure for heartache and discouragement. If we can accomplish something worthwhile as we go about our day's work, we can retire at night feeling that our day has been well spent.
When Brigham Young led the Saints into this, the Salt Lake Valley, he knew that there were some among them who would not assume their rightful responsibility, and he knew that it would take the combined efforts of all if they were to survive and be at all successful. He impressed upon them the need to work in order to eat. The Lord has told us in Genesis 3:19: "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread". I believe it is our individual responsibility to work hard, and I am including work and service in the Church.
Injustice is another great evil. Perhaps as Latter-day Saints we must be concerned with the justice and welfare of all people, because the membership of this Church is made up of people from all nations, your grandparents and mine from foreign countries, united in a common cause, that of bringing salvation to the souls of men.
In our different walks of life we must be careful not to put our own personal above the welfare of the group. This would be unjust. In public life we have seen people who consider the effect of every act, first how will it affect myself, and how will it affect the other people later?
Selfishness is one of the greatest causes of injustice. Few there are of us who fault in ourselves-meanness of spirit, pettiness of disposition. Few of us will admit to befriending a man because he is right, rather than because of his importance. How often have we heard parents tell their children, "I wish you wouldn't associate with our neighbor's children because they are not of our own social status." These are injustices, but they are prevalent us today. We must renounce injustice if we would grow spiritually.
We should try to overcome intemperance because it is self-defeating, devastating to character, and paralyzing to one's own progress. We have seen men in prominent places of our communities bring sorrow and disgrace upon themselves and their families because they failed to curb an appetite.
A few months ago it was my privilege to cross the country on a train, and there I met a high-ranking army officer, and we visited for many hours. Among other things he told me that the increase in nervous disorders in the army, brought about largely by alcohol and other things, was very disturbing and alarming. He indicated that it was the most self-defeating factor that the army had to contend with, and he told me that one-third of the of the hospitals of this country were occupied by patients with nervous disorders, largely brought about by the use of alcohol and other drugs, and that it would be very alarming to the country if we knew the true status.
Intolerance is another self-destroying evil. If it isn't banished out of our character, it may reflect on the Church as well as on ourselves, because brotherhood, like charity, begins at home. If we would be tolerant, we must obey the first and great commandment; we must love the Lord our God with all our heart, might, mind and strength, and then we must love our neighbor as ourselves.
Brotherhood and the love of mankind must be resident in our hearts, on our streets, in our towns. Otherwise we may not have it in our own hearts. We largely judge others by ourselves. If we are intolerant of others, we can expect the same treatment ourselves. The inner strength of the Church reveals itself to a great extent in our way of treating others.
Now probably the greatest sin of all is the sin of ingratitude, but we, favored of all our Father's children, should fill our hearts with gratitude for the magnitude of the power of the gospel and the blessings that he has brought to us. The resources by which we advance are the real qualities of character that we possess. We must show gratitude for our blessings. We can be judged more by what we love than by what we own.
Our greatest blessings as a people are spiritual, not material. The older I become, the more I am convinced that there are not many things of very much importance which do not belong to the spiritual. There are the things that are important, and then there are the other things.
Nothing can contribute so much to our own growth as being home-loving, God-fearing, freedom-earning, temperate men and women.
May we as individuals consider our own responsibility in the Church and try to become better Latter-day Saints. Each of us could perhaps make one or two adjustments in our own lives that would make us better Latter-day Saints.
I feel good in this work because it is the work of the Lord. I love the people; you have been wonderful to me as I go to you from stake to stake. And I am grateful for the opportunity of partaking of your spirit and of hearing your testimonies. Your kindnesses and courtesies to all the brethren are appreciated. We feel a closeness and warmth through our association with you.
Personally I am unable to express my gratitude for my association with these fine men. I have great love and respect and admiration for each one of them. I am particularly grateful for my close association with Bishop Joseph L. Wirthlin and Bishop Carl Buehner. I love these men. Yes, we talk together, and we pray together. When one has sorrow, we all have sorrow. I am grateful for my association with all of my brethren of the General Authorities. As I get to know them, I would class it as the greatest experience in my life to be with them and partake of their spirit and their advice and counsel, because they are prophets of God. Do you regard these brethren as you would the Apostles of old? In Doctrine and Covenants, Section 68, Verse 4, may we remember this:
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.
Now I think as a people we should keep that in mind when these brethren give us advice and counsel. Talk about love that abideth in the heart of men, I know of no people in the world that has the example to follow as does this people in the President of the Church. Talk about love and beauty. I am sure we could do well to try and emulate that spirit and that love, and that is the same love that the Savior exemplified when he was here upon the earth.
This is a sweet work. It couldn't be anything else because it is the work of our Father in heaven among the children of men. I have had some experiences in school work as a teacher for seventeen years, as superintendent of schools, as an athletic coach, and I had some satisfaction in it, and I am grateful for those experiences, but they are not like this work. There isn't anything like it in the world, and I would plead with every man and woman and boy and girl in the Church to have some activity, to be rendering some service in the Church. While I have been associated with this work, I am sure that I have been the greatest benefactor. It has been sweet and uplifting to me. From the bottom of my heart I want to thank the Lord for his kindnesses to me. I know what it is to be humble I believe, and I know when I go to the Lord in the proper spirit that my prayers are answered. I know the Spirit of the Lord is understandable. I know that the Spirit of the Lord may be to us ever prevalent if we ourselves keep in tune with his Spirit. May the Lord bless us and give us the power to help each other be happy. May he give us true comfort and genuine friendship and may he bless us that we may fulfil the measure of our creation here upon the earth that when our time comes to leave mortality we may leave without feeling sorry for the way that we have treated each other. Let us give each other those flowers and those praises and those kind words now, here, while we are alive to enjoy them.
I would plead with my friends and associates who are members of the Church to affiliate yourselves with all the activities of the Church. Then you will know what great blessings are and you will know what happiness is, and the Lord will bless you, and I would plead with and encourage my friends who are not members of the Church that they will consider seriously baptism into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
May God bless us that we may be true Latter-day Saints, that we may be humble and prayerful, that we may render that sweet service which the Lord expects of us, and receive the blessings that he has in store for us, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Eldred G. Smith
Eldred G. Smith, Conference Report, October 1953, pp. 31-32
I sincerely seek an interest in your faith and prayers in my behalf. I feel that I could say amen to all that has been said thus far in this conference. I am sure that I can say amen to all that shall be said.
There has been a question come to me is the thought that I would like express here today. A question was put to me recently, which I have heard many times, and I am sure many of you have heard the same question. A young lady asked, "What difference does make whether I go to the temple to be married now, or whether I wait a few years after we are married, and go to the temple? Are not they just the same?" These questions come always from those who are members of the Church and who should know and understand the blessings and purpose of temple marriage.
When I asked, "Why not go to the temple at first?" I got the usual stock answer, "Oh, I intend to go to the temple but not now, later. I am young and I have plenty of time." I recall a friend of mine who had somewhat the same attitude. They wanted to wait a few years, and they have waited. They have waited twenty-four years now. They have two grown children, a son and a daughter. None of the family are active in the Church any more. Their interests lie in a more worldly direction.
Another man told me of his experience. He was married in California. They intended to go to the temple.
They made several trips to Salt Lake City. Never was it quite convenient enough to go to the temple, even though they did make many trips to Salt Lake City. Eventually his wife lost interest in the Church and in Church activity. He lost interest in attending his meetings, then soon his wife lost interest in him and eventually left him, and as a result he lost his wife and children. He has since returned to Church activity, and he testified to me that if he had made the effort to go to the temple, he knew he would not have lost his wife and children. I am sure there are many other such experiences which could be related and of which you know. Those who so procrastinate surely do not fully understand what celestial marriage means to them. They must act on faith. A full knowledge of such things comes only from faithful obedience. To those who marry in the temple, the Lord has made this promise:
... Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; and if it be after the first resurrection, in the next resurrection; and shall inherit the thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths... it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity; and shall be of full force when they are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.
Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye abide my law ye cannot attain to this glory.
How can a person understand that promise and take such a chance? So to procrastinate is the greatest gamble on earth. You gamble with death. Each day spent is a day closer to death and the day of judgment. A man is judged by the knowledge given him. Where much is given, much is expected. To those who have been given the knowledge and the opportunity of temple marriage and then procrastinate, they are gambling the eternal blessings of godhood for a few earthly pleasures. There just isn't any sympathy for a man who knows he has had his chance and has deliberately forfeited it. The Lord referred to such people in his parable of the ten virgins; the five who were wise and kept oil in their lamps and the five foolish who procrastinated until it was too late, and they were therefore shut out of the kingdom. The author of the following poem is anonymous, but surely it was written about many of us:
I'll go where you want me to go, dear Lord; Real service is what I desire. I'll say what you want me to say, But don't ask me to join the choir.
I'll say what you want me to say, dear Lord, I like to see things come to pass; But don't ask me to teach anywhere; I would much rather stay in my class.
I'll give what you want me to give, dear Lord I yearn for the kingdom to thrive. I'll give you some pennies and nickels, But don't ask me to pay a full tithe.
I'll read what you want me to read, dear Lord, If genealogy is not implied. I never did like to search books For the names of people who've died.
I'll give what you want me to give, dear Lord, And I'm sure I'll not begrudge it, But I haven't the money to spare To pay on welfare or budget.
Yes, I'll go where you want me to go, dear Lord, I'll serve you with all my might, But don't ask me to go to the temple Because I'm much too busy each night.
The Lord is with all those who try to do his will. The greatest blessings come from obedience. When we demonstrate obedience, the Lord is bound to bestow upon us his blessings. Let us help each other; teach our neighbors. We cannot effectively teach what we do not practice. Seek the Lord in prayer, and he will strengthen your faith and give you courage to do. If you desire the blessings of the Lord and seek them in prayer, with faithful obedience, he will open the way for you to do his will and receive those blessings which are for your good.
I pray the blessings of the Lord to be upon all of us, that as each step in the gospel comes to us we will have the power to accept it with obedience, and by obedience receive the blessings of the Lord, that we may even receive blessings of exaltation and eternal life. These blessings I ask from the Lord in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Marion G. Romney
Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, October 1953, pp. 34-36
My beloved brethren and sisters and friends: I have in my pocket a wonderful talk, one I have been three months preparing. I find it necessary, however, to deprive you of the great pleasure of hearing it at this time because it has already been given. President McKay gave half of it, and Bishop Wirthlin and Brother Lee used most of my scriptures. I am very happy, however, to be in harmony with them.
I pray the Lord to be with me now while I address myself to another subject, one that has been going through my mind this afternoon. I need your prayers and want you to think these few remarks through with me.
The subject to which I refer is the atonement of the Savior, and surely there could be no more appropriate theme upon which this meeting could close. The atonement of the Master is the central point of world history. Without it, the whole purpose for the creation of earth and our living upon it would fail.
From the scriptures, we learn that from the very beginning of the world there has been among the Lord's people those who have understood the gospel, a ceremony pointing to the atonement of the Redeemer. When Adam and Eve were driven from the Garden of Eden the Lord told them to build an altar and offer sacrifice. This they did, and they did it without knowing the reason therefore. I wish every one of Adam's posterity had the faith of their first earthly father, the faith to do what the Lord tells him to do without first having to have an explanation as to why he should do it. But to continue with our theme:
And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me.
And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.
The angel told Adam other things some of them Brother Lee talked about. He told him that in the Meridian of time the Redeemer would come into the world, and that until he should come God's people were to offer blood sacrifices frequently. This they were to do to point their minds forward to the day when the Redeemer would come and be sacrificed for the sins of the whole world. Then the angel taught Adam the gospel and told him to repent and be baptized, as quoted here this afternoon by Brother Lee.
From the days of Adam to the days of Jesus Christ, every people who understood the gospel offered blood sacrifices, using animals or birds without blemish. This they did in contemplation of the great event which was to take place in the Meridian of Time.
When Jesus was about to go through that terrible suffering incident to the atonement, he took his disciples with him to the Passover. As they sat in an upper chamber, Jesus broke bread and blessed it, and gave of it to his Apostles, telling them that this they should do often in remembrance of his body which was soon to be wounded on the cross for them, and for you and for me. Then he took wine, blessed it, and gave of it to them, telling them to do this often in remembrance of his blood which was to be spilled for them.
Jesus then went into the Garden of Gethsemane. There he suffered most. He suffered greatly on the cross, of course, but other men had died by crucifixion; in fact, a man hung on either side of him as he died on the cross. But no man, nor set of men, nor all men put together, ever suffered what the Redeemer suffered in the garden. He went there to pray and suffer. One of the New Testament writers says that it "... was as it were drops of blood falling down to the ground".
In this dispensation the Lord, calling upon the people to repent, tells them that unless they repent they must suffer even as he suffered. He describes suffering in these words:
Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit-and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink-
Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.
Now, my brethren and sisters, I cannot here discuss with you in detail what the atonement of the Savior means to us. But without it, no man or woman would ever be resurrected. From Adam's time to the time of Jesus, men died-millions of them. The hills and vales were full of their remains. But not a single one of them ever came out of the grave as a resurrected person until that glorious morning when Jesus was resurrected. Without his victory over death, they never would have come out of their graves, worlds without end. It took the atonement of Jesus Christ to reunite the bodies and spirits of men in the resurrection. And so all the world, believers and non-believers, are indebted to the Redeemer for their certain resurrection, because the resurrection will be as wide as was the fall, which brought death to every man.
There is another phase of the atonement which makes me love the Savior even more, and fills my soul with gratitude beyond expression. It is that in addition to atoning for Adam's transgression, thereby bringing about the resurrection, the Savior by his suffering paid the debt for my personal sins. He paid the debt for your personal sins and for the personal sins of every living soul that ever dwelt upon the earth or that ever will dwell in mortality upon the earth. But this he did conditionally. The benefits of this suffering for our individual transgressions will not come to us unconditionally in the same sense that the resurrection will come regardless of what we do. If we partake of the blessings of the atonement as far as our individual transgressions are concerned, we must obey the law.
And it is perfectly just that we are required to obey it because through the fall of Adam, man's free agency was preserved. We had nothing to do with death's coming into the world; death came as a consequence of Adam's fall. But we have everything to do with our own acts. When we commit sin, we are estranged from God and rendered unfit to enter into his presence. No unclean thing can enter into his presence. We cannot of ourselves, no matter how we may try, rid ourselves of the stain which is upon us as a result of our own transgressions. That stain must be washed away by the blood of the Redeemer, and he has set up the way by which that stain may be removed. That way is the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel requires us to believe in the Redeemer, accept his atonement, repent of our sins, be baptized by immersion for the remission of our sins, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, and continue faithfully to observe, or do the best we can to observe, the principles of the gospel all the days of our lives.
We have in the Church an ordinance which I have explained. It is the sacrament. The Lord has commanded us to partake of the sacrament regularly. Members of his Church are by him directed to go on the Sabbath day to the sacrament meeting, and there partake of the sacrament. And what are we to do when we partake of the sacrament? We are to think of all these things above mentioned, and many more. If I can remember one of the prayers, I will conclude with it. This is what we go to the sacrament meeting for; this is what we ought to do when we are there. Think about it:
O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it, that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son...
What we ought to do when we partake of the sacrament is think of the Redeemer-of his wounded body as we partake of the bread, and of his spilt blood when we partake of the water.
... and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father...
A witness is a testimony. We ought, silently, to testify to our Father-
... that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them...
And to what end?
... that they may always have his Spirit to be with them.
God help us to renew our covenants every week in this manner, and remember the redemption wrought for us by our great Redeemer, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Alma Sonne
Alma Sonne, Conference Report, October 1953, pp. 33-34
Brethren and sisters, I want to join with President McKay in expressing appreciation for the very fine singing to which we have listened today. I have often thought that we take for granted the singing and the uplift which come to us from our choirs, and yet we know that singing is an essential part of worship and that we can get nearer to God when we hear these songs of Zion than we can in any other way. I wish all of you could have heard the two choirs who rendered the music in the Oahu Stake of Zion a week ago last Sunday-one in the morning and one in the evening service. Everyone present was thrilled as the choirs sang their selections. I have heard choirs sing in all parts of the world, and I am here to testify that our choirs and other musical groups are improving every year, and I sincerely hope that this improvement will continue throughout the Church in the stakes, wards, and missions. For one, I thank the leaders for their devotion and for the effort they put forth to instruct our singers.
I want to say a word about the testimony which comes to each one of us who is active in the Church. A testimony is a precious gift from God. I have often said that the testimony we possess, you and I, is in reality the strength of the Church.
Not very long ago, a man who was investigating the Church and its doctrines came to me with this statement, "I have discovered the genius of Mormonism."
I was interested, of course, and said to him, "What is it, pray?"
He answered, "It is your machinery for doing religious work." Seeing I was not particularly impressed, he turned to me and said, "You don't believe it, do you?"
"No, I don't believe it," I replied, and without further comment he left.
Several weeks passed before the man returned. This time his spirit and attitude were altogether different. Upon entering my office he said, "I have read the Book of Mormon from cover to cover."
"Well, brother, what's the verdict?" I asked.
To my surprise and amazement he replied, "It is true."
"Do you mean to say you believe the Book of Mormon is true?"
"Indeed, I do," he replied, "and I believe Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and I believe you Mormons," as he called us, "have the restored gospel of Jesus Christ."
Of course, I was very happy. But I asked him another question: "Do you still believe that the genius of Mormonism is its superb organization?"
He answered, "No, never. There is something back of that organization or it would not function." He further said, "The thing that is back of it is the individual testimony of all the Mormons."
I am sure he analyzed the situation correctly, for he proceeded to tell me, "If it had not been for the well-founded faith of the Pioneers, they would never have made the trek across the prairies to the Rocky Mountains." He further said, "If it were not for these convictions, your missionary system would collapse, and soon you would have no missionaries to send into the world. Your fiscal system would crumble similarly, for people don't pay tithing unless they have a testimony."
So I believe it is our paramount duty today and always to safeguard our testimonies and to live so that we will never lose them. That may seem like a big order, but I am sure it is God's will. May he help us to appreciate our responsibilities in this respect and may he help us to safeguard our God-given testimonies.
I recall that Jesus, when he talked to Nicodemus, bore his testimony when he said,
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?.
The testimony which Peter gave to the Savior will live as long as men and women believe in God. "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," and the Savior's answer will similarly live "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven". There, my brethren and sisters, you have the very keystone, the source and explanation of the testimonies which are the strength of the Church.
"... I know whom I have believed" said Paul, the Apostle, after a long life of trial and persecution. Paul knew, for he had lived in accordance with the gospel of Jesus Christ. And finally, said Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon,
... 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.
There is no argument against testimonies like these, my brethren and sisters. May we be blessed abundantly in our endeavors to serve the Lord and preserve in our lives the truths of the restored gospel, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report, October 1953, pp. 38-40
My brothers and sisters: This is an humbling experience. I pray the Lord will bless me while I stand before you, and I ask that you be good enough to add your prayers to mine that I may say something that will be useful, upbuilding, and encouraging to all of us.
I am partly in the unfortunate situation that Brother Romney found himself yesterday. Others that have spoken have gone over my ground. However, I am not like him, I have not a good talk in my coat pocket. Brother Lee and Brother Romney went over much of the ground some of which I shall try to cover this morning. I have made my peace with them.
So far as we know, humankind have been afflicted with great crises since the grand council in heaven. We are in the midst of a great crisis now, and curiously, the crisis which we now face has in it and is a part of it, the great elemental principle that was in the first crisis that occurred in the council in heaven-the free agency of man.
I should like to personalize that council a little more than I have usually thought. Two great rival personages were in that conference, one standing with the Father. As the chronology is given in the book, it appears that, first they found space in which to build an earth; then they provided that this earth should be built; that the spirits should come here to prove themselves whether they would obey the commandments of the Lord, and they were told of the rewards that would come to them if they did, and the punishments if they did not.
Then the question arose with the Father, "Whom shall I send?" The plan called for redemption. One stood forth and said, "I will redeem all mankind. Not one soul will be lost. I will surely do it. So send me". That plan, when analyzed, involved, as the Lord has told us time and again, the destruction of our free agency. Just how we were to be redeemed under the plan and yet destroy our free agency we are not told. The proposer of that plan said to our heavenly Father, "Give me thine honor". And our heavenly Father has told us that that meant that he should surrender to the proposer, his power, and he, the Father, become more or less a nonentity, I suppose.
Then the other Personage said, "Send me, and the honor will be thine." The heavenly Father chose the latter, the Only Begotten, who was to be sent to this earth.
Now this first personage, Satan-I can understand that his proposal was based upon the proposition that since the Father was the Father of all his children and loved them, nothing could be more satisfactory to the Father than the promise to redeem them all. It was a subtle approach, and, of course, God saw it. Satan was "cast down", and with him went one-third of the hosts of heaven. He declared by his rebellion eternal enmity toward the plan that was adopted, and from that time until now, constantly sought to build the empire, the kingdom for which he planned, by leading us astray. He has never relented for a moment. Having our agency, he was to lead us to do evil.
He first struck at Adam and Eve in the garden and secured from them disobedience. There is much in the scripture that indicates that mere obedience, per se, irrespective of what the obedience involved, is a great virtue in itself. Obedience in spiritual matters requires that on occasion it shall be blind obedience because the Lord cannot explain to us all the things that he asks us to do. We could not understand.
You know, Satan won with Eve, but Eve, when she understood, gave a great hymn of praise that she had fallen because now they would have seed, and could not have had seed had the fall not taken place.
Adam and Eve were thrust out of the garden of Eden; they became mortal, subject to temporal death, but the Lord then said, and did as he said, that he would give to Adam the gospel plan by which the spirits that were to come here could live and gain the reward which he had promised. That gospel plan he gave, and when he gave it, he said it would never be taken away until the end of the world. It is my faith that the gospel plan has always been here, that his priesthood has always been the earth, and that it will continue be so until the end comes.; as to Moses, Elias, Elijah; as to the Apostle John; and as to the Three Nephites. See Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Smith, pp. 180-181.)
When Adam began to rear a family, Satan struck again. This time he divided the family. Part of them became worldly and wicked, and that wickedness increased. Part of them were righteous. Brother Lee, yesterday traced down the dispensations. There is no need of my retracing their course. These dispensations were, each of them, a crisis. The dispensation in which Enoch lived afforded Enoch a chance to demonstrate that he could do what no other leader of a dispensation has ever done-prepare a people to be taken into the presence of our heavenly Father. That was the greatest achievement of any leader of any dispensation.
Before the Meridian of Time and the birth of the Messiah, mankind looked forward thereto. Before that, all of the rituals pertaining to the gospel looked to the Messiah, to his birth, as Brother Romney told us. Since that time, we honor him, and our ritual, the sacrament, relates back to that time. We make covenants when we partake of the sacrament. But also, and ever since that time, we have been told that there would be a Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. And as Brother Lee pointed out, we now are in that dispensation, we are in the dispensation which is to prepare for the Second Coming, toward which all true Christians look.
The particular thing that I wish to say today is this: Being in that last dispensation, representing our heavenly Father therein, we have great responsibilities. If the world is to be prepared for the Second Coming, we must do it. No one else has the knowledge. No one else has the authority. The responsibility is ours. The last dispensation has welded together all of the doctrines and principles of the gospel that were advanced in former dispensations. We have the priesthood bestowed by heavenly hands. We have the restoration of the keys, conferred in the Kirtland Temple when Moses and Elias and Elijah came. We have all of the authority, all of the principles that are necessary for the great work of preparation; and ours, I repeat, is the sole responsibility to go forward and see that our mission is carried out.
We must live righteously. We must keep the commandments of the Lord. We must do his work. He has told us what we are to do, and if we are to gain the salvation which we hope and expect to gain and meet our responsibilities, we must obey what he has told us to do.
My brothers and sisters, if we think of this carefully, I am sure we cannot approach our work in the Church with lightmindedness. I am sure we shall have to be a prayerful people. I am sure we shall have to live in accordance with the commandments which he has given. I am sure we must use our utmost endeavors to build up the kingdom of God here on earth.
I hope, my brothers and sisters, that we shall not be remiss in anything that pertains to ourselves or to our activities in the Church.
I add again my testimony, which I have borne time and again, that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that he came to earth, lived, moved among men, carried on his mission, that in due time and in accordance with the plan, he was crucified, and lay in the tomb, and rose on the third morning. I testify that Joseph was the Prophet through whom the Lord re-established his Church here on earth, so ushering in this last Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, for the carrying forward of which and the perfecting of which we are responsible, that the priesthood came, that the gospel was fully restored.
I testify that those who followed the Prophet succeeded to his powers, to his rights and prerogatives and that has come down through to our present President, President David Oman McKay. I testify that if we will follow the advice and the counsel of those who are placed over us, we shall carry forward the work which we are obliged to do-I say obliged, because we are.
May the Lord bless each and every one of us and help us to do our part, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder Milton R. Hunter
Milton R. Hunter, Conference Report, October 1953, pp. 46-49
My brethren and sisters: Today, with the help of the Lord, I would like to reason directly with members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, because they have taken upon themselves the name of Christ and have entered into a covenant to keep all of his commandments. According to the word of the Lord, they belong to "... the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth". This Church has within it the power of the priesthood with all the ordinances of the gospel and doctrines necessary to bring its members back into the presence of God and give them exaltation. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are heirs not only to the celestial glory but also to exaltation or eternal life in that glory; and that heirship shall be obtained if they keep all the commandments given by Jesus Christ to members of his kingdom. Thus, the words of Paul apply very aptly to the Latter-day Saints:
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.
Certainly all the things that this world could offer would not be comparable if attained to the receiving of eternal life which God promises to members of his kingdom; for he has declared that "... eternal life... is the greatest of all the gifts of God".
On a certain occasion, the Savior said:
For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?".
In answering those questions for the members of the Church, I would say there is nothing that this world offers which would be equal to the eternal exaltation which God promises those who love him; nor is there anything in this world which we would give for our souls.
Yet I do recognize the fact, also, that there are many temptations in mortality which we have, and some of the Latter-day Saints, as a result of these temptations, fall into sin and thereby exchange their souls for the things of this world; for example, the desire to attain wealth, position, or power, accompanied by greed, selfishness, covetousness, and other earthly contaminations, cause some Latter-day Saints to lose their souls. The Savior has warned against covetousness; he said:
Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
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.
And, we could say, so shall it be with the Saints in our day who love gold more than they love God.
We are all very familiar with the incident recorded in the New Testament wherein the rich young ruler came to the Master and asked what he must do to gain eternal life. After the Savior had listed many of the commandments to him, the young ruler said, "All these things have I kept from my youth up." And then the Savior, knowing of his weakness, said, "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me". And the rich young man went away sorrowing, because he had much goods. He was not willing to exchange his earthly goods for his eternal soul; neither was he willing to follow the Savior's admonition wherein he said:
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal:
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
I do not believe that the Savior objects to Latter-day Saints becoming wealthy, if they use that wealth as they should. God wants his children to have the good things of the world, if we use that wealth to pay our tithing, and fast offerings, to send out missionaries, to build church houses, and to help build up the kingdom of God here upon this earth in every way; but he warned against the evil effects that wealth might have on members of his Church. Those who use their wealth for the building of the kingdom of God are following the Savior's admonition to
... seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Throughout various dispensations of the gospel, the Lord has placed it upon those who have wealth to "remember the poor." In the latter days he gave definite commandments to members of the Church of Jesus Christ in this respect; and he gave these commandments in strong terminology. Let me quote from the Doctrine and Covenants:
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!.
On another occasion, the Savior revealed in modern days:
Therefore, if any man shall take of the abundance which I have made, and impart not his portion, according to the law of my gospel, unto the poor and the needy, he shall, with the wicked, lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment.
Now, what is meant by the law of his gospel? The law of his gospel, in this respect, no doubt, is fast offerings the Church, welfare contributions, probably tithing, and the other contributions that God has provided in his Church to take care of the needy and the poor, and to build up his kingdom here upon this earth. No Latter-day Saint who refuses to contribute his share in carrying forward the work of the Lord will be found guiltless at the judgment day.
Now, what shall the Latter-day Saint give in exchange for his soul? The Lord has given to us the Sabbath day law. In latter days he commanded:
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.
And yet on the Sabbath day there are many Latter-day Saints who go to picture shows, who go to ball games, who go car riding, who work on their lots, and in these and numerous other ways contaminate themselves with the sins of the world, and thereby exchange their souls for improper Sabbath day observance and its accompanying vices.
The Lord has given a great law for the physical and spiritual health of his children, known as the Word of Wisdom. Paul, the ancient Apostle, declared:
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.
Thus, as Paul proclaimed, our bodies are temples of God, given to us that we might keep them clean, pure, and uncontaminated in all respects, that some day we might come back with our bodies into the presence of our eternal Maker and have them purified and exalted. So the things that we do that will contaminate our bodies certainly work against the saving of our souls. Would any women who belong to the true Church be foolish enough to drink tea and thereby contaminate their bodies? Would others among us drink coffee, use liquor or tobacco, and thereby exchange the gratifying of these physical appetites for our eternal souls? Foolish, indeed, would be such people, to say the least.
The Lord also gave the great law of chastity in ancient times, saying, "Thou shalt not commit adultery". Speaking of sex immorality, Alma said to his son:
Know ye not, my son, that these things are an abomination in the sight of the Lord; yea, most abominable above all sins save it be the shedding of innocent blood or denying the Holy Ghost?.
In modern revelation, the Lord has reaffirmed the commandment: "Thou shalt not commit adultery". We read in the Doctrine and Covenants, also:
And verily I say unto you, as I have said before, he that looketh on a woman to lust after her, or if any shall commit adultery in their hearts, they shall not have the Spirit, but shall deny the faith and shall fear.
Wherefore, I, the Lord, have said that the fearful, and the unbelieving, and all liars, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie, and the whoremonger, and the sorcerer, shall have their part in that lake which burneth with fire and brimstone which is the second death.
Verily I say, that they shall not have part in the first resurrection.
With such doctrine revealed by the Lord directly to us, we know, as Latter-day Saints, that if we commit adultery and if we continue to satisfy the lusts of the flesh, so to speak, by living that kind of life, we shall be thrust down to hell. Thus, we thereby sell our souls for the gratification of the lust of the flesh. Let me ask you, is sex immorality worth such an exorbitant price?
The Lord has also given the great law of celestial marriage, which is the crowning gospel principle, giving the promise that those who abide by that law and keep the other commandments shall rise in the resurrection and receive exaltation or eternal life which he declares is the greatest gift that he has in store for man.
Even after receiving such a glorious promise, there are many Latter-day Saints who refuse to abide by the law of celestial marriage, refusing to go to the temple and enter into God's holy covenant. And why do they refuse? For various reasons.
Would there be some members of the Church foolish enough to refuse to go to the temple because they did not want to wear garments for the short space of life in mortality? If there are members of the kingdom of God so unwise, certainly we would say, such a choice would be a very foolish one, indeed. Or would there be some among us who would refuse to pay tithing and fast offerings to the Lord, who would disregard God's law of health by breaking the Word of Wisdom, who would defile their bodies by not observing the law of chastity, or break God's other commandments and thereby cut themselves off from the blessings of the priesthood, from the blessings of the temple, and ultimately from exaltation? The truth remains that there are such unwise people who hold membership in the Church. At the coming of the Lord, if they fail to repent, they shall be counted among the "foolish virgins".
"For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"
Certainly, as Latter-day Saints, we would have no profit if we should gain the whole world and lose our souls. There is nothing that this world can offer that we would exchange for eternal life.
May God bless us as children of the covenant-members of his Church and kingdom-that we will keep the commandments, that we will walk in the pathway that our Savior has pointed out for us to follow back to the presence of our eternal Father, that we may someday attain an eternal and blessed exaltation, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, October 1953, pp. 51-56
My beloved brothers and sisters: My heart is filled with gratitude this morning for this occasion, for you, for the gospel, the Church, the priesthood, my family, and for all the privileges that have come to me.
Recently, as I held a meeting with a group of members of bishoprics, I had occasion to read to them that scripture of Paul's, given to Timothy, in which he said:
A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre....
My mind began to explore and I wondered: "What is filthy lucre?" I read a little farther and found that he said the same of the deacons, that they should not be "greedy of filthy lucre."
I found also that Paul spoke to Titus, his son in the faith:
For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God... not given to filthy lucre.
Peter also gave the same instructions to the elders, making the warning quite universal to the Church:
The elders which are among you I exhort...
Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind.
I wondered about the term. I went to the dictionary to see just what Webster would say, and found that lucre, itself, has a bad connotation, and filthy lucre is worse; and to be "greedy of filthy lucre" is, of course, still worse.
This instruction was given by John, the Revelator, to the Laodicean Saints:
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot; I would thou wert cold or hot.
So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
And I began to think of many of our people whose minds are upon their wealth; who are increased with goods; who though clothed elegantly are naked and not in white raiment; who with eyes wide open see not; who are "greedy for filthy lucre."
Now, all money is not lucre-all money is not filthy. There is clean money-clean money with which to buy food, clothes, shelter, and other necessities and with which to make contributions toward the building of the kingdom of God.
Clean money is that compensation received for a full day's honest work. It is that reasonable pay for faithful service. It is that fair profit from the sale of goods, commodities, or service. It is that income received from transactions where all parties profit.
Filthy lucre is blood money; that which is obtained through theft and robbery. It is that obtained through gambling or the operation of gambling establishments. Filthy lucre is that had through sin or sinful operations and that which comes from the handling of liquor, beer, narcotics and those other many things which are displeasing in the sight of the Lord. Filthy lucre is that money which comes from bribery, and from exploitation.
Compromise money is filthy, graft money is unclean, profits and commissions derived from the sale of worthless stocks are contaminated as is the money derived from other deceptions, excessive charges, oppression to the poor and compensation which is not fully earned. I feel strongly that men who accept wages or salary and do not give commensurate time, energy, devotion, and service are receiving money that is not clean. Certainly those who deal in the forbidden are recipients of filthy lucre.
Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore or the price of a dog, into the house of the Lord thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the Lord thy God.
And Micah lashed at this sin. He said:
... What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria? and what are the high places of Judah? are they not Jerusalem?
Therefore I will make Samaria as an heap of the field, and as plantings of a vineyard:
And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the hires thereof shall be burned with the fire, and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate: for she gathered it of the hire of an harlot and they shall return to the hire of an harlot.
For her wound is incurable....
I am sure that money is unclean when it is obtained through oppression, fraud bribery, or through misrepresentations. You will remember the story of the Prophet Samuel:
... he made his sons judges over Israel.
And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes and perverted judgment.
And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you.
And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day.
Behold, here I am: witness against me before the Lord, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you.
And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of any man's hand.
In Isaiah's day, there were those who accepted gifts as bribes and who brought forth the prophet's comments:
He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;
He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him, his waters shall be sure.
Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:
Which justify the wicked for reward...
Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust....
In Exodus again we read of gifts of bribery:
And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.
In Matthew, the Master denounced unclean gifts which come from impure and unforgiving hearts:
But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
Leave there thy gift before the altar and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
The gift is acceptable when it is made clean and uncontaminated.
Fair dealing in business matters, in selling, in buying, and in general representations is spoken of frequently in the scriptures. The warning to Israel is still applicable in our own day:
And if thou sell ought unto thy neighbour, or buyest ought of thy neighbour's hand, ye shall not oppress one another:
... but thou shalt fear thy God: for I am the Lord your God.
And in the Proverbs we read:
He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.
Much is said about the hirer and the hired in the scriptures, and about the employer and the employee:
Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
... and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts.
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter;
Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!.
Again:
Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates:
At his day thou shalt give him his hire neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it....
And to me that means, woe unto them who will rationalize, who will explain away their errors in these matters, who justify their oppressions. Farm hands, domestic help, and unprotected people are often oppressed, when economic circumstances place them in the position where they must accept what is offered or remain unemployed. And we sometimes justify ourselves in underpaying and even boast about it:
Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practice it, because it is in the power of their hand.
And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.
And then there are those of us who require excessive compensation for services and who fail to give "value received" and who give no loyalty with their insufficient and inefficient service.
Scripture writers admonish the employed to obey masters, to please their employers, to work with singleness of heart, to be honest in time spent and service rendered and to avoid purloining.
The Lord knows that we need food, clothes, shelter, and other things. He expects us to earn our living. He commands us to give the necessities to our families. He permits, perhaps, that we may have reasonable luxuries, but not with unclean money.
The Savior said,
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
And as we look about, we see many who are greedy for excessive wealth, and especially that which comes with sharp practices and at the expense of strict honesty and complete integrity. It is hard to satisfy us. The more we have, the more we want.
Paul seemed to understand human nature and fully endorsed the statement of the Master: "... a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven". He says:
For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
"Having food and raiment let us be therewith content." Why another farm, another herd of sheep, another bunch of cattle, another ranch? Why another hotel, another cafe, another store, another shop? Why another plant, another office, another service, another business? Why another of anything if one has that already which provides the necessities and reasonable luxuries? Why continue to expand and increase holdings, especially when those increased responsibilities draw one's interests away from proper family and spiritual commitments, and from those things to which the Lord would have us give precedence in our lives? Why must we always be expanding to the point where our interests are divided and our attentions and thoughts are upon the things of the world? Certainly when one's temporal possessions become great, it is very difficult for one to give proper attention to the spiritual things.
Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich.
And then this from Proverbs struck me:
A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.
And I wonder if many of us are not hasting to be rich. Are we making compromises in order to accumulate? I wonder if money earned upon the Sabbath, when it is unnecessary Sabbath earning, might not also be unclean money. I realize that some people must work on the Sabbath; and when they do, if they are compelled, that is, of course, a different situation. But men and women who will deliberately use the Sabbath day to develop business propositions, to increase their holdings, to increase their income, I fear for them. I think the Lord was speaking to them when he said: "Woe unto them that call evil good... ". Sometimes we salve our consciences by saying that the more we get the more we can give to the worthy causes, but that, of course, is a subterfuge. There are people who work on the Sabbath not through compulsion but because the income is attractive, and others who work voluntarily to get the "time and a half" that Sabbath work gives them.
In a stake recently I interviewed a man for an important position in the stake reorganization. And I said to him, "What is your occupation?" And he said, "I operate a service station." And I asked, "Do you operate on the Sabbath?" His answer was, "No, I do not." "Well, how can you get along? Most service station operators seem to think they must open on the Sabbath." "I get along well," he said. "The Lord is good to me." "Do you not have stiff competition?" I asked. "Yes, indeed," he replied. "Across the street is a man who keeps open all day Sunday." "And you never open?" I asked. "No, sir," he said, "and I am grateful, and the Lord is kind, and I have sufficient for my needs."
I was in another stake, also in a reorganization program and another brother was considered for one of the highest positions; and when we asked him of his occupation, he said he was a grocer by trade. "Well, most of the stores keep open on the Sabbath. Do you?" "We lock our store on Sunday," he said. "But how can you compete with these people who are open seven days a week?" "We compete. At least we get along very well," was his reply. "But would not the Sabbath be your biggest day?" "Yes," he answered, "we would probably sell twice as much on the Sabbath as we would on an average day, but we get along without it, and the Lord has been kind; he has been gracious; he has been good." "What do you sell in this store?" I asked him. He said, "Groceries and miscellaneous merchandise." "Your competitors sell other things including forbidden things, do they not?" I asked. "Yes, but we have felt it was not right," he said. "We lose trade, of course. People leave our store and go to the other store and buy many dollars' worth of groceries where they can get a few cans of beer or some wine, but we do not sell it." And I could not refrain from saying, "God bless you, my faithful brother. The Lord will not be unmindful of these seeming sacrifices. Your dollars are clean. They will surely not hinder you in finding your way into the kingdom of God."
The Savior knew that the ox gets in the mire on the Sabbath, but he knew also that no ox deliberately goes into the mire every week.
In my extensive travels I find many faithful people who forego the Sabbath day profits and those which come from the handling of the forbidden things. I have found cattle communities where the stockmen never carry on their roundup on the Sabbath; fruit stands along the roadside which are open night and day, but which close on Sunday even in the short fruit season; drugstores and confectionery businesses which earn their money on the six weekdays; eating houses and wayside stands, closed on the Lord's day. And there are many other people who might rationalize and justify themselves in Sunday profit taking but who take satisfaction and joy in refraining. And every time I see good folk who are willing to forego these profits, I rejoice and feel within my heart to bless them for their steadfastness, their courage, and their faith.
There are many other ways, of course in which money can be tainted. I pray that we will keep our money clean. And I pray the Lord that he will bless his children that they will have the faith to live his commandments, sacrifice though there may seem to be. I know that God will make it up to them. I know that men will never suffer, ultimately, for any seeming financial sacrifices that might be made, for he has commanded us to live his laws and then has challenged us:
... 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 may God bless all of us that we will live close to his teachings and thereby merit the blessings which he has promised to us, I pray, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, October 1953, pp. 57-60
If I may have the guidance of the Spirit of the Lord, I wish to speak of our Redeemer as our Advocate and our Mediator. I think that quite generally we do not understand his mission as fully in this regard as it is possible for us to do.
In the sixth chapter of Exodus there is a statement which is a mistranslation which I will read to you:
"And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord:
"And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them".
Now, the Hebrew scriptures inform us that he referred to himself and is referred to throughout the Old Testament as Jehovah, so this cannot be a correct translation. It should read:
"And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord:
"And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob. I am the Lord God Almighty, the Lord JEHOVAH, and was not my name known among them?"
That changes the whole meaning of it.
Now an advocate is one who defends or pleads for or in behalf of another. A mediator is one who reconciles or brings about agreement between parties. I want to read one or two passages of scripture on this point.
"Lift up your hearts and be glad, for I am in your midst, and am your advocate with the Father; and it is his good will to give you the kingdom".
"Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him-
"Saying: Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did not sin in whom thou wast well pleased; behold the blood of thy Son which was shed, the blood of him whom thou gavest that thyself might be glorified".
"Behold, and hearken, O ye elders of my church, saith the Lord your God even Jesus Christ, your advocate, who knoweth the weakness of man and how to succor them who are tempted".
"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".
"These are they who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, who wrought out this perfect atonement through the shedding of his own blood".
"The power and authority of the higher, or Melchizedek Priesthood, is to hold the keys of all the spiritual blessings of the Church,
"To have the privilege of receiving the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, to have the heavens opened unto them to commune with the general assembly and church of the Firstborn, and to enjoy the communion and presence of God the Father, and Jesus the mediator of the new covenant".
This from the First Epistle of John Verse 1, Chapter 2: "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous".
Paul wrote to Timothy as follows: "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
"Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time".
When Adam was in the Garden of Eden he was in the presence of God, our Father. He learned his language. The first part of Genesis dealing with the creation and with Adam in the Garden of Eden is when the Father was present with him.
After he was driven out of the Garden of Eden the scene changed. Adam was banished because of his transgression from the presence of the Father. The scriptures say he became spiritually dead-that is, he was shut out from the presence of God.
From that time on Jesus Christ comes on the scene as our advocate, pleading for us as our mediator through his ministry and labors to reconcile us, to bring us into agreement with God, his Father.
That is part of his great mission. He stands between the Father and man. He pleads our cause. You know when he was upon the earth he prayed frequently, and he prayed for his disciples, pleading with his Father in their behalf, and he has been pleading ever since, and he stands between us and God, our Father.
I would like to call your attention to one little thing in the first vision of the Prophet Joseph Smith. It is very significant, and Joseph Smith did not know it. If he had been perpetrating a fraud, he would not have thought of it. You will recall in your reading that the Father and the Son appeared, and the Father introduced the Son and told the Prophet to hear the Son.
Now suppose the Prophet had come back from the woods and had said the Father and the Son appeared to him, and the Father had said, "Joseph, what do you want?" and when he asked the question and told him what he wanted, the Father had answered him; then we would know that the story of the Prophet could not be true.
All revelation comes through Jesus Christ. I have not time to go into the scriptures and give you references for that, but that is the fact. He it was who led Israel, and if I do not procrastinate upon the time, I will take the rest of it to read to you the statement from President George Q. Cannon, bearing on this point.
"There is in modern Christendom a strong tendency to ascribe to the Father visits and communications with mankind that were really made by the Lord Jesus. There is even a respectable percentage of the members of his Church, established in these days, who have the idea that it was the Father and not the Son who appeared to the patriarchs and prophets of old, who delivered Israel from Egypt, who gave the law on Sinai, and who was the guide and inspirer of the ancient seers. This was not the understanding of the true servants of God either before or after his coming. Those who preceded the advent of the Messiah understood that he whom they worshiped as Jehovah should in due time tabernacle in the flesh, and the writings of Justin Martyr and other of the early fathers show that this was the belief of the early Christian Church on the eastern continent. The writings of the Hebrew prophets, as we have them in the Bible, are perhaps not as plain on this point as are those of the Nephite seers that are revealed to us in the Book of Mormon. But we have in this latter record some quotations from the earlier Hebrew prophets that make this point very clear. Nephi writes,
"`And the God of our fathers, who were led out of Egypt, out of bondage, and also were preserved in the wilderness by him, yea, the God of Abraham and of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, yieldeth himself, according to the words of the angel, as a man, into the hands of wicked men, to be lifted up, according to the words of Zenock, and to be crucified, according to the words of Neum, and to be buried in a sepulchre according to the words of Zenos'.
"Here we have the testimony of Zenock, Neum, and Zenos that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was by wicked men to be lifted up, crucified and afterwards buried in a sepulchre, showing that these ancient worthies understood that it was the God of Israel who should come to his own. Nephi who himself was a Hebrew and the son of a prophet of that same race, also testifies in the above passage that it was the same God of their fathers who led them out of Egypt and preserved them in the wilderness. About four hundred years later another Nephite seer, King Benjamin, testifies that an angel came to him and made this glorious promise:
"`For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men, working mighty miracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner of diseases'.
A little further on he says:
"`And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary.
"`And lo, he cometh unto his own, that salvation might come unto the children of men even through faith on his name; and even after all this they shall consider him a man and say that he hath a devil, and shall scourge him and shall crucify him'.
"But we have the word of the Savior himself on this point that puts controversy to an end. When, after his resurrection and ascension into heaven he first appeared to his Nephite disciples on this land, he declared, `Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world.
"`... I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world'. Later during his ministry among the Nephites he affirms: `Behold, I say unto you that the law is fulfilled that was given unto Moses.
"`Behold, I am he that gave the law, and I am he who covenanted with my people Israel; therefore, the law in me is fulfilled'.
"Should any still have a lingering doubt that the Jehovah who revealed himself to Abraham, to Moses and to others was any other than he whom we know in the flesh as Jesus Christ, that doubt is set at rest by the revelations given in these days. In the vision seen by the Prophet Joseph Smith and by Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple, 3rd of April, 1836, the following appears:
"`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'.
"Somewhat curiously an ancient Syriac manuscript has within the last few months been unearthed that is known as the gospel of the Twelve Apostles. Whether the Twelve Apostles had anything to do with writing it has nothing to do with the point under consideration. The writing was originally in Hebrew, and what we wish to draw attention to is that whenever the manuscript was first written, the writers of the original believed that Jesus was he who spake with the ancient Israelites. It commences:
"`The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, according as it was said by the Holy Spirit, I send an angel before his face who shall prepare his way.
"`It came to pass in the 309th year of Alexander, the son of Philip the Macedonian, in the reign of Tiberius Caesar in the government of Herod, the ruler of the Jews, that the Angel Gabriel, the chief of the angels, by command of God went down to Nazareth to a virgin called Miriam, of the tribe of Judah the son of Israel, and he appeared to her and said, "Lo! there ariseth from thee the one who spake with our fathers, and he shall be a Savior to Israel; and they who do not confess him shall perish, for his authority is in the lofty heights, and his kingdom does not pass away."'"
The Lord bless you all I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Levi Edgar Young
Levi Edgar Young, Conference Report, October 1953, pp. 63-66
My brethren and sisters: I should like to express my appreciation for this excellent choir that has been rendering the music of today. The singers are Germans, and we are all interested in the German people. They have made a contribution to this sacred religious movement that we represent. I believe with all my heart that the German nation will come back and establish again the civilization and culture that it once had. They are a great people.
A few days ago, two meetings of all the General Authorities of the Church were held. The first one was in the temple at Logan, and a few days later the second meeting was held in our temple here in Salt Lake City. In thinking of them I realize more and more that to love and know God is the highest blessedness of mankind. Temples built by the Latter-day Saints are houses of prayer, of fasting, and of faith, houses of glory and order, houses of God. You recall the words as found in the dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple which were given by the Prophet Joseph Smith:
... 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;
Have mercy, O Lord, upon all the nations of the earth; have mercy upon the rulers of our land; may those principles which were so honorably and nobly defended, namely, the Constitution of our land, by our fathers, be established forever.
I wonder sometimes if in reading our sacred books we enter into the thoughts of the prophets of God, and into their hearts. Have we as religious and moral men sought to attain the perfect life by contemplation and work? So much might be said about our meetings in the temples. We all felt the goodness and beauty of human life. We felt as we have never felt before the hunger and labor, love and death, faith and work which operated to produce these sacred buildings.
When we think of the Constitution of our land, we recall many historical statements that are sacred and true. First, the words of the French writer, Michelet. He had written about the terrible days of the French Revolution when he writes these words:
The world is waiting for a faith, to march forward again to breathe and to live. But never can faith have a beginning in deceit, cunning, or treaties of falsehood.
It is interesting to note that according to Washington Irving, Columbus when he set foot on the island of San Salvador, uttered the following prayer, which has been translated from the Latin:
O God, our Father, eternal and omnipotent, Creator of heaven and earth and sea, we glorify Thy holy name, praise Thy majesty, whom we serve in all humility, we give unto Thy holy protection this new part of the world.
Then we have the prayer of Pastor Robinson as he blessed the Pilgrim fathers when they left in the Mayflower for the New World.
Brethren, we are now quickly to part from one another, and whether I may ever live to see your face on earth anymore, the God of Heaven only knows; but whether the Lord hath appointed that or not, I charge you before God and His blessed angels, that you follow me no farther than you have seen me follow the Lord Jesus Christ. If God reveal anything to you, by any other instrument of His, be as ready to receive it, as ever you were to receive truth, by my ministry; for I am fully persuaded, I am very confident that the Lord has more truth yet to break forth out of His holy word. For my part, I cannot sufficiently bewail the condition of the reformed churches, who are come to a period in religion, and will go at present no further than the instruments of their reformation. The Lutherans cannot be drawn to go beyond what Luther saw; whatever part of his will our good God has revealed to Calvin, they will rather die than embrace it and the Calvinists, you see, stick fast where they were left by that great man of God, who yet saw not all things. This is a misery much to be lamented; for though they were burning a shining light in their times, yet they penetrated not into the whole counsel of God; but were they now living, would be as willing to embrace further light as that which they at first received. I beseech you to remember it as an article in your church Covenant. "That you be ready to receive whatever truth shall be made known to you from the written word of God." But I must herewithal exhort you to take heed what you receive as truth. Examine it, consider it, and compare it with other scriptures of truth, before you receive it; for it is not possible that the Christian world should come so lately out of thick anti-Christian darkness and that perfection of knowledge should break forth at once.
To be called to the field as a missionary is an honor and a recognition of a person's real worth. It is a call to labor with undying zeal to awaken within men a faith in the living God and to turn to him with a repentant heart. No one can deny the force the beauty of the passion for extending one's own belief and hopes to others "for imparting to them the comfort of one's own salvation." What splendor of life is that of Paul the Apostle, who no sooner was his own life made over, no sooner had the faith and the hope of a new life taken possession of him, than he was overcome with the desire to disseminate this possession to all the world and to make Jew and Gentile alike see and glory in the light and splendor of the Christian truth. In our day, since the restoration of the gospel, we know the hundreds, yea, thousands who have gone into the remote parts of the world to preach the gospel and to turn men's thoughts to their God. This was even true long before there were railroads or quick and safe means of travel by sea. Missionaries left home and friends to go to far-off China and India, and the South Seas, to say nothing of Europe and South America. They faced hardships in strange lands, and often misery for the sake of communicating the Gospel message. Many have given their lives as they bore testimony of the restored word of God. The splendor of their spirits and the grandeur of their achievements are known. The stories of their experiences and accomplishments will someday become the most beautiful epics of the Latter-day Saints, epics that will thrill the world with their truth and beauty. Let me here relate a story of the long ago:
In the summer of 1857, my father, Seymour B. Young, Phillip Margetts, and David Wilcken were called to England on a mission; They were all of the same age, nineteen years. Constructing a handcart, they made ready to leave. Their first objective was Council Bluffs, just across the Missouri River from Omaha. From there they would take the train for New York, where they could embark on a sailing vessel for England. One night, while they were sitting around a wood fire on the Platte River, singing songs, and talking about the "folks at home," Brother Margetts began to recite some of the fine lines from the plays of Shakespeare, among which were the words of Macbeth:
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow Creeps in this petty pace from day to day To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more.
"We sat deep in thought," said my father, "for we had been listening to a sage of history, a man who knew Shakespeare. We slept under the stars that night, as we did for over three months. Every night we studied the words of Holy Writ, every day as we pulled the handcart over the trail and through the rivers, our hearts were swallowed up in a kind of glow of God's love coming down as a constant stream of light."
They were missionaries of the Lord.
In the days of Queen Elizabeth of England, there were many able seamen who manned the large navy which brought England to the height of her power on the seas. Among the noted commanders of the fleet was Sir Francis Drake, who sailed up the Pacific Coast as far as the present state of Washington, and then went on around the world. He was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the earth. Standing on the deck of his ship one day, Drake said to his men:
Men pass away, but people abide. See that ye hold fast the heritage we leave you, yea, and teach your children its value, that never in the coming centuries, their hearts may fail them, or their hands grow weak. Hereto, we have been too much afraid. Henceforth, we will fear only God.
In this troubled world we need more and more the principle of unity amid all the marring elements of human life. We must in our work have a definite purpose, and before that purpose can be well established in our hearts, we must see it related to the very purposes of God. Every quorum should have an ideal which is well defined and which invites the greatest effort on the part of every member to help realize that ideal. The ideal is to bring about a brotherhood within the quorum, a brotherhood so lasting that nothing can break it. Certainly no outside power can. This brotherhood will be expressed in their thoughts and interest in one another. The members touch one another by doing good, by kindness, by philanthropy-something more than the mere clasp of hands and interchange of idle words. It is the delight of diffusing something of the spirit of gentility and graciousness. In all such expressions of good-will and respect, the grace of the act depends as much on the manner of it, as on the act itself.
One of the essential things with Jesus Christ was the training of his disciples to have faith in God. "... ye believe in God, believe also in me". His disciples went into the world to preach the gospel. I have given you an example of missionary zeal. And now one of ancient times: Paul, the Apostle, had become one of the disciples of the Lord. He went about preaching the gospel "with inspired eloquence and logic." He went to Athens. They took him to the Areopagus, saying: "... thou bringest certain strange things to our ears". You read Paul's discourse for yourselves. "It is the shortest important speech ever made, excepting only Lincoln's undying Gettysburg speech address. In less than one hundred and fifty words he put the argument for and assertion of the living God of salvation and the resurrection of the dead. In doing this he even included a quotation from the Greek poets." He had planted the seed. He had aroused interest.
As missionaries, we should find the good in people. We should judge all people not by their mistakes but by the abundance of their powers. Our work as teachers is based on love, and if we have the love of our listeners, we must see to it that their merits are understood, rather than their faults found out.
Let us keep in mind the beautiful words of the Chinese Confucius, ages before Christ:
Those who know the truth are not equal to those who love it; and they who love it are not equal to those who live it.
I pray that we may all come to a deeper understanding of the gospel, that we may live as God would have us live. Amen.
Elder John Longden
John Longden, Conference Report, October 1953, pp. 66-69
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
In the opening remarks of our dear President McKay at the beginning of this conference he stated that he hoped our souls might be uplifted and inspired. I am sure you can bear witness with me that our heavenly Father has literally blessed us, and our souls have been uplifted because we have been inspired by the word of the Lord.
I have noted without exception that each who has occupied this position regardless of his calling in the Church, regardless of his standing in the community or the nation, before taking these responsible Church positions, has invoked the blessings of our heavenly Father upon him that he might be able to speak under the inspiration of the Spirit. I realize as I stand before you this afternoon that I must depend upon the inspiration of my heavenly Father through his Son, Jesus Christ, for, to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ can be done not by the wisdom of men, but only by the power of God.
Much has been said here today and yesterday in these conference sessions regarding the missionary program of the Church. I would feel most ungrateful if I did not take just a moment to pay tribute to a great missionary who is absent from us today, but who was with us here six months ago occupying a seat on the row that I am privileged to occupy-Elder Stayner Richards.
He in very deed typified the true missionary spirit of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and I feel sure that he has touched the hearts of thousands in the British Isles or wherever he has labored to spread truth and righteousness, exercising his energy and talent in building up the kingdom of God.
So, I pay tribute to his memory today. It was my privilege to labor with him for about fourteen years in the Highland Stake, the stake in which I now reside.
Going back a few years, a prophet of God, Brigham Young, declared:
... there is neither man or woman in this Church who is not on a mission. That mission will last as long as they live, and it is to do good, to promote righteousness, to teach the principles of truth, and to prevail upon themselves and everybody around them to live those principles that they may obtain eternal life.
That is the true missionary spirit. That was the word of a prophet of God many years ago. The same teaching goes forth from this pulpit today: that each individual who has membership in this, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is on a mission, and that mission is to teach first, by example, and second, by precept, the truths of this gospel, which is the gospel of salvation and exaltation into the presence of our heavenly Father and his Son, Jesus Christ.
I thrill as I have the privilege of touring missions and visiting in the stakes and mingling with the stake missionary groups to catch the spirit of those who are specifically called to do missionary work.
As I toured the Western Canadian Mission just a few months ago, I heard many heartwarming missionary stories. One thrilling story I should like to share with you. I would like to take you with me for a moment or two to a concentration camp in France, in which are incarcerated two German prisoners, young men who never had become acquainted with each other until they were in this camp.
One of them was utilizing his time to study the word of the Lord that he might hold fast to the testimony which he had. This attracted the attention of the other German prisoner, who asked what he was so interested in. The reply came that he was reading The Voice of Warning. I am sure that rings a familiar note to many missionaries assembled today and who might be listening on television and the radio.
So, a gospel conversation ensued. Then this young man became interested and many conversations thereafter followed. The war was over. They were released. The one returned to his locality in Germany, where he further investigated this thing he had heard in a French concentration camp. Then he applied for baptism. He was baptized, and after a few months was called by President Wunderlich to go on a mission for the Church. The young convert said, "I have only twelve marks," but President Wunderlich, because he had the priesthood of God, because he could speak with that power and authority which comes to those who are truly called to serve the Lord, made a promise to that young man if he would accept the call and respond to it that the Lord would provide a way.
So the young man, in blind faith believing, as we have heard from this pulpit today, accepted the call and filled his mission. It was my privilege to interview him while he was doing stake missionary work in the city of Edmonton, Canada. He had migrated from Germany and is now living in Canada.
We all have a zone of influence, my brothers and sisters. I should like to ask the question here today, "When did you last have a gospel conversation with someone who does not claim membership in the Church?"
Well, you do not have to answer it, only in your own minds. I humbly pray that the Spirit of the Lord will take hold of us, that we will exercise our rightful influence to teach the principles of salvation and exaltation to our heavenly Father's children.
I thrill as I see someone here in the audience today who is not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. After having filled a mission in the Southern States for this great Church before the turn of the century, he decided he wanted to follow further his education in electrical engineering, so he selected that great University of Cornell. One Sunday each student was to have the opportunity and privilege of filing past the rostrum and shaking hands with the first president of Cornell, Andrew White, introducing himself and making known where he was from. When it came this young man's turn, he said "Thomas E. Yates from Scipio, Utah." Immediately Andrew White said, "Are you a Mormon?"
Brother Yates did not flinch because he was not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He said, "Yes, sir, I am."
Then Andrew White asked for an interview the following Sunday. Brother Yates said that week seemed mighty long because he realized the persecution that had been sustained by the missionaries, even while he was in the Southern States.
But the time passed, and he was ushered into the study of Andrew White. There it was revealed to him just why he had been invited for this interview.
Andrew White told him, on one occasion while he was a special representative to the Russian government he had become very friendly with Count Leo Tolstoi, the great Russian philanthropist and writer. On one occasion as he called at the home of Tolstoi he was told by the servant that Tolstoi was out in the fields plowing, and if he wanted to see him he would have to go there which he did.
As he met Tolstoi there was the usual friendly salutation, and then Tolstoi said, "If you want to converse with me, you will have to come along while I finish my plowing."
This he did, and they conversed about many things. After a discussion on religion Tolstoi said to Andrew White, "But what about your American religion?"
Andrew White said, "We do not have a state church in America. People are allowed to worship God according to the dictates of their own conscience."
Tolstoi said, "I know all that. I know that the Catholic Church originated in Rome. I know that the Lutheran Church originated in Germany, that the Episcopal Church originated in England, but I want to know something about your American religion, commonly called the Mormon Church."
Andrew White said, "I'll have to admit that I know very little about the Mormon people, other than that they are a superstitious people and that they are peculiar."
Then Tolstoi decided he would give Andrew White, great as he was, a rebuke, and so as not to lose the significance of this rebuke, I should like to read it to you.
"Then Count Leo Tolstoi, in his honest and stern but lovable manner rebuked the ambassador: `Dr. White, I am greatly surprised and disappointed that a man of your great learning and position should be so ignorant on this important subject. The Mormon people teach the American religion: their principles teach the people not only of heaven and its attendant glories, but how to live so that their social and economic relations with each other are placed on a sound basis. If the people follow the teachings of this Church-nothing can stop their progress-it will be limitless.
"`There have been great movements started in the past, but they have died or been modified before they reached maturity. If Mormonism is able to endure, unmodified, until it reaches the third and fourth generations, it is destined to become the greatest power the world has ever known.'"
I believe that, as I stand before you today and testify that this thing called Mormonism has continued down through the stream of time for 123 years, unchanged, unmodified, and that it is the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Yes, blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, and brothers and sisters, I believe that men are thirsting and hungering for righteousness in the world today.
It is our great responsibility, as has been outlined here, to be the humble servants in the hands of the Lord in carrying this glorious message to those individuals.
May God bless us with this vision, and the spirit of missionary work, as I bear witness that these things are true in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Delbert L. Stapley
Delbert L. Stapley, Conference Report, October 1953, pp. 69-72
In all humility, my brothers and sisters, I approach this solemn and sacred responsibility this afternoon. I feel my dependence upon the Lord for his blessings and strength as I speak to you.
When a scientist makes a great discovery, it is not long before some other scientist makes the same discovery. The Lord has released that knowledge in the earth. It is not confined to one or two but to all who search for it. As the brethren of the General Authorities seek the Spirit for inspiration in the preparation of conference talks, and drawing from the same Spirit, there is a constant theme through the talks of each, for the Spirit has influenced them in that direction.
Recently in the solemn assembly held in the Logan Temple, President David O. McKay said, "The Lord is impressing his servants to extend and intensify the work of his Church."
Stake presidents and bishops, presidents of priesthood quorums, presidents and superintendents of auxiliaries know this statement to be true. There has been increased activity among the Aaronic Priesthood, the senior members of that priesthood, the girls' program, the Relief Society as it works with inactive women, the missionary program now at home as well as abroad, the great welfare program of the Church, and many other activities designed to build faith and testimonies in the hearts of Latter-day Saints.
The tempo and the good feeling of this upsurge in activity and devotion must inspire and find expression in the lives of all Church members, not just alone in its leaders. As leaders it seems to me necessary that we let information go on down to the rank and file of our Church membership in order that they might have and enjoy the same counsel and direction that we receive. Where this condition is true, and our people understand, it wipes out any prejudice, resentment, or rebellion that might be in their hearts, and also they will support and work diligently for the accomplishment of the Lord's great purposes in the earth.
The Lord has not chosen us to fail in this work of his kingdom, but to succeed. We have no reason to fail. This is the Lord's work. He is inspiring and revealing unto those who have been properly called his mind and his will. This guiding force is present in the affairs of his kingdom today. Without this holy influence we would be groping in spiritual darkness.
In all ages of the world, the divinely appointed servants of God have entreated the people to love the Lord and to keep his commandments. Today is no exception in that respect. We are called to be a light to the world. The Lord has appointed us to be that light because we have the truth of the gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
The Savior said, "... A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid". Nor can we be hid from the world here in the tops of the mountains, for our works and our deeds go out from this place.
Even from the beginning the Lord has said that the way is straight and narrow that leadeth unto life. To the Prophet in our day those words have been repeated, and someone has wisely quipped, "The reason the way is so straight and narrow is because there are so few who enter that way." Should more enter, by yielding obedience to the laws and the commandments of the gospel plan, then it would become wider, and I am sure God would be happier as a result of it.
Praise has been given in this conference to the First Presidency. With all my heart I support the sentiments expressed by the brethren. It is a great privilege and joy to be associated with the Presidency, to sit in their councils, and to receive their instructions. A wish of President McKay's is almost a command to us who are associated with him.
Keeping in mind the great spiritual strength of these brethren of the First Presidency, I would like to say to you, my brothers and sisters, that in President McKay we have a great and inspired leader. He sets a terrific pace at his age, that some of us younger men find difficult to follow. His hours are long. He comes early to the office. He goes late. He responds to the wish and the will of the people, doing all things, even beyond his physical strength to do, to bless the people of the Church. He sets a marvelous example of devotion, love, faith, and good will.
In these days of turmoil and distress, as God's chosen servant, under the inspiration of his divine calling, he is pointing the way, it seems to me, with clarity and understanding to the people of the Church.
I bear witness to you, my brothers and sisters, that God sustains him, and no one else in the world today but him, because he has the holy calling of prophet, seer, and revelator, representing the Lord upon the earth in our time. He only has the right to revelation for the people of the Church, and if all people would understand that they would not be tossed about by those who would seek to divert their minds from the Church and its glorious principles, and I am sure they would be more happy and contented than they now are.
It is a great and inspiring moment in our council to hear President McKay say, "Brethren, the Lord has spoken. His will has been done." It is a great moment, a thrilling moment, and you have the sure feeling that what he has said or designated is true, and of God.
Now, President McKay does not require any defense. I do not need to say these words in defense of him. His life, his works, his faith, his love and devotion are unquestioned and exemplary, not only to the people of this Church but also to all the world, but if the people of the Church understand the calling and position of the chosen and anointed prophet of God, they will be fortified against false teachers and anti-Christs, and we do have them among us.
When the brethren of Nephi did not understand the vision of their father Lehi, they came to Nephi, their younger brother, for an explanation of that vision. He asked of them, as I would ask of you,
Have ye inquired of the Lord?
They said unto Nephi,
We have not for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us.
Now my brothers and sisters, if there are any doubts in your hearts about your leaders or this Church being true, again I would ask of you, "Have ye inquired of the Lord?" I am sure if you ask sincerely and with real intent that the Lord will manifest the truth of it unto you. There will no longer be any doubt, for God can bear you that witness through the Holy Ghost, which power all of us should seek.
Many of the signs spoken of by the prophets to precede the second coming of Christ are now being fulfilled before us. They are easily recognizable, and they remind us of the parable of the ten virgins, the five who were wise, and the five who were foolish. Those who were foolish were not prepared when the bridegroom came, and as they went out to prepare themselves, the doors were closed against them, and they could not gain admittance.
You and I need to be prepared. We know not the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man shall come. That day we must be prepared for.
Alma, as he wrote to the people of Gideon, complimenting them for their faithfulness said of the Savior,
And he doth not dwell in unholy temples; neither can filthiness or anything which is unclean be received into the kingdom of God; therefore I say unto you the time shall come, yea, and it shall be at the last day, that he who is filthy shall remain in his filthiness.
Brothers and sisters, worthiness is becoming to the Saints of the living God. The Lord in the Doctrine and Covenants counseled, through the Prophet, the people of his Church to "practice virtue and holiness before me" . If they would do so, walking in all worthiness before the Lord, there would come great strength and power to his work among the children of men.
For baptism, we expect every convert to repent truly and forsake all his sins before we approve receiving him into the Church of Jesus Christ. When we invite people into the Church, we must be sure our lives are worthy to make attractive our invitation. I know there are those desiring to come into the Church who look at Church members and wonder why they fail to keep the commandments when they themselves are required to do so before the sacred ordinance of baptism can be performed. It is an individual responsibility. Surely God will hold accountable those who violate the sacred ordinances and covenants of his kingdom. He requires of all who come into his Church to repent of all their sins.
I am wondering, my brothers and sisters, if we should not approach every sacred ordinance or rite of the gospel with complete worthiness. I also wonder if some of the mistakes people make are not because through inactivity or unworthily participating in sacred and holy ordinances, they do not renew nor keep their covenants, obligations, and testimonies in force.
We must always see and understand the great spiritual forces that underlie the mechanics of all gospel ordinances. The outward appearance of these ordinances is but a symbol of their eternal significance. This we should always realize, and again we must always keep in force our covenants and obligations with our God. That opportunity is afforded us as we attend the sacrament meetings and partake of the holy sacrament.
It has been said, that a sacrament is a sacred, binding oath of allegiance to obey one's leader and not desert his standard. We find that true in the sacrament of the Lord's supper. The Lord said to the Nephites on this continent emphasizing the sacredness of this holy ordinance,
... ye shall not suffer anyone knowingly to partake of my flesh and blood unworthily, when ye shall minister it.
He goes on to say the unworthy shall be forbidden to partake, otherwise they shall eat and drink damnation to their souls. The Lord has said to us in our day, "... if any have trespassed, let him not partake until he makes reconciliation".
The Apostle Paul said to the Corinthian Saints:
Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
Now, my brothers and sisters, what is true of worthiness in partaking of the sacrament, it seems to me, applies to all the sacred ordinances of the gospel plan, and the other sacred privileges available to us in this great Church of ours.
It applies to advancement in the priesthood, for the receiving of our patriarchal blessings, attendance in holy temples for our sacred endowments and sealings. The great challenge to the Latter-day Saints is to live faithfully, to be worthy, to live exemplary lives, and thus obtain the blessings of God, that they might accomplish the great destiny of this Church and enjoy, as President McKay said yesterday "spiritual companionship with our eternal Father."
Brigham Young said, "The man or woman who lives worthily is now in a state of salvation." The greatest wealth that can be given us, any of us, is eternal life in the presence of God, our Father. There are no riches in all the world that compare to the riches of eternity that God has placed in the way of us all.
There are certain conditions; there are certain laws; there are certain standards and ideals; but if these are observed, they will lead to a state of glory and exaltation. May God help us to be faithful and worthy in all things, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Mark E. Petersen
Mark E. Petersen, Conference Report, October 1953, pp. 74-77
Brethren: My heart surely echoes that beautiful song which has just been rendered "I Need Thee Every Hour." It was the favorite song of our recent President of the Council of the Twelve, President George F. Richards. It was also a favorite of our beloved Albert E. Bowen who is no longer with us. It brought many memories to me as I listened to this wonderful chorus sing that song. I have long since learned that without the help of the Lord I can do nothing, and I earnestly pray that he will be with me here tonight.
I would like to read to you two parables, one from the 15th chapter of Luke, and the other from the 101st section of the Doctrine and Covenants.
And he spake this parable unto them, saying,
What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
I read this to you to remind you of the fact that the Savior expects that we will participate in a rescue operation, if I may use that expression, a work whereby we will seek after those of our members who have slipped away from us, and bring them back to the fold.
Then he also instituted a work of prevention, and I would like to read to you the beautiful parable that illustrates that great work whereby we are expected to take preventive measures to keep the enemy from invading our ranks.
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 nobleman 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.
So you see, the Lord did institute a work of prevention. He provided that we build fortifications to keep the enemy from within our ranks and to take preventive measures to save our own. You notice, also, how disturbed the Lord was when some of the servants in the vineyard began to say that the work was not necessary.
... 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 always when the servants in the vineyard begin to say that the commandments of the Lord of the vineyard are unnecessary, that there is no need for these things, then they become slothful and they hearken not unto the commandments of the Lord, their God.
Now, I would like to tell you a parable.
The Lord of the vineyard appointed a great nobleman to supervise all the work in the vineyard. The nobleman was very pleased with the work of the vineyard, but he noticed that although there were many, many people in the vineyard who were busy and doing as they should and keeping the commandments, some were slipping away. A work of prevention was necessary. Especially was the nobleman concerned about the young people in the vineyard, so he called upon certain of the servants of the vineyard, telling them to set up an Aaronic Priesthood program whereby the boys of teen-age could be labored with in a protective way to keep them from transgression and to prevent the destroyer from invading their ranks.
Much good was accomplished. But in certain parts of the vineyard there were those who began to say, "What need hath my lord of this program? This is a time of peace. Might not this time be spent in other ways? There is no need of these things." The result was that they became slothful and some of the boys in their charge, not being cared for by the servants in the vineyard, slipped away.
And then the nobleman saw that a labor should be taken up with the girls in the vineyard, and so he assigned a work to the young women of the Mutual Improvement Association to labor among the young ladies of the vineyard and requested that a member of the bishopric in each part of the vineyard should labor with the officers of the young Women's Mutual Improvement Association. Much good was accomplished and the nobleman was pleased. But he also saw, however, that as was the case with the boys, so with the girls, there were some in certain parts of the vineyard who began to say, "What need hath my lord of this program?" And as they did so, some of the girls slipped away, and the destroyer led them down to destruction.
And then the nobleman saw that some of the young women from rural areas were beginning to move into the cities, and as they came, some of them were led astray by evil people. So the nobleman in his great wisdom spoke to the servants in the vineyard and invited them to cooperate in a program whereby the Church officers within the cities could help these girls, providing, of course, the names and addresses of these girls were given to them. So the nobleman requested that the bishops and the other servants in the various rural areas of the vineyard, should send in to one of the other servants in the vineyard, Brother Spencer W. Kimball the names and addresses of the girls who were moving into the city to get away from home for one reason or another, to try their wings. When their permanent addresses were established, Brother Kimball, as one of the servants in the vineyard, could send them to the bishops within the cities who would bring these young ladies into wholesome environment, rather than to allow them to slip away.
There was a girl named Mary, who decided she would like to go to the city. She talked it over with her mother and father. The father told Mary that the bishop in their part of the vineyard had announced in the ward meeting that if any girls were planning on going to the city, the bishop would like to have a consultation with them. So the father and the mother and the young lady all went over to the home of the bishop in this part of the vineyard, and discussed their plans. The bishop arranged with them that when Mary's permanent address was obtained, he would notify Brother Kimball so that Brother Kimball in turn could notify the city officers of the Church who would be willing to co-operate with this young lady.
The father and the mother, however, wanted to go further. They were nervous about their girl. This would be the first time away from home for her. So mother and dad decided that they would go into the city with Mary and help her to find a suitable place in which to live. And after a day's searching they did find a lovely Latter-day Saint home in which Mary could enjoy the proper kind of environment. The father went home, but the mother decided she would stay on a few more days. Where would Mary go to work? The mother was going to help Mary find a job and be sure that Mary found work in an environment which would be wholesome, and so she stayed on until the proper kind of job was found.
Then she decided to stay on until Sunday. Having learned from the landlady where the meetinghouse was, Mary and her mother went over to the meetinghouse on Sunday and there looked up the bishop of the ward and introduced themselves. The mother explained that Mary was going to be in the ward, now that she was coming to the city to work and she was living with such and such a family, and would appreciate it if the bishop would arrange to provide the proper help for Mary in getting acquainted in the ward so that she could have wholesome friends.
The mother then went home. Shortly afterward the bishop in the home ward sent the word to Brother Kimball and Brother Kimball confirmed the arrangements with this city bishop and Mary got along beautifully. She had good friends, safe environment, and remained active in the Church.
Then there was a girl named Jane. Jane's parents were not quite as careful as were the parents of Mary, and they allowed her to come to the city all by herself. But they did arrange for her to go directly to the Beehive House where enquiry was made as to a place in which Jane could live. For a short time she stayed at the Beehive House and the bishop of the home ward got in touch with Brother Kimball's office and Brother Kimball got in touch with both the girl and the bishop of the ward and satisfactory arrangements were made for her. So when she began her stay in Salt Lake City she found the right kind of friends, and the right kind of environment, and all went well with her.
But then there was a girl named Helen. Helen was eighteen. She, too, wanted to leave the little country home and come in to the big city, as she spoke of it. She did not get along too well with her parents. There had been some difficulties and she wanted, for one thing, to get away from home restraints. The bishop in that part of the vineyard knew about the situation, but he was one of those who said, "What need hath my lord of this program? Isn't Helen old enough to take care of herself? And if she wants to go into the city, that is her business. Why should I be bothering with her affairs? What need hath my lord of this program?"
And so, without either the cooperation of the bishop of that part of the vineyard or her parents, Helen came into the city, all by herself. She got off the bus, checked her suitcase, and wandered around town that evening for a few hours. Then she found a rooming house where she inquired about a place to stay. They were willing to take her in. She went back to the bus station and got her suitcase, and came over to the rooming house to stay.
Then she had to find a job. She was not skilled in anything but decided that at least she could wait on tables. The next day she began looking for a job as a waitress in a restaurant. She got a job, and was quite thrilled with it. One of the other girls waiting on tables there seemed to attract her and they became good friends. Within a matter of a week this other waitress had invited Helen to come and live with her in her apartment. Helen, thinking that it was wonderful to have a friend like that, for she was lonesome, went over to stay with her new friend. This girl had a number of boyfriends. Some of them were not so young but were rather mature men. The two girls went out with them to have a good time, as they thought. Once in a while liquor was served. Cigarettes were passed around. Helen started going out on her own too, and the other girl went out on her own.
It was not so very long until Helen found out she was going to have a baby. She came to her friend, the other waitress, in a panic, and asked her what in the world she could do. This other girl ridiculed her for allowing herself to get in that condition. But she did direct her to a doctor who performed illegal operations. The operation was performed, but this doctor was not clean. Infection set in. High fever caused Helen to toss about on her bed. The only care she had now was this other waitress, and a good part of the time she was left alone. She became worse and worse and when she seemed to be in desperate condition, the waitress friend got frightened and sent to Helen's home, and told her father and mother they had better come and get her and take her home.
They came and when they found out what the condition was they were terribly distressed. Why should this have happened to their daughter? They rushed her to a hospital where expert care was given to her. Her life was saved. After she had been in the hospital for quite a while, they took her home to the little country town from which she had come.
She now was very much disillusioned. Her life seemed shattered. Her passing through all this was so unnecessary. But some servant in the vineyard had said, "What need hath my lord of this program? There is no need. Isn't Helen old enough to take care of herself? If she moves to the city, that is her business. Why should I bother about her? What need hath my lord of this program?"
And because one of the servants in the vineyard was so slothful and so disinterested in this program of prevention, he had thrust upon him a work of rescue that was far more difficult than the prevention ever would have been.
But this servant in the vineyard, now repented. He began to do the work assigned to him, and the nobleman was pleased. One day the Lord said to him and to all other faithful servants in the vineyard, "This shall be my seal and blessing upon you, a faithful and wise steward in the midst of mine house, a ruler in my kingdom".
May we have the wisdom, to accept the Lord's program as it is given to us. May we be willing to undertake this work of prevention in saving our girls and our boys from the onslaught of the destroyer. May we be willing to be awake to our responsibilities. May we be willing to follow the leadership of the great nobleman who stands at the head of the vineyard, I pray, in Jesus' name. Amen.
Elder LeGrand Richards
LeGrand Richards, Conference Report, October 1953, pp. 78-83
Brethren: I feel honored to have the privilege of meeting with you here tonight. I have enjoyed the proceedings of this conference a very great deal. I feel that the Lord has been near to us, and if we return to our fields of labor and observe the counsel and the advice that has been given, it will prove to be a great uplift to the Church.
I earnestly pray that I might enjoy the spirit of the Lord during the few moments that I stand before you. It has been suggested that I say a few words on the missionary work of the Church. Those of you who have attended the sessions of this conference will know that a number of the brethren have already spoken on this important subject. I cannot think of anything I would rather talk about. I love the missionary work. I have had the privilege of filling four missions for the Church, and I just would not want to raise a boy and not have him enjoy that opportunity, even though he might have to serve his country.
I wonder if we really appreciate the great importance of the missionary system of the Church. I have often said that to me it is the greatest organization or institution in the world-without it the kingdom could not be built. I was thinking about it this morning, and I wondered what the Savior would say if he were here tonight and talking to this body of Priesthood, the instruments in his hands for carrying on his work in the earth.
We might ask him his opinion as to the importance of the work, something like this: "Master, is it because you thought the missionary work was so very, very important that you started out the first few verses of your introduction to the revelations contained in the Doctrine and Covenants with a message on the missionary work?" I preface what I want to say by reading those few verses:
"Hearken, O ye people of my church, saith the voice of him who dwells on high, and whose eyes are upon all men; yea, verily I say: Hearken ye people from afar; and ye that are upon the islands of the sea, listen together.
"For verily the voice of the Lord is unto all men, and there is none to escape; and there is no eye that shall not see, neither ear that shall not hear, neither heart that shall not be penetrated"...
"And 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".
That is the beginning of the introduction to the Lord's revelations to guide his church and kingdom in this dispensation as he spake these words unto the Prophet Joseph Smith.
And then we might say, "Master when you bade your apostles farewell following your resurrection, was the importance of this missionary work indicated in your last command to them `Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature... and these signs shall follow them that believe... and, lo, I am with you alway even unto the end of the world'".
I would like to bear my testimony to you tonight, that my experience has taught me that the Christ has never rescinded that promise. Wherever the missionaries go, bearing his holy Priesthood, bearing witness of the truth, the Lord goes with them. He goes with them and fills their hearts to overflowing.
I have had many a letter from missionaries while president of a mission indicating that. I have an excerpt from a letter from a widow in the mission field in which she said that five souls were about to be brought into the Church and the very thought of it filled her heart with such joy that she felt like it would burst, and then she added, "such happiness I have never known in my life."
Is it because the Lord promised that he would be with them unto the end of the world, and we are approaching the end of the world, that a missionary can make a statement like one that I heard in Oregon a few weeks ago by a missionary who had just returned from his mission? He came down with his fist on the pulpit and said, "Brothers and sisters, I would not take a check for a million dollars today, for the experience of my mission."
Is it because the Lord is keeping his promise, "And, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world," that when we meet for hours and hours, six and eight hours at a time, in the mission field with a missionary group bearing their testimonies and reporting their work, that there is often not a dry eye there? Is it because the Savior has made good his promise that he is with them? After all, he creates the feelings of the human breast, and as I have often said, he is the best paymaster in all the world. His servants are better paid, without their salaries, than others who are paid large salaries for preaching.
I heard President Grant say in Europe, when he was president of the European Mission, that notwithstanding the years he had served as an apostle in the Church, the greatest joy he had ever had in his ministry was in the mission field. And after we had met in a Priesthood meeting at Rotterdam for a whole day, because he brought a hundred missionaries with him out of England, and each one had had an opportunity to speak, and there had not been a dry eye there, he turned to us missionaries and said, "Now, brethren, today we have feasted on the fat things of the spirit of the Lord. Now go out," he said, "and give it away, give it to the people, the more you give away, the more you will have left." Is it not wonderful? I have been in missionary meetings where I felt like I was lifted up into another world, and that should I open my eyes I could see the angels of heaven there. That, to me, is an evidence of how the Lord values this work.
When he stood upon the Mount of Olives and told his disciples that the temple should be broken down and not one stone should be left upon another, they enquired of him saying, "Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" He told them of the coming of wars and rumors of wars and tempests and earthquakes and so forth, and then he said, "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come".
And how shall it be preached? Paul said that "faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God." And how shall they hear except it be preached unto them, and how shall it be preached, except they be sent. So, if the Master is to come and claim his kingdom, the Gospel must be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations.
Is it because this missionary work is so important in his mind that when He said to one, "Follow me, But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father," Jesus, as if he would say to the Priesthood of his Church, that they should not find excuses not to preach the kingdom, said, "Let the dead bury their dead, but go thou and preach the kingdom of God." And then "another also said, Lord I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell which are at home at my house, and Jesus said unto him, No man having put his hand to the plough and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God".
And then he sent the Seventy out. Is it because the work is so important that he said unto them: "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest".
And, brethren, in this dispensation, when men were first converted to the Church they went to the Prophet Joseph to find out through him from the Lord what thing they should do that would be the most pleasing unto the Lord and almost invariably the answer came back from the Lord through the Prophet of this dispensation, that they should thrust in their sickles and reap because the harvest was white already to be garnered, and then he added, and if it so be that ye shall labor all your days and bring save one soul unto me, how great shall be your reward in the kingdom of my Father.
I have thought of that promise and have reached the conclusion that I would not exchange the friendships that have been mine with those whom I have had the privilege of bringing into this Church, with the help of the Lord, as one of his missionaries, for all the wealth of this world. When the Lord said, "If you bring save one soul unto me how great shall be your joy," I never realized just what that meant until I had a letter from a man from Phoenix while I was president of the Southern States Mission, in which he indicated that his father was one of the first converts out of the State of Mississippi back in 1840, and said "Since that time my father's own descendants have given 100 years of missionary service to this Church," and there were 15 then in the mission-field, and we had three of them. I told that story here in the Barratt Hall at a Missionary Conference in 1940, just 100 years after that man had been gathered into the fold by the efforts of a missionary, and this good brother happened to be present, and at the close of the meeting he came up and said "Brother Richards, it is now 160 years." When you get to adding 15 or 20 years, a year, it soon runs into figures.
Think of the young missionary who might have traveled through the swamps of Mississippi in those early days, when many of the missionaries contracted the malaria fever, and if he only brought, say, this one soul into the Church, he might have felt that his labors had been in vain. But in 100 years time there are 160 years of missionary service from the descendants of that one man, alone not counting all the converts they had made, and their converts, and their converts, until you would have, literally an empire of people who had joined the Church because this missionary brought this one man into the Church.
Is it because of the importance of this great missionary work that when the Savior asked the twelve Nephite disciples what thing they desired at his hands, all but three expressed the desire that they might live to the allotted age of man, and then come unto him in his kingdom, but three of them hesitated, and he told them that he perceived that their desire was the same as that of his Apostle John, that they might tarry to bring souls unto him, until he should come in his kingdom and for this desire he commended them.
He indicated that the desire of the nine was good, but the desire of the three was a greater desire, to have in their hearts a desire to bring souls unto him.
Brethren, I feel that every man who bears the priesthood of God should desire to contribute to the missionary work of this Church. I think every father in Israel ought to raise his boys with a desire to be missionaries. When we think of the blessings that we have, the priesthood that we bear, it is worth more than all the wealth and the success of the world. Why should we not want to share with those who know not the truth and make it possible for them to enjoy the glorious blessings that are ours which we enjoy as members of this Church.
I remind you of the story that President Grant used to tell about the good Scandinavian brother who came to Utah. He had not been taught very much about the Gospel, but he loved it. The bishop went to him and taught him the law of tithing, and he paid his tithing; he taught him the fast offering, and he paid his fast offering; and then he went to get a contribution for the erection of a meeting house, and the brother did not know why that could not be taken out of the tithing, but before the bishop got through with him, he paid his contribution for the meeting house; and then the bishop went to him to get his son to go on a mission and the brother said, "That is the straw that breaks the camel's back. He is our only child. We just can't let him go." And then the bishop countered, "Brother so-and-so, whom do you love in this world more than anyone else outside of your immediate family?" And he thought a minute, then he said, "I guess I love that young missionary who came up to the Land of the Midnight Sun and taught me the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ." And then the bishop countered, "How would you like someone to love your boy just like you love that boy?" "Yes," he said "Bishop, you win again. Take him."
When I went on my first mission, President Anthon H. Lund told us missionaries that the people over there would love us. "Now don't get lifted up in the pride of your hearts," he said, "and think that they love you because you are better than others, they will love you because of your calling, and the Spirit of the Lord that rests upon you." I did not know just what Brother Lund meant by that, but when I went to leave Holland to return home, I shed a lot more tears than I did when I left my loved ones to go to Holland. I went to one home; and a man old enough to be my father, in the government service all of his life, with a long beard, knelt down on the ground and took my hand in his and hugged it and kissed it and bathed it with his tears, and then I knew what Brother Lund meant, and then I went into another home where the woman said, with the tears rolling down her cheeks, "Brother Richards, it was hard to see my daughter leave for Zion a few weeks ago, but it is much harder to see you go." And then I realized what Brother Lund really meant, that they should love us because of the Spirit that we take with us into the world.
I feel that every father in Israel ought to want to see his boy go on a mission, and if he has not been himself, I think he ought to want to go, or else help with the stake missionary work. I think we all ought to want to have to our credit, when a count is finally taken, that we have done something in the great missionary cause of this Church.
President McKay threw out a challenge to us in the temple at Logan the other day, that each one of us ought to try and bring one soul into the Church during the next year. If every member of this Church would try and do that just think what a harvest there would be, and when you stop to think about it, here in this stake missionary work, we have all of our buildings to offer to our friends, we have a great program. I think now of a man who came into my office a few months ago. He was here from Michigan with his family, and he said, "Bishop, how can I get my family into your Church. I have seen so much and heard so much about your activities for youth, and we do not have any," he said, "and I must have my children enjoying these things."
