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President Henry D. Moyle
Henry D. Moyle, Conference Report, April 1960, pp. 15-19
Brethren, this is a great privilege and indeed a great responsibility. I ask very humbly and sincerely for an interest in your faith and prayers.
Victor Hugo once wrote, "There is nothing in the world so powerful as an idea whose time has come." I say the time to strike is here. The foundation for a new era in proselyting throughout the world has been laid for these many years past. This work involves all of us-Priesthood, Auxiliary organizations, and newly converted members. Through united action the revealed gospel of Jesus Christ can be presented to the world.
We are indeed preparing for the Second Coming of Christ. This is the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. We have the task of representing our Heavenly Father in this preparation. We have as tools all that has gone before in all generations of time, including the revelation given to Enos Enos 1:10. In Section 27 of the Doctrine and Covenants we read, speaking of the Priesthood of the Church, what the Lord has said: "Unto whom I have committed the keys of my kingdom, and a dispensation of the gospel for the last times; and for the fulness of times, in the which I will gather together in one all things, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth".
And in the 124th Section we read: "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 fulness of times".
President John Taylor once said, "Where the Kingdom of God is not there is nothing." Let me paraphrase this statement of Victor Hugo's which I read in the beginning: "There is nothing in the world so powerful as truth whose time has come," and that is exactly the position in which we find ourselves in the Church today. I do not know where we can find a more wonderful description of the world today and the need for the work and the power, loyalty and devotion of the Priesthood than we do in the 84th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants:
"And 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.
"And by this you may know the righteous from the wicked, and that the whole world groaneth under sin and darkness even now".
It is our responsibility as brethren holding the Priesthood of God to bring light and knowledge and understanding into the lives of people who thus live in darkness. They are literally our brothers and sisters, the children of our Heavenly Father. And especially is it our task not alone to call the world to repentance, but to seek out those who are striving after light and after knowledge and after understanding, and to give to them the gospel of Jesus Christ and instill in their hearts a courage to accept the same and lend obedience thereto.
This thought has come to me: That in the very act of calling those in darkness to repentance, we may perform a service which will not wholly mature in mortality. I think that this quotation from the 76th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants explains clearly what I mean.
"And also they who are the spirits of men kept in prison, whom the Son visited, and preached the gospel unto them, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh;
"Who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it.
"These are they who are honorable men of the earth, who were blinded by the craftiness of men.
"These are they who receive of his glory, but not of his fulness".
I remember that President Ivins once preached the gospel to a very good man-good in his own way-and I heard this good man say more than once before he passed away that President Ivins had converted him to all of the principles of the Church save one-the principle of tithing. Except for that principle he would have joined the Church. I believe he was one of those who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh. He was an honorable man, but he was blinded by the craftiness, and I might add, the pride of men.
And so as we go about in our missionary work with the living, there is at least the possibility that we might make it easier for those who have passed into the Spirit World to accept the benefits of that which we do for them vicariously in the temples of the Lord, whereas without that experience that might not be the case. So we need not always despair if every contact we make is not immediately successful, but certainly we have an added reason to utilize every facility and every opportunity we have to bear witness to the testimony which we have in our hearts that God lives and that Jesus is the Christ, and that the gospel of Jesus Christ in its purity has been restored once again to the earth through the instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph Smith.
We read in the Pearl of Great Price, in the Book of Abraham: "And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them".
If we do that in this life, then, the Apostle John says, that He will give us power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. And this thought contained in the gospel of John is repeated in the Doctrine and Covenants in the 39th Section:
"But to as many as received me, gave I power to become my sons; and even so will I give unto as many as will receive me, 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 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 Prophet Joseph Smith, on one occasion, said: "Now I will give my testimony. I care for no man. I speak boldly and faithfully and with authority. How is it with the Kingdom of God? Where did the Kingdom of God begin? Where there is no Kingdom of God there is no salvation. What constitutes 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."
In the Doctrine and Covenants in the 5th Section we read: "And their testimony shall also go forth unto the condemnation of this generation if they harden their hearts against them;
"For a desolating scourge shall go forth among the inhabitants of the earth, and shall continue to be poured out from time to time, if they repent not, until the earth is empty, and the inhabitants thereof are consumed away and utterly destroyed by the brightness of my coming".
Now the execution of our duty is to call the world to repentance, and to do so effectively we must follow a plan. Our present procedure throughout the missions of the world and in the stakes is inspired. It comes to us as the result of a hundred and thirty years of inspired work, and it is not to be set aside or changed or altered by anyone lightly. We plead with you, my brethren, that in all of your Church work that has the remotest bearing upon missionary work that you seek to learn and understand, and then to teach the plan which has the approval of the General Authorities of the Church for use throughout the world in the preaching of this precious gospel, in order that every minute, every hour of devoted service on the part of our Priesthood may bear the maximum fruit.
Now for a moment I should like to discuss some of the phases of this program which can bring such wonderful blessings into the lives of men, a promise that we will be saved and exalted in the Kingdom of our Heavenly Father as his sons. We have the further promise that step by step, through our faithfulness we may receive all of the blessings that the Lord has in store for those who serve him.
First of all, I should like to say without any equivocation that the preaching of the gospel is the obligation of the Priesthood. It is one of those primary obligations. Every man who holds the priesthood can consider himself a part of the work. He meets the requirements of our Fifth Article of Faith, because he has the power and the authority given him by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority to preach the gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof. When we either shirk or shrink from this responsibility we are not doing justice to ourselves and we are certainly depriving ourselves of the blessings which we should cherish above life itself.
In every activity of the Church, there is no reason why we should not have uppermost in our minds the fact that the Lord has told us that, "this is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man". We cannot accomplish this if we do not open our lips and exert ourselves to bear that testimony with which the Lord has blessed us.
There is a dual blessing which attends every missionary effort direct and indirect. First a blessing to the one who preaches the gospel, and second to the one who listens and is affected and converted thereby. There is nothing which strengthens men in their priesthood, develops the power of the priesthood within them, more than exercising their priesthood in behalf of others.
We should be alert to every opportunity. We have some indirect methods as well as direct methods. We have a great program which is spreading rapidly through the Church, and should be encouraged at every turn of sharing the gospel with others. Sometimes we call it the "referral" program. It is really a program of sharing the gospel, and when circumstances may be such that you cannot accomplish this purpose alone, you need only utilize one of these cards which we are so happy to supply to you throughout the Church to give us the data by which we may send our missionaries-those who are directly engaged in this work-to call upon your friends and associates, and to supplement and to augment the work which you have started.
It is not enough to send this card alone. Let us make use of our own homes. What is more wonderful than to invite a neighbor and his family into our home, and have our own family join with them in hearing these lessons that are given so ably by the missionaries. Teach the gospel to your family in the most direct way, as well as give to your friends a knowledge of the gospel. This will be satisfying to you and give you the feeling that you have done your duty in large measure toward these friends and neighbors who might otherwise live and die in our midst without the benefit of having heard the gospel.
Let me say that the Lord in his wisdom, I am sure, has brought these multitudes of people to our door. Many times we have a receptive person in our next door neighbor. It is just as important, if not more so, to bless him than to go out into the world and seek someone whom the Lord may not have specially prepared for this message. I think we should strengthen the feeling within us that people who come in our midst have not come blindly. They may not have known why, but I am sure our Father in Heaven has had a purpose in directing their lives into our midst. We should never let one of them come and go without hearing in an effective manner our message.
We have been told that in one mission 40 percent of these referrals result in baptisms, whereas in that same mission only three percent of those contacted directly by tracting from door to door are converted. We have something over 6000 missionaries in the Church today, and brethren, we need 12,000. I would not be satisfied with 10,000 because I am sure the Church needs 12,000 and the Lord expects us to produce. I believe this is our challenge today.
President McKay has it in his mind that other missions should be opened up in other parts of the world in which we have done little or no missionary work. There are tremendous fields of opportunity, but we have not enough missionaries today to properly man the missions that are already organized. One mission president this week in our conferences with them said that he was short 30 missionaries, and others need comparable numbers.
It is our feeling, brethren, that every auxiliary organization of the Church should put aside many other objectives for the moment at least, and concentrate in their auxiliary work in building up the desires of our people, certainly our parents, to have their sons and daughters go on missions. The auxiliary organizations cannot do this alone. They need the help of the home.
I told the Primary conference Friday that I thought their slogan ought to be, "Every member baptized at eight, and a missionary at twenty." Now we are getting not more than one out of four, 25 percent. We need 50 percent. We should have a hundred percent. But to get this 12,000 we need 50 percent of the young men when they become 20 years of age, and not 25 percent.
This responsibility falls directly upon every home, every father, every mother, and every bishop, and I say every auxiliary organization. None of the auxiliary organizations of the Church, none of the Priesthood quorums of the Church, can feel that they have accomplished their purpose unless we can so train and inspire our young people that they will answer these missionary calls.
We have another need for missionary work. We have called the high priests quorums of the Church into action, and they have performed a marvelous work, but have only scratched the surface. Since 1957 they have distributed 114,000 copies of the Book of Mormon, and sold 56,000, making a total of 170,000 copies of the Book of Mormon. We ask every bishop and every high priest quorum president, if you do not already have in your file the memorandum of May 25, 1956 sent out by Brother Spencer W. Kimball's Committee on the distribution of the Book of Mormon, to please get a copy.
Out of the meetings we have held this week with these wonderfully inspired mission presidents, we have learned that it is doubly effective to distribute marked copies of the Book of Mormon. Brother Kimball is ready to give you the list of passages which should be marked. He suggests, with the Missionary Committee's approval, that it would be a wonderful undertaking for the Senior Aaronic Priesthood, under the direction of the high priests quorums, to so mark the Book of Mormon.
Do you see what it would do? They could not mark many without reading the marked passages themselves. It is also the practice in some of our missions to have converts recently baptized render this service, and thus insure their familiarity with these wonderful passages of scripture contained in the Book of Mormon.
So I say, brethren, let us speed up this program, and through the instrumentality of the high priests quorums to redouble these sales, and to do so in keeping once again with this inspired program which has come to these inspired Brethren, and not undertake to deviate too far from the program. As long as you will go as far as the program goes, we will encourage you to go as much farther as your wisdom and inspiration will lead you, but do not stop short of that which we have found so effective by those who have followed the plan of presenting the gospel implicitly.
Now the next and final subject that I would like to call to your attention in reference to this missionary work is the fellowshipping of converts. It is one thing to convert to the point of baptism. We do not expect every convert to have a perfect knowledge and understanding of the gospel at that time of baptism. They need only to have received the witness in their hearts that the message which they have heard is true. They are prepared, even though it be for the moment, to put aside the things of the world and to humble themselves, to be baptized in the waters of baptism, and to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost through the laying of hands. They can receive thereby an added force, and power, to assist them in carrying out the covenants they make with the Lord in the waters of baptism. I am sure the Lord intends us to be right on hand-every one of us-to give them a helping hand, and to teach them day by day the principles of the gospel that they might grow in strength and in knowledge and in understanding.
We have areas in the Church where large numbers are being baptized, and at the same time 80 percent or more of them are remaining true to the Church year after year. It is this 20, or this 30 percent, that somehow or other we neglect. We fail to take hold properly just at the right moment. Sometimes there is a little difficulty, or a little time-lapse between baptism by the full time missionaries on the one hand and integrating them into the ward or stake in which they live. We are all one Church. We are not worrying about statistics or who gets credit for a baptism. The thing we are concerned about is that when a person is baptized and accepted into the Church, that we fellowship him wholeheartedly and see to it that he is given every opportunity to progress.
Here again is an individual opportunity for service-an opportunity to call others to a simple service-so that every convert can have not only some specific individual or committee on hand to take care of his needs, but every member of the ward can make it a point to fellowship them in the meeting house, to visit and to know them in the community; and to encourage them in endless ways to do as we should do.
It is wonderful, my brethren, to have the opportunity to work in the service of the Lord. I think sometimes it is even more wonderful than that, to think that every worthy man in the Church has the same opportunity for service. It makes no difference whether you are working in the ward or as a General Authority, you are in the same service. Those of you who hold the Higher Priesthood hold the same Priesthood, and those of you brethren who are holders of the Aaronic Priesthood may soon hold the Melchizedek Priesthood if you desire and but live for it.
May God bless us to so live day by day that we may be worthy to be his mouthpieces in declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ as it has been restored in these latter days through the Prophet Joseph Smith, I pray humbly in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report, April 1960, pp. 20-22
My brethren: I am more grateful than I can say for the privilege which I have tonight to say something to you. The Lord has been good to me far beyond any desert I know about. I am grateful for your prayers and the prayers of my Brethren who have brought this to pass.
As I stand before you tonight to say a few words, we are all bearers of the Priesthood, we who are here and the tens of thousands who are assembling in other places to hear what is said here.
Brethren, I refer again and for a moment only, to what the influence, the power of this Church would be, if we were united as one man. Then we might meet the principle announced in the Prayer of the Great High Priest in the Garden, when He prayed that the Disciples might be one, even as He and the Father were one, and as He declared in modern revelation: "I say unto you, be one, and if ye are not one ye are not mine".
I am told that Brother Matt Cowley once voiced this idea: He said something of this sort, "You know, I am so busy trying to understand the first principles of the Gospel that I have no time for the mysteries."
As I have thought about what I might say in the few minutes I shall be with you here at the stand, I have thought I would like to say just a little bit about the Priesthood itself. We are all bearers of it, the Holy Priesthood after the Order of the Son of God.
What is this Priesthood that we have? We have had our definitions. I will come to them, if I may, just a few minutes later. But I have thought that I would like to look first somewhat at the work of our Savior. His work was performed through faith. If you will examine a little bit carefully His life, you will find that in His miracles He performed many of the great functions of creation. He worked, I repeat, by the power of the Priesthood.
You will remember that He walked upon the water, thus defying and overruling, so far as we can see, the principle of gravity. You will remember that Peter asked to be bidden to come to Him. Peter being so bidden, got out of the boat and walked a short distance on the water and then becoming fearful, he began to sink and called to the Lord for help, and the Lord said to him, "O thou of little faith".
You will remember that on one occasion He was on the Sea of Galilee and a violent storm came up, so much so that those who were with Him feared for the sinking of the ship. They awakened Him and appealed to Him and He stilled the tempest, having power over the forces that were involved in that.
You will recall that He fed a multitude with a few loaves and a few fishes, five thousand on one occasion, four thousand on another. You will recall that He also provided miraculous draughts of fish on two or three occasions. The whole world was under him.
You will recall that He cursed the barren fig tree. You will recall that He raised the dead to life again. Think of what was involved in that.
You will recall His thousands, almost, of healings of all sorts of diseases. These were manifestations of the power of faith. Sometimes it seems the faith was partially exercised by those whom He healed, as when the woman touched the border of His garment and was healed of an issue of blood. At other times it seemed as if the faith came from Himself. Think of the blessing of faith exercised through the Priesthood.
On more than one occasion, He said: "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed" . The commentators, I may add, make no explanation of this. The only statement I have found about that statement,-faith is as a grain of mustard seed-is that the mustard seed is one of the smallest of seeds. And that was followed by, "... ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove". And the commentators, who do not understand nor, apparently, believe in faith, say that this merely was an exaggerated imagery of the East; and that the expression "remove mountains" was common among Jewish preachers as indicating the impressiveness with which a man might speak, and referred only to difficulty. It is my judgment, my belief, my testimony, that the possible removal of a mountain is a sober statement of fact.
He told them at one time that if they had the faith, if they believed, they could say to a sycamine tree, "Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea," and it would be done. I believe that. I believe that is literally true.
We have been given that Priesthood which carries in it this great power of faith. It has been given to us, you, me, and all who are listening in of the brethren holding the Priesthood.
What about it? Paul said, "... faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" ). I have never been able quite to understand that, but I can understand what has been said either by the Prophet Joseph or with his approval, found in the old "Lectures on Faith" in the Doctrine and Covenants. He said:
"By this we understand that the principle of power which existed in the bosom of God, by which the worlds were framed, was faith; and that it is by reason of this principle of power existing in the Deity, that all created things exist; so that all things in heaven, on earth, or under the earth, exist by reason of faith as it existed in Him."
As I think about faith, this principle of power, I am obliged to believe that it is an intelligent force. Of what kind, I do not know. But it is superior to and overrules all other forces of which we know. It is the principle, the force, by which the dead are restored to life.
I do not believe that the Lord, that God permits any man to have faith that would overrule His purposes. In that connection, I call to your attention the fact that the Savior, Himself, plead that His crucifixion might be turned aside. Yet, on one occasion He said, when He asked that the hour might be passed on, "... but for this cause came I unto this hour". The Son of God was not given the necessary faith at that time to enable Him to turn aside the purposes reached by Himself and the Father before and still remembered by the Father. I repeat, I think that the Lord never gives faith to any individual to enable him to overturn the purposes of His will. Always we are subject to what He wishes.
I think that we should never administer to the sick, we should never pray, particularly when we pray for specific things, that we do not repeat and present to the Lord, even as Christ prayed in the Garden, "Nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be done".
You brethren, we brethren, have had this great power given unto us, this power of faith. What are we doing about it? Can you, can we, do the mighty things that the Savior did? Yes. They have been done by the members of the Church who had the faith and the righteousness so to do. Think of what is within your power if you but live the Gospel, if you but live so that you may invoke the power which is within you.
And I would like to add this as a sobering thought to myself and to you, each of you, and all of you: Remember the parable of the talents where the man who failed to improve the talent given him, had it taken from him? I ask you brethren, and myself, are we magnifying our Priesthood in such a way, are we living close enough to the Lord and in obedience to His commandments that we may exercise this power, or shall it be wholly or in part taken away from us? You would better think about it. It is worth thinking about. It is the greatest power that has been revealed to man.
God grant that we may all so live that we shall not lose that power, but that always it shall be available to us.
Bearing my testimony again that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that Joseph was the instrument, along with his associates, in the re-establishing of the Church, that all of the rights, powers, and privileges that were lodged in the Prophet have descended to our present President and are enjoyed by him, I bear this testimony and I ask these blessings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1960, pp. 22-23
There are present tonight in this great Conference, as reported from the various groups, 53,265 men, the largest attendance ever.
There are a number of service men present, and as the theme of this meeting began with reference to service men and our duty to them, will all the service men present in the Tabernacle and the Assembly Hall please rise. Thank you, and we come.
"If I were a voice-a persuasive voice That could travel the wide world through, I would fly on the beams of the morning light, And speak to men with a gentle might, And tell them to be true. I'd fly o'er land and sea, Wherever a human heart might be, Telling a tale, or singing a song, In praise of the Right and in blame of the Wrong." -Charles MacKay
The poet who wrote that had but one thought in his mind, and that was that men should be true to each other and true to their ideals. To the fifty thousand and more men of the Priesthood tonight, that is what I should like to say, and I should like to say it in the inspired words of Joseph Smith recorded at the end of that marvelous revelation on Priesthood:
"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. Even so. Amen".
Two things mentioned in that revelation point out important elements in the Priesthood.
First, learning one's duty, and that means learning what kind of life a man who holds the Priesthood should live, being true to himself, to his loved ones, to the Church, to God. Every individual has that duty, and particularly every individual who holds the Priesthood. If he is honest to himself he is honest with the brethren; he is fair in his dealings in business circles, in politics he speaks the truth; he merits the confidence of his associates in business, civic areas, and particularly he should live so as to merit the confidence of members of the Church who trust him.
But the Lord was not content when he gave to the individual the Priesthood. He organized those men who were true in upholding the ideals of the Priesthood into groups that they might render group service to their fellow men. I hope that the fifty thousand men listening tonight caught that emphasis in the message illustrated so impressively by Brother Lee.
The duty of quorum Priesthood members to keep in touch with their members who are out in the service is a very practical idea. I heard of a very successful group of men who were dealing with the Senior Aaronic Priesthood. I wrote to a man who I know has been very active in that work, and if he and his associates can obtain the success he reports, so can every quorum of Priesthood in the Church. He and his group were formed into a ward committee. Listen to a paragraph or two from his interesting report:
"We had a fine group of men on our ward committee and we remained together with only a few changes until recently. We held our planning and ward meetings for an hour every Sunday morning where we reviewed our activities. We kept books on our members, reviewing the details of our visits so that we were all aware of the problems in each home. This was interesting work for all of us, discouraging in many ways and often a challenge, one which has not as yet been met to our satisfaction. However, as we go over the records we find that forty members in our ward have been advanced to the Melchizedek Priesthood, all, so far as we can determine, with satisfactory results. Many have moved away, but we have made contact with most of them."
One of the reactivated members "has had a fine influence on many of the other members of the league to which he belongs, and many of them are now active in the wards in which they live. On their Golden Wedding day, he and his wife took the entire family to the temple for the necessary sealing work."
The other instances result with equal satisfaction. "After a while," he says, regarding one with whom they worked, "it was not long until there was no smell of either liquor or tobacco about him, and nothing had ever been mentioned about his use of them. He was ordained a Priest later and made secretary of the Senior Aaronic Priesthood group. He began attending classes at Weber College and has continued to take three or four classes each year ever since. This man was ordained an Elder and soon afterwards was selected as President of his quorum. He chose one of his Senior Aaronic Priesthood associates as a counselor and both are doing fine work as officers at this time. He is a wonderful leader."
It is the duty of leaders in Priesthood quorums to watch over their members, to teach them their duty. They can do that independently of the Ward bishopric. They do it because it is their own responsibility, it is their duty to have their members fit to be called into ward activity, stake activity, missionary activity, as already explained.
"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!".
Quorums of the Priesthood throughout the world: Keep in touch with your members who are away, especially in the armed forces, surrounded by temptations. Keep in touch with your members here at home, some of whom are negligent, who need the spiritual food you can give them, and you will find as did this eminent physician who made the report I have given you, that there is much joy in bringing one soul, twenty souls, forty souls, into activity.
God bless all who are assembled in this great meeting tonight. May the spirit of the occasion govern their hearts, first, awakening a desire to live righteously, to keep their own souls free from the temptations that surround us in our wards and stakes, and second, awakening a determination to contribute of their earnestness and their purity of living, to the strength of the quorum, thus making it a power for good, not only in the stake or in the ward, but throughout the entire world, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Howard W. Hunter
Howard W. Hunter, Conference Report, April 1960, pp. 124-126
Since the beginning God has given to every man the power to control his thoughts. He has also given man the freedom to select the course in life he wishes to pursue. When Adam was placed in the Garden of Eden, the Lord commanded him saying:
"Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die".
Although Adam was thus admonished not to partake of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, nevertheless he had the right to think for himself and the right to make his own choice.
Scriptures are replete with God's promised blessings to us if we will keep His commandments and comply with His laws, but it is a fundamental principle that we are never compelled to do His will. In ancient times the Lord commanded Israel to keep all of His commandments with the promise of an abundant harvest if they would do so, but in the event they failed, His wrath would be kindled against them. He said:
"Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing if ye obey the commandments of the Lord, your God, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known".
So it has been down through the ages. Although God has pointed the way, He has given to all men the right to think for themselves and make their own choices.
Marcus Aurelius once said, "A man's life is what his thoughts make of it." Emerson said, "A man is what he thinks about all day long." Man's mind may be likened unto a flower garden. It can be a thing of beauty and inspiration to the gardener and all who may gaze upon it, or it may be ill kept and overrun with weeds. As the plant which produces the beautiful flower grows from a seed, so every act of man springs from the hidden seed of thought. As a being of power and intelligence, and master of his own thoughts, man has the divinely given ability to make of himself what he chooses to be.
Dr. Robert A. Milliken, well known in the circles of science, and once winner of the Nobel Prize, made this significant statement: "I think you will not misunderstand me when I say that I have never known a thinking man who did not believe in God." George Washington, whom we revere as the Father of our Country, had a deep and abiding faith in God. Abraham Lincoln, on many public occasions, made it known that his actions were motivated by his firm belief in God. We will recall that Jesus was asked:
"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".
As man's thoughts turn to God and the things that pertain to God, man undergoes a spiritual transformation. It lifts him from the commonplace and gives to him a noble and Godlike character. If we have faith in God, we are using one of the great laws of life. The most powerful force in human nature is the spiritual power of faith. Jesus said:
"According to your faith be it unto you".
"And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent".
God is our Father, and we are his children. From father to child there exists that same natural parental love that is expressed by our Heavenly Father for His children. When the prodigal boy, in that parable which most perfectly tells the story of the sinning, and repentant life, "came to himself," his first words were, "I will arise and go to my father". While he is yet afar off the waiting father sees him coming and is moved with compassion. Repentance is but the homesickness of the soul, and the uninterrupted and watchful care of the parent is the fairest earthly type of the unfailing forgiveness of God. The family is, to the mind of Jesus, the nearest of human analogies to that divine order which it was His mission to reveal.
Fathers and mothers have a great responsibility with respect to the children which are entrusted to their care. One of the greatest needs of the day is for parents to teach and encourage young people to conduct themselves according to Christian standards. In the Book of Proverbs we find this admonition to parents:
"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it".
The greatest training that can be given to a child is that which comes from the example of parents. Parents need to set the example for young people to follow. Great strength comes from the home where righteous principles are taught, where there is love and respect for each other, where prayer has been an influence in the family life, and where there is respect for those things that pertain to God.
The Christian family gets its unity and stability, not by outward regulation, but by the natural processes of its inward life. It has its troubles and sorrows and they draw hearts together; it has its joys, and they are multiplied by being shared. As the children are taught the lessons concerning their Heavenly Father and the truths of the Gospel, and of the son whose return the father is waiting-they will interpret these truths as Jesus prompted them to do, in the language of their own loving and united home.
Young people need to be taught by parents in the home to have the desire to live clean lives and have clean thoughts.
"For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he".
This often quoted line from the Book of Proverbs is as applicable to youth as to old age and should be a reminder to parents that the acts and conduct of young people are motivated by their thoughts.
I am deeply impressed by the great youth program of the Church which I have the honor to represent. Thousands of young people across our nation are meeting in fireside groups of their own age where they are discussing among themselves, under the guidance of their leaders, the problems of modern day youth. Such problems as drinking, smoking and going to questionable places; dating, chaperonage, courtship, kissing, petting, proper use of the automobile; morality, honesty, clean living, and many other things which will have a permanent effect on their lives as they grow to face marriage and parenthood. As our young people discuss these problems and arrive at their solutions, after applying the moral principles of Christianity, they find strength in their resolutions to live the clean life their Heavenly Father would have them live. The whole idea behind this program is to help young men and young women develop right thinking for their guidance so that they will not make mistakes.
In order that parents and children may better understand each other, a plan has been adopted by that church known as the "Family Council." This council is called and conducted by the parents and attended by all members of the family. It strengthens family ties, assures children they "belong" and convinces them that the parents are interested in their problems. This family meeting teaches mutual respect for each other, eliminates selfishness, and emphasizes the Golden Rule in the home and living a clean life. Family worship and prayer are taught, together with the lessons of kindness and honesty. The problem of the family usually confronts one at such close range that its real dimensions and significance are not easily appreciated, but when families are strong and united in the endeavor to serve God and keep His commandments, many of our modern-day problems disappear.
The world would be a better place to live if we would think and act as God would have us do. This should be a personal challenge to every man and woman, and every father and mother, to live according to the commandments of God and be an example for good to boys and girls in their years of growing up.
They are the most happy whose lives have been dedicated to the endeavor of making the world a better place to live by raising the standards of thought and action. This can only be done by strict observance to the laws which God has laid down for the conduct of man in this mortal existence.
I know that God lives. I bear witness that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God; that He is the Savior of the world having given His life as the great sacrifice that we might have life everlasting. He is your personal Savior and my personal Savior. If we will open our hearts to his presence and accept of him, our lives will be enriched by the joy and happiness that comes only to those who do so receive Him. May righteous thoughts control our lives so that we may always make choices according to the will of God, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1960, pp. 24-29
In behalf of the First Presidency, members of the Council of the Twelve, and all of the General Authorities of the Church, with all my heart I bid you welcome-you who are crowding into the Tabernacle, the grounds, Assembly Hall, and all who are listening in-welcome to this, the first session of the One Hundred Thirtieth Annual Conference of the Church. I pray that the request offered in the invocation may be granted, and that the Spirit of the Lord may dwell with those who speak at this session and throughout this conference, and inspire those who listen, that we may have indeed a spiritual uplifting-a spiritual feast.
"Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God".
"We are living in perilous times". That is what they said when I was a boy. That is what people thought and said in the days of the apostles, following the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. That is what people thought and said three thousand years before the Savior came to the earth, if we can rely upon writings taken from an Assyrian tablet dated 2800 years before Christ.
Hayden gives a similar warning: "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 re-enforced 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."
The daily press gives ample evidence that there seems to be a general distrust of our young folk. The great majority of them want to know what is right. I have confidence in our young people. It is our duty to show them a proper example. Most of them today will follow it, notwithstanding the fact that they are living in an age full of mysteries and discoveries never before known in the world. Man holds dominion over earth, sea, and air, and now is intent upon conquering space.
Just recently the United States sent a new messenger out among the planets. Pioneer Five, a 94.8-pound sphere only 26 inches in diameter, was the first interplanetary traveler with a far-ranging and long-lasting voice. "If all goes well, scientists will be hearing from Pioneer Five steadily for the next five months, then sporadically for years to come, as it swings back within range."
What a glimpse of the starry heavens! While increasing admiration for man's ingenuity, it should not surprise members of the Church who have been singing for years W. W. Phelps' hymn:
"If you could hie to Kolob In the twinkling of an eye, And then continue onward With that same speed to fly, D'ye think that you could ever, Through all eternity, Find out the generation Where Gods began to be? "Or see the grand beginning, Where space did not extend? Or view the last creation, Where Gods and matter end? Methinks the Spirit whispers, 'No man has found "pure space,"' Nor seen the outside curtains, Where nothing has a place. "The works of God continue, And worlds and lives abound; Improvement and progression Have one eternal round."
The more man learns of infinity, the more convinced he should become of the possibility of rising above a mere animal existence.
Wernher Von Braun, Director of Development Operations Division, United States Army Ballistic Missile Agency, a man who has dedicated his life to the conquest of space, in a recent article explains simply and fully what space means to our future, and then concludes as follows:
"We need not fear that future space explorers on their heaven-storming journeys will lose their humility. The heavens will surround them as an eternal reminder that there is a force greater than the thrust of their rocket ships, a spirit greater than the cold logic of their computers, a power, greater than that of their own nation.
Yes, we are living in an interesting world. There is another side, too. We are told that 120,000 young people from Asia and Africa each year are indoctrinated with the false ideology of Communism-120,000! There are now 400,000 trained communist missionaries in southern Asia and Africa saying to the hungry masses: "We are here to liberate you. In Russia and China we have found the way-liquidate the rich classes; take all they have; the land and the machinery will be owned by the government. Then everybody will have enough, and nobody will be oppressing the poor. Communism holds a tremendous fascination for the illiterate, hungry, desperate people of Asia and Africa."
I was very much interested, as you were undoubtedly, at a press dispatch recently about Ardeshir Zahedi, the new Iranian Ambassador to United States, who spent five years between 1945 and 1950 earning a degree in agriculture at the Utah State University in Logan, Utah. He credits Dr. Franklin S. Harris, former president of the Agricultural College, and one of the founders of Point Four in Iran, with doing a major job in cementing United States-Iran ties. Mr. Zahedi remembers Utah and Utahns with fondness, according to a report from Deseret News Washington Bureau correspondent, Warren Zimmerman.
I thought as I read that how important it is for members of the Church, particularly the leaders who are sent out to these various missions, to exemplify the one source of peace-the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. How important it is to teach them to support themselves, but at the same time to point out that there is a force higher than themselves, higher and greater than man, greater than the whole universe-that is that God is the Creator of it all.
The duty of the Church is to teach and practice the fundamental principles of the good life. Obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ, no matter what the financial or physical conditions may be, will bring peace in the soul. When Nicodemus called upon Jesus about two thousand years ago, a notable conversation took place, during which undoubtedly they spoke about eternal salvation, the real development of man. It is implied in the scripture that the purpose of membership in the kingdom of God is for the fostering of the spiritual life, and the achievement of moral and charitable ends.
"Except a man be born again," said Jesus, he cannot see the kingdom of God". He told Nicodemus that before he could solve the question that was troubling his mind, his spiritual vision would have to be changed by an entire revolution of his "inner man". His manner of thinking, feeling, and acting with reference to spiritual things would have to undergo a fundamental and permanent change with reference to spiritual matters.
It is easy to see temporal things. It is easy to yield to lascivious things. It requires little or no effort to indulge in anything physical and animal-like. But to be born out of that world into a spiritual world is advancement that the Lord requires of each of us.
It is implied in the scriptures that the purpose of membership in the kingdom of God is for the fostering of spiritual life-I repeat-and the achievement of moral and charitable ends; in other words, for the developing of the religious sentiment, the true religious spirit.
This may be done in two ways: first, by seeking the truth and living in harmony with it; and, second, by resisting every influence, every power that tends to destroy or to dwarf in any way the religious sentiment. When an applicant for baptism stood at the water's edge, before being buried with Christ in baptism, he possessed an implicit faith that the Church of Jesus Christ is established upon the earth, and that this organization is the best in the world today for the fostering of spiritual life, for the attaining of true religious development, for the salvation of the soul.
I repeat that this implicit faith was within him; and with that, there was a true repentance, and that repentance carried with it a desire to leave off everything in the past life that was contrary to the teachings of the gospel or the Church. His old life, and the sins, if there were any connected with it, he truly repented of. He looked forward to the time when he would be born anew in the kingdom of God. He was about to go through the ordinance of baptism, typical of the burial of his old life, and with it all the imperfections, the frailties, the evils, the sins that accompanied that old living. He was to be buried by baptism, that as Christ was raised from the dead by the power and the glory of the Father, so he might come forth in newness of life, a member of the Church of God, a child of the Father, a citizen in the kingdom of Christ. By baptism he was born again, and became a fit recipient of the Holy Spirit. His body came forth anew, and the Holy Ghost was bestowed upon him; he was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ.
That is where we all stood at one time. Those were our feelings, our faith, our hope. We stood that day forgiven of past evils and follies. Now, the whole mission-the life, if you please, of soul development-was before us, and we had thus bestowed upon us the light that emanates from the Father, to lead us that our feet might not stumble, that the truths of his holy gospel might sink into our hearts-the truths that will give us knowledge that our souls might be saved in intelligence. The Holy Ghost was to bring all things to our remembrance, to show us things to come, to testify of the Father; and as we seek that light, and live in accordance with the duties that are placed upon us by that obligation, we are seeking the true religious development we are fostering the true religious growth.
But what is the other element which we must consider? Along with this new life, with this seeking for truth, there should be a strong power of resistance. Though being born anew, and being entitled to new life, new vigor, new blessings, yet the old weaknesses still remained with us. The Evil One was eager and ready to attack and strike us at our weakest point, and he has been striking at it ever since. Why? That he might thwart the very purpose for which we entered the Church of Jesus Christ.
Our mission, then, is to resist evil as well as to seek that which is high.
Our Savior is our Divine Exemplar. After he passed through the ordinance of baptism to "fulfil all righteousness" after he had received the commendation of the Father and the testimony from on high that he was the Son of God, the "Beloved Son" in whom the Father was well pleased, Satan was there ready to thwart his mission. Jesus went forth in fasting and prayer preparatory to the great mission resting upon him, and when in his weakest moment, as Satan thought, when his body was weak and exhausted by long fasting, the Evil One presented him self in temptation. And what was the temptation? An appeal to his bodily weakness: "If thou be the Son of God"--"If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread". In a moment of weakness and hunger that temptation would be strongest, other things being equal. There was the moment of resistance on Jesus' part. His seeking had been manifest in prayer and fasting. His resistance came at the moment of bodily weakness. Though the body was weak, the Spirit was strong, and Christ answered: "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God".
Then, as you recall, Satan tried him on another point Failing in that, the tempter tried him still on a third point. He tempted him, first, on his love for physical comfort; second, he tempted him on vanity; and third, he tempted him on love for worldly wealth, and the power to rule the world. I say "tempted him," but Christ was above temptations. Satan tried to tempt him. But all these temptations Christ resisted; and the final resistance was: "Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve".
We may not have heard audibly on the water's edge the words: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," but the Spirit bore testimony in our souls that God was well pleased with the act, and he was pleased to lead us as we sought his guidance in fasting and prayer. We might not have heard in audible tones: If you are a member of that Church, a member of his kingdom, entitled to the Holy Spirit, do this or do that. Our temptation may not have come in that form. It may have come in the form of old desires. It may have been in the form of some bodily temptation, some longing. It may have been the craving for the cigarette, which we determined-if we were sincere-to put a side when going into the waters of baptism. Oh, when that longing came, after we were in the Church or kingdom, who was it who said: "Though you pretend to throw that aside, take it only once more; this once will not hurt."There was the necessary moment of resistance! How many of us stood as did Christ, our leader, and said: "Get thee behind me!".
This element of resistance in regard to our bodily longings-satisfying the passions-applies to every member of the Church of Jesus Christ. In some way the Evil One will attack us. In some way he can weaken us. In some way he will bring before us that which will weaken our souls, and will tend to thwart that true development of religious sentiment. And what I mean by that is this: the development of the spirit within, the strengthening of the inner man, the strengthening and growth of the spirit, which time cannot kill but which is enduring and lasting as the Eternal Father of that spirit. And the things which will tend to dwarf that spirit, or to hinder its growth, are things which members of the Church are called upon to resist.
We have in the eighty-ninth section of the Doctrine and Covenants, the word of the Lord upon a few little things-little as considered by many, and particularly by the men of the world-which the members of the Church are asked to observe. It is a temporal law, and pertains to our spiritual as well as to our physical welfare. I hope that we may have strength to resist all the allurements that come with wealth and worldly position, when we make those two things an end in themselves. Today we have only time enough to consider those few little things with which Satan tempts us in regard to our body.
In that section, you remember, we read: "Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you: In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation-
"That inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong drink among you, behold it is not good, neither meet in the sight of your Father, only in assembling yourselves together to offer up your sacraments before him.
"And, again, strong drinks... tobacco... hot drinks are... not good for man".
These things mentioned here-strong drinks, tobacco, hot drinks, -are a few of the temporal things which members of the Church who would follow the true religious sentiment of this Church should resist.
Every young man throughout Zion when he comes forth from the waters of baptism, ought to know that it is part of his duty to resist smoking a cigarette, no matter where he may be. Every young person in the Church should be taught, when coming from the waters of baptism, that he should resist intoxicants when passed around at the social gathering. Every young member of this Church should know that tobacco in any form should not be used. He or she should resist all these habits, not only for the blessing that is promised herein by our Father, but also because of the strength so acquired to resist greater temptations.
Now, just a word in regard to this "resisting" under circumstances that seem difficult. A young man who may refuse cigarettes or liquor at home, and who may find it easy to do so, might yield when he is out in company at a social. When all the others partake of these things, he might not have strength to resist the temptation. That is the moment when the true soul growth should be made and fostered. That is the moment, in the hour of greatest temptation, when the strongest resistance does the most good. It is not when it is in the family circle, when father's and mother's influence help to keep these things away. In this respect it is to be hoped that every father and mother will set a good example. I hope that parents will not set bad examples so that the children indulging in weakness may say, "I am following you."
As far as possible let our fathers and mothers restrain themselves in these things. Parents, resist temptation! Control your appetite! What though you do crave these gratifications? The more you crave it, the greater should be your resistance and the greater will be your soul development. It is no credit for us to resist something we do not crave or long for. The man who grows most by resisting is the man who resists what he craves, and who will say, in the strength of the gospel, "I will stop it. I will resist it."
"It is easy enough to be virtuous When nothing tempts you to stray, When without or within no voice of sin Is luring your soul away. But it's only a negative virtue Until it is tried by fire; And the life that is worth the honor of earth Is the life that resists desire."
May God grant that as we are seeking the further establishment of the kingdom of God, that we may instruct our young people, and the members of the Church everywhere, to resist temptations that weaken the body, that destroy the soul, that we may stand truly repentant as we were when we entered the waters of baptism; that we may be renewed in the true sense of the word, that we may be born again; that our souls might bask in the light of the Holy Spirit, and go on as true members of the Church of Jesus Christ until our mission on earth is completed and God receives us and rewards us according to our merits.
May this be our lot, I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop Joseph L. Wirthlin
Joseph L. Wirthlin, Conference Report, April 1960, pp. 31-33
I sincerely trust, my brothers and sisters, that I might have that spirit and blessing so essential in expressing to you the thoughts I have this morning.
I wish that every young man and young woman could have heard President McKay give his testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and what it means to all of us.
I was inspired by the marvelous priesthood meeting held last night when President Moyle said, "We should have 12,000 young men preaching the gospel to those not of our faith." At the present, the Church has 6,000 missionaries, and, I am sure, President Moyle and brethren and sisters, that it is possible to have 12,000 missionaries in the world preaching the gospel because all of our brethren whether they hold the Aaronic or the Melchizedek Priesthood should have a full knowledge of the gospel and a testimony that they can bear to the world.
Two thousand years ago, it was declared by the Christ, "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".
We know Joseph Smith actually saw the Father and the Son. There should be no question about that. He was the first to see the Father and the Son since the apostles were upon the earth nearly 2,000 years ago, and through his testimony we know that God lives, that Jesus Christ is his Son. Having that knowledge and also the priesthood, we, therefore, have the ability and the authority to preach the gospel to the world.
The Prophet Joseph Smith at the age of twenty-two was translating the Book of Mormon that the people of the world might have the privilege of receiving that marvelous book and becoming acquainted with the history of America, that Jesus Christ had been upon this the American continent and that he had taught the Nephites the gospel as he had taught the people in far-off Jerusalem. In translating the gold plates, he came upon a passage concerning baptism. Consequently, he made it a matter of prayer, and in answer to that prayer, there appeared a heavenly being who introduced himself as John the Baptist. If you fathers and mothers and grandfathers and grandmothers should properly teach your sons and grandsons, when they receive the Aaronic Priesthood, they will have a testimony that this great event took place, that John the Baptist who baptized the Christ appeared and bestowed the Aaronic Priesthood upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery.
We of the Presiding Bishopric sometimes wonder whether or not, in homes, fathers and mothers are inspiring and encouraging their young men to read that marvelous statement of John the Baptist, the thirteenth section of the Doctrine and Covenants. These are the words of John the Baptist. These are not the words of Joseph Smith or Oliver Cowdery, and because of that fact, all of these young men who hold the Aaronic Priesthood be they deacons, teachers, or priests should be acquainted with that statement. It will become a reality. They will know it actually happened. It would be inspiring to our young people in our homes, brethren and sisters, if we would periodically read the statement of John the Baptist. These are his 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". These words will build a testimony of its truthfulness in their hearts.
After Christ and the apostles had left the earth, the world changed its attitude toward the gospel, and the organization of the Church was taken away. There had been a change in the form of baptism. There had been a change in repentance. In fact, the Church as a whole had changed. Therefore, a great event had to take place wherein great men as Martin Luther and others some four hundred years ago had the courage to declare to the world that the so-called church of that time had gone wrong. They were no longer giving consideration to the priesthood as it existed in the days of the prophets or in the days of John the Baptist.
With the reformation that came through these great men, then, the restoration was necessary. The Lord selected the young man Joseph Smith to restore the true Church. For that reason, John the Baptist appeared and bestowed upon him and Oliver Cowdery the Aaronic Priesthood.
To you bishops who are responsible for men who are laboring with the Aaronic Priesthood, see that all these young men will understand the gospel in its fulness, and as they go on year by year and arrive at the age of twenty, they will have a testimony whereby they can go out into the world and testify that Joseph Smith actually saw the Father and the Son. They will have the knowledge and the ability to teach the world the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
All of us who hold the Melchizedek Priesthood hold it because Peter, James, and John bestowed it upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. These are the only young men in the history of nearly 2,000 years who have declared that they actually saw Peter, James, and John, and who bestowed upon them the Melchizedek Priesthood. That marvelous revelation given to the Prophet Joseph and Oliver Cowdery can be found in the Doctrine and Covenants, section 27, verse 12, when Christ said to them and to us who hold the Melchizedek Priesthood, "And also with Peter, and James, and John, whom I have sent unto you, by whom I have ordained you and confirmed you to be apostles". Is there any question that we have apostles today as there were apostles in the days of the Prophet Joseph? There should not be because here we have the words of the Christ himself when he said, "... by whom I have ordained you and confirmed you to be apostles..." of the Lord Jesus Christ with the same authority, the same rights and the same privileges that existed nearly 2,000 years ago. Then he said, "... and especial witnesses of my name..."-to be especial witnesses of the name of Christ himself. We who hold the Melchizedek Priesthood, can continually bear testimony to the fact as well as the apostles that Jesus Christ was the Son of God. Then he said, "... and bear the keys of your ministry and of the same things which I revealed unto them." There should be no question whether we hold the Aaronic or Melchizedek Priesthood but that we have received this authority because it was bestowed upon the Prophet Joseph by John the Baptist and by the apostles Peter, James, and John.
With reference to youth, I hope the youth of the Church will read the history of the Prophet Joseph Smith and read of all of these great events which took place, remembering he called upon the Lord at the age of fourteen. The Father and the Son appeared, and the Father said, "... This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!". If the youth of the Church have this testimony in their souls, they would not have any difficulties in understanding what they should do to live the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
As I read the history of Joseph Smith and all the great events that took place, I am impressed with the fact that he was a young man. At the age of twenty-two he received the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthood. When he reached twenty-four, 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon were printed which were available to the world. When he was twenty-five years of age, the Church was moved to Kirtland, and there he ordained the first bishop. At the age of twenty-seven, he received the revelation on the Word of Wisdom. One-hundred and twenty-seven years ago, he received that marvelous revelation. At the age of twenty-seven he commenced the erection of a temple. At the age of twenty-nine he chose twelve apostles. At the age of thirty he dedicated the Kirtland Temple. When that great event took place, there were visions, there were angels, the Christ appeared to him, and there were Moses, Elias, and Elijah who bestowed their keys of authority on him. These events made it possible for all the sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father who had lived over the hundreds of years gone by to enjoy all of these blessings. When he was thirty-two years of age the Church had to move into Missouri. At that time, he received the marvelous revelation on tithing. Youth ought to be aware of the fact that the law of tithing came through revelation. When the Prophet Joseph Smith was thirty-two years of age, another great event took place and that was to give the Church its name. None of the great leaders or organizers of other churches have ever attempted to say, "This is the Church of Jesus Christ." They may take the name of Luther. They may take the names of others. The revelation given to the Prophet in the Doctrine and Covenants, section 115, verse 4 said, "For thus shall my church be called in the last days, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints". Youth ought to know why this great organization carries that sacred name-The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
At the age of thirty-four, this young man sent nine apostles into England to preach the gospel. As a result of their work, literally thousands of people from Great Britain have joined the Church. During the last three years, our Prophet dedicated temples in London, New Zealand, and Switzerland for the benefit of the people in those countries. Recently, Elder Harold B. Lee was in far-off England, and there he organized a stake in the Manchester area. The Lord intends that all his people, regardless of where they are, are to have the same privileges and opportunities that were revealed to us through the Prophet Joseph Smith. The youth of the Church should know more about Joseph Smith and of these great historical events that have taken place so that they will have in their souls a testimony that Joseph Smith actually saw the Father and the Son, that the establishment of the Church came through revelation, not coming to a man because of his own ideas but because of the plan of the Lord for us in these the latter days. Youth should know that this young man at the age of thirty-six made it possible for all of us to receive what is called endowments. The youth should understand and know what these endowments are. Fathers and mothers, that is your responsibility, and mine, to teach them of these sacred things. At the age of thirty-seven, the Prophet Joseph received the revelation on the new and everlasting covenant of marriage. Youth should know about the new and everlasting covenant of marriage whereby youth may have the opportunity of going into the house of the Lord and being sealed for time and eternity. That is our responsibility. At the age of thirty-eight, he sealed his testimony of the restoration of the Church and the gospel of Jesus Christ with his blood.
I pray that youth will be able to testify of these historical events and know the truth of the words found in Moses 1:39, "For behold, this is my work and my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man". May the Lord continue to bless you as the parents of youth, to bless all of us that, in turn, we may be a great source of inspiration and guidance to them, I humbly ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder William J. Critchlow, Jr.
William J. Critchlow, Jr., Conference Report, April 1960, pp. 34-36
"What music must our Father have provided for His saints in Heaven, when He afforded us such music here on earth."
I borrowed that from Izaak Walton to express my appreciation for the music of this great choir. If music were the language of angels, I have heard angels speak this morning.
About one hundred forty years ago, an early American historian directed a youth Joseph Smith, to a hidden deposit of golden plates upon which was engraved a history of the early inhabitants of the Americas. The engravings, subsequently translated by Joseph Smith by the gift and power of God, comprise the Book of Mormon. The historian was Moroni-a resurrected prophet.
In an interview with a prospective young missionary, I quite routinely asked:
"Do you believe Joseph Smith was a prophet of God?"
"Sir," he said, "I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God."
"What is your feeling about the Book of Mormon?"
"I know the Book of Mormon is true," he replied.
His quick emphatic reply prompted me to say, "How can you be so positive about it?"
His response again was emphatic, impressive, and brief. Three short words conveyed it: "I've read it."
There are undoubtedly many of you members of the Church listening to me at this moment who could similarly testify to the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon because you've read it.
One scholarly man told me that he could not bring himself to read the Book of Mormon because of the fantastic story concerning its origin.
"Let me see those golden plates-seeing is believing-" he said.
"Perhaps," I admitted, hastening to explain that Joseph Smith returned them to the Angel Moroni who had told him that a sealed part or section of the plates would be translated at a future time when the world was better prepared to receive its message.
"Well," he smiled as he answered facetiously, "when Moroni returns them for translation, give me a ring. I'd like to ask him a few questions."
I suppose there are critics and skeptics whose attitudes toward the Book of Mormon are reflected in this man's philosophy-"seeing is believing." I suppose, too, that some of our young missionaries have wished that Moroni had left the plates with Joseph Smith so that he could have deposited them in some public place, a museum perhaps, where investigators might come to see for themselves and thus be convinced, since seeing is believing.
I wonder! And my wondering inclines me to doubt-even question the idea that-"seeing is believing"-particularly in its application to the golden plates.
Were any of our early missionaries or others ever able to support "seeing is believing" with evidence that the people who saw the papyri scrolls with the Egyptian mummies readily accepted Joseph Smith's translation of one of the scrolls as divinely inspired? The book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price constitutes this translation. Those mummies and scrolls were exhibited over a period of two years, throughout towns and cities east of the Appalachian Mountains. For another nine years they were in Joseph Smith's possession, and after his death they reportedly reposed in museums, first, in St. Louis and later in Chicago, where they were supposedly destroyed in the great fire of 1871. Thousands of people must have seen them. No one, so far as I am able to determine, ever questioned their genuineness, but how many, because they felt "seeing is believing," accepted Joseph Smith's translation as the handiwork of God and petitioned for membership in his Church? Very, very few-I'm sure. What reason have we then to suspect that seeing the Book of Mormon plates would be different? Were they available for inspection people seeing them may admit that golden plates exist, and that there are engravings upon them-which scholars cannot translate, but would that knowledge silence the attacks of skeptics who surely would impute them to be spurious? Would it abate the endless disputations about their origin, the angel, and the translation by the gift and power of God? Again, I wonder. The more I ponder the suggestion that "seeing is believing" the more convinced I am that the Lord's way was best-he kept the plates. He said to his prophet Isaiah: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways... For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts".
Yes, the Lord's way was best.
His way-keeping the plates-safely preserves them against the time when the world is ready for a translation of the part thereof which is sealed. Joseph Smith was not permitted to translate this sealed part because the hearts of the people were not susceptible to the divine truth contained therein. Concerning it, the historian-prophet Moroni wrote:
"... there never were greater things made manifest than those which... the Lord hath commanded me to write them... And he commanded me that I should seal them up; and he also hath commanded that I should seal up the interpretation thereof... until the day that they shall repent of their iniquity, and become clean before the Lord".
In fancy let's assume that the plates had been deposited with the mummies and the Egyptian scrolls in the Chicago museum. Both would then have been destroyed by fire. Joseph Smith never did find time to translate the second scroll which he said contained the writings of Joseph, grandson of Abraham. Its contents are seemingly lost to the world. So, without the Lord's intervention, "the greater things made manifest" in the sealed portion of the gold plates may have been similarly lost to the world. Surely God's "ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." I am grateful that the Lord kept the plates. Sometime, I hope to read the "greater things" sealed therein.
His way-keeping the plates-complied with and satisfied his own divine law of witnesses which is "In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established". He gave this law to Moses for the children of Israel. He taught this law to his disciples when he walked with them on earth; he inspired his servant Paul to teach this law to the Corinthians; and he literally conformed to this law in this last dispensation by supplying twelve witnesses of the golden plates, Joseph Smith and eleven others.
His way-keeping the plates-satisfies adequately the civil laws of the land with respect to witnesses. Twelve witnesses in any civil court comprise a jury whose verdict should completely satisfy the demands of civil law. The jury's verdict was: "The plates exist-we saw them." This evidence is incontrovertible.
Listen for a moment to the witnesses:
"Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto whom this work shall come: That we... have seen the plates..., and we also know that they have been translated by the gift and power of God, for his voice hath declared it unto us... And we also testify that we have seen the engravings which are upon the plates... And we declare with words of soberness, that an angel of God... brought and laid before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates, and the engravings thereon..." So spoke three of them.
Eight others spoke as follows:
"Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto whom this work shall come: That Joseph Smith, Jun.,... has shown unto us the plates... which have the appearance of gold... and we also saw the engravings thereon... And this we bear record with words of soberness, that... we have seen and hefted, and know of a surety that the said Smith has got the plates of which we have spoken".
I have deleted from these testimonies, in the interest of brevity, many interesting statements which every investigator of the work should read. They may be found on one of the preface pages of the Book of Mormon.
None of the witnesses ever denied his testimony. Each to his last breath and some with their last breath declared in substance, "I saw the plates-the work is true." Two of the twelve witnesses sealed their testimonies with their blood; five were excommunicated from the Church; two others withdrew from the Church; but despite disaffection toward the Church, enmity toward the Prophet, adversity, and persecution, not one of them ever denied his testimony.
His way-keeping the plates-left to the world, in lieu of the plates, which man could not read, a true translation thereof which man can read, because it is now translated into twenty-four languages. It is the Book of Mormon. Joseph Smith translated it by the gift and power of God.
The intrinsic value of the plates is not their gold content, but is their message content. The Lord left that message to the world.
It is said, "The proof of the pudding is in the eating." So is the proof of the Book of Mormon in the reading. The young missionary who said, "I know the Book of Mormon is true because I've read it," is not unlike thousands of you who are listening to me, who, too, can testify that you know it is true because you've read it.
And when you read it, you discovered a key which unlocked for you a source of evidence which proved beyond the shadow of a doubt the divine source of its origin.
This key was your reward for reading the book, from cover to cover, for only those who pursue their reading to the closing pages will find it. This is the key:
"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 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".
This promise is not unlike a promise made by our Lord and Master nineteen hundred years ago when he stood upon a mount in Galilee and spoke:
"Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you".
Another time he said: "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".
Joseph Smith, the youth, did "ask," and he did "seek" and he did "knock" and there was "opened unto" him-golden plates-delivered by one Moroni, an early American historian-prophet; which Joseph translated by the gift and power of God. And now by this same power or by the power of the Holy Ghost, he has specifically promised all who will read the book "with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ," to "manifest the truth of it unto you."
God's way-keeping the plates-provided a precious key-a divine key which if used as many of you have used it, will unlock the door to:
-Knowledge that the "Book of Mormon is true." So said the young missionary. I add my witness.
-Knowledge that the Bible contains the word of God-the Book of Mormon is its witness.
-Knowledge that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.
-Knowledge that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God-the Book of Mormon is his witness.
I believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, that he was visited by one Moroni an early American historian-prophet who directed him to a hidden deposit of golden plates. The engravings thereon he, translated by the gift and power of God and thus produced the Book of Mormon.
This is my humble testimony. I bear it gladly, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Mark E. Petersen
Mark E. Petersen, Conference Report, April 1960, pp. 37-39
On a recent trip, I was a guest in the home of a little boy about six or seven years of age. He was looking through his older brother's Boy Scout Handbook. He had turned to the section on tracking, where Scouts are taught to follow footprints of animals. He told me that he expects that this coming summer he will be out tracking, following footprints.
I looked beyond the footprints of animals to the footprints of human beings, and wondered whose foot tracks he would follow as he grew up. I wondered if they would be good tracks or bad tracks, and if the people who would make those tracks would be uplifting or degrading in their influence on him.
I picked up his book and turned to the section where I read the Boy Scout oath. You remember the first few words are, "On my honor I will do my best...." As he grows up, what will this little boy learn about honor or dishonor? Who will teach him? Or does it really matter? How important is honor, anyway? Is it something sacred? Is it sacred to you? Is it sacred to very many Americans?
In my opinion, America needs a rebirth of honor more than it needs any other one thing. It needs honor more than it needs its atom bombs and nuclear submarines. Put weapons in the hands of dishonorable men and what have you?
America needs honor more than it needs wealth and prosperity. Put wealth in the hands of dishonorable men, and what have you?
America needs honor even more than it needs professions of religious piety. What good is a profession of religion in a man who has no honor? Such men lived in the days of Jesus. He called them scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites.
Have you been shocked at the public display of deception and dishonesty we have seen recently from coast to coast? Are you alarmed at the lack of character which has been exhibited? Are you frightened when the public conscience is dimmed and when men and women alike strive in greed and selfishness to get all they can and give as little in return as they can?
Are you alarmed when working men laugh at the principle of giving an honest day's work for an honest day's pay? Are you shocked when large industries become involved in public scandals? Does it scare you to learn that our government was defrauded by its own citizens of five billion dollars in income tax in a single year?
Where will all this lack of honor take us? What will be its effect upon our children? Think of my little boy friend and his Boy Scout book: "On my honor..." What will honor mean to him?
The uniform crime reports of the FBI issued last September indicate that adults are responsible for eighty percent of the major crimes in the United States. Then, who is leading the march of dishonor and disgrace in America today?
Not the juvenile delinquents who get the headlines.
This same FBI report shows that the age group in which most arrests are made is the group fifty years of age and older. Think of it! More arrests among people fifty years of age and over than among any other age group in the United States! The next highest age group is made up of persons from thirty to thirty-four, and the next highest those from thirty-five to thirty-nine.
I wondered if this picture had changed in the last five years and looking in the FBI report of five years before, I discovered that still, even then, those fifty years of age and over accounted for more crimes than any other age group.
I was very interested in last year's report to discover that only nineteen percent of all the arrests for major crimes in the United States involved people under twenty-one years of age.
Do you remember the verse which says:
"'Twas a sheep, not a lamb that strayed away In the parable Jesus told, A grown-up sheep that had gone astray From the ninety and nine in the fold."
Our leaders in crime detection tell us that our increased juvenile crime is largely due to a great let-down in honor and integrity, a great collapse in the moral fiber of the nation. They warn us that when we overlook honesty on such a wide scale, national disaster may overtake us.
I recently read an editorial in the Richmond, Virginia, News-Leader, commenting on this moral breakdown in America, and making special reference to the "payola" scandal. The editor said:
"The fault lies wholly in ourselves, and in the sort of shallow, materialist society we have built for our country. Here we sit in our inner-spring cocoons, fashioned of infinite soft self-deceptions, and stare at the disc jockeys outside.
"Who will cast the first stone?
"Will it be the farmer, paid for not farming his land?
"Or will it be the executive, padding his expense account?
"Will it be the student who cheats?
"Will it be the veteran who fakes a disability? The bureaucrat who makes useless work? The politicians who buy votes? The special interests who buy politicians? The merchant whose fancy package conceals a shoddy product? Who is the condemner, who the condemned?
"All this," says the editorial, "is not to condone for an instant the greedy, cynical and irresponsible conduct of those persons in the broadcasting industry whose contempt for the American boob is now so shockingly revealed. They are reaping their own whirlwind. It is merely to suggest that we get this scandal in perspective, painful as the process may be....
"... When our schools are crowded with 'crib courses' and our ministers are absorbed in the intricacies of administration, and our families have left it to somebody else to inculcate cultural values in their children and the confiscatory nature of tax laws has made a nation of devious contrivers, no wonder a quiz show contestant sees deception as reality and fraud as accepted social behavior."
Recently I read an address given in Boise, Idaho, by Judge Philip Gilliam of Denver, the judge of the juvenile court there. Among other things he said:
"It seems to me that there has been sweeping through America... an arbitration between right and wrong.
"... you know," he said, "you see it with the adults so often: Don't be a sucker, why should I pay my taxes if there is any way to get out of it?... "But you see it in the kids, too," he said. "Every now and then you talk to one of the kids we get in our training school for delinquent boys, and you say. 'Son, why did you break the law?' And he says, 'I didn't want to be a... chicken...'
"Can you imagine Thomas Jefferson sitting back and saying, 'I didn't want to be a chicken?'"
Then he continues: "Golly, friends, is there something wrong with being a decent guy, with being a responsible citizen... interested in community betterment... interested enough to make the effort for good government? Is decency becoming unpopular in this country?"
Then he says, "The great challenge of America is to be a decent guy, a constructive citizen, a responsible businessman, an honorable workingman....
"... The test of civilization is not how many cars you own or some of the things that have been glorified on TV and in the movies. The test of civilization is the kind of people we turn out." And he concludes, "I'm sure that is absolutely true."
My mind goes back to the little boy with the Scout manual. What if every American could but learn the first great lesson in that manual, the lesson of honor? What if every man were as honorable as he expects his son to be? What if every woman were as honorable as she hopes her children will be? What if every boy and girl had honor enthroned in their hearts and could pledge to all men that on that sacred honor they would do their best in life?
There is no happiness without honor. There is little success without doing one's best.
To instill in the mind and heart of a child the importance of honor and the value of doing his best, is one of our greatest tasks. What are we without good character? Can good character exist without honor?
When we look at the life and teachings of the Savior, it was the hypocrite, the pretentious hypocrite, who received his most scathing criticism.
It was the honest widow giving her mite, who has lived in our memories as an example to be followed.
Judas the traitor will forever be the personification of dishonor at its worst. The prayer in Gethsemane will always be the criterion of devotion.
In this Church we have many marvelous character-building activities. We have outstanding organizations which teach honor and integrity to our young people. The Boy Scout movement is one of them. It is a well-established fact that this training in boys makes of them honorable citizens, with good character and high ideals.
Then in the light of our national moral status, in the knowledge of our great need to teach honor and integrity, in the interest of rearing the next generation to be better than the present one, do we not need more of scouting and other agencies which teach honesty and truth?
Scouting can help make a boy an outstanding man, a good church member, a good student, a good citizen. Then why are not more parents interested in this wonderful movement? Why is there resistance in many homes? Why do some officials who are charged with the welfare and development of boyhood side-step their responsibilities to the scouting program?
It seems incredible, in a day when so much temptation faces our youth, that any grown person, especially a parent or worker with youth, would fail to take full advantage of the Scout program.
Scouts are governed not only by their oath to do their best on their sacred honor, but also by their law which says that a Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous. A Scout is kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.
Is there a boy anywhere who would not benefit by having these traits of character developed within him? Is there a home which would not be blessed by having such a boy within it, a boy who is helpful, trustworthy, loyal, friendly, and kind?
What if every boy was courteous to his mother? What if every boy was kind to little sister? What if every one was obedient in the home and obedient to God?
Would there be any moral breakdown, if all boys were clean? In this day of delinquency, can we think of any better way to prevent filthy living than to plant a love of cleanliness in the heart of a boy?
It is time to teach honor to America. It is time to acknowledge that an honest man is the noblest work of God. It is time to remember that when the grownup sheep wander off from the fold, they usually lead the lambs astray.
May we awaken to our responsibility to be honest and true, to exalt honor in our lives and in our thinking, I earnestly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report, April 1960, pp. 42-44
My brethren and sisters: I am grateful to be with you, difficult as it is to try to talk to you. I thank the Lord for his blessings to me during the past months, and more recently until now. I thank you as I thanked the priesthood last night, for your faith and prayers which have enabled me to be with you today. I hope that you will be good enough to pray with me that what I may say today, may be somewhat helpful to all of us.
As I have thought about what I might say or try to say, I have rather centered on the thought of the proud boast of Rome, which was, "All roads lead to Rome." And I have thought, and I may say I endorse all that has been said thus far regarding our time and its trends-I have thought how much that fundamental idea in this dictum has come to mean among us. I do not know whether we are in the beginning, in the middle, or near the end of a time when we shall see what historians of the future may call a revolution. And may I say here, and it applies frequently to all of us in principle, we of the present make history, our successors away from us write; and out of it they get things which we do not now presently see. I fear, as I have talked and heard others talk, that there may be a feeling, in fact, I know there is among some, that it does not make very much difference to what church we belong, what creed we may have, and not too much difference, within very broad limitations, what we do. We seem to be, in a way, in the presence of a trend of thought that is national, indeed worldwide, that would have us to believe that all this does not make very much difference, for we will all go to heaven anyhow, do what we will, think what we will, believe what we will, have faith as we may.
I find great fault with that, great fault, and I came across, in connection with this thought, some passages of scripture upon which I thought I might say a few words. They are taken from the Sermon on the Mount and were repeated by the Savior in that great appearance which he made on this continent after his resurrection. They are identical in words. Remember that he said when he came to this continent that he had come to teach them the things that he taught in Palestine. And these words are these:
"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".
I was reminded, as I read that, of the dream of Lehi recorded in the Book of Mormon, dreamed in the early days of the life of migration of Lehi, where the latter part of that-"few there be" that get into the straight and narrow way, was really prophetic. For his people found application of this principle in Lehi's own descendants, for there developed in the life of his descendants on this continent, the bloody conflict of the Nephites and Lamanites that brought about the utter destruction of the one by the other.
That led me to these thoughts about Christ. To Nicodemus he said that he came not to condemn the world, but to save it. In the great prayer in the garden he uttered the great principle, "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent".
And then I remembered also what Peter said to the Sanhedrin, called before them as a judicial body in connection with the first miracle, it is said, performed in the early Christian Church by the apostles. Being asked by what name he did the miracle, Peter answered:
"... by the name of Jesus Christ... for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved".
Then I remembered also, that Christ himself said, 'I am the way, the truth, the light, and the life'. And to those on this continent, he added, "I am the law".
This, of course, as we believe, indicates what we must believe and think and do, in what we must have faith.
You know, the Savior came in the Meridian of Time to fulfil the law of Moses, and he said on more than one occasion, 'I want nothing to do with sacrifice and burnt offerings, I want mercy.' And then you will remember, he added at various times, as to the sacrifice he wished: "... a broken heart and a contrite spirit".
As I reflected on this, I reflected a bit on where might I go to find the real words of the Savior. I knew I could not go to the Bible. We do not believe the Bible is absolutely correct. Students tell us there are 4500 different manuscripts of the Bible, and a few years ago it was estimated that there were 120,000 variations. Then it came to me almost as a revelation: Why do you not go to the Book of Mormon? So I took Third Nephi. I went over it with great care. I parallel-columned it with the parts of the New Testament concerning the Sermon on the Mount and the Sermon on the Plain. In the Old Testament I noted the instructions to Malachi as they were repeated by the Savior, because they had no record of Malachi, who lived after they left Jerusalem.
I found some differences, some omissions from the word that he was recorded as having spoken in Palestine. But I resorted to the Book of Mormon and to Third Nephi with the feeling that I was getting really what the Savior said. I commend an equal study by you brethren of those great books of the Book of Mormon and so far as the Savior's immediate mission was concerned, Third Nephi. There we may believe we have the true teachings, for the record was made by inspired men, abridged by another inspired man, and translated through the inspiration and revelation of the Lord himself. Brethren, I commend that to you, study it, if you never have done so, you will find great joy in the doing.
"... strait is the gate, and narrow is the way... and few there be that find it".
I repeat, the Savior said, 'I am the light, the life, the way, and the truth', and on this continent, "I am the law". If you will go through Third Nephi with care, and the earlier works, you will find a very complete discussion of how he fulfilled the law of Moses.
So, my brethren and sisters, I come to you with this simple message: There are not many roads that lead to heaven. There is one and one only, and that is the road that we profess to travel and should be traveled. It is the road that is restored to us by the restoration of the gospel and the restoration of the priesthood. Do not be misled by the professions of men. And to those verses that I have already read, I want to add another which comes near the end of that part of the Sermon on the Mount and to the people of the Land Bountiful, which says:
"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.
"Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
"And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity".
The earlier parts of the Sermon on the Mount do not contain teachings that are too specific with reference to this last, "depart from me" and that those who had professed, and so performed, were not his. But you will find rather a complete discussion of what that probably means in the book of Alma, the thirty-fourth chapter, where Amulek tells the things which are characteristic of those who worship our Lord and Savior and our Heavenly Father. Read them. It is worth your while.
Professors of religion, pretenders of being the offspring of our Heavenly Father's gospel and principles, pretending to have the truth, beware of them, brethren. Beware of the idea that you do not have to live the gospel in order to obtain the salvation and exaltation that are promised-not because God has imposed a penalty for your failure, but because, as I have already expressed to you at one time or another, I believe that the spirit grows or shrinks, as it is here in this mortal body, as it was intended that it should. I believe that bad acts, bad thoughts, inaccurate beliefs do not develop the spirit; but on the contrary, they may retard or dwarf it. I believe that all that we do that is good, builds us up, and helps us to "prove" ourselves, that we really are living our second estate.
Brethren and sisters, do not be misled, do not stray, do not imbibe the tendency of the age that it does not make any difference what you do. It makes all the difference in this world and in the hereafter. It makes the difference between salvation and exaltation and damnation. I examined the books to find out, if I could, whether the Savior had made any change in speaking on this continent and on the other side in fundamental sayings and doctrines. As I have said to you, there are some omissions, there are some changes, some of the changes are most important. Make the comparison I have made and find them out. But I found nothing whatsoever that changed the fundamental principle announced by the Savior in Palestine and here:
"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned".
Brethren and sisters, do not stray, do not be misled, do not cuddle to yourselves the thought that you can do this or that or the other forbidden thing, that after all these things make no difference. I bear you my witness again that all your thoughts, all your acts, all your doings of any kind, have an effect, beneficial or otherwise, on your souls, and you cannot afford so to jeopardize the hereafter.
May the Lord be with us.
I renew my testimony to you that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that the gospel and the priesthood were restored through Joseph Smith, that there came also to him certain other great powers, that all that he had, he passed on to those who have succeeded him, the last one of them being President David O. McKay.
May God bless him in his hour of tribulation, may God bless his wife and restore her completely to health and strength. May he continue to guide and direct President McKay, that he may guide and direct us, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder ElRay L. Christiansen
ElRay L. Christiansen, Conference Report, April 1960, pp. 47-49
I have been deeply moved by the timely and appropriate messages of those who have spoken in this conference, beginning last evening, and also by the beautiful and inspiring music that has been rendered both last night and today.
Now I desire to discuss briefly with you, a matter which should be the concern of every member of the Church and for which I believe there is a need on the part of many of us, for greater interest and fervor.
We live in the period of time spoken of by the prophets of the Bible, when all the keys of the priesthood, the powers, the gifts, and the authority are restored and are now in the hands of the servants of the Lord in this day, all of which is preparatory to the ushering in of the millennial reign of the Savior.
The primary purposes of this dispensation are first, to gather Israel through the great missionary service of the Church and the proselyting effort of all of us, that through the gospel of Jesus Christ, they may seek and find salvation and exaltation with their families.
And secondly, the redemption and salvation of the dead through vicarious service.
Section two of the Doctrine and Covenants contains the words spoken by Moroni, the angel who appeared to Joseph Smith, the Prophet. While it is very brief, it is, nevertheless, one of the most significant and important of all revelations. Elder John A. Widtsoe one time had this to say about this section:
"The beginning and the end of the gospel is written in section two of the Doctrine and Covenants. It is the keystone of the wonderful gospel arch, and if that center stone should weaken and fall out, the whole gospel structure would topple down in unorganized doctrinal blocks."
Let us see what is contained in this momentous revelation:
"Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
"And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers.
"If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming".
Thus in this revelation, Moroni reiterated the promise of the Lord made through Malachi, centuries before.
About twelve and a half years after these pronouncements were given by Moroni, Elijah actually appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery and committed into their hands the keys of the sealing power and said unto them, "... by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors".
Along with the restoration of the keys and the powers of the priesthood to enable the living and the dead to gain salvation, there came an almost overwhelming responsibility and obligation to the Latter-day Saints, to act as agents of the Lord in bringing about the program of salvation and redemption to their fellow men. Where in all the world can you find a people whose faith teaches them to recognize the justice and mercy of God in granting to all men, living or dead, the same or at least an equal opportunity to receive salvation? 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, receive it, and thereby gain the gift of eternal life.
In a public discourse, President Wilford Woodruff once made this significant and consistent statement:
"Since God is no respecter of persons, he will not give privileges to one generation and withhold them from another. The whole human family, from Father Adam down to our day, have got to have the same privileges 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 a few years later, this great leader said:
"We have 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 the redemption of the dead carries a twofold obligation and mission, to which we have all been called by revelation of the Lord. In the journal of President Woodruff he wrote this:
"I, Wilford Woodruff, received the following revelation from the Lord." Included in that revelation which was unanimously adopted by the Presidency and the Twelve of the Church and by the Church in conference assembled, is found this admonition:
"We want the Latter-day Saints from this time to trace their genealogies as far as they can and be sealed to their fathers and to their mothers and have their children sealed to their parents and run this chain through as far as you can get it. This is the will of the Lord to the people."
Brothers and sisters, there can be no substitute for the Lord's plan in redeeming our dead relatives, and no amount of side-stepping our individual responsibility will excuse us for neglecting to do these two important things, namely, identifying the dead from the records available, and then seeing to it that they have received in the temples by proxy the necessary ordinances for their salvation.
We as heads of families must not equivocate in this; we must not procrastinate; we must not assume that Aunt Martha or some other relative is doing all that needs to be done in this respect.
Members of the Church are coming to the temples in ever-increasing numbers. For some time the average number of endowments administered on behalf of the dead by the good people in this temple district has averaged 1738 endowments a day, besides the sealings and the baptisms. Nearly 40,000 were administered during the month of March in the twenty-three days during which the temple was open. The same thing is going on in all the temples. I see in this service one of the greatest tributes to the faithfulness of the Saints on behalf of others that could be manifested by anyone, anywhere. When I see busy men nearly equaling the number of women, coming hurriedly from their offices and from their work, regularly by appointment to act in behalf of these who have passed beyond, it touches my heart. The fervor of those who come is marvelous, and the love that they manifest for the dead is beautiful to behold. It is indeed the second great commandment in action.
The other phase of our responsibility however, that of identifying the deal through genealogical research, is barely keeping pace with the work done in the temples of the Lord. In this temple we have for some time administered many more endowments for the dead than we have baptisms for the dead That means that we will eventually run into difficulties if something is not done in the matter of more extensive research on the part of the individual families.
Some time ago the First Presidency authorized the sending forth of a letter appealing to leaders throughout the Church to strengthen the genealogical committees in the stakes, in the wards, and in the missions and to encourage those assigned to this work to go into the homes of the people and teach the fundamental procedures necessary to accomplish this work of genealogical research. In that letter, priesthood quorum presidencies are urged to actuate this work through their committees, through their quorum Church service and quorum activity committees, particularly, and to see to it that each family in their quorum is attending to this indispensable part of the Lord's program and this essential part of their own welfare and salvation. For I tell you, none of us can expect to bathe in glory if we have "gone it alone" and have not reached out a hand for others in this respect.
In this letter, young people are urged to obtain training now offered in the various auxiliary organizations through the courses presented there, and then to cooperate with their parents in identifying their loved ones who have departed from this life.
The sisters are encouraged to co-operate with their husbands and to the best of their ability and skills to act as researchers.
But the responsibility lies directly in the hands of the bearers of the priesthood, the heads of families to motivate, organize, and carry this work on through to a completion. As new temples are built, there is even a greater and greater need for research to provide the necessary names for the proper operation of our temples. Almost everyone can make a beginning by writing his own name, with his own genealogical information, and then continuing on with his parents, and his grandparents, and so forth. All who will do this will find it a fascinating adventure and a most compensating work.
Let us heed the call of our beloved leaders! The First Presidency of the Church, and the other Brethren are cognizant of this need and are anxious about it and are extremely temple-minded, themselves. Let us heed their call and through our efforts and research demonstrate that we have turned our hearts to our fathers, that the purposes of the Lord may be fulfilled. For this I pray humbly, in the name of Jesus Christ, the Lord. Amen.
Elder Alma Sonne
Alma Sonne, Conference Report, April 1960, pp. 50-51
My brethren and sisters, I believe the audience in this tabernacle has never looked so big to me as it does today, unless, perhaps, it was the first time I occupied this position nineteen years ago, when I was sustained as an Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. I have had many experiences during those nineteen years. It has been my privilege to travel in many of the countries of Europe. I believe I have borne my testimony in every state of the Union, in every province of Canada; in our sister republic on the south, in Mexico, and on the islands in the Hawaiian group.
I want to say to you that I have been greatly blessed; that the blessings which have come to me I could not possibly have anticipated nineteen years ago. We have heard many testimonies today and yesterday, most of them very fervent and well sustained. These testimonies have not come as a result of scholarly research or scientific study, but by prayerful investigation and by right living.
When Peter bore his testimony to the Savior, the Savior answered: "... flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven". He said on another occasion, "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself". That doctrine, brethren and sisters, is sound and logical. Live it, and you will surely know. Introduce into your lives the everlasting principles of life and salvation, and you will have no doubts. Testimonies are the strength of the Church. They are solid convictions based on facts that cannot be ignored by an honest investigator of the truth.
A few years ago I rode in an automobile over a well-traveled highway down in Syria. We traveled through a country which is not unlike our own Rocky Mountain region-the hills, the valleys, the vegetation, the clear mountain streams were similar to what we see around us here. For a time everything we saw reminded us of home. The driver of the car was well-informed, and kept us advised as to the historical background of the localities through which we passed.
At one juncture he stopped the car and pointed to a high rugged mountain near the highway. "That," he said, "is Mt. Hermon, the Mount of Transfiguration." Of course, we were immediately interested. He called our attention to the size of this gigantic mountain with its snow-capped elevations. He also told us in his own way the story of the Transfiguration. He explained that the Savior had led his three apostles to the very summit where they could worship God unmolested. He reminded us that they climbed to the top of the mountain, and to do so required great physical strength and endurance. Then he remarked: "They must have been strong men, physically."
It was an impressive story as he told it. It must have been a great event in the lives of Peter, James, and John. Matthew tells it in these words:
"And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,
"And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
"And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.
"Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses and one for Elias....
"While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him".
He, the Lord, had been similarly introduced on the occasion of his baptism in the River Jordan. These three apostles learned two fundamental things: First, they learned on that memorable occasion that Jesus was in reality and actually the Son of God, the Messiah about whom the ancient prophets had spoken. Second, they learned that death was not the end; that through that mysterious change we call death, the personalities and the identities of Moses and Elias had been preserved. But the Lord told these three servants, "Tell it to no one until I am gone".
Well, I am sure they kept the secret, but many years later Peter remembered it. He referred to it in his second epistle written to the Church. To me it has always been very interesting. Said Peter:
"For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty".
Will you remember the word, "eyewitnesses." These men were not deceived. They knew whereof they spoke. They were as certain and positive that Jesus was the Christ, and that there was a life after death as they were that they lived in a world of reality, "For he received from God the Father honour and glory," said Peter, "when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice came from heaven, we heard when we were in the holy mount".
A great and strong testimony, isn't it, my friends? We can receive the leadership of the Lord Jesus Christ without any doubts and without any misgivings. I know of no man in history who has made a bid for world leadership except only Jesus Christ. He actually made a bid to lead the world for he said: "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", and he, of course, was to be the shepherd, the only one qualified to lead the world back to the place where he and God dwell.
He said, on another occasion, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you... for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light". He then admonished his disciples-those twelve wonderful men who went into the world and preached the gospel, revolutionizing the thinking habits of men and women everywhere planting the seeds of freedom and democracy in the hearts of men, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature".
May we do our part towards the fulfillment of this great commission, for today we are doing exactly what they did nineteen centuries ago, and we are preaching the selfsame gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation. I so testify in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Hugh B. Brown
Hugh B. Brown, Conference Report, April 1960, pp. 51-54
My dear brethren and sisters, I with you esteem it is a great blessing to attend this wonderful conference, and especially to listen to the profound and inspiring opening address of our President. I should like to add my tribute to the Tabernacle Choir. It seems to me the choir reached new heights today.
I am sure you all join me, too, in expressing thanks to the Lord for his blessing to President Clark in that he was able to speak to us despite his physical illness. We are thankful that there is no diminution in his great intellect, his wonderful spirit, or his powerful voice.
We express appreciation, too, for what has been said this afternoon by the other Brethren. But all of it together adds to my timidity and makes the necessity of following such men a humbling experience indeed.
As this Church continues to extend its boundaries and increase its membership, we receive an ever-increasing number of requests to explain and distinguish some of the tenets of Mormonism.
Perhaps the two most frequently questioned concepts of the Church have to do with, first, our belief in a living personal God; and secondly, our understanding of man's unique position and part in his divine plan. It is necessary that one have faith in the first before he can understand and accept the second of these tenets, namely, man's relationship to Deity. If that relationship be real, then certainly man occupies not only a unique but a Godlike status, and it is to that I should like to direct your attention for a moment.
The accomplishments of man in the last one hundred years, his ever-widening search for truth, his insatiable appetite for knowledge, his discovery and partial control of the laws of nature, are convincing evidence of man's supreme position among God's creations. Did any animal ever gaze into the heavens and wonder?
We are told that in the last one hundred and fifty years, there has been more truth accumulated, more knowledge gained, than the sum total of all truth previously gathered. The fact that man has the genius to discover and partially master the elemental forces of nature causes men to stand in awe and ask again the age-old question, "What is man?"
That question was formulated by the Psalmist when he said:
"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
"What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
"For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
"Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet".
One wonders when he reads that, how the Psalmist might have framed his question if he had had the benefit of modern facilities as he considered the heavens. I am sure it would have tended to deepen and confirm his faith in the great Organizer of it all.
But as we consider man's increasing knowledge and power, we must not forget that power can be very dangerous. General Omar Bradley, former Chief of Staff, speaking to a graduating class sometime ago, sounded this warning in the following words:
"With the monstrous weapons man already has, humanity is in danger of being trapped in this world by its moral adolescence. Our knowledge of science has clearly outstripped our capacity to control it. We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount. Man is stumbling blindly through a spiritual darkness while toying with the precarious secrets of life and death. The world has achieved brilliance without wisdom, power without conscience. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we know about peace; more about killing than we know about living. This is our 20th Century's claim to distinction and progress!"
But the question, "What is man?" was answered long before the Psalmist asked it. In the first chapter of our oldest book here, we read:
"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 subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth".
From this it is evident that from the beginning, man had a unique status, an image nature; and that there was assigned to him a participative role in the great plan of redemption. The statement, "created in the image of God," was never made concerning any other of his vast creations. Only man is in his image: only man is his son.
Sometime ago, a skeptical student was heard to say that man is nothing but a fortuitous combination of molecules. But his older and more modest teacher replied by asking him, "Did any atom or molecule ever have a thought? Did any combination of elements ever give birth to an idea? Did any natural law ever build a cathedral or a temple?"
Within the lifetime of some of us there have come into use such marvels as automobiles, airplanes, wireless communication; and later radio, television, radar, guided missiles, atomic power, etc. As we think of these things, and utilize them, scientists and scholars are turning their attention and their instruments to a consideration of the greatest phenomenon, or, as President Clark has said, God's greatest miracle-man.
We are indebted to an internationally famous scientist, Dr. Henry Eyring, for a learned discussion of man's world. He said:
"We are living in five different worlds, none of which have been fully explored. They differ from each other in the size of the units of space and time.
"1. In our every-day practical world we go along nicely with such units as feet and seconds.
"2. In the chemical world of molecules and atoms, the electrons complete their revolutions in one hundred million millionths of a second, while one hundred million atoms set side by side extend only a distance of one inch.
"3. Inside the nucleus of an atom we enter a third world where events happen a million times faster still and distances are a thousand times smaller than in the atom.
"4. In the fourth world the astronomers measure revolutions of planets in years and the unit of distance, the light year, in about ten thousand million miles.
"5. Finally we come to the spiritual world where time is measured in eternities and space is limitless, thus in thought we can travel from almost infinitesimally small to the infinitely large."
As we consider the vastness of an orderly universe governed by undeviating law, the majesty of the Organizer and the preferred place of man, we are intrigued into a re-evaluation of the meaning and purpose of life.
Is it likely, for instance, that the most intelligent creatures in the universe are here by chance? Is it possible that God is unaware of man's existence or unconcerned about his fate?
Mormonism asserts on the authority of divine revelation that man is the central figure of an integrated plan, and as Dr. Talmage has said, he is potentially greater and more precious than all the planets and the suns of space; for him they were created; they are God's handiwork; man is his son. The Lord said:
"... this is my work and my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man".
The injunction of Jesus, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect", clearly envisions an eternity for its achievement, for no mortal man can gain perfection during his brief sojourn upon the earth.
The Savior further stated, "... this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent".
If, then, we are, in fact, the sons of God, and if it is life eternal to know him, all men should seek him, become familiar with his laws, and bring their lives into harmony therewith.
The Apostle John caught the vision of man's status and exclaimed,
"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is".
Man's spirit was with his Father in the beginning, he was designed to be free, and expected to gain wisdom and intelligence in the exercise of his agency. His freedom is, next to life itself, his most priceless possession. He has freedom to think, to explore, to discover, and to act. We encourage men to search for truth, to be unafraid of new ideas which are and always have been steppingstones to progress.
According to the holy scriptures, our earth life was not accidental, it was not only planned and purposeful, but it was voluntary. When the Lord asked Job where he was when the foundations of the earth were laid, he clearly indicated a pre-existent state of man, and asserted that all the sons of God shouted for joy, doubtless at the prospect of earth life.
When men speak of ultimate and satisfying values, their concepts must involve the relationship of the individual to others, to the universe, and to God. Men must not be approached as animals for they are intelligent images of a Divine Father. He has said, "... the worth of souls is great in the sight of God".
Man, then, is a child of God, created in his image. He is destined to be free and, though subject to death, his spirit will continue to live, will again become united with his body, and he will become a living, immortal soul. "Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection".
While we have complete freedom to heed or disregard the promptings of the spirit or the teachings of the prophets, let us always remember that we must abide the consequences of our choice.
"For each descent from fair truth's lofty way, For each gross error which delays the soul, By that soul's gloom and loneliness we pay, And by the retarded journey to its goal."
While we may draw near to him through intellectual contemplation of his handiwork, it is more important that we seek spiritual communion, by which alone we may gain a testimony of him and of man's relationship to him. This thought prompts the prayer: "Help me, O God to hold a high opinion of myself."
This inspired doctrine of man's relationship to Deity involves communication between them, without which intelligent co-operation is impossible. Continued revelation from our Heavenly Father is a third unique doctrine of the restored Church. We humbly bear witness to the existence of a living, personal God, to man's sonship and heirship, and to continued revelation to the Church through constituted authority, for which we humbly thank God, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Henry D. Moyle
Henry D. Moyle, Conference Report, April 1960, pp. 56-59
My beloved brethren and sisters, I know we were all thrilled at the beginning of this conference yesterday morning with the inspired remarks of President David O. McKay. Among other things he said: "Man holds dominion over earth, sea, and air, and now is intent upon conquering space." All that man has accomplished, and all further advancement in every realm of human activity made by man will aid in the accomplishment of God's ultimate purpose for us here in mortality-that is to say, the establishment of his Church and kingdom here upon this earth, preparatory to the advent of the second coming of the Savior of mankind.
There may be men who still continue to contend that there is a conflict between church and religion on one side, and science on the other, but little do they understand that all truths pertaining to science as well as to religion emanate from our Father in heaven. He has power over his truths. He can withhold them from men when there is a purpose in so doing, and likewise can inspire men to discover and recognize truths, and advocate them to their fellow men. And so, science and religion alike are entirely obligated to God, and so are we all. Neither science nor religion can successfully refute the second coming of Christ. The evidence is too complete, too convincing, too much a part of the great eternal plan of God, as much a part and as real as our mortal earth existence. We might as well deny the one as the other.
To me the astonishing fact is, that recently in England we were pointed out as peculiar because we believe "that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory". In spite of this Tenth Article of Faith of ours, published to the world for now a hundred years, we are characterized as pagan and are said not to be Christians. How can anyone deny the second coming of Christ and be a Christian? And how can anyone know of his second coming and not be his follower?
Let me read what the Church of England's great expert on Mormonism recently had to say: "Mormonism is essentially a pagan faith, and not Christian at all."
The London Daily Sketch, on February 1st, entitled an article published therein, written by Mr. Neville Randall "Knock, Knock-It's Those Mormons." In part, this article said: "On a thousand doors in Britain during the week-end came a knock.... This week it may be your turn to open your door to a quiet, soft-spoken American. To hear him say the words: 'Will you become a Mormon?' If you let him he will try to persuade you:
"To give up smoking and drinking-even tea and coffee.
"To give a tenth of your income to the Mormon Church.
"To accept a religion with no prayer book and no paid clergy.
"To put off baptizing your children until they are eight.
"Last year 1,404 Britons were converted," says the article. "In Britain now 220 American Mormon missionaries, most of them young men in their early twenties, are at work. They call at 2,000,000 homes a year. In December they baptized 237, more than in any month for a hundred years. What harm-or good-can the Mormons do to you if you let them convince you? This is what they told me:
"You would believe that Christ will come to earth again. More than a million Mormons... believe every word of this. About a third of the male Mormons, and quite a few women, believe it sincerely enough to give up two years of their lives, usually when they are at college, to serve on a mission. They are unpaid-expenses come from their own or their families' savings. The Mormons are determined to give you a chance to judge for yourself. Listen for the knock."
We are grateful to the newspaper for giving to the people of England that challenge-indeed, that invitation, to listen not alone to the knock, but also inferentially to that which they are told by our elders.
In the English Church, as in many others, the Lord's Prayer is an essential part of their religious service and is repeated by the congregation. They therefore pray: "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come". Thus unwittingly do they pray for that which they evidently do not believe will occur.
The clergyman was right when he warned his neighbors that our elders would teach them of the second coming of Christ. We will teach them from their own translation of the Bible that the white robed angels spoke to the apostles of old as the resurrected Christ ascended from their midst on Mount Olivet.
"... 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".
We know he will come, even as he ascended, a material being, a living Personage, separate and apart from the Father, with an immortalized body of flesh and bones. This is our work-to prepare for the second coming of Christ. This is the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, spoken of by Paul, the Apostle. We have in our hands, with which to work, all that has gone before in all generations of man. We deny final consummation of his mission here upon the earth if we deny his second coming. Thus only can the revealed gospel of Jesus Christ be presented in its fulness-by teaching the world of the second coming of Christ.
In our own Doctrine and Covenants we read: "Unto whom I have committed the keys of my kingdom, and a dispensation of the gospel for the last times; and for the fulness of times, in the which I will gather together in one all things, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth". This is part of the second coming.
And again: "... 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 take place, and 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, but have been kept hid from the wise and prudent, shall be revealed unto babes and sucklings in this, the dispensation of the fulness of times".
"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".
These are but a sample of numerous declarations found in modern scripture predicting the coming of Christ once again to complete his mission in glory here on the earth. We can readily turn to that which was recorded by the apostles of old and give to you the testimonies of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and again repeated in more modern revelation as in the Book of Mormon in Third Nephi, of which President Clark spoke yesterday.
The words of Jesus Christ recorded by Matthew: "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works".
"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.
"For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
"And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
"And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other".
"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".
Matthew doesn't leave any doubt about this second advent, and the words of the Christ as recorded by Mark goes on to say:
"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".
"But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
"And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.
"And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
"And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven".
And I can assure you he will not find his elect upon all of those roads of which President Clark spoke yesterday, supposed to lead to heaven, but it will be in that straight and narrow path of which the Savior himself spoke, in which the obedient will be found and which constitutes the only way by which we can constitute ourselves his elect and be called up and chosen to rule and reign with the Savior of mankind here upon the earth for a thousand years.
In the gospel according to Luke is written: "For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed".
And John, in the Revelation, says: "And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years.
"And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them; and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
"But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection".
And then in Third Nephi we read: "And he did expound all things, even from the beginning until the time that he should come in his glory-yea, even all things which should come upon the face of the earth, even until the elements should melt with fervent heat, and the earth should be wrapt together as a scroll, and the heavens and the earth should pass away".
We assert and testify today, not only to the English, but also to all the world, that Christ will return to the earth in power and in glory, and usher in an era of peace, an era during which all shall be committed, transpire, and be accomplished that yet remains to be done before our Savior, Jesus Christ, can report his mission completed here upon this earth to his Father in heaven, having subdued and brought under his feet all things.
This was revealed over thirty centuries ago to Enoch of old, for we read in the book of Moses, Pearl of Great Price: "And it came to pass that Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, in the last days, to dwell on the earth in righteousness for the space of a thousand years".
Now, our preaching the gospel is itself essential prior to the second coming of Christ. Matthew wrote: "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".
So after the falling away spoken of by Matthew, a restoration of the gospel had to come, otherwise the words of Matthew would be inconsistent and their fulfillment impossible.
And then we have that wonderful prophecy in Revelation: To John the restoration of the gospel was foretold "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
"Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters". Then referring back to our own Doctrine and Covenants, how grateful I am to the Lord for his revealed word as contained in this great volume of scripture:
"And then they shall look for me, and, behold, I will come; and they shall see me in the clouds of heaven, clothed with power and great glory; with all the holy angels; and he that watches not for me shall be cut off....
"For the Lord shall be in their midst, and his glory shall be upon them and he will be their king and their lawgiver".
Joseph Smith once said: "When I contemplate the rapidity with which the great and glorious day of the coming of the Son of Man advances, when He shall come to receive His Saints unto Himself, where they shall dwell in His presence, and be crowned with glory and immortality: when I consider that soon the heavens are to be shaken, and the earth tremble and reel to and fro; and that the heavens are to be unfolded as a scroll when it is rolled up; and that every mountain and island are to flee away, I cry out in my heart, What manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness!".
The Lord grant that we may fulfil this great calling which is ours, and be the persons that we ought to be to lay the foundation for his second coming, for he lives-he lives for us, to hear and answer our prayers, and his coming is approaching closer and closer; and although no man knoweth the hour, it behooves us to watch, and so our mission to the world is to watch and be prepared.
May this be our happy lot I humbly pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop Thorpe B. Isaacson
Thorpe B. Isaacson, Conference Report, April 1960, pp. 59-62
President McKay, President Clark, President Moyle, my dear brothers and sisters:
The beautiful song just rendered by this wonderful choir entitled, "I Need Thee Every Hour," has struck a very responsive chord in my heart. I do need "thee" every hour, and I need "thee" this hour. I stand before you this morning very humble, fasting and prayerful, praying that God will sustain me in this responsibility.
It was thirteen years ago at the April conference when I had my first assignment to speak in general conference, and every assignment since then has nearly overwhelmed me. I pray constantly that I may have your sympathy, your patience, your understanding, and above all, an interest in your faith and prayers.
Sometime ago as I was reading something about Church history that this April conference is the golden anniversary for President Joseph Fielding Smith-that is, at the April conference fifty years ago-half a century-President Joseph Fielding Smith was first sustained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Then as I looked a little further, I found that it was fifty-four years ago at the April conference when President David O. McKay was sustained a member of the Council of the Twelve Apostles-fifty-four golden years-golden years for President Smith and President McKay, but golden years also for the Church.
I am sure we were all deeply impressed this morning by the stirring address of President Henry D. Moyle. Saturday night the priesthood assembled received some counsel and challenges that I think we can live up to. His optimism and his vigor in this assignment of directing the great Church missionary system throughout the world is an example for all of us to behold. He undertakes this assignment with great enthusiasm which I am confident is an inspiration to all of us. I am sure he is a great blessing and comfort to President McKay and President Clark, and therefore, a great blessing and comfort to the entire Church.
As I listened to the opening address of President McKay Sunday morning, I was impressed by this quotation from the Doctrine and Covenants, 102:9: "The president of the church, who is also the president of the council, is appointed by revelation, and acknowledged in his administration by the voice of the church".
In Numbers 12:6, we read, "And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream".
In Amos 3:7, we are told that, "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets".
Truly, the Lord does reveal himself constantly to the prophet, the President of the Church. President David O. McKay is a beloved prophet of God, a seer, and a revelator to this people, loved not alone by the people of the Church, but by many in the world who are not members of the Church.
I would like to say a few words on a subject that must be giving all of us considerable worry and concern, changing values-changing times.
I preface my remarks with this quotation from the Prophet Mormon 9:9 in the Book of Mormon: "For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variableness neither shadow of changing?".
When we consider this, we must realize that, since God himself is immutable, so are the things that are a sure foundation for us to build upon. We must intelligently and continuously appraise the events that take place in the world today. It would be well if we could enjoy and accept the simple and eternal truths. We must do our best to appreciate values that do not change with every passing season. If values have changed, it is because we have changed them or because we have changed our attitudes toward them.
It is reported that a philosopher from a foreign country once desired and sought to learn what had made America great. He reviewed our rivers, our irrigation, our commerce, but it was not there he examined the fertile fields and boundless prairies, but it was not there; he viewed our rich mines, our industry, and it was not there. Not until he traveled from one place to another through our country, saw the churches of America, and heard her pulpits ablaze with righteousness, did he come face to face with the secret of her genius and power.
"America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good-America will cease to be great."
Recently a prominent man made some very serious remarks regarding the softness and decay which is eating into the moral fiber of the American people. He stated that "unless we as a nation develop a greater responsibility and make some right decisions instead of doing what is expedient, we are in trouble, serious trouble."
He emphasized our problem is not economic, it is not military, it is not political, but it is spiritual. There probably is too much talk about rights and not enough talk about responsibility. Individual responsibility both for the young and the old seems apparent and badly needed today. We have no right passing individual responsibilities on to others.
Reference has been made to scandals, cheating, fake advertising, and misrepresentation from radio and television. Chiseling, deceit, falsifying, gossiping, and talebearing are not frowned upon today as they once were.
"The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth": Those are the familiar words of the legal oath used in the English-speaking world. The whole truth seems to be the heart of the matter. Answering questions in truth and nothing but the truth is one thing, but volunteering the whole truth when it has not been asked for is something else.
Sometimes our thinking and our actions drift into unfortunate channels, stunting our mental growth and neglecting to discover our own strength. It is with us as with the soils of the earth where sometimes there is a vein of gold of which the owner is not aware. If one wishes to enjoy the luxury of spiritual growth, social prestige, financial security, happiness, or peace of mind, begin prospecting today for that vein of gold within you.
What has happened to integrity? Has it been exiled with other great and good principles? The television pitfalls and constant unfair advertising are only a sample of the trend of the times. Perhaps this is the first time in modern history that misrepresentation has been bought and paid for and delivered into millions of our homes with scheduled regularity. Dishonesty is sometimes glossed over, and that which we have come to look upon with admiration has turned out to be deceitful.
Dr. Richard H. Walters of Toronto University suggests that in North America perhaps we have an 'unexpressed code of behavior." Sometimes society verbalizes one code but lives by another. When we have a conflict of standards many times the lower standards take over.
A survey among college students by Marvin L. Hendricks of Indiana Central College indicated that fifty-seven percent had at one time or another cheated in examinations. It was not so much the moral badness of these findings as it was the general acceptance of a new standard in which cheating was more or less acceptable. Students are part of a system in which the attainment of knowledge has become secondary to the completion of prescribed courses. Only thirteen percent of the students felt cheating was wrong and less than twenty percent felt any deep resentment against cheaters.
I could not help wondering what would happen or how we as individuals would feel knowing that we were to be operated on for a serious illness by a doctor who might have cheated his way through medical school.
These facts emphasize strongly that there is a great deal lacking in modern character. How can we as adults expect to mold character in our children if we are guilty of these indiscretions. Perhaps we should spend more time teaching honesty. It has not changed. It never will change. This is a basic human value that should be taught with emphasis.
Each of us will need to strengthen his own home life and his family ties if he is to combat these changing standards in human behavior.
King Hussein of Jordan is reported to have said: "I feel I have a responsibility, and there are two things that are very important to me in life. First, one is to be able to live with myself. Second, the other is the belief that if I do right, if I try my best, God will always be with me."
In a revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord emphasized these truths:
"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".
Have times changed? Yes! But who changed them? It may be well for us to try sorting out the parts that need changing and putting them back in their proper light and place. Let us return to the old principles-love of God and love of fellow men. Love, like all eternal principles, is infinite.
Recently, one prominent speaker warned that constant scandals are "only a symptom of a disease that is eating into the vitals of American morality."
We are constantly confronted with tricks, gimmicks, superficial slogans, and falsehoods. It may be the result of too much commercialism and the incorrect estimation of values.
A recent survey by one of our prominent statisticians asked the public this question: "How do you feel about television commercials-do you think they use untruthful arguments, or not?"
Sixty-seven percent of those contacted stated they felt that untruthful methods and arguments were used. Some said that as a result of these situations, crime in the United States has increased five times faster than our population in the last few years. "The scales of justice are getting out of balance."
"The image of advertising must be greatly improved if the American people are to have faith in it," said Richard E. Ryan, president of the Advertising Association of the West. He further stated that fewer than half believed fifty percent or more of what they saw. "Ninety percent said they did not generally believe cigarette advertising," and advertising of other items got the same answer. Yet, he stated that some business concerns "shrug the problem off on the basis of 'What's the difference.'"
So the question arises, "Are the American people getting soft physically, morally, and spiritually?"
Have values changed? No! "People have changed." Perhaps we as parents and teachers should look to ourselves for the change in values of today's living. Are we good examples?
President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., once stated so appropriately: "... 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."
Times have changed only because people have changed them. But eternal values have not changed. Ethics and honesty and morality have not changed. It may be that the attitudes of the people have changed toward those standards, but these values remain unchangeable.
It is gratifying and encouraging, however, to know that there are still many people who place a great value on ethics and honesty, for instance, one prominent television star recently refused to act as if he were smoking a certain brand of cigarettes as an advertisement because he did not smoke. He sincerely felt it would be dishonest to lead the public to believe that he was smoking when he did not smoke.
He further refused to read commercial copy which indicated that he used a certain product if he did not use it. That is true honesty and ethics.
It is important how we feel in our own heart, and we should all try to be free from hard feelings, faultfinding, and backbiting. If we have been hurt or offended, it might be well if we would try to forget it. One good writer states, "In the very depth of your soul dig a small grave, and there, in the eternal silence bury the wrongs which you may think you have suffered. Your heart will feel as if a load had fallen from it and a divine peace came to abide with you."
If things have gone wrong, let neither of us point an accusing finger against the other. The one who is to blame is not at all important. Only how can we set the situation right-that is all that matters, so that we can go on living happily as long as God shall give us life.
I bear you my testimony that I know that God is our Father; that he lives that he hears our prayers; that Jesus Christ is his Son, our beloved Savior and Redeemer. May we live so the Lord can speak to us if he chooses to. We might ask ourselves: What is our relation with our Holy Father? Could he speak to us and could we hear him?
May God bless us that we may draw nearer to him each day of our lives, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Levi Edgar Young
Levi Edgar Young, Conference Report, April 1960, pp. 62-64
President McKay, President Clark, and President Moyle, my brethren and sisters:
We are here this beautiful day to worship God our Father and Jesus Christ our Redeemer. I know that everyone has this feeling and will listen to the words of his servants with joy and thanksgiving. There are so many phases of history that we love to study and think about. During the past year, I have studied the life of Christopher Columbus. Historians tell us that Columbus felt that beyond the western sea, land could be found. In the historical writings of the Italian scholar Padre Clementis he conserved a form of prayer said to have been used by Columbus on Friday morning, October 12, as he stepped on the land of the New World.
Columbus declared in one of his letters to the king and queen of Spain that he was the "agent in the hand of God to go forth upon the mighty deep." 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."
Plymouth Rock has long since become the emblem of American freedom, that freedom born of a proper respect for the rights of all men and the recognition of the permanency of religion. The Pilgrim Fathers were men of deep faith in the Providence of God. Their coming to America over the uncharted deep was an event ordered of God for the ultimate bringing in of his kingdom upon the earth. Many centuries before the birth of the Savior, the Prophet Nephi wrote these words as he looked into the future:
"And it came to pass that I looked and beheld many waters; and they divided the Gentiles from the seed of my brethren.
"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".
It was by divine guidance that the Pilgrim Fathers came to America and planted here the institutions of civilization. By the Mayflower Compact they established a republic, the highest form of political institution known to man. Such a republic was unknown up to their time, and this was the only land where a nation of this kind was possible. This continent had been unknown until right men, rightly trained, could build their homes in the wilderness and hold the ground for a purpose larger than they knew. These Christians had in mind a new city of God in the wilderness, and they made the fish the emblem of their commonwealth, which has from old been the symbol of Christian humility.
Pastor John Robinson was one of the most prominent of the Pilgrim Fathers, yet he never set foot upon American soil. The little group that left Leyden, Holland, in 1620, received his blessing, and, in his parting words to them, he said:
"Brethren, we are now quickly to part from one another, and whether I may ever live to see your faces 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 reveals 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 farther than the instruments of the reformation."
That is why we are thankful that we have been blessed with a knowledge that the gospel was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith, and that is our testimony. The reason why I am speaking of it as I do, is because there are a number of people in this congregation who are not members of the Church.
Thousands of people have accepted the gospel, and we believe in the purity of the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ as nobody else. It is a wonderful thing.
When the time came for the Saints to move westward, they came headed by a prophet of God. They settled in this valley. It was a valley of sagebrush, very dry in the summertime, cold in winter. They came in the year 1847, and from then on, all the time, there were companies of Latter-day Saints on the plains, coming to Utah, coming in small numbers and then in larger groups, until the territory was settled, and Utah as a state was founded. A wonderful thought was expressed by President Brigham Young in the First General Epistle to the people at the close of 1847. It indicated the great love and respect that he and the Latter-day Saints had for all people.
"Come, then, ye Saints; come, then, ye honorable men of the earth; come then, ye wise, ye learned, ye rich, ye noble, according to the riches, and wisdom, and knowledge of the great Jehovah; from all nations, and kindreds, and kingdoms, and tongues, and people, and dialects on the face of the whole earth, and join the standard of Emmanuel, and help us to build up the Kingdom of God, and establish the principles of truth, life, and salvation, and you shall receive your reward among the sanctified, when the Lord Jesus Christ cometh to make up his jewels; and no power on earth or in hell can prevail against you.
"The Kingdom of God consists in correct principles; and it mattereth not what a man's religious faith is; whether he be a Presbyterian, or a Methodist, or a Baptist, or a Latter-day Saint or 'Mormon,' or a Campbellite, or a Catholic, or Episcopalian, or Mohametan, or even pagan, or any thing else, if he will bow the knee and with his tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ, and will support good and wholesome laws for the regulation of society, we hail him as a brother, and will stand by him while he stands by us in these things; for every man's religious faith is a matter between his own soul and his God alone; but if he shall deny the Jesus, if he shall curse God, if he shall indulge in debauchery and drunkenness, and crime; if he shall lie, and swear, and steal; if he shall take the name of the Great God in vain, and commit all manner of abominations, he shall have no place in our midst, for we have long sought to find a people that will work righteousness, that will distribute justice equally, that will acknowledge God in all their ways, that will regard those sacred laws and ordinances which are recorded in that sacred book called the Bible, which we verily believe, and which we proclaim to the ends of the earth."
In conclusion, I have a word or two concerning one of my devoted friends.
The head of the Catholic Church in Utah, Bishop Duane G. Hunt, passed away the other day. He was one of the finest men, and it is only within a year when Bishop Hunt said to a visitor, "One thing I do know. The Mormon Church has been gracious and kind to every soul that lives. The people have gone forth giving and bearing their testimony that God lives and has restored the gospel."
May we all come to the faith that has been this morning told us by the speakers and will be told us by the speakers today and Wednesday. Let us grow because in that growth is our salvation, our joy of living, and we certainly find what life means.
God bless us all through the holy purposes, the priesthood of God, I ask in his name. Amen.
Elder Sterling W. Sill
Sterling W. Sill, Conference Report, April 1960, pp. 67-70
In the year 428 B.C. a play was being presented in the ancient city of Athens entitled Hippolytus. This was a Greek tragedy written by Euripides. It was centered around Theseus, the old king of Athens and his son Hippolytus. Theseus had received from his father, Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, three gifts in the form of three curses. These curses not only had the power of temporal destruction, but they would also continue throughout eternity to punish anyone against whom they were invoked.
The first of these curses was directed by Theseus against his own son, Hippolytus. Hippolytus had done no wrong but Theseus had been deceived and did not discover his error until Hippolytus was on his deathbed. And while Theseus had the power to invoke the curse he did not have the power to set it aside once it was in operation. And so as the father sat by the bedside of his dying son he said through his tears, "I weep for your good heart, your true and upright mind. The gods have cheated me of my good sense." And as Hippolytus lay their contemplating eternity, he said to his father, "'Twas a bitter gift your sire gave." And then just before he died he pointed out that he could already see the gates of hell beyond which he would suffer his own father's curse throughout eternity.
If we had been witnessing this tragic play in ancient Athens, we would probably have joined our tears with the others not only in feeling sorry for Hippolytus, the victim of this dread curse, but also more especially for his father who had set it in motion. But Theseus was not the first to possess this power to curse, nor is he the only one who has turned it against his own son.
Ten centuries before Theseus was born, God gave ancient Israel their law from the top of Mt. Sinai, and out of the lightnings and thunders of that holy mountain came the divine warning that "... the sins of the fathers shall be visited upon the children". The most effective way to set a curse in operation against one's own son is to develop the cause of the curse in his own life. And then as our children play with us this interesting game of "Follow the Leader," it will not be long before the curse will begin to appear in their lives-that is, the power to lead, possessed by every parent, is also the power to mislead. The power to mislead is the power to destroy; it is the power to cause eternal suffering.
It is a little bit startling to realize that this father and son tragedy is being enacted in real life in many of our own homes. Let me give you a more up-to-date Theseus and Hippolytus story.
A friend of mine recently called me on the telephone and told me that his young son had the habit of coming home from Sunday School each week and discussing his Sunday School lesson with his father. Sometimes the father was unable to handle the situation adequately, and it became necessary for him to get outside help. And on this particular occasion he asked me if I would help him with the right information. We discussed the idea at some length and noted the scriptural references that were applicable.
But I suggested to my friend that he could not solve this problem with just one answer. It would be impossible to keep his son content for very long with the answers that the father got from someone else. The son would want the father to know the answers for himself. Before the son was very much older he would also discover that his father did not go to Sunday School, and he would want to know why. At Sunday School they would teach the son that some of the things that the father was doing were contrary to the commandments of God. Then this fine young son would be forced to make some decisions of his own. Should he follow his father or should he follow the Church? The father is the one who provides him with his food and his clothing and his love. He is the one who takes him on picnics and provides for his general welfare. It would be pretty difficult for the Church to win against that kind of competition. And it is pretty difficult to get the curse stopped once it is set in motion. If this splendid young son could see the end of his life from its beginning, he might say to his father as did Hippolytus, that he could already see the gates of hell beyond which he would suffer eternally for his father's bad example. This situation furnishes us with a little different setting for the statement of Jesus that "... a man's foes shall be they of his own household".
We are greatly disturbed whenever evil is brought upon one person by someone else; for example we were upset when Russia closed her church doors by governmental decree. Russian leaders are presently trying to terminate any personal relationship which otherwise might exist between God and the people of Russia. But what Russia has done officially, many of us are doing individually. That is, what good does it do if our churches are open if we are not in them? Or, how much better off are we than the Russians if we do not manifest our faith by our works.
The chief representative of the great communist state which is disputing our way of life was recently invited to be our guest in this country. And as he went about among us, he talked of "burying" us and our way of life. He talked about competing with us in the manufacture of guided missiles, intercontinental rockets, and other instruments of destruction. He said nothing about competing with us in freedom or human dignity. He said nothing about competing with us in the individual welfare of people. And I thought what a stimulating thing it would be if the great nations were vigorously competing with one another for leadership in faith in God and the individual righteousness of people.
In 1958 The U.S. News & World Report carried an interesting headline: "What 22 Years of U.S.-Soviet Talks Have Produced." The article pointed out that during this period 3400 meetings had been held between high diplomatic representatives of the United States and the Soviet Union. During this time they had made fifty-two major agreements, fifty of which had already been broken by the Russians.
Fortunately for us our eternal exaltation does not depend upon whether Russia keeps or breaks her international agreements. But we might ask ourselves if our upsurge in juvenile crime and delinquency is a satisfactory result of what twenty-two years of dealing with our own children and with God have produced. During the past twenty-two years we have also attended many meetings. We have made many major agreements with each other and with God. Some of these agreements have been made at the waters of baptism; others have been made as we have received and been advanced in the priesthood. We have made some important agreements at the marriage altar. And each week we meet before the Sacrament table and witness unto our Heavenly Father that we will always keep his commandments. Wouldn't it be interesting if some impartial statistician could determine how many of these important agreements we have made and how our personal performance percentage compared with the Russians?
We should remember that any disobedience to God or any other offenses that we pick up in our own lives are soon transmitted to others, particularly our children. That is, the power of example is the greatest power in the world. That is the way we learn to walk. That is the way we learn to talk. That is why we speak with the accent we do. That is how we learn to dress ourselves. That is why we have our hair cut and our clothing tailored the way we do.
I suppose that if I had seen you eat your breakfast this morning I would have discovered that most of you ate with a fork in your right hand. But I discovered the other day that in certain parts of Canada the people eat with the fork in their left hand. I suppose the reason is that they have seen somebody else do it that way. Probably if we had been born in China we may not have eaten with a fork at all.
The other day I attended a meeting during which someone on the platform yawned. Then I watched that yawn go all over the audience. The people who were yawning in the audience were not even aware of why they were yawning. Unconsciously they were following the example of someone else. That is also the way we get many of our manners, our morals, and our attitudes.
Thomas Carlyle said, "We reform others when we walk uprightly." And it is just as true that we destroy others when we walk unrighteously. Even Jesus said, "The son can do nothing of himself but what he seeth the Father do". Our children will also do what they see us do. They may not follow our advice, but they will follow us.
One of the important functions in the life of Jesus was to serve as a pattern for us. He gave us the greatest of all the success formulas when he said simply, "Come follow me". And every life must eventually be judged by how well we follow that one instruction. We also reach our highest rank while serving as an example for others, particularly our children. It has been said that the first question that God will ask every parent is, "Where are your children?" Our responsibility is not just to be mothers and fathers of bodies. We are also appointed to be mothers and fathers of blessings.
When Alexander the Great was twelve years old his father, Philip, arranged to have Aristotle, the great Macedonian orator and philosopher, become his companion and tutor. Later Alexander said that Aristotle was his father. What be meant was that while he had received his body from Philip, Aristotle was the father of his mind. If you would like to take back to your work one of the most challenging thoughts that I know anything about, that is it. That is, physical paternity by itself is an ordinary office, that is something that is participated in by all of creation from the top to the bottom. But what about mental paternity and spiritual paternity? Who are the fathers of our ideals, and what kind of fathers do we have for our children's spirituality?
Some of those being taught by Jesus kept saying, "We have Abraham to our father." Jesus said to them, "God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham". Jesus said, "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do". We ought to exercise the greatest care about our own spiritual paternity.
Fortunately the lesson from Sinai did not end with the decree that "... the sins of the fathers shall be visited upon the children". It is also true that the virtues of the fathers are visited upon the children. Theseus received from his father, Poseidon, three great curses. You have received from your Father in heaven some great blessings which you may direct as you choose.
Nancy Hanks directed one of her blessings toward her son Abraham Lincoln. And later in his life he said, "All that I am or ever hope to be I owe to my angel mother." Jesus conferred one of his blessings upon Simon Peter and raised the life of this humble fisherman to one of great spiritual power.
We may confer as many blessings as we like, on whomever we like, by the inspiration of our own lives. We speak a great deal in the Church about our right to receive inspiration from God, and that is a tremendous blessing. But the thing we don't always understand is our right to give inspiration. Yet if there should be subtracted from each of us the good that we have received from someone else, there might not be very much of any of us left.
Some time ago I listened to a great Sunday School teacher recount the thrilling story of creation. "So God created man in his own image". And as I listened to this story unfold, I closed my eyes and wished that I could have been there to have seen this great event take place. Then I remembered something that I have tried not to forget, and that is that the creation of man is not something that was finished and done with in the Garden of Eden 6,000 years ago. The creation of man is still going on, and we are the creators; that is, we are creating the faith and the enthusiasm and the attitudes which will determine what men and women will be throughout all of eternity.
As parents we have helped to create bodies, but that is not the end of our responsibility. We must also create individual righteousness. Dr. Alan Stockdale has called our attention to an interesting challenge by saying, "God left a world unfinished for man to work his skill upon. He left the electricity still in the cloud, the oil still in the earth. He left the rivers unbridged and the forests unfelled and the cities unbuilt. God gave to man the challenge of raw materials, not the ease of finished things. He left the problems unsolved and the pictures unpainted and the music unsung that man might know the joys and glories of creation. God created the quarries, but he carves the statues only by the hand of man."
God has also left the world of men unfinished. He has left the character unformed, the lessons unlearned, the testimonies unacquired, and the determination undeveloped. Then as a means of our accomplishment he has given us this basic, fundamental universal law which says, "We reap as we sow". But that is only a part of the fact. Mostly we reap as others have sown for us. We reap as our parents have sown. We reap as our teachers have sown. And one of the most thrilling ideas in the world is that our children will reap as we sow. This is a part of the divine law "that the virtues of the fathers shall be visited upon the children."
Each of us has been given a set of the most wonderful blessings, which we may confer upon whomever we choose. May God help us to use this great eternal power effectively which he has placed in our hands, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, April 1960, pp. 71-73
I want to thank this choir for giving me a text, "Joseph Smith's First Prayer." I wonder, brethren, particularly you brethren, and our sisters, too, if we have fully realized the importance of that First Vision, the coming of the Father and the Son to the Prophet Joseph Smith, just a boy.
The world has not realized it, or they would repent of their sins. For some fifteen hundred years or more, perhaps, the world had lost the truth in relation to the Father and the Son and in the year 325, at a conclave that was held, they adopted a new idea entirely in regard to God and confused the Father and the Son, and the Christian world, from that day down until now, has looked upon the Father and the Son as being mysterious-I cannot say individuals, nor can I say substance, but some sort of spirit without separation and the idea of the separate individuals, Father and Son, from that day on ceased to exist.
Now, if the Prophet was telling a falsehood when he went into the woods to pray, he never would have come out and said that he had seen a vision of the Father and the Son and that they were separate Personages, and that the Father introduced the son and then told the Prophet to address his question to the Son, who would give him the answer. The Prophet never would have thought of such a thing as that, had it been a fraud.
If he had come out of the woods saying he had seen a vision, had it been untrue never would he have thought of separating Father and Son, nor would he have ever thought of having the Father introduce the Son and for him to put his question to the Son to receive his answer. He never could have thought of it; for that was the farthest thing from the ideas existing in the world in the year 1820.
The very fact that the Prophet made that statement that he saw the Father and the Son and they were glorious Personages, and that the Father spoke to him and introduced the Son but did not ask him what he wanted, is one of the most significant things that ever occurred in the history of this world. The Prophet, if he had been telling an untruth, even if he had thought that the Father and the Son were separate Personages, would have made another very serious error, if he had lied about it. More than likely he would have said he saw the Father and the Son and the Father asked him what he wanted, and the Father gave him the answer. If Joseph Smith had said a thing like that, it would have been fatal to his story. He did not make a mistake. It was Jesus who answered his question, and the Father introduced his Son, just as he did at the baptism of the Savior, and just as he did to the three, Peter, James, and John, on the Mount, and the Savior gave the answer, as all answers have come from our Father in heaven from the beginning, since Adam was driven out of the Garden of Eden, down to this day. They have all come through the Son.
Now, the Prophet made no mistake, and a boy of his age would not have known; he would have fallen into a trap, just as sure as we live, if it were untrue.
Do I believe that the Prophet saw the Father and the Son? I certainly do. I know it. I do not need a vision. Reason teaches that to me. And then I have that knowledge also by the guidance of the Spirit of the Lord. The Lord has made it known to me. So I thanked the choir, as I sat here wondering what I would say.
Now, let me say a few things more about the Prophet. I have that absolute confidence in every vision, in every manifestation, in every revelation that has come to us through the Prophet Joseph Smith. I know he spoke the truth. And the evidence is made manifest in every act where there has been a manifestation from the heavens, either by the Son of God, himself, or by his servants the prophets of old. Everything has worked out harmoniously and according to the revelations we find in the Old Testament and in the New. There were no mistakes made.
On the 3rd day of April, 1836, certain heavenly messengers appeared to the Prophet and to Oliver Cowdery. First came the Son of God himself. And they described him. Then the Lord sent certain messengers with keys to restore pertaining to the restoration of all things. Moses came and gave to the Prophet the keys of the gathering of Israel, otherwise you would not be here today, and through those keys the gospel is being preached in all the world, and scattered Israel is being gathered out again according to the fulfillment, that is, in fulfillment of the promises that were made by the Lord to his ancient prophets, that he would gather Israel in the latter days.
Elias came and restored the gospel of Abraham. Who was Elias? That question is frequently asked. Well, Elias was Noah, who came and restored his keys.
Elijah came and restored his keys, opening the way for the preaching of the gospel to the dead and the performing of the ordinances in the temples of the Lord, for the dead. The prophecy of Malachi was fulfilled, at least the beginning of it, and the keys were again given through the coming of Elijah, which turned the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers so that we can go into the temple and do the work for our dead. There is nothing, in my judgment, that has been revealed that is more apparent of its fulfillment than the coming of Elijah, for this spirit has gone forth into the world. It is not confined to the members of the Church, and I am sorry to say, it does not rest upon the members of the Church as fully as it ought to, but it has gone forth into the world so that there are thousands of those who do not belong to the Church, whose hearts have been turned to their fathers and who are seeking out the records of their dead, and preparing them so that we, their children, that is, the children of the dead may go into the temples of the Lord and perform the labors that will give unto those who had no opportunity, when they were living, to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ, to give them that liberty and the privilege, that they, too, might be numbered in the house of Israel and receive the blessings of eternal life.
Do I love the Prophet Joseph Smith? Yes, I do, as my father did before me. I love him because he was the servant of God and because of the restoration of the gospel and because of the benefits and blessings that have come to me and mine, and to you and yours, through the blessings that were bestowed upon this man and those who were associated with him in the restoration of the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times.
May the Lord bless us, I pray, and guide us in all things and help us to keep the commandments of the Lord, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Delbert L. Stapley
Delbert L. Stapley, Conference Report, April 1960, pp. 73-75
In Hawaii, a speaker would address the people, "Aloha nui loa." And in Australia in an afternoon meeting such as this, the speaker would address the people, "Good afternoon, brothers and sisters." I extend both greetings to you this afternoon.
Elder Marion G. Romney and I returned last week from Australia where we were privileged to organize the first stake in that growing country-the Sydney Stake, which became the 293rd stake in the Church. Australia was the adopted country of my great-grandfather, Charles Stapley, who, with his family emigrated there from England in the year 1838. They were among the first converts after the Australian Mission was established, which mission was established on October 30, in the year 1851. With this background of family history, I am most grateful to the First Presidency for the assignment with Elder Romney, a former Australian missionary, to give Australia its first stake. Stake organization will be a great blessing to the Saints there, adding prestige to the Church, and a tremendous upsurge to the proselyting work. The Saints are thrilled and happy for the increased blessings stake organization will provide them. They love the Church and the gospel very much. They are a devoted people of strong faith, testimony, and good works. The future of the Church there is most promising. It is a fruitful field, and a rich harvest of converts are in prospect in that far-off country.
We are taking the Church to the people in the faraway lands. I remember the words of President McKay, as the New Zealand Stake was planned, that transportation has brought the far places of the world close to us. Added to that are the improved communications that permit us almost instantaneously to talk to the Saints in the far areas of the earth. The Church is being taken closer to the people because now all the helps of the auxiliary organizations and the visits of General Authorities will be at their disposal, and in turn this will bring the Saints of these faraway lands closer to the Church. Truly it is a great blessing to the people to have a stake and all the blessings that are associated with stake organization.
I thought by way of a report of our work in Australia I should make this rather brief statement. And now in the short time remaining, I desire, my brothers and sisters, to challenge each of you to have faith in God; know that he lives that he is the Father of our spirits, that we are created in the image of his Person, that we possess like traits, qualities, and powers, that we are in very deed his children, that he loves us and has made glorious preparation in his many mansions for our eternal well-being.
Have faith in life and its purpose, know that God has provided and planned it for our joy and happiness. Live each day wisely and fruitfully.
Have faith in Christ, our Lord, as the Son of God, the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh, who is full of grace and truth.
Have faith that he is the Babe of Bethlehem, as chronicled by gospel writers.
Have faith that Jesus is the Author of peace and salvation to the people of the world.
Have faith in his gospel plan of salvation, exaltation, and glory.
Have faith in his matchless love in giving his life as an atoning sacrifice to ransom the souls of men from the grave.
Have faith that he is our Redeemer, Savior, and God; that there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.
Have faith in his earthly ministry and divine teachings which lead to joy and happiness in life.
Have faith in his resurrection and ascension to glory and that he now sits on the right hand of God the Father.
Have faith that by his resurrection he broke the bands of death, and that resurrection of the body applies to all mankind.
Have faith in the First Vision of this dispensation, just treated by President Joseph Fielding Smith.
Have faith that God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, personally appeared to the boy Joseph Smith and revealed themselves to him.
Have faith in Joseph Smith as a true Prophet of God, called to usher in this the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times.
Have faith in the Church and kingdom of God established by our Lord through Joseph Smith.
Have faith in the restored gospel of Christ as revealed anew to the Prophet Joseph Smith.
Have faith in continued revelation. Have faith in all that God has revealed. Have faith that he will yet reveal many great and important things concerning his work and kingdom.
Have faith in priesthood authority, knowing that the Lord has said, "For he that receiveth my servants, receiveth me".
Have faith in the power of God and the gift of healing and miracles.
Have faith in the Bible as the word of God, as far as it is translated correctly.
Have faith in the Book of Mormon and its inspiring message of truth and faith.
Have faith in the Doctrine and Covenants and in its doctrines and teachings which apply to our day and time.
Have faith in the Pearl of Great Price and its valuable information and teachings by two chosen prophets of God-Abraham, the father of the faithful, and Moses, the great law-giver.
Have faith in your heritage as descendants of Abraham, that you belong to the house of Israel and are children and heirs of promise.
Have faith in our beloved President, David O. McKay, who is not only the President of the Church, but is also prophet, seer, and revelator to the Church and the world today.
Have faith to pray for and sustain him in his high calling and position.
Have faith to be humble and believe and not doubt.
Have faith to receive and obey the truths, principles, and ordinances of the gospel of Christ.
Have faith to set aside your own views and personal desires to do God's will with confidence and good works.
Have faith in the value of service and be willing to devote your time, talents, and gifts to the building of the kingdom and to the blessing of people.
Have faith to be honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men.
Have faith that God will bless and reward the faithful who love him and serve him in righteousness and in truth unto the end.
Have faith, my brothers and sisters, to do these things, walking always in obedience to the commandments, doing those things that will please the Lord and lead you back into his presence, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop Carl W. Buehner
Carl W. Buehner, Conference Report, April 1960, pp. 75-78
Recently, I saw in a national magazine a cartoon depicting a master of ceremonies introducing the next person to take part on the program, and under the cartoon were these words: "Our next speaker will need all the introduction he can get." Now brethren and sisters, I need all the help from above that I can get.
We have all been tremendously impressed by the spirit present in these conference sessions, also by the inspiring and uplifting talks of the Brethren.
I was moved when I learned that President McKay has given fifty-four years of valiant service in the leading councils of the Church and that President Joseph Fielding Smith has rendered fifty years of service as a member of the Council of the Twelve. Others have also given many years to the work of our Heavenly Father. I would like to submit meekly that this is my eighth anniversary as a member of the Presiding Bishopric of the Church. This has been a very rewarding experience and a great blessing in my life.
Our work with the Aaronic Priesthood has prompted me to say something concerning the origin and history of this priesthood through the ages.
We first came to know of the Aaronic Priesthood at the time Moses w as leading the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage. The Lord intended to have Israel as a nation enjoy the blessings of the Melchizedek Priesthood. He made the following promise to them:
"Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: "And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation".
But Israel as a nation became wicked and rebellious and thus were not worthy to receive this blessing. While Moses was upon the mount for forty days receiving the law from the Lord, Israel was guilty of backsliding, returning to the worship of idols. When Moses returned and beheld them worshiping the golden calf, he in his anger threw down the tablets of stone, breaking them into pieces. The Lord later called Moses to return to the mount, instructing him to hew out other tablets of stone upon which he would write with his finger, but from the inspired version of the Bible, as given to us by the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord indicated there would be changes from what he had originally written because of Israel's forgetting their God Ex. 34:1-2. About this time the higher priesthood was taken from Israel as a nation, and a carnal or lesser law was given as punishment for their disobedience.
The Lord then commanded Moses to appoint and ordain Aaron and his sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazer, and Ithamar to receive the lesser priesthood. Aaron and his sons were set apart to preside over the lesser priesthood, and this assignment became an inherited privilege to them and their posterity forever. Nadab and Abihu soon forfeited this inheritance by usurping authority and were stricken dead before the congregation at the altar. Since they had no sons, there was no extension of this privilege to another generation in their families.
Until the ordination of Aaron and his sons, the first born male in each family of each tribe was considered as belonging to God and was thus ordained, but now the Lord called all the males of the tribe of Levi to assist Aaron and his sons in this priestly office. It was the duty of Aaron and his sons to preside, but the Levites were limited in their duties to perform the ordinance of baptism, assisting in the offering of sacrifice and other duties coming under the lesser or carnal law. In addition they were assigned to care for the dismantling and setting up of the tabernacle as they moved about in the wilderness and to keep it in order. When Moses returned from the mount and found Israel worshiping the golden calf, it is rather significant to note that he stood at the gate of the camp and indicated that all those who were on the Lord's side should come to him. "... and all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him".
The Aaronic Priesthood embraces the Aaronic and Levitical Priesthood. While Aaron and his sons were Levites, they presided in the Aaronic Priesthood, and the Levites who were not the sons of Aaron, held the Levitical Priesthood and served in a lesser capacity than did the sons of Aaron. The Aaronic Priesthood continued to function in this pattern until near the time of the birth of the Savior. The Jews at this time had drifted into almost total apostasy. No longer were the lineal descendants of Aaron permitted to preside in the temple. The presiding high priest was appointed by Herod the king and sometimes by Roman authority, according to personal desire, and they were deposed in the same manner. A good example of their method of operation comes from Zacharias who was a descendant of Aaron entitled to serve as the presiding high priest. While he was permitted to officiate in the temple, it was not in a presiding capacity. John the Baptist likewise should have been the presiding priest in the temple because he was a direct descendant of Aaron through his father Zacharias and his mother Elisabeth, but the Jews rejected him. It should be understood that those who were called high priests by the apostate Jews were not high priests bearing the Melchizedek Priesthood. They should have been designated as presiding priests and not high priests.
John the Baptist was one of the most distinguished of God's servants. That he found favor with the Lord is emphasized in the Angel Gabriel's appearance in the temple to his father, Zacharias, promising him that he and his wife were to have a son who should "... be great in the sight of the Lord". The birth of few men has been foretold. He was one of this select group whose coming was made known centuries before his birth. Isaiah prophesied concerning his mission approximately seven-hundred years before he was born. He was an Elias in that he was a forerunner of Jesus. He vigorously preached the gospel of repentance to the Jews. There came to him one of the highest privileges ever accorded man-that of baptizing the Savior of the world. He was a personal witness of one of the greatest manifestations ever given. It came at the time of Jesus' baptism. As Jesus came forth out of the water, John beheld the Holy Ghost descend on him like a dove, and there came from the heavens the voice of the Father giving divine approval: "... This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased".
Jesus attested to the fact that John the Baptist was one of the greatest of his servants. He paid him a glowing tribute when he said:
"For I say unto you, among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist".
The Lord repeated in this dispensation the divine nature of John's mission:
"For he was baptized while he was yet in his childhood, and was ordained by the angel of God at the time he was eight days old unto this power, to overthrow the kingdom of the Jews, and to make straight the way of the Lord before the face of his people, to prepare them for the coming of the Lord, in whose hand is given all power".
John faithfully prepared the way for Jesus' mission. He was instrumental in overthrowing the kingdom of the Jews. While the decline of Judah as a nation began long before John's birth, it was further weakened during his ministry, and within three decades after his death it was no more. He stands with Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Joseph Smith as trusted and true servants to whom the Lord committed a dispensation of the gospel. He suffered death as a martyr and was beheaded through the trickery of the wicked Herodias. Like many of the servants of God, he sealed his testimony with his blood.
Little is known of the functions of the Aaronic Priesthood in the primitive church. The offices of deacon, teacher, and priest are named, but their duties are not clarified.
May 15, 1829, was a day of paramount importance to this generation. On that beautiful occasion, the Aaronic Priesthood was restored to earth after an absence of many centuries. It was the resurrected John the Baptist who was the central figure in this restoration. He it was who appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery on the banks of the Susquehanna River as a messenger sent from God in answer to their prayers. He told them that he came under the direction of Peter, James, and John, and he conferred upon them the Aaronic Priesthood and the keys to this sacred power. His life and mission should be an inspiration to every bearer of the Aaronic Priesthood.
It is the hope of the Presiding Bishopric that not only each member of the Aaronic Priesthood but also each member of the Church will come to realize the greatness of Aaron, his sons and their posterity, and John the Baptist, as men who have made a great contribution to the kingdom in their day.
Because the Aaronic Priesthood has been designated as the Lesser Priesthood does not lessen or diminish its sacredness. It is still the power of God. Its method of operation has been completely transformed in our day. From the time of its institution in the days of Aaron and throughout the days of the primitive church in the Meridian of Time and again during the early period of the Church in this dispensation, only men were called to the offices of this priesthood. Before the turn of the last century, young men were gradually inducted into this program, and today it is chiefly a plan to give training to our young men twelve to twenty years of age. The training they receive today is a boon to the Melchizedek Priesthood. It is one of the primary objectives of the Presiding Bishopric to see that each young man shall receive this training. The members of the Aaronic Priesthood of today are the members of the Melchizedek Priesthood of tomorrow, and if they participate actively in the Aaronic Priesthood, they establish a solid foundation on which to build once they receive the higher priesthood. The advantages of today's Aaronic Priesthood program have never been equaled.
Between his 19th and 20th birthday, there are at least three important blessings that come to a young man who has honored his priesthood. First, he is recommended to be ordained an elder and to hold the high priesthood. Second, he will more than likely be invited to serve on a mission for the Church. This is a tremendous and important opportunity for every young man. Third through his faithfulness to the Aaronic Priesthood and his ordination to the high priesthood, he will very likely have the opportunity of taking his bride into the house of the Lord and being sealed for time and eternity. These are only three of the important blessings that come through faithfulness in the Aaronic Priesthood.
I trust that I shall always be found assisting our young men in the Church, even as I was assisted by faithful brethren who presided over the Aaronic Priesthood when I was a boy. I recall very vividly a wonderful bishop by the name of Elias S. Woodruff, who twice became a mission president, who was a member of the general Church welfare committee, but whom I think was outstanding as a bishop and a leader of boys. I was one of his priests. At the time he was bishop, he presided over a very large ward. There were sixty-three priests in that priests' quorum. I recall Bishop Woodruff's coming into the room, taking off his coat, hanging it over the back of his chair and then teaching this large group of youngsters the gospel. We all learned to love him. As I recall, more than fifty of those boys went on missions, and we had thirty-two missionaries from our ward in the mission field at the same time. Bishop Woodruff was an outstanding example of the devotion of a bishop to his Aaronic Priesthood quorums. I hope all bishops can learn from an example such as this.
May we as parents and leaders of our boys exert every effort to bring the full blessings of the priesthood to every one of them, to the end that the culmination of their Aaronic Priesthood activities will become a steppingstone to a great and marvelous future.
May the choice blessings of our Heavenly Father be with us in our efforts to serve him, I pray and leave my testimony, along with the wonderful testimonies that have already been given to the divinity of this great latter-day work, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder S. Dilworth Young
S. Dilworth Young, Conference Report, April 1960, pp. 80-81
Had Elder A. Theodore Tuttle been clairvoyant, he would have seen in the year 1914 a fourteen-and-a-half-year-old stripling entering the first seminary instituted by the Church. Across the street from Granite High School a building had been constructed-one room in size-a teacher employed, and the school opened to students. I was that stripling. There died yesterday the third teacher of that particular seminary. The teacher was John M. Whitaker.
I should like to make a short tribute to Brother Whitaker. He likely did not know the profound influence he had upon me as a boy, as I studied minutely under him and Guy C. Wilson before him, the detail of the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the Doctrine and Covenants. I look back upon it now, realizing that there was where I got my first detailed knowledge of these standard works. Could I have enough influence I would see to it that every boy and every girl in the Church had a like experience under a man of faith!
There are other factors having to do with boys and girls. I should like to talk about one of those factors.
I recognize that young people are faced with great stress and strain in these days. They are under great temptation. We accuse them of many things, and we think we know a lot of the answers which could keep them out of trouble. A recent great meeting in Washington, I am sure, found more answers.
But the Church has had an answer from the beginning. To our first parents, after He had married them in the holy bonds of eternal matrimony, the Lord said, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth". In my opinion, what he did when he said that, was to place upon a father and mother the responsibility of educating their children and keeping them in the faith. Realizing there are other influences which can have effect upon them, theirs is the prime responsibility.
This was later confirmed through the mouth of the Prophet Joseph Smith when he reminded the people in a revelation that "... inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, or any of her stakes which are organized, that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost, by the laying on of the hands, when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents".
Now, I should like to offer some homely, practical suggestions. They have been said before many times, have been thought before many times, and anyone who has been a father has exercised them many times. I should just like to remind us of them.
Do we want children to feel that the bishop of the ward is called of God? Then let us allow no note of impatience or disloyalty to enter into our voices as we mention his name.
Do we want our children to learn spirituality? Then let us be spiritual.
Do we want them to be able to learn the whispering of the Spirit and to hear it? Then let them see that decisions made by us in their behalf have been reached because we have heard that whispering.
Do we want them to learn the use of money in the work of the Lord? Then let them participate with us in the tithes we pay and in the offerings we give.
Do we want them to know that President McKay is the prophet, the seer, and the revelator, for our day? By our loyalty and repeated declaration of the fact, they can learn it best.
Do we want children to grow up to be missionaries? The parental attitude on this service will be reflected in the preparation of the children.
Do we want to teach them respect for the priesthood? Then let us give respect to its every bearer of authority, including the ward teachers.
Do we want them to have unwavering respect for us, their parents? Then let us render unwavering respect for the eternal truths of the gospel, and for the men appointed to administer its teachings.
These things consistently carried out by parents in the home, with others which they will think of as problems arise, will be the greatest factors that can be given in our day to preserve our children in faith.
I add my testimony to those that have been borne as to the restoration of the gospel-that it has been restored through Joseph Smith the Prophet, and I bear witness that I know that President McKay is a prophet of the Living God, and I would that every child could know it. I would that everybody who ever influences a child could make ring in that child's ear what I learned in seminary from the mouth of John M. Whitaker, as each day at the end of each class he repeated to us his testimony, that he knew that Joseph F. Smith was a prophet of the Living God; his voice following us out into the hall with the final statement, "And don't you boys and girls ever forget it!"
That is my testimony. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Gordon B. Hinckley
Gordon B. Hinckley, Conference Report, April 1960, pp. 81
My brethren and sisters, I seek the inspiration of the Lord.
I am grateful to be associated with the great missionary program of the Church. As I look at you, I think of the six thousand men and women who are scattered over the world, and who this day and this hour are knocking on doors, being refused entrance, in most cases, but getting in now and again to bear testimony of this work. I think it is a singular and marvelous thing that during the past year they brought into the Church approximately the equivalent of three times the number who now are assembled in this hall. This was exclusive of the more than eight thousand converts of those devoted men and women who are serving in the stake missions.
The other day when I was preparing to leave for a stake conference in Dallas the phone rang, and a man said, "I need a little information. I know a widow who goes out every morning at four o'clock to milk sixty cows to keep her son in the mission field. She has just received a letter from her boy saying that he needs a new overcoat and a pair of shoes, and she doesn't know where to get the money to buy them. Is there some way I can help?"
That procedure, of course, was very easily worked out, but as I traveled to my conference I reflected on the sacrifice of that widow, and of many other parents, to keep sons and daughters in the mission field. On Sunday morning, I rode around the city of Dallas with President and Sister Atkerson. We saw many large and beautiful churches and a magnificent synagogue. People were gathering to these buildings in such numbers that the traffic was blocked in some areas. We then went to our own building where we met six of our missionaries who are laboring in that area.
As I talked with our elders and thought of the sacrifice behind their service, and then thought of the people we had seen going to these other magnificent buildings, the question came into my mind, "Why do we make such efforts at such great cost to come to teach these people who already have so much that is virtuous and good?"
We admire their great reverence. One cannot witness their worship without appreciating their devotion. We admire their faith in an overruling Providence, and their great zeal in teaching the brotherhood of man. We admire them for all of the tremendous good that they accomplish.
What do we have to give them, with all that they now have, that they cannot get from any other source in all the world? Is it a recreation program? We have a good one, and I believe implicitly in it but many of them also provide excellent recreation. Is it a youth program? We have a tremendous program for which I am grateful, but in many cases they likewise have excellent youth programs. Is it schools and educational opportunities? They have these also, and in saying that I am grateful for our own great system.
Seriously, what can we give them that they do not now have? May I just review four or five items which have come to us through the revelation of the Lord and which they can secure from no other source in all this world? I shall follow the sequence in which these came to us. I think that sequence is important.
To me it is a significant and marvelous thing that in establishing and opening this dispensation our Father did so with a revelation of himself and of his Son Jesus Christ, as if to say to all the world that he was weary of the attempts of men, earnest though these attempts might have been, to define and describe him. Strange as it seems, we alone, among all the great organizations that worship God, have a true description and a true definition of him. The experience of Joseph Smith in a few moments in the grove on a spring day in 1820, brought more light and knowledge and understanding of the personality and reality and substance of God and his Beloved Son than men had arrived at during centuries of speculation. Notwithstanding the declaration at Jordan at the time of the Savior's baptism when the voice of the Father was heard, and notwithstanding the events on the Mount of Transfiguration when again the voice of the Father was heard, men somehow evidently had been unable to realize the separate entities of the Father and the Son, their relationship and their reality.
I want to say that when we started emphasizing in our missionary program the truth about God as a basic and fundamental and primary principle, and began to encourage those who were willing to listen to get on their knees and ask him in the name of his Son Jesus Christ concerning the truth of that teaching, we began to get converts in such numbers as we had not had in many, many years.
The second great revelation received in this dispensation was the testimony of another nation, speaking from the dust of the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ as the God of this world, our resurrected Savior and Redeemer. When we have been able to get people to read the Book of Mormon prayerfully, we have seen realized in their lives the fulfillment of the words of Moroni that they would know the truth of that record-that it is verily the word of God, and a testimony of Jesus.
Came next the bestowal of the priesthood, the authority to act in the name of God, conferred by John the Baptist, and then by Peter, James, and John. It seems to me that any man of any church who has ever had administered to him religious ordinances might well ask, as many have done, by what authority this has been accomplished.
When that most significant conversation took place between Peter and the Savior, in which Peter declared, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," and Jesus replied, "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven," the Savior then went on to say, among other things:
"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".
We have to offer to those of other faiths, with all that they now have, the restoration of these marvelous keys and the blessing of the priesthood, under which every worthy man may be a priest in his own right, with power and authority to bless, to teach, and to govern in the affairs of the kingdom of God.
Came next the organization of the Church-the Church of Jesus Christ-"built upon the foundation of apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone," all fitly framed together in fulfillment of the words of Paul to the Ephesian Saints. To me it is a singular and remarkable thing that with all that our friends have that is wonderful and good and true, there is not a church among them to my knowledge led by prophets who speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost, and apostles who stand as living witnesses to all the world of the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Came after that the great keys, of which President Smith has spoken so beautifully this afternoon, which brought about the opportunity of universal salvation and exaltation. A man said rather smugly one day, "I am saved." I asked, "What about your father?"
He said, "I guess he isn't saved." I said, "Can you believe that in the justice and mercy of God he would make it possible for you to enjoy all the blessings which you claim you have and deny those same blessings to your father and your mother, who gave you all that you have of life and body and mind?"
To me it is one of the serious anomalies of our life that the great religious systems of the world, which teach equity and justice and mercy and kindness, have in their theology nothing of this great principle.
My brethren and sisters, I have had opportunity to study what causes people to join the Church. I have come to the conclusion that it is testimony, which comes into their hearts of the truth of these great revelations, which leads them into the waters of baptism there to covenant with the Lord to keep his commandments and to become citizens in his kingdom.
A friend once asked, "Why in your missionary work do you emphasize the differences between your religion and others? Why not emphasize what you have in common with others?" We praise all that others have that is lovely, virtuous, or of good report or praiseworthy, and add to those many virtues which they now have, the great virtues which have come of the revelations of God to the Prophet Joseph Smith in this dispensation for the blessing of their lives and the lives of all who come after them who will keep the faith, of which I bear testimony this day in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, April 1960, pp. 83-86
My dear brothers and sisters, this has been a great conference. I pray that the Spirit of the Lord may attend me in what I shall say.
About fifty years ago, Mr. F. M. Bareham wrote the following:
"A century ago men were following with bated breath the march of Napoleon and waiting with feverish impatience for news of the wars. And all the while in their homes babies were being born. But who could think about babies? Everybody was thinking about battles.
"In one year between Trafalgar and Waterloo there stole into the world a host of heroes: Gladstone was born in Liverpool; Tennyson at the Somersby Rectory, and Oliver Wendell Holmes in Massachusetts. Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky, and music was enriched by the advent of Felix Mendelssohn in Hamburg."
And we might add, and Joseph Smith was born in Vermont, four years earlier.
Quoting Bareham further:
"But nobody thought of babies, everybody was thinking of battles. Yet which of the battles of 1809 mattered more than the babies of 1809? We fancy God can manage his world only with great battalions, when all the time he is doing it with beautiful babies.
"When a wrong wants righting, or a truth wants preaching, or a continent wants discovering, God sends a baby into the world to do it."
While most of the thousands of precious infants born every hour will never be known outside their own neighborhoods, there are great souls being born who will rise above their surroundings. We see with "... Abraham the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones,..." and we hear the Lord saying:
"These I will make my rulers... Abraham, thou art one of them, thou wast chosen before thou wast born".
He commanded Adam: "Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it".
And the Psalmist sang:
"Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord... Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them".
Regarding these "Men of the Hour," Carlyle said:
"The most precious gift that heaven can give to the earth; a man of genius, as we call it; the soul of a man actually sent down from the skies with God's message to us."
What mother, looking don n with tenderness upon her chubby infant does not envision her child as the President of the Church or the leader of her nation! As he is nestled in her arms, she sees him a statesman, a leader, a prophet. Some dreams do come true! One mother gives us a Shakespeare, another a Michelangelo, and another an Abraham Lincoln, and still another a Joseph Smith!
When theologians are reeling and stumbling, when lips are pretending and hearts are wandering, and people are "running to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord and cannot find it "-when clouds of error need dissipating and spiritual darkness needs penetrating and heavens need opening, a little infant is born. Just a few scattered neighbors in a hilly region in the backwoods even know that Lucy is expecting. There is no prenatal care, nor nurses; no hospital, no ambulance, no delivery room. Babies live and die in this rough environment and few know of it. Another child for Lucy! No trumpets are sounded; no hourly bulletins posted; no pictures taken; no notice is given; just a few friendly community folk pass the word along. It's a boy! Little do the brothers and sister dream that a prophet is born to them; even his proud parents can little suspect his spectacular destiny. No countryside farmers or loungers at the country store, nor village gossips even surmise how much they could discuss, did they but have the power of prophetic vision.
"They are naming him Joseph," it is reported. But not one knows, not even his parents, at this time, that this infant and his father have been named in the scriptures for 3500 years, named for and known to their ancestor Joseph, the savior of Egypt and Israel. Not even his adoring mother realizes, even in her most ambitious dreaming and her silent musings, that this one of her children, like his ancestor, will be the chief sheaf of grain to which all others would lean and the one star to which the sun and moon and the other stars would make obeisance.
He will inspire hatred and admiration; he will build an empire and restore a church-the Church of Jesus Christ. Millions will follow him; monuments will be built to him; poets will sing of him; authors will write libraries of books about him.
No living soul can guess that this little pinkish infant will become the peer of Moses in spiritual power and greater than many prophets before him. He will talk with God, the Eternal Father, and Jesus Christ, his Son, and angels will be his guest instructors.
His Vermont contemporaries know not that this little one just born will live as few men have lived, accomplish what few men have accomplished, and die as few have ever died, in his own sacred blood in a prison at the hands of assassins as a martyr to everlasting truth!
All expectations are understated. Destiny out-distances all imagination and dreams!
"God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform; He plants his footsteps in the sea And rides upon the storm.
"Deep in unfathomable mines Of never-failing skill, He treasures up his bright designs And works his sovereign will." -William Cowper.
During the unfolding of this Smith-flower; during the brief ripening years of this fruit of the loins of that other Joseph of Israel, the world is preparing for the greatest event since the Meridian of Time. The triplet infants, Liberty, Freedom, and Justice, are contending for life; a small colonial nation is struggling to its feet; the people from many lands, squirming in the "melting-pot," are firming up, suffering labor pains toward the birth of a divine new program, "a marvelous work and a wonder", the restoration of the gospel in all its far-reaching detail.
"We fancy," said Bareham, "God can manage his world only with great battalions, when all the time he is doing it with beautiful babies."
O foolish men who think to protect the world with armaments, battleships, and space equipment, when only righteousness is needed!
Having read the pages of history, six thousand years of it, can we not see that God sent his babies to become the teachers and prophets to warn us of our threatening fate? Cannot we read the handwriting on the wall? History repeats itself.
O mortal men, deaf and blind! Can we not read the past? For thousands of years, have plowshares been beaten into swords and pruning hooks into spears, yet war persists. Ever since Belshazzar saw the finger writing upon the wall of his palace, the warning reappears. It seems to restate with great forcefulness, Daniel's indictment of an unhumble people:
"God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it... Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this... and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified ... Blessed be the name of God... he removeth kings, and setteth up kings".
The answer to all of our problems-personal, national, and international-has been given to us many times by many prophets, ancient to modern. Why must we grovel in the earth when we could be climbing toward heaven! The path is not obscure. Perhaps it is too simple for us to see. We look to foreign programs, summit conferences, land bases. We depend on fortifications, our gods of stone; upon ships and planes and projectiles, our gods of iron-gods which have no ears, no eyes, no hearts. We pray to them for deliverance and depend upon them for protection. Like the gods of Baal, they could be "talking or pursuing or on a journey or peradventure sleeping" when they are needed most. And like Elijah, we might cry out to our world:
"How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him".
My testimony to you is, the Lord is God. He has charted the way, but we do not follow. He personally visited Joseph Smith in our world in our century. He outlined the way of peace in this world and eternal worlds. That path is righteousness. The Prophet Joseph with all his successor prophets proclaiming the ripening of this world in iniquity and the solution of all vexing problems. The Book of Mormon which he brought into existence relates the story of two hundred years of peace in the old days, which was the greatest era of happiness of which we have any complete record.
God lives as does his Son, Jesus Christ and they will not indefinitely be mocked. May we hearken and repent "for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision... the Lord will be the hope of his people".
Joseph Smith is a true prophet of the Living God and his successors likewise. The mantle of authority and prophecy and revelation and power lies in his choice servant who now leads us, President David O. McKay, and he is God's prophet not only to Latter-day Saints, but to every living soul in all the world. This is my testimony to you, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Ezra Taft Benson
Ezra Taft Benson, Conference Report, April 1960, pp. 96-100
My brethren and sisters, if the Lord will bless me I desire to say a few words about a most serious worldwide threat. In the Old Testament we read: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge".
Thus spoke Hosea, the prophet. In keeping with the spirit of President McKay's masterful opening address, I take these words of warning as my text, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge."
As in Old Testament days we need knowledge today. We need to know our enemies. We must assess clearly and accurately the perils that face the free world as we enter the Missile Age. At the same time we must assure ourselves of the knowledge which brings confidence and trust in our ability and that of our friends around the world to face the future-not in fear but with vigilance. From knowledge comes strength, and from strength comes the power to preserve freedom both at home and abroad.
President Eisenhower and other dedicated men have worked tirelessly to help the free world understand better the deadly world conflict between good and evil which is constantly going on.
We are now entering a period of conferences, first at the Summit in May and again in June when the President travels to Moscow for a ten-day visit in Russia.
As the President said in his State of the Union Message last January, "We will continue in our search for peace and in our efforts to reach mutually enforceable agreements."
We have an enormous responsibility here in the United States to help maintain peace and freedom and to push back the somber clouds of war-threats caused by international tensions.
The power of communism depends to a large extent on public ignorance. Knowledge is a dangerous thing-to totalitarian states; but knowledge is strength to a free people.
There are some fundamental facts which must never be overlooked, lest it be said of this our land, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge".
We must never forget exactly what communism really is. Communism is far more than an economic system. It is a total philosophy of life-atheistic and completely opposed to all that we hold dear.
We believe in an all-wise Creator. Communism teaches that everything in existence came about as a result of ceaseless motion of the forces of nature.
We believe in the dignity of man. Communism holds that human beings are but graduate beasts. Hence communism does not hesitate to destroy those who stand in its way. The Russian communists in their rise to power liquidated millions of their fellow countrymen. The Chinese communists wiped out tens of millions-perhaps as many as 30 million.
We believe in a moral code. Communism denies innate right or wrong. As W. Cleon Skousen has said in his timely book, The Naked Communist: The communist "has convinced himself that nothing is evil which answers the call of expediency." This is a most damnable doctrine. People who truly accept such a philosophy have neither conscience nor honor. Force, trickery, lies, broken promises are wholly justified.
We believe in religion as a mode of life resulting from our faith in God. Communism contends that all religion must be overthrown because it inhibits the spirit of world revolution.
Earl Browder, a longtime leader of the Communist Party in the U. S. A. said, "... we Communists do not distinguish between good and bad religions, because we think they are all bad."
This atheistic, degrading, but militant philosophy is backed up with the strength and resources of a big country of 210 million people and a fast-growing economy. In addition, communism has built an empire of 700 million people more. Besides this, it has agents in all free world countries whose ultimate aim is to overthrow the existing social order and bring these countries under the red flag.
The major communist objective, make no mistake about it, is to destroy any society that adheres to the fundamentals of spiritual, economic, and political freedom-the integrity of man.
As the leading exponent of the free society, the United States is thus the primary target of Marxian-Lenin philosophy.
Internationally, communism seeks to isolate us from the rest of the free world. Here at home, communism ceaselessly pursues the disintegration of the American way of life. It strives to use education, science, literature, art, even the churches, to undermine our free society.
Suppose for a moment that this country fell under communist control. What would be the fruits of this calamity? First, the true seat of government would immediately be removed from Washington to Moscow. William Z. Foster, the former head of the Communist Party in the United States, said this: "When a Communist heads the government of the United States-and that day will come just as surely as the sun rises-the government will not be a Capitalistic government but a Soviet government, and behind this government will stand the Red Army to enforce the dictatorship of the proletariat."
What would this mean to you and me in our daily lives?
Could we own our own homes? Our living quarters would be assigned to us, and we would pay rent to the state as ordered.
Could we own our own farms? Our farms would be collectivized and become the property of the state and we would work them under orders from the state.
Could we start a business and hire people to work for us? To do so would make us criminals.
Could we work where we pleased? We would work when, where, and how we were told-and the government would do the telling. No labor unions as we now know them would be permitted to exist. Neither would Chambers of Commerce, Farm Organizations, Rotary Clubs, the American Legion, and other organizations.
What would happen to our bank accounts? All above a small sum would be confiscated. The rest would be state-controlled for us. The state would take over our insurance.
Except for a few closely personal items we would have no property to leave to our families when we die.
We could travel around the country only with police permission.
We could not travel abroad or marry a foreigner without the specific approval of the state.
We could not even write freely to friends in other countries.
Our children would go to the schools selected for them, and only so long as the state permitted. Lenin said, "Give us a child for eight years, and it will be a Bolshevik forever."
Teachers would be free to teach only what the state authorized. William Z. Foster said, "Our teachers must write new school textbooks and rewrite history from the Marxian viewpoint."
To belong to a church would be sure to bring discrimination and penalties of many kinds against us and our families. The great majority of church buildings would become state museums or warehouses.
No real compromise is possible with evil such as this.
Is there any real danger that such a calamity could befall us here? My response to that is merely to recite the following shocking fact:
In forty years, communism, by trickery and force, has brought more people under its domination than the total number of Christians now living in the entire world-and Christianity has been in existence for nearly 2,000 years.
We dare not underestimate the communists' zeal, nor their aims, nor their power. To do so could mean our destruction.
We dare not accept communist pledges at face value.
The German situation is a dramatic example.
The Soviet Union in the 1940's sealed off its German occupation zone-breaking its promise.
The Soviet Union built up a powerful East German semi-military police force-breaking another promise. The Soviet Union pledged Germany political freedom, as well as freedom of speech and press. Here again she broke her promise.
The Soviet Union agreed to four-power rule in Berlin, then set up a separate East Berlin-breaking its promise.
I visited the Soviet Union last fall, spending much of my time with the good, honest, hard-working people of the soil. I am sure the Russian people want peace. I am confident that we can look forward to an era of peace if the governments of the world respond to the will of the people. But I saw no evidence that the communist leaders have altered their goal of world conquest-by economic if not by military means.
Even this short visit to the Soviet Union clearly revealed how uneven and unbalanced their economic progress actually is. Their success in the field of rocketry is in sharp contrast to their backwardness in general standards of living. A Soviet wisecrack of recent vintage goes like this: "Last year we got a sputnik and this year a lunik, and one of these days we may even get shoes."
In agricultural efficiency and productivity the Soviet Union is still a long way behind the United States. But they do have a substantial growth potential.
By means of a great effort, including better economic incentives, Soviet agriculture has increased production by one half or more in the past six years.
About fifty million persons work in Russian agriculture and forestry-more than forty percent of their total labor force-compared with a little over seven million persons in the United States, or less than 10 percent of our labor force.
They have relatively few farm machines compared to the United States, and they use a great deal of hand labor, most of it done by women. Some sixty to seventy-five percent of their agricultural labor force consists of women.
But one farm worker in the United States produces enough food and fiber to support about twenty-five persons-one farm worker in Russia produces enough for only five or six persons.
The typical Russian laborer has one pair of shoes and one suit of clothes. That's because it takes a month's wages to buy a pair of shoes and two months or more to buy a suit of clothes.
They are putting up a bold front as regards their ability to catch up. I saw hundreds of posters in the USSR urging farmers to surpass the United States in per capita production. I also saw numerous posters forecasting the ultimate victory of the communist system.
But we in this country are driving ahead also.
I feel sure that the Soviets will not equal nor surpass our productivity in our lifetime, if ever, under their system of agriculture. Why? Because they can never duplicate the levels of efficiency and productive ingenuity which are called forth in a free society.
But let us not underestimate them. On the contrary, let us strive harder to make our own free system of agriculture and industry even more efficient. And let us constantly keep our guard up.
What can you and I do to help meet this grave challenge from a godless, atheistic, cruelly materialistic system-to preserve our God-given free way of life?
First, let us all prize the treasures we have in this country. This is a choice land-all of America-choice above all others. Blessed by the Almighty, our forebears have made and kept it so. It will continue to be a land of freedom and liberty as long as we are able and willing to advance in the light of sound and enduring principles of right.
Second, let us all do our part to stay free! Let us stand eternal watch against the accumulation of too much power in government. Here in our free land let us preserve a true climate in which man can grow.
Third, let us all reaffirm our patriotism, our love of country. Patriotism is more than flag-waving and brave words. It is how we respond to public issues. Let us rededicate ourselves as patriots in the truest sense.
Fourth, let us all help to build peace: True peace springs from within. Its price is righteousness, and to achieve righteousness we must so conduct ourselves individually and collectively as to earn the loyalty and devotion of other men.
Finally, let us all rededicate our lives and our nation to do the will of God. With each of you, I love this nation. It is my firm belief that the God of heaven guided the Founding Fathers in establishing it for his particular purposes. But God's purpose is to build free people of character, not physical monuments to their material accumulations.
Nations that truly love freedom love God. History is replete with examples of once powerful nations that have forgotten God. No nation ripened in iniquity can long endure. "Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people".
We in this land have a rich heritage of freedom. It has rewarded us beyond our brightest dreams. The key to further progress-the key to national security-is the preservation of the initiative, vitality, energy, and resourcefulness of our people. Our material progress is merely a by-product of our freedom. Our God-given freedom, a basic principle of religious truth, is still the most powerful force on the face of the earth.
The people of the world long for peace-and I specifically include the people of Russia.
That is why we can approach these talks with the Russians with inner strength but without illusions. We know that knowledge of the enemy teaches us wariness and caution; we know too that we speak for millions of suppressed people on the Soviet side of the Iron Curtain, all those everywhere who want peace with human dignity.
May I conclude by saying that any system which deprives men of their free agency, which weakens the home and family, which depends on butchery for power, which denies all moral responsibility, which holds that man lives by bread alone, and which denies the existence of God, is of the devil.
This is the communist philosophy. There is no real evidence that it has been changed in the last forty years.
Knowledge of the enemy and knowledge of ourselves give us the strength to fight the good fight for freedom and world peace.
May it never come to pass that "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge", I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder George Q. Morris
George Q. Morris, Conference Report, April 1960, pp. 100-102
My dear brethren and sisters I sincerely pray that the Lord will direct me in what I shall say upon this occasion. President Moyle Monday morning set forth very clearly and effectively the teachings of the Church regarding the coming of the Savior, and I thought I would like to mention three signs that the Lord gave that we might observe and know when we saw them that he had set his hand again to accomplish final preparatory work for the coming of the millennium.
The first of these was to be the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That has already occurred, and it occurred 130 years ago. The Church speaks for itself. Its literature, its scriptures, its martyrs, over a million testimonies from lips and lives of members of the Church speak to the world and bear witness that this thing has been accomplished that the Lord has set his hand to do, and it is evident that it is spreading all over the world rapidly.
A week ago Sunday our representatives organized a stake in Australia and on the same day another in England. Our temples encircle the globe. Our people are on all continents and in most of the countries of the world, and God is moving forward with this, his kingdom.
Another sign of great importance was the rise of an evil power. Brother Benson had already very impressively referred to it-communism. The Lord, in the first section of the Doctrine and Covenants, officially and formally announced to the world the restoration of the true and living Church, and called upon all people to hear and accept the messages of his servants that he was sending forth to the world.
He also said: "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"-that condition, I think we readily understand-"and the devil shall have power over his dominion".
It is that point that I think is very significant. The Savior recognized the domination of Satan over the world generally, and called him the prince of the world, but in a special way-in the way that Brother Benson has referred to-he has entered into the politics of the world among the nations of the world, and already subjugated about one billion people of the world, and by a dire, sanguinary, and deadly philosophy has brought death to millions and has brought slavery to almost a billion people.
I just want to call one point to your attention. I have not time to name others here. Brother Benson has said that they have declared for world domination, their aim the destruction of all the governments in the world. I want to read before you God's declaration: "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever".
I bear my witness that that decree of God will hold. It remains for us-members of the kingdom of God-to devote ourselves with singleness of purpose to his service. To love God with all our hearts, and love our fellow men as ourselves, and live and proclaim this gospel of salvation to the world is the only means that will save it.
A third item is God's promise that he would gather Jews to Jerusalem, and I think perhaps we may well now not continue saying the Jews are going to gather in Jerusalem. I think now we may well say they have gathered. The ultimate returns will come later as they develop this land and are joined by others.
In a writing issued recently this statement was made: "About two million Jews have returned to restore land which has lain desolate for centuries. In little more than ten years fetid swamps have been transformed into fertile valleys. Orchards now blossom on stony hillsides. Farms have sprouted the desert and towns and cities have been built on the site of ancient settlements."
It goes on to explain-I do not have time to read the details-that this movement started about 1880 when pogroms against the Jews drove them from Europe, and they began to trickle into Palestine. In 1909 a number of Jewish families started homes on the sand dunes outside of Jaffa, working with shovels and wheelbarrows. Thus began the city of Tel Aviv, meaning the "hill of spring," Israel's biggest city, the first all-Jewish city built in two thousand years. "Pioneers,"-as they called their farmers-returned to the land from countries from which the Jews had been driven, in which they could not possess land. They were armed farmers, they constituted the Army of Defense, reminding one of the Prophet Nehemiah who said, "every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon".
In 1948, with a population of 600,000, the Declaration of Independence was issued, and the State of Israel was established. An army of 35,000 Jews was opposed by an army of nearly 80,000 Arabs. In about nine months peace was declared and they set up their government. They planted more than 53 million trees. Martyrs' Forest has six million trees, one for each Jewish life lost in Nazi Europe.
This statement by a writer is very interesting:
"Strangely enough when the State of Israel was reborn in 1948, it was a nation of 600,000, the same number which the Bible reports that Moses led out of bondage in Egypt. It now numbers some two million, the same number which it is said populated the ancient Kingdom of Solomon, when Israel was in all its glory." That is why we may now say that the Jews have returned to Palestine. On a land one-tenth the size of Utah they have nearly a half million more people than we have in our whole Church. They have about 258 people for each square mile in Palestine, which is a dense population. We have about ten a square mile in Utah.
So that this may remind us-I cannot give further details of the words of Isaiah:
"Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.
"The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God".
And this looks to the time when the Lord Jesus Christ is to stand on the Mount of Olives, and the people will gather about that mount, and they will say, "What are these wounds in your hands and in your feet?" And he will say unto them, "These are the wounds received in the house of my friends". Then they will recognize him-Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.
I declare to you, my dear brethren and sisters, that Jesus Christ is the Redeemer of the world, the Son of the Living God. We cannot partly accept him-as a philosopher, as merely the most perfect man who ever lived. When we do that we reject him. We reject his sovereignty and his divinity. He is the God of Israel, and the God of the whole world. He is Jehovah of the ancient scriptures, and God, the Savior of the new scriptures. Into his hands God has placed all things, and given him power over the nations -all flesh, and he is exercising that power.
Things seem to us, in our shortsightedness, all confusion, but a clear pattern is marked out that we can discern. These three things have been accomplished that he told his disciples would happen, as he sat with them on the Mount of Olives, and he is to accomplish all other things. We see now another rebellion like that which occurred at the planning of the world, when Lucifer stood up and impudently proposed that he should be the Savior, and attempted to dethrone God and Jesus Christ, and subject the world to slavery.
Now these issues are drawn again-the same evil power has declared that they are to conquer the world. God has declared that his kingdom is to consume all the nations of the world. The issues are now clearly drawn, and the time will come when Satan, again, by the power of the Only Begotten, shall be cast down, and Jesus Christ will reign supreme, and all those who believe and accept the fulness of his gospel and devote themselves with all their hearts to the building up of his kingdom will be saved and honored with him. Those who will not must of necessity be cast out.
I bear witness that this is the Church and kingdom of God established by him, and it is never to be thrown down, that Joseph Smith is a prophet of the Living God; that David O. McKay is a prophet of God to this world this day. I bear this witness in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Marion D. Hanks
Marion D. Hanks, Conference Report, April 1960, pp. 102-103
There are three matters which I would mention this morning in brief headlines, leaving to your judgment and experience the fleshing in of the story.
First, I express deep appreciation for the clear and forthright and courageous expressions of conviction which have come from this pulpit at this great conference. They have not been intemperate nor unloving, but they have been firm and understandable and impressive. I mention this because there are those who seem to believe it unfashionable or even unChristian to have unconditional convictions, really to believe in something and to devote one's life and energy to those convictions. As this conference has proceeded, I have been increasingly grateful to belong to a Church, the position of which is clear and the spokesmen for which are convinced and courageous.
At a recent meeting I attended, a talk was given which seemed to be lacking in real conviction. At its conclusion the chairman of the day characterized the experience as "the bland leading the bland."
There is none of this in those who speak here for the Lord.
A statement of Paul to the Corinthians has been widely quoted recently. It seems applicable. He said:
"For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?".
Thank God for the unwavering note.
On the first day of May two important events will be celebrated in the United States in which Latter-day Saints should have special interest. While communist-controlled countries are using May Day to demonstrate their military might and their philosophy of rule by force and fear, the United States of America will be celebrating "Law Day" under proclamation of the President. Its objectives are:
"To foster increased respect for law, enabling the nation to grow in moral strength as it grows in population, resources and world leadership.
"To provide an occasion for the American people to rededicate themselves to freedom for the individual under just laws... and to emphasize before the world the contrast between the rule of law in the U.S., and the system of totalitarian lands."
Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are committed to obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law. We are under obligation to obey the law, and more-to honor and sustain it.
I count it one of the great privileges of my life to have been a student of the law for some years and to have acquired through that experience a great respect, as my father had before me, for the system of justice and the body of law which we enjoy in this land. This is not to suppose that every decision, judgment, interpretation, or application of law is good and just altogether. The workings of our appellate system, the initiation, revision, and abrogation of laws, testify that this is not so. It is to suggest that freedom and liberty rest on law, that our laws are rooted deeply in religious principles and rest on the moral law, and ultimately on the law of God, and that it is our responsibility at the ballot box, in the jury box, in civic responsibility and political leadership, in our homes and on the highways, to obey, honor, and sustain the law of the land, and to teach our children to do likewise.
Also on the first day of May there will be celebrated the beginning of National Youth Fitness Week, and again no people in all the world should be more concerned with the implications of that day, because God has blessed us with the principles, the programs, and the inspired leadership which can lead the young, if they are willing, to the physical intellectual, social, emotional, and spiritual readiness which will equip them for the great adventure ahead.
Recently I had occasion to ponder the wonderful blessing of organization and leadership opportunities which the Lord has given us, and to consider what might happen if every Latter-day Saint, called to a position of responsibility relevant to the young, would accept the full implications of his stewardship. Think of the wonderful work being done for our children by faithful workers in Primary and Sunday School and MIA, in scouting and exploring, in Aaronic Priesthood work, and in seminaries. Think of the human resources available to the bishop and stake president, and to their counterparts in the missionary field, to reach out for the young and to give them what they need of love, personal interest, visiting, good teaching, recreation, friendship, testimony, and example. There is no program for youth in all the world in any sense comparable. What great things we could do!
God bless us to have a sense of our responsibility and our opportunity in this Church to provide the leadership for our young people which help equip them to be fit for the great days ahead.
In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder LeGrand Richards
LeGrand Richards, Conference Report, April 1960, pp. 103-105
I am happy, brothers and sisters, to have the privilege of attending this great conference with you, and I have been thrilled with the wonderful messages we have heard. During the conference great stress has been laid upon the great missionary program of the Church, a subject dear to my heart, having been a missionary most all of my life and having had a desire to be a missionary long before I was old enough to go on a mission, particularly when I read the life of the Prophet Joseph Smith by George Q. Cannon, for from that time on I not only lived for but also prayed for the day when I would be privileged to go into the mission field.
One of those whom I admired most in my youth as a great missionary, was the Apostle Paul. I liked his testimony, as he stood before King Agrippa and the most noble Festus and told his story how the Savior appeared to him as he was on the way to Damascus, and you remember Festus said, "Paul, thou art beside thyself, much learning doth make thee mad," to which he replied, "I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness." King Agrippa then said, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian".
And you remember Paul's reply was:
"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".
He had already asked them:
"Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?".
I was reading a statement from his missionary journey the other day that impressed me, and I would like to read it:
"For he mightily convinced the Jews and that publicly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ".
And I thought it would be wonderful if we could hear some of his marvelous testimonies as he took the scriptures in his hands to prove that Jesus was the Christ.
I recall the words of the Savior where he said that we should "Search the scriptures; for... they are they which testify of me". Then he said to the Pharisees that they did err, not understanding the scriptures, and we have his testimony to the two disciples as he walked along the way to Emmaus and their eyes were holden that they did not recognize him, and he listened to their conversation about his crucifixion and he said, "O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken".
He explained the scriptures to them, and he opened their understanding that they might understand the scriptures.
I feel that we do not place the value we should on the scriptures, and in the few moments I have this morning, I would like to relate an experience I had less than a year ago. By appointment from the First Presidency and at their request, I was privileged to meet with a group of ministers here in Salt Lake City who were holding a convention. They gave me two hours and a half to explain Mormonism to them.
I explained the great organization of the Church and how it came into existence and bore my testimony of its divinity. I thought of the Apostle Paul, if he had the scriptures and was with us today, and had to convince publicly the people out of the scriptures how much more he would have to explain to them pertaining to this latter-day gospel dispensation and the second coming of the Redeemer of the world than he had in his day.
I used this illustration with these ministers: I told them that when we built the Los Angeles Temple, I was still the Presiding Bishop, and we took the plans and showed them to the First Presidency one day, and we had eighty-five pages about four feet long and two and a half-feet wide, and we did not have the plans complete for the electrical work or the plumbing, and yet there were eighty-five pages. Now I said to these men, "You could take those plans and go all over this world and try to fit them to any other building in the world, and you could not fit them. There is only one building that those plans will fit and that is the Los Angeles Temple." I said, "Of course, you could find heating plants and light fixtures and plumbing and cement in other buildings just as you do in that temple, but you could not find a building that would fit perfectly those plans."
Then I took the Bible and I said, "The Prophet Isaiah tells us that the Lord declared his work from the beginning and he said that the 'grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever'. And as I see it, the Bible is the Lord's blueprint of his work from the beginning until the final winding up scene."
Of course, there is not time for me to go into details here today, but I took scripture after scripture that appeared in the Bible, and I said to these men, "Do you know anywhere in all the world where you can find a fulfillment of that promise? Take for instance Peter's statement to those who crucified the Christ that before his coming the heavens were to receive him, until the restitution of all things spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. Do any of You know anywhere in this world, in the history of the world or the history of the people or churches, where that promise has had its fulfillment, and yet people look for his coming?" But if Peter was a prophet of God, Christ cannot come until there is a restitution, and I had explained already to them the fulfillment of that promised restitution of all things.
Then I took the coming of the angel that John saw, flying in the midst of heaven. I said, "Do you know anywhere in the world that there is a record of the coming of an angel with the everlasting gospel to be preached in all the world, to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, since the time that that prophet's promise was made?"
Then I went through many other of the passages of scripture pertaining to our day, like the coming of Elijah the prophet, and so forth, and then I said this to them, "Now, that Bible is just as much the Lord's blueprint of what he intended to do in this world as the blueprint for that temple was the plan by which that building was to be built."
I said, "It is true that you can find some of the things that are in the Bible in the churches, that is why we have hundreds of them, but you cannot find any other church in all the world that has all of the things that the Lord has promised."
I remember as a boy hearing this statement made that one of the great evangelists of the United States, well-known all over the nation, in talking to a Mormon elder was asked questions by this elder, and his answer was: "Well, if we were to believe all that is in the Bible, we would all have to be Mormons."
That is my testimony to the entire world: if you believe all that is in the Bible, you would all have to be Mormons, and I come back again to the importance of the scriptures and the work of the Apostle Paul,
"For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publicly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ".
And we can mightily show by the scriptures that he was not only the Christ, but that he will also come again and that he has restored his kingdom to the earth, as we have had testimony after testimony in this conference, and I bear you that testimony, if Paul were here today and knew of the coming of the Father and the Son and all the holy angels that have visited this earth to give us this restitution of all things, think how much more and much greater power he would have to convince the world and that publicly.
I close with this thought: We have heard about the marvelous progress the world has made scientifically. We read in the newspapers constantly about the day when men will make trips to the moon-I have always said that if I were going I would want to be sure I got a round-trip-ticket-but you know, if they ever make a trip to the moon, and they come back again, every newspaper in all the world will spread it on their front pages and tell what has happened. But how would such an event, as marvelous as it would be, compare with the coming of God the Eternal Father and his Son Jesus Christ to the boy Prophet, Joseph Smith? And why, I say in the words of Paul, "Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you" that God should set his hand to do the thing that he promised he would do and as is detailed in the plans of his work.
I leave you my testimony that Joseph Smith was a prophet, that President McKay is his duly appointed successor, and that the power of Almighty God is in this work. I have seen it all my life and I bear you that witness, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Harold B. Lee
Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, April 1960, pp. 106-110
My beloved brothers and sisters, for these next few moments I seek the indulgence of your faith and prayers to the end that, guided by the Spirit, I might make some small contribution to the proceedings of this great conference.
Because of the desire expressed by the Brethren that I say something about the history-making events of the past week in the British Mission, I have put aside the text of that which I might have prepared otherwise to say on this occasion. I have determined long since that the expressed desire of my Presiding Brethren is to me as a command. Therefore, I trust that I might in some measure, give you a picture of some of the things which have transpired of a momentous nature in Great Britain.
This assignment from the First Presidency returned us to the scenes of some of the most soul-stirring incidents and experiences in the history of missionary work in this dispensation. We were at Preston in the midlands of Great Britain where the first missionary work was done. As you will remember the history, the first missionaries were submitted to one of the greatest demonstrations of the power of evil spirits perhaps ever experienced by anyone. Brother Heber C. Kimball, Elder Willard Richards, Elder Orson Hyde and Elder Isaac Russell had, for an hour and a half, as they timed the experience, an awful demonstration of that power.
President Heber C. Kimball, in writing about it afterward, said: "I cannot even now look back upon the scene without feelings of horror, yet by it I learned the power of the adversary; his enmity against the servants of God, and got some understanding of the invisible world."
When he returned home, he asked the Prophet Joseph what was the matter with them that they had to be subjected to such an experience, and the Prophet surprised them when he said something to this effect: "When I heard of it it gave me joy, for I then knew that the work had taken root in that land " Then he related some of his own experiences, and made this significant statement: "The nearer a person approaches the Lord, a greater power will be manifested by the adversary to prevent the accomplishment of his purposes".
I have no doubt that the Prophet had in mind the terrifying experience he had in the grove when he prayed for light and was seized upon by this power until he was released therefrom by the coming of the Father and the Son. He no doubt had in mind the experiences when he first went to see the plates, when, as he sought to receive them, he again saw a demonstration of the evil powers.
We were permitted, as we traveled in that same vicinity, to follow the course that Wilford Woodruff was directed under inspiration to go, from the potteries near Hanley down to Froomes Hill probably some fifty or sixty miles to the south, where, directed by the Spirit, he found a people ready to receive the coming of the servants of the Lord. Within two days after his arrival there, after having met John Benbow and his wife and those who believed in the sect called the United Brethren, he had baptized six members, and in thirty days he had baptized forty-five preachers of the United Brethren, and one hundred sixty members, and obtained thereby the possession of one chapel and forty-five houses for use as meeting places. In eight months he had baptized over 1800-all 600 of the United Brethren with one exception-and 200 ministers of various denominations in the area.
As a true missionary would, without boasting, he wrote this simple summary: "The power of God rested upon us and upon the mission in our field of labor.... The sick were healed, devils were cast out, and the lame made to walk."
The work of these first missionaries was not without opposition, and later the Times and Seasons wrote about the work around Liverpool: "... They were so good in general" "and so pure that they had no room for the gospel. They were too holy to be righteous, too good to be pure, and had too much religion to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven".
And then they wrote: "It seemed that it almost required a horn to be blown from the highest heavens, in order to awaken the attention of the people". I thought of that when, after elaborate arrangements had been made by President T. Bowring Woodbury of the British Mission for all the publicity possible through the great news-gathering wire services throughout the world to get a full coverage, including the local newspapers, to find the next day, hidden down in an obscure place in one of the two Manchester papers, this brief reference to our missionary conference where we created this stake and organized a new mission. This is what the Manchester Guardian recorded:
"British Mormons formed their first diocese in Europe yesterday at a mass meeting of more than 2000 members of the Church of the Latter-day Saints in Manchester, the new center to be built without delay at Wythenshawe, Manchester, at a cost of about 100,000 pounds. The diocese, or stake covers Manchester, Halifax, Huddersfield, Dewsbury, and Leeds."
I felt like saying what the other missionaries had said, "It seemed as if it almost required a horn to be blown from the highest heavens in order to awaken the attention of the people."
In one year, 1840 to 1841-one year and fourteen days, to be exact-nine members of the twelve were called to labor in the British Mission. If you remember the history here at home, those years marked the period of some of the severest persecution that the Church was to undergo in this dispensation. In that one year and fourteen days the nine members of the twelve, with their associates, established churches in every noted town and city in the kingdom of Great Britain. They baptized between 7000 and 8000 converts. They printed 5000 copies of the Book of Mormon, 3000 hymnbooks, and 50,000 tracts, and they published 2500 volumes of the Millennial Star and emigrated 1000 souls to America.
These figures of the summary of the missionary work as done in Great Britain might give you something of an idea of what has happened in the past 123 years in that great country. In 1849 and 1851 over 8000 baptisms were performed in each year, or approximately 1000 converts to each missionary for each of those years. The total number of converts from 1837, when the work was first started, until the end of 1959 totals 136,026. The recorded number of emigrants during that same period was 57,149, and we have reason to believe that thousands of others emigrated without any record being made.
The total number of missionaries who have labored in that field numbers 7398. Twelve of our General Authorities were British-born, including our own Elder John Longden, who was born at Oldham, now an organized ward in the new Manchester Stake. It is the estimate of Elder Richard L. Evans, who has written an excellent history of the Church in Great Britain during the first one hundred years, that a very large percent of the total membership of the Church today trace their genealogy to Great Britain.
By assignment of the First Presidency, in company with Elder Alvin R. Dyer, president of the European Mission, President T. Bowring Woodbury of the British Mission, and President Bernard P. Brockbank, now president of the new North British Mission, on Sunday, March 27, we organized the new Manchester Stake with a total membership of 2400 members.
In the afternoon session there were 2026 in attendance, in one of the largest theaters in the downtown Manchester City. This stake, including all of the Manchester and Leeds Districts of the mission, and part of the Liverpool District, is now organized with nine wards and two branches.
It was an interesting thing to discover that the leadership of the stake and wards and the branches had to be largely composed of brethren who were baptized converts to the Church of less than five years. Fortunately, and it seemed as though almost by the hand of Providence, we found a few "anchor" men who had been trained in the stakes here at home, who will become the trainers of these new, able, but inexperienced leaders. This stake becomes now, a training ground for leaders of organizations yet to come.
This new stake brings the full Church program into action, so that such an organization will be a demonstration to the world "to shine forth as a standard unto the nations", showing the work of the Church at full flower. Zion which the Lord declared is "the pure in heart" in that land now, will "increase in holiness and in beauty." Zion will now begin "to arise and put on her beautiful garments". This first stake will provide a pattern for stakes yet to come from these great missions. We think we have set it up in such a way that new leaders so trained will shortly be able to take over still other stakes in that same vicinity, and become a pattern for leaders of stakes in that and the other European missions.
In truth, then, it now begins to build "a defense, a refuge from the storm, and wrath when it is poured out with mixture upon the whole earth" which as the Lord declared was the purpose of a stake being organized.
At that same conference, the new North British Mission was organized, with President Bernard P. Brockbank as the new president. Parenthetically I might tell you that he received his notice that he had been appointed as the president of that new mission only two weeks before he actually met us in New York to fly to his new assignment in the North British Mission, leaving his wife and children to make final preparations and the transfer of his business to other hands.
We now have organized in the North British Mission eight missionary districts, with nine missionary districts remaining in the British Mission which will continue to have headquarters in London, the new mission to have headquarters at Manchester, England. The power of God is resting again in the missions of Europe, today, as in the century which has passed.
During the month of March alone, in the British Mission they baptized 360 new converts. In the French Mission, there were another 114 new converts baptized in that mission, which seems for the first time in our day to give evidence that the work is beginning to take root in France, after a shocking demonstration of the power of evil in that mission only two short years ago. And from the North German Mission, to use another example, which we have usually thought of as being behind the Iron Curtain in part, they baptized in the month of March alone eighty-five new converts.
So it was likewise, during the three months of last fall, when we toured the Latin American Missions of South America and in Mexico, we saw evidences of the giant of God's eternal power, if I might speak of it that way, awakening among those wonderful people, where in some of those missions they are having 600 to 700 convert baptisms each year, as compared with only fifty to seventy-five in previous years.
Indeed, in the language of Mark's testimony to the early missionaries of the Apostolic Period who received the divine commission of the Lord: "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.
"And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
"They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover".
And then Mark records this significant fulfillment: "And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following".
President McKay, I have been a personal witness in these last six months that, as the apostles of old found, we are finding today that the servants of the Living God are going forth, the Lord is working with them confirming the work, with the same signs following.
I bear personal witness that the gift of tongues to a whole congregation, which I witnessed, as in the day of Pentecost, was observed down in one of the Latin American Missions, by which this congregation understood what was said, although what was being spoken to them was in a strange tongue. I have witnessed the healing of an impotent and crippled child from birth in the Brazilian Mission. I have witnessed the healing of a blind child in the Central American Mission.
And so, enumerating all of these, more important than any of these signs, I have witnessed the reformation in the personal lives of individuals who accept the gospel and are true to its principles, which results from a true conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I bear you my solemn witness to the onrolling of the work of the Lord. The work is awakening everywhere.
I know that God lives. I bear personal testimony to the divinity of the mission of the Savior, and that this is his work, and that President David O. McKay is his true representative here upon this earth in our day, and I do it humbly in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Marion G. Romney
Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, April 1960, pp. 110-113
My beloved brethren and sisters, I bear witness to the truth of all that Brother Lee has just said. As he talked, I was reminded that my grandfather, Miles Romney, heard the first missionaries, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, and Willard Richards, preach on the streets in Preston, England, in 1837. He heard them on Market Square; he followed them to the Cockpit where they did much of their preaching in those early days. He joined the Church early in 1838, emigrated to Nauvoo in 1842, and now has about 2500 descendants in the Church.
I am tempted, in a way, to comment on my missionary labors of recent months, but will refrain from doing so for fear I might miss some of them. In the last twenty-six months I have toured, for which I am very grateful President McKay, fifteen missions, fourteen of them beyond the borders of the United States, eleven of them foreign-speaking missions. Last October conference time I was in Vienna. Last week I was in Sydney, Australia. I testify to you that the spirit is on the move in every one of the fifteen missions which I visited.
One thing I can say about them all is that in every one of them I heard fervent testimony to the mighty power of the Book of Mormon in bringing souls unto Christ. In my view, the Book of Mormon is the most effective piece of missionary literature we have.
I invite you to pray with me for a rich outpouring of the Holy Spirit, for I would like to stimulate you to resolve to read the Book of Mormon. As I speak, I shall have in mind particularly this fine group of young men and women who are singing for us and all others of their generation.
There are many reasons why we should read the Book of Mormon. To begin with, the Lord has put us under obligation to do so. He said that he sent Moroni to reveal it and that through his mercy he had given the Prophet Joseph "power from on high... to translate ", that it contains "... the truth and the word of God-" and "the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles and to the Jews also".
Nephi tells us that its contents "... shall go from generation to generation as long as the earth shall stand,... and the nations who shall possess them shall be judged of them according to the words which are written".
For me there could be no more impelling reason for reading the Book of Mormon than this statement of the Lord that we shall be judged by what is written in it.
Moroni says that the very reason the book has been given to us is that we may know the "decrees of God" set forth therein and by obedience to them escape the calamities which are to follow disobedience.
To the early Saints, the Lord spoke rather sharply about remembering the Book of Mormon. "Your minds in times past," he said to them, "have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received-Which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation. And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all. And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them". Prior to this he had already told them that "the Book of Mormon and the holy scriptures are given of me for your instruction". On another occasion he had said, "... the elders, priests and teachers of this church shall teach the principles of my gospel, which are in the Bible and the Book of Mormon".
It is of course obvious that unless we read, study, and learn the principles which are in the Book of Mormon, we, the elders, priests, and teachers of "this church," cannot comply with this direction to teach them.
But there is another reason why we should read it: By doing so we will fill and refresh our minds with a constant flow of that "water" which Jesus said would be in us "... a well of water springing up into everlasting life". We must obtain a continuing supply of this water if we are to resist evil and retain the blessings of being born again, as we were counseled to do by President McKay.
The great over-all struggle in the world today is, as it has always been, for the souls of men. Every soul is personally engaged in the struggle, and he makes the fight with what is in his mind. In the final analysis the battleground is, for each individual, within himself. Inevitably he gravitates towards the subjects of his thoughts. Ages ago the wise man thus succinctly put this great truth: "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he".
If we would escape the lusts of the flesh and build for ourselves and for our children great and noble characters, we must keep in our minds and in their minds true and righteous principles for our thoughts and their thoughts to dwell upon.
We must not permit our minds to become surfeited with the interests, things, and practices of the world about us. To do so is tantamount to adopting and going along with them, for the experience of the race sustains the conclusion of him who said that
"Vice is a monster of so frightful mien, As to be hated needs but to be seen; Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face, We first endure, then pity, and then embrace."
If we would avoid adopting the evils of the world, we must pursue a course which will daily feed our minds with and call them back to the things of the spirit. I know of no better way to do this than by reading the Book of Mormon.
In all dispensations the Lord has counseled his people to keep in their minds and thoughts the truths he has revealed to them. To the early Saints of this dispensation he said: "... let the solemnities of eternity rest upon your minds". This counsel followed his statement to the elders: "... Ye are not sent forth to be taught, but to teach the children of men the things which I have put into your hands by the power of my Spirit; And ye are to be taught from on high".
Instructing ancient Israel not to go after "... the gods of the people which round about" you, he said:
"Hear, O Israel:...
"And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
"And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
"And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
"And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates".
"Search the scriptures", said Jesus to his carping critics, who, being surfeited with the things of this world, rejected him. In the scriptures they could, if they would, learn the truth about him and the things of eternal life which he taught them.
The Psalmist thus recounts the rewards which follow knowing and meditating upon the word of God:
"O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.
"Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies:...
"I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.
"I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.
"I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word.
"I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me.
"How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
"Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.
"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path".
I am persuaded, my brethren and sisters, that it is irrational to hope to escape the lusts of the world without substituting for them as the subjects of our thoughts the things of the spirit, and I know that the things of the spirit are taught with mighty power in the Book of Mormon. I believe with all my heart, for example, that if our young people could come out of our homes thoroughly acquainted with the life of Nephi, imbued with the spirit of his courage and love of truth, they would choose the right when a choice is placed before them.
How marvelous it would be if, when they must make a decision, there would flash into their minds, from long and intimate association with them, the words of Nephi: "I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them".
And if, when the going gets rough and temptation to abandon the course of righteousness presses upon them, they would think of his plea to his wayward brothers: "... let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord for behold he is mightier than all the earth, then why not mightier than Laban and his fifty, yea, or even than his tens of thousands?".
If our young folks are traditioned in the teachings of the Book of Mormon, they will not only be inspired with righteous courage to choose the right by the example of Nephi, the "two thousand sons of Helaman", and other great characters of the book, they will also be so schooled in the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ that they will know what is right.
From almost every page of the book, there will come to them a moving testimony that Jesus is indeed the Christ, the Son of the Living God, our Redeemer and Savior. This witness alone will be a sustaining anchor in every storm. In the Book of Mormon, they will find the plainest explanation of Christ's divine mission and atonement to be found anywhere in sacred writ.
They will be familiar with the great fundamental basic virtues, the Book of Mormon is full of instructions concerning them. They will have learned that "... to be carnally-minded is death, and to be spiritually-minded is life eternal", that the Lord God delights in chastity and virtue which are "... most dear and precious above all things". They will know that a violation of this sacred principle is, in the sight of the Lord, an "... abomination... above all sins save it be the shedding of innocent blood or denying the Holy Ghost".
They will have learned the folly of putting their trust in the learning of men or in the riches of this world. As a matter of fact, there is no fundamental virtue about which they will not be taught, for in the Book of Mormon, as has already been said, is to be found "the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ".
And so, I counsel you, my beloved brothers and sisters and friends everywhere, to make reading in the Book of Mormon a few minutes each day a lifelong practice. All of us need continuing close contact with the Spirit of the Lord. We need to take the Holy Spirit for our guide that we be not deceived. I am persuaded by my own experience and that of my loved ones, as well as by the statement of the Prophet Joseph Smith, that one can get and keep closer to the Lord by reading the Book of Mormon than by reading any other book. Don't be content with what someone else says about what is in it. Drink deeply from the divine fountain itself.
I feel certain that if, in our homes, parents will read from the Book of Mormon prayerfully and regularly, both by themselves and with their children, the spirit of that great book will come to permeate our homes and all who dwell therein. The spirit of reverence will increase, mutual respect and consideration for each other will grow. The spirit of contention will depart. Parents will counsel their children in greater love and wisdom. Children will be more responsive and submissive to that counsel. Righteousness will increase. Faith, hope, and charity-the pure love of Christ-will abound in our homes and lives, bringing in their wake peace, joy, and happiness.
That we will seek these blessings through reading the Book of Mormon, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Amen.
Elder John Longden
John Longden, Conference Report, April 1960, pp. 113-115
"Now behold, a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men.
"Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.
"Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work
"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;
"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.
"Ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Amen".
This is one of my favorite scriptures. I have noted that many of the speakers during this conference have called attention to the revelations of the Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith. This one was received fourteen months before the Church was organized, for it was recorded in February of 1829. What a great declaration to make to the world! Joseph Smith knew there had been spiritual darkness, and it was revealed to him that a marvelous work was to come forth-not a marvelous thing-you will note that the word "work" is used. I am thankful for that word-that four-letter word "work." This is a Church of faith and works.
Reference has been made to another revelation bearing on the subject of the restoration of the gospel, the first section of the Doctrine and Covenants:
"Proclamation of warning and commandment to the Church and to the inhabitants of the earth at large-The authority of the Priesthood in this dispensation attested-Second advent of the Lord Jesus Christ foretold-Authenticity of the Book of Mormon affirmed".
This revelation was given November of 1831 after the Church had been organized and set up, as we learned today from President David O. McKay.
Yes, a marvelous work has taken place, and the authority of the priesthood in this dispensation has been attested. It was humbling to hear Brother Lee speak of the little town in which I was born which is now part of a stake of Zion. I recall being told of the missionaries calling in this town at the home of my parents, sixty-four years ago. Elder Mark Austin was one, willing to leave his home here and the comforts and conveniences to carry this glorious message-this marvelous work-to affirm the authenticity of the Book of Mormon to the people of that land.
There was another missionary who had an influence in the lives of my parents-a Methodist minister, who was their neighbor. He told a group at one time that he was coming over to America to convert the Mormons, and he paid his own expenses to try to do that. He became acquainted with Elder James Paxman, with whom I had the opportunity to be associated on the high council of the Highland Stake. Elder Paxman was the patriarch of that stake. Before coming to Salt Lake City he had lived in Nephi, Utah.
This Methodist minister some way got to Nephi, where he had several gospel conversations with James Paxman and one or two others. He was heard to make the statement, "It will be a cold day when I join the Mormon Church"-and it was! It was a day in January in Nephi, Utah. They had to break the ice to baptize him. Why? Because he had received a witness. He had received the light of the glorious gospel which banished darkness and untruth and half truths. The authenticity of the Book of Mormon had been affirmed to him. Then he was unashamed after he received that affirmation and witness to be baptized and have hands laid upon his head to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. He was unashamed to return to England where he assisted Elder Mark Austin in the conversion-or in teaching the gospel-to my parents that they might convert themselves.
A marvelous work has come forth. In years gone by we have been on the defensive because Satan has done everything in his power to thwart the work of the Lord. We are still on the defensive for he is still endeavoring to weaken the faith and testimony of those whose lives have been touched by the gospel. If we continue working at building faith and testimony, he will not have power over this work. This is evidenced by the number of stakes that have been established in spite of his buffetings-294 stakes, some 2400 wards, over 300 branches, in the stakes of Zion fifty-one missions and the many branches and districts contained therein.
In all parts of the Church we have many men who are anxious and willing to bear witness to this marvelous work, that it is the work of the Lord, not a thing of man. It was deeply stirring to listen to the reports of forty-two mission presidents in the temple a week ago Tuesday-men from all vocations, willing to serve the Lord, to be shepherds, if you please, of your sons and daughters, all of whom are united in the desire to serve God, to thrust in their sickle that the inhabitants of the earth might be warned, the authority of the priesthood attested, and the authenticity of the Book of Mormon affirmed. The faithfulness of these fine men and women who are bringing to pass the fulfillment of latter-day revelation is most heart-warming. I do not underestimate what has been accomplished in the past-in fact, I salute the leaders through the years-since Joseph Smith made his declaration, "a marvelous work is about to come forth," but I recognize too that today there is just as much faith and devotion in the children of God who are willing to serve and to spread these glorious truths and to build up his kingdom.
Just six months ago last Sunday night-the Sunday night of general conference in October-it was our privilege to be invited to Tooele to attend a missionary farewell. It was a rich experience. I learned that a faithful son from out there had been called into the service by Uncle Sam after filling his mission for the Church. He became acquainted with a young man from Kansas who was a staunch Baptist. This young man had an inquiring mind. He was also observant, and he was willing to listen and learn. Several Latter-day Saint servicemen taught him the gospel. He received a conviction of its truth and was baptized. He and this young man from Tooele decided they would send some of their earnings from their Army pay each month back home to a missionary fund, to help support some missionary. After they were released they learned that this money had been untouched, and the idea came to them that this converted Baptist might go into the mission field to share with others the joy that had come into his life, so he accepted a call to serve as a missionary.
I shall always remember the testimony that he bore that night at his farewell. As he looked down into the congregation and saw there many young people with whom he had been affiliated while in the service of his country, some of them now married, one or two with babes in arms, he said, "I am thankful tonight that I had the opportunity of meeting with you and learning of these glorious truths, but more important, I want to testify to you that had you kicked over the traces just once, I would not be here tonight." They had preached the gospel by their actions as well as by their words!
Do we fully appreciate the influence that we have in the lives of others? It surely was called to my attention as I listened to his witness and testimony. We must continually work at being Latter-day Saints.
I bear you my witness that a marvelous work truly has come forth. There is nothing like it in the world. It is the pattern for living. The Lord has given us a safeguard, the authority of the priesthood. We may know of the authenticity of the Book of Mormon if we will but study its contents. We have the power of the Holy Ghost which will guide into further light and truth and knowledge. I humbly pray that we will constantly recognize the importance of this marvelous work and wonder and will ever be found furthering it, teaching it, living it, that others may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven, and his Son, Jesus Christ. I bear witness that they live, that Joseph Smith was and is a Prophet of God, as those who have succeeded him down to President David O. McKay today.
May God bless us with the desire and spirit to do, to accomplish, with an eye single to his glory, I humbly pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.
Elder Milton R. Hunter
Milton R. Hunter, Conference Report, April 1960, pp. 115-118
"If a man die, shall he live again?".
From the beginning of human history, millions and millions of people in all nations of the earth have been confronted with this question. Deep in the heart of every person is the desire to live-not only to live a long time here in mortality, but also to rise from the grave. To have immortality, or to live forever, is an innate desire or belief in the hearts of all mortals.
Religions that have offered great satisfaction to the worshipers are those that have had strong doctrines of the immortality of man. Especially in times of sorrow and bereavements have they been able to offer comfort to those in distress.
Christianity has as its center a real, historical Personage-a Savior-God-in Jesus the Christ, the Only Begotten Son of the Eternal Father. All the pagan rivals of Christianity had mythological savior-gods. According to their myths, some of the pagan gods were not entirely moral. Thus Christianity had a great advantage over all contemporary religions.
Jesus taught, "I am the light and the life of the world", see also John 8:12). "I am the resurrection, and the life". "In him was life; and the life was the light of men".
In him we find life and that eternally; and for this purpose he came into the world.
These marvelous teachings can be illustrated by the example of the death of Lazarus. As you recall, he was the brother of Martha and Mary whom Jesus loved greatly. On a certain occasion, Lazarus became very ill. The sisters sent word to Jesus to come. He procrastinated his coming. Lazarus died and was buried. Four days later Jesus arrived. Martha heard that he was coming and ran out to meet him. She said:
"Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
"Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
"Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day."
And then Jesus made this memorable and marvelous statement:
"... 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?".
Martha answered, "Yea, Lord...." And furthermore she said, "But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee".
Mary arrived about this time with ideas similar to those which had been expressed by Martha.
Jesus asked to be taken to the grave where Lazarus was buried. When they arrived at the grave, the Master told those present to take the stone from the mouth of the cave in which Lazarus' body had been placed. Jesus' spirit groaned deeply within him, and then he prayed in sincerity and humility to his Father. After praying, "he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus come forth". Although Lazarus had been dead for four days, he came from the tomb. This marvelous event gives definite evidence that if a man die, he is not dead-he will live again.
On several occasions during Christ's ministry, he raised the dead, thereby giving additional evidence that man will live again.
On a beautiful Sunday morning, about this time of the year, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, at the break of day Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of the Lord, and other women whom Jesus loved, went to the sepulchre where the Master's body had been laid to anoint his body with spices. They desired to give his body a more proper burial. Upon arriving at the tomb, they found that the huge rock had been rolled away and the door was open. They entered the sepulchre and saw a young man-an angel-sitting there. He was
"... clothed in a long white garment...
"And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here".
They left the sepulchre, hurried back to Jerusalem, and reported the resurrection of Jesus to Peter and John. According to the Gospel of John, these two apostles ran to the tomb, and Mary Magdalene followed. As Peter and John entered the sepulchre, they found it empty. They also found the burial clothing folded neatly. And then the apostles left the sepulchre and returned to Jerusalem.
But Mary Magdalene lingered near the door of the sepulchre weeping bitterly. She felt the presence of somebody near who she thought was the caretaker of the garden. The Personage near said,
"Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou?"
And she said,
"Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, I will take him away".
And then in his affectionate and beautiful way, Jesus said, "Mary." She recognized the voice of the Master. She brushed her tears away and, running towards him, exclaimed, "Rabboni". As she was about to embrace him, the Master 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".
Thus Jesus Christ had come into mortality and had fulfilled the purpose for which he had been ordained. He had shed his blood for the sins of the world both in Gethsemane and on the cross. Now he had broken the bands of death, thereby becoming the first fruits of the resurrection. As He rose from the grave, so shall all people who live upon this earth rise from the grave. In fact, we read in Matthew, that at the time Jesus rose from the grave,
"And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose
"And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many".
Perhaps the Book of Mormon gives the most beautiful account of the appearance of Christ to mortals following his resurrection. A terrific storm for three hours and intense darkness for three days and nights, which occurred while Christ's body was on the cross and in the tomb, were now over. It was a beautiful, sunny day, appropriate for the symbol of Jesus' being the light and the life of the world.
The people in the Land of Bountiful had assembled in front of the temple. They were discussing the various marvelous events which had taken place during the few previous days, especially those things pertaining to Jesus Christ. Suddenly they heard a voice speak as though it came out of the heavens. It was not a harsh voice. Neither was it a loud voice. Nevertheless it pierced them to their very hearts, "causing their hearts to burn within them". At first they did not understand what the voice said.
They gazed heavenward and heard the voice the second time and then the third. This time they understood the voice, 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.
"... 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".
He descended from the heavens, and stood in their midst, and said:
"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".
The people fell upon their knees and worshiped him. And then Jesus said unto them:
"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".
Thus Jesus Christ presented himself to the Nephites as the resurrected Messiah and Savior of the human family.
The people went to Jesus and thrust their hands into his side and felt the prints of the nails in his hands and feet. Then they shouted, "Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God!". And they fell at Jesus' feet and worshiped him.
After this occurred, Jesus selected twelve men to be his apostles. He taught them and the other Nephites the gospel. The resurrected Savior performed many marvelous miracles among them, even greater than he had done among the Jews. For several days he ministered to the inhabitants of ancient America.
On one of these occasions, he asked Nephi to bring to him the records of his people. After he had glanced through the records, he said:
"Verily I say unto you, I commanded my servant Samuel, the Lamanite, that he should testify unto his people, that at the day that the Father should glorify his name in me that there were many saints who should arise from the dead, and should appear unto many, and should minister unto them. And he said unto them: Was it not so?
"And his disciples answered him and said: Yea, Lord, Samuel did prophesy according to thy words, and they were all fulfilled".
Christ admonished the Nephites for neglecting to record these important predictions and their fulfillment. He commanded Nephi that "it should be written; therefore it was written". Perhaps Jesus desired that those important events should be recorded as a testimony for the people in the latter days to help us know that if a man dies, he will live again.
One of the greatest events, if not the most important event that ever occurred in ancient America was the appearance of the resurrected Savior to the inhabitants of this land. The story of the marvelous events connected therewith are beautifully told in Third Nephi.
The Nephites apostatized from the true religion Christ taught them and later as a nation were destroyed, and the Lamanites became a degenerate, pagan, apostate people. Yet from age to age many of the principal ideas relative to Christ and his visit to ancient America persisted.
Following the discovery of America, the Europeans visited various tribes of Indians. From them they learned that practically every tribe had a strong tradition regarding the appearance to their ancestors of the white and bearded God. He had given the progenitors of the American Indians their culture and their religion. So deep was the impression made by Christ upon the minds of the ancient Americans, that their descendants-the various Indian tribes-retained the principal details of the history and teachings of the resurrected Messiah.
The Spanish Catholic fathers found that the religion of the American Indians was so much like Christianity that the claim was made that "the wicked devil had beaten the Catholic fathers to the New World and had put a counterfeit Christian religion in the hearts of the Indians." A study of the religion of the American Indians seems to indicate that in some respects their Christianity was almost as true as that of the European conquerors.
My dear brethren and sisters, "... 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". I know, as Amulek testified, as recorded in Alma, that every man, woman, and child, male and female, bond and free, righteous and the wicked, through the atonement of Jesus Christ-through his grace-will rise from the grave and will receive immortality. I am also convinced that each person will stand before the judgment seat of the Messiah to be judged for the life lived here in mortality. We will be held accountable for every action that we commit, for every word that we speak, and for every thought that we think.
Furthermore, I bear witness that Jesus Christ not only through his atonement gave us immortality, but also through the gospel plan of salvation provided a means whereby we may gain eternal life. If we are faithful in keeping God's commandments, being sufficiently obedient in all things, we shall rise in the resurrection and return to the presence of the Father and the Son and receive a glorious exaltation or eternal life. May God bless us that we may do so, I humbly pray, in Jesus' name. Amen.
Elder Henry D. Taylor
Henry D. Taylor, Conference Report, April 1960, pp. 118-120
My brethren and sisters, I have come to know how it feels to be the last leaf on the tree.
I am grateful for my membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and with these other Brethren, I bear my witness that I know that the gospel is true, and that this Church is led by divine and inspired leadership.
I rejoice in the growth of the Church. As Brother Lee reported on the organization of a stake in England, and we heard from Brother Stapley and Brother Romney of the organization of a stake in Australia, I was reminded of some prophetic words by President McKay. Sometime ago, as President and Sister McKay returned from New Zealand after the dedication of the temple there, many of us met them at the International Airport in Los Angeles. President John M. Russon of Los Angeles Stake and I were walking with President McKay from the plane toward the terminal, when he stopped us and said, "Brethren, next Thursday when the First Presidency and Council of the Twelve meet, I am going to recommend that a stake be organized in New Zealand." He continued, "You know, we live in a jet-age, and with these fast planes it will be possible for the General Authorities to travel swiftly to any part of the world, to visit stakes as they are organized."
Now we have seen those words fulfilled not only in New Zealand but also within the last week in England and Australia.
Rather recently I enjoyed my first experience of traveling on a jet-propelled plane. It was amazing the speed at which we traveled. Less than two hours after leaving Denver, we were in Chicago. Prior to departure we were required to place our luggage on a pair of scales. If the weight was under forty pounds the amount allowed each passenger, a green light flashed. But if the weight exceeded forty pounds, a red light flashed, and a bell rang. The weight exceeding the allowance is considered excess baggage and a penalty or additional charge is levied. When the red light flashes, one begins to consider the unnecessary articles he could have left behind, such as an extra pair of shoes, for example.
The thought occurred to me that this earth life is also a rapid flight or journey. We are traveling toward a desirable destination, that of eternal life and exaltation. Now the Lord has said, "For behold, this is my work and my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man".
Our goal should be to become perfect, even as our Father in heaven is perfect. It would be well in early life to select and make secure the characteristics and traits needed for this journey of life, discarding the ones which are harmful and which might be classed as excess baggage. We can then be sure as we continue our journey, that the green light and not the red one will be flashing.
What are some of the traits which might be regarded as excess baggage on our journey toward perfection? To mention but a few: hate and anger and the holding of grudges, a hot temper and a quick tongue, envy, jealousy, and greed, a critical attitude resulting in faultfinding, backbiting, and judging harshly. All these are excess baggage and we shall have to pay dearly for them.
In contrast there are certain basic, essential characteristics or traits which are very desirable. They constitute legitimate or necessary baggage on our life's journey. One is love, love for our Father in heaven love for fellow men and neighbors. The Savior taught, "But I say unto you, 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".
Someone has said, "Be kind to your enemies, for you are the one who made them."
One of the most beautiful stories of love, loyalty, and devotion, related in the scriptures is that of Ruth. It seems that there was a famine in the land of Bethlehem. A certain man took his wife, Naomi and their two sons and journeyed to the land of Moab. The husband became ill and passed away, leaving his widow and the two boys. Subsequently the two sons married Moab girls, but within ten years' time, both of the sons also died. Naomi felt impressed that she should return to her homeland in Bethlehem. Her two daughters-in-law expressed a desire to accompany her. But Naomi encouraged them to return to their former homes, friends, and loved ones. One left, but the other, whose name was Ruth, overcame Naomi's objections, when she uttered these tender and memorable words: "Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:
"Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me and more also, if ought but death part thee and me".
Self-control is a very valuable asset to possess on life's journey. The ability to control one's temper, one's tongue, one's thoughts is highly commendable. As pointed out in Proverbs:
"He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city".
Another excellent quality is a forgiving nature and disposition. The Lord has admonished us to be ever ready and willing to forgive our fellow man. In these latter days he has counseled:
"Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin.
"I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men".
One of the virtues possessed by the Savior so perfectly that we should strive to perfect in ourselves, is that of tolerance, that is, a willingness to be long-suffering, patient, to appreciate another's point of view. Let us be strict and critical with ourselves, but lenient and tolerant with others.
With the passing of each day we travel along our journey, some improvement should be found in our lives. As a woman testified in a prayer meeting, "I ain't what I ought to be; and I ain't what I'm gonna be; but anyway, I ain't what I was."
The Savior set us the example. We should earnestly strive to pattern our lives after his. If we do this, we will discard those qualities that constitute excess baggage. We will carry with us only those characteristics that are essential and that will permit us to continue our journey unencumbered.
The poet Henry Van Dyke has given us these words of counsel regarding our way of living:
"To be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play, and look up at the stars; to be satisfied with your possessions, but not contented with yourself until you have made the best of them; to despise nothing in the world except falsehood and meanness and to fear nothing except cowardice; to be governed by your admirations rather than by your disgusts; to covet nothing that is your neighbor's except his kindness of heart and gentleness of manners; to think seldom of your enemies, often of your friends, and every day of Christ; and spend as much time as you can with body and with spirit in God's out-of-doors. These are little guide posts on the footpath of peace."
May we all live so that our life's journey may be pleasant and we can obtain the peace of God which passeth all understanding, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1960, pp. 120-122
The Brigham Young University Combined Choruses have furnished the music for this session and this morning's session. We wish to express our appreciation to these young men and women of Brigham Young University. We know that they have spent many hours in practice in the weeks that have gone by so that we could enjoy their inspirational singing. We thank you young folks for the efforts you have put forth. We are grateful for the inspiration that you have given this conference, including all who have been listening in to this program. We are proud of you! We have reason to be proud of all our young people with a few exceptions.
I have frequently said, and I repeat, we have confidence in our young folks. It is our duty as adults and their parents to set them a proper example in the home and in society. It is our responsibility to impress our children with our sincerity in our belief in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Never should parents teach one thing about the gospel and do another. Children are very susceptible to insincerity.
Yes, we thank you young folk for the effort you have put forth. May our Heavenly Father protect you as you go back to your homes, and may he ever bless you for the unselfish service you have rendered. We shall cherish the memory of your inspirational singing that you have given us this day.
I should like to express, also, our appreciation to the approximately 2,000 singers from Utah, California, and Oregon who have presented special music for this general conference-two thousand singers who have furnished music for the Primary conference sessions, for the priesthood meeting, and Sunday School conference! Freely have they given of their time and talents to help make this conference a success. Many of them traveled at their own expense. Let me just repeat the groups:
Saturday night in this tabernacle, we had the Portland Stake priesthood chorus at the priesthood meeting, under the direction of Elder Bruce Kelly. Fifty-three thousand members of the priesthood heard their inspirational singing Saturday night over a closed circuit in 244 buildings throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
On Sunday, we had the Tabernacle Choir at the Sunday sessions, under the direction of Elder Richard P. Condie. You remember that inspiring day.
On Monday, the Mormon Choir of Southern California sang at the two sessions under the direction of Elder H. Frederick Davis.
Monday night, in the Tabernacle, we had the Salt Lake Valley Regional Mission Choir, at the missionary meeting. This small chorus under the direction of Elder Rudy Mueller, sang hymns in the different tongues.
Today, the Brigham Young University Combined Choruses, under the direction of Dr. Newell B. Weight and Don L. Earl furnished the singing. We are the recipients of inspiration and blessing from these various groups. While we thank the members from Brigham Young University, we are not unmindful of all the others.
I wish also to express appreciation and gratitude to all who have in any way contributed to the success of this great conference. First, to the General Authorities we express deep appreciation for the inspirational messages they have given us. The latest conference is always said to be the best, but really this has been the best conference I think we have ever held.
I should like to express appreciation to the public press and the reporters for their fair and accurate reports throughout the sessions of the conference.
Third, in your behalf, I express appreciation for the co-operation of the city officials; the city traffic officers especially, in their expert handling of the increased traffic; to the fire department, on hand for any emergency; to the Red Cross members, whom you see around, ready to take care of anybody who might suddenly be taken ill.
I have mentioned already our ushers who have rendered service in seating the great audiences of these conference sessions.
We must not forget to thank the radio and television stations. Throughout our own city and the nation they have carried the sessions of this conference, and have been the means of permitting untold thousands of people to hear the conference proceedings-the most extensive television and radio coverage ever given the Church.
Again we express appreciation for the lovely flowers that have beautified this building during our assemblies-scores of members of the Church have spent many hours in picking these flowers and in getting them ready for shipment to Salt Lake City. Ten thousand sweet peas were gathered under the direction of David M. Hansen of Mesa, Arizona, with the aid of the youth of the Mesa seminaries. Members of the Church in the Phoenix stakes sent a quantity of stocks. The Southern States Mission sent some thirty dozen gladioli. The Oakland-Berkeley Stake sent calla lilies and the Tacoma Stake sent fifty dozen daffodils, through the kindness and generosity of Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival, Inc., Tacoma, Washington.
One day, two men were walking near Emmaus, a town not far from Jerusalem, and a man suddenly appeared by their side. They did not recognize him. After he left them, they said, "Did not our heart burn within us?". Luke tells us about that incident, after he had inquired of many people who had had some intimacy with Jesus.
I think that there are many in this congregation, and I hope many who have been listening over radio and television who have had their hearts "burn within them" as they have listened not only to the inspirational singing, but to the sublime testimonies, and I hope as their hearts have burned within them, that they realized the message that went into their hearts. I hope they have an inkling, at least, of the divine truth that they are sons of God, and that that burning within them was just a touch of harmony between them and the infinite, the Spirit of God which will enlighten our minds, quicken our understandings, and bring all things to our remembrance.
If we were just animals, we should never have a feeling of that kind. That is evidence that man has a greater destiny than just a mere animal life. That is a touch of the spirit! Every man who has sensed that has a testimony himself and every woman also has a testimony herself, that man is a dual being. He has a body, just as all other animals have. But he has something that comes only from his Father in heaven, and he is entitled, is susceptible to whisperings, susceptible to influences from his Divine Parent, through the Holy Ghost, the medium between us and God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ.
This has been in a remarkable manner, an outstanding spiritual conference. I should like to say a word about that; it came to me last evening: The highest acquisition of the soul we have experienced-the spiritual, the divine in man; the supreme crowning gift that makes him king of all created beings. Spirituality is the consciousness of victory over self, the consciousness of being above the passions, whether in anger or jealousy or envy, or hatred. To feel that you can be above those animal-like feelings, is to experience spirituality, and every man and woman whose heart burned when he or she heard the testimony of these brethren, experienced that spirituality.
It is the realization of communion with Deity. No higher attainment can be reached than that.
Remember what Paul said? "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
"For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
"Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness.
"... hatred, variance, emulations wrath, strife... heresies,
"Envyings... drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
"Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
"And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit".
We have had testimonies during this conference, the testimony of the Spirit, that we are children of our Father. We have had testimony that God is a living Being. We have had testimony that Christ is at the head of his Church. Have you not felt that testimony? We have had testimony of the Spirit that he has revealed in this dispensation the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Prophet Joseph Smith. Have you not felt that, too, this conference? We have never held a greater conference.
I bear you that testimony that I know whereof I speak; that we must live in the spirit and get power thereby to overcome the lusts of the flesh as enumerated here by a man who knew. And you know, and the happier you will be if you live above the flesh. Conquer the animal within you when you are tempted to scold or find fault with your wife or with your husband. Control your tempers if prompted to deal unjustly with a wayward child. Young men and young women, conquer your own desires and obey your parents. Do not think that they are old-fashioned. They are more experienced than you. Love them, be kind to them.
God bless those who have given the messages of this conference. They have risen to heights sublime.
May he bless us all that we may go home with a firmer resolve than we have ever had before to live the gospel of Jesus Christ; to be kind to our neighbors, honest in our dealings, so that men seeing our good works may be led to glorify our Father which is in heaven, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report October 1960, pp. 4-8
That is glorious. I am sure you will agree with me that the singing of these beautiful women, our mothers, bears evidence of the truth of the Lord's saying, "The song of the righteous is a prayer unto me". God bless them!
"But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.
"Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
"Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
"Jesus said unto him, Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
"This is the first and great commandment.
"And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
"On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets".
I am glad that text is in keeping with the plea made by Brother Lewis at the opening of the session in his invocation, and that that spirit of faith in God and love for one's fellows dominates this session.
Many who deny his divinity declare him to be the one perfect character, the peerless personality of history. Millions accept him as the Great Teacher, whose teachings, however, are not applicable to modern social conditions. A few accept him for what he really is-Only Begotten of the Father"; who came into the world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the world and to bear the sins of the world.
Last Monday morning, October third, the Premier of Soviet Russia threatened that if the United Nations does not reorganize as he demands, the communist bloc will "rely on their own strength to block us." He also threatened to ignore the United Nation's peace-making machinery unless the Secretary General of the United Nations resign, and his position, that is, the Secretary's position, be replaced by a communist-styled, three-man presidium armed with veto powers.
Who is this man who presumes to tell the United Nations what to do? He is a man who rejects the divinity of Jesus Christ and denies the existence of God, who is imbued with the false philosophy of Karl Marx, whose aim in life was "to dethrone God and destroy capitalism." He is a follower of Lenin, who said, "I want children to hate their parents who are not communists." The followers of these men, to gain their ends, "resort to all sorts of stratagems, maneuvers, illegal methods, evasions, and subterfuges." This atheistic attitude, and the advice to hate others, even one's own family, is just the opposite of the spirit of love as manifest and taught by the Savior. In sessions in another part of the United States are men who believe as I have indicated and who are willing to resort to any subterfuge, any scheme, that will further their ends to dethrone God. We appeal to God, who exists and lives, and with whom we are in harmony this morning-we have met in the name of his Beloved Son.
About fifty years ago, Lord Balfour, Prime Minister of Great Britain, delivered a lecture in the McEwen Hall of the University of Edinburgh, upon the subject, "The Moral Value which Unites the Nations,"-the moral values. In an interesting and convincing manner, the gentleman presented the fundamental ties that unite the different nations of the world: First, common knowledge; second, common commercial interests; third, the intercourse of diplomatic relationships; fourth, the bonds of human friendships.
The audience greeted his masterful address with a great outburst of applause. As the presiding officer arose to express his appreciation and that of the audience, a Japanese student who was doing graduate work at the university stood up, and leaning over the balcony said, "But Mr. Balfour, what about Jesus Christ?"
Mr. Robin E. Spear, to whom Professor Lang related this incident, writes as follows: "One could have heard a pin drop in the hall. Everyone felt at once the justice of the rebuke. The leading statesman of the greatest Christian empire in the world had been dealing with the different ties that are to unite mankind and had omitted the one fundamental and essential bond. And everyone felt, too, the dramatic element in the situation-that the reminder of his forgetfulness had come from a Japanese student from a faraway, non-Christian land."
Nearly two thousand years ago, Christ's chief apostle on one occasion, when he was arraigned before the Jews for having healed an impotent man, made the following declaration:
"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.
"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".
That was a most dramatic occasion, and it took strength and fearlessness to make that statement to those men, some of whom had participated in Christ's crucifixion. Peter, on that occasion, bore a strong testimony to those people. These officers warned Peter and John not to preach Jesus Christ and him crucified, but they heard Peter and John answer as I have read, and they saw the impotent man standing before them healed. They counseled among themselves what to do. Returning, they cautioned Peter and John not to preach Jesus Christ, but Peter, as spokesman under the inspiration of the Lord, answered:
"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".
The knowledge that Jesus is truly the Son of the Living God had been declared by Peter in the presence of his Master on an occasion when Jesus and his apostles were at Caesarea Philippi, when Christ had asked his disciples,
"... 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.
" saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?"
"And Simon Peter,, 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".
Comparatively speaking, only a small group of men and women knew him as he really is-the Son of God, the Redeemer of mankind. This testimony has been revealed to every sincere man and woman who has conformed to the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who has obeyed the ordinances and become entitled to and has received the Spirit of God and that of the Holy Ghost. Every individual stands independent in his sphere in that testimony, just as these thousands or incandescent lamps which make Salt Lake City so brilliant at night, each one of which stands and shines in its own sphere, yet the light in it is produced by the same power, the same energy from which all the other lights receive their energy. So each individual in the Church stands independently in his sphere, independently in the knowledge that God lives, that the Savior is the Redeemer of the world, and that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored through Joseph Smith the Prophet.
"To some it is given," says the Lord in the Doctrine and Covenants, "by the Holy Ghost to know that Jesus is the Son of God, and that he was crucified for the sins of the world".
It is to these I refer who stand firm upon the rock of revelation in the testimony that they bear to the world. But the Lord says further that there are those to whom it is given to believe upon the testimony of the words of others. Note that. They believe upon the words of others that they may also receive salvation if they continue faithful. For all these, however, there comes a testimony also of daily experience. The members of the Church throughout the world find confirmation of their testimony in every performance of duty. They know that the gospel teaches them to be better individuals, that obedience to the principles of the gospel makes them stronger men and truer women. Every day such knowledge comes to them, and they cannot gainsay it. They know that obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ makes them happier, better, and truer husbands, true and honored wives, obedient children. They know that obedience to the principles of the gospel makes them in every respect ideal home builders. The ideal is there. They sense it in their minds. They cannot gainsay it. They know it, and they know that transgression of these principles will have the opposite effect upon their individual lives and upon their home lives. They know that obedience to the gospel fosters true brotherhood and fellowship among mankind. They know that they are better citizens by virtue of obedience to the laws and ordinances So, as they go through their daily activities and apply religion in their weekly vocations, the truth of the gospel becomes exemplified in their lives, thus with a testimony of the Spirit, the testimony of reason, and the testimony of daily experience, members of the Church throughout the world stand impregnable.
I have always been strongly impressed with a statement by Thomas Nixon Carver in his book, The Religion Worth Having, wherein he says:
"The church that can say to the un-churched, 'Our way 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; it is a body of people dominated by ideas of productivity, which is mutual service. We do not strive for the things that satisfy but for the moment and then leave a bad taste; we strive for the things which build us up and enable us and our children to become strong, to flourish, and to conquer. We strive to make ourselves worthy to receive the world by fitting ourselves to use the world more productively than others. 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 a most complete and exact knowledge of that will, in order that we may conform ourselves to it. We believe that a reverence for God is respect for these laws; that meekness is teachableness and willingness to learn by observation and experience. By practicing this kind of meekness or teachableness we believe that we shall inherit the earth, whereas the unmeek, the unteachable, who are dominated by pride of tradition, shall not. We offer you hard work, frugal fare, severe discipline, but a share in the conquest of the world for the religion of the productive life.' Such a church," he continues, "is rounded upon the rock of economic efficiency and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
My testimony, as yours, is that this Church of Jesus Christ can offer to the world all the good things which this author is looking for, and more, because God has revealed more in the government and conduct of his Church.
Brethren and sisters, the testimony of the gospel is an anchor to the soul in the midst of confusion and strife. Knowledge of God and his laws means stability, means contentment, means peace, and with that a heart full of love reaching out to our fellow men, offering the same blessings, the same privileges. Love will beget tolerance and kindness.
Now I suggest that during the next month or so, when our towns and cities and states will be more or less stirred by political contention, that we restrain our tempers, control our tongues, and try to manifest charity and love for one another. Let us not besmear our brother's reputation. I mean that while we are urging our particular political belief, that we avoid dealing in personalities. We cannot afford to hurt our brother's feelings and wound him.
Leaders in the Church, in fact all members thereof, are striving to establish the kingdom of God. Let us hold to that fact as the anchor of our soul and then breathe forth charity and love to those who may not see just as we do.
"Oh, brother Man! fold to thy heart thy brother, Where pity dwells, the peace of God is there; To worship rightly is to love each other, Each smile a hymn, each kindly deed a prayer.
"Follow with reverent steps the great example Of Him whose holy work was 'doing good'; So shall the wide earth seem our Father's temple, Each loving life a psalm of gratitude.
"Then shall all shackles fall; the stormy clangor Of wild war music o'er the earth shall cease; Love shall tread out the baleful fire of anger, And in its ashes plant the tree of peace!"
In conclusion, let us stand with our hearts centered and our aims firmly fixed upon this eternal truth-that the gospel of Jesus Christ is among men for the redemption and salvation of the human family. Let us go forth in that spirit and deal with our fellow men in the spirit of love and kindness. Let us work in our councils, in our quorums, guided by that same spirit.
God grant that we may remain true to the Church, that we may ever be found defending the men whom God has called to guide us, and realize that harmony with them means that we are in harmony with God, for he sustains them. I pray for this blessing for all of us throughout the entire world, and that each member may carry the responsibility of his membership in the Church preparatory to the establishment of the kingdom of God, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Henry D. Taylor
Henry D. Taylor, Conference Report October 1960, pp. 8-10
My dear brethren and sisters, after listening to President McKay's inspiring message, I feel that all of us, from the bottom of our hearts, can say, "We thank thee, Heavenly Father, for a prophet to guide us in these latter days."
While World War I was raging in Europe, there were certain individuals here at home who would sit back in their easy armchairs, surround themselves with maps, and follow the progress of battle by reading the newspapers. They were extremely critical of the generals and those who were directing the campaigns and were very eager and vocal in outlining the strategy they would employ if in similar positions of leadership. These individuals were referred to as "armchair generals."
Prior to demolition of old buildings or the construction of new buildings, a solid fence is built to protect passersby. It has become a practice to bore holes in the fence or to instal glass portholes. From these observation points many pause and watch with interest the demolition or construction activities. There are those among the viewers who would improve the way the job is run. Some would knock a building down immediately, while others would have it done bit by bit. Then there are those who would make changes in the architectural design of the building. Others are critical of the manner in which the cement is poured, the bricks are laid, and the glass is installed. These persons are known as "sidewalk superintendents."
Then there is another group belonging to this category. While riding in a car they are continually offering suggestions to the driver as to how the car should be operated, the speed that should be traveled, when to turn, and the signals to be employed. These are the "back seat drivers."
The Church becomes an object of criticism from just such "experts." They are dissatisfied with the manner in which the superintendent manages the Sunday School. They find fault with the way the bishop conducts the affairs of the ward. The stake president does not please them, and they criticize his administration. They are unhappy with the way the tithing is disbursed. These are the persons who find no fault with their own actions, but seem willing and anxious to confess another person's sins.
The Savior was chastising such groups as these when he said: "And why beholdest thou the mote that is within thy brother's eye, but considereth not the beam that is within thine own eye?... Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to east out the mote out of thy brother's eye".
I believe that is the same thought that the poet Burns desired to express when he penned the lines:
"O wad some Power the giftie gie us To see oursels as ithers see us!"
I assure you that I am not against criticism, if it is the right kind. Constructive criticism can be good and helpful. Destructive criticism can be bad and harmful. Many years ago my mission president gave this sound advice: "If criticism is just and given kindly, accept it and give thanks for it. If it is just and given unkindly, accept it. But if it is unjust and given unkindly, pay no heed to it."
A critical attitude and faultfinding with the Church, if persisted in, can easily lead to apostasy. A good motto to adopt and follow is, "If you can't improve on silence, say nothing." It is my deep and firm conviction that the Lord set up his Church in these latter days and has selected prophets to lead the Saints. There is but one on earth at a time called to exercise the keys of the Holy Priesthood. He may delegate to others the power and authority to act for him in such capacity as he will, but he alone holds the keys for such actions. Today that person is President David O. McKay.
Associated with him in the First Presidency are two other wise and good men. Together they constitute the "three great Presiding High Priests". President Joseph F. Smith made this plain in a talk from this pulpit near the turn of the century, when he declared: "God has established all things in their order. The house of God is a house of order, and not a house of confusion. In this house God himself is the Supreme Head, and he must be obeyed. Christ is in the image and likeness of his Being, his Only Begotten Son, and he stands as our Savior and our God... Next unto God and Christ, on the earth is placed one unto whom the keys and authority of the Holy Priesthood are conferred, and to whom the right of Presidency is given. He is God's mouthpiece to his people in all things pertaining to the building up of Zion, and to the spiritual and temporal salvation of the Saints...
Those who have entered into covenant to keep the commandments of the Lord must hearken unto the voice of him who is placed to preside over them; and secondarily, to those who are called to act with him as his counselors in the Holy Priesthood. It takes this Council of three to constitute the presiding and governing authority of the Priesthood in the earth."
These brethren, together with the Quorum of the Twelve and others of our Church leaders, are blessed with vision and foresight far beyond normal powers and ability. The Lord has designed that they should sit in the "driver's seat," to use our figure of speech, and direct the affairs of the Church. From their vantage point they can clearly see the road ahead, which way to turn, how to avoid the rocks and the chuckholes, much better than those of us sitting in the back seat. It is our duty, responsibility, and privilege to uphold and sustain them with our words, our actions, and our prayers.
How best can we do this? By magnifying them in the eyes of our families, our friends, associates, neighbors, and even strangers, and allowing no evil speaking of the Lord's chosen leaders. We can substitute support for complaint, commendation and praise for adverse criticism. We can pray for them in public and in private and in our family prayers, teaching our children to pray for them.
It is my sincere desire that each of us will become "lifters" instead of "leaners"; that we will share in the responsibility of building up the kingdom of God here upon the earth, and not shift it all to the shoulders of our leaders. We shall then never become "armchair generals," "sidewalk superintendents," or "backseat drivers," but rather "doers of the word and not hearers only".
If we will follow the counsel and leadership of our President and Prophet, we shall then become eligible for all of the blessings promised by the Lord 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". To which I testify in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Marion D. Hanks
Marion D. Hanks, Conference Report October 1960, pp. 10-13
My dear brothers and sisters, I am deeply grateful this morning that I can identify in myself at least one virtue commonly associated with those who shall inherit the kingdom. I love to hear the angels sing. Thank God for wonderful Latter-day Saint mothers, for music, for harmony, for service, for leadership. I rejoice that the spirit of personal conviction invoked upon us by President Lewis, spoken of by the President of the Church, prayed for earnestly by each of us in our own closets, may be enjoyed by the least of us, as well as by those who are greatest among us. I pray for that spirit as I express my personal witness this morning.
While the people of Israel were on the plains of Moab, in the last part of the fortieth year of the Exodus, shortly before Moses was taken from them and Joshua led them over Jordan to their promised land, Moses delivered a series of marvelous discourses to the people. He reviewed the experiences and events of the past forty years and admonished and exhorted Israel to obey and appreciate and keep faith with God, who had preserved them as a people through their wanderings in the wilderness from Sinai to Jordan. He reminded them of the magnificence of their blessings at Sinai, repeated for them the Ten Commandments, and said to them:
"And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, that ye came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders;
"And ye said, Behold, the Lord our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth".
After bearing this great testimony, the people pledged themselves to obedience and to loyalty. They said to Moses: "Go thou near, and hear all that the Lord our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it."
Moses gave moving response: "And the Lord heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the Lord said unto me I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken.
"O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever?".
The scripture teaches us that on that occasion Moses "stood between the Lord" and the people to show them "the word of the Lord". So President McKay has this day stood between us and the Lord to show us His word. Our hearts have responded. Surely many of us have covenanted anew, as did Israel of old: "Go thou near, and hear all that the Lord our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that he shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it". And as we so affirm our faith and sustain our prophet, is there an echo in your heart as there is in mine of the voice of the Lord to Israel?
"O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!".
The Lord wants more from us than these moving expressions of conviction and covenant. He wants more than expressions of gratitude and testimony and commitment. He wants us to fear him, to love him, to keep all his commandments always. He wants our hearts.
In the 64th section of the Doctrine and Covenants is recorded: "... I, the Lord require the hearts of the children of men". His promise to those who give him their hearts is certainly the same as it was to ancient Israel-that we may expect his blessings to be with us always, and with our children.
What a marvelous promise! What a magnificent and moving covenant God has made with us-worth everything-worth our love, our obedience, our faith; worth our hearts.
What really happens when Israel gives God its heart? What happens when men honor their heritage and divine possibilities, love him and obey his commandments? There were certain humble Nephites not many decades before the advent of Christ who met this test, who, in the midst of affliction and persecution, followed a course and achieved the objective. I read from Helaman, the third chapter, these moving words: "... 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".
King Benjamin, in concluding his magnificent sermon, pursued the course God has set out for his prophets. He instructed, he enjoined, he reaffirmed, he testified, and he promised. He said to the people: "... humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come..." and "if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true.
"And ye will not have a mind to injure one another, but to live peaceably, and to render to every man according to that which is his due".
Remember God's promise to Israel? Note this: "And ye will not suffer your children that they go hungry, or naked; neither will ye suffer that they transgress the laws of God, and fight and quarrel one with another, and serve the devil, who is the master of sin...
"But ye will teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness; ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another".
So have come the marvelous blessings and promises of God. In 1833, in Kirtland, after a great outpouring of the Spirit at a conference held there, the Lord gave to Joseph Smith a revelation we now know as section 90. In it he gave some further counsel relevant to our theme, and a marvelous promise. He said: "Search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good, if ye walk uprightly and remember the covenant wherewith ye have covenanted one with another".
Although one does not read in any one verse of scripture all that he needs to know, and although there is no simple formula of faith that is any one verse to the exclusion of all else, for God has given us much of his revelation, yet in this verse and in these others which reflect the promises of God, there seems to me to be the kernel of the conduct God expects of us if we are to achieve the magnificent promise he made to us. "Search diligently, pray always, be believing, walk uprightly, remember your covenants."
Now I am not one to judge my brethren of the priesthood lightly. I know to the extent my intelligence permits of the faith in you and the devotion in you and of the wonderful service you give. I therefore speak from the standpoint of appreciation when I say that there are many among us who have not invested enough of themselves in the diligent search God requires of those who know his word and therefore, living it, achieve his marvelous promises. We must search, seek, ask, knock.
Do you remember the word of the Lord recorded in the first section of the Doctrine and Covenants? He said in this marvelous preface, looking to the foundation principles of the gospel: "Search these commandments, for they are true and faithful, and the prophecies and promises which are in them shall all be fulfilled".
Nephi, explaining to his people why he quoted so freely from the great prophet Isaiah, said to them that he quoted Isaiah to "... more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer..." and said "... for I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning." Again, he told them to hear the words of the prophet, and "liken them unto yourselves". Surely this is one of the greatest values of scripture-that we might learn them and liken them unto ourselves, apply the lessons and instructions of the revelations to our own lives. How can we do so unless we search, seek, ask, knock, invest ourselves earnestly, diligently in the effort to acquire and organize and share a knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ?
The Lord said we must "pray always." His promises are wonderful. He has told us that we may receive the Spirit by the prayer of faith; that we must "pray continually" that we will not be tempted beyond what we can bear; that we must "counsel with the Lord" in all our doings, night and day; that we must "not perform anything unto the Lord" without praying to the Father in the name of Christ. His marvelous promise is that "he will direct us for good."
We are taught that we must "be believing," for all things are possible to him who can believe. I talked with a group of young people about the Book of Mormon last night and quoted to them words of the great Goethe, who said: "I can promise to be sincere, but not impartial." I am not impartial toward the Book of Mormon. We cannot be impartial toward the gospel and the Lord. If we are to get faith, we must desire faith and seek faith. We must start with an attitude of desiring faith. We must "be believing."
This also the Lord said: we must "walk uprightly". Benjamin, near the end of his great sermon, bore his testimony to the people, reaffirmed the need for faith, repentance, humility, and sincere prayer, and added: "... and now, if you believe all these things see that ye do them". As Nephi bore his witness to the people near the end of his ministry, he delivered a great sermon on the first principles of the gospel, and said: "... after ye have gotten into this straight and narrow path... ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of men... and endure to the end". Amulek testified of Christ, taught the first principles, admonished the people to pray, and then said: "... after ye have done all these things, if ye turn away the needy, and the naked, and visit not the sick and afflicted... behold, your prayer is vain, and availeth you nothing".
We must "walk uprightly." Within the last few days I was in a meeting in an eastern city talking with a group of people about youth leadership. During the discussion one of the professional employees of the Department of Agriculture whose civil service rating is not dependent upon who is Secretary of Agriculture said: "We don't need to interpret human fitness to our department. We don't have to talk about it a lot. We have a man who reflects it impressively in his own life, as Secretary of the department."
This same group heard our story of the programs of the Church, of the principles upon which those programs are based, and of those who lead the programs. One said: "Yes, but your situation is not like ours. Out there you have thousands of leaders." Another person, the directing head of one of the great youth programs in our land, said: "We really can't talk about Utah in the same context with the rest of us. There is an influence in Utah not like any place else on the earth." We know what the influence is of which she spoke. It is found not only in Utah but in every place where faithful members of the Church live the gospel and exemplify its principles.
With all our protestations, sincere and honorable, with all our expressions of conviction and faith and testimony, there is required of us that we develop in us the heart that will move us to obey all of God's commandments always, with the promise that things will be well with us and with our children always.
The last suggestion of the Lord in the verse quoted from the revelation to the Prophet was that we remember our covenants. We have covenanted in sacred places-at the waters of baptism, in holy houses, as we partake of the Sacrament-not alone with God but each other. Consider again the moving charge that Alma gave the people at the waters of Mormon, that they were to "... bear one another's burdens... mourn with those that mourn... comfort those that stand in need of comfort... and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things and in all places... even unto death".
God help us, we who have been blessed with so much, to yield our hearts to him, for while men look at the outward appearance, "God looketh upon the heart". That we may claim his promises by obeying his commandments, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Harold B. Lee
Harold B. Lee, Conference Report October 1960, pp. 14-18
In these next few moments I trust that I may, in the testimony which I shall bear, catch the spirit of this conference and the radiance of that which has been reflected by our great leader, the prophet of the Living God.
One of the gospel writers concludes his record with this significant statement made by Jesus: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature...
"So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
"And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following".
By now, apparently, they were beginning to understand what the Lord had said to them on another occasion: "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". He had demonstrated to some extent some of the powers of the Risen Lord. What they became because of this divine gift which had been given to them is described by Dr. John Lawrence Mosheim in his Outlines of Ecclesiastical History, and I shall read only a few sentences which show evidences of a divine power in the acts of the early disciples which attested to what the Master had told them, that he would be with them, "even to the end of the world."
Says Dr. Mosheim:
"For no sooner had the apostles received this precious gift, this celestial guide, than their ignorance was turned into light, their doubts into certainty, their fears into a firm and invincible fortitude, and their former backwardness into an ardent and inextinguishable zeal, which led them to undertake their sacred office with the utmost intrepidity and alacrity of mind. This marvelous event was attended with a variety of gifts... And indeed there were undoubted marks of a celestial power perpetually attending their ministry. There was, in their very language, an incredible energy, an amazing power of sending light into the understanding, and conviction into the heart. To this were added the commanding influence of stupendous miracles, the foretelling of future events, the power of discerning the secret thoughts and intentions of the heart... and all this accompanied with lives free from all stain, and adorned with the constant practice of sublime virtue. Thus were the messengers of the divine Savior, the heralds of his spiritual and immortal kingdom, furnished for their glorious work, as the unanimous voice of ancient history so loudly testifies."
Now I want you to hold this last statement of Dr. Mosheim's in your mind:
"The event sufficiently declares this: for without these remarkable and extraordinary circumstances, no rational account can be given of the rapid propagation of the gospel throughout the world".
The process by which leaders become spiritual as those disciples were is set forth in a very simple admonition of the Master. The Savior called fishermen, and he called tax-collectors and others in various occupations to constitute his chosen twelve. He gave to each of them the same simple promise:
"Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men," or as another writer puts it, "I will make you to become fishers of men".
To "come after him" is but another way of saying, "Keep my commandments," for thus he had explained it when he said to the Nephites: "Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be?" And then he answered his own question, "Verily I say unto you, even as I am".
To become "fishers of men" is just another way of saying "become leaders of men." So in today's language we would say to those who are so to teach:
"If you will keep my commandments, I will make you leaders among men." Those who are outsiders and enemies of the Church observed these unusual gifts given to these early disciples. You remember the Jews marveled at the Master's demonstration of his power, and they asked: "How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?" To which the Master humbly replied, "My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me".
And to Peter, the Master replied after Peter had borne his testimony as to the divinity of the Master, as President McKay has quoted, "Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven". When Peter and John had performed marvelous deeds, those who were around about marveled because they "perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men".
There seems to have been a constant vigil lest those who enjoyed these special God-given gifts would arrogate to themselves personal superior talents, when in reality these spiritual endowments were but outward evidences of divine gifts given among men who are called to serve in high places in the kingdom of God.
Peter chided those, you remember, after he had performed the healing upon the man who was lame from his birth, when he said:
"Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?
"The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus: whom ye delivered up...
"And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all".
Recall again Peter's rebuke to Simon, the sorcerer, who wanted to buy the gifts of the Holy Ghost which he saw demonstrated through Peter:
"But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.
"Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.
"Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee".
John was taught in plainness how he must learn to distinguish between the person who demonstrates spiritual gifts and the giver of those heavenly gifts, even God. When a messenger came to him he fell down at the feet of this messenger as though to worship him, and the messenger said:
"See thou do it not: I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that have a testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy".
And Moses learned that same lesson after he had received the wonderful visitation from the Lord who had appeared in his glory as contrasted with the visit from and the appearance of Satan. In humility he said thoughtfully, as he pondered this great experience: "Now for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed".
In our day, we have been told some similar things about the power of the Lord among his peoples. In the very first revelation, or the preface to the revelations, the Lord said: "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.
"And also the Lord shall have power over his saints, and shall reign in their midst, and shall come down in judgment upon Idumea, or the world".
One of the ways by which "he comes down among his people" is clearly explained in the revelation in which he defines certain gifts of the Spirit. He enumerates some of the gifts of the Spirit which men might enjoy: knowledge, and faith, and discernment, and the gift of tongues, and the testimony of knowledge that Jesus is the Son of God, and then he says this:
"... unto such as God shall appoint and ordain to watch over the church... are to have it given unto them to discern all those gifts".
Previously he had said: "... given for the benefit of those who love me and keep all my commandments".
In our day he sounded a warning just as these other leaders have sounded a warning, when he said to those to whom these gifts are committed:
"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".
Some of the older brethren who remember the days of President Joseph F. Smith have told me that frequently when President Smith was introduced as the "head of the Church," he was always quick to reply, "Oh, no. I'm but the President of the Church. Jesus Christ is its head."
That is something for us to remember. When we receive the adulation of faithful people, we must never forget that such commendations come, not because of our person, but because of the positions we hold. In conference meeting with the mission presidents we heard this repeated with variation and, as applied to the Church, it might be said thus: "There is no end to the amount of good we can do in this Church if we are not concerned about who gets the credit for it."
It was possibly something like this which the Master had in mind when he warned:
"Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets". In a revelation today, we have had called to our attention the human tendencies which are in most men: "... 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".
And he has told us two reasons why men fail to receive what they might otherwise have obtained:
"Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men".
I remember at a stake conference some years ago a young man was called to a high position. When we had asked him to express himself, expecting a humble testimony in his acceptance, he stood up and in a rather flamboyant, boastful way gave a dramatic performance. At the close of the service as we walked home, one of the high council whispered to me and said, calling him by name: "When he stood up there in the pulpit this morning, he was all alone."
That is what the young missionary meant who said he had baptized a number of people but all of them had apostatized, so he said, "I must have converted them all by myself."
I remember one of my brethren, who had invited me to join him in an administration to a sick person, who said very humbly to this individual, "Now, sister, when you receive the blessing of his administration, do not mention the names of those through whom the blessings were given."
Today we are witnessing a great, marvelous demonstration of the power of conversion. Perhaps we are going to see the most rapid propagation of the gospel in the world than we have seen in any previous dispensation. We must make certain that we do not offend God by our failure to confess his hand in all things. We must not forget that it is not by the will of men, but is evidence, as in the days of the disciples of old, that God is working with men. It is the only explanation we can give.
The suggested missionary procedures we have provide excellent guides to improved study and presentation of the gospel lessons by missionaries. Salesmanship methods of themselves alone as applied to the teaching of the gospel will convince the mind but do not convert the heart. Conversion is a spiritual process. Paul taught, "... faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and 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?".
And the Apostle Paul also said:
"I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase," and then he added in language that sounded like that statement of Moses after God had conversed with him: "So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase".
Modern servants of God may go forth if and when they are constantly aware of their own nothingness and place their dependence solely upon the power of Almighty God; for as the Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans: "If God be for us, who can be against us?".
My prayer is that we may do our part that we shall qualify to ever have him for us, and with us, and that we may constantly lose ourselves in unselfish devotion to his cause and thus find everlasting life, which I pray humbly, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Henry D. Moyle
Henry D. Moyle, Conference Report October 1960, pp. 19-23
President Clark called during the noon recess and wanted you all to know how much he appreciated the inspired message of President McKay delivered at the beginning of the morning session, and how much he regretted not being present with us here today. He wanted me to extend his greeting to you all, and I am sure that he would appreciate our united faith and prayers in his behalf that he might yet meet with us before the conference is over, in keeping with his innermost desires.
It is a great privilege, my brethren and sisters, to be with you this afternoon and to have this wonderful opportunity of bearing witness to the truths of the gospel. There is one thing in the world today above all else which people are seeking after, and that is peace.
The fundamental purpose of the organization of the Church is to establish peace upon the earth.
President McKay recently told us that, "peace is the exemption from individual troubles, from family brawls, from national difficulties. Peace does not come to the transgressor of law. Peace comes by obedience to law-peace to the individual that he may be at peace with God, at peace in the home, and in the neighborhood. The spirit of the world is antagonistic to the establishment of peace. The law of nature seems to be the survival of the fittest at all costs. But peace can come into the world only through obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ." Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. His teaching regarding arbitration as a means of settling difficulties, if applied by nations, would do away with war.
"The gospel is a complete way of life, and the true plan of life brings joy and peace," says President McKay. Fundamental to the doctrines of the Church is the declaration of Father Lehi:
"Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy".
The present teachings of our President are not the development of a philosophy by the wisdom of men that changes with time and experience. They do not result from the trial and error of improvement. They are not discovered as the result of laboratory experiments on the one hand or study of the past, present, or future on the other hand. They are eternal truths taught to the children of men by the prophets of God, ancient and modern. The truths of the gospel are unchangeable. They are infallible. The Savior of mankind-our Redeemer, the Son of the Living God, the Lord of lords and King of kings, who rules and reigns over this universe, brought peace to this earth as he dwelt among the children of men in the flesh. He is the man of peace. He came with a promise: "Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God".
Except with peace in our hearts we cannot be the children of God. This follows just as certainly as do all the promises given us by our Master in his Sermon on the Mount. Surely we cannot expect to see God if we are not pure in heart. We bear witness to the world by virtue of the power and authority of the Holy Priesthood of God which we bear that the words of his mouth contained in the sacred Beatitudes were not platitudes or trite sayings to catch the ear of man, spoken by a humanitarian, but on the contrary, they are the words of God spoken by his Son Jesus Christ, upon which all the children of men can place their trust unfalteringly and conform their lives, their thoughts and actions, to merit in this life and in the life to come all the blessings promised those who are faithful and obedient to his teachings-not only the Sermon on the Mount, but all that he taught during his ministry here upon this earth as he sojourned among men, and all that the has revealed to his prophets to the present time. John, in his Gospel, says: "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".
Paul said: "... let the peace of God rule in your hearts".
Unfortunately, many in the world, both individuals and nations, will ignore the teachings of Christ and deny his divinity. With two powers upon earth exerting their influence upon mankind this result is inevitable. They, through their own conduct, their own choice, do not qualify for the enjoyment of peace, and peace will not be theirs.
The history of the world has already altogether too clearly demonstrated that the farther we depart from the gospel of Jesus Christ, the greater is the distress and tribulation under which we live.
Should those who keep the commandments of God have any fear for their own security and happiness? This is an interesting question, and this again has been answered so often in the recent ministry of President David O. McKay. He assures us that we need have no worry. We will never be left in the dark, and we should have no concern other than to follow the leadership God has given us here upon the earth.
We are the children of promise as long as we keep the commandments of God. I have no doubt it will take continuous effort, however, upon our part. These are not blessings which will flow to us automatically merely because we ask for them. We will be justified, however, if we follow all that God reveals through his servants, the prophets. We have been given direction, sometimes thought of as temporal in its nature, such as tithing, fast offerings, the welfare program, the Word of Wisdom, chastity, obedience to the law of the land, and others. Whatever their temporal aspect may be, they are given to us to build us up spiritually. We can draw no hard and fast line between temporal and spiritual. All that is good is spiritual.
So we can well afford to ask ourselves the question: Can we expect the blessings of peace if we ignore the Word of Wisdom, for example? Will we be prepared to take advantage of the ways and means our Father in heaven may make available for us to retain our peace in times of great emergency, indeed at all times, if we are not physically fit? I have no doubt God will require us to be sound in mind and body to carry on the work of his priesthood at home and abroad, at least as far as we by our own efforts can retain our bodily and spiritual health and strength. We cannot be justified in destroying ourselves through our disobedience, no matter how limited our conduct in this direction may be.
It is an inspiration to me, and I hope it will be to you, to reflect for a moment upon the teachings we have received through our inspired prophets in these latter days. Though times have changed, and conditions in the world are different, neither the hearts of men nor the revelations of God to his people through his prophets have changed. We read in the Holy Bible:
"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets".
I know by the testimony of the Holy Ghost that is in me that this declaration of Amos is literally true in the ministry of President David O. McKay as it was in the life of Joseph Smith and those who followed the first Prophet in these latter-days in this high and holy office. "It is out of the abundance of the heart that man speaketh," said Brigham Young, "and the man who tells you words of life is the man who can save you."
What Joseph Smith said in 1844 in principle is largely applicable today, although our problems are somewhat different and the remedy prescribed unique to the solution of the specific problem that then confronted the nation. The nation did not accept his solution, which was inspired of God. Had his direction been given to the problem, we all know what the result would have been-no bloodshed. Both the Civil War and its aftermath, with us even now, and the economic loss of both would have been avoided. What happened to those who followed his leadership and direction? Even though the Prophet Joseph was martyred, two months after this solution to our national ills was publicly given, the Saints were driven from their peaceful homes in the states to a haven of safety in the fastness of this mountain region. That is where they were when the Civil War began.
Certainly God works in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform. Who would have ever thought among the inhabitants of Nauvoo in the days of the final persecution that they were being driven from their homes by their enemies against their will and against their better judgment, only to wake up one day and find that the Lord had preserved them in a land of peace, even in the midst of the greatest of all civil wars. Who doubts that the Lord can do what he pleases with his people today?
I have implicit faith in the words of the Prophet when he tells us today that all we need to worry about is to keep the commandments of God, and peace will be ours. We do not know when or where or what exactly may happen. It is therefore foolish and impossible to conjecture on the nature of the relief or protection or security designed for the future accomplishment of God's purpose.
This, however, we do know: that God lives and in him we can trust, and through our obedience are now free from fear or doubt or insecurity, and shall remain so always, as long as we retain the right through our faithfulness to call upon him for the blessings which he has promised the faithful.
I conceive of peace as something which we might all enjoy, even in the midst of future wars. We may suffer trials and tribulations. We may suffer from the loss of our loved ones, but let us stop for a moment and call just two instances to mind. I think of the Prophet Joseph that night after he had left Nauvoo with some of his close brethren and crossed over to the other side of the river to Montrose, and there the question was should he go on, or should he go back? It was during these days that the Prophet said that he was devoid of offense toward any man, and that he would be taken as a lamb to the slaughter, but does anybody have any doubt in his mind but that the peace of God was in his heart and in his soul and gave him the strength and the courage and the power of his priesthood to fulfil his mission here upon the earth as God might decree?
The other great example, of course, supersedes all else in human knowledge and understanding, and that is the intercessory prayer of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as he prayed to his Father in heaven in the Garden of Gethsemane. But there was peace in his heart when he said, "Nevertheless, Father, thy will, not mine, be done".
Now that peace can come into our hearts, no matter what the circumstances may be, and no matter what process or what circumstance the Lord may use to bring his faithful people the peace which he has promised them. I have an abiding conviction that if that peace is given to us and we are called upon to lose our lives or the lives of our loved ones, that we will have the absolute assurance, as did the Prophet Joseph, that we would die in the Lord, and when we die in the Lord we have fulfilled the will of the Master here upon this earth, to his pleasure and to his satisfaction, and more can be gained by none of us.
No greater power can exist upon the earth than the power of the priesthood-a gift of God to us-calling upon us to exercise our power as elders in Israel to bring all nations which permit us within their borders to a knowledge of the truth; to draw out those nations, not necessarily physically, but into these stakes of Zion which are being and will continue to be organized in the various countries of the world. These men and women through their faith, conversion, and their faithfulness will join with us as recipients of these greatest of all blessings which the Lord has in store for his chosen people. So, neither they nor we need to worry about our security when we know that our welfare will be taken care of directly from the throne of God on High.
I first quoted from President David O. McKay's teachings of a short time ago, and now I want to just quote a word or two from the other Presidents of the Church to show how uniform the Lord has revealed his will to his prophets in these latter days.
Joseph Smith said:
"Make honor the standard with all men. Be sure that good is rendered for evil in all cases; and the whole nation, like a kingdom of kings and priests, will rise up in righteousness, and be respected as wise and worthy on earth, and as just and holy for heaven, by Jehovah, the Author of perfection."
Brigham Young said: "Great peace have they who love the law of the Lord and abide in his commandments. Our belief will bring peace to all men and good will to all the inhabitants of the earth. It will induce all who sincerely follow its dictates to cultivate righteousness and peace; to live peaceably in their families; to praise the Lord morning and evening; to pray with their families, and will so fill them with the spirit of peace that they will never condemn or chasten any one unless it is well deserved".
It is interesting to see what John Taylor in his day said: "This peace is the gift of God alone, and it can be received only from him by obedience to his laws. If any man wishes to introduce peace into his family or among his friends, let him cultivate it in his own bosom; for sterling peace can only be had according to the legitimate rule and authority of heaven and obedience to its laws".
Wilford Woodruff said: "Put your trust in God and rely on his promises, living up to the light and knowledge you possess; and all will be well with you whether living or dying".
President Lorenzo Snow, from a document published in the Deseret News of Jan. 1, 1901:
"A new century dawns upon the world today. The hundred years just completed were the most momentous in the history of man upon this planet. It would be impossible to make even a brief summary of the notable events, the marvelous developments, the grand achievements, and the beneficial inventions and discoveries, which mark the progress of ten decades now left behind in the ceaseless march of humanity. The very mention of the nineteenth century suggests advancement, improvement, liberty, and light. Happy are we to have lived amidst its wonders and shared in the richness of its treasures of intelligence.
"The lessons of the past century should have prepared us for the duties and glories of the opening era. It ought to be the age of peace, of greater progress, of the universal adoption of the golden rule. Barbarism of the past should be buried. War with its horrors should be but a memory. The aim of nations should be fraternity and mutual greatness. The welfare of humanity should be studied instead of the enrichment of a race or the extension of an empire. Awake, ye monarchs of the earth and rulers among nations and gaze upon the scene on which the early rays of the rising millennial day gild the morning of the twentieth century!
"The power is in your hands to pave the way for the coming of the King of kings, whose dominion will be over all the earth. Disband your armies; turn your weapons of strife into implements of industry; take the yoke from the necks of the people; arbitrate your disputes; meet in royal congress and plan for union instead of conquest, for the banishment of poverty, for the uplifting of the masses, and for the health, wealth, enlightenment, and happiness of all tribes and peoples and nations. Then shall the twentieth century be to you the glory of your lives and the luster of your crowns, and posterity will sing your praises, while the Eternal One shall place you on high among the mighty...
"In the eighty-seventh year of my age on earth, I am full of earnest desire for the benefit of humanity. I wish all a Happy New Year... May justice triumph and corruption be stamped out. And may virtue, chastity, and honor prevail, until evil shall be overcome and the earth shall be cleansed from wickedness. Let these sentiments, as the voice of the 'Mormons' in the mountains of Utah, go forth to the whole world, and let all people know that our wish and our mission are for the blessing and salvation of the entire human race.
"May the twentieth century prove the happiest, as it will be the grandest, for all the ages of time, and may God be glorified in the victory that is coming over sin, sorrow, misery, and death. Peace be unto you all."
Joseph F. Smith said: "There is only one thing that can bring peace into the world. It is the adoption of the gospel of Jesus Christ, rightly understood, obeyed and practiced by rulers and people alike". I love such words of scripture.
And President Grant said: "This gospel of Jesus Christ which the world says is a delusion, a snare, and a fraud, to each and every man who goes out to proclaim it, and who lives an upright and virtuous life, it brings peace, it brings joy, it brings happiness unspeakable."
At the October conference of 1921 President Grant presented a "Peace Resolution," representing the Church as favoring world peace, and invoking blessings and "divine guidance of the International Conference of the Limitations of Armaments, that the cause of Peace may be thereby enhanced, and an amelioration of the burdens of mankind secured."
President George Albert Smith once prayed: "And, O Father, in the midst of confusion that is everywhere, and uncertainty, bless us in America, that we may repent of our foolishness, our light-mindedness and our wrongdoing, realizing as we should, that all the blessings that are worthwhile come to us only as a result of honoring thee and keeping thy commandments. The pathway of righteousness is the highway of peace and happiness."
And then finally, to end, I come back to where I began, to the words of President McKay: "The Need of Peace: The greatest need of this old world today is peace. The turbulent storms of hate, enmity, of distrust, and of sin are threatening to wreck humanity. It is time for men-true men-to dedicate their lives to God, and to cry with the spirit and power of the Christ, 'Peace, be still'. Only in the complete surrender of our inner life may we rise above the selfish, sordid pull of nature. We should seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. What the spirit is to the body, God is to the spirit. As the body dies when the spirit leaves it, so the spirit dies when we exclude God from it. I cannot imagine peace in a world from which God and religion are banished."
God bless us brethren and sisters, that we may follow the admonition and counsel of these great leaders who have preceded us and listen intently and sincerely to the words of our present leader, that our lives may be sweet in its enjoyment, I pray humbly in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Milton R. Hunter
Milton R. Hunter, Conference Report October 1960, pp. 23-26
In his masterful discourse of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave a vital commandment which has been ignored almost universally by the human family. In many cases where it has not been ignored, it has been broken many times by most people.
I believe that we all want to do what is right-live near to the Lord-and so this afternoon I would like to say a few words about the observance of this commandment.
"Judge not," Jesus commanded, "that ye be not judged." And then he gave this warning:
"For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again".
Throughout my life in mingling with many people of various religious denominations I have observed that as a rule it seems as if human beings like to gossip. We like to hear unsavory things about our neighbors and talk about each other. It seems that ofttimes we get a certain degree of satisfaction or even joy out of saying bad things about other people. We thoughtlessly and sometimes maliciously judge each other. We censure our associates sometimes unjustly, many times unkindly; and most of the time we speak without having the evidence to back up what we are saying. We seem to forget that James, the brother of the Lord, warned that the unbridled tongue is "full of deadly poison".
I know that even sometimes people who are faithful in the Church pass judgment and condemnation on those with whom they associate without knowing the facts. Such is displeasing to God.
I know that many people's hearts have been broken and tears have been shed because of the unkind and perhaps untrue things that have been said about them and because of unjust judgments that we give of each other.
As I look into the faces of the members of this congregation, my conscience certainly tells me that I err at times. Sometimes I gossip and judge others, and when I do it I act unrighteously before the Lord. My heart tells me I would like to repent, I would like to overcome my weakness of gossiping and saying bad things about other people. I am sure that you feel the same as I do.
But one might say: "The man or the woman from whom I obtained this information is an honest man or woman and would not lie."
Certainly honest and honorable people would not lie, but we should remember that they have to get their information through human senses and that human senses are not always a hundred percent reliable; for example, if an honest man were standing on a corner and another one on the opposite corner and two cars crashed in the street, the testimonies of these two men might vary, and rightly so. They saw the accident at different angles, and perhaps neither of them saw exactly what happened.
Recently one of the General Authorities said that he was interested at stake conferences to hear members of stake presidencies in the Sunday conference sessions tell some of the things that he had talked about the night before. And then the General Authority said, "Ofttimes I cannot recognize that I had talked on the subjects nor said the things that I was reported to have said."
Now certainly the General Authority was not accusing stake presidencies of being dishonest. I think he did not have that in mind at all, but this story illustrates the inadequacy of human senses.
Sometimes we sit in a congregation like this one and listen to somebody speak. While he talks we think many of our own ideas as we hear many of the things he is saying. As time passes we might confuse some of our own thoughts with some of the things the speaker said. Because of the inadequacy of human senses, Jesus Christ said, "in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established".
The Savior and the holy prophets have told us how to judge when it needs be that we judge, because ofttimes we must judge. In fact, many of you in this tabernacle-stake presidencies, high counselors, and bishoprics-are called upon to be judges. It is your ecclesiastical responsibility to judge. But let me give the warning that with the same judgment that you judge, you shall be judged.
The Lord and the Prophet Joseph Smith understood human nature, knowing that we may be tempted to judge unjustly, and so the following is found in the Doctrine and Covenants:
"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..."
And then this beautiful admonition was given us:
"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-".
As I have traveled throughout the Church and have observed those who have been called and set apart to be judges, it is my testimony that they have been guided in most cases by the pure love of Jesus Christ, by charity, and so they have rendered righteous judgment.
As I have suggested, the Savior and the prophets have told us how to treat each other. The Master gave us the vital law known as the second great commandment: "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself".
If all of us would love our neighbors-would love all the people with whom we associate-as much as we love ourselves, we would do no unkind things to them. We would not say any harsh or unkind words to them. We would not repeat any bad gossip about them. But on the other hand, we would show forth love and compassion at all times. We would rejoice in their successes, and we would weep with them in their sorrows. Under those conditions, a glorious spirit of brotherhood, love, and compassion would prevail.
The Savior also gave us the famous Golden Rule: "... whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them".
Every time we hear something about somebody else, if we would stop and think before we repeated what we heard and take as our measuring rod the following: "Would I like to have somebody say that thing about me? Is it just? Is it fair? Would it make the person involved happier if I should repeat it? Would it make him progress? Would it add to the beauty and the joy of life?" And if it will not meet these measurements, then our judgment would not be righteous if we should repeat what we heard. It is best under these conditions that we keep quiet.
Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, wrote a beautiful poem on faith, hope, and charity to the Corinthian Saints. He said:
"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.
"And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing... "
And then Paul ended his famous poem by saying:
"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity".
Charity is the greatest of all Christian virtues. It is, as the prophets have said, the pure love of Jesus Christ. It encompasses all the virtues that I have mentioned and even many, many other Christian virtues. In all of our dealings with each other, our hearts should be filled with charity toward all men. We should show forth an abundance of charity toward all the people with whom we associate.
Our Lord Jesus Christ not only taught that we should love our friends, but he commanded us to love our enemies. We should pray for them who despitefully use us. He not only taught these things, but he lived as he taught, thereby marking the path for us to follow.
While the Master was hanging on the cross, suffering the most excruciating pain that anybody could endure, and while he was listening to the jeers of the rabble down at the foot of the cross, his heart was filled with compassion toward them. With a fulness of charity and with an abundance of love in his heart for those who had caused him to be crucified, he cast his eyes toward heaven and prayed,
"Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do".
It is my opinion that this is the greatest example in history of pure love, of undefiled charity, of actually showing a fulness of compassion for one's enemies.
Micah, one of the great Old Testament prophets, pointed out the way for us to live. He said,
"He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God".
In humility I ask our Father in heaven to pour out his Spirit upon the Latter-day Saints. May he bless you and me abundantly that we will be filled with the spirit of charity and love for each other. May we overcome our evil habit of gossiping, of saying unkind and unsavory things about each other.
On the other hand, may we say nothing but that which is kind and generous about all people. May our lives be filled with patience, brotherly kindness, and compassion toward each other at all times and under all circumstances. Under those conditions we would rightfully be children of God with his love in our hearts. Then our lives would be actuated by godliness.
Permit me to suggest that we husbands cease criticizing our wives, because if we criticize our wives it weakens our love for them. Also, it tends to kill their love and respect for us.
I would give the following admonition to wives: Respect your husbands. Do not criticize your husbands. If you indulge in such practices it results in bringing about disunity, kills your spirituality, and tends to break up your homes. Perhaps the final result may be the loss of your eternal salvation.
Let each of us walk in the path continuously that Jesus marked out, having our hearts filled with charity and love toward our fellow men. May we keep all of God's commandments, walking by every word that proceedeth forth from his mouth. If we will do these things, we shall have an abundance of joy in this life and eternal life in the presence of our Savior after we have completed our missions here upon this earth.
May our Heavenly Father bless us that we shall always live as he desires that we should live, I humbly pray, in Jesus' name. Amen.
Bishop Joseph L. Wirthlin
Joseph L. Wirthlin, Conference Report October 1960, pp. 29-32
President McKay, my brothers and sisters, to be here upon this occasion is most inspirational to me as I am sure it is to you. As I came into this remarkable building, the events that took place at the time of Brigham Young and those who were with him came to my mind.
The marvelous revelation that was given to the Prophet Joseph on November 1, 1831, is one that all of us can give consideration to, particularly at this time when the Lord said to the Prophet Joseph:
"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".
This revelation calls the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, and particularly the apostles in this day as well as in the time of the Prophet Joseph, to go into the world and preach the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. Under their direction missionary work is being done in the world today, and I am sure that all enjoy divine guidance as they meet this great assignment.
This morning President McKay told us of the leadership of certain individuals in the world who, if they had their way, would destroy our knowledge that God lives and that Jesus Christ is his Son. I am sure they will never be successful. The Lord in his way will handle such individuals.
Of the great men who have gone in the past, I think particularly of Brigham Young and the twelve who were called to preach the gospel to the people in Great Britain. They were poor men. They started the long trip to England without the funds to pay their way. While they did not have enough of this world's goods, they knew that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and they were willing to bear testimony to the world that God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ appeared to the Prophet Joseph. With that testimony in their souls, they accepted that great assignment.
At the time Brigham Young left, he was a very sick man. He said, "I could not walk thirty rods to the river." His family, too, was ill. His wife had just given birth to another babe, and she was in poor health. However, Brigham Young and his companions started on their journey. When they reached New York, they were helped by the Saints who raised sufficient funds whereby they could pay the amount of eighteen dollars to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The Saints also gave them food to use while on the ship. They landed in England on April 6, 1840, taking about a month to arrive there. It was just ten years after the Church had been organized. The Lord had sent these men to England for the purpose of again making it possible for the English people to hear the gospel and organize the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. They arrived as poor men. They had no money. The sisters made clothing for Brigham Young as his was worn out. Great conferences were held. They labored in and around Manchester.
Wilford Woodruff did a marvelous work. He was preaching in the little town of Handley, and there he found that the people were very much interested in what he was telling them in bearing testimony that God lives and that Jesus Christ is his Son. He had direction from on high, indicating that he should travel to the south. He was not quite sure as to the instructions he had received. So, again he made it a matter of prayer. The Lord made it very clear to him that he should travel to the south. On arriving at the appointed place, he came in contact with some people who were very friendly to him and to the word of the Lord that he was preaching. It was an organization called the United Brethren. I think we are all familiar with the history of that wonderful group of people. Six hundred of them had left other churches and organized a church of their own because they were dissatisfied. They heard the gospel as it was given to them by an apostle, Brother Woodruff. They all accepted it with the exception of one member. Among them were forty preachers who belonged to this organization, and they, too, joined the Church, all evidence that there were many people in Great Britain who were anxious to hear and accept the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ as it was given to them by one of the Lord's apostles. I am sure that today there are thousands of people in that great country who want to hear the gospel, accept it, and enjoy all of its blessings.
The brethren returned in 1841, after they had done a great missionary work in Great Britain. Brigham Young made the statement that during the period they were there they baptized between seven thousand and eight thousand people, and that, in and of itself, was a great achievement.
As I said in the beginning, these were poor men. The Church was poor. It had no funds, but yet these men had great responsibilities. The people in Great Britain needed to receive the Book of Mormon. They printed five thousand copies of the Book of Mormon, three thousand hymnbooks, two thousand and five hundred volumes of the Millennial Star, and fifty thousand tracts, and all of these were paid for before Brigham Young returned home.
Under the direction of another great apostle, Brother Harold B. Lee, a stake was recently organized in Manchester. The English people have the same opportunity and privilege now of attending these fine stake conferences as we do here in Zion.
With Brother Hugh B. Brown, Sister Wirthlin and I had the privilege of attending the Manchester Stake conference. The spirit and attitude of the people were most inspiring and encouraging. I am sure in the days to come there will be other stakes organized. Great Britain is growing in the Church. Many thousands of people are anxious to hear the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. To me that is so impressive because I recall the time when we, as missionaries laboring in Germany, had to leave Germany during World War I and make our way to London. I recall some individuals who did everything they could to prevent us from holding a street meeting. In fact, the president of the conference said, "I believe we had better go back to the mission home," which we did. The crowd followed us right to the door of the mission home and made the statement, "If we had rocks, we would throw them." That was the spirit in Great Britain forty-six years ago. While there, we met another apostle, Hyrum M. Smith. He assigned each missionary to another field of labor. The German submarines were sinking every English ship possible. Finally, we heard that the Lusitania was going to sail. We went to President Smith and said, "Now, President, we understand the Lusitania is going to sail," and he said, "You can go. Not only that, you will arrive home safely." He made that statement very definite to us. We were not worried about traveling on the Lusitania, so we made our way back to New York, and six months later, the Lusitania was sunk by a German submarine. President Hyrum M. Smith was one who had the inspiration and divine guidance.
During the past summer, Bishop Buehner, Sister Buehner, Sister Wirthlin, and I had the privilege of visiting in Europe. Elder Alvin R. Dyer is now president of the European Mission and is doing a great and marvelous work through divine guidance and inspiration with very little government interference. When I was in Germany, we did not have that privilege. I labored in Frankfurt for a short time when the police forced me to leave. I then went into Stuttgart and the police arrested me three times, and the third time I had to leave. The same thing happened in Karlsruhe. Then, the war came and, of course, we all left the mission.
At the present time in Great Britain, Germany, and all parts of Western Europe, our missionaries now have the opportunity of teaching and preaching the gospel without government interference. As I see what is being accomplished, I have been very much interested in knowing the number of converts we have in Great Britain. From January 1, 1960 to August 31, 1960, there have been baptized in the British Mission and North British Mission 2,387 Saints-a wonderful number, and I am sure before the end of the year they will baptize many more. Then, I noticed that in the Danish Mission for that period, they have baptized 202. In the Finnish Mission for that same period of time 160, in the Netherlands Mission 303, and in the French Mission for that same period almost 600! I recall when I was in the German Mission, we thought that to spend any time in teaching and preaching the gospel to the French people was just a waste of time, but the French people have a desire to hear the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have wonderful missionaries there. As a result six hundred have accepted the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in the last eight months, and the president of that mission indicated that he anticipated before the end of this year there would be another six hundred, or approximately twelve hundred Saints-converts for 1960. I noticed particularly in the North German Mission there were 286 converts, the South German Mission 210, and the West German Mission 310, or a total of 806 German people baptized. That itself is marvelous. In the Swedish Mission, they baptized 129.
In the Swiss-Austrian Mission, they have baptized 594, 300 of whom are youth. The young people in these foreign countries are anxious to hear the gospel. I have talked to the missionaries on many occasions, particularly in Austria. I asked them this question, "Now, just what do these people say to you about the Prophet Joseph." "Well," they say, "these people want to know who Joseph Smith was and what is the Book of Mormon." To them, there is a great interest in the fact that an American prophet made it possible for them to read the Book of Mormon.
I recall again the time when we were endeavoring to preach the gospel in Germany that we dared not go into Austria. We only had fifteen members in the great city of Vienna, but when we visited there some seven weeks ago, we had 350 members, and since that time Austria has become a mission of its own, and they will baptize literally thousands of these wonderful people. So, we come to the conclusion, brethren and sisters, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is being made available to many nations, but when we are going to have the opportunity of preaching the gospel to the people in Russia or the people in India or the people in China, I do not know. But, as the President said this morning, sooner or later all these nations will hear the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ just exactly as they have heard it in Great Britain and as they have heard it in the European missions. So, in the final analysis, that is a wonderful revelation given to us by the Lord through the Prophet Joseph when he said: "And the voice of warning shall be unto all people, by the mouths of my disciples, whom I have chosen in these last days".
Today, there is difficulty in the world with war and the possibilities of war, but in the last days, the Lord has made it very clear that his disciples are to preach the gospel to all people, and then he said, "And they shall go forth and none shall stay them". Regardless of what nation they go into as time goes on as this wonderful revelation says, "... and none shall stay them "they are going to have the right, and they are going to have the opportunity and the privilege to preach the gospel to those not of our faith wherever they may be in the world. And the revelation goes on by saying, "... for I the Lord have commanded them".
In this marvelous revelation given to us in 1831, the Lord fully intends that all of his sons and daughters over the earth are going to have the opportunity of hearing the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. If they live the gospel, they will enjoy the gift of the Holy Ghost whereby they can testify to the world that they know that God lives, that Jesus Christ is his Son, and that Joseph Smith actually saw the Father and the Son, which I pray will be the testimony of each and everyone of us, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder William L. Critchlow, Jr.
William L. Critchlow, Jr., Conference Report October 1960, pp. 26-29
President McKay, my brothers and sisters:
Where could you find sweeter voices than these voices from Ogden and Northern Utah which have sung for us this day? I have heard them before, I hope to hear them again. I am proud of them.
"All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts." -Shakespeare, As You Like It, Act II, Scene 7, lines 139-142.
Through the years thousands of our young men and women and many oldsters, too, have been called to play heroic roles in the great Drama of Life. I have enjoyed these past two years the privilege of setting apart many of them,-missionaries of the Church-sending them forth to perform on the stage of life with a blessing.
The Drama of Life has many acts. Few of them, however, are as thrilling as the act entitled "A Mission." Let me sketchily review for you a few scenes in an act which I witnessed, just to show how exciting this "Mission Act" can really be.
The opening scene was called "Miles Zero." In the missionary's first letter to his folks he wrote: "Dear Dad: I'm up at Miles Zero on the Alaskan highway in Dawson Creek where it is costing me one hundred dollars a week for board and room.
His dad replied immediately, "Dear Son: Get off the Alaskan highway! Park Avenue, New York, should be cheaper. Miles Zero is too rich for my blood."
The dad's letter and another letter from the son crossed in the mail. The son's letter began:
"Dear Dad: The Lord has blessed me already. A man committed suicide in his room. It was so ghastly that no one would rent it. I offered the landlord forty dollars a month. He took me up-so I moved in with my companion who is sharing the forty dollars. All my problems are solved." Months passed.
Then, in one of his regular letters, the son said, "I have twenty-two prospects about ready to join up, but no place to baptize them. Peace River will be frozen over till June, and before then I shall be due for a transfer. Wish I could use a bathtub. They have some large tin ones up here."
Weeks passed.
In another letter the son wrote: "Lucky me. The Lord has blessed me again. Two of my choice prospects, the banker and the head of the Masonic Lodge, who is also the president of the Power Board went six hundred miles down to Edmonton, and I baptized them. That's two down, only twenty more to go. My president is pleased. He is transferring me to Bella Coula, wherever that is. Up here, there are two kinds of water-liquid and frozen, also two kinds of prospects-hot and cold. I'm terribly afraid that some of my twenty remaining prospects will 'freeze up' before liquid water and a baptismal font become available. I shall regret losing them, but I'll pick twenty up in Bella Coula. Wish me luck."
Five years after the curtain fell on this son's "Mission Act," I was sent to a conference in Calgary, Canada, and in one of the sessions of the conference I listened to the stake president praise, as he released, his stake mission president who had baptized twenty converts "right here in Calgary." He called on him to speak. I copied these words from a tape of his talk.
"Seven years ago one Sunday in a converted hut at Miles Zero on the Alaskan highway I met a young man who was to be instrumental in changing the course of my life. He was big, six feet. He had a big grin and hands that were always moving. You could tell he had the spirit of the gospel. I had met many men before, but never had I met a man who could teach the gospel the way this man did. He would both fast and pray, and I remember that one time he fasted three days and nights, going without food and water and praying on behalf of the people he was teaching. He taught the gospel with an inspiration that only one who had the guidance of his Father in heaven could bring. He baptized me. I have a great love for that young man. Elder Critchlow, take back to your son a confirmation of the love we have for him. In a way to pay the debt tell him that many here within the sound of my voice, whom I have had the privilege of teaching have come into the kingdom of God-through your son."
Those words "through your son" were ringing pleasantly in my ears-still I heard the president who leaned toward me to whisper: "He baptized twenty people here in Calgary."
Suddenly, my memory was flooded with a maze of words-words which my son had written years before. Slowly, they assembled into fragments of broken sentences: "That's two down-twenty more to go-I'm afraid my twenty prospects will freeze up before liquid water is available.... I regret losing them....
I'll pick them up in Bella Coula-Wish me luck."
Well, he didn't pick them up in Bella Coula.
They were picked up in Calgary by one of the "two down" who picked up the "twenty more to go"-"through your son."
Families that have never had a missionary in the field have missed one of the grandest blessings that could come into their homes. Ask the mother who impatiently awaits her missionary son's letters, who gleefully reads lines in them over the back fence to neighbors and over the phone to relatives and friends.
Ask the proud father, the brother, or the sister about the sweet feeling they experience when they kneel together each day in family prayers to ask a blessing for their missionary. Before Bobby left for his mission the family skipped its prayers occasionally, but while he was in the field-so far, far away from home, they skipped fewer prayers because Bobby might need the protection and the help of a loving Heavenly Father. Never was the family knit more closely together.
Recently I told a stake president he needed six thousand stake missionaries. "Be reasonable," he said, "I've only six thousand members in my stake."
"Right, exactly right," I replied, "and every one of those members is a missionary."
Every member of our Church is a missionary. Without the formality of a setting-apart we should be so set-apart from the ways of the world that we can teach the gospel, which is our Father's way of life, by the very lives we live. Without the oral word of mouth preaching, the example of our living will always be effective teaching. A sermon seen is better than a sermon heard.
Example has more followers than reason and is more forcible than precept.
Yes, the world's a stage;
So is the Church a stage;
And all its members merely players...
They have their exits and their entrances;
And each member in his time is expected to choose and play a noble part.
Come up here with me on this stage of life and, over the glare of the footlights in this World Theater let's take a peek at the audience watching us play our parts in the great Drama of Life.
Down there in the parquet whom do you see? Over the glare of the footlights I quite distinctly see my wife, my children, my neighbors, my friends across the town and across the country, my vocational associates, my associates in the Church Offices. All who know me, be it ever so well or ever so slight, seem to be in this World Theater. And they're watching, oh, so critically. Yet if I play my role well-the role of a Latter-day Saint-I'm sure there will be some applause. But if I slip out of character-even for a moment or so-some of them, like patrons of any theater, at times, might sneer, perhaps hiss. These translate into one of the ugliest words in the English dictionary-"hypocrite."
May our merciful Heavenly Father help me, help you to play our chosen roles so well that we may deserve the plaudits and the praise, at least the respect of those who watch.
Now look up to the balcony... the glare of the footlights, whom do you see there? On the very first row I see my mother. My father is beside her, my brother beside him. Behind them, I believe, my grandparents. One man among them with sideburns and a lock of curly brown hair looks like a picture I've seen of Captain James Brown who led the sick detachment of the Mormon Battalion into Salt Lake Valley. He's my great-grandfather. These obviously are the dead. I can almost hear them say:
"We are the dead, Short years ago we lived, felt dawn, saw Sunshine glow... To you from failing hand the torch we throw Be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die, We shall not sleep." -adapted-"In Flanders Fields" McCrea.
I don't really believe, of course, that my father and mother and my grandparents are peeking through the veil, observing every scene in which I act, but sometimes I wonder. Just in case, I had better act, I ought to act, yes, I want to act so that they with a feeling of pride will smile and applaud my scenes.
I love my parents and my grandparents. They are not dead. They live. Sometimes I think I almost hear, or rather feel, their prayers for me! Surely they must be praying and pulling for me, otherwise I would not have been so blessed. Again, I ask a merciful Father in heaven to help me and to help you to play our scenes so well that we may fittingly deserve applause from the balcony of the dead.
Look again, this tinge to the gallery. Over the glow of the footlights I see faces very indistinctly. I recognize none of them. These, something tells me, are the spirits yet to come and be embodied on this earth; they who must come to take our places. I wonder if they do not watch with interest the Drama of Earth Life, and if they are not earnestly praying that we will play our roles well, for they must come to dwell in the environment we are creating for them. Once upon a time our Heavenly Father's children on this earth became so wicked that he washed them and their wickedness off the stage with a great flood so that these spirits might inherit a decent environment. This gallery of spirits will certainly applaud if we play our parts well.
High up above the stage in this World Theater is a box. Look up. The glare of the overhead floodlights obscures its occupant. This box is reserved for the Author of the play-the Drama of Life. He not only is the Author, he is also the Critic and the Judge. How glorious could be that day if in its morning-the morning after the curtain falls-his press would announce: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant".
Yes, the world's a stage, so is the Church a stage, and you and I are merely players. We've chosen noble roles in the Drama of Life. Let's play them well.
We can preach a better sermon with our lives than with our lips. We can do more good by being good than by preaching good. Let us so act that our principle of action shall become a law, not only for the Church, but also for the whole world. Eventually it will be. May that time be soon, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report October 1960, pp. 32-37
Some years ago I attended a conference of missionaries in a little Arizona town which the nearby Indians gave an Indian name signifying "the place where the people prayed." That was Joseph City. A month ago I had the privilege of going into the mission field in the Southwest Indian Mission, and in another city which could well have been named by the Indians "the city of hospitality," we held a conference of the missionaries, and this city was Snowflake.
The missionaries of the Southwest Indian Mission told of their labors among the Indians, and perhaps this is one of the most foreign of all foreign missions, and is in a land of strange tongues and colorful people, a place of high mountain coolness and near sea level desert heat-a land where a new amalgamation of peoples and kindreds is taking place, and where the gospel of Jesus Christ is neutralizing the centuries of dwindling unbelief.
I found evidence of waning superstition and of growing faith in the gospel. I saw people who have for centuries been as chaff before the wind settling down to industry and security and permanence-a people who for more than a millennium have been "as a vessel... tossed about upon the waves, without sail or anchor, or without anything wherewith to steer her". I saw them beginning to accept the gospel of Christ.
I saw them reclaiming their forfeited blessings which the Lord reserved "... for the gentiles who shall possess the land". I saw acceleration in their progress and the time is at hand when the Lord will "... remember the covenant which he made with Abraham and unto all the house of Israel". "... and as the Lord liveth he will remember the covenant which he hath made with them. And he knoweth their prayers".
The work is unfolding, and blinded eyes begin to see, and scattered people begin to gather. I saw a striking contrast in the progress of the Indian people today as against that of only fifteen years ago. Truly the scales of darkness are falling from their eyes, and they are fast becoming a white and delightsome people.
In this mission alone there are 8400-plus members of the Church. As I visited this area fifteen years ago, there were ninety-four. "Are they faithful?" I am asked. And the answer is, "Not all of them. They are just about like their white cousins in the stakes of Zion." "Are they making headway?" And the answer is, "Yes. Perhaps relatively greater headway than we ourselves."
Indians are people, and the longer I serve with them the more I realize that they respond to the same teaching and kindness and love as others do. They have the same emotions. Some can be godless, but most of them are religious. I found that faith is a basic element in their lives. I learned of a Navajo couple who rushed their baby to the mission home for a blessing-It was livid white, seemed to be dead. It was soon well and playing around-and the Indian woman who lost her hearing, who received it back through the administration of the young missionaries; or the elder whose Navajo mother asked him if he had faith in Heavenly Father when the little brother was lying desperately ill, and whose little brother was wholly well the next morning after he himself had hid in a closet and prayed for his brother.
Yes, the Indians have faith-a rather simple, pure, and unadulterated faith, as evidenced by the Indian mother who asked the elders to come to the hospital to bless her sick child. The next day the elders called at her home and asked, "How is the little boy?" And she rejoined, "Oh, he's all right," in a tone such as to say, "Well, you blessed him, didn't you? Of course he's well."
And another Indian whose hands were badly burned was in excruciating pain. The administration brought almost immediate relief, and she was using her hands in a day or two. There was the Indian family who pleaded with the elders to pray for rain for their crops and for the grass and for the cattle and the sheep. "But please be careful," they warned. "The last time the elders prayed for rain, it came too hard, and the sheep corrals were washed out and some of the sheep were drowned."
There was the Hopi elder in a Phoenix hospital with his arm and leg paralyzed, and with no use or movement. He asked the nurse to find a Mormon elder. A bishop was called in who purchased oil, consecrated it, and administered to the Indian patient. "He sure had faith in the Lord," said the bishop. "We talked a little while, and I asked him if he could wiggle his toes, and you should have seen the expression on his face when he tried. Sure enough they moved, and before we left him he could raise the leg, and when I visited him last Sunday he could move both the leg and the arm."
The day of the Lamanites is here! Young white missionaries throughout the Church are happy in the service, glad that they were called to this special mission, some planning to change their college majors when they return from their missions so they can work among the Indians.
I see a dependent people becoming independent; for example, I see them coming in their pickups to meetings, whereas a decade ago they needed to be picked up by the missionaries, fed, and coddled. Some still must learn, but they are making progress; for instance, a party was arranged by two missionaries-the Indian people to bring the food, the elders to furnish the punch. When they assembled, they had only punch to drink. Later another party was arranged-the Indians to bring the food and the elders to bring the punch. They had both food and drink. They are learning.
We called for a picture of the Indian elders. Twenty of them came-five full-blood Navajo boys, and fifteen who were part Navajo and Apache and Ute and Sioux. One of the Navajo elders whose mother and family lived less than a hundred miles away in the same mission had not asked for leave to go and visit them, and he had served eight months in the mission. One Indian elder said: "The first missionaries planted a tree on the reservation years ago. Now the tree is bearing fruit-Navajo elders. The young tree yielded little fruit, but the aging tree more fruit-more elders."
There was the Navajo elder who testified of his happiness and said that when in battle-I think it was in Korea-he had dreamed one night that he was with his parents back on the reservation, but he awakened to find himself in mud and water and fire. Now he is in the midst of another dream, a dream so glorious, he said, that he hopes he will never awaken from it.
These Indian elders are well-groomed, neat, smiling, and equal to their white companions-handsome and sincere-some struggling in the acquisition of the difficult English language, and others coming through the Utah Placement Program speaking perfect English and displaying the best of our own culture. White elders feel fortunate when they are lucky enough to have a Navajo companion.
I see these Indian youth praying and preaching and administering to the sick, and I remember the statement of the Prophet Joseph: "Take Jacob Zundell and Frederick H. Moeser... and send them to Germany and when you meet an Arab send him to Arabia; when you find an Italian send him to Italy; and a Frenchman, to France; or an Indian, that is suitable, send him among the Indians. Send them to the different places where they belong."
At last the Indians are suitable. I heard them bear their witness, saw them shed tears of joy, heard them express their affection for loved ones. I saw Indian boys actually coming in to the president to offer their services as missionaries. That couldn't have happened a decade ago. As we look into the future, surely we shall see thousands of Indian missionaries, for through our various agencies we are now training probably three thousand little Indian boys in our various departments who are growing toward missionary work. Very soon there will be an Indian boy paired off in missionary work with each white boy, and this will happen in the other Lamanite missions, I am sure.
The day of the Lamanites is nigh. For years they have been growing delightsome, and they are now becoming white and delightsome, as they were promised. In this picture of the twenty Lamanite missionaries, fifteen of the twenty were as light as Anglos; five were darker but equally delightsome. The children in the home placement program in Utah are often lighter than their brothers and sisters in the hogans on the reservation.
At one meeting a father and mother and their sixteen-year-old daughter were present, the little member girl-sixteen-sitting between the dark father and mother, and it was evident she was several shades lighter than her parents-on the same reservation, in the same hogan, subject to the same sun and wind and weather. There was the doctor in a Utah city who for two years had had an Indian boy in his home who stated that he was some shades lighter than the younger brother just coming into the program from the reservation. These young members of the Church are changing to whiteness and to delightsomeness. One white elder jokingly said that he and his companion were donating blood regularly to the hospital in the hope that the process might be accelerated.
The missionaries are having great experiences in proselyting, in teaching, in organizing, in carrying on Primaries, Relief Societies. They direct women in making quilts and towels and pot holders, which they say they can sell faster than they can make them; but always a Relief Society bazaar is in their future plans. They pound up broken pottery and clay to make new pottery. They do beadwork, learn cooking; they are taught first aid, bleeding-stoppage, use of splints, resuscitation, moving the injured; they are taught to speak and to sing. Three lovely Lamanite sisters sang a trio in one of our meetings. Two elders in one area were actually teaching the women how to make diapers.
We find the Indians are learning to be adaptable and resourceful, and from tradition they are coming to truth, from legend to fact, from sand paintings and sings to administration and ordinances. The Indians are beginning to pay their tithes. They are living the Word of Wisdom. They are attending their meetings. They are having family prayers, and for a period of this year the tithes in that mission are said to have been more than the budget for the mission.
They are grateful for that which is being done for them. A typical little nine-year-old Indian prayed: "Father in heaven, please bless the missionaries so their success will be good." A typical Indian woman pleaded: "When can I be baptized?" And the answer was, "When you have learned a little more of the gospel." An Apache saddle maker, when given the Book of Mormon lessons, said: "I know that story. I know that it is true. My old people told me about it."
The Indians have legends which might be reminiscent of the three Nephites, of the creation, of the flood, of the coming of the Christ to them. They are beginning to recognize the similarity between their distorted tradition stories and the truth which has been recorded.
A Jicarilla-Apache Indian elder, first counselor in the branch presidency, drives sixty-four miles to his meetings with his family and sixty-four miles home each time, and he seldom misses a meeting, except in blizzard weather. He is sharp and clean and handsome and conducts the meetings with dignity. He speaks excellent English, and this is again in fulfilment of my own patriarchal blessing, in which I was promised: "You will see them organized and be prepared to stand as the bulwark round this people."
In the temple, in the June excursion, were a Navajo groom and a Pima bride, a Cherokee groom and a Navajo bride; and these, typical of the many Indians, are taking seriously to the gospel program. When they were in this convention, the good Mesa people graciously took care of their needs, and this again was in fulfilment of the prophecy of Joseph Smith. He said:
"There will be tens of thousands of Latter-day Saints who will be gathered in the Rocky Mountains, and there they will open the door for the establishing of the gospel among the Lamanites who will receive the gospel and their endowments and the blessings of God."
One's heart is touched when he sees thirty or forty little Hopi boys and girls gathered together in Primary, being taught by nineteen-year-old missionaries, and it is stirring even more to see twenty little wild Apache Indians galloping over the hills on their burros to attend Primary at Fort Apache.
The young missionaries are learning the difficult Navajo language, and the older couples are using largely the language of love. The Navajo tongue is so difficult that it is said to have been used to send code messages in World War II because the Japanese could not decode it. It is heartwarming to hear the young Navajo elder struggling with his English pronunciation and vocabulary, but never hesitating to express his thoughts convincingly and bearing his testimony impressively. He had been told by his dying mother when he was a little boy: "Go to Mormon Church. It is true church." He choked and struggled with his tears.
One devoted missionary couple was stuck in the snow last winter, and the husband pushed the car while the wife steered it. In doing so he fell and broke his knee and then pleaded with the president: "Please do not send us home. Put us in the hospital for a little time." He was given a metal knee and then crutches, and Indians who saw him hobbling around said: "Anyone as sincere as that ought to be listened to." And this mother who now has her children reared told of her patriarchal blessing given long years ago, indicating she would go on a mission with her husband, but since she was tied with her large family of little children, her husband filled his mission alone and was killed in an auto accident returning home. How could her blessing ever be fulfilled, she wondered, with children to educate and sons to send on missions, and she in her widowhood? But when the family was educated and the sons had filled their missions, she married another man, a convert, and together they are now fulfilling the patriarchal blessing and filling glorious missions.
The day of the Lamanites has come. The Indians of this country, particularly of the southwest, have many blessings which are theirs today but which were not theirs yesterday. Government agencies, other groups as well as ourselves, have been conscious of their former serious plight. But today the dark clouds are dissipating. Whereas only a decade ago tens of thousands of children were without schooling, today practically every child has some educational opportunity. May I quote a paragraph from my address to this conference in 1947 regarding these Indians:
"The health conditions are deplorable. They have but one full-time dentist for 63,000 people and no field nurse or doctor. The death rate is very high, being 16 per thousand as against 6.36 for the Church. The large family lives in the dirt hogan being one small circular room with dirt floor, no windows, and with a stove or fire in the center. All members of the family sleep on sheep pelts on the floor. There is no privacy, practically no furniture or equipment. There are no sanitary conveniences inside or out. With a single towel, a common cup, no hot water nor disinfectants, it is easy to see why trachoma, impetigo, and other skin diseases run through the family, and why dysentery, venereal diseases, and tuberculosis run rampant. In a survey of thirty-one families it was found that an average of three in each family had tuberculosis. In their scattered condition, and with such limited hospital facilities, many lie in their hogans, coughing in the air, spitting on the floor, to finally die on the dirt floor without medical assistance".
But today there are hospitals, doctors, nurses, and dentists. Many families live in comfortable homes, fairly well furnished. Disease is disappearing, tuberculosis much under control, and sanitation greatly improving. In our recent examination of over four hundred children in our health clinic as we brought them into Utah for this fall, we found that there were no positive results from our X-ray examinations.
In the 40's these people had an average income of about $81 a year. They lived upon land which to most of us seemed worthless, barren, and forbidding; but the desolate land is producing oil and gas and uranium and coal and lumber, and many millions of dollars are flowing into the tribal treasury. In early days it was each family for itself; today the Tribal Council is using wisely these vast sums to build highways and hospitals and schools and to give scholarships. What a strange paradox, that the land given to the Indians, desolate and unwanted, turns out to be the source of many blessings! Was not Providence smiling on these folks and looking toward this day?
Today we teach the gospel to the Indian youth, and tomorrow there will be thousands of them on missions. Nearly all their marriages will be performed in the temples. They will give leadership in wards and stakes which will be organized in their areas, and with their white brothers they will become leaders in the kingdom. Groups of stakes are organized into regional minority missions. About 320 of the 2300 Indians in Brigham City are members of the Church, and we have a delightful chapel which President McKay dedicated there.
At Albuquerque, Riverside, at Chilloco and at Lawrence in Kansas, at Carson City in Nevada, at Chemawa in Oregon, at Anadarko in Oklahoma, and elsewhere, our youth-hundreds and hundreds of them-are receiving comparable seminary training. At Aztec, Gallup, Richfield, Flagstaff, Holbrook, Snowflake, and Winslow we are training them in connection with the government peripheral schools.
About 420 Indian children are receiving the superior training in Utah homes under the educational placement program. These children are being fed, housed, clothed, and loved by the selfless people of Utah who take them into their finest homes-philanthropic people who come to love the Indian children as their own, and who give them every advantage-cultural, spiritual, and educational, and who train them in scouting organizational work, in family prayers, in seminary, and in home activities. I quote from a recent letter from an authority on Indian life and education:
"I think you have a very commendable program and one which is probably the only positive approach to the Indian problem in the United States. I have spent a great part of my life living with or working with Indian people and have yet to see any program which has taken the Indian out of himself and started him down the road to progress."
As these children complete their grade and high school work, Brigham Young University is ready to receive them, and special guidance courses and training advisers give them leadership, and each year now our Indian students parade in cap and gown with the other hundreds of graduates of this great institution.
We have follow-up programs to help the Indian youth gain employment as they complete their schoolwork.
A new class instruction program is organized on the reservation, whereby the little Indians are given religious training. At present some 2500 little fellows present themselves weekly or oftener to the young missionaries for religious instruction, assigned by the parents to the church of their choice. These little ones are being taught in about sixty classes, and young missionaries are proving their mettle in training them.
Two young elders teach 102 children in their classes, and another couple, a Navajo and a white elder, are teaching 135 little boys and girls together with some of their parents who asked for the privilege of coming.
Not only the southwest Indians, but Lamanites in general, are facing an open door to education, culture, refinement, progress, and the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Church has spent its millions in Hawaii and New Zealand and other islands to provide schools for the young Lehites. Surely, no descendants need go now without an education, and schools in Mexico will be followed by schools in other nations. Surely the number of deprived ones is being reduced, and opportunity is knocking at their door. Hundreds of Lamanites are serving in mission fields in both Americas and in the islands of the sea. Lamanites are exercising their priesthood and rearing their families in righteousness. A new world is open to them, and they are grasping the opportunities. God bless the Lamanites and hasten the day of their total emancipation from the thralldom of their yesterday.
I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Nathan Eldon Tanner
Nathan Eldon Tanner, Conference Report October 1960, p. 46
President McKay and brethren and sisters, I stand before you this morning in all humility. I wish to express my sincere appreciation of the confidence shown by the General Authorities, President McKay, and those associated with him, in calling one so unprepared to hold such a high office in this the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. No one with any less ability could be called to this position. I would like to assure President McKay and members of the General Authorities and you my brethren and sisters that I shall do my best and am prepared to dedicate my life and my best to the work of the Lord.
I know that this is the Church of Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God here upon the earth, and I know that I shall need your faith and prayers, and I ask that I may have them, that I may carry on in a way that will become one in this responsible position, that I may represent the Church wherever I go in a way that will be pleasing to our Heavenly Father.
I should like at this time to express my sincere appreciation to my family. My paternal great-great-grandfather was a very close friend of Joseph the Prophet. And on my mother's side, you have read of James Brown and his work, and you know Hugh B. Brown, who is my mother's brother. And I want to thank all of them, my father, who was one of the finest men that I ever knew and my loving mother, and particularly I should like at this time to express my sincere and deep appreciation to Elder Hugh B. Brown for the influence that he has had on my life since I was a child. I have had that great privilege of associating closely with him throughout my life.
I should like to express my appreciation to my wife. Probably I could let you know the kind of woman she is by quoting my mother. She said to me one day, "You are fortunate, my boy, to have Sarah as your wife. She has been a great support to you as a wife and a wonderful mother. It is not everybody that could live with you as she has and put up with the things which she has to!"
We have five lovely daughters, and I should like to say to them that I appreciate how loyal and faithful they have been, how little worry and concern they have caused us and how they are prepared to accept any call in the Church.
Speaking of my family, I suppose I should tell you that we have twenty-two grandchildren. I hope and pray that they will carry on in the Church.
President McKay, again I wish to thank you sincerely and those who are supporting you in this my call, and again I wish to say that I love the Lord with all my heart, and I pledge at this time that I will serve him and you with all my might, mind, and strength, and I pray for your faith and prayers and God's blessings, and I do it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Franklin D. Richards
Franklin D. Richards, Conference Report October 1960, pp. 46-48
What a beautiful song: "I Stand All Amazed at the Love Jesus Offers Me!"-I feel that way very deeply this morning, my brothers and sisters. I, like President Tanner, feel appreciative and grateful for the many blessings that have been mine. I likewise appreciate the noble heritage with which I have been blessed, and I appreciate the wonderful family that I have and the devotion they have to the Church and particularly the devotion my wife has shown. We have enjoyed the past nine months in the mission field, more than any other time in our lives, and the reason is that we have been serving the Lord to a greater degree than ever before.
President McKay spoke yesterday about love being the first and second great commandments of the Lord, that we must have this love for our Father in heaven and his Son Jesus Christ, and likewise for our brother and neighbor. I have love in my heart this morning, President McKay, for you and for my brethren that are presiding over the affairs of the kingdom of God, and I have love in my heart for my fellow men. I can truthfully say that I have no enmity nor hatred toward any man, and I pray that the Lord will sustain me in this position.
I feel wholly inadequate as an individual; however, I feel the way Nephi did when his father Lehi asked him to go and get the plates, "I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them".
I know that through these modern revelations and by listening to the words of inspiration and revelation given by our prophets today, that we do receive great strength. I love to read modern revelation, and I love to sit at the feet of the great men who are presiding over the affairs of this Church and to learn what we as servants of the Lord should do to further God's work here upon the earth.
President Moyle yesterday quoted a statement from the Book of Mormon wherein the Lord said that "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy". I want to testify to you that the greatest joy that can come into the life of any man is to give this "pearl of great price", the gospel of Jesus Christ, the power of God unto salvation, to others. That is why Sister Richards and I have been having such great joy this last nine months, because we have been giving the gospel of Jesus Christ to others. We are in a new era of growth and development in the Church of Jesus Christ. The kingdom of God is going forward that the kingdom of heaven may come.
We in the Northwest have been blessed abundantly because we have been active in spreading the gospel and have recognized the importance and shortness of time. The Lord has blessed us in many ways. First, by bringing numbers of people together in groups we have been able to teach the gospel to more people. Secondly, as the members of the Church have shared the gospel with their friends, many more people have been brought into the kingdom of God than otherwise would have been, and those members of wards and stakes and branches and districts that have shared the gospel have been blessed abundantly themselves. And thirdly, spirituality in the wards and branches has increased; the inactive have become active; and the people are happy and are having great joy; and this is as it should be.
Many have said, "How do you find these people that are interested in knowing about the gospel?" We have asked the people of the Northwest to ask their neighbors every day, "What do you know about the Mormon Church?" And whatever their answer may be, our next question is, "Would you like to know more?" Our missionaries are busy teaching in groups those that would like to know more, and they are so busy that they are obliged to use automobiles and do practically all of their proselyting and arranging meetings over the telephone. The Lord is greatly blessing the missionaries and the Saints in the Northwest area, and the gospel is going forward by leaps and bounds as it is in practically every other area of the world.
I am grateful to my Father in heaven that among my other blessings I have the opportunity of spending my time and energy in his service. I pledge all of my efforts, President McKay, to the Church and to you as prophet, seer, and revelator, and to the spreading of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In concluding I would like to read from one of the modern prophets, President Heber J. Grant. He said:
"The most glorious thing that has ever happened in the history of the world since the Savior himself lived on the earth is that God himself saw fit to visit the earth with his beloved, Only Begotten Son, our Redeemer and Savior, and to appear to the boy Joseph". And it is our duty above all others to go forth at home and abroad and proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I know that in order to do this we must live close to the Lord.
President McKay together with President Clark and President Moyle in the beautiful blessing that they gave me when they set me apart as president of the Northwestern States Mission told me to live close to the Lord and listen to his whisperings and have the courage to execute them. When Brother and Sister Lee were in our mission field this last summer, they brought many blessings to the Saints and the missionaries, and already we have seen many join the Church who listened to their words. Likewise Brother and Sister Lee impressed upon us that we should not be too busy taking care of details and mechanics to listen to the whisperings of the Spirit.
I testify to you my brothers and sisters that the greatest message that we have is that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored, the power of God unto salvation. I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that God lives, that Jesus is indeed his Son, the Redeemer of the world, and that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God-one of the greatest prophets that has lived on this earth, according to the word of the Lord contained in our holy book of Doctrine and Covenants. I know that David O. McKay is the prophet of the Lord today, and I know that we need a prophet on the earth today. I propose to sustain President McKay with all of my might and strength. I say this and dedicate myself unto the Church, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Theodore M. Burton
Theodore M. Burton, Conference Report October 1960, pp. 48-50
President McKay, President Clark, if he were here, President Moyle, members of the General Authorities, my dear brothers and sisters, this is a humbling experience.
When President McKay called me this morning into his office and asked me how I felt, I told him I was frightened. I am frightened, but only to this extent-frightened that I might not measure up to the responsibility that has been given me. President McKay told me that my responsibility would be to principally bear witness to the divinity of Jesus Christ, and this I can do from the bottom of my heart. I do know that Jesus is the Christ. I have covenanted with him to be his son. I have covenanted to bear that name, and I pray that I might always bear it honorably, that I might never do anything to bring dishonor to that glorious name.
I have wondered since the call was given me why I was called to this position. I do not stand here alone. This call has come to a great many people, people who have influenced my life, even before I was born. As the other brethren have said, I, too, come from a long line of forebears who bore responsible positions in this Church. My great-grandfather Burton was a member of the Church and came into the Church with his wife and one of his daughters. My grandfather Burton was a young man only fifteen years of age, who had heard about the Mormons in Canada, and he said that he would disown his parents if they joined the Church. So he left them and went down into Ohio, and there the missionaries contacted him and brought him into the Church. He then went back, and on his knees apologized to his father and mother for his lack of insight, for his lack of understanding, and asked their forgiveness.
Grandfather Burton came here with some of the very earliest pioneers as a bugler to Brigham Young, and he became one of Brigham Young's constant companions, along with Brother Lot Smith and Brother Porter Rockwell. I have read Grandfather's journals; I know how devoted he was to the Church. He was a member of the Presiding Bishopric for many, many years.
He married my grandmother, whose maiden name was Garr. The Garrs, too, are wonderful people of whom I am very proud. They were among the very first who came into the Church, and Great-grandfather Fielding Garr was one of those seven men chosen to perform that very special burial mission when the Prophet was assassinated, so I have been told. Grandmother walked across the plains as a young girl eight years of age, and said how happy she was when she got a thorn in her foot because that was the only time she was able to ride on the tailgate of the wagon until they got the thorn out of her foot. So she was one of those early pioneers who helped establish and build this country.
The Moyles have been in the Church for many years. My mother was Florence Moyle. I am proud of the Moyles. Great-grandfather Moyle and Grandfather Moyle helped build the Salt Lake Temple, and when you see the carving on the east side of the temple, "Holiness to the Lord," Great-grandfather did that as a missionary called to work on the temple.
I am proud of the Cannels. They, too, came into the Church early. Great-grandfather came here to Utah to protect his daughter from the Mormons, and when he got here he joined the Church and was grateful that his daughter found such an outstanding man as Grandfather James Moyle.
So I am proud of all of these people who have made it possible for me to be here. I am grateful to my Sunday School teachers. I am grateful to my Primary teachers. In my day we had Religion Class. I am grateful to those sisters who labored with us when we caused them many hours of trouble and concern, I am sure, but they taught me the divinity of Jesus Christ, for which I will always be grateful.
I came of goodly parents. My father and mother are people of whom I am very proud. I am grateful for the association I have had with my wife. She, too, comes from a long line of people who have been in this Church for many generations. Her father, who is still living, over ninety years of age, is still president of his high priests quorum. I am grateful to her, for she has stood by me from the time we were married and has been loyal and faithful in every respect.
I am proud of my son. I only have one son, and so I have to make up in quality what I lack in quantity. I am proud of him. When my great-uncle Henry Moyle was patriarch of Alpine Stake, he gave me my patriarchal blessing. He told me that we would have responsibilities to take upon us. He told me that my children would have to bear part of that responsibility, too. So I pray that my son will live close to the Lord and be able to accept his share of responsibility when that comes.
I have just returned from the West German Mission, and I bring you all the love of those wonderful people. I have spent just about one-fifth of my life among German-speaking people. I love the Swiss people; I love the Austrian people; I love those German people with whom I have been working. They are simply marvelous Saints, strong and stalwart, loyal and true, and they are about to strengthen the Church in that mighty nation so that we will have stakes of Zion there, too. I am hoping and praying that I shall also be present when that glorious day comes, when we can establish on the continent of Europe, among foreign-speaking peoples, stakes of Zion. I know that their hearts are filled with love of God as yours are, and I bring you their greetings and their love, and I am proud to be associated with a Church so international in its character that we can love people regardless of what language they speak, what color they may be, or what nation they represent. We have covenanted to be brothers and sisters, and this love that was spoken of before is the love that exists in this Church today.
Without multiplying words, then, President McKay, I accept this calling with humility and pray for your help and for your instruction.
My brothers and sisters, I will rise and do better than my best, because I know that I have been called to this position by a Prophet of God who speaks in the name of Jesus Christ. I bear you my testimony that he is a prophet of God. I bear you my testimony that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. I bear you my testimony that these men with whom I have associated in the mission field, and these authorities who are sitting before you today, are prophets, seers, and revelators, for I have seen prophecies fulfilled that they have made. I bear testimony that Jesus is the Christ, that this is the Church of Jesus Christ, possessing all the authority that is necessary to establish and maintain it upon the face of the earth today. I know it will grow until all people can recognize and bow their knee and confess that Jesus is the Christ, and that his kingdom is upon the earth. This testimony I give you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report October 1960, pp. 50-51
I wish to read a part of the instruction given by our Redeemer to his disciples on this continent just before he left them.
"And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil-
"And for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their works.
"And it shall come to pass, that whoso 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 Father.
"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 lieth not, but fulfilleth all his words.
"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".
I know of nothing that is more important or necessary at this time than to cry repentance, even among the Latter-day Saints, and I call upon them as well as upon those who are not members of the Church, to heed these words of our Redeemer. Now he has stated definitely that no unclean thing can enter his presence. Only those who prove themselves faithful and have washed their garments in his blood through their faith and their repentance-none others shall find the kingdom of God.
We have inducements, enticing features come before us through the press, by television particularly, and in other ways to lead our people and all other people astray and away from keeping the commandments of God. I want to raise a warning voice to the members of the Church, and especially to the youth of the Church. Do not pay heed to the wicked and malicious advertising of tobacco nor of liquor. The advertising of tobacco today is one of the greatest offenses and crimes before our Father in heaven, and those who are guilty of it will one day have to pay the price. They do it now because of greed, but we must not listen to these enticings and to the wicked advertising of things that are detrimental to the body and condemned by our Father in heaven and his Son Jesus Christ, contrary to the gospel they have given to us.
Now, we have those who are among us who are inclined to listen to these pleadings and to the entertainments that are given, all of which are intended to lead us into forbidden fields, to partake of things condemned by the Lord, and which are not for those who have made covenant with him to keep his commandments.
I am going to spend a minute or two particularly relative to this filthy tobacco habit. I believe that some of the women of this country are getting to be worse than the men, and those who advertise are seeking to influence the women-the mothers of the children. As I ride through the streets here of Salt Lake City in an automobile, I sometimes see women on nearly every street corner or between the blocks with cigarettes in their mouths-three or four women to every man. I fear some of them are members of the Church. We cannot afford to turn neither to the right nor to the left from the keeping of the commandments of the Lord if we want to enter into his kingdom.
Our bodies must be clean. Our thinking must be clean. We must have in our hearts the desire to serve the Lord and keep his commandments; to remember our prayers, and in humility seek the counsels that come through the guidance of the Spirit of the Lord. That will bring to us our salvation, and we will never get salvation through the violation of the covenants and commandments which will bring to us eternal life.
There is not time for me to say more than this. These few remarks will have to do. I have a great deal in my mind, but I can carry those things to the stake conferences.
The Lord bless you all, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop Carl W. Buehner
Carl W. Buehner, Conference Report October 1960, pp. 52-54
My dear brethren and sisters, this to me has been a very stirring session of conference. We have heard the vital statistics of the Church, and we have sustained the General Authorities of the Church. From among the priesthood have also been chosen three devoted and humble men to take a place with the other General Authorities of the Church. I know each of them well. They have given dedicated service to the work of the Lord, and with all my heart I can say to them that their joy will be even greater as they travel among the people of the Church.
I am always thrilled to participate with you in one of these great general conferences of the Church. I keenly feel, however, that even though conference time is a wonderful time, it is even more wonderful for those who have already spoken.
Let me tell you a couple of little stories that I think you may appreciate. I heard one of our fine sisters bear her testimony in fast meeting not long ago and express her gratitude for four wonderful little boys that had been born into their home. The parents loved these four little youngsters immensely. Word came that they were going to have another little arrival in the home, and the family all decided that the fifth should be a little girl. They pleaded with our Heavenly Father that this might be the case. He heard the plea of the family, and when the baby was born, it was a girl. This little girl grew up in this home, knowing how much she was wanted and appreciated. She seemed very much loved by the four little boys, the father and the mother. Each poured out his affections upon her. She grew up in this atmosphere, knowing she was very important and very much wanted in the home. When she was somewhere between four and five years of age, and while she was in the midst of her family and feeling very happy about her home and her little brothers, she said, "Mother, I'll bet you were really surprised when you found out I was a Mormon, too." In the sight of our Heavenly Father, every one of us is a very important person. I wish we could always remember this and realize how much we are loved by him and reciprocate that love by living close to his teachings.
The other little story I should like to tell emanated from the Primary Children's Hospital. This is one of the great institutions we have in the Church. Those of you who have been there know something about its little patients, some of whom are there for an extended period of time, even flat on their backs on their little beds, and some more fortunate are in wheelchairs. Very few can get around on their own. I have never been in a place where there are happier patients than those in our Primary Children's Hospital. Employed there as a nurse is a very lovely woman who lost her husband and who has a family of her own to raise. The oldest boy of this woman was old enough to receive a call to go on a mission. The children in the hospital, most of whom have so little, had such a love and devotion for their nurse, whose son was now going into the mission field, that they sent a little Indian boy, who had a broken leg, but who could get around with crutches, to solicit a contribution from these little patients. You understand they have very little, many of them being there as Church-service cases. I understood they practically cleaned out all of the assets of these children and gathered up a total of $6.68. This was presented to the missionary as their appreciation for his wonderful mother who was their nurse and to help the great missionary program move forward.
We are asked to give two or three pennies for each year of our age annually to help this institution. As you catch the spirit of these children, you often wish you were a thousand years old when they come to collect these pennies. I have frequently said, "God bless the Primary and their hospital for what they are doing to bless our children!"
May I say just a word about a lovely experience I enjoyed in being able to go back to the land of my birth after an absence of about sixty years and to visit the city where I was born. I had the opportunity of bearing my testimony at a district conference in Stuttgart, Germany. I saw a little building which more than sixty years ago housed the Stuttgart Branch. Meetings are not held here any more. They have a beautiful chapel of their own. It was in this little branch chapel that I received a name and a blessing. In the areas close to Stuttgart, I saw the little villages in which my father and mother were born. They later moved to Stuttgart and were there married. This is where the missionaries found them and taught them the gospel.
I was also made very much aware of the fact that Stuttgart today is almost a new city. I was told that about seventy percent of the original city had been bombed out during the war. The scars of war are still evident, as you see large buildings with no windows, no doors, the roofs demolished, and parts of the walls destroyed. Many new buildings have been erected.
I began thinking of my own situation and giving credit to the great missionary program for my many blessings. The scripture in Jeremiah 3:14 says, "... and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and bring you to Zion" . I wondered why my father and my mother were those who were gathered two from a family. This has caused many serious reflections. I was just at the age when I might have been involved with the two world wars that were fought in that land. The destruction of property and the millions of people who lost their lives might just as well have included the Buehner family.
I do not know whether my parents responded the first time the missionaries knocked on their door or the second time or the third time. I am grateful, however, that the missionaries knocked on the door of my parents sufficient times to convince them that they had the great message of the age to give to them, the story that God had spoken again in this day to the boy Prophet Joseph Smith and through him restored the gospel. To me there is nothing more important or nothing greater. I appreciate so much that my parents accepted the gospel and that like thousands of others had the desire of coming to this great land of America.
I also enjoyed the privilege of going into Berlin. Berlin, once a very proud and beautiful city, is now a divided city. I saw what happens when a city and a people are divided. West Berlin is a little island in Russian territory. There is one highway 110 miles long on which supplies are taken to West Berlin by truck and car, and there is also a twenty-mile wide air strip permitting planes to fly in and out of the city. When an airplane for any reason gets out of the twenty-mile allowed zone, it is over Russian territory.
I admire the faith and stability of the wonderful members of the Church we have behind the Iron Curtain. After hearing the president of the East German Mission relate a number of spine-tingling experiences, I could not help thinking how grateful many people must be that the gospel touched their lives and brought them away from situations such as those being endured by members living in this condition.
I learned that in the Russian schools behind the Iron Curtain, children are taught that there is no such thing as a God, that everything is material and force. These children come home and challenge their parents and say, "Why don't you get up to date? In school we hear every day that there is no such thing as God, and yet you have us kneel down and pray each night and morning and ask our Heavenly Father to bless and watch over us. How can this be when there is no God?" Because of such a reaction, many persons have escaped to the West Zone. President Fetzer indicated that there are strong and devoted members behind the Iron Curtain in almost sufficient numbers to organize a stake there. Of course, such a stake can never be organized under these circumstances. I feel to say, "God bless those wonderful people there."
As we drove into areas in East Berlin, I observed the great industrial area of that city, silent and unproductive. There was no smoke coming from the large smokestacks. There seemed to be no activity of any kind. I had a feeling, without having had the privilege of going into these buildings or even through this area, that the machinery had all been dismantled and taken into Russian territory. I do not know what the future is for this city, but after carefully viewing the situation, I hope the day comes when Berlin can again be reunited as a proud and noble city and reunite the German-speaking people.
In London our guide referred to these areas that had been bombed out as "blitzed." As we drove through the city, every few miles he would say, "Here is another area that was 'blitzed' during the war."
All over Europe a tremendous construction program is underway. People seem happy. They seem well-dressed and even prosperous. They do not have enough money to buy automobiles or to purchase electrical appliances, but there is full employment, and everyone seems to be able to live fairly well.
I was thrilled, as others have already reported, at the tremendous progress missionary work is making in these European countries. You have already heard what is happening in England-I suppose probably the greatest activity since that reported in the very early days of the Church when Wilford Woodruff, Heber C. Kimball and others served as missionaries.
I shall always be grateful for what this missionary program has done for us and our family. Our own family has been an example of what happens to those being gathered one of a city and two of a family. Even though my parents have been dead for twenty-five years, there are practically a hundred of us now because of the two that were gathered more than sixty years ago. At the rate we are growing, in a few more generations, we will have a small city of our own.
It is always wonderful to meet with you in conference. I bear you my testimony to the divinity of this great latter-day work and want to tell you that I find great joy in the service of the Master. I rededicate my life to his service and to help further the purposes of the Almighty. I do it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie
Bruce R. McConkie, Conference Report October 1960, pp. 54-56
We in this Church have a solemn obligation to carry the message of salvation to our Father's other children in the world. To us the Lord has given this command: "Go ye into all the world, preach the gospel to every creature".
This call to missionary service does not leave us any choice or option as to the course we should pursue. It is not merely a permissive invitation which allows us to spread the gospel message on a voluntary basis, or if we find it convenient to do so. The decree is mandatory. We have no choice about it, if we are to retain the favor of God. The Lord has laid upon our shoulders the obligation to spread the gospel, to raise the warning voice, to gather in the lost sheep of the house of Israel. If we neglect to do so, we have violated our trust and failed to comply with a divine directive.
When we come into the Church, we covenant in the waters of baptism that we will do missionary work. We enter into a solemn contract with Deity that we will bear testimony of the restoration of the gospel on every appropriate occasion. We agree "to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places" that we "may be in, even until death". We are also bound by the command that the Lord has given by revelation in this day, that "it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor". Thus we have an affirmative, positive, definite obligation resting upon us to do missionary work. This matter of carrying the gospel message to the world is not something that we can choose to do or not, if and when we may find it to be convenient. We are under covenant to do it "at all times... and in all places...even until death".
We are indebted, each of us individually, to the missionaries who brought the gospel to us or to our ancestors; many of us owe these missionaries more than we owe anyone else. We received from them the pearl of great price. We have an obligation to discharge our debt, and one of the very best ways in which we can do this is to go forth ourselves as missionaries, or otherwise to use our talents and our means to see that others of our Father's children have the opportunity to receive that which has been restored in this day.
The Lord has decreed that this gospel, which has come forth through the instrumentality of Joseph Smith and others, is the very gospel that is going to be preached in all the nations of the earth as a witness before the Second Coming of the Son of Man. Since we are the ones who have this true gospel, we alone can carry it to the world. To carry out this command to preach this restored gospel in all the world, every one of us should be missionaries every day and hour of our lives, at all times and in all places and under all circumstances. We do not need any particular call or any special setting apart; we have already assumed the obligation in the waters of baptism to take every honorable opportunity to tell other people about the glories and beauties of the gospel. And there is not anything in this world that in any way compares in importance with the gospel.
May I make two specific suggestions which if adhered to and followed will very measurably train and prepare the young people of this Church to go out and discharge their obligations, to bear the missionary burden, to do the thing that they are expected to do by virtue of Church membership.
We do our missionary work, all of us as individuals, by telling other people about the Church and the saving truths which have been revealed to it. But we have also the great organized missionary ventures of the Church. We have stake missions and foreign missions, and we would like to see every worthy and qualified young man in the Church go out in the foreign missionary service. We have some eight thousand of them out now, and this, incidentally, is one of the great evidences of the divinity of the work in which we are engaged. There is no other organization of any kind that does or could do what we do in the missionary cause-call thousands and tens of thousands of people to leave their employment, their educational pursuits, their families, loved ones, and friends, and go out at their own expense to carry the gospel message to the world.
However, under the circumstances in which we live, it is not solely a matter of inviting a young man, when he reaches the proper age, to go and serve in the mission field. Our young men are faced with educational problems, military service, employment, and other things; they have the problem of planning and preparing, of getting their personal affairs in order, of being ready, of having the financial requisites to sustain themselves when the time comes for their missionary calls.
So, the first suggestion I make is this: We ought to have in every family in the Church a mission savings account. This could well start for every young man when he is born, when he comes into this world. It takes about $2,000, something in that vicinity, to support a person in the mission cause. It takes about $75 a month. Now those of us of modest means may find it somewhat burdensome suddenly to be obligated in that amount. But if we have a mission savings account for each male child, we can very easily have available the necessary funds when that child arrives at missionary age.
If you would deposit, for instance, Four dollars and a few odd cents to a young man's savings account each month, beginning at his birth, by the time that he is old enough to go on a mission, without counting any interest, you would have about one thousand dollars accumulated. All of our young people as they mature, as they come up into their teens in the economy in which we live, are able to get jobs and make money. Now if our young men would do this thing, if they could have instilled into their hearts a willingness to deposit one-half of all they make into this mission savings account, then without any question, by the time they are of missionary age there would be $2,000 or more available to support them. This would remove the worry and burden of financing the missionary, and the money would have been accumulated without any excessive or inordinate effort, and all, at least financially, would be in readiness.
But in the process of acquiring that money, benefits would accrue which would far exceed the monetary sums that might be saved. If a young man is saving consistently through his teen-age years, and if his family is doing the same, so that he can go out into missionary service, then that young man is having instilled into his heart the desire and the willingness to serve. It becomes part of his planning. He just automatically assumes that he will discharge part of his missionary obligation by spending two or three years in the mission field. He is impelled to live right, to study and gain a knowledge of the gospel, to keep himself morally clean, to be worthy and qualified, so that the inspiration will come to his bishop to recommend him.
Now the second suggestion which I make is this: We are supposed to be holding regular family prayer in every Latter-day Saint home. We do this twice a day, ordinarily before the morning and the evening meals. The parents set the example in family prayer. I think perhaps we overlook the benefit and value of family prayer in teaching the doctrines of salvation to our children. Well, if we as parents would regularly, consistently, frequently but if frequently we would plead with the Lord when we are mouth in family prayer, that all of our young men may go on missions when they get to be the proper age, and that all of our children, male and female alike, when they get of the proper age, may be married in the temple-if we would do this we would soon find our young children, just able themselves to speak, petitioning the Lord in the same language; they would be praying that they might go on missions, and that in due course, they might be married in the temple. As a consequence we would instill into their hearts a desire, a willingness, a determination to go out and carry the message and also a determination to be married in that system out of which the greatest blessings grow that it is possible for any mortal individual to inherit.
We have an obligation. This is not optional. We are not just to do it or not if it is convenient. The Lord has commanded us to carry his message to the world and to be witnesses of his name. If it takes some preparation and schooling, if it takes some conditioning and teaching in order to get ourselves in a condition where we can do this effectively, then in wisdom and in judgment and in prudence we ought to undertake the conditioning and make the preparation so that when the time comes we will be financially able, and we will be spiritually prepared to go forth on the Lord's errand.
If I had to choose between the two, I would rather have my sons go on missions than have a college education. It will do more for them temporally and educationally to say nothing of the spiritual benefits that are involved.
The Lord said to some people in early days what I think applies to us: "... 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".
In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Alvin R. Dyer
Alvin R. Dyer, Conference Report October 1960, pp. 58-62
With my dear wife and missionary companion, we are most grateful for the privilege of being invited to return at this conference time to be refortified with the spirit and the strength of these wonderful gatherings. I want to say to the First Presidency of the Church that the inspiration of their direction that has come to us during the past nine months has been in large measure the reason for the expanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ among the people of Europe. We have been in almost constant contact by telephone, by letter, and by other means, with the inspiration and direction of the First Presidency of the Church. In standing here this afternoon, I do so for and in behalf of the thirteen mission presidents who are now laboring in Europe, and I bring to this conference their greetings, as well as to the parents of their missionaries, and to all who have served in these many missions of Europe.
These mission leaders are President and Sister T. Bowring Woodbury of the British Mission; President and Sister Levi B. Thorup of the Danish Mission; President and Sister John D. Warner of the Finnish Mission; President and Sister Edgar B. Brossard of the French Mission; President and Sister J. Henry Volker of the Netherlands Mission; President and Sister Ray Engebretsen of the Norwegian Mission; President and Sister Bernard P. Brockbank of the North British Mission; President and Sister Percy K. Fetzer of the North German Mission; President and Sister A. Gideon Omer of the Swedish Mission; President and Sister William S. Erekson of the Swiss Mission; and the new mission recently organized, President and Sister W. Whitney Smith of the Austrian Mission; President and Sister T. Quentin Cannon of the South German Mission; and President and Sister Stephen C. Richards of the West German Mission. And with them also I bring the greetings of 1700 missionaries who are now laboring in Europe. I am happy to report that I have had the opportunity during these past months to look into their faces, to feel their spirit, and once again to say within my heart and to proclaim aloud that I have confidence in the youth of this Church.
I am grateful to say that there is a unification in the programs of our missionary work in Europe. Each and every mission is pursuing the work of proselyting in the same manner, and the faith and the testimony of the missionaries who are carrying the gospel to the peoples of these ancient lands are in evidence. Presaged by the visits made to Europe by President McKay at the time of the temple dedications, followed by other visits by members of the Quorum of the Twelve and by President Moyle, the visit by Elder Harold B. Lee at the time of the organization of the Manchester Stake-these have presaged an awakening among the people of these ancient lands.
In August 1959 all of the European missions combined were responsible for ten percent of the converts of that month. In the month of August of this year, the European missions were responsible for thirty-five percent of the converts of the Church for that month, and I only re-echo the faith and the testimony of the mission presidents who are there when I say that we haven't even scratched the surface. God is touching the hearts of the people, they are listening, and are receiving answers to their desires and their prayers. I only wish that I had the time to tell of the many personal cases of conversion that have come to these thousands of people in the past year, and to reassure you, my brethren and sisters, that these people are converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ. They have answered a call that has come to them under the power and the influence of the Spirit of God. I have always felt in my heart that when the Holy Ghost bears record to anyone that he ought to do something about that, and we are encouraging our missionaries in all of these lands to be alert to the reaction of the power of the Spirit in the minds and the hearts of these people, and in that very moment to persuade, to encourage, to teach, to testify, and to challenge that they may be willing to accept the gospel message that has come to them.
I would be insensible to what is taking place in these ancient lands if I did not say that we are witnessing the fulfilling of a prophecy-a prophecy made by President McKay at the time I was called to go into the lands of Europe, wherein he stated to me that the time had come for the gospel of Jesus Christ to be expanded in these lands. The people are ready for the gospel, and we are finding them responding to the efforts of the missionaries as they bear record by the power of faith and testimony of the truths of the gospel unto those with whom they make this contact.
One of the instructions that the First Presidency gave to me was to go into all of the lands of Europe, to go into every mission, and I think it was President Moyle who said to me that I might well go to the French Mission first. We heeded this counsel, and with my good wife I went into the land of France and in association with President and Sister Brossard, spent some three weeks there last February-a land where ninety-two percent of the population belong to the Catholic Church. We found our splendid missionaries responsive to motivation and a new method of contacting the people and teaching them by the power of the Spirit and testimony.
We labored in that land, and under the inspiration of God the hearts of the missionaries were touched, and I shall never forget a meeting held in Brussels at the close of the tour of that mission with the missionary leaders, who went from that meeting with such faith that it engendered itself into the hearts of every one of the missionaries. We said to them, "We want you to go back to the people you have been meeting with, and where they have not listened to you before, to bear your testimony to them, and to do it with all the strength and the power that you have." From that day to this in that mission the Lord has awakened in the hearts of many hundreds the desire to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ. For here in a land rich with great cathedrals have come over 600 converts to the Church already this year, to meet in rented halls, but who now are looking forward to the time when they can associate with their brethren and sisters in the erecting of beautiful chapels to better serve the needs of old and new members alike. As of today there is not a single LDS chapel in all of France, and anyone who would question the faith of these people who have come into the Church would need only to be there and see the transition that they have made from cathedrals of worship to halls on second and third floors, and who now are laboring as stated with our other Saints to help in the erection of our own chapels. This has been true in all of the missions of Europe.
I think one of the greatest testimonies that has come to me in these past months has been the responsiveness of the local members of the Church in Europe, where we have nearly 60,000. We transferred Church leadership to these local members. While in February of this year there were nearly 600 of our full time missionaries engaged in branch, district, and auxiliary activity, today there are fewer than a hundred, and it is the avowed determination of these wonderful mission presidents to see to it that local leaders be called in these also. This accomplished two things: It has relieved the missionaries that they can do more proselyting, and it has strengthened the branches of the Church in these countries.
Let me tell you of one example which is typical. In the tour of the French Mission, when we visited the city of Nice, we had several missionaries there all engaged in branch work. One was the branch president, one was a counselor, another a superintendent of Sunday School, all were engaged. The thought had been that local brethren were not worthy or capable, but we sought out and called the best man we had. That afternoon we interviewed four or five of the local elders, and with Brother Brossard selected the one to be president of the branch. We called in his wife and asked her to support him. That night we set him apart and others of the local brethren into other positions thus relieving missionaries, and in the very next month these missionaries baptized twenty-one people, two of whom were doctors, one an attorney, and the other a schoolteacher.
The Nice Branch today is strong, and since that meeting there have been approximately sixty people come into the Church in that one branch, and they are attending their meetings.
I stood on the street at Trondheim in Norway where Elder John A. Widtsoe lived and played as a boy, and who later said that the day would come when many of the people of that land would accept the gospel, and we are witnessing the continuing of this prophecy in that land. We are seeing again the surge of conversions in Great Britain-a land that has seen more than 160,000 converts to the Church. Why would it be incredible that under the inspiration of God there could be more of these wonderful people accept the gospel and come into the Church?
And in all of the lands of Europe there have been men and women of great strength and character that have added to the stability of this Church, and how grateful now to be there in the midst of this new time of awakening that will see more than ten thousand converts come into the Church in these lands this year; and in consultation with my brethren, these mission presidents, we feel that there is no end to where we can go under the impetus of the power of God as he reaches and touches the hearts of the people.
These new converts are telling their neighbors about the gospel. They are letting their friends know about it. Let me tell you of one typical case. When I was in Denmark, I shook hands with a good sister by the name of Dagmar Petersen, who had been baptized a month previously. She had heard the gospel, but she said, "I am too old. All of my family would turn against me. I know Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God, but I do not think I'd better take the step."
But thank the Lord for a missionary who had the courage to go to her one day when there was a baptismal service and say to her, "Sister Petersen, today is the day of your baptism. The font is filled. Will you come with me?" She hesitated for a moment, then went with the missionaries, walking the six or seven blocks to our beautiful little chapel and was there baptized.
In this conference meeting she sat with one neighbor on one side and two neighbors on the other side of her. The one on the one side already had been baptized, and the other two were to be baptized the following Saturday, and she said, "I will never be happy until all my friends and all my neighbors have been baptized," and this wonderful soul left the chapel and then came back. She said, after entering the chapel again, "I cannot leave, the spirit is so great in this building. I must shake hands again," and then she went off down the street with her friends.
Every Latter-day Saint desires to be a missionary. I think that this is in the heart of almost every member; but why is it, my brethren and my sisters, that we are so afraid to bear our testimonies to our neighbors? I think it was the Apostle Paul who said this:
"For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!".
Then another great prophet of Israel has said this: "So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.
"When I say unto the wicked... thou shalt surely die; and if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy hand.
"Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul".
I have often said to the Latter-day Saints, "If you cannot be a missionary, then at least be a Latter-day Saint, that you will not stand in the way by your manner of living, of those who will want to come into the Church."
Now there are many wonderful things going on in Europe. Under the inspiration of the Lord we have called thirty-four translators in the various countries. I wish I could tell you the story of each one, like Sister Charrier down in a little village in France. She heard the gospel, accepted it. We learned that she had a class of pupils whom she was teaching English. Her preparations have enabled her to help us with the translations into the French language. And she now is working diligently.
I am thinking of Immo Luschin Ebengreuth of Graz, Austria, a man who heard the gospel message from two missionaries, and said to them before they got into a lengthy discussion on the gospel, "I would ask you only five questions before you go further." He was a confirmed member of the Catholic Church, and these are his questions:
"1. Does this Church believe in marriage for all eternity? "2. Does this Church believe in the punishment for infants who are not baptized? "3. Do, in this Church, the rich and the poor have equal opportunity? "4. In this Church, do you baptize by immersion for the remission of sin? "5. In this Church do you lay on hands for the receiving of the Holy Ghost?"
This man had never met the missionaries before, and we inquired as to where he got such questions. His answer was, "We have not been satisfied with our faith. My wife and I determined that through prayer and the desire to know that we would find out the true Church." The missionaries said, "Why, these are our teachings," and thus Brother Ebengreuth was baptized with his wife. This brother is a skilled interpreter. He speaks English, I am confident, better than I do, and he now will become a translator for the Church of the German language.
This has been how the Lord has opened the way for us, so that by the end of this year nearly one hundred textbooks and manuals combined in six languages will have been translated. This has been a tremendous task and could not have been done without the help of the Lord.
There is a wide program of micro-filming going on in Europe. This is better known by others than myself, although I have kept an eye on it, and have had some indirect connection with it. I have seen the advantages to this work from heeding the counsel of the brethren. They instructed me to meet the ambassadors, the leaders of nations, and this has been my purpose, and in each and every country have I taken the time to meet these men when I could.
In Norway when the head bishop of the state church carried a personal campaign to the press and elsewhere to prevent us from microfilming in that land, and succeeded also in getting it before the Parliament and when it appeared as though we might lose these privileges, the Minister of Education of the country of Norway, who is also the Minister of Religious Instruction, rose to his feet and said, "You cannot stop the Mormon people from doing this work." He said, "I have been to Salt Lake City. I have met these people. I know what they do with these films," and he made a defense for us largely because of the association that had been had with him here and in the land of Norway, and even the head bishop of the state church had to acknowledge defeat in his effort to prevent us from continuing with this work.
And so the Lord is watching over the things that are being done. I am most grateful, my brethren and sisters, to report to you that these wonderful members in the lands of Europe are substantially true to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I have witnessed in their youth conferences their adherence to our Church customs and patterns and how they revere the ideals and the standards which have been set for them by our general youth organizations. I have been near to their Relief Society meetings and have seen how the influence of our Relief Society organization finds its way into their thinking, and they have a desire to do the will of the Lord. I do not know to what extent we may go in these lands when they have the instrumentation and the facility of proper buildings which they do not have now.
I want to say to President McKay and President Clark and President Moyle and the brethren how grateful these people are for the coming building program that will see many chapels go up in places where they are so sorely needed to further the Church program and which also will provide greater tools of missionary work to carry on this great responsibility given to us as a Church to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ unto the people.
Let me tell you just briefly of my two visits behind the Iron Curtain to be in attendance with the Saints at Leipzig where other of our brethren have been. These members live under hardened conditions. I said to one brother, "How do you stand it here?" He said, "We learn to follow the paths and the trails that are laid out for us. We learn to do what we are told, then we have no difficulty. Our children are picked up in the morning by bus at 8 a.m. and are delivered home at night. We have no control over their schooling nor over what is taught them: referred to by Brother Buehner in the morning session. I was greatly moved to hear the testimonies of our members there.
One of the district presidents testified what to me is the greatest testimony I have heard in Europe: Under such conditions "no man," said he, "can tell me how to worship God in my own heart. Although there are nearly five thousand members in some thirty-nine branches we keep in contact with them as much as we can." I thought as we enjoyed this wonderful presentation of music here today, that but a few weeks ago, I listened to a combined chorus of the Leipzig and Dresden districts sing, "Shall the Youth of Zion Falter." The look on the faces of these young people was most stirring. All that day in our priesthood and leadership meetings, we gave encouragement to safeguard to the fullest extent possible our youth to cause them to remain true to the gospel because there are inroads being made.
How grateful Sister Dyer and I have been to be associated with these people and with our wonderful missionaries, who with clear faces are bearing their testimonies to the peoples of Europe, and who are receiving these wonderful responses, and I know with all my heart that all this is but the fulfilment of prophecy.
I bear you my testimony in all humility that this is the work of God. I have seen it in the lives of people. I have witnessed it as it causes men and women to change their lives, I have seen it become a motivating force for good, and I bear record that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world, the Mediator-not as it is preached by these predominant countries of the lands of Europe. And do you know that this is the message we declare when we go to the doors of the people the first time? It is through the testimony of our missionaries that the veneer of false concepts and the antiquities of these people are being laid aside for the acceptance of the gospel. It is more powerful than all other things that we do in our missionary work as we look into their faces and bear record that God has raised up a prophet, and they are listening to this message.
We had a family of seven visited recently by the missionaries where the woman was about to close the door when the elder said, "I can see you are going to close the door. I am very sorry. We have such a wonderful message," and we have told them, "Before any door is closed, you bear your testimony." He said, "Before you close that door I want to bear my testimony to you of these brief things we have stated today," and he bore his testimony. The door closed, and the missionaries started for their home to their room, and it was raining. They had reached about a half a block when they heard a voice, it was the young boy of the home, fourteen-years-old, who said, "Dad wants you to come back," and they went back and the father said, "I listened to your message at the door on the other side as you spoke to my wife, and I did not think much of it until that young man bore his testimony, and then something came over me that I have never experienced before, and now I have to know what this is."
I had the privilege of shaking hands with this family of seven and hearing them testify that God had made known to them that these things are true. This is the reason why so many are accepting the gospel in the lands of Europe. We are proclaiming the message by testimony and through the Spirit.
I ask the blessings of our Heavenly Father upon the great missionary work and upon our beloved brethren who lead us, without whose inspiration and direction we could not go forward in these lands and throughout the world, I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Bishop Thorpe B. Isaacson
Thorpe B. Isaacson, Conference Report October 1960, pp. 63-65
President McKay, President Moyle, President Smith, my dear brothers and sisters, I will be very grateful to you for an interest in your faith and prayers while I attempt to speak to you. I have long since come to realize that in and of myself there is very little that I can do. Therefore, I shall be dependent greatly upon the Spirit of the Lord.
I would like to pay tribute to these nearly eight thousand missionaries who came from the ranks of the Aaronic Priesthood. Many of them just a few years ago were little deacons, teachers, and priests, and now are in all parts of the world preaching the gospel. I should also like to pay tribute to their parents and their families, many of them come from very modest homes.
Since the missionary system of the Church was first inaugurated, it is estimated, and it is only an estimation, that there may have been approximately one hundred thousand missionaries sent into all parts of the world. The missionary system has undoubtedly been a source of tremendous strength to the Church throughout its fascinating history. Many of us here today could trace our very presence, yes, our very membership in the Church, to the work of some wonderful missionary. And in a hundred years from now, when none of us are here, there will probably be millions who will be able to trace their membership in the Church to the work of some wonderful missionary.
We often interview these young men, and we talk to them about going on a mission. One of the questions that we ask them is, "Do you want to go on this mission or are you going because someone else has urged you to go?" Invariably we get a very strong answer to the effect, "Yes, I want to go on this mission. I have been planning on it for many years since a small boy."
Sometimes we ask them, "Who will finance you on this mission?" And we get some wonderful answers. A number of them say that they have been saving money themselves, as Brother McConkie suggested this morning, getting ready for this mission. Some say, "Well, I have been in the service"-and it is not unusual to find a wonderful boy returning from the service to say, "I have saved my money while I have been in the service in the hope that I could go on a mission."
A number of them say, "I am glad to sell my car that I have bought, and together with other funds, I am ready to go on a mission."
Of course, the majority of them tell us that their parents will sustain them while they are in the mission field. But many occasionally say that some good friend or some neighbor or relative wants the privilege of helping them while on a mission. Others say their quorum is anxious to help them. These young men feel that it is a great blessing to go on a mission; it is not a burden. They do not look at it as a burden, neither do they look at it as a sacrifice. Truly these young men are blessed and magnified. We must realize that before they left for their mission, every one of them had hands laid upon their heads by servants of the Lord, who gave them a blessing and set them apart as missionaries.
Sometimes we ask a prospective missionary, "Do you have a testimony of the gospel?" And the young man will look at you and say, "Yes, I have a testimony. It may not be as strong as I hope it will be in later years, but I have a testimony."
And then we may ask the prospective missionary, "Do you know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God?" And it is always a thrill to see a young man look up and say, "Yes, sir! I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet! Do you know that President David O. McKay is a prophet? Yes, sir!" He looks at you and says, "I know that President David O. McKay is a prophet of the Lord!"
Then we may ask these prospective missionaries, "Is there anything in this world that could change you? Is there anyone who could change your mind or change your testimony?" They will look at you and say, "No, there is not anything in this world that could change my mind, because I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and I know that President David O. McKay is a prophet." And they do know it.
How do they know it? They know it by the power and the gift of the Holy Ghost that testifies to them that it is so. They speak as did the Prophet Joseph when describing his great vision of the Father and the Son:
"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 that God knew it, and I could not deny it, neither dared I do it; at least I knew that by so doing I would offend God, and come under condemnation".
On many occasions, young men have volunteered to me, when I have asked them, if there are any circumstances or teacher who might change their testimony, and they, have spoken very strongly and said, I would rather die than deny that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God!"
Do you worry about that kind of young men? No, no! In years to come we will see the strength of those great young men.
Recently I was told the story of a wonderful physician and surgeon. A few years ago while he was serving in the army, and at that time he was not a member of the Church, he met two or three of our young Mormon missionaries. He did not know them at the time, and he spoke somewhat disrespectfully to them. One of these young men, very composed, spoke up frankly to this doctor and told him who they were and what they were doing. The doctor listened, and he said he was very chagrined and ashamed because of the way he had spoken to them. The doctor soon learned to admire these young men, and he listened to them.
He went home, and he told his wife about these exceptional young men. He told her some of the things that they had told him. True, these were not learned men of science, they were not even men with great experience. But he learned a great deal from these young Mormon missionaries, and he soon recognized that while they were not men of science, they were men of God. He learned to listen to them, and it was not long before both he and his wife joined the Church and are very wonderful members of the Church today.
This fine doctor often thanks the Lord for these wonderful Mormon missionaries, because you see, now this doctor has six or seven sons of his own, and he often reminds them that he wants them to be like the fine Mormon missionaries whom he met years ago, and who were responsible for teaching him the gospel and bringing him and his wife into the Church.
Our missionaries are ever receiving, and in this they are blessed, but more important, they are ever giving. They receive not to hold for themselves, but to give to others. In receiving, they are like the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea in Palestine. In giving, they are like the Sea of Galilee only, which receives and gives, while the Dead Sea receives only to hold to itself, and it gives nothing. The vast difference between receiving and giving and only receiving is appropriately described in the following word picture of the two seas of the Holy Land, and I think each of us should now resolve to be like the Sea of Galilee:
"One is fresh and fish abound in it. Splashes of green adorn its landscape. Trees spread their branches over it and stretch out their thirsty roots to sip of its life-giving waters. Along its shores children play, as children played when He was there. He loved it. He could look across its silver surface as He spoke His parables. And on a rolling plain, not far away, He fed five thousand people in the miracle of the loaves and fishes. The River Jordan forms this Sea with sparkling waters from the hills. It laughs in the sunshine, and men build their houses near it, and birds their nests, and every kind of life is happier because it is there. The River Jordan flows on south into another Sea. Here there is no splash of fish, no fluttering leaf, no song of birds, no laughter of little children. Travelers do not pass, unless on urgent business which might take them there. The air hangs heavy above its waters, and neither man nor beast nor fowl will drink of it. What makes this mighty difference in these neighbor Seas? Not the River Jordan-It empties the same good water into both. Not the soil in which they lie, nor the country 'round about. The Sea of Galilee receives and gives but does not keep the Jordan water to itself. For every drop which flows into it, another drop flows out. The receiving and the giving go on, day after day, in equal measure. The other Sea hoards its income jealously. Every drop it gets, it keeps. The Sea of Galilee gives and lives. The other Sea gives nothing. It is named 'The Dead Sea.'"
With this comparison between receiving and giving, it is easy to see what the great missionary program can do for your young men, for they forsake all selfishness, and they turn to the divine art of selflessness, as they seek to give only that they may have a richer store from which to give for the blessing of others.
Yes, we think that every deacon, teacher, and priest of the Aaronic Priesthood should prepare to fill a mission. These choice young men should have proper training. Last year we presented over 31,000 individual Aaronic Priesthood awards to very choice, wonderful young men, which means that every one of these young, outstanding men is a potential missionary, if we as parents and leaders do our part.
These young men are preparing for that mission. Parents and Aaronic Priesthood leaders would do well to hold as the goal for every Aaronic Priesthood boy the preparation for a mission. For seven years-two years as a deacon, two years as a teacher, and three years as a priest-the courses of study, we hope, will be prepared and so correlated that at the end of these seven years, all of these wonderful Aaronic Priesthood boys will have reached that goal of being prepared to fill a mission. And during these seven years' experience in the Aaronic Priesthood program, the boy will be given a training that will carry him not alone through a mission, but throughout his life.
We know there are some young men who may be on the wrong road. We would say to you young men, "Turn back. Turn back; it isn't too late. We want to help you. You can still find the right road. We want you to know that the Lord loves you young men. We want you to know and appreciate what is in store for you. We want you to feel that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the greatest stabilizing influence in your life."
I want to bear you my testimony that I know that God lives. I love the Lord. I want to bear testimony to you that we can get close to the Lord, perhaps closer than we ourselves may fully realize, but it will take humility; it will take effort, and we cannot be satisfied just to go on the road of least resistance. Let us make sure that these thousands of Aaronic Priesthood boys are not neglected. What a shame it would be if we failed to give every boy proper encouragement, training, planning, or if we did anything that would deny any one of these boys receiving a call for his mission.
God bless us that we may live up to the responsibilities which are ours, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Gordon B. Hinckley
Gordon B. Hinckley, Conference Report October 1960, pp. 66-67
If I had the wish of my heart I would ask for the privilege of sitting down and having this wonderful choir sing again that hymn which they sang so beautifully this morning:
"I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me, Confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me."
I seek the inspiration of the Lord. I had prepared a talk, but I think I shall discuss something else. Brother Dyer has been speaking of the work in Europe, and I rejoice at the marvelous things that are being accomplished there. I wish to say that I feel that the same spirit, the power of the Lord upon the people of the earth, is being made manifest all over the world where the gospel is being taught.
I have recently had the experience, under the direction of the First Presidency, of going through the missions of the Orient. I cannot deny the miracles of God, and I think many of the things I have seen are truly miracles.
Not long ago, I sat in an old high school gymnasium in the city of Seoul, Korea. Just a short time earlier the blood of the young people of Korea had been running in the streets of that strife-ridden city. In our meeting that evening there were over 500 young Koreans. I was told that we have only two married couples who are members of the Church in all of the Seoul District. Our members there are young, forward-looking people. Conducting that gathering was a sandy-haired, Utah farm boy. He conducted with dignity and spoke with ease the language of those people, and after the meeting, as they came up and put their arms around him, and he put his arms around them, I marveled at the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ to change men's hearts.
We then went down to the sad city of Pusan on the southern tip of Korea. We held a street meeting in the park overlooking the harbor. Within a few feet of a great anti-aircraft gun emplacement we opened our meeting, and about
150 curious, intelligent-looking people gathered. A boy from Florida, a missionary of this Church, began to speak. I then wandered down into the crowd with an army sergeant-one of our boys who was taking us around. A Korean who spoke some English said in substance to the sergeant, "How long that young man been here? Two years," was the reply. "No-he here longer. Americans here fifteen years and not speak our language. Americans not speak Korean like that." I thought of the words of the Savior as recorded by Mark: "... they shall speak with new tongues".
I remember sitting in this tabernacle while I was a university student and hearing one of the brethren say that peace can come to the world only through acknowledgment of the Lord Jesus Christ. I was at a critical age, and I doubted the possibility of that ever occurring. I think recently I have glimpsed the vision of how it might happen.
Not long ago we were in Hiroshima, Japan. We stood in the park and green grows the grass at the site where on the sixth of August 1945, just fifteen years ago, 80,000 lives were taken with the blinding flash of the first atomic bomb. Another 80,000 have since died from the effects of it. It is a sobering experience to stand in that place.
There is a simple monument about the size of this pulpit, and it has inscribed on its face in Japanese characters, words which say in translation: "Rest in peace. May this tragedy never again come to the world."
There were three of us, the mission president, a man from Hiroshima, and myself. The man from Hiroshima was a Japanese businessman, an elder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a man who had served in the Japanese Imperial Army for nine years. I was an elder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from the land which had dropped the bomb. With emotion and sincerity he said, through an interpreter, "Thank God for the missionaries. Last night my wife and I were on our knees, as we are each night, to express gratitude for the coming of these two young men who have literally saved our lives. We had nothing to live for, no hope here or hereafter, and we were drinking ourselves to death. They came. They taught us. They brought purpose into our lives. The change in me has been so noticeable that my partner became curious. I have been teaching him the gospel, and I am now going to baptize him."
That is the way peace will come to the world. This thing shall spread from soul to soul, and men in all lands shall come to acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Son of God, the Savior of mankind, our Elder Brother, the Prince of Peace.
We sat in a testimony meeting one day a few months ago. A boy stood up with a letter in his hand. He said, "I think I am happier than I have ever been in my life. I have had many wonderful experiences here, and they have made me happy, but it is this letter that has really warmed my heart. My father, once active, began drinking, and oh, the sorrow my mother has suffered because of this. After my farewell my father said, 'My son, I am going to try to live worthy of you.' Now," the missionary said, "I have a letter from my father, received yesterday, which says that last week he was ordained a high priest and set apart as counselor in the bishopric of our ward, and he has just made a down payment on a home for the first time in his life."
These are some of the miracles I have seen in my associations with our missionaries. I am grateful, I am more grateful than I can say for this great program of the Church that I have been blessed to be associated with. I know it is one of the marks of the divinity of this work. No other organization in this world has anything quite like it.
It touches for good the lives of all who are affected by it.
The work is going forward on the other side of the earth. I recall sitting here as a boy and hearing President Grant tell of his difficulties in Japan and of his praying to the Lord to give him another assignment because of his discouragement. Do you know that the missionaries of the Northern Far East Mission have baptized an average of about six converts per missionary so far this year? Many of these were not Christian people. Our missionaries in this part of the world have taken to people who are of the Oriental religions the testimony of Jesus and have converted them to this cause. God bless them for their devotion and their faithfulness. The Lord bless us at home to sustain his work throughout the world by the virtues of our lives, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Eldred G. Smith
Eldred G. Smith, Conference Report October 1960, pp. 67-68
This is truly an inspiring sight. I have thrilled with the messages that have been given here at this conference. I am thrilled with the progress of the missionary work and the growth of the Church throughout its length and breadth. This is truly a blessed people and a choice generation in which to live.
The gospel of Jesus Christ has been given to people throughout the earth at various times, even at the time of Adam and the time of Noah and coming down to the time of Abraham, who was given a very significant promise. Speaking to Abraham, the Lord said:
"... I give unto thee a promise that this right shall continue in thee, and in thy seed after thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal".
This is the time and generation when this blessing is being fulfilled. The blessings of the gospel are coming to all the peoples of the earth. The Lord is truly touching their hearts and opening the way for them to receive the gospel.
The Lord is also assisting in other ways which I have mentioned here before, I believe, and I cannot help continually being grateful for the outpouring of knowledge which has come upon the earth since the restoration of the gospel, which makes it possible for this, gospel to be taught to all the people of the earth through the modern facilities that have been developed and prepared and which continue to grow. I am very thankful and grateful for these facilities.
The Church Section of the News recently mentioned the number of copies of the Book of Mormon being printed-nearly 500,000 copies are being printed annually and sent throughout the world. The facilities that make it possible to send the Book of Mormon to the ends of the earth, among the various peoples of the earth, as has been indicated here by other speakers, are peculiar to our Church. Not only the Book of Mormon but also much other Church literature is being translated into many languages so that not only we of the English speaking peoples may have the gospel, but also many others throughout the earth.
This is truly a choice generation. I am sure there is no blessing given but what there is an obligation. Where much is given, much is expected. We have heard from many speakers at this conference of our obligation to teach the gospel, to warn our neighbors, and above all to live the gospel ourselves. I would like just briefly to refer to a revelation given by the Lord. In section 41 of the Doctrine and Covenants, he said:
"Hearken and hear, O ye my people, saith the Lord and your God, ye whom I delight to bless with the greatest of all blessings, ye that hear me; and ye that hear me not will I curse, that have professed my name, with the heaviest of all cursings".
This is a strong warning, but I believe truly that the Lord means what he says. He has given us the blessings; he continues to pour out his blessings upon us in rich abundance; and then he gives the warning that we who have accepted the gospel, if we do not live up to these covenants, he will pour out upon us "the heaviest of all cursings."
I could not help thinking when Brother Hinckley was speaking about Hiroshima, that this summer I visited again at Oakridge, Tennessee, and found that the process which developed the atomic bomb which was dropped on Hiroshima is now so obsolete that that process is no longer in operation. If we think of what might happen to this world if the people of this world do not keep the commandments of the Lord, we cannot stretch our imagination far enough to imagine what the Lord might pour out upon this generation when he says, he might pour out upon us "the heaviest of all cursings." All the blessings and all the scientific developments which have been given to us, might be turned upon us to our condemnation.
I pray the Lord's blessings upon us that we will heed his teachings, that we will teach our neighbor and develop righteousness throughout this earth.
The history generally given to us in the Book of Mormon and all this world's history is a repetition of righteousness with peace and prosperity, and with unrighteousness there is war and desolation. This shall be repeated throughout the life of this earth, and we are no exception.
May the Lord's blessings be with us, that we may ever be faithful, keeping the commandments of the Lord and doing that which he desires of us in teaching the gospel to our neighbors, our friends, our relatives; and so live the gospel that we will be that kind of missionary, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder LeGrand Richards
LeGrand Richards, Conference Report October 1960, pp. 69-71
I am very grateful to my Heavenly Father, brothers and sisters, for the privilege of attending this conference with you, for your faith and devotion, for the service you render, and for my association with my brethren of the General Authorities.
In my heart I welcome the three new ones that have come to us this day.
I feel grateful for my membership in this Church, more than for anything else in all this world, and I do not know how I could live without it.
In President McKay's opening remarks and in two of the prayers that have been offered at the commencement of these meetings, reference has been made to the privilege of being here in this historic building. As we come here from time to time in our various meetings and gatherings, we hear that expression, and I would like to make a few comments on what makes this building so historic. It is wonderful as we think of the great men, prophets of this dispensation, who have occupied this pulpit, and of the counsel and the advice they have given and the testimonies that have been borne and the experiences related of the hand-dealings of the Lord with his people and his guidance and direction through the years. Then we recall the wonderful music and prayers we have heard from time to time, as we have come here, all of which has made an impression upon our lives, until we have left this building with new hope and new ambition and new desires.
I was reading a pamphlet a few days ago that was given to my father by his mother before I was born, and in that pamphlet it reported a special conference held in the Old Tabernacle on the 28th of August, 1852, for the purpose of calling missionaries. We have heard a lot about missionaries and missionary work at this conference, but that is one of our great responsibilities.
In that meeting there were some 3,000 elders of Israel present and the full Presidency of the Church, President Brigham Young, President Heber C. Kimball, and President Willard Richards, seven of the twelve, and most of the General Authorities.
President Kimball was asked to speak to the brethren present, the elders of Israel, about the purpose of the meeting, and he told them that they were there, many of them, to be called into the mission field, and ninety-eight of them were called and assigned to the following places: The British Isles, France, Germany, Capital of Prussia, Norway, Denmark, Gibraltar, Hindustan, Siam, China, Cape of Good Hope, Nova Scotia and British Provinces in America, West Indies, British Guiana, Australia, Sandwich Islands, and parts of the United States.
Mind you, that was only five years after the Saints had gathered here from their drivings in the East and before there were any railroads, and yet they were sent out to these distant lands.
We heard yesterday from Bishop Wirthlin some of the sacrifices that these early brethren made in order that this great missionary cause would continue to roll forth. My grandfather and the grandfather of Brother Franklin D. Richards, whom you sustained here today, out of the first fourteen years of his married life, spent ten years of it in the mission field away from his family. That was typical of what many of the brethren did.
I thought you would be interested to hear a statement or two by President Kimball to those elders upon the occasion mentioned. He declared:
"I say to those of you who are elected to go on missions, go, if you never return, and commit what you have into the hands of God-your wives, your children, your brethren, and your property."
Nearly all of these men were married, and they had only been here a short time to establish their families. Elder George A. Smith, the following speaker, said:
"The missions we will call for during this conference, are generally not to be very long ones, probably from three to seven years will be as long as any man will be absent from his family." And then he continued:
"If any of the elders refuse to go, they may expect that their wives will not live with them, for there is not a Mormon sister who would live with a man a day, who would refuse to go on a mission."
That is quite a statement, and while it seems to us today a little extreme, nevertheless, when you travel through this Church and see the sacrifices that are being made-Brother Isaacson referred to them this afternoon-to sustain these somewhat 8,000 missionaries in the field, it is a wonderful thing.
I would like to relate two experiences I have had in interviewing missionaries. A few years back, I interviewed a young man in southern Utah before we had discontinued sending young married men into the mission field, and when I looked at his recommend papers I saw that he was a married man, and I said: "Does your wife want you to go on this mission?" He said she did, and I said, "Why didn't you bring her?" He said, "I couldn't. She just gave birth to our first child this morning in the hospital." Then I said, "Well, then we will have to go to the hospital." And we did, and there was that young mother with her firstborn child in her arms. I said, "Do you want this husband of yours to go on a mission?" She said, "Brother Richards, I surely do. When we married we decided that our marriage should not stand in the way of his mission, and my parents are able and willing to care for me and the baby." And so he went on his mission and was a wonderful missionary. I kept in touch with that little woman while he was gone.
I had a similar experience in Provo. I interviewed a young man under the same circumstances, except that his wife was just expecting a call to go to the hospital any moment, to give birth to their first child. Later as I visited in
Idaho in one of the stakes, I stayed in the home of the stake president, and there was this little mother, taking care of her baby while that missionary-husband was in the mission field.
The Lord has put into this Church the breath of life. He has made it possible for people to make the supreme sacrifice, almost, in order that this work will go forward in all the earth. You remember when one came to him and said, "Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest," and the answer was, "Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head". And so, of course, the man turned away. Unto another he said, "Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father." And as if the Master would speak to all coming generations of the importance of this great missionary cause, he said: "Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God". Now that spirit has prevailed and carried on this great missionary cause of the Church.
I remember being in this Tabernacle as a boy when President Woodruff gave what I think was his last address to the people, when he told how marvelously the Spirit of the Lord had guided him all through his ministry. I remember the story he told about traveling east on one of his missionary journeys, and in the middle of the night he was warned by the Spirit to arise and move his wagon and team. They were fastened by a large oak that had stood possibly a hundred years and had never been disturbed, and after he had moved the wagon and the team, a whirlwind came and took that oak tree up by the roots and threw it right where his wagon had been stationed.
Such testimonies are what have made this a historic building. One could hardly say that he did not know that the power of God was in this work, and that his Spirit operates and guides and directs. Such things could not be, except the power of God is with this people.
In that same address, I remember his telling of bringing a group of immigrants from England, I think it was, and when they were about to embark on a boat at New Orleans, and he was making arrangements with the captain, that same Spirit told him not to go, either himself or his company, and so he excused himself, and they did not go on that boat. And it had only gone up the river a short distance when it caught fire and burned, and everybody on it was killed. He said, "If I had not listened to the Spirit of the Lord, we would not have bishop so-and-so and president so-and-so," naming them right from this very pulpit. This is a historic building. The power of God has been and is here.
I would like to refer to another experience related by President Woodruff as he stood here and talked in the conference in 1898, and this is recorded in the Conference Report. He said: "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: Everyone 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." And he and others did that work for them.
Such an experience would seem almost incredible to the world. The things of God are understood, Paul says, by the Spirit of God, and the things of man are understood by the spirit of man, and the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him. If God could take Elijah to heaven without tasting death, if he could promise to send him again, as Malachi declared, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children lest he come and smite the earth with a curse, surely he could permit such characters as George Washington and the signers of the Declaration of Independence to come back to ask for their blessings, because they were sent upon this earth before Elijah came, before holy temples had been built, before men could receive the holy ordinances of the house of the Lord for their exaltation.
I bear my testimony in closing that there is not a man and a woman in this world-in or out of the Church-if God would only give them the vision to see and the heart to understand that would not do everything within their power to obtain such blessings as these men sought at the hands of this apostle of this dispensation who later became the President of this great Church. This is in keeping with the promise of the building of the house of the God of Jacob in the latter-days in the top of the mountains, and the gathering thereunto from all the nations of the earth to learn of his ways and walk in his paths. How rich we are in the blessings of God, and how great have been the things that have come out of this historic building.
God grant that we may so live that in all our ministry we may be prompted and guided and inspired by that same Spirit, I humbly pray, and leave you my blessing, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Marion G. Romney
Marion G. Romney, Conference Report October 1960, pp. 73-78
My brethren, this is a great audience. It might be the largest attended General Priesthood meeting we have ever held. I have tried to prepare for this, my first assignment in such a meeting, but I am sure that if I say anything worthwhile, it will be by the Lord's help. Will you please therefore, give me an interest in your faith and prayers.
For my text I have chosen the 43rd Verse of the 84th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants. It reads: "And I now give unto you a commandment to beware concerning yourselves, to give diligent heed to the words of eternal life". As background I shall read a few verses which, in the revelation, precede the text.
In the forepart of the revelation the Lord, speaking of the Melchizedek Priesthood, says: "Which priesthood continueth in the church of God in all generations, and is without beginning of days or end of years.
"And the Lord confirmed a priesthood also upon Aaron and his seed, throughout all their generations, which priesthood also continueth and abideth forever with the priesthood which is after the holiest order of God".
Such is the nature of the Priesthood we bear.
"And this greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God.
"Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest.
"And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh".
And now I am going to skip a few verses and read the covenant that belongs to the Priesthood.
"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".
The Prophet Joseph Smith used to repeatedly urge the brethren to make their calling and election sure. There is no way to do this except by receiving the Priesthood and magnifying it.
But to continue with the revelation:
"And also all they who receive this priesthood receive me, saith the Lord;
"And he that receiveth my servants receiveth me".
This statement is worth emphasizing. "He that receiveth my servants receiveth me." Who are his servants? They are his representatives in the offices of the Priesthood-the General, Stake, Priesthood Quorum, and Ward officers. It behooves us to keep this in mind when we are tempted to disregard our presiding authorities, bishops, quorum and stake presidents, etc., when, within the jurisdiction of their callings, they give us counsel and advice. Remember that the Lord Jesus said: "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". "He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward".
But back to the covenant of the Priesthood: "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".
Now, I am tempted to comment on this covenant at length, but since it is not the heart of my message, I will say only that, as I understand it, all of us who receive the Melchizedek Priesthood enter into an agreement with our Heavenly Father to magnify it. On condition that we magnify it, the Father undertakes to make us equal with him in the sense that "all that my Father hath shall be given unto him....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".
When I first began to seriously think about this statement, I wondered if it would not have been better for me never to have received the priesthood, if failing to magnify it would mean I would never receive forgiveness in this world or the world to come. Then I got to thinking about this next verse, which says: "And wo unto all those who come not unto this priesthood".
I finally came to the conclusion that I was between the horns of a dilemma and that my only hope was to receive and magnify the Priesthood.
Such is the background for our text: "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".
Now why should we beware concerning ourselves? We should beware concerning ourselves because it now is and has always been the objective of Satan to destroy the Priesthood of God. As long ago as the war in heaven, he sought to usurp the power of the priesthood. As a result of the conflict he there precipitated, he was cast out of heaven. He had to be cast out. There could be no peace in heaven until he was cast out.
Banishment from heaven did not, however, end his attack on the Priesthood of God. In the Garden of Eden he sought to deceive Adam. And he continued his diabolical purpose after the fall. When Adam and Eve received the Gospel and taught it to their children, Satan came among them and said: "Believe it not, and they loved Satan more than God. And men began from that time forth to be carnal, sensual, and devilish".
When "the presence of God withdrew from Moses" following the great revelation He gave of Himself to Moses, Moses tells us that "Satan came tempting him, saying: Moses, son of man... I am the Only Begotten, worship me".
He sought to deceive even the Savior. You will all remember how he tempted Jesus in the wilderness, on the pinnacle of the temple, and on the high mountain.
Satan has sought in all ages to deceive the sons of God who have received the priesthood. He has not been entirely unsuccessful either, for in all past dispensations he has finally succeeded in deceiving them to the extent that he has driven the priesthood from the earth.
Now we know he is not going to drive the priesthood from the earth in this dispensation because the Lord has said it is here to stay until the Savior comes. But there is no guarantee that he will not deceive a lot of men who hold the priesthood. The Savior, talking about these days in which we live, said, "For in those days there shall also arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch, that, if possible, they shall deceive the very elect, who are the elect according to the covenant ".
So far as Satan's war against the priesthood is concerned, he is making no exception in this last dispensation. His objective is still to deceive every one of us he can and to drive the Priesthood from the earth. Satan is very real. His power is very real. His influence is felt everywhere. He literally stalks the earth. "The powers of darkness prevail upon the earth, and, behold, the enemy is combined".
You no doubt heard what President McKay said in his opening address yesterday morning about the power of the Evil One trying to deceive and deprive men of their agency. Free agency is the principle against which Satan waged his war in heaven. It is still the front on which he makes his most furious, devious, and persistent attacks. That this would be the case was foreshadowed by the Lord when he said to Moses "That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Be gotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying-Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor." His plan was to save us all by depriving us of free agency and subjecting us to his will.
"But, behold," continued the Lord, "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.
"Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power "Priesthood is God's power. That is what Satan is after-power. He wants it in the form of dictatorship. "Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down;
"And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice".
You see, at the time he was cast out of heaven, his objective was "to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will." This he effectively does to as many as will not hearken unto the voice of God. His main attack is still on free agency. When he can get men to yield their agency, he has them well on the way to captivity.
We who hold the Priesthood must beware concerning ourselves, that we do not fall into the traps he lays to rob us of our freedom. We must be careful that we are not led to accept or support in any way any organization, cause, or measure which, in its remotest effect, would jeopardize free agency, whether it be in politics, government, religion, employment, education, or any other field. It is not enough for us to be sincere in what we support. We must be right!
As to Satan's direct attack upon the restored Church and its Priesthood, you will remember this account of the Prophet as to what happened in the Sacred Grove as he knelt to pray:
"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-".
Before the Church had been organized six months the Devil was foisting his counterfeits upon its members. In his history of September 1830, the Prophet says:
"To our great grief, however, we soon found that Satan had been lying in wait to deceive, and seeking whom he might devour. Brother Hiram Page had in his possession a certain stone, by which he had obtained certain 'revelations' concerning the upbuilding of Zion, the order of the Church, etc., all of which were entirely at variance with the order of God's house, as laid down in the New Testament, as well as in our late revelations".
The Prophet was greatly concerned about it because Oliver Cowdery and the Whitmers were sympathetic with Hiram Page and began to believe his spurious revelation. In response to the Prophet's inquiry, the Lord gave him the revelation recorded in the 28th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants. This revelation was directed to Oliver Cowdery. In it the Lord said to him: "Thou shalt take thy brother, Hiram Page, between him and thee alone, and tell him that those things which he hath written from that stone are not of me, and that Satan deceiveth him;
"For, behold, these things have not been appointed unto him, neither shall anything be appointed unto any of this church contrary to the church covenants".
This revelation straightened Hiram Page out, but it did not end Satan's efforts to deceive the brethren. You will remember how they fought the Prophet in the days of Kirtland. At the time of one attack on the Prophet when Brigham Young was present, he arose and said that Joseph was a Prophet and he knew it, "and that they who rail and slander him... could but destroy their own authority and cut the thread that bound them to the Prophet of God and sink themselves to hell."
Referring to the occasion after coming to Utah, he said: "Some of the leading men at Kirtland were much opposed to the Prophet meddling with temporal affairs, thinking that his duty embraced spiritual things alone and that the people should be left to attend to their temporal affairs without any interference whatever from prophets and apostles. In a public meeting, I said: 'Ye elders of Israel: Now, will some of you draw the line of demarcation between the spiritual and temporal within the Kingdom of God, so that I may understand it!' Not one of them could do it. When I saw a man standing in the path before the Prophet, I felt like hurling him out of the way and branding him as a fool."
Brigham Young was never deceived. There were those who were, however, right up until the end of the Prophet's life. Among them you will remember the Laws and the Bennetts. Even the Three Witnesses were deceived. You know, of course, what happened after the Prophet was gone and Brother Brigham took over. Lyman Wight and many of the others, strong men who stood by the Prophet, were deceived and left the Church.
And so it has gone all through the years. Today is no exception. We have people now who yield to the temptations and follow the counterfeits of Satan. Their sad situation reminds us of the statement of the Prophet Joseph who, after recounting some of the workings of evil spirits in his day, said: "A man must have the discerning of spirits before he can drag into daylight this hellish influence and unfold it unto the world in all its soul-destroying, diabolical, and horrid colors; for nothing is a greater injury to the children of men than to be under the influence of a false spirit when they think they have the spirit of God. Thousands have felt the influence of its terrible power and baneful effects. Long pilgrimages have been undertaken, penances endured, and pain, misery and ruin have followed in their train; nations have been convulsed, kingdoms overthrown, provinces laid waste, and blood, carnage and desolation are habiliments in which it has been clothed".
A paramount consideration for us bearers of the Priesthood today is "How may we combat these onslaughts of Satan? How can we distinguish between his counterfeits and divine truth?" John the Revelator gave the people of his day this test: "Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God". Such a test was adequate then, for the good reason that to accept Christ at that time was a capital offense. In light of such a penalty, obviously no non-believer would confess him. It will not do for us today, however, because there is no such penalty. The situation now is that although great numbers of people confess Christ, most of them, judged by their beliefs and practices, deny him.
I would like now to suggest some tests which can safely be used to distinguish the genuine from the counterfeit. I have already indicated that many organizations, causes, and measures may be tried by applying the test of free agency.
Anything purporting to pertain to the Gospel of Jesus Christ may be put to the following four simple tests:
1. Does it purport to originate in the wisdom of men, or was it revealed from heaven? If it originated in the wisdom of men, it is not of God. Remember what the Savior said to Nicodemus, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see... enter... the kingdom of God". He also said, "My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me". Even Jesus himself did not purport to originate gospel doctrine. One cannot arrive at truth by reason alone. We have already heard this theme developed in this Conference. I need not stress it further.
In the Book of Mormon the Prophet Jacob said: "O that cunning plan of the evil one! O the vainness of 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." Then he adds this lovely sentence: "But to be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God".
You are all acquainted with Paul's great doctrine that the things of God are understood by the power of God, and that the things of men are understood by the wisdom of men. "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned".
We never need to be deceived by the learning of the world. We can always with safety reject those doctrines which are rounded in the wisdom of men.
2. Does the teaching bear the proper label? You will remember that when his Nephite disciples inquired of Jesus what they should call the church, he "said unto them: Verily, verily, I say unto you, why is it that the people should murmur and dispute because of this thing?
"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;
"And whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth to the end, the same shall be saved 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".
From the foregoing it is perfectly plain that if any teaching purporting to be from Christ comes under any label other than that of Jesus Christ, we can know it is not of God.
3. The last phrase of the above quotation gives us the third test. "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 teaching must not only come under the proper label, but it must also conform to the other teaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
4. Now the fourth and last test I shall mention is: Does it come through the proper Church channel? We read in the 42nd Section of the Doctrine and Covenants: "Again I say unto you, that it shall not be given to any one to go forth to preach my gospel, or to build up my church, except he be ordained by some one who has authority, and it is known to the church that he has authority and has been regularly ordained by the heads of the church". In the light of this divinely established order, how can any man accept the doctrine of authority from some secret source unknown to the Church? The Lord could not have made it any plainer that one's authority must come through the established order of the Church, and the President of the Church stands at the head of that order. The Lord has placed him there.
"The duty of the President of the office of the High Priesthood," He says, "is to preside over the whole church, and to be like unto Moses-". Now one of Moses' greatest callings was to be a law-giver, to declare the Word of God. Only the President can declare the doctrines of the Church.
The revelation continues: "The duty of the President of the office of the High Priesthood is to preside over the whole church, and to be like unto Moses-
"Behold, here is wisdom; yea, to be a seer, a revelator, a translator, and a prophet, having all the gifts of God which he bestows upon the head of the church".
In the revelation the Lord gave to the Prophet in answer to his inquiry about the stone which Hiram Page had, he said, speaking of the president of the Church): "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".
Such is the obligation of this Priesthood with respect to our present Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, President David O. McKay. "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".
Now, brethren, if we will keep these things in mind, we shall not be deceived by false teachings. I remember years ago when I was a bishop I had President Grant talk to our ward. After the meeting, I drove him home. At that time there was a great deal of criticism against the President of the Church because of a front-page editorial some of you may remember. We talked about it. When we got to his home I got out of the car and went up on the porch with him. Standing by me, he put his arm over my shoulder and said: "My boy, you always keep your eye on the President of the Church, and if he ever tells you to do anything, and it is wrong, and you do it, the Lord will bless you for it." Then with a twinkle in his eye, he said, "But you don't need to worry. The Lord will never let his mouthpiece lead the people astray."
I have thought much about that. I remember that counselors in the Presidency have been deceived. I remember that members of the Twelve have been deceived and left the Church, and men in every other Council in the Church have been deceived. But there has never been a President of the Church, and according to President Grant, and I believe him, there never will be a President of this Church who will lead the people astray.
We need not be led astray, my brethren. The safest way to avoid being led astray is to magnify our Priesthood. We should go on our knees, each one of us, morning and evening, and plead with Almighty God to keep us in the way of magnifying our callings in this great Priesthood. We should live righteously. We should resist every temptation of lust. When we harbor lustful thoughts and participate in lustful practices, we cannot see these great principles clearly, and we get into the dark.
If, in addition to living righteously, we will study and learn what the Lord has said and apply the tests I have suggested, we shall never go astray. God help us, I pray, that we shall remain true and faithful ourselves, and help all of the members of the Church to see clearly, thereby placing themselves among those who take the Holy Spirit for their guide and are not deceived, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Mark E. Petersen
Mark E. Petersen, Conference Report October 1960, pp. 78-83
I am very grateful, my brethren, for the marvelous opportunity of addressing you this evening, and I sincerely and humbly pray that the Lord will guide me and inspire me because I, with my Brethren, have learned long since that I can do nothing of myself. I have memorized and said over and over again so many times that scripture wherein the Lord said, "Without me ye can do nothing", and I pray earnestly tonight that he will guide me and help me, because it is a tremendous responsibility to address so many men. It is a tremendous responsibility to represent this Church.
But I glory in this Church. I am so thankful for it. I pray God that I, with Brother Romney, may be faithful even to the end. I have been so grateful for the Servicemen whom I have seen in this Conference. I was glad for the telegram President McKay read. I am sure that you Servicemen and you parents of Servicemen will be very glad to know, and on behalf of our Servicemen's Committee which is headed by our wonderful chairman, Brother Lee, we would like to report to President McKay and the First Presidency that all of the stake presidents of the Church reported to us today that they have now taken out subscriptions to the Improvement Era and the Church Section of the Deseret News for every person in the military service of this Church. That was completed today, President McKay, and we are so thrilled with it. Under Brother Lee's wonderful direction we have been working on this, and now we can report to you that the stake presidents have reported one hundred percent accomplishment of that wonderful assignment.
So, brethren, we wish to thank you, and we hope that you will continue with the program. Brother Lee asks that I mention the rest of the program in addition to the publications. Be sure, bishops, to carry on your interviews. Bishops and quorum people, will you remember to continue to write to these Servicemen and encourage them. They need your help, and they will be the stronger for it and so will you, if you cooperate with this program.
I desire to address my remarks tonight to the young men of the Church, to the boys of the Aaronic Priesthood, and to the younger men in the Melchizedek Priesthood. When President James prayed here tonight, opening this meeting, he thanked the Lord that we were born at this time, and it is surely something to be thankful for because it is a marvelous time in which to live. But it is also a very troublous time, and many of our young men are very discouraged about the prospects which confront them. Many of our young men are quite frustrated, in fact, not knowing now to plan their lives nor what to do about them. Some ask themselves,
"Shall I go to school, or shall I just wait until I am drafted? Shall I enlist and get the military obligation over with? Shall I prepare for a mission, or shall I just drift along?"
They know, of course, that just drifting does not get them anywhere. If we are to be successful in life we must plan our lives. But some of the boys say, "How can we plan? Our lives are planned for us. There is nothing we can do about it. We can go to school for awhile, and then we will have to go into the Army. We will have other obligations too. We cannot plan our own lives," some boys have told me.
A couple of weeks ago I was down near Ft. Ord, California, and talked to quite a number of our young Servicemen there. They were very disturbed as to what the future holds for them. I have told the young men, as well as the young women of this Church, that they are born to a great destiny, a divine destiny. They are in very deed the children of God.
But there are some who do not believe in God. I remember one young man who came to me and wanted to argue about this after I had given a discussion in a meeting, and he said, "I have learned in school that there isn't any God, and I have been fully convinced. I no longer believe that there is a God."
I begin to wonder about young men and about people in general who do not believe in God. There are lots of them. Do you know that about 75 million Americans do not even belong to any church? Do you know that about 25 million more who do belong to churches take no part whatever in them, making a total of about 100 million Americans who, for some reason or another, have almost completely excluded God from their lives?
When I talk with young people about such a situation, I always like to ask them to consider the fruits of godlessness. What does it do to you to be without God? What does it do to you to be without religion? Can it benefit you, or can it hurt you? I ask them to look around and see what kind of people the godless people are. I read a very interesting discussion the other day by one of our great Americans, Mr. J. Edgar Hoover, a man whom I respect highly. He pointed out in this discussion that one of the outstanding fruits of godlessness in the world right now is Communism. Communism, he says, is a direct result of godlessness. Men who do not believe in God, who fight God, who put God out of their lives, and try to eliminate him from the lives of everybody else are the ones who produced Communism.
Is Communism something that you would like to take into your life? It is one of the fruits of godlessness. Do you want to have within you the fruits-or rather I should say the seeds of Communism? Do you realize that the seeds of Communism are sprouting even now from godlessness?
You know what Communism has done to the world. You know how it has spread. You remember Hungary, don't you? And you remember Poland? Do you want to have anything like that in your life? Do you want the fruits of godlessness to become a part of you and your future?
Is there any real reason to disbelieve in God? There are some who say, "Well, I learned in school that there is no God. I have learned that there are other reasons for creation." I was very interested the other day to read a speech by one of the great scientists of the world. He, with many others of his intellectual attainment, have reached the conclusion that all of the arguments in times past to the effect that science has abolished God are false. One of the great writers of America has said that rather than science abolishing God, science is now virtually abolishing atheism.
The present day attitude of top scientists was expressed recently by Dr. Joseph W. Barker, president and chairman of the Research Corporation of America, and formerly Dean of the Engineering School at Columbia University. He explained that scientists of the nineteenth century were misled by certain of their observations, and as a result came to conclusions which were definitely atheistic. "But now," said Dr. Barker, "even the most pragmatic materialist in the face of present day scientific knowledge is led to the inevitable conclusion that the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows of his handiwork."
Dr. Barker's concluding remarks on that occasion were these: "As the children of Israel foreswore the worship of the golden calf and returned to the faith of Jehovah, so we have foresworn the crass mechanistic materialism and returned to the faith in God of which the Psalmist of old sang, "The earth is the Lord's and all that therein is.'"
The day is past, my young brethren, when we have to be shaken in our faith by the pseudo teachings of certain men. The day is past when we need to doubt that God lives. The great minds of the world today now teach there is a God. He does live. They teach that he is a great mathematician. They teach that he is the Creator of the universe, and they say that this great Deity who made the universe must be a person because they see purpose in all creation, and you cannot have purpose without a person. Therefore, they say, God, the Creator, is a person.
But we do not take our faith from science, do we? We receive our faith in God from revelation, and we who live now, in the words of President James who offered the opening prayer, may well be thankful that we live now because God has appeared in modern times, in modern United States of America. He has appeared to modern men, and modern men have seen him, seen his face and figure, and have written descriptions of him. They have talked with him face to face. They are competent witnesses.
There need be no doubt in anybody's mind now about God. He lives. He has been in the United States in modern times, and these competent witnesses leave you their testimony, and we leave you our testimony that we know that he lives because he has been seen and heard in America, in these, the last days. We are his children, and because we are his children we may become like him. Because we are his children he has raised us up at this time of the world's history to do a particular work, and the accomplishment of that work is the great destiny to which you and I have been born.
We have been placed in the earth now to fulfill that destiny. Our destiny is that as his servants we shall prepare the way for his coming in glory in the future, not too far distant.
Are you willing, young people, to accept that destiny? Are you willing to so live that you may fill this destiny? Are you going to catch the picture of your own identity and know that you are a child of God, and that you are not a descendant of some monkey or some ape, but that you are actually the descendant of God Almighty on High, and that you are of the race of divinity?
Are you willing to accept that doctrine? Isn't it far better to accept the doctrine that you are a child of God than that you are a descendant of some lower form of life not even as high as you?
Yes, we have our destiny, and the destiny is divine. It is that you and I must live and work in this Kingdom, and as his servants accomplish the great work that he has given us. We were born with a purpose. We must fulfill that purpose.
But sometimes we allow other things to interfere with our destiny. Are you willing to allow anything to interfere with yours? Are you willing to allow selfishness, convenience, or so-called popularity to interfere? Are you willing to give up your right to fulfill a great divine destiny because you want to be popular with a given crowd at school, or because you want to make an impression, because you want to make a "grandstand play?" Is a "grandstand play" worth the loss of your birthright? Is popularity with a questionable crowd worth it?
This discussion of Mr. Hoover, to which I referred, was most interesting. He said there are two great enemies of America today. They are twin enemies, he said. One is Communism. The other is crime. He said that both of them sprout from Godlessness. As Communism is a threat to America, so is crime. But they both grow out of Godlessness. Mr. Hoover appealed to all Americans to restore their faith in God as a safeguard to our nation. He actually gave us a warning that either the faith of our fathers will triumph, or this country will be dominated and controlled by either Communism or crime, or both.
Well, young people, Communism to you seems very remote, doesn't it? And so does crime. I know that. But in the last few weeks hasn't Mr. Khrushchev brought Communism very close to you? Don't you see in him a personal antagonist, your own personal antagonist? Wouldn't he like to destroy you if he could? Wouldn't he like to enslave you? Communism does seem remote to you, but remember that it can come awfully close. With one word from Khrushchev he could cast you into war. You must give consideration to him. You cannot ignore him. He is more than a name in the world news.
And crime seems rather remote to most of you. Why do we talk about crime? We talk about it because crime, like Communism and much else begins with the small things. Every little thing that you do wrong might lead to a criminal tendency. It may seem very small at first. It may be cheating in school. It may be lying to your parents. It may be that you take some property that doesn't belong to you. It may be that you go out on a petting party. It may be that it would be as terrible as stealing the virtue of some lovely girl. Is that crime?
I would like you to know that so far as I am concerned, I think it is worse to steal the virtue of a girl than it is to rob a bank. Crime-how does it start? Are you going to let these things-a lie here, a petting party there-interfere with the great destiny that you have? Are you going to let your personal convenience now interfere with your whole plan of life for the future? Or are you willing to sit down and plan your life? If you don't plan you will fail.
Somebody once said that to fail to prepare is to prepare to fail. That is true with our schooling, it is true with our work, it is true with our dating, it is true with every phase of our lives. Young people, as the children of God, will you plan for success? You do not need to be frightened about the world conditions, because if you are true and faithful God will protect you, and he will bless you.
May I read to you one of the great promises that the Lord has given? I put a lot of confidence in this promise. It is found in the last chapter of First Nephi. This is why I say I don't fear the conditions of the world too much.
If we will do our part, and if we will fulfill our destiny we will achieve exactly what the Lord has for us, and we will be protected in doing it. I would like you to know that in these, the last days, the Lord has predicted that there shall be two simultaneous movements. One of these movements is the great tribulation that shall come upon the world. The wicked will destroy the wicked.
The other great movement which will be going forward simultaneously is that there shall be a stone cut out of the mountain without hands, and it shall roll forth and eventually fill the whole earth. The Church to which you and I belong is that stone. It has been cut out of the mountain without hands, and your destiny and mine is to help roll it forth.
Now do you suppose for one moment that the judgments of God are going to interfere with the progress of his work? He is consistent, isn't he? Although he will pour out his tribulations upon the wicked, he nevertheless will carry forward his work, and his people, under divine protection, will roll forth that stone until eventually it fills the whole earth.
And so, says the Book of Mormon: "For the time soon cometh that the fulness of the wrath of God shall be poured out upon all the children of men; for he will not suffer that the wicked shall destroy the righteous.
"Wherefore, he will preserve the righteous by his power, even if it so be that the fulness 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; for thus saith the prophet, they shall be saved, even if it so be as by fire".
I believe that. In the midst of all these tribulations God will send fire from heaven, if necessary, to destroy our enemies while we carry forward our work and push that stone until it fills the whole earth!
Your destiny is to do that very thing, and this is the kind of protection you will have. You do not need to fear about world conditions. You do not need to fear about anybody. Just serve the Lord and keep his commandments and build the Kingdom, and as you do so you will be protected in these last days. God will have his hand over you, and you can plan your lives in confidence. Every one of you can plan a wonderful life, a wonderful success, but you must plan.
Now what shall we plan for? We must plan to stay with the Church first, last, and always. We will plan to understand the doctrines of the Church and the proceedings of the Church so that we will understand our true destiny. We will study the gospel and be informed. We cannot leave ourselves in darkness or ignorance about our principal assignment in life. We will plan also to go to school and make the most of our educational opportunities, but we will not allow worldly theories to upset our faith.
We will dedicate ourselves to the living of the clean life. We will never allow sin to disqualify us for our destiny. We will choose good friends, clean and faithful like ourselves. They will help us on to our destiny. We will be a help to them. We will consider a most important step in fulfilling our destiny the acceptance of a full time mission for the Church, and looking toward that acceptance we will plan for it over the years. A mission is a must in the planning of our lives. We must not at any time allow unwholesome acts to interfere with that planning. It will be our first great step in helping to build the Kingdom of God.
We will plan for a temple marriage. We can never fulfill our destiny without it. That means we will date LDS girls-girls as clean as ourselves, as full of faith as ourselves. We will never let our dating practices put any roadblocks in our way as we move on the road to destiny. We will be honest with all other people. We will be honest with ourselves and never try to kid ourselves into thinking that we can get away with evil and still make the grade, if you will excuse that slang.
We will be true. We will be true to our loved ones, true to our country, true to ourselves, and true to our God. We will live up to the best that is in us. We will live up to our trust in God and the trust he places in us, for we know that he lives. We know that he is our Father. We know that we can become like him. We know that the Priesthood we have received is authority to be his servants in these, the last days, to help build the Kingdom, to strengthen others, and to prepare for the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Young people, you are a people of destiny. You were not born to fail. You were born to succeed. You were born to accomplish a great work here and now. You were not born to be blinded by the sophistries of men. You were born to be bright and intelligent and have your eyes open, remembering that as the glory of God is intelligence, so it is the glory of every one of us. It is intelligent to believe in God. It is intelligent to serve him. It is intelligent to declare our allegiance to him. It is intelligent to take the responsibility upon ourselves and move forward in the great assignment that he has given.
Be honest with yourselves. Live up to the best that is in you. Do not sell your birthright for a mess of pottage. Be true to the faith and God will be true to you no matter what the future may hold.
This is my testimony to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report October 1960, pp. 85-86
Brethren we have had great messages tonight. I hope the vast audience will have been aroused to the realization that the enemies to truth are just as active today as they have been since Christ was tempted, and before when two powers stood before the Creator and each presented his plan.
I hope there will be just as much realization that the responsibility to teach the truth rests upon the Priesthood of the Church as it ever has done.
This evening, just before coming to this meeting, I read a line from the Chief Apostle two thousand years ago. He addressed the elders of the Church and said, "I am also an elder and a witness of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. Feed the flock of God. Be examples to the flock. Be sober, vigilant, because your adversary, the Devil, as a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour, whom resist, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world". Be examples to the flock.
Now, a testimony. The older I grow the more grateful I am for my parents, for how they lived the gospel in that old country home. Father used to preach it, even to visitors who stayed at the house-and that was a stopping place for them-both father and mother lived the gospel.
I have realized throughout this conference, as perhaps never before, that my testimony of the reality of the existence of God dates back to that home when I was a child, and it was through their teachings and their examples that I received then the knowledge of the reality of the spiritual world; and I testify that it is a reality.
It is just as easy for me to accept as a divine truth the fact that Christ preached to the spirits in prison while his body lay in the tomb as it is for me to look into your faces tonight. His body was silent. His spirit was in the spiritual realm with his father. It is true.
And it is just as easy for me to realize that one may so live that he may receive impressions and direct messages through the Holy Ghost. The veil is thin between those who hold the Priesthood and those on the other side of the veil. That testimony began, I repeat, in the home in my youth because of the example of a father who honored the Priesthood-and his wife, who sustained him and lived it in the home.
I do not know that Peter had that in mind particularly when he mentioned being an example to the flock, but I know that such a home is a part of that flock. The influence you spread in your home will go throughout the town, will go throughout the county, the wards, and the stakes. The most precious thing in the world is a testimony of the truth. Truth never grows old, and the truth is that God is the source of your Priesthood and mine. The truth is that he lives; that Jesus Christ, the Great High Priest, stands at the Head of the Church and that every man who holds the Priesthood, if he lives properly, soberly, industriously, humbly and prayerfully, is entitled to the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit. I know that is true.
God help us to defend the truth-better than that, to live it. Exemplify it in our homes. What we owe to our parents we cannot express. Are you going to have that same influence on your children, parents-fathers and mothers? God give you power so to have that they may be true to the last, to death if necessary, to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ that magnifies God, our Father, who looks as our leader and Saviour, and Redeemer of the World, to his Beloved son, Jesus Christ; that they appeared to the Prophet Joseph and revealed themselves in this Dispensation; that his work is established, nevermore to be thrown down or given to another people.
Satan is still determined to have his way, and his emissaries have power given them today as they have not had throughout the centuries. Be prepared to meet conditions that may be severe-ideological conditions that seem reasonable-but depend upon that spirit within. You are entitled to interpret the whisperings of the Holy Spirit. They are real. God is guiding this Church. Be true to it, loyal to it. Be true to your families, loyal to them. Protect your children. Guide them, not arbitrarily, but through the kind example of a father, a loving mother, and so contribute to the strength of the Church by exercising your Priesthood in your home and in your lives, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Henry D. Moyle
Henry D. Moyle, Conference Report October 1960, pp. 83-85
My beloved fellow workers, I have a humble desire to come before you tonight, not only those who are here assembled, but those who are gathering, and have gathered, and are now in the many meeting places throughout the United States, Canada, and New Zealand. It is wonderful to be a fellow worker with you in this great missionary cause of the Church. I am so grateful that this missionary endeavor does not confine itself to what we call the missions of the world. It has become and is now part and parcel of the work of every stake of Zion, as well as every mission. It is my hope and prayer tonight that we are not far distant from the time when there will be less and less differentiation between stake missions and full time missions.
Brethren, my message to you tonight is that they are one. We are one, and all of us who have fellowship in this Church are one in promulgating the gospel of Jesus Christ to our fellowmen, wherever we may be, either at home or abroad. Now that message seems so simple that you wonder why I would take the precious time remaining in this meeting to discuss it further. There are, however, some details pertaining to this work which have not permitted us in the past to proceed with as great a unity as we might.
Into this great missionary movement of the Church have come prominently to the fore what we now call referrals. Some of our mission presidents love to call it "sharing the gospel," and in undertaking to carry out this detail of the work there has seemed to be sort of a natural inclination upon the part of those laboring in the stakes to exclude the full time missions, and I presume equal thought on the part of the full time missions to preclude sharing their opportunities with the stake missions.
Brethren, this just must not be! Possibly at the root of this difficulty is the question of records, of statistics. We become proud of our performance. We want to make a showing. We want to stand at the head of the list. I wonder if it were possible to devise statistics which would register what I shall call, for convenience, our unselfishness in this respect? What does it matter whether the stake mission or the full time mission gets the credit for a baptism? All we are interested in is the conversion of those who will repent of their sins, acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and accept his gospel as it has been restored in these latter days in its fulness to the world through the instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph Smith.
Brethren, we must rise above any personal ambitions or desires. How grateful the General Authorities are for those glorious meetings we have held with these wonderful mission presidents, as they have come in from the various missions of the Church in the United States and in Canada, Mexico, Central America, and Hawaii.
Mission president after mission president reported that they had no trouble because where they worked conjointly with the stake missions they shared the baptisms 50-50, and they did not ask a question as to whether the success of the stake mission equaled the full time mission, nor whether the full time mission equaled that of the stake. I was further thrilled, as were all of my Brethren who attended those meetings, to see how there had come about such a close correlation of the activities of these two great groups of missions. When it was possible of an evening for the stake missionaries to divide up with the full time missionaries they would go out together, and each benefit and profit by the experience and faithfulness of one another.
The stake missionary can bring into the life of our young full time missionaries a stability and integrity, a devotion, a loyalty, and dedication, that can only come to us through years of constant service to the Master. And then on the other hand, these young men, thrilled as they are with their early experiences in the mission field of sensing the power that there is in the Priesthood which they bear, when they first sense how the Lord has magnified them in their calling, why the thrill of it just sets them on fire, and that fire carries over to some of us older ones in the stake missions who enjoyed that same fire many years ago, and we enjoy coming in such close contact with it now.
And what is the result? Experience after experience in the mission field indicates that those who have not been touched by the missionary labors of the stake mission, or in other instances by the labors of the full time missionaries, have been converted by the joint effort of a stake missionary and a full time missionary laboring for the time being in the same cause and in the same family, or in the same group.
Now, we do not particularly feel it wise to intermix or to intermingle our missionaries in this fashion-at least I feel a word of caution should be given-except where there is a result to be accomplished, except that there is a specific purpose concurred in by the president of the stake mission and the president of the full time mission.
I had hoped during this Conference, along with my close, beloved associate, Brother Gordon B. Hinckley, that we might have had a meeting of all of the stake mission presidents and the stake presidents and our full time presidents, in order that we might sit down and plan a program mutually agreeable by which the greatest possible unity might be brought about in this matter of cooperating and coordinating the work of these two branches of our missionary endeavor.
Finally, we came to this conclusion, and I am sure in arriving at it we were inspired, that all we needed to do was to call it to the attention of you brethren here tonight, and who might hear us over these 271 stations of this closed circuit network. This is the solution which we propose-that you get together without us and work out your own problem in unity.
This is the order of the Church. To the extent that we can so diversify the activities of the Church so that almost the full load of our responsibilities rests upon us in the wards and in the stakes of the Church, and we become less and less dependent upon direction, so far as details are concerned, from General Authorities of the Church, the stronger the Church will grow.
I want to say in conclusion that that reaches also to the use of our facilities. There should never be any hesitancy upon the part of a bishop or his custodian to make every facility the Church owns available to the mission president at his single request in order that we may not have any lost motion in this work. If there are any costs involved in the use which the full time missions may make of the facilities of the wards and the stakes, we want you bishops and you stake presidents to determine whether you would like to absorb that locally as part of your contribution to the great missionary cause, or want to send the full time missions a bill for it.
Now we do not want to make that decision for you. All we want is that the facilities which the Lord has blessed us with in the wards and stakes of Zion be utilized to the fullest extent for the carrying on of the promulgation of the gospel, regardless of what agency may have need for it at the moment. Let each agency make its own decision as to its need of these facilities. A ward should not make this decision for the mission.
Let me say in conclusion that I am sure that as we do this we will not only grow and develop the strength of our stakes, but we will make it possible for our bishops to fully fellowship every convert who comes from the mission. I hope there is not a bishop in the Church who will presume to pass judgment upon what a mission president does in determining who should be baptized and who should not. I tell you solemnly this evening, my brethren, the presidents of our missions have read the 37th Verse of the 20th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants just as often as any bishop, and are just as much impressed with the importance of following its mandate implicitly, but when a stake president speaks and a convert is baptized, let the responsibility for that conversion rest upon the stake president and bishop. It does not lie within the province of any bishop to challenge it any more than it would lie in the mouth of a mission president to challenge the judgment of the bishop under like circumstances.
God bless us, brethren, and let us go forward as one, united in the work of the Lord, I pray humbly, in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report October 1960, pp. 87-91
My brothers and sisters, fellow members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the only true Church on the face of the earth at this time:
The Lord has been good to me in giving me the physical strength to be with you this morning. I often facetiously say as long as you do not think with your heels, it does not make much difference what they do, it is only when the Lord or somebody begins to interfere with your head -I am uncertain on that point, personally. But I am grateful to be with you to mingle my testimony with the testimony of those who have gone before, that this is the work of God, that we are doing his service, that we are working under his plan, that we are instructing the world in general, and ourselves in particular, in the principles of his gospel.
He said to the ancients on this continent, "I am the law", and such are his words. We need to look no further than to his words to get therefrom the guides and the principles which will lead us to eternal life. Time and time and time again, he said, sometimes involving the four principles, sometimes three of them, "I am the life, the light, the way, and the truth". And such is his message to us. Such are the principles by which our lives are to be guided.
I renew to you this morning the testimony I have given to you for over a quarter of a century, I believe every conference, a testimony that God lives, that Jesus is his Son and is the Christ, a testimony that the Father and the Son appeared to the Prophet, thus settling, so far as we are concerned, forever that the Father and the Son were personalities and that Jesus spoke truly when he said, "... he that hath seen me hath seen the Father".
My brothers and sisters, the way has been laid down for us. We have no choice and no necessity for anything beyond his words and the revelations of his mind and will which he makes known to his prophet, who is called, ordained and set apart, sustained by your vote to be the prophet, seer, and revelator of this Church. I renew again my testimony that the Savior with the Father came to the Prophet Joseph, that the Prophet and his associates through the assistance given to associates, set up this Church, the only true Church, as I have already said, that exists upon the face of the earth.
How I wish we could carry this thought, this belief, this testimony in our hearts to the exclusion of all others. This is a time, nationally, when it happens that, so far as my memory goes, for the first time, the strictly religious problem has been thrown into the campaign. Be not disturbed. We are not concerned ecclesiastically. We have the truth. Ours is the priesthood. We are the ones whom God has set up under a system of government which he revealed, where we have one man standing at the head, sustained as I have already said, by your vote, as the prophet, seer, and revelator of the Lord to his people. No one else has any right to declare the word of the Lord to this people.
I sometimes hear of persons, little groups, who undertake to direct us along lines that they think would be useful, politically. It is time for us to take notice and act when our prophet, seer, and revelator tells us what to do. We are not bound by any small group.
What a glorious thing it is to belong to the Lord's Church. As I have already said, it was the Lord who said, "I am the, life, the light, the way, and the truth", and who said to the people on this continent, "I am the law", which meant, of course, that by his atoning sacrifice he fulfilled all that the law of Moses contemplated and provided for, and he alone is the one to whom we look.
Never forget those words of his to Martha, when she said, "... I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day."
Christ said to her, "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".
"And this is life eternal," said the Savior in the great prayer, "that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent".
And the great purposes of the Lord, the great purposes of the Father, were declared to Moses: "... this is my work and my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man".
How can we, as members of this Church, forget that great principle? How can we fail to keep his commandments and to go forward as he has directed, for that will bring to us the immortality and eternal life which God promised. And I would like to say I was about to conclude, to the brethren of the Church, but unfortunately I fear I must include the sisters: someday, as a beginning to your transgression, you may have to determine whether a cigarette is worth more than what the Lord promised; someday, you will have to make the same determination about a drink of whiskey; someday, you may have to determine whether you prefer what the Lord has promised to an illicit date. You who have been through the temple of Almighty God, know your covenants, your obligations. Never forget them. Keep the commandments of the Lord.
Very early in his ministry, the Savior, in that great conversation between him and Nicodemus, said that the Father sent the Savior to redeem the world, not to condemn it. The Lord never condemns the individual, except on rare occasions. He condemns the sin. And I can never forget that the most scathing denunciation that I know of in our literature, scriptural or otherwise, is that denunciation which the Savior made, and which is recorded in the latter chapters of Matthew, against hypocrisy. He leaves one almost with the persuasion that nothing is so bad as that.
And when you think what hypocrisy may do-lead you to following a life of falsehood, making you pretend to be what you are not, deceiving your fellow men, sometimes deceiving your wives and your children! But there is one whom you do not deceive, and that is Christ, our Lord. He knows all. Personally, I have felt that nobody need keep much of a record about me, except what I keep myself in my mind, which is a part of my spirit. I often question in my mind, whether it is going to require very many witnesses in addition to my own as to my wrongdoing, and I have frequently thought, in making funeral sermons-I wonder how many of us there are, who, if it became known that Jesus was out here at Wendover, and would be happy to see all who came to see him, Jesus our Lord, who knows all that we have done, all that we have thought, could read our minds as we would read a book-I wonder how many of us would have the courage to go out to Wendover and pay him a visit. And yet if we were not willing, had not the courage, it is because we have not lived and thought and believed as we should. To me, that is one great test of how well I am prepared to meet my Maker.
The Lord helps us. He will give of his own Spirit even as much as we are prepared to accept. "I am the way, the truth, the life, and the light. I am the law", said the Savior.
Let us try always to learn what the Lord wants. If we are living the kind of lives we should live, that I hope we do live, we will find that no question ever arises in our minds for determination as to whether or not we should do a good deed, take a good course. The question comes only when we are thinking of doing something we should not do. And on that point, may I say just a word. "Prayer is the soul's sincere desire." And in praying, no matter what our words may be, there will be in the back of our minds the real prayer, the real desire, and that will be controlling.
The Lord is merciful. He overlooks much. He has to. Think of his life, what he did, what he said. That is your guide. We sometimes think that the Savior lived in a Palestine that was free from trouble, that there were no murders, no robbings, no thievings. Have you ever wondered a little why it was that Peter on that last night in the Garden happened to be armed with a sword? His Master's and his own message had never been to fight in that way. The Savior said he would make families fight among themselves, that their real enemy sometimes would be father or mother -but I have always understood that to mean the warfare between right and wrong, the warfare between his sayings and the sayings of the world.
Do you think of the Savior as living in a Roman civilization with all of the transgressions, all of the temptations, all of the evils of that great civilization? Yet so it was. And yet you will find nothing in the New Testament of any evils the Savior ever did of the many existing in the Roman Empire. I do not remember any reference, allusion, or statement given in the New Testament showing that the Savior patronized the Roman circus or the great amphitheaters which almost crowded the Palestine in which he lived.
Taking the New Testament alone, you will gain little idea of the kind of life the Romans led in Palestine, the kind of life that the Christ condemned, and yet as I have already said, it has seemed to me that the one sin that the Savior condemned as much as any other was the sin of hypocrisy-the living of the double life, the life we let our friends and sometimes our wives believe, and the life we actually live.
I repeat what I have already said, we may think nobody knows of our hypocrisy. As a matter of fact, I doubt if that assumption can be true. Somebody does know. But the Lord also knows, and we make up the record here in our minds-that part of us which I think is part of our eternal souls. We know, and we will never forget.
May the Lord give us strength and power to overcome evil. May he give to us men the power to magnify our priesthood. May he give to us the knowledge that we hold in our hands through our priesthood and the exercise of faith, the most powerful force of which we have any knowledge. It transcends the forces of nature, as the Lord showed on more than one occasion. It is the force by which the worlds were made. It is at our command, if we so live that we are entitled to it. But it is my faith and my belief that the Lord never gives anyone faith, it being his gift, that will defeat his purposes.
And when we pray, as I have said to you on many occasions, I am sure, pray as he did in Gethsemane. And have you ever been struck with the thought that here was the Son praying to the Father to let the cup of crucifixion pass by, "... nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done". A few days before in the temple, he had said, "Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour".
I have been struck with the fact that Deity himself, half mortal for the time, found himself asking that his destiny might be changed, but he finished his petition, "nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done."
In that spirit we should always approach our Heavenly Father in prayer. And when we go to our Heavenly Father for advice, let us not go to him with the request that he confirm us in our desires, but ask humbly and in full faith that he will give to us of our desires, no matter what they are or concerning whom they may be, that which accords with his will.
I am most grateful to be with you this morning, to mingle my voice with the voices of the other brethren who have testified to you during this conference. I have listened to you during the entire conference. I have enjoyed what has been said. I have regretted my absence. I am grateful that the Lord has permitted me to come this morning, and I thank President McKay for giving me the opportunity to say the few unpremeditated words I have said.
I pray the blessings of the Lord to be upon you and upon all of us. I pray the blessings of the Lord to be upon him, the prophet, seer, and revelator of the Church and the President thereof. I pray that we will give him the full measure of support that we have covenanted to give him when we sustained him by our uplifted hands. That is a marvelous covenant we make, and as we make it here, we bind the Church, for this is a constituent assembly speaking for the Church. God grant his blessings may be always with us, to help us, to build us up, to keep us in the straight and narrow path, even until the end of life, and may he enable us to bestow such an impress upon our families as will enable them in turn to follow his paths, never forgetting and applying strictly the great principle he announced, "I am the way, the truth, the life, and the light", and as to this continent, "I am the law", to the end that we ourselves and our families after us, may be saved and exalted and reunited in the hereafter, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
As President Clark turned to leave the pulpit, he said,
"Let me tell a story. I remember when Sullivan and Kilrain were fighting a championship down in New Orleans, I believe it was, when I was a kid, in the 76th round, or thereabouts, word came back, as I remember, 'Kilrain is slightly disfigured, but still in the ring.'"
Elder Hugh B. Brown
Hugh B. Brown, Conference Report October 1960, pp. 91-95
I am sure we are all grateful to the Lord for the presence here of President Clark, for the privilege of listening to his inspiring and dynamic testimony, and for his admonition and advice. It is very humbling indeed to be asked to follow him. I shall simply add my testimony to his, that this is the Church of Jesus Christ; the qualifying phrase "of Latter-day Saints" distinguishes its members from members of the same Church in former times, who are referred to in the New Testament as Saints.
We worship God the Father through his Son Jesus Christ. It is he, the Savior, who is the Head of the Church, its great High Priest, its Founder, and its Inspiration. All others, whether they be prophets, apostles, elders, members-all others are willingly subservient to him. We agree with the Apostle Paul that "... there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved".
We are informed that there are perhaps more nonmembers than members present and listening in. To all of you out there we bid a hearty welcome and wish to include you in the usual Latter-day Saint greeting: "Brothers and sisters."
Perhaps many of you would refer to the Church as the "Mormon" Church; while we do not object to that designation, it may be a bit misleading. Mormon was an ancient American prophet, whose name was given to a sacred record which he compiled; but though this may be called the Mormon Church, it is not the Church of Mormon, nor is it the Church of Joseph Smith nor of Brigham Young, nor of any other man. It is the Church of Jesus Christ.
Reference has been made in this conference to the chaotic condition of the world on account of communism. While I shall not dwell on this at length, we all know that our world is divided and imperiled; that though the Western nations believe in God, or claim to, and in the freedom of men, and the worth of the individual, there are hundreds of millions of our fellow men who are being taught that God is a myth and religion but an opiate; who are being indoctrinated, while their minds and bodies are enslaved, to believe in the monstrous supremacy of the totalitarian state.
While we are preaching Christ and him crucified, there are millions on the earth who dare not mention his name except in derision and anathema. The battlefronts in this cold war are divided into sectors: social, economic, scientific, geographic, ideological; but the one front on which the enemy is concentrating, the one front which makes him gnash his teeth at its very name, is the front which may be called "God and religion." The war-cold or hot-will be waged by the followers of Christ versus anti-Christ.
That being true, it is incumbent upon all Christians everywhere, and again I am speaking to you, our friends out there, it behooves us to re-examine our creeds, our fundamental concepts, our basic faith, and ask ourselves again the meaning of the word "God" in our theology, and the place of God in our lives. Our allegiance must be intelligent and well-defined.
Every man should answer for himself the question, "What think ye of Christ?". I should like to bear my testimony of him and indicate briefly his status in the minds and hearts of all Latter-day Saints as background and introductory, or, by way of contrast-for none other, however great, can be compared to him-may I call attention for a moment to what the tourist may see when he goes to Europe or the Middle East, as he visits the birthplaces and the resting places of the notable ones of the earth-the poets, authors, soldiers, and statesmen.
The tourist will probably be impressed by the ruins of ancient cities and the crumbling monuments and tombstones of many who are called great. Some of these ancients built and garnished their own sepulchres and gilded their tombs in order to display their wealth and to indicate their status. The visitor will be impressed by the Coliseum in Rome, the Acropolis in Athens, and admire the work of former masters in art, literature, philosophy, and government. He will be reminded of the pomp of the Pharaohs in Egypt as he visits the pyramids, and may ask: "Why such colossal expenditure of money and time and lives to build a tomb?" He will probably leave without an answer to his question and remember only the inscrutable smile of the Sphinx.
But if his tour leads him to the Holy Land, he will be inspired by the thought that though Rome had her Caesars, her master artists, and her geniuses; though Athens had her conquerors, her statesmen, and her philosophers; though Egypt had her pompous dictators and her unrelenting Pharaohs, it remained for little Bethlehem and later for Nazareth and Galilee to give to this world its most transcendent personage.
In Jerusalem one has the privilege of standing before an open tomb-a tomb that was once closed by a great stone on which was placed the seal of Rome and over which a guard was mounted. But that stone was rolled away, that seal was broken, that guard was overcome, that tomb was opened by an angel of the Lord. That borrowed sepulchre was neither gilded nor decorated, and in it was found no earthly treasure, for its temporary tenant was destitute of worldly goods. In life he had no place to lay his head, and in death there was no place to lay his body-hence, the pity of a friend.
But there came forth from that lowly tomb riches beyond all price. The lifeless body, which was placed there by loving hands three days previously, came forth from that tomb triumphant over death, a resurrected, glorified Personage, the firstfruits of them that slept. And the rewards of that victory are to be shared among all men everywhere, for, as Paul said, "For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive".
And what was it that came from that open tomb? Was it merely a spirit? He himself answered that question when he stood among his followers who were amazed and frightened at his appearance. He said to them, "... Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
"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".
Brothers and sisters, this Babe of Bethlehem, this Carpenter of Nazareth, this Man of Galilee, never wrote a book, and yet the story of what he said and did during the three short years of his ministry, which was faithfully, though only partially, recorded by his humble disciples, has been read and reread by more people in more languages than any other book.
He left no masterpiece on canvas, and yet his life and death have been the inspiration for more artists than any other subject. He left no monument in stone or bronze or marble, and yet the image of his divine manhood has been an inspiration to millions down through the centuries.
But we testify of and worship not only one who lived and died two thousand years ago-and we hope you, our friends, will note what now we say, for we declare it by authority and by commandment-we testify of one who was also resurrected from the dead and is now living-one who is comprehensible, one who has a material, though an immortal body as he himself declared when he said to his astonished followers: "Handle me and see". It was that same body which ascended into heaven out near Bethany when a cloud enveloped him, and to the amazement and astonishment of his followers, he ascended into heaven. Two men in white standing by said, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing 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".
Peter declared that the heaven must receive him until the time of the "... restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began".
Yes, we testify of the First Begotten of the Father in the spirit, the Only Begotten Son of God in the flesh, a member of the Holy Trinity, the Creator of the world. To prove he was the Creator we quote the words of John, the Apostle: "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". That the Word referred to was none other than the Christ becomes evident when one reads the fourteenth verse: "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth".
The Apostle Paul also bears testimony of him as the Creator: "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
"And he is before all things, and by him all things consist".
We read of him in Hebrews: "God...
"Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
"Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high".
We speak of him of whom Isaiah prophesied when he said: "... Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel". That he had reference to the Babe of Bethlehem is evidenced by what the angel said to the confused and bewildered Joseph, whose beloved Mary was about to bear a child. The angel said to Joseph: "Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
"And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
"Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
"Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us".
He himself proclaimed his Godhood, and his heirship when he was challenged by his persecutors after he had said, "I and my Father are one."
They wanted to stone him, and he said, "... for which of my works do you stone me?" And they said, "For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God." And he answered them, "Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?
"If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not".
As to the actuality of the resurrection of Christ, his divinity, his universal Godhood, let us hear his own declaration and read the testimony of a multitude of people on the American continent, to whom he appeared just after his crucifixion.
This scripture may be new to many of you, but in America, as in Jerusalem, there were holy men of God who spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. You will remember reading in Luke's account of the crucifixion: "And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.
"And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst". And in Matthew: "And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
"And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose".
Now this thick darkness, which covered the earth, and the convulsions of the earth at the time of the crucifixion, extended to America. Here the darkness lasted three days, and it was so thick upon all the face of the land that the people could feel the vapor of darkness, and they could make no light.
At the end of the period of darkness and upheaval, they who survived were assembled near the temple. There they heard a voice as if it came out of heaven. They did not understand it at first, but afterwards understood when the voice said:
"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 toward 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 thus we have the testimony of eyewitnesses from two continents that Jesus is the Christ. We add our testimony not only that he did live, but that he still lives. This fact is the greatest hope of this divided and imperiled world, for if the Christ still lives then the anti-Christ will be defeated. There can be no peace in a godless world.
But our testimony would not be complete if we did not reaffirm our faith in the second coming of Christ, in the millennium which is to come when he will reign as King of kings, and Lord of lords. That this climactic event is not far distant is indicated by the signs of the times, by wars and rumors of wars, by the satanic schemes of evil men who would enslave not only the bodies but also the minds of all who dare refuse to subscribe to the ideologies invented by the anti-Christ.
May the time soon come when he again will say to this troubled world, "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".
God grant that we may be prepared for that day and in the interim be unafraid, knowing that he still lives and that as he said of himself: "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth". Of him I humbly testify in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder A. Theodore Tuttle
A. Theodore Tuttle, Conference Report October 1960, pp. 95-96
My dear brothers and sisters, I have had more compliments on the talk I did not give yesterday, than I have ever had on one I actually gave. I am sure those who thus commented were thinking of the advice that Brother Henry Taylor gave yesterday about the responsibility of improving upon silence.
Last night in priesthood meeting, I missed the voice that has always made an eloquent plea for unity, and I am grateful this morning that I heard that voice bear such a powerful testimony to the divinity of this work.
Where else could you go in the world and find such certainty and knowledge that God lives and that Jesus Christ is his Son. Contrast what we have heard the past few days with this statement:
"Several years ago in a seminary recognized as perhaps the greatest in this country, a doctor of divinity, who had a string of honorary doctoral degrees and who is on the board of directors of one of the largest Protestant churches in America, in lecturing to a large group of students, most of whom already had bachelor of divinity degrees, said, sympathetically:
"'I know that it is difficult for you men to teach creeds which you, yourselves, do not believe, but you have the social obligation to do it.'"
Another man in the same institution, having about the same academic credentials, declared: "Who knows but what in the year 2004 or some other year, there will live a man who will live more perfectly than did Jesus. Then we will worship him as the Son of God, rather than Jesus. The reason we worship Jesus as the Son of God is because he lived the most perfect life of any man of whom we have knowledge."
Does the world need the message of Mormonism? I think it needs nothing more than to know the true concept of the Godhead, to have borne upon their souls the testimony that has been borne here these days of conference-the testimony that comes through the gift and power of the Holy Ghost, that bears witness to our souls and our hearts that God does live. He is real. He is a glorified, resurrected Being, and he is our Father, and he loves us. He "... so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life".
Jesus is the Savior. We declare boldly, yet humbly, to all of the world that he is the Redeemer; that he atoned for the sins of man, and he is veritably the Son of God.
I am grateful that we have had restored to us today, another witness that this is so. This witness comes from the Book of Mormon. Nephi saw in vision that Mary was to be the mother of the Son of God after the manner of the flesh. The Book of Mormon further witnesses that Jesus Christ did come to this people on this continent. They bore testimony that he lives.
I am grateful for the Prophet Joseph Smith, who said he saw two Personages stand above him in the air, and that the one called him by name and said, "This, is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!". And I would add to the testimonies that have been borne in conference, my own testimony. It has come to me through the gift and power of the Holy Ghost. I know that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. I am grateful for this witness of the Spirit to my soul.
I would plead with the parents of this Church to prepare their sons to bear this testimony to the world, the only power that will bring peace, because peace is rooted in righteousness. When the hearts of men on this earth can be prepared to receive the witness of the Spirit, all men will be brothers, and then peace can come to our hearts.
I pray that we shall hasten this day through our united efforts by wholeheartedly supporting these brethren who direct the affairs of the Lord on earth, and can contribute both service and substance to help the work of the Lord forward. I humbly pray his blessings upon us, and bear this testimony in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Delbert L. Stapley
Delbert L. Stapley, Conference Report October 1960, pp. 96-99
My brothers and sisters, it is good to be here. I think I should like to use as the springboard for my message, the closing remarks of President Clark and a suggestion just made by Brother Tuttle. My message for this conference is directed to parents and emphasizes the theme introduced to the membership of the Church this year in connection with the stake conferences, "Keep Faith with Your Family."
My remarks apply also to the youth of the Church, who will be the parents of tomorrow, for they also should be interested in laying the foundation values now for the building of ideal Latter-day Saint homes of their own after marriage and parenthood-homes where love, harmony, and mutual affection predominate and the gospel is both taught and lived.
May I begin by reminding you that God extends to earthly parents a choice blessing when he sends a spirit son or daughter of his to dwell in a mortal body provided by them. God grants to parents, if they have complied with his gospel laws and ordinances, the children born to them in the new and everlasting covenant of marriage, or sealed to them by the authority of the Holy Priesthood of God as their very own throughout the eternities of time.
This knowledge adds joy, happiness, and glory to joint-heirship with Christ in all that the Father possesses, even the gift of his own spirit children. Every child is born in complete innocence here on earth. The Lord entrusts these choice spirit children of his to earthly parents, with a hope that through proper teaching and training they will ever keep them moral, true, and faithful. God has revealed this truth in our day: "Every spirit of man was innocent in the beginning; and God having redeemed man from the fall, men became again, in their infant state, innocent before God".
Our Savior, giving his life on the cross, redeemed us from the effects of the fall; therefore, every soul at birth stands innocent before God.
In the modern revelations the Lord has given important instruction to parents, detailing their responsibility in the upbringing of their children. After children come to bless parents with the joy and happiness of possession, the Lord has admonished that "Every member of the church of Christ having children is to bring them unto the elders before the church, who are to lay their hands upon them in the name of Jesus Christ, and bless them in his name". Here, then, is one of the first duties of parents: to have their children blessed by the elders of the Church. What a privilege and proper beginning for a child to be blessed by the elders of the Church in the name of Jesus Christ!
Now, God has revealed that "little children are redeemed from the foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten;
"Wherefore, they cannot sin, for power is not given unto Satan to tempt little children, until they begin to become accountable before me".
Parents, therefore, have these early, golden years of a child's life in which to teach, train, and mold its character, when Satan is not given power to tempt or to mislead it. But there does come a time in the lives of children for individual responsibility and accountability, a time when they are to act for themselves, and receive the gospel and its ordinances and to be baptized for a remission of their sins.
The Lord has declared that, "No one can be received into the church of Christ unless he has arrived unto the years of accountability before God, and is capable of repentance". Parents, looking forward to the time of individual responsibility of children for their own acts, should carefully heed this admonition from the Lord:
"And again, inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized, that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents".
Parents, therefore, have the responsibility of teaching to the understanding of their children the gospel truths, principles, and ordinances, and to prepare them for baptism and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost when they attain the age of eight years, the age of accountability before God; otherwise, the sin is upon the heads of the parents.
To leave no doubt in the minds of parents about their responsibility and accountability to this instruction, the Lord continued by saying:
"For this shall be a law unto the inhabitants of Zion." The teaching of gospel principles and the preparation of children to receive the ordinances of the gospel is not something parents can do only if they want to, because the Lord emphatically declared that it "shall be a law unto the inhabitants of Zion... And their children shall be baptized for the remission of their sins when eight years old, and receive the laying on of the hands".
He did not say that parents could wait until children are nine or ten or older before baptism, neither does he suggest that parents can permit their children to grow up to maturity and decide for themselves whether they should be baptized. The Lord said they "shall be baptized... when eight years old." There can be no question about our understanding of this instruction.
Because some parents have not attended to this important counsel, many of their children today and the posterity of these children are out of the Church, separated from the greatest gift in life, and thus are denied all of the blessings which they could otherwise have received from faithful Church membership.
The revelation continues with this further admonition to parents:
"And they shall also teach their children to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord.
"And the inhabitants of Zion shall also observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy".
The Lord closes this particular instruction to parents, by saying: "Now, I, the Lord, am not well pleased with the inhabitants of Zion... and their children are also growing up in wickedness; they also seek not earnestly the riches of eternity, but their eyes are full of greediness.
"These things," said the Lord, "ought not to be, and must be done away from among them".
To prevent these conditions with their penalties, parents who desire to abide by counsel have no alternative except to follow religiously the admonition and instruction the Lord has given them in this revelation. He also issued an additional warning, which admonishes parents of the obligation they have for the spiritual upbringing of their children. In this revelation, the Lord said that
"The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.
"Light and truth," said the Lord, "forsake that evil one".
Then he goes on to say that "Every spirit of man was innocent in the beginning; and God having redeemed man from the fall, men became again, in their infant state, innocent before God".
And then the warning of the Lord: "And that wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth, through disobedience, from the children of men, and because of the tradition of their fathers".
It is the power of the wicked one or Satan to deceive and lead children astray after they arrive at the years of accountability, which parents must guard against, not only by teaching their children correct principles, doctrines, and life's true values, but also by setting the proper example before them; otherwise, false traditions will be built up in the home which children will absorb to their eternal harm.
As parents we should ask ourselves this question: What kind of traditions are we building up in our home for our children to absorb and accept into the pattern of their own lives? Like father, like son; like mother, like daughter, is so true. What is good enough for parents is considered by children to be good enough for them. What parents do gives license for children to do.
Again may I ask, what are the traditions of our Latter-day Saint homes? Do we have mutual love, respect, admiration, and loyal devotion between parents? Are we observing the Sabbath day to keep it holy? Are we attending to our meetings regularly? Are we taking our children to Church rather than sending them? Are we obeying the Word of Wisdom? Are we having family prayer in the home twice daily? Are we permitting our children to take their turn in family prayer? Are we paying an honest tithing? Are we honest and truthful in our dealings with our fellow men? Are we obeying the law of chastity? Are we keeping the commandments of God fully and always setting a proper example before our children? Are we responding to ecclesiastical authority and supporting and speaking well of those who preside over us?
These are just a few of the things that decide the kind of traditions in our homes and determine whether they are good or bad. Remember that Israel was so steeped in the false traditions of their fathers that they did not recognize the Lord Jesus Christ when he came among them to set up the kingdom of God on earth. They crucified him for no just cause.
The traditions of our own homes could blind the eyes and minds of our children against all truth, just principles, and spiritual values, and could cause them to depart from the right course they must follow to earn for themselves eternal joy and happiness.
Now, after calling attention to the traditions of the fathers, the Lord said to the parents of the Church:
"But I have commanded you to bring up your children in light and truth".
To bring up children in light and truth is to bring them up in an understanding and acceptance of the true word of God. Do our children understand the doctrine of repentance, of faith in Christ the Son of the Living God, and the importance of baptism, its purpose, significance, and value to them in their lives? Do they understand the need of receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and what the powers and functions of the Holy Ghost are, and the blessings which are theirs through possessing this divine gift?
I will close by quoting a warning the Lord gave to Frederick G. Williams, Second Counselor to the Prophet Joseph Smith:
"... You have continued under this condemnation;
"You have not taught your children light and truth, according to the commandments; and that wicked one hath power, as yet, over you, and this is the cause of your affliction.
"And now a commandment I give unto you-if you will be delivered you shall set in order your own house, for there are many things that are not right in your house".
The Lord gave similar counsel and admonition at this same time to other of the brethren, after which he applied the warning to all of us by saying:
"What I say unto one I say unto all; pray always lest that wicked one have power in you, and remove you out of your place".
I earnestly pray, my brothers and sisters, that we will not permit the things of the world to lure us away into complacency and peaceful contentment and cause us to fail in these important obligations imposed upon us by the Lord in the teaching, training, and proper upbringing of our children in the gospel of Christ, which failure would cause us to be removed out of our place and our children to be denied those blessings which they are entitled to receive from us, their parents, to enrich their lives here and hereafter.
God bless us to recognize the responsibility and obligation we have to our children. God bless us to understand the gospel and to be able to teach it so that our children will understand and learn to love and desire to obey the commandments that the Lord has given for their guidance and their blessing. This I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Ezra Taft Benson
Ezra Taft Benson, Conference Report October 1960, pp. 101-106
In keeping with the spirit of that masterful opening address by President McKay, I desire to discuss a matter that has concerned me deeply for several months. Trusting the Lord will approve, I take as my text these sober words of warning from an ancient American prophet:
"And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well-and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.
"Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!
"Wo be unto him that crieth: All is well!".
We must not be deceived-all is not well.
We live today in an age of peril. It is an age in which we are threatened with the loss not only of wealth and material prosperity, but also of something far more precious-our freedom itself. The very thing that distinguishes man from the beasts-man s freedom to act: freedom to choose-is threatened as never before by a total and atheistic philosophy of life known as communism.
In April, I called your attention briefly to the nature of communism. Let us remember these basic facts.
Those who subscribe to this philosophy stop at nothing to achieve their ends. They do not hesitate to destroy-if they are strong enough-whatever stands in their way. Our own generation has witnessed the Russian communists liquidate millions of their fellow countrymen. Even more recently we have seen the Chinese communists wipe out millions of their fellow countrymen-no one knows the exact number.
To the true communist, nothing is evil if it is expedient. Being without conscience or honor, he feels completely justified in using whatever means are necessary to achieve his goal: force, trickery, lies, broken promises, mayhem, and individual and mass murder.
By these ruthless means communism has, in a little over forty years, brought more people under its domination than the total number of Christians now living in the entire world-and Christianity, as the world thinks of it, has been in existence for nearly two thousand years.
And what has been the result?
First, in the economic area, men and women have been stripped of their property, their savings confiscated, their farms taken from them, their businesses seized by the state. They work where they are commanded to work and for such wages as the state chooses to provide. They cannot quit, take another job, or rebel in any tangible way. They are the puppets of the all-powerful state.
Second, in the intellectual area, they are forbidden to listen to radio broadcasts not approved by the state. They have little or no access to free world books, magazines, and newspapers. They have no voice in the education of their children in the schools. They and their children are cast in a communist mold. To write or speak against the state is to ask for exile, imprisonment, or possibly even death.
Third, in the area of morals, faith in moral principle is ruthlessly ridiculed and stripped of dignity. The belief that man has certain inalienable rights, so endowed by his Creator, is categorically denied. Atheistic communist leaders, scoffers at God himself, are striving to blot the Almighty out of the minds of one-third of the world's people.
To do all this, they rule with iron fists. They seek to hammer into oblivion all who would oppose them. Indeed it is true as the poet said:
"Man's inhumanity to man Makes countless thousands mourn."
Let us have no illusions about them. Their leader has told us bluntly-their purpose is not alone to enslave us-they want to bury us.
And while it is apparently true that Chairman Khrushchev is content for the time being at least to avoid war as a means of communist expansion, there is little doubt that the leaders of Red China view war as inevitable and await only the propitious moment in which to strike.
What we face today is not just a cold war, not just a struggle for the control of land, sea, air, and even outer space, but total competition for the control of men's minds. Unless we meet it and defeat it, we shall almost inevitably one day face the loss of all that we hold dear.
In less than half a century, I repeat, this evil system has gained control over one-third of mankind, and it is steadily pursuing its vicious goal of control over all the rest of the world. It is time, and past time, for us to be alarmed. '"Wo be unto him that is at ease. Wo be unto him that crieth 'all is well'".
Latin America does not believe that suppression is the road to freedom.
Less than fifteen years ago communism was not a powerful force in Latin America. Today, it is not only strongly present there as an enemy to be reckoned with, it is openly allied with a government located on an island only about ninety miles south of Key West, Florida.
The only political party now functioning in Cuba is the Popular Socialist Party, the Communist Party under another name.
Cuba is being used as a funnel through which communists are infiltrating other American republics.
True to communist and dictator tradition, the Cuban government has deprived its people of the rights of a free press, free elections," and the protection of other fundamental human rights.
And last August, even as the Organization of American States met in San José, Costa Rica, Fidel Castro was shouting defiantly: "We shall be friends of the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China."
How did this situation come about? How has it been possible for this completely warped philosophy in such a short time to reach its present position of influence in the world? How is it possible for communism to be here and now moving into Africa, pressing upon all of Asia, threatening the Middle East and increasingly becoming a danger in the western hemisphere?
There are, of course, many reasons. Some nations have failed to provide for the advancement and desperate physical needs of their people. Others have failed to recognize the worth of the individual.
But is it not perhaps true that the biggest reason of all is the failure of western civilization to live up to its Christian ideals?
Is it perhaps true that, as Dr. Charles Malik, the great Lebanese leader and former President of the United Nations General Assembly, has said,
"The deepest crisis of the West is the crisis of faith... Western civilization is doomed until, jolted out of its complacency, self-satisfaction and sense of apartness, it rediscovers and reaffirms what is genuinely human and universal in its own soul"?
Let us examine our own lives and the life of our own beloved land.
How richly we the people of the United States have been blessed!
Truly ours is a choice land-a land of great favors and opportunities. Yet is it not true that these very blessings could prove to be our undoing unless our perspective is right and our idealism more concerned with eternal standards and values than with material gain and worldly honors?
How does our nation stand?
Are not many of us materialistic? Do we not find it well-nigh impossible to raise our sights above the dollar sign?
Are not many of us pragmatists-living not by principle but by what we can get away with?
Are not many of us status-seekers-measuring the worth of a man by the size of his bank account, his house, his automobile?
Are we not complacent, given to self-satisfaction and self-congratulation-willing to co-exist with evil... so long as it does not touch us personally?
If the answer to these questions is, "yes"-and who can honestly give a different answer?-then surely these are among the many reasons why this is truly an era of peril.
Many of us have a tendency to forget the Gracious Hand which has preserved our nation, enriched it, strengthened it. Many of us imagine in the foolishness of pride, that our manifold blessings are due not to God's goodness, but to our own wisdom and virtue. Too many of us have been so drunk with self-sufficiency as no longer to feel the need of prayer. Too many have forgotten the necessity of courage, of sacrifice, of vigilance, of devotion to the cause of freedom.
We must revivify Western ideals and in particular the ideals of our own great nation. We must call back the spirit of the dauntless leaders of the past. We must meet our present-day challenge not with softness and complacency, but with the depth, wisdom, and daring that characterized America in the days of old.
We have a rich history to guide us. Think back with me a moment to the year 1823. In that year James Monroe of Virginia was President. John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts was Secretary of State. These two men formed and announced a policy which has profoundly influenced the development of our entire hemisphere.
Here was the situation that called forth this policy-known as the Monroe Doctrine-in 1823.
Several of what are now the Latin American Republics had by force of arms newly won their independence from Spain and Portugal. Among them were Colombia, Mexico, Chile, and Brazil.
Meantime, a number of the sovereigns of Europe were seeking to enforce the "divine right of kings" with the express purpose of putting "an end to the system of representative government."
France, accordingly, had proceeded to restore the rule of Ferdinand VII in Spain. Now these countries proposed to overthrow the new and independent governments in Latin America.
This our government refused to permit. It said so plainly in the celebrated Monroe Doctrine. The heart of the Monroe Doctrine consisted of these words: "... the American continents, by the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintained, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European power."
And the doctrine went on to spell out clearly just what was meant.
"The political system of the allied powers is essentially different... from that of America... We owe it, therefore, to candor, and to the amicable relations existing between the United States and those powers, to declare that we should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety."
Now there is a statement which might well be engraved in all the capitals of all the countries in this hemisphere today. Every word in it is as applicable today as it was one hundred thirty-seven years ago.
Surely if it were true a century and a half ago that European monarchy was essentially different from our American system of representative government, it is even more true today that the communist system is totally different, totally incompatible, totally inimical to our free way of life.
The ancient American Prophet Moroni saw our day. Who can doubt that he had in mind the evils of godless communism when he gave this solemn warning:
"Wherefore, O ye Gentiles, it is wisdom in God that these things should be shown unto you, that thereby ye may repent of your sins, and suffer not that these murderous combinations shall get above you, which are built up to get power and gain-and the work, yea, even the work of destruction come upon you, yea, even the sword of the justice of the Eternal God shall fall upon you, to your overthrow and destruction if ye shall suffer these things to be.
"Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you; or wo be unto it, because of the blood of them who have been slain; for they cry from the dust for vengeance upon it, and also upon those who built it up.
"For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people, for it is built up by the devil, who is the father of all lies".
We are eminently justified in declaring that we should consider any attempt on the part of the communists to extend their system to any part of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety.
President Eisenhower said as much in his reply to the tirade of Chairman Khrushchev last summer. But it is not enough to say this once, nor is it enough for the President alone to say it. It should be repeated again and again and again, and it should be supported by all true Americans speaking as with one voice.
Moreover, the Monroe Doctrine went on: "Nor can anyone believe that our southern brethren if left to themselves, would adopt it of their own accord." Here again the words of the Monroe Doctrine ring true.
It is almost unthinkable that any people would knowingly and wilfully take on themselves the yoke of communist oppression. No people, no nation, has ever done so yet. If large masses of the Cuban people have done so, it is because they have been duped or coerced.
This Monroe Doctrine has been the continuing policy of our nation for almost a century and a half.
It has been reaffirmed by many American Presidents.
We are on solid, traditional American ground in demanding that the communists should not attempt to extend their political system to this side of the Atlantic Ocean.
In recent years the principles of the Monroe Doctrine have been strengthened by various joint agreements among the American nations.
In 1947, nineteen American nations met in conference in Rio de Janeiro, and on September 2 of that year signed the treaty of Rio de Janeiro in which they promised to help one another in ease of aggression.
On March 1, 1954, the tenth Inter-American Conference opened in Caracas, Venezuela. When we read now, six years later, the running account of that conference, it is almost as though we were scanning a preview of history. On March 4, for example, our late great Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, urged the American states to stop the communists now.
On March 6, the United States presented a draft resolution condemning communism as foreign intervention and calling for joint action against it when needed.
On March 13, 1954, the conference adopted by a vote of 17 to 1 the anti-communist resolution that had been presented by the United States. Guatemala dissented, and Mexico and Argentina abstained.
Referring to the Caracas conference, President Eisenhower said, "In this hemisphere we have stressed our solid understanding with our American neighbors... The American republics agreed that if international communism were to gain control of the political institution of any American state, this control would endanger them all and therefore would demand collective action."
Very shortly after the close of the Caracas conference such a communist threat arose in Guatemala. The pro-communist government of Guatemala, aided by shipments of arms from behind the Iron Curtain, had moved very rapidly to the left. The Organization of American States had already convoked a meeting of foreign ministers under the Rio Treaty to consider the serious situation which had developed, when the Guatemalans themselves rose up and removed the threat. The meeting never convened. Fighting broke out in Guatemala, and the communist government was overthrown.
All this was before the coming to power of the present leadership in Cuba. Now the Western Hemisphere faces a new danger-a new threat.
Our government is alert to the situation. The Organization of American States has condemned Russian-Chinese interference in American affairs. These are first steps.
But we must do more. As a nation we must cease to take Latin American security for granted. We must lead this hemisphere in stimulating and co-operating in a program of Latin American economic development.
But even this is not enough. You and I and all true Americans must play our part, too.
What can you and I do? What can we do to help meet this grave challenge from a godless, atheistic, cruelly materialistic system-to preserve our God-given free way of life?
We can encourage our government to stand firm at all costs against any further expansion of communism into the free world.
We can tell our government that we are willing to sacrifice our luxuries in exchange for an impregnable defense.
We can support our government in keeping the flame of freedom burning in the souls of the oppressed-wherever they may be throughout the world.
But, above all, we can face up to the decay in our own civilization.
The communists bring to the nations they infiltrate a message and a philosophy that affects human life in its entirety. Communism seeks to provide, what in too many instances a lukewarm Christianity has not provided, a total interpretation of life. Communists are willing to be revolutionary; to take a stand for this and against that. They challenge what they do not believe in-customs, practices, ideas, traditions. They believe heatedly in their philosophy.
But our civilization and our people are seemingly afraid to be revolutionary. We are too "broadminded" to challenge what we do not believe in. We are afraid of being thought intolerant, uncouth, ungentlemanly. We have become lukewarm in our beliefs. And for that we perhaps merit the bitter condemnation stated in Revelation 3:16: "So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth".
This is a sad commentary on a civilization which has given to mankind the greatest achievements and progress ever known. But it is an even sadder commentary on those of us who call ourselves Christians, who thus betray the ideals given to us by the Son of God himself.
Let us awaken to our responsibilities and to our opportunities. Again I quote Dr. Malik:
"The civilization which has been blessed and transformed by Christ, needs only a mighty hand to shake it out of its slumber. And, once shaken, once really awakened to the world responsibilities which it and it alone can shoulder, there is nothing it cannot dare and do."
Do we believe that? Then let us live up to that faith! For in that faith-and through that faith-we can rise triumphant over the menace of atheistic communism. We can and we must!
In this dark hour, the fate of the world seems to rest largely in our hands. We who live in this choice land, in fact all of the land of Zion, have the opportunity, the responsibility, and the solemn obligation to stand firm for freedom and justice and morality-the dignity and brotherhood of man as a child of God.
"... wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!"
"Wo be unto him that crieth: All is well!".
God bless the land of Zion, North and South America, and all the world, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Antoine R. Ivins
Antoine R. Ivins, Conference Report October 1960, pp. 106-107
My brothers and sisters, I had given up the expectancy of having this privilege of bearing my testimony to you this afternoon, and I haven't the courage to take time to make an extended speech or any extensive remarks. I trust that the Spirit of God may help me to bear a true testimony to the truth of the gospel, and when I say testimony, which seems to be the spirit of this conference, I mean that I testify that Jesus Christ is the Son of God; that he and the Father appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith; that through the visitation of heavenly beings and the inspiration that came from God, a real and true interpretation of the plan of life and salvation was returned to the earth; that through heavenly beings there came back to the earth the priesthood which authorized men to perform the functions that are essential to the exaltation of people in the kingdom of God; and that to regulate the use of that priesthood the Church was set up according to the will of God and the pattern which Jesus Christ gave us when he ministered in the earth.
That I honestly and sincerely believe to be true, and I feel that the fact of its truth has been revealed to me by the Spirit of God. The spirit of this conference has been testimony. Christ told Peter that upon the revealed testimony that He is the Son of God, he had built his Church, and the gates of hell could not prevail against it.
I honestly believe, brethren and sisters, that if we can properly instill into our own hearts and the hearts of our children this testimony to the degree that it will impel them to live true to the principles of the gospel, to the covenants that they have made in the waters of baptism and in the temples of God, and to the promises that are implied, if not actually made, when one receives the priesthood, that the Church will never be in danger.
The power of the Church is in the administration of the priesthood offices, of course, and in the faith that the people have. I believe that testimony comes from faith and prayer and righteous living, and that the best way to get it is to live true to the teachings of the gospel, to pray about it, and to exercise our faith to that end. And then I believe further that if we can get that testimony truly in our hearts, that all men who accept ordination into the Melchizedek Priesthood or the Aaronic Priesthood for that matter, will exert every possible power within them to magnify that calling. There is not the least doubt in my mind that any man who holds the Melchizedek Priesthood, who lives to magnify that calling, should never yield to any of the temptations of his satanic majesty.
I feel that whenever men give way to those temptations, it is an indication of really either a weak testimony or a lack of testimony of these wonderful things. We who hold the priesthood have the problem of planting that testimony in the hearts of others. We do it by the way we live and by what we teach.
I heard a testimony just a week ago from a very fine man who has recently come into the Church. He was first impressed by the life of certain members of the Church whom he met. He became interested and investigated. He had a son fourteen years of age who likewise was interested in the missionaries and attended their meetings in the branch. The son came home one day and to the utter surprise of his father said, "Father, I have a testimony," and this man said, "Now in our church nobody ever testifies."
It is in Christianity a forgotten art practically, but with us it is the most essential thing of our whole program, brothers and sisters, that we should gain that testimony; that we should live true to it, and that when we accept responsibility in the priesthood we should magnify it.
Now we who keep records know that there is a large percentage of men who have been ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood who are not magnifying their callings. We have a program, brothers and sisters, that we have been advocating for sometime, to which reference was made today, to try to interest those people and bring them to pray and study that they may come to understand these things and then go forth to reclaim their privileges as members of the Melchizedek Priesthood.
Of course there is plenty of incentive for it. To those of you who were here last night I recommend again the passages in the Doctrine and Covenants that Brother Romney read to you, that he who receives these callings in the priesthood and magnifies them fully can eventually attain to the powers of God. That is the incentive, brothers and sisters. When we go to these people, we must go in love and kindness, helpful as we can in the hope that they will listen to us.
I pray that God will bless us that we may understand individually our own problems, understand that the privileges of membership in the Church of Jesus Christ are individual privileges, and that no man should let the conduct of another man prevent his using these privileges to his own exaltation. If people who come into the Church could come understanding that it is an individual problem pure and simple with them, then these other things that they observe at times would have no effect upon their lives.
Brethren and sisters, we have the problem not only of our own people, but also of assimilating and absorbing and helping the many people who are being baptized into the Church. May God help us to do all these things, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Amen.
Elder Howard W. Hunter
Howard W. Hunter, Conference Report October 1960, pp. 107-109
In the nineteenth chapter of John we read the story of an influential man who was secretly a disciple of Christ, but because of fear, was not openly a disciple. Those who declared themselves as followers of Christ were not popular in Jerusalem during this period of controversy. Joseph of Arimathea was secretly a disciple, but his fear of what others might think or do prevented him from declaring his allegiance until after the crucifixion of the Master.
Joseph of Arimathea was a man of wealth and station in Jerusalem. We can assume that he had a wide acquaintance and was a man of influence. He was a member of the Sanhedrin, the assembly of seventy-one men constituting the supreme council of the aristocracy which administered the Jewish law. It was because of his membership in this tribunal that he was referred to as "counsellor." Mark refers to him as "... an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God". He waited in the background, doing nothing to support or sustain the Master. No doubt he had heard Jesus and listened to his teachings, for we are told that he was a secret disciple of the Savior.
When the council was called into session early in the morning, following the Last Supper and the betrayal, Joseph either absented himself from the council or refused to vote. He took no part in the proceedings, hoping no doubt to save his own conscience. He would not lift a finger to condemn the Savior, nor would he defend him openly.
There are many like Joseph of Arimathea, who do not declare loyalty to the Lord Jesus Christ, but merely "wait for the kingdom." Like Joseph they are secret followers of Jesus and halfhearted, lukewarm Christians. Secret disciples of Christ are almost in the same category as those who are antagonistic. They are much the same as persons among us today who have only a halfhearted interest in our great democratic way of life and are as dangerous to the future freedom of the world as those who are openly avowed to destroy democracy.
We would have greater respect for Joseph, if he had taken a strong position in the council and defended Jesus. We cannot assume that this would have changed the judgment or saved him from the cross, because he stated at the supper that he would shortly leave them. Nevertheless, we have respect for one who stands upon moral convictions and upholds the right.
We have more respect for one who honestly doubts than for one who fears to declare loyalty. Thomas doubted. He traveled the path from faith through the valley of doubt to new heights of faith. This is the course that many follow in life. As children we accepted as fact the things which were told to us by our parents or our teachers because of the confidence that we had in them. A little boy will jump from a high place without fear if his father tells him that he will catch him. The little fellow has faith that his father will not let him fall. As children grow older, they commence to think for themselves, to question and have doubts about those things which are not subject to tangible proof.
I have sympathy for young men and young women when honest doubts enter their minds and they engage in the great conflict of resolving doubts. These doubts can be resolved, if they have an honest desire to know the truth, by exercising moral, spiritual, and mental effort. They will emerge from the conflict into a firmer, stronger, larger faith because of the struggle. They have gone from a simple, trusting faith, through doubt and conflict, into a solid substantial faith which ripens into testimony. The Bible is replete with such examples. We think of Abraham in the Old Testament and Thomas in Christ's time.
Now to return to Joseph of Arimathea, the record does not indicate to us that he doubted as did Thomas. We are told he was "... a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear". He believed secretly because he was afraid of public opinion. Among our own people, in our communities, in our nation and throughout the world, there are secret followers of Jesus and half-hearted Christians-onlookers who have a noncommittal attitude. Why is it that so many will not commit themselves?
Joseph of Arimathea was only a secret disciple because of what others would think of him. He would not risk his social position nor the respect of his associates. It is fear that causes men to be noncommittal. They are afraid to declare their loyalty and assume active responsibility. The easy way is to let someone else be the leader and assume the responsibility. The world needs men who are willing to step forward and declare themselves. The world needs men who will lift the load of responsibility to their shoulders and carry it high under the banner of Jesus Christ-men who are willing to defend the right openly. I am always impressed by the missionaries of this Church. They are willing to accept the call to serve two years or more at their own expense and give freely of their time without monetary compensation, to cry repentance and declare that Jesus is the Christ. This is the type of devotion to principle that is needed in the world today.
How can men of conscience ignore the teachings of the Master in their daily affairs, in business, or in government? We stand by and wink at many things because we fear to do anything about them. We may be against crime or communism, but what do we do about it? We may be against corruption in government or against juvenile delinquency, but what do we do about it? We may have a belief in the gospel of Jesus Christ, but what are we doing about it? We need to push fear into the background and come forward with a definite, positive declaration, and assume responsibility.
The pathway to exaltation is well defined. We are told to have faith-faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and repent of those things which are not according to his teachings. After this change of mental attitude, and with firm resolution, we must declare ourselves by going into the waters of baptism, thereby making a covenant with the Lord to keep his commandments. Can we thereafter be a secret disciple? Can we stand on the sidelines and merely observe? This is a day for action. This is the time for decision, not tomorrow, not next week. This is the time to make our covenant with the Lord. Now is the time for those who have been noncommittal or who have had a halfhearted interest to come out boldly and declare belief in Christ and be willing to demonstrate faith by works.
We acquire more regard for Joseph of Arimathea as we continue to read. Although he was "a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear" and although he was one who "waited for the kingdom of God", yet he was finally moved to action. The account continues:
"He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.
"And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,
"And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed".
I wonder if there was not a tear in Joseph's eye as he placed the body of Jesus in the tomb. Surely he thought of the events which had taken place earlier on that day, when as a member of the Council he had failed to come to the defense of the Master. Should we not search our own souls and inquire of ourselves if we are loyal? Are we, too, only secret disciples of Christ?
This same Jesus who died on the cross and whose body was placed in the tomb came forth on the third day thereafter. He was resurrected and lives today-the Savior of the world.
This is my witness. He stands before us with arms outstretched to our vision, and those same words spoken to the disciples in Jerusalem should ring in our ears:
"If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
"For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it".
May we be his disciples openly, fearlessly, and with devotion, I humbly pray in his name. Amen.
Elder Richard L. Evans
Richard L. Evans, Conference Report October 1960, pp. 111-112
At this point of the conference many will understand why I remember a sentence recently read-a sentence which said that you can always use more words to say what has already been said. I shall try not to make the words too many, but should like to tie back to two or three points of the conference, first, to President McKay's opening address, of the love of God and the love of man, and of the peace that can come only through righteousness and the keeping of the commandments.
Secondly, from the reports given from this pulpit and others that have come in connection with the conference it is very evident that the Church in the stakes and in the missions is on the move, worldwide. Now it takes service, and it takes means to keep things on the move. I have read somewhere that service is the rent we pay for the space we occupy on earth. Not only the service, but the means are necessary. Nothing does itself. Someone has to do everything that is done.
As to tithing, it requires that, too, not only as a material matter, but as a spiritual matter also. All we have the Lord God has given us, and I consider tithing to be an opportunity to express appreciation for what the Lord God has given. Neither the giving of service nor of substance is ever-or seldom-completely convenient for any of us. There was a kind of tongue-in-cheek British economist lecturing here some months ago-and may be still in the United States-who propounded what he called "Parkinson's Second Law," as I recall, which said that "expenditures always rise to meet income." We have discovered this to be true.
The Lord God has said to us "... all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal". I would plead with all of us, as the work moves forward gloriously, that we should not hinder it by withholding our service or our substance.
Now, third, I should like to tie back to what I consider a most remarkable meeting last evening, which I wish everyone had heard, as President McKay and Brother Moyle and Brother Romney and Brother Petersen spoke. I should like to make a plea in keeping with some of what was there said to the youth, and to all of us, that we do not succumb to uncertainty. There are problems; there are uncertainties; but always we need to pursue solid purposes.
The Church is going forward, world-wide-in the building of buildings, in missionary endeavor, and in all else-and in our private and personal lives, young and old, we must also individually have the faith to go forward. It takes courage; it takes prayer and planning and work and faith; but there are glorious eternal opportunities; and we must not wait in uncertainty or succumb to it. The theories and the facts will all ultimately be reconciled; the questions will all ultimately be answered; the problems will all ultimately be resolved; and the promises will all be fulfilled, and we must plan and prayerfully pursue our plans and go ahead with our lives on solid and firm foundations, with faith, with cleanliness of conduct, with balanced living, with devotion, with the keeping of the commandments.
I think it was Ruskin who said, "There is no wealth but life." I pray God that we may use that wealth which is life, and not waste it away, and pursue earnestly the opportunities of time, into the limitless promises and possibilities of eternity, and I do it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Alma Sonne
Alma Sonne, Conference Report October 1960, pp. 109-111
My brethren and sisters, I believe I speak for the Assistants to the Quorum of the Twelve when I express my goodwill and my good feelings towards the three men who have been called to associate with us in our work. I know these men personally. I know they are good men. I know they are capable, and I know, too, their willingness to lay upon the altar any worldly possessions they have in order to serve the Lord in spirit and in truth.
I believe in the future of the Church. I believe it has a great destiny. I believe in its moral standards. I believe its program is effective and the Church will grow and develop as the missionary effort increases in the world. I believe faith in God is the very foundation of right living, and I believe in the missionary system of the Church, which has proved so successful in recent years, and I believe the work will continue to go forward.
I also believe that many of the old barriers and obstacles are crumbling and giving way, and that we have a better opportunity than we have ever had to proclaim the gospel truths. I believe there are people in the world who are very anxious to hear the gospel message as it is proclaimed by humble men and women sent out from the headquarters of the Church to bear their testimonies.
I want to read a word from President Brigham Young. He said:
"The Lord will never suffer this people to dwindle down, and be hid up in a corner; it cannot be; neither does he want any person to help them but himself".