And so, right here in our midst, if we will just carry the message to our neighbors and our friends, many of them will join the Church.
Since the close of the afternoon meeting, I visited with a man for nearly an hour in my office. He lived in one of our towns here in Utah for three years and no one ever offered him the Gospel or told him anything about it or invited him to come to one of our meetings, and then he moved off down to California and years later he got into a good man's office who gave him a book to read and now he is an Elder in this Church.
I do not know whether this story is true or not, but it is a good story, and I like to tell it, and I heard it when I was young. The story is told of an Englishman who bought a farm up here in Davis County, he was not a member of the Church and all around him were Mormons, but, you know when they met this Englishman neighbor they did not want to impose their religion upon him and so they passed the time of day and talked about current events, and finally one of the neighbors was called on a mission to Great Britain, and while he was there, his English friend decided to go back and visit his relatives in England, and while there he picked up a newspaper one evening and read an announcement of a Mormon Conference to be held and everybody invited and no collection-you know how that goes. "Well," he said, to himself, "after living out there among them for all this time, I do not know a thing about what they believe. I guess I had better go and listen to them." So he went, and to his surprise the principal speaker that evening was his neighbor from next door, from over in Davis County, and he had to go all the way back to Great Britain to get that neighbor to tell him of the marvelous work and a wonder the Lord had set his hand to do in our day.
I met a Stake Mission President in one of our stakes outside of Utah, and learned that he was a convert to the Church; that he had lived in Salt Lake City for twelve years, but he had never attended one of our meetings, nor did he join the Church until he moved away, and the missionaries contacted him. I said, "Why didn't you join when you were in Salt Lake?" He said, "No one ever invited me."
Brethren, I hope that right here at home we will do some good missionary work. You bishops, don't be too stingy in giving these mission presidents the help they need, where you have nonmembers living within the confines of your stake. Some of these stakes are going to be comparable to our foreign missions through the missionary work that is being done and the spirit of missionary work that is coming into the Church.
It is a great loss to a man to miss the experience of a mission. It is a great loss to a home to miss having their boys go on missions. A short time ago one of our mission presidents reported that they had eighteen missionaries come into their mission out of homes where the parents were not active in the Church, but in a short time, in fifteen of those homes the parents had become active, so that the missionary work is not done only with the ones we meet in the mission-field, but in our own homes, in the lives of the missionaries, in the communities in which we reside, the wards and stakes we help to lift the spirituality by the missionary work that is rendered in these wards and in these stakes.
We are also trying to reach out to what we call the minority groups. I like the spirit that Brother Kimball has with these Lamanites. I believe it is because of the importance of this great missionary work that he loves them like he does. I was in a stake president's home not so long ago, and there was a picture of his missionary boy on the piano, and I said, "Where is he laboring?" And the wife said "Down among the Indians." And I hardly dared ask the next question, I was afraid. Finally, I got up courage and said, "How is he enjoying it?" "Oh, Bishop," she said, "He thinks they are wonderful. He is even talking of going back to live there when he gets released from his mission."
I think that is what the Lord meant when he said, "And, lo, I will be with you alway even until the end of the world". He plants that love in their hearts.
I heard a young girl reporting her mission among the Indians just recently and she just wept when she told of the souls of those women among whom she had labored. We might not have thought that they were worth saving. And so we have the Indians and the Mexicans and the Chinese and the Japanese and other races of people here in our midst, and remember the Lord said, "And this Gospel of the Kingdom should be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations".
And when John saw the angel flying in the midst of heaven with the everlasting Gospel, it was to be preached to every nation, every kindred, every tongue, and every people. Does that leave anybody out? If not that is a part of the great missionary responsibility that we bear to the world.
I bear you my testimony that it is one of the sweetest experiences that can come, and I hope that even our boys who have been in the armed forces will not be robbed of the privilege of going on missions. I think the bishops ought to interview them all, and if they are worthy, give them an opportunity and even if they cannot go, they will feel drawn to the Church because they have been invited.
I would like to say in parting to the bishops, do not just sit in your offices and decide that boys cannot afford to go on missions. I will tell you a story that was told to me. A good brother, a friend of mine, who aims to keep a missionary in the field all the time, decided to go to a poor section of the city and see if the bishop would like to furnish him a missionary, so he said, "Do you have a young man that you think would like to go on a mission and you have not called him because you did not think he would have the money?" The bishop said, "We have just such a man as that." My friend said, "Well, you talk to him about it." So the bishop went to him and when he told this young man that he wanted him to go on a mission, the young man's face lighted up and he said, "Bishop, I have the money in the savings bank for my mission. I have been waiting two years for you to tell me you would like me to go on a mission." I wonder how many men in Israel there are who have waited on their bishops and the call never came.
God help us to arise to the importance of this great missionary work, I humbly pray, and leave my love and blessings with you all, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Stephen L Richards
Stephen L Richards, Conference Report, October 1953, pp. 85-87
I believe, my brethren, we have cause for encouragement. Listening to the report of the Church made by President McKay at the opening of the Conference, and the various other items which have been mentioned, I believe that we should feel optimistic about the progress of our work. I do. I think that we are going forward, and I have confidence and faith that we will meet all the problems and situations which arise.
I thank the Lord always for the principle of continuous revelation. I thank him that he has made provision for his Spirit to attend all of those who are called to preside in his work, and I speak not only of the General Authorities, but those who are charged with the responsibility of presidency in the stakes and the wards, in the quorums in the missions, in the temple, and in all of our organizations.
I am a firm believer in improvement. I think improvement is the law of life, and I am grateful that we are not so controlled by practices and conditions of the past that we are not open to the consideration of ways and means to advance the Kingdom of our Father.
I remember hearing a president of one of our stakes illustrate the point. One of the sister workers in an organization of the stake said to him, because he was a pretty hard-driving president, "President, it seems that you are never satisfied." "O, yes I am," he said, "I am always satisfied that you can do better." And so I am persuaded that such new methods as present themselves and come regularly through the proper channels will be conducive to the upbuilding of our Father's work. We have evidences of it. I might submit some of the figures to attest this, but time will not permit tonight. The whole picture looks to me to be one of encouragement, one to give us cause for great gratitude in the assurance that the blessings of the Lord have been upon us.
Now there are opportunities for further perfecting our work, and those opportunities rest in large measure with our presiding brethren. I would like to say just a word to the presidencies of quorums. These quorums of priesthood, as you are all aware, are designated of the Lord. They are substantially the only organizations among us, other than that of the general organization of the Church, which have been specifically mentioned in the revelations. The Lord must have set great store by these marvelous institutions which he created. He knew in the beginning that his priesthood would be the basic foundation of his work. I was thinking tonight if Joseph and those associated with him in the beginning of the work could witness what we see tonight, this great demonstration of power, resident within God's Holy Priesthood, and perhaps they do see it, how gratified they would be.
And here is a great reservoir of power to be utilized for the advancement of our Father's Kingdom. Upon the quorums rests the largest measure of that responsibility. I am persuaded that no other organization can or ought to take their place, because they constitute the Lord's grouping of the manpower of his Church. Upon the presidencies of quorums rests the responsibility of seeing that their quorums function properly.
We used to have years and years ago, when the Priesthood Committee of the Church was first organized; many may remember it; President-McKay will, a very concise and comprehensive definition of a quorum. We used to say it is three things: A class, a fraternity, and a service unit. And so we sought to group around these headings the responsibilities of the men of the quorum. And while there has grown out of the original concept a more elaborate organization, I am persuaded that if we could make our quorums serve the functions indicated by those three things we should accomplish much for the members and for the Church.
I am thoroughly persuaded that we can learn the Gospel in our quorums, and thus comply with the revelation that men are "to learn their duties". When men profess that some of the courses of study are a little intricate and difficult, I think of the days in Kirtland when a few men of meager learning and education had what seems to be the effrontery and boldness to set about to learn Hebrew, and you will recall how in the School of the Prophets, they engaged a Professor Seixas to teach them Hebrew in order that they might the better interpret God's word. We can learn. We can learn by study. We can learn the fundamental things that we need to know as members of God's Holy Priesthood. And we can learn about the apostasy, which is essential for us to understand in order that we comprehend in its fulness the restoration and be fortified to defend the restoration in the latter days.
And I take the liberty of urging you men, through your quorum presidencies, to see to it that your teachers study, that they receive the instruction which is provided for them, and the facilities which have been maintained in order to give them a concept of these great truths and to teach them intelligently to those who come to the classes. The more we make our classes worthwhile to the members, the more readily will they come, and the greater the value they will receive from them.
Now, I don't know that it is possible for any organization to succeed in the Church under the priesthood without adopting the genius of our Church government. What is that? As I conceive it, the genius of our Church government is government through councils. The Council of the Presidency, the Council of the Twelve, the Council of the Stake Presidency, or quorum, if you choose to use that word, the Council of the Bishopric, and the quorum of Council of the Quorum Presidency. I have had enough experience to know the value of councils. Hardly a day passes but that I see the wisdom, God's wisdom, in creating councils: to govern his Kingdom. In the spirit under which we labor, men can get together with seemingly divergent views and far different backgrounds, and under the operation of that spirit, by counseling together, they can arrive at an accord, and that accord, and therefore I say that accord is always right. That accord represents the wisdom of the council, acting under the Spirit.
Now, brethren of priesthood quorum presidencies: You need those councils, and I have no hesitancy in giving you the assurance, if you will confer in council as you are expected to do, God will give you solutions to the problems that confront you with reference to your quorums. And he will enable you to find ways and means of approaching the men whom you would like to reach to bring them into accord with your quorum, and have them enjoy its spirit. I am sure we can go out and get many of these men. My heart is always troubled for the unusually large number of our elders who do not ally themselves with the quorum and secure the spirit and the benefit to be had therefrom. I am not at all persuaded that these are bad men, but I am persuaded that they are negligent often and forgetful and neglectful, and they need your care. And the quorum presidency, no matter how many committees you appoint, the quorum presidency is responsible for every man in the quorum; and I am sure you cannot be relieved of that responsibility, although you will want the help of all those who may come to your assistance.
And I am persuaded too that if you approach many of these men in frankness and true friendship, you will touch their hearts. I have long been persuaded that it is something of a waste of time to go to a man's home who has been neglectful and spend the time in talking about the weather or the crops or politics or something else.
I always admired my dear brother, the President of the Church, George Albert Smith. I have been with him on many occasions. I have seen him meet many old friends, and I frequently have seen him take their hand, and ask the first question, not how are you getting along, which usually means how much money are you making, but "How are you feeling in the Church?" I have seen him ask that of business men. I have been with him on the streets of this city and had him meet a business man and say, "Well, how are you feeling in the Church?" It was a direct approach, and one usually that brought a response that probably made the man search his conscience, and that is what we need to do with these men, to get them to search their own conscience, and make their own decisions to avail themselves of these glorious opportunities that we bring to them.
Now, my brethren, I recognize that I can't deal with many problems tonight. There is one problem that President McKay suggested that I mention to you about the missionaries, and I fully endorse all that has been said about that great work, and that is, brethren, that we still think it wise to use some caution in the general advertising of missionary farewells. I don't need to take the time to tell you the rather strenuous period we have been through in trying to arrange for our missionary program. It has not been easy. Thank the Lord it is now operating in good measure and producing results, but it has not been easy; and for the time being, it is suggested that you follow the directions that were issued sometime ago to avoid newspaper advertising of our missionary farewells. Times may change, and this instruction may change.
I just want to bear my testimony to the divinity of this great power that you and I hold. I know that it is genuine. I know that it is authentic. I have no more question about its authenticity and its derivation than I have of any other fact established by the most concrete evidence we could ask. Sometimes there are those who when I have laid my hands upon their head in ordination have asked me for the derivation of my priesthood. I repeat four steps: I was ordained by President Joseph F. Smith. He was ordained by President Brigham Young. Brigham Young was ordained by the three witnesses, one of whom was Oliver Cowdery, and that ordination was subsequently confirmed by the Prophet. Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith were ordained by angelic ministers from the Lord Jesus Christ himself. We don't have to go into antiquity to establish the authenticity and the genuineness of this power that we hold, and you and I know, that aside from the evidences of its authentic derivation, we know that there is an essence within it which makes it more than a mere name. I have felt it and you have. I know that our Father has given it to his men and boys to establish his work. God help us to use it effectively in the creation of a better world, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, October 1953, pp. 87-90
My dear fellow workers: Just a few words in conclusion. I commend the appeal made by Brother Petersen, and once again ask that the bishops send the names to Elders Spencer Kimball and Mark E. Petersen of those girls and boys who leave their home towns to come to the centers.
The Young Women's Mutual Improvement Association will help you, if you ask them to report to you, they have so written to me within the week. They are prepared to report on every girl in every ward in the Church. The Lord bless them and may he bless you bishops, in this service of saving souls.
EXCURSIONS
One other point-when you have excursions for young people, either to the temple or visiting a city, please see to it that you have registered or chartered busses, unless you come in your private cars. In either case be sure that the boys and girls are properly chaperoned.
ON SOLICITING FUNDS
Wards and branches should not solicit funds or try to raise money for their buildings in other places than under their own jurisdiction. We do not favor bidding on shovels used for breaking ground for church edifices.
HOW TO OBTAIN A TESTIMONY
A few years ago a stranger sat in the gallery opposite this pulpit and listened to the testimony of one of the elders of the Church. He accompanied a man who had been excommunicated from the Church. As they were walking out of the grounds, the stranger said, referring to the testimony of the speaker that day, "Do you know, I would give all I possess if I knew that what that speaker said today is true."
Several of the brethren throughout this conference have emphasized the value of a testimony. Brother Sonne, particularly, laid stress upon the fact that that is the strength of the Church. It is. There is nothing which a man can possess in this world, which will bring more comfort, more hope and faith than a testimony of the existence of a Heavenly Father who loves us, or of the reality of Jesus Christ, his Only Begotten Son, that those two heavenly personages appeared to the Prophet Joseph and established the Church of Jesus Christ, and that men are officially authorized to represent Deity.
Scientists are seeking that knowledge, some of them in vain. One of them recently declared that he had failed to find it, and had lost his faith even in God, and he is recognized as one of the great.
You know, too, you who have read the book "Man Does Not Stand Alone," how impressively that great author leads the world to accept the existence of God's guidance. You who have heard missionaries return and bear witness that they know that this Gospel is true, will remember, probably, when you were boys, that you, too, would have given anything if you could so testify in truth.
We have hundreds, perhaps thousands of young men here with us tonight. They are eagerly longing to have that testimony. Of its value, there is no question. Of its reality, too, there is no question in the minds of you leaders who possess an absolute knowledge of these things.
But as I have listened to the testimonies, I have wondered how many of us are showing the boys how they may know. Are we sufficiently emphasizing the fact that they will never know it if they indulge in sin; they will never find it out if they live to gratify their passions and appetites. "My spirit shall not always strive with man". His spirit will not dwell in unclean tabernacles.. And you cannot have a testimony without the Spirit of God.
Young men, may I just name three steps that will aid you in obtaining this priceless possession, and then you follow them.
On the night of Gethsemane, Jesus offered a great prayer. In the introduction he said this: "Father, thou hast heard me", and he thanked the Lord for it, and then he said: "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent".
That is what a testimony means. To know God, and Jesus Christ, is to have life eternal, the great possession of eternal life.
But the question arises-How may I know? Jesus has answered it, as he has shown the way in every aspect of life. One day, when he bore testimony to his divinity, that his teachings were of God, the Pharisees and others around him said, "How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?" How do we know, that you are divine? And he gave a simple answer: "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself". There is a definite answer-a clear-cut statement, young man. "If ye will do the will, ye shall know." And, "to know God, and Jesus Christ, whom he has sent, is eternal life."
However, there still remains unanswered the question: What is God's will? On one occasion several thousand people asked that question saying "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" It was on the Day of Pentecost, and Peter, who had received a testimony and instructions from the Savior, answered: "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".
Did you note that first sentence, that first condition? Repentance, which is a changing of life. If you have been swearing, stop it. That is what repentance means. If you have been disobeying father or mother, cease your disobedience. If you have been thinking impure thoughts, substitute them with noble ideas. Repentance means ever to change your thoughts and acts for the better.
A lawyer, a Pharisee asked Christ, on one occasion, "Which is the great commandment in the law?". And in answer, most profound, Jesus said, the first fundamental law is 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 the second is like unto it Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself". And the Pharisee admitted that Jesus had spoken wisely.
Analyze that and you will find that it means that instead of centering your thoughts on self, that God becomes the center of your existence; your thought is what you are going to do for him. You will pray to him at night. You will pray to him when you have some heavy task to perform. In your school work, pray. I know, you may not hear his voice always, and you may feel that he did not answer your question in your prayer, but in youth, keep praying, holding to the assurance that God is near you to help you.
Christ has given us "all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature", that is, the Holy Ghost promised by Peter, to live in this world and be a partaker of the divine nature of our Father in Heaven.
I bear witness to you that that is a reality. Young man, never lose sight of it. And then, after Peter bore witness that that is a reality, he said this:
"... add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
"And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
"And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity"-love.
Now note the promise:
"For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ,"-of the things of God.
And to know God is eternal life.
Those are divine steps, that lead back to the presence of God, our Eternal Father.
May the young within the sound of our voices tonight, and all in the Church, follow those steps, and gain, each one the precious gift of a knowledge of the divinity of this work, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Henry D. Moyle
Henry D. Moyle, Conference Report, October 1953, pp. 90-94
Many people of the world today have lost their faith in the living God. Their trust is placed in many different gods, fashioned after the weakness and inclination of men: A god who makes might, right; a god of riches, a god of selfishness and greed; a god of lust; a god whom professional and business men serve, men who worship their profession or business to the exclusion of almost all else in life; a god of sports; a god of industrialism or unionism as the case may be; all in preference to the God of heaven and earth, our eternal Father, who has instilled in the hearts of obedient children throughout the ages, a love of truth and virtue! God has said:
... I will put my laws into their mind and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.
Herbert Spencer has well said, "The choice is not between a personal God and something lower, but between a personal God and something higher."
Isaiah prophesied of such disbelief, as we find in the world today.
The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.
Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.
Through the courtesies and facilities of the Columbia radio network, it is my privilege upon this Church of the Air to represent a people who today profess to worship the God of Israel and lend obedience to his eternal laws.
We believe the Bible to be the word of God. We read in the first chapter of Genesis, 27th verse:
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
This same God of whom we bear witness to the world is the creator of heaven and earth and of all things that in them are, of which man is his crowning glory. God gave man dominion over all things pertaining to this earth.
"The glory of God is intelligence". Man's intelligence is God-given. Man is the offspring of God. The power to think and reason emanates from this same eternal source. Dr. Francis L. Patton, one time president of Princeton University, 1882 to 1902, and president of Princeton Theological Seminary, 1902 to 1913, wrote a book entitled Fundamental Christianity, dedicated to his wife on their sixtieth wedding anniversary. I quote therefrom:
It is true, as has been said, that we need not find fault with Reason since it is all we have wherewith to judge a revelation. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels. Human reason works under the limitations of a finite mind and shares in the defects of a sinful nature. It has often taken the wrong side in debate and has tried to make "the worse appear the better reason." More than once it has been the leader in an insurrection against the government of God. It has often accepted a retainer, prepared the papers and acted as leading counsel in the great case of Man v. his Maker. It has been trammeled by prejudice, blinded by foregone conclusions, and dominated by pride. It has misread the facts, or misapplied the reasoning based upon them. All this goes to show that we need another light than that which reason gives. It can handle categories and make syllogisms, but it cannot make history; cannot survey the whole area of being; cannot speak with authoritative confidence on themes which only revelation can unfold and it transcends its prerogative when it says that a revelation is impossible. It is for reason to take the more modest part of showing us that what we confessedly need has been given us in the religion which came from God. * * * We cannot flee from God's presence. The Psalmist got at the root of all philosophy when he said: "If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me".
All our observations of nature strongly declare the existence of God. Paul, in his epistle to the Hebrews, writes:
... every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.
The prophets of old have recorded their testimony concerning God in Holy Writ. They, in their lives, exemplified an absolute faith in their God. Moses gives us the early account of God's dealings with his children here upon this earth; his personality, his character, his attributes to inspire and direct us in our worship of our Creator in whose image we stand. The Lord spake unto Moses face to face as a man speaketh unto his friend. Adam walked and talked with God. The voice of God was heard from the heavens at the baptism of Jesus Christ. Peter, James, and John heard his voice on the Mount of Transfiguration when he declared: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him". Stephen saw God.
But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God.
Paul was converted by a heavenly manifestation. Finally in the beginning of this dispensation, which the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints proclaims to the world is the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, in which all things heretofore given of God to man will be restored, we have this remarkable testimony given by two of its early founders concerning the Son of God, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
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.
Moses' life was given to receiving the laws of God and proclaiming them to his people, as a prophet of God and leader of men. Many of God's laws binding upon the people of Israel in the days of Moses, have come down to us. They bind our consciences as much today, if not more, than they did that of ancient Israel thousands of years ago. Today, no matter how far we may have departed from the true knowledge and understanding of God, we cannot violate the Ten Commandments of God with complacency and a clear conscience. No one throughout the history of mankind ever permanently profited in their violation, whereas all who have obeyed have been blessed in their obedience. Disobedience thereto has brought sorrow and remorse to the human soul with the resulting loss of all promised blessings.
One prophet of old, Mormon by name, has said:
Therefore ye need not suppose that ye can turn the right hand of the Lord unto the left, that he may not execute judgment unto the fulfilling of the covenant which he hath made unto the house of Israel.
The wisdom of man has never produced a code of conduct to compare with the laws of God. His laws also give us an insight into the personality of God. His nature is the better understood. The Ten Commandments begin as follows:
I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
The Ten Commandments constitute a divine decree of transcendent importance to all mankind. To a believer in God, the very thought of finding fault with his holy judgments is sacrilege. We believe his judgments are binding on us here and now, as well as in all preceding generations, and will be binding upon all future generations
It was Job who proclaimed after he had lost everything but life, and suffered most in body, his absolute reliance upon, and his submission to the decrees of God:
... the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.
Job's faith in God endured. God's existence was real. He was actually Job's heavenly Father, a Personality to whom he could pray, and upon whose justice and mercy he could depend implicitly.
Job comprehended God. He could not deny his existence. To those who denied God, he propounded some questions that have never been answered by the wisdom of men; for example:
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart?.
God's nearness, yes, his presence, was felt by Job when he finally declared:
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.
Though centuries separated them, Job could have declared as well as did the Apostle James:
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
Down through the ages, from Father Adam on, came to man the same knowledge and understanding of God received from God by those who sought wisdom, in keeping with the admonition of James.
Today God has not left us alone, dependent upon the testimonies of ancient prophets. In every dispensation of the gospel upon the earth, from the time when Adam walked and talked with God, to the present, God has revealed himself to man, and through his prophets he has disseminated his law and his gospel to the earth anew that all men might know that he lives, that he is the rewarder of them that diligently seek him. He lives to bless mankind. He has declared from the heavens in these latter days:
For behold, this is my work and my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
The importance of this knowledge is made clear by the prophet Jeremiah:
Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:
But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.
God gave knowledge and understanding to the disciples of Christ which prepared them to suffer persecution and even death rather than deny the divine mission of their Lord and Savior.
... 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.
I know that God lives to enlighten our minds, quicken our understandings, and give to us a knowledge and understanding of God and of his eternal purposes and of the divine mission of his Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ; that he hears and answers our prayers with a filial love for us, his children here upon this earth. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder George Q. Morris
George Q. Morris, Conference Report, October 1953, pp. 104-106
My dear brethren and sisters, I thank the Lord for the privilege of being one with you here this morning, and during this whole glorious conference. I pray earnestly that the Spirit of the Lord may direct all that I shall say.
I have been impressed as I have looked out over this audience and been conscious of the atmosphere of this great Tabernacle and listened to the impressive and inspired testimonies and exhortations that have been given, that this is truly an historic and sacred building. Here for nearly a century the word of God has been preached by the authority of God, proclaiming the last Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. In this remarkable building, so unique in its structure, so simple, with the absence of all the ornamental and gilded appointments of great cathedrals, humble, brave, and devoted men and women have met to worship God. One prominent feature in this building is the great organ, and the choir seats, from which, as the choir occupy them, the glorious music comes, typical of harmony and heaven. The feature perhaps of greatest significance is this stand-this series of pulpits-a token of the priesthood of God, for here is assembled this morning the authoritative presiding servants of God in this last dispensation, men chosen of him, who possess the power and authority to speak in the name of almighty God.
As President Richards was speaking of the world situation and of our relation to it, I could not help feeling, though it may seem presumptuous and some may take offense, that this, nevertheless, is the spiritual capitol of this world. From here God speaks to this world, and his Authorities are officially seated this day in this sacred Tabernacle, and their word is binding on all the world; and they are calling this world to repentance, to accept the gospel of Jesus Christ, the only power in the world that will save it, that will enable men and women to shape acceptable lives before our Father in heaven. Men and women by it are led to love the truth, to love God and to keep his commandments, and by their example and by their word, spread this glorious gospel.
I have before me a very simple statement from the Prophet Moroni, I think a statement of very great significance. He is addressing himself to this generation and all other generations where this idea prevails.
And again I speak unto you who deny the revelations of God, and say that they are done away, that there are no revelations, nor prophecies, nor gifts, nor healing, nor speaking with tongues, and the interpretation of tongues;
Behold I say unto you, he that denieth these things knoweth not the gospel of Christ; yea, he has not read the scriptures; if so, he does not understand them.
That simple statement has tremendous implications.
That's the key to the history of Christendom for seventeen centuries. Following the death of the apostles, religious leaders set up the principle which persists to this day-perhaps to the best of their knowledge and understanding-that revelation had ceased and was finished, and that prophets and apostles were things of the past. And that is in itself definite and conclusive proof that, so far as the world is concerned during seventeen hundred years, such was the case. For when revelation is shut off, and when all the preachers of religion deny its existence, then the Church and kingdom of God is not there, and has not been during this eclipse of seventeen hundred years; and that is the simple reason why men did not know what the gospel was, and why, consequently, when they read the scriptures they could not understand them because they are only understood by the spirit and power by which they were written. The ministrations of the authorized servants of God produce scripture; the scripture cannot produce authorized ministers of God, nor authority to preach, nor are they bringing new revelations to a living Church. That must be done by living oracles. And they were killed off. The world would not accept them. The world would not accept the Lord Jesus Christ himself; he was crucified. And then his Apostles, chosen and sent out to preach the gospel to the world, in the main, met the same fate. Revelation did cease, and the world went into an eclipse, a spiritual eclipse-seventeen hundred years of darkness. Men were left to themselves to do the best they could. But no man knows the gospel of Jesus Christ by his natural wisdom, nor by the wisdom and learning of the world. It must be taught by one sent of God. No man knew how the Church should be set up and organized, how its priesthood should function, nor what priesthood is. There was no priesthood operating for them to see or be instructed by and no organized church for them to see in operation during this seventeen hundred years of darkness and of night. There was, for perhaps a century or so, the afterglow of a sunset as this night set in, a reflection from the ministry of the Savior and his Apostles, but then darkness came. Churches were established by men not called of God ), and doctrines were formulated without authority, and the significant and unhappy thing is that the prevailing doctrines of Christendom today found their origin in this spiritual darkness. Unfortunately, they still persist.
But later on after what historians in general agreement have called the Dark Ages, when these doctrines were being crystallized into creeds and man-made churches were increasing, the dawn began to break. The first rays of light appeared with the development of human freedom and the enlightenment of the human mind in the Renaissance and with the discovery of America-America, the Promised Land-which in the providences of God had been held in reserve, hidden from men, on which it was his declared purpose to set up a free government, so that he might restore again the kingdom of God to the earth. And the sun arose, and the night was past, and this Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was set up in the earth. All this the scriptures had clearly foretold.
Three very important things occurred. I will mention them in just the moment of time remaining. First of all, and most essential, God again revealed himself to man. The Father and the Son stood in the presence of a fourteen-year-old boy and talked with him. He saw these celestial Personages. He heard their heart-penetrating voices. He received their glorious instructions. That swept away all the erroneous ideas, the false teachings and conceptions as to the identity and nature of God, and restored the true and living God to the knowledge of man. The second thing was that new scripture was brought forth. The Book of Mormon was given to the world by the power of God, containing a fulness of the gospel, which explains gospel doctrines and teachings and substantiates the teachings of the Bible and makes possible their correct interpretation. Also through the Prophet Joseph Smith a volume of revelations was brought forth, containing today's instructions of God to his Church. And then, third, was restored the priesthood of God, which exists in his Church in all generations, and is the power of God which administers the gospel and manifests godliness to men in the flesh. Without this priesthood the Church of God does not and cannot exist.
The absence of these three things had brought on the dark ages. They were now restored, and the sun has again risen. The Church and kingdom of God is here. Its sun is in the heavens to be seen by all men who will open their eyes to see its light, and here is its center place in the tops of the Rocky Mountains. May God help us to live its principles and proclaim its doctrines and devote our lives and our means and all that we have and are to the establishment of this cause in the earth for the happiness and the salvation of mankind. I humbly bear witness that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world, and Joseph Smith was his prophet, and through them this Church has come into existence and will continue, and no power can stay it, for by the power of God it will cover the earth, and Jesus Christ will come and reign in the world. May God give us power to be true to this great revelation of truth, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Matthew Cowley
Matthew Cowley, Conference Report, October 1953, pp. 106-109
I trust, my brothers and sisters and friends, that I may be able to round out my thoughts in a fluency of expression that will carry conviction to all of you who are listening. To enable me to do that, I must plead for an interest in your faith and prayers. I believe it was William Jennings Bryan who once said that true eloquence is from the heart to the heart, and not from the mouth to the ear. By that standard of eloquence, if there is any eloquence in what I may say, I assure you that it will be the eloquence of the heart and not the eloquence of the properly chosen phrase or the well modulated voice.
I believe implicitly in the efficacy of prayer. Even as I stand before you I believe in the power of God to instill within my heart those thoughts which may be for your benefit, or for at least the benefit of some of you who may be praying to hear something which you need.
When President Richards was speaking so eloquently, especially about the sanctity of the home and the solidarity of the family, my mind raced back to my early childhood to a home which to me was sacred always, and to a family, the solidarity of which was preserved mostly by the family prayers. I thank God that in my infancy I knelt in a circle, in a humble home, night and morning with my parents, my brothers and sisters, and each in his turn invoked the blessings of God upon the family. I am grateful that I learned to pray in my infancy because I had only passed from infancy when I was called as a missionary to the uttermost bounds of the earth; I had just turned seventeen. I was called to faraway New Zealand, and in that mission I was assigned, without a companion, to one of the most humble places I have ever seen in all my life, one of the most poverty-stricken places, and in that little village, I had to pray. I was there but a few days when a woman came rushing to my room, and I have a picture of that room-no floor, just the ground with a woven mat and a blanket or two. She came rushing to that room and asked me to arise from my bed and hurry to her little hut, and when I arrived there, I found her companion lying on the ground, being consumed by the fire of typhoid fever. All I could do was pray; and I knelt beside that suffering native and I prayed to God, and opened up my heart to him; and I believe the channel was open; and then I placed my hands upon that good brother; and with the authority of the priesthood which I as a young boy held, I blessed him to be restored to health. The next morning the wife came again to my room and said, "If you have anywhere you desire to go, you are now free to go; my husband is up."
I remember that on another occasion I rode horseback all day long and far into the night to arrive at a native village on the seacoast of New Zealand and when I arrived at a bay dividing the place where I had to stop and that little village, I made a fire so that the people across in the village would send a rowboat to get me, and when that boat arrived, I was taken across the bay, and I walked through that village, and in every home there were cases of typhoid fever. But I walked fearlessly, with my head erect, impelled by the priesthood of God which I held, and in each of those homes I left the blessings of heaven, and I laid my hands upon the sick. And then I had to go across the bay again and get on my horse and ride all night long to arrive at another native village where there was sickness.
Brothers and sisters, we are at our greatest, not only in the sight of God, but also in our own sight when we are upon our knees. We have heard tributes paid here to the leaders of this Church, these great men who stand before you every six months and manifest to you their great leadership, but never have they been raised to greater heights of leadership than when I have knelt with them in the temple of God and listened to each one open up his heart and appeal to God for his sustaining influence and power to enable Him to carry on as your servant in His divine ministry. How high, brothers and sisters, these men are raised when they are on their knees in a circle, claiming sanctuary from the outside world in God's holy temple.
President Richards mentioned about servicemen being missionaries. It brought to mind that statement which we have heard, that an army marches upon its stomach. I feel that the day is not far off when our armies will have to arise from their stomachs and march upon their knees. No iron curtain can ever be drawn between heaven and earth when the armies of men will march upon their knees. The great marches of this nation, the great marches of progress in the history of this country have been marches behind the leadership of men who went to their knees. Never was George Washington as great, in all of his majestic power as a soldier, as when he was upon his knees at Valley Forge. Never was the great emancipator so great as when he was driven to his knees before Gettysburg. And the greatness of this nation, my brothers and sisters, has been because men who have been elected to high office in this country have never been too proud to go to their knees and invoke the power of heaven to sustain them in their great jobs and callings of leadership.
A prayer comes to my mind, and no more beautiful prayers were ever uttered than those uttered by our mothers. I recall the prayer of Hannah. You remember Hannah who wanted a child and she went to the sanctuary to pray, but her prayer was not audible. Her lips moved, but she said nothing that could be heard, and Eli thought that she was intoxicated, and he reprimanded her, but then she convinced him that that which she was doing was not because of intoxication, but it was a prayer from her heart to God that she might bear a child. And how earnest she was in that prayer, so earnest, so sincere, that she said, "If God will give me this child, I will lend him to the Lord for this life". How well the mothers know that life is eternal. How well she knew that in lending this child to the Lord for this life, that beyond and down through the ages of eternity, he would be her child, and she would be his mother. The Bible is full of great prayers and the stories of great prayers.
The prophets have all been close to God when they have been upon their knees; and that which they have said in all of their greatness and power as they stood upon their feet was because they first had gone to their knees, and then when they arose, God spoke through them. From Gethsemane to Calvary, Christ was a living prayer. He groaned within himself; he pleaded with his God; he had a wish that the cup might pass from him, but then he uttered those words which should attend every prayer offered up to heaven, "... not my will, but thine, be done". And then on Calvary, as he was hanging upon the cross, he uttered that prayer of prayers, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do".
We have heard the prayer of the Prophet referred to this morning. Here was a young lad who believed in a promise that if any man lacked wisdom and would ask of God, it would be given to him; and in response to that injunction he took himself out into that grove, away from the superficial structures of men, and he didn't stand looking into heaven; he bowed upon the bended knees of his body, and he offered up his prayer to God his Father to bring clearness of vision to his mind to divest from his mind the confusion which existed there pertaining to religion. How can people doubt that God heard that prayer? Anyone who would question that God heard the prayer of that boy must believe that the Father in heaven is cruel and shuts himself away from his children when they seek him. But he did hear that prayer, and as Elder Morris has mentioned, the light burst from heaven; down through that channel of light came the Father and the Son. Young people, if you prayed for your father to come in your hour of need, would he hide from you? Of course not. Neither will our Father who is in heaven hide from us who seek him out.
God grant that we may always have the spirit of prayer in our hearts.
I love to sit among these great men, men who have a profound knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I will never have the knowledge of the principles of the gospel as profound as they have because I can't get myself past the first principles. But I know how to pray and I tell you no man knows himself until he has broken his heart before God on his knees and pleaded for his forgiveness. How I enjoy my friends who belong to Alcoholics Anonymous, men who have descended so low in degeneracy that as one of them has said, they have to look up to see the bottom of the gutter. But then they discover that there is a power beyond that can bring them help. In their meetings they always offer this prayer, "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." But each one testifies that he has opened his heart to God, and that deep down in the recesses of that heart, which has almost been blackened by lives thrown away with reckless abandon, he has found a spark of divinity, and that divine within has reached up for the divine beyond, and then there has come a regeneration of his life, and he is led back to sobriety. But he continues to pray. That he must never cease doing. And I was talking to one of them recently who was a neighbor of mine during my childhood days right over here across the block, and he said to me, "You know, if I hadn't had the fortification of the prayers of my mother when I was a boy in that home, I am sure that even now my own prayers would not be heard. But I was fortified by that mother's prayers, and down through the years as I went astray, I could never divest from my mind the image of my mother upon her knees, with her children, and asking God to bless us. Now I have turned my life back to God," and he said, "I hope to live to see the day when I can be worthy to go where my mother is."
Some people think it is a sign of weakness to get upon one's knees and pray to our heavenly Father. It's the greatest sign of strength that exists. No men are greater than when they are upon their knees in communion with God and having a sacred interview with him. God does not always answer our prayers the way we want them answered, but if the channel is open, I testify to you that he answers them the way they should be answered, and those answers are for our best good and have an eternal and everlasting value.
My brethren in whose council I sit, I know you are men of God. I think of the Master when he said to his disciples, "You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and ordained you and set you apart." I thank you for your humility because in that humility you have been magnified. You have been called from the profession of the law; you have been called from the great field of education; you have been called from industry. You did not choose him, but he has chosen you and is sending you forth, and as you go forth to the stakes of Zion and the wards of the Church, you carry with you the power of the apostleship, the power of the priesthood of God our Father.
In humility I thank God for this association I have with you. God bless you, and bless us all, as we minister to the people, under the inspiration of God our Father, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Adam S. Bennion
Adam S. Bennion, Conference Report, October 1953, pp. 109-115
President McKay, my brethren and sisters, and friends: This is a wonderful conference. The Spirit of the Lord is here; and your sustaining faith and fellowship add to his power. Together we witness to the world that this is God's Church.
I should be ungrateful and ungracious if I did not express appreciation for the blessings of the last six months. In a varied career, these months have been rich beyond compare with anything else in my life. The kindliness of friends has kept a lump in my throat most of the time, and in the spirit of what Brother Cowley has just said, I am here today, thanks to the answer to prayer. It is an inspiring thing to be ordained to this office by the President of this Church-prophet, seer, and revelator. That day I shall never forget.
But in the complications that attached to trying to leave one job and under the pressure that attaches to this one, I was brought low, and I lay for five days unable to move. I have had pains in my life, but I think these were a little more excruciating than anything I had known. For the first time in my life, I was wholly unable to move. Now if Brother Lee will pardon this personal mention: he, with these other brethren, are men of God. He was good enough to come into my home. He could bear you witness of my helplessness, and in part, of my pain. I asked him for a blessing, which he gave in the power that is his. I am a living witness to you today, and I bear my testimony humbly and gratefully, the next morning, after a night's peaceful rest, I arose and walked. I bear you my witness that God still administers in the affairs of men, and his servants bearing the priesthood are our greatest physicians.
When I listened to that statesmanlike declaration this morning of Brother Richards, I wished that I might have the genius to draw upon the same source of inspiration, to bring to the individual member of this Church some things I have been pondering in recent weeks.
Life was never meant to be a holiday. It has its problems and its perplexities and its crises. When we are children, we turn to our parents for sustaining help. Growing into maturity, we turn to our fellow men and our leaders. All my life I have turned to one other source-a source which I want to commend to you. You have had it. I hope you will keep it always and cherish it.
The Master of mankind came to teach us how to live, and he died that we might be resurrected to live forever. I find my finest challenge, as I find my finest hope, as I turn to him to ask "What would he have me to do?"
Tribute has been paid to our leaders, and I wouldn't flatter them, but I should like to express an appreciation. Would you come to understand what Jesus taught, what his pattern of life is, then I beg you to contemplate the life of our President. For forty years I have been associated with him and have felt of his spirit. He is the Christian ideal-a man who has the capacity to translate into daily action the sublime truths of him who is the Redeemer of mankind.
A few weeks back I had the privilege of listening to a choir, much like this choir today and of the last two days. It thrilled me so that their singing I cannot forget. You have sung their song; you recall its wonderful words:
Jesus, the very thought of thee With sweetness fills my breast: But sweeter far thy face to see And in thy presence rest.
Nor voice can sing nor heart can frame, Nor can the memory find A sweeter sound than thy blest name, O Savior of mankind!
Oh hope of every contrite heart, O joy of all the meek, To these who fall how kind thou art! How good to those who seek!
Jesus, our only joy be thou, As thou our prize wilt be: Jesus, be thou our glory now And through eternity.
-Bernard of Clairvaux
My brethren and sisters, out across the tomorrows, in the problems that confront you, I commend to you the life and the thought of Jesus Christ. In these brief minutes all that I can hope to do is to give a glimpse of one or two things in his life, a suggestion as to one or two things that he taught, and then the subsequent witness that comes to us because we are Latter-day Saints. Whatever your bringing up may have been, whatever your circumstances may now be, please remember these things: Jesus was born away from home to be cradled in a manger. I think only the mothers here can fully appreciate what that means. He was born the Only Begotten of the Father, and if there may be those who have difficulty in reconciling their understanding that he was not born of Joseph, I beg of you to remember that he was to be the Author of the resurrection, made possible because of the divinity that was in him, born into him, and magnified throughout all his existence.
"And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him". I have always been impressed with his great awakening at twelve.
"And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers".
And then as President McKay pointed out in reference to his great temptation. After forty days you remember he came back, and he "... returned in the power of the Spirit... " to carry forward his great ministry.
In the last six months I have read and re-read the gospels. Having been called to be a witness to him, I made my resolution that I should begin by coming a little more fully to understand him and his message. You remember that "He went about teaching and preaching and doing good". What he did-and what he preached-constitute the gospels. Out of them all, let me name ten which you may well ponder:
1. The Beatitudes, first of all, which in nine short verses present one of the most comprehensive statements ever given to the world:
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
2. The Golden Rule, than which there has never been devised a better principle for human relations or for the guidance of the individual life:
Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
3. The Lord's Prayer, patterned for all mankind, sung beautifully yesterday, couched in sixty-six words:
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
4. The spirit of the Second Mile:
And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
5. His idea of forgiveness hinted in the phrase:
Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? till seven times?
Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
6. "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?
Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
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 clearing up of a catastrophe in this city in the last few days should bring a solemn realization to the men and women of this state and community that they ought not carelessly to have unjustly indicted two of the finest people in the world in the heretofore unsolved tragedy that shocked our state.
7. "... where your treasure is, there will your heart be also".
8. "... seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you".
9. That challenging remark to all parents:
Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
10. Already hinted here this morning under our limitations of mortality, but the ideal is there:
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
And I have named only ten. Would you catch the spirit of them further I suggest that you compile and reread the thirty-odd parables. And then if you want to be stirred, stirred all the way through, read with these parables, the same number of miracles, and you will come in some measure to catch the spirit of this great Soul.
It is singularly tragic that after all he did for the blessing of mankind, he should be led to Calvary. The Master of mankind suffered the cruelest death known to men. And whatever our difficulty may be, he can always stand by and say without putting it into words, "All that you suffer, I, too, have suffered and more". That is why it is so wonderful, as one of my soldier friends wrote me, out in the wastes of Alaska, against the odds of military service, "It's so wonderful always to have someone speak over your shoulder who understands."
That were enough for any man, but as Latter-day Saints we have two other witnesses which I needn't take the time to expand. If anybody in all the world should appreciate the Master of mankind, it ought to be Latter-day Saints. Here we have in our Book of Mormon the account of his appearance to those people who had left the Old World six hundred years before he was born, with a remnant who had gone far earlier, how he appeared to them, and the glory of it all is that he appeared after he had been resurrected. You will read it one day in Third Nephi. If you want to be touched and inspired this day, I suggest before it closes, you turn to the eleventh chapter, and in fancy sit with that multitude who had gathered in the land of Bountiful, and have him appear, because he came to declare himself, and the Father attended him and they heard his voice saying,
Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name-hear ye him.
And now it came to pass that there were a great multitude gathered together, of the people of Nephi, round about the temple which was in the land Bountiful; and they were marveling and wondering one with another, and were showing one to another the great and marvelous change which had taken place.
And they were also conversing about this Jesus Christ, of whom the sign had been given concerning his death.
And it came to pass that while they were thus conversing one with another, they heard a voice as if it came out of heaven; and they cast their eyes round about, for they understood not the voice which they heard; and it was not a harsh voice, neither was it a loud voice; nevertheless, and notwithstanding it being a small voice it did pierce them that did hear to the center, insomuch that there was no part of their frame that it did not cause to quake; yea, it did pierce them to the very soul, and did cause their hearts to burn.
And it came to pass that again they heard the voice, and they understood it not.
And again the third time they did hear the voice, and did open their ears to hear it; and their eyes were towards the sound thereof; and they did look steadfastly towards heaven, from whence the sound came.
And behold, the third time they did understand the voice which they heard; and it said unto them:
Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name- hear ye him.
And it came to pass, as they understood they cast their eyes up again towards heaven; and behold, they saw a Man descending out of heaven; and he was clothed in a white robe; and he came down and stood in the midst of them; and the eyes of the whole multitude were turned upon him, and they durst not open their mouths, even one to another, and wist not what it meant, for they thought it was an angel that had appeared unto them.
And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and spake unto the people, saying:
Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world.
And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning.
And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words the whole multitude fell to the earth; for they remembered that it had been prophesied among them that Christ should show himself unto them after his ascension into heaven.
And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto them saying:
Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.
And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come.
And when they had all gone forth and had witnessed for themselves, they did cry out with one accord, saying:
Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him.
And if you are inspired to do a little more reading this same evening, turn over to the seventeenth chapter:
Have ye any that are sick among you? Bring them hither. Have ye any that are lame, or blind, or halt, or maimed, or leprous, or that are withered, or that are deaf, or that are afflicted in any manner? Bring them hither and I will heal them, for I have compassion upon you; my bowels are filled with mercy.
For I perceive that ye desire that I should show unto you what I have done unto your brethren at Jerusalem, for I see that your faith is sufficient that I should heal you.
And it came to pass that when he had thus spoken, all the multitude with one accord, did go forth with their sick and their afflicted, and their lame, and with their blind, and with their dumb, and with all them that were afflicted in any manner; and he did heal them every one as they were brought forth unto him.
And they did all, both they who had been healed and they who were whole, bow down at his feet, and did worship him; and as many as could come for the multitude did kiss his feet, insomuch that they did bathe his feet with their tears.
And it came to pass that he commanded that their little children should be brought.
So they brought their little children and set them down upon the ground round about him, and Jesus stood in the midst; and the multitude gave way till they had all been brought unto him.
And it came to pass that when they had all been brought, and Jesus stood in the midst, he commanded the multitude that they should kneel down upon the ground.
And it came to pass that when they had knelt upon the ground, Jesus groaned within himself, and said: Father, I am troubled because of the wickedness of the people of the house of Israel.
And when he had said these words, he himself also knelt upon the earth; and behold he prayed unto the Father, and the things which he prayed cannot be written, and the multitude did bear record who heard him.
And after this manner do they bear record: The eye hath never seen, neither hath the ear heard, before, so great and marvelous things as we saw and heard Jesus speak unto the Father;
And no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and heard Jesus speak; and no one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father.
And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of praying unto the Father, he arose; but so great was the joy of the multitude that they were overcome.
And it came to pass that Jesus spake unto them, and bade them arise.
And they arose from the earth, and he said unto them: Blessed are ye because of your faith. And now behold, my joy is full.
And when he had said these words, he wept, and the multitude bare record of it, and he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.
And when he had done this he wept again;
And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them: Behold your little ones.
And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them.
Add to all this the manifestation of this same Jesus to the boy Prophet in our own day. Remind yourselves of that great vision:
At length I came to the conclusion that I must either remain in darkness and confusion, or else I must do as James directs that is, ask of God. I at length came to the determination to "ask of God," concluding that if he gave wisdom to them that lacked wisdom, and would give liberally, and not upbraid, I might venture.
So, in accordance with this, my determination to ask of God, I retired to the woods to make the attempt. It was on the morning of a beautiful, clear day, early in the spring of eighteen hundred and twenty. It was the first time in my life that I had made such an attempt, for amidst all my anxieties I had never as yet made the attempt to pray vocally.
After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desire of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction.
But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction-not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being-just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun which descended gradually until it fell upon me.
It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other-"This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!".
We have his record in the gospels. We have his visitation in Third Nephi. And our Church rests upon the fact that he has come to declare the everlasting gospel to us in our day and to restore it. I give you my witness that he has so restored it. I join with these brethren here, the honor of whose association I have from week to week, in that testimony. New among them, I bear you witness they are strong men; they are men of God, and you can with full heart sustain them.
I always face a group of people like you, wondering when this conference is all over what you will do. Today I suggest to you, as a sort of Christmas thought, that this time you do something about it. In the four gospels there are only eighty-nine chapters all told. With two or three of the short ones tucked in one day, if you really would catch the spirit of this conference, I suggest that you read one chapter of the gospels each day; and if you do it devotedly, you will have read again these great witnesses by Christmas time. And come Christmas this year, Santa Claus will not be able to crowd out Jesus, and the holiday will become a holy day. In the few minutes that it takes, morning or noon or night-my own program is to read at least one of these chapters each night before I close the day-you will find the key to great spiritual enrichment. Better it were if you would read the chapter together as a family, and I give you the promise that if you do it, not only will this Christmas be made glorious, but every day of your life will also catch the spirit of these sacred words.
Now in the resolution of your heart let me challenge you:
Ninety and nine are with dreams content, But the hope of a world made new Is the hundredth man who is grimly bent On making that dream come true.
God put it in your heart, out of 160 million people in America, to be the hundredth man who brings himself and his family close to the Master of mankind, the guide and the inspiration of us all, into whose presence one day we hope to return, with all the loved ones whom he has redeemed. I pray his blessings upon you, in his holy name. Amen.
Elder Ezra Taft Benson
Ezra Taft Benson, Conference Report, October 1953, pp. 120-123
Humbly and imploringly, my brethren and sisters and friends, I approach this very difficult, but challenging task. I trust that I may have an interest in your faith and prayers and be favored with the sweet influence of the Holy Spirit.
I rejoice in what we have just witnessed, in the call of these three noble men to fill vacancies in the councils of the Church. This is but typical, my brothers and sisters, of what is going on throughout the Church in the wards, stakes, and missions, weekly-the calling of men and women to positions of responsibility. Always the response is the same. To me it is a modern miracle not duplicated anywhere upon the earth. I am happy to welcome these brethren. I know them all. I love them.
I have loved Brother Richard L. Evans since I first became acquainted with him years ago. He is loved by the entire Church. He is loved by this nation, because for years he has had a national audience. His influence has reached beyond the borders of America. And I would like to say this to him: Brother Evans, you now enter upon the sweetest association known to men in this world, the association which you will have with your brethren of the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve. There is nothing in this world in the associations of men so sweet and so satisfying. I know that more deeply today than ever before, particularly since I have been away since last December, and yet at times, though I have been miles away, I have felt even nearer through their faith and prayers-the faith and prayers of my brethren.
I love Brother Brown. I have known him for many years. I was closely associated with him in Europe right after the war, and he is loved by the people of the British Isles, the Saints of Europe and the servicemen all over the Church, to whom he rendered such great service during the last war. I had the privilege of serving as a counselor to his older brother, Scott B. Brown, in the Boise Stake, who now serves as a patriarch there. Hugh B. Brown comes from one of the great families of the Church.
I have not known Brother Marion Hanks intimately, but I have watched him with great interest and considered him one of the most promising young men in the Church.
With all my heart I extend the hand of fellowship to these, my brethren and I am sure, as I do so, I am but echoing the feeling of all the other brethren in the councils of the Church as well as the entire Church membership.
Brethren and sisters, this has been a glorious conference. I have received a great spiritual uplift. No, we have not heard anything particularly new. I recall some years ago a young fellow, a Mormon boy, returned from sacrament meeting, and as he met his father, who had been out on a high council assignment, his dad said to him, "Well, son, how did you enjoy the sacrament meeting?" He replied, "Well, Dad, it was a good meeting. However, it was pretty much the echoing of re-echoing echoes, but still it was a grand meeting."
We have heard discussed some of the old virtues. We have heard admonitions pertaining to eternal principles. They have been presented in a little different setting, with different emphasis, but in the main there has been very little new, but, oh, how we need the admonitions which have been presented. I would to God that every man, woman, and child in this nation and throughout the world might have been listening to the counsel that has been given.
Now, as we leave the conference and go our various ways, how are we going to implement the instructions that have been given, what are we going to do to see to it that this counsel does not fall unheeded? As I think of the most effective way of implementing this counsel, I turn, my brethren and sisters, naturally, to our most basic institution, the American home, because, after all, it is still our greatest and most primary educational institution. It is, in very deed, the center of our economic, social, and cultural interest. The home is the bulwark of the nation and our most fundamental and basic institution.
Unless as parents, we can go back into the homes of the Church and carry these instructions with a determination to put them into effect at our own firesides with our own children this conference will not have been fully effective.
Marriage, the home, and family are sacred institutions. They are not manmade. Thank God for that. They are divine. The first marriage performed was the marriage of two immortal beings. Following the consummation of that marriage, the Lord gave important scriptures and instruction to us regarding the home and the family.
The Lord made it clear it is not good for man to be alone. Woman was created as a helpmeet for man, and the two united in the sacred bonds of eternal marriage become one flesh.
"What therefore God hath joined together," said he, "let not man put asunder". Then later "Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else". How we need that counsel today in America! What heartaches could be avoided if men would only heed that counsel wholeheartedly. How much less unfaithfulness and infidelity there would be if we could live by that admonition.
Then as though to strengthen further the marriage bond in the home, the Lord gave instructions to children through his prophets. The Apostle Paul, echoing the admonition of Moses on Sinai, said,
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.
And then in modern revelation, the Lord has made it very clear that parents have great and serious responsibilities. Listen to these words as the Lord speaks to the parents of the Church:
And they shall also teach their children to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord.
And again, inasmuch as parents... 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.
That is a serious responsibility, and I believe, my brethren and sisters, the early history of this Church clearly indicates that our grandparents, the pioneers of these valleys, in fact, the Pilgrims, who came and settled this great American continent, honored these obligations and were blessed in their homes for so doing.
I realize that many changes have come about in the last fifty to seventy-five years. Our industrialization, specialization, concentration of populations in great cities, the great reduction in the number of people living on farms, the change in our agriculture-all these have had their effects. Greater emphasis upon material things and the seeking after money, after pleasure, personal gratification, and the insidious inroads of liquor, tobacco, and gambling-all these have had a pulling-away influence on this most sacred institution, the American home.
It is difficult to realize that fifty years ago there was only one divorce in sixteen marriages here in America. By 1946 the ratio had increased to one in three, and it is reported in some cities in America, there are actually more divorces each year than marriages. Our best authorities indicate that most of the delinquency in America is the result of broken, bad, and neglected homes. As J. Edgar Hoover, one of the best authorities, has indicated, referring to delinquents, "The actions of the majority of them were, and are, directly related to the conduct of their parents." Yes, crime begins at home.
Now, my brethren and sisters, as Latter-day Saints, what should be done? What can be done? I am sure we all agree that no nation ever rises above its homes. This Church will never rise above its homes. We are no better as a people than are our firesides, our homes. The school, the church, and even the nation, I feel confident, stand helpless before weakened and degraded homes. The good home is the rock foundation, the cornerstone of civilization. It must be preserved. It must be strengthened.
There has never been and there never will be a satisfactory substitute for the home established by the God of heaven. If this nation is to endure, then the home must be safeguarded, strengthened, and restored to its rightful importance.
May I suggest, in the few moments remaining, five simple things that, I believe, we might well give attention to, as some of the needs of our homes today:
First of all, I am convinced, my brethren and sisters and this is no reflection on our devoted mothers, who spend day after day, week after week, obediently serving their families-but I feel sure that one of our greatest needs is more time of parents in the home. Youth of the Church and of the nation need more than physical comforts. We will need to leave them more than lands and stocks. They need more than a modern automobile and a lovely modern building to live in. There is no satisfactory substitute for mother, and no one can take care of her children as she can. No so-called social obligations, social enticements, or outside interests should impel any mother to neglect the sacred charge which is hers of caring for her own flesh and blood. Her first loyalty in the eyes of God is to her Church and her family. I feel confident that while civic and social activities may return much good she will serve her community and her nation best, if she first devotes herself to the needs of her own children.
Second, and this was emphasized this morning by Brother Cowley, we need daily devotion in the home. We need to return to the practice of family prayer, secret prayer, the old-fashioned practice of devotion in the home daily, night and morning, the singing of hymns, the reading of the scriptures. How much more happiness there would be, how many fewer divorces there would be, if these simple practices were followed as was the custom in the pioneer home, as well as in the early days of this country, according to the diaries of our early founders.
Third, I think one of the great needs is more parental instruction in life's problems. I know there is a tendency for parents to shrink from this responsibility, the instructing of their own children in the problems of sex, the relationship with other young people, the problem of dating, and all of the many temptations that confront a growing boy and girl. These instructions should not be left to the school or to a class in sociology. The safest place the best place, to give this vital counsel, these sacred instructions, in matters of moral purity should be in the home on a basis of confidence between parent and child. As parents, we should instruct our children. The sacred books of the ancient Persians say: "If you would be holy, instruct your children, because all the good acts they perform will be imputed unto you."
Fourth, I believe there is a great need, my brethren and sisters, for family recreation and cultural activities together. We should do things together as a family. It may mean a reduction in participation in women's clubs, in men's clubs, but if families could only seek their recreation and cultural activities more as a family unit, I am sure that untold benefits and blessings would accrue. A little boy was asked only this last summer, after he said he was going to a summer camp, "What is a summer camp?" And he answered "Those places where little boys go for mother's vacation." Let us take more of our vacations together as families. Can we have a weekly evening at home, as has been admonished and counseled for years by the First Presidency of the Church? More wholesome activities together is a great need of the families of America.
And fifth, we need a closer parent-child relationship. This is closely related to the other four matters. One of the greatest needs of our young people is a closer, more frequent companionship with father and mother. There is no satisfactory substitute. I was thrilled some time ago, as I picked up a paper in the East and read an account of a letter which a rich industrialist had sent to his son, his sixteen-year-old boy, as a Christmas present. This man could have given his son anything that money could buy-an automobile, a yacht, I guess, if he wished. But when the boy came down from his room Christmas morning and went over to the mantel where he usually found his present, there was an envelope, a plain envelope with his name on it, and he opened it and read:
"To my dear son:
"I give to you one hour each weekday and two hours of my Sundays to be yours to be used as you want it without interference of any kind whatsoever.
"Lovingly,
"Dad."
As I read that, I thought, what a wise father, and what a fortunate son! Yes that is what they need.
God bless us, my brethren and sisters, that we may give personal attention now to these vital matters:
More time of parents in the home Daily family devotion in the home Parental instruction in life's problems Family recreation and cultural activities together A closer parent-child relationship
May we be faithful to this great obligation of parenthood, this sacred obligation, that we may build our homes solidly upon eternal principles, that we may have no regrets. May we never be recreant to the great trust which has been imposed in us. May we always keep in mind that these spirits that have entered our homes are choice spirits. Many of them have been born under the covenant. As we look into their faces and contemplate their needs we might well consider that some of them were probably choicer spirits up there than we were. It is a grave responsibility. May we not shirk it.
God bless us in our homes and in all our worthy endeavors. May we carry with us from this conference the instructions given and put them into practice in our homes I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie
Bruce R. McConkie, Conference Report, October 1953, pp. 123-125
It has been my privilege, for seven years now, to serve on the First Council of the Seventy with Elder Richard L. Evans, and I think I can certify to you from personal knowledge, born of that association, that Brother Richard is a man of great ability and devotion to the cause of Christ. He supports and sustains the brethren and the programs of the Church, and, I am persuaded, has a great mission to perform in his new and high calling.
I think, perhaps, there is scarcely a name in the Church more widely known and heralded than his; and in the field of his especial talent and assignment, that of radio, he approaches as near the indispensable man as any man could. For myself, and I am sure, speaking also for the other members of the Council, we are pleased with the selection that has been made and give him, as we do all the brethren who sit on this stand, our united support and love and affection.
Brother Hugh B. Brown and Brother Marion D. Hanks, as yet, I do not know well, but with the rest of these brethren, and with all of you, I extend a welcome hand of fellowship.
I have had it in my heart for some time, if the Spirit would give me utterance and direction, to say a few words in this great conference about that faith which leads to life and salvation and without which no man can be saved in the kingdom of God.
Briefly, speaking in outline form only, I would like to suggest:
First, what faith is.
Second, how faith may be gained.
And third, the test whereby it may be known whether we have gained faith in sufficient measure to justify a hope of life and salvation.
The Prophet Joseph Smith taught, as may be found recorded in the Lectures on Faith-which lectures I commend to all men-that faith is the first principle in revealed religion, that it is the foundation of all righteousness, that it is a principle of power. He taught that faith is the assurance which men have of the existence of things which they have not seen, that it is the moving cause of all action in intelligent beings, and that it is the first great governing principle which has power, dominion, and authority over all things.
He gave this formula whereby men may exercise faith in God unto life and salvation:
First, we must believe in God, and that means in the true and living God, the Being who actually exists and is our Father in heaven, in whose image we are created, and who by his grace and because of his desire to see his children gain salvation, appeared in our day, with his beloved Son, to usher in this great work.
It is not sufficient to believe in a god of wood or stone, one that has been created by men, or to believe in the god described in the creeds that have been created by men. We have to get to the truth if we are to have faith.
Faith is founded on truth. It was Alma who said that, "... if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true", and so, without truth, there can be no faith.
The second requisite in gaining faith is to have a correct idea of the character, perfections, and attributes of God. The Prophet summarizes the character of God in these words, and I think every member of the Church ought to memorize them:
First, that he was God before the world was created and the same God that he was after it was created.
Second, that he is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abundant in goodness, and that he was so from everlasting and will be so to everlasting.
Third, that he changes not, neither is there variableness with him, and that his course is one eternal round.
Fourth, that he is a God of truth and cannot lie.
Fifth, that he is no respecter of persons;
And sixth, that he is love.
Then the Prophet gives the attributes of God, also six in number, as follows: knowledge, faith or power, justice, judgment, mercy, and truth. The perfections of God are given as the perfections which attach to the attributes of his nature.
Then the third requisite for gaining faith unto life and salvation is so to live that we have the actual knowledge that the course of life we are pursuing is in harmony with the divine will.
I suppose there are many people in the Church who have a measurable knowledge of the attributes of God. I think there are even more who have a correct idea of his character and of his perfections. And I am sure that nearly all, perhaps all in the Church, believe in him as the personal Being who actually lives. But the place where we fall down in acquiring faith, faith unto life and salvation, is in that we do not order our lives in such a way that we have the assurance that our conduct is in harmony with the divine will.
Faith comes by righteousness, and without righteousness and obedience we cannot have the measure of faith that will save us.
Now the test whereby it may be known whether we do have faith is very simple. It is the eternal truth proclaimed by the Lord when he said: "And these signs shall follow them that believe". If we have faith, there will be signs. If there are no signs, there is no faith. Where there is faith, there will be the gifts of the Spirit; there will be the ministering of angels and the working of miracles. Where there is faith, there will be apostles and prophets; there will be the authority of the priesthood; there will be the knowledge of God and the organization of the kingdom of God on earth.
Now, I suggest to you that faith is the great foundation upon which we must build: faith in God, faith in Christ, faith in the restored truth and in the living oracles who direct the kingdom under the Lord in our day.
By faith all things can be done. There is nothing too hard for the Lord, and if we have faith, we can do whatever is requisite, according to his mind and will. By faith the worlds were made; by faith the elements can be controlled, rivers turned out of their courses, mountains removed. By faith we can have angels minister to us, see our sick healed, and the dead raised; and what is more important than all this by faith we can live so as to become the sons of God and be joint heirs with Jesus Christ, entitled to receive and inherit and possess, as he has done before, the fulness of the kingdom of the Father.
In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder ElRay L. Christiansen
ElRay L. Christiansen, Conference Report, October 1953, pp. 125-128
I remember that we used to come in from the mission field, and somehow we gave a ten minute talk each time the conference convened, and for three times in succession, somehow, I was in this position-the very last speaker before the summary remarks of President Grant. On one occasion I felt to say this: that I had never had a headache to speak of, I had never had a pain, I had never been to the hospital, but I knew what it meant to suffer. I have experienced that, to a degree, during the past three days.
I think in all my experience in temple work, where four thousand couples knelt before the altar at which I officiated, the most thrilling thing was to have the parents, the brothers and sisters, and the in-laws, in addition to the friends assembled in the temple on the day of the marriage of their loved ones who had achieved so much in the early years of their lives and had prepared and qualified themselves to come into the house of the Lord, and there receive their great and eternal blessings. It seems to me that if we intend to be together as families and associate as such in the life to come, that it is necessary for us to get a little experience in being together while here on earth. I was glad to hear Brother Benson speak of family recreational activities, but I think that the most fitting place for families to gather is in the temples of our Lord. If they will do so, often enough, it will help to keep them in line of duty and in a spiritual frame of mind and attitude which is conducive to successful living.
It was always pleasing, I say, to have the parents come to the temple with their children. And now, as I have visited stakes and missions, I have been greatly satisfied in my heart and made to rejoice because many of these same young couples have come to me and with happiness written on their faces, saying: "Do you remember us? We were married in the temple. These are our children. Aren't they wonderful?" Such an experience has been mine in every stake where I have yet gone as well as in every mission that I have visited. To have those young people, after having gone to the temple, living now as they should and active in the Church, even though they may be attending some university far away from home, come and make a sort of report that they are doing well, that they are active and that they are living the gospel and doing all the things they were asked to do in the temple, has been satisfying, indeed, to me.
The picture of these young couples expressing their joy and happiness in their associations and in their anticipation of eternal joy can be contrasted with one case that came to my attention. A young woman of our Church wrote me a letter asking for advice. She said, "I was born in the Church, but I fell in love with a fine young man who did not belong to our Church. We decided finally that we would marry. As we talked it over, we decided that even though our religious beliefs were entirely different, neither of us would impose our beliefs or practices upon the other, that we would leave each other free to worship and to believe as each saw fit." She said, "This went along all right until our baby came. When I wanted to have it blessed in our Church, or branch, my husband objected, and he had the support of his mother and others who insisted that our child be christened in their church. My heart is broken." She ended her letter with this question, "What would you suggest?"
Well, I was dumbfounded to know what to suggest at that point in her experience, my brothers and sisters. I thought, surely somewhere along the line some of us had failed to suggest and to advise and to counsel this young woman long before she got into this situation. She, like others in like circumstances, had thought that everything could be "worked out later."
What I shall say today is said with a hope that others may avoid getting into such a difficult situation in this very important event in their lives-that of choosing a companion in marriage. How will this young woman now obtain the blessings that are promised to the faithful children of God? How will she obtain her eternal blessings? How will she be assured the association of her husband and of her children and of others that are dear and close to her?
Parents, bishoprics, and all agencies in the Church, and officers and teachers in the various classrooms are responsible to see that boys and girls do not get so far away from us that they marry out of the Church. Even though there are fine, wholesome, wonderful people outside the Church, nevertheless, when we engage in marriage with them our divine destiny is imperiled!
To preserve the family relationship here and hereafter is one of the great and important purposes of life and of the gospel. That such relationships and associations hereafter should be possible, is consistent with reason. All righteous parents, all righteous people have a natural, inborn desire to associate forever with those whom they love but it is consistent also, my brothers and sisters, to believe that we must conform to the laws of God which make such associations possible! This is clearly stated in the revelations that have come to us in this day. I read from the 131st Section of the Doctrine and Covenants:
In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees;
And in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood;
And that is what we are speaking of:
And if he does not, he cannot obtain it.
He may enter into the other, but that is the end of his kingdom; he cannot have an increase.
Death does not separate husbands and wives who are united by the power of our Father in heaven in his holy temples. It does not take the children from the parents because these children are born under the covenant and the parents have a right and a claim on them in the life hereafter.
President Brigham Young made this very clear when he said:
"When a man and a woman have received their endowments and sealings, and then had children born unto them afterwards, those children are legal heirs to the kingdom, and to all its blessings and promises, and they are the only ones that are on this earth". Yet, I have heard persons say to me, surely, a just God would not want marriage to terminate with this life, and I have agreed with them. The Lord does not want that to be. That is why he has instituted this principle of eternal marriage and has given to man here upon the earth the power, the authority, and the keys to seal upon the earth and have it sealed and ratified in the heavens.
Yes, he is a God of order, not of confusion. He has said that all who would have a blessing at his hands must obey the law upon which that blessing is predicated, and so all of us who would have the association, one with the other hereafter, must receive it through the obedience to the law which makes it possible.
My, what disappointment, what regret, what remorse will be felt by those of us who should, because of neglect or indifference, fail or refuse to enter into the marriage covenant according to the way God has designed it! To refuse to enter into such a covenant would end with this life, the associations as husband and wife.
If, after we have received our endowments in the temple and have entered into the covenant of marriage, we refuse to do what the Lord has prescribed that we do, live according to his laws and "abide in my covenant", as he says, if we fail to do that, then we are in danger of losing the blessings which are promised and which can be realized only upon our faithfulness.
Now, in contrast to the remorse that will come to those who see their mistakes too late, what joy and what happiness await those who come forth in the "resurrection of the just" to find their companions by their side, their children, and their grandchildren perhaps, all of them having qualified while on earth for the greatest of all the gifts of God-eternal life and exaltation in the kingdom of God.
When we think that this greatest of all gifts, this power to have eternal happiness and joy and association with those we love most, is possible for all of us, how foolish, how frail, and how unwise we are if we pass by the opportunity to make these ties binding in the next life.
By example and by precept, parents should show the importance of the temple and of temple work. I have always felt that it is well for children to observe their parents hustling about getting ready to go to the temple, to do work for the dead; to see them preparing their temple clothing; to note that emphasis is given to genealogical research and temple work. I think that is all conducive to good. Children then will inquire of their parents why this is so important and the parents then have the opportunity to explain these grand and glorious principles in terms that are understandable to their children. With such help children will have a desire to go themselves to the temple.
Now, the Doctrine and Covenants is replete with the word of the Lord saying that the obligations and covenants that we enter into for this life that are not sanctioned and entered into by the laws of God, end with this life. But it is equally plain when it states that those who do enter into covenants of marriage and sealings in the temples of the Lord shall pass by the angels and the gods and the sentinels and go on to their exaltations and have glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of their seeds forever, and that such a marriage will be in full force when they are out of this world.
Oh, how I wish we could teach that to the people of the world, and especially to our own people, so they may not lose the glorious blessing and associations promised to the faithful children of God.
God bless us, my brothers and sisters, that as parents we may teach our children early in life to walk uprightly before the Lord and help them to understand these principles before it is too late.
I pray that we may do this, in wisdom and in love, and in kindness, and prepare them and point them toward the temple and temple marriage as soon as they are able to understand what we say. I testify that this work is true, that the power to seal is upon the earth and that these men who sit before us here have the keys and the authority to act in the name of God and seal upon the earth and have it ratified in the heavens. Thus I testify because I know it is so. I do it humbly, and in the name of Jesus Christ, the Lord. Amen.
Elder Richard L. Evans
Richard L. Evans, Conference Report, October 1953, pp. 128-129
I pray that I may be given utterance in that which I should briefly say.
I have frequented these beloved walls for a period now approaching a quarter century in many situations and assignments. But this is the most difficult thing that I have here had to do. It seems that this chapter was not in the script which I had written for myself.
In the brief, but in some respects too long a time since first I became aware of this possibility, I have measured the full measure of my life many times over. There are those here who know much better than I the weight of this work. There is none here who knows better than I my own limitations, inadequacies, and imperfections, and the feeling of smallness which I have. But if you and my Father in heaven will accept me as I am, with your help and his, I shall earnestly endeavor to be better than I am or have ever been.
I should not want to pass without thanking God for a noble father whom I never knew; for a blessed mother who, in her widowhood, reared nine of us and faced her problems on her knees in prayer and on her feet gloriously in courageous action; for brothers and sisters, who with their children, I have had no cause but to be proud of in their faith and their awareness of their responsibilities in life.
I thank him for the choice and lovely girl who has been by my side for twenty years and for the four sons that are ours. I pray for them, for their generation, and for youth everywhere, for their guidance in the ways of truth and righteousness. I pray for their generation, that they may know of the promise of the future, that despite all uncertainties there are glorious certainties that transcend them all, as President McKay noted in his opening address.
I would say to their generation: be prayerful, keep the faith, avoid cynicism, be not shaken by the waves of controversy and confusion which sweep over and are quickly spent, while the truth remains forever.
This is a gospel not of despondency and discouragement, not of ensnaring technicalities, not of quick condemnation, but as President Clark suggested so beautifully in his utterance last evening, it is a gospel of hope, of happiness and of helpfulness, of peace and of promise.
There is no act of man, nor any combination of men, despite what passing troubles they may bring upon this earth, who can thwart the purposes of our Father in heaven, nor stay him in his plans to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of his children, and I thank God for it.
As to these, my brethren, they know of my affection for them-President McKay, President Richards, President Clark, President Smith, President Young of the First Council of the Seventy, Bishop Wirthlin, all others here, each of whom I could name with some point of affection and distinction. No one could be to any man more considerate or gracious or kindly than they have been to me.
I shall miss some of the intimate associations with my beloved brethren of the First Council with whom I have sat for fifteen years. God bless them.
I wish I had had some greater part, or some part at all, in the making of this choice young man who has been sustained by you to sit with the First Council of the Seventy, Brother Marion D. Hanks. He is a man of courage and of faith, and I love him; and you who do not know him will learn to love him. Likewise Brother Hugh B. Brown, with his great gifts of utterance, will give sincere service to the Church.
May I leave with you the witness of my very soul that God lives; that Jesus the Christ is the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh, our Savior and Redeemer; that the Father and the Son did appear in this dispensation to the Prophet Joseph Smith, and that he and all in line of succession, including our present President McKay, have held the keys and the powers of the priesthood, and do unto this day.
President McKay, I pledge my love and loyalty, and all that is good or useful in me, with gratitude to you for many kindnesses and considerations and for your confidence.
I beg of you, my brethren and sisters, your confidence and help.
May God bless each and all of us in the things we need most, in understanding and peace and joy in living, and in the realization of our highest possibilities here and hereafter, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, October 1953, pp. 131-133
We have just listened to Elder Marion D. Hanks, whom, as I stated a few moments ago, you have this day sustained as a member of the First Council of the Seventy.
Messages of appreciation of the television service rendered this forenoon to the people of the Northwest and on the Pacific Coast, still come in. Knowing your interest, I will read two more.
This is from Seattle, Washington signed by Wilford H. Payne, Seattle Stake: "Please accept appreciation of the first television broadcast conference session to Saints and friends in the Northwest."
From Los Angeles, signed by the President of the California Mission Bryan L. Bunker: "Televised conference messages received perfectly. Marvelous missionary opportunity in the future. Gratefully, President of the California Mission."
And now at the conclusion of this great conference, may we express again the gratitude of our hearts to these men and companies, who have so graciously contributed of their means, with so little expense to the Church, to broadcast by radio and by television, the proceedings of this great conference. We want them to know that you and the Church generally deeply appreciate their co-operative efforts.
EXPRESSES APPRECIATION
We express gratitude, also, to the public press. I want to name especially the reporters on our papers, who have given such accurate and careful, complete accounts of the various meetings, speakers of our conference since last Wednesday, including the great Relief Society conference.
We wish to express appreciation to the audience here in the Tabernacle, your responsiveness and your reverence, may it be an example to the audiences, to the congregations throughout the Church when they enter our places of worship: Very little moving about, no leaving of the services, I have been favorably impressed and commend you.
We appreciate the co-operation of our city officials, their ready and efficient service, wherever it is needed; our traffic officers in handling the crowds. I have noticed new precautionary measures taken and the presence of the members of the police force on the corners, courteously, carefully protecting the crowds surrounding this block and throughout the city.
We wish to mention again these beautiful flowers sent from Oahu and others furnished by our local florists. We appreciate our singers, and although we have already expressed it to each choir, I repeat again your appreciation of the Relief Society Singing Mothers, the members of the Swiss-German Choir, the Men's Chorus, who rendered such good service last evening in the Tabernacle, and finally, and of course not least, the members of our Tabernacle Choir. To all of these and to all others, including our ushers, we extend heartfelt appreciation.
And now, this great conference draws to a close. Our anticipation, our hopes, our prayers that it might prove to be uplifting and inspirational, have been realized, and for that we are grateful to our heavenly Father, grateful for the inspiration he has given to the General Authorities who have spoken to you. What great messages they have given to us and to the world! Truly our hearts have been filled with gratitude that the Lord has magnified each one, to the end that his word has been spoken.
In conclusion, may I leave just one closing thought. This Church of Jesus Christ commonly known as "Mormonism," is in the world to make people happy. Happiness is the end, really, of our existence. That happiness comes most effectively through service to our fellow men, and the Church is the most effective means in the world through which that service may be rendered.
There is no happiness without peace. Today, the President of the United States, his Cabinet, Congress, the Senate the House of Representatives, the Judiciary, are all seeking peace in the world. Nations are longing for it Mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers who have children and grandchildren in the armed forces are praying daily that we might have peace.
Peace is the message that came when the Savior was born a Babe in Bethlehem. It was heralded by the angel choir, singing, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men".
"Peace," he said to his disciples toward the close of his ministry, "These things I have spoken unto you that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world".
After his resurrection, when the doors were closed and the ten disciples were in session, as he greeted them, his first salutation was, "Peace be unto you". And eight days later, when the eleven were there, the same salutation, "Peace".
What a glorious thing it is, brethren and sisters, and this is my message: Peace cannot be found in external things. Peace comes from within. "There is no peace except by the triumph of principles," said the wise Emerson. Peace is within the individual soul. There is no peace when one's conscience is seared or when one is conscious of having committed some untoward act.
There was certainly no peace in that young girl's soul who came and confessed the other night, fearful of the disgrace she had brought upon her loving parents, fearful of how she could again meet the world. She was experiencing the pangs of retribution-the antithesis of peace.
Peace springs from righteousness in the soul, from upright living. If we are going about in the world to establish peace, let us begin at home, first with each individual. If you want peace tonight, remember yours is the responsibility to obtain it, and it is my responsibility, and it is your privilege and mine to attain it.
Certainly, let us establish peace in our household. We are sending out missionaries, it is true, to proclaim peace and universal brotherhood. That is one great mission of our Church. May all the world recognize it and co-operate with us in spreading the glad news, the glad tidings of great joy. That is the paramount purpose of our missionary work. May God guide the boys and the girls, the young men and women who go out, paying their own expenses or receiving support from their parents, in thus proclaiming peace to a disturbed and unsettled world. What a glorious concept, but let us set the example by having peace in our homes.
Paraphrasing the author of The Simple Life: "Let our homes become sanctuaries for ourselves." Sanctuaries! A sanctuary is where we have peace. May our homes become warm nests where children may be protected and grow into noble men and women; where love may find privacy, old age repose, prayer an altar, and the nation a sure source of strength and perpetuity.
With all my soul at the close of this great, inspirational conference, my dear fellow workers, I say God bless you, that in your hearts and in your homes you may have peace. I say to all our friends who have been listening in, may the peace that comes from obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ find lodgment in your hearts, through your acceptance of the truth.
May the spirit of peace be poured out upon all nations, that the threatening clouds of destruction may be dissipated, and the sunshine of peace shine once more all over the world, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop Joseph L. Wirthlin
Joseph L. Wirthlin, Conference Report, April 1954, pp. 3-9
President McKay and my beloved brethren of the Melchizedek and Aaronic Priesthood, I sincerely trust that the Holy Spirit will guide and inspire me in my utterances this night.
This is a new day-a new day that dawned when a young man in the woods of western New York supplicated God humbly for divine direction in finding the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. The prayer was answered. The Father and the Son appeared to him which appearance reaffirmed to the world that God, our Eternal Father, is a being with body, parts and passions and in whose image we are created. His visit confirmed to the world that the despised Nazarene crucified upon Calvary's Hill was the only begotten of the Father in the flesh-the Creator of mankind.
By divine direction, this young man, Joseph Smith, unearthed a sacred record buried centuries ago in the ancient Hill Cumorah. This record contained the revelations of the Lord to the people that lived upon this the American Continent centuries ago. The scriptures in this holy record are among the most profound ever given to any people or in any dispensation. For example, Lehi declared:
Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.
In this day, a new philosophy had fallen upon the ears of a disillusioned generation. The world was in the throes of a great apostasy.
As we think of the joy mentioned by Lehi, I submit the following questions: Could men have joy in the doctrine that unbaptized babes would burn in hell forever? Could men have joy in being denied the right to worship God according to the dictates of conscience? Could men have joy in being denied the right to read the word of God? Could men have joy in the thought that mental and physical torture manifests genuine repentance? Could men have joy in being lead into the realms of ignorance and worshiping a God of whom they could not conceive?
Many statements fell from the mouth of the young Prophet, but one which startled the world was the declaration: "The glory of God is intelligence". "Men cannot be saved in ignorance".
The Lord, through this American Prophet, revealed in the Book of Moses, Chapter 1, Verse 39, that his glory and work was as declared by the Lord:
For behold, this is my work and my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
Had anyone previous to the Prophet Joseph Smith ever revealed to the world the most important work and glory of the Creator? Imagine if you will he who created all things-the universe, endless worlds and man declared that his most important objective was to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. If the work and objectives of the Lord are to be accomplished, there had to be established a direct relationship between our Father in heaven and man on earth. Channels of communication had to be reopened so that the Lord could reveal his mind and will to those he selected to represent him. Hence, the priesthood was restored to establish the former relationship wherein God directed his work for the bringing about the immortality and eternal life of man. John the Baptist returned to earth and conferred upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery the Aaronic Priesthood, the same authority which existed in the days of John the Baptist which holds the keys of the ministering of angels and the gospel of repentance and baptism by immersion for the remission of sins. Shortly thereafter, by divine direction, the Apostolic Presidency, Peter, James, and John bestowed upon Joseph Smith and his associate the Melchizedek Priesthood which holds the keys of loosening and binding both upon the earth and in the heavens, the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, the keys to preach the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue and people, the keys for the work for the dead, and, hence, the relationship which existed between the prophets and apostles of old was established in this day to the end that the Lord's plans for the eternal blessing of his children might be brought into fruition. Priesthood is divine authority, and as Joseph Smith declared:
... is an everlasting principle and existed with God from eternity and will to eternity without beginning of days or end of years. The keys have to be brought from heaven whenever the Gospel is sent.
In Section 121, Verse 36, of the Doctrine & Covenants, to confirm the above statements, the Lord declared:
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.
The priesthood is that which places a man in condition to receive the ministration of angels and to enjoy the presence of God the Father and his son Jesus Christ, which substantiates the declaration of the former apostle, John the Beloved, when he declared:
And this is life eternal that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.
Brethren, this is a new day-the day of which the Apostles of old spoke when they prophesied a time of great refreshing would come when there would be a restoration of all things before the second coming of the Redeemer of the world. Does all of this mean anything to you and to me? My beloved brethren who hold the priesthood must realize that the joy of which Lehi spoke is the joy of service in the Lord's work; the joy of contributing to the salvation of the souls of our Heavenly Father's children; the joy of rendering service when called upon by those who preside over us and furthering the work of the Lord-his work to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man; and the, joy in sustaining those who preside over us.
Today in the stakes of the Church, there are 156,000 men endowed with the authority of the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood, the priesthood after the order of the Son of God, and 129,000 holding the Aaronic Priesthood, or a total of 285,000 sons of God holding divine authority-the most precious gift that has ever been bestowed upon mankind.
The membership of the Church in stakes only is 1,034,000 of whom 28% hold either the Melchizedek or the Aaronic Priesthood. By the way of comparison, the largest church in the United States with a membership of 29,407,000 has but 45,000 members authorized to participate in the rituals of the Church and to carry on its work, which indicates that 1.5% of the total membership as against 28% of the membership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints enjoy the privilege of service.
One of the greatest evidences of the divine origin of this great Church and its priesthood lies in the fact that every male member of the Church over the age of twelve who is worthy may hold the priesthood of God and function therein. The bestowal of divine authority upon so many of the Lord's sons is an evidence that our Heavenly Father is no respecter of persons. Station in life and wealth make no difference. Faith in him and the gospel of salvation and obedience thereto wherein men live lives that are compatible with the wishes of our Heavenly Father qualify men to hold the priesthood. Priesthood privileges, powers and service are not in the hands of a few. All of these blessings are not for the General Authorities, stake authorities or bishoprics, but for every worthy holder of the priesthood. After all, salvation is an individual matter, and priesthood service in the cause of the Savior contributes to salvation and exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom. Brigham Young makes this point very clear in the following declaration:
The Gospel of salvation-The Priesthood of the Son of God-is so ordered and organized, in the very nature of it, being a portion of that law of heaven by which worlds are organized, that it is calculated to enlighten the children of men and give them power to save themselves.
Continuing with another statement, President Brigham Young stated:
The Gospel and the Priesthood are the means he employs to save and exalt his obedient children to the possession with him of the same glory and power to be crowned with crowns of glory, immortality and eternal lives.
This is the joy of which Lehi spoke: "Men are that they might have joy," and the highest degree of joy will only be found in the presence of God the Eternal Father and his Son Jesus Christ and to share his glory with him.
Some of our brethren who hold the priesthood and have within their grasp all of the blessings and privileges promised to the faithful have laid aside the opportunity of service and for some reason or another have become indifferent and thereby forgotten the covenants they made with the Lord when they received the priesthood. In the 108th Section of the Doctrine & Covenants, Verse 3, the Lord very implicitly reminds us of our priesthood covenants when he declared:
And arise up and be more careful henceforth in observing your vows, which you have made and do make, and you shall be blessed with exceeding great blessings.
No individual who holds either the Aaronic or the Melchizedek Priesthood has received it but what they were asked the question as to whether or not they would be faithful and true and to keep themselves sweet and unspotted from the sins of the world, and to render whatever service may be required.
To those who are active in the priesthood, the Lord has admonished us in the 108th Section of the Doctrine & Covenants, the 7th Verse, as follows:
Therefore, strengthen your brethren in all your conversation, in all your prayers, in all your exhortations, and in all your doings.
This places squarely upon the shoulders of all of us the responsibility to strengthen those who may be weak in the spirit of tolerance, patience, and love.
As I think of our inactive brethren, I feel that they are to some degree the "Forgotten Men." Might I ask you the question, "What have you done to encourage and stimulate the indifferent young men or older men to activity in the Church?" This should be the time to take an individual inventory of your attitude and my attitude toward our brethren. These men are not problem men, but they are men with a problem. Neither are they marked men, nor are they to be stigmatized, but rather your responsibility and mine is to find solutions to their problems. We must never forget that the Priesthood is a Divine Brotherhood, and the Divine Brotherhood of God should radiate love, good will and helpfulness to all.
There are no deficiencies in the priesthood organization as the Lord has revealed it to us, but there may be some deficiencies in those of us who fail to carry out the plan of the priesthood in being our brother's keeper. Our brethren who are not as interested as they might be have outstanding qualities of character, and these qualities could well be emulated by all of us. Again, the statement of Lehi of old: "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy," and the greatest joy of all is brought forcibly to our attention in the 18th Section of the Doctrine & Covenants, the 15th Verse:
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!.
And in the 16th Verse:
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!.
Again, in the spirit of kindness, tolerance and patience let us strive to the accomplishment of bringing back into the fold of activity every member of the priesthood, and that by uniting together we shall lift one another up to the full stature of servants of God, even from the deacon to the high priest.
These past two years due to the untiring work of stake presidencies, high councilmen, bishoprics and senior Aaronic Priesthood advisors, it has been possible to organize 1,581 senior Aaronic Priesthood quorums and groups constituted of the following: 826 senior priests quorums, 368 senior teachers quorums, 371 senior deacons quorums, and 16 mixed groups. These priesthood quorum organizations require the services of approximately 5,000 of our senior Aaronic Priesthood brethren to make up the presidencies. This is a most encouraging accomplishment, but we cannot cease our efforts upon this accomplishment, but we must look forward to see what there is left to be done.
In the stakes, there are 65,000 senior members of the Aaronic Priesthood. If all of these brethren were organized into quorums as the Lord has indicated in the 107th Section of the Doctrine & Covenants, we would have at least a total of 5,000 Senior Aaronic Priesthood quorums. The accomplishment of this will require unceasing effort.