In other words, God is directing his work. It is not man-made, neither is it the creation of a human mind. The pioneer prophet Brigham Young was face to face with a gigantic task when he undertook to colonize the West and to keep alive the missionary movement. It was not an easy thing to set up a commonwealth and to transform a desert into cities, towns, and villages, and to provide homes, schools, and churches. It required more than ordinary skill to build up faith and hope and to develop a solid citizenship out of a people who came from many parts of the world.
Brigham Young could not have done it without God's help. He knew this, and never once did he claim the credit for this achievement. When he died in 1877, his enemies saw the end of Mormonism. There was no one, they argued, to take his place. He had presided over the Church for thirty years. Those who had stood by him in the early emergencies and difficulties had passed on. Willard Richards had died in 1854. Heber C. Kimball, the great prophet, and a stalwart, who had stood by his side in all the days of colonization and settlement, had died in 1868. Parley P. Pratt had met an untimely death in 1857. George A. Smith, who was regarded as a great leader of courage and wisdom, had died in 1875. And many others who stood valiantly by his side during the exodus and the colonization effort, also had passed on. Mormonism could not survive, at least that was the verdict of those who did not and could not understand. There was no leader, they claimed, to take his place. They saw the disruption and disorganization of the Church, and many would repudiate their allegiance and follow a divided leadership.
The enemies predicted the same thing when the Prophet Joseph and his brother Hyrum Smith were murdered. The great enterprise launched by them, they thought, would burst like a bubble, but God will always have in reserve someone to take the place of him who is gone. Brethren and sisters, God's work will triumph in the earth.
Speaking of pioneer days, I should like to read a statement from the journal of Brother Richard Ballantyne, the organizer of the first Sunday School in the Rocky Mountains. Brother Ballantyne wrote this just five years before his death. Speaking of pioneering days, he said:
But those times are now past, and I believe never to return. A brighter day is now awaiting, but it will have its dangers.
"As wealth flows into the hands of the Church, and with its learning and refinement, pride is apt to enter the hearts of the children of Zion, as it entered into the hearts of the Nephites.
"God has signified by his servant that the day to favor Zion has come. The powers of the heavens are to be exerted in a way they never were before. The time for the uplifting of Zion has come. Kings and rulers will favor her. Her beauty and righteousness are beginning to appear in the world. She will not be looked upon as she has been in the past. The shadows are passing away, and the light is breaking in upon us."
I bear my testimony that God's work will stand, that Joseph Smith was his divine Prophet appointed to usher in the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. I bear testimony that his successors in the high office were all men of God, and that they were full of faith and prophecy. I bear testimony that the authority of the Holy Priesthood is operating in the Church as it has always done and that it will continue to do so until every knee shall bend and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world, and that the Latter-day Saints comprise his Church and kingdom about which the ancient prophets spoke; and that the Church will continue to grow and extend itself, even beyond our imaginations, for it will surely reach to the uttermost parts of the earth.
I pray that his Spirit may continue with us, and that we may serve him always with a singleness of purpose, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder ElRay L. Christiansen
ElRay L. Christiansen, Conference Report October 1960, pp. 113-114
I should like to place what I had thought to say in cold storage, even though by the time I take it out it will be too cold to use, and just express my gratitude and appreciation for some things.
I like the song, "Now, Let Us Rejoice." In my opinion we do not rejoice enough in this Church. We have so much for which to be grateful that we could rejoice day and night and still not be sufficiently grateful in our expressions. I am so thankful for what has been taught us in this great conference today and yesterday and the day before. I think it has been outstanding. I thought as I sat here how true it is that we cannot be saved in ignorance of God, in ignorance of our relationship to God-and I thought that as members of this Church we need not be in ignorance, so far as knowledge of our relationship to God is concerned, for surely we are well taught.
There is no prize so great and so valuable as the truth. In the Church we are taught the truth. We are taught the proper way to live-the correct, the right, the happy way to live. We could search the world over, and we could find no better way to live than the right way, and of course the Lord's way is the right way.
We are taught to know the right in all things-how to repent, how to change our ways. We are taught whom and how to serve. We are taught the proper way to enter into the marriage covenant. In fact, the gospel of Jesus Christ is designed to direct us safely through this probationary period, that we "may dwell... in a state of never-ending happiness" with those we love. I like that statement from the Book of Mormon.
We are taught that in the true sense of the word, God is our Father; that we are his sons and his daughters, and that he loves us, and that he is concerned about our welfare and our fortunes and our misfortunes. He is desirous that when this earth mission is completed that each of us comes home with an honorable release from it to dwell with him in a state of happiness and usefulness.
I am not so interested in heaven unless I may continue my association with those I love, and that is all of you, my brothers and sisters, but especially my companion, my children, my grandchildren, and my progenitors.
I am grateful to belong to a Church that teaches that the relationship between the husband and the wife, between the father and the mother, and between the children and the parents, is intended to be and is eternal in its nature, if we will just prepare for that type of relationship. No principle, doctrine, or practice is so distinctive or so appealing to the human reason as is the perpetuity of the family. The more I think about the gospel the more I see that it revolves about the family and its eternal association.
When I went home at noon, I picked up a letter from a boy written in his own handwriting. He is eleven years old.
The letter reads:
"Dear Temple Worker: Will you please enter my dad's name on the prayer roll because we want him to become a member of the Church and take Mom and us kids to the temple. We sincerely hope and pray that our Heavenly Father will help him to keep the Word of Wisdom. His name is............................. Sincerely your brother,............................., 11 years old."
That tells the story of what is in the heart of a boy who loves his parents, who loves them enough to desire their association beyond this earth life. Sometimes the children must lead the parents on the way.
I am grateful that my Father in heaven is a patient Father. If he will stay with me, I am determined to stay with him, to stay with that which is true to the end of my days.
God bless us, brothers and sisters, that we may rejoice; that we may receive thankfully; that we may live worthy of the bounteous blessings that God extends to us, that we will share with our nonmember friends the truth as it has been revealed; and that we may bear testimony, not alone in words, but in deeds and in action and in doing good to others, I pray humbly in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report October 1960, pp. 114-116
We must take time before the closing song and benediction to express a word of appreciation to those who have contributed to the success and comfort of those who have attended this great conference. I wish first to mention the officers of this city who have watched with care the number of automobiles and their occupants and guided so successfully the hundreds of cars and taken care of the thousands of people who have surrounded the block and driven to and fro. You have noticed them on every corner-their courtesy, their attention, their protecting and guiding care, and in your behalf, in behalf of the General Authorities particularly, I express thanks to the city government, and to the police who have protected your interests so carefully and so ably.
To the General Authorities we express deep appreciation for the inspirational messages they have given us. We haven't had any better. The Lord has guided us from this pulpit during our sessions in the daytime and last evening.
We must not be unmindful of the reporters for their fair and accurate reports through our sessions of this conference. They have been here daily and given to the people, to their subscribers, and to the world a very accurate report, not only in word, but in the spirit of the messages given at this conference.
The fire department and the Red Cross have been on hand to render assistance and service whenever or wherever needed. The Tabernacle ushers have rendered service in seating the vast audiences of these conference sessions. We have expressed before, but repeat, our appreciation to the radio and television stations-forty-five television and sixty-two radio stations throughout our own city and the nation have carried the proceedings of this conference. This has been the means of permitting untold thousands of persons to hear the sermons given during the one hundred thirtieth semi-annual conference. They have rendered that service free.
We appreciate especially those who have furnished the singing throughout the conference. I remind you again of the Relief Society Singing Mothers from the Ogden and northern Utah regions, who furnished the singing for the Friday morning and Friday afternoon sessions; also the University of Utah Choral Society and the Bonneville Strings-the singers from the Institute of Religion and the University of Utah choral groups, who furnished the singing for the Saturday morning and Saturday afternoon sessions. Both those sessions were inspirational. Think of the hours that the mothers spend practicing, and think of those young people, of the hours and hours that they practiced, and of their willingness to come and give their talents so impressively. And then last evening, the male members of the Tabernacle Choir came in a body, dressed neatly, in a dignified way, and impressed the fifty thousand priesthood members of the Church with their excellent singing.
Today we are privileged to have the Tabernacle Choir! Words cannot express our heartfelt feelings for their devotion to the cause. I met one sister the other day who was a member for many years, but she has retired. Her heart was just overflowing with gratitude for the opportunity she had had in singing as a member of this choir. That is the feeling that these sisters and the brethren have as they sit under the baton of this great leader and his assistant, practicing hour after hour, day after day, week after week, month after month, to become efficient in this great choral organization. We do not say much about it, brethren and sisters, but we do appreciate what you are doing!
Too many of us are like that Scotsman of whom I told you, who had lost his wife by death, and his neighbor came in, gave comfort, and said what a good neighbor she had been, how thoughtful of others, what a good wife she had been to Jock, who was mourning. Jock said, "Aye, Tammas, Janet was a guid woman, a guid neighbor as you say; she was a' you say an' mair. She was aye a guid, true wifey tae me, and I cam' near tellin' her sae aince or twice."
We express again our appreciation to those who sent these lovely flowers to us. We want to thank all those who have contributed in any way to the success and inspiration of this great conference.
Now, brethren and sisters, may I say just a word in conclusion. I have a deep admiration in my heart for Simon Peter, President of the Twelve Apostles. He said in one of his general epistles:
"... to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
"Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
"According as his divine power hath given unto 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, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust".
That comes from Simon Peter who was only two and a half years-a little more-in the personal presence of his Lord. Before that he did not care much for the Church, but before this writing he had a testimony of the divinity of the Sonship of Jesus Christ. More than that, he had experienced that communion of the Spirit with his Resurrected Lord, and speaks here of being a partaker of the divine nature.
Hold to that thought in the midst of an atheistic world, mentioned by Brother Benson and others, while there are godless men who deny the resurrection of Christ, who deny his living spirit, and who have taught for forty years young men and young women to deny him. That is a terrible thing when you think of it. Some of us thought twenty years ago that such a godless organization would break of its own weight, and now young men who were ten years of age when communistic ideology took possession of so many are now fifty years of age.
Peter says to those who knew Christ, who had partaken of his Spirit:
"Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
"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.
"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".
To know God and his Beloved Son is eternal life.
I do not know the author, but there comes to my mind now these lines:
"Admire the goodness of Almighty God He riches gave, intellectual strength to few Nor now commands to be nor rich, nor learned Nor promises reward of peace to these. On all He moral worth bestowed, And moral tribute asks from all. And who that could not pay?- Who born so poor, of intellect so mean As not to know what seemed the best And knowing might not do? And He who acted thus fulfilled the law eternal And His promises reaped in peace. Who sought else sought mellow grapes beneath the icy poles, Sought blooming roses on the cheek of death, Sought substance in a world of fleeting shades."
God help us to be partakers of the DIVINE NATURE. May the spirit of this great conference radiate from your hearts to those whom you will meet when you go back to your stakes and wards, and especially may it radiate in your homes, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1961, pp. 4-8
"Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment".
These words were written by The Preacher, son of David of old, approximately nine hundred and seventy-seven years before Christ-admonitions to youth as applicable in this year 1961 after Christ as they were nearly three thousand years ago! "... but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment."
Every sixth day of April, General Authorities, officers, and members of the Church meet in general conference to hear reports of the progress of the Church, sustain officers, consider matters pertaining to the restored gospel, and take such action as the official representatives of the Church may deem necessary and helpful.
If the question were asked this morning, "In what respect during the last year has the Church made the most commendable progress?" I would not answer: "In financial matters," although it is a fact that perhaps never before have the financial interests of the Church been more prosperous.
I would not say: "In the increase of the number of new houses of worship," although members of the Church have put forth more effort and built and paid for more chapels than in any other similar period of the past; for example, I find that during the year 1960 there were 111 Church buildings dedicated; fifty other buildings are ready to be dedicated. There are completed, but not dedicated because they are not entirely paid for, 233 buildings, or a total of Church buildings constructed and dedicated in 1960 of 394. We have no information compiled for the first three months of 1961, but it is estimated that buildings in the planning stage and under construction would exceed the 900 mark.
If we were to ask for the most commendable progress, I would not answer: "In the increased membership," although in the last thirteen months the growth of the Church in numbers in the stakes and in the missions has been most encouraging. There has been an increase of a figure approaching the 100,000 mark. This afternoon we shall find the total membership given in the statistics.
I would not answer that the most commendable progress has been in better understanding among the leaders of municipalities, newspaper editors, and well-informed people generally regarding the purposes, organization, and contributions of the Church toward peace and the ultimate destiny of the world.
I would answer that the most encouraging progress of the Church during the last year is seen in the increased number of young people participating in Church activity. We hear much about the delinquency and incorrigibility of youth. I desire to say a word this morning about their corrigibility, as we have seen it and noticed it in visiting in different parts of the Church.
For example, on Sunday, March 26, 1961, I attended the dedicatory services of the Bountiful South Stake Center and Bountiful Eighth Ward Church edifice. There were in attendance over 1,700 people, the majority of whom impressed me as being young members of the Primary Association and teenagers. That same evening I attended the Sacrament meeting of the Garden Heights Ward, Canyon Rim Stake. Here again a large proportion of the congregation was made up of young people.
Two weeks ago today in our regular weekly meeting, one of the brethren of the General Authorities, I think it was Brother Mark E. Petersen, reported that he learned recently while attending the Bear River Stake conference that four wards in that stake had a Sacrament meeting attendance for one month of above fifty percent of the entire membership of the ward, and two of these four wards were in the sixty percent bracket. The Oneida Stake had a year-long average high in the forties, and some wards had sixty percent, and even seventy percent in attendance. In each case the young people were a conspicuous part of the audience.
For this increased attendance of young people much credit is due to the Presiding Bishopric, who have put forth special effort to have the deacons, teachers, and priests attend Sacrament meetings. And right here I would like to say to this vast congregation that it is a significant fact in Church organization that the bishop of the ward is not only ordained to preside over his particular ecclesiastical group but is also set apart by divine appointment as president of the priests' quorum, made up of 18, 19, and 20-year-old young men who, with young women of corresponding age, literally carve the moral atmosphere of the community.
Much of this activity of the young is due to the Mutual Improvement Associations, who have placed special emphasis upon the attendance of members of the MIA at Sacrament meetings. The Primary general presidency and board and stake and ward workers merit great credit also.
But I know and you know that mere attendance at Church and other acts of piety signify little if the person does not conform his acts and his speech to the principles of the gospel. Into three principal environments the child is daily thrown, which direct his actions, inspire his behavior in all his contacts with his fellow beings, enable him to control himself or to become a slave to his appetites, his passions, and desires.
These three environments are: the home, the school, the church.
Beaconsfield wisely wrote: "I have always felt that the best security for civilization is the dwelling, and that upon properly appointed and becoming dwellings depends more than anything else the improvement of mankind. Such dwellings are the nursery of all domestic virtues, and without a becoming home, the exercise of those virtues is impossible."
It is not generally conceded by educators nor by parents that the real education of a child begins early in home life. One of our best modern philosophers, referring to the value of education in childhood, says this:
"Time does not have the same value in childhood as in later years. A year is much longer, physiologically and psychologically, for a child than for a man. One year for a child of ten corresponds to two years for a man of twenty. When the child is younger, the discrepancy is still greater. The time elapsed between the third and seventh year probably represents a duration equivalent to fifteen or twenty years for a grown man.
"Now, it is precisely at this age that a child builds up the framework into which all the events of his future life will fit, and in particular his moral code. This explains the considerable amount of knowledge a child can accumulate during his first years. It would be highly desirable for parents and educators to take this fact into consideration.
"The moral education of a child is different from that given to a man. Indeed, for the very young it is important not to judge the gravity of a fault by its consequences. For a child a fault is serious in itself-absolutely and not relatively-because it has been decreed that it is grave. Only the absolute character of a fault can impart to the child a true moral discipline without which progress is impossible.
"It is impossible to model a child morally if this principle is not followed, for the faults are almost always venial by their consequences. It is only during the most tender age that the character can be formed".
Parents dress their children in the best clothes when children go out in "company." They cannot so change their characters. What traits of character the child develops in the home, he takes with him into society. The selfish, morose nature, or his cheerful, kind, radiant soul developing in home environment goes with him when he joins the social group. If you want your child to be courteous in society, teach him to be courteous in the home. "If you please," "thank you," "pardon me," are terms of culture more applicable and more educative in the home than in social circles. Into our schools and churches come too many children from homes where the fundamental virtues of true manhood and beautiful womanhood are seldom taught and more infrequently practised.
In schools, in this Christian land, the teaching of Church dogma is forbidden, but the teaching of true citizenship-honesty, loyalty, the keeping of a promise, and other virtues that contribute to the dignity of man-is not banned.
Students reflecting these high ideals, recently made a trip to California. The Deseret News made the following comments about them: "Vigorous, ambitious, carefree youth bears slightly more than its share of the criticism folks pass on to each other in these critical times, but when youth acquits itself in such a way as to win the admiration and praise of many observers, the occasion should not be permitted to pass unnoticed.
"Such a favorable impression was left with our California friends when the chosen music students of the Salt Lake area junior and senior high schools so becomingly upheld the lofty idealism of their schools, their homes, and their city when they participated recently in the Musical Educators National Convention at Santa Monica, California. Choral and orchestral groups made up the Salt Lake entourage to the conclave.
"Typical of the impression our youngsters left with their hosts is this tribute by the associate manager of the hotel where the students of the Granite District were housed: 'It is seldom that a hotel has an opportunity to have its house occupied with such delightful, well-mannered, clean-cut children as the MENC group that Mr. Moroni L. Jensen brought to Santa Monica... We are writing this letter to let you know what a wonderful impression the children of Salt Lake City and Mr. Jensen made.'"
If they had been delinquents, boisterous, unladylike, ungentlemanlike, the papers would have told us about it. We thank these hotel people for paying this tribute to our boys and girls, who are truly representative children of good homes.
Man should so conduct himself as to merit the trust of his fellows. "There is a unanimity of thought in this," writes a wise philosopher, "which is to be found nowhere else except on the subject of the ten commandments, but the effort made to impress this idea indelibly on the minds of children in the shape of automatic conditioned reflexes is so slight that one is aghast. The equilibrium of the whole world, not only peace, but justice, commerce, industry, science, rests on the confidence in the integrity and in the word of men, and all the moral teaching given to youth in the course of ten or fifteen years of education and instruction certainly does not represent more than a few hours, in certain cases a few days. The young are stuffed with many useless details and the essential is passed over in silence."
"Farmers might as well be taught to grow flowers in borders without learning how to cultivate a field; or young girls be taught the art of make-up without learning how to wash. Examinations deal with a quantity of facts destined to be forgotten in three months, or which are purely technical; children are trained to behave decently in public, but nobody dreams of making them repeat daily, as a prayer: 'Every promise is sacred. No one is obliged to give a pledge, but he who breaks his given word is dishonored. He commits an unpardonable crime against his dignity; he betrays; he covers himself with shame; he excludes himself from human society.'
"If this is not in reality a prayer it Is a creed which, by expressing faith in the dignity of Man addresses itself, beyond him, to God from whom we have received it."
He who is purported to have been the wisest American wrote years ago: "Character is higher than intellect. A great soul will be fit to live as well as to think."
In the Church, increased participation in church activity indicates a desire to be a partaker of spirituality, the highest acquisition of the soul, and young people desire it. I know there are many who haven't that feeling, many who do not come, but you know, fellow workers, that the young people like that which is good and true.
I am grateful for the sweet assurance that God is my Father, and I should like to have the youth of Israel feel so close to him that they will approach him daily in secret prayer. I would have them have the trust in him which the little blind girl had in her father. One day she was sitting on his lap in the train, and a friend sitting by said, "Let me rest you," and he reached over and took the little child on his lap. The father said to her, "Do you know who is holding you?" "No," she replied, "but you do."
Just so real should be the trust which our boys and girls have in their Father in heaven. If our young people will have this faith, and so approach the Lord, there are at least four great blessings which will come to them here and now.
The first is Gratitude. Their souls will be filled with thanksgiving for what God has done for them. They will find themselves rich in favors bestowed. The young man who closes the door behind him, who draws the curtains, and there in silence pleads with God for help, should first pour out his soul in gratitude for health, for friends, for loved ones, for the gospel, for the manifestations of God's existence. He should first count his many blessings and name them one by one.
The second blessing of prayer is Guidance. I cannot conceive of a young man's going astray who will kneel down by his bedside in the morning and pray to God to help him keep himself unspotted from the sins of the world ). I think that a young girl will not go far wrong who will kneel down in the morning and pray that she might be kept pure and spotless during the coming day. I cannot think that a Latter-day Saint will hold enmity in his heart if he will sincerely, in secret, pray God to remove from his heart all feelings of envy and malice toward any of his fellow men. Guidance? Yes, God will be there to guide and direct him who will seek him in faith with all his might and with all his soul.
The third blessing is Confidence. All over this land there are thousands and tens of thousands of students who are struggling to get an education. In the Church, let us teach these students that if they want to succeed in their lessons, they should seek their God; that the greatest Teacher known to the world stands near to guide them. Once the student feels that he can approach the Lord through prayer, he will receive confidence that he can get his lessons, that he can write his speech, that he can stand up before his fellow students and deliver his message without fear of failure. Confidence comes through sincere prayer.
Finally, he will get Inspiration. It is not imagination, if we approach God sincerely seeking light and guidance from him, our minds will be enlightened and our souls thrilled by his Spirit. Washington sought it; Lincoln received it; Joseph Smith knew it; and the testimony, the evidence of the Prophet Joseph's inspiration is manifest to all who will but open their eyes to see and their hearts to understand.
Heaven guide you, our Youth, wherever you are. As long as you will keep yourselves pure and spotless and prayerfully and earnestly keep close to your Father in heaven, his Spirit will guide you, magnify you in your youth, and make you a power on the earth for good. Your Father in heaven is ever ready to give you help in time of need and give you comfort and strength if you will approach him in purity, simplicity, and faith.
In his poem, "Anchored to the Infinite," Edwin Markham says:
"The builder who first bridged Niagara's gorge, Before he swung his cable, shore to shore, Sent out across the gulf his venturing kite Bearing a slender cord for unseen hands To grasp upon the further cliff, and draw A greater cord, and a greater yet; 'Til at the last across the chasm swung The cable-then a mighty bridge in air! So we may send our little timid thought Across the void, out to God's reaching hands- Send out our love and faith to thread the deep, Thought after thought until the little cord Has greatened to a chain no chance can break, And-we are anchored to the Infinite!"
I repeat, God bless you, our Youth, that you may send out your thoughts in prayer and faith and receive the assurance that you are anchored to the Infinite, in God our Father and his Holy Son, the Redeemer of the world, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Sterling W. Sill
Sterling W. Sill, Conference Report, April 1961, pp. 9-11
I am very grateful, my brothers and sisters, for this semiannual opportunity of attending with you the general conference of the Church. What a great privilege it is to come here and be strengthened in our faith and have our thoughts redirected toward the purpose for which the Church was organized in this greatest and last of all the dispensations.
The Lord's reason for bringing us to these valleys in the first place was not primarily to establish us in a condition of wealth and ease, he probably did not intend that we should ever excel as a financial community or as a seat of political influence. We were brought here to build up the kingdom, to send out the message of the restoration to the nations, and to prepare the world for the glorious second coming of Christ. In these fields we must excel.
What a sobering responsibility it is to be entrusted with the message of universal salvation. But with the advantage in knowledge that we have received from our three great volumes of new scripture, supported by our own personal testimonies of the truth, what reason can we possibly give if we do not excel in faith and in education and in Godliness and in honor and in the personal preparation w e make for eternal life? To help us to get the motivation and inspiration for this accomplishment is one of the purposes of these great semiannual meetings.
As a part of each conference, the Presidency and other General Authorities of the Church have an inspiring meeting in the upper room of the temple. This conference, as I sat in that historic place, I thought about our pioneer ancestors, who out of their poverty erected the magnificent temple that stands on this block, wherein the sacred ordinances so necessary to our salvation can be performed. But the temple itself is a constant reminder to us to do our duty. It is a kind of symbol of our mission.
All of you, I am sure, have had the thrilling experience at night of looking up to the lighted spires of the temple as they point us up to God, as if to remind us of the purpose of our lives. To me, one of the most inspirational parts of any church edifice is its spire. The word, "spire" and "inspire" have a close origin and a near common meaning. And as God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts, so we need his inspiration for our accomplishment.
Jesus once explained one source of his strength when he said, "My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work". Doing God's will is also our greatest possible source of strength. To encourage his disciples to follow him in doing the Father's will, Jesus spoke some lines that I would like to use as a text. He said, "Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest".
Certainly our day is a most urgent time to re-echo that theme. We should lift up our eyes to see our duty and to understand our opportunities; to accept our responsibilities and to put truth in force in our lives. We should lift up our eyes to worship God and to serve our fellow men as the Lord has commanded.
We are, of course, all aware that there are other powerful influences in the world inviting us to look down to the earth. From the pinnacle of the temple, Satan said to Jesus, "Cast thyself down". Satan has been giving that same direction ever since with the most terrifying success. And the first step toward any failure is always merely to look down, to let earthly things absorb our interests. It is pretty difficult to look down and to look up at the same time.
It has been said that one may not always look where he is going, but he will always go where he is looking. If we merely look down long enough, many will be sure to fall.
Back in the days of the old sailing ships, a young, inexperienced seaman was sent aloft in a storm to disentangle a broken rigging from the mainmast. Despite the raging winds he climbed up quickly, and soon his mission was accomplished. But as he started to descend, he looked down, and as he looked down, he became dizzy and frightened. He saw the angry, rolling sea. He felt the quiver of the trembling ship as it was tossed about by the waves. Then he became aware that his grip was weakening, and he cried to those on the deck below that he was about to fall. The captain shouted to him to stop looking down, and heeding his superior's command, he turned his eyes upward and soon regained his balance and self-confidence. Then he was able to make his way safely back to the deck.
The moral dizziness that always comes from looking down is one of our biggest personal problems. It is one of the significant characteristics of our day that as a people we are too much occupied with the things down. The newspapers, magazines, and our own inclinations center our attention on sin, crime, war, and material advantage. Then we get dizzy and confused, and our lives tend to lose their balance.
Here we have the communist example of where leaders of great nations have stopped looking up, and soon they have cast themselves down by centering their life's purposes in evil, including one of the greatest sins which is their attempted enslavement of other nations. When nations or individuals look down and recognize no higher authority than their own, they soon lose their sense of right and wrong. The communist leaders have deliberately destroyed many of their own people, and they would, if they thought they could, deprive every human being in the world of his God-given free agency without a moment's hesitation. They have closed up their churches by governmental decree and now make no pretense of lifting up their eyes, their thoughts, or their activities to God.
At Fulton, Missouri, on March 5, 1946, Winston Churchill said, "A shadow has fallen across the scene so recently lighted by Allied victory. From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent." The communists have erected a vertical curtain, separating themselves from their fellow men and are thereby violating the second great commandment. But they have also erected a horizontal curtain over their heads, separating themselves from God, and are thereby violating the first and greatest commandment.
But we sometimes accomplish about the same thing individually by allowing the iron curtains of our material interests, our social affairs, and our spiritual indifference to separate us from God and draw our attention away from the main purpose of our lives. It doesn't take very long looking down before we are incapable of doing anything else.
In his Inferno Dante gave an account of an imaginary trip through hell. And one group of hell's inmates said to him, "As our eyes intent on earthly things were never lifted up to heaven, so now doth justice fix them down upon the ground. And even as greed destroyed our love for good whereby the labors of our lives were lost, so now doth justice hold us captive here, fettered in close restraint."
We might see a reflection of our situation in John Bunyon's Pilgrim's Progress story of the man with the muckrake. Because this man spent his life raking unto himself the chaff and dust of the earth, he had trained himself to look in no direction but down. There was an angel standing over his head with a celestial crown in his hand, offering to exchange the crown for the muckrake. But because this man could look in no direction but down, he disregarded the offer of the angel as he continued to rake unto himself the chaff and muck of the earth.
With a similar situation in mind, Edwin Markham entitled his poetic masterpiece, "The Man with the Hoe." It might have been entitled, "The Man With the Muckrake." It was written under the inspiration of Millet's world-famous painting of a brutalized toiler, representing one who had fallen from the high position in which he had been placed by the Creator. And about this man with an iron curtain over his head, Mr. Markham said:
"Bowed by the weight of centuries he leans Upon his hoe and gazes on the ground, The emptiness of ages in his face, And on his back the burden of the world. Who made him dead to rapture and despair, A thing that grieves not and that never hopes, Stolid and stunned, a brother to the ox? Who loosened and let down his brutal jaw? Whose was the hand that slanted back this brow? Whose breath blew out the light within this brain?
"Is this the Thing the Lord God made and gave To have dominion over sea and land; To trace the stars and search the heavens for power; To feel the passion of Eternity? Is this the dream He dreamed who shaped the suns And marked their ways upon the ancient deep? Down all the caverns of Hell to their last gulf There is no shape more terrible than this- More tongued with censure of the world's blind greed- More filled with signs and portents for the soul- More packt with danger to the universe."
And then Mr. Markham asks:
"O masters, lords and rulers in all lands, How will the future reckon with this man? How answer his brute question in that hour When whirlwinds of rebellion shake all shores? How will it be with kingdoms and with kings- With those who shaped him to the thing he is- When this dumb Terror shall rise to judge the world, After the silence of the centuries?"
We always begin this downward process as soon as we separate ourselves from God in any degree. The first and greatest commandment has to do with our first and greatest need, which is for God. That is, God created us, he gives us life and breath, he enlightens our minds and quickens our understandings. At this very moment God is sending us energy, food, and vitality from the sun. We do not live on an independent earth. If the sun's rays were turned off for just a few hours, there would be no life left upon this earth. And when men turn their backs on God and obey no higher law than their own, then truth, honor, and fairness lose their meaning. The angel's song of "Peace on earth, good will toward men" is an unintelligible concept to communist philosophy. Their wisest strategy and the point of their greatest excellence is to cause confusion, hatred, and strife among their fellow men. Mr. Mao, the communist dictator in China, recently said that he would welcome an atomic war, and we have every reason to believe that he was being entirely truthful in his declaration.
But as the captain in the storm called to the inexperienced seaman to look up, so the captain of our salvation is calling through the storms of our troubled lives saying that if we would avoid falling, we must look up to God.
We sing a song in which we say:
"Look up, my soul, be not cast down, Cast not thine eyes upon the ground. Break off the shackles of the earth, Receive, my soul, a spirit's birth."
We are not likely to receive the spirit's birth while we are competing with each other in evil. We are born again only when we follow the direction given to our lives by the temple spires and look up to our Heavenly Father. We need to trade in our muckrakes. There is an angel over our heads offering us the celestial kingdom if we will lift up our eyes and our hearts and our voices and our souls unto God. We need to take down our iron curtains and do away with our idleness and indifference. We need to remember the purpose of our lives and give a more enthusiastic response to the Master's invitation so appropriate to our day, wherein he had said, "Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest".
That God will help us so to do, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop Joseph L. Wirthlin
Joseph L. Wirthlin, Conference Report, April 1961, pp. 12-13
My beloved brethren and sisters, it is a great source of inspiration to be present this morning. Week after week as I visit the stakes in the Church, I always feel I am with my brethren and sisters. That is the way I feel this morning. I know you as my brethren and sisters, but I also know of our older brother, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In all of our endeavors, we must give consideration to him.
This morning, as President McKay was giving us information about the Aaronic Priesthood and its achievements, I thought of another young man. His name was Timothy. Timothy became a wonderful missionary in his work with the Apostle Paul. Paul said to him, "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".
Paul's words, "Let no man despise thy youth..." can be directed to the thousands of our young missionaries who are out in the world preaching the gospel to those not of our faith. Any young man who holds the Melchizedek Priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ and is endeavoring to build up the kingdom may come in contact with people who say, "Well, after all, young man, what do you know about the gospel?" Then, they can remember, if they will, what Paul said, "Let no man despise thy youth."
Paul also said to Timothy, which is most important, when he mentioned "the believers." That would indicate that all these young men should understand the gospel and believe it and teach it to the extent that they can bear testimony that they are representing the true Church.
Paul said to Timothy, "in word," by which he should learn the gospel and all the information that was essential to teach it to those not of the true faith. Paul not only declared to Timothy, "in word," but also, "in conversation," which means to preach and teach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to those who came in contact with him. He also said, "in charity," which would be kindness and helpfulness in all of his teachings. He then said, "in spirit." The spirit comes through prayer, being close to the Lord where individual problems can be solved-the spirit of loyalty and devotion to the Lord and his Son Jesus Christ, and also with this comes the gift of the Holy Ghost. I am sure, my brethren and sisters, that no individual can render the right service in preaching the gospel to those not of our faith unless he has the Holy Ghost. It is so important in our homes that we instruct our sons and daughters about the Holy Ghost. Paul also said to Timothy, "in faith." Faith indicates activity. The youth of the Church and these young missionaries who go out into the world have faith so strong in their souls that they will be successful in their assignments. He also mentioned "in purity" to the young missionary, Timothy; purity of mind and body and soul.
The Apostle Matthew recorded these words of the Christ: "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".
President McKay said in the meeting of the General Authorities in the temple two weeks ago that Satan has more power over the world than ever before in history. I accept this without a question. Therefore, it is very important for all of us to give thought that sooner or later the end is going to come-the end of all of this difficulty that we have at the present time and that we will prepare the world for the second coming of Christ.
The Apostle John said in Revelation 14:6-7:
"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
"Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters".
When the Church was upon the earth two thousand years ago, and thereafter was disorganized, the apostles and all who had labored in building up the kingdom at that time were gone. There were individuals who desired to organize churches of their own. During that period of time of darkness in the world when the sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father were not receiving the divine guidance they had received during the time of the apostles and those who followed them, the power of Satan was dominant. There were wars, wars that came about because of the differences in religion and the true gospel itself which was lost. The priesthood was gone. The people were in darkness.
Proverbs 6:16-19 states:
"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".
This statement applies to us today as well as it did to the people almost three thousand years ago.
A great event was to take place, as I have already indicated to you, when that marvelous apostle made it very clear that in the last days as he 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".
A young man who was desirous to find the true Church made it a matter of prayer, and there appeared to him the Father and the Son. The Father said to Joseph, "This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!". Thereafter, the Prophet Joseph received the direction and the authority to organize the Church. Yes, he received the priesthood when John the Baptist appeared to him. He also received the Melchizedek Priesthood from Peter, James, and John, the apostles at the time of Christ. The golden plates were given to him, which gave the history of America, and most important, they contained the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in its fulness. The Lord intended his Church should be organized again. On April 6, 1830, the Church was organized. Since that time, many other important events have taken place. There was the erection of the temple in Kirtland, Ohio, and many other temples since then. With these wonderful events, you can come to but one conclusion, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was again made available for all of the sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father who now live upon the earth and those who come after us.
There are now eight thousand young men preaching the gospel as Timothy taught it, that those who are seeking the truth can find it through these young missionaries who give them the inspiration and the knowledge that the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is again on the earth.
Our American Prophet Joseph Smith made a statement in the Thirteenth Article of Faith quite comparable to what Paul said to Timothy:
"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".
And as the Apostle 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", which I pray will be a guide to all the sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. This I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Howard W. Hunter
Howard W. Hunter, Conference Report, April 1961, pp. 16-18
Not long ago we were traveling through the air so high above the white clouds that they looked like a blanket of snow beneath us. The sky was blue, and the sun was shining, and then we commenced our descent for landing. As we came down through the clouds, a new scene came into view. The earth had been plowed for planting, and the sun was shining on the fields, some plowed in one direction and some in another. It made the earth appear as a great giant checkerboard. We came down and down and then, when within a few hundred feet of the ground, I saw a man laboring in the field, his hands fixed to a plow drawn by a horse. My thoughts turned to that closing verse in the ninth chapter of Luke in which the Master said:
"No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God".
Christ made this statement as he traveled to Jerusalem. Three men had expressed their willingness to follow him and become his disciples. The first of these said to 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".
Jesus had no definite place of residence. He went from place to place teaching and doing good. It was necessary that the men who were called and set apart for the work should devote their time and attention and forego worldly affairs. The work of the Master set the great example. The second man was also willing to follow. "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".
Does this statement sound severe? The Master made it clear that the work of the kingdom was to take precedence over all other things. Then the third man stepped forward and said: "Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house".
Not one of the three was willing to follow him without first returning to their worldly affairs. The answer of Jesus is one of the great aphorisms of biblical literature. "No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God".
In his teachings the Master used homely figures of speech, those having familiar, everyday character. The words "his hand to the plough," unfolds a picture before us with which we are all familiar-a strong man with sinewy arms and a firm step, guiding the blade straight and true, his eyes intent upon the plough, looking ahead to the furrow to be cut. Hour after hour he toils, never looking backward except to see that the furrow is straight.
In addition to "ploughing" the Lord often mentioned the words, "sowing" and "reaping." He made mention of "reaping the harvest," and when that comes to our minds we think of a happy time and a time of rejoicing. The Lord said: "Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
"And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together".
Before there can be a reaping of the harvest, there must have been a sowing of the seed. When we think of sowing, our minds turn to the parable spoken by the Savior:
"Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
"And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
"Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
"And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
"And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
"But others fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold" .
Sowing of seed is important; otherwise, there would be no harvest, and as stated in the parable, there must be good ground to bring forth a good harvest. Plowing must have been done before the sowing or there would have been no seedbed.
Of all the work of the field, plow-work is the heaviest labor. It is primary and fundamental-it is pioneer toil. A seed may be dropped anywhere, and there is no resistance, but put the blade of the plow into the ground and a thousand forces join to oppose the change. To disturb the conventional, to overturn the traditional, or to attempt to make changes in the deep-rooted way of doing things in the lives of individuals, requires toil and sweat. The heaviest work in the kingdom of God is to turn the hard surface of the earth which has been baked in the sun or covered by the growth of nature. What a great change comes over land which has been cleared and plowed-row after row of evenly spaced furrows, the subsurface loosened and exposed to the sun and air and the rains from heaven, ready to be broken up and planted to seed. The wilderness is conquered and subdued.
Those who become disciples of the Master and put their hands to the plow without turning back prove themselves to be worthy plowmen. By turning over the old surfaces of tradition, they prepared the fields for the introduction and the spread of Christianity into the world.
We do not need to go back to the time of Christ, however, to find fields to plow. Fields exist today all over the world, and missionaries have been called and have put their hands to the plow. Nearly 15,000 stake and full-time missionaries are now in the fields. Furrows are being cut and seeds planted and every day we see the results of the harvest.
And there is the field of education. Hundreds of plowmen are preparing the field for the harvest. They are teaching the principles of truth to our young men and young women in the Church educational system. About 63,000 high school students are presently enrolled in seminary classes, 9,500 college students are participating in the institute program of religious education, and approximately 17,000 students are enrolled in Church schools. In all, about 90,000 young people are being given direction in life by those who have put their hands to the plow.
Not many years ago we entered into the field of assisting those in need by the great welfare program. The plowshares were driven in and the soil turned over, disclosing the hidden possibilities of our arising to full stature in being our brothers' keeper. Men and women have joined in the labor of the field, and thousands have been helped and aided in the Lord's way, when in need.
We have in Church leadership great plowmen with firm hands and stout hearts-stake presidents and mission presidents-determined men who work in the fields. Bishops, branch presidents, heads of priesthood quorums and auxiliary organizations are toiling in their assigned fields. Close at home and in distant countries new lands are being broken up by these plowmen, and the subsurface exposed to the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Is it hard work? Of course, but that which is worthwhile is seldom easy. As individuals we have a responsibility to plow. Some accept the opportunity, but some shrink from the responsibility. Some of those who commence cut only a short furrow and then leave the field for what appears to be escape from the toil to follow the false illusion of the ease which they had left behind. Their plowshares are left to rust in the furrow.
Whatever the past may have been in our individual lives, it is gone. The future lies ahead, and we must face it with resolution. There is always a point from which we can begin. Even though we may have been faithful in the past, if we turn away, that faithfulness will profit us nothing. "No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God".
There is danger in looking backward. One must keep his eyes ahead in order to cut a straight furrow. When the plowman commences to look backward, he cuts a crooked furrow, and his work is spoiled. We cannot continue to walk forward when at the same time we are looking backward. It makes no difference what object or occasion causes us to look backward, the backward glance commences the backward turning, and may be the beginning of our disendowment in the kingdom of God.
As plowing requires an eye intent on the furrow to be made and is marred when one looks backward, so will they come short of exaltation who prosecute the work of God with a distracted attention or a divided heart. We may not see clearly the end of the furrow, but we dare not look back. Eternity stretches on ahead, challenging us to be faithful.
"And thus, if ye are faithful ye shall be laden with many sheaves, and crowned with honor, and glory, and immortality, and eternal life".
God lives. I witness that Jesus is the Christ; that the gospel has been returned to the earth; that Joseph Smith was the servant and prophet raised up for the purpose of the restoration; that there lives today a prophet to reveal to us God's will in all things, and with all my heart I sustain President David O. McKay as that prophet, seer, and revelator.
May we put our hands to the plow and not look backward, that we may be fit for a place in the kingdom of God, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Harold B. Lee
Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, April 1961, pp. 32-35
My soul is subdued as I face this vast conference audience, and I seek, therefore, for an interest in your faith and prayers during these next few minutes.
Several weeks ago I had a telephone call from an anxious father about his nineteen-year-old son, who, having read certain scriptures, was resisting the idea of going on a mission lest he would do an injustice to those who would reject his message, thus placing them under condemnation as he had construed certain scriptures, which he had read, to mean.
As I sat with this young man, at the request of the father, I found that he had two particular scriptures in mind. The first was the injunction of the Master to his disciples when he said, "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".
And then in our day one somewhat similar: "Behold, I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor.
"Therefore, they are left without excuse, and their sins are upon their own heads".
So this young man asked, "Why send the missionaries out to preach the gospel, if to do so would put people under condemnation who would not accept? Would it not be better for people to be kept in ignorance than to be taught and then not to accept?"
Of course, these questions opened up a subject which would require far more time than is at my disposal this afternoon, but with the thought that these same questions may be in the minds of others, particularly our young men who do not understand, I shall this afternoon make a few observations relative to the point raised by this young man. Some of these thoughts were expressed in my interview with him.
The Master 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". "Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained".
And so the scriptures record, the disciples preached, "Repent, and be baptized... for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the Holy Ghost".
The Master's admonition to Nicodemus, who came confessing Jesus as a teacher come of God, and undoubtedly seeking to know, like so many others who are true seekers after truth, just what he must do to be saved. He was told that he must be born again if he would see the kingdom of God. This statement, the Master clarified, when he explained, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God".
This new birth, then, was to be accomplished through the medium of baptism by immersion and by the laying on of hands for the conferring of the Holy Ghost, as the disciples, thereafter as they went out among the people, administered these sacred ordinances.
Then Nicodemus asked: "How can these things be?". And in answer, the Master declared the profound truth regarding the atonement, which explains to all who would understand the reason why the gospel must be preached by authorized servants to all people. Said he:
"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".
And then he emphasized, "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved".
I then paraphrased to my young missionary friend: "So our missionaries go not out into the world to condemn the world, but that the world, through their teachings, might be saved."
Being saved from everlasting condemnation through the atonement of the only Begotten Son becomes a new birth, or a redemption from spiritual death, the meaning of which is explained by revelation as the Lord has revealed it.
From the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, they and their posterity suffered a spiritual death, or a separation from direct communication with Deity. This is what the revelations have taught us:
"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.
"Wherefore, I, the Lord God, caused that he should be cast out from the Garden of Eden, from my presence, because of his transgression, wherein he became spiritually dead, which is the first death, even that same death which is the last death, which is spiritual, which shall be pronounced upon the wicked when I shall say: "Depart, ye cursed".
Man through the baptism of the water and of the Spirit is redeemed from this spiritual death and by the power of the Holy Ghost, brought back into direct communion with God, and these are "born again." To those who keep the commandments "... he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you".
Those who suffered this first "spiritual death" were cast out from the presence of God from the Garden of Eden as the Lord had said to the spirits in the premortal world, that they might "prove themselves to see if they would do all things whatsoever the Lord their God should command them", and there was granted unto all men, therefore a "probationary" period as the Prophet Amulek explained: "For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God", or in other words, a time for all men to work out their salvation and to prepare to come back into the presence of God.
It was this plan of salvation to which the Resurrected Lord made reference when he said to the Nephites: "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".
Baptism of water and of the Spirit by those having authority are the necessary ordinances for this cleansing, for as the Lord told Adam, "... by the water ye keep the commandment, by the Spirit are ye justified, and by the blood are ye sanctified".
It was undoubtedly this same principle that the apostle Paul had in mind when he taught the Galatians: "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ".
Involved in this question of the universal proclamation of the gospel is another principle implied in the Master's instruction to Peter. The Master, having declared the fundamental principle upon which his kingdom would be built, conferred upon Peter the "keys of the kingdom," which have been conferred upon all prophet-leaders in every dispensation and held today by our own President David O. McKay in our time. He said the purpose of so establishing his kingdom with that authority was that the "gates of hell" should not prevail against it.
The broad implication of that statement, having in mind the periods of apostasy which have followed each dispensation, is that even during such periods of apostasy when there was no one on earth to administer these saving ordinances, the devil would not prevail against the plan of salvation of all of our Father's children.
This further provision in his plan contemplated the preaching of the gospel then, not only to his children who were upon the earth, but also to the spirits of mortals who had lived upon the earth. The Master prophesied of the time when that would take place 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".
Not long after this prophecy was uttered, it was fulfilled when the Crucified Lord, as Peter tells us, "... quickened by the Spirit, went and preached unto the spirits in prison". And thus, although temporarily, the powers of the devil drove the Church into the wilderness of apostasy after the apostolic period, the gates of hell did not prevail against the plan of salvation, either for the dead, who did not have ample opportunity to receive the gospel on earth, as well as for those then living when authorized servants were on the earth to perform the essential saving ordinances.
The missionary work in the spirit world was thus introduced by the Master and has continued from that time down to the present "... that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, and yet live according to God in the Spirit," to attain which, is to gain eternal life.
So, surely with the preaching of the gospel made thus vital to the eternal blessing of all who will hear and accept, no one should hesitate when called by proper authority to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. Among the Nephites there was an example of how men of this kind of devotion and dedication applied themselves to their teaching. Jacob writes:
"For I, Jacob, and my brother Joseph had been consecrated priests and teachers of this people, by the hand of Nephi.
"And we did magnify our office unto the Lord, taking upon us the responsibility, answering the sins of the people upon our own heads if we did not teach them the word of God with all diligence wherefore, by laboring with our might their blood might not come upon our garments; otherwise their blood would come upon our garments, and we would not be found spotless at the last day".
There is no more welcome voice to the honest in heart than the voice of the true messenger preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. We have a classic example of inspired teachings and how they come. The sons of Mosiah were with Alma at the time the angel first appeared unto him, and when he saw them returning from their missionary journeys, the record says, he rejoiced exceedingly "to see his brethren; and what added more to his joy they were still his brethren in the Lord, 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".
When I read that word "diligently" which the Lord has repeated again and again, as when he said: "And I give unto you as commandment that you shall teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom," and then added, "Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you", I have tried to define those words "diligently" and "grace." Diligently, the dictionary says, is "perseveringly attentive, prosecuted with careful attention," which is opposite laziness, or carelessness, or indifference. And when I looked for the definition of "grace," I found it defined as a "state of being pleasing to God because of responsiveness."
But I do not think that is what the Lord meant by "grace" when he said, "My grace shall attend you." I believe the definition of "grace" is implied in the fourth section of the Doctrine and Covenants where the Lord promised to those who would engage vigorously in missionary work: "... 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". The saving "grace" of the Lord's atoning power would extend to the giver as well as to those who would receive the saving ordinances of the gospel.
Surely, therefore, no one with that understanding of these fundamental principles would think he were doing our Heavenly Father's mortal children a disservice by giving them these priceless gifts.
May God bless us all and all our Father's children, that they may be responsive to the call of the missionaries. May this young man and all others like him, may they realize that this is a responsibility which the Lord has given to his Church in every dispensation, and to his authorized servants in the world of spirits, to teach the gospel to every creature in order that each be left without excuse in the day of judgment, and that all might be redeemed from the Fall and brought back into the presence of the Lord. We who have the command to preach and teach must, like the Apostle Paul declared, "not be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth".
I pray humbly we may all understand and so teach with the power and authority of God, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop Carl W. Buehner
Carl W. Buehner, Conference Report, April 1961, pp. 35-37
The message contained in the words of an old song suggest a few thoughts worthy of consideration:
"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?"
Ever since the great council was conducted in heaven for the purpose of providing a plan of salvation, the right of choice has become most important. The Lord revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith, through the writings of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price, some of the things which took place on this occasion. He told how Satan went before the Father saying:
"-Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor".
Then the Father's Beloved Son came forth with another plan described by the Father as follows:
"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".
Satan's proposal was rejected. He rebelled, and as a result of this rebellion, he and his followers were cast out of heaven. Since that day, he has been trying to destroy man.
The primary purpose of our Father in heaven and his only Begotten Son is to exalt mankind. Satan's desire is to take away our free agency and reduce everyone to his level.
We are here today because of the choices we have made.
One verse of another song we frequently sing expresses a thought along this line:
"Choose the right! there is peace in righteous doing; Choose the right! there's safety for the soul; Choose the right in all labors you're pursuing; Let God and heaven be your goal."
History is replete with examples of blessings and adversity that came to nations and individuals as a result of choice. Israel, as a nation, was set free from oppressive bondage by the Lord. Time after time, her enemies were subdued, yet she persisted in idolatry.
In speaking to Israel, Joshua reviewed the many blessings he had received at the hand of the Lord. He concluded his exhortation by challenging Israel as follows:
"... choose you this day whom ye will serve;... but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord".
Israel failed to give heed to repeated warnings and you know her fate. She chose evil rather than good.
We are presently feeling the pressure of another great nation whose desire it is to rob man of his free agency and to force all mankind to accept the plan proposed by Lucifer in the beginning.
Look about you and observe those who have made the wrong choice. Evil seems to be prevalent everywhere. The influence of the destroyer has lured men to become thieves, liars, gamblers, adulterers, addicts, and into backbiting, evil-speaking, and the destruction of the home and all that pertains thereto.
Contrast these things with those who choose the right-happy people, happy homes, those filled with faith and hope for the future. These families make for themselves a heaven on earth.
Is there anything more beautiful than a young couple on their way to the temple to be married for time and eternity? This means preparation and choosing the Lord's way of marriage. We will probably never be closer to heaven while we live in this life than when we are in the temple of the Lord.
It is the desire of the Lord to lift us up, to be prepared one day to live again with him. It is Satan's desire to reduce us to his level, to live with him in his kingdom.
Our whole life involves the principle of choice. The Lord commands us to live close to him and to keep his commandments, and Satan seems to offer a counter proposal. Let us analyze a few of the things which bring a conflict between the forces of good and evil:
1. The Lord says, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy might, mind and strength".
Satan, in substance, suggests, "Why love God? Why not disregard him?" Or he might even indicate there is no god at all but himself.
2. The Lord says, "Love thy neighbour as thyself".
Satan might say, "Hate your neighbor and treat him with contempt."
3. The Lord says, "Keep the Sabbath day holy".
Satan would say, "Use the Sabbath day as a recreation day. What value is there in attending Church and in refraining from your labors on this day?"
4. The Lord says, "Honour thy father and thy mother".
Satan craftily puts into our minds the idea of disobeying our parents; your life is your own to choose as you wish. Take all your parents will give you. They will soon be old, and someone else can take care of them.
5. The Lord says, "Sustain and uphold the Lord's anointed."
Satan would say, "Find fault with and weaken the position of the general and local authorities of the Church."
6. The Lord says, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread", and he also said, "Cease to be idle".
Satan might say, "Get as much as you can for nothing. It is undignified to work for what you receive." He would encourage indolence, laziness, and even the thought that the government owes you a living.
7. The Lord says, "Thou shalt not steal".
Satan might say, "Why not steal and be dishonest? Give short measure and short weight. Do not give an honest day's work for an honest day's pay."
8. The Lord says, "Thou shalt not bear false witness".
Satan would say, "Dig a pit for your neighbors; lie about them; cause them personal injury; subject them to embarrassment."
9. The Lord says, "Pay one tenth of your interest annually as tithing. For this, I shall give you a great reward".
Lucifer would say, "Why pay your tithing? You need the money more than the Church needs it. The greatest blessing is to spend your own money."
10. The Lord says, "Observe the Word of Wisdom, my law of health".
Lucifer contends that no harm will come from indulging in tobacco, liquor, tea, coffee, and other harmful abuses to the body such as overeating and overindulgences. He would say, "Go along with the crowd and be a good sport. To acquire these contrary habits will make one popular."
11. The Lord says, "Parents, teach your children to pray and walk uprightly before the Lord".
Satan would say, "Why teach your children to pray? There is no value in prayer. It is not necessary to discipline them."
12. The Lord says, "Seek the genealogy of your ancestors and complete the temple work for them."
Satan would say, "Postpone doing this work or, better still, don't do it at all."
In many other things the Lord has counseled us to prepare ourselves to live with him. In each instance, Satan's influence would attempt to destroy this faith and the desire of doing the Lord's work. He would enslave us and persuade us to join his forces.
We cannot cover up evil. Our sins are known to God. Neither can we serve two masters. The Lord has said, "He that is not with me is against me". It is imperative that we choose the right.
John Oxenham wrote these few lines, entitled "A High Way and A Low":
"To every man there openeth A way, and ways, and a way, And the high soul climbs the high way, And the low soul gropes the low; And in between on the misty flats, The rest drift to and fro; But to every man there openeth A high way and a low, And every man decideth The way his soul shall go."
Happiness here is dependent upon moral decisions and obedience to the principles of truth. Our most important decision and obligation is to live the gospel of Jesus Christ.
This period is characterized by trial, suffering, sacrifice, and disappointment, as well as joy. All these experiences are dedicated to our progress and growth. During this life, we are our own judges. We judge ourselves continuously. We sentence ourselves to happiness through service or misery through sin.
In conclusion, I should like to repeat again:
"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?"
May our decisions lift us to celestial glory and eternal life, I humbly pray, and leave my testimony, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie
Bruce R. McConkie, Conference Report, April 1961, pp. 38-40
We are laying the foundation for, and have already actually commenced, the greatest missionary undertaking ever destined to occur in any age of the earth's history. We are going forth by command of Deity to carry the knowledge of God and of his saving truths to all nations, to preach the gospel to every creature, and to give in due course, in this life or in the next, every living soul the opportunity to hear and obey these saving principles.
The ultimate end of this missionary work will be to see the knowledge of God and his saving truths cover the earth "... as the waters cover the sea". The ultimate end of this missionary work will be reached when the day arrives in which it will no longer be necessary for every man to say to his brother or neighbor, "Know the Lord," for all shall know him from the greatest to the least.
Now, since we are engaged in the greatest missionary undertaking that has ever been planned as part of Deity's program, he has also placed in our hands the most effective, compelling, and persuasive missionary tool ever given to any people in any age. The name of this tool is the Book of Mormon.
It goes without saying that conversion in all ages, for all peoples, is dependent upon their receipt of the Spirit. No one gets a testimony of the divinity of the Lord's work unless he gains it from the Spirit-that is, unless it comes by the power of the Holy Ghost. But the Book of Mormon is the means, the tool, the way which has been ordained and given so that men can get their hearts and souls in a frame of mind, in a condition where they can hearken to the testimony of the Spirit.
It was of this book that the Prophet said: "I told the Brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding its precepts, than by any other book".
This is precisely what we want people to do. We want them to get so near to the Lord that they will come down in the depths of humility, repent of their sins, and accept Christ for what he is, the Son of God. We want them to come to the truth, join the kingdom of God on earth, and have performed for them the ordinances of salvation and exaltation under the hands of those legal administrators whom the Lord has appointed in this day and generation.
Shortly before the Church was organized, April 6, 1830, writing by the spirit of prophecy and revelation, Joseph Smith said that the Book of Mormon, which he had translated by the gift and power of God, was "... a record of a fallen people..."; that it contained "... the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles and to the Jews..."; that it was "... given by inspiration...", that it had been "... confirmed to others by the ministering of angels...", that it had been "... declared unto the world by them-" all for this purpose-and note the purpose: To prove "... to the world that the holy scriptures are true, and that God does inspire men and call them to his holy work in this age and generation, as well as in generations of old;
"Thereby showing that he is the same God yesterday, today, and forever".
In other words, the Lord has given the Book of Mormon in this day as the absolute, sure, positive witness of the divinity of his work. We go out in the missionary cause, and we bear testimony in soberness and in truth, knowing the verity of what we say, that the heavens have been opened and that God has spoken again; that angels have ministered to men; that the gifts, powers, and graces had anciently have been restored anew; that the gospel and the plan of salvation are again on earth in all their ancient beauty and glory.
But this witness which we bear is not left to stand alone. The Lord sends with us a written record, a means, a missionary tool, which can be used by any person to gain a knowledge of the divinity of the work. The Prophet's expression that "the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion" means precisely what it says. The keystone is the central stone in the top of the arch. If that stone is removed, then the arch crumbles, which, in effect, means that Mormonism so-called-which actually is the gospel of Christ, restored anew in this day-stands or falls with the truth or the falsity of the Book of Mormon. Thus our program and our purpose, as witnesses of the Lord in this day, ought to be to devise ways and means and to create inducements that will persuade those who are not of us to read the Book of Mormon and to read it according to the revealed pattern.
Moroni has left us in the Book of Mormon itself the recorded promise that if anyone will read it "... with real intent, having faith in Christ..." and will ask "... God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ..." whether it is true, he shall get a knowledge of its truth and divinity by personal revelation. This promise is true. It has been tested by thousands and tens of thousands of people in the world, and they have received this personal revelation. Further, by his own voice, the Lord himself testifies of the truth of the Book of Mormon in these words: "... as your Lord and your God liveth it is true".
Now, our message to the world centers around three great truths. The first, the divine Sonship of Christ; the second, that in this day the knowledge of Christ and his saving truths have been restored through the instrumentality of Joseph Smith; and the third, that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the kingdom of God on earth, the organization through which salvation, hope, and peace are offered to all men.
Before any person is prepared to join the Church, he must believe that Jesus Christ is literally the Son of God; that as such he worked out the infinite and eternal atonement whereby all men are raised in immortality, and those who believe and obey his laws gain the additional reward of eternal life; and that he has ordained and revealed a plan of salvation which enables men so to live as to gain peace here and the fulness of salvation hereafter.
Before joining the Church a person must believe that Joseph Smith was called of God to open this gospel dispensation; that he was indeed a prophet who received keys, powers, authority, and revelation from heaven; that he was the revealer of the gospel and the knowledge of God, of Christ, and of salvation for this age; and that he was commanded by Deity to set up his Church and kingdom again on earth.
Before baptism a person must believe that this Church is true; that it is in fact the Lord's earthly kingdom; that the priesthood and keys are here; that those who now officer it are legal administrators sent of God to preach the gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
The Book of Mormon-which has come forth to prove that God inspires men and calls them to his holy work in this age and generation-establishes the verity of these great truths which comprise the message of the restoration. If the Book of Mormon is true, our message to the world is truth; the truth of this message is established in and through this book.
The Book of Mormon is a new, living, modern witness of the divine Sonship of Christ. It testifies of him and of the doctrines of his gospel. It teaches of his atoning sacrifice; it proclaims that through him men are redeemed from the spiritual and temporal death brought into the world by the fall of Adam. It outlines the course men must follow to gain eternal life.
The Book of Mormon stands as a witness of the divine Sonship of Christ; it has come forth for "... the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations-".
This book also is a witness of the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith and of the divinity of the Church set up under his instrumentality. It establishes and proves to the world that Joseph Smith is a prophet, for he received the book from a resurrected personage and translated it by the gift and power of God. And since the Book of Mormon came by revelation, which included the ministering of angels, then obviously Joseph Smith also received other revelations and was ministered to by other heavenly beings. Among those revelations was the command to organize the Church. The Church is thus the one true Church because it was set up by a prophet acting under command of God. Thus the truth of the message of the restoration is established in and through and by means of the Book of Mormon.
No person can read this book, according to the prescribed pattern, and not know that it is true. No person can read this book, in the way Moroni directed, without getting in his heart the absolute, certain, sure knowledge that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. No person can read this book and learn of its divinity "... by the power of the Holy Ghost", without knowing that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God and that this Church, as now constituted, organized, and set up is God's kingdom on earth.
As one voice among thousands of others, I certify that I know by the promptings of the Spirit that the Book of Mormon is true. As a consequence I have in addition a personal knowledge, also born of the Spirit, of the divinity of Christ, of the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and of all things incident to this great latter-day work which are essential for the salvation and exaltation of men.
In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder LeGrand Richards
LeGrand Richards, Conference Report, April 1961, pp. 42-46
My brothers and sisters, in occupying this position today for a few moments, I have no greater desire and prayer in my heart than that I might say something that will help to increase our love for the truth and our desire to serve the Lord, to be an example to the world and to our families, and to all men, that we may show forth the gifts and graces of the gospel through the lives we live.
In thinking of what I might say today, I want to make reference to a statement I read in an article in the Reader's Digest about six months ago that gave seven reasons why a scientist believed in God. This was by A. Cressy Morrison, former president of the New York Academy of Sciences. I am not going to take time to read the article, but I want to read these statements.
For the first reason, he said: "By unwavering mathematical law, we can prove that our universe was designed and executed by a great engineering intelligence." And then after he had given the seven reasons why he believed there was a God. he made this statement: "It is apparent from these and a host of other examples that there is not one chance in billions that life on our planet is an accident," and then he concluded with these words: "It is scientifically, as well as imaginatively true, as the Psalmist said, 'The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handwork'".
This is the thought I had as I read that article, which I appreciated so much, as I did a talk that Brother Clark gave to seminary and institute teachers called, "Man, God's Greatest Miracle." The scientists and this scientist give wonderful reasons why there was an intelligence-a major intelligence-that brought forth this universe, but the scientists cannot go beyond that. They cannot tell us why it was brought forth, and wherever you see an intelligent organization, you know that there was a reason for it. This building did not just happen here. You do not go into the wilderness and find a forty-story office building. Everything in this world that shows intelligence back of it had a reason for its coming into existence.
So, when he says it is apparent from these and a host of other examples that there is not one chance in billions that life on our planet is an accident, I could just as well believe that my watch made itself as to believe that we made ourselves or that this universe made itself. There is a master intelligence back of it.
Then the question is, if the scientists cannot tell us why this organization, where do we go to get this information? Then I remind you of the words of the Prophet Amos when he said:
"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets".
So we have to turn to the prophets to find the secret of why the Lord created this earth, why we are here, and all the marvelous things that evidence the fact that he does exist.
I like the statement in the first chapter of John:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God....
"All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made".
Then it goes on to say that the Word "... was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world".
And then it adds that
"... the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth".
No wonder we love to testify of the divinity of the Son of God when we realize that he was the instrument in the hands of the Lord in bringing about all this marvelous creation, and this scientist said, "there is not one chance in billions that life on our planet is an accident." And you know in the Pearl of Great Price, we read where the Lord said to Moses that he had created worlds without number,
"... but all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine". "And by the word of my power, have I created them, which is mine Only Begotten Son".
Just think of who it is we serve, and the power that God gave to him. No wonder when he was upon the earth he said to Peter that he could call down legions of angels to protect him, when Peter drew his sword and smote off the ear of the guard. No wonder he said, "No man taketh my life from me. The Father hath given me power to lay it down and take it up again".
We have had reference made here today to the council in heaven and after the Lord had stood in the midst of the spirits, and many of them the noble and great ones, he said:
"... These I will make my rulers;... Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born".
Then he said:
"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;
"And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them".
As Brother Carl W. Buehner pointed out, we have a lot of people who will do some of the things, but the purpose of creating this earth upon which we might dwell was that the Lord would prove us to see whether we were willing to do all things whatsoever the Lord hath commanded. And in a revelation to the Prophet Joseph we are told that the Lord has given us "commandments not a few".
There are some who would object to that. They would rather have one or two commandments, but the Lord never gave a commandment unto his children without a promised blessing. You just read them. Read the Beatitudes, and with every one there is a promised blessing.
Take the one on the law of tithing.
".. 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".
We usually stop there, but you just read the rest of that chapter, the third chapter of Malachi.
They began reasoning among themselves and showing how some of the wicked were more blessed financially than some of the righteous, and what did the Lord do about it? He required that a book of remembrance should be written before him, and in that book should be recorded the names of those who feared the Lord, and then he adds:
"And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels;...
"Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not".
I have always said that when I was the Presiding Bishop, we did not place the paying of tithing in the youth program to obtain an individual award to get more money. We wanted every boy and girl in Israel to have their names recorded in the Lord's book of remembrance and to be numbered among his jewels.
Speaking of doing all things whatsoever the Lord hath commanded, you will remember that the Lord said: "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise".
So all we need to do is to know what the Lord says and then do it, and then we have the Lord's promise that he will make good.
I could tell you many stories about tithing to let you know that the Lord doesn't fail. I have the faith that a man can keep out of debt longer, get out of debt easier, live more comfortably on the ninety cents on the dollar, with the blessing of the Lord, than on the dollar when he "paddles his own canoe," if you will let me put it into those words, because I have watched it and I know that it works in the lives of people.
Sister Richards and I toured the Scandinavian missions a year ago last summer, and some of their leading men who joined the Church said that the one thing that held them back was the payment of tithing. "Now," they said, "we have more money to spend than we have ever had in our lives. Now we can go to the temple and do other things that we never thought we could do before."
You remember what President Grant used to tell about the Sunday School teacher who took ten big red apples to her Sunday School class, and she explained to her class that everything we have in this world we got from the Lord, and then she said, "If I were to give all these apples to any one of you, you would be glad to give one of them back to me, wouldn't you?" And of course, they all agreed that they would.
But President Grant said, "We have a lot of Latter-day Saints who wouldn't give one back until they had taken a few big bites out of it." I wonder if that isn't what the Lord meant when he told us the purpose of the creation of this earth was to see if we would do all things, not a few things.
You bishops, when you have your tithing settlement, don't your hearts rejoice when the widow and the orphan and the old man and the young man come in and settle their tithing, and they say, "Bishop, it's a full tithing." God bless them for it. I wish we all had that courage, because the Lord is bound, he said, when we do what he says.
I was in a Sunday School class some time ago, and the matter of the Word of Wisdom came up, and one sister, the wife of one of our prominent brethren, said, "I wish the brethren would quit harping on the Word of Wisdom." Well, nobody said anything, and so I asked if I might say a few words, and I asked if they thought it was "harping" to remind the people of the mind and the will of the Lord.
Let me read you what the Lord has to say about the Word of Wisdom with his promises, because every commandment the Lord gives has a promised blessing if we will just keep the commandments. The Word of Wisdom is:
"Given for a principle with promise, adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all saints, who are or can be called saints.
I labored, as you know, much in the mission field. I presided over two missions. We had many Saints who had used tobacco and tea and coffee, and some of them liquor, all of their lives, and it was hard for some of them to quit. I remember being in one meeting with a stalwart man sitting right down in front of me, and as I read these words, "Adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all saints who are or can be called saints," I said: "If there are any Latter-day Saints in this mission weaker than that we will not ask them to keep the Word of Wisdom." At the close of the meeting, that big fellow came up and said, "President Richards, I am not that weak." I said, "I didn't think you were. I just wanted to let you know what the Lord had to say about this principle."
I have to close in a minute, but I want to read you one more promise:
"And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures".
Is there any Latter-day Saint in this world who wouldn't want his children to get hidden treasures of knowledge? President McKay talked about that this morning.
A short time ago I attended a youth conference in Carthage, Illinois, where the Prophet and his brother Hyrum were martyred, and we had over five hundred young people there in the auditorium of the college. They had come, some of them, a thousand miles, and we held a four-hour testimony meeting. We never lost one minute between one speaker and the next for those four hours, and those young people stood there, many of them overcome with the Spirit of the Lord, until they could hardly bear their testimonies, but their hearts were full, and they wanted to testify, and I said to myself, "Where could you find anything like this in all the world other than among our young people?" Surely the Lord had blessed them with "great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures."
I want to leave another thought with you before I close. I interviewed a young man for his mission some time ago here in the state of Utah. He had spent eighteen months in an army camp in Germany, and he related this experience. He said: "We Mormon boys went to the chief chaplain to see if we could get permission to hold our meetings in the government chapel, and the chaplain said, 'Well, we would like to accommodate you, but it is in such constant use we just can't do it. There is a classroom down in the basement. You can use that.' Then he asked for a report of the meetings.
"When the first report was handed in, the chaplain said, 'My, you must have a lot of Mormon boys at this base,' and he was told there were thirty-five He said, 'I can't believe it. How do you do it? Why, you have more boys attending your meetings than I have attending mine, and I have 5,000 Protestant boys under my supervision. I'll tell you what we'll do. We'll take the classroom in the basement, and you can have the chapel.'"
The Lord said, "And they shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge." Is there any treasure of knowledge in this world to be sought after, more desirable than to know that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, to know that his kingdom has been established again in the earth, to know that God has promised a reward for every commandment that he has given to know that he has created this earth that we might prove unto him that we would do all things, not just a few of them, all things whatsoever the Lord our God hath commanded?
God help us as a people to do that that we may be a light unto the world, I pray, and leave you my blessing, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, April 1961, pp. 48-50
I trust that I may have the guidance of the Spirit of the Lord in what I may say.
I will commence by quoting from the nineteenth chapter of Matthew:
"The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
"And he answered and said unto 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?
"Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder".
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, marriage is performed for those who love the truth and desire to belong to the family of God, as spoken of by Paul in the third chapter of Ephesians, wherein he says:
"For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
"Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named".
Is there a family in heaven and in earth? Yes. That family is composed of those who go to the temple of the Lord and there are sealed or married for time and for all eternity according to the law of the Lord. Marriage is to be eternal, just as the Lord declares here in the words that I have read, and when a man and a woman go to the house of the Lord and are married for time and for all eternity, they take upon them certain covenants that they will be true and faithful in that union. Those covenants are made in the presence of God and angels at the altar in the temple of the Lord. How, then, can a man and a woman with the love of God in their hearts ever turn away from the solemn covenants that they make that they will be true and faithful all the days of their lives in mortality and that their faithfulness will continue after death? That is the covenant that they make.
Now, the Lord says further in answer to the Pharisees query:
"They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
"He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
"And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.
"His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry".
Now, evidently they did not get the full significance of the Savior's words.
In the temple of the Lord a couple goes to be sealed or married for time and all eternity. Children born in that union will be the children of that father and mother not only in mortal life but in all eternity, and they become members of the family of God in heaven and on earth, as spoken of by Paul, and that family order should never be broken. The Lord tried to impress this upon his disciples that it was only because of the hardness of the hearts of the people, because they failed to keep the commandments that the Lord had given them that Moses granted the putting away of the wife. Today the laws are different, and sometimes men put away their wives, and sometimes wives put away their husbands, but a marriage in the temple of the Lord should be one that should be considered sacred and holy, never to be violated in any way whatsoever, because it means that those who enter into such a covenant shall continue after death and have eternal increase and build a kingdom.
Now, if there is ever a divorce between a man and a woman married in the temple for time and all eternity, it is because they, one or the other or both, have violated the covenants that they made at the altar of the Lord, otherwise they could not separate, and the Lord never intended that a man and a woman be separated in death, but that this marriage was one for eternity. There was no separation in death, and one of the greatest sins that can be committed is for a man and a woman to separate after they have been sealed in the house of the Lord to become sons and daughters of God and members of his household, and to have children come to them, sent by divine approval to be in that household not only for time but for all eternity.
Now how in the world a man and a woman can go to the temple and there be sealed and make their solemn covenants that they will be true and faithful before the Lord, and then the time comes when one of them is dissatisfied, maybe both, and they want to separate! They are committing one of the great crimes that could be committed, if they have children. Those children born to them have a right to the companionship of father and mother, and father and mother are under obligations before their Eternal Father to be true to each other and raise those children in light and truth, that they may in the eternities to come, be one-a family within the great family of God, as spoken of by Paul.
It is only because of transgression on the part of the wife or of the husband, or perhaps on the part of both, when a couple has been married in the temple of the Lord, and then separate. If they were true to their covenants, to the obligations that they have made to each other at the altar in the house of the Lord, they could not separate, and if they have children, they are not only committing a crime against themselves, but they are harming those children and robbing them of blessings that they were born entitled to receive.
The Savior is very emphatic in his answer to these Pharisees. If the law was true in the days of the Savior and his words are according to the law, then it seems to me that that law has not changed in the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. It is only through sin and the transgression of the law that a separation can come that would divide father and mother and leave the children stranded and perhaps to be received into some other family by adoption, because parents have lost their faith and have turned away from the covenants they solemnly made before God and angels.
How members of the Church can do such a thing appears to me as a mystery. It can be explained, of course. They do it because they have lost the spirit of the gospel. That divorce comes to them because they are not keeping the commandments that the Lord gave to them, because they have permitted darkness to enter into their souls.
I think I can say here safely and truthfully that no judge in this world in any court of the land can annul a marriage for time and all eternity. He may separate the husband and wife by legal enactments so far as this world is concerned, but he cannot separate that husband and wife so far as the next world is concerned. Only the President of the Church has authority to cancel sealings, and when the man and his wife lose their faith and go to the courts and get a separation, and then go out and marry according to the laws of the land, they are not culpable before the law of the land, but they are before the kingdom of God and what the Savior says here in this revelation is absolutely true:
"... Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery". May the Lord bless you all, I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Milton R. Hunter
Milton R. Hunter, Conference Report, April 1961, pp. 50-54
My dear brethren and sisters, I desire today to speak briefly upon what I consider to be the greatest event that ever occurred in ancient America-namely, the visitation to the Nephites of Jesus Christ after his resurrection and the great work that he did among them.
Five years before the birth of Christ, Samuel the Lamanite stood upon the walls of the city of Zarahemla and predicted the signs of the birth and of the death of Jesus. He asserted that, at his birth, there should be a day and a night and a day of continuous light as if it were one day, and a new star should appear. Since Jesus Christ is the light and the life of the world, no more appropriate sign or symbol of his birth into mortality could have been given. Neither could a more appropriate sign of his death have been given than three days of darkness, the light and the life going out of the world.
We read in the Book of Mormon,
"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 there was also a great and terrible tempest; and there was terrible thunder, insomuch that it did shake the whole earth as if it was about to divide asunder...
"And behold, the rocks were rent in twain, they were broken up upon the face of the whole earth,...
"And it came to pass that there was thick darkness upon all the face of the land...
"And there was not any light seen neither fire, nor glimmer, neither the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars, for so great were the mists of darkness which were upon the face of the land".
These tremendous convulsions of nature not only impressed the Nephites greatly so that they recorded them in their history, but the memory of them also stayed in the minds of the Lamanites, or the American Indians, for fifteen hundred years. Shortly after the discovery of America, the Catholic missionaries and explorers learned that the American Indians had a tradition of the great convulsions of nature that took place at the time of Christ's death. For example, I would like to quote from a Lamanite, an Indian prince named Ixtlilxochitl, who lived near the city of Mexico and wrote his book in 1600 A.D.:
"... the sun and the moon eclipsed, and the earth trembled, and the rocks broke, and many other things and signs took place... This happened... at the same time when Christ our Lord suffered, and they say it happened during the first days of the year".
Ixtlilxochitl could not have received his information from Catholic Fathers, because they did not know anything about the great convulsions of nature at the time of Christ's crucifixion. Neither could he have received it from the Book of Mormon, since this book had not yet been published. He claimed to have received his information from a Lamanitish source, records handed down from his ancestors. I think Ixtlilxochitl's testimony, coming as it did from the American Indians, is a marvelous evidence of the divinity and truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.
The Nephites readjusted their measurement of time at the time of the signs of Christ's birth. According to the Book of Mormon, Christ lived thirty-three years and four days, being crucified on the fourth day of the first month of their year. Remember, Ixtlilxochitl gave this significant statement, "... they say it happened during the first days of the year." To me it is remarkable how accurate the Lamanite record was and how aptly it sustains the Book of Mormon.
The Nephite historian continued his account of the terrible destruction that took place, of cities and people during the three hours of storm, and the distressing condition during the three days of darkness.
Finally, the sun arose. The earth was again filled with bright, radiant light. The Nephites in the city of Bountiful assembled in front of the temple to discuss the great events which had occurred during the past few days, especially the signs of Christ's crucifixion. As they conversed one with another, they heard a voice coming as it were out of heaven. They did not understand what the voice said. It was not a shrill, loud voice, yet it pierced them to the very heart. They gazed upward into the heavens. They heard the voice the second time and the third time, and then they recognized it to be the voice of God the Eternal Father introducing his Son, saying:
"Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name-hear ye him".
As they continued to gaze heavenward, they saw a radiant, beautiful Man, dressed in a white robe, descending out of the heavens to the earth. He came down and stood in their midst. Stretching forth his hand, he said:
"Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into 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".
The people fell upon their knees and worshipped the Savior. He commanded them to arise and come forward and for each of them to thrust his hand into the spear wound in his side and feel the prints of the nails in his hands and 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". After they had all complied with this request, again the Nephites dropped on their knees and worshipped him, shouting: "Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God!".
Jesus selected twelve men and ordained them to the priesthood. He commanded them that after his departure they should organize his Church.
Day after day, for some time, Jesus appeared to the Nephites. He taught them the same gospel that he had taught to the Jews in Palestine before his crucifixion. Also, he performed many wonderful miracles among the people in ancient America. He healed the sick, raised the dead, gave sight to the blind, made the lame to walk, and the deaf to hear. Finally Jesus ascended into heaven promising the people that he would return again.
So tremendous was the effect of the visitation of the Resurrected Lord to the Nephites that for two hundred years they lived in perfect righteousness, no sin being among them. Finally apostasy crept in, which resulted in a terrible war between the Nephites and the Lamanites. Eventually the Nephite nation was exterminated. Yet this did not exterminate the knowledge that Christ had visited ancient America and that he had given the ancestors of the American Indians the gospel. For fifteen hundred years, down to the time of the Spanish conquest, the Lamanites, or the American Indians, retained that knowledge. When the Catholic Fathers first came to the New World, they found among the various Indian tribes the tradition and practices of many of the gospel teachings. The religious beliefs and practices, as well as their traditions, were so near like Christianity that many of the Catholic Fathers claimed that the Indians had Christianity before the coming of the Europeans.
From Alaska in the north to the south end of South America, paramount among all the traditions held by the Indians was that of a "Fair God." In the distant past that God helped create the world and had played a prominent part in organizing man. He had loved the people so much that he had come down to earth and dwelt among the ancestors of the American Indians. He had given them their government, their writing, and their culture. Above all he had given them their religious beliefs and practices, being their great high priest.
In these Indian traditions the various aboriginal tribes gave different names to this white and bearded God: for example, in Mexico Valley he was called "Quetzalcoatl." In Yucatan he was known as "Itzamna" and later he was called "Kukulcan." The most prominent name by which he was known in Peru was "Viracocha." Also, he was called "Tonapa."
Regardless of the name by which the white and bearded God was known, all of the Indian traditions were similar. This fact indicates that they came from a common source. All of the principal events of Christ's life-namely, his virgin birth, the marvelous missionary work that he did, the numerous miracles that he performed, his death, his internment for three days, his resurrection, his ascension into heaven, his final promise that he would come again-were found among the American Indians by the Catholic Fathers when they first visited various parts of the New World.
Father Bernardo de Lizana, "one of the most devout Catholic priests of his time," did missionary work among the Itza-Maya Indians of Yucatan during the first century of the Spanish Conquest. In his History of Yucatan and Spiritual Conquest, written in 1633, Lizana maintained that "Chief of the beneficent gods was Itzamna".
Itzamna was a God, according to the Maya sacred books, who was held in the highest veneration, being regarded as a universal deity. Father Lizana informs us that the Indians claimed that this person was the Son of the Most High God. Itzamna had come to earth and had lived among the ancestors of the Itza-Mayas. He, according to Lizana, had taught the ancient inhabitants of Yucatan to read and write. He had given them their government and was the founder of their religion. To quote the words of the Catholic Padre Lizana:
"Itzamna was called Kabul, the Skillful Hand, with which he performed miracles, curing the sick by placing his hands on them. He was a king, a priest, a legislator, a ruler of benevolent character, like Christ...
"The people consulted him about things that happened in some remote parts and he told them of present and future things.
"At the same time they carried their dead to him and he brought them back to life, and the sick got well, and for this he was greatly venerated and with reason, for if it were true that he was a Son of God, who only can give life to the dead, and health to the sick, since it is impossible for an ordinary man, nor the demons, but only the same God, who is the Lord of life and death.
"The people... said he resurrected and cured them".
In speaking of the death of Itzamna, Father Lizana wrote:
"Thus passed Itzamna, this reputed Son of God-perhaps our Christian God under another name, and the Itzas believed that his soul went to dwell with his Heavenly Father".
Ixtlilxochitl, the Lamanite Mexican prince, wrote about the coming of Quetzalcoatl or Jesus Christ to the valley of Mexico. He put the date, interestingly enough, at about the time the Savior lived in Palestine. Ixtlilxochitl wrote:
"And when they", "were in the height of their power, there arrived in this land a man whom they called Quetzalcoatl... on account of his great virtues, considering him as just, saintly, and good; teaching them by deeds and words the path of virtue, and forbidding them their vices and sins, giving laws and good doctrine. And in order to refrain them from their pleasures and dishonesties, he instituted fasting for them, and the first who worshipped and placed the cross...".
Dr. Herbert Joseph Spinden, one of the world's greatest scholars on the American Indians, stated that Quetzalcoatl is,
"... the greatest figure in the ancient history of the New World, with a code of ethics and love for the sciences and the arts."
Hubert Howe Bancroft wrote:
"... Quetzalcoatl was a white, bearded man, venerable, just and holy, who taught by precept and example the paths of virtue... His teachings, according to traditions, had much in common with those of Christ in the Old World."
Recently Laurette Sejourne, a famous Mexican archaeologist, wrote an excellent book on the religious beliefs of ancient Mexico. Quetzalcoatl plays the leading role in that book. The writer states that at approximately the time that Jesus Christ founded the Christian religion and culture in Palestine, which has continued to the present time, a man-God-a super-religious genius named Quetzalcoatl-lived in ancient America and established the culture of the Indians. He gave them their religion, portions of which lasted for 1,500 years, down to the time of the Spanish conquest. I shall quote from Laurette Sejourne.
"His essential role as founder of ancient American culture was never questioned by any of the historians of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, who always state that, just as our era began with Christ, so that of the Aztecs and their predecessors began-approximately at the same time-with Quetzalcoatl. "Who, then was this primordial figure, and why was his memory so ardently worshipped? As we know, that during his reign... the social and religious views that dominated Meso-America for over 1,500 years were crystallized. We must think of him first as an organizer without equal.
"But whence did this statesman derive the power which enabled him to amalgamate and transfigure the cultural elements he had inherited... into so dynamically homogeneous a system? He must evidently have been possessed of some quite exceptional interior strength, and all that is known about him corroborates this view".
Certainly the only person who has ever lived in this world who could have crystallized the social and religious views which dominated ancient America for over fifteen hundred years prior to the Spanish conquest, that primordial figure who lived and did his unique work in the New World about the time that Christ established the Christian era in the Old World, that religious genius who is supreme over all other religious teachers known, could have been none other than Jesus the Christ, the resurrected Savior who did such a phenomenal work among the Nephites. Thus the resurrected Savior and Quetzalcoatl and the other "Fair Gods" of ancient America are identical.
As all Latter-day Saints know, the story of Christ's work in ancient America is beautifully told in the Book of Mormon, and so that record proclaims the greatest event that ever occurred anciently on the Western Hemisphere.
I bear testimony that through the power of the Holy Ghost I know that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world, your Savior, and my Savior, and as he claimed, the God of the entire world. I know that he died for your sins and my sins. I witness that he broke the bands of death and brought about a universal resurrection. I testify that he restored his gospel in this dispensation, and if you and I will keep his commandments, someday we shall return into his presence and receive a blessed exaltation.
May God bless us to this end, I humbly pray, in Jesus' name. Amen.
Elder William J. Critchlow, Jr.
William J. Critchlow, Jr., Conference Report, April 1961, pp. 54-58
To many of my stake conference assignments I am airborne. Such transportation I call air flights.
Yesterday, while this conference was in recess, I employed a flight of imagination to take me back through years of time and miles of space to attend, in fancy, a session of a general conference of the Church held in Nauvoo, on April 7, 1844, exactly 117 years ago yesterday. The proceedings of that conference made noteworthy history. This conference is history in the making.
I made this fanciful flight to see the Prophet Joseph Smith whose life and personality excite my deepest veneration. I wanted, too, to see the temple and to locate the store which my great-grandmother helped her first husband establish in that city. My traveling companions were books which revealed the life of the Prophet. They made excellent guides as well as delightful companions.
I knew in 1844 that horses, even oxen and wagons, were deluxe means of transportation, but I chose for my vehicle of transportation on this imaginary flight a large overstuffed armchair. It was comfortable and roomy enough to allow me to curl up in it, so I took a refreshing thirty winks or more en route.
My fanciful flight deposited me, purposefully, in the business district of Nauvoo shortly before 10:00 am. Business places were closed: April 7 was Sunday. My guides could not find the store I sought. I paused to read an editorial in the Times and Seasons paper which I found posted in the area. It reported in part: "... commercial business has been somewhat dull... preparations are being made by the farmers in the vicinity for the cultivation of land...
"And a word we would say to the Saints abroad, which is, that the temple is being built in compliance with a special commandment of God not to a few individuals, but to all. Therefore we sincerely hope you will contribute of your means as liberally as your circumstances will allow".
From a distance, I observed the temple. Its walls were up, windows and roof were lacking. I wanted to make a closer inspection, but I was startled suddenly by a burst of sound-voices in song and in such volume as I have never heard coming from any meetinghouse. Surely, I thought, the walls of the building just won't stand the vibration. In my excitement I completely forgot the temple. That meetinghouse I just had to see. It could not be far away, a block or so, I guessed, as I hurried in the direction of the sound. The distance lengthened into two, three, possibly four blocks, and then around a corner I came to a grove of trees, and there in a clearing I beheld a vast multitude of people. I stood amazed and out of breath. Now it was I, not the walls that vibrated. There were no walls. There never were any walls. The great canopy of heaven was the roof; the floor, like the foundation, was the damp terra firma-it had rained the afternoon before. The place had good ventilation-the air was fresh, clean, and warm. The bright sun was an excellent heating unit.
My guide advised me that this was the largest assembly of people in the brief history of Nauvoo. Twenty thousand, sitting and standing, faced an elevated stand upon which the leaders were seated. From my position in the fringes of the crowd, I could neither see nor hear well. Sidney Rigdon was the morning speaker. He reviewed the history of the Church.
At noon the conference recessed until 2 pm. When some of those down front left for lunch, I quickly moved into a place where I could see and hear the afternoon speakers.
My guide identified the first speaker of the afternoon as the Patriarch. "You must be mistaken," I thought. "The patriarch is the Prophet's father and is a much older man." My face must have turned red when I was informed that the Prophet's father was dead and that Hyrum the Prophet's brother was the succeeding Patriarch and the speaker. For nearly an hour he pleaded with the congregation to bring "... provisions money, boards, planks, and anything that is good; we don't want any more old guns or watches" he said. "I give a privilege to anyone to pay a cent a week... I want it by next fall to buy nails and glass.
"... I want to get the roof on this season... the windows in... so that we may dedicate the House of the Lord by this time next year, if nothing more than one room".
At about 3 pm the Prophet came upon the stand. I recognized him immediately. A great hush came over the multitude when he arose to speak. He began by saying he would preach a sermon for his friend King Follett whose funeral, held a few days before, he did not attend because of illness. For a few moments I missed his words, I was too engrossed in the process of appraising and admiring his personality.
He was a commanding figure-tall and well-proportioned.
He looked strong. My guide said he weighed 212 pounds at the time.
His shoulders were broad.
His head, one might call, a very oblong oval.
His brow was high, white, and smooth.
His cheeks were full, free from hair, a bit pale, I thought, but clear.
His blue eyes were his most remarkable feature, not very large nor very deeply set, but at times almost veiled by the longest, thickest, light lashes you ever saw belonging to a man.
His nose was prominent-straight and thin.
His lips were thin, too.
His wavy, fine long, light-brown hair was parted faintly on the left and was combed back on top in a high roll which made it full in back, and it protruded in full waves above, behind, and in front of his ears, almost obscuring them.
His hands were small.
He spoke powerfully. He spoke like a Prophet. He looked like a Prophet. He was a Prophet.
He said-and these are mere excerpts from his sermon:
"God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens!... If the veil were rent today, and the great God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by His power, was to make himself visible,-I say, if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form-like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as a man; for Adam was created in the very fashion, image and likeness of God, and received instruction from, and walked, talked and conversed with Him, as one man talks and communes with another...
"... 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, and that He was once a man like us; yea, that God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ Himself did...
"... Here, then, is eternal life-to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all gods have done before you, namely, by going from one small degree to another, and from a small capacity to a great one; from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation, until you attain to the resurrection of the dead...
"... What did Jesus do? Why, I do the things I saw my Father do when worlds came rolling into existence. My Father worked out His kingdom with fear and trembling, and I must do the same; and when I get my kingdom, I shall present it to my Father, so that He may obtain kingdom upon kingdom, and it will exalt Him in glory. He will then take a higher exaltation, and I will take his place, and thereby become exalted myself...
"When you climb up a ladder, you must begin at the bottom, and ascend step by step until you arrive at the top, and so it is with the principles of the gospel-you must begin with the first, and go on until you learn all the principles of exaltation. But it will be a great while after you have passed through the veil before you will have learned them. It is not all to be comprehended in this world...
"... learned men... say that God created the heavens and the earth out of nothing...
"And they infer, from the word create, that it must have been made out of nothing. Now, the word create... does not mean to create out of nothing; it means to organize; the same as a man would organize materials and build a ship. Hence we infer that God had materials to organize the world out of chaos-chaotic matter, which is element... Element had an existence from the time He had... they may be organized and reorganized, but not destroyed. They had no beginning, and can have no end...
"... The intelligence of spirits had no beginning, neither will it have an end... There never was a time when there were not spirits; for they are coequal with our Father in heaven...
"The greatest responsibility in this world that God has laid upon us is to seek after our dead...
"The contention in heaven was-Jesus said there would be certain souls that would not be saved; and the devil said he would save them all, and laid his plans before the grand council, who gave their vote in favor of Jesus Christ. So the devil rose up in rebellion against God, and was cast down, with all who put up their heads for him...
"I have a father, brothers, children, and friends who have gone to a world of spirits. They are only absent for a moment. They are in the spirit, and we shall soon meet again. The time will soon arrive when the trumpet shall sound. When we depart we shall hail our mothers, fathers, friends, and all whom we love, who have fallen asleep in Jesus...
"... The baptism of water, without the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost attending it, is of no use; they are necessarily and inseparably connected. An individual must be born of water and the Spirit in order to get into the kingdom of God ...
"Hear it, all ye ends of the earth-all ye priests, all ye sinners, and all men. Repent! repent! Obey the gospel. Turn to God...
"I have intended my remarks for all, both rich and poor, bond and free, great and small. I have no enmity against any man. I love you all; but I hate some of your deeds...
"... You don't know me; you never knew my heart. No man knows my history I cannot tell it: I shall never undertake it...
"... When I am called by the trump of the archangel and weighed in the balance, you will all know me then... God bless you all. Amen."
The Prophet spoke for 3 1/2 hours. My guides said it was the longest, the most powerful, and the most eloquent address he ever gave, and he gave it without notes before the largest crowd ever assembled in Nauvoo. They also said that he depended upon the Holy Ghost rather than upon notes to guide him. "I do not have time to prepare my sermons," he said.
My visit to Nauvoo, April 7, 1844, was as I said, fanciful. The conference and the Prophet's sermon were factual. Factual too was the visit one month later of one Joseph Quincy son of the president of Harvard and himself later mayor of Boston who in his appraisal of the Prophet wrote:
"It is by no means improbable that some future textbook, for the use of generations yet unborn, will contain a question something like this: What historical American of the nineteenth century has exerted the most powerful influence upon the destinies of his countrymen? And it is by no means impossible that the answer to that interrogatory may be thus written: Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet. And the reply, absurd as it doubtless seems to most men now living, may be an obvious commonplace to their descendants... The man who established a religion in this age of free debate, who was and is to-day accepted by hundreds of thousands as a direct emissary from the Most High,-such a rare human being is not to be disposed of by pelting his memory with unsavory epithets."
"This Joe Smith," another contemporary writer on the New York Sun said, "must be set down as an extraordinary character, a prophet-hero as Carlyle might call him. He is one of the greatest men of the age and in the future will rank with those who in one way or another, have stamped their impression strongly on society".
The poet, John Greenleaf Whittier wrote:
"Once in the world's history we were to have a Yankee prophet, and we have had him in Joe Smith. For good or evil, he has left his track on the great pathway of life; or, to use the words of Horne, 'knocked out for himself a window in the wall of the nineteenth century, whence his rude, bold, good-humored face will peer out upon the generations to come'".
My guide bore this fervent testimony:
"Here is a man who was born in the stark hills of Vermont; who was reared in the backwoods of New York, who never looked inside a college or high school, who lived in six states, no one of which would own him during his lifetime; who spent months in the vile prisons of the period; who, even when he had his freedom, was hounded like a fugitive; who was covered once with a coat of tar and feathers, and left for dead; who, with his following, was driven by irate neighbors from New York to Ohio, from Ohio to Missouri, and from Missouri to Illinois, and who at the unripe age of thirty-eight, was shot to death by a mob with painted faces.
"Yet this man became mayor of the biggest town in Illinois and the state's most prominent citizen, the commander of the largest body of trained soldiers in the nation outside the Federal army, the founder of cities and of a university, and aspired to become President of the United States.
"He wrote a book which has baffled the literary critics for a hundred years and which is today more widely read than any other volume save the Bible On the threshold of an organizing age he established the most nearly perfect social mechanism in the modern world, and developed a religious philosophy that challenges anything of the kind in history, for completeness and cohesion. And he set up the machinery for an economic system that would take the brood of fears out of the heart of man-the fear of want through sickness, old age unemployment, and poverty.
"In thirty nations are men and women who look upon him as a greater leader than Moses and a greater prophet than Isaiah".
To these may I add my testimony;
I believe-I know Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God; that he was visited by heavenly messengers. Among them were John the Baptist, Peter, James, and John; Moses, Elias, Elijah; and one Moroni who led him to some hidden golden plates, the characters on which he translated and thus produced the Book of Mormon. I also believe-yes, I know, that he was visited by the Father and by the Son and was instructed by the Son. This testimony I bear humbly in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Alma Sonne
Alma Sonne, Conference Report, April 1961, pp. 58-60
My brethren and sisters, there were power and inspiration in the song which we have just sung. I appreciate the good singing by the various choirs who have appeared during this conference. I am especially grateful for the singing of the choir this morning, coming as it did from the Logan Institute and from the Utah State University. I am very happy that the program of this great Church provides for the development of choirs and choral groups.
For a few minutes I would like to say something about our missionary effort in the world. This is a missionary Church, and when one becomes a member of it, he is also a missionary. As an introduction I want to read from the first section of the Doctrine and Covenants which is also a preface, or an introduction, to the revelations which follow.
Said the Lord: "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".
The Savior's great commission to his chosen apostles prior to his ascension is similar in all respects to what I have read. Said he: "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".
Under those solemn injunctions God's work has gone forward in the earth. Neither persecution, ridicule, nor bigotry have been able to stop it from progressing.
When I visited the Canadian Mission a few months ago, I was told that Elder Orson Hyde opened the mission in 1833. The Church was then three years old, after having been organized by six humble men. In the same year Joseph Smith the Prophet and Sidney Rigdon strengthened the mission by their personal ministry. Their first meeting was held in a store building in the province of Ontario. The location was pointed out to us as we visited the place. It is a historical landmark.
The result of that effort was fourteen baptisms. Three years later in 1836 Apostle Parley P. Pratt went to Toronto. He had with him a letter of introduction to John Taylor from a man named Moses Nickerson. Taylor was a minister in the Methodist Church. Such letters are now called referrals and are very effective in reaching the people. John Taylor and a group of businessmen were holding weekly meetings to study and search for the truth, using the Bible as a guide.
Parley P. Pratt explained the gospel to those men, and all but one was converted and baptized. In the same year John E. Page and Orson Hyde returned and converted and baptized six hundred. Thus the work was begun in the great country of Canada.
I need not tell you what has happened since those early days. Similar results were obtained in Great Britain, in Scandinavia, in the United States, and elsewhere. In the year 1837, seven years after the Church was organized, Heber C. Kimball, a member of the Twelve was set apart by the First Presidency of the Church to preside over a mission to be established in England. Six others, similarly called and set apart, accompanied him.
They were poor, these men, in the things of the world. They had attended no theological seminary in preparation for their ministry, and they were not prominent in the affairs of men. The following words from President Heber C. Kimball illustrate the spirit under which they did their work.
Humbly President Kimball said: "The idea of such a mission was almost more than I could bear up under. I was almost ready to sink under the burden which was placed upon me. However, all these considerations did not deter me from the path of duty. The moment I understood the will of my Heavenly Father I felt a determination to go at all hazards, believing that he would support me by his almighty power, and endow me with every qualification that I needed, and although my family was dear to me, and I should have to leave them almost destitute, I felt that the cause of truth, the gospel of Jesus Christ, outweighed every other consideration".
There, my brethren and sisters, is an example of magnificent faith. President Kimball was a strong man, full of faith and testimony. He was not easily dismayed. Many of you people who are now listening to me have visited the city of Preston in Lancashire, England. Some of you have seen the River Ribble, which flows through the city. It was in that river that nine baptisms were performed, the first in Europe in this dispensation. The baptismal ceremony was witnessed by a crowd of between seven and nine thousand people. Great Britain was being proselyted by great and good men who were humble and God-fearing, but very effective.
In 1840 eight members of the Quorum of the Twelve were in England laying the foundation of the work to be done in that prolific field. Among them were Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Wilford Woodruff, and others. Their success was phenomenal. Nothing like it had occurred since Peter, the apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, delivered his marvelous sermon on the day of Pentecost. Congregations of religious worshipers joined the Church and accepted the restored gospel. Many of them immigrated to America, to return as missionaries to their native lands and to make contact with their former neighbors and friends.
Out of their numbers came great leaders like John Taylor, George Q. Cannon, Charles W. Penrose, Charles W. Nibley, and many others. From Scotland came the McKay family, whose faith and devotion have touched the hearts of thousands in Zion and on foreign shores. The missionary system of the Church has not failed, nor will it fail. There is no commercial or professional aspect connected with it. It is a plan of proselyting adopted by the Savior when he sent his disciples out into the world to teach the nations.
Jesus chose humble men to represent him before the world. The same caliber of men has been chosen in this dispensation. Humility is a godly virtue. The missionary realizes that he is engaged in God's work. It is not man's work. His best qualifications are his worthiness and a firm and unshakable testimony Someone has said, "A testimony supported by two or more witnesses is worth a thousand arguments." I know that is true. Converts are a source of strength to the Church. On June 6, 1840 the first company of English converts left their native country for Nauvoo, Illinois. Other companies followed in rapid succession. They arrived in Nauvoo at a crucial moment when the forces of evil were asserting themselves with persistent and relentless fury. God is blessing the missionary endeavors of 15,000 missionaries laboring at home and abroad. He will continue to do so.
God's work will triumph in the earth, and the warning is going forth to the nations. May the Lord inspire us to support the missionary program of this great Church, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Delbert L. Stapley
Delbert L. Stapley, Conference Report, April 1961, pp. 65-68
My brothers and sisters, as I contemplate the gospel plan of our Heavenly Father for his children as given in the revelations, I am convinced that no sacrifice here in mortality is too great for us to make to attain the riches and glories of eternal life. I am also convinced that by righteous living and devoted service a good measure of this happiness and joy can be experienced here and now in this mortal life.
God our Father, through his Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, has admonished:
"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".
This important admonition is reaffirmed in another revelation which is clear to the understanding of all mankind. Said the Lord:
"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".
These pronouncements of principle and admonition of the Lord are fundamental requirements for each individual seeking eternal life and are as firm and sure as the pillars of heaven. Every law and ordinance of the gospel is to be complied with to attain a fulness of God's glory. The key to guide us safely to the celestial kingdom is found in this instruction:
"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".
Three important points are here enumerated: 1. to beware concerning ourselves; 2. to give diligent heed to the words of eternal life; and 3. to live by every word that proceeds forth from the mouth of God.
The Apostle James warned, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all". This statement appears harsh and uncompromising, but it takes full obedience to the whole gospel plan to obtain a fulness of eternal lives and glory, therefore, to break one law is to violate the whole law and makes the violator guilty of all. So often we are deceived by thinking that some divine laws are not too significant and to break them is no deterrent to a fulness of eternal joy. However, the Lord himself has declared:
"But no man is possessor of all things except he be purified and cleansed from all sin.
"And if ye are purified and cleansed from all sin, ye shall ask whatsoever you will in the name of Jesus and it shall be done".
Our Omnipotent God is possessor of all things: the universe with its heights and depths and all his works of creation; all truth, knowledge, power, wisdom, and every quality of goodness, love, and charity. Christ inherited these gifts and attributes from his Father and if, as the scriptures teach, we are joint-heirs with Christ, we are then potentially eligible to share with him the full joy and glory of these creations, powers, gifts, and blessings.
Complete obedience and faithfulness obtain full fellowship in the household of faith and, more importantly, merit joint-heirship with Christ our Lord in all that the Father has committed unto him. The Apostle Paul stated that God appointed his Only Begotten Son heir of all things and it pleased the Father that in his Son should a fulness dwell. John the Beloved taught,
"The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand," -which makes Christ the heir and joint-possessor of the fulness of God's kingdoms, works, and glory.
Christ prayed to the Father for his disciples to be one even as he and the Father are one. This quality of sharing so characteristic of the Savior's life, offers to us, if faithful and worthy, every blessing which he has received from his Father.
In the important doctrinal discourse known as the "King Follett Sermon" the Prophet Joseph Smith, referring to those who "shall be heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ," described joint-heirship as inheriting the same power, the same glory, and the same exaltation, until an individual ascends to the station of Godhood and rises to the throne of eternal power, sharing the rewards with all the faithful who have preceded him. A joint-heir legally inherits and shares all equities and gifts in equal interest with all other heirs. Nothing is excluded nor adjusted in value between the participating joint-heirs.
The Apostle Paul expressed to the Roman saints this knowledge and hope:
"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God....
"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God;
"And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together".
If we are led by the Spirit of God in our lives, we are promised heirship with him and joint-heirship with Christ our Lord in the great estate of God's kingdom and glory. We "suffer with Christ" as we sacrifice the things of the world and yield complete obedience to every truth, principle, and ordinance of the gospel plan. Whatever we contribute in honest tithes and other contributions along with unselfish participation and service to our fellow men to build the kingdom of God on the earth, increases our personal joy and happiness in heirship with Christ the Lord.
We learn in modern scripture that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob abided by the law of God completely and did "... none other things than that which they were commanded; and because they did none other things than that which they were commanded, they have entered into their exaltation, according to the promises, and sit upon thrones, and are not angels but are Gods". They have inherited, as joint-heirs with Christ, a fulness of God's kingdom, power, and glory.
John the beloved apostle expressed this meaningful teaching and instruction:
"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is.
"And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure".
As sons and daughters of God, we are required to purify and perfect ourselves in righteousness, otherwise, we cannot be with him nor enjoy eternal lives and glory in his kingdom. To become like God we must possess the powers of Godhood. For such preparation there are important covenants, obligations, and ordinances for mankind to receive beyond the requirement of baptism and the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost. Every person is to receive his or her endowments in the house of the Lord which permit them, if faithful and true, to pass by the angels who stand as sentinels guarding the way to eternal glory in the mansions of God. The everlasting covenant of marriage, ordained of God for man and woman, also is to be entered into and the marriage contract sealed eternally by the authority of the Holy Priesthood of God. Otherwise, the highest degree of the celestial kingdom cannot be attained nor Godhood acquired, which exalted condition assures continuation of the lives forever.
President Joseph Fielding Smith has said,
"He who obtains eternal life will become a son of God, a joint-heir with Jesus Christ, and the Father promises him the fullness of the blessings of his kingdom. Eternal life has a deeper meaning than immortality, and all those who receive it become like God They will inherit the fulness of the Father's kingdom, all things will be given to them and they become sons and daughters of God".
God has said of his sons, "For the power is in them wherein they are agents unto themselves". Man, as a child of God, partakes of the divine nature of his Father and has within him the power to upgrade himself and by perfecting his own native endowments become like his eternal parent, possessing the same attributes and qualities in their perfection as the Father and the Son.
The Father has promised his sons who receive the Holy Priesthood and faithfully abide by the conditions of its oath and covenant that they are to share in all that which the Father hath. The Father possesses kingdoms, thrones, principalities, powers, dominions, and exaltations. These the faithful will receive of him as heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. This promise-and the Lord will not fail-is a challenging encouragement for all to do his will. It is natural for a father to share his estate with his children. Our Heavenly Father is no exception. He does so with a binding covenant with his faithful sons. Listen to the words of this promise:
"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 number sharing these great and choice blessings will be limited. It is unfortunate that so few will worthily prepare themselves and enter the strait gate and faithfully follow the narrow way to the end to earn the promising reward of eternal life and its joint-heirship with Christ of all that God the Father possesses.
It seems strange, but people generally fail to understand these gospel teachings and, living as they do in this mortal world, are prone to think and act in terms of mortal existence, which they only partially understand. As a result they fail to project themselves into that eternal state of life after the death of the mortal body and to envision their true place in it according to their present manner of living here in mortality. If somehow we could view with clarity the impressive picture of the life hereafter resulting from obeying every gospel principle and ordinance while here, perhaps we would plan our lives in mortality differently and see to it that all our daily actions are motivated by truth and righteousness and good works. Life then would have sincere purpose and would earn rewarding values for the soul.
President Wilford Woodruff made this significant observation:
"Now I sometimes ask myself the question, Do we comprehend these things? Do we comprehend that if we abide the laws of the priesthood we shall become heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ? I realize that our eyes have not seen, our ears have not heard, neither hath it entered into our hearts to conceive the glory that is in store for the faithful ".
In the vision given to Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon concerning the degrees of glory, the Lord specified the qualifications of those who belong to the Church of the Firstborn and then said:
"They are they into whose hands the Father has given all things-
"They are they who are priests and kings, who have received of his fulness, and of his glory...
"Wherefore, as it is written, they are gods, even the sons of God-
"Wherefore, all things are theirs, whether life or death, or things present, or things to come, all are theirs and they are Christ's, and Christ is God's".
Personally, my brothers and sisters, I am humbly grateful for the privilege and blessing of being a candidate for joint-heirship with Christ, my Lord, in all that the Father has promised My heart is full of love and gratitude for the Savior and for the sacrifice of his life on the cross to redeem mankind from the fall and the offer he has given all mankind for salvation and exaltation as joint-heirs with him in the kingdom of our God.
I pray that God will bless us all, my brothers and sisters, with the courage and the faith to live every standard and obey every law and every ordinance of the gospel to merit joint-heirship with Christ our Lord in all things. This I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Eldred G. Smith
Eldred G. Smith, Conference Report, April 1961, pp. 68-69
I pray that I will have the guidance of the Lord while I fulfil this assignment. We have heard considerable in these conference sessions about the principles and acts and teachings which label us as Latter-day Saints and note to us the requirements to be a Latter-day Saint. Have you ever thought to ask yourself, "Are you a Latter-day Saint because of the things you do not do or because of the things you do?" What makes a Latter-day Saint?
Jesus was asked on one occasion "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.
"On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets".
These two commandments are inseparable. It is impossible to fulfil the first without fulfilling the second. We cannot love our Father in heaven without loving our fellow men and loving our neighbor.
Latter-day Saints should be known by the things they do, the first of which is to keep these two commandments.
A most important quality in love is forgiveness. If we truly love our neighbor, we will always be willing and ready to forgive. Jesus Christ placed great importance on forgiveness. Teaching the multitude, he gave what is known as the Lord's prayer in which he said: "... forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." Then he added:
"For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you: "But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses".
Again the Lord said, "Judge not that ye be not judged.
"For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged".
How can we as mortals fully judge another? We do not know how much knowledge another has received, for he receives knowledge through the Spirit. We cannot measure that which another receives through the Spirit.
Elder Matthew Cowley once said:
"We ought to say in our hearts let God judge between me and thee, but as for me I will forgive". That means to say in our hearts, not just lip service. We must be willing to forgive and forget. Most of us have a natural ability to forget, especially the things we are supposed to remember. Most of us work diligently to increase our power to remember. However, in forgiving, we should increase or attempt to increase and work diligently to increase our power to forget.
Peter asked Jesus: "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".
The Lord also said:
"But I say unto you, 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".
When the adulteress was brought before Christ to be stoned, according to the law, he said:
"He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her."
They all then slipped away, leaving the woman alone with Jesus. No accusers left, Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more." Thus giving the woman the opportunity to repent and be forgiven.
Then, finally, in his agony on the cross, showing the supreme example of forgiveness, he cried out to his Father in heaven: "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do".
Could you be as forgiving?
Again in our day the Lord reminds us that we are required to forgive one another.
"... verily I say unto you, I, the Lord, forgive sins unto those who confess their sins before me and ask forgiveness, who have not sinned unto death....
"Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin.
"I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men.
"And ye ought to say in your hearts-let God judge between me and thee, and reward thee according to thy deeds".
When you have ill feelings toward anyone, you have an uneasiness in his presence. You will go out of your way to avoid him. You become to a degree, mentally ill. A contentious spirit prevails within you. John stated it this way:
"But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes".
Often we think of forgiveness as a form of charity. We forget that the benefits extend both ways. It is as beneficial to forgive as to be forgiven. This is not a formula but a spirit which can bring out the best in people and illuminate every moment of living. It is one of the happy paradoxes of human behavior that the readier we are to forgive the less we are called on to forgive. Forgiveness does not undo what has already been done. It enables us to accept what has been done and go on from there.
It is only through forgiveness of our mistakes that we gain the freedom to learn from experience, but forgiving our shortcomings does not mean denying that they exist. On the contrary, it means facing them honestly, realistically. Forgiving brings a peace of mind, a pleasant assuredness, and freedom.
One who hates is his own tormentor. Unless you forgive, you cannot love. Without love, life has little or no meaning. Love thy neighbor as thyself, forgive and forget, let no ill feelings exist between you and any member of your family or a neighbor or friend or anyone, for we are all God's children-sons and daughters of our Father in heaven and brothers and sisters in the spirit of our Savior Jesus Christ. That we may enjoy that sweet spirit of peace which the Lord giveth, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder S. Dilworth Young
S. Dilworth Young, Conference Report, April 1961, pp. 69-72
My heart rejoiced yesterday morning when the President of the Church talked about the response of youth to the various programs which we provide for them. I should like to refer to one of these programs, make a practical reference to it, and illustrate its application to what Brother Smith just referred to-the matter of the second commandment, loving thy neighbor.
I remember the first time I ever went away from home-I mean to work. I was thrown into the company of a crowd of men and boys my own age. If one didn't smoke with this particular crowd one was considered to be a sissy. During the daytime hours while we worked, the air was filled with blasphemous remarks concerning the Father and the Son and derogatory remarks concerning one's own personal ancestry and the illegitimacy of it. On weekends they got drunk. They didn't just drink, they got drunk. If one didn't get drunk Saturday night something was wrong with him, and they pointed it out to him Monday morning. While they were in the process of this weekend orgy they sought out, of course, the young ladies of like bent and then spent the rest of the week bragging about their conquests.
I did not find, nor did I look for, as far as that goes, any young man in that community who had the same feelings as I did. I could not bring myself to associate with the situation, and I spent my free time on the weekends in reading. I have always been grateful that my family, who believe that reading is a great gift to cultivate, taught me early to read and kept me encouraged in its practice.
I was shy. That may sound peculiar to some of you folk who know me, but I really was; and I was frightened of people. I was scared of the boys and men with whom I worked, and I was more frightened to go into crowds where I was not known. Consequently I did not seek out the ward in the town in which I was working.
But, on the other hand, neither did the bishop seek me out. Nobody sought me out. I doubt if they knew I was there, yet they must have done because the man for whom I worked was quite prominent, and he must have told somebody in the town that he had a young squirt from Salt Lake City building muscle at his expense.
I have often thought of what would have happened to me during the month or two that I was out that first summer if some good man had come over and said, "Look, Dil, next Sunday morning we are having a meeting. Why don't you come over to it?" I likely would have gone, but I confess to you that I didn't quite have the nerve to overcome my fears and do it voluntarily.
Adolescent youths are shy-most of them. Adolescent youths are frightened of other people-most of them. To overcome that shyness and fear, and not mistake it for stubbornness, is the genius of men who work with boys.
Now it is different. We have a different program, and it is about that program I wish to speak. You know we have a system whereby if you notify a committee of the twelve composed of Brother Spencer W. Kimball and Brother Mark E. Petersen, machinery is set in motion to see that things I have just described don't happen. May I read from some of the reports which have come into the office of these two good brethren on matters concerning children.
This is about Mary. The names, of course, are fictitious. "After several attempts to make contact with Mary by my counselors, my wife and I visited her Friday. Then we brought her to MIA last Tuesday. We have assigned a Gleaner Girl to visit her and to take her to stake M Man and Gleaner functions, and we have assigned the ward teachers to call. We will keep our eye on her."
Now if you had a daughter away from home, wouldn't you feel relieved if you knew that the bishop and his wife saw to it that that girl had a chance to get into the ward? You would sleep at night, wouldn't you?
Here is another one. "Beth is a good girl and has been active in the ward in our town. She has never been away from home, nor ever lived in a large city. We hope she can be given a welcome in her ward in that city." And the bishop writes-that is, the bishop of the ward to which she went: "We have called on Beth several times. She is attending regularly. We haven't yet given her a position. We shall very soon. We shall keep our eye on her and check with her regularly." This word was conveyed to the girl's mother. She sleeps well at night, also.
Here is another one about Don, "a student who has been active here in our ward. He is attending his freshman year at Freshwater. We hope he will keep his values." And the second counselor at Freshwater writes, "I have personally visited Don at Freshwater, and invited him to our meetings. I will make it a point to see that he is visited by the campus ward teachers, and is invited to the Deseret Club functions. We shall follow through." And it gives one a comfortable feeling inside, doesn't it?
Another one. "Henry is the only member of his family who has joined the Church. He was active for a time, but has not done much in the past two years." He went to a certain city for employment. And the second counselor in that city writes: "I have been trying to reach this young man. Conditions are not of the best at his boardinghouse. We have ward teachers and the senior Aaronic Priesthood committee calling at his house to influence him to enter our activities. We'll keep trying." That's it-"we'll keep trying."
Here's one from our own school. "Ann has gone to BYU, and has taught in Primary." And the bishop of a ward at BYU writes: "As always, a fine and rewarding member of our ward," and a fine rewarding feeling comes to father and mother when they hear that all is well.
Another one. "Kenneth Woods." No note about him-just his name and address-and then this report was sent to the home ward bishop. "We have tried to reach him but without success. We know where he lives; we have talked to his roommates; but either he hides himself when we call or he is too busy as to be rarely home. We have called and asked for him over the phone without success. We have left word for him to call, but he never does. The elders' president has gone there several times and told his roommates his purpose, but the boy has not yet responded. We do know that he has been out of work several weeks and that he is going to school, and that he seems to spend his weekends skiing. We shall continue to try."
Once in a while a stake president knows a situation, and he reports for the bishop. "The bishop reported," said he, "that she is living with three other girls, and the environment is not the best. Apparently she fell in love with a young man who was active but does not now live our standards. This is also quite a problem for her. She is definite in her desire to be married in the temple. The bishop reports that Ann shows a desire to be active in the Church, and the YWMIA officers have been alerted to follow through. Because of our interest I am sure the bishop will take a personal interest in Ann and her progress, and I am sure," he writes to Brother Petersen, "that the action on your part may have been the means of preventing a tragedy, because when we found her she was very low. The bishop's personal interview gave her an opportunity to clear her feelings, and opened the way for further activity. The bishop will also do what he can with other girls in this group."
A boy, secretary to a priests' quorum, is going to school. Notice of his move was sent in with a note that he is a good boy and no one needs to worry about him. The first reply which came in from the bishop: "Have been unsuccessful in contacting this young man at the college dorm. Will write him and try to make an appointment." A second reply came later. "John was happy for my visit. Said he didn't know which ward he should attend, so he didn't attend at all. Said he would be at priesthood meeting next Sunday morning, and is anxious to become an elder." A recent convert-a young woman-left home and crossed three states to attend school. Unable to find any of our people, she attended the local Community Church. And then the nearest branch president received a card from the committee. He had to drive forty miles to meet her, and he reported: "She is in good spirits. She has a testimony. The nearest chapel is nearly forty miles, and she has no transportation. I have made arrangements for her to have transportation. She will be an asset to our branch." Suppose he had never learned that that girl was anywhere near, and she was left to herself and on her own?
Now this program is quite simple to apply. I shall repeat briefly the rules. If a daughter or a son is going away for a period, either to work or to school, all the parents need do is to notify the ward bishop of the fact. It is also incumbent upon the priesthood leaders, the young women officers, as well as the ward teachers, to be alert, to notify the bishop when such a person leaves. Promptly the bishop will send to the committee a card upon which he states the essential facts and gives the new address. It is quite essential that the new address be on the card.
The committee then processes the card, discovers to what ward and stake the young person has moved, and notifies the bishop of the ward or the president of the branch that that young person is there, and asks him to see that proper integration takes place. After that, contacts are made, the youth is integrated, and the report is made back before the file is closed. And if the youth is not integrated, the file is kept open until he either is reached or returns home.
It seems to me that we can do no better work for those of our young folk who are away from home, than to take this simple expedient of picking up a telephone and calling the bishop, and asking him to watch out for our children. No greater work could be done to safeguard them. You would be surprised at the great number who are immediately brought into activity in the wards to which they go.
Now, I pray the Lord will bless us in our effort to do this work. My testimony is that the President of the Church-President McKay-is a prophet. I support him as such with all my heart, and of course, with that goes the fact long since attested, that Joseph Smith was likewise a prophet, saw the Father and the Son, who commissioned him to bring forth the work of this last dispensation.
I ask blessings upon us all in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder ElRay L. Christiansen
ElRay L. Christiansen, Conference Report, April 1961, pp. 72-74
In the song just concluded, were the words, "Why should we seek to earn a great reward, if we now shun the fight?"
I believe, my brothers and sisters, that is the feeling I have had as I have thought of what I might say. What I shall say is given in the spirit of encouragement and commendation for the young, for the rest of us, and for all mankind.
According to the writings of Moses, the history of the world from the beginning to the end was revealed to Enoch when Enoch was permitted to look upon the world and see it as it was in the days of Noah, as it was in the Meridian of Time, and as it would be in the last days, or the days in which we now live. Enoch beheld all of the inhabitants of the earth. He saw that after the flood had depopulated the earth, because of wickedness, it was after a time inhabited again. But then he saw that after a time, men were again forgetting God and were rebelling against the truth. He saw the Savior in the Meridian of Time lifted up on the cross as a sacrifice for mankind and as the Redeemer of the world. When Enoch saw all this, he wept. And he beheld also that Jesus wept. And Enoch asked of him, "How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?" "The Lord said to 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".
The Lord went on to explain to Enoch by saying that he and the hosts of heaven wept because of the rebellion of mankind, nevertheless, Enoch was assured that the Lord would come again in the last days, and that before his coming he would cause righteousness and truth to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out his elect from the four corners of the earth. Surely that has been going on ever since the Church came into being.
"And the Lord showed Enoch all things, even unto the end of the world; and he saw the day of the righteous, the hour of their redemption; and received a fulness of joy".
By his supreme knowledge of the nature of man, both individually and collectively, the Lord sees the future of men and of nations, but even so the agency of man is not nullified. Individuals and free nations may choose wickedness and bring upon themselves sorrow and ultimate destruction, or they may choose righteousness and be preserved in peace.
In the Doctrine and Covenants we are told that in our day there are many who are "blinded by the craftiness of men who lie in wait to deceive". An example of this is seen in the relentless efforts that are made to have as many as possible become addicted to the use of products which not only degrade and weaken but which also impair the health and undermine the moral and spiritual qualities of those who are misled.
As expressed in the second epistle of Peter:
"And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you".
An example of how certain individuals intend to make merchandise out of us, if they can, is seen in the following statement taken from the Brewers Journal. I quote:
"Now I am going to talk about how to sell more beer and I mean a lot more. It is easy if you go about it in the right way. The place to sell more beer and ale is in the home. Home consumption that is what I mean. That means sell the women. Women do 90% of the shopping. Work with the grocery store and the super-market. The possibilities stagger the imagination. Why, you do not even have any competition. Promote beer as a beverage at mealtime. Beer is a food. Have the grocer give the woman a little booklet showing typical family meal combinations with beer, delicious, mouth-watering combinations and how to serve." End of the quotation. "Beer is a food." How ridiculous!
I hope that we will be aware of these scheming ways of some. I hope that we will not be gullible to this or to any other means of enticing us and pressuring us that they might make merchandise out of us. The words of Nephi should put us on guard against such things:
"Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men, save their precepts shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost".
What applies to us individually, applies to the nation as a whole.
At least two civilizations have previously occupied the land of America. They became a great people, a truly great people, who, like the people of today, found favor with God, but it is sad to read that both of these civilizations brought destruction upon themselves through disobedience and iniquity-actually because they rebelled against God. The Prophet Mormon tells us that the cause of this iniquity and their ultimate downfall came because as he said: "Satan had great power, unto the stirring up of the people to do all manner of iniquity, and to the puffing them up with pride, tempting them to seek for power, and authority, and riches, and the vain things of the world.
"And thus Satan did lead away the hearts of the people to do all manner of iniquity; therefore they had enjoyed peace but a few years.
"Now, they did not sin ignorantly, for they knew the will of God concerning them, for it had been taught unto them, therefore they did wilfully rebel against God". So it is with us today. We, too, are well-taught, but many, too many of us, in the Church and out of the Church, are led away by crafty men whom the Adversary uses as tools, from the standards and the ideals the Lord has set for our happiness and our security.
Will history repeat itself? Shall we in this beloved land again lose our freedom because of disobedience? No nation rises above its religion. President Calvin Coolidge once wrote these lines:
"Our government rests upon religion. There are only two main theories of government in the world, the one rests on righteousness and the other upon force. A government of a country never gets ahead of the religion of a country."
This very moment finds our beloved nation tense and wondering. We are concerned about the increasing power and the intentions of rulers of other nations, and well we should be concerned, because Godless, ruthless men are determined by their satanic plan to subject all the world to their will, and admittedly, they are making amazing progress.
But the Lord has made a promise to the inhabitants of America which should give us hope and direction. It is recorded in the book of Ether, the second chapter, wherein the promise is made that this, being a choice land, no nation or combination of nations should take its people into bondage or captivity "... if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ". What a simple way to preserve our liberty and our freedom!
In a revelation in our day, through the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord has declared:
"I, the Lord God, make you free, therefore ye are free indeed; and the law also maketh you free.
"Nevertheless, when the wicked rule the people mourn....
"And I give unto you a commandment, that ye shall forsake all evil and cleave unto all good, that ye shall live by every word which proceedeth forth out of the mouth of God".
This is indeed a day of testing, not only the testing of rockets and missiles, but also the testing of our allegiance to God, the testing of our beliefs in God.
It is a day of sifting, a day when each of us must determine where we stand. To each member of the Church and to all people, I say, with King Benjamin, these words:
"Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend. "And again, believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in sincerity of heart that he would forgive you; and now, if you believe all these things see that ye do them".
"And moreover, 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," he said, "that these things are true, for the Lord hath spoken it".
I have no doubt, my brothers and sisters, that the course of this nation will be directed by the hand of God if we believe in him to the degree that we serve him and keep his commandments as a people and as a nation, for he has said, "If ye walk in my statutes and keep my commandments, and do them,... ... I will give peace in the land... and will be your God, and ye shall be my people". This I believe and I testify to the reality of God and of Jesus Christ and of those who represent him here at the head of his Church and kingdom today, and I sustain them with all my heart.
In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Richard L. Evans
Richard L. Evans, Conference Report, April 1961, pp. 75-77
The presence of this choice group of young people from the LDS Institute at Utah State University in Logan, and the remembrance of President McKay's meaningful address which devoted itself in part to youth at the opening session Thursday-in which he spoke of gratitude and guidance and faith and inspiration-suggest that I pursue some thoughts along these lines, if I may, on perhaps eight or ten topics each one of which could well be the subject of a sermon.
I should like to introduce what follows with some of Longfellow's eloquent lines, as he addressed himself to a group of young people upon returning, after fifty years, for a reunion of his college class:
"How beautiful is youth! how bright it gleams With its illusions, aspirations, dreams! Book of Beginnings, Story without End, Each maid a heroine, and each man a friend!"
Because it is a story without end, the book of beginnings is exceedingly important, and I should like to suggest to these young people here and you out there, wherever you are, to the farthest reaches of time and distance, first that you seek counsel. Do not try to go it alone in life. Seek the guidance that President McKay spoke of, of prayer, the guidance of parents, of those who would lead you well in all decisions.
I should like to plead with you to have faith. The Lord will not leave you alone. Have faith in freedom, in the future, in God, in yourselves, in things to come, and in the wisdom of preparing well. Have faith in tomorrow, but use well today.
May I suggest that you keep flexibility in life, along with a steadfast firmness. Life does change. Many things change. We have to learn to change in some things, and we have to learn to distinguish between what we should change and what we should not change-for the basic fundamentals are still irrevocably there. We cannot change principles or conduct without the consequences that come from conduct, no matter what changes there are on the face of things. Keep flexibility with firmness: watching the spirit as well as the letter of the law, not quibbling, not relying on technicalities; pursuing those things which lead to health and happiness, peace and a quiet conscience; learning to live with the light which the Lord has placed within us; and in all things moving as we need to, to adjust to surface considerations, yet standing firmly fixed in the principles and commandments and in the things of honor and justice and eternal truth and right that God has given; living in truth and decency; never giving way to sin or to cynicism; keeping control of ourselves, our thoughts, our actions, our utterances.
May I plead with you, also, keep a balance in life.
I am proud of what the seminary system of the Church is doing and the institutes from which these young people have come, and other organizations of the Church that help to balance the material considerations of life with the things of the Spirit.
Never become narrowly educated, but broadly so, feeding all sides of yourselves, reading and becoming acquainted with good books, with great minds and great men of the past; becoming acquainted with scripture and reading scripture itself. Do not be satisfied to read books about scripture or books about books, but go to the prime and the primary sources. You do not catch much of the spirit of Shakespeare merely by reading commentaries on Shakespeare. You capture it by reading Shakespeare, and so it is in large measure with scripture. Keep balanced in your lives and starve no side of yourselves.
Now, as to a willingness to work: Nothing ever does itself. Nothing ever memorizes itself. Nothing ever accomplishes itself-without the requisite effort. Carlyle said, "Men do less than they ought, unless they do all that they can." It is not enough just to try; we have to succeed. The Lord expects us to see things through.
May I plead with you one other thing? That you share the gospel and these great gifts that God has given. Call it referral, call it sharing the gospel, or whatever you will-that which we have, which others have helped to give us, we have an earnest obligation to share. Will you young men, wherever you are, point your lives towards missions and you parents help them so to point? There is an old proverb which says, "When you drink of the water, don't forget the spring from which it flows."
Our lives are not our own. So much of others has gone into the making of all of us, into teaching, into training, into all that we have inherited, into all that God has given, and especially above all, the gospel. Earnestly we have an obligation to share it with others.
Would you look wisely toward your choices in marriage and remember that there is nothing that a good marriage so much needs as it needs character and common convictions? Respect and character and common convictions will compensate for many other things; nothing else will compensate for these. Love will not last long without respect and character and common convictions. Remember this, and make no hasty or shortsighted decisions.
May I suggest that you go all the way with the gospel, keeping all the commandments, for they all came from the same source. I do not know who in mortality, among men, would have the wisdom to choose one commandment, or several, and set aside some others. This would be presuming to set our wisdom against that which God has given. Go with his way all the way.
May I suggest humility and never the pride of learning. Be patient. There may be some seeming discrepancies. Do not worry about them. Eternity is a long time. I have a great respect for learning, for academic endeavor and the university atmosphere. I have spent many years of my life in one way or another going to or in being associated with some great institutions of learning. I have a great respect for science and scientists and for the search for truth. But remember this: science after all is simply man's discovering of a few things that God already knows and controls in his ordering of the universe. We are, after all, a bit like Newton who said of himself that he was like a child handling a few pebbles on the shore while the great, limitless, eternal sea was before him. God has not told us all he knows. We believe in continuous revelation. Be patient. Keep humble and balanced in all things.
Keep courage. Do not feel sorry for yourselves. Whatever you do, do not feel sorry for yourselves. You live in a great age of great opportunity. I remember the words of one very sharp and shrewd observer who said, "Whenever I hear someone sigh and say that life is hard, I am tempted to ask 'compared to what'?" What are the alternatives? No one ever promised us it would be easy. It is a schooling; it is an opportunity; it is a learning period, and a wonderful one. Despite all the disappointments and difficulties, the great and ultimate rewards are beyond price. Keep faith. "And, if you keep my commandments," the Lord God has said to us, "and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God".
Now, it will not be long, in reality, in these quickly moving days when you, my beloved young friends, will be taking over from us. I started with some lines from Longfellow. I should like to offer some others at this point from the same meaningful poem that he wrote on the fiftieth anniversary of his college class:
"And ye who fill the places we once filled And follow in the furrows that we tilled, Young men whose generous hearts are beating high, We who are old, and are about to die, Salute you; hail you; take your hands in ours, And crown you with our welcome as with flowers!"
When we sing, "We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet," my beloved friends, it is not just for a prophet of the past, but with a great gratitude in our hearts for the prophet of God that he has given us in this day, for whose leadership I acknowledge with you my gratitude to God, and also the literal divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ and the appearance of him and his Father to a Prophet of the last dispensation, even Joseph Smith.
I have a great respect for all men and their beliefs, but think it not a strange thing that in a kingdom, the kingdom of God, there should be specific requirements and commandments, and a way that God has given for our realizing the highest happiness and peace and progress.
May we follow that way, may we share it, may we keep faith, I pray, in Jesus' name. Amen.
Elder Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, April 1961, pp. 77-81
When I was a little boy in Primary and Sunday School there was one song we sang almost more than any other. One verse and chorus go like this:
"O Galilee! sweet Galilee! Where Jesus loved so much to be; Oh Galilee! blue Galilee! Come, sing thy songs again to me.
"And when I read the thrilling lore Of him who walked upon the sea I long, oh, how I long once more To follow him in Galilee."
And at last after many years, that longing was fulfilled, and I saw his beloved Galilee. Would you like to make a little hurried trip with us to the land of milk and honey, the land our fathers loved?
We stand on the steepened hill rising north from the blue, blue sea of Galilee. We are hundreds of feet below sea level. It is winter, and the air is crisp, and our top coats are little enough. Our guide points out locations, at least some of which are authentic. Here, he says, sat the multitude while the Master expounded the never-dying "Sermon on the Mount." Below us lies the sea he loved. It is smaller than we expected. We can see the whole of it in one glance. It is not unlike a great heart in shape or function for its fluid has been the life blood of millions of people through many ages.
This is the sea of miracles. We see it calm and placid, and again, rough and boisterous. Countless fish from it have fed countless peoples. It was crossed numerous times by the Savior in little boats, in larger ships; and in its cool waters, tired feet were cooled. Its wild waves were calmed by his single command: "Peace, be still!". He walked on its surface; he preached from its shores. Not far to our left gathered the thousands whose hunger was satisfied on the miracled increase of loaves and fishes.
And we can almost see the disciples gathering up twelve baskets of residue after 5,000 had fed on five loaves and two fishes. We seem to see the four special fishermen with their nets and boats. Here Peter grappled with a fish which had in its mouth a coin for taxes. Down there he walked on the water; and when his faith waned, it was supplemented by that of the Lord. With our Testament open we read of the ministry of Christ, for this was the scene of much of it. We ask for the cities in which he lived and performed so many miracles, for we remember that in this area of but a few miles much of his work was done, much of his ministry was accomplished. We would like to walk through the triplet cities so often visited: Bethsaida, Chorazin and Capernaum. We see no spires nor towers, nor walls. We ask our guide: "Where is Chorazin?" He shakes his head. There is no Chorazin. We conclude it must have been on those hills above where now are sprouting grain and vegetables and dry weeds.
"Then where is Bethsaida?" we ask. "Where is that noted city where so many sick were healed and the lame were made to walk; where deaf could hear and lepers lost their curse? Where is his favorite place he often lodged, the home of Andrew, Peter, and Philip, his dearest friends? Where is old Bethsaida, the house of fishers, the place of miracles, the seat of gospel teachings, where fishermen became apostles?" In these very few miles much of interest happened. "Where is Bethsaida?" Our guide shakes his head again. There is no Bethsaida. "Capernaum, then?" we ask, "Where is that important place, the port where fish were loaded, traded, marketed?" He shakes his head again, then smiles as he thinks it through and changes the accent, and "Oh, you mean Capernaum." He shows us the ruins of a large synagogue.
If this was of the Messianic period, it is the sole survivor. A back wall, great stones tumbled in disarray, some olive presses are mute reminders of long ago. But that can't be Capernaum, his own city, the great Capernaum, the haughty, wicked, rebellious, Capernaum!
Now we realize that we should not have expected to see these cities, for were they not doomed 1,900 years ago? Have we forgotten the prophetic curse of the Master? In their unrepentant attitudes toward the Savior of the world and his exalting message, Christ warned: "Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
"But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you." We found that Tyre and Sidon still exist on the Mediterranean coast.
"And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt 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. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee".
And then we remember that only prophets and angels had visited Sodom to call that people to repentance, but for these tri-cities the Creator, the Lord, the Christ had come in person and for nearly three years had dwelt among them and performed the miracles and taught the gospel. They had ignored and rejected him. Sodom and Gomorrah went up in smoke "as the smoke of a furnace". If these cities were more rebellious than Tyre and Sidon, more corrupt than Sodom, and more wicked than Gomorrah, we think we understand.
We bathe our tired feet in the rippling waters of the shoreline. We look for remains of former cities. A few stones lapped by the water are rounded or squared. Could they have been a part of a synagogue, the home of Peter, the remains of a stone harbor, the walls of the centurion's place?
We move to the Jordan, the deepest ditch in the world, the liquid backbone of Palestine. "The river that goes down" is an appropriate name, for it descends in many streams from snow-covered Mt. Hermon in thousands of leaps and falls and gurgles to saunter through the valley of Hula and take a kind hospitable rest in the blue of Galilee. It tears and twists ever more swiftly downward in an almost incredibly sinuous manner from the sweet waters of the fountains and melting snow to the bitter dead waters of the salt sea, 2,500 feet lower.
This Jordan is not so unlike our own Jordan in this Salt Lake Valley. Squirming, twisting, burrowing madly, reversing, side to side, turning, writhing like a serpent, meandering like a lazy tidewater stream but in places pushing, hurrying swiftly down its circuitous way. It loops in quarter, half, and three quarter turns and travels two hundred miles of river in a sixty mile distance, covered three to ten feet deep and ninety to one hundred feet wide. It flows swiftly, some of the way through its whirlpools, cascades, and winding through the jungle growth. And we are on its banks not many miles from where it spreads gently into the sea, where it also dies.
The Jordan-the famous Jordan! Across and beyond, not many miles is Mt. Pisgah. We fancy we see an old bearded man whose "eye was not dim nor his natural force abated". He climbs the heights as commanded:
"Get thee up into the top of Pisgah," said the Lord, "and lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold it with thine eyes: for thou shalt not go over this Jordan". It is a little land. Moses could see Mt. Hermon to the far north, the Mediterranean to the west, south and east to the deserts and the country in between. Miles are short unless one travels on foot or by donkey as did the Savior. From Dan to Beersheba he can see almost the whole of Palestine spread out before him like a huge elephant hide, wrinkled in hills and valleys and thicker and heavier on top and thinning at the edges where are the Jordan and the Mediterranean.
We fancy we can see the hordes of Israelites coming from the south, four decades earlier released from Egypt's thralldom. They come with their families and burdens to this river, too deep to ford. Moses has been left behind, but Joshua commands, and the Jordan dries as did the Red Sea before them. And Israel with their bundles, animals, burdens, flocks, and families crossed this winding muddy river to the promised land on which we stand. We turn westward. About three miles are Gilgal ruins, the first camp of Israel on the west. And a little farther is Jericho, the old and the new. The ancient one is in ruins and its tumbling walls, buried for ages, are now excavated. These crumbling walls fell when the ram horns of the people of Joshua rent the air and when the tramping of hordes of feet seemed to shake them. Beyond is the precipitous mountain between here and Jerusalem where, tradition claims, is the Mount of Temptation, where the divine voice commanded, "Get thee behind me, Satan".
We are back on the banks of the Jordan where it is narrower and swifter. We fancy we see Elijah and Elisha cross the miraculously drained river bed. From here we see the towers of Jerusalem on the crest of the high western hills. The river still intrigues us. Abraham, Lot, and Jacob waded it; Joshua and Israel crossed it; its fords were fought over; it was a barrier against enemies and a hiding place for fugitives; in it the Syrian captain left his leprosy; here Elijah crossed dry shod, and here Elisha received Elijah's mantle. Here John preached, and here was the Lord baptized to fulfil all righteousness. We tread lightly, for this is sacred ground. We reabsorb the story as we read. We fancy we see in the muddy water two people and one is immersed. A holy voice speaks, and we hear impressive words, "This is my Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased".
We climb the sharp hills to the west, reluctantly leaving the sacred spots made holy by the presence and works of the Master. Perhaps these very hills may be the ones in which he sought solitude so often as he climbed the mount apart.
Through grain fields, over hilly areas, and through the great valley of Jezreel, with a distance less than from Salt Lake City to Ogden, we come to Megiddo. Let us stand on this abrupt eminence for from here we can see much of Galilee. This steep hill goes back near the beginning. History grew up here. Many civilizations have come and gone, and the debris tells scientists that the ruins of the 20th civilization is the one on which we tread. This is Megiddo or Armageddon-Megiddo, the ancient-Megiddo, the scene of mighty conflicts-"Battle Mountain," it could be called. This hill has witnessed the caravans of traders for many centuries-caravans laden with treasures for trade around the fertile crescent and the East. This hill has seen armies of great nations, training, camping, fighting, bleeding-Egyptians, Assyrians, Canaanites, Israelites, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Saracens, Crusaders, the Turks, and the British.
Soil here was fertilized with human bodies-soil here was drenched with human blood.
We climb the ramp walk on the farther side and pick gorgeous scarlet poppies as we climb. Did not the Savior say something about Solomon in all his glory not being arrayed like one of these?
Here Solomon stabled his horses and stored his chariots. Here are the excavated silo pits in which their barley and other feed was stored; here certainly were some of Solomon's "forty thousand stalls for horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen". Below us is the fertile, watered valley of Esdraelon, where grew the barley and the straw stored in the silos for the king's horses and dromedaries. His horses were prized ones, costing in Egypt 150 shekels of silver, and a chariot, four times the amount. They must have the best food and lodging. Below in the checkered valley grew the barley, the vegetables, the fruits, the grapes.
Beneath us is the brook Kishon. To our left is the Carmel range, and here was Elijah in his memorable contest with the priests of Baal. Mt. Carmel stones made the altar, Mt. Carmel wood was the fuel. Mt. Carmel saw the defeat and route of 400 idolatrous priests of Baal and the great triumph of the prophet of the God of Israel.
Across the little valley in a clump of green is Endor. Just those few miles away. Disguised King Saul and the witch of Endor were here. What consternation must have enveloped the perturbed Saul as he was told his army would be captured; he and his sons would be killed. The Lord could have walked here many times. It is near Nazareth.
A little to the right is Nain. We fancy we see the large crowd of people with the Master at the head walking into the little village. A funeral procession is en route to the cemetery, and they meet at the city's gate. A few minutes pass, and the mourners turn around and return to their homes. A miracle has happened-a dead man is now a living soul. The widow is overjoyed. The restored lad is speaking. The Nazarene may have been acquainted with and sympathetic with this widow, for Nain is but a few miles from Nazareth. Across to the left is the rounded Mt. Tabor. It looks like a gigantic basketball with its lower seventy percent buried. It is wooded. We read our New Testament again. Here is reputed to be the Mount of Transfiguration. If that be true then up these steepening slopes walked the Lord with Peter, James, and John. There they would meet in conference with Moses and Elias, and three humble fishermen apostles would hear from the overshadowing cloud the voice of the Eternal Father in heaven introducing his Son Jesus Christ as his Beloved Son in whom he was well pleased; and here would Peter say: "... let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias", and here would unspeakable things be told and authority be given.
Beyond Tabor, not very far is Cana, the place of the miracle of the wedding feast. Jesus and his family might have been well acquainted in nearby Cana.
To the left of Tabor and across the valley of Jezreel, in the cup in the cluster of hills, is the boyhood home of the Savior. That is Nazareth toward the top of the long canyon draw, the city of gnarled olive trees and threshing floors. There are the old stone houses of the ages past. There are the caves in which he played, the hills he climbed, the places where he worked.
And this is Galilee, and in a glance we can see the haunts of Jesus' growing-up years and his ministry. He likely knew every hill and vale, every creek and valley. He surely knew many of the people, for distances were not great and people not too numerous. Here and in the plains below he must have learned the many lessons of his parables. Birds of the air, the foxes in their holes, the lilies of the valley, the olive press, the plow, the waving grain, the wine press, the watchmen towers. It would be from one of these sharp hills that his townspeople would have thrown him to death -perhaps the only inhabitant which would ever be prominent enough to be remembered by history. Perhaps in those very caves or tombs was he able to escape from their fury to leave forever the city of his growing up.
We stand upon Mt. Olivet the mile-long mountain above Jerusalem. It is a long, rugged way to its top, but the Lord must have climbed it numerous times. Behind the mount but a few short miles is Bethany where he visited his loved friends Mary and Martha and Lazarus whom he brought out of the tomb when four days dead by the single authoritative command, "Lazarus come forth".
Below us is the Kidron Valley, deepening sharply down to the Pool of Siloam where the fountain water comes forth from the mountain on which the city stands. Here the blind man came to see, when he washed the clay and spittle from his eyelids in response to the command, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam".
Above are the high up, irregular city walls and within them the narrow streets, the cave-like shops, the dark passages, the wailing wall. Nearest us are the temple precincts, where the courts and towers were so important in those centuries when history was being made. Beyond is Golgotha, the place of the skull, the hill of crucifixion. There he suffered and bled and died. Not far from the mount is the garden tomb thought to be the sacred one where the lifeless body of the Redeemer lay, and immediately outside of it the garden into which he emerged from the tomb where he said to Mary, "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my father".
At the foot of this mount is Gethsemane where his sufferings were beyond all mortal comprehension. We climb this lofty Mount of Olives to its rounded top and stand on sacred ground. Here Christ's earthly ministry was completed; here the apostles gathered about him, saw the overshadowing cloud receive him out of their sight, and breathless, stood in awe and wonder as the angels 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".
To visit the places where such momentous happenings affected the eternities of us all was most interesting and intriguing and added color to our picture, but we did not need to walk through the Holy Land to know eternal truth.
We realized it is not so important to know whether Mt. Hermon or Mt. Tabor was the transfiguration place but to know that on the summit of a high mountain was held a great conference of mortal and immortal beings where unspeakable things were said and authoritative keys were delivered and approval was given of the life and works of his only Begotten Son when the voice of the Father in the overshadowing cloud said: "This is my Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased".
Not so important to know upon which great stone the Master leaned in agonizing decision-prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane, as to know that he did in that area conclude to accept voluntarily crucifixion for our sakes. Not so needful to know on which hill his cross was planted nor in what tomb his body lay nor in which garden he met Mary, but that he did hang in voluntary physical and mental agony; that his lifeless, bloodless body did lie in the tomb into the third day as prophesied, and above all that he did emerge a resurrected perfected one-the first fruits of all men in resurrection and the author of the gospel which could give eternal life to obedient man.
Not so important to know where he was born and died and resurrected but to know for a certainty that the Eternal, Living Father came to approve his Son in his baptism and later in his ministry, that the Son of God broke the bands of death and established the exaltation, the way of life, and that we may grow like him in knowledge and perfected eternal life. And this I know, and give my solemn witness, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Franklin D. Richards
Franklin D. Richards, Conference Report, April 1961, pp. 83-87
My dear brethren, I pray that the beautiful prayer that was offered by President Lewis may be answered in my behalf. I am aware of the responsibility that rests upon me, and I appreciate the opportunity of speaking to you tonight.
I rejoice in the wonderful messages that we have heard from President McKay and others who have spoken to us during this conference, and I am inspired by the great vision of our leaders. I am grateful for the knowledge that I have of the restored gospel and for the knowledge that I have of my Father in heaven and his Son Jesus Christ. The Prophet Joseph Smith is a great inspiration to me, and I thrill in testifying that God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ did actually appear to him in the Sacred Grove.
I thrill throughout my body, mind, and spirit when I testify to the truthfulness of that great vision-the first vision of the Prophet Joseph, and I appreciate the wonderful things that the Prophet did in restoring the Church-he was an instrument in the hands of the Lord in restoring the gospel and the priesthood to the earth in this dispensation. I, like you, love and respect our great prophet and leader, President David O. McKay, and I know and testify that he is indeed the prophet of the Lord and the head of the Church of Jesus Christ on this earth today.
Now, brethren, truly the kingdom of God is going forward that the kingdom of heaven may come. President McKay has counseled us that every member of this Church should be a missionary. Tonight my heart is really filled with the missionary spirit. Heretofore the missionary work has been performed chiefly by full-time missionaries and stake and district missionaries. Now as President McKay has told us, each and every one of us has the opportunity of being a missionary. What a glorious opportunity this really gives us when we appreciate what we can do as members of this Church in spreading the gospel.
Another great prophet, President George Albert Smith, said on the anniversary of the first hundred years of the Church: "As we stand on the threshold of a new century, as representatives of the Church of Jesus Christ in all walks of life, we have the responsibility to go among the people at home and abroad, and great will be our happiness as we participate in this new era of growth and development that lies ahead."
Yes, brethren, we are truly in a new era of growth and development, and personally I am grateful and thankful to be a part of it. Realizing this new era, the leaders of the Church are doubling the number of full-time missionaries, and more stake and district missionaries are being called today than ever before. Formerly, the missionaries spent a large part of their time in finding someone to teach, but now with every member of the Church being a missionary, by using the "share the gospel" program, the members, in effect, find the people to teach, and the missionaries now can spend a very large part of their time in teaching, mainly in groups.
This group teaching we have found to be very effective, both in saving time in teaching and in the psychology that results from teaching in groups. But, you may say, how can I be a missionary and participate in the "share the gospel" program? Well, there are several ways.
First, you can invite your nonmember friends, relatives, neighbors, business associates, or others that you might casually contact, into your homes, preferably in groups, and then let the full-time, the stake, or the district missionaries teach them the gospel.
Second, you can do missionary work by using the referral system. By the referral system we mean sending the names of those friends or relatives who live outside of the area that you are living in, who you think would be interested in the Church, to the stake or mission president in the area in which the people live.
This morning we heard of the referral that resulted in the conversion and baptism of President John Taylor. Many wonderful people are being brought into the Church now through this referral system.
Third, invite your nonmember friends to attend auxiliary meetings and other Church meetings with you. Fourth live your religion, love your neighbor. "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven".
Elder Harold B. Lee, in touring the Northwestern States Mission last summer, said, "This means let your light so shine that men shall be led to join the Church, or the kingdom of God."
But I can hear many of you say, "I know my friends and relatives wouldn't be interested. I have tried for years to talk to members of my family about religion, and it seems to irritate them," and other such things. But I ask you, do you really know that your friends would not be interested? Have you asked them? I suggest that you do ask them.
The people of the Northwestern States Mission, where I presided as president during the year 1960, as well as in many other places, have found thousands of people who are interested, who they thought were not interested, and this by merely asking two important questions, which you can do. First, "What do you know about the Mormon Church?" And regardless of their answer, "Would you like to know more?"
We found that approximately two out of every three that are asked these questions say, "No, I am not interested." In that event, just pass them off, possibly with a casual, "Well, maybe some day you will be." But don't irritate them or press the situation. There are thousands and thousands that are waiting and wanting to hear this message, and they have a right to hear it.
The one out of three who says, "Yes, I would like to know more," is the one to invite into your home for a group meeting with the missionaries. Or if that is not possible, give that name to the missionaries. I personally regularly ask these two questions: "What do you know about the Mormon Church?" and then, regardless of the answer, "Would you like to know more?"
By doing this almost daily I find many, many fine people who say, "Yes, I would like to know more," and I have never been embarrassed yet in asking that question. I have turned many, many fine referrals over to our missionaries. In fact, there is hardly a day goes by that I do not get a referral by asking these questions.
In asking groups of members all over the country to ask these questions, many times I have sensed a feeling of skepticism, but almost always afterwards someone has written me or sent word to me saying that although he was doubtful at first, he tried asking the questions, and was happily surprised to find many saying, "Yes, I would like to know more."
The opportunity will present itself to you as you go about from day to day if you are thinking about it. So I suggest, do think about it, and try it. Let's assume that a hundred members in a ward or branch asked these two questions only once every other day. They would ask on an average of three hundred a week, and experience has shown that approximately one out of every three will answer that he would like to know more. On this basis the missionaries would have about one hundred new people to teach each week in that ward or branch, probably many more than all of the full-time and part-time missionaries could possibly handle.
Keep in mind also that the young people as well as the old ask these questions, and the younger ones do not seem to hesitate like some of us older ones. I have some remarkable instances that I wish I had time to tell you about. Sometime maybe I can.
Speaking of referrals, I would like to read from a letter that I received just about two or three days ago from a person who apparently thought I was still president of the Northwestern States Mission. I have sent the letter on to President Don C. Wood. She said: "Dear President Richards: Ever since I joined the Church three and a half years ago I have wished all my friends and relatives had the same opportunity to investigate the gospel, and I have decided it's time that I asked to have missionaries sent to my relatives. Most of them seem interested and curious about our Church since my brother and I joined it, so I am hoping and praying that they will recognize the truth when they hear it. It certainly leads to the happiest way of life, and I know I could have avoided pitfalls if I had only found it sooner. It's wonderful to have the true gospel to guide your children through their lives, and so dangerous to try and raise them without it." Then she listed the names and addresses of twenty-five friends and relatives, saying she would appreciate very much having the missionaries call on these twenty-five people, and she would be praying that they would be as happy to receive the gospel message as she had been.
As I left the Northwest in December, more than a thousand referrals were passing through our office each month, members wanting to share the gospel with friends and relatives, knowing the joy it would bring into their lives. Brethren, this is the "share the gospel" plan at work through the referral system.
I would like to say a few words about the auxiliaries as missionary aids. Invite your friends to attend the auxiliary meetings with you. I would say that this is one of the easier ways that we have of sharing the gospel. As an officer or teacher, or even a member of one of these auxiliary groups, you can be a missionary by following this program. You and the members of your family not only invite these people but make appointments to pick them up to attend Sunday School, Relief Society, Mutual, Primary, Sacrament meeting, or any other of the Church meetings.
Likewise, you can take these people to the social functions being given by the auxiliary organizations. They offer very pleasant occasions for these nonmembers, and when they come to feel the warmth and friendship that they find in this association, they are much more susceptible to the teachings of the gospel.
This is a very practical way that you can participate. A striking example of this is an incident that happened last year in the Northwest. Sister Freeman, a convert of about two years, was serving as president of the Relief Society in one of the branches. There had been no missionaries in this branch for some time. In the spring, we discussed the "share the gospel" plan with the members of the branch, and we sent two missionaries in with instructions to use the "share the gospel" program. Soon after they arrived, they got in touch with Sister Freeman, and she wrote to me saying this: "A special thanks for sending these fine missionaries to our branch. We are thrilled and very thankful, and we are reorganizing our visiting teachers so that the presidency will be free to visit any contacts that the missionaries ask us to."
About six months later I was interviewing one of the elders working in the area. I asked him how things were going in the branch. He said, "Simply great. Do you know how many nonmember women were out to the opening Relief Society meeting in the branch?" I guessed six or eight, which I thought would be pretty good. He said, "Thirty-four!" This, brethren, is the "share the gospel" plan in action in the Relief Society. Thanks to Sister Freeman and her fine members, because of this activity many wonderful members are now enjoying the benefits of the gospel.
As a result of the "share the gospel" plan, actually thousands of people are being brought into the Church every month. The effectiveness of this plan is especially impressive in the Northwestern States Mission, where we adopted it early last year. By the members of the stakes and districts working with the full-time missionaries, 775 converts were baptized in January and February of this year, compared with 106 a year ago-nearly seven and a half times as many. This figure does not include many more baptisms by stake missionaries.
In the eight eastern United States and Canadian missions that Sister Richards and I visited during January, February, and March of this year, the "share the gospel" plan has been introduced, and the number of baptisms so far this year is approximately double that of a year ago for a comparable period. But amazing as these figures sound and are, the important thing is that a great many more of God's children are enjoying the blessings of the gospel than otherwise might be.
And what is our responsibility? It is to give every one of God's children the opportunity of enjoying the blessings of immortality and eternal life. As Jesus said to Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, "... Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God".
Yes, baptism is necessary, and we must be baptism conscious. On several occasions bishops and branch presidents have said to me, "President, having all of these people coming into the Church is wonderful. We need them." But also another great blessing is received by members participating in this "share the gospel" plan. Many who had been relatively inactive became active again. An increased spirituality is definitely noticeable among the ward members who are sharing. It is like love, as you give it to others it increases in yourself.
Further, by members sharing the gospel with friends a great many very fine converts are coming into the Church, many who are making wonderful leaders almost immediately after baptism.
Brethren, remember the word of the Lord to the Prophet Joseph: "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!".
Yes, the "share the gospel" plan is really here. Every member of the Church a missionary! This also means group teaching to a very large extent, and this plan is very simple and extremely effective. President Moyle has said: "We can go out into the mission field, we can go out into the world we can go into our lives, and accomplish anything that we desire to accomplish. Whenever the Lord calls upon us to do anything, he makes us equal to the task."
I know this is true. Let everyone of us be a missionary. It is wonderful. And may we have the faith and the determination and the courage to make this "share the gospel" plan an effective vehicle in bringing great numbers of souls into the kingdom of God. Let us always keep in mind that the purpose of missionary work is to bring souls into the kingdom of God through the ordinance of baptism.
May the Lord bless us to this end, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Gordon B. Hinckley
Gordon B. Hinckley, Conference Report, April 1961, pp. 87-90
My dear brethren, I count this a great privilege and a great opportunity. I feel the weight of this responsibility and seek the inspiration of the Lord. As I envision the vast network of Church buildings, 285 of them reaching all the way to New Zealand across an expanse of 12,000 miles, with thousands upon thousands of men and boys who are assembled tonight, I think of Wilford Woodruff's story of the first meeting that he attended with the Prophet Joseph Smith.
On a Sunday morning in 1834 in Kirtland, Ohio, all of the priesthood were called together. They met in a little, rough log cabin. Hyrum Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Parley and Orson Pratt, and William E. M'Lellin all spoke, and then Joseph spoke and said: "I want to tell you this: You know no more concerning the results of this work and what lies before you as elders of Israel, and before this people, than a group of children." He then went on to say that this work will fill the whole earth, and all nations will have to hear the proclamation of the gospel.
Were those men here tonight they would marvel at the accomplishments that have been wrought. Never has the work of teaching the gospel moved so splendidly forward as it is moving today. Never before was so much being accomplished. I think you may be interested to know that during the ten years that President McKay has stood as President of the Church, more than 24,000 full-time missionaries have gone into the field, notwithstanding the fact that many of our young men were prohibited from going because of military problems beyond their control. During this same period more than 261,000 converts have been baptized into the Church. I can think of no more fitting memorial to the marvelous work of our great missionary President than the fact that in these last ten years more than a quarter of a million people have entered the waters of baptism. There were 48,500 plus last year, the equivalent of ten or twelve average stakes, and a hundred wards.
We now have approximately 8,500 missionaries in the field who are working, I think, as missionaries have never worked before, averaging 210 hours a month of actual proselyting per missionary. We have approximately seven thousand additional missionaries in the stakes. But with all of these, "the laborers are few and the harvest is great".
"... Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest".
I believe, my brethren, with all my heart that the field is white ready to harvest. We had nearly 50,000 baptisms last year. I think it not at all unrealistic to believe that we could have 100,000 converts a year in the Church if all of us were alert to the opportunities that are about us and would go to work accordingly. I think the answer to the increased number of converts does not lie particularly in our methods-effective as those methods are. Rather, I think we are living in the day of the fulfillment of the word of the Lord given through the Prophet Joel, and repeated by Moroni in his first visitation to the Prophet Joseph.
"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh".
I believe, my brethren, that we are living in the day when the Spirit of the Lord is being poured out upon all flesh.
To Peter, Jesus 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 believe, my brethren, that that great admonition applies to the men of the priesthood of the Church of Christ: "... when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." When thou art converted, go thou and convert thy brethren. This is our responsibility.
What will it take to do it?
First, it will take an awareness of our responsibility and our opportunity. Great and magnificent as is the work of the more than 15,000 missionaries who have been set apart, I am convinced that we have a far greater force for teaching the gospel to the world in the membership of the Church-"every man a missionary"-as has been said here so convincingly tonight. "Every man a missionary!"
Anyone can do this, whether you're rich or poor, whether you're bond or free. I think every member of the Church has the capacity to teach the gospel to nonmembers. I was told the other day of a crippled woman, homebound, who spends her days in a wheelchair, who has been the means of bringing thirty-seven people into the Church. An awareness, brethren, we need an awareness, an everyday awareness of the great power that we have to do this thing.
Second, a desire. I think many of us realize that we could do it, but we lack the desire. Let every man single out another, a friend. Let him get on his knees and pray to the Lord to help him bring that man into the Church. I am as satisfied as I am of anything that with that kind of prayerful, conscientious, directed effort, there isn't a man in this Church who could not convert another. I think of a phrase that has been quoted by Brother Richard L. Evans: "If not I, who? If not now, when?" I leave that thought with you.
Third, the faith to try. It is so simple. As Brother Franklin D. Richards has pointed out, this is not complex. It is simple. We have in the Northern Far East Mission of the Church today a beautiful and capable Japanese girl, born in Honolulu. I said to her, "Were your folks members of the Church?" "No, they were Buddhists." "How is it then that you are here?" She said, "I had a high school friend who took me to Mutual once a week and then gave me a tract to read." That girl went on to the University of Hawaii and then to Illinois Wesleyan University, from which school she was graduated. Today she is a missionary in Japan.
The average missionary in Japan brings approximately seven people a year into the Church. That means that if she is just average she will be the means of bringing about fourteen people into the Church. Now if each of those fourteen were to bring another fourteen people into the Church and so on, it is easy to see how the gospel might spread through that land of a hundred million people.
We have in one of our great universities a professor, a doctor in science, who spends his noon hours discussing the gospel with his associates, to whom he had said in effect: "What do you know about the Mormons? Would you like to learn more?" They are learning more.
I want to tell of one more instance. We had speaking recently in a stake conference a lovely eighteen or nineteen-year-old girl who had joined the Church. She stood up and in substance said, "My father was a minister. His father was a minister. My mother's father was a minister. In fact, my father was the minister of the church just down around the corner. A school friend of mine took me to Mutual. Then she brought me to Sacrament meeting. Then she said, 'Couldn't I invite the missionaries to come to your home and teach you?' "
"I replied with astonishment, 'To my home, with my father pastor of the church around the corner?' " The friend suggested she ask her father. So the girl went to her father, and he consented. The missionaries met with her in one room while her father listened in another. She has joined the Church, and her father has resigned his pastorate and is now teaching in a California school.
I say all of this only to illustrate the point which was made by Brother Richards here tonight that the capacity lies within our young people by the tens and tens of thousands to bring their friends into the fold of the Church.
I have here a letter that I picked off my desk. It came from a friend, a lawyer who works in a large bank. He writes: "I set a goal of at least one referral per week. Thus far there have been numerous opportunities to make appointments. With over 1,000 employees at the main office of the bank, the chances of success are good."
The faith to try! It is so simple! And then after that will come the joy which has been promised of the Lord. I know of no other work where the Lord has given so great a promise of joy to those who engage in it.
May I take a minute or two to share with you a testimony-and I hope you will not consider this egotistical, but consider it rather in the spirit in which it is given. I was flying across the ocean on one occasion, and I resolved I would try to discuss the gospel with someone on that plane. We had been flying all night, morning was coming, and I began a conversation with a man across the aisle. I asked him where he was from. He said he was from Newark. He asked, "Where are you from?" I said, "Salt Lake." He said, "Are you a Mormon?" and I said, "Yes." He said, "I thought so. You've had more orange juice than everybody else on this plane put together." Well, he hasn't joined the Church yet, but he has read the Book of Mormon, and he has read LeGrand Richards' book and two or three other books, and he has invited the missionaries to come and speak before the service club of which he is an officer. I think no one can foretell the eventual consequence of that conversation.
I had an interesting experience while going to the Orient last year. When I checked in in San Francisco, the man examined my passport and inquired about my business. I said, "I am going to represent the Mormon Church. Do you know anything about the Mormons?" "Oh," he said, "I know a little. My wife's a Mormon." "Has she ever told you anything about the Church?" I asked him. He said, "Very little. She is rather backward about talking about it." "Where does she come from?" And he told me, and I said, "Your wife comes from wonderful people, great stock, pioneer stock. Wouldn't you like to know something about the faith of your wife's people?" And he said, "Yes." I said, "How about next Thursday night at seven o'clock? Will you spend an hour?" And he said, "Yes." He handed me his card. President Warren E. Pugh of the Northern California Mission was there, and we arranged an appointment. Eight weeks later I had a letter from President Pugh to say that that man had joined the Church.
Now, I give you those instances, brethren, by way of testimony. I think I have known a little of the joy of which the Lord spoke, and concerning which he gave promise.
You never know how much good you can do until you try. You never can judge the consequences of your work. I have been in Korea, in that rough, sad, poverty-stricken land, which has seen so much of sorrow. We have today nearly a thousand members there. They are wonderful people. Last year the missionaries in Korea averaged fourteen converts per missionary, and eighty percent of them were university students or university graduates.
That marvelous work in Korea is largely the lengthened shadow of one man, Dr. Ho Jik Kim, who was a student at Cornell University fifteen years ago. A fellow student, a Mormon boy by the name of Oliver Wayman, began to talk to him about Mormonism. When Elder Wayman left, another Mormon boy by the name of Don Wood, who went there to study bio-chemistry became friendly with this Korean student.
Dr. Kim joined the Church, and he went back to Korea. He undertook to translate the Book of Mormon. He became a tremendous strength to the work there. He rose to high positions of leadership in the government, and the stature which the Church now has in Korea is largely the result of that. Don C. Wood today is president of the Northwestern States Mission. With all that he will do as president of that mission, directing the work of 150 missionaries, I do not know that he will do anything more significant than he did when he was a student at Cornell, walking arm in arm with a young man from Korea over to our little meetings, and then coming back and explaining the gospel to him and encouraging him to read the Book of Mormon.
Brethren, the power lies within us to spread the Lord's work. "... I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation". I give you my testimony of this work, of its divinity, and of the responsibility which lies upon us to spread it throughout the earth to fill its divine mission, and urge you, my brethren, every one of you, young or old, rich or poor, professional man, clerk, or laborer, to work with your associates to build the kingdom, all of which I do in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Mark E. Petersen
Mark E. Petersen, Conference Report, April 1961, pp. 90-93
I am very grateful, my brethren, to have the privilege of speaking with you shortly tonight. I am very thankful for this glorious song we have just heard. I am sure it has made each one of us thrill with the testimony that we have of the divinity of the Savior and of our great love for him. I am sure too that you have been greatly delighted and benefited by these illuminating and stimulating addresses that have been given by Brother Richards and Brother Hinckley on our missionary program.
I would like to talk with you for a few moments about another phase of this missionary program. I have in mind the responsibility we have of fellowshipping our new members. I have often thought that instruction in the gospel without fellowship in the Church is as incomplete as baptism without confirmation. It is utter folly for us to avoid or ignore the responsibility we have of properly fellowshipping those who are brought into the Church.
I have been impressed with one other thing, too, about our missionary program, and that is that conversion cannot he limited only to instruction in the gospel doctrines. Conversion must include an acceptance of us as a people and an acceptance of our way of life and of our mode of worship. How can a person be fully converted to us and our work just by studying the Bible or any of the scriptures? The people must come into our meetings; they must become a part of us; they must see what we are doing. We must assimilate them. We must make them a part of us, and when we do that, then they really become converted and help to build the kingdom.
You remember how Paul wrote to the Ephesians: "Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God". They, very obviously, had a fellowship program in that day. It was very necessary that the new converts Paul and his associates made should be fellowshipped with the rest of the Saints, and it was all-important that the rest of the Saints be willing to fellowship them and take them into their arms and make them a part of them.
Unfortunately, at times we have missed out on that in our day. I have sometimes thought as I have heard some of the stories I have listened to that we almost had established an Iron Curtain in some areas. There can be no Iron Curtains in this Church. When the people are brought into the Church, we must receive them, and we must do more than merely shake hands with them and say, "How do you do." We must make them a part of our organizations. They must fit into our program. We must assign them activities. They must learn early to help build the kingdom.
Now, as I see this fellowship program with respect to the missions, it begins with the missionaries. The missionaries themselves, whether stake or full-time, must begin the fellowship program by bringing their new investigators into our Church meetings as early in the teaching process as is possible so that the new investigators may be introduced to the bishopric, may be introduced to others in the ward, may see our way of conducting our worship, may see the class of people we have in our membership, may get the feel and the spirit of the Latter-day Saints. That is a part of the conversion process, and as the missionaries do that, they will find that it will be easier to teach them.
Then also, as early as possible in the teaching process, it is all-important that the coordinator couples whom you have been asked to appoint be introduced to these investigators so that they may become "friends in court," so to speak, and then when the time for baptism arrives, that this coordinator couple be present at the baptism and be there to help welcome them into the Church and to help them in the process of further assimilation.
The First Presidency have told us that, whenever it is feasible, our new converts should be confirmed in the Fast meeting. If it is not feasible then the new convert being baptized should be confirmed, as we say, at the water's edge. But where it is possible to have it arranged for the Fast meeting, the confirmation act may become a beautiful act of assimilation.
I have thought often that it would be wonderful if, when the time of confirmation arrived, and it was in the Fast meeting, the bishop would announce to the congregation, "Brothers and sisters, we have the missionaries with us here this afternoon. Yesterday, they baptized the family of Brother and Sister John Jones. We are now ready to welcome them into the Church by confirming them members of the Church. We would like to invite the missionaries to come forward now and join us in the circle."
I have thought what a wonderful thing it would be if the three members of the bishopric and the missionaries who were there would stand together in the circle and then call Brother John Jones to take the chair. The bishopric and the elders jointly would lay their hands upon his head while one of the missionaries actually was voice in the confirmation.
And I have thought what a wonderful thing it would be after that if the bishop would reach out his hand and welcome Brother Jones and extend him the hand of fellowship. Then the other members of the family would be confirmed and welcomed in the same way.
I think it would be wonderful after the confirmation of a family of that kind for the missionaries to present to the bishop then and there, the certificate of baptism and confirmation for each and for the bishop to stand up in the Fast meeting, and say, "We have all now witnessed the confirmation of the family of Brother and Sister John Jones. We have their certificates of baptism and confirmation. All who are willing to receive them now as members of our ward and full-fledged members of our Church, will you signify?"
I would like to see them actually vote to bring them in just as if they were new members moving in from another ward or another stake. It is a part of the assimilation process. It makes these people feel more a part of things.
Then I would like to see the brother in charge of the Senior Aaronic Priesthood work in the ward approach this newly baptized and confirmed brother at the close of the Fast meeting and say, "Brother Jones, I am Brother Smith, and I have charge of the senior work for the Aaronic Priesthood in this ward. Now that you are a member of the Church you become automatically eligible to join the work for the senior brethren in the Aaronic Priesthood. Our meeting will be held next Sunday morning at 9:30. I would like to come for you next Sunday about 9:15 and bring you to this first meeting and introduce you there to the rest of the members so that you can begin to feel a part of our group."
I believe that as soon as feasible, that man should be ordained a deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood so that he will have the sense of belonging, so that he will feel a part of the priesthood. If he is worthy to be baptized, surely he should be worthy to be ordained to the priesthood.
All of this is part of the assimilation process. I believe, if I may go back a few steps, that it would be a wonderful thing for the Relief Society people to be brought into the assimilation program even before baptism. Is there any reason why Sister Jones, the investigator, could not be invited to come to Relief Society and be escorted there by one of the class leaders, or by one of the officers in the Relief Society? And then as she is baptized, she is already in the habit of coming to Relief Society. She will just continue on. It eases the process of transition. She is already in the Relief Society. She will now continue to be in the Relief Society.
The same thing is true with the Sunday School and with the Sacrament meeting. The missionaries and the coordinating couple will introduce these people to the Sunday School and to the Sacrament meeting even before baptism. They will begin to get them into the habit of coming. The transition is made easy because they continue doing the things they have already been doing. And likewise with the Primary and the MIA. They are some of the finest missionary organizations we have in the whole Church and have brought thousands of people into the Church. Their contacts may well begin before baptism.
If we all work together, not only on the conversion process but also on the fellowship process, we will hold on to our converts. But would it not be a terrible tragedy if we were to bring thousands into the Church and then lose a number of them because we failed to do our work in fellowshipping these new people as they come in?
Brethren of the priesthood, I appeal to you. Fellowship these new people. Let them feel a part of us. Let them fit into our organizations. As they grow in faith, they will want to grow in works. We must all remember that faith without works is dead. It is so true of our assimilation or fellowship program. These people may be full of faith as they come into the Church, but if they are left without works or activity will their faith not die?
I talked with one couple one time who complained because they had been told by the bishop that they could not be assigned to any work for six months after baptism, and I thought what a tragedy. Faith without works is dead and faith without activity can die in new converts. Therefore we need to give them work. We need to give them activity.
Now, if I may take just a moment or two more, I would like to talk about another phase of this fellowship program. The fellowship program has been marvelously successful with respect to new converts through the missionary program. Brethren, it can be equally successful with respect to the reactivation program. As people are being reactivated into the Church, again we must learn to fellowship them, just as we will fellowship new converts. The reactivated are just as much in need of feeling a part of things as the new convert, and there are many reactivated people who will feel just as strange in the Church surroundings as will a new convert. Some of them may feel more strange because they have a past record that would make them feel ill at ease as they come into the meetings.
And as they are reactivated, are they going to be left cold, off to themselves? If we are going to erect an Iron Curtain against a man just because he happens to smell of cigarettes, are we going to convert him to the gospel? We must fellowship the reactivated ones just as much as we need to fellowship the newly converted ones.
So I invite your attention, brethren to a twofold fellowship program in the Church: first, a sincere effort to fellowship all these new converts who are coming in; and second, a sincere effort to fellowship the reactivated ones as we bring them in. Fellowship means salvation. Without it we may lose these reactivated ones, and we may lose our new converts.
So brethren, let us organize into a great fellowship movement. Let us hold out the hand of fellowship to every one of these reactivated ones, and the new converts. Let us fellowship them through the organizations and make them a part of us because the Lord so directs. They are to be "... fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God".
That we may accomplish this is my humble and earnest desire in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1961, pp. 96-97
I have just been handed a paper giving the general priesthood conference count, April 8, 1961. These reports have come in early. Attendance in the Salt Lake Tabernacle, 8,097. In the Assembly Hall, Barratt Hall, and grounds, 2,688. A total attendance on these two blocks, 10,785. Attendance in other places is to be reported by mail later. For comparison, in April 1960, we had 10,432 on the grounds; in October, 1960, 9,911; so we have 10,785 tonight, the largest we have ever had.
We have had a remarkable meeting. We shall report to you tomorrow how many are in the other chapels listening in to this inspirational missionary meeting. In the congregations there are thousands, tens of thousands of young men of the Lesser Priesthood-our future missionaries. I shall just ask the bishops to call their attention to the following.
To render service for two or three years in the mission field is a blessing to anyone. It is recognized as such by thousands of parents throughout the Church who appreciate the value of such labor to their sons and daughters, in whom this experience awakens an appreciation of home and of the gospel. Parents know also that missionary activity brings into the plane of consciousness a knowledge of the truth of the gospel, which the young men have perhaps felt but not expressed.
Bishops, it is well for us to have in mind not so much the benefit to those representatives as their preparation and fitness to carry on the responsibilities entailed in a missionary call. In choosing a missionary it is well to keep in mind questions as follows:
Is he worthy to represent the Church?
Has he sufficient will power to resist temptation?
Has he kept himself clean while he has been home and by that standard proved himself capable of resisting possible temptation in the field?
Has he taken active part in Church organizations at home?
Does he at least glimpse what the Church has to offer the world?
Has he glimpsed that the Church is the greatest thing in the world, and the only authorized group to represent the Lord Jesus Christ in the salvation of mankind? I use the word glimpsed because many of our young men hesitate to bear their testimonies. They say they don't know-they believe. But if they will just stop to analyze what this Church does to the individual, first in keeping himself clean and unspotted ; second, in keeping the Word of Wisdom; third, in keeping chaste and pure; if he just studies and realizes and even just glimpses what it does for the home-no drunken father, if he is a member of the Church; no disloyal husband; no mother who makes home unhappy by her infidelity-a home keeping the standards of the Church, is a happy home; an unbroken home-a home where boys and girls take turns in offering prayer, in courtesy and mutual helpfulness. That is what we mean by "glimpsing."
Has he taken active part in Church organizations? I do not have time to elaborate upon that.
Has he, through prayer, or experience, felt God's nearness to him, so that he can approach the Lord as he would his earthly father?
Young men, please keep those questions in mind as you take part in your deacons' quorums, teachers' quorums, priests' quorums, elders' quorums; and as you prepare in activity at home, in personal life, and in your schoolwork to qualify yourselves to go out as representatives. May you be among those who can be trusted-a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ, I humbly pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Mark E. Petersen
Mark E. Petersen, Conference Report, April 1961, pp. 134-136
I wish to talk with you today about our youth, our homes, and our future.
May I first remind you that students of youthful trends and activities emphasize the fact that our juvenile problem is now more than ever an adult problem, and that the only way to solve it is to provide our youth with better parents. There can be no doubt that children learn most of their moral behavior within the family and that behavior patterns are fixed at an early age. To change them later in life is such a slow and difficult task that many consider it almost impossible. Hence, the only way to build good adults for the future is to provide children with better parents now.
In a recent address Mr. J. Edgar Hoover, the head of the F.B.I., expressed this thought: "Given discipline, young people will learn self-discipline; given training, they will learn to live useful lives. In almost every case, the failure to develop character is directly attributable to a lack of proper influence and guidance in the home."
Surveys and studies made in various parts of the United States indicate that 80 per cent of our delinquent children say that they had no real family life, and that their parents were too busy with other things to give them any guidance. Nearly all of these delinquents said that there was no religion in their homes, and that their parents set them a bad example.
Lack of religion is characteristic of delinquent families. It is interesting to note that a police report from one large American city showed that 84 per cent of the juvenile criminals in that city did not attend any church. A juvenile court judge in Michigan reports that last year, 91 per cent of the youngsters appearing in his court had no religious training.
Lack of faith among children generally reflects the attitude of their parents. If the parents have no religion, they can hardly teach it to their children. And yet, religion is our best deterrent to juvenile crime.
Mr. Hoover analyzes the problem in this way: "The basic cause of the present situation is that so many of our young people have no real sense of moral responsibility which comes from an intimate knowledge of God's teachings. The tragic void of God and Prayer in their lives weakens our homes and our Nation's welfare."
America seems to have forgotten that true religion is the very source of its freedom and strength, because nearly half the parents of this land appear to withhold religion from their children.
Does it shock you to learn that almost 50 per cent of our population belongs to no church at all?
Do you know the price which the irreligious have to pay for their rejection of God?
It is a well-known fact that Communism is rooted in the irreligious. It is anti-religion and anti-Christ. Do we want Communism in America? When nearly half of our population is irreligious are you not frightened by the fact that Communism is based upon a rejection of religion? Living the Gospel of Christ is our strongest antidote to Communism.
Crime, which is increasing at an alarming rate in America, also is rooted in the irreligious. It too is anti-Christ, violates the Golden Rule which deals with our treatment of our fellowman, and which Christ taught during his earthly ministry.
Crime is selfish, brutal, and deceitful. Do we want criminals and gangsters to run our country? Is it within the range of possibility since so many of our people have practically banished all forms of religion from their lives, setting aside the very basis of character-building, honesty, and integrity?
Mr. Hoover has said that either faith in God must triumph in the United States, or we will be dominated by criminals and Communists.
Is being irreligious worth the price we must pay for it? Are ease, pleasure, and irresponsibility worth the price we must pay for an abandonment of good character?
Is there any real joy in wickedness, weakness, or carelessness? Is ignoring God the way to enduring happiness?
America may well remember that it is in Godless countries where people are slaves. It is in Godless countries where dictators reign, and where iron curtains shut out all freedom and opportunity for the average individual. In such countries worship of God is punished in many subtle ways because dictators know from past history that there is power and strength in religion, while it is their plan to keep their people weak and subdued.
In homes where parents are irreligious, the children grow up without God, without faith, or prayer, or the spiritual strength which builds good character.
In our love of pleasure and money-making, we too often neglect to set our children examples in good living, in dealing fairly and honestly with their fellows, in telling the truth, in doing unto others as they would be done by, in learning to respect law and order, in reading good books and seeing to it that their homes contain many of them; in looking on honest work as a duty and a privilege.
Many children now-a-days know but little about work, except that it is for the other fellow, and yet it is one of the first laws God ever gave to man.
Not one among us, if we gave it any thought, would purposely and with design nurture in the hearts of our children the seeds of failure and crime. Yet these seeds grow in a lack of faith in God, a rejection of church activity, a neglect of the simple habits which make parents and children a family, and which make a house a home.
We must learn to become better parents. We must build better homes. We can do this by showing our children the attention they deserve. We can provide them with the companionship they need, and set before them good examples in our own lives.
We can do many things together as a family. We can plan family recreation, and family work and responsibility from earliest childhood. Each child should have his own definite duties assigned to him, whether it be to help mother with the housework, or wash the car, or lend a hand with the yard work. Regularity of work responsibilities is vital to the development of children.
Truth and honesty should be held before them constantly. There can be no success without integrity. We rob our loved ones of their opportunities if we fail to prepare them for the advancement which can be made only upon the principles of good character.
Above all we can teach our children the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the foundation of good character. It is the way to success.
We can study the Gospel ourselves and live it. We can worship God in our homes. We can become active in our church and teach our children to do likewise.
Do you think that the children will resent it? Statistics show that 85 per cent of the young people of America hope their parents will give them leadership in religious and character-building matters. Delinquent children admit that there was no such training in their homes.
Then as parents, let us acknowledge that lack of leadership on our part in giving our children spiritual and character-building instruction may result in serious difficulty for them.
Let us be willing to face the fact that we really are the custodians and the guardians of our little ones, and that if we neglect that guardianship we do them irreparable harm.
We must not surrender our guardianship. Both the law of the land and the law of God make us the heads of our homes. Let us take the leadership there, assert our position and lead our children in love and kindness, but with firm and intelligent discipline, into the paths of right.
For the love of our children, for the sake of their future development, for their happiness and well being, let us restore family life and the true worship of God to our homes. Let us keep faith with our families. Their destiny is in our hands.
President Henry D. Moyle
Henry D. Moyle, Conference Report, April 1961, pp. 98-102
"The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein".
As Latter-day Saints we believe literally these words of the Psalmist. We are the Lord's as are all our fellow men. This makes us all brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of God, with his only Begotten Son Jesus Christ, our elder brother. This is a much closer relationship than most of us realize. It gives ample justification for "The Golden Rule" and all that Christ taught the world in his Sermon on the Mount. In fact, this relationship forms the basis for all of Christ's teachings.
Whatever the Lord has for his children here on earth, he has for all of us. He is no respecter of persons. Underlying all of God's dealings with his children in all generations of time is the responsibility which attaches to any gift which we receive from God.
In the lives of those of us who are the recipients of his great blessings, our duty is well understood, and we do not shirk it. Herein lies the reason for and the foundation of all of our great missionary work, both at home and abroad. Having received a knowledge of the restoration of the gospel, we are impelled by a power far greater than any earthly power or earthly influence to teach the gospel to others that they might enjoy the fulness of life in full fellowship with our Father in heaven and in communion with us.
The importance of our missionary labors is emphasized in the gospel as written by John: "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent".
We have often been asked why we do not limit our missionary labors to the heathens, why do we bother Christian nations. The answer to this important question is best found in the fact that the missionary work which we perform is the same all over the world, whether it be here at home in the United States or in some remote nation of the earth. Our responsibility is to take the restored gospel of Jesus Christ to all our fellow men. Following Christ's ministry, his gospel was carried to the great centers of culture by his apostles and their associates-Jerusalem, Corinth, Ephesus, Athens, Rome, Carthage, to mention only a few.
We are not left in doubt as to what we should do. At the end of the Gospel, according to John, we read:
"... Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep".
Were there any doubt in our minds as to the meaning of this parable, the doubt should be removed when we read the closing sentences of the Gospel according to Matthew.
"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".
With the passing of time our relationship to one another and to God has not changed. We are now no less constrained to teach others the ways of God than were his disciples of old. We are in fact, under greater stress so to do because God has given us sufficient temporal resources and also unlimited means of transmitting to all mankind the eternal truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ which have once again been given to man through his prophets in these latter days to the convincing of the souls of men that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that a plan for the salvation and exaltation of man was given by God himself before the foundations of the earth were laid, which, if followed, will bring all his children back into his divine presence, there to dwell eternally in a state of eternal happiness and progression; that we through the gift and power of the Holy Ghost can know and understand and follow this way of life which was also laid down for us by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, while he walked here among men upon the earth in the Meridian of Time.
Indeed, this course which God intends his children to follow in mortality was given to Adam and has been revealed to all the prophets of God in every gospel dispensation for the enlightenment of mankind down to the present time.
Paul said, "That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth".
This is the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times of which Paul spoke to the Ephesians.
Inasmuch as the Fulness of Times has now been revealed to man, we have all that has gone before in all former dispensations of time, to now present and teach to men.
It is of course with the present time that we are immediately concerned. This again demonstrates how great is our responsibility and how wonderful our opportunity for service. It is the purpose of the Almighty that all mankind shall sooner or later receive the message of the restoration of the gospel in its fulness.
In a general conference of the Church held in Nauvoo in October 1840, Joseph Smith said: "Now the purpose in Himself in the winding up scene of the last dispensation is that all things pertaining to that dispensation shall be conducted precisely in accordance with the preceding dispensations".
We see that the gospel today is the gospel of yesterday. Therefore the revelations of God to man through his prophets in the past, as found in the Holy Bible, are of immediate importance and application in our lives today. To us they are in no wise antiquated or outmoded. The revelations of the past and the present reveal God the Father and Jesus Christ his Son to those who will read with a will to understand. God's laws are eternal. Our relationship to God is both unchanging and everlasting.
Parenthetically, let me say that new editions of the Bible, no matter how modern, cannot help us any unless they present to us a more accurate interpretation of the original source material still available. Our attention is particularly called in this respect to the importance of the translation of the Bible. Our Eighth Article of Faith reads: "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God".
Paul gave the Corinthians the spiritual attainment necessary to our understanding of God, for he said: "... no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost".
Our understanding of the scriptures and our conversion to the truth today must follow the same pattern as was set for Paul's conversion and followed by Paul in his ministry in the conversion of others. Paul once said: "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase". Where there is no increase given, of such as Paul spoke, there is no conversion.
Job's declaration is all-enlightening. "But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding".
Therefore, when we come to fulfil all righteousness by delivering the message of the gospel as it has been revealed to us, to our fellow men, we must teach by the Spirit. The Spirit must bear witness of the truthfulness of our message to the world. No one need fear to hear our message. If we speak of ourselves, our work will come to naught. Paul declared to the Corinthians:
"And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
"For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
"And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
"And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power:
"That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God".
Paul wrote to the Ephesians: "For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father".
"There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
"One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
"One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all".
We bear solemn witness to the world that God has revealed himself and his Son Jesus Christ to the world through his Prophet Joseph Smith; that he has restored his priesthood, his prophets, and his apostles as of old upon this earth. They are with his people here and now. We as recipients of the Holy Priesthood are empowered and authorized to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to mankind today, and to administer in all the ordinances of the gospel given to man from the time of Adam to the present day. All our elders called on missions at home, and those who are in the various nations of the earth, have been ordained to the priesthood of God and set apart to teach the world the saving principles of the gospel, to call the world to repentance, to warn the world of impending dangers which can be met successfully only by living lives of righteousness, adhering to the principles of truth which emanate from the throne of God, obedience to which results in peace on earth and in exaltation eternally in the kingdom of our Heavenly Father.
The Lord once said, "For behold, this is my work and my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man".
Every elder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints called into the service of the Master as a missionary goes forth to proclaim these duties, with this admonition from the Lord-to do his work, to establish his glory, to turn the hearts and spirits of men to their Maker. We have received a very positive and definite commission from on high. The Lord has spoken, and these are his words:
"... Ye are not sent forth to be taught, but to teach the children of men the things which I have put into your hands by the power of my Spirit;
"And ye are to be taught from on high. Sanctify yourselves and ye shall be endowed with power, that ye may give even as I have spoken".
"And again, the elders, priests and teachers of this church shall teach the principles of my gospel, which are in the Bible and the Book of Mormon, in the which is the fulness of the gospel".
Now to those who hear will be given to know and to understand the teachings of our elders, if their hearts and minds are open, and they have a sincere desire to know the truth. The Lord will answer the prayers of those who seek to know the truth. Did not the Master admonish us all to "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you".
People by the thousands can be heard all over the earth to testify that the message of the missionaries of the Church is true. They do not rely upon the word of the elders of the Church alone. They receive a testimony of their own which is born of the Spirit. This is the greatest gift which comes to man from on high. He immediately sees himself in true perspective with his fellow men and with his God. He knows what he should know. He is responsive to the gospel plan. He seeks baptism by immersion for the remission of his sins.
Christ sought John the Baptist in the wilderness to be baptized of him in the River Jordan. Christ at once recognized the authority to baptize held by John. Christ declared that he was baptized to "fulfil all righteousness." Following his baptism, and as he came straightway out of the water, having been immersed therein, the heavens opened and God the Father declared: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." The Holy Ghost, the other member of the Godhead, descended from heaven and rested upon the Savior. Thus the Savior was baptized both by water and by the Spirit.
In all generations of time those who have been baptized according to the plan laid down by the Father, justified by the Son and recognized and approved by both the Father and the Holy Ghost, have, after baptism, received the Holy Ghost through the laying on of hands by those who are in authority-the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, which Christ promised his disciples would be sent to them by the Father upon his ascension on high. Those who seek after the Comforter can be assured, through obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel, never to be left alone, but always to have the influence, power, and inspiration of a member of the Godhead ever present.
Christ says, as recorded in John: "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:
"And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning".
For you it is left to decide whether our message is like the seed in the parable of the sower, some falling by the wayside into stony places, or among the thorns, or into the good ground, and is heard and understood and beareth fruit and bringeth forth "some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold".
Our preaching of the gospel today is no different from the days of Pentecost in Jerusalem when Peter preached to the multitude. We read:
"And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
"And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
"And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
"And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven".
Finally Peter testified unto them in the power and majesty of his priesthood:
"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".
With President McKay to direct us in our effort to do our duty in promulgating the gospel at home and abroad, we always know the proper course to pursue. The Lord has raised him up to be his prophet, seer, and revelator and to give to his Church a revelation pertaining to our duties as members of the Church in the world today. We are all becoming more and more aware of our responsibility, our privilege, our power, and our opportunity. On every hand we are beckoned by the world to divulge, as it were, the secret of our unity and success and happiness. No one lacks opportunity.
Some may ask the question as to how we convert others to the truth. The answer is, we do not. Conversion comes from above. Our part in this work is to plant the seeds of truth. These seeds are born of our conviction when we testify of the divine mission of Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God, who offered himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. We rely upon the gift and power of the Holy Ghost to carry our message into the hearts of our listeners and witness unto them the truthfulness of our stated conviction.
"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!" declared Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon in 1832.
"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".
God help us all as his children that we may wend our way back to him by obedience to the laws and commandments set forth in his gospel, I humbly pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Nathan Eldon Tanner
N. Eldon Tanner, Conference Report, April 1961, pp. 106-110
President McKay, President Moyle, brethren and sisters: I am truly thankful for the opportunity of being here with you and attending this wonderful conference where one feels so keenly the Spirit of the Lord and the spirit of brotherhood and can enjoy this lovely music by the choirs which we have with us in our conference.
I feel very humble this morning and earnestly request an interest in your faith and prayers and pray that the Spirit of the Lord will attend me as I stand here before you this beautiful Sabbath morning. What a wonderful experience it is to listen to our great Prophet, David O. McKay-truly a prophet of God-and President Moyle, and the other leaders of the Church and kingdom of God here upon this earth. I am sure that we all have missed President Clark and his testimony and counsel, and pray for his well-being.
Where else in all the world, my brothers and sisters, are people privileged to listen to apostles and prophets? What a privilege we have of being and using our best efforts to help others be, "... no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God.
"And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone".
I am very happy to have this opportunity this morning of bringing to you assembled here and to those parents and loved ones wherever they may be, who are listening in, greetings and glad tidings from Elder and Sister Hugh B. Brown, Elder and Sister Alvin R. Dyer, those dedicated mission presidents and their wives, who are doing such a wonderful job with the missionaries; that wonderful corps of faithful, energetic missionaries, and all of those fine people whom we saw in those delightful countries of Great Britain, France, and the Netherlands.
We have here attending these conference meetings at this time President Selvoy J. Boyer of the London Temple, representatives of the five stake presidencies and two bishops from each stake. I appreciate more than I can possibly say the signal honor and privilege afforded Sister Tanner and myself of being able to accompany President and Sister McKay and their fine son and daughter and their party to London, England, where we were privileged to participate in the dedication of the magnificent Hyde Park chapel with its lovely organ, which Sir Thomas Bennett so ably described to you yesterday.
There we listened to that stirring testimony and message of the Prophet to the world and to that inspiring dedicatory prayer. It was a rare experience. We also felt the influence of the international Singing Mothers under the able leadership of Sister Florence J. Madsen, accompanied by Brother Frank W. Asper, all of whom were so well received throughout the British Isles.
I feel that President McKay would wish me to give you a brief report of my assignment and conditions as I found them among the Saints where we went. As most of you know, Elders Brown, Dyer, and I were given the very pleasant assignment and privilege of organizing four new stakes, three in England and one in Holland. What a privilege and honor it is to be called to labor in the British Mission, from which eighty percent of the membership of this Church today can trace their ancestry. Every President of the Church, except Joseph the Prophet, has presided over that mission.
During the 124 years since Brother Heber C. Kimball was called to preside over the British Mission, thousands and thousands of British people have been brought into the Church. Approximately 60,000 of these devoted members have emigrated to make their homes in America, thousands of whom crossed the plains to be with the Saints, and many of whom willingly gave their lives in the struggle. Thousands of others in the Church are proud to trace their ancestry to other countries in Europe from which many of our leaders have come, while thousands of loyal, faithful members who remained in their native lands have carried on under many trials and tribulations, contributing much to the building up of the kingdom of God at home.
Brother Sonne gave you a very fine review of the missionary work in the land. You will be interested also in knowing the tremendous growth that has taken place in the Church in those areas since President McKay pronounced a new era and since the dedication of the temple in 1958, most of which has taken place within the last year and a half. Although I haven't a complete picture, I should like to give you some information which I found most interesting. During that short period, the Church population in Great Britain has increased from approximately 10,000 to approximately 20,000, or nearly double. The number of missionaries has increased from 150 to 500. There was only one mission in the British Isles known as the British Mission. Today there are four-namely, the British, the Central British, the North British, and the Scottish-Irish. There were no stakes then, while today there are four stakes. In order of organization they are, the Manchester, London, Leicester, and Leeds stakes.
The European Mission, including the British Isles, was composed of eleven missions when President Dyer was called to preside over it a year and a half ago. Today this same area is composed of eighteen missions and five stakes. The European Mission has been divided, as President McKay told you this morning, leaving President Dyer still with eleven missions, though seven have been placed in the new West European Mission.
The West European Mission consists of the four missions on the British Isles which I have named, the French, the French East, and the Netherlands missions, over which I have the honor of being called to preside.
I should tell you that the Holland Stake was organized March 12-the first stake to be organized on the continent of Europe. This makes a total of five stakes and seven missions in this area.
While this tremendous growth is taking place, it is impossible to keep up with the building program. In fact, the lack of buildings is very serious. We cannot begin to accommodate the new converts as they are being brought into the Church. In some branches there is only standing room for some of the people as they attend the Sacrament services, and they stand during the whole of the service.
I am pleased to report, however, that the Church, through the building committee, is doing all possible there, as elsewhere in the Church, to cope with the situation. In spite of the tremendous growth that is taking place in these areas, I should like to point out the great need for more and more missionaries. In the Central British Mission there are eighty important cities or boroughs, with populations ranging from 25,000 to over 250,000, in which we have no missionaries whatever.
In the British Mission there are 136 such cities with no missionaries, while in the French East Mission we have fifty-five cities and in the French Mission 147 cities without missionaries. This means that in these four missions alone we have over 400 important cities and boroughs with populations of approximately 25,000 and over without any missionaries whatever.
While in the West European Mission, Sister Tanner and I had the rare privilege of traveling with Elder and Sister Hugh B. Brown, who have spent so many years in missionary work over there, and with President and Sister Dyer, and of meeting and associating with the mission presidents and many of the missionaries, and aiding in the organization of new stakes.
During our travels we met with thousands of the Saints. In fact, at the organization of the Leeds Stake we had in attendance 2,080 people. It was a great inspiration to me to meet with the missionaries in their conferences and to hear them bear their fervent testimonies to the truthfulness of the gospel and to have the privilege of interviewing them and feeling their fine spirit.
After attending one of these meetings, Sister Tanner said that when she went into that meeting and saw all those young missionaries-most of them from nineteen to twenty-two years of age-she thought, "What can these youngsters do in this great work?" You know, they are much younger than they were when she was that age. But she said as she left that meeting, after listening to them bear their testimonies and expound the principles of the gospel, she had watched those boys grow into mature men, able and prepared to take the gospel message of salvation into the world. It is thrilling indeed to listen to this great army of missionaries-both elders and sisters-bear their testimonies and to see their enthusiasm and devotion as they go forward unselfishly with only one thing in mind, and that is to bear testimony to the world that the gospel has been restored through a prophet in these the latter days, that God is a personal God of body, parts, and passions; and that we accept Jesus Christ as the Living Son of the Living God and the Savior of the world.
As they teach repentance and the truths of the restored gospel, they encourage the people to follow the admonition of Moroni when he said, "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".
In no other Church will you find an army of young men prepared to go into the world to carry the gospel plan of life and salvation. There are approximately eight thousand missionaries in the field today who are working night and day, and who often fast and pray to their Heavenly Father that they will do their work and carry forth the gospel message in a way that will be acceptable to him and bring the people to a knowledge and acceptance of the truth.
I call upon the world to hearken to their message, and without prejudice put it to the test by praying earnestly to God the Eternal Father. Many of these young men have asked their missions to be extended beyond the normal time so that they might continue in the service of their Heavenly Father and of their fellow men. It is their hope that those who are seeking for the truth might hear and accept it.
You parents of these missionaries have every reason to be humbly proud, and I appeal to those parents whose children are not yet old enough to fill missions to set about now to teach and train and to prepare them in mind and in attitude to accept a call so that they might go forward as ambassadors of the Lord. This is a special call to the members of the restored Church. As the Lord said, "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".
As we interviewed dozens of men to fill offices in these stakes and wards, both in England and in Holland, every man without exception expressed his gratitude for his membership in the Church and his appreciation to those who had brought the gospel to him and his family. They also expressed their willingness and desire to accept office and to labor in the Church and devote whatever time was necessary to carry out the assignments.
Among those selected as members of stake presidencies and bishoprics, we found industrialists, contractors, teachers, accountants, merchants, men in the Air Force and in the Navy, builders, and even the humblest of laborers. Though the majority of these men had been in the Church less than ten years, and many of them from one to five years, they are men with testimonies of the truthfulness of the work and of the joy of service. All were so thankful for what the Church meant to them in their lives and in their homes.
They expressed their humility and feel keenly their lack of experience, but feel, as Nephi expressed himself as he prepared to go back and get the plates: "I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them". And they have the knowledge and belief that they in and of themselves can accomplish nothing, but with the help of the Lord they will succeed.
One of the finest meetings Sister Tanner and I attended was a meeting of the stake missionaries in Leicester Stake, where the stake mission president had been in the Church only three years. The way he conducted, the lovely testimonies that were borne, and the devotion of those missionaries-all young in the Church-were most inspiring. They all stood ready, and expressed their desire to spend hours every week teaching and sharing the gospel with the people in their communities.
In conclusion I should like to join with those who have spoken in this conference and with those devoted missionaries, both full-time, stake, and district missionaries, in bearing my testimony to all who are listening. I should like to do this by telling an experience of Joseph Smith right here on the American continent in the year 1820, which to me is one of the most important and thrilling happenings since the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ, and one with which all members of the Church are very familiar, and which is being told by the missionaries throughout the world.
It is the story of a young boy, not yet fifteen years of age, who desired to know which of all the churches was true. He knew that God could not be the author of all the confusion where each church was zealously trying to establish its own tenets and disprove others. In order to get the answer direct, he went alone to ask God in prayer. As he knelt in the grove by himself, he saw a pillar of light exactly over his head, which was above the brightness of the sun, and he saw two Personages whose brightness and glory defied all description, standing above him in the air.
One of them said to Joseph, "This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!" As soon as Joseph could speak he asked which church he should join, and he was told to "join none of them, for... they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof".
As he left this grove, though he had been taught that God was just a spirit, he knew as he knew that he lived that God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ were personal beings, and he bore testimony that they had appeared to him and had instructed him. Though only an obscure boy, not yet fifteen years of age, he was ridiculed and persecuted by ministers and men of high standing, who told him that there were no such things as visions or revelations in these days; that all these things had ceased with the apostles, and that there would never be any more of them.
However, though only a boy, he maintained that he had beheld a vision, and all the persecution under heaven could not make it otherwise. It was through him that the gospel was restored, and the Church and kingdom of God, known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was established in which we have apostles and prophets and the priesthood of God with our beloved Prophet David O. McKay at the head of Christ's Church here upon the earth.
This is my witness to you this day, and I do hope and pray that we will all go forth, keeping all of the commandments of God, bearing this testimony to the world, as our missionaries are doing so effectively, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Ezra Taft Benson
Ezra Taft Benson, Conference Report, April 1961, pp. 110-114
Someone has said there is a new Beatitude which reads: "Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall not be disappointed."
I stand before you this morning in deep humility and gratitude, my brothers and sisters, rejoicing in the opportunities and blessings which have been mine to be in attendance at this conference. With all my heart I endorse the counsel that has been given and add my witness to those testimonies already borne.
I think it was Edgar A. Guest who said:
"Some folks leave home for money And some folks leave home for fame, Some seek skies always sunny, And some depart in shame. I care not what the reason Men travel east or west, Or what the time or season- The home-town is the best."
I am so happy, my brethren and sisters to be with you today back here in the bosom of the Church, and to realize that I can probably remain here beyond the end of this conference session this afternoon.
As I drove west a few days ago from my home of eight years in Washington to these valleys of the mountains, I caught myself singing many of the old familiar Mormon hymns: "O Ye Mountains High," "Beautiful Zion for Me." I had a great joy in my heart, and I had a great surge of freedom, I think augmented somewhat by the fact that I was behind the wheel of my own car after riding behind government chauffeurs for eight years.
It is good to be home. There is one expression that has become very dear to me. It has been repeated over and over again, I guess hundreds of times by many people during the last few days: "Brother Benson, it is good to have you home again." It isn't half as good to have me home as it is for me to be home. It is a joy, my brethren and sisters, to be here to enjoy the warm welcome and the sweet spirit of brotherhood and fellowship that we have in the Church. I know it is very real. Of course, it isn't what it should be. It isn't what it could be. It isn't what it will be, as we continue to increase our faith and live more fully the gospel of Jesus Christ. But it is truly a sweet spirit.
I am grateful for the privilege of being back again associating with my brethren of the General Authorities. There is no sweeter association in all this world among men than the association we enjoy as a body of General Authorities of the Church. And I say this after having traveled six million miles in forty-two nations during the last eight years. And I am grateful to be a part of this brotherhood, this fellowship, this spirit, which is part of the Church and kingdom of God.
I express my gratitude this morning for the interest that has been shown in my activities during recent years, for the support that has been given to my humble efforts. These have been eight rather difficult, eventful, and I must say, rewarding years. I have had a prayer in my heart constantly that I would never do anything that would hurt the Church, or my great country-your country.
I have missed the association of the brethren of the General Authorities. I think the happiest hour each week has been on Sunday when I had the pleasure of reading the minutes of the weekly meeting of the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve, held in the upper room of the Salt Lake Temple. I am grateful to President McKay for kindly granting me this privilege.
I have missed the weekly travels to the stakes and missions of the Church, and yet I have had the glorious privilege of meeting the Saints in many parts of the world. I have had a conviction, through all this period, my brethren and sisters, that I was where the Lord wanted me to be. I hope and pray that I will always be where he wants me to be. I have had no doubt of that since President McKay in November 1952, realizing that there might be a request for me to occupy an important government position, said to me: "Brother Benson, my mind is clear, and if the opportunity comes in the proper spirit, I think you should accept."
The opportunity came in the proper spirit on a high spiritual plane, and I accepted. We have a responsibility as American citizens to respond to the calls of Presidents of the United States. As a humble stake president I had responded to such a call from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and served for some time on a four-man national agricultural advisory committee during the 1940's.
But the thing I am most grateful for this morning is the faith and prayers that have been exercised in my behalf during the last eight years-first of all by my brethren of the General Authorities, by the members of my own quorum, by the First Presidency and others, by my devoted family, and my companion who always has come to the rescue especially during crucial periods-and we have had a few. I shall ever be grateful for the faith and prayers of the Latter-day Saints throughout the Church and for the faith and prayers of the people of all faiths from all over the free world. Hundreds, yes, thousands of letters, telegrams, telephone calls, and other messages have given ample evidence of the great amount of faith and prayer that has been exercised in my behalf. Without this faith and without this help I am sure I could not possibly have accomplished even the small amount that I have been able to do.
Yes, it has been a politically sensitive position. There have been honest differences. Thank God we live in a land where men and women can differ honestly without fear. I have been in countries where that is not possible. I know that some of the differences have probably been inspired by political expediency, but on the whole I think they have been honest differences.
There has been criticism too, but I am frank and honest in saying that it has never bothered me very much because in my heart I have been convinced I was doing the thing that seemed to me, at least, to be right, and the thing which our mail and other evidence also indicated represented the views of the overwhelming majority of the American people. And I have nothing in my heart, nor have I had, except a love for the people. I have had no bitterness. I have no bitterness today. At times when the wonderful representatives of the press, who have been such a help, have said, "Surely, you must hate these people who criticize you," I have usually replied, "I do not hate any living soul. I love all of our Father's children. True, I love some more than others."
But honestly, my brethren and sisters, I have had no feeling of bitterness or hatred in my heart, for which I am deeply grateful because I have prayed-we have prayed as a family-that we could avoid any spirit of hatred or bitterness. I love our Father's children. I think the great rank and file of them are good. Oh, they have weaknesses-all of us do-but as I have visited them in forty-two nations, I found that they are very much the same. True, some of them have bad leaders. Some of them have lost that which is priceless, yea, even more priceless than life itself-their freedom, their right to choose, their right to make their own decisions. But on the whole they are good people.
I like to think they have five things in common-five aspirations, five hopes. I have found that universally they long for peace, and I am confident that if the leaders of this world or of the nations of the earth respond to the will of the people, they will work and labor and pray for peace.
Secondly, they want to live as brothers, as neighbors, and friends. Third, they love their homes and families, and on the whole they want to be good parents. Fourth, they want to raise their standards of living. They want to enjoy some of the comforts of life, some of the opportunities for development and growth and culture. And fifth, they desire to do good.
Now, most of these people have been from the rural areas, but keep in mind that the rural people of this world represent more than half of the total population. They are people who have had their feet in the soil, who have been close to the land, who live and work in the country, and they are solid, substantial people, not easily stampeded, who probably know about as well as any other segment of our population that "as ye sow, so shall ye reap".
I am grateful for the people I have worked with. I am grateful that my lot has been cast in large measure with the rural people of the world. I am grateful for the support I have had from many of these wonderful people, from the wonderful group of men who have been associated with me in the Department of Agriculture, for their spirit of loyalty and unity and devoted service. I am very grateful for the support I have had from the Chief Executive during these eight years, for his loyalty, for his deep spirituality, for his determination to do that which he believed to be right, and to approve my doing so as well. Also I am grateful that he remained true to his promise that I would never be asked to support any program or policy which I did not believe in, and I am sure he knew in his own heart that I would not do it anyway.
I say I love our Father's children. Hundreds and thousands of them I have contacted during the last eight years. Last night in the priesthood meeting we heard about the great "share the gospel" program and the referral program. I have the names of some 9,000 men, approximately, with whom I have had personal contact in an official capacity. I hope to give referral cards for them. I would like to have every one of them hear the gospel. I wish that all of our Father's children might enjoy the blessings that come through an acceptance and living of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Yes, even when I was in Russia, I expressed the hope to the Russian leaders, our hosts, that after my tour of duty was over for the government that I might have the opportunity of returning to Russia and being privileged to hold meetings to discuss my philosophy of life and to talk about things spiritual with the wonderful Russian people. Of course, I was not given a promise. The leaders of communism are afraid of the light of truth. But it is my hope and prayer, my brethren and sisters, that some time in some way the door may be opened in all the nations of the earth, that they might receive the message of the restored gospel, that they might enjoy the blessings of freedom under a system similar to what we enjoy here in this great land-a system that has brought us so much joy and happiness and so many of the good things of life-a system based on freedom of choice, on the private ownership of property, on the right to exchange our goods and services with our neighbors.
Yes, I love this great land. It has been an honor to serve. I know that this nation has a prophetic history. I would to God that every citizen of this land might read the Book of Mormon prayerfully and learn something of the prophecies made regarding this land-the promises made and the conditions upon which they are made-that we might as an American people so live that these great promises could be fully realized; that we might come to know that the Constitution of this land has been established by men whom the God of heaven raised up unto that very purpose.
This nation has a great mission to perform. Here was prepared the place where the gospel could be restored as has been told so beautifully by Brother Tanner. It is my conviction that the world needs, as it needs no other thing, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the people of the world want what the gospel will give, but they do not realize it. They want the anchor which the gospel provides, which gives them the answers to the problems that face them; that brings them a feeling of security and a feeling of inner peace. The gospel is the only answer to the problems of the world, my brethren and sisters. We may cry peace. We may hold peace conferences. And I have nothing but commendation for those who work for peace. But it is my conviction that peace must come from within. It cannot be imposed by state mandate. It can come only by following the teachings and the example of the Prince of Peace.
Yes, I am happy to be back home. It is my hope and prayer that I may be able to help in some small way to carry this glorious message to our Father's children. I have hoped and prayed that my services in the last eight years may have contributed somewhat to the great missionary effort of the Church. I wish that we might go to all the world-to Israel, where I have had the opportunity of two extensive visits recently, where miracles are being performed, where prophecies are being fulfilled. I wish we could go to the wonderful Arab countries. I shall never forget how I was received with open arms, how the hand of friendship and fellowship was extended to me there.
I shall never forget my visit to Egypt, and as a tangible evidence further of their love and friendship, they offered to me one of their choicest prized gifts-a wonderful Arabian stallion. I would like to see us carry the gospel to India, to the humble people of that land; to Pakistan, to China, to Yugoslavia, to Poland, to Russia, everywhere, because, my brethren and sisters, our message is a world message. This Church is a world organization.
A hundred and thirty years ago, when the elders were assembled in conference to determine whether the revelations should be published to the world, the Lord saw fit to give a revelation to his Church, which was also directed to the world. He referred to it as his "Preface," or his "Introduction to his Book of Commandments," and it is the first section of the Doctrine and Covenants, from which I quote these words:
"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 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".
So our message is a world message. It is intended for all of our Father's children. When God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ saw fit to come here to earth and appear to a boy prophet, surely such a visitation was intended to bless all of our Father's children.
I testify to you today, my brethren and sisters, that the gospel is true; that it has been restored to the earth in its purity, in its fulness. Mormonism is the gospel of Jesus Christ in its fulness. and therefore Mormonism is true. God help us to live the gospel. I testify to you that God has again spoken from the heavens. The heavens are not sealed. The vision of God the Father and the Son to the boy prophet did in very deed occur. God lives. Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world, not just a great moral teacher, as much of the Christian world is claiming, but the Savior of mankind, the very Son of God.
Joseph Smith was a prophet of the Living God, one of the greatest prophets that has ever lived upon the earth. He was the instrument in God's hand in ushering in a great gospel dispensation, the greatest ever, and the last of all in preparation for the second coming of the Master.
I bear witness that these things are true, and that we have standing at the head of the Church today a prophet of the Living God, who holds all the keys and authority necessary to carry forward our Father's program for the blessing of his children. As God lives, I know these things to be true and bear this witness to you, my brethren and sisters, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Marion G. Romney
Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, April 1961, pp. 116-120
My beloved brothers and sisters, and I include all of you, both you in this building and you who are listening in on radio and television. I consider you all my brothers and sisters, for I know, as you do, that we are all the sons and daughters of our Father in heaven. I sincerely trust that you will join with me in a prayer that while I speak I may enjoy the Spirit and that you may enjoy the Spirit, for I am convinced with Nephi that "... when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men".
I have a prepared talk in my pocket, which took me five months to prepare, titled "The Book of Mormon-The Keystone of Our Religion." You, of course know what Brother McConkie did to it. He has made me feel towards it as the player on a boys' baseball team felt towards left field. This player was taken out of a game to give Jimmy from the second string a chance to play. As luck would have it, Jimmy dropped the first two balls hit into left field. He was therefore taken out, and the left fielder put back in. The next two balls hit also went to left field, and the regular player dropped them. When he came off the field at the end of the inning, the coach said, "I wasn't surprised when Jimmy fumbled the ball, but I was surprised at you." "Well, Coach," said the player, "I'll tell you, Jimmy messed up left field so badly that no one can play it."
However, I do want to say one or two things about the Book of Mormon before I get to the point that I have in mind to comment on.
As you know, the Book of Mormon is the current study course for Melchizedek Priesthood quorums. I urge everyone to read it during 1961, particularly Melchizedek Priesthood bearers. This I do because I think we need-as we increase in Church membership under the impetus of our great missionary program-to keep pace in the perfecting of our own lives. This we can do by putting on the "whole armour of God," as Paul says, or, as Peter puts it, by more rapidly becoming "partakers of the divine nature". I do not know any more effective way to do this than to know and live the teachings of the Book of Mormon. The Prophet knew what he was talking about when he said that "... a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book".
The Prophet also knew what he was talking about when he said "the Book of Mormon" is "the keystone of our religion." We may not know all he had in mind when he said this, but we do know the statement was amply justified because the authenticity of the Book of Mormon rests upon two facts, acceptance of which is tantamount to acceptance of the whole of the restored gospel, namely: the fact of modern revelation, by which I mean direct communication from God to men, and the fact that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.
Acceptance of the Book of Mormon requires acceptance of these two facts, because they are inseparably connected with its coming forth. If one accepts them and the Book of Mormon, he cannot deny the restored gospel, for it rests upon the same two facts. The person who knows the Book of Mormon is true has passed the point of no return, so far as conversion is concerned. He has come out of darkness into the glorious light of truth. He has, in effect, accepted the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I would now like to say a few words about the significance of this conference. I have been thinking about this as I have sat here on this stand during these conference sessions and considered what was going on. I do not think I have the language to convey to you its full significance, but I can say that it represents the most effective force in the world for the good of humanity.
We have great gatherings, of course, in the United Nations. Representatives from the governments of the world convene to deliberate, to reason, to argue, to compromise, to try in every way devisable by the human mind to resolve differences. I suppose most of them come with honest hearts to try to bring peace to the world.
We have come to this conference from many nations of the world-not, however, as representatives of the governments of these nations. We are here representing the leadership of the kingdom of God. This Church is the literal kingdom of God in the earth. We did not come to argue, to jockey for position, to compromise differences and establish policies. We came here to hear and learn the word of God as he has and does now reveal it through his appointed servants, and to take it back and teach it to our people. We know that the gospel of Jesus Christ, of which this Church is the repository, is the one and only way of peace. We know that to everyone who accepts and lives it there comes peace-peace in his heart-even in the midst of turmoil in the world. We know that if the people of the world would accept it and live it, we would have peace in all the world. We are in very deed representatives of Jesus Christ our Redeemer and his Father, God our Eternal Father. Our authority comes from them.
This is the Church of Jesus Christ. It is the Church of Christ by his own statement as to what his Church had to be. I am going to take the time to read to you what he said his Church had to be. Brother Hunter told about the visit of Jesus to the Nephites after he had completed his post-resurrection ministry among the Saints at Jerusalem. When he appeared to the Nephites, they saw him as he was-a glorified man of flesh and bone and spirit. He walked with them, and he talked with them. He organized his Church among them. He clearly pointed out to them two distinguishing characteristics of his Church. He chose, as you remember, twelve disciples who were to serve among the Nephites as the Twelve Apostles served the people in the land of Jerusalem.
"And it came to pass that as the disciples of Jesus were journeying and were preaching the things which they had both heard and seen, and were baptizing in the name of Jesus, it came to pass that the disciples were gathered together and were united in mighty prayer and fasting.
"And Jesus again showed himself unto them, for they were praying unto the Father in his name; and Jesus came and stood in the midst of them, and said unto them: What will ye that I shall give unto you?
"And they said unto him: Lord, we will that thou wouldst tell us the name whereby we shall call this church; for there are disputations among the people concerning this matter.
"And the Lord said unto them: Verily, verily, I say unto you, why is it that the people should murmur and dispute because of this thing?
"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-;
"And whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth to the end, the same shall be saved 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".
How about the name of this Church? What is it? It is "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." How did it get the name? Did Joseph Smith select it? No. The Lord Jesus Christ himself told Joseph Smith to name this Church "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." I will not take time to read the instruction. You will find it in the 115th section of the Doctrine and Covenants. In that revelation Jesus refers to "all the elders and people of my Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints scattered abroad in all the world; For thus shall my church be called in the last days, even the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints".
Now what about the other point? It is my church "if it be called in my name... if it so be that they are built upon my gospel." Now what is the gospel of Jesus Christ? I would like to read to you out of this same chapter, the 27th chapter of 3rd Nephi, the gospel of Jesus Christ, as defined by the Master himself-not by Joseph Smith, not by men, but by Christ himself as he stood among the Nephites, as a resurrected being. To me it is marvelous:
"Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you-that 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; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil-
"And for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me,, that they may be judged according to their works.
"And it shall come to pass, that whoso 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 Father.
"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 lieth not, but fulfilleth all his words.
"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.
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel".
Then he adds that "if ye do these things blessed are ye, for ye shall be lifted up at the last day".
Now this Church is the Church of Jesus Christ. Of course, no one can know this fact with certainty unless he has received a witness from the Holy Ghost. Everyone who will look can see, however, that the Church meets the requirement laid down by the Redeemer. It was named by him, it is called after him, and it is built upon the gospel as he defined it.
This Church is the standard which Isaiah said the Lord would set up for the people in the latter days. This Church was given to be a light to the world and to be a standard for God's people and for the Gentiles to seek to. This Church is the ensign on the mountain spoken of by the Old Testament prophets. It is the way, the truth, and the life.
I know these things are true. I know them by the witness of the Spirit to my soul, and I bear you that witness. I know Jesus Christ lives. When I think of him, my Redeemer, I am always moved. In my mind's eye, I see him in that great council before the world was, when he said in effect to his Father, "I will go. Mine be the willing sacrifice, the endless glory thine."
I view him as the Creator of this world and of the starry heavens. In this respect it is difficult for us to realize the greatness of Jesus. Enoch was amazed when the Lord showed him his creations. He referred to the number of them in this language: "... were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea, millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy creations".
I think of this man-this Son of God, Jesus-as he stood on Mount Shelem before the brother of Jared in his full-length spirit body and said:
"Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ....
"... 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, which ye now behold, is the body of my spirit; and man have I created after 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".
That was 2,200 years before he appeared on earth as the infant son of Mary. I think of his coming into this world, the Son of Mary and God the Eternal Father.
I think of him as he went through his life, teaching and blessing the people.
And, oh, I think of him in Gethsemane, when he suffered the pain of all men, that we might be forgiven of our sins on conditions of repentance. I think of Luke's statement describing Christ's suffering in Gethsemane: "... his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground". And of Christ's statement to Joseph Smith: "... 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".
By his suffering he put into effect the plan of mercy, the merciful gospel plan of redemption by which all men may be cleansed of their sins.
And then I think of him on the cross. I think of him in the garden, when he spoke to Mary, following which the light and knowledge broke through upon his disciples that he in reality had won the victory over death, bringing about not only his own, but the resurrection of all people.
I think of him with the Father in the grove with the Prophet Joseph. I know he lives.
I know my Redeemer lives. "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".
I bear you my testimony that this statement is true, and this witness which I bear will be binding upon you; for I, like my brethren of the presiding councils of the Church, am a called and ordained personal witness of the Lord Jesus Christ.
This Church is the Church of God. We do have the gospel of Jesus Christ. If we will live it, we will gain the promised blessings. That this may so be, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder John Longden
John Longden, Conference Report, April 1961, pp. 120-123
From this conference, these excellent sessions which have been held, with the Spirit of the Lord in attendance, we have been fed the bread of life, and we have been fed those things pertaining to eternal life which will help us in our daily lives here in mortality. I believe there are a few lines which would sum up very beautifully the truths that have been spoken from this pulpit.
It is a simple prayer, and as far as I am concerned, the author is anonymous. "O God, our Father, always keep us thankful, and never let us forget the source of all our blessings and our great privilege to share them with others."
I am so grateful for those words because I feel they sum up beautifully the things which have been given in these marvelous sessions from those who have preceded me. The opening remarks of President McKay, saluting youth, commending them for their courage and fortitude in seeking to know the truth and to follow it, were most inspirational, as has been each of the brethren, to Brother Romney who has just preceded me with his beautiful testimony of the divinity of Jesus Christ. There is one, I should like to say at this point, whom I have missed, and I am sure I voice the thoughts of thousands who have been and are here; the voice and the words of President J. Reuben Clark, Jr. God bless you, President Clark.
Because of this sharing, there was an assignment that came to Sister Longden and me last November-it came earlier than that but because of the conditions and circumstances over which we had no control, we were not able to start our journey until the fourth of November 1960.
We left Salt Lake City with President and Sister Kendall W. Young, who were to be installed in the French Polynesian Mission, and with us were their four little children-the oldest not yet seven. You talk about faith-here it is exemplified-these people willing to leave the comforts of home and the pursuits here of their daily labors to go out and serve the Lord in those beautiful but faraway islands of the South Pacific.
We arrived in Papeete, Tahiti, after twenty-seven hours. The final journey from Honolulu to Papeete took ten hours and fifteen minutes which is quite a long time to be in the air. But we were blessed. We arrived there Saturday morning. On Sunday, the next day, President Young was installed as the new mission president. President Joseph R. Reeder was released as president of the French Polynesian Mission. In a few days President and Sister Reeder, their son and daughter and a young elder, Ralph Anderson from Brigham City, Utah, who was in the Tahitian Mission presidency, started for Rarotonga on the Church ship, Paraita, so named after Addison Pratt, one of the first missionaries to labor in the South Pacific isles as early as 1844. That will give you an idea of how our "sharing" was taking place even in those early days.
President Reeder was installed the following Sunday as President of the Rarotonga Mission. We had eighty-one percent attendance in our meeting that day. That is something for you stake presidents here in the States to shoot at-eighty-one percent of the total membership of the Church on the Island of Rarotonga-as we created a new mission in the Cook Islands with headquarters in Rarotonga.
The missionaries in Rarotonga as well as those in Tahiti, Tonga, Samoa, Australia, and New Zealand, are dedicated young men, giving their all in sharing the gospel.
I shall always remember one missionary who wished to stay several months longer after completing his full term in the mission field, but he sensed that finances might be running short at home so he wrote to his mother, who is a widow, asking her advice. While we were in Tahiti he received a letter from her stating, "If necessary, I'll scrub floors in order to keep you in the mission field your full time and longer." Faith, sharing with others!
The missionary activity in these two missions, the increasing baptisms, the stepped-up interest of investigators is most heartwarming. I believe our members there are fully converted to the truth and know why they are being baptized. There is a lovely missionary endeavor which takes place every three weeks as each Matson liner comes into Papeete. The French and the Tahitian branches, combined, furnish a forty-five-minute program for all the tourists on board ship, and there is usually a full complement of passengers. The program consists of classical as well as native music sung by a chorus of beautiful young Tahitian members led by one of the missionaries. There are also some impressive native dances by young and old, and you would thrill at the music-the choruses, the individual numbers. We were told by the captains of both ships on which we witnessed the show that this was always the favorite entertainment of their passengers.
Our journey then took us to Suva, Fiji, and to Nuku'alofa, Tonga, where we met with President M. Vernon Coombs and Sister Coombs. They have been in the mission field in Tonga on and off since 1911. The people love them, and they love the Tongan Saints. President Coombs had arranged an interview with Crown Prince Tungi, who was very grateful for the courtesy and hospitality extended to him by President McKay on a visit here a few years ago. Perhaps one of the most thrilling, humbling moments of our lives was as we arrived at the Church college in Nuku'alofa. The Saints were all dressed in pure white, mostly sitting on the floor to make more room. As we arrived they stood and sang like angels, "We Thank Thee O God For a Prophet." Right then I had the privilege of telling them I knew they were singing their thanks for our prophet, David O. McKay, and I would convey their love and greeting to him.
I shall never forget the 1,400 Saints assembled at a music and dance festival presented by several branches of the Tongan Mission. This time we saw the great MIA program in action. I am ready for any stake president now, or anyone in the Mutual organization who says, "It won't work in our stake." We saw it work. We saw this marvelous program in action-dancing, singing, the drama, speech. Also we met with Tongan Master M-Men and Golden Gleaners.
Yes, sharing the gospel is a happy experience-more so when we see the gospel principles applied in the daily lives of others. I am grateful for the faith of the missionaries in the South Pacific and, though we are limited in number in some of these missions, the mission presidents are meeting this challenge through the development of; young Tahitians, Tongans, and Samoans who are qualified and worthy, who already know the language. These young people are called as missionaries to serve with the missionaries from the States. That is doubling our number of missionaries, and great good is being accomplished.
From Tonga we moved on to Samoa, where a fine work is being accomplished. Here we saw much of another phase of activity in the Church-the labor missionary program. It was my privilege to hold a special meeting with seventy-seven of them, and then as the Apia Chapel was dedicated with 526 in attendance, to see and hear a chorus of fifty young labor missionaries dressed in white shirts and trousers with black bow ties, singing under the direction of Sister Barker, whose husband is the principal of the Church school at Pesega. They sang with so much meaning, and they sang not only in Samoan, but they had learned also the English interpretation. The building program is going forward in Samoa, as will the proselyting and school programs.
Last year in Samoa there were 2,393 baptisms. That is about an average of forty for every missionary. I am sure that will make President Moyle happy. We talk about "sharing the gospel." They have been doing that down there. Three years ago there was one entire village of forty-five converted because of the activity of our missionaries. When we held a service there, three years later, there were 150 in attendance in that little village.
They have many ideas that they are putting into effect in order to bring to these wonderful people of the South Pacific the Pearl of Great Price. I cannot say too much for the work that has and is being done by President Charles I. Sampson and his most dedicated counselors, President Rivers and President Harrington. President Harrington, a stalwart young man graduated from Stanford University, a Samoan, his parents living in Honolulu, will soon be winding up his two and a half years in the mission field-a tower of spiritual strength to his people.
We were so pleased to see the schools as well as the churches teaching people to develop and utilize the talents with which God has blessed them! Yes, we are truly sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with these wonderful people of the South Pacific.
Our journey was extended to include those great countries of Australia and New Zealand. We had the opportunity of touring the Southern Australian Mission and the Australian Mission. When you travel from Melbourne, which is the headquarters of the Southern Australian Mission, and go around to Perth, it is like traveling from Salt Lake City to New York. And in the other direction, when you leave Sydney, of the Australian Mission, going north to Cairns, it is a similar distance. At the time we left, a new area was being opened, as Brother Kimball had encouraged them to do, in Darwin and Port Moresby and Thursday Island in New Guinea. This was after a survey had been made at the time of the visit of Brother Kimball.
Christmas Eve we were in the railroad yards at Perth-106 degrees, and we saw a little train-not the luxury and the comforts and conveniences to which we are accustomed in this nation. Twenty-five of our members, including one little family of seven, mother and father and five children were leaving for New Zealand to go to the temple to be sealed to one another. I called Sister Longden's attention to the little canvas bag on the back of the railroad car, and in that bag was the culinary water which was to sustain them until they were able to refill it. Faith! Because they had received that witness Brother Romney has just spoken of I They had that evidence in their souls. The light of the gospel of Jesus Christ had penetrated the darkness, and they felt the spirit of urgency to go to a temple of the Lord. They were willing to sell all their possessions. It would take some three weeks for their journey, changing to four different trains going through Australia, and then in Sydney they would board a ship which would take them to Auckland. They would then travel another eighty miles to the temple site. They knew they were doing the will of the Lord. We shall never forget the look of hallowed, excited expectation on the faces of each of those dear Saints.
We truly saw the gospel of Jesus Christ in action. President Moyle used the word this morning-applying-application. We hear, we read, we have an opportunity to believe, and then we must apply these truths in order to reap the blessings. I am so thankful that our journey was extended to Australia and New Zealand, that we came to know these wonderful people. I held three stake conferences in Australia, in Melbourne, in Sydney, and Brisbane and was privileged to see the faith of the people there and the attendance at our meetings and to hear some faith-promoting stories and witness them.
I could mention other similar experiences. Sixty-nine Tongan Saints, when we were in Suva, were just returning from the temple, happy and at peace because they had realized lifelong dreams. Another thirty-eight disembarked from a huge plane in Auckland three days before we left for home. We met them in Auckland at the airport. Nine couples, nine fathers and mothers and twenty children were going to the temple to have that eternal union. God bless them.