In 1953, 3,000 senior members of the Aaronic Priesthood were advanced to the Melchizedek Priesthood. For this accomplishment, I would have you know we are most grateful, but unfortunately there were more of our brethren joined the senior Aaronic Priesthood group than were advanced to the Melchizedek Priesthood, which brings me to another question, "What about our sons who hold the Aaronic Priesthood under the age of twenty-one-these wonderful young men who Elbert Hubbard declared were made of 'Soul Stuff'?" And the most valuable "Soul Stuff" in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ are these young men born in this dispensation. They are the choice spirits, for they have been born in most instances under the new and everlasting covenant. It causes us deep concern when we find that during the year 1953 there were 3,332 twenty-year-old deacons, teachers and priests that within the coming year will become members of the senior Aaronic Priesthood group. This terse statement tells a sad story. If we were to go into the lives of these young men, out of our investigation, we would find that someone, either a bishop, a bishop's counselor or an Aaronic Priesthood advisor has been remiss in his duty. I can't help but believe that all of these young men have become inactive and disinterested because they have lost contact with the Church, and we lose contact with all of these potential members of the senior Aaronic Priesthood by our failure to keep in constant touch with them, particularly when they are inactive and indifferent. There is but one solution to keep Aaronic Priesthood members under the age of twenty-one interested, motivated and active in their priesthood work, and that is through a very definite system of personal contacts. The Church has been built up on personal contacts. Your grandfather and my grandfather accepted the gospel because of many personal contacts made by missionaries. The contact system is still the most profitable and only one whereby inactive and indifferent members of the Church can be brought back into the fold.
I should like to relate a beautiful story of one of the great spiritual leaders of the Church, President Edward J. Wood, former president of the Alberta Temple and Alberta Stake. The story as related to me by him is as follows:
The bishop of his ward called into a special meeting some of the brethren, and among them was President Wood. The bishop announced that the brethren had been called together to go on a special mission, and this was the mission: The bishop announced, "We have a group of young men under the age of twenty-one who hold the Aaronic Priesthood who now manifest no interest and render no service. They must be brought back. Hence, I am calling each one of you brethren on a special mission to bring back one of these boys." President Wood said, "I wondered at first what kind of a mission my bishop was calling me to perform when I was president of the Alberta Temple and president of the Alberta Stake of Zion, but when he made his announcement, I gladly responded to the call. My assignment was to visit a boy who lived five miles out of Cardston. I thought first of the boy's family. I knew I would have to face an indifferent father and an indifferent mother, and so I decided to invite him to attend the ward Priesthood Meeting with me which was held on a week night. I drove the five miles to the boy's home, and as I anticipated, the father was indifferent and the mother was indifferent saying, 'If our son decides to go to priesthood meeting with you that is his privilege.'" And so the president stated that after a good deal of persuasion the boy reluctantly consented to go to priesthood meeting.
During the time it took to drive the five miles, what do you suppose this wise man talked about? Did he talk about the Church? "No." Did he talk about priesthood? "No." Was he critical of the boy for his failure to at tend to his priesthood obligations? "No." But, he talked about the things that the boy and all boys are interested in, namely athletics. He opened up the subject by telling the boy of his own experience when he and his brother William were the champion bicycle riders of the State of Utah. Was the boy interested? "Surely," for he, too, was interested in athletics as all boys are. The president of the stake, the president of the Temple brought himself down to the level of the boy in being able to look through the eyes of a boy, and with the same viewpoint, the boy opened his heart to President Wood and was willing to talk about his achievements in the field of athletics.
Arriving at the chapel, President Wood asked the boy if he would attend his deacons meeting, "Yes," he would. Then, the president requested him to listen intently and to report to him as to what had been said and what had been done. After the meeting, it was easy to open up a discussion on the priesthood, and as the boy reported in all frankness and forthrightness, he told the president that he hadn't heard anything he liked, nor was there anything done in the quorum meeting that inspired him. President Wood asked him what was wrong, and the boy readily answered, "The teacher was not prepared. I knew he was not prepared because when the quorum opened its meeting, he handed the manual first to one boy and then to another to read a paragraph." He said, "I might as well of stayed home, I am sure I would have learned more." There were no assignments made to the deacons, either for passing the sacrament or gathering fast offerings. In fact, there was no action in the quorum meeting, and boys love action.
Arriving home, the president extended another invitation to the boy to attend priesthood meeting. The boy consented, but during the interim between the first meeting and the second, the president of the stake went to the advisor of the deacons quorum and pointed out to him the reason why the boys were inactive and indifferent, the president's reason being that the teacher was unprepared, secondly, the president of the deacons quorum was not called up to preside over the quorum, and thirdly, no assignments were being made. You can rest assured that the next week the teacher was prepared, the presidency of the deacons quorum was in its place presiding over the meeting, and assignments were made, and thus for six consecutive weeks the man with the greatest amount of responsibility and work to do made a round trip of twenty miles to pick up a deacon and take him to priesthood meeting. As the seventh week dawned, the president asked himself the question, "I wonder if I am accomplishing anything in behalf of this boy? Tonight I will make a test of my plan." In place of driving to the boy's home, the president went to priesthood meeting, and soon the fruits of the president's efforts were manifested, for thirty minutes late, the deacon came in. At the end of the meeting, President Wood declared, "I received the greatest thrill of my life. That boy sided up to me and placed his hand in mine, looked me squarely in the eye, and expressed his gratitude and appreciation for what I had done in just two words in boy language, 'My Pal.'"
Brethren, that is the solution to the problem of the Aaronic Priesthood under the age of twenty-one where they become indifferent-"Palship," and may I emphasize it is the solution. Palship first means contacts with boys. It means that if you establish palship, you have their confidence, good will, and their love. They will follow you to the ends of the earth if necessary. Yes, Elbert Hubbard was right when he declared, "Boys are made of Soul Stuff," and the most precious "Soul Stuff" in all the world is found in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, for herein are potential General Authorities, stake presidents, and bishoprics, and numerous other future leaders.
Yes brethren, there are some outstanding achievements due to the efforts of you Aaronic Priesthood workers. It affords me a great thrill to announce tonight that more than 15,000 young men will receive an Individual Aaronic Priesthood Award for their faithfulness and service in the priesthood, for they have attended their sacrament meetings priesthood meetings, have paid a full tithing, have kept the Word of Wisdom and met their priesthood obligations in full. Again, we must not look back at what we have done, but rather we should look forward and remember that out of a total of 63,000 members of the Aaronic Priesthood under the age of twenty-one, there are still 48,000 who have not achieved as have the 15,000. These 48,000 should enjoy that divine thing that I choose to call "palship."
Brethren, there is but one question left, "Are you and I our brother's keeper?". The answer is obvious. The priesthood of God is a divine order founded upon the love of God for his sons, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, and his son so loved the world that he gave his life for the redemption of all, and if you and I love our neighbors, as God has commanded, as ourselves, we shall close our priesthood ranks and we will gather our brethren who may be inactive in the priesthood to our side and present to the world a priesthood solidarity which will give all of us the strength to destroy the enemy of indifference and temptation and criticism, and which will inspire us to be as one, as are the Father and the Son one, and as Lehi declared: "Men are that they might have joy", and above that and most important of all that we shall be instrumental in the Lord's greatest work to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man, which I humbly pray will be the heartfelt desire and accomplishment of all of us, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop Joseph L. Wirthlin:
Brethren, the First Presidency, out of their kindness and generosity, have permitted the Presiding Bishopric to show you a film tonight that deals with the procedures of the Adult Aaronic Priesthood plan and program. May I say to you that in this film there is a story and in the story there is a character. We want you to understand that while we show the extremes to which this particular man went, the purpose is to show what can be done if we are kind and patient, no matter how far afield some of our brethren may go. This film does not intend to carry the impression that all of our senior Aaronic brethren have gone as far as this particular character went.
President Stephen L Richards
Stephen L Richards, Conference Report, April 1954, pp. 10-13
My brethren: With the impressive presentation which we have witnessed here in this building tonight, I wish that, all assembled who are privileged by special wire to hear this service might have seen it also.
With President Clark's remarks as something of a background and justification, I would like to say a few words to the priesthood upon a subject which has been weighing upon my mind for quite a period of time. I would like to speak briefly on the subject of justice and mercy. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is founded on law, salutary, righteous, benevolent law, established or the salvation and the blessing of humanity. For every law given, there is a penalty for its infraction. I know of no scripture where this is more plainly stated than by the Prophet Alma: "Now, how could a man repent except he should sin? How could he sin if there was no law? How could there be a law save there was a punishment?". The Savior himself declared that he came to fulfill the law, not to do away with it, but with the law he brought the principle of merry to temper its enforcement, and to bring hope and encouragement to offenders for forgiveness through repentance.
I presume it has always been a nice question, and a perplexing one, to determine when the demands of justice are satisfied and the principle of merry takes over. To assist in the determination of this issue, we have available to us again the words of Alma: "For behold, justice exerciseth all his demands, and also merry claimeth all which is her own; and thus, none but the truly penitent are saved. What, do ye suppose that merry can rob justice? I say unto you, Nay; not one whit. If so, God would cease to be God".
Now the Church of Christ is commissioned with the authority to interpret the law and pass judgment on infractions thereof. This is a heavy responsibility, one which many officers of the Church would forego, if they could justify themselves in so doing. In civil government it is not uncommon to hear references to the majesty of the law, by which is contemplated, we may assume, not only its supremacy and binding force, but also the deference and respect which should be shown for it, and the obligation to sustain its sovereign power. Certainly this applies with greater force and extended meaning to the majesty of divine law. It is God's law. It must be supported and it must be enforced to win salvation and the respect of those within the Kingdom and those without.
For the maintenance of the law of the Lord, judges have been set up in his Kingdom, tribunals established, and guiding principles laid down for the administration of justice. Bishops of Wards have been designated common judges in Israel, and they, with their counselors, have been delegated with authority to deal with cases properly coming under their jurisdiction. Appellate courts, culminating in the First Presidency of the Church, have likewise been designated by revelation having both appellate and original jurisdiction.
With this as a premise, I ask first the question, How can the priesthood and ecclesiastical authority of the Church best discharge the responsibility so committed to it. Do not "the judges in Israel" have a compelling obligation to deal with all cases of infraction against the law, mercifully but justly? What good to the Church, what real benefit to erring members, can come from ignoring this obligation and, as we sometimes say, winking at and "white-washing" the offenders? Can the judges thus help in setting people on the way to repentance and forgiveness?
What is repentance, and when does it become operative in the attainment of forgiveness? We all know the answer. Repentance consists first in a godly sorrow. Note the term "godly sorrow," which the scriptures tell us "worketh repentance to salvation... but the sorrow of the world worketh death". This godly sorrow is something more than admission after being discovered in sin, and the judges in Zion will do well not to confuse the two. Next after godly sorrow comes confession, which is prompted by the inward sorrow and the earnest desire for relief from the suffering entailed by acute realization of wrongdoing of which we saw an impressive illustration tonight. To whom should confession be made? To the Lord, of course, whose law has been violated. To the aggrieved person or persons, as an essential in making due retribution if that is necessary. And then certainly to the Lord's representative, his appointed judge in Israel, under whose ecclesiastical jurisdiction the offender lives and holds membership in the Kingdom.
Is the offender justified in bypassing his immediate Church authority and judge, and going to those who do not know him so well to make his confession? Almost universally, I think the answer should be No, for the local tribunals are in position to know the individual, his history and environs far better than those who have not had close contact with him, and in consequence the local authorities have a background which will enable them to pass judgment with more justice, and also mercy, than might be reasonably expected from any other source. It follows that it is the order of the Church for confessions to be made to the Bishop, which entails heavy and exacting responsibilities on the part of the Bishop, the first of which is that every confession should be received and held in the utmost confidence. A Bishop who violates such a sacred confidence is himself guilty of an offense before God and the Church. Where it becomes necessary to take counselors into his confidence, as it frequently does, and where it is necessary to organize tribunals, the Bishop should inform the confessor, and if possible obtain his permission so to do.
Why is confession essential? First, because the Lord has commanded it, and secondly, because the offender cannot live and participate in the Kingdom of God, to receive the blessings therefrom, with a lie in his heart.
Now the confessed offender is not without hope, for he can obtain. forgiveness by following the course outlined, and by forsaking sins comparable to that committed, as well as all other sin, and living before the Church and the Lord in such manner as to win approbation of both. The offender who has brought stigma and affront to the ward, the stake or the mission should seek the forgiveness of those he has thus offended. That may be had at times through the presiding authorities of the various divisions of the Church. At other times it may be appropriate and quite necessary to make amends for public offenses and seek forgiveness before organizations of the people. The judges of Israel will determine this matter. And if the judges in the missions, the wards and the stakes need counsel in the matter, they know where to get it.
How may the judges of Israel determine when repentance is adequate? Surely this determination must rest with the inspired discernment and discretion of the judges. No specification of time required can be definitely made, but one caution may be wisely observed. That caution is for a sufficient time to elapse to permit a period of probation for the one seeking forgiveness. This probation serves a double purpose: First, and perhaps most important, it enables the offender to determine for himself whether he has been able to so master himself as to trust himself in the face of ever-recurring temptation; and secondly, to enable the judges to make a more reliable appraisement of the genuineness of repentance and worthiness for restored confidence.
Now I well recognize that the most serious aspects of this whole matter relate to personalities involved. I think I have never been moved to greater compassion than that arising out of sympathy for the innocent victims of a sin committed by a son or a daughter, a father or a mother. I am sure that the officers of the Church will always be susceptible to feelings of deep pity for those who have fallen from the path of righteousness and for their families. And the question will continually arise in the future, as it has done throughout the past, how far such considerations shall deter the judges of Israel from merciful, kind, but just adjudication of offenses against the laws of God. Long ago I have taken the position, with which I think my brethren accord, that every case of infraction and I speak now of those infractions violative of the laws of God which involve moral turpitude, every infraction against the laws of God should be dealt with. I do not say how. I leave that to the inspired wisdom of the judges. Knowingly permitting a serious infraction of divine law to pass unnoticed is no kindness to the offender. He will never gain forgiveness except on the terms the Lord has prescribed, and which I have tried to outline.
And I ask you as a final question, How can we ever hope to maintain the dignity of the Church and the majesty of the law of the Lord without exercising disciplinary action through the tribunals which the Lord has set up. So I think I am justified in calling upon the Bishoprics, the High Councils, the Stake Presidencies, the Mission Presidencies, and the officers of quorums to be watchmen on the towers of Zion, to guard and forewarn the people against the incursion of sin, to teach in plainness and without equivocation the law of the Lord, to up old the law, and righteously and mercifully enforce it for the blessing of our membership in the Church and all mankind.
Now I hope, my brethren, that I do not seem too exacting in what I have laid before you. I believe that it is but a kindness to our brethren and our sisters throughout the Kingdom of the Lord to make them understand these principles which he has laid down, and I believe that if we exercise the great priesthood which has been given to us in the manner in which we should exercise it, we shall accomplish for those who offend, as well as for the Church, a great service. And I ask the Lord to bless us in this great power of the Holy Priesthood, to which tribute has been paid here tonight. It is the power of God; it is the direct delegation of his authority for the administration of his work, and he has selected his servant who stands at the head of this Kingdom to represent him, and I know that as we follow his direction and counsel and his example, we will win for ourselves his confidence and we will win the confidence of the Lord, and the blessings which will make us happy.
May the Lord bless you, my brethren, I humbly ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1954, pp. 13-14
We have several notes here should be considered by presiding officers in stakes and wards, in addition to those already mentioned in the message given by the Bishopric and by the counselors in the Presidency.
One of these I will mention. The others we can carry over. Will the presidencies of stakes at your quarterly conference please present to the visiting General Authorities any problems which you have that are current, or might he current within a few days or weeks. Let the Brethren who are on the ground consider these problems with you. It may be the reorganization of a bishopric, the appointment of high councilmen, or the reorganization of a high council. Not infrequently we find before us correspondence from stakes in which quarterly conference was held just the week before our Thursday meeting, problems which should have been taken up with the visiting Brethren.
If you will follow that little suggestion it will expedite matters in the Presidency's office, which are accumulating.
As I contemplate the vast audience of Priesthood tonight, assembled in the various places named at the opening of the meeting, and realize the potency and power of this great body of men, I am overwhelmed. As I sat in the audience and listened to the message given so impressively by the Bishopric, and so successfully by the men and women who produced that film, I felt my feelings swell within my breast as to the possibility of the good that will be done, and can be done, by these fifteen or twenty or twenty-five thousand men of the Priesthood who are worshipping tonight.
"There's surely somewhere a lowly place In earth's harvest fields so wide, Where I may labor thro' life's short day For Jesus, the Crucified; So trusting my all to Thy tender care, And knowing Thou lovest me, I'll do Thy will with a heart sincere, I'll be what you want me to be."
I hope everybody who sang that verse applied it to himself, and in a way made a sacred vow to do better in the future than in the past, and there cam mind five fundamental virtues t should be associated with that will. I will just name them.
First is faith-faith in God the Father, in His Son, faith in our fellow men.
The second is honesty, a childish sincerity, honest in dealing with our fellow men. It is the foundation of all character. If you offer prayer at night and you have dealt dishonestly with your fellows during the day, I rather think that as the king in Hamlet, your words fly up but your thoughts remain below; but if you have dealt honestly, the Lord will hear and answer your true feelings.
The third is loyalty. It is a wonderful principle. A true friend is loyal. Many acquaintances are not, and may not be. Be loyal to the Priesthood. Be loyal to your wives and to your families, loyal to your friends.
I cannot think that the Spirit of God will strive with a man who in any way helps to break up another man's family. I care not what seeming attraction may be between him and the wife of the other man. God will withdraw his Spirit from such a one.
Do you know that five or six letters that have come just this week from broken-hearted wives of some men who are disillusioned with the Church have their origin in dishonest dealings with men, or fancied dishonest dealings of brethren, and three of them from broken-hearted wives who are pleading for something to be said to have their husbands brought to recall what it means to be loyal to covenants made in the House of the Lord.
Fourth, there springs from that chastity. All these 25,000 men, clean. That means something in this old world.
Fifth, in the heart of each one a willingness, indeed, a desire, to serve their fellow men.
I will say no more, but I feel impressed to ask you, and all other listening in to repeat with me the First Article of Faith, and the Thirteenth Article of Faith, and let us say it slowly, and think of each word as we say it.
You recall the first: "We believe in God, he Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost".
The Thirteenth: "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 man 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".
Will you brethren? The first,
Thirteenth.
May inspiration from on high and the constant guidance of the Holy Spirit enable each of us to accentuate that belief by radiating in our daily lives the ideals and principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I earnestly pray in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1954, pp. 13-14
We have several notes here should be considered by presiding officers in stakes and wards, in addition to those already mentioned in the message given by the Bishopric and by the counselors in the Presidency.
One of these I will mention. The others we can carry over. Will the presidencies of stakes at your quarterly conference please present to the visiting General Authorities any problems which you have that are current, or might he current within a few days or weeks. Let the Brethren who are on the ground consider these problems with you. It may be the reorganization of a bishopric, the appointment of high councilmen, or the reorganization of a high council. Not infrequently we find before us correspondence from stakes in which quarterly conference was held just the week before our Thursday meeting, problems which should have been taken up with the visiting Brethren.
If you will follow that little suggestion it will expedite matters in the Presidency's office, which are accumulating.
As I contemplate the vast audience of Priesthood tonight, assembled in the various places named at the opening of the meeting, and realize the potency and power of this great body of men, I am overwhelmed. As I sat in the audience and listened to the message given so impressively by the Bishopric, and so successfully by the men and women who produced that film, I felt my feelings swell within my breast as to the possibility of the good that will be done, and can be done, by these fifteen or twenty or twenty-five thousand men of the Priesthood who are worshipping tonight.
"There's surely somewhere a lowly place In earth's harvest fields so wide, Where I may labor thro' life's short day For Jesus, the Crucified; So trusting my all to Thy tender care, And knowing Thou lovest me, I'll do Thy will with a heart sincere, I'll be what you want me to be."
I hope everybody who sang that verse applied it to himself, and in a way made a sacred vow to do better in the future than in the past, and there cam mind five fundamental virtues t should be associated with that will. I will just name them.
First is faith-faith in God the Father, in His Son, faith in our fellow men.
The second is honesty, a childish sincerity, honest in dealing with our fellow men. It is the foundation of all character. If you offer prayer at night and you have dealt dishonestly with your fellows during the day, I rather think that as the king in Hamlet, your words fly up but your thoughts remain below; but if you have dealt honestly, the Lord will hear and answer your true feelings.
The third is loyalty. It is a wonderful principle. A true friend is loyal. Many acquaintances are not, and may not be. Be loyal to the Priesthood. Be loyal to your wives and to your families, loyal to your friends.
I cannot think that the Spirit of God will strive with a man who in any way helps to break up another man's family. I care not what seeming attraction may be between him and the wife of the other man. God will withdraw his Spirit from such a one.
Do you know that five or six letters that have come just this week from broken-hearted wives of some men who are disillusioned with the Church have their origin in dishonest dealings with men, or fancied dishonest dealings of brethren, and three of them from broken-hearted wives who are pleading for something to be said to have their husbands brought to recall what it means to be loyal to covenants made in the House of the Lord.
Fourth, there springs from that chastity. All these 25,000 men, clean. That means something in this old world.
Fifth, in the heart of each one a willingness, indeed, a desire, to serve their fellow men.
I will say no more, but I feel impressed to ask you, and all other listening in to repeat with me the First Article of Faith, and the Thirteenth Article of Faith, and let us say it slowly, and think of each word as we say it.
You recall the first: "We believe in God, he Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost".
The Thirteenth: "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 man 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".
Will you brethren? The first,
Thirteenth.
May inspiration from on high and the constant guidance of the Holy Spirit enable each of us to accentuate that belief by radiating in our daily lives the ideals and principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I earnestly pray in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1954, pp. 22-26
The following I take from Section 4 of the Doctrine and Covenants. It was recorded in 1829.
"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 strength, that ye may stand blamed before God at the last day.
"Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work;
"And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work".
When that revelation was given to the Prophet Joseph Smith, he was twenty-three years of age. The Book of Mormon was not yet published; no man had been ordained to the priesthood. The Church was not organized; yet the statement was made and written without qualification that "... a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men."
Another significant feature of this revelation, and others given about the same period, is the naming of essential qualifications of those who were to participate in the bringing about of this marvelous work. These qualifications were not the possession of wealth, not social distinction, not political preferment, not military achievement, not nobility of birth; but a desire to serve God with all your "heart, mind, and strength"-spiritual qualities that contribute to nobility of soul. I repeat: no popularity, no wealth, no theological training in Church government-yet a marvelous work was about to come forth among the children of men.
Manifestly, some higher power was operating to bring about this marvelous work other than mere human and material means.
In passing, it is interesting to note that about that same period Robert Owen of England, a man of exceptional ability, a religious person, decried the departure of the churches from the simple teachings of Jesus. He was dissatisfied also with economic conditions of that time, for he saw little children, indeed he had some working in his own factories, who were only eight and ten years of age. He introduced the law which required the prohibition of little children from working at night and limited others to ten hours a day. He was desirous of establishing conditions which would at least ameliorate some of these conditions which were almost unbearable in society at that time.
He won the confidence of leaders, and the Duke of Kent became his patron. With a fortune in his hand, he came to the new world about 1823. He established what he hoped would be an ideal society. Within three years he had lost two hundred thousand dollars, and his experiment failed.
Joseph Smith had no such royal patron, no potentially influential friends. Over one hundred years have passed, and the work of the Church today is stronger and more flourishing than ever before.
This morning I feel impressed to refer briefly to the missionary phase of this "marvelous work."
Recent visits to the various missions of the world have impressed me more deeply than ever with the importance and magnitude of the Church, and with its responsibility to make more potent the proclaiming of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
"Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world".
Such was the charge given by the risen Lord to his authorized disciples over nineteen hundreds years ago! Such is the charge given by the risen Lord to his authorized servants today. In the corresponding account given by Mark the passage reads: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned," or condemned.
In both these records you will note two fundamental messages are clearly stated:
First: The responsibility to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to all the world is explicitly given to those who were called and ordained Apostles of the Lord.
Second: The message implied by Matthew and stated definitely by Mark that, to use Peter's words, "... there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved".
In these passages are also intimated, if not clearly stated, that there are two great divisions in the Church of Jesus Christ. First is the missionary, and the second, organization for instruction, mutual edification, and service.
Four conditions contribute to the intensifying of the thought or sense of responsibility of the Church.
First of these are modern means of transportation. These have made practically all nations neighbors. When the Twelve Apostles of old received the admonition from the Lord to go into all the world to preach the gospel, they had, to quote Beverley Nichols, "only the wind to bear them over the seas, only a few pence in their pocket but 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."
Today "God has given us the power of whispering across space, of transmitting our thoughts from one end of the earth to another." Geographical conditions or distances are just the same, but in point of time New York is as near to the Church headquarters as Provo was when President Brigham Young traveled by horses and whitetop wagon. London is nearer than Fillmore; South Africa, closer than St. George! What a marvelous age we are living in!
Second, another condition that intensifies the importance and magnitude of the Church in its responsibility to the peoples of the world is the willingness of men and women to consecrate their time, their means, and their ability to the advancement of the kingdom of God. No one can associate intimately with mission presidents and with missionaries without being filled with commendation and praise for their sincerity, their untiring energy, their concern for their associates, and or their unselfish devotion to the proclamation of peace and good will. And the same is true of other men in various occupations and callings throughout the Church.
Even more worthy of admiration, meriting more highly the gratitude of the many blessed by their intelligent, loving service, and entire forgetfulness of themselves are our wives and mothers. The inestimable work they do in the missionary field, as in the home, too seldom receives due recognition and praise. I have profound respect, for example, for the mission president's wife who, while showing her deepest tenderness in helping her husband to do his duty, yet in her own sphere, by intelligent, superb planning and unselfish service, gives to any habitation the true spirit of home; and by tender admonition and encouragement, lightens the heart of homesick elders with the assurance that they can and will succeed.
Third, the fulfilment of prophecies made over a hundred years ago regarding the growth of the Church brings forcibly to our minds the responsibility of proclaiming the truth.
Let us take a glimpse at what the Church has accomplished since its humble beginning in 1830. There have been since that time 67,615 missionaries set apart, at an approximate cost to them and their families of $54,500,000.00.
Within the last fifty years the number of missions in the Church has doubled from twenty-one to forty-two today, with 1754 branches.
In addition to what the individuals have spent in missionary work, the Church between 1910 and 1937, inclusive, expended $18,620,028.00. From 1938 to 1953, inclusive, $34,026,640.00, making a total from Church funds of $52,646,668.00. This does not include what the Church spent between the years 1830 and 1910. I could not get those figures. So that is a total amount in dollars expended for missionary service of $107,146,668.00. Just let your mind go back now to the beginning before there was a Church organized, before the Book of Mormon was published, and think how truly was the word spoken that a marvelous work and a wonder was about to come forth.
A half century ago there were comparatively few chapels in the missions owned by the Church. Today there are 410 completed in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Hawaii, at a cost of $8,488,431.00. There are 206 completed in foreign lands at a cost of $4,525,335.00.
There are 142 buildings now under construction in the missions at a cost of $6,058,450.00. Besides these mission chapels, there are thirty-three mission homes purchased at a cost of over $1,000,000.00.
At the turn of the century there were forty-five stakes, with approximately 550 wards. Today there are 212 stakes with 1683 wards and 232 independent branches.
In addition to this, there are 112 seminary and institute buildings completed at a cost of $2,788,798.00; Brigham Young University buildings, $9,470,000.00, or a total cost of $32,464,438.00.
Now note in the wards and stakes, although this is not directly on my theme, we have nearly 1300 chapels, completed at an original cost of $76,196,505.00; 351 others under construction at a cost of $34,916,707.00; a total cost for ward and stake buildings of $111,113,205.00; or a grand total for Church buildings of $143,577,643.00.
Here is another phase of Church work-baptisms for those who did not have a chance to hear the gospel before they died. As of December 31, 1953, there had been performed a total of 17,357,931 baptisms, and a total number of endowments of 15,035,700.
A marvelous work and a wonder!
Creditable chapels are now found in Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, France, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, and throughout the British Empire. Members in Johannesburg are waiting for plans to build a modern chapel on a very suitable lot already secured for that purpose.
On our recent tour to South America we had the pleasure of laying the cornerstone of a chapel in Montevideo, which would be a credit to any ward in the Church, with its chapel, recreation hall, and classrooms. Other sites are already chosen throughout the mission. At Durban, there will be a chapel, recreation hall, and classrooms ready for dedication some time next month.
In the fastest growing city in the world, so they told us-Sao Paulo-where the price of a lot for a chapel is almost prohibitive, the president of the mission is authorized to see what he can do to find a suitable building lot and make his recommendation for a flourishing branch in that great city of over three million.
Other branches in Brazil are calling for suitable accommodations. In the Argentine Mission we visited six chapels near Buenos Aires, in fact, in that city. Though it was merely an investigating tour, we found at each place from fifty to one hundred and fifty members waiting to greet us.
Ever since its organization, the Panama Branch in the Central American Mission has been the recipient of the hospitality of Rabbi Nathan Witkins and the members of the Jewish Church who shared their meeting accommodations with our Church members. Here an active, energetic group merit a meeting place of their own. We express appreciation of the co-operation of this Jewish group who entertained us while we were there visiting officially.
In Guatemala there is already being completed a chapel with its tile flooring and oak finish at such a reasonable cost as would make any ward in the Church envious.
Commendable progress is being made throughout Mexico in regards to furnishing suitable houses of worship.
Brethren and sisters, I cite these few conditions and references not only by way of commendation to the officers and members of these various missions, but for the purpose of calling your attention to this important question:
Fourth, if within a little more than a century this Church could achieve such success in numbers, wealth, and influence, how much more, comparatively speaking, might we accomplish within the next half century with a million and a half loyal members, with comparative prosperity attending our efforts, and with a better understanding in the minds of the intelligent, well-informed people as to the purposes and aims of the Church of Jesus Christ?
Ours is the responsibility, greater than ever before, to proclaim:
1. That the Church is divinely established by the appearance of God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ to the Prophet Joseph Smith, and that divine through the priesthood is given to represent Deity in establishing Christ's Church upon the earth.
2. That its assigned responsibility is to fulfil the admonition of Jesus to his Apostles to "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
"Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world".
3. To proclaim peace and good will unto all mankind.
4. To exert every effort, and all means within our reach to make evil-thinking men good, good men better, and all people happier.
5. To proclaim the truth that each individual is a child of God and important in his sight; that he is entitled to freedom of thought, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly; that he has the right to worship God according to the dictates of his conscience. In this positive declaration, we imply that organizations or churches which deprive the individual of these inherent rights are not in harmony with God's will nor with his revealed word.
Finally, ours is the responsibility to make available to the tens of thousands of faithful members throughout the foreign missions the privilege of participating in the eternal nature of covenants and ceremonies.
Not counting Kirtland and Nauvoo, eight temples have been completed and are now in use, with two more under construction at a total cost of $13,758,750.00.
One of our greatest responsibilities is to make accessible to faithful members of the Church in foreign lands suitable houses of the Lord. Tens of thousands of them are not able to come where temples are, and where they receive the blessings of the endowment, to have sealed to them their wives and their children for time and all eternity. Ours is the duty to carry the temple to them. It may not be expensive, but it will be complete, and thus will churches be built and strengthened throughout the world.
On this Sunday morning, may we demonstrate our knowledge of the reality of Christ's existence and our love for the gospel by renewed service to his Church, by greater kindness and forbearance toward our associates, and by exercising more charity for the honest in heart the world over.
In the words of President John Taylor, and radiating his same spirit, we say to the priesthood throughout the world:
"Go to every tribe and nation; Visit every land and clime; Sound to all the proclamation; Tell to all the truth sublime; That the gospel, Does in ancient glory shine."
God give us this power and the spirit of our callings in rich abundance I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, April 1954, pp. 26-28
I have always taken a great interest in Section 4 of the Doctrine and Covenants, one reason being that it was given directly to my great-grandfather, who made inquiry to know what the Lord would have him do. Second, because I have always considered that this revelation was written to me, not only to me, but also to every man in the Church holding the Holy Priesthood.
It was not intended as a personal revelation.
May I make a comment? I do not wish to detract from anything that has been said by President McKay, but I would like to make this comment in relation to verse 4: "For 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".
There is a great responsibility resting upon the members of the Church, both men and women, to proclaim the words of eternal life, but more especially upon these men who have accepted the priesthood with a promise that they would be true and faithful and would magnify their callings, and in the verse that I have read the Lord proclaims this fact: that if we fail in the duties that are assigned to us and refuse to accept the responsibilities which come from that priesthood, that we ourselves are in danger of losing our own salvation. It is a great responsibility resting upon each of us to proclaim this truth to a benighted world. I say benighted because for hundreds of years they have been without the guidance of the Spirit of the Lord and the proper understanding of the things which are written in the scriptures. They have not had a correct understanding of the nature of God, not until the Prophet Joseph Smith came to reveal it.
Strange as that may be, considering the plainness with which the doctrine is taught throughout the scriptures, and so plainly presented this morning by President Clark in his radio talk, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that they are separate individuals or personages, one the Father and one the Son, but the world did not understand. They do not understand it today notwithstanding the fact that the Lord has made it so plain through the revelations that came through the Prophet Joseph Smith.
It is rather remarkable, is it not, that all the great religious teachers of the world, since the time of the passing of the Apostles to the time that this youth went out into the woods to pray, had no clear understanding of the nature of God.
The men of the Protestant Reformation did not understand it, and in their endeavors to correct the evils that they saw then existing, it never entered into their minds that the doctrine that had been proclaimed since the third century or the fourth century of the Christian era was not in accord with the revelations given by the Apostles of God as they are recorded in the New Testament. That never entered their minds, but they continued that same doctrine of the mysterious nature of God, that Jesus Christ lost his body after the resurrection and was swallowed up in some mysterious way into the great body of God, ethereal in its nature.
Now, when Joseph Smith went out into the woods to pray, he had no understanding that the Father and the Son were separate Personages. I am sure of that. How would he know it after listening to the teachings of the ministers of his day? But he came back after the manifestation was given to him, having been instructed by the Son of God with that knowledge clearly in his mind, and proclaimed it to the world-that Jesus Christ is literally the only begotten Son of God in the flesh, and that he is in the image of his Father.
He gave that great truth back again to the world, and unfortunately many of them, even to this day, are not ready nor willing to receive it. Now, in the preface to the book of Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord's preface, the first section in the book, we have some proclamations given for the benefit of the world which I would like to read to you.
"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.
"Behold, I am God and have spoken it; these commandments are of me, and were given unto my servants in their weakness, after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding.
"And inasmuch as they erred it might be made known;
"And inasmuch as they sought wisdom they might be instructed;
"And inasmuch as they sinned they might be chastened, that they might repent;
"And inasmuch as they were humble they might be made strong, and blessed from on high, and receive knowledge from time to time.
"And after having received the record of the Nephites, yea, even my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., might have power to translate through the mercy of God, by the power of God, the Book of Mormon.
"And also those to whom these commandments were given, might have power to lay the foundation of this church, and to bring it forth out of obscurity and out of darkness, the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which I, the Lord, am well pleased, speaking unto the church collectively and not individually-
"For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance.
I wish the Lord could have said, and I wish he could say it today, that this is the only Church upon the face of the earth with which he is well pleased considering this Church individually. That he cannot say, but if we would humble ourselves, if those who are wayward and indifferent, who have received the testimony of the truth would repent, and if every man and every woman and child who is old enough to understand would turn unto the Lord with full purpose of heart and honor and serve him as we are commanded to do, the Lord would be able to say it.
The day is promised when righteousness shall prevail, and when it shall cover the face of the earth as the waters do the sea, and I am sure that many of us will have to humble ourselves if we live to see that day, and if we do not humble ourselves, and should that day come, we will have to be removed.
Brethren and sisters, let us keep the commandments of God as they have been revealed. Let us set the example before the people of the earth, that they, seeing our good works, may feel to repent and receive the truth and accept the plan of salvation, that they may receive salvation in the celestial kingdom of God, and so I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Hugh B. Brown
Hugh B. Brown, Conference Report, April 1954, pp. 28-30
Brethren and Sisters, there are times when silence would seem to be more appropriate than speech, when one is so overwhelmed that speech is no longer an adequate medium of expression, when one could wish that he could broadcast a message from his soul without opening his mouth.
Some years ago we took our little family down to the Grand Canyon of the Colorado. The children were young. We stood where thousands of you have stood, on Inspiration Point, and we saw with awe and wonder the depths, the distances, the majesty of that scene. We felt our littleness and insignificance
As we stood there absolutely speechless, with our arms around each other, little Mary slipped her hand in mine and said, "Daddy, don't you think we ought to pray?"
Looking out upon this great canyon of faces, and realizing that out beyond there are other thousands listening in, again one is smitten with a sense of littleness and insignificance, again it seems that prayer would be the only appropriate form of speech. A man may talk to God when he is afraid to talk to men. Would you join then in a continuation of the beautiful prayer that was offered in the invocation by President Woolf, which expressed thanks and gratitude for our blessings? All of us are indebted to the past, and I am sure we could, with profit, join in prayer and thanksgiving to God for those who preceded us. All of us, like the mountain streams, depend for our volume and quality upon the springs and tributaries that lie far back in the hills.
Indeed some of us are aware this morning of sustenance from tributaries which have their source on the other side of the valley of life. We thank thee, our Father, for our ancestors. Many of us look back through five generations of Latter-day Saints. We think of them who were associated with the Prophet, of their trials and difficulties; their heartbreaking experiences in Kirtland and Nauvoo; their subsequent journeys across the plains with their ox teams or handcarts; and for some of them the memorable march of the Mormon Battalion. They established themselves in this desert land, and some of them were called by the Authorities of the Church to move again and go into even more rugged and for bidding areas extending from Mexico to Canada. We thank God for our great progenitors. With Nephi, we feel that to be born of goodly parents is one of heaven's choicest blessings.
If for a moment we become personal, it is not because our experiences and heritage are unique-they are but typical of the lives of Latter-day Saints-but we are thinking now of a father, willing all his life to lay everything upon the altar, sending boys on missions, building up new areas, struggling against the elements. We are thinking of a pioneer mother, a woman who somehow had the genius to inspire in the hearts of each of her seven sons and seven daughters a sense of their individual worth and who predicted for them blessings in the future predicated upon observance of law.
We are thinking too of our companions, and I am sure all of you brethren who are assembled and who are listening will join in a tribute to those who know us best, in our weaknesses, and still somehow contrive to bring out of us something of our potential worth; who pray and love us into being our better selves.
This speech would not now be made were it not for one of the choicest of the daughters of Israel. Her faith and loyalty and love were sail and chart and compass on life's voyage. O God, we thank thee for our companions. We are grateful, too, for the hallowing influence of children in the home. They hold us like an anchor in the storm. We think back when we knelt by their beds to nurse them through affliction, when we called on God to bless and restore them, and he heard us; we thank God for the influence of their lives upon us, and for the continuing dividends of their love and loyalty.
We thank God for the privilege that has been ours of working with the young people of the Church. The inspiring message of our beloved President about conditions in the world and the need for missionaries makes those of us who have had that experience feel, as I am sure these mission presidents here today must feel, how great it would be if there could be a hundred thousand of them. I am sure each mission could absorb all the missionaries that we now can send.
Thank God for the privilege of working with those young people descendants of pioneer stock, faithful, full of integrity and faith. They have meant so much to our lives.
Humbly we thank God for the priceless privilege that has been ours to associate with the men in the service, men who are willing to die for freedom and country, and have the courage to live the principles of the gospel. We have seen them coming back from bombing missions, kneeling in their battle dress and talking to God as few men talk. Thank God for the privilege of associating with the servicemen. God bless them.
May we, as we leave this conference, not forget them, but let a flood of letters go out to them, expressing our faith in them, letting them know that we are praying for them.
Thank God, too, for the great privilege of associating with the students in Brigham Young University, the inspiration that comes from those thousands of valiant young Latter-day Saints, fruits of the gospel, nourished and sustained by the blood of their pioneer ancestors. Truly they are thoroughbreds. We almost envy you young people who are listening in, and who are here today, envy you the future, dark and difficult though it may seem. Do not allow the huge events that are darkening the horizon to intimidate your souls, for God will make you equal to your time and task. The same one who led your parents will stand by you if you forsake him not. We envy you as you go forth with the improved methods and increased power to which reference has been made, and we say, with the poet,
Ye that have faith to look with fearless eyes Beyond the tragedy of a world at strife, And know that out of death and night shall rise The dawn of ampler life: Rejoice, whatever anguish rend the heart, That God has given you the priceless dower To live in these great times and have your part That ye may tell your sons who see the light In Freedom's crowning hour, High in the heavens-their heritage to take- "I saw the powers of darkness take their flight; "I saw the morning break."
Now, while it would be inappropriate to even mention the first personal pronoun in this speech, it would be ungrateful indeed if reference were not made to the gratitude that fills our hearts for the privilege that now is ours to associate with these great men, a privilege that must not be misread as merit. We love and support and honor them. We thank God for the privilege of sitting at the feet of greater men than Gamaliel of old who tutored Paul.
God help us all that we may add to our faith, virtue, and to virtue, knowledge, and to knowledge, temperance, and to temperance, patience, and to patience, godliness, and to godliness, brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, charity. God grant that these things may be in us and abound, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Stephen L Richards
Stephen L Richards, Conference Report, April 1954, pp. 31-35
I am deeply grateful to be associated with you, my dear brethren and sisters, in this great conference of the Church. In your presence I give thanks for the blessings of health and strength sufficient to enable me to participate in the cause so dear to our hearts. I thank God for the testimony and conviction which has come to me in my youth, and grown throughout the years, that he lives, that he is the Organizer and Ruler of the universe, that his Son is our Redeemer and Savior and the Lord of this earth, and that his gospel, planned in the beginning to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man, has been authentically restored to the earth in its fulness, after a long period of time during which its spirit and power were lost to God's children
So grateful I am for these transcendent blessings which have come into my own life that years ago I resolved that with the Lord's help and the limited powers at my disposal I would do what I could to extend these benefactions to my fellow men, my brethren and sisters in the family of the lord. With such a purpose in mind, I have selected a text to inspiring addresses which have taken place not only at this session but also at the Church of the Air session, I would think to be substantially unnecessary, and yet which I fear in the interest of some at least, may with propriety be called to your attention. I have in mind the preface to the famous definition of the gospel which Paul gave to us years and years ago, in the following well-known words: "... I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ". I am induced to dwell upon these words through the observations which I have made for many years pertinent to the conduct of men and women both within and without the Church. I have remarked on previous occasions that Paul must have been inspired, as he gave his definition of the gospel, to look down through the ages of men and with prophetic vision fathom the reasoning, the philosophies, and the dispositions of men of all ages. Not only was his preface justified on the premise of vision and understanding, but it also conformed to the words of the Master himself, when, at the conclusion of his sermon after feeding the multitude, he uttered these portentous words: "Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels".
Why should men be ashamed of the gospel of Christ? It is conceivable that many may not be converted and have faith sufficient to accept the divinity of the Lord Jesus and the efficacy of his gospel, but having once had assurance of his reality and the blessings which flow therefrom, why are they so hesitant in the acknowledgment of his goodness and merciful consideration for them? I don't know that I am competent to point out the psychological basis for this state of mind, but I doubt that a psychologist is needed to understand some of the factors that contribute to it.
Undoubtedly one of the factors is pride; I think a false pride, which induces a sense of fear, nearly always without justification, that a confession of religious faith will make for loss of prestige and standing among a certain class of associates. There is sometimes fear that ridicule will follow such an acknowledgment, and of course no one likes to be ridiculed because that is great injury to pride and self-esteem and hard to take.
There are some who may regard the acknowledgment of spiritual power as a stigma of weakness, that the humility which is essential to the acceptance of divine a power is incompatible with strength of manhood and self-determination. That was in large measure the doctrine of Hitler and is today the philosophy of Communism. I hope there are not many who adopt such a philosophy of life.
There are some who seem to feel that their liberties are circumscribed by the acceptance and acknowledgment of spiritual forces and that they are much freer and better off to make no profession of faith whatever. Considered in the light of a deterrent to wrongdoing, perhaps they are right, but such a concept is really an abandonment of the underlying principles of righteousness and good character.
Then there are those, constituting perhaps the largest portion of that group within the Church who seem ashamed of the gospel of Christ, who are just too weak to stand up under all circumstances and conditions for the right and the truth as they know it to be. Some of these are our so-called intellectuals, who persuade themselves that they suffer something of a loss of caste in the sophisticated world in which they move by plain, unequivocal acknowledgment of the Lord's supremacy and our dependence on him. How they come to persuade themselves that a lesser order of intelligence is required to comprehend and acquire the eternal and transcendently beautiful and vital truths and concepts of life, human behavior and destiny coming through revelation, than the findings of science, I do not understand. Both are important, all a part of God's wise provision for humanity. Why disparage either? There is one type of thinking with which I have some sympathy, and that is for the man who is hesitant to make professions who has not acquired the strength to live up to them. He falls, however, not so much in the category of those ashamed of the gospel as of those who have not had sufficient conviction of the truth to bring to them mastery of themselves and their habits.
Now while I may not have pointed out all of the factors and circumstances which give rise to this state of being ashamed of the gospel, I should like to pass to the more important and positive aspects of my theme by asking the comprehensive question, "What is there about the gospel of Christ to be ashamed of?"
The gospel of Christ is revelation. The Savior himself was a revelation, coming to earth to reveal to men in the flesh the Father, his personality and his attributes. Christ himself was in no sense an outgrowth of his times and environment. He came in shocking contrast to the philosophies and practices prevailing at the time, as is being pointed out so impressively by our current speaker on the Sunday evening radio hour of the Church. The gospel was restored in the latter days through revelation. Few people acquainted with the life and history of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and the circumstances under which the restoration took place, will honestly contend that the great work he initiated could have come about on his own initiative and personal capabilities. Revelation is the foundation of the gospel of Christ. Why be ashamed of it? Would it make anybody happier to ascribe the origin of the gospel to the rationalizing of men? Such a position would surely rob it of its authority and vitality. Why should any Christian wish to do that? He may not be a Christian. That is within his right of election, but if he is a Christian, how can he be ashamed of revelation?
Priesthood is an essential component of the gospel plan. Why should men be ashamed of the priesthood? In granting the priesthood to man, the Lord has dignified and honored him as perhaps he could have done in no other way. The priesthood is the power by which the worlds were created, and is "...without beginning of days or end of years". It is the specific delegation of the authority of the Lord to administer the ordinances of the holy gospel, and it is the requisite investiture of a man to receive his highest reward in the life to come. It is the kindest, most charitable, most considerate and merciful power and authority ever described in all literature. It tempers and sweetens the life of him who holds it and it and blesses the lives of those to whom he ministers. It is the perfect plan of service to humankind because within its province come the greatest of all blessings to man and woman. Why should any man be ashamed of this precious endowment? If he had a commission from political authority, he would probably boast of it. I speak to my own brethren when I ask them how they justify themselves in speaking lightly of this sacred and divine blessing which has come into their lives. There are men, I know, and I hope I won't offend by mentioning them as a class, who have flippantly joked about the priesthood most of their lives. Some of these men, like myself, are reaching an age where life's expectancy is not too long. Out of my friendship for them, I ask them to repent before it is too late.
I mention next the wisdom which the gospel of Christ brings to us about the human body, its status and its care. We are indebted to science, and the great men of research, for the development of much knowledge concerning the human body. I pay sincere tribute to those who have contributed so much to our health, our comfort, and our longevity. I believe that there will be unfolded to these devoted men of science many more of nature's secrets to combat dread diseases, to free men for a larger measure of usefulness in the world. But science has not discovered the secret of life itself, its beginnings and its purposes. The gospel of Christ has disclosed that information. It has told us in plainness of our beginnings as spirit children of the Father, of our coming to earth to take on mortal bodies, of our probation here, and our destiny, if we so elect, to win high places on our return to the Father in the eternities to come. Our bodies, thus housing the eternal spirit, take on a glorified spiritual concept which science cannot give them Out of that concept we come to know that we cannot desecrate the body with impunity, and without offering affront to him who made provision for us to have it. It follows that we cannot take poisons into it, or otherwise abuse it, without injury to our own self-respect and without great ingratitude. What an incentive to health and cleanliness of life this lofty concept is! In their major aspects the demonstrations of science in the last hundred years have tended to confirm the wisdom of the Word of Wisdom, a product of the gospel of Christ. Where is the thoughtful man or woman who is ashamed of this exalted concept of the human body?
In the society of men it is pretty generally acknowledged that there is no greater establishment than that of the home. Families are the component units in communities and nations, and thoughtful people the world over assert that if all could be right with the homes of the people, the progress of civilization would be assured. Next to its witness for the supremacy of one God and the coming forth of his Son, perhaps the greatest contribution emanating from the holy Bible is its historical and doctrinal support for the unity of the family in the patriarchal order. From the beginning man and woman were to cleave together. Marriage has been ordained of God, and sons and daughters commanded to honor their fathers and their mothers. All of the earlier pronouncements concerning marriage and family ties set forth in the ancient scriptures were adopted by and incorporated into the gospel of Christ. Revelations given with the restoration of the gospel in the latter days have expanded man's understanding of this all-important relationship. The wedlock of a man and woman has been given a significance never before mentioned in all Christian literature, although undoubtedly wished for and hoped for by countless thousands who passed away before the new revelation came. I say wished for and hoped for because I feel sure that Christian men and women of firm faith in immortality have always longed and prayed for the reunion of their families in the hereafter. Well, that assurance came with the restored gospel of Christ and the authority of the Holy Priesthood, under whose power men and women were no more united in marriage until "death doth them part, but they were sealed together with bonds that persist in holy matrimony for time and for all eternity, and into the marriage covenant so established came their children to belong to them forever and forever. What a satisfaction to the true lover of home and family! What a consolation in times of sad earthly partings! What a hope and faith to live for!
I wish that all loving husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, who have lived in the past and who live at present, could enjoy the peace, satisfaction, and encouragement that this great doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ brings. How can one be ashamed of this exalting principle of life and salvation? Is one ashamed of it when he or she prefers a wedding in a church with elaborate, costly, and showy pageantry designed for social prestige, to the simple, quiet, sequestered, meaningful, sacred service performed in the temple of God? Is she ashamed of the gospel of Christ when she declines to yield to the requirements of modesty and appropriateness in dress for the sacred temple ceremonies? Is he ashamed of the gospel when he cannot muster the courage and strength to forsake a personal habit incompatible with the life which is contemplated for the participants in the holy order of matrimony? O my young friends, who contemplate selecting partners for life, I entreat you, be not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Avail yourselves of the great and beautiful privileges it offers to you. If you do, a rich happiness: will come into your lives that will far exceed any slight deprivation you may think you suffer in obtaining the promised blessings.
We live in a world where good men pray for brotherhood and peace. I am sure that to many their prayers seem in vain. So many years have passed since there was a measure of good feeling among nations that we have mostly forgotten that it ever existed and despair that it ever may be. Only the Lord knows what the future holds in store. We as a people are resigned to the acceptance of his will and purposes. I think, however, it is not displeasing to him for us to pray and hope for peace, and certainly it is not out of order for his Church to endeavor to lay the foundations for peace. It has been made known to us through revelation that a lasting peace can come only through righteousness and brotherhood. So long as the adversary of light and truth is able to lead his followers in rebellion against God and the gospel of Christ, so long will there be conflict in the world.
I am not one who believes that that conflict will never cease, for I have faith in the triumph of truth and of God's plans. His eternal plans are laid out for us in the gospel of Christ, and however much stress statesmen and men of the world lay on other formulas, true Christians know that conformity to the plans of the gospel alone will bring enduring peace. The gospel provides us with full understanding of all the requisites. It tells us that first there must be recognition of the supremacy of and love of God the Father, and secondly, that man recognizing himself as a son of God must love his fellow man. These are the basic requirements, but we are given innumerable instructions as to how to implement them.
His Church has been set up in the earth as a tangible institution to foster and encompass the divinely appointed society in which men may live. This government is under the jurisdiction of appointed servants in the Holy Priesthood, who are authorized to give counsel and make decisions in the operation of the Church. The society itself is founded upon the fundamental principle and assumption that individual salvation here and hereafter is acquired through our Savior by individual good living in compliance with the laws and ordinances of the gospel. The overall function of the Church is to bless its members and all of God's children. All of its purposes are altruistic and Christlike. It constitutes his kingdom set up in the earth to fulfil the high destiny he has set for it. All of its agencies strive through devoted leadership and faithful members to reach these great ends.
It endeavors to create a brotherhood among men in fraternities of the priesthood who exemplify the oneness for which he prayed with his own disciples before his departure. This fraternity sufficiently extended in the world will bring peace. To bring peace to the human soul and all mankind is a major objective of the gospel of Christ. Who is ashamed of this noble aspiration? Who is ashamed to be identified with such a lofty cause? I wish I could answer: Few Christians and none within the Church of Jesus Christ. I am afraid that answer would not be accurate, but I express the earnest hope that as the years go by and the designs and purposes of the Lord become more apparent, the number of those who are ashamed of the gospel of Christ will rapidly diminish. I take the liberty of holding out a promise to Christian men everywhere and to their wives and children: If you will develop within yourselves a deeper appreciation for the benefactions coming into your lives through the ministry and gospel of our Lord, and if you will more freely acknowledge in the presence of all men his divine Lordship of the earth, a measure of peace and happiness will come into your hearts and souls which will enrich your lives, and the lives of countless others, and God will bless you and make you happy.
Then too, my brethren and sisters in the Church and kingdom of our Lord, I make this solemn declaration: If you are never ashamed of the gospel of Christ, if you will always pray to him and never defame his sacred name, if you will never make light of the Holy Priesthood and the ceremonies and ordinances of the gospel, a spirit of rebellion will never come into your hearts.
Your confidence in the leadership of the Church will grow and increase. Your relationships with your brethren and sisters will become more tender and sweet. You will grow in faith and in good works, and when your life's mission has been completed and you go hence to your reward, the Savior will greet you, as he has promised, with those glorious words, "I am not ashamed of you".
May that be our lot, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report, April 1954, pp. 37-47
I have thought I might appropriately talk today about our Bible. What I want to say is of a technical and controversial nature, and I have written it out so that I might be sure to say what I want to say. What I shall say will have primary application to the New Testament.
As of today and outside the Roman world, which uses the Latin text, there are two principal Greek texts of the Bible used for English translation. We are today interested only in the text of the New Testament. The first of these is the "Byzantine" Greek text. Our King James Version is a translation of this text. The second is the "Alexandrian" text, which is the controlling text of the translation found in the Revised Versions of the last three quarters of a century. There is a popular impression that these Revised Versions are merely corrected translations of the "Byzantine" Greek text. This is not the fact. Of these Revised Versions, the first appeared in 1881, the second in 1901, and the third in 1946-1952. In all these translations the "Alexandrian" Greek text controlled in certain great essentials.
The title page of the latest revision-the Revised Standard Version -in common with the other revisions, is not so fully revealing as it might be. As each of the others, it carries the impression that this is a further revision of the King James Version, whereas in fact it is rather a revision of the earlier revisions.
The "Byzantine" Greek text, which in translation is our Bible, the King James Version, is said to have been the generally accepted text all non-Roman Christendom from the last half of the fourth century, till the middle of the last century.
This King James or Authorized Version, "as far as it is translated correctly", has been the version accepted by this Church since it was organized. The Prophet Joseph Smith undertook, under the inspiration of the Lord, to make a revision of the Bible-not a translation. This work was never completed, except as to certain portions appearing in the Pearl of Great Price. Since the work was not completed, the Church has never formally adopted it, save as to the parts in the Pearl of Great Price.
At this point, it ought to be observed that Bible critics may, for our purpose, be placed in two schools-Extreme Textualists and Sound or High Textualists.
The Extreme Textualists rule out the whole of the so-called miraculous elements of the Gospels-those events which lie outside the range of known laws of nature -and brand all these elements as myths, legends, popular exaggeration, symbolism, allegory. One scholar has measured their thesis as follows: "The Gospels, as manipulated by the uncertain methods of this sort of criticism, seem capable of yielding a picture of any sort of Jesus that the critic desires".
The Sound or High Textualists admit the miraculous element but seem sometimes to treat it somewhat gingerly.
We have now to do with the Extreme Textualists, in considering these various revisions of 1881-1885, 1900-1901, and 1946-1952.
Before going farther it might be well briefly to note that, out of over four thousand known Greek manuscripts, the Extreme Textualists pin their faith primarily to two Greek Codices, Sinaiticus and Vaticanus. These are claimed to be the two oldest known vellum manuscripts. Tischendorf exploited Sinaiticus; Westcott and Hort, Vaticanus, using Sinaiticus as a supporting text, along with Alexandrinus, sent as a gift from the Patriarch of Constantinople to Charles I of England in the year 1628. Westcott and Hort prepared a new Greek text from these and a few others that supported their readings. A third primary source of recent criticism is the Chester Beatty Papyri-in Greek-discovered in 1931 in Egypt. These have been exploited by Dr. Kenyon who affirms they are "the most important Biblical discovery since that of the Codex Sinaiticus". Thus first Tischendorf, then Westcott and Hort, then Kenyon have each had his favorite manuscripts which each interprets and uses to the maximum to develop in text form his Extreme Textualist views.
The Byzantine Greek text-which is the basis of our King James Version, and the Sinaiticus-Vaticanus text existed side by side apparently for almost the first eight hundred years; they appear to have been in virtual competition. Then the church as a whole adopted the Byzantine text which became the ruling text from that time till the challenge of it in the middle of the last century. During all this time, the Roman Church had its own Latin text-that developed into the Vulgate.
Modern criticism made its appearance at about the middle of the 1700's. Once begun, it steadily increased as time went on. At first it related primarily to the Old Testament; then the New Testament became involved, and while the whole Byzantine text-the Textus Receptus -was brought under fire, the chief objective of the Extreme Textualist attack became the Gospels. By the end of the first quarter of the 1800's, the warfare against the "Byzantine" text was open, vicious, and unrelenting. It must be remembered that the attack of the Extreme Twists pivoted upon the personality and character of Jesus of Nazareth and the accuracy and truth of his teachings, doctrines, and works.
For the first three Christian centuries, and following Simon the Sorcerer, heretics and heresies, great and small, sought to distort or wipe out the recognition of Jesus as Christ. Time buried the heretics and most of the heresies. But one heresy lived on, appearing now and again in the flowing centuries, usually in the dark corners of ecclesiastical discussions, but sometimes in the open. I refer to Arianism that nearly wrecked the Christian Church in the time of Constantine. It is an obscure and shifting doctrine that, shortly put, and in general terms, denies Godhood to the Christ.
While not now paraded, the doctrine lies behind the thinking and writings of those Bible critics who are grouped together as Extreme Textualists. To this group must be charged the Bible revisions of the last three quarters of a century-the British, which the great body of the Christian Church refused to accept; the American, which had no better reception; and the recent American revision, which perpetuates the unacceptable changes of the two earlier revisions. The Greek manuscripts relied upon by the Extreme Textualists seem all to be tinctured with Arianism, which had its birth in Alexandria, from which the text gets its name, Alexandrian.
The translation found in these various revisions, contains, on the one hand, many passages that in effect voice Arian or near-Arian concepts, and, on the other hand, omits many passages that contradict Arian doctrines. It is affirmed that the changes they have made run into thousands-5337 in the Greek text and 36,191 in the English translation. In a recent magazine, Allen Wikgren is quoted as having observed in The Interpreter's Bible, that of "some 180,000 words in the New Testament, alterations amounted to an estimated 30,000, or an average of 4 1/2 per verse.
For a century and a quarter, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has declared the King James Version of the Bible to be the word of God, with a reservation as to incorrect translations of the Greek text on which it was based. The Inspired Version of the Prophet, so far as finished, supports the King James Version in all essentials on this point of the Godhood of Jesus the Christ. With our belief in Jesus as the Son of God, the Only Begotten, this Church cannot accept any version that takes from Jesus the Christ any attribute of Godhood.
I shall call attention to a very few only of the thousands of new renderings in these revisions, particularly the latest-the Revised Standard Version. They will show that this Church cannot accept any of these versions as setting forth the true record of God's word to men.
LITERATURE OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
In the first place, I must note that one the virtues claimed by the Revisionists for their new work is that it consciously and deliberately sets about to destroy the New Testament as a book of supreme classic literature. They have all succeeded. They say the English of the King James Version is of too much beauty and elegance, is in English too majestic and lofty for the writings of New Testament times. I merely ask, could any language be too great, too elegant, too beautiful, too lofty, to record the doings and sayings of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ?
ELIMINATION OF WORD "MIRACLE"
I have already noted that the Extreme Textualists rule out the whole of the so-called miraculous elements of the New Testament and brand them as myths, legends, popular exaggeration, symbolism, allegory. To further this thesis of theirs, they have eliminated the word miracle whenever it occurs In the New Testament and have substituted for the word miracle the word sign. A miracle may be a sign, but a sign is not necessarily a miracle. This attempt to discredit or destroy miracles by changing the name we give to them seems puerile, yet over the years, if not corrected, it would leave its effect. We Latter-day Saints know that Jesus did perform miracles, that his ancient Apostles performed them, and that through the exercise of the Holy Priesthood after the order of the Son of God, those duly authorized perform miracles today. This is our testimony to the world. We cannot accept a Bible text that would take the miraculous out of our lives. This manipulation is a prop for Arianism.
THE VIRGIN BIRTH
In this connection it should be noted that the Revisionists have so manipulated the account of the birth of Jesus, as recorded in Matthew, as to give ground for the contention that the virgin birth of Jesus is a myth. Matthew in our Bible says-speaking about Joseph: "And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son." The Inspired Version follows the King James Version.
The Revised Standard Version reads: "But knew her not until she had borne a son," which opens the door for a contention regarding Mary's virginity. We can admit no question on this point, which was made certain in the great vision to Nephi. The overwhelming Greek Manuscript authority sustains the King James Version. This is a change that tends to take away the Christian concept of the birth of Jesus. This bends toward Arianism.
MESSAGE OF THE HEAVENLY HOST
In the King James Version, the message of the heavenly host to the shepherds, reads: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." The Inspired Version follows without essential change, the King James Version. The Revisionists have changed this to read: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!" Obviously, the Revisionists have changed the sense and scope of the message from a greeting and blessing to all men, to a message to a restricted few. Christ's mission was for all men. Scholars affirm this change first comes into view in the second century and disappears in the fifth. We cannot accept this mutilation.
"THE SON OF GOD"
Mark's opening sentence in the King James Version reads thus: "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." The Inspired Version follows the King James. So do the Revised Versions, but the Revisionists have a marginal note that casts doubt upon the phrase, "The Son of God," by noting that some authorities omit these words, but they do not tell us that these words are said to be all but universally recognized in the manuscripts and the writings of the Fathers. At best, this doubt-raising marginal note, * unexplained, carries to the uninformed the idea that he has a legitimate choice whether he will accept or reject these words. There is, on the record, no chance for a justifiable choice. Here is an Arianism.
CHRIST THE CREATOR
In the King James Version John declares: "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men." The Revised Standard Version substitutes through for by in the phrase made by him. The Inspired version of the Prophet Joseph follows the King James Version in part, with a different rendering for the fourth verse: "In him was the gospel, and the gospel was the life, and the life was the light of men."
But the Revisionists have cast a doubt on these passages by a marginal note which adds an alternative reading which omits and contracts the passage to read: "Without him was not anything made. That which has been made was life in him." Scholars affirm that this is a known perversion brought in by the Gnostics in the second century. It is an heretical change.
This is another omission and change affecting the dignity and personality of Christ.
THE SON OF MAN WHICH IS IN HEAVEN
John quotes Jesus as saying to Nicodemus:
"And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven." The Inspired Version follows the King James Version. The British revision of the 1880's and the American Standard Version print the passage substantially as in the King James Version, but add a note which says: "Many ancient authorities omit who is in heaven." However, the latest American revision leaves these words out of the text and adds a note: "Other ancient authorities add who is in heaven." That is, here, as in other places, the doubt cast in the earlier revisions is made a certainty in this last revision, and the King James text is relegated to a note. Yet scholars tell us that the omitted words are found in every Greek manuscript in the world except five, in the Latin, Syriac, and other versions in number totaling ten, and in the works of thirty-eight Fathers, and are recognized by certain Extreme Textualists as "quite above suspicion." Here again is a change of Arian type, tending to belittle Jesus. We of the Church cannot accept this alteration.
THE LORD'S PRAYER
In his great Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught the multitude how to pray, having warned them against praying in vain repetitions as the heathen do, who "think that they shall be heard for their much speaking," because, said he, "your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him." Every Sunday School child knows, or should know, the Lord's Prayer found in our Bible. I shall not repeat it. I will repeat the form found in the last revision:
"Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our debts, As we also have forgiven our debtors; And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil."
The British and first American revisions said, "but deliver us from the evil one," and there was a further slight difference between the two earlier texts.
We miss from the forgoing those great sanctifying words that ended the prayer: "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen,"-found in our Bible.
A marginal note in the earlier versions reads substantially as in the latest version: "Other authorities, some ancient, add, in some form, For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen."
Thus was eliminated from the Lord's Prayer that great commitment made by the Only Begotten in the Council Of Heaven, as he countered the proposal of Satan, the record quoting the Father, "But, behold, my Beloved Son which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me-Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever".
The prayer as given in Luke has been considerably tampered with.
Scholars affirm the changes made in these prayers stem from the pen of Marcion, the heretic of almost 1800 years ago. The reliance for these changes is placed in the five manuscripts adopted by the Extreme Textualists and scholars say these greatly disagree as among themselves on this point.
The Church cannot accept a text so constructed, eliminating fundamental principles, as against King James Version, supported, as it is here, by the Inspired Version.
THE INSTITUTION OF THE SACRAMENT
During the Last Supper in the Upper Chamber, Jesus instituted the sacrament. Luke's account thereof is as follows:
"And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
"Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you."
The British Revised Version text was in substance the same, but a marginal note said: "Some ancient authorities omit which is given for you" and "which is poured out for you".
The account in the last revision-the Revised Standard Version-reads: "And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body...'" so omitting the final sentence regarding the atoning blood.
Here again the doubt that was cast in the first revisions by a marginal note, becomes in the latest revision the actual text, while the King James Version text becomes a marginal note introduced by the words: "Other ancient authorities add... ".
Thus the latest revision practically completely eliminates from Luke's account of the institution of the sacrament, the portion dealing with the atoning blood.
The accounts given in Matthew and in Mark are not substantially changed in the revisions from the account given in the King James Version. But this leaves the record where, so far as the general reader knows, he may make a choice.
We of the Church cannot go along with a text that thus deals with the elemental principle of Christianity. This, too, tends to Arianism.
CASTING OUT EVIL SPIRITS
The King James Version records in Matthew that when the disciples questioned why they could not cast out an evil spirit from one afflicted, Jesus, heaving cast out the evil spirit, replied: "Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting."
This declaration of Matthew is omitted in all the revisions, with a marginal note reading: "Other ancient authorities insert verse 21, 'But this kind never comes out except by prayer and fasting.'" This elimination has been made notwithstanding scholars say that, as of the time of the first revision it is vouched for by every known uncial manuscript but two, by every known cursive but one, by the Latin and other versions, and by the ancient Fathers.
The account of the same incident in Mark is substantially as in the King James Version, except that the phrase, "and fasting," is omitted, with a marginal note giving the usual information about "Other ancient authorities add and fasting."
The Inspired Version follows the King James Version.
Here again the uninformed reader is led to believe he is justified in a choice, though in reality there is no justification for a choice. Fasting is an essential element in the exercise of spiritual powers.
THE SON OF MAN IS COME TO SAVE
Introducing his parable of the lost sheep as recorded in Matthew, Jesus said, as recorded in the King James Version: "For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost."
The revisions omit this verse entirely from their text, but insert a marginal note in their conventional form, varied slightly in the latest revision-The Revised Standard Version-"Many authorities, some ancient, insert ver. 11 For the Son of man came to save that which was lost."
This verse has been eliminated, notwithstanding scholars tell us that, as of 1881, it was attested by every known uncial manuscript except three, by every known cursive except three, by the Latin and other versions, and by the early Fathers. The Universal Eastern Church has read it in their churches from the beginning.
Here also the uninformed reader feels, without justification, that he has a choice as to whether Jesus did or did not say this.
The Inspired Version of the Prophet follows the King James Version.
The omission of this verse seems clearly in the interest of the Arian doctrine.
Our Church could not accept this elimination.
THE AGONY IN THE GARDEN AND THE MINISTERING ANGEL
In Luke's record of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, he states Jesus prayed:
"42. Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
"43. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.
"44. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."
All the revisions print these verses substantially as in the King James Version, but add their doubt-raising marginal note, in their conventional form: "Many ancient authorities omit ver. 43, 44"-the verses regarding the strengthening angel and sweat of blood.
These two verses contain our sole record of this event found in the New Testament. Scholars affirm that as of 1881, these verses were witnessed by "the whole body of the Manuscripts, uncial as well as cursive, and by every ancient Version," and by "upwards of forty famous personages from every part of ancient Christendom," including the Fathers, "fourteen of them being as old-some of them, a great deal older-than our oldest MSS."
The justification offered for casting a doubt upon them is that they are "an early Western interpolation... a fragment from the Traditions, written or oral... an 'evangelic Tradition,' therefore, 'rescued from oblivion by the Scribes of the second century.'"
The Inspired Version, with a slight, unimportant change, follows the King James Version, Furthermore, the question is settled for us by modern revelation for King Benjamin predicted this specific suffering and the Lord himself recounted it in a revelation to the Prophet Joseph.
We cannot accept the elimination of any part of the record of this great moment of almost unbearable agony.
THE WORDS ON THE CROSS
After Jesus had been nailed to the cross, and it had been planted in the ground, Jesus rayed: "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."
All the revisions print these words, but add the customary doubt-raising marginal note, "Some ancient authorities omit And Jesus said, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."
Scholars writing in 1881 say: "And yet these words are found in every known uncial and in every known cursive Copy, except four; besides being found in every ancient Version," and upwards of forty of the Fathers, beginning with Irenaeus of the second century.
No other prayer offered by Jesus on earth brings us closer to his divinity than this plea for his crucifiers.
The Inspired Version of the prophet gives the reading of the King James Version, but inserts in brackets following the words, "for they know not what they do," the words, "."
CHRIST'S SALUTATION TO THE APOSTLES IN THE UPPER CHAMBER
Luke's account in the King James Version reads, as to the appearance of Christ in the Upper Chamber the night following the morning of the resurrection: "And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
The Revised Versions print, but cast doubt upon the phrase, "and saith unto them, Peace be unto you," with a note reading, "Some ancient authorities omit and saith unto them, Peace be unto you."
In this passage in the latest revision, the Revisionists have again made good the doubt raised in the earlier revisions and have entirely omitted the phrase from the printed text, and print a marginal note: "Other ancient authorities add and said to them, 'Peace to you!'"
Yet our scholar of 1881 affirms: "And yet the precious words are vouched for by 18 uncials, and every known cursive copy of the Gospels: by all the Versions: and by Eusebius-and Ambrose-by Chrysostom-and Cyril-and Augustine." The Inspired Version expands the King James Version but does not in any way destroy the essential elements of the record.
We of the Church cannot surrender this passage.
CHRIST DISPLAYS HIS HANDS AND FEET
In his account, Luke follows the salutation, "Peace be unto you," with a passage reading as follows, in the King James Version: "And when he had thus spoken he shewed them his hands and his feet.
The earlier revisions add to this passage a marginal note: "Some ancient authorities omit ver. 40."
Once more, the latest revision-the Revised Standard Version-makes good the doubt raised in the earlier revisions, and omits this passage from the text and adds a marginal note reading: "Other ancient authorities add verse 40, And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet."
Again the doubt cast by the earlier revisions has become the ruling text.
Our collator of the 1880's comments that the words are found in eighteen uncials, beginning with Aleph A B; in every known cursive; in all the ancient versions, and he names ten of the earlier Fathers who quote them.
The Inspired Version follows the King James Version in this passage.
This record regarding the resurrected body of Jesus is of the last importance. We cannot suffer the loss of this incident, nor admit a doubt on its testimony.
CONJECTURAL EMENDATIONS
Bishop Westcott and Doctor Hort, in their own built Greek text of the New Testament, introduced a number of changes-additions and omissions-for which they adduced no authority whatever. A very learned collator declares that these conjectural emendations are "destitute not only of historical foundation, but of all probability, resulting from the internal goodness of the Text which its adoption would force upon us." Another collator likens the claims urged for these emendations as equivalent to a claim of revelation, and says: "If these distinguished Professors have enjoyed a Revelation as to what the Evangelists actually wrote, they would do well to acquaint the world with the fact at the earliest possible moment. If, on the contrary, they are merely relying on their own inner consciousness for the power of divining the truth of Scripture at a glance-they must be prepared to find their decrees treated with the contumely which is due to imposture, of whatever kind."
The Revisionists responsible for the Revised Standard Version-the latest revision-rather plume themselves upon the fact that they have kept but one conjectural emendation" offered by Westcott and Hort. This is not quite accurate, but that point is immaterial. The emendation they affirm they retain is Jude 5.
The King James Version reads: "I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
"6. And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day."
The particular phrase of interest to the Latter-day Saint is found in verse 6-"the angels which kept not their first estate."
The English revision proposed:
"5. Now I desire to put you in remembrance, though ye know all things once for all, how that the Lord, having saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. 6. And angels which kept not their own principality, but left their proper habitation, he hath kept in everlasting bonds under darkness unto the judgment of the great day."
The American Version was identical save for two words: how is omitted before "that the Lord," and which is changed to that after "angels."
The Inspired Version of the Prophet Joseph follows the King James Version.
The Revised Standard Version-which retains Westcott and Hort's conjectural emendation-reads:
"5. Now I desire to remind you, though you were once for all fully Informed, that he who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6. And the angels that did not keep their own position but left their proper dwelling have been kept by him in eternal chains in the nether gloom until the judgment of the great day."
No one with an understanding of the great truths announced in Abraham 3, would have eliminated "first estate." The expression "nether gloom" may be good mythology, but it does not describe any Christian concept.
This emendation sufficiently establishes the unreliability of the Revised Standard Version, so far as the Latter-day Saints are concerned.
We shall consider one more omission, perhaps the largest individual omission made in all the text, and certainly among the most important-
THE LAST TWELVE VERSES OF MARK
These tell that Christ first appeared to Mary Magdalene, who reported to the disciples, but they believed not; then of the appearance of Jesus to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, who reported to the disciples, who still believed not; then of the appearance to the eleven who sat at meat, whom he reproved for their unbelief and hardness of heart, and then commissioned them to go into all the world and preach the gospel, telling them of the signs that would follow the believer, with their powers to heal the sick; and finally of Christ's ascension into heaven sitting on the right hand of God, with the disciples scattering to preach to the people, "the Lord working with them, and Confirming the word with signs following."
It is in this section of Mark that there occurs that passage quoted by President McKay this morning, "Go ye into all the world, and, preach the gospel to every creature."
The Revised Versions print these passages as part of the text, but leave extra space between verses 8 and 9 of the text, so suggesting that something is wrong. They add this marginal note: "The two oldest Greek manuscripts, and some other authorities, Omit from ver. 9 to the end. Some other authorities have a different ending to the Gospel."
The Revised Standard Version, omits these verses from the text and prints them as a marginal note, beginning: "Other texts and versions add as 16:9-20 the following passage:" Then follow the verses named.
One collator says these verses "are recognized by every one of the Versions," are "attested by every known Copy, except two of bad character: by a mighty chorus of Fathers: by the unfaltering Tradition of the Church universal." And a second collator of the same era affirms that he defends these verses "without the slightest misgiving." Referring to the first noted collator, the second one says that the first "has now thrown a stream of light upon the controversy" in a tone o one who is conscious of having triumphantly maintained a cause which is very precious to him."
The elimination of these last twelve verses of Mark would undoubtedly add comfort to the Arians. If this whole record could be discredited, their cause would be that much advanced. It is gratifying to note that the great scholar Scrivener thought his contemporary Burgon had successfully established their authenticity.
It is not opportune now to discuss almost innumerable instances from among the thousands of changes by the Revisionists. Many, many of them are on a par with those we have mentioned. Enough has been said to show that the Latter-day Saints may not safely accept the latest revision as containing for them the word of Our Heavenly Father for his children, nor a dependable record of the work and mission of our Lord Jesus Christ. We must cling to the text that has guided us for a century and a quarter.
We will close by quoting a few sentences from Dr. Kenyon, who seems more than any other to be today, the leader of the Extreme Textualists-to be looked up to by the rest-and who is more tolerant of contrary opinions than some others. In the concluding paragraphs of his book, Our Bible and the Ancient Manuscripts, he discusses the Revised Versions as compared with the King James Version, and while never surrendering the claim of superiority for the revisions, he does yield these concessions:
"More than fifty years have now passed since the publication of the Revised Version, and the dust of the original controversy has had time to die down. In less than that time the Authorized Version drove the Geneva Bible from the field; but there is no sign of a similar victory of the Revised over the Authorized. The general verdict is, we think, this. There is no doubt that the Revised represents, in the New Testament, a very superior Greek text."
This is the Extreme Textualist view, but not the view of the opposing school-the High or Sound Textualist. Kenyon continues:
"There is no doubt that in very many places, especially in the prophetical and poetical books of the Old Testament and in the Epistles in the New, it makes the meaning clearer and represents the original more accurately. On both these grounds the Revised Version is indispensable for anyone who really wishes to Study the Bible. On the other hand, it is universally felt that very many of the verbal changes introduced by Revisers, especially in the Gospels, are unnecessary and disturbing... In the Gospels the sense of discomfort from the constant changes of the familiar words is too great, and the changes, where they do not rest on a change in the text translated, are unnecessary... It is true that the Authorized Version has struck its roots too deeply into our language and literature, and is itself too eat a monument of literary art, to be dispossessed without a preponderating balance of loss. We can no more do without the Authorized Version than we can do without Shakespeare and Bacon... Both are now essential parts of our heritage; and the final verdict must be: The Revised for Study, the Authorized for reading".
This may be the final verdict where there is not too much concern over Arian doctrines denying Godhood to Jesus, and other erroneous doctrines, but to the Latter-day Saint, the final verdict must be that no text that minimizes or denies the Godhood of Jesus, can be regarded as the word of God, no matter how old and respected the manuscript may be which sets out such views.
To the Latter-day Saint, Jesus was the Christ, the Only Begotten, the Son of God, a member of the Trinity. All our modern Scriptures are to this point, and the true ancient scriptures will neither take away from, nor destroy this everlasting truth.
God grant to each and every of us this priceless testimony, I ask, in Jesus' name. Amen.
Elder S. Dilworth Young
S. Dilworth Young, Conference Report, April 1954, pp. 47-49
On Tuesday, April 6, 1830, six men gathered in the home of the Whitmer family and organized the Church, I can remember with what surprise I learned for the first time, years ago, that it did not happen on a Sunday. Apparently the sixth day of April was more important than the day of the week. Joseph Smith, the Prophet, on the day of the organization of the Church, ordained Oliver Cowdery to be one of the Presiding Elders; Oliver Cowdery ordained Joseph Smith to be one of the Presiding Elders. Thus there were two presiding officers over four others.
Last night I sat with the assembled multitude who filled this building. Reports said there were in the neighborhood of nine thousand men here. If we should take all of the men who are presiding officers in the Melchizedek Priesthood, the stake presidencies who guide them in their work and the high councilmen who assist the stake presidencies in directing the efforts of the presidencies of quorums, and put them in this building, the group would be just about as large as the number here last night. In 124 years, the Church and its Melchizedek Priesthood has grown sufficiently so that officers would now fill this building. The bishoprics or officers of the Aaronic Priesthood are not included in the total.
I do not detect that Joseph Smith ever lacked confidence in the destiny of the Church. How much of our day he could see I do not know. I suspect the Lord showed him the ultimate end, if not all of the immediate steps. I always marvel that he did not waver as to what was going to be accomplished. He did not set a timetable, but the assurance is there for all of us to read, and to understand that the Church will fill the earth. We are now well on the way. We should not waver ourselves because it cannot be stopped. From the beginning with two officers we have grown until those presiding could barely squeeze into this tabernacle.
We have been a long time learning how to use presiding authority. Officers have been appointed by the hundreds and have not known what to do with their appointments. I believe there is, and has been going on for some time, a new awakening in the hearts of the men who handle the great organization of the priesthood. They are learning how to preside and to conduct their affairs so that the body of the priesthood is beginning to take its place.
I have on my desk a number of statistics which would bear out that thought. I should like to refer to just two of them which I think are important at this moment.
There is a quorum of elders in a city not far from here. The members of this quorum are composed largely of men who do shift work; consequently their time is eaten into at the moments when they should be attending their meetings. That quorum of elders, under the direction of a president who seems to know how to do it, with the able assistance of two very splendid counselors, has had for the past two or three months, if the facts are reported correctly, fifty-five percent of his men attending the weekly morning priesthood meeting. He took sixty percent of them to the monthly priesthood meeting of the stake. He has them organized so that there is not a class in the Sunday School of his ward, but where one of the elders is assigned to sit there, with the lesson all prepared, ready to take part in case the regular teacher should fail to come or should need assistance.
The same thing is done, in the other auxiliaries, in case they are needed. Such is the possibility of quorums of the priesthood if they recognize the need. The remarkable thing about it is that there is not a man who holds the priesthood but what if he feels necessary and wanted leaps to the cause.
Your jobs brethren, is to make them feel necessary and wanted.
Another instance: There is taking part in a bit of work a large body of the Melchizedek Priesthood quorums from about 135 stakes. I estimate there are somewhere in the neighborhood of a thousand quorums. In one item, that of whether or not the presidents of the quorums and their counselors will visit their members often to encourage them, there has been an improvement of more than four hundred percent. Now, that is a statistic. I do not like statistics, but I would submit to you that when the president of a quorum, and his counselors, pick up their hats and their coats and with courage in their hearts and humility in their souls, leave their firesides to go out and find their brethren of the priesthood, to warm them up and make them feel necessary, that ceases to be a statistic but begins to approach what the Savior must have meant when he said, "Greater love hath no man than this". Surely they are finding their friends. If they will keep it up, the fruits of that action alone will activate their brethren until there will not be any necessity for doubling of positions in the various wards and auxiliaries of the Church. It will also have its effect upon the home. When the Church was organized with six members in 1830, it was prophesied that it would fill the earth, I should like to say this about a man and a wife and four children. They make six. Whenever any man in this Church takes his proper place in the home as head of that home, under the righteousness of the priesthood, and takes care of his family the way he should, raising his children to believe, to have faith, and to accept the principles, the ultimate destiny of that family, the final end to that man will be the same as though he had organized a church. In the final accounting, his place will be so high that his six will have swelled into a multitude. So we may, ourselves, brethren, do things which will duplicate for us, alone, what the Prophet has done so nobly for us all.
Well, that is using the priesthood. I have often wondered what would happen to a man who suddenly found himself without it. Many of us do not care much about it and let it go, but suppose we did not have it? Suppose we could not use it? Suppose we suddenly were told we could not exercise it? I had such an experience one time during World War II. My son had occasion to come home on a furlough from his army camp. It was during the time that conference was being held, and in obedience to the request of the government, the Church had ceased to hold its meetings in this building but was holding them in the Assembly Hall. Consequently, because of its size, admission had to be by ticket. Unless a man had a presiding position in the Church, he could not get a ticket. There was just not enough room to have anybody come but the stake and ward leaders. The Presidency of the Church in their kindness, thinking of these boys who needed an extra lift, saw to it that any boy who came home on a furlough could have a ticket and get in. I recall bringing my son down from Ogden and stopping at the south gate and watching him go through. As the guard let him pass and closed the gate in my face, I press up against the bars, watching him as he finally disappeared into the open door of the Assembly Hall. And then I think I knew what it means if a person suddenly cannot do what he would like to do in this Church, cannot associate with those with whom he would like to associate. I was completely cut off from my rights. I held the priesthood, but I could not exercise it. There were doorkeepers and attendants, and gardeners, and ushers there-but I was not allowed to enter. I turned away with the dreadful feeling of being left out. I hope I never have a similar experience again. It was a lesson to me of what could happen to me if I lost my rights. I do not want to lose my rights. I want to be able, when the time comes, to walk through that gate and meet my family and my loved ones and then go on to that destiny which is reserved for those who desire to be righteous. I believe I echo the feeling of everybody who holds the priesthood or who is the wife or child of one who holds such priesthood.
I can think of one scripture I should like to apply to you, you men who hold the priesthood, and who preside over the priesthood, because without your active presidency nothing much will happen. In this Church, men have been taught to wait until they are appointed to do something; men normally do not volunteer to hold office or perform service. That is a traditional method. So if you want these men to work, brethren, you must go after them, you must meet them, you must visit them, and you must make them feel necessary and wanted. Then watch them respond.
This is the scripture:
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.
May the Lord help us to do it, I pray, in the name of Christ. Amen.
Elder Antoine R. Ivins
Antoine R. Ivins, Conference Report, April 1954, pp. 50-52
My beloved brethren and sisters: My wife once asked Father, "Do you ever get over being nervous when you speak to the conference?" And he said, "I haven't yet." And neither have I.
I seek an interest in your faith and prayers, that the testimony which I may endeavor to bear may be directed by the Spirit of our heavenly Father. We have listened to some wonderful testimonies today. I hope that mine may be in full harmony with what has been said.
There are many things for which I am truly grateful, especially the testimony that I have as to the reality of the Sonship of the Christ, that he lives, that he has done a wonderful service for you and me and that he has prepared the plan for us, which, if followed, will give us the joy for which the Book of Mormon says that man exists, and will bring us back into the presence of God with the ultimate possibility, if we attain to perfection, of Godhood.
There are many things requisite to that. President Richards referred to one of the most important of them today, and that is the family organization entered into with the approval and under the authority of the priesthood of God, sealed by a servant of God and under the holy spirit of promise.
It should be our purpose, brethren and sisters, as we approach this situation, to do it in all seriousness, understanding its tremendous potentialities and responsibilities, with a determination in our hearts that we will do everything we possibly can to make it a success and to enjoy in that relationship the Spirit of God, our heavenly Father.
One of my friends, one day, in talking to me, said, "You know, Antoine, if I were God, I would have done things differently," and I said, "How?" "Well," he said, "in the first place I would have fixed it up so that whenever a man married a woman, he would have been happy."
I prefer to think he was talking from observation rather than experience, but it is a fact that throughout the world a tremendously large proportion-too large a proportion-of the marriages that are entered into do not produce the desired happiness. In order to guarantee it there must be a proper foundation for it. I have been trying today to think of some of the foundation stones; and who should lay them, as well as when the laying of them should begin.
It seems to me that the purpose of the family relationship is to furnish bodies to spirits who are waiting the opportunity to tabernacle in the flesh. I have come to think that when we assume the obligation of offering such a tabernacle, we should be equipped, if possible, to produce a perfect one, and to that end our lives must be well-nigh perfect as to chastity and moral purpose.
I believe the foundation should be laid in the beginning by the parents who, when entering into marriage, should give due consideration to their anticipated children. Those of you who are beginning now, and those of you who are in the process of rearing families, should bear that in mind for it is incumbent upon you to lay the foundation stones for the happy marriages of your children, to teach them the responsibility of it, so that as they approach that age, an age when there are certain urges developing within the human body, that they should have a high moral and religious purpose and be able to dominate those impulses, bringing them under absolute subjection, so that when the time comes, the contracting parties can enter into the temple of God and make the promises that are made therein to each other, realizing that they have a right to do it. There is nothing that will tend to make a marriage happier than faith in each other, and there is I think, that will produce greater faith than the testimony of each to the other, of a pure previous life.
The physical dangers from the nonobservance of the law of chastity can well be overcome, but I have never yet found anybody who could say that the moral effects of its infringement could be entirely overcome and forgotten. It is true hat there is a law of repentance and forgiveness and all that, but how much better it is when we begin life in that capacity, if we do not have to invoke that law for that particular offense. I believe it is possible for fathers and mothers, if they set the example, and teach under the Spirit of God, to get close enough to their children to lay such a foundation.
After having laid the stone, then they must build upon it, and that building must be the reflection of a chaste, virtuous, honest, upright life on the part of the father and mother of the family. You know and I know that does not always exist, but it should always exist, when a family starts out.
Children should be taught that there is a greater likelihood of success if the contracting parties have community of interests. It may not always be imperative, I presume, that they should belong to the same church, but the chances are better if they do. It may not always be necessary that they have the same background, but the chances are better if they do, and the chances are always better if the do not rush into the union thoughtlessly, not understanding each other. Then they should be taught that there may be obstacles to surmount as they move along together in married life; that victory over these obstacles is what develops strength and power and ability. I do not know whether we would have been so much better off if He had made it so there would never have been any sorrow come into a family organization because I think that is one of the ways God has of testing us and mellowing us. When we survive them, when we can put our arms around each other in a mutual feeling of faith and of trust and reliance, then we develop from those obstacles. That, brethren and sisters, I believe, is our duty to our children, to teach them so that when the enter into this relationship they will be sweet and clean, with faith in God, realizing that the marriage they celebrate will not end with this life, but that it is to be for all eternity, and, consequently, it should be properly done and done under the inspiration of the Spirit of God. Then, I believe, it would always be safe.
But after having gone that far, brethren and sisters, we are not always safe. There are too many cases where older people fail. Many of the things which disrupt families are trivial in the extreme, and many of them come about, just because people cannot bring themselves to acknowledge that the things they do they ought not to do and to try to make adjustments for them with each other. If we could, under the inspiration of our heavenly Father, find a few of the solutions as we grow older, it would be much easier for many of us. The court records tell us that these things do happen. They ought never to happen in a good Latter-day Saint family.
Our efforts should be to so live that we will have claim upon our heavenly Father for his Spirit to help us over these rough places, so that the example we set to our growing children, and to their children, when they come along, will be one above reproach. The family, we have been told, is the foundation stone of our society. It is not brought together just that we may enjoy each other's association here. As I have suggested, it has a higher, more spiritual purpose, and the relationships that are entered into in the family should always be directed by the Spirit of God. If that could be, we would always be happy in that relationship, and then we would have a solidarity in our organization that would astound the world.
I do not want to say more today, but I plead, brethren and sisters, for an effort on our part to so instill in the hearts and minds of growing children, who are our responsibility, a desire to make this the highest social relationship that there is, a grand, glorious religious privilege entered into with the approval of the priesthood of God, with a determination that nothing under heaven shall ever disrupt it.
God bless us in it, I pray, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder LeGrand Richards
LeGrand Richards, Conference Report, April 1954, pp. 52-56
I feel humble, my brothers and sisters, as I occupy this position. I pray that I may enjoy the Spirit the Lord for the few moments that I am here. Since our last conference, I have had the privilege, by appointment of the First Presidency, of visiting the islands of the Pacific, and now I think I can understand why Brother Matthew Cowley loved those colonies and people as he did, because I found the love they had in their hearts for him. It was while I was in New Zealand that I received the word of his passing. Those people truly love him, and as you travel through the Church and you feel the faith and the spirit of the members in whichever land you happen to go, be it in those lands, or in the Hawaiian Islands, or in Europe, you cannot help but be impressed with the words of the Apostle Paul, when he said:
For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bend nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
And that to me is one of the marvelous things about this Church, about which President McKay spoke this morning, when he told of the announcement the Lord made to the Prophet Joseph that a marvelous work was about to come forth among the children of men. The faith and the unity and the oneness that exists among the Saints of God wherever you find them, whatever their color might be, is a wonderful thing to me.
And another is the marvelous feeling of faith that the Lord plants in the hearts of the missionaries. I have seen missionaries in the field who would gladly have given their lives for the testimony of the truth that the Lord had given to them.
We had a missionary in our mission, who was on his second mission, and he told of when he was on his first mission. While at lunch, two men rode up on horseback and said, "Aren't you holding a meeting this afternoon?" and he said, "No, we hadn't planned on it." "Well," the man said, "there is a whole group over at the chapel waiting for you, and they expect you to come." So the missionary said, "We will be right over," and when they arrived they found a posse of men on horses with lasso ropes, and they said, "We are going to string you Mormon elders up to this tree." This missionary happened to be a bit witty, and he said, "Well, that is all right, but there is no hurry about it, is there? Come on inside, and let's talk it over," and before they got through, the leader of the mob took the two elders home with him. But there they were, facing even death, as it were, but there was no fear because of the marvelous Spirit the Lord has put into this work.
I have heard it said, I have never read it, that once the Prophet Joseph, when he appeared before the President of the United States, was asked the difference between this Church and other churches, and he said, "The difference is that we have the Holy Ghost", and then I thought of Peter before he received the Holy Ghost, how he denied the Christ three times during one night, and after he had received the Holy Ghost, you remember, when he was asked by the chief Priests, if they had not commanded him not to preach Christ and him crucified in the streets of Jerusalem, and his reply was: "Whom shall men obey? God or man" .
I thank God that among the marvelous things in this Church is this wonderful spirit that binds the Saints together and motivates the members of the Church to be willing to sacrifice, in order to build the kingdom of God in the earth I would like to say a few words about another phase of this great and marvelous work that has appealed to me, and that is the fulfillment of prophecy. As I read the words of Isaiah, I read that the Lord has planned all of his work from the beginning, and he has permitted his prophets so to announce unto the people. That is why Peter tells us that,
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 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 the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
And so, today, we have the more sure word of prophecy, and as I read the prophecies of the scriptures and those of our modern prophets, I am sure in my own mind that there has never been a period in the history of the world when there were as many prophecies being fulfilled as there are today.
There will not be time to go into the details of what has transpired in the restoration of the gospel, in the gathering of the Saints to these valleys of the mountains, in the building of these holy temples. I think of the words of President Young when the cornerstone of this Salt Lake Temple was laid, when he made this statement:
"This morning we have assembled on one of the most solemn, interesting, joyful, and glorious occasions that ever have transpired, or will transpire among the children of men, while the earth continues in its present organization, and is occupied for its present purposes. And I congratulate my brethren and sisters that it is our unspeakable privilege to stand here this day, and minister before the Lord on an occasion which has caused the tongues and pens of Prophets to speak and write for many scores of centuries which are past".
Think of it! Some three thousand years ago, the Lord permitted Isaiah and Micah to see this temple, and they declared:
And is shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths.
Do we need any better evidence of the fulfillment of this prophecy than these great congregations that are assembling here to worship the Lord and to listen to the words of his prophets of this dispensation.
I think also of the words of Jesus, as he walked along the way to Emmaus with his two disciples, "But their eyes were holden that they should not know him," and then after listening to them tell of the events that had transpired in Jerusalem pertaining to the crucifixion of the Lord, he said: "O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken". And then he began with Moses and the prophets and showed them how that in all things the prophets had testified of him and what would transpire as part of his ministry and his labors. And then we are told that he opened the understanding of his Apostles, that they might understand the scriptures.
And then we are told by Mormon that "... the eternal purposes of the Lord shall roll on, until all his promises shall be fulfilled." And then Mormon said, "Search the prophecies of Isaiah." And then he made known that in the day when these prophecies should be fulfilled, that it would be given unto the people to understand them.
And as I read the prophecies of Isaiah, it seems to me that the Lord almost permitted him to live more in our day than when he was actually upon the earth, for so many of his prophecies deal with the latter-days and the things that are to transpire in this dispensation.
I think of the words of one of our worthy patriarchs, not so long ago. He was in his nineties, and one of his friends said, "Brother-so-and-so, wouldn't you rather pass on into the next world, where your wife is and so many of your loved ones, and so many of your friends?" And he rebuked him and said, "Not much. I have lived to see the Lord accomplish so much in this dispensation, I want to stay as long as I can and see him finish his work."
It would be an interesting thing were there time to consider the prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled, but I do want to say a word about what is going on over in Jerusalem and the Holy Land at this present time. So many of the prophets, and the Savior of the world, himself, and particularly when he visited the Nephites, have told of the day when the Jews would be gathered back to that land and how the Lord would fight their battles and how he would do a marvelous work among them. And when you read what is going on and see how they have become a nation today, it is a wonderful thing.
And then I contrast the prophecies with relation to their regathering and their rebuilding of their temple and their rebuilding of the waste places that have been desolate according to the prophets for many generations, with the prophecy of Isaiah with respect to the destruction of the great city of Babylon. You will remember at the time it was the greatest City in all the world. It is interesting to read the descriptions of it, with its beautiful gardens, and yet Isaiah announced that that city would be destroyed; he said that it would never be rebuilt, that it would never be inhabited from generation to generation, that it would become the abode of reptiles and wild animals, and that the Arabs would no more pitch their tents there. That was a declaration that the greatest city in the world would not only be destroyed, but it would also never be rebuilt.
No one would dare say that of any of our great cities today. Now, contrast that with the destruction of Jerusalem. The Savior said it would be plowed as an acre and not one stone would be left upon another, but all of the prophets declared it would be rebuilt, and not only that, but that her waste places should also be restored until it should become as the Garden of Eden.
And the desolate land shall he tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by.
And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited
If you read your current magazines, such as the article that appeared in the March Reader's Digest about what is going on over there, how the men use the Bible to find where the springs and wells were, and the reservoirs and the iron mines, it is a marvelous thing, and that land is being rebuilt.
I could not help but think, as I read some of these articles, of how Brother Orson Hyde would feel today. He was sent there in 1841 by the Presidency of the Church to dedicate that land for the regathering of the Jews. At that time, it was a wasteland, with very few people there, and today they are going back by the thousands and by the hundreds of thousands.
I have in my heart a feeling that it will not be long until the Presidency of the Church will feel to open up the missionary work among these people, because the Savior indicated that the fullness of his gospel would be preached unto them in the latter days and not only that, but also in a revelation to the Prophet Joseph, he indicated that the gospel was to be preached, as President McKay pointed out, to all nations, to the Gentiles, first, and then to the Jews, so that the day will come when we will carry the message to them.
I have one specific little illustration of how it would appear the Lord is working with them I would like to refer to here today. First, I will read a few words from Zachariah, the twelfth chapter:
In that day shall the lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; band he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
The Lord said he would fight their battles and that they should be strong, like unto David. When David went out to meet Goliath, no mortal man would ever have thought that in and of himself he could have conquered that great giant David went forth, and when Goliath ridiculed him, saying, "Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves?" David replied: "Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
"This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand," and by that same power, the Lord is today wresting this great land of promise and delivering it back unto his people.
A short time ago, when a committee was sent there by President Truman, they were told by Chaim Weizmann, the first president of Israel, that it was their belief in a "mystical force that would return the Jews to the land of Israel, that had kept them alive.
In the Jewish Hope, of September 1950, was an article by Arthur U. Michelson. I will not take time to read it, but he tells of a visit he made to Jerusalem, when he heard the experience of the Jewish army. They had only-one cannon, and were facing the Arabs with their well-trained and equipped army, and so when they used this cannon, they moved it from place to place so the enemy would think they had many, and every time the cannon was fired, they would beat tin cans in order to make a lot of noise so that the enemy would think they had many cannons.
I want to read what he said about what happened when the armies of Israel were about to give up:
"One of the officials has told me how much the Jews had to suffer. They had hardly anything with which to resist the heavy attacks of the Arabs who were well organized and equipped with the latest weapons. Besides, they had neither food nor water, because all their supplies were cut off...
"At this critical moment, God showed them that he was on their side, for he performed one of the greatest miracles that ever happened. The Arabs suddenly threw down their arms and surrendered. When their delegation appeared with the white flag, they asked, "Where are the three men that and where are all the troops we saw?" The Jews told them that they did not know anything of the three men, for this group was their entire force. The Arabs said that they saw three persons, with long beards and flowing white robes who warned them not to fight any longer, otherwise they would all be killed. They became so frightened that they decided to give up. What an encouragement this was for the Jews to realize that God was fighting for them."
And then he told about another case when one man with a white robe and a long beard appeared, and they all saw him, and they gave up their arms. Now I do not know, but the Lord said that he would do something for the Jews in the latter days, and when he permitted the Three Nephites to tarry upon this land, he said:
And behold they will be among the Gentiles, and the Gentiles shall know them not.
They will also be among the Jews, and the Jews shall know them not.
And it shall come to pass, when the lord seeth fit in his wisdom that they shall minister unto all the scattered tribes of Israel, and unto all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, and shall bring out of them unto Jesus many souls, that their desire may be fulfilled, and also because of the convincing power of God which is in them.
Whoever these persons were, they seemed to have "convincing power sufficient to cause a whole army to surrender.
In permitting these Three Nephites to tarry upon the earth until he, Jesus, should come in his glory, he must have had in mind some great things for them to accomplish in bringing about a fulfillment of his promises. Whether it was convinced the army of the Arabs to surrender, I do not know, but this I do know: That what is going on in the Holy Land should convince one that the Lord is moving rapidly toward restoring the Jews to the land of their fathers and is giving them that land and redeeming it from its waste condition, as the prophets have foretold.
In closing, I give you the words of Isaiah. I believe the words of the prophets with all my heart.
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
To me prophecy is one of the great evidences that there is really a God and that he is directing his work and will do so to its ultimate decreed destiny, and I bear you this witness in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Ezra Taft Benson
Ezra Taft Benson, Conference Report, April 1954, pp. 56-59
My beloved brethren and sisters and friends: Humbly I acknowledge the great honor, privilege, and responsibility which is mine, as I look into your faces. I am grateful for this conference-thankful to the Lord that I am able to be here, to mingle with you, partake of this sweet spirit, and grateful to him that he has seen fit to call these general conferences of the Church and the quarterly conferences in the stakes of Zion.
I have in mind a desire to offer just a word of hope and encouragement and admonition this afternoon. I owe a great deal, as all of us who are gathered here do, to this great Church and kingdom of which we are a part. Throughout my life, I have felt very keenly my obligation to this, the Church and kingdom of God, and my gratitude to my heavenly Father that my lot has been cast with this people.
I wish it were possible for all of us to place our trusts completely in God and to keep his commandments fully. I wish we had the courage, the faith, and the strength of character so that we would in very deed place our trust in our heavenly Father and keep all of his commandments and do that which is right.
Many years ago, when I was a boy in my teens, a particular course of study in the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association made a deep and lasting impression upon my life. It was a series of lessons on the development of character. I have often wished that that course might be repeated. The first in the series was a group of lessons on courage. There is a rather interesting sidelight which I recall. In those days in our manuals, it was not uncommon to carry advertising, and I remember that on the lower front cover was an advertisement which read as follows: "Oldest, largest, best. LDS Business College. Day Sessions, $7.00 a month; Night Sessions, $4.00 a month."
It is not about the advertisement that I wish to speak, but on the flyleaf of that excellent course of study there appeared a few stanzas from a "Selected" poem under the caption, "Trust in God and Do the Right"
Courage, brother, do not stumble, Though thy path is dark as night; There's a star to guide the humble- Trust in God and do the right.
Let the road be long and dreary, And its ending out of sight, Foot it bravely-strong or weary, Trust in God and do the right.
Perish "policy" and cunning, Perish all that fears the light; Whether losing, whether winning, Trust in God and do the right.
Some will hate thee, some will love thee, Some will flatter, some will slight, Turn from man, and look above thee, Trust in God and do the right.
Simple rule and safest guiding, Inward peace and inward light, Star upon our path abiding, Trust in God and do the right.
At the head of that first chapter appeared those reassuring words of Joshua, later used as a theme in MIA:
Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
And then the Psalmist:
Be still, and know that I am God.
It is a great blessing, my brethren and sisters, to have an inner peace, to have an assurance, to have a spirit of serenity, an inward calm during times of strife and struggle, during times of sorrow and reverses. It is soul-satisfying to know that God is at the helm, that he is mindful of his children, and that we can with full confidence place our trust in him. I believe that all the truly great men of the earth have been men who trusted in God and who have striven to do that which is right as they understood the right.
I have often read the words of Abraham Lincoln when he said,
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 he offered similar admonition for the nations of the earth, as have other great Americans and great spiritual leaders. Said Lincoln:
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.
I thrilled, as I am sure you did, as our chief executive, newly elected, stood on that solemn occasion, at the time of his inauguration, and offered a humble prayer to the Almighty. In majestic simplicity President Dwight D. Eisenhower petitioned on that occasion:
... Give us, we pray, the power to discern clearly right from wrong, and allow all our works and actions to be governed thereby and by the laws of this land... so that all may work for the good of our beloved country and for Thy glory. Amen
It is reassuring to see men in high places, in church, in government, in business-in all of the walks of life-who are not afraid to acknowledge their dependence upon God-who are not afraid to trust him-not afraid to try to do that which is right.
Yes, God is at the helm, my brothers and sisters. I know it, and you know it. Surely no group in all the world has greater evidence of that fact than do the Latter-day Saints. Even during the days of persecution and hardship, the Lord has continually encouraged us to trust in him, to keep his commandments, to do that which is right and then be unafraid.
We live in a world of fear today. Fear seems to be almost everywhere present. But there is no place for fear among the Latter-day Saints, among men and women who keep the commandments, who place their trust in the Almighty, who are not afraid to get down on their knees and pray to our heavenly Father.
I remember an incident in the life of the Prophet Joseph. God bless his memory! He had been persecuted with his people, driven, and at this particular time he was in Liberty Jail, incarcerated upon trumped-up charges. Finally, when it seemed as though he could stand it no longer, he cried out in the anguish of his soul, as recorded in the 121st section:
O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?
How long shall thy hand be stayed, and thine eye, yea thy pure eye, behold from the eternal heavens the wrongs of thy people and of thy servants, and thine ear be penetrated with their cries?.
And you will recall, the word came back to him:
My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;
And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over thy foes.
Then the Lord pointed out to this great man, this prophet of God, that all these things had been given for the purpose of gaining experience, of helping to build him for the great responsibilities that lay ahead of him. How sweet and reassuring are the words of the Lord on that memorable occasion as he counseled:
... know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.
... therefore, fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever.
The Lord, speaking to his sons of this dispensation and the membership of his Church, gave the following admonition in another revelation:
Fear not to do good, my sons, for whatsoever ye sow, that shall ye also reap; therefore, if ye sow good ye shall also reap good for your reward.
Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail.
... perform with soberness the work which I have commanded you.
Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.
You will also recall the admonition he gave to the early disciples of this dispensation, recorded in the Lord's preface to the Book of Commandments, the first section of the Doctrine and Covenants:
And they shall go forth and none shall stay them, for I the Lord have commanded them.
So among the Latter-day Saints, particularly, there should be no fears, even in a world where many people are concerned about atom bombs, the hydrogen bomb; where many are fearing Communism and some are talking fearfully of a depression. There need be no fear in the hearts of Latter-day Saints. People who live the gospel, who keep the commandments, who trust in God and do that which is right, need never fear because God speaks peace to the honest in heart through his Spirit. Said the Lord in the 11th section of the Doctrine and Covenants:
And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good-yea, to do justly... to judge righteously; and this is my Spirit.
On another occasion the Lord declared:
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.
Our heavenly Father is continually mindful of us. It is his "work and glory" to make the exaltation of man possible. The course which he has outlined is simple, yet able to make men's stature reflect confident living free from fear. Hear his words:
Let him trust in me and he shall not be confounded.
So, my brethren and sisters, there may come persecution; there may come opposition; there may come reverses; there may come criticism and misrepresentation. Your motives may be questioned. You may be attacked. But if we place our trust in the Almighty and do that which is right, there will come an inner assurance, an inner calm, a peace that will bring joy and happiness to our souls.
In my office in Washington, in the Department of Agriculture, established by President Abraham Lincoln, I have in a small frame these words of the great Emancipator:
If I were to try to read, much less answer, all the attacks made on me, this shop might as well be closed for any other business. I do the very best I know how-the very best I can; and I mean to keep doing so until the end. If the end brings me out all right, what is said against me won't amount to anything. If the end brings me out wrong, ten angels swearing I was right would make no difference.
And that is the spirit which should characterize the lives of the Latter-day Saints. "Do what is right, let the consequence follow," goes one of our favorite hymns. Shrink not from duty where it is made known. Keep the commandments. Trust in God and do the right.
In the early days of the Church, you may recall, the Lord frequently praised the elders for certain things they did, but ofttimes he would chastise as well, and in the 60th section of the Doctrine and Covenants, after giving a few words of praise, he said:
But with some I am not well pleased, for they will not open their mouths, but they hide the talent which I have given unto them, because of the fear of man. Wo unto such, for mine anger is kindled against them.
And so my brethren and sisters, as President Richards pointed out so beautifully this morning, let us never be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let us never be afraid to do what is right. Let us trust in God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
I know, and so do you who have testimonies of the divinity of this work, that without God's help we cannot succeed, but with his help we can accomplish anything he asks us to do. And we can do it with a feeling of assurance, of confidence, and with a spirit of serenity which can be a joy and blessing to all of us.
God help us to keep his commandments, to put our homes in order, to pray to God, to trust in him and do the right, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder John Longden
John Longden, Conference Report, April 1954, pp. 68-69
"The clouds of error disappear Before the rays of light and truth divine."
I am sure we have been uplifted this morning by the beautiful music which has been rendered through these fine people of Brigham Young University. If there should be any in the congregation this morning who had a feeling of discouragement, a feeling of frustration or insecurity, I am sure those thoughts were dispelled when you heard that lovely music, "The Spirit of God Like a Fire Is Burning." That is the opportunity which is ours, my brothers and sisters, to enjoy the Spirit of God as we live each day and each hour of the day.
Yet, not to throw a negative thought into this lovely meeting, I would remind you that Satan would destroy that which we have heard and felt this morning. That is the mission of Satan in the world-to destroy faith, to destroy a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. How grateful I am that the gospel has been restored in its fullness-that we can enjoy the spirit, inspiration, and power of the Holy Ghost and of our Master today, as is true whenever there has been a generation of righteous people on the earth.
It is nothing new that Satan would endeavor to destroy. I believe it was Socrates back in 353 B.C. who declared: "Philosophy has struggled to find the substitute for the divine commandments and the surveillance of God." And today there are men who would deny that Jesus Christ has again appeared and spoken to his chosen servants and that there has been re-established in the earth the Church and kingdom of God.
As we read in history, we find that Satan endeavored to deceive Moses-Moses who was a prophet of God. Satan endeavored to have him believe that he, Satan, was Jehovah, but because Moses was a righteous son, a faithful son, living in obedience to the commandments, he had the power of discernment and was able to rebuke the adversary. The adversary, we are told, was very much discouraged and disappointed, and he wept bitterly.
Even our Lord and Master Jesus, the great example to us all, suffered temptation. Satan knew that after he had fasted for forty days and forty nights there would be a physical weakness, He said: "If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread." The significant remark of Jesus to Satan was: "It is not good for man to live by bread alone but by every word of God." Still the Son of the Morning was not satisfied. He took the Savior to a high mountain and showed him in the twinkling of an eye the kingdoms and principalities and powers which he claimed he had a right to bestow if the Savior would but bow down and worship him, Satan. Again the significant remark, "Get thee behind me Satan, for it is written thou shalt worship Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." We are told he brought him to Jerusalem and set him on a pinnacle of the temple and said unto him: "If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written he shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him: "It is said thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God".
Do we need any other key today as Latter-day Saints? I believe not. We can live in obedience to the truths if we will seek that spiritual guidance which is ours, and that is the guidance that has been the influence in the development of man throughout the ages.
In 1929 it was my privilege to visit the laboratory of the great scientist, Charles P. Steinmetz, that little hunchback German who came to this country as an immigrant boy. I shall ever be grateful for the privilege of shaking his hand. After his passing from this mortal existence I read a very choice statement which he gave to the world. He said: "Spiritual power is a force which history clearly teaches has been the greatest force in the development of man. Yet we have been merely playing with it and have never really studied it as we have the physical forces. Some day people will learn that material things do not bring happiness and are of little use in making people creative and powerful. Then the scientists of the world will turn their laboratories over to the study of spiritual forces which have hardly been scratched."
I am grateful that we have the Church and kingdom of God in the earth today. We have that spiritual strength and power, and I humbly pray, Latter-day Saints and people of the world, that we will come to realize that greatness that can be evolved is through the development of spiritual strength. Then the clouds of error will disappear, and we will allow the rays of light and truth divine to take precedence in our lives.
May God bless us that we as a people may go forward in the spiritual strength which is rightfully ours, to proclaim the truths of the gospel and enjoy his spirit by doing a great missionary work. This is our responsibility. I bear witness to you that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that President David O. McKay is the mouthpiece of our Heavenly Father in the earth and those men associated with him in the Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve and the Patriarch are prophets of God. May we take their teachings and counsel and effect them in our lives that we may truly enjoy the spiritual strength and happiness which will bring the sweet peace that passeth understanding, I humbly pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Harold B. Lee
Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, April 1954, pp. 69-73
I would be indeed ungrateful this morning were I not to acknowledge the blessings of my Heavenly Father to me and mine, and I do that most humbly.
I seek for the uplift of the spirit of this great conference and your faith and prayers in these next few minutes.
I could wish for no better background for the few thoughts I would like to express than the buoyancy of the wonderful youth representing our great Brigham Young University who have sung to us so inspiringly at this session of our conference.
The text that I would like to consider for a few moments is in the nature of a question from a young Latter-day Saint youth at Fort Lewis military training camp, a son of a prominent Latter-day Saint family. His question was: "What is your concept of a Christlike life? Please explain in detail the qualifications necessary for one to gain an exaltation in the kingdom of heaven."
I was intrigued by that question, and if the Spirit of the Lord is willing, I should like to make an answer to that young man within the time limitations this morning; and if the congregation here will pardon me, I will talk directly to that young man who may possibly be in attendance because I believe that his question is the question that is being asked by every serious-minded Latter-day Saint youth today.
Young man, your question is not unique. It is not different. It is the same question that has been asked by the honest-hearted ever since the world began. It is the question that was in the mind of Nicodemus, the master in Israel, when he came to the Savior by night, and the Master discerning the purpose of his coming, explained to aim what was necessary in order for him to enter or even to see the kingdom of God.
It was the same question asked by the zealous Saul of Tarsus on that memorable occasion while on his way to Damascus when he was blinded by the light; he heard a voice speak out of heaven; humbled as only one can be humbled in the presence of a great spiritual experience. In answer to the Lord's rebuke, the humble Saul asked, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?".
It was the cry of the sinful David who, amidst his pleadings and his sufferings, granted the knowledge of the course which he must pursue, in order that his soul would not be left in hell. It was the same thing the Jews asked on the day of Pentecost: "What must we do to be saved?".
To answer your question fully, and that of these others to which I have made reference would require a full explanation of the plan of salvation given in the gospel of Jesus Christ. While yet in your youth, you have done well to ask that question, young man, to seek counsel as to your course in life, for every soul who lives has the possibility, as you have, of an exaltation in the celestial kingdom.
I wish you could have been here to the general priesthood meeting on Saturday night, but maybe you were. I wish you could have repeated under President McKay's direction the First Article of Faith, "We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost", and then listened intently to every word as you repeated with President McKay the Thirteenth Article of Faith: "We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men". But I would have you this morning think of another of the Articles of Faith in connection therewith because it has a particular significance in the answer to your question: "We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel".
A great philosopher has said the same thing in other words when he declared: "Every one of us, with of God and within the limitations of human capability, himself makes his own disposition, his character, and his permanent condition."
May I give you in answer to your question the example of three youths who, faced with the stern temptations of life, met those tests and came through nobly and victoriously, despite the odds against them. I say I give you these examples in order that you may learn and recognize three of the great dangers which confront youth today.
The first, an example of a young girl, whom I met when I was asked address a group of young girls a few years ago over at the Lion House where they were being shepherded under the direction of the great Young Women's Mutual Improvement Association. At the close of our meeting this lovely girl took me aside, and from her purse she unfolded a picture of a handsome young soldier. Underneath the picture was something about love, and his name signed. I asked, "Well, what does this mean?" Tears were swimming in her eyes. She replied, "I met that young man here in an army camp. He was not a member of the Church. He was clean and fine, and he had the ideals I had longed for in a companion, all except one thing, he was not a member of the Church. And when he proposed marriage to me, I said, 'Only will I be married when I can be married in the house of the Lord because love means something more than just a thing that pertains to this life. It is an eternal thing, and I want to be married in the temple.'"
Well, he reasoned with her, he pleaded with her, he scolded, and then came angry; and finally after repeated efforts to break down her religious objection to a marriage out of the temple, he finally left her. It was now time to go overseas, and she cried her heart out the night he left thinking that maybe she had made a mistake because her heart had gone out to this fine young man.
During a long ocean voyage over to Australia where he was to be stationed and from where he was to go into combat, he began to think about this young woman. He began to think that he had been a little hasty in his judgment about her religious convictions. Perhaps it was her religion that had made her the fine girl that she was. With that on his mind, he began to seek companionship with our Latter-day Saint men. He finally met a Latter-day Saint chaplain there and became associated with the Latter-day Saint boys of the camp and began to study the gospel. On her birthday he had sent her this picture attached, and behind the picture was a slip of paper which proved to be a certificate evidencing the fact that he had been baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In the letter which accompanied the picture, he had said, "I am preparing now to live worthy so that when I come home, I can be ordained an elder and together we can be married in the house of the Lord."
There, young man, is the first thing that you must think of, if you would have an exaltation in the celestial kingdom. Marriage is eternal, and there was a youth who realized the foundation on which she must build if she were to have a fullness of eternal happiness. The second example is that of an impetuous young man. One morning he was confronted by his mother with rather a startling statement. His mother said to him, "Son, last night I had a premonition. I had a feeling that you are going to be faced with a grave temptation by a certain woman who is setting her cap for you. I warn you to be on guard." And this youth brushed it aside in his characteristic way, "Oh, Mother, you are silly; nothing is farther from the fact. She is a fine woman." And the mother replied, "Well, be careful, my son." Within thirty days from the time of his mother's warning, that youth stood face to face with the temptation about which his mother had been warned.
Youth, if you want to be guided by wisdom, stay close to your parents. Listen to the counsel of your father and your mother and lean heavily upon the experience of their lives because they are entitled to inspiration in the rearing of their family. Young man, may I plead with you to keep yourself morally clean? Revere womanhood. May I remind you of what you repeated some years ago as a slogan in the MIA. It was a quotation from a portion of a message of the First Presidency particularly to servicemen in military service during some of these strenuous, difficult times through which you and others like you have lived. This is what the First Presidency wrote: "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."
Honor your name, young man. You come of an illustrious family. Not to maintain the high standards which the Presidency have suggested would not only be a blight upon you, but a blight upon that great family name you bear, and a blight upon the Church for which your forefathers and ancestors sacrificed their lives to establish.
In the prayer at the dedication of the Idaho Falls Temple the First Presidency said something of great importance to the girls about the purity of life. This is what the Presidency wrote in that inspired prayer: "We pray for the daughters of Zion. May they be preserved in virtue, chastity, and purity of life, be blessed with vigorous bodies and minds, and with great faith. May they develop into true womanhood and receive choice companions under the new and everlasting covenant for time and for all eternity in thy temples provided for this priceless privilege and purpose.
Young man, should you find companionship with a beautiful young girl, will you remember that quotation, and will you take occasion during your courtship to read to her that most vital message from the prophets of the living God in our day to warn her also against one of the besetting sins of this world in which we live?
May I now give you the third example to suggest a third danger? The story of this incident comes from the testimony of the wife of a mission president who just returned from one of our Communist-dominated countries. A young girl attending a school in that country one day was abused by her teacher when he learned of her identity as a Latter-day Saint girl, having faith in a living God. As a punishment to her he demanded that she sit down and write fifty times, there is no God." This little girl, shaken by the punishment imposed by that teacher, went home and talked it over with mother. Her mother said, "No, girl, you must never write, 'There is no God.' You go back and tell your teacher you know there is a God and you can't lie." And the girl went back and faced this teacher, and he said, more angrily than ever, "You go back and write that and write it a hundred times, 'There is no God,' or I warn you that something terrible will happen to you."
The mother and daughter prayed nearly all night that night, and then next morning they fasted and went together to the room of that teacher. They waited for him to come. The he didn't show up, and the principal, seeing that they were waiting, came to them and asked, "Are you waiting for your teacher?" She said, "Yes, we are waiting for him." "Well, I am sorry to tell you that he suffered a heart attack and died suddenly this morning."
Something terrible did happen, but it wasn't to that young girl. It happened to a man inspired with satanic motives.
Young man, I would warn you, along with the others of your age, to be forewarned of the threats to your faith. I warn you against the man-made philosophies and the doctrines which would destroy that faith in God basic to exaltation in the celestial kingdom.
If you remember those examples, young man, and live worthy of your name, the marvelous rewards of our heavenly Father will be yours. Listen to what the Lord promised:
Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul that forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keep my commandments, shall see my face and shall know that I am.
And after you begin to understand that, then, young man, go to the 76th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants, in some respects, one of the most glorious visions that has ever been given to mortal man. Read from the 50th to the 70th verses of that great vision, and you will have understanding in better words than I can give you today.
My son, go and have your patriarchal blessing, for there under inspiration your patriarch will give you, as someone has said, "paragraphs from the book of your own possibilities."
And now after this brief conversation with you, my young brother, may I close it by a little quotation from a great thinker who said this:
The highest of all arts is the art of living well. Beyond the beauty of sculpture and painting, of poetry or music, is the beauty of a well-spent life. Here all can be artists. Every man can be a hero.
Obedience to that divine command, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect", will ally man with God and will make of earth a paradise.
God bless you, my young friend. Keep on thinking the serious thoughts and asking those serious questions, and in time, as you keep your eyes fixed upon the stars to guide you on and on and upward, you will reach your objective-an exaltation in the celestial kingdom of our Heavenly Father, which I pray for you and all youth of Zion, and all the world if that were possible, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Levi Edgar Young
Levi Edgar Young, Conference Report, April 1954, pp. 75-79
A few weeks ago, there came to Salt Lake City thirteen students from different parts of western Germany. They had been sent to the United States by their government, and while in this country, they became the guests of the different cities they visited, and the railroads gave them free transportation. They were impressed with Salt Lake City, and their few hours here visiting the centers of interest and meeting some of the people was to them a memorable thing. One of the young ladies remarked that they did not like the large cities for the people seemed to have little interest in them. They had words of gratitude for the manner in which they were received and the spirit of brotherhood that they experienced here in Salt Lake City. One of them said: "Tell us about the United States and particularly of your city here in the mountains." They were promised a letter to be sent to them in German, and I am taking this opportunity of reading it to you.
Our government of the United States is, as you know, one of the youngest nations of the world's history. The government was organized in 1789, under the supervision of the first president, George Washington. There were thirteen divisions called states, which had been settled by people from England, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the Scandinavian countries. The dominant people were English. Most of them had a profound belief in religion and morality, which ideals were expressed in their civic documents like the Constitution of the United States. It was a period of great and wise men, and among them were families from your native land. The noted German soldier, Baron Von Steuben, was an officer in Washington's army, and the name of Hyam Solomon will ever be remembered for his giving his entire fortune to the American cause at the time of the terrible suffering at Valley Forge. Your own forefathers had not recovered from the terrible times of the Thirty Years' war when they turned to America. In Germany there were intense poverty, suffering, and religious persecutions in the eighteenth century. America had been settled along the Atlantic coast, when and from the mass of human misery came your forefathers who settled largely in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. They brought with them a love for the arts and music and adapted themselves to the new world.
Children of your fathers entered our schools and universities and came to understand our American civic and political life. In this country, you have preserved your arts and music and literature and great schools of philosophy. Your Immanuel Kant was known by our earliest educators. The Germans have come to know the fundamentals of the Constitution of the United States. If you were attending our schools, you would learn that the Opening statement of the Mayflower Compact is: "In the name of God, Amen." And a little prayer you find the words: "... for the glory of God and advancement of the Christian faith." Americans have always promoted the ideals of the Christian faith. Among our noted documents of history are the Articles of Confederation, which begin with these lines:
Whereas we all came to these parts of America with one and the same end, namely, to advance the kingdom of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and to enjoy the liberty of the gospel in its purity.
Then I have pride in calling our attention to the first meeting held in Virginia known as the General Assembly of Virginia. To this meeting came many of your German people, possibly there were some of your own forebears. In the account of the first meeting of the Virginians, we have these lines:
... for as much as men's affairs do little prosper where God's service is neglected, all the burgesses took their places in the choir till a prayer was said by the Reverend Mr. Buche, a German minister, "that it would please God to guide and to sanctify all our proceedings to his own glory."
Finally, read the Declaration of Independence, which acknowledges the Creator as the source of life and liberty, relies upon "the protection of Divine Providence," and is written in a spirit of reverence, with an appeal to the right as established by God. You see our fathers always in this civic and political life, acknowledged the leadership of God and sought humbly to follow him. Take your Bible and read the 127th Psalm:
Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
Here in America, men were free to believe as they wished. The history of the United States has largely been a history of religious beliefs. In fact, the American people are naturally believers in God, the eternal Father, and in his Son Jesus, the Christ.
After the lapse of the ages when a new world of discovery and invention had changed man's social outlook and the way of living had been recreated in the world, it was natural that someone should come forth to look to God for a revelation of his holy word. Many stouthearted followers of the Holy Bible looked toward the new day. In 1620, Pastor John Robinson, in bidding the Pilgrim Fathers good-bye as theft the shores of Holland for far-off America, said to his congregation of faithful men and women:
If God reveal anything to you, by any other instrument of His, be as ready to receive it as ever you were to receive truth by my ministry; for I am fully persuaded, I am very confident, that the Lord has more truth yet to break forth out of His holy word... I beseech you to remember it is an article in your Church Covenant that you be ready to receive whatever truth shall be made known to you from the written word of God.
During the French Revolution, Michelet wrote in his history of France:
The world is waiting for a Faith to march forward again, to breathe and to live. But never can a faith have a beginning in deceit, cunning, or treatise of falsehood.
Soon alter these words were written, there was born on the frontier of the United States "a new Faith to march forward again, to breathe and to live." A young boy walked into the woods one day-a boy not hungering for food, but for God, and like the shepherds of old, he felt he must go... even unto Bethlehem".
The youthful prophet was Joseph Smith, who knew that what the world needed first, and to the end, was God. Not God in the heavens alone and in the past, but God here, and ready by the man "whom he hath ordained" to repeat and enlarge the work given to the world eighteen hundred years before. Joseph Smith had that divine discontent, which gave him the certainty that whoever opens his heart to the Savior of mankind receives life, and light, and strength.
From the day that the Prophet announced his divine calling until his death, he wrote and spoke the revelations of God and became the clarion of a new day. He awakened a new eagerness in the hearts of men. He met the problems of the ethical and religious conditions of mankind and gave anew the way from the material world to the kingdom of God. The finer elements of life were restored to primacy. Human conduct was won to better issues, which are the cultivation of righteousness in the entire life and activity of mankind.
The coming of John the Baptist, and later of Peter, James, and John, resulted in the establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for these holy men had restored the priesthood of God, and the divine work of these latter days was begun for the redemption and salvation of mankind. The plight of the world at that time was its lack of vision, its loss of the principles of the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. With the restoration of the gospel came a spiritual conviction, a dynamic knowledge, which has been woven into the very lives of the Latter-day Saints. Man's relationship to his heavenly Father has become known. There is a new vision of the kingdom of God, the purpose of which is to culminate in the reign of righteousness upon the earth. This is the prevalent note in the restored gospel. God reigns in heaven and in earth. He is the divine King of nations.
Out of our faith, we find everything that is holy and pure and of good report. The morning of the first Sabbath day after the arrival of the Pioneers in this valley, Saturday, July 24, 1847, divine services were held, and the people were seated in a circle out in the sagebrush, and nearby were the waters of a lovely stream. Gratitude to God was expressed in song and prayer, and the words of Isaiah were read by Apostle Orson Pratt, who gave the sermon:
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!
Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion.
The Latter-day Saints believe and know honestly that Adam came to earth sent from God, from Heaven. He held the priesthood of God and became the first teacher of the gospel to his descendants. The divine ideals as taught by the Father of us all were held sacred, and from that time to the days of the Messiah upon the earth, the truths of God were planted in the hearts of his children. Maurice Maeterlinck, in his book, The Great Secret, says that what we read in the oldest archives of wisdom gives only a faint idea of the sublime doctrines of the ancient teachers. The older the texts, the more pure, the more awe-inspiring are the doctrines they reveal. They may be merely an echo of sublimer doctrines. We come down to the age of the prophets. Says a noted historian:
How fitting it is that Malachi should seal up the book of the Old Testament prophecy by such a clear statement of the coming of the Lord, the Messenger of the Covenant, the Son of righteousness, and thus give the last prediction of him, with whom the evangelists begin their gospel history.
Hugo Munsterberg of Harvard University, a noted German, wrote, in his Psychology and Life, something of the past glory of the sacred words:
There is a truth, a beauty, a morality, which is independent of psychological conditions. Every straightforward man, to whom the duties of his real life are no sounding brass, speaks with a sound voice to the psychologist: "There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
By the power of the Holy Priesthood which Joseph Smith received from heaven, he established our true relationship to God. Out of this grows the salvation of man-his true immortal life. The nations all bear witness to the need of a light that is not of man. We can give our word to the world that the forces which are to make the world what it ought to be are now within it. We are to study more deeply and constantly the divine truths of the gospel of bus Christ. We must know the history of the Church of which we are members. We must understand the meaning of the priesthood of God, which has been given to us. We must know the divine teachings of the Holy Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. How beautifully do they teach the words of Shakespeare:
What a piece of work is man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god!
What a directive purpose the Prophet Joseph Smith gives us in the words as found in the 88th section of the Doctrine and Covenants:
... 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, house of fasting, a house of faith a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God.
From the beginning of the history of the Church, Joseph Smith organized schools of learning. He became a student and a member of the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew classes established in the Kirtland Temple. He established the University of the City of Nauvoo, encouraged the building of the Seventies' Hall of Science. From these institutions came the wonderful schools of learning in Utah.
In 1851, the first extensive library was brought by ox teams to this state. It had been purchased in New York City by Dr. Job M. Bernhisel and was a wonderful collection of books. There were the works of Shakespeare, Milton, Bacon, Homer, Juvenal, Lucretius, Virgil, Euripides, Sophocles, Plato, Montaigne, Tacitus, Spenser, Herodotus, Goldsmith, and many others of the great masters of the world's best literature. The library received copies of the New York Herald, New York Evening Post, the Philadelphia Saturday Courier, and the North American Review. Of the scientific works there were Newton's Principia, Herschel's Outlines of Astronomy, and Von Humboldt's Cosmos. The treatises on philosophy included the works of John Stuart Mill, Martin Luther, John Wesley, and Emanuel Swedenborg.
The pioneers were always striving to understand the arts and sciences for they sensed keenly the power of all truth. They knew the human constants-hunger and labor, seedtime and harvest, love and faith-which entered into their lives from the very first. They built the Tabernacle which you visited. They continued establishing schools and colleges and established a theater in the wilderness which in time became recognized by the artists of the London stage as well as the famous dramatists of America. Mr. M. B. Leavitt has written in his Fifty Years of the American Stage:
Sweeping as the statement may seem, I do not believe that the theater has ever rested on a higher plane, both as to its purpose, and its offerings, than at Salt Lake City, the Capital of Mormondom.
Utah today has become a great state. Ellsworth Huntington of Yale University, has recently written in his book, entitled, Civilization and Climate:
The proud position of Utah is presumably the result of Mormonism. The leaders of that faith have had the wisdom to insist on a thorough system of schools, and have obliged the children to attend them. The "Gentiles" have in self-defense, been forced to do equally well, and the result has been admirable. Whatever one may think of Mormonism as a religious belief, it must be credited with having accomplished a remarkable work in spreading a moderate degree of education almost universally among the people of Utah.
Count Hermann Keyserling, the noted German philosopher and historian, came to Salt Lake City a few years ago and afterwards wrote in his Travel Diary of a Philosopher, these words:
The Mormons have achieved a civilization hardly attained by any other people. In barely half a century they have changed a salt desert into a garden. They are, moreover, admirable citizens, law abiding, honest, and progressive.
All the religious denominations of the world have been welcomed to Utah. One of our Articles of Faith says:
We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
Wherever the Mormons have settled, this has been the attitude of the Church toward all denominations and peoples. In an ordinance relating to religious societies passed by the city council of Nauvoo, we have these words:
AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES
Be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Nauvoo, that the Catholics, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, Latter-day Saints, Quakers, Episcopalians, Universalists, Unitarians, Mohammedans, and all other religious sects and denominations whatever, shall have free toleration and equal privileges in this city; and should any person be guilty of ridiculing or abusing or otherwise depreciating another in consequence of his religion, or of disturbing or interrupting any religious meeting within the limits of this city, he shall on conviction thereof before the Mayor or Municipal Court be fined or imprisoned at the discretion of the Mayor or Court.
You are now to be conducted to our central place of worship, the Tabernacle. Elder Zimmerman, my brother in the priesthood of God, will conduct you there and will tell you much about the building. Professor T. E. Tallmadge, Fellow American Institute of Architects, says in his Story of Architecture in America:
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 telltale Greek profiles in its moldings and cornices.
In some of our early-day buildings we find no lack of knowledge and appreciation of the fine arts. You may recall how you Germans had been influenced by the Greeks in your fine architecture. I recall a number of great buildings notable in architectural history where the Greek influence is plainly seen. I may mention the old Museum and the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, and in Vienna, the Parliament House. As you listen to the music of the great organ which was built by a noted organist in Pioneer days, it gives me pride to tell you that the Tabernacle is now known as one of the greatest symphony halls in the world. As early as 1875, our people heard the music of Beethoven and Bach, and picking up a program of Easter Choral Services in 1949, we find that Jesu, Priceless Treasure of Johann Sebastian Bach, together with the Requiem of Johannes Brahms, constituted the program. The great Brahms Requiem is not a mass for the dead but rather an ode to the departed.
This is just to tell you that the Latter-day Saints have been lovers of the classical music as well as of all the arts and literature since the Church was organized. Many a time, the people have in worship sung with the choir: "How Lovely Is Thy Dwelling Place, O Lord of Hosts."
May I say in conclusion, my fellow students, that the Mormon people have expressed their love of God by their constant faith and prayer which have resulted in great love for all peoples wherever they live on the earth.
I pray that you students may have a prosperous and happy journey throughout America and that you may return to your homes in peace and safety. May God ever bless you.
Elder Mark E. Petersen
Mark E. Petersen, Conference Report, April 1954, pp. 80-82
A short time ago, in company with Brother J. Leonard Love of the welfare committee, I had the opportunity of attending a stake conference at Snowflake, Arizona. While there, we were invited to a dinner which was being held for the Aaronic Priesthood boys of the stake. It was a memorable occasion. The program was delightful. Several beautiful numbers were given, one of which was a solo by a young boy who had a clear soprano voice. It was a solo which brought back to my mind a number of wonderful memories. That young man stood up before those four hundred or more boys and sang:
A "Mormon" boy, a "Mormon" boy, I am a "Mormon" boy; I might be envied by a king, For I am a "Mormon" boy.
That song was written by Evan Stephens, and as it was sung, I remembered that as a boy I sang this song also; and I had the opportunity of singing with a large boys' chorus here in this Tabernacle under the direction of Evan Stephens. I learned to honor him then, and I loved this song. Let me read to you a little more from it:
My father is a "Mormon" true, And when I am a man, I want to be like him, and do Just all the good I can. My faults I'll try to overcome, And while I life enjoy, With pride I'll lift my head and say, I am a "Mormon" boy. A "Mormon" boy, a "Mormon" boy, I am a "Mormon" boy; I might be envied by a king, For I am a "Mormon" boy.
About this time my father was my Sunday School teacher, and a little later he became the instructor in our deacons quorum. I used to honor him as I sang this song. I also remembered my Heavenly Father, and the command Savior gave us to strive to become like him. And then as I would sing this song, not only would I have gratitude to my earthly father, but to my heavenly Father, also, and I would sing, "I want to be like him, and do just all the good I can."
As I listened to that boy in Snowflake sing this song, I thought how often it is that our boys and our girls, when they get into junior high and possibly into senior high, feel as if they are growing up and must put away childish things' It is true that they must put away certain childish acts, but other things which are taught them in childhood are so very important and so basic that all through their lives they must remember them. The message of this song by Evan Stephens is one of them.
A "Mormon" boy... I might be envied by a king, For I am a "Mormon" boy.
And then there was another song that I loved very much as a young lad. It carries with it another glorious lesson which our young people should remember even though they begin to grow up in those high school years. The song to which I refer is one written by Eliza R. Snow. You remember that Sister Snow wrote, O My Father," "How Great the Wisdom and the Love," and some others of our most beautiful hymns. But she knew also how to write for young people. In this beautiful song she placed the ideals of the Church in the language of children, and had them sing it in the hope that as they grew up they would not abandon the ideals of which she spoke, but would allow them to become steadily more important in their lives. I hope every One of you continues to sing it, and to hum it over as you go along the street, and that you remember the great lessons she wrote into it:
In our lovely Deseret, Where the Saints of God have met, There's a multitude of children all around; They are generous and brave; They have precious souls to save; They must listen and obey the gospel's sound.
All of you know those words. Aren't they glorious? And isn't it stimulating music which has been written to these words? But listen to some of the more important things Sister Snow taught to young people in their childhood, hoping to establish in their hearts by song the high standards that are so vital and important to these boys and girls as they grow up and accomplish the things that Brother Lee has referred to here this morning:
That the children may live long And be beautiful and strong Tea and coffee and tobacco they despise, Drink no liquor, and they eat But a very little meat; They are seeking to be great and good and wise.
When I was in school one time, I accompanied the class to Provo and went through the institution down there for the mentally afflicted. We saw one young man there who had a queer tendency in that he always wanted to be striking himself on the head. I remember as students how we thought this man was so to be pitied because he didn't have any more sense than to strike himself on the head. As we were talking about that one day, I thought of this song:
That the children may live long, And be beautiful and strong, Tea and coffee and tobacco they despise, Drink no liquor, and they eat But a very little meat.
As young people we talked about it, remembering this man who wanted to strike himself on the head. One of the students then said, "Well, which is crazier, to be batting yourself on the head all the time, or to be taking things into your body that would poison you? Which is worse-to poison your body and defile it, to make yourself intoxicated so that you don't know what you are doing, even losing your self-control, or to bat yourself on the head? Which is the crazier of the two?
Now think in terms of modern science. Think how doctors are discovering, despite the arguments of all the tobacco to the contrary, that you do tend to develop cancer of the lung through cigarettes. Which is crazier, to bat yourself on the head with a stick, or to bring into your body these things that will destroy your body? Which is crazier?
Drink no liquor, and they eat But a very little meat; They are seeking to be great and good and wise.
I ask you young people, is there anything childish in this song when you really think about it? Can you see anything childish in this injunction to avoid these stimulants, these narcotics, these intoxicating things, which not only affect your body adversely but will also destroy your spirituality and your faith in God, if you allow them to?
That the children may live long And be beautiful and strong, Tea and coffee and tobacco
and liquor and all these other evil things they despise!
And then there is the next stanza:
They should be instructed young How to watch and guard the tongue, And their tempers train, and evil passions bind; They should always be polite, And treat ev'rybody right, And ev'ry place be affable and kind.
I have thought a great deal about that at different times. I am sure we should be instructed young. I recall that Solomon said that if we are properly taught when we are young, we will not depart from those important things when we grow up.
We should watch and guard the tongue. I used to think this meant only profanity, and that is extremely important, because one of the great commandments is that we shall not profane the name of God. He will not allow us to go free if we do profane his holy name.
But the more I think of the things that Brother Lee so beautifully discussed here this morning, the more I am convinced that Eliza R. Snow was inspired in guiding the young people to watch and guard the tongue against speaking of evil and demoralizing things which put evil thoughts in the minds and sometimes lead to evil acts which are themselves destructive of the very soul; including evil stories and evil remarks about the opposite sex. "They should be instructed young how to watch and guard the tongue, and their tempers train." And that is so important.
"And evil passions bind..."
I, too, get letters from young people. I got one the other day from a girl who wanted to know, Is it wrong to pet? She said, frankly, "I don't know. Will you tell me, is it wrong to pet?" And I wrote back to that girl and told her that petting is one of the most pernicious things that ever came into the world, and that when young people pet they lay the foundation for the destruction of their morals. In fact petting is in and of itself a partial loss of virtue, and when any young pet, they to that degree lose their chastity. The Lord said that when anyone looks upon others to lust after them, they have committed adultery with them already in their heart.
They should be instructed young How to watch and guard the tongue, And their tempers train, and evil passions bind; They should always be polite, And treat ev'rybody right, And in ev'ry place be affable and kind.
Nothing childish in that, is there? Shouldn't we, as we grow up, even through high school and college and into mature adulthood continue to sing "In Our Lovely Deseret"?
And then this last verse which every one of us should remember, particularly as young people, because it will help us to keep on the right path:
They must not forget to pray, Night and morning, ev'ry day, For the lord to keep them safe from ev'ry ill, And assist them to do right, That with all their mind and might, They may love him and may learn to do his will.
As I have studied that song and the philosophy expressed in this glorious poet, I begin to understand what in my boyhood I did not understand: why it is that a Mormon boy might be envied by a king. And now because I have some realization of what Sister' Snow wrote in this song, I can understand that you girls of the Church, every one of you, might well be envied by a queen, if you will but live up to the principles of the everlasting gospel.
And every boy in the Church truly might be envied by a king because he himself is kingly by reason of the righteousness, the cleanliness, the faithfulness of his life.
May every boy and girl experience that joy is my humble prayer, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Richard L. Evans
Richard L. Evans, Conference Report, April 1954, pp. 83-86
There are always overwhelming feelings on these occasions. Two of those that rise to the top at this time are inadequacy and gratitude for fellowship with you and for any part in the Church.
I recall reading a statement that President McKay is reported to have made, as he alighted at the airport of one of the large South American cities on his recent tour: that "there are three beautiful things in the world-love and friendship and brotherhood." They are all in evidence here and help to feed and sustain us and to send us away encouraged and enriched.
I am mindful of the glorious principles that have been enunciated here, which, with others, make this a most satisfying gospel to feed the human soul. Some of these are: faith, repentance, the assurance of forgiveness with proper repentance; the eternal continuance of personality, of individual identity; the assurance that we may have everlasting association with those we love; testimony; the knowledge that no man stands between us and our God; the assurance of eternal plan and purpose; continuous revelation; free agency; and the fact that this is an inclusive message and opportunity and gospel and Church, and not an exclusive one-that its blessings are to all men who are willing to partake of them, and are not reserved to a special few predestined by our Father in heaven to have the blessings and benefits. It is his purpose to save all his children and to exalt all his children, not merely to warn and turn them away, but to labor with them in love and in patience, and to bring them back into his presence, if they will.
A great man has been in our midst here for a few days, one of the notable men of medicine, Sir Alexander Fleming, whom we have had the pleasure in this community of meeting and bearing on one or two occasions. He told the story of how, in working in a laboratory in a London hospital back in 1928, he observed the action of an accidental mold that had drifted into his laboratory from some source and which had an arresting effect on some germ colonies that were in the culture in one of his petri dishes. His statement, as he recorded it in his diary, was this: "I was sufficiently interested to pursue the subject. The appearance of the culture plant was such that I thought it should not be neglected." Thus, penicillin was discovered and put to immeasurable human benefit.
"I was sufficiently interested to pursue the subject." Well, with a mold so common, so accessible, one wonders why someone did not see it sooner, why someone did not "pursue the subject" sooner. That the world should go so long without such a discovery from such a common and available source would seem to be but a further indication that there is ever before us an infinity of undiscovered things and that opportunities are limitless, and that "revelation" of this kind is continuous, as is direct revelation from our Father in heaven.
The songs of birds that are all around us, we often do not hear. Two enterprising scientists not long ago made some "visual recordings" of bird songs with an audio-spectrograph, so that the human eye could "see" the music that the birds were making, but the human ear could not hear it as it reached above the range of "normal" human hearing.
Who knows what unseen and unheard things may be all around us? There are limitless possibilities; there is infinity before us, and revelation must be continuous. Sometimes we wonder why others cannot see some of the things that we see. Sometimes we wonder why we cannot see some of the things that they see. There may be many reasons for this. We differ in our experience; we differ in our perception; we differ in our preoccupation. Some of us have our thoughts fixed on one thing at one time, and some on another. But there are great things to be discovered if we will have ears to hear and eyes to see and be sufficiently interested "to pursue the subject" as was this great man of medicine.
There may be things that some of us do not seas Peter and Paul, seemingly did not always see the same things -but they both loved the gospel; they both lived for it, and both were willing to die for it. There are some great fundamentals and requirements and commandments on which there can be no doubt and no differences, of which the Lord has spoken definitely. Beyond this, some, such as Sir Alexander Fleming, see some things that some of us do not see.
As to free agency: mercifully and wonderfully that was settled in the heavens a long time ago when Lucifer challenged it. It is one of the great and glorious principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I recall a comment reported to have been made by President Clark to a graduating class last spring, in which he said, in substance, that Lucifer must have thought that God was very "old-fashioned." Lucifer was proposing some very different ways of doing some things. It seems that he would have done some things in a much more "efficient" manner, if you will put "efficiency" in quotations. He would have delivered all our Father's children back to him-but in a strait jacket!
The only kind of "efficiency" that the Lord God is interested in for us is that kind of efficiency which contributes to and promotes the development and growth of his children in helping them choose for themselves the great things and the right things, the right way of life-for the eternal salvation and exaltation of their souls. And I would say today, keep faith in freedom. Avoid the principle of compulsion.
And now for a moment or two, may I yield to the temptation to speak another thought or two to these young people who are here from Brigham Young University, to these others who are here in this congregation, and beyond here, to all who will hear or read, and to all those of this generation, whom they represent, following along the lines of the moving and impressive instructions of Brother Lee and Brother Petersen this morning:
It is apparent that man has acquired the power to destroy the works of man. The instruments of destruction are ever more fearful with each passing day. But man has not acquired the power to destroy the works or the plans or the purposes of God. All of us at times have our fears. All men have their fears, their uncertainties. But may I say to you: Go ahead and live your lives. You are not alone in life. The Lord God is there and ever accessible to you.
This is no time for panic. Our Father made us in his image. He sent us here. He looked out at what he had made during the creation, and he saw that it was very good. It was good, and it is still good. He intends happiness for us, and it is not only our privilege but also our duty to be happy, and we shall be if we have the courage to live as we ought to live and to be what we ought to be.
Be honest, clean, chaste, humble. Keep your lives well-balanced. Always reserve some of your time and means to the things of the spirit and to the service of your Father in heaven as well as to the things of the mind and the things of physical sustenance. Work, study, and pray. Keep an open mind to truth; keep the faith; live so as to have a quiet conscience. The rewarding way of life is to keep the commandments. The hard way of life is to live contrary to conscience and contrary to the commandments.
We are in this world, and I do not know anything to do about it except to make the most of it, to live good and useful and purposeful lives, and to find joy in the opportunity that the Lord God has given us until the time comes to leave this life, which will be swiftly and soon enough. There is no running away from life, no running away from ourselves. We can run away from where we are, but not from what we are or from who we are; and all we have to do is to live a day at a time to the best of our ability. The weight of the future is not on us except as it comes moment by moment.
In the words of Thomas Carlyle, "The crash of the whole solar and stellar systems could only kill you once." There is no point in living in fear, in panic, or in apprehension. Endure to the end, keep faithful, for he who made us and gave us life and who keeps creation in its course will not forsake us. And though we have acquired the instruments for destroying the works of man, if we should be so foolish as to set them loose, yet the power and the purposes of God as concerning us and all his creations are constant and ever surround us with their protection and their peace, if we will be partakers of these things.
God lives. He has eternal plans and purposes for his children. Jesus is the Christ. The gospel has been restored, and despite all the answers we do not know and all the areas where there may be differences of opinion, we know all we need to know for our everlasting salvation and exaltation and happiness-if we will use what the Lord God has given us. Truth will triumph; justice will be done; and there will be no good thing lost in the life of him who will live as best he knows how to live and will partake of these things which our Father has prepared for us.
May I close with the testimony of a beloved friend, who is not with us, Dr. John A. Widtsoe. In one of the closing sentences of his book, In a Sunlit Land, in which he looked back on his life as a scientist, as a convert, as an educator, as an Apostle, and as a great and humble servant of men and of God, as a man who had seen much of life from many sides and who had come forth from it all with a sweet and simple faith-on the last pages of this book he wrote these words which he left for the record of posterity:
During this long life, I have had occasion to test, time and time again, the verity of the foundations of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The answer has always been the same: Joseph Smith told the truth.
I leave this with you as a witness of my soul this day, to you a choice and blessed generation of youth. God bless you and be with you; go forth and live your lives; rely on him; keep sweet and humble, and his blessings and guidance will be with you. May he bless you in all your decisions, I pray, in Jesus' name. Amen.
Elder Eldred G. Smith
Eldred G. Smith, Conference Report, April 1954, pp. 86-88
I wish to express my gratitude for the prayer that was offered at the opening of this session, and I pray that I shall receive my share of the answer to that prayer.
Truly, these are great gatherings, gatherings of a faithful people, seeking spiritual food to buoy us up and give us courage and strength to carry us along the way a little farther.
In my mind I see a parallel in these gatherings to the young man who asked the Savior,
Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments
He saith unto him, Which?
Jesus enumerated a number of things to do and he answered,
All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasures in heaven: and come and follow me.
But when the young man heard that sang, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
Nevertheless the young man had been keeping the commandments. We who are members of the Church are also the more righteous who are trying to keep the commandments.
The young man went away sorrowful. I wonder how many of us do a similar thing when we leave these conference sessions, President Smith called our attention to the fact that the Lord is pleased with the Church collectively but not individually.
The instructions from the Lord and from the prophets of all times comes down to us: "Say nothing but repentance unto this generation".
And such counsel is found in most of the addresses given at these conferences, and when we, who are trying to keep his commandments, are taught repentance, do we accept it as only something for the other person-the sinner-or as something done on prerequisite to baptism and then any more?
After a spiritual feast such as we have in these sessions, it is natural to want to share with others what we have received, and surely we should do so. But do we accept the instructions for ourselves and put them into practice, each for his own benefit first?
As long as we are not perfect, we are in need of repentance, for all improvement comes as a result of repentance. Each should take daily inventory of himself and try to do better each day. Repentance is a daily affair.
Do we have pride to overcome? The Lord says, "Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand".
One of the greatest pitfalls that we must watch is the pride of self righteousness. Are we ever guilty-when we devote so much of our time and our efforts to activities in the Church-of being lifted up in the pride of our own importance?
There was a discussion recently between a member of a stake board and a ward officer over a roadshow that had just been presented. The stake officer was highly indignant because the daughter of the ward leader had a speaking part while her own daughter was only in the chorus.
Are we always wholeheartedly glad when others succeed, or is our praise lacking in sincerity-given grudgingly, or not at all?
Are you so self-righteous that you have neighbors on all sides of you who do not attend Church or are not members Of the Church and you do nothing to assist them?
Another common fault for which many of us may have cause for repentance is repeating a bit of gossip we have heard. Whether it be true or not is beside the point. If it is not kind, it does not bear repeating.
Are you willing to forgive? Remember, in the Lord's prayer, Christ prayed, "Forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us".
Do you refrain from passing judgment, or do you condemn others for the faults you see in them?
Understand, I am not condemning anyone. I just say, "If the shoe fits, wear it."
We become so involved in our various Church activities that sometimes we think we have "arrived," as it were-that we have no need for repentance. Leave that to the poor sinner.
Carlyle uttered a great truth when he said, "Of all acts, is not repentance most divine? The greatest of faults is to be conscious of none."
There are those also who are conscious of their mistakes, yet they do not try to change their habits.
The film we saw at the priesthood meeting the other night was a good example which shows that there are many of these people.
I have heard some say that they have been told that because of their past acts they cannot receive the blessings of exaltation anyway, even if they went to the temple, so why try?
They liken themselves to the prodigal son who returned only to be a servant. If one procrastinates the day of repentance until the day of his return to the Father, surely he cannot expect anything other than to become a servant.
However, had the prodigal son repented earlier and regained his wealth and his birthright, he could then have returned to the father without being a servant. Likewise, if a man repents and restores his rights to the blessings, surely he shall receive all he has earned. "Repentance becomes more difficult as the sin is more willful... as the time of repentance is procrastinated, the ability to repent grows weaker."
Alma tells us,
Behold, he sendeth an invitation unto all men, for the arms of mercy are extended towards them, and he saith: Repent, and I will receive you.
He says, "All men;" not just a few who are selected, but says, "Repent, and I will receive you.
If you just stop and think of it, how wonderful the mercy of the Lord is. All manner of sin, except murder and blasphemy, can be forgiven through repentance. If we will try to do his will, his arm of mercy is outstretched toward us.
Not one of us is perfect now, but we are here to attain perfection. "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect". So as we overcome our weaknesses, and our sins, we grow and draw nearer our aim of perfection.
Let us not be so self-righteous that we think that we have no need repentance, for the Savior himself preached repentance to the more righteous who were spared from the great destruction at the time of his crucifixion. At that time, on this hemisphere there was darkness for three days and great destruction; many cities and all their inhabitants were destroyed. Then the voice of the Lord was heard declaring that the more wicked had been destroyed, and the more righteous had been saved. To the righteous that were spared he declared as he might well say to us here today:
O ye house of Israel whom I have spared, how oft will I gather you as a hen gathereth her chicken under her wings, if ye will repent and return unto me with full purpose of heart.
Then a warning-
But if not, O house of Israel, the places of your dwellings shall become desolate until the time of the fulfilling of the covenant to your fathers.
Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me.
And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with the Holy Ghost.
Behold, I have come unto the world to bring redemption unto the world, to save the world from sin.
Therefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of God. Behold, for such I have laid down my life, and have taken it up again; therefore repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth, and be saved.
May the Lord's blessings be upon us, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie
Bruce R. McConkie, Conference Report, April 1954, pp. 88-90
May I invite your attention to a comparison between the Church of Jesus Christ, as it was organized and perfected in New Testament times, and the self-styled Christian churches that exist in the world today? In order to do so I shall take the liberty of raising a number of queries, and shall assume that each of us has a sufficient working knowledge of the New Testament to recognize the basis upon which each query rests.
Where in the world today will we find a church that has as its official title some combination of the names of Christ, according to the New Testament pattern?
Where is there a church whose ministers claim divine authority in the real, complete, and actual sense that it was claimed by the ministers among the primitive Saints?
Where is there a church which claims tthe Melchizedek and Aaronic orders of he priesthood as these were had anciently?
Where is there a church in which we will find the ordinances practiced that were practiced among the primitive Saints?
Where do we find baptism by immersion for the remission of sins performed under the hands of a legal administrator?
Where do we find a people who lay hands on the head of every baptized convert for the present bestowal of the Holy Ghost; or who, when there are sick among them, call in the elders of the church, that they may anoint them with oil and pray over them, that the prayer of faith may heal the sick and God may raise them up?
Where is there a people that has the New Testament ordinance of baptism for the dead?
Where is there a church that has the same organization that existed among the primitive Saints, that has Apostles and prophets, pastors, evangelists, and all the rest?
Where is there a people that believes that there should be Twelve apostles holding the keys of the kingdom, presiding over and directing all the affairs of the Church and kingdom, and that such group should continue until there is a unity of the faith?
Where is there a church that believes that God has set some in the Church, first Apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, and gifts of the spirit, healings, tongues, helps, and governments?
Where is there a church that professes to have all of the doctrines that were taught in New Testament times; that believes that God our heavenly Father is a personal being, in whose image man is created; that has an understanding that Jesus Christ is his Only Begotten Son and is a Being in the express image of the person of the Father?
Where is there a people that has a real, intelligent, and scriptural understanding of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, that knows that because of that transcendent act all men will be raised in immortality and those who have believed and obeyed the gospel law, both in immortality and unto eternal life?
Where is there a people that knows that the plan of salvation, based on the atoning sacrifice of Christ, consists in having faith in Christ, in repenting of one's sins, in being baptized under the hands of a legal administrator, in receiving the gift and guidance of the Holy Spirit, and then in enduring in righteousness unto the end?
Where is there a church that believes that the gospel is preached to those in the spirit world, that they may live according to God in the spirit, and be judged according to men in the flesh?
Where is there a people that believes in the literal resurrection from the grave, in the fact that all men will stand before the judgment bar of Christ, and having been judged according to the deeds done in the flesh, will be awarded a place in a kingdom of glory, in either a telestial, a terrestrial, or a celestial kingdom?
Where is there a people that believes that between the first and second comings of Christ, there was to be a complete, total, universal falling away from the faith once delivered to the Saints?
Where is there a people that believes that in the last days there was to be an era of restoration, a time of restitution, in which God would give again all things that he had spoken by the mouths of all his holy prophets since the world began?
Where is there a people that believes that this restoration of the gospel was to be effected by angelic ministration, and that the gospel so restored was then to be carried to all the peoples of the earth?
Where is there a people that believes that in a day subsequent to New Testament times, the kingdom was to be restored to Israel and the scattered remnants of that people gathered back to the lands of their inheritance?
Where is there a people that actually believes that signs will follow those who accept and obey the gospel law, that professes to have among the membership of the church the working of miracles, the ministering of angels, the gifts of the Spirit, and all of the powers and graces that were had anciently?
Now we might multiply questions on all of these matters, but I submit to you that every essential, identifying characteristic of the New Testament Church can, with intelligence and propriety, be outlined under one of these six heads: name, authority, ordinances, organization, doctrines, and gifts of the Spirit. And I submit to you further that there is only one Church in all the world that so much as claims to have every essential identifying characteristic of the Church organized and perfected by Christ and his Apostles anciently, and that one Church is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Now, may I say by way both of testimony and of doctrine, that you and I are living in the era of restoration. We are living in the times of restitution. The heavens are no longer sealed. The voice of God is heard again. The kingdom is established on earth, and that kingdom is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and it has again every grace and right, power, privilege, and authority that the Almighty ever gave to the Saints in primitive times.
And now we are nearing the end of the world. The time is not far distant when the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our God and of his Christ, and if you and I live worthily and walk as most of us already know we should, we will be entitled to receive an eternal inheritance in his eternal world. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder ElRay L. Christiansen
ElRay L. Christiansen, Conference Report, April 1954, pp. 90-93
I have always enjoyed listening to that beautiful little song, "The Prayer Perfect," and I am thinking just now of the last few words in that song:
And with all the needy, O divide, I pray, This vast treasure of content that is mine today.
As we sit here, brothers and sisters, we are blessed with vast treasures of content, knowing full well and having the assurance that God lives, and that this is his Church and kingdom; knowing that if we will keep the commandments of the Lord, that we may go back into his presence; that we may reach out and bring our loved ones and our friends this same blessing. This brings a great measure of contentment. But we must not rest contented, for the Lord has placed upon our shoulders the responsibility, not only of perfecting our own lives, but also of teaching to all the world this gospel. That has been emphasized in this conference. In addition to that, he has given us the responsibility of identifying our dead kindred, of placing their names in the temples and there receiving ordinances as proxies for them.
There are those, even among us who belittle and minimize this part of the gospel plan. There are many in the world who believe it not at all, yet it is true, and it is indispensable to the welfare and the salvation, both of the living and of the dead! Since God is just, his divine plan of salvation includes the means and the power by which those who have died without a knowledge of the gospel may hear it and, if they will, may accept it and receive that which has already been mentioned in this conference; namely the great gift of immortality and eternal life.
For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
Inasmuch as God is a just God, the same principles, the same ordinances, the same conditions that apply to the salvation of the living apply also to the salvation of the dead-even that of baptism, which we know is indispensable for our membership in the Church and kingdom of God. The Lord has said,
Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
That means he must be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost.
Now, when the Savior said that, he made no exceptions. There was no distinction between the living and the dead. All were included; all must meet this prerequisite for membership and citizenship in that kingdom.
Wilford Woodruff, seventy-eight years ago tomorrow, said something about this, when he made this significant statement:
God is no respecter of persons; he will not give privileges to one generation and withhold them from another; and the whole human family, from Father Adam down to our day have got to have the privilege, somewhere, of hearing the gospel of Christ... They have to be preached to in the spirit world. But nobody will baptize them there, therefore someone must administer to them by proxy here in the flesh, that they may be judged according to man in the flesh and have part in the first resurrection.
And then a few years later this great man said this: "We have got to enter these temples and redeem our dead... This is the great work of the last dispensation, the redemption of the living and of the dead."
Now, this is a tremendous task, a stupendous assignment. I feel sure, however, that as we work with the means and powers that we have and do our utmost toward this great work of redeeming the dead, that the Lord will, as he has done in the immediate past, provide additional ways and means and improved facilities by which this work can be better accomplished.
It is for a good reason that he has placed this responsibility upon us. It teaches us unselfishness. It teaches us love of others. It teaches us to be Christ-like and even become, in reality, saviors upon Mount Zion.
Another reason that he has placed it upon our shoulders is to provide through us the necessary ordinances for those who have passed on. My brothers and sisters, we cannot escape this assignment on behalf of the dead!
Now in order that the righteous dead may receive by proper authority the ordinances that are necessary for the blessings of immortality and eternal life, the Lord long, long ago promised the world that he would send from his presence one who possessed the authority and the keys to begin anew this work upon the earth. The promise was made through Malachi, the prophet, when he said,
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.
Now, the Prophet Joseph Smith said that this word turn should be understood to mean bind or seal the hearts of the children to their fathers, and vice versa. I like the words of Moroni to the Prophet Joseph in regard to this. Said Moroni:
Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before e 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-
as they have done in a most marvelous way.
If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.
The literal fulfillment of this promise has been made in our day! If we turn to the 110th section of the Doctrine and Covenants, we will find that the Prophet Malachi's prediction has been literally fulfilled: that Elijah has come. On April 3, 1836, when Joseph and Oliver were in the Kirtland Temple, after certain ceremonies, including the sacrament, had been taken care of, they retired to the pulpit; and the veils being dropped, they bowed their heads in solemn and silent prayer, and then they declared that after arising from this prayer, that
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".
The Lord told them that their sins were forgiven; that he had accepted that house, the temple in Kirtland, as the work of their hands; that it should be only the beginning of such things, and that
... 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 the Savior told them this was the beginning of the blessings which shall be poured upon the heads of the people all over the world.
We have seen, in part, the fulfillment of that.
After this vision closed, Moses appeared to them and committed to them the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth. This was followed by the visitation of Elias who committed the gospel of Abraham, then they declared that:
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," ...
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.
Thus, my brothers and sisters, has the fulfillment of Malachi's prophecy come to pass in this time of ours? He has come, and the powers that were given to Joseph have been extended to others, so that the people of the whole world might, if they will, be blessed, and so that all of the ordinances of the gospel might be administered to in power and in righteousness.
Now, I know that men say, and they have said to me, "We do not believe this." But the disbelief of a million men does not change the fact! The restoration of this priesthood will, as has been predicted, save the earth from being utterly wasted at the coming of the lord, otherwise his purposes would be thwarted; and we are told he has said that his purposes and his designs will not be frustrated, but only the designs and the purposes and the acts of men will be brought to naught.
We must not assume that the mission of Elijah and the powers that were given by him are confined only to the dead, for the living also must receive these same ordinances and have them performed if they would have exaltation and eternal life in the celestial kingdom of heaven.
How wonderful it is to see the young people-all people, come to the temples of the lord in great numbers and receive their blessings. How fitting it is to see the parents and the grandparents come with their children. This is the ideal way, for if we are going to be together as families in the next life, it has always seemed to me that we should get some practice in getting together with our families under such circumstances in this life.
The obligation of the Latter-day Saints is three-fold:
1. To prepare themselves to go to the temple and receive their blessings and to teach their children to live so that they may be worthy and have a desire to go.
2. To gather the records of our dead and place them in the temples.
3. To go to the house of the Lord and there give our services occasionally to those who have passed on without a knowledge of the gospel.
Only by so doing can we perfect ourselves and receive the fullness of joy here and hereafter!
The Prophet Joseph has said that we should not procrastinate in this work. I know that many are active in it, many are anxiously engaged in it, but the majority of us are unconcerned. We must not cave it to Aunt Martha or someone else to identify our dead and to go to the temples; we must not assume that it has been done; it is our individual obligation to do this work! The Prophet has said that the Saints have not too much time to save and redeem the dead and to gather together the living relatives, and that is important, that they may be saved also. "They have not too much time," he said, "before the earth will be smitten and the consumption decreed falls upon the world". So, before that day comes, while the day lasts and before the night comes when no man can work, let us rejoice in this great restoration and participate in it to our joy and to our satisfaction. May we do this, I pray humbly, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Clifford E. Young
Clifford E. Young, Conference Report, April 1954, pp. 93-95
Last Friday the General Authorities met with the mission presidents who had been serving in this country and in Central America. It was an inspiring meeting, and they who were there expressed their gratitude and appreciation for the privilege of coming here to the headquarters of the Church and meeting with their brethren and reporting their labors, feeling the spirit of testimony as expressed by their associates and by all who were privileged to speak in the meeting which was held in the temple.
Then we have had our brethren who have offered prayers or spoken, express their gratitude for the privilege of being in attendance at this conference. We, ourselves, have partaken of that spirit, grateful to the Almighty that we are here, that we can sit under the sound of the voice of the prophets of God and of the other General Authorities as they have spoken and listen to their counsel, and partake of their spirit. We are grateful for this privilege and blessing.
You people who are listening in and who are watching on television are also grateful. Yesterday this latter privilege was extended wider than ever before in the history of the Church, and I know we were all thrilled as we heard President McKay tell of the extent of these televised and broadcasted services.
But this raised a question in my mind, as did our meeting with the mission presidents. I thought of some of our mission presidents over in the old country who are working faithfully, who are devoted to this work, giving of their time and their means, faithful to their trust, and yet they could not be with us.
I thought too, of the thousands of Saints, in the islands of the sea, and in the old country, and even in this country, who cannot partake of the spirit of these services because they are not able to be here or to come within the radius of television or of the radio, and yet they are just as anxious as are we, and they are just as devoted as are we, The Lord will not forget the He will in his own way bless them, and they learn of these services; as they read the testimonies of these meetings, they will partake of the same spirit, perhaps not so potently as we; but the Lord will bless them, and they too will share with us because he will not leave them alone,
Brother Christiansen has been telling us of our obligations to those who have gone, of the revelations of the Lord that the hearts of the children shall be turned to their fathers, and the hearts of the fathers to their children, for "were it not so the whole, earth would be wasted at his coming". In listening to Brother Christiansen we have been impressed with the magnitude of this work, and we have been given an insight into the mercies of our heavenly Father.
As we are permitted to enjoy the blessings of being here and are made aware of the blessings and privileges that come and will come to us through the atonement, we cannot help being made aware of and be concerned with the thousands of God's children who, through no fault of their own, are not blessed as are we.
I was in the home two weeks ago of one of our brethren where there is a little girl who is deficient, a little child who never will have the opportunity in this life to fulfil the purposes of the lord for which she was paced here, unless God shall intervene with a miracle and heal her little body and her mind. Her mind apparently through some physical pressure and through no fault of her own, nor is it through any failure of her parents to do the will of the Lord is not able to grasp the things that you and I are able to grasp, and thus she will go through life underprivileged, not physically only, but lacking in the expression of mental powers. It is not her spirit that is injured, but her body, and the body is the medium of expression of the spirit in this life; and when the body is injured either in birth or before or afterwards, and as a result the spirit cannot give expression to a normal life here, then we speak of such as being defective, and handicapped.
And there are thousands of such everywhere. I wish you could go with me to our state training school in Utah County and see the hundreds of little children and men and women who are thus afflicted. As I have observed these, the question has arisen in my mind, "What is the answer to this problem of these underprivileged children, these people who are not blessed as are we?" come back to the same conclusion that as those who are not here will also sometime share in the blessings that we are enjoying in these meetings, and as those who do not know the law will be judged without the law, even so will the Lord grant to these who are not privileged, his blessings so that nothing will be withheld from them if it is through no fault of their own.
The Lord has said that those who live without law shall be judged without law, and by the same token those who are not privileged to have the blessings in this life that you and I have who are mentally and physically able and strong, they also shall ultimately receive blessings from our heavenly Father, and through the atonement of Jesus Christ, blessings that are withheld from them through no fault of their own shall not be withheld from them.
The Book of Mormon prophet has told us that the atonement is an infinite atonement. This means that there is no limit to its blessings and privileges, and these blessings and privileges will be extended to all who have not received them in this life. What these afflicted ones lose in this life will be made up to them in the life to come.
And so I am grateful with you, my brethren and sisters, for the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ It is not narrow in its application. It is unlimited in its privileges and blessings to all of God's children who will/ to do right when once they understand. For those who are mentally deficient, through no fault of their own, someday these pressures will be lifted. The healing power of the Almighty will come to their bodies, just as it will come to ours, and as it came to the body of the Savior; and their spirits, which are the offspring of God, will have the privilege of inhabiting bodies, their own bodies that will be healed and free from pressures and affliction so that there will be no limit to possibilities of the spirits, their minds, and their souls.
Now these are blessings that are ours. They are a part of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and just as the gospel provides for those who will not have the privilege, and who have not had the privilege, of hearing it in times past, and who may not in the future, just as the gospel will be ultimately made possible for them through the great vicarious work, the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, so through this infinite atonement will there come blessings to those who now are deficient and from whom are withheld blessings that you and I enjoy.
May the Lord help us to appreciate these things. To me this is one of the great blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is one of the great revelations that have come down through the Prophet Joseph, as expressed by the prophets in the Book of Mormon. We do not understand the processes, as we do not understand the processes in many things, but that does not make the fact untrue. It is as real and true as are many of the things that are apparent to us today.
May the Lord help us to understand these things better than we have in the past, and may he give comfort to the hundreds and thousands of mothers whose hearts are bleeding because of the deficiencies in their children, deficiencies that have come through no fault of the parents or no fault of the child, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder Adam S. Bennion
Adam S. Bennion, Conference Report, April 1954, pp. 96-101
My brethren and sisters: Tomorrow I shall officially celebrate my first birthday. The only thing now I can tell you for sure is that one year does not make much difference in your feelings as you face this undertaking. But it has been a wonderful year-the most challenging, the most enriching, the most satisfying year in my life. I come to you with a new witness, blessed beyond any hope I ever had. I come to you with the assurance that leaves no doubt in the soul.
Each week end we have gone out to some stake to meet the people who constitute the membership of this Church. It is a singular thing that you are not in a stake thirty minutes but you feel as if you might have been born there-as if you had lived there all your life. The people of this Church are a wonderful people, and I express my gratitude for their thoughtfulness, their hospitality, their friendliness, and their kindliness. I am grateful, too, that we are remembered in their prayers, and I want to assure them that they are remembered in ours.
I have been sitting here today thinking that this great audience in the kindness of soul that I know is you might this day and this night remember in your prayers three wonderful women, among the many, who may stand in need. These three I know about.
Brother Lee in the eloquence of his witness did not confide in you the sorrow that is in his heart. Sister Lee lies critically ill as the result of a fall and a broken hip. Knowing her as we do, I bid you good people to remember her in your prayers.
There stands alone today, the little woman who has gone around the world and stood at the side of Elder Matthew Cowley, one of the finest witnesses this Church has ever had. May God put it into your hearts to remember her.
The third woman is the wife of our beloved President. This heroic soul, who carried on through thirty-five thousand miles, with all kinds of traveling day and night, and who never flinched, has given out of her devotion the reserve of strength which is the difference between full enjoyment of health and the struggle to bear up against the load that comes to the helpmate of one whose burden is so tremendous. And so, out of the love that I know you bear both of them, I am sure you will remember them, that there shall be built back into their bodies the strength that was spent on that, one of the greatest missionary trips ever taken.
It is good to be with you. This has been a wonderful conference. To come into this Tabernacle and listen to these testimonies is to know in your heart that this is God's work. I bear you that witness,
Last October, I made the suggestion that perhaps you could have an unusual Gas in '53 if you read a chapter from the New Testament each day between that conference and the Christmas holidays. I want to thank those who have written in their letters, some of them signed by entire families. I am grateful to your children who caught the spirit of your suggestion. It has been wonderful to me-so much so that I am going on with that reading. I do not mean to replace it or substitute for it, but I resolved when I came into this calling that, among other things, I would read into two fields very fully:
1. The New Testament, and try to catch the spirit of Him in whose service we are engaged; and,
2. The history of our forefathers through whom we have received the blessings of the restoration of this glorious gospel.
And so in the spare time-that we do not have-I have been trying to find a few minutes regularly for Church history. I want to commend it to you. And all the time I have been reading, I have come to two convictions, and they constitute the burden of what I want to say this afternoon. As you read the history of the pioneers, it becomes increasingly clear with every page that you read, that they endured adversity and hardship. They could stand persecution; they could bear up under abuse; they could recover from the infliction of all kinds of harmful hatreds. That record is clear. The question before our generation is: Can we and our children endure prosperity and ease?
I have not the time this afternoon to compare the two struggles. I sometimes wonder which is the harder. It sounds very much easier to slide along in complacency, with everything that we need. But such a course has never yet been the route followed by God's chosen people.
To go in upon any scene in Church history fully would take more time than I have, and yet I want you to pause with me all too briefly at five spots along the way. As you read the history, you become impressed first that God was moving his people west all the time; from New York to Salt Lake City, his hand was in their moving; and as he moved them, he seemed to be preparing them for that greater trek which was still ahead.
The second conviction that must attach to any such reading is that Satan at every turn in the road was trying to block the program. You remember, from the very beginning, when the Prophet went out to the Sacred Grove to pray... Let me quote:
After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desire of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction.
But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction-not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being-just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.
It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other-"This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!".
From that moment of assurance the Prophet Joseph knew in every fiber of his being that his destiny would be fulfilled in the earth.
Let us make a second pause just for a few minutes in Jackson County to catch the spirit of the expulsion of our people.
At the order of Lieutenant Governor Boggs the state militia marched into Jackson County and disarmed the Mormons. Concerning the brutalities that followed, B. H. Roberts writes: "The Colonels in command-Pitcher and Lucas-were known as the bitter enemies of the Saints... From such a militia, officered by such men as Pitcher and Lucas, the Saints could hope for no protection... The agreement made by Colonel Pitcher, to disarm the mob was never executed; but as soon as the brethren had surrendered their arms, bands of armed men were turned loose upon them... The men who had made up the rank and file of the militia on the 5th of November, the next day were riding over the country in armed gangs threatening men, women, and children with violence, searching for arms, and brutally tying up and whipping some of the men, and shooting at others. The leaders of these ruffians were some of the prominent men of the county; Colonel Pitcher and Lieutenant Governor Boggs being among the number. The Priests in the county, it seems, were determined not to be outdone by the politicians, for the Reverend Isaac McCoy and other preachers of the gospel were seen leading armed bands of marauders from place to place; and were the main inspirers of cowardly assaults on the defenseless."
Throughout the first two weeks of November, 1833, men, women, and children fled in confusion, from their burning homes. Lyman Wight gave testimony in court that one company of one hundred and ninety-all women and children, except three decrepit old men-were driven thirty miles across a burnt prairie. The round was thinly crusted with sleet, and the trails of these exiles were easily followed by the blood which flowed from their lacerated feet."
Before the Jacksonites ceased their wholesale depredations, they had killed Andrew Barber and wounded several other brethren; had burned 203 homes and one flour mill; had driven the owners-twelve hundred in number-northward to the bleak bluffs of the Missouri River, where the refugees in wind and rain made camp, awaiting their turn to ferry the river barrier into Clay County, seeking needed protection and shelter.
Elder Parley P. Pratt leaves this vivid picture of the exiles along the Missouri River: "The shore began to be lined on both sides of the ferry with men, women, and children; goods, wagons, boxes, provisions, etc., while the ferry was constantly employed; and when night closed upon us the cottonwood bottom had much the appearance of a camp meeting. Hundreds of people were seen in every direction, some in tents and some in the open air around their fires while the rain descended in torrents. Hush were inquiring for their wives; wives for their husbands; parents for children and children for parents. Some had the good fortune to escape with their families, household and some provisions; while others not the fate of their friends, and had lost all their goods. The scene was indescribable and, I am sure, would have melted the hearts of any people on the earth, except our blind oppressors."
Did we have the time this afternoon, I should ask you to go into Carthage jail with me, where I have stood, stirred by the bloodstains on the floor, to ponder the deaths of the Prophet Joseph and his brother, Hyrum; the inspired friendship and faith and trust of Willard Richards and John Taylor. But tarry with me just a minute and try to imagine the impact of the martyrdom:
"He has jumped the window," shouted the rabble, and they rushed pell-mell downstairs. Willard Richards, hurrying to the window, looked down upon the Prophet, surrounded by frenzied men. He then started for the stairway, but a distressed call from John Taylor stopped him, "Take me." Happy that John was not dead, Willard dragged him from under the bed and into another room. While hiding him under an old mattress, he admonished gravely: "If your wounds are not fatal, I want you to live to tell the story." Brother Richards expected to be shot momentarily.
The excited mob, believing that they had killed all four of the prisoners and hearing a shout, "The Mormons are coming," fled from Carthage in terror, followed by most of the frantic citizens. It was this false cry, no doubt, that saved the lives of Willard Richards and John Taylor.
To report the terrible disaster and to obtain aid George D. Grant and David Bettisworth hurried on horseback toward Nauvoo. Within three miles of the city they were stopped by Governor Ford and his staff, who carried them back to Carthage. After warning the remaining citizens of the town that the Mormons would be coming, he and his men galloped off at midnight for Warsaw. He later testified that he fully expected that Carthage would be laid in ashes before morning.
On the morning after the martyrdom, Willard Richards and a few friends, having dressed as best they could the bleeding wounds of Elder Taylor at the Hamilton House, put the bodies of Joseph and Hyrum in two boxes, which they placed on two borrowed wagons and started for Nauvoo, the "City of Joseph."
Describing the sorrowful scene of that tragic day, Dr. B. W. Richmond, a non-Mormon reports that the two wagons were met near the temple grounds by a "vast concourse of citizens. The officials formed around the bodies, while the masses silently opened to give them way, and as the mournful procession moved on, the women broke out in lamentations at the sight of the two rude boxes in the wagons, covered with Indian blankets. The weeping was communicated to the crowd, and spread along the vast waves of humanity extending from the Temple to the residence of the Prophet. The groans and sobs and shrieks grew deeper, and louder, till the sound resembled the roar of a mighty tempest, or the low, deep roar of the distant tornado."