After spending ten days each in the New Zealand South and New Zealand missions, we held three stake conferences in New Zealand: Hawkes Bay, Hamilton, and in Auckland. I am grateful for the memories I have of these experiences. The attendance was excellent in all stakes. Fifty-three percent were present at our meetings in Auckland, even though the Auckland Stake had been divided two and a half months before when Brother Kimball was there creating a new stake, Hamilton, leaving only part of Auckland Stake. It has been wonderful to shake the hand of President William Roberts, from Auckland, here for this conference, also of President Higbee from Hawkes Bay and others here from these stakes of Zion down under.
Now in conclusion, as we share this gospel with others, may I give you the words of the Lord as recorded in the seventh chapter of Matthew. Christ had been teaching the people in his customary way-by parables. He spoke of one of the men who was wise, because he built his house upon the rock, and the one who was foolish, because he had built his house upon the sand. I am interested in the closing words of that chapter, "And it came to pass when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine.
"For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes".
May we then be wise and follow the teachings of our great prophet and mouthpiece of the Lord today, as well as of those who have been called to labor and serve with him, and the leaders in the missions and in the stakes and wards and branches, and all the auxiliary organizations, for we are being taught and led by authority and not by the teachings of the scribes. We then will be true Latter-day Saints.
I am deeply thankful for my membership in this, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. May I give you in conclusion the words of Karl G. Maeser. The gospel has been summed up for us-the kingdom. Those who will inherit the kingdom must be true Latter-day Saints. This is Brother Maeser's definition of a true Latter-day Saint. "A true Latter-day Saint is one who has dedicated himself soul and body to God in all things, temporal and spiritual, in all his doings, in all the meditations of his heart, in all his desires, his anticipations and hopes for the future, in life and in death to belong to the Lord only, and has based all his actions, all his thoughts, all his endeavors, all his interests upon that foundation that he belongs to the Lord." As we truly belong to the Lord we will feel called to share that belonging with others.
May we be true Latter-day Saints, sharing the gospel freely with others, I humbly pray as I bear my witness to you that these things are true, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
Elder Henry D. Taylor
Henry D. Taylor, Conference Report, April 1961, pp. 124-125
"In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread". In these words the Lord gave to Adam and Eve, as they were driven from the Garden of Eden, the economic law by which they and their posterity should live out their lives here upon the earth. All laws given to Adam, we are advised, were spiritual laws. Inasmuch as he was given the edict that in the sweat of his brow he should eat bread, and this to be produced from the earth, which had been condemned to bring forth thorns and thistles, we can logically conclude that work is a spiritual law.
We should understand, however, that Adam and Eve were put under no curse, but rather the ground was cursed for Adam's sake or for his good and benefit, for the Lord further stated: "... cursed is the ground for thy sake".
It was just twenty-five years ago at the April 1936 general conference that the divinely inspired welfare plan was announced, giving renewed emphasis to principles as old as the Church itself. At the following conference in October, the First Presidency explained the primary purposes for the establishment of the program. One of the basic principles, they stated, was: "Work is to be re-enthroned as the ruling principle of the lives of our Church membership."
To carry out the purposes of the program, it was intended that all members of the Church should join together and work and labor to produce and process the commodities necessary to care for the "Lord's poor," that is the worthy needy, and that those needy, who were to receive assistance, should, to the extent of their ability, work for the help received. In this manner there would be no dole, no receiving something and giving nothing in return. It will be understood that an essential factor of this great movement, the welfare plan, is work.
From early youth, Latter-day Saints have or should have been taught to regard work as honorable and to dignify it by performing an honest day's work for a fair day's pay. The poet Carlyle expressed this sentiment when he penned the lines: "All work, even cotton-spinning is noble; work alone is noble." The Apostle Paul clearly understood and emphasized the principle of work. In his epistle to the Thessalonians, he reminded them: "... this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
"For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.
"Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.
"But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing".
Many have viewed with concern present-day trends continually to shorten working hours. The existing forty-hour week seems destined for revision downward, as agitation mounts to reduce further the working week to thirty-five or even thirty hours, with no decrease in benefits. Then there are those who look forward with anticipation to age sixty-five as the time of retirement from all work and labor. Much to their sorrow, many discover that too much leisure time may create problems not anticipated and brings disillusionment and unhappiness. They learn the important truth that work is a great blessing and can result in joy and happiness to themselves and to mankind. They also discover that doing nothing is one of the hardest of all jobs. When you get tired, you can't rest. You are in bondage when you refuse to work.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning said: "Free men freely work: Whoever fears God, fears to sit at ease."
Idleness is an offense against the gospel and has received the Lord's severe condemnation. He denounced it with vigor and vehemence when he instructed:
"Thou shalt not be idle; for he that is idle shall not eat the bread nor wear the garments of the laborer".
"For the idler shall be had in remembrance before the Lord".
On another occasion he counseled:
"Let every man be diligent in all things. And the idler shall not have place in the church, except he repent and mend his ways".
Brigham Young admonished the Saints by saying:
"To give to the idler is as wicked as anything else. Never give to the idler".
The First Presidency expressed disapproval of the evil of idleness when in explaining the purposes of the welfare program, they stated, that it is among other things:
"To set up... a system under which the curse of idleness would be done away with."
The life span of man is constantly lengthening. More and more elderly citizens are confronted with the problem of properly utilizing leisure time in accordance with their desires, experience, knowledge, and abilities. These sunset years can be rich, rewarding, golden years, filled with work and activity as witnessed by the serene, happy faces of the aging temple workers, and the research people in the Genealogical Library. I was deeply impressed and touched with the look of happiness and contentment on the face of a ninety-two-year-old brother engaged in labeling cans at Welfare Square. Work to him was worthwhile and precious.
How glorious it is that the Church provides ways, means, and opportunities for those growing older to engage in interesting and constructive work; and how proud we should be to belong to such an organization.
President McKay in his eighty-eighth year is an inspiration and a shining example to all of us; in his office from early morning until evening, traveling throughout the world, guiding, stimulating, and inspiring the Saints.
Inactivity or refraining from work can produce a deterioration of both muscle and mind. The body accumulates poison when it ceases to be active. The mind becomes weak and dwindles in effectiveness when not stimulated by vigorous mental exercise. On the other hand, work is conducive to good health, contentment, and cheerfulness. Some of its happy results are peace of mind, a hearty appetite, sound sleep, and undisturbed rest.
"... work out your own salvation with fear and trembling". To Latter-day Saints, this is not just an empty phrase, it is a profound truth. Working out one's own salvation is the concern of every individual, contemplating and requiring more than mere lip service. Each of us will at some future day stand before the judgment bar of God to answer for our acts in this life. John the Beloved Apostle foresaw in vision this memorable event and described it in these words:
"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".
So we can say with grateful hearts, "thanks, Heavenly Father," for the privilege and the blessing of work; and as one has so aptly said, "For the might of it, the pride of it, the glory of it, the peace of mind that comes from the strain of it."
I bear you my witness, my brothers and sisters, that the principle of work is a God-given and spiritual law. I humbly pray that each one of us will labor diligently, so that some day we may merit the words of approbation, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant... enter thou into the joy of thy Lord", in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
Elder Theodore M. Burton
Theodore M. Burton, Conference Report, April 1961, pp. 126-129
My brothers and sisters, I am conscious at this time of the responsibility that rests upon me. I pray that your faith might be exercised in my behalf that it might come to me as a wave of friendship, so that feeling your confidence and your love I might be able to say something that will be helpful and edifying to you.
As I have heard my brethren in this conference speak, these marvelous sermons, which have moved me at times to tears, have made me conscious of the feeling of responsibility they have tried to implant in our hearts. After all, we have been chosen for a great and a noble purpose. We are a chosen people, a people set apart, blessed, and ordained-in fact, foreordained-for a very special responsibility. Therefore, we must take this responsibility very seriously and realize that we were not chosen nor set apart to rule, but chosen and set apart to serve, to be the servants of all with whom we come in contact. We can best serve by teaching the divinity of Jesus Christ.
As I formerly began my organic chemistry lectures each fall at Utah State University, I used to bring to my class a small rectangular metal box. It was a breadbox, painted green, and as I brought the box into the lecture room and put it on the lectern, I would turn it so that the students could see written on the front of it "BREAD," and that aroused their curiosity. Every fall some student would accommodate me by asking "Why the bread, Dr. Burton?" And that would give me my cue to answer, "This is the 'bread of life' of organic chemistry." This made them curious to know what I had in the box-sandwiches, cake, cookies, or perhaps actually bread for a chemical experiment.
Later on in the lecture, I opened the box and showed them what was in it. They were amazed to see that the box was filled with tinker-toys. Yes, the box was filled with balls and sticks and tight coils of stiff wire. In fact, they looked just like baby's playthings, and when youngsters came into my laboratory, and I had to amuse them, I would actually let them play with these as toys. The only difference between these toys and ordinary tinker-toys was that the balls had been painted various colors-green, red, blue, purple, black, white-and that the holes drilled in the balls were drilled at very precise angles.
Chemists use these tinker-toy units to construct models of complex organic compounds. When I wanted to lecture, for instance, on carbohydrates to show students the structure of sugar or the structure of starch or cellulose, I used these tinker-toy models to illustrate molecular structure. Or when I lectured on proteins and had to show them the structure of the amino acids or how these were put together to form protein molecules, I used these balls and sticks and pieces of wire to show how the molecule was built and constructed.
I once heard an internationally known chemist lecture to us on the structure of enzymes. He used just exactly these tinker-toys, building first one part and then another part, and putting the parts together until he finally showed us exactly the thing that he wanted to demonstrate. Now, wouldn't it be ridiculous to criticize a chemist of such stature because he used such simple tools or to regard his ideas as childish because he used tinker-toy models to illustrate his ideas?
It is the use that determines the value of a thing-on the one hand, a child's plaything, but on the other hand a useful tool in the hands of a highly trained, competent scientist. A wise man looks at the results-not the tool. A simple tool in the hands of a skilled craftsman would be a marvelous thing. On the other hand, the finest of hand tools, or even a machine tool, in the hands of a clumsy oaf would be valueless.
Now, speaking of tools, God did not hesitate to use simple tools wherever he had to. We are the tools of God, and God has had to use men wherever he found them and as he found them. But the question comes to one's mind, Why didn't God, for instance, speak to Eli, for Eli was at that time the prophet and high priest in ancient Israel? But Eli could not or would not do as he was told. He had two sons, Hophni and Phinehas. They were heirs to the priesthood, but they were profligate and wicked, and Eli could not or did not control them.
Thus, the Lord had to choose someone else. He chose a small lad, and as God called, "Samuel," Samuel answered: "Speak, for thy servant heareth". And soon, all Israel from Dan to Beersheba, knew that Samuel was a prophet of God.
When, later on, the great King Saul became disobedient and had to be set aside and replaced, Samuel, in his old age, because the Lord told him to go to the house of Jesse, would have chosen Eliab. But when he would have chosen Eliab, the Lord said to Samuel, "... Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature, because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart".
So Abinadab, Shammah-all seven sons of Jesse were passed over, and then the Lord told Samuel to choose David, the shepherd lad, for he was obedient enough to listen. David was teachable, and so he became a useful tool in the hands of the Lord.
Why was John the Baptist chosen to be the Elias to announce Jesus Christ? There were twenty-eight high priests in Jerusalem between the years B.C. 37 and A.D. 68, yet not one of these learned, highly trained, capable men was chosen. And why was not Annas chosen or his son-in-law, Joseph Caiaphas? Read their own judgment recorded in the words of the scriptures when they sent officers to arrest Jesus, "Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him?
"The officers answered, Never man spake like this man.
"Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived?
"Have any of the rulers of the Pharisees believed on him?
"But the people who knoweth not the law are cursed".
In other words, they were cursing those who believed the Son of God. In the pride of their learning they were not humble enough to believe, and God could not use such people. They had ears, but they could not hear. They had eyes, but they could not see. And so it was that God promised that in the last days he would restore all things of the kingdom, and just as the Lord had promised, he had to fulfil. So it came time for the Lord to keep the promise he had made and restore all things, but he needed someone on earth he could trust. He needed someone he could teach.
Why didn't he take the learned, trained theologians of that day-men trained in the ministry? For the same reason, brothers and sisters, that many times he cannot use some of us because we will not listen or we cannot listen.
Now hear the words of the Lord: "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".
And that is just exactly what many of us do, when the gospel is so light and so bright around us that a child could see. Many times we close our eyes and close our ears and will not see or listen.
So, when it came time to fulfil all things, the Lord had to choose a simple farmer boy-Joseph Smith-one humble enough to listen, one obedient to God, one who would not rely on his own wisdom, but who would be willing to learn and to obey.
Now, these God-chosen men that I have mentioned were not ignorant men. They were plain men and untrained, but Joseph Smith, I say, was a learned man, as were those who have followed him in that office. A learned man is one well informed, one who knows the truth, one who has great knowledge, one who has learned the truth by instruction and by study and by experience.
Now, Joseph was instructed of God, and the greater the teacher, the greater the pupil may become. So Joseph, who was instructed of God, became a very, very learned man. These men we sustained at this conference as prophets, seers, and revelators, because they have been instructed of God, can instruct us, if we will but listen and open our hearts.
I make no plea for ignorance, brothers and sisters. I do not speak against education, formal training, or formal learning. I do not urge our people to reject a university education. I do not believe that mere possession of a doctor's degree makes a man spiritually unreliable. To the contrary, I speak as our Church leaders have always spoken. Get all the formal learning you can afford. Remember this, brothers and sisters, we cannot teach what we do not know. Get all the formal learning you can possibly afford, and if possible get a terminal degree. Believe implicitly in the word of the Lord as it has come to us. "The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth".
"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".
"It is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance".
I see before me wonderful men who have been used in this Church as bishops and stake presidents, members of high councils and patriarchs, members of general boards, highly trained scientists both men and women. A university education, I believe, would be desirable for every intelligent man and woman in the world, but I must speak the same warning that Paul spoke: "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ".
Now, brothers and sisters, I would like to stress this word, "rudiments," because I think this is a key to this passage. A rudiment means the beginning of knowledge. A little learning is a dangerous thing, and too many men and too many women who have become experts in a tiny field of learning think that because they are trained in that field of learning, they are experts in all fields of learning. Many men who are well-trained in one limited field feel that this equally qualifies them to express learned opinions in the field of faith and religion, although many of them have never done any studying nor taken a class in these subjects. So, I say that the problem is not that they know too much, but that they know too much of what just isn't so. Actually, they know too little. They have closed their minds to anything except the philosophies of men.
Now, brothers and sisters, in our Church in this day and age, when education is becoming more and more popular and more and more necessary, there is grave danger of intellectual apostasy. The problem is that of a closed mind, as I see it. Jacob taught this beautifully, as we read it in the Book of Mormon.
"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".
That we should emphasize, "To be learned is good."
What causes intellectual apostasy? Why do some learned men and women turn from the faith? It is not learning, for there are hundreds of us, thousands of us, equally well-trained. It isn't being exposed to different ideas, for we too were exposed to these ideas in the finest universities of the land. Why, then, do they lose their testimony? Principally out of vanity and pride. They want to impress others with their learning. To put it indelicately, it is the problem of the swelled head, because that is exactly what the Prophet said.
"... whoso knocketh," Jacob said, "to him will he open, and the wise, and the learned, and they who are rich, who are puffed up" and that you see is just exactly what he said-"who are puffed up because of their learning, and their wisdom, and their riches-yea, they are they whom he despiseth; and save they shall cast these things away, and consider themselves fools before God, and come down in the depths of humility, he will not open unto them".
Now remember, it isn't the simplicity of the tool that determines its value, but the skill of the workman who uses that tool. God, I am sure, would prefer to use the most skilled, the most able, the best-trained person that he could find, but that person must be humble and he must be teachable, and he must be willing to learn something new. We, with all our learning, stand just at the threshold of things that we need to know, just at the beginning of wisdom, with the rudiments of wisdom in our hands. As Paul taught, the workman is more important than the tool.
"For ye see your calling, brethren," he said, "how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
"But... God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
"... that no flesh should glory in his presence.
"But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption".
Over the library of the Utah State University stands in big gold letters a statement taken from the scriptures: "Get wisdom, and with all thy getting get understanding". We must feed the spirit as well as the mind and as well as the body. I plead with our youth, get learning, and with all your getting get understanding. Get learning of the spirit. Get learning of the mind. Get learning of the soul, and become a rounded man or a rounded woman, learned in all ways, for I testify to you this day that security, true security, comes from a knowledge of the divinity of Jesus Christ. This is the beginning of all learning and of all wisdom. This is the greatest knowledge, the greatest learning, the greatest comfort that men can have. If men have this knowledge in their hearts, they can withstand all the vicissitudes of life. No trial, no trouble can come, but that a man or a woman can withstand it. He can rise victorious if he has a love of Christ and a testimony of his divinity burning in his heart.
I testify to you that I know that Jesus has risen from the dead; that he lives and exists at this present time, that he reveals himself, has revealed himself, and continues to reveal himself to his servants, the prophets. I honor and sustain them, and pledge my loyalty to them, and bear this testimony to you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1961, pp. 130-132
I think it was Thomas Carlyle who said that one of the most Godlike of virtues is the appreciation of human worth as shown by the hearts of men. I am sure, at the conclusion of this great, inspirational conference, that you would have me express your appreciation of the services rendered by all who have contributed to the success and spirituality of our four days' conference.
First, to the General Authorities, we express deep appreciation for the inspirational messages you have given to us, and in that expression we express gratitude to our Father in heaven for having inspired each one who has spoken.
To the public press, you reporters and your fair and accurate reports throughout the sessions of the conference, your devotion and your attendance at all the services during the day or evening sessions.
We appreciate the cooperation of the city officials and commend especially the traffic officers for handling so carefully and ably the increased traffic; the fire department and the Red Cross, who have been on hand to render assistance and service whenever and wherever their service would be needed.
To the Tabernacle ushers, who have rendered a service quietly and efficiently in seating the great audiences of these conference sessions. I noticed one in the gallery and his courtesy in the way he handled one who rendered a little disturbance.
We mention especially the radio and television officers and officials-twenty-seven television and eighteen radio stations throughout our own city and the nation have carried the sessions of this conference. This has been the means of permitting untold thousands to hear the proceedings of the 131st conference of this Church.
Friday we had a meeting never held before in the history of the Church. It was a meeting of officers of stakes beyond the boundaries of our country. Attending this meeting were stake presidencies from Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, and Holland who met and received instructions from members of the Council of the Twelve, officers of the Bishopric, and members of auxiliary organizations. That is an epoch-making event in our history!
We appreciate those who furnished the singing throughout this entire conference. I know your hearts respond most heartily to expressions of gratitude for the inspiration we have received ever since the opening session when the Primary Teachers' Chorus from nineteen stakes of Utah County rendered such inspirational singing. They filled the seats usually occupied by the Tabernacle Choir members, and also seats on each side of the gallery. I think you will always remember that solo by thirteen-year-old Ronnie Clark. There was some question about having him sing, but his voice rang out in such clearness that not only those in this Tabernacle were thrilled, but also thousands listening on the radio.
To the combined choirs of the Logan Institute of Religion and the Utah State University we extend our thanks for their singing on Saturday morning and afternoon. We never have a group of young people filling these choir seats without being thrilled, not only by their singing, but also by their presence and their attitude towards religious matters.
The Men's Chorus of the Tabernacle Choir Saturday night-what a thrill they gave us, and always do, at that inspirational gathering! We were also thrilled with the tenor solo by Brother Dennis Clancy of Dundee, Scotland, singing, "I Know That My Redeemer Lives."
Today, I think we have never heard the "Hallelujah Chorus" sung as you heard the Tabernacle Choir render that beautiful and inspiring oratorio at the conclusion of this morning's session. We thank the leaders and officers of the choir and especially you men and women who devote so much of your time and give so freely of your means to inspire not only the entire Church, but also now the whole world.
We acknowledge the flowers-the daffodils from Puyallup Valley Daffodil Company, the calla lilies from the high priests' quorum of the Oakland-Berkeley Stake, the ten thousand sweet peas from the Mesa Eleventh Ward and all others who have contributed in any way to the success and inspiration of a great and memorable conference.
I should like to say just a word at the conclusion in expressing appreciation of the worth of man, of the service of the members of the Church in building chapels, and in other responses to the calls that are made of you. I marvel, and I think all members of the Church marvel, as well as those outside of the Church, at what the members are doing by way of improving places of worship and of supplying the need for public worship.
Services will be held one day for the breaking of the ground-a simple matter-and one year or eighteen months later, a building will be dedicated, fifty percent of the cost of which was borne by the people themselves out of their meager earnings, and the principal part of that activity and that contribution came from our sisters who labored diligently and unceasingly to gather the necessary means so that the ward will meet its share of the expenses of the erection of the house of worship. God bless our sisters, and I say that with all my heart.
And now, brethren and sisters, in summary, let me emphasize that the noblest aim in life is to strive to live to make other lives better and happier. The most worthy calling in life is that in which man can serve best his fellow man.
Browning touches that great theme in his poem, "Paracelsus." You students, remember how Paracelsus started out to gain knowledge for himself, even though it took him away from the people themselves. His friend Festus warned him not to withdraw from the people, but Paracelsus concluded that he would gain learning at the expense of anybody or anything, and when Festus cautioned him, he said:
"Festus, are there not two experiences in the life of a diver, One-when, a beggar, he prepares to plunge, One-when, a prince, he rises with his pearl? Festus, I plunge."
And his friend standing by said: "We await you when you rise."
Years later, after Paracelsus had failed in his efforts to find the soul satisfaction he sought, Festus found him in a conjurer's house, and Browning puts into his mouth the following: "There is an answer to the passionate longings of the human heart for fulness, and I knew it, and the answer 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 through difficulty."
Such is the divine message given to the Prophet Joseph Smith in these words: "Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God". Such is the philosophy expressed by the Redeemer in the seemingly paradoxical statement, "Whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it".
The meaning of this becomes clear in the light of another passage which says: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me".
To no other group of men in all the world is given a better opportunity to engage in the noblest calling in life than that which is afforded the elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. To establish salvation and peace to the extent of their individual efforts, their lives are dedicated. To make the world a better or a safer or a fitter place for man, their talents and means are consecrated.
Just to be associated with you, with men striving toward such an aim, is joy; and to assist you in this quest, an inspiration. Unselfishly you are trying to serve your fellow men in love. You are true followers of the Master for to those who have the Christian faith, the most sublime of its teachings, and to him who penetrates its deepest sense, the most human of all is this: To save mankind, God came to dwell among us in the form of man and was willing to make himself known by this simple though glorious principle, Love.
The animal world is filled with selfishness, each thing seeking its own life, its own perpetuation. But Christ lived for love. "... love the Lord thy God with all thy might, mind, and strength, and thy neighbour as thyself".
God bless the elders and our sisters, who, if not with perfect love, at least with a desire to bring joy and peace to others, are engaged in the noblest calling of life. Worthy servants of Christ you are! Teachers, followers of the true Teacher, the great Exemplar of all, our Redeemer, our Lord. There is none greater than this noble work, none more righteous. Yours is the joy promised by the Savior, who 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!
"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!".
That is the word of the Lord.
God sanctify this wonderful conference to the good of all who have listened in, and through you who are present, your households and your young boys and girls who have not heard, but who will feel your influence in your own homes.
May the homes of the Church everywhere be better because of this conference than they have been in the past and be an example to the whole world, a great majority of whom during the last forty years have had their minds poisoned by a false ideology that rejects the existence of God the Father, refuses to acknowledge the divinity of his Son Jesus Christ, and would destroy the home life, the very foundation of our future by taking the children and making them members of the state instead of leaving them with their mothers and fathers.
With all the power that we possess, we bless you, members of the Church of Jesus Christ. May the power and the inspiration that have characterized this great conference, including last night's great priesthood meeting, go to every corner of the earth where there is a branch or where a family lives, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, October 1961, pp. 5-9
Clouds hung over the eastern horizon this morning. When I met my associates, I noticed that some of them were carrying their topcoats, but I am pleased to see the sun shining at the opening of this great conference. There are many in the world who see hanging over the international horizon threatening clouds also. There are storms ahead!
I am prompted by the outlook to take as a text for the few words that I shall say this morning, an encouraging thought from the Thirty-first Psalm: "Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord".
Sixty or seventy years ago, when United States history was an essential course in elementary public school teaching, many a boy was thrilled by Patrick Henry's dramatic declaration: "Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!" Patrick Henry was then a delegate to the Second Revolutionary Convention held at Richmond, Virginia, March 23, 1775.
The Creator, who gave man life, planted in his heart the seed of liberty. Free agency, as life, is a gift from God. "Do you wish to be free? Then above all things, love God, love your neighbor, love one another, love the common weal; then you will have true liberty."
Last Saturday, September 23, 1961, fearing they might be deprived of this inalienable right, two women-"one fifty-seven and the other sixty-three, leaped from an East Berlin apartment building, fronting on a West Berlin street. West Berlin firemen caught them in a safety net while communist police looked on without shooting.
"West Berlin police reported that another family in a border house was preparing to leap into the firemen's nets when the lights in their apartment suddenly went out."
The local press tells us that "when the lights flashed on again, West Berliners saw the apartment was full of Vopos. There was no sign of the would-be escapees."
A West Berlin official said the largest number of refugees ever reported in a single day was 3,793 persons who fled to Berlin on May 28, 1953. It is reported that new arrivals in 1961 have increased the number of refugees who have fled East Germany during the month of August to nearly 20,000. More than 150,000 seeking freedom from the domination of communism have crossed the border so far this year-150,000!
In contrast to the barbaric state-rule of the communist, from which these people are fleeing by the hundreds of thousands, I call your attention this morning to the freedom-loving spirit of America. On Bedloe's Island in New York harbor stands the Statue of Liberty-a gift of the French people to the American people. Israel Zangwill, in The Melting Pot, gives the words spoken by David, the Russian emigrant Jew, as follows:
"All my life America was waiting, beckoning, shining-the place where God would wipe away tears from off all faces. To think that the same great torch of Liberty which threw its light across all the seas and lands into my little garret in Russia is shining also for all those other weeping millions of Europe, shining wherever men hunger and are oppressed, shining over the starving villages of Italy, Ireland, over the swarming, starving cities of Poland, and Galicia, over the ruined farms of Romania, over the shambles of Russia. When I look at our Statue of Liberty, I just seem to hear the voice of America crying: 'Come unto me, all ye who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.'"
In the September 1961, issue of Highways to Happiness, a little pamphlet many of you receive, I was pleased with the timely comment that, and I quote:
"America is a land of but one people, gathered from many nations. Some came for love of money. and some came for love of freedom. Whatever the lure that brought them here each gave his gift. Irish lad and scotch, Englishman and Dutch, Italian, Greek, and French, Spaniard, Slav, Teuton, Norse-all have come bearing gifts, and have laid them on the altar of America.
"All brought music, and their instruments for the making of music.
"All brought their poetry, winged tales of man's many passions; ballads of heroes and tunes of the sea; lilting scraps caught from sky and field, or mighty dramas that tell of primal struggles of the profoundest meaning.
"Then, each brought some homely things, some touch of the familiar home field or forest, kitchen or dress-a favorite tree or fruit, an accustomed flower a style in cookery, or in costumes-each brought some homelike familiar thing.
"Hatred of old-time neighbors, national prejudices and ambitions, traditional fears, set standards of living, graceless intolerance, class rights, and the demand of class-these were barred at the gates.
"At the altar of America, we have sworn ourselves to a simple loyalty. We have bound ourselves to sacrifice and struggle, to plan and to work for this one land. We have given that we may gain; we have surrendered that we may have victory!"
There is a significant reference in the Apocalypse to "a war in heaven". It is not only significant but also seemingly contradictory, for we think of heaven as a celestial abode of bliss, an impossible condition where war and contention could exist. The passage is significant inasmuch as it sets forth the fact there is freedom of choice and of action in the spirit world. This contention in heaven arose over the desire of Satan "... to destroy the agency of man, which I the Lord, had given him".
Freedom of thought, freedom of speech, freedom of action within boundaries that do not infringe upon the liberty of others are man's inherent right, granted him by his Creator-divine gifts "essential to human dignity and human happiness."
"Therefore, cheer up your hearts," admonished an ancient prophet in the Book of Mormon, "and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves-".
"This love of liberty which God has planted in us," said Abraham Lincoln, "constitutes the bulwark of our liberty and independence. It is not our frowning battlements, our bristling seacoasts, our army, and our navy. Our defense is in the spirit which prizes liberty as the heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere. Destroy this spirit, and we have planted the seeds of despotism at our very doors."
Brethren, the opposite of freedom is bondage, servility, restraint-conditions that inhibit mentality, stifle the spirit, and crush manhood. To coerce, to compel, to bring into servitude is Satan's plan for the human family.
Throughout the history of the world man has contended even to death to free himself from bondage and usurpation, or to retain the freedom he already possessed. This is particularly true in regard to the right to worship. Attempts to control the consciences of men have always resulted in conflict. To decide one's own relationship to the Creator and to his creations is the natural and inalienable right of all.
Equally fundamental and important to man's happiness and progress is the right of personal security, the right of personal liberty, and the right of private property. The right of personal
When King John of England, whom Dickens calls "a coward and detestable villain," deprived his subjects of their liberties and ruthlessly burned and destroyed their property, the people rose up against him, brought him to Runnymede, and compelled him on Monday June 15, 1215, to affix his signature to the Great Charter of England by which, among other things, he pledged himself "to maintain the Church in its rights, to imprison no man without a fair trial, and to sell, delay, or deny justice to none."
Five hundred and fifty years later, the American colonies imbued with the spirit that produced the Magna Charta, declared:
"As the happiness of the people is the sole end of government, so the consent of the people is the only foundation of it, in reason, morality, and the natural fitness of things. And therefore every act of government, every exercise of sovereignty against or without the consent of the people is injustice, usurpation, and tyranny. It is a maxim that in every government there must exist somewhere a supreme, sovereign, absolute and uncontrollable power; and it never was, or can be delegated to one man or few; the great Creator having never given to men a right to vest others with authority over them unlimited either in duration or degree.
"When kings, ministers, governors, or legislators, therefore, instead of exercising the powers intrusted with them according to the principles, forms, and proportions stated by the Constitution, and established by the original compact, prostitute those powers to the purposes of oppression; to subvert, instead of preserving the lives, liberties, and properties of the people, they are no longer to be deemed magistrates vested with a sacred character, but become public enemies and ought to be resisted."
My brethren and sisters, the ultimate purpose of Christianity in the world is to develop an honorable, upright individual in an ideal society known as the kingdom of God.
Nearly two thousand years have passed, and the world is still a long way from the realization of either achievement. Indeed, today Christianity itself, and its handmaiden, Democracy, are on trial before the world tribunal. Conditions in this war-torn world seem to bear witness that men are forever learning, but never coming to a knowledge of the truth.
Though true Christianity as expressed in the divine law, "... love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind... and thy neighbour as thyself", has never yet been accepted and practised by the nations of the world, yet the Spirit of the Christ has, like leaven in the lump, been influencing society toward the realization of freedom, justice, and better harmony in human relations.
In the world today, however, the spirit of paganism has again asserted itself and seems to be all but triumphant in its effort to overthrow the few Christian ideals that civilized peoples have absorbed.
"If Western civilization emerges from existing situations safely, it will be only through a deeper appreciation-and note this-through a deeper appreciation of the social ethics of Jesus than it has yet shown. And our danger is increased rather than diminished by the fancied security in which our masses live."
Merely an appreciation of the social ethics of Jesus, however, is not sufficient. Men's hearts must be changed. Instead of selfishness, men must be willing to dedicate their ability, their possessions-if necessary, their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor for the alleviation of the ills of mankind. Hate must be supplanted by sympathy and forbearance.
Force and compulsion will never establish the ideal society. This can come only by a transformation within the individual soul-a life brought into harmony with the divine will. We must be "born again."
Though nearly 2,000 years have passed since Jesus taught the gospel of brotherhood, it seems as difficult for men today as in Christ's day to believe that peace and truth can come only by conforming our lives to the law of love. Men still find the greatest difficulty in accepting this central core of Christ's teachings.
Manifestly, there has not been much cessation of man's inhumanity to man through the centuries. Notwithstanding this, I believe that right and truth will eventually triumph.
Today, as we see hovering over the nations of the earth the ever-darkening clouds of nuclear war, we are prone to think that righteousness among men is waning. In our own beloved country, "a land choice above all other lands," we are grieved and shocked when the Supreme Court renders a decision ruling that it is unconstitutional for the Federal Government of any State to require a "belief in the existence of God" as a qualification for public office; also, we experience apprehension when we know that enemies to our republican form of government are becoming more blatant; when we see political demagogues seemingly more successful drunkenness and immorality flauntingly defiant-seeing these conditions we wonder whether mankind is growing better or worse. In private life, disappointments, adversity, sickness, and sorrow make us discouraged and sometimes despondent.
Still I am confident that truth will yet prevail, and in that confidence, say again with the Psalmist: "Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord".
We may take courage in what I believe is a fact, that in the hearts of more millions of honest men and women than ever before war is abhorrent. War has lost its false glamour and boasted glory. Such an attitude at least keeps alive our hope for the dawning of that day when men "... shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more".
How utterly foolish men are to quarrel, fight, and cause misery, destruction, and death when the gifts of a Divine and Loving Father are all around us for the asking-are already in our possession if we would but recognize them. Christ's invitation is still extended to all peoples:
"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",
I am as sure as that I am speaking to you that the peace and happiness of mankind lie in the acceptance of Jesus Christ as the Redeemer of the world, our Savior. As Peter declared over 1900 years ago, so I testify to the world today, that there is "none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved"
The principles of the restored gospel as revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith, are the surest, safest guide to mortal man. Christ is the light to humanity. In that light man sees his way clearly. When it is rejected, the soul of man stumbles in darkness. No person, no group, no nation can achieve true success without following him who said:
"I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life".
It is a sad thing when individuals and nations extinguish that light-when Christ and his gospel are supplanted by the law of the jungle and the strength of the sword. The chief tragedy in the world at the present time is its disbelief in God's goodness, and its lack of faith in the teachings and doctrines of the gospel.
To all who believe in a Living, Personal God and his divine truth, life can be so delightful and beautiful.
As a matter of fact, it is glorious just to be alive. Joy, even ecstasy, can be experienced in the consciousness of existence. There is supreme satisfaction in sensing one's individual entity and in realizing that that entity is part of God's great creative plan. There are none so poor, none so rich, sick, or maimed who may not be conscious of this relationship.
I know that for not a few of us the true joy of living is overcast by trials, failures, worries, and perplexities incident to making a living and attempting to achieve success. Tear-bedimmed eyes are often blind to the beauties that surround us. Life sometimes seems a parched and barren desert, when, as a matter of fact, there is comfort, even happiness within our grasp if we could or would but reach for it.
The Lord has given us life, and with it free agency; and eternal life is his greatest gift to man.
To the Church in all the world the message of the First Presidency, the Council of the Twelve, and the other General Authorities is: Be true and loyal to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. "Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord".
God help us so to be true, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder ElRay L. Christiansen
ElRay L. Christiansen, Conference Report, October 1961, pp. 9-11
With you, my brothers and sisters, I have been deeply moved by the message of President McKay this morning-so timely, so fitting, so true! He is, indeed, the prophet of God in this day. To this I testify! I know also that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, and that through the restoration of the gospel he has given a divine plan for living which will help all of us who adhere to it to avoid the pitfalls and the sorrows that will surely come if we depart therefrom. If ever there were a day in the world when the gospel of Jesus Christ is needed, it is today! It is needed to give us fortitude and direction.
The gospel is more than something just to talk about, however. It is a design for living, for successful living, for happy living. It calls for deeds, action, and proper conduct on the part of each and all of us. Its principles are not limited to the payment of tithing, the Word of Wisdom, keeping holy the Sabbath day-they are part of the gospel, of course, and are very important, but the gospel embraces all truth and the application of all virtues. "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".
The principles enunciated in that Article of Faith are designed to help us to become more refined, more reliable, more peaceable, more Christlike.
One of the virtues mentioned is benevolence, which is the disposition to do good, to be kind, to be charitable to others. Among the beautiful principles taught the multitude by Jesus upon the mountain was this: "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them". This is often referred to as the Golden Rule. It is another version of the second great commandment, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself"
Laws, rules, regulations are designed to give society a more safe and a more orderly way of living. But it is understandable that even though we have innumerable laws, both civil and ecclesiastical, to direct us, laws cannot be made to cover each specific act or each transaction that we make. For this reason we must develop a conscience attuned to the will of the Lord. We must develop a feeling of obligation to do what is right. We must countenance no subterfuge, no evasiveness. When correct laws are not written to guide us, we must conduct ourselves by correct principles, by high standards of personal ethics.
To illustrate: An opportunist, knowing that he was protected by the letter of the law, was led to exploit and take advantage of a widow who was not versed in the law and by clever maneuvering caused her to lose her property and her savings while technically he was within the law. He was led to do this unjust deed because he was not sensitive to correct principles or the desire to do good. Rather he was motivated by a desire for personal gain even at the expense of another.
In the Bible we read: "Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him".
In contrast to this selfish exploitation consider the report that was given in the Relief Society conference held earlier this week. With the desire to do good-224,000 hours were spent in compassionate service; 775,000 hours spent by these sisters in welfare service, doing good unto their neighbors.
True greatness and integrity are found together in men. Great minds are motivated by self-sacrifice, not by self-seeking. Strong men have the moral courage to choose the right above economic advantage, even though it may be within the letter of the law for them to do otherwise.
"... whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them".
Now, to what degree is this principle being applied in your life and in mine? Do we take all that we can get for a commodity or for a service, or do we accept a reasonable and fair return?
When I was a youth, I was greatly impressed by the honor and fairness of a man in the community who offered for sale his hay at a certain price a ton. When others told him that because of scarcity he could obtain a higher price for the hay, he replied, "I know, I know. But if I were buying the hay I would not want to pay more than the price I have set, so why should I require my neighbor to pay more?"
True religion is the activated love of God and of neighbor. It is based on good deeds, not good intentions, not merely good words.
The Article of Faith that I have referred to states: "We believe in being true", which means that we are true to a trust, we can be relied upon, we are upright in our dealings.
Some years ago I arranged with a fine man to purchase a building lot in Logan. It was a choice lot in a choice place, the only lot left in the area. The price was agreed upon, and I offered some earnest money, so-called, to bind the agreement until the deed was prepared, but the owner said, "In my dealings, I never require down payments. You can pay me when the deed is ready." During the time he was preparing the papers, he received two or three other offers at a price considerably higher. He could have sold at a higher price, but he did not. "That is what we agreed upon," he said. His word was as good as his bond.
Dr. James E. Talmage has reminded us in his writings, "Religion without morality, professions of godliness without charity, Church membership without adequate responsibility as to honorable individual conduct in daily life, are but as sounding brass and tinkling cymbals, noise without music, the words without the spirit of prayer."
One does not truly love the Lord unless he lives according to the moral principles that he has given us. "... whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them". That is a grand principle, so simple, so just.
Now, if I wish to help make this a better world, I should begin by improving myself. As someone said, "Oh, Lord, reform the world, beginning with me." If this principle were practised in our homes-love, respect, unselfishness would abound. If this principle were practised in our communities-robberies, assaults, and even many traffic accidents would be avoided. If this principle were practised by mankind generally, the dangers threatening us would vanish; wickedness would ultimately cease, waste of public funds would be eliminated, strikes would be unnecessary; peace would prevail.
Even though revolutionary changes are taking place all over the world, even in our own land, we must remember that God has not changed. Virtue, honesty, trust, a desire to do good, a desire to be helpful are still basic and indispensable principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In the first section of the Doctrine and Covenants, we are told that "... the Lord shall come to recompense unto every man according to his work, and measure to every man according to the measure which he has measured to his fellow man".
"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them".
In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Marion Duff Hanks
Marion D. Hanks, Conference Report, October 1961, pp. 11-14
Brother Christiansen's quotation makes me think of another attributed to an ancient, who said, "Lord, make me good, but not yet." That which we would hope the Lord might do for us we had best begin to do for ourselves with prayer and seeking his blessings, now, while there is time.
It was a glorious experience this morning to look into your faces and shake hands with many of you and nod at others. I sat recalling the many places where I have been blessed to see you and thought that I have seldom been willing to comfort myself that I have contributed greatly to you, but that I have always come away thanking the Lord for what you have contributed to me. In the years of my association with you through the stakes and missions and in the institutions of the Church, I have yet to be imposed upon by one filthy word or unworthy idea or evil story. I have had association under other circumstances, and I thank God for the fellowship of the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and for the fellowship of people of good will outside that Church who share common objectives and who have loyalty and devotion in their own way to their own faiths and persuasions.
But it is to this group this morning that I would hope to address a thought or two which seem to me at this moment to be of extreme significance. Charles Malik, the former president of the United Nations General Assembly, a great diplomat and man, a time ago made this statement: "We-all of us-need a mighty spiritual revival. The ideal of a settled, successful, selfish life is wholly inadequate. One craves to see great themes sought and discussed, great causes espoused. One burns for the reintroduction into life of the pursuit of greatness. Everywhere I go I find people sitting on the edge of their seats, waiting to be shown the way.
"There are infinite possibilities, both material and moral, to vindicate freedom against unfreedom, joy of living against tyranny, man against all that is subhuman and inhuman, truth against darkness and falsehood, and God against the devil and his works. The time is here not for pessimism and despair, but for a vast advance on many fronts."
I believe that these words are true. They reflect the experience I have had. They have been stated in his own way by President McKay this morning, and I sat thinking of what the Lord has said to bulwark and sustain and lay the foundation for optimism and faith in this time of apprehension and uncertainty and discontent and fear.
There was a little band of struggling people in Harmony, Pennsylvania, in 1829. There was not yet a Church; there was not yet a published Book of Mormon. There was a man with a
To this struggling little band, beset and sore tried, and I am sure some of them seriously concerned, came these words:
"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".
In 1831 there was a Church and a published Book of Mormon, an organization with officers, but the little Church was in its formative period. There was imposition. There was already serious mobbing. There was disbelief and great antagonism.
In that day to his people, through the Prophet, the Lord said:
"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".
Through all the books of recorded revelations of God to man, one may read again and again the marvelous message of fearlessness, of faith, of courage, of testimony, of a sound, strong mind. The words of Paul to Timothy, his son in the gospel, give strength and courage and ought to lay foundations for us to stand up where we are and bear our own witness of faith and not of fear. Said Paul to Timothy, as well you know, "For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind".
Out of the ancient record words well known, again, to all of you, words of faith and assurance: "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me".
Through all the dealings of God with man there have been trials and troubles and afflictions and impositions and apprehensions, and there have been the repeated assurances of God to man that he should be of courage and not fear.
There is one other citation in the Doctrine and Covenants which I would note, and one from the Book of Mormon. The section known as thirty-eight has in it some of the great literature of the restoration, in my estimation, and among the statements of faith and assurance God gave is this magnificent, simple and wonderful one: "... if ye are prepared ye shall not fear".
Alma, teaching the people out of his own experience, and some of it had been less than admirable in his youth, answered in a most marvelous way what the preparation is that we must have if we are to stand without fear. In the fifth chapter of the book of Alma are these wonderful words, and they are written to those who had once experienced a change of heart. Alma's question to them is "... if you have experienced a change of heart, and if you have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can you feel so now?" And then these questions:
"Have ye walked, keeping yourselves blameless before God? Could ye say, if ye were called to die at this time, within yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently humble?"
"Behold, are ye stripped of pride? I say unto you, if ye are not ye are not prepared to meet God. Behold ye must prepare quickly; for the kingdom of heaven is soon at hand, and such an one hath not eternal life.
"Behold, I say, is there one among you who is not stripped of envy? I say unto you that such an one is not prepared...
"... is there one among you that doth make a mock of his brother, or that heapeth upon him persecutions?
"Wo unto such an one, for he is not prepared".
The Lord has given us in his great goodness and graciousness a foundation of firmness upon which we may stand if we will, without fear, but with faith, based on preparation, a preparation which he, through his prophets, has clearly spelled out. If you have had a testimony of the gospel, if you have felt in your heart this great stirring, moving, satisfying love of God, do you have it now? Are you obedient? Do you keep the commandments of God?
He talked of humility and of faithfulness. He talked of weeding out of our lives pride and envy, persecutions and mockery. I offer these simple suggestions-over-simplified and only in headline-as to what we may do to have faith and weed out fear. We may learn the gospel. We may obey the injunction of God to search diligently, to seek, to knock, to ask, to invest ourselves in an honest effort to know what we are talking about.
I heard someone say that those who read the Book of Mormon out loud to put that book on the records which are for sale completed the task in something like thirty-five hours or less. Yet there are Latter-day Saints who live and die and never read the book.
In addition to learning, we must live as the Lord has commanded us. There are so many marvelous directions and injunctions and suggestions and commandments from God, but let me repeat only a few words, very familiar to all of you, because they seem to me to constitute the heart of the spirit of faith which we can have if we will. The Lord said that if we exercise power and authority and leadership in the Church it must be done on the basis of "... persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;
"By kindness, and pure knowledge...
"Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom we have reproved, lest he esteem us to be his enemy".
The word charity is used, and the word virtue. I thought at an early hour this morning of some counsel Alma gave his son, Shiblon. Some of the great instructions of the Book of Mormon are given by fathers to their own sons, a magnificent example, and some of the greatest testimonies borne. Hear these words of Alma to Shiblon:
"Do not pray as the Zoramites do, for ye have seen that they pray to be heard of men, and to be praised for their wisdom.
"Do not say: O God, I thank thee that we are better than our brethren; but rather say: O Lord, forgive my unworthiness, and remember my brethren in mercy-yea, acknowledge your unworthiness before God at all times".
If we are to have faith and turn away fear, we must learn and live, and I would add, share and serve the gospel of Jesus Christ. You are all very familiar with the impressive account in the story of Lehi's vision of the great satisfaction that came to Lehi as he tasted the fruit of the tree-that tree which represented the love of God. Let me read you what followed his expression of satisfaction as he tasted the love of God.
"And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to exceed all the whiteness that I had ever seen.
"And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceeding great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also".
I conceive this to be the simplest and most understandable of human emotions. That which is beautiful and good and satisfying to the soul is infinitely more so when shared with those we love. I believe this is the foundation of the missionary work of the Church, of the Primary program and the genealogical program and the serviceman's program, and every other effort made by the Church to lift and inspire and strengthen the individual child of God.
If we will learn for ourselves through investment, through effort, through search, if we will live and share and serve God-the gospel, his good word, his glad tidings-then we have no need to fear, not him who can kill the body, not any man, or any foe. We have need to do all that we can. We have need to make the kind of preparation God asks of us, and if we have so done, then we can stand with a spirit of power, of strength, of a sound mind, and bear testimony of Jesus. We can be of good cheer and fear not. We can have that fearlessness characteristic of God's children in all the ages who have had such a change of heart-the change of which our President has spoken today. The prophets of old spoke of it, and of it I testify, thanking God that so far as I am able to know my own heart and my own mind, I may say to you that I am not afraid of Mr. Khrushchev or what he can do. I am afraid of the influence of the one whom the scriptures occasionally call Beelzebub. I have a respect for him and what he can do if we permit him. I do not want my feet on the side of the line where he is in charge.
I pray that God will bless me and you and through us all whom we may touch, that we may radiate, exude a spirit of faith and not of fear, that we will make preparation and then stand humbly before God, of good cheer and without fear. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop Joseph L. Wirthlin
Joseph L. Wirthlin, Conference Report, October 1961, pp. 14-16
President McKay, my beloved brethren and sisters, I am more than grateful for the privilege of expressing to you my heartfelt appreciation. As I meet the members of the Church in the various stakes, I am meeting with my brethren and sisters, for we are brethren and sisters. I think of our Older Brother Jesus Christ the Son of God. It is a wonderful thing to know that we are all brethren and sisters and, above all, that we are the sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, and also that Jesus Christ is our Older Brother.
I want to bear testimony to you that I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet. There is no question about that in my mind. I am so grateful that in my own soul I can bear that testimony without any hesitation whatsoever. It was necessary for the world to have a prophet that the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in its fulness might be available to the sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. Joseph Smith was a Prophet, and those who have followed him are also prophets, every one of them. President McKay is a prophet, a seer, and a revelator, brethren and sisters. That is my testimony to you this morning.
I think of the marvelous revelation given by the Lord to the Prophet Joseph in the eighty-eighth section of the Doctrine and Covenants. I suggest that you read it in your homes with your sons and daughters. It is called the Olive Leaf, and it states that the light of truth is the light of Christ. If the whole world could accept Jesus Christ as the Son of God, there is no question but that many of the problems which now exist could be solved, and out of it we would have peace and good will. In the final analysis, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has the responsibility of teaching to the world that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
At some future time, the missionaries and representatives of the Church of Jesus Christ are going to have the opportunity to preach the gospel to the Russian people. Just how it shall happen or what will bring it about, I cannot tell you. But in the main, the Russian people are a good people. When the Lord makes it possible for missionaries to go into that area and preach the gospel, literally millions of them will accept it, and that same feeling of the light of truth, the light of Christ, will come to them.
It does not only mean to the people in Russia, but it also means to the people in China where there are literally millions and millions of the Lord's sons and daughters who do not know that Jesus Christ existed. But in the way of the Lord, the missionaries somehow are going to preach the gospel to the people in China.
What I say about China is equally true with reference to India. I recall an experience which I had this past summer with an individual from India who had spent some time at Brigham Young University. He came to our offices, and I had the privilege of meeting him. He indicated to me that he had read the Book of Mormon. I asked him the question, "Do you believe the Book of Mormon is true, that it is the real history of America?" He said, "Yes, I accept it." I said, "Then, if you accept the Book of Mormon, you, no doubt, have given some consideration to Christ and Joseph Smith." He said, "I have done that. Joseph Smith is a prophet." I made clear to him that we had another prophet with the same authority, with the same rights to divine guidance as existed in the days of Joseph Smith, namely, President McKay. He said, "I hope the time will come when you will send your missionaries into India. I am satisfied that our people are now waiting for something different, something else, something they do not have." President McKay, I am sure that some day the missionaries will go into India and preach the gospel to the millions and millions of individuals who do not know very much about Christ and never will know until we have the opportunity to teach them the gospel.
The Lord said in the eighty-eighth section of the Doctrine and Covenants to search for the truth through study and prayer. I am sure that every convert of the Church accepts the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ through study and prayer. Prayer is most important to converts.
In the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord said to us:
"Cease to be idle; cease to be unclean; cease to find fault one with another; cease to sleep longer than is needful, retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated.
"And above all things, clothe yourselves with the bond of charity, as with a mantle, which is the bond of perfectness and peace".
I have thought of this wonderful statement many times in that marvelous revelation: "Cease to be idle." The membership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, brethren and sisters, do not have time to be idle. It is wonderful that in this great organization every man and every woman and every child, regardless of age, has something to do. That is the great fundamental difference between the Church of Jesus Christ and the churches of the world. "Cease to be idle."
We must set the proper example to the people of America. We cannot afford to have idle people. Every American ought to have something to do. This will protect him against the power of the evil one, Satan.
I think of certain organizations which give individuals the right to work only for a short time. Some of them advocate only four or five days a week. That is contrary to the mind and will of our Heavenly Father. The Lord set us a proper example when he said, "Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work". And what is the seventh day to be? The seventh day is the day when we worship the Lord, when we meet our assignments in connection with the Church and, above all, have the opportunity of attending Sacrament meeting, the most important meeting of the whole week. It is my prayer that the attendance at our Sacrament meeting will be one hundred percent. I hope that in America we will not have the experience that I had in Germany in 1914 while preaching the gospel to the German people. I passed a great cathedral each weekend. One morning I went inside. It was beautiful, and I also noticed that there were four people in the attitude of prayer. The next week something happened to Germany. What was it? Germany was at war with France, England, and Russia. Again I went back and found the cathedral was filled to capacity with as many people outside as there were inside. They had all gone there for one purpose only: to pray to the Lord that their husbands and their sons and those who were on the front fighting for Germany might be protected.
I hope that in America we are not going to be forced to pray because of difficulties and possibilities of war, but we are going to be a prayerful people and recognize that God lives and that Jesus Christ is his Son.
In this marvelous revelation I have just read to you, the Lord not only said, "Cease to be idle," but he also said, "cease to be unclean." I hope and pray with all my heart that America will be a clean nation.
The Lord also said, "... cease to find fault one with another." In every Latter-day Saint home care should be taken when a father criticizes a son or a son is critical of a father or when a mother is critical of her daughter or a daughter is critical of her mother; it brings into the home the power of the evil one, and the Spirit of the Lord will not dwell there. Faultfinding should be eliminated in the family relationship.
Again it states, "... cease to sleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary." Much could be said about this. Youth must have its recreation, we will all admit, but the right kind of recreation is going to be that which is under the direction of the priesthood. We have these wonderful buildings, these recreation halls, where the right kind of recreation is available, and where these events will start at such a time that youth may return home by at least twelve o'clock. After twelve o'clock is when the power of the evil one overtakes youth and others. We should see to it that they retire to their beds early that when they get up in the morning they are not weary. That means much to youth, particularly those who are attending school, for out of the strength they have mentally and physically, they are able to meet the assignments that may be given to them by their instructors. The promise is given, "... arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated."
Prayer is also mentioned when the head of the family, who does or does not hold the Melchizedek Priesthood, can call his wife, his sons and his daughters in the morning hours to ask the Lord for divine guidance in whatever their assignments might be. Then as the night hours come on, they can talk to that same Lord and extend gratitude and thanks for the many blessings they enjoy. "Pray always, that ye might not faint, until I come. Behold, and lo, I will come quickly, and receive you unto myself. Amen".
Let us read the eighty-eighth section of the Doctrine and Covenants. It is a marvelous revelation. We need it brethren and sisters. We have problems, and we will continue to have them, and the Lord has always given us information and divine guidance to solve them through these instructions.
I pray the Lord to bless you all in your endeavors to guide and direct you that we may enjoy the divine guidance of our Heavenly Father, which I pray will be the blessing of each and every one of us, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, October 1961, pp. 18-20
I consider this a great honor and a privilege to stand before this vast body, mostly of men holding the priesthood, to bear testimony unto them of my faith. I seek the guidance of the Spirit of the Lord in what I have to say.
During the past week or two I have received a number of letters from different parts of the United States written by people, some of whom at least are a little concerned because they have been approached by enemies of the Church and enemies of the Book of Mormon, who had made the statement that there have been one or two or more thousand changes in the Book of Mormon since the first edition was published. Well, of course, there is no truth in that statement.
It is true that when the Book of Mormon was printed the printer was a man who was unfriendly. The publication of the book was done under adverse circumstances, and there were a few errors, mostly typographical-conditions that arise in most any book that is being published-but there was not one thing in the Book of Mormon or in the second edition or any other edition since that in any way contradicts the first edition, and such changes as were made, were made by the Prophet Joseph Smith because under those adverse conditions the Book of Mormon was published. But there was no change of doctrine.
Now, these sons of Belial who circulate these reports evidently know better. I will not use the word that is in my mind. I started to read the Book of Mormon before I was old enough to be a deacon, and I have been reading it ever since, and I know that it is true. Every member of the Church ought to know that it is true, and we ought to be prepared with an answer to all of these critics who condemn it. They are laying themselves open to punishment when they come to the judgment, and the Lord has said that such characters would arise. Moroni wrote about them, and the Lord answered him in regard to the critics that "fools mock, but they shall mourn".
We have been trying this year to get every man holding the priesthood, and our sisters too, to read the Book of Mormon during the year 1961-no matter how many times they may have read it before. It seems to me that any member of this Church would never be satisfied until he or she had read the Book of Mormon time and time again, and thoroughly considered it so that he or she could bear witness that it is in very deed a record with the inspiration of the Almighty upon it, and that its history is true.
I can testify of that, for I know the Book of Mormon is true just as well as I know I am standing here in this building facing you.
So much for that. I want to address myself to the men holding the priesthood, particularly, and to their wives and to all other members of the Church. No member of this Church can stand approved in the presence of God who has not seriously and carefully read the Book of Mormon, and I think I could add to that also, as far as our brethren are concerned, the Doctrine and Covenants.
We have besides the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants, another record which is priceless, as these records are, that every member of this Church ought to have read, and which I fear many have not read. I have reference to the Pearl of Great Price. It seems to me that a member of this Church would not be able to rest in peace and comfort and have a clear conscience without having knowledge by study and by faith of the standard works of the Church. These records are priceless. The world mocks at them, but through their teachings we are permitted to come nearer unto God, get a better understanding of our Heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ, become closer acquainted with them and to know more in regard to the wonderful plan of salvation which they have given unto us and unto the world if it will receive the plan that will exalt us in the kingdom of God to become his sons and his daughters, receiving the fulness of that kingdom.
In closing this record, Moroni wrote these words: "And I exhort you to remember these things; for the time speedily cometh that ye shall know that I lie not, for ye shall see me at the bar of God, and the Lord God will say unto you: Did I not declare my words unto you, which were written by this man, like as one crying from the dead, yea, even as one speaking out of the dust?
"I declare these things unto the fulfilling of the prophecies. And behold, they shall proceed forth out of the mouth of the everlasting God; and his word shall hiss forth from generation to generation.
"And God shall show unto you, that that which I have written is true.
"And again I would exhort you that ye would come unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good gift, and touch not the evil gift, nor the unclean thing".
That is the counsel of Moroni as he closed his record, not only to the members of the Church, but to every soul unto whom this record comes. I want to bear testimony to you, my good brethren here, and our sisters and to the members of the Church who listen in and to everyone else, that I know that the Book of Mormon is true, that Joseph Smith received it from the hand of God through an angel that was sent to reveal it, the same angel who, while living in this world, finished the record and sealed it up to come forth in this Dispensation of the Fulness of Times.
I would like to call your attention to one thing in the Book of Mormon. The Lord has promised us greater knowledge, greater understanding than we find in the Book of Mormon, when we are prepared to receive it. When the brother of Jared went upon the mount to have the Lord touch stones to give them light to light their way across the great ocean, the Lord revealed to him the history of this world from the beginning of it to the end. We do not have it.
I am going to read one or two passages of scripture from the Book of Mormon in relation to that matter.
"And he" "did expound all things, even from the beginning until the time that he should come in his glory-yea, even all things which should come upon the face of the earth, even until the elements should melt with fervent heat, and the earth should be wrapt together as a scroll, and the heavens and the earth should pass away".
All of that was written and given to the Nephites. We do not have that record, and the Lord said this-which is concerning us particularly-and Mormon wrote it:
"And these things have I written, which are a lesser part of the things which he taught the people; and I have written them to the intent that they may be brought again unto this people, from the Gentiles, according to the words which Jesus hath spoken.
"And when they shall have received this, which is expedient that they should have first, to try their faith, and if it shall so be that they shall believe these things then shall the greater things be made manifest unto them.
"And if it so be that they will not believe these things, then shall the greater things be withheld from them, unto their condemnation".
I say that when the brother of Jared went on the mount, the Lord revealed the history of this earth to him from the beginning to the end thereof, but we do not have it. But when the Nephites became righteous, after the visit of the Son of God, the Lord revealed that record to them, and then when they began to fall away, he took the record away again and hid it up. Here is what the Lord says about it.
"And after Christ truly had showed himself unto his people, he commanded that they should be made manifest."
"And now, after that, they have all dwindled in unbelief; and there is none save it be the Lamanites, and they have rejected the gospel of Christ; therefore I am commanded that I should hide them up again in the earth".
For the sake of time I will skip a little and say that the Lord has promised that we can have that hidden record when we are prepared to receive it. I will read it.
"For the Lord said unto me: They shall not go forth unto the Gentiles until the day that they shall repent of their iniquity, and become clean before the Lord.
"And in that day that they shall exercise faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations, saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of the heavens and of the earth, and all things that in them are".
Now the Lord has placed us on probation as members of the Church. He has given us the Book of Mormon, which is the lesser part, to build up our faith through our obedience to the counsels which it contains, and when we ourselves, members of the Church, are willing to keep the commandments as they have been given to us and show our faith as the Nephites did for a short period of time, then the Lord is ready to bring forth the other record and give it to us, but we are not ready now to receive it. Why? Because we have not lived up to the requirements in this probationary state in the reading of the record which had been given to us and in following its counsels.
Brethren, teach the men who hold the priesthood in their quorums. Teach the members of the Church in their meetings, and also when you visit them in their homes as ward teachers. Whenever the opportunity presents itself, teach them to read and study in faith and prayer the revelations the Lord has given us that we may not be deceived and led astray by false teachers.
We have false teachers among us. We have apostates among us who are endeavoring to tear down and destroy the kingdom of God, and they are disturbing a great many members of the Church. Why? Because they haven't the faith nor the background in knowledge to resist these false teachers and their false doctrines.
Let me plead with the membership of this Church for humility, for faith, for more prayer, more study, more love in their hearts for God their Eternal Father and his Son Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Delbert L. Stapley
Delbert L. Stapley, Conference Report, October 1961, pp. 20-24
My brothers and sisters, I trust the talk I have prepared will not depart from the excellent and very choice theme introduced this morning by our beloved President, David O. McKay. I have thought much about the Lord's warning given in this last dispensation against the evils and designs of conspiring men in the last days. When calling our attention to man's crafty schemes and artful intrigues, the Lord did not confine the warning, as I understand it, to the forbidden items which are specifically mentioned in the revelation on the Word of Wisdom or which have been interpreted as belonging to this divine law of health. May I read to you this admonition and warning:
"Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you: In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation-".
The Word of Wisdom is a well selected and timely example chosen by the Lord for the Saints' understanding of this warning against the evils and designs of conspiring men.
The Lord foresaw the evils of our day and the designs of cunning and deceiving men who operate under the influence of Satan and his satanic hosts. Satan's power to deceive and to lead astray the children of men is unquestioned. The scriptures are full of such examples.
To be forewarned is to be forearmed. We, the people of the Lord, cannot afford to be lulled into peaceful security and complacency. The dangers of our day are real and knocking constantly and unrelentingly at our doors. How ably will we meet the challenge of these evil influences and designs of wicked men? The test of true Church membership is here. Can we stand firm and true to the principles, ideals and standards of the gospel, or will we be so naive and unsuspecting as to fall into the traps of evil so cunningly planned and promoted by designing and conspiring men? Those of a religious nature are so often classified naive and innocently unsuspecting. The Savior knowing of this attribute counseled his disciples, "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves." And he added: "... beware of men".
Possessing, as we do, the endowment of the Holy Ghost, if worthy, we are entitled to the gift of discernment to guide and help us avoid the pitfalls of scheming and designing men to trap and ensnare us into the meshes of worldly lusts, influences, and pleasures.
I repeat, this warning concerning the evils and designs of conspiring men, although given in the revelation on the Word of Wisdom, has a much broader application than normally applied to its forbidden items, and, if rightly viewed, encompasses every field of human endeavor. It is equally true that the use of the things forbidden in the Word of Wisdom also serve to break down the accepted Christian virtues and moral concepts of life which so often lead to other more serious transgressions and sins. To narrow the meaning of this warning would make us vulnerable to the wicked designs of conspiring men who are not interested in the salvation of man but rather are interested in their own personal favor or gain. The Savior gave warning that in these last days Satan will rage in the hearts of the children of men and will stir them up to anger against that which is good.
"And others," said the great American prophet, Nephi, "will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well-and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell".
We cannot with safety say, "all is well in Zion." We cannot afford to become complacent and indifferent to the wicked and deceptive designs of conspiring men. Lehi taught, "For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things". That opposition is present in force today. The pressure of Satan's power is intensified as the time of the Savior's second coming to earth draws near. We have a foreboding example as recorded in the Book of Mormon history of the Nephite people in the years just preceding the birth of Christ into the world. Samuel, the Lamanite prophet, prophesied to the Nephites of the approaching birth of Jesus Christ, our Lord, in the land of Jerusalem. They rejected his witness and testimony. They attempted to explain away the teachings of Samuel and the unusual phenomena of nature so much in evidence on this continent before Christ's birth, which happenings were also prophesied of by their prophets. They accused their spiritual leaders of keeping the people down to be servants to their words, also servants unto them. Thus ignorantly persuaded they were unwilling to yield themselves to the teachings and warnings of the prophets.
To sum up these darkened and hardened attitudes of the Nephites, I quote one paragraph only from the Nephite record:
"And many more things did the people imagine up in their hearts, which were foolish and vain; and they were much disturbed, for Satan did stir them up to do iniquity continually; yea, he did go about spreading rumors and contentions upon all the face of the land, that he might harden the hearts of the people against that which was good and against that which should come".
This account of wickedness and contentions among the Nephites prior to the Lord's birth in the meridian of time is duplicated in the wickedness, contentions, and deceptions of our day as we approach the second coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Prophecies concerning these days are also being fulfilled and Satan is stirring up the hearts of men to do iniquity continually; and to thwart, if possible, faith in the great event of Christ's second coming to earth, which I testify is sure to come to pass. Satan is alert and active. We must be more alert and perceptive of the false and insincere schemes of his agents among us.
Here is a partial list of areas where, in my judgment, the warning applies. The listing is not complete and in no way reflects the order of their seriousness:
In the field of politics the party is so often first, regardless of candidate qualifications or record or party platform and legislative program.
Decisions frequently based upon political expediency and not what is best for the people.
Selfish ambitions of men in departments of government who also seek to perpetuate themselves in office.
Harassing investigations, many of which are either publicity stunts or smoke screens to deceive the public from the underlying motives and purposes.
Pressure groups seeking preferential treatment at the expense of the people as reflected in increased tax burdens.
The tremendous extravagance and waste in government with much covering up of mistakes and errors.
Recreation and amusements in which money is so often spent for that which is of no worth to the individual.
The theater and cinema which so frequently portray and encourage the indecent, immoral, lustful, and worldly imaginations and desires of mankind.
Glamorizing the movie star, the entertainer, or the athlete and placing him or her upon a publicity pedestal when his or her personal life may not measure up to the high ideals of moral and ethical standards of behavior expected of celebrities who are constantly in the public eye.
So much low standard movie productions which weaken the moral virtues, destroy character values, and encourage vice and crime among youth.
In the field of communications, newspapers and other periodicals reveal the vast expanse of man's designs and schemes and frequently accept advertising which is false and misleading. Recommending products, the quality and benefits of which are of questionable value.
Newsstands with so much vile, filthy, and obscene, pornographic literature which is a disgrace and a disease to intelligent minds.
Radio and television portray crime, sex, and the sensational. This worldly and carnal emphasis applies to the cinema productions as well.
The underworld of gambling and vice are constantly and unrelentingly exploiting the innocent and unsuspecting.
Liquor interests and gambling operators partially justify their existence through the heavy taxes paid by them which they claim relieves tax burdens from the people. They fail to mention that by the use of their products and gambling devices, the customer pays the tax and receives no personal good from the product or activity.
Some speculative business operators, also swindlers, with their schemes, stock promotions, and finance plans of an unsound and promotional nature.
Promotions are not always truthful, also short of dependable facts and fail in fulfillment of promised income and rewards.
Organizations with deceptive aims and purposes which operate under the cloak of humanitarian, social, or political guise to gain personal goals or preferred group benefits.
The aims and purposes appearing on the surface do not constitute the real underlying motives of such sponsoring groups. Examples may be found in socialistic and communistic front organizations.
The labor movement in certain areas is permitting management racketeers whose motives are sinister and damaging to the working class, to business, and to government. The end of this serious problem is still before us to be reckoned with.
The narcotic racket which includes the promotion and use of harmful drugs is a constant menace to this and other countries. The number of drug addicts is increasing at an alarming rate. In spite of legislation and controls by the Federal Food and Drug Act, men evade the law, and the traffic in narcotics continues to expand and is an ever-increasing curse to humanity.
The disgraceful abortion racket draws into its net young women pregnant out of wedlock who wish to cover up their sin. Married couples are also guilty of this heinous sin. I refer you to the recent articles on this immoral, murderous racket recently featured in The Saturday Evening Post of May 20 and May 27 of this year.
The sciences are not free from the designs of conspiring men, although true science is fundamental to modern progress and living. The process of discovery, which we call science, is neither good nor evil. It is neutral. But the conditions which it imposes on those who practice it are not neutral. Scientists are human, and many channel their knowledge developing commercial products to realize increased personal wealth. It is the promoters of science whose chief purpose contemplates financial gain where evil and designing men will be found.
Although good ethics exist in the profession of law, nevertheless the profession is not without the unscrupulous cunning, and designing fellow members.
In the practice of medicine and surgery, quacks and non-professional practitioners are found.
Also the physician without knowledge of the main purpose of life to bring souls to earth will advise couples to forego the bearing of children and even advise sterilization to the regret of both husband and wife when conditions change in their lives.
Over-emphasizing surgery, and in some cases needless and even harmful surgery.
Another example is the so-called "cancer cures."
The psychiatrist who attributes cases of maladjustment in men and women to a background of sex inadequacy, suggests as treatment a transgression of the moral code to correct the ill.
The vast production and sale of drugs, which ordinarily are beneficial, yet a fine line must be drawn between the designs of men in the stock market and the actual medical need of the drug.
Teachers in educational fields promoting wrong ideas and theories, also personal views which undermine the ethical, moral, and spiritual values which youth should freely receive in the classroom. In the field of philosophy are found the deceptive sophistries of men. Also the modern intellectual and free thinker who attempts to modify, change, or improve upon the glorious truths, principles, and standards revealed of God to his chosen prophets who speak authoritatively by his divine power and wisdom.
Then there are always the insincere and unethical, as well as the deceiver and anti-Christ to deal with.
These are but a few areas in the affairs of mankind where the agents of evil prey upon the unsuspecting and innocent. It has ever been so in the history of man and today unfortunately, the picture has not changed, but operates upon a much broader scale. Man's desires and actions are not always pleasing to God, and in this era of time it seems man's conspiring designs and deceptions are destroying the ethics and morals pleasing to an all-wise and loving Father. Youth is systematically exploited with great energy by the unscrupulous and scheming agents of evil. Youth requires wise counsel, good example, and understanding teachers to guide them.
In the Church, as elsewhere, we are at grips with the trying problems of evil. Therefore, we should be on guard constantly and so live as to discern the designs and intents of the wicked and not fall prey to their sinister schemes and motives. The Lord has been most kind and considerate by giving us this knowledge and warning by revelation. Will we heed the warning and not yield to Satan's powers and stratagems to deceive and to destroy us? Our peace, our safety, our happiness is in listening to and following the teachings and instructions of the Lord's anointed.
I pray, my brothers and sisters, that we will have faith in the revelations and abide by the commandments, warnings, and admonitions which the Lord has given for our guidance, blessing, and exaltation, and with the eye of faith see through men's evil designs and with courage and wise purpose avoid them as a plague.
God bless us with wisdom and judgment to do so, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder John Longden
John Longden, Conference Report, October 1961, pp. 24-26
In just five days it will have been ten years since I was called to become an assistant to the Council of the Twelve. This is the twentieth time that I have appeared in the Tabernacle in this position, and I assure you it does not get any easier. It has been a decade of joy and pleasure in visiting throughout the Church in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, and the Islands of the South Pacific-Tahiti, Tonga, Samoa, Cook Islands, Australia, and New Zealand.
I am so grateful for the rich privileges and blessings which have been mine in association with members of the Church who are striving to effect in their lives the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ, members coming, I presume, from all the churches that are organized in the world. Some not having claim to any church have been willing to listen to the missionaries and in so doing catch the spirit of the great message which they have.
I think of the words of Brigham Young, the leader of modern-day Israel. What a leader he was in taking the reins after the Prophet Joseph's martyrdom! He made this declaration: "Truth is my text, the Gospel of salvation my subject, and the world my circuit."
This Church embodies all truth. Faithful members in this Church know that all truth emanates from God our Eternal Father. He is the fountain source of truth. There is no half-truth or untruth in this Church. I remember hearing President George Albert Smith, another mouthpiece and prophet of the Lord, declare on several occasions, as he was making an appeal to others who might not yet have accepted the full truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ that they not give up the truths that they had espoused but further investigate and study and search for themselves, and they would find that which we proclaim is all truth, and that they would receive a witness of this.
That is the appeal that I have felt has emanated from the sessions of this conference thus far. I know in every fiber of my being that this Church embodies all truth. My, how the world needs this truth today in order to put down error, in order to do away with the things which Brother Stapley has called to our attention.
It is truth to believe that God lives. It is truth to believe that Jesus is his Divine Son, the Savior of the world. It is truth to believe that they, both of them, appeared to the boy, Joseph Smith, in the Sacred Grove. It is truth to believe that after he was proved and tested and tried he had the responsibility of re-establishing the Church of Jesus Christ again in the earth. It is truth to believe that all the powers of the Holy Ghost and the priesthood have been restored.
Yes, I testify that truth is our text in very deed. And I also testify that we have the gospel of salvation, and not only salvation but also exaltation for all our Heavenly Father's children who will accept these truths and live in obedience to them. It is marvelous to see the gospel work in the lives of individuals. About six weeks ago today, I had the opportunity of being on the Island of Tahiti, where I witnessed there a few days before, the construction of a little Fali or chapel with a thatched roof, where the members had been willing to go out and cut down the coconut trees for the posts of that chapel and then tie the palms together for the roof, and then braiding the palms to make the sides so that if it stormed they would have protection from the wind and the rain. Otherwise, the sides would be open.
There was a sand floor. Benches had been made at a cost of probably ten or fifteen dollars, the total cost of the little chapel about twenty to twenty-five dollars. As is the case all over the Church, those people were willing to put in their time and their effort, and in ten days the chapel was constructed. I had the privilege of dedicating that little building, with 134 people assembled-more than it could hold. Some were on the outside. The Spirit of the Lord was there. They were people willing to learn about salvation and exaltation. They were hungry for truth.
Just a week ago tonight it was my opportunity and privilege to dedicate the Pesega chapel in Upolu, Western Samoa. The prime minister of Western Samoa was in attendance and spoke at the services, commending our people because he saw lives that had been changed into something worthwhile as they put away the material things of life, put away the pitfalls and the snares of the adversary, and were willing to cling to truth, having a vision which this Church offers to all the world of their possibilities and the development of their potential.
About five weeks ago in New Zealand, in Christchurch, we went into a lovely building that is being constructed, entirely different from the one I have referred to at Faaoue in Tahiti. That is a glorious spot. Here was a young woman-many working-but one young woman all wrapped up, it seemed, with two or three sweaters because Christchurch can be very cold in winter and early spring, and there is nothing colder than a new building under construction without any heat, as you workmen know. Upon being introduced to her I learned that she had come all the way from Auckland at her own expense. She had a week's holiday, and she was willing to serve that time in painting inside the Church because she also has a witness of the truth of the gospel of salvation and exaltation. Many all over the world are gaining this witness that this is truth and that it offers something here in mortality to live by and also that glorious hope and promise of the Master that we shall have the privilege of dwelling with him and his father-his literal Father and the Father of our spirits eternally.
Yes, this is a gospel of salvation-salvation from the clutches of Satan, salvation from the powers of men, salvation which gives us strength to live by here, and a goal to work toward.
Brigham Young stated that the world was our circuit. I have not had the privilege of going around the world, but half of it at least, and as I say, I have met with hundreds of missionaries who are willing to leave their homes and their loved ones, their families, their personal pursuits, to go out and serve. I am so grateful for this privilege to mingle with the youth, to feel of their spirit, and to give them encouragement of what their possibilities are if they will continue to follow truth.
I bring many greetings to all friends and loved ones from missionaries I have visited within the last six weeks in New Zealand, in Tahiti, and in Samoa.
These missionaries are willing to teach the world that this is the gospel of truth, the gospel of salvation and exaltation, for the world is our circuit, just as Brigham Young said, and it applies more than ever today.
"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world... and then shall the end come".
This gospel of the kingdom is truly going forth to all mankind. Some nations today do not allow our missionaries to come in, but that is not the fault of the prophet of the Lord, President David O. McKay, who has the vision and the inspiration to guide and direct this great missionary labor. All who heard President McKay this morning in his stirring appeal for all to accept and follow truth must be impressed with the sincerity of his message. However, in many nations the gospel is being preached.
So I pray that each one of us may be missionaries in very deed, living and teaching by that power of example and then following the exhortations that have been given to us in these sessions to read and study the scriptures and be so advised that we will be able to teach others by the spirit that they may feel it, receiving the same witness, or a like witness that we have. I bear you my testimony that these things are true and pray for his blessings upon us in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Eldred G. Smith
Eldred G. Smith, Conference Report, October 1961, pp. 26-27
I appreciate the honor of this position, but as other speakers have said, it does not become easier. I see so many in the audience who could do much better than I, yet inasmuch as I am called to take this position, I pray the Lord's blessings will be with me.
We have heard considerable about having faith in the gospel, living the teachings of the gospel. In the School of the Elders in Kirtland, Ohio, the Prophet Joseph Smith stated that there are certain fundamental principles necessary for us to understand respecting Deity and our relation to him. In order that we may exercise faith in him for life and salvation, we must have correct ideas of his character, his perfection and attributes. The Prophet listed such attributes as knowledge, power, justice, judgment, mercy, and truth.
These attributes are necessary to enable any rational being to exercise faith in God, for without the idea of the existence of these attributes in the Deity, men could not exercise faith in him for life and salvation. Without the knowledge of all things, God would not be able to save any part of his creatures; for it is by reason of the knowledge of all things from the beginning to the end that enables him to give that understanding to his creatures by which they are made partakers of eternal life.
If it were not for the idea existing in the minds of men that God has all knowledge, it would be impossible for them to exercise faith in him.
Whom do you worship? Do you worship a Living God or an unknown God, as the Athenians did?
On Mars' hill, Paul said to the Athenians: "... Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.
"For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
"God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
"Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
"And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
"That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
"For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
"Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art, and man's device".
Paul tells us here that we are the offspring of God. Later in his epistle to the Hebrews he tells 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?". So we are the spirit children of God.
In the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord tells us:
"The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's, the Son also".
Now John says, "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth".
Man is also a spirit clothed with flesh and bones, so, too, is God. Again the Lord has said in modern revelation, "For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy". Birth is the uniting of this spirit and elements of physical bodies. Death is the separation. The resurrection is the reuniting of the spirit and the physical body, which the Lord says, "inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy."
So Moses recorded in Genesis: "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them".
I ask-whom do you worship? Whom do I worship? I worship my God who is my Father in heaven, the Father of my spirit, a resurrected, glorified, perfected man, not resurrected from this earth, no, but from some previous earth in the long distant past.
How do I know he is a resurrected man? If he is not, I have no hope in the resurrection. Neither then is Christ resurrected, nor others. Then, too, are all the scriptures false which are replete with references to resurrected beings who have appeared to man?
For example, as recorded in Matthew: "And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
"And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many".
As sure as Jesus Christ is resurrected, so may I have a hope in a resurrection. If men may be resurrected and God is not, then man will have accomplished what God has not and thus become greater than God. This we know is impossible. Hence what men may accomplish, God has accomplished ahead of him.
Then the fact that you are now a mortal on this earth is proof that God, too, at one time in the far distant past, has gone through a life of mortality ahead of you. Hence God is a resurrected, glorified man.
Whom do you worship? I worship the Living God, my Father in heaven, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of this world. I invite all honest in heart every where to join with the faithful Latter-day Saints in worshipping our Father in heaven. I know that God lives and Jesus Christ is his Son, begotten of the Father in the flesh. It is he who stands at the head of this Church, with President David O. McKay as his prophet here today.
May God bless him and his associates in this great work and bless all you good people who endeavor to keep the commandments of God, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, October 1961, pp. 29-34
My beloved brothers and sisters, I hope that of the estimated million who may have been listening this morning, there may have been many among them who might have been kings and their courts, presidents and their cabinets, prime ministers and their associates, editors, commanders of armies and navies and air forces, and all others in the world, particularly our fellow men of the Americas from Tierra del Fuego to Point Barrow-for the prophet of the Lord spoke in stirring tones of warning to all the people of this world.
Our world is in turmoil. It is aging toward senility. It is very ill. Long ago it was born with brilliant prospects. It was baptized by water, and its sins were washed away. It was never baptized by fire, for that is still to come. It has had shorter periods of good health, but longer ones of ailing. Most of the time there have been pains and aches in some parts of its anatomy, but now that it is growing old, complications have set in, and all the ailments seem to be everywhere.
The world has been "cliniced," and the complex diseases have been catalogued. The physicians have had summit consultations, and temporary salve has been rubbed on afflicted parts, but it has only postponed the fatal day and never cured it. It seems that while remedies have been applied, staph infection has set in, and the patient's suffering intensified. His mind is wandering. It cannot remember its previous illnesses nor the cure which was applied. The political physicians through the ages have rejected suggested remedies as unprofessional since they came from lowly prophets. Man being what he is with tendencies such as he has, results can be prognosticated with some degree of accuracy.
In an ancient situation somewhat comparable to our own, there was a great destruction, and when the quiet came, those who were spared were wailing:
"... O that we had repented before this great and terrible day, and then would our brethren have been spared... and our mothers and our fair daughters, and our children... not have been buried".
Today is another day, but history repeats itself. We read the headlines. The great powers warn and threaten. Bombs are detonated. Terror is substituted for reason. Defense stockpiles increase. Nuclear races get swifter. The radios whine. The newspapers carry glaring headlines, politicians wrangle, students and authorities harangue. Everybody expresses opinions, but few approach the real cause or the real cure.
What is the illness? Its symptoms are manifested in every corner of the globe. They are found among men in high places, in hut and mansion. Its symptoms are carelessness, casualness, covetousness, slothfulness, selfishness, dishonesty, disobedience, immorality, uncleanness, unfaithfulness, ungodliness.
Our national and international authorities should know that men have "... been destroyed from generation to generation according to their iniquities; and never hath any of them been destroyed save it were foretold them by the prophets of the Lord". And modern prophets are warning frequently, constantly. People are destroyed by their own acts.
"There is one principle," a modern prophet said, " understand:-that is of blessings and cursings. For instance, we read that war, pestilence, plagues, famine, etc., will be visited upon the inhabitants of the earth, but if distress through the judgments of God comes upon this people, it will be because the majority have turned away from the Lord."
The world's living prophet has warned and pleaded that the people return to God, who has said again: "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise".
This America is no ordinary country. It is a choice land, "choice above all other lands". It has a tragic and bloody past, but a glorious and peaceful future if its inhabitants really learn to serve their God. It was consecrated as a land of promise to the people of the Americas, to whom God gave these great promises:
"It will be a land of liberty to its people".
"They shall never be brought down into captivity".
"And there shall be none to molest them".
"It is a land of promise".
"It shall be free from all nations under heaven."
"There shall be no enemies come into this land."
"It shall be free from bondage".
"There shall be no kings upon the land".
"I will fortify this land against all other nations".
"He that fighteth against Zion shall perish".
But these promises, glorious though they be, desirable as they are, can come only "... if they will but serve the God of this land who is Jesus Christ". There is only one way. That infallible cure is simply righteousness, obedience, Godliness, honor, and integrity. There is no other cure. Mountains of arms and ammunitions will not guarantee safety, for enemies can also build fortifications and missiles and bomb shelters. If we would but believe the prophets! For they have warned that if the "inhabitants of this land are ever brought down into captivity and enslaved, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound cursed shall be the land".
The prophet exclaims again with fervor: "And now we... behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a land of promise; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fulness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fulness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity".
O that men would listen! Why should there be spiritual blindness in the day of brightest material vision? Why must men rely on fortifications and armaments when the God of heaven yearns to bless them? One stroke of his omnipotent hand could make powerless all nations who oppose and save a world even in its death throes.
Jesus Christ our Lord is under no obligation to save this world. The people have ignored him, disbelieved him, failed to follow him. They stand at his mercy which will be extended only if they repent. But to what extent have we repented? Another prophet said, "We call evil good, and good evil". Men have rationalized themselves into thinking that they are "not so bad." Are they fully ripe? Has the rot of age and flabbiness set in? Can they change? They see evil in their enemies, but none in themselves. Even in the true Church numerous of its people fail to attend their meetings, to tithe their incomes, to have their regular prayers, to keep all the commandments. We can transform, but will we? It seems that we would rather tax ourselves into slavery than to pay our tithes; rather build protections and walls than drop to our knees with our families in solemn prayers night and morning.
It seems that rather than fast and pray, we prefer to gorge ourselves at the banquet tables and drink cocktails. Instead of disciplining ourselves, we yield to urges and carnal desires. Numerous billions we spend on liquor and tobacco. A Sabbath show or a game or a race replaces solemn worship. Numerous mothers prefer the added luxuries of two incomes to the satisfactions of seeing children grow up in the fear of God. Men golf and boat and hunt and fish rather than to solemnize the Sabbath. Old man rationalization is with us. Because we are not vicious enough to be confined in penitentiaries, we rationalize that we are pretty good people; that we are not doing so badly. The masses of the people are much like those who escaped destruction in the ancient days of this continent. The Lord said to them:
"O all ye that are spared because ye were more righteous than they, will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?".
The Great Wall of China with its 1,500 miles of unbreakable walls, with its twenty-five feet high impregnableness, with its innumerable watchman towers, was breached by the treachery of men.
The Maginot Line in France, these forts thought to be so strong and impassable, were violated as though they were not there. Strength is not in concrete and re-enforcing steel. Protection is not in walls nor mountains nor cliffs, yet foolish men still lean on "the arm of flesh."
The walls of Babylon were too high to be scaled, too thick to be broken, too strong to be crumbled, but not too deep to be undermined when the human element failed. When the protectors sleep and the leaders are incapacitated with banqueting and drunkenness and immorality, an invading enemy can turn a river from its course and enter through a river bed.
The precipitous walls on the high hills of Jerusalem deflected for a time the arrows and spears of enemies, the catapults and firebrands. But even then wickedness did not lessen, men did not learn lessons. Hunger scaled the walls; thirst broke down the gates; immorality, cannibalism, idolatry, godlessness stalked about till destruction came.
"Experience is a dear teacher but fools will learn by no other." But we continue on in our godlessness. While the iron curtains rise and thicken, we eat, drink, and make merry. While armies are marshaled and march and drill and officers teach men how to kill, we continue to drink and carouse as usual. While bombs are detonated and tested, and fallout settles on the already sick world, we continue in idolatry and adultery. While corridors are threatened and concessions are made, we live riotously and divorce and marry in cycles like the seasons. While leaders quarrel, and editors write, and authorities analyze and prognosticate, we break the Sabbath as though no command had ever been given. While enemies filter into our nation to subvert us and intimidate us and soften us, we continue with our destructive thinking: "It can't happen here."
Will we ever turn wholly to God? Fear envelops the world which could be at ease and peace. In God is protection, safety, peace. He has said, "I will fight your battles". But his commitment is on condition of our faithfulness. He promised to the children of Israel:
"I will give you rain in due season,"
The land shall yield her increase and trees their fruit.
Granaries and barns will bulge in seed time and harvest.
Ye shall eat your bread in abundance.
Ye shall dwell in your land safely and none shall make you afraid.
Neither shall the sword go through your land.
And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight.
But if you fail to serve me:
The land will be barren,
The trees will be without fruit and the fields without verdure.
There will be rationing and a scarcity of food and hunger sore.
No traffic will jam your desolate highways.
Famine will stalk rudely through your doors and the ogre cannibalism will rob you of your children and your remaining virtues.
There will be pestilence uncontrollable.
Your dead bodies will be piled upon the materialistic things you sought so hard to accumulate and save.
I will give no protection against enemies.
They that hate you shall reign over you.
There will be faintness of heart "and the sound of a shaken leaf" shall chase you into flight and you will fall when none pursueth.
Your power-your supremacy-your pride in superiority-will be broken.
Your heaven shall be as iron and your earth as brass. Heaven will not hear your pleadings nor earth bring forth her harvest.
Your strength will be spent in vain as you plow and plant and cultivate.
Your cities will be shambles, your churches in ruins.
Your enemies will be astonished at the barrenness, sterility, desolation of the land they had been told was so choice, so beautiful, so fruitful.
Then shall the land enjoy her Sabbaths under compulsion.
And ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies.
And your people will be scattered among the nations as slaves and bondsmen.
You will pay tribute and bondage and fetters shall bind you.
What a bleak prediction! Yet "These are the statutes and judgments and laws, which the Lord made between him and the children of Israel in Mt. Sinai by the hand of Moses". The Israelites failed to heed the warning. They ignored the prophets. They suffered the fulfillment of every dire prophecy.
Do we twentieth century people have reason to think that we can be immune from the same tragic consequences when we ignore the same divine laws?
With such innumerable blessings as are available to godly people of this land, how can any sane one continue in his careless patterns of life?
There is a cure for the earth's illness, an infallible one.
War clouds gather, fear heightens; tenseness increases, yet there need be no fear and worry and sleepless nights.
Our God rules in the heavens. He lives. He loves. He desires the happiness and well being of all his children. He has a prophet on the earth today who receives his revelations. He is a prophet to all the world. He has on numerous occasions outlined the cure for all international as well as local ills. The diagnosis is sure, and the remedy certain. Today's prophet stands in the same position between God and the people as did Isaiah, Samuel, and even Moses who gave to the world the ten commandments.
But a controlling majority of the people of this world have relegated them to the past.
"Thou shalt have no other gods before me". Yet today we worship the gods of wood and stone and metal. Not always are they in the form of a golden calf, but equally real as objects of protection and worship. They are houses, lands, bank accounts, leisure. They are boats, cars, and luxuries. They are bombs and ships and armaments. We bow down to the god of mammon, the god of luxuries, the god of dissipation.
"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain". Yet on the corner, in public places, on work projects, at banquet tables, there come ringing into our ears the sacred names of Deity without solemnity.
"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy". Yet work goes on, merchandise is sold, athletic entertainments, fishing, hunting go forward without regard to commandments. Conventions, unnecessary travel, family picnics, the Sabbath is violated generally. A relatively few people attend their church services, pay their tithing, serve their fellow men. Few live up to the truth they know. The taverns are full, the beaches crowded, the grandstands packed, man servants, and maid servants hired to duty, the ski lifts busy, canyon picnic tables loaded. Scriptures are read little, and the holy day becomes a holiday.
"Six days shalt thou labour". Yet ever-increasing hours of leisure provide ever increasing opportunities for Sabbath breaking and commandment ignoring, and strikes and lobbying go on to increase damaging leisure and decrease work hours further.
"Thou shalt not commit adultery". Yet this common sin and idolatry run hand in hand. Free love and indiscretions and deviations of every nature are common in our day. Illegitimate births are said to reach as high as one in ten, yet promiscuity far exceeds illegitimacy. This ugly deviation is found among youth and married people. Divorce, ever on the increase, jumping from one divorce for thirty-six weddings in Civil War days now has reached somewhere near one to four. Flirtations, rationalized to be innocent ones, are the root of numerous of the divorces and other ills.
"Thou shalt not steal". Yet in high places and in low, in government office and in business, in everyday life, men have rationalized until consciences seem to have been seared in the matter of honesty. Yet here are bribery, fraud, deceit, theft, padding of expense accounts, tax evasion, installment buying beyond ability to pay, and gambling running into the billions.
The outlook is bleak, but the impending tragedy can be averted. But it can be only through a great repentance and transformation.
"What can I do?" asks the fearful one. I can transform my own life till it is perfected and then influence others when thus transformed. I am prepared to live or die and need not fear. The righteous were saved in Enoch's day and the wicked were drowned in the flood. Other rebellious people were destroyed in the convulsions of the earth in the meridian of time, and they who were more righteous were saved.
Concerning Jerusalem the Lord said: "I will defend this city" when the powerful, invincible Assyrian army camped at the gates. That night the Lord saved Jerusalem from Sennacherib and his 185,000 troops who did not live the night through to attack. Three hundred soldiers and God and Gideon routed the powerful army of the Midianites. The thirteen colonies gained a permanent victory over superior forces, and America was born. The Lord and David slew Goliath, and Israel won many battles when they were righteous. God will fight our battles if we honor him and serve him with all our hearts, might, mind, and strength.
This I know, for the Lord has so declared it through the ages, and I know he lives and is all powerful.
The cause is not lost. If race tracks were closed on the Sabbath, if gambling ceased, drinking eliminated, work and play confined to week days; if stores were closed and all people went to their sanctuaries truly to worship even as best they know; if taverns never opened, and transgressors all repented, and broken homes were mended, and children were trained in uprightness; if families all knelt in prayer night and morning, if tithes were paid and integrity and worship reigned in the lives of men, the era of total peace would be ushered in. Fear would vanish, and enemies would be subdued.
"I will fight your battles," says the Lord God Omnipotent. He never fails his promises.
If we are of the masses who are casual, passive, irreligious, irreverent, unholy, immoral, ungodly, then we must "repent or suffer".
Of course, a one-sided disarmament could be madness if worldliness and materialism continued, but a serious turn of the masses could forestall all military conquests, all tragedies of conflict. God is all powerful.
I plead with men everywhere to "Come, listen to a prophet's voice" and hear the word of God from our living prophet who sits with us here today. I know he is God's recognized prophet. I beg of you to listen and act, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Henry D. Moyle
Henry D. Moyle, Conference Report, October 1961, pp. 43-47
I am sure, my brethren and sisters, that we all appreciate the opportunity to lift our hand to sustain President David O. McKay as President of the Church, and in so doing we have in our hearts a feeling of deep gratitude for the privilege that is thus afforded us as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
It is glorious to be a member. It is glorious to have any office or calling in the Church, no matter how relatively humble the title may sound. I am impressed constantly with the fact that, regardless of our calling, we are all encouraged, we are all dedicated, and we are all working in the service of the Master. I am sure that we do not permit our closeness to the work, we do not permit the fact that we have such ready access to our Father in heaven through prayer to take our membership in the Church lightly or to take our callings in the Church lightly. We are always conscious of his nearness to us and the blessings which we receive in answer to our prayers.
I am sure it would be more pleasing to our Father in heaven to have us resign our positions-and that is not a practice which we commend in the Church-but nonetheless it seems preferable to neglecting our duties in the least detail. It gives us an awesome feeling to realize that we are dedicated to the work of the Lord, and having thus committed ourselves, it is not our privilege or our prerogative to violate his commandments, even the slightest of them. The Lord expects, and we expect it of ourselves, each one of us, to live out our lives here upon this earth in as complete conformity to the laws of God as we are capable. No means of rationalizing, no means of conjuring up excuses as to why we should do this or should not do the other, contrary to the will of our Heavenly Father, has any place in our lives.
I am grateful this morning that throughout the world the work of the Lord is progressing most satisfactorily, indeed so satisfactorily that sometimes we feel that we are hardly capable of keeping up with the progress of the Church.
In the mission field the Lord has blessed us. I just want to give you two figures. In the first nine months of 1959 in the foreign or full-time missions of the Church, we had over 23,000 what we call convert baptisms, and in the first eight months of 1961 we have had over 54,000. We are constantly asked why it is that this great increase in converts should come about at this particular time.
My first answer to that question would be that the faithfulness and the devotion of the Saints, their efforts to live lives of righteousness, to dedicate their lives to the principles of truth and right, is of primary importance. We know without any question of a doubt that the blessings which descend upon us as a people are directly commensurate with our faithfulness, with our nearness to our Heavenly Father. As we keep the channel of communication between us and our Father in heaven open, we can expect to be blessed more abundantly all the time.
In the second place, we cannot be close to this missionary work without being conscious of and without acknowledging the fact that the Lord has touched the hearts of men all over the world and has made them responsive to the humble testimonies of the elders as they go forth in the performance of their duties as missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ in preaching the gospel throughout the world.
Our approach, our initial contact with our friends throughout the world, is the simplest approach we know how to make. Our lessons and their presentation are also direct and to the point. This simplicity of our approach and presentation of the gospel belies the existence of any design or device or scheme or contrivance or intrigue of any kind by which unsuspecting investigators might be brought in as members of the Church without their really knowing what they are doing or without their having exercised an absolute free agency of which President McKay spoke so beautifully yesterday.
Let us stop and think for a moment what a young missionary has to accomplish before he leads the convert down into the waters of baptism. He must first teach him the Word of Wisdom, and that means teach him in practically all cases to give up practices which have been lifelong and confirmed and live virtually a new life and to have the investigator commit himself to the keeping of this commandment of the Lord from the time of his baptism until the Lord calls him home.
We ask him to reform his life with reference to Sunday observance. We teach him that Sunday-the Sabbath-is a holy day. The Lord has prescribed for his children what should and what should not be done on the Sabbath day. And here again the convert is required to give up in many instances that weekly activity toward which he has always looked previously-a holiday, rather than a day of worship.
We teach him the law of tithing as revealed in these latter days by the Lord to his children, something he has been unaccustomed to in the past, and here again it is obligatory upon the missionary to commit his candidate for baptism to a strict observance of the law of tithing, accounting to the Lord for the rest of his life for a tenth of his income, his increase.
Converts are taught to live worthy to hold the priesthood of God. They are taught from the beginning that after their baptism they will be introduced into the priesthood. They will have the Aaronic Priesthood conferred upon them, and later the Higher or the Melchizedek Priesthood. In order to be worthy of this progress and advancement in the Church, they must be as strict as possible in keeping the laws and commandments of God.
Then too, they are taught and told and have impressed upon their minds the fact that when they are once members of the Church, they then have an obligation to assist in promulgating the gospel to their friends and neighbors. In short, to be prepared to answer each and every call of the priesthood made of them, just as these fine men and women who today have been called into service have willingly responded. Those who are being released and given other positions accept the changes with the same kind of loyalty and devotion which they have previously extended to the work.
When you take into consideration these and many other unmentioned facts, you have to stop and ask yourself the question, "How can this nineteen-year-old boy of mine or of yours go out into a strange world, many of them to a strange country, where a strange language is spoken, and find almost of a sudden that they are touching the lives of total strangers in a manner which is almost beyond comprehension and certainly beyond the power of man?"
Take these great reformers, these great evangelists, who are able to draw, through their publicity and otherwise, great bodies of men and women. What is their ultimate accomplishment? They do not seek to change a man's way of life. They are happy when they can get the man or the woman to confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and when they have made that confession, that is it. No organizations, no requirements, no obligations of any kind! These are learned men-men, I presume, as brilliant as any men in the world. They are mature, and I ask you to sit down and stop and think occasionally when you have this missionary work on your mind as to the difference between the results wrought in the lives of converts to the Church and converts to these great popular movements, no matter how fine, how elegant, how praiseworthy they may be.
You know, to me it is nothing short of a miracle to have men and women mature, much older than the missionaries, submit themselves to these young men to be baptized by them. That involves a serious matter. The average normal citizen, friend, would only do that upon one foundation or one basis and that is that they have received in their hearts a testimony from God that this young elder has the priesthood of God conferred upon him by those who have that authority to preach the gospel and administer in its ordinances. Otherwise, what they do would be a mockery. It is not to be presumed that 54,000 people this year in all of the countries of the world in which we have missionaries would have permitted themselves to go through this formality to no good purpose. It takes some effort, it takes a great deal of humility. Unless they were convinced and converted to the fact that there in this young missionary they had found the power of God vested to administer in the sacred ordinances of the gospel, they would not do so.
It has interested me because in more than one country this year the following question has been raised more or less officially. Can a nineteen-year-old boy be a minister of the gospel? Are we justified as a government to confer upon him the benefits that inhere in the status of a minister of the gospel? And they say no. A nineteen-year-old boy could not possibly be a minister of the gospel. He has not studied. He has not gone through school. He is not mature.
Now, what does that mean? He is not learned in the ways of man. If they stop, as these 54,000 converts have stopped, and reflected and prayed and received an answer to their prayers, they would know that the Lord is capable of conferring blessings upon his children here on the earth through a nineteen-year-old boy as well as through an older man, that one of the conditions is not that he be steeped in the learning of man, but that he is in tune with the Spirit of our Heavenly Father.
I must not take too much time, but I cannot sit down without giving you one or two examples of what is going on in the world today to indicate this thought of mine that we are converting by the Spirit, and the only virtue in the plan which we have in use now throughout the world is that it is the simplest possible presentation of the gospel that these great mission presidents of ours have been able to work out in the mission field, the least likely to affect the minds or the reason of men-so simple, in fact, that it cannot have any effect upon men of the world unless there is a higher power that touches their hearts and brings conversion to their souls.
I have become more and more convinced in my association with missionary work that most people are touched by the Spirit of the Lord upon the occasion of the missionary's first contact. Otherwise, they would not invite the missionary back time after time to be taught the principles of the gospel and to be brought closer and closer and ultimately into the waters of baptism.
Brother Brossard tells us the story of twenty-five conversions in France. Certainly there was no scheme that brought these conversions about. There was an army officer, a soldier, in Algeria, and while he was there in the service of his country, his wife had a baby, and it died. It was not baptized in the church of its parents, they believing in infant baptism, and therefore the church denied to that family a church funeral service for the child. I will not go into the details, but we had a friend of Brother Brossard and the missionaries, who called the attention of this distraught mother to the missionaries, and they went in at the request of the family and held the services, and these twenty-five baptisms came as a result of it, all from a single group. I was looking for this figure because I do not want to go beyond the facts, but this group is much larger than the twenty-five, and the missionaries are now in the process of teaching the gospel to the rest of them, and President Brossard assures us that the twenty-five is just a small beginning to what will come about out of this single instance.
Then we have the story of a missionary who ran a red light, and by so doing got the name and address of the traffic officer and an invitation to visit him in his home. The officer's penalty after the missionary got through with him was-what does the Good Book say?-"Go thy way and sin no more".
We have the story of two missionaries coming from Zollingen in Germany who went to the mayor to give him a Book of Mormon, made friends with him, and on a rainy day, seeing them from his limousine, the mayor called to them to come over and get in the car. He wanted to drive them to the City Council and introduce them officially to that august body.
And two missionaries in Hamburg, Germany, went to the chief of police to make themselves known and to tell their story, and as a result he gave them his card and said, "I want you elders to feel free to call upon me at any time in case you have any difficulty, or there is any service we can render you, and I will have my car to you within five minutes."
These were all nineteen-year-old boys, and I could go on and tell you of many others. There was not anything those boys could do or say of their own that would bring about such miraculous results, but the first contact was enough to open the door for future contacts. That is the way the work of the Lord goes on. Isn't it wonderful to realize that the prophecies of old are being fulfilled? How true it is that a stone has been cut out of a mountain without hands and is rolling forth and will fill the earth. Almost every prophecy we have in the Old and the New Testaments concerning the latter days fits into our program and furnishes us the exact, the proper answer to this inquiry as to the marvelous results accompanying the work of our missionaries. They work by and through the Spirit, and let me say this to you mothers and fathers, we love you, and we appreciate your loyalty, and we appreciate your sons' and your daughters' service. Have no concern about your sons and daughters in the mission field. It makes no difference who their mission president is. As long as they are in the line of their duty, encouraged by their parents so to be, they are in the hands of the Lord, and he has promised to take care of them and is bound by those promises. I can conceive of nothing more wonderful in all the world than to have the absolute assurance that the Spirit of God is with your sons and daughters in the mission field to preserve them, to protect them, to inspire them, to perform a service that no one upon this earth can perform unless he has the delegated power from God to do so.
"And any man that shall go and preach this gospel of the kingdom, and fail not to continue faithful in all things, shall not be weary in mind, neither darkened, neither in body, limb, nor joint; and a hair of his head shall not fall to the ground unnoticed. And they shall not go hungry, neither athirst.
"And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up".
God bless us all and bless the missionaries. They are looking to us today for guidance and direction and encouragement. Let us give it to them, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Mark E. Petersen
Mark E. Petersen, Conference Report, October 1961, pp. 47-50
It surely is a great inspiration to be here, my brothers and sisters. I am grateful that I had the opportunity with you of raising my hand in sustaining the officers presented here today. With all my heart and soul I sustain the President of our Church, President David O. McKay, as the prophet, seer, and revelator of the Lord. With all my soul I love him and honor him and am very grateful for his leadership.
I am thankful for these men who have been sustained with him. Our hearts all go out to President Clark who is not here; our faith and prayers likewise. I am thankful for the great work that President Moyle is doing. I am thankful that President Brown has been called to his position.
I am very grateful indeed that Gordon Hinckley has been called into the twelve. I have known Gordon most of his life and a good part of mine. We grew up together in the First Ward in Liberty Stake. His father was our stake president for much of the time. His father was as close to me as my own father nearly, and I loved him as a father, and still do.
And I welcome these other brethren, and these sisters, and I join with all of you in wishing the very best for these who have been released. I express sincere appreciation for the remarkable work they have done.
In one of the recent editions of the US News and World Report, the editors commented upon the troublemaking propensities of Mr. Khrushchev. They said that great as is the Berlin crisis, it will not be our last one. There will be others, and still others after that, because Mr. Khrushchev is determined to cause turmoil wherever and whenever he can. They branded him as a persistent troublemaker, and said that he seems to have no other purpose than to cause unpleasantness, misery, and contention.
The world is becoming more and more resentful of the constant trouble-making of this man. International quarreling and bitterness are indeed affecting the nerves of all mankind. Inhuman treatment, the urge to take advantage of others, cruelty, lying, misrepresentation, deceit, and dishonor are sickening to the hearts of most people. Every honest person condemns the duplicity of Mr. Khrushchev. Everyone resents his trouble-making, his unpleasantness, his inhumanity. It is so deliberate, so coldly calculated. It seems clearly evident that an evil spirit motivates this man.
But let us stop for a moment and think about that spirit. It is evil enough in Khrushchev, and we are very prompt in condemning it in him, and yet, how do we regard that same spirit when it appears in smaller circles and not upon the broad stage of international politics? How do we regard unpleasantness, contention, deceit, misrepresentation, cruelty, and dishonor in our communities here at home, for instance? Or among our immediate friends? Or in our office or shop? Or even in our family circle?
Are these evil tactics any less despicable at home than on the world scene? Are they any less evil if found in ourselves than when exhibited by Mr. Khrushchev? Is quarreling among nations any worse than quarreling among members of a family, except as to the number of people involved? Is it any worse for Khrushchev personally to assail the President of the United States than for a husband to be cruel to his wife or child? Could our President be any more offended by Khrushchev's insults than a wife who is insulted and humiliated by a thoughtless or vicious husband?
Most of us hate Mr. Khrushchev's wickedness, but do we excuse similar traits of character when found in ourselves? Let me read from a letter I received recently.
"I am writing to ask if there is some way you can help me. My husband and I were married a little over ten years ago. For the first year we got along all right, but when our first child came my husband began to change. I really believe he was jealous of the attention I gave to my little infant child. He was very upset when the baby cried, especially at night. Once he even slapped the tiny baby's face. I ran to take the baby from him, and he struck me so hard that he knocked me down.
"It has been like that in our home ever since. We have not had a pleasant hour in months. My husband never smiles anymore. When he comes home from work a spirit of gloom and hatred comes into the house with him. My little boy, now nearly nine, is afraid of his dad and runs into the bedroom whenever his father comes home. My little girl whimpers at his sight. I have reached the point where I feel I must choose between my husband and my peace of mind. The doctor says that if I stay with him my children and I will all be nervous wrecks. What do you think we should do?"
Then I received this from a young woman seventeen years of age. "I have decided to run away from home. I can't stand my father's cruelty any longer. I have tried to get my mother to leave home with me, but she won't. She is superstitious about divorce and would rather die than go through a divorce court. Why must we have such trouble in our home? I always thought home was a place to enjoy."
A young woman came into my office one day, and she was the saddest-looking girl I have ever seen. She and her mother did not get along well. They had entirely different ideas on nearly every subject. She said her mother tries to run her life for her, tries to make all of her decisions, chooses her friends, and even decides what clothes she should wear. This girl planned to leave home to escape the constant quarreling that goes on in that home I did not hear the mother's side of the story, but I am sure she has one. It takes two to make a quarrel.
When I think of the divorce problems which are prevalent in so many homes, when I think of the conflict between parents and children, when I hear inflammatory remarks from men and women who should know better, when I see the pugnacious attitude of some who seem to enjoy being bullies in their own homes, when I see how man's inhumanity to man makes so many others mourn even close about us, I wonder if we really are a peace-loving people.
I wonder how much we Americans really believe in the teachings of the Prince of Peace. I almost wonder if we believe more in the trouble-making philosophy of Khrushchev than we do in the peace philosophy of Christ.
We are supposed to be a Christian nation. Then why don't we act as Christians should? Why do so many act more like Khrushchev than they do like Christ? If we profess to believe in the teachings of Jesus, why don't we obey them? Do we think professions are enough? Must we only pretend to be Christians?
Are the works of Christianity no longer important? Do we really believe Jesus when he said, "Blessed are the peacemakers"? If we do, then why do we not do more to establish peace in our own personal circles, in our relationships with our wives and husbands and children? Why don't we plan for and promote courtesy, love, and kindness in our homes? Is family tension any more to be desired than world tension? Must we have either or both?
Is an evil dictator any worse in a nation than in a family, so far as the affected people are concerned?
Is it a sign of strength to be quarrelsome and unpleasant? Does might make right in a nation or in a shop or in a family? Are any of us so blind that we think that one member of the family can always be right and nobody else? Can we be so deceived by our egotism that we suppose that like the king we can do no wrong, that we can be domineering and tyrannical in our own little circle with impunity?
If you quarrel with your wife, have you thought that you might be motivated by the same spirit which moves Khrushchev when he quarrels with the President of the United States?
If you are contentious in your family, or quarrelsome with your neighbors, or even with your brethren and sisters in the Church, have you thought that you might be motivated by the same spirit which also moves Khrushchev? How different from him are we if the same evil spirit motivates us both?
When the Savior came among the Nephites after his resurrection in Palestine, he taught these early Americans a most important lesson on this point. Said he: "... there shall be no disputations among you, as there have hitherto been;
"... 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.
"Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away".
Let us think seriously about that scripture: the spirit of contention is the spirit of the devil, who is the father of contention! Can we suppose that any of us can do the work of Christ if we have the spirit of contention in our hearts or in our homes? Can we do the work of God by the spirit of the devil?
We are engaged in the Lord's work. Then we should be guided by the Spirit of the Lord and not by some contrary spirit. We should not invite into our homes the spirit of Satan himself by engaging in family quarrels, contention, and arguments.
No one needs to be grouchy. No one needs to be unpleasant. Everyone can control his emotions if he wants to, just as he can control his appetites.
People can be kind if they want to be kind. They can be considerate if they want to be. They can be peaceful if they would but try. They can be thoughtful and considerate of others if they but have the desire. Why even Khrushchev can smile and polish apples when he wants to.
If we expect to do the work of Christ, let us follow the Savior's teachings.
He is the Prince of Peace. Then should we not be peacemakers?
He is the Author of mercy. Then should we not be merciful?
He is the personification of love. Then should we not practice the principles of love which he gave us?
How can we forget the words of Paul?
"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.
"Charity never faileth...
"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity".
And what is charity? It is the pure love of Christ. Has it any place in our lives? In our homes? In our family circles?
Do we have love at home? If we are without it, are we truly practicing our religion? What qualifies us as followers of Christ? The Lord gave the answer to the Prophet Joseph Smith in these words:
"And faith, hope, charity and love,... qualify him for the work". Then he added temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, humility. Is there any godliness in a family quarrel? Or any kindness or charity or mercy?
Eliminate unkindness from the homes of America and we will pretty well eliminate divorce from this land.
In this day of trouble it ill becomes any of us to pattern our lives and our habits after the arch troublemaker of the world. He is contentious, he is quarrelsome, he is bitter, he is cruel. Do we want to be like him?
Is it not better to remember our own religion and develop without ourselves the spirit of love and kindness and mercy? Isn't it better to have love at home than a house full of bitterness, quarreling, and broken hearts?
Isn't there room for courtesy and consideration in our homes? Should not a man be as courteous to his wife after marriage-ten years, twenty years after marriage-as he was during his courting days?
Should we not learn to love our neighbor as ourselves, and is not wife or husband our closest neighbor?
Should not the spirit of prayer, the Spirit of God, pervade our homes instead of the spirit of bitterness and strife? Ask yourself what spirit is in your home, and ask yourself whose path you wish to follow. Will it be that of Khrushchev, or of Christ?
God give us the wisdom and the courage to be kind, I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Elder Alvin R. Dyer
Alvin R. Dyer, Conference Report, October 1961, pp. 50-53
I feel, my brethren and sisters, to be at one with that which has been accomplished here this day to honor those who have been released from their callings and to hail those who have received a new responsibility.
I feel grateful to the First Presidency for the privilege of coming to this conference. I need the strength, I need the association of the brethren, and I need to look into your faces and to see there the love of the gospel and the faith manifested, which enables me to go forth in my responsibility to a greater degree.
I have felt since the opening and challenging remarks of President McKay that if a phrase could be given to set the theme of this conference, and I am not trying to set it, but to me it is something like this, that he should put on the whole armor of God and be prepared for the important days that are ahead of us. And if perchance we have not put on the whole armor, then we non have this challenge again from our prophet that we place upon ourselves a renewed determination to fortify ourselves with the powers and the callings that have come to us to go forth and accomplish the work which the Lord has given us to do.
I am grateful for the faith and prayers of the members, for the authority of the priesthood that has extended peace in the earth, at least to the extent that we now feel it, so that the great work which the Lord has caused to be restored upon the earth can continue. I felt in the organization of Berlin Stake that the power of the priesthood in a measure could forestall and prevent the unjust dominion that could prevent the work of God going forth in these ancient lands of Europe and to be there and to feel of this spirit and power was indeed a great experience.
The work continues to progress in Europe to keep pace with the rest of the Church, and for this we are grateful. Many thousands of wonderful people are accepting the gospel in these ancient lands. Many very prominent men and women are answering the call that has come to them through the efforts of the missionaries, and in the gospel net we are finding men of great influence and importance as well as those of the ordinary walks of life.
As I looked into the face of a very renowned architect from Munich just a few days ago, a man who has gained world recognition in papers that he has prepared in his profession, I said, "I would ask you but one question," "do you believe that God actually talked to the Prophet Joseph Smith and that he introduced to him his Son?" He said, "Yes, I believe that with all my heart, and I believe more, and I want to serve."
This is typical of the many thousands who are accepting the gospel and who want to serve their Heavenly Father.
We are living in a tremendous age, my brethren and sisters. It is a day of great progress, of change, of rapid advance. The very structure of our civilization, social, political, commercial, moral, and religious is greatly affected by that which persists before our eyes this day. There can be no question that a new era has dawned upon our planet. Means of travel, trade, association, and intercommunication between countries even comparatively unknown, is before us. But while in almost every field of science, every art is being developed while the mind is awakened to new thought, yet religious knowledge in the world is at a standstill. The creed of the fathers cast in the mold of other ages shows no progress to match the onward strides of man.
I am indebted to Brother Ezra Taft Benson for an article which he sent to me, which typifies in measure the failure of the powers of Christendom to attract their members to the churches in Europe. In Denmark, for example, less than one-half of one percent of the population retains any active church connection. Sweden is a little better. In one Swedish parish, says Russell Kirk, in a recent article in The National Review, a Swedish minister, after preaching for five years, found only his immediate friends and family attending regularly. The Church of England, though by law established, obtains the active participation of only five percent of the English population. The English dissenting churches are in a worse plight. Continuing this article, Russell Kirk has this to say:
"What we are seeing rather is the dropping away of most people into a state of apathy and disbelief, though not even the fervent disbelief of the village atheist. A vague feeling that Christianity does not profit a man in any material way, and a vaguer conviction that somehow religion is unscientific, seem to be the approximate causes of this phenomena. Probably there is less religious belief and less influence of churches upon the civil-social order and upon the person than in any other period in the history of Europe."
I suppose in America we find this same condition. Yet as we declare it, and as fully predicted by the prophets of God, the Spirit of God has been poured out upon all mankind. As proof of this I call your attention to the tremendous strides that have been made in the world since the restoration of the gospel.
I remember as a young man sending to a renowned encyclopedic organization a request for information of all advancements that had been made since the year 1820 in the fields of science, and within a matter of several months, I was flooded with information from them to indicate the tremendous manner in which the Spirit of God has rested upon people since the day that Joseph Smith walked into the Sacred Grove.
How tremendously in keeping with his will that such enlightenment upon man should come as the result of a restoration of truth and the very presence of God, but that which man participates in today in a scientific way is only the minute, is only a fragmentary part of the light that has shone into the darkness, that brings to man by divine intervention the truths of the eternal law of salvation, which if appropriated can lead to eternal life in the presence of God.
I have always felt impressed by an article which appeared in one of our Church publications some few years ago that told of a newspaper reporter who left New York to go to Nauvoo, Illinois, in the year 1842, and after spending considerable time there and after meeting the Prophet Joseph Smith, he returned to New York to have published in the New York Herald in that year this article concerning Joseph Smith. I quote:
"Joseph Smith is undoubtedly one of the greatest characters of the age. In the present infidel, irreligious, ideological age of the world, some such singular prophet as Joseph Smith is required to preserve the principles of faith and to plant some new germs of civilization that will come to maturity in the years that are ahead, while modern philosophy which believes in nothing but what you can touch is overspreading the Atlantic States in America, Joseph Smith is creating a spiritual system combined also with morals and industry that will change the destiny of the race".
Joseph Smith under the direction of God did establish this system; a system of divine truth made possible by divine bestowal from holy messengers and by revelations which provide guidance and direction, and this as revealed to Joseph Smith is for the specific purpose, as referred to in the Doctrine and Covenants, "... 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".
Obedient to the predictions of this day and age and by all of the holy prophets, it is not religious opinion which will cover the earth, nor knowledge from scientific advancement reaching into the hearts of every good man and woman, but it is faith, leading to the testimony and spiritual conviction of God that is needed, for God is truth and to know him is to know the truth. Never, I suppose, have there been so many brilliantly intellectual people upon the earth, judged by the known facts of the sciences and of human knowledge, and yet there is a tremendous lack of direction among mankind. Recently, Eric Johnston made the statement that ninety percent of all the scientists n ho ever lived are living today, and the total accumulation of scientific knowledge is doubling every ten years. and yet there is a tremendous lack of direction in spiritual things which undoubtedly is contributing to the failure of people to attend churches and to be benefitted by the teachings of their own faith.
Recently one of our inquiring thinkers, a noted American mental health leader, Dr. Karl Menninger, made this statement:
"Most people today live without purpose and without significance. They have no articulate philosophy. They do not live within any frame of reference."
It is obvious that the lack of direction lies principally in the failure of people to have a true understanding of God and his purposes. To get this it must come from the expressed will of God through a prophet, yes, a prophet here today upon the earth as the oracle of God, and not from concepts of a musty and deceptive antiquity, nor from a so-called age of reason imposed upon us because of scientific exploration.
Here, my brethren and sisters, is reality. Honest and good men must come to know this, must adjust to it, welcome it, and meet it as a friend and know that it is God's will. And for this reason these young men that President Moyle spoke of, and others with them, go to the ends of the earth to proclaim this great message, that is for the restoring of a knowledge and understanding of God and of the meaning and the purpose of life here upon the earth.
God has spoken to us. Let us listen to his oracles and have unveiled to us the realms of eternal life.
I cannot help saying a few words about the powers of unjust dominion. I have appreciated the remarks of Brother Mark E. Petersen concerning this, but there is an evil force that is contemporary with the powers of righteousness that will bring release and joy to the individual, and we see the power of this unrighteous dominion as it is now being brought to bear upon the peoples of subjected countries. I have witnessed it. I have looked into the faces of those who are being imposed with this force.
We had the experience in the organization of the Berlin Stake of placing in the high council of that stake a man who only a few weeks before had been with his wife in East Berlin. Upon a certain day he left East Berlin to go to West Berlin to visit friends, leaving his wife in their home. While he was visiting his friends, the barricade was erected, and he was unable to return to his wife, and she unable to come to him. Yet he accepted this calling and responsibility and said he felt that in the wisdom of God, things would be righted.
But we see here the effects of the unjust and unrighteous dominion upon the rights of the people.
I shook hands with a brother from East Berlin who had had an accident in his work, that is, I shook his left hand because he came to the Berlin Stake conference with an amputation of his right hand, and for this reason and this reason alone, he and his wife and his two children were in West Berlin caring for this injury, as I shook his hand he said, "I would gladly give even the other hand, if that had been necessary, to place my family and myself here under the protective custody of this part of Berlin."
I bear testimony, my brethren and sisters, to the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the lives of people, that it brings release to them, that it brings inward joy and peace, and I pray that the powers of righteousness will continue in the earth that the great work that is occurring in these ancient lands of Europe and in lands all over the world, may continue, that righteous men and women by the thousands may listen to the call of the gospel and come in and be numbered among the children of our Heavenly Father, and I bear my testimony to you of the truth of this message in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder William J. Critchlow, Jr.
William J. Critchlow, Jr., Conference Report, October 1961, pp. 54-57
Forty-two hundred years ago or thereabout, there arrived upon this American continent a company of people under the leadership of one Jared and his brother. They came out of the valley of Mesopotamia where the Tower of Babel was under construction. Our Lord initiated and prospered them in their migration, and upon arrival, he "swore unto the brother of Jared, that whoso should possess this land of promise, from that time henceforth and forever, should serve him, the true and only God, or they should be swept off when the fulness of his wrath should come upon them".
Sixteen hundred years later, our Lord initiated and prospered another migration of people to this continent. They fled from Jerusalem to escape a Babylonian conquest. Upon arrival the Lord counseled them through his Prophet Lehi, their leader, as follows:
"... Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; but inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence".
Four hundred years later, these people of Lehi discovered a colony of people who had also fled from Jerusalem to escape the Babylonians, about 600 BC. Mulek, son of the Jewish King Zedekiah, was a royal member of this fleeing party. The people of Lehi and the newly discovered people of Mulek united and dwelt together, and to them the Lord repeated his promise and warning. His prophet, King Benjamin, uttered it from a tower:
"... he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye keep his commandments he doth bless and prosper you".
These promises and warnings to the people of Jared, Lehi, and Mulek were directed to and for the benefit of the people who lived in the days of those prophets who gave them utterance; in other words, they were for local consumption. They were also engraved on metal plates, which the prophets preserved for the benefit of rising generations. When our Lord's prophet, Mormon, abridged those records about 324 AD, the great Jaredite nation, once numerous, prosperous, and cultured, had become extinct. They failed to heed the warning and were "swept off when the fulness of his wrath" came upon them; they had "ripened in iniquity." The great Nephite nation, at one time the more righteous of Lehi's descendants, had also "ripened in iniquity" and had similarly become extinct. Our Lord again had kept his promise: "They shall be swept off when the fulness of his wrath shall come upon them".
In the destruction of these unrighteous people, our Lord preserved the records containing his promises and warnings. He had them hid up, then 1,400 years later he had them brought forth to warn the inhabitants of this land that they also must keep his commandments, lest they be "swept off when the fulness of his wrath... come upon them." Obviously, Mormon's abridgment was written to us. The title page of the abridgment, known as the Book of Mormon, says it was "Written to... the... Gentile-Written by way of commandment... Written and sealed up, and hid up unto the Lord, that they might not be destroyed-To come forth... in due time by way of the Gentile". Incidentally, may I add, the title page is a part of the abridgment and not the composition of Joseph Smith.
The great Prophet Moroni, son of Mormon, hid up the records, but before doing so he added a terse warning all his own-and he specifically directed it to those into whose hands the records would subsequently come. He called them Gentiles.
"And this cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles, that ye may know the decrees of God-that ye may repent, and not continue in your iniquities until the fulness come, that ye may not bring down the fulness of the wrath of God upon you as the inhabitants of the land have hitherto done".
Who are the gentiles of whom this prophet spoke? President Joseph Fielding Smith said: "... We are of the Gentiles! By this I mean that the Latter-day Saints have come to their blessings through the Gentile nations. President Brigham Young... said that Joseph Smith was a pure Ephraimite. This is true, yet Joseph came also of Gentile lineage. So do most all members of the Church".
The prophecies which I have quoted-"written to the Lamanites...and also to Jew and Gentile" -are repeated in greater or lesser detail thirty-eight times in the Book of Mormon. Count them as you read it. One student did and came up with that total, thirty-eight. Surely, they constitute one of the great messages of that book.
Three times within the past year or so, I visited in stakes where I found the memberships fasting and praying for moisture. And three times before I left those stakes I saw their prayers answered. I must tell you about one of those visits.
I found the members fasting with special prayers-Saturday noon until Sunday noon-for much needed storms.
Arising Sunday morning, after our Saturday prayers, we were cheered by a beautiful light covering of snow. It continued to snow throughout the morning. When we recessed for lunch the lawns around the meeting place were brilliant; several inches of heavy wet snow blanketed them. Departing in the late afternoon, I said to the stake president: "Our prayers are answered."
"Yes," he replied, "but Elder Critchlow, we need so much more!"
"How much more do you deserve?" I asked. My reply puzzled him-his silence invited me to explain:
"At noon," I began, "when we recessed the conference, nearly all of the congregation departed for their homes, where I suppose they broke their fast. Many failed to return to the afternoon session-because of the storm. Well, it may have been because I was the afternoon speaker. Nevertheless, they should have returned. I'm sure the storm didn't dampen their spirits-it must have lifted them-their prayers were answered."
The stake president was disappointed with the attendance. I think Heavenly Father was, too, and I think he cut his blessing short-at least the storm clouds rolled on and away and a bright, hot afternoon sun quickly erased most of the evidence of his blessing. Maybe he gave them all they deserved. "Only fifteen percent of your stake membership returned to the afternoon meeting," I said, "and I have noted in your reports that:
"-only.....% of your members are on the tithing records.
"-only.....% of your members attend Sacrament meetings.
"-only.....% of your men attend priesthood meetings.
"-only.....% of your boys attend their meetings.
"-only.....% of your girls attend their meetings.
"-only.....% of your sisters attend Relief Society meetings.
"-only.....% of your boys and girls are married in the temple.
"-only.....% of your members receive ward teaching visits.
So much for blanks and percentages. These are enough. For obvious reasons I left the percentages blank, no need to herald our failings to the world; no need to herald one stake's failings to another; each has its own. Let each insert its own percentages, they will differ only in degree. The failings are a common fault.
Brigham Young had something to say about percentages:
"... while six-tenths or three-fourths of this people will keep the commandments of God, the curse and judgments of the Almighty will never come upon them, though we will have the trials of various kinds, and the elements to contend with".
We live in a wicked world like unto Babylon of old. Our latter-day prophets, like the prophets of old, have cried, "Come out, come out of Babylon". To come out physically presents a problem, but spiritually it is possible, and spiritually we must come out if we are to prosper in the land.
We come out spiritually when we pay honestly our tithes and offerings. We come out spiritually when we attend to our priesthood duties and attend our priesthood, Sacrament, and stake conference meetings. These the members of the Church have been commanded to attend.
Once in the dim, distant past, our Father's children turned from him. Has it been so long that we have forgotten how, at that time he cleansed the earth of wickedness with a flood? Has it been so long that we have forgotten the warning: "And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man"? Have we forgotten how God spared a city of righteous people, Enoch's people by translating them before the flood?
In the great holocaust to come, the earth will again be cleansed of wickedness as it was in the days of Noah, and God may spare again a righteous people, "if six-tenths or three-fourths of this people will keep the commandments of God."
What are the commandments God would have us keep? Three serve the subject of my theme. He has instructed us:
1. to attend stake conference. 2. to attend Sacrament meetings. 3. the priesthood bearers to attend their priesthood meetings.
In the process of abridging the Nephite records, the great Prophet Mormon paused to meditate on our Lord's ministry of nearly 1,000 years over the early inhabitants of this continent, and he expressed his reflections in an "editorial" which he inserted in his abridgment. He wrote:
"And thus we can behold how false, and also the unsteadiness of the hearts of the children of men; yea, we can see that the Lord in his great infinite goodness doth bless and prosper those who put their trust in him.
"Yea, and we may see at the very time when he doth prosper his people, yea, in the increase of their fields, their flocks and their herds, and in gold, and in silver, and in all manner of precious things of every kind and art; sparing their lives, and delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; softening the hearts of their enemies that they should not declare wars against them; yea, and in fine, doing all things for the welfare and happiness of his people; yea, then is the time that they do harden their hearts, and do forget the Lord their God, and do trample under their feet the Holy One-yea, and this because of their ease, and their exceedingly great prosperity.
"And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with death and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not remember him".
God loves us. He doesn't always love the things we do.
"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten".
"Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you whom I love, and whom I love I also chasten that their sins may be forgiven for with chastisement I prepare a way for their deliverance in all things".
Perhaps the elements may be a little kindlier next year if we remember him.
Perhaps we'll be a little more deserving next year if we remember him. I so hope. I so pray. I leave you my testimony: God lives and loves us. He answers prayers, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Marion G. Romney
Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, October 1961, pp. 57-61
My brothers and sisters, I welcome wholeheartedly into the councils of the Church the brethren who have been called to service this day. With equal feeling, I express my appreciation for the services of those who are retiring.
I would like to say a further word or two to Brother Buehner and Bishop Wirthlin. I first came to know Brother Buehner in the early days of the welfare program. He was then president of Granite Stake. He rose immediately to meet the challenges of that program. While some others were dragging their feet he did a tremendous work in it, and he has been carrying on ever since. He knows how we love him.
More than thirty-five years ago, Bishop Wirthlin and I served together in a seventies quorum. We loved him then. We loved him later when he became bishop of the ward in which we lived. Our love increased when he became president of Bonneville Stake. I apologize for the bad time I gave him while I was a bishop, and he was president of the stake. We loved him when he came into the Presiding Bishopric, and we still do. Joseph, we love you now more than we ever did. The Lord loves you. May his peace be with you.
While President McKay was talking yesterday, these lines, written by William Cowper, came to mind. In them I have substituted "faithful" for "fearful":
"Ye 'faithful' Saints, fresh courage take; The clouds ye so much dread Are big with mercy and shall break In blessings on your head.
"His purposes will ripen fast, Unfolding every hour; The bud may have a bitter taste, But sweet will be the flower."
Since he spoke, I have been thinking about the great challenge of peace and hope which the President gave us at the close of his opening address. It is my opinion that the Latter-day Saints, because of the knowledge they have received in the revelations, are better prepared to meet the perplexities of our times than any other people. We know more about the difficulties which are coming, and we have the key to their solution.
I suppose that most people have a tendency to interpret their own experiences and world affairs in the light of certain standards which have become fixed in their thinking. The fact that the Lord Almighty will take care of his people during these latter days of stress and trial became fixed in my mind very early.
As a child I lived in a land torn by a devastating revolution. As the contending forces pursued each other back and forth through the country, I became greatly disturbed and agitated. Well do I remember when word came that the rebels were marching on Chihuahua City from Ciudad Juarez to the north and that the Federals were marching on the same city from Torreon on the south. My distress turned to fright-in fact, to terror-when they met at Casas Grandes, just ten miles away, and the shooting began. Some of our more adventuresome young men climbed to the top of the Montezuma Mountain where, through field glasses. they could watch the fighting.
Through those stirring and never-forgotten childhood experiences it was difficult for me to understand this doctrine of peace in one's heart while there was war in the land. But even then, my fears were tempered somewhat as I saw and listened to my sainted mother lull her babies to sleep. The words of the songs she sang comforted me. Some of them have been ringing in my mind through all the years of the intervening half century-these, for example, from
"Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah":
"When the earth begins to tremble, Bid our fearful thoughts be still; When thy judgments spread destruction, Keep us safe on Zion's hill."
And these from Parley P. Pratt:
"Come, O thou King of kings! We've waited long for thee, With healing in thy wings To set thy people free;
"Come, make an end to sin And cleanse the earth by fire."
And from W. W. Phelps:
"In faith we'll rely on the arm of Jehovah To guide through these last days of trouble and gloom; And after the scourges and harvest are over, We'll rise with the just when the Savior doth come."
As the years passed and I became acquainted a little with the scriptures, I learned that the brethren who had written these beautiful lines of hope and courage had learned from the revelations that the Lord would take care of his Saints through the calamities which he foresaw and foretold. Nephi, speaking of our days, said:
"For the time soon cometh that the fulness of the wrath of God shall be poured out upon all the children Of men, for he will not suffer that the wicked shall destroy the righteous.
"Wherefore, he will preserve the righteous by his power, even if it so be that the fulness 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; for thus saith the prophet, they shall be saved, even if it so be as by fire".
When the Lord gave by revelation the preface to the Doctrine and Covenants, he said that he was willing to make the things he had revealed known unto all flesh;
"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.
"And also the Lord shall have power over his saints, and shall reign in their midst, and shall come down in judgment upon Idumea, or the world".
Jesus himself previewed our times and the days to follow. As he stood before his disciples on the Mount of Olives, they asked him concerning the destruction of Jerusalem and the signs of his second coming. Replying, he told them that this people shall be destroyed and scattered among all nations...
"But they shall be gathered again; but they shall remain until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
"And in that day shall be heard of wars and rumors of wars, and the whole earth shall be in commotion, and men's hearts shall fail them...
"And the love of men shall wax cold, and iniquity shall abound.
"And when the times of the Gentiles is come in, a light shall break forth among them that sit in darkness, and it shall be the fulness of my gospel;
"But they receive it not; for they perceive not the light, and they turn their hearts from me because of the precepts of men.
"And in that generation shall the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
"And there shall be men standing in that generation, that shall not pass until they shall see an overflowing scourge; for a desolating sickness shall cover the land.
"But my disciples shall stand in holy places, and shall not be moved; but among the wicked, men shall lift up their voices and curse God and die.
"And there shall be earthquakes also in divers places, and many desolations; yet men will harden their hearts against me, and they will take up the sword, one against another, and they will kill one another".
I am convinced that if we have the peace in our hearts the brethren have been talking about, we must learn how to preserve it in our hearts in the midst of trouble and trial. I know that if we lived the gospel, we would not have war. We would have peace if enough people lived the gospel, but for my single self I do not expect them to do so. I do not expect enough people to repent to spare the world from serious trouble, and I think the scriptures sustain this conclusion. But I return to the Savior's words. When he had made the above quoted statement to his disciples, he saw that they were troubled, and he said to them:
"... Be not troubled, for, when all these things shall come to pass, ye may know that the promises which have been made unto you shall be fulfilled...
"And it shall come to pass that he that feareth me shall be looking forth for the great day of the Lord to come, even for the signs of the coming of the Son of Man.
"And they shall see signs and wonders, for they shall be shown forth in heavens above, and in the earth beneath.
"And they shall behold blood, and fire, and vapors of smoke.
"And before the day of the Lord shall come, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon be turned into blood, and the stars fall from heaven.
"And the remnant shall be gathered unto this place;
"And then they shall look for me, and, behold, I will come; and they shall see me in the clouds of heaven, clothed with power and great glory; with all the holy angels, and he that watches not for me shall be cut off..."
And here is the key.
"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... shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day".
"They that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide and have not been deceived". I think we are not safe because we say we intend to do what's right. I think the people who are safe are those who have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide and have not been deceived. These are they who shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day.
"The earth shall be given unto them for an inheritance." This earth isn't going to be inherited by our enemies.
"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".
Now I think the Savior was talking about the Holy Ghost when he said, "those who have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide". The Holy Ghost is the spirit of truth. To have the Holy Spirit with us as he speaks of it here, and as I have now said what I think it means, is to be guided by revelation from heaven. I know that such guidance can be had.
When the Prophet Joseph Smith went to Washington-I believe it was in 1839-with Elias Higbee, he had conferences with many of the statesmen there-and many of the politicians also. He had conferences with the President of the United States. In one of them Mr. Van Buren asked:
"... wherein we differed in our religion from the other religions of the day. Brother Joseph said we differed in mode of baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. We considered that all other considerations were contained in the gift of the Holy Ghost".
Now, we have the Holy Ghost. Every one of us who are members of the Church has had hands laid upon our heads, and we have been given, as far as ordinance can give it, the gift of the Holy Ghost. But, as I remember, when I was confirmed, the Holy Ghost was not directed to come to me; I was directed to "Receive the Holy Ghost." If I receive the Holy Ghost and follow his guidance, I will be among those who are protected and carried through these troubled times. And so will you, and so will every other soul who lives under his direction.
Now, my brothers and sisters, we need to seek that Spirit. We need to realize that it is a real guide. The Lord has given us several tests by which we may know when we have that Spirit.
By revelation through the Prophet Joseph, the Lord revealed to Oliver Cowdery a very simple test. Oliver was complaining because the Lord had withdrawn from him the gift to translate the Book of Mormon records. The Lord said to him:
"Do not murmur, my son, for it is wisdom in me that I have dealt with you after this manner.
"Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me.
"But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.
"But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought".
Now, I tell you that you can make every decision in your life correctly if you can learn to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This you can do if you will discipline yourself to yield your own feelings to the promptings of the Spirit. Study your problems and prayerfully make a decision. Then take that decision and say to him, in a simple, honest supplication, "Father, I want to make the right decision. I want to do the right thing. This is what I think I should do; let me know if it is the right course." Doing this, you can get the burning in your bosom, if your decision is right. If you do not get the burning, then change your decision and submit a new one. When you learn to walk by the Spirit, you never need to make a mistake. I know what it is to have this burning witness. I know also that there are other manifestations of guidance by the Spirit.
I know, for example, what Enos was talking about when he said, "... the voice of the Lord came into my mind again". He did not say it came into his ear, but that it "came into my mind again, saying..." He had been asking the Lord to bless his brethren, the Nephites, as everyone who gets the Spirit asks the Lord to bless his brethren and his fellow men. "... the voice of the Lord came into my mind again, saying:"-and what the voice said is most important-"I will visit thy brethren according to their diligence in keeping my commandments".
I must terminate these remarks. But I know what that voice is like, because I have had it come into my mind and give me names when I have had to select stake presidents. There is nothing mysterious about it to people who learn to be guided by the Spirit. The voice of the Lord has come into my mind, in sentences, in answer to prayer.
Now I know, brothers and sisters that we can be guided by the Spirit. I counsel you to seek more diligently through earnest prayer the guidance of the Spirit. Learn to live your lives by the guidance of the Spirit.
I think every Latter-day Saint ought to go on his knees night and morning in secret prayer. This is in addition to family prayer, which we should also have night and morning. I grew up in a home where we had family prayers every night and morning. A good time to have the morning family prayer is just before the morning meal. And a good time for the evening prayer is just before the evening meal. That is the way it was done in my father's home.
In my wife's father's home prayer was had just before the morning meal and just before the family went to bed. When my wife and I were married, we decided that I would make all the major decisions and she would make all the minor decisions. I think that the only major decision we've had to make was when to have evening family prayer. We have had it just before the evening meal.
But what I am talking about now is secret prayer. I have always been thrilled with the statement of the Savior to his disciples that when they prayed, they were not to
"... do as the hypocrites, for they love to pray, standing in the synagogues and in the comers 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 who is in secret, and thy Father, who seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly".
Oh, that's the way to pray to reach the Lord-all alone, where you are not fashioning prayers for the ears of any mortal person. In secret prayer you can kneel down and in the sincerity of your heart pour out your soul to God alone.
The path from man to God is prayer. Do as the Book of Mormon prophets advise: "Pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart". The answer to such prayer is the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The key to happiness is to get the Spirit and keep it. The right to get it we were given when we were confirmed members of this Church. Walk by it back into the presence of God. So doing we will not need to be put to flight by our troubles.
God bless you, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder LeGrand Richards
LeGrand Richards, Conference Report, October 1961, pp. 64-68
I feel it a great honor and privilege, my brethren and sisters, to have an opportunity of attending this conference with you. I love the Saints of Zion. I thank the Lord for my association with my brethren of the General Authorities.
I think it would be appropriate today if I should pay my tribute of love and respect to Bishop Wirthlin and Bishop Isaacson. As the Presiding Bishop of the Church, I was privileged to select counselors from all the priesthood of the Church, and I selected them without any duress or guidance, except the Spirit of the Lord, and they were wonderful counselors, and I love them and pray the Lord always to be with and bless them. I love Brother Buehner, too, and I welcome these new men who have been sustained today as General Authorities. I am sure they will do a great work.
I am very happy to know of the great progress the Church is making in the missionary field. I am sure we were all thrilled this morning in hearing the report given by President Moyle of the great upsurge and increase in baptisms. I think I have been a missionary nearly all my life. When I was just a little fellow, I remember attending a ward meeting where two missionaries, returning from the Southern States, gave their report. I do not know whether they said anything unusual or not, but if they did not, the Lord did something unusual for me, because when I left that meeting I felt that I could have walked to any mission field in the world, if I had just had a call, and so I went home and got down on my knees and asked the Lord to help me to live worthy to go on a mission when I was old enough to go.
Because of this desire, I used to carry my little New Testament around with me often and memorize scripture. I have had a wonderful opportunity in missionary work.
As many of you know, I have had the privilege of filling four missions and presiding over two and touring many of them, and I have tested this Church and its teachings in every way that I think it can be tested, and my testimony increases day by day, and I have never found that its teachings were wanting in any way.
The Lord has established his Church according to the promises of the prophets and according to the blueprint prepared by him as contained in the Bible and in the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price.
I could tell you some wonderful experiences that I have had in meeting people not of us; for instance, when I was in Holland on my first mission in the city of Utrecht, they had a seminar where they taught young men to prepare for the ministry, and they used to come and attend our meetings, and then they would remain sometimes for hours at a time to ask questions, and we found that they did not have the answers; for instance, one of them said to me, "You cannot prove that baptism should be by immersion." I said, "Yes, I can."
"Well," he asked, "how?"
I said, "You have studied some Greek, haven't you?" and he admitted that he had, and I said, "What does the word baptizo mean?"
He said, "Immerse."
I said, "Why don't you do it?"
Then he asked me this question. "Do you think the Lord will hold us accountable if we teach things that we know are not in harmony with the Bible?"
"Well," I said, "I would rather let the Apostle Paul answer that question," and I quoted what 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".
"Now," I said, "let your conscience be your guide when you are teaching things that you know are not in harmony with the scriptures."
There was an article that appeared some years ago in a pamphlet that Brother Orson F. Whitney wrote, entitled, "The Strength of the Mormon Position." This is a statement by a noted member of the Catholic Church, and I think it has something very important in it that those of us interested in missionary work could well give a little thought to, and I would like to read it to you. He said:
"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, and 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's all there is to it. The Protestants haven't a leg to stand on. For, if we are wrong, they are 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 was 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 latter days.'"
Now, if every Christian in the world could accept that and then decide which is right, we would just gather them in by the millions if they were willing to obey the commandments. Some of them are not, as you know, after they become converted. We have thousands of people converted to Mormonism who have never had the courage yet to accept it, but they believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.
This is only in harmony with the scriptures. You remember what Paul said: "One Lord one faith, one baptism", in other words, one Lord, one Church, and one baptism. How could there be more than one Church that God our Eternal Father and his Son Jesus Christ could approve, because they must not conflict with each other, for surely the Lord cannot be divided against himself? You know what Jesus said, that a house divided against itself cannot stand. So there can only be one Church of Jesus Christ in all the world.
That does not mean that all these Protestant churches have no good in them, when they teach people to pray and they teach them to try to live right. You and I could go out and organize a Church. That is why we have hundreds of them, because they are churches of men, just like civic organizations and other institutions organized by men to help people to do things that are worthwhile, but no man can organize a church with divine authority and power to bind on earth and it shall be bound in heaven except they are called by God the Eternal Father and ordained to his priesthood. That is what Jesus meant when he said to the Council of the Twelve:
"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you".
"... and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven".
Ordinances performed, no matter if there are thousands of churches, will not be recognized in the heavens until God has endowed that church with that divine power to bind on earth, and it shall be bound in heaven. Of course, the Lord will reward all people for all the good they do, but according to this statement, it is either the perpetuation of the gospel of Christ from his day or it is a restoration of the gospel through the Prophet Joseph Smith. That is why we are not Catholics, and we are not Protestants. We believe in a restoration of the gospel.
If the Bible is true, it cannot be a perpetuation of the gospel from the days of Jesus Christ. I will just read you one or two references. Here is one from Paul:
"Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him.
"That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand".
Now remember, this is long after Jesus had gone to the Father and completed his earthly mission. "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first".
Now, that means no perpetuation, does it not, of the gospel, but a falling away which would require a restoration?
One more statement from Paul:
"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".
Then there are many more in the scriptures such as Amos, where he says:
"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:
"And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it".
Jesus said, "... seek and ye shall find", and why could they not find it? Because there was a famine in the land for hearing the word of God, and when the word of God cannot be found anywhere, what does that imply? It implies the need of a restoration, does it not?
So we come to that point.
Peter is the one that they claim to follow, and yet Peter, you remember, in talking to those who put to death the Christ, said:
"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".
According to the Apostle Peter, there had to come a falling away in order that there could be a restitution. That is just as simple as ABC.
I should not think it would be hard for any Christian to recognize the fact that the choice is between one of two churches, and then if we turn to the scriptures to determine which of the two it is, there should be no difficulty in reaching a correct decision.
We come again to the statement of John when he was banished upon the Isle of Patmos. You remember the angel said:
"... Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter". And then he saw "... another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel", that is the only gospel that can save men, "..., to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation and kindred, and tongue, and people" indicating that no one in the world would be in possession of that everlasting gospel.
If the gospel were to endure from the days of Christ, why should the angel come? It seems incredible that we have no report or account of angels visiting the earth any more, and yet angels are nothing more than servants of the Lord. You remember how Gabriel was sent to Zacharias to tell him about how his wife Elizabeth would have a son, and he would be called John, and how the Angel Gabriel came to Mary to tell her about the wonderful thing the Lord had planned for her. We do not read of any angels any more among any of the churches, and I wonder what the world thinks angels really are. When we see them depicted today, they have wings on them.
I would like to read you a few words from Revelation 22:9. After John had seen all the marvelous things that were shown unto him by the angel, he fell down to worship at his feet, and the angel said unto him:
"... See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God".
In other words, when the "fellowservants, and of thy brethren the prophets" leave this earth, that does not mean that their work is completed, because the Lord rules in the heavens above, and he rules upon the earth beneath, and his servants are sent back from time to time in order to work out his program that his promises might be fulfilled. As Jesus said:
"Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.
"Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away".
There are so many statements in the Bible that prove that there should be a restoration of the everlasting gospel before the promised second coming of the Christ, that one could not possibly believe in the Bible and believe in a perpetuation of the truth.
I want to leave with you one other thought that has impressed me greatly. It is reported that one of our national radio commentators made this statement. He said he was asked what message could be broadcast to the world which would be considered greater than any other message. He said, after giving it consideration, he decided that to be able to say to the world that a man who had lived upon this earth and died had returned again with a message from God would be the greatest message that could be broadcast to the world. We are the only people in the world that have such a message as that.
We have even erected a great monument in the state of New York to the honor of such a man, Moroni, who came back with a message from God. Just think of all the messengers who have come back in the "restitution of all things", as Peter promised before Christ can come again. And who were they? Angels. And who are angels? Servants of the Lord, "fellowservants like unto thyself," as the angel said to John when he went to kneel down to worship him.
In closing, I would like to read the testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, received in Hiram, Ohio, on February 16, 1832, and I bear you my testimony that this is true:
"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 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!
"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 thank God for the testimony in my soul that I am his son and that Jesus is my Elder Brother and that he is the Creator of heaven and earth and that he has revealed himself to the earth in this day and that messengers have returned with a message from God and hence we have the greatest message that could possibly be broadcast to this world, and I bear you that witness in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Sterling W. Sill
Sterling W. Sill, Conference Report, October 1961, p. 68
My brothers and sisters, I appreciate this semiannual privilege of having a part with you in the general conference of the Church.
Someone has said that the greatest invention of all time took place at Platea, 2,500 years ago, when an obscure Greek perfected the process of marching men in step. When it was discovered that a great group of individuals could co-ordinate their efforts and focus them effectively upon a single objective, that day civilization began.
The Master himself emphasized this important ability when he said to his disciples, "... if ye are not one ye are not mine". Then the greatest intelligence of heaven gave the most important success formula ever given, saying, "Follow me". And every human soul must finally be judged by how well he obeys that single command.
May God help us I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Elder Ezra Taft Benson
Ezra Taft Benson, Conference Report, October 1961, pp. 69-75
My brethren and sisters and friends, in keeping with the spirit of the keynote address of our beloved President, I desire, if the Lord will bless me, to speak to you about the American heritage of freedom-a plan of God.
I direct my remarks particularly to the men of America and more especially to those in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who hold the Holy Priesthood of God.
Every member of the priesthood should understand the divine plan designed by the Lord to raise up the first free people in modern times. Here is how scripture says it was achieved:
First: Prophecy is abundant that God deliberately kept the American continent hidden until after the Holy Roman Empire had been broken up and the various nations had established themselves as independent kingdoms. Keeping America hidden until this time was no accident.
Second: At the proper time, God inspired Columbus to overcome almost insurmountable odds to discover America and bring this rich new land to the attention of the gentiles in Europe.
Third: God revealed to his ancient American prophets that shortly after the discovery of America there would be peoples in Europe who would desire to escape the persecution and tyranny of the Old World and flee to America.
Fourth: God told his prophets that the kingdoms in Europe would try to exercise dominion over the people who had fled to America, but that in the wars for independence the American settlers would win. .
Fifth: The prophets were told that in the latter days when the gentiles came to America they would establish it as a land of liberty on which there would be no kings. The Lord declared that he would protect the land and whosoever would try to establish kings either from within or without would perish.
Sixth: Having declared America to be a land of liberty, God undertook to raise up a band of inspired and intelligent leaders who could write a constitution of liberty and establish the first free people in modern times. The hand of God in this undertaking is clearly indicated by the Lord himself in a revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith in these words
"... I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose".
Seventh: God declared that the United States Constitution was divinely inspired for the specific purpose of eliminating bondage and the violation of the rights and protection which belongs to "all flesh".
Eighth: God placed a mandate upon his people to befriend and defend the constitutional laws of the land and see that the rights and privileges of all mankind are protected. He verified the declaration of the founding fathers, that God created all men free. He also warned against those who would enact laws encroaching upon the sacred rights and privileges of free men. He urged the election of honest and wise leaders and said that evil men and laws were of Satan.
Ninth: God predicted through his prophets that this great gentile nation, raised up on the American continent in the last days, would become the richest and most powerful nation on the face of the earth; even "above all other nations".
Tenth: Concerning the United States, the Lord revealed to his prophets that its greatest threat would be a vast, worldwide "secret combination" which would not only threaten the United States but also seek to "overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries".
Eleventh: In connection with attack on the United States, the Lord told the Prophet Joseph Smith there would be an attempt to overthrow the country by destroying the Constitution. Joseph Smith predicted that the time would come when the Constitution would hang, as it were, by a thread, and at that time "this people will step forth and save it from the threatened destruction."
It is my conviction that the elders of Israel, widely spread over the nation, will at that crucial time successfully rally the righteous of our country and provide the necessary balance of strength to save the institutions of constitutional government.
Twelfth: The Lord revealed to the Prophet Nephi that he established the gentiles on this land to be a free people forever, that if they were a righteous nation and overcame the wickedness and secret abominations which would arise in their midst, they would inherit the land forever.
Thirteenth: But on the other hand, if the gentiles on this land reject the word of God and conspire to overthrow liberty and the Constitution, then their doom is fixed, and they "... shall be cut off from among my people who are of the covenant".
Fourteenth: The great destructive force which was to be turned loose on the earth and which the prophets for centuries have been calling the "abomination of desolation" is vividly described by those who saw it in vision. Ours is the first generation to realize how literally these prophecies can be fulfilled now that God, through science, has unlocked the secret to thermonuclear reaction.
In the light of these prophecies there should be no doubt in the mind of any priesthood holder that the human family is headed for trouble. There are rugged days ahead. It is time for every man who wishes to do his duty to get himself prepared-physically, spiritually, and psychologically-for the task which may come at any time, as suddenly as the whirlwind.
Where do we stand today? All over the world the light of freedom is being diminished. Across whole continents of the earth freedom is being totally obliterated.
Never in recorded history has any movement spread its power so far and so fast as has socialistic-communism in the last three decades. The facts are not pleasant to review. Communist leaders are jubilant with their success. They are driving freedom back on almost every front.
It is time, therefore, that every American, and especially every member of the priesthood, became informed about the aims, tactics, and schemes of socialistic-communism. This becomes particularly important when it is realized that communism is turning out to be the earthly image of the plan which Satan presented in the pre-existence. The whole program of socialistic-communism is essentially a war against God and the plan of salvation-the very plan which we fought to uphold during "the war in heaven".
Up to now some members of the Church have stood aloof, feeling that the fight against socialistic-communism is "controversial" and unrelated to the mission of the Church or the work of the Lord. But the President of the Church in our day has made it clear that the fight against atheistic communism is a major challenge to the Church and every member in it.
During the general conference of the Church in October 1959, President David O. McKay, in discussing the threat of communism, referred to W. Cleon Skousen's book, The Naked Communist, and said, "I admonish everybody to read that excellent book." He then quoted the following from the flyleaf: "The conflict between communism and freedom is the problem of our time. It overshadows all other problems."
The fight against godless communism is a very real part of every man's duty who holds the priesthood. It is the fight against slavery, immorality, atheism, terrorism, cruelty, barbarism, deceit, and the destruction of human life through a kind of tyranny unsurpassed by anything in human history. Here is a struggle against the evil, satanical priestcraft of Lucifer. Truly it can be called, "a continuation of the war in heaven."
In the war in heaven the devil advocated absolute eternal security at the sacrifice of our freedom. Although there is nothing more desirable to a Latter-day Saint than eternal security in God's presence, and although God knew, as did we, that some of us would not achieve this security if we were allowed our freedom-yet the very God of heaven, who has more mercy than us all, still decreed no guaranteed security except by a man's own freedom of choice and individual initiative.
Today the devil as a wolf in a supposedly new suit of sheep's clothing is enticing some men, both in and out of the Church, to parrot his line by advocating planned government guaranteed security programs at the expense of our liberties. Latter-day Saints should be reminded how and why they voted as they did in heaven. If some have decided to change their vote they should repent-throw their support on the side of freedom-and cease promoting this subversion.
When all of the trappings of propaganda and pretense have been pulled aside, the exposed hard-core structure of modern communism is amazingly similar to the ancient Book of Mormon record of secret societies such as the Gadiantons. In the ancient American civilization there was no word which struck greater terror to the hearts of the people than the name of the Gadiantons. It was a secret political party which operated as a murder cult. Its object was to infiltrate legitimate government, plant its officers in high places, and then seize power and live off the spoils appropriated from the people. it would gradually gain a choke hold on the political and economic life of whole civilizations.)
The object of the Gadiantons, like modern communists, was to destroy the existing government and set up a ruthless criminal dictatorship over the whole land.
One of the most urgent, heart-stirring appeals made by Moroni as he closed the Book of Mormon was addressed to the gentile nations of the last days. He foresaw the rise of a great worldwide secret combination among the gentiles which "... seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries". He warned each gentile nation of the last days to purge itself of this gigantic criminal conspiracy which would seek to rule the world.
The prophets, in our day, have continually warned us of these internal threats in our midst-that our greatest threat from socialistic-communism lies within our country. Brethren and sisters, we don't need a prophet-we have one-we need a listening ear. And if we do not listen and heed, then, as the Doctrine and Covenants states, "... 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".
The prophets have said that these threats are among us. The Prophet Moroni, viewing our day, said, "Wherefore the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation".
Unfortunately our nation has not treated the socialistic-communist conspiracy as "treasonable to our free institutions," as the First Presidency pointed out in a signed 1936 statement. If we continue to uphold communism by not making it treasonable, our land shall be destroyed, for the Lord has said that "... whatsoever nation shall uphold such secret combinations, to get power and gain, until they shall spread over the nation, behold they shall be destroyed".
The Prophet Moroni described how the secret combination would take over a country and then fight the work of God, persecute the righteous, and murder those who resisted. Moroni therefore proceeded to describe the workings of the ancient "secret combinations" so that modern man could recognize this great political conspiracy in the last days: "Wherefore, O ye Gentiles, it is wisdom in God that these things should be shown unto you, that thereby ye may repent of your sins, and suffer not that these murderous combinations shall get above you, which are built up to get power and gain-and the work, yea, even the work of destruction come upon you,
"Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you...
"For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations and countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people, for it is built up by the devil, who is the father of all lies".
The Prophet Moroni seemed greatly exercised lest in our day we might not be able to recognize the startling fact that the same secret societies which destroyed the Jaredites and decimated numerous kingdoms of both Nephites and Lamanites would be precisely the same form of criminal conspiracy which would rise up among the gentile nations in this day.
The stratagems of the leaders of these societies are amazingly familiar to anyone who has studied the tactics of modern communist leaders.
The Lord has declared that before the second coming of Christ it will be necessary to "... destroy the secret works of darkness..." in order to preserve the land of Zion-the Americas.
The world-wide secret conspiracy which has risen up in our day to fulfil these prophecies is easily identified. President McKay has left no room for doubt as to what attitude Latter-day Saints should take toward the modern "secret combinations" of conspiratorial communism. In a lengthy statement on communism, he said:
"... Latter-day Saints should have nothing to do with the secret combinations and groups antagonistic to the constitutional law of the land, which the Lord 'suffered to be established,' and which 'should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh according to just and holy principles '".
There are those who recommend that the clash between communism and freedom be avoided through disarmament agreements. Abolishing our military strength and adopting an unenforceable contract as a substitute to protect us would go down in history as the greatest mistake free men could make in a time of peril.
President McKay declared:
"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 the threatened aggression of a nation which seems to listen to no other appeal than compulsion."
This parallels the historic statement by George Washington when he vigorously warned:
"There is a rank due the United States among the nations that will be totally lost by the reputation of weakness. If we would avoid insult we must be able to repel it, if we would secure the peace, it must be known that we are at all times ready for war."
Some timid, vacillating political leaders proclaim that communism is something we will have to learn to live with... whether it is Khrushchev, or some other leader. The present communist system, they declare, will continue because there is no alternate system to replace communism. The policy of increasing power, of pushing their system outward and using the communist party, they say, will go on.
Such a negative attitude writes off the hundreds of millions behind the iron curtain as a lost cause. Surely no courageous, liberty-loving citizen will treat the communist secret combination as "something we will have to learn to live with."
There is a more courageous and sounder point of view. President McKay expressed it in these words:
"Men will be free. I have hoped for twenty years that the Russian system would break up. There is no freedom under it, and sooner or later the people will rise against it. They cannot oppose those fundamentals of civilization and of God. They can't crush their people always. Men will be free."
What is the official position of the Church on communism? In 1936 the First Presidency made an official declaration on communism which has never been abrogated. I quote the concluding paragraph:
"We call upon all Church members completely to eschew communism. The safety of our divinely inspired constitutional government and the welfare of our Church imperatively demand that communism shall have no place in America"
We must ever keep in mind that collectivized socialism is part of the communist strategy. Communism is fundamentally socialism. We will never win our fight against communism by making concessions to socialism. Communism and socialism, closely related, must be defeated on principle. The close relationship between socialism and communism is clearly pointed out by Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina in a letter to the editor of the Washington Post, of August 6, 1961, in these words:
"... Both socialism and communism derive from the teachings of Marx and Engels. In fact, the movements were one until the split over methods of approach, which resulted after the Russian revolution in 1905... The aim and purpose of both was then and is now world socialism, which communism seeks to achieve through revolution and which socialists seek to achieve through evolution.
"The industrial achievements of the U. S. are the result of an economic system which is the antithesis of socialism. Our economic system is called 'capitalism' or 'private enterprise' and is based on private property rights, the profit motive and competition.
"Both communism and socialism seek to destroy our economic system and replace it with socialism; and their success, whether through evolution by socialism or through revolution by communism or a combination, will destroy not only our economic system, but our liberty, including the 'civil' aspects as well...
"... The 'common ground' of socialism and communism is a factor to which the American people should be alerted. Without a clear understanding that communism is socialism, the total threat and menace of the cold war can never be comprehended and fought to victory."
When socialism is understood, we will realize that many of the programs advocated, and some of those already adopted in the United States, fall clearly within the category of socialism. What is socialism? It is simply governmental ownership and management of the essential means for the production and distribution of goods.
We must never forget that nations may sow the seeds of their own destruction while enjoying unprecedented prosperity.
The socialistic-communist conspiracy to weaken the United States involves attacks on many fronts. To weaken the American free-enterprise economy which outproduced both its enemies and allies during World War II is a high priority target of the communist leaders. Their press and other propaganda media are therefore constantly selling the principles of centralized or federal control of farms, railroads, electric power, schools, steel, maritime shipping, and many other aspects of the economy-but always in the name of public welfare.
This carries out the strategy laid down by the communist masters. John Strachey, a top official in the Labor Socialist party of Great Britain, in his book entitled The Theory and Practice of Socialism said:
"It is impossible to establish communism as the immediate successor to capitalism. It is accordingly proposed to establish socialism as something which we can put in the place of our present decaying capitalism. Hence, communists work for the establishment of socialism as a necessary transition stage on the road to communism."
The paramount issue today is liberty against creeping socialism. It is in this spirit that President McKay stated:
"Communism is antagonistic to the American way of life. Its avowed purpose is to destroy belief in God and free enterprise... The fostering of full economic freedom lies at the base of our liberties. Only in perpetuating economic freedom can our social, political, and religious liberties be preserved."
Again President McKay warned, citing the words of W. C. Mullendore, president of Southern California Edison Company:
"During the first half of the twentieth century we have traveled far into the soul-destroying land of socialism and made strange alliances through which we have become involved in almost continuous hot and cold wars over the whole of the earth. In this retreat from freedom the voices of protesting citizens have been drowned by raucous shouts of intolerance and abuse from those who led the retreat and their millions of gullible youth, who are marching merrily to their doom, carrying banners on which are emblazoned such intriguing and misapplied labels as social justice equality, reform patriotism social welfare".
It is significant that 118 years ago this month the Prophet Joseph Smith, after attending lectures on socialism, made this official entry in church history: "I said I did not believe the doctrine".
No true Latter-day Saint and no true American can be a socialist or a communist or support programs leading in that direction. These evil philosophies are incompatible with Mormonism, the true gospel of Jesus Christ.
What can priesthood holders do? There are many things we can do to meet the challenge of the adversary in our day.
First, we should become informed about communism, about socialism, and about Americanism. What better way can one become informed than by first studying the inspired words of the prophets and using that as a foundation; against which to test all other material. This is in keeping with the Prophet Joseph Smith's motto, "When the Lord commands, do it."
The Foundation for Economic Education, Irvington-on-Hudson, New York, on which President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., served as a board member, continues to supply sound freedom literature. We should know enough about American free enterprise to be able to defend it. We should know what makes it possible for six percent of humanity-living under our free economy-to produce about one-half of the earth's developed wealth each year.
We should know why paternalism, collectivism, or unnecessary federal supervision will hold our standard of living down and reduce productivity just as it has in every country where it has been tried. We should also know why the communist leaders consider socialism the highroad to communism.
Second, we should accept the command of the Lord and treat socialistic communism as the tool of Satan. We should follow the counsel of the President of the Church and resist the influence and policies of the socialist-communist conspiracy wherever they are found-in the schools, in the churches, in governments, in unions, in businesses, in agriculture.
Third, we should help those who have been deceived or who are misinformed to find the truth. Unless each person who knows the truth will "stand up and speak up" it is difficult for the deceived or confused citizen to find his way back.
Fourth, we should not make the mistake of calling people "communist" just because they happen to be helping the communist cause. Thousands of patriotic Americans, including a few Latter-day Saints, have helped the communists without realizing it. Others have knowingly helped without joining the party. The remedy is to avoid name-calling, but point out clearly and persuasively how they are helping the communists.
Fifth, each priesthood holder should use his influence in the community to resist the erosion process which is taking place in our political and economic life. He should use the political party of his choice to express his evaluation of important issues. He should see that his party is working to preserve freedom, not destroy it. He should join responsible local groups interested in promoting freedom and free competitive enterprise, in studying political issues, appraising the voting records and proposed programs, and writing to members of Congress, promoting good men in public office and scrutinizing local, state, and federal agencies to see that the will of the people is being carried out. He should not wait for the Lord's servants to give instruction for every detail once they have announced the direction in which the priesthood should go. Each member should exercise prayerful judgment and then act.
Sixth, and most important of all, each member of the priesthood should set his own house in order. This should include:
1. Regular family prayer, remembering especially our government leaders.
2. Getting out of debt.
3. Seeing that each member of the family understands the importance of keeping the commandments.
4. Seeing that the truth is shared with members of the family, with neighbors, and with associates.
5. Seeing that each member is performing his duties in the priesthood, in the auxiliary organizations, in the temple, and in the civic life of the community.
6. Seeing that every wage earner in the home is a full tithepayer and fulfilling other obligations in financial support of the kingdom.
7. Providing a one-year supply of essentials.
In doing these things a member of the Church is not only making himself an opponent of the adversary, but a proponent of the Lord.
In the prophecies there is no promise except to the obedient. To a modern prophet the Lord said:
"Therefore, what I say unto one, I say unto all: Watch, for the adversary spreadeth his dominions, and darkness reigneth;
"And the anger of God kindleth against the inhabitants of the earth;
"... I give unto you directions how you may act before me, that it may turn to you for your salvation.
"I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise".
May God give us the wisdom to recognize the threat to our freedom and the strength to meet this danger courageously.
Yes, perilous times are ahead, but if we do our duty in all things, God will give us inner peace and overrule all things for our good. God grant it may be so, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Harold B. Lee
Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, October 1961, pp. 77-82
I have a tremendous feeling of inadequacy as I respond to the assignment of President McKay and seek for the strength of the prayers of the priesthood of the Church to the end that this few minutes might be informative and give you something of the plans which are now to go forward on this most vital subject.
I should like to introduce the thoughts which I shall express by reading a text that to me has particular significance. I quote from the words of the Apostle Paul, speaking of the different organizations of the Church within what he called "the body of Christ," by which he meant the Church:
"For the body is not one member, but many.
"If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body?
"And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?...
"But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him...
"But now are they many members, yet but one body.
"And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you...
"... but God hath tempered the body together...
"That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another...
"Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
"And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers... then... helps governments".
In the great, modern-day revelation on Church government, the Lord concludes with this statement:
"Behold, this is the way that mine apostles, in ancient days, built up my church unto me.
"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".
Obviously, as you think about those scriptures, they were given to impress the need for the constant and continued consultations and correlations of the various subdivisions, the priesthood quorums and the auxiliaries and all other units within the kingdom of God for at least four reasons:
First, that each organization was to have its specific function, and it was not to usurp the field of the other which would be like the eye saying to the hand, "I have no need of thee."
Second, that each sub-division is of equal importance in the work of salvation, just as each part of the physical body is essential to a complete human being.
Third, that all may be edified or educated together; and
Fourth, that the system may be kept perfect, or in other words, that within the framework of the Lord's plan of organization for the salvation of his children, the Church will perform as a perfectly organized human body, with every member functioning as it was intended.
Throughout the scriptures there runs a phrase, again and again repeated to remind us of the whole purpose of the Lord's plan. As he told his prophet, his purpose was "... to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man", or to be more specific and, putting it into the language of our present leaders as they have counseled us, "to plant and to make grow in every member of the Church a testimony of Christ and of the gospel and of the divinity of the mission of Joseph Smith and the Church and to bring the people to order their lives in accordance with the laws and principles of the restored gospel and priesthood."
The repeated necessity for re-examination of the programs, the activities, and the prescribed courses of study has been apparent over the years to make certain that the original concepts relative to each organization were being adhered to, that each in its field was functioning up to its capacity, that one was not usurping the field of activity designed for the other, and that duplications and overlappings were reduced to a minimum.
I found an apt illustration which illustrates the importance of this periodical re-examination and re-appraisal. In history there is found recorded the account of a famed debate known as the Webster-Hayne Debate in Congress in which Daniel Webster made this statement that seems to apply to the point I want to make. Said Daniel Webster:
"Mr. President, when the mariner has been tossed about for many days in thick weather on an unknown sea, he naturally avails himself of the first pause in the storm the earliest glance of the sun to take his latitude and ascertain how far the elements have driven him from his true course. Let us imitate this prudence and before we float on the waves of this debate refer to the point from which we departed, that we may at least be able to conjecture where we now are."
There are several illustrations as we have studied the history of these surveys of the past, to illustrate why this is necessary. We found, for example, that some years ago a responsible head of one of the organizations asked the question as to whether or not a committee of the Council of the Twelve was not to be limited to the sole function of passing only on the doctrinal content of proposed manuals rather than to have anything to say on matters of policy in selecting the subject matter for the manual.
Paraphrasing the words of Webster: "we are to again see how far we have departed from the true course, that we may at least conjecture where we now are."
This whole problem of correlation becomes more acute as the Church grows and develops, if you will just stop to think for a moment what the rapid expansion and growth of the Church entails. Within each year by conversion or convert baptisms and natural increase, there are enough people being added to the Church to make from seventeen to twenty stakes each year. Since I came to be a member of the Council of the Twelve, twenty years and six months ago, we have grown from 138 stakes to now 335 or 336, whatever it be, in just that twenty year period.
There is an increasing need for buildings, but with that an impressed need for using every economy possible to have nothing unnecessary in those buildings, which economies can come about by proper correlation. We have increased temple work, increased need for genealogical work with increased numbers of temples. We have an increase in welfare activities. We have an increase in tithes and offerings. And so we might go on to determine the great expansion of the Church.
Within the memories of many of the present General Authorities, there have been surveys of this kind, or reexaminations about twenty years apart. One of the first comprehensive studies was undertaken under the general chairmanship of President David O. McKay, who was then the chairman of the general priesthood committee of the Church, and this was about forty years ago. To me it is a significant thing that this problem of proper correlation seems to have been in President McKay's mind through all of this time and perhaps as long as he has been one of the General Authorities.
In 1920, the first such study was made, again in 1938, and after calling attention to the continued expansion of the fields of activity and increasing overlapping of the several Church organizations, President McKay, who by this time was now a member of the First Presidency, called attention to this, and I quote from a working copy that he has left with us: "The necessity to provide a course of study and of activities that shall bring the young people of missionary age to a substantial and rounded knowledge of the principles of the gospel all require that the work of the auxiliary organizations and of our educational institutions should be coordinated and as among the various organizations de-limited as well as unified and standardized to avoid duplication and overlapping and to provide the training which is required by the young people."
In March of last year, 1960, the First Presidency wrote to the general priesthood committee and called our attention to the need for better correlation between and among the courses of study put out by the general priesthood committee and other responsible heads of other committees of the General Authorities for the instruction of the priesthood of the Church and an urgent need of correlation of studies among the auxiliaries of the Church, to avoid the necessity for new courses of study every year, having the ultimate objective of building up a knowledge of the gospel, a power to promulgate the same, a promotion of the growth, faith, and stronger testimony of the principles of the gospel among the members of the Church, and expressed the view in that letter to the general priesthood committee that if the whole church curriculum were viewed from the vantage point of what might be termed the total purpose of each and all these organizations, it would bring about such a collation and limitation of subjects and subject matter elaborated in the various auxiliary courses as would tend to the building of efficiency in the auxiliaries themselves in the matter of carrying out the purposes lying behind their creation and function.
That study, commenced early last year, has continued on for this last year and a half, going on now two years, under the direction of the educational committee, which is a sub-committee of the general priesthood committee, and we were authorized to select and set to work a survey committee to go back over all the history of each Church unit and to aid the educational committee in that study to determine the aims and objectives in the beginning of each organization and to review the expansions and changes which have taken place and to study all previous recommendations on the subject of correlation. May I say as well, that the key to what now we have to propose and which I will explain to you in a few minutes, and a guide to the educational committee and the research staff, was a communication from the First Presidency in one of these studies some while back when they called attention to the fact that "the home was the basis of a righteous life and that no other instrumentality can take its place nor fulfil its essential functions and that the utmost the auxiliaries can do is to aid the home in its problems, giving special aid and succor where such is necessary, that in aiding the home the auxiliaries may well consider thinking of home-life of the people as having three periods, the first, from birth to twelve years of age or the childhood period; then the youth period from twelve years up to the early twenties; and then adulthood, from the early twenties on to the end of life."
With that as the key and the letter given from the First Presidency as the blueprint, it is the feeling now of the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve, after reviewing these studies, that there should be presently more coordination and correlation between the activities and programs of the various priesthood quorums and auxiliary organizations and the educational system of the Church. They have decided, therefore, that there should be established an all-Church coordinating council and three coordinating committees: one for the children, one for the youth, and one for adults. This council and the three committees will correlate and coordinate the total instructional and activity programs of all auxiliaries and priesthood quorums which the brethren have now suggested should include missionary instructions and activities for the entire Church.
This council and committees will be composed of representatives of the General Authorities, the executive heads of the auxiliary boards, and representatives of various agencies and auxiliaries of the Church.
I will now indicate just what that personnel will look like, as it now gets into action: The all-Church coordinating council will be composed of a chairman, who will be one of the Council of the twelve, and three General Authorities, all of whom will be members of the twelve: one representing the children, one representing youth, and one representing the adults, and a secretary. The three General Authorities will be the chairmen of their respective committees. There will be a secretary and secretaries from each of the coordinating committees, the Presiding Bishop, a member of the Melchizedek Priesthood committee, an executive of the Church educational system, the president or superintendent of the following auxiliaries: Relief Society, Sunday School, YMMIA, YWMIA, and the Primary Association.
The function of the all-Church coordinating council is to formulate policy which will govern the planning, the writing, coordination, and implementation of the entire Church curriculum. In addition to the organization of the coordinating council, three coordinating committees will be formed under the direction and policies of that council as I have said. The personnel of the children's coordinating committee, for example, will be made up of a chairman, one of the twelve; there will be a committee secretary, and the best qualified people in the Church representing children, most of whom will be selected from the general boards of the Primary and the Sunday School. The function of this committee will be to plan, provide, write, and coordinate curricula and activities for children in age groups which do not overlap, including courses of study, activities, and materials for children to twelve years of age, and then these functions will be carried out under the coordinating council.
The youth coordinating committee will be made up of a chairman, one of the twelve, a committee secretary, and the best-qualified people in the Church, representing youth, mainly selected from the Presiding Bishopric, general boards of the YMMIA and YWMIA, Sunday School, and the general church school system. The function of this committee will be to plan, write, provide, and coordinate curricula and activities for youth in age groups, using the Aaronic Priesthood age groups as a guide, including courses of study, activities, and materials.
And the adult committee will be composed of a chairman, one of the twelve, a secretary, and the best-qualified people in the Church representing adults and should be selected from the Melchizedek Priesthood committee, the general boards of Relief Society, MIA's, Sunday School, church school system, etc., and it will be their function to plan and write and provide and coordinate the curriculum for adults.
These heads of the various groups affected have been notified by the First Presidency of their appointment to this council, and they are now standing ready for the call to this important service. The auxiliary organizations of the Church in their present form will continue to implement the program on the Church level, on the stake level, and on the ward level. The coordinating committees will work under the direction of the coordinating council and will work in line with policies formed by that council.
The auxiliary boards will carry out the program which is formulated by the coordinating committee. Now, you must bear in mind that the coordinating committees will be composed mainly of general board members who are already writing plans and programs for the Church. Such a program will make it possible better to correlate and coordinate the program of the Church and will prevent overlapping, thus making it possible to teach the gospel in a more efficient and effective way in harmony with the instructions of the First Presidency.
In the adoption of such a program, we may possibly and hopefully look forward to the consolidation and simplification of church curricula, church publications, church buildings, church meetings, and many other important aspects of the Lord's work.
With that brief statement may I conclude with just this one thought. Perhaps one of the most oft-asked questions, as we go about the Church, is "How, with the Church growing to the size that it is, can we hope for the present General Authorities to supervise and to keep in contact with the growing Church?" My answer has always been, "I am sure that by the time we arrive at the place where we need more revelations that the Lord will give that light and knowledge to the prophet whom he has put upon the earth for that purpose."
Recently, President McKay, acting under the inspiration of his calling, moved to enlarge the activities of the seventies, by ordaining some of the presidents of seventies to the office of high priests, with the explanation that it would make them more serviceable and more effective in their work. I was in one of the Arizona stakes, and I had one of the brethren ask, "Was it not true that the Prophet Joseph had said that it was contrary to the order of heaven that a high priest should be in that position?" I merely said to him, "Had you ever thought that what might have been contrary to the order of heaven in the early 1830's might not be contrary to the order of heaven in 1960?"
Sometimes we forget that today, here and now, we have a prophet to whom the Lord is giving instruction for our good. We say, "We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God".
Almost imperceptibly we see the hand of the Lord moving to do things, and this I construe to be a consolidation Of the forces of the Lord under the direction of the prophet, just as in an army, in order to meet a superior force of the enemy in numbers, the forces of our opposition to the forces of evil must be consolidated in order to give them the most effective possible defense.
We are in a program of defense. The Church of Jesus Christ was set upon this earth in this day "... for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm, and from wrath when it should be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth". This is a move, which, as I say, has lain close to President McKay's mind and now as the President of the Church he is instructing us to move forward, that we consolidate to make more efficient, and more effective the work of the priesthood, the auxiliaries, and the other units in order that we may conserve our time, our energy, and our efforts toward the prime purpose for which the Church itself has been organized. We must not forget what the Lord said, that he had given a parable to teach us a great lesson, and concluded the parable by saying, "I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine".
When I remembered that, I remembered a revelation that President John Taylor received when the leaders were wondering about the relationship of the seventies to the high priests, and in a very pertinent, significant statement, the Lord gave this revelation to President John Taylor:
"What ye have written is my will and is acceptable unto me and furthermore, thus saith the Lord unto the First Presidency and unto the Twelve, unto the Seventies and unto all my Holy Priesthood, let not your hearts be troubled, neither be ye concerned about the management and the organizations of my Church and Priesthood and the accomplishment of my work. Fear not and observe my laws, and I will reveal unto you from time to time, through the channels that I have appointed everything that shall be necessary for the future development and the rolling forth of my Kingdom and for the building up and the establishment of my Zion, for ye are my Priesthood and I am your God".
To which I also bear my humble testimony, that the Lord is revealing to President McKay just as certainly here and now and this becomes an instruction as inspired as any instruction has been given and for us to remember as members of the priesthood if we will just keep our eye on the President of this Church and look to him today for God's revelations, we will see him moving to do the thing that will be for the salvation of the children of men in the most effective way possible, and I bear that humble testimony in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Richard L. Evans
Richard L. Evans, Conference Report, October 1961, pp. 82-84
President McKay and my beloved brethren: As I see you before me here and contemplate some three hundred other congregations meeting elsewhere at this hour, a pride and gratitude fill my soul for being part of this great brotherhood of the priesthood.
Before turning to the specific topic that Brother Lee has so ably and comprehensively and understandingly presented I should like to express my missing of President Clark, who so long has been so much a part of these gatherings, and my love for President McKay, which he knows of and, with you, my loyalty and sustaining of him with all my heart, and of those associated with him.
Earnestly I have sought help in this assignment and would now suggest some few side lights on the subject that may re-emphasize the need for that which has long been contemplated and considered and studied and is now about to be.
In a recent world tour, as we touched in some sixteen countries, we became more aware of the hundreds of millions of mankind; we became more aware also of the ever-widening responsibility of the Church and of the need for our widening influence and greater distribution of our effort.
Brother Lee has mentioned the growth of the Church. If we were to cover the world with ten million people in each mission it would take about three hundred or some five times more missions than we now have.
In a book which Brother William E. Berrett has prepared for priesthood quorum study of Book of Mormon subjects and themes, he recalls this startling illustration on population from some years ago: that if all people in the world were to line up thirty-six abreast and pass a point in military marching order, they would never pass completely, because the rate of those arriving in the world would be such that the parade would be never-ending, and the Church and kingdom of God has responsibility for all of them-however many there are and however many there may be coming! If we project such figures to the present and the future and add to them in geometric ratio, we can glimpse the complexities and the responsibilities.
I heard, in a great gathering in Tokyo, Dr. Henry Heald, president of the Ford Foundation, give an account of some of the worldwide projects which his organization has undertaken in its philanthropic distribution of many millions of dollars among many millions of men, in trying to solve some problems and alleviate some conditions, and he quoted a phrase that may be pertinent to the point at which we have arrived. He spoke of the "elimination of the insignificant," and I think it is apparent to all of us that we may have arrived at that point: the elimination of the insignificant and of the inconsequential. To borrow a sentence recently read, "It is getting to where our necessities are too luxurious and our luxuries too necessary." I think this phrase used by Dr. Heald, the elimination of the inconsequential or insignificant, is pertinent to this problem.
In the June issue of the Era is a sentence from a poet which says: "I am full fed, and yet I hunger. Now, we have been full fed in many areas, and yet we hunger in others, and we will, it seems, have to have a wider distribution of our effort and our influence, the elimination of unnecessary duplication, of internal competition, if there is any, and a fuller coverage of some neglected areas. We have recognized that there is "One Lord, one faith, one baptism". We must recognize that it is one boy, one girl, one person, with whom we are working and always and ever have in mind what every program does to the person, to the man, the boy, the girl, and know that the organizations are there so that there shall be a fulness of life for each and all, and not for their own sake or to perpetuate any particular program. We must have balance and feed all sides of ourselves, as suggested by an eminent churchman who said, "The Church can be interested in no less than God is interested in. Religion has to do with everything."
The gospel enters into everything, and it would not be the purpose of this newly proposed program, as I understand it, to take anything essential from any area, but to add unto as to essentials and to do all things more fully and effectively. And as to superficial or unessential things, I think we must have the courage to look at all programs in the light of present needs, as did the founders of these organizations before us, as they brought them into being. This does not necessarily mean a thinning out of the overall program, but it means a reappraisal, and perhaps, if the First Presidency so suggests a redistribution, a redefinition, and an abridgment in unessential areas, a better use of time, of effort, and energy. It could mean, and well could, I would suppose, more emphasis on the home.
I am thinking of a phrase: flexibility and firmness. These the Church must have: the flexibility to change, to meet conditions as they come, with firmness of principles and of instruction and of gospel precepts and commandments, never tampering with the solid foundations, but ever keeping flexible in meeting current conditions and being discriminating as between what is superstructure and what is bedrock foundation, and always being prepared to make the necessary adjustment between the two.
Our opportunities with young people are perishable. We are aware of this as young men leave us, sometimes suddenly, under the circumstances in which we live, and this calls for the teaching of the whole gospel to everyone, and perhaps earlier than we have before, in a well-rounded program that will reach every person on all facets and all sides of himself. There is no magic formula for it except the simple teaching of the truth to everyone in an orderly program and procedure.
This would not necessarily change the names or basic traditions of any organizations, but it would define them and prescribe their function as to each area and as to any overlapping. This will require more of everything from all of us, this great growth of the Church and the extending of our organization and influence-more of our tithes, more of our time, more of our offerings and our effort, as we seek to absorb those who come to us as well as those who already are with us.
Now may I close with one or two short quotes, one from the Psalmist, which I think is pertinent to this program as proposed: "Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path".
The other, which I borrow from a distinguished friend, as I heard him give it at a meeting far from here: "Face the future courageously and with determination. Echo not the cowardly words of the nerveless Hamlet who voiced the thought, familiar to all, 'the time is out of joint: Oh, cursed spite, that I was ever born to set it right!' Cry, rather, with Rupert Brooke who, sailing, for the hard campaign in Gallipoli, declared, 'Now God be thanked who hath matched us with this hour.'"
With you, I thank God that we are matched with this how and, with you, pray for his guidance and acknowledge to him our thanks for the prophet who leads us, who directs this program, who has long had it close to his heart, and pray with you that it may go forward for the simplification, the elimination of all duplications and competition and unessentials, and the enriching of all that is essential in every life, everywhere in the world.
God bless you, my brethren. I leave with you my witness of the truth of this work, of the reality that God lives, of the divinity of his Son, our Savior, and of the reality of the restoration of the gospel, and the inspired leadership of the prophet of the present time, and I do it in Jesus' name. Amen.
President Hugh B. Brown
Hugh B. Brown, Conference Report, October 1961, pp. 84-87
My dear brethren, I think that in a long lifetime of Church service and appearing before various sized groups, I have never felt more humble than I do tonight as I stand before this vast group of men and realize that more than as many as are here are probably listening in other places. My feeling of inadequacy is emphasized by the fact that you have asked me to assume some duties and responsibilities for which I am not prepared. I therefore lean heavily tonight on your sympathy and God's goodness.
I had made some preparation, having been notified that I would be asked to speak, but I am leaving my notes on the chair and shall attempt extemporaneously, with the help of the Lord, to emphasize what has been said, though I may not be able to add thereto. Elder Lee and Elder Evans have given us much to think about. Brother Lee intimated an analogy which I should like for a moment to enlarge upon.
I do not like to compare the Church to an army, but there are some things that are similar. At least in both organizations we are dealing with human beings, and human beings are pretty much the same wherever you find them. I am thinking at the moment of an incident in 1912 when the then highest ranking officer in the British Army, came to western Canada to promote the organization of what was then known as the militia. He called all the young officers who were in training into a meeting. Among other things, he said to us, and I can only paraphrase:
"Gentlemen, a war is coming. In my opinion it cannot be delayed more than two years. It is going to be the worst war in history thus far, and I am here, to do what I can to prepare the nation for what is ahead."
His prediction, of course, as to the time of the outbreak of the war w as accurate, because the war started for Britain in 1914. Subsequent to that time, and on a number of occasions, it was my duty to talk to officers in the army. Always, under instruction from commanding officers, my purpose was, first to acquaint the officers, so far as I could, with the strength and position of the enemy; and secondly, to remind the men of their duty and to encourage undeviating loyalty; and then to warn them against the methods employed by the enemy by subtle infiltration and attempted alienation.
We said to these officers, "Your units will not be stronger than their leaders. You can pretty well judge the strength of any military unit by the quality of its leaders." We remind them also that the lives of their men depended upon their efficiency and loyalty.
Tonight we are speaking to perhaps 50,000 men, and every man is a volunteer and qualified officer. Upon each one of you there is great responsibility regardless of where you are working or the size of the group you preside over. Here, as in the army, our strength is going to depend in large measure upon the quality of our officers, and our purpose tonight is to warn you priesthood holders, and through you the men and women of your various groups, of the existence, strength, location, and tactics of the enemy, and to remind you that we rely on your absolute loyalty and that preparedness is indispensable.
In the army too frequently we refer to fitness as only physical fitness. Tonight we are calling upon all of you officers of the Church to be fit and ready, physically, mentally, morally, and spiritually, for the war that lies ahead because the enemy is determined to destroy all that we hold dear. He is thoroughly organized; he is cunning and ruthless; he is led by men well trained in his type of warfare; and the devil is his commanding officer. Not only must we meet a head-on assault from the enemy, but the more dangerous and subtle attack will be by infiltration, when human termites undertake to undermine our forces. I believe, my brethren, the time has come when every man who holds the priesthood should figuratively stand himself up against the wall and look himself over, ask himself some questions and be honest with his answers. I may say here, you may as well be honest when you are talking to yourself because the man you are talking to knows who you are and what you are. There are at least two places when a man will be honest, and that is when he is talking to himself and when he is in his closet talking with God Here at least the truth will be distilled.
Let us then examine ourselves and ask what kind of men we are. We might make a pretty good showing in public, be fairly successful in business or in politics; but let each man ask himself what kind of man are you in the home, in your business, in your private life. If you do not like what you see as you look at yourself, then do something about it because God will not hold any man guiltless who simply confesses his sin and doesn't abandon it, or, who admits his weakness and doesn't work for strength.
May I pause here to remind all of us that it matters little what position we hold, but it matters much what we do in the position we hold. Brother Lee referred to Paul's reminder that there is need for all the parts of the body. I am thinking of the Church as the body. No one of us should say or think at any time, "If I were in some other place, I could display my superior ability and faith, but just where I am I do not get a chance to show what I can do. If I were a bishop or stake president or high councilmen or one of the General Authorities, of course, I could be something great, but down here where I am it doesn't amount to much."
Brethren, when we stand before the Judgment Bar of God-and I am saying tonight as the British officer said in 1912, a judgment day is ahead-when we stand there, I think we will not be asked what position we held in the Church. I think the only question, if any questions are necessary, will be, "What did you do with the job assigned to you?" And if a counselor in an elders' quorum, or a counselor in the bishopric, or a man in any other position anywhere in the Church can honestly say, "I did the best I could to fill the position assigned to me," if he can say that honestly, and if one of the General Authorities cannot say it honestly, I would rather be the counselor in the elders' quorum, etc., because I think the Lord is not going to pay much attention to any label one may have on his chest. I don't think the Lord is much interested in labels. He knows as we do that labels do not always tell the truth.
My thought tonight, then, is: Brethren, in connection with this program that has been presented to us tonight, let not any of us say, "Now they are giving us something more to do, more organizations, more committees. Let's join some other church."
Personally, I thank God for the opportunity to work. I am grateful, among other things, that this, the Church of Jesus Christ, gives opportunity to every man and woman and children as well, incidentally, to participate in the work of the Lord. May I add, there is no position in this Church that is not bigger than the man that holds it as there is room for growth in every position or calling. Every man should be apprised of that and realize that in any position in the Church there is opportunity for any man to employ all the ability with which the Lord has blessed him.
We come to you tonight to challenge you, to warn you that there is a war now being waged, the most dangerous and devastating-I am not only speaking of a war with arms-I am speaking of an ideological war, a spiritual war, a war in which the enemy is endeavoring to enslave the bodies and minds and souls of men, and for this we must be prepared.
Let us be loyal to the stakes and wards, missions and branches to which we have the honor to belong. Let us be true to ourselves and true to our leaders. Again a quick analogy. I saw instances where junior officers criticized senior officers because they stayed far behind the lines and did not know w hat was going on in the trenches. I am speaking of World War I, which definitely dates me, but I am willing to take that. Very often the junior officers were critical of the senior officers because they did not know there was a rat hole in a dugout, forgetful of the fact that the man back there upon whom rested the total responsibility of the entire operation had something other to do than to look at a rat hole. He must leave that to the man who happens to be in that dugout.
At the head of our force, we have a prophet of God, who is working directly under Jesus the Christ, who joined issue with Beelzebub when the foundation of this world was laid, and Beelzebub, the devil, Lucifer, declared then that he would never rest until he enslaved the souls of men, and Christ declared he would never rest until all were free to "choose their lives and what they'd be."
We, then, are enlisted in an army with Christ at the head and a living prophet through whom he directs his work. Let us be loyal to them, true to ourselves, and let each of us do the job assigned to him in the place where he is asked to work to the best of his ability.
I want to assure you that I know what it means to be asked to do a job a thousand times too big for me, and yet I know too that God can take any one of us and do anything he wants to do through us. Let us not spend time asking the Lord to do something for us when he is waiting and anxious to do something through us. Let us not forget that the priesthood we bear is not in us as individuals, but the power of it comes through us. Let us keep ourselves in such condition that that power can be transmitted. Let us go forward as President McKay admonished us at the beginning of this conference and be unafraid. May we have courage and fortitude and faith and go forward with the knowledge that though we will undoubtedly have to meet many difficult things. With God's help we need not fear.
I like one verse of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic."
"He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat; He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment-seat: O, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! Be jubilant, my feet! Our God is marching on."
God bless you, my brethren I thank you for your support. I want to tell you from intimate association that we have at the head of the Church today one of the greatest leaders of the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. God has honored him, and we who sit next to him day by day see the work of the Church being outlined, organized, and going forward under the inspiration of heaven. I testify to you that he is the prophet of God, and that these men who are associated here with us are true and loyal to him.
I leave you my testimony of the restoration of the gospel, and I want you to know that the President and all of us have confidence in you, that you will not let us down nor be untrue to yourselves nor become traitors to the cause. Furthermore, you may be sure that ultimately righteousness will triumph. Truth will prevail. The Church has been organized and set up. It is the kingdom of God, and it will never be thrown down.
God bless us to do our part. To this end I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, October 1961, pp. 89-91
As I listened to the very able presentation of the scholarly plan to correlate the studies of the priesthood and auxiliaries of the entire Church, I thought what is the end and purpose of all this? I visualized the fact that 30,000 or 40,000 men and boys in priesthood assemblies this night constitute an organization in the world with one great purpose in mind, and that is to fulfill or respond to the call that Jesus gave Nicodemus: "... Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." And Nicodemus wondered, he could not comprehend it. And Jesus answered, "... Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God".
In that first sentence, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God," we have the answer to the end and purpose of this great plan-to have our boys and our girls realize that there is a higher purpose in life than yielding to the pleasures and temptations of the flesh.
In our conference today we had a great sermon-two sermons in fact-on the Holy Ghost and what it means. Associate with those words of Jesus to Nicodemus the words of Peter after he had been ordained and was guiding men of his associates to a higher life. He wrote on one occasion: "... that we might be partakers of the divine nature". He realized what it means to be in touch with the spiritual, to rise above the temporal, the sensual, and partake of the divine Spirit of God.
Fellow men of the priesthood, that is the purpose of making us more capable of responding to the Spirit and subduing the sensual.
I am glad that Elder Lee referred to the ordaining of members of the First Council of the Seventy as high priests. There seem to be a number of men of the priesthood in the Church who are wondering about it, because they know that the Prophet said that what was going on in the early days of making high priests of seventies, was not in accordance with the will of God.
Do you know what they were doing? Before a man was ordained a member of the First Council of the Seventy he was ordained a high priest. This practice, the Prophet said, was not in accordance with the will of the Lord. It should be sufficient for you who have the Spirit of the Lord to know that the work today is required of those members of the First Council of the Seventy which needs the High Priesthood. They do not join the high priests' quorum, but they are sent out by the Council of the Twelve Apostles to set in order the Church in the stakes and missions, and they should be given authority to set apart a president of a stake, a high councilman, a bishop of a ward, which requires the High Priesthood.
The Lord has never said, nor has the Prophet Joseph, that that is against the will of the Lord. These men are sent out now to take care of 300 and some odd stakes, and they are given the authority as members of the First Council of the Seventy to attend to anything necessary in order to set in order the affairs of the stake and the ward, and that is in accordance with the will of the Lord.
The members of the First Council of the Seventy are now given the authority of high priests to set in order all things pertaining to the stake and the wards, under the direction of the Twelve Apostles.
There come to my mind now the following words of the writer, John Dryden, which I think are applicable to the spiritual part of our work, getting the Holy Ghost, and rising above the temporal, selfish, envious things which are contrary to the calling of any high priest, seventy, elder, priest, teacher, or deacon in the Church:
"Dim as the borrowed beams of moon and stars to lonely, weary, wandering travelers, is reason to the soul." Notice that comparison-"Dim as the borrowed rays of moon and stars to lonely, weary, wandering travelers" "is reason to the soul. And as on high those rolling fires discover but the sky, not guide us here, so Reason's glimmering ray was lent, not to assure our doubtful way, but lead us upward to a brighter day."
That day is faith, a realization of the enjoyment of the Spirit of God. What the sun is to the earth, so that Holy Spirit is to man, and the 40,000 assembled tonight-or 30,000, whatever the number may be-are entitled-each individual is entitled to that glorious light of the Holy Spirit.
That is why we like to have every young man and every young woman utilize his or her time intelligently, usefully, to bring the soul in harmony with the spirit, that we all might be partakers of God's Spirit, partakers of his divine nature. That is the privilege, fellow workers, of all who hold the priesthood of God.
I think this has been a glorious meeting-one of the best, if not the best, ever held in the Church. There is a glorious future. Our minds have been led to visualize the opportunities of the priesthood, and to be true to the priesthood, to be loyal to it, that we might in our own little way, give to the world the spiritual message of the gospel of Christ. People are denying his divinity. Nations are now taught-young boys and babes of forty years ago are now men forty years of age, who, during those forty years have been taught that God does not exist; that Christ was not an eternal being. Poor deluded men and women!
Your responsibility and mine, of everyone who holds the priesthood of God, is the responsibility of letting men see that light which is to the spirit what the vital sun is to the old earth, "not as borrowed beams of moon and stars," but as the sunlight of the Spirit.
God help us to discharge our responsibilities acceptably before him, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Hugh B. Brown
Hugh B. Brown, Conference Report, October 1961, pp. 93-97
I am sure we all respond from the depths of our being to that glorious rendition, "Crown Him Lord of All," rendered as only the Tabernacle Choir, I think, could sing it.
My brothers and sisters, and in that salutation I should like to include all who are listening regardless of their church affiliation, because we are convinced that we are brothers and sisters. We believe in the universal brotherhood of man under the Fatherhood of God.
As this is the first conference since my change of status in the Church, I should like to take this opportunity to express publicly to President McKay and his associates my sincere appreciation for the confidence which prompted them to submit my name for your approval, and I wish to thank you members of the Church for your confidence in their judgment. I pledge only that I shall do my level best to make that judgment good and to that end humbly invoke divine guidance and your indulgence. I shall need your prayers of faith.
But we are speaking this morning not alone to Church members. We are advised that perhaps more than fifty percent of those attending in person or through the use of modern media are friends of the Church who are visiting us. We appreciate your interest-we extend to you a hearty welcome. Your attendance seems to indicate that you have heard something about the Mormons and perhaps would like to know more. We should like to respond briefly to your implied inquiry about the Church. We shall avoid dogmatism, for that ordinarily brings antagonism. We simply invite you, our friends, this morning to, as Isaiah said, "Come, and let us reason together".
We respect all men in their religious beliefs, but the divergent beliefs and multiplicity of creeds have, through the centuries, been the cause of much confusion and concern. The condition of the world religiously is stated in the Catholic Encyclopedia, from which I quote the following:
"A Babel of religious organizations all proclaim themselves to be the Church of Christ. Their doctrines are contradictory and precisely in so far as one of them regards the doctrine which it teaches as vital, it declares those of rival bodies to be misleading and pernicious."
Now, while we do not agree that the beliefs of others are necessarily pernicious, we do think it regrettable that the original Church of Jesus Christ, as outlined in the New Testament, has been broken up into so many creeds. We believe the Lord's house should be a house of order, not divided against itself.
The question is often asked, what are some of the distinguishing characteristics of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? What, if anything, has this Church to offer which is new? Would it be worthwhile to take a closer look at Mormonism?
Though there are many fundamental differences between this Church and others, we must today be content to mention-and that only briefly-just one of them. We refer to our faith in continued revelation from God to men. It seems somewhat paradoxical that this fundamental doctrine of the Church should make it unique or distinguish it from others, inasmuch as in all dispensations of the gospel current revelation has been the sustaining power, the vivifying spirit of the divine Church.
In a concrete statement of beliefs known as the Articles of Faith, we declare our faith in all that God has revealed, all that he does now reveal, and we believe that he will yet reveal many great and important things.
History proves that when the spirit or gift of revelation is withdrawn from the Church there is nothing but a dead form left and men are prone to worship God with their lips and honor him with their mouths, but, because there is no communication and therefore no understanding, their hearts are far from him.
The things of God can only be understood by the Spirit of God and the Spirit of God is a revealing spirit. The Master promised before he left the earth to send another Comforter which would lead men into all truth. Divine revelation has always been a characteristic of the living Church-it is absolutely essential to its continued existence in an organized state on the earth.
You remember the Prophet Amos said, "Surely the Lord God will do nothing but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets".
And in Proverbs we read, "Where there is no vision, the people perish".
We have ample scriptural authority for our declaration that a man must be called of God by prophecy and by the laying on of hands by men of authority to preach the gospel and administer its ordinances. The Apostle Paul said, "And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron". And Aaron was called by direct revelation through Moses. When revelation ceases, people dwindle in unbelief, and not only the people but also the Church apostatizes in the absence of inspired leadership.
That is exactly what happened in the primitive church, and that situation was a harbinger of a universal apostasy, of which the Church of England speaks in its "Homily against Peril of Idolatry," as follows: "So that laity and clergy, learned and unlearned, all ages, sects, and degrees of men, women, and children of whole Christendom-an horrible and most dreadful thing to think-have been at once drowned in abominable idolatry; of all other vices most detested of God and most damnable to man; and that by the space of eight hundred years and more."
Without continued revelation there can be no authorized ministry on the earth, and without authorized officers there can be no Church of Christ. If some say there is no revelation and will not be further revelation from God, we ask, "Why not? Has God lost the power to reveal his mind and will to men?" Of course, to so state is tantamount to blasphemy. Do we not need revelation or word from God? I ask you to consider the condition of the world and note the dire need of the world for some divine guidance and direction.
Well, then, if God could reveal, and we need revelation, is the fault with man? Have we lost the gift or the faith or the understanding that will enable us to receive revelation? Certainly it would be more modest of us to admit the fault in ourselves than to blame God for not speaking, if he does not speak. Or perhaps there may be some jamming of the messages by the enemy as a result of which some have been tried to believe that there is power that can transmit. We ask, in radio or television language, "Has the broadcasting station gone out of business or broken down, or are there no receiving sets?"
So long as men believe there can be no revelation, they will make no at tempt to tune in. They will lose their faith and will no longer look up and listen. Some even deny there is need for revelation, but the daily press challenges that statement. In this imperiled, divided, and chaotic world the need for God's help was never more apparent and urgent.
An English divine recently said. "Oh, that some man would arise who could authoritatively say to the world, 'Thus saith the Lord!'"
Is it possible, our friends, that religion is the one department of human interest, investigation, and research where progress is impossible? Would any professor say to his class in chemistry, astronomy, physics, or geology, that no further discovery or revelation of scientific truth is possible? Is religion the only human interest which is static and quiescent? Did Christ leave his Church leaderless and intend it to continue so to be?
For ourselves, because of our faith in the universal and unchangeable love and justice of God, we cannot believe that his Church in one dispensation would be blessed and led by what in television parlance might be termed "live" revelation and in another dispensation leave a distraught and imperiled world with only the recorded messages of ancient prophets, some of which messages were for specific purposes and under special circumstances. We believe that revelation both "live" and recorded is now and will continue to be available to men Whenever the Lord has recognized his Church, he has given through his prophets messages of warning, instruction, and hope.
When we say that we believe all that God has revealed, we declare our faith in the scriptures. We believe the Bible to be a repository of divine truth and that it is authoritative, though not beyond the need for interpretation and proper translation and, therefore, we say, when we declare our faith in the Bible, "as far as it is translated correctly". When we declare that we believe that God does now reveal, that he still speaks through his prophets, and that his word is scripture whenever and wherever given, when we make this statement we are simply teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and declaring as true the Judeo-Christian religion.
We sometimes meet with skepticism when we say that he still reveals, but let us paraphrase the words of Paul for a moment. Why should it be thought a thing incredible that God will do what he has promised to do? If time would permit we could take you through the scriptures from Genesis to Revelation and show the promises of God with respect to the latter days. Why should it be thought incredible not only that he would keep his promise but that he would continue to do what he has done through all the dispensations of the gospel from the beginning?
The Church of Jesus Christ was established and is now directed by revelation, and that fact is largely responsible for the appeal which this new Church makes, and when I say "new," I wish to emphasize that to us it is not new but a restoration of that which was. The true Church of Christ is not a blind alley, it is an open thoroughfare, where men may confidently pursue truth in the light of revelation. That the Church is progressive and responsive to revealed truth is evidenced by our further declaration that we believe that God will yet reveal many great and important things.
This Church, our friends is not committed to any formal or inflexible creed, but its members are taught to believe in and live by the revelations of the past and present and thus prepare themselves for the revelations yet to come. Our concepts and even our faith must be held subject to new light. The present and urgent need for continued revelation in this age of communism, atheism, godlessness, the spirit of the anti-Christ becomes more apparent when we realize that revelation gives us our most conclusive proof that there is a Divine Being-and how the world needs to know of him!
In an age when hundreds of millions of people are being systematically indoctrinated with the abominable doctrines of communism which are that there is no God, religion is an opiate, Christ is a myth; surely in the midst of such determined, persistent, and relentless attacks from the enemy, we may expect from God our Father some direction, and for that direction we constantly pray.
But our message is this, our friends, God has spoken from the heavens; communication between heaven and earth is still possible; the lines are open! That is the challenging message of Mormonism, it is an ensign to the nations, a message of hope to an imperiled world. If we are to exercise saving faith and accompany it with works and, of course, "faith without works is dead", we must know something of him, of his existence, his personality, his laws, his purposes with respect to man, and realize that we are, in fact, his children, related to him. He said, "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent".
We do not say that God is immaterial and incomprehensible and without a body. Rather we say he is approachable as our Father. Now, revelation may come through dreams or visions, the visitation of angels, or, on occasion such as with Moses, by face-to-face communication with the Lord. You remember the Lord spoke to Adam, not only while he was in the Garden of Eden, but after he was cast out. He spoke to other patriarchs and prophets through the ages. He spoke to Enoch, who was called "The Seventh from Adam", and it is said that he was translated because he was especially favored with the presence of the Lord. The record reads, "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him".
The Lord by revelation warned Noah of the coming flood. He talked with Abraham and told him to leave his country and go into a new land and gave him some promises with respect to his posterity. By revelation he commissioned Moses to go into Egypt, and under God's personal direction he released the children of Israel from the bondage of the Egyptians.
So we may trace the line of revelators, men who have stood, each in his time, as the medium through whom God speaks to his people, from Moses to Joshua, through the Judges, on to David and Solomon and down to Zachariah and Malachi. Christ, himself, came to this world to reveal God to men, and he himself was led and directed by revelation from his Father while he dwelt on this earth.
The Lord, as you know, revealed to Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, what was to happen, and you remember what happened to Zacharias because of his lack of belief. The Lord revealed to Mary that she was blessed among women, that she should bring forth a son and call his name Jesus. Christ himself said: "For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
"And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak".
The apostles in the Meridian of Time were in touch with the heavens by revelation. Note what Paul says:
"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".
You remember John, on the Isle of Patmos, wrote the book of Revelation, and, incidentally, this is sometimes called the Apocalypse, and that means in Greek "revelation." This is what he wrote in the first chapter of his book-it was not written of his own wisdom:
"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John".
The scriptures, then, are not only replete with evidence, but conclusive in proving that God does and always has whenever there has been a dispensation of the gospel upon the earth, been in touch with his people. Remember Paul said this, and he is speaking now of our time:
"That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on the earth; even in him".
From the scriptures cited and many others, it seems evident that revelation from God to man has been a vital characteristic, and standard procedure in all dispensations of the gospel. All the prophets and leaders of ancient times were led, directed, chosen, inspired by God himself through revelation.
Eusebius records what happened after the apostles had been slain and when no authoritative answers could be given. He writes, "When the sacred choir of apostles became extinct and the generation of those that had been privileged to hear their inspired wisdom had passed away, then also the combinations of impious error arose by the fraud and delusions of false teachers. These, as there were none of the apostles left, henceforth attempted without shame to preach their doctrine against the Gospel of truth."
And Mosheim reminds us that both Jews and heathens were accustomed to a vast variety of pompous and magnificent ceremonies in their religious service. All the records of the second century mention the multiplication of rites and ceremonies in the Christian Church. "But," you ask, "were these the times that have been?" Some of you may say, "We can believe in revelation in Adam's day and in the days of Moses, in the days of Christ, in the days of the apostles, but not now."
Is there any indication that we might, with reason, expect some word from God? Hear John's testimony as he spoke of things that were to come in the latter days. He 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".
That, my dear friends, is a prophetic promise of revelation in our time. The Church today is founded on the rock of revelation as securely as it was in the days of Peter when Christ said to him, after Peter had spoken of his knowledge of him,
"... upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it".
We think we are justified in anticipating future revelation, and we believe that it will be surpassing in importance and glorious fulness anything that has yet been revealed. We believe that he will continue to reveal himself as long as man continues his probation here on earth.
Now, you friends of ours probably ask, "What particular revelation is the one on which you found your Church?" Time will not permit, of course, a complete answer to that, but humbly, and from the very center of my heart, I say to you, our friends, and to you members of the Church, God has restored the gospel of Jesus Christ and there was a great revelation, one of the greatest of all time, when the Father and the Son, anticipating our very day and the events of these times, appeared to a man. They were personal Beings; they were separate and distinct; they were in form like man, thus proving the first scripture in Genesis, "So God created man in his own image". They spoke to him. Other revelations followed. The whole message of Mormonism centers around the life and mission of Jesus the Christ, and we proclaim to the world in contradiction to the hellish doctrine of communism, God does live. He still speaks to men. There are prophets on the earth.
If that statement is true, it is the greatest message that has come to this earth since Christ ascended into heaven because it is a message of his coming, and if it is true, all of you should know it. That it is true we humbly testify.
We ask you to listen, to read, to pray-ask God for guidance-and we promise you, paraphrasing the Prophet Moroni, that if you will ask of God in faith in the name of Jesus Christ, whether what we declare is true, he will reveal the truth of it unto you by the power of the Holy Ghost.
We believe this is the message for which the world has been waiting. We declare it is the very truth of God, and for my own self I bear witness to that effect and say to you in humility, but without any equivocation, by the same power and authority with which Peter spoke, I say, with him, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God". I know this to be true, and I plead with men everywhere to hearken; for it is a message from the heavens, to which I testify in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Henry D. Taylor
Henry D. Taylor, Conference Report, October 1961, pp. 101-103
We sing a beautiful hymn that is a favorite of mine. It refers to our existence prior to coming to this earth. Sister Eliza R. Snow, the author, poses some very meaningful questions, and in addressing our Father in heaven asks:
"When shall I regain thy presence, And again behold thy face?"
She concludes the hymn with this prayer:
"When I leave this frail existence; When I lay this mortal by, Father, Mother, may I meet you In your royal courts on high? Then at length, when I've completed All you sent me forth to do; With your mutual approbation, Let me come and dwell with you."
Our Heavenly Father loves us, his children, and desires that each will return again to his presence, for he has declared:
"... behold, this is my work and my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man".
In order to attain this goal of immortality, it was decreed that individuals privileged to come to this earth must pass through the experience of death. But God in his wisdom allowed his Only Begotten Son in the flesh, Jesus Christ, to suffer, bleed, and die on the cross to break the bands of death. Through his atoning sacrifice, Christ became our Savior and Redeemer. It is through him that we will return to the Father, for he has said:
"... no man shall come unto the Father but by me".
We have the promise and assurance that after death, our earthly, mortal body will be resurrected and become the glorified tabernacle of our eternal spirit.
Our Father in heaven is all-wise and infinite. He is also a God of law and order. He has given to man a plan-the gospel plan, which furnishes instructions for us to follow in order to return to his presence. These instructions are known as commandments and are given to us through his servants, the prophets.
Every commandment is important and has been provided for a specific purpose. It is not logical to suppose that man may choose the commandments he wishes to observe and ignore the others. Note how emphatically the Lord has expressed himself on this matter-
"If thou lovest me, thou shalt serve me and keep all my commandments".
We might well consider that keeping the commandments is a "one package deal."
In contemplating the gospel plan, however, there is a possibility that we may be attracted to certain doctrines to the exclusion of others.
Many years ago I read some verses that made a lasting impression upon me. They are called, "The Blind Men and the Elephant":
"It was six men of Indostan, To learning much inclined, Who went to see the Elephant That each by observation might satisfy his mind." The first happening to fall against the broad and sturdy side exclaimed: "the elephant is very like a wall!" The second feeling of the roundness, smoothness, and sharpness of the tusk cried: "This wonder of an elephant is very like a spear!" The third happened to grasp the squirming trunk in his hand. "I see," quoth he, "the elephant is very like a snake!" The fourth reached out his hand, and felt about the knee, "What this wondrous beast is like," he said; "Is very like a tree!" The fifth who chanced to touch an ear, stated: "This marvel of an elephant is very like a fan!" The sixth in groping about, seized the swinging tail. "I see," quoth he, "The elephant is very like a rope!" "And so these men of Indostan, Disputed loud and long, Each in his own opinion, Exceeding stiff and strong, Though each was partly in the right, And all were in the wrong."
And thus it is with us and the gospel. We catch a glimpse here and another there. Like the blind men of Indostan, we form our own impressions of the gospel. Yet it has been restored in its fulness, and through study and prayer we can obtain a knowledge and appreciation of its beauty and completeness.
Now to return for a brief consideration of the Lord's commandments, keeping in mind his promise when he said:
"I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say, but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise".
From the very beginning, God has provided his children with instructions or commandments. To Adam he gave the law of sacrifice. On Mt. Sinai, Moses received the Ten Commandments for the children of Israel. Some of these tell us what to do; others what not to do. Today, we still subscribe to those teachings as being basic and binding upon us.
From time to time through the years other important instructions have been given.
Frequently we hear the admonition: "Keep the commandments and you will be blessed," but there is more to it than that. Specifically, what are these commandments, the observance of which will bring us promised blessings? While the list would be impressively lengthy, a few essential ones we mention:
First: Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, might, mind, and strength. Love is one of the great attributes of God and is the very essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Love is a virtue that every person should earnestly strive to develop.
Second: Next to loving God, we should love our neighbor as ourselves. This anticipates that we will be honest in our dealings with our fellow man and not take unfair advantage but help him in every way possible.
Third: In order to keep ourselves unspotted from the world, we should go to the house of prayer on the Sabbath day, partake of the Sacrament, renew our covenants with the Lord, and remember our promise always to keep his commandments.
Fourth: Prayerfully choose a suitable mate, go to the temple, the house of the Lord, to be married and sealed, not only for time, but also for all eternity.
Fifth: Establish a home, multiply and replenish the earth, rear a righteous family, set a proper example for a worthy posterity and the whole world.
Sixth: All members of the Church should live righteously. By so doing every male member will make himself worthy to receive the priesthood and should then magnify it by gratefully accepting responsibilities that come, which callings he neither covets nor rejects, and in all his responsibilities he should be supported by his wife and family, standing loyally by his side.
Seventh: Search out the names of departed kinsman. As a proxy perform ordinances in the house of the Lord for their salvation and exaltation.
Eighth: Recognize that "the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof". Pay tithes and offerings as a token of appreciation for the good things of the earth and for all other blessings we receive.
Ninth: Share the gospel and teach all who will hearken to its message. In this way every member will become a missionary.
Tenth: Provide for our own economic independence. Remember the poor and needy and show concern for their welfare.
Eleventh: Keep the body a sacred temple for the Spirit of the Lord by being clean chaste, and virtuous, realizing that his spirit will not dwell in an unclean tabernacle. Also keep the body strong by observing the Lord's law of health, known as the Word of Wisdom.
To this list, brothers and sisters, you will want to add others.
As mortals we are weak. We have many frailties and imperfections, and it may be difficult at first to obey all the commandments. But we should never cease striving. Progress is doing better today than we did yesterday. Each of us should have as an objective the Savior's admonition:
"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect".
As we become more perfect, we gain strength and willpower and thus it is easier to keep all of God's commandments. When this is accomplished, we are well on our way to happiness and eternal life.
Happiness, peace, and contentment can be ours. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught:
"Happiness is the object and design of our existence, and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God".
The Prophet Alma also contributed this important truth:
"... wickedness never was happiness".
If we keep all of God's commandments, we will enjoy a feeling of calmness, serenity, and strength. This will serve as a bulwark to protect us against the winds and storms created by the tensions and uncertainties of present chaotic world conditions. We need not wait until we get to heaven to obtain peace and happiness. We can have heaven on earth, here and now.
May we all hearken to and observe the admonition of the ancient prophet who exclaimed:
"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man".
For which I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
Elder Nathan Eldon Tanner
N. Eldon Tanner, Conference Report, October 1961, pp. 103-107
President McKay, President Moyle, President Brown, President Smith, and my brethren and sisters, I thank my Heavenly Father from the bottom of my heart for my membership in his Church and kingdom here upon the earth, for the priesthood which I hold, and for the honor and call that has come to me, which makes it possible for me to spend my time in the service of the Lord, and to associate with our beloved President, a prophet of God, David O. McKay, and these other inspired leaders who have been chosen by him to direct the activities of the Church and to lead us in the paths of truth and righteousness.
I am truly grateful for the opportunity I have of attending this outstanding conference with you, and partaking of the spirit that is here, and to be instructed and encouraged by the wonderful messages that we have heard. As I stand before you, I feel more keenly than I have words to express my inadequacy and humility and a need of, and I humbly pray for, an interest in your faith and prayers as I speak to you today.
As approximately one seventh of all the full-time missionaries in the world are laboring in the West European Mission, over which I have the honor to preside, and which includes the missions of the British Isles, France, and the Netherlands, and because we have in these missions young men and young women representing families, wards, and stakes from all parts of Canada and the United States, I feel that I should make a brief report of their activities, the work that is being done, and the progress that is being made in those areas.
First, I should like to congratulate those devoted stake and ward officers and the people in the five stakes in England and Holland on the fine work that they are doing and the progress that is being made. I wish to acknowledge the presence of, and welcome here today, representatives of the stake presidencies, of the bishoprics, and stake Relief Society Presidents, who are here from those stakes, also President and Sister Boyer of the London Temple. I am sure that they, as the rest of us, will enjoy the spirit of this great conference and return to their wards and stakes with a keener desire and determination and ability to carry on with the heavy responsibilities placed upon them.
Also, I wish to express my deep appreciation to those unselfish, dedicated mission presidents and their wives who are devoting every minute of their time and energy in directing the missionary work in their several missions. To see the love and devotion which they have for your sons and daughters who are placed under their care and direction is most encouraging indeed. They could not show a keener interest in their own children. The help and leadership which they give them will influence their lives for years and years to come.
Brother Roy M. Darley, with his organ recitals in the Hyde Park Chapel in London, is making a great contribution to missionary work.
Now, regarding that wonderful corps of missionaries who are serving in these different missions, I am happy indeed to be able to report that they are really doing a marvelous work and a wonder in the mission field. It is most encouraging and inspiring to go from one mission to another and hear those devoted missionaries bear their testimonies to one another and give their reports and experiences which they have had in teaching the gospel to the world. They are certainly to be congratulated on their enthusiasm, dedication, and their success as they go forward in their proselyting efforts.
To see how humble they are, and yet how fearless and determined, reminds one of Paul as he stood in chains before King Agrippa. Defending himself, he replied to the accusations of Festus, "I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak forth the words of truth and soberness", always with the hope that those who hear might accept their message. The results of their efforts are evident throughout the mission. In April I reported that in the previous eighteen months the LDS membership in the British Isles had increased from approximately 10,000 to 20,000, or nearly double. Today, I am happy to report that in these islands we had 1,197 baptisms in July; 1,274 in August; and in September, at the present rate, we will have over 1,400. This means that we are baptizing in the British Isles alone enough people for four or five stakes each year.
But more significant than this is the fact that the church population there is being increased at the rate of over 5 percent each month, or over 60 percent each year throughout the whole of the British Isles, while in some local areas the increase is as high as 200 to 300 percent in one year.
In France and the Netherlands the number of baptisms are also greatly increased. It is not difficult to see that a tremendous fellowshipping program is necessary, and I am happy to report that in these wards and branches, though many of them are new members and though the building facilities are most inadequate, the people are accepting the responsibility of trying to make the new converts feel at home and a part of the church organization.
The building program necessary to provide the facilities for this great influx of members presents a real problem.
I personally wish to congratulate the building committee and those fine men who are directing the work on the ground, on the very efficient way in which they have organized their work and their staffs to go forward with the program of starting a new building every week.
I also wish to congratulate the members in the stakes and missions on the very wonderful way in which they have responded to this building program and in making labor missionaries available to assist wherever new buildings are being constructed.
President McKay, I am happy to tell you that the people there are responding beautifully to your call and slogan, "Every Member A Missionary," first, by striving to live lives worthy of example, and second, by opening their homes for group teaching and inviting their friends and neighbors and associates in to hear the gospel.
I should like to tell you of some of the experiences and observations that Sister Tanner and I had in September as we met with the Saints in the stake and district conferences in the capitals and some of the larger cities in England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium which I feel are significant and which helped to strengthen our testimonies and helped us to appreciate probably more than ever before our free agency and our membership in this great Church.
First, we found that wherever we went, regardless of country or city or language, there was the same sweet spirit of devotion and willingness to accept office and give service in the Church. As we interviewed the men in these cities for office, we told them they would be required to live up to the standards of the Church, that it would require much of their time, and that the responsibilities were heavy and would require sacrifice on their part.
All of them, though they knew that there was no remuneration but a great deal of hard work, had only one response: "I am willing to do my best, but am I worthy?" Where in all the world, outside of this Church, can you find this kind of dedication? It is evident that the members of the Church are being prepared to accept and follow the admonition of James wherein he said, "... be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves".
Secondly, we observed that the members, when speaking to one another and when addressing the people in meetings, referred to them, as they do all over the Church, as brothers and sisters. This too was very significant. What a grand and glorious feeling it is to know that you are really brothers and sisters, spirit children of God, who are interested in one another and enjoy the fine feeling of love and brotherhood and oneness in the Church wherever you are, regardless of whether you have known one another before or not. As the Lord has said, "I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine".
The third observation we made, and which is also significant and important to the members of the Church, is that all speakers concluded their reports and talks by bearing their testimonies, all of which were essentially the same. As Sister Tanner and I are unable to understand or speak the language of any of the countries on the European Continent, we have to arrange for someone not only to translate what we say to the congregation, but also to sit behind us and give us a running commentary of what is being said by the local people.
While in Brussels we had an interesting experience when the district and branch presidents were giving their reports. After two or three had spoken, and another was concluding, the man who was sitting there translating for us said, "He is now bearing his testimony." And he said no more. For the speakers who followed he did the same thing. This made me very conscious of the fact that the testimonies borne by members anywhere in the Church, regardless of who they are, or where they come from, state or imply certain fundamental and significant truths, and that testimony bearing itself is peculiar to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I should like to deal briefly with three or four of the fundamentals in the testimony of a Latter-day Saint. These testimonies include essential points of the message now being taken by the missionaries to the world. First, that the Godhead is composed of God the Eternal Father and his Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost, and it is their testimony that God the Eternal Father and his Son Jesus Christ are Living Beings of flesh and bones and spirit, in whose image we are made, and that "... God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life", that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world who gave his life that all mankind may be saved and by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel work out their own salvation and exaltation; that God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ both appeared in person and spoke to and instructed Joseph Smith; that Joseph Smith was chosen as a Prophet of God and that the priesthood was restored by John the Baptist and by Peter, James, and John upon the heads of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery; that this priesthood is the power of God delegated to man to act in his name, and that it is now in the Church and is the authority by which all ordinances are performed in the name of Jesus Christ; that the gospel has been restored, and that the true Church of Jesus Christ is established; that this Church is an organization similar in all essentials to the primitive Church set up by Christ among the Jews with apostles and prophets, pastors and teachers, evangelists, etc.; and that we have a prophet at the head of our Church today through whom the Lord speaks and directs his people.
This is the testimony of these individual members of the Church throughout the world. It is their testimony also that the Book of Mormon, which was translated by the power of God, is a divinely inspired record of God's dealings with the early inhabitants of the people on the American Continent, and that it is the word of God, and as recorded on the flyleaf of the Book of Mormon, it is "Written by way of commandment, and also by the spirit of prophecy and of revelation-... to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations".
This message is a message of peace, the plan of life and salvation, which is the message to all the world, to accept Christ as the Savior of the world and him crucified and to follow the admonition of Peter: "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost".
This is the reason there are 9,000 young missionaries, ranging in ages mostly from nineteen to twenty-two years out in the world, receiving no remuneration, paying their own expenses at a cost of more than $800,000 each month, or approximately ten million dollars each year, or twenty million for the two to two and a half years they are in the mission field. While in the field they will have contributed over 18,000 missionary years. They will have sacrificed 18,000 man years of schooling or otherwise productive life to teach the restored gospel, which is the plan of life and salvation, and to bring souls unto Christ.
This is a service of love, with no thought of financial gain, but with an unselfish desire on the part of these devoted young missionaries and their parents who sacrifice so much to serve God and their fellow men.
The struggle in the world today and the threat of nuclear war would be averted tomorrow and peace would reign upon the earth if the people in the world would accept this message. The conflict in the world which threatens the free agency and life of every individual is a continuation of the war in heaven, where Satan was determined to take away our free agency, God's greatest gift to man.
As we read in the scriptures: "... because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down;
"And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice".
"Wherefore, he maketh war with the saints of God, and encompasseth them round about".
This was so evident to me as we were in Berlin to organize a stake there. I took the opportunity of going into East Berlin, as a tourist may if he has his proper papers. Here we have an outstanding example of the contrast of conditions and the way of life in a divided city where the East is under the domination of a dictator where man has been robbed of his freedom and is now a slave of the state, and the other part of the city where he still enjoys much of his freedom. In the West, the stores, the streets with their bright lights, the cars, the hotels, and beautiful parks are all bustling with people who can go and come as they wish and who are joyously and actively engaged in building and other industrial development. While in the East under the domination of man, you see very few people on the streets, a very limited number of cars, a drab-looking city with ruins on all sides, and the people with an attitude of despondence, despair, and defeatism, knowing that they are at the beck and call of a foreign anti-Christ dictator with policemen and soldiers on every side to see that they do as they are told and that they cannot escape. Why? Is it because they are so happy and prosperous and contented with conditions there?
Satan is at work, my brethren and sisters. Our freedom is at stake. It is the responsibility of everyone who calls himself a Christian, and particularly for every member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and more particularly for every holder of the priesthood of God, to take a firm stand and a determined stand against evil. It is my testimony to you, my brothers and sisters, wherever you may be, that God has given us the solution to our problems, the plan by which we can enjoy peace in the world and peace in our lives.
I plead with you, everyone, wherever you may be, to accept Christ as the Savior of the world and to go forward as champions of our Heavenly Father and his cause and keep his commandments that we may enjoy his Spirit to be with us at all times, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Howard W. Hunter
Howard W. Hunter, Conference Report, October 1961, pp. 107-109
There is a growing concept among men of the world that religion is something reserved for the Sabbath day, or for the hour spent in places of worship or in prayer. Men distinguish between the everyday affairs that occupy their minds and direct their activities in the busy business world, and those things within the realm of theology. "Don't mix religion with business," some say. Can religion be eliminated from the affairs of everyday living?
As Christians, I suppose we could define religion as a belief in God and a devotion to him, which belief stimulates a love for God and a desire to serve him.
James said,
"If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
"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".
In other words, religion is more than a knowledge of God or a confession of faith, and it is more than theology. Religion is the doing of the word of God. It is being our brother's keeper, among other things. To keep unspotted from the world does not mean that one must withdraw from all association with the world, but rather to keep away from the evils of the world; or as more beautifully put in one of our hymns, "Freedom from earth stains."
We can be religious in worship on the Sabbath day, and we can be religious in our duties on the other six days of the week. The Apostle Paul, writing to those called to be "saints" at Corinth stated:
"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God".
If such little things as eating and drinking are to be done to the glory of God, how much more important it must be that all of our thoughts, the words we speak, or acts, conduct, dealings with neighbors, business transactions, and all of our everyday affairs, be in harmony with our religious beliefs. In the words of Paul, "whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God". Can we therefore eliminate religion from our week-day affairs and relegate it to the Sabbath day only? Surely not, if we follow Paul's admonition.
Religion can be part of our daily work, our business, our buying and selling, building, transportation, manufacturing, our trade or profession, or of anything we do. We can serve God by honesty and fair dealing in our business transactions in the same way we do in Sunday worship. The true principles of Christianity cannot be separate and apart from business and our everyday affairs.
Religion is often regarded as opposed to pleasure, but God's reason for creating man is that he might have joy.
"Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy".
There is no reason why joy should be turned out-of-doors before religion can come in. Many people think of a religious person as one with a sad countenance and draped in black, but this is not so. When the angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds to announce the birth of the Savior, he said:
"... Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people".
Christ, himself, said:
"... I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly".
Joy existed in the pre-existence before the foundations of the earth were laid, "... and all the sons of God shouted for joy".
Peter, in his epistle, speaking of the appearance of Jesus Christ, said:
"... though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory".
There is nothing sad or gloomy about a person who accepts the truths of the gospel and incorporates these principles in his daily living. God wants all of his children to be joyous and glad, and we can have this blessing if we are willing to keep his commandments and live by his word in all that we do. Thus living one's religion must apply to temporal affairs as much as it does to those things which we think of as spiritual.
There are some who ask why the Church is concerned with temporal affairs. The Church is interested in the welfare of each of its members. This interest therefore cannot be limited to man's spiritual needs alone but extends to every phase of his life. Social and economic needs are important to everyone. Man also has need for physical, mental, and moral guidance. Our lives cannot be one-sided, nor can we separate the spiritual from the temporal. The Lord has said:
"Wherefore, verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal; neither any man, nor the children of men; neither Adam, your father, whom I created.
"Behold, I gave unto him that he should be an agent unto himself; and I gave unto him commandment, but no temporal commandment gave I unto him, for my commandments are spiritual; they are not natural nor temporal neither carnal nor sensual".
The Lord makes no distinction between temporal and spiritual commandments, for he has said that all of his commandments are spiritual. When we understand the plan of life and salvation, this becomes evident to us. Mortality is just one part of our eternal life.
We know where we came from. Holy writ tells us that we were born the spiritual children of our Heavenly Father, that we dwelt with him in a spiritual existence before our birth into mortality. The divine object of our coming to earth is to obtain a body of flesh and bones, to learn by the experiences which come to us in this mortal life the difference between good and evil, and to accomplish those things which the Lord commanded. Thus this life is the schoolroom of our journey through eternity. There is work to do and lessons to learn that we might prepare and qualify ourselves to go into the spiritual existence to follow.
Man distinguishes between the temporal and the spiritual, probably because living in mortality between the spiritual pre-existence and the spiritual life hereafter, he fails to recognize the full significance of his activities during the years he spends on earth. To the Lord everything is both spiritual and temporal, and the laws he gives are consequently spiritual, because they concern spiritual beings.
Every phase of our life, therefore, becomes the concern of the Church. The great welfare program of the Church demonstrates this principle. The Church is interested in our social and our recreational needs, educational, family life, our business affairs, and all that we do.
There is no way we can separate the activities of worship on the Sabbath day from the many pursuits of the weekday by calling one religious and the other temporal. Both are spiritual. God has ordained them thus, for they consist of our thoughts and actions as we wend our way through this part of eternity. Thus our business transactions, our daily labors, our trade or profession, or whatever we do become part of living the gospel.
This imposes upon us a high duty and a high responsibility. If all men would live in obedience to these principles in their daily lives and in their dealings with each other, and if this same code would prevail among those who are in leadership among the peoples and nations of the world, righteousness would prevail, peace would return, and the blessings of the Lord would be showered down upon his children.
Righteous living must start in the lives of individuals. Each of us has the duty. It must be incorporated into family living. Parents have the responsibility to live these principles and teach them to their children. Religion must be part of our living. The gospel of Jesus Christ must become the motivating influence in all that we do. There must be more striving within in order to follow the great example set by the Savior if we are to become more like him. This becomes our great challenge.
Our daily prayer might well be stated in the words of the hymn:
"More holiness give me, More strength to o'ercome; More freedom from earth stains, More longing for home; More fit for the kingdom, More used would I be; More blessed and holy, More, Savior, like thee."
I witness that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world. If only we could catch the vision and conform our lives to his teachings, we would find that joy which has been promised to us. In whatever we eat or drink, or whatever we do, may it all be done to the glory of God I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Milton R. Hunter
Milton R. Hunter, Conference Report, October 1961, pp. 111-113
My dear brethren and sisters, we are living in a great age of the Church. I thrill when I think about the tremendous growth that is taking place, and especially when I meditate on the development of the various phases of church activity. This unusual growth and development has taken place primarily during the past few years since President David O. McKay became leader of the Church.
As President Henry D. Moyle said yesterday, truly the stone has been cut out of the mountain without hands, and it is destined to roll forth and fill the whole earth.
As I travel throughout the Church and meet with the stake presidencies, the other officers, and the people in general of the various stakes, I thrill with their devotion. Thousands and thousands of them have an eye single to the glory of God and to the upbuilding of the kingdom. They bear solemn testimonies that Jesus is the Christ and that this is his true Church. I marvel how devoted to the cause of righteousness many Latter-day Saints are.
On the other hand, when I look at the reports of the various stakes and observe how many members have their names on the records who are not keeping the commandments, it causes my heart to sadden. It causes me to want to do all I can to help change that condition. I strongly desire that all Latter-day Saints work out their eternal exaltation now while the opportunity is ours.
It seems that many in the Church do not appreciate the gospel. They do not realize that if they attain the greatest amount of joy in this life and eternal life in the world to come, they must prove faithful now. This life is our opportunity. Yes, our chance to serve God is now! Today is the day for us to prepare to meet God. We cannot put it off until the next world.
Some 2,500 years ago, Nephi, looking down through the stream of time, saw our day and prophesied about it extensively. He said that in the last days the God of heaven would proceed to bring forth a marvelous work and a wonder. He described this work and the great effect it would have upon the people of the world.
Nephi also proclaimed that many Church members in our day would not be faithful. He said that they would be influenced by the Evil One; that they would be deceived and dragged down to hell. Let me read one of Nephi's statements:
"And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless fear God-he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the 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.
"Yea, and there shall be many which shall teach after this manner, false and vain and foolish doctrines".
It seems to me that the principle theme of this conference has been obedience to God's commandments. I have a strong feeling in my heart this afternoon to say something to cause some of us to recognize the importance of keeping God's commandments at the present time while the opportunity is ours.
I remember that a few years before President Grant died, he came to a general conference one day and said that while preparing his mind for conference he had wondered what great blessing he could give to the Latter-day Saints. He pondered on what good thing he could do for them. And then he remarked, "Under the inspiration of the Lord I have come to conference with the one simple idea, 'Keep God's commandments!'"
Many Latter-day Saints think that they can reject temple marriage, fail to pay their tithes and offering, commit various sins here in mortality and that they will have another chance to make all of this up in the life to come. I desire to emphasize the point that now is the time for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to render obedience to all of the Master's laws and ordinances. It is required that we keep God's commandments now, because we have taken upon ourselves the name of Christ. We are members of his Church, and so we are having our opportunity to render obedience to all of his commandments now. We should perform our own ordinances in the temple and keep all of the Lord's commandments while the day lasts, because for us the night may come wherein we cannot work. That would be terrible if we had not proved faithful.
In the account of the grand council of heaven we read: "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;
"And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them".
Thus, in the very beginning-even in the spirit world-we were informed that mortality was to be a state of probation, a proving ground, to see if we would keep all of God's commandments. That same idea was verified in a modern revelation through the Prophet Joseph Smith to the Latter-day Saints. Jesus Christ, our Lord, declared:
"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 little later another revelation came to the Prophet which warned the Saints as follows:
"For if you will that I give unto you a place in the celestial world, you must prepare yourselves by doing the things which I have commanded you and required of you".
Jesus Christ is the great Lawgiver and Judge. He is the one that will give us our rewards and blessings for righteousness, and, on the other hand, withhold blessings or give us the punishments for failing to live righteous lives. He judges on a very fair basis by eternal law. He cares not whether one is rich or poor, bond or free, male or female.
Jesus judges by what is in one's heart: "... for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh", and, "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he".
And so the Lord's judgment will be based upon law. We shall receive exactly what we merit. We read in the Doctrine and Covenants:
"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".
As we learned in the Mutual theme a few years ago, the Lord also said:
"I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise".
I think, my brothers and sisters, that we should not only avoid committing sins, but we should also avoid doing things that appear to be sinful.
When I was a young man, I heard a good woman say several times, "Don't do anything wrong. Don't do anything that even appears to be wrong."
Of course, at that time I thought that that statement was somewhat foolish; but as I have become older and have observed human nature, I have come to know that the example we set causes many people to do wrong. Our example may also cause them to do right. And so now I think that that statement is a very wise one.
Let me illustrate with a little personal experience. A few years ago, accompanied by a welfare man, I was on the way to Seattle to a stake conference. The train stopped at Portland for the passengers to eat breakfast. As we ordered our breakfast, as usual the waitress asked if we would care for coffee. Of course, as always, we replied "No, thank you." But when she brought the breakfast, she set two cups of coffee beside our plates and left quickly.
I said to the welfare man, "I am not going to leave this coffee beside our plates while we eat."
He replied, "We could push them aside a little distance from our plates, and I think it will be okay."
The waitress returned about then. I asked her to remove the coffee, stating that we had not ordered it. No sooner had she got away from the table with the two cups of coffee than the door opened and in walked the stake president of the Portland Stake. He spied us immediately, came over and sat down by us, and conversed with us all the time while we ate breakfast.
When we got back on the train, the welfare man said, "My, that was a narrow escape. If we had had that coffee on the table, we could not have convinced that stake president that we had not ordered it and that we had not intended to drink it."
Brothers and sisters, all of us who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have entered into a covenant with the Lord to keep all of his commandments now while here in mortality. In the words of the Preacher:
"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
"For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil".
I humbly pray that as members of the true Church, we will strive hard "to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God"; and after mortal life has closed, may we find a glorious home prepared for us in his mansion on high.
In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Alma Sonne
Alma Sonne, Conference Report, October 1961, pp. 114-115
President McKay, brethren and sisters after having listened to the music during these conference sessions, and after having heard the prayers which have been so fervently offered, and hearing also the stirring sermons which have been delivered, and having felt the spirit of all meetings in this conference, I have been led to say in my own heart, "Surely this is the marvelous work and wonder spoken of by Isaiah the prophet".
Seven or eight months ago President Joseph Fielding Smith in speaking to the General Authorities of the Church suggested that each one of them read the Book of Mormon during the year. Like many others, I began the reading. I have almost finished it. At the same time I also read Orson Pratt's treatise on the book as he wrote it many years ago. It has been refreshing and stimulating to me and certainly very enlightening, even though it has been read and referred to many times over the years.
Elder Pratt, in writing his analysis of this latter-day scripture, makes this statement: "The book must be either true or false. If true, it is one of the most important messages ever sent from God. If false, it is one of the most cunning, wicked, bold, deep-laid impositions ever pawned on the world."
Many people during this year are reading the Book of Mormon. Many have read it in the past, and many will read it in the future. It was given to the world through Joseph Smith the Prophet when he was a young man in his early twenties. The Prophet was a humble man. He was unlearned in the arts, the sciences, and literature of the world. At the same time he laid no claim whatever to any literary power or ability. The book was not produced as a result of prolonged preparation or any studious effort such as the writing of a book would entail. It is in perfect harmony with the Bible teachings. It contains a similar message and emphasizes the same truths. No book was ever written with a higher and a nobler purpose. Its aim is to teach the Jew and the Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God who manifests himself to all nations.
It is and always has been a builder of faith and a converter of souls. Its power in these respects is marvelous and beyond the understanding of the unbelieving and those who "are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight". A humble approach to its reading is necessary.
Readers of the book are left with God's help to determine its value, its divinity, and its truthfulness. They are not asked to consult with the scholars or the recognized men of learning as to its validity. They are cautioned, however, to ask God the Eternal Father in the name of Jesus Christ regarding the reliability and the trustworthiness of the message it contains, directed as it is to the Jews, the Gentiles, and the remnant of the Nephite race.
Under that procedure they will receive a testimony as to its sanctity and authenticity which is stronger and mightier than all the arguments of cynics and skeptics. No one has found anything that nullifies the testimony of the three witnesses to this sacred volume. Their testimonies still stand. Not a single thing has been brought to light, not a single thing to discredit their solemn declaration. It was challenged, as you may know and surmise, and the integrity of the witnesses was questioned. Their characters were assailed, and they were accused of being in collusion with a wicked pretender and a false prophet.
It has always been so and naturally was expected, for the world is full of doubters and cynics. Jesus knew this when he talked to Nicodemus. "We speak that we do know," said Jesus, "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?".
These were the words of the Master, but these witnesses never wavered in their testimony. They left the Church and were unfriendly to the Prophet. They were excommunicated at a time when the Church needed their support. There is something dramatic about Oliver Cowdery's return to the Church. The day he came back the fortunes of the Church were at their lowest ebb. The people were outcast and had been driven from their homes and possessions. Fully repentant, Oliver Cowdery was baptized and entered the Church as a humble member.
Martin Harris returned and was baptized after a long period on the outside. His numerous testimonies to his neighbors and friends are a vindication against the charges that he had denied his testimony.
David Whitmer, disgruntled and disappointed, did not return. He claimed the Church had left him; that he had not left the Church. He evidently lacked humility which is required of faithful members of the Church. His last act was to reconfirm his testimony and to rebuke those who had accused him of being unfaithful to the written document which he had signed. He executed an affidavit on his deathbed to silence those who had questioned his integrity.
But the book itself is the best evidence of its divinity. If the book is a fraud, Joseph Smith knew it. There could be no question in his mind about its being fraudulent or genuine. He had the answer. Thousands have read it and have come away with the same testimony which he and the others gave. Not a single logical explanation has been offered to discredit the claim of the Prophet and his associates. The book still stands as a divine record, unmarred by the attacks of critics, most of whom were insincere and untrustworthy.
If Joseph Smith wilfully and deliberately fabricated that volume and gave it to the world as scripture, he was unworthy of the confidence of all good men. Of all men he would be the most deceptive and the most dishonest. He would be a stranger to every divine and holy impulse. By every law of affinity his mind would be darkened by his evil designs. God's Spirit would depart from him. No heavenly inspiration or enlightenment could emanate from one so bad, but his scriptural productions, every one, emphasize moral and spiritual values. They are warnings against wrongdoing. They are confirmations of Bible teachings.
The Book of Mormon especially is a strong indictment against every sin in every form. I beg of you, brethren and sisters, to read the book; and as you go home following this conference, open the sacred volume and read it slowly and prayerfully, chapter by chapter, until it is finished, and, if you will do so, God will bless you. He will strengthen your testimony. He will increase your faith, and he will bless you in your devotion to the great cause for which we all stand.
May you and I be faithful in all things I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Seymour Dilworth Young
S. Dilworth Young, Conference Report, October 1961, pp. 116-117
Yesterday Elder Marion G. Romney mentioned the matter of the Holy Spirit and said that one does not hear it with his ears. May I read to you a verse of scripture which verifies that. Nephi was rebuking his two brothers who were intent upon killing him as they journeyed toward the Promised Land. He reminded them that they thought to murder his father, but also their intent was to murder him, and therefore in their hearts they were murderers. Then he reminded them of the times which the Lord had tried to impress them in these words:
"Ye have seen an angel, and he spake unto you; yea, ye have heard his voice from time to time; and he hath spoken unto you in a still small voice,"-and this is the part I would like to have you hear-"but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words".
I used to wonder why Nephi didn't say "hear his words." Now I know that one doesn't hear them with his ears, as Brother Romney said. But into a person's mind there come words. These seem to be his own words, but with the Spirit upon him, are not his words. With these words comes a feeling. One actually feels the words, just as Nephi said. These brothers had lost that feeling, and therefore could not detect words given by the Spirit as apart from their own thoughts.
This "feeling" comes to all who will hear. One's first experience in this likely is akin to those of all converts to the Church when they read what Moroni said. He told them that after they had heard these things, if they would ask God they would know of their truth. I believe that James was referring to this fundamental truth when he wrote these words, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God". The Prophet Joseph, reading, was impressed to go to the woods and pray. Anybody who cannot learn to hear by feeling will not go very far in the Church, in my humble opinion, for I believe that to be the way the majority of us know if these things are true.
By that Spirit which whispers in my soul, and which I feel with my heart and my feelings at the same time, the knowledge of which rings constantly in my whole being, I know that Joseph Smith received many of his revelations by that means. By that whispered feeling, too, I know that he was a prophet of the Living God and that President McKay is likewise a prophet of the Living God. I would ask only one thing, that each of us as we leave this conference ask ourselves if during any of these meetings, we felt in our hearts the whispering, and had the words form into our minds as the whispering became feeling, and the message came clearly into our minds that the speaker has spoken truly. "That is true doctrine. He is speaking truth to us," it tries to say.
To me this conference has been filled with that type of thing. I am proud to be a member of the Church. I am delighted to have the opportunity of bearing my testimony that I know these things are true, and I do it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Franklin Dewey Richards
Franklin D. Richards, Conference Report, October 1961, pp. 117-120
President McKay, President Moyle, President Brown, President Smith, and all of you wonderful brothers and sisters and friends, I approach this responsibility and assignment with a humble heart, and I pray that our Father in heaven will bless me with his Spirit that I might be able to say something that will be helpful in building the kingdom of God.
At the last conference, I spoke to you about the amazing growth and development of the Church. At that time I suggested that each of you accept President McKay's challenge that every member be a missionary. To do this I proposed that we ask our friends and neighbors the two golden questions, "What do you know about the Mormon Church?" and "Would you like to know more?"
It is apparent that many have been asking these questions. Are you one of them?
As a supervisor of the eight eastern American missions, I have spent a large part of the time since the last conference in those missions, and I bring to you the affectionate greetings and love of the mission presidents, the missionaries, and the Saints. I am happy to make this brief report:
First, that convert baptisms are nearly three times those of a year ago, that means approximately 1,100 each month, or as translated into new stakes, roughly six new stakes each year.
Secondly, chapels and church buildings are being built in large numbers. Just as an example, Sister Richards and I came back a short time ago from the Canadian Mission, and in that mission during the first seven months of this year, six chapels have been completed and are occupied, and seven more are either under construction or in the late planning stage.
Third, new stakes are being organized. Two have recently been organized in North Carolina and within the area covered by the eight eastern American missions, it is likely that eight more stakes will be ready for organization during the next twelve months.
This pattern of accelerated growth and development of the Church, as you can see, is going on throughout the entire world. Many have asked why this growth is taking place. Prophecy is being fulfilled, my brothers and sisters, and the Lord is pouring out his Spirit upon all flesh. I can notice the difference in just the last few months.
In a vision manifested to Joseph Smith the Prophet and Oliver Cowdery, the heavens were opened, and Moses appeared and committed unto them the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four quarters of the earth. I bear witness to you that this, the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, is indeed the time of gathering.
When the Angel Moroni first visited the Prophet Joseph, he quoted from the second chapter of Joel: "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh". Moroni told the Prophet that this was not yet fulfilled but would be soon. I am confident, my brothers and sisters, that this prophecy is now being fulfilled.
The Lord has told us, "And ye are called to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect; for mine elect hear my voice and harden not their hearts".
As the Savior instructed: "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".
So we in this dispensation have also been instructed. These prophecies are being fulfilled in this great growth of the Church. Baptism is necessary to enter the kingdom of God, and to us of this dispensation the Lord has given the assignment to baptize his elect. Today we have the counsel of our President and Prophet David O. McKay that "every member should be a missionary," in order to bring more souls into the kingdom of God. We sustained our President wholeheartedly and seek to follow his counsel.
So every man, woman, and child wants to know how they can fulfill their assignment to be a missionary.
First, each one of us must live the gospel; then we should invite our nonmember friends to attend our Church meetings and functions with us; also, find people who want to know more about the Church and the best way to do this is to ask the "golden questions,"-"What do you know about the Mormon Church?" and "Would you like to know more?"
Those that say "Yes," should be invited into group meetings in the members' homes to hear the missionaries discuss the principles of the gospel. Where this is not possible, the person should be referred to the missionaries to contact.
Asking these two questions is a sifting process, finding the elect, those that want to know more about the Church.
In Charlottesville, Virginia, as an example, one of our good sisters who worked at a bakery decided to ask the five women she was working with the golden questions, and all of them said they would like to know more about the Church. She invited them to a series of group meetings in her home to hear the missionaries, and four of the five women gained a testimony and were baptized into the Church.
The full-time, stake, and district missionaries will work with you, with the special assignment to teach the gospel. All the missionaries throughout the Church are using the simple, uniform plan. This program assists them in developing greater spirituality, the attitude of success, and a good knowledge of the gospel and the teaching plan. Through this preparation, missionaries are endowed with great power.
Heretofore a large part of the missionary's time has been spent in finding people to teach. Now more of the missionary's time is being spent in teaching because the members are finding those that are interested and in many instances bringing them together into groups to be taught by the missionary. This method is bringing into the Church many more converts.
Everything is being done to make the work of the missionaries more efficient and effective. The use of the telephone in tracting and to follow up referrals is a real effective, modern proselyting device. The use of cars, in many instances, is also a great time-saver. Home nights to permit groups to get acquainted with the Church and for missionaries to make contacts with nonmembers is likewise an effective tool.
We are just starting on a comparatively new approach. This involves an advertising and direct mail program, a new type of tracting, so to speak. Our advertisements and letters will provide a coupon or a card to be returned to us, requesting missionaries to call or a home-study course to be sent.
We have adapted the uniform missionary teaching plan to a home-study course. Many who study the gospel in this manner will undoubtedly later want missionary visits. Through advertisements and through the mail, we will reach many that we are not able to reach by our present methods. Baptisms from this source of referrals are already being reported.
Many people refer to our present missionary plan as a "new plan," but it really is not. Examining the proselyting methods of the apostles and the disciples at the time of Christ and in the early days of the Church in our time we find that the methods used today are very similar. One of the most remarkable examples was Peter's sermon to the people on the day of Pentecost, the result of which is recorded in the second chapter of Acts, and the 41st verse as follows:
"Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls".
The autobiography of Parley P. Pratt tells us of his meeting John Taylor, whose name was given to him as a referral. Parley P. Pratt used group meetings most effectively. His experience in New York City is related as follows:
"While I preached, a lady solicited me to preach in her house in Willett Street, for she said, 'I had a dream of you and of the new church the other night.' Another lady wished me to preach in her house in Grant Street. In the meantime I was invited by the Free Thinkers to preach or give a course of lectures in Tammany Hall. In short, it was not three weeks... till we had fifteen preaching places in the city, all of which were filled to overflowing. We preached about eleven times a week besides visiting from house to house. We soon commenced baptizing and continued baptizing almost every day during the winter and spring."
Our missionary program is based on declaring repentance and baptism. Our missionaries know that baptism is essential, and they are baptism conscious. The Lord has given us a list of qualifications necessary for baptism, and this is in the Doctrine and Covenants, section 20. Missionaries are instructed to see that these qualifications are met. This is not a day for compromising standards.
After baptism our responsibility is to fellowship the new converts. There will be little falling away as we "love" these good people into the Church and give them an opportunity to serve.
Brothers and sisters, God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ did appear to the Prophet Joseph Smith. The fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to this earth. The Church of Jesus Christ with the authority to act in his name is on the earth. This is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We need a prophet today, and we have a prophet-President David O. McKay.
I bear witness to you that these things are true.
Remember the scriptures. "For behold, the field is white already to harvest; and it is the eleventh how, and the last time that I shall call laborers into my vineyard". And remember President McKay's admonition, "Every member a missionary." The challenge is for each of us to be a missionary. This means for each of us to bring a convert into the Church this year. Let us make this our goal and may the Lord make us equal to the task, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Theodore Moyle Burton
Theodore M. Burton, Conference Report, October 1961, pp. 120-122
My brothers and sisters, I am most grateful for this past year. It has been a marvelous year to have spent in association with these, my brethren. I have had my eyes opened. I have learned many things. It has also been a tremendous blessing to me to be able to travel among the stakes and missions of the Church and see what wonderful strength and leadership we have where-ever I travel.
I have been greatly impressed by the strength of the Church, for I feel the strength of the Church is in the hearts of our people who are willing to serve and to sacrifice because of the testimony they have in their hearts that this is the truth.
Now, as a missionary, how can I teach the things that are in my heart to you, the people? How can I strengthen the Saints and teach those who are not yet members of the Church? How can I give confidence to them that God does live and that he does speak in this generation?
Perhaps I can illustrate this by talking for a moment about some of the problems of translation. When I worked for the United States government in the foreign agency service of the Treasury Department, it was my duty to translate some of the customs laws from the German into the English language. I soon learned that a man in order to translate has to know much more than just the words of the language. I found that a translator must give a message, not just a literal translation of the subject word for word.
I found that sentences mean much more than words. I found that paragraphs are much more important than sentences, and I found that the treatise as a whole must make sense. Otherwise, the translation is not good. Words have many different meanings, and the meanings of these words depend upon their usage. The context in which they are used becomes extremely important.
Let us take as a simple example the word, corn. It is a simple English word, but if you were to translate this into another language, you would have to understand some of its many meanings. Corn would mean maize to the Indian. It would mean grain to the Britisher. It would mean whiskey to the moonshiner. It would mean to granulate to the chemist or to the munitions manufacturer. It would mean to preserve to the housewife. It would mean to plant to the farmer. It would mean a horny skin growth to the doctor of medicine.
So, if you were to translate that word you would have to know how it was used. Thus a translator must understand the meaning of the information he is to present; otherwise, his translation is impossible. So, if he is to translate, he must become an authority in other fields much more than just an authority in the language with which he is working. He must understand something about the subject being translated.
Let us look now at the problem of translating the Bible, particularly in the Old Testament. Not only must the translator know English, he must also know Hebrew. He must know what the Hebrew says, and then he must put that understandingly into the English language.
In the Old Testament there are several Hebrew words, "ro'eh," "hozeh," and "nabhi'," all of which are translated by the translators as prophet. The first two, almost synonymous, from the roots "ra'ah" and "hazah," both meaning to see suggest the man of vision and should be properly rendered as seer. The term "nabhi'" from the root "nabha" means to announce. But if the translator felt that to see and to announce are synonymous and that they refer to the same thing, then he would so use them. Thus we find that all of these words were used and translated as prophet and sometimes the word seer was used where prophet should have been used, and sometimes the word prophet was used where seer should have been used. Confusion resulted therefrom, because the translators did not understand that these two words seer and prophet mean different things; that they have different usages.
There is a great difference between these words because a seer is greater than a prophet. King Limhi, in speaking to the missionary, Ammon, said, "... a seer is greater than a prophet". Then Ammon explained why. He said, "... a seer is a revelator and a prophet also; and a gift which is greater can no man have, except he should possess the power of God, which no man can; yet a man may have great power given him from God.
"But a seer can know of things which are past, and also things which are to come, and by them shall all things be revealed, or, rather, shall secret things be made manifest, and hidden things shall come to light, and things which are not known shall be made known by them, and also things shall be made known by them which otherwise could not be known".
Life for the ordinary man is ofttimes frightening and bewildering. There is so much that we mortals fear. There is so much that we do not understand. There is so much that we do not know. When we talk of knowing, we talk of knowledge, and it would be well to ask ourselves what we mean by "knowledge." Knowledge is only our interpretation of the evidence before us. If our interpretation of the evidence is wrong, our knowledge is false.
Sometimes, therefore, we make grave errors, for our interpretation of the evidence is wrong. What a shock it is for us to realize that what we once thought we knew-is wrong! This has occurred many times in the history of the earth. Why, the evidence was so plain to those who stated that the earth was flat, that when anyone mentioned that the earth is round, it was a ridiculous thing, and the people just laughed at the idea Yet by the evidence we have today we interpret this to mean that the earth is round, and we claim that previous persons just didn't understand the evidence presented to them.
The same thing is true when we talked about the sun revolving around the earth. Why, any man with eyes to see could actually see the sun revolving around the earth! Yet our interpretation of the evidence today is just the reverse of this. So, what we say we know is not always true.
What then can a person cling to? Youth lacks experience, and older people jump at conclusions also. Knowledge is often based on too little evidence, either by the young or by the old. Thus, young and old, when they have found themselves questioning, become skeptical, and they begin to question and doubt everything and have confidence in nothing.
Now to what can a man turn? In what can he place reliance? In whom can we put our confidence, our trust? Now remember, Ammon said a seer is greater than a prophet. Before he made this statement he had said "... I can assuredly tell thee, O king, of a man that can translate the records; for he has wherewith that he can look, and translate all records that are of ancient date; and it is a gift from God. And the things are called interpreters, and no man can look in them except he be commanded, lest he should look for that he ought not and he should perish. And whosoever is commanded to look in them, the same is called seer".
Thus one can trust a seer because a seer may see the heavens open. He may see the great vision of God working in all his majesty. He may see the fulness of truth as it is revealed to him by God who makes no mistakes. The evidence is clear, therefore, and the interpretation is clear. The seer can bear personal testimony, not based on books, not based on scholarship, not based on tradition, but based on the evidence of things that God himself can reveal to him in an actual experience with Deity. He may receive a revelation from God by actually seeing and hearing and being instructed in the real truth.
A seer then is one who may see God, who may talk with God, who may receive persona, instruction from God. Our prophet is a seer and a revelator. I do not know who originally taught the doctrine. I was told once that it was taught by President Heber J. Grant, but I was taught this doctrine by Elder Marion G. Romney, who told me that the Lord will never let his prophet, the seer, lead his people astray. Men in all ranks on this earth and in the Church have fallen from grace, but the Lord will never permit the great prophet, our seer, and revelator, to fall or to lead the people astray. Before this could happen God must of necessity remove that man from the earth.
There must be someone to whom the people can turn and trust, who can speak for God. God must have someone on earth who can point the way and say, "This is true." How grateful, my brothers and sisters, we should be that God in the fulness of his grace has given us a living prophet to guide us to Him even more that God has given us a seer, for this seer and prophet reveals personal testimony to young and old alike that Jesus is in very deed the risen Savior, the Living God.
Of this I bear sacred testimony, for under conditions too sacred to mention here God has given me witness three times in the temples that David O. McKay is truly and indeed a prophet of God, a seer, and I bear you this testimony that you can trust him and so put your whole faith in Jesus Christ. We must turn from anything which tears us away from God our Father and turn to that which will lead us to him through repentance, through our determination and through our absolute will to do the work of God.
I bear you this testimony in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, October 1961, pp. 122-125
The singing, as you know, for this afternoon and this morning has been furnished by the members of the Tabernacle Choir. We have been inspired with their singing. I think it would be fitting at this moment to represent you as well as the General Authorities in saying just a word, at least, of appreciation of the services rendered by many during this three-day conference in making this inspirational gathering so meaningful:
First, to the General Authorities, we express deep appreciation for the inspirational messages they have given to us. Second, to the public press, the reporters, for their fair and accurate reports throughout the sessions of the conference. Third, to the city officials the city traffic officers in handling increased traffic. etc; members of the fire department, some of whom you met after one or two of these sessions; and to the Red Cross representatives who have been on hand to render any assistance and service that might be needed. To the Tabernacle ushers who have rendered service in seating the great audiences of these conference sessions. Quietly and unobtrusively they have looked after your convenience and welfare.
We have already expressed, and we do so again, appreciation to the radio and television stations throughout our own city and the nation who all through the three days have carried the proceedings of these inspirational sessions. These stations have been the means of permitting untold thousands of persons to hear the proceedings of the one hundred thirty-first semiannual conference.
We appreciate especially those who have furnished the singing throughout this conference. Let me remind you again, as you enjoy the service they have rendered: first, the Relief Society Singing Mothers from the Central Utah and Mt. Timpanogos regions, who rendered service faithfully for two days with the Relief Society sisters before they joined us Friday morning. Sister Florence Jepperson Madsen conducted. Next, the University of Utah Mixed Chorus for the Saturday morning session, with Ardean W. Watts conducting. The University of Utah Institute of Religion, University Stake Chorus, and the Bonneville Strings, furnished the music for the Saturday afternoon session, with Elder David Austin Shand conducting.
Third, the Tabernacle Choir Men's Chorus last night. How inspiring that group was! Fourth, last, but certainly not least, the Tabernacle Choir, who furnished the music this morning and this afternoon, with Elder Richard P. Condie and Elder Jay E. Welch conducting, and how they have thrilled not only this nation, but also people in other countries, wherever they have been. Our best wishes and prayers go with them in their prospective tour, for they will receive a welcome wherever they go. God bless them, and all officials connected with that great organization.
We mention again these beautiful antheriums from Oahu Stake.
Indeed, we thank all those who have contributed in any way to the success and inspiration of this great conference.
Carlyle said: "There is one godlike virtue, the essence of all that ever was or ever will be of godlike in this world-the veneration done to human worth by the hearts of men." During the last few days especially, and frequently in the position which General Authorities occupy, we have occasion to ask men and women to accept certain positions and to devote their time and their means to the work of the kingdom of God.
Recently I have seen men's hearts touched, tears roll down their cheeks, as they were surprised to hear a request of the General Authorities to accept some responsibility or be called in some other position. Without exception, no matter what sacrifice they had to make financially no matter how unable they feel themselves to fill the position, each one has said, "Yes, if that is what the Church wants, I will do it."
Frequently we hear reports from wards and branches of efforts the people put forth to contribute, perhaps to the erection of a building, perhaps to renovate, or to build an addition to a present building. They see that two, three, four, sometimes six or seven groups-wards or branches-have to meet in one building, and they feel the necessity of contributing of their means. And what those members of the Church, unknown beyond the borders of their branch or ward, do to make more effective conditions to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ!
I wish all the world could glimpse the willingness of those people, the sacrifices they have to make. I think it would preach the gospel more effectively than any one other thing we could do. I recall just a few years ago of visiting a stake and dedicating their meetinghouse. I learned of the struggles they had in order to finish paying for that building. None of our chapels are dedicated until they are free from debt. That means that millions of dollars have been spent in the erection of stake houses and ward buildings throughout the 336 stakes and sixty-seven missions.
That meetinghouse had just been paid for about a week before the dedicatory services were held. The bishop had to call for an extra contribution, and a young boy who earned his money by washing cars, polishing shoes, and doing little odd jobs, had quite a little sum of money, for a boy, in the bank. I received this information from the banker himself who was an officer in the stake. I do not know whether the father had contributed much to the chapel. I had my own thoughts, but when the bishop made an extra call for money this boy went to the bank and asked the banker, "How much have I in the bank?" He told him, and I think it was something near one hundred dollars. Sister McKay, who knew about the circumstances, says it was near a hundred. The boy said, "Well, I shall take ten dollars, and you give the rest to the bishop to finish paying on this meetinghouse."
"Oh, but you can't afford that," said the banker.
"Yes, I can," and he took ten dollars for himself and gave the balance to the bishop.
What a lesson! I think I told that afterwards when I went back to the stake, and the young boy was then on a mission. I cite this incident merely as an illustration of the loyalty and faith of the membership of the Church. I appreciate these acts, and because of them, in our hearts there will be a love for one another, which is the Spirit of the Christ, the spirit of brotherhood, the spirit of love.
I am a great believer in the doctrine of James. He was a practical man in the early Church. Paul preached faith; James preached works, and it was James who said, "... shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works".
"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".
Throughout this conference emphasis has frequently been made by the speakers to the great responsibility resting upon the membership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to declare to the world that God lives; that Jesus Christ, his Son, is our Savior; that his is the only name "... under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved". It was said at the opening of this conference that there are men and women who are now forty to fifty years old who have heard all their lives that God does not exist, that Jesus Christ is a myth. You have heard the testimony from men with tears in their eyes, if you were close enough to see, their lips quivering with emotion, testify that they know that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, and that they appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith and gave instructions about organizing his Church, and that Peter, James, and John, who held the authority from the Christ himself, gave that authority in this dispensation; that the Melchizedek Priesthood was bestowed upon the Prophet and Oliver Cowdery; that John the Baptist who baptized Jesus Christ bestowed the Aaronic Priesthood, a direct successor of the authority from heaven.
Now you know that. You know these men. I give you my testimony that God lives; that he is close to us; that his spirit is real, that his voice is real; that Jesus Christ, his Son, stands at the head of this great work; and no matter how much the atheistic philosophy takes hold of blinded boys and girls and men who hear Satan's voice, the truth stands as declared by the Father and the Son to that boy Prophet. You and I and all the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have the responsibility to declare that truth to the world, and the world is full of honest men and women waiting to hear that truth. Let us not condemn them. Condemn the evil men who would blind them with their sophistry and with false reasoning. Some of our young boys are so blinded, but it is our duty as officers of the Church to lead them from that blindness to the truth. I think I can repeat here, as I did last night, for those misguided boys:
"Dim as the borrow'd beams of moon and stars To lonely, weary, wandering travelers, Is reason to the soul; and as on high Those rolling fires discover but the sky, Not light us here, so Reason's glimmering ray Was lent, not to assure our doubtful way But lead us upward to a better day." -Dryden
That brighter day is the light of the Holy Spirit emanating from God the Father, and his Son, Jesus Christ.
God bless you, my dear fellow workers, bless you in your homes. Make your faith shown by your works in your home; husbands true to your wives, not only in act, but in thought; wives true to your husbands, not only in act, but in thought; children true to your parents. Do not arrogate to yourselves that they are old-fashioned in their beliefs and that you know more.
Girls, follow that sweet mother and her teachings. Boys, be true to your fathers who try to live the gospel; then strangers, seeing such homes, will say, "Well, if that is the result of Mormonism, I think it is good." You will show your faith by your works in everyday life.
God bless you that we may have power so to do, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 5-9
One hundred and thirty-two years ago today a group of men and women, in obedience to a commandment of God, were assembled in the house of Mr. Peter Whitmer, Sen., for the purpose of organizing the Church.
It was just a group of friendly neighbors, unknown to anyone beyond the countryside in which they followed their daily vocations. A good picture of the moral and economic atmosphere of the neighborhood may be surmised from the following introduction of one of the citizens: Joseph Knight, Sen. "'owned a farm, a grist mill and carding machine. He was not rich, yet he possessed enough of this world's goods to secure to himself and family, not only the necessaries, but also the comforts of life...' He 'was... a sober, honest man, generally respected and beloved by his neighbors and acquaintances. He did not belong to any religious sect, but was a believer in the Universalian doctrine.' The business in which Joseph Knight, Sen., engaged, made it necessary at times for him to hire men, and the Prophet Joseph was occasionally employed by him. To the Knight family... the young Prophet related many of the things God had revealed respecting the Book of Mormon, then as yet, to come forth."
Of such ordinary, rural men and women was the group composed who assembled in Peter Whitmer's house in Fayette, Seneca County, New York, a century and thirty-two years ago today.
Means of communication were primitive-seven years before the telegraph would be known. The only light in the house after dark would be furnished by candle, perhaps by kerosene lamp. The electric light globe would not be known for forty years. Sixty years-almost a lifetime-before the automobile would be used! And the airplane existed only in the realm of imagination. Yet one year before the organization of the Church, under the inspiration of the Lord, Joseph Smith had written:
"... a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men".
There is no evidence that such a statement had ever before been made by an obscure lad, and if it had, it would have passed into obscurity with the boastful pretensions or imaginations of its author. Just as the anticipated, foolish aspirations of "Darius Green and his flying machine,"-I am not sure whether I am right on that, but that is as I remember it as a boy-who spoke disdainfully of the man who had made "wings of wax" that would not stand "sunshine and hard whacks," and who boastfully said: "I shall make mine of leather, or something or other."
I mention that merely to emphasize the fact that a Church to become a "marvelous work and a wonder" must contain those elements of truth which find lodgment in the human mind, which in honesty recognizes and loves truth wherever or whenever it is found.
It is true that over a century ago, when men heard that a young man claimed that God had revealed himself, they mocked him, and in doubt turned away from him just as in the beginning of the Christian Era wise and able men in Athens turned away from a lonely little brown-eyed man who challenged much of their philosophy as false and their worship of images as gross error, yet the fact remained that he was the only man in that great city of intellectuals who knew by actual experience that a man may pass through the portals of death and live-the only man in Athens who could clearly sense the difference between the formality of idolatry and the heartfelt worship of the only true and living God. By the Epicureans and Stoics with whom he had conversed and argued, Paul had been called a "babbler," a "setter-forth of strange gods";
"And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest is?
"For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean".
"Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' Hill, and said, Ye men of Athens I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.
"For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD, Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you".
Today, as then, too many men and women have other gods to which they give more thought than to the resurrected Lord-the god of pleasure, the god of wealth, the god of indulgence, the god of political power, the god of popularity, the god of race superiority-as varied and numerous as were the gods in ancient Athens and Rome.
Thoughts that most frequently occupy the mind determine a man's course of action. It is therefore a blessing to the world that there are occasions such as this, which, as warning semaphores, say to mankind: In your mad rush for pleasure, wealth, and fame, pause and think what is of most value in life.
What fundamental truths, what eternal principles, if any, were associated with that little group which assembled one hundred and thirty-two years ago?
The first was Man's Relationship to Deity. For the first time in eighteen hundred years, God had revealed himself as a Personal Being. The relationship of Father and Son had been established by the divine introduction: "This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!".
Those who were baptized into the Church that day in April 1830 believed in the existence of a Personal God; that his reality and that of his Son Jesus Christ constitute the eternal foundation upon which this Church is built.
Commenting upon this eternally existent, creative power of God, Dr. Charles A. Dinsmore of Yale University, in Christianity and Modern Thought, aptly says:
"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, the Cause must be adequate to the effect. 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 Everlasting. As Herbert Spencer has well said: 'The choice is not between a personal God and something lower, but between a personal God and something higher.'"
"My Lord and my God" was not merely a spontaneous, meaningless exclamation of Thomas when he beheld his Risen Lord. The Being before him was his God. Once we accept Christ as divine, it is easy to visualize his Father as being just as personal as he; for Christ said, "... he that hath seen me hath seen the Father".
How boastful, how unfounded, is the brazen declaration of communism that "there is no God," and that "Religion is but an opiate!"
Faith in the existence of an Intelligent Creator was the first element that contributed to the perpetuity of the Church, the everlasting foundation upon which the Church is built.
The second cornerstone is the Divine Sonship of Jesus Christ. The gospel teaches that Christ is the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world. No true follower is satisfied to accept him merely as a great teacher, a great reformer, or even as the One Perfect Man. The Man of Galilee is not figuratively, but literally the Son of the Living God.
A third principle which contributes to the stability of the Church and which impressed not only that little group, but millions since, that a great and marvelous work was about to come forth, is the immortality of the human soul.
Jesus passed through all the experiences of mortality just as you and I. He knew happiness. He experienced pain. He rejoiced as well as sorrowed with others. He knew friendship. He experienced also the sadness that comes through traitors and false accusers. He died a mortal death even as every other mortal. As his spirit lived after death, so shall yours and mine.
A fourth element which contributed to the perpetuity of that little group was the Cherished Hope for the Brotherhood of Man. One of the two great general principles to which all others are subsidiary is this: "... love thy neighbour as thyself", and correlated with it, the promise: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me".
The gospel bids the strong bear the burdens of the weak, and to use the advantages given them by their larger opportunities in the interest of the common good that the whole level of humanity may be lifted, and the path of spiritual attainment opened to the weakest and most unlearned as well as to the strong and intelligent.
The Savior condemned hypocrisy and praised sincerity of purpose. He taught that if the heart be pure, actions will be in accord therewith. Social sins-lying, stealing, dishonest dealings, adultery, and the like-are first committed in thought.
"Sow a thought, reap an act, Sow an act, reap a habit, Sow a habit, reap a character, Sow a character, reap an eternal destiny." -E. D. Boardman
Jesus taught that an unsullied character is the noblest aim in life. No man can sincerely resolve to apply to his daily life the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth without sensing a change in his own nature. The phrase, "born again" has a deeper significance than many people attach to it. This changed feeling may be indescribable, but it is real. Happy the person who has truly sensed the uplifting, transforming power that comes from this nearness to the Savior, this kinship to the Living Christ.
Resistance is necessary along with obtaining a sense of the real divinity. There should be developed also the power of self-mastery. Someone has said that when God makes the prophet, he does not unmake the man. I believe that, though being "born anew," and being entitled to new life, new vigor, new blessings, yet the old weaknesses may still remain. The adversary stands by, ever eager and ready to attack and strike us at our weakest point.
Take, for example, the incident of Jesus on the Mount of Temptation. After he had passed through the ordinance of baptism to fulfil all righteousness, after he had received the commendation of the Father and the testimony from on high that he is the Beloved Son in whom the Father is well pleased, the tempter was there ready to thwart, if possible, his divine mission. At his weakest moment, as Satan thought, when his body was famished by long fasting, the Evil One presented himself, saying, "... If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread". Though his body was weak, his spirit was strong, as he answered: "... It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God".
With unwavering strength, Jesus withstood the tempter's taunts and promises that followed, and triumphantly demanded, "... Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve".
So it is with each of us in our daily resisting of the tempter. He will make his appeal to what may be our weakest point of resistance. His strongest strain will be on the weakest link in the chain that binds our character. It may come in the form of yielding to habit, tendency, or passion which we have indulged for years. It may be a desire for the old pipe or the cigarette which we determined, if we were sincere, to put aside when we entered the waters of baptism. And when that longing comes, after we are in the Church or kingdom, in that moment when temptation comes, we may say to ourselves, "Though I intend to throw it aside, I will take it only once more-this once will not count." That is the moment of resistance when we should say, as Christ, "Get thee behind me".
This power of self-control in regard to our bodily longings, satisfying the passions, applies to every member of the Church of Christ. In some way, the Evil One will attack us; some way he can weaken us. In some way, he will bring before us that which will weaken our souls and will tend to thwart the true development of the spirit within, the strengthening and growth of the spirit, which time cannot kill, which is as enduring as the Eternal Father of the spirit. And the things which will tend to dwarf this spirit or to hinder its growth are things which members of the Church are called upon to resist.
One hundred and thirty-two years ago the Church was officially organized with six members. It was unknown, and, I repeat, would be known only to the extent that it contained and radiated those eternal principles which harmonize with the eternity of its Author, and only thus could it become a great and marvelous work.
Today there are branches of the Church in many parts of the world. As the effulgent light of a glorious sun gladdens the surface of the earth by day, so the Light of Truth is entering into the hearts of many honest men and women throughout the world.
The marvelous progress that has been made in transportation and communication makes it possible for the promulgation of the truths of the restored gospel to be made known to the children of men everywhere on the face of the globe. It is possible for millions in America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the islands of the sea not only to hear, but in many instances to see what you are doing as members for the gospel of truth.
To all members, and to our Father's children everywhere, we declare in all sincerity that God lives! As sure as the light of the sun shines upon everything on the physical earth, so the radiance that emanates from the Creator brightens every soul that comes into the world of humanity, for it is in him that we "live and move and have our being". All of us, therefore, should make him the center of our lives.
Jesus Christ his Beloved Son also lives and stands at the head of the kingdom of God on earth. Through him the eternal plan of the gospel has been given to man and restored in its fulness to the Prophet Joseph Smith. Through obedience to the principles of the gospel, we may become partakers of his divine Spirit, as Peter of old, after two and a half years of association with the Redeemer, testified.
In the words of President John Taylor:
"Go, ye messengers of glory; Run, ye legates of the skies; Go and tell the pleasing story That a glorious angel flies;
"Go, to all the gospel carry; Let the joyful news abound; Go till every nation hear you Jew and Gentile greet the sound. Let the gospel echo all the earth around."
I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Alvin R. Dyer
Alvin R. Dyer, Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 9-13
My dear brothers and sisters, it has been our great privilege this morning to hear the opening message of our beloved President. I feel grateful for his words of counsel and enlightenment, which have already, through his remarks today and in meetings previous to the conference, set the spirit of the conference.
I feel that I should be ungrateful this morning if I did not testify to you, my brethren and sisters, and to my fellow associates, as one with you who has come to know that President McKay is truly a prophet of God, and who in the inspiration and revelation of his calling is effectively leading the Church in its present great period of expansion. I have witnessed his prophecies come true and have participated in the unerring wisdom of his counsel. Truly he is a great missionary Apostle and President His travels throughout the world in behalf of God's work have exceeded even the travels of the early-day apostles.
President McKay is loved by each of the General Authorities who stand unitedly by his side and who are willing to give their all in following his inspired leadership. His guileless love for the Saints finds a spring of affection in the hearts of us all. His vision is the inspiration, I am confident, behind the acceleration of our proselyting effort all over the world with which I have been directly connected and to which I can testify. Not only this, but under his direction other facets of Church growth are going forward to match these increased conversions: the expanded building program to provide the facilities of worship and cultural growth among the members; the increased activity in the priesthood, in the church education system whereby through universities, colleges, institutes, and in the auxiliaries, the youth of the Church, who, while safeguarding their lives, are being prepared for leadership in the Church-the integral expansion of which is demanding that at least 15,000 new stake and ward leaders be called each year to match the growth of the Church.
The erection of temples, particularly in foreign lands, has proved to be a great stimulus to the faith of the members in these areas, and has caused thousands to remain in their native lands to help build the Church stronger, rather than to come to America and the West. The effectiveness of the Church welfare program continues. Many other phases of the Church program could be mentioned which are going forward under the inspired leadership of our beloved President.
I am deeply grateful, my brethren and sisters, for the great honor and privilege that came to Sister Dyer and me and our son for a part of his mission which he also spent in Europe; for the privilege of serving in these ancient lands and of having the privilege of witnessing the power of God go forward in the expansion of his work. I have seen almost daily the witness of the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the lives of people and have seen many men and women in almost every land receive of the teachings of the gospel from the missionaries and then have watched their lives change and have witnessed their preparation to become leaders in the Church.
I am most grateful this morning that here in the congregation are men who have been called to preside over stakes in Europe. I have been directly connected with these men. I know of their faith and their love of the gospel and of their desire to see the work of the Lord go forward.
The most frequent question that is asked of me since my return from Europe is this: "What is causing this tremendous growth in the Church? What is it that is causing people to accept the gospel more readily than ever before?" In analyzing this, I have come to the conclusion that there are three areas of activity which combine to produce the rise in converts in virtually all of the missions of the world. The fact that these very things are transpiring calls to mind the parable of the fig tree with its symbolical indication which the Master gave as an evidence of the approaches to the culmination of his work here upon the earth.
The first reason, I surmised, is simply that the harvest time is here. When the Prophet Joseph Smith was being instructed in the work which he had been called to do by holy messengers sent from the presence of God, it was made known to him by revelation, as our beloved prophet has mentioned this morning, that a great and marvelous work was about to come forth among the children of men, but the Lord also said that the field was white already to harvest. As to the meaning of the field being white already to harvest, we are enlightened by the words of the Apostle Paul, who by prophetic utterance told the Saints at Ephesus of that which would transpire in the very day in which we now live. This is his declaration:
"That in the dispensation of the fulness 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:...
"According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
"Having predestinated us into the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will"
Thus, from the statement of the Lord given to Hyrum Smith, through the Prophet Joseph Smith, and from this statement of Paul, we conclude that many of the noble and valiant spirits of the pre-existence have been withheld as to birth into mortality until this particular time that they may be here upon the earth, either born under the covenant or converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ, that there will be strength within the Church to fulfil the divine commitments which the Lord has placed upon us as a people. These choice spirits so withheld, as could be expected, respond more readily to the gospel message here in life when they hear it.
The Lord speaks of this very thing, as referred to by the Apostle John, concerning the mission of the Holy Ghost whom the Master sent after his earth life departure, which was to bring remembrance to those who, by the spirit of conviction, would recognize the message of truth when they heard it. These are his words:
"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you".
For the purpose of awakening interest in the hearts of people, we have learned that nearly all converts to the Church today sense that the gospel message is true the first time they heard it proclaimed by the missionaries.
I recall a noted architect in Munich, mature in years, highly successful in his field of work, a respected man in his city and church, who recognized, by the power of the Spirit, that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God the first time that the missionaries testified of it. He came to know this and of the truth of the message of the restoration from this initial awakening of interest, or the "bringing of things to his remembrance" and was led to baptism and is now with his wife an active member of the Church.
A noted attorney in Stuttgart sensed in his heart upon first contact by the missionaries that the gospel is true, though his baptism was delayed for several weeks while the missionaries taught him the lessons, which he confessed to me later that he could not fully understand at the time. This attorney knew that the elders were servants of God and that they had told him the truth. He is now a member of a bishopric in the Stuttgart Stake.
A mature woman and her daughter, whose husband and father was dead, replied to a Danish missionary, when asked if they had understood all of their teachings concerning the Godhead and the Holy Ghost, that they did not, but the woman said she knew they were true servants of God, and she accepted what they had told them to be true, and after repentance they were baptized members of the Church.
The second reason, I believe, for the increased number of conversions is that the Church and its objectives stand today in a much better image before the world than ever before. There are many reasons for this that have gone on through the years, and it would appear that the relentless general good behavior and upstanding characteristics of the members of the Church is beginning to have its effect upon good men and women, civic and educational leaders, and other inspired men all over the world.
I think the relentless effectiveness of the Tabernacle Choir Broadcast, coupled with the goodwill tours that have been made, has been a great contribution in breaking the crust of false concept and has established us in better image before the people of the world, along with the many services which are rendered by the Church Information Service and the many bureaus of information at temples, historic sites, and mainly the Temple Square Bureau, where people have come to know the truth about us.
The outstanding representation we are now receiving from favorable newspaper and magazine publicity has helped. In some instances, through advertising agencies, but usually the efforts of mission presidents and missionaries, who in the course of their regular proselyting procedures and as a part of their program, contact the various civic and educational leaders and keep in close touch with the newspapers, make it a definite point to get acquainted with editors and reporters. In Europe this has been especially effective, where more than 8,000 newspaper articles favorable to the Church have been obtained, many of which show pictures of the missionaries, most usually in the process of calling upon people, holding cottage meetings, cycling on the cycle paths to and from their tracting districts and in pursuing other typical missionary routines.
Press conferences have proved to be most helpful in getting our story before the public, and we have witnessed a change come over the civic and educational leaders in Europe whereby today we have recognition, and we are finding that information about the Church is being sought for and not necessarily only as we offer it. It is not unusual for the mayor and the ministers of education, presidents of universities, presidents of various states, and other influential people to be present with their wives at press receptions. We have been able to get many of our generals and leaders of our Armed Forces in Europe to attend these press receptions and into this atmosphere we have brought newspaper and magazine reporters and editors, and they have been amazed to see the influential people who have been in attendance.
Very often these reporters have been heard to say, "What is the mayor doing here?" Or, "Why is the president of the university present?" The answer is, of course, "They are friends of the Church," and invariably because of the high caliber and sincerity of these affairs, more comprehensive articles about the Church have resulted.
Opportunities for free radio and television time, where the story of the Church can be told, is increasing with each passing week. The correction of disparaging articles about the Church, and the replacement of erroneous sections in encyclopedias, in books of knowledge, is a constant task, but many important steps are being taken in this regard to establish a better image of the Church and our people through these sources of information in the various countries of the world.
We have witnessed a vast improvement in the attitude of individuals. If time would permit, I could tell of experiences with ministers of education, with editors of many of the large newspapers in Europe, and with others who have actually defended the position of the Church and are publishing favorable articles about us, which assist the missionaries with the golden question, when they ask, "What do you know about the Mormon Church?" Instead of there being a negative answer, there is a willingness to listen, and this is contributing to the expansion of proselyting effectiveness in the world.
Of course we have a long way to go yet to gain the full effect before the world of the image of our people, but definite progress is being made.
The third reason is the concept of "Every Member a Missionary," as inspired by our beloved President. This has led to more effective ways of getting the gospel message to people. If every member of the Church will react to this inspiration, fulfilling the commitment that has been placed upon us as a people, there is every reason to believe that the convert expansion of the Church will continue.
In the preface of the Doctrine and Covenants there is recorded what the Lord made known to the Prophet Joseph Smith that we are expected as a people to convey to the masses of the world for the purpose "... that every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world"; and this means that a man who stands at the head of his household may receive the priesthood through his faithfulness and then be able to speak in the name of the Lord for and in behalf of his family and Church, and also "That faith might increase in the earth;
"That mine everlasting covenant might be established;
"That the fulness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world, and before kings and rulers" .
The inspiration of our prophet in the projection of the idea that every member be a missionary forms a concept, which like a banner, must be kept high. There should be no apathy within the ranks of the Church to this great challenge. The enthusiasm and spirit of missionary work must be kept alive and active in the heart of every member, for this is the spirit of the Church.
As I see it there are three kinds of missionaries in the Church. There is the full-time missionary, who devotes his every waking hour in leading souls into the kingdom of our Heavenly Father through the waters of baptism, and then there is the part-time missionary, who devotes all of his time except that which is needed to make a living and to care for his family. Then there is the member missionary who by example and his good life will provide an image of the Church for his neighbors and friends and relatives to observe. They will assist the missionaries by opening their homes to investigators and to assist in other ways, in conveying the gospel message to those who do not understand the truth
I am most grateful, my brethren and sisters, that the message of the gospel is to the individual, for each person can receive and evaluate the truth for himself. I thrilled recently as I attended a meeting behind the Iron Curtain in East Germany to hear one of the leaders stand and testify that no one could tell him how to worship God in his own heart. Jesus, in his parables, manifested his way of teaching which was always to the individual as evidenced by his parables "a certain nobleman," "Behold the sower," "The rich young ruler," "The ninety and nine and the search for the one that is lost," "The prodigal son," etc.
What is true of conversion is true of membership in the Church, for each of us must work out our own salvation, and as the Prophet Joseph Smith said, "at times it may be with fear and trembling" but our obligation is to convey the message of the gospel unto the people of the world. This means our neighbor, as well as those who are afar off.
In conclusion may I read two statements from the revelations of the Lord concerning our obligation to teach the gospel. The Prophet Joseph Smith said that we are not to be ashamed to stand up boldly for the cause of Christ, for said he: "... It should be the duty of the Elder to stand up boldly for the cause of Christ and warn that people with one accord to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins, and for the Holy Ghost, always commanding them in the name of the Lord, in the spirit of meekness".
In the other revelation the Lord directs all of the members of the Church to proclaim the gospel: "... I give unto you a commandment, that every man, both elder, priest, teacher, and also member, go to with his might, with the labor of his hands, to prepare and accomplish the things which I have commanded.
"And let your preaching be the warning voice, every man to his neighbor".
I testify to you, my brethren and sisters, in the name of Jesus Christ, that this is the Lord's work, and I pray that we may go forth in it and fulfil the commitment of extending the gospel in a continuing manner unto the children of the world, and I do it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Sterling W. Sill
Sterling W. Sill, Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 13-16
My brothers and sisters, I appreciate very much this semiannual privilege of having a part with you in the general conference of the Church. In thinking about the purpose that brings us together, I recalled a recent full-page newspaper advertisement which, with the exception of the name of the sponsoring lumber company down in the lower right-hand corner, the entire ad was a blank but for two small words in the middle of the page, which said, "Build Well."
Then I thought of the interesting application made of this important idea by the Apostle Paul when he said to the Corinthians, "... ye are God's building... let every man take heed how he buildeth".
The greatest responsibility that is ever entrusted to any human being is that of building his own personality. The first soul that anyone should bring to God is his own soul. President McKay recently pointed out that the purpose of the gospel is to make men better. The primary objective in the mission of Jesus was to provide the world with better men and women. God himself has said, "... this is my work and my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man". It is God's work to build character, ability, and Godliness into the lives of his children. Any influence that works against that purpose is evil, and whenever we build evil into our lives, we are tending toward failure.
In a survey recently made at Stanford University, it was discovered that ninety-four percent of all workers who were fired from their jobs lost out for some reason not even remotely connected with job competence. They lost their jobs because they were lacking in basic fundamental character. The specific reasons given for the termination of their employment included such things as dishonesty, disloyalty, disobedience, hate, immorality, selfishness, sloth, and wrong thinking. These are also the traits that cause our crime waves, our delinquency scourges, and our cold and shooting wars. Building these traits into our lives also accounts for so many people finding themselves at the end of that broad road leading to eternal destruction.
I talk with a great many people every year who are unable to solve their problems. And I am certain that ninety-four percent of all of our troubles come because someone disobeys God's commandments. Nations as well as individuals could live successfully and happily if they could just learn to follow the tested principles of righteousness.
Recently I was in the office of a building contractor who was erecting a multimillion dollar building. He had spread out before him a set of drawings which he called a blueprint. And I was impressed with this idea that any builder can erect the most magnificent building that the greatest architect can conceive, if he just knows how to follow the blueprint. And then I tried unsuccessfully to think of any idea in the world more important. The best sculptor is the one who can most accurately reproduce in marble the image that he sees before him. The good cook follows the recipe. The pharmacist can utilize the many years of training of the most famous doctors from the best medical schools, if he just knows how to follow a prescription. Someone has said that science is just a collection of successful formulas. But the most important application of this great idea comes in the field of religion.
The outstanding intelligence of heaven was sent into the world and gave us the greatest success formula ever given. This is also made up of two words which also mean "Build Well." Jesus said, "Follow me". And every life must finally be judged by how well it carries out that single instruction.
Almost all of our problems come because we can't follow. We can't follow Jesus in his faith or in his devotion or in his ability to avoid the entanglements of sin. Judas lost his life both here and hereafter because he couldn't follow. Our great leadership is of small consequence if we stumble in our fellowship.
A part of the most important sermon of Jesus was intended to help us develop good fellowship in building our lives. He said, "... whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
"And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
"And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
"And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell: and great was the fall of it".
If we need a blueprint for success drawn in a little smaller scale, we might reread that great literary classic entitled, "The Three Little Pigs." You may remember that the first little pig built his house of straw; the second one built his house of sticks; and the third little pig built his house of bricks. When the difficulties began, the only little pig that was safe was the one who had been wise during the building period.
The chief business of our lives is to build a house that will bear the weight of eternal life. And the wise King Solomon gave us a helpful proverb in which he said, "Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars". Some of the houses of our lives fall because they are built upon the wrong foundation; but others fall because they are insufficiently pillared. Solomon said that wisdom's house had seven pillars. Seven is a number frequently used to represent completeness. Solomon didn't specifically say what these seven pillars were, but if you would like to have an interesting experience, select the seven pillars that you think would most effectively support your life's building. I would like to name seven that the gospel suggests to me.
The first is industry. Nothing is ever denied to well-directed effort, and nothing is ever achieved without it. Faith without works is dead. But character, spirituality, and even repentance without works is dead also. Leonardo da Vinci once said, "Thou, oh God, doth sell us all good things at the price of labor." The primary consideration of our lives, even on judgment day, will be given to our works. Next to my belief in God I believe in industry.
The second pillar of the house for wisdom to build is courage. Jesus went around saying to people, "Fear not". "Be not afraid". "Why are ye troubled?" "Why do thoughts arise in your hearts?". So frequently our house falls because we lack the courage of our convictions. We are too much afraid of circumstances; we are afraid of people and what they will think.
The third pillar is faith. Jesus said, "... all things are possible to him that believeth". We don't always understand that faith is the moving cause of all action. It is not only the chief pillar of success, it is also its very foundation.
The fourth pillar of wisdom's house is obedience to God. The Psalmist reminds us that, "Except the Lord build a house, they labour in vain who build it".
Recently a member of the Church told me that he was going to quit smoking. I asked him why. He said he was afraid of getting lung cancer. I thought, how much superior his motive would have been if he had decided to give up his evil because God had said, "Tobacco is not good for man".
Many years ago a neighbor of mine used to say over and over again that he did not want his children to follow the Church blindly. He wanted them to do their own thinking, to stand on their own feet, and break their own trails. And that is exactly what they have done. Now twenty-five years later every one of them is bogged down in the quicksands of his own mistakes. The most successful journey is made possible when we first make sure where we want to go and then get a good set of road maps and stay right on the highway until the destination is reached. I have a relative who, when she reads a novel, always reads the last chapter first. She wants to know where she is going to come out before she gets started. That is a pretty good idea for building our lives.
Nothing could please me more than to have my children follow the Church in every detail; for I know that God has prepared the road maps, and that they lead to the most satisfactory of all destinations.
The fifth pillar to support our life's house might be genuineness. Emerson once said that one of our biggest sins was pretense. Mostly we are like pennies trying to pass ourselves off for half dollars. Among the greatest joys of life are the joys of being: the joys of being genuine, the joys of being true blue, the joys of knowing within one's self that he is not a phony. An honest man is the noblest work of God. This discord which we so frequently permit to develop between deed and creed is at the root of innumerable wrongs in our society, and it gives institutions and men split personalities.
Mohandas K. Gandhi once said that there were 999 people who believed in honesty for every honest man. I suppose that it would be next to impossible to find even one man who did not believe in honesty. And yet we remember poor old Diogenes who went around Athens with a lighted lantern in the middle of the day trying to find just one honest man.
We have heard Dr. Goodell's story of the house dishonesty built. It tells of a very wealthy man who had as a part of his household a young woman to whom the entire family was devoted. She was courted and finally married by a young building contractor.
Then this wealthy man engaged the contractor to build a house for him. He had the most famous architect draw the plans. Then laying the plans before the builder, he told him that he wanted him to construct the finest house of which he was capable. He made clear that money was not an object. He pointed out that the specifications called for only the finest materials. Everything must be of the highest quality. But the builder had a little dishonesty in his heart. Thinking to make an extra profit, he built a cheap foundation. He used third grade lumber where he thought it would not be noticed. He adulterated the paint and slurred over the plastering. He used imitation materials for the roofing.
When the young man handed over the keys of the finished building to his wealthy benefactor he was told that this house was his wedding present. It was not very long after the young couple moved in that the inferior foundation began to crack; the rains seeped through the roof and discolored the walls. Then throughout the rest of their lives the builder's family and himself were continually reminded of his dishonesty. What a different house he would have built if he had known that he was going to spend the rest of his life in it!
But each of us is presently building the house in which we are going to spend eternity. And while we are thinking about the immortality of the body, we should also give a little thought to the immortality of the memory and the immortality of the personality. If we are forced to spend eternity thinking about our own misspent lives, then we may understand a little more clearly what Paul meant when he said, "... let every man take heed how he buildeth".
The sixth pillar of wisdom's house is right thinking. Whether good or bad, everything we think goes into the building. In Grenville Kleiser's book, Training for Power and Leadership, he says, "Nothing touches the soul but leaves its impress. And thus little by little we are fashioned into the image of all we have seen and heard, known or meditated upon. If we learn to live with all that is fairest and purest and best, the love of it will in the end become our very life."
What a strength this pillar can become, if we always keep wisdom and reason in control of our thinking.
The seventh pillar supporting wisdom's house is love. This is the pillar on which the two greatest commandments rest. Someone was once asked what commandment in his opinion came next in importance to love. And he replied that he didn't know there was one.
We are all free to hew out as many pillars as we desire for the support of this great structure that Paul refers to as "God's building". And where could we find a more challenging comparison? For we are not only created in the image of God, but we have been endowed with a set of his attributes, the development of which is one of the purposes for which we live.
God has instructed us to use only the finest materials. He cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance, because he knows its terrible destructiveness in people's lives. Therefore, God has provided that every man should carry within himself the very things that he seeks. If you need the kind of faith that will move mountains, you need only look within yourself, for God has already implanted in your own heart the seeds of faith, waiting only for you to make them grow. If you need courage and love for the greatest accomplishment, you can develop that which you have already been endowed. God laid up the silver, gold, and other precious things in the earth, but he put his own potentialities into his children and has made their development our greatest responsibility, for as Edwin Markham has said:
"We are all blind until we see That in the human plan; Nothing is worth the building That does not build the man.
"Why build these cities glorious If man unbuilded goes. In vain we build the world Unless the builder also grows."
May God help us to "build well" is my humble prayer in Jesus' name. Amen.
Elder Marion G. Romney
Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 16-20
My beloved brothers and sisters, I have in mind this morning saying a few things about "The Oath and Covenant Which Belongeth to the Priesthood". The inspiration for these remarks came to me recently while I was working with a committee on a program for the commemoration of the one hundred thirty-third anniversary of the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood.
As I heard President McKay speak about that day 132 years ago when six men gathered in the home of Peter Whitmer to organize the Church, I recalled that ten months prior thereto the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery had received from Peter, James, and John the power by which they would organize The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That power was the Melchizedek Priesthood-the greatest power that has come to the earth in any dispensation, the power which will outlast and control the great powers now being discovered by men.
By way of confession and avoidance to the charge that these remarks might be more appropriate in a priesthood meeting, I assure you mothers and sweethearts that when you receive the exaltation for which true Saints earnestly strive, you will be with a Melchizedek Priesthood bearer who has magnified his calling. Therefore, anything you can do to encourage your loved one to magnify his priesthood will repay you a thousandfold.
Traditionally, God's people have been known as a covenant people. The gospel itself is the new and everlasting covenant. The posterity of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob is the covenant race. We come into the Church by covenant, which we enter into when we go into the waters of baptism. The new and everlasting covenant of celestial marriage is the gate to exaltation in the celestial kingdom. Men receive the Melchizedek Priesthood by an oath and covenant.
A covenant is an agreement between two or more parties. An oath is a sworn attestation to the inviolability of the promises in the agreement. In the covenant of the priesthood the parties are the Father and the receiver of the priesthood. Each party to the covenant undertakes certain obligations. The receiver undertakes to magnify his calling in the priesthood. The Father, by oath and covenant, promises the receiver that if he does so magnify his priesthood he will be sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of his body; that he will become a member of "... the church and kingdom, and the elect of God", and receive the "... Father's kingdom; therefore," said the Savior, "all that my Father hath shall be given unto him".
It is of such-that is, those who receive the priesthood and magnify it-so I believe, of whom the following was written: "They are they into whose hands the Father has given all things-
"They are they who are priests and kings, who have received of his fulness, and of his glory;
"And are priests of the Most High, after the order of... the Only Begotten Son. Wherefore, as it is written, they are gods, even the sons of God-".
These transcendent blessings the Father promises the receiver of the Melchizedek Priesthood by an oath and covenant which he says "... he cannot break, neither can it be moved". But these blessings, as has already been indicated, do not come by ordination alone. Ordination to the priesthood is a prerequisite to receiving them, but it does not guarantee them. For a man actually to obtain them, he must faithfully discharge the obligation which is placed upon him when he receives the priesthood; that is, he must magnify his calling.
Now let us consider for a moment just what magnifying one's calling in the priesthood means. Speaking to the assembled bearers of the priesthood at the time the "oath and covenant" was revealed the Lord said, "... I have given the heavenly hosts and mine angels charge concerning you". This has always been an extremely impressive and sacred statement to me, to think that the Lord has given his angels and his heavenly hosts charge concerning those who receive the priesthood.
Then, addressing the elders, he continued: "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".
It is compliance with this charge which entitles the bearer of the priesthood to the blessings and rewards offered by the Father in "the oath and covenant which belongeth to the priesthood".
The status of one who receives the priesthood and then breaks the covenant is explained by the Lord in this language: "... 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".
With such a penalty prescribed for breaking it, one might be prompted to question the advisability of accepting the obligations of the covenant; that is, he might question it until he reads the verse which follows the statement of the penalty. There he learns that those who do not receive the oath and covenant are not much, if any, better off than are those who receive it and break it. For in that verse the Lord says: "And, wo unto all those who come not unto this priesthood which ye have received".
Such is the sober import of "the oath and covenant which belongeth to the priesthood". You can read it in full just as the Lord gave it in the 84th section of the Doctrine and Covenants beginning with the 33rd verse.
It is apparent from this revelation that the only way a man can make the maximum progress towards eternal life, for which mortality is designed, is to obtain and magnify the Melchizedek Priesthood. With "... eternal life... the greatest of all the gifts of God" depending upon it, it is of utmost importance that we keep clearly in mind what the magnifying of our callings in the priesthood requires of us. I am persuaded that it requires at least the following three things:
1. That we obtain a knowledge of the gospel.
2. That we comply in our personal living with the standards of the gospel.
3. That we give dedicated service.
As to the importance of a knowledge of the gospel, the Prophet Joseph Smith said that "It is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance". That he had in mind ignorance of gospel truths is evident from the fact that on another occasion he said: "A man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge, for if he does not get knowledge, he will be brought into captivity by some evil power in the other world, as evil spirits will have more knowledge, and consequently more power than many men who are on the earth. Hence it needs revelation to assist us, and give us knowledge of the things of God".
There is no knowledge other than knowledge of the things of God that will save us. "Ye must grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth," the Lord said to the brethren in the infant days of the Church.
In the revelation given to President Brigham Young at Winter Quarters in January 1847, the Lord said: "Let him that is ignorant learn wisdom by humbling himself and calling upon the Lord his God, that his eyes may be opened that he may see, and his ears opened that he may hear;
"For my Spirit is sent forth into the world to enlighten the humble and contrite, and to the condemnation of the ungodly".
Fourteen years earlier the Lord had thus counseled the brethren: "... I give unto you a commandment that ye shall continue in prayer and fasting from this time forth.
"And I give unto you a commandment that you shall teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom.
"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".
One of the best ways to learn the gospel is to search the scriptures. Our purpose in urging all bearers of the Melchizedek Priesthood to read the Book of Mormon during 1961 was that they might learn more about the gospel. One cannot honestly study the Book of Mormon without learning gospel truths, because it contains "... the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles and to the Jews also". So impressed was the Prophet Joseph with it that he "told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct book of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other books.".
I am very happy to advise you that I have reports from 332 stake presidents to the effect that in their stakes there was a combined total of 59,740 bearers of the Melchizedek Priesthood who read the Book of Mormon through during 1961. I am sure that each of these men can truthfully testify that his knowledge of the gospel was increased by his reading.
But learning the gospel from books is not enough. It must be lived by one who would magnify his calling in the priesthood. As a matter of fact, getting a knowledge of the gospel and living it are interdependent. They go hand in hand. One cannot fully learn the gospel without living it. A knowledge of the gospel comes by degrees. One learns a little, obeys what he learns; learns a little more, obeys that; and repeats this cycle in an endless round. Such is the pattern by which one can move on to a full knowledge of the gospel.
John, the Beloved, says that this was the way Jesus attained a fulness. He wrote: "And I, John, saw that he received not of the fulness at first, but received grace for grace;
"And he... continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness".
Jesus prescribed the same process for us in these words: "... if you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fulness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace".
And in another scripture: "And no man receiveth a fulness unless he keepeth his commandments.
"He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things".
I cannot understand how one can read these words without having his heart filled with joy.
Jesus further points out that the commandments we are required to keep are given in the scriptures, and adds: "If thou lovest me thou shalt serve me and keep all my commandments". And "... unto him that keepeth my commandments I will give the mysteries of my kingdom, and the same shall be in him a well of living water, springing up unto everlasting life".
Many of the commandments concerning our personal conduct are to be found in the forty-second section of the Doctrine and Covenants, which the Prophet Joseph specifies "as embracing the Law of the Church". Every priesthood bearer should be familiar with this revelation and with the instructions given in section fifty-nine and in section eighty-eight, particularly verses 117 to 126. Indeed, a priesthood bearer with serious intentions of so magnifying his calling as to merit the blessing of the "covenant which belongeth to the priesthood" should be conversant with all the instructions given to guide us in our personal conduct-both those recorded in the scriptures and those being received currently by the living prophets. One can scarcely hope to be fortified "against the wiles of the devil" by putting "on the whole armour of God" unless he knows what that armor is.
But the commandments do not pertain alone to one's personal conduct They put on every bearer of the priest hood the stimulating responsibility to render service-service in carrying the restored gospel, with all the blessings of the priesthood, to the peoples of the earth; and service in comforting, strengthening, and perfecting the lives of one another and all the Saints of God.
The nature of this service is spelled out in detail in the revelations and by the living prophets. The burden of it the Lord has laid upon his priesthood. It can be done properly only by men who are magnifying their priesthood; who know the gospel, conform their lives to its standards, and who enthusiastically give dedicated service in the spirit of the divine proclamation that "... 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".
Such men are magnifying their callings, and they shall obtain the rewards promised by the Lord in the "oath and covenant which belongeth to the priesthood". That each of us may be found in this choice group, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Henry D. Taylor
Henry D. Taylor, Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 27-28
First, I express my sincere gratitude for the goodness of our Heavenly Father to me and my family. I appreciate my membership in this wonderful Church and bear you my witness that it is the Church of Jesus Christ, restored in these latter days.
Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, is the only perfect person who has lived here upon the earth. Everything he did had purpose and was necessary and important. His marvelous teachings were and always will be the beautiful principles of salvation, and throughout his life he gave emphasis to them by the example he set for the whole world.
Peter, who was very close to the Savior during his ministry, once said of him: "... God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him".
As Jesus went about doing good, he healed the sick, caused the lame to walk, the blind to see, and the deaf to hear. He cleansed the lepers and cast out evil spirits. He raised the dead and gave comfort, hope, and encouragement to the sorrowing. He inspired the transgressor to forsake unrighteous ways. He touched the hearts of people, helping them to see and understand the value of the inner life. He motivated them to noble actions. Because of his teachings they were able to comprehend in greater measure the value of their souls in the sight of God the Father. He pointed out the goodness of our Heavenly Father to them. He planted in men's souls the seeds of divine love. Then he suffered his life to be taken, that we, his brothers and sisters, might gain salvation and eternal life. What a wonderful life of service; of doing good!
In his Sermon on the Mount, the Savior admonished all to "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven".
As members of the Church of Jesus Christ, "We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men". These are principles by which we should live. Someone has said: "He who does good is of God", and an ancient prophet once gave emphasis to this thought in these words: "Wherefore, all things which are good cometh of God; and that which is evil cometh of the devil... For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil".
Living the gospel principles will make men progressively better and instill within them a desire to follow the Savior's wonderful example of going about "doing good" to others. President McKay has beautifully pointed out this great truth: "The gospel... will change men's lives and make women and children better than they have ever been before... that is the mission of the gospel of Jesus Christ... to make evil-minded men good, and to make good men better. In other words, to change men's lives, to change human nature."
This would be a wonderful world in which to live if all of us would forget ourselves, if we would eliminate selfishness from our lives and think in terms of the good we could do in serving others. Unselfishness contributes to happiness. How true is the statement that "a person who is all wrapped up in himself, makes a pretty small and unattractive package."
We find in life what we look for, and what we find becomes part of us. How commendable it would be if we would look only for the good in each other. A gifted writer has suggested: "There is so much good in the worst of us, and so much bad in the best of us, that it hardly behooves any of us to talk about the rest of us."
President Eisenhower upon one occasion referred to an individual who sought an answer to the following question: "Wherein lies the greatness and genius of America?" This is the conclusion reached by that person: "I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers... and it was not there... in her fertile fields and boundless forests... and it was not there... in her rich mines and her vast world of commerce... and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great."
The same thing is true of individuals. As long as we are good, we are truly great. True value in life is not measured in what we have, but in what we do; not in what people think and do for us, but by what we think and do for people.
The Savior gave the key by which we may achieve greatness in the words: "... he that is greatest among you shall be your servant".
Being a servant to our fellow men and performing acts of goodness to them will bring an inner glow, a deep feeling of serenity, contentment, and satisfaction. We then can be at peace with ourselves and with the world. By doing good we will be rewarded, not only in this life, but in the life to come. We have been promised many blessings. Listen to this declaration of our Lord:
"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....
"Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
"And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation".
Every day as we go about our tasks, in our homes, among our friends, our associates, our neighbors and families, we can do good even in small, yet nevertheless, important ways. This we can do by:
A warm and understanding smile. A firm and friendly handclasp. A cheery greeting. A word of encouragement, commendation and sincere praise. Through acts of thoughtfulness. By lending a listening and sympathetic ear to all. By the sharing of ourselves with our fellow men. By gently and kindly leading those whose lives touch ours to appreciate and follow the Lord and his way of life.
My dear brothers and sisters, in these ways, and by others of our own designing, we, too, like our Master, can "go about doing good", and God will also be with us.
That we may do so, I humbly pray in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Harold B. Lee
Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 29-32
"Search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good, if ye walk uprightly and remember the covenant wherewith ye have covenanted one with another".
This quotation was from one of the revelations given when the Church was less than three years old, given in March 1833, which means that at that time there were no members who had been members of the Church more than three years. Their enemies from without were bringing persecution upon all who professed to be members of the Church of Jesus Christ. Under withering and merciless persecution, they were seeing in our day an interpretation of the Master's interpretation of the parable of the sowers. Some of the new members "brought forth only thirtyfold; some brought forth sixtyfold; and a small percentage only, an hundredfold".
With little or no experience in Church administration among the Church leaders at that time, there was occasionally confusion and disunity, and the immaturity of the Church members was evidenced in quarrellings and bickerings and factional disputes, and there was a spirit of apostasy in various places, which threatened at times to destroy the very structure of the Church.
It was important, then, that the Lord should send this important warning and instruction that they should search diligently, pray always, and be believing, so that all things would work to their good. Diligence means to be industrious, the opposite of being lazy or careless or indifferent. In other words, they must search to know the doctrines of the Church, and they must search to know the instructions that had been given concerning Church procedures. They were to pray always. Our missionaries after over a hundred years of experience have learned that no one is truly converted until he prays on his knees to know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and that the Church is indeed the Church of Jesus Christ on earth. And the four essentials that the missionaries teach to one who has never prayed before are: he first must thank; he next must ask; he must do it in the name of Jesus Christ, and then Amen. And with that simple instruction the beginning inquirer after truth is taught to pray. In praying, he is enjoined as the father said to his son, after listening to his son's prayers, "Son, don't give the Lord instructions. You just report for duty."
It is a wonderful thing for us in our younger years to remember what old age brings. Chauncey Depew, who as a United States Congressman on his ninetieth birthday was asked about his philosophy of life. He replied that when he was a young man his greatest ambition had been to display his intelligence, but the older he grew the greater was his anxiety to conceal his ignorance. It was indeed the beginning of learning when as Moses said, after the great and soul-stirring revelation of the personality of God, "Now for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I had never supposed". That was in the beginning of his wisdom.
To be believing means, first to obtain a testimony and then strive to retain it. The testing must precede the testimony, for they will "receive no witness until after the trial of their faith". As the Master had said, "... that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
"The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but thou canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit".
The power of the Spirit was more definitely defined in an early revelation to these new Saints when the Lord said: "... I say unto you, that assuredly as the Lord liveth, who is your God and your Redeemer, even so surely shall you receive....
"Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart".
Now then, he said further, that if they would walk uprightly and remember their covenant, then they would have all things which would work to their good. To walk uprightly means to be morally correct, to be honest, to be just, to be honorable. As the Lord told Enos, the grandson of Lehi, "I will visit thy brethren according to their diligence in keeping my commandments", which was repeated in substance when the Lord revealed this great truth: "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say ye have no promise".
We heard an excellent discourse this morning on the meaning of a covenant as it pertained to the priesthood. The nature of the covenant that we enter into when we became members of the Church was fully explained when the Lord said: "And again, by way of commandment to the Church concerning the manner of baptism-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".
The people in the Book of Mormon days were instructed with a similar explanation. "And now I speak," Moroni said, "concerning baptism. Behold, elders, priests, and teachers were baptized; and they were not baptized save they brought forth fruit meet that they were worthy of it.
"Neither did they receive any unto baptism save they came forth with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and witnessed unto the church that they truly repented of all their sins".
King Benjamin explained it this way: "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; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters".
Others of the prophets asked this soul-searching question of those who were candidates for baptism, "Are you willing to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that you might be in, even until death?". To the first one of those who was baptized, the prophet who officiated said as he was directed under inspiration, "... Helam, I baptize thee, having authority from the Almighty God, as a testimony that ye have entered into a covenant to serve him until you are dead as to the mortal body; and may the Spirit of the Lord be poured out upon you; and may he grant unto you eternal life, through the redemption of Christ, whom he has prepared from the foundation of the world".
Never was there a time when Church members generally, and newly baptized converts, particularly, throughout the stakes and missions needed more to be reminded of the Lord's admonition that they should "Search diligently, and pray always, and be believing that all things should work to their good if they would walk uprightly and remember the covenant wherewith they had covenanted one with another," as the scriptures I have referred to have so well explained.
Thousands of new members have built upon the foundation of their faith at the time of their baptism, but there are wolves in sheep's clothing among them. Older members by bad example could "wound their weak conscience and make their weaker brethren to offend". Dissension and confusion could result from lack of experience, and the tide of persecution from the outside could roll in upon them and engulf them in a flood of apostasy unless they heed the Lord's warnings.
I was down in Australia nearly a year ago, and after I had spent a long evening instructing the stake leaders in their duties, one of the brethren raised his hand and said, "Now, Brother Lee, you have spent the evening telling us what to do. Now answer us one more question. Just how do we obtain the spiritual power necessary for us to lead this people and to instruct them?" And I have been trying to answer that question ever since he asked it. Perhaps few illustrations will serve to suggest the answer:
I received a letter recently from a patriarch who had been instructed that what he should speak in blessings upon the people should be that which the Lord inspired and not of himself. In the struggle which followed his ordination he sought to know how he could distinguish between what the Lord inspired and that which was just his own thinking. He remembered, he said, what the Lord admonished in an early revelation to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery: "... you cannot write" "that which is sacred save it be given you from me".
"So my personal problem finally was resolved," he wrote me, "by making this conclusion: You have been called and ordained to this work by an authorized servant of the Lord. You have the authority to proceed. You must live as closely to the Lord as you know how. You must constantly seek and pray for guidance and inspiration, then perform your duties in humility and rest content in the knowledge that you have done all you could, and in the firm belief that what you have said in giving blessings was indeed inspired."
The Lord's formula for new and untried leaders was this:
"Again I say unto you, that it shall not be given to any one to go forth to preach my gospel, or to build up my church, except he be ordained by some one who has authority, and it is known to the church that he has authority and has been regularly ordained by the heads of the church.
"And again, the elders, priests and teachers of this church shall teach the principles of my gospel, which are in the Bible and the Book of Mormon, in the which is the fulness of the gospel
"And they shall observe the covenants and church articles to do them, and these shall be their teachings, as they shall be directed by the Spirit.
"And the Spirit shall be given unto you by the prayer of faith; and if ye receive not the Spirit ye shall not teach".
Summarized this meant that there were four essentials for service in the kingdom of God. They must be ordained, they must teach from the standard Church works, they must live as they preached, they must teach by the Spirit. "... when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men".
Well, so the Lord has told us in plain language how his servants could be inspired. It was as Alma observed in the sons of Mosiah who were great and successful missionaries. "They were strong in a knowledge of the truth." They were sound in understanding. They fasted and prayed often, and they cultivated "the spirit of prophecy and the spirit of revelation," so that "when they taught they taught with power and authority of God".
I met a man in his late seventies down in Brisbane, Australia, who said that all his lifetime he had been searching for a church that could answer satisfactorily his question, "Are God and his Son, the Savior of the world, living with your church today?" And always the answer to his question was negative. "The scriptures are closed," they said. "There is no prophet through whom the Lord speaks today. God does not reveal himself to man."
He was convalescing from a painful accident when two young men-missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints called. In their opening testimony, they bore witness that the Lord had appeared with his Heavenly Father to Joseph Smith, and in answer to his question as to which church they should join, he was told to join none of them, for they were all wrong, "... they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof".
Here was the answer he had been seeking, and the Spirit bore witness that this was in truth the true Church of Jesus Christ, with which the Father and the Son were living today.
Brigham Young, in speaking about the same thing, said, "If all the talent, tact, wisdom, and refinement of the world had been sent to me with the Book of Mormon and had declared in the most exalted eloquence the truth of it undertaking to prove it by learning and worldly wisdom, they would have been to me like the smoke which rises only to vanish away. But when I saw a man without eloquence or talent for public speaking who could say, 'I know by the power of the Holy Ghost that the Book of Mormon is true, that Joseph Smith is a prophet of the Lord,' and the Holy Ghost preceding from that individual, illuminated my understanding, and light, glory, and immortality were before me. I was encircled by them, filled with them, and I knew for myself that their testimony was true".
We must teach with that in mind. If the Holy Ghost does not bear witness to the things we say, we cannot and we will not be successful in our missionary work.
I heard a missionary telling about President McKay's visit to Glasgow when a young reporter looked him in the face and asked of President McKay, "Are you a prophet of God?" And the young man said President McKay looked at the reporter and replied: "Young man, you look me in the eye and answer your own question." This young man in telling me the story said, "I looked President McKay in the eye, and I received my answer and my witness that he is in truth a prophet of the Living God," to which I also bear humble testimony in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
"Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it".
Today the servants, many unschooled and inexperienced like the disciples of old, must "go forth"-"the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with the signs following".
Except we do walk uprightly and remember our covenants and have an unshakable testimony of the divinity of this Church; in the language of an eminent businessman and financier, the various activities of the Church would be but a shambles.
May the Lord help us to search diligently and walk uprightly and remember the covenant wherewith we have covenanted one with another, I pray humbly, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder ElRay L. Christiansen
ElRay L. Christiansen, Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 32-34
My brothers and sisters, as I sought to determine what I might appropriately speak about at this time, my mind seemed to be driven and impelled to speak on a commandment which God gave to the children of Israel a long, long time ago. I humbly pray that I may say something on this topic that will be encouraging to all of us.
When the Lord created the earth as an abode for his children, he placed upon it all the necessary essentials for their physical needs-the light and the warmth of the sun, the seasons, the fertile soil from which to obtain food and raiment and shelter, and at the same time and with equal concern, he made provision for the spiritual needs of his children and for the development of man. Among the provisions made for man's spiritual goal was the gift of the Sabbath day, for he said to Moses, "... for... the Lord hath given you the sabbath". Three thousand years ago this commandment was given to the children of Israel: "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...
"... wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it".
In modern revelation he has commanded the Saints to observe his holy day by attending their meetings, offering their oblations before the Lord, and as they partake of the Sacrament to make covenant with him that they will take upon them his name and keep his commandments. The reason for these requirements made by the Lord is plainly stated in the revelation in these words: "... that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world".
The laws and the commandments of God are given to us, not to deny us the right to do what we are wont to do, but rather to provide us with a sure way to obtain peace and happiness and success, "For," according to the book of Proverbs, "... the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life".
Accompanying each commandment is the promise of a blessing, either specified or implied. What is the promise made to those who observe the Sabbath day? The Lord declares that inasmuch as they do this with cheerful hearts and countenances, the fulness of the earth is theirs-all things that are made for the benefit and use of man to please the eye and to gladden the heart and to strengthen the body and give peace to the soul.
There was a time in my day when it seemed to me that almost all people, at least those with whom I was acquainted, considered the Sabbath day as a holy day, a day entirely different from the other days. But too often now it seems that we consider it just a part of the weekend, and thus many people do not look upon it as a holy day.
We must not permit ourselves to think of the Sabbath day as a day on which to transact business of any kind. We must not think of the Sabbath day as a day on which to catch up with our work. We must not permit ourselves to use the Sabbath for amusements or for outings or for participating in or attending sporting events as such.
The devil is not satisfied with just a little wrongdoing. He follows through and persists in gaining his ends by having us think that it is all right to sin a little But he knows very well that a little sin seldom stays little. In the words of Nephi: "... thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them carefully down to hell".
On a number of occasions when I have been returning from conferences, I have met on the highway a great number of automobiles. In many of these were families apparently returning to their homes on the early Sunday evening. Attached to a good number of these cars were beautiful boats. Now, ordinarily, we do not take boats to church, so one must conclude that these fine people had not been to church, nor were they on their way to church I wonder if it is wise-well, I can say positively-it is not wise for parents to take their children away from their appointed places of worship on the Sabbath day where they may learn the gospel and where they may become fortified to face life through increased faith, trust, and confidence in the Lord, and require their children to go with them on the Sabbath day to spend the day on the reservoir or at some other place of amusement. Such practices may seriously impair and affect the lives of these children and perhaps the lives of their children. In fairness to our children and to ourselves, we must go to the "house of prayer" on his holy day as the commandment requires.
An acquaintance of mine had purchased a lovely boat and had just finished varnishing it and painting it. When I stopped by, he was admiring it. I surmised that he was getting it ready to take it, with his family, to the reservoir the next Sunday. He said, "It is complete and in readiness except for one thing." Then he asked me, "Could you suggest an appropriate name for the boat?" I knew him very well. I thought for a moment, and then I said, "Well, perhaps you should name it The Sabbath-Breaker." He looked at me, and he understood.
A father was speaking to a gathering in connection with one of the stake conferences in Wyoming, which I attended. This man had, for sometime, taken his family away from home on the Sabbath. When they were returning from one trip on a Sunday evening, one of his little girls in a thoughtful mood, said to him, "Daddy, when can we stay home on Sunday with our friends and go to Sunday School and Sacrament meeting?" The father, suddenly realizing what he was doing to his children, replied with determination, "Honey, we will stay home next Sunday and every other Sunday, and we will go to church, all five of us."
I regret that I do not know who composed these lines:
"A Sabbath well spent brings a week of content And help for the cares of tomorrow. But a Sabbath profaned, whatever the gain, Is a sure forerunner of sorrow."
What regret there will be for those of us who knowingly ignore this beneficent law of the sacred Sabbath. Some of us may live to realize the fact that the Sabbath profaned, whatever be gained, is a sure forerunner of sorrow.
With joy we ought to sing the song,
"Welcome, welcome, Sabbath morning, Now we rest from ev'ry care. Welcome, welcome, is thy dawning, Holy Sabbath, day of prayer."
My brothers and sisters, it is well that we pray to the Lord that among nations peace may be maintained, but I know and you know that we must, as individuals, add to our prayers obedience to the commandments if our supplications are to be efficacious. "Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.
"If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;
"... I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid".
Must we not learn that the blessing of peace and all other blessings we seek from God come through observing laws set forth in his commandments? This is made plain in the Doctrine Covenants in these words which familiar: "There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which blessings are predicated-
"And when we obtain any bless from God, it is by obedience to t law upon which it is predicated".
As he stood upon the deck of battleship Missouri in Yokohama Bay, when Japan surrendered, General Douglas MacArthur made this significant declaration: "If we do not devise some greater and equitable system, Armageddon will be upon us. The problem is basically theological and involves spiritual renaissance and character. It must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh."
That each of us help to bring about this spiritual renaissance by making sure that we and ours keep holy the Sabbath day, I pray humbly, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Alma Sonne
Alma Sonne, Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 35-36
Thank you, brethren and sisters, for singing that good hymn so well. It is always full of inspiration, especially when it is sung by so many as are present here this afternoon.
I would like to say a word about our missionaries-past and present-the men and the women who have kept alive the memory of the Lord Jesus and the gospel of Jesus Christ in the hearts of men. The missionary spirit is resting upon the Church. I believe it has rested upon the Church since its beginning. It is reflected in the messages which we have heard today. You are aware that there is a struggle going on in the world for the hearts and minds of the people. The enemies of truth and freedom are exerting themselves as never before to destroy moral and spiritual values.
The battle is being waged with relentless and determined vigor. The adversary is alert and active, and the powers of darkness are pressing forward at home and abroad.
The Apostle Paul recognized that power when he said, "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work". It is at work in our schools, in the colleges, in the universities, in the newspapers, in the books, in the magazines, on the television, and in the picture halls.
To counteract these unholy influences the Church is sending into the world thousands of missionaries to proclaim the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the only weapon, my brethren and sisters, that will eventually crush and destroy the evil designs and bring to naught the devious plans of unscrupulous, untrustworthy, and godless leaders of men. Missionary service is the life, the vitality, and the obligation of the Church. Jesus commanded his servants, whom he called and commissioned, to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature and to every nation and tongue, and people.
In doing this he launched the greatest program of all time. It is not yet finished, nor will it be finished until every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ. These servants, although few in number, responded with remarkable success. Under the guidance and inspiration of the Holy Ghost they went forth and appeared openly in the streets, in the synagogues, and even in the temple courts in Jerusalem. They spoke with great boldness to the public officials, to the magistrates, and to the rabble in crowded places where mobs are wont to congregate. The gospel was for everyone-rich and poor, high and low, slave and aristocrat-for God is no respecter of persons.
It was not the gospel submitted by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John which first drew attention to the Christ, for gospel teaching had already taken hold upon the world before the four gospels were generally known. Then as now it required the energy of individuals, personal contacts, patience, diligence, love, and the inspiration and enthusiasm of devoted missionaries to plant the gospel message in the hearts and lives of people. The missionary method of the Church today is almost identical with that carried on by Jesus Christ and his apostles nineteen hundred years ago. It has been similarly successful. The work was neither professionalized nor commercialized. You will recall these humble emissaries of the Lord were to go forth two by two. One was to be the support of the other. They were to be witnesses before God of their respective testimonies. Together they could better face hostile receptions and bitter opposition. Together they could preserve their faith and their enthusiasm and withstand temptation and wrongdoing. It was God's plan of proselyting, and it was very effective.
I know most of you here have read the Lord's instructions to his servants whom he sent forth. "Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses,
"Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes nor yet staves:...
"Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves:
"... beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;
"And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake".
If you are familiar with the story and life of Jesus, you will know that prophecy came true in the minutest detail. He said further, "He that loveth father and mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
"And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me is not worthy of me".
Then he admonished them "And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
"Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give". And you will see there was to be no interference and nothing was to supersede the solemn, almost drastic, injunction of the Savior to these wonderful men. No halfhearted effort was acceptable. The work to be done was important and required every sacrifice, if necessary, even life itself. It must have required great courage for these young humble, unsophisticated men to preach Jesus crucified and resurrected, and to preach the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, and to teach the children of God to be perfect, even as their Father in heaven is perfect.
Some men stand in terror of public opinion. Not so with the disciples of Jesus. They were unafraid. From such teaching over the centuries came our Declaration of Independence, setting forth the doctrine of equal rights. The world owes much to the missionaries-men like Paul, the apostle; men like Wilford Woodruff, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Parley and Orson Pratt, Charles W. Penrose, and a thousand others; and men like those who today are blazing the trail into Asia, Europe, the islands of the sea, and to every part of North and South America.
To meet the demand and to discharge the responsibility resting heavily upon the Church, the missionary spirit must possess its members, for everyone is expected to be a missionary. The world must learn that man cannot live by bread alone, that beyond the power of materialism there is a greater power which determines the destiny of men and nations. That power is generated by the missionaries.
We can say to all the world that Christ's word is taught today as Christ and his apostles taught it two thousand years ago. They teach the same gospel without thought of material reward, with faith and good works, strengthened by firm and unshakable testimonies against which there is no argument. May God bless the missionaries everywhere that they may be magnified before all men in every nation and kindred and tongue and people is my humble prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder William J. Critchlow, Jr.
William J. Critchlow, Jr., Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 36-39
People in all of the nations of the earth need to repent. The need is urgent. This declaration of need constitutes an indictment of guilt-transgressions are implied.
For what need we repent I may be asked? My answer:
For the same sins that brought low the impenitent inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah;
for the identical sins that brought extinction to the impenitent Nephites on this continent;
for the same sins that brought destruction to the impenitent souls in Noah's day;
for the same sins that will bring the judgments of God upon the impenitent people in our day-unless we repent.
"... as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man".
Our world has become a modern Babylon. Cities like Sodom and Gomorrah dot the earth.
"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us".
In a very few moments, one could inventory in the mind his or her more serious transgressions-those already repented of, and those still to be repented of. It will take a little longer, and the list will grow a little longer, if we add to it our sins of omission. Sometimes our sins of omission are greater than our sins of commission. Now, how did we rid ourselves of sin or how shall we rid ourselves of the sins so listed? Is there a pattern or formula for repenting? Definitely there is, in my humble opinion, and those who will pause to list their sins will, by so doing, be taking the first step in the repenting process. In such a mental inventory we automatically recognize certain of our acts as transgressions, otherwise we would not list them. No problem can be solved, no sin can be resolved until it is first recognized. Recognition of sin therefore is the first step in the repenting processes.
The Apostle Paul assented to the stoning of Stephen. He held the cloaks of those who threw the stones. Not until he was chastened by the Lord did he recognize the full extent of his sin. Great was his remorse thereafter.
A convert to the Church was unaware that he was transgressing a law of God as he imbibed tea, coffee, and tobacco until he was taught God's law of health-the Word of Wisdom. His conversion forced upon him recognition of the law. Violations thereafter constituted transgressions.
For the purpose of my theme I propose to spell repentance with seven big capital "R's." The first "R" obviously stands for recognition.
Paul's godly sorrow for his sin suggests the second "R"-remorse. Our Lord, teaching his followers to pray, said: "... lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil".
He said that nearly two thousand years ago. Brought up to date, the 1962 version seems to be: "Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from being caught."
Sorrow for being caught in sin is not remorse.
The third "R" stands for relating. All sins should be confessed unto the Lord.
"Where," said Elder Marion G. Romney, "one's transgressions are of such a nature as would, unrepented of, put in jeopardy his right to membership or fellowship in the Church of Jesus Christ, full and effective confession would, in my judgment, require confession by the repentant sinner to his bishop or other proper presiding Church officer-not that the Church officer could forgive the sin but rather that the Church, acting through its duly appointed officers, might with full knowledge of the facts take such action with respect to church discipline as the circumstances merit".
The fourth "R" stands for restitution.
"For misconduct which offends another, confession should also be made to the offended one, and his forgiveness sought".
Restitution means to restore-to repair the damage. Three boys about to receive scouting awards were apprehended breaking street lights. And were they sorry for being caught! Later, but before they accepted their awards, they recognized their acts as unbecoming Eagle Scouts and with a true feeling of remorse went to the power company to relate their transgression and offered to make restitution by paying for the lights. Incidentally, the only restitution exacted was that they be guardians of those lights. From then on the lights burned on and on and on.
Some things cannot be restored. Street lights can be replaced, embezzled funds and stolen property may be returned, but how does one make restitution for the sin of blasphemy-taking the name of God in vain. Blasphemy, used so freely to emphasize our conversation, is the most thoughtless of all conversational crimes. How does one make restitution for lies-for hearing false witness?
The wagging tongue like-
"The moving finger writes: and having writ, Moves on: nor all thy piety nor wit Shall lure it back to cancel half a line, Nor all thy tears wash out a word if it."
-Omar Khayyam
Paul's sincere apology to the Lord for assenting to the stoning of Stephen never brought back Stephen's life. Nor will all the prayers of repentant sinners ever restore virtue to a maid or a boy.
The fifth "R" stands for resolution. It implies a firm resolve to forsake our sins. There are two kinds of resolutions, one is called the New Year type. These come cheaper by the dozen and are branded with insincerity and guaranteed to last only till the next temptation. Few ever last longer than the winter snows. The other is the sincere type resolved and guaranteed to last forever.
"By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins-behold, he will confess them and forsake them".
Resolves which are repeatedly broken merit no forgiveness.
"... go your ways and sin no more; but unto that soul who sinneth shall the former sins return, saith the Lord your God".
We do not trifle with the Lord.
A resolution is an expression of faith and like faith needs to be supported by works. The next step therefore involves works. It is represented by a big "R" which stands for reformation. A resolution is an intention to do well. Reformation is actually doing well.
"... let every man learn his duty," said the Lord, "... he that learns not his duty and shows himself not approved shall not be counted worthy to stand".
Transgressors seek the forgiveness of Heavenly Father. Their fellow men will forgive "seventy times seven" because they have been so commanded.
"I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men".
To earn his forgiveness one should go the extra mile, forsaking not only his sins but adding the while devotion and service to prove his love for him. Such devotion and service constitutes reformation.
Now if in the process of repenting we follow these six steps, represented by the six "R's"-may I list them: Recognition, remorse, relating, restitution, resolution, and reformation we should have placed ourselves in a position to enjoy the seventh step represented by another great big "R" which stands for realization-realization of the happiness that comes from righteous living. Happiness is righteousness, said President McKay. "... if there be no righteousness there be no happiness". A realization too, that we are forgiven by him whose forgiveness really counts, and a peaceful feeling will burn within our bosoms, and our minds will be at peace. Elder Sterling Sill told us this morning that the number "7" was a symbol of completeness. These seven "R's" accordingly symbolize a complete process of repentance.
If spelling repentance with so many "R's" complicates for you the repenting process, be of good cheer. Many good souls who couldn't spell it with seven "R's" or any other way have sincerely repented and have been forgiven. One's conscience seemingly has a way of conforming unwittingly. So let your conscience be your guide. "The sum-bonum of the proposition" is repent-everybody repent.
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness".
After forty years of wandering in the wilderness, Moses brought the children of Israel to the borders of the promised land. There they were halted so they could sanctify themselves before they entered.
Today after six thousand years of mortal living, dying, striving, and wandering upon the face of the earth, the children of God stand on the threshold of another promised land-a promised millennium of peace, and just as God sifted out the impenitent in Moses' day, so will he sift out the impenitent in our day before the dawn of the millennial morn. We have so little time left to sanctify ourselves-it's later than we think. How else can we sanctify ourselves save by repentance? I plead with all-give it top priority. Our Lord gave it priority when he counseled:
"Hearken ye people of my Church... Hearken ye people from afar; and ye that are upon the islands of the sea... Prepare ye, prepare ye, for that which is to come, for the Lord is nigh... For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance... Nevertheless, he that repents... and doeth the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven, and he that repents not, from him shall be taken even the light which he has received".
In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder LeGrand Richards
LeGrand Richards, Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 41-44
I am happy to greet you Latter-day Saints this morning, assembled in this great conference of the Church, and all who are listening in over the radio and the television. I thank the Lord above all other things in my life for my membership in this Church and for my association with the Latter-day Saints.
Yesterday in President McKay's most inspiring address, he related some of the incidents in connection with the organization of the Church 132 years ago, and he quoted from a revelation given by the Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith over a year before the Church was organized in which the Lord said that a marvelous work was about to come forth among the children of men.
If the world could only understand what that marvelous work is and where they could learn about it. You do not read about it in the newspapers. President McKay related many of the marvelous things that have occurred in the world, but we have to go to the scriptures and to the words of the prophets to learn what that marvelous work is.
Isaiah saw the same thing that would come to pass in our day when he said:
"... Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour 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 marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid".
When the Lord indicated that he would do a marvelous work and wonder, if it were marvelous and wonderful in his eyes, what would it be in the eyes of the world if they just understood it?
There are so many other prophecies like the one of Daniel in his interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar's dream where the Lord indicated that in the latter days, and we live in the latter days, he would set up his kingdom in the earth, never to be thrown down or given to another people. Never in the history of the world has such a kingdom been set up with a promise that it would never be thrown down or given to another people, but Daniel said that it would roll forth like a little stone cut out of the mountain without hands until it would become as a great mountain and fill the whole earth.
When we hear about how this work is spreading in the world, we cannot help realizing that this is that marvelous work and a wonder, just described in different terms by Daniel as compared with the one that Isaiah tells us of, and Isaiah said that the wisdom of their wise men would perish, and the understanding of their prudent men would be hid, because they cannot understand and comprehend, any more than they could understand and comprehend the work that Jesus established when he was here upon the earth, and so they crucified him. You remember he said: "... Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do".
We have many other prophecies. Isaiah said that the Lord had declared the end from the beginning. He said: "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever".
Where do we learn the word of our God? We read in the scriptures the words of Amos the Prophet that: "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets".
So that if the Lord should ever undertake to fulfil the promises made to the Prophet Joseph Smith and to Isaiah and to Daniel, then we would have to look to find that work headed by a prophet, because God could not do, according to his plan and purposes, the work he decreed he would do without a prophet. Thank God for the prophets of this dispensation.
You remember how Jesus said that the people of his day crucified the living prophets, but they decorated the graves of the dead prophets. And history is just repeating itself today. So we turn to the living prophets to learn of this marvelous work and a wonder the Lord promised to do and to learn of the kingdom the Lord promised to set up in the latter days.
We know that this Church is the fulfillment of those very prophecies and many, many others, relating to this marvelous work that God said he would establish in the latter days, and we would that all men everywhere might know as we know, and we bear witness of it, and that is the reason for the great missionary program of the Church where we have some 11,000 of our young men and women out in the world with no thought of any earthly gain, only a desire to share with the people of the world the marvelous truths of the gospel.
We converted a very prominent banker not long ago, and when I attended one of the conferences at which he was present, I asked him if he would like to say a few words in the conference. He stood up and said something like this: "Mormonism is not only a religion, it is a way of life." And why should it not be a way of life? It is not just a Sunday religion. It is a religion that enters into our lives until the first thing in the life of a Latter-day Saint is to serve the Lord and honor his priesthood, where every man can bear the priesthood of God and help to build the kingdom of God in the earth. I thank the Lord for such a Church as that.
You remember the story about when one of the brethren was asked what his business was, and he said, "My business, sir, is to serve the Lord. I mend shoes for a living." Now that is the way the Latter-day Saints feel. Our business is to serve the Lord, and then we mend shoes for a living.
A short time ago, and many of you may be familiar with this, there was a very prominent minister delivering an address on what was called the National Brotherhood Week, and he talked about the Mormons. He was discussing the merits of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints, and after admitting that he had always had a very erroneous idea about the Mormons, he made the statement: "What are the things that I like about the Mormons?" Then he enumerates some of them, one by one, and indicates that it is a way of life; for instance, he says his first thought is a clear statement of faith, a statement of faith that young people can grasp, understanding what it is. Then he mentions and discusses some of its teaching, such as eternal progression. What marvelous truth this Church has revealed to the world. Revelation takes place today. What a world it would be if everybody believed in the revelations of God in our day!
And then he speaks of eternal marriage. Is it not strange that as plain as that principle is taught in the Holy Scriptures, that we should be the on Church that teaches it? All others churches perform their marriages "until death do you part." I know there are some ministers who would like to perform their marriages for eternity, because I have talked with them. I can not take time to tell you of these experiences this morning, but one of our Mormon boys was being married in southern California a few years ago. He was marrying out of the Church, and her minister was to perform the ceremony. In talking with this young couple in advance, he said, "Now if there is anything special you would like me to say when I perform the ceremony, if you will indicate it, I will be glad to say it." This young Mormon boy spoke up and said, "Reverend, when you pronounce us husband and wife, if you would do it for time and eternity, you would surely make me happy." The minister raised his head, and said, "Isn't that a beautiful thought? Why don't we all get married like that?" We would all get married like that if we lived properly, and if we understood God's eternal truth when he said it was not good for man to be alone and gave him a help meet before death ever came into this world. Through the atonement of Christ, we are to be restored to man's former condition. If it was not good for man to be alone before death came into the world, it will not be good for man to be alone when there is no more death.
To us who understand this principle, we cannot understand why the world cannot believe when it is taught so plainly. I could tell you of other ministers who have admitted to me that they believe eternal marriage is a principle of the scriptures, but they are not allowed to teach it in their own churches.
Then this minister said, when mentioning these things, "But is this faith bad?" Is it bad to believe in eternal progression? Is it bad to believe in revelation? Is it bad to believe in the eternal duration of the marriage covenant?
Then he adds: "The second thing I like about them is that they have a way of life. Their religion enters into their life immediately." Then he discusses our attitude toward work, toward accepting help from the government and our standards of living necessary to prepare us to serve in the Church, and then he says, "I do not know whether it is because of this way of life to which their religion is related so intimately or not, but they are perhaps the healthiest people in the world. During the war, in Utah you found more people or men acceptable for the services than any other state in the United States." Then he states, "Utah is the first state in the United States in education and perhaps the best in the world."
If we have what we claim, a marvelous work and a wonder, should it not inspire us as a people to live up to its standards? It is nothing more than what Jesus said that we should let our light so shine before men that they, seeing our good works, should glorify our Father which is in heaven.
Then this man says, "The third thing I like about the Mormon faith, it is a family-centered religion. This family-centered religion begins with family prayers in the morning, family prayers at night, and no food is eaten until it is blessed. The entire family goes to Church, led by the father and the mother." I interviewed a young man for his mission a short time ago in southern Utah, and he had just returned from spending eighteen months in an army camp in Germany. He said, "We Mormon boys went to the Chief Chaplain to see if we could get permission to hold our meetings in the government chapel, and he said, 'Well, we would like to accommodate you, but it is in such constant use, we cannot do it. There is a classroom in the basement; you can use that,'" and then he asked for a report of attendance at their meetings and when the first report was handed in, the chaplain said, "My, you must have a lot of Mormon boys at this base." He was told that there were thirty-five. He shook his head and said, "I can't believe it. How do you do it? You have more boys attending your meetings than I have attending mine, and I have five thousand Protestant boys under my supervision." Now, when thirty-five Mormon boys far away from their homes and their loved ones and their bishops and their best girls can make a better record of attending church than five thousand Protestant boys, does not that tell you something about the spiritual power that there is in this Church, that leads them to the house of worship?
I told this story in California and one of the brethren there said, "I was raised in one of the largest churches in San Francisco. We had a beautiful building. We had over ten thousand members, and our average attendance was less than one hundred." According to our statistics, we would have had, with that many, thirty-six hundred average attendance at the meetings.
Then this minister tells about the home evening and about the fellowship in the Church and the youth program, how they associate together. I heard a minister on the radio in California make this statement, "What we need is a church for the youth of the land. We have been preaching to the old folks and letting the young folks go to the devil." He said, "That is why our churches are empty today."
A minister in talking over the radio in Los Angeles held a question and answer box, and one evening the first question asked was, "What church is doing the most for its young people?" And his answer was, "The Mormon Church," and then he explained our standards of living and what the Church did for its young people, and we have had many such comments as that. Then he talked about our preparation of our young people for marriage.
There isn't time to discuss more of this minister's comments on what he likes about the Mormons. I have only discussed three, and there are seven, so I will skip them. But I come now to the seventh, where he talks about the service in the Church. He took as an illustration a stake president, and he knew all about it. He lived in one of our communities, and he told about the number of meetings he held, the number of miles he traveled, and some of them travel great distances, and then after he discussed that, and he could just as well have discussed the bishops, too, he said, "They care for their members." And then he adds, "Unless the laymen of the church reassume their responsibility, I do not believe the Protestant church has a future."
I would like to read a few statements in closing from recent converts to the Church that I have received during the last few days. I only have time to read one, and that is from a retired minister-he was not retired when we converted him-I think he may be in this audience this morning. I copied this out of a letter less than thirty days old: "My testimony grows and grows. Where we were once blind we now see."
Would it not be marvelous if all the world could see and come out of darkness, as Peter said, to his marvelous light, and we have it to offer, and we invite all men everywhere to listen to our message, and I always say that there is not an honest man or an honest woman in this world who really loves the Lord who would not join this Church if he knew what it was.
Then this convert adds, "We never knew of such love as we now have for each other and all others. Some of our former friends say that they have never before witnessed such a change as has come over us."
My time is up. God bless us, brothers and sisters, and help us to carry on in the great assignment that is ours and bear witness of the truth that the world might share with us this marvelous work and a wonder, I pray and leave my blessing with you good people, in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 44-45
My beloved brethren and sisters, I feel like I had just passed through a tornado. I did not say that to make you laugh. But the Lord never blessed me with a voice nor the quality to explode when I get up to deliver a discourse, so I am deficient in those things. I do wish to say however, that I have a testimony of this truth. I am grateful for it. I do not remember the time when I did not believe in the mission of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ nor in the mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and I hope you will forgive me if I get a little personal.
I was trained at my mother's knee to love the Prophet Joseph Smith and to love my Redeemer. I never knew my Grandmother Smith. I have always regretted that, because she was one of the most noble women who ever lived, but I did know her good sister, my Aunt Mercy Thompson, and as a boy I used to go and visit her in her home and sit at her knee, where she told me stories about the Prophet Joseph Smith, and oh, how grateful I am for that experience.
I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is in very deed the kingdom of God, the same kingdom that was seen by a great king long before the birth of Christ in a dream or a vision that he received that had to be interpreted by a prophet of the Lord, in which the Lord made known to that king, not for his benefit, but to the benefit of the nations of the earth and the peoples who should follow after and more particularly I think for the Latter-day Saints of this dispensation, that the Lord set up a kingdom, or would, for this king was seeing into the future to a time when the Lord would set up a kingdom that would endure forever, would never be destroyed or given to another people.
I have always been very grateful for the testimony coming to me through the Spirit of the Lord that Joseph Smith, the Prophet of God, was called to stand at the head of the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times when this kingdom would be set up, never to be destroyed or given to another people. That ought to be an anchor to our souls.
We have people who go out of the Church from time to time and set up organizations of their own, claiming that the kingdom of God has failed, that they have something better. I am sorry for these people. I cannot believe that any of them are sincere. If they are, then they are to be pitied, but I think that they are malicious deceivers, trying to destroy the kingdom of God.
Every person coming into this Church through the waters of baptism has hands laid upon his or her head by which they are to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost to be a guide to them through time and all eternity. I wonder how many of those who have been baptized and confirmed members of this Church have so lived that they have had that guidance and have had the testimony come to them through the Holy Ghost that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, that Brigham Young was a successor in the Presidency of the Church, and so have each of the other brethren who have been called to that high and holy calling down through the years to President David O. McKay?
The Church has not gone astray. The kingdom of God that was set up never to be destroyed or given to another people is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and it is not going to be destroyed, and is not going to be given to any other people. There will be members of this Church because of their lack of faith and obedience to the commandments of the Lord who will go astray, for the Spirit of the Lord will not dwell in unclean tabernacles, and when a person turns from the truth through wickedness, that Spirit does not follow him and departs, and in the stead thereof comes the spirit of error, the spirit of disobedience, the spirit of wickedness, the spirit of eternal destruction.
Brethren and sisters, teach your children from their infancy to believe in Jesus Christ as our redeemer, in Joseph Smith as a Prophet of God, and in his successors in this kingdom, and let them grow up with a knowledge of this truth in their hearts built upon faith and obedience to the commandments the Lord has given to us and through the guidance of that Holy Spirit which will not dwell in unclean tabernacles.
Now my time is up. The Lord bless you, my good brethren and my good sisters here; do not let anything interfere with your faith, and if you will keep the commandments of the Lord and be faithful and do not forget your prayers in humility, you will not go astray; in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Antoine R. Ivins
Antoine R. Ivins, Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 45-47
My brethren and sisters, President McKay was not too far wrong when he said that Anthony W. Ivins was going to talk to you. My name translated means Anthony. It is a French translation.
I am happy to be with you today, my brethren and sisters, and I am thankful for the many, many blessings which my wife and I enjoy, especially that she has the measure of health and strength that enables her to be in the meeting today and to be my constant companion in the work that is assigned to me. It is thirty years, my brethren and sisters, since I first faced this congregation, that is, it will be in the October conference. Those thirty years have been filled with many fine experiences as I have worked among the members of the Church. I trust that the remaining time that may be allotted to me may be as pleasurable and as beneficial to me as the past has been.
I am especially grateful today for the opportunity that I have had at this conference of saluting my friends from the newly created stake in Mexico. Brother Juarez who was with them when I was assigned to the presidency of the Mexican Mission was the elder in charge of all the work in Mexico. He has gone through the intervening years in faith and in service, and I congratulate him on being appointed now a bishop in that new stake.
I pray that they will carry back to the people of Mexico my good wishes and my faith in them and in their ability to realize the purpose for which this new stake was created.
I have lived quite a bit more than half of the life of the Church, and I go back in my memory to the difficulties with which the brethren carried on the work of the Church when I was a lad. I remember the opposition that was created in many sections of the country to the work of the Church, and then when one sees the success that we are having and the growth that we are realizing today, one marvels and realizes that it really is the work of the Lord.
Our problem, brethren and sisters, is to move it forward and you brethren who are in the audience today, most of you, are responsible officers in the priesthood which you have received, and in that sense you have a very distinct obligation to your congregations.
I have been reading in the New Testament recently, re-reading, and I find it extremely interesting. I would like to recommend it as a following course for the reading of the Book of Mormon which was our assignment recently. I read as you have all read, that statement about having faith like a mustard seed. One wonders why the mustard seed was chosen-some think because it is small, that may have been the case-but it is an interesting thing to study a mustard seed. It is endowed by God with the power to grow and increase in size, in stature, and then reproduce itself. In other words, that mustard seed carries the perfect power to realize the purpose for which it was created by God. But we must understand, also, that if it does realize that purpose conditions must be satisfactory. Its ability may be destroyed by frost or drought or heat, but if it falls into the proper environment, it grows and realizes its full purpose. I believe that in the heart of every normal child that is born into this world is that same God-given power, and I believe, also, that the realization of that power depends, for years at least, upon external conditions for which the fathers and the mothers and the neighbors are responsible very largely, until people get to a maturity where they determine their own course of thinking and living.
I am not so much worried about what other people do not do, as I am about what we do not do. We have the power as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to influence young people. Many of us do not appreciate and perhaps do not understand this, and we lose, for one reason or another, the service of many wonderful young men and young women in the Church. We have now a large group of men in the Melchizedek Priesthood who do not appear to appreciate their opportunities and their responsibilities.
I have developed in my ministry with you a love for people who are in a sense indifferent because of these conditions over which they had little control earlier in life, and I have come to realize that once they can be touched by the spirit of God into faith and activity, they become wonderful servants. I want them to understand that we love them. When one is militantly opposed to the work of the Church, we have nothing but sympathy for him. So when we realize the great number of people that have not sensed their opportunities to become active and go through the Aaronic Priesthood into the Melchizedek Priesthood, then when we realize the number of men who are in the Melchizedek Priesthood who are not active in it, we cannot help realizing the tremendous responsibility that rests upon us and how far we come from making the perfect effort in the rearing of young people and placing them on a firm foundation of faith, faith like the mustard seed. Now, if we could properly cultivate those people in their growing years, they would realize I think rather fully the purposes for which we are here-God-given purposes and God-given powers that we have which we fail to use.
I think that perhaps we are justified in judging one's faith by his activity, because faith is what prompts activity, and if we do judge them by that standard, we find that there are times when many of them are reported as having little faith because they are reported as inactive in the Church. Why cannot we reach them, brethren and sisters? We cannot drive them into it, of course; we have to love them into it and give them opportunity to help, because when people serve us, they realize that they have an interest in us. I read as a boy Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography in which he said that he early learned that when he wanted particular people to have a particular interest in him, he had to give those particular people an opportunity to do something for him, and perhaps that would be one of our approaches to these people, to find something that they can do that will divert their interest and develop their faith and their testimony. The testimony is the thing that has the greatest power of all in our lives, I believe.
When we realize through receiving a testimony, which comes from the Spirit of God, our relationship to God, our obligation to God our Father and our obligation to each other in the Church organization, then we devote ourselves to that service. Without a testimony we do little.
So our problem, brethren and sisters, with our young people is to develop in their hearts the testimony which can carry them over those adolescent years that are so fraught with danger into mature manhood with a testimony that will impel them to observe the commandments of God, that when they enter into the marriage relationship, as has been suggested, they do it for time and for all eternity, so that then they can carry on-and only then can they carry on and realize the full purpose for which men and women come into this world.
Brethren and sisters, let us not worry too much about other people but worry about ourselves. Brother Lee last night said that the only comparisons that he thinks are of value are the comparisons of a person with his past, of a ward with its past, of a stake with its past. Then if we look at ourselves, we begin, if we have the courage to do it, to revamp our lives.
I remember making a talk in Idaho one time on repentance. Repentance is fundamental to us, as you all know, but after I got through, a fine old brother walked up to me and he said, "Brother Ivins, that was wonderful. You hit my neighbor right square on top of the head." And a young man followed him up and he said, "Brother Ivins, it was good, and you were talking to me all the time." That is our problem, brethren and sisters, to take to heart the instructions we get through the scriptures we read and from the brethren who stand to teach us.
May we have the strength and the power to face ourselves squarely and then take advantage of the opportunities presented in order to acquit ourselves creditably of our responsibility to each other and to God our Heavenly Father, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Franklin D. Richards
Franklin D. Richards, Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 48-50
My dear brothers and sisters, I have enjoyed the spirit of this conference as you have-the beautiful music that has been rendered and the wonderful counsel that has been given us by our Prophet and the other leaders that have spoken to us.
Truly, "The Spirit of God like a fire is burning," and the "veil o'er the earth is beginning to burst."
This is so noticeable as we travel throughout the missions. Since the first of the year Sister Richards and I have visited all of the eight eastern American missions from Canada to Florida. We have met with more than 1,700 missionaries and thousands of Saints. I would like to report that their spirit is wonderful, and they are very happy and dedicated. The "Every Member a Missionary" program is being used more and more, and convert baptisms are double those of a year ago.
President McKay, in the film, "Every Member a Missionary," stated that the purpose of the gospel of Jesus Christ is to change men's lives, to change human nature. Does this mean "to be born again"? Brothers and sisters, I am certain it does. The Savior, in speaking to Nicodemus, said, "... Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God". Nicodemus replied: "How can a man be born when he is old?..."
The Savior then answered, "... Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God... Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again".
Invariably missionaries testify that their greatest joy and happiness comes from seeing men and women born again as they are baptized. Yes, in seeing the change that comes into their lives as they accept and live the simple gospel truths. Missionaries are truly seeing miracles occur in the lives of the converts they baptize as they accept the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In the eight eastern American missions, convert baptisms in 1960 were 4,527; in 1961, 10,209, and for the first three months of this year are more than double a year ago. Recently I received a letter from the members and missionaries of the Elkins Branch which indicates what is happening. Let me quote a part of it.
"We as missionaries and members of the Elkins Branch are so thrilled with the success and growth of our branch that we want to write and tell you about it. We have been blessed with this growth since you came a year ago and told us of the 'Every Member a Missionary' plan. In the five years from 1955 through 1960 there were 42 converts baptized in the Elkins Branch. With the 'Every Member a Missionary' program we, as a team in the Elkins Branch, began to ask people the Golden Questions, and those that wanted to know about the Church we invited into our homes for group meetings. Because of this the Lord blessed our branch membership with 121 convert baptisms in 1961, which nearly doubled our branch membership.
"Yes, 121 convert baptisms in 1961 compared with 42 in the five years before. In the first two months of 1962 the Lord has blessed us with 51 convert baptisms, which is almost half of the total number of baptisms in 1961.
"The branch president and his family have been having group meetings in their home regularly for all age groups. By their screening the people through asking the Golden Questions before they invite them into their home, the missionaries have baptized about 20 people from this one family's meetings alone. The effect it has had is tremendous. The people are really baptismal conscious and are doing everything they can to have group meetings.
"We testify to you that asking the Golden Questions and having group meetings is a very effective way to bring souls into the Kingdom of God. The love, enthusiasm, and spirituality has never been higher. We love to baptize people." Signed, The Elkins Branch members and missionaries.
Again, in the Oakridge,, Branch there were twenty-three convert baptisms in 1961, and in January and February of this year there were thirty-more in the first two months of this year than all of last year.
At Louisville, Kentucky, the East Central States Mission office staff of five missionaries, by holding group meetings Sundays and evenings, baptized 124 wonderful converts in the year 1961.
At a recent stake conference in California, a great deal of interest and enthusiasm was shown in the "Every Member a Missionary" program. After the morning session a woman came up and introduced herself and presented her friend, saying, "She is mine." Both of their faces reflected great joy and happiness. Then she explained that she had asked her friend the Golden Questions, and her friend replied that she was interested and would like to know more about the Church. The woman then arranged for the missionaries to come to her home and teach her friend the beautiful truths of the gospel as contained in the six discussions. Her friend prayed, studied, and attended Church to further her understanding. She soon gained a testimony and was baptized.
No wonder this good sister felt so much joy as she put her arm around her friend, and said, "She is mine."
Are you one of those who are wondering about the spirit of the missionaries? I tell you as a whole they have never been happier; they have never worked more effectively and have never been more richly rewarded. The great number of convert baptisms are their reward. Who does the Lord's work gets the Lord's pay. Yes, they are reaping while the day lasts, that they may treasure up for their souls everlasting salvation in the kingdom of God.
Recently I received a letter from a sister in Athens, Tennessee. She had been searching for the truth for forty-five years, and when she heard the gospel, she knew she had found what she was looking for. The missionaries met her in October 1960, and she was baptized November 23. When she was baptized, she was the only member in Athens. Within three months five of her family and friends had been baptized, having been influenced by her powerful testimony. Now a little more than a year later they have a branch of thirty, with a Sunday School, MIA, and Primary. This sister is quite typical of the many converts coming into the Church at this time.
Increased membership in the Church requires more and larger chapels for worship, for teaching, and for cultural purposes. Last year there were twenty beautiful chapels completed in the eight eastern American missions. This year there are forty-two new chapels either under construction or soon to start. Also in the east coast stakes many more new chapels or additions to present chapels are being started. Adequate places to hold church services are really wonderful missionary aids.
Of particular interest is the site recently purchased in New York City, just off Fifth Avenue between 57th and 58th streets. The proposed construction of a church facility at this site received nationwide publicity and opened many doors and minds to the missionaries. Also, with the increased membership on the east coast more districts are becoming ready for stake organizations. Three stakes have been organized within the last few months, and twelve more areas are presently under consideration. There are now fifteen stakes in the area of the eight eastern American missions.
I was especially pleased to be selected to accompany Elder Delbert L. Stapley to organize the Cumorah Stake at Palmyra, New York, the birthplace of the Church. I tell you the Spirit of the Lord and that of the Prophet Joseph was truly there.
Yes, my brothers and sisters, the Spirit of the Lord is being poured out upon all flesh, and men's hearts are being softened. One branch president in the east asked me, "How long is this missionary explosion going on in the Church?" The answer is found in the sixty-fifth section of the Doctrine and Covenants, verse 2.
"The keys of the kingdom of God are committed unto man on the earth. and from thence shall the gospel roll forth unto the ends of the earth, as the stone which is cut out of the mountain without hands shall roll forth, until it has filled the whole earth".
This prophecy cannot be fulfilled by the full-time missionaries and the part-time missionaries alone. It is necessary for "Every member to be a missionary," as our Prophet has declared.
Let me again remind you how you can be a missionary. First, by living the gospel so that others seeing your good works may be led to join the Church; by asking your friends and neighbors what they know about the Church, and if they would like to know more. Many will say yes. Then, invite them into your homes, and have the missionaries, stake or full-time, give them the simple gospel discussions.
Take your friends who want to know more about the Church to our Church meetings, and love them into the Church. When the people who want to know more about the Church do not live near you, send their names, addresses, and telephone numbers to the nearest stake or mission where they live.
In the beautiful hymn, "Praise to the Man," we sing: "Wake up the world for the conflict of justice. Millions shall know 'Brother Joseph' again." I love the Prophet Joseph Smith, and I am certain that as this great missionary work goes forward, millions will know Brother Joseph again.
Brothers and sisters, I know that our Father in heaven lives, that Jesus is the Christ, the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh. I bear witness that Joseph Smith is one of the great prophets of all time; and that we have a great prophet at the head of the Church at this time.
David O. McKay is one of the greatest missionaries that has ever lived, and I sustain, love, and support him. May the Lord bless us that we may, each and every one of us, be missionaries, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Nathan Eldon Tanner
N. Eldon Tanner, Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 50-53
President McKay, my beloved brethren and sisters, after listening to this wonderful music and these inspiring talks that we have heard in conference and facing this vast body of priesthood and these fine women, I had a strong feeling, as someone has said, that the greatest eloquence I could indulge in would be silence. However, I have been called. and in all humility I want to say that I love and sustain President David O. McKay as the prophet of the Lord and all these wonderful brethren associated with him and express my appreciation to them for the great strength and inspiration that they have been to me as I am sure they have been to all of you.
I should also like to express my sincere appreciation of the fine, devoted leadership and the faithful members throughout this Church.
Sister Tanner and I are most grateful for the privilege and honor that came to us just a year ago, when we were called to serve in this great missionary work, to cry repentance unto this people and seek to bring forth the cause of Zion.
We sincerely hope and continually pray that we shall prove worthy of the call, and I humbly pray this morning, that the Lord will bless me while I speak to you.
I wish, first, to recognize the presence of the faithful representatives of the stake presidents and bishoprics and branch president from the stakes in Great Britain and in Holland. Nearly every one of them is in the Church because of some dedicated missionary who was prepared and privileged to take the gospel message to those foreign lands.
President McKay, I bring you and the Saints here greetings from all the Saints in the stakes and missions of the West European area and also from those devoted missionaries and mission presidents and their wives that are laboring there.
We were very happy to have had the privilege during the last few months of traveling with and being built up by President and Sister Moyle and their two daughters and Brother and Sister Spencer W. Kimball and Brother and Sister Howard W. Hunter while they visited our missions and stakes. The wonderful spirit that they radiated and the encouragement and help that they gave to the missionaries and the officers and members and investigators will be felt for years to come.
At our servicemen's conference when President Moyle spoke to those men and women, I shall never forget the influence and the impact that it had on them and will have in their lives. At this time I should like to say how I appreciate those servicemen who are members of our Church and their devotion as they go forward in the work of the Lord. It is an inspiration to me to see young men of that caliber laboring throughout the world, and realize that they are doing the work of the Lord, trying to keep the members of the Church together in groups and helping to spread the gospel wherever they go.
Two young returned missionaries in France, who are now in the armed services, told me that last year they baptized more people while in the service than they did in the two Years that they were in the mission field in France.
We have over 1,600 missionaries in the West European Mission, most of whom we have seen and heard and interviewed since the first of the year. They all send their love and best wishes to their parents and loved ones and to those who are helping to keep them in the mission field.
Inasmuch as these missionaries are across the ocean in those foreign lands and therefore seem farther from home, I should like to say a few words about the work they are doing and conditions over there. It is certainly a privilege and a blessing to be associated with these missionaries, to hear them bear their testimonies and tell of their experiences as they go forward as ambassadors of the Lord. Last year they baptized over 16,000 converts, which is an average of approximately one each month for every missionary in the West European Mission. In France, the two missions last year baptized nearly twice as many people as were baptized in the whole of the British Isles in 1958. A few years ago this would have been considered entirely impossible. To hear the testimonies of these new members and to see the changes that come into their lives as they accept the truths of the gospel and become active members of the Church is an inspiration indeed.
Since the beginning of the year, two new missions have been established in the British Isles. The British Mission has been divided into the British and the Southwest British Missions, and the Scottish-Irish Mission has become the Scottish Mission and the Irish Mission. This makes six missions in the British Isles.
The organization of two new stakes is being recommended.
In order to provide building accommodations for the increasing membership, we have labor-I prefer calling them church-building-missionaries-employed throughout the mission, helping to build chapels while at the same time they are becoming real, substantial members of the Church.
While this outstanding growth is going forward, and so many people are being brought into the Church, the missionaries themselves are developing into fine men and women who will become very strong leaders of the Church. It is a heart-warming experience which brings tears to your eyes to hear them express their love and appreciation for their parents and the influence they have had in their lives and the privilege they have of being on a mission.
The joy and happiness which they experience in bringing people into the Church can be excelled only by that which some of them have as they hear of increased interest and activities at home. It is really a humbling experience to see a big, strong young man break down and cry as he says, "The greatest thrill in my life was when I heard that dad has now become active in the Church, and that when I return home we will be able to go to the temple and there be sealed as a family for time and all eternity." And to hear another express his joy, love, and appreciation and thank his Heavenly Father that his dad, who was not a member of the Church, but who has been keeping him on a mission, has now joined the Church is a thrilling experience, indeed.
Again, may I repeat that while these missionaries are doing a marvelous work in bringing people into the Church they are at the same time developing into men and women of whom we can all be proud and whose testimonies and experience will not only carry them through life with a strong determination to live the kind of life they should but will add greatly to the strength of the Church.
In spite of the deep-rooted traditions and strong prejudices which exist in those old countries and which present some real problems, we find one thing which is most encouraging and that is that people from all stations in life, including professors, doctors, lawyers, and successful businessmen, are showing an interest in and are becoming members of the Church today.
Just a few weeks ago, six young missionaries and I were invited to participate in a telecast one Sunday evening in London in which we were interrogated in a panel discussion by a member of the House of Commons. The questions were very fair, and we were given an opportunity to answer them without interruption. The way those young men responded was a real credit to the Church.
Just a few days later, again in London there was a full hour broadcast on BBC under the direction of Mr. Charles Chilton of the BBC, who is not a member of the Church, whom some of you know personally because of his having spent some time in Salt Lake City. I should like to read to you the announcement that appeared in the Radio-Times the day the program was presented. It is entitled "The Mormons":
"What is a Mormon? The usual reply to that question is something like this: 'O I would say the people whose religion allows them dozens of wives.' It did once, but it doesn't any longer. Polygamy was officially outlawed more than seventy years ago and less than 3% of the Mormon community ever indulged in it. The Mormon Church, or to give it its correct name, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was founded in 1830 by Joseph Smith, the son of a pioneer farmer of New York State. Although avid Bible-readers and regular holders of family prayers, few frontier families of those days belonged to an organized church. However, in 1820 a great missionary campaign was launched by Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, and other churches with the object of converting the settlers to their own particular faiths. Thousands of people were converted, including Mrs. Smith and three of her children, but not Joseph. 'There were,' he said, 'too many sects from which to choose,' and all of them declared themselves to be the only true church which, of course, was not possible. He decided to ask God for guidance, and he prayed and had a vision in which he was told the true Church of God would soon be revealed to him. How the new church was formed and how its members were persecuted and how at last, wandering to and fro along and beyond the western frontiers, they founded a new Zion in the valley of the Great Salt Lake, will be told in 'This Is the Place' tonight."
Then in the Daily Express, the Manchester edition preceding the program, we read:
"BBC plans program on Mormons. The program will tell how the faith was founded in New York and hounded across America."
The program started with a very brief history of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, when he was just a boy and carried right through with his history until his martyrdom. It told of the missionary work in Great Britain, the people leaving there and crossing the waters and then the plains, the many trials and tribulations of the Saints as they were driven from place to place, and how unfair the people and the governments had been to them. It told of the Mormon Battalion, the Indians, the crickets, the sea gulls, and the building of the temple which was all presented dramatically. Those who took part were all well-trained British artists, and the choruses were beautifully rendered.
Following the program we read in the Oxford Mail, under the big headline "Not Nearly Enough of the Mormon Story," these comments:
"The story of the Mormons, 'This Is the Place,' really only scraped the surface of a fascinating history. The tale of the trek out west to found Salt Lake City was over-full of breaks and music. Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to give Mormons their full name, and Brigham Young, who chose the spot on which to build Salt Lake City, are pioneers of stature, who had to be cut down to smaller size to fit them into this program.
"Too many questions about the Mormon way of life remained unanswered. Certainly there is plenty of material available if some one would care to dig a little deeper."
These programs, along with others in which our people have participated, have created much interest and opened hundreds of doors to our missionaries. While this kind of program is being sponsored by some, there are those who are strongly opposed to our being there and to everything we do. Others want to know more about our beliefs. I could give you many experiences, personal and otherwise, but I should like to relate briefly the experience of a very talented and educated young Oxford graduate who is an Egyptian by birth. He studied and practised law in Cairo; he has taught law in the law schools of Luxembourg, he speaks six different languages including Arabic, Hebraic, Italian, French, German, and English, and teaches now in the London University. When he first read the Book of Mormon, he was greatly impressed by the style in which it was written. He noted that it, like the Semitic language, so often had sentences begin with the conjunction "behold" and with the phrase "and it came to pass." He was also impressed by the fact that names used throughout the book were names which occur so often in the Semitic language. He knew that an uneducated youth could not have translated or written this book. He noted, too, that Joseph Smith took no credit for its authorship but claimed that it was translated by the power of God. He accepted Joseph Smith's claim without doubt as he knew that this was the only way the book could have been written.
As the missionaries taught him the principles of the gospel, he joined with them in childlike faith in praying to his Heavenly Father that he might have an understanding of the gospel. His prayers were answered, and he learned by the Spirit that he had found the truth. He was converted to the Church with a deep and abiding testimony. He is an able and strong advocate of the gospel and defender of the Book of Mormon which he knows is true.
This is only one of many experiences which are most encouraging to the missionaries and the Saints and help to strengthen their testimonies as they hear of them.
I, too, wish to bear my testimony to you today that the gospel has been restored in these the latter-days, that God the Eternal Father and his Son Jesus Christ did appear to the boy Joseph Smith, that he was chosen as a prophet of God with apostles at the head of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that we have the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, that the priesthood has been restored and that we have a prophet and apostles of God at the head of the Church today, and that the same simple truths and principles are taught and ordinances performed and by the same authority as at the time of Christ, and that the way is open whereby every man may be baptized by water and by the spirit and thereby enter into the kingdom of God. This is my testimony, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Theodore M. Burton
Theodore M. Burton, Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 54-58
My dear brothers and sisters, I am truly grateful for the privilege I have of being here this day and for the opportunity I have of bearing my testimony to you of the divinity of this work. It has been a great privilege to go back again to Europe and to work again with the people that I love so much. I have had already many wonderful experiences and have been impressed again by the strength of the people in those lands.
Very recently I read an article in Der Abendpost, one of the German newspapers in Frankfurt, Germany. On Friday, March 16, this paper published a letter from Dr. Martin Niemoeller. He is the president of the Lutheran Church in Germany, which is there known as the "Evangelische Kirche." In the paper he defended a statement he had made previously that eighty percent of those of his church who paid taxes to the church and therefore could be considered nominal members are atheists who do not believe in God. Dr. Niemoeller stated in a letter to the paper that he had based his announcement on his memory of a questionnaire which had been compiled and published in a German newspaper during the past year.
One of the questions asked by the newspaper was whether the receiver of the questionnaire believed in the existence of God. The published result was that eighty percent had answered that question in the questionnaire with a clear and emphatic "no." Dr. Niemoeller said that he had not made the statement to wake up the atheistic eighty percent to a belief in God, but to show the one hundred percent of the people who lived in that area, who were members of his church, that they were now co-existing in an atheistic society and that the so-called western nations could not use the excuse that those in the west were Christians while those in the communist nations were atheistic. His thesis, simply, was this, that the western nations were just as atheistic as the communist countries.
The missionary effort of our Church, which has established many missions in that area and has sent literally thousands of missionaries there to bear testimony of the divinity of Jesus Christ in that land, is clearly justified. The action of the Church in bearing witness in that area is absolutely necessary. Therefore, I am glad that I have had the privilege of again being a missionary in that area and that we have such missions of our Church in Europe.
I am grateful to report that the work is progressing in Europe. The Church is growing rapidly in numbers of members, and spirituality among our people there is increasing. One of the astounding things which has pleased me tremendously has been the increase in leadership among our people. I do not think that anything could be made more clear as to this leadership than something which happened during the month of February.
In February of this year we had a terrible storm which crashed down upon northern Europe. The wind blowing in from the North Sea drove the water up the rivers, and we had a terrible flood in the area around Hamburg. We were very concerned. I happened to be touring the North German mission at that particular time with President Maycock. On Friday evening when we left Altona and drove through Hamburg on our way to Bremen, we passed along the levee and noticed that the water was rising. Some of the cars were already partially under water, and not much more than ten minutes after we passed the water came in and flowed over the very road that we had been traveling. At that time we did not realize how serious conditions were. Although we knew that the water was high, we spent the night in Bremen, held our missionary conference there the next day, and as soon as I returned to Frankfurt by air I telephoned to find out how things were, for I heard that President Maycock could not get back to Hamburg because the roads were under water.
I had reports from that area on Saturday night, and the president of the stake said they had things in hand and were working to care for the people but were concerned about some of the members. The amazing thing was the way our wonderful brethren there immediately sprang into action and took care of their own people. The president of that stake and his counselors with some of the members of the high council visited the bishops, checked on the Saints, found what was needed, and took care of them. They located and helped flood victims, for many of our people lost all their belongings. They lost their furniture, they lost their clothes, even the wallpaper was washed off the walls, and the homes were filled with slime from the floods, but miraculously all their lives were saved.
Some very remarkable things happened. President Panitsch told me that he was concerned about one elderly sister who was bedridden. He was afraid that the flood which covered much of Wilhelmsburg might have taken her life, because she could not move. However, the night before the flood came, she became a little more ill and was taken to a hospital and so was saved.
One of our sisters was concerned because in the middle of this flood, as the waters came rushing in, her children, which she had held by the hand, were swept away from her by the floods, so she lost them and despaired of their lives. She was rescued and came in tears to her bishop wanting to know what she could do for her children. But the children had been miraculously saved. They had clung to trees the whole night and had been rescued the following morning and were restored to her again frightened, but safe.
So you see, the local Saints helped one another. When the call went out to gather food and clothing, they brought so much material into the Altona branch house that the bishops had to tell the people, "We have enough. Don't bring any more." The sisters spent their time sorting the clothing and making sure that all the people who received clothing had proper fit and suitable attire.
The local Saints helped one another. And the greatest testimony of unity for me, brothers and sisters, was to see how the presidents of the other German-speaking stakes sprang to the rescue. Berlin telephoned over and asked if they could help, and Switzerland and Stuttgart, without even bothering to telephone, started up their relief action and gathered sums of money which to us were really large in terms of German marks, and sent that money to President Panitsch, offered food and clothing, and telephoned to ask if they could give more help.
So you see, they are working together, and those wonderful German and Swiss Saints in our European stakes held together as one people. It is a thrill to see such unity. I thought to myself, truly these stakes now are places of refuge and safety. Zion is where the pure in heart dwell, and these are true stakes of Zion. My heart swelled with pride for our Saints in Europe.
Since I arrived there on the tenth of January, I have had the privilege of visiting all twelve missions and of holding missionary conferences with all the missionaries in the European Mission. I have spoken to numerous congregations in Germany, in Denmark, in Norway, and in Finland. I have been twice behind the Iron Curtain and have spoken with our Saints there. I have found strength, determination, and enthusiasm everywhere and wonderful leadership.
I visited 1,710 missionaries, and I am proud of them and their spirit of devotion. There is a good spirit among them, and they have an esprit de corps which is uniting them in spirit. They are catching the great vision of the work which they have to do. They are beginning to realize now who they are. This concept of knowing who you are is a very important concept, and I would just like to tell you a little story that was told to me by John Bennion, one of my missionaries, which I think illustrates this principle very well. It is a story about a salesman who came into a rather isolated valley on a selling campaign. He had some selling to do, and as he looked around for a place to stay that night, he found no hotel, no rooming house, no boardinghouse, no place where he could stay. So he did what all good salesmen do when caught in a predicament of this kind. He looked around for the finest house that he could see in this valley, went up, and knocked on the door. When a man came to the door, he introduced himself and said, "I am sorry to bother you, but I am looking for a place to stay tonight, and I can find neither hotel nor rooms available. Would it be possible for you to put me up tonight?" The man opened the door in true western hospitality and said, "Stranger, come on in and make yourself at home."
So the man came in and made himself at home, and they had a very, very pleasant evening together-such a very pleasant evening that in the morning, he decided he would get up and help his new-found friend with his chores. He took up a bucket of grain and went out to the back of the house to the chicken yard to feed the chickens. As he started to feed the chickens, all of a sudden he called excitedly to the man, "Hey, mister, come quick. There's an eagle in your chicken yard."
"Oh," the rancher said, "don't worry about that."
He said, "You don't understand. That's a vicious bird. If you don't get him out of your chicken yard, he'll kill all your chickens!"
"Oh," the rancher said, "don't worry about it."
"But that's a golden eagle!" he cried.
Then the rancher said, "Let me tell you the story, and then you'll understand. Last year some of my boys went with me up into the mountains, and there on a cliff below us we found an eagle's nest. In that eagle's nest were three eggs, and so we let one of the boys down the cliff with a lasso, and he picked up two of those eggs from the eagle's nest and brought them back up with him. When we got home, we put them under a brooding hen. One of those eggs hatched out. That's that eagle. You see, that mother hen was his mother, and all the rest of those chickens are his brothers and sisters. That's no eagle. That's a chicken!"
The salesman looked over into the chicken yard and sure enough, there was the eagle scratching around in the chicken yard with all of the rest of the chickens and picking up grains of com just like a chicken would. Then he said to the rancher, "Do you mind if I perform an experiment on that bird?" The rancher said, "Go ahead, he can't lay any eggs." So he walked over and picked up that eagle in his hand, looked him right in the eye and said, "Thou art an eagle. Take to thy wings and fly!" But the eagle just blinked at him with those big yellow eagle eyes, ruffled up his feathers and turned his head sideways and looked him up and down. Then he hopped down to the ground and started to scratch in the dirt after grains of corn. The rancher laughed at the salesman and said, "See, I told you he was just a chicken."
The salesman shook his head and he said, "It just isn't right." Then he went out on his selling campaign, but did not finish, so he returned that night and said, "I am sorry to bother you again, but could I stay another night?" The rancher said, "Look, you stay just as long as you have a mind to. You will always be welcome here." So he spent another very pleasant evening and the next morning got up, picked up his bucket of grain and went out to feed those chickens again. After he had fed the chickens he looked at that eagle. He went over and picked him up, raised him on his hand, and looked him right in the eye and said, "Thou art an eagle. Take to thy wings and fly!" But the eagle just blinked at him with those big yellow eagle eyes, ruffled up his feathers, cocked his head, and looked him up and down, then hopped to the ground and started to scratch for grains of corn again.
The rancher laughed again and said, "It's hopeless. Give it up." Well, the salesman went out to sell another day, but he still did not finish so he stayed a third night, and that third morning went out to feed those chickens again. He fed them and then looked at that eagle. It was very early in the morning, and the sun was just coming up over the mountain as he reached down and lifted up that eagle and turned him this time so that he had to look right at the sun. Then he said, "Thou art a golden eagle. Take to thy wings and fly!" But the eagle just blinked at him with those big yellow eagle eyes, ruffled up his feathers, cocked his head, and looked at him again. But as he did so, the sun got in his eyes, so he raised his head to look at the sun, and all of a sudden he began to tremble. Then he spread those great wings and off he flew, and that was the last that was ever seen of that eagle.
Now, he was no longer a chicken. He was an eagle, the king of the air, in the element where he belonged. He was free. A golden eagle, the king of the birds!
I am convinced that there are too many golden eagles among us who are convinced that they are chickens. This is no time for us ever to be chickens. This is a time for us as well as a time for our missionaries to realize who we are.
It reminds me of a passage in the Doctrine and Covenants, section 63, verses 58 to 64, where the Lord said: "For this is a day of warning, and not a day of many words. For I, the Lord, am not to be mocked in the last days.
"Behold, I am from above, and my power lieth beneath. I am over all, and in all, and through all, and search all things, and the day cometh that all things shall he subject unto me.
"Behold, I am Alpha and Omega, even Jesus Christ.
"Wherefore, let all men beware how they take my name in their lips-
"For behold, verily I say, that many there be who are under this condemnation, who use the name of the Lord, and use it in vain, having not authority."
Now, he was speaking of me and of you who bear testimony and witness of some of these sacred things, for he goes on to say: "Wherefore, let the church repent of their sins, and I, the Lord, will own them; otherwise they shall be cut off.
"Remember that that which cometh from above is sacred, and must be spoken with care, and by constraint of the Spirit; and in this there is no condemnation, and ye receive the Spirit through prayer; wherefore, without this there remaineth condemnation".
Thus we learn to teach, yes, we must teach and preach by the Spirit, and to use those testimonies which God has given us in a sacred and a solemn manner. We must not speak lightheartedly of these sacred things, but when we bear testimony we must bear that testimony from the depths of our heart. I told our missionaries this, that when they teach, they must teach by the spirit of truth out of the fulness of their hearts, for as the Lord said, "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 it is true that he who receives the word must receive it in the same way that it is given. He must open up his heart and must receive the message by the spirit of truth, for the Lord goes on to say: "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".
Thus the spirit of truth is a bridge which reaches between honest people everywhere. It is a bridge of honesty. It is a bridge of sincerity. It is a bridge of brotherly love.
As the Lord goes on to say in that same section in the following verse: "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.
"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".
So knowing the personal responsibility that today rests upon me, I bear my solemn witness to you, by the spirit of truth and by the power of the Holy Ghost, that I know from deep within my soul that Jesus lives, that Jesus is the living Christ, a resurrected being, and a personal God of flesh and bones, who truly did appear and spoke to Joseph Smith, taught him, instructed him, and now guides this Church and reveals his will to us today through a choice and living prophet, David O. McKay, as others have testified before me. I bear you this testimony by virtue of my calling as a special witness, for I know the truth of these things in my heart and ask honest men everywhere to listen and to believe and to search and to know for themselves by the same spirit of truth that these things which we have preached are true. I bear this testimony to you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 59-64
My brothers and sisters, it is a grand privilege to meet with you in this great conference which is the most nearly international of all conferences ever held in the Church. We are making history today with the conference proceedings being received in this tabernacle in various languages and with the conference messages going out into foreign lands.
We live in a marvelous age with developments far beyond the most fantastic prognostications of a quarter century ago. Our communication lines have been extended from Pony Express to fast air service; transportation has been speeded from horse and buggy to globe-encircling jets for the masses, and speeds running into the thousands of miles each hour for the explorers. From the Vikings and Columbus, we come to "Glenn" and the astronauts. Persistent scientists continue to explore land and sea, and now they are out in space. Much learning has been added, but astronauts and rocket riders and telegraphers can little realize how relatively elementary are their movements and discoveries and knowledge. Astronomers have sought knowledge through study, but prophets through faith. Astronomers have developed powerful telescopes through which they have seen much, but prophets and seers have had clearer vision at greater distances with precision instruments such as the Liahona and the Urim and Thummim, which have far exceeded the most advanced radar, radio, television, or telescopic equipment.
In a recent magazine was printed a brief digest of an article from a German astronomer who says that radio astronomers today discuss as a distinct possibility interplanetary conversation between earth-bound man and creatures on other planets; he "demonstrates with intricate mathematical logic that planets suitable for life may be fairly common among the stars, and that there are perhaps only ten civilized communities within 1,000 light years of the earth," and "there may well be creatures intelligent enough on some of those planets to transmit radio messages across the enormous distances of interstellar space."
He seems convinced that earth's astronomers could eventually detect and interpret incoming messages which highly cultured creatures from those intelligent communities might send, but since the galactic history of such planets "might take billions of years to evolve, their flowering might well last only a few thousand years, so their brief moments of glory would seldom coincide." He reasons that "some extraterrestrial civilizations may have destroyed themselves completely, while others may have killed off only the higher types of life, permitting new and later civilizations to evolve from the humble creatures that managed to survive."
Since no mention is made of a controlling power, we fear that there is the assumption that planets build themselves and that inhabitants create themselves. We honor and congratulate the scientists for their intensive research and some of their conclusions. When we add to their assumptions and findings the knowledge acquired through the scriptures, and then place an Omnipotent God in the center of all things, the picture becomes clearer and purpose gives it meaning and color.
The Gospel writer, John, gave us these precious words: "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".
And modern revelation confirms: "The worlds were made by him, men were made by him; all things were made by him, and through him,
"... he was called the Son of God".
The Lord himself testifies: "Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, who created the heavens and the earth" "... are in mine hands".
Students of the universe might be amazed to know how much Adam knew about astronomy; how much Enoch and Moses had of accumulated knowledge of this world in its beginnings, its history and of its projected end. Many would wonder at the great Abraham, living nearly forty centuries ago, who was such a world authority, not only on the earth, its movements, and its conditions, but on the universe itself, extending to the very center of it.
His supernatural knowledge was probably supplemented by research and observation in the clear, starry nights in the plains of Mesopotamia, but he must have received the major part through the Urim and Thummim which could have been far more revealing than the most powerful telescope in the most modern observatory. In his 175 brilliant years of life he accumulated knowledge in many fields, but especially in astronomy, in which field he seems to have excelled, and was perhaps equal or superior to even the highly trained Egyptian astronomers. At the altar near Bethel, close to Jerusalem, came his greatest scientific knowledge.
As he sat in Egypt and wrote his treatise on papyrus, in longhand, likely to present to Pharaoh and his eminent court, he wrote. "And I, Abraham, had the Urim and Thummim, which the Lord my God had given unto me, in Ur of the Chaldees;
"And I saw the stars that they were very great, and one of them was nearest unto the throne of God; and there were many great ones which were near unto
"And the Lord said unto me: These are the governing ones; and the name of the great one is Kolob, because it is near unto me, for I am the Lord thy God; I have set this one to govern all those which belong to the same order as that upon which thou standest".
The worlds were created, organized, and made to function by Jesus Christ our Lord, all this at the instance of and under the direction of his Father Elohim, our Heavenly Father. Abraham knew, as we know, that the works of God in all creations were infinite, purposeful, efficient, limitless.
The Lord continues in his revelation to the Prophet, "And there are many kingdoms, for there is no space in which there is no kingdom...
"Unto every kingdom is given a law". He knew the bounds set to heaven, earth, sun, stars, their times, revolutions, laws and glories-which orbs borrow their light from Kolob, the greatest of all the stars. He actually tells us about the throne of God and that he resides "on a globe like a sea of glass and fire, -is a great Urim and Thummim".
He continues in his inspired treatise, "And the Lord said unto me, by the Urim and Thummim, that Kolob was after the manner of the Lord", and that one revolution of it was equal to one thousand years on earth.
We quote again, "Kolob, signifying the first creation, nearest to the celestial, or the residence of God. First in government, the last pertaining to the measurement of time".
Other grand-governing creations near to the place where God resides are pictured. This advanced knowledge was "revealed from God to Abraham as he offered sacrifice upon an altar which he had built unto the Lord". He says, "Thus I, Abraham, talked with the Lord, face to face... and he told me of the works which his hands had made... which were many; and they multiplied before mine eyes, and I could not see the end thereof".
As we stretch our imaginations to absorb the limitlessness of the creations of God, we turn to a favorite song:
"If you could hie to Kolob in the twinkling of an eye, And then continue onward with that same speed to fly, D'ye think that you could ever, through all eternity, Find out the generation where Gods began to be?
"Or see the grand beginning, where space did not extend? Or view the last creation, where Gods and matter end? Methinks the Spirit whispers, No man has found 'pure space,' Nor seen the outside curtains, where nothing has a place.
"The works of God continue, and worlds and lives abound; Improvement and progression have one eternal round. There is no end to matter; there is no end to space There is no end to spirit; there is no end to race." -William W. Phelps
The noted scientist speaks of other planets and suggests civilized space communities. Time was when most people thought the earth was the world, and that the sun, the moon, and the stars were earth's counterparts, or inferior appendages, merely to give light like lanterns hanging in the sky. But now scientists know, as the people generally know, and as prophets knew long before them, that the earth is but one minor unit of numerous creations in space illuminated by the presence of God "who is in the midst of all things". "... the glory of his presence that the sun shall hide his face in shame".
Our friend the astronomer speaks of interstellar civilizations, probably experiencing turbulent history such as our own earth has had with the rise and fall of great civilizations, such as Babylon, Ninevah, Jerusalem, Egypt, Greece, Rome, and numerous others which have flared like an arc-light, then dimmed even to candlelight proportions, or to be extinguished. The prophets knew through the centuries that not only civilizations come and go, but worlds are born, mature, and die. The Lord said, "And the end shall come, and the heaven and the earth shall be consumed and pass away...
"... it is the workmanship of mine hands". "... the earth abideth the law of a celestial kingdom, for it filleth the measure of its creation...
"... notwithstanding it shall die, it shall be quickened again... and the righteous shall inherit it". The Prophet Joseph writes, "The earth rolls upon her wings, and the sun giveth his light by day, and the moon giveth her light by night, and the stars also give their light, as they roll upon their wings in their glory, in the midst of the power of God.
"... and any man who hath seen any or the least of these hath seen God moving in his majesty and power". "For after it hath filled the measure of its creation, it shall be crowned with glory, even with the presence of God the Father;
"That bodies of the celestial kingdom may possess it forever and ever; for, for this intent was it made and created, and for this intent are they sanctified".
To Moses, to Joseph Smith, and to others of the great prophets, came visions and revelations unbelievable, so clear, so distinct, so complete that it will yet be long, if ever, when, through observation and exploration only, men will gain the knowledge, for the prophets saw unbelievable things in kaleidoscopic vision. "But only an account of this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, give I unto you," said the Lord to Moses. "For behold, there are many worlds 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".
We are near appalled by the discernment of the scientists whose accumulated knowledge awes us, but there is greater knowledge; there are more perfect instruments; there is much more to learn. We can but imagine how the great truths have been transmitted through the ages. Exactly how this precious instrument, the Urim and Thummim, operates, we can only surmise, but it seems to be infinitely superior to any mechanism ever dreamed of yet by researchers. It would seem to be a receiving set or instrument. For a set to receive pictures and programs, there must be a broadcasting set. The scriptures above quoted indicated that the abode of God is a master Urim and Thummim, and the synchronization of transmitting and receiving apparatus of this kind could have no limitation.
Even with our most elementary communication sets we hear voices around the world. We remember when, even with earphones, we could decode only part of the static over the newborn radio. Our first television pictures were very local and very amateurish. Today, we see in our homes a fight in Madison Square Garden, a football game in the Cotton Bowl, the Tabernacle Choir in Chicago, an astronaut circling the globe. Is it hard to project ourselves from the elemental world of puny man to the world of Omnipotent God, who with great purpose has developed precision instruments operated through his omnipotent knowledge? Is it difficult to believe that the Urim and Thummim, carried down through the ages by the prophets, even in the hands of our own modern-day prophet, could be that precision instrument which would transmit messages from God himself to his supreme creation-man? Can God have limitations? Can atmosphere or distance or space hold back his pictures? Would it be so difficult for Moses or Enoch or Abraham or Joseph to see a colorful, accurate, moving picture of all things past and present, and even future? Could one doubt that the holy man, Moses, could stand on the mountain peak and see? Moses' Creator said, "... look, and I will show thee the workmanship of mine hands; but not all, for my works are without end". "Wherefore, no man can behold all my works, except he behold all my glory; and no man can behold all my glory, and afterwards remain in the flesh on the earth". "For mine own purpose have I made these things...
"And by the word of my power, have I created them, which is mine Only Begotten Son...
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". "... The heavens, they are many, and they cannot be numbered unto man; but they are numbered unto me, for they are mine".
The perfected Enoch, as he saw the brilliant, awesome picture, exclaimed, "And were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea, millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy creations". And then the Creator said, "... there is no end to my works, neither to my words. "For behold, this is my work and my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man".
The quoted doctor speaks of the flowering of the civilizations upon the various planets. The Lord told Enoch, "Wherefore, I can stretch forth mine hands and hold all the creations which I have made; and mine eye can pierce them also, and among all the workmanship of mine hands there has not been so great wickedness as among thy brethren".
We know little about interplanetary conversation between planets of the same order and development, but we know that such messages on a two-way circuit have been heard and understood by earth men and properly interpreted to dying civilizations throughout the ages, and this in line with the thought of the dying worlds and the living worlds and the aborning worlds. The scriptures postulate that worlds have gone out of existence through self-destruction, but other worlds have gone on unto perfection, and communication between the higher and the lower is not only possible, but is also an actuality. At the controlling center of the universe in such a perfected world is God. He knows all things which could possibly affect us, and because of his experience in his creation of us in his image, he is eager that we become like him-perfect. Accordingly, he has continued communication with us through the millennia. Without plane or rocket, messengers have come.
Our surprise is greatest in the last conclusion made by the German astronomer when he expresses the belief that "the earth's young civilization is now approaching its first great crisis because of its new found powers of self destruction," and "man's best hope of avoiding disaster is to listen hard for radioed advice. Far out in starry space," he says, "perhaps is an old wise civilization that has survived many crises and is trying to warn the callow earth against the mistakes of its own youth." What an astute observation! Yet for thousands of years our omniscient Heavenly Father from his old wise world has been trying to get his children to listen hard for such radioed advice and televised wisdom, but they were blind of eyes and dull of ears. They were not connected to the power line.
Handwritten messages of warning have come to wicked Belshazzars, who, with lords and ladies in ugly debauchery, drank wines from golden vessels stolen from holy temples, and empires collapsed, and while drunkenness and sensual indulgence were at their height, there "... came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.
"Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another". This was a message from another world. Daniel interpreted the solemn warning. On another continent Aminadi "... interpreted the writing which was upon the wall of the temple, which was written by the finger of God".
Another message written by the Lord on two sets of stone tables came from Mt. Sinai, "... And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments".
How else except through interplanetary messages could landlubber Nephi, without experience, have built a seaworthy ship which would safely cross an ocean? How else could Noah have known the minute specifications for an ark to ride the flood successfully? How else could Moses know the dimensions, materials, and uses of the tabernacle, and how else could Solomon know the specifications for his temple?
Radioed programs came in great numbers through the ages, faithfully interpreted by the Jeremiahs, the Ezekiels, and the Daniels; by the Nephis, the Moronis, the Benjamins; by the Peters, the Pauls, and the Joseph Smiths. Better than radio or television communications, have come personal messengers without plane, or rocket ship, from God's abode to announce the birth of Isaac, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the coming of Saul to Damascus. Through some program, perhaps something like super-television, Joseph saw the coming famine in Egypt so he could warn Pharaoh and save his own people. And another Joseph saw a trans-space program causing him to flee to Egypt with the Christ-child, and then to return to Nazareth. Peter saw a picture of the four-cornered sheet filled with beasts and heard voices which were to send the proselyting program not only to Jews, but also to all the world. A messenger from the Father crossed space to announce, "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."
And from out in space came suddenly "... a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying.
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men".
Comforting messengers stood by the Christ in Gethsemane after his momentous decision. One from far out space was outside Jerusalem's wall by the empty tomb, and "... rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it". He said, "... Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
"He is not here: for he is risen".
And there were two men undetained by space or time, standing on the Mt. of Olives who said, "Ye men of Galilee... this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven".
Just last century a space messenger came to Joseph Smith, announcing, "... that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God... that his name was Moroni; that God had a work for to do", In a single night repeated visits and the crossing through space from earth to the abode of God, seemed to be negotiated without limitation of time or space or gravity's pull!
From the center of the universe where the power, the light, the direction, and the intelligence originates, came another messenger announcing himself as the resurrected John the Baptist. Anciently beheaded, now resurrected, he came to restore the keys and powers which he himself had possessed on earth. He was followed by three other messengers, Peter, James, and John, who restored the Melchizedek Priesthood with all its powers and authority.
Divine guards had sped through space to save the life of Abraham on Potiphar's Hill in the land of Ur, to save Daniel and his companions in the lions' den, to save Nephi from the bitterness and bloodthirsty anger of his brothers, to save Isaac from the knife of sacrifice.
Then there were messages so precious, so vital, that the Lord himself came. He taught Adam in the Garden of Eden, showed Enoch the millions of units in his universe, and trained Moses to lead Israel. He stood on the highway near Damascus and started Paul in his marvelous transformation and ministry.
And then there were the visits of the Father himself, who came to bear witness of his Beloved Son Jesus Christ at the waters of Jordan, on the Mt. of Transfiguration, to the Nephites on soil of the New World. He introduced his Son on these pivotal and vital visits. "Behold, my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name".
And again, in the Sacred Grove in New York State came the Father and the Son in the restoration of great and holy things.
Is man earthbound? Largely so, and temporarily so, yet Enoch and his people were translated from the earth, and the living Christ and angels commuted.
Is there interplanetary conversation? Certainly. Man may speak to God and receive answers from him. Is there association of interplanetary beings? There is no question.
Are planets out in space inhabited by intelligent creatures? Without doubt.
Will radioed messages ever come between planets across limitless space. Certainly, for there have already been coming for 6,000 years, properly decoded, interpreted, and publicized messages of utmost importance to the inhabitants of this earth. Dreams and open vision, like perfected television programs, have come repeatedly. Personal representatives have brought warning messages too numerous times to mention, and it is our testimony to the world that God lives and abides in his heavenly home, and the earth is his footstool, and only one of his numerous creations; that Jesus Christ the Son of that Living God is the Creator, Savior, and Redeemer of the people on this earth who will listen and obey; and that these interstellar messages-call them what you will, visions, revelations, television, radio-from the abode of God to man on this earth continue now to come to the living prophet of God among us this day. This I know, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Eldred G. Smith
Eldred G. Smith, Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 65-67
Jesus said to Nicodemus, "... Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
"Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
"Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God".
Jesus confirmed this principle himself in his own baptism as is recorded in Matthew:
"Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.
"But John forbad him, saying, 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".
If baptism were so necessary for Jesus, who was a perfect man, without sin, the very Son of God, to fulfil all righteousness, then how much more necessary must it be for all others to receive baptism. Then, too, if the Lord requires baptism to see or enter into the kingdom of God, then the Lord is obligated to provide a plan or way whereby all mankind may receive this important ordinance.
You recall that after the Savior's crucifixion and before his resurrection, he was preaching to the spirits in prison, as is recorded in First Peter. This opens the way for those who do not have the opportunity in this life of hearing the gospel and accepting baptism to accept its teachings after death. This does not provide the ordinance of baptism. If the plan were to stop here without provision for the actual baptism, all the efforts of Jesus in the spirit world would be in vain. This must be done on earth.
The next step in a plan of justice would call for records on the earth to identify those who lived and died without the gospel. The Lord has inspired people throughout the ages to preserve records. Many great national leaders have made great efforts to preserve vital records. Man has inherently made and preserved records. One of the inherent traits of the Israelites is that they are a record-keeping people. Members and nonmembers alike are obligated to gather family records.
On April 3, 1836 in the Kirtland Temple, Elijah the prophet appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery and bestowed upon them the keys of the sealing power of the priesthood. This is the power and authority to fulfil all the sealing ordinances of the gospel, including baptism, for both the living and the dead.
Referring to the mission of Elijah, the Prophet Joseph Smith said, "The spirit, power, and calling of Elijah is, that ye have power to hold the key of the revelations, ordinances, oracles, powers, and endowments of the fulness of the Melchizedek Priesthood and of the kingdom of God on the earth; and to receive, obtain, and perform all the ordinances belonging to the kingdom of God".
The Prophet Joseph Smith also said, and I quote: "The greatest responsibility in this world that God has laid upon us is to seek after our dead. The Apostle says, 'They without us cannot be made perfect' for it is necessary that the sealing power should be in our hands to seal our children and our dead for the fulness of the dispensation of times-a dispensation to meet the promises made by Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world for the salvation of man.
"... I will meet Paul half way. I say to you, Paul, you cannot be perfect without us. It is necessary that those who are going before and those who come after us should have salvation in common with us; and thus hath God made it obligatory upon man. Hence, God said, '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 Lord does not stop here. The teaching in the spirit world has continued since the crucifixion of Christ. This means many are accepting the teachings all the time. Their descendants are found in all the nations of the earth. To assist those who have accepted the gospel in the spirit world, the Lord has reserved many valiant spirits to come forth in this generation. Just as the family of the Prophet Joseph Smith was moved from place to place until they settled in the area where the plates had lain buried for many centuries, the Lord has reserved special, valiant spirits who in the pre-existence were so strong that the Lord knew they would accept the gospel when they heard it.
We hear glowing reports of the progress in the missionary work. These are some of these special spirits to come forth in special families, away from the center stakes of Zion, with a special mission to be a saving power to their ancestors.
It is common for members in these newly organized stakes in the missions to be the only ones in their family to join the Church. A husband and wife may be the only members of the Church on each side of their families. They alone are responsible for all their family research.
Many times people want to come to Utah to do temple work. This is a noble thought, but I caution all of you who contemplate any move, do not fail first to gather together all your family records available in the area where you now live. So many members have come from England or Germany or Holland or other nations to go to the temple just to find that they have to return or send back to get their family records, which they should have brought with them in the first place.
I hear many say that their genealogy is all done. If this were so, the rest of us would have ours all done. Go back ten generations on your pedigree charts, and you will have 1,024 lines to follow. Each generation doubles the number of lines. If all the members in the Church were to complete all their family lines back for ten generations, it would take them about to the beginning of the seventeenth century. This should be possible for most members of the Church. I think there are few families, if any, who have this much done.
Too often we think as we get older and have more time we will devote ourselves to research. Too often that time never comes. Procrastination is the devil's tool.
The story is told that as Christianity was becoming more widespread on the earth, Satan gathered his hosts together and called for suggestions to combat this danger to their dominion on the earth. The first volunteer said, "Send me. I will tell them it is not true." Satan said, "No, that is not good enough." The second volunteer said, "Send me. I will tell them part of it is true, but most of it is false." "No," Satan said, "That is not good enough." The third volunteer said, "Send me. I will tell them that it is all true, but there is no hurry." "Go," Satan said, "that will get them every time."
Genealogy is not alone for the old but for the young as well. Young minds are keen and alert and resourceful, all of which is needed for research. Man should be busy with this family research.
To be exalted in the kingdom of God, one must keep all the laws of the gospel and keep all the commandments of God. It is great to keep the Word of Wisdom and to pay your tithes and offerings and attend Sacrament meetings and fulfil all the other activities in the Church. But if you omit your family research and temple work, you fall short and at the peril of your own salvation.
This is a priesthood responsibility which means that the priesthood is to see that it gets done. So the women usually do most of the work. This is another vital and important way to magnify your priesthood, as Brother Romney urged us yesterday. The Prophet Joseph Smith said, "The greatest responsibility in this world that God has laid upon us is to seek after our dead".
I testify to you that this is truly the work of the Lord, it is a very vital work that needs to be done, and I testify that this is true, that the gospel is true, and that the Lord will help us if we will be diligent to do what he wants us to do.
I pray the blessings of the Lord upon all who diligently seek after their dead and who are diligent in all of the responsibilities given to them in the Church, and I do so in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Thorpe B. Isaacson
Thorpe B. Isaacson, Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 67-70
President McKay, President Moyle, President Brown, my dear brothers and sisters: This is a great sight. Someone has said he wishes that every one of you could stand here for a moment. It would make a better Christian out of you. I sincerely pray that what I shall say will be helpful to someone, especially those who may have troubles, or those who may have problems, or who may have sorrows. There are so many troubles and so much sorrow in the world.
This is a great chorus today. We have surely enjoyed it, coming from a great institution. I am sure we all miss Brother Stapley, Brother Morris, Brother Hunter, Brother McConkie, and Brother Hanks, but they know that they have our prayers.
Fasting and prayer and the contribution of an honest fast offering have given us some concern recently. I desire to speak on those two very closely related subjects today.
Fasting consists in the complete abstinence from food and drink. Fasting, with prayer, its companion, is designed to increase spirituality, to foster a spirit of devotion and a love of God, to increase faith in the hearts of men, thus assuring divine favor; to encourage humility and contrition of soul; to aid in the acquirement of righteousness; and to teach man his nothingness and dependence upon God; and to hasten along the path of salvation those who properly comply with this law of fasting.
There are many specific reasons for fasting recorded in the scriptures. It is a general obligation imposed by revelation upon Church members. It is in itself a form of true worship of God. In 1832 the Lord gave a revelation to the Prophet Joseph, when he stated: "... I give unto you a commandment that ye continue in prayer and fasting from this time forth".
But this was not the beginning of fasting. The law is as old as man. In 1932 President Joseph Fielding Smith stated: "... if we had the records before us, we would discover that fasting was introduced by revelation to man in the dawn of history".
The late President Joseph F. Smith commenting on the law of fasting and the payment of an honest fast offering, stated: "It is, therefore, incumbent upon every Latter-day Saint to give to his bishop, on fast day, the food, that he and his family would consume for the day, that it may be given to the poor for their benefit and blessing; or, in lieu of the food, that its equivalent amount, or if the person is wealthy, a liberal donation in money, be so reserved and dedicated to the poor".
Is it proper to fast for the sick? I quote from 2 Samuel: "David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth".
Is it proper to fast for a special blessing? I wonder if every one of us doesn't need a special blessing? If I may be forgiven right here, I think I should like to tell you that Thursday morning in the temple in an upper room, all of the General Authorities met there in fasting and prayer. President McKay talked to us and gave us such assurance and such comfort that will carry us through this conference. Then as he stood there, he talked about Jesus and he stated: "Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church, and he is real." I wish you could have felt that. I am sure you must feel it here today, because it is here.
Then President Moyle talked to us. He offered the opening prayer, and we were all deeply touched. Fasting for a special blessing? Yes, we were fasting for a special blessing. Then as President Moyle spoke to us a little later, he said he had the feeling and the assurance that we would be comforted as we came here to speak, and that we would have the assurance that everything would be done well. Fasting for a special blessing? Yes.
Then President Brown talked to us and reassured us that as we come here to this pulpit, he would bow his head and ask God to bless us. Fasting for a special blessing? Yes.
May I quote from Mosiah in the Book of Mormon: "And he caused that the priests should assemble themselves together; and they began to fast, and to pray to the Lord their God that he would open the mouth of Alma, that he might speak, and also that his limbs might receive their strength-that the eyes of the people might be opened to see and know of the goodness and glory of God.
"And it came to pass after they had fasted and prayed for the space of two days and two nights, the limbs of Alma received their strength, and he stood up and began to speak unto them, bidding them to be of good comfort".
Is it proper to fast in order to gain a testimony? I refer to Alma again: "Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me".
Is it proper to fast that we may know and speak the will of the Lord? Again from Alma: "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".
In Third Nephi we read: "And it came to pass that as the disciples of Jesus were journeying and were preaching the things which they had both heard and seen, and were baptizing in the name of Jesus, it came to pass that the disciples were gathered together and were united in mighty prayer and fasting".
It is said of Moses, while he was with God at Mt. Sinai: "And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments".
Is it appropriate to fast when in mourning or in sorrow? Again, from Alma in the Book of Mormon: "And thus there was a tremendous battle; yea, even such an one as never had been known among all the people in the land from the time Lehi left Jerusalem; yea, and tens of thousands of the Lamanites were slain and scattered abroad.
"Yea, the cry of widows mourning for their husbands, and also of fathers mourning for their sons, and the daughter for the brother, yea, the brother for the father; and thus the cry of mourning was heard among all of them, mourning for their kindred who had been slain.
"And now surely this was a sorrowful day; yea, a time of solemnity, and a time of much fasting and prayer.
"Now their dead were not numbered because of the greatness of their numbers; neither were the dead of the Nephites numbered-but it came to pass after they had buried their dead, and also after the days of fasting, and mourning, and prayer... there began to be continual peace throughout all the land" .
Is it proper to fast as a means of purifying one's soul? In the book of Helaman we read: "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".
Amaleki wrote to his brethren as recorded in the book of Omni: "And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved".
Our Latter-day Saint temples are houses of fasting. When the Lord gave instructions for the building of the Kirtland Temple, he said: "And let the lower part of the inner court be dedicated unto me for your sacrament offerings, and for your preaching, and your fasting, and your praying, and the offering up of your most holy desires unto me, saith your Lord".
Listen to these words of the Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1832, and again repeated by the Prophet when he dedicated the Kirtland Temple in 1836: "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".
Again, turn to the late President Joseph F. Smith and eagerly read his words on fasting, prayer, and fast offerings, and the great blessing attendant upon obedience to this law in all of its ramifications: "It would be a simple matter for people to comply with this requirement to abstain from food and drink one day each month, and to dedicate what would be consumed during that day to the poor, and as much more as they pleased. The Lord has instituted this law; it is simple and perfect based on reason and intelligence, and would not only prove a solution to the question of providing for the poor, but it would result in good to those who observe the law. It would call attention to the sin of over-eating, place the body in subjection to the spirit, and so promote communion with the Holy Ghost, and insure a spiritual strength and power which the people of the nation so greatly need.
"As fasting should always be accompanied by prayer, this law would bring the people nearer to God, and divert their minds once a month at least, from the mad rush of worldly affairs and cause them to be brought into immediate contact with practical, pure and undefiled religion-to visit the fatherless and the widow, and keep themselves unspotted from the sins of the world. For religion is not in believing the commandments only, it is in doing them. I would to God that men would not only believe Jesus Christ and his teachings, but would broaden their belief to the extent of doing the things that are taught by them, and doing them in spirit."
If Latter-day Saints faithfully fulfilled the law of the fast, and if they prayed in connection therewith as commanded and paid an honest fast offering, they would be blessed more abundantly-both temporally and spiritually-and there would be ample funds in the Church to provide for all our poor, as the Lord has commanded. He has given us the way, but sad as it may seem, we are negligent about the payment of an honest fast offering.
Many of us may sometimes wonder why blessings are seemingly withheld from us. It could well be that the laws on which those blessings are predicated have escaped our attention or that we underestimate the necessity for obedience to those laws. It may well be therefore, that many of our desired blessings are never realized because we do not more faithfully obey the law of fasting and prayer and contribute for the blessing of the poor the full value of the meals not consumed on Fast Day.
President McKay has summed up the great blessing attendant upon full obedience to the law of the fast when he said: "All the principles associated with fasting seem to point to the fact that it produces: physical benefits, intellectual activity, spiritual strength."
In tonight's Church Section of the Deseret News-Salt Lake Telegram-I just saw it at noon today-there is another very wonderful article on the law of the fast by President McKay.
Now, what of the blessings accruing to the poor through the payment of the fast offering each month by all members of the Church? Of course, only those grateful souls who receive such assistance could possibly describe those blessings. How would the man describe hunger who knows nothing of its pangs? Or cold when he has always been warm? Or illness when he has always had good health?
Fasting, prayer, and the contributing of the full amount of fast offering are the Lord's divine prescription for many of the blessings which everyone of us needs in one way or another or at one time or another. In order that this great Church may do its part in taking care of the poor, that both the giver and the receiver may be blessed as the Lord desires, we commend to you more serious consideration of the law of fasting, and then prayer as its companion, and then the payment of an honest fast offering in keeping with the value of the meals not consumed on that day.
About the turn of the century one of America's most brilliant, prominent attorneys had an occasion to defend a helpless person, and he used this very beautiful allegory: "When God decided to make man, he called the three angels who waited on his throne-Justice, Truth, and Mercy-and said: 'Shall we make Man?' Justice replied: 'Make him not, O God, for he will trample on thy laws.' Truth replied, 'Make him not O God, for he will pollute thy sanctuaries.' Mercy, kneeling, looked through her tears and said, 'Make him, O God, and I will watch over him all the days of his life.'
"So God decided to make man and said, 'Thou art a child of Mercy; go out and live with thy brothers.'"
I know that God is our Father. I know that God lives. I know that Jesus is our beloved Savior. I felt it strongly when President McKay said the other day, "Jesus is real." I am grateful to you brethren whom we meet each week. What strength you give us as we come to you, most of the time in fasting. I am grateful that I learned a few days ago, rather accidentally, that my wife fasts for me every Sunday morning as I come to you. For that I am grateful.
May we live the law of the fast, and you cannot think of fasting without praying. God bless us that we may take seriously fasting, praying, and the payment of an honest fast offering as the Lord has divinely ruled it so, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Gordon B. Hinckley
Gordon B. Hinckley, Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 70-73
My brethren and sisters, I rejoice with you in the attendance here of bishops and presidents of stakes from foreign lands. This is a great and significant day in the history of the Church, and foretells, I think, the time when these general conferences shall become in reality great parliaments of men gathered from over the world, endowed with the Holy Priesthood, whose only desire is to promote the cause of peace and goodness among the people of the earth.
I rejoice in the reports which have been given by those who have been supervising the missions in various parts of the world. The manner in which the Lord is pouring out his Spirit upon the people of the earth quickens the testimony of each of us.
As many of you know, I have some responsibility for the work in the Far East, and I feel a compelling desire in behalf of our dedicated mission presidents and missionaries to give a brief report of what is going on in that part of the Lord's earth, which is strange to many of us.
I have learned to love those faraway places, and those wonderful people with the strange-sounding names-the Hongs and the Kims, the Fongs and the Kumagais-and all of the host of faithful Latter-day Saints who in their lives and words bear testimony of the conviction which they carry in their hearts that God truly lives; that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world, the Savior of mankind; and that Joseph Smith is a Prophet, ordained of God to bring forth the re-establishment of his work in this generation of time.
It is an inspiring experience, my brethren and sisters, to witness the manner in which the Lord is weaving the tapestry of his grand design in those foreign parts of the earth. He is gathering his children there as elsewhere-"one of a city and two of a family". He is remembering the promises made of old as he works among those who have seen so much of poverty and misery and evil and oppression. He is answering the prayers of those who have gone before, and who struggled to establish a foothold for the gospel in those distant places.
What wonderful people these are whose lives have been touched by the light of the gospel! Witnessing the faithful Saints in the Philippines, in Hong Kong, in Taiwan, in Japan, in Korea, in Okinawa, one is led to declare with Peter of old:
"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".
Today we have some eight thousand native members of the Church in this part of the world, in addition to many faithful American Saints who are in military service and in other positions with the government. I would not have you think that this harvest of converts has come easily. Converts are won hard there as they are elsewhere. Heartache and discouragement and disappointment are all part of the labor that goes on there, and behind today's achievement is a history of prayer and prophecy and patient waiting for the day when the Spirit of the Lord would move upon these lands.
I have not walked the crowded streets of the Orient, in which today we are enjoying a significant measure of success, without remembering with appreciation those of our people who more than a century ago went there under direction of the servants of the Lord to initiate the work.
In a special conference held August 2, 1849 in the Bowery that stood on this square, Hosea Stout and two companions were called to go to China. They arrived in Hong Kong in April 1853. I can imagine with what misgivings they must have stepped ashore in that place so different from the one they had left. They became ill from the oppressive heat and the food to which they were not accustomed. Their message fell on deaf ears. There was no response other than ridicule. In four months they returned home.
A century passed, but in the meantime the realm of China had been dedicated under authority of the holy apostleship for the preaching of the gospel. On January 9, 1921, President David O. McKay, while touring the missions of the world, turned the key to unlock the door of this great area of the earth have read his prayer again and again. It is at once a prayer and a dedication and a prophecy.
One or two statements from that prayer offered in the "Forbidden City" of Peking appear particularly significant to me. He prayed: "Heavenly Father... break the bonds of superstition, and may the young men and young women come out of the darkness of the past into the glorious light now shining among the children of men. Grant, our Father, that these young men and young women may through upright, virtuous lives and prayerful study be prepared and inclined to declare this message of salvation in their own tongue to their fellow men."
I bear testimony that God is answering that supplication. The shackles of superstition are falling. The young men and the young women are coming out of the darkness of the past. I wish that you might have been with us recently in a conference in Hong Kong to hear our young Chinese brethren and sisters sing the songs of Zion in their native Cantonese and bear witness of the truth of this work to congregations numbering more than eight hundred. I wish you might have talked, as I did, with our young native Chinese elders who are serving as missionaries. One said: "I hated Americans. I hated all foreigners until I met the missionaries." Another responded, paraphrasing an old Chinese proverb, "As I look at foreigners, I think, he is not American; he is not British; he is not Canadian; he is my brother."
I wish you might have been with us in Taiwan to hear a handsome and brilliant young man discuss the gospel in his native Mandarin. He was a local missionary, a young man whose forebears for generations before him had been Buddhists. I have seen nowhere a more able or devoted or personable missionary in this Church.
In that same dedicatory prayer offered in 1921 President McKay stated: "May the elders and sisters whom thou shalt call as missionaries have keen insight into the mental and spiritual state of the Chinese mind.... May the work prove joyous, and a rich harvest of souls bring that peace to the workers' hearts which surpasseth all understanding".
How I wish you might have been with us in an upstairs room in Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon, where for thirteen hours the elders and sisters bore testimony of their love for the Chinese people. I shall not soon forget the words of a young man from a comfortable home in the States, who stood in a cold, barren room in Taipei in the Republic of China and said, "I am thankful for eyes to see and voice to speak and feet to go from door to door to teach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ."
Such is the spirit of those who have been called from Los Angeles and Burbank, from Rexburg and Logan, from El Paso and Tooele to those strange lands, where under the influence of the Spirit they learn the difficult languages and bring light and faith and understanding to the wonderful people who live there.
The story is similar in Japan. The work was opened in 1901 by President Heber J. Grant. It was dreadfully discouraging. In twenty years only 127 converts came into the Church, and the mission was closed in 1924. Then following World War II it was reopened, and the Spirit of the Lord began to rest upon those people.
Today we have more than four thousand Japanese members of the Church, intelligent and able, as faithful and devoted as those in any mission in the world; and we now have branches scattered from Okinawa on the south to as far north as Asahigawa on the island of Hokkaido. I feel confident and satisfied in my heart that we have a great work ahead of us among the good people of that great nation.
I speak with comparable feelings concerning the work in Korea. There are now some 1,300 members of the Church there. For the most part they are well-educated. They are buoyant in their faith. The tears welled in our eyes as we stood with them in a cold hall and sang that great hymn from the pen of Brother William W. Phelps:
"Now let us rejoice in the day of salvation. No longer as strangers on earth need we roam. Good tidings are sounding to us and each nation, And shortly the hour of redemption will come..."
I have never met with the Saints in those lands and listened to their testimonies and partaken of their spirit without thinking of Paul's statement to the Athenians concerning God, our Father, who
"... hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
"That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him".
That which is going on has demonstrated that the gospel is for all of our Father's children, and that the good people of the Orient are as responsive to its teachings as are the people of any land when the Spirit of the Lord touches their hearts. Here is one of the great evidences of the divinity of this work. Wherever it is taught, the honest in heart respond, each in his own tongue speaking the same testimony.
One sees there the same quiet kind of miracle that one sees everywhere when men and women bring the gospel into their lives. What a marvelous thing it is to witness a peddler of fish, a man from the ranks of poverty and superstition, take on a new grace and a new goodness when he accepts the gospel and is endowed with the Holy Priesthood. He appears almost to become a new man. He literally is born again as he sheds old ways of thought and living and rises from the very waters of baptism to positions of leadership in his native land.
But with all of the joy and the inspiration that come of witnessing this marvelous thing, there comes likewise an almost overwhelming sense of obligation. There comes a new consciousness of the magnitude of our great responsibility. The harvest is so great, and the laborers are so few in those lands where dwell millions upon millions upon millions of people. In the city of Tokyo alone are more than ten million, with cities of three and four and five million not far removed.
Brigham Young, on the occasion of the departure of the first missionaries to China, declared: "The work urges, and is becoming very much enlarged and extended, and requires a commensurate accumulation of men and means, and expansion of mind and energy, ability and perseverance."
If that were the case in 1852, how much more urgent is it today? My brethren and sisters, the work is becoming very much enlarged. It does require a commensurate accumulation of men and means. It requires an expansion of mind and energy, ability and perseverance. Let us prepare ourselves more diligently for the great assignment which God has laid upon us to carry this work to the children of the earth wherever we may be permitted to go.
To our young men I would like to say, prepare yourselves, not only financially as you have been urged to do, but also intellectually and morally and spiritually. Study languages. This gospel is not for the people of America only. This gospel is for the people of the earth, and we have incumbent upon us the obligation to learn to speak their tongues. If you be called to a foreign language mission, you will be better equipped if you have studied the language. If called to an English-speaking mission, you will understand your own language better.
Live for the opportunity when you may go out as a servant of the Lord and an ambassador of eternal truth to the people of the world. "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". This is our commission, and this is our obligation spoken anciently and reaffirmed in modern revelation.
God give us the faith and the wisdom and the foresight and the breadth of vision to go forward and fulfill it, I pray, as I leave you my testimony, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Howard W. Hunter
Howard W. Hunter, Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 74-76
For forty years David had reigned over Israel, and as his life was drawing to a close, he appointed his son Solomon as his successor to the throne. Solomon inherited the great kingdom which had been conquered by the military genius of his father. The empire extended from the Mediterranean Sea to the Euphrates and from the Syrian desert to the Red Sea. It became the task of this young man, then less than twenty years of age, to weld this great empire into a unity.
As his last will and testament, King David called Solomon to his side, and knowing the great task which would fall on the shoulders of this youth, he said to him:
"I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man
"And keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself".
After this, King David died and Solomon commenced the administration of the affairs of the kingdom, and the record makes this comment: "And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father".
Not long after he became king he went to a nearby city to offer sacrifices, and while there an event occurred which had a significant effect upon his life and reign.
"In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee".
What a grave and serious question this would present to one, to have the Lord say, "Ask what I shall give thee."
If you could have one wish, what would it be? There are so many things we wish for as we go through life. I presume nearly every child who has read the story of the Arabian Nights has wished for a lamp like the one Aladdin had, which when rubbed would summon the genie who would do the bidding regardless of the request made of him. Wishing is not only the pastime of children. Most of us have made wishes. We have wished for health and wealth, success, happiness, wisdom, a better job, a new car, a diamond ring, a magic carpet, to be like someone else, to have that which is not within reach, to be given the easy way instead of the path of toil and hardship-and a thousand and one other things.
We might wonder what went through Solomon's mind when the Lord said to him, 'Ask what I shall give thee." No doubt his mind traveled the same course as ours would travel if the question had been asked of us. Solomon had just ascended the throne, and although he had ambitions for the future, he must have had some fears and anxieties. The fact that he was a king would give him the right to most things a person would want, yet a king has many of the problems and the desires of those who are not of royalty. The question would be no less difficult for a king than it would be to one of a more lowly station.
Solomon must have had many thoughts cross his mind. We might assume he thought of asking for a long life. Others have done so when the question was put to them. A long life would have given him the opportunity to complete the ambitions of his father to build and extend the empire. We cling to life, we wish for more time to accomplish the many things opportunity places in our pathway. Time is usually all too short when we think of the things we want to do and the lessons we wish to learn before the time comes for us to return home. No doubt Solomon thought of these things as he viewed the extent of his great empire, yet this was not foremost in his mind.
He might have thought of riches and wealth. Another king before him had made such a wish. In mythology the Greek god Bacchus gave to King Midas any wish he could name because he had rescued one of his followers. King Midas asked that all he touched should be turned into gold, but he soon learned its utter uselessness when food and drink became gold at the touch of his lips. Most of the early sovereigns of the ancient world have been known for their great accumulation of the treasures of the earth. Wealth has always been associated with power. One might assume that a king would have a desire for wealth in order to spread his influence and prestige and to extend the borders of his kingdom. But Solomon did not ask for riches or wealth.
The history of the reign of his father over Israel was one of wars with the Philistines and with the Syrians and many other campaigns. These conquests gave Israel the foremost place among the nations between the Euphrates and Egypt. To maintain this superiority, Solomon was challenged at the beginning of his reign to maintain a large standing army to provide for the defense of the empire. He organized a cavalry force of 12,000. He equipped the royal stables with 4,000 stalls to maintain the 1,400 royal chariots. He fortified Jerusalem and other cities for protection against invasion and to preserve the trade routes for commerce. Israel's fighting strength consisted of about 300,000 men. With all of these problems facing him, Solomon might have asked the Lord to give him power over his enemies, for he had enemies from without the empire, and he had personal enemies within.
The young king asked for none of these things. His answer to the Lord was simple and direct:
"And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.
"And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.
"And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.
"Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?".
"Give therefore thy servant," said the young king, "an understanding heart." He did not ask for material things of the world, but a spiritual gift-an understanding heart.
"And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.
"And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life, neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment;
"Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.
"And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days".
If the Lord was pleased because of that which Solomon had asked of him, surely he would be pleased with each of us if we had the desire to acquire an understanding heart. This must come from conscious effort coupled with faith and firm determination. An understanding heart results from the experiences we have in life if we keep the commandments of God. Jesus 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 neighbour as thyself".
To love one's neighbor is noble and inspiring, whether the neighbor is one who lives close by, or in a broader sense, a fellow being of the human race. It stimulates the desire to promote happiness, comfort, interest, and the welfare of others. It creates understanding. The ills of the world would be cured by understanding. Wars would cease and crime disappear. The scientific knowledge now being wasted in the world because of the distrust of men and nations could be diverted to bless mankind. Atomic energy will destroy unless used for peaceful purposes by understanding hearts.
We need more understanding in our relationships with one another, in business and in industry, between management and labor, between government and the governed. We need understanding in that most important of all social units the family, understanding between children and parents and between husband and wife. Marriage would bring happiness, and divorce would be unknown if there were understanding hearts. Hatred tears down but understanding builds up.
Our prayer could well be as was Solomon's, "Lord, give me an understanding heart".
Surely God lives. I know he does. It is my witness that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of mankind. May his blessings continue to be with us, I pray in his name. Amen.
Bishop Robert L. Simpson
Robert L. Simpson, Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 78-80
My dear brethren of the priesthood, this is one of the most thrilling moments that any man could experience in mortality. I am certain there is nothing to compare with it-the thrill of participating in the greatest priesthood assemblage in the history of the world. These are significant times, brethren, and we should all be grateful to be taking part in this historic priesthood meeting.
May I take just a brief moment to express personal greeting to those leaders from distant lands who have been called by a prophet to represent their people at this great conference. May I express a special, warm Kia Ora to those from New Zealand who have done so much for me in my life.
We extend the arm of fellowship to every man and boy sitting in distant places. You too are participants in this meeting. Though miles away, your presence is a reality, and we feel your spirit in this historic Tabernacle in spite of the distance that separates us.
Brethren, have you ever heard the beautiful song, "No Man Is an Island"? Seclusion is incompatible with the spirit of the priesthood, and when you really analyze it, what can a man do for himself with the priesthood? You young men administer the Sacrament for others. You usher and do things around the chapel for the convenience and comfort of others. The priests administer the Sacrament that others might partake.
Brethren of the Melchizedek Priesthood, you bless the sick. We do not bless ourselves with the priesthood. We call in others who have the priesthood to bless us. We are always thinking in terms of someone else when we use the priesthood. To wilfully hide ourselves and live as hermits would be to allow our priesthood to wither and die. The Savior showed us the way; he set the pattern. His was a life of thinking and doing for others. This was the sum and substance of his entire existence in mortality.
Our great challenge here in mortality, then, is in the overcoming-the overcoming of things in mortality, these obstacles of the flesh; and in due course all appetites and habits must be brought under control that we may feel comfortable in the presence of the Lord.
"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".
Is there a priesthood holder within range of my voice that does not have as the foremost desire of his heart the great possibility of one day regaining the presence of his Heavenly Father? This is the sum and substance of it all. To aspire to this great blessing supersedes all else in the mind and heart of the priesthood holder.
All of us need help in this important process of overcoming. The man doesn't live that is capable of doing it on his own. "No man is an island"; no being can stand alone.
One of the wisest things that we can do is to benefit from others who have passed this way. Our first loyal band of pioneers who entered this beautiful valley nearly 115 years ago had scouts exploring many dead-end canyons and impossible mountain passes in selecting the best possible route for covered wagons. Subsequent companies found it much easier. The mistakes had already been made. Why make them again?
It would be foolish for us to waste time in remaking all of the mistakes of our predecessors. In the first place, we would not live long enough to make all the mistakes, so we must do the wise thing. We must take advantage of mistakes that have already been made. Perhaps the Lord had this in mind when he gave us the thought that "the glory of God is intelligence". Certainly that man is intelligent who would take advantage of a path that has already been clearly marked.
And so, the intelligence to benefit from those who know is really the key to our success. And now we ask the question, "Who are those who know? Whom can we trust as we seek counsel on vital matters?" And I would like to direct the thinking at this point to our young men of the Aaronic Priesthood, these young men who have many problems, many questions, always wondering who would be the logical person.
It is easy to be misled. It is so simple to seek our information from the improper source. I once heard a story about a jeweler. This jeweler kept a fine-looking chronometer in his store window to attract attention and as a suggestion of accurate time keeping. Early each morning he noticed a man through the window. He would stop, look at the chronometer, and then carefully adjust his watch accordingly.
One day the jeweler was outside sweeping the walk in preparation for his day's business when the usual passerby stopped for his usual watch-setting ceremony, and the jeweler asked the man why he always stopped to set his watch at the same time every morning.
"Well, you see," said the man proudly, "I happen to be the timekeeper at the plant. One of my jobs is to blow the whistle at precisely 8:00 am and at 4:30 pm. They all depend on my whistle to be accurate." The jeweler smiled and said, "Well, do you know, for over a year now I have been setting my chronometer by your whistle!"
So you see, young men, sometimes we are misled, uncertain as to where the real authoritative source might be. Sometimes we see a fine-looking chronometer, but it has to be working properly and it has to be set properly. Sometimes we see men who are esteemed men in the community, but they may not always be the best source for the question that we have.
Young men, you have three main authoritative sources for your information. The first is your Heavenly Father, and just as surely as the Prophet Joseph received an answer to his humble question 142 years ago, so you may expect guidance from a loving Heavenly Father.
The second authoritative source of correct counsel and guidance is available from the one you affectionately refer to as "Dad." Dad, I hope the door is open for your boy. I hope the door is open wide that he may seek counsel when it is required. I hope he can come to his dad and talk about vital matters without being embarrassed. I hope we dads are living closely enough to our family situations that we may sense the appropriate time and place for a few minutes of kindly talk, and, incidentally dads, lots of listening, lots of listening! I think this is the key to effective counseling with our young people. We have to do lots of listening. We have to have the full story before we can counsel properly.
And boys, I want to tell you that you will never have a better friend in all your lives than your dad, and don't you ever forget it.
The third authoritative source is your wonderful bishop-one who has been ordained and set apart to be the father of his ward, and especially a friend to the Aaronic Priesthood boys and to girls of corresponding age.
Bishop, are you too busy to counsel with your young people? If you are too busy, then the work load must be reorganized. How about assigning additional jobs to your counselors? How about letting them carry some of the other loads so you can free yourself for the all-important job of counseling with your young people at convenient and frequent intervals?
When to interview? Always before a boy is ordained or advanced in the priesthood. Always at the end of every year as we evaluate the boy for another Aaronic Priesthood award. And certainly whenever needed as may be directed by the Spirit of our Heavenly Father.
How do we interview, bishops? We interview with the spirit of love, and this should be the entire purpose of every interview-love. This should be the underlying factor. There should be no other source but love as we talk to our young people and seek to guide them in the proper direction. And like dad, the bishop should be a good listener, too, with the wisdom of Solomon.
Now, young men, we have just talked about three good sources of counsel, and I hope we do not go to the gang to get our counsel. I hope we do not go to boys of our age who have not been over the trail, boys who have just heard, but really don't know what to advise. Oh, they will always be quick to give advice, but it is not always the right source. You may even find a boy who is older than the rest, who may have set himself up as somewhat of a chronometer. He may look impressive, but, boys, let's depend on our Heavenly Father. Let's depend on dad, and let's look to the bishop for the counsel that will be most effective in our lives.
Communication-heart-to-heart communication! I wonder how much better off the world would be today if proper communication, not just words, but proper communication were taking place where we feel the spirit of what is being said and receive the true interpretation? Then counseling could go on properly. Men's minds would come to a common understanding, and there would be peace.
We read in Proverbs: "Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety". I am certain that the Lord meant exactly what we are talking about tonight when he refers to the multitude of counselors-thousands of dads, hundreds of bishops.
Now, young men of the Aaronic Priesthood, it takes determination-determination to do the right thing at the right time. And so we as a Presiding Bishopric would admonish you tonight to seek out your dad and your bishop at the appropriate time and let them listen to your story, and I want to tell you that you will be guided in the right path.
And, young men, as you have this determination to live your lives right and prepare yourselves for Melchizedek Priesthood opportunities tomorrow, I would quickly like to tell you a story. It comes from far-off New Zealand, and it is one of the finest stories that I have heard in a long time. It concerns a world champion.
This world champion is Peter Snell, who holds several world records, including the mile run. He set this record just a few months ago. Do you know how Peter Snell trains? Do you know what he goes through? He was telling a group of LDS people down in New Zealand just a few weeks ago that when he goes out to run, he does all of his running uphill, and then when he meets his competition on a flat track it seems like running downhill. Then he will go out and run in the sand, in the deep sand, and when he gets on a flat cinder track, he feels just as if his feet have wings on them. You will see Peter Snell out running on the wettest, most blustery, wintry day, and when you ask Peter Snell why he is out running on such a day as this, his answer is, "The opposition is all home by the fire. Now I can get the edge on them." These are the thoughts of a champion.
Young men of the priesthood, tomorrow's challenge is great. Why don't you exert the effort to do some running in the sand? Do a little plugging uphill, and work when it is not always convenient, when it might be a little stormy out; and I want to tell you young men, you will be headed in the direction of a champion in the priesthood of your Heavenly Father.
Brethren of the priesthood, I bear you my testimony that the gospel is true. I know with all my heart it is true, and I know for a surety that the boy Prophet went into the grove; there he saw God the Father and his Son. I know this just as surely as I stand here, because it has been revealed to me in my heart, and I am grateful for that.
I leave this testimony with you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop Victor L. Brown
Victor L. Brown, Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 81-84
My dear brethren, I deem it a great honor to be invited by President McKay to speak to the body of the priesthood in this, the most widely attended priesthood meeting in the history of the Church. I feel the weight of such an assignment and solicit an interest in your faith and prayers that our Heavenly Father may bless us at this hour.
It is unlikely that there has ever been such a large gathering of holders of the Aaronic Priesthood in the history of the world, at least in this dispensation. And it is to you young men that I would like to address my remarks tonight. Each one of you who holds the Aaronic Priesthood has been given one of the greatest blessings that can come to mankind. It is so great that it has been bestowed on only a handful of men in the history of the world. You are members of that very small but select group who have been granted the privilege of acting with authority in the name of God. He has such confidence and trust in you that he has, through his servants, granted you permission to use his name. Now, I ask you, who in the entire world do you have such trust in that you would be willing to let them use your name almost at will? This, then, is an honor of the greatest magnitude, this priesthood which has been bestowed upon each of you young men.
It is an established principle that with the acceptance of a great honor, one also accepts the responsibility that goes with it. Daniel Webster said, "The most important thought I ever had was that of my individual responsibility to God." Lacordaire said, "Duty is the grandest of ideas because it implies the idea of God, of the soul, of liberty, of responsibility, of immortality."
It is about our responsibility and duty to God, as holders of the Aaronic Priesthood, that I wish to speak this evening. We all know that it is the duty of the deacon, among other things, to pass the Sacrament and collect fast offerings; of the teacher to prepare the Sacrament and to assist in ward teaching; and of the priest, to administer to the Sacrament and to perform baptisms.
As important as these duties are, it is not my intention to elaborate on them, but rather to discuss the personal and intimate responsibilities which each of us has with our Heavenly Father, the responsibility of being the kind of person he would like us to be. Someone has said that character is what you are when you are alone with yourself in the dark. Emerson said "It is easy to live after the world's opinion. It is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd, keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude."
There are many influences in the world today which are undermining the character of men. It often seems that it is the smart thing to get as much as we can for as little effort as possible. More and more for less and less seems to be the popular chant. There is a feeling that if you do something wrong and get away with it and do not get caught, it is all right.
There is a trend in some areas of society today toward intellectual dishonesty. You will recall newspaper accounts of the expose in the field of higher education where university students paid someone else to take their examinations and then accepted their diplomas as though they had earned them. You will remember the television quiz-show scandals. A survey was made after this expose, and an alarming number of those asked if it were wrong to mislead the public, felt there was nothing wrong with it whatsoever. In some areas of our society, winning for winning's sake seems a prime factor. These are but a few of the character-destroying influences in the world today.
Now, what is our position as holders of the Aaronic Priesthood? Where do we stand on these and other moral issues? Are we men of honor? If so, what kind of young men are we, really? Let me outline for you some of the traits of character which are basic if we are to justify the trust the Lord has placed in us. The list is long, but here are a few:
Truthfulness, honesty, integrity, dependability, industry, and courtesy.
Of truthfulness, Jacob taught: "Wo unto the liar, for he shall be thrust down to hell". Oliver Wendell Holmes had this to say: "Sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle which fits them all." In the Psalm of David, he says: "He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight". In Proverbs we read: "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are his delight".
Truthfulness is in very deed one of the foundation stones of true character. Without it, a holder of the priesthood not only breaks his trust with the Lord, but he deceives himself and his fellow men.
Laveter had this to say about honesty: "He who purposely cheats his friend would cheat his God." In a recent editorial in the Church Section of the
"In the magnificent prayer of the Savior, as recorded in the Gospel of John, the Lord is quoted as having said to His Father: 'And this is life eternal, to know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent'.
"John evidently had the same thing in mind when he wrote in his first general epistle: 'And hereby do we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him'.
"If the achievement of life eternal means to know God, and if to know him means that we must keep his commandments, then certainly every one of us must be honest, true, virtuous, and chaste, and seek after every good thing.
"The wave of dishonesty which is sweeping the world is frightening indeed. How can the world be saved in dishonesty? How can it continue to justify itself in fraud and cheating and lying? And yet it attempts to do so.
"The air lines of the United States recently announced that they must discontinue their so-called youth fares because of fraudulent misuse on the part of many young people.
"Shoplifting, which involves women and children for the most part, now runs into more than thirty million dollars a year.
"Sixty-five percent of the students in one high school reported that they cheat and can see no wrong in it.
"Three quarters of a million special officers are employed in the United States to watch employees in large firms to attempt to prevent dishonest practices. That number is twice as many as all the state and local police in the nation.
"In one American city, police arrested 2,226 shoplifters in six months and recovered nearly $70,000 worth of stolen merchandise. Half of these shoplifters were children. Most of the others were housewives."
And the article goes on to say:
"Dishonesty is one of the signs of a great let down in the moral fibre of the nation. It is also a sign-a dreadful one-that many men and women and boys and girls no longer regard their Christian religion as a way of life, but rather as something to be ignored, or at most to be used in intellectual exercise only.
"Honesty must not be considered as a policy only, although it is all of that. It must be regarded as a principle of life, part and parcel of the daily conduct of each individual.
"If we are to consider ourselves as followers of the Christ, we must do as the Savior says-keep his commandments.
"How often must he tell us: Thou shalt not lie?
"How frequently must he say: Thou shalt not steal?
"Will we soon forget that we must not bear false witness-in anything? Not in making a sale, nor in representing values, nor in telling the ages of our children, nor in using other people's property?
"Without honesty, there is no integrity.
"Without integrity there is no character.
"Without character there is no godliness.
"Without godliness there is no salvation in the kingdom of God.
"As Latter-day Saints, we live in the world, but as was the case with the ancient Saints, we need not be of the world, nor partake of the sins and blemishes of Babylon.
"Zion is the pure in heart. If we are to be a part of Zion, then let us be as honest and true as God expects us to be.
"Hereby do we know that we know him: if we keep his commandments."
End of quote.
Now, I ask you young priesthood bearers. Can you in any way be dishonest without breaking this great trust the Lord has placed in you? The answer is obviously no.
Now, as to integrity: Integrity is that great quality of the soul that embodies both honesty and truthfulness.
Simon said this of integrity. "Integrity is the first step to true greatness. Men love to praise, but are slow to practice it. To maintain it in high places costs self-denial. In all places it is liable to opposition, but its end is glorious, and the universe will yet do it homage."
Add to truthfulness, honesty and integrity-dependability-that quality where one's word is as good as his bond. What a wonderful thing it would be for every young man to say to his bishop that he would do something for him and then do it. The man who is not dependable is of little worth, no matter what his talents might be.
And what of industry? Cumberland has said, "It is better to wear out than rust out." And we gain this from Ruskin: "Though you may have known clever men who were indolent, you never have known a great man who was so."
When I hear a young man spoken of as giving promise of great genius, the first question I ask about him always is: "Does he work?" Lucy E. Keller tells this story:
"'Auntie,' said a gentleman who had just learned that the youngest son of his colored cook, had been appointed stenographer to a large manufacturer, 'tell me how you have brought up your children so that each one of them has become so good and useful a man.' 'Oh, honey,' was the reply, 'that's nothing. I hadn't no education, and I could only teach them three things. Just three things I taught them was their prayers and their manners and to work.'"
Now, at last, courtesy-that quality of character which speaks of refinement, of thoughtfulness, of consideration of kindness and love, the little things which President McKay has so often reminded us of-"thank you," "if you please," "I beg your pardon." Courtesy, which is consideration for others, is a true mark of a gentleman.
Now, young men of the Aaronic Priesthood, what is your position as holders of the Aaronic Priesthood? Are you men of honor? Is the trust the Lord has placed in you justified? These principles we have discussed are just a few of the many that go to make up the foundation of character. If we truly love the Lord, we will make them a part of our lives.
I want to bear you my testimony that the President of all the priesthood in the world is a prophet of the Living God. I know this with all my heart; my Heavenly Father has made it known to me, no one else. I am so grateful for the wonderful blessing that has come to me to be under his influence, the greatest blessing that has come in my life. His life embodies all of these virtues we have been talking about and many more. He is the most wonderful man in this world today. He is so human, so kind, so thoughtful, and he has such a wonderful sense of humor. I am sure he will forgive me if I just tell you one short story. After giving a report to the First Presidency on a rather unpleasant problem we were experiencing, President McKay's response was this:
"Well, I guess a dog's got to have a few fleas or he wouldn't know he was a dog."
May the Lord bless you, may you honor your priesthood, may you keep your trust with your Heavenly Father, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop John H. Vandenberg
John H. Vandenberg, Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 84-87
My dear brethren, it is an honor to meet with you tonight in this great assembly of the priesthood of the Church. I am very grateful for my two great counselors who have helped me so much in this new assignment that has come to me.
Sometime ago a letter came to my desk written by a woman investigator which carried with it a great deal of enthusiasm and testimony, and I would like to share with you tonight the following excerpts from this letter. Her salutation was this:
"My dearest Father Bishopric:
"You are going to be rather surprised to hear from me, but I attended Sunday services of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today and was so inspired...
"I owe my gratitude to just about the finest, well-cultured, and intellectual gentlemen... They graciously invited themselves into my home and explained the Mormons... I just had to go to Church with them on the following Sunday. The book on how Joseph Smith tells his own story was so outstanding, with great love of God for each and every human being, that my knowledge of religion certainly broadened just by meeting these two elders...
"On entering the Church I was so astonished to see how many young people of today are attending church, and especially thrilled to see how the young mothers bring their lovely children... The thing that touched me deeply is how the elders or brothers were so anxious just to be able to say, 'How do you do.'... This is something you don't see in other churches...
"The Aaronic Priesthood conducted the Sacrament... which was so pure with delight followed by the separation to classes. At this time the elders led me to the adult class... Here is where I accumulated knowledge in one half hour that I did not know in a lifetime of fifty years...
"I also enjoyed the opening prayer... which put a dent in my mind that these are a group of people that have to be made more known in our United States of America... "Again I say how happy I was to attend services in your Mormon Latter-day Saint Church, and how mighty proud the mission must be of the elders. They are an inspiration that many mothers and fathers today can learn the message from God to his children to make this a better world to live in like God intended it to be."
As I read this thrilling letter, I thought what a great blessing to the elders' parents and to those missionaries, although they are unaware of the great spiritual lift that they gave to this woman. As the woman stated, "I owe my gratitude to just about the finest, well-cultured, and intellectual gentlemen." I wondered what greater honor could there be than to be so highly esteemed by one's neighbors. No doubt this experience is happening time and time again the world over.
Then to think that these missionaries came from the ranks of the Aaronic Priesthood, having faithfully served until they became eligible to be ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood and called to the ministry of the Savior. One cannot help feeling the warmth of the Spirit as he contemplates the great Aaronic Priesthood work of this Church
Tonight I cannot help thinking of more than 237,000 living men and boys who have the privilege of bearing the Aaronic Priesthood. Obviously our thoughts are turned toward them because of the great responsibility that follows the offices of the Presiding Bishopric which have been placed upon us.
This great body of Aaronic Priesthood, under and over twenty-one years of age, becomes our charge, and we feel the impact of this responsibility very keenly.
While my counselors were talking about the more than 100,000 young men under twenty-one bearing the Aaronic Priesthood, my thoughts turned to the more than 100,000 over twenty-one who may be working to qualify themselves to receive the blessings of the Melchizedek Priesthood.
I have been thinking of their wives, their sons, their daughters, and their future. We realize that some of these mature brethren who bear the Aaronic Priesthood have again become active, faithful, and devoted members of the Church in order to achieve their goal. We also realize that many are recent converts to the Church who are working toward their ordination to the Melchizedek Priesthood. These brethren are anxiously waiting for the day when they may enter a temple of the Lord to receive their endowments and sealings through the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood. We pray that all of these may continue to enjoy the warmth of fellowship in the priesthood without any interruption. But knowing as I do that there are some who are dormant, I must confess that we will not be contented until we reason with them, until we hold out the hand of fellowship, until we assure them that the Lord calls to them, "Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die...
"For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye".
These brethren and their families are precious in the sight of God. He loves them, and we love them. But their lives need a "new heart and a new spirit" so that they will perpetuate no regrets of the lost opportunities of yesterday.
While Bishop Simpson and Bishop Brown were speaking, my thoughts also turned to the special invitation extended by the First Presidency to all young men who bear the Aaronic Priesthood to attend this great priesthood meeting. We feel confident that if our eyes could travel over the closed circuit wires and peer into the multitude of gathering places, our hearts would swell with joy at the great numbers who have honored their priesthood by responding to this call.
As we speak to you young men, we speak also to your leaders, calling to their minds the challenging responsibilities of meeting your needs for spiritual growth and stability, that there may be no structural weaknesses in your faith, your integrity, and your devotion.
To emphasize the responsibilities of leadership of boys, we recall the words of the poetess W. A. Dromgoole:
Building the Bridge for Him
"An old man, traveling a lone highway, Came at the evening cold and gray To a chasm deep and wide.
"The old man crossed in the twilight dim, For the sullen stream held no fears for him. But he turned when he reached the other side, And builded a bridge to span the tide.
"'Old man,' cried a fellow pilgrim near, 'You are wasting your strength with building here; Your journey will end with the ending day, And you never again will pass this way.
"'You have crossed the chasm deep and wide. Why build you a bridge at eventide?' And the builder raised his old gray head: 'Good friend, on the path I have come,' he said, 'There followeth after me today A youth whose feet will pass this way.'
"'This stream, which has been as naught to me, To that fair-haired boy may a pitfall be; He, too, must cross in the twilight dim- Good friend, I am building this bridge for him.'"
Leaders give heed to the words of Paul to the Corinthians: "For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?".
You are the trumpeters to the youth who are listening for certain sounds-positive, unwavering teachings, examples-a steady beam to guide them in preparation for a useful life of service in the dignity of the priesthood. If we, the trumpeters, do not guard our actions, our language-do not set worthy examples-how then can we expect our young men to prepare themselves "to the battle," battle against wrongdoing-the battle they fight every day of their lives?
Now, young men, may we say to you, responsibility is a two-way street. One cannot give unless there is someone to receive. Your stake president, stake committee, bishoprics, general secretaries, quorum advisers, and auxiliary leaders are spending more time, giving more thought and prayer to your cause than ever before. They are the ones who give, and you are the ones who receive. We urge you to receive well, to qualify for the tasks to come. You cannot expect success without preparation.
James A. Garfield said: "Young men talk of trusting to the spur of the occasion. They trust in vain. Occasion cannot make spurs. If you expect to wear spurs you must win them. If you wish to use them you must buckle them to your own heels before you go into the fight."
We think you should know that once each week it is our privilege as the Presiding Bishopric to receive counsel from the First Presidency on all matters pertaining to the Aaronic Priesthood work of the Church. Through this association and direction, the blessings of the Aaronic Priesthood program flow out to the whole Church. Also you should know that on frequent occasions, the Presiding Bishopric meet with the general priesthood committee of the Church to co-ordinate all our efforts in your behalf.
As I observe the prophets, seers, and revelators of the Church in council meetings, I think of the words which Joseph J. Daynes set to music:
"Come, listen to a prophet's voice And hear the word of God "And in the way of truth rejoice, And sing for joy aloud.
"We've found the way the prophets went Who lived in days of yore; "Another prophet now is sent This knowledge to restore."
The inspiration and revelation of God come through his prophets to direct the destiny of this Church. You young men belong to that Church-the greatest organization for good in all the world. Membership carries with it great responsibilities, but not greater than you can carry on your young, strong shoulders. You are young, but, as bearers of the Aaronic Priesthood, you are expected to:
1. Discipline yourselves to do that which is right. 2. To be close to your father and mother and give heed to their counsel. 3. To pray to God and to give thanks to him for his blessings. 4. To sustain the ward, stake, and General Authorities-attesting thereto by your actions. 5. To cultivate a pure heart and a clean mind. 6. To fill every assignment willingly. 7. To refuse to participate in any action or conversation which would offend the dignity of the priesthood you bear. 8. To attend all your meetings and put into practice the lessons you learn at those meetings.
Now, to the fathers, we solicit and encourage your full co-operation. It is so much easier to help your sons reach the goal when we and they know of your full support. The place of the father in the home, and his responsibilities to his family, are clearly defined in the words of President Lorenzo Snow, and I quote: "... if you ever secure a union in any family in Zion, if you ever secure that heavenly union which is necessary to exist there, you have got to bind that family together in one, and there has got to be the Spirit of the Lord in the head of that family, and he should possess that light and that intelligence, which, if carried out in the daily life and conduct of those individuals, will prove the salvation of that family, for he holds their salvation in his hands."
Now, we should all ever keep before us that sacred moment in Nephite history when Jesus was giving his last instructions to the twelve disciples: "... Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am".
I bear testimony to the truthfulness of this great work, and I pray our Heavenly Father to bless the great priesthood of this Church, and I do it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Hugh B. Brown
Hugh B. Brown, Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 87-90
My dear brethren, always when charged with the responsibility of appearing before the people of the Church and especially before the priesthood, I am conscious of my inadequacy, and ever desirous of securing the guidance of my Heavenly Father as I attempt to serve.
Because of the things that have happened to me in recent months, I have been searching my heart in an attempt to find justification for the Lord's goodness to me. Certainly we are all blessed beyond our merits, which fact should keep us humble and grateful.
I recommend to all, not only the young men holding the Aaronic Priesthood, but to those holding the Melchizedek Priesthood, that when the excellent talks given tonight by the Presiding Bishopric are published, they read and apply their timely instructions. I certainly congratulate the Bishopric on their thorough preparation and the inspiration of their addresses. They have spoken directly, of course, to the Lesser Priesthood, because that is their special charge.
You men, most of you here, and many listening in, know that the man who stands at the head of the Melchizedek Priesthood-in fact of all the Priesthood of the Church-is the President of the Church. He presides here tonight, and I conduct under his direction. He is an ideal model, an exemplar to all of us. He often quotes, and in his life exemplifies, the admonition of Isaiah:
"... be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord".
I shall not detain you long because I know from whom you wish to hear. I should like, however, to make a few observations on the responsibility of all whom God has honored by permitting them to act for him. There is need for courage and constancy in the midst of perilous and ominous world conditions. As I read of the Prophet Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail, I am inspired by the courage and faith which enabled him to carry on in spite of persistent and bitter persecution throughout his lifetime. When in Liberty Jail, where he spent many months in 1838-39, he felt that he had suffered about all that mortal man could endure. In an inspired appeal he prayed:
"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?
"Yea, O Lord, how long shall they suffer these wrongs and unlawful oppressions, before thine heart shall be softened toward them, and thy bowels be moved with compassion toward them?".
And the Lord answered, with the understanding born of experience:
"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 all thy foes".
In the 121st section of the Doctrine and Covenants we have one of the most beautiful of all revelations:
"Behold, there are many 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 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".
Brethren of the priesthood, let us never exercise unrighteous dominion. Let us honor the priesthood in our own homes, in our attitudes toward our wives and children, for there as elsewhere "when is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man". The Spirit will not always strive with man, but we should always strive to retain his Spirit in our homes, in our businesses, in all that we undertake to do.
We must cleanse and purify our bodies and souls, and try to be worthy to be called the sons of God and to hold the Holy Priesthood. I read on:
"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-".
"Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.
"The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever".
I never tire of reading or hearing this scripture, for it is the direct word of the Lord to the men who hold the priesthood, telling us how to honor it, how to officiate under it warning all against unrighteous dominion. I should like to say to you fathers tonight that our conduct in our homes determines in large measure our worthiness to hold and exercise the priesthood, which is the power of God delegated to man. Almost any man can make a good showing when on parade before the public, but one's integrity is tested when "off duty." The real man is seen and known in the comparative solitude of the home. An office or title will not erase a fault nor guarantee a virtue.
"True worth is in being, not seeming, In doing each day that goes by, Some little good, not in the dreaming, Of great things to do bye and bye.
"Whatever men say in their blindness, And in spite of the fancies of youth, There's nothing so Kingly as kindness, And nothing so Royal as truth."
Let us never, in the words of the 37th verse of this section of the Doctrine and Covenants "... 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".
The late President Joseph F. Smith wrote, "There is no office growing out of this Priesthood that is or can be greater than the Priesthood itself. It is from the Priesthood that the office derives its authority and power. No office gives authority to the Priesthood. No office adds to the power of the Priesthood, but all offices in the Church derive their power, their virtue, their authority, from the Priesthood. The President of the Church carries on as President by virtue of his Priesthood."
And now to you brethren who preside in the Church, I should like to say a word-presidents of stakes, presidents of missions, bishops of wards, all who preside in any capacity-we urge you to recognize and use your counselors. You will notice through all the organization of the Church our Father in heaven has provided that each presiding officer shall have two counselors. We regret that occasionally we hear of a stake president, a mission president, a bishop or some presiding officer, who arrogates to himself the honors which belong to the office he holds, who presides in a "one man" dictatorial way, forgetting his counselors, neglecting to counsel with them, and thereby assuming all the honors of the presidency or bishopric and taking upon himself all the responsibility for decisions in which his counselors should share. There is wisdom and safety in counsel. Honor those with whom and over whom you preside. That we honor the priesthood and the offices in it applies not only to our attitudes toward those who preside over us, but also toward those over whom and with whom we preside. Let us preside with kindness, consideration, and love.
Now, brethren, we who are assembled tonight here and in 320 other places should form a great bulwark against communism and its attendant evils. The efficiency of our opposition to them depends upon the way we honor our priesthood and place ourselves in a position to seek and obtain God's help in fighting evil. Communism is of the devil. Communism started when the devil was cast out of heaven because of his rebelling against the will of his Father that men should have their free agency. Satan and his emissaries would rob men of their priceless freedom. We do not wish tonight to enter into a long discussion of this evil, but it is well that all men know that the Church and the leaders of the Church stand squarely against communism.
To emphasize this I refer to what President Grant, President Clark, and President McKay wrote sometime ago:
"The Church does not interfere, and has no intention of trying to interfere with the fullest and freest exercise of the political franchise of its members, under and within our Constitution...
"But Communism is not a political party nor a political plan under the Constitution; it is a system of government that is the opposite of our Constitutional government, and it would be necessary to destroy our Government before Communism could be set up in the United States."
I wish you would read the rest of it yourselves and see what the stand of the First Presidency was at that time, and I think I can authoritatively say to you that the position of the First Presidency has not changed since that time.
But, brethren, beware that you do not become extremists on either side. The degree of a man's aversion to communism may not always be measured by the noise he makes in going about and calling everyone a communist who disagrees with his personal political bias. There is no excuse for members of this Church, especially men who hold the priesthood, to be opposing one another over communism; we are all unalterably opposed to it, but we must be united in our fight against it. Let us not undermine our government or accuse those who hold office of being soft on communism. Furthermore, our chapels and meetinghouses should not be made available to men who seek financial gain or political advantage by destroying faith in our elected officials under the guise of fighting communism. Let self-appointed protectors of our freedom finance their own schemes. We call upon the priesthood of the Church to stand together with a solid front against everything that would rob men of their God-given freedom.
I leave again my testimony with you that I know that God lives and that Jesus is the Christ. From the center of my heart I bear witness to that fact and that Joseph the Prophet was ordained and set apart and called as the leader of this great dispensation. I bear witness to the fact that our beloved President today holds all the keys and authority given to Joseph Smith and that he is the mouthpiece of God on earth today. We honor and sustain him.
God help you brethren and all of us to remain true to the end, true to God, true to our country and its institutions, and true to the truth, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Henry D. Moyle
Henry D. Moyle, Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 90-93
Brethren, it is good to be here. When we are in the Church, and members of it, we belong to the body of Christ, and there is no need for us to go outside of it for anything in the world. I think that is just what President Brown has said in more forceful language.
"We have no need to dabble in the things of the world; we have no need to join other organizations, that are antagonistic to or out of harmony with this Church...