Pause four is a brief glimpse at the exodus across Iowa, February 1846:
On February 22, 1846 a raging blizzard, leaving twelve inches of snow, struck the Mormon pioneers huddled in their temporary camp at Sugar Creek, Iowa. Following this terrible storm, the weather turned frigid, "12 below Zero," even sealing the great Mississippi River from shore to shore. On one of these nights nine babies came into camp, born under almost every variety of frontier camp life imaginable. Eliza R Snow tells of one in a rude improvised shelter, the sides of which were formed of blankets fastened to poles stuck in the ground. The owner of the hut had peeled bark from cottonwood trees and had made a sort of a roof covering through which the water leaked, but helpful sisters held pans over the newborn child and its mother.
It was during these adverse conditions that an unknown camp poet penned this prayer:
"God pity the exiles, when storms come down- When snow-laden clouds hang low on the ground, When the chill blast of winter, with frost on its breath Sweeps through the tents like the angel of death! When the sharp cry of childbirth is heard on the air, And the voice of the father breaks down in his prayer, As he pleads with Jehovah, his loved ones to spare!"
And for pause five, let us live all too briefly with the handcart companies of October 1856:
Contrary to the anticipation of these poorly clad people, the fall and early winter of 1856 were unusually stormy and merciless. A winter blizzard broke upon Willie's Company at the Sweetwater, and it struck Martin's group that was struggling across the alkaline waste lands above the last crossing of the Platte.
The frigid, two-day storm, covering the country with more than a foot of snow, smashed tents and wagon covers. Ten, twelve, and sometimes as many as fifteen deaths came in a day. Shallow graves were scraped out. At night packs of marauding wolves howled or fought at the burial places. From all appearances these two companies were doomed to perish on the eastern slopes of the Rockies, three hundred miles from Zion.
When the storm subsided, the companies made a fresh start but moved only a few miles a day. It was under these trying conditions that two horsemen, riding ahead of the rescue parties from Salt Lake City, met Willie's Company October 28, 1856 on the Sweetwater River.
John Chislett, a member of Willie's Company, expressing his overwhelming joy, exclaimed:
"More welcome messengers never came from the courts of glory than these two young men were to us. They lost no time, after encouraging us all they could to press forward, but sped further to convey their glad news to Edward Martin, the fifth handcart company, who had left Florence about two weeks after us, and who it was feared were even worse off than we were. As they went from our view, many a hearty 'God bless you,' followed them."
Dan W. Jones, one of the rescuing party, gives a distressing picture of Martin's company: "The train was strung out for three or four miles. There were old men pulling and tugging at their carts, and children, six and eight, years of age, struggling through the snow and mud. As night came on the mud and snow froze to their clothing."
After Martin's Company had lost almost one fourth of its number in "Martin's Ravine," it moved forward to the Sweetwater River-a hundred feet wide, waist deep, and filled with floating ice. At the sight of this barrier, many Saints sank by their carts. In this helpless condition they were found by three sturdy young men who had pushed ahead of the wagons. These brawny rescuers heroically waded the river and began carrying the sick and feeble across. This human fording continued back and forth, trip after trip through those chilling waters until every person and his cart had been safely landed upon the opposite shore.
President Young, upon learning of this valorous service, wept freely. And while reporting it to the Saints in General Conference, predicted: "That act alone will insure David P. Kimball, George W. Grant, and C. Allen Huntington an everlasting salvation in the Celestial Kingdom of God, worlds without end."
With the coming of 104 relief outfits from Salt Lake City, the emigrants abandoned their carts. Those who were unable to walk were loaded into the wagons. Death from freezing and exposure, nevertheless, continued daily. Before the last survivors arrived in Salt Lake City, Sunday, November 30, 222 of these valiant pioneers had found graves by the roadside.
Under the spirit of achievements like these, it is inspiring to hear these fine young people of Brigham Young University put their hearts, as well as their voices, into "Come, Come, Ye Saints."
How fitting it is to be able to turn to that classic volume of President Clark's To Them of the Last Wagon and The Pioneers for a tribute and a challenge.
One thing in common all these peoples had in their search for freedom to worship God-a schooling in hardship, persecution, sacrifice, that burned out from their souls the dross, leaving in them only the gold of loftiest character and faith, fully tried, tested, refined. God has never worked out his purposes through the pampered victims of ease and luxury and riotous living. Always He has used to meet the great crises in His work, those in whom hardship, privation, and persecution had built characters and wills of iron. God shapes His servants in the forge of adversity; He does not fashion them in the hot house of ease and luxury.
In living our lives let us never forget that the deeds of our fathers and mothers are theirs, not ours, that their works cannot be counted to our glory; that we can claim no excellence and no place, because of what they did; that we must rise by our own labor, and that labor failing we shall fall. We claim no honor, no reward, no respect, nor special position or recognition, no credit because of what our fathers were or what they wrought. We stand upon our own feet in our own shoes. There is no aristocracy of birth in this Church; it belongs equally to the highest and the lowliest. For as Peter said to Cornelius, the Roman centurion, seeking him: "Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
"But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him "
What of us? Can we keep and preserve what they wrought? Shall we pass on to our children the heritage they left us, or shall we lightly fritter it away? Have we their faith, their bravery, their courage; could we endure their hardships and sufferings, make their sacrifices, bear up under their trials, their sorrows, their tragedies, believe the simple things they knew were true, have the simple faith that worked miracles for them, follow, and not falter or fall by the wayside, where our leaders advance, face the slander and the scorn of an unpopular belief? Can we do the thousands of little and big things that made them the heroic builders of a great Church, a great commonwealth?
Confident, as I am, that the blood of the pioneers still flows in the veins of their grandchildren and great-grandchildren, I give you in witness the young men and women of this chorus. I have already caught of the spirit of these youths at their university. I give it as my judgment, that called upon to face Carthage, or the trek across the continent, they would heroically meet both challenges. I honor this new generation.
On the fifteenth of March I was in Los Angeles. There had gathered there some 1600 fine young people, and the next night we had a thousand at San Diego. Then it was that I learned that 1700 grand young people, every morning of the school week, go from three to twenty-three miles to attend a seminary class that meets at seven o'clock in the morning for which work they get no high school credit. The young girl, Janie Kimball, who pinned and honorary seminary pin on me, was given that privilege because her father had driven her fifteen miles every morning and then had driven her back to her high school, and she had not missed a class all year. She reported to me they might have to miss high school, but they never would miss the class where they learned the word of the Lord.
To you parents, as you dream dreams for the children you cherish, may I offer these suggestions:
1. Make sure that your children know our pioneer story. Let it not be said in any Latter-day Saint home that the children grow up in ignorance of the achievements of their forebears. Both you and they will stir to the materials in the books already quoted in this address and in such other publications as:
Family Journals and Diaries Major Howard Egan, Pioneering the West Autobiography, Parley P. Pratt William Clayton's Journal Leaves from My Journal-Wilford Woodruff The L.D.S. Church, Its Doctrines and Achievements, to be published-by Carter E. Grant.
2. Give them responsibility; let them do some work. It is an ungracious thing for the lovely daughter who is studying the piano to be led to believe that she cannot do any work which might interfere with the softness of her fingers. God bless her. Her hands will take care of themselves. Nature will do that, if she will do a little something to take the bend out of the back of the mother who has been caring for her these many years. Give your children tasks to do. The Pioneers were never made on art easy trail. They gloried in hardship, and the parent who would spare his child in the interest of kindness, does the unkindest thing possible to a child when he saves him from work and responsibility.
3. Be careful about what your children do at night-what their program is, who their companions are-and have them in at a reasonable hour. Try to see that they go with young men and women who inspire them to higher ideals, rather than with those who make the rounds at glittering night spots, rich in temptation and low in appeal.
The Pioneers survived hardship and adversity. With careful training our children will endure prosperity and ease and will grow up in the spirit of this chorus today to be an everlasting honor and credit, not only to themselves, to their families, and to the Church, but to their Father in heaven. May they do so, I pray humbly, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, April 1954, pp. 103-108
This has been a glorious conference. It pleases me greatly to notice that at each succeeding conference there is a larger sprinkling of Japanese and Chinese brothers and sisters; of Hawaiians and other islanders; of Indians, Mexicans, Spanish-Americans and others. It makes me very happy indeed, and I wish to address my remarks this morning in behalf of those minorities.
Recently there came to my desk a letter, anonymously written. Generally the wastebasket receives all such messages, written by people who have not the courage to sign their statements. But this time I saved it. It reads in part as follows:
I never dreamed I would live to see the day when the Church would invite an Indian buck to talk in the Salt Lake Tabernacle-an Indian buck appointed a bishop-an Indian squaw to talk in the Ogden Tabernacle-Indians to go through the Salt Lake Temple-
The sacred places desecrated by the invasion of everything that is forced on the white race...
This letter now goes into the fire also, but it gives me the theme for the words I wish to say today.
If Mrs. Anonymous were the only one who felt that way! However, from many places and different directions I hear intolerant expressions. While there is an ever-increasing number of people who are kind and willing to accept the minority groups as they come into the Church, there are still many who speak in disparaging terms, who priest-like and Levite-like pass by on the other side of the street.
It would be a delightful step forward if our newspapers and periodicals and our writers and speakers would discontinue the term buck and squaw and substitute "Indian men and women" or "Lamanite brethren and sisters."
Their ancestors and ancient prophets foresaw this day and this people would be reviled and disparaged.
In the letter quoted, there is the suggestion of a superior race! From the dawn of history we have seen so-called superior races go down from the heights to the depths in a long parade of exits. Among them were the Assyrians, the Egyptians, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans. They, with more modern nations, have been defeated in battle, humiliated and crushed in economic life. Is the implication of Mrs. Anonymous justified that the white race or the American people is superior? John the Baptist, in forceful terms, rebuked a similar self-styled superior group:
O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
The Lord would have eliminated bigotry and class distinction. He talked to the Samaritan woman at the well, healed the centurion's kin, and blessed the child of the Canaanitish woman. And though he personally came to the "lost sheep of the house of Israel"; Matt. 15:24) and sent his Apostles first to them rather than to the Samaritans and other Gentiles, yet he later sent Paul to bring the gospel to the Gentiles and revealed to Peter that the gospel was for all. The prejudices were in Peter, and it took a vision from heaven to help him to cast off his bias. The voice had commanded: "Rise, Peter; kill, and eat," when the vessel descended from the heaven containing all manner of beasts, reptiles and fowls. Punctilious Peter expressed his lifelong prejudices and habits in saying, "Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean." Then the heavenly voice made clear that the program was for all. "What God hath cleansed," it said, "that call not thou common." Peter's long-sustained prejudices gave way finally under the power of the thrice repeated command. When the devout Gentile Cornelius immediately thereafter appealed to him for the gospel, the full meaning of the vision burst upon Peter and he exclaimed, "God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean".
And when those of the circumcised complained, Peter, now very sure, rehearsed the whole story and concluded with these memorable words:
Men and brethren, ye know that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
And put no difference between us and them.
"What was I that I could withstand God," he said in defense.
The gospel had been brought to the Jew or Israel, and now was to be taken to the Gentile. It was for all.
The Savior finally instructed his Apostles:
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
And through the Prophet Nephi he
... inviteth them all to come unto him... and he remembered the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile.
Then see how the Lord preserved the Bible through the dark ages and preserved the Book of Mormon gold plates through the same barren period so that both of these holy scriptures might be brought by the Gentiles back to Israel and fulfil the saying that "the first shall be last and the last shall be first".
And now, Mrs. Anonymous, when the Lord has made of all flesh equal; when he has accepted both the Gentiles and Israel; when he finds no difference between them, who are we to find a difference and to exclude from the Church and its activities and blessings the lowly Indian? Have you read the scriptures, ancient or modern? Have you felt the magnanimity of the Savior, his kindness, his mercy, his love?
If the Lord were to acknowledge a superior race, would it not be Israel, the very people whom you would spurn and deprive? Do you carry in your veins as pure Israelitish blood as those whom you criticize? Do you find any scriptures, my critic, which would show that the Christ would exclude the Lamanite Israelites from the waters of baptism, from the priesthood, from the pulpit, or from the temple? Did not the Lord remove the Amalekites, Midianites, Canaanites to make place for the chosen Israel, and when centuries later he saw the impending destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, and when it was imminent that Judah and Israel were to be captured and exiled, did not the Lord send a righteous few, under Lehi, to find and colonize this American land, this choicest land under heaven? Did he not lead and teach and punish and forgive this same people through a thousand hectic years of varied experience and did he not reiterate frequently his willingness to forgive and his eagerness to bless this very people? Did not the Lord show special and preferred interest in his Israel? Did he not reserve for them alone his personal visits and ministrations? And did he not himself make a personal visit of many days to his Lehite people and say to them:
Ye are my disciples...
And behold, this is the land of your inheritance; and the Father hath given it unto you.
And they understood me not that I said they shall hear my voice; and they understood me not that the Gentiles should not at any time hear my voice-that I should not manifest myself unto them save it were by the Holy Ghost.
But behold, ye have both heard my voice, and seen me; and ye are my sheep, and ye are numbered among those whom the Father hath given me.
Would those who scorn the Indian and deprive him of the blessings remember how the Lord loves his Lamanites and how he told his first leaders in this dispensation to
... journey among the Lamanites.
And it shall be given thee... what thou shalt do.
Remember how he authorized them to build up his Church "among the Lamanites" and from the later Prophet, John Taylor, who said: "And now we must instruct them further and organize them into churches with proper presidencies, attach them to our stakes and organizations".
In the days immediately preceding the coming of the Lord, even the Lamanite Prophet Samuel felt the sting and smart of the caustic discriminations when he said:
And now, because I am a Lamanite, and have spoken unto you the words which the Lord commanded me, and because it was hard against you, ye are angry with me and do seek to destroy me, and have cast me out from among you.
If Mrs. Anonymous would exclude the Indian from the temple, how could she justify the Lord's provision that they would assist in the building of the New Jerusalem with its temple?
O intolerance, thou art an ugly creature! What crimes have been committed under thy influence, what injustices under thy Satanic spell!
Charlotte Gilman wrote: "I ran into a prejudice that quite cut off my view."
It was to a hypocritical and intolerant group to whom the Lord gave his classic parable,
... unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his, breast, saying, God, be merciful to me a sinner.
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
If it be so wrong for fraternization and brotherhood with minority groups and their filling Church positions and pews and pulpits of the Lord's Church, why did the Apostle Peter maintain so positively: "... put no difference between us and them".
And, "What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common".
Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.
Did not the Lord know that in these times there would be many duplicates of Mr. and Mrs. Anonymous who might need the warning which he gave through his Prophet Moroni: "... Who will despise the works of the Lord? Who will despise the children of Christ? Behold, all ye who are despisers of the works of the Lord". The Prophet Mormon wrote:
Yea, wo unto him that shall deny the revelations of the Lord..
Yea, and ye need not any longer hiss, nor spurn, nor make game of the Jews, nor any of the remnant of the House of Israel; for behold, the Lord remembereth his covenant unto them... according to that which he hath sworn.
It is most evident that all of the many prejudiced ones fail to catch the spirit of the gospel and the teachings of the Christ as they hiss and spurn and scoff and criticize. The Lord said in Matthew:
Judge not, that ye be not judged.
For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged...
And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
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.
And again, the Lord said through Paul:
Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest: another, thou condemnest thyself...
And thinkest thou this, O man... that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?.
And again, through Moroni:
For behold, the same that judge shall be judged rashly again... he that smiteth shall be smitten again, of the Lord.
I remember that the Lord was long-suffering with ancient Israel. For a long time he endured their pettiness, listened to their eternal complaining, revolted at their filthiness, groaned at their idolatries and their adulteries, and wept at their faithlessness; and yet finally forgave them and led the rising generation of them into the promised and. They had been the victims of four centuries of destructive background of servitude but consistent now with their continued faithfulness, every door was opened to them toward immortality and eternal life.
Here he has the Indian or Lamanite, with a background of twenty-five centuries of superstition, degradation, idolatry, and indolence. He has loathed their wickedness, chastised them, brought the Gentiles to them for nursing fathers and mothers, and has finally forgiven them. Their sufferings have been sore, their humiliation complete, their punishment severe and long, their heartaches many, and their opportunities reduced. Has he not now forgiven them and accepted them? Can we not now forgive and accept them? Ancient Israel was given forty years. Can we not allow at least forty years of patient and intensive proselyting and organizing among modern Israel before we judge too harshly?
What a monster is prejudice! It means prejudging. How many of us are guilty of it? Often we think ourselves free of its destructive force, but we need only to test ourselves. Our expressions, our voice tones, our movements, our thoughts betray us. We are often so willing that others make the contacts, do the proselyting, have the associations. Until we project ourselves into the very situation, we little realize our bias and our prejudice.
Why will we, the prospered, the blessed, hiss? When, oh, when, will we cease to spurn? When will we who think we are free of bias, purge from our souls the sometimes unconscious prejudice we possess? When will we end our making game of these wanderers? When wig we cease throwing our pennies disdainfully to them at the gate?
Mr. and Mrs. Anonymous: I present to you a people who, according to prophecies, have been scattered and driven, defrauded and deprived, who are a "branch of the tree of Israel-lost from its body-wanderers in a strange land"-their own land. I give you nations who have gone through the deep waters of the rivers of sorrow and anguish and pain; a people who have had visited upon their heads the sins of their fathers not unto the third and fourth generation but through a hundred generations. I bring to you a multitude who have asked for bread and have received a stone and who have asked for fish and have been given a serpent.
This people ask not for your distant, faraway sympathy, your haughty disdain, your despicable contempt, your supercilious scorn, your turned-up nose, your scathing snobbery, your arrogant scoffing, nor your cold, calculating tolerance. It is a people who, unable to raise themselves by their own bootstraps, call for assistance from those who can push and lift and open doors. It is a people who pray for mercy, ask forgiveness, be for membership in the kingdom wit its opportunities to learn and do. It is a good folk who ask for fraternity, a handclasp of friendship, a word of encouragement; it is a group of nations who cry for warm acceptance and sincere brotherhood. I give you a chosen race, an affectionate and warm-hearted people, a responsive but timid and frightened folk, a simple group with childlike faith. I point you to a people in whose veins flows the blood of prophets and martyrs; a people who have intelligence and capacity to climb to former heights but who need the vision and the opportunity and the assistance of the nursing parents.
These people can rise to the loftiness of their fathers when opportunity has knocked at their door a few generations. If we fully help them, they can eventually soar to greatness. The ungerminated seeds are waiting for the rains of kindness and opportunity; the sunshine of gospel truth; the cultivation through the Church program of training and activity, and the seeds will come to life, and the harvest will be fabulous, for the Lord has promised it repeatedly.
O ye, who hiss and spurn, despise and scoff, who condemn and reject, and who in your haughty pride place yourselves above and superior to these Nephite-Lamanites: I pray you to not despise them until you are able to equal their faraway folk who had such faith and fortitude and strength-until you have that faith to burn at the stake with the Prophet Abinadi. It is possible that the prophet's children may be among us. Some of them could be now called Lagunas or Shoshones.
I beg of you, do not disparage the Lamanite-Nephites unless you too, have the devoutness and strength to abandon public office to do missionary work among a despised people and this without compensation, as did the four sons of Mosiah; until you too can walk away from the ease and luxury and the emoluments and power of kingship to hunger and thirst, to be persecuted, imprisoned, and beaten for fourteen years of proselyting endeavor as did their people, Ammon and his brothers, and as did the great Nephi who gave up the judgeship to proselyte. Some of their descendants also could be among us. Their seed could be called Samoans or Maoris.
I ask you: Do not scoff and ignore these Nephite-Lamanites unless you can equal their forebears in greatness and until you can kneel with those thousands of Ammonite Saints in the sand on the field of battle while they sang songs of praise as their very lives were being snuffed out by their enemies. Could you look heavenward, smiling and singing, while the bloodthirsty demons slashed your body with sword and scimitar? Perhaps the children of the Ammonites are with us. They could be called Zunis or Hopis.
Do not prate your power of speech or your fearlessness unless you too could stand with the Prophet Samuel on the city wall, dodging stones and spears and arrows while trying to preach the gospel of salvation. The very descendants of this great prophet are with us. They may be Navajos or Cherokees.
I ask you who sneer: Are you better mothers than those of the Ammonites? Those Lamanite women trained their sons in faith to the extent that they fought many battles and came home clean, full of faith. Are you training your sons as did they? Do your sons resist evil, grow to greatness, receive manifestations from the Lord? Do your sons praise your names and say, "We knew our mothers knew it. We are blessed of the Lord because we live his commandments as our mothers taught us". The posterity of these unparalleled mothers and these faithful sons may be among us and may be called Mayas or Pimas.
I urge you: Do not mock in derision until and unless you, too, have children loved and fondled by the Lord of creation, children who are encircled about with fire and ministered unto by angels-children who prophesy unutterable things. Their children could be the Piutes or Mohicans among us.
Do not condemn and make game of these good Lamanite-Nephites until you have produced a superior people who compare with their ancestors who lived for nearly three centuries in peace and righteousness. Has our own nation ever exceeded a quarter century without war and commotion?
Let us not spurn these Nephite-Lamanites until we are assured that we, too, have the love of the Savior as did their people when the Lord stood in their midst and ordained them with his own hands, blessed them with his own voice, forgave them with his own great heart, broke the bread, poured the wine, and gave the sacrament himself to these upright folk; until we shall have the privilege of feeling the prints of the nails in his hands and feet, and the spear wound in his side.
And in these living descendants are all the seeds of faith and growth and development, of honor and integrity and greatness. They wait but for opportunity, encouragement, and brotherliness; and these will be redeemed, will rise and will become a blessed people. God has said it.
I love the Lamanites, the Indians, and all their cousins. I expect to see them rise and fulfil their destiny. I know that the prophecies concerning them will all be fulfilled.
May God bless the Lamanite-Nephite peoples, stir their hearts; bless the missionaries that are sent unto them; and help us, their nursing parents. And may God speed the day of their total deliverance. This I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Marion D. Hanks
Marion D. Hanks, Conference Report, April 1954, pp. 114-116
I remember a conference years ago in which someone following Bishop Richards spoke of the still small voice. I may fit that description today after this wonderful and energetic and lovely message from Bishop Buehner.
My heart is full of gratitude today for many things. I am very grateful for the rain, and for the lovely weather which preceded it, each of which is a blessing suited to our needs. I am very grateful that we may meet in this marvelous old building. I am grateful for the privilege of missionary service on these grounds for the past six years. One cannot have intimate acquaintance with these buildings day after day and not acquire in his soul an appreciation for them and for those who built them.
These buildings attract others, in addition to us. I remember the guide tour which was joined by a sweet woman from an eastern city. As we left this building she, who had come with some preconceived negative notions about Mormonism but had been touched by what she heard and felt here, turned to her husband and almost reverentially and with a tear in her eye said to him, but still with her notions, "George, isn't it marvelous what ignorant people can do?"
Well, it has been a great blessing these years to be able to tell such good people, and many thousands like them, that the people who did the work which we enjoy here today and each day, were not ignorant. They were people of courage and faith and dignity and initiative and integrity, who were always willing to give up conveniences and comforts but never their convictions; they were not ignorant people.
It has been a great privilege also to know, as we have learned to love these buildings and those who built them, something of other monuments which they left us, not so physically tangible, but infinitely more important. Last night as I walked through these grounds at a late hour-and I make a habit of that, I commend it to you, for these are beautiful and thoughtful and wonderful hours, in the early morning and late evening-I thought of the words reported to be inscribed on the tombstone of Sir Christopher Wren, the great British architect and builder. It is said that there is written on the tomb of this man who built more than fifty chapels in London, including St. Paul's, and was one of the great architects of his day, these words: "If you seek his monument, look around you."
I suggest to you that as Latter-day Saints it isn't very difficult to look around us and see the monuments left by those who worked here so well and courageously, and with such integrity, so long ago. In the moment or two available, may I suggest two or three of these other monuments which they made available, to us: the monumental blessing, for instance, of truth and testimony, of spiritual knowledge, of freedom from the sins of the world; the monumental heritage of possibility for personal union with God, for peace in this life, and eternal life in the world to come; the monumental gift of great books of scripture, in which are written not only the lessons of life, but the great revelations of God to men. And with these and all the other monuments, they left us the monument of work, which they were willing and able to perform. O how we need to learn it.
With a knowledge of these monuments they dedicated to us, there comes the sober second thought expressed well by Goethe, the great German poet-philosopher, who said: "What from your fathers' heritage is lent, earn it anew to really possess it," which is to say that while these great blessings of monumental value come to us from our pioneer forebears, they are of such a nature that they may be really possessed only by him or her who is willing to really earn and merit them.
There was the day, and I recall it with pleasure, when a man came here, a man from the government of Israeli, in fact he was a ministerial official of that nation. I happened to be late in the evening, and there weren't many people around, and I had a casual and very pleasant talk with him. He was a jolly fellow of the kind Brother Buehner has been talking about, a little bit corpulent and pleasant and humorous. He was a Jew of intelligence, with rabbinical training in fact. He asked many questions of interest about us and our faith, and I had the privilege of telling him as best I could of the great truths, monumental truths, that had come to us from God through our forebears. He invited conversation about our relationship, him and me, and I told him we were cousins in a real sense, that we both came from the family of Israel, and I identified myself as being of the lineage of Ephraim. He leaned back, gasped, and said, "Say again." And so we began to repeat, "Through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and through Joseph to Ephraim, came the covenant blessings; many of us are of Ephraim."
"Well," he said, "I came to America to learn about agriculture. I came to Utah to learn about irrigation. I expected to learn many interesting things, but I never expected to find the lost sons of Ephraim."
He went away. He came back in the morning. He said, "Tell me again." So we told him, "From God to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and through Joseph to Ephraim come the birthright blessings." And we talked for some time, identifying his progenitors, his forebears, with ours, and he left figuratively, almost literally, holding his head in his hands with what he had heard. We have heard from him several times since, he bearing testimony in his own way of this, to him, new and marvelous story. And I thought how grateful I am for the monumental link left me which connects me with all dispensations past, which tells me who I am, whence I came, and what my destiny might be.
I am grateful for many other monumental truths. If it were feasible we might show you a file, full of letters from people of education, wealth, power, prominence, good character, reiterating, each of them in his own words, the simple story one of them told as he wrote, "I found in one hour on these grounds among your people more peace and faith and something to hang to than I had ever known before." Well, these are monumental blessings, but they come to us only as we individually earn them, which is the only manner in which we might really possess them.
May I suggest to you, as I conclude, one other little item which I think will be of interest. I mentioned the great scriptures, these books of truth and revelation, which God has given us. These too must be individually earned to be possessed. It would thrill you, and in a sense make you chagrined, as it has me, to learn the reaction of many great and good people to these scriptures. Let me read you two lines from two letters from a certain doctor from Tel-Aviv. He had had the Book of Mormon. He said, "The first reading has made this material precious for me in another sense. It deals with many problems occupying me, as every man concerned with his and mankind's destiny." And he writes a little later, "I would like to add that I have been deeply impressed by everything that I have read about you, and particularly as a Hebrew scholar, by the true continuation of the Bible spirit in the Book of Mormon."
I will read one other simple sentence from a lovely woman who picked up a copy of the Book of Mormon and who wrote this: "I am reading with greatest delight the blessed truths contained in that book. I never dreamed that the Book of Mormon was like that; in fact, I thought hard things about it and you, for I received my information from articles in secular magazines. I belong to another denomination, but," and get this, "how I rejoice to know the truth and drink in the precious words of men like Nephi and Mosiah and Alma;" and my heart rejoices, and I think to myself, how marvelous it is to be able to drink in the precious words of Nephi and Mosiah and Alma, and yet how many Latter-day Saints have lived and died without ever having known them.
God bless us to appreciate, to understand what the scriptures say. Hear the Lord's word recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants: "For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the gift? Behold, he rejoices not in that which is given unto him, neither rejoices in him who is the giver of the gift"
God help us to appreciate the monuments around us. God bless us that we may have sense enough, faith enough, courage enough, to understand that there are marvelous truths that we might really possess, but which we must individually earn anew, if we would have them, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder George Q. Morris
George Q. Morris, Conference Report, April 1954, pp. 116-117
My dear brethren and sisters: I am sure you know how one feels in this place and under these conditions. I have gained a more thorough understanding of one passage of scripture in the last few moments than I ever had before, which says that the Lord shall select the weak things of the earth to do his work But I also must have faith, as he also says that those who are weak he will strengthen, and that the weak things of the earth shall rise and go forth and break down the mighty and the strong, which means that we trust in God. We are engaged in his work.
And I recall the passage in the Doctrine and Covenants where the Lord says through the Prophet Joseph Smith to Orson Hyde and to all the faithful elders of the Church:
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.
I bear that humble witness with all my heart. I am glad to place on the altar whatever I am and whatever I possess.
I know that this is the work of God, that he lives, that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God, and that he lives, that he is very close to us, and that he directs our beloved President and Prophet, David O. McKay, and his associates, and that these are men of God. And I am very grateful to them for the kindness and consideration and patience they have shown toward me. I love them and I try to emulate their example. I am privileged beyond my power to express my gratitude for the opportunity of continuing my labors with them.
My mind naturally goes to my dear mother, to whom I pay tribute, than whom I can imagine no man or woman ever being more valiant than was she in her service to her God. She came as a girl fifteen years of age, a true believer in the gospel of Jesus Christ, to St. Louis, where her mother died, and she came on to Zion. At nineteen she had lost her husband and her first child, thousands of miles away from her home in England, in a wild, unbroken country. She entered into conditions that tested her soul, and would test the soul of any man or any woman, but she was valiant, uncomplaining, cheerful, and true under all conditions, and I thank God for her, and know she is happy today.
I pay tribute to my dear wife, who through years of sickness has been forced to be absent from me at sea level and under a doctor's care. She has been lonesome but she has always stood by me through all these years when I put my Church work first, before my business and before my home. She has sustained me in it. And as I left her ten days ago in New York, sick in bed, she would not have it any other way, and she stands by this principle.
My mother taught me to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. I want to bear witness to you, my dear brethren and sisters, that that principle is true, that in this the Church of Jesus Christ, the Church of the living God, there is no other principle that we should follow, no other principle, J except to seek first the kingdom of God and keep his commandments, and all else will be added. And I thank the Lord for the abundant and unexpected and continuing and unfailing blessings, temporal and spiritual, that he has given to me, beyond all my hopes and all my deserts, and I acknowledge his hand in these things. And I am glad to lay them on the altar for his service and for this work.
I do not feel that I should say more. My duty now is one of performance, but I do bear witness that this Church is the Church of Jesus Christ, set up by him, directed by him, a power for the salvation of the human family. And that this Church is equal to every situation that arises in the world, and if the world would accept it, it would meet every situation. This Church is an organized movement for world peace, if the world only knew it. This is the world peace movement, both for individuals and for nations, and there can be no substitute.
I thank the Lord for the love and confidence of my brethren with whom I am to labor. I love them and sustain them with all my heart; and I thank the people of this Church who have received me so kindly, for their kindness and their consideration. I want to pay a tribute to the men and the women throughout the Church who carry forward so faithfully and so well, this great work to the humble and duty-loving men and women, who forget themselves and lose themselves in their families, in their children, and in the Church. God will bless them, and they will enter into their celestial joy.
May God help us all to be true and give ourselves with all our hearts to his service, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Sterling W. Sill
Sterling W. Sill, Conference Report, April 1954, pp. 118-119
I here have been a number of circumstances that have combined themselves together this morning to produce in my heart great humility, accompanied by a feeling of inadequacy to discharge properly the responsibilities of this appointment. I pray that I might receive the necessary strength to fulfil those obligations. I am grateful for the confidence of the brethren who are responsible for this appointment. I also appreciate very much your sustaining vote. I promise the General Authorities of the Church, as well as the general Church membership, and Him whose name the Church bears, that I will do the very best I can.
Many times I have prayed to my Father in heaven that he would help me to do my work. I hope that I may pray more and more effectively that I may help him to do his work, and by that means express to him the appreciation that I feel for all of the blessings of my life.
I am very grateful for my wife and family. I am grateful for my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. As my great-grandfather marched with the Mormon Battalion to assist in the war with Mexico, my great-grandma marched with her little family across the plains to establish herself and her posterity in this valley. The wagon containing her earthly possessions was drawn by a team of oxen. Before reaching her destination one of the oxen died. My great-grandmother lifted the yoke of the fallen oxen to her own shoulders and continued the march. I pray that I may draw from her strength and determination.
I appreciate the great opportunity of being a part of this Church, both for what it has meant to me in the past, and for what it will mean in the future. The real worth of a man is not in himself alone, but in what he stands for. It is an inspiring thing to me that the most humble of us may stand for the most important things. Joseph Smith was great because of what he stood for.
When Joseph Smith arose from his knees, after his first vision, and walked across the fields to his father's house, and went into the kitchen where his mother was working, and leaning against the fireplace for support, said in substance, "Mother, I have seen God", at that instant he did not know a bit more surely than I know or than you know that it is right to be honest, that it is right to be virtuous, and that all the other principles for which this Church stands are right. It is right to spend our strength in the service of our Father in heaven to help to bring about his purposes.
The great psychologist, William James, said that the greatest use of life is to spend it for something that outlasts it.
In a Sunday School class which I visited recently I heard a Sunday School teacher recount that thrilling story of creation, that "God created man in his own image", and I found myself wishing that I might have been there to have witnessed this great beginning, and then it occurred to me, as it has occurred many times since, that the creation of man is not something that was finished and done with in the Garden of Eden. The creation of man is still going on, and in a very real sense each of us is a creator-that is, the attitudes, the enthusiasms, the faith, the determination to serve God, that are so important to our eternal exaltation, are being currently within us and in others.
It is more important to build a great character than to build a great skyscraper. We know that the worth of souls is great, but mostly we are not great for what we are, we are great or what we may become, and it is my hope and prayer in my own behalf that I may develop those qualities that will enable me to accomplish the duties of this assignment as is expected of me by my Father in heaven and those who preside over me in the Church.
May the blessings of our Father in heaven be with us that we may understand our opportunities, I pray in Jesus name. Amen.
Bishop Thorpe B. Isaacson
Thorpe B. Isaacson, Conference Report, April 1954, pp. 124-127
With the statement, confession is good for the soul, just made by President Clark, I can truthfully tell you that I confess to you that I am nervous, frightened, and humble, and I hope this confession will be good for my soul.
President McKay, President Richards, President Clark, my beloved brothers and sisters and friends: As we have listened to this beautiful music today and the music in each session of the conference, it reminds me of the statement, "the song of the righteous is a prayer unto God". The music has been a prayer unto our Father in heaven, and it certainly has mellowed our souls. I pray the Lord to be with me as I speak to you for a few moments.
We have had another great conference of the Church, certainly a spiritual conference. Our testimonies have been increased. Every meeting has been rich with the Spirit of the Lord. Truly, we have been fed the bread of life; and as we listen to these great sermons, these wonderful addresses, I wonder when we leave here today whether that will be the last that we will think of them. Would it not be well for us, when these addresses are published, to read them again, to spend an evening reading these marvelous addresses to our family? Certainly we recognize that we have listened to the word of the Lord, and it would be well for us, I am sure, if we read and re-read them. There are so many of our young people who do not get a chance to hear these conferences. I am sure they would thrill if they would read these addresses.
As one of the most humble among you, and one of the weakest, I have long since realized that if I try to do my work without the help of the Lord, I utterly fail, and I know without his blessing I am as nothing.
I sincerely trust that the radio and television audiences have been able to partake of the spirit of this conference. Certainly there has been a beautiful, sweet spirit here at every session. The spirit of worship, the spirit of reverence, the spirit of thankfulness and gratitude has been here in rich abundance. The Lord has said, "When ye shall meet in my name, I will be in your midst", and that sweet spirit that we have felt here is the Spirit of the Lord.
If the Lord will direct me, I should like to say one or two things on the subject of faith, not from the scientific, technical viewpoint, but just practical, personal, simple faith; faith in God, faith that God lives, and I quote from the Doctrine and Covenants, section 50, verse 24:
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.
The Apostle Paul tells us without faith it is impossible to please God, and without faith it is impossible to accomplish anything of real value.
In the Doctrine and Covenants, section 14, verse 9, may I quote:
Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, who created the heavens and the earth, a light which cannot be hid in darkness.
Faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Faith in the mission of Jesus Christ-that mission was for the redemption of you and me and all mankind! How he loved the world! How he suffered and died that we might live and have eternal life, probably God's greatest gift to man. May we have faith in the mission of our beloved Savior, faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ, which has been restored to the earth in our day in its fulness.
Faith in the Prophet Joseph Smith, chosen of the Father and his Son Jesus Christ, to bring forth the restored gospel!
Faith in the mission of the Prophet Joseph! Faith that he actually saw God and his Son, and that he received visitations from heavenly messengers on many occasions! Faith in the life, the devotion, and the mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith! Faith in the prophets of God since that time up to the present! Faith and knowledge that President David O. McKay is a true prophet of God! Faith that the First Presidency of the Church and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the Patriarch are prophets, seers, and revelators, and servants of God, our Father!
How would you like to have known Moses? How would you like to have known Elijah, Abraham, Peter, James, John, and some of the other great prophets? Oh, we read about them and sometimes we wish we had known these prophets. Have we the faith to recognize and realize that these prophets today are called of the same God who called the prophets of old? Have we the faith to recognize in them that they are special witnesses for Christ? Sometimes I wonder if we get so close to the forest that we cannot see the trees.
I bear you my testimony that I have felt and I know that these men are true prophets of God and that he does reveal his mind and will to them. As I have said before, I have watched decisions now for a number of years, and I want to tell you that the decisions they make are the decisions inspired of the Lord, and they are not their decisions, but they are the decisions of our Father in heaven.
I hope the membership in the Church can accept those decisions as inspired revelations and inspiration.
Faith in the power of the priesthood, the power of God, the power and authority delegated to men and boys to act in the name and in the place of our Father in heaven here upon the earth. How often have we witnessed the power of the priesthood and faith in the sparing of the lives of our loved ones, restoring them to their health, that they could be with us longer.
I want to bear you my testimony that I know that God does hear and answer prayers, and it is through the power of the priesthood and faith that many of our loved ones have been spared, that their health has been restored. I hope we will have the faith to accept this and not take it too much for granted.
Faith in each other! Paul in his writings uses this expression: "For we walk by faith, not by sight".
"I would rather walk in the dark with Thee, Than walk alone in light I would rather walk by faith with Thee, Than walk alone by sight."
Let your blessings come from faith more than by sight. This was evidenced by the words of the Master to Thomas, when he said,
... because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
We need not walk alone nor stumble in the dark, because if our faith is right, it will light our way. Faith is a gift of God.
The brotherhood of Christ is beautiful to behold. Why? Because it is of God. We have witnessed it here, and we witness it in every session.
Jesus speaking said,
I am the resurrection, and the life: be that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live;
And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.
That is the faith of the membership of this Church.
Faith in the principle of prayer! Where would we go and what would we do without the principle of prayer? A while ago I was thrilled as I attended a stake conference. A young man who was asked to give the invocation lived in an area where there had been considerable drought. They were worried about moisture, and when he was called upon to pray, among other beautiful and appropriate thoughts, he prayed to the Lord for moisture. That boy had faith, faith in prayer, faith in God, and he was not afraid to ask the Lord for the blessings that they needed. Then, the next week, I was at another conference in the same area where they, too, were worrying about moisture, but during the week they had had considerable moisture, and this young man in his prayer, I do not recall whether it was the invocation or benediction, thanked the Lord for the moisture that had come to them, assuring them that their crops would be matured.
Many of our young people are not here, but I hope as parents we will teach them to pray, that they may be able to take their problems to their Father in heaven. I would feel very bad if I ever learned that my children did not pray for their father or their mother. I could assure them, as you can, that we pray for them constantly. Certainly, they can do no less than to pray for their parents. Fathers and mothers, do your children pray for you, or are they too modest? I hope the young people will be considerate of their parents. My father and mother have been dead a long time, but how I would like to shake hands with my dad and tell him how much I love him and feel the calluses on his hands and pick them as I used to when I was a kid, because he was a hardworking farmer and laboring man. But more than that, how I would like to see my mother, how I would like to put my arms around her and thank her for all she did for me. Do you think I would hesitate today to tell her that I love her? No, no, not if I had a chance. Sometimes young people do not take that opportunity when they have the chance.
Are your children disrespectful to you, parents? Sometime ago I heard a boy refer to his father as the old man, and then I heard him refer to his mother as the old woman. No, I would not speak about my father today that way, nor my mother, and I hope our young people will be taught not to address their father and mother in that way.
When Jesus was on the Mount of Olives with his disciples, he withdrew that he might go and pray in secret to his Father. His heart was heavy; his cross seemed unbearable. He wanted to be alone with his Father; the understanding between Jesus and his Father, the loving trust between father and child; we, too, can have that beautiful relationship as father and child.
Faith that we can receive comfort, strength, and blessings from our heavenly Father through the medium of prayer.
Recently I read these expressions on the subject of "Secret Prayer," and with your permission I should like to read them:
The soul with a broken heart, on bended knees, with head bowed reverently, cannot long remain in the shadows of the night of spiritual blindness. To pray in secret to our divine Father in heaven brings solace to the aching heart, companionship to the lonely, assurance to the oppressed, light to the wayward, power to the weak, strength to the strong, and the calm conviction tea: God, our eternal Father, lives and that Jesus is the Christ.
What a privilege to shut oneself away from the world and be with God alone in prayer. He knows us for what we really are and not for what we may appear to be. If we are righteous, he is happy. If we are sinful and we go before him alone, and there in the language of the heart tell him we love him and we want his help in doing right, his divine emotions well up within him, and in his unspeakable majesty and unqualified mercy he takes us in his arms, as it were, and we feel the warmth and the infinite love of his holy person. He waits patiently, but anxiously to breathe his divine essence into the human heart upon its contrite invitation. Oh, that all men could have this experience.
Secret prayer is the prayer of the heart. Its language is bathed in simplicity. We kneel before our heavenly Father, knowing that before, and as we speak, he knows our every weakness and our every secret desire. We pray to him in the light of this knowledge. There is no masquerade in secret prayer.
Youth, keep your faith in God. Do not allow the teachings of the world, despondency, or discouragement cause you to lose your faith in God and in his Son, Jesus Christ.
Men who lose their faith are of all men most unhappy. Youth, you will need great faith. You may not be required to pull a handcart across the plains, but your road may not always be easy, and you will need great faith in God to face the trials of life. Stay close to your Father in heaven and partake of his Spirit through the principle of prayer.
I bear testimony to you that I know God lives, and I know when I live righteously, I can feel his influence, and I know when I waver, the Lord is not pleased.
May the Lord bless us with great faith, that we may live close to him at all times, that we may remember the teachings of this conference, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder Milton R. Hunter
Milton R. Hunter, Conference Report, April 1954, pp. 128-131
It is indeed with humility, my brothers and sisters, that I occupy this position this afternoon. I humbly trust and pray that the Spirit of God will direct the things which I shall say.
If I were to ask you a question and if each of you could answer me individually, I wonder what your answers would be. The question is, What is there in all this world that you would rather have? In other words, if you had one wish, and if that one wish could be granted, what would it be?
I recall that when I was teaching students at the LDS Institute of Religion at Logan, on several different occasions I asked the college students the question which I have just asked you. Almost immediately and invariably those fine young college men would reply, "A million dollars," or they would say, "A Cadillac," or something else of a worldly nature. After due consideration of this problem, we always came to a united conclusion that material things of this world are not the most worth while. They are transitory; they are soon gone. Furthermore, material things do not supply complete satisfaction in life. Invariably our conclusion was that the spiritual things are the most worth while. They are eternal.
We always agreed finally with the great statement made by Father Lehi, wherein he said, "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they may have joy". I know of no other statement in any of our scriptures which expresses the principal purpose of man's existence more aptly than does that one made by Father Lehi.
I believe with all my heart that God the eternal Father wants his children on this earth to have joy, an abundance of joy. I believe, also, that he expects members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we who have taken upon ourselves the name of Christ, to live an abundant, joyful, happy life. Our lives should be lived in such a way as to bring to us a fulness of joy today, tomorrow, next week, ten years from now, a hundred years from now, a thousand years from now, and even, throughout the eternities. I want to remind each of us that God has placed within the reach of the members of the Church of Jesus Christ the possibilities of that joy, that perpetual and eternal joy, if we will just obey the laws that bring that joy into our lives.
Throughout the entire history of mankind, from the days of Adam down to the present time, throughout all nations and among all peoples, there has been a strong urge in the hearts of human beings to have pleasure, to have joy. They have tried every avenue available to man to satisfy that urge.
I suppose that the vast majority of people have felt that if they could accumulate a lot of wealth, then with that money they could buy anything they desired. In other words, they believe that an abundant life, a fulness of joy could be purchased with that wealth. Numerous people have struggled diligently to accumulate wealth, with the result that many of them have become exceedingly rich. Some of them have actually worshiped mammon. Doubtless these people found that that wealth brought additional problems, troubles, and sometimes additional sins. In most cases such wealth and the love for it brought additional sorrow. They have found to their great regret that as the Savior said, "... a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of things which he possesseth" .
I recognize the fact that the possession of a certain amount of money is good. The Lord wants us to have a certain amount of the material things; but in modern revelation he condemned in strong terms the selfish rich man, as well as the greedy poor man.
Other people have felt that they could satisfy that urge for happiness by indulging all of their physical appetites; for example, even some Latter-day Saints have felt that they could satisfy that inner urge for happiness by breaking the Word of Wisdom-by satisfying their appetite for tea, coffee, tobacco, and liquor. Certainly many of them found that those things did not increase their joy. They cut off many of their opportunities for an abundant life, and especially is that true in the case of using alcohol. The devil has found no better tool to bring about poverty, misery, and divorce, and even to lead one into gross sins, than the use of alcohol.
Others have felt that by indulging their sexual emotions, by committing adultery, they could satisfy that inward urge for happiness. It is my opinion that such self-indulgent people, without any exception, find to their regret and chagrin that sin never is happiness. They have found that adulterers become very unhappy in this life, casting from themselves the Spirit of God, and, as the Savior said, their final status will be to be "... cast down to hell and suffer the wrath of Almighty God..." with the other sinners.
If we cannot find the abundant life and complete happiness in the realm of the physical, wherein lies the basis of happiness? In the first place, I would say that happiness comes from within, and not from without. As the good book says, "... as he thinketh in his heart, so is he". I shall paraphrase that statement by saying, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so shall his joy become." We control our happiness from within by our thoughts and actions. People can be happy without an abundance of material things, even living under the most meager circumstances, if they will abide by the laws which bring about happiness.
Now I would like to point out some of the laws upon which happiness is based, although I will not have time to point out all of them. I will suggest, first, as Brother Isaacson has just explained, that we must have faith if we are to be happy. We must have faith in God the eternal Father: that he is actually and literally the Father of our spirits; that he loves us abundantly; and that he controls within his hands, so to speak, the destiny of man and of nations. We must have faith that all will go well under his divine directorship; and that his divine plan will ultimately be fulfilled.
We must have faith in Jesus Christ: faith that he is our Lord, our Master, our Savior, our Redeemer, our Advocate with the Father. We must have faith that through the atoning blood which he spilled, he gave us immortality. We will rise from the grave; we will live again.
Also, we must have faith in the gospel plan of salvation which he proclaimed and an assurance that if we render obedience to that gospel plan we shall come back into the presence of God and receive a glorious exaltation and a fulness of joy.
We must have faith in our fellow men.
We must have faith in ourselves: faith that we can accomplish the things which we righteously take into our hearts to accomplish. I know that we may meet many disappointments; but if we are to be happy, we cannot take them too seriously. We must take them, so to speak, on the chin, and then with faith in our hearts continue forward.
Along with that faith, we must have courage to meet the world with all of its perplexing problems from day to day. We must do away with all fear that is within our hearts. Fear is a destroyer of happiness. It confuses the mind. It brings about many distresses. We must remember and do as God told Joshua: "... Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest". That is my faith.
I believe, also, that another basic root of happiness is good health. It is quite essential to a fulness of joy. God has blessed us with good health, and it is our job to live in such a way as to maintain that health that we may have an abundance of joy continuously. I know there are some people who are handicapped with poor health, and they are still able to control their thoughts and minds in such a way that they still experience a great amount of joy. However, it is far easier to experience a fulness of joy if our health is good.
I believe that one of the basic roots of happiness is work. When God gave Adam the commandment that he should earn his bread by the sweat of his face, and also proclaimed that the noxious weeds and other similar things that were placed upon the earth, and the troubles that we meet, are here for our own good, God proclaimed a great truth. I know of no thing which gives more joy to our hearts than to have a job 'that we like, and to do that job efficiently and well. An indescribable amount of peace and satisfaction comes into one's heart through work well done.
President McKay yesterday mentioned one very definite item basic to happiness. It is service. Joy comes as a result of serving our fellow men. We serve our God through service to his children. There is nothing sweeter in all the world than the spiritual blessings which come to us as the result of service, as the result of losing our lives for the Master's sake, with the promise that someday we shall receive eternal life.
The last basic item that I will mention-it is rather inclusive and a very large one, if we are to be happy today, tomorrow, next week, continuously, and eternally-is: We must keep all of Gods commandments. In other words, we must render obedience to "... every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God". You and I have joined the true Church of Jesus Christ. We have taken upon ourselves the name of the Master and have entered into a covenant to keep all of his commandments. The Savior came into this world, according to his own statement, to give us life more abundantly -in other words, that we might have joy, an abundance of joy, a continuance of joy. Thus it is essential that we follow the pathway which the Son of Man marked out for us if we are to receive that abundant life which is a fulness of joy.
We must learn to love the Lord our God with all of our hearts, might, mind, and strength. We must abide by that Golden Rule and learn to love our neighbors as ourselves. In this way, and in this way only, shall we have a fulness of joy. There is no other road.
The night before the Savior's crucifixion, he said to his Apostles, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you". It is the peace that comes through the Spirit of Jesus Christ; it is the light of Christ that enters into our hearts, that gives us a joy-as the prophets have proclaimed-"... which passeth all understanding".
Also, in addition to the Spirit of Christ, we have received the Holy Ghost, a Comforter, to comfort us in time of distress. This Comforter brings a Godly peace into our hearts.
So again I will say, my dear brothers and sisters, God has placed within your hands and my hands, as members of his kingdom, the way to find joy, the way of life, the way of life more abundantly. I do humbly ask him to bless you and me, that we will keep all of the commandments, that we will abide by all of the laws basic to happiness. May we make effective in our Lehi's statement that "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy".
And this I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Marion G. Romney
Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, April 1954, pp. 131-135
To you who are listening in over radio and looking in by television, I extend the hand of fellowship. I sincerely pray that while I speak to you a few moments, I may say something which will be beneficial to you and which, perhaps, will stimulate you to think of things of eternal value and renew in you a determination to live to obtain them.
To you who are assembled together in this historic Tabernacle I extend the same greeting. I marvel at your faithfulness, your willingness to return to this meetinghouse on this mid-week day and listen to more preaching. I think you are the group who would attend the second session in a stake conference.
Seeing you here, and realizing that many of you attended the Primary conference, so that now you have been in meetings constantly for five days, I am reminded of an experience my wife and I had one time as we rode from St. George to Cedar City. The driver of the automobile in which we rode had with him his little boy, who was just tall enough to stand on his feet and look out through the windshield. He wore cowboy chaps and a cowboy hat. His father told us of two things he liked to dine was to put on his cowboy clothes and ride his pony, and the other was to go to picture shows. It was difficult to persuade him to terminate either experience when he got at it. They would try to get him home after he had seen a show through once, but he continued to stay on.
One Sunday morning after Sunday School, he went home. His mother had gone to fast meeting, which followed Sunday School. The boy took off his Sunday clothes and put on his cowboy clothes and then looked for something to eat. Not finding what he wanted, he returned to the meetinghouse to find his mother. Spying her as he came down the aisle, he said, in a rather loud voice, "Mother, why don't you come home? Are you going to stay here and see this thing through three times?"
Gathered together here as we are, and remembering the sustaining of a member of the Quorum of the Twelve and an assistant to that Quorum, I cannot help feeling the loss of Brother Cowley. We listened here just six months ago to his golden voice. I want to read to you one paragraph from his final message. I think it is significant for many reasons. One is that in this paragraph he mentioned Brother Morris, who today fills the vacancy left in the Quorum by his passing. We may be able to catch in this excerpt something of his eloquence and of his humility.
We have heard the prayer of the Prophet referred to this morning. Here was a young lad who believed in a promise that man lacked wisdom and would ask of God it would be given to him; and in response to that injunction he took himself out into that grove, away from the superficial structures men, and he didn't stand looking into heaven; he bowed upon the bends knees of his body, and he offered up his prayer to God his Father to bring clearness of vision to his mind, to divest from his mind the confusion which existed there pertaining to religion. How can people doubt that God heard that prayer? Anyone who would question that God heard the prayer of that boy must believe that the Father in heaven is cruel and shuts himself away from his children when they seek him. But he did hear that prayer, and as Elder Morris has mentioned, the light burst from heaven; down through that channel of light came the Father and the Son. Young people, if you prayed for your father to come in your hour of need, would he hide from you? Of course not. Neither will our Father who is in heaven hide from us who seek him out.
God grant that we may always have the spirit of prayer in our hearts.
I extend to Brother Morris a hearty welcome as he comes into the Council of the Twelve. I have loved him for a long time. I remember some years ago attending a meeting where he addressed a group of Scout leaders. He said there something which still lingers in my mind. He was talking about boys who had been brought into the Church through the activities of that organization, about their conversion, and then he said this, in substance: That not only had boys been converted from out of the Church, but that many boys born in the Church had been converted. Then he emphasized the truth that whether one is born in the Church or out of the Church, he must be converted in order to receive the blessings of heaven.
I welcome Elder Sill into the Councils of the Church. I have known him for nineteen years now. Back in those days he and I were companion bishops serving under President Joseph L. Wirthlin, who was then our stake president. I know of his ability and of his loyalty. I know that he never let his tithing go unpaid. I remember an occasion when he consulted me about it at the end of the year, when some of his calculations had gone wrong, and he did not have the ready cash to pay his tithing in full. We talked it over, and he went to the bank and borrowed the money to make it up. I am sure he will render a great service.
As I sat here in this conference and realized that it was drawing to a close, I thought of what I might say here in these closing moments which would be of worth to the people of the Church, and this statement from the Prophet came to my mind:
It is one thing to be on the mount and hear the excellent voice, etc., and another to hear the voice declare to you, You have a part and lot in that kingdom.
That passage from the Prophet's writings has been on my mind a great deal. He gave it at the end of a long sermon, in which he had been urging the people of his day to make their calling and their election sure. He himself had made his calling and election sure.
The Lord said to the Prophet Joseph Smith on one occasion,
For I am the lord thy God, and will be with thee even unto the end of the world, and through all eternity; for verily I seal upon you your exaltation, and prepare a throne for you in the kingdom of my Father, with Abraham your father.
And then the Lord specifies in the next sentence the conditions that brought that great blessing to the Prophet Joseph.
Behold, I have seen your sacrifices, and will forgive all your sins; I have seen your sacrifices in obedience to that which I have told you.
He gave that same witness to Heber C. Kimball. I suppose that a man who had that witness would be enjoying the more sure word of prophecy, which the Prophet defines as
... a man's knowing that he is sealed up unto eternal life, by revelation and the spirit of prophecy, through the power of the Holy Priesthood.
In this conference we have been greatly entertained at times with eloquent oratory. We have been taught by great teachers. We have heard enough truth and direction in this conference to bring us into the presence of God if we would follow it. We have been taken on to the spiritual mountain and shown visions of great glory, but how many of us have heard that voice saying we would have a part therein.
I want to read a text by which we may test ourselves today and always as to where we stand with reference to our faith and belief in God. It is the 25th verse of the 64th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants:
Wherefore, if ye believe me, ye will labor while it is called today.
In the two paragraphs which precede it, the Lord makes clear three things: First, the meaning of the word today as used in the text; second, certain things which his people should do today; and third, some events which will come to pass tomorrow. Here are his words:
Behold, now it is called today until the coming of the Son of Man, and verily it is a day of sacrifice, and a day for the tithing of my people; for he that is tithed shall not be burned at his coming.
For after today cometh the burning... for verily I say, tomorrow all the proud and they that do wickedly shall be as stubble; and I will burn them up, for I am the Lord of Hosts; and I will not spare any that remain in Babylon.
And then follows our text:
Wherefore, if ye believe me, ye will labor while it is called today.
I have in my heart a desire to emphasize the importance of doing the will of God now while today lasts. Perhaps more hangs upon what a man does during the short period of his mortal probation than upon his performance in any other period of equal duration since the spirit hosts took sides in the great war in heaven.
Amulek, Alma's missionary companion, speaks to this subject as follows:
... now is the time and the day of your salvation...
For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold, the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.
... therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed.
Nephi taught this same doctrine and went one step farther. He declared that we must not only labor in this life, but that we must also continue that labor until the end of life. He pointed out that the gate by which one enters upon the straight and narrow path is repentance and baptism by water and of fire and the Holy Ghost, and then continued:
And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this straight and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay...
ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.
And now, my beloved brethren, I know by this that unless a man shall endure to the end, in following the example of the on of the living God, he cannot be saved.
Mormon's performance, along with his counsel to his son Moroni, is a heroic example of one's continuing unto the end under the most trying circumstances. You will recall that it was Mormon who led the degenerate Nephites in their final struggle against the Lamanites. And a discouraging and thankless job it was! As he approached the inevitable end, he wrote to his beloved son Moroni, advising that he had just fought an important battle in which he did not conquer, and in which three of his most valiant leaders and a great number of his choice men had been killed. He continued,
And now behold, my son, I fear lest the Lamanites shall destroy this people; for they do not repent, and Satan stirreth them up continually to anger one with another.
Behold, I am laboring with them continually; and when I speak the word of God with sharpness they tremble and anger against me; and when I use no sharpness they harden their hearts against it; wherefore, I fear lest the Spirit of the lord hath ceased striving with them.
For so exceedingly do they anger that it seemeth me that they have no fear of death; and they have lost their love, one towards another; and they thirst after blood and revenge continually.
Then, notwithstanding these discouraging circumstances, he declares his intention to continue to labor and encourages his son Moroni to do likewise. Listen to his plea and take courage therefrom:
And now, my beloved son, notwithstanding their hardness, let us labor diligently; for if we should cease to labor, we should be brought under condemnation; for we have a labor to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay, bat we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness, and rest our souls in the kingdom of God.
In the light of these teachings, it would seem to be most unwise to rely upon the doctrine of the so-called second chance and wait until after death to perform our good works. I am acquainted with the doctrine that those who have had no opportunity to hear and receive the gospel in this life will have that opportunity in the world to come, and I rejoice in it. I rejoice in the vision and the revelation received by the Prophet Joseph Smith on the 21st day of January 1836, which teaches this doctrine. The Prophet reported that vision and that revelation in part as follows:
The heavens were opened upon us, and I beheld the celestial kingdom of God, and the glory thereof... I saw the transcendent beauty of the gate through which the heirs of that kingdom will enter, which was like unto circling flames of fire; also the blazing throne of God, whereon was seated the Father and the Son. I saw the beautiful streets of that kingdom, which had the appearance of being paved with gold. I saw Fathers Adam and Abraham, and my father and mother, my brother, Alvin, that has long since slept, and marvelled how it was that he had obtained an inheritance in that kingdom, seeing that he had departed this life before the lord had set His hand to gather Israel the second time, and had not been baptized for the remission of sins.
Thus came the voice of the lord unto me, saying-
"All who have died without a knowledge of this Gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God; also all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom, for I, the lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts.".
All this I accept with joy. However, it does not teach, and I have never found anything in the scriptures nor in the teachings of the prophets which encourages me to believe, that those who have the gospel taught to them here will be able to make up their loss if they choose to wait for the next life to obey it. I would not advise anyone to take that chance. As I understand the scriptures, taking such a hazard would be fatal.
Amulek, after speaking of "the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed" added:
Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world.
For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked.
On this point of deferring obedience to the gospel, we might with profit consider the Savior's parable of the ten virgins. I do not remember any provision being made in that parable for the five foolish virgins to enter into the marriage at a later time. I do remember, however, that after the door was shut they, having in the meantime filled their lamps with oil, came saying, "Lord, Lord, open to us," and that his answer was, Verily I say unto you, I know you not".
In 1831 the Lord continued with the lesson he had in mind to teach with this parable. Speaking to the Prophet Joseph, he specified some of the blessings to be received by the five wise virgins. Said he:
And at that day, when I shall come in my glory, shall the parable be fulfilled which I spake concerning the ten virgins.
For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived-verily I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day.
And the earth shall be given unto them for an inheritance; and they shall multiply and wax strong, and their children shall grow up without sin unto salvation.
For the Lord shall be in their midst, and his glory shall be upon them, and he will be their king and their lawgiver.
No mention is made in this revelation of the whereabouts of the foolish virgins. Said the Prophet Joseph,
If men would acquire salvation they have got to be subject, before they leave this world, to certain rules and principles, which were fixed by an unalterable decree before the world was.
the disappointment of hopes and expectations at the resurrection would be indescribably dreadful.
In view of these teachings and the many others which carry the message that today is the day for us to perform our labors, it would seem to be wisdom on the part of every soul who has been taught the gospel, to here and now make a daily conscious and sincere effort to live it. And this effort should continue to the end of mortal life. Failing to make such an effort, a person identifies himself as one who does not believe the Lord, for, said he, "... if ye believe me, ye will labor while it is called today".
That we may, by laboring today, inherit the great blessings we have heard so much about in this conference, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Delbert L. Stapley
Delbert L. Stapley, Conference Report, April 1954, pp. 135-140
I assure you my brothers and sisters, the southern route to this stand is no shorter than the northern route. I find it rather difficult to be in the caboose of conference speakers, particularly because I am sitting on the last seat, realizing that many of my brethren have already given part of my message to you.
Through this conference my mind has been upon Brother Cowley. I want to say to you, my brothers and sisters, he was a man of God, one who exemplified the calling of apostleship in a high degree. We loved him: he was loved by the people. We were stirred by his inspiring messages.
Today I am glad to welcome into our Council Brother George Q. Morris to fill the vacancy caused by Brother Cowley's passing. Brother Morris is a strong and devoted leader. He brings great strength and wisdom to our council. With all my heart I support and sustain him, and offer him my help.
I welcome also Brother Sterling W. Sill. I am sure he will add greatly to the General Authorities in the quality of service and devotion he gives to the people of the Church.
Last Friday we had the delightful opportunity of listening to the reports and testimonies of the mission presidents. These men, under the direction of the Twelve, are responsible for the missionary program of the Church, which answers the charge of the Redeemer to his Church of the latter days to proclaim the message of the restored gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.
The Lord said through the Prophet Joseph Smith for the elders of this Church to open their mouths and say to the world,
Repent, repent, and prepare ye the way of the lord, and make his paths straight; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand;
Yea, repent and be baptized, every one of you, for a remission of your sins; yea, be baptized even by water, and then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy
Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, thin is my gospel; and remember that they shall have faith in me or they can in nowise be saved;
And upon this rock I will build my church; yea, upon this rock ye are built, and if ye continue, the gates of hell shall not prevail against you.
And ye shall remember the church articles and covenants to keep them.
May I paraphrase that verse: "And ye shall remember the church articles and covenants to keep them."
Wherefore, be faithful, praying always, having your lamps trimmed and burning, and oil with you, that you may be ready at the coming of the Bridegroom.
The Savior, appearing to the Nephites on this, the American continent, said,
... ye know the things that ye must do church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do...
Therefore, if ye do these things blessed are ye, for ye shall be lifted up at the last day.
The Lord again counseled the Nephites:
Therefore, whatsoever ye shall do, ye shall do it in my name; therefore ye shall call the church in my name; and ye shall call upon the Father in my name that he will bless the church for my sake.
And how be it my church save it be called in my name? For if a church be called in Moses' name then it be Moses' church; or if it be called in the name of a man then it be the church of a man; but if it be called in my name then it is my church,
and then the Lord adds this significant phrase,
if it so be that they are build upon my gospel.
And if it so be that the church is built upon my gospel then will the Father show forth his own works in it.
My brothers and sisters, I testify that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is built upon the true gospel of Jesus Christ. It does bear his name and does show forth the works of God in it. I call your attention to the specific and general information given Sunday morning by President McKay of the growth and the progress of the Church. The Church provides for the temporal and spiritual needs of its people. Its missionaries bear the gospel message to all nations. It is set up after the organization of the primitive Church, with prophets, apostles, evangelists, etc., and with authority divinely bestowed through the priesthood of God to officiate in all the saving ordinances of the gospel to perfect and exalt man.
We learn in the writings of Nephi that Satan has no power over the hearts of people who dwell in righteousness. The evil and wickedness present in the world today show the power Satan has over the hearts of people, and therefore the promotion of righteousness among men is the important duty of God's servants, and thus they prepare all his children against the days of tribulation preceding the Savior's coming to earth again.
Nephi again admonished his people:
For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.
And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this straight and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.
Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.
The beloved King Benjamin counseled his people:
... I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.
My brothers and sisters, I would plead for faith on the part of the membership of this Church, the faith that is typical of a child, teachable, eager to learn, willing to accept and to obey, not blindly, but with understanding. I am pleading with you who have entered into the straight and narrow path through faith, repentance, baptism, and receiving the Holy Ghost, to press forward and worthily comply with every ordinance of the gospel.
If men were offered material riches as a reward for years of devoted service, no doubt a decision to accept would be promptly given, even though the price to be paid might overtax their strength and undermine their health. God offers eternal life, glory, exaltation, and the association of himself and Son as a reward to those who diligently serve him to the end of their days. He has no greater gift to bestow. Yet, because of the intangible nature of this gift and the weakness of people's faith, they fail to accept and follow the conditions to obtain this state of peace and happiness in celestial glory.
If men will open their hearts to truth, the Holy Ghost will stimulate their faith to accept the revelations and follow the counsel of divinely appointed leaders. Faith is a gift from God, to be earnestly sought for. It cannot be the type of faith exhibited by Thomas, who would not accept his fellow workers' word that Jesus had risen and appeared unto them, unless he had the privilege of feeling the prints of the nails in his hands and thrusting his own hand into the side of the Savior. It cannot be the type of faith of those who seek after signs upon which they might establish faith.
The Lord revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith 121 years ago the Word of Wisdom, the Lord's law of health, showing forth the order and will of God in the temporal salvation of all Saints in the last days and given for a principle with promise. Many have doubted, and by their acts have refused to accept this revelation to be a word of wisdom. The inviting advertising appeal and enticing claims of tobacco interests are listened to and accepted by men and women their Creator's revealed truth tobacco is not good for man. But now that science is proving cancer to be linked with tobacco use, many are dropping the habit through fear of this dreaded and often incurable disease. Why will men set at naught the revelations of God about good health habits taught in the Word of Wisdom, and yield to habit-forming products from plants or herbs that are detrimental to their systems or bodily functions?
Daily we see the disastrous results of strong drink-accidents on the highways, homes broken, wives and children suffering and in want, ofttimes deserted and helpless, with no hope to live normal and happy lives. The Lord has said,
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.
When these revealed truths are verified by scientific research in the field of health, thus becoming actual knowledge, it makes the faith of the so-called believer appear weak and presumptive, and also clearly demonstrates rebellious and disobedient attitudes, prompted no doubt by a feeling of restricted freedoms. Of what value, my brothers and sisters, is faith if people have lost their privilege to exercise it? Can God be pleased with people of little or no faith? Listen to the words of Alma:
Yea, there are many who do say: If thou wilt show unto us a sign from heaven, then we shall know of a surety; then we shall believe.
Now I ask, is this faith? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for if a man knoweth a thing he hath no cause to believe, for he knoweth it.
And now as I said concerning faith-faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.
And this is the type of faith, my brothers and sisters, that Latter-day Saints should have, and recognize that scripture is from God, revealed through the Holy Ghost for the blessing and for the good of God's children, and being our Creator, certainly he would not give us any principle or reveal any truth that was not for our good.
Now may I call your attention to the Church welfare program. This plan was given by revelation and has been implemented in this generation of uncertainties and perplexities to provide the temporal needs and to increase spirituality among our people. Is this plan operating in the homes of the Latter-day Saints?
To be realistic we have to view present economic conditions with some concern. The economy has tightened up. Unemployment is a problem. Church members are experiencing difficulties. Can we depend upon reported improved business trends and non-stable commodity prices to restore and assure a high economic level? What is the condition of our personal affairs? Are we in debt with installment payments and heavy obligations on our hands? Do we have cash funds in savings, or on deposit?
If we should be adversely affected, even temporarily, can we sustain ourselves for a reasonable period without help? We have all been counseled to set our personal affairs in good order. Those who have heeded this counsel, I firmly believe, are wise. Your Church follows its own counsel, cushioning its finances and storing welfare goods to protect the work of the Church, and insofar as possible, the welfare of its members.
Our strength as a people is in unity, emphasized so often by President Clark. This unity is made possible by keeping the commandments of God.
I am firmly convinced our greatest blessings as a Church and people come collectively and not individually. If God were pleased with us individually, it follows he would be pleased with us collectively. Each of us, as an integral part of God's kingdom, either contributes beneficially or adversely to the welfare and blessing of our fellow Church members.
I call your attention to the great patriarch, Enoch, who lived so close to God that he walked and talked with him and was given great power in the priesthood, to the perfecting and sanctifying of his people. It is said, in the writings of Moses:
... And the Lord blessed the land, and they were blessed upon the mountains, and upon the high places, and did flourish.
And Enoch and all his people walked with God, and he dwelt in the midst of Zion; and it came to pass that Zion was not, for God received it up into his own bosom; and from thence went forth the saying, Zion is fled.
Then we read the account of the Savior's visit to the Nephites where he established his kingdom among them. Righteousness was taught the people by the disciples whom Jesus chose, and a condition of righteousness prevailed among all the people. We read in Fourth Nephi that:
... every man did deal justly one with another.
And they had all things common among them; therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly gift.
... they did walk after the commandments which they had received from their Lord..
And it came to pass that there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people... and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God.
Now in contrast to these two seemingly perfect conditions we have examples of unrighteousness on the part of the people whereby they did not enjoy the full blessings of God that he held out to them through promise if they would but serve him and keep his commandments.
Moses, the great prophet, lawgiver, and friend of God, sought diligently to sanctify the children of Israel that they might behold the face of their God. They would not listen, but hardened their hearts; therefore, God took Moses, the Holy Priesthood, and the gospel out of their midst and left with them the Lesser Priesthood and the law of carnal commandments, which priesthood and law does not have the power to perfect nor sanctify people.
And then again in our day, as recorded in the 105th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord said:
Behold, I say unto you, were it not for the transgressions of my people, speaking concerning the church and not individuals, they might have been redeemed even now.
But behold, they have not learned to be obedient to the things which I required at their hands, but are full of all manner of evil, and do not impart of their substance, as becometh saints, to the poor and afflicted among them;
And are not united according to the union required by the law of the celestial kingdom;
And Zion cannot be built up unless it is by the principles of the law of the celestial kingdom; otherwise I cannot receive her unto myself.
Therefore, in consequence of the transgressions of my people, it is expedient in me that mine elders should wait for a little season for the redemption of Zion.
When Brigham Young established our people in the tops of these mountains, he promised them that if they would keep the commandments of God and serve the Lord, that the Lord would temper the elements for their sakes, and their lands should produce bountifully.
Now, I recognize, my brothers and sisters, that a condition of righteousness is becoming better and stronger among the people of the Church. I feel this is true as I make my visits to the stakes of Zion. However, there is room for improvement, and I am sure if we would put into operation the plans that have been developed to reactivate the inactive, that we could bring about a condition of righteousness that would permit the blessings of God to flow to us in rich measure.
In the 42nd Section of the Doctrine and Covenants called the revelation embracing the Law of the Lord, the Lord said to the Prophet Joseph Smith:
And again, every person who belongeth to this church of Christ, shall observe to keep all the commandments and covenants of the church.
And the Savior said as he walked among men,
If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed.
In closing, my brothers and sisters, I would plead with the Saints and with all peoples to have the kind of faith that leads to good works, to accept the atoning sacrifice and redeeming power of the Son of God, to keep all his laws and commandments, to walk uprightly and in all holiness before him, that the blessings of heaven might be theirs to enjoy; and his Church prosper and fulfil its great destiny of saving the souls of men.
I bear my testimony and witness to you and all men that this work is of God, and therefore true. May we all enjoy that witness and that testimony, and do all within our power to step forward the interests of this great kingdom, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1954, pp. 140-142
Now, my brethren and sisters, the hour is drawing to a close, wherein our great conference gathering will soon have become an event of the past. The sessions themselves will be mere history, but the messages, we hope, will ever remain on the tablets of our memories and will become moving factors in our daily lives.
There are one or two features I should like to name before announcing the closing hymn and benediction. It has been most gratifying to see the number of young people, college boys and girls, who have attended these sessions. I refer not only to the 350 or 400 students from Brigham Young University but to others with them, who have taken places throughout the congregation and who have manifested an interest in spiritual things. This is most encouraging. They have come voluntarily showing their eagerness to know something about the real things of life.
It has been most gratifying to note how the Spirit of the Lord has directed the remarks of members of the Council of the Twelve, the Assistants, the Seventy, and the Bishopric, and how frequently and impressively the messages have been directed to the young folks. We love them. We have confidence in them. We hope the messages will be read by others whom they have represented.
And now in conclusion I should like to say just one word or two and associate the thoughts with a very remarkable saying Of the Savior. He repeated it several times. It is a paradoxical statement. "He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it".
That form is recorded in the tenth chapter of Matthew, and over in the sixteenth chapter the Savior repeats it again in a little different way: "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it".
The pith of that paradox is found in the use of the word life. You cannot take it literally, that you are spending your life, your mortal life, that you are going to sacrifice your life in mortality, but it rather suggests two planes in life: the baser and the higher, the animal and the spiritual. You can apply it, with those two ideas in mind, in any phase of our activity.
In closing this conference I should like to apply it in two phases. First, either saving our lives or losing them in the home. Children may lose their lives in attempting to save them. The home is the foundation of society. It is a sacred institution to members of the Church of Christ. We believe in the eternity of the marriage covenant, in harmony in the home. Indeed our ideal is to have home just a little taste of heaven. Children constitute a very important part of the Latter-day Saint home.
We believe in obedience of children to parents. Young people in their teens particularly, strike out to find pleasure, to save themselves, to seek to gratify desire; they seek to achieve some sensation, some thrill, which may or may not be in harmony with the wishes of the parents. If out of harmony with the desire and advice of the parents, then those children seek to save themselves and in so doing may lose the happiness they seek.
Indeed, we find it applicable even among friends. One of our writers, not called a poet, but he is a very good, practical philosopher, Rotarian, said, and this is to you young people:
"You ought to be true for the sake of the folks Who believe you are true. If you're false to yourself, be the blemish but small, You have injured your friends; you've been false to them all."
And this is better:
"You ought to be fine for the sake of the folks Who think you are fine. If others have faith in you, doubly you're bound To stick to the line. It's not only on you that dishonor descends: You can't hurt yourself without hurting your friends."
Can you lose yourself for the good of your friends? If so, you will be happy. Higher than that, can you lose your impulses, your desires, or the love you have for your parents? If so, you will save your life and your home.
Husbands, that applies to you. Very frequently discords arise in the home because husbands desire to save their own dignity and have their own way, have their own wishes carried out. Wives desire the same. Some exercise their prerogative to have the last word. Husbands are sometimes even more eager to have it than wives. Each really is trying to save himself or herself, and instead of having harmony and peace in the home there arises discord. Instead of saving the life of harmony in the home, you lose it, merely because you are seeking to save your own selfish life, or have your own selfish way. Better to lose that desire. Say nothing, and in losing your desire and that feeling of enmity, of ruling of governing, you say nothing, and you gain your life in the home.
In a broader sense you can apply that to life. Browning in that great poem "Paracelsus" illustrates that same truth. You remember how he started out to save himself, that is, to gain knowledge as a great scientist with the intention of handing it down haughtily to the people. Festus, his friend, said, "You had better not withdraw from the people." That is the great benefactor.
But Paracelsus was haughty. He was proud. When Festus warned him, Paracelsus answered, saying, "Festus, are there not two experiences in the life of a diver? One, when a beggar he prepares to plunge, one when a prince who rises with his pearls. Festus, I plunge." His friend said, "We await you when you rise."
Years afterwards, after a life of scientific inquiry, and a successful life, his friend found him on his deathbed in a Greek conjurer's house. Without going into the story I will merely say, Paracelsus recognizing his friend, said: "Festus, I have found the secret of life."
"What is it? All that I have depends on that answer.
And the great philosopher said: "It is this: Live in all things outside yourself by love. That was the life of God. It ought to be our life."
In harmony with that, I read what the Prophet Joseph said, quoting the passage with which our conference opened:
"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.
"Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work...
"And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work.
"Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence".
"He that would save his life" in the home, in business, in society, in politics, and particularly in association with his fellow men should lose that life for the good of others. "He that will lose his life for my sake shall find it".
God bless you stake presidents, presidencies, high councilmen, bishoprics of wards, members of Melchizedek Priesthood quorums, Aaronic Priesthood quorums, members of the auxiliary organizations-Relief Society, Sunday School, Young Menus and Young Women's Mutual Associations, Primary Associations.
Now I have included the entire membership of the Church, excepting the little babes. I repeat, God bless you that the spirit of this great conference may go with you to bring peace into your hearts as you lose yourselves for the good of others; harmony in your homes as you curtail that impetuous tendency to cause discord, as you control that tongue and do not say the thing that hurts.
God bless the youth throughout the world, members of the Church particularly, that they may seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, that all else may be added unto them, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, October 1954, pp. 7-12
Beloved brethren and sisters: Few of you realize the great responsibility of this moment. I humbly seek your sympathetic and prayerful assistance, and above all the guiding influence of the Spirit of the Lord.
At this, the opening Session of the 125th semi-annual conference of the Church, it gives me great satisfaction and joy, in behalf of the General Authorities of the Church, to extend a welcome to you stake presidencies, bishoprics, and to all members who are present at this service here in the Tabernacle and in other groups on Temple Square, and to those listening in by radio and television. May the spirit of unity and oneness characterize this great session this morning.
You join me, I am sure, when we extend love and greetings to members of the Church and to interested, loyal friends throughout the world, in Canada and Mexico; in Europe, South Africa, South America, New Zealand, Australia, the Polynesian Islands, in Japan and China, Greenland, and Iceland, to groups in Korea and the Philippines, on Guam, and other islands of the Pacific. May the spirit of this conference be felt by them through the mysterious medium of soul communion, even before they read the minutes of our great conference.
Among the purposes of these general conferences are, in summary, as follows:
To inform the membership of general conditions-whether the Church is progressing or retrogressing, economically, ecclesiastically, or spiritually. To commend true merit. To express gratitude for divine guidance. To give instruction "in principles, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel". To proclaim the restoration, with divine authority to administer in all the ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to declare, quoting the Apostle Peter, that "there is none other name under heaven given among men" than Jesus Christ "whereby we must be saved". To admonish and inspire to continue in greater activity.
When thinking and praying in anticipation of this moment, I felt impressed to say a word about what the Church is doing to help parents in rearing their children, having in mind particularly the teenagers of our Church. In a very familiar poem a mother says to her son:
"Do you know that your soul is of my soul such a part, That you seem to be fibre and core of my heart?"
* * * *
Be yours then the task, if task it should be, To force the proud world to do homage to me, Be sure it will say, when its verdict you've won, She reaped as she sowed, Lo! this is her son." -Margaret Johnston Graflin
I should like to say a word in commendation of the groups in the Church who are helping you mothers and fathers to have your children bring you honor. Before doing that, however, I should like to make a brief report to you of conditions.
Through the loyalty and faithfulness of the members of the Church in paying tithes and offerings, by income from investments and generous contributions from well-wishing, devoted friends, the Church is entirely out of debt, strong financially, and working under a budget carefully planned to meet all obligations incurred in the great building program of chapels, temples, recreation halls, classrooms, throughout the organized stakes and missions of the world.
We commend all of you, and each of you, for your faithfulness in thus contributing to the finances of the Church, without which it would be impossible to supply the needs of a rapidly increasing membership.
We have just heard the report given by the Clerk of the Conference of the organization of new wards, branches, and stakes during the last six months. The growth of the Church at home and abroad is most encouraging.
With this increase in membership are evidences of increased spirituality. Spirituality results in the greatest good when expressed in acts, not merely in day dreams. "... shew me thy faith without thy works," said James, "and I will shew thee my faith by my works".
The great majority of the members of the Church are seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. This is shown, first in contributions in cash and labor in building four hundred chapels at an average cost last year of $80,000 each. In addition to this, the people of Southern California, for example, have contributed in cash toward the building and furnishing of the Los Angeles Temple, over one million dollars. On January 2, 1952, there was a meeting called of all stake presidencies in the Southern California district, at which those present voted unanimously to raise a million dollars to be paid as the building progressed. Today we are pleased to report that pledges for that amount and more have been fulfilled.
Another example of spirituality is the missionary work. There are at present 3457 full-time missionaries laboring in the forty-three missions, supported financially either by themselves or by their parents. There are 7188 missionaries in organized stakes, making a total number of missionaries paying their own expenses of 10,645.
Melchizedek Priesthood quorum work has never been more effective. The Senior Aaronic Priesthood activity is giving results unprecedented. The female Relief Society, the first auxiliary organized in the Church, is carrying on at its usual high standards, its influence extending beyond the boundaries of the Church as exemplified by the recent trip abroad by its worthy president, Sister Belle Smith Spafford, accompanied by Sister Marba C. Josephson of the Young Women's Mutual Improvement Association. All of you should read their reports.
To all who are working devotedly in the Melchizedek Priesthood quorums, and in the Relief Society, we extend our love, confidence, and commendation.
I should like to commend, having in mind this Church work with teenagers, the Presiding Bishopric, the ward bishoprics, and the auxiliary general superintendents, general presidencies, and general boards for their earnest and most effective effort to guide the youth of the Church.
Perhaps the Church could do more for the delinquents who get into the clutches of the law, but I feel impressed to refer to agencies working to prevent young people from becoming delinquents. For approximately three thousand years men have read the admonition: "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it". The word train means "to lead, or to direct the growth of, to form by, instruction, discipline, drill, to educate."
Three groups carry the responsibility of training children: First, the family; second, the Church; third, the state. The most important of these is the family. By divine edict the Lord has placed upon parents the responsibility, first to teach the doctrine of repentance; second, faith in Christ, the Son of the living God; third, baptism and confirmation; fourth, to teach children to pray; fifth, to teach children to walk uprightly before the Lord. Parents who shirk this responsibility will have to answer for the sin of neglect.
A newborn babe is the most helpless creature in the world. The protecting care of parenthood is essential to its survival, as well as its growth. It must be led and directed by instruction, discipline, drill, and proper education. Our most precious possessions are not our abundant harvests, nor our orchards yielding luscious fruit, nor our waterways, nor our million miles of paved highways, nor our oil wells, nor our rich mines of copper, silver and gold, nor even of uranium-our most precious possessions, our treasures of eternity, are our children. These merit and should receive our greatest and our most constant care and guidance.
Daniel Webster was right when he said:
"If we work upon marble, it will perish; If we work upon brass, time will efface it; If we rear temples, they will crumble into dust; But if we work upon immortal souls, If we imbue them with principles, With the just fear of the Creator and love of fellow men, We engrave on those tablets something which will brighten eternity."
The bringing of children into the world bears with it great responsibilities and opens to view the noblest purpose of life, namely, a co-partnership with deity "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man".
The most effective way to teach is by example. It is the child's nature to be active. It is the duty of the parents and of guardians so to direct that activity, as to lead children to know God's love, and the happiness found in obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Parents should ever keep in mind that admonition is of much more avail when example conforms to the admonition given.
You will be gratified, and thinking men generally will be interested, to know what the Aaronic Priesthood quorums and the auxiliary boards are doing in a practical way to assist you parents to train your children to become upright in character, loyal citizens of their country, and faithful members of the Church.
Recently I sent a letter to the presidency of the Aaronic Priesthood, to the general superintendencies of the Sunday School and YMMIA, and to the general presidencies of the YWMIA and to the Primary-the five groups dealing directly with the young people of the Church. In that letter I inquired as to how effectively they are attempting to contact all children and youth in these great organizations. Here are some of the headings of that letter: First, give your total membership, your total enrollment; second, give the percent of those who should or might be enrolled; third, method or methods of contacting the indifferent; fourth, how may parents render more effective co-operation; and fifth, what have been your outstanding achievements during 1953 and 1954.
In the Aaronic Priesthood, we learned that they have an enrollment for the young men under twenty-one of 63,641. The percent of the enrollment of the total members that should be enrolled, 9279. In the Sunday School, they have an enrollment of 983,025; 91 percent of those who should be enrolled. They had a weekly attendance of 381,656, or 35.5 percent of the total membership of the Church. The Young Men's Mutual, May 31, 1953, had an enrollment of 129,528, and on a corresponding day this year, 140,754; an average weekly attendance of 88,546. Every boy or man between the ages of twelve and twenty-four is enrolled in that organization, every one; 31,856 of these are enrolled in scouting; 25,368 are enrolled as Explorers.
The Young Women's enrollment for 1953 was 124,079 plus visitors of 11,342. To date the enrollment is 134,303, with a weekly average of visitors of 10,384, or a total of 144,676, and the average attendance is 64% of those enrolled.
One cannot help having a pretty warm spot in one's heart for these teenagers in Mutual and Sunday School.
All members of the Church from the ages of twelve to twenty-five in the Young Women's are enrolled, and others.
Now we enter the Primary. The total number of children whose lives were touched by Primary in '52-53-200,000; 83% of the children of the Church of Primary age are enrolled; 69% of the children enrolled are attending Primary; 142,745 children are enrolled in the Stakes; 6,841 non-member children are enrolled in the stakes; 68% of the children enrolled are in attendance each week at Primary; 13,000 Latter-day Saint children are enrolled in the missions. This has increased on an average of 1,000 each year for the last five years.
The Primary Association has assumed the direction of scouting for the eleven-year-old boys. According to a survey made in March, 92% of the eleven-year-old boys were enrolled in the Guide Patrols; 109 stakes, six missions have organized Cub Scout dens and packs since the Primary Association has sponsored the Cub scouting as requested by the First Presidency.
Now, besides these auxiliaries and quorums, we have our seminaries. The total enrollment for seminaries and institutes in 1953 was 36,074; 1954-39,022. The average attendance for seminaries in '54, 32,226, or 94% of the enrollment. That speaks well for our students in colleges and high schools.
As an illustration of the influence of the seminaries upon teenagers, and also as a lesson in cooperation of parents, I shall take the time to quote to you the following, taken from the September-October 1954, issue of a national magazine, not of our Church, Faith Today. The article is entitled "Teenage Frontier," written by Leola Anderson, for a copy of which I am indebted to President Ernest Wilkinson. It is designated by one of the editors as "one of the most heartening signs of the times." Here are a few quotations from it:
"The luminous hands of the clock beside the boy's bed point to 5:45 a. m. The alarm goes off. It has been raining all night; the air outside is cold and wet-and still black.
"Groggily the boy gropes about for the button to shut off the noise. Resolutely he swings his feet out onto the cold floor. For a moment he drops his tired face into his hands. It was 12:30 last night before he finished sweeping at the supermarket, and 1 o'clock when he got home to bed. It has been like that all week. In his drooping body is a desperate urge to slip back into bed.
"That's why he stands up quickly and moves on into the shower. Because this morning and every school morning he drives seven miles to attend a class at 7 o'clock. It is a very special class, which he would not think of missing, so long as he is able to stand.
"What kind of class is it? A Bible-study class.
"Would you find it incredible that this boy is one of 1,700 typical, fun-loving teenagers who get up every morning to attend a 7 a. m. to 8 a. m. Bible class before going on to high school? They do it without credit, without coercion, and often against tremendous odds. They do it five days a week, nine months a year, despite day-light-saving time.
"Furthermore, so great is the demand for this early morning instruction that next September 90 classes will open to meet the requests of 2,500 students in Southern California alone.
"Incredible? Not at all. This has been going on in the Los Angeles area for the last four years. It is a part of the program of daily religious education offered by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a program which last year served 38,000 young men and women in seven western states and in Canada and Mexico. "With the Bible as text, emphasis is placed on a practical application of its teachings to the lives of youth. What better blueprint for living was ever recorded than that preserved by the prophets? The answers to the questions of modern youth, as uncertainties pile up on them in an increasingly chaotic world, are all found in the experience of the past.
"This is the key to why these young people leave cozy, warm beds on chill winter mornings to attend daily classes that are not accepted either high school graduation or college entrance credit.