"We will serve the Lord! Let the dying world go to its grave if it will. Let the wicked that are being bound in bundles go to the burning if they will not repent, but as for us, we, with all we are and with all we have, should be in this Church in body and in spirit in every capacity, and there should be no need and no desire on our part to go outside of the strait and narrow way, the only way which leads to the presence of the Eternal Father and to the gift of eternal life...
"We have no need of anything else. In the troubles that are coming-for the world is menaced now with troubles and strife and division which will bring misery and sorrow and destruction to many souls-let our place be in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in the order of the Holy Priesthood, and we have no need to join other orders to take away part of our time, part of our influence, and part of our means and to hinder us from devoting ourselves entirely to the work of the Lord...
"Oh, my brethren and sisters, why waste your time, your talents, your means, your influence in following something that will perish and pass away, when you could devote yourselves to a thing that will stand forever? For this Church and kingdom, to which you belong, will abide and continue in time, in eternity, while endless ages roll along, and you with it will become mightier and more powerful, while the things of this world will pass away and perish, and will not abide in nor after the resurrection, saith the Lord our God."
In the payment of our tithes and our offerings we have an opportunity to show better than in any other way our devotion to God, our desire to help in the building of his Church and kingdom here upon this earth and to thus testify most emphatically to the truth. We will become mightier and more powerful in our own right in direct proportion to the service and contribution we make to strengthen the Church. I further bear witness to the fact that we consider the things of this world of no lasting concern, for we know that they will pass away and perish, and as President Penrose says, "will not abide in nor after the resurrection." The Savior 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".
In the record we have of Christ's Sermon on the Mount, we, no doubt, come closer to finding the actual teachings of Christ expressed as accurately, if not more accurately, than in any other place in the whole Bible. "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" should be inscribed on our banner as we march forward as an army to call the world to repentance and to teach them faith in God and in his son Jesus Christ and obedience to the principles of light and knowledge and understanding restored to the earth through the Prophet Joseph Smith in these latter days.
The Savior said: "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".
"... Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper in the land. And again it is said that: Inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord".
To the extent that it is my prerogative so to do, I charge all who hold the priesthood in the Church not only to pay their tithing but also to be diligent in preaching the law of tithing to the membership of the Church. We cannot teach effectively that which we do not live, or putting it in other words, our example is far more powerful than our precept.
In 1961 there were added to the Church 88,802 converts baptized in the stakes and foreign missions. This unprecedented growth demands an unprecedented expenditure in the year 1962. We are under obligation to the Lord to make the full program of the Church available to all these converts as near as possible, that they might be fully fellowshipped in the Church. How could the Lord demonstrate to us his desire to have us do our part more forcibly or more effectively than to turn the hearts of the children of men in the world to the eternal truths of the gospel promulgated by our great missionary force of upwards of 11,000 missionaries, scattered in sixty-four missions in the world?
You will remember two years ago we suggested at our Saturday night priesthood meeting that we might well double the 6,000 full-time missionaries whom we then had in the mission field. We want to commend you brethren on having almost fully satisfied this request. We express to you brethren throughout the Church your right and prerogative to be happy as we are happy, with the results which you have accomplished in your wards and stakes and missions and branches throughout the Church.
There is a definite tendency in the Church to increase the tithes as missionary activity is increased. These are complementary responsibilities. It is axiomatic that the more we do for the Church the greater is our desire and our capacity and capability. The time when it was necessary to explain the whys and wherefores of tithing, if it ever existed, is long since past. There is planted in the heart of every convert to the Church and to everyone born in the Church into homes where the gospel is lived and taught, a knowledge of the place that the payment of tithes should take in our lives.
Let us go forward and demonstrate to the Lord our ability to take care of as many converts year by year as are touched by his Spirit and thus spiritually converted to the truths of the gospel.
In the 119th section of the Doctrine and Covenants, as you know, the Lord tells us that the purpose of tithing is "For the building of mine house, and for the laying of the foundation of Zion and for the priesthood, and for the debts of the Presidency of my Church".
I want to take this opportunity of stating to the priesthood of the Church that this is exactly the use to which the entire tithes of the Church are put. There is no tithepayer upon the earth that need be seriously concerned with what happens to his tithing. The tithes of the Church are distributed for the building of houses of worship, for the building and maintenance of temples, for the maintenance of missions, wards, and stakes, genealogical work, schools, institutes and seminaries, hospitals, care of the needy, the expense and maintenance of the presiding quorums of the priesthood, the housing of the general boards of the auxiliary organizations, and in every other way laying the foundation of Zion. Be it said to the credit of the auxiliary organizations they pretty well take care of all of their own expenses. Those of us who are charged with the responsibility of distributing the tithes and income of the Church pay our own tithes to the Lord in full, as well as make our contributions to fast offerings, building funds, and support missionary work and the auxiliary organizations, etc., financially as well as otherwise, and do so with continually increased enthusiasm and satisfaction.
We know that there are some errors and some mistakes. Where we administer the Lord's work and seek to bring about his purposes on the earth, I can guarantee to the membership of the Church, that there is never a conscious error or mistake made. I cannot conceive of greater security than to have these matters pass through the hands of the committee on the disposition of the tithes, consisting of the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve, and the Presiding Bishopric. The Lord has conferred upon these quorums of the priesthood, the Quorum of The First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve, and the Quorum of the Presiding Bishopric to distribute the tithes and income of the Church, and this they do unanimously, and the Lord adds, "... and by mine own voice... 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. Even so. Amen".
To this end were the brethren unanimously sustained by the general conference yesterday afternoon.
Brother Talmage in his Articles of Faith wrote: "It is evident, that while no specific penalty for neglect of the law of tithing is recorded, the proper observance of the requirement was regarded as a sacred duty. In the course of the reformation by Hezekiah, the people manifested their repentance by an immediate payment of tithes; and so liberally did they give that a great surplus accumulated, observing which, Hezekiah inquired as to the source of such plenty: 'And Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok answered him, and said, Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat, and have left plenty: for the Lord hath blessed his people; and that which is left is this great store'. Nehemiah took care to regulate the procedure in tithe-paying; and both Amos and Malachi admonished the people because of their neglect of this duty. Through the prophet last named, the Lord charged the people with having robbed him; but promised them blessings beyond their capacity to receive if they would return to their allegiance: 'Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, said 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'.
"In the present dispensation the law of tithing has been given a place of great importance, and particular blessings have been promised for its faithful observance. This day has been called by the Lord a day of sacrifice, and a day for the tithing of my people; for he that is tithed shall not be burned. In a revelation given through the Prophet Joseph Smith, July 8, 1838, the Lord has explicitly set forth His requirement of the people in this matter."
Elder Talmage brings to our attention that once upon a time the main concern of the house of Israel was to have plenty in store to eat. It is stimulating and inspiring to think back on the tremendous change in the lives of the membership of the Church as the Lord has blessed us and raised us up from the former days of dire poverty and distress, when every service the Saints rendered was a tremendous sacrifice compared with the prosperity and the free time we now enjoy to spend as we see fit. I am sure it can be truthfully said that it entails no serious case of sacrifice for us to do and accomplish all that the Lord would have us do today.
We all know that the Lord has in very deed "opened up the windows of heaven and poured out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive everything the Lord would have it do". The priesthood of the Church must do its part so that even in the days of prosperity we may humble ourselves in our service to the Lord and our fellow men. This is the only insurance we have against permitting our riches to canker our souls, and to have it said of us, "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and my soul is not saved!".
I commend to the priesthood of the Church the reading of the 56th and 104th sections of the Doctrine and Covenants. Therein we find the greatest insurance policy known to man. Our payment of the premium on this policy works no hardship upon any of us. With its payment our eternal salvation and exaltation is all but assured.
For fear I didn't say it as emphatically as I desired to in the beginning, I want to say that every day, every week, every month, every year increase the enthusiasm of these brethren who are charged with the responsibility to pay their own tithing, and constantly to increase their contributions to the Church because of the consciousness they have of the direction which comes from God in performing this most sacred trust.
God help us, my brethren, that we might go forth from this conference tonight and bring into the storehouse of the Lord the means by which this Church can grow and develop and serve all of the righteous people of the world who are touched by the Spirit of the Holy Ghost, the power of the Holy Ghost, and submit themselves to baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and by the laying upon of hands to receive the Holy Ghost, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 93-95
My beloved brethren, we have had a glorious hour. The message of the Presiding Bishopric to the young people was just what we had in mind when "Priesthood" was made the theme of this meeting. We have all been inspired by the remarks of those who have spoken and by the singing of these men from the Tabernacle Choir.
When President Brown referred to the 121st section of the Doctrine and Covenants, I think he omitted purposely, because of time, one passage which I wish to repeat:
"Reproving betimes with sharpness when moved upon by the Holy Ghost"-that limiting clause is very significant-"Reproving betimes with sharpness," not because of selfishness, not because of any personal antipathy, not because of personality, but "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". You may search through pedagogies, theories of teachings in vain, and find no passage that will compare with that in governing people.
What I am now going to say to stake presidents and bishops is more of a reminder than of reproof.
As people come to conference sometimes a day or two early to go to the temple while it is open, not a few bring incomplete recommends. Of such this year there has been an unusually large number. Some bishops seem to be getting careless again. The recommends are faulty for such reasons as: no indication of ordinances for which they come; bishops have not indicated approval with their initials as instructed; signature of stake president is often omitted-holders of recommends say they did not know the stake president's signature must be on the recommend; no recommends for children of age to be baptized, for sealing to parents-those who are over eight should come with a recommend, and because they are worthy and are going to be sealed you let them come without a recommend.
Correction of faulty recommends is expensive. Pressure of time and circumstances are embarrassing to the people, and sometimes results in their having to be disappointed and delayed.
A hint to the wise is sufficient.
In conclusion, let me say that just the holding of the priesthood is a blessing, a blessing which too few of us in our Church fully realize, and in order that that realization might become more prized, our bishops should teach the young man who is recommended to receive the Aaronic Priesthood what the ordination to the Aaronic Priesthood means. You who were present at the inspirational meeting last evening in this building saw on the screen a bishop interviewing a young man twelve years of age in the presence of happy parents. There was a lesson for the entire Church.
It is not sufficient just to present his name for approval in the meeting of the ward. He should be interviewed and taught previously from the beginning by the bishop. I shall ever cherish in memory our appreciation for Bishop Edward E. Olson of Ogden Fourth Ward who came into our house and interviewed our son Llewelyn, who sits in this audience tonight, and asked him about his willingness to receive the Priesthood of Aaron, and gave him instructions accordingly.
A bishop should teach the young man who is recommended to receive the Aaronic Priesthood what the ordination to the priesthood means, not just present his name, I repeat, in council in the ward-but teach him that when he is given the priesthood he is expected to be above, not in pride and haughtiness, but in moral standards above his fellows.
Specifically, his playmates may swear, but he cannot do so with impunity. Some may even take the name of God in vain. A man of the priesthood cannot do that when he receives the obligation to render service to others, as a representative of Jesus Christ. He who takes the name of God in vain dishonors his priesthood.
Others may neglect their duties. Others may make fun of their teachers in day school. Others may break windows, but the bearer of the priesthood cannot do those things. It is the bishop's duty to teach them good citizenship and their duties in the priesthood.
Then the bishop will also follow similar teachings when the deacon is worthy to be ordained a teacher, and the teacher to be ordained a priest. With such teaching and training young men eighteen years of age, and young women of corresponding age, may in reality carve the moral atmosphere of the community in which they live. They truly have been set apart, not because of any pride, not because of any desire to rule unrighteously, but because of moral superiority. They are good citizens, and any bishop who profanes the name of God in the presence of others dishonors his priesthood. It is his duty to teach the young man from the time he is a deacon, through being a teacher and priest, the responsibility of true citizenship in the kingdom of God.
We are justified in being proud of our young men and young women. Some fail us, yes. Some of the children of our Father in heaven failed him. They had a right to choose. They had their free agency, and some of them chose to follow the fallen one, and they are following him today. We also have our free agency, a God-given gift, and some choose unwisely to follow pleasure and indulgence rather than the persistence and effort to rise above that which is low and mean into the realm of spirituality.
What I am saying is that to hold the priesthood is an individual blessing, but it requires, it demands, righteous living. God give us power so to honor it, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Richard L. Evans
Richard L. Evans, Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 96-98
There is a salutation customary among us which includes all within sight and sound-"My brethren and sisters"-and I see no reason to modify it. I am grateful for the relation that all of us bear to all of us in the Fatherhood of God and the relationship we have to him
Because of an unusual series of assignments, we have circled the world twice this past year-once flying east, and once moving westward. We have been in many countries, among many peoples, in many places. We have encompassed areas where hundreds of different dialects and languages were spoken. We have been in the midst of a diversity of men, and in the midst of many differing religions and philosophies of life.
We count among our friends, men of many races, many faiths, many backgrounds, and beliefs, and these are not superficial friendships. They are part of our lives. We respect them and what they are and have an affection for them. We respect them and their beliefs, and we believe they respect us and ours.
As a consequence of this long journeying and these many friendships, we have been earnestly reading and seeking to understand the basic beliefs, the many philosophies of India and of Asia, and in doing so have consulted as closely as possible the people themselves and their authentic sources; and this we would ask our friends to do for us, as we would do it unto them also. When they want to know what we believe, we ask them to ask us, or consult our authentic sources instead of sources of intentional or unintentional distortion. No matter how many times an error is repeated, it is still an error. We believe that we ourselves are the best source of what we believe, as are other men of what they believe, and to those interested we should like to give the simple facts.
We have discovered, we think also, that mankind generally is sincerely searching, searching for the reasons, for the purpose of being, searching for the ultimate answers. "Man's success or failure, happiness or misery," President McKay has said, "depend upon what he seeks and chooses." What people believe is exceedingly important because what they believe will determine how they live. A person prepares differently for a short journey than he does for a long one, and a person who believes that life here is the end of all would prepare much differently and live much differently from him who believes that life is everlasting.
Thomas á Kempis said, "Where my thoughts are, there am I," and might have added, Where my beliefs are, where my convictions are, there am I-or at least in that direction I am headed.
For these reasons and because we love our friends, and because many of them have asked us, and because even if they hadn't we would want to do it anyway, we would like to say some few things today basic to our beliefs:
First of all, in common with many millions of men, we are devoutly Christian. This is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Jesus the Christ, with the doctrines, the commandments, the revelation, the inspiration, the authority that come of him and through him, is the foundation of this Church. He is the chief cornerstone, and not any man.
We believe what Jesus taught, and in this we rely on scripture, including the Bible, which we believe as it came from the mouths of the prophets. We believe also other works, given to other peoples anciently and modernly, in addition to that word given to ancient Israel-works which are consistent with and complementary to the Bible. In addition, we believe in the words of the living prophets. We believe in continuous revelation, for we feel that a Loving Father still gives divine guidance, and would not leave his sincerely seeking children alone without counsel or direction-and him whose countenance you have seen this morning in conducting this conference-President David O. McKay-we accept and sustain as a prophet of God, as we accept Moses and Abraham, and Peter and Paul, and Isaiah and Elijah or any such others.
It does not seem a strange thing that God would speak to his children in the present as well as he would speak to them in the past. Certainly we do not need his guidance less today. What loving father would hold himself altogether aloof from his sincerely seeking children?
We believe in the literal language of scripture concerning the Fatherhood of God. We believe the language of Genesis which says that God made man in his own image. We believe that God is an infinite intelligence with an infinite love for us, not indefinable, but a Father with a father's interest in us. This gives us a peace and purpose in life, a sense of belonging and of not being left alone.
We believe that the glory of God is intelligence; that no man can be saved in ignorance; that the search for truth is an obligation, as is education also; and that there must be freedom for the search.
We believe in the commandments of God; in causes and consequences; in the necessity for living within the law; and that there is real reason for every commandment and requirement.
We believe that the human body should be preserved in health; that it is unwise and ungrateful and unjustifiably foolish to partake of things that impair the fullest well being of the body and effective physical functioning. What is not good for us simply should be left alone.
We believe literally in everlasting life, in the eternal perpetuation of personality; that whatever knowledge a man attains to in this life will rise with him in the resurrection; and we believe in a literal resurrection, remembering the words of Pascal, who asked, "Which is more difficult? To be born, or to rise again?"
Birth is a great miracle. Life is a great miracle, and he who gave us life here will give us life everlasting. This we believe.
We believe that all men will be resurrected; that all men in this sense will receive salvation, but that in the hereafter there are different degrees of glory, entitlement to which will depend upon the life we have lived, and by the living of the law and the keeping of the commandments we shall be entitled to return to live with our Father and go back to him where once we were, to a place of peace and progress, where there will be everlasting life, with family and friends, in a relationship that is everlasting.
Thus we believe in marriage, not only for time but also for eternity, and that we have an inescapable obligation for the children God has given us to teach, to train, and to set before them a righteous example of the living of life.
We believe in the divinity of Jesus the Christ. We believe in the scripture which says that he was in the express image of his Father. We believe that he was born of a virgin, as the scripture says; that he lived, that he preached, that he ministered among men, that he was put to death, that he rose on the third day, that he ascended to his Father, that he will come again on earth to rule and reign.
This is a simple belief. It is a profound one also. It gives peace in life. It gives a sense of everlasting purpose. It gives the assurance that we are helping to shape our own future with our faith, with our works, with our learning, with our lives. It gives us the assurance that life is purposeful, meaningful, limitless, everlasting; that the gospel was given as a guide to help us realize our highest happiness; that all its ordinances are essential; that authority to administer them is also; and that this authority was again restored in the nineteenth century through Joseph Smith the Prophet, as the heavens were opened and the personality of God again revealed as the Father, pointing to his Beloved Son our Savior, said, "This is My Beloved Son. Hear him!".
In this brief time there is much omitted, but this in essence is the faith that gives us peace and purpose in life and freedom from many of its fears. We believe there are clear-cut answers to life's questions; that much of the groping of life can be eliminated.
In Calcutta, in India, we read in the notebook of a wonderful grandmother an inscription which, among others, she had cherished since she was a young girl-an inscription which India's great poet, Rabindranath Tagore, had written in there for her in his own handwriting: "Surrender your pride to truth."
These lines Tagore also wrote on freedom-freedom for the search and on the importance of such searching-:
"Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; Where knowledge is free; Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls; Where words come out from the depth of truth; Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit; Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action- Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let... awake."
An eminent analyst has said: "I have learned in forecasting economic futures that what is going to happen is already happening." It is so in our lives. It is so everlastingly, and all of us ought to determine our ultimate objectives as early as possible and then faithfully pursue them. Life is not limitless here. Time soon passes. Every man takes himself and what he is with him wherever he goes, and he takes himself also into eternity.
What do we have to lose by indifference, by neglect? In words already cited this morning at an earlier hour, "we have nothing to lose except everything," and, conversely, we have nothing to gain-except everything.
In the words of Archibald Rutledge: "I am absolutely unshaken in my faith that God created us, loves us, and wants us not only to be good, but to be happy." No man can be indifferent to the issues of life and death. These are uppermost at one time or another in the minds of all of us.
With some awareness of the responsibility of doing so, with myself, my family, and to all men, I would bear witness of the truth of these things, of the everlasting importance of them, of the obligation that all of us have to seek and to search, of the interest that our Loving Father who made us in his image has in us, and of the incalculable importance of the gospel he has given us. I leave with you my witness, in the name of our Lord and Savior, who died that we might live, even Jesus the Christ. Amen.
President Henry D. Moyle
Henry D. Moyle, Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 99-102
How often in the history of the world has a people been brought to its spiritual inheritance through the endurance of bitter experiences? Trial accompanied the move of Israel out of Egypt after four hundred years of bondage, and just as surely as trial accompanied Israel, it accompanied our forefathers to the pastures of these mountain valleys where his work might the better unfold after seventeen years of intense persecution in New York, Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois, and the crossing of the plains to Utah.
There is a repetition in the restoration of the Church today of most all that has gone before. Since the restoration of the gospel in 1830, God's dealings with his children here upon the earth reflect a high degree of uniformity throughout as we compare the present with every prior generation of the gospel. And this similarity is striking in two major aspects: first, persecution, and second, revelation. His people have all been tried in adversity in all generations. Persecution has continued, and why should not revelation be kept equally current?
Can we say with the existing churches of the world, the heavens are closed, there is to be no further revelation since John completed the book of Revelation? We know and bear witness to the world that the survival of our faith in God is dependent upon present-day direction from God. How impotent is man when he is left alone with only the revelations of the past? Without present-day revelation the very foundations upon which this last Dispensation of the Fulness of Times was built would crumble. There can be no fulness of the gospel without revelation, now or ever.
Would that the words of the Savior to Peter and his other apostles were understood by the world. To understand them would be to know that the true knowledge of God must rest upon current revelation. We all remember Peter's answer to the Savior's question in Matthew 16: "... 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".
Peter was divinely appointed to receive revelation for the Church as long as God retained him head of the Church. He was persecuted until he became a martyr. Peter was followed by John after Peter's death. Thereafter, God gave his revelations to John as head of the Church. The last book of the New Testament contains the revelations given to John. John was banished to the Isle of Patmos after being persecuted before these revelations were given.
Paul says to the Ephesians, recorded in Ephesians 2, that the Church is "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".
Jesus Christ, the chief cornerstone, asserts his leadership and directs his Church through the revelations of his holy mind and will to his servant the prophet, the head of his Church, the presiding high priest here upon this earth today. If revelation were to cease, why should not the death of Christ have been the critical turning point rather than the translation of John, the last of the apostles? Why was it necessary to continue revelation to the apostles after the ascension of Christ?
The office of a prophet is to prophesy. How can a prophet truly prophesy without revelation? Why should Paul have emphasized the necessity for apostles and prophets in the Church if there were to be no further prophecy? These questions leave the inquirer in a quandary if he at the same time denies the possibility of revelation. When revelation from God ceases, apostasy sets in-man is left to stand alone. The surest of all declarations of apostasy is to declare the heavens are closed and revelation from God to man has ceased. We proclaim to the world this statement is a self-evident truth.
Is today and its problems so simple that we need no help from heaven? We know that God is omnipotent. Why should he close the heavens for us forever after the translation of John and fail to give to his children on earth the benefit of his unlimited power contrary to the past history of his help to mortal man?
History repeats itself. I quote from an author discussing Moses and his people:
"There has never been another nation in human history with which one person was so essentially identified and to whom its institutions could be so graced. What a remarkable place then this leader and lawgiver holds in Biblical history."
Joseph Smith's position is entirely comparable to Moses' in the founding of the Church in this Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. He and his people suffered persecution in many instances as severe and intense as that suffered by ancient Israel while under Egyptian rule and later in its forty years of wandering in the wilderness. Joseph Smith suffered persecution from the age of fifteen to the age of thirty-eight when he was martyred. He sealed his testimony with his blood. Sometimes it is said we hear too much about Joseph Smith. As Moses in his day, Joseph Smith today personifies the revelations of God given him to direct the founding of his Church and kingdom upon the earth today.
In May 1844 Josiah Quincy, former mayor of the city of Boston, and his cultured friend, Dr. Charles Francis Adams, son and grandson respectively of two Presidents of the United States, spent two days with Joseph Smith in Nauvoo. In a book entitled, Figures of the Past which Mr. Quincy subsequently published, he wrote as follows:
"It is by no means improbable that some future textbook, for the use of generations yet unborn, will contain a question something like this: What historical American of the nineteenth century has exerted the most powerful influence upon the destinies of his countrymen? And it is by no means impossible that the answer to that interrogatory may be thus written: JOSEPH SMITH THE MORMON PROPHET."
Yes, Joseph Smith was able to confound the wise, to astonish the learned, and to outmarvel the great. Can any sincere truth-seeker in the field of religion conscientiously decline to make a thorough study of the teachings and accomplishments of Joseph Smith? Let every honest investigator find the truth for himself.
Yes, Joseph Smith is a true prophet of God. This I humbly testify.
Joseph Smith must continue to be recognized by the Church and the world to be the modern-day lawgiver by which the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored to the earth in its pristine purity. The Lord has promised that his work and his Church would never again be taken from the earth or given to another people, but that it would grow and expand until it fills the whole earth. Note the significance of Daniel's inspired interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar's dream in the second chapter of Daniel recorded:
"And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever".
Paul understood Daniel's interpretation just quoted when he wrote in his epistle to the Ephesians, recorded in the first chapter:
"That in the dispensation of the fulness 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:
"That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him".
How can God set up a kingdom in the latter days when the kingdoms of the earth are to be destroyed without revealing the time, the place, the instrumentality fixed and determined by him to accomplish his everlasting purpose?
I hope my listeners will bear in mind that God is dependent in large measure upon his children in the exercise of their own free agency to carry out his will and to accomplish his purposes upon the earth.
How can God gather together all things in one, both in heaven and in earth in the fulness of times without calling and ordaining individuals to fulfil his divine decree? Amos, the ancient prophet, revealed to mankind an eternal truth as follows:
"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets".
The Lord has always so manifest himself in one way or another that his people, those who acknowledge him as their God and who lend obedience to his laws, should always know him. The Apostle John in his Gospel, wrote:
"And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent".
We are his people today. He dwells among us. This I know. And he is our Lord, our God. The Lord has not and does not leave us in darkness, and we know with Paul of old, that "... no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost". The Lord has provided the means by which we may receive the Holy Ghost and receive the witness of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ. We believe in baptism by immersion for the remission of sins. We believe in the laying on of hands after baptism for the gift of the Holy Ghost. "We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands, by those who are in authority to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof".
Jesus Christ conferred his priesthood upon the apostles of old. Then Peter, James, and John as resurrected beings conferred the same priesthood which they had received from the Lord Jesus Christ upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. The gift of the Holy Ghost has also been conferred upon hundreds of thousands of people, living and dead, who received each for himself through the Holy Ghost the testimony that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God.
John in his Gospel leaves no doubt about the office of the Holy Ghost as a member of the Godhead. The Savior immediately before his ascension to heaven gave his disciples the following assurance: "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you".
Brigham Young once said: "Let every man and woman know, by the whispering of the Spirit of God to themselves, whether their leaders are walking in the path the Lord dictates, or not".
It is, therefore, here that the right exists in every member of the Church to receive the witness of the Holy Ghost concerning that which the prophet of God reveals or which he prophesies is true. Brigham Young furthermore says: "We can tell when the speakers are moved by the Holy Ghost only when we ourselves are moved upon by the Holy Ghost. Therefore, it is essential that the membership of the Church be just as diligent in their faith as their leaders".
Through this gift, people throughout the world have received a testimony of the truth. How can he bless us in our time of distress and need without revealing his power, his will, his influence, his inspiration to us today? Would you rather believe that the heavens are closed? Should you rather rely alone on the wisdom and strength of men? We invite you to investigate to your complete satisfaction the claim made by the Prophet Joseph Smith that the heavens are open, the ancient gospel is once again brought to earth. Ponder over the following revelation of John in Revelation: "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".
We give to the world a record of the fulfillment of this prophecy in the account of the restoration of the gospel through the instrumentality of the prophet Joseph Smith. We give you Joseph Smith's testimony to the world in part-his entire testimony is readily available to all who desire to know the truth. Joseph Smith, after reading in Holy Scriptures the following, went into the woods to pray: "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 prayed fervently as a boy, and as he prayed, he saw a pillar of light exactly over his head above the brightness of the sun. Continuing, Joseph said: "When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description... One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said... to the other, This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!".
Joseph Smith asked the personage which of all the sects was right and which he should join. "I was answered that I must join none of them for they were all wrong". The truth concerning the churches of the world was then further explained. Joseph Smith was directed to await further revelation from heaven. A decade later, Joseph Smith, in obedience to direction from the Lord, organized the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 6, 1830 in the state of New York. He endured every trial, tribulation, and persecution imaginable until he was finally martyred, and, as I have said, he sealed his testimony to the world with his blood. His work has stood the test of time stronger and more rugged and more certain now than ever before in spirit and in testimony.
Just what was Joseph Smith's final testimony to the world? "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".
The innermost feelings of my heart today are not dissimilar to those of Paul as he stood before King Agrippa when Paul said to him: "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".
We are not in bonds today. We know nevertheless that God has given to us the great plan of salvation whereby men through obedience can bring themselves back into the presence of God, saved and exalted eternally in his kingdom. We declare with Paul that "the gospel of Christ... is the power of God unto salvation". We call the world to repentance and charge the world with the responsibility of prayerfully and humbly seeking the truth, for the heavens are opened, and God will reveal unto mankind the truth.
Let me say with Paul, that "the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord".
May he bless us all to the end that we may really know him through the gift of the Holy Ghost, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Amen.
Elder Ezra Taft Benson
Ezra Taft Benson, Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 103-106
My brothers and sisters, everywhere:
With joy and gratitude I face you today in, and from, this historic Tabernacle. I am grateful to be here: for this fellowship, for freedom to meet in peace, to speak without fear, to attend this inspirational conference.
I thank God for freedom-the right of choice. I am grateful for this great nation in which we meet. Every true Latter-day Saint throughout the world loves the USA. The Constitution of this land is part of every Latter-day Saint's religious faith.
To us, this is not just another nation, not just a member of the family of nations. This is a great and glorious nation with a divine mission and a prophetic history and future. It has been brought into being under the inspiration of heaven.
It is our firm belief, as Latter-day Saints, that the Constitution of this land was established by men whom the God of heaven raised up unto that very purpose. It is our conviction also that the God of heaven guided the founding fathers in establishing it for his particular purpose.
The founders of this republic were deeply spiritual men. They believed men are capable of self-government and that it is the job of government to protect freedom and foster private initiative.
Our earliest American fathers came here with a common objective-freedom of worship and liberty of conscience. Familiar with the sacred scriptures, they believed that liberty is a gift of heaven. To them, man as a child of God, emphasized the sacredness of the individual and the interest of a kind Providence in the affairs of men and nations. These leaders recognized the need for divine guidance and the importance of vital religion and morality in the affairs of men and nations.
To the peoples who should inhabit this blessed land of the Americas, the Western Hemisphere, an ancient prophet uttered this significant promise and solemn warning: "Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ...
"For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands, wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God".
Ancient American prophets six hundred years before Christ foresaw the coming of Columbus and those who followed. These prophets saw the establishment of the colonies, the war for independence, and predicted the outcome. These prophecies are contained in a volume of scripture called the Book of Mormon. This sacred record, a companion volume to the Holy Bible, which it confirms, is an added witness to the divine mission of Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Redeemer of the world.
How I wish every American and every living soul would read the Book of Mormon. I testify to you that it is true. It tells about the prophetic history and mission of America. It gives the comforting assurance that God has kept this great nation, as it were, in the hollow of his hand in preparation for its great mission.
Yes, the Lord planned it all. Why? So America could serve as a beacon of liberty and in preparation for the opening of a new gospel dispensation-the last and greatest of all dispensations in preparation for the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. To achieve his purposes the Lord had to have a base of operations. Later he revealed to a modern prophet that the Constitution of this land was established by "wise men" whom the Lord "raised up unto this very purpose". The Lord also directed that the constitutional laws of the land, supporting the principle of freedom, should be upheld and that honest and wise men should be sought for and upheld in public office.
The establishment of this great Christian nation, with a spiritual foundation, was all in preparation for the restoration of the gospel, following the long night of apostasy. Then in 1820 the time had arrived. God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ made their glorious appearance. I give you a few words from the Prophet Joseph Smith, who was the instrument in God's hands in restoring the gospel and establishing the true Church of Christ again upon the earth. In response to humble prayer Joseph relates: "... 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!".
To me this is the greatest event that has occurred in this world since the resurrection of the Master-and it happened in America.
Later, other heavenly messengers came to restore the authority of the Holy Priesthood and important keys essential to the opening of the final gospel dispensation. The Church was organized in 1830. Immediately, in response to divine command, missionary-messengers began to carry the important message of salvation throughout the world. It is a world message intended for all of God's children. And so, once this nation was well established, then the Church was restored and from here the message of the restored gospel has gone forth. All according to divine plan.
This then becomes the Lord's base of operations in these latter days. And this base will not be shifted out of its place-the land of America. This nation will, in a measure at least, fulfil its mission even though it may face serious and troublesome days. The degree to which it achieves its full mission depends upon the righteousness of its people. God has, through his power, established a free people in this land as a means of helping to carry forward his purposes.
"It was his latter-day purpose to bring forth his gospel in America, not in any other place. It was in America where the Book of Mormon plates were deposited. That was no accident. It was his design. It was in this same America where they were brought to light by angelic ministry. It was"... "where he organized his modern Church, where he, himself made a modern personal appearance".
Yes, it was here under a free government and a strong nation that protection was provided for his restored Church. Now God will not permit his base of operations-America-to be destroyed. He has promised protection to this land if we will but serve the God of the land. He has also promised protection to the righteous even, if necessary, to send fire from heaven to destroy their enemies.
No, God's base of operations will not be destroyed. But it may be weakened and made less effective. One of the first rules of war strategy-and we are at war with the adversary and his agents-is to protect the base of operations. This we must do if we are to build up the kingdom throughout the world and safeguard our God-given freedom.
How will we protect this base of operations?
We must protect this base of operations from every threat-from sin, from unrighteousness, immorality, from desecration of the Sabbath day, from lawlessness, from parental and juvenile delinquency.
We must protect it from dirty movies, filthy advertising, from salacious and suggestive TV programs, magazines, and books.
We must protect this base from idleness, subsidies, doles, and soft governmental paternalism which weakens initiative, discourages industry, destroys character, and demoralizes people.
We must protect this base from complacency-from the dangerous feeling that all is well-from being lulled away into a false security. We must protect this American base from the brainwashing, increasingly administered to our youth in many educational institutions across the land, by some misinformed instructors and some wolves in sheep's clothing. Their false indoctrination, often perpetrated behind the front of so-called academic freedom, is leaving behind many faithless students, socialist-oriented, who are easy subjects for state tyranny.
"At what point, then, is the approach of danger to be expected?" asked Abraham Lincoln, and answered, "... If it ever reaches us, it must spring up among us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time or die by suicide."
The only threat to the liberty and independence of the American people from abroad is the threat of world communism spreading from its base in the Soviet Union. But the best authorities are confident that the Soviets will not provoke a major war. Their economy would not support it.
Lenin said, "The soundest strategy in war is to postpone operations until the moral disintegration of the enemy renders the mortal blow possible and easy." Commenting on Lenin's statement the Indianapolis Star adds: "Where then does the real danger lie? It lies with us-the American people...
"Other great civilizations have died by suicide. The first free people, the Greeks, died thus.
"And why did Greece fall: 'A slackness and softness finally came over them to their ruin. In the end more than they wanted freedom they wanted security, a comfortable life, and they lost all-security, comfort and freedom.'
"It is the same with Americans today. The danger that threatens us is an internal danger. It lies in our hearts and minds and not in the hands of Khrushchev.
"It is our own ignorance-ignorance of our own history and our heritage of liberty that threatens us. It is our ignorance of the true nature of our enemy, socialistic communism, that threatens us... Our own lack of faith in freedom and ourselves, our own lack of confidence in the greatness of America and all that she stands for, morally and materially, is what puts us in mortal danger.
"Too many of us are afraid-afraid of atomic war, afraid of the disapproval of our allies or the neutrals, afraid of the threats and boasts of the bloated tyrants in the Kremlin, afraid to offend others by taking action to defend ourselves."
Yes, we are afraid to live righteously according to eternal principles-economic, moral, and spiritual. This is our danger. We must never forget that nations may-and usually do-sow the seeds of their own destruction while enjoying unprecedented prosperity. As Jenkin Lloyd Jones said, "It is time we hit the sawdust trail. It is time we revived the idea that there is such a thing as sin-just plain old willful sin. It is time we brought self-discipline back into style...
"I am fed up with the educationists and pseudo-scientists who have underrated our potential as a people... I am tired of seeing America debased and low-rated in the eyes of foreigners. I am genuinely disturbed that to idealistic youth in many countries the fraud of Communism appears synonymous with morality, while we, the chief repository of real freedom, are regarded as being in the last stages of decay.
"In this hour of fear, confusion and self-doubt... let there be a fresh breeze, a breeze of new honesty, new idealism, new integrity."
To protect this base we must protect the soul of America-we must return to a love and respect for the basic spiritual concepts upon which this nation has been established. We must study the Constitution and the writings of the founding fathers.
Yes, we must protect the Lord's base of operations by moving away from unsound economic policies which encourage creeping socialism and its companion, insidious, atheistic communism. If we are to protect this important base, we must as a nation live within our means, balance our budgets, and pay our debts. We must establish sound monetary policies and take needed steps to compete in world markets.
If we are to protect this American base, we must realize that all things, including information disseminated by our schools, churches, and government, should be judged according to the words of the prophets, especially the living prophet. This procedure coupled with the understanding which will come through the Spirit of the Lord, if we are living in compliance with the scriptures, is the only sure foundation and basis of judgment. Any other course of action leaves us muddled, despondent, wandering in shades of gray, easy targets for Satan.
We must not fail in these pressing and important matters. We must not fall short of the great mission the Lord has proffered and outlined for America and for his divinely restored Church.
Yes, this is a choice land-a nation with a prophetic history.
God bless America and her leaders and all the free world. And may God protect his latter-day base of operation that his glorious message of salvation may go forth to all the world, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Hugh B. Brown
Hugh B. Brown, Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 106-110
I pray for divine guidance as I humbly undertake to speak to this vast audience. May the Holy Spirit dictate what is said, and then it will be the truth, and may that same Spirit, which is the Spirit of truth, accompany the spoken word to our edification and blessing.
A brief explanation of our interpretation and acceptance of the most fundamental of all Christian doctrines may assist both friends and members to answer the recurring question: Are the Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, Christians?
We might with profit, and we hope with some interest, consider the question: What does it mean to be a Christian? The dictionary defines a Christian as one who follows the precepts and example of Jesus Christ, or one whose life is conformed to the doctrines of Jesus of Nazareth.
Now we cannot, of course this morning discuss, nor could we hardly enumerate the various saving principles of the gospel of Christ, but there is one doctrinal event which foreshadows and overshadows all other Christian doctrine. I refer to the atonement of Christ, and it would seem that this would be appropriate, as we approach the Easter time. "We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel".
Faith in this one transcendent event, the most important in all history, is the enduring foundation upon which the true Christian gospel is built. Upon it, the salvation of the whole human family depends. He who understands and accepts the full significance of the vicarious sacrifice of Jesus Christ and conforms to the principles and ordinances which that acceptance enjoins may be properly classified as a Christian. But there must be more than mere lip service; faith alone is not sufficient.
Jesus said: "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
"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".
What must one do to become a Christian or to be saved is an ancient and oft-repeated question which was answered by Peter, the apostle, on the day of Pentecost, when through his powerful sermon the people were convinced and pricked in their hearts and cried out: "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" and the apostle 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".
Forgiveness on terms of repentance is a basic Christian principle. But is one saved by merely meeting these preliminary requirements? The Apostle Paul, in one of his dynamic letters, said, speaking of these principles: "... let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God".
And he adds that the work of perfecting the Saints must continue "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ".
Salvation is a continuing, on-going process. It is eternally improving, achieving, becoming-yes, and overcoming. In some ways it may be analogous to education, which is a continuous process of overcoming ignorance. When is a man educated? When is a man saved? We believe a man is saved no faster than he gains knowledge for "the glory of God is intelligence.
Is a man educated when he enrolls in college, or when he gets his bachelor's, his master's or doctorate? Yes, relatively, he is an educated man, but he still has a lifetime-an eternity, in fact, in which to pursue knowledge and truth. The highest reaches of life are but embryonic in the light of eternity, and man has every reason to hope that a future life will afford him full scope for larger and fuller achievement.
This Church, which bears Christ's name, has from the beginning uniformly taught that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the first saving principle of the gospel, but as the poet tells us, "Heaven is not gained by a single bound, but we build the ladders by which we rise, from the lowly earth to the vaulted skies, and mount to its summit round by round."
Faith must be confirmed and demonstrated by active acceptance of all the other principles and ordinances taught by him whose name is incorporated in the word Christian.
We do not claim to understand fully the atonement in all of its limitless scope and infinite blessing; but God has revealed enough detail concerning the need, purpose, and universal application of the atonement of Christ to justify the doctrine that the resurrection from the dead is assured to all men.
John said: "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".
Eternal life and exaltation, however, made possible by the vicarious sacrifice of Christ may be progressively attained by man's voluntary co-operation with divine will and purpose. When we think of any reconciliation or appeasement or settlement, we consider it in connection with some previous act or event of which it is a sequel. For instance, a treaty of peace is a sequel of war. A settlement of a claim or an obligation implies there has been an account with a debit balance. When we speak of the atonement wrought by Jesus Christ, we envision an unpaid debt, and antecedent transgression; something to atone for.
All students of the Bible who accept the New Testament see in his atonement a sequel to the transgression of Adam, generally known as the Fall of Adam. Through the Fall, Adam and Eve and all their posterity became subject to bodily disintegration and death and also to banishment from the presence of God, which is in the nature of spiritual death, and this despite the fact that the cause was individual transgression. By the individual atonement of Christ, free redemption from the transgression of Adam is assured to all. Paul assures us that: "... since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive".
The transgression of Adam, together with all of its consequences, was foreseen and the expiation provided for before the foundations of the world were laid. In that primeval council, of which the scriptures speak, when "all the sons of God shouted for joy", Christ offered himself as a ransom. He was not coerced or required to make this sacrifice. His free agency was in no way infringed or trammeled. It was a freewill, love-inspired offer, which could have been withdrawn at any time. It was optional until the very time of his crucifixion. He gently rebuked Peter, you remember, who would have defended him with a sword at the time of the betrayal, and Jesus said: "Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?".
The question is sometimes asked: Why was such a sacrifice of God's beloved Son permitted or accepted? Why not let someone else pay that debt? Why not Adam?
The answer is found in the fact that of all the sons of God, only Christ could qualify, because he was the only sinless man who ever walked the earth. Furthermore, he was the First Begotten, the eldest of the sons of God in the spirit, and the Only Begotten in the flesh, and therefore the only one who possessed the full powers of Godhood and manhood. Hear him refer to that premortal existence in the most beautiful prayer on record, found in the 17th chapter of John, he prayed: "And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was".
Christ was the only one wholly free from the dominion of Satan, the only one possessed of power to hold death in abeyance and to die only as he willed so to do, the only one who could conquer death. He said: "For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself".
And again: "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".
Another question is sometimes heard: Why should Christ have volunteered to make this sacrifice? What was the motive that inspired and sustained him from the time of that council in heaven until the moment of his agonized cry, "It is finished"?
The answer to this question is twofold: first, his undeviating devotion to his Father's will. He said: "... My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work".
Second was his supernal and all-embracing love for mankind, who, without his mediation, would have remained in the total gloom of desiring without hope throughout eternity.
As the late President Taylor very beautifully and very truthfully said, speaking of the atonement: "Is justice dishonored? No; it is satisfied, the debt is paid. Is righteousness departed from? No; this is a righteous act. All requirements are met. Is judgment violated? No, its demands are fulfilled. Is mercy triumphant? No; she simply claims her own. Justice, judgment, mercy and truth all harmonize as the attributes of Deity. 'Justice and truth have met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other.' Justice and judgment triumph as well as mercy and peace".
What was the alternative to the atonement? What if there had been no atonement? If there had been no atonement, all men would have been doomed to eternal death, for unless Christ had broken its bonds, death would have been victorious. All who died before the Meridian of Time were still in their graves when Christ came forth triumphantly from the tomb and broke the bonds that held them captive.
Matthew records that: "... the graves were opened; and many bodies of the Saints which slept arose,
"And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many".
Thus he became the first fruits of them that slept. When the Apostle Paul comprehended the full meaning of this unprecedented event, he joyfully exclaimed: "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?".
And Jesus comforted and reassured all the grieving Marthas of the world with these immortal words: "... 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".
But the victory over death is not the only benefit arising from the atonement of the Messiah; his atonement not only liberated all men from eternal death but, through the atonement, forgiveness of our individual sins may be obtained. He made it possible for us, through faith, repentance, and continued righteousness, to obtain absolution from the effects of personal sins. One does not get the full benefit of the atonement simply by acknowledging it.
Men cannot be saved in their sins because, by divine decree, no unclean thing can enter the kingdom of heaven; however, through repentance, baptism, and the power of the Holy Ghost, men may be saved from their sins.
No man can by one single act, however great or sincere, free himself from the necessity for that "patient continuance in well doing" of which Paul speaks. He must still follow the Master and endure to the end. Jesus plainly and impressively taught this truth to the young man who came to him saying:
"... 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 said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness
"Honor thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
"The young man saith unto him, 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 treasure in heaven: and come and follow me"
It is not enough therefore merely to keep the commandments or obey the law nor even to sell all and give to the poor. The final requirement is to follow the Master. The poet has us sing:
"Jesus, I my cross have taken, all to leave and follow thee "Naked, poor, despised, forsaken, thou from hence my all shall be. "Perish every fond ambition, all I've thought, or hoped, or known; "Yet how rich is my condition, God and Heaven are still my own!"
That all men are sinners in varying degrees is repeatedly affirmed in the New Testament. Paul wrote to the Romans: "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God".
And John adds: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us".
Peter, said: "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. "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".
That the blessings of the atonement are to be made available not only to all who lived before the time of Christ but also to all who die without an opportunity to hear the gospel is evidenced by Peter's declaration: "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".
The Savior himself confirms this as follows: "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".
In answer to the question then, what does it mean to be a Christian and are we Christians, we reply that the doctrines we teach are Christian by every test of the scripture and of revelation. In practice we confess we often fall short. However, we are earnestly trying to bring our lives into complete harmony with his laws and thus become entitled to the full blessings of the atonement and become progressively better Christians.
No one of us is justified in praying as did the Pharisee of old, "God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men". There is no room in the true Christian life for an attitude of "holier than thou." Each one who claims to be a Christian could with better grace pray as did the publican, "God be merciful to me, a sinner".
Humbly we bear witness that God is a reality; he is personal and is our Father; that Jesus of Nazareth is the Redeemer and Savior of the world; that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth, and we wish all men could hear and accept that message.
As Peter said in answer to the Savior's question, "Whom say ye that I am?" we say with him "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God". May God be with you till we meet again, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Seymour Dilworth Young
S. Dilworth Young, Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 115-117
As I listened to Elder Mark E. Petersen, I wished that all of the youth of the Church could hear what he was saying. Many of us talk over the heads of children; I believe he said something they could understand. He mentioned the affection that he and the twelve have for President McKay as well as his assurance of the prophetic calling of the President of the Church.
I felt that I should like to get up and shout, "Please include me in that, also." I am certain that everyone here would want to be included. If they were asked to voice their feeling, the roar of approval would have shaken this building, so glad would they have been to express their affection also.
Heber C. Kimball, a member of the First Presidency at one time, and the grandfather of Elder Spencer W. Kimball, had great prophetic vision. He voiced it occasionally, and once he said, "There is a test coming; there will be a testing." What he was trying to imply, I suppose, was that we must not get smug, that the test would come, and each one of us would have an opportunity to find out if he would stand when the pressure was on, when seemingly the evidences were against us, when all hell would be raised up to defeat us. Would we stand the test? I am sure he meant to imply that every man would be tested before he would be accepted.
I submit that the modern testing which comes from the insidious boring-in of ideas which imitate truth, excuse deception, and discount both evil and its author, is a much more difficult one to encompass and to resist than the physical tests of the past. In the day when Brother Kimball spoke, there appeared to be more physical difficulties to encompass than those spiritual or mental. At that time we could protect our children. Life was simple. We could easily persuade them to see as we saw and do as we did, because a large part of communication was from parent to children. No one else had very much to do with them.
Now, however, the test is directed at the children. They are being deceived into believing that they can think and act with maturity long before they are mature. In this they are much deceived, and rebellious against parental restraint. They are ripe fruit for the plucking.
Today our test is with our families and the false ideals of the day. We need not succumb to it. Parents can protect their children if they will, but it takes time and effort; but parents are still the most potent and sure protection and defense, provided they are righteous parents, alert and informed.
I cannot believe, personally, that the Lord God compromises black and white into gray-if I might use a metaphor of color. If I read correctly, his constant admonition is to become white, to purify one's self, to become perfect. I think the Lord draws sharp lines and declares that whatever leads to evil is evil. It is the evil in us which leads us to want to compromise a little and to be earthy as well as earthly.
May I present two points of view: If my normal outlook is that it is expected that my child will have the experiences of marriage without its responsibilities during adolescence, and that handling cocktails successfully without becoming obnoxious to my fellows is manly, or that cigarettes with coffee during and after meals is desirable, or that a trip to a gambling palace in a neighboring state is a legitimate recreation, or that viewing vulgar or exciting floor shows is not sin so long as I take no physical active part, then I am not going to be alarmed at the advice some people give my adolescent children about their actions, nor am I going to be concerned with their television fare nor with what type of pictures appear in their favorite weekly magazines, especially those which glamorize drunken and debauching night life in flaming color. Since under these circumstances I have no real reason to elevate my life, believing that old-fashioned morality is outdated, I shall then class as great literature some works such as Boccaccio, Casanova, Lawrence, Fitzgerald, and others, to make certain that for a rounded-out life, my children should be exposed to the accounts of recreation of these loose and lewd men who happened to have unusual powers of sensual description.
And since my body is not sacred but a purely animal creation, an accident of some evolutionary urge without any particular pressure in any particular direction to bring me to what I am today, then I can laugh with great pleasure at jokes and sly references to its functions. If my children end up in need of psychiatric help when they discover the futility of life, I can also get cheap medical help by going to a moving picture in which an author of like mind and habit, combined with a director who understands, because this has been his experience also, portrays the agonies and frustrations of those whose mental equipment has broken down upon the indulgence in these evils, for an equally sadistic solution to the problem thus posed. Then I can take comfort from the thought that my children have had the same kind of experience and are not so abnormal after all.
Children echo the words and imitate the standards of the adults to whom they are exposed. If a child grows up in an environment where stealing hub caps and gasoline, or ganging up on innocents in the street, or breathing glue-fumes, is the normal expectation, it cannot be expected that his conception of moral integrity will make his word worth much or his actions trustworthy when he gets to be a mature adult. I can lull my conscience by thinking that his actions are the result of a disease which anyone knows, of course can strike anyone. Therefore he is not fundamentally accountable for what he does. He is to be pitied but not censured.
But if my understanding is to know my true place in the eternal purpose of God, that I am his son, that I may become like him, and that his commandments are to be kept, that happiness is found only by being in harmony with his laws, and further, that Satan is determined to keep me from either practicing or thinking about these elevating truths, I say, if this is my knowledge and my belief, then I am going to be not only concerned, but I am also going to take action to protect my children from the designs of evil men in the last days, as the 89th section portrays. I shall do my best to teach my child that he is a sacred person, that he is an eternal being of two parts, body and spirit, to be fused together in the resurrection, that this eternal joining will best be accomplished if each part has equal development, that the body must be trained and conditioned for eternal progress in its celestial abode as well as the spirit, that because it is of the earth it tends to become earthy as well as earthly, but that it can be made subject to the will of the spirit.
I shall give him enough of my time to guide him but not enough to overshadow him or to take away his agency, his practice in making decisions. But I shall make certain that he has the correct viewpoint of the malpractices of modern life and expose him to all that I can find that is good and true and right.
I shall show him the joy of righteous endeavor and the rewards of righteous thought and habit, and while in his formative years, I shall teach him to love truth and beauty and to abhor the sordid and the drab. I shall also protect him from evil influences that are beyond his understanding, but not beyond his imitating.
Above all, I shall do my best to teach him the basic difference between right and wrong and show him that his decisions must always be made on that basis rather than on the basis of convenience or advantage to himself. I shall teach him the wages of sin is death, that evil is sin which he is to resist with all his strength, that he is accountable and will have to answer for it. And I shall also teach him a true understanding of repentance and of the great sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, so that repentance will have meaning and purpose. I shall do my best to teach him the sacredness of life and of the family. He will be taught, too, the importance of the family relation in the eternal plan. Already he will have seen some practical examples of this in the conduct of my own life of which he has such a daily, intimate view.
I shall realize that I cannot deceive him if I will as to the kind of man I am, but I can fill him with the ideals of the kind of man I should be and desire him to become.
If I as a holder of the priesthood of the Son of God attempt to compromise by accepting some of the gray evils, saying they will do no harm because I am an adult and can control them, I have betrayed his generation which indeed must be taught to draw the sharp line if we are to survive.
Such I believe must be our course if we are to keep alive the testimony and the gospel in the next generation.
Let us with all our strength work to defeat the purposes of him who is the author of the first point of view, lest there be applied to our children the rebuke that Alma gave to Corianton when he reminded him of the great iniquity he brought upon the Zoramites for, said he, "... when they saw your conduct they would not believe my words".
But rather let us pledge our lives to truth and right and be alert to fulfil the vision and prophecy given to Nephi when he: "... beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory".
I sustain the work of the Church, and I witness that it belongs to Jesus Christ, is acknowledged by him, and I witness also the fact that we have a living prophet, the living prophet of our Lord among us, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Boyd K. Packer
Boyd K. Packer, Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 118-120
I address my remarks, my brothers and sisters, to the youth of the Church. It has been my privilege over the past number of years to travel throughout the Church and become closely acquainted with the young people, particularly those of high school and college age.
I suppose if I have any distinction as one of the General Authorities, it would be my closeness to the youth of the Church in two respects: first, the recency of my call from among them, and next, my nearness to them by virtue of my age, or perhaps I should say, lack of it. I earned that distinction last October the first, when it was grudgingly yielded to me by President Marion D. Hanks of the First Council of the Seventy.
My young friends, members of the Church, I do not profess to understand you fully. I think it is true, however, that perhaps you do not understand yourselves fully. But, I will confess to a great love for you and a great faith in you and an intense yearning desire to be helpful to you. I would hope that you could profit by my experience and know that soon, prematurely perhaps, certainly without warning, the responsibilities of leadership will come to you and in recognition of that, I would like to counsel you just a little.
My young friends, I am not frightened of you, not frightened for you, and I am not reticent to speak rather pointedly to you. As I have learned to love you, to become acquainted with you, as I have traveled throughout the Church, my conviction has grown that not only will you accept pointed, specific counsel and help, but that you are hungry for it and that you desire it.
I speak with a sense of urgency.
Friday, Brother Romney quoted from the eighty-eighth section of the Doctrine and Covenants, and I should like to quote a verse that precedes those read by Brother Romney-the eighty-eighth section, verse seventy-three, the Lord speaking:
"Behold, I will hasten my work in its time." I repeat, "Behold, I will hasten my work in its time".
And my young friends in the Church, I bear witness that this is the day of hastening, and as I speak to you about opportunity and obligation, I stress the word "obligation."
Many years ago, my parents lived in a very modest home in the northern end of the state of Utah. One morning, my mother answered a knock at the door and was confronted there by a large, frightening-looking man, who asked her for money. She said, "We have no money." There were in that home innumerable children, but very little money. He pressed his demands, insisting that she give him some money, finally saying "I am hungry; I would like to get something to eat."
"Well," she said, "if that is the case then I can help you." So she hurried to the kitchen and fixed him a lunch. And I am sure it was the most modest of provisions. She could tell as she gave him the lunch at the door that he was not pleased, but with little resistance he took the lunch and left. She watched him as he went down the lane through the gate and started up the road. He looked back, but he did not see her standing inside the door, and as he passed the property line, he took the lunch and threw it over the fence into the brush.
Now, my mother is a little Danish woman, and she was angered; she was angered at the ingratitude. In that house there was nothing to waste, and she was angered that he was so ungrateful.
The incident was forgotten until a week or two later; she answered another knock at the door. There stood a tall, raw-boned teenage boy, who asked about the same question in essentially the same words, "We need help; we are hungry. Could you give us some money; could you give us some food?" But somehow the image of the first man appeared in her mind and she said "No," excusing herself, "I am sorry. I am busy; I cannot help you today. I just cannot help you." What she meant was, "I won't. I won't. I won't be taken in again." Well, the young man turned without protest and walked out the gate, and she stood looking after him. It wasn't until he passed through the gate that she noticed the wagon, the father and mother and the other youngsters, and as the boy swung his long legs into the wagon, he looked back rather poignantly; the father shook the reins and the wagon went on down the road. She hesitated just long enough so that she could not call them back.
From that experience she drew a moral by which she has lived and which she has imparted to her children, and though that was I suppose, nearly fifty years ago, there has always been just a tiny hint of pain as she recalled the incident with this moral: "Never fail to give that which you have to someone who is in need." I repeat, "Never fail to give that which you have to someone who is in need."
I stress to you young brothers and sisters in the Church your obligation to give that which you possess to any who may be in need. I recognize that admittedly your material substance is meager compared to the needs of the world, but your spiritual powers are equal to the needs of the world. I urge you to resolve with me that never so long as we live would anyone be hungry, spiritually or physically, that we could aid and assist.
Now, with reference to obligation, one day two of our boys were having a little difference of opinion. That happens in the best of homes, I am told. There was just a little fussing about, and I stepped in as referee, and as I separated them, they were somewhat resistant. Just then the younger brother appeared on the scene and, in what I since learned to appreciate as magnificent English, said to his brothers, "Don't you know you're s'posed to mind the one what borned ya?"
Now, I think that speaks more eloquently than I can to my teenage friends. "Don't you know you are supposed to mind the one that borned you, spiritually speaking?" Your responsibility for giving lies just ahead. You have a twofold opportunity. First, just ahead of you in the mission field is the opportunity to give the gift that has come to you as only youth can give it. And then, subsequent to that, with your life's partner, you will give to those little boys and girls who will populate your kingdom here upon the earth.
Do you remember Clark, the boy from the other ward who was called on a mission to Mexico? I saw him in Mexico City just a few weeks ago. It was inspiring to be around him. He was giving; giving the gift that had come to him, in the way, I repeat, that only youth can give it. You recall, also, that his mother said after he had been in the mission field a week or two, "I think they are working him just a little too hard." "I think," she said, "that he is being pressed to extend his ability just a little bit beyond his capacity."
Now, that may be so, but my young brothers and sisters, we do not fear that challenge, do we? Cannot I represent you to the brethren here as being willing to face any extent of pressure and work in the building up of the kingdom?
Your welfare is not neglected, and I recognize in what I saw in Clark, the most profound representation of the great principles of the welfare program that I have ever witnessed, for in his life, work has been enthroned as a ruling principle. It was in 1936 at this pulpit that President Heber J. Grant said, "Work is to be re-enthroned as a ruling principle in the lives of our Church membership."
Where else, my young friends, are you pressed to that point? Where is work enthroned in your lives unless it is in the mission field? Now we know that there were those who stumbled between Winter Quarters and Salt Lake Valley, and we know that there were those who limped painfully every step of the great trek of the Mormon Battalion, but the contest was not called off, and the campaign was not canceled. I suppose that in this day, in this work that there will be some casualty, and I expect there may be some mortality. But, the fight with sin is real, it will be long, but it must go on, and I urge you young friends in the Church to enlist yourselves and to put your shoulder to the wheel.
This boy Clark, it is magnificent to see what has happened to him. It did not come to him easily. There was sweat on his brow, and there were tears on his pillow before he had achieved the knowledge of how to work strenuously, earnestly, but you know I would not like to have him come home and open a service station across the street from one that I was trying to operate. He knows how to do things. He knows how to do them with energy, with enthusiasm, with capacity, with humility, with deep human concern. He knows how to respect his fellow men. He has not failed. He has lived to the admonition "never fail to give that which you have to someone who is in need."
Obedient to that admonition, my young friends, I would like to share with you, that which has come to me by way of testimony and conviction. Would you understand and not misunderstand if I should say that which I have earned by way of conviction, for you must earn it to receive it: First, having so recently been called to represent you the young people among these brethren, I tell you earnestly that I sustain the General Authorities of the Church. I have worked with them at close view for these number of months. I have seen humanity, and I have seen dedication. I have seen work, and I have seen work and I have seen work. I have seen humility, and I have seen righteousness. I sustain the General Authorities of the Church.
Then my young friends, when I was just a little younger than I am now, I thought that there ought to come to one who is called to be a General Authority of the Church some special conviction, some special inner strength to build him up, to strengthen him, and I testify to you, my young friends, that there is. I say to you that I know that the gospel is true, and then I say that I used to know the gospel was true also, but now I know.
I bear witness to you that Jesus is the Christ, that he lives, that he is a reality. I testify that our Father lives and loves us and as young people will sustain and support us, as we rally and as we are willing to give that gift which has come to us and to those who are in need, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder A. Theodore Tuttle
A. Theodore Tuttle, Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 120-123
Mis queridos hermanos y hermanas, estoy feliz de estar aqui con ustedes esta tarde. I could not resist addressing you in the language of the people that I love, and whose language I am trying to learn.
I bring you greetings from six mission presidents and their devoted wives, from over 800 missionaries, and over 20,000 wonderful Saints in South America. Perhaps the most interesting thing about the number of the 20,000 members is not so much the extent of the growth, though it is wonderful, as the rate of growth which has occurred-in fulfillment of prophecy.
I would like briefly to relate the background to this statement. In 1851 it was Parley P. Pratt who first went to South America after visiting the South Sea Islands in an attempt to introduce the gospel to South America. He landed in Valparaiso, Chile, just after a revolution, but conditions were unfavorable to the establishment of the gospel, and in a few months he returned home. It was not until 1925 that Elders Melvin J. Ballard, Rulon S. Wells, and Rey L. Pratt were assigned to South America to open that land for the teaching of the gospel. In his dedicatory prayer Elder Ballard said some words which I should like you to hear: "And now, O Father, by authority of the blessing and appointment by the President of the Church, and by the authority of the Holy Apostleship which I have, I turn the key, unlock and open the door for the preaching of the gospel in these lands, and we do bless and dedicate these nations of this land for the preaching of thy gospel."
On July 4, 1926, Elder Ballard uttered these inspired words: "The work of the Lord will go slowly for a time here, just as an oak grows slowly from an acorn. It will not shoot up in a day as does the sunflower that grows quickly and then dies, but thousands will join the Church. It will be divided into more than one mission, and will be one of the strongest in the Church. The work here is the smallest it will ever be. The day will come when the Lamanites in this land will be given a chance. The South American Mission will be a power in the Church."
In 1959 Elder Harold B. Lee partially fulfilled that prophecy when he created the fifth mission-the Andes Mission-in South America, and in his address at the creation of that mission, he also made a significant statement-I think a prophecy. He said: "In my judgment there are no missions in the world which hold so much promise as the missions of South America. The work is going to continue to grow, and we have not yet seen the end of the number of missions that will be established, and there are those here that will see that growth."
Six months ago, under the direction of the First Presidency, it was our privilege to organize the Chilean Mission-the sixth mission of the Church in South America, and the work is just commencing. It took thirty-three years in order to convert the first 10,000 people to the Church in South America. It took just three years to convert the next 10,000. Last year alone 6,000 came into the Church. Indeed it is a land of promise and of prophecy.
I am grateful to have the privilege of laboring in this land. It has been a marvelous experience for Sister Tuttle and me to take our young family down to South America and make our home there, and it has been a great opportunity to travel abroad on that vast continent, trying to hasten the work of the Lord as Elder Packer mentioned. I lack both the time and the vocabulary to describe adequately this great and varied land, but I would like briefly to give you a glimpse of it.
Perhaps the land could best be characterized as a sleeping giant-both giant and sleeping. There is tremendous potential there. There are mighty rivers whose power for the most part rolls on unharnessed; fertile soil, yards and yards deep, lies undeveloped, great resources, dormant. Almost it seems as though the Lord was letting this happen.
The people are a mixture of many nations, mainly Europeans mixed with the Lamanite, who was indigenous to this land. Half of the 120 millions of people speak Spanish; the other half, Portuguese. The latter are found in the great country of Brazil.
These people are not lazy. I know they have been characterized as lazy. It is true, they take a siesta, but they start early, and they go late. Many times I have seen women, particularly Lamanite women-always with a baby strapped across their backs-half trotting along the street whirling a little spindle which spins the yarn from the wool which they have in their hands. They deserve the gospel of Jesus Christ after these many hundreds of years-and this too in fulfillment of prophecy.
Politically, I know little about the situation. I do know of the press accounts from there. I think, however, that you parents need not be worried about the safety of your sons or your daughters in that land. It is true, there is always a threat, and danger is more or less constant, but I have a calm assurance in my heart that God lives, he is in his heaven; this is his work; and it is not going to be hindered by the whims of men.
I would, however, request one thing-that each of you join with your sons and daughters and with us in fervent prayer to call down the blessings of heaven upon that land, that the leaders may be blessed to preserve the measure of peace that will make it possible for us to carry the work of the Lord forward; for it will be the means of saving and awakening this great people.
One of the most thrilling things that I have observed in this conference are these four rows of men down here wearing the earphones. Perhaps because I have been in the land of a foreign tongue, I can more readily appreciate the opportunity these brethren have to come from such distant places and receive the counsel of the brethren firsthand in their own tongue. I can certainly say, "Amen," to Brother Hinckley's statement that there are other places where nations are met politically to solve their problems, but that here is the soul and the heart and the spirit that will ultimately bring peace. Because it is here that the gospel will be taught and only through acceptance of it and obedience to it can peace come. There is no other way that all men can be united in a cause that is greater than their own nationalism, except in the acceptance of the universal gospel of Jesus Christ.
I have thrilled as I sat in report meetings and heard the brethren give reports of their extensive labors both at home and abroad; where they speak intimately of such places as Hamburg, Glasgow, Tokyo, Sidney, Helsinki, Manila, and Bergen. The cause of truth is mightier and more widespread than ever before in the history of the world, and so also is the power of error and evil. But again, in my soul is the calm assurance that right will prevail and truth will overcome. While all around nations fear and tremble and wonder and are uncertain, we are certain and calm and at peace.
But, oh, how I yearn for the day when in these meetings the brethren will give reports on such places as Nanking, Moscow, Delhi, Bombay, Dakar, Leningrad, and Jerusalem and speak about the conditions in the branches and districts and wards and stakes in these places.
How can this be achieved and hastened? By obedience to and acceptance of the gospel of Jesus Christ-obedience by us who believe and acceptance by the world, for this gospel has the power to change men's lives. Because I have been in the mission field, I have more readily seen the power of the gospel change lives.
Down in Brazil I listened to a recently appointed branch president say: "Brethren, I work from 7 am to 7 pm. I have set two nights aside for my family. The other five nights I intend to be at the Church. Brethren, you can find me there." The gospel changes lives. It calls forth willing service and gives a man a worthy cause.
In a priesthood leadership meeting down in Chile, one of the brethren said, "Who would have thought that two years ago an ordinary mechanic like myself would be standing in front of a group of men teaching them about the things of the spirit? Here I am not only doing that but serving as your branch president as well." The gospel changes lives. It releases latent potential.
Down in Uruguay I heard a father say of his son, "Two years ago when my son was called on a mission I wasn't even a member of this Church. Now when my son is released, I shall welcome him officially into his branch as his branch president. Is it any wonder that I am almost overcome with gratitude for the blessings which the gospel has brought into my life-the harmony and the unity it has brought to our family? The gospel changes lives. It brings love and unity and peace to families.
In Argentina a former missionary who is now married and has two children stood and said, "If I received a call to go on a mission again, I would sell my furniture and go." To you brethren here it might take on added significance to realize that that young man had no stocks, no bonds, no real property, no home, no car-only furniture. The gospel changes lives. It lifts them from the realm of materialism to spirituality.
I heard a brother in the Andes Mission say, "You men are my brothers. If my family joins the Church and are faithful, they will be my brothers. If not, the blood relationship is not as strong as the brotherhood and gospel ties in this Church." The gospel changes lives. It unites all men that love the truth in a brotherhood.
There is a building program going on in South America as there is in all the world. It requires the assistance of a skilled contractor to help the local people build the churches. Right now there is some unsuspecting Spanish-speaking contractor here in North America who is going to receive a telephone call and have an interview, and if he is willing and worthy, he is going to sell or rent his home, leave his job, turn his business over to his partner or his competitor, take his family and head for some place in South America which heretofore has been only a strange sounding name.
I was in that branch three weeks ago. When this man arrives at Asuncion, Paraguay, he will find a people that will teach him love, understanding and brotherhood; and they will build him into a better man while he helps them build a chapel to worship God. The gospel changes lives and location, and requires sacrifice. And I am grateful that it does. I hope we never lose from this Church this element of sacrifice. It is worth the sacrifice to have the peace and assurance come to you that God lives, because your willingness to serve draws you closer to him.
There are several thousand young men and women this year who also will have an interview with their bishops, and if they have prepared themselves well and proved themselves worthy, they will receive a call from the Prophet of the Lord to serve their fellow men by declaring the restoration of the gospel. They will leave school and scholarships. They will leave their jobs and their money and their girls, and go at their own expense and learn a foreign tongue so that other lives may be changed. They will declare that God lives, that he is our Father, that he loves us. They will declare that Jesus Christ is his Son, our Redeemer. They will declare that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored in this day through the Prophet Joseph Smith. They will declare that a new witness has been given to the world in the form of the Book of Mormon, which declares again and anew that Jesus is the Christ. They will declare that this is a land of promise, as Elder Benson so impressively said, from which this gospel is to go forth to all the world to bless the lives of all of our Father's children.
They will declare that the priesthood has been restored to men to give them power to baptize and to bless with the Holy Ghost and to perform all of the ordinances which are necessary for the exaltation of man.
Now how can we help, and what can we do? Youth prepare. Live clean. Be honorable. Follow the counsel you have received in this conference.
Parents, instruct. Get close to your families. Perhaps parental advice can best be summed up by repeating to you a telephone conversation from an eighty-eight-year-old mother up here to her forty-year-old son down in Sao Paulo. She said, "Son, keep your faith, do your work, pay your tithing, live the gospel, say your prayers, and keep your testimony." He said, "She has given me that advice all her life."
I am grateful, brothers and sisters, for my testimony of the divinity of this work. I am grateful that I know that the great and noble man who directs this work is indeed a prophet of God. I am willing to sustain these brethren of the General Authorities in their holy callings. I am willing to sustain you brethren in your offices and callings. I am grateful to have membership in this Church and brotherhood with you.
I pray that the Lord will continue to touch the hearts of his children that they will respond to the power of truth that it may operate in their lives and change enmity to love, greed and avarice to generosity, apathy to righteous activity, materialism to spirituality, and unite all men in the brotherhood of the gospel in ultimate peace, and I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1962, pp. 123-126
Elder A. Theodore Tuttle of the First Council of the Seventy, and now president of the South American Mission, has just addressed us. You will be pleased to know that we already have word from that country. I read one telegram, and here is another from Lima, Peru. Just think, we were together this morning speaking to them through short-wave radio. Here is an answer from the people listening in: "Shortwave program of inspirational conference received perfectly in Lima, Peru." The cablegram was signed by Brother Vernon Sharp, president of the Andes Mission.
And now we have a cablegram from the other side of the world: "One hundred and two French members in Paris thrilled to hear their prophet, leaders, choir. Reception good."
I know that I express the gratitude of your hearts for the men who own these stations and who have united with the Church in the great effort to apply modern invention and discoveries to the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. If we had had to pay for the television and radio coverage we have had today, we should have had to expend thousands, tens of thousands of dollars. These men who have united in rendering this service deserve our heartfelt gratitude for their utilizing modern discoveries and inventions to reach these people of the world-down in Central America, South America, Africa, France, Germany, and the islands of the sea. Just realize what you have experienced today! God bless these men.
The Tabernacle Choir will favor us with the anthem, "Worthy is the Lamb," conducted by Richard P. Condie, and the benediction will be offered by Elder Rulon J. Sperry, formerly President of the Netherlands Mission, after which this conference will be adjourned for six months.
The singing for this afternoon and this morning, as you know, has been furnished by the members of the Tabernacle Choir. We have been inspired by their singing. I should like to say to you that we owe this group of singers a great debt. It is through their singing and their influence throughout the world that we have had the unexcelled experience today of speaking to the world. Brother Arch L. Madsen, who is head of KSL, has been instrumental through his friends and associates in radio and television in obtaining this worldwide coverage. He reported that one important reason why these owners and managers of stations consented to unite with us in this conference was because of the fact that their stations could bring to the people the privilege of listening to the world-famous Tabernacle Choir and that was a drawing card of course. There are hundreds of thousands and millions of listeners. We were very pleased to have the Tabernacle Choir as part of the program this day. That is why the services this morning were interrupted at certain times. Some stations were coming on, and other stations were going off.
We have participated this morning in something that is greater than we really know!
Now, in conclusion, I should like, though inadequately, to express for you our appreciation of those who have participated in this great conference. First, to the General Authorities for the inspirational messages you have given. I think it was Carlyle who said, "In this world there is one god-like virtue, the essence of all that ever was or ever will be of god-like in this world-the veneration done to human worth by the hearts of men. It is in that spirit we mention the following and head it with your messages throughout the conference.
Second, to the public press and the reporters for their fair and accurate reports throughout the sessions.
Third, for the cooperation of the city officials: As you have driven to and from Temple Square past these policemen standing on the street corners, you have noted their responsibilities and how faithfully they have discharged them, handling carefully the increased traffic; also the Fire Department and the Red Cross, who have been on hand to render assistance and service whenever and wherever needed. I am mentioning this because you know it is a wonderful thing to feel the spirit of cooperation in this great city.
Fourth, to the Tabernacle ushers who have rendered service quietly, courteously, and efficiently in seating the great audience at these conference sessions.
Fifth, I have already mentioned the radio and television stations. Fifty-two television and twenty-four radio stations in our own city and the nation for the first time have carried the sessions of this conference from coast to coast and by short-wave to countries all over the world. This has been the means of permitting over sixty million people in the United States and Canada, and many thousands more in foreign countries, to hear and see the proceedings of this 132nd annual conference.
Sixth, I should like to express personally and publicly my appreciation of the management of the Hotel Utah and their associates, men and women who were looking after your comfort, and particularly Sister McKay's and mine-the managerial personnel, the girls running the elevators, the cooks, waitresses-nowhere in the world, I care not where you go, will you find more excellent service.
Seventh, we appreciate especially those who have furnished the singing throughout this conference: The Brigham Young University Combined Choruses, a large choir and musical instruments on Friday, April 6; the Ricks College Choir on Saturday, April 7; the Men's Chorus of the Tabernacle Choir last evening.
All contributed their services-paid their own expenses from Provo, Rexburg, and other places. Any call was given an immediate response.
Today, our own Tabernacle Choir. You know what reference I have already made regarding our appreciation of their services to the world.
Eighth, we must not overlook these beautiful daffodils sent to us by airplane from the Tacoma Stake through the kindness of the Puyallup Valley Daffodil Festival. And these calla lilies that came by air from the high priests quorum of the Oakland-Berkeley Stake. Ten thousand sweet peas from the Mesa Eleventh Ward, Mesa Stake, picked by members of the stake.
Thank you, members and friends, for these beautiful flowers which fill the Tabernacle with sunshine and fragrance. We appreciate the love and affection which these flowers connote. We are not unmindful of the many hours spent by the members of the Church in picking and arranging these flowers for shipment by air.
Now, just a word by way of summary. The paramount theme of this great conference has been the reality of God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. The founding fathers of our republic incorporated in the Preamble of our Constitution their belief in a Creator who had created mankind on a basis of equality with certain inalienable rights, chief of which were life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
In our daily desire for material success and pleasure, we have a tendency to neglect the importance of the Creator's place in our hearts and in our homes; and in social intercourse we are prone to neglect the importance of making the Creator the center of our lives.
Our religion is not a cloak to wear on Sunday and be hung in the closet for the rest of the week; neither is it something for nations to parade on certain occasions and then to wrap up in mothballs to await another occasion.
Men today are rapidly classifying themselves into two groups: believers and nonbelievers.
J. Edgar Hoover, and I quote, says:
"There is no place here in America for part-time patriots. This nation is face to face with the greatest danger ever to confront it, a sinister and deadly conspiracy which can be conquered only by an alert, informed citizenry. It is indeed appalling that some members of our society continue to deplore and criticize those who stress the communist danger. Public indifference to this threat is tantamount to national suicide. Lethargy leads only to disaster. Knowledge of the enemy, alertness to the danger, everyday patriotism are the brick and mortar with which we can build an impregnable fortress against communism."
I approve with all my heart the appeal made by Brother Tuttle that only the gospel of Jesus Christ will unite our hearts in faith in God and faith in his existence, that we make him the center of our lives, and that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the plan whereby our hearts and lives and towns and nations can be united in bringing about universal peace and the brotherhood of man.
God lives! So does Jesus Christ, his Beloved Son, who gave the gospel, the eternal plan of salvation of the human soul. The Lord himself says, "... this is my work and my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" -all mankind.
We have had a beautiful example of mutual service and mutual love throughout this entire conference here in our own city.
God bless you, brethren and sisters, may you carry back to your wards and stakes and missions the spirit of this great, greatest of all conferences ever held in the Church. I pray that God will bless you with his guiding and protecting influence, that you may return home without accident; be happy in the knowledge that you are members of this great kingdom and that you contribute to the brotherhood of Christ. May that Spirit emanate not only from you and your associates in the Church, but from all who participated, whether they are members or not, in making this conference so ideally successful, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 5-8
"What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
"For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour".
Since the dawn of civilization, leaders in organized society have sought the answer to the age-old question: "What is the chief end of man?" Carlyle answered it by saying, "To glorify God and enjoy him forever."
The Prophet Joseph Smith gave through revelation from the Lord the following: "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".
He further brought to light the great truth that God's work and glory is: "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man".
Throughout the centuries there have been leaders and socially minded men who have desired the better way of living than that which was theirs. The good life, so important to man's happiness, has been the quest of the ages. To sense the need of reform has been easy, but to achieve it has been difficult and well nigh impossible. Ideas suggested by the wisest of men have often been impractical, sometimes fantastic, yet in many cases the world in general has been made better by the dissemination of new ideas even though the experiments proved failures at the time.
In this respect the first half of the nineteenth century was particularly marked by the feeling of social unrest, and many observing people became dissatisfied with social and economic conditions, and thinking men sought for remedial changes. In France, for example, the fanciful theories of Francois Marie Charles Fourier were circulated. He attempted to outline the future history of our globe and of the human race for eighty thousand years. Today, his books are seldom, if ever, read.
Later, Robert Owen, a man of exceptional ability and insight, when about nineteen years of age, became dissatisfied with the churches of his day. He decried their departure from the simple teachings of Jesus and was disturbed also by economic conditions. With a fortune back of him, and with the confidence of the Duke of Kent, Queen Victoria's father, Owen came to the New World in America about 1823. He purchased twenty thousand acres of land in what later became New Harmony, Indiana. He established what he hoped to be an ideal society. Within three years he lost two hundred thousand dollars of his fortune, and his experiment failed.
A few years later, George Ripley, a Unitarian minister, conceived a plan of plain living and high thinking. He and his associates became the founders of what is known now as "The Great Experiment." He had as his associates such able men as Nathaniel Hawthorne and Charles A. Dana, who afterwards became Assistant Secretary of War in the Cabinet of the President of the United States. This "Great Experiment" came to an end in 1846.
I believe with others that government, institutions, and organizations exist primarily for the purpose of securing to the individual his rights, his happiness, and proper development of his character. When organizations fail to accomplish this purpose, their usefulness ends. "So act," says Kant, "as to treat humanity, whether in your own person or that of another, in every case as an end, never as a means only."
In all ages of the world men have been prone to ignore the personality of others, to disregard men's rights by closing against them the opportunity to develop. The worth of man is a good measuring rod by which we may judge the rightfulness or the wrongfulness of a policy or principle, whether in government, in business, or in social activities.
Theories and ideologies exploited during the last half century present challenges more critical and dangerous than mankind has ever before faced.
This present world conflict, affecting the minds and souls of men today, is set forth by a prominent statesman of our country in the following succinct summary:
"On one side are those who, believing in the dignity and worth of the individual, proclaim his right to be free to achieve his full destiny-spiritually, intellectually, and materially. And-on the other side-there are arrayed those who, denying and disdaining the worth of the individual, subject him to the will of an authoritarian state, the dictates of a rigid ideology, and the ruthless disciplines of a party apparatus.
"This basic conflict-so deeply dividing the world-comes at a time when the surge of other changes and upheavals staggers the mind and senses. Whole nations are trying to vault from the Stone Age to the twentieth century".
Thus, today, brethren, we are in danger of actually surrendering our personal and property rights. This development, if it does occur in full form, will be a sad tragedy for our people. We must recognize that property rights are essential to human liberty.
Former United States Supreme Court Justice George Sutherland, from our own State, carefully stated it as follows: "It is not the right of property which is protected, but the right to property. Property, per se has no rights; but the individual-the man-has three great rights, equally sacred from arbitrary interference: the right to his life, the right to his liberty, and the right to his property. The three rights are so bound together as to be essentially one right. To give a man his life, but deny him his liberty, is to take from him all that makes life worth living. To give him liberty, but take from him the property which is the fruit and badge of his liberty, is to still leave him a slave."
The bond of our secular covenant is the principle of constitutional government. That principle is, in itself, eternal and everlasting, despite the pretensions of temporary tyrannies. The principle of tyranny maintains that human beings are incurably selfish and therefore cannot govern themselves. This concept flies in the face of the wonderful declaration of the Prophet Joseph Smith that the people are to be taught correct principles, and then they are to govern themselves. Dictatorship, however, argues that the people should be governed by the individual or a clique who can seize power through subversion or outright bloodshed. Further, the people are declared to be without guarantees or rights, and the regime is claimed to exist beholden only to the plans and whims of the ruling tyrant.
Our founding fathers, despite some natural fears, clearly regarded the promulgation of the Constitution of the United States as their greatest triumph.
On June 12, 1955, Sir Percy Spender, Australian Ambassador to the United States, delivered a speech at the Union University at Schenectady, New York, at the time they conferred an honorary degree of Doctor of Civil Laws upon him. I agree with what he said in that speech, relating to present-day efforts, and I quote part of it as follows:
"Today, freedom-political, economic, and individual freedom-lies destroyed or is in the course of being destroyed over great areas of the globe. And it has been destroyed and is being destroyed in the name of freedom. A vast struggle for the mind of man is now being waged-a struggle in which I hope each of you with all your heart will take part. In this struggle truth is distorted by those who have not the slightest regard for truth. All the words which mean so much to us-like Liberty, Freedom, Democracy-are being despoiled spoiled and prostituted by the enemies of Liberty, Freedom, and Democracy. A ruthless dialectical battle is being waged against the Christian way of life, against political liberty, against individual freedom, and it is being waged in the name of Freedom. Black becomes White; Tyranny becomes Freedom; The Forced Labor Camp stands for Liberty; The Slave State is represented as Democracy. This is the deadly challenge of Communism. And in this challenge those who put their emphasis upon man as an economic being-and there are plenty in every so-called free country in the world today who do just that-those who explain man in terms of scientific and chemical facts and the accident of circumstance, those who treat human beings as so many 'bodies,' those who deny man's spiritual and individual existence-each of them aids and hastens the destruction of the political institutions on which our free society rests, and whether he knows it or not, supports the dialectics and the aims of International Communism."
Jesus always sought the welfare of the individual; and individuals, grouped and laboring for the mutual welfare of the whole in conformity with the principles of the gospel, constitute the kingdom of God. Many of the choicest truths of the gospel were given in conversations with individuals when Jesus was on the earth. It was while Jesus talked with Nicodemus that he gave us the message relative to baptism and of being "born again". From the conversation with the woman of Samaria, we have disclosed the truth that they who worship God must worship him "in spirit and in truth." From Jesus' conversation with Mary and Martha, we hear the divine declaration, "I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live".
Jesus' regard for the personality was supreme!
To the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the worth of the individual has special meaning. Quorums, auxiliaries, wards, stakes, even the Church itself, are all organized to further the welfare of man. All are but a means to an end, and that end is the happiness and eternal value of every child of God.
With wards, quorums, organizations, and auxiliaries in mind, I suggest three major means of winning souls to Christ. These three conditions are: one-enrolment in the Church of every individual; two-personal contact; three-group service.
These three plans, or conditions, are already operating in the Church, but unless they function, they will be ineffective in accomplishing the purposes for which they have been established.
It is the duty of each of these organizations to enroll every individual who belongs to it, not only to enroll, but to know by personal contact the conditions under which each person lives. It is not enough to know, and it is not sufficient to visit, for no person can become enthusiastic with the principles and doctrines of the gospel unless he or she lives them. "If ye will do the will, ye shall know" is a fundamental law of spiritual growth.
If each of the thousands of officers and teachers in the ward, stake, and auxiliary organizations; if each of the many thousands of priesthood members were to influence for better living one individual, and should labor all his days "and bring save it be but one soul unto me," says the Lord, "how great shall be his joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!".
Today, many nations have lost their independence; men, defeated, have been compelled to labor for their conquerors, property has been seized without recompense, and millions of people have surrendered all guarantees of personal liberty.
Force and compulsion will never establish the ideal society. This can come only by a transformation within the individual soul-a life redeemed from sin and brought in harmony with the divine will. Instead of selfishness, men must be willing to dedicate their ability, their possessions, their lives, if necessary, their fortunes, and their sacred honor for the alleviation of the ills of mankind. Hate must be supplanted by sympathy and forbearance. Peace and true prosperity can come only by conforming our lives to the law of love, the law of the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. A mere appreciation of the social ethics of Jesus is not sufficient-men's hearts must be changed!
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.
We find ourselves now immersed in a great political campaign in America for the purpose of selecting candidates for office in local, state, and national positions. We urge you as citizens to participate in this great democratic process in accordance with your honest political convictions.
However, above all else, strive to support good and conscientious candidates of either party who are aware of the great dangers inherent in communism, and who are truly dedicated to the Constitution in the tradition of our rounding fathers. They should also pledge their sincere fealty to our way of liberty-a liberty which aims at the preservation of both personal and property rights. Study the issues, analyze the candidates on these grounds, and then exercise your franchise as free men and women. Never be found guilty of exchanging your birthright for a mess of pottage!
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 Bruce R. McConkie
Bruce R. McConkie, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 8-10
When the time drew near for the ushering in of this great latter-day dispensation-the dispensation in which the Lord designed to restore again the truths of everlasting salvation to men-he placed Joseph Smith in circumstances where the future prophet was confronted with a wave of religious revivalism. "In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions", Joseph heard various ministers proclaim conflicting systems of salvation. Some cried, "Lo, here is Christ," others, "Lo, there". Confronted with this confusion, this young man, who had been prepared for his coming mission from all eternity, who had sat with Abraham and Adam in the councils in preexistence; who had the spiritual stature and was the one foreordained to usher in this great work-this young man read in the book 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".
Joseph Smith said that never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did to his heart at this time. The Spirit of the Lord was working with him and preparing him to receive the great vision that was ahead. Having listened to the ministers, he concluded that there was no real prospect of resolving the question as to which of all the churches was right by reference to the scriptures, "for the teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible". In due course, being led by the Spirit, he retired to a secluded and appropriate place to ask God which of all the churches was right and which he should join. In his language, this is what occurred:
"... 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!
"My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right-and which I should join.
"I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: 'they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.'
"He again forbade me to join with any of them; and many other things did he say unto me, which I cannot write at this time".
But on another occasion the Prophet was permitted to write one of these other things. He was told, in effect, that if he remained faithful and true, he would be the instrument in the hands of the Lord to restore the everlasting gospel. In process of time he became that instrument- he received revelation upon revelation; heavenly ministers visited him; keys and powers, rights and prerogatives were restored, until the gospel in its fulness had been given again, which means that everything had been restored that was needed to enable men to gain a fulness of exaltation hereafter. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was set up, and the power of God was again manifest to men on the earth.
Now, I suggest that the greatest question in the spiritual realm today is this: Was Joseph Smith called of God? Did he in fact receive the revelations which we certify were given to him? If he was called of God, if the Father and the Son appeared to him, if the heavens have been opened and the Church and kingdom of God has been set up again on earth through his instrumentality, then all men everywhere can find salvation by coming to this kingdom, by learning for themselves of the divinity of the work, and by hearkening to the precepts that are taught here.
But if Joseph Smith was not called of God, then this cause that we have espoused, and these proclamations that we make, are the greatest imposition and fraud that have been promulgated in the name of religion in the course of the history of the world. We are worse than the declining churches of the world if this cause is not true, because our proclamation is that the kingdom of God has been set up on the earth,and that this very kingdom is destined to grow and increase and break in pieces all other kingdoms until it fills the whole earth.
So I would suppose that every honest truth seeker in the world, every spiritually inclined person ought to desire to know whether Joseph Smith was called of God and whether the Lord's hand is in this work. I suggest that we have a pattern before us which shows the way whereby men can know of the divinity of this work. In the dispensation which preceded this one, in the day when our Lord himself ministered among men, he called apostles and prophets; he sent missionaries forth; they laid the foundation of a great Christian religion for their day; and the great message, the question then was: Has the Lord Jesus risen from the dead? Is this man, this lowly Nazarene, in fact and in literal reality, the Almighty Jehovah?
Now, this message that Christ had risen from the dead, that he had abolished death and "brought life and immortality to light through the gospel", was carried by the missionaries of old. They did it by declaring in simplicity and in plainness the gospel doctrines that he had given them. They did it by citing the ancient scriptures. They did it by pointing to the works which the Lord had done there in the flesh, he having said that the very works that he did bore record of him; and then they climaxed their message by bearing testimony of what God had revealed to them as to the divinity of the work. Some of them were able to stand up and say that they had seen with their eyes and felt with their hands, and that they knew of the Risen Lord's reality; and all of them were able to testify that they knew by revelation from the Holy Ghost that the gospel was there and that Jesus was the Lord.
This is the same system that exists in this day. We have in the world now some 12,000 missionaries in the various nations, preaching what we call the message of the restoration; announcing the opening of the heavens that God has spoken; preaching the divine Sonship of Christ; proclaiming that there are living apostles and prophets on earth. And they go forth carrying the message of salvation in precisely the same way that the apostles and prophets and missionaries of old did it. They go forth and announce the doctrines of salvation; they preach them in simplicity and in plainness, they cite the ancient revelations, they reason with the people and show that these things have been predicted, they point to the fruits of the prophet, the work that he did. for a man's fruits bear record of him. Then when all this has been done, they clinch the testimony, they climax the evidence they give, by bearing testimony of that God has revealed to them of the divinity of the work.
So though they may be, as the scripture read by President McKay states, though they may be the weak and the simple and the humble of the earth, yet with the Spirit of God as their companion, they fear not the face of man but go forth boldly, proclaiming Christ as the Divine Son of God and Joseph Smith as his prophet for this age. As a result, the honest in heart, the upright, the spiritually inclined, the righteous, the good, the best people among all the nations of the earth, hear the testimony which they bear and are gathered into the kingdom of God.
You can argue or debate about the scriptures; you can explain away the works that are performed by prophets and say they were done by this power or that. But you cannot argue with a testimony; there is no issue to debate; there is no defense against the testimony that rests in the hearts of living witnesses who go out and certify of the divinity of this work.
I can stand in the congregations of the earth and can reason with the people out of the revelations. I can cite the scriptures of old. I can recite the proofs and the evidences, the fruits, such as the Book of Mormon, which have flown from the ministry of Joseph Smith. When I do this, if people are not spiritually inclined, they can argue and contend and attempt to explain these things away. But, having done all this, having set the stage, having laid a foundation, if I then say to the people: "In addition to all these evidences, I have received revelation that has come to me by the power of the Holy Ghost, telling me that this latter-day work is true, and I bear record to you that God has spoken in this day; now, if you will heed my warning voice and come and investigate and learn for yourselves, you also can know of the divinity of the work"-if I bear such a witness, that witness stands against them at the judgment bar of the Almighty.
Every investigator, in due course, stands exactly where Joseph Smith stood. He hears the cry, "Lo, here is Christ." and "Lo, there". He must decide for himself which of all the churches is right and which he should join. At his peril, he must find where the truth lies. And so, learning of the doctrine, and hearing the testimony, the obligation rests with him to do what the ancients did, to ask God for wisdom. As surely as he asks in faith, the Almighty will reveal to him that this great latter-day work is true. When he comes to know in his heart that the work is true, then if he has the spiritual integrity, fortitude, and courage to live in harmony with the standards of gospel righteousness, he forsakes the world, as thousands are doing; he comes into the Church; he finds peace and joy and satisfaction and happiness in this life; and he charts a course which will lead eventually to eternal exaltation in the mansions on high, which I pray may be the lot of all of us and honest truth seekers the world over. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Alvin R. Dyer
Alvin R. Dyer, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 11-13
We learn from past history the harsh lessons that have come to those that lack faith and obedience which have brought disaster upon themselves and their people. At the end of Israel's sojourn in the desert, where because of disobedience and lack of faith, wherein all of the aged, except three who had been delivered through Godly intervention from Egypt, had virtually been wasted, making way for a new generation to fulfil the covenant of the Lord in occupying the land of their inheritance, Moses, the great lawgiver and prophet, called all of the new hosts of Israel together at the gateway to the Promised Land, in a place known as Kadesh-barnea the southerly entrance to Canaan, and there he recounted unto the children of Israel all the experiences that had happened to their parents and the great things which the Lord God had done for them. Here he repeated that which had been given their faithless forebears and the reason for their downfall. I call your attention to his initial words as he spoke to them:
"And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel, according unto all that the Lord had given him in commandment unto them...
"These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side of Jordan in the wilderness...
"".
Horeb, also known as Mount Sinai, is where Moses communicated personally with God. Mount Seir is the range of mountains bordering the desert which the camel trains followed along to avoid the heat of the desert. At Kadesh-barnea, the gate-way to the Promised Land, Moses reminded the children of Israel that the distance from Sinai to the fulfillment of their covenant was but an eleven-day journey. I read in the paper recently where this same distance was covered in three hours by automobile, yet it took Israel forty years to travel that distance.
Carlyle has said this, "For a man to have lived and died, who might have been wise and was not-this I call a tragedy."
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stands poised on the threshold of its greatest hour. Regardless of the many accomplishments of the past, and there have been many, its greatest challenge is ahead. We must believe this and adjust to it.
In one of the more often referred to parables of Jesus, concerning the rich young ruler who came to him inquiring as to how he could find favor and stand approved, the Master told him to keep all the laws. This meant keeping the Sabbath day holy, the payment of offerings in the temple, the honoring of parents, and strict obedience to the laws as were imposed at that time. "But all these," said the young man, "have I kept from my youth. What lack I yet?".
From this incident we may strike a parallel of some in the Church today who keep the commandments, and who, like this rich young man, feel to stand approved. But in the true sense of Christian endeavor, when we have schooled ourselves to obey the will of God, we will have but reached the doorway of greatness. To this young ruler, who thought that he had done all that was needed, Jesus said,
"... go... sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor... and follow me".
The young man erroneously thought that Jesus referred to the distribution of his earthly riches only; this would soon be used up in following the divine injunction. Actually he was being given the challenge of service. It is not enough to keep the commandments of commission only, as Jesus clarified, for if one is to find the real meaning of a successful life and to understand fully the message of Jesus Christ, there must be service given unto others.
The Apostle James, the apostle of realism, has said this: "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin".
My associations and contacts within the Church, having served seven of my last eight years in the mission fields, and now again in the stakes of the Church, confirm to me the great faith and devotion that exists among our people. It is true, nevertheless, that many do not respond to the challenge of service. Unto these primarily and unto all members generally, I refer to the divine obligations placed upon us as members of the true Church of Jesus Christ restored in these latter-days. There are three principal areas of challenge by which every member may test his own faith and conviction. These are given in the revelations as contained in section 45 and section 128 of the Doctrine and Covenants, and perhaps never before, my brothers and sisters, in God's dealings with his children, is there so much expected of so few!
First: As members, by our conduct and by obedience to the commandments of God we should endeavor to serve the Lord that we may make the Church strong from within, that it can be a standard unto God's children and a light unto the world.
There can be no greater aspect to righteous living than to feel the regenerative force of striving to do better. There is no member listening here this morning, or over the air waves, who has come anywhere near in accomplishing what he actually is capable of; none have reached their full potential of leadership in the Church. This means that throughout the Church in all of the facets of its organization, members, teachers, officers, bishoprics, high councils, stake presidencies, and others, the challenge is before us today to step up to leadership, to step up to real membership in God's kingdom. Two great revelations from the Lord emphasize this to us.
"Wherefore, now let every man learn his duty, and to act in the office in which he is appointed, in all diligence".
And the second, which is companionable: "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".
The second area of divine commitment is that of missionary work, to listen to the voice of a prophet of God, that every member be a missionary and as the children of God, there can be no apathy toward this great challenge. Many there are who say, "We want to help, but we just don't know how to do it." Let me tell you of an experience that might indicate how through friendliness, through being a good neighbor, through being honest in our dealings with our fellow men, and simply by being a Latter-day Saint in harmony with its teachings, we can bear an influence on the minds of people in this sense as well as in many other ways be a missionary.
Under the instruction of President McKay, during my term in Europe, I had the experience of going to Iceland and there, after meeting all of the leading civic authorities that we thought it important to meet, I went into the office of the mayor of Reykjavik, Mayor Hallgrimmson, and he treated us with such courtesy and with such friendliness that I wondered why a man that far off would be so friendly to us in our desire to find out if it would be possible that missionaries could be sent into that land. He said, "We shall welcome your missionaries," and offered personally to locate a place for us to hold meetings should we come. I finally asked him why he was so friendly. He said, "The story is simple. Years ago my uncle went to America. He had been converted by two missionaries on the old Western Island, 150 kilometers off the mainland of Iceland"-which is now referred to by many as "Mormon Island," where some 150 Icelandic people were baptized into the Church, and many of whom emigrated to America; some settled in Spanish Fork and in Springville. Mayor Hallgrimmson came to America, unannounced, not as a mayor but as an individual, primarily to visit an uncle who was among those converted. He met and lived with the Mormon people in that area. He observed their manner and way of life, and he told of finally coming to Salt Lake City where he met a man who managed a motel, and he said that this man went out of his way to help him. He recalled of him that he was a high priest in one of the quorums and said, "If these are Latter-day Saints, who so befriended me, why would I not be friendly to you?" And I have often wondered if that man who owned this motel really knew the good that he did that day when he befriended Mayor Hallgrimmson of Reykjavik, Iceland.
Now there are people coming into our midst constantly; men of the priesthood go away on business trips, and if they are concerned with the responsibility of projecting the message of the gospel that we have and assist in establishing a true image in the eyes of the people of the world of the Latter-day Saint, here is the simple way to be a missionary, by the downright effort of being a Latter-day Saint no matter where we are or in whose presence we find ourselves.
The third area in which we can assist is in seeking after our kindred dead by establishing the family genealogical organization for this purpose. As I go throughout the stakes of Zion, I see the need of a greater number of marriages in the temple of our young people. Probably because the family failed to have this kind of organization to seek after their kindred dead, the image has not been made in the minds of their sons and daughters of the necessity for temple marriage. If, on the other hand, there were frequent evidence in the home of the importance of temple work through genealogical research and attendance at the temple, when the time comes for marriage of young people in the home, their hearts and minds would be focused on temple marriage.
In conclusion I want to tell of a remarkable personal experience that happened just recently. I learned indirectly of a young girl in Massachusetts who had been keeping a very remarkable genealogical record. I learned that this record was on the Dyer family. By contacting her I learned that she was not a member of the Dyer family, she was not a member of our Church, and yet she has done an excellent research on more than 20,000 members of the Dyer family. I have written to her and obtained this record which is in three volumes and which has been microfilmed by our Genealogical Association and is available to all in the Church who are interested in this family line. I endeavored to learn why she did this. In a letter in reply to my inquiry, these are her words:
"The Dyer family is far more than a hobby. Please don't think it foolish, Mr. Dyer, but I feel that somehow it was God's will that I do this work. My whole life belongs to these people." This girl is seventeen years old. She began researching at the age of fourteen. She is not a member of the Church and she is not a member of our family, but the spirit of Elijah has been upon her. We have learned where similar experiences have been had in many of the families of the Church, which indicates the power that is in the work of seeking for our kindred dead.
I bear testimony of the opportunity that is ours as members of the Church to answer the challenge in working through these three areas of activity within the Church. First, to build the Church and make it strong so that when those who are converted come into it, they feel the power and the strength of it; and secondly, that as missionaries we shall assist in every way to proclaim the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ unto the world; and thirdly, in fulfilling the commandments of God, that we seek after our kindred dead. I bear this record and urge that as a people we meet these great challenges, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Ezra Taft Benson
Ezra Taft Benson, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 14-19
In keeping with the spirit of the masterful address given by our great leader, President David O. McKay at the beginning of this conference, I declare to you this morning that human liberty is the mainspring of human progress.
The one great revolution in the world is the revolution for human liberty. This was the paramount issue in the great council in heaven before this earth life. It has been the issue throughout the ages. It is the issue today.
It is difficult for Americans to understand the danger to our liberty. "It is generally outside the range of our experience." But we live today in an age of peril. We are threatened with the loss not only of material wealth but of something far more precious-our liberty itself.
Never before in the history of our country has there been a greater need for all of our people to take time to discover what is happening in the world. Every day decisions are being made affecting the lives of millions of human beings.
We as a people have never known bondage. Liberty has always been our blessed lot. Few of us have ever seen people who have lost their freedom-their liberty. And when reminded of the danger of losing our liberty and independence our attitude has usually been: It cannot happen here.
We must never forget that nations may, and usually do, sow the seeds of their own destruction while enjoying unprecedented prosperity.
The children of Israel, willing to sacrifice liberty, wanted Moses to be their king. Generations later their descendants begged Samuel the prophet to give them a king. He pointed out the fallacy of their reasoning. Samuel, like other great spiritual leaders, ancient and modern, saw the results that would follow the surrender of liberty.
In that sacred volume of scripture, the Book of Mormon, we note the great and prolonged struggle for liberty. We also note the complacency of the people and their frequent willingness to give up their liberty for the promises of a would-be provider.
The record reveals that a man "of cunning device... and... many flattering words,"... sought... "to destroy the foundation of liberty which God had granted unto them".
Then Moroni, the chief commander of the armies dramatically "... rent his coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon it-In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children-and he fastened it upon the end of a pole.
"... and he bowed himself to the earth, and he prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his brethren".
This great general, Moroni, like the prophets whose words are recorded in the Book of Mormon, spoke of the Americas as a chosen land-the land of liberty. He led the people in battle who were willing to fight to "maintain their liberty".
And the record states: "... that he caused the title of liberty to be hoisted upon every tower which was in all the land... and thus Moroni planted the standard of liberty among the Nephites".
This is our need today-to plant the standard of liberty among our people throughout the Americas.
While this incident occurred some seventy years BC, the struggle went on through one thousand years covered by this sacred Book of Mormon record. In fact, the struggle for liberty is a continuing one-it is with us in a very real sense today right here on this choice land of the Americas. Yes, on an island strategically situated only ninety miles from our shores.
Just a short time ago Fidel Castro broadcast to the world his boastful confession that he had been a hard-core communist all of his adult life. He gloried in the fact that he had been able to confuse and deceive many people simply by saying he was not a communist. And because there were gullible people in this and other countries who believed his false assertions, he was able to establish a Soviet beachhead-"A communist satellite under active Russian control."
Americans must face the cold hard fact that Fidel Castro was encouraged and supported in his seizure of Cuba. Why? Simply because many Americans were led to believe the falsehood that he would resist Soviet influence and restore the full basic liberty of the Cuban people. A few of us issued early warnings based on unimpeachable evidence. Two United States ambassadors repeatedly warned that Castro was part of the communist conspiracy and that he was working for the communist conquest of Cuba. These voices went unheeded.
This is merely a repetition of the same deceitful pattern which was used after World War II to have us tolerate revolutionary communists in China-to accept them as "agrarian reformers" and allow them to seize and enslave some 450,000,000 people on the Chinese mainland.
This is the same deceitful pattern which we have been asked to accept in the Congo, in Laos, in British Guiana, etc. In fact, everywhere the communist conspiratorial machinery is preparing for a seizure of power, we are assured there is no immediate danger from communism.
In less than half a century this evil system has gained control over one-third of mankind, and it is steadily pursuing its vicious goal of control over all the rest of the world. It is time, and past time, for us to be alarmed.
I raised a voice of warning two years ago following my return from South America. And now, today, Cuba is being used as a base to spread subversion and armed revolution throughout Latin America. Cuba is being used as a funnel through which communists are infiltrating other American Republics. There can be no stability in Latin America so long as "The shadow of the hammer and sickle is darkening the Western Hemisphere." The communist objective is to isolate North America.
Less than fifteen years ago communism was not a powerful force in Latin America. Today it is not only strongly present there as an enemy to be reckoned with-it is openly allied with a government located on an island only about 90 miles south of Key West, Florida.
The only political party now functioning in Cuba is the popular Socialist Party-the Communist Party under another name.
It is authoritatively reported that by the end of 1958 there were 316 known communist or pro-communist publications in Latin America, the largest number being 55 in Mexico. About one half are newspapers and other periodicals. There were more than 150 communist publishing houses and bookstores. These activities have increased sharply since 1958.
True to communist and dictator tradition, the Cuban government has deprived its people of the rights of a free press, free elections, and the protection of other fundamental human rights.
How did this situation come about? How is it possible for communism to be here and now moving into Africa, pressing upon all of Asia, threatening the Middle East and increasingly becoming a danger in the Western Hemisphere?
There are, of course, many reasons. Our apathy-our complacent indifference is a major cause. We have permitted ourselves to be pacified and lulled away into carnal security as Book of Mormon prophets predicted.
As emphasized from this pulpit two years ago, we have a rich history to guide us. Think back with me a moment to the year 1823. In that year, James Monroe of Virginia was President. John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts was Secretary of State. These two men formed and announced a policy-the Monroe Doctrine-which has profoundly influenced the development of our entire hemisphere.
Several of what are now the Latin American republics had by force of arms newly won their independence from Spain and Portugal. Among them were Columbia, Mexico, Chile, and Brazil.
Meantime a number of the sovereigns of Europe were seeking to enforce the "divine right of kings" with the express purpose of putting "an end to the system of representative government."
This our government refused to permit. It said so plainly in the celebrated Monroe Doctrine. The heart of the Monroe Doctrine consisted of these words "... the American continents, by the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers." The Monroe Doctrine, which should be and is an enduring cornerstone and living principle of national policy, stated further: "The political system of the allied powers is essentially different... from that of America."
Surely if it were true a century and a half ago that European monarchy was essentially different from our American system of representative government, it is even more true today that the communist system is totally different, totally incompatible, totally inimical to our free way of life.
This is a time of decision. Further vacillation will serve only to drive all of Latin America straight into communist hands. If action is not taken against the power-drunken bandit and his cohorts, the day will soon come when it cannot be done at all.
The Monroe Doctrine was first invoked against the Russian Czar Alexander. The Cuban menace represents the first time in one hundred years that a hostile foreign power has established a firm beachhead in the Americas.
The American people are deeply upset, frustrated, and angry at what they fear is a retreat from the time-honored Monroe Doctrine-a retreat which could now end in war.
President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., whose scholarly work on the Monroe Doctrine, as Under Secretary of State, is well known, in tracing our destiny said this:
"Then came our GREAT Monroe Doctrine which placed us of the United States squarely behind efforts of Latin America to gain freedom and against those European states who would thwart it.
"God again moved us forward towards the destiny He has planned for us. He was preserving the blessings He had given to us."
President Joseph Fielding Smith in his ever timely volume, The Progress of Man, in discussing America's fortification against other nations makes this significant statement.
"The greatest and most powerful fortification in America is the 'Monroe Doctrine.'... It appears to the casual observer that this doctrine came by chance... but this is not so. It was the inspiration of the Almighty which rested upon John Quincy Adams, Thomas Jefferson and other statesmen, and which finally found authoritative expression in the message of President James Monroe to Congress in the year 1823...
"It is generally understood... in the Church that the greatest and most significant principle by which this land is fortified against the encroachments and invasions of European and Asiatic powers is found in the Monroe Doctrine."
This Monroe Doctrine widely accepted by the republics of the south, has been the continuing policy of our nation for almost a century and a half. It has been reaffirmed by many American presidents. We are on solid traditional American ground in demanding that the communists should not attempt to extend their political system to this side of the Atlantic Ocean.
If time permitted, we could show that in recent years, the principles of the Monroe Doctrine have been strengthened by various joint agreements among the American nations: These should be invoked. The longer we wait the more difficult will be the job.
It is almost unthinkable that any people would knowingly and wilfully take on themselves the yoke of communist oppression. No nation has ever done so yet. If large masses of the Cuban people have done so, it is because they have been duped or coerced.
As a people who have known only liberty, we are inclined to feel, it cannot happen here. We have become lulled away into a false security.
A most brilliant discussion of the Latin American problem, which appeared in the May 1961 issue of American Opinion, concluded with these words:
"... history gives us one more chance. If the American people are too blind or too cowardly to take that chance, then, whether or not we as individuals deserve it, you and I and all that we hold dear... must suffer the doom that history mercilessly imposes on fools."
Why are we so timid in standing up to a Godless communist police state which can't even feed its own people, and whose economy, they know, will not support a major war. They "lead from weakness and we retreat from strength."
I say to you it can happen here. It is happening here. We have retreated from the Monroe Doctrine. Our liberty is in danger. But we go blithely and gullibly on our way. Some of us fall for the Kremlin line as planned by the mass murderer Khrushchev and call patriots "extremists" and accuse courageous liberty-loving citizens of "dividing our people."
As President McKay said at the close of the April general conference, quoting J. Edgar Hoover, "There is no place here in America for part-time patriots. This nation is face to face with the greatest danger ever to confront it, a sinister and deadly conspiracy which can be conquered only by an alert, informed citizenry. It is indeed appalling that some members of our society continue to deplore and criticize those who stress the communist danger. Public indifference to this threat is tantamount to national suicide. Lethargy leads only to disaster."
We must be vigilant. Let us unite. Let us join in our fight against the forces of anti-Christ.
Forgive me for being so blunt, but I feel most deeply on these matters. Possibly it is because I've seen at close range so much of this godless, treacherous conspiracy in the past few years in more than forty nations.
I realize that the bearer of bad news is always unpopular. As a people we love sweetness and light-especially sweetness. Ralph Waldo Emerson said that every mind must make a choice between truth and repose. Those who will learn nothing from history are condemned to repeat it. This we are doing in the Americas today.
As a Church we have a world message of salvation to deliver to our Father's children. The restored gospel can only thrive in an atmosphere of liberty. We are in a worldwide conflict. It is the first of its kind in history. It is between light and darkness; between liberty and slavery. It is a struggle for the souls of men. We must win this war.
In 1946 I stood in Czechoslovakia. The deadening socialist-communist philosophies were even then infiltrating that lovely country. Our church mission was thriving among these liberty-loving people. They too said it could not happen there. Only two years later it had happened. They had lost their liberty.
At the close of World War II while serving as European Mission President, I visited Stanislaw M. Mikolajczyk in Warsaw, the leader of the liberty-loving Polish people and former premier of the Polish Government-in-Exile. I had hoped we might do missionary work in Poland. Though Mikolajczyk was the leader of the indisputable majority of the electorate, he had to flee from Poland to save his life from the insidious encroaching communist police state.
I also talked to our Polish Ambassador, Arthur Bliss Lane. He told me of the tragic course of appeasement our government was pursuing in selling out the Polish people to the communists. Finally, unable to endure it any longer, Lane voluntarily resigned so he could tell the story. He titled his book, I Saw Poland Betrayed.
And so the pattern has been repeated in country after country.
Rather than impede communism our policies in their total effect have apparently helped promote it. And so the honest in heart, many of whom have probably already been murdered, are deprived of the message of the restored gospel-good people who would have responded to the words of truth from our missionaries.
Who then is to blame? What then can be done?
To some extent we Latter-day Saints and Americans every where must share some blame for we have not been awake to the warnings of the prophets. We have not exerted our righteous influence as citizens to stop this disastrous course. Our skirts are not entirely clean. Many of us have been asleep in Zion-the Western Hemisphere.
"But," say some, "why should we be so concerned. After all if the Lord wants them to get the gospel message, they'll get it."
Of course, if the Lord desired, he could this instant preach the gospel to every soul and do all our genealogical work. He could also right every wrong, feed the famished, plant our crops, train our children, etc. But his doctrine requires us to do our best ourselves in these areas and ask the Lord's help in our endeavors. After we've done all we can, then the Lord will cover for us.
Now what can be done? We have missionaries and Saints in South America. Those countries fall within the scope of the Monroe Doctrine. These countries are now being pushed in the direction of bondage-the loss of liberty.
What can we do to help meet this grave challenge from a godless, atheistic, cruelly materialistic system-to preserve our God-given Liberty?
We can encourage our government wherever we live, to stand firm at all costs against any further expansion of despotic communism.
We can support our government in keeping the flame of liberty burning in the souls of the oppressed-wherever they may be throughout the world.
We can heed the words of men like Edward Hunter who for twenty years has been reporting communist conspiracy and brainwashing from abroad and who recently wrote this:
"In Washington these days one hears a great deal of the word escalation but never the word honor.
"Escalation was the reason Americans had to stand by and watch with folded hands as a young man bled to death a hundred feet from them at the Berlin wall of shame, although we had every right to go in and stem his bleeding under wartime agreement.
"Imagine anyone telling an American, only a few years back, that he would stand by idly, witnessing a man die needlessly because he wanted to be free!...
"Escalation is why we stood by wringing our hands when the East Germans started building the wall, whereas is now known, their orders were to stop if we showed any serious resistance.
"Escalation, if continued, will complete our softening-up, until we 'bury ourselves,' as Khrushchev predicts...
"This soft escalation policy in Cuba, starting in 1958, permitted 'a small band of hoodlums, under the leadership of Fidel Castro' to conduct 'open warfare against the established government of Cuba, which was friendly towards the United States.' We have, thus passed the time for soft and easy action to protect ourselves," says Mr. Hunter. "We have only one course of action left: to destroy Communist power in Cuba by force of arms."
As I visited among the good people of Cuba in 1955, I had a secret hope we would soon be able to bring to them the truths of the restored gospel. What are our prospects now? People said in Cuba in 1955: It cannot happen here. We love liberty.
The insidious but rapid take-over of Latin America is drawing ever closer to the final showdown.
Unless godless communism is stamped out of Cuba, it is only a matter of time until like Czechoslovakia, other missions will likely close and more of our Father's children will be deprived of their liberty and the fulness of the everlasting gospel.
The message of salvation must move forward. God grant that every effort to stay its growth will be frustrated.
Courage and statesmanship are imperatively needed today. We must take chances for liberty. May God bless our national leaders in this time of crisis.
Yes, the effective preaching of the gospel can only thrive in an atmosphere of liberty. Yes, we all say, we love liberty. But that is not enough. We must protect and safeguard that which we love. We must save liberty.
God grant us the wisdom and the courage so to do, before it is too late, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 20-22
My beloved brethren and sisters, I trust I may have the guidance of the Spirit of the Lord in what I shall say. I want to make a plea to the brethren holding the priesthood and to the sisters of the Church to spend a little more time in the study and the research that they might give to the standard works of the Church, and particularly to the Book of Mormon.
We had a campaign a short time ago in which we asked the members of the priesthood to read the Book of Mormon. It seems to me when we know the history whence the Book of Mormon came and how it came, no member of this Church could rest satisfied until he or she had read it from cover to cover-not once, but many times.
Now, there are some religious organizations who have centered their attack largely upon the Book of Mormon. They go into the homes of members of the Church and point out to them what they consider to be errors or changes or additions to what was given in the first publication. If anybody has published a book he knows that the first thing that stares him in the face the moment it comes off the press is some glaring error. We have never claimed that in the beginning there were not some errors which the Prophet corrected, but they were very, very few. But some of these complaints or charges are against certain writings that appear, and in the limited time that I have I wish to refer to two of these accusations.
I have a letter on my table now from a man who seems to be very much disturbed because he, in conversation with some of these people, was told that the Book of Mormon did not tell the truth in regard to the birth of the Son of God, and that the Book of Mormon declared that the Savior would be born in Jerusalem, the land of their fathers. Now the Book of Mormon makes no such statement. I am going to read it to you.
Alma, in speaking about the coming of the Son of God, said: "And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers". Now, if he had said the city of our forefathers it would have made a difference, would it not? Well, wasn't Jesus born in the land of Jerusalem, Jerusalem being the capital? Alma did not say he would be born in the city of Jerusalem, but in the land over which Jerusalem was the capital. But they make a great deal out of this, and some of our people seem to be unable to defend themselves. Now, at does not mean necessarily in. You might read in the newspaper, if you were in Great Britain, that a certain vessel arrived at London, but it did not-it landed at Southampton, the port for London, which is many miles away. There is no mistake in this statement whatever. Jesus was born at the land of Jerusalem, the land of their forefathers. So much for that.
The other charge that is made that I wish to mention is the statement of Abinadi, and a similar statement occurs in some other places, that Jesus Christ is both Father and Son to us.
"And now Abinadi said unto them: I would that ye should understand that God himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people.
"And because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God, and having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father, being the Father and the Son-
The Father, because he was conceived by the power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh, thus becoming the Father and Son-".
What's wrong with that scripture? What is a father? One who begets or gives life. What did our Savior do? He begot us, or gave us life from death, as clearly set forth by Jacob, the brother of Nephi. If it had not been for the death of our Savior, Jesus Christ, the spirit and body would never have been united again. Death would have been inevitable and, as Jacob states-I won't take time to turn to read it-if there had been no redemption from death our spirits would have been taken captive by Satan, and we would have become subject to Satan's will forever.
What did our Savior do? He begot us in that sense. He became a father to us because he gave us immortality or eternal life through his death and sacrifice upon the cross. I think we have a perfect right to speak of him as Father.
King Mosiah put his people under covenant to take upon them the name of Christ. And this was 124 years before the birth of Christ. I want to read a verse or two from this pledge. "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; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters ". Is there anything wrong in us calling Jesus Christ our spiritual Father? "And under this head," this wonderful king said, "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; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God that y e should be obedient unto the end of your lives.
"And it shall come to pass that whosoever doeth this shall be found at the right hand of God, for he shall know the name by which he is called, for he shall be called by the name of Christ.
"And now it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall not take upon him the name of Christ must be called by some other name; therefore, he findeth himself on the left hand of God".
The Son of God has a perfect right to call us his children, spiritually begotten, and we have a perfect right to look on him as our father who spiritually begot us.
Now if these critics would read carefully the Book of Mormon, they would find that when the Savior came and visited the Nephites, he told them that he had been sent by his Father. He knelt before them, and he prayed to his Father. He taught them to pray to his Father, but that did not lessen in the least our duty and responsibility of looking upon the Son of God as a father to us because he spiritually begot us.
The Lord bless you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Howard W. Hunter
Howard W. Hunter, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 22-24
On the evening of the day of the resurrection, Jesus appeared and stood in the midst of his disciples in the closed room. He showed them his hands through which had been driven the nails and his side which had been pierced by the spear. Thomas, one of the twelve, was not present when this happened, but the others told him they had seen the Lord and that he had spoken to them.
No doubt Thomas had been deeply shaken by the events of the past days. His love and devotion to the Master cannot be questioned, but the flame of faith had burned low and had grown cold. The tomb was empty, this he knew. Mary Magdalene and the other women and Peter and John had been there. Jesus later appeared to Mary in the garden, and she told the disciples of this event as she had been commanded. That very day the Risen Master had walked with Cleopas and his companion down the road to Emmaus and had also appeared to Simon Peter in Jerusalem. In Spite of these evidences, Thomas was skeptical, and he said to the disciples:
"... 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".
This statement of Thomas has caused him to be remembered down through the ages and his name placed with the skeptics, the doubters, and the fainthearted, with those who will not believe until they see. In a sense, Thomas represents the spirit of our age. He would not be satisfied with anything he could not see, even though he had been with the Master and knew his teachings concerning faith and doubt. Jesus had said:
"... O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?".
"... Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?".
"... If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth".
"... According to your faith be it unto you".
All of these things Thomas well knew, but his personal faith had been dimmed by a great disappointment. Faith does not take precedence over doubt when one must feel or see in order to believe.
Thomas was not willing to stand on faith. He wanted positive evidence of the facts. He wanted knowledge, not faith. Knowledge is related to the past because our experiences of the past are those things which give us knowledge, but faith is related to the future-to the unknown where we have not yet walked.
We think of Thomas as one who had traveled and talked with the Master, and who had been chosen by him. Inwardly we wish that Thomas could have turned toward the future with confidence in the things which were not then visible, instead of saying in effect, "To see is to believe."
It must have saddened the heart of the Savior, but this had happened before. Within the past few days Judas had betrayed him, Peter had denied him, and now Thomas doubted him.
A week later, the disciples were again together in the same house in Jerusalem. This time Thomas was with them. The door was closed, but Jesus came and stood in the midst of them 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".
The record does not indicate that Thomas accepted this invitation-this loving rebuke by the Lord. Thomas could see the print of the nails and the wound of the spear. He only answered: "... My Lord and my God". Now he believed, but Thomas had missed the highest form of faith.
"Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed".
This occurrence stands as one of the great lessons of all times. Thomas had said, "To see is to believe," but Christ answered: "To believe is to see."
Faith has always been a necessary condition of a righteous life. As we read through the books of the Old Testament, we are impressed by the faith that motivated the prophets and righteous men, the saints of old, to endure the trials which came to them. The books of the New Testament are replete with the teachings of the Savior concerning faith and examples of the effect of faith in the lives of individuals. These writings also set forth the disappointment and tragedy that come where faith is lacking.
There are many things which are invisible to our senses and not subject to positive proof. The scientific approach to proof is by experimentation in the laboratory. The result of this scientific method has a greater influence upon our thinking than we realize, because it produces positive proof resulting in knowledge. We cannot overlook the great good this approach by science has upon the lives of persons, but how about those things which lie outside of the realm of positive, tangible proof? This question brings us to the higher law. It is through the assurance that comes from faith.
The classic example of faith is ascribed to the Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Hebrews: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen".
This statement does not presuppose a perfect knowledge, but describes faith as that which gives to one an assurance or a confidence in things which are yet in the future. These things may be in existence, but it is through faith they are realized. Faith gives a feeling of confidence in that which is not visible or susceptible of positive proof.
It would appear that Thomas had lost his confidence in the future. He looked to the past. He wanted proof of that which was not then visible. Those who lose or lack faith, live in the past-there is loss of hope for the future. What a great change comes into the life of one who finds an abiding faith to give assurance and confidence.
If we turn back to the ninth chapter of John, we read of another incident that took place in Jerusalem in which a man who had been born blind received his sight. It was the Sabbath day, and Jesus was apparently in the vicinity of the temple when he saw the blind man, and his disciples asked him:
"... Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
"Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned. nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
"I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
"As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world".
Jesus then spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle mixed with the dust of the earth. He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay and told him to go wash in the pool of Siloam. If this had been Thomas, would he have gone as he had been commanded or would he have asked the question: "What good can come from washing in the stagnant waters of that dirty pool?" or "What medicinal properties are there in saliva mixed with the dust of the earth?" These would seem to be reasonable questions, but if the blind man had doubted and questioned, he would still be blind. Having faith, he believed and did as he was directed. He went and washed in the pool and came back seeing. To believe is to see.
A miracle had taken place. A man who had been blind from the day of his birth was caused to see. The neighbors and the Pharisees were astonished and asked how it happened.
"He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight".
It was the Sabbath day when Jesus made the clay and opened the eyes of the blind man. Some of the Pharisees said he could not be a man of God because he did not keep the Sabbath day. Others asked how a man who was such a sinner could perform a miracle. Even though they could see, they would not believe. The blind man was asked: "What sayest thou of him?" He answered: "He is a prophet." Still they did not believe and called the parents of the blind man and asked them: "Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? How then doth he now see?" His parents were afraid to answer for fear of being put out of the synagogue if they should confess that the one who performed the miracle was Christ, so they said, "He is of age; ask him." And the blind man said, "Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see." They said to him, "Thou art his disciple," and they shut the door of the synagogue against him.
When Jesus heard that the blind man had been cast out, he found him and said:
"... Dost thou believe on the Son of God?
"He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?
"And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.
"And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.
"And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind".
The blind man believed and was permitted to see. Thomas refused to believe until after he could see. The world is full of Thomases, but there are many like the blind man of Jerusalem. Missionaries of the Church meet both of these every day as they carry their message to the world, the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. They bear witness to the fact that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that God has spoken to his children in these latter days, that there is a prophet of God on the earth today, that the gospel has been restored in its fulness. Some believe, have faith, and are baptized. Some will not accept because they cannot see or feel.
There is no positive, concrete, tangible evidence that God lives, yet millions have a knowledge that he does through that faith which constitutes the evidence of things unseen. Many say to the missionaries, "I would accept of baptism if I could believe that Joseph Smith was visited by the Father and the Son.' For this fact there is no positive, concrete, tangible evidence, but to those who are touched by the Spirit, faith will stand in the place of such evidence of things unseen. Remember the words of the crucified Master as he stood before Thomas:
"... blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed".
To believe is to see.
I add my witness to the testimonies of the thousands of missionaries that God does live, that Jesus is the Savior of the world, that those who will believe through faith will be caused to see, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder John Longden
John Longden, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 25-27
"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God".
From this scripture, which is a part of the Sermon on the Mount, I gather there is a peace to be had. It is available for all mankind if we desire it. Peace can be had. We must study and learn of God's desires for us. We must pray about it. Indeed, we must live the law; then we have a peace in our hearts and will truly be peacemakers, the children of God.
I believe in the scriptures as they have been restored. I believe that we can have peace in a troubled world. I believe we can have peace in a troubled home. I believe we can have peace in a troubled life. It can be had for the price which I have stated; not for money nor for any material amount.
I said we must study and do the things which will make for peace. Paul, the apostle, in his epistle to the Romans said: "Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.
"For the kingdom of God is... righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost".
Paul had an evidence of peace. Here was a man, yes, who had fought the Christ, who had fought the principles which will bring peace. Yet after he had received conviction of the truthfulness of the Savior's message and of his divinity as the Son of God, he received a peace in his heart, and he could not be swayed from righteousness but used his energies, his talents, in going forward to teach this great message of which he received a conviction. Yes, Paul did the things which will bring peace into the hearts of all mankind.
Peace can only come to individuals, communities, states, nations, and the world by the acceptance of the greatest story ever told, by acceptance of the greatest life that was ever lived, by acceptance of the greatest example that was ever shown, by acceptance of the greatest Teacher who ever taught, the author of salvation and exaltation, the Prince of Peace, Jesus the Christ, the Divine Son of God. This I know in every fiber of my being.
The gospel of Jesus Christ has always been the gospel of peace, regardless of when there has been a dispensation of the gospel upon the earth. I recall the words of the Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith which indicated that there is no change in the gospel of Jesus Christ, even in this dispensation.
In the midst of great persecution when the Saints were being persecuted in June of 1834 at Zion's Camp on Fishing River, the Prophet Joseph received a revelation from the Lord which is recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants, "... lift up an ensign of peace, and make a proclamation of peace unto the ends of the earth".
We, here today, one hundred and twenty-eight years after this revelation was received, can visualize what has been accomplished towards establishing peace in the earth. Think of it! We see, as we look back over the span of time today, the thousands of missionaries who have been out in the world to carry this message of peace to all mankind, unselfishly postponing their schooling, leaving their homes and loved ones to deliver this message which will bring peace into the hearts of men. We visualize the erection of fourteen temples. We visualize 356 stakes organized and over 3,000 wards and many branches, sixty-eight missions, approximately 12,000 missionaries out at the present time, delivering this message of peace, literally to the ends of the earth.
From study and from prayer, there comes great faith which motivates all who have a firm and solid conviction of the truth. There is born a desire truly to be publishers of peace. I think of a mother writing to a son in one of the missions which I have visited in the South Pacific. He had indicated to her, knowing her circumstances, a widowed mother, the possibility that she was having financial difficulties, and he earnestly wanted to stay to fill the two and one half years required in a foreign mission where a language has to be learned. He let me read the letter she wrote him in return: "Son, you will stay out on your mission even if I have to scrub floors to earn money sufficient to keep you there."
Then I think of a husband and wife who had five sons go out into the mission field; the sixth son had reached the required age to go. Not having sufficient funds, they went to the bank and placed a mortgage on their home to assure him finances to fill his mission that he might carry this message of peace to mankind. I am grateful for that kind of faith.
In May we had a missionary conference on the island of Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. All the missionaries had arrived but two. These two were nine days on the water, coming over 640 miles in a small craft, being buffeted about the Pacific, and I want to tell you, you can be buffeted about the Pacific in those small boats, inter-island boats. One of these young men had been made the counselor in the mission presidency at the conference, and it would be unnecessary for him to return to the island from which he came, but he said, "The work has just begun there, and we can see real fruits of our labors, and I would like to go back," though he was going to be bounced about in the same type of craft for another eight or nine days. This he did that he might deliver his message of peace to the island people. Faith-promoting stories like these could be multiplied thousands of times if time permitted. When peace comes into our souls, we have a desire to share it with others as Paul of old.
I am grateful for all the mission presidents of the South Pacific. I spent ten months down there in the last year and three quarters. All the mission presidents of the South Pacific are opening up their homes, entertaining and teaching men of state, leaders of government, business and civic groups, teaching this message of peace. It has been my privilege to attend many such occasions.
While on one of the large ocean liners in the South Pacific recently, I visited with the captain. He related that he had had many of our young missionaries on his ship over the years, and he said he had been deeply impressed with young men of such fine caliber. He had observed they didn't drink tea, coffee, liquor, or use tobacco. Their language and conversation was clean and above board. They appeared to be morally clean. They did not take the name of the Lord in vain. He admired their integrity. He said, "You have the greatest peace corps in the world." I sincerely thanked him for this truthful statement. Then I reflected, as I thought of this experience; not only are the full-time missionaries a peace corps, but this peace corps extends, including all members of the Church: truly the greatest peace corps in the world with the full and true message of the Lord Jesus Christ if all members, individually, accept the responsibility to teach this message of peace by example as well as by precept. In contemplating this responsibility for the entire membership of the Church, I quote from a talk given by President David O. McKay: "The Gospel of Peace should find its most fruitful effects in the homes of Church members. Children to be healthy and happy should have a favorable mental, emotional and spiritual atmosphere in the home. It is inconsistent to go abroad to proclaim peace if we have not peace in our own lives and homes." Truly the home should be the birthplace of peace.
Then we have a religion in action as we take advantage of all the opportunities within the Church; through the priesthood quorums, the Sunday School Relief Society, MIA, Young Men's and Young Women's organizations, the Primary, genealogical organizations, institutes, seminaries, ward choirs, welfare, building projects, to mention some of the organizations within the Church which will help to keep this message of peace alive in our hearts. Hundreds today are witnessing these demonstrations for peace through the true Church of Jesus Christ throughout the world.
I pray that we in our hearts here and all members throughout the world will recognize the opportunity which is ours to serve individually and collectively as messengers of peace, truly children of our God. It is within our power; I pray that we will put aside any hostilities that there may be individually or collectively towards the teachings of the Master, that we will accept them fully and wholly, not in part, and do our utmost to show by example our true love for this great message of peace.
The Prophet Joseph received a revelation from the Lord, Doctrine and Covenants, "... 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 the voice of warning shall be unto all people, by the mouths of my disciples, whom I have chosen in these last days".
May we appreciate more fully through the sessions of this conference, the great privilege which is ours to be partakers of this message of peace, that it may be in our hearts, in our cities, in our towns in our communities, in our states, in this nation, and in all nations, for I testify that Jesus is the Christ. I know it in every fiber of my being, and I pray that we will remember his words:
"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you".
May this be with us all this day and all our mortal lives, I humbly pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.
Elder Franklin D. Richards
Franklin D. Richards, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 32-34
My dear brothers and sisters, I pray that I may have the Spirit of the Lord with me as I speak to you this afternoon. I bring you love and greetings from the missionaries and Saints of the eight eastern American missions.
As I travel throughout the Church, members continually ask me this question: "Tell me more about the new missionary program. Do converts really understand the gospel and are they staying in the Church?"
My brothers and sisters, as we have heard here today, this is not a new missionary plan-it is in effect the simple plan which was used by Peter, Paul, Joseph Smith, Wilford Woodruff, Parley P. Pratt, and other outstanding missionaries throughout the history of the Church in all dispensations. Great missionaries have been characterized by their simplicity and their directness. The Savior has told us that this is a day of warning and not a day of many words.
Thus, Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost was Christ and him crucified. They were pricked in their hearts and said unto Peter, "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".
Through the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Savior has given us this charge, "... go among this people, and say unto them, like unto mine apostle of old, whose name was Peter:
"Believe on the name of the Lord Jesus, "Repent and be baptized".
Our beloved Prophet David O. McKay, has counseled that every member should be a missionary.
Right here in Salt Lake City, a stake missionary while eating lunch at a counter met a young tourist en route to the Seattle Fair. He asked him what he knew about the Mormon Church, and if he would like to know more. He said he would like to know more. During the next few days the stake missionaries gave him the six discussions. He postponed his trip to Seattle and was baptized.
The Savior has said that the first great commandment is to love the Lord, and the second is to love our neighbors as ourselves. There is no better way to evidence our love to our Heavenly Father and to our neighbors than by sharing the gospel.
While attending a stake conference in Long Beach, California, I was told that one of the wards had a project of gathering newspapers. A young boy, while collecting papers from the neighbors, asked the "Golden Questions." Two families said they would like to know more about the Church and were later taught and baptized by the missionaries.
The effective use of the every member a missionary program incorporates the use of the Golden Questions, "What do you know about the Mormon Church-and would you like to know more?" By the members and missionaries asking these questions, thousands of interested persons are found and taught by the missionaries, individually and in groups.
One of the most powerful forces in the Church is and always has been its youth. They love their friends and are not afraid to ask them the Golden Questions. A young boy from Charlottesville, Virginia, was baptized. He went home and said to his grandmother, "Grandma, you ought to be baptized." "I have been baptized in the Baptist Church," she said. "Yes, but, Grandma, you haven't been baptized into the true Church." She said, "Maybe I haven't. Who told you this?" He told her the Mormon elders. She said, "Send them to me." He did, and his grandmother was taught the gospel and baptized.
Through the youth, many families are and will be brought into the Church, and again here, group meetings play an important part.
Group teaching was an important phase of proselyting at the time of Christ and was one of the effective means used by successful missionaries early in this dispensation. President John Taylor came into the Church after attending group meetings held by Parley P. Pratt.
When those interested in knowing more about the Church are brought together, the missionaries use the discussion plan to unfold the gospel story. The six discussions presented under the influence of the Holy Spirit form the basis of this new but old program.
Group meetings are designed to make contacts think independently. Most of the questions begin with "why" and "how" and give the contacts a chance to express themselves. The presentations are natural and conversational, and extreme simplicity is characteristic of the doctrine presented. Missionaries bear strong and specific testimonies and pray with contacts before and after each discussion. Visual aids are incorporated by using the flannelboard.
The discussions present in logical sequence the need for living prophets and the beautiful story of the first vision of the Prophet Joseph is related, specifically pointing out the nature of the Godhead.
Also the apostasy from the principles and faith established by the Savior and the restoration of the truth and the authority and power to act for God is simply discussed. Next the story of the Book of Mormon and its great worth as another witness of the divinity of Christ is explained.
In other discussions the tremendously interesting and important questions "Where did we come from," "Why are we here," and "Where do we go after this life" are considered. This includes a discussion of our pre-existent state, the atonement by the Savior of our physical and spiritual deaths, and the necessity of observing on this earth the first principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In connection with life after death, consideration is given to the spirit world, the degrees of glory, and the barriers between man and God, physical, spiritual, and intellectual, and how these are overcome. The interesting subject of baptism for the dead is also reviewed in some detail. We might say that the six discussions contain the gospel of Jesus Christ-the plan of life, in condensed form.
The elders had baptized the wife and children of a man in Charlotte, North Carolina. They tried to teach the husband, but he refused to listen and said, I will never be baptized into your Church, but you can come to our home if you want." Two weeks later he was baptized. He said, "I have learned more from these six discussions you have given me than I learned in the eighteen years I was a Baptist."
The discussion plan is not designed to convince intellectually, but rather, the discussions are instruments through which the Holy Ghost can work to awaken a spiritual awareness and bring a personal testimony into the hearts of the listeners that Joseph Smith is a Prophet and the Church is true.
Many contacts after participating in the discussions and listening to the testimonies of the missionaries, frequently ask, "How may I obtain this knowledge and receive a testimony?" A prophet of the Lord has said that if an earnest seeker of truth will ask God with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will have manifested to him, by the Holy Ghost, a testimony that these things are true.
Recently Sister Kemp of Atlanta Georgia, earnestly prayed that the Lord would bless her with wisdom and understanding in raising her daughter thirteen, her two sons fourteen, and sixteen. Shortly after praying, her sons brought two Mormon elders home. Sister Kemp knew her prayers had been answered. The missionaries gave the family the six discussions, and the children asked for baptism, but the parents were not ready.
As Brother and Sister Kemp witnessed the baptisms, the daughter came out of the water and threw her wet arms around her mother saying, "Mommy, I know this is the Church of Jesus Christ." Shortly thereafter the parents requested baptism. Surely the Lord moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform.
The incidents I have related are typical of what is happening throughout the stakes and missions of the Church. Yes, many investigators do ask God with a sincere heart and with real intent, and after participating in the discussions have a reasonably good understanding of the gospel and possess a testimony.
And are the converts staying in the Church and remaining active? Where fellowship programs are effective, generally a high percentage of the converts remain active. Fellowshipping, however, includes loving converts into the Church and giving them work assignments. It is not unusual to hear converts say, "It's a great feeling to be needed." I heard Brother Robert Giles, a convert in Las Vegas, Nevada, so testify at a recent stake conference.
Now brothers and sisters, we have been called to gather the Lord's elect and we are told that they will not harden their hearts. For this day our Prophet has given us the challenge-every member a missionary.
As each of us ask the Golden Questions, participate in the referral program, and hold group meetings we can say as the Prophet Alma said, "... 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 testify that we are engaged in the work of the Lord. I know that Jesus is the Christ, and that prophets have been raised up in these latter days. I am thankful for the Prophet Joseph Smith and for all those that have followed him. I love and sustain our beloved Prophet David O. McKay, his counselors, and the Apostles standing at the head of the Church of Jesus Christ today.
May we be faithful and energetic in gathering the elect in this the eleventh hour of warning, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Sterling W. Sill
Sterling W. Sill, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 36-39
My brothers and sisters, I appreciate very much this privilege of participating with you in this great general conference of the Church. As a kind of text I would like to borrow a little from the philosophy of Rudyard Kipling. Kipling was an English writer born in 1865. He lived in that period when England was the world's leading naval power. He saw much of the change-over from the old sailing ship to the use of steam as a means of ocean navigation. Kipling preserved for us some interesting ideas about this transition in his poem entitled, "M'Andrew's Hymn."
The dictionary says that a hymn is a song of praise or adoration, having a religious significance. Kipling's M'Andrew was the captain of an early steamship in the days when 98 percent of the land-based work of the world was done by the muscle power of men and animals. And even though M'Andrew's engines were very primitive, he praised God for the use of this gigantic new power that had been placed in his hands, and he looked forward to the time when his ship might attain a speed of 30 miles per hour.
M'Andrew sang:
"From coupler-flange to spindle-guide I see Thy hand, O God- Predestination in the stride o'yon connectin' -rod."
Then standing alone at night as he guided his ship home from its long journey abroad, he said:
"I cannot get my sleep to-night; old bones are hard to please; I'll stand the middle watch up here-alone wi' God an' these My engines, after ninety days o'race an' rack an' strain Through all the seas of all Thy world, slam-bangin's home again. Slam-bang too much-they knock a wee-the cross-head gibs are loose, But thirty-thousand miles o' sea does them fair excuse."
Then while reflecting upon the beginning and contemplating the future of the machine, he said:
"Ten pounds was all the pressure then with which a man could drive; An' here, our workin' gauges given 165! We're creepin' up wi' each new rig-less weight an' larger power; There'll be the loco-boiler next an' thirty mile an hour! Thirty an' more. What I ha' seen since ocean-steam began Leaves me no doubt for the machine: but what about the man?"
Then for a while M'Andrew focuses his meditation upon some of the blemishes of the men who run the machines. Frequently his sailors debased themselves and put ugly scars upon their souls. The fires of sin blackened their lives even as the flames blackened the ship's furnaces. M'Andrew pointed out that in traveling a million miles of sea some of his sailors had traveled an even greater distance away from God and the purposes for which they were created. But M'Andrew knew that the most important question must always be, "what about the man?" He says:
"'Tis the man that counts, wi' all his runs, o'er a million miles o' sea: Four times the span from earth to moon... But how far, O Lord, from Thee?"
Then thinking about the machine of the future M'Andrew said:
"In spite of knock and scale, of friction waste and slip By thy great light, now mark my word We'll build a perfect ship. I'll never last to judge her lines Or take her curve, not I. But I have lived, and I have worked Thanks be to Thee Most High."
From M'Andrew's day till now we have continued to perfect our machines until we have far surpassed M'Andrew's dream of "a perfect ship." The early steamship could hardly carry enough coal to provide the means of propelling itself across the ocean. But the new atomic ships now being launched can carry a full cargo around the earth twenty times or more without ever a thought of refueling.
Our machines not only carry us across the oceans and take us under the polar icecap, but they plow our ground, cook our food, refrigerate our homes, make our clothes, balance our books, carry our messages, build our roads, and move our mountains. Some pictures were recently published showing the construction of the Suez Canal in the 1860's. They showed the dirt being removed in baskets, strapped to the backs of human beings. Then less than a hundred years later a single giant earth-moving machine could do the work previously done by thousands of men.
We have electronic brains equally as capable in the mental field. There are a great many physical and mental jobs which we can no longer afford to have done by "manpower" inasmuch as "machine power" is so much cheaper and more effective. If M'Andrew praised God for the machines of his day, what would he think of those of our time, capable of carrying us through the stratosphere at many times the speed of sound, or what would he think of our $20,000,000,000 project to put a man on the moon? If M'Andrew lived among us, he would be sure to commend us for our machines and equally sure to inquire, "What about the man?"
We just hope that when man finally does arrive on the moon, he will not create the sorry state of affairs there that presently trouble the earth. But whether here or on the moon, our most serious question will always be, "What about the man?" What about his honor, what about his faith, what about his future? How much personal improvement will we make this year? An investment that pays five percent interest will more than double itself in fifteen years. How much personal doubling have we done in that time? It is wonderful for us to be able to stand flapping our wings in preparation for our flight into space, but in the process are we getting any closer to God and our own eternal life? Captain M'Andrew dreamed of building a perfect ship, yet he said, "It's the man that counts." What our world needs is more perfect men.
For more than nineteen centuries now we have held up before our minds the example of a perfect man, and his greatest message was, "Follow me". With all of our great ability, how well are we following him in his faith? How well are we following him in his works, or in the development of real character qualities in ourselves? As the high point in the most important sermon ever given, the greatest man who ever lived said, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect". Our Father in heaven is the most perfect, and the most intelligent Being in the universe. He is a member of the highest order in existence. He has the greatest sense of values. He is God. But what about the man? Man's eternal spirit is the literal offspring of God, and according to the natural laws of the universe, the offspring may someday hope to become like the parent. There is everything in remembering our heritage and constantly reaffirming it by the perfection of our own lives.
But generally we are not thinking very much about perfection in men. We live in the age of machines. We occupy ourselves with armament races astronauts to the moon, and contests for supremacy in material things. What a wonderful world we could have if we could make an improvement in ourselves to match the improvement in the machines we operate!
Many years ago Harry Emerson Fosdick wrote an interesting book entitled, On Being a Real Person. He detailed some of the items necessary if one desired to develop himself into a truly outstanding individual. And that is something we should work at a great deal harder than we do. But in the Holy Scriptures God has given his own specifications for developing life's highest values. It was intended that by following his formula every child of God should become "a magnificent human being" and eventually become even as God. But first we must get rid of the dishonesties, the disloyalties, and the immoralities that destroy so many of our lives and put perfection forever beyond our reach.
In an absolute sense, perfection in this life may be an impossibility. But in many ways a state of near perfection is a reasonable goal for us; for example, we can all be perfect in abstaining from tea and coffee. We can be perfect in freeing ourselves from the use of tobacco and alcohol. We can be perfect in the payment of our tithing. We can be perfect in our attendance at Sacrament meeting. We can be perfectly honest and perfectly dependable and perfectly moral, and this with much less effort than we spend in developing perfection in our machines.
The book of Genesis says that Noah was a righteous man and perfect in his generation. Enoch was also a perfect man, and under his teachings, his people so perfected themselves that the entire city was translated. The scripture says, "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him". If the people living in the city of Enoch could be perfect, then the people living in your city and the people living in my city can be perfect also.
There are some people who maintain that it is very difficult to live the religion of Christ, and for some people any righteous effort is difficult. But what kind of person would you expect to be most severely tempted by dishonesty or immorality or profanity? Or what kind of person would you expect to have the most difficulty in abstaining from drunkenness or from betraying his country? The ones suffering the strongest temptations from evil would likely be those living closest to evil. It has been pointed out that no one ever fell into a mud puddle who didn't first go too close to it. We are not necessarily complimenting ourselves when we boast of the difficulty we have in living our religion, just as we would not be complimenting ourselves to confess difficulty in restraining ourselves from being thieves and murderers.
It is not difficult to live the religion of Christ if that is what we really want to do. That is, it is just as easy for an honest man to be honest as it is for a dishonest man to be dishonest. It is just as easy for a faithful man to be faithful as it is for an unfaithful man to be unfaithful. In fact, it has been said that one can get to heaven on half the effort that we usually burn up in going to hell.
We become godly or moral or obedient, just as we become anything else, by practice. And only as we live the principles of the gospel can we really know of their truthfulness and value. It is the person who pays his tithing who believes in tithing. It is the one who observes the Word of Wisdom who knows the truth of the Word of Wisdom. It is the person who keeps the Sabbath day holy who champions it. And it is only the person who gives service who knows the joys of serving.
Jesus said, "He that doeth my will shall know of the doctrine". And Emerson said, "Do the thing and you shall have the power." If we can live one gospel principle perfectly today, we can live two gospel principles perfectly tomorrow. Perfection in one thing will act as a steppingstone to perfection in something else and soon we may approach perfection in all things.
In announcing his famous "as if" principle, William James said that if you want a quality, act "as if" you already had it. If you want to be friendly, act as if you are already friendly. If you want to be courageous, don't go around talking fear and indulging in negative, un-Christian thinking. If you want to be faithful, act "as if" you are already faithful. Do the things that faithful people do. Go to church, say your prayers, love God, refrain from evil, study the scriptures, be honest with yourself, and everyone else. And if you would like to be perfect, act "as if" you were already perfect. Don't go around glorying in your sins and weaknesses. We can come very close to perfection if we really get the spirit of it in our hearts. If we really want to obey God, we should act "as if" we were already obedient. We should think obedience, love obedience, practice obedience, and we should allow no exceptions to obedience. The fewer the exceptions to perfection, the nearer we get to perfection.
During the Golden Age of Greece, Pericles said that no one had a right to fill an important office until he had first filled some smaller offices with distinction. Too frequently we want to do some great thing before we have practiced perfection in doing little things well.
If we want to be great souls in heaven, we should practice being great souls here. If we believe that honor is better than dishonor, then we should immediately begin practicing honor, not just in big things, but in all things.
There is no question about the fact that our machines of the future will become more and more efficient. Our standard of living will probably go on increasing; our land will become more and more productive; our cities will become bigger and more beautiful. Recently there was unveiled in this city a master plan for our second century of development. Certainly in the future thousands of people will come here to admire our wide streets, our beautiful parks, and our useful buildings. But far the most important part of what our visitors will want to know is, "What about the man?" They will want to know how well we are living this new revelation of the gospel. M'Andrew may well join with Edwin Markham and Sing:
"We are all blind until we see That in the human plan, Nothing is worth the building That does not build the man.
"Why build these cities glorious, If man unbuilded goes. In vain we build the world, Unless the builder also grows."
I am sure of this, that the greatest waste there is in the world is not our blighted cities, nor the erosion of our soils, nor the depletion of our natural resources. It isn't the devastation of our wars nor the cost of our crime. The greatest waste there is in the world is that human beings, you and I, live so far below the level of our possibilities; compared with what we might be, we are only half alive. The most important part of any second century plan would be to constitute our lives as a hymn of praise to our Heavenly Father, not only for the inestimable privilege of building a perfect ship and building a perfect city and building a perfect national community, but we should also build into our lives a perfect devotion for God's perfect plan designed to bring about our perfection and eternal glory. May each of us be able to find God's own answer to M'Andrew's question, is my prayer, which I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Hugh B. Brown
Hugh B. Brown, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 40-43
It is a very great honor but a sobering responsibility to undertake to address this vast audience, seen and unseen; the kind of responsibility that causes a man humbly to seek divine guidance and assistance, especially if he would talk of God and of truth.
Let us read the words of the Savior as recorded in the eighth chapter of the Gospel according to St. John:
"... 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".
And again in the 17th chapter of John, he said:
"And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent".
The first scripture quoted is a promise that if we continue in his word we shall know the truth and gain freedom; and the second, that it is life eternal to know God. Each of these scriptures envisions and requires an eternal quest- because gaining a complete knowledge of truth, or of God, is an infinite undertaking.
It has been repeatedly stated in the conference thus far by the speakers, that we live in tremendous times-we live in the most significant period in the records of the human race. This is confirmed by our best scholars throughout the world, as they review for us the historic evolutions, revolutions, and reformations of the past. Civilized people everywhere are becoming aware of the ever-expanding complexity of our civilization and of the almost miraculous advancement and improvement in the fields of travel and communication, not only on an international but on an interplanetary basis. This knowledge causes us to refer to our time and our accomplishments as in modern vernacular, "out of this world." That phrase becomes almost literal.
In the midst of the rapid and unprecedented advance and discovery in many branches of science, we ask you, is it not reasonable to expect some new activity, some new thought, some new revelation in the most important dimension of human life, the spiritual dimension?
A. Paul Davis tells us, "The world is too dangerous for anything but truth and too small for anything but brotherhood." There must be social, moral, and spiritual solidarity in a world which is in hourly danger of extinction by bombs, missiles, and atomic fallout.
Many people, including some students and scholars, are unaware of the fact that also in the fields of theology and religion there have been revolutionary changes of thought, and they are of even greater consequence-greater because this area embraces all other fields of interest and activity.
The most intriguing and significant aspect of a man's search for truth is his continuing and compelling attempt to explain himself and his relation to the universe which envelops him, to find the cause behind the phenomena of life. The questions of whence and why and whither have persisted through the ages.
Any open-minded search for truth requires courage, constancy, and humility. To quote an ancient prayer:
"From the cowardice that shrinks from new truth, the laziness that is content with half truth, From the arrogance that thinks it knows all truth, O God of truth, deliver us."
Any thoughtful, prayerful search for truth reveals that God is our Father, and that he is a person, that his glory is intelligence, and that he has a will, a purpose, and a plan in creating the universe and providing for man's earth life.
God is more than personality as we know it; he is that in perfect degree which our best is in imperfect degree. To have faith in a personal God, who can be referred to as "Father" gives man a sense of dignity and holds before him an ideal toward which to strive. Continuing in that faith one gets progressive answers to the disturbing questions of source, purpose, and destiny.
In Bible times, the prophets were the leaders of thought. In a sense they were the spiritual scientists who tapped the inexhaustible reservoirs of truth through the simple media of direct revelation from God.
True religion is a vital function in human living, and its teachers and disciples should seek, understand, and advocate revealed truth. This truth demands our allegiance and will lead men to the promised freedom.
If religion is to keep pace with other human interests and refute the false charges of communism that there is no God, that Christ is a myth, that religion is an opiate, we must re-examine our prescribed beliefs as set forth in formulated creeds; we must compare our organizations and procedures and our theology with the teachings of the Holy Bible. Let us seek to find a church with an organization that is identical with that set up in the New Testament.
And in our search for truth, we must purge ourselves of prejudice, for that closes the mind. Prejudice has been defined as "a vagrant opinion without visible means of support." Let us return then to a prayerful study of the Old and the New Testament, and have faith in the God of the Holy Bible who was known to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as Jehovah, and to Peter, John, and Paul as the Messiah. Such a study will reveal that God is not a sovereign autocrat, but a loving, personal Father. This belief in the universal Fatherhood of God forms the basis for our faith in the universal brotherhood of man.
You, our friends who are listening to or attending the proceedings of this conference, no doubt ask what is the Mormon creed. Although we announce no formal creed, the founder and first president of the Church did set forth as an epitome of the tenets of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, thirteen concise statements known as the Articles of Faith. These include fundamental and characteristic gospel doctrine as taught by the Church of Jesus Christ in former days. The first of these articles declares:
"We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost".
That statement should reassure some of our friends who have wondered whether or not the Mormons are Christians.
That these articles are not, and were not intended to be, a complete and final exposition of beliefs is evidenced by the fact that we receive and expect continued revelation. In fact, we say in another Article of Faith:
"We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God."-Ninth Article of Faith.
These articles are authoritative; however, they form but an outline for the study of the theology of the Church.
Theology as a science has been defined as that branch of classified knowledge which deals with God and man, their relationship and their cooperative purpose. While theology may appeal primarily to the intellect, religion touches the heart, and it inspires men to live in accordance with the knowledge gained. Theology may be only diction, but religion requires action. Religion is man's endeavor to adapt himself to the facts of existence as revealed by the Author and Creator of all that is. It differs from other such endeavors in that it seeks the adaptation of the whole of life to ultimate facts.
Now, as God is the fountain of truth and knowledge, the source of wisdom, and as theology and religion are primarily concerned with the existence of and our relationship to Deity, does it not seem obvious that this combined subject, theology and religion, when accurately defined and understood, is the queen of all the sciences? It embraces all truth and therefore includes all other sciences.
It deals with man's origin, purpose, and destiny, with the principles governing the creation of worlds, with God's eternal laws which are often called the laws of nature. God himself has from the beginning been the Great Scientist, and he has taught men by personal manifestations as well as by ministrations of his appointed servants.
But here as elsewhere, when the student comes to the edge of knowledge, he must lean on faith and continue his quest. He must "trust the soul's invincible surmise," as did Columbus. If science is built upon facts, its architect is faith.
As Dr. Talmage has eloquently said, "Though the veil of mortality with all its obscurity may shut the light of the divine presence from the sinful heart, that separating curtain may be drawn aside and a heavenly light may shine into the righteous soul. By the listening ear attuned to the celestial music, the voice of God has been heard declaring his personality and will, to the eye that is freed from the moats and beams of sin, single in its search after truth, the hand of God has been made visible; within the soul properly purified by devotion and humility, the mind of God has been revealed."
The honest investigator must be prepared to follow wherever the search of truth may lead. Truth is often found in the most unexpected places. He must, with fearless and open mind "insist that facts are far more important than any cherished, mistaken beliefs, no matter how unpleasant the facts or how delightful the beliefs."
Quoting Lowell:
"New occasions teach new duties; Time makes ancient good uncouth; They must upward still, and onward, who would keep abreast of Truth:"
As God is our Father and the source of all truth, as we are all primarily interested in attaining eternal life and as it is eternal life to know him, surely an open-minded and courageous study of him and his divine plan with respect to our salvation will be the most interesting and permanently rewarding of all ventures into the vast realms which invite man's questing spirit. It was doubtless a contemplation of this majestic theme that gave us the rhapsody recorded in John. He said:
"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is".
The restored gospel of Jesus Christ which we proclaim, when understood and accepted, will unite all men in a common cause, and then only will all new scientific discoveries be utilized for the benefit of mankind. Then we shall have peace. A knowledge of truth will help men to be free, whether it come by direct revelation as in the case of the prophets, from the written word of God as recorded in the scriptures, revealed as a result of research in the laboratory, in the flight of the astronaut as he circles the globe, or as revealed to a prayerful youth upon his knees in the sanctuary of a grove.
Religion has to do not only with the internal life of man, but with his eternal life, which will be a continuation of identity and personality into the spiritual realm of immortality. Religion gives meaning, purpose, and direction to man's insatiable quest, his instinctive curiosity, and inspires in him a desire for greater awareness of himself, of his universe, and of God. The prayerful searcher after truth will, as Shakespeare said,
"Find tongues in trees, books in running brooks, "Sermons in stones and good in everything."
Man is ever wrestling with the problems of how to organize his reactions and find peace amidst the diverse and confusing experiences which crowd in upon the daily activities of his body, mind, and spirit. Religion is the means by which a man may achieve tranquility of spirit without internal anguish or external disaster.
The basic and fundamental doctrine of the primitive Church came through revelation from God the Father through Jesus Christ his Son. His life among men on earth, his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension into heaven, all proclaim the eternal fact that he was and is personal and material, and to that we humbly bear witness. He was a babe born of woman, he matured through childhood and youth, and, as the Apostle Paul said:
"... being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him".
He was and is Jehovah, God the Son, a separate identity working in complete oneness with Elohim, God the Father, in whose likeness man was created.
The announcement of new and continued revelation from God is more momentous, more reassuring and challenging in national and international affairs today than any of the discoveries of atomic energy or the amazing achievements of scientists.
We must seek to know God's word and will concerning us individually and collectively, and to this end we need not rely wholly on the written word given to people of another age. Each succeeding prophet added something to the revelations of the past. While much of that word is applicable to our time and condition, we announce to you, our friends, humbly but with a sincerity born of the witness of the Spirit, that God's word is revealed to men today, as anciently, through his own appointed servants. We proclaim a new revelation from the heavens, a new vision and understanding of God and of Jesus Christ his Son, a new interpretation of truth, and also a new delegation of authority from God to man. Continued revelation places religion in the vanguard of human progress. We proclaim the opening, under divine guidance, of the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, that which was mentioned by the Apostle Peter:
"That in the dispensation of the fulness 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".
A poet of this dispensation said, hopefully:
"The morning breaks; the shadows flee; Lo, Zion's standard is unfurled! The dawning of a brighter day, Majestic rises on the world." -Parley P. Pratt
The vital and dynamic message of Mormonism is that there is a personal God in the heavens. He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. He has not abated his power- he has not surrendered his sovereignty; he has not diluted his love; he changes not; and his plans never fail. We bear witness that his chief executive officer in the creation and direction of the affairs of this and other worlds is Jesus Christ the Lord, the Redeemer of the World, the Son of the Father.
The foundation of this Church rests upon the bedrock of revelation. The character, personality, and purposes of God have been again revealed to the world. The kingdom of God has been set up as predicted by Daniel and other prophets. An angel has flown in the midst of heaven in the latter days in confirmation of John's vision recorded in the fourteenth chapter of Revelation, where he 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: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters".
Our friends, either this solemn statement is true or it is false. If it is true, it is the most important announcement since the resurrection and ascension of Jesus the Christ. If it is false it will, of course, with all other falsehood, come to naught. That it is true we humbly testify, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Mark E. Petersen
Mark E. Petersen, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 44-47
We Latter-day Saints believe the Bible to be the word of God. It is a faithful record of the Lord's dealing with men down through the ages. It shows that the Lord desires that mankind should worship him intelligently, not as some incomprehensible being, but as their loving Father in heaven.
To accomplish this, God revealed himself to men from time to time so that they could see him and hear him and know him. He revealed himself personally, actually appearing to his prophets, and he talked with them face to face, even as a man "speaketh to his friend".
These appearances of God to man, and by this I mean personal visitations, for that is what the Bible describes, came periodically through the generations of the past. The Lord was not content to give one and only one mighty revelation of himself to serve as a foundation for faith through all time to come. He knew that men are changeable, often drifting into by; and forbidden paths, and that a constant reminder is necessary to keep them in the right way.
The Bible shows how true that is, for even though the Lord did appear time and again anciently, the people still drifted toward other religions, at times going into what seemed to be complete apostasy from the truth, even setting up false gods of their own making.
But the Lord loved his children and desired to save them. He knew they could not be saved in ignorance nor in the false religions of their contemporaries. Only the truth could save. So to bring them back into line as they strayed away, he repeatedly gave new revelations of himself, restoring the true knowledge of the nature of God and pointing to the right way of salvation. By revealing himself to his living prophets, he showed the people the difference between their own false gods and the true and Living God.
This became a pattern with him, as is shown so clearly in the scriptures. It is a well-marked pattern, which is: that as men fell away and lost the truth, God in turn restored his truth to them again by means of new revelations of himself.
There is only one way to combat error, and that is with the truth. If men lost the truth, they could only find it by receiving it again from the Lord, and that would entail new revelation from the heavens.
As such revelation was required in the past, God gave it, and when there was no prophet on the earth to receive his revelation because of the apostasy of the people, he raised up new prophets, spoke through them, and appeared personally to them, thus restoring the knowledge of his true nature so that men could worship him intelligently in spirit and in truth.
Let us point to a few Bible examples of what we say. God walked and talked with Adam and Eve. They knew what he was like, and they received commandments from him, but many of their descendants were not true to the faith. By the time of Noah, all mankind was apostate and as a result was destroyed in the flood, all except Noah and his family. God raised up Noah as a prophet and talked with both him and his sons, revealing himself to them. Therefore they knew God and worshiped him as a result of obtaining that knowledge.
Surely, as Jesus said, this is life eternal, "that they might know thee the only true God".
Noah and his family knew the Lord, but as time went on their descendants went astray until the days of Abraham when there was much wickedness in the earth. But the Lord followed his pattern, and as men fell away from the truth he revealed himself to them again, this time to Abraham, with whom he talked personally, and then to Isaac and to Jacob.
But the believers were few in that day. When Jacob took his family into Egypt to escape the famine, the whole house of Israel numbered only seventy people. In Egypt the Israelites multiplied and became numerous. Then tragedy came again. They left the teachings of their fathers, and began worshiping like the Egyptians, who were idolaters. They became so involved that later on they made a golden calf of their own and worshiped before it.
The Lord determined to bring his people out of Egypt and restore the truth to them. This would entail another new revelation, but to whom would he reveal himself? To Pharaoh on his throne? To the doubting elders of Israel?
He kept to his pattern and raised up an unspoiled man to become his prophet-a shepherd whose name was Moses. To him he spoke. To him he appeared. To him he gave power to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt.
When they reached Sinai, God came down upon the Mount and talked again face to face with Moses. Seventy of the elders of Israel went into the Mount with Moses, and there they saw the God of Israel, and "he laid not his hand upon them," the scripture says, but "they saw God, and did eat and drink".
Those seventy elders with Moses were now qualified to preach to the people and testify of the true nature of the Deity, for they had seen him themselves and visited with him and heard his voice.
For a time the people were faithful after this new revelation, but then wickedness came among them. Doubt returned, many drifted into the forbidden religions of their neighbors, and apostasy came upon them as a people Do you recall the difficulties of Elijah, the prophet, with the wicked King Ahab who led his whole nation astray? Do you remember the influence of Jezebel, and do you recall the problems which faced Elisha and Isaiah?
In the days of Jeremiah the apostasy was so great that this prophet was cast into a dungeon. When John the Baptist ministered among the people, they were so far astray that he referred to them as a generation of vipers.
Then came the ministry of the Savior. He was a manifestation of the true nature of God. He told the people that he resembled the Father. Paul said Jesus was in the express image of the Father's person.
But he was also in the likeness of other men about him-his disciples and others. He was so much like them that the crucifiers could not identify him in a crowd. They had to bribe Judas to point him out with a betrayer's kiss so that they would not arrest the wrong man. That was the whole point of the betrayal.
But Jesus was also in the express image of God's person, so by his physical ministry among them the people learned of the nature of his eternal Father in heaven.
Many followed him. At one time there was a multitude of five thousand; at another time, four thousand. But even in his own day a falling away came, as is recorded in the sixth chapter of John. When Jesus preached doctrine contrary to the traditional beliefs, many turned away.
John wrote of this, saying: "From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
"Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
"Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life".
How unfortunate for those who could not stand true doctrine. They turned away, preferring their own darkness to the light of Christ.
By the time of his crucifixion his faithful followers were scattered. After his resurrection and ascension into heaven the Saints gathered to resume their work on the day of Pentecost, but how many came? Only 120 souls. That is all, according to the scriptures. Indeed there had been a falling away.
But now came another revelation. The Holy Ghost descended upon them in great power. They resumed their ministry, and thousands joined the Church. But persecution arose in its severest form. Many died as martyrs. The apostles lost their lives. Error then crept in. Philosophers from Greece added to the difficulty as they theorized about the previously simple doctrines of Christ. Disputations developed between the members of the Church. Differences multiplied. One historian says that a hundred years after Christ there were thirty different Christian sects.
This has gone on until our own day, when the various denominations of Christendom number in the hundreds. They have many different creeds and sharply contrasting interpretations and views pertaining to the nature of God.
But can a misunderstanding of the truth bring salvation? The Savior taught there is but one straight and narrow way. One of his great disciples wrote: "One Lord, one faith, one baptism". Conditions today are much as they were anciently, but in times of old when they reached this point, God clarified the issues by giving new revelation of himself, even to the point of raising up new prophets through whom to speak.
Would he do that in modern times? Are modern people as precious in the sight of God as ancient men and women? Would he make repeated efforts to save his ancient people in their times of confusion and not do the same for his modern children?
God is the same today as yesterday. He will do as much for modern men as he did for ancient peoples. But does that mean a modern revelation of himself? Would modern men accept such a revelation?
Again the Bible points the way. Not only does it emphasize that a falling away would occur, but it also says that in the latter-days God indeed would reveal himself again, this time to modern men to restore the truth and to save his people.
But to whom would he appear? To kings or potentates?
As in the days of Moses, so in our day, he would raise up a new prophet not previously known to man. This modern Prophet was Joseph Smith. As God appeared to Moses, so he appeared to Joseph Smith and for the same purpose-to restore the true knowledge of God so that mankind could worship the Lord intelligently.
And has this come to pass? It has. This is how it happened. In western New York State religious revivals were being held. One faith said, "Here is Christ." Another, "No, here is Christ." Confusion spread. In the home of Joseph Smith there was deep concern. The family desired to know which Church was right that they might join it. Some were inclined toward one, some to another. The serious-minded boy, Joseph Smith, searched the Bible. In it he found the writings of James, who said, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God".
This he determined to do. Going to a little grove of trees by his father's farm near Palmyra, New York, he knelt in prayer. In response he received a visitation from the Almighty, even as did Moses. There appeared to him the Eternal Father of heaven and earth and his Beloved Son, the Savior of the world, Jesus the Christ.
Think of it! God came to the United States of America, together with his divine Son, and they appeared personally to that boy whom they had chosen to raise up as an American Prophet, even as Moses had been raised up in his day. So it was that Joseph Smith learned about the true nature of God.
But that was not enough. The Lord had determined to restore more than this knowledge gained in that brief visitation. He sent angels to earth with more light, this in fulfillment of Bible prophecy. He gave Joseph Smith divine authority for this modern ministry, even as he had given the divine authority anciently, permitting men to serve as his duly appointed agents.
A church was to be organized, the ancient one to be restored. Baptism was required for salvation, but who had the power to baptize? The Lord sent the authority to earth. John the Baptist, who baptized the Savior, came to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery and gave to them by ordination the divine power to baptize by immersion for the remission of sin.
Then came Peter, James, and John of the ancient twelve, conferring upon these same two men the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood, including the apostleship which they themselves held. Thus empowered, Joseph and Oliver were now commanded of the Lord to organize his Church on the earth with all the gifts and powers of the ancient Church.
This they did. The Lord continued to give them revelation for their guidance, even as he had given it to the ancient prophets for the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.
But Jesus came again and yet again. When church headquarters were established in Kirtland, Ohio, the Saints built a temple there. To it came the Savior of the world. As he appeared to Joseph and Oliver, they saw his face and his figure, and they heard his voice as he said, "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".
At another time when Joseph was accompanied by Sidney Rigdon, another glorious revelation of the Savior was experienced. They wrote of it:
"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".
So what is Mormonism, so-called? It is a new revelation of God, given to modern men through modern prophets for the salvation of all who will hear. We invite all mankind to give ear to its teachings, for it is the divine truth of God restored in our day. Of this we solemnly testify in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Boyd K. Packer
Boyd K. Packer, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 47-50
I wish to speak to young people everywhere. I confess to being partial to those of you who are in your teens. The very qualities that cause some of us who are a bit older to worry about you-youthful exuberance, resistance to restraint and domination-when matured a little will be your great strength.
When we hear the question, and we often do, "What is wrong with our teenagers?" I want to thunder out, "The only thing wrong with teenagers is that there aren't enough of them." I wish, earnestly wish, that this could be a private conversation, for I am prompted to talk to you about a very personal and sacred matter. But I have such faith in you to be willing to talk to you about this subject when your fathers and mothers are present. In fact, I think you will come to know how important it is to have them present.
I take my text from the Book of Mormon. Jacob, a great Book of Mormon prophet, was teaching his people in the temple, and we find this descriptive verse: "Wherefore I, Jacob, gave unto them these words as I taught them in the temple, having first obtained mine errand from the Lord". I repeat, "having first obtained mine errand from the Lord." It is about this errand, your errand, that I would speak.
Not too long ago I rode for several hundred miles with a group which included a boy named Henry. Though Henry was just in his early teens I was impressed with his inquisitive nature, with his searching, intelligent questions, and I thought, "Here is a young man with whom I can talk man to man about things spiritual." Henry has already obtained part of his errand. He is planning years ahead for service in the mission field. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints there is not only room for young men and women, but you are needed here. The majority of nearly 12,000 full time missionaries serving throughout the world-in Yokohama and Hong Kong, in Melbourne and Auckland, in Santiago and Hermosillo, in Hamburg and Vienna-the great majority are young men just past nineteen years of age. In this Church you are not only given full opportunity and full responsibility, but also full ecclesiastical authority. It is when I contemplate this that I repeat, here teenagers are not just tolerated, here they are needed. And it is when I contemplate this that I want to repeat again, the only thing wrong with you teenagers is that there aren't enough of you.
When I speak, I include in this errand all of you, not just those of you who have already distinguished yourselves-the captain of the football team, the valedictorian, the college or high school beauty queen. You are included, but I am speaking at least as much to you who consider yourselves nobody or at best just anybody. Some of you have been involved in serious trouble and difficulty that is only partly of your own making. Some of you I am sure, feel your parents don't love you. In this I am sure you are mistaken. Some of you feel that because of these mistakes that what I say shall not apply to you. You may even feel that no one has a regard for you, that even the Lord doesn't love you. In this you are most certainly in error.
If you obtain your errand in life from the Lord, there is a special spiritual preparation necessary. It is something you must do alone, each of you, individually, by yourselves. It is intimate and personal and sacred. It relates to the most delicate and sensitive of your feelings, and it is only in the spirit of reverence that I approach this subject with you.
To achieve this spiritual preparation you must set out on a quest. The quest has all of the aspects of high adventure. It will require the gallantry of knighthood, all of the virtues of the storybook princess. It will take the resourcefulness of the pioneer, the courage of the astronaut, and the humility of a true saint. It will require some unteenage-like maturity. I say this because right now as teenagers you are trying to assert yourselves, trying to say to the world, mostly to yourselves, "I am somebody." But, this preparation will require some different attributes, some that perhaps have not matured in you as yet. It is almost out of keeping with your teenage personalities for you to be submissive and humble, isn't it?
Recently I was tucking one of our little boys in bed. He was just five. There had been a difference of opinion as to whether it was bedtime or not. He had been guided gently to bed with something less than democracy. He looked up at me from under the covers and gritted his little teeth and said, "You not in charge of me." Wise beyond his years he spoke just like one of you teenagers. And, it is against this natural expression of youth that you will find your greatest contest.
The errand, the quest is the search for a testimony-an individual conviction, a certain knowledge that Jesus is the Christ, that God lives. Although much of religious expression is in group activity, this matter of testimony is not. It is individual-on your own, by yourself. It is because I have such confidence in you that I approach this sacred subject. I have confidence in all of the Henry's and the Bob's and Diane's and Beverly's and Allen's, and so I speak pointedly to you.
The Prophet Joseph Smith was about your age, in his fifteenth year, when he wanted to know for himself, for sure, what his errand in life should be. And, after reading James, chapter 1, verse 5: "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 came to the conclusion, "... 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 would venture".
Do you know how to pray, teenager? Have you ever tried it-by yourself, alone? Have you ever knelt down and poured out your soul to your Father in heaven, asking for help, asking him to guide you as you seek for your errand in life?
Joseph Smith sought seclusion, by himself, alone, as a teenage individual to attempt to pray. He asked the Lord two questions; first, which of all the churches is true, and next, which he should join. These two questions are appropriate for every teenager to ask, those of you who are in the Church and those of you who are seeking after truth. Now if you have the inclination or the desire to find out for yourselves, you are entering in by the way. Again from the Book of Mormon I quote the Prophet Nephi, who had been speaking to his people about this matter of testimony, and near the conclusion of his sermon he said:
"Wherefore, now after I have spoken these words if ye cannot understand them it will be because ye ask not, neither do ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought into the light, but must perish in the dark.
"For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do".
There is a difference, you know, between saying prayers and praying. Don't expect it all to come at once. It is worth earning. Your efforts may seem in vain, but pray unceasingly, unyielding. The Prophet Moroni said:
"... dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith".
Once you have a testimony of your own, some things won't seem to change a great deal. You will still have to work for what you get. You won't be immune to illness or death. You will still have problems to solve, but you will have great strength, and you will be prompted by the Spirit of the Lord in the solution of these problems. As you accept membership in the Church, you have the gift of the Holy Ghost conferred upon you. Some of you who are young members of the Church and some of us who are older have made very little use of this gift. It is a quiet gift. It is a still small voice. May I illustrate?
Many years ago my parents lived on a modest little farm. They were ordinary people of humble circumstances. They had prayerfully asked the Lord to bless them with all of the necessities of life and some of the comforts and conveniences. One Monday morning Father came in from the field. He had broken the plow. "I must go into Brigham City," he said, "and get some welding done. Would you like to go?" Mother was washing, but she hastily set things aside and prepared the youngsters for a trip to town. The big copper boiler was lifted from the range, the buckets of hot water were set off the stove into the bedroom. Mother took the youngsters to the front gate where Father soon appeared with the white-topped buggy. As she put her foot onto the step, she paused and said, "Dad, somehow I think I shouldn't go with you today." You can imagine the conversation. "But why not? Hurry, time is wasting. You know you have shopping to do." Mother finally said, "I just feel like I shouldn't go." Thank goodness Father didn't tease her out of it. "If you feel that way, Mother," he said, "perhaps you should stay home."
She lifted the youngsters out of the buggy, and you can well guess what they started to do. Dad shook the reins, the buggy pulled down across the bridge, up the opposite bank and out of sight, and she has told me many times that she stood there and said to herself, "Now wasn't that silly of me." She busied herself with her washing again and in a moment or two she smelled smoke. Everything they owned, much of what they had prayed for, was in that modest little home. She didn't find the fire until the ceiling of the bedroom burst into flame, a ceiling made of muslin, sized with glue and wallpapered. A rusted stove pipe had permitted a spark to fall and settle in the dust atop the ceiling. A bucket brigade from the back pump, and the fire was soon out, and the incident closes without significance, unless you ask the question, "Why didn't she go to town that day?"
There is a sentence that has been tremendously important to me in the Book of Mormon. Nephi in speaking to Laman and Lemuel said:
"... Ye have seen an angel, and he spake unto you; yea, ye have heard his voice from time to time; and he hath spoken unto you in a still small voice but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words".
Again, I say, teenagers, that you are needed in this Church. There is a great mission, a great errand for you to perform. Young Henry will hardly be prepared in time for his mission call. Some of us, in our youthfulness, may unwisely want to say to our Father in heaven that which my little son said to me. We may be tempted to grit our teeth and say to him, "You're not in charge of me." This spirit is present in the poem "Invictus" which concludes:
"It matters not how straight the gate- How charged with punishment the scroll. I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." William Ernest Henley
It takes a spirit different from that if you, teenagers, will find your testimony. The late Orson F. Whitney of the Council of the Twelve Apostles wrote a poem entitled "The Soul's Captain." In answer to the declaration "I am the captain of my soul!" Brother Whitney said:
"Art thou in truth? Then what of him who bought thee with his blood? Who plunged into devouring seas And snatched thee from the flood,
"Who bore for all our fallen race What none but him could bear- The God who died that man might live And endless glory share.
"Of what avail thy vaunted strength Apart from his vast might? Pray that his light may pierce the gloom That thou mayest see aright.
"Men are as bubbles on the wave, As leaves upon the tree, Thou, captain of thy soul! Forsooth, Who gave that place to thee?
"Free will is thine-free agency, To wield for right or wrong; But thou must answer unto him To whom all souls belong.
"Bend to the dust that 'head unbowed,' Small part of life's great whole, And see in him and him alone, The captain of thy soul."
Humbly, my teenage friends, I tell you that I as well as all of these brethren here, have made that quest. Though less qualified perhaps than you, it became my blessing to know for sure which of all the churches is true, and it is because of experience that I hold out to you, not just the possibility that God will answer your prayer, but the very certainty of it. We tell you that in this Church there is love for you. In this Church you are needed. We love you because the Lord loves you. I bear humble witness that I know that God lives. I know that Jesus is the Christ, and that he loves all of us, including the youth. And I bear that witness in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 55-60
In these days of radio and television, we may preach to all the world. Yesterday, the human voice could be heard only hundreds of yards. Today, the Lord having opened the way, modern inventions permit our bearing witness to all the people of the earth. From yards to miles to Telstars to planets the human voice may now be carried. The prophet of God may now be heard in all the world, fulfilling completely the command: "... Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved".
"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".
Satan's threat to take all those who will follow him is no idle boast. He may be depended on to engulf and capture all who will listen to him. The Lord announces: "... ye are called to lift up your voices as with the sound of a trump, to declare my gospel unto a crooked and perverse generation.
"... the field is white already to harvest; and it is the eleventh hour, and the last time that I shall call laborers into my vineyard.
"And my vineyard has become corrupted every whit".
Nephi in his parting testimony reiterated: "... wherefore, no man will be angry at the words which I have written save he shall be of the spirit of the devil".
More often, we warn the youth of the pitfalls endangering them, but today, let us warn the married folk, among whom there are many who suffer with discontent, jangling, and broken homes which, as we know, are the cradles for delinquencies.
The world is increasing in wickedness. We see the wanton disregard for the Sabbath, the limited number really active in any religious program, the graft, dishonesty, delinquency, divorce, and immorality.
In his address to the Relief Society sisters on Wednesday, President McKay quoted evidence that the world is ripening in iniquity. "Today, lawlessness is on the increase, the cost of crime at all levels in the United States is $22 billion, over $4 billion more than is spent for education. Sixteen percent of the total of $141 billion tax load at all levels of government is spent on crime. It represents a cost of $128.00 last year for every person in the United States."
President McKay pointed to the increase of 34 percent in the crime rate in the past five years, while the population increase was seven percent. And, we are constrained to ask, "How long will the Lord tolerate this people when crime increases nearly five times as fast as the population?" Now, as we speak of a sharp rise in iniquity, we are not unmindful of those numerous good people to whom the home life and the commandments of God are still their magnificent obsession. They have their reward. But all too many are following the path of evil, and our voices must sound a warning.
The revelations say: "Wherefore the decree hath gone forth from the Father...
"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".
And again: "... wo unto the inhabitants of the whole earth except they shall repent; for the devil laugheth, and his angels rejoice".
"Wo unto them... and in that day that they are fully ripe in iniquity they shall perish...
"... at that day shall he rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good".
Infidelity is one of the great sins of our generation. The movies, the books, the magazine stories all seem to glamorize the faithlessness of husbands and wives. Nothing is holy, not even marriage vows. The unfaithful woman is the heroine and is justified, and the hero is so built up that he can do no wrong. It reminds us of Isaiah who said: "Wo unto those who call evil good, and good evil".
We make no apology then for raising our voices loud to a world that is ripening in sin. The Lord has said: "Say nothing but repentance unto this generation".
The adversary is subtle; he is cunning, he knows that he cannot induce good men and women immediately to do major evils so he moves slyly, whispering half truths until he has his intended victims following him, and finally he clamps his chains upon them and fetters them tight, and then he laughs at their discomfiture and their misery.
The age-old sins continue with us today. The cry of repentance is to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. "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!".
To those people who hide their guilt and will not abandon nor confess, the Lord says: "By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins-behold, he will confess them and forsake them"
"... I command you again to repent, lest I humble you with my almighty power; and that you confess your sins, lest you suffer these punishments of which I have spoken".
And again, he says: "... hearken to the voice of the Lord your God, ... is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart".
And, again: "Or do ye imagine to yourselves that ye can lie unto the Lord...
"... can ye imagine yourselves brought before the tribunal of God with your souls filled with guilt and remorse, having... a remembrance that ye have set at defiance the commandments of God?
"... can ye look up to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands?". Sins cannot be forever hidden.
And Jacob stated: "... by the help of the all-powerful Creator of heaven and earth I can tell you concerning your thoughts, how that ye are beginning to labor in sin, which sin appeareth very abominable unto me, yea, and abominable unto God". Some folk hide their guilt and will not confess, and this is what Lucifer desires. He has a greater hold on them.
Peter, a man of God, discerned that Ananias and Sapphira had held back part of the returns from their sale and said: "... Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost...
"... thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God".
And in our own day the Lord promised his bishops and other appointees: "... to have it given unto them to discern all those gifts lest there shall be any among you professing and yet be not of God". And, again, "... and those who are not pure, and have said they were pure, shall be destroyed, saith the Lord God". Men's thoughts and lives are engraved on their faces.
Some let their marriages get stale and common, the Lord says: "... whoso forbiddeth to marry is not ordained of God, for marriage is ordained of God unto man.
"Wherefore, it is lawful that he should have one wife, and they twain shall be one flesh, and all this that the earth might answer the end of its creation". There are those married people who permit their eyes to wander and their hearts to become vagrant, who think it is not improper to flirt a little, to share their hearts, and have desire for someone other than the wife or the husband, the Lord says in no uncertain terms: "Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shall cleave unto her and none else".
And, when the Lord says all thy heart, it allows for no sharing nor dividing nor depriving. And, to the woman it is paraphrased: "Thou shalt love thy husband with all thy heart and shall cleave unto him and none else." The words none else eliminate everyone and everything. The spouse then becomes preeminent in the life of the husband or wife, and neither social life nor occupational life nor political life nor any other interest nor person nor thing shall ever take precedence over the companion spouse. We sometimes find women who absorb and hover over the children at the expense of the husband, sometimes even estranging them from him. The Lord says to them: "... Thou shalt cleave unto him and none else."
Marriage presupposes total allegiance and total fidelity. Each spouse takes the partner with the understanding that he or she gives self totally to the spouse: all the heart, strength, loyalty, honor, and affection with all dignity. Any divergence is sin-any sharing the heart is transgression. As we should have "an eye single to the glory of God" so should we have an eye, an ear, a heart single to the marriage and the spouse and family.
Modern revelation gives us: "Thou shalt not commit adultery; and he that committeth adultery, and repenteth not, shall be cast out ".
Many acknowledge the vice of physical adultery, but still rationalize that anything short of that heinous sin may not be condemned too harshly; however, the Lord has said many times: "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old times, 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 in his heart".
And to paraphrase and give the modern version: "And she that looketh upon a man to lust after him shall deny the faith, and shall not have the Spirit; and if she repents not she shall be cast out ". The commands of the Lord apply to women with equal force as to their husbands, and those scriptures come with the same sharpness and exactness to both sexes, for he has but a single standard of morality. It is not always the man who is the aggressor. Often it is the pursuing, coveting woman, and note that for both, all is lost if there is not true, sustained, and real repentance.
Home-breaking is sin, and any thought, act, or association which will tend to destroy another's home is a grievous transgression. A certain young woman was single and was therefore free to properly seek a mate, but she gave attention to and received attention from a married man. She was in transgression. She argued that his marriage was "already on the rocks" and the wife of her new boy friend did not understand him and that he was most unhappy at home, and he did not love his wife.
Regardless of the state of the married man, the young woman was in serious error to comfort him and listen to his disloyal castigation of his wife and to entertain him. The man was in deep sin. He was disloyal and unfaithful. So long as he is married to a woman he is duty bound to protect her and defend her and the same responsibility is with his wife. Numerous cases have come to us such as the following one:
A husband and wife were quarreling and had reached such a degree of incompatibility that they had flung at each other the threat of divorce and had already seen attorneys. Both of them, embittered at each other, had found companionship with other parties. This was sin. No matter how bitter were their differences, neither had any right to begin courting or looking about for friends. And any dating or such association by wedded folk outside the marriage is iniquitous. Even though they proceeded with the divorce suit, to be moral and honorable they must wait until the divorce is final before either is justified in developing new romances.
Recently, I learned that the woman of a broken marriage was married within hours after her divorce was final. She had been untrue to her marriage vows, for she had been courting while she was still an undivorced wife.
If one cannot marry before the divorce is final, then it must be obvious that generally one is still married. How then, can one justify courtship while he or she still has living, an undivorced spouse? So long as the marriage covenant has not been legally severed, neither spouse morally may seek new romance or open the heart to other people. After the divorce becomes final, both freed individuals may engage in proper courting activities.
There are those who look with longing eyes, who want and desire and crave these romantic associations. So to desire to possess, to inordinately want and yearn for such, is to covet, and the Lord in powerful terms condemns it: "And again, I command thee that thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife; nor seek thy neighbor's life".
How powerful! The seventh and tenth commandments are interwoven into one great command which is awesome in its warning. To covet that which belongs to another is sin, and that sin begins when hearts begin to entertain a glamorous interest in anyone else. There are many tragedies affecting spouses, children, and loved ones. Even though these "affairs" begin near-innocently, like an octopus the tentacles move gradually to strangle.
When dates or dinners or rides or other contacts begin, the abyss of tragedy opens wide its mouth. And, it has reached deep iniquity when physical contacts of any nature have been indulged in. Man's desires are fed and nurtured by the food-thoughts, be they degenerate or holy.
Amulek, the prophet, reminded us: "For our words will condemn us, yea, all our works will condemn us; we shall not be found spotless; and our thoughts will also condemn us; and in this awful state we shall not dare to look up to our God; and we would fain be glad if we could command the rocks and the mountains to fall upon us to hide us from his presence".
The case of Potiphar's wife is an example of the creeping tentacles of sin. Even though this scheming woman did not succeed in defiling Joseph, her sin was most grievous. The intent was there and the desire and the lust and the coveting. She had "already committed adultery with him in her heart and mind..." as she "cast her eyes upon Joseph day by day". This woman's transgression did not begin when she ripped the clothes from the body of this fleeing stalwart. Her perfidy had been born and nurtured in her mind and heart in the "day by day" of wanting him, teasing him, desiring him, lusting for him, and coveting him. Her sin was a progressive thing. So, for all the numerous people, who, like this seductive woman, carry in their hearts and minds designs or desires or covetings, deep sin lieth already at their doors.
"For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he". Nothing justifies evil. Two wrongs do not make one right. Spouses are sometimes inconsiderate, unkind, and difficult, and they must share the blame for broken homes, but this never justifies the other spouse's covetousness and unfaithfulness and infidelity. James Allen gives us this: "The outer world of circumstances shapes itself to the inner world of thoughts."
Many super-selfish folk think only of themselves when they begin to cross the lines of propriety in their romanticizing outside their homes; to them who ignore the innocent parents, the innocent spouse, and the innocent children, the scriptures are replete with warnings. "... I must do according to the strict commands of God, and tell you concerning your wickedness and abominations, in the presence of the pure in heart, and the broken heart, and under the glance of the piercing eye of the Almighty God".
Little do most of those who deviate think of the innocent bystanders until the heaviness of final guilt weighs down upon them. The Lord speaks again: "For behold, I, the Lord, have seen the sorrow, and heard the mourning of the daughters of my people... because of the wickedness and abominations of their husbands".
"... Ye have broken the hearts of your tender wives, and lost the confidence of your children, because of your bad example before them; and the sobbings of their hearts ascend up to God against you... many hearts died, pierced with deep wounds".
And, women also justify themselves in irregularities. They often invite men to sensual desire by their immodest clothes, loose actions and mannerisms, their coy glances, their extreme "make up," and by their flattery. Paul also called to repentance. "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
"For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is head of the church:...
"Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be unto their own husbands in everything".
And to the husbands comes the command: "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it...
"So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
"For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church".
Some who marry never cut themselves loose from the apron strings of the parents. The Lord says through his prophets: "For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.".
Parents who hold, direct, and dictate to their married children and draw them away from their spouses are likely to regret the possible tragedy. Accordingly, when two people marry, the spouse should become the confidant, the friend, the sharer of responsibility, and they two become independent. No one should come between the husband and wife, not even parents.
Paul concludes: "Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband".
To those who claim their love is dead, let them return home with all their loyalty, fidelity, honor, cleanness, and the love which has become embers will flare up with scintillating flame again. If love wanes or dies, it is often infidelity of thought or act which gave the lethal potion. To those who belittle marriage and its vows and responsibilities, to wives and husbands who joke each other about possible infidelities, Paul decries such jesting and joking about sacred things. "But fornication, and all uncleanness, and covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
"Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting".
To jest one's spouse about "affairs" could be the planting of seeds which might grow to destroy the marriage. Marriage is holy. It is sacred. Last week in Chicago four men sitting behind me were drinking. They were joking about their wives' boy friends, and their own girl friends. Whether or not they were adulterers and adulteresses was not known, but certainly no good could come from such foolish jesting, and it is an unholy way to speak of the glorious relationship of marriage.
May we, with Jacob, plead to the couples of the world: "... arouse the faculties of your soul, shake yourselves that ye may awake from the slumber of death; and loose yourselves from the pains of hell".
"... ye would be more miserable to dwell with a holy and just God, under a consciousness of your filthiness before him, than ye would dwell with the damned souls in hell.
"... when ye shall be brought to see your nakedness before God, and also the glory of God, and the holiness of Jesus Christ, it will kindle a flame of unquenchable fire upon you".
"... Save yourselves from this untoward generation, and come forth out of the fire, hating even the garments spotted with the flesh". Those who have slipped into the ugly approaches may have already silenced the still, small, pleading voice so many times that he hesitates longer to return as an unwelcome guest. He leaves the iniquitous one "on his own."
The Lord says: "... my Spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the Lord of Hosts".
But, forgiveness may come to that person who repents with all his heart, restores all that can be restored, and lives the commandments fully and constantly.
In conclusion, I plead with all young people bound by marriage vows and covenants to make that marriage holy, keep it fresh, express affection meaningfully and sincerely and often.
Husbands, come home-body, spirit, mind, loyalties, interests, and affections, and love your companion into an holy and unbreakable relationship.
Wives, come home with all your interests, fidelity, yearnings, loyalties, and affections, and working together make your home a blessed heaven. Thus, would you greatly please your Lord and Master and guarantee yourselves happiness supreme.
I urge this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Eldred G. Smith
Eldred G. Smith, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 61-62
I pray for the blessings of the Lord while I take this time that the prayers that have been offered in behalf of those who take this time will be answered in my behalf.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is the way to salvation and exaltation or the way to perfection. There are many steps to perfection. Many are mentioned by the speakers of this conference. The fulfilling of the ordinances are vitally important.
There is another thought I would like to refer to today. There are many good lessons in the story of Job. I find one I would like to refer to here today It reveals a certain principle I think is vitally important and helpful to many. "Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.
"And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
"And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
"Then Satan answered the Lord and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
"Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
"But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face
"And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord".
As a result of this Job lost all his wealth and his possessions. Yet Job did not curse God. He remained faithful and true. He said, "... Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord".
"Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord.
"And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause".
Who has not felt at one time or another that the Lord has turned against him without cause? We all come to the occasion at times I think when we feel as if all has been turned loose against us. We've had difficulties and trials and sicknesses.
Then again, "And Satan answered the Lord, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.
"But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.
"And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life".
In other words, now Satan could go forth and do anything he wanted to with Job, except he could not take his life. Again, in spite of all the physical torment Job was subjected to, he proved faithful, declaring his testimony to the reality of the resurrection. He declared the immortal words of testimony, "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 the end God accepted Job and returned to him many-fold all his possessions in rich abundance.
Going back to the story now to get the principle I was looking for, we note that Satan had power to do only what God had permitted him to do. Satan did not win that war in heaven. He was cast out of heaven to do what the Lord wanted him to do, to test and try and torment man. Satan, then, has power on this earth only as the Lord permits and as we yield to his temptations.
Do you think a just God would permit Satan to try us beyond our power to resist? Then the Lord will always give us power to resist if we will remain true and faithful to the end and seek the Lord and his guidance in all the trials and difficulties, even though we may think they are unjust. Nearly all of us go through some experience in this life of sickness, disease, trouble, financial difficulties, many even born with difficulties and handicaps-not because of any cause on their part as we see it, but because that is the part that the Lord wants us to go through as a trial and temptation to see if we will prove faithful to the end, in spite of these conditions, which are as far as we are concerned without cause.
Why, then, did the Lord first say to Satan "only upon himself put not forth thine hand". The Lord knew the strength of Job, so step by step Job was strengthened and given more power. Had the Lord said in the beginning, "All right, Lucifer, you may have full power over Job, you may do anything you wish with him, except you cannot take his life." I doubt if Job would have had the strength to resist all he went through and still remain faithful. But in the wisdom of the Lord he was just given part of it at a time. By so doing he was strengthened, in the first step sufficiently to take the next step. And then having proved faithful to the end the Lord restored to him his blessings many-fold, thus having become in that degree perfect.
No one is exempt from the trials and temptations of Satan. Even the Savior himself, after he had fasted for forty days, physically weakened beyond the strength of any normal mortal! Then came Satan unto the Savior trying and tempting, first with his weakest point at the time of hunger, saying "... If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread". The test of the appetite, an appeal for relief of suffering and pain! Then came he with the test of power and wealth. The Lord, knowing who he was and having strength said, "Get thee hence, Satan".
If the Lord and Savior was not spared of the trials and temptations of Satan, then neither are we, and we too must prove ourselves in everything the Lord wants to release Satan for, to test us, to try us, that we may thereby also become perfect. Remember, however, that the Lord will always give us power to resist any temptation which comes upon us if we will but accept the guidance of the Lord and accept his inspiration and call upon him for help. Even though at times we may yield to temptation, the Lord still doesn't close the door behind us. There is still the door of repentance open and a way to come back. The Lord is so merciful.
For us to become perfect, in addition to performing the ordinances of the gospel, we must also have the strength that the Lord might say to Satan in reference to us, or in reference to you, "All right, Lucifer, you may have full control except you cannot take his life." If we are to become perfect, we must be able to withstand that test just as Job did, somewhere along the line of life. So I would say to all, be patient, be faithful, call upon the Lord and seek his help, and he will not withhold his blessings from us. In the end, all may stand as Job and declare, "I know that God lives," as I declare that God lives and answers prayer, that he rules over his people here on the earth. He is truly our Father and Ruler, a Kind and Loving Father, and has restored to us in this the latter day the gospel of Jesus Christ whereby, if we shall accept his gospel, accept of him and accept of the ordinances pertaining thereto, we may again return to him exalted in his kingdom.
I wish to add my testimony to those that have been borne in this conference, that I too know that God lives, and that he answers prayers, and that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored in this the last dispensation through his Prophet Joseph Smith, and that our present prophet and president. David O. McKay, is likewise a prophet of God, directing his work here upon the earth. And so I testify in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop John H. Vandenberg
John H. Vandenberg, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 63-65
My dear brethren and sisters: I feel a great honor and responsibility was given me a year ago when I was called to be the Presiding Bishop. I pray humbly that my inadequacies will not be a hindrance to the fulfillment of this calling. I muster some courage as I think of the words of Francis Bacon when he said, "God hangs the greatest weights upon the smallest wires."
I realize that many others have had greater weights placed upon them. In particular, I am thinking of Joseph Smith who, as a boy, ventured into the unknown, searching for an answer to a query that came to him pertaining to some religious matters. In his innocence, he could not have known what lay before him as he sought his answer. He said, "While I was laboring under the extreme difficulties caused by the contests of these parties of religionists, I was one day reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and fifth verse, which reads: 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".
"So, in accordance with this, my determination to ask of God, I retired to the woods to make the attempt... 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.
"... having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desire of my heart to God".
This simple action of the faith of a youth unfolded great truths to young Joseph. It was a reality that Satan stood by as a power of darkness and tried to overpower and destroy Joseph Smith, and he might have succeeded had it not been that God heard Joseph's supplication and appeared in the power of his light to dispel the evil.
Joseph said, "... I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun,...
"It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy... 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!"
And in answer to the question, "Which should I join?" came the reply, "... join none of them, for they were all wrong... 'they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof'". And Jesus instructed Joseph that further direction would come to him.
This is the testimony of a young lad on whom God placed the "very great weight" of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. To the noble way in which he carried it throughout his life, we give him thanks honor, praise, and admiration. Though he was subjected to ridicule and punishment, his testimony remained steadfast with the statement, "... For I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it".
Arthur E. Jensen makes this significant statement, "The only way an institution... can grow old is to stay young forever... Its officers must have ears trained to catch the signals."
That The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is growing old, while staying young, cannot be denied. Its officers and leaders "have ears trained to catch the signals" of inspiration as God reveals them.
George W. Cornell writes "Such were the humble, ridiculed beginnings, 135 years ago, of a movement that today has become one of the most prosperous, diversified and fast expanding religious forces in the world... that it should have reached its present stature from its most unpromising origin is a modern paradox."
Some may wonder why?
The answer comes that this is not a work of man-it is the eternal work of God, re-established in proper order and authority in this last Dispensation of the Fulness of Times.
In the Book of Mormon, the ancient religious record of the inhabitants of North and South America, translated by the gift and power of God through Joseph Smith, is an explanation to the key of the vigor of this Church:
"For behold, God knowing all things, being from everlasting to everlasting... sent angels to minister unto the children of men...
"And God also declared unto prophets, by his own mouth...
"And behold, there were divers ways that he did manifest things unto the children of men, which were good; and all things which are good cometh of Christ; otherwise men were fallen, and there could no good thing come unto them".
It further states: "... neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men...
"And the office of their ministry is to call men unto repentance, and to fulfil and to do the work of the covenants of the Father, which he hath made unto the children of men... by declaring the word of Christ unto the chosen vessels of the Lord...
"And by so doing... prepareth the way that the residue of men may have faith in Christ".
Hereby God keeps his Church eternally young with vigor and power. He sends his ministering angels; he reveals his will to his prophets; and by divers means manifests truths to the children of men.
In the summer of 1828, the Lord revealed to the Prophet, "... Satan doth stir up the hearts of the people to contention concerning the points of my doctrine; and in these things they do err, for they do wrest the scriptures and do not understand them.
"Therefore, I will unfold unto them this great mystery
"For, behold, 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.
"Behold, this is my doctrine-whosoever repenteth and cometh unto me, the same is my church".
John the Baptist commissioned by the Savior, as a resurrected being and an angel of God, in May of 1829, ministered unto two of God's chosen vessels, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and conferred upon them, "... 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".
Here was the restoration of the authority to put into effect again the redeeming principles of the gospel.
He again confirmed the validity of the forgiveness of wrongdoing. "... go, and sin no more," was his decree. This we must understand.
John Locke, the English philosopher, expresses it this way, "Repentance is a hearty sorrow for our past misdeeds, and a sincere resolution and endeavor, to the utmost of our power, to conform all our actions to the law of God. It does not consist in one single act of sorrow, but in doing works meet for repentance in a sincere obedience to the law of Christ for the remainder of our lives."
The ability to receive the blessings of repentance lies within our individual power. It is a never-ending endeavor. There is no restriction to those who may achieve: All may partake of this gift from God.
The promise of Ezekiel is again made alive, "But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die".
The avenue of repentance is a thoroughfare which all may tread. It is the path to peace.
William Jennings Bryan gave us these words, "I am glad that our Heavenly Father did not make the peace of the human heart to depend upon our ability to buy it with money, secure it in society or win it at the polls, for in either case but few could have obtained it, but when He made peace the reward of a conscience void of offense toward God and man, He put it within the reach of all. The poor can secure it as easily as the rich, the social outcasts as freely as the leaders of society, and the humblest citizen equally with those who wield political power".
May we give thanks to God for the great gift of the gospel of repentance, for its author, his Son Jesus Christ, for the boy Prophet who had the courage to carry the great weight placed upon him. For all those who succeeded him and to those who are laboring in building the kingdom of God on earth, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Theodore M. Burton
Theodore M. Burton, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 65-68
My dear brothers and sisters, it is a great pleasure again to be with you, and to participate in that which has taken place this day. I pledge anew my loyalty to the First Presidency and to the Quorum of the Twelve, and tell you that I know in my heart these men are called of God as prophets, seers, and revelators. I am grateful for their leadership, and I am grateful for my associates among the General Authorities. These are wonderful men, and I am very, very grateful for the privilege I have of working together with them.
Last Sunday I talked by telephone with all the mission presidents in the European Mission and received their reports. I am happy to tell you that the missionaries are well- they are happy; they are enjoying their work; and we are having great success in the European Mission.
Usually in summer we have quite a drop in converts during the time the Europeans take their summer holidays, for they take them very seriously. This year, just as the holidays were beginning, we had a wonderful visit from President Moyle and from Elder Hinckley. These two wonderful men, devoting themselves to the work of the Lord, came over to help us. I just can't express to you our gratitude for the help they gave us. As a result of their visit our August conversions were twenty-eight percent above our conversions for July. Our September conversions were thirty-seven percent above our August conversions.
These new converts are good people. They are excellent people. We were instructed to emphasize group instruction, and we were told-in fact, these brethren insisted-that we strive for true conversions. We are only interested in those people whose hearts had been broken and whose spirits are contrite. These are the people who have come into the Church. We have some wonderful, strong, new converts.
These are dedicated converts, willing to sacrifice and willing to work. There was nothing new in what these brethren told us. We can summarize it in just about four simple statements, but they are fundamental principles; for instance, there is happiness in work, and we all know that. There is joy in dedication, and that we know, too. There is success in spirituality, and achievement comes only through sacrifice. By using these magical keys we have had our present success, and things look very wonderful for the future.
This success is represented by a recent meeting held in the city of Berlin. When President ElRay L. Christiansen came to visit the temples, President Percy K. Fetzer wanted to hold a special group meeting in Berlin and take full advantage of that wonderful man and his ability to sway and move people. So a special evening conference session for investigators was called. Usually people are pretty tired after they have been in meetings since eight o'clock in the morning. However an evening meeting was called, and the people who came exceeded their wildest expectations. There were 687 people in that investigator meeting to hear the testimonies that were given, and to hear the wonderful address that Elder Christiansen gave.
From that meeting we had 460 good referrals that the elders in Berlin are working on. Is it any wonder that the month just past established a new record in the number of conversions in the Berlin Mission? They are looking forward to the future with great enthusiasm. The missionaries are on fire, so is the mission president, and I am walking up in the clouds, too.
You know, there is no blessing with out sacrifice, but it isn't a sacrifice unless it hurts. I like President Tanner's definition of sacrifice. "Sacrifice means going without or giving up something which is good for something which is better." Now, our missionaries are willing to make such sacrifice, and truly they give up many good things. They sacrifice from two to two and a half years of their lives. They put aside schooling, employment, cars and sports, vacations, and dancing, swimming and friends, families and sweethearts for a time, to work harder than most of them have ever worked before in their whole lives.
Why do they do it? As we were coming home, we talked to a sweet little girl on the plane, a stewardess of Norwegian birth. We talked to her about our religion and asked her the Golden Questions of course. She said that she was very satisfied with her present religion. She said that she was a member of the state church, and so I congratulated her on her activity. I said, "It pleases us to know that people believe what they profess." She said, "Oh yes, I am very active in our church. We attend church regularly."
I said, "That is wonderful. I am happy to hear that."
"Yes," she said, "we go every Christmas and every Easter."
"I am happy to know that," I answered, and she went on to say, "My father thinks we can worship God in free nature."
I said, "Indeed we can, too, but is that what Jesus Christ told us to do?"
"Well," she said, "I don't know." Then I told her about the sacrifices that were made by our people who believed from the bottom of their hearts that the work they were doing is true, and I said to her, "Would you give up your present job as a stewardess, paying your own way on a mission for two or two and a half years to proclaim the divinity of the faith that you profess?"
She shook her head. I said, "Would you make such sacrifices as our people make?" And then I told her some of the things done in our Church by our people. I said, "Would you willingly pay ten percent of your income to back up your belief? Would you fast monthly and give a fast offering the way we do in our Church as a demonstration of your belief?"
"No," she said. "I am amazed at the faithfulness and the devotion of your people." I said to her, "Then why do we do it?" I ask you that question, and I ask people all over the world why such things are done in this Church. Well, they are done simply because people are convinced in their hearts that these things are true, and that is the only reason, just as Paul said:
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek".
Furthermore, Christ said, beginning at the sixteenth chapter and twenty-fourth verse of Matthew: "... If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
"For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
"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?".
Truly, these young Mormon missionaries are obtaining the greatest thing in this whole life, a testimony of the divinity of Jesus Christ. Do you wonder, then, that when they come back home at the close of their missions they are strong and stalwart, courageous and unafraid, and that they fit well into life again to take up their positions rightfully as leaders? We have had timid young girls come to us in the mission field so frightened when they first came, that they would cry when you would look at them. When they get through with their missions, they are not afraid of anything. They are full of courage and determination, willing to sacrifice because of the testimony which is within their hearts.
There is another missionary endeavor which I would like to mention just briefly. It is not well understood in the Church, for it is too new. To me it represents something which proves definitely that this Church is led by a prophet. I am referring to a new revolutionary concept which we call our labor-missionary or better, our building missionary program. It began very quietly in the far reaches of the Pacific Ocean but has now spread to all parts of the world, where skilled and successful men like many of you sitting right here today have responded to a missionary call to serve without salary, and have taken their families into foreign lands and foreign places to build beautiful church buildings. We are having so many converts come into the Church that it is all we can do to provide places for them to worship. Most churches are having a hard time to get congregations. We are having a hard time to provide meetinghouses for our congregations to meet in.
Think of the sacrifice that this requires, taking a family with you into foreign lands, where the children have their schooling partially interrupted, living under difficult conditions, leaving business connections, devoting themselves to the faith. Yet I have never heard one of them complain, nor express any regret for the course they have taken. They are converted, and they are accomplishing a great work.
Young people can come into the Church now and almost immediately respond to a call to serve. By sacrificing they become strong, capable people. Let me just give you a couple of quick illustrations.
One young man in southern Germany came into the Church. He had only been in the Church a very short while. He was a printer by trade. Some of the missionaries talked to him about their farewells, since he was being called as a building missionary. So, being a printer, he designed and printed his own mission program just the way our young people have their programs printed here. He went to his father, who was not a member of the Church, and asked him if he would speak on his farewell program. His father said, "Why, no, I am not going to have anything to do with those Mormons." The boy said, "Father, you can't shame me before my people. They expect that my father will come to my farewell program and say something kind about me."
Well, the father was put in a delicate situation, and so he said, "Well I'll do it." He went to the farewell very unwillingly, but when he came to the meeting hall and saw the love of those people for his son, when he saw how they respected him, when he saw what his son was actually going to do, he understood the program for the first time. When he was called upon to speak, he stood up in the meeting and talked himself right into the Church.
We had a little widow sister in Berlin whose son was called on a building mission. At first the brethren were unwilling to call him because they said it would mean too great a sacrifice. When his mother heard about it, she said, "I want my son to go on that mission," and he went. She has taken a job to support him while he is on his labor mission.
Our young people, even our new converts, will sacrifice, because of the strong testimony they have of the truthfulness of this work. Miracles are happening, therefore, right in front of our eyes, for this is God's work. Like the builders of Solomon's temple, these young men and women are erecting buildings and houses for the children of God to honor and worship the Father. They are building holy houses of prayer and worship, beautiful beyond anything we used to dream of.
And what does this do to the people? Well, you see, under this wonderful new program we are not just building buildings. We are building men and women, and when they return they are going to be instructed in the Church, its principles, and in righteousness and be able to fill any position we ask them to. I will venture to say that in years to come, as we begin to establish more and more stakes and wards in foreign areas, that those building missionaries will be some of those who will show the necessary leadership to fill such positions as bishops and high councilmen and stake presidents of those foreign stakes.
This is a wonderful work. I am grateful to be part of it. I am grateful for prophets to lead us, for faith to accomplish these modern miracles, but all this is only possible because of the knowledge in the hearts of the people that Jesus is indeed the Living Christ. The hearts of our people are placed upon the altar, a living testimony to the divinity of this work. This testimony I also leave with you, for I know that this work is true, and I say it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Nathan Eldon Tanner
N. Eldon Tanner, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 68-69
President McKay, brethren and sisters, in meekness and sobriety, and with a deep feeling of humility and inadequacy, I stand before you today in response to a call from a prophet of God to accept this honor and responsibility. Since he spoke to me I have slept little, but I have wept and prayed much. Because I know he is a prophet of God-our beloved President David O. McKay-of which I have borne testimony many times, I feel to accept this great call and responsibility, and I am prepared to dedicate myself and all that I have to this call. I shall continue to pray for the spirit and blessings of the Lord to attend me that I might have the wisdom and knowledge, the courage and strength, the desire and determination and ability to show my appreciation and prove worthy of the confidence of this, our prophet, these chosen men, the General Authorities, and you, my brethren and sisters who raised your hands to sustain me in this calling.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart, and as your humble servant, the weakest of all, I beseech you to exercise your faith and prayers unitedly in my behalf, that I might serve in a way that will be acceptable to our Heavenly Father.
I am so grateful for my devoted wife, for her love and affection, and that she has dedicated herself to the service of our Heavenly Father, and who will sustain me in anything that I am called to do in this the Church and kingdom of God; and for my wonderful family, who too have accepted the call and say, "... choose you this day whom ye will serve,... but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord".
I wish also to express my appreciation to these great leaders for the support, the help, and encouragement they have given me during these two years of association with them, and for the help they have given me in years past. To see the devotion, the dedication, and the wisdom of these men, and to be associated with them, is a privilege, a pleasure, and a blessing that one cannot express.
We had the great privilege and pleasure of having President and Sister Moyle and Brother Hinckley with us two months ago, and to see how dedicated they are to this work. These two men, I believe, had fourteen consecutive meetings in fourteen consecutive days, in fourteen different towns in four or five countries. I do not see how they stood it, but if anybody ever forgot himself or lost himself in the service, this is an example of it. And I was so fortunate to have the opportunity and privilege of being with President McKay when he flew to Scotland to organize the Glasgow Stake. To see him at eighty-nine years of age leave his beloved, devoted wife, of whom he thinks so much, and whose health would not permit her to accompany him, and travel all day and all night in order to be there to organize that stake in that great country, the land of his progenitors, is a testimony indeed. It was a great blessing for those people to have a prophet of God in their midst.
The Scottish Mission was organized just eighteen months ago-with a membership of only 1,400 or 1,500 people-and today a stake is organized in the Glasgow area where there were only 400 or 500 members when the mission was organized, and today there are 3 500 members, 2,300 of which were taken into the stake, and the other 1,200 left in the mission. Due to the rapidity with which the growth has taken place, it was necessary to choose several men who have been in the Church just a few months to take the heavy responsibility of being counselors to bishops or act as ward clerks.
This is the result of the work being done by those devoted missionaries, your sons and daughters. It is a great work that they are doing. It is not easy. It is a great challenge, and I appeal to you, my brethren and sisters, and all fathers and mothers, wherever they may be, to realize that it is not an easy thing for these young men to leave, as Brother Burton said, everything that they have and go out and devote two years to this missionary work. How blessed are those boys and girls who have come from homes where the parents are not ashamed of the gospel of Christ because they know it is the power of God unto salvation where they are prepared and trained to live the gospel and make it a part of their lives every day, and know that their parents have a testimony, and that they are prepared to accept the call of our prophet: Every member a missionary, realizing that this is the plan of life and salvation, the gospel of peace!
I want to bear you my testimony, my brethren and sisters, that if every member of this Church would accept the call of our prophet today and live the gospel and keep the commandments of our Heavenly Father and become missionaries in very deed, we could contribute more to the cause of peace than all the power that might be gathered together by all the governments and all the men in uniform.
This is our privilege and our call, my brethren and sisters, and I hope and pray that we will have courage, the desire and determination to accept it and live so that when anyone knows we are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he can say, as the Governor of Texas said at one time when introducing me to a group of oil men in Dallas, Texas: "The Government is fortunate to have a man like Mr. Tanner in the Government." And when I finished speaking he said, "I want to tell you why I said that 'A Government is fortunate to have a man like Mr. Tanner in the Government.' I told you that Mr. Tanner was a bishop in the Mormon Church. And I want to say that any man who is worthy to be a bishop in that Church needs no other introduction as far as I am concerned."
What a wonderful thing it would be if that could be said of every man who is a member of this Church, and it should be thus. I want to bear you my testimony that I know that God lives; that Jesus is the Christ, and that he lives, though he gave his life for you and me; and that the gospel has been restored in fulness in this, the last dispensation; and that we have a prophet at the head of our Church today to guide us, direct us, encourage us, instruct us.
May we accept this. May we prove worthy of our membership in the Church and kingdom of God is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Harold B. Lee
Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 71-72
I seek most humbly tonight the sustaining power of your faith and your prayers to the end that what we may say may be clear and concise and that you might glimpse the vision of the great movement which was initiated a year ago at the October conference in
In the announcement of the new correlation program as directed by President McKay, we used as our text a statement from the great modern-day revelation on church government, in which the Lord said:
"Behold, this is the way that mine apostles, in ancient days, built up my church unto me.
"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".
This significant statement meant clearly that, first, each organization was to have its specific function, that it was not to usurp the field of the other which would be like the eye saying to the hand, "I have no need of thee"; second, that each subdivision is of equal importance in the work of salvation, just as each part of the physical body is essential to the complete human being; and third, that every member in the Church may be edified or educated together; and finally that the system may be kept perfect, or in other words, that within the framework of the Lord's plan of organization for the salvation of his children, the Church will perform as a perfectly organized human body with every member functioning as it was intended.
The key to the whole correlation movement was given us when the First Presidency in an important communication some years ago declared the fundamental principles on which we were to build. In this communication the First Presidency had said:
"The home is the basis of a righteous life and no other instrumentality can take its place nor fulfil its essential functions. The utmost the auxiliaries can do is to aid the home in its problems, giving special aid and succor where such is necessary; that in aiding the home, the auxiliaries may well consider thinking of home life of the people as having three periods: the first from birth to twelve years of age, or the childhood period; then the youth period from twelve years up to the early twenties; and then adulthood, from the early twenties to the end of life."
Since that announcement we have gone forward with the development of the so-called correlation program, and tonight President McKay has requested that we report to this great body of the priesthood of the Church the correlation program as it has now progressed since that first announcement one year ago.
My associates of the twelve, as announced by President McKay, constituting the correlation committee, will each take time tonight in a unified report of progress. Elder Gordon B. Hinckley will first discuss the organizational development which has gone forward during this last year. Then Elder Richard L. Evans will discuss the curriculum studies and development. Elder Marion G. Romney will then talk to us about the priesthood correlation, which is in reality, an extension of what we have known as ward teaching in the past. It will then be my responsibility after they conclude, to summarize with an announcement of the first application of the new correlation program to be carried out throughout the entire Church, beginning in January of 1963 on a Church-wide basis. We will now proceed then with Elder Hinckley, then Elder Evans, and then Elder Romney, after which I will make a few concluding statements.
Elder Gordon B. Hinckley
Gordon B. Hinckley, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 72-74
My brethren, I have been asked to give a report of progress on the organization of the coordinating program.
Brother Lee has made reference to Paul's analogy to the Church as a body whose various members have need one for another. In furtherance of that analogy the correlation committee and its associated subdivisions might be likened to the nervous system whose responsibility is to keep the various aspects of the great teaching program of the Church operating harmoniously together.
Fundamental to the very program of the Church is the teaching of the gospel to the membership of the Church. In fulfillment of the obligation which was laid upon the Church in its inception, there has developed within the Church a system of great teaching organizations-the priesthood quorums, both Melchizedek and Aaronic, the far-flung church school system, and the auxiliaries: the Relief Society, the Sunday School, the Primary, and the MIA, all of which play so important a part in the education of our people.
If it were possible, I would like to place before you on a chart the organization of the correlation program, but since we have outside the Tabernacle where only our voices reach eight to ten men for every man who is here tonight, I shall have to present the mechanics of the organization verbally.
I should like you to picture in your mind's eye the First Presidency at the top of an imagined chart and below that the Council of the Twelve, then beneath that is a subcommittee of the twelve known as the church correlation committee, comprised of four members of the Council of the Twelve who have been given responsibility for this work.
Associated with the correlation committee is an executive secretary, Brother Antone K. Romney. Associated with him are three other dedicated men. They, together with the heads of the various teaching organizations, constitute the body found next, below the correlation committee on the chart I am trying to describe for you. This body is known as the all-church coordinating council. It is comprised of the members of the correlation committee and their associates, the Presiding Bishop of the Church, the chancellor of the Church School System, the general superintendent of the Deseret Sunday School Union, the president of the Relief Society, the president of the Young Women's Mutual Improvement Association, the general superintendent of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association, and the president of the Primary Association, together with a secretary.
This group, representing the great teaching organizations of the Church, stand together as the all-church coordinating council to bring about the harmony of which Brother Lee spoke.
Operating under the direction of the all-church coordinating council are three groups or subdivisions which constitute what we have come to describe as executive planning committees, one for children, one for youth, and one for adults. One of the twelve serves as chairman of each of these committees, with a secretary in each-Brother Belnap for the children's committee, Brother Hansen for the youth group, and Brother Bradford for the adult committee. Associated on each of these committees are men and women of great ability, extensive experience in the Church, and proven devotion, who constitute respectively, planning organization for children, for youth, and for adults.
Now, working with each of these executive planning committees are three other groups, one tied to each of the three. These are task committees, chosen from over the Church because of their experience, their devotion, and their ability. It is their assignment, and I think the word task fits the assignment, to review carefully the entire curriculum of the Church, past and present, to become acquainted with all courses of study and activity programs used now and used in the past. This is a tremendous undertaking. This study will become the foundation upon which will be built a program of coordinated study and activity for the entire Church in all the world, including all age groups.
I hope I have made reasonably clear the mechanics of the all-church coordinating program designed to further harmony and orderly sequence in the teachings and activities of the organizations of the Church.
Now, let me quickly review it as we proceed from the top-the First Presidency, the Council of the Twelve, the correlation committee, the all-church coordinating council, three executive planning committees each with a task committee of curriculum study, whose responsibility it is to dig and study and conduct research, out of which will come coordinated courses of study and programs of activities that will build testimony in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints from the day they are old enough to attend classes.
I desire in conclusion to say a word of appreciation for the magnificent service of those who have been called to serve on the various committees. Many have been released from positions of great priesthood responsibility including those of stake president and bishop; men and women have been released from general boards to work quietly in the background to bring about this great work of correlation which shall bless the lives of the Latter-day Saints throughout the earth.
God bless them in their labors and bless us with a sense of appreciation for their devotion, I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Marion G. Romney
Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 77-79
President McKay, and brethren: As Brother Lee mentioned, I am to speak a few moments about the proposed priesthood correlation program.
Through a program of priesthood correlation, we bearers of the priesthood must increase our efforts to encourage, teach, and inspire the Saints to become "partakers of the divine nature", to use Peter's phrase, through obedience to the sanctifying principles of the gospel.
We are performing far below our potential in this matter. President Joseph F. Smith seems to have visioned the time when the priesthood would do much more than it has been doing. In his opening address at the April conference of 1906, he said:
"We expect to see the day, if we live long enough when every council of the priesthood in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will understand its duty; will assume its own responsibility, will magnify its calling, and fill its place in the Church, to the uttermost, according to the intelligence and ability possessed by it. When that day shall come there will not be so much necessity for work that is now being done by the auxiliary organizations, because it will be done by the regular quorums of the priesthood. The Lord designed and comprehended it from the beginning, and he has made provision in the Church whereby every need may be met and satisfied through the regular organizations of the priesthood. It has truly been said that the Church is perfectly organized. The only trouble is that these organizations are not fully alive to the obligations that rest upon them. When they become thoroughly awakened to the requirements made of them, they will fulfil their duties more faithfully, and the work of the Lord will be all the stronger and more powerful and influential in the world".
Now, since President Smith made this statement fifty-six years ago, the Church has not only grown in numbers, but its programs and activities have multiplied. Many special committees-priesthood and auxiliary-have been set up and assigned particular functions. Many of these functions are rightfully the responsibility of the priesthood. Fellowshipping, for example, and working with inactive members of the priesthood, both Aaronic and Melchizedek.
With a view to correlating some of these activities, the First Presidency in 1960 asked the general priesthood committee to consider the problem and bring in a report and recommendations. Pursuant to this assignment, fourteen representative stakes were selected and since then have been experimenting with programs which they themselves have developed within certain prescribed guidelines. The brethren have been most co-operative and creative in this work. To them we express gratitude and thanks. The results have been encouraging.
Their plans and developed material are now in the hands of the all-church coordinating council. It is anticipated that a program will be perfected, approved, and presented at stake conferences to each stake in the Church during the last half of 1963, with the program to go into operation throughout the Church in January 1964.
Now, priesthood correlation, as we are using the term here, contemplates all that is now being done in ward teaching and much more. It unites under one undertaking many activities. It requires that attention be given to every member of every family, particularly to those who need special encouragement to live the gospel. It means much more than a perfunctory visit once a month. It includes:
Periodic visits to every family by two priesthood bearers;
Laboring with Melchizedek Priesthood bearers to build spiritual and temporal "strength";
Laboring with inactive and overage members of the Aaronic Priesthood under 21;
Activating and bringing into full church participation senior members of the Aaronic Priesthood and their families;
Fellowshipping and bringing into full activity recent converts, new arrivals, and all inactive church members;
Encouraging all parents and other family heads to maintain genuine Latter-day Saint homes in which are practised and taught the sanctifying principles of the gospel. It aims to bring all parents to a realization of President McKay's statement that "The character of the child is formed largely during the first twelve years of his life. It is estimated," said President McKay, "that in that period the child spends sixteen times as many waking hours in the home as in school and more than a hundred times as many hours in the home as in the Church. Every child is, to a great degree, what he is because of the ever constant influence of home environment and the careful or neglectful training of parents."
It is anticipated that priesthood correlation will include ward teaching, fellowshipping, activating inactive bearers in the priesthood, both Melchizedek and Aaronic.
It will be the responsibility of the two brethren who visit homes under the priesthood correlation program to familiarize themselves with the spiritual status of each member in every family assigned to them. It will be their responsibility to make sure that infants are blessed; that children are baptized at eight years of age; that boys are worthy and qualified to be ordained to the priesthood at 12 years of age and that they are so ordained; that they move through the grades of the priesthood in proper order; that candidates for marriage are properly taught the importance and sanctity of temple marriage and the church standards which will qualify them for it, to the end that they will be married in the temple.
It will be the responsibility of the two visiting brethren to know the available church activities for each family member and encourage him to avail himself of them-such activities, for example, as Sacrament meetings, stake conferences, and other ward and stake activities; activities provided by priesthood quorums, auxiliary organizations, the church educational system; genealogical and temple work, and so forth.
In brief, it is the hope that through priesthood correlation the responsibility which the Lord placed upon the elders, priests, and teachers at the time the Church was organized will be discharged. You will remember that in the revelation recorded in the 20th section of the Doctrine and Covenants, given in 1830 at the time the Church was organized, the Lord prescribed the duties of the elders, priests, teachers, and deacons. He there said, "... An apostle is an elder", so I assume that the responsibility placed upon the elder is borne by every member of the Melchizedek Priesthood. President Joseph F. Smith must have been of the same opinion because he said:
"Brother Charles W. Penrose is eighty-two years of age. I am going on seventy-six... and I want to tell... you that we are not too old to act as teachers, if you will call on us to do it, not one of us... So long as life lasts, and so long as we possess ability to do good, to labor in the upbuilding of Zion for the benefit of the human family, we ought, with willingness, with alacrity to yield to the requirements made of us to do our duty".
By some it has been thought that some of the directions given in the revelation referred only to ordained teachers. It would seem, however, that the responsibility has been placed upon every bearer of the Melchizedek Priesthood, and the priests as well as upon the teachers. For in the revelation the Lord says that the elder's calling is "... to teach, expound, exhort, baptize, and watch over the church..." That's the responsibility of the elder. Then the Lord says that it is the priest's duty to help him in certain activities-not the whole scope of the elder's responsibility, but he says it is the priest's duty to "... visit the house of each member, and exhort them to pray vocally and in secret and attend to all family duties... And he is to take the lead of meetings when there is no elder present..." And then he repeats, "And visit the house of each member, exhorting them to pray vocally and in secret and attend to all family duties.
"In all these duties the priest is to assist the elder."
And then the teacher's duty is to help also, but not in as wide a scope as the priest, but, "The teacher's duty is to watch over the church always, and be with and strengthen them;
"And see that there is no iniquity in the church, neither hardness with each other, neither lying, backbiting, nor evil speaking;
"And see that the church meet together often, and also see that all the members do their duty".
We hope to develop a program in this priesthood correlation through which all these responsibilities will be discharged. When we have seen that every member of the Church does his duty, we think we will be able to stand approved before the Lord.
This is a tremendous undertaking. It will take training of teachers. It will take a new determination. It will mean that every priesthood member will have to be a man of courage. Someone has said that the courageous man finds a way and that the ordinary man finds an excuse. No man that holds the priesthood wants to be just an ordinary man. "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".
And again:
"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". In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder Harold B. Lee
Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 79-83
President McKay, as I now come to announce the first tangible step forward that the Church will see on a church-wide basis, I am reminded of something you said when you came to the first regional meeting of the church welfare plan held in 1936 down in the old Pioneer Stake Hall where all the stake presidents of this area were called together. You sat through an hour or two of what must have been somewhat of a painful discussion of the details of beginning this far-reaching new welfare movement. You asked no questions, you made no comment, but at the conclusion you made this statement in something of a parable which I should like to apply tonight to this correlation movement.
"An engineer pulled his train into a station one dark and stormy night, and while the engineer was out oiling his engine and getting ready for the next run, a timid passenger left his place in the train and walked up to the engineer and asked, 'Aren't you afraid to pull your train out into the dark tonight, raining and storming like it is?' Without looking up, the engineer replied, 'I am not pulling my engine out into the dark tonight.' 'Why,' said the passenger, 'it's pitch dark outside the lights of the station. I should think that with the responsibility of these four or five hundred passengers depending upon your handling of the train, you would be a nervous wreck.'
"For an answer the engineer pointed up to the bright headlight and he said, 'Do you see that light up there? That throws out an intense white light a thousand yards ahead on the track. When I pull out of the station tonight, I will be running my engine only to the first circle of that light, a thousand yards away, and when I get to the outer circle of that light it will still be out another thousand yards in front of me. All through this dark night I will not be running in one foot of darkness all the way.'"
Then President McKay said, "Now, brethren, the first goal of this welfare program is October 1936, the first harvest time. That is the first circle of light. And when we get to October, the light will be out ahead of us, and I can promise you one thing, that all through this night of uncertainty when we are trying to establish the security of our people in a temporal way, this Church will be running in light of the revelations that come from God, all the way." We have seen that prediction completely fulfilled.