"Neither are these selected students. They are not even all members of the same church. There's a piquant little redhead in one class who answered our question this way: 'No, I'm not a Mormon. I simply couldn't understand why my best friend insisted on getting up so early to come down here, so I came along one morning for laughs. I got so interested I asked to register. I haven't missed a day since!'
"No, they are not selected excepting by their own desire to learn. They represent a cross-section of young America with all its problems. They are average kids looking for a defense against the grim spectre of fear and destruction that now shrouds their future.
"And how do these Bible teachers meet that challenge?
"By teaching respect for the inspired Constitution of the United States with its God-given liberty, regard for the rights of others, and love for all mankind. By showing the wisdom of avoiding the mistakes of the past, and fostering a dynamic and living faith in God and the ultimate triumph of good. All this through daily basic instruction in the Master's written word.
"Teachers are also meeting the challenge by putting into the hands of the young people the tools of self-government and teaching them their use, thus preparing them for leadership, when in the process of inexorable time they will become our leaders.
"In the words of one vivacious brunette, president of her class: 'Every senior student gets a turn being a class officer. We learn confidence in ourselves and how to do the job. Besides, when you're responsible for the whole class, it makes you think, twice before you make a decision.'
"This teamwork, one student says, 'This teamwork is also noticeable in the group spirit of the classroom.'
"The youth of America are studying together, singing together, praying together, and loving it. In one class, five nationalities-White Russian, Mexican, Italian, Greek, and American-work as one.
"There is a carry-over, too, with the students. Bill Kemsley, a husky youth, was graduated last June from the first three-year course. Bill drove sixteen miles each morning from his home in San Fernando to a North Hollywood class. He transported a carload of students to class and back to San Fernando. The second year he transferred to North Hollywood High.
"'I wanted to get away from my old companions,' he said seriously. 'They weren't bad fellows, you understand, but I guess my standards had changed. Two of those boys are in jail now,' he added thoughtfully.
"Parents, too, no longer show inertia where this program is concerned. Their comments read like a before-and-after commercial: 'I used to have such a time getting Mary out of bed in the morning. Now she gets me up!'...
"And what is being done," concludes the author, "in Southern California to open a frontier for youth to live and learn the fundamentals of peace and progress could be duplicated anywhere in America by any similar group."
To the question in that letter sent to the auxiliaries, "How may parents render more effective co-operation?" came answers common to every article: First, parents should become acquainted with lessons and plans of the organization; second, take rather than send their children; third, set a proper example. In conclusion, parents, if you would have your children pray, then teach them to pray in the home. If you would have your children refrain from taking the name of God in vain, then let them never hear profanity pass your lips. If you would have your teenagers sense the value of keeping themselves true to their future husbands or wives, then let chastity and loyalty to your marriage covenant pervade the atmosphere of your own home. If you would have them refrain from the use of tobacco, then you refrain from the use of tobacco yourself.
Brethren and sisters, in presenting this general picture of what the Church is doing for teenagers I have had in mind, first, to commend the workers for their diligence and efficiency. God bless them. And second, to show how effective the Church is in its divine organization in touching the life and activities of every member therein. We see how true are Paul's words when he wrote: 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 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 fullness of Christ".
In conclusion, and by way of testimony, the gospel is truly the power of God, and the Church the divine means of bringing, first, satisfaction and joy to the individual, here and now; second, bringing harmony in the home; third, more general understanding and resultant peace among the nations-what a message!-and fourth, salvation and exaltation in the kingdom of our Father.
With all my soul I pray that the Lord will hasten the day when the influence of this divine organization will be felt more potently for the good of the inhabitants of the world, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Hugh B. Brown
Hugh B. Brown, Conference Report, October 1954, pp. 14-17
My dear brothers and sisters: Bishop Carl Buehner and I, being first to speak in this conference, are perhaps somewhat like two boys just coming out of the dentist's chair. We look through our tears pityingly at those in the outer office who are waiting for their turn.
We have all been inspired this morning by the stirring appeal of our President, and by the reports we have heard. We have all been encouraged in our work. I hope what I shall say will not seem to be a discord. President McKay closed with the words, "Let loyalty to the marriage covenant pervade the home." We who are favored with the privilege and charged with the responsibility of speaking at the general conferences of the Church wonder through the months what phase of the gospel, what subject we should discuss. Because of some work I have been asked to do, there is only one subject I can think of to talk about, and on that I am very poorly qualified.
In introduction, may I read some scripture which I think is pertinent:
And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
And in another scripture:
For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;
And they twain shall be one flesh...
What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
And again:
Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.
Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence and likewise also the wife unto the husband. Paul speaking:
Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the lord.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church.
Inasmuch as many of this congregation are holders of the priesthood, I remind all of us that we submit ourselves unto the Lord in righteousness and because of righteousness. This requirement of the wives to submit to their husbands presupposes righteousness on the husbands.
In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees;
And in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood;
And if he does not, he cannot obtain it.
In the Old Testament scripture, the prophet said on one occasion: "... to your tents, O Israel", and again, "Lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes", referring to their tents or homes and their need of support.
Throughout the world today there is confusion, apprehension, danger. In our own land we are spending billions to fortify and defend our country and protect our homes. Not only are we stockpiling armaments and atom bombs and other instruments of war, but we are also building a radar system, sky high and continent wide, extending across Canada and up into the Arctic Circle, all with the idea, basically, of defending our homes.
Sometimes we, as individuals, feel weak and helpless in the face of all this and wonder what we might do to help. May I call your attention to the fact that right in the inner citadel of our defensive system, the home, which is the very bulwark of our strength and solidarity, right there the enemy is making inroads which truly are frightening. In what I have to say on this subject, I hope no one will feel that I am chastising or blaming or condemning. I think I realize, because of recent experiences, that there are many innocent victims of desertion and betrayal. My heart goes out to many lovely women who are left to raise their children alone, and certainly to them we say a word of encouragement, and we pray God's blessings upon them that they may be given strength to carry this added burden. And yet we must say some things about this evil-its source and possible conquest.
In the last issue of the Reader's Digest, the startling statement is made that "one thousand times every day in the United States a judge's gavel falls and with two words, 'divorce granted,' somebody's love story comes to an end." And may I add, some home becomes a casualty. One thousand of them a day in the United States, 365,000 in a year! May I say, regretfully, that the Intermountain States in this list are above the average in the number of divorces granted. May I also say that even among those who are married in the temple, the serpent, who first made his appearance in the Garden of Eden, creeps in and continues his attempt to separate man and woman against the decree of God that they should be one flesh.
According to statistics there is one divorce for every three marriages in the United States. What would we think if 33 1/3 percent of all the ships that set sail on the ocean were doomed to shipwreck and to failure? And what would the board of directors of the company do if the cause of that failure could be traced to the captain and the mate, who could not agree and work together? Many divorces start before marriage.
We who wrestle with this problem have traced some of the causes, and in many cases they lead back into the childhood homes of the young couples, who are now divorcees. We believe, brethren and sisters, as has been so eloquently said this morning, that proper parental example and training in the home would help to stem this tide of divorce. Parents should teach their children by example and by precept the sacredness of the marriage covenant, should teach them that there is no joy in all the world comparable to the joy that comes through happy wedlock. But like all blessings, this joy is predicated upon obedience to law.
Parents, who fail to teach their children and to demonstrate to them what happy wedlock can mean and does mean, are sowing where their children must reap. If they fail here, the ancient edict will operate; viz.: the sins of the parents shall be visited upon the children.
Fathers should teach their boys that there is no freedom except through obedience to law. Children should be reared in disciplined homes where rules are obeyed and the rights of others are respected. Parents should "reprove betimes with sharpness" and then show an increase of love. The child that is pampered in the home will expect to be pampered after marriage. Among the seeds of divorce one of the most prolific is overindulgence. It grows into extreme selfishness.
There are certain weaknesses in all of us which we say are inherent. I shall not attempt to list them but refer to one or two that men and women should recognize in themselves and overcome before their spouse discovers and magnifies them.
I think now of self-control. Many of the cases which I review started with uncontrolled appetites and tempers, leading often to cruelty, mental and physical. When in a temper the tongue may be venomous. The Apostle James said, ". . . it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison". That is only potential, but it is often true. The tongue, with which we say our prayers and pledge our troth is sometimes used to wound those we love best. "Boys flying kites haul in their white winged birds; we can't do that when we're flying words."
A middle-aged couple on the farm had a violent quarrel at breakfast time. Later in the day they started for town in the buggy, with a fine team of horses to sell their vegetables and eggs. As the horses trotted along, Mary said, "John, why can't we travel together like these horses do? They don't quarrel and fight." John said, "Mary, we could if there was only one tongue between us."
Oh, the unkind things we say to those we love.
We have kind words for the stranger And smiles for the sometime guest, While oft to our own The bitter tone, Though we love our own the best!
Of course, and this is the saddest part of what I have to say, there are evil intruders, more deadly sins, which strike at the very foundation of our homes. Infidelity, love's counterfeit, is the most disintegrating influence that can enter a man's life. It is to the home what treason is to the nation. Lust is fatal to love. It sometimes causes men in military service to destroy the very home which they would die to defend on the battlefield.
In the U.S. News and World Report, there is an article on "Why Teenagers Go Wrong." Divorce is high on that list, and it is reported that one-half of all the adult criminals begin as juvenile delinquents, and most juvenile delinquents come from broken homes. Let people who are considering divorce pause and consider possible consequences.
But let us think of some positive aspects of this subject. I should like for the next minute to talk to the young people who may be listening in: to tell them that though this enemy is extant, and though they must meet situations where they must face and overcome difficulties, they can train and prepare themselves for this glorious experience with the same promise of success as awaits the well-trained and disciplined person in any field of activity. Marriage is life at work.
I speak, first, of love. I am not thinking of that flutter of the heart or the droop of the eyelash which you young folks may identify as such, that may well be the beginning of love, but I am thinking of the love that "suffereth long and is kind, that envieth not, vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; the love that beareth all things, endureth all things, the love that never faileth". And I remind you that the Master who loved most of all, endured the most and proved his love by his endurance. Yes, "there is beauty all around, when there's love at home."
I speak next of prayer. The husband, who will kneel every day in the home and thank God for his wife and list her virtues in his supplication to be entered on the credit side of the family ledger will overlook or be unmindful of her little weaknesses-he will never seek the divorce courts. The woman who kneels with her children in the home and humbly thanks God for a kind, loving, and wonderful father and husband, even though at times that prayer may be only a wish, it still will impress upon the souls of the children an image and hold before them an ideal which they will try to realize in themselves. Quoting Sister Benson on the TV program recently, "The family that prays together stays together."
Young people of the Church, read the seventy-sixth section of the Doctrine and Covenants. Here is the prize which you may earn and enjoy, with God's help. You who have been baptized and receive the holy Spirit, you who have testimonies of Jesus, who keep the commandments and overcome by faith, and are sealed by the holy Spirit of promise, shall become priests and kings of the Most High and dwell in the presence of God and Jesus Christ forever and ever.
Your bodies shall become celestial, whose glory is that of the sun. You shall have joy in your posterity here, eternal family union and association hereafter, immortality, eternal life, and eternal increase.
God help us that we may put on the whole armor of God, having our loins girt about with truth, and having the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, the sword of the spirit, and go forward in the fear of God and protect our homes. Yes, to your tents, or homes, O Israel, lengthen the silken cords of love and strengthen the stakes of faith and righteousness to the glory of God and our own salvation in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Mark E. Petersen
Mark E. Petersen, Conference Report, October 1954, pp. 17-19
As a postscript to these stirring things which we have heard this morning, may I say that in my humble opinion, one of the foundation stones of success in the home is companionship in the home, and that companionship must begin with husband and wife.
You remember that you started out with your courtship on a basis of companionship. You husbands remember when you courted your wives that you did all you could to be enjoyable companions to them; you took them out, showed them a good time, paid them compliments. You never thought of criticizing them or embarrassing them because that would never win a fair lady, but you put your own best foot forward always, and you did all you could to convince that young lady that association with you would provide for her a loving, wholesome, desirable companionship.
You ladies remember how you responded, and then together you decided that you would be married because you desired to have that type of companionship perpetuated throughout your lives.
Where is that companionship now? Are you, as husbands and wives, real companions today? Do you have fun together? Do you ever go out together and really have a good time? Do you work together? Do you worship God together? Do you maintain that his respect for each other that you once had, remembering that there can be no real love at home unless there is respect for each other, and that there is precious little respect unless we are respectable?
The Lord had something to say about companionship in the home. He gave a great commandment in section 42 of the Doctrine and Covenants, verse 22, and this is what he said:
Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else.
I believe, ladies, that that commandment is just as applicable to you, and that you could receive it as though it said: "Thou shalt love thy husband with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto him and none else." And when the Lord commands that husband and wife love each other with all their hearts, it means that it shall be a wholehearted love, and that there shall be no holding back and no reservations. Then the second part of that command, to "cleave unto her," I believe means that we shall be good companions, one to the other. I believe the when the Lord says that we shall cleave unto husband and wife, that he means that we shall be enjoyable, desirable, happy, loving companions one with the other.
Then there is that very potent last portion, "and none else," which rules out all types of competition. Any married man who pays attention to any woman other than his wife, to that extent is in rebellion against Almighty God, and any woman who is married and receives attention from any other man is flying in the face of Providence and violating the law of heaven.
Now if you have broken this law, what is the answer? President Stephen L Richards gave it to you yesterday in the Relief Society conference. What is the answer to any broken law? If you break the law of the Sabbath, is the answer further violation? If you break the law of chastity, is the answer further violation? There is only one answer to a broken law, and that is repentance, and if you have broken the law which says, "Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else," is the answer divorce, or is it repentance with a broken heart and a contrite spirit?
There is another type of companionship in the home which is so fundamental to love at home, and that is companionship between parents and children. I am sure that many of you parents do not realize the gravity of the temptations which face your young people. There are sins in which your young people become involved that many of you parents do not even dream about, but they are terrible things which will drag them down into the depths of hell if they yield to them, and will break your hearts, as parents. Companionship between parents and children will provide a fortification against those temptations and may save them.
You fathers, are you willing to be companions to your sons? Oh, they need you, and they plead for you. Would each father be willing to spend one hour a day with his son if he knew that the boy's very salvation depended upon it? Oh, I know there are many of you who will say you do not have time. I know that some of you will say that business is too demanding and you cannot spare the time from your job and your other exacting assignments, but I would like to tell you that there is not a job in the world as important to you as your son. If you are so busy that you cannot be a companion to your son so that you can help to save his soul, you are too busy, and you need to readjust. If you will be a companion to him, and if you will keep the standards of the Church, and in that companionship teach those standards to your son, as that boy watches you observe those high principles, he will have respect both for you and those principles and will be converted to them, and thereby you will place him on the high road to salvation.
You mothers, teach your daughters by means of companionship also. A couple of weeks ago when I was coming home on the train, there was in the same car with me a young mother and her two little girls. It was a long ride, and these little girls were tired and peevish. This mother was one of those strict disciplinarians who apparently knew nothing about discipline. I am sure that with that stern face, if she had ever smiled it would have cracked her face all over, she was so rigid and so stem. She gave those children a very bad time, and they gave her a bad time, and a bad time was had by all.
Then, as I went into the next car on my way to the diner, I noticed another mother and her two little girls. There was none of the atmosphere of what I have just described to you. There was happiness and laughter and joy because on the same train and over the same long journey this second mother was playing with her little daughters. She was a playmate, a pal, to them. I noticed that in the midst of the game one of the little girls came up and hugged her mother, and said, "Mother, I love you so much." Then she went back to play her game again.
I thought, what a pattern for all mothers. If mothers would just be companions, beginning when the children are small, what a marvelous influence they could have. And mothers, as they grow up, do not change the recipe. Continue to be companions to them, and as you give them that companionship, they will love you; they will honor you; they will seek your advice. Even when they have grown up, you will see that from time to time in the midst of their games or their worries, they will come to you and put their arms about you and say, "Mother, I love you."
Love at home comes through proper companionship. Husband and wife may be kept together through it. Mother and father can save their sons and their daughters by proper companionship, and that they will, I humbly pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
President Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, October 1954, pp. 20-22
My dear brethren and sisters, I realize my weakness and the need of your faith and prayers and the help of the Spirit of the Lord. I am grateful for the nature of the remarks made by President McKay in the opening session of this conference and for the prayer that has just been offered by President Pugmire in which a plea to our Father in heaven was made in behalf of the faith of the young people of the Church.
I, too, am concerned over the faith of our young people, for that matter, of all the members of the Church in this day when there are so many prevailing notions, ideas, and philosophies. I have realized for a long time the need of spiritual protection, protection in the teachings that we give to our young people in our organizations, to save them from the false doctrines and teachings of the world.
About three days ago I received a letter from one of my very dearest friends, a brother who is a teacher and who has been a teacher for nearly a half century, one who sat in the councils of the Church in stakes of Zion and in whom I have a great deal of confidence. He expressed in his letter his solicitation for our young people, and in fact, for all the members of the Church and the need of giving them proper protection and guidance in the teachings that are placed before them.
I copied from his letter one paragraph, and asked him if I might use it. He said I might, and I am going to read it to you:
"There are in our community, and I suspect in other places, men who are instructing in our quorums and other organizations who teach false doctrine, and the craziest imaginations, and almost invariably they are brethren who are not in line. They have brilliant, trained minds, sometimes with pleasing, influential personalities, but lacking the spirit of truth that comes by obedience. You cannot give what you do not possess. In my humble opinion only those who believe in, and can prove their teachings by their works, should be instructing in our quorums and other organizations."
That remark of his I fully endorse, and so I am expressing these thoughts particularly to our bishops, presidents of stakes, superintendents of Sunday Schools and Mutuals, and those who have charge of priesthood quorums, and the other organizations of the Church, to see to it that in the choosing of teachers they use wisdom and seek for the guidance of the Spirit of the Lord that these men spoken of here in this communication, brilliant, outstanding personalities, but without faith, are not called to teach in our Sunday Schools, our Mutual Improvement Associations, and in the priesthood quorums of the Church. We want men who are trained in the principles of the gospel and who have faith and a testimony of the truth. We have them.
Because a man has great schooling, is educated according to the ideas of the world, is not sufficient reason why he should be called to take charge of a class in any of the organizations or priesthood quorums within the Church. Now, if he has scholastic ability and training, and along with it has faith in the principles of the gospel and in the mission of the Lord Jesus Christ, and of the Prophet Joseph Smith, all well and good. But if he is filled with all kinds of philosophy and notions and cannot accept the doctrines in the standard works of the Church, we do not want him, whether it is in our auxiliaries or the priesthood, or in our seminaries or institutes, that are given for the teaching of religious principles and to instill faith in the hearts of our young people.
"Remember," the Lord has said, "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.
"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!".
In the early days of the Church men came out of the world and received the testimony of the gospel, but they had been trained in the traditions of the world, the religious world, and they brought in with them some of those religious notions. The Lord had to correct them, and he said:
"Let us reason even as a man reasoneth one with another face to face.
"Now, when a man reasoneth he is understood of man, because he reasoneth as a man; even so will I, the Lord, reason with you that you may understand.
"Wherefore, I the Lord ask you this question-unto what were ye ordained?
"To preach my gospel by the Spirit, even the Comforter which was sent forth to teach the truth.
"And then received ye spirits which ye could not understand, and received them to be of God; and in this are ye justified?
"Behold ye shall answer this question yourselves; nevertheless, I will be merciful unto you; he that is weak among you hereafter shall be made strong.
"Verily I say unto you, he that is ordained of me and sent forth to preach the word of truth by the Comforter, in the Spirit of truth, doth he preach it by the spirit of truth or some other way?
"And if it be by some other way it is not of God.
"And again, he that receiveth the word of truth, doth he receive it by the Spirit of truth or some other way?
"If it be some other way it is not of God.
"Therefore, why is it that ye cannot understand and know, that he that receiveth the word by the Spirit of truth receiveth it as it is preached by the Spirit of truth?
"Wherefore, he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together.
"And that which doth not edify is not of God, and is darkness".
It makes no difference who the teacher is, if he teaches false doctrine, if he teaches that which has been condemned by the Lord, that is contrary to what is written in the revelations given to the Church, then he should not teach.
In the forty-second section of the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord declares that he who hath not the Spirit shall not teach. I call upon you brethren in the stakes and in the wards to be alert to find men who have faith in their hearts and a love of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ and do not choose men simply because they have a personality or worldly wisdom. Find if they have in their hearts a love of divine truth. If a man cannot accept the revelations in the Bible, in the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price, which we have received as standards, if he has reservations in his mind in regard to the things that are there recorded, which have come to us by the word of the Lord, then he ought not be teaching in any organization, any class, anywhere in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
May the Lord bless us one and all, guide us in righteousness, help us through the study of the scriptures to know his will, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Antoine R. Ivins
Antoine R. Ivins, Conference Report, October 1954, pp. 22-24
My brethren and sisters: If I say anything that may be helpful to you this afternoon, it will be because you lend me your faith and prayers, for I sense a deep feeling of responsibility as I occupy your time.
I represent one of the quorums of the priesthood which we call the General Authorities of the Church. You face the General Authorities. We face the great body of the priesthood who regulate, under the direction of the General Authorities, the affairs of the wards, the stakes, and the missions of the Church. To bear that priesthood is a tremendous responsibility, and it is the duty of us who bear it to magnify it, to come to understand through our faith, our prayers, and our Service what the duties of the various offices are and then strive to magnify our calling.
Whenever one accepts an ordination in the priesthood, I take it that there is an implied promise, even if it is not voiced, that he will undertake to magnify that calling. Too many of us, I think, when we fail, lay it to the fact that the devil tempts us. I think myself, we ought to take personal responsibility for it, because when we are endowed with the priesthood we are supposed to have access to our heavenly Father and to his Spirit, which would give us control over all of these weaknesses and temptations, and if we would enjoy to the very fullest the Spirit of God, we would have that control.
Now, the only way to get this Spirit that I know of is to work for it. The Lord has said if we would do the things he has told us to do, we will know of the doctrine, whether it be of God. And we should strive first of all to get that testimony that will carry us through and over all the temptations and pitfalls that may lie in our path. I think that is the only way really to know that the gospel is true, to put it into practice in our lives. There are many of us, perhaps, who feel that the position which we hold is not too important, but I like, as I go through the stakes and meet the priesthood of the stakes, to express my idea that so far as I am concerned, the most important job, if you want to call it a job, and the most important assignment in the priesthood is the one I have. If I can manage to magnify my calling, I should not worry about what other people, either ahead of me or who work along by my side, are able to do. My problem, brethren and sisters, is to magnify my particular calling.
Now the priesthood of the brethren who stand before us is a great and wonderful endowment. All of the grand and glorious privileges that we enjoy as members of the Church come to us only through the offices of that priesthood. We should appreciate it, brothers and sisters; we should love it; and we should strive to magnify it.
This has been the problem, of course, of mankind from the beginning, to live in a manner that would please God. We should strive to do it.
Now, some of us are presidents of elders' quorums, some of us are presidents of seventies' quorums, some of us are presidents of high priests' quorums, and some of us have special offices in this priesthood. Are we willing, and are we determined to accept the responsibilities of these various offices and magnify them?
Brethren and sisters, when I contemplate the fact that the privileges which you and I enjoy are carrying into a life which will extend beyond this one into eternity, then I am overpowered with the thought that I should bend every effort and every power within me to magnify my calling, so I should be worthy of a high and exalted position afterwards. It is within the possibility of every man to do it. That was the design of God, our heavenly Father, that we should come here with equal privileges. The problem is, are we willing, and will we do it? We can if we will. Will we leave this conference with a renewed determination to magnify our callings, and to help the people whom we are set apart to help, we who are leaders of the Church, or will we just think we have had a pleasant time and proceed to forget the admonitions?
Brethren and sisters, we cannot afford to forget the good resolutions that we make when we sit under the spell of these brethren who are surrounding us. We cannot wish ourselves into success; praying will help; but there must be activity if we magnify this calling.
There are many of us, as I said, who are presidents of elders' quorums. The elders' quorum is the largest quorum in the Melchizedek Priesthood, larger than the combined quorums of the high priests and the seventies. If we would strive to benefit and bless the Melchizedek Priesthood, generally, in the Church, it seems that that is the place where we should put special effort, because it is the large group, and it just happens to be, if we can trust the statistics of the Church, the group where our help could be most effective and most noticeable. But do we do it? We, who are presidents of the elders' quorums? Do we sit down with our brethren, privately, and talk over their problems with them, striving to encourage them in their work, or are we content to stand up before them on Sunday morning in the quorum meeting, announce a hymn and a prayer and a speaker, and let it go at that?
Bishop Buehner this morning spoke about the dignity of ward teaching. I believe the best ward teaching that I ever heard of was that performed by a friend of mine on the ditchbank with the boys, the teenage boys of his particular ward. Ward teaching should go right into the homes of the people and attack their personal problems. It is not a matter of the weather or things of that sort. We have discovered in the stake missionary work that in ten years we have picked up seven thousand children whose baptism had been neglected because they had not been taught its necessity. When the stake missionaries found them, they were eager to be baptized, not only willing, but eager. It has always appealed to me that somewhere along the line, some ward teacher, as well as the father and mother, forgot a duty, and the same thing, I think, applies to the elders' quorums and the seventies' quorums.
The duty of a president is to understand the private life of every member of his quorum and do what he can to ameliorate adverse conditions and to enhance the good ones. If we could do that, brethren, as quorum presidents, as bishops, as stake presidents, as high councilmen, think what a wonderful contribution it would be to the welfare of the membership of the Church. After all, brethren, those of us who are here are mainly of that category, or those categories-those of us who are here, whom I am' facing now, are mainly men-who have official responsibility in this priesthood, and what are we doing about it? We are doing a wonderful work, it is true, but we are not nearing perfection in it. When we consider the great number of men who have gone past their majority and into married life without ever having received any priesthood at all, then you will agree with me that somewhere along the line, we have not succeeded in doing what we should do.
When you contemplate the great number of priests who go out of the priests' quorum and never get into the elders' quorum, you will have to admit again that somewhere along the line leadership has failed.
Now, brethren and sisters, we who hold the priesthood have that responsibility. We who hold office in it, presiding offices in it, have perhaps the greater responsibility. We who are the wives, or you who are the wives, I cannot include myself in that, have the responsibility of helping your husbands to do it, and too often it is your failure to co-operate which prevents an officer from fully magnifying his calling.
My appeal today, brethren and sisters, is that we who have this responsibility shall make a renewed effort to understand our problems and to magnify it, and the wives should make a definite resolution that they will never stand in the way of the official performance of the duty of a husband.
May God bless us, not only with an understanding of our problems, but also with the power to do it, I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder Eldred G. Smith
Eldred G. Smith, Conference Report, October 1954, pp. 25-26
My brothers and sisters: I assure you I need your faith and prayers in my behalf. If there is anyone who needs the help of the Lord, I do. I can heartily endorse all that has been said at this conference, and I have faith that I can endorse everything that will be said in this conference. I like Brother Mark Petersen's comment of a postscript to what has been said, and I would like to add my thought as another postscript.
In the very beginning, God placed Adam on the earth, and he gave him dominion over the fish and the fowl and the cattle and over all the earth. Now this would seem like a pretty exalted position for some people today, but even though he had dominion over all the earth, God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone" and he gave unto him the woman Eve to be a companion and helpmeet. Then God gave unto them the first great commandment to multiply and replenish the earth.
We are not told how long they lived in the Garden of Eden before they partook of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and were cast out of the garden to start their mortal existence. The point I want to make clear is that God himself established the first family unit. It is not an institution developed by man which can be outgrown and cast aside in the course of human progress. All that is nearest and dearest in our lives is associated with our families. Love has its center here, and where love is, there we find happiness also. Truly, it is not good for man to be alone. The Lord in his wisdom has provided a way for man to be happy on this earth, and to carry that joy on through all eternity. The greatest joy and happiness comes through the family unit. It has been so through all mortality, so why will it not be so in the next life? This family unit is so important that the Lord has made it known to us that all the families of the earth must be sealed together. By the time of the end of the millennium all of Adam's posterity who accept the gospel must be sealed together as one family by the power of the priesthood, which is the power to seal earth and it shall be sealed in heaven, and to bind on earth, and it shall bound in heaven.
Every person who comes to the earth must have an opportunity to receive all the blessings of these sealings if he will accept, sometime before the end of the millennium. There could not be a just God if it were otherwise. These sealing blessings are obtained, first, through the ordinance of baptism into the Church of Jesus Christ. Then the wife is to be sealed to the husband for time and for all eternity, and those children who are born outside of this wedlock must be sealed to their parents that they may receive the blessings as though they were born under the new and everlasting covenant.
Those who have died without this law may have the privilege of receiving these blessings by proxy. That is where our responsibility comes in. We must first teach the gospel to the living, and then for those of our families who died without the law we must gather their records that this great and important work can he done for them.
Quoting the Prophet Joseph Smith in Section 128 of the Doctrine and Covenants on this subject:
And now, my dearly beloved brethren and sisters, let me assure you that these are principles in relation to the dead and the living that cannot be lightly passed over, as pertaining to our salvation. For their salvation is necessary and essential to our salvation, as Paul says concerning the father-that they without us cannot be made perfect-neither can we without our dead be made perfect.
And now, in relation to the baptism for the dead, I will give you another quotation of Paul, 1 Corinthians, 15:29: Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead?.
And again, in connection with this quotation I will give you a quotation from one of the prophets, who had his eye fixed on the restoration of the priesthood, the glories to he revealed in the last days, and in an especial manner this most glorious of all subjects belonging to the everlasting gospel, namely, the baptism for the dead; for Malachi says, last chapter, verses 5th and 6th: 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.
... the earth will be smitten with a curse unless there is a welding link of some kind or other between the fathers and the children, upon some subject or other-and behold what is that subject? It is the baptism for the dead. For we without them cannot be made perfect; neither can they without us be made perfect.
This does not refer to just the few of us who are members of the Church today-a handful of his children-but this work must be done for all of our ancestors before we can be sure of our salvation. It is a tremendous task! At the rate we are baptizing for the dead in our temples today, plus the baptisms of the living, it is estimated that it would take over four thousand years to baptize the two billion four hundred million who are now living on the earth, without counting the dead. Are there as many righteous dead as there are people living today? If so, how is this work going to be accomplished? It is a task which must be done. All of God's children who will accept the gospel must become welded into one great family. For this purpose he has seen fit to send choice spirits to various parts of the earth. These choice spirits accept the gospel when it is brought to them. Then from that nucleus, others of their families and friends accept the gospel. They come to the temples of the Lord and perform their own sealings and then the work for their dead ancestors.
Converts have three sealing steps they must be present for in the temple: Those who are married must have the wife sealed to the husband, then their children sealed to them, then those parents are to be sealed to their parents. Those who are born under the covenant have these choice blessings automatically.
Do we appreciate those blessings? Many converts would willingly spend the rest of their lives in whatever effort is necessary to obtain the opportunity of being sealed to their parents and consider it well worth the effort.
Then we need to gather all the records of our ancestors that we possibly can. I do not mean just a halfhearted attempt. Seek diligently, constantly, and prayerfully. Do not wait for a convenient time-it will never come. Do not put it off until old age when we not able to do anything else. We never know what tomorrow will bring, and we must see that the work is done, completing the sealing of each family group. There is no one who can escape the responsibility of this work. We will not be excused because we thought an aunt or some other relative was doing the work.
One young lady, a genealogist, was asked the question, "What if you find an undesirable character in your family tree, such as a pirate or convict or the like?" She answered "My responsibility does not concern how he lived but just that he lived and died. After all, I owe my existence to him, and my only way of paying that debt is to do the baptism and sealing work for him. It will be up to him to accept it."
This is a responsibility for each of us. Not one of us can be made perfect without this work. I doubt if the Lord will accept the excuse that we are so busy working in the auxiliary organizations that we cannot spend a part of our time in genealogy. Any part of this we do not do which we should do must be done by someone else, for it must be done. If we shirk our responsibilities, how can we expect to receive the blessings?
To those scattered around the world, may I say a word of encouragement? Be of good cheer, be diligent, trust in the Lord, and he will help you. You were probably placed where you are to do a special work in gathering records or to fulfil a special missionary assignment. If you will let him, the Lord will give you success in your work and much happiness in so doing.
May his blessing be upon all those who are diligent in this work, that we may prepare the way for his coming, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Elder Sterling W. Sill
Sterling W. Sill, Conference Report, October 1954, pp. 27-29
In four days it will be six months since President McKay invited me to his office to notify me that I had been called to this position. These six months have been tremendous months to me. While I have always been active in Church work, it has mostly been in some ward or stake capacity, and sometimes our appreciation is restricted by our experience. But during these last six months I have had the new experience of visiting many stakes of the Church, located in six states and one foreign country. In each case I have not been in that stake more than a few hours before I have felt almost as much at home as though I had lived there all of my life, and I have been delighted and inspired to find that all over the Church there is the same fervent testimony of the gospel, and the same devotion to God that has characterized the great men and women of my own ward and stake, to whom I owe such a great debt of gratitude.
This has been a profitable experience to me for many other reasons. One is that I have become a little better acquainted with the men who lead the Church, not only because of more frequent personal contact, but also on the day of my appointment I made a resolution that I would read from beginning to end every book that had been written by every present General Authority of the Church in order that I might learn something from his devotion and faith. I have not finished this project yet, but I have made substantial progress in that direction, and I have been delighted at the great stimulation and inspiration that I have received. I found out a long time ago, that we may not only be inspired by our Father in heaven, but we may also receive inspiration from his children.
This particular reading comes as a sort of climax to a great experience that began for me ten years ago when I heard Adam S. Bennion give a lecture on the value of great literature. It was near the end of the Japanese war and he presented this proposition: Suppose that you were going to be a prisoner in a Japanese concentration camp for the next four years, and that you would be permitted to take with you the works of any ten authors. Which would you take, and what would you expect to get from your study? That is, what are the values in great literature-in great human thought? Brother Bennion's idea was that one might select the ten authors in the world in whom he had the greatest interest and confidence, the men that he would like most to resemble, and then read everything that they had ever written, and one by one try to exhaust each in turn; that is, you think his every thought. You try to feel as he felt. You may probe and pry and peep into every corner of his mind. You try to live his life over again.
Following this suggestion has been a wonderful experience to me, and presently I am rereading one of my ten authors. This particular author has written five books. One of them is entitled the Old Testament. Another is the New Testament. One is the Book of Mormon. One is the Doctrine and Covenants and one is the Pearl of Great Price. Each time we read a book with a new purpose it becomes a new book. This is not because the words in the book have changed, but because we bring to it a new outlook; for example, one might read the Bible to get from it its literature, or its history, or its philosophy, or its psychology, or its theology, but I am not re-reading the standard works of the Church primarily for any of these reasons. Rather, I am trying to get better acquainted with the author.
Daniel Twohig wrote a sacred song entitled, "I Walked Today Where Jesus Walked," and I have no doubt that that would be a thrilling experience, to stand on the very spot of ground on which Jesus once stood, but we may have an experience which is far more important. For through the scriptures we can think, today, what Jesus thought. We can try to feel as he felt. We can try to do as he did. We may try to become what he is.
Someone has asked this question: How would you like to create your own mind? But isn't that about what we are all doing? William James said "... the mind is made up by what it feeds upon." Someone else has said, "...the mind, like the dyer's hand, is colored by what it holds." That is, if I hold in my hand a sponge full of purple dye, my hand becomes purple, and when we hold in our minds and hearts the thoughts of God, ideas having to do with great spirituality and devotion and faith, then our lives are made up accordingly, for as the writer of the Proverbs said, "... As he thinketh in his heart, so is he".
I am very grateful for these wonderful books which we call the standard works of the Church, because through them we may think even the thoughts of God as the prophets have recorded them through all the ages of the world. The Old Testament was written in the period antedating the mortality of Jesus. The New Testament is written about his earth life. The Doctrine and Covenants was written in our own day. And the Book of Mormon and the Pearl of Great Price reach across all three of these periods.
But, in addition to the standard works, I am very grateful for the recorded ideas of those who presently and in the past have led the Church. Because they have written their ideas down, we can think their thoughts. I hope I do not embarrass President Joseph Fielding Smith by speaking about his recent great book entitled Man-His Origin and Destiny, which I think is one of the great books of the Church. I would like to see every person in the world read this great book, for what knowledge could be more important and helpful to man than the ideas therein presented. President Smith has packed into this book the study, meditation, and devotion of a lifetime, but through our reading we may make all of these ideas our own in a week or a month. This is one of the advantages of a great book.
To try to indicate the need that exists in the world, and in our own lives, for proper religious information, I would like to tell you of an experience that I had a few weeks before I read Brother Smith's book. I happened to be in a large eastern city on a business assignment and, inasmuch as I was in the city over Sunday and was not convenient to my own Church, I went to hear one of the great Protestant ministers of the world. After the meeting was over, I was shown through their great church edifice, and I bought a book written by the minister, which I read very carefully on the train coming home. Three weeks later I was again in this city and again went to hear this man speak. After the service was over a large group of people lined up to shake hands with the speaker. After all of the others had gone, I introduced myself and told him how much I had enjoyed his sermons and his book, but there were some things that I could not understand and I would appreciate it if he would discuss some of them with me. He had used some phrases in reference to, God such as "immerse yourself in God," or "send your roots down into God," or "fill your mind with God," and I asked him if he would explain to me his conception of God. He was very frank to say, "I do not know what God is, and I do not know of anyone who does know. If someone could find out what God is, that would be the greatest news that had ever come into the world." I said to him, "Would you give me your idea of what is meant by the statement in Genesis which says that 'God created man in his own image'?" He said, "There is one thing of which I am reasonably sure, and that is that God is not an anthropomorphic God; that man was not created in the image of God."
This great man, who is one of the most popular religious leaders in the world, does not understand God, and yet Jesus said, "... this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent". In addition to this, this man who has taken upon himself to minister in the name of Christ does not understand pre-existence or the resurrection. He does not know the difference between the Aaronic and the Melchizedek Priesthood, nor does he understand the organization of the Church, or the use of temples, or salvation for the dead. He does not understand the necessity for divine authority, and a great many other simple doctrines of Jesus that are plainly mentioned and discussed in the scriptures. Yet this man is the spiritual director of thousands of people.
I was greatly impressed by the earnestness of his declaration that to know God would be the greatest information that could ever come into the world. When I returned home, I decided to find out what were the important events that were happening in the world today so that I could make a comparison. I called up a newspaperman and asked him if he would let me know what were the greatest news events of the last year. He listed the following:
Stalin's death in March 1953. The execution of the Rosenbergs in June 1953. The Greenlease kidnapping last fall. The Harry Dexter White case last fall. The East German food riots in early 1954. The hydrogen bomb. The launching of the atomic submarine, Nautilus, in January 1954. The Puerto Ricans who shot up Congress in March 1954. The polio vaccination test, 1954. The Army-McCarthy hearings, 1954.
Most of these events have to do with bringing death into the world, whereas to know God could bring eternal life to all men. With this in mind, I opened the Doctrine and Covenants and re-read with a new appreciation the account of this greatest event that has happened upon this earth since the days that Jesus lived upon it. This wonderful event is recorded so that everyone may read and understand. We declare to the world that in the spring of 1820, God the Father and his son, Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph Smith, to re-establish upon the earth a belief in the God of Genesis, and to restore in its fullness the knowledge of all of the principles of the gospel. To discover God is the greatest discovery that anyone ever makes in his lifetime, and in trying to understand the great responsibility that goes with such a discovery, I got down on my knees and asked God to help me bear an acceptable witness of him to all of those with whom I should come in contact. When it was revealed to Paul as he journeyed on the way to Damascus that Jesus was the Christ, a great responsibility was placed upon him. When the same thing was made known to Joseph Smith, a tremendous responsibility was placed upon him. He said, "... I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it, neither dared I do it". Now that the same thing has been made known to us, a great responsibility has been placed upon us, and I pray that our heavenly Father will help us to be effective, inspired, untiring bearers of this great truth to all men everywhere in the world. This prayer I ask in Jesus' name. Amen.
Elder John Longden
John Longden, Conference Report, October 1954, pp. 30-32
My dear brothers and sisters: This is my third anniversary and seventh time that I have been honored with the privilege of standing in this position. I assure you that the timidity is just as great today as it was seven conferences ago. When I realize that the Prophet of God, who opened this glorious conference this morning, in his wisdom, humbly sought divine aid as he occupied this position, as the others have done who have succeeded him, I more than ever realize the need for that assistance, and I am brought to a consciousness that there is not anything that we do in this Church if we have desire to aid and assist, to benefit and bless people but what we should act under the inspiration of our heavenly Father.
Another anniversary-it was forty-five years ago on the seventh of this month, since I was privileged to land in Salt Lake City with my father, he having accepted the gospel just shortly before I was born in the little town of Oldham, England. I am grateful that he still lives at eighty-one and has a testimony of the divinity of the gospel of Jesus Christ and in this thing called "Mormonism."
We have heard servants of God bear their testimonies that this is his work in which we are engaged, and I believe therein lies the strength of this Church. When I make that statement, I am mindful of the fact that there is great strength in the missionary program of the Church, which is a great voluntary service. I am conscious of this because I have had the privilege of touring the New England Mission going as far as St. Johns, Newfoundland. In the past two months I have been all the way from the West Coast to St. Johns, Newfoundland. I have heard testimonies of those newly converted to the Church, and I have heard testimonies of those who have been stalwarts through the years. It is recorded by the Psalmist David:
Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.
Yes, I am also mindful that there is great strength in the evidence we have from people paying their tithes and offerings that this work of the Lord may grow and progress. I believe that the strength of this Church lies in the individual testimony which people may posses if they will but conform their teachings of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.
I am mindful of this vast congregation here this afternoon and also the vast congregation-the capacity of which we know not-who will be listening in over the radio and those who may be viewing over television I trust that in the few moments I occupy this position I may bring you a message that will be of value and of worth in assisting you to seek for a testimony.
I have heard so many people say, and you have had the same experience I am sure: "You seem so positive in your testimony or in your statement that God lives and that Jesus is the Christ." I am positive in my testimony, but I want to assure you that it is not in the spirit of egotism or self-exaltation whatsoever-only in the spirit of humility. I would call to your attention the experience which the Savior had on one occasion when he approached Peter and the other disciples when he had been mistaken for many other personages,
When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and 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.
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Would you say that was a positive testimony that Peter had? He knew that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. That came unto him by divine revelation It can come unto every individual who has a desire to serve God, to know his commandments and be submissive to his will and be obedient to the same. Anyone may possess a positive testimony.
Again on another occasion, on the day of Pentecost the Savior had commissioned his disciples to go forward and proclaim his doctrines. They had the power and authority necessary to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to administer in the ordinances thereof which pertain to the salvation and exaltation of our heavenly Father's children.
Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
Then Peter said unto 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.
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.
And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saving, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
I believe that applies in this dispensation in this year 1954, as it did almost two thousand years ago when that positive declaration was given by Peter.
After the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, he appeared in the upper chamber on one occasion and, oh, they were glad to see him-to receive their Lord. He gave them these consoling words in which we, today, might find comfort: "Peace be unto you."
Then the same day at evening, before the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, 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: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
I have not seen the Master Jesus Christ, but I have a firm conviction and testimony that he lives. I know that I have been blessed as I go about in my humble, weak way endeavoring to fulfil assignments which come to me by those in authority. I cannot deny that God and his Son Jesus Christ have been with me to bless me that the people might be fed the bread of life.
I am grateful for a positive testimony.
In conclusion I should like to give you a positive testimony from the Old Testament. The Prophet Job had suffered much, and yet his testimony was sufficiently strong that he had the power to subdue and rise above and overcome the weaknesses of the flesh because the Spirit of the Lord had taken precedence in his life. So indelibly did he desire his testimony to be inscribed upon the hearts and minds of men that he said:
Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book!
That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!
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.
Yes, my brothers and sisters and friends of the radio and television audience, you may also have a positive testimony that God lives and that Jesus is the Christ, the divine Son of God our heavenly Father, and I trust that those who are hungering and thirsting after righteousness may have a desire within their hearts to accept truth, for all truth emanates from God our eternal Father.
This is my testimony to you today, and I bear it in humility and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Henry D. Moyle
Henry D. Moyle, Conference Report, October 1954, pp. 32-36
The restoration of the gospel-This statement presupposes two fundamental facts the former existence of the gospel upon the earth; its loss-disappearance, etc. Was there a divine church? It is as much our mission on earth to proclaim the existence of the gospel in earlier dispensations as anything can be. The world today wonders why we sent missionaries to so-called Christian nations rather than confine our proselyting efforts to the so called heathen nations. The answer is important. Christianity so-called has lost the knowledge of the true gospel of Jesus Christ as established in former times.
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
We go into the world to teach them the former as well as the latter-day gospel of Jesus Christ. Did not the prophets Isaiah and Micah say:
And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.
Not many years ago in Knoxville, Tennessee, I saw a sign done in bronze on the corner of a bank building which read in substance: "The Church around the corner teaches the old-fashioned gospel of Jesus Christ." This very attempt on the part of this great church to distinguish itself from other present-day churches is evidence sufficient of the necessity of missionary work to be done among those professing faith in new-fashioned religions conceived of men and among those who deny all faiths, deny even the existence of God. We have a mission to preach the gospel-the existence and the true conception of God to our fellow men, the establishment of his Church upon the earth by his Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ. We cannot, in fact, proclaim the restoration of the gospel without proclaiming its pre-existence. The restoration must bring back that which was originally established. Something else would not be a restoration; neither can you restore that which is already here. We can restore only that which is lost, gone, disappeared. Restoration means to bring back that which we formerly had.
The foundation upon which the Church of Jesus Christ is organized in these latter days is the statement of Jesus Christ to the boy who, in the strength and simplicity of his faith, prayed to God for enlightenment upon this very subject. Where is the Church of Jesus Christ to be found? The boy of fourteen asked the Lord which of all the sects was right and which he should join. He was told by the Lord that he must join none of them, for they were all wrong, that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight, that they drew near to him with their lips but their hearts were far from him. They teach for doctrine the commandments of men, having a form of godliness but they deny the power thereof. He again forbade the boy to join any of them. A restoration of the divine Church was later to be effected through the instrumentality of this boy as he grew to manhood, the Prophet Joseph Smith. The Angel Moroni later told the Prophet in September of 1823:
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.
Joseph Smith was not only given the priesthood-the keys of which Elijah held, but previously he and Oliver Cowdery had also received the apostolic priesthood at the hands of Peter, James, and John, with authority and direction once again to select twelve apostles. The priesthood of God was thus once again restored to the earth, the authority by which the divine Church should be reestablished on the earth, so vital to the world at large, whether Christian or heathen, is this restoration, that every bearer of the priesthood should be well-versed in the historic facts such as we have of the original foundations of the gospel-its disappearance and its restoration as well as the first principles of the gospel itself. What could be more appropriate for the large body of the priesthood of the Church than periodically to direct its study to these matters of such great historic value to us and to our missionary work. We have studied them now for three years. We have not been left without evidence of an apostasy from the gospel as given us by the Savior. Our course of study prepared by Elder James L. Barker has given us many important historic facts with which we should be familiar. Others will find and, from time to time, add more to our fund of knowledge just as Elders Parley P. Pratt, James E. Talmage, and B. H. Roberts, and others have done in the past from historic sources. The scriptures themselves prophesy of the falling away from the true gospel of Jesus Christ.
We read:
I charge thee therefore before God, and the lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with longsuffering and doctrine.
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
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.
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.
The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.
Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.
And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell 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.
This gospel now restored to earth is a plan of life and salvation, a means by which through our obedience we can be brought back into the presence of our eternal heavenly Father crowned with glory, immortality, and eternal lives. It has always had a universal application. It was the same gospel in Jerusalem, Constantinople, Ephesus, or Rome. It is eternal in its endurance! If we were to go to any of these cities or any place else to which the Apostles of Christ carried the true gospel and they claimed to be the rightful successors of Christ, we would have one absolute, unchangeable, accurate, and at the same time simple standard by which we could judge the validity of their claims, assuming as the facts compel, that after a relatively short time the teachings of those professing to be the followers of Christ differed in practically every country if not in every great city. It has been the purpose of these priesthood courses which Brother Barker has outlined, for us to put these various, present-day claims to this test-Do any of their teachings and practices conform to Christ's?
I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
The pertinent facts have had to be searched out from the writings of almost countless men for nigh onto two thousand years, all of them written with few, if any, exceptions by men who have in turn found the subject matter of their writings as a matter of intensive research. By their very nature the facts found have not lent themselves to too great a simplification. The priesthood quorums for the past three years have struggled with these lessons. Some of them put themselves in the spirit of the researcher and have succeeded in getting the greatest benefit therefrom. They are the ones who have qualified themselves from secular history itself, written for the most part by the clergy, directly affected by the recital of the facts, the changes of doctrine which actually took place in their own churches, the departures from the simple truths enunciated by the Savior himself, the establishment of pagan practices within the church, to establish the departure of all the churches of the world in 1830 from the simple truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We need only refer to a few examples which are so clearly set forth in the priesthood manuals of the last three years. Take, for example, baptism without authority, performed otherwise than by immersion; the doctrines of infant damnation, of transubstantiation, of predestination, of an immaterial God who created man both body and soul out of nothing, that man may be saved by grace alone, indulgences, absolutions, intercession of saints, along with the miraculous power of relics, of masses, of the worship of images in churches, of purgatory, of monasticism. Such a marked departure from the simple principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The change was so obvious, thinking people were compelled to participate in the great Reformation as soon as the Bible itself came into their hands.
We are told that by the year 1520 there were eighteen translations of the Bible in German, eleven in Italian, four in Bohemian, and two in Dutch. Thus those who read the Bible for the first time were shocked at the depth and the breadth of the departure which had taken place in the churches of the world from the simple truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ. These are the benefits which have come to those who have studied earnestly the priesthood manuals of the last three years.
Others have struggled without getting so deeply into the spirit in which this great work entitled The Divine Church was written. It has been a subject that could not be mastered without effort. Let me say it was not written without effort. There seems to be a relationship between the effort of the author and that required by the student to master the course. Others, we are advised, fell by the wayside and substituted other courses more to their individual liking. They have not prepare themselves to meet these issues so vital and current today in our intercourse with our fellow men in spreading the light which is ours among our neighbors at home and abroad.
For next year we have prepared a course of study to consider the restoration of the same divine Church upon the earth with the restoration of its simple principles and practices. We hope our priesthood leaders will accept these lessons in the spirit in which they are written. In studying them, go back constantly in considering the restoration to the history of the departure therefrom on the part of the churches of the world. We want to continue to perfect ourselves in this respect through a continued study of the important history outlined in the manuals of the last three years. It should be our purpose in teaching and studying these lessons on the restoration, whether we be teacher or student, to relate our studies back to the apostasy by a comparison of the details of the restoration of the gospel with the principles which were taught in the churches of the world in 1830. In this manner can we learn in the next two years as we consider these lessons on the restoration written by Elder Roy A. Welker as much or more of the facts contained in our previous three manuals on the divine Church, dealing as they do with the apostasy as we did during the past years themselves. This is important, too, because many who shall have occasion to attend the priesthood quorum meetings this year and next year were not present during the past three years. The question naturally arises-how can we study the restoration as I have tried to emphasize, without some study of what we are restoring? Answering the question, if the world once had it, what has it done with it? The very fact that these three volumes of Elder Barker's on The Divine Church were not as simple as some desired is added reason why we should read them a second time, and those in the meantime who have been advanced Into the Melchizedek Priesthood, or who have returned from the forces or from missions or both, might have the benefit of them for the first time. We advocate very seriously a first reading of these manuals by all who have not already mastered them. The dividends to be received from a study such as suggested, are certain, not alone in qualifying us to teach others, but above all to give to each of us a broader foundation of knowledge upon which our own faith may rest. We never lose sight in all our classwork and study of the fact that the glory of God is intelligence. Knowledge is power. Truth is joyous.
Furthermore, in the study of the restoration we should advise ourselves of present-day doctrines of the churches of the world. In many instances we will find that these doctrines have changed somewhat since 1830 to conform more nearly to the teachings of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.
We may expect as time goes on, in fast, we may hope that the churches of the world will continue not only to see, but also to appreciate the light which was brought to the earth by the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in these latter days through the instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph Smith and realize that just as the church was organized by the Savior when he was upon the earth, so must it continue throughout the restoration. We hope the people of the world will learn to appreciate the words of Paul to the Ephesians:
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 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 fullness of Christ:
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.
May the Lord hasten the day when the peoples of the world will realize the source of this light which is enlightening the world. It should be the purpose of the priesthood of the Church so to qualify themselves that they may individually and collectively be a light set upon a hill.
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report, October 1954, pp. 37-40
My brothers and sisters, and friends: I am grateful to our Heavenly Father that he has permitted us to meet again together, and specifically that I am privileged to be with you. I sincerely invoke the strength of your faith and your prayers that what I may say may be helpful to you and to me, help to give us strength and courage and determination to carry on the work of the Lord.
Years ago, I heard of a statement from a non-member banker of the city which has always impressed me. He is reported to have said, and of course this in jest, that Mormons have six senses: the five that ordinary mortals have and a sixth that enables him to believe Mormonism.
I am more grateful than I can express for that sixth sense. All down through the ages there have been great bodies of humanity who could not believe the gospel. Adam, his own family, was invaded. His son offered improper sacrifice and then committed murder. From him was taken away the right to perform sacrifice. He was shut out; he lost his priesthood, which has never been restored to his descendants. But that offshoot so begun grew and prospered in the land, and from that time on down, the pagan world has been a great part of humankind. The gospel we know was preached from the beginning: but men would not hearken to it. The Flood came and destroyed the inhabitants except a few, and after the Flood again unrighteousness came among men, and again a great part of them, the greater part of them, refused to follow the Lord.
This gospel of the Christ is the true way of salvation and exaltation in the kingdom of God. It has been the same gospel from the beginning, not always understood, not always preached, but it has been the plan of life, salvation, and exaltation from the time it was taught to Adam.
Paul said: "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed".
Well, there are, now, wolves in the sheepfold disguised as sheep. Against them and against their teachings we must all be fighting affirmatively for the truths of the gospel.
The Savior said that in the last days there would be those who would come and say, "Lo, here is Christ, or there...
"Behold, he is in the desert... he is in the secret chambers; believe it not".
You know, I feel that we must not pare that down to mere place. That man and that woman that teach false doctrine as the doctrine of Christ are crying, "Lo, here is Christ," in the sense in which that great statement of the Savior is to be understood.
So I am happy that we Latter-day Saints have a blessing and a heritage that teaches us the truths of this everlasting gospel, which has been with the world from the beginning. We are marvelously blessed and a blessing always carries with it a responsibility. Having that blessing, the responsibility is ours to live in accordance with the truths which we have. We are blessed that we know that life is purposeful. We are blessed that we know that before we came we had an existence. We are blessed to know that we came to this earth which was created for the purpose of giving us the experiences of mortality. We are blessed that we know that if we observe and keep the commandments of the Lord that our salvation and exaltation is assured. That is part of the sixth sense which we have.
We are blessed that we can accept the scriptures and do accept them as the word of God and as a history of his dealings with his people, specifically, the Bible. And we are not prepared, although we believe the Bible only so far as it is translated correctly, we are not prepared to accept these modern translations, which go largely to destroy the Christ and his sacrifice, his resurrection.
We are blessed in that we believe in God, a Personage who has manifested himself in our day, in the great vision of all time, concerning which these children sang so beautifully at the opening of this meeting. We are blessed with that testimony, that the Son was in the image of the Father, and that we also are created in his image. That is part of our blessing.
We are blessed that God not only spoke in ancient times, but that he also speaks today and has spoken, speaks with all of the definiteness and the specifications that he spoke to Israel at Mount Sinai. He does not speak alone in parables as he taught some of the multitudes, you will remember, in Palestine, stating that he taught them thus lest they should understand and believe and he would have to bless them. He speaks definitely, I repeat, that all can understand.
Revelation, continuous revelation, comes from our heavenly Father, and for the Church it comes and comes alone to the President of the Church. Each individual living properly may have that inspiration coming from him, and if you do not have it, amend your ways, and you will get it. Revelation is not intuition, as some would suggest.
We are blessed in the faith that we have, the living, active faith which not alone inspires us to live as we should, but which gives us power and strength. Our people have defined faith as the moving cause of all action. Faith is not trust, faith is a living, and I think an intelligent, force, which God himself performs his great work.
We are blessed that, along with that faith, we have the priesthood, the Holy Priesthood of God; the authority of that priesthood is the authority to act in the name of our heavenly Father and exercise his power to the extent which that authority has bestowed upon us. We are blessed as thousands know, that that priesthood, with the faith exercised through it, heals our sick, gives us peace, gives us comfort, gives us consolation, helps us in our daily work, day by day. We are blessed in that more than I can express, and I think there are few here today who have not seen a manifestation of the exercise of faith through the administrations of the priesthood.
We are blessed, I was going to say, beyond all, in our knowledge, our testimony, our witness that Jesus is the Christ. And what a responsibility that knowledge brings to us, that he came to earth a sacrifice to answer for the Fall of Adam. How that was brought about, the Lord has not revealed. I am not sure that if he revealed it we finite minds could understand it. A part of the trouble of the world today is that men are declining to believe things they cannot understand. Out of the great myriads of things that pertain to existence and to the universe, how few there are that men can understand and yet, why should we deny the universe and its wonders because finite man cannot comprehend.
Jesus, the Savior of the world, born of woman, divine, lived his life through, became a sacrifice, went into the tomb, arose the morning of the third day, a resurrected Being and thereafter moved among his fellow men, select groups, almost as when he was a mortal, ate with them, talked with them, taught them. We are the beneficiaries of that sacrifice, for by his resurrection he brought resurrection to all of us; every man and woman born in mortality on the earth is the beneficiary of that great sacrifice. I repeat, that testimony and that witness brings to each and every of us a great responsibility. You cannot be an honest professor of Christianity if you do not believe and live as Christ marked out.
We are blessed with a knowledge that just as all down through history men and women have gone astray, so we know that the Church set up by the Christ and by the Apostles who followed him, was not long upon the earth. A few centuries and it had become corrupt. It became an apostate church. This is our witness; this is our testimony. That blessing is one of the blessings that goes with our belief in Mormonism.
Since the true Church had disappeared, bringing down in its ruins the priesthood of the Church, it was necessary that there should be a restoration, and in due course of time that restoration came. You know, it has always been a difficult thing for me, wholly ignoring my beliefs and testimonies and witness in the gospel, how men could say that for the first centuries, millenniums, the Lord taught and spoke with his children, guided them and directed them, told them what to do in their times of distress, and then to say that at the end of the Christian era revelation ceased.
Surely, mankind never was in a more distressed and uncertain condition than today, the day in which we live. Shall we say that God has stopped his voice, has closed his ears to our prayers, that he no longer cares for or loves us? Rationally, the conclusion to that question that he has, would be absurd. So in this day of ours, a little over a hundred years ago, God came, he and his Son, Jesus Christ, and opened up through the Prophet Joseph Smith, this last Dispensation of the Fullness of Times. We Mormons are blessed with a testimony and a witness of that.
We are also blessed with a testimony and witness that not only did the powers and the authority come to Joseph but that he passed them on down, and that today, President McKay, as prophet, seer, and revelator, stands for the Church as the mouthpiece of God, and when he speaks through the inspiration of the Lord, as he will when he speaks to the Church, he proclaims what the Lord would have us know today.
My brothers and sisters, for all of these blessings, I am grateful. I am glad that I have that sixth sense which enables me not only merely to believe, but to have a spiritual knowledge that all that I have said today is true, with countless other principles which there is not time to mention
I bear you my witness that God lives, that he still speaks, not in vague, mystic terms, but directly. I bear you my witness that Jesus is the Only Begotten of the Father, that he came to the earth, put on mortality and answered the demands of justice by fulfilling his mission, by his giving of his life in the necessary sacrifice to bring us free from the Fall. I bear you my testimony that he is the Son of God, the atoning sacrifice, the firstfruits of the resurrection, that we all shall be resurrected, even as was he, and come forth, even as he came forth, in the image in which we live.
I bear you my testimony again that the authority conferred upon Joseph still is in the Church and that the President of the Church, our great leader, President David O. McKay, is the repository at this moment of all the power and authority that was conferred upon Joseph at the beginning of the dispensation, through the ministrations of angels and of the Savior himself.
May God increase this testimony to me, and to you having the testimony, will he give us the power and the strength to live in accordance with the principles of the gospel, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Bishop Thorpe B. Isaacson
Thorpe B. Isaacson, Conference Report, October 1954, pp. 40-43
President McKay, President Richards, President Clark, my beloved brothers and sisters, and friends: I humbly pray that the Lord will help me as I speak to you today. I shall be grateful because I know that that will give me more strength than anything I could do.
I wonder if you have ever asked yourself how you would feel if you were occupying this position. If you will answer that, then I am sure that is the way you will feel for me.
I am thankful that we can attend these great conferences of the Church. We are all spiritually strengthened and built up in our faith. I do not know what we would do without our general conferences. I hope and pray that each person in the radio and television audience may be able to partake of the spirit of the conference with us.
You who may have problems-there may be someone in the radio or television audience who has a problem-I hope you can get great comfort from these conferences. I have come to the conclusion that no matter what our problems may be, we can find an answer in the gospel of Jesus Christ. To those who may be discouraged or to those who may be worried, I would plead with you that we try to understand the gospel and adopt its principles in our lives, and I believe we will solve our problems and be able to put discouragement aside.
Some weeks ago it was my privilege to receive an invitation from the United States Administration of Foreign Operations to fulfil an assignment in far-off Iran. I am grateful for that experience. On my way I stopped at Paris and Rome. I will not say anything about those European countries except to say that I was rather disturbed and concerned over their attitude toward, and their criticism of, this great government and this great country. I was worried! I wondered if it were possible for us to purchase friends with money.
After I left Rome, I flew into the city of Damascus, and as I entered that ancient city, I could not help thinking of Paul the Apostle-how he had persecuted the Saints, how he had been stricken blind, and of his repentance. Then I thought of how he was blessed and healed and became a great Apostle of the Lord, Jesus Christ.
From Damascus I flew into the city of Tehran, the capital of Iran. My heart went out to that little nation, only 150 miles from Russia, living in constant fear of that great Soviet power. There I met a people who love freedom and who would not sacrifice that freedom even if it meant the loss of their own lives. My sympathy and interest, and my heart went out to that people. If we believe anything in the brotherhood of men, then I do not see how we can deny helping that people, not with money-they do not seek money or grants or a dole-but they like some assistance in learning how they can better take care of themselves.
While I was in Iran, I heard great tributes paid to one of our own brethren, one of our own fine men in the Church. I have never heard finer tributes paid to a man than I heard paid to Dr. Franklin S. Harris who went there, when he was president of the Utah State Agricultural College, to render that country assistance. From the Prime Minister to the Minister of Agriculture and the Minister of Education and government officials, how they praised the work and the inspiration and the guidance of that great teacher and that great scientist. He brought great credit to this nation, to this state and to this Church. He is a great and fine man.
After I finished my assignment in Iran, I flew to the country of Lebanon. Then I arranged for a trip down into a country where I have always wanted to go, down into the country of Jerusalem. Before I left here, President McKay said to me, "You will get out of Jerusalem about what you look for and about what you take in." As we flew over that beautiful blue Sea of Galilee, I could not help thinking of the miracles that had been performed there-the feeding of the five thousand, the healing of the sick, the blessing of the blind that they could see and the crippled that they could walk. I could not help thinking of that beautiful song we sing, "O Galilee! sweet Galilee! Where Jesus loved so much to be."
I think I was never so impressed as I was when viewing that country from the sky, realizing that those rugged mountains were the wilderness we have read and heard so much about. Jesus loved his life in Galilee, and the people loved him. Yes, he went about doing good in Galilee. Then we followed the River Jordan on its way to the Dead Sea. We landed in the Arab section of Jerusalem. Now there are two sections of that city, the Jewish section and the Arab section. There is great hatred there. I feel sorry for the city of Jerusalem. You cannot cross over from one side to the other, so we landed on the side where we desired to go.
Soon after our arrival we were assigned a very high type Arab Christian guide; he spoke English well. The first place he took us was the approximate location-I do not know whether he was entirely accurate or not-but the approximate place, said he, where Christ was arrested and his mockery trial was held. He was never convicted. Then the guide described the judge, Pontius Pilate, the trial, the charges, the attitude of Pontius Pilate and the mob. Jesus the Savior was never condemned. He was never guilty, but Pontius Pilate did not have the courage to release him, because in the face of that trial, mobs were calling, "Crucify Jesus".
As he led us over those narrow cobblestone streets, up toward the Hill of Calvary, I thought of the song that Sister Jessie Evans Smith sings so beautifully, "I Walked Today Where Jesus Walked." As we came near the Hill of Calvary, the guide said, "About here was where the cross was so heavy that Jesus could not carry it any longer. He fell to the ground because of his great suffering, his abuse, and his torture when he was stripped to the waist, whipped with a heavy whip until his flesh lay open. Here he fell, and he was forced to arise and continue." As Jesus was suffering such agony, his mother Mary, seeing him, broke through the crowd to embrace him, but she was not permitted to do so.
As the daughters of Jerusalem were weeping, Jesus told them, "... weep not for me, but weep for ourselves, and for your children". That remark was not a rebuke, but was a warning which was prompted by his great love for mankind. He knew of the later destruction of Jerusalem. A terrible disaster awaited a city steeped in iniquity.
Then as we reached the Hill of Calvary and the guide described the crucifixion, I was severely touched to think that that suffering which we have heard here expressed by President Clark and others today was for us that we might live again. He had told his disciples that he would be crucified in Jerusalem, but they did not realize the intenseness of the suffering he was willing and anxious-and would have to-endure to accomplish his mission. But what a lesson he had taught us prior to that when he went into the Garden of Gethsemane, and as we walked into the Garden of Gethsemane, I bowed my head in thankfulness to the Savior.
Before his crucifixion, he, too, sought strength from his Father that he could meet that test, and how he met it! Others who had been tortured would scream and condemn and curse, but he had taught the spirit of love all his life, and now he was faced with that test, and how he measured up to it in the face of all that suffering we probably cannot understand. Then from his lips burst forth those great words, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do", and I thought then and there if Jesus the Christ, the Savior of the world, could say and feel that way after all the torture, agony, and suffering which he had received, surely he taught us the great lesson of love and forgiveness, and I pledged that I would never hold hatred or bitterness or jealousy or anything like that in my heart toward anyone again. What a lesson Jesus had taught the world!
Before his crucifixion, as President Clark just stated, he told his disciples that he would come forth on the third day, and that word soon spread among the people, and a strong guard was then placed over the tomb to see that his not stolen by his friends. No, his body was not stolen. An angel from heaven came down and rolled the stone away, and Jesus came forth from the tomb on the third day as he had said he would, and even then, those close to him could not believe. You remember the story of Thomas. He had to see and feel before he could understand that the Savior had risen. Here was the mission of Jesus, death and resurrection.
Then as the guide took us back into the Garden of Gethsemane-that is the place where Jesus loved to go and pray-the guide said of all places which brought comfort to the Savior, it was the Garden of Gethsemane. Here he sought strength and wanted God's help in facing such an ordeal. Yes, he enjoyed having his disciples go with him. Some of them could not understand and did not quite recognize his purposes, but he did not go there to ask the Lord to save his life or to spare his life. He was not afraid to die. That was part of his mission, and he so regarded it. No, he prayed to his Father to give him sustaining patience and power of decision to meet that test as he would be called upon to meet it.
No wonder he was calm; no wonder he was lovable and kind. Even in the face of that torture and suffering. God had prepared him to meet this crisis.
Then the guide took us upon the Mount of Olives; some would say that the Sermon on the Mount was given there, but others would not agree; regardless, that great preachment, probably the greatest preachment of all time, the Sermon on the Mount, should be our guide today, in business, in education, in religion, in all of our phases of life. Oh, it will do us good to read the Sermon on the Mount, and it will make us better people if we will practice its teachings.
Then, as the guide said, "From this spot Jesus ascended to heaven, and that is the last that we have any record of the Savior of the world, the Redeemer of mankind," I felt more grateful than ever in my life that I could carry that story a little farther. I said to the guide, "No, this was not the end of Jesus the Christ, the Redeemer of the world, the Savior of mankind," and I know the guide was sincere when he said, "No, we have no other record of anything on Jesus since he ascended from this place to be with his Father."
Then I told him as best I could in the little time I had that he did reappear again with God the Father to the boy Prophet, Joseph Smith, in another wooded area. He was interested, but I am sure he could not accept this on that first interview, but I only hope and pray that this intelligent guide will read and study so that he can carry that story on to the time when the gospel was restored again. When I went back to my room, I locked my door and knelt down and thanked God more humbly, I think, than I have ever done before in my life for the teachings, the mission, the resurrection, of the Lord Jesus and the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.
Some would say he was a great teacher. Some of the world like to leave it at that. Oh, no, he was more than just a great teacher. He was the Son of God. He was the Redeemer of the world, and he did appear just as surely to the Prophet Joseph in the Sacred Grove as he appeared to his disciples in Jerusalem.
May God bless us that we may appreciate these blessings that have come to us, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Thomas E. McKay
Thomas E. McKay, Conference Report, October 1954, pp. 43-45
President McKay, Counselors, President Smith and other General Authorities of the Church, my brethren and sisters and friends:
I appreciate more than I can express in words the privilege of being here this morning, to express to you all my love and my thankfulness, for these General Authorities, for all my brethren and sisters, and my loved ones. I want you to know that I appreciate your thoughtfulness in my behalf, I trust that I will merit this kindness throughout my life. I am grateful, especially, to my Father in heaven for his many blessings, for answering your prayers for me. I am a great believer in prayer. "More things," we are told "are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of," and I know that is true. I know that prayers have been answered; otherwise I would not be here.
I was very thankful to hear announced this morning that Sister Lohner, Margrit Feh Lohner, would conduct the singing, and that Elder Edwin Q. Cannon would offer the invocation. Sister Lohner, or Margrit Feh as we knew her in Europe, was just a little girl when I met her first in the Sunday School. She was the life of the Sunday School in Zurich, Switzerland. Brother Cannon was one of my missionaries, and a wonderful missionary he was. This makes me feel more at home.
I love the gospel, brethren and sisters, and with President Clark who has just delivered a wonderful address and the others who have spoken yesterday and today, I bear my testimony with them that the gospel is true, that the gospel has been given to us for our happiness, not altogether in the life to come, but in this life. I think the Lord has meant that we should be happy here and not wait until the hereafter, and I know we can be.
"Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy", joy in this life, and the greatest joy that any person can have is through obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. It has been given to us for that purpose, that we might have joy, and I testify to you that through obedience to the gospel we will be happy, the happiest people in the world. I believe we are, today, because of the gospel. I like the expression, too, in the Declaration of Independence:
... 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.
We all like that expression, "the pursuit of happiness."
God help us to understand the gospel, and to live it, and to appreciate it. It is a beautiful world. These beautiful flowers, how they add to the enjoyment of all of us, more than we realize! I was delighted, too, more than I can express, that the brethren and sisters in Hawaii remembered the wives of the Authorities, and sent them beautiful orchids. That touched my heart.
Our wives and our mothers are too often forgotten in this world, and, brethren and sisters, you cannot estimate what they mean toe of us, and I think that we should express our appreciation for them more than we do. We men love our wives, of course, but we take it too much for granted, I think, sometimes, and we forget to tell them that we love them. We go home from our work at the office, a little tired, find a wonderful meal prepared for us. What do we do? Get the newspaper, get it in our left hand, and then swallow the meal down with our right, not knowing sometimes what we are eating even. Our wives have spent a lot of time preparing the meal for us, and it would not hurt us to express our appreciation. I think that some of the wives have not had a bouquet of flowers since before we were married. We used to take them a bouquet once in a while when we were "sparking" them, as we say, a box of candy perhaps, and that is the last they have had. It would not hurt us occasionally; in fact, it would help us as well as them, if they were remembered. Many of us do not know when their birthday is; we do not remember the anniversary of our marriage; these little things we forget. My favorite theme is appreciation; I like to talk along this line. My favorite song is "There is beauty all around when there's Love at Home," and I like to hear that. I am glad the home was mentioned so often yesterday. In fact, I appreciate everything that has been done and said in this conference, the singing yesterday and the singing today, the sermons that have been delivered. I am glad I am in harmony with them.
I have not time, it would not be wise to take more time to develop some of these principles. President Clark did it so beautifully this morning, and I am in harmony with everything he said. God bless him and the other Authorities of the Church, they have been very kind to me, and I want to testify to you that I am here today because of their faith, because of the authority of the priesthood which they bear, and with which they used that authority in laying their hands upon my head while I was lying in the hospital. I love these brethren with all my heart, and I love you, my brethren and sisters.
I love the gospel, as I say. There are many tourists in our midst that come and go. I wish they would call at the Bureau of Information, or perhaps the Church Office Building and ask for a little card on which are printed our Articles of Faith. They are wonderful. Many of these tourists do not know whether we are Christians or not, for example they ask: "Where do you fit in? Are you Protestants?" "No." "Are you Catholics?" "No." "Well, what are you?" "We are members of the Church of Jesus Christ. Jesus is our head. It is his Church to which we belong." Our First Article of Faith would answer that question. "We believe in God, the eternal Father, and in his son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost". And then the other articles-they are very short. It is wonderful how concisely they are written, and yet how instructive they are.
We are thought by some to be a little narrow. Well, the gospel is for all. "We believe that through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved"-not just Mormons, but "all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel". And so on down.
We love all mankind. "We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience," another article says, "and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may".
And the thirteenth article is my favorite:
"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." Then in conclusion, "If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things".
Brethren and sisters, it would be well for all of us to learn these Articles of Faith, as well as the tourists, and not only learn them, but also live them, and may God help us so to do, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Oscar A. Kirkham
Oscar A. Kirkham, Conference Report, October 1954, pp. 45-47
I humbly pray that the Lord will bless me. I take the privilege of letting my first words be those of appreciation. I bear my testimony to the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I pray daily to a personal God. I bear testimony to the divine mission of Jesus Christ, of Joseph Smith, and of President David O. McKay. I never utter these words and bear this testimony but something fine, something worthy within me swells my bosom and makes me proud, and yet extremely humble.
I am grateful for this song, "Come, come, ye Saints" that has just been sung. It truly is a classic among the Latter-day Saint people. And if President Clark will permit, I would love to read part of his eloquent tribute to this glorious, west land of pioneers. After expressing himself in his book, To Them of the Last Wagon, he finishes with these words:
Log cabins grew into adobe houses and these into buildings of brick and stone. A mighty Temple, dedicated to the work of the lord, rose in their midst, carved from the granite of canyon walls, the first of eight that this people were to build to the salvation of their dead. Meetinghouses everywhere welcomed the worshiper. Stores, banks, factories, mines, mills, smelters, came into being. Flocks and herds peopled the ranges. Schools and colleges came early and multiplied. The hive of industry became the symbol of a great commonwealth. Faith and strength and righteousness bore their fruit of comfort and safety and the joy of living.
All through the years the people have been blessed, even in their most dire need, blessed, they feel, beyond all other peoples on earth-blessed in their right to get and safely to keep the fruits of their own labors: blessed in their right peaceably to assemble, to discuss their grievances, to speak fully their minds, to print without let or hindrance what they thought and said: blessed to live under a reign of law and order: blessed to worship God according to the dictates of their consciences under the law of the land.
So we honor these men and women of iron will, of surpassing spirituality, of a trusting, living, simple faith. They have done their work: they have earned their reward, which God is bestowing upon them. None can rob them of the fruits of their labors. They are secure.
And now the natural, obvious question:
What of us? Can we keep and preserve what they wrought? Shall we pass on to our children the heritage they left us, or shall we lightly fritter it away? Have we their faith?... Can we do the thousands of little and big things that made them the heroic builders of a great church, a great commonwealth?
I bow in reverence, I humbly pray it shall ever be kept alive within my heart, a deep and abiding appreciation for that glorious sacrifice of men and women. I caught a bit of the spirit of it last month when I toured the Southwest Indian Mission. It was great to be down on the San Juan, down on the Colorado. It was great to see far-off on the cliff yonder, miles away, to see four great stalwart trees that the Pioneers had planted years ago. It humbled me greatly to stand at the graveside of those who sacrificed in the opening up of that great western country. Somehow I wished that I might have lived with them.
One day on this recent trip of the Southwest Indian Mission, a Navajo Indian boy, with a group of his little friends, was being taken to Southern California to live for the winter in the comfortable homes of Latter-day Saint people, to enjoy their hospitality and spiritual friendship. One little fellow with a little shattered suitcase was crying while his Navajo mother was drying her eyes, yet stoically standing by his side without a word to say, and another son, not so small, he was about sixteen years of age, courageously stood by. Great things have been accomplished by the boys of fourteen, fifteen, and sixteen: these are great years in a young man's life, and "Benjamin," the older Navajo boy, put his hand on the head of his little brother and said, "We don't cry." That was all. The little fellow braced himself to what was to him a great task, leaving mother and the other children. They drove away to a new home.
Thank God for "Come, come, ye Saints." Thank God for the people who pioneered the great wasteland of the Southwest and in many places restored it. I have in my heart also great gratitude toward the leadership of these early days in our Church.
When Brigham Young and Joseph Smith met for the first time, here are the words describing that meeting:
We proceeded to Kirtland and stopped at John P. Greene's, who had just arrived there with his family. We rested a few minutes, took some refreshments and started to see the Prophet. We went to his father's house and learned that he was in the woods chopping. We immediately repaired to the woods, where we found the Prophet, and two or three of his brothers, chopping and hauling wood. Here my joy was full at the privilege of shaking the hand of the Prophet of God, and receiving the sure testimony, by the spirit of prophecy, that he was all that any man could believe him to be as a true prophet.
Greatness meets chopping wood. No pomp, no ceremony! Brigham Young receives the true testimony.
Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers.
May I note other great attributes of the Latter-day Saint people: A great heritage, a humble, noble leadership; an all-participating membership. My, how we should thrill. It was inspiring to me yesterday, when President McKay said: "Every member of this Relief Society Singing Mothers Chorus has one other Church service job besides singing in this chorus." How lovely it is-nearly all members participating. That is the Latter-day Saint way.
Drive on the hillside here in Salt Lake City, if you have not done it before, and see the Primary Hospital, built for little children. It is a beautiful structure, and as you drive along think of its being built by pennies and the love of people and children-an all-participating membership!
Finally, these few words: The great objective, said President Richards to us the other day, of this conference, is the building of the kingdom of God on earth. Yes, missionaries by the thousands, the welfare program reaching out its aims to help and bless, temples being erected throughout the world, as we labor we are blessed.
"There are bridges, young men and young women, to be built, and we will build them. There are houses to make and we will light their windows. There are those who suffer, and we will ease their sorrow. There are divine blessings ever hovering about us."
I humbly pray that we may worthily continue these great blessings, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Delbert L. Stapley
Delbert L. Stapley, Conference Report, October 1954, pp. 47-49
I can think of easier ways, my brothers and sisters, to commence Church activity, than standing before you today.
I am grateful to be with you. A few days ago it was rather doubtful whether I could appear in conference, but I chanced to meet President McKay. He informed me I was scheduled to speak, and I felt if it were President McKay's desire that I speak to you, the Lord would bless and sustain me. When I arrived this morning, he suggested that I might be called on in this meeting, and of all things, I left my talk at home. I told him, however, that I was not sure that was the talk I should give. I therefore, need the inspiration and the blessings of the Lord with me. I ask for an interest in your faith and prayers.
Brothers and sisters, I would be most ungrateful if I failed to express gratitude and appreciation for the faith and the prayers of the Saints throughout the Church for my recovery from the illness that has inactivated me the past four months. I have been cognizant in many ways of your appeals for divine favor in my behalf, and I acknowledge to the Lord before you the healing blessings of his holy Spirit I am here today because of his blessings.
I want to express appreciation to my brethren of the General Authorities, whose brotherhood, love, affection, and faithful devotion I shall always remember with tender emotions and fond memories for the benefit of their administrations, their faith and prayers, in which all of you have taken a part and confirmed by your own supplications to God, the eternal Father of us all. From the depths of my heart I thank all of you, and express profound gratitude and appreciation for your kindness and for your love. I sincerely hope my appreciation can be adequately evidenced by my faithful devotion to the ministry of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, whose servant I am.
I bear witness to you that Jesus is the Christ, the Only Begotten Son of the living God, our Lord, Redeemer, Savior, and Advocate with the Father, the Light and Life of men, and the only name under heaven, given among men whereby salvation can be obtained.
I like these words from the Apostle John quoting the Savior to his disciples:
If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.
There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true.
Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth.
But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.
And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me.
John the Baptist so early bore witness that Jesus was the Christ. He had that most wonderful of opportunities of baptizing his Lord and witnessing the Holy Ghost descend upon him in the sign of a dove, confirming the Lord's Messiahship. The Apostle John later said, "If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater".
The God and Father of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, spoke from the heavens on the occasion of Christ's baptism and said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased". I think of that other occasion when Christ took Peter, James, and John with him on the Mount and was transfigured before them, Elias and Moses appeared, and then the voice of God from heaven again declared: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him".
If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater.
The ministry of Jesus of Nazareth is itself a witness and testimony that he was the Son of the living God. As we have heard this morning, Christ was crucified and arose from the grave in a glorious resurrection. He first appeared unto Cephas after his resurrection and then to his disciples, members of the Twelve. Later he appeared unto about five hundred brethren at once. For forty days following his resurrection, he personally ministered among men and taught them; he counseled and directed them in the ministry. They went forth testing of him that he was the Redeemer and Son of the living God. Later he was seen of Paul the Apostle, who also testified of him gloriously. The Savior stated: "... for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me".
There is the other witness, spoken of by Jesus, the witness of the Holy Ghost, that testified to the spirit of his disciples, that this was the Son of God who had called them, and whom they served. The two angels who stood by as he was received into heaven said he should so come in like manner as they had seen him go into heaven.
Shortly thereafter followed the long period of spiritual darkness, and then came the time for the last and most important of all God's dispensations to be ushered in; therefore, because of its importance, God the eternal Father and his Son Jesus Christ personally appeared to the boy, Joseph Smith, and informed him of his holy calling. Later Moroni, a resurrected prophet of the living God, from the Nephite nation, came to him and showed him where the plates were deposited that contained a record of a branch of God's people. This record Joseph later translated by the gift and power of God.
Three men were shown these plates by an angel of God and the voice of the Lord declared from heaven that the record was true and the translation correct, and they should to all the world. And then later eight men had the privilege of seeing these plates. All these men are witnesses to the divine calling of the Prophet Joseph Smith.
The Lord gave revelations to the Prophet Joseph singly upon many occasions; also to Joseph and Oliver Cowdery; also to Joseph and Martin Harris. Heavenly resurrected beings manifested themselves unto him and them and conferred upon them the gifts, the authorities, and the powers to officiate in all the affairs of God's kingdom. It seems fitting that the man who testified of the Savior, John the Baptist, has come and conferred upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, the Aaronic Priesthood, and that later the three men, Peter, James, and John, who were with the Savior on the Mount when he was transfigured before them, and God again testified of his Son, should come and confer upon the Prophet Joseph and Oliver Cowdery the Melchizedek Priesthood, the priesthood after the order of the Son of God that has to do with the spiritual endowments, authorities, and blessings of God's church.
My brothers and sisters, the Prophet, unschooled, unlearned, could not have given to the world what he was privilege to reveal unless God were with him. God inspired him in all that he did. There were living witnesses who testified to his divine calling for heavenly messengers had manifested this truth to several brethren. Surely if we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is more certain. The office of the Holy Ghost is to testify of the Father and Son, it is also the spirit of truth, and when it testifies to the spirit of men there comes an inward feeling whether a thing is true or whether it is not true. In the case of the Prophet, Joseph Smith, it was true, for men in his day and since have received that witness and testimony which the Holy Ghost itself manifests unto those who seek after truth.
And again the works of Joseph Smith-analyze them; everything about them indicates his prophetic calling. Where a testament is, there must of necessity be the death of a testator, and surely this was a testament unfolding and revealing again God's kingdom with all of its saving ordinances, principles, and divine powers. A testament is not of force until after men are dead. The Prophet gave his life to seal that testimony, and thus the sacrifice of his life becomes a witness to all men of the truth and power of his holy calling and ministry.
My brothers and sisters, before the Prophet Joseph Smith departed this life he conferred upon the Twelve all the keys, powers, and authority to carry forward this important work of the latter-day; that work has not stopped in its progress; it has gone forward; and the fruits of it are a witness to all people of its truth.
I bear testimony to you that the Presidents of the Church, our spiritual leaders who have followed Joseph Smith, are prophets of God. I cannot quote the exact words, but in the Thursday temple meeting of all the General Authorities, where we had gone in fasting and prayer in preparation for this great conference, President McKay said, "Brethren, I want to say to you that Christ is at the helm of this Church, and he is guiding it by his holy power."
I received a witness from the Spirit that President McKay's statement was true. I bear that witness to you, my brothers and sisters. I know that leaders of other churches might make similar statements, but would the Holy Ghost manifest the truth of it to their listeners? If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater, which witness all can receive from the Holy Ghost, for which I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, October 1954, pp. 50-55
My beloved brothers and sisters and friends, I approach this opportunity with fear and trembling, humility, and fasting and prayer.
It was my privilege in the month of August to attend the great pageant at Palmyra, and I sat entranced with some forty thousand others at the Hill Cumorah, looking up at that dark hill as the night came on. I heard the voices of those who took the parts of many prophets, Nephi, Jacob, Alma, Amulek, Ammon, and finally the prophet, Samuel the Lamanite, all prophesying as to the coming of the Savior of the world to them here on this continent.
It was inspirational as the program progressed to its conclusion, to see the beautiful picture as a Personage came above the hill. Because of the blackness under him, it appeared as though he stood in mid-air, with long white robes flowing in the breeze that blew from the top of the hill. I was inspired, and that inspiration has remained with me ever since. There was being portrayed the story of the coming of the Savior to this land when these thousands of people gathered at the temple, and were looking intently up toward heaven. They heard the voice, neither loud nor harsh, but a penetrating one, and it pierced their very souls. The third time they could understand, and they heard the voice say:
Behold my Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name- hear ye him.
Then came the voice of him who had appeared to these Nephite people saying:... I am Jesus Christ". His message then and before and since always to his people has been:
... to obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of rams.
So said the Prophet Samuel to the disobedient King Saul who lost his kingdom because of rebellion. The prophet warned Saul that he should discomfit his enemies but that he should not retain the spoils of war. But the bleating of the sheep and the lowing of the oxen revealed that Saul and his people had disobeyed the simple command of the Lord. Samuel chastised:
Hath the lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the lord?
... rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Saul asked forgiveness, but the prophet replied:
... thou hast rejected the word of the lord, and the lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.
In his arrogant and haughty state he took things in his own hands wholly disregarding the commandments of the Lord.
Samuel scolded:
... When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the lord anointed thee king over Israel?
Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the lord, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord?.
Saul rationalized. It was easy for him to obey as to the disposition of the kings, for what use were conquered kings? But why not keep the fat sheep and cattle? Was not his royal judgment superior to that of lowly Samuel? Who was Samuel that his words should be obeyed implicitly, and who would know anyway?
How like Saul are many in Israel today. One will live some of the Lord's revelation on health except that he must have his occasional cup of coffee; she will not use tobacco nor liquor for which she has no yearning anyway but must have the comforting cup of tea.
He will serve in a Church position, for here is activity which he likes and honor which he craves, or contribute to a chapel where his donation will be known, but rationalization is easy as to tithepaying which he finds so difficult. He cannot afford it-sickness or death has laid a heavy hand-he is not sure it is always distributed as he would have it done, and who knows anyway of his failure?
Another will attend some meetings but Saul-like rationalize as to the rest of the day. Why should he not see a ball game, a show, do his necessary yard work, or carry on business as usual?
Another would religiously attend his outward Church duties but resist any suggestions as to family frictions in his home life or family prayers when the family is so hard to assemble?
Saul was like that. He could do the expedient things but could find alibis as to the things which countered his own desires.
To obey! To hearken! What a difficult requirement! Often we hear: "Nobody can tell me what clothes to wear, what I shall eat or drink. No one can outline my Sabbaths, appropriate my earnings, nor in any way limit my personal freedoms! I do as I please! I give no blind obedience!"
Blind obedience! How little they understand! The Lord said through Joseph Smith:
Whatever God requires is right, no matter what it is, although we may not see the reason thereof until long after the events transpire.
When men obey commands of a creator, it is not blind obedience. How different is the cowering of a subject to his totalitarian monarch and the dignified, willing obedience one gives to his God. The dictator is ambitious, selfish, and has ulterior motives. God's every command is righteous, every directive purposeful, and all for the good of the governed. The first may be blind obedience, but the latter is certainly faith obedience.
The Patriarch Abraham, sorely tried, obeyed faithfully when commanded by the Lord to offer his son Isaac upon the altar. Blind obedience? No. He knew that God would require nothing of him which was not for his ultimate good. How that good could be accomplished he did not understand. He knew that he had been promised that through the seed of the miracle son Isaac should all the multitude of nations be blessed, and God having promised, it would be fulfilled. Undoubtedly questions arose in his mind as to how these things could be if Isaac were liquidated, but he knew that the Lord was just and would provide a way. Had not the Lord fulfilled the promise made wherein this very son was to be conceived when Abraham was old and Sarah far past the normal bearing period? In Hebrews, we read:
Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.
Abraham was now called upon to sacrifice this beloved son who as yet had no posterity. But with faith supreme, Abraham:
... offered up Isaac... accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead.
Knowing that God would make no capricious nor unnecessary demands, that the lad could be raised even from death if necessary, Abraham obeyed. A ram was provided.
Perhaps the criminal in the penitentiary obeys blindly, for here is compulsion. Most of his decisions are made for him. Somewhat comparable are dictator's subjects whose work, recreation, religion, and other activity are controlled and regimented. Here is blind obedience.
It was not blind faith when the patriarch Noah built an ark some forty-two centuries ago or when the prophet Nephi built a boat about twenty-five centuries ago. Each was commanded by the Lord to construct a seaworthy vessel. An unprecedented total flood was to envelop the earth in the one case and the greatest ocean to be crossed by the other. No experience of either builder could give guidance in these new adventures-no previous flood or ocean crossing had ever come in the life of either-there was nothing on which to base construction except directions from the Lord. Here was no blind obedience. Each knew the goodness of God and that he had purpose in his strange commands. And so each with eyes wide open, with absolute freedom of choice, built by faith. Noah's family was saved from physical drowning and spiritual decadence, and Nephi's people were saved likewise.
No swords nor bayonets, no famine nor pestilence drove the Lehites from the lush shores of Bountiful, but seeing obedience led them across uncharted oceans. The Lord had promised:
... inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to... a land which is choice above all other lands.
And with compliance born of faith and confidence, the vessel was finished, loaded, and launched.
There was no compulsion in Noah's movements-no blind obedience. It was not raining when this man of God made the craft which was to save his family. After its completion, a full week of dry weather preceded the storm. Here was obedience born in testimony of the power, sureness, justice And Noah's trust was justified, and a race was perpetuated.
When men speak of all faith and all obedience as blind, are they not covering their own weaknesses? Are they not seeking an alibi to justify their own failure to hearken?
A man obeys strictly the income tax law and pays fully and before due date his property taxes but justifies himself in disregarding the law of the Sabbath or the payment of tithes on time, if at all. In the one case he may suffer only deprivation of freedom or resources or lose his home or personal property, but in the other he opens doors to the loss of a soul. The spiritual as truly brings penalties as the temporal, the principal difference is the swiftness of punishment, the Lord being so long-suffering.
One would hardly call the first blind obedience, yet he sometimes regards the spiritual commands as such.
Is it blind obedience when the student pays his tuition, reads his text assignments, attends classes, and thus qualifies for his eventual degrees? Perhaps he himself might set different and easier standards for graduation, but he obeys every requirement of the catalog whether or not he understands its total implication.
Is it blind obedience when one regards the sign "High Voltage-Keep Away" or is it the obedience of faith in the judgment of experts who know the hazard?
Is it blind obedience when the air traveler fastens his seat belt as that sign flashes or is it confidence in the experience and wisdom of those who know more of hazards and dangers?
Is it blind obedience when the little child gleefully jumps from the table into the strong arms of its smiling father, or is this implicit trust in loving parent who feels sure of his catch who loves the child better than life itself?
Is it blind obedience when an afflicted one takes vile-tasting medicine prescribed by his physician or yields his own precious body to the scalpel of the surgeon or is this the obedience of faith in one in whom confidence may safely be imposed?
Is it blind obedience when the pilot guides his ship between the buoys which mark the reefs and thus keeps his vessel in deep water or is it confidence in the integrity of those who have set up protective devices?
Is it then blind obedience when we, with our limited vision, elementary knowledge, selfish desires, ulterior motives, and carnal urges, accept and follow the guidance and obey the commands of our loving Father who begot us, created a world for us, loves us, and has planned a constructive program for us, wholly without ulterior motive, whose greatest joy and glory is to "bring to pass the immortality and eternal life" of all his children?
Blind obedience it might be when no agency exists, when there is regimentation, but in all of the commands of the Lord given through his servants, there is total agency free of compulsion. Some remonstrate that agency is lacking where penalties are imposed and condemnations threatened-to be damned for rejecting the gospel seems harsh to some and to take away free agency. This is not true, for the decision is ours-we may accept or reject, comply or ignore.
In all of our life activities it is the same-we may attend college or stay away from the campus; we may apply ourselves to our studies or waste our time; we may fulfil all requirements or ignore them. The decision is ours; the agency is free.
We may take the medicine or secretly pour it down the drain; we may yield our bodies to the surgeon's knife or refuse his service; we may follow paths or get lost in the jungle; but we cannot avoid the penalties of disobedience to law.
We may speed one hundred miles an hour, park our car against fireplugs, drive on the wrong side of the road, resist arrest, rob a bank, but we will pay penalties sooner or later, even the utmost farthing. No soul is clever enough to evade penalties indefinitely or to counter this extensive and basic law of retribution. Without free agency men would be lifeless, limp weaklings, and worthless to themselves and to the world.
Our heavenly Father, knowing all things, gave us this fundamental law of free agency. He could force our obedience, compel our goodness, regiment our acts, but that would make of us spineless creatures without will or purpose, or destiny.
Our Lord wept bitterly when he saw his creatures breaking his commandments in the pre-deluge days, but he refrained from force. They must have their agency:
The Lord said unto Enoch: Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto them their knowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his agency.
They were permitted to ignore the warnings of the prophets till their cup of iniquity was full, ran over, and flooded the world and drowned its inhabitants.
Rewards for faithfulness and penalties for disobedience are certain. God is longsuffering, patient, and kind, where as men and natural laws are often swift and cruel.
Our righteous and wise parents, Adam and Eve, were exemplary in the matter of obedience born of childlike faith:
... And Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord.
And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not save the Lord commanded me.
And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.
Blind obedience? Assuredly not. They had known Jehovah, heard his voice, walked with him in the Garden of Eden, and knew of his goodness, justice, and understanding. And so for "many days" they killed the blemishless lambs and offered them without knowing why, but in total confidence that there was righteous purpose in the law and that the reason would unfold later after compliance.
Obedience was paramount in the healing of the lepers. They cried:
Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.
It is certain that the priests made no contribution to the healing. The ten had probably lived all their lives in the jurisdiction of the priests who are not own ever to have healed lepers. The miracle happened when, but not until, they obeyed in every detail. No blind obedience here. These lepers knew Christ would not fail them. They had faith not only in his power but also in his goodness and integrity.
So also did the man born blind move toward wholeness of sight, yet he obeyed the voice of authority. Questioned by the skeptical Pharisees as to his unparalleled sight recovery, he stoutly maintained,
He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see.
... He is a prophet.
... one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.
A simple little formula it was. A little spittle, a little clay, a simple anointing, a simple command, and an act of faith obedience; and darkness was replaced with light. "Lord, I believe", he said as he worshiped in gratitude. Blind obedience, would you say? It was a blind man, but a seeing obedience. The Savior had:
... spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.
And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam... He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
How simple the process! How gentle the command! How faithful the obedience! How glorious the reward!
Strange-we provide pure, sterile tissue for spittle and forbid expectorating even on sidewalks.
We bathe with soap, scrub with disinfectants, and scald dishes, pots, and pans with boiling water to kill the germs from the filth of clay.
We use for culinary purposes and especially in hospitals and sickrooms only water purified by chemical processes.
But here the Master disregarded all our rules of sanitation and prescribed spittle, germ-ridden clay, and impure water from the contaminated pool of Siloam which bathed the sweaty bodies of laborers and the sore bodies of the sick and diseased.
Is there healing in mere clay to make eyes see? Is there medicinal value in the spittle to cure infirmities? Are there curative properties in the waters of Siloam to open eyes of congenital blind? The answer is obvious. The miracle was conceived in the womb of faith and born and matured in the act of obedience.
Had the command involved oil instead of spittle, herbs instead of clay, and waters of a pure bubbling spring instead of filthy Siloam, the result would have been the same. But some would have said that oil and herbs and pure water had healed the eyes, but even the untrained must know that these could not cure one. Consequently, only one conclusion could be drawn: The unparalleled miracle was positively the result of faith obedience. But had the sightless one disobeyed any of the phases of the command, he would indubitably have suffered till death with continued blindness.
Though there is no compulsion, the spiritual laws of today must also be obeyed if blessings are to be realized, for as the Lord has said:
I, the lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.
And:
Mine arm is kindled against the rebellious.
And:
And the rebellious shall be pierced with much sorrow; for their iniquities shall be spoken upon the housetops, and their secret acts shall be revealed.
And:
Behold, I, the lord, utter my voice, and it shall be obeyed.
Wherefore, verily I say, let the wicked take heed, and let the rebellious fear and tremble; and let the unbelieving hold their lips, for the day of wrath shall come upon them as a whirlwind, and all flesh shall know that I am God.
And my people must needs be chastened until they learn obedience, if it must needs be, by the things which they suffer.
And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.
And so we render intelligent, constructive obedience when we voluntarily, humbly, and happily obey the commands of our Lord:
1. Be ye clean who bear the vessels of the Lord.
2. Thou shalt go to the house of prayer upon my holy day.
3. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse.
4. Honor the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.
5. Ye are the temple of God-defile it not with liquor, tobacco, tea, and coffee.
6. Repent or suffer.
7. Bow down upon thy knees before the Lord.
8. Judge not that ye be not judged.
9. Except a man be born of the water and of the spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
10. A man must enter into the new and everlasting covenant to be exalted.
11. Woe unto those who come not unto this priesthood.
May God bless all of us, members of his Church, and all others, in the great world which he has created and peopled to live and obey his commandments, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder LeGrand Richards
LeGrand Richards, Conference Report, October 1954, pp. 56-60
I feel grateful, my brothers and sisters, for the privilege of attending this conference with you. I have been built up and strengthened; and as I have counted my blessings before the Lord, for which I thank him, I realize that most of them are because of my membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I do not know what the Lord could add more than he has. I believe I am one of the happiest men in all the world. I thank him for membership in his great Church. I thank him for the Holy Priesthood that I bear. I thank him for the hope of obtaining eternal life with my loved ones, my wife and children, my father and mother, and brothers and sisters, and with these my brethren of the General Authorities, and you the Saints of Zion, obedience to the laws and the ordinances of the gospel. Of that I have a positive assurance in my heart, I know we have the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I thank the Lord for these, my brethren, for President McKay and his Counselors. I know they are prophets of God, and I know the Lord is inspiring them in their work. They are great leaders, and I thank the Lord for them and for the Twelve, and for all the General Authorities, and while I feel the least among them, I feel grateful for their companionship. I honor them, and I revere them, and I thank God for the many gifts they possess for the building of his kingdom, and I testify to you that they are men who have consecrated their lives to this great work in which we are engaged.
And I thank him for you, the Saints of Zion. There are many noble leaders in the stakes and wards, the auxiliaries and the boards of this Church, and I love you. You are wonderful. I can best express my regard for you in the words of Peter of old to the Saints of his day. He said:
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 darkness into his marvelous light.
And it is because we have been called out of darkness into his marvelous light that we can be so happy and enjoy the blessings that are ours.
I thank the Lord for the great missionary system of this Church, that is sharing with the honest in heart the world over the blessings that are ours, when they are willing to heed the voice of the servants of God who are sent unto them. At the present time the Church is probably engaged in its greatest missionary effort in its entire history. That is because of the great leadership we have. Only a few conferences ago President Richards invited all men everywhere, in and out of the Church, to unite in building the kingdom of God in the earth. What more could he ask from righteous men and women the world over?
When the Christ was asked to teach his disciples to pray, after duly saluting the Father, the first thing he taught them to pray for was, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven". And that is what we pray for daily, and that is what we work for, and we have the positive assurance through our faith and through the testimony of the Holy Ghost that we are not praying nor working in vain, for the kingdom of God has been set up in the earth, and we are privileged to lend our strength to help establish it among men and carry it to the nations of the earth.
In giving the dream of Nebuchadnezzar and its interpretation, the Prophet Daniel said: "But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days". And then he saw the establishment of this work that we are engaged in and that it should become ultimately as a great mountain and fill the whole earth. I know that is true. There is a God in heaven that made known that secret, and we know it by the power and the testimony of the Holy Ghost.
Then I think it was in our last conference, or the one before, that President McKay invited all of us as members of the Church to be missionaries for the Church. We just could not have the Church of Jesus Christ without the spirit of missionary work.
After the Savior was resurrected and appeared to his Apostles, he sent them into all the world to preach the gospel, to every creature, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. He said,
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.
The missionary work was not to end back in those early days, because when his disciples asked for the sign of his second coming, he told them of the wars and the rumors of wars and pestilence, and earthquakes and the fall of nations, then he added,"... this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come". So the preaching of the gospel unto all nations is an evidence that the end is near at hand. Because Jesus knew that his Church would continue this great missionary work, he told his disciples, "... and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world".
The Saints of Zion have responded to the call of these, the Presidency of the Church, as they have never done before. We find from our records that during the first eight months of this year we have baptized 10,929 converts, those who have come to know the truth. That does not include the baptisms of the children of members. That is a tremendous growth and increase in the work of the Lord.
And then when you go among the Saints and interview the prospective missionaries and go into the mission fields and interview the missionaries and find the spirit that God is endowing them with, you just know that this cannot be the work of man. It is the work of God; no man could do what the Lord has done.
To me, the missionary system of this Church is one of the greatest institutions the world has ever known. In no other way has there been such evidence of sacrifice and devotion and love and loyalty to God and to his work as in great missionary work of his Church. We find it difficult at times to turn members down who want to go on missions. One of my good friends was getting up in years and I tried to persuade him he was too old to go on a mission, and he said, "Well, Brother Richards, what could I do that would be more wonderful than to die in the service of the Lord?" Another good brother came to me who had been on a mission with his wife and said, "If I sell my home and automobile, we can go on another mission"-willing to give the last that they had in order to accomplish this missionary work, and that is the spirit we find wherever we go.
A young man reporting his mission a short time ago, who was himself a convert to the Church, came down with his fist on the pulpit and said, "I would not take a check for a million dollars for the experience of my mission."
And the brethren made a call for the Saints who could afford it to send in some of their surplus funds to help carry on the missionary work with some of these young people in foreign missions where they are not prospered and blessed as we are here in America, and the response has been wonderful, and every time a remittance comes you feel to thank the Lord for the faith of him who sent it.
While I was still the Presiding Bishop, following a general conference, I received a letter from a lady schoolteacher in Nevada. She said, "It was said in conference that fifty-five dollars a month was the average cost of a missionary. I am enclosing my check for that amount, and I will send a like amount for each month for the next two years to keep a missionary in the field, because it is not possible for me to go myself."
As long as the Lord will put such feelings in the hearts of the members of his Church, no one can stop his work from growing.
A few years ago I had a conversation with a man who came to the office while I was Presiding Bishop to interest the Church in a business proposition. We drifted into a discussion of religion. I said, "Do you love the Lord?" He said, "I do." I said, "Do you love him enough that you would be willing to join the Mormon Church, if you knew the Lord wanted you to?" And he thought for a few minutes, and said, "I do." Then I said, "As one of his servants, I want to promise you that if you will investigate our message and get down on your knees before the Lord, you can know that this is the work of God, just as much as you know anything in this world."
A few weeks ago he was in Salt Lake City and called to see if my wife and I would take lunch with him and his wife. He is now a high priest in the Church, and he said, "But, Bishop, why couldn't I have heard the gospel thirty years ago, so that I could have had the joy of service in the Church all through these years?"
Such a testimony makes one realize what the gospel means to a new convert.
I had a man sit in my office not long ago, and some of the brethren know him. He served for over thirty years as a minister of the gospel in a sectarian church, and then through contact with our missionaries he joined the Church, and he said, "When I think of how little I had as a minister of the gospel to offer to my people as compared to what I now have in the fulness of the gospel as it has been restored, I want to go back and tell all of my friends what I have found. But now, he said, "they won't listen to me; I am an apostate from their church." But such was the joy he had found in his membership in the Church.
I was visiting in a stake of Zion not long ago, and the president told me this story. And he is here today. He said a Jewish boy came into the stake during the war, serving in the armed forces, and he fell in love with a Mormon girl, and he married her; she converted him, and he joined the Church. Then he went back to see his people in the east, and they disinherited him, and he said to his father and mother, "You can't disinherit me. What I have found out there among the Mormons is worth more than all the money this family ever owned." And then he said to the president, "How long will I have to wait to get into the temple with this lovely wife of mine, so I will be sure she is mine forever?"
Such is the joy the gospel brings to the new convert.
I had a man come to my office when I was in the mission field. He said, "When I think of who I was and what I was when the gospel found me and what I am today," he said, "I just can't believe that I am the same person. I do not think the same thoughts; I don't have the same habits; I don't have the same ideals in life." He said, "I have literally been born again."
And that is what Paul meant when he said,
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
And I knew that man walked in a newness of life.
I received a letter while I was Presiding Bishop from a young man converted while in the armed forces, then living in Kansas. He sent a check for his tithing, and then he added, "Bishop, do you think we are doing all we ought to do to try and tell the world of the marvelous work and a wonder the Lord has established in the earth in our day?"
They do not all come too easy. We have to break through the walls of prejudice. One of my friends turned many a missionary away, and then I happened to make a friend of him and got into his home, and when he could not handle the situation and his minister would not, he went to the plant where he was the foreman and said to the employees, "If any of you know any ministers who are not afraid of the Mormon elders, I would surely like to get in touch with them. I don't care what church they belong to," and so for the next few months we had a different minister every week. It was one of the most interesting experiences of my entire life. But every time they would leave, he would say, "Well, you have made me nearer a Mormon than I was before," and one day he put his feet up on the table, smoking his big cigar and said, "Brother Richards, I would give all I own if I could prove that you are wrong." I said, "I know you would. You have never wanted to prove that we are right. But," I said, "I want to thank you for bearing your testimony that we have brought you the truth. If you have tried with all the help you have had through these weeks to prove we are wrong, and you have been unsuccessful, there is only one other answer, and that is you have proved that we are right. Now," I said, "there are just two things: You are either going to decide that you will accept the Lord's work and help build his kingdom or you are going to kick against the pricks and I remind you what the Savior said to Saul on the way to Damascus: '...it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks'". Well, he told me when we first commenced visiting him that he had all the religion he wanted, he knew he had faith in God, and he believed in God, and the only way I could get him to understand that there might be truths he did not have, was to tell him that if he had never seen a light greater than a candle, he would not believe that he was in the darkness, but when he saw real light, then he would know that the candle was not sufficient. Well, he joined the Church right after that and came and visited me-I had been transferred-he was old enough to be my daddy, and he took me in his arms and said, "Brother Richards, I didn't think a man could be as happy as I am." I said, "I thought you had plenty before." "Oh, but I didn't know," he said.
Now I want to say to you Latter-day Saints, and President McKay has called all of you to be missionaries for the Church. I hope you will not be afraid. I hope you know that this is the work of God and not the work of man. I hope you know that if your neighbors and your relatives and friends will hunger and thirst after righteousness, that you can promise them that if they will investigate and get down on their knees, I care not what church they belong to, they will find in the message you have for them the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and I tell you you ought not to be afraid to promise them that, because I know that if they are sincere, your promises will be fulfilled.
Before I close, I want to read to you a few excerpts from letters from a lady who wrote to the Bureau of Information. The first letter was in November of 1953:
"Will you please inform me about your Church, its origin, its history, and present-day aims, enterprises, and ideals? I would appreciate this information first-handed and believe you will be better to supply it than vague and often misleading hearsay can. If your Church is the one I have been seeking for fifty-three years and never found, so far, in any Christian Church or 'off color' religious societies-from theosophy to free thought, I might be able to contribute, as well as receive benefits. I am not a chronic, curiosity, seeking person nor an habitual joiner. The brethren sent her some literature to read, and then she wrote back under date of December 18, 1953. I am just quoting parts of her letter:
"I do not want to appear 'gushy,' but I will say this for your religion. I find it interesting; it quickens within me a feeling-what shall I call it-a gladness? Like a beautiful song I might have known long, long ago, and had lost and forgotten, in a way both sublime and sorrowful." What did Jesus say? "These things have I spoken unto you... that your joy might be full", and the gospel quickens something within the soul of man such as he has never known before. She said, "I had investigated, studied, and discarded Protestant creeds by the time I was fifteen. I unconsciously turned to pantheism, love of nature, therein finding God, for I perceived life in all elements and things. I even studied Catholicism, but backed off when I was told that unbaptized infants, though they did not go to hell, went to their special limbo, but never saw the face of God. Agnostically, I asked, 'Is a God that merciless and cruel worth having his face looked upon?' I am glad to find a Church courageous and sensible enough to teach the absurdity of infant baptism." And then last July after having been baptized a member of the Church, she wrote: "I now have a serenity and composure, and inner strength, and an inward joy which I never before possessed. Do all souls receiving enlightenment exclaim within their silent hearts, feeling compassion for a blind groping and grieving world: 'Oh, suffering world! I come... I come!'"
Each of us should be ready and willing to answer such a call. We ought to be ready to go and give all we can to bring these people to a knowledge of the truth that they might share with us the joy that is ours.
When you read a statement like that of how this woman ought without finding the truth, it makes you understand the words of Roger Williams who gave up his pastorate in the oldest Baptist Church of America and gave this as the reason:
There is no regularly constituted Church of Christ, on earth, nor any person authorized to administer any Church ordinance, nor can there be until new Apostles are sent by the great Head of the Church, for whose coming I am seeking.
Isn't it marvelous that He has come, that the great Head of the Church has given us again Apostles and Prophets and that the Church of Christ is in our midst, built upon the foundation of Apostles and Prophets with Christ our Lord as the chief cornerstone?
I bear you solemn witness that I know that this is true and the power of God is in this work for the blessing of every honest soul in the world who is willing to come and to pay the price by keeping his commandments.
God help us to do our part, and God bless all who are doing it, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Levi Edgar Young
Levi Edgar Young, Conference Report, October 1954, pp. 60-63
President McKay; brethren and sisters: We have had a number of visitors today, many of whom were Methodists who came from Australia. They seemed to be pleased with their visit to this building and what they heard. There is now in the congregation the superintendent of schools of Copenhagen, Denmark. With him are others from that country. We remember well of being in our city and visiting the university that you represent. You graduated from there, you tell me, and we recall that above the gates of your campus there is a great eagle done in bronze, something like our eagle on the Eagle Gate, just east of here. Underneath your bronze eagle is a Latin expression which I recall. It runs coelestem adspicit lucem. The eagle is looking toward the celestial light and this recalls the real motive, why the Latter-day Saints are meeting in this building today. I may say to you that we are looking toward the celestial light and this expression comes to me as I recall the beautiful eagle and the Latin expression that you know so well.
When the general conference comes around, we note that the Relief Society of the Church has its meetings with the sisters who come from all parts of the world where there are members, most of whom are mothers in this great organization. The mothers have played a great part in our history, for they have given birth and reared men who have been honored by the priesthood of God. How the have preserved the sacredness of family life! You recall with proud appreciation the pioneer mother on the Seagull Monument here, a masterpiece by Mahonri Young. The figure of the mother expresses dignity, energy, tenderness, and endurance. The face is a familiar type of character and gentleness, which give it a certain aloofness. The influence of the monument is one of deep thought and faith in life and God. Benjamin Ide Wheeler wrote these words concerning the pioneer mother:
Over rude paths beset with hunger and risk, she pressed on toward the vision of a better country. To an assemblage of men busy with the perishable rewards of the day, she brought the threefold leaven of enduring society-faith, gentleness, and home, with the nurture of children.
* * * * * *
Though I speak to the seventies during the few minutes I have to give a message, I realize that whatever truth is uttered is a lesson to all the brethren holding the priesthood of God. The seventies have a specific calling which none of us can forget.
Taking their name from the number of our Lord's disciples, the seventies form the central council for the missionary activity of the Church. From the be inning of their organization in 1835, the seventies have felt the need for a complete reference library, and in Times and Seasons, January 1, 1845, the following item was published:
Among the improvements going forward in this city, none merit higher praise, than the Seventies' Library. The concern has been commenced on a footing and scale, broad enough to embrace the arts and sciences everywhere, so that the Seventies' while traveling over the face of the globe, as the Lord's "Regular Soldiers," can gather all the curious things, both natural and artificial, with all the knowledge, inventions, and wonderful specimens of genius that have been gracing the world for almost six thousand... the foundation for the best library in the world.
After the destruction of Nauvoo, the dreams of the people were never lost, and on April 7, 1851, we read in the fifth general epistle of the Church, describing Salt Lake City, the following:
On November 27th, the quorum of Seventies in conference assembled, agreed to erect an extensive rotunda in Great Salt Lake City, to be called the "Seventies' Hall of Science," and Joseph Young, their president, was appointed trustee and superintendent of the work.
Truman O. Angell, the architect of the Salt Lake Temple, was commissioned to draw the plans for the building. The large drawing that was made by Elder Angell was found many years later and was photographed and produced in an article published by the Utah State Historical Review in July 1946.
Had the project been carried through, the structure would have possessed unusual architectural interest. It had majesty and beauty that surpassed any building of its kind on the American frontier in originality and dignity. It was designed to be the repository not only of the seventies' library, but also for the library brought to Utah in 1851. Owing to the poverty of the people who were just beginning to establish their homes, President Brigham Young prevailed upon his brother Joseph, president of the seventies, not to build it for some years to come. For this reason, the edifice was never started. The seventies continued collecting books, however, and they soon had a fine library of the modern and ancient classics of literature. Among these books were:
The Holy Bible, the Works of John Locke, The Germania of Tacitus, Goethe's Faust, History of the Holy Land, Paley's Natural Theology, Bunyon's Pilgrim's Progress, Commodore Perry's Japan Expedition, Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, Wonders of Nature by Josiah Priest, Ainsworth's Latin Dictionary, Hackenberg's Greek Grammar, Southey's Lord Nelson, Marco Polo's Travels, Charles Darwin's Voyage of a Naturalist.
These few titles mentioned indicate the types of history and literature that the seventies were bringing together. The lesson of what such books contain will ever be truths that we should remember. The literature of the ages that has been preserved, conveys the thought that men had knowledge of great truths that have influenced humanity and have brought the civilization we have today. I recall that at the close of a lecture of William James at Harvard University, the learned philosopher uttered these words:
I have had much comfort lately in meditating on the passages which show the personality of the Holy Ghost, and his distinctness from the Father and the Son. It is a subject that requires searching into to find out, but when realized, gives one so much more true and lively a sense of the fullness of the Godhead, and its work in us, than when only thinking of the Spirit in its effect upon us.
President Brigham Young issued the following in 1850:
It is very desirable that all the Saints should improve every opportunity of securing at least a copy of every valuable treatise on education-very book, map, chart, or diagram that may contain interesting, useful, and attractive matter, to gain the attention of children and cause them to love to learn to read; and also every historical, mathematical, philosophical, geographical, geological, astronomical, scientific, practical, and all other variety of useful and interesting writings, maps, etc., to present to the general church recorder when they shall arrive at their destination, from which important and interesting matter may be gleaned to compile the most valuable works on every science and subject, for the benefit of the rising generation. We have a printing press, and any one who can take good printing or writing paper to the valley will be blessing themselves and the church. We also want all kinds of mathematical instruments, together with all rare specimens of natural curiosities and works of art that can be gathered.
Seldom can one read a sentence that expresses a more thoughtful ideal than the one the Prophet Joseph Smith gave us when he wrote:
And as all have not faith, 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.
It is a beautiful concept, for good books on history and fine literary writings give us the great discoverers and interpreters of life. They take us into an intellectual world and lend themselves to our uses and give themselves joyfully to our companionship. Nothing is more gratifying and inspiring in our intellectual lives than the lessons given by good books, and by good books we mean the best of the world's literature. As we study the history of the early-day missionaries of the Church, we find them men of books.
In the prayer of the Prophet Joseph Smith offered at the dedication of the temple at Kirtland, Ohio, March 27, 1836, are these words:
And do thou grant, Holy Father, that all those who shall worship in this house may be taught words of wisdom out of the best books, and that they may seek learning even by study, and also by faith, as thou hast said.
We are living in an age of books, written on all subjects and from many viewpoints. To train ourselves to seek knowledge out of the best of books is an admonition that we should carefully and most sincerely remember. To know what good books are is an art. Any missionary can have a list of the world's best literature from people who know what good literature is. Learn to read the best, however, and in time the gospel will become a field of immortal thoughts. "The beauty of a great book," says Emerson, "is the beauty of one's own mind." Think for a moment of the Holy Bible.
The Book of Genesis stands indeed at the head of the literature of the world. It is more recent than some of the writings of Chaldea or Egypt which have come down to us, and is incomparably the noblest composition of early ages, in its moral and spiritual characteristics.
However highly we may estimate the scientific, philosophic, and religious genius of the narrators of Genesis, I-III, more important to us, and for the religious instruction of youth, is the fact that they were men, who had surrendered themselves wholly to God, and who' had derived their knowledge from Him.
"The first leaf of the Mosaic record," says Jean Paul, "has more weight than all the folios of men of science and philosophers." "And he is right," says Geikie, "for we owe to it, the earliest and grandest revelation of that first principle of all religion-the existence, the unity, the personality, and the moral government of God."
Every student of Church history knows about the high school established in the Kirtland Temple. The students were taught English by reading the best literature and the ancient classics. The principal of the school was Professor H. M. Hawes. There were also established Hebrew, Greek, and Latin classes; the professor of Hebrew was Joshua Seixas. I have found out that the attendance at these classes on the part of the elders was very large, and we have from the records the statement of how the Prophet Joseph Smith attended night in and night out the Hebrew and Greek classes. He undoubtedly felt and responded to the beauty of these languages, for only those who have studied Greek and Latin and Hebrew know of the beauty and richness of the literature that has come down to the present day from those far-off times. The Prophet Joseph Smith shows us the majesty of the statement, "Seek ye knowledge out of the best books" and Joseph Young, president of all the seventies in his day, insisted that the seventies in their respective quorums become students of literature and philosophy and religion. Thousands of them adopted the motto that, "Knowledge is power." The beauty of this idea lies in the fact that the concept of what knowledge means to the Latter-day Saints is this truth that God blesses us as we approach him with deep faith and ask his blessing in our obtaining knowledge. Our minds and hearts are opened, and we become students in the true sense of the term, for it is under God's direction that we learn, and Jesus Christ our Redeemer becomes our greatest teacher.
I wish to quote to you the words of the Prophet Joseph Smith on what it means to teach, and the ideal of education for which we should all strive. They are words found in the eighty-eighth section of the Doctrine and Covenants:
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.
"I think I may safely challenge anyone," says President B. H. Roberts, 'to point out a broader field of knowledge than is here indicated. It includes all spiritual truth, all scientific truth, and all secular knowledge-knowledge of the past, of the present, of the future, of the heavens and the earth..."
In closing I wish to quote the words of John Fiske, the historian at Harvard fifty years ago who said to a class in history:
The future is lighted for us with the radiant colors of hope. Strife and sorrow shall disappear. Peace and love shall reign supreme The dream of poets, the lesson of priest and prophet, the inspiration of the great musician, is confirmed in the light of modern knowledge and as we gird ourselves up for the work of life, we may look forward to the time when in the truest sense, the kingdoms of this world shall become the Kingdom of Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever, the King of kings and Lord of Lords.
Elder Marion G. Romney
Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, October 1954, pp. 65-70
My beloved brethren and sisters: I would like you to give me a special interest in your faith and prayers as I attempt to edify this mighty congregation, those present in this building and those beyond. I need your faith and prayers because I desire to say a few words about "the royal law according to the scriptures," if you observe which, the Apostle James says, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself". This matter is very important to me, it lies next to my heart, and it should be important to you.
Without attempting to catalog the many things which the keeping of this "royal law" entails, it may, from its use in the scriptures, be said with certainty that chief among them is caring for the poor. In the very first chapter in which the phrase, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" appears, the Lord commanded ancient Israel to provide for their poor.
And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest.
And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard; neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the Lord your God.
During the last few weeks it has been my pleasure to meet with stake and ward welfare workers in 136 stakes. During the next few weeks I hope to meet the rest of you. In passing I might say that of the 136 stake presidents in these stakes, only three "fled the realm" when they saw us coming. All the rest of you stood and took it. Your courage and strength are admirable and very much appreciated.
Your performance in the fulfillment of this "royal law" gives me great joy and inspires in me a hope for an early redemption of Zion. With all my heart I salute you.
As evidence of your love for your neighbors, you carry on in your numerous welfare activities. At the coal mine, in the mills and factories, in canneries, you toil. In orchards, fields, and on the ranches, you endure the heat and the cold. On construction jobs and in sewing rooms, you labor. You battle floods and disease. You sit in council late into the nights, wrestling with problems of policy and procedure incident to your divine service. You find work for the unemployed. In times of distress, you administer to the suffering and give comfort to the bereaved.
Freely do you contribute of your means, not alone in acquiring welfare facilities, but also as a continuing practice you contribute the cash value of two meals each month, that your bishops may have, not only commodities with which to warm and feed the cold and hungry and clothe the naked, but money also with which to provide their other needs. Your accomplishments during the last twenty years in doing all this voluntarily and without expectation or hope of personal gain, is a modern miracle. It has brought you to a state of perfection in gospel living unmatched since the golden era of the Nephites.
As you thus labor for your brethren and sisters, you merit the assurance that you are in very deed ministering to your Redeemer. Such assurance you have in King Benjamin's words: "... when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God". You have it from the Lord himself in this dispensation, for "... inasmuch," said he, "as ye impart of your substance unto the poor, ye will do it unto me".
You also have the satisfaction of knowing that you are discharging an obligation which from the beginning has been laid upon the members of Christ's Church.
The method of implementation in force at a given time has varied with the degree of perfection in gospel living attained by the Saints. But the "royal law" has persisted. It is as much a part of the requirements of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and obedience thereto is as certainly a prerequisite to exaltation in the celestial kingdom, as are baptism and the laying on of hands. It has been taught, and practiced in some form, in every gospel dispensation.
We have already noted what the Lord required of the children of Israel with respect thereto, even as they emerged from four hundred years of slavery. Simple as were the instructions, they contained the two basic principles of every God-given plan for implementing the "royal law"-first, those who had were to give, and second, those who received were to labor for what they got.
Away back before the flood, Enoch, to a generation vexed with "wars and bloodshed", taught the gospel of Jesus Christ in mighty power, including the procedure required by the celestial law in loving one's neighbor as one's self. Those who believed, lived it, with the result that:
... the Lord came and dwelt with his people, and they dwelt in righteousness.
And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.
Now, my brethren and sisters, they did not remove the poor from among them by turning them over to be cared for through some dole system sponsored by the warring nations. They provided for their own in the prescribed manner. By full observance of the law of Enoch, they became equal in all things, temporal and spiritual, thereby obtaining that "union required by the law of the celestial kingdom".
During his earthly ministry, the Lord placed the "royal law," in importance, second only to the love of God. His exchange with the rich young man illustrates the difficulty people of that day experienced in living it. However, the Saints of the Apostolic Church tried to live it. Being "of one heart and of one soul," they disposed of their lands and houses and laid the proceeds "at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need".
Following the visit of Jesus, the Nephites lived the "royal law."
... every man did deal justly one with another.
And they had all things common among them.
As the Lord gave the "royal law" to the Saints in former dispensations, so he has given it to us. Before the Church was a year old, he had, in three separate revelations, laid upon the Saints the obligation to care for their poor. Clearly alluding to temporal things, he said, "I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine." This command he followed with directions that certain of the brethren be appointed to "... look to the poor and the needy... that they shall not suffer", adding, "Behold, I say unto you, that ye must visit the poor and the needy and administer to their relief".
That the Lord contemplated no exceptions to the "royal law" is evidenced by the fact that he concluded his instructions to the brethren whom he sent from Kirtland to western Missouri in June 1831, with this admonition: "And remember in all things the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted, for he that doeth not these things, the same is not my disciple". These brethren, all but destitute, were to make their way across four states. The Prophet himself walked almost the whole distance from St. Louis to Independence, three hundred miles.
It occurs to me that if these brethren in their poverty could not qualify as disciples of the Lord without remembering the poor and the needy, the sick and afflicted, it will be most difficult for us to so qualify should we neglect them, enjoying, as we do in such abundance, the bounties of the earth.
I repeat, then, that in this divine service you have the satisfaction of knowing that you are discharging an obligation which has from the beginning been laid upon the Saints of God, and which obligation rests now in full force upon us, the Saints of the latter days.
In the early 1830's, the Lord directed the Saints to implement the "royal law" by living the United Order. In this they failed. Because they did not learn to impart of their substance as becometh Saints to the poor and afflicted among them, the Lord permitted them to be driven from Missouri, and the requirement that they live the United Order was withdrawn. But the "royal law" was not withdrawn. It remained in full force. At least partially to fulfil it, the Saints, since then, have been bound by the law of tithing and the "fast."
About twenty years ago, just a century following the United Order experiment, the Lord inspired the inauguration of the present Church welfare plan. In it, we are being given another opportunity to show our mettle, to stand up and be counted, to prove ourselves worthy-or unworthy, as the case may be-of rising toward a fuller compliance with the "royal law." Personally, I am very pleased with the progress we are making, and I believe the Lord is pleased also, for he is blessing our efforts remarkably.
Let us continue to merit his approval. We should not be discouraged if some Church members are not enthusiastic about the presently established Church practice for the implementation of the "royal law." Their apathy is due to a lack of appreciation of what the Lord designs to accomplish by it. Sometimes when I get a little low in spirits about this matter, I am revived by reading the following quotation from a sermon by President Brigham Young:
The Lord revealed to Joseph, that the people would gather out from Babylon, and establish the kingdom of God upon the principles of heaven. They went up to Jackson County, Mo., with this in their faith and with the express understanding that when they got there, everything was to be laid at the feet of the Bishop ... who was to distribute it among the people, according to the revelation ... But they could not bear this; consequently, they were driven from Jackson County... and finally they were driven from the State... While we were in Winter Quarters, the Lord gave to me a revelation, just as much as he ever gave one to anybody. He opened my mind, and showed me the organization of the kingdom of God in a family capacity. I talked it to my brethren; I would throw out a few words here, and a few words there, to my first counselor, to my second counselor, and the Twelve Apostles, but with the exception of one or two of the Twelve, it would not touch a man. They believed it would come, O yes, but it would be by and by.
Now, we've come a long way since President Young said this. Today, many of the Saints are catching a glimpse of the import of the "royal law."
Let us go forward, never slackening our efforts. And let us not be discouraged by the charge that some welfarees are unworthy of the help they receive. If such there be, they shall in due time be weeded out, for the Lord has said,
... he that is idle shall not eat the bread nor wear the garments of the laborer.
And the idler shall not have place in the Church, except he repent and mend his ways.
However, on this point King Benjamin taught that the man who withheld his substance from the poor, charging that they, through misconduct, had brought their distress upon themselves,
... hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God.
Now the issues, brothers and sisters, which turn upon keeping the "royal law" are such as to challenge every soul who understands them to high endeavor.
The efficacy of our fasting turns upon it. So spake the Lord to ancient Israel. "Wherefore have we fasted," cried they, "and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge?"
Because, came the answer, you do not keep the fast which I commanded. True, you bow down your heads as a bulrush and spread sackcloth and ashes under your feet, but you do not deal your bread to the hungry, nor provide housing for the poor, nor do you cover the naked. When you do these things, "Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not".
The efficacy of praying turns upon obedience to the "royal law." So taught Amulek to his hearers as he counseled them to cry unto the Lord in their fields, in their houses, their closets and secret places, in their wilderness and over their households, "both morning, mid-day, and evening... and when you do not cry unto the Lord," he continued, "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." And then he concluded his matchless sermon on prayer with this challenging statement: "And now behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, do not suppose that this is all; for after ye have done all these things, if ye turn away the needy, and the naked, and visit not the sick and afflicted, and impart of your substance, if ye have, to those who stand in need-I say unto you, if ye do not any of these things, behold, your prayer is vain, and availeth you nothing, and ye are as hypocrites who do deny the faith".
King Benjamin went so far as to teach his people that imparting of their substance to the poor was a prerequisite to a retention of a remission of their sins, and Mormon taught the same doctrine.
These teachings are in full harmony with the modern revelations on the subject, in one of which the Lord said he had given men their agency and made them stewards over earthly blessings, all of which had been prepared by him, for he had stretched out the heavens and built the earth; that it was full and there was enough to spare; that it was his purpose to provide for his Saints, but that it must be done in his own way, which was "that the poor shall be exalted, in that the rich are made low... Therefore," said he, "if any man shall take of the abundance which I have made, and impart not his portion, according to the law of my gospel, unto the poor and the needy, he shall, with the wicked, lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment".
The very building of Zion and the escape of the Saints from the tribulations yet to be poured out upon the nations turn upon a full compliance with the "royal law." We can with profit let our minds dwell upon these things; for Zion, "the New Jerusalem," is yet to be built, and it is to be "a land of peace, a city of refuge, a place of safety for the saints of the Most High God... 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... And every man that will not take his sword against his neighbor must needs flee unto Zion for safety".
When shall we build it? you ask. Well, according to the scriptures, not until we can fully and ungrudgingly yield obedience to the "royal law." For the Lord has made it plain that Zion cannot be built up until the Saints become united according to the "union required by the laws of the celestial kingdom," which laws, he explains, require us to impart of our substance "as becometh saints, to the poor and afflicted" among us.
Surely, my brethren and sisters, we should take courage and great joy in our labors as we contemplate the many issues which turn upon keeping the "royal law." In fact, Jesus taught that the final judgment will turn upon it.
As he sat upon the Mount of Olives just two days before the final Passover, his anxious disciples plied him with many questions. Concerning his second coming, he said:
When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
I know President George Albert Smith understood this scripture. I remember when we were gathering clothes to ship to Europe for our people in distress. I remember the packages he sent. In one were two suits of clothes, direct from the cleaners. I doubt if President Smith had ever worn them. In another came shirts from the laundry, wrapped in cellophane paper, ready to be worn. In other packages we received were thousands of pounds of clothing, much of it ragged, dirty, and unfit to wear. I contemplated at that time, and I do now, how the donors of those goods would feel when they realized the truth of this statement of the Master, that "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me".
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Surely, my brothers and sisters, we have great reason to be encouraged, and a great motive to go forward in this work. May we each, through full compliance with the "royal law according to the scriptures," be qualified on that great day for a place among the righteous, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder ElRay L. Christiansen
ElRay L. Christiansen, Conference Report, October 1954, pp. 74-78
It brought great joy to my heart, as it would to yours, to hear the report of President Waite on the progress of that great temple in which we shall worship God and participate in the higher ordinances, performing those ordinances and receiving those powers and blessings that will entitle us and qualify us, if we are faithful, to receive the greatest of all the gifts of God, eternal life. I am sure that the people in the Los Angeles area are grateful that they have an opportunity to participate in the raising of the funds to build that great temple, for I feel we should participate with our hearts and our hands and our means in these great accomplishments.
Now, my brethren, I come before you tonight in humility and with hope and a prayer that I may say something that might encourage someone. This group here represents the priesthood leadership throughout the Church. The Lord has established and ordained a divine program for the benefit of his children, and it is through you leaders, as well as the others in the Church, that he must operate and proceed in order to bring about his purposes, to establish faith, and to help his children qualify for life in the Celestial kingdom of Heaven. It is almost overwhelming to me, when I think of it, to realize that the progress of his plan is determined largely by the effectiveness of the leadership throughout the Church, and in accordance to their devotion.
Not only does his plan provide a way of salvation for the living, but also the means and power whereby those who have died without a knowledge of the gospel may also be saved. This shows the love of God for all mankind, and the justice that he renders to all. Our obligation as members of the Church is not alone to the living, but likewise to the dead. For the dead, it is a program of love and Christ-like service on the part of the living.
John Taylor, the President of the Church, at one time made this statement: "We are here to cooperate with God in the salvation of the living and in the redemption of the dead, in the blessing of our ancestors and in pouring out the blessings upon our children and their children. That is the object of our existence," he said.
It is pleasing to witness the devotion of so many of the saints in this vicarious service on behalf of the dead. Last Wednesday in the Salt Lake Temple, 1364 endowments were given on behalf of the dead, besides hundreds of baptisms and sealings for the dead that went on during that same day. In the other temples this same program of activity is carried on day by day on behalf of the dead, and, of course, great numbers of the living come and receive their blessings as well.
Even with this great concourse of people that comes to the temples, the Lord is way ahead of us. He has helped us in these last days to provide modern means of recording, of microfilming and of research throughout the libraries of the world, and has thus speeded up the work of making available records for research purposes. The inflow of microfilm records into the Genealogical Library approximates now 150,000 to 200,000 pages per day. Truly, the Lord has come to our help! But, sad to say, my brethren, a hundred thousand family group sheets are being held in the archives awaiting the endowment ordinances for the male names on those sheets. The endowment, of course, must be done before these parents and their children can be sealed together. The endowment work for the sisters' names on those sheets has already been done. The sisters are far ahead of the brethren in this endowment work for the dead.
The fact is, there are in the Salt Lake Temple alone, more than 100,000 surplus male names waiting there for some selfless individuals to engage in these ordinances in their behalf. At least another hundred thousand male names are in the files of the other temples in the Church. The dead, we are told, should bury the dead, but it takes the living to redeem the dead through this vicarious service.
President Brigham Young, pleading for the cause of the dead, once made this statement:
"What do you suppose the fathers would say if they could speak from the dead? Would they not say, 'We have lain here thousands of years, here in this prison house, waiting for this dispensation to come? Here we are, bound and fettered, waiting and waiting...'" "Why," said Brigham Young, "if they had the power, the very thunders of heaven would be in our ears, so that we might realize the importance of this work! All the angels in heaven are looking at this little handful of people and stimulating them to the salvation of the human family... When I think upon this subject," he said, "I want the tongues of seven thunders to wake the people.
Now, brethren, in order to have the endowment work done for these two hundred thousand men like you, who are waiting to have their wives and children sealed to them-in order to get the endowment done for these surplus names, it has been suggested that the Melchizedek Priesthood in the various temple districts, through their quorums, organize themselves and assume greater responsibility in this activity, and take upon them the responsibility of bringing to an equal number the male and the female names in the temples; and to encourage your wives to permit you and urge you to attend these temple sessions on your stake days until there is an equalized number of male and female names in the temples. Then after that is accomplished, with the new system that is being adopted, of placing most all the names in the temples in the temple files, where anyone may come and use them, it will make much easier the process of balancing the male and the female names and maintaining that balance. Bishoprics and the stake presidencies would do well to give their genealogical chairman their active assistance in these things. I feel that it is not sufficient merely to announce that "next Wednesday is our stake temple day." I think it would be helpful if at times the bishoprics and stake presidencies could announce that on their temple days, the presidency of the stake, the high councilmen, and the bishoprics will join with the priesthood and go to the temple. Many stake and ward leaders are doing this with satisfying results. If that could be done the endowment work for these names would soon be completed.
I am convinced through observation that where members of the ward go to the temple consistently the problems of the bishopric are reduced and minimized to a very few comparatively, and I am sure that if the parents will go to the temple at regular intervals it will result in happier, more harmonious home life. We do not feel like being ugly and coarse and selfish after we have gone to the temple and participated in those great and holy ordinances. We feel better, we are better men, we are better women, and I am sure that if we would go regularly, we would become better fathers and more considerate husbands and our lives would have a more purposeful meaning.
I believe it was Melvin J. Ballard who made this statement: "If you would be eternally rich, invest in the human soul." When I was at the Logan Temple, a group of men from one of the stakes which was assigned to spend the day there had come together in a car and after the morning session had gone out to the entrance planning to go home. One of them needed to go, he thought, but the stake president came along and learned of their intentions, so he said to them, "Well, now, brethren, if you need to go, you had better go, but when you are travelling over those hills by the Bear River and you imagine that you hear some mourning, it could be those five men who had thought you were going to stay here and do the work for them today." Well, they twisted a little bit. We noticed they walked out to the gate, and there they had another conference, as they shifted their weight from one foot to the other. In about five minutes they came back into the temple to make redemption possible for five more persons. Those men had the proper feeling for the dead, who along with the living have a right to the blessings of eternal life.
Now, may I say something about one or two other matters. We are desirous of keeping the temples themselves clean and immaculate. Everything about the temple should be clean and wholesome. Those who come to the temple should be clean in mind and in body and their temple clothing should be fresh and clean. Cleanliness becometh the House of the Lord.
If those who attend the temple have their own clothing, they will find it is more convenient for them and surely it is proper and appropriate. What better gift could be given to our children at the time of their marriage than their temple clothing.
May I speak on one other matter, briefly. Many, too many, of our young boys and girls are being married somewhere other than in the House of the Lord. It is a sad situation when we live in the shadows of these temples, when we know the history, the sacrifices, the faith and devotion of those who made these blessings and privileges possible, to have our young people married in the courthouses and other places, leaving their blessings behind them. A few of them wish to be married civilly with the intention of going into the temple later. That is a risky procedure. Many of them, most of them, will forsake their blessings and their divine destiny by so doing. I am convinced that the time to be married right is when we are married.
Now these conditions call for the sympathetic interest, understanding and help of every leader in supplementing the help and the teaching of the parents. The faces of our boys and girls should be turned towards the temple early in their lives, that is the time to do it! I feel that we make a mistake if we wait until they fall in love with and become engaged to someone who will not take them to the temple, before we begin to point out to them the blessings that await them in the House of the Lord. When they are five or six or seven years of age, that is the time for parents to begin instructing their children. Otherwise, they will be lured into the ways of the world and their blessings may be lost and the eternal association with their loved ones may never be realized.
I was walking past the new Relief Society Building a few days ago, and I passed by two little girls. They appeared to be about eight years of age. They were looking admiringly at the temple, and one of them said, "What do they do in there?" The other said, "I don't know what they do in there, but I know this, that when I get married I am going to be married in there." Now, those little girls were only eight years of age but the one had been properly taught somewhere by someone because her mind was made up. Those who are not taught and encouraged early in their years are often difficult to teach.
When I see the stake reports, I think-my goodness, if I were a bishop again, what I would do! I would try to become intimately acquainted with every one of these young people. I would talk with them, confer with them, privately and individually, from time to time, and find out what their plans are. I would find out who their associates are. I would desire to know who their boyfriends or girlfriends are; who they are going with "steady," and what kind of a person their boyfriend or girlfriend is. I would encourage them to select wholesome associates. I would want to know where they go at nights. I would warn them against the pitfalls, the enticements and allurements that are rampant in the world, which would lead them away from the desirable. I would talk to them and explain about marriage, even though they are in their early teens, and compare the civil ceremony with that which they receive in the temple and explain it in general so that they would know.
I am convinced that if we wait until after they fall in love to give them direction, we are usually too late to help them. I would tell them what President Woodruff said at one time, when he uttered these words:
"Why, bless your souls," he said, "if you live here in the flesh a thousand years and live in poverty and when you get through if, by your acts, you could secure your wives and children in the first resurrection, to dwell with you in the presence of God, that one thing would amply pay for the labors of a thousand years." He knew whereof he spoke.
I believe that when children see their parents hustling and bustling to get ready to go to the temple; Dad coming in from work in the fields or from the office, taking a bath and getting his clothes ready; Mother having them all pressed, both hurrying off to the temple on their stake temple days or night, they become aware that temple work is important. That is one of the best ways to convince young people that the temple work should be important in their lives. I feel that parents ought to do that.
Let us, brethren, as leaders in the various organizations and quorums and wards, collaborate with the families. Sometimes parents do not teach well enough. We must pick up then, from where they leave off in the process of preparing the youth for their blessings. If I were a bishop I would toss and turn at night and be unable to sleep, if I had not organized my forces in the ward and made every effort personally and through my associates to contact these young people while they are approachable and before they get into questionable habits.
I hope every one of you saw or will see that film last night, entitled "The Bishop."
The temple presidencies and workers are conscious of the need of providing in these holy places, an atmosphere of kindness, an atmosphere and a feeling of patience and of love, so that those who come will long remember their visit and will want to come back again. We recognize the need of administering the ordinances in an impressive manner; of being reverent and dignified ourselves, and of making welcome those who come.
The temple presidencies are desirous of making each temple a house of prayer and meditation. What a wonderful place the temple is, if we come in the right mood, to meditate, silently and offer up our thanks to the Lord.
We are desirous that each temple be a house of faith, a house of learning, a House of God. In a revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith, given at Nauvoo in 1841, the Lord said this:
"And verily I say unto you, let this house be built unto my name"... ... "that I may reveal mine ordinances therein unto my people;
"For I deign to reveal unto my Church things which have been kept hid from before the foundation of the world, things that pertain to the dispensation of the fullness of times.
"And I will show unto my servant Joseph, all things pertaining to this house," The Lord said, "And I will show unto my servant Joseph all things pertaining to this house, and the priesthood thereof, and the place whereon it shall be built".
In the 55th verse of that Section, the 124th, the Lord continues: "... that you may prove yourselves unto me that ye are faithful in all things whatsoever I command you, that I may bless you, and crown you with honor, immortality, and eternal life". That is the purpose of these temples.
May we learn our duty and do our duty as leaders in making these blessings possible, both to the living who come under our direction, and to the dead, I humbly pray, bearing testimony that these things are of God. I do it in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
President Stephen L Richards
Stephen L Richards, Conference Report, October 1954, pp. 79-82
My dear brethren, gathered tonight a vast congregation, both seen and unseen, I greet you in the fraternity of the Holy Priesthood, which in the providence of our Lord we have the honor and the privilege to bear. I esteem you as my brethren, my friends, and colleagues in the advancement of the glorious cause we have the honor to represent. I honor all of you for your noble aspirations, and for your devotion to this great cause of the Lord.
The contributions made and to be made by the priesthood of God, as so well and beautifully outlined just now for us by President Clark, is one of the most encouraging of all the aspects of our work. The priesthood is integrated with our whole life. It is part and parcel of it, and there is nothing in life to us who hold it that we contemplate without the priesthood.
I am deeply concerned, as my Brethren are also, as indicated in the remarks of this Conference, about the fundamental institution not only of our Society, but the Society of the whole world, the home. President McKay alerted us to it as he spoke of the children and their delinquency, and the need for a home life that would give to the youth a better and greater outlook upon the world and their place in it. The thing that particularly concerns me is this terrible evil of divorce.
I spoke of it to the Relief Society the other day, and I would like to make further comment about it tonight. I trust that what I may have not be incompatible with that which has been heretofore spoken in the Conference, but rather complementary to it.
In my talk to the sisters I tried to outline the contributions which the Church and its organizations throughout our whole history have made to the solidarity and well-being of the home. I pointed out the theology of the Church which so adequately and so beautifully furnishes the basic concept of the home-that this sacred institution, ordained of the Lord, is charged with the primary responsibility for receiving the spirit children of the Father, tabernacled in the flesh, and then to nurture, train and develop these children in mortality, and then return them to the Celestial presence whence they came. I know that the priesthood is one of the greatest contributing agencies in the achievement of this glorious undertaking, and I would like to enlarge a little on the responsibilities and opportunities of the priesthood in this matter.
I made the statement, and I hope you will approve of it, that the remedy for domestic problems and irritations is not divorce, but repentance. I am thoroughly convinced in my heart that this is true, and I hope you will approve of that interpretation. I am sure that there is much that can be done to lessen this great evil.
A long time ago I was a practicing attorney. I have investigated domestic problems. I have seen and tried divorce suits, and heard the evidence of the parties. As I look back over my experiences and observations, I can recall few instances where repentance of bad conduct on the part of the man or woman or both would not have been the answer. We are commanded to repent of all sin, and while I hesitate to say it for fear of hurting the feelings of some, I am constrained to believe that divorce is sin. If sin is an infraction of God's law, then surely this separation is in that category. There has been repeated before in our presence that great commandment:
"For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; "And they twain shall be one flesh...
"What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder".
So divorce contravenes the law of God. Now, I do not mean to say that there may not be exceptions to be treated with some tolerance, but for my own part I am fearful of any interpretation which does not put divorce in the category of evil and sin.
Now, the thinking of society has undergone a great change just in a generation. I and many others can well remember that a half century or less ago in nearly all the better circles stigma was attached to divorce. Families and people generally were ashamed of it. It was hidden in the family closet wherever it could be. Why? Because our forebears had a deeper regard for the laws of God and the sacred status of home and family. Has the Lord ever said anything to give justification for this change of attitude, and for increasing tolerance for this great evil? Not a word. His law stands today as it has always done, and members of his Church with the enlightenment of the latter-day revelations know better than anyone else in the world why divorce is an evil, attended with fearful consequences perpetuated into eternity.
It would seem that some other people are thinking a little along this line. I clipped from the paper the other day an item with the following heading: "BRITAIN PAPER RAPS DIVORCE, 'ONE-BY-ONE POLYGAMISTS!'"
"London, Sept. 24 -The Weekly 'Church of England newspaper' blasted away Friday at 'one-at-a-time polygamy' and demanded tightening of British divorce laws.
"Changes should be made, the weekly said, so that 'a third divorce, happily rare in this count but common enough in America, should be impossible.'
"The editorial advocated making a second divorce much harder to get Ban the first one and declared that third parties in triangles involving married couples should be sent to jail."
I doubt that I could agree with everything in this editorial, but I bring it to your attention merely to show even in the modern world there is that great agitation over this subject.
Now, my brethren, I believe that if you will unite in emphasizing in all your teachings and contacts with the people the glorious concept of eternal marriage so well known to all,, and the evil inherent in divorce, the separation of parents, the breaking of family ties, we can do good among our own people at least. Our bishoprics, our ward teachers, our priesthood quorum officers, have an obligation to keep themselves informed of conditions prevailing in the homes of our people.
I asked the Relief Society visiting teachers who have such an intimate contact with the ladies of the house to be observant, to detect those indications of irritation and troubles leading to separation, and I am sure that we through the Ward Teachers and other agencies can likewise detect many of these troubles before they erupt into this terrible, cruel thing of divorce. I am certain too that our priesthood authorities, if they detect these difficulties in time, can exercise an influence that will deter the parties from precipitant action.
I said the remedy was repentance. The priesthood is the power that can call to repentance, the only true power that I know of that can do that. These sociologists of the world-I do not think know how to call to repentance. I do not mean to deprecate their efforts in composing difficulties, but they do not know how to call to repentance, and they do not have the power to do it. There is no more effective means at your command in combating this evil than the power and influence of your own example. Your own loving companionship with your wife, so eloquently spoken of today, and your affectionate, dutiful family may be the ray of light and hope to give encouragement to many who suffer under the apprehension of domestic troubles. I call upon every man among you to review seriously, solemnly, his position as husband and father. If he discovers in honest contemplation anything in his conduct that gives rise to domestic irritation, or any neglect on his part, I call on him to repent, humbly and sincerely, and seek the help of the Lord in turning away from any acts or omissions incompatible with his priesthood and his obligations to his family. If his wife needs to repent, let him lead the way, and I believe there will be an excellent prospect that she will follow. I am satisfied that if all will ponder thoughtfully and prayerfully this great social problem and its alarming increase in the Lord's Church, you will reach the conclusion that almost universally the remedy for domestic estrangement and difficulty is repentance.
Now may I just say a word about a man of the priesthood as the head of his household. That too has been mentioned before. I believe that the Lord intended that every worthy member of the priesthood should have this recognition, and he can be accorded this recognition without impairment of the concept of partnership in marriage. Women of the Church have respect for the priesthood, especially those who go to the temple. They do not begrudge a man his position as head of the home. They know that all the greatest blessings the Lord has promised will be realized in their association with the priesthood, and every true Latter-day Saint woman wants her husband to magnify that holy calling which has come to him. The difficulties that arise usually stem from an attempt on the part of the head of the household to exercise inconsiderate or autocratic authority. There is no position in the Church in which the constitution and doctrine of the priesthood as revealed by the Lord has more direct application than to a husband and father in the home. He must never cease to be guided by the divine direction that:
"No power or influence can or ought to be maintained... only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned...
"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".
Every head of the household may win respect for his position if he will but truly follow these divine directions.
I need not tell you how greatly broken homes contribute to juvenile delinquency, mentioned by President McKay. You know what lack of respect for law and order is doing to our society, but I believe that the first lessons in order, reverence, and respect for law and established institutions come from the home. The home itself should be an institution of law and order. Remember there is no order without law. It is a kindness to children to teach them the necessity for law and also the penalties for violation. If they do not learn this in the homes, they will have to learn it in the hard ways which society enforces. Any wife and mother who fails to accord to the man of the priesthood who heads her household deference for his position, and who disparages him in the eyes of her children will live to regret her actions, and any man who heads a household who does not make himself worthy of the respect of his wife and children will be sorry.
My dear brethren, we have no greater and more pressing obligation than to establish and maintain the solidarity and the goodness of home and family. We have the power within ourselves to set the example for this whole world, and there are enough of us, even in comparison with the great populations of the world, to set this example so that it may be read by all the peoples of the world if we will but live to our opportunities and the responsibilities the Lord has given us.
For one, I pray for strength in myself and in all of you to live according to the Lord's word, to show gratitude and appreciation for our testimonies and for our membership in his Kingdom, that we may all give united support to his Holy Cause. I ask his blessings ever to attend you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, October 1954, pp. 82-85
As I have said before in the presence of our fellow laborers in the Council and in this General Priesthood Meeting, I feel in your presence and sense more keenly what John the Beloved Disciple felt when he said, "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren". I say that tonight with all my heart, as I look upon this vast audience and sense, too, the number of additional groups meeting in various places named.
Several days ago I entered my study after a hard day's work, anticipating this moment. The general outline for this Conference had been prepared, outlined so far as those who should pray and those who should speak and when; we had asked the Lord to guide us regarding appropriate messages. On that particular evening, however, I had in mind this moment, and I was physically and mentally fatigued. I could not study, I could not get my mind on anything definite; so after a word of secret prayer I retired.
The next morning early I entered my study, reached for a little book that, contains what I call "literary nuggets," taken from Church works, from poets, writers such as Scott, Burns, Longfellow and others, and the thought came, "I believe I should like to take some of these nuggets and apply them to the priesthood of the Church." May I give you one or two tonight.
The first is in harmony with the great comparison made by President Clark of the army and the battle, and it is also, as I shall develop it, in harmony with the impressive remarks by President Richards. "The greatest battle of life is fought out within the silent chambers of the soul."
I ask you fellow workers to do again what undoubtedly you have done frequently, to sit down and commune with yourself. There is a battle on with you, and with me, every day. Fight out with yourself and decide upon your course of action regarding what your duty is first to your family. Of somebody getting into your life who will make an unhappiness or do some unhappiness in your home, as we have heard tonight.
Second, your duty to your quorum. You decide whether you owe your quorum anything, and see if you have strength enough to do it after you decide.
Third, you decide in that silent moment what your duty is to your Church.
And fourth, what you owe to your fellow men.
Associated on that page was this comment from one of the most sincere writers we have. It is in "The Simple Life." "First, be of your own country, your own city, your own home, your own Church, your own workshop. Then, if you can, set out from this to go beyond it. That is the plain and natural order, and a man must fortify himself with very valid reasons to arrive at reversing it. Each one is occupied with something else too often than what concerns him. He is absent from his post. He ignores his trade. That is what complicates life, and it would be so simple for each one to be about his own matters."
Decide where your duty is, even remembering that "the greatest battle of life is fought out within the silent chambers of your own soul."
The second that I picked out is this: "What e'er thou art, act well thy part." That, of course, applies to moral and lawful endeavors, and not to harmful or villainous actions. That influenced me fifty-four years ago when, as I have told some of you before, Peter G. Johnson and I were walking around Stirling Castle in Scotland. I was discouraged, I was just starting my first mission. I had been snubbed that day in tracting. I was homesick, and we walked around the Stirling Castle, really not doing our duty, and as we re-entered the town I saw a building, half-finished, and to my surprise, from the sidewalk I saw an inscription over the lintel of the front door, carved in stone. I said to Brother Johnson, "I want to go over and see what that is." I was not more than half way up the pathway leading to it, when that message struck me, carved there: "What e'er thou art, act well thy part." As I rejoined my companion and told him, do you know what man came into my mind first? The custodian at the University of Utah, from which I was just graduated. I realized that I had as great a respect for that man as I had for any professor in whose class I had sat. He acted well his part. I recalled how he helped us with the football suits, how he helped us with some of our lessons, for he was a university graduate himself. Humble but to this day I hold respect for him.
What are you? You are men who hold the priesthood of God, who hold divine authority to represent Deity in whatever position to which you have been assigned. When a man, an ordinary man is set apart in his community as a sheriff, there is something added to him. When a policeman on these streets, at the crossing, holds up his hand, you stop. There is something more about him than just an individual, there is the power that is given him. And so it is throughout life. No man can be given a position without being enhanced. It is a reality. So, too, is the power of the priesthood. It was so real in the days of Peter that Simon the Sorcerer, who was making money by his tricks, wanted to buy it, and offered the Apostles money: "Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost." Oh, what a denunciation Peter gave him! "Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money... For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity... Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee." And so strong was the denunciation that Simon said, "Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me".
There was no doubt in Simon's mind about the reality of the power of the Holy Ghost. "What e'er thou art, act well thy part." Are you a deacon, do the duties of a deacon well. Are you a teacher, do your work well. A priest watching over the Church, visiting with them-young men in this Church, if we could just do the duties of the teacher and of the priest, teaching people their duty, what a power for good to young men eighteen years of age, and nineteen. Not incorrigible, not recreants, but leaders. Brethren there is nothing in the world so powerful in guiding youth as to have them act well their parts in the priesthood.
In the same passage quoted by President Richards, the Lord says that many are called, but few are chosen, and why are they not chosen? Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world and aspire to the honors of men, that they do not learn this one lesson, 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 principle of righteousness. That they may be conferred upon us, it is true, but when men begin to exercise unrighteous dominion, then the power that is given to them is withdrawn, they are left to themselves to kick against the pricks, to fight against God.
I can merely mention these. You work them out for yourself.
The third: "There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved". It was a most dramatic scene when that sentence was uttered, and so you have this thought expressed as follows: The world's hope and destiny, the world's hope and destiny are centered in the Man of Galilee, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
In your moment when you are fighting out the battle of the day, will you look introspectively and see whether you really believe that? Paul Kane once asked this question: "Is Jesus only a legendary figure in history, a Saint to be painted in the stained glass of church windows, a sort of sacred fairy not to be approached and hardly to be mentioned by name, or is he still what he was when he was in the flesh, a reality, a man of like passions with ourselves, an elder brother, a guide, a counselor, a comforter, a great voice calling to us out of the past to live nobly, to guide bravely, and keep up our courage to the last."
What is he to you, my fellow laborer? When you kneel down to pray at night, do you feel his nearness, his personality hearing you, do you feel a power that operates perhaps as the radio or a greater power so that you feel that you are communing with him? You are not just saying your prayers, you are praying. Do you know tonight that he is real, our Savior, the Head of the Church? I know he is, and I know, too, that a whole nation right tonight is trying to teach a million boys that Christ is but a myth and there is no God.
And now I will just pass to the fourth. "If my life is of no value to my friends, it is of no value to me, said the Prophet Joseph when he was on the way to Carthage. You hold the priesthood to bless others; not for selfish purposes nor for selfish advancement, but to bless others, and under that gem, or nugget, I have these lines from the great writer Browning, who puts in the mouth of Paracelsus, who thought learning would bring him everything-success, knowledge, etc., and he was going to rise above his fellow men and become great, and maybe hand it down to them if they would let him. He ignored the advice of Festus, his friend, not to leave his fellowmen.
Paracelsus obtained his knowledge, but he learned the lesson of life. Finally, an old man, Paracelsus was in Greece, and Festus heard about him and rushed to his old friend's bedside. There, that great philosopher and scholar said, "Festus, I have found the secret of life!"
"What is it?" said Festus.
Paracelsus said, "There was a time when I was happy."
"And when was that?" said Festus. "All I hope depends upon that answer.
"When, but the time I vowed myself to man!"
"Great God," exclaimed Festus, "Thy judgments are inscrutable!"
"There is an answer to the longing of the human heart," continued Paracelsus, "and it is this: Live in all things outside yourself by love, and you will have joy. That was the life of God; it ought to be our life. In him it was perfect, but in all created things it is a lesson learned through difficulty.
Time has passed. I give you these nuggets and ask you to fight your fight daily, and say nothing that will hurt your wife, that will cause her tears, even though she might cause you provocation. Realize that those children are your eternal possessions, treasures of eternity. Do not dare to set an improper example towards them. You are men of the priesthood and you are leaders. Never let them hear a cross word. You should control yourself. He is a weak man who flies into a passion, whether he is working a machine or plowing or writing or whatever he may be doing in the home. A man of the priesthood should not fly into a passion. Learn to be dignified. You cannot picture Christ flying into a passion. Indignant with sin? Yes. Overturning the money changers when they insulted God and defiled the temple. Yes: But so dignified and noble that when he stands before Pilate he makes that leader say: "Behold, the man".
God bless you, our dear fellow laborers as you go back now to your homes in stakes and wards and magnify the Holy Priesthood, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Richard L. Evans
Richard L. Evans, Conference Report, October 1954, pp. 86-89
My Beloved Friends:
As we see and talk to other people, it is apparent that there is much of loneliness in life-not only the loneliness that comes from lack of companionship with people-but also the loneliness that comes with lack of purpose, with lack of understanding of the reasons why we live.
No doubt, some loneliness comes because we are always inseparably ourselves. Some thoughts, some experiences, some intuitions, some of the awareness we have within us we cannot fully share with anyone else. We come into the world alone. We leave it alone. We are always and eternally our own separate selves.
But loneliness is more than simply solitude. And there is a kind of loneliness that comes from a sense of not belonging, of not fitting in, of not knowing our part in the picture-of not knowing what we are, or who we are, or where we came from, or where we are going, or why we are here, or what life is basically all about.
The mortal years of life pass swiftly and soon. And except for some glorious, eternal certainties there could well be a universal feeling of frustration. We labor long for things that sustain life and for things that afford a little passing pleasure-but there is nothing of these tangibles that we can take with us. These things we call our own are ours only for a short time. The farmer's fields not long ago belonged to someone else, and soon again will belong to someone else. The stocks, the bonds, the Buildings, the houses we have, whatever we have title to, we all shall leave in yet a little while-and our going will make a mockery of all the titles of our earthly tenancy.
About all we can take with us after all, are the knowledge and character we have acquired, the intelligence we have developed or improved upon, the service we have given, the lessons we have learned, and the blessed assurance that we may have our life and loved ones, always and forever-as assured us by a wise and kindly Father whose children we all are. And knowing Him, and what He is to us,, what His purpose is in sending us here from His presence, is one of the surest safeguards against loneliness and feelings of frustration.
Some few evenings ago, I sat at dinner by the side of a distinguished, successful industrialist, who told me simply and in a few sentences how he faced the heavy problems of his life, and met the decisions of each day:
"When I get up in the morning, he said, "I often feel that I can't face it but as I get down on my knees and say simply 'God help me to do what I have to do this day,' strength comes and I feel that I am equal to it. And I think of Him as my Father, and talk to Him as simply and directly as I used to talk to my father when he was here."
And then he added: "Sometimes I do things I know I shouldn't do. But when I do, I don't lie to God about my motives. I know it's no use. I know He knows my heart, my thoughts. I know what I have done, and He knows what I have done. And I don't try to deceive Him or myself."
I was mellowed and humbled by the direct and simple spirit of this friend with whom I sat the other evening. He was not of my faith, but in my own earnest belief, he could not have talked to God with so much satisfaction or assurance if he had thought of Him merely as a force, or as an ineffable essence, the nature and purpose of which he knew nothing-or at least nothing that would bring to him the assured feeling that he was in fact talking to his Father.
It is urgently important in life to draw nearer to a knowledge of the nature of God, and of our relationship to Him and to one another. And what better place to begin than with the first book of the Bible-what better place to turn than to literal scriptural language?
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth... And God said, Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness... So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him... And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good".
It was a good world; it is a good world-despite the foolishness and perversities of men. It is good because of its beauties and bounties, and because of the glorious purpose and limitless possibilities that a loving Father has given His children-a Father whom the scriptures testify is personal and approachable, even as Paul proclaimed in his Epistle to the Hebrews that Jesus the Christ was in "the express image" of his Father's person.
Scripture records that many men have seen God, among them Moses and Aaron and the seventy elders of Israel -even as John recorded in Revelation that "his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face".
And Stephen the Martyr, "being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw... Jesus standing on the right hand of God".
And Jesus frequently addressed His Father. In Gethsemane: "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me".
On Calvary: "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do".
And earlier with the Twelve: "These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come...
"And now, O Father, glorify thou me... with the glory which I had with thee before the world was...
"Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are...
.
There is much more of scripture that affirms the oneness of purpose of the Father and of His beloved Son-and that also affirms their separateness of person as a literal, physical fact. And as Jesus approached Him, so also we approach the Father, in all our needs. In every problem, in sorrow and success, in all the things we struggle with from day to day, we can reach out to Him with the assurance that He is there. He lives. He speaks. His voice is not unto the ancients only, but even unto our own day there is witness of His personal presence. He is a God of continuous revelation, of continuous mindfulness for all of us, and He does not shut Himself in the Heavens if we will let Him come into our lives.
He has sent us here, from where we were with Him before birth, for a brief period of mortal experience, with our free agency, our right of choice, with principles and commandments, and with His Spirit to light us through life, and has assured us everlasting life with the glorious promise of limitless and eternal progress and possibilities, with all the sweetness of association of family and friends in the peace and protection of His presence-if we will. He has assured us that "men are that they might have joy", and has declared it to be His purpose "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man".
Knowing our feelings for our own loved ones, for our own children, we can take confidence in the merry and love and understanding and in the helpfulness of our Father in heaven, who will not leave the humblest child or the most lonely among us, alone in life.
You who are sick-you who are wracked with pain, you who are confined with physical infirmity-you are not alone in life. There is faith, there is hope, there is mercy, there is help from Him. "He that keepeth thee will not slumber".
You who are discouraged, whose obligations are heavy, whose best efforts somehow seem to fall short of success; you who have been falsely dealt with; you who have met reverses and disappointments, you who have lost heart: There is a kind and jug and merciful Father in heaven to whom you can turn, and who will see that you lose nothing that should have been yours. He can bring peace to your hearts, and restore faith and purpose. You are not alone.
And you who are tried and tempted, by appetites, by evil in its subtle shapes; you who have been careless in your conduct, who have lived the kind of lives that fall short of what you know you should have lived-and are contending with conscience and are torn inside yourselves: You also are not alone in life, for the Lord God who gave you life has also given the glorious principle of repentance, which, upon sincere turning away from false ways, can restore again the blessed peace that comes with quiet conscience.
You who have been hurt-hurt in your hearts, hurt in spirit, you who have been offended and have withdrawn yourselves and become a little aloof-you need not be alone. The door is open.
You who have unanswered questions; you who are torn between the teachings of contending teachers, who are confused by conflicting theories: Keep faith. Reserve judgment. Be patient. God lives. He is the source of all truth, and where there seem to be discrepancies it is simply because we do not know enough. The theories of men change swiftly, but "the glory of God is intelligence", and there is no truth in all the universe that the Father of us all would not wish you to seek and to accept-for man cannot be "saved in ignorance". Keep an open mind and an open heart and a teachable spirit. "Seek learning, even by study and also by faith".
And you who are young, who have ambitions for the future, but who face serious uncertainties: Go forward and live your lives with faith. Look far ahead; decide on some good goal. Study, work, and prepare yourselves. Make solid plans and pursue solid purposes and don't place undue emphasis on the passing, trivial pleasures. When the proper time comes, make your homes and have your families, and face your problems with faith. Your Father in heaven knows and understands you, and will help and lead you to happiness and usefulness here, and to your high destiny hereafter, if you will keep close to Him and take Him into your confidence
And you who have lost your loved ones: You are not alone. God, who is the Father of the spirits of all men, has sent us here from His presence until he calls us to return. And our loved ones who have left us will always be themselves, and we may see and know and be with them again, always and forever-if we will but take the steps that lead to eternal family reunion. They are nearer to us than we know.
We are none of us alone in life. We belong to an eternal family. We belong also to one another-and God, who made us in His image, is the Father of us all. And there is justice and mercy and fair and adequate opportunity for all of us from Him who is and has been mindful of us all, from birth and before-through death and beyond.
He is there and within our reach. He will guide and enlighten and lift. He is the source of truth, of comfort, of protection, and of the peace that passeth understanding, and the source of the sweet and satisfying assurance that life and truth are limitless and everlasting, and despite all problems and all perplexities we are not left alone in life.
We would testify to all who hear this day of the living reality of Him who did make us in His own image-that He lives, that He has spoken, that He does speak; that He sent His Son into the world, who is our Savior and of whose divinity this day we testify; and that the heavens have been opened in this day and dispensation.
We are none of us alone in life, but in the hands of Him to whom His Son, our Savior and Redeemer, offered this sublime prayer:
"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen".
President Stephen L Richards
Stephen L Richards, Conference Report, October 1954, pp. 92-97
My dear brethren and sisters, I propose on this occasion to present for the attention of members of the Church, and other friends who listen to our proceedings, some features of our missionary system. I shall not give statistical items. They appear in our publications from time to time. My concern is that our missionary efforts may be more thoroughly understood and appreciated by all people.
I recognize that I cannot hope to give an adequate understanding of this great activity in the Church without the Spirit of our Lord which underlies it, and I therefore solicit the aid of your faith and prayers in presenting it, and the direction of our Father.
I mention first a rather pronounced tendency in recent years to emphasize the value of the teaching process in the proclamation of the gospel. I do not mean to infer that our missionaries have not always sought to teach through their preaching. As teaching concerns itself largely with the impartation of knowledge, so of course all good preaching embraces teaching. The tendency of which I speak is directed more particularly to the organization and planning of our gospel teaching in missionary work. I feel that there is ample warrant for this planned teaching of the gospel to investigators.
The Savior commanded his disciples, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
"Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you".
Teaching with testimony is the epitome of missionary effort.
If you will bear with me, I will review for you briefly some of the major items included within the planned or standardized program used by the missionaries as they contact the good men and women all over the world who will listen to their message. Here is the outline of their gospel teaching, usually presented to their listeners in family groups in the homes of the people in what are called "cottage meetings."
First, the Godhead. The missionary calls attention to the necessity of a correct understanding of the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, his personality and attributes, to the extent than it is possible for men to have understanding of Deity. Nearly all investigators readily assent that such an understanding is important and highly desirable in all religious considerations.
The missionary then reviews the concepts and teachings of the various denominational churches on this subject, and then brings forward, with the operation of the investigator through references pointed out in his own Bible, the support which the scriptures offer for the personality of Deity as opposed to his being merely an essence or spirit pervading the universe. To anyone believing the Bible, the composition of the Godhead with three distinct personalities is made clear, and then the missionary, with conviction and testimony, gives to the investigator the substantiating experience of the Prophet Joseph Smith, in which he beheld both the Father and the Son, felt and experienced the glory of their presence, looked upon their forms and countenances, and heard with his ears the sweet, comforting, exalting resonance of their voices.
What an abiding satisfaction to the searcher for truth is this first lesson and testimony of the missionary! Confusion with reference to this all-important theological principle is resolved, and the way is opened for further understanding of the whole province of religion, embracing as it does man's relationship to Deity, his origin, his purpose in earth life, and his ultimate destiny.
Next, the missionary presents to his investigating group a lesson on the apostasy. He reviews the Primitive Church set up by the Savior himself, and the essential features which the Lord prescribed for his authentic work of salvation to go forward. He has little difficulty in winning assent from his listeners that if men and churches depart from the essentials which the Savior established, they are not in a position to represent him authentically, and that the ordinances lack validity if not administered by his delegated authority.
After considering the many variations and departures from the essential features of the Lord's Primitive Church, it is not difficult for the investigator to understand why a restoration was necessary, with a new delegation of power and authority to set up the Lord's work and administer the ordinances of the gospel.
Then again follows the earnest, sincere testimony of the missionary as to the experiences of the Prophet Joseph and his fellow laborer, which manifestations of divine power serve not only to corroborate the apostasy, but also to substantiate beyond question the necessity for and the actuality of the restoration, and so the restoration is the next lesson, with its new commission to hold and exercise the Holy Priesthood with an interpretation of that divine power, which in my thinking has never been equaled in any writing, sacred or otherwise.
It is said that the most beautiful words in the English language are those of the Savior when in his Sermon on the Mount, he answered his own question: "And why take ye thought for raiment?" with these matchless phrases:
"Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
"And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these".
I compare with the words of the Savior those used in the revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith, concerning the Holy Priesthood restored to man after the long apostasy from the true concept of that priesthood as the Lord exercised it and delegated it to his Apostles. Here are the words which I put in the same class with those of the Savior. They define the nature of the priesthood and the manner of its exercise, and they came from the Savior:
"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 next lesson presents the Book of Mormon and its place in the establishment of our Father's work among his children. The investigator readily agrees that our Father in heaven, who is a just God, is no respecter of persons, and that all of his children the world over are the beneficiaries of his mercy and his plans for their salvation. The scriptural predictions concerning the coming forth of this sacred volume of scripture are presented to the investigator. He is reminded of the prehistoric peoples who dwelt in the lands of the Americas and the demands of justice in bringing them the message of the Savior.
The investigator is particularly reminded of the injunction set forth in the book of Ezekiel that two sticks, meaning books, should be prepared, one for the house of Judah, and one for the house of Joseph, and that the Book of Mormon fills the requirement for the latter assignment. He is also reminded of the Savior's reference to his "other sheep", not of the Jews, whom he must visit, and that the Book of Mormon sets forth the fulfillment of the Lord's obligation to his "other sheep."
Understanding is given by the missionary of the great purposes served by the Book of Mormon in bringing to the world the history of the early inhabitants of the western continents, the experiences of their nations in dealing with the great political, moral, and religious problems of their day, and more particularly in presenting in even more clarity than they are to be found in the Jewish scriptures, the word of God and the principles of the holy gospel.
The investigator is made aware, sometimes with surprise to him, that the Book of Mormon is in no sense antagonistic to the scriptures of the Holy Bible, but it is rather a companion book containing revelations of the prophets, and an account of the administration of the Savior's work among his "other sheep," being in essence a new and additional witness to the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ. The experience of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his associates in the discovery and production of this book, recited under the convincing testimonies of the missionaries, seldom fails to bring to the investigator a new understanding and respect for this sacred book, this mighty messenger of Jesus Christ to all mankind.
With this background of understanding given by the missionary to the investigator regarding the true nature of Deity, the establishment of the Lord's true Church and kingdom in the earth through his Beloved Son in the Meridian of Time, the falling away from the true worship of the Christ, the withdrawal of his authority, its subsequent restoration, and the setting up of his kingdom in the latter dispensation, with a new volume of scripture as an additional testimony of the Lord's divinity and a necessary and invaluable expansion of man's knowledge concerning the gospel of Jesus Christ, the investigator is now prepared for the teaching of the principles of the gospel and the eternal plan of salvation as they affect the individual lives of all men.
Very often the investigator receives a new and satisfying understanding or the fall of man and the atonement of the Savior. He is brought to appreciate the difference between the immortality of the soul and the life hereafter vouchsafed to all men, good or bad, through the intercession of Jesus Christ, our Lord, on the one hand, and on the other individual salvation and exaltation made possible through obedience to the principles of the gospel and the commandments of God.
He is taught the real meaning and application of faith and repentance, and the necessity for baptism by the authorized servants of the Lord, for admission into his kingdom. He is taught the province of the Holy Ghost. He learns of the revelations and statements of the prophets regarding heavenly things which may be known only through our Father's revelations to man. He learns of the pre-existence, before earth life, of the Christ, our Elder Brother, the Firstborn of the Father.
He learns of his pre-determined mission and the terms upon which he was to perform it, and then he comes to understand that man also had a premortal existence, that his spirit is the spirit-child of the Father, and that the purpose of earth life is to give that eternal spirit an opportunity for development and growth and probation in mortality. He learns that the body in which the spirit is tabernacled is in verity a "temple of God", and that it cannot be violated without affront to the Father whose spirit-child dwells within it.
He is made, perhaps for the first time, to appreciate the real significance of clean living. He is taught the principle of free agency, with power vested within himself to determine the course of his life, but he is also taught that the abuse of his God-given liberty will bring reproach and degradation to him,
In this new teaching of God's plans for his children he is given matchless incentive for the development of noble character and high service to his fellow man. He is taught that the revelations set forth with certainty the stations to which men of ambition and ideals may aspire; that there are preferential conditions and places in the hereafter as in this life; and that the reward to the truly faithful will be placement in the highest degree of glory in the presence of the Father and the Son, there to dwell forever in an eternity of progression in knowledge, power, and goodness.
Now, after these teachings and their assimilation by the investigator he is prepared for the call to repentance. He is prepared to review and appraise his life in light of the knowledge he has received. Perhaps never before in his experience has he thought seriously of the need for repentance. Now he knows that all men are called to repentance, not once only, but all during the course of their lives, that as they gain knowledge of the principles and laws of the perfect life, they have need to turn away from frailty, weakness, and imperfection.
He becomes more keenly conscious of the commandments the Lord has given, of their transcendent importance not only to himself, but to the great society of men everywhere. He begins to realize the real significance of God's kingdom in the earth, and in the hearts of men. When he understands the paternity of man, his appreciation of the fraternity and brotherhood of man is enhanced.
And so there arises within the heart of the investigator so led and instructed in the principles of truth a desire-a fervent, burning desire-to avail himself of the high privileges extended to him to ally himself with the kingdom of our Lord. He wishes for the kind of conviction and testimony he has heard and experienced from the missionary.
He sees the happiness, the contentment, and the satisfaction which flow from such testimony. He has been taught, and he now knows that this great happiness may come to him only through humble prayer and study, so he acquires the philosophy of humility. He no longer regards himself as self-sufficient. He depends on the Lord, and his faith assures him his trust will be rewarded.
Of course I have not set forth the experience of every investigator, nor every missionary, in this outline of our procedures. I set forth the opportunities of the plan, and I am pleased to state to you that thousands of truth-loving individuals have been the beneficiaries of it.
There is a feature of this missionary teaching not confined to any one lesson, but running throughout the entire program, which deserves special mention. It is the constant emphasis on the principle that it is the duty and the obligation of all men to seek and know the truth.
"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free".
"And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come;
"The Spirit of truth is of God".
Men not only have the privilege, they have also the obligation to study and know the truth. All will come to judgment. The truth is God's law by which all will be judged. They who have the truth have a solemn duty to share it with others. Our missionaries sincerely feel this obligation. They are sensitive to the proprieties involved in visiting the homes of the people. They enter only upon invitation, but they diligently seek opportunities to give their message of truth. I am sure there would be fewer rebuffs, and there are not very many, if their altruistic and generous attitude were more fully understood.
If I but had a way of sending a message to the homes the missionaries visit and the people they contact in their labors, I would appeal to them-all of them-to listen with an open mind, and with a measure of patience. I can assure any who will, that preconceived prejudices will disappear, and appreciation and gratitude will arise for the unselfish, friendly service of these ambassadors of truth.
There is a phase of this teaching process in the missionary effort for which I am extremely grateful. It is this. In this method of teaching the gospel to families and individuals we do not have to have a great body of trained and polished speakers to transmit our message to large congregations. I think generally our missionaries acquit themselves well before audiences, but in this family teaching what they need most is, first, a knowledge of the principles, and secondly, testimony as to their divine origin.
Our missionaries generally work with individuals in an individual capacity. Conversion is an individual matter. There is no such thing as a mass conversion. Many people may have yielded to the impressions of the spirit at one timed but the experience o each is a personal matter between him and his Lord, so I feel that the Lord approves of the individual teaching of the gospel such as we are carrying forward in the missionary service.
Another thing for which I am likewise grateful is that there is substantially no variance or uncertainty in our missionary teaching. It is not necessary that there be long debates or discussions as to interpretations of doctrine. What we teach is the revelations which, for the most part are direct, certain, and unequivocal in their import. If any mysteries seem to arise, we leave the solution of such mysteries for future revelation. The Lord has given us sufficient for this day and time, and for the people who live in the world.
When I read of the discussions, debates, and sometimes controversies, arising among religious leaders and learned men as to the problems and programs for Christian churches, I assure you I am profoundly grateful to be identified with a lofty cause, whose course is so fully and accurately and permanently charted that all you have to do to know the way and perceive the light is to ask and discover what the revelations say and what the priesthood directs. It seems to me that all that should be necessary to guide the course of any Christian cause is a simple declaration of the divine nature of the Christ and his supremacy in the world as the author of divine law which governs in the affairs of men.