The first light that the Lord gave us as to how we should instruct his Church in all matters pertaining to his kingdom was given in that same revelation from which Elder Romney has read. It pertained to the holding of a stake quarterly conference, as we have come to know it. This is what the Lord said:
"Every elder, priest, teacher, or deacon is to be ordained according to the gifts and callings of God unto him; and he is to be ordained by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is in the one who ordains him."
Then he added: "The several elders composing this church of Christ are to meet in conference once in three months or from time to time as said conferences shall direct or appoint".
That assignment to hold quarterly conferences with the elders of the Church was followed then by another pertinent instruction which impressed the need for the constant attendance of teachers that were to come from the headquarters of the Church to instruct, at the conferences, the elders of the Church, which clearly indicated that the Lord intended that a stake quarterly conference was to be primarily a training school for leaders, as well as the Church membership generally. Note, now, this instruction which verifies that conclusion:
"It shall be the duty of the several churches, composing the church of Christ, to send one or more of their teachers to attend the several conferences held by the elders of the church".
Repeatedly church members have asked as to how, with the rapid growth of the Church, the General Authorities could continue to keep contact with and to properly direct the work. To illustrate what some have posed as a difficult administrative hurdle: in the twenty-one years since I became a member of the General Authorities, we have increased 222 stakes and about twenty missions more than we had when I became a member of the Council of the Twelve. This means that when multiplied by four conferences in each stake each year, that we are now having just short of 900 more stake conferences to hold generally than we were holding twenty-one years ago. Hence, the question as to how the General Authorities were going to keep contact with the stakes of the Church being multiplied at that rate and likewise keep a close supervision of the missions.
In a revelation to President John Taylor the Lord answered that question, and you will note how clearly he said it:
"... Let not your hearts be troubled, neither be ye concerned about the management and organization of my Church and Priesthood and the accomplishment of my work. Fear not and observe my laws and I will reveal unto you, from time to time, through the channels that I have appointed... ... through the channels that I have appointed, everything that shall be necessary for the future development and perfection of my Church, for the adjustment and the rolling forth of my kingdom, and for the building up and the establishment of my Zion, for ye are my Priesthood and I am your God".
We who are working closely together in the development of a more effective correlation have had the unmistakable evidence of divine direction through the channels by which the Lord told President John Taylor he would reveal himself and the development and the rolling forth of the work of the Lord. Now to understand what we mean by that you have but to kneel with President McKay in our council meetings and to hear him pray with a fervor that thrills every man of the council who kneels with him, "Heavenly Father, keep the channel of communication open between thee and us."
The relationship of the expanding organization and development of the correlation courses of study of the auxiliary organizations as explained by Elder Hinckley and Elder Evans have been done through the all-church coordinating council which is comprised of the heads of all the auxiliaries, the Presiding Bishop, and the administrator of the church school system.
We have now gone forward as the brethren have explained in consultation with the all-church coordinating council together with four members of the twelve and executive secretaries which make up our research staff. It is now becoming increasingly clear that not only the "what" to teach in the curricula of the Church is important in the coordinating of courses of study and the activity programs of the Church, but it is just as important, and, in fact, going hand in hand must be the "how" of leadership training in stakes and missions.
Keeping in mind what the Lord has clearly instructed as to leadership training in the stake conferences every three months, the light of spiritual guidance as to the next steps ahead begins to break through.
The first step in this new development came last spring when the Presidency and the twelve decided that beginning in 1963, General Authorities would attend only two of the stake conferences annually in each stake. At the same time President McKay warned of the importance and the absolute necessity of the General Authorities having the conduct for all stake conferences under their close supervision.
From the first announcement of the new correlation program, there has been constant inquiry made as to where the general auxiliary boards were to function, and always, with our limited view at the beginning, we answered, "Well, when we get to that problem, the answer will come." Now the answer has come. Beginning with 1963, alternating with conferences attended by the General Authorities, general auxiliary board representatives will be assigned by the First Presidency to attend these other two stake conferences each year.
For the conferences during the first half of the year, one representative from the Relief Society and one from the Primary general board will go to each stake conference as assigned. During the last half of the year, alternating with quarterly conferences attended by the General Authorities, one representative from the Sunday School and one from the MIA general board will attend the stake conferences as assigned by the First Presidency. The general plan for these conferences attended by the general auxiliary board representatives as is now being formulated will be something like this: These quarterly conferences attended by auxiliary board representatives will take the place of what have been called the annual conventions heretofore held by each general board in each stake or on a regional basis. There will be no such annual conventions in this new conference program. Instead, the quarterly conference, where general board representatives attend, will take the place of these annual auxiliary conventions.
The emphasis now at these conferences attended by general board representatives will be on leadership training and not on curricula presentation. The introduction of courses of study and the activities for the coming year by each auxiliary will be, hereafter, announced and developed at the annual conferences held by each auxiliary at church headquarters-June conference for the MIA then for the Primary, Relief Society, and Sunday School conferences on schedules as followed in the past.
Now, to give you some idea of the suggested schedule that will be followed at these stake conferences attended by the auxiliaries, and this is just a rough sketch of how it may work:
On Saturday morning each auxiliary representative, beginning probably about 9:00 o'clock, will begin a series of training sessions and problem discussions with their respective organization leaders separately, and they will carry out a predetermined program which has been worked out in consultation with the advisers to each auxiliary; these advisers, of course, being made up of members of the twelve and then approved by the Presidency and the Twelve. Toward the evening and probably about 7:00 o'clock on Saturday, both auxiliary representatives will then meet with stake and ward priesthood leaders, the stake presidency, probably, the high council, and ward bishoprics, and there in that meeting these two auxiliary representatives will present to priesthood leaders, a predetermined and approved program of instruction and explanation. This meeting will be presided over by the stake president.
On Sunday, at both general sessions held at 10:00 am and 2:00 pm, both auxiliary representatives will attend and will participate in both sessions as a team, so that now as they come to you instead of presenting their program as separate and sometimes unrelated and uncorrelated units, they will come to you, for example, in the first of these conferences in 1963, the Primary representing the children's program and the Relief Society representing the mother's program. How much more important will this kind of teamwork so presented mean to the church membership as both mother and child programs are related to each other.
They will carry out a program and demonstrate the harmony of the auxiliary programs as they relate to the priesthood and the home. This kind of meeting with the whole church membership in the general sessions will give the auxiliary representatives the opportunity to meet the maximum of the total stake membership and to impress the essential co-operation between the auxiliary organizations, the priesthood, and the home.
While both auxiliary representatives will participate in both sessions, one session might feature, for example, in the case of the Relief Society and Primary, the Singing Mothers who could be assigned the music at one session and the primary children singing chorus at the other session. At both these sessions the stake president will preside.
At the other stake conferences attended by General Authorities during the first half of the year, the missionary work and the welfare program will be stressed. It is likely that representatives of these two phases of the work may be assigned to accompany the visiting General Authority. That organization and the details thereof have yet to be announced.
At the conferences during the last half of the year, attended by General Authorities, the priesthood correlation or the enlargement of ward teaching as Elder Romney has explained it and genealogical and temple work will be stressed. It is conceivable that a program of training and instruction in genealogical work might be considered through the whole of Saturday, just as the program of the auxiliaries will be developed, if they so desire. It is also likely that representatives of these two phases of vital church programs may be assigned to accompany the visiting General Authority.
Thus you see that every phase of the Lord's work will receive attention, with a full correlation of courses of study and activities and with stress being placed on the training of and the instruction of local stake and ward leaders.
One concluding thought, and may I say, something of a testimony-President McKay sometime ago in talking to the Presidency and the twelve, urged us to give time for more meditation so that we could tune in with spiritual forces that we had a right to and should expect to direct us in our work. He said, "The best time for me is early in the morning when my mind and body are rested. But when the inspiration comes, and it can come just as clearly as though you were taking down a telephone and dialing in for information; when the Lord tells you what to do, you have to have the courage to do what he instructs you."
It is that, President McKay, which has been one of the most humbling experiences of this last year. Under your assignment, I bear humble witness to the Church I have sought that with all the faith I could muster, I have importuned the Lord. Sometimes the startling nature of my assignment has required courage almost beyond my strength. I come to you tonight subdued in spirit, I come to you with a sincere witness that the Lord is revealing and working through channels that he has appointed. Don't you ever let anybody tell you, the membership of the Church, that the Lord is not today revealing and directing and developing plans which are needed to concentrate the entire forces of this Church to meet the challenge of the insidious forces at work to thwart and to tear down and to undermine the church and kingdom of God.
I bear you my solemn witness that I know that God is directing this work today and revealing his mind and will. The light is shining through, and if we can get the priesthood now to come alive and to put into full gear the full strength of the priesthood, we shall see some of the most wonderful developments and some of the greatest things happen to the forces which the Lord can set in motion that we have ever known in this dispensation.
God help us and help me, President McKay, that I will not fail in the assignment which you have given to me, and may we all be so close to the veil that forces beyond sight can be near us to comfort us, to guide us, and when we would be weak and almost to fall, that we might not fail in the responsibility which the Lord has given to us, I pray and bear my solemn testimony, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Hugh B. Brown
Hugh B. Brown, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 83-85
My dear brethren of the priesthood, both you who are assembled in this great auditorium and you out there in the various chapels and meeting places of the Church, it is a thrill to be with you and to be aware of you, to be associated with you.
I am sure you have all been inspired and challenged by the presentation that has been made by four members of the Council of the Twelve tonight who are laboring under the direction of President McKay in formulating a program for the future benefit of the Church.
You will have noted, as I did, that the great emphasis placed by each of these speakers was on teaching. Some years ago when I was at Brigham Young University, an educator, a doctor of philosophy from another state who had spent a week on the campus as a visitor and part-time instructor, was sitting next to me at a banquet. Just before he was to leave he said, "I have visited many campuses in my lifetime, and I have seen some wonderful young people, but I wish you would tell me what it is you have here which seems to instill in your young people a burning desire to get an education. I have discovered here an enthusiasm for education that I have never seen before. In fact, it seems to me very close to religious zeal." He asked me to explain it.
I tried to do so by saying, "It is religious zeal because education is part of the gospel of Jesus Christ as we understand and proclaim it. We believe that a man is saved in the kingdom of God no faster than he gets knowledge, that he cannot be saved in ignorance. We believe that the glory of God is intelligence, and that every man's glory will be determined by the quality and degree of his intelligence."
He said, "That answers my question, and I'm glad to know that education is a part of your religion."
So tonight these brethren have emphasized the importance of gaining a knowledge of and teaching the gospel. Now, as has been mentioned, as the Church grows, develops, increases-and it is increasing very rapidly-we need more teachers, better organization, and more dedication.
When I visited the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs sometime ago, I stood before a monument of a falcon with spreading wings. At the base of the monument I read these words: "Man's flight through life is sustained by the power of his knowledge." I was much impressed. This came from the academy where thousands of young men are preparing for flight through air and possibly through space. But it is a challenging thought to all of us that our flight through life will be sustained by the power of our knowledge. Then if you add to that thought the LDS concept that man's standing before God will depend upon his knowledge, his education, his understanding of the gospel of Christ-in short, his intelligence, you will see the wisdom of tonight's emphasis on education. I am wondering whether any man could possibly be happy in the presence of God unless he himself is intelligent, for, as God's glory is intelligence, only to the degree that we achieve intelligence will we be able to stand his glory.
Recently I was in Alaska and visited the base of the interceptor squadron where many of our men are on twenty-four-hour-alert, on guard for all of us and ready to defend us. I saw over the door of the alert room these words: "Only the spirit of attack borne in a brave heart will bring success to any fighter aircraft no matter how highly developed the aircraft may be."
"Only the spirit of attack borne in a brave heart..."-of course, the efficiency of the aircraft is important, but unless the pilot at the controls has the spirit of his mission and the courage to carry out his assignment, it matters not how efficient his craft, he will be vulnerable.
So, brethren, it depends upon us individually as leaders-pilots if you will-how successful our stakes, wards, branches, and missions will be in building the kingdom. The individuals who are charged with the responsibility of leadership must first, themselves, become informed in these various departments to which reference has been made, and then see to it that all in their jurisdiction are properly instructed.
President John Taylor said on one occasion, speaking to the brethren of the priesthood: "If you do not magnify your callings, God will hold you responsible for those you might have saved, had you done your duty."
This is a challenging statement. If I by reason of sins of commission or omission lose what I might have had in the hereafter, I myself must suffer and, doubtless, my loved ones with me. But if I fail in my assignment as a bishop, a stake president, a mission president or one of the General Authorities of the Church-if any of us fail to teach, lead, direct, and help to save those under our direction and within our jurisdiction, then the Lord will hold us responsible if they are lost as the result of our failure.
I read again the other day from Matthew what Jesus said about the two sons and their father:
"... what think ye?" said the Master. "A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard.
"He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.
"And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not."
The Savior said, "Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you."-speaking undoubtedly of those who said they would go and did not do it.
This is, I think, one of the greatest challenges to the men holding the priesthood. The Lord has said to all of us, "Go and serve in my vineyard," and every one who has been ordained to the priesthood and set apart for his calling has said, "I go," but some go not, and others weary when the day is yet young.
Our challenge tonight then, in support of what has already been said, is that in every ward and stake, mission and branch, in every part of the Church, in all the auxiliaries, we join unitedly and enthusiastically to make the labors of these brethren and those associated with them successful in this great continuing movement for instructing and saving the members of the Church. We are doing a lot in the mission fields, but there is a lot to be done here at home.
Some may feel that in some far-off part of the Church there is not much hope. Sometimes we say, "Well, if you could send us a General Authority more often, we would be more inspired." The Church is getting too big, as Brother Lee has explained, for the General Authorities to attend all of the conferences.
I am reminded of what happened to a captain of a ship down in the South Atlantic. He had run out of fresh water. His crew were athirst. Another ship hove in sight, and he signaled, "Send us water" and the signal came back, "Let down your buckets, there is fresh water all around you. You are in the Gulf Stream." They let down their buckets and found it was true. They had not realized that the course of the Gulf Stream, driven out into the briny deep, had maintained its virtues, so to speak. They were able to save themselves by that which was all around them, yet they did not know it.
Brethren, there is available to you wherever you are, the blessings, the opportunities, the privileges of teaching the gospel of Christ, if you will let down your bucket into the Gulf Stream of the Holy Spirit which is everywhere.
God help us to do our duty, to be equal to our task, and when we say, "I go," let us be true to the promise that is implied and stay until the end of the day, that when the time shall come that we shall be released from this part of our labors and we go on to greater labors, we may be able to say with the Apostle Paul, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith". This I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Henry D. Moyle
Henry D. Moyle, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 85-86
At our April conference in 1960, I called attention to the need we had for missionaries, that we would like at least to double the force that we then had. At that time twenty-five percent of our young men eligible were going on missions-6,000 of them. I come to you tonight with my heart filled with gratitude to express to you the deep appreciation of the brethren of the fact that tonight we are on the verge of having those 12,000 missionaries in the mission fields throughout the world. We are realizing approximately fifty percent of our potential rather than twenty-five percent, and just as we needed more missionaries in April of 1960, we need more tonight. We had fifty missions at that time, we now have seventy, either in existence or in immediate contemplation, and all of these missions are calling for young men and young women and couples to go out and to preach the gospel to the peoples of the world who are waiting for our message.
Recently I found in a book of the seventeenth century, written by a Sir Walter Moyle, who may or may not be one of my progenitors-I think in light of this great program that Brother Lee and the brethren have presented tonight, and in light of the fact that the work of the ministry becomes more and more intense day by day, and if we fulfil our callings, we shall of necessity be more and more diligent, that what Mr. Moyle said has a present-day application, in spite of its antiquity.
He writes: "I think our success and salvation depend largely on how well we can eliminate idle moments from our lives and dedicate ourselves to hard work, which is impossible without effort and concentration."
I have had the feeling for a long time that we are unduly influenced by fear. I think for the most part the priesthood of the Church believe themselves to be courageous. I am sure that we have not entirely overcome fear. I am very much impressed with the statements that Elder John A. Widtsoe of the Council of the Twelve made at an annual general conference in April 1942:
"Fear which 'shall come upon every man', is the natural consequence of a sense of weakness, also of sin. Fear is a chief weapon of Satan in making mankind unhappy. He who fears loses strength for the combat of life, for the fight against evil. Therefore, the power of evil ever seeks to engender fear in human hearts. In this day of sorrow, fear walks with humanity. It directs, measurably, the course of every battle. It remains as a gnawing poison in the heart of victors as of the vanquished.
"As leaders in Israel, we must seek to dispel fear from among our people. A timid, fearing people cannot do their work well. The Latter-day Saints have a divinely assigned world mission so great that they cannot afford to dissipate their strength in fear. The Lord has repeatedly warned his people against fear. Many a blessing is withheld because of our fears. He has expressly declared that men cannot stop his work on earth, therefore, they who are engaged in the Lord's latter-day cause, and who fear, really trust man more than God, and thereby are robbed of their power to serve.
"The key to the conquest of fear has been given through the Prophet Joseph Smith," Brother Widtsoe continues. "'If ye are prepared ye shall not fear'". That is a message from the Doctrine and Covenants, and Brother Widtsoe says in conclusion, "That divine message needs repeating today in every stake and ward. Are we prepared to surrender to God's commandments?... If we can honestly answer yes, we can bid fear depart. And the degree of fear in our hearts may well be measured by our preparation by righteous living, such as should characterize Latter-day Saints."
God bless us to eliminate fear and to meet every challenge which the priesthood of God places upon us, I pray humbly, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 86-87
While Elder Lee and the other members of the twelve were presenting the outline of the great correlation work now in preparation, a passage of scripture came to my mind, which I shall quote, if I can, which will summarize the purpose of all this work:
"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 fulness of Christ".
That is what these brethren have in mind. That is what you brethren of the priesthood, assembled in these vast congregations tonight, have in mind, because you are servants of the Most High, and he has given you the responsibility of perfecting the Saints, of working in the ministry, for edifying the Saints of God, and the object is the perfecting of the individual.
There are many who are working tonight in positions who are sometimes discouraged. They may be in a bishopric, some may be in the presidencies of stakes, some may be in the presidencies of quorums, some deacons who feel, "Well, I am not doing anything." Teachers who are asked to go ward teaching sometimes feel they are incompetent, inadequate to teach. The plans that have been outlined today for you will be an aid no matter what position you may be holding, and you who feel inadequate, particularly the young boys who hold the office of teacher, when you go into the home of a man of the priesthood, and you feel inadequate to do your duty, remember this, given by a nonmember of the Church, but it contains encouragement:
"Who does his task from day to day And meets whatever comes his way, Believing God has willed it so, Has found real 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."
God bless the priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ throughout the whole world. They are called to serve; to serve the members of the Church, and to serve the world by preaching the everlasting gospel. May the Lord guide us, inspire us, never leave us alone, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Henry D. Moyle
Henry D. Moyle, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 88-92
"For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?".
Peter thus characterizes the church as the house of God and classifies the occupants of his house as those who obey the gospel of God, which is the gospel of Christ.
In this prophetic declaration by Peter there is no ambiguity. "Obey the gospel of God" must be our ensign. There is no other real approach to the fulfillment of life's highest purpose. It is satisfying to know that we need not wander through life aimlessly with insecurity, uncertainty; finding doubt fear, apprehension on every side. We have a certain definite plan given us. We need only understand, accept, and obey. We are then at once at peace and can make ourselves secure in the household of God. We know the gospel is "... the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth,..." as Paul so forcibly declared to the Romans.
Now 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.
The gospel is simple, unambiguous, and understandable by all who desire to know. It is natural, reasonable, and agreeable, and conducive to independence, peace, happiness, and security. It is appreciated by all who accept and conform their lives to its teaching. Its rewards to the faithful are numerous and obvious. Like the acquisition of anything worthwhile, it takes desire and consistent effort. It is different from the acquisition of earthly, perishable things. They come and go. Their enjoyment is temporary and superficial. The benefits and blessings of faith and obedience are everlasting. The products of the Spirit are priceless. Indeed with the blessings of obedience we live closer to God and our neighbor, and appreciate more our earthly heritage in every way. In the words of Peter we are told: "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature".
Thus our obedience to the gospel carries its own reward here and now. We do not need to wait with expectation or anticipation for the eternal blessings awaiting us in immortality to justify our obedience in this life to the principles of the gospel. We can become partakers of the divine nature progressively from the beginning of our conversion throughout the remainder of our faithful lives. The Lord never leaves us in doubt as to his nearness to us so long as we adhere to the faith. The price we pay by lending obedience to the laws of the gospel sinks into insignificance when compared with our incomparable receipts. No real joy exceeds our feelings when we have received and thanked God for his heavenly blessings. Jesus said to the rich young ruler:
"... 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".
Even his all was not too much.
A favorite passage of scripture to which we cling and oft repeat is found in John:
"And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent".
As we disseminate knowledge of God among our fellow men, we accomplish the high purpose ascribed to us by modern scripture.
"For behold, this is my work and my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man".
Our work, therefore, is to promulgate knowledge of God that all who listen may come to know God and thereby put themselves in the way of immortality and eternal life.
As we truly come to understand God and his ways, we can say as did David of old: "But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation".
Our work is cut out for us once we accept membership in God's Church and kingdom and obey the commandments of God. We become conscious of the reality and the actual existence of God-the Holy Ghost becomes our comforter and guide.
Our conversion may not be as sudden as that of the eunuch whom Philip was inspired to baptize:
"And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water, what doth hinder me to be baptized?
"And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
"And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him".
Neither need our conversion be as miraculous as was Paul's. Nonetheless each person's conversion is bound to be peculiarly personal. Every investigator seeking the truth in his own way can obtain the testimony of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ. Finally, each real conversion, no matter how wrought, brings to all the same testimony of the divine mission of our Lord and Savior. When we receive this testimony, we can all proclaim as is written of Paul, "... straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God".
This is the pursuit of every Mormon missionary throughout his mission, wherever in the world he may be sent. And this is the testimony of every convert to the Church. When this knowledge that Jesus is the Christ becomes ours, we desire to give others the opportunity which has come to us to gain the witness of the Holy Ghost.
It is not only easy, but natural for every member of the Church, with the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, to be a missionary. In 1829 the Lord declared through the Prophet Joseph Smith:
"Now behold, a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men.
"Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day".
We embark in the service of God through faith, repentance, baptism, and the reception of the Holy Ghost-every member of the Church becomes a member of the household of God through his faith and faithfulness.
We are told on all sides today that we need only confess that "Jesus is the Christ" to be saved. But we must know Christ to become part of his household and prepare for the day of judgment, which will start at his house. Members of a household generally know the master of the house. We cannot know God or be saved by grace alone. The grace of God is all-important to our redemption from sin. His atoning sacrifice is the very foundation of our salvation, both from the effects of the fall of Adam as well as from our personal transgressions. It is by virtue of his life and suffering and crucifixion and resurrection that we become the beneficiaries of his atoning sacrifice. He performed for us a task we could not do for ourselves. All mankind are thereby assured of their resurrection from the dead.
Our resurrection brings us to the judgment bar of God. There John the Revelator tells us:
"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".
The gospel plan, when followed, brings us a remission of our sins in mortality. We must act for ourselves and can depend or rely on no one else to be absolved from our own transgressions.
The answer Peter gave the multitude on the day of Pentecost is our answer to the world today.
"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".
How instructive in this respect are the words of Paul:
"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him".
We should now know what to do. It is upon the remission of sins through baptism that we gain our exaltation in our Father's mansions. We know how to prepare for the day of judgment of which Peter prophesied.
From the Book of Mormon we read: "... therefore this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God".
Whatever we do effectively must be founded on faith and repentance and good works. Our sins need not discourage us if we have the will to overcome them. Isaiah wrote:
"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool".
All must be accomplished with the gift of the Holy Ghost, our Comforter, and inspiration. Now the gift of the Holy Ghost comes to us through a very definite, clear channel, as we have pointed out. Our testimony of God is confirmed. We learn the truth. Faith is the motivating force in our lives. We are comforted in our righteousness.
We gain encouragement from the words of the psalmist:
"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".
"The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?".
In our journey through life we need help, strength, and assurance. Joseph Smith in his youth, as he read the Bible, took seriously the promise 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".
In answer to his humble prayer came the visitation of the Father and the Son to him which led to the re-establishment of the Church and kingdom of God on the earth in these latter-days. God continues to hear and answer the prayers of his people.
Now when our repentance is sincere, we shun evil and seek the better things of life; we pray; we read the scriptures; we look to the earth life and ministry of Jesus Christ for our guide, we know the scriptures are true and throw essential light upon our search for a knowledge of God and upon our responsibility to God and to ourselves. By prayer and the reading of scriptures we soon find our true relationship to God. We accept the invitation of Jesus Christ:
"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".
The Lord told Joseph Smith in these words:
"And by your hands I will work a marvelous work among the children of men, unto the convincing of many of their sins, that they may come unto repentance, and that they may come unto the kingdom of my Father.
"Wherefore, the blessings which I give unto you are above all things".
Before this day of judgment comes, which is to start at the house of God,, according to Peter, the New Testament tells of many grand and glorious events which must occur in the latter days.
John the Revelator gives us the final biblical assurance of the restoration of the gospel on earth before the day of final judgment.
"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.
"Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of water".
We proclaim in all seriousness that the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth as prophesied by John the Revelator, through the instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph Smith. We invite all mankind to investigate our proclamations to the world that the gospel has been restored to the earth in these latter days in its fulness by angels from heaven, who appeared to the Prophet and instructed him in the details of the restoration of God's Church and kingdom here on earth and gave to him for the world the saving principles and ordinances of the gospel in their purity.
After the angelic visitation, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were visited by Peter, James, and John-resurrected beings-who laid their hands upon the heads of Joseph and Oliver and conferred upon them the priesthood of God.
In keeping with the commission Joseph Smith had previously received from the visitation of God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ, he organized The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 6, 1830, in the state of New York. Since then it has steadily grown for a hundred thirty-two years from six members to two million, scattered throughout the world. Our message is in fulfillment of prophecy of old.
All who have complied faithfully with the saving ordinances of the gospel bear witness as do we here today, that God has once again conferred his priesthood upon man to preach the gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof. By virtue of the priesthood thus conferred upon us we call all mankind to repentance, and testify that through faith in God, repentance of our sins, and baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and reception of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, we can bring ourselves back into the presence of God, there to enjoy exaltation eternally in his kingdom.
Our missionaries throughout the world hold the priesthood thus restored to the earth and are prepared to assist you in your search for truth. Our missionaries bear solemn witness to the world that Jesus Christ lives and that he is the Son of God. We are all engaged in carrying out the mandate which Christ gave to 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:
"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. Amen".
In our earnest endeavor today to fulfil this commission which Jesus Christ gave to his apostles of old, we seek through our missionary labors at home and abroad to prepare ourselves and our neighbors, all who will heed our message, for the day of judgment. We wish it could be said of all of our fellow men as Paul wrote of the Ephesians:
"Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
"And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone".
I bear my solemn witness to the world that Jesus lives, that his mission upon the earth was divine, that he is the Only Begotten Son of the Father, and we hold his commission to carry his gospel to the world today, that he is the cornerstone upon which we build-the head of the Church.
Elder Marion G. Romney
Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 92-96
My beloved brothers and sisters and friends, seen and unseen: My spirit is subdued by the potential of this occasion. There must be eight thousand of you within my vision, and I am advised that the radio and television audience is worldwide and may be numbered in the millions. If I thought of you in mass, I should be overwhelmed. But I am not thinking of you in mass. I want the relationship between each of you and me to be a personal one, for I bear a divine message of the greatest significance to each of you. Fully accepted, it will bring to each of us the abundant life of which Jesus spoke. Widely accepted, the rivalry and contention among nations would cease and peace would flow down as dew from heaven upon all the peoples of the earth.
This great consummation will be realized when and only when men catch the meaning of and live by the full implication of Paul's great statement in his sermon on Mars' hill:
"God that made the world and all things... dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
"Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
"And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation
"That they should seek the Lord.. and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
"For in him we live, and move, and have our being... For we are... his offspring".
I have chosen for my text Alma's final charge to his son Helaman-"... look to God and live". Alma, an American prophet-statesman, was speaking about 93 BC. He was well qualified to give this charge because he had experienced the consequences of running counter to it, and he had enjoyed the blessings of obeying it. Through terrifying suffering he had learned that the penalty for not looking to God is pain and death. Through a subsequent life of righteousness he had learned that the reward for looking to God is fulness of life.
He had learned from the records of the people who had inhabited America between 2200 BC and his own time that they had been utterly destroyed in a fratricidal war resulting from their refusal to "look to God."
He had learned from the history of this vanished race the word of God to their prophets, the word of God to the prophets of his own people, and from revelations to himself and from his own experience, that the only way his people could escape the fate of their predecessors was for them to look to God.
As chief of state he had learned the limitations of civil government and the inability of political power to bring the abundant life or the perpetuation of civilization. So sure was he that his people, if they would live, must look to God that which he saw them departing from the ways of God, he relinquished his office as chief of state "... that he himself might go forth among his people... preach the word of God unto them, to stir them up in remembrance of their duty, and that he might pull down, by the word of God, all the pride and craftiness and all the contentions which were among his people, seeing no way that he might reclaim them ".
It was against this background that Alma so earnestly sought to impress upon his sons the message of our text-"... look to God and live."
Six thousand years of human history attests to Alma's wisdom. Every chapter thereof teaches that the uninspired wisdom of men cannot build a lasting stable civilization nor bring peace and happiness to individual men. All the evidence teaches that if man would live abundantly and preserve his civilization, he must look to God. Generation after generation has learned through sad experience that "... cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man".
Nor are the prophets the only ones to be persuaded that "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it". Josephus, for example, introducing his Antiquities of the Jews, says that: "Moses, our legislator... deemed it exceeding necessary, that he who would conduct his own life well, and give laws to others, in the first place should consider the Divine nature... any thing he should write tend to the promotion of virtue in his readers... unless they be taught first of all, that God is the Father and Lord of all things... did not begin the establishment of his laws after the same manner that other legislators did; " and I am still quoting from Josephus, "upon contracts and other rites between one man and another, but by raising their minds upward to regard God, and his creation of the world; and by persuading them, that we men are the most excellent of the creatures of God upon earth... when he had once demonstrated that God was possessed of perfect virtue, he supposed that men also ought to strive after the participation of it".
In an exhaustive treatise on The Good Society, a modern author, Hugh Evander Willis, A.B., A. M., LLB., LLM., LLD., Professor of Law, Emeritus, Indiana University, concludes that the best and only remedy to the present problems and the establishment of a good society is "the religion of Jesus." He makes a great point of the fact that the only motive strong enough to induce men to exercise that self-control required by the religion of Jesus is love. "Jesus," he says, "proposed," "to extend this love to the entire human race through teaching the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man."
Here we have an author who is so convinced that men must look to God in order to live in a good society that he deems it necessary to teach the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man even though he does not believe it. The hope for a good society of this man and millions of professing Christians and other men of goodwill who adopt this thesis is doomed to failure.
The world crisis we now face is upon us precisely because men have been and now are seeking the abundant life, for men, and peace among nations-the fruits of looking to God-by preaching the doctrine of the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man without actually believing them. Of such, the Lord says, "... they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me".
The fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, taught as mere devices, never have and never will, worlds without end, promote in men the love which inspires transforming self-control. The one and only motive strong enough to do this is a divinely given, moving, living witness that God is our Father and that Jesus is his divine Son, our Redeemer.
The need for us to look to God, however, in order to live is inherent in the very nature of man and his environment. It is not founded on arbitrary command but on universal law. Happiness, joy, peace, salvation, and every other component of the abundant life for men and peace among nations, are attained by obedience to the laws upon which they are predicated. They can be had in no other way. God's commands but prescribe those laws.
Mortal man is a dual being, a spirit child of God tabernacled in a physical body. Endowed with agency, he is placed here in mortality between opposing forces. The influence of God on the one hand inspires, pleads, and urges him to follow the way of life. On the other hand is the power of Satan tempting him to disbelieve and disregard God's commandments. The consequences of his choices are of the all-or-nothing sort. There is no way for him to escape the influence of these opposing powers. Inevitably he is led by one or the other. His God-given free agency gives him the power and option to choose. But choose he must. Nor can he serve both of them at the same time, for, as Jesus said, "No man can serve two masters... Ye cannot serve God and mammon".
"To every man there openeth A way, and ways, and a way, The high soul climbs the high way The low soul gropes the low. And in between, on the misty flats The rest drift to and fro. And every man decideth The way his soul shall go."
All men may, if they will, choose the way, the high way, for God endows every man that cometh into the world with agency and a sure guide-a guide which will lead him unerringly through the world if he will but hearken to it. Listen to this sublime assurance:
"... the Spirit," meaning the Spirit of Christ, "giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit.
"And every one that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit cometh unto God, even the Father.
"And the Father teacheth him of the covenant" that is, of the gospel of Jesus Christ which he has restored to the earth in these last days for the salvation of the whole world.
You see, my beloved brethren and sisters, whoever you are, wherever you are, into whatever circumstances you are born, the Spirit of Christ attends us and, until we reject it, prompts us and encourages us to noble and high endeavor.
The covenant, the gospel, which you will learn through the servants of God, tells us how to look to God. There are three requisites:
A true concept and knowledge of God;
A knowledge of his commands; and third, obedience to those commands.
That man might have this true concept and knowledge of him, God has, through the ages, repeatedly revealed himself. He revealed himself to Adam, to Abraham, to Moses. Christ was God's revelation of himself to men in the Meridian of Time. For the benefit of us who live in this day he revealed himself to the Prophet Joseph Smith, Jun., in the spring of 1820 in Palmyra, New York.
Just as he revealed himself anew in each dispensation, so has he as often restated his commandments. He restated them for us of this day also through the Prophet Joseph Smith.
The Old Testament contains commandments God gave through the prophets to ancient Israel. The New Testament contains those given in the Dispensation of the Meridian of Time. The Book of Mormon contains the commandments delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants of America. The Doctrine and Covenants is a compilation of commandments which the Lord gave to the Prophet Joseph Smith. They contain the instructions from which we learn how to look to God today. They were given "for the sake of the whole world" and are binding upon all of us. From them we learn whom to worship and how to worship and the course to take in order to escape the calamities which God sees coming upon the inhabitants of the world.
"For a desolating scourge shall go forth among the inhabitants of the earth, and shall continue to be poured out from time to time, if they repent not, until the earth is empty, and the inhabitants thereof are consumed away and utterly destroyed by the brightness of my coming.
"Behold, I tell you these things, even as I also told the people of the destruction of Jerusalem; and my word shall be verified at this time as it hath hitherto been verified".
And, on the other hand, the Lord promises that if we will repent, look to him and keep his commandments, he will fight our battles, destroy our enemies and prosper us in the land, that we shall be a free people, and he will be our King and our lawgiver.
With the perfection of Telstar we have the means for instantaneous worldwide communication. Sobered by this awesome facility, someone has commented, "Now that we have the means, what do we have to say?"
From what we have already said it is clear that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is ready with the answer, for it has been commissioned of heaven to carry the divine message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, to every living soul-a message delivered, in part, by God himself-delivered in full by him, his Beloved Son, and other heavenly beings to the Latter-day Prophet for the salvation of all who live in this day.
A message that God the Father and Jesus Christ his Son, our Redeemer, live that they are within our reach, seeking to guide and direct and give us light and life; a message containing the true concept and knowledge of God and a restatement of his commandments to men; a message which, if believed, will give us the power to keep the commandments which will bring to each of us personally, my beloved brothers and sisters, whoever you are, wherever you may be, whatever the circumstances in which you live-the abundant life, which is peace of mind and comfort of soul; a message which, if widely accepted, will bring peace and goodwill among all nations!
We Latter-day Saints have learned the facts of this message from the words of the modern prophets. We have learned of their truth, for ourselves, however, by personal revelation to each of us. In the same manner, you may obtain like witness by taking the course which leads to it. I testify to you that I do know that the message we bear is true, and I plead with you and all men everywhere to come-look to God and live.
That it may be so, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder A. Theodore Tuttle
A. Theodore Tuttle, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 96-98
My dear brothers and sisters, I am grateful to have this opportunity of meeting with you on this inspiring occasion. I bring you greetings from the seven mission presidents and the members of the Church and missionaries of South America, and since these proceedings are being beamed to distant places, I send greetings to all of you, everywhere.
Several years ago I was in Banff, Alberta, Canada, eating at a restaurant in company with my wife. As we went to pay the bill, the Greek proprietor commented on what he called her "classic Grecian profile" and engaged us in conversation. Learning that I was a churchman, he suggested a bargain. "I will pay for your dinner," he said, "if you can tell me what is the greatest thing in the world." I counseled with my wife and replied, "Love is the greatest thing in the world." "You pay for the dinner, my friend," he said. "Love is not the greatest thing in the world. It is hope."
Then briefly he related how he had lost his business, his money, his friends, his family, everything that he loved all that he had left was hope. Hope had saved him and sustained him when all else had been lost.
For the past fourteen months we have lived in South America in the midst, as it were, of great turmoil and trouble. We have seen frequent political and factional upheavals. In my travels up and down that broad land, I have contacted literally thousands of people who live without sufficient to eat or wear, whose lives are equally spiritually starved and worse still, who live without hope.
However, I know a man who is different. He has hope. He is typical of a remnant of over 25,000 other members of the Church in South America. I shall call him Juan Fulano. He lives in a little modest home with his aged father and mother and his wife and five small children. He is a mechanic by trade and works in a garage six days a week for ten hours a day.
It has been interesting to note how great world politics affect his whole existence, his country, his home, his job, his children. Juan used to be like so many of his countrymen. He worked and ate and drank and slept and lived without hope of anything better. He attended church only seldom, if ever; though his wife went more frequently. He had no faith in God or man and was intemperate in his habits. He worried about the possibility of war, was upset by the turmoil in his government, and had little use for his fellow men.
However, in Juan Fulano, I saw peace take root and grow. No longer is peace an abstraction to me. Juan Fulano's whole life has changed, his home, his job, his children, he, himself. Juan now has faith. He has drawn close to his Heavenly Father. He prays now and finds not only comfort and solace, but also answers to his worthy petitions. He has repented, changed. He is now sensitive to the spiritual values in life. Juan has been baptized by immersion for the remission of his sins by those who hold authority and has had hands laid upon his head to confer upon him the gift of the Holy Ghost which is leading and will lead him into all truth.
In addition he has received the priesthood of God and has been ordained an elder. He now not only attends church regularly but is the presiding authority in his local church branch. He is releasing the potential he has for leadership and service. He is not the same man that he was eight months ago when two servants of the Lord found him and taught him the gospel.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is designed to bring peace to the earth. To many this may seem only an idle dream-impossible, Utopian. Others have good cause to say, "But Christianity has failed. We have not had peace in nineteen hundred years. Instead the church has even waged so-called 'holy wars.' "
May I remind you, however, that these churches have not been the Church of Jesus Christ. He is the head of none of these man-made churches. His authority to administer his gospel was lost to the earth shortly after the second century AD according both to prophecy and to fact. It was necessary for God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ to appear in the year 1820 to Joseph Smith and restore the true knowledge of God and to call him to be a prophet. It was necessary to establish and empower The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to teach and administer the ordinances of his gospel. Since 1830 this Church has grown in strength and power for righteousness in the earth. It can and will achieve its ultimate purpose of bringing peace.
But peace is not easily obtained because peace is rooted in righteousness! It grows not in the soil of sin or in indifference to the Spirit of God. It occurs not by edict or force. It comes by voluntary change in the heart of man.
Obedience to divine law and righteousness precede, not follow peace. Peace comes not as an endowment or gift. Like happiness it is ultimately obtained not by working or seeking for it, per se, but rather it comes as an outgrowth, a byproduct, as it were, of righteousness. It comes as a blessing to those who are righteous.
The fear of such things as an atomic war is a misunderstanding of the destructive force which causes war. It did not take nuclear physics to destroy the Nephites who lived on this continent fifteen hundred years ago. The destructive power was sin and disobedience to divine law. The weapons used were bows and arrows. Today the destructive power is sin and disobedience to divine law. The weapons differ somewhat but accomplish exactly the same end.
If we are wicked, we have cause to fear every weapon. If we are righteous, we need fear nothing.
Juan Fulano has peace in his heart today, not because he sought for peace but because he sought to obey divine law; because he obeyed the fundamental principles and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ. So it is with all men, if they would have peace. It begins with, first, faith in and acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ; second, repentance and a firm resolution to keep the commandments God has given to his children; third, baptism by immersion for the remission of his sins, and fourth, laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Acceptance of and conformance to these simple basic requirements opened the door for Juan Fulano and started him on his way to perfection and peace, and so it will do for every man: the John Does, the Hans Nelsons, the Taki Yomomatos, the Ivan Moscovitches, and the Benny Tall-Mountains.
If this formula seems too simple to establish peace, may I remind you that this very gospel, the observance of these basic, identical principles have brought righteousness and peace to the earth in times past.
The Book of Mormon, a sacred volume of scripture, records the visit and the teachings of Jesus Christ on this the American continent. I quote briefly from this record:
"... and behold the disciples of Jesus had formed a church of Christ in all the lands round about. And as many as did come unto them, and did truly repent of their sins, were baptized in the name of Jesus; and they did also receive the Holy Ghost.
"And it came to pass in the thirty and sixth year, the people were all converted unto the Lord, upon all the face of the land, both Nephites and Lamanites, and there were no contentions and disputations among them, and 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...
"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...
"And how blessed were they! For the Lord did bless them in all their doings..." for some one hundred and sixty years.
Thus they did have peace, but I repeat again, based upon obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ by obedience to the words of the living prophets and apostles.
I bear testimony that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that President David O. McKay is the prophet to the world today, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop Robert L. Simpson
Robert L. Simpson, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 98-100
My dear brothers and sisters, how grateful I am for this opportunity of attending this glorious conference. I do not know when I have felt a more generous outpouring of the spirit of our Heavenly Father. Would it not be wonderful if the world's problems and differences could be solved and decided under such a feeling of unity and warmth as we find here this morning? I pray to my Heavenly Father that the expressions of these few minutes will be a direct reflection of the testimony that I feel in my heart.
Living in this jet age of accelerated pace and challenge causes serious reflection on some fundamental issues. We might ask ourselves a few basic questions; for example, "How can precious time and energy be spent most profitably?" "What comes first?" "To what shall we turn our hand next?" "Does a loving Father really dwell in the heavens?" These all-important questions have been asked by practically every person who has ever lived. Sometimes we avoid dedicating ourselves to the direction that common reason tells us to be right until a circumstance forces the issue. I shall never forget a thought-provoking experience that came to me at the outbreak of World War II, and I would like to share it with you briefly:
The British Empire had just declared war on the Axis powers. At the time I was a missionary in far-off New Zealand, and that country was busily engaged in adjusting itself to wartime footing. Various projects were launched by the government in an attempt to make the people sense the seriousness of their situation. One beautiful morning I was walking with my companion down the main street of New Zealand's largest city, when our attention was captured by a group of low-level bombers approaching rapidly over the city. Their markings were indistinct, and we thought to ourselves "Might this be the enemy?" Just at that moment the bomb bays began to open up. It was a very ominous sight. Then, what appeared to be bombs were released from the bomb bays and everyone stood transfixed. Everyone stood in amazement, and was very much relieved to see that these would-be-bombs disintegrated into thousands of leaflets, fluttering down over the city.
Being tall, I was one of the first to reach a falling pamphlet, and bringing it quickly into focus, my companion and I read this brief but startling message: "If this were a bomb, where would you be?" Now, brothers and sisters, you can be certain that our thoughts were very serious on that occasion, and I want to tell you that the gospel of Jesus Christ and its importance to mankind seemed foremost, above all else.
The gospel, as set down by the Savior of the world, was never intended to be the least bit confusing, for he is the author of truth and light. Our Heavenly Father has but one desire and that is to have as many of his children as possible, regain his presence.
You know, I had a business acquaintance, and he once complained that to him, religion had become a mass of confusion. He said that the road immediately ahead was covered with thick fog-that the bright goals which seemed so clear and discernible in his childhood, now seemed obscure and questionable. He was losing his faith! He was standing alone!
We ofttimes lose sight of basic goals as we struggle against the adversary in this mortal realm of existence. Nothing would please him more than to have us distracted in our attempts to regain the presence of our Heavenly Father, and such was the plight of my friend.
Often we hear folks say, "I can't see the forest for the trees." How important it is for us to ascend a vantage point from time to time, above the fog that my friend referred to; there to check direction and relative position, there to decide on things of most importance; there to re-evaluate our goals.
The Lord gave the key to all men nearly two thousand years ago when he said:
"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
"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".
How grateful we should be to have this key to live by. How grateful we should be that as we face the tremendous task of overcoming the imperfections of mortality, he assures us of his presence and sustaining help; but not without one very important stipulation, that the incentive must come from us, for remember he said, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock." In other words, he is always there, ready to enter, ready to be with us, but we, too often, fail to recognize the knock.
How can any man look into the heavens and witness the order of his creations, without hearing that knock? How can any witness the wonders of this electronic and nuclear age without hearing the knock? How can we participate in the revealed wonders of medicine without indeed knowing that his mercy and love extend toward all men?
He goes on to say, "... if any man hear my voice,"-not just some special, select group of men, but "any man," any or all of more than three billion that live on the face of the earth, may accept of this invitation freely.
"... if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him." What must we do? It is up to us to open the door! He knocks; we recognize his voice; and then we open the door.
It is not the Lord's plan to force his will upon anyone. Holman Hunt, the artist, felt inspired to capture this stirring scripture on canvas. One day he was showing his picture of "Christ Knocking at the Door," to a friend, when the friend suddenly exclaimed, "There is one thing wrong about your picture." "What is it?" inquired the artist. "The door on which Jesus knocks has no handle." "Ah," replied Mr. Hunt, "this is not a mistake. The handle is inside. It is from within, the door must be opened. Man must take the initiative."
Yes, brothers and sisters, we are weak; we do need help, we need help in overcoming. Where should we turn for spiritual and moral strength? Should we desire to become a doctor, we do not hesitate to seek qualified doctors to train us. If our interest is in the field of law, we turn to those who are graduates in law, to become experts ourselves.
Almost all men have the goal of our Heavenly Father's presence-so why not recognize the knock? Why not seek his counsel and listen to the voice? Let's open the door and let him in. Let's partake abundantly of this one great source of truth and light, for his promise rings ever true:
"... I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
"He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son".
After we open the door, graciously accepting the help that is so necessary to our success, the Lord gives us another great promise in the following verse, and how appropriate that it follows his promise of help, for it is unlikely that man could ever achieve this promise on his own. He goes on to say:
"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".
Now, as the Lord draws close to us in fulfillment of his promise, his advice and counsel will be direct and clear and undeviating from that original theme which has been the very core of his message from the beginning of time. He will tell us that our overcoming can best be accomplished in terms of others; for example, the priesthood has been restored in our day. Thousands of priesthood holders are here this morning.
Brethren, what can we do for ourselves with the priesthood? We only do for others with the priesthood. We bless others, we perform ordinances for others, we perform service for others. Such is the admonition given by the Savior to all mankind. Matthew has recorded the Savior's words as follows:
"... 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".
Another great prophet, speaking from this hemisphere, expressed it in this way:
"... when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God".
Selfishness and ingratitude are tools of destruction. The civilized world rocks and reels today because of selfish attitudes. I like the expression given in a poem which starts:
"Lord, help me to live from day to day In such a self-forgetful way That even when I kneel to pray My prayer shall be of others."
And then concludes:
"Others, Lord, yes, others. Let this my motto be. Help me to live for others That I may live for Thee."
May we constantly strive to be worthy, worthy of the blessings of our Heavenly Father. None can do it alone. We must open the door wide, we must extend the arm of fellowship to those about us, forgetting self, thinking of others, always others-not waiting until tomorrow, but today-for who can tell-"If this were a bomb, where would you be?"
Brothers and sisters, I know that God lives. I know that Jesus is the Christ. This is his work, the heavens have been opened, and a prophet stands at this day to receive revelation for the peoples of this earth. I bear that testimony to you.
God grant us the vision to see the way clearly ahead is my humble prayer, in the name of his Son Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Marion D. Hanks
Marion D. Hanks, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 101-104
When the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian Saints, he spoke of a Spirit through which the things of God may be known. In a modern time when God revealed his will to his choice servant Joseph Smith, there was spoken of a Spirit through which they who listen and he who speaks may find communion and be mutually edified. For that Spirit I earnestly pray.
In the great land in which I am privileged to work in the missionary cause with many of your choice sons and daughters, a clergyman recently issued a statement, urging his people not to listen to the representatives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as they seek to converse with them. He urged the people not to "surrender the substance for the shadow." This latter admonition is interesting and should receive the most serious consideration. I have been thinking all through this conference, as testimony and witness have been borne as to God and Christ and the relationship of man to them, as to the eternal nature of life, the reality of the resurrection, the profound importance and absolute validity of the restoration, "Where is the substance? Where is the shadow?"
This inquiry would be valid and of great interest in every aspect of religious faith and practice. Comparisons of the revealed word of God and the Church established on the earth by Christ and his apostles with presently existing churches and their creeds and organizations and practices would be interesting. I commend to you this experience. For today, let me center attention on one theme to which the clergyman's suggestion is pertinent.
It has been my blessing for many years to work among the young and among those who work with the young. Recently it has been my especial privilege to labor with several hundred choice young men and women, serving as missionaries in a foreign land. I believe I know better today than I have ever known in my life how substantial and remarkable and marvelous are the blessings of God to this Church in these days. He has blessed us with substance in a day when mists of darkness shadow the land. Ours is a family-centered religion, our families are religion-centered, and the gospel as we understand it affects the total personality and all of the aspects of the life of the individual child of God. What do the young people need? What can we offer them of real substance which will help them to avoid the shadows of falsehood and failure and sin and sorrow?
There are some suggestions I'd like to make, not to the young and not especially or at least uniquely to their parents, but to all of us, including parents, who deal with and influence or have great potential to influence and bless the young.
I am sure as I begin, that we are united, you and I and all people of goodwill and honest intent throughout the world, as to the objectives we may desire for the young. I don't know a single parent or other honorable human being who does not want for the young a decent, constructive, contributing, happy life. Many of us would like to help youth, though many give only lip-service to their need for help. What would we want for them? Oh, I'd like my son to win an Olympic event. This would delight me, please me greatly, make me proud. I'd like my little boy to be a fine surgeon or lawyer or salesman, or whatever he chooses to be. But if he were to succeed at some significant service and fail to be an honest, ethical, moral, spiritually perceptive man, I would be a failure and a sad father, in my own eyes. What good people want for youngsters is constructive, happy, participating lives.
It would seem likely that we are united also in our estimate of their value as individual children of God. They are infinitely valuable. Do you know the poem
"Nobody knows what a boy is worth, We'll have to wait and see. But every man in a noble place A boy once used to be."
Bishop Simpson's allusion to the Second World War brought to my mind a story which impresses me greatly as to the value of one individual and the impact of one life in the lives of others.
The first great B-29 strike on those who were then our enemy, flown from a land base, was led by an airplane named "City of Los Angeles." Aboard the aircraft were twelve men, eleven regular crewmen and a colonel flying as squadron commander for the mission. They were to reach a rendezvous point 50 to 75 miles off the mainland of the enemy, then assume regular fighting formation and fly in on target, which was a complex of high octane gasoline plants feeding the enemy war potential.
Rendezvous point was reached as scheduled, and Colonel Sprouse ordered the dropping of the phosphorous bomb which was to mark the point. Sergeant "Red" Irwin skidded the bomb down the chute as ordered. The act was loaded with death. The flap at the end of the bomb chute had somehow become stuck. When the bomb struck it, it exploded prematurely and burst back into the cabin of the airplane and into the face and chest of Sergeant Irwin. Dropping to the deck it began swiftly to burn its way through the thin metal flooring separating it from the incendiary bombs stored in the bomb bay below. In moments the "City of Los Angeles" and its crew would be blown to bits far out over the ocean in enemy territory.
Sergeant Irwin, tragically wounded, got to his knees, picked up the bomb in his bare hands, cradled it in his arms, and staggered up the passageway. Crashing into the navigator's table, he had to stop and unlatch it with fingers that left burn marks in the hardwood. By now the aircraft was filled with acrid fumes, blinding the pilot, and was wallowing less than 300 feet above the water. Irwin staggered into the pilot's compartment shouting "Window, window." He could not see that it was already open, and his fumbling fingers left burn marks on the metal. He threw the bomb out of the window and collapsed to the deck. Two hours later, Colonel Sprouse having ordered the "City of Los Angeles" back to base in the slim hope that Irwin's life might be saved, they reached Iwo Jima. Irwin's flesh was still smoking with imbedded phosphorous when he was removed from the plane by comrades who had to avert their faces from his tragic wounds.
Sergeant Irwin lived to receive his nation's highest honor for extreme bravery and to survive nearly fifty plastic surgery operations which restored him to a somewhat normal life. He lived to marry and to become a father. And with him, there lived eleven other men who but for his almost unbelievable courage would be dead. Eleven men, spared to their lives and work and families through the decision and courageous act of one man! When Sergeant Irwin picked up that bomb, he knew that it was burning at 1,300 degrees Fahrenheit, 1,088 degrees hotter than boiling water!
This dramatic story came out of a war, but its implications are applicable to each of us, to our families, communities, nations. How many young people are there in your home or neighborhood, choice young children of God, who are wanting for lack of someone who has the courage and concern to interest himself or herself in their welfare? The prime responsibility, of course, is in the home, and we are as a Church and people anxiously interested in strengthening our homes and families. But we are aware that there are literally millions of youngsters who are not receiving in their homes the care they desperately need. They are the legitimate concern of all of us.
What can we do for them?
I offer these quick suggestions in headlines only. The rest of the story, each of us may fashion as we will. I believe them to be the substance of youthful success and joy.
1. Be concerned with their welfare. Recognize their worth and our potential to bless them and influence them and help them and lift them.
2. Understand that they are different They are not all out of one mold. They are at varying levels of spiritual and social and intellectual maturity, even though they may be the same age. They must be accepted and dealt with as individuals, as they are, and in terms of what they can be, and helped to become the best that they can be.
3. They need to be taught. They need instruction. Someone has said that we habitually overestimate their experience and underestimate their intelligence. We expect them to act like little adults, and yet we fail to take time and interest to teach them.
At a meeting in England a few weeks ago a little girl, perhaps younger than four years of age, walked into a hall where a film and lecture were to be presented. I watched her as she stepped daintily over a moving picture projector cord. A man standing near the machine to protect it from accidental damage said to her, "Sweetheart, hurry and sit down. We're going to start." She sat down, right there in the middle of the aisle, smiling sweetly at those around her. He picked her up and explained that he had wanted her to sit up in front on a chair and then escorted her there.
Now, as the father of five children I am not blind to reality. I know that they don't always do what we tell them, but if we have a proper appreciation of their value and of our ability to influence them, if we will accept them as they are and teach them in a spirit of love, wonderful blessings will come to them and to us. Let me add it as a special and significant point:
4. We must really love them. We can afford to make the mistakes of the inexpert if we sincerely love them.
5. They need discipline. They need to realize that there are rules, wise and fair rules, which apply to them, lack of conformity to which brings a penalty.
You will remember the wonderful counsel given by the Lord to Joseph Smith in response to his anguished cry from the dungeon at Liberty, Missouri, where he had been cruelly confined for months, away from his friends and loved ones. The spirit of the priesthood was movingly explained and direction given as to how it must be used. Included was this remarkable statement: "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".
Young people need discipline, administered in love.
In the great state of Vermont a few months ago I faced an unruly crowd of choice teenagers brought from all regions in the state. They had listened to good music, had heard the mayors and the governor, and had responded to every effort with contempt and discourtesy. The person who introduced me was quite apologetic. I think he wished that I would disappear, so embarrassing had been the behavior of the young people to that moment. I stood up and said something I hadn't ever said before to a group of teens. I said, "I'm sorry that most of you didn't hear the great talk that your governor just delivered. It was a wonderful talk, and you would have profited from hearing it, but you weren't listening. Let me repeat the theme of what your governor said. He talked about 'Vermont's Chief Asset, Her Teenagers.' I'd like to tell you the truth. I'd like to tell you that I've been all over America commending your generation and expressing confidence in you, and tonight you have made me wonder. For the first time you've really made me wonder. I'd just like to tell you that if your behavior tonight is typical, if you've been acting as you really are, and if you are Vermont's chief asset, the Lord help Vermont."
Well, they listened. I spent the next forty-five minutes showing forth an increase of love toward them, talking to the theme of "Moral Courage." I did my best to recover from what might be thought a very strange way to approach a group of young people. They didn't move a muscle. They listened, and their response was wonderful.
When the meeting was over, I walked out of the building and was stopped on the path outside by a rather grim-looking group of handsome, rugged young men. One of them stepped for- ward and said, "Mr. Hanks, we were very grateful for your talk on moral courage. We learned a lot. But we'd like you to know that what you did here tonight was lots more important than anything you said, and we're never going to forget it."
Young people need to be disciplined in love.
6. They need wholesome participation with others.
7. Young people need to be encouraged to stretch, to develop their creative capacities.
8. They need to be taught and given experience in the great religious truths. Would you bless youth? Teach them the truth about God and Christ and themselves. Teach them that they have a special responsibility toward God and all their fellow men, his children. Teach them to be compassionate and considerate and kind, which they can best be when they know God as their true Father in whose image and likeness they are created; when they know Christ as their living Savior; when they recognize themselves as choice, responsible children of God, brothers to all men. Lead them to religious search and service and reverence. Help them to learn the truth.
9. Be an example to them of what you'd like them to be.
I testify that God lives, that we are his children, and that we can bless each other and our choice young brothers and sisters if we will. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Bernard P. Brockbank
Bernard P. Brockbank, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 105-106
Brothers and sisters and friends, it is a very humbling experience to stand here among you fine people. There is a great spirit in this conference. You make it rather easy for someone to speak, even though very timid, because of the lovely atmosphere that is created by those seated here.
I bring you greetings from 335 missionaries in Scotland, from almost 12,000 Saints. The missionaries and Saints support and sustain our beloved President as their prophet, seer, and revelator-and as their leader.
We were honored recently to have President McKay in Scotland. We had hoped for this, and we were very blessed to have him there.
I would like to bear testimony, and I would like to turn to the spirit of love found in the Epistle of John, the beloved apostle:
"This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all".
Sometimes we like to create a little darkness to hide in, but in God there is no darkness at all.
"If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all...
"And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
"He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."
Very powerful, yet to the point and needs no private interpretation.
"But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
"He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked...
"He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
"He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
"But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes...
"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...
"And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also".
I would like to turn to the Gospel of John and read the Savior's parting words prior to his ascension, wherein he tells Peter how he can show his love for him.
"... Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs".
Feed my children.
There has been a great family youth-parent program, going forward in the mission field.
Peter, if you love me, feed my lambs.
"He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep".
Feed the parents.
"He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep".
We can all show our love for our Savior Jesus Christ by feeding the lambs and the sheep. Every member a missionary! Each member to bring one or more members into the Church each year! Have you accomplished this for this year?
I pray for the ability and inspiration to serve the Lord and my fellow men. I am thankful for the atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ and for the principle of repentance. Repentance has a forward look, a new look, a better Christian life. I pray to live and practice the principle of repentance.
I know that God lives. He has manifested himself in our mission with his blessings many times. We see the works of Satan on every turn we make.
With love in my heart for my Heavenly Father I desire to show my love by serving my fellow men.
In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder LeGrand Richards
LeGrand Richards, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 107-109
After telling you Latter-day Saints how much I love you and how grateful I am for your kindness to me as I visit in your stakes and how I appreciate your prayers for us brethren of the General Authorities, I want to say a few words to the nonmembers who might be present here today in this great conference or listening in. For my preface to what I would like to say, I would like to read a few words from President George Albert Smith, one of the former presidents of the Church. He said:
"The missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints... out into the world-not to criticize others, not to find fault, but to say to our Father's other children, 'keep all the good you have received, keep all the truth that you have learned, all that has come to you in your homes, in your institutions of learning, under your many facilities for education, keep it all; and then let us divide with you additional truths that have been revealed by our Heavenly Father in our day'".
Is not that a wonderful statement? And anyone who is not a member of this Church and hears a statement like that ought to want to know if we really have truths to divide with them that they know not of.
I had a man sit in my office a short time ago who spent thirty years as a minister of the gospel, and then he met our Mormon elders, and he learned something of those additional truths, and he said this to me:
"When I think of how little I had to offer my people as a minister of the gospel compared to what I now have in the fulness of the gospel as the Lord has restored it through the Prophet Joseph Smith, I want to go back and tell all my friends what I have found. Now, they will not listen to me. I am an apostate from their church."
That is what every honest seeker of the truth finds when he meets our missionaries and is willing to open his heart and to find out whether we have something additional to offer them. I tell these people if our missionaries would offer them a million dollars, it would not be worth half as much to them as what they can bring to them, that will bring them joy and happiness and peace in this world and in the world to come.
When Nicodemus came to Jesus by night and he said:
"... we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him," Jesus did not start on a great oration of life. He said:
"... Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
And of course Nicodemus could not understand that, and he said:
"... How can a man be born when he is old?..." And you remember the rest of the story, and Jesus said:
"... Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God".
That is the foundation, that is what Paul meant when he said that we are buried with him in baptism, and as he arose to the glory of his father, we should come forth and walk in a newness of life, knowing this that our old man of sin is buried with him. That is being born again, when the old man of sin is buried and we walk in a newness of life.
Then Jesus proceeded to say to Nicodemus, when he could not understand:
"... Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?...
"... We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness."
And then he adds:
"If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?".
I want to bear you my testimony, my friends, that we have many heavenly things to tell the world, if they just want to know what the Lord has revealed in this day in which we live. President Brown, in his address, called attention to one of our articles of faith, which reads:
"We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God".
In other words, the Lord has not quit talking to his people. We do not just believe in the ancient scripture. We have so much more. No man can believe in the Bible truly without knowing that there is another volume of scripture, a companion volume of scripture, to go with that that the God of heaven commanded one of his prophets should write, and he said he would bring it forth, and he would put it with the record of the Jews, and he would make them one in his hand. We have that other volume of scripture and from it and the revelations that have come in this day, for we believe in modern revelation, we learn many of the choice things of heaven that pertain to the heavenly things.
If you were taking a child and enrolling him in the kindergarten or the grade school, you would not expect him to understand things that are taught in college. In that same sense Jesus invited the people to be born again and that would open the door for them to learn some of the heavenly things.
In the few moments given to me, there is not much time to discuss heavenly things, but I would like to mention one of these heavenly things, to me, that has come through the restoration of the gospel, through the revelations of the Lord to his prophets of this dispensation.
If I were to ask those of you who are Christians what you love most in all this world, next to your love of God the Eternal Father, if you have Christian principles and you live them, you could not help saying that you love your wives and your children more than anything else. I have said that if I did not have an assurance that God intended that the companionship of husband and wife here in mortality should be projected into the eternal worlds, I would just about as soon believe that death would be a complete annihilation of both body and spirit, but when the Lord placed Adam in the garden before death was known in the world, he said it was not good for man to be alone, and he gave him a helpmeet. And you know all through the scriptures and the words of the Savior, we are told that these twain shall be one flesh. If Jesus then really performed a great atonement to restore what was lost, then that means that in the great day of the resurrection, we will have our wives and our children.
Isaiah understood that fully when he said he saw a new heaven and a new earth, and he tells us that in that new heaven and new earth, we should build buildings and inhabit them, and we should plant vineyards and eat the fruit thereof, that we should not build and another inhabit, nor plant and another eat, for every man should enjoy the works of his own hands and then he adds:
"... they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them".
I wonder if anything in this world could be more important than to know that we can live to enjoy the eternal world with our loved ones.
In connection with that, the Apostle Paul was caught up into the third heaven and the paradise of God, and he was shown things that it was not permitted for man to write, but he did say:
"... 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".
Would it not be wonderful if Paul could have told us what he saw in that third heaven, and there cannot be a third heaven without a first and a second, and then there is paradise, and there is hell, and the Christian world does not know much about those things. But we know about them because the God of heaven gave that revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith, telling him that it was a transcript of the records of the eternal worlds. Now, of course, there is not time for me today to tell you, but nowhere in all the religious literature can you read what men must do in order to obtain that glory that Paul describes like the sun,, or what they should do to obtain the glory like the moon, or what they should do to obtain the glory like one of the little stars, and yet the Lord has revealed that in its fulness through the Prophet Joseph Smith, and so we do not just travel, we know how to travel, because God has pointed the way, and he has revealed that to us in these latter days.
Coming back to this association of loved ones-you remember the promise made by Malachi as the Lord spoke through him. He told of the great day of judgment when the wicked and all the proud and they that do wickedly should be as stubble and the day that cometh shall burn them up and shall leave them neither root nor branch, and then he goes on and says that before the coming of this great and dreadful day of the Lord,
"... I will send you Elijah the prophet...
"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".
Just think of the consequences if the hearts of the fathers are not turned to their children and the hearts of the children turned to the fathers, and no one in this world outside of this Church can tell you the true meaning of those words, nor would we be able to do so except for the fact that Elijah did come and appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple, and he revealed these great truths to them. That accounts for our building these holy temples all over the world, so that with the power of the priesthood of God that has been restored in our day, men and women can be sealed together for time and for all eternity and know that their children shall be born under the new and everlasting covenant and shall be theirs throughout the countless ages of eternity.
Are not these the heavenly things? Surely Isaiah understood that when he saw our day and said that it should come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord's house should be established in the top of the mountains and that all nations would 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".
Thus, our people have come from all over the world to learn of his ways in order that they might be able to walk in his paths. These are some of the heavenly things Jesus must have had in mind when he said to Nicodemus:
"If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?".
I bear my witness to you, my brothers and sisters and friends, that the God of heaven has revealed many, many heavenly things to his people in this day which we offer freely to all the world, and we ask nothing in return except that you might share with us the glorious truths of the gospel.
I bear my witness of the truth of this work and that we are being led by a prophet of God today, and I do it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Henry D. Taylor
Henry D. Taylor, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 109-111
One of the most beautiful principles of the gospel is that of repentance. It holds out hope and encouragement to each of us, the descendants of Adam and Eve. Because we are mortal and live in a world where temptations abound, it is not difficult to make mistakes and commit errors. Through the atonement effected by Jesus Christ, our Savior, we are assured that our errors and mistakes may be rectified by displaying Godly sorrow and abandonment of unrighteous ways.
One of the most vital qualities of the principle of repentance is forgiveness. Unless each of us can learn to forgive others for real or imagined trespasses against us, we cannot properly repent. Someone has said, "Humanity is never so beautiful as when praying for forgiveness, or else forgiving another." The Savior's teachings to us are replete with admonitions always to be ready and willing to forgive. In instructing his disciples to pray, he suggested they petition the Father: "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."
Then he counseled: "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:..." And he added a word of caution, "But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses".
At another time the Lord instructed: "Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin.
"I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive but of you it is required to forgive all men".
One cannot hold grudges and unkind feelings without harming himself. He becomes bitter; his vision is distorted; and his soul becomes cankered. Harsh and sharp words can leave a sting behind, a pang of unhappiness and regret in the heart and conscience of the offender. "Little, vicious minds abound with anger and revenge and are incapable of feeling the pleasure of forgiving their enemies," said a wise man.
A person holding grudges hurts himself more than he does his enemy. A prophet has wisely counseled: "... let not the sun go down on your wrath".
To forgive a person once or twice may not be too difficult, but to continue to forgive many times when one has been wronged may become a real test of character. Upon one occasion when Jesus was teaching his disciples, Peter approached him and posed this question: "... 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". By this declaration we may be assured that the Savior meant that we should forgive without number or limit.
The poet, Alexander Pope, has written: "Good nature and good sense must ever join; to err is human; to forgive divine."
The Lord has always looked upon sin with emphatic disfavor and has exclaimed, "For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance;" then he continues: "Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven". And while the Lord regards sin with disfavor, nevertheless, he always displays a spirit of charity and kindness for the sinner.
When a woman taken in sin was brought before Jesus, he faced her accusers with the challenge: "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." Being smitten by their consciences, one by one those guilty hypocrites slunk away, and when Jesus raised his head he asked the woman: "Woman, where are those, thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?" She replied, "No man, Lord." And Jesus said unto her, "Neither do I condemn thee; go, and sin no more".
True forgiveness cannot be partial nor halfhearted. It must be wholehearted, genuine, and without reservation. "The narrow soul knows not the godlike glory of forgiving," one has said.
I like the story of total and complete forgiveness related by the warden of a western prison. A friend of his happened to be sitting in a railroad coach next to a young man who was obviously depressed. Finally, the young man revealed that he was a convict returning from a distant prison. His imprisonment had brought shame on his family, and they had neither visited him nor written often. He hoped, however, that this was only because they were too poor to travel, too uneducated to write. He also hoped, despite the evidence, that they had forgiven him.
To make it easy for them, however, he had written them to put up a signal for him when the train passed their little farm on the outskirts of town. If his family had forgiven him, they were to put up a white ribbon in the big apple tree near the tracks. If they did not want him back, they were to do nothing, and he would stay on the train, go west and probably become a hobo. As the train neared his home his suspense became so great, he could not bear to look out of the window. His companion changed places with him and said he would watch for the apple tree. In a minute, he put his hand on the young convict's arm. "There it is," he whispered, his eyes bright with sudden tears. "It's all right. The whole tree is white with ribbons".
The most magnificent lesson ever taught respecting forgiveness was given by the Savior. Jesus was subjected by his enemies to what is considered to be the cruelest and most horrible form of death. Crucifixion is excruciatingly painful, with the victim lingering on in increasing agony and torture for hours or even days. Yet, in spite of the humiliation and intense pain he suffered on Calvary's cross, Jesus, with compassion, in Godlike mercy, prayed for his tormentors, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do".
Now, with the Savior's great lesson fresh in our memories, may each one of us purge from our hearts any feeling of hatred, envy, or bitterness, so that we may with a clear conscience and utmost confidence approach our Heavenly Father and ask for forgiveness of our shortcomings and mistakes. For which I humbly pray, and bear you my testimony that I know that the gospel is true, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder William J. Critchlow, Jr.
William J. Critchlow, Jr., Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 111-114
President McKay, brethren and sisters:
Under the hands of President McKay, I was set apart an Assistant to the Twelve and was charged to be a special witness of Jesus Christ in all the world. These next few minutes give me an opportunity to be about the business of that charge.
Will Mary, the mother of the babe, Jesus, born in Bethlehem away from home, please come to the witness stand?
While she is coming to the stand, let me explain: I am pretending that you, under the sound of my voice, are another informal court of the people in which Jesus is on trial-should I say on trial again or still on trial?
In the minds of many people, Jesus is still on trial. Two-thirds of this earth's inhabitants are non-Christian. To them, he is not the Son of God. Among the skimpy Christian third are many who accept him merely as a great moralist, a great teacher, a great spiritual leader, perhaps a prophet. To them, he is not the Son of God.
On trial 2,000 years ago, Jesus said: "I am"-the Son of God. With cries of "Crucify him, crucify him," the earlier court of the people-the rabble-sealed his doom.
If Jesus is not the Son of God, he did blaspheme; he also lied. Why not compound the charge of blasphemy with perjury? Add fraud, deceit, or whatever else you will, the truth must come out, for every knee must bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Son of God.
Let me pretend that I am counsel for the defense, calling witnesses to prove-He is the Son of God. Now please stretch your imagination and in your mind's eye see Mary on the witness stand. I shall now address her.
Counsel: Mary, when you were "... a virgin, espoused to... Joseph, of the House of David..." an angel came unto you. Will you please tell the court what the angel said to you?
Witness: He said, "... Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
"And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.
"He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest".
Counsel: Thank you, Mary, that will be all.
Counsel: My next witness is one John, descriptively cited in the scriptures as John the Baptist. Jesus came to Jordan to be baptized by John, and "... when he was baptized... the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
"And lo a voice from heaven, saying..." John, you heard the voice. Please tell us what it said.
Witness: I heard "a voice... saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased". "And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God".
Counsel: My next witness may shock you as you see him come to the stand. He "... had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:
"... neither could any man tame him." Unclean spirits possessed him-spirits which undoubtedly were cast out of heaven with Lucifer, for they remembered Jesus. "But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,
"And cried with a loud voice, and said..." the witness may now repeat what you said.
Witness: I said, "... What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not." And Jesus said to the spirit, "... Come out of the man..." and many devilish spirits did come out, "And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them".
Counsel: Thank you, sir, you may leave to go your way.
Counsel: Nathanael, a friend of Jesus, may now come to the witness stand. It is rumored about, that one Philip told you, Nathanael, about finding down in Nazareth the man that Moses and the prophets wrote about. Will you please confirm that rumor and relate your conversation with Philip?
Witness: I said, "... Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Philip answered me and said, "... Come and see." So I went to see, and I saw Jesus, and I said to him, "... Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel".
Counsel: Thank you, Nathanael; you are excused.
Counsel: Another very close friend of Jesus will now take the stand. Martha, will you please step up? Martha sorrowed because Jesus arrived at her home too late to heal her sick brother, Lazarus, who died and was laid away before Jesus arrived. Tell us, Martha, what Jesus said and did upon arrival.
Witness: He 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. Believest thou this?" I "... saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world." Then at the cave where Lazarus lay, "... he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
"And he that was dead came forth".
Counsel: That will be all, Martha. You may step down.
Counsel: To "... be with him and that he might send them forth to preach," Jesus "chose" and "ordained" twelve apostles. Three of these apostles, Peter, James, and John, were given a marvelous experience which made them very special witnesses of the Lord in his day-and may I add very special witnesses also-this day, in this court. Will the Apostle James be first-and will you please confine your testimony to that marvelous experience on the "high mountain" where Jesus, according to the record, "was transfigured before" you and John and Peter? You may delete reference to Moses and Elias, whom you saw there. Just tell what the voice said about Jesus.
Witness: "... There was a cloud that overshadowed" us, "and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him".
Counsel: That will do, James. Thank you.
Counsel: Now will John, the beloved disciple, please come forward. While he is coming, may I say that this witness wrote a book with the apparent intent of revealing Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of God. Am I right, John? Why did you write your book?
Witness: I wrote "... that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name".
Counsel: Anything else you would like to say, John?
Witness: Only this, "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".
Counsel: Thank you, John. You may step down.
Counsel: The tall, rugged man now approaching the witness stand is the Apostle Peter, a man of action and few words. His testimony, like those of his associates, James and John, deserves profound consideration. When you hear it you will agree, I am sure. You may proceed, Peter. Need I say, be brief?-please.
Witness: Jesus once 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."
"... But whom say ye that I am?
"And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God".
Counsel: Thank you, Peter. You are excused.
Counsel: My next witness begged for the privilege of testifying. He said that he might have some peace of mind were he accorded the privilege. Will the centurion who assisted in the crucifixion of the Master-as a matter of duty-and who "stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost," please step up and repeat what you said when the Lord did give "up the ghost."
Witness: I said, "Truly this man was the Son of God".
Counsel: Thank you, Centurion. May God grant you peace of mind.
Counsel: From another quarter, I bring one more ancient witness-sorry time will only permit one. This witness is Nephi, a disciple of the Lord on the American continent among the Nephites and Lamanites. Nephi, like the Apostle John, also wrote a book to show that Jesus was the Son of God. He witnessed the appearance of our Lord upon the American continent after his resurrection, and he will now give a brief recital of that wonderful event.
Witness: I "... heard a voice as if it came out of heaven... it was not a harsh voice, neither was it a loud voice
"... and it said...
"Behold my Beloved Son... in whom I have glorified my name-hear ye him". I also heard Jesus say, "Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning".
Counsel: From still another quarter and from a much later time, I shall produce two very important witnesses. Sidney Rigdon, will you be first, and will you please relate the marvelous experience you had on February 16, 1832? Proceed with brevity, please.
Witness: "... while we were doing the work of translation...
"... the Lord touched the eyes of our understandings and they were opened...
"And we beheld the glory of the Son, on the right hand of the Father...
"... 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-".
Counsel: That will do, Mr. Rigdon.
Counsel: Will he who shared this marvelous experience with you please take the stand. It is with great pleasure that I present to the court the great American Prophet Joseph Smith, who went to the Lord in prayer and asked... President Smith, this is your story; please take over and be brief.
Witness: "My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right...
"I kneeled down and began to offer up the desire of my heart to God...
"I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head...
"... When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description... One of them spake unto me... and said, pointing to the other-This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!".
Counsel: That will be all, President Smith. Now, if you will step down, I will take Your place and bear my humble witness:
To whom it may concern-and may it concern men everywhere:
Unlike the Prophet Joseph, I have never had the heavens opened to me nor have I in this mortal sphere, ever physically walked and talked with Jesus, yet I know that he is the Christ-the Son of God, and I know this because of the ministration of the Holy Ghost unto me.
Now, may it please the Court, I rest my case. I have submitted twelve solid witnesses-all that my limited time will permit. If, after hearing their testimonies, there are those who are still reluctant to accept Jesus as the Son of God and who still prefer to accept his teachings as man-made philosophy rather than God's truth-they would do well to ponder studiously the foregoing testimonies.
In early Israel, Moses established under God, a law of witnesses namely:
"In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established". This became the Jewish law in the days of our Lord.
The early Common Law of England, after which our law is patterned, required twelve witnesses to the fact; also twelve jurors to the fact, and these jurors were supposed to know something about the case.
I have given you twelve witnesses. If you will accept them also as jurors, the verdict is plain-Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Yes, he truly is-and in his name I rest my case. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder ElRay L. Christiansen
ElRay L. Christiansen, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 116-118
My beloved brothers and sisters, I concur in all that has been said today by those who have spoken from this stand and heartily approve the actions that have been taken in sustaining these brethren in their positions.
Under the direction of the First Presidency, I have, since my appointment to the temples ten months ago, visited all of the temples in the Church, some of them several times. Meetings have been held with the temple officials and with the workers in which we discussed ways and means by which we may improve and better the conditions in the temples, beginning at the entrance, so that the work as a whole, which is carried on there, the higher ordinances of the priesthood, will be approved by the Lord, for they are indeed his holy houses. We desire to conduct the sacred work in a manner that is enlightening, edifying, and uplifting to the young people and others who come to these holy places for their own blessings, endowments, and sealings.
We desire to carry on the work in a manner in which it will be more rewarding to those who come on behalf of those who have passed away, even in a manner that will bring comfort and assurance to those who come with heavy hearts. A constant need for maintaining greater reverence and kindness is recognized. I am pleased to find that the temples themselves are immaculately kept and well maintained. Among the ordinance workers I find devotion to duty that is seldom matched. I have often said that I have never seen a demonstration quite so wonderful as that which is shown by those who come as ordinance workers day after day, week after week, year after year, seldom if ever failing to meet their appointments, laboring and attending to the needs of those who enter those holy places.
The desire and willingness on the part of temple presidents, their associates, and the workers to join in a united effort better to co-ordinate and improve the work is gratifying indeed. But there is much to be accomplished and much to be hoped for.
Many of our members, I find, are coming to the temples under difficulty, especially in foreign lands, making sacrifices, financial and otherwise, in order to bless and to be blessed. Yet, because of these extreme efforts they are perhaps the happiest of all.
Picture, if you will, a large group from Tonga, fathers and mothers with their children selling practically all that they possess, their furniture, their animals, their vehicles, some of their personal items, all except their modest homes, in order to provide funds for the trip of over 1,000 miles by slow boat requiring three weeks of travel, to receive their blessings. And then these wonderful people remaining at the temple for three weeks in order to extend the same gifts, powers, and blessings to others. I have never met yet such a happy and delighted group.
The elders quorum from the Hamburg Stake goes to the temple once every three months. A group from Berlin Stake spent three weeks attending every session, using their precious vacation time and money to do it. Each of these two groups has performed ordinances, the endowment, for nearly 400 people. From Norway, from Finland, from Denmark, Sweden, and Mexico, Canada, here at home and everywhere, it is the same. They whose hearts are turned to their fathers go to their temples regardless of the difficulty. An almost endless number of stories could be told, giving evidence of appreciation for the temple ordinances, but time does not permit.
Those here and in every area whose souls reach out on behalf of others, who cannot help themselves, surely are applying in their lives the second great commandment in which we are told to love our neighbor as ourselves. The effort and the accomplishment of many individuals in genealogical research and temple work is commendable, but it is evident that only a small percentage of the membership is actively participating in the two-phase work. They realize that redemption of the dead is of primary importance rather than of secondary importance, and they do something about it! Vicarious work is a foundation stone of the gospel. There is no full salvation for the living without vicarious service; we would not be sufficiently qualified and prepared for that salvation.
If there had not been that unmatched love of the Father to sacrifice his Son for us, painful as the decision must have been to our Father, and if Jesus had not been willing, there would have been for us no salvation from death. We would have been subjected to Satan, and our bodies would have remained in our graves forever. And yet, we may without great inconvenience, and in an atmosphere of peace, act in a vicarious way on behalf of others to prepare them to receive the greatest gift of all-eternal life.
May I ask you two golden questions? What do you know about your progenitors? What have you done in their behalf? Even with these marvelous electronic machines that are coming into use now, there still is a need for research on the part of individuals and by groups in order that these machines may be fed. The Prophet Joseph gave us this warning.
"The Saints have not too much time to save and redeem their dead, and gather together their living relatives, that they may be saved also, before the earth be smitten, and the consumption decreed by the Lord falls upon the world".
As I visit the temples, I find that the attendance at some of them is commendable, in others it is improving, and some of them, my brothers and sisters, are far from being fully utilized, not because of a scarcity of names, but, if I may say so, I think perhaps it may lie in the leadership back along the line who are so involved in other things that they do not stimulate and motivate their people and organize them so that they may consistently attend to this indispensable part of the Lord's work. Consider that Elijah appeared, in person, to the Prophet Joseph and said this:
"Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi-testifying that he should be sent, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come-
"To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse-
"Therefore, the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands; and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors.
These keys and powers have been given to each succeeding President of the Church, and today they are held by President David O. McKay. This being true, each member of the Church has the inescapable obligation to see to it that:
1. He and his companion and their children are sealed at the altar for eternity. Every man should consider this his first duty. He who knowingly and without sufficient reason neglects to bind his loved ones as his own, will doubtless have no claim upon them after this life. Salvation for the dead is for those who die without a knowledge of the gospel, so far as the glory of the celestial world is concerned. Families, united eternally, are the primary purpose of all life.
2. It is the duty of every man to see to it that the records of his progenitors are obtained, and
3. To see to it that the ordinances necessary for salvation and exaltation are administered in behalf of his kindred dead.
Research and temple work are primarily the work of the priesthood; but thank goodness for the help the sisters give.
From the days of the Prophet Joseph down to the present time, each of the Presidents has charged the leaders of stakes and of missions and quorum presidencies to lead out and stimulate others in this vicarious service.
These obligations cannot be brushed aside. For "... as Paul says concerning the fathers-that they without us cannot be made perfect-neither can we without our dead be made perfect".
I repeat an appeal made in these words by President David O. McKay:
"May all who hold the priesthood sense more fully the spirit of Elijah and comprehend more clearly the necessity of giving to all who have gone beyond the veil the privilege of enjoying the blessings that follow compliance with the principles and ordinances of the everlasting gospel; that some day all mankind, judged by the acts done in mortality, may receive their merited rewards, and those who are worthy be saved, sanctified, and glorified".
May it be so, I pray, my brothers and sisters, and I testify to you that this is not the work of man but the work of God, and it is an integral part of his plan and his gospel to save the dead with the living. May he bless us in this respect, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 118-120
We are now nearing the close of a very remarkable conference, unusual in many respects. This conference has been directed primarily to an unseen audience, particularly yesterday morning and this Sunday morning.
Usually we speak mainly to those who are assembled in this great Tabernacle, but each speaker yesterday and today has been conscious of a listening audience that goes beyond this Tabernacle and this city, this Church, this country, into Europe, the South Seas, South Africa-and all this has been possible through the kindness of our television and radio officials-Brother Arch Madsen and his associates here at KSL, and through assistants and associates with him, and other leading officials, who are co-operating in efforts to bring this gospel to the people of the world.
I wish to express appreciation to Brother James O. Conkling, who has just been appointed President of the International Educational Broadcasting Corporation. We asked him to take charge of a group of leading, influential men to bring into operation short-wave facilities by which conferences and other programs, with the assistance of our own Tabernacle Choir, originating here in Salt Lake City, could be transmitted across the waters. We wish to acknowledge in your presence today the inspiration of the Lord upon these leading men in the Church, and many of whom are not in the Church, who are giving their time and means towards the accomplishment of this great possibility of carrying the message of the restored gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.
This has been one of the greatest conferences, I suppose, that we have ever held in the Church. The music today, as you know, has been furnished by the Tabernacle Choir. We have been inspired by their singing at both sessions today and Saturday morning when their singing was heard by millions. Many radio and television stations have been opened to us because of the singing of this great organization. Their contribution to our missionary work is inestimable.
In July of this year, they participated in the first formal world-wide television program by way of Telstar satellite, held at Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota. At this time, the choir was seen and heard on television by millions across the ocean in Europe and England in addition to the millions in this country.
In August they made a tour of the Northwest, giving two concerts on August 15th and 16th at the Seattle World's Fair. People from all over the world attended these concerts, and it was reported that the concert hall was so crowded on both nights that many were turned away.
We appreciate all who have furnished the singing throughout this conference. First, the singing for the Friday morning and afternoon sessions by the Relief Society Singing Mothers from the Central Idaho and Bannock welfare regions. We accept their efforts and are inspired by their singing, but very few of us ever stop to think of what those sisters did and the valuable services rendered by Sister Florence Jepperson Madsen in training them in such an excellent way.
Then we had the music furnished on Saturday afternoon by the Combined Choirs of Brigham Young University, assisted by the Brass Choir. The Male Chorus and the combined male sections of Brigham Young University furnished the music for the general priesthood meeting Saturday evening.
For you, I express appreciation and gratitude to all who have in any way contributed to the success and inspiration of this great conference: First, to the General Authorities, we express deep appreciation for their inspired messages; to the public press-the reporters for their fair and accurate reports throughout the sessions of the conference; for the co-operation of city officials-the city traffic officers who handled carefully and ably the increased traffic; the fire department and the Red Cross, who have been on hand to render assistance and service whenever and wherever such became necessary; the Tabernacle ushers, who have rendered service quietly, courteously, and efficiently in seating the great audiences of these conference sessions.
I wish that you brethren could leave this closing session of our semiannual general conference with your hearts renewed with a firm desire to render service to your fellow men and to act in efficiency and prayerfulness in rendering service to those over whom you preside directly.
It has been said that "the race of mankind would perish if they ceased to aid one another." One man, from whom I quote, says that "from the time that the mother binds the child's head until the moment that some kind assistant wipes the death-damp from the brow of the dying, we cannot exist without mutual help. All, therefore, that need aid have a right to ask it from their fellow mortals; no one who holds the power of granting can refuse it without guilt."
The Church, with all its quorums and organizations, is God's plan for rendering mutual aid. The Melchizedek Priesthood is power and authority vested in the Godhead and delegated to man for the progress, happiness, salvation, and exaltation of the human family. It is a principle of power by which The Church of Jesus Christ is organized and by which men to whom it is given may legitimately act in the name of the Lord.
There are two conditions which should always be considered when the priesthood is to be given to anyone. The first of these is the individual's worthiness to receive it. The second is the service which he can render to the Church and to his fellow men.
Men who are vessels of the Holy Priesthood, who are charged with words of eternal life to the world should strive continually in their words and actions and daily deportment to do honor to the great dignity of their calling and office as ministers and representatives of the Most High.
Whenever the priesthood is delegated to man, it is conferred upon him, not as a personal honor, although it becomes such as he honors it, but as authority to represent Deity, and an obligation to assist the Lord in bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
If priesthood meant only personal distinction or individual elevation, there would be no need of groups or quorums. The very existence of such groups, established by divine authorization, proclaims our dependence upon one another, the indispensable need of mutual help and assistance. We are social beings.
"There is a destiny which makes us brothers, None lives to himself alone; All that we give into the lives of others, Comes back into our own."
This element of service and mutual help is emphasized by the Lord as follows:
"Wherefore, be faithful; stand in the office which I have appointed unto you; succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees". So says the Lord in the Doctrine and Covenants, section eighty-one, verse five.
And again:
"And if any man among you be strong in the Spirit, let him take with him him that is weak, that he may be edified in all meekness, that he may become strong also".
It is an honor to labor with you, brethren and sisters, throughout the entire Church. God bless you that you may realize the blessings that are yours through the revelation and restoration in this day and age of the world of the priesthood of God, which gives you authority to represent him in proclaiming the reality of the existence of the Father and his Beloved Son Jesus Christ, and the restoration in this day of the gospel as given through Christ the Lord as the plan of salvation to all mankind, through obedience to which peace shall be established on earth, and the will of God carried forth to the salvation and exaltation of his children.
With all the power the Lord has given his servants, I bless you, and pray that you will go forth with the spirit of service, honoring his name now and forever, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Hugh B. Brown
Hugh B. Brown, Conference Report, April 1963, pp. 5-9
Let us quote two well-known definitions of religion, one from the Old Testament and one from the New; these might well sound the keynote or prelude to this conference. First from the Prophet Micah: "He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good, and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?".
And the Apostle James admonishes:
"But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
"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.
"If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
"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".
We pray that all who speak during this conference may be inspired by the Holy Spirit. Especially we pray that the many thousands, seen and unseen, who may attend the various sessions may enjoy the same inspiration. The effect upon the "hearers of the word" depends upon their being spiritually in tune and open-mindedly responsive.
As the relish with which one enjoys a meal depends upon the appetite he brings to the table more than upon the quality and variety of food placed before him, so the degree of enjoyment and assimilation of spiritual refreshment will depend upon whether or not we "hunger and thirst" as enjoined by the Savior, and be promised the reward of satisfaction. The Savior said: "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me".
We are all familiar with the parable of the sower, where "... some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
"Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth...
"And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
"And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
"But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit".
In explanation of the meaning of the parable, the Savior emphasized the responsibility of all who hear the word, and he expressed concern for the quality and depth of the soil in which the seeds are planted. Mark defines the seed as the word of God: "When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.
"But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
"Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
"He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
"But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty".
This parable applies to all to whom the seed-the word of God-may come, whether they be lifetime members of the Church, new converts, or investigators seeking truth. Let us be united in our prayers that the seeds of truth which may be broadcast during this conference may take root in fertile soil and bear fruit. Paul said of some to whom the gospel was preached in his day that it did not profit them "... not being mixed with faith in them that heard it".
Truth is challenging and calls for action as is evidenced by another parable of the Savior: "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
"And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
"And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
"And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it".
It should be noted that the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon the house which was built upon the rock with the same force as that which destroyed the other house. This house did not escape the storm but, having a rock foundation, withstood it.
Some have thought that upon joining the Church and being faithful all trials would end, all difficulties disappear, and all temptations cease. We are reminded of the young bride who, on her wedding day, said to her mother, "I am the happiest girl in the world. I have come to the end of all my troubles."
And the wise mother replied, "Yes, my dear, but you don't know which end."
Both the storms of nature and the storms of life are indiscriminate. As the house built upon the rock survived the storm, so the life whose roots are firmly planted in the soil of faith will endure adversity and be made stronger by the struggle. As Douglas Malloch said in verse:
"Good timber does not grow in ease, The stronger wind, the tougher trees, The further sky, the greater length, The more the storm, the more the strength.
"By sun and cold, by rain and snow, In trees or men, good timbers grow."
Sometimes defeat may serve as well as victory to shake the soul and let the glory out.
Let us not bemoan our lot in life or chafe under the trials, losses, or problems which beset us. Let us rather enumerate and express gratitude for our many blessings. Some go through the year or through life unappreciative of life's bounties because they are unaware of them. One's awareness becomes the measure of his aliveness. All about us we see evidences of a benevolent providence. For example, anyone who reverently looks into the starry skies will feel to exclaim with the Psalmist: "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork".
As we become more aware and appreciative of his love and of the beauty and wisdom which are everywhere apparent, we thank the Lord for life and for its bracing trials and challenges, its educative disciplines and rewards. Our faith in God is deepened and sustained by life's experiences and by convincing evidence on every hand that our universe is governed by law under a beneficent and omnipotent Father.
As this faith and knowledge develops, one becomes conscious of his own weaknesses and shortcomings and undertakes to bring his conduct up to the level of his ideals; this is called repentance.
But if his faith is not kept radiant by good works, he will be tempted to lower his ideals to the level of his conduct. This is retrogression.
In these ominous and threatening times, we need physical, intellectual, and moral courage and sustaining faith. It may seem trite to say the world is imperiled and divided and that these are times of historic decisions, but on all levels of life, from individual and family to national and international, challenging situations demand attention and difficult problems require solution. We all face a common challenge and share a common cause.
The threat of communism is sinister, and its dangers are imminent. Hundreds of millions of our fellow beings are being relentlessly imbued with the satanic ideology that the Fatherhood of God, the Saviorhood of Christ, and the brotherhood of man are stupid myths, that religion is nothing but a tranquilizing opiate. They seek to deprive men of physical, mental, and spiritual freedom while endowing the state with monstrous supremacy. This relentless indoctrination is but a continuation of the war that began when Satan's plan of force was rejected by the Father. We live in the most dangerous period of all history. The sixth chapter of Ephesians was never more applicable than today: "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places".
The Church is the main bulwark against communism. The gospel is the most effective rebuttal to their godless ideologies. It is a spiritual force which can crash and overcome all physical barriers. Surely we must put on the whole armor of God, consisting, as Paul said, of truth, righteousness, peace, faith, with the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. Because of our faith in a living, personal, and all-powerful God, we do not fear the final outcome in our fight against the emissaries of Satan, though we must ever be alert, united, and on guard. We are reassured by John's wonderful vision on the Isle of Patmos:
"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
"And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
"And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season".
Nothing but the gospel of love, the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, which we gratefully proclaim, can save the world or the individual from the dangers that threaten us. This is a gospel of character-building activity, of invincible faith and the courage that is born of faith; of repentance, the doorway to progress; of sanctification through baptism of water and of the Spirit, the doorway, to the celestial kingdom. Let us take courage in the knowledge that Christ, the Prince of Peace, is at the helm. He has declared that the worth of souls is great in the sight of God; so great that he gave his only Begotten Son that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life.
The transcendent love of God the Father has its counterpart in Christ, the Son, whose redeeming sacrifice, which was voluntary and love inspired, loosed the bonds of death and assured to all men the blessings of the resurrection. He declared it to be his work and his glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. The Apostle Paul gives us an appraisal of the enduring quality of God's love in his epistle to the Romans: "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
"Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord".
But this divine love elicits response from us, not only by declarations of our love but by our attitude toward our fellow men. Benjamin Franklin prayed, "Accept my kind offices to thy children as the only return in my power for thy continual favors to me."
John, in his first epistle, wrote: "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". How can a man have communion with God if he does not have fellowship with his fellow men?
Jesus, when asked which was the great commandment, replied: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
"This is the first and great commandment.
"And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
"On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets".
When on another occasion the Master was asked who is my neighbor, he replied with the parable of the good Samaritan, which teaches the lesson that all who need our help, all whose lives we touch are our neighbors, whether they live across the street, over the fence, across the continent, or over the ocean. Our neighborhood has become worldwide.
Abou-Ben Adhem's name headed the list of those whom love of God had blessed because he, apparently more than others, loved his fellow men.
The depth, direction, and quality of our religious life depend upon our understanding of the nature, purposes, and methods of God and our relationship and responsibility to him. The scriptures are replete with reassuring promises that right will prevail over might, good over evil, truth over error, Christ over anti-Christ. John the Beloved was inspired when he wrote the rhapsody in his first epistle:
"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: Therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is".
In a book titled A Century's Change in Religion, quoted by Dr. James L. Barker, George Harris tells us: "There has been a change in our thought of God, from the conception of sovereignty to the conception of Fatherhood; speaking broadly, it may be said, that the Latin theology made sovereignty the central doctrine. The Roman government was a type of the divine government. This theology stamped the doctrine of decrees, of predestination and reprobation, the mere good pleasures of God as the cause of all events. The belief engendered fear and hate rather than love and trust... The center of doctrine has shifted from sovereignty to fatherhood." The inspired concept of the actual fatherhood of God and the concomitant brotherhood of man is a basic doctrine of Mormonism and is the most profound and hopeful philosophy in the world today.
We believe in a living, personal God; that his glory is intelligence, which denotes purpose and plan; that he has the will and the power to realize his purposes. He is our Father, and that fact assures love and inspires trust.
May the Holy Spirit direct all who participate in the proceedings of this conference, in song, prayer, or discourse, and inspire in all who listen a desire for renewed dedication and activity. May our lives attest our gratitude for the priceless privilege of living in the greatest of all dispensations and participating in the final preparation for the second coming of Christ. No era in history was more momentous than our own, for it heralds his coming.
The words of the poet are prophetic:
"You that have faith to look with fearless eyes upon 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 In freedom's crowning hour, That you may tell your sons who see the light high in the heavens, their heritage to take, I saw the powers of darkness take their flight, I saw the morning break."
What then shall we take home from this conference, and in what measure shall we take it? This depends upon "patient continuance in well doing", upon the quality and depth of soil into which the seeds of truth may fall, and upon whether we become doers of the word and not hearers only. Shall the seed be received by the wayside, in stony places, in shallow soil, or among the thorns; shall the care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word that the seeds become unfruitful; or shall it be received into good ground and bear fruit? Each one must answer for himself. Let us pray for strength to "... do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God" in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Antoine R. Ivins
Antoine R. Ivins, Conference Report, April 1963, pp. 13-14
I am happy, my brothers and sisters, for the opportunity to stand before you and bear my testimony. I recommend to you what I have been doing the last few weeks, brothers and sisters, and that is to read in the scriptures a bit, in the Old Testament. I like to open the Spanish version and read it. And in doing so recently I was struck with the very frequent references in which, in the reconstruction after the exodus from Egypt they had to ask for contributions from the people for their work. And the thing that appealed to me was that almost invariably they asked that the people should voluntarily contribute with a willing heart. I think that is a very important attitude for us to take at the present time-the voluntary contribution with a willing heart-and when I say contribution I don't mean contributions in money particularly, but contributions of substance and service, and you who are immediately in front of us here are men all of whom, I believe, have particular assignments for service in the Church.
If we serve with the idea that good service will bring promotion, we may be disappointed. If we serve with a willing heart because we love people and love to help them, the Lord will make us happy. In one of the scriptures which I read, it said, "And they rejoiced because they contributed with a willing heart." I think that is the secret of our happiness very much, brothers and sisters, the attitude which we have in the service which we render. We are here for experience, for growth and development, and the growth and development of the spirit is perhaps the most important element of our lives. So, why can't we develop the habit of helping each other willingly and effectively and efficiently. If we could do that, we would be happy always, I believe. So I think that is one of our very crucial, fundamental principles.
We serve, we contribute, we pay our tithes and our offerings. If we pay them because we dare not refuse to pay them, it is of little benefit to us. If we pay those things because we love the work, love God, love his people, and realize that the only way we can serve him is to serve his children here then we will grow and develop, and whether we amass great wealth or not we will be happy.
Man is that he may have joy, and I think we ought to pay some attention to it, brothers and sisters, that we be happy with each other, because our service is willing.
There are many of us, holders of the priesthood, many of us who are holders of the Melchizedek Priesthood, that somewhere or another after taking on the obligation and the implied covenants that are with it do very little in the way of service. We fail to serve our quorums; we fail to serve our wards; we fail to serve our stakes; we fail pretty much, if the reports coming to us are true, to serve our God. We ought not to assume those obligations, brethren, if we don't feel in a measure that we can fulfil or comply with the promises and covenants therein, and any man who has received that priesthood should, with a willing heart, attempt to measure up to his responsibilities and opportunities.
Now if I could leave with you just that one thought and then suggest that you go back into the scriptures and find the interesting stories connected with it, I would feel quite happy today. The time is so limited that I am not going to take more of it today, but I want you to understand that in the long service that I have rendered here I have tried to have a willing heart and serve you well. I have had no other major responsibility or interest since 1931 when I was appointed but to help this work and especially to help the seventies of the Church. We are very proud of the seventies. We are very proud of the work that they accomplish, and we are interested in the purpose for which the seventies were organized. Let us all then, brothers and sisters, set to our problems with a willing heart, with faith, and sincere devotion to our God, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Milton R. Hunter
Milton R. Hunter, Conference Report, April 1963, pp. 14-18
My dear Son Michael:
With the hope that I might say something, my son, that will help you to live a more complete and joyful life and that someday you will receive a blessed exaltation in the presence of our Lord, I am writing you this letter.
Deep in the heart of every human being is a strong desire to experience joy day by day. In fact, Father Lehi claimed that the achievement of a life of joy was the principal purpose of our existence. He said: "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy".
In order that you might live a life filled with joy, that you might be happy now, in the future, and forever, it is necessary that you understand who you are and the course that you must follow in order to attain a fulness of joy in this life and in the world to come.
You are a son of God, literally and actually a child of an Eternal Father in heaven. You are endowed with the spiritual attributes of godliness that if properly cultivated will result eventually in your returning to the presence of that Divine Being and receiving eternal life. Regarding this important truth, the First Presidency, President Joseph F. Smith and his Counselors, Presidents John R. Winder and Anthon H. Lund, wrote:
"Man is a child of God, formed in the divine image and endowed with divine attributes, and even as the infant son of an earthly father and mother is capable in due time of becoming a man, so the undeveloped offspring of celestial parentage is capable, by experience through ages of aeons, of evolving into a God."
My son, in the spring of 1820, the greatest event that ever occurred in the United States took place in the Sacred Grove in New York. God our Eternal Father and his Only Begotten Son appeared to a boy just your age-the Prophet Joseph Smith-in response to his prayer regarding which church to join. This marvelous vision was the prelude to the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Soon thereafter, numerous heavenly beings appeared to the Prophet, revealing the gospel of Jesus Christ for the salvation of as many of the human family as will believe and obey. The true church was established; namely, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In accordance with the predictions of the ancient prophets, this is the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, "... the times of the restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began".
You have the tremendous blessing, my son, of being a member of the true Church of Jesus Christ. This is an inheritance more valuable than all of the wealth of the world.
Seek day by day throughout your life to have sufficient inspiration and wisdom to know what the Lord our Savior desires you to do; and then work under that divine inspiration to do it at all times to the best of your ability. Jesus put it this way: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you".
Always select good company with whom to associate. Your companions greatly influence the life that you live. Stay away from places of temptation. If any young man frequents places of evil, eventually he will be ensnared in sin.
In modern revelation, the Lord has commanded: "Wherefore, stand ye in holy places". Going to church and doing temple work places one in holy places. The Lord thy God 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".
Keep your mind and heart clean and pure at all times. The scriptures truthfully declared: "For as... thinketh in his heart, so is he". Our thoughts are like seeds planted in a fertile garden. They take root, grow, and eventually mature in full bloom. Thus the very center of our character-growth is our inner thoughts. Our thoughts precede our actions. They are the underlying forces that shape our destiny. My son, if one could look into your heart when you have nothing in particular to do but to live with your thoughts, one could predict your future happiness and successes or your future heartaches and failures.
It is definitely true that each person is the product of his own individual thinking. Mr. James Allen aptly declared: "Whatever your present environment may be, you will fall, remain, or rise with your thoughts, your Vision, or your Ideals. You will become as small as your controlling desire, as great as your dominating aspiration".
Thus let me advise: my son, guard your mind and your thinking continuously. Do not listen to impure or indecent stories. Never repeat a thought or a story that you would not be proud to tell your mother. Immoral stories are insidious and degrading to one's spiritual growth and sweetness of personality; therefore, remember never to let anything come from your lips that is indecent, suggestive, degrading, or of an immoral nature in any respect. The Savior declared: "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God".
Knowing that we are children of God, the Apostle Paul pointed out that our bodies are very sacred. He said:
"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
"If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are".
On another occasion, the Apostle Paul made it very clear that each of us will have to answer for his own mistakes, and, on the other hand, each of us will be rewarded for his own good actions. To quote:
"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".
Remember this, my son, God is no respecter of persons. He will hold you accountable for your sins and reward you for your righteous acts. The writer of Ecclesiastes truthfully declared:
"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
"For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil".
The justice and mercy of God in blessing his children is given plainly in the Doctrine and Covenants as follows:
"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 the law upon which it is predicated".
My son, there was a divine and eternal truth declared by Alma, that great Nephite prophet and teacher, which I wish would rise in front of your eyes in your mind as a great placard in glowing letters every time temptation comes your way throughout life. I would that every Latter-day Saint boy, girl, man, and woman would memorize Alma's divine declaration and that it would flash strongly in their minds on each and every occasion that they are tempted to do wrong. Alma declared: "Behold I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness".
Perhaps a scripture of equal vital importance to have ringing in your ears is Paul's firm declaration that "... the wages of sin is death".
Your Heavenly Father has blessed you, my son, with a healthy body and a keen mind. Certainly he expects you to keep them that way. To help accomplish this, he revealed the Word of Wisdom. It stands to reason that wise boys and wise men will at no time take substances into their bodies which are not good for them. I plead with you to refrain from taking the first smoke, and then tobacco will never be a severe temptation to you. The same truth holds for any other harmful substance that you might be tempted to take into your body. Set your standards high. Be determined that you will never break God's law of health. The achievement of this resolution will bring you joy, peace, and comfort. It will result in your maintaining health in your body and mind; and you will receive "... wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures", one of which treasures is a firm conviction that Jesus is the Christ and the Savior of the world. Also, obedience to the Word of Wisdom will help you to maintain your body as a pure temple in which the Spirit of God can dwell.
My son, be prayerful. Pray to your Heavenly Father every night before you retire to bed. Pray to him every morning before you leave your bedroom. Pray for the sick and afflicted, the poor and needy, the widows and orphans and all workers of righteousness throughout the world. Pour out your heart in thanksgiving to him for the numerous blessings that he gives you. Pray to him for his divine guidance in your schoolwork. He will answer your prayers by enhancing your memory and by giving you strength and wisdom to complete your assignments. He will help you to succeed in your numerous undertakings.
Throughout life continue to call upon your Heavenly Father for divine guidance in all things that you do. Great men such as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln found their supreme strength in times of distress in humble prayer to their Divine Creator. So will your burdens, my son, be made lighter and your heart be filled with serenity and peace as you travel the highway of life if you continue to keep your Eternal Father as your companion, your friend, and your guide. Surely he will take you by the hand and will give you answers to your prayers.
One of the most vital things in your life, if you are to have joy, is for you to learn to work and to love to work. My son, work and work and work, for herein lies perhaps your greatest joy. I know of nothing that gives more satisfaction to one's hearts than to have a job he likes, and to do that job efficiently to the best of his ability. An indescribable peace and satisfaction come into one's heart through work well done. When you stand before the judgment seat of the Lord after leaving this mortal life, be able to report honestly that you always did a full day's work. As you know, one of the two first laws given to Adam and Eve was the commandment to earn their bread by the sweat of their faces. This law we must all obey if our lives are pleasing to our Heavenly Father. The following important advice appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune:
"A police chief's advice to teenagers-Always we hear the plaintive cry of the teenagers-
"'What can we do? Where can we go?'
"The answer is... go home! Hang the storm windows, paint the woodwork, rake the leaves, mow the lawn, shovel the walk, wash the car; learn to cook, scrub the floors, repair the sink, build a boat, get a job, help the minister, priest, or rabbi, the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, visit the sick, assist the poor, study your lessons, and then when you are through and not tired... read a good book."
My son, if you are to live a life filled with joy and happiness, learn now while in your youth that such results come about only to the proportion that you render service to your fellow men. We serve our God by serving his children. There is nothing sweeter in all the world than the spiritual blessings which come to us as a result of service-with the result of losing our lives for the Master's sake, with the assurance that someday we shall receive eternal life.
With these thoughts and purpose in mind, live in such a way that you are preparing to go on a mission when the call comes from the Lord. Save your money now in your own private missionary fund. Study the scriptures. Learn the gospel doctrines and then you will be prepared to serve your fellow men-God's children-when the call comes.
My son, be honest in all of your dealings. Never tell a lie. Build a character of high integrity. Be just and righteous in all of your actions as you go through life. Joy and success will be your reward.
In due time you will desire to obey the greatest law that God has given to man-the law of celestial marriage. My son, while in your youth you are preparing by clean living for this great event. During your courtship days, court on a spiritual plane; and then when you establish a home it will be built upon a rock foundation which will weather all storms.
To live and achieve in this world of complex problems, my son, you must have courage. Do away with any fear that may enter your heart. Fear is a destroyer of success and happiness. It confuses the mind. It undermines one's abilities. Peace of mind comes from a clear conscience and the conquest of fear. Therefore, remember and do at all times as the Lord commanded 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".
And now, my son, I shall close this letter by making only one more important suggestion. As you travel through life, have faith in yourself. Have faith that you can accomplish the things which you righteously take into your heart to accomplish. Disappointments do come in life; but also great shall be your joy with the numerous accomplishments you will make through tenaciously retaining faith in your ability to achieve.
Affectionately,
Your Father
Elder Eldred G. Smith
Eldred G. Smith, Conference Report, April 1963, pp. 18-19
A favorite song of mine, one that is familiar to us all goes to this effect:
"I have a testimony, sacred and dear to me Something that lies within my soul."
Just what is a testimony? Webster says: "A solemn declaration or affirmation made to establish or prove a fact," or "attestation of a fact or an event." Could we say then that a testimony is knowledge of a fact? We say we have a testimony as if it were a possession. Of course it is. It is a possession of knowledge. How does one obtain knowledge, either secular or religious? A student must go through the usual process of study, research, etc. To obtain religious knowledge requires additional effort. The Lord said, "... Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you".
The Prophet Joseph Smith has given us a formula: "If we are to gain a testimony of anything, we must first desire a testimony, then learn to understand the truth in question, then practice that which has been learned, and before and during the study and practice we must be in close communication with our Heavenly Father and pray to him for help."
Moroni also gives us a formula: "And when ye shall receive these things," that is after you have done the study and received instruction and prepared yourself, "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".
The power and function of the Holy Ghost is to testify of the truth, and especially to testify of the Father and of the Son. The Holy Ghost, being a personage of Spirit, speaks through our spirits. Each of us has a spirit body and a physical body. Before coming to this earth we were personages of spirit, yet we were individuals. We could walk, run, speak, see, think. Our spirit body was made of elements not found in mortality. That spirit body, combined with our mortal body, makes a living soul. When we receive promptings from the Holy Ghost, it is like opening an imaginary door between the spirit mind and the mortal mind. When this happens, we receive knowledge which we cannot deny. We have to put ourselves in tune with the Spirit of the Lord or the Spirit of the Holy Ghost, as has been mentioned here today. We will be held accountable for that knowledge in the day of judgment. By the Holy Ghost you may know the truths of the gospel. I'd like to mention just a few of these, and we will have heard some, and we will hear more as we go through this conference.
You may know of a surety of the visitation of God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ to the Prophet Joseph Smith in the Sacred Grove. The Father, calling him by name, said, "... This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!".
Then you may also know of the true concept of Deity. God is truly an Exalted Being. Jesus Christ is literally his Begotten Son.
We testify that the Book of Mormon came forth by divine guidance; also the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price.
We know and accept the restoration of the gospel with the priesthood of God to act in his name and perform the ordinances of the gospel needed for salvation and exaltation.
President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., has said, "What today's world must have if humanity is to go on climbing upward, is men, those wearing the cloth as well as the laity, who know that God lives and that Jesus is the Christ; men, that having this knowledge have also the intellectual honesty not only to admit but to proclaim it; who have further the moral courage and sterling character to live the righteous lives this knowledge demands. This knowledge must be a living, burning knowledge of God and Christ."
We testify of the divine purpose of temple work, the vicarious work necessary for the salvation of all, the living and the dead. Yes, we declare the principle of continued revelation through his prophet, and his prophet today is President David O. McKay.
We testify of the surety that the resurrection is real and will be universal, that each shall inherit a degree of glory in accordance with his faithfulness-the celestial, terrestrial, or telestial-the righteous to receive eternal life and exaltation in the celestial kingdom. The Prophet Joseph Smith said, "If the resurrection from the dead be not an important point or item in our faith, we must confess we know nothing about it; for if there be no resurrection from the dead then Christ is not risen; and if Christ is not risen he was not the Son of God; and if he was not the Son of God there is not nor cannot be a Son of God, if the present book called the scriptures is true; because the time has gone by when, according to that book, he was to make his appearance."
There is great strength in a testimony, strength to resist evil, strength to do. What is it that causes a bishop or a stake president or others to spend so much time in church work without monetary remuneration? Is it not his testimony? Was it not their faith and testimony that brought the pioneers across the plains? Is it not testimony that keeps the great missionary system going? President Henry D. Moyle has said, "It is our purpose as members of the Church to consider constantly the place of testimony in our lives. We dare not become complacent or unaware of this priceless gift which is ours." When we bear our testimonies, we are teaching others the truths that have enriched our lives and made us happy. Our testimonies are born to give thanks to God for the knowledge and assurance he has given us, to assist our brethren and sisters in strengthening their testimonies, and to carry the conviction which is ours into the hearts of all other people upon the face of the earth.
I invite all to follow the formula given and obtain a testimony with us of the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I testify to you in the name of Jesus Christ that these things are true and that God lives, that Jesus Christ is truly the Son of God, that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God through whom the gospel has been restored. I testify that President David O. McKay is a true prophet of God today, and I do this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, April 1963, p. 21
My beloved brethren and sisters, I want to talk to you briefly on our responsibilities in regard to the Sabbath day. In the beginning the Lord chose the last day after the creation as the Sabbath, and that continued until the resurrection of Christ. After the resurrection of our Savior, the Sabbath day was transferred to the Lord's day or the first day of the week, contrary to the ideas of some professed Christians.
The Lord settled this matter so far as we are concerned in a revelation given by the Lord on the 7th day of August 1831, which was the Sabbath day-Sunday. I am going to read a few of these verses.
"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;
"Nevertheless thy vows shall be offered up in righteousness on all days and at all times;
"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 on this day thou shalt do none other thing, only let thy food be prepared with singleness of heart that thy fasting may be perfect, or, in other words, that thy joy may be full".
Now, we have some people professing Christianity who are very intense upon the idea that the old Sabbath day should be maintained. The Lord himself changed the day. The Saints in olden times, that is, after the resurrection of Christ, accepted the date of the resurrection as their Sabbath, and they called it the Lord's day. It was on that day that John, in prayer before the Lord, received the great revelation known to us as the "apocalypse."
I think we Latter-day Saints should remember this fact. Now in our legislature, the session before the last, if I remember correctly, a bill was passed and vetoed by the governor, asking that businesses be closed, prohibited to operate, on the Sabbath day. It was defeated by veto.
This year the legislature could not come to a conclusion, and so no action was final. But our duty is plain and clear. The Lord has decided the matter for Latter-day Saints, as I think he did to former-day Saints, and Sunday is our Sabbath.
Now just a word of advice. You may follow it or you may reject it, but it is what I am doing, and Sister Smith. We do not patronize stores that open on Sunday, and there are stores that do not open on Sunday, and so they get our trade.
Brethren and sisters, all I want to say is that the Lord has set the time for our Sabbath by revelation. We know which day we should worship. We should follow it, and we should be true and faithful, and I think we should support those who likewise observe that day.
Now on Sunday in Salt Lake City there will be a wonderful ball game played by two of the great teams. There will be, I am positive, members of the Church who will go to the ball park instead of to their Sacrament meetings. Our duty is to serve the Lord and to remember him and the covenants that we have made. May the Lord bless you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Richard L. Evans
Richard L. Evans, Conference Report, April 1963, pp. 22-23
Going back to the opening by President Brown this morning on doing and living the law and keeping the commandments and proving it by our actions, I should like to talk briefly on a subject, suggested by the phrase, that "knowing is not enough."
May I share with you a sentence or two from Winston Churchill, who said, "It is no use saying 'We are doing our best.' You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary." I'm not sure we know really when we are doing our best. I'm not sure that in most cases we couldn't extend ourselves further in any performance in life. Since eternal life is the great prize, it isn't enough just to try. We have to succeed. There is only one journey-an everlasting one-one time and one eternity-so far as I am aware, and if I may use the vernacular, we can't afford to "sit this one out." Knowing is not enough!
Emerson said, "The world looks like... a mathematical equation, which, turn it how you will, balances itself." And then he added a sentence which I have often cited, "Do the thing, and you shall have the power. They who do not the thing have not the power." One eminent thinker and writer, Richter, said, "Don't wait for extraordinary circumstances to do good actions; try to use ordinary situations."
The encouraging thing in life for all of us is this or one of the encouraging things, one of the realistic facts to face, that our Father in heaven knows us better than we know ourselves; that he knows our capacity; that he doesn't expect of us the unattainable, the unreachable, or the impossible; that he hasn't given us commandments that we can't keep or requirements that we can't meet. Just to take one specific thing, for example, as to our physical well-being: the law of health that God has given us. He describes it as being counsel to "the weak and the weakest". Nobody can be weaker than "the weakest" and he has assured us that this counsel is for even these, and simply knowing is not enough. It is the doing of the thing, the living of the law, the keeping of the commandment that brings the blessings. There is ample, conclusive, objective, medical evidence that this great law of health can be factually demonstrated to be what it is said to be. But mere knowing is not enough. We have to accept first the first of the first principles, which include not only faith but also repentance.
Now we hear much, and we are grateful for the wonderful wide-reaching of the Church, for its accomplishments world-wide, for conversions, for the marvelous forward moving in every field that pertains to the Church. But this is made possible by people who perform, by missionaries who go out, by people who pay tithes and offerings and building funds. And again, just knowing is not enough. Someone has to do everything; and wonderful as has been and is the growth of the Church it can be yet much more so by the performance of those who increase in faithfulness. Such things are never quite convenient. We have to stretch ourselves and exceed ourselves and set aside our convenience ofttimes.
How many times this people have heard from this pulpit the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson so often uttered in the ringing voice of President Grant: "That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do, not that the nature of the thing itself has changed, but that our power to do is increased," although President Grant, as I remember quoted them just a bit differently from the above.
I am thinking of our statistics pertaining to the active and the inactive, all of which are needed as a measure of performance. But I am not sure that our Father in heaven is going to be too much impressed with statistics pertaining to the missing. I think perhaps he will look at us and ask, "Where are the others?" as any father would if any of his family were missing. Where are the others?
Testimony is a great thing, but men who have had great testimonies have fallen by the wayside. Men who have had wonderful manifestations have fallen by the wayside, and the living of the law, the meeting of the obligation, the rendering of the service, the doing of the duty, the rising to the actual performance is the essential thing, and the mere knowing of our duty is not enough.
There is one thing concerning which none of us knows enough. We don't know enough, any of us, to be safe in setting any of the commandments aside. We have to take someone's advice; we have to believe someone, and I for myself would hope to accept the counsel of my Father in heaven and not presume to know enough to set any of his commandments aside.
"No life," said one of our eminent contemporary thinkers, "ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, and disciplined."
"And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which is the greatest of all the gifts of God".
If I may again cite Emerson, he said, "Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles."
With you, I would wish this day to say to President McKay that I believe we have the courage, the devotion, the dedication, and the conviction to follow him wherever the Lord God leads him to lead us. With you I know that he is a prophet. With you I bear witness of the divinity of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and with you I acknowledge that merely knowing this is not enough, and with you I would pray for strength to do increasingly well that which we know so well, which God has given us to know, and I do it in Jesus' name. Amen.
Elder Alma Sonne
Alma Sonne, Conference Report, April 1963, pp. 25-26
My brethren and sisters, it is a great privilege to stand here. It is also a great responsibility. It occurred to me as I was listening to the speakers today that there is much encouragement and much inspiration in the history of this Church. I recall many years ago of hearing Elder James E. Talmage deliver a baccalaureate sermon. In his sermon he said:
"The Mormon pioneers were well nigh perfect in the work which they did." He also said that their program was constructive throughout, and that they laid a solid foundation for that part of the vineyard which has been planted in the heart of these Rocky Mountains.
During the month of July 1847, Brigham Young looked into the Salt Lake Valley and remarked: "This is the place." After the lapse of 115 years you and I know he was right. It is still the place. It is the best place on the earth for the Church to grow, develop, and expand, and to direct its activities in the process of building up God's kingdom.
I am sure Brigham Young had no doubts nor misgivings as he made that famous declaration, for the work of colonization had already commenced. Fields were being plowed and irrigated. Crops were planted, and homes provided. Scarcely a week had passed before he had designated the very spot where a temple was to be built and where it now stands. "Here we will build a temple to our God," he said. Do you catch the significance of that statement?
There was so much to do to provide the material comfort for his people and for all those who were to follow. Ordinarily his chief concern would be for the physical well-being of these people. They were in a desert land. The hard and stern reality was before them. They could not return, for they had nowhere to go. By every law of probability they should have perished in the desert country, and yet this prophet-leader thought first about the spiritual welfare of those who were to come. I can think of nothing on the pages of history to match it.
Brigham Young knew that no people can endure permanently without God. Nations crumble and fall when they ignore the standards and the concepts by which they arose to power and influence. President Young's ambition was to lay a solid foundation that would not corrode nor disintegrate; but what was the situation when he undertook to lay this foundation? Where were the Saints? Where was the body of the Church? They were scattered from the British Isles to the Great Basin in the Rocky Mountains.
As the year 1847 closed there were approximately 10,000 church members in England; 2,000 in Scotland; and 4,160 scattered on a world-wide basis. The church population in the Great Salt Lake Valley was about 2,000, and between 5,000 and 13,000 were at Winter Quarters in Nebraska, and between 2,000 and 4,000 in the various settlements in Iowa. Less than 200 remained in Nauvoo, and between 200 and 300 in the city of St. Louis, Missouri. There were between 7,000 and 13,000 scattered throughout the eastern and the southern states, and 2,000 in the Society Islands.
The Mormon Battalion numbering 200 were stationed in San Diego and Sutter's Mill. The church membership in 1847 was approximately 40,000 souls. Most of them were headed for the Rocky Mountains, the place of gathering in fulfillment of prophecy, for according to Micah: "... in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it".
The Latter-day Saints, no matter where they were, knew they were a chosen people. Their movement westward was not an accident. The Prophet Joseph Smith had referred to the West when he prophesied that the Saints would become a mighty people in the midst of the Rocky Mountains.
We need only review the history of the Church to feel the importance of what was done in those early days. These daring, venturesome men and women believed in God. They worshiped him in spirit and in truth. In the desert, coming and going, they had time to think and pray and to appraise their new faith and make comparisons with all they had left behind.
And so they laid a foundation that makes for permanency. Again I say the pioneer movement was not a venture. It was a directed movement, God-inspired and sustained by an over-ruling providence. It was a search for freedom, where sincere and honest men could worship God in their own way.
May that freedom be preserved in this land of America and wherever there is a liberty-loving people, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop John H. Vandenberg
John H. Vandenberg, Conference Report, April 1963, pp. 27-30
At the turn of the century, President Lorenzo Snow, in addressing the Saints in general conference, said, "Seventy years ago this Church was organized with six members. We commenced so to speak as an infant... Through the blessings of the Lord, however, we managed to move along in our stage of infancy, receiving support from the Lord as he saw proper to give it... We understand very well, when we reflect back upon our own lives, that we did many foolish things when we were boys because of our lack of experience and because we had not learned fully to obey the instructions of our fathers and mothers. We could not then comprehend that it was absolutely necessary for our proper advancement that we should observe the counsels of our parents. Many of us learned it, but too late perhaps to correct ourselves. Yet as we advanced, the experience of the past materially assisted us to avoid such mistakes as we had made in our boyhood.
"It has been so with the Church... When we examine ourselves... we discover that we are still not doing exactly as we ought to do, notwithstanding all our experience. We discern that there are things which we fail to do that the Lord expects us to perform, some of which he required us to do in our boyhood. But we feel thankful and grateful that we are enabled now,... to accomplish many things... While we congratulate ourselves in this direction, we certainly ought to feel that we have not yet arrived at perfection. There are many things to do yet".
As I was reading President Snow's message to the Church, it was evident to me that the Lord has been good as well as patient with the Saints. He has set up these conferences wherein his people might be admonished and informed concerning his kingdom.
Now President Snow in his observations referred to some of these matters after the Church had been established for seventy years.
Today with the Church having reached the age of 133 years, we marvel at its growth; and with the strength of its leadership, we are moving forward. Yet as we examine ourselves, we see there is much need for improvement.
I think of the Prophet Isaiah's words when he said: "Cry aloud, spare not lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins".
I observe a great need for the teaching and adherence to the principle of fasting. I would like to say something relative to it. As a Church, we have not reached the full benefits of this principle. There are some who faithfully observe the fast and who receive the full blessings. But there are many who must yet be taught the true principle of fasting and be converted to it and practice it in order to receive the great blessings associated with it.
The Prophet Isaiah clearly sets forth an understanding of the fast. As he observed the people, he was, no doubt, considerably upset and concerned with the way they had abused the purpose and principle of fasting.
He said: "... Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours".
A writer says this scripture means that they find pleasure and carry on business and oppress all their laborers. With all their professing of self-denial they are selfish.
"Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness".
Or in other words as a result they are rewarded with strife, debate, and wickedness.
Isaiah further explains the purposes and blessings concerning the fast. He asks: "Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
"Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?".
I suppose when he speaks of "loosing the bands of wickedness" of "undoing the heavy burdens," and the "breaking of every yoke" that he is referring to the wickedness of people who think only of themselves in selfishness, vanity, pride, and having hearts so set upon the things of this world that the two great commandments of loving God and loving neighbor are entirely forgotten. The principles of loving thy neighbor and of loving God are encompassed in the true purpose of the fast.
Certainly, it takes no imagination to understand what is meant when he says, "... that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?"
He meant that in addition to taking care of the poor, that we should watch over our own kin and be responsible for our father, mother, brother, and sister when they are in need.
It is here that I would like to state that the Lord has caused a day of fasting and prayer to be set up in this day so that collectively the Church might join together to fulfil the purposes of fasting.
In the general letter from the Council of the Twelve to the Church under date of May 17, 1845, which Orson Pratt read to the Saints, these words appear:
"Let this be an ensample to all saints, and there will never be any lack for bread: When the poor are starving, let those who have, fast one day and give what they otherwise would have eaten to the bishops for the poor, and every one will abound for a long time; and this is one great and important principle of fasts, approved of the Lord. And so long as the saints will all live to this principle, with glad hearts and cheerful countenances they will always have an abundance."
The bishop should frequently encourage the members of his ward to observe the fast day and voluntarily contribute a generous offering. The Lord knows in his wisdom that individually we are generally not prone to seek out the poor, the hungry, and those in need, and individually attend to their needs on a continuing basis. By fasting collectively there is no end to the good that can be done, that no one need suffer; that such assistance as might be given is rendered through the bishop in love and mercy and that full dollar value is rendered without any administrative cost.
Fasting is a voluntary principle. The Lord also said: "... 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". Fasting is a principle that all are encouraged to live by-the young and the old, the rich and the poor, the widow and the needy.
President Joseph F. Smith says: "The Lord has instituted the fast on a reasonable and intelligent basis, and none of His works are vain and unwise. His law is perfect in this as in other things. Hence, those who can are required to comply thereto; it is a duty from which they cannot escape, but let it be remembered that the observance of the fast by abstaining twenty-four hours from food and drink is not an absolute rule, it is no iron-clad law to us, but is left with the people as a matter of conscience, to exercise wisdom and discretion. Many are subject to weakness, others are in delicate health, and others have nursing babies; of such it should not be required to fast. I have known children to cry for something to eat on fast day. In such cases, going without food will do them no good. Instead, they dread the day to come, and in place of hailing it, dislike it; while the compulsion engenders a spirit of rebellion in them, rather than a love for the Lord and their fellows. Better teach them the principle, and let them observe it when they are old enough to choose intelligently, than to so compel them".
I feel to add that those who are not physically able to abstain from food and drink should participate on fast day to the extent of prayers, offerings, and testimony. If we abide by the word of the Lord for the above purposes, we will surely be blessed as God has promised through his prophets. I suppose there is no physical blessing desired so much as being well in mind and in body.
Listen again to Isaiah and this promise, "Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily". What would this be worth to you? Think of what it means. "... and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward".
Further, "Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am". What more assurance would we need than this as a promise that we may call upon the Lord and he will answer?
Then Isaiah reiterates: "... If thou take away from... thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
"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 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.
"And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in" . To me this is a promise to those working with the members of the Church who are in need physically and spiritually, "they that shall be of thee," or that you may be able to help them-to do what? "Build the old waste places," and as you help them to build "thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations, and then thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach." In other words, you have helped them overcome their weaknesses, to restore their souls, to bridge the gap through reactivating, rehabilitation, and "restoring" the path for them to walk in.
To those responsible for the leadership of the Saints in every unit of the Church, I say, teach the people the principle of fasting, in love, in gentleness, in firmness, and in humility. Fasting will give them spiritual strength and help them to develop self-control.
President Snow observed in his day a need for maturity, so we today after 133 years should reach manhood in the fast offering program.
Actually as a Church we are not meeting the cash needs of the sick, the naked, and the hungry as we should through the principle of fasting. It is our obligation to teach the Saints this principle in order that they may break the sin of selfishness that their offerings and their blessings may be generous.
Now brothers and sisters, I want to leave with you the desire of my heart in the words of Omni: "... I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved". In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder William J. Critchlow, Jr.
William J. Critchlow, Jr., Conference Report, April 1963, pp. 30-33
In the course of my office day, at about noon of the day, but not every day, I may see through my office window two men, locked arm in arm, striding toward Hotel Utah. One is tall and slender-rather easy to identify-despite his distance from the window. He is President McKay on his way, by escort, to his hotel apartment.
Some day President McKay may let me walk with him to his apartment. Then, with our arms locked tightly together, he could lean on me physically, and thus in very small measure I could compensate him for the many times I have leaned on him spiritually.
Few people will ever have the privilege of locking arms and striding with a prophet, but everyone may have the privilege of following him.
Once President McKay said to me and a few others: "Come-follow me." That invitation came one summer evening several weeks after a thief or thieves had broken into his stable and stolen his saddles. Stake presidents in the Ogden area, aware of his loss, purchased a fine saddle, and we had just presented it to him that lovely evening at his Huntsville home.
"Put it in the trunk of my car," he said, and motioning with his hand he bade us, "Come- follow me."
In our several cars we followed his car across town and beyond to a pasture gate. On the way and all the way his words, "Come-follow me," rode with me in my mind, exciting me, challenging me, finally provoking me to make a resolution which I sincerely pray I may have the courage to keep. I give it to you in earnest, simple rhyme, and challenge you to follow suit:
Follow him I will, All the way; And to wearied souls, Along my way, Take opportunity each Day to say: He is God's prophet- David O. McKay.
President McKay opened the pasture gate, entered alone, and closed the gate. He asked us to stand quietly back a few paces. There was neither sight nor sound of pastured animals-brush obscured our view. Advancing a few paces, he raised his voice and called: "Sonny Boy, Sonny Boy." For moments there was silence, and in that silence I recalled that Sonny Boy was a spirited animal-the men who shod him had warned that he could give anyone a bad time. He gave them one.
Faintly I soon heard the sound of hoofs thudding rapidly upon the sod. The thudding strengthened, growing louder and louder and still louder; and then suddenly, two horses charged around the brush, racing neck to neck straight toward President McKay. I held my breath, fearing that they would trample him before they could check their speed. Doesn't he realize the danger? He did, he knew exactly what the horses would do; he didn't even budge; the experience was not new to him or to the horses.
Now picture this in your minds: President McKay with his arm over Sonny Boy's neck, both horses nuzzling him searchingly-horse kisses they may have been, I wouldn't know-but this I do know; rubbing noses is an accepted mode of greeting down New Zealand way among the Maoris, as President McKay well knows. Anyway, this greeting of man and horse portrayed affection. I cannot deny it-I beheld it. I also beheld the President sweeten the greeting with sugar lumps from his pocket. The horses liked the sugar. I think they liked the President. I am very sure the President loved his horses. His arm around the neck of Sonny Boy was not intended as a show of affection; it half concealed a rope which he deftly circled around the neck to make the horse captive. Sonny Boy did not seem to mind-not much. He took the bit, gently, and made no fuss about the saddle. The President tightened the new cinches, lengthened the stirrups; then mounting without assistance, he prodded the horse into a trot which broke into a gallop as they disappeared, about as the horses came, around the brush and out of sight.
Two thousand years ago, one greater than a prophet said: "Come, follow me". And men left their nets; some left their ships; and some their work to follow him. Two had other things to do; one had a father to bury, the other had to bid his household farewell. To the latter, the Master said: "No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God".
Men of the priesthood have set their hands to the plough. Many, however, have looked back; they had other things to do-habits, perhaps, to bury; appetites, maybe, to say farewell to. Therefore it was written: "... many are called, but few are chosen".
He who said, "Come, follow me" two thousand years ago is a busy man. Worlds without number has he created, and by him and through him were they created. He must be a very busy man. He has placed his kingdom here on earth in the hands of his officers, those who hold the priesthood-and the kingdom is no stronger than its priesthood officers. No officer-"No man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron". No man taketh any office in the kingdom until he is called. Since priesthood is authority to act-even to call-for God, every call by those in authority to call is tantamount to a call from him who said, "Come, follow me." "By me or by my word... through him whom I have anointed and appointed to this power," it is the same. "Mine house is a house of order, saith the Lord God".
Once I sat at a banquet among men-businessmen, industry men, professional men, and others-462 of them-Mormons, Jews, and gentiles. The occasion was a testimonial to President McKay. These men were there expressly to honor him. One of them, not of our faith, speaking for the group, said in part about President McKay:
"We see every day his talent for harmonizing diversities and the inspired leadership which brings and secures enrichment from varied cultural sources as he has brought them together from every people, every land, every generation...
"We have gathered that we might have opportunity to give full expression to the respect, to the affection, to indeed the love and gratitude that we have for him...
"Our gift to President McKay is an organ to be installed in a chapel which has been built in Wales to honor his mother, Jeanette Evans McKay."
In accepting the gift, President McKay said:
"I sincerely wish I were more worthy of the honor you have bestowed upon me; and in wishing to be worthy of your esteem, I find myself in accord with Portia's feelings... as she said:
'You see me, Lord Bassonio, where I stand, Such as I am; though for myself alone, I would not be ambitious in my wish, To wish myself much better; yet for you, I would be trebled twenty times myself; A thousand times more fair, ten thousand times More rich; That only to stand high in your account, I might in virtues, beauties, livings, friends Exceed account.'
"... So as I receive this tribute from you, my friends, I say with sincerity in my heart: For you I would be 'trebled twenty times myself,' would be many times more capable to serve you."
And by that "you," he meant you and you-and all of you out there listening in.
As he stood there, pouring out his heart, the challenging words of the poet, Josiah G. Holland, poured into my mind:
"God give us men! A time like this demands Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands;... ... Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog...." -"God Give Us Men"
Employing some of the poets own words, without giving them breath or tongue, I accept his challenge. That night my acceptance poured silently from my heart. Right now, I give it vocal status:
There is your man. A time like this demands His strong mind, his great heart, his true faith and his ready hand. A tall man, sun-crowned, he lives above the fog. Cultured, learned, august, affable, and kind, Handsome, too, God blessed him with a brilliant mind; A spark of divinity glows brightly in his regal soul; Help me, dear Lord, to follow him to his celestial goal. And to people-all along the way, Grant me opportunity-each day to say: He is God's prophet-David O. McKay.
Only one mortal man at a time is privileged to hold all of the priesthood keys pertaining to the kingdom of God. The President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that man.
"... and there is never but one on the earth at a time on whom this power and the keys of this priesthood are conferred". President David O. McKay is that man.
President McKay likes a spirited horse. He also likes a spirited man-a man with spirit enough to accept calls to duty-spirited enough to "learn his duty, and to act in the office in which he is appointed, in all diligence".
President McKay loves youth. Here is the evidence. Listen, he speaks to youth:
"I wish I could say to every young man in the Church, that if you would be successful, if you would be happy, if you would conserve your strength, intellectual, physical, and spiritual, you will resist temptation to indulge your appetites and your passions".
"Each of us is the architect of his own fate and he is unfortunate indeed who will try to build himself without realizing that he grows from within, not without."
"Thoughts make us what we are. As definitely and surely as the weaver shapes his flowers and figures out of the warp and woof of his loom, so every moment the shuttle of thought moves back and forth forming character and even shaping the lineaments of our features. Thoughts lift your soul heavenward, or drag you toward hell".
"What you think about when you do not have to think shows what you really are."
"Clean and wholesome bodies bring joy; debauch them, and we lose happiness."
"Be true to those who trust you."
"Do your best this hour, and you will do better the next."
"True friends enrich life. If you would have friends, be one."
"He is a slave who will be led by his appetites."
"We should put forth every effort to supplant the aristocracy of wealth with the aristocracy of character and to awaken in the minds of the youth a realization that to be honest, to be dependable, to be a loyal citizen of the country, to be true to the standards of the gospel are the noblest ideals of life".
"I am not one of those who believe that you have to be long-faced and pious in order to worship. Happiness should come to us if there is joy in our souls, for that is the source of happiness. This joy of living is radiated to others. Every person radiates what he is. That radiation comes from what he really is, not from what he may pretend to be. No person can escape that radiation. To live is to radiate; to live is to be the recipient of radiation."
"Lay the foundation of a happy home in your pre-marital life."
"The seeds of a happy married life are sown in youth. Happiness does not begin at the altar; it begins during the period of youth and courtship. Self-mastery during youth is first, the source of virile manhood; second the crown of beautiful womanhood; third, the foundation of a happy home; and fourth the contributing factor to the strength and perpetuity of the race".
"Choose your mate by judgment and inspiration as well as by emotions."
"The highest ideal for our young girls today, as for our mothers who crossed the plains, is love as it may be expressed in marriage and home building, and this virtue in which love finds true expression is based upon the spiritual and not the physical side of our being".
"Too many couples come to the marriage altar looking upon the ceremony as the end of courtship. They should not forget that under the burdens of home life, tender words of appreciation and courteous acts are even more appreciated than during the courtship. It is after the ceremony, and during the trials that daily arise in the home, that a word of 'thank you,' 'pardon me,' 'if you please,' contributes to the perpetuation of that love which brought them to the altar".
The speaking time allotted me is pressuring me to stop talking. Too briefly has it offered me the privilege of sampling our President's love and interest in youth. Let me conclude with a sample of my own love and esteem for this great man:
All that I've said and read-he is, and more, -A guided man. Much more than guided missiles, the world needs -A guided man. That he is-call him then for what he is -A prophet-God's prophet.
I love him, and I believe-I know that he is a prophet of God; that he holds all the priesthood keys, rights, powers, and authority which were conferred upon the Prophet Joseph Smith and upon his successors right down to and including President McKay.
In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Delbert L. Stapley
Delbert L. Stapley, Conference Report, April 1963, pp. 33-38
My brothers and sisters, in all humility I would like to say amen to the very wonderful tribute paid to our beloved President, David O. McKay, by Elder Critchlow.
I would be most ungrateful if I failed to take just a moment to express my sincere thanks and gratitude for your prayers in my behalf during my illness and convalescence. I know your prayers have been heard because I am with you today. The Lord has blessed me. My strength and health are returning.
As an introduction to my talk, I feel to quote from the teachings of Jacob, the brother of Nephi, to the Nephites concerning their sins and transgression of God's commandments. This man of God stated his responsibility to them as a teacher and expressed the anxiety he had for the welfare of their souls. He appealed to them thus:
"But behold, my brethren, is it expedient that I should awake you to an awful reality of these things?
"... ye look upon me as a teacher, it must needs be expedient that I teach you the consequences of sin.
"And also it grieveth me that I must use so much boldness of speech concerning you, before your wives and your children, many of whose feelings are exceedingly tender and chaste and delicate before God, which thing is pleasing unto God.
"... I know that the words of truth are hard against all uncleanness; but the righteous fear them not, for they love the truth and are not shaken".
The serious, distressing problems always difficult for brethren in presiding positions to deal with are the immorality cases which involve youth; the older unmarried and the married; the broken homes; the dissolution of family ties which separate parents and children. The sorrow, frustration, and unhappiness of such tragic mistakes serves to upset the lives, both psychologically and spiritually, of the innocent victims of such unfortunate violation of God's laws.
Far too many broken homes result from early forced marriages, unfaithfulness, and incompatibility, the failure of men and women to abide by the vows of the marriage covenant, yielding to the weaknesses of the flesh, forsaking the principles of righteousness, ignoring family prayers, and the guiding influence of the Holy Ghost in their lives.
When the light of the Spirit, because of transgression and hardness of heart, departs from the soul of the transgressor, he is left to himself to grope through the darkness of temptation and evil. Therefore, he does not reason righteously nor act according to principles of honesty, truthfulness, or morality.
Solomon expressed these two significant proverbs: "As righteousness tendeth to life: so he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own death".
"Every nay of a man is right in his own eyes".
The sinner is prone to rationalize and to justify his acts of transgression. He frequently stands upon what he loosely calls "extenuating circumstances" which are but weak excuses for his sinful acts.
Again this wise man said: "When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools".
Every member of this Church is duty bound to keep sacred and honorably fulfil every requirement and condition of his vows to his God; otherwise, the Lord will not have pleasure in him nor will his mercies be extended upon him.
It isn't too difficult for a sinful man and woman to seek forgiveness after they take what he and she want-even though they may be guilty of breaking up two homes by their transgressions, causing separation of families, forsaking children and leaving them destitute of love and care, also shirking their personal responsibilities to loved ones for others to fulfil.
To take another man's wife or another woman's husband is stealing in its most ignoble form.
The great lawgiver, Moses, on Mount Sinai received these specific commandments from the Lord concerning man's obligation and regard for the welfare and happiness of others:
"Thou shalt not steal...
"... Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife...
"Thou shalt not commit adultery".
Even the simple can understand these plainly stated laws, and in the light of this knowledge, those who know and transgress the law, stand condemned before the Lord.
In this last dispensation the Lord is just as emphatic, warning the Saints against such sins. He commanded:
"Thou shalt not steal...
"Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else.
"Thou shall not commit adultery; and he that committeth adultery, and repenteth not, shall be cast out".
These commandments also are very clear, forthright, and understandable. What applies to the man cleaving unto his wife and none else applies with equal force also to the wife for her husband. There is no double standard in the Church. Both man and woman are responsible for their personal acts.
I often wonder why a man or a woman will give up wife or husband and children for an adulterous relationship. When sin is the foundation of the marriage relationship, the chance of a secure and happy companionship is very remote. Surely the Spirit of the Lord, neither God's laws to man, sanction such behavior, nor can the blessings of the Lord be expected upon such a union.
It is difficult to understand how church members who know these commandments can cast aside such knowledge and yield to the lusts of the flesh. Small violations lead to more serious and devastating sins. Those who play with fire, ultimately, if they persist, will be burned.
Solomon wisely taught this truth:
"Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?...
"So he that goeth into his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent...
"But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul".
Yielding to the illicit enticements of the flesh is the basest of human instincts, also the cause of much sorrow, unhappiness, and the loss of the clean inward feeling of peace men should strive to obtain. Those who sin deny their God and accept Satan, the author and the father of all sin.
Abinadi, the Nephite prophet, cautioned: "But remember that he that persists in his own carnal nature, and goes on in the ways of sin and rebellion against God, remaineth in his fallen state and the devil hath all power over him".
Nephi reasoned: "And why should I yield to sin, because of my flesh? Yea, why should I give way to temptations, that the evil one have place in my heart to destroy my peace and afflict my soul?".
The Apostle Paul, writing to the Roman Saints, counseled: "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
"Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
"Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?".
Writing to the Corinthians he said: "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
"... shall inherit the kingdom of God...
"... Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body...
"Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid...
"Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body".
While I am convinced conditions in these matters among us are much less than in the world, from what I have observed and know, they are not good enough. We are not free of these despicable sins; and Satan, recognizing the weaknesses of the flesh, is vigorously attacking the weakened armor in our defenses and far too many are yielding to his enticements to error and sin.
The Apostle Paul understood this weakness of man and, writing to the Ephesians Saints, he admonished: "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
"Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil".
Our beloved President David O. McKay has always taught members of the Church to practice self-restraint and self-mastery, not permitting themselves to fall to the level of the animal kingdom.
We cannot afford, as children of God, in whose presence we someday hope to be, to toss overboard the God-given principles of morality and make our bodies instruments of unrighteousness by yielding to the gratification of bodily desires. God will not hold guiltless those who succumb to such sins and forsake his laws and also abdicate responsibility to loved ones.
"For of him," said the Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith, "unto whom much is given much is required: and he who sins against the greater light shall receive the greater condemnation".
An individual who sins, and because of his transgression loses his church membership, has sacrificed privileges and opportunities for blessings which may be difficult to regain. The excommunicated members, nevertheless, look for and hopefully expect an early reinstatement to church membership and a restoration of former blessings; but they fail to realize or understand that the road back into church fellowship with its privileges and opportunities for blessings is long, lonely, and exacting.
The question is often asked by those in transgression, whose sins are so serious that it is almost impossible for them to make proper amends, if the Church does not believe in forgiveness. The answer, of course, is: The Church does believe in the principle of forgiveness to those who repent of their sins, confess, and forsake them; and who can also make restitution to loved ones whose lives have been upset and their future livelihood and rightful opportunities jeopardized.
They also refer to the woman taken in adultery and ask: "Did not Jesus forgive the woman brought to him accused of adultery?" When the accusers challenged by the Christ departed without condemning her, Jesus said unto her, "... Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more". The Savior did not forgive neither did he condemn her, but in admonishing her to go and sin no more, he, in effect, was asking her to show forth the fruits of repentance which would lead to forgiveness.
The Lord has commanded in this latter-day: "Thou shalt not commit adultery; and he that committeth adultery, and repenteth not, shall be cast out.
"But he that has committed adultery and repents with all his heart, and forsaketh it, and doeth it no more, thou shalt forgive "But if he doeth it again, he shall not be forgiven, but shall be cast out".
This revelation does not allow repetitive sinning with the expectation of forgiveness to the transgressor.
Again the Lord admonished and warned the Saints: "... go your ways and sin no more; but unto that soul who sinneth shall the former sins return, saith the Lord your God".
"For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance;
"Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven
"And he that repents not, from him shall be taken even the light which he has received; for my Spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the Lord of Hosts".
There are penalties for violating the laws of God. The way of the transgressor was never easy. The wages of sin is death, taught the prophets. Mercy cannot rob justice. The Lord expects his servants to mete out justice and judgment according to the laws and commandments given to the Church.
Adultery, fornication, unnatural and deviate practices are the most repulsive and reprehensible of sins which exact the penalties imposed by a just God upon the transgressor.
The members of our body war against each other, and if the spirit of man does not control the physical urges and acquire self-restraint and self-mastery, one of the tragedies of indulgent practices is the defilement and dishonor of the body which houses a spirit child of God. The body of flesh and bone is also the eternal tabernacle of the spirit. Each of us must decide what kind of house we want to live in eternally and then chart and abide the course which will lead to it.
One of the important elements of true repentance is to make restitution to those who have been injured or hurt by one's derelict actions.
It isn't always possible for the transgressor to make proper restitution to those hurt or injured by his acts. One cannot, for example, restore virtue when it is lost. One cannot restore a husband or a wife acquired by breaking up a home and give him or her back to his or her former spouse. There are many other complicated conditions and situations too numerous to spell out in this brief talk which make restitution difficult to satisfy.
There are cases where partial amends can be made sufficiently to justify rebaptism to the excommunicated, a return to fellowship, and under certain conditions restoration of former blessings lost. All, however, depends upon complete repentance, proper restitution, and manifesting faithfulness through living the truths, principles, and standards of the gospel.
A light tap on the wrist to those guilty of serious sins does not satisfy justice nor does it serve as a brake or a deterrent to others who may be tempted to violate the moral law. When transgressors are dealt with too gently, people sense an apparent easing in maintaining gospel standards; therefore, the bars of morality may be lowered. For aberrant members of the Church to lose its privileges and blessings may cause them to appreciate more what they have lost. The feeling of aloneness and of not belonging stirs them to repentance and increased faithfulness.
Now, I have been speaking mostly concerning the tragedies and the unhappiness of broken homes. I am not unmindful of the serious follies of youth and the unmarried, but what I have said constitutes counsel and a warning to them also: counsel to live clean, treasure virtue, keep the standards of the gospel, love the Lord and keep his commandments; also to pray earnestly for strength to resist all evil and through humility seek the companionship of the Holy Ghost as a guide in the ways of righteousness. A warning to avoid compromising ideals and standards, not to permit the body to be used as an instrument of sin, but as an instrument of righteousness unto God.
Alma, the Nephite prophet, taught: "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".
As a servant of God concerned about the welfare of souls, I have spoken to you about the consequences of sin. It is not my purpose to be negative and only dwell upon judgments and penalties, but rather to admonish all people to be true to gospel standards and ideals and to forsake sin and thus avoid its consequences.
I fully understand and am not unmindful of scriptural teachings concerning repentance and forgiveness. Forgiveness here in mortality, as far as it is within the power of men to forgive, may not fully satisfy the law of justice required by the heavenly judges above. It does place the repentant sinner, however, in the right way; and when the penalty for the broken law is paid, he will receive forgiveness and obtain pardon from the Righteous Judge of all. This principle is taught by the Savior in his Sermon on the Mount. Referring to those who are cast into prison he declared: "... Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing".
This statement of our Lord, which is associated with his teachings on moral and behavior patterns, affirms that those who are guilty of serious sins after receiving a knowledge of God's commandments shall be cast into prison until they pay the uttermost farthing for their sins.
The Savior revealed unto the Prophet Joseph Smith that those who enter into the new and everlasting covenant of marriage and then transgress that covenant, "... shall be delivered unto the buffetings of Satan unto the day of redemption".
To be turned over to the buffetings of Satan unto the day of one's redemption is an awful condition to contemplate. Such confinement, to satisfy the demands of justice, could extend over a long period of time. The only way to escape such a penalty with its torments and sorrows is to serve the Lord faithfully and keep his commandments from youth until life's course here on earth is finished.
We need more emphasis in the Church upon ideal Latter-day Saint home life where love, compatibility, harmony, and the sweet spirit of the gospel abide to attract and hold youth close to parents in the home. The proper teaching of children should have more emphasis so they will acquire early in life a love for God and develop respect for his laws and thus cherish virtue, uprightness, and honesty of purpose in their personal lives. The children are the church teachers and its leaders of tomorrow.
I sincerely hope that we who are leaders will understand that the responsibility of the Church and its leadership is to save and bless people. Surely we must extend to the wayward the hand of friendship, exhibit love, manifest interest, and do all within our power to persuade those who have departed the right way to come back into that straight auld narrow path which leads to life eternal.
It is equally important for church leaders to teach youth and all others forthrightly to their understanding the great moral concepts of the gospel and create within them the desires to put on the whole protective armor of righteousness that they may avoid serious mistakes and the consequences of sin.
I shall close with a choice quotation from the teachings of the Nephite prophet, Mormon: "For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night.
"For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God".
I earnestly pray, my brothers and sisters, that God will give us the strength to faithfully live up to the ideals, standards, and covenants of the gospel of Christ always, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Sterling W. Sill
Sterling W. Sill, Conference Report, April 1963, pp. 40-43
Many years ago someone published a picture Bible in which it was attempted to make the great scriptural messages more memorable, by presenting them in visual form. Our natural tendency is to see things more clearly when they are presented in pictures. Mere ideas are often too abstract for the mind to deal with effectively.
One of the visual portrayals in this interesting Bible was a colored picture of the ascension. It showed the Resurrected Jesus standing in the air above the Mount of Olives as he was ascending to his Father. And standing slightly below the master were two angels dressed in white clothing. Over the years I have drawn great strength from the thrilling ideas represented by this picture. Christ's ascension to heaven marked the end of an important period. He had finished one part of the work assigned to him in the grand council of heaven. He had organized the Church and had left ordained apostles to carry on its work. He had taught them the doctrines of salvation and had given them the priesthood, with the power to bind in heaven what they did on earth. He had shed his own blood to pay the penalty of our sins. Then in the last words spoken just before his ascension, Jesus said to the Twelve "... ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth".
The ascension picture is completed by the interesting scriptural statement which said, "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 stedfastly 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".
During World War II, I added another impressive mental picture to my collection. This one shows General Douglas MacArthur about to take flight from Corregidor under the military pressure of Japanese conquest. To those who were forced to remain behind, General MacArthur said, "I shall return." I like to imagine the hope that this promise must have brought to the people of the Philippines during those long months in which they awaited their liberation from the bondage of the Japanese. They knew that MacArthur would not forget. They knew that just as soon as possible he would come back to set them free and punish their oppressors. His promise may have had more than ordinary significance to me, inasmuch as some of the members of my own family were among those awaiting MacArthur's return. They hid in the hills until they were captured and sent to a Japanese concentration camp in Manila.
The general's promise to return must have had a disturbing significance for the invaders themselves, for they must have known that MacArthur would never rest until they had been driven from the islands or annihilated during their resistance. This "I shall return" picture was given its happy ending some two years later when the general's promise was finally and fully kept.
However, the world still awaits this more significant "I shall return" promise that had been made some nineteen hundred years earlier from above the Mount of Olives. It is very important to remember that the Savior of the world was only bidding the earth and its people a temporary farewell. Many times before his death, he himself had foretold his own glorious second coming to judge the world.
On that last Tuesday before his death on Friday, Jesus had been teaching his followers about his second coming. Near the end of the day he left the temple and led the Twelve across the Mount of Olives. As he sat down to rest near the summit, his disciples said to him, "... Tell us, when shall these things be, and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and the end of the world?". Then Jesus told them of the wars and contentions that should characterize the last days, and as one of the important signs that should precede his second coming, 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".
As the people of the Philippines awaited their liberation, they probably wondered whether or not General MacArthur had the ability to fulfil the conditions involved in his promise to return. There are also a great many in our world who discount both the possibility and the probability of the second coming of Christ. Yet we may be certain that God's program has never been abandoned and will not be forgotten.
In those last sad hours just prior to his death, Jesus said to his disciples, "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
"In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also", italics added). What a thrilling, frightening thought when we understand the conditions under which he will come again. And what tremendous consequences are involved in the message of ascension day. As the Resurrected Son of God stood there between the heavens and the earth, holy angels from God's presence made a firm promise, that he would personally return. The angels said, "... this same Jesus... shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go".
Since ascension day, some nineteen wide centuries have come and gone, and many important events have taken place. According to tradition with one exception, the apostles that Jesus appointed to carry on his work, were all subjected to violent deaths. Peter, Philip, Simon, and Andrew were crucified; James and Paul were beheaded; Bartholomew was flayed alive; Thomas was run through with a lance; James, the son of Alphaeus, was beaten to death; Thaddaeus was shot through with arrows; Barnabas was stoned; Matthew was slain with a battle axe in Ethiopia; and Mark was dragged to death in the streets of Alexandria. Then John, the sole survivor, was banished to the lonely isle of Patmos in the Aegean Sea. Jesus had built his Church upon the foundation of apostles and prophets. When the foundation was destroyed, the building crumbled. In time what had once been a divine organization became merely a human institution. Many of the Christian doctrines were misinterpreted; the ordinances were changed; the authority was lost; the apostasy grew; and the world slipped gradually into the long black night of the Dark Ages. Then some said that the heavens were forever sealed, that the canon of scripture was full, and that no voice from God would ever again be heard upon the earth. The spirit of those who crucified Christ, destroyed his organization, and disbelieved his doctrines, still have a numerous following among us.
One of the most serious problems of our present world is that there are so many people who disbelieve in a Supreme Being. To some, man is the highest authority and the greatest intelligence in the universe. Others believe that God has gone out of business and that the last words that we will ever hear from the Savior of the world were spoken at the ninth hour of that awful Friday afternoon, when from Calvary's cross the dying Christ said, "It is finished". The last memory that some have of their Redeemer pictures him hanging upon the cross. Recently the world has been flooded with the crucifix, but Jesus did not remain upon the cross. Some remember him lying in the garden tomb of Joseph of Arimathaea, but Jesus did not remain in the tomb. Nothing in the scriptures could be plainer than the fact that the life of Christ did not begin in Bethlehem, neither did it end on Calvary. He said, "I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father". In his prayer in Gethsemane while contemplating his own death, he said, "And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was".
Long before our earth was created, Jesus lived and ruled with his Father as a part of the presidency of the universe. Under the direction of the Father, he was the Creator of the earth. In the first chapter of Genesis, God is recorded as saying, "... Let us make man in our image, after our likeness". The use of these plural pronouns indicates that the Son also took part in the creation. But even then he was no novice as a Creator. In one of the great revelations given to Moses and revealed anew in the latter days, God said, "And worlds without number have I created;... and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten".
We think of greatness partly in terms of what it has already accomplished and partly in terms of what it promises for the future. As I rerun my mental picture of ascension day, I like to think of the Redeemer in terms of his tremendous background. Not only had he created worlds without number, but in his pre-mortal existence he was that magnificent personage of great authority and power known in the scriptures as Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He was the first Begotten Son of God in the spirit and was chosen to be the Savior of the world because he was the best qualified for that important calling. Then as a part of his own progression, he took upon himself a body of flesh and bones, and became the Only Begotten Son of God in the flesh. There are some who discount the value of a body so far as eternity is concerned. There are those who in their teachings seek to deprive God of his body. Many do not believe in their own resurrection. But next to the human spirit the human body is the most marvelous of God's creations. If the body was not necessary, God would never have created it in the first place. If it was not necessary for eternity, God would never have instituted the resurrection. If a body was not necessary for God the Father, certainly there would have been no reason why God the Son should have been resurrected. The spirit and the body inseparably connected constitutes the soul. The spirit can never be perfect without the body. There can never be a fulness of joy until the spirit and the body are inseparably joined together.
The Resurrected, Glorified Jesus, like Elohim, his Eternal Father, has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's. When Jesus appeared to the eleven after his resurrection, they were frightened and supposed that they had seen a spirit. Jesus corrected them by saying, "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". Jesus did not lose his body after his resurrection. In some mysterious way it did not evaporate, neither did it expand to fill the immensity of space. Jesus had his body as he ascended to his Father from the Mount of Olives, and the record is perfectly clear that he will still have that same body when he comes in glory to judge the world.
In addition to the information given in the Bible, we now have some new evidence of universal importance which has been given to the world on this subject in our own day. In the early spring of 1820, in upper New York state, God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ reappeared upon the earth to re-establish among men a belief in the God of Genesis, a belief in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and a belief in the God of Mount Olivet. The Prophet Joseph Smith describes his part of this experience by saying, "... 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!". Then there followed the great message of the restoration.
The same Jesus who healed the sick and walked upon the waves has spoken again in our day and has reaffirmed the fact that he is still interested in our success. The same Jesus said to his disciples, "... 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". This same Jesus has informed us anew that he has not changed his mind about the importance of this and the other great Christian doctrines.
The same Jesus who upon the Mount of Olives 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", has, under the direction of his Father, restored that gospel, in preparation for that day. He himself looked forward to that day saying, "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works". What a tremendous day that will be. That is also the day foretold by Malachi who said "For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall burn as stubble; for they that come shall burn them, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch". That tremendous event is fast approaching, and we must work while it is called today, for the night cometh, wherein no man can work.
I would like to bear to you my personal witness that God has not gone out of business, that the heavens are not sealed, that the Redeemer of man has not forgotten his promises, nor is he any less interested in our welfare now than when in Gethsemane and upon Mount Calvary he suffered for our sins. And to close, I would again like to take you out to the sacred top of the Mount of Olives, and again hear the angels say, "... 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". May God help us to be ready for that important event I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Henry D. Moyle
Henry D. Moyle, Conference Report, April 1963, p. 44-48
I believe with all my heart and soul that the solution to our problems here upon this earth today and tomorrow is to be found in the knowledge and appreciation of man's relationship to God, his dependence upon God, and his obedience to God's laws.
The world is not just a watch that the Lord wound up and left to run down. By the exercise of faith men can call upon God and obtain his help in fulfillment of the promises he has made. Also, of his own volition, God intervenes and controls the affairs of men, of nations, and the very elements that make up the universe when this is necessary for the preservation of his divine purposes.
In speaking of the divine purposes of the Lord, Paul wrote, "That in the dispensation of the fulness 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".
Modern scripture tells us through the Prophet Joseph Smith, "Now the purpose in Himself in the winding up scene of the last dispensation is that all things pertaining to that dispensation should be conducted precisely in accordance with preceding dispensations."
Christ's example and precept set in what is known as the Dispensation of the Meridian of Time control us today in our behavior and in our belief. "We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church. We believe all that God has revealed all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God".
I have just quoted the sixth and ninth Articles of Faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. How startling are the following words of Peter:
"We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed".
Prophecy and revelation came from the same source to Peter and also to Joseph Smith who gave us our Articles of Faith.
It is no different today from what it was in the days of Peter and Paul, the apostles of old. Paul told the Romans that "the gospel of Christ... is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth". Incorporated in this term salvation is not only the spiritual but also the temporal phase of our lives. We cannot disassociate mortal man from the eternal spirit of man within him. It is, therefore, through obedience to the laws of God that we will find the answer to our questions, whether they be domestic, political, social, economic, or spiritual.
I give to you today my assurance that evidence, if not conclusive proof, of this fact is to be found by studying the scriptures. Christ's admonition to his disciples is compelling upon all of us today. Sooner or later in life we are brought to face some crisis which requires us to determine for ourselves: Do we desire to follow the direction Christ gave to all men during his earthly ministry? If we must sooner or later choose which path u-e are to pursue, why should we procrastinate, why not do it now?
As we determine our course in life, we may well remember Paul's sermon on faith, delivered to the Hebrews:
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
"Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God...
"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him".
Through our faith in God we can accomplish life's full purpose.
Christ in his Sermon on the Mount, given early in his ministry, as recorded in Matthew, said: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you".
And then he added a little later: "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".
We fulfil our highest potentials when we receive the joy and security and knowledge which come from the witness of the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, who teaches us all things essential for this life and ultimately for our eternal exaltation in the kingdom of God.
Paul declared to the Corinthians: "Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost".
When the testimony of the Holy Ghost is borne in upon our conscience, and we know that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, the Redeemer of all mankind, the Son of the Living God, we have the promise of life eternal. Christ declared to the world: "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent".
This is a matter about which we need not be left in doubt. We know. This knowledge is priceless. The principles of the gospel can be understood and lived by all mankind. The laws and ordinances of the gospel are simple; they are natural. They are appreciated by all who accept and conform their lives thereto. Not all men can acquire the riches of the world, but the blessings of the Lord will overtake all who seek after them. Like the acquisition of anything worthwhile it takes effort to attain the spiritual. Faith, dedication, and devotion must be ours to bring ourselves closer and closer to our Heavenly Father. We enjoy our communion with God here and now in mortality. We do not need to wait for immortality to enjoy the fruits of our spiritual labors. We learn to appreciate the Spirit of God more and more as we draw nearer to the Lord in the keeping of his commandments. The harder we knock, the wider is the door opened.
What would it mean to all of us to appreciate that we are never left alone to rely upon our own resources; that we have the sustaining power and influence of our Heavenly Father constantly with us to guide and direct us throughout our lives in all our righteous activities. Those who keep the commandments of God realize this blessing indeed. We know, and our missionaries know. It is this knowledge which urges us on to help others with an enthusiasm horn of the Spirit of our Father in heaven.
It was not until The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized in 1830 that the population of this planet reached one billion living persons. The present world population, a mere 133 years later, is estimated at more than three billion. Expert estimates are that one-twentieth of all those who ever lived on the earth are here today. If the present rate of growth, now 50-60 million a year still continues in geometric progression, there will be six billion human beings in the world by the year 2,000. This is the appraisal of Dr. George Albert Smith, Jr., of the Harvard Business College.
He then asks the question: "What is the way of life to be for these people and for ourselves? Ask yourself this question often and earnestly and realize that the question will not go unanswered."
Whatever the population may be now or hereafter, truth will remain constant. To know the truth will make us free. Truth is eternal. We must seek truth at its source. Truth emanates from God. How applicable are the words of President John Taylor, spoken in 1861, a former head of the Church on earth:
"We believe that no man or set of men, of their own wisdom and by their own talents, are capable of governing the human family aright."
There is no unrest when you know where you are going spiritually.
"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled".
Our message to the world, conveyed by us and our missionaries, is to enlighten our fellow men who find themselves spiritually in the dark. There is absolutely nothing of such great worth to man as to know God. It has been said, "We know God when we know ourselves." To know ourselves we must know the answer to these simple questions-Who are we? Why are we here? And being here, what should we do?
The multitudes to whom the Savior spoke were all physically fed by the loaves and the fishes, but there was afterwards a spiritual segregation the multitude would make for themselves, illustrated by the following admonition of the Savior: "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".
Do we go with the many or stand out spiritually as one of the few? To do the latter we must add to bodily sustenance the word of the Lord, for spiritual growth and development.
Thomas asked the Savior: "... Lord, we know not whither thou goest, and how can we know the way?
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me".
Thomas was an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ to whom Christ had given his power, his priesthood, to preach the gospel taught by the Savior.
We know that we are called of God and have received his priesthood to preach the gospel and administer in its ordinances. Therefore the following scripture is of great meaning to us and important to the world. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me".
Twelve thousand men and women, our beloved sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, leave home, family, friends, position, professions, business, and enter into the missionary work of the Church throughout the world at their own expense for a period of two or three years. They are compelled so to do by an absolute realization of the fact that they are called of our Heavenly Father to go into the world to preach the gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof, and that they have received the priesthood of God to qualify them therefore just as the apostles of old. Members of many families have rendered this service for as many as six generations.
This process has gone on for 133 years; the number going on missions is increasing yearly. Their purpose is purely unselfish. They disseminate the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ to all mankind, to teach them to repent of their sins, to pray to God in faith, believing that their prayers will be answered in keeping with the promise found in the Epistle 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".
And finally the missionaries go to bear witness to the world that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that through the gift and power of the Holy Ghost we may all receive this same testimony for ourselves, independent of all else in the world. When received, this testimony is all consuming, all embracing. We know who we are, where we came from, and where through strict obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel we may go. Life's purpose becomes absolute and fixed. Our testimony and knowledge of God cannot be lost except through transgression. With transgression we also lose the Spirit of God and the Holy Ghost as our comforter.
As missionaries and elders holding the true priesthood of God, it is our duty, our prerogative, our privilege, to testify of our knowledge of God to preach the gospel and challenge our fellow men to forsake the ways of the world, the riches, the plaudits of men, and follow the gospel of our Savior and Redeemer to our own redemption.
No one need stumble along the way of life who desires to return ultimately into the presence of God in the kingdom of heaven. The Savior in his earthly mission made clear what is expected of us if we do the will of our Father in heaven.
Let us consider for a moment the case of Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, who came to Christ by night: "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
"Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old?...
"Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God".
In fact, Jesus had already set the pattern by which all mankind should be guided:
"Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.
"But John forbad him, saying, 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, when he was baptized went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
"And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased".
Since that moment when Christ was baptized of John, the need for baptism by immersion for the remission of sins has never been rightfully debatable.
How wonderful was the experience of the apostles in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost after the crucifixion and resurrection and ascension of Christ when they were inspired to declare: "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".
This is the path that leadeth through the straight gate and along the narrow way to life eternal. Thus only can we truly worship God with all our might, mind, and strength.
It will make no difference to us whether there be three or six billion brothers and sisters on the earth, our own path to travel through life will be the same. Our responsibility to carry out the final charge Christ gave his apostles of old reiterated in our present dispensation is mandatory upon us today, namely: "... Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature". This becomes relatively easier year after year as the Church grows and flourishes throughout the world. We have greater numbers to participate and all modern means of communication to help.
We have no cause to worry over the problems of the world no matter how complicated they become. We do need to worry about our appreciation of the laws of God given to control the conduct of man on the earth and our strict adherence thereto. How grateful we should be for the words of the Lord to Joseph Smith to inspire us today:
"... a whole and complete and perfect union, and welding together of dispensations, and keys, and powers, and glories should take place, and 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".
We live in the most enlightened age of man's history, just as the prophets foretold. More is therefore expected of us than of any prior generation of man. "Where much is given, much is required".
God help us to take full advantage of all the light and knowledge revealed to us, I pray humbly in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Alvin R. Dyer
Alvin R. Dyer, Conference Report, April 1963, pp. 48-52
It is difficult to imagine how one could attend this conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints without feeling the surge of inspiration and the gravity of its importance in pointing the way to all mankind who at this very hour are troubled and confused and in need of divine direction.
The message of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which has relentlessly been declared unto the world since its organization, means that the kingdom of God or Christ's Church has been set up as a result of the restoration of truth unto the Prophet Joseph Smith, wherein divine messengers have been sent from the presence of God to convey the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ and to confer all needed keys of authority to establish a dispensation of the gospel.
The disciples of Jesus who were with him upon the earth found it difficult to accept that which he had declared unto the chief priests and the scribes concerning the kingdom to be given at a later time to another people, for said he, "Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof".
But this same Jesus when later speaking to the Jews concerning this latter kingdom to be established as a sign of his coming refers to the words of the Prophet Daniel who describes the kingdom to be established which would never be given to another people. "And in the days of these kings," who were described as being in the latter days, "... shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people".
Finally, as Jesus instructed his disciples as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, they seemed to accept the finality of this, and with that understanding asked of him this question: "... Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming?". In the answer which Jesus gave to this question he said, "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place..."
"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations".
The meridian apostles who were closest to him understood clearly, as judged from their own declarations, that the kingdom of God which the Lord established upon the earth would not continue at that time, and they themselves looked forward to the future time of restitution or restoration. The Apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost declared:
"... 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".
The Apostle Paul to the Saints at Thessalonica and also at Ephesus said this concerning this future day:
"... be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
"... for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first".
"That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth".
The Apostle John on the Isle of Patmos, a prisoner, saw the coming of the gospel in the latter days: "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".
When the Prophet Joseph Smith, as a young man blessed with the gift of faith and an inquiring heart to know the will of God, went into a grove of trees near his home at Palmyra, New York, in the spring of 1820 to inquire of the Lord what he should do about his religious affiliation, he did not then know of the magnitude of that which was to transpire, as he came to know later. Here was to occur one of the great foreordained events of life destined to be of vital importance to all mankind.
For, as in the placing of Adam and Eve, our first earth-life parents, in the Garden of Eden; of the calling and work of the utopian prophet Enoch; of the mission and labors of the great prophet of human tragedy, Noah, who with his three sons and their families witnessed the complete destruction of mankind which they only survived; of the coming of Melchizedek, the great high priest, before the Lord; of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; of Joseph, the beloved of his father and the Lord; of Moses, the lawgiver, the Godly appointed leader of the exodus of the children of Israel from the bondage of Egypt; followed by the other prophets in their own time according to the will of the Lord; and then the surpassing earth-life ministry and atonement of Jesus Christ our Lord, the very Son of God the Father; so now, in this great modern event, in the sequence of its full importance, was to unfold unto Joseph Smith the coming of a new dispensation of the gospel attended as it was upon this occasion, and with subsequent happenings, with divine intercession through messengers sent from the presence of God.
In all of these events, ancient, meridian, and now in our own day and time, when the foreordained time in which they were to transpire arrived, they came about as simply and naturally as the opening and closing of a door-each in its own dispensation of time.
Thus, on this beautiful spring morning in the Sacred Grove, Joseph Smith witnessed the renewal of God's dealing with his children in accordance with the great gospel plan of redemption. Upon this occasion God the Father and his Beloved Son Jesus Christ appearing as glorified Resurrected Beings unto a chosen servant of God, made known once again the state of immortality which man will attain in preparation for the next estate of eternity; that also the world once again could know the reality of the personal nature of God the Father and his Beloved Son. In this appearance of Holy Deity we see, as in times past, the need of God's appearing unto man in mortality; man who also, as in times past, had gone astray in his concept and understanding of the True and Living God; for man as man, with all his wisdom, cannot find out the truth about God. Such must be revealed to him by divine appearance to a prophet of God, who then becomes the witness unto others.
As this sacred interview proceeded, the glory of the last dispensation of mortal time was inaugurated. The truth about God and his Son Jesus Christ and their glorious plan of redemption was once again placed upon the threshold of human understanding.
This divine interview placed a great calling upon Joseph Smith, the chosen prophet of the latter days. In addition to an incident of simple faith and prayer, with an answer for him personally, the time had come to usher in the final period of preparation in the culmination of God's work for his children here upon the earth.
Joseph Smith was informed that he had been foreordained and consequently called to be the instrument through whom God would work to establish his kingdom here upon the earth as it had been in former intermittent dispensations. But this, the last of all dispensations, is to be characterized by even greater truth, a depository period when all truths, all laws, all covenants, all promises planned by God our Heavenly Father in the pre-existence and revealed to man in part at various times in mortality for the redemption and exaltation of his spirit children, were now to be fully revealed and made available to mankind. The Lord had thus spoken unto the Prophet Joseph Smith.
The instructions and answers which the Lord gave to the Prophet Joseph Smith during the interview in the Sacred Grove announced many great truths. I shall refer to only a part of that interview as it was later testified to by the Prophet Joseph Smith, but I encourage all everywhere to read the complete testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith. He said this in part:
"... 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!
"My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right-and which I should join.
"I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that 'they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof'".
Each of the declarations which the Lord made to Joseph Smith upon this occasion is of the deepest import to this final dispensation of the gospel and to the plan of life and salvation in general His answers to the inquiry made by Joseph Smith were not simply a disparagement to the existing Christian bodies who had departed from the truth Though announced by the Lord that they were all in error in teachings and false practices intended to redeem mankind, there was no vindictive reprisal against these Christian societies who were using his name, but who were fully unaware of the truth of his person and divinity or of his mission or of the plan of salvation of which he is the author so far as we are concerned.
Truly among these very societies of Christian believers then in the world were many noble spirits of the preexistence, who upon subsequently hearing the truth as proclaimed by the heralds of the restoration, would accept it and abide its commandments and teachings; many of whom would themselves become leaders and great champions of the cause of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Lord used no meaningless words upon this momentous occasion. All that was spoken reflects the deepest of meaning. President Joseph F. Smith, one of the prophets of this dispensation, has said this, "The Lord never did anything that was not essential or that was superfluous."
It will be of interest to list the answers which the Lord gave to Joseph Smith's direct question as to which of the Christian churches he should join. These are as follows:
1. That all their creeds were an abomination. 2. That their professors were all corrupt. 3. That they draw near to the Lord with their lips, but their hearts are far from him. 4. They teach for doctrines the commandments of men. 5. That they have a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.
There can be no question as to the direct and positive answers which the Lord gave to the Prophet Joseph Smith, but perhaps a brief explanation of each of these answers can be given to those of the Christian churches of the world who can then understand the true significance of the sacred interview which God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ had with the Prophet Joseph Smith.
As to the creeds being an abomination, this simply means that the Christian churches of the world were not following the accepted pattern which he, the Lord, had established in his Church, and that they had strayed from the customs and the manner which he had established, and the term abomination fits that which is at variance only with the established truth of God.
With regard to the fact that all ministers were corrupt-this could not be the literal meaning, because the ancient meaning of the word corrupt meant any who did not teach doctrines which had been established in accordance with the law. Surely they were not regarded as corrupt because of morals or dishonesty and not desirous of doing God's will as they understood it, but only in the sense of failing to teach the gospel as Christ had taught it.
As to worshiping him with their lips but their hearts being far from him, this I believe involved the work made possible by the "sealing power."
This work embodies the sealing through specific rights of the priesthood of both living and dead, one to another, as with husband and wife, as with father and mother to children, that families living upon the earth in this day and age, connected with ancestors and progenitors, may be bound one with another, thereby linking the past with the present and both the past and the present with the future. Thus, the hearts of the fathers may be bound in holy sealing with their children and children with the fathers in the patriarchal order of family relationship in linked fashion as an endless chain with each link secure and interwoven.
This is to prepare man for life in the celestial kingdom which will in due time follow earth-life existence. This is the patriarchal form of government or government by and through the family units which are then to worship and to associate with the Lord. They not only worship through the utterances of their lips, but by their hearts also; this will mean complete sincerity of purpose and intent based upon truth. We will be bound family to family; we will be linked one with another by the sealing authority which the Prophet Elijah held, reaching to the very realms of the family of God and his Son Jesus Christ. There all shall be bound forever by lips or stated committed purpose; and bound by heart also, thus manifesting obedience to God's will and purpose in glorious family relationship.
As to the teaching for doctrines the commandments of men, even the reformers as great as they were and as sincere as they were in protesting against that which they felt was false, there is no evidence in the founding of these various sects that any form of divine intercession occurred wherein holy messengers were sent from God, giving instruction and direction in the establishing of that particular church. What they did, therefore, was in accordance with their best knowledge, devoid of any divine revelation. Thus the commandments which they taught were of men and not of God. Though they simulate in form the Christian body, they nevertheless teach for commandments the doctrines of men.
As to a form of Godliness but denying the power thereof, this applies to the need of the priesthood of God or divine authority within the Church authorized to act for and in behalf of God. And that through the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood in the true Church of Christ there is to be the functioning and use of the keys of the kingdom that must be conferred by those who hold them. In this manner the purity of important truths and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ can be preserved.
Now I bear witness, my brothers and sisters, to the reality of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ with all of its powers and authority and knowledge and understanding to bring salvation and exaltation unto mankind. And I bear record of this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop Robert L. Simpson
Robert L. Simpson, Conference Report, April 1963, pp. 52-55
A great prophet who lived 2,500 years ago stated that: "... men are, that they might have joy". The Church of Jesus Christ in this day holds fast to this inspired scripture as an eternal truth.
The quest for joy and happiness is common to all regardless of race, color or creed. While the objective is common, the understanding on how to achieve it is often another story.
The existence of man in this mortal sphere finds him involved in a grand system of physical force and physical law, all held together and seemingly pre-set into a magnificent system of amazing order and synchronization. We marvel at the seasons, the celestial bodies. All about us is evidence of natural law and an overwhelming suggestion of divine assemblage. The laws of gravity, heat, and motion all follow precise patterns under given conditions. If we enter the fiery furnace, we die. If we attempt to defy the laws of gravity, we are killed. If our car sweeps along the highway uncontrolled, we crash and we must all agree that the human body in similar manner is subject to the law and order of the universe, for it is physical.
Obedience to the law whether it be physical, intellectual, or spiritual brings harmony, peace, joy, and happiness. This thinking was confirmed by the Master who said through 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". We are blessed by obedience to law. Transgression of the law always brings unhappiness. Carried to the extreme it could mean death.
I believe with all my heart that natural law is the handiwork of a Loving Father in heaven, and I further bear record that this same Loving Father has not left us without specific instruction concerning the care of our physical bodies, for he created us, and he knows that true happiness and total growth, moral, spiritual, and intellectual, are largely dependent upon our physical well-being.
Through this same great latter-day Prophet Joseph Smith the Lord has revealed an entire volume of scripture known as the Doctrine and Covenants. In the 89th section of this inspired work, the Lord gives to all men who would listen what he calls "A Word of Wisdom." Let us read a part of this inspired revelation, starting with the fourth verse, and then merely highlight the following five verses in the interest of time:
"Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you: In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation-
"That inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong drink among you, behold it is not good, neither meet in the sight of your Father...
"... strong drinks are not for the belly, but for the washing of your bodies.
"And again, tobacco is not for the body, neither for the belly, and is not good for man, but is an herb for bruises and all sick cattle, to be used with judgment and skill".
We are further instructed that the "evil designs of conspiring men" has a reference to them who would ply us with a never-ending tidal wave of propaganda in an attempt to convince us that it is not only popular but safe and smart to violate this God-given law of health.
Now to clarify a few terms. This also by revelation. Strong drink signifies all alcoholic beverages.
Tobacco is explicit and needs no clarification. This reference includes all forms of tobacco. The term hot drinks has reference to coffee and tea.
To summarize quickly: Alcohol and tobacco, tea and coffee are all contrary to the Lord's law of health, and all who violate the law for a borrowed moment of so-called pleasure must be prepared to sacrifice some real and lasting joy and happiness that should rightfully be theirs.
Thomas A. Edison has said, "To put alcohol in the human brain is like putting sand in a machine." He further commented: "I employ no one who smokes cigarettes."
I wonder whether we are all aware of these scientifically proven facts about alcohol.
Alcohol is not a stimulant but a depressant, a depressant of the brain and nervous system. It is a habit-forming drug and has poisonous effects on the body. It has no value as a food. In the United States there are nearly a million alcoholics with nearly two and a quarter million well on the way. This is a national disgrace. Mental accuracy is impaired by alcohol, and in chronic cases, the brain cells degenerate. Approximately 12,000 alcoholic patients are given psychiatric treatment in a single New York hospital each year.
Gladstone has observed that "the ravages of drink are greater than those of pestilence and famine combined." Now we must surely agree with this great man, as it has contributed to the loss of more homes, led to more bankruptcies, more crime, more accidents, more broken marriages, more cases of blindness, more derelicts of society, more immorality more suicides, than any other single influence known to man today.
Yes, it is certain that out of compassion for his children a Loving Heavenly Father has given a modern-day revelation that strong drinks are not for our benefit.
A similar wake of destruction follows the careless rampage of tobacco among men, women, and children. Would you believe that tobacco costs the American people over 3 billion, 600 million dollars a year? Do you know that the purchase of cigarettes last year in the United States increased about four percent? This means that the vast majority of smokers are ignoring the overwhelming evidence of competent medical authority now available concerning the lethal effect of tobacco on the human anatomy.
The American Cancer Society reports that lung cancer is ninety-five percent fatal, and then the report goes on to say that evidence proves that three-fourths of all lung cancer cases can be traced to the use of tobacco.
The American Public Health Association, based on its findings, estimates that one million American children now in school will die of lung cancer before they reach their God-granted life expectancy. Now, in a sense, this is a form of national suicide, and we do not have the right to shorten human life; and now this, perhaps the saddest of all commentary-a staff of experts studying the tobacco problem have concluded that the upward trend in the use of tobacco among the children can be traced directly to a more permissive attitude on the part of parents. Perhaps we shouldn't talk so much about what the schools aren't doing as we should talk about what parents should be doing; and this is as it should be. Our children should be taught in the home. I would like to make an appeal to every parent who loves his children; why not start today and set the proper example for those we love?
Now, time will not permit us to go into the cases of coffee and tea, but suffice it to say that the Lord has recognized these stimulants as habit-forming and contrary to the freedom he wants so much for all of his children.
Now, if you really knew that your child was in danger, if you were told that conspiring men were meeting your children on their way home from school, going all out to attract their attention and condition their minds toward the acceptance of a bad habit, wouldn't you feel compelled to do something about it? Why, of course you would-you would do something that very day. But why let the conspiring men stand on a cold corner? We are allowing them to accomplish the same evil practice in the comfort and convenience of our homes every day. Now here's a challenge for us. Let's do something about it, parents.
Let me read a letter from a confused youngster. I think this has real merit. This young man was a typical TV fan. He is writing to his favorite baseball player:
"You are my favorite baseball player. I saw a TV ad where you say you smoke cigarettes and that you like them. I guess they help you. My mother says cigarettes are bad and good players don't use them. I want to be a good player. Can you tell me? Are they good for you? Would you please tell me?" Signed, "Hector. P. S. I am ten years old."
Well, the answer was slow in coming, but after a few weeks:
"Dear Hector: Yes, I was in a cigarette advertisement on television. I would not recommend for anyone to ever start smoking. It does not help one in athletics. I hope that you will take your parents' advice not to smoke."
Now, as these young minds are being conditioned by conspiring men, we see history repeating itself. This is the same technique that took eleven Years back in the late 20's and early 30's, some of you might remember, to make it appear smart, modern, and acceptable for a woman to be seen in public with a cigarette. This all started back in 1927 when the first billboard ad appeared, showing a man and woman relaxing on a beautiful hilltop. He was smoking, and her comment was simply this: "Please blow some my way." Rather harmless-"Please blow some my way." From this subtle beginning, the well-planned campaign took eleven years before the billboard dared to show a woman with a cigarette in her hand or mouth. Had the latter billboard been shown at first, we would have been up in arms, and something would have been done about it in a hurry. And now, unfortunately, in this campaign for the approval of our children's minds there is hardly a TV commercial or a tobacco billboard that does not include a child admiring a bribed athlete who is making a statement that he probably doesn't believe in. Or perhaps we see a family situation, apparently a wholesome family situation, Dad rollicking with the children but with a cigarette in his hand. Yes! Trying to start the same type of campaign all over again, this time aimed at children.
Now, all of this talk is not designed to show how foolish we are. We're just being victimized. The Lord understood all of this well in advance, and he told us that the very elect would be deceived by the "evils and designs... of conspiring men." I am sure he had this in mind. So we condemn no one at this point; but, forewarned is forearmed.
May we not stand idly by and allow the cream of the nation, our hope for tomorrow, the finest youth in all history to be quietly and softly led away to habits of bondage and unhappiness! Their only hope is a parent who cares enough.
Incidentally, would you like to be a better citizen? Would you like to contribute the maximum effort to your nation and community? Only those who are physically fit can expect to make the maximum contribution and fulfil his obligation to society as he should.
Now, much is being said about national fitness in all countries. Let us join with other clear-thinking citizens who are not adverse to happiness and joy. Let's prove that it's smart to do what is right. There is no doubt at this point what the instructions from the Lord are.
Now, one country in a recent national survey found that nine percent of its national income was being spent for liquor and tobacco. Assuming that many of this nation were abstainers, certainly more than ten percent of the income of those indulging was being spent to satisfy their poor habits.
It is interesting to note that the Lord has promised to open the "windows of heaven" to those willing to impart ten percent of their income to the upbuilding of his kingdom. This is perhaps the most gracious, the most promising, the most generous of all contracts offered by the Lord to those he loves; and yet, there are millions who are spending more than ten percent to an enslaving habit, and instead of opening the "windows of heaven," they are slamming the door on a promise of happiness and joy that no man, in my opinion, has the right to deny himself.
And so I conclude this plea by turning back to the 89th section of the Doctrine and Covenants, and here is the promise the Lord concludes with the most stimulating promise of all holy writ concerning the day-to-day welfare of his children.
"And all... 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".
And so, when we obtain any blessing from God it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated. Let's heed Elijah's challenge. "... How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him".
And so I say in conclusion, again from the Doctrine and Covenants: "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise". May we be obedient to law that we may have true joy, eternal happiness, and peace of mind is my prayer in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, April 1963, pp. 62-68
My Brothers and Sisters, and especially friends of the radio and television audience:
May I tell you of a great adventure? As I traveled to a weekend assignment, I took with me an unusual book which was my constant companion. I could lay it down only to sleep, eat, and change trains. It fascinated me, captivated me, and held me spellbound with its irresistible charm and engaging interest. I have read it many times.
As I finished it, I closed the book and sat back, absorbed as I relived its contents. Its pages held me, bound me, and my eyes were riveted to them. I knew the book was factual, but as has been said, "Truth is stranger than fiction."
I am constrained to speak to you of it today. It is a story of courage, faith, and fortitude, of perseverance, sacrifice, and super-human accomplishments, of intrigue, of revenge, of disaster, of war, murder, and rapine, of idolatry, and of cannibalism, of miracles, visions, and manifestations, of prophecies and their fulfillment.
I found in it life at its best and at its worst, in ever-changing patterns. I hardly recovered from one great crisis until another engulfed me.
Across the stage of this drama of life through the ages, marched actors in exotic, colorful costumes from the blood-painted nudity of the warrior to the lavish, ornamented pageantry of royal courts-some actors loathsome and degraded, others so near perfection that they conversed with angels and with God. There are the sowers and reapers, the artisans, the engineers, the traders, and the toilers, the rake in his debauchery, the alcoholic with his liquor, the pervert rotting in his sex, the warrior in his armor, the missionary on his knees.
This dramatic story is one of the greatest ever played by man. The noted tragedians fumble their lines. It is played "on location" with no false fronts for scenery. It is a fast-moving story of total life, of opposing ideologies, of monarchies and judgeships and mobocracies. Its scenes carry the reader across oceans and continents. It promises to tell of the "last days of God," but instead records the "last days of populous peoples" and the triumph of God. Class distinction is there with its ugliness, race prejudice with its hatefulness, multiplicity of creeds with their bitter conflicts.
Since this book, a "best seller" left its first press, it is printed in more than two dozen languages, more than a half million copies a year, and millions of copies are in libraries, public and private, and in numerous hotels and motels along with the Gideon Bible. Even the blind may read it in three thick books of Braille. Can anyone be considered to be well-read who has not perused this pretentious volume which makes such bold claims?
Its story has a vital message to all people. The gentiles will find the history of their past and the potential of their destiny; and the Jewish people, the blueprint of their future. The covenants of God to them are unfolded, as are the promises regarding Jerusalem, their ancient city, and their lands. And it is revealed how the Jews, so long persecuted, scattered and tortured since their dispersion, may come into their own. And the gentiles are warned that they must "... no longer hiss, nor spurn nor make game of the Jews, nor any of the remnant of the House of Israel" for the Lord will remember his covenant to them when they respond. It is the life story of the ancestors of the Indians and accounts for their dark skins.
Archaeologists may be excited as they read of ruins of ancient cities, highways, and buildings; and there may yet be hidden buried gold and priceless records. Locations may be approximated, for instance the narrow neck of land which was fortified from the "East sea to the West sea" was but a "day's journey for a Nephite".
Journalists will find in this book crisis after crisis, presenting rich material for limitless climactic stories, articles, plays, and operas. A struggling movie industry might here find material which could increase box office receipts.
This unparalleled book should intrigue navigators: unprecedented land treks near-unbelievable in length, scope, and hazard are chronicled and ocean crossings, and the circling of the world centuries before the Vikings-crossings fraught with all the dangers imaginable, including storms, hidden reefs, hurricanes, and even mutiny. This first recorded ocean crossing was about forty centuries ago, of seaworthy, oceangoing vessels without known sails, engines, oars, or rudders-eight barges like and near contemporary with Noah's ark, long as a tree, tight as a dish, peaked at the end like a gravy boat, corked at top and bottom, illuminated by molten stones, perhaps with radium or some other substance not yet rediscovered by our scientists. Light and like a foul upon the water, this fleet of barges was driven by winds and ocean currents, landing at a common point in North America probably on the west shores.
The reader may follow with wonder another crossing of the ocean which was made by a Jewish group led by a prince, the son of Jerusalem's king, and of a third migration and voyage, perhaps the greatest in all of history, dimming even that of the Saints from Illinois to the Salt Lake Valley, and even of Moses' Israel from Egypt to their promised land. These people abandoned Jerusalem on the eve of its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar and probably landed on the west coast of South America where the ocean currents drove them later to meet and combine with remnants of the earlier migrants; this greatest movement was made in a ship constructed by a young builder who may never have seen an ocean-going vessel. If the party of the prince sailed west and the prophets cast they would have circumnavigated the world from Jerusalem, their people finally meeting in this western world. The vessels were sufficiently large to carry food and seeds.
There was no welcoming committee to meet these adventurers as there was to meet Columbus and the pilgrims.
This remarkable book tells again of movements of great bodies of people-5,400 in one group, sailing northward on the Pacific side in very large ships, seeking for new worlds to conquer, some of whom likely drawn into the strong westward ocean currents to find the "isles of the sea" and to become the progenitors of the Polynesians.
The people in Jerusalem knew nothing of the whereabouts of these fellow Israelites in the western world, but those here knew of the happenings in Palestine such as the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity under Nebuchadnezzar and when the Christ was born in Bethlehem, crucified on Calvary, and when he ascended from the Mount of Olives, yet no ships were carrying mail; no telephone wires were humming; no radio sets were operating; no cables yet snaked across ocean floors.
The student of economics will find in this unusual book the disintegration of nations through pride, soft living, and luxuries, terminating finally in hunger and fetters. He will see unified peoples fighting for liberty and then class wars destroying those freedoms. One will see the land waving with ripening grain, the silkworm spinning, flocks and herds grazing, vineyards and orchards bearing, and a richly adored and bejeweled people. He will see stone quarries and lumber mills and mines and craftshops, and then devastated landscapes, burned homes, parched earth, warring antagonists, and deserted lands. He will see towers and temples and kingly courts and palaces of the rich and their luxury, and dissipation, immorality, and debauchery, comparable to that in Babylon, Jerusalem, and Rome.
He will see people thriving in communal living, and taxed from fifty percent, and then to totalness, to slavery, and to bondage. He will see power-greed paternalistic, centralized governments move toward the inevitable revolution which finally impoverishes but frees the people to begin again from ashes.
The astronomer and geologist here may see signs in the heavens and new stars come into focus, three days without sun or any reflected light, and nights without darkness, bright "as the midday sun" and a vapor of darkness so impenetrable that no glimmer, nor candles, nor torches, nor fire could give any light. A great storm came "such an one as never had been known in all the land", certainly since Noah's forty-day pouring, and perhaps drowning more people than since the deluge, and terrible tempests, thunder, and sharp lightnings, and whirlwinds of tornadic and hurricane proportions, swift enough to carry away people never to be heard of again-twistings, foldings, whirlings, slidings, faultings, and tremblings of hours of duration to cause landslides burning great cities perhaps more extensive than the Bali's, Iran's, Assam's, and Chile's, perhaps interring in a few hours more people than ever in the history of the world. Tidal waves swallowed entire communities, and fire consumed many cities and human bodies. The labors of centuries were embalmed in ashes to a greater degree than Pompeii and Herculaneum; and earth convulsions of such intensity and prolongation that "the face of the whole earth was deformed", these earth spasms being a revolt by the created earth against the crucifixion of its Creator.
Engineers will learn from this great book that those centuries ago, men erected buildings, temples, and highways with cement, and paved roads connected city to city and land to land, and when forests had been denuded, a reforestation program was initiated for the future.
The psychologists may find studies in human behavior and the workings of the human mind and the rationalizing processes where men convince themselves that "good is bad, and that bad is good". Here they will watch history unfold for thousands of years and see not only episodes in the lives of individuals but causes and effects in a total history of races.
The educator will find treasures of literature and poetry. He will see how language used to log their day-to-day experiences can be corrupted when not properly written, from an expressive tongue of the educated to numerous, corrupted dialects of degenerated peoples, proving that to survive, people must be educated on every front-physical, mental, spiritual, moral-and that anything short of that will bring ultimate disaster.
This comprehensive book should be studied by politicians, government leaders, kings, presidents, and premiers to see the rise and fall of empires, and the difference between statesmanship and demagoguery. They will see nations born in war, live in war, deteriorate in war, and die in war through the centuries. They may find answers to problems of capital and labor, of dishonesty, graft and fraud, of dissensions, internal rupture, and civil wars.
In this uncommon book is seen that chief judges, frustrated by growing corruption, resign from judgment seats to proselyte for righteousness; that princes prefer to teach men rather than to rule over them; that kings have tilled the earth providing their own living to serve the people rather than to become burdensome to them and levy upon them confiscatory taxes; that rulers are loved and not feared.
Scientists will read of unusual instruments never patented or remade or duplicated, of elements which, without recharging, illuminate dark spaces indefinitely, that at least fifteen hundred years before Columbus these Westerners knew that the earth is round and revolved about the sun, and of a special instrument, not yet equaled even in our own day with all of our laboratories and knowledge, like a round ball, made of brass curious in workmanship, with two spindles, so sensitive that it was not limited to the cardinal points of the compass but would actually give guidance regardless of direction, recording the feelings, emotions, and inner rebellions of men and would function properly only where there was not human, mental, and moral discord. This instrument would point the way to the prevalence of animals to be hunted for food and was operated by faith rather than by electricity or other natural elements-an instrument on which would be writing changed from time to time, plain to read, increasing the understanding of those who read it.
Military men may learn much in strategy, intrigue, in movements, in morale. They may learn that centuries before the discovery of America, the ancients had cement buildings, temples, and highways connecting cities and lands, and metal tools for tilling ground, and munitions factories for making weapons of war, and forges to beat "plow-shares into swords, and pruning-hooks into spears". They may learn how cold war can be kept in deep freeze.
Guerrilla warfare, sieges, and the scorched-earth policy were not originated in Civil War days nor in Russia but were programs of survival, initiated long centuries before Columbus, Pizarro, and Cortez.
They may learn that wars of aggression with soldiers, idolatrous and adulterous, who leave God out of their lives, will in the end be futile and disastrous.
They will learn that great cultures stagnate in war shadows and cease to survive when continuous wars make people migrants, when fields are abandoned, livestock appropriated for nonproducing soldiers, forests destroyed without replanting, and when farmers and builders become warriors, and businessmen shoulder arms and teachers mobilize. Men cannot plant, cultivate, and harvest when in camps, nor build when on the run. Long and bloody wars mean sacked, burned, ruined cities, confiscatory taxes, degenerated peoples, and decayed cultures.
Victory and defeat alike leave countries devastated and the conqueror and the conquered reduced. Wickedness brings war, and war vomits destruction and suffering, hate and bloodshed upon the guilty and the innocent.
This impressive book should convince all living souls of the futility of war and the hazards of unrighteousness. A few prophets, swimming in a sea of barbarism, find it difficult to prevent the crumbling and final collapse of corrupt peoples.
To you of the Americas, who are terrified by the daily papers, who tremble at "The sound of a shaken leaf", who build shelters in fear of guided missiles, hydrogen bombs, and biological warfare-to you, there is this conditional promise coming from this book of truth:
"... this land shall be a land of liberty unto the Gentiles, and there shall be no kings upon the land...
"And I will fortify this land against all other nations.
"... I, the Lord, the king of heaven will be their king, and I will be a light unto them forever, that hear my words".
This single volume records for historians about twenty-six centuries of stirring life, not generally known even to the most highly trained professors of history. It tells of the ancestries of those whose spectacular monuments are now observed in South and Central America and in the Mexican jungles.
In this wondrous book, ministers and priests can find texts for sermons, and men generally can find final and authoritative answers to difficult questions: Is there life after death? Will the body be literally resurrected? Where do the spirits of men go between death and the resurrection? Can one be saved in unchastity? What is the correct organization of Christ's Church? Can one be saved without baptism? Why is it wrong to baptize infants? Is specific authority essential to administer ordinances? Is continuous revelation necessary and a reality? Is Jesus the actual Son of God?
Here is recorded the glorious coming of the Savior to his temple in America. He blessed the little children and wept as angels descended out of heaven and encircled them. He organized his Church with twelve apostles called disciples to whom were given the same priesthood, authority, and keys which their contemporaries, Peter, James, and John held in the other land.
The coming of the Resurrected Redeemer to this land was spectacular-the small piercing voice from heaven heard at Jordan and Transfiguration's Mount awed them as it announced:
"Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name-hear ye him".
And then they saw a man descending out of heaven in white robes, and he stood in their midst saying: "Behold, I am Jesus Christ... I am the God of Israel and the God of the whole earth and have been slain for the sins of the world". And the multitude thrust their hands into his side and felt the prints of the nails and knew of a surety that this was the very Christ so recently crucified across the sea, and so recently ascended into heaven, and now among them to teach them his saving gospel.
This historical book tells of three men, who, like John the Revelator, are still on earth though it is nearly two thousand years since their mortal birth-men who have not suffered the pains of death, but who have control over the elements and who make themselves known at will and go anywhere on the globe when needed and who cannot be imprisoned, burned in the furnace, nor buried in pits, nor held in prison, nor destroyed by beasts; for, like the three Hebrews, superhuman power and protection have been given them.
This narrative tells of people with such faith that they buried their weapons to die victims of enemies rather than take lives; of boys who had inherited great faith from their mothers who had trained them to trust in God and they would be protected. It tells of the fulfillment when 2,060 of them were saved though they fought in many battles in which men all around them died, but because of the faith of their mothers and the sons, not one of the 2,060 suffered death. In this battle of defense, not one boy lost his life.
But after all, it is not the book's dramatic crises, its history, its narrative that are so important, but its power to transform men into Christlike beings worthy of exaltation.
It is the word of God. It is a powerful second witness of Christ. And certainly, all true believers who love the Redeemer will welcome additional evidence of his divinity.
This inspiring book was never tampered with by unauthorized translators or biased theologians but comes to the world pure and directly from the historians and abridgers. The book is not on trial-its readers are.
Here is a scripture as old as creation and as new and vibrant as tomorrow, bridging time and eternity; it is a book of revelations and is a companion to the Bible brought from Europe by immigrants and agrees in surprising harmony with that Bible in tradition, history, doctrine, and prophecy; and the two were written simultaneously on two hemispheres under diverse conditions. It records the very words people would say when this hidden record should be presented to them.
"... A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible.
"But thus saith the Lord God: O fools, they shall have a Bible; and it shall proceed forth from the Jews...
"Thou fool, that shall say: A Bible we have got a Bible, and we need no more Bible...
"... I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?
"Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another?...
"And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever... And because that I have spoken one word ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another; for my work is not yet finished...
"Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my words; neither need ye suppose that I have not caused more to be written.
"For I command all men, both in the east and the west, and in the north, and in the south, and in the islands of the sea, that they shall write the words which I speak unto them; for out of the books which shall be written I will judge the world, every man according to their works, according to that which is written.
"For behold, I shall speak unto the Jews and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the Nephites and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the other tribes of the house of Israel, which I have led away, and they shall write it".
Then he says he will gather the three folds into one fold, and he will be their shepherd. And the records of the ten tribes are still to be recovered. "And it shall come to pass that the Jews shall have the words of the Nephites, and the Nephites shall have the words of the Jews; and the Nephites and the Jews shall have the words of the lost tribes of Israel; and the lost tribes of Israel shall have the words of the Nephites and the Jews.
"And it shall come to pass that my people, which are of the house of Israel, shall be gathered home unto the lands of their possessions; and my word also shall be gathered into one".
We seem to hear the Almighty warn: "Fools mock, and they shall mourn," and, "Woe be unto him that rejecteth the word of God." One prophet wrote: "... And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ".
In the final chapter of the book is the never-failing promise that every person who will read the book with a sincere, prayerful desire to know of its divinity shall have the assurance.
The book of which I speak is the keystone of true religion, the ladder by which one may get near to God by abiding its precepts. It has been named "The most correct of any book on earth."
My beloved friends, I give to you the Book of Mormon. May you read it prayerfully, study it carefully, and receive for yourselves the testimony of its divinity. This, I pray in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder ElRay L. Christiansen
ElRay L. Christiansen, Conference Report, April 1963, pp. 68-70
My beloved brethren and sisters, with you I have been edified by all that has taken place in the various sessions of this great conference-the music, the wonderful discourses, the prayers, and your presence here. I think I have never been so pleased and thrilled to see the great sea of hands raised in unanimously sustaining those whose names were presented a few minutes ago, indicating that there is unity in the Church.
I come to you in humility this afternoon and with a firm conviction that God lives; that this is not just another Church which we represent, but it is The Church of Jesus Christ; that sitting on this rostrum is the prophet of this day, surrounded by just and wholesome men who are each endowed with the authority and the power to act in the name of God and direct the work of the Lord in all the world in preparation for his coming to receive his kingdom.
I come to you with the assurance that this Church was established, not to fail, but to continue, never to be destroyed nor left to another people; for the Lord has said:
"The works, and the designs, and the purposes of God cannot be frustrated, neither can they come to naught.
"Remember, remember that it is not the work of God that is frustrated, but the work of men".
I have no doubt that his promises to all people will be fulfilled in his own due time and in his own way, both to the righteous and to the wicked. We are living in a day foretold by the Savior as a time of wars and rumors of wars, of famines and of pestilences and of earthquakes. A day when, in a supposedly cultured society, greed and lust for power, subterfuge and cruelty are seen at their worst. This day was described by Paul in these words:
"For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
"Without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
"Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God".
Now, thank goodness, that doesn't include everybody, but there are many I am sure who fit into some of those categories. If there are any into which we fit, or if any of us have these blemishes upon us, I hope that we will go from these meetings with the determination to throw them off.
Now, despite these conditions that Paul described, this is a favored time and a favored day of the Lord. We ought to be thankful that we live in this particular day, notwithstanding all the fears and the troubles and the anxieties which come upon us because of unsettled conditions that prevail in the world. Our gratitude comes mainly because we are the glad recipients of the restored gospel brought back to earth in the fulfillment of prophecy, in its fulness as a prescription for successful living and for salvation. There is no need to walk in darkness or in uncertainty. In our day the Church has the vision and the inspiration and the word of the Lord to give to the people to keep them from the pitfalls of life, from sorrow, regret, and failure. In this day of the Church there has been a great expanse of the Church itself. The gospel is being widely preached; buildings are being constructed; temples have been and are being erected; work for the dead is increasing; and people are accepting the gospel, all of these in an unprecedented way.
Now, while we see the Church moving on unfalteringly toward its decreed destiny, we must remember that salvation for each of us must be worked out on an individual basis. For a few moments let us draw our world into the range of my voice while we consider two or three principles which are indispensable to individual and even collective salvation.
How about the Sabbath day, which was discussed so eloquently by President Joseph Fielding Smith yesterday? Is it observed as the Lord's day? Are you and your family found where you ought to be and doing what you ought to be doing on that day? I recently learned of a father who habitually took his wife and children to the mountains or to various other places on the Sabbath day rather than taking them to church where they belonged. As he was hurrying them to get ready one Sunday morning, his smallest boy said, "Daddy, why can't we stay home and go to church like the other kids do?" "Oh, come along," said the father, "we can sing and pray together in the mountains." The little boy said rather sadly, "I know we can, but we won't, will we, Daddy?"
"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".
To me that makes it clear and understandable as to where I ought to be and what I ought to do among other things that are approved of the Lord on that holy day.
Another matter: How completely do you love your neighbor? The Savior has said that not only should we love our neighbors as ourselves, but that we should also even love our enemies. One man said, "It's a difficult enough thing to love a neighbor whom he likes to be classed as his neighbor, but to reach out and love his enemy is almost beyond reasonable expectation." Nevertheless, it is a method which the Lord has of preparing, of sanctifying, and of perfecting those whom he has called his Saints. Further than that, he requires that we bless those that curse us, and that we do good unto them that hate us, and that we pray for them who despitefully use us and persecute us. How can we love our neighbor? I think one of the best ways would be to help him to learn the truth, to accept the restored gospel and to find in it the power of God unto salvation for them and their families, and by defending him against danger or slander or mistreatment by others. I think we could show a love of our neighbors on the highways and in traffic congestions by being courteous and by giving them the right of way once in a while even though we may have rightful claim to it. There are innumerable ways in which love may be extended to one's neighbor.
It was James Russell Lowell who said, "They who love the Lord and their neighbors are but one step from heaven."
I'd like to include with these neighbors, whom we must love and for whom we must be concerned, those who have passed on, especially our own progenitors to whom we have the inescapable obligation to bring salvation and exaltation through vicarious service. What are we doing about them on an individual family basis?
How about tithing? Are we as individuals placing ourselves in a position to receive the glorious promises given of the Lord for those who consistently observe this law? He offered a challenge to be proved if he would not open the windows of heaven and pour out upon us a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive, and then he said:
"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".
What a promise that is to those of us who are willing to keep the law! Can any of us justify withholding or skimping on that which really belongs to the Lord?
The voice of President Heber C. Kimball rang out in this very building concerning the matter of tithing when he said:
"You have nothing except what you have received from the Almighty. Where do you get your water, your meat, your bread and the luxuries of life? Did he not create them? Were not the elements thereof placed upon the earth before you came here? If you do not pay one dime in tithing, it will not impoverish the Lord, but I tell you where the effect will lie. It will affect yourselves, your own salvation."
And I should like to add and that of your children most likely for "like father, like son" is an old but true adage.
My brothers and sisters, the commandments of the Lord are not dictums, they are principles given by a Merciful Father to keep us and all mankind who will follow him from sin, sorrow, and regret. We talk a good deal these days about security. One of the best formulas of security that I have ever known is given in the words of Helaman in the Book of Mormon:
"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 like that, and I have taken it to heart. I advocate it to the young and to the old, and to all of us, in fact to all mankind, for it is true as true can be.
May we, my brothers and sisters, stand firm upon this sure foundation and thereby contribute to the progress of the Church as it moves on to the completion of its divine destiny, and at the same time secure our individual and collective salvation and perhaps exaltation, I pray, testifying again that the Savior lives and that this is his work, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Master. Amen.
Elder S. Dilworth Young
S. Dilworth Young, Conference Report, April 1963, pp. 73-74
About a year ago I was reading in the Doctrine and Covenants and came upon a verse of one of the sections. I suppose everybody has an experience of the type I had as I read. I think the Prophet had such an experience the day he read, "If any man lack wisdom let him ask of God", for that scripture leaped at him; and so this one leaped at me. For a year or so I have been reading it off and on, contemplating it. Now I should like to read it to you, but first I should like to give it its framework.
Back in 1829 the Lord, through the Prophet Joseph Smith, said there would be appointed twelve disciples, which of course we know as apostles, and he appointed two of the three witnesses to choose them. And then he did a thing which to me is remarkable. He began to instruct the Twelve before they were chosen, and after having instructed them he then gave them this verse. In 1835 the Twelve were chosen, as you know, and on one occasion they were called together and given their instructions. Oliver Cowdery was the spokesman; and after having given them some very powerful and heartwarming instruction, so moved was he, himself, that he had to stop two or three times to weep. He finally read the revelation to which I refer and this verse.
Brigham Young was so impressed by it that he copied it in his laborious handwriting into his diary. I am impressed by it likewise. These are the words:
"These words are not of men nor of man, but of me; wherefore, you shall testify they are of me and not of man;
"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." And this is the verse-"Wherefore, you can testify that you have heard my voice, and know my words".
The thing that impresses me about this is, and I have never thought of it before, when I read a verse in the Doctrine and Covenants I am hearing the voice of the Lord as well as reading his words, if I hear by the Spirit.
Now I have heard it said many times by men that they have often asked the Lord for a special testimony and oftentimes haven't had it. They seem to want to hear the voice of the Lord. I confess I have often wanted to hear the voice of the Lord, without knowing that all these years I have been hearing it with deaf ears. This woke me up.
I can testify that, having read, I hear the voice of the Lord. I also testify to you that when you hear the Prophet, here sitting on the stand, speak by the voice of prophecy and by the spirit of the inspiration which possesses him, you also hear, through him, the voice of the Lord. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Marion G. Romney
Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, April 1963, pp. 74-78
Mis queridos Hermanos y Hermanas de los países dónde se habla Español. Me da mucho gusto a veros aquí con nosotros esta dia. Con todo corazon, muy bienvenidos.
To you who wonder, I have just greeted and welcomed our people from Latin America. My Spanish may not have been such as they could understand, but you are in no position to challenge my interpretation of it.
I love these, my brothers and sisters. To me they are white and delightsome. And of course I love you, too.
Pursuant to assignment from the First Presidency of the Church, I have for the past two years been supervising the Latin American missions. It may not, therefore, be wholly inappropriate for me to say something about the Lamanites, many of whom live in these missions. With this intent, I take for my text the following statement made by the Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith in March 1831.
"... before the great day of the Lord shall come, Jacob shall flourish in the wilderness, and the Lamanites shall blossom as the rose".
The word, "Lamanites," denotes, of course, the descendants of rebellious Laman and Lemuel. It also denotes all other descendants of Lehi who defected to them. As used in our text, I think it includes all descendants of Book of Mormon peoples frequently referred to as the remnant of the people of Lehi. The Lord identifies them in the Doctrine and Covenants as "... the Nephites... Jacobites... Josephites... Zoramites...
"... Lamanites... Lemuelites, and... Ishmaelites". "The great day of the Lord" will, of course, be the day when the Savior comes in his power and glory to inaugurate a reign of righteousness and peace.
The background of our text is most interesting and significant. At that time there was much interest and considerable misunderstanding concerning the "great day of the Lord." The Shakers, for example, had the mistaken notion that the Savior might come as a woman. To dispel this error, the Lord said:
"... verily I say unto you, that the Son of Man cometh not in the form of a woman, neither of a man traveling on the earth.
"Wherefore, be not deceived, but continue in steadfastness, looking forth for the heavens to be shaken, and the earth to tremble and to reel to and fro as a drunken man, and for the valleys to be exalted, and for the mountains to be made low, and for the rough places to become smooth-and all this when the angel shall sound his trumpet.
"But before the great day of the Lord shall come, Jacob shall flourish in the wilderness, and the Lamanites shall blossom as the rose".
The relationship here revealed between the redemption of the Lamanites and the coming of "the great day of the Lord" is frequently implied in the scriptures. Enoch, for example, the great antediluvian prophet, witnessing in vision the corruption of mankind, after the ascension of the Son of Man cried unto his God: "Wilt thou no come again upon the earth?...
"And the Lord said unto Enoch: As I live, even so will I come in the last days...
"And the day shall come that the earth shall rest, but before that day the heavens shall be darkened, and a veil of darkness shall cover the earth; and the heavens shall shake, and also the earth; and great tribulations shall be among the children of men, but my people will I preserve;
"And righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten". "The Latter-day Saints regard the coming forth of the Book of Mormon... as a fulfillment of this prophecy..."
One of the two purposes of the Book of Mormon as expressed on its title page is "to show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever". "The remnant of the House of Israel" here referred to includes, of course, the Lamanites. It is concerning the covenants the Lord made with their fathers which run in favor of the Lamanites and culminate in their blossoming as the rose that I wish to speak.
One of these covenants was that a record of their fathers would be preserved and brought forth unto the remnant. Concerning this covenant, Enos said: "... after I had prayed and labored with all diligence, the Lord said unto me: I will grant unto thee according to thy desires...
"And... this was the desire which I desired... that if it should so be, that my people, the Nephites, should fall into transgression, and by any means be destroyed, and the Lamanites should not be destroyed, that the Lord God would preserve a record of my people... that it might be brought forth at some future day unto the Lamanites, that, perhaps, they might be brought unto salvation-
"... and he covenanted with me that he would bring them forth unto the Lamanites in his own due time".
The Lord had made this same covenant with Nephi some fifty years earlier, and he renewed it with Mormon nearly a thousand years later.
Moroni, preparing to deposit the record in Cumorah, predicted that "... it shall be brought out of darkness unto light, according to the word of God; yea, it shall be brought out of the earth, and it shall shine forth out of darkness, and come unto the knowledge of the people; and it shall be done by the power of God". In Mormon, chapter eight, from which this prophecy of Moroni is taken, and in chapter nine is to be found a clear and accurate description of the world in which we now live-a word picture written by a prophet, who by the power of God saw in open vision and made record of us, our times and doings, and of the chastening which awaits us, the inhabitants of this land, if we do not repent and heed the teachings of the restored gospel. Concluding the account of the covenant concerning the record to be preserved and brought forth, the Lord said to the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1828: "Behold, there are many things engraven upon the plates of Nephi which do throw greater views upon my gospel...
"And, behold, all the remainder of this work does contain all those parts of my gospel which my holy prophets, yea, and also my disciples, desired in their prayers should come forth unto this people.
"And I said unto them, that it should be granted unto them according to their faith in their prayers".
Other covenants which the Lord made with their fathers were to the effect that the remnant would accept the gospel, regain their inheritance and former blessings and take part in the latter-day redemption of Zion.
Nephi, explaining to his brethren the words their father Lehi had "... spoken concerning the natural branches of the olive-tree..." said, "... in the latter days, when our seed shall have dwindled in unbelief... for the space of... many generations... then shall the fulness of the gospel... come unto ... from the Gentiles...
"And at that day shall the remnant of our seed...
"... be remembered again among the house of Israel; they shall be grafted... into the true olive-tree".
"And then shall the remnant of our seed know concerning us, how that we came out from Jerusalem, and that they are descendants of the Jews.
"And the gospel of Jesus Christ shall be declared among them; wherefore, they shall be restored unto the knowledge of their fathers, and also to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, which was had among their fathers.
"And then shall they rejoice; for they shall know that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of God; and their scales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes; and many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a white and delightsome people".
The chief witness to the blessings awaiting the Lamanites was the resurrected Jesus. As he ministered to the survivors of the cataclysm which attended his crucifixion, he said unto them, "... my joy is great, even unto fulness, because of you, and also this generation, yea, and even the Father rejoiceth, and also all the holy angels... for none of them are lost...
"But..." he continued, "it sorroweth me because of the fourth generation from this generation, for they are led away captive by him even as was the son of perdition; for they will sell me for silver and for gold... And in that day will I visit them, even in turning their works upon their own heads". Mormon, of course, records the literal fulfillment of this sad prediction.
But Jesus did not conclude his prophecy about the Lamanites here. Notwithstanding their foreseen apostasy and degradation, he repeatedly affirmed the fact that the Father had given them this land as a permanent inheritance. He assured them that a remnant would survive to enjoy their inheritance although, by reason of their iniquity, they would forfeit it to the gentiles for a season.
He told of the coming of the gentiles. "For," said he, "it is wisdom in the Father that they should be established in this land, and be set up as a free people by the power of the Father".
"... because of their belief in me...
"... and because of the unbelief of you, O house of Israel, in the latter day... the fulness of these things shall be made known unto them".
"... that these things might come forth from them unto a remnant of your seed, that the covenant of the Father may be fulfilled".
Speaking of the role the remnant would play in this last gospel dispensation, Jesus assured them that they would he associated with other faithful members of the house of Israel in establishing in this, the land of their inheritance, a New Jerusalem. "And behold," said he, "this people"-remember, he was speaking in America-"will I establish in this land, unto the fulfilling of the covenant which I made with your father Jacob; and it shall be a New Jerusalem. And the powers of heaven shall be in the midst of this people; yea, even I will be in the midst of you".
Concerning the timetable for the fulfillment of these tremendous prophecies, Jesus said: "... I give unto you a sign, that ye may know the time when these things shall be about to take place-...
"... when these things which I declare unto you... shall be made known unto the Gentiles...
"... and shall come forth of the Father, from them unto...
"... your seed...
"And... thy seed shall begin to know these things-it shall be a sign unto them, that they may know that the work of the Father hath already commenced unto the fulfilling of the covenant which he hath made unto the people who are of the house of Israel" .
Now, with this foreknowledge as an interpretative guide to the signs of the times, all who have seeing eyes and understanding hearts may rest assured that the fulfillment of the promises to the Lamanites is at hand. Most of the foregoing prophecies have already been fulfilled, and others are now in course of fulfillment. The apostasy and fourth generation destruction, the degeneration of the remnant, the coming of the gentiles, their establishment by the power of God as a free people in this land, their harassment of the remnant, the preservation of the promised record, and its coming forth by way of the gentiles are now all documented history.
For more than a hundred years the record of their fathers, the Book of Mormon, has been going to the Lamanites by way of the gentiles. And it is now being carried to them with increased tempo.
Today the Church has in operation in lands inhabited, at least in part, by the remnant, twenty-one missions. Others are being organized. Working in these missions during 1962 were, on an average, 2,424 missionaries a month. These missionaries brought into the Church 22,909 people in 1962, an average of 9.45 a missionary. This is well above the average of other foreign missions of the Church. So you see, my brethren and sisters, the Lord is pouring out his spirit upon the Lamanites. They are accepting the record of their fathers and are coming to a knowledge of the "things" referred to by Jesus. It is true that they are poor, they are downtrodden; they are in large part uneducated. In these and many other respects they still suffer under the curse brought upon them by their apostasy from the gospel once so richly enjoyed and strictly obeyed by their fathers. But they are now accepting the gospel. And they will continue to accept it in ever-increasing numbers. As they receive and live it, they are certain to regain their favored status in the house of Israel and participate in the redemption of Zion and the building of the New Jerusalem here in America. Jacob, even now, flourishes in the wilderness, and shortly the "Lamanites shall blossom as the rose," heralding "the great day of the Lord", which God grant may not be long delayed, I humbly pray.
Elder Harold B. Lee
Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, April 1963, pp. 79-89
The subject I am to discuss tonight is not of my own choosing but by assignment from the Presidency of the Church. Therefore I feel a tremendous responsibility, particularly that I stay within the bounds of what I have understood their wishes to be with regard to this presentation. To that end I seek most humbly for an interest in your faith and prayers that I might be so guided as to attempt tonight to portray something that will help you to understand the developments of what the President has called "The Correlation Program" as it has now been developed.
Prefacing that presentation in some detail, part of it by review and some by way of extension, I would like to make a few introductory remarks. I attended a fast and testimony meeting a few months ago where Dr. Harvey Fletcher bore a remarkable testimony. He told about the experience of his father being called on a mission when Dr. Fletcher was just a lad. There were five or six children, as I remember it, in the family, and the father was called to go out with not much support from home. He hadn't been out long when he was called to come home on account of the death of a member of the family. While he was home and preparing to go back to his mission, he was stricken with deafness, some disease which left him with total deafness, which, of course, made necessary the cancellation of his mission.
It was a disturbing thing to the family, and while the father did not allow himself to become bitter, there were some who tried their best to feel sorry for him or make him feel sorry for himself. About this time the Godbeites, who the older ones here will remember were a splinter group trying to confuse the Church, were quite active, and in the ward where they lived one of these, a member of the bishopric of the ward, had tried to influence the father and had succeeded with some confusion.
The father, with thoughts of this confusion on his mind, walking down the road one day, heard distinctly a voice behind him, which said to him: "Stick with the old ship. It will lead you safely home." He turned to look because he had not been hearing audible voices, and he saw no speaker, but the message that came to him is the message with which I should like to commence-that we should remember that ours is the responsibility to "stick with the old ship" if we want to be brought safely back home.
I should like to bring to you a statement from three former leaders of the Church as to the fundamentals of what this speaker called "the old ship," meaning the kingdom of God, which must be kept in mind always as to the essentials in the building of the kingdom.
Parley P. Pratt, in what was called a "declaration" or a "proclamation," under the subject heading, "Order of Government," had made this very clear statement:
"The legislative, judicial, and executive power is vested in him; he reveals the law, he elects, chooses, and appoints the officers and holds the right to reprove, correct, or even to remove them at pleasure. Hence the necessity of a constant intercourse by direct revelation between the Lord and his Church. As a precedence for the foregoing facts, we refer to the examples of all ages as recorded in the Scriptures.
"This order of government began in Eden-God appointed Adam to govern the earth, and gave him laws.
"It was perpetuated in a regular succession from Adam to Noah; from Noah to Melchizedek, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Samuel, the Prophets, John, Jesus and his apostles. All, and each of which, were chosen by the Lord, and not by the people.
"It is true the people have a voice in the government of the kingdom of God,...
"But they do not confer the authority in the first place, nor can they take it away; for instance, the people did not elect the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ, nor could they by popular vote deprive them of their apostleship. As the government of the kingdom anciently existed, so it is now restored".
The responsibility resting upon every holder of the priesthood is set forth in another very clear and plain declaration by President Wilford Woodruff, and this is what he said:
"Every leader in his place is accountable for his stewardship. These disciples of Christ received the Holy Priesthood, the gospel of Christ, and the keys of the Kingdom of God, and Jesus held them responsible until the day of their death for the course they pursued. However, they were despised by the world, they were held responsible for bearing a faithful and true testimony to the Jew and gentile, of Jesus Christ being the true shepherd and Savior of the world. He gave him, Joseph Smith, the Priesthood under the hands of Peter, James, and John. The Lord Almighty held him responsible unto the day that he sealed his testimony with his blood for the course that he pursued with these things. And he bore his testimony, left his record, and sealed it with his blood and laid down his life and that testimony is in force today upon all the world, and will remain so until the end. When I say this of Joseph Smith, I say it of every other man. President Young has led this Church for many years, and the Lord has held him responsible and will hold him so until the day of his death for the course pursued by him while conducting the affairs of His Church and Kingdom. And also for the use he makes of the Holy Priesthood and the Kingdom of God.
"So with all his counselors, the Twelve Apostles, and everyone of us, we shall all be held accountable until the day of our death. We shall have to give an account before the God of heaven when we go into the spirit world and meet Him there for the use of this Priesthood and the keys of the kingdom which have been established on the earth for the last time, have been committed unto the hands of this people, and God will hold us responsible for the use we make of these blessings, privileges and powers which we enjoy in connection therewith. The eyes of God and his angels, and of every man who dwells in the Celestial World are watching us and the courses we pursue."
President Joseph F. Smith defines the relationship of each order of priesthood to all others, in contrast, may I say, with that concept of having one minister for a congregation who practically directs the entire activity of the congregation. President Smith said:
"The Lord never did intend that one man should have all the power, and for that reason he has placed in His Church, the presidents, apostles, high priests, seventies elders, and the various officers of the lesser priesthood, all of which are essential in their order and place according to the authority bestowed upon them. The Lord never did anything that was not essential or that was superfluous. There is a use for every branch of the priesthood, and he has established it in his Church. We want every man to learn his duty, and we expect that every man will do his duty as faithfully as he knows how and carry off his portion of the responsibility of building up Zion in the latter days."
The summary of these statements is set forth in one or two incidents that I should like now to mention and to digress for a moment, and then to summarize by reading from one of our Melchizedek Priesthood study courses. The story is told in the early days of the Church-particularly, I think, at Kirtland-where some of the leading brethren in the presiding councils of the Church met secretly and tried to scheme as to how they could get rid of the Prophet Joseph's leadership. They made the mistake of inviting Brigham Young to one of these secret meetings. He rebuked them, after he had heard the purpose of their meeting. This is part of what he said: "You cannot destroy the appointment of a prophet of God, but you can cut the thread that binds you to the prophet of God, and sink yourselves to hell."
In that same vein, I heard President Clark, shortly after he came into the First Presidency, make an interesting public statement. He said that when President Grant called him to be a Counselor in the First Presidency, he was worried. He had always thought of the President of the Church as the "mouthpiece" of the Lord, and he wondered how much counseling he ought to give the "mouthpiece" of the Lord. But he hadn't been long in the Presidency until he discovered his place.
President Grant would say to each of his Counselors, when they were discussing a serious matter, "What do you think about it?" and "What do you think about it?" And the Counselors would respond. Sometimes their opinions were in contradiction or in conflict with what the President had thought. There was then the business of resolving the different points of view, but there would always come a time after a sufficient discussion when the President would say: "Now brethren, I feel that this is the thing we ought to do." Then President Clark remarked, "When he said that, I quit counseling because, to me, that was the prophet of the Lord speaking, and I felt I should not try to dissuade him."
In the history of the Church there have been times or instances where Counselors in the First Presidency and others in high station have sought to overturn the decision or to persuade the President contrary to his inspired judgment, and always, if you will read carefully the history of the Church, such oppositions brought not only disastrous results to those who resisted the decision of the President, but almost always such temporary persuasions were called back for reconsideration, or a reversal of hasty action not in accordance with the feelings, the inspired feelings, of the President of the Church. And that I submit, is one of the fundamental things that we must never lose sight of in the building of the kingdom of God.
Now then, the summary I would like you to get in order to bring all these statements together as an introduction:
"A significant and basic idea in the meaning of Priesthood is made clear, that is, that although the President of the Church may hold and dispense the powers and administrative responsibilities of that office, the power of the Priesthood is decentralized, first, according to the offices and jurisdiction of those respective offices. Secondly, according to the individual Priesthood bearers. This means that while the Church as a whole is delicately responsible to central authority for Church-wide purposes, the central local relationships in the organizations do not restrict full initiative and free development of either territorial division of the Church, individual quorums, groups of quorums, or the member as an individual." As I have said, that quotation is from one of our recent study courses for the Melchizedek Priesthood.