So, my brethren and sisters, we send out from the body of the Church not so many as we would like, or as we need, but nevertheless a great army of young men and young women, and some older people, to teach honest people in the world of the re-establishment of our Father's kingdom, and the vital principles of life which have come to us with the revelations of the restored gospel.
We also call to assist these missionaries considerable numbers of those residing in the missions who are willing to devote all or a part of their time to the missionary effort. What wonderful people these missionaries are-unselfish, sincerely interested in their fellows, humble, prayerful, studious, giving their all to their Father in heaven and the promotion of his great cause in the world.
And you, my fellow members of the Church, make their achievements possible. Your homes contribute to the support of the young men and young women, and many older ones, who, with some assistance from the quorums, pursue their labors. These missionaries are constantly in our thoughts. We pray for them, and we bless them, and we have ample proof that the Lord blesses them, recognizes and rewards their service. No inconsiderable part of our time and effort is devoted to the missionary work of the Church.
We are ever seeking ways to improve, and we are pleased today to recognize this organized teaching of the gospel which I have outlined for you as a distinct contribution to the efficacy of missionary effort. Further improvements will undoubtedly come, and the Lord will fulfil his mighty predictions, "For verily the voice of the Lord is unto all men, and there is none to escape; and there is no eye that shall not see, neither ear that shall not hear, neither heart that shall not be penetrated".
There is something else that perhaps all of us can do for the missionaries and the great cause they represent. With the mention of it I shall close. Every one of us as it were furnishes a background for the missionaries' work. If we live and serve so that the missionary in his teaching can point with pride to the application of the gospel principles in our society, we shall be of infinite help in the process of conversion.
The consistency of our living will make an invaluable contribution. The influence of our living will spread far and wide, and will furnish eloquent and effective testimony to the principles we proclaim. By courageously living honorable, righteous lives we are all entitled to be counted members of the incomparable missionary force of the Church of Christ.
For myself, I pray for strength to be a consistent contributor and supporter of the cause which I dearly love. I offer the same prayer for you, my brethren and my sisters. The Lord help us to be exemplars and teachers of the truth which we have. I know we have it. The Lord help us to share it with our fellow men, I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder George Q. Morris
George Q. Morris, Conference Report, October 1954, pp. 97-100
My dear brethren and sisters: I thank the Lord for the privilege of being with you this morning and of having fellowship with you in the Church of Jesus Christ, and I thank the Lord for the instructions, the simple, beautiful, convincing gospel instructions that we have received this morning and in all preceding sessions of this conference.
I am wholly dependent upon my Father in heaven and upon your assistance in that he shall lead me to say the things that I should say upon this occasion.
This Church for a century and a quarter has been declaring these truths to the world. The testimonies we have heard, the teachings of the gospel, the purposes of the Lord, have been preached to the world during all this period by men who have been called of God to do so, and the message to the world is and has been that the Church of Jesus Christ now exists in the world, and that prophets and Apostles are directing the affairs of his Church. Indeed, just as the Lord Jesus Christ in leaving the world to ascend to the Father left his Church in the hands of Apostles and prophets and the priesthood of the Church, so in this day he has placed in the hands of Apostles and prophets and the priesthood of his Church, his Church and his gospel, the only true and living Church in the world because it is his Church, and in it alone lies salvation for the human family.
What a glorious message of hope and faith and joy this should be to the distraught world. And it is such to the honest in heart, those who are seeking with all their hearts to know and keep the commandments of God.
When the Lord visited this continent and set up his Church among his people soon after his ascension into the heavens, they were querying after he left them one day, as to what they should name the Church, and when he came the next day to continue his instructions to them, he knew their contentions and queries and said:
And how be it my church save it be called in my name? For if a church be called in Moses' name then it be Moses' church; or if it be called in the name of a man then it be the church of a man; but if it be called in my name then it is my church, if so be that it is built upon my gospel.
What a simple and logical and beautiful explanation of the facts! And that is something to guide us in the midst of all the religious confusion that exists in the world today. The Church of Jesus Christ by his direction bears his name. In this day when it has again been restored, the same instructions came to the Prophet Joseph Smith that this Church should be called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the "Latter-day Saints" being added to distinguish it from all other dispensations.
The Lord continued in his instructions to the effect that: If the Church has his name and it is built upon his gospel, then it is his Church; and if they would pray to the Father he would hear their prayers, and his works shall be manifest in the Church.
Note the significant qualification added that not only must it have his name, but it must also be based upon his gospel. Then he adds that if churches are built that are based upon the works of men or the works of Satan, then these will have joy in their churches for a period but the time will come when they will be hewn down and cast into the fire.
The Lord has very clearly set before us in this simple statement a guiding principle: There is one Church of Jesus Christ, bearing his name and preaching his gospel. All other churches are the churches of men, and there can be no salvation in them, and the time will come when they will be destroyed.
When the Prophet Joseph Smith was a youth, he had to come before the whole Christian world and declare to them the principle that there could be only one true church in the world. In his search for the truth he had been logical in his thinking; he wanted to serve God and keep his commandments; and as he viewed the denominations in Christendom, he concluded that all these churches could not be true, that they might all be wrong, but that they could not all be right, and then, as we have had explained to us by previous speakers, he received in the presence of the Father and the Son the latter's words that all the creeds were wrong and that they were an abomination in the sight of God. They were the creeds of men that were not true, and untruth God cannot tolerate.
After a century there has been some change in thought, perhaps the leaven has been at work. There are many Christian leaders in the denominations today who are declaring there can be but one true Church, and they have a most sincere desire to unify the divergent denominations making up the Christian churches of the world. About a month ago they held in the Chicago area a World Council of Churches, desiring if possible to work toward unity. It is interesting to note that this great council of nearly six hundred delegates representing forty-eight countries and about 160 denominations met within the precincts of one of the stakes of the Church of Jesus Christ that has been restored to the earth, and in the general location in our country where Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith became martyrs for their testimony concerning the one true Church, the Church of Jesus Christ, that had been restored.
It is interesting to note that in their desire for unity, many of the church leaders are speaking forthrightly to their people. One prominent speaker expressed this thought that if Jesus Christ should come to the earth today and see the denominations bearing his name, he would say, "If these are Christian churches, then I am not a Christian.
I want to read, not exact quotations, but some expressions here, because I want them to be accurate in representing what others are thinking. One particular Protestant writer in great clearness and sincerity, expresses his belief that the churches should become united, and states these reasons:
That Protestantism is conscious and the demonstrations agree that the true Church exists in the mind of Christ, but that he recognizes none of the denominations as his Church.
That there should be one united Church, that it now exists, but it is hidden by man-made denominational churches.
That the true Church can only come by a dissolution of the denominational churches as churches, which are but an apostate denominational system.
That the way to a united church is for the denominations to abdicate their churchism and the church functions which they have sinfully usurped.
That the desire of many leaders of Christendom is to release the believers of Christ from the Protestant apostasy into which it has been led by the evil spirit of sectarianism.
That in bringing about the united church the errors must be avoided which led Protestantism into the apostasy of sectarianism.
Such are the ideas now current in Protestantism.
Men are not satisfied with the conditions of the denominations in the world. To understand how the apostasy thus described came about, they need to understand the truth that has been referred to here, that there have been various dispensations of the gospel, that there were long periods when it was not on the earth. It should be understood that the Dispensation of the Meridian of Time was but a restoration of the gospel previously taken from the earth and that although that dispensation was glorified by the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, himself opening it and in it offering his great atonement, yet it was to come to an end. It should also be clearly understood as was explained in this conference, that when the prophets and the Apostles, the very foundation of the Church of Jesus Christ, disappeared, then his Church of necessity disappeared. That dispensation ended. The true Church was again taken from the earth. This being so, then it is clear that men had no way of knowing the will of God, of preserving the true principles of the gospel, of continuing to know the true and living God. The revelations of God were not available to them. It must follow, therefore, that all the churches built up since the Apostles and prophets and the true Church were taken from the earth are churches made by men, and "the power of God unto salvation" could not be in them.
If people could but understand this principle, if our youth could, then they would look for the restored Church of Jesus Christ of the last dispensation which bears his name, is built upon his gospel, and which has in it his authority and power-his Apostles and prophets.
Just for a moment may we glance at what constitutes the setting up of the Church of Christ? Men set up their churches day by day, by private interpretations of the scriptures, but for the Church of Jesus Christ, which can come from God only, to be set up, the heavens must be opened, a dispensation of truth must come. First of all, God ordinarily, with an exception I shall note, appears to a man whom he has selected as his prophet, and reveals himself to him, for a true Church cannot be built on a false faith and a false God. So that it may be known not only what kind of being he is but who he is, he identifies himself as the true and living God. Then he gives this man his authority, the Holy Priesthood; thus he is equipped so that the Lord may direct him step by step to establish the Church in the earth. That was what the Lord did with Abraham who talked with God face to face, and he received the priesthood and the Urim and Thummim. The Lord gave him needful revelations, telling him what to do and where to go, and made covenants with him.
Regarding the Dispensation of the Meridian of Time, the Lord in that instance did not come and choose a prophet, but the Father sent his Firstborn, whom by divine investiture he had elevated to the Godhead, sharing with him the glory and the honor and the power of his own Fatherhood, he sent him to be his Only Begotten Son in the flesh; so that he came with all this power and authority that was in him. He, the Spirit of light, he from whom the priesthood comes, he from whom revelations come, he himself came as directed by the Father and for thirty-three years lived in the world, revealing himself and revealing through himself God the eternal Father, being in his express image, and taught the principles of the gospel of salvation as directed by the Father, atoned for the sins of the world and instituted the resurrection from the dead.
These are the simple truths as to a restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and it is the simple truth, that by these means this gospel has again been restored in these last days by the Lord Jesus Christ, the sole source of salvation for the human family, through the Prophet Joseph Smith, who received the Holy Priesthood, followed his instructions, received his revelations and built up again his Church; and thus an open channel of revelation was established, which channel shall never be closed, for this is the Church of the last dispensation and it shall never again be taken from the earth.
I bear humble witness that this channel of communication is now open and that through it our beloved prophet David O. McKay, receives instructions from God, that this is the Church and kingdom of God, and that in it is the power of God unto salvation, because it is the Church of Jesus Christ. May God touch the hearts of men and women to understand these simple truths, that they may receive this message with gladness and thanksgiving and embrace it for their salvation and exaltation, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Marion D. Hanks
Marion D. Hanks, Conference Report, October 1954, pp. 100-102
This experience makes me feel like a Marine lieutenant friend of mine. He had been in the last war for four years and when he learned they were considering his recall, he sent the board a telegram in which he said: "I desire to remind you that I spent four years in the last war, and I just want you to know I do not want to crowd in ahead of anyone else who wants the experience.
I am grateful for a great many things this morning. I am always grateful to be on these grounds and in this building, for daily association with them has never dimmed their beauty and their memories for me. I am grateful for the lovely flowers which festoon this stand, for many of us learned to love them and what they represent in the islands of the sea; and I am particularly grateful for the blessing of aloha or love which motivated the good people who sent them.
I am especially grateful this morning, for freedom. As a serviceman who had opportunity in an armed conflict to help defend this nation, as a young American, and as a Latter-day Saint, I am as grateful for freedom as my intelligence and capacity to understand it allow me to be.
But as I look at you and consider myself, I think of another kind of freedom which is even more important than that which we here enjoy to assemble and to teach and to worship. This freedom has no relationship to prison walls, or to any other aspect of physical restraint or deprivation. It may, in fact, be employed by one immured in deepest dungeon, penniless and starving and in ill health. On the other hand, it may be absent from one who is not physically restrained, who has an abundance of wealth, health, prominence, I think of the freedom taught by Jesus to certain of the descendants of Abraham many centuries ago. Having taught them of his Father, he gave them another great lesson, in these words, many having believed on him:
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.
They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the son abideth ever.
If the son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
There is a freedom different from and superior to even that which we enjoy today, to meet, to teach, and to worship. What is it? Is it, as some suppose, the right to do as we please? Do we find this freedom in indulgence, in unrighteousness, in sin? Do we find it in giving loose rein to passion, to emotions, to appetites, to the unrighteous thought or act?
This freedom of which Jesus spoke does not company with unrighteousness nor is it the product of the evil act. This freedom, this freedom which he taught as being most important to mankind, comes to those who in righteousness have faith in God, learn hid law, and seek to understand it, and who, obedient to it, and with responsibility, seek to do his will.
There are many among us, and throughout the world, young and old who have the idea that freedom, the freedom of which we speak, can be found in unlicensed liberty. But this freedom which Jesus taught is not the freedom of irresponsibility or unrighteousness, but the freedom which accompanies obedience.
Is that husband free, for instance, who with disloyalty to his wife and family and with lust in heart, entangles himself in alliances outside his own home? Is that father free who, neglecting his children, turns them away and does not love them and teach them? Is that man free who hates his neighbor, and who will not forgive the trespasses his neighbor has committed against him?
Is that wife and mother free who will not perform the duties of her home with joy in her heart, realizing this to be her great calling? Is that woman free who gives her time to selfish social pursuits of doubtful worth instead of to her neighbor, her community, her Church, her God, in honest service, when there is so much to do?
Is that boy free who trifles with good habits, who cheats a little in school, who will not accept sound counsel and loving parental advice, but who, making his own stubborn way chooses companions who are on the wrong path, goes about his activities with them, perhaps even stealing from some others the most precious things they enjoy? Is the young girl free who thinks so little of herself that she allows herself to be handled as if she were worth nothing, or who talks with evil tongue about her friends or acquaintances; who will not be counseled, who will not be helpful or humble in the home?
The obvious answer is that these people are not free. True, they have the right to choose, but they violate their agency in choosing that which denies them the very freedom which God would have his children enjoy; for how is this freedom achieved?
Let me quote two or three verses of scripture. In addition to the words of the Lord, telling us that truth makes us free, he said again as recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants, the sacred book of the restoration:
I, the Lord God, make you free, therefore ye are free indeed; and the law also maketh you free.
And He said to us, as John recorded it when he was among men:
Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Abide in me, and I in you...
... for without me ye can do nothing.
And the Psalmist sang, "And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts".
And again, James:
But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
And finally, and perhaps most importantly, out of the book of 2 Corinthians this simple statement:
... where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
My humble testimony is that real freedom is not irresponsibility or license, but that real freedom accompanies faith in God, the understanding of his word, and obedience to it.
God bless us to realize as we seek to learn the marvelous principles of the gospel that he who will not in his heart forgive, he who will not be clean, he who will not seek to know the truths of the Lord as they apply not only to the obedience which is a word, but also to the obedience which is a way of living, is not free.
God bless us that we may have faith, that we may learn his word and live it, in order that we may have his spirit with us, for "... where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty". In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Clifford E. Young
Clifford E. Young, Conference Report, October 1954, pp. 102-104
I feel as if I had run through a red light!
My brethren and sisters: I join you this beautiful Sabbath morning in expressing gratitude for a testimony of the divinity of this work. As I drove up this morning from my home in Utah County, I could not help feeling grateful that I had a father and a mother who believed. My father, it is his 117th anniversary today, knew the Prophet Joseph, only as a boy, however, but his family knew the Prophet intimately, and they loved him. My father loved him. My mother loved his name. They have instilled in the hearts of us children an appreciation of this great work. They went through times that were rough. Father knew the criticisms that had been heaped against the Prophet, but he knew they were not true, and he knew in very deed that Joseph was all that he pretended to be.
I tried to think this morning, as I was driving along, what I would have thought, had I lived in the little village of Palmyra in 1820, when a young boy was to return to his home and tell his parents of the great manifestation that had come to him. I am wondering what I would have thought, had I even been a brother, as was Hyrum, six years older than the Prophet. Would I have believed him or would I have thought that there was something wrong with the boy? But I am sure if I had come under that parental influence and had felt the faith and warmth of those parents who knew, I, too, would have subscribed to his great message and would have believed.
A mother knows the weakness of her children; she knows those weaknesses before anyone else. She does not parade them, for which we are grateful, but she knows the weaknesses, and Lucy Smith would have known whether or not the Prophet, the boy, was telling the truth. She would have known whether his message was one of truth or one of error, and she did know it and she never wavered throughout her life; neither did the father, who stood loyally and truly by the side of the young Prophet. It was a fantastic message. It was not easy to believe. And I try to picture the Prophet as we picture the Savior as he stood before Pilate, alone; his disciples had left him, even Peter had said that he did not know him when he was pressed by some of the rabble; so Jesus stood alone. In that early day in the history of the Church, the Prophet stood alone, and yet think of this great work today. One and a quarter centuries have passed and here we have the evidence of the leaven that was referred to by Brother Morris, small as it was, leavening the lump; and this message of the restored gospel is spreading throughout the land.
I thought of these things as I drove along, and then I thought of Oliver Cowdery. Oliver Cowdery at one time lost the gift of faith. He was like many of us today! Some little thing had cankered his soul. We sometimes let little things canker our souls, and we lose the great values and blessings that come through faithful service in this Church. Oliver had let little things canker his soul. Phineas Young who was very close to my father's family, and who was a brother-in-law of Oliver Cowdery, labored with Oliver, wrote him letter after letter, telling him never to mind the little things but to remember that the truth had been restored and that he, Oliver, knew it and that he should come back in the Church.
In this very pulpit a number of years ago, Brother Alonzo Hinckley read a letter that Oliver Cowdery had written to Phineas Young, in which he set forth some of his grievances, feeling that he had been injured by some of his friends, and Phineas Young wrote back to him and said, "Never mind all that; suppose there was some grievance. You know the gospel is true; you know your testimony; you know where you belong." Following this, Oliver finally came up to Council Bluffs, and you know the rest of the story. He appeared before the people and then before the high council, and humbly he said to the high council, substantially as follows, "I do not ask to be restored to my former position"... the gift of faith had come back in his soul... "but all I ask is that I may come back into the Church, because I know it is true."
It is a marvelous testimony, my brothers and sisters. He had been out of the Church ten years. It was nearly twenty years since he had written the Book of Mormon, as it fell from the lips of the Prophet Joseph, as he Joseph, translated. He could easily have wavered; he could have said, "We were mistaken. It was all a mistake. Joseph made us believe we saw the plates. We imagined we heard a voice, and somehow or another we thought we saw an angel." But he did not say that. He said, "The Book of Mormon is true. It was translated by the gift and power of God. We saw the angel, and we heard his voice as he declared the truthfulness of this sacred record."
So, my brethren and sisters, with a heart full of gratitude and a testimony in my soul of the divinity of this work, I stand before you acknowledging the goodness of God to me, and to my family, for the gift of faith, realizing that no matter what comes in one's life, if the gift of faith is there, one may safely walk without wavering and without complaint. I feel that in my soul today, as I bear you this testimony, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder S. Dilworth Young
S. Dilworth Young, Conference Report, October 1954, pp. 104-106
The fact that President McKay, in the beginning of the conference, laid stress upon the auxiliaries of the Church, his statement being followed up by two of the auxiliary groups of our young people singing, gives me license, my brothers and sisters, to speak to a special group. I realize that there are many listening who do not belong to this group, but those to whom I refer have a great deal to do with the destiny of about twenty-five thousand or thirty thousand of our young boys, so I feel justified in addressing them this morning. I refer to the scoutmasters and the Explorer post advisers of the Church. There are about twenty-five hundred of them, in total. In their hands are the weekday activities of our young boys.
First, my brethren, I can address you as brethren I am sure and as a co-laborer of many years standing, I should like to call to your attention the fact that the best teaching is subtle. The declared statements of the Scout oath and the Scout law do not necessarily teach morals, although they help. It is the unspoken thing, the act from a man's heart which really does the teaching. I should like to make three simple illustrations in my own life concerning that, and I shall mention names with no apology.
Looking back to my beginnings as a deacon there was a man who stood out in my life. At the time I was not particularly conscious of it, although even then it seems to me the Lord's Spirit whispered to my spirit that here was one whom I should follow. He was my Uncle Fred. You know him better as Bishop Thomas A. Clawson, who was for so many years bishop of the Eighteenth Ward. He ordained me a deacon. I used to go to priesthood meetings on Monday night with my cousin Cannon Young and my brother Hiram. We would sit in preliminary exercises. Uncle Fred did not say much of anything to us, but each evening, before we were dismissed to go to class, his eye caressed each one of us individually, and those eyes, as they met ours, seemed to say, Good work, boys. We are glad you are here." His serene countenance, as he sat there, seemed to be the assurance to me that all was well in Zion so far as I was concerned. It was not words that did it, it was the fact that he was that kind of man. Sometimes, I wish we could have it today as it was in those days when, after the priesthood class was over, we would gather again and let the bishop give his final benediction before we departed for home. I think that was the highlight of my deacon's experience, happy as it was. As we filed back into the old Eighteenth Ward chapel, Uncle Fred's eye again went down the line of his deacons, engaged our eyes, each, as the final song was sung and the final prayer was said. And we often walked home feeling lifted up spiritually. This could not have been given by anyone but a man who lived what he preached without doing any preaching.
As an adolescent youth, there were two men who taught me lessons in the same way without saying anything. I enjoyed a happy athletic career in high school. I tried everything. Willard Ashton, the coach, never did tell me I had to obey any rules of the game, but I just knew that I had to; there was no other way to play it. Why? Because that was the way he played it. He did not talk about it, he did it. During that same period, there was Adam Bennion; I had four happy years under Adam S. Bennion. I cannot recall that he ever mentioned to me in all those years how I ought to conduct myself, but I knew how I should. I knew what he expected without his saying a word. There came a time in our young lives when there was a crisis in our school as against another school, when there had to be honor vindicated. We knew that when the time came Adam Bennion would vindicate our honor; we knew he could do nothing else, because he was that kind of man.
Those are three men, scoutmasters, out of many who without saying words influenced lives.
Now, you work with boys. Let me tell you several subtle things which you can do, if you believe them, or can do them as though you believe them, which will immeasurably increase the work and the happiness and the joy of the boyhood of this Church.
When Sunday morning comes along, Mr. Scoutmaster, will you be found sitting in the class with the deacons, or will you be so anxious about your own salvation that you will be up in the elders' or the seventies' or the high priests' quorum? I advise you to feel the importance of these young men under your care so greatly that when they walk into their class, even though you may not be their adviser in that deacons' quorum, there you will be sitting next to them, letting them see with their eyes that what is in your eyes in the reflection of what is in the teacher's eyes.
I have often thought what effect it must have on a boy to reach out the sacrament plate to his scoutmaster sitting in sacrament meeting. Boys love their scoutmasters, usually, and here sits the scoutmaster where he belongs, and the boy hands him the plate or the cup and smiles at him, and the scoutmaster smiles back. Not a word has been said, but the boy knows what it means to do his duty to God. He does not have to put his hand up and say it, he just knows it.
Do you scoutmasters realize that every time you pass a grove of trees in your hiking programs and in your camping out, that it is possible for your boys to duplicate in a measure the experience of the Prophet Joseph? What a lovely thing it would be if a scoutmaster could subtly teach a boy that whenever he came into a grove or passed a grove, if he cared to go in there and kneel down and offer a prayer to his Father, perhaps the Father would hear the prayer. He might not show Himself to him, but he would reveal Himself to him by a method which we have been told is sure, by the Holy Ghost.
The forests of our land, where God might influence boys are not confined to New York state, my brothers and sisters and fellow scoutmasters. They are here and around us.
I have been a Scout executive a long time, but I cannot recall many occasions that I have heard a scoutmaster bear his witness at a campfire that Jesus is the Christ. I have been guilty of that myself. Could I do it over again, I would use many more occasions before the last embers died, to stand there and tell my boys of the living Christ and of the goodness of him in these days to reveal himself to the boy Prophet.
What can teach observance of the Sabbath day more effectively than the quiet ways of the leader as he guides his boys in the breaking of camp on Saturday evening. As he lets them out of the car at each home his cheery, "See you tomorrow in priesthood meeting" is a powerful sermon. Conversely the noise of wheels turning against the pavement on Sunday is louder than any words of advice.
And finally, I would be remiss indeed if I did not teach them to talk to their Father in heaven. Campfire programs and camping out programs and hikes and trips, when boys are away from home, put them on their own as to whether they shall talk to their Father or not. They can do it individually, as I have suggested, in groves, but they must do it collectively at times. I should like to ask you one favor. There has been given to the Boy Scout organizations, I think righteously enough, a pattern of prayer which is used throughout scouting, and which, while all right for the boys of other faiths, does not belong in our groups. I can repeat it in about ten words; it is short. I say it with all reverence both toward the Lord and respect toward the men who think it is a good prayer: "May the great Scoutmaster of all good Scouts be with us until we meet again," they say, and then they dismiss the boys to go to bed.
My fellow Scout leaders, at your came fires and in your dismissals, teach your boys that the Lord is not a great Scoutmaster. He is our God. When you pray to him and when they pray to him, address him as he suggested himself. Let them say, "Our Father, which art in heaven", asking for the favors of the night, for the protecting care, for love and peace at home, and for all things concerning which they should inquire. Then let them always close it by saying, "In the name of Jesus Christ," thus bearing their witness that they believe in his holy name. That is the kind of prayer we ought to have our Latter-day Saint Scouts say. For its kind, I have no objection to the other, but we have our kind which is better. It makes boys vocally and can be given inspirationally fit many occasions.
My testimony is that God lives, and that he who sits on this stand, presiding, is his prophet and his servant. I would that all the boys in our care will develop the same testimony with the help of their leaders, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Milton R. Hunter
Milton R. Hunter, Conference Report, October 1954, pp. 106-114
Since the day that the Angel Moroni gave the gold plates to the Prophet Joseph Smith from which he translated and published the Book of Mormon, vast amounts of marvelous evidences have accumulated. These evidences sustain the divine authenticity and truthfulness of that holy ancient record.
Also, during the same period of time, enemies of truth and light have done everything within their power to oppose the Book of Mormon, trying to prove that its claims are false. Some of these men, no doubt, were merely misled; but the majority of them did what they did with evil intent. The result has been that all of their works have come to naught. The evil results of their efforts have vanished as the dew on earth's verdure vanishes in the presence of the rising sun. Thus, the Book of Mormon stands today in higher repute than ever before in the history of the Church. None of its claims have been proven to be false. On the other hand, a vast accumulation of evidences-some of which speak as it were from the dust and others from the ancient past-continue to bear witness to the divinity of this sacred book and to its truthfulness.
Beyond a shadow of doubt, the Book of Mormon is the word of God, a divine and sacred book, preserved by the Lord and his holy angels to come forth in the latter days as a new witness to Jesus Christ and the gospel which he proclaimed.
I shall point out some of the astounding Book of Mormon evidences, listing them under three major headings: first archaeological evidences; second-testimonies of sixteenth century Indian historians; and third-writings of Catholic padres of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, which writers secured their information firsthand from the Indians.
American archaeology had its birth shortly before the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith. John Lloyd Stephens had visited Guatemala, Honduras, and Yucatan, had come back to the United States, and had written a glowing report of the beautiful temples, pyramids, and other archaeological remains which dotted the jungles of Central America and Mexico.: Incidents of travel in Yucatan.) From the time of the publishing of Stephens' books forward, the governments of Mexico, Central America, and portions of South America, as well as archaeological organizations from the United States and her neighbors to the south, have spent vast amounts of money, and have exerted an untold amount of effort at numerous of these archaeological sites. Also, considerable work has been done in reconstructing the ancient buildings. In reconstructing these marvelous pyramids, temples, and other archaeological ruins, the archaeologists and their helpers have placed the stones as far as possible back as they were when the ancient Americans first erected the buildings. The result is that today the country from north of Mexico City southward to Chile is literally dotted with numerous archaeological sites, many of which have been excavated by archaeologists.
Before proceeding further, I desire to point out, definitely, that the majority of the archaeological ruins that have been excavated postdate Book of Mormon times, and some of them were originally erected several hundred years following the close of Nephite history. Then you may ask, "What evidence do these ancient ruins give to sustain the Book of Mormon?"
I shall answer as follows: The Book of Mormon claims that great civilizations lived in ancient America. In fact, that sacred record points out that three separate peoples came to America in ancient times and established their civilizations. These peoples were known as Jaredites, Nephites, and Mulekites. The best archaeologists at the present time claim that many of the archaeological remains that have been excavated were built over earlier temples, pyramids, and other buildings, connoting earlier civilizations; and in many respects these earlier peoples were more highly developed, or more civilized, than were the people who erected the buildings of the archaeological remains that are now extant; for example, Miguel Covarrubias, speaking the views of the Mexican archaeologists, places the La Venta site within the period of 200 B. C. to 300 A. D. To quote from this writer:
Everywhere there are archaeological treasures that lie hidden in the Jungles and under the rich soil of southern Vera Cruz, burial mounds and pyramids, masterfully carved colossal monuments of basalt, splendid statuettes of precious jade, and sensitively modeled figurines of clay all of an unprecedented, high artistic quality. The tantalizing presence of a great and remote past in what is now uninhabited, impenetrable jungle is all the more puzzling because archaeologists now agree that many of these artistic masterpieces date back to the beginnings of the Christian era. Appearing suddenly out of nowhere in a state of full development, they constitute a culture that seems to have been the root, the mother culture, from which the latter and better-known cultures sprang.
This oldest of native American high cultures is also the newest, since it was "discovered" only a few years ago and still awaits exhaustive scientific study., pp. 79-80.)
Latter-day Saints know that the three oldest "native American high cultures were the Jaredite, Nephite, and Mulekite cultures, the latter two fitting well within the La Venta period.
The La Venta archaeological site, located near the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, was excavated by Dr. Matthew W. Stirling in 1939-1940. He is credited with dating this culture from 450 B.C. to 600 A. D.. p. 100.) He made an archaeological find there of great importance, a carving of a statue of a man which reminds one of the usual portrayal of "Uncle Sam.", p. 327; Milton R. Hunter and Thomas Stuart Ferguson, Ancient America and the Book of Mormon, pp. 133-135, 173.) This figure had a full flowing beard and an aquiline nose, constituting a good representation of a Hebrew priest. Covarrubias described the figure as one representing a person having "... surprising pronounced Semitic features." Stirling points out that the figure is depicted as wearing "... shoes with odd, pointed, upturned toes." Neither the shoes nor the face and flowing beard of "Uncle Sam" could have been a representation of a red-skinned Indian;. To quote Dr. Jakeman:
... the resemblance of this sculpture to the Book of Mormon account cannot be accidental... It practically establishes an historical connection... between the ancient Central American priests responsible for the sculpture and the Lehi people of the Book of Mormon! Indeed, the accurate and detailed knowledge of Lehi's vision... displayed by these priests in this sculpture, can be explained only by their identification as an actual group of the Lehi people., pp. 26-49.)
Of special interest to Latter-day Saints is the temple of Quetzalcoatl, located at Teotihuacán, north of Mexico City. This temple is decorated with serpents' heads, surrounded with quetzal feathers. Quetzal is the name of a beautiful bird with resplendent long, green feathers, found mainly in Guatemala and Honduras. Coatl is the ancient Mexican word for serpent.
The Book of Mormon gives a beautiful account of Christ's appearance to the Nephites following his crucifixion and resurrection. To them he gave the true gospel plan of salvation, and the people lived in almost perfect righteousness for over two hundred years. Certainly Christ's visit constituted one of the greatest events, if not the greatest, that transpired in ancient America.
Following the apostasy of the Nephites and the Lamanites from the true religion of the Master and the extermination of the Nephite civilization, the Lamanites or Indians retained in their traditions a memory of the appearance of the resurrected Savior to their forefathers. This white-bearded God, according to one tradition, came to the people through the air, and as he descended to earth the sunrays sparkled on his beautiful white body and clothing. The quetzal bird as it flew through the air reminded the people of the glorious beauty and radiant splendor of the white-bearded God who had appeared to their ancestors; and so they added a pagan touch to that memorable event by selecting the most beautiful and highly prized bird of the New World, the quetzal, as a symbol of the white God, or Jesus Christ. Also, coatl, or serpent, was an ancient symbol of Israel's Anointed One. Thus, the Indians commemorated their white-bearded God with the symbol of "Quetzal-bird serpent" or Quetzalcoatl.;; Maurice H. Farbridge, Studies in Biblical and Semitic Symbolism, p. 25; Hunter and Ferguson, op. cit., pp. 195-222; Verrill, op. cit., p. 67.)
Traditions existed among practically every American Indian tribe, especially the more civilized peoples of Peru, Central America, Guatemala, Yucatan, and Mexico, to the effect that their ancestors were visited by a white-bearded God, who gave them their culture, their civilization, and their religion, and who promised that someday he would return to their descendants. These traditions account for the easy conquest of Mexico and Peru; but, more important, they all bear witness to Christ's appearance to the ancient Americans, as accounted in the Book of Mormon.
Also, of special interest to members of the Church of Jesus Christ are the beautiful and famous archaeological ruins in Yucatan, especially those at Chichén, Itzá, Uxmal, and Kabah. The massive pyramids, temples, and other important structures were erected during the tenth century A.D., constituting the workmanship of the New Mayan Empire. Those Mayas of Yucatan, as had the Toltecs of Teotihuacán, worshiped the white-bearded God, whom they called Kukulcan. They carved motifs to Kukulcan on their buildings similar to those at Teotihuacán and at other Mexican sites, i.e., the plumed serpent. In fact, the plumed serpent is extensively used in decorating all of their buildings.
Also, the Mayas decorated their buildings with another motif or symbol-that of a bearded white man wearing quetzal feathers. The latter carvings represented priests of Kukulcan, or probably Kukulcan himself. They are definitely not of Indian type but are of Hebraic type. To quote Theodore Arthur Willard:
An interesting sidelight... is the distinctly Semitic cast of countenance of some of the ancient sculptures and murals found at Chichén Itzá and in other old Maya cities. The dignity of face and serene poise of those carved or painted likenesses is strikingly Hebraic.
The marvelous archaeological finds at Palenque in the Usumacinta Valley-especially the cross and the Egyptian-type burials, the famous ruins of the Old Mayan Empire in Honduras and Guatemala-especially those at Copan, Uaxactún, and Quiriguá, all bear testimony to the Book of Mormon's claims that high civilizations lived in ancient America. The late Dr. Sylvanus G. Morley maintained that the Maya history had its beginning as early as 300 B. C. and that pre-Maya history extends back to about 3000 B. C. The former date would reach in the earlier part of Nephite history, and the latter would extend to the beginnings of Jaredite history.
When one considers all of the wonderful archaeological remains in Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and Central America, and those of South America, one comes to the conclusion that those of the northern hemisphere do not surpass the marvelous archaeological ruins found in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Colombia. Numerous buildings have been excavated and some of them reconstructed. Thousands of graves have been opened and from them have been taken the most beautiful and artistic workings in gold, silver, copper, and precious stones of various kinds. Also, from those graves have been taken the most finely woven, beautiful laces, the most gorgeous wool and cotton cloths, and "fine-twined linen". In fact, various archaeologists maintain that the world has known no races of people who surpassed the predecessors of the Inca civilization in these various handicrafts. Some of them maintain that the earliest South American civilization dates as far back as 3000 B.C.; for example, A. Hyatt Verrill states:
Despite the high attainment in art, engineering, astronomy and government which were reached by the Aztecs, the Incas, the Mayas and others, in a way these unknown, forgotten races of South America were more remarkable, and were unquestionably far more ancient. From the Chibcha district in Colombia to northern Chile, numerous races rose to a civilized state, vanished and were forgotten centuries before the first Montezuma or the first Inca saw the light of day.
As a general rule, when we find a race excelling in some one art or occupation we find the people deficient in some other art or industry, but the Chimus appear to have been masters of all trades. Their textiles, especially their laces, were marvelous examples of weaving, and their mosaic and mother-of-pearl work was exquisite. Many specimens of these are truly wonderful examples of this highly developed art. There are vases, cups, ceremonial utensils, ear plugs, breastplates, wooden utensils, objects made of clay and of bone that are highly and most artistically embellished with mosaic inlay of mother-of-pearl, the red Spondylus shell, colored stone and precious metals. Many of their robes and ponchos of magnificent textiles are completely covered with ornaments of gold, silver, mother-of-pearl and sections of bright colored sea shells arranged in charming patterns so as to give the effect of a mosaic cloth.
They were also highly skilled wood carvers and there is scarcely a wooden object that is not handsomely carved. 84, 84, They had developed a unique method of weaving feathers into cloth thus producing feather robes, tunics, head coverings, etc., that are gorgeous in color and design...
Even in their ordinary metal work the Chimus exhibited the greatest skill and a most artistic taste. Metals were cast, embossed, etched, engraved, pressed, hammered, spun or built up into innumerable forms by welding and soldering. In fact every means of working metals known to modern artisans was employed by the Chimus.
It is to be recalled that the Book of Mormon history is confined to the period between the building of the Tower of Babel and 421 A. D., the period during which the ancient Americans made their greatest achievements in the various handicrafts as described b Mr. Verrill. Also, we should recall that the Book of Mormon made such claims as follows:
... all manner of fruit, and of rain, and of silks, and of fine linen, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious things.
... of all things whatsoever they stood in need-and abundance... of gold, and of silver, and of precious things, and abundance of silk and fine-twined linen, and all manner of good homely cloth.
Again we read:
And behold, there was all manner of gold in both these lands, and of silver, and of precious ore of every kind; and there were also curious workmen, who did work all kinds of ore and did refine it; and thus they did become rich.
Behold their women did toil and spin, and did make all manner of cloth, of fine-twined linen and cloth of every kind, to clothe their nakedness.
Certainly all of these archaeological remains fit well with the Book of Mormon claims regarding the Jaredites Nephite, and Mulekite civilizations; thus archaeology speaks as it were from the dust, verifying the Book of Mormon to be true-to be the word of God.
The second evidences verifying the Book of Mormon which I shall discuss are the writings of the sixteenth century Indian historians. When the Spanish conquistadors and the Catholic padres were conquering Mexico and Yucatan, they found that the Indians had many books-large libraries. Many of the Indians knew how to read and write and were more civilized than were their conquerors from Europe. In order to destroy as far as possible the natives' civilization and do away with what the Catholic fathers termed "the Indians' wicked paganism," the Catholic padres burned all of the books that they could find, completely destroying the libraries. This terrible act of vandalism resulted in a terrific loss to our understanding of the history of the Indians and their ancestors.
It was fortunate, however, that three or four excellent manuscripts written by Indian historians during the first century of their contact with the Spaniards escaped the ruthless destruction. These writings have been translated into English during the past several years.
One of these important writings was produced in 1554, in the Quiché-Maya Indian language of Guatemala, and "... signed by the kings and dignitaries of the Quiché court." It is known as the Title of the Lords of Totonicapán. At the request of the Quiché Indians, Dionisio José Chonay, a Catholic priest, translated the document from the Quiché language into Spanish in 1834. It was first translated into English by Delia Goetz and published in 1953. However, Dr. M. Wells Jakeman published in English extracts from the Spanish version in 1945, this being the first time that any of this work had appeared in English. The Totonicapán claims that the ancestors of the Quiché-Mayas
... came from the other part of the ocean, from where the sun rises, a place called Pa Tulán, Pa Civán meaning Bountiful]... and they came from where the sun rises, descendants of Israel, of the same language and the same customs... they were sons of Abraham and Jacob.
And then the authors of Totonicapán close their account as follows:
Now on the twenty-eighth of September of 1554 we sign this attestation in which we have written that which by tradition our ancestors told us, who came from the other part of the sea, from Civan-Tulan, bordering on Babylonia.
These statements are all in perfect agreement with the claims made in the Book of Mormon. We should recall that Nephi and his brethren built their ship at a place which they named Bountiful which was located on the southeastern shores of Arabia or "bordering on Babylonia"; and from that place they set sail for America.
The Totonicapán also claims that God gave to their original prophet-leader a peculiar instrument, called Giron-Gagal, through the power of which the people were guided to their now home. One is reminded of the Liahona which was given by the Lord to Father Lehi.
Another Quiché-Maya book, the Popol Vuh, much more detailed than Totonicapán, was written between 1554 and 1558 A D. In its present printed form, it is a book containing over two hundred pages. It might be termed the Lamanite account of their history and religion, as the Book of Mormon is the Nephite account. Regarding this book, Brasseur de Bourbourg wrote:
The Popol Vuh appears to have been written, in part, from memory, following ancient originals, and in part, copied from the sacred books of the Quiches... This manuscript... is written in a Quiché of great elegance, and the author must have been one of the princes of the royal family, of their his who composed it a few years after the arrival of the Spaniards, when all of their ancient books were disappearing.
The Popol Vuh was first translated into English by Delia Goetz and Sylvanus G. Morley and published in 1950.
In this book the Quiché-Maya Indians of Guatemala give an account of the creation of the world, of the origin of man, of the flood, of the confusion of tongues, and of the coming of their ancestors across the sea from the East. It also mentions the fact that the colonizers were guided to their new home by a peculiar instrument, called Pizom-Gagal . Thus the Popol Vuh in many items sustains the teachings of the more beautiful and complete account found in the Book of Mormon.
A third book written by the Indians of Guatemala, The Annals of the Cakchiquels, also bears witness to the teachings of the Book of Mormon. The writers, the Cakchiquel Indians, were a branch of the Quiché-Mayas. I shall quote from this writing:
I shall write the stories of our first fathers and grandfathers... that from the other side of the sea we came to the place called Tulan ...
Thus, then we were four families who arrived at Tulan, we the Cakchiquel people, oh, our sons! so they told us., pp. 43-44.)
The greatest book of the Indian writings of the sixteenth century is the Works of Ixtlilxochitl, written about 1600 A. D. by an Aztec prince named Ixtlilxochitl who lived near the City of Mexico. This Indian writer claimed that ancient America was settled by three distinctive groups of people. The first settlers, termed the Ancient Ones, the Giants, or the First Tultecs, he claimed came from the Tower of Babel at the time of the confounding of tongues. They came to this land across the sea from the East. Many details of their history are given by Ixtlilxochitl which correspond closely to the Jaredite history in the Book of Ether.
The second group of settlers Ixtlilxochitl called the Tultecs. His account of these people, although much briefer, corresponds very closely to the account given in the Book of Mormon of the Nephites, event after event agreeing in the principal points. He even tells of the last great wars between the two people with dates almost identical with those recorded in the Book of Mormon.
The third people, whom Ixtlilxochitl called Olmecs and who are identified as the Mulekites, exterminated the last of the first colonizers. This event reminds one of Coriantumr, the last Jaredite, who lived for nine months with the Mulekites before his death. Ixtlilxochitl even tells of the merging together of the Tultecs and Olmecs and of the dominance of the Tultecs' culture, which is in complete agreement with the Book of Mormon account.
Throughout the entire Works of Ixtlilxochitl, point after point, both in history and doctrine, are reasonably comparable to the historical events and teachings of the Book of Mormon. Merely for the purpose of illustration, I shall give one quotation from Ixtlilxochitl. He tells of the terrific destruction that took place at the time of Christ's crucifixion, as follows:
It was 166 years since they had adjusted their years and times with the equinox, and 270 since the Ancient Ones had been destroyed, when the sun and the moon eclipsed, and the earth trembled, and the rocks broke, and many other things and signs took place... This happened in the year of ce Calli, which, adjusting this count with ours, comes to be at the same time when Christ out. Lord suffered, and they say it happened during the first days of the year.
We recall that in 3 Nephi it is written:
And it came to pass in the thirty and fourth year, in the first month, on the fourth day of the month, there arose a great storm, such an one as never had been known in all the land.
And then the Book of Mormon account continues with a description of the terrific destruction that took place while Christ hanged on the cross and the intense darkness which prevailed for three days while the Master's in the tomb. Observe that the Book of Mormon gives the time of this event as the first month of the year and the fourth day of the month and during the period of Christ's crucifixion while Ixtlilxochitl states "... at the same time when Christ our Lord suffered... during the first days of the year." There is no way under heaven whereby this Indian could have known such facts except through direct revelation from the Lord or from records which were in his possession. He claimed the latter.
Some authors are prone to discredit the writings of Ixtlilxochitl and the other Indian historians on the grounds that they could have been influenced by the Spanish Catholic priests. It is a fact of great significance, however, that these Indian writers recorded numerous historical facts, as well as items pertaining to the social and religious teachings and customs of their ancestors, of which the Catholic padres could have had no knowledge save only through possessing the Book of Mormon or comparable records. Such writings of the Catholic priests did not have; but the Indians did possess records and traditions of their ancestors, which resulted in their writings comparing so favorably with the Book of Mormon.
The third item I suggested that I would discuss is the writings of the sixteenth century Catholic missionaries who got their information directly from the Indians. One of the most important of these writers was Bernardino de Sahagun. He lived in Mexico from 1529 to 1590 A. D. and produced his scholarly work in Aztec in the latter part of the sixteenth century. It is one of the most reliable and comprehensive reports concerning the ancients of Middle America. It was first published in Spanish in 1829, and since then portions of it have been published in English. Sahagun states:
Concerning the origin of these peoples, the report the old men give is that they came by sea... in some wooden boats... But it is conjectured by a report found among all these natives that they came from seven caves, and that these seven caves are the seven ships or galleys in which the first settlers of this land came...
The people first... came coasting along the coast disembarking in the port of Panuco, which they called Panco, which means "place where those arrived who crossed the water." This people came in search of the terrestrial paradise, and they had as a family name Tamoanchan, which means "we are looking for our home."
Recall the Jaredite history which tells that the forefathers crossed the ocean in eight barges in search of "... the land of promise, which was choice above all other lands of the earth". Sahagun's writings give numerous proofs which sustain the teachings and history of the Book of Mormon, but time will not permit giving more of them here.
Bishop Bartholomé de Las Casas, a prominent Catholic missionary, writing in 1552-1553, said of the Indians of Guatemala that
... they had among them information of the flood and of the end of the world... and so they believe that another Butic is about to come which is another flood and judgment, not of water, but of fire which they, say will be the end of the world...
Las Casas found an abundance of teachings among the Indians which resembled Christian doctrine, and so he concluded that the devil had arrived in America ahead of the Christians and implanted in the minds and hearts of the natives many teachings closely akin to Christianity. Since the Book of Mormon peoples had a thorough knowledge of the gospel, some of the divine truths would naturally be handed down from age to age, probably in altered forms.
Diego de Landa, a prominent Spanish missionary in Yucatan, writing in about 1556, says that, according to the Mayas, "... the world was destroyed by a deluge.", p. 93.) He also stated:
Some of the older people of Yucatan say that they have heard from their ancestors that this land was occupied by a race of people who came from the East and whom God had delivered... If this were true, it necessarily follows that all the inhabitants of the Indies are descendants of the Jews.
Juan de Torquemada, a Spanish missionary in Mexico whose book was first published in Spain in 1613 A. D., declared that "... the ancients... put many things in two columns, one of metal, and another of brick or stone." Juan de Torquemada, Monarquia Indiana, Tomo I, p. 255.) It should be recalled that the Nephites inscribed their history on metal plates.
Harold Gladwin quotes Torquemada's description of the clothing worn by the Olmecs and then comments that the description of the garb reminds one "... of the robes of Biblical times in Palestine."
I have given some strong evidence from archaeology, from Indian historians of the sixteenth century, and from Catholic padres of the sixteenth century, which all corroborates the claims made by the Book of Mormon; however, the greatest testimony we have of the Book of Mormon is the book itself, especially Moroni's testimony and admonition, which reads as follows:
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.
Thousands of Latter-day Saints have put that exhortation to the test and know as they know that they are alive that the Book of Mormon is true. When I was a child and first heard the stories of the Book of Mormon, the Holy Ghost touched my heart and bore a sweet witness to it of the divine authenticity of that ancient record. I knew then as I knew that I was alive that the Book of Mormon is true, is divine, is a sacred record of the inhabitants of ancient America. As I grew older, I read the book many times, and each time the same sweet testimony came into my heart, sometimes coming so forcefully that I was filled with emotion to the extent that tears ran down my cheeks. As I read the Book of Mormon now, the Holy Ghost still bears testimony to me that it is the word of God.
I know that the Book of Mormon is one of the greatest books in the world. It contains the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Jews and to the Gentiles. It is a new witness to Christ and the great work which he performed. I challenge any honest man or woman in the world to put Moroni's exhortation to the test; and I promise that if it is done with real intent, having a true desire to receive a testimony, and having faith in Christ, God will reveal through the Holy Ghost a testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon to each one.
May God bless the honest in heart throughout the entire world that they will study the Book of Mormon and receive a testimony; and may he bless the members of the Church that we will Study this sacred book and live in accordance with its teachings, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Ezra Taft Benson
Ezra Taft Benson, Conference Report, October 1954, pp. 118-123
My beloved brethren and sisters and friends: I deem this a signal honor, a truly great privilege, but a sobering responsibility. I pray for the inspiration of heaven and for an interest in your faith and prayers. My heart is full to overflowing with gratitude for the blessings which we enjoy and which are mine. I thank the Lord that in his infinite wisdom he has seen fit to call these great conferences of the Church. No one, I am sure, has benefitted more richly from these conferences than I have. I have literally received a spiritual uplift, for which I am most grateful to my heavenly Father.
In addition to attending the conference, I have had the glorious privilege of spending an hour or so in meditation in the temple of God to the east of us. I humbly acknowledge the sustaining power of my heavenly Father throughout my entire life, for which I am most grateful, and particularly for his sustaining power during the last twenty months.
I am grateful for the faith, the love, and the confidence of my associates in the General Authorities; the support of my wife and family; for the prayers and the support of the Saints of Zion, as well as the millions of good people outside the Church. I know I shall never be able to express adequately the gratitude I feel for those who have so loyally and so helpfully sustained and supported me with their love, confidence, and prayers.
I am very grateful I have received a witness from the Almighty that at the present time, at least, I am serving where he wishes me to serve. I have never had any doubts of that fact since that early morning hour when I met our great leader, my beloved associate, President David O. McKay, on the parking lot of the Church Office Building, and he made the statement to me, "My mind is clear. I know what the Lord wants you to do."
So, my brethren and sisters, I am happy in the assignment which is mine. My one fear, and my one anxiety is that I may inadvertently sometime do something or say something that will cast an unfavorable light or bring discredit upon the Church and kingdom of God and the people whom I love so dearly, and upon this great nation which we all love. I pray that this may never happen.
I love this nation of which we are a part. To me it is not just another nation, not just a member of a family of nations. It is a great and glorious nation with a divine mission and it has been brought into being under the inspiration of heaven. It is truly a land choice above all others. I thank God for the knowledge which we have regarding the prophetic history and the prophetic future of this great land of America.
When I contemplate the great events that have transpired here, going way back to the days when our first parents were placed in the Garden of Eden, and recall that this garden was here in America, that it was here also where Adam met with a body of great high priests at Adam-ondi-Ahman shortly before his death and gave them his final blessing, and that to that same spot he is to return again to meet with the leaders of his people, his children-when I contemplate, my brethren and sisters, that here in this land will be established the New Jerusalem, that here in this land will Zion be built-when I contemplate that prophets of God anciently served here in this land, and that the resurrected Christ appeared unto them-and when I contemplate that the greatest of all visions, the coming of God the Father, and the Son to the boy Prophet in our day took place in this land, my heart fills with gratitude that I am privileged to live here, and that I have the honor and pleasure of not only serving in the Church, but also of serving in the government of this great land. I consider it an honor and privilege.
I am grateful for the Founding Fathers of this land and for the freedom they have vouchsafed to us. I am grateful that they recognized, as great leaders of this nation have always recognized, that the freedom which we enjoy did not originate with the Founding Fathers; that this glorious principle, this great boon of freedom and respect for the dignity of man, came as a gift from the Creator. The Founding Fathers, it is true, with superb genius welded together the safeguards of these freedoms. It was necessary, however, for them to turn to the scriptures, to religion, in order to have this great experiment make sense to them. And so our freedom is God-given. It antedates the Founding Fathers.
I am grateful, too, my brethren and sisters that they saw fit to state, among other things, that "we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights"-rights which cannot be conferred by any man or nation, rights which only the God of heaven can bestow-that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." As Brother Thomas E. McKay said, "not happiness, but the opportunity to pursue and earn happiness."
When the God of heaven said to one of his ancient prophets, "... men are, that they might have joy", he also implied that men should have free agency. They might have joy if through their efforts and the wise exercise of their free agency they lived to merit that joy.
You will recall that through Moses the Lord said that Satan was cast Out of the great council in heaven because he ' 84, 84, 84, sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him". There is the source of free agency-"... which I, the Lord God, had given him."
I have rejoiced, my brethren and sisters, that in recent years our great leader has raised his voice from one end of this land to the other, and in foreign countries, pointing out the great blessings of freedom and free agency, and explaining so clearly the source of these priceless blessings.
I am grateful for the Constitution of this land. I am grateful that the Founding Fathers made it clear that our allegiance runs to that Constitution and the glorious eternal principles embodied therein. Our allegiance does not run to any man, to a king, or a dictator, or a president, although we revere and honor those whom we elect to high office. Our allegiance runs to the Constitution and to the principles embodied therein. The Founding Fathers made that clear and provided well for checks and balances and safeguards in an attempt to guarantee this freedom to those of us who live in this land.
I am grateful that the God of heaven saw fit to put his stamp of approval upon the Constitution and to indicate that it had come into being through wise men whom he raised up unto this very purpose. He asked the Saints, even in the dark days of their persecution and hardship to continue to seek for redress from their enemies, "According," he said, "to the laws and constitution... which I have suffered to be established and should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh". And then he made this most impressive declaration:
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.
It is gratifying that the Constitutions in many of the other lands of our neighbors in the Americas are patterned very much after this divine-appointed Constitution, which the God of heaven directed in the founding of this nation. It isn't any wonder, therefore, that Joseph Smith, the Prophet-a truly great American-referring to the Constitution, said,
is a glorious standard; it is founded in the wisdom of God. It is a heavenly banner.
Yes, my brethren and sisters, we have a rich heritage, but may I remind you that nations ofttimes sow the seeds of their own destruction even while enjoying prosperity, even before reaching the zenith or the peak of their power. I think history clearly indicates that this is often the case. When it appears that all is well, ofttimes the very seeds of destruction are sown, sometimes unwittingly. Most of the great civilizations of the world have not been conquered from without until they have destroyed themselves from within by sowing these seeds of destruction.
People who are willing-and we have some of them in this country-to trade freedom for security, are sowing the seeds of destruction and deserve neither freedom nor security. Yes, we have, and have had for a good many years, in evidence in this country-this land choice above all other lands-certain trends that strike, in my judgment, at the very foundation of much that we hold dear. There is not time to discuss these trends today, but I would like to emphasize that as nations tend to enjoy higher and higher standards of living, greater and greater comforts, greater and greater material blessings, there seems to he a tendency for them to become more and more interested in preserving their luxuries and their comforts than in preserving and safeguarding the ideals and principles that have made them great. In other words, there is a tendency for them to become acted with the germs of decadent morality.
As we look to the future and contemplate our responsibilities as American citizens, what is the duty of Latter-day Saints? What is the duty of the elders of Israel in safeguarding this freedom which has been purchased so dearly with the blood of millions of our brothers and sisters who have gone before?
Here again the God of heaven has given us guidance, as always, both in the revelations and in the word that has come from his living Oracles. He has told us some of the things we must do in order to preserve this freedom and safeguard the blessings we have today. May I refer to one of these revelations, a revelation given at a time when the Lord was counseling the Saints to accept patiently their persecutions and their hardships with the full assurance that all these things would eventually be for their good and benefit.
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.
It is very clear, my brethren and sisters, that the Lord disapproves of force, coercion, and intimidation. It is also very clear from the history of the world that only free people are truly happy. The revelation continues:
Therefore I, the Lord, justify you, and your brethren of my church, in befriending the 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.
I, the lord God, make you free, therefore ye are free indeed; and the law also maketh you free.
Then he points out this danger:
Nevertheless, when the wicked rule the people mourn.
Those of us who had the Opportunity of traveling in war-torn Europe at the end of the last war saw ample evidence of what befalls people when the wicked are permitted to rise to positions of leadership, "... when the wicked rule the people mourn". Saith the Lord,
Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold; otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil.
Now that is a commandment to his Church and to his Saints. To me it means that we have a responsibility as Latter-day Saints to use our influence so honest men and wise men and good men will be elected to public office in the community, in the county, in the state, and in the nation, To me this commandment of God is just as binding upon the Latter-day Saints as is the law of tithing, or the Word of Wisdom, or any other commandment which the God of heaven has given us.
As I read that for the first time some years ago I thought, "What an indictment of corrupt would-be political leaders in many parts of the world-demagogues who deal in half-truths, innuendos, and falsehoods! Here the God of heaven has pointed out the type of men he wants elected to public office among his people." It is not enough, my brethren and sisters, just to stand on the sidelines and criticize what is taking place, and to point the finger of scorn at some political leader, It is our job, our duty, and our responsibility to take an active interest in these matters, and carry out the admonition and the commandment which God has given U\us to see to it that men of character-good men, as measured by the standards of the gospel-are elected to public office.
So, today, I would like to throw out a challenge to the elders of Israel, my brethren of the priesthood, that we put forth an effort to prepare ourselves for statesmanlike work. The Prophet Joseph, as you will recall, had something to say regarding the important part which the elders of Israel would play in the safeguarding, if not the saving, of the Constitution of this land. I recall the words of the Savior in which he said,
... for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
I hope and pray that we will be wise as the children of light, as the children to whom God has revealed these glorious truths. It is my conviction that only in this land, under this God-inspired Constitution, under an environment of freedom, could it have been possible to have established the Church and kingdom of God and restored the gospel in its fullness. It is our responsibility, my brethren and sisters, to see that this freedom is maintained, so that the Church can flourish in the future.
Today I would like to propose four questions which every Latter-day Saint might well ask as he attempts to appraise any program, policy, or idea promoted by any would-be political leader. I mention these because I think they will provide a safeguard in electing to office men who will meet the requirements which the Lord has set forth in the revelations.
First, is the proposal, the policy, or the idea being promoted right as measured by the gospel of Jesus Christ? I assure you it is much easier for one to measure a proposed policy by the gospel of Jesus Christ if he has accepted the gospel and is living it.
Secondly, is it right as measured by the Constitution of this land and the glorious principles embodied in that Constitution? Now that suggests that we must read and study the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Bill of Rights, that we might know what principles are embodied therein.
Thirdly, we might well ask the question: Is it right as measured by the counsel of the living oracles of God? It is my conviction, my brethren and sisters, that these living oracles are not only authorized, but are obligated to give counsel to this people on any subject which is vital to the welfare of this people and the upbuilding of the kingdom of God. So, that measure should be applied. Is it right as measured by the counsel of the living oracles of God?
Fourthly, what will be the effect on the morale and the character of the people if this or that policy is adopted? After all, as a Church we are interested in building men and women, building character, because character is the one thing we make in this world and take with us into the next. It must never be sacrificed for expediency.
So, my brethren, the Lord's priesthood has a mission to perform for liberty-loving people everywhere. We cannot, any more than Jonah of old, run away from our calling. If the people shall accept the Lord's solution of the world's problems, even as those who listened to a repentant Jonah, then all shall be well with them. If they do not, however, they will suffer the consequences. Our responsibility, as in Jonah's case, is to see to it that the people have a chance to choose decisively after they have been shown clearly the Lord's way and what the Lord expects of them.
We must provide effective and courageous, God-inspired leadership so that the people among whom we labor may choose wisely between the issues. The choice is theirs, but providing them the opportunity to choose the right with a knowledge of the revelations of God and the counsel of the living Oracles, that is our responsibility as leaders in the priesthood.
The Prophet Joseph said in substance at one time: It is our duty to consecrate all our influence to make popular that which is sound and good, and unpopular that which is unsound.
It is right politically for a man who has influence-of course, influence for good-to use it.
I thought last night, my brethren, where could there be a greater influence for good in this world than in a magnified priesthood? Nineteen thousand members of the priesthood assembled last night. One quarter million hold the Melchizedek Priesthood! What a power and influence for good could be wielded in this blessed land if we would heed the admonition which the Lord has given and see to it that men who are wise and good and honest would have our vigorous support and receive our interest in their selection and election to high office in the community, county, state, and federal government.
Let us, my brethren, seek to take an active part in our local, state, and national affairs. We are commanded by the Lord to do so. It is as binding on us as any of the Lord's commandments. Actually, it is when good men do nothing that evil flourishes.
The priesthood of the Church and kingdom of God who magnify their callings are good men. Of course there will be opposition. There will be conflicts. There will be misrepresentation. We must stand firm, however, for that which we believe to be right as measured by these standards, for those things which we know to be good and true, and the God of heaven will sustain us.
We have approaching us a great election in this country. My plea with you today, my brethren and sisters, is that regardless of the political party with which you are affiliated, you will remember the standards which the God of heaven has given us, and that you and all of us will use our influence as a means of helping to safeguard the liberty of this country, and those noble concepts established under the inspiration of heaven. We must see to it that honest men, good men, wise men, are elected to public office in this land, choice above all others, men who will use their influence to protect and strengthen those basic concepts that have made this nation great.
In closing I quote these words from J. E. Hamilton:
How much now we need a leadership that will tell the truth and talk straight, not about what is expedient... but about what is everlastingly right, and call our people to a crusade for it, and pledge America to the defense of it, so that all nations will be convinced that we mean it! We need men who will ignore the consequences, tell the truth, and take a long chance with God.
It is my prayer that the great promises which have been made by the prophets of God regarding this land will be realized because a righteous people will merit their fulfillment. May we do our duty as citizens and as members of the Church to see to it that the right kind of people are elected to public office, so that rich blessings which we now enjoy and which have been promised to us, may be realized in all the days to come.
I testify to you, my brethren and sisters, that this is a choice land, that God held this hemisphere, as it were, in the palm of his hand for hundreds, yea, thousands of ears in order that the great mission of this land might be undertaken and might be accomplished. The kingdom of God is again upon the earth. I testify to you that God has spoken again from the heavens in this land, in our day; that God the Father, and the Son did appear to the Prophet Joseph; that they revealed themselves unto him, and that through that greatest of all visions, a new gospel dispensation was opened up in preparation for the second coming of the Master.
With all the power that I possess I invite men everywhere to investigate the truths of the claims of this people, that they too may join with us in building l the kingdom in preparation for that glorious day when the Redeemer will come again to dwell upon the earth as King of kings, and Lord of lords. I pray that this day may be hastened, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie
Bruce R. McConkie, Conference Report, October 1954, pp. 123-125
Certain basic truths must be accepted by all men now living if they would gain for themselves the fullness of that reward which is prepared in the mansions of the Father. These great truths are known only by revelation. They are revealed in the gospel, and are most devoutly believed by faithful members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Many of them have been taught with power and conviction by the living Oracles who stand at the head of this kingdom. They have been taught in plainness, and with that authorization and power which comes from the Holy Ghost and from no other source. May I be so bold as to recapitulate, as we near the close of the conference, a few of these great fundamental truths.
We believe that there is a God in heaven who is infinite and eternal, an almighty, all-powerful being-a personage of tabernacle, a being in the express image of whose body we mortal men have been created.
We believe that he has all power and all wisdom; that he knows all things, that in his infinite grace, love, and condescension for us, he has ordained the plan of creation, of redemption, of salvation, and of possible progression to an eternal exaltation on high.
We believe that he is our Father in heaven, literally; that we are his spirit offspring; that we dwelt with him in the pre-existent eternities, were taught by him, saw his face, knew of the terms and conditions that apply to the plan of salvation, and desired with an overwhelming longing that we, his spirit offspring, might progress to the state where we would have glorious bodies, and would attain the state of exaltation he then had.
We believe that he directed the creation of this earth, and all things that are on it; that he placed Adam and Eve, the first man and the first woman, here; commanded them to multiply and fill the earth with posterity, and to provide bodies for the hosts of spirit children who yet lived and dwelt in his presence.
We believe that Adam fell that men might be; that the fall of Adam brought into the world a temporal death and a spiritual death-the temporal death being something that accompanies mortality and results in due course in the separation of body and spirit; and the spiritual death being to be cast Out of the presence of God and to die as pertaining to things of the spirit Or the things of righteousness.
We believe that after the fall of man, the voice of God was heard by Adam and his posterity; that angels from the presence of God ministered unto them; that the gift of the Holy Ghost was poured out upon those who diligently sought the Lord-by all of which means the fullness of the gospel, the plan of redemption and salvation, was made known; and that this plan was revealed from age to age in periods that we call dispensations of the gospel.
We believe that in the Meridian of Time the promised Messiah was born into the world as the literal Son of God; that he came into this world with life in himself, was the life and the light of the world; and by command of the Father to work out the infinite and eternal atonement.
We believe that he is literally the Son of God as you and I are the sons and daughters of our parents, and, as the angel said to King Benjamin, that "salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent".
We believe that he did in fact work out the infinite and eternal atonement; that he was lifted up upon the cross; that he died, was resurrected, rising again the third day to ascend to the Majesty on High.
We believe that he ransomed all men, unconditionally, from the temporal effects of the fall of Adam, in that all men will be raised in immortality and live eternally in that state, body and spirit inseparably connected; and that he offered to all men a conditional ransom from the spiritual effects of the fall of Adam, provided that men would repent and abide in the truths and laws of the everlasting gospel that are revealed from age to age.
We believe that the predicted era of gross darkness, of apostasy, came and succeeded the meridian dispensation, and that it was not until our day that the fullness of light and truth again burst upon the earth.
We believe that God has spoken again; that his voice has been heard again among men; that again angels have ministered from his presence; that again the gift of the Holy Ghost has been poured out upon those who have sought the Lord-by all of which means once again the kingdom of God has been set up among men, the Church of Jesus Christ has been established, and the decree gone forth that it will remain until the coming of the Son of Man, and of course, ever thereafter.
We believe that Joseph Smith, Jun., was the mighty prophet of the restoration; that by the grace and condescension of God he received line upon line, precept upon precept, key, power, and authority upon key, power, and authority, until all things were restored, and every power and grace was had again that would enable men to be saved and exalted in the kingdom of the Father.
We believe, as our scripture so plainly recites, that:
Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it.
We believe that this plan of salvation-had of old, restored anew in our day-consists in these things: that men must come to a knowledge of the nature and kind of being that God is. They must learn his character, attributes, and perfections. They must have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; must repent of their sins; must be baptized in water and of the Spirit by legal administrators who have power to bind on earth and to seal in heaven; and that then they must endure in righteousness and in faith, living by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God, unto the end of their respective mortal probations.
We believe something more, as several of these brethren have said during this conference: that neither is the man without the woman nor the woman without the man in the Lord, but that the gate to exaltation and the fullness of eternal life in the kingdom of the Father is the new and everlasting covenant of marriage; and just as men may enter in at the gate of repentance and baptism, and work out for themselves a salvation hereafter by faith and diligence, so they may enter in at the gate of celestial marriage, and, conditioned upon keeping that covenant, come up in the resurrection as husband and wife, the family unit continuing through all eternity, and thus, eventually-as members of the family of God, members of the Church of the Firstborn-become joint heirs with Jesus Christ, and receive, inherit, and possess all things.
Now, we believe that God is no respecter of persons; that a soul is just as precious in his sight in this day as a soul has ever been in any age of the earth's history; and that he is just as willing now as he was in the days of any ancient prophet or any faithful people who have gone before to reveal to his children on earth the truths of salvation, and he will reveal them to any man who will come before him in faith, believing, seeking wisdom, as the young boy Prophet came when the hour had come for the opening of this final glorious dispensation.
I am grateful beyond any measure of expression that I have for the absolute certainty that there is in my heart of the divinity of this work, and I know that God Almighty will give any man this knowledge and open the door to possible, eventual salvation and exaltation to any man who will come in faith, believing, knocking at the door, and asking that he may receive the truth.
In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Harold B. Lee
Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, October 1954, pp. 125-131
It seems incredible to me, as I think about it today, that six months ago yesterday my dear companion lay critically ill in the LDS Hospital, her body cruelly broken in an unfortunate accident. For someone to have told me and the doctors six months ago that before another six months should pass, that she would accompany me on an assignment to the Orient, where in two months we would travel 20,000 miles and visit six countries and peoples, it would seem to me to have been such an impossibility as to have been wholly unthinkable.
But when our beloved leader, the President of the Church, took us into his office and gave us blessings for this mission, little did I realize how the Lord could even then, beyond the skill of doctors or human minds and skill, bless that dear companion and fulfil to the letter the words of the President when he said to her: "You will come back from this trip increased in strength and healed in body." It has been one of the greatest testimonies that has come to me, and I stand today humbly and bear witness to the effectiveness of the prayers and blessings of, not only our President, but also of the faithful Saints everywhere.
If I could take as something of a text, then, the words of the Master, perhaps my feelings today could be best expressed in His words. John the Baptist had sent his disciples to Jesus, after John had received reports about the work of the Master, and they came asking him, "Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?" The answer that Jesus gave for them to carry back to John the Baptist was this:
Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.
To you, President McKay, before the body of the Church today, as a humble servant, whom you sent out into the Far East to check on affairs there, to visit our boys in military service, our scattered Saints in that-off land, I come back to you testifying, as the Master told the disciples to testify to John, the miraculous power of divine intervention is out there, which is one of the signs of the divinity of the work of the Lord.
We have seen one "nigh unto death" raised miraculously during this visit. We have seen the hand of the Almighty stay the storms and the winds, and overcome obstacles that otherwise would have made impossible the fulfillment of our mission. We have passed through danger-ridden country only a few hundred miles from where a war is brewing. We have seen the humble and the poor having the gospel preached to them. The signs of divinity are in the Far East. The work of the Almighty is increasing with a tremendous surge.
I do not know whether it was just a coincidence, or whether President McKay had some thought about it, but one of the commanding generals, when I was introduced to him in Korea, said, "Well, you have a lot of relatives in this country." The five most prominent names in Korea are Yi, Chang, Kim, Pak, and Lee. In China I discovered that there were over five hundred thousand Chinese who have the surname of Li, and actually, some of the immigration authorities, when I signed my name, or they saw my name on my passport, would ask: "Chinese?" And I answered, "No, American." Then the comment, "You look Chinese."
So, I was accepted, President McKay, as almost a native. My coloring as to hair and eyes and skin seem to fit the general terrain.
Some years ago I read a statement contained in Parley P. Pratt's The Key to Theology. I wondered then at the meaning of this statement, and I come back to you today testifying that it was a prophecy that is today being fulfilled. I read from that inspired statement:
Physically speaking, there seems to need but the consummation of two great enterprises more, in order to complete the preparations necessary for the fulfillment of Isaiah and other Prophets, in regard to the restoration of Israel to Palestine, from the four quarters of the earth... under the auspices of that great, universal and permanent theocracy which is to succeed the long reign of mystery.
Then he names those two great enterprises, one, the Europe-to-Asia railroad which was then in the process of being consummated, and the other the Great Western Railway from the Atlantic to the Pacific in this country. Then he said this:
Politically speaking, some barriers yet remain to be removed, and some conquests to be achieved, such as the subjugation of Japan, and the triumph of constitutional liberty among certain nations where mind, and thought, and religion are still prescribed by law.
Subjugation means conquering by force. I want to say to you that one of the most significant things I have seen in the Far East is the fulfillment of what Elder Parley P. Pratt testified would be one of the significant developments necessary to the consummation of God's purposes, "the subjugation of Japan and the triumph of constitutional liberty among certain nations where mind and thought, and religion are still prescribed by law."
I traveled on this assignment with Sister Lee and President Hilton A. Robertson and Sister Robertson. We had visited our native Saints and servicemen in all the districts of the mainland of Japan from Hokkaido on the north to Kyushu on the south, and representatives from the great cities. I then went across with President Robertson to Korea and then to Okinawa, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Guam. I want to say to the parents, who are anxiously inquiring about their boys, something that I hope will calm your feelings, and will encourage you in your faith.
From the time that the First Presidency announced this appointment our telephones were ringing at home and at the office from anxious parents, and the substance of their anxiety was summed up in what one father said: "Will you see my boy over there, and take him the love from a lonesome dad?"
We met with a total of 1563 Latter-day Saint boys in military service, in our conferences in Japan, Korea, Okinawa, the Philippines, and Guam they had arranged district conferences which simulated our stake conferences, and it was like holding a stake conference every other day all through this trip, because of the thoroughness with which they had organized their work.
I have never listened to better sermons than I heard preached by our five Latter-day Saint chaplains and our group leaders over there. They are studying the gospel. The excellence of their Organization and the orderliness of their procedures under a mission committee comprising three lieutenant colonels, answerable of course to the mission president, and they in turn supervised by chaplains and by group leaders, is worthy of note. In every camp where we went, under military orders, we were accorded every privilege that could be accorded one going into those areas, and the first procedure was invariably an introduction to the commanding general of the camp, and a brief interview, during which he extended to us all the courtesies of the camp, and bade us welcome, and in a number of instances, came to our meeting.
They know of our boys. They know of the work of the Latter-day Saints, and perhaps their attitude towards our boys is best summed up in what General Richard S. Whitcomb said to us down at Pusan, Korea, after we had been at the general's mess the night before, and he had indicated he would like to come to our meeting the next morning.
With 109 of our boys present, General Whitcomb rose to speak to them, and after a word of greeting, he said this, and I asked him if I might repeat it to you, President McKay, and to the fathers and mothers back home.
"I have always known the members of your Church to be a substantial people.
"Here in the Pusan area I have the largest court-martial responsibility of any command in the United bates Army, but I never have had one of your faith brought before me for a court martial or disciplinary action, in this command. Wherever I have been, I have never known of a Latter-day Saint ever to be brought up for any disciplinary action."
On Guam I was furnished with a little paper from the camp which indicated that for the month of August one of our boys there, a Brother Douglas K. Eager, had been designated as the "Airman of the Month of August," and the citation read: "He won the award on the basis of his devotion to duty, character, appearance, industry, and military bearing."
One of the supervising chaplains, to take another example, from Clark Field in the Philippines, said this to me as we walked out of a meeting with the Protestant chaplains on the base: "I have never known any group of men in my military experience who have greater devotion to their country, and to their God, and to their Church-no finer characters than are to be found among the boys of the Latter-day Saints."
All through our visits, they had arranged their own programs-they sang three songs over and over again without anybody suggesting it. They sang, first, "We Thank Thee, O God, For a Prophet," and in every district conference they sustained the General Authorities of the Church. It was one of the highlights of their conference.
The other that seems to have become their theme song while in military service is:
Come, come ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear But with joy, wend your way...
Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard? 'Tis not so, all is right... 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.
And then, finally, you must know what they were singing otherwise. They were singing about the hills of home, "O Ye Mountains High, where the clear blue sky, Arches over the vales of the free," and time and again I heard the wives of our few men, who are permitted to be with them in some places, and our boys everywhere, as they would shake hands, say, as tears would fill their eyes: "I wasn't homesick until I shook hands with you, Brother Lee." Someone from home!
Then they would say something like this: "Tell the folks back home not to worry about us. We are all right, but we worry sometimes about the folks back home."
I think my appraisal of what I saw among the boys there might be expressed in what Ralph Waldo Emerson is quoted as having said: "It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion. It is easy in solitude to live after ones own, but the great man is he, who in the midst of the crowd, keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude..." Such is the way I found our boys, with the marks of true greatness upon their brows, keeping "with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude."
From the contributions of our military men in the Far East, sufficient money is being raised each month to sustain 21 full-time missionaries from Japan, who otherwise could not fill missions as full-time missionaries in the Japanese Mission. That amounts to forty dollars a month for each missionary, or a total of between eight and nine hundred dollars each month. This is the second group of missionaries, which, when completed, will mean that our boys over there have contributed from Out of their meager military allowances a total of over forty thousand dollars for sending local missionaries to do the work that otherwise could not be done.
Directly as a result of the work of the Latter-day Saint servicemen there were 47 converts last year, while another 103 have been baptized so far this year by the missionaries of the Japanese Mission. It was on the first Sunday of last month at 6:30 in the morning, just at the break of day, in Seoul, Korea, that we baptized a native Korean student and a young serviceman. At Clark Field last Sunday morning at 7:30 we baptized four, one a young native Filipino mother, who later bore her testimony in the conference session. What this means to servicemen as they come into the Church is perhaps best expressed in a humble testimony from a young seaman that came to Tokyo off the aircraft carrier, Hornet, which had docked at Yokohama. Later we met him down at Manila Bay. He came up at the close of the meeting in Tokyo, his arm in a sling, and explained that he had a badly infected arm. As he shook hands with me he said, "I am getting ready to be baptized a member of the Church, and if we are down at Manila when I meet you there, I hope to tell you I have been baptized."
At Manila he came, his arm now was perfectly healed, and said: "I was baptized on August 27. Something happened to me after I left that conference in Tokyo. My arm was swollen and was painful all through the meeting, but after I had shaken hands with you, I got on the train going back to the boat. Suddenly the pain ceased, my arm was healed, and now I am going back to that lovely wife who has been praying that I would straighten my life. I smoked, and I drank, and I did a lot of things to cause her sorrow, and I am going back to that sweetheart of mine, and I am going to spend the rest of my life trying to prove myself worthy of her love." His faith had brought healing to his body and his soul. That is what the gospel meant to this seaman, who became a convert to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Over there we have boys who are homesick for home. How they are thinking about their mothers and their wives and sweethearts is suggested by the fact that when Sister Lee would speak, they would ofttimes come up at the close of services and they would say to me some words of appreciation, but then they would say: "We really appreciated Sister Lee's talk," and they gathered around her because she was a touch of mother. They would tell her how she reminded them of their mothers. She was the symbol of the home to which they one time hoped to come, and I think they almost filled a notebook for her of the names and addresses and telephone numbers of the folks back home they wanted her to call and to talk to.
Perhaps, what our boys are doing Over there can best be illustrated in what Elder Aki, a young Japanese missionary up at beautiful Nikko, a recipient of the missionary contributions of our servicemen, who is just completing a two-year mission, said as he bore his testimony in English: "As terrible as was war in Japan, it proved a great blessing. Because as a result, it brought the Latter-day Saint servicemen back to Japan who paved the way for the reopening of the Japanese Mission."
President McKay, one of the things that is startling to me and significant, pertains to the language there. Difficult as it is, because of the peculiar characters as well as the difficult language, the Lord is seemingly helping us even to solve that problem. Since the troops came in, every school in Japan and in Korea is teaching English, and most of those young students, who are being attracted by the gospel, can speak some English. They are helping to break down the language barrier and making easier the work of the missionaries.
Down at Osaka where we had 179 in attendance, as I looked over that audience, and tried to estimate the ages of those in attendance, I would say that out of 179 in attendance, there were fewer than 16 who were over 30 years of age. What these young people will do in aiding in that conversion is best illustrated by two incidents.
A year ago last April while I was in the Hawaiian Islands I interviewed and set apart under instructions from the First Presidency six lovely young girls to go over to Japan as missionaries. One of them, a young Japanese sister, was a bit hesitant to go because she had come of a Buddhist family. Her mother had opposed her going. Her brother had beaten her rather cruelly because of her insistence on Church activity. She was almost a nervous wreck, but she had the faith that somehow the Lord would help her through her problems, and we sent her on her way.
I met her at one of these conferences, and she whispered to me, her story. She said: "Twenty-three people, Brother Lee, are being attracted to the gospel partly by my efforts," and then she introduced me to an elderly grandmother, whose husband is an Episcopal minister, and the little girl, the granddaughter of this elderly grandmother, was the one who played for our singing during the conference. This little girl came home after she had joined the Church and said to her grandmother: "Grandma, your church is not true because you do not understand God, and you do not understand about the Godhead," and then she proceeded to teach her the missionary lesson about the Godhead.
This elderly grandmother said, "Any Church that can teach a child like that must have something." Our young Japanese missionary sister from the Hawaiian Islands now reports: "That grandmother is now preparing to become baptized a member of the Church through the missionary efforts of her little granddaughter, perhaps not more than eleven or twelve years of age."
There is another evidence of an awakening in Japan. Representatives of some of the leading newspapers in Japan, many of them, interviewed us, and wrote articles, both in English and Japanese. Our Japanese Saints were a bit amused about one of these articles where the heading was: "Mormon Polygamist Visits Japan." Fortunately the misleading statement was corrected in the body of the article. Following that announcement we received an invitation from a group who styled themselves, "The League of New Japan's Religious Organizations," who claim to have a following of ten millions of people. For the first time Japan is enjoying religious freedom. They asked that I meet with fifteen leaders of these fifteen religious organizations, comprising the league, and there discuss with them Mormonism, and then submit to a discussion following that time.
Their invitation is a bit interesting!
Invitation to the friendly talk meeting with one of the leaders of the "Mormon" Church. As Rev. Harold B. Lee who is one of the highest leaders of "Mormon Church" which is one of the most influential churches in America, is visiting Japan on his journey to fulfil his mission in the Pacific Ocean area. In order to pre mote good will we would like to hold a friendly talk meeting... Also, paying respect to the laws of Mormonism no refreshment of tea or cake will be served at that meeting.
For that hour, with Brother Tatsui Sato from the mission office translating my words, they listened. Of these men, none claimed to be Christians, and yet in the discussion that followed I learned that they were in truth more Christian than many of the so-called Christians who neither accept the divinity of the mission of Jesus nor of his reality as the Son of the living God.
They recorded my talk on a tape recorder, and when the half hour was finished for discussion, they were still asking questions, so that our interview extended into two hours and a half, and that recording they promised later would be presented in their quarterly paper where they proposed to give it publicity. I told them that if they were interested and would send me their names and addresses, I would see that each got a copy of the Book of Mormon for them to study.
A few days later I received a letter in Japanese, which Brother Sato translated, and wherein the president in charge gave me the names and addresses. His letter reads:
We have no words to express our thanks for your very instructive address, which you gave us the other day. Although you were very busy and must have been tire on your way to preach the gospel in the Oriental area, yet you shared your very precious time for us, for which we have to be very grateful.
Then he said:
May we take advantage of your words that you would present us the Book of Mormon that we may understand better? We send you the list of names who attended the meeting.
Copies of the Book of Mormon have been sent to these leaders.
There is one thing more I should like to tell you about. At Pusan we have only three members on record, and when we arrived at a meeting, that was something of a surprise party for us, we found to our astonishment that we had in attendance not just three members, but besides our more than 100 servicemen we had 103 Koreans, mostly all young people of about high school age, and as a part of the proceedings they presented to me this scroll, written on silk parchment, both in Korean and in English, in which they had written these words, mind you, this was written and presented by a group most all of whom were non-members:
We sincerely welcome Apostle Harold B. Lee who come to Korea. The mission of his visiting Korea is very important and we are thankful to our Father in heaven from our heart deeply for great support you have given us for the people of Korea.
Here we would like to express our gratitude to the soldiers who stayed in Korea. And reached the true gospel to us and also the chance we have had of gathering together with them under the name of our heavenly Father, therefore we are under a vow to repay their kindness. With thanks with all our eulogy to you for your distinguished service of the faithfulness which will perform your important mission to come our Korea. And visiting our Korea in spite of it is long distance. We humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ, A Men. From: Korean Group in Pusan of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Well, that is significant, because for the first time they too are enjoying religious freedom.
I must tell you, President McKay, about the meeting with our lovely Chinese folks down in Hong Kong. We had no meeting place. They have not had much opportunity since they were baptized. It has now been nearly a year since they received the sacrament. But in our hotel room overlooking the harbor from Kowloon to Hong Kong we held a sacrament meeting. We bore testimony to them. We had gone up to that high point overlooking Hong Kong, where Brother Cowley, in company with President Robertson, President Aki, and their wives, had dedicated that land to the opening of a mission, July 14, 1949. There, too, we bowed our heads and thanked the Lord for the degree of Brother Cowley's blessing that had been received, and asked the Lord for a further outpouring of his blessing. Then, after we had visited briefly with these young Chinese students, one of these was a young girl-little Yook Sin Yuen-they call her Nora, a beautiful little girl who speaks good English, as taught her by the missionaries. As our bus pulled out from the hotel the next day to take us to the airport, she reached up her hand through the window, and said to me as a parting word: "Apostle Lee, tell President McKay to please send the Church back to China." And I said to her, as the tears were in my eyes also, "My dear sweet girl, as long as we have a faithful, devoted band like you who without a shepherd, are remaining true, the Church is in China."
Well, I say, President McKay, as I commenced, I have gone now under your appointment to the Far East. We have seen the miracles of God's divine intervention. We have seen how the gospel has been preached, to the poor as an evidence of its divinity. God grant that the time shall not be far distant until the deathgrip of communism shall be unloosed, and those peoples shall be free to receive in fullness the gospel of Jesus Christ, for I am convinced that there are hundreds of thousands of souls who are begging for the truth.
I bear you my solemn testimony that I know these things are true, that God lives, and that this is his work, and I bear it humbly in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, October 1954, pp. 131-133
At the closing of this great conference, I know you would have me express appreciation to persons and agencies that have helped in taking care of all who have been in attendance. I know in naming individuals and groups that I may omit some, but to you all we express appreciation and gratitude for your services:
To the public press, to you reporters, for your care and accuracy in reporting the proceedings, to the audiences for their responsiveness and attentiveness throughout the sessions of the conference; to the city officials; the traffic officers in handling increased traffic. As we have driven up and down South Temple we have noticed how attentive, how careful to duty, how considerate of the pedestrians you have been. Thank you! We mention the fire department also. They went to the trouble of seeing to it by actual tests that the fire wagons could in an emergency come through the gates. To the Red Cross, who have been on hand to render any assistance to those who might need their tender care. For the semi-tropical flowers from Hawaii, we have already expressed appreciation. To the ushers, we say thank you. We have noted your attention to your assigned duties as given by your superiors under the Presiding Bishopric.
Gratefully we mention again the assistance rendered by the various radio and television stations here in our own city and state and in other states named in the various sessions of this conference. What a means of permitting hundreds of thousands of people to hear the proceedings of this conference of the Church! We thank you congregations assembled in the stakes in California, Arizona, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, and Colorado for the messages of appreciation you have sent in. Everyone has said that the proceedings have gone over the wire perfectly and then added: "Thank you and God bless you for the opportunity we have had this day of joining and worshiping with you."
We must mention again gratitude, not only appreciation, but gratitude for the groups of Singers who have contributed so much to the inspiration of this conference, beginning with the Relief Society Mothers, and followed next day by those lovely little girls-the Bee Hive chorus. Just their presence and their sweet voices, aside from their singing, brought tears to many a mother's eye. Then the combined Scandinavian choirs, and the Men's Chorus of the Tabernacle Choir last evening in the priesthood meeting, and finally, our own Tabernacle Choir. Do you know they have been here since seven o'clock this morning?
I am happy to re-announce to you that in appreciation of the eat service that this body of devoted singers is rendering under the able directorship of Brother J. Spencer Cornwall and the organists, Elders Alexander Schreiner, Frank Asper, and Roy Darley, they will be given a trip to Europe. They will go as ambassadors of good will-representing in honor and artistry the state, as well as the Church. With all our hearts, here today we say, thank you and God bless you in the preparation of that great trip!
All that has been said and done and sung, all the testimonies borne have directly or indirectly led to this divine admonition: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you".
Let us then make God the center of our lives. That was one of the first admonitions given when the gospel was first preached to man. To have communion with God, through his Holy Spirit, is one of the noblest aspirations in life. It is when the peace and love of God have entered the soul, when serving him becomes the motive factor in one's life and existence that we can touch other lives, quickening and inspiring them, even though no word be spoken. There is operative in the world a spiritual force as active and as real as the waves that have carried the message today to those tens of thousands by radio and television.
"Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle?" cried the Psalmist. That means, who can come into that realm, that spiritual realm... "who shall dwell in thy holy hill?"
"He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart".
Who will fail in getting into that divine presence? "He that backbiteth, he that doeth evil to his neighbor, he that taketh up a reproach against his neighbor".
Let us, as we seek first the kingdom of God, avoid backbiting and evil speaking. Gossip bespeaks either a vacant mind or one that entertains jealousy or envy. Let us avoid self-righteousness. There is a proverb that says, "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth the hearts". "Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift is like clouds and wind without rain".
Finally, brethren and sisters, "be perfected, be comforted, be of one mind, live in peace and the God of love and peace will be with you". Keep in mind the Savior's prayer: "Make them one, Father, as thou and I are one".
I wish that all within the sound of my voice at this moment, all who have any prejudice in their hearts, might have glimpsed the General Authorities in the House of the Lord last Thursday morning, when they met in fasting and prayer to prepare themselves spiritually for the responsibilities awaiting them in this great conference. You would have glimpsed the unity of the First Presidency and through this transmission of heart to heart, soul to soul, you would have known the love I bear for these two counselors, for their clear vision and sound judgment and their patience with their leader when necessary. You would have glimpsed the unity and love of these twelve men, of their Assistants and of the First Council of the Seventy, the Patriarch, and the Presiding Bishopric. We pray that the love and unity in that meeting may extend to every stake presidency, mission presidency, every bishopric, every priesthood quorum and auxiliary throughout the Church. With such unity and love there is no power on earth which can stop the progress of this, the work of God.
May his blessings attend you, now, as you go to your homes. We bless you that the spirit of unity and the spirit of testimony of the divinity of this work may abide in your hearts always, that peace and love may be in your homes as never before, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.