Now then, in order for you to get a concept of what we want to present, I am going to refer to and repeat what has been said before, for as someone has said, "repetition is the soul of learning." President Brigham H. Roberts had a classic statement: "The recurrence to fundamentals is essential to perpetuity." If you can understand those big words that is what I am going to try to do in the next few minutes-to recur, or take you back for a recurrence to fundamentals in order that you might perpetuate in your minds what we are talking about in the Correlation Program.
The key to the whole correlation movement, which has been given us by our present leaders, in defining the place of the auxiliaries and the home and the priesthood, is set forth in this statement made by the Presidency a few years ago. I quote:
"The home is the basis of a righteous life and no other instrumentality can take its place nor fulfil its essential functions, the utmost the auxiliaries can do is to aid the home in its problems, giving special aid and succor where such is necessary, that in aiding the home the auxiliaries may well consider thinking of home-life of the people as having three periods, the first, from birth to twelve years of age or the childhood period; then the youth period from twelve years up to the early twenties; and then adulthood, from the early twenties on to the end of life."
Now it is upon these fundamentals, simply stated, that we have been guided in our correlation studies of the curricula and activities of all the priesthood and the auxiliary organizations. In order to set forth more clearly what we were now assigned to do in this new look at correlation, the First Presidency, under date of March 24, 1960, that means just a little over three years ago, wrote this letter to the general priesthood committee:
"We of the First Presidency have over the years felt the need of a correlation between and among the courses of study put out by the General Priesthood Committee and by the responsible heads of the other Committees of the General Authorities for the instruction of the Priesthood of the Church.
"We have also felt the very urgent need of a correlation of studies among the Auxiliaries of the Church. We have noted what seemed to be a tendency toward a fundamental, guiding concept, particularly among certain of the Auxiliary Organizations, that there must be every year a new course of study for each of the Auxiliary Organizations so moving. We question whether the composite of all of them might not tend away from the development of a given line of study or activity having the ultimate and desired objective of building up a knowledge of the Gospel, a power to promulgate the same, a promotion of the growth, faith, and stronger testimony of the principles of the Gospel among the members of the Church.
"We have sometimes been led to wonder whether there was a proper observance of the field of a particular Auxiliary of what might be termed its jurisdiction. The question has not been absent from our minds that there might be a concept entertained by some of them including within their jurisdiction the entire scope of Church activity, and with their members the whole Church membership.
"We think that the contemplated study by the Committee now set up, should have the foregoing matters in mind. We feel assured that if the whole Church curricula were viewed From the vantage point of what we might term the total purpose of each and all of these organizations, it would bring about such a collation and limitation of subjects and subject matters elaborated in the various Auxiliary courses as would tend to the building of efficiency in the Auxiliaries themselves in the matter of carrying out the purposes lying behind their creation and function.
"We would therefore commend to you Brethren of the General Priesthood Committee the beginning of an exhaustive, prayerful study and consideration of this entire subject, with the cooperative assistance of the Auxiliaries themselves so that the Church might reap the maximum harvest from the devotion of the faith, intelligence, skill and knowledge of our various Auxiliary Organizations and Priesthood Committees.
"This is your authority to employ such necessary technical help as you might need to bring this about. We shall await your report."
I suppose I need not tell you what a soul-searching assignment that was. We found in our study, that in 1912 and again in 1920 since President McKay became one of the General Authorities, he was a member of a committee of the Twelve by whom similar studies were undertaken. This means that for a matter of forty years at least, this subject of correlation had been close to the President's mind and in his thoughts as something very essential and desirable.
Now, in setting about to carry out this assignment, it was our first conclusion that there should be set up a coordinating council, which we so recommended, and which was approved. We will show you that council in a few moments. There would be three committees established, and in harmony with the letter which I have just read you, one for youth, one for children, and one for adults, and it was felt that the Primary and the Sunday School would probably be the organization to teach the children. The two MIA organizations and the Sunday School and the educational system and the Aaronic Priesthood would implement the program for the youth. The adults would be taught by the Sunday School, the educational system, the Relief Society, and the priesthood, including the members of the Aaronic Priesthood over 21, and of course some flexibility would have to be provided in these areas and activities where sharp lines could not be drawn.
When we made our first preliminary report, which we have done step by step as we have advanced since that first assignment, President McKay said in a meeting with the Presidency and the Council of the Twelve, "This is in the right direction, and should go forward." Encouraged by that, then, we took the next step.
We are going to undertake tonight something that is going to be rather difficult. We are going to show you eight charts, which we will now flash on a screen. Because two thirds of our audience tonight are not within sight of the screen, we shall ask you who are not here or where television is not available to you, to pay careful heed, and I will attempt to explain it sufficiently so you may get some kind of mental picture at least, and if you folks here who are seeing, will watch these charts, perhaps I can more quickly show you the organization and what has been done up to the present time. In order for the General Authorities to see the charts without having to turn around, we have prepared copies of these charts which the brethren will pass out to you now, and you may then follow without the necessity of reversing your seats.
We have numbered these, as you will notice, brethren, on the upper left-hand corner Number 1, 2, 3, 4, and so on, so you can follow rather readily. Now if we may have the lights dimmed and the first chart thrown on the screen. We have left these lights here dimmed, I think, enough, President McKay, so that the brethren on the stand can see and yet it will not take away the effectiveness of the projection on the screen. Now we will show you the first chart and see if that will work.
Chart #1 shows the overall organization for all-church coordination, with, of course, the First Presidency at the head. Under their direction, the Council of the Twelve and the General Authorities associated with them, and then you will notice on the left-hand side of the chart the Correlation Committee, presently consisting of four members of the Twelve. On the right-hand side you will notice the auxiliary advisers. These are advisers named by the First Presidency to each of the auxiliaries, two or three or more to each such auxiliary.
Chart #2 This chart shows you the Correlation Committee. Then you will notice an All-Church Coordinating Council, as it is called on this chart. This includes the four members of the Twelve, representing the Melchizedek Priesthood, the Presiding Bishop who represents the Aaronic Priesthood, the chairman of the Genealogical Society, and the presidents and/or superintendents of each auxiliary board, and a representative of the church school system. This council has an executive secretary. Under the All-Church Coordinating Council we have three committees-The Children's Committee, the Youth Committee, and the Adult Committee. The chairman of each of these three committees, the Adult Committee, the Youth Committee, and the Committee for Children, is a member of the Twelve. Each committee has its own executive secretary.
Now, as the letter I read you indicated, the three periods in the span of life as set forth, are children up to twelve years of age, youth twelve to the early twenties, and adults through life. The executive, or planning group, who work with each chairman, have from two to four who constitute an executive committee. Then we have in addition thereto, twenty-five well-qualified brothers and sisters who are chosen on the additional "task" committees. They are at work now reviewing the present courses of study and the previous courses which have been used, and where necessary will recommend new courses in order to follow a predetermined outlined and accepted course for children from three years of age to adulthood. This complete outline of subjects to be taught at all ages has been reviewed and presented to the Presidency and the Twelve, and now becomes the plan which these "task" committees will follow.
With each of these committees, I should like to make a special mention of the four brethren who serve as our executive secretaries, who have done such tremendous work: Brother Antone K. Romney, Brother Reed L. Bradford, Brother B. West Belnap, Brother Vaughn E. Hansen, and previously Brother Dan Ludlow, with Carol H. Cannon as their secretary. Night and day and throughout these y ears they have been excused from all other church assignments, and while carrying out their own schoolwork as professional teachers at their various universities, they have carried on and with their planning groups have brought to us their excellent work for our consideration and further development, which progress report we are trying to present to you tonight.
In the planning groups or executive committees we have nine members in all. We have the same kind of dedication, as I explained, in twenty-five more who are working on the task committees with the same complete attention to their specific assignments. If Brother Wendell Ashton will pardon me, I would like to make a reference to him as an illustration. We were sitting in a meeting the other night where he, representing the adult group was in session with us, when the telephone rang. It was word from his home that his lovely wife had just passed away. Sick though she was, he had left her bedside to counsel with us preparing for this conference. From this meeting he was to return home to his sorrowing family. I cite that complete selfless service of Brother Ashton, as an example of the fully devoted service of these committee members as they work behind the scenes. I wish time would permit me to name them all.
As I think of the dedication of these brothers and sisters, I have thought often of something that is reported to have been said by the late President J. Golden Kimball. He was asked on one occasion how many people worked in the Church Office Building, and his answer was, "Oh, about a third of them." At least, we can say to you that these folks represent the "third" of which Brother Kimball was speaking-a thoroughly dedicated "working third."
Chart #3. In this next chart you will note the auxiliary advisers shown at the top and underneath the auxiliary advisers on the chart, the four auxiliaries, or five, if you count the YWMIA and the YMMIA as separate organizations: Relief Society, Sunday School, MIA, and Primary general boards.
While the correlation committees are studying the courses of study, preparing, and writing them if assigned to do so, the auxiliary advisers with their general boards will now engage primarily in leadership training, so you will notice in the center of that chart "Leadership Training" is pictured as the great task of the general auxiliary boards with their advisers. This is done first at their annual conference, such as has just been held by the general board of the Primary Association and is now in process of being held by the general Sunday School board. Here in these annual conferences there will be a preview of courses of study and activities, and then at stake quarterly conference where once annually, each auxiliary organization will send a representative who will bring to each stake a program for training and instruction of local leaders. Most of you now have had visits from the Relief Society and Primary representatives, and almost uniformly we have heard nothing but commendation from stake presidents for the excellent service these auxiliary representatives have rendered at stake conferences. The Sunday School and MIA will attend conferences during the third and fourth quarters of the year. These auxiliary representatives will give leadership training to stake leaders in separate meetings throughout Saturday, and then to priesthood leaders in the evening, and then participate, under the direction of stake presidents, in the general sessions on Sunday, to bring their respective auxiliary programs to the body of the Church. These stake conferences, attended by auxiliary representatives will take the place of what have been called heretofore, the annual auxiliary conventions.
Chart #4. The next chart shows four other phases of the work, you will notice. Under the First Presidency and the Twelve, General Authorities will be sent out to stake conferences, alternating with the general auxiliary boards, and you will notice at the bottom of the chart the four phases of work which will be stressed when the General Authorities come.
In the first two quarters of this year welfare work and genealogy work were stressed and will be stressed to the end of the second quarter. For the last half of the year, missionary work and what we are calling "Home Teaching" will be stressed by General Authorities and their associates.
We will speak of "Home Teaching" in just a moment.
Chart #5. Now with this next chart I want to pause a moment to illustrate something of our procedure, as we have developed the correlation program, step by step. You will notice here again, and to you who are listening, the First Presidency at the top of the chart, and under the Presidency, the General Authorities, and then you will notice in a subordinated position the words, "general priesthood board" in parentheses, and stemming out from the box showing the General Authorities or you will see four committees who will assist the General Authorities: a priesthood missionary committee, a priesthood welfare committee a priesthood Home Teaching committee, and a priesthood genealogical committee. All of these programs, therefore, are to be priesthood-centered.
When we brought this recommendation to the First Presidency designating a general priesthood board in a supervisory position, President McKay made a very significant statement to the effect that, years ago, when the committee of the Twelve on which he was then working with a similar problem had suggested the setting up of a general priesthood board, President Joseph F. Smith had said, "You have a general priesthood board. You as the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, constitute the priesthood board."
In that naming of the Twelve as the general priesthood board, the President of the Church was but repeating in essence what the Lord had said. Let me read you three brief verses.
"The Twelve are a Traveling Presiding High Council, to officiate in the name of the Lord, under the direction of the Presidency of the Church, agreeable to the institution of heaven; to build up the church, and regulate all the affairs of the same in all nations, first unto the Gentiles and secondly unto the Jews."
Then this reference to the Seventy: "The Seventy are to act in the name of the Lord, under the direction of the Twelve or the traveling high council, in building up the church and regulating all the affairs of the same in all nations, first unto the Gentiles and then to the Jews;"
Then finally, "Whereas other officers of the church, who belong not unto the Twelve, neither to the Seventy, are not under the responsibility to travel among all nations, but are to travel as their circumstances shall allow, notwithstanding they may hold as high and responsible offices in the church".
And if you will think of the place of the Assistants to the Twelve, you will begin to see how the Lord very clearly in that last quotation opened up the possibility of that very kind of appointment, just as the Lord had said there would be, "other officers not of the Twelve neither the Seventies-notwithstanding they may hold as high and responsible offices in the Church." Working with the Twelve, then, serving as a general priesthood board assisted by others of the General Authorities, will be these four sub-committees, priesthood-centered, directed by the general priesthood board which is, as President Joseph F. Smith had described, the priesthood responsibility of the Twelve. A member of the Twelve will be the chairman of each such committee, with an Assistant to the Twelve as a managing director, and others to form an administrative staff, with committee members who will serve as members on each of these committees who may be thought of as field representatives. There probably will be as many as twenty or twenty-five on each committee. The priesthood welfare committee will have as chairman the Presiding Bishop of the Church, as was announced by President Moyle today, when the general officers of the Church were sustained, with an Assistant to the Twelve as the managing director and others as an administrative staff and committee who will work with him.
As we study the appointments of these brethren, we think that at some stake conferences, in foreign countries, one brother might give attention to both programs by going before and staying a day after the conference. We may find some committee members who can teach one program for the first half of the year and another program for the second half, if his personal affairs permit. This is all being studied by the Twelve to see what can be done to increase efficiency and to keep travel costs to a minimum.
Chart #6. Here now we will show you the introduction of what we are calling the priesthood Home Teaching program. This is a program which we are going to study now in great detail as we come out to your stake conferences, so I shall only speak in headlines here tonight. To you who are listening, at the top of the page we say "Priesthood Correlation." It is a Home Teaching organization chart.
This new program is to be introduced and taught during the last two quarters of 1963 and will be inaugurated in full scale, January 1, 1964. This phase of the work is known as "Home Teaching." This designation was made after prayerful discussion by the Coordinating Council and by the First Presidency and the Twelve to emphasize an enlargement of the scope of responsibility previously in what we have called "Ward Teaching." Emphasis on the responsibilities of the entire priesthood to "watch over the Church" as commanded in the early revelations-to be concerned with the whole family as a group and as individuals.
In each stake there will be set up a Home Teaching committee as you will see at the top of the chart which will consist of the stake presidency, the general secretary for Home Teaching, who will be one of the high councilmen who is also a member of the stake Melchizedek Priesthood committee, and an assistant stake clerk for Home Teaching.
Under the supervision of the stake Home Teaching committee, as the chart shows, in each ward there will be a ward Home Teaching committee, consisting of the ward bishopric, an assistant ward clerk for ward teaching, and a high priest's group leader, the seventy's president or group leader, and the elder's president. Now this will constitute the core of those who now will go out to "watch over the Church". Priesthood group leaders will confer with the bishop, and the bishop will in turn determine who shall be assigned to work with certain families. These Home Teachers will then report back to their priesthood group leader or president, who in turn, will report to the bishop.
Chart #7. This chart will show you the high priests, who as senior companions, so far as is practicable, will work with high priests. They may be in some cases accompanied by an Aaronic Priesthood member, and they will visit the homes of high priests or high priests' widows.
The seventies at the top of the page, or group leaders, will be assigned so far as practicable to work with seventies as senior companions, with possibly a junior companion from the Aaronic Priesthood. They will visit the homes of seventies and their widows, and so with the elders.
Chart #8. Now on the next page you will see the Aaronic Priesthood. The general secretary over 21 will work with the home teachers, advisers to the Aaronic Priesthood over 21 as senior companions and visit the homes of Aaronic Priesthood over 21 and the unordained.
On the opposite side you will notice in the writing something that is very significant. Auxiliary leaders will assist priesthood leaders in the Home Teaching program as directed by the stake and ward priesthood leadership. This meeting of priesthood and auxiliary leaders will constitute what will be called the Ward Council. You stake presidents have been holding a monthly meeting with this group of ward leaders. This meeting has been known by different names-ward officers meeting, ward faculty meeting, ward correlation meeting, etc.-but will now be known as a Ward Council meeting where representatives of all auxiliaries may be invited to meet with priesthood representatives. In cases of special need, this chart explains the bishop will make adjustments in assignments as necessary; for example, there may be women assigned to go with their husbands on occasion or there may be called specialists from priesthood or auxiliary organizations where they are having a particular problem with a boy or girl or a man or woman, as the case might be.
Now with those few charts in mind, if the lights can be put on, let me make just one or two closing comments. In the instruction book, which will be put in the hands of all leaders, President McKay has prepared a foreword in which he has stressed these very things we are talking about. This is what President McKay will say in his foreword: "A Divine Service."
"Home Teaching is one of our most urgent and most rewarding opportunities to nurture and inspire, to counsel and direct our Father's children in all that pertains to life. Through the priesthood quorums, and under the Bishop's direction, Home Teaching takes the message of the gospel, the message of life and salvation and brotherly love, into the home, wherein lies the first and foremost opportunity for teaching in the Church.
"Three things should be kept in mind in thorough preparation for Home Teaching:
"First, a knowledge of those whom you are to teach. As each family is different from another, so each individual in the family differs from others. Methods and messages should vary according to each individual, and according to his problems and needs.
"To perform fully our duty as a Home Teacher we would need to be continually aware of the attitudes, the activities and interests, the problems, the employment, the health, the happiness, the plans and purposes, the physical and temporal and spiritual needs and circumstances of everyone-of every child, every youth, and every adult in the homes and families who have been placed in our trust and care as a bearer of the priesthood and as a representative of the bishop.
"Second, is a knowledge of what you are to teach. It is the Home Teacher's duty to teach that Jesus the Christ is the Redeemer of the World, and that Joseph Smith and his successors are prophets of God, and that the gospel has been restored, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is being divinely led and offers happiness eternal life and exaltation for all who are willing to learn and to live its principles. The earnestness of your testimony and the sincerity of your service will help give life and purpose and a desire for full fellowship in the Church to those whom you teach.
"Third, is a knowledge of how we are going to teach. If we may take some language from the Doctrine and Covenants, and apply it to this purpose: The Home Teacher should 'visit the house of each member' and 'teach, expound', and exhort them to pray vocally and in secret and attend to all family duties and 'watch over the Church always, and be with and strengthen them' -and this means always-however and whenever and with whatever may be necessary.
"Home Teaching is a divine service, a divine call. It is our duty as Home Teachers to carry the divine spirit into every home and heart. To love the work and do our best will bring the unbounded peace and joy and satisfaction of a noble, dedicated Teacher of God's children."
Here, then, you will see a home-centered, priesthood-centered responsibility in which every member of the priesthood is expected to function.
No one holding the priesthood is to be exempt from a bishop's assignment to work in this program.
President Joseph F. Smith must have been of the same opinion because he said: "Brother Charles W. Penrose is eighty-two years of age. I am going on seventy-six... and I want to tell... you that we are not too old to act as teachers, if you will call on us to do it, not one of us... So long as life lasts, and so long as we possess ability to do good, to labor in the upbuilding of Zion for the benefit of the human family, we ought, with willingness, with alacrity to yield to the requirements made of us to do our duty."
Just one final thought. When this correlation plan, thus far developed, was finally presented, President McKay made this statement. "This is not only a wonderful step forward but a bound forward. My soul rejoices! I think the whole thing is glorious! We can all see opportunities for the priesthood to become active and as quorums also: I think this is growth. It warms my soul!"
And all of us who have been privileged to work in the correlation studies feel as the President has expressed himself. Each step forward, however, opens up a new vista of new responsibility, so that we feel something like the great empire builder, Sir Cecil John Rhodes, who said in his last and dying words, after a lifetime of great accomplishments, "So little done, so much to do."
That is the way we feel about it. "So little done, and so much that lies yet ahead." We must expect opposition, and sometimes that opposition may come from inside, but remember what the Prophet Joseph Smith our early leader said: "The nearer a person approaches the Lord, the greater the power will be manifested by the Adversary to prevent the accomplishment of his purposes." One of the brethren, President John Taylor, said he heard the Prophet say, "You have all kinds of trials to pass through, and it is quite as necessary for you to be tried even as Abraham, and other men of God," and said he, "God will feel after you, he will take hold of you and wrench your very heartstrings, and if you cannot stand it you will not be fit for an inheritance in the Kingdom of God."
Well, now may I close with a statement, paraphrasing what the Lord said through the Prophet Joseph Smith to his associates in the priesthood of the Church: "Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren, and on, on to victory," for which I pray humbly and fervently we may do, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Hugh B. Brown
Hugh B. Brown, Conference Report, April 1963, pp. 89-92
Brethren and fellow workers:
Of the many groups we are asked to address from time to time, there is none more inspiring, but more humbling, than this body of priesthood, thousands of whom we can see and probably tens of thousands whom we cannot see. One approaches the responsibility of a few moments talk with deep humility and a prayer for divine guidance. I shall speak for a few minutes only, as we are all anxious to hear from President McKay.
I certainly congratulate Brother Lee on his excellent presentation of a difficult program, which has taken the committee several years to work out. He has been trying to get us to see it in just a few minutes and has done a very good job of compressing into those few minutes what could well occupy several hours.
Among other things I have been impressed by the fact that it is not easy to be a Latter-day Saint. I notice these charts call for work, work, work on the part of all concerned. In some churches, one man, as has already been indicated, does most of the work. In this Church all of us are expected to participate.
Another thing that impressed me as I listened to Brother Lee's explanation of this program that will be carried forward under the direction of the President of the Church is that it provides opportunity for everyone who is willing to make some contribution to the cause. We recognize in the Church a cause which is greater and more important than we are as individuals, and in it we enjoy the fellowship of our brethren who hold the priesthood. Unless we with them can cooperate in advancing that cause we shall not make a success of this program. We should all give to this committee not only a vote of thanks by expressing it in words but a vote of appreciation by putting into operation the work as here outlined and as it will be more fully explained as we go forward. Let no one of us feel or say or think that the brethren are just trying to find something more for us to do-don't think that because they are-they are trying to find something for us to do because they know there is only one way to salvation, that is by active participation.
In all teaching-and one of the functions of the priesthood is teaching-what the teacher is counts for more than what he says. What we are as members of the priesthood and as missionaries in the field, at home or abroad, means more to those to whom we go than what we teach. So my first thought is, let us be what we teach. The teacher and the truth taught should be of the same pattern. Let each one be an example to all whose lives we touch; let us recognize in all of our fellow workers some value, some worth, and never forget that each one of them has a heart, has feelings, has ambition, has a certain amount of pride; therefore, let us never by virtue of the priesthood or the positions we hold trample on the rights or the feelings of our fellow men; let us never be sharp in what we say to them by way of criticism, but let us be kindly, considerate, and have in our hearts a love for our fellow men, for in each one of them there is value.
I read something this morning I'd like to leave with you. Every human life has in it more or less gold which is usually not readily apparent to the casual observer. Kindness is a part of that gold, the gold of the spirit, that part which is known to others because it has lessened their burdens and made their pathways lovelier. The man who has gold in his life has something that is bigger than anything that can happen to him. He doesn't worry about defeats or obstacles or sorrows, for he knows these are but froth on the river of life to last but a brief time and then be blown away. What matters is not the froth, but the strong, pulsating, ongoing current in the river, which is never disturbed by the leaves floating up at the quiet eddies of the surface. One day you may find that your house of life has collapsed, but in the wreckage you may find the gold which cannot be destroyed. not by the worst disaster, for the gold of life is imperishable and immortal. Search for it in the wreckage, for out of it you can mint new coins. Out of defeat arises the gold of life.
Priesthood involves presidency, authority, and power; it involves the right and duty under certain circumstances to reprove others. You remember what the Prophet said, "Reproving betimes with sharpness... and then showing forth... increase of love". Let us be very careful about this matter of reproving, and yet part of our duty is to see that there is no iniquity in the Church. Again I say, let us be careful how we trample on the feelings of our brothers and sisters. Let us lift them and bless them and benefit them as we go forward and never be guilty of humiliating them or causing them to think that we do not appreciate their work.
The next thought I'd like to leave with you is that we must not be deceived by the boom in numbers and dollars and buildings going on in the Church. We thank the Lord for them, but they are not the main part of our work. All we need to say on that is that the body without the spirit is dead.
As we go forward in the special work of the priesthood, which is missionary work both for the living and the dead, and as we carry the gospel to our friends who are not members of the Church, let us try to keep things in proper balance. The revealed order is faith and then repentance and then baptism. A Baptist minister was heard to say about some of his own people recently that the church had recruited some people who had been starched and ironed before they were washed. I think we might take a lesson from that thought and convert the people before we baptize them.
Let us read from the Doctrine and Covenants with respect to priesthood. This is a section with which you are more or less familiar, but I never hesitate to refer again to that which has been referred to so often any more than I would hesitate to invite a friend to come to my table when I had only the things that we usually serve at the table. We do not complain much because we do not have something different at every meal. We enjoy that which is set before us if we have an appetite for it. The Lord said:
"... 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".
Brethren, I bear testimony to the fact that that promise has been realized in the lives of many of us. I know that it has been realized in the life of President David O. McKay, that he has been sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of his body, and some of the rest of us are better off today than we were many years ago so far as physical health is concerned-and we attribute that fact to his blessing.
"They become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham, and the church and kingdom, and the elect of God.
"... 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".
It is important that we consider occasionally the oath and the covenant which each of us has taken. All who have been baptized and all who hold the priesthood are under covenant to do and refrain from doing certain things. We must remember and keep our covenants, one of which is that we be willing to give of ourselves, our means and all that we have to the upbuilding of the Church and kingdom of God.
Young fellow workers, deacons and teachers and priests, we who are growing older have great confidence in you, based upon what we believe to be a fact, that you would not now be holding the priesthood unless God had thought you worthy of it and unless he had something for you to do. Each one of you young men who is listening tonight has a future. What that future is to be will depend upon your attitude toward your calling, your faith in yourselves, your belief that there is some gold in you. It is important that you young men and all of us try to refine that gold by active participation and not wait until the house is burned down, and we have passed through the fire. It is very important that every young man make up his mind that he is going to respond to the voice of conscience, that he is going to be true to himself and not yield to the down-drag of any environment in which he may find himself.
May I tell a story to illustrate the point that a man must respond to his better self if he is going to be a worthy holder of the priesthood. The story is told that the Arabians, when they are training their horses, put them to a final test of character and stamina. It is said that the finest of the Arabian horses which are kept for breeding stock are trained from the time they are colts to respond to a bell which rings intermittently at the tent of the master. Wherever they are and whatever they are doing, they must run to the tent of the master when the bell rings. Their mothers were taught it before them, and they respond, and the colt, running beside the mother, habitually as time goes on responds to the bell and knows that it is the call of duty. When the colts are three years old, they are placed in a corral, a pole corral that they can see through. They are left there three days and nights without food or water. At the end of the third day hay and grain and water are placed just outside the corral. You can imagine the eagerness of the young colts as they look through the bars at the food and water. When the gate is opened the young colts rush out, and just as they are about to reach the food and water, the bell rings. Only those of them that have stamina enough to respond to the bell and resist the urge of appetite are kept for the breeding stock of the future.
Brethren, as we go forward, we become increasingly aware of the fact that there is a bell which rings very frequently throughout life. Sometimes men become unresponsive or hard of hearing and disregard the bell to their own sorrow. You young men are going to hear it many times between now and the time you are our age. We plead with you to resist the call of appetite and passion and hearken to the bell which is your conscience. If you are tempted to do wrong, there will always be something within you saying, "Don't do it." Hearken and respond to that bell, and you will be worthy of the confidence that the President of the Church has in you, worthy to take over the responsibilities now held by your fathers, your brothers, your leaders.
God bless you and all of us that we may co-operate with the General Authorities, with the stake and ward and mission authorities, and be responsive to their admonitions. The Church-your Church and my Church is growing in numbers and influence with an accelerating speed beyond anything that we who are older could have imagined in our youth. I am grateful for and testify to the truth of the restored gospel in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Henry D. Moyle
Henry D. Moyle, Conference Report, April 1963, pp. 92-93
President McKay visited Laie in Hawaii in 1921 with President Hugh J. Cannon This was part of their world tour. It was the flag-raising ceremony at the little school in Laie that inspired President McKay to improve the educational facilities of the Islands. He saw Hawaiian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Caucasian children and mixed racial strains. They all with fervor saluted our flag without a trace of racial disparity.
A little Japanese boy, it is reported, stepped into the center of the circle and with his hand over his heart pledged his allegiance to the flag of the United States. It was at that moment that President McKay was inspired ultimately to see to it that a college would be built at Laie. This spot had already been dedicated as a spiritual center, and President McKay was inspired with the desire to dedicate it as an educational center also, and since 1951 the following schools have been built in the Polynesian area:
The Church College of Hawaii; The Church College of New Zealand; Liahona College, Tonga; Church College of Western Samoa; Mapasaga High School, American Samoa; five primary schools in these areas; and one primary school is now being built in Tahiti.
It was the building of some of these smaller schools in the Pacific from which the Church building program developed. The missionary building program found its origin in a spiritual impression, a revelation, if you please, to a future President of the Church. It is still the desire of President McKay to bring the full church program to all members of the Church everywhere. He emphasizes two things: the need of the Holy Ghost, and the need of the full church program to assist us, the members of the Church, to do our full church duty. And I am sure that it is going to take both dedication and devotion on the part of all of us to carry out the great church program.
I want to say that President McKay, who was sustained as our leader twelve years ago, has done as much as any mortal man could do, in laboring for the individual interest of every member of the Church.
The accomplishments are phenomenal. It was during a meeting of the expenditures committee on April 17, 1962 that a report of the vast building program of the Church projected for the future, tremendous in its scope, was given, and the anticipated growth of the church membership was estimated, that the question was asked: "How in the world can we continue to finance this kind of building program, even as it is needed to house the membership and to cope with the growth?"
President McKay thought a moment, not unlike the thinking of President Snow in St. George, depicted by the beautiful picture shown us last evening at the bishops' meeting, The Windows of Heaven, for he received light and understanding from heaven and prophetically uttered: "We have been waiting for this day in the Church for a hundred years, this tremendous development in our membership. Now that day has come, we must be prepared to take care of the membership of the Church; if we are faithful and obedient to the commandments of the Lord, 'God will provide'".
I had occasion last night to talk to the bishops, for which I was grateful, upon the subject of tithing. It is my humble testimony to you that the Lord has set the pace, and we cannot look back. Christ said, "... No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God".
Whatever wealth we have individually, or as a Church, should be fully dedicated to the advancement of the work of the Lord. As holders of the priesthood we know the Lord has said, "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". But that is not accomplished by those who do not pay their tithes.
Just remember that, and we do not become the sons of Moses and Aaron and of the seed of Abraham and of the Church and kingdom, and the elect of God when we do not obey his commandments; and when through any reasons that we may have of our own we seek to withhold that sacred tenth of our increase which belongs to the Lord, we exclude ourselves from the class spoken of in the eighty-fourth section of the Doctrine and Covenants, and that is likewise true of the other passage that I wanted to read about, "And also all they who receive this priesthood receive me, saith the Lord".
But I say unto you tonight, my brethren, in all seriousness that whosoever magnifies these two priesthoods gives to the Lord a full accounting for his tenth and does it willingly. They do it because they love to serve the Lord and keep his commandments. We are not seeking to receive tithes from anyone unless they are paid as the offerings of Abel were made originally to the Lord, and then all of these promises are ours. We should always remember our obligation to give to the Lord the tenth which is his.
"I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say, but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise".
Therefore, I feel confident saying that these blessings which are predicated upon our holding these two great priesthoods of God can be enjoyed by us when we account to our bishops for our tithes and offerings. There must always be in the Lord's storehouse sufficient funds for the President of the Church to carry out every inspiration received from God, and it all takes funds.
How grateful I am that we have President McKay living so close to God that he knows where these funds should be placed and what we should accomplish with them. How grateful I am not only for the building program but also for these great spiritual men whose work in the building of our chapels is just as spiritual as it is temporal. I am grateful for the short wave radio. I am grateful for everything that the President has initiated because I know he is a prophet of God, and he is inspired and acts in accordance with the mind and will of our Heavenly Father.
How simple it is for you and me as members of the priesthood to see that the funds are accumulated, by which the storehouse of the Lord will always be filled. It was Alma of old who said, "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".
I know with all my heart and soul that President McKay's stewardship of the funds of the Church has been in keeping with the will of the Lord, and for the advancement and progress of his work here upon this earth. It will be more pleasing to the Lord when he sees fit to return to this earth to have the greatest number of souls saved than to look at any financial statement of the Church that could possibly exist.
I testify to you that the work now going forward under our beloved prophet is in accordance with the wishes of our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, and I pray that every one of us who respects these two priesthoods which we hold will uphold and sustain him and find reasons why we should pay a full tithing. As leaders of the Church, as I said last night, we should preach tithing and inspire those whom we preside over in our wards and stakes and branches throughout the world to account to the Lord for that which belongs to him. I pray this humbly in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1963, pp. 94-95
While listening to the profound presentation of the correlation work in this Church, two thoughts came to my mind which I wish to emphasize.
First, I hope you all visioned clearly the quorum work in the Church and its relation to what Brother Lee presented. There are quorums in the Church independent, in a way, so far as spiritual work and service is concerned, of the ecclesiastical organization of the Church, and those quorums supply a spiritual need which the world seeks to obtain in secret societies. I think they make it more effective, however, than we do in the Church.
One day Brother Cannon and I were on the vessel leaving the northern part of Africa, and as the vessel pulled out into the ocean, I strolled along the deck. I noticed a stranger coming toward me. I could see by his face that he recognized me and expected me to recognize him. For the life of me I knew I had never seen him before, but he still came for ward with that recognition and grasped my hand with a special grip. He immediately dropped my hand, and said: "Excuse me." Then I knew. I was wearing a stick pin, a gift from Sister McKay, upon which was engraved a star and crescent. This man recognized the sign, gave me the grip, but I could not return it.
We do not object to the world's holding those special convenient means of soul intercourse. It is friendly. It is helpful. But we have the same thing in the Church. Every male member in the Church from twelve years up to 112 years, as one man celebrated his birthday yesterday, has a place in the quorum-twelve deacons, twenty-four teachers, forty-eight priests, ninety-six elders; and high priests gathered under the ecclesiastical group in your stake. Where we do not have that number we have groups. In every ward we have deacons, teachers, and priests, and in the stakes, the elders, seventies, and high priests.
Now, each quorum has a duty to perform. The presidencies have a responsibility to sit in council with them and to teach them their duty-the quorum work. Not the bishop, not the stake presidency-that is the duty of the quorum.
And so I saw, while Elder Lee was presenting this work of teaching correlating work, the duty of the individual members of each quorum.
I was pleased the other day to receive an old minute book. I thank somebody for sending it to me so that I could look through it. This minute book came from Ogden where we used to have our deacons' quorum presidency's meeting, talking there in a neighbor's house, then deciding that it was our duty to chop the wood for the widows of the ward. My point is that the responsibility of the entire Church rests upon the men who are members of these quorums.
I should just like to say a word now to the deacons, the teachers, and the priests who are present tonight. President Brown was right when he said the officers of the Church are expecting you young men to carry on the work that is presented this night. There are two things we should like you to do: each one keep his faith in God, and have moral courage-not just physical courage-moral courage. I know that some of you are just like a man who wrote a letter the other day saying, "I have lost my faith. Can you help me? What is there hereafter? I am afraid there is nothing hereafter. Can you help me?"
Well, I know for what he is yearning.
He wants to know for sure that death does not end this life, and that the soul within will live eternally. I shall just say to him, and to you young men, whenever you are doubting the existence of God or your own immortality, remember what the Savior said to those who doubted him: "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself", italics added).
Now, that is the keynote to every man living. Do the will of God. If any man will do his will he shall know for himself. There is an opportunity every day of our lives to do that will. Each young man has an opportunity some day to do as his Father has asked him to do. The young men here tonight have heard the words of scripture, and you will have opportunities tomorrow to be untrue to yourself or to the instructions given today. God will prompt you what to do. You say, "Well, I do not know yet that he lives." Yes, you do! You cannot prove that he does not; and if you doubt it, believe those men who know, if you have confidence in them.
You are studying in your schools, and you have probably read the words of one of the essays of reputedly the wisest American who ever lived, who said, "Oh, my brothers, God exists! There is a soul at the center of nature... so that none of us can wrong the Universe. There is guidance for each of us, and by lowly listening we shall hear the right word."
When that word comes to you-call it conscience, or, if you are in the Church and doing your duty, the whisperings of the Spirit, because you are entitled to be a partaker of it-then be true to that whispering, and some day you will know for yourself that you are in harmony with the universe.
Peter was quite a doubtful man as he grew to manhood before he knew Christ, but long afterwards he was praying and said that we have been made partakers of the divine nature. He knew it, and you will know it some day if you will do the will, be true to self.
Now, I said courage is a second need not physical courage, but moral courage. Let me illustrate: James L. Gordon, the author of The Young Man and His Problems tells the story of a young boy who decided to be an apprentice in one of the carpenters' societies. He was a bright young boy in his teens, and the men were very glad to admit him. They said, "Come on, let's drink to the entrance of this young man to our group!" They poured out the beer, handed him the glass.
He said, "No, thank you, I do not drink."
"Well," said a gruff old member, "we're not going to have any teetotalers in our group."
"Well," said the young boy, "you'll have one if you have me."
Another seized him by the collar and said, "Young man, you'll have this beer either inside or outside!"
"Very well, I came here with a clean jacket and a clear conscience. You may soil my jacket if you wish, but you shall not soil my character."
He had been trained-I use that word properly-not only taught, but trained to avoid the use of tobacco and strong drink, intoxicating liquor. That is what I mean by moral courage. The greatest need in the world today is faith in God and courage to do his will.
God help us as young men to prepare ourselves for the responsibilities awaiting us. God help us all to keep our consciences clear, our characters sound, responsive to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit, which is real, if we shall but put our ears and listen to it as the wisest American suggested, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Nathan Eldon Tanner
N. Eldon Tanner, Conference Report, April 1963, pp. 133-137
It is with a feeling of humility and a prayer in my heart that I accept this assignment to speak to you at this time. I have chosen as my subject, "Keep Faith With Your Family."
As a school teacher, scoutmaster and bishop, and as I have traveled from place to place and talked to different people, I find that many are worried about their children, their youth, are criticizing the youth of other families, blaming all kinds of conditions for their problems, and are wondering just what can be done or should be done to improve these conditions. On the other hand, I find many of our youth who are frustrated, who would really like to choose and do the right and be accepted, but who wonder just what it is all about, and what is important, and why so little emphasis is placed on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is true that nothing brings greater joy and satisfaction and comfort to a parent than to see a child really develop into an honorable, respected, righteous citizen. The youth who develops into that kind of citizen is loved, respected and admired by all. How can this be accomplished?
I have always been impressed with the admonition of Joshua to his people when he said, "Choose you this day whom ye will serve, but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord". Then we have the promise made by the Saviour when he said, "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you".
The other day I reread an article by J. Edgar Hoover entitled "Should I Force My Child" which reads:
"Shall I make my child go to Sunday School and Church? Yes! And with no further discussion about the matter. Startled? Why? How do you answer Junior when he comes to breakfast on Monday morning and announces to you that he is not going to school any more? You know! Junior goes.
"How do you answer when junior comes in very much besmudged and says, 'I'm not going to take a bath.' Junior bathes, doesn't he?
"Why all this timidity, then, in the realm of his spiritual guidance and growth? Going to let him wait and decide what Church he'll go to when he's old enough? Quit your kidding! You didn't wait until you were old enough. You don't wait until he is old enough to decide whether he wants to go to school or not to start his education. You don't wait until he is old enough to decide whether he wants to be clean or dirty do you? Do you wait until he is old enough to decide if he wants to take his medicine when he is sick, do you?
"What shall we say when junior announces he doesn't like to go to Sunday School and Church? That's an easy one to answer. Just be consistent. Tell him, `Junior, in our house we all go to Church and to Sunday School, and that includes you.' Your firmness and example will furnish a bridge over which youthful rebellion may travel into rich and satisfying experience in personal religious living. The parents of America can strike a telling blow against the forces that contribute to our juvenile delinquency, if our mothers and fathers will take their children to Sunday School and Church regularly."
In my opinion, Mr. Hoover answers the question in the last paragraph wherein he says, "Tell him, in our house we all go to Sunday School and Church." And then again in the last sentence, "The parents of America can strike a telling blow against the forces that contribute to our juvenile delinquency if our mothers and fathers will take their children to Sunday School and Church regularly." There would be no need of forcing our children to attend Sunday School and Church if we as parents attend regularly, because that would just be a part of their lives and children like to be with their parents. It is difficult for children to understand why they should go to Sunday School or Church when their parents feel it is more important or more interesting for them to go fishing or golfing. Our Lord and Master has said, "Thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day".
I thought a friend of mine showed a good example of this when his son came to him and said, "Dad, I don't want to go to Church today." His dad replied, "My son, you have your free agency, you better hurry and get your coat or we'll be late." You notice, we'll be late-not you'll be late.
How fortunate is the boy or girl who lives in a home where the parents believe in God, the Eternal Father, and his Son, Jesus Christ, and know within their hearts that the Savior came and brought the Gospel of peace and good will and gave the plan of life and salvation whereby all mankind may be saved; and who set about to so order their lives as to keep his commandments. We have been admonished, "Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings and he will direct thee for good". To join with the family in prayer every day, and to talk to our Father in Heaven, to seek his blessing, and express our gratitude, will have a profound influence not only on the life of the child, but on the lives of the family as a whole. A feeling of love, unity, and of being in tune will be experienced by all. Encourage them to go privately to the Lord in thanksgiving and supplication.
What strength and courage it gives a young man as he goes out into the world when he comes from a home where there is no question in his mind that his parents feel and always act as Paul when he says, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth". There are too many people in the world today who are like the chief rulers as recorded in these words, "Nevertheless, among the chief rulers also many believed on him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him lest they should be put out of the synagogue for they loved the praise of men more than they loved the praise of God".
Great doubt is raised in the mind of a child whose parents profess one thing and do another; where they profess to be Christians and believe in God, but do nothing about it. As Elijah came unto all the people and said, "How long halt ye between two opinions. If the Lord be God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him". The Lord has said, "If you love me you will keep my commandments".
Every day is full of choices. Our choices today determine our future and the future of our children. Such little questions as: Will I be honest? Will I keep my pledge or commitment or promise? Will I prove dependable? Will I go to Church or will I go fishing? We cannot be nearly dependable, we cannot be reasonably honest, we cannot be diligent sometimes, we cannot nearly catch a plane and be where or what we wish to be.
Let us always remember and determine that the things which matter most must not he at the mercy of things which matter least. First, we must choose what we want out of life, and then if we wish to achieve it, we must abide by the rules whether it be to gain a university degree, to become an American citizen or to reach the Celestial Kingdom.
As one of our poets wrote so well:
"Know this, that every soul is free To choose his life and what he'll be; For this eternal truth is given That God will force no man to heaven.
"He'll call, persuade, direct aright And bless with wisdom, love, and light; In nameless ways be good and kind But never force the human mind.
"Freedom and reason make us men Take this away and what are we then Mere animals, and just as well The beasts may think of heaven or hell."
Let each of us check and determine whether our innermost thoughts are holding us on the animal plane or whether they tend to lift us into the mental, moral, and spiritual realm. We become slaves as we break the laws of nature, as we become addicted to bad habits, or, we remain free as we choose the right. The Lord has said, "Thou shalt have no other Gods before me". Some have as their Gods money, political power, fame, false ideologies, idols, and even unknown Gods. Two or three years ago, while traveling with Lord Rowallan, Chief Scout of the British Commonwealth, I was thrilled with his comment as he led in the Scout promise. As he said, "On my honor I promise to do my duty to God," he stopped and said to the Scouters who were present, "As I make this promise I think of a God who can hear and answer prayers, who is interested in what we are doing, and who will guide us and bless us according to our needs and our faith." And then he said, "If any of you do not believe in such a God, you can serve better some place else." "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life".
Selfishness, murder, hatred, and conquest are rampant throughout the so-called civilized world today. If each and every man could say and do as Joshua admonished, "as for me and my house we will serve the Lord", and keep his commandments, we would have peace in the world. Yes, if the people in the world would today "love" God and keep his commandments, we would have peace overnight. As someone has so aptly said, "Righteousness in the individual makes for harmony in the home, harmony in the home makes for order in the nation, and order in the nation results in peace in the world."
It would be most helpful if parents would sit down with the whole family and discuss what they want out of life, what they want to accomplish, and how they can help one another in doing it. After this decision is made, it will be necessary for all of them to answer the questions: Is it worth the effort, or am I prepared to do my part? Can I discipline myself, or have I the will power? Then, each and every one must make up his mind, accept his obligations, and go forward with determination realizing that it will bring the greatest joy and satisfaction and success in life. When one begins to rationalize, or try to explain why he does this or that which he knows is wrong, he is actually bringing his ideals down to his actions. Where, on the other hand, if one repents and sets about to improve himself and keep the commandments, he is raising his standards or his actions up to his ideals.
What a marvelous thing it would be if we and our children could learn early in life the joy and satisfaction that comes from living good, clean, honest, and upright lives all the time and that there is no joy or satisfaction in sin. It is so important that we all try to enjoy living and that our young people have a good time. However, this good time should be such that in the future, whether it be a month, a year, or ten years from now they can always look back on this as "a good time," realizing that a man of honor does not change his code of honor with passing circumstances. The greatest joy and happiness one can get out of living is to know that he has done and is doing right, and to be in the service of the Lord.
We have the old commandment, "Honor thy father and thy mother that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee". Children should be taught and trained to honor their father and their mother. Their parents gave them life and cared for them when they could not care for themselves. Every child of every age should love and honor his parents. It is much easier, however, for children to do this if the parents live worthy of the honor of their children and are always an example to them, where they wield a real influence for good in their lives.
There is no responsibility greater than that of teaching and training a child to be an honest, honorable, and righteous citizen; and there is no stronger, more effective way of doing it than for the parent to be what he would like his son to be. What a great day it will be for the world and the Church when every father and son will do and be what he would like the other to think he is. In other words, father should always try to put himself in the position where he would be glad to have his son say, "I do nothing save that which I have seen my father do." It is the manner of our living and not the words we use to explain it that makes up the moral fiber of the children God has given to us. We should never be surprised if our children grow up to be like us. Therefore, we must take the time to be the kind of people we would like our children to be. It is so important that the rush of the world and the pressure of business do not make fathers and sons strangers. When we say with a shrug of the shoulder, "Boys will be boys," maybe we should remember that boys will soon be men and set about to help make them men. There is a point at which sympathy becomes coddling and kindness becomes indulgence and they who are too busy, too lazy, or too softhearted to give children the example and discipline they need are being unfair to everyone and particularly to the children. It is most difficult for parents to discipline their children and expect them to do those things which are not important enough for parents to do themselves.
We are all the children of God and he wants us to succeed and stands ready to answer a call. Let us never forget that the Lord has said, "This is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man". Satan has pledged himself to destroy man. We should always thank our Heavenly Father that Satan cannot force us to do wrong; and also, realize and be thankful for the fact that the Lord will not force us to do right. We have our free agency and we can choose to do right or wrong, to be a failure or success, to serve the Lord or Baal.
Let us not forget that a young man or a young woman of character, industry, faith, intelligence and loyalty will always be at a premium and will always be able to find a place or make one when he can truthfully say, "As for me and my house we will serve the Lord" and truly seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, knowing that all things for his good will be added unto him.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1963, pp. 96-99
"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 to be a messenger before my face to prepare the way before me".
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was scarcely one year old when that declaration was made. Joseph Smith, to whom the inspiration came, was but twenty-five years of age. It is a marvelous declaration, great in its pretention, comprehensive in its scope-"Mine everlasting covenant is sent into the world, to be a light unto the world."
On Bedloe Island, at the entrance of New York Harbor, there stands a Statue of Liberty, a light to the nations. What it has meant to thousands and hundreds of thousands of the downtrodden of Europe has been most graphically expressed by Israel Zangwill in that impressive production The Melting Pot, from which I quote:
"When I look at our Statue of Liberty, I just seem to hear the voice of America: 'Come unto me all ye who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest-rest.'"
What that Statue of Liberty has symbolized to the oppressed and downtrodden of Europe, the gospel of Jesus Christ is to the world.
The restored gospel, the Church, has reared an ensign to the nations, and with words as comprehensive as those I have read in the revelation, invites the world to peace, to rest, to contentment.
And what does that ensign offer to the nations?
Forty-three years ago, Elder Stephen L Richards, speaking from this pulpit, answered that question as follows: "There are provided within the Church agencies and facilities which meet every requirement of social life. Our wards, to my thinking, constitute the most advantageous social units that have ever been devised or suggested in the history of society. There are presented within the organizations of the wards opportunities for every person to receive legitimate training in society, proper social intercourse, and the cultivation of all the desirable traits of character that go to make up good men and good women."
Sitting in the audience on that occasion was a statesman who had won national and international eminence, not only as a great leader in the political world, but also as a speaker and writer on religious topics. He was William Jennings Bryan, who only a few months before had written an article for a current magazine entitled "In the World, of the World, and for the World," wherein he outlined a number of ways in which he thought the church could make the world a better place in which to live. "My suggestion, therefore," I read from his article, "is that an effort should be made to set up a Christian standard for Christian communities, and to create an environment that will be helpful to the Church and the spiritual things for which the Church stands."
Such an organization is the restored Church of Jesus Christ, functioning effectually, as the Apostle Paul says, "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 fulness of Christ".
I invite you today to have in mind the various organizations of the Church: first, the priesthood quorums; second, the auxiliaries; third, educational opportunities; fourth, judicial phases of the Church; and fifth, the ecclesiastical groups. To elaborate on each one would occupy more time than I can give, but we can just glimpse it.
Consider the priesthood of the Church. Picture therein the men and boys organized in working sections or groups, from the father ninety years old, down to the boy twelve years of age. In these groups you find exemplified all that human society seeks in social groups and in societies. There is opportunity in these quorum groups for fellowship, brotherhood, and organized service. No man who is worthy of that fellowship can be kept out from it-not one!
Those who are active are working in an organized way for the betterment of one another, for the personal welfare of the membership and for the good of society as a whole. If we considered no further than the quorums, is not that a sublime picture, where men and boys may congregate, associate, affiliate in service for humanity, in which every man considers everyone a brother? In that quorum the doctor sits by the side of a carpenter, each interested in the most ennobling of aspirations-worship of God and helpful service to humanity! There is the essence of priesthood work in the Church, and, in the achievement of the purpose, every act and influence should be performed or wielded only "by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned." The words of the Prophet!.
In addition to quorums, there are Young Men's and Young Women's Mutual Improvement Associations, having charge of the recreation for the young, guiding the leisure hours of the youth as emphasized by Mr. William Jennings Bryan-one of the great problems facing civilization today! In these groups you have an organization of young men and young women, directing in music, in art, in debating, in drama, as well as in other uplifting activities of community life.
All quorums and groups are in themselves educational factors. It is surprising how many officers and teachers are engaged in the teaching and directing of youth just in quorums and auxiliary organizations.
Let us take one stake for example: I refer now to notes taken on a visit made in 1950 here in Salt Lake City. Among the groups in the Melchizedek Priesthood of that stake were 804 men serving without one penny of compensation for the betterment of society every week, and some of them every day.
If the high council and members of the bishoprics in that stake who are working with young boys between the ages of twelve and twenty-one be included, there were a total of 1,022 men.
The number of officers and teachers in the auxiliaries in the twelve wards of that stake was 1,950, so adding this number to the 1,022, we have a total of 2,972, or approximately 3,000 men and women teachers.
In addition, there were missionaries laboring under the direction of the stake presidency. In this one stake, they had held 2,715 meetings in homes in this city. They had baptized, since the first of the year, 106 converts and ten children who had gone beyond the age of eight years.
The Church progresses only as fast as these groups work in perfect harmony.
In the Doctrine and Covenants, we read: "It is the duty of the to watch over the Church always, to be with and strengthen them". This is a laymen's Church.
And what a message the Church has for this distracted world! "Its appeal," as Kent says of true Christianity, "is universal-to the rich and the poor, the strong and the weak, the learned and the unlearned. It proclaims God to be not only the one Supreme Ruler of the Universe, but the Father of each individual, a God of justice, yet a God of love, constantly watching over and guiding even the humblest of His children."
The Church, with its complete organization, offers service and inspiration to all. It is "pre-eminently a social religion." In quorums and auxiliaries it "aims by training the individual conscience and will to establish a closely knit, worldwide fraternity." It is in no sense ascetic. Instead of taking men out of the world. it seeks to develop perfect, Godlike men in the midst of society, and through them to solve the problems of society.
There is not a principle which is taught by the Savior of men but is applicable to the growth, development, and happiness of mankind. Every one of his teachings seems to touch the true philosophy of living. I accept them wholeheartedly. I like to study them. I like to teach them. It is a job to try to live them. Even phase of the restored Church is applicable to the welfare of the human family.
Twelve thousand missionaries and more, each paying individually or with the aid of parents his or her own expenses. are declaring to a troubled world that the message heralded at the birth of Jesus, "Peace on earth, good will toward men," may become a reality by compliance to the principles of the gospel.
As the Savior said to the eleven disciples, and to all whom they appointed, so he says to his authorized servants today: "Go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded".
Where, however, each missionary of old could speak only to one person, the representatives of Christ today can speak to millions. A sentence uttered in an ordinary tone of voice can encircle the globe in less than a minute. Daily, nations are becoming more closely united. The interest and destiny of each one becomes more closely the interest and destiny of all.
In the ecclesiastical groupings, there is opportunity for social welfare such as cannot be found in any other organization in the world. Thus does the Savior and his Church become my inspiration, my ideal in life. I think it is the one great thing for which man should strive. It presents the most efficient methods for human service, social uplift, and progressive steps toward universal peace and brotherhood; and in its idea of salvation it comprehends the whole of the human family.
May he bless the priesthood throughout the Church, the auxiliary associations, and all men and women who seek to instill into the hearts of men the redemptive power of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God. May all utilizing the organization of the Church continue more zealously "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 fulness of Christ".
God bless and prosper the Church as it bears witness to the reality of the personality of Deity and to the fact that God has again revealed himself to man and established a means whereby spirituality, brotherhood, and universal peace may be fostered among the children of men.
The Lord help us to be able to prove to the world that the restored gospel is just what the world today is longing for; and when they see it, may they know, as you know and as I know, that the everlasting gospel is a light to the world. May it ever be a light to the nations, a guiding solution of all the world problems, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Nathan Eldon Tanner
N. Eldon Tanner, Conference Report, April 1963, pp. 99-104
We have just listened to a Prophet of God.
As I stand before this great tabernacle assembly and the vast radio and television audience listening in, I humbly pray that the spirit and blessings of the Lord will attend us as we reason together.
It is my hope that I might answer one or two questions which people in the world are asking about our beliefs and teachings, such as:
Are you Christians or do you believe in Christ?
Do you believe and accept the Bible to be the word of God?
How do the teachings of your church differ from ours?
I shall endeavor to answer these questions briefly by quoting from and dealing with some of our Articles of Faith: First, "We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost". "We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel". "We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost". Also, "We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God".
Though we are commonly called Mormons, I should like to emphasize that this is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of which Christ is the chief cornerstone.
Referring to our belief in the King James translation of the Bible, we believe that the Gospels of the New Testament contain the life history of Jesus the Christ who had a real personality-a man-part mortal, part divine-who was born as ordinary mortals are born and moved about on the earth as mortal man moves, but who had certain super-mortal experiences, who mingled with his fellow mortals, and who lived and died as they did. These Gospels of the Bible contain the record of that man who is literally the Son of God.
Some cannot accept Jesus as this kind of person, but contend that-"he is a half mythical person who may have had an actual existence with some life experiences, but not those recorded in the Gospels and who claim that these experiences are myths in their miraculous elements, and that around these myths is a number of ethical principles, but not necessarily taught by him, but partly so, perhaps with spurious additions made by his followers in the earlier decades following his death."
We believe that Jesus was a real person and that those who appraise him as being half mythical and refuse to accept him literally as the Son of God or who portray Christ as a great philosopher, as the founder of a profound code of ethics, but deny him the divine parentage and sonship of God, drag Christianity down to the level of paganism and completely wipe out the true God and his plan of redemption for his children. They are actually trying to destroy him as Jesus the Christ and, therefore, are guilty of his re-crucifixion. We believe that he actually did the work and taught the doctrines that are recorded in the Gospels, that he was, in fact, Christ the Son of God the Eternal Father and that the account of his conception, birth, life, death, and resurrection are all as factual as any in all history.
We believe as recorded in Matthew that "... Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people".
We believe with John that "... God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life". And, as he himself said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me". And again through his Prophet, "... verily, verily, I say unto you, he that receiveth my gospel receiveth me; and he that receiveth not my gospel receiveth not me". We believe as Paul said. "... I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth".
The power of God unto salvation is not just a moral code of living based on attributes of the Savior, but it is the means essential to salvation. We believe that though Christ was so brutally crucified, he willingly gave his life for you and me that we might be raised from the dead and go back into the presence of our Father in heaven and be judged according to our deeds; that he was literally resurrected; that his body and spirit were reunited. This is established by the testimony of those who actually saw him and talked to him, not by one or two, but by many. As Mary Magdalene stood weeping at the tomb he comforted her, and as the ten apostles stood discussing the fact that the Resurrected Christ had appeared to some of them, "... Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
"But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
"And he said unto them, Why are you troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
"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".
Thomas, who was not present at this time, refused to believe that Christ had been resurrected and had appeared to the ten. He said. "... Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails... and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe." One week later, however, Jesus appeared to the apostles when Thomas was present and said, "... 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." Thomas answered and said unto him, "My Lord and my God".
Also, it is recorded in the Book of Mormon, which we believe to be the word of God, that after his resurrection he appeared to the people on the American continent. When he appeared to these people, they heard a voice which said unto them, "Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name-hear ye him.
"... 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 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". He taught the people, took little children on his knees, and blessed them and rejoiced and wept with them. This is the Christ in whom we believe.
We have another beautiful testimony which has been referred to several times during this conference of the reality of God, the Father, and his Son Jesus Christ as told by a young boy, Joseph Smith, not yet fifteen years of age who lived on the American continent just a little over a hundred years ago and later became God's prophet here in this last dispensation. There was a great religious revival going on where he lived, with each church vigorously proselyting for members. I shall give you his testimony in his own words by quoting therefrom:
"While I was laboring under the extreme difficulties caused by the contests of these parties of religionists, I was one day reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and fifth verse, which reads: 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.
"Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine...
"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...
"So, in accordance with this, my determination to ask of God, I retired to the woods to make the attempt...
"I kneeled down and began to offer up the desire of my heart to God... 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... 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!
"... No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right-and which I should join.
"I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said... 'they draw near to me with their lips but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of Godliness, but they deny the power thereof'".
Though this young boy had gone into the grove to ask God which church he should join, he came away with a definite knowledge and testimony that God and Jesus Christ are in reality Living Beings who had heard his prayers and appeared to and instructed him. As he told his experience to the people in the community, it seemed that though he was but an obscure boy with no standing in the community, the people and men of high standing took notice of him and excited the public mind against him until all sects united to persecute him. However, he maintained throughout his life, to his dying day, that he had seen a vision and that he could not deny it because by so doing he would offend God and come under condemnation.
Two or three years ago while traveling with Lord Rowallen, Chief Scout of the British Commonwealth, I was thrilled with his comment as he led a group of scouters in the Scout Promise. As he repeated "On my honor I promise to do my duty to God" he paused and said, "As I make this promise I think of a God who can and does hear and answer prayers, who is interested in what we are doing and who will guide us and bless us according to our needs and our faith." And then he made this significant statement, "If any of you cannot believe in such a God, you can serve better some place else."
What a glorious feeling of satisfaction and security it is to know that God and Jesus Christ actually live, that Christ is the real genuine person portrayed in the Bible and in modern scripture, who lived among and taught the people and blessed the children and the sick, before and after his crucifixion and resurrection, and that he was interested in their welfare as he traveled from place to place! Also, what a great strength it is to our children to know that we know that he lives, and to know that God will give liberally to each and all who properly come to 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". His great commitment to us is "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say, but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise".
Why would anyone prefer to think of him as a mythical being or as a great philosopher, but deny that he is literally the Son of God?
Having faith in Christ is essential to our salvation, and it is our responsibility and privilege to repent of our sins and follow him. Peter, on the day of Pentecost when he was asked, "... Men and brethren, what shall we do?" 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". The Savior himself said, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God". Christ himself was baptized of John saying, "... Suffer it to be so now for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness". If there should be any uncertainty in the minds of any who profess to be Christians as to the importance of the gospel and its ordinances, they should be able to get a clear, definite answer from the final charge which Jesus gave to his disciples in his last words of admonition to them, "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying; All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
"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 Savior also said, "... seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you".
In order to make effective these ordinances which are so essential according to the words of the Savior himself, it logically follows that they must be administered by those having authority to administer the ordinances. We maintain that that authority is on the earth today as predicted by Daniel wherein he said, "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever". Again, after the Savior had been on the earth and completed his work here, John the Revelator made this significant statement, "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
"Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters".
I wish to bear my testimony to all those who are within the sound of my voice this day that that angel has flown and that the everlasting gospel has been restored and that his Church has been re-established upon the earth and that the power to administer these ordinances has been restored in these the latter days and that the prophecy made by Daniel is being realized and the one by John has been fulfilled. The power of the priesthood, which is the power of God delegated to man to act in his name and officiate in the ordinances of the gospel, was conferred upon two young men, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, by those ancient apostles Peter, James, and John. The heavens are as open today as they were in the days of Peter and James and John and Paul and all the rest of the old apostles. God still answers the prayers of the righteous, still reveals his will through a prophet to the established Church of Jesus Christ. Yes, as Adam and Noah and Abraham and Moses had been chosen by God in the grand council in heaven as his prophets in the respective dispensations in which they lived, so was Joseph Smith chosen in these the latter days and called of God as his prophet, seer, and revelator. Instructions and authority to organize The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was given to him by Jesus Christ, and through him the gospel in its fullness was restored. This gospel is being preached throughout the world by missionaries and members of the Church who wish to share with the people throughout the world this glad message of the restored gospel. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes in and has the same organization that existed in the primitive Church as is recorded, "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 fulness 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".
These missionaries are preaching the same simple truths that were taught by Christ while he was on the earth, the first and great commandment being "... Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself". These missionaries and the members of the Church are prepared through prayer and by the power of the Holy Ghost to bear testimony that they know that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, and that his Church is headed by a prophet.
Also, that the essential "... 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; and fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost".
We believe that God still speaks to his people on the earth today and that the Church is being led by a prophet of God through whom the Lord speaks.
I would exhort you, as did Moroni in the days of old, when he said: "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".
The gospel message is sweet; it is a message of peace and goodwill; it is the one and only thing that will bring peace to the world, it offers a plan of life and salvation to all who will accept it. May the Lord cause that every soul seeking the truth shall come to the testimony that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, and the gospel has been restored in its fulness, and that Christ's Church is here upon the earth today with a prophet at its head is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Howard W. Hunter
Howard W. Hunter, Conference Report, April 1963, pp. 104-106
We approach the season of the year which marks the anniversary of one of the most significant events of all time. It was one of the many events of nearly two thousand years ago which divides history into two segments-that which took place before the death and resurrection of the Savior and the happenings of the two millenniums since that time.
Throughout Christendom this coming week, thoughts will turn to the little walled city on a hill in what was once Palestine. Jerusalem has been known as the "City of Peace," yet scarcely a decade in its history has gone by without wars or bloodshed. Its history is one of conquest and change-the Babylonians, the Jews, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, the Crusaders, the Turks. John the Baptist walked its streets; great kings and rulers of Bible fame lived in this ancient city.
To Christians everywhere, as spring comes again, there is the reminder of the one who came to earth with the message of peace, yet was condemned in Jerusalem for his teachings, convicted and sentenced to die by crucifixion, what Cicero called "the most cruel and hideous of tortures." After execution of judgment and death on the cross, the body was placed in a tomb prepared for the dead.
Those who knew him best did not fully realize his purpose for being with them, nor did they understand the testimony of the ancient prophets that the Master would give his life and be resurrected, that all men should overcome death and the grave and live again.
Repeatedly Jesus had made mention of his impending death and resurrection and on one occasion said:
"Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I may 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".
In spite of his teachings there was lack of understanding, and despair fell upon the little group of his followers. Some who had been the most devoted had forsaken him and fled. The sun rose and set on Saturday, the Jewish sabbath, and in the early hours before the dawn on that first Easter Sunday, while the Roman guard was keeping watch, a marvelous event took place.
"And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it".
In the darkness of the early morning Mary Magdalene and the other devoted women, the last to leave the cross, were the first to reach the sepulchre, bringing spices and ointment for the body of the Master. Here they saw the angel and were afraid, but he said to them:
"... Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
"He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
"And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead".
Many questions come to men as they travel through this mortal realm, but the one of greatest concern to many is this: Is it true we will be resurrected and live in a future life? Man in his scientific quest can only trace life to the moment of death, beyond this his research produces no tangible evidence. Socrates, who lived before the time of Christ, argued that the soul of man is immortal, yet, when sentenced to death, his statement was this:
"The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways, I to die, and you to live. Which is better God only knows."
Those who have a steadfast faith in a Personal God, who have a yearning to keep his commandments and a hope for a future life, will carefully and meticulously examine the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Those, on the other hand, who lack this faith and see only the mechanical laws which are the subject of experimentation and proof will either reject the evidence on the grounds that it lacks positive proof or will say it is insufficient. For a few moments let us consider the claims of those who have attempted to refute the evidence of the resurrection of Christ.
As soon as the guardsmen at the tomb had recovered from their fright, they reported the happenings to the chief priests who were Sadducees, a sect which had discredited and firmly denied the possibility of resurrection. The chief priests paid the guards a large sum of money to say: "... His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept".
It would seem incredible to believe that all of the soldiers were sleeping, knowing they could be put to death for sleeping at their post, but if they had been sleeping how would they have known it was the disciples who had stolen him away? The facts indicate the hoax was not on the part of the disciples of Christ as claimed, but on the part of those who had openly denied, prior to this time, the possibility of resurrection from the dead.
There are some who claim the body might have been stolen by the gardener, the Sanhedrin, Mary Magdalene, Pilate, the Sadducees, or any number of other persons. Wouldn't it seem reasonable to assume that as soon as the apostles began to proclaim that Christ had arisen from the tomb, or when those who saw him after the resurrection declared this fact, that the persons who had taken the body would come forward quickly to deny the resurrection by producing the body or explaining why it was taken? No such denial or explanation was ever made.
Another theory which has been advanced and perhaps the weakest of all is that Jesus did not die on the cross but fainted or lapsed into unconsciousness. It seems absurd to think that a living person would be buried. The very day of the resurrection he walked on the road to Emmaus. Does it seem reasonable that one with pierced feet and the wound of the spear in his side would be making such a journey? The facts themselves refute such a theory.
It is important to know the belief of the first Christians on the subject of the resurrection of Christ, particularly those living at the time of his death. If we turn to the writings of Paul as documentary evidence, we will find the answer. Nearly all critical scholars admit the genuineness of the principle epistles of Paul. He said to the Saints at Corinth: "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
"And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures".
Then speaking of the other apostles he said: "Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed".
Paul's teachings are identical with the teachings of the other apostles. We are assured, therefore, that the resurrection of Jesus Christ was regarded as one of the foundation doctrines of the early church and was taught to all converts "first of all".
One of the best authenticated writings in the New Testament is the First General Epistle of Peter in which he confirms the statements of Paul. We can add the testimony of two other apostles, Matthew and John, and in a lesser degree, Luke and Mark gave accumulative evidence.
Some critics point out what appears to be discrepancies in the testimony of some of these witnesses. Luke and John relate the presence of two angels at the tomb while Matthew and Mark mention only one. The first three gospels indicate the angels were seen by the women, but according to John, by Mary Magdalene alone. Luke and Matthew state the women brought the news that the tomb was empty, while Mark states "they said nothing to anyone for they were afraid". One of the fundamental rules of evidence is that the disagreement of the witnesses in matters of detail does not invalidate their testimony as to the principal facts to which they agree. The question then to be resolved is whether or not the testimony contains such variance in the material facts as to discredit the main issue.
It would make no difference if there was one angel or two angels at the tomb. The fact that he was arisen would not be changed by whether the women did or didn't bring the news concerning the resurrection itself.
The testimony of those who saw him as a living person after his death has never been contradicted. He appeared at least ten or eleven times: to Mary Magdalene and the other women in the garden, to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, to Peter at Jerusalem, to the apostles when Thomas was absent and again when he was present, to the apostles at the Sea of Galilee, and on a mountain to over 500 brethren at once, to James the brother of the Lord, and to the apostles at the time of the ascension.
We can come to only one conclusion, the resurrection is a historical fact amply proved by authenticated documentary evidence and the testimony of competent witnesses. The man-made theories devised to discredit are without substantiation, and any discrepancies in the narrative are too slight to be given weight.
The walled city still stands on the hill, silently reminding the Christian world of the reality of the resurrection. I bear witness that Jesus is the Christ, the resurrection and the life, and he that believeth in him, though he were dead, shall live, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Boyd K. Packer
Boyd K. Packer, Conference Report, April 1963, pp. 106-109
In 1833 a revelation was given by the Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith known as the Word of Wisdom, given as a principle with a promise. This principle has not been neglected by the leaders of the Church nor abandoned by them. It has been reaffirmed vigorously, as one theme of this conference, for we have learned that however much a generation of people learn a truth, it must be rediscovered by each succeeding generation.
It is to the young people of our generation that I speak. Some may regard as trivial the assignment to speak to young people. I consider it otherwise and sense the meaning of an appeal made by the late President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., in speaking to the teachers of the Church. "May he," President Clark said, "give you entrance to the hearts of those you teach and then make you know that as you enter there you stand in holy places."
Some young people, not members of the Church, may not be acquainted with the revelation known as the Word of Wisdom. It is simply this, a law of temperance. In it we are counseled by the Lord to refrain from: the use of alcoholic beverages-any of them, tobacco in any form, and from hot drinks-understood by the Church to mean those with habit-forming potential, specifically coffee and tea.
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are expected to live this principle.
The Lord has directed that observance of this principle is a condition of membership for one seeking baptism into his Church. For the member of the Church, compliance with this law is a prerequisite for the bestowal of the priesthood, for a call to missionary service, for temple endowments or temple marriage.
You who are young members of the Church full well know that preliminary to such a call you will be interviewed, and the question will be put to you directly, "Do you keep the Word of Wisdom?" If you must confess that you do not, and if there is reasonable doubt that you can honor a commitment to live the principle, your opportunity may be withheld from you.
You may have difficulty, my young friends, understanding why the Lord should require his servants to hold so stedfastly to this rule, particularly when the use of alcohol, tobacco, and hot drinks is practised so commonly in the world, and when we seem to run the risk of driving many fine young people from activity in the Church. Some say we are too persistent in stressing this principle-that indeed it has been over-stressed.
A principle with a promise such as this could hardly be over-stressed. It may well have been stressed in a negative way, emphasizing only the "Don't."
A father, censuring his little son for some mischief, demanded an explanation from the boy. "Why," he said with exasperation, "did you do such a thing?" The little lad was thoughtful for a moment, then, "If I'd had a 'why,' Daddy, I wouldn't have done it."
It isn't always easy to give you a "why" for everything. But we owe it to you of the coming generation to do more than just say, "Don't!" There are several "whys" for the Word of Wisdom.
The first "why" concerns the effect upon your body. The case against tobacco as the killer in lung cancer, and the indictment for accident, death, and moral mischief returned against alcohol are so well substantiated that hardly anyone would wish to act as attorney for the defense when these two malefactors are brought to trial.
The Word of Wisdom offers protection to your body. Part of the promise reads: "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 run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint".
But the greatest loss in failing to observe the Word of Wisdom is not what may happen to your lungs or to your brain or to your coordination. There is another "why" much more important even than this.
No doubt you have noticed that some, who have achieved so-called success, have not kept the Word of Wisdom; for instance, you may know a businessman who provides generously for his family, and you know that he does not. Or you may know of a political figure who seems to command the vote of the people in spite of known intemperance. You could hardly escape the example of the movie queen-fair in face and figure-who makes no effort to hide her dissipation. Or the athlete who has run up impressive records, yet openly endorses one brand or another of these injurious agents.
He seems to run without fainting, you reason, and bewildered you may wonder "Why?" How can this principle be so intensely important when so many people-some of them who have been taught otherwise-abuse the principle and yet seem immune from any penalties? You, my young friends, have a greater calling than that in the business world, or as a political figure, or as an athlete. Your opportunity is not so much in what you will contribute materially but in the influence that you may have spiritually.
To those who keep the Word of Wisdom the promise is given of "... wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures". Our spiritual senses are more delicately balanced than any of our physical senses. Like a fine radio receiver with a sensitive tuning mechanism, they can easily be thrown off channel or even jammed by corrosive influences introduced into our minds and bodies.
You, my young friends, can be sensitive to inspiration and spiritual guidance. To do this you need the wisdom and treasures of knowledge-they constitute a spiritual confirmation, your testimony of the truth. To have this witness fulfills the promise of the Lord. To be denied it is the penalty.
There is yet another "why"-perhaps the most important of all. In the fourth verse of the revelation we read: "Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you: In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have named you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation-". This is a solemn-even frightening warning. But in the promise we are offered protection. To understand, we turn in the Old Testament to the account of the ten plagues of Egypt.
Moses and Aaron were negotiating for the release of the Israelites from bondage. Nine plagues were called forth upon Egypt, but none of them softened the Pharaoh's heart. The Lord said then unto Moses: "... Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence...
"For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt... and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord".
Under a strange requirement, Israel was to escape this judgment. They were instructed to take a lamb, a male of the first year, without blemish. It was to be slain and prepared as a feast. They were instructed to take of the blood of the lamb and strike it upon the doorposts of the houses, "And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you". And it is recorded that the plague of death was visited upon Egypt from "... the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon". But Israel, because of the blood of the lamb, was spared, for the plague of death passed over them and did not slay them.
Remarkable, is it not, that in addition to the other promises offered to those who observe the Word of Wisdom, we find in the last verses of the revelation this additional promise: "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".
Can you understand now, my young friends, why we stress so strongly this principle? It is not, certainly not, to drive any of you from activity in the Church, but that your blessings may be full. Some have said of you who are young that you are attracted to the low standard, to the easy course, to the careless way. I say they who would sell youth so cheaply do not know you.
Some of you who are young, and many perhaps who are older, have unwittingly been tampering with, or have become addicted to, the use of alcohol, tobacco, or hot drinks. Probably you feel estranged, even rejected, by the Lord and by his Church.
If you only knew how he yearns to open the flood gates of blessings. How he cries for you as did David for Absalom, "... my son, my son!".
We make no apologies for holding to a standard that the Lord has set. In this ominous day when spiritual strength is so desperately needed, we invite all youth to come where a standard is kept, where the challenge is great, where much is required, where the gospel is lived.
I bear witness that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that he is the Lamb of God, crucified that men might live. Though we suffer mortal death, through the blood of the Lamb we have amnesty from spiritual death if we keep the commandments of the Lord, for it shall pass over us and not slay us. This witness may come to you even in your youth. On the basis of this personal testimony I commend to you the Word of Wisdom, which is not only a code of health, but quite as much a key to spiritual wisdom-a principle with a promise-in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Ezra Taft Benson
Ezra Taft Benson, Conference Report, April 1963, pp. 109-114
"Righteousness exalteth a nation". This statement of eternal truth from Proverbs appeared on the flyleaf and the last page of a booklet at each plate at the President's Prayer Breakfast in the Grand Ballroom of the Mayflower Hotel, February 7, 1963 in Washington, D.C. This annual breakfast is sponsored jointly by the US Senate and House of Representatives Prayer Breakfast Groups and the International Christian Leadership Conference.
As I listened to the prayers, readings from the Old and New Testaments, and messages from government and nongovernment leaders, I reviewed hurriedly our spiritual background as a nation and today's spiritual needs.
For, truly, "Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people".
The beautiful old print which hangs in Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia, came to mind. It is captioned "The First Prayer in Congress, September 1774." It depicts most of the members of that Congress on their knees with our first President as leader.
I recalled the terrible winter at Valley Forge and General George Washington on his knees in the snow, praying for divine aid. I thought of the words of Lincoln during another time of crisis as he said humbly: "I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go."
George Washington acknowledged God's direction and 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."
Lincoln knew that God rules in the affairs of men and nations. He solemnly declared: "God rules this world-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 to recognize the sublime truth that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord."
The founding fathers knew that "... where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty". The United States of America began and lives as a result of faith in God. The Bible has been and is the foundation for this faith.
"It is impossible to govern the world without the Bible," said George Washington.
"The Bible is the rock on which this Republic rests," Andrew Jackson proclaimed.
The fathers of our country had to turn to religion in order that their new experiment make sense.
As I left the prayer breakfast, bidding good-bye to many warm friends, I thought of the greatness of America-the world's greatest power. During World War II she outproduced both her enemies and allies-"the American Miracle."
But I also recalled the latest FBI reports revealing the ever-increasing crime record-over seventeen percent increase in the nation's capital in 1962 alone. I recalled our shockingly defiant record of drunkenness and immorality and the fact we have become a nation of pleasure-seeking Sabbath breakers.
My thoughts turned to our homes and families-our ever-increasing divorce rate-the alarming increase in sexual sin-infidelity-yes, even adultery. We live in a day of slick, quiet, and clever sins. It is made easy to cover up.
I recalled the solidarity of the homes of long past when family prayer, daily devotion, the reading of the scriptures, and the singing of hymns was a common practice in American homes-a practice which, I am sorry to say, has all but disappeared today.
I became saddened as I reviewed evidence of a lessening of moral stability, honor, integrity, love of country-a seeking for the honors of men, of something for nothing-the tendency to lean more and more on government, the result of our ever-increasing demands, even though often economically, socially, and spiritually unsound.
There has been a nation-wide erosion of individual character. Jefferson's words still ring true: "Material abundance without character is the surest way to destruction." I recalled how proudly in generations past, we spoke of the "American way of life."
Then, I saw thirty million door knob hangers being distributed by the Boy Scouts, setting forth our political and economic rights in an effort to stimulate patriotism in this choice land. As I read this message from Freedom Foundation and the Boy Scouts of America, I thought of our basic American concepts, our constitutional government, based on a fundamental belief in God.
I became alarmed as I reviewed what has happened in our schools under so-called "progressive education." What about the loss of patriotism, faith in God, and the teachings of character building principles once so much a part of our education? We have all but "forced Americanism out of the classroom to make way for temporary trivialities."
I remembered President Joseph F. Smith's warning of the three dangers to the Church from within, viz., the flattery of prominent men, sexual impurity, and false educational ideas.
Then there came to me the words of that courageous American patriot J. Edgar Hoover: "Today as never before, America has need for men and women who possess the moral strength and courage of our forefathers-modern-day patriots, with pride in our country and faith in freedom...
"Too often in recent years, patriotic symbols have been shunted aside. Our national heroes have been maligned, our history distorted. Has it become a disgrace to pledge allegiance to our flag-or sign a loyalty oath, or pay tribute to our national anthem? Is it shameful to encourage our children to memorize the stirring words of the men of '76? Is it becoming opprobrious to state 'In God we Trust' when proclaiming our love of country?
"What we desperately need today is patriotism founded on a real understanding of the American ideal-a dedicated belief in our principles of freedom, and a determination to perpetuate America's heritage."
Are we slipping from our moorings, becoming soft, carelessly drawing away from the course which has brought us such priceless blessings in days past?
David Lawrence, editor of the U.S. News & World Report has said: "The destiny of the world is in the hands of those statesmen who can interpret faithfully the commands of the Almighty."
Can our national leaders do this? Can they interpret faithfully the commands of the Almighty? Can we as citizens of this blessed land? Can we as people of the free world? Do we believe that "righteousness exalteth a nation", that there is safety only in righteous living?
Fortunately, today we are not left in darkness. We have a guide, not only the Holy Bible, but added modern scriptures. And of the utmost importance for us today, we have the counsel and direction of living oracles. This counsel, this direction-in fact the message of the fulness of the restored gospel is being carried to the world by 12,000 ambassadors of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And what is this message? It is a world message of the utmost importance. It is that God has again spoken from the heavens. The priesthood and authority to act in his name has been restored again to men on the earth, following centuries of darkness. The fulness of the everlasting gospel is here with all of its saving principles. To these facts I bear humble witness.
The prophets of a new gospel dispensation have counsel for us today-counsel on matters which concerned the Founding Fathers-freedom, liberty, righteousness which "exalteth a nation."
Do we believe and accept their counsel, or have we drifted away from those basic concepts and principles, without adherence to which, no nation can be exalted. Elder Albert E. Bowen, said: "That which is right does not become wrong merely because it may be deserted by the majority, neither does that which is wrong today become right tomorrow by the chance circumstance that it has won the approval or been adopted by overwhelmingly predominant numbers. Principles cannot be changed by nor accommodate themselves to the vagaries of popular sentiment".
As a fitting conclusion to my review I sought the words of modern-day prophets. They have said much by way of counsel and warning for our guidance today. I turned to one who has been called "a seer in the area of government" and who has stood closest to the prophet of the Lord-the President of the Church-longer than any other man in Church history. I speak of President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., and I quote: "There always comes a time when unpleasant truths must be retold, even though the retelling disturbs the ease and quiet of a luxurious error. Today seems to be such a time. On such occasions, the criticism, slander, misrepresentation that one gets, are of no consequence."
"... today government has touched our lives so intimately in all their relationships and all these governmental touchings have been so tabbed as political, that we cannot discuss anything relating to our material welfare and existence without laying ourselves liable to the charge that we are talking politics."
"I have been preaching against Communism for twenty years," said President Clark, over twenty years ago. "I still warn you against it, and I tell you that we are drifting toward it more rapidly than some of us understand, and I tell you that when Communism comes, the ownership of the things which are necessary to feed your families is going to be taken away from us. I tell you freedom of speech will go, freedom of the press will go, and freedom of religion will go.
"I have warned you against propaganda and hate. We are in the midst of the greatest exhibition of propaganda that the world has ever seen, and all directed toward one end. Just do not believe all you read".
"The plain and simple issue now facing us in America is freedom or slavery...
"Our real enemies," said President Clark, "are communism and its running mate, socialism...
"And never forget for one moment that communism and socialism are state slavery...
"... one thing seems sure, we will not get out of our present difficulties without trouble, serious trouble. Indeed, it may well be that our government and its free institutions will not be preserved except at the price of life and blood...
"... the paths we are following, if we move forward thereon, will inevitably lead us to socialism or communism, and these two are as like as two peas in a pod in their ultimate effect upon our liberties...
"We may first observe that communism and socialism-which we shall hereafter group together and dub Statism-cannot live with Christianity, nor with any religion that postulates a Creator such as the Declaration of Independence recognizes. The slaves of Statism must know no power, no authority, no source of blessing, no God, but the State...
"This country faces ahead enough trouble to bring us to our knees in humble honest prayer to God for the help which He alone can give, to save us...
"Do not think that all these usurpations, intimidations, and impositions are being done to us through inadvertency or mistake, the whole course is deliberately planned and carried out; its purpose is to destroy the Constitution and our Constitutional government...
"We have largely lost the conflict so far waged. But there is time to win the final victory, if we can sense our danger, and fight"
Thus spoke the ever forthright and courageous President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
And finally, and most important of all, I turned in my review to the counsel or our beloved leader who has been an inspiration to me since boyhood, President David O. McKay. God's mouthpiece on the earth today. "During the first half of the twentieth century," said President McKay, "we have travelled far into the soul-destroying land of socialism and made strange alliances through which we have become involved in almost continuous hot and cold wars over the whole of the earth. In this retreat from freedom the voices of protesting citizens have been drowned by raucous riots of intolerance and abuse from those who led the retreat and their millions of gullible youth, who are marching merrily to their doom, carrying banners on which are emblazoned such intriguing and misapplied labels as social justice, equality, reform. patriotism, social welfare".
"The fostering of full economic freedom lies at the base of our liberties. Only in perpetuating economic freedom can our social, political, and religious liberties be preserved... We must not let complacency blind our eyes to the real dangers threatening to destroy us".
"Communism is antagonistic to the American way of life. Its avowed purpose is to destroy belief in God and free enterprise," declared President McKay. "In education for citizenship, therefore, we should not see to it that every child in America is taught the superiority of our way of life, of our Constitution and the sacredness of the freedom of the individual. Such definite instruction is not in violation of either the federal or the state constitution....
"I love the Stars and Stripes, and the American Way of Life. I have faith in the Constitution of the United States. I believe that only through a truly educated citizenry can the ideals that inspired the Founding Fathers of our nation be preserved and perpetuated.
Then President McKay listed as one of the four fundamental elements in such an education the "Open and forceful teaching of facts regarding communism as an enemy to God and to individual freedom".
President McKay has called communism the greatest threat to the Church today.
Because the latest words of God's prophet are of extreme importance to the Latter-day Saints, let me in conclusion, quote very briefly and humbly from the counsel given by President McKay in the last three general conferences. In October 1961 President McKay gave a stirring opening address on our American way of life and the communist threat. He expressed grief and shock over a Supreme Court decision and stated that the enemies to our Republican form of government are becoming more blatant.
At the close of the general conference last April President McKay emphasized that "men are rapidly classifying themselves into two groups: believers and nonbelievers." Then he quoted J. Edgar Hoover's warning: "This nation is face to face with the greatest danger ever to confront it, a sinister and deadly conspiracy, which can be conquered only by an alert, informed citizenry. It is indeed appalling that some members of our society continue to deplore and criticize those who stress the communist danger. Public indifference to this threat is tantamount to national suicide. Lethargy leads only to disaster. Knowledge of the enemy, alertness to the danger, everyday patriotism are the brick and mortar with which we can build an impregnable fortress against communism".
In the last October conference President McKay said: "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 relationships to Deity, and the necessity of obedience to the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Only thus will mankind find peace and happiness."
He finished his address by urging us "to support good and conscientious candidates of either party who are aware of the great dangers inherent in communism, and who are truly dedicated to the Constitution in the tradition of the founding fathers."
We cannot say that the prophet of the Lord has not warned us. President McKay has emphasized the dangers to our God-given freedom again and again. Will we heed his counsel? Are we in harmony? Do we appreciate his repeated warnings? Every Latter-day Saint has spiritual obligations in four basic areas: his home, his church, his job, and his citizenship responsibility. Each of these areas should receive consistent attention although not necessarily equal time. Are we doing our duty in these important fields? What about our citizenship responsibility-our obligation to safeguard our freedom and preserve the Constitution?
The Prophet Joseph Smith said the time would come when the Constitution would hang as it were by a thread. Modern-day prophets for the last thirty years have been warning us that we have been rapidly moving in that direction. Fortunately, the Prophet Joseph Smith saw the part the elders of Israel would play in this crisis. Will there be some of us who won't care about saving the Constitution, others who will be blinded by the craftiness of men, and some who will knowingly be working to destroy it? He that has ears to hear and eyes to see can discern by the Spirit and through the words of God's mouthpiece that our liberties are being taken.
The enemy is amongst and upon us. Zion must awake and arouse herself. We, the elders of Israel can be and should be, the leaven in the loaf for freedom.
Years ago, President Brigham Young stated, "We all believe that the Lord will fight our battles; but how? Will he do it while we are unconcerned and make no effort whatever for our own safety when the enemy is upon us?... it would be quite as reasonable to expect remission of sins without baptism, as to expect the Lord to fight our battles without our taking every precaution to be prepared to defend ourselves. The Lord requires us to be quite as willing to fight our own battles as to have Him fight them for us. If we are not ready for the enemy when he comes upon us, we have not lived up to the requirements of Him who guides the ship of Zion, or who dictates the affairs of His kingdom".
May we as a free people face courageously the challenging responsibility which faces us. "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." We are not here to sit by complacently while our birthright of freedom is exchanged for a mess of socialist-communist pottage.
I love this great land-the Lord's latter-day base of operations. I love the free world. I love our Father's children everywhere.
God bless us in our stewardship. May we be at least as valiant for freedom and righteousness, here and now, as we were when we fought for these principles in the pre-existence.
There is no other safe way. For "Righteousness exalteth a nation".
I bear you this witness, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder LeGrand Richards
LeGrand Richards, Conference Report, April 1963, pp. 115-119
As we have listened to the announcements made by our worthy President in the various meetings of this conference as to the extent to which the proceedings of the conference are being broadcast into the various missions and nations of the earth, we are impressed with the privilege we have of living in this day and age when the Lord is doing so much to cut his work short in righteousness. We were told in the newspaper the other night that there would be a possible potential listening audience of ninety million people to our conference. Some of us are old enough to have participated from this pulpit when we did not even have a public address system, when some of the brethren with weak voices could hardly be heard under the gallery. Just think of the difference!
Well, there are other developments in this world in the day in which we are living that are even more important than these physical advancements, and that is the spiritual advancement that has come through the restoration of the gospel in our day, the committing to this earth, according to the words of Isaiah, of "a marvelous work and a wonder". The Lord said he would set his hand to do it in our time.
There is a reported statement made by one of our nationally well-known commentators a few years ago in which he said that he had been asked what message could be broadcast to the world that would be considered to be of greater importance than any other. He said that after giving the matter consideration he decided that to be able to say to the world that a man who had lived here upon this earth and had died had returned again with a message from God would be the greatest message that could be broadcast to the world.
I believe that, and that is the message of this Church, and that is why we are a great missionary Church. If we have a message to broadcast to the world, it should be something that the world is not already in possession of, or else there would be no reason for the Lord sending one back to this earth who had already lived upon the earth and died in order that he might bring back a message.
As you brethren and sisters know, that messenger that I refer to now was Moroni, who lived upon this land of America as a prophet of God some four hundred years after the birth of the Savior, who was the custodian of the records that had been kept of a people over a thousand year period; and he hid them away, according to the command of the Lord and brought those records back to the earth in this day and time and delivered them to the Prophet Joseph Smith.
The world doesn't change much. History repeats itself. Jesus said in his day that they decorated the graves of the dead prophets, but they rejected the living prophets. We have a precedent in the Bible of a man who had lived upon the earth and died and returned again with a message from God, and when a man returns with a message from God, he has to deliver that message to someone whom God directs should receive it, and that individual would be none other than a prophet of God. As Amos said:
"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets".
Then you remember that when John the Revelator was banished upon the Isle of Patmos, the Lord sent his angel who showed John the whole history of the world from the time there was war in heaven and a third of the hosts of heaven were cast out, up to the final winding up scenes when there should be a new heaven and a new earth. He saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and they were judged according to the things that were written in the books, according to their works.
When the angel had showed John all these things, he fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who said: "... See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God".
He was but a fellowservant of the brethren of the prophets, which means he was an individual who had lived upon this earth and was sent back with a message from God.
In that same sense the Lord sent Moroni back. He did not come of his own accord. If Moroni's coming and what he brought were recorded in the Bible, the Christian world would be willing to accept it, but because it comes from a new prophet in our day and time, they are slow as they were in the days of the Savior in accepting the words of the living prophets.
One of the most tangible evidences that Moroni actually did come and visit the Prophet Joseph is the Book of Mormon and its translation and what it has contributed to the world. As I understand the Book of Mormon-and by the way, I think Brother Kimball gave us a marvelous description of it in his talk yesterday, and what it has to contribute to the world-as I think of that, I think it is an evidence that proves that the story told by Joseph Smith that Moroni did bring the plates is a tangible evidence that the world has to reckon with in order to be able to account for that book.
We are told in the scriptures-you remember the words of Jesus on the way to Emmaus as he talked with his disciples. He said: "O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken". And then beginning with Moses and the prophets, he showed them how in all things the prophets had testified of him. Peter tells us he opened their understanding that they might understand the scriptures and you remember what Peter 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".
As I understand the Book of Mormon and its teachings and the prophecies of the Bible, I think there are prophecies in the Bible that no man in our day can explain properly and intelligently without the information contained in the Book of Mormon. This is a new witness from God for our day, for the conversion of the Jew and the gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the very Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations.
So in the Book of Mormon we have information that gives us to understand statements in the Bible which we could not understand without the information contained in the Book of Mormon. I will give you a few illustrations of what I mean.
When Moses gave a blessing to each of the twelve sons of Israel, he gave Joseph a blessing of a new land in the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills, and in describing that land, Moses used the word "precious" five times in just a few verses in the Bible, telling what a marvelous land the Lord had for Joseph, and he would be separated from his brethren.
I do not believe there is anyone in this world outside of this Church who can tell where that new land is and can give an account of how the Lord fulfilled the promises unto Joseph that he would be blessed in that land, even above the blessings of his fathers. Who were his fathers? Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and yet Moses promised Joseph blessings even above the blessings of his own fathers.
Why do we know about it? Because the Book of Mormon tells us how the Lord led a group out of Jerusalem into this land of America who were descendants of Joseph, and how he fulfilled his promise and commanded that a record should be kept. It seems incredible to think of the promises made to Joseph that the Lord would not have made provision that a record should have been kept of the fulfillment of those promises, but that he did, and that record is the Book of Mormon.
There are other passages that also indicate the value of the Book of Mormon. Just to illustrate what I have in mind. I had the privilege of talking to a group of ministers just a few years ago by assignment from President McKay, and I quoted some of these scriptures. I asked them if they knew why the verses were in the Bible and if they knew of any Church in the world that did know why they were in the Bible, and the next record that I quoted was the one where Jesus said:
"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".
I asked those men if they knew anything about those other sheep or the fulfillment of the promise of the Lord that he would visit them, and they would hear his voice, and there should be one fold and one shepherd. None of them could tell, and so I just turned to the Book of Mormon and showed them that when Jesus, following his crucifixion and resurrection and ascension, visited his people here in the land of America, he told them they were the other sheep of whom he spoke to his disciples in Jerusalem, and he said that never at any time did the Lord command him that he should tell his disciples in Jerusalem who the other sheep were; only that he had other sheep that were not of that fold, and them should he visit. He told them they were the other sheep. No one can answer intelligently that statement in John 10:16 without the knowledge that the Book of Mormon has brought to us.
Ezekiel was commanded by the Lord that two records should be kept, one of Judah and his followers, the house of Israel; another for Joseph and his followers, the house of Israel; and that in the days of their children, meaning coming generations, he would bring these two records together, and he would make them one in his hand. I asked these ministers if they knew anything about that record, and they did not. I said, "Well, we know all about it," and then I showed them that that was the Book of Mormon the Lord promised.
No man can believe the Bible without knowing there is a companion record that the Lord of heaven said he would bring forth and join it with the record of Judah, which is the Bible that has remained with us, and he would make them one in his hand.
You remember the words of Isaiah when he said:
"Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices.
"Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be heaviness and sorrow: and it shall be unto me as Ariel".
If you will read that thoughtfully, you will know that he not only saw the destruction of Jerusalem, but he saw the destruction of another great center like unto Jerusalem. Then he adds:
"And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, an thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust".
Nobody in this world could explain that intelligently or know what people Isaiah saw like unto Jerusalem without the Book of Mormon. Here is the explanation in the Book of Mormon. "After my seed and the seed of my brethren shall have dwindled in unbelief? and shall have been smitten by the Gentiles; yea, after the Lord God shall have camped against them round about, and shall have laid siege against them with a mount, and raised forts against them; and after they shall have been brought down low in the dust, even that they are not, yet the words of the righteous shall be written, and the prayers of the faithful shall be heard, and all those who have dwindled in unbelief shall not be forgotten.
"For those who shall be destroyed shall speak unto them out of the ground, and their speech shall be low out of the dust, and their voice shall be as one that hath a familiar spirit; for the Lord God will give unto him power that he may whisper concerning them, even as it were out of the ground, and their speech shall whisper out of the dust.
"For thus saith the Lord God: They shall write the things which shall be done among them, and they shall be written and sealed up in a book, and those who have dwindled in unbelief shall not have them, for they seek to destroy the things of God".
How could Joseph Smith have known these things when the Book of Mormon was published even before this Church was organized, except for the fact that the Book of Mormon is the promised record that God said he would bring forth and join to the record of Judah. How could anyone understand this prophecy of Isaiah without the explanation contained in the Book of Mormon.
There are more prophecies of the scriptures that we could not understand without the revelations of the Lord that have come to us in the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon stands, after one hundred and thirty years, without any criticism as to its truth. Just think of a book of over five hundred pages being printed with a promise in it that when that book should come that if the person receiving it would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, that God would manifest the truth of it unto him by the power of the Holy Ghost.
Thousands and hundreds of thousands have borne testimony that God has revealed the truth of that book to them, and so it has been a tangible evidence that this messenger sent of God really came with a message from God.
When I was in the mission field, I read an article that appeared under the Associated Press of a man who came to California by the name of William A. Kennedy from Lima, Peru. He was gathering money to set up an institute or college there to study the history of the early inhabitants of the land of South America, including the Mayan and the Inca civilizations, and he had the promise when matched by the small Americas of some thirty million dollars, and President Hoover had agreed to serve on that board. I never heard of what became of it, but the statement went further to say that within ten years that amount would increase to seventy million dollars.
Just think of their being willing to spend seventy million dollars to learn something of the history of the early inhabitants of America, when we could give them a copy of the Book of Mormon for fifty cents, and if they did not have the fifty cents, we would give it to them for nothing, because it would not only tell about the artifacts they are finding as they dig into the depths of the earth, but it contains the words of the holy prophets and the promise of the Lord to this land, which is a land choice above all other lands, the promise that the Christ should be the God of this land, that he would fight the battles of this land, that the New Jerusalem would be built upon this land, and they will not get that when they will have spent their seventy million dollars.
Just think of what the Lord has given us in this record to show us the things that he has in mind to accomplish. We have many other testimonies of men as to the value of the Book of Mormon.
I bear you my witness that I know that book is true. Sister Richards and I read it last year as the priesthood were asked to do, and we would keep saying as we would read, "Isn't that wonderful? Isn't that wonderful? How could Joseph Smith at his age have written anything like that except by the inspiration of the Almighty?"
It reminded us of when we attended a course given by Dr. Widtsoe here some time ago in the Barratt Hall on the Doctrine and Covenants. He had Sister Inez Witbeck read. He would say, "Now read section so-and-so," and then he would pause and say, "Now, you college professors and you college students, could you write anything like that?" He would say, "I wish I could," and there he had been president of two universities, but the things of God are understood by the Spirit of God, and the testimony of those three witnesses that an angel of God came down from heaven and showed them the plates with the engravings thereon, and bore testimony that it was by the power of God, is a testimony to all the world.
That is my testimony to you here today, and I pray God to bless us all that we may realize what we have by the opening of the heavens and the restoration of the gospel, and leave you my blessing in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Henry D. Taylor
Henry D. Taylor, Conference Report, April 1963, pp. 119-121
When the Psalmist was meditating upon the beauties of creation, he exclaimed with awe and amazement:
"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
"What is man, that thou are mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
"For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
"Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet".
How comforting it is to note the esteem and concern the Lord has for his children.
What is man? As Latter-day Saints we believe that man is the spiritual offspring of God our Heavenly Father, created in his image and after his likeness. We further believe that man once dwelt in the presence of deity and came from a heavenly home to this earth.
The poet Wordsworth, in a flash of inspiration, referred to this transition when he penned these beautiful lines:
"Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting: The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star, Hath had elsewhere its setting, And cometh from afar: Not in entire forgetfulness, And not in utter nakedness, But trailing clouds of glory do we come From God, who is our home":
In that far distant past when plans for the creation of the earth were discussed, it was proposed that those who would be privileged to come here to inhabit the earth must be tested and tried to prove whether they would do all things that the Lord would command them to do. The faithful were to "... have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever".
It is our conviction that we were present at that great council and had a voice in the decisions that were made. The Lord once asked the Prophet Job some pertinent questions pertaining to those important events, when he inquired: "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?"
"When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?".
Because of faithfulness in that former estate, we have been born into this world, blessed with mortal bodies which house eternal spirits. Here we have opportunities to grow, progress, and gain experience in mortal and earthly things.
The divinely inspired Declaration of Independence proclaims that every citizen of this glorious country is entitled to enjoy "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
The attainment of happiness has become a desired goal of most individuals; but there are those who ofttimes mistake pleasure for happiness, not realizing that pleasure can be of a temporary or passing nature only, while happiness and joy are permanent and enduring.
An ancient prophet declared: "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy".
As man travels down the pathway of this mortal life, trusting that his course will be such as to produce joy and happiness, he becomes aware of many obstacles in the road that interfere with his progress. The Lord designed this to be so, for he did not intend that this earthly existence should be easy. Adam was advised: "... cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
"Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat of the herb of the field.
"In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread"
The pathway was to be strewn with temptations and trials. Man was also to know good and evil and be allowed his free agency in choosing between the two. He was to learn the law of opposites: that there is sorrow as there is joy, pain as contrasted to pleasure, sickness as opposed to health; he was to taste the bitter as well as the sweet.
From this testing process would come benefits, for the Lord has promised "... after much tribulation come the blessings". The poet Kilmer has expressed the same thought in the words:
"They say that life is a highway, And its milestones are the years And now and then there is a toll gate, Where you buy your way with your tears.
"It's a rough road and a steep road, And it stretches broad and far, But at last it leads to a golden town Where the golden houses are."
Perhaps during our lives we have been, or will be, required to gaze on the face of a loved one for the last time in mortality. In this hour of sorrow, the following appropriate words of the poet might well come as a message of comfort to us:
"Be still, sad heart! and cease repining; Behind the clouds is the sun still shining: Thy fate is the common fate of all: Into each life some rain must fall. Some days must be dark and dreary."
The Savior had his dark and dreary days, and in Gethsemane's garden he suffered untold agony as he contemplated the events that confronted him while fulfilling his exalted mission.
We, too, will have our dark and dreary days in our search for that which brings joy and happiness. But always there is the assurance and promise that "every cloud has its silver lining."
As the Latter-day Saints toiled westward across the trackless plains, leading from Nauvoo to the valleys here in the mountains, they suffered and endured many privations and hardships, but they were comforted and cheered as they sang at the close of the day these inspiring words:
"Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard? 'Tis not so; all is right! Why should we think to earn a great reward, If we now shun the fight?
"Gird up your loins, fresh courage take, Our God will never us forsake. And soon we'll have this truth to tell- All is well! All is well!"
The gospel of Jesus Christ offers peace and comfort in times of illness, trouble, and sorrow. The Redeemer comforted his listeners with this beautiful and assuring admonition: "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".
As we go to the house of worship each Sabbath day and partake of the Sacrament, we covenant with our Heavenly Father that we will take upon us the name of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and by remembering him and keeping his commandments, we may always have his Spirit to be with us.
Keeping the commandments and living in harmony with the teachings of the Master will result in assurances of a righteous life, and a righteous life will bring joy and happiness to our souls. Then, even though "into each life some rain must fall," into each life also will come peace and contentment.
From what has been said, my dear brothers and sisters, we can see how interested in and concerned about life people of every age and clime have been. They have struggled to analyze it, to understand it, to evaluate it. But its full meaning and purpose and duration cannot be comprehended except through the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. With the gospel to comfort, to assist, to inspire us, let us meet life head on; courageously, sincerely, and prayerfully, meet its joys, its sorrows, its rains and sunshine with full determination to keep all of God's commandments, which by so doing we know will bring us back into his presence to partake of that eternal joy he has in store for all his faithful children, for which I humbly pray, bearing you my testimony that I know that God lives, that the gospel is true, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Franklin D. Richards
Franklin D. Richards, Conference Report, April 1963, pp. 122-124
My dear brothers and sisters: I pray that the Spirit of the Lord will be with me as I speak to you today.
Throughout history the Lord has revealed his will to mankind through his prophets. In 1831 in a revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord promised that the fulness of his gospel would be restored and that the voice of warning should be unto all people; that his Church would be established and that power would be given to his servants to bring it forth out of obscurity and out of darkness, that his disciples should go forth and that none should stay them -all of this to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man which is the work and glory of God.
In order for man to obtain eternal life and exaltation in God's kingdom, he must accept the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is an eternal principle. Thus we recognize that the gospel plan has been and is for all of God's children.
However, many Christians believe that the gospel plan dates only from the Savior's ministry in the flesh, but we know that the gospel was understood by the spirits which were with our Father in heaven before the world was formed or organized.
Then on this earth the gospel was taught to Father Adam, and he taught the Lord's commandments to his children. Enoch understood the gospel, and through faithfulness the Saints of the city of Enoch were translated.
Other great men including Noah, Melchizedek, Abraham, and Moses understood the gospel plan and taught it to ancient Israel.
John the Baptist opened the Dispensation of the Meridian of Time by preaching in the wilderness, and he told of the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Through the personal ministry of Jesus and his apostles, the gospel was taught and The Church of Jesus Christ established on the earth.
It is my great privilege to bear witness humbly that Jesus is the Christ, the only begotten of the Father in the flesh, our Redeemer and Savior, and the only name under heaven given among men whereby we may be saved.
A falling away from the Savior's teachings was predicted, and I testify that this did occur. This great apostasy made necessary the restoration of the gospel plan and the authority to act in the name of God.
When Joseph Smith, the boy Prophet, went into the woods in the spring of 1820 and asked God, "Which of all the sects is right and which shall I join?" he said, "I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong-that they teach for doctrine the commandments of men, having a form of godliness but they deny the power thereof".
This apostasy necessitated the establishment of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Joseph Smith was selected to be the prophet through whom the Lord re-established his Church.
The Lord set April 6, 1830, as the date that his Church should be organized on this earth-just 133 years ago yesterday. It was organized by six persons at the home of Peter Whitmer, Sen., in upper New York state. The members began to share their message with their friends and their neighbors, and the Church enjoyed rapid growth.
At the same place the next Sunday, Oliver Cowdery commenced the public ministry of the Church by giving the first gospel sermon in a public meeting called for that purpose. After the meeting, six were baptized, and seven more were baptized a week later.
About thirty members of the Church participated in the first conference held about sixty days later on June 9, 1830. Eleven more were baptized after that conference. The Prophet Joseph had been told that the voice of warning should be unto all people by the mouths of the Lord's disciples and that none should stay them.
Oliver Cowdery, Parley P. Pratt, Peter Whitmer, Jun., and others were sent out as missionaries in the fall of 1830. They met Sidney Rigdon in Ohio, and after a brief but prayerful investigation, Sidney Rigdon received a testimony that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and that the authority to act in the name of God had been restored. He asked to be baptized and was baptized. Shortly thereafter, he held a group meeting in which he warned his neighbors and bore his testimony that the gospel had been restored.
In the Kirtland area at this time several group meetings were held, and seventeen more were baptized.
Yes, Joseph Smith was indeed one of the great prophets of all time and through him the Lord was performing "A great and marvelous work... among the children of men".
I am sure he remembered the words of the Savior, "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me".
Then in February 1835, in accordance with divine revelation, the Quorum of the Twelve were called.
The apostles are special witnesses of Christ and hold the keys of the foreign ministry of the Church. Accordingly, seven of the Twelve set out for England in the late summer of 1839 without purse or scrip, and leaving their families destitute of many of the comforts of life.
About a year later, in the spring of 1841, just before leaving for home Brigham Young wrote in his journal, "It truly seemed a miracle to look upon the contrast between our landing and departing from Liverpool. We landed in the spring of 1840 as strangers in a strange land and penniless. But through the mercy of God we had gained many friends, established churches in almost every noted town and city in the Kingdom of Great Britain, baptized between seven and eight thousand souls, printed 5,000 Books of Mormon, 2,500 volumes of the Millennial Star and 50,000 tracts and emigrated to Zion 1,000 souls, established a permanent shipping agency which will be a great blessing to the saints and have sown in the hearts of many thousands the seeds of eternal truth, which shall bring forth fruit to the honor and glory of God, and yet we have lacked nothing to eat, drink or wear-in all these things I acknowledge the hand of God."
Thus, in such beginnings, the gospel message was being taken to the peoples of the earth, and prophecy fulfilled.
Approximately ninety years later at the centennial conference held in Salt Lake City on April 6, 1930, President Heber J. Grant reported that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had a living membership of 700,000 souls, 104 stakes, twenty-nine missions, and 2,226 missionaries. Convert baptisms in 1929 amounted to 6,511.
And now-today-as in earlier days, missionaries are leaving their families, comfortable homes, and worldly interests behind and are going forth with the same dedication to build the kingdom of God. They also recall the promise of the Savior-"... There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake,
"Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting".
Recently it was reported that the living membership of the Church now totals two million souls, the 374th stake has been organized, and there are now seventy-one missions and approximately 12,000 missionaries. As instruments in the hands of the Lord in 1962, the missionaries taught and baptized 115,834 souls. In the hearts of millions more the seeds were sown which will bring forth a great harvest in the years ahead.
To you who are not members but would like to know more about the Church, we invite you to attend one of our church services or ask a member to have the missionaries discuss the doctrine of the Church with you or communicate with the missionaries or the Church directly.
The Savior's injunction to "feed my sheep" has been and is being carried out.
Sister Richards and I have recently returned from the missions on the east coast, and we bring greetings from the missionaries to their families and friends. There are now twenty stakes on the east coast with over 2,000 missionaries in the eight missions. The field is white and is being harvested there. Convert baptisms continue to increase.
Remember the Lord has said, "... the voice of warning shall be unto all people, by the mouths of my disciples...
"And they shall go forth and none shall stay them".
Our missionaries are going forth and none shall stay them. Our proselyting program is based upon, "every member sharing the gospel with his neighbor." Our Prophet David O. McKay has counseled, "Every member a missionary." As a result today, many thousands of members are responding by living exemplary lives; by asking the golden questions; by holding group meetings in their homes; and by taking their friends and neighbors with them to attend church services and activities. This type of sharing is "Every Member a Missionary" in action.
At this conference several stake presidents and bishops have told me of the group meetings they are holding in their homes and the convert baptisms that are resulting therefrom. As we leaders set the pattern, every member will be a missionary. And each member should be mindful of his responsibilities and opportunities to spread the gospel.
I love and support our great prophet. He is indeed one of the great missionaries of all time.
Yes, the purposes of the Lord are being accomplished today, and prophecy is being fulfilled. The Spirit of the Lord is being poured out on our Father's children, and the gospel is rolling forth in order to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
May the kingdom of God continue to go forth that the kingdom of heaven may come, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Bernard P. Brockbank
Bernard P. Brockbank, Conference Report, April 1963, pp. 124-126
Brothers and sisters, it is a humbling and frightening experience to be in this position and one of great responsibility. We have so many interesting things happen to us these days that we little realize some of the great circumstances we find ourselves in.
As I was reflecting just a moment ago, I think two of the greatest missionaries that the world has ever known are right here today-our Prophet David O. McKay and our Tabernacle Choir. It is good to be in the presence of good people. I am going to take just a moment and reflect on one or two of the simple important teachings of Jesus Christ.
In preaching to the missionaries many times I have said that these commandments are the test of a missionary. I believe also they are the test of a Saint. The Savior had the ability to put many volumes and many sermons into few words, and we find ourselves taking inventory when we read into the depth of his great counsel. These commandments have been mentioned many times. You are well-acquainted with them.
Jesus said, "But I say unto you, Love your enemies". That's not just so many words, you know, that's a responsibility placed on a Saint. Quite often if we have an enemy, "Well, if he doesn't like me I don't like him. I can get along without him." There is no Christianity in this attitude. When Christianity is shown, it's when the individual says, "Well, I love you no matter how you act or feel toward me." When one does this, the tide of evil, the tide of degeneration is stopped, love takes the place of enmity. Wouldn't it be great if we were all Christians with love for all in our hearts; there would be no enmity.
"Bless them that curse you". Have you ever had someone curse you, and it made you angry, so you cursed them back? You showed them how to curse. Satan enjoys that; there's no Christianity in cursing back. There's a responsibility if someone curses you, and in this Church it is not so unusual to be cursed or spoken against. "Bless them that curse you," a responsibility as a Christian-a follower of Jesus Christ. We must bless them that curse us. Wouldn't it be great if you would visit and bless them. "God bless you, I want you to know you have my blessings." Can you see the tide of Christianity turning back the evil trend of cursing among God's children.
It's not too easy to be a Christian. I'm only on one verse here of the Savior's many verses. There are four commandments in one verse.
"Do good to them that hate you". Do we always practice this commandment? Well, it is not easy. "And pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you". Did the Savior practice this? You know, to be a Christian, we must follow the Savior. It is easy to hide behind Christianity, but it is not easy to be a Christian. Let's see whether the Savior practiced what he taught.
I'm not going to take time because the time is very short, but remember when the Savior was hanging on the cross, his accusers, his murderers at his feet; he could have said something rather severe and scolding, but no, he practiced what he preached. "Father in heaven, forgive them". He prayed for those who persecuted him and bitterly abused him.
I'm going to turn over a page to hurry, in this same great sermon. "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". It's real wide, the gate's wide, and there is a great multitude headed for it and many there be which go in thereat. These are the words of the Savior. "... strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it". Not many will find the gate to heaven.
"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves". A false prophet will teach false doctrine. Any false teacher is in that category.
Now the Savior gives us many wonderful keys here. "Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?". What if you saw figs growing on a thistle? You'd know they were out of place, wouldn't you? Grapes growing on thorns, it's just as obvious and just as easy to tell a true prophet as it is to tell that figs are out of place on a thistle bush.
Well, a God without body, parts, or passions, uncreate-and the Prophet Joseph Smith introducing back again a God with body, parts, and passions. Man saying the Godhead is three in one and one in three-most difficult to explain and understand. Joseph Smith restoring the knowledge of three separate Personages. You know the agnostic could say they are both wrong, but it is obvious they are not both right. It's as obvious as a fig on a thistle that one is opposite the other.
Jesus had Twelve Apostles-many churches do not have apostles. Our message is not a difficult one to deliver to the world as soon as we can prepare the world for it. Then the Lord clarifies this, "Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
"A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit". President McKay does not build the kingdom of Satan, he builds the kingdom of God. He teaches the same gospel and doctrines that Jesus Christ and the apostles taught.
Our prophet has asked us all to be missionaries-every member a missionary. That's the way to build this Church. Wouldn't it be great if all two million each brought one soul into the Church. How many of you brought one new member into the Church last year? The prophet asked us to do it under the inspiration of the Lord because the Lord knows how to build his Church.
What if it meant your life if you did not bring a soul in this coming year? You'd have him or her, wouldn't you? You'd bring your soul in. This is just a little way for the Lord to test and tell whether we love our neighbor as ourselves. We'd do pretty nearly anything to save and preserve our own lives.
I bear witness that God lives, that David O. McKay is his prophet and mouthpiece. It is good to be in your presence. May the Lord bless each one, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Gordon B. Hinckley
Gordon B. Hinckley, Conference Report, April 1963, pp. 126-129
My beloved associates in the work of the Lord. Within the hour all who are assembled here will be journeying to their homes. I am reminded in this thought of an experience at a newsstand the other day. I walked about observing the magazines. I was intrigued by the number of those devoted to the restyling and beautification of our homes. Done in four-color printing on good paper, their titles alone were enough to excite the imagination in the direction of improvement, and their contents was a most compelling display of suggestions on how to dress up the old place or plan for a new one.
Then my eyes drifted to the news magazines. Boldly printed on the cover of one of these was a shocking question: "Will city streets ever be safe again?" Inside I read a provocative interview between the editors of the magazine and the president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Stanley R. Schrotel of Cincinnati. The interview describes what we have read so frequently of late-the rising tide of assault, robbery, and other serious crimes inflicted on unsuspecting people by criminals, who, for the most part, are young men, many of them yet in their teens. News stories indicate that one cannot safely walk the streets of some of our proudest cities. This is not only in the United States; the same problem is also felt across the world.
I quote from the interview with Chief Schrotel:
"Q. Are you saying that parents are to blame, really, for juvenile delinquency?"
"A. I'd have to say that there is a woeful need today for greater strength in the home, greater respect for parents as the authority symbol, and more parental guidance."
I find only one interpretation of this-serious failure in the homes of the people. There is failure in cultivating those virtues which lead to respect for law, respect for associates, even respect for self.
Other symptoms, less dramatic, but equally far-reaching in their consequences, are found in the rising toll of domestic tragedies, the broken homes the children cast adrift from the ties that should give security and stability to their lives. Add to this the cases of warped integrity, of malfeasance, of dereliction of duty, and we have a sordid and miserable picture.
Paul of old declared to Timothy: "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come." He said nothing of atomic bombs or intercontinental missiles or death-dealing submarines.
Rather, they shall be perilous because "... men shall be lovers of their own selves... blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful,.
"Without natural affection... despisers of those that are good".
The police chief lists some of the things he would do to curb this distressing problem. He includes stricter law enforcement and more prison sentences. I would not presume to question his formula as an expediency, but I think it is not a basic and enduring solution. The tide will be turned only as the principles governing the behavior of the people are altered.
Honesty, character, integrity do not come of legislation or police action. Only as we build back into the fiber of our lives the virtues which are the essence of true civilization will the pattern of our times change. That building process must begin in the homes of the people. It must begin with recognition of God as our Eternal Father, of our relationship to him as his children, with communication with him in recognition of his sovereign position, and in supplication for his guidance in our affairs.
Prayer, family prayer in the homes of this and other lands, is one of the simple medicines that would check the dread disease that has eroded the fiber of our character. It is as simple as sunshine and would be as effective in curing our malady. We could not expect a miracle in a day, but in a generation we would have a miracle.
A generation or two ago family prayer in the homes of Christian people throughout the world was as much a part of the day's activity as was eating. As that practice has diminished, our moral decay has ensued.
I feel satisfied that there is no adequate substitute for the morning and evening practice of kneeling together-father, mother, and children. This, more than heavy carpets more than lovely draperies, more than cleverly balanced color schemes, is the thing that will make for better and more beautiful homes.
There is something in the very posture of kneeling that contradicts the attitudes described by Paul: proud, "... heady, high-minded".
There is something in the very practice of father and mother and children kneeling together that evaporates others of those qualities he described: "... disobedient to parents...
"Without natural affection".
There is something in the act of addressing the Deity that offsets a tendency toward blasphemy and toward becoming lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.
The inclination to be unholy, as Paul described it, to be unthankful, is erased as together the family thank the Lord for life and peace and all they have.
The scripture declares: "Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things". And again: "... in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand".
In remembering together before the Lord the poor, the needy, and the oppressed, there is developed, unconsciously but realistically, a love for others above self, a respect for others, a desire to serve the needs of others. One cannot ask God to help a neighbor in distress without feeling motivated to do something oneself toward helping that neighbor. What miracles would happen in the lives of the children of America, and of the world, if they would lay aside their own selfishness and lose themselves in the service of others. The seed from which this sheltering and fruitful tree may grow is best planted and nurtured in the daily supplications of the family.
I know of no better way to inculcate love for country than for parents to pray before their children for the President and the Congress or the Queen and the Parliament of the land of their citizenship.
Recently I have seen on billboards in some of our cities a statement which reads, "A nation at prayer is a nation at peace." I believe this. I hope this is more than a catchy motto. I am satisfied that we shall not have peace unless and until we request it in the name of the Prince of Peace.
I know of nothing that will ease family tensions, that in a subtle way will bring about the respect for parents which leads to obedience, that will affect the spirit of repentance which will largely erase the blight of broken homes, than will praying together, confessing weaknesses together before the Lord, and invoking the blessings of the Lord upon the home and those who dwell there.
I have been impressed by a statement made by a man long since dead, the father of one of the great men who sits on this stand. James H. Moyle wrote to his grandchildren concerning the family prayer of his own home. He said: "We have not gone to bed before kneeling in prayer to supplicate divine guidance and approval. Differences may arise in the best governed families, but they will be dissipated by the... spirit of prayer... Its very psychology tends to promote the more righteous life among men. It tends to unity, love, forgiveness, to service."
In 1872 Colonel Thomas L. Kane, the great friend of our people in the days of their distress in Iowa and at the time of the coming of the army to this valley, came west again with his wife and two sons. They traveled to St. George with Brigham Young, stopping each night in the homes along the way. Mrs. Kane wrote a series of letters to her father back in Philadelphia. In one of these she said:
"At every one of the places we stayed on this journey we had prayers immediately after the dinner-supper, and prayers again before breakfast. No one was excused... the Mormons... kneel at once, while the head of the household, or an honored guest prays aloud ... They spend very little time in ascriptions, but ask for what they need, and thank Him for what He has given.... take it for granted that God knows our familiar names and titles, and will ask a blessing on ... I liked this when I became used to it."
Oh, that we as a people might cultivate this practice which was of such importance to our pioneer forebears. Family prayer was as much a part of their worship as were the meetings convened in this tabernacle. With the faith that came of these daily invocations, they grubbed the sagebrush, led the waters to the parched soil, made the desert blossom, governed their families in love, lived in peace one with another, and made their names immortal as they lost themselves in the service of God.
We have reached the tragic point in our history where evidently we cannot invoke the blessings of God in our schools, but we can pray in our homes. The family is the unit of society. The praying family is the hope of a better society. "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found".
I was touched last fall by the heartbreaking statement of a young man in Japan. He said, "I have been here for months. I can't learn the language. I dislike the people. I am depressed by day and sleep at night. I wanted to die. I wrote my mother and pleaded for an excuse to return home. I have her reply. She says: We're praying for you. There is not a day passes that all of us do not kneel together in the morning before we eat and in the evening before we retire and plead with the Lord for his blessing upon you. We have added fasting to our prayer, and when your younger brothers and sisters pray they say, "Heavenly Father, bless Johnny in Japan and help him to learn the language and do the work he was called to do."'"
This young man then went on to say through his tears, "I will try again. I will add my prayers to theirs and my fasting to their fasting."
Now, four months later, I have a letter from him in which he says, "A miracle has happened. The language has come to me as a gift from the Lord. I have learned to love the people in this beautiful land. God be thanked for the prayers of my family."
Can we make our homes more beautiful? Yes, through addressing ourselves as families to the source of all true beauty. Can we strengthen our society and make it a better place in which to live? Yes, by strengthening the virtue of our family life through kneeling together and supplicating the Almighty in the name of his Beloved Son.
This simple practice, a return to family worship, spreading across the land and over the earth, would in a generation largely lift the blight that is destroying us, and it would restore integrity, mutual respect, and a spirit of thankfulness in the hearts of the people. That we of this great Church, the kingdom of God may be faithful in setting an example before the world in this practice and in encouraging others to do likewise, I humbly pray, as I leave with you my testimony of its virtue, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1963, pp. 129-131
Brethren and Sisters, we are nearing the end of another great conference. I am impressed with the thought that everyone who has attended, either in presence or by listening in, no matter where he or she may be, must leave this conference with a greater determination to be a better man or a better woman; a better citizen of the town, county, or nation than he or she has ever been before.
Brother Bernard P. Brockbank has just said that it is good to be in the presence of good people. He gave a sermon in that sentence. "It is good to be in the presence of good people." Every man and every person who lives in this world wields an influence, whether for good or for evil. It is not what he says alone, it is not alone what he does. It is what he is. Every man, every person radiates what he or she is. Every person is a recipient of radiation. The Savior was conscious of that. Whenever he came into the presence of an individual, he sensed that radiation-whether it was the woman of Samaria with her past life; whether it was the woman who was to be stoned or the men who were to stone her; whether it was the statesman, Nicodemus, or one of the lepers. He was conscious of the radiation from the individual. And to a degree so are you, and so am I. It is what we are and what we radiate that affects the people around us.
We cannot go from this great conference without an added responsibility to contribute to a better life around us. As individuals, we must think nobler thoughts. We must not encourage vile thoughts or low aspirations. We shall radiate them if we do. If we think noble thoughts, if we encourage and cherish noble aspirations, there will be that radiation when we meet people, especially when we associate with them.
That is true of the individual. It is true of the home, as we have heard in this conference from Brother Gordon B. Hinckley. Our homes radiate what we are, and that radiation comes from what we say and how we act in the home. No member of this Church-husband, father-has the right to utter an oath in his home or ever to express a cross word to his wife or to his children. You cannot do it as a man who holds the priesthood and be true to the spirit within you by your ordination and your responsibility. You have to contribute to an ideal home by your character, controlling your passion, your temper, guarding your speech, because those things will make your home what it is and what it will radiate to the neighborhood.
I am reminded of a remark made by a man who came here and attended the board meeting of the United States Steel Company in 1946. You will remember-some of you in this audience, some of you General Authorities will remember-that they invited us to attend a dinner of that board, and at the conclusion of that entertainment the chairman, the master of ceremonies-I think it was Mr. Irving S. Olds-said: "Now we are not going to have any set speeches, but here is an opportunity if any of you would like to express yourselves."
Mr. Nathan L. Miller, general counsel for that board, arose, and in substance said, "I am one of those inquisitive, suspicious New Englanders, and I have been impressed with something in this city that seems to be different from any other city I have ever visited." A radiation! He continued, "I walked up and down Main Street and watched the people. There is something about the city which is different from any other I have been in. I tried to define it and wondered what it was, but during an interview in the President's office today I think I discovered what it is." President George Albert Smith had called on some of the brethren to speak to the visitors, who were sitting and standing around the First Presidency's board room in the Church Administration Building.
He said, "I listened to what these men said." One of them had referred to the pioneers and the spirit of the pioneers; that before they started out across the plains under the direction of President Young, they sought divine guidance first. Second, under his direction, they were prepared. Every man would carry a gun and must be prepared for an attack of savages or any other possible emergency that might come to the pioneers that day. And third, every man must take just as much care of his neighbor's cattle as he did of his own. Worship, Preparation, Service!
I do not know whether it was that that answered this gentleman's curiosity or not, but he said, "I thought in that meeting in the President's office I detected what there is in the city which is different-it is spirituality," said he. "That's it! It is spirituality! The pioneers had it! I am wondering if you younger men can keep that spirituality with the installation of material things coming into your midst."
He was referring to that radiation of the group which we all feel. I repeat, every individual has it. Every home radiates it, and every Latter-day Saint home should have it.
A father visited his son's new home. The son was proud to show him the new bedroom, the new installations in the kitchen. After they were through with their visit, the father said, "Yes, it is beautiful, but I see no signs of God in your home." And the son said, "I went back, and as I looked through the rooms, I noticed I had nothing suggestive of the presence of the Redeemer or the Savior."
What I am saying is, we leave this conference today with greater responsibility than ever before, as men of the priesthood, as women of the Church, to make our homes such as will radiate to our neighbors harmony, love, community duties, loyalty. Let our neighbors see it and hear it. Never must there be expressed in a Latter-day Saint home an oath, a condemnatory term, an expression of anger or jealousy or hatred. Control it! Do not express it! You do what you can to produce peace and harmony, no matter what you may suffer.
The Savior set us the example, always calm, always controlled, radiating something which people could feel as they passed-the woman who touched his garment. He felt something go from him, that radiation which is divine.
Each individual soul has it. That is you. The body is only the house in which you live. God help us to radiate strength, control, love, charity, which is another name for love, consideration, best wishes for all human beings.
The Church is reaching out, radiating, not only by bodies and meetings, but now through the kindness of the radio owners, television owners, we have touched them from the center. Listen to the people up in Alaska: "Our sincere thanks for the spiritual uplift. Reception excellent at both ends of this far north stake. Attendance at Anchorage, 89. Fifty prayers are certainly with you. Alaska Stake President." Fifty prayers! Why, it is just radiating throughout the whole world.
God help us as members of the priesthood and as members of the Church to radiate faith in God, love of humanity, service to his people wherever they are, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, October 1963, pp. 5-9
I pray for your sympathy, your prayers, while I say a few words at the opening of this great conference.
"What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
"For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour".
Animals and other living things can grow and reproduce their kind only in accordance with the fixed laws of nature and the divine command, "Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind".
Man, in his physical organism being material and chemical the same as that of the animal, also is subject to the appetites, passions, and other cravings of the physical body. To him, however, is given a special endowment not bestowed upon any other living thing. When the Creator "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul," God gave him the power of choice. Only to the human being did the Creator say: "... thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee". As God intended man to become as he, it was necessary that He should first make him free. Thus man was endowed with the greatest blessing that can be given to mortal beings-the gift of free agency. Without this divine power to choose, humanity cannot progress.
Commenting upon this special endowment, a leading scientist, Dr. Lecomte du Nouy in Human Destiny said: "By giving man liberty and conscience, God abdicated a part of His omnipotence in favor of His creature and this represents the spark of God in man. Liberty is real, for God Himself refused to trammel it."
"... cheer up your hearts," admonished the ancient prophet, "and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves".
Freedom of speech, freedom of action within boundaries that do not infringe upon the liberty of others are man's inherent right-divine gifts "essential to human dignity and human happiness."
What a travesty on human nature when a person or a group of persons, though endowed with a consciousness of being able to rise in human dignity to realms indiscernible by lower creatures, yet will still be content to obey animal instincts, without putting forth efforts to experience the joy of goodness, purity, self-mastery, and faith that spring from compliance to moral rules! How tragic it is when man, made a "little lower than the angels and crowned with glory and honour", will content himself to grovel on the animal plane.
"This love of liberty which God has planted in us," said Abraham Lincoln, "constitutes the bulwark of our liberty and independence. It is not our formidable battlements, or bristling seacoasts, or in our Navy. Our defense is in the spirit which prizes liberty as the heritage of all men in all lands everywhere. Destroy this spirit, and we have planted the seeds of despotism at our own doors."
The opposite of freedom is bondage, servility, restraint, conditions that inhibit mentality, stifle the spirit, and crush manhood. To coerce, to compel to bring the individual into servitude is the communist plan for the human family.
Aside from resisting such oppression from without, each individual carries within himself the responsibility of living nobly or ignobly. Daily every normal person is faced with the choice of submission to what Paul designated the "works of the flesh", or of reaching upward for the fruits of the Spirit, which are "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance".
Conditions in the world today seem to indicate that too many human beings are living not very far above the animal plane. Cunning, deception, thieving, lying, cruelty, brutality warring conflicts are still all too common even among Christian nations.
Charles Wagner in The Simple Life gives this impressive warning against indulgence in animal desires:
"He who lives to eat, drink, sleep, dress, take his walk-in short, pamper himself all that he can-be it the courtier basking in the sun, the drunken laborer, the commoner serving his belly, the woman absorbed in her toilettes, the profligate of low estate or high, or simply the ordinary pleasure-lover, a 'good fellow,' but too obedient to material needs-that man or woman is on the downward way of desire, and the descent is fatal. Those who follow it obey the same laws as a body on an inclined plane. Dupes of an illusion forever repeated, they think: 'Just a few steps more, the last, toward the thing down there that we covet; then we will halt.' But the velocity they gain sweeps them on, and the further they go the less able they are to resist it.
"Here is the secret of the unrest, the madness, of many of our contemporaries. Having condemned their will to the service of their appetites, they suffer the penalty. They are delivered up to violent passions which devour their flesh, crush their bones, suck their blood, and cannot be sated. This is not a lofty moral denunciation. I have been listening to what life says, and have recorded, as I heard them, some of the truths that resound in every square.
"Has drunkenness, inventive as it is of new drinks, found the means of quenching thirst? Not at all. It might rather be called the art of making thirst inextinguishable. Frank libertinage, does it deaden the sting of the senses? No; it envenoms it, converts natural desire into a morbid obsession and makes it the dominant passion. Let your needs rule you, pamper them-you will see them multiply like insects in the sun. The more you give them, the more they demand. He is senseless who seeks for happiness in material prosperity alone... Our needs, in place of the servants that they should be, become a turbulent and seditious crowd, a legion of tyrants in miniature. A man enslaved to his needs may best be compared to a bear with a ring in its nose that is led about and made to dance at will. The likeness is not flattering, but you will grant that it is true.
"It is only by direct action on youth that a better society can be successfully moulded. All pseudo-mysticisms-social, philosophical or political-must be replaced by the Christian ideal, the only one based on liberty and the respect of human dignity. When people have received the same education, when they obey the same moral rules and think universally, they do not easily accept the idea of fighting each other and are very near an understanding.
"Today the nations constituted by individuals but possessing their own independent life want to exist and concentrate all their efforts toward this goal, sometimes sincerely in the interest of their members, sometimes solely in the interest of their leaders or of what the latter believe is an ideal superior to that of the individual. Governments, evidently, have the duty to protect their countries against enemies, for in so doing they protect the individual which they are supposed to represent. But they also have the duty to prepare the future by spreading the light and by attacking the roots of the evil."
We sing:
"In sylvan depth and shade, In forest and in glade, Where'er we pass, The hand of God we see In leaf and bud and tree Or bird or humming bee Or blade of grass." -Emmeline B. Wells
We drive up the canyons and thrill with the glory of nature bedecked in the brilliance of her autumn colors and find ourselves interested in the story of past ages as we pass in rapid succession the everlasting cliffs of conglomerate, granite-like strata of gneiss and limestone or pause with the poet and pluck a-
"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." -Tennyson
But earth in all its majesty and wonder is not the end and purpose of creation. "... my glory," says the Lord himself, " to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man". And man in exercising the divine gift of free agency should feel in duty bound, should sense the obligation to assist the Creator in the accomplishment of this divine purpose.
The true end of life is not mere existence, not pleasure, not fame, not wealth. The true purpose of life is the perfection of humanity through individual effort, under the guidance of God's inspiration.
Real life is response to the best within us. To be alive only to appetite, pleasure, pride, money-making, and not to goodness and kindness, purity and love, poetry, music, flowers, stars, God and eternal hopes, is to deprive one's self of the real joy of living.
In man's life, this physical stage, man finds activity in two phases: first in the struggle for livelihood and comforts; and, second in the tendency to grovel. The first is natural and most commendable. The second is debasing, and when unrestrained leads one to the level of animals. When a man harbors the thought that he will obtain a livelihood by injuring his neighbor, that moment he begins to circumscribe his life; bitterness replaces happiness; sordidness supplants generosity; hatred takes the place of love, and beastliness takes the place of humanity.
Generally there is in man a divinity which strives to push him onward and upward. We believe that this power within him is the spirit that comes from God. Man lived before he came to this earth, and he is here now to strive to perfect the spirit within. At sometime in his life, every man is conscious of a desire to come in touch with the Infinite. His spirit reaches out for God. This sense of feeling is universal, and all men ought to be, in deepest truth, engaged in the same great work-the search for and the development of spiritual peace and freedom.
Each one of us 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.
Trees that can stand in the midst of the hurricane often yield to the destroying pests that we can scarcely see with a microscope. Likewise the greatest foes of humanity today are the subtle and sometimes unseen influences at work in society that are undermining the manhood and womanhood of today. The test, after all, of the faithfulness and effectiveness of God's people is an individual one. What is the individual doing?
Every temptation that comes to you and me comes in one of three forms:
A temptation of the appetite or passion; A yielding to pride, fashion, or vanity; A desire for worldly riches or power and dominion over lands or earthly possessions of men.
Such temptations come to us in our social gatherings; they come to us in our political strivings; they come to us in our business relations, on the farm, in the mercantile establishment; in our dealings in all the affairs of life we find these insidious influences working. It is when they manifest themselves to the consciousness of each individual that the defense of truth should exert itself.
The Church teaches that life here is probationary. It is man's duty to become the master, not the slave of nature. His appetites are to be controlled and used for the benefit of his health and the prolongation of his life-his passions mastered and controlled for the happiness and blessing of others.
Man's greatest happiness comes from losing himself for the good of others. The advancement of science and the new discoveries from the dawn of history to the present are the results of the efforts of men who have been willing to sacrifice themselves if necessary for the cause of truth.
"What pains and tears the slightest step forward of man's progress have cost! Every hair-breadth forward has been in the agony of some soul, and humanity has attained blessing after blessing of all its vast achievement of good with bleeding feet."
We must not lose sight of the fact, however, that these great leaders of the world were more than compensated by the supreme joy that comes from achievement.
Today there are those who have met disaster which almost seems defeat, who have become somewhat soured in their natures; but if they stop to think, even the adversity which has come to them may prove a means of spiritual uplift. Adversity itself may lead toward and not away from God and spiritual enlightenment; and privation may prove a source of strength if we can but keep the sweetness of mind and spirit. "Sweet are the uses of adversity," said Shakespeare, "which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, wears yet a precious jewel in his head."
If you have lived true to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and continue to do so, happiness will fill your soul. If you vary from it and become conscious that you have fallen short of what you know is right, you are going to be unhappy even though you have the wealth of the world.
And now a word to the young:
In their yearning for a good time, young people are often tempted to indulge in the things which appeal only to the baser side of humanity, five of the most common of which are: first, vulgarity and obscenity; second, drinking and petting; third, unchastity; fourth, disloyalty; and, fifth, irreverence.
Vulgarity is often the first step down the road to indulgence. To be vulgar is to give offense to good taste or refined feelings.
It is only a step from vulgarity to obscenity. It is right, indeed essential, to the happiness of our young people that they meet in social parties, but it is an indication of low morals when for entertainment they must resort to physical stimulation and debasement. Drinking and petting parties form an environment in which the moral sense becomes dulled, and unbridled-passion holds sway. It then becomes easy to take the final step downward in moral disgrace.
When, instead of high moral principles, a life of immoral indulgence is chosen, and man or woman gets far down in the scale of degeneracy, disloyalty is an inevitable part of his or her nature. Loyalty to parents becomes quenched; obedience to their teachings and ideals abandoned; loyalty to wife and children smothered in base gratification; loyalty to Church impossible, and often supplanted by sneers at its teachings.
Spirituality is the consciousness of victory over self and of communion with the Infinite. Spirituality impels one to conquer difficulties and acquire more and more strength. To feel one's faculties unfolding and truth expanding the soul is one of life's sublimest experiences. Being true to self and being loyal to high ideals develops spirituality. The real test of any religion is the kind of man it makes. Being "honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men" are virtues which contribute to the highest acquisition of the soul. It is the "divine in man, the supreme, crowning gift that makes him king of all created things, the one final quality that makes him tower above all other animals."
Let us ever keep in mind that life is largely what we make it, and that the Savior of men has marked clearly and plainly just how joy and peace may be obtained. It is in the gospel of Jesus Christ and adherence thereto. Do your duty no matter how humble and resolve even in the face of difficulties and discouragements to be:
"Like the man who faces what he must With step triumphant and a heart of cheer; Who fights the daily battle without fear; Sees his hopes fail, yet keeps unfaltering trust That God is God."
Years ago I learned that-
"The world wants men-true men Who cannot be bought or sold; Men who will scorn to violate truth-genuine gold."
That is the kind of men who stand at the head of our stakes, wards, quorums, and organizations. That is a responsibility they carry. God help them in discharging their duty faithfully and responding to our Father in heaven who says, "... this is my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man".
God help us as leaders in the restored Church, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Nathan Eldon Tanner
N. Eldon Tanner, Conference Report, October 1963, pp. 12-13
My beloved President David O. McKay, President Brown, and brothers and sisters: It is with great difficulty and a feeling of deep humility that I stand before you in response to this high honor and heavy responsibility that has been bestowed upon me, one of thy most humble servants, the weakest and least prepared of all. I humbly pray that the spirit and blessings of the Lord will attend me as I stand before you this morning.
I am sure that my call to this position must have been a shock to many of you, as it is to me. It is certainly another evidence of the fact that God moves in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform.
Only because these, my colleagues, have such a strong testimony that we are led by a prophet of God can they sustain me in this position. I humbly pray that as they sustain the prophet in his decision that they, knowing my weakness, will continue to pray for me and give of their strength which I need so badly, and with that assurance, my brothers and sisters, I can humbly say as did Nephi of old:
"I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them".
I humbly thank you all for your confidence and sustaining vote, and pledge to all of you and to these, my brethren and colleagues, whom I love so much, and whom I sustain with all my heart, and to you, President McKay, as the Lord's representative, and to God himself, everything with which the Lord has blessed me for the building up of the kingdom of God.
I thank God for my loyal and devoted wife and family whom I love so much and who have always sustained and strengthened me with their inspiration, loyalty, faith, and prayers and who will continue to sustain me in this new calling.
I thank my Heavenly Father for the wonderful privilege that I have had of associating with these fine men, for the influence they have had in my life and for the encouragement and strength they have given me. And I thank God for the signal privilege I have had of associating so closely with, and feeling the great spirit and influence of, our beloved President David O. McKay. All that has been written and said about him, as he has just passed his ninetieth birthday, does not and cannot portray the greatness of him who has been chosen as a prophet of God and who is now President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints-the kingdom of God here upon the earth. It is impossible to appreciate or estimate the tremendous influence for good that he has exerted upon all mankind. The closer that one is to him, and the more he is permitted to associate with him, the stronger one's testimony becomes that he is a prophet of God.
It is with sadness that I mention the absence of our beloved friend and colleague, President Henry D. Moyle, whom we all miss so much, and whose passing makes these changes necessary. His family, his friends, his Church, his community, and his country have suffered a tremendous loss. He was a loving husband and father, a true and loyal friend, a thoughtful neighbor, a devoted member and capable leader of the Church. He was always working for the good of his country and the betterment of mankind. I wish to express my love and sympathy to Sister Moyle and her family and pray that the Spirit of the Lord will accompany and strengthen them and give them courage to carry on.
At this time, I should like to welcome Brother Thomas Monson, whom I sustain with all my heart.
I have not words to express my deep love for the Lord and my gratitude to him for his many blessings unto me and mine, and I sincerely pray for his continued guidance and strength, as I try to serve him. And I wish to pledge with you again that my life and all that I have will be completely devoted to the service of my Maker and to my fellow men, always with a prayer in my heart that he will give me wisdom and knowledge, courage and strength and inspiration and determination and ability to keep his commandments and serve in a way that will be acceptable to him.
Again I appeal to each and every one of you to exercise your faith and prayers in my behalf that I might lose myself in his service and go forward with an eye single to his glory.
I wish to bear my testimony that I know that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ who gave his life for you and me; that this is his Church and kingdom; that we have at the head of our Church this day a prophet of God who is led by him, and through whom we are led in the paths of truth and righteousness.
May we follow him, knowing that we will be led into immortality and eternal life, I humbly pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Thomas S. Monson
Thomas S. Monson, Conference Report, October 1963, p. 14
President McKay, President Brown, President Tanner, my brethren, and brothers and sisters, from the depths of humility, and with an overwhelming sense of inadequacy, I stand before you and pray earnestly for your prayers in my behalf.
All of us are saddened by the loss of President Henry D. Moyle. I also miss the presence of President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., and President Stephen L Richards who served in the First Presidency.
Some years ago I stood at a pulpit and noticed a little sign that only the speaker could see, and the words on that sign were these: "Who stands at this pulpit, let him be humble." How I pray to my Heavenly Father that I might never forget the lesson I learned that day!
I feel to thank my Heavenly Father for his many blessings to me. I am grateful to have been born of goodly parents, whose parents were gathered out of the lands of Sweden and Scotland and England by humble missionaries who through the bearing of their testimonies touched the spirits of these wonderful people.
I am so grateful for my teachers and leaders in my boyhood and young manhood in a humble, pioneer ward in a humble, pioneer stake. I am grateful for my sweet companion and for the influence for good which she has had upon my life, and to her dear mother who had the courage in far-off Sweden to accept the gospel and to come to this country. I am so happy that the Lord has blessed us with three fine children, our youngest born to us in the mission field in Canada. I am grateful for these blessings. I am grateful for my friends and for O. Preston Robinson and my associates at the Deseret News with whom I have so closely worked these past fifteen years.
I know that God lives, my brothers and sisters. There is no question in my mind. I know that this is his work, and I know that the sweetest experience in all this life is to feel his promptings as he directs us in the furtherance of his work. I have felt these promptings as a young bishop, guided to the homes where there was spiritual, or perhaps temporal, want. I felt it again in the mission field as I worked with your sons and your daughters-the missionaries of this great Church who are a living witness and testimony to the world that this work is divine and that we are led by a prophet.
I think of a little sister, a French-Canadian sister, whose life was changed by the missionaries as her spirit was touched as she said good-bye to me and my wife two years ago in Quebec. She said, "President Monson, I may never see the prophet. I may never hear the prophet. But President, far better, now that I am a member of this Church, I can obey the prophet."
My sincere prayer today, President McKay, is that I might always obey you and these, my brethren. I pledge my life, all that I may have. I will strive to the utmost of my ability to be what you would want me to be. I am grateful for the words of Jesus Christ, our Savior, when he said:
"I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him".
I earnestly pray, my brothers and sisters, that my life might merit this promise from our Savior. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Ezra Taft Benson
Ezra Taft Benson, Conference Report, October 1963, p. 15-19
Humbly and gratefully I approach you today. Humble in the awesome task of speaking to you-grateful for the gospel and a prophet at our head. I concur in this great address on man and free agency given by the Lord's mouthpiece. President McKay will go down in eternity as one of the great champions of free men.
Years ago my great-grandfather, while an investigator, attended a Mormon meeting during which a member had a quarrel over the Sacrament table with the branch president. When the service was over, Mrs. Benson turned to Ezra T. and asked him what he thought of the Mormons now. I'll always be grateful for his answer. He said he thought the actions of its members in no way altered the truth of Mormonism. That conviction saved him from many a tragedy. Before joining the Church, Grandfather was moved by a marvelous prayer of Apostle John E. Page.
But later the young convert was greatly shocked by the same man whose actions reflected his gradual apostasy.
Ironically, when Elder Page eventually was excommunicated, Brigham Young selected the young convert to fill Elder Page's place in the Quorum of the Twelve.
Six of the original Twelve Apostles selected by Joseph Smith were excommunicated. The Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon left the Church. Three of Joseph Smith's Counselors fell-one even helped plot his death.
A natural question that might arise would be, that if the Lord knew in advance that these men would fall, as he undoubtedly did, why did he have his Prophet call them to such high office? The answer is; to fill the Lord's purposes. For even the Master followed the will the will of the Father by selecting Judas. President George Q. Cannon suggests an explanation, too, when he states:
"Perhaps it is His own design that faults and weaknesses should appear in high places in order that His Saints may learn to trust in Him and not in any man or men."
And this would parallel Lehi's warning; put not your "... trust in the arm of flesh".
"The Church," says President McKay, "is little, if at all, injured by persecution and calumnies from ignorant, misinformed, or malicious enemies."
It is from within the Church that the greatest hindrance comes. And so, it seems, it has been. Now the question arises, will we stick with the kingdom and can we avoid being deceived? Certainly this is an important question, for the Lord has said that in the last days the devil will "rage in the hearts of... men", and if it were possible he shall "deceive the very elect".
"The adversary," said Brigham Young, "presents his principles and arguments in the most approved style, and in the most winning tone, attended with the most graceful attitudes; and he is very careful to ingratiate himself into the favour of the powerful and influential of mankind, uniting himself with popular parties, floating into offices of trust and emolument by pandering to popular feeling, though it should seriously wrong and oppress the innocent. Such characters put on the manners of an angel, appearing as nigh like angels of light as they possibly can, to deceive the innocent and the unwary. The good which they do, they do it to bring to pass an evil purpose upon the good and honest followers of Jesus Christ."
Those of us who think "... all is well in Zion" in spite of Book of Mormon warning might ponder the words of Heber C. Kimball when he said, "Yes, we think we are secure here in the chambers of these everlasting hills... but I want to say to you, my brethren, the time is coming when we will be mixed up in these now peaceful valleys to that extent that it will be difficult to tell the face of a Saint from the face of an enemy against the people of God. Then is the time to look out for the great sieve, for there will be a great sifting time, and many will fall. For I say unto you there is a test, a Test, a TEST coming".
One of the greatest discourses that I have ever heard or read on how to avoid being deceived was given from this pulpit during the priesthood session of the October, 1960 semiannual conference by Elder Marion G. Romney. I commend it to you for your close study and wish that there were time to reread it. During the talk Elder Romney stated that there was no guarantee that the devil will not deceive a lot of men who hold the priesthood. Then, after referring to a talk on free agency by President McKay, Elder Romney states, "... Free agency is the principle against which Satan waged his war in heaven. It is still the front on which he makes his most furious, devious, and persistent attacks. That this would be the case was foreshadowed by the Lord."
And then after quoting the scripture from the Pearl of Great Price regarding the war in heaven over free agency Elder Romney continues:
"You see, at the time he was cast out of heaven, his objective was `to deceive and to blind men and to lead them captive at his will.' This he effectively does to as many as will not hearken unto the voice of God. His main attack is still on free agency. When he can get men to yield their agency, he has them well on the way to captivity.
"We who hold the priesthood must beware concerning ourselves, that we do not fall into the traps he lays to rob us of our freedom. We must be careful that we are not led to accept or support in any way any organization, cause or measure which, in its remotest effect, would jeopardize free agency, whether it be in politics, government, religion, employment, education, or any other field. It is not enough for us to be sincere in what we support. We must be right!"
Elder Romney then outlined some tests to distinguish the true from the counterfeit. Now this is crucial for us to know, for as President Taylor said, "Besides the preaching of the Gospel, we have another mission, namely, the perpetuation of the free agency of man and the maintenance of liberty, freedom, and the rights of man".
It was the struggle over free agency that divided us before we came here; it may well be the struggle over the same principle which will deceive and divide us again.
May I suggest three short tests to avoid being deceived, both pertaining to this freedom struggle and all other matters.
1. What do the standard works have to say about it? "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them," said Isaiah. This is one of the great truths of Isaiah so important that it was included in the Book of Mormon scriptures. There it reads: "To the law and to the testimony; and if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them". And Hosea said, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge".
We must diligently study the scriptures. Of special importance to us are the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants. Joseph Smith said, "... that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man
The Book of Mormon, Brigham Young said, was written on the tablets of his heart and no doubt helped save him from being deceived. The Book of Mormon has a lot to say about America, freedom, and secret combinations.
The Doctrine and Covenants is important because it contains the revelations which helped lay the foundation of this great latter-day work. It speaks of many things. Section 134, verse 2, states that government should hold inviolate the rights and control of property. This makes important reading in a day when government controls are increasing and people are losing the right to control their own property.
2. The second guide is: what do the latter-day Presidents of the Church have to say on the subject-particularly the living President? President Wilford Woodruff related an instance in church history when Brigham Young was addressing a congregation in the presence of the Prophet Joseph Smith:
"Brother Brigham took the stand, and he took the Bible and laid it down; he took the Book of Mormon, and laid it down: and he took the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and laid it down before him, and he said, 'There is the written word of God to us, concerning the work of God from the beginning of the world, almost, to our day.' 'And now,' said he, 'when compared with the living oracles, those books are nothing to me; those books do not convey the word of God direct to us now, as do the words of a Prophet or a man bearing the Holy Priesthood in our day and generation. I would rather have the living oracles than all the writing in the books.' That was the course he pursued. When he was through, Brother Joseph said to the congregation: 'Brother Brigham has told you the word of the Lord, and he has told you the truth'".
There is only one man on the earth today who speaks for the Church. That man is President David O. McKay. Because he gives the word of the Lord for us today, his words have an even more immediate importance than those of the dead prophets. When speaking under the influence of the Holy Ghost his words are scripture . I commend for your reading the masterful discourse of President J. Reuben Clark Jr., in the Church News of July 31, 1954, entitled: "When Are Church Leader's Words Entitled to Claim of Scripture?"
The President can speak on any subject he feels is needful for the Saints. As Brigham Young has stated: "I defy any man on earth to point out the path a prophet of God should walk in, or point out his duty, and just how far he must go, in dictating temporal or spiritual things. Temporal and spiritual things are inseparably connected, and ever will be". Other officers in the kingdom have fallen but never the Presidents. Keep your eye on the captain is still good counsel. The words of a living prophet must, and ever will take precedence.
President McKay has said a lot about our tragic trends towards socialism and communism and the responsibilities liberty-loving people have in defending and preserving our Constitution. Have we read these words from God's mouthpiece and pondered on them?
3. The third and final test is the Holy Ghost-the test of the Spirit. By that Spirit we "... may know the truth of all things". This test can only be fully effective if one's channels of communication with God are clean and virtuous and uncluttered with sin. Said Brigham Young:
"You may know whether you are led right or wrong, as well as you know the way home; for every principle God has revealed carries its own convictions of its truth to the human mind...
"What a pity it would be if we were led by one man to utter destruction! Are you afraid of this? I am more afraid that this people have so much confidence in their leaders that they will not inquire of themselves of God whether they are led by Him. I am fearful they settle down in a state of blind self-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 to their leaders, did they know for themselves, by the revelations of Jesus, that they are led in the right way. Let every man and woman know, by the whispering of the Spirit of God to themselves, whether their leaders are walking in the path that the Lord dictates, or not. This has been my exhortation continually.".
Elder Heber C. Kimball stated: "The time will come when no man or woman will be able to endure on borrowed light".
How then can we know if a man is speaking by the spirit? The Bible, Book of Mormon, and Doctrine and Covenants give us the key. President Clark summarized them well when he said:
"We can tell when the speakers are moved upon by the Holy Ghost only when we, ourselves, are moved upon by the Holy Ghost. In a way, this completely shifts the responsibility from them to us to determine when they so speak... the Church will know by the testimony of the Holy Ghost in the body of the members, whether the brethren in voicing their views are moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and in due time that knowledge will be made manifest."
Will this Spirit be needed to check actions in other situations? Yes, and it could be used as a guide and a protector for the faithful in a situation described by Elder Lee at the last general priesthood session of the Church when he said:
"In the history of the Church there have been times or instances where Counselors in the First Presidency and others in high station have sought to overturn the decision or to persuade the President contrary to his inspired judgment, and always, if you will read carefully the history of the Church, such oppositions brought not only disastrous results to those who resisted the decision of the President, but almost always such temporary persuasions were called back for reconsideration, or a reversal of hasty action not in accordance with the feelings, the inspired feelings, of the President of the Church. And that, I submit, is one of the fundamental things that we must never lose sight of in the building up of the kingdom of God".
These then, are the three tests: The standard works; the inspired words of the Presidents of the Church, particularly the living Presidents; and the promptings of the Holy Ghost.
Now, brothers and sisters, in this great struggle for free agency just think what a power for good we could be in this world if we were united. Remember how President Clark used to reiterate in the general priesthood meeting of the Church that there was not a righteous thing in this world that we couldn't accomplish if we were just united.
And President McKay has reiterated it again and again when he's stated: "Next to being one in worshiping God, there is nothing in this world upon which this Church should be more united than in upholding and defending the Constitution of the United States!
"May the appeal of our Lord in His intercessory prayer for unity be realized in our homes, our wards, our stakes, and in our support of the basic principles of our Republic," said President McKay.
To that I say Amen and Amen.
President McKay speaks of a unity on principles. President Clark said:
"God provided that in this land of liberty, our political allegiance shall run not to individuals, that is, to government officials, no matter how great or how small they may be. Under His plan our allegiance and the only allegiance we owe as citizens or denizens of the United States, runs to our inspired Constitution which God Himself set up. So runs the oath of office of those who participate in government. A certain loyalty we do owe to the office which a man holds, but even here we owe, just by reason of our citizenship, no loyalty to the man himself. In other countries it is to the individual that allegiance runs. This principle of allegiance to the Constitution is basic to our freedom. It is one of the great principles that distinguishes this 'land of liberty' from other countries.
"Thus God added to His priceless blessings to us.
"I wish to say with all the earnestness I possess that when you youth and maidens see any curtailment of these liberties I have named, when you see government invading any of these realms of freedom which we have under our Constitution, you will know that they are putting shackles on your liberty, and that tyranny is creeping upon you, no matter who curtails these liberties or who invades these realms, and no matter what the reason and excuse therefore may be".
We all should know by now what President McKay has said about liberty-loving peoples' greatest responsibility. We've heard him tell of our drift toward socialism and communism. We know of his feelings regarding recent tragic decisions of the Supreme Court. We know the Church's position supporting right to work laws and the Church's opposition to programs of federal aid to education. These and many more things has President McKay told us that involve the great struggle against state slavery and the anti-Christ. Now, inasmuch as all these warnings have come through the only mouthpiece of the Lord on the earth today there is one major question we should ask ourselves. Assuming we are living a life so we can know, then what does the Holy Spirit have to say about it?
We are under obligation to answer this question. God will hold us responsible.
Let us not be deceived in the sifting days ahead. Let us rally together on principle behind the prophet as guided by the promptings of the Spirit.
We should continue to speak out for freedom and against socialism and communism as President McKay has consistently admonished us. We should continue to come to the aid of patriots, programs, and organizations which are trying to save our Constitution through every legal and moral means possible.
God has not left us in darkness regarding these matters. We have the scriptures ancient and modern. We have a living prophet, and we may obtain the Spirit.
Joseph Smith did see the Father and the Son. The kingdom established through the Prophet's instrumentality will roll forth.
We can move forward with it.
That we may all do so and be not deceived is my humble prayer. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, October 1963, pp. 20-22
My dear brethren and sisters:
The first time it was my privilege to speak to a congregation in this building it required an effort to have my voice carry to all parts of this Tabernacle and be heard. Now when we are privileged to speak, we are conscious of the fact that our voices may go forth to various parts of this mortal world. This makes the speaker conscious of a grave responsibility which rests upon him and the need of weighing every word. I am grateful for the coming of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the restoration of the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in this the greatest of all dispensations-the greatest, because it is the last. I am also made aware of the responsibility which rests upon us, the elders of Israel, to proclaim the words of eternal life as they have been revealed from the heavens for the benefit of all the inhabitants of the world. We are sending missionaries to practically every country on the globe, except perhaps one where the lives of missionaries would be in grave danger and their message misunderstood. This obligation of declaring the words of eternal life devolves upon us by divine decree, given by the Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith in November 1831 in the following words:
"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 rebellious shall be pierced with much sorrow; for their iniquities shall be spoken upon the housetops, and their secret acts shall be revealed.
"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 because of this commandment which the Lord gave to the Church through the Prophet Joseph Smith that our missionaries are sent to all parts of the world. We are fulfilling the edict of the Son of God. Moreover, this is in fulfillment of the promise he made to his apostles just preceding his crucifixion, when he declared to them:
"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;
"And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
"Verily, I say unto you, this generation, in which these things shall be shown forth, shall not pass away until all I have told you shall be fulfilled".
The Lord has made great promises through his servants concerning these times. To Jeremiah the Lord said in speaking of this dispensation:
"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
"Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them saith the Lord:
"But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
"And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more".
In order that this prophecy may be fulfilled, many members of the Church will need to repent and be more diligent in the study of the scriptures and in their prayers and obedience to the laws and commandments of the gospel. If they fail to do these things they will be cut off from the presence of the Lord in that great day when he shall descend as Lord of lords and King of kings to take his place and sit on his throne to rule and reign.
The Prophet Joseph Smith once said: "The great plan of salvation is a theme which ought to occupy our strict attention, and be regarded as one of heaven's best gifts to mankind. No consideration whatever ought to deter us from showing ourselves approved in the sight of God, according to His divine requirement. Men not infrequently forget that they are dependent upon heaven for every blessing which they are permitted to enjoy, and that for every opportunity granted them they are to give an account. You know, brethren, that when the master in the Savior's parable of the stewards called his servants before him he gave them several talents to improve on while he should tarry abroad for a little season, and when he returned he called for an accounting. So it is now. Our Master is absent only for a little season, and at the end of it he will call each to render an account; and where five talents were bestowed, ten will be required; and he that has made no improvement will be cast out as an unprofitable servant, while the faithful will enjoy everlasting honors. Therefore, we earnestly implore the grace of our Father to rest upon you through Jesus Christ his Son that you may not faint in the hour of temptation, nor be overcome in the time of persecution".
The Prophet Joseph Smith in one of his discourses said the following:
"... If God should speak from heaven, he would command you not to steal, not to commit adultery, not to covet, nor deceive, but be faithful over a few things. As far as we degenerate from God, we descend to the devil and lose knowledge, and without knowledge, we cannot be saved, and while our hearts are filled with evil, and we are studying evil, there is no room in our hearts for good, or studying good. Is not God good? Then you be good; if he is faithful, then you be faithful. Add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, and seek for every good thing.
"... A man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge, for if he does not get knowledge, he will be brought into captivity by some evil power in the other world, as evil spirits will have more knowledge, and consequently more power than many men who are on the earth. Hence it needs revelation to assist us, and give us knowledge of the things of God".
How true this statement is. Today we are troubled by evil-designing persons who are endeavoring with all their power to destroy the testimonies of members of the Church, and many members of the Church are in danger because of lack of understanding and because they have not sought the guidance of the Spirit of the Lord. Every baptized member of the Church receives the gift of the Holy Ghost, by the laying on of hands. This, however, will not save them unless they continue in the spirit of light and truth. Therefore it is a commandment from the Lord that members of the Church should be diligent in their activities and study of the fundamental truths of the gospel as it has been revealed. The Spirit of the Lord will not continue to strive with the indifferent, with the wayward and the rebellious who fail to live within the light of divine truth. It is the privilege of every baptized person to have an abiding testimony of the restoration of the gospel, but this testimony will grow dim and eventually disappear unless we are constantly receiving spiritual good through study, obedience, and diligent seeking to know and understand the truth.
May the Spirit of the Lord be our constant companion, and may we one and all be true to our covenants and obligations devolving upon us through our membership in the Church. May the Lord bless you, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Marion G. Romney
Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, October 1963, pp. 23-26
My beloved brethren and sisters, I believe the question most frequently put to the General Authorities is, "Don't you remember me?" Some years ago as Sister Romney and I sat near President and Sister McKay at an MIA Dance Festival, a beautiful little Primary girl worked her way through to get the President's autograph. "President McKay," she said, "do you remember when you last saw me?" "No, my dear, I don't," he said gently, "but it must have been a long time ago." "No it wasn't," she replied, "it was just last year in Scotland."
Perhaps the next most frequently asked question is, "Do quick baptisms stay as active in the Church as when more time was taken?" Because the meaning of "active" is so indefinite, this question is something like Paul's trumpet of uncertain sound. No firm answer can be given. However, my observation is that the percentage of activity among so-called "quick baptisms" is about the same as it is among those born to church members in the stakes.
From the time of Father Adam until today some people have been baptized almost immediately upon hearing the gospel. Others have investigated long and studiously. So far as I know, the Lord has never fixed a time limit. The only prerequisite he has prescribed is "conversion."
It is about conversion and the healing which attends it that I wish to speak.
I sincerely pray that the Spirit of the Lord will be with me and that he will put his seal upon the things that do say.
Webster says the verb, "convert," means "to turn from one belief or course to another." That "conversion" is "a spiritual and moral change attending a change of belief with conviction." As used in the scriptures, "converted" generally implies not merely mental acceptance of Jesus and his teachings but also a motivating faith in him and in his gospel-a faith which works a transformation, an actual change in one's understanding of life's meaning and in his allegiance to God-in interest, in thought, and in conduct. While conversion may be accomplished in stages, one is not really converted in the full sense of the term unless and until he is at heart a new person. "Born again" is the scriptural term.
In one who is wholly converted, desire for things inimical to the gospel of Jesus Christ has actually died, and substituted therefore is a love of God with a fixed and controlling determination to keep his commandments. Paul told the Romans that such a one would walk in newness of life. "Know ye not," he said, "that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
"Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead... even so we also should walk in newness of life".
Peter taught that by walking in this "newness of life" one escapes "the corruption that is in the world through lust," and by developing within himself faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity, he becomes a partaker "of the divine nature."
One who walks in newness of life is converted. On the other hand, says Peter, "But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins". Such a one is not converted, even though he may have been baptized.
There is a striking example of the change wrought by conversion in Mormon's account of King Benjamin's farewell address. This sermon was so powerful that as Benjamin delivered it the multitude fell to the earth; for "... they... viewed themselves in their own carnal state... And they all cried aloud... O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified; for we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God".
Observing their humility, King Benjamin continued: "Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things... believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth...
"... believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in sincerity of heart that he would forgive you; and now, if you believe all these things see that ye do them".
When he had concluded, he inquired as to whether they believed his words.
"And they all cried... Yea, we believe all words... and also, we know of their surety and truth,..." And why were they so confident? Because as they said: "... the Spirit of the Lord... has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.
"And we are willing to enter into a covenant with our God to do his will, and to be obedient to his commandments in all things... all the remainder of our days".
Although these people seem to have been converted rather quickly from a "disposition to do evil" to a determination "to do good continually" all the remainder of their days, they evidently fully met the conditions prescribed by the Lord for baptism, when he said: "... 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".
That the Prophet applied these instructions strictly is apparent from this entry in his diary of July 5, 1835: "Michael H. Barton tried to get into the Church, but he was not willing to confess and forsake all his sins-and he was rejected".
Had Mr. Barton obtained membership in the Church in his then unrepentant state, it would have availed him nothing no matter how much he knew about the gospel, because he was not converted.
From some of the Savior's sayings it would seem that there might even be people in high places whose conversion is not complete; for example, conversing with his apostles at his last supper, he said to Peter, "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". From this it would appear that membership in the Church and conversion are not necessarily synonymous. Being converted, as we are here using the term, and having a testimony are not necessarily the same thing either. A testimony comes when the Holy Ghost gives the earnest seeker a witness of the truth. A moving testimony vitalizes faith; that is, it induces repentance and obedience to the commandments. Conversion, on the other hand, is the fruit of, or the reward for, repentance and obedience.
Conversion is effected by divine forgiveness, which remits sins. The sequence is something like this. An honest seeker hears the message. He asks the Lord in prayer if it is true. The Holy Spirit gives him a witness. This is a testimony. If one's testimony is strong enough, he repents and obeys the commandments. By such obedience he receives divine forgiveness which remits sin. Thus he is converted to a newness of life. His spirit is healed.
From what Jesus said at the time he healed the man "sick with the palsy", it would seem that remittance of sins is the therapy which heals and that the two terms are synonymous. Concerning that incident, Luke says, "... the power of the Lord was present to heal". Jesus, recognizing the faith of the palsied man and his associates, "... said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee" . For this the Pharisees charged him with blasphemy, saying within themselves, "... Who can forgive sins but God?". Perceiving their thoughts, Jesus said, "Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?" Then he added, "But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins,, I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house". This, of course, the man immediately did.
In this instance there was a physical healing. Sometimes there is also a healing of the nervous system or of the mind. But always the remittance of sins which attends divine forgiveness heals the spirit. This accounts for the fact that in the scriptures conversion and healing are repeatedly associated.
For example, in 1837 the Lord said to Thomas B. Marsh, then President of the Quorum of the Twelve, "... pray for thy brethren of the Twelve. Admonish them sharply for my name's sake, and let them be admonished for all their sins...
"And after their temptations, and much tribulation, behold, I, the Lord, will feel after them, and if they harden not their hearts, and stiffen not their necks against me, they shall be converted, and I will heal them".
Jesus frequently spoke of his healing the converted. Citing Isaiah, he said, "... this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them".
At the opening of his mortal ministry he told his fellow townsmen in Nazareth that he had been sent "... to heal the brokenhearted".
To the distraught Nephites he thus spoke out of the awful darkness which attended his crucifixion: "O all ye that are spared because ye were more righteous than they, will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?".
Somebody recently asked how one could know when he is converted. The answer is simple. He may be assured of it when by the power of the Holy Spirit his soul is healed. When this occurs, he will recognize it by the way he feels, for he will feel as the people of Benjamin felt when they received remission of sins. The record says,... the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience".
When Alma the younger was converted he said: "... I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.
"And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!
"Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy".
As a third and final guide, I quote from President Joseph F. Smith: "No person can be properly baptized unless he has faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and has repented of his sins, with a repentance that need not be repented of. But faith comes by hearing the word of God. This implies that the candidate must be taught. Efficient teaching and preparation must precede the ordinance, so that the candidate may have a proper appreciation and conception of its purposes. The call to baptism, in the mission of our Savior, was always preceded by instructions in the doctrines which he taught".
Speaking of his own experience, he said: "The feeling that came upon me was that of pure peace, of love and of light. I felt in my soul that if I had sinned-and surely I was not without sin-that it had been forgiven me; that I was indeed cleansed from sin; my heart was touched, and I felt that I would not injure the smallest insect beneath my feet. I felt as if I wanted to do good everywhere to everybody and to everything. I felt a newness of life, a newness of desire to do that which was right. There was not one particle of desire for evil left in my soul. I was but a little boy, it is true, when I was baptized; but this was the influence that came upon me, and I know that it was from God, and was and ever has been a living witness to me of my acceptance of the Lord".
As Jesus ministered among the Nephites, he told them not to administer the Sacrament to the unworthy, but to continue laboring with them; "... for ye know not but what they will return and repent, and come unto me with full purpose of heart, and I shall heal them; and ye shall be the means of bringing salvation unto them".
Getting people's spirits healed through conversion is the only way they can be healed. I know this is an unpopular doctrine and a slow way to solve the problems of men and nations. As a matter of fact, I am convinced that relatively few among the billions of earth's inhabitants will be converted. Nevertheless, I know and solemnly witness that there is no other means by which the sin-sick souls of men can be healed or for a troubled world to find peace. I know that the unbelieving will reject this divine way. But this is nothing new. They have been rejecting it ever since the time of Cain. They have from the beginning refused to accept Christ and his gospel. They killed the ancient prophets. They burned Abinadi. They stoned Samuel the Lamanite. They crucified the Lord himself. In our own day they martyred Joseph Smith, Jun., the great prophet of the restoration. But all that has happened in the past has not, and all that occurs in the future will not, change the truth that conversion to Jesus Christ and his gospel is the one and only way; for still it must be said that "there is none other way given under heaven by which men must be saved". To this I witness in solemn testimony.
Elder William J. Critchlow, Jr.
William J. Critchlow, Jr., Conference Report, October 1963, pp. 26-30
Over a score or so of years, I promoted and sold something I have never seen; I didn't even know what it was-I still don't. I have not only never seen it; I have tried assiduously to avoid touching it. Once, stringing lights on a Christmas tree, I accidentally got my finger in an empty socket, oh, I felt it!
Who really knows what electricity is? We know what it can do. It lights this building; it lights our homes; it lights our streets; it runs our factories and our mills; it affords us lovely music, radio, television, and a score of wonderful appliances in our homes, but who really knows what this great power, called electricity, actually is?
Over the same score or so of years, I promoted another something which I have never seen; I don't really know what it is. I have not only never seen it; I have never heard it; I have never smelled it; I have never tasted it; I have never touched it, but on occasions it has touched me. More than once, as I officiated in priesthood ordinance work, I have felt it.
Who really knows what this great power of the priesthood is? We know what it can do. By that power this and other worlds were created and will be redeemed; by that power the city of Enoch was taken up to heaven, by that power the waters of the Red Sea were parted to liberate Israel; by that power Elijah sealed the heavens so that no rain or dew fell upon the earth; by that power Brigham Young rebuked the frost and the sterility of the soil, and this valley became fruitful. Two thousand years ago, one possessing that power gave new eyes to the blind, new legs to the halt, turned water into wine, walked on the water, cleansed lepers, cast out evil spirits, fed thousands by blessing a few loaves and fishes, restored life to the dead. Two thousand years later-even today-bearers of that same priesthood power, again cast out devils, restore health to the sick, and in other ways employ that power. Employing it, a young man, Nephi by name, once shocked his assailants into submission by pointing his hand at them. The assailants were his brothers.
Again, let me ask who, among all mortal men, really knows what this marvelous priesthood power actually is? Obviously it is power; its source, obviously, too, is God. Why not call it then for what it truly is-the power of God. President John Taylor so called it saying, "It is nothing more nor less than the power of God".
Priesthood is more than power-it is authority. Quoting President Joseph F. again: "It is... the power of God delegated to man by which man can act in the earth... in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, and act legitimately" He also said: "The Priesthood in general is the authority given to man to act for God... But it is necessary that every act performed under this authority shall be done at the proper time and place, in the proper way, and after the proper order. The power of directing these labors constitute the keys of the Priesthood. In their fullness these keys are held by only one person at a time, the prophet and president of The Church".
President David O. McKay holds all of the keys of the priesthood. He or his predecessors in office have directly or indirectly conferred keys upon temple presidents, stake presidents, mission presidents, quorum presidents, bishops, and others. "No man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron". "We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands, by those who are in authority to... administer in the ordinances thereof". Aaron was so called and ordained.
"Some suppose this authority may be derived from the Bible," said President Joseph F. Smith, "but nothing could be more absurd... If by reading and believing the Bible this authority could be obtained, all who read and believed would have it-one equally with another... God Almighty is the only source from whence this knowledge, power and authority can be obtained... The Scriptures may serve as a guide to lead us to God... but they can do no more."
Priesthood is eternal and everlasting. The Prophet Joseph Smith 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...." Adam obtained the priesthood "in the Creation, before the world was formed." He stands at the head as the presiding high priest over all the earth for all ages. This priesthood of the holy order, known later as the Melchizedek Priesthood, continued in patriarchal order without a break with Adam's worthy descendants until the day of Moses.
Through Moses the Lord attempted to set up the house of Israel soon after their liberation from Egyptian bondage as a kingdom of priests of this holy patriarchal order. He sent Moses down from the Mount with tablets of stone upon which were inscribed principles of salvation, but seeing the people engaged in idol worship, Moses dashed the tablets to the ground, breaking them into fragments. Again, the Lord called Moses up on the Mount, and there he rewrote with his finger on tablets which Moses had prepared the Ten Commandments; but he deleted this time the salvation principles which necessitated priesthood of the holy patriarchal order, denying thereby his children the Melchizedek Priesthood. Later he removed Moses, who held the Melchizedek Priesthood, thus leaving Israel with only a Lesser Priesthood, called the Aaronic Priesthood, after Aaron upon whom it was conferred; D&C; 84:17-25). From that time on until the Savior's ministry on earth, this was generally the prevailing authority of God on the earth.
Jesus restored at his coming the Higher Priesthood, he being "the Great High Priest, forever after the order of Melchizedek", but after the passing of his apostles there was no one left holding the keys, to authorize the ordination of any mortal man to any office in either priesthood. The apostate world accordingly was left without priesthood for about sixteen long, dark centuries. Then in May 1829 the Lord sent John the Baptist, a firstborn, literal descendant of Aaron, who held the keys of the Aaronic or Lesser Priesthood, to restore that priesthood. He also sent, soon after, the Apostles Peter, James, and John, who held the keys of the Higher or Melchizedek Priesthood, to restore that priesthood. The recipients of both priesthoods were the great American Prophet Joseph Smith and his associate Oliver Cowdery.
From Adam to Moses the existent priesthood was patriarchal or Melchizedek or the Holy Priesthood-all one and the same. Those who held it were high priests and patriarchs-it had no appendages. From Moses to Jesus the prevailing priesthood was Aaronic-sometimes called Levitical. The firstborn sons of Aaron's posterity were the "high priests"; the sons of Levi were their assistants. Appendages to both priesthoods were added by our Lord who gave his Church in Palestine apostles, bishops, evangelists, high priests, seventies, elders, priests, teachers, and deacons. He similarly perfected his Church upon this American continent when he appeared here after his crucifixion and resurrection in Jerusalem.
"The holy Priesthood is a system of laws and government that is pure and holy" -"a perfect law of theocracy". Presently, it is the government of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints-God's kingdom here on earth. Eventually, when the kingdom embraces the earth, when "... every knee should bow,... and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord". I sincerely expect priesthood will be the governing world power. Can man devise a better system of laws and government?
Priesthood is responsibility. Jesus vas given the responsibility of this earth. Absenting himself, he left his kingdom here on earth in the hands of his officers-those who hold the priesthood. The kingdom is no stronger nor better than its officers. President Wilford Woodruff said, "The highest calling the Lord ever called any human being to in any age of the world, has been to receive the Holy Priesthood, with its keys and powers." When men take a priesthood calling, they covenant to magnify it; they take upon them the obligation to labor with zeal and energy in their particular calling.
President Joseph F. Smith asked: "Will you who hold the priesthood, profane the name of Deity? Would you be riotous, and eat and drink with the drunken...? Would you... forget your prayers and fail to remember the Giver of all good? Would you... violate the confidence and the love of God...? Would you... dishonor your wife or your children?... Will you honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy? Will you observe the law of tithing and all the requirements of the gospel? Will you carry with you at all times the spirit of prayer and the desire to be good? Will you teach your children the principles of life and salvation?".
Sometimes men relax and treat their priesthood responsibilities lightly in the home, failing to teach their families the gospel, failing to have family prayers, failing to use the priesthood when sickness uninvitingly stalks the home. Husbands and sons are sometimes lax in their duties because they lack the cooperation and encouragement of their wives and mothers.
The sisters would do well, if, following the counsel of the Prophet, they provoked their husbands and sons to do good works -priesthood works. Husbands, rightfully and scripturally too, are the family heads -its priests and its spokesmen. The wives, thanks be to God, are the family hearts.
"There is a center in each home from which all joys must start. "That center? It is a mother's heart."
With love and kindness and with tact, of course, the heart can usually sway the head-even into priesthood activity. Such endeavor is expected of our sisters.
The subject of this talk could well be-For Men Only. Priesthood is for men only-it is not conferred upon women. The sisters may be set apart as officers in the priesthood auxiliaries, but they are never ordained to office in the priesthood. They do not share the priesthood with their husbands, fathers, or sons. They do share the blessings of the priesthood with their husbands, fathers, or sons. They do share the blessings with their husbands; sealed in a temple, they go along hand in hand with them toward exaltation, finally reigning as "queens and priestesses" with their husbands who become "kings and priests". Infrequently a sister asks: Why can't we hold the Priesthood? My answer: If and when he whose business priesthood is wants you to hold it, he will let his prophet know. Until then there is nothing we can do about it.
Priesthood is God's greatest gift to his children, save perhaps the gift of his Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Some may rate the gift of mortality, followed by immortality and the promise of eternal life as a greater gift. Priesthood, being an eternal principle, existed before mortality. Immortality is the state of resurrected souls. Did the resurrection act involve an ordinance of the priesthood-a necessary ordinance, presently unrevealed? Certainly the resurrection act is another manifestation of the great power of the priesthood. May I ask-how can we achieve eternal life without the blessings and ordinances of the priesthood?
The power of the Melchizedek Priesthood is to have the power of "endless lives," said the Prophet Joseph Smith. "... And all those," he said, "who are ordained unto this priesthood are made like unto the Son of God, abiding a priest continually" ). He further said, "Those holding the fulness of the Melchizedek Priesthood are kings and priests of the Most High God, holding the keys of power and blessing." Our Lord appraised this wonderful gift in these words:
"... all they who receive this priesthood receive 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".
No mortal man will ever realize all of the blessings in this great promise as he dwells here in this mundane period of our everlasting lives, but by reason of priesthood which is attained and honored, we have God's promise that sometime we may become like unto God. "... all that my Father hath shall be given unto him". Incidentally, God had something to say about those who do not honor their priesthood. I have not time to inject his dour warning into my remarks today. All who hold the priesthood, however, should read what he said.
To you who bear the priesthood, may I say: In an inventory of your possessions-physical, mental, spiritual, and financial-priesthood, if honored, may be your greatest asset; it could be the best investment you ever made. It costs you nothing; its dividends can be fabulous. Appraise it honestly and list it high up among your assets on your life's balance sheet. And you who are not honoring your priesthood, debit it high up on the liability side of your life's balance sheet. It could well be your greatest liability. You could, sooner or later, find yourself bankrupt in the kingdom of God. As of this day, is your priesthood an asset or a liability?
I bear testimony regarding the power of the priesthood in our restored Church in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder John Longden
John Longden, Conference Report, October 1963, pp. 30-32
My brothers and sisters, I am so grateful to be able to use this salutation and know that we are brothers and sisters in the kingdom of Jesus Christ. A story I read recently is appropriate here.
A preacher in a small community decided to do some remodeling and renovating of his church. To begin with he requested a new chandelier. After three or four weeks had elapsed and it hadn't arrived, he approached one of the deacons on the board and inquired why. He was informed there were three reasons: "First, it hadn't been ordered because there was no one on the board who could spell 'chandelier.' Second, we were afraid there wouldn't be anyone to play it when it came. And third, what we really need in this church is more light."
I recognize we have light today which comes through our prophet and mouthpiece. We also have the light from the teachings of the Master almost two thousand years ago, and I should like to speak at this time on what I believe is a crying need in the world today, on the basic principle of the gospel of Jesus Christ which is love.
The scriptures teach: "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". This indicates the depth of this great principle. It was exemplified by the Savior when he lived upon the earth. On one occasion, he was queried by one of the scribes: "What is the great commandment in the law?" In reply, Jesus taught an eternal truth. "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: this is the first commandment.
"And the second is like, namely, this. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself". "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets".
There was none other commandment greater than these, so said Jesus.
The Apostle Paul spoke on this great principle many times in plain, understandable language.
Even though changing conditions exist in the world today, and many people are confused, the application of this one principle in our everyday lives will bring happiness, contentment, and peace.
Surely, if I love my fellow man, I will not cheat him, lie about him, or commit any manner of evil against him. So again, loving all my fellow men, I will truly find happiness, contentment, and a peace that passeth understanding.
Paul was inspired to reveal the virtues, or may we call them ingredients, of which love is composed. Addressing the Corinthian Saints who had membership in the Church of Jesus Christ, Paul said: "Love suffereth long and is kind". We sing a great hymn, maybe not often enough, "Let Us Oft Speak Kind Words to Each Other." So much more is accomplished by speaking in kind words and soft tones.
"Love envieth not." We look at others and think the grass is greener on their side. We sometimes might wonder why ours seems not as green, but love envieth not. "Love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up". In other words, love teaches true humility. Jesus taught it in one parable, "Whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted".
Daniel Webster had a great thought when asked, "What is the highest thought that has ever entered your mind?" He answered, "My accountability to Almighty God."
We who have a testimony of the gospel should recognize our accountability to God regardless of what our achievements might be in business, in church, in school, in civic affairs.
Paul further said: "Love doth not behave itself unseemly".
President McKay said it in a few words some time ago: "We are here in mortality to develop the power of self-mastery." Every single day we have opportunity to practice this art of self-mastery.
Again Paul said, "Love seeketh not her own". The Savior taught by his own example, to lose ourselves in the service of others. Our beloved prophet said on his ninetieth birthday: "You may travel the world over but you will not find happiness or contentment until you lose yourself in the service of mankind." This, of course, would mean sacrifice to God and our neighbor.
Continuing, Paul said: "Love is not easily provoked. Love thinketh no evil. Love rejoiceth not in iniquity, but in the truth". Paul, we see, had a depth of understanding regarding this great principle of love and the blessings to be attained by those who would honor and recognize and put into effect in their lives these two commandments, for he 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".
As I tour missions or come into your stakes each week, I have a great hope for the future because of the many just plain, good people who are applying all the principles of love in their lives. I say to you, God bless you.
The English statesman, William Gladstone, said: "We look forward to the time when the power of love will replace the love of power; then will our world know the blessing of peace." What a difference the placing of words makes. The love of power or the power of love-worlds apart!
It is essential to love God, love his Son Jesus Christ and love our neighbor as ourselves.
We are living in a world of automation. Machines seem to be taking over all our jobs. Edwin Markham, an American poet, had a great idea that is worth repeating: "The way things are going, we had better learn to do things machines can't do. Love each other, for instance."
Throughout his ministry, the Master kept repeating the importance of love on many occasions. He said: "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
"By this shall all men know that are my disciples, if ye have love one to another".
Do you think a teacher who drove some twenty miles in a battered old car whenever there was a meeting to pick up just one little girl who lived in a remote area of the stake had a love of God for her fellow men? I doubt that anyone really knew what she was doing. I just happened to hear about it.
Oh, may God give us the faith and the desire to put this commandment of the Lord into effect. "... love one another; as I have loved you, that ye shall also love one another". Then the world may know that we are true disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. God give us the faith, the courage, the determination to make application of these two great commandments in our lives each day, I humbly pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.
Elder Franklin D. Richards
Franklin D. Richards, Conference Report, October 1963, pp. 32-40
My dear brothers and sisters:
Sister Richards and I have recently returned from the missions on the east coast, and we rejoice in the tremendous growth of the kingdom. I am continually amazed and pleased as I travel throughout the missions and stakes of the Church to find so many members accepting the admonition of President McKay to be missionaries. How many of you have had the joy of seeing your friends and neighbors take an interest in the Church and be baptized, because of your being a missionary?
Today I would like to talk to you about the Every Member a Missionary program-an inspired, effective, and interesting plan. One of the important characteristics of the Church of Jesus Christ is missionary activity. The Savior has charged us to "... teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost". 28:19.) And every nation includes our friends and the people we casually meet regardless of where we live.
The question is: How can we, a relatively small group, accomplish this great responsibility? Certainly not with the sixteen thousand full-time, stake, and district missionaries we now have-regardless of how good they are!
But, our beloved Prophet David O. McKay has given us the Every Member a Missionary plan. We can take the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people as the Every Member a Missionary plan is understood and used effectively throughout the Church and by using modern methods which become available as the Lord pours his Spirit upon all flesh.
Heretofore, missionaries generally spent most of their time in finding interested persons to teach and a small part of their time in teaching. Now, the Every Member a Missionary plan gives the members a chance to do missionary work by finding interested persons for the missionaries to teach. This greatly increases the effectiveness of the missionaries. They can teach many more people, particularly as they are taught in groups.
In working with the east coast missions, I find that the great increase in convert baptisms, and especially baptisms of entire families, is more and more attributable to the fact that a greater number of members are finding interested persons for the missionaries to teach-and the members are loving it.
We had the opportunity of meeting many of these wonderful members and hearing of their exciting and happy experiences. I am confident that there are thousands of members of the Church that have a sincere desire to do missionary work, but don't know what to do or how to do it. How then can a member, regardless of age or sex, become an effective missionary within the meaning of the prophet's admonition-Every Member a Missionary?
You ask, what can I do? Well, you can find persons who would like to know more about the Church. But, how can I find such persons? The following three ways are pretty much the basis of the Every Member a Missionary Program.
First, ask people what they know about the Church and if they would like to know more-yes, ask the golden questions.
Second, take your friends and neighbors to church meetings and socials.
Third, live the gospel. As your friends and neighbors feel your love, they will want to know more about the Church.
All three of these ways are part of the referral program as you arrange for the missionaries to teach the interested persons. When you find interested persons either by personal contact, over the telephone, or by correspondence, bring them into your home, preferably in a group and ask the missionaries in to give them the discussions. If they are out of the area, have your bishop give you the name and address of the nearest stake or mission to where the interested person lives and send the referral to the stake or mission president together with details of how you secured the name and other pertinent information.
Let me elaborate on the three ways you can find persons who want to know more about the Church, by giving you a few interesting examples:
First, ask the golden questions as you meet people personally or over the telephone or through the mail. I have asked the golden questions hundreds of times, and I have never embarrassed myself or the person I have asked. A few weeks ago I was registering in a motel in Raleigh, North Carolina. I asked the golden questions of the young man at the desk. He was not interested, but the young man standing behind him overheard our conversation. He had been to Salt Lake City, was impressed, and wanted to know more. I told him we had missionaries in Raleigh, and he gave me his name and address. He was very interested in having the missionaries call and tell him more about the Church. I immediately turned this golden contact over to the missionaries.
A bishop's wife in Atlanta, Georgia, wanted to do missionary work but didn't know how or when she could find the time and still take care of her young family. The missionaries suggested that she telephone proselyte, ask the golden questions over the telephone from her own home in the evening after the children were in bed. She told me that the missionaries showed her how and that it was thrilling and most rewarding and not embarrassing. She has found many interested persons for the missionaries to teach.
During the last year, thousands of letters have been written asking the golden questions. Many have responded, asking that the missionaries call on them, others have asked for literature or the Home Study guide-discussions by mail. Recently a woman from Oceola, Iowa, wrote us-"I am so glad that you are sending me these discussions. I thank you. Would it be too much to ask you to send me more of Joseph Smith's works?"
Now the second way of finding interested persons is by taking your friends and neighbors to church meetings and socials. In Bowling Green, Kentucky, the Relief Society needed an organist. The president asked a nonmember friend to help them out. She replied she would be glad to, and before long she became interested, was taught the gospel by the missionaries and was baptized.
In the Southern States Mission a young girl was walking home with a friend and began humming, "Come, Come, Ye Saints." Her friend said, "My that's a beautiful melody. What is it? "The girl told her about it and made a date to take her to a church service. After attending a few times she arranged for the missionaries to teach her family. The family have all been baptized and are happy, doing their part in building the kingdom.
I mentioned living the gospel as the third way to find interested persons. About ten days ago I was showing a man and his wife from Iowa around Temple Square. They were very interested and particularly so when Brother Alexander Schreiner took an active interest in them, showing them the organ and how it is played. Brother Schreiner really went the extra mile. I asked them if they knew any members of our Church in Iowa. They replied, yes, a wonderful family. Recently when a friend of theirs had a baby, this family took the children of the woman who was having the baby into their home while the mother was in the hospital. Both Brother Schreiner and the Iowa family were evidencing their love of their fellow men. These incidents have been an important factor in interesting this couple. They expressed a desire to know more about the Church.
A short time ago while having dinner in a New York restaurant, we asked our waiter, a very fine man, the golden questions. He replied enthusiastically that he had been to Utah and California and had met several Latter-day Saint families, was very much impressed with their way of life, and would like to know more about the Church. He gave us his address in Brooklyn and seemed anxious to have the missionaries call at his home and give him and his family the discussions. We promptly gave this good referral to the mission president in New York.
Most of us have had unusual experiences with people becoming interested and wanting to know more about the Church. The Lord has said, "Be ye strong from henceforth; fear not for the kingdom is yours". So let's not fear henceforth-ask the golden questions, take your friends and neighbors to Church meetings and socials, and live the gospel. As you do these things, you will find many persons who are interested in knowing more about the Church, and you will be a missionary within the meaning of the prophet's admonition-Every Member a Missionary.
"Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God". And again the Lord has 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!
"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 brothers and sisters, we are engaged in building the kingdom. I know that God lives and that Jesus is the Christ. The gospel has been restored in its fulness, and it is our duty and great opportunity to share it with others. Joseph Smith was a great prophet, and David O. McKay is a great prophet. May we sustain our prophet in every way.
Yes, the Every Member a Missionary program is inspired and is effective. May we get the vision of two million missionaries bringing souls into the kingdom, and may we feel the joy, happiness, and salvation that comes from active missionary work, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, October 1963, pp. 34-40
Brothers and sisters and friends of the air audience:
Today we remember with deep affection our beloved leader Henry D. Moyle, and from his stirring sermon last April conference, we can still hear his earnest voice saying:
"I believe with all my heart and soul that the solution to our problems here upon this earth today and tomorrow is to be found in the knowledge and appreciation of man's relationship to God, his dependence upon God, and his obedience to God's laws.
"There is absolutely nothing of such great worth to man as to know God."
In my childhood, we had mottoes hanging on our walls sometimes embroidered, sometimes painted, these for decoration and for inspiration. One I remember read: "What is home without a mother." From my infancy, every time I entered the house, I called, "Mama," over and over until I found her. Totally satisfied in the security her presence afforded, I ran again to play. Just to know she was there! That was all.
When I was eleven, Mother passed away and from my aching heart came numerous times, "Mama," as I entered the house, but there were only mocking echoes of emptiness. Later the void was filled when our stepmother gave presence to the home and again through my youth, I called and found my security in the welcome answer, "I am here, son."
It was the same red brick house through the days of security and the days of desolation, the same shelf-filled pantry, the same wood stove and water tank, the same parlor with its rag carpet and the same old clock ticking away the hours and days and years, but stability and sureness and peace were there, for Mother was there, and security was there, and the house breathed belongingness.
On Labor Day 2,000 young people converged on the little resort town of Seaside, Oregon, repeating their last year's devastation, smashing windows, ripping street and shop signs down, and requiring 100 police plus National Guardsmen to quell the rioting, and I wondered if these 2,000 homes from which they came were normal ones with a mother at home who could answer, "Yes, dear, I am here."
Again, the news reported 30,000 teenagers rioting on a California beach, filling beer cans and bottles with sand and throwing them at police, boys stripping girls and sex indulgence common and unabashed. And we wondered how many of these 30,000 fathers were furnishing cars and money for their children to vacation at resorts; for beer and brutishness, and who provided the gasoline, and who paid the fines?
And, we wondered how many of the 30,000 mothers were making homes and how many making money. How can mothers justify their abandonment of home when they are needed so much by their offspring? Rationalization must take over as they justify themselves in leaving home and children.
Of course, there are some mothers who must work out to support their children, but let every working mother honestly weigh the matter and be sure the Lord approves before she rushes her babies off to the nursery, her children off to school, her husband off to work, and herself off to her employment. Let her be certain that she is not rationalizing herself away from her children merely to provide for them greater material things. Let her analyze well before she permits her precious ones to come home to an empty house where their plaintive cry, "Mother," finds no loving answer.
Do not these absentee mothers and millions of approving fathers know that basic attitudes towards standards, morality, the Church, and God are developed in the family circle and are quite well set while they are still small children?
It is said: "Give me a child until he is seven and then do with him what you will." These first years are so vital.
The Lord said: "My sheep hear my voice". So do the little ones respond to their own mothers. The maid, the neighbor, the sister, the grandmother may clothe and feed and diaper the child, but no one can take the place of mother. This is impressed upon us by the story of the six-year-old who got lost from his mother in a large supermarket and began to call frantically, "Martha, Martha."
When the mother was found and they were reunited, she said: "Honey, you should not call me Martha, I am 'mother' to you."
To which the little fellow rejoined: "Yes, I know, but the store was full of mothers, and I wanted mine."
Children need security, special love, and to be wanted.
At a distant conference, my plane brought me to the city many hours early. The stake president met me at the airport and took me to his home and, having important work to do, excused himself and returned to his work. With the freedom of the house, I spread my papers on the kitchen table and began my work. His wife was upstairs sewing. In mid-afternoon, there came an abrupt entry from the front door, and a little fellow came running in, surprised to see me, but we became friends. Then he ran through the rooms calling, "Mother," and she answered from upstairs, "What is it, darling?" and his answer was, "Oh, nothing." He went out to play.
A little later another voice came in the front door calling, "Mother, Mother." He put his schoolbooks on the table and explored the house until the reassuring answer came from upstairs again, "Here I am, darling," and the second one was satisfied and said, "OK" and went to play. Another half hour and the door opened again and a young teenager moved in, dropped her books and called, "Mother." And the answer from upstairs, "Yes, darling," seemed to satisfy, and the young girl became acquainted with me, then began practicing her music lesson. None of the three had gone upstairs.
Still another voice later called, "Mother," as she unloaded her high school books. And, again the sweet answer, "I am up here sewing, darling," seemed to reassure her. We became acquainted, and she tripped up the stairs to tell her mother the happenings of the day in a sweet mother-daughter relationship. Home! Mother! Security! Just to know Mother was home. All was well.
A child is happy if he feels that he is wanted and enjoyed by his parents. He needs to feel that his parents will be there, especially in a crisis.
This mother, too, could have had a job. Her children also could use more things her wages could provide. She also could have rationalized that two salaries could give her children more advantages, more outings, travel, and vacations, more clothes, gifts, and luxuries. But, this mother knew well that a child needs a mother available more than all the things which money can buy.
The Parents Magazine says: "The feeling of security is the core and foundation for good mental health.
"Most of the married women over 35 in the labor force are working not because their families really 'need the money,' but in order to maintain a higher standard of living, get away from some housework, and lead, as they suppose, a more interesting and richer life."
A prominent judge listed the causes of juvenile delinquency:
First, destructive toys and games such as guns and other symbols of violence. Second, working mothers; and third, fathers who work two shifts, absenting themselves from the home except to eat and sleep.
His long list of causes ended with this: Lack of religious training and discipline in the home and schools, and lack or love in the home. My reference is Judge Jacob M. Braude of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois.
These lacks were inherent in the parents, but it was the children who suffered.
Twenty-four million women in the United States work outside the home. This is one-third of all in the total labor force, and 80% of them have living husbands.
In 1890, only 5.5% of the wives under 35 and living with husbands were working. By 1957, it was 27.7% and now it is about a third of those wives between 18 and 24.
In the labor force are about 2.5 million women whose children are under six, and 5.4 million with children under twelve years of age. Think of it: a possible twelve to fifteen million children without a mother through crucial hours! Of these about 400,000 children under twelve years of age must care for themselves entirely while their mothers work. One-third of all mothers with children under eighteen are in paid employment. My statistics come from the Children's Bureau of the US Department of Health Education and Welfare and other dependable sources. This means that in this country, one child in 13 under 12 must look out for himself. In the 10-11 year old group, the ratio is one in five without care while the mother is at work.
It is shocking! Nearly one-third of all our young matrons, 18 to 24, are breaking the law of God in not bearing children, or if they are having children, are they neglecting the helpless little ones?
President McKay said, "The more woman becomes like man, the less he will respect her. Civilization weakens as man's estimate of woman lessens."
We are told that the average age when women cease bearing children is about 26; yet in these vital years, nearly one of every three is working outside her home. When such masses of mothers are employed out, what may we expect from the offspring?
How nearly perfect can a mother be who rushes in the morning to get everybody off and settled for the day, herself included, then returns weary after a hard day of employment to a tired husband who has had a hard day and to children and youth with problems, and then to her homemaking, cooking, cleaning, and then to a full social calendar. From such homes come many conflicts, marital problems, and divorces, and delinquent children. Few people in trouble ever ascribe their marital conflicts to these first causes, but blame each other for the problems which were born and nurtured in strained environments. Certainly the harmonious relationship of father and mother and the emotional climate prevailing between parents give soundness and security to children.
President Belle S. Spafford speaking to her world of Relief Society mothers said:
"Children should be cherished with the strongest bonds of affection... No effort should be too much, no sacrifice too great to protect them from evil and preserve them in righteousness... The love and the sanctity of the home should be zealously safeguarded."
And she speaks of mothers' obligations-
"... to make all else in life subservient to the well-being of our homes and families.
* * * * *
"Always in the Church, people have been admonished to marry in the House of the Lord, to establish homes, and bear and rear children in righteousness."
Brigham Young says:
"It is the calling of the wife and mother... her offspring to herself with a love that is stronger death for an everlasting inheritance".
In this important city crime has increased three times faster than it did in the nation during 1962, said our local newspaper. And crime in the past five years increased four times faster than population, four serious crimes per minute recorded on the crime clock.
One authority gave us: "The more the parents approve of each other, the more the child will be welcome,-the most important single factor in the development of the child is the emotional climate prevailing between his parents."
Are music and dancing lessons and camps and clothes justified when it may mean the sacrifice of the home and mother on the altar of employment?
One girl said, "I really don't want to go to the girls' camp. I'd rather stay home with Mother, but Mother is not home to stay with." Are we glamorizing out-of-home activities for our children when they should be home helping or off to work themselves?
Absenteeism of mothers is often linked with idle youth-delinquent youth. When we read of the recent Labor Day escapades by tens of thousands of high school and college young people on their mass invasions of resort towns, we wonder again: Why are they permitted leisure till they become sick with boredom? Home is drab so they resort to destructiveness and immorality.
One judge said: "These mad vacations make their biggest appeal to youngsters who have too little to do... We never have any trouble with kids who have real interests, real hobbies, a radio ham, or a real athlete."
The idle generation! Hours each day and nothing to do. Saturdays and nothing to do. Three long months of school vacation and nothing to do. No one has found a truer adage than: "The idle brain is the devil's workshop."
Another judge states that, "Too many kids are loafing. Parents do not make children get jobs. And, this helps them into trouble... there is an alarming lack of employment among our young people... and idleness among those who come before me."
He is not talking about the pallid, spindly urchin, working twelve hours a day in coal mines but of the hulking youth sitting around while his hardworking, doting parents support him.
It is foolish to expect an energetic exuberant youth to live normally when he has his free time largely to himself including three idle months of summer vacation. I quote him further,
"As I see young people of w hat consider an employable age sitting around drive-ins or malt shops, on park benches, or at the beaches, cruising around in cars or hanging around on the street corners at all hours of the day and the night, I am amazed at their ability to stay out of trouble as well as they do... idleness is a prime factor in most juvenile misbehavior."
He continues: "I find the average parent of the average employable but unemployed youngster to be weak, overprotective, and overindulgent. Both he and his wife work to afford their child the niceties of life which they now consider necessities. All the comforts of home plus a car and a gasoline credit card."
This judge says these parents are a generation of well-intentioned ones rearing a generation of sloths-Judge Robert Gardner of the Juvenile Court of Santa Ana, California.
A woman who had not been able to hold a job in spite of the fact that she was well-trained and highly educated explained: "Oh, it's not odd at all. My parents never expected me to work, and for that reason I never expected to either." She seemed to feel unabashed, and that such was reason enough.
The judge proceeds: "This type of parent blindly accepts Junior's plaint: 'I can't find a job.'
"Can't find a job! Well, Junior. I have news for you! These are boom times. A whole generation of us grew up during the depression when there were no jobs, but we found jobs anyway. Oh, they weren't good jobs, but they were jobs. There were always jobs-mean, disagreeable, back-breaking jobs. And many of these jobs didn't pay very much and they were hard and they were long hours and they were not desirable."
Do youth look for work in the cotton fields, in the beet fields, in the hay fields, the jobs that are taken by itinerant workers brought from Mexico and other foreign lands?
Some judges give arrested youth a choice to get a job within thirty days or be locked up, and seldom have had to lock up any. If the alternative is unpleasant enough, somehow Junior finds employment.
To this philosophy, there are rejoinders from many sources which cry there are not enough jobs to go around and that a job for a youngster means a job lost to the head of a family. And the answer of the judge to this is, "Get women out of the factories and put them back into the home where they belong... cooking, sewing, cleaning house and doing the traditional woman's work. It would do both for them and their neglected youngsters a world of good."
If a few million of the working mothers who need not work were to go home to their families, there might be employment for men now unemployed and part and full-time work for youth who ought to help in family finances and who need occupation for their abundant energy.
How many children today contribute toward the family living? Parents permit the youth to idle away their time.
"Can't get a job," they say. Why, bless your souls, the world is crying for helpers. Have we spoiled our children paving them for every effort? I heard a fifteen-year-old complaining because he received only sixty cents an hour.
"What can we do?" they cry, "Where can we go?" Listen, youth, go home, roll up your sleeves; pick cotton, hoe the corn, thin the beets. Yes, before and after school and Saturdays and vacation days! It won't hurt you to store your ball and bat and hiking togs. Hang the storm windows, paint the fence, wash the car, pick the fruit, mow the lawn, repair the screen, plant a garden, cultivate flowers, trim the trees.
As we read of delinquency and crime, 2,000,000 serious crimes in this land in a year, and as we note many are committed by girls and boys, we ask ourselves what is the cause and what are the cures? In an adequate survey it was learned that a majority of youth wish responsibility and will thrive on it.
"What can we do?" they ask again.
Do the shopping, work in the hospital, help the neighbors and the church custodian, wash dishes, vacuum the floors, make the beds, get the meals, learn to sew.
Read good books, repair the furniture, make something needed in the home, clean the house, press your clothes, rake the leaves, shovel the snow, peddle papers, do "baby sitting" free for neighbor mothers who must work, become an apprentice.
J. Edgar Hoover of the FBI said, "Our youthful delinquency is a problem which strikes practically every home in America. It is something to which every parent should give the deepest consideration and the said responsibility for youth law infraction today lies more on the doorstep of the adult than it does on the youth. In the majority of instances the story of juvenile delinquency is the story of shattered homes where parents are neglectful, indifferent, and fail to exercise the proper degree of discipline."
One parent wrote to youth: "Your parents do not owe you entertainment; your villages do not owe you recreation facilities; the world does not owe you a living; you owe the world; you owe it your time, your energy, your talents, yourself. In plain simple words, grow up, get out of your dream world; develop your backbone, a backbone not a wishbone, and start acting like a man or a lady."
Lawmakers in their over-eagerness to protect the child have legislated until the pendulum has swung to the other extreme. But no law prohibits most work suggested above, and parents can make work.
President David O. McKay said: "We are living in an age of gadgetry which threatens to produce a future generation of softness. Flabbiness of character more than flabbiness of muscle lies at the root of most of the problems facing our American youth."
Are these iconoclasts from normal homes with normal fathers and mothers? Or, are those parents income producers who satisfy their every selfish desire for social life, comforts, golf, parties, travel, drinking at the expense of their children?
Do the families of these window smashers kneel in prayer night and morning before these depredations? Do they have family evenings, family picnics, vacations, and entertainment together? Do these parents of such hoodlums exercise discipline in the home or are the children emancipated from restraint, from duties, and from controls?
To slow down this ever-increasing rate of juvenile delinquency, there is a growing cry: "We must have more detention homes and reformatories. We need more public money appropriated for better facilities, more highly trained specialists, social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists. We need larger jails, more police."
Certainly, it must be apparent that all this is but an attempted control of a malady of epidemic proportions. Have the experts failed? Isn't it time to come back to fundamentals? "We need more money," they say, but we have spent in the last decade $78 billion on elementary and high schools for the children, yet delinquency increases; $110 billion on cars; $127 billion for recreation, and still immorality, hoodlumism, sadism, and vandalism grow apace, and to make it worse, $180 billion in cosmetics, tobacco, and alcohol. No-money is not the answer! Surely we must realize that an ounce of prevention is worth tons of cure.
The Lord has indicated long ago the perfect pattern of prevention. He has organized the family in a home with unified pursuits. It takes no magician nor social authority to know where the error lies, and that the cure is prevention. With the home a sweet religious one with discipline and love and parental bliss and sweet parent-child relationships, there would be few, if any, prodigals. Reformatories and correction institutions could close; social agencies could lock their doors; jails would have few prisoners, and war be outlawed.
All this could come by the building of the homes of the people into spiritual fortresses. If fathers would give themselves to their families and mothers come home from employment and high society to conserve the smaller incomes and to be real mothers, then the word delinquency would cease to terrify us.
May we organize our homes, discipline our children, and create nations of homes such as our Heavenly Father has planned, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Richard L. Evans
Richard L. Evans, Conference Report, October 1963, pp. 41-44
My beloved President, and my beloved brethren and sisters:
For more than a third of a century it has been my privilege to speak to many of you many times through my association with the Tabernacle Choir and its remarkably long series of broadcasts and through other organizations and activities. But I feel a weighty responsibility this morning in speaking to you of some things that are close to my heart and important to my life, and which are vitally a part of the principles and convictions of the Church to which I have the honor to belong-The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sometimes inaccurately referred to as the "Mormon" Church, whose head and lawgiver is our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ, who with his Father-the Father of us all-is the foundation of our faith.
It is God the Father and his Son our Savior whom we worship. This places us on common ground with all sincere worshiping Christians, through our belief in the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ. It places us on common ground with all other men also who believe in God the Father and Creator of us all, in whose image, as scripture testifies, men are made.
Now since we have this literal relationship with our Father in heaven and his Son, our Lord and Savior, the matter of communication between God and man, between a loving Father and his children, becomes a matter of primary importance-for life is a search for all of us-a search for its purpose and meaning-a search for the answers to questions, to problems-answers that will satisfy the yearnings of our hearts, the reaching of our minds. These are answers that can only come from a divine source.
This brings us to the question of communication between God and man, between a loving, all-knowing Father and his searching, seeking children. This communication includes prayer, inspiration, impressions from the divine source upon the mind of man, the findings of truth through earnest seeking and research, and also what is called revelation, to which the ninth Article of our Faith refers in these words: "We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God".
Who knows all the answers or any of the ultimate answers? Since no one does, they must come from continued revelation-from continued prayerful seeking and search.
There has been among men some suggestion that the heavens are closed, that scripture is closed; that God revealed his mind and will to his prophets in the far past, but for some reason does not do so today.
Do we need his guidance less today than men once did? Do we have fewer problems? Would a just and loving Father love us less than he did his children of the past? What kind and loving father would fail or refuse to respond to his children if they approached him with urgent need and humble hearts?
What gracious and all-wise Administrator of heaven and earth would ignore the problems of the present or leave his children to grope alone in life?
The comforting answer to these questions is that the channels of communication are open; that our God and Father is still interested in all our affairs; that he has his prophet on earth; that he gives to his children what in his wisdom they need and seek and are prepared to accept.
"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets". "Where there is no vision, the people perish".
This need for prophets and their vision-lest the people perish-prompts us to quote another Article of Faith: "We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, viz., apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, etc.". Would not our Savior's Church today be organized as when he was on earth?
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sustains in this conference President David O. McKay, who has stood before us this morning in his ninety-first year, in his kindly wisdom and far-seeing perception; sustains him as a prophet of God in this latter day, with the same divine commission that was given to the prophets of the past.
Some have asked about our belief in the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is not a substitute for the Bible. We accept the Bible and use the King James Version. But we do not believe that the Lord God confined his communications to the people of ancient Palestine or to any place or period of the past. He has had prophets in other places. The Book of Mormon, which supplements the Bible and is compatible with it, is an account of the counsels and communications of God, as is the Bible, and contains sacred and secular history, given to and preserved by the prophets of ancient America, among whom were some of the ancestors of the American Indians.
God is no respecter of persons and has not confined his communication to one part of his family, to one time of history, or to one land.
Now not only does our Father in heaven communicate by revelation, by inspiration, but he reveals truth also to earnest searching, seeking men in many fields of truth. Knowledge has been poured out upon the earth, the evidences of which are too numerous to dwell upon.
And not only does he reveal his will to his servants the prophets and to sincere searching men, but he responds to a child's simplest prayer-the simplest, sincere desire of the soul. He is mindful of every one of us in all our needs, in all of our decisions, in all our uses of life, in the thoughts of our innermost hearts, and our outermost actions. And aside from revelation as such, there is the impression within-the whisperings of the Spirit to the hearts and consciences of men.
And not only do we need communication with our Father in heaven, but we need communication and understanding with one another. So often we misjudge men. We misjudge motives; we believe rumors, and not only believe them, but sometimes add to them and pass them on. We sometimes believe what gossip and prejudice says of others, rather than going to factual sources of information. We often reach conclusions based on sheer assumptions. "O mortal men," said Dante, "be wary how ye judge."
Parents need better communication with their children, and children with parents. They need to counsel and respect each other and confide in each other and share with each other the thoughts of their hearts. What more important charge could anyone have in life than to care for and nourish and understand and teach and love a child whom God has given? What greater loyalty can a child have than to confide in a father and a mother with respect and love, sharing hopes and dreams and plans and experiences. And there is safety in this-safety in doing nothing that we would not be willing and proud to confide to parents or to our Father in heaven, who in fact knows all things whether or not we confide.
There is safety in a mother and a father waiting for children to return at whatever hour-safety in these close confidences.
Husbands and wives need to confide and communicate with each other and not withdraw themselves within themselves, but to keep always open between them a gentle and frank and kindly communication.
Those who don't communicate sometimes sit in brooding silence, and let small things seem large, and imagine offenses that were never intended, and misjudge minds and hearts and motives, and pull apart and sever the most sacred ties, and break hearts and homes.
There is so much of misunderstanding that could be cleared with communication, with talking things out-suspicions, offenses, misjudging motives, much of which would disappear with communication and the sincere sharing of confidences with those who have a right to expect us to confide. As a poet so long ago expressed it-
"Not understood. We move along asunder, Our paths grow wider as the seasons creep Along the years; we marvel and we wonder Why life is life, and then we fall asleep, Not understood.
"Not understood. We gather false impressions And hug them closer as the years go by, Till virtues often seem to us transgressions; And thus men rise and fall and live and die, Not understood.
"Not understood. Poor souls with stunted vision Oft measure giants by their narrow gauge. The pointed shafts of falsehood and derision Are oft impelled 'gainst those who mould the age, Not understood.
"Not understood. The secret springs of action, Which lie beneath the surface and the snow, Are disregarded; with self-satisfaction We judge our neighbors as they often go, Not understood.
"Not understood. How trifles often change us. The thoughtless sentence or the fancied slight Destroys long years of friendship, and estranges us, And on our souls there falls a freezing blight: Not understood.
"Not understood. How many breasts are aching, For lack of sympathy? Ah! day to day, How many cheerless, lonely hearts are breaking! How many noble spirits pass away, Not understood.
"O God, that men would see a little clearer, Or judge less harshly where they cannot see! O God, that men would draw a little nearer To one another! They'd be nearer Thee And understood." -Thomas Brecken
I would leave my witness with you that there is purpose in life, that there is a Father in heaven who made us in his own image; that he did send his Son, our Savior, to redeem us from death; that God has revealed himself to man through the prophets of the latter days even as through the prophets of the far past; that he is interested in his children; that he responds to prayer; that he gives the revelations of his mind and will; that men are immortal and eternal; and that there is everlasting purpose and reason for the righteous living of life, for keeping his commandments, for cherishing, serving, and loving one another.
We would share with you these words from King Benjamin from the Book of Mormon:
"Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.
"And again, believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in sincerity of heart that he would forgive you; and now, if you believe all these things see that ye do them...
"And ye will not suffer your children... that they transgress the laws of God, and fight and quarrel one with another, and serve the devil, who is the master of sin...
"But ye will teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness; ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another.
"... I say unto you, that there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.
"... O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it".
The answers men so much seek are to be found, and to the aching, yearning loneliness of human hearts, and to the anguished agony of the world there can come direction, revelation, comfort, guidance, inspiration, and a finding of the way to the purposeful, happy living of life with the peace and cleanliness of a quiet conscience, and with the blessed assurance of an everlasting life with limitless opportunities, and with our loved ones with us.
May God be with you, my beloved friends, and give you every needed blessing in life, and your loved ones, in peace and health and happiness, in prayerful searching and seeking, in pursuit of the divine purpose, with the assurance that the answers are there. May you have help in your daily pursuits, and in your homes, and in all relationships with your loved ones, and with wise and good choices in all the living of life.
God does live! He is real and reachable and not indefinable. He is mindful of us. He hears us. He is interested in us. He is ever ready to communicate with us. He is our Father and made us in his own image, and as we seek him he will not leave us groping and lonely and alone. His word, his Church, his purposes are here and now on earth. The Creator is still in command. May God bless you and peace be with you-always, I pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop John H. Vandenberg
John H. Vandenberg, Conference Report, October 1963, pp. 45-49
The Bible states that our Savior Jesus Christ "... gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works". The members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are known throughout the world as a peculiar people.
We are considered a peculiar people because of our Word of Wisdom-the great youth program, the welfare program, the priesthood, and because of our belief in God-that he is a personal God and is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and that he speaks to his prophets today as he did anciently. We are peculiar because we not only claim but furnish evidence to all people that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth in these latter days. We believe that the same organization that existed in the primitive church of apostles, prophets, bishops, teachers, elders, and seventies, has been restored by direct revelation. It is the duty of those called as apostles "... to ordain and set in order all the other officers of the church".
"The Twelve are a Traveling Presiding High Council, to officiate in the name of the Lord, under the direction of the Presidency of the Church... to build up the Church, and regulate all the affairs of the same in all nations". The Twelve travel throughout the world and under the influence of the Spirit ordain bishops to be "stewards of God."
In connection with the duties of apostles, I would like to relate an apocryphal story from the writings of Clement of Alexandria:
"... about John the Apostle, handed down and preserved in memory. When, on the death of the tyrant, he passed over to Ephesus from the Island of Patmos, he used to make missionary journeys also to neighboring gentile cities, in some places to appoint bishops, and in some to set in order whole churches and... to appoint one of those indicated by the Spirit. On his arrival then at one of the cities at no great distance, of which some even mention the name... he saw a youth of stalwart frame and winning countenance, and impetuous spirit, and said to the bishop, 'I entrust to thee this youth with all earnestness, calling Christ and the Church to witness.' The bishop accepted the trust, and made all the requisite promises, and the apostle renewed his injunction and adjuration. He then returned to Ephesus, and the elder taking home with him the youth who had been entrusted to his care, maintained, cherished, and finally baptized him. After this he abandoned further care and protection of him, considering that he had affixed to him the seal of the Lord as a perfect amulet against evil. Thus prematurely neglected, the youth was corrupted by certain idle companions of his own age, who were familiar with evil, and who first led him astray by many costly banquets, and then took him out by night with them to share in their felonious proceedings, finally demanding his cooperation in some worse crime. First familiarized with guilt, and then, from the force of his character, starting aside from the straight path like some mighty steed that seizes the bit between its teeth; he rushed towards headlong ruin, and utterly abandoning the divine salvation, gathered his worst comrades around him, and became a most violent, bloodstained, and reckless bandit-chief. Not long afterwards John was recalled to the city, and after putting other things in order said, 'Come now, O bishop, restore to me the deposit which I and the Saviour entrusted to thee, with the witness of the Church over which thou dost preside.' At first the bishop in his alarm mistook the meaning of the metaphor, but the apostle said, 'I demand back the young man and the soul of the brother.' Then groaning from the depth of his heart and shedding tears, 'He is dead,' said the bishop. 'How and by what death?' 'He is dead to God! For he has turned out wicked and desperate, and, to sum up all, a brigand; and now, instead of the Church he has seized the mountain, with followers like himself.' Then the apostle, rending his robe and beating his head, with loud wailing said, 'A fine guardian of our brother's soul did I leave! Give me a horse and a guide.' Instantly,... he rode away... from the Church and arriving at the brigands' outposts, was captured without flight or resistance, but crying, 'For this I have come. Lead me to your chief.' The chief awaited him in his armour, but when he recognized John as he approached, he was struck with shame and turned to fly. But John pursued him as fast as he could, forgetful of his age, crying out, 'Why my son, dost thou fly from thine own father, unarmed, aged as he is? Pity me... fear not... stay! believe! Christ sent me.' But he on hearing these words first stood with downcast gaze, then flung away his arms, then trembling, began to weep bitterly, and embraced the old man when he came up to him, pleading with his groans,... but the apostle pledging himself... led him back to the Church and praying for him... and wrestling with him in earnest fastings... did not depart, as they say, till he restored him to the bosom of the Church."
In Zion today are apostles like John who have been divinely called to minister the affairs of the kingdom of God in all the world. The Lord has through this apostolic ministry appointed bishops in all stakes of Zion. The charge, "I entrust to thee this youth," which John gave to the bishop is one of the foremost responsibilities of the office and calling of a bishop-to care for the youth. Peculiar to this Church is the authority by which it acts, the priesthood of God. This priesthood or authority to act in the name of God was restored to the earth by direct revelation. The higher priesthood is known as the Melchizedek Priesthood and "... continueth in the church of God in all generations, and is without beginning of days or end of years". Along with the Melchizedek Priesthood, "... the Lord confirmed a priesthood also upon Aaron and his seed, throughout all their generations, which priesthood also continueth and abideth forever with the priesthood which is after the holiest order of God". Thus there are two divisions of the priesthood, "namely, the Melchizedek and Aaronic, including the Levitical".
An unusual promise is given in connection with the priesthood. The Lord said: "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". It is therefore incumbent upon every eligible male member of the Church to live worthy to receive the priesthood.
The Lord in his great wisdom has placed the priesthood under two divisions, as indicated, the Melchizedek and the Aaronic. Perfection, however, does not come through the Aaronic Priesthood because this priesthood "... holdeth the key of the ministering of angels and the preparatory gospel", and is a schooling ministry to prepare the holders thereof for the greater or Melchizedek Priesthood.
The Lord offers the male youth of the Church, twelve years and older who are worthy and eligible, the great privilege of officiating in his work by being ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood. Here they learn the governing principles of the kingdom of God. Through voluntary service in the outward ordinances of the Church, they gain a spiritual stability that can come to them in no other way.
It is the Lord's desire that all should come unto him. "For behold, this is my work and my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man". There is only one way, as the Bible states, "One Lord, one faith, one baptism".
The Lord knows the dangers that can beset youth without a spiritual guide-just like the youth that John rescued who had been neglected! Worthy young men in the Church have the Aaronic Priesthood conferred upon them. Thus each has the advantage of spiritual growth as he is presided over by a bishop. The bishop is, by revelation, president of the Aaronic Priesthood and president of the priests quorum. Thus the bishop of a ward is the spiritual guardian of the youth. He does not, however, replace the parents in their responsibility to teach, guide, persuade, and discipline their own children. It is the responsibility of parents to develop within their children certain spiritual values such as humility, repentance, a feeling of responsibility, and love for their fellow men. The example of parents, undoubtedly, imposes the greatest influence upon their children. This influence must be for good if parents are to be successful.
The most recent statistics from the FBI indicate an increase in crime as reported in 1962. Approximately fifty percent of all major crimes are committed by young people under the age of eighteen. The school dropout problem seems acute and more prevalent today. Dr. William Hutchinson says: "For the most part school dropouts were first church dropouts. He is a drop-out from his family,... dropout from society.... I recognize,... that the most important single force in our society is the family. I would first suggest that we prepare our young people to be good parents. Too many of those that I see are weak, immature parents. After dealing with many teenagers, I have received the impression that adolescent youth is not looking ahead to parenthood. Teenagers too often think of their father and mother as 'poor Dad' and 'poor Mom' in a condescending way. Their thinking is not oriented ahead with proud anticipation of stepping into the role of a family leader.
"Among parents I see a great many looking back with nostalgia to their youth and trying to relive the 'glorious teens' vicariously through their children.
"The family used to be bound together by economic glue. Historically, the family worked together as a team on the hunt or in the field. It was an essential to existence itself that there be discipline and leadership within the family."
I would also like to read a letter written by a father to his son. The son had been confined in a youth detention home. The father upon learning about his son's confinement went immediately to the detention facilities. Upon seeing his son, the father commenced shouting indignantly, informing his son that he was no good, a disgrace. The boy reacted by forcing shut the door. As the father returned home, he was unable to sleep. He spent the night pondering over the circumstances causing the failure of his son. As a result, he wrote this letter:
"Dear Son, Maybe you won't understand all this. It certainly isn't clear to me yet. All I know is that when you sent me away yesterday I was glad. I thought I was finally rid of a big problem. I was wrong. Son, I have been wrong about you for a long time. I decided to forget you, but I couldn't. The more I tried, the more I thought about you. I prayed for help, but it seemed to do no good. In fact, my thoughts only became more centered around you, like a snowball rolling down hill.
"I don't blame you Son for sending me away. You weren't sending away your dad, only a guy who was always mad at you. When I overcame my drinking problem, I went to all those I had hurt and asked their forgiveness. I never thought to go to you. I should have. I know now that you were one of those I had hurt the most.
"When you needed another chance I never really gave it to you. Just sat around knowing you would fail and waiting for it to happen. Now I'm asking you for another chance. Not with me setting the terms. Just for the chance to work with you to try to overcome the wrongs done. Hopefully, Dad."
This letter would never have been written if the father had been the spiritual influence in his home that God intended him to be. The boy would never have harbored contempt for his father if their home had been spiritually strong. One might assume that the statistics of broken homes and shattered dreams would be sufficient to compel all people to correct the illusion that they are self-sufficient and have no need of God.
Thomas J. Cahill, chief of the San Francisco Police Department, makes the following observation: "... I say to you that the home is a place where the child must be taught from the cradle. Love, understanding, and kindness is something that is built into his heart or her heart as they grow, and it must be done by both the father and the mother carrying out their responsibilities; because when God gives them children or gives us children, he also places upon our shoulders corresponding responsibilities and obligations to see to it that those children are brought up in the proper way."
I must add that the only proper way is God's way. Spiritual discipline is the most effective means of character development. The influence of the priesthood in the home has the greatest influence for guiding and persuading young people along the path of righteousness. One of the fundamental teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that every member should acquire learning by study, by faith, by prayer and by seeking learning wherever it is found. We believe that, "The glory of God is intelligence". "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".
This would suggest that spiritual guidance in the home gives the youth not only an advantage in this life but also in the eternity. In addition to the influence in the home, the bishop gives them guidance in the government of the kingdom and in the priesthood of God. In this respect, he is in metaphor, a potter and sculptor of the youth.
The ward bishop cultivates the pure love of Christ in the souls of the youth. His labors inspire hope, and his kindness builds faith. This is today's spiritual challenge to establish faith, hope, and the pure love of Christ, which is charity, into the hearts of the young people. Paul declares that these three abideth though the image and fashion of the world pass away. It is the precious youth of the Church who must accept this challenge. It is the bishop, as overseer in the household of God, who holds the torch of leadership. The bishop is indeed a true and good shepherd.
It is in the early period of life that youth needs to be cared for, maintained, and cherished. This is the formative period of life. Mr. Vaughn in 1733 wrote to Benjamin Franklin, "Influence upon the private character late in life is not only influence late in life but a weak influence.
"It is in youth that we plant our chief habits and prejudices; it is in youth that we take our party, as to profession, pursuits and matrimony. In youth, therefore, the turn is given, in youth the education even of the next generation is given, in youth the private and public character is determined, and the term of life extending but from youth to age, life ought to begin well from youth, and more especially before we take our party to our principal objects."
No young man can receive the priesthood and participate therein without becoming a better person. The priesthood is character building. It teaches one to have proper concepts and values. As one magnifies his duties in the priesthood, he experiences the challenge and growth that emanate from eternal principles. This challenge prompted the inspired words of the Prophet Joseph Smith, "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".
In the business affairs of life, it is the application of advantages that contributes to success. If one has the advantage of added training in a certain field or the advantage of more economical production of a product, he usually becomes more successful in his business effort. So it is with the youth. The priesthood of God gives them an advantage for success and happiness and eternal life.
Here we have reason for Peter's declaration: "... 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". In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Alvin R. Dyer
Alvin R. Dyer, Conference Report, October 1963, pp. 49-52
It is always a great spiritual uplift to attend the conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and I am grateful with you, my brethren and sisters, once again to have this privilege.
President McKay's great message yesterday, which went straight to the heart of the individual, gives encouragement to the remarks that I thought to make about honesty. The great need of the world is for spiritual quality in men, for depth and altitude of soul, for wealth of inward life, out of which good deeds shall come like a stream from the mountains, with power. But this nobility of character is not arrived at in a day. Its source lies far back in the days of youth, in the practice of restraint and the acquisition of honest thoughts and good habits.
We believe in being honest!
Through the efforts of the American Bar Association and Presidential Proclamation, we now have a new day in America. It comes every first of May and is referred to as "Law Day." Efforts are being made to popularize this day by many national organizations of which the following are but a few: The American Heritage Foundation, The United States Conference of Mayors, and The General Federation. The need for such a day to be brought to the attention of America stems from the apparent complacency with regard to the rule of law, devotion to morality, and moral honesty.
In recent weeks, as reported in our newspapers, J. Edgar Hoover, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, based upon statistics compiled by this bureau, stated among other things "that since 1950 the crime rate in America has increased four times as fast as our population. For every dollar our churches cost us, our crime is costing us 12 dollars. Bank robberies and fraud have increased with leaps and bounds." In viewing this appalling situation there are those who say, "Such crimes are committed by the professional criminal, and we will always have them." But, truly, are such deviations into crime and dishonesty expanding only in the so-called ranks of the professional criminal?
In an article appearing in the Reader's Digest not long ago, we learn of the reported inroads of dishonesty made into the ranks of the average person.
A fisherman or a hunter is generally regarded as a "sportsman" with a sense of fairness and of playing the game according to the rules; yet in one month in one of our states, 350 "sportsmen" were fined for violation of the game laws. An officer reported that there would have been many more had there been sufficient wardens to check the infractions.
Access to the daily press releases of the Federal Trade Commission reveals the mendacity of our sellers of goods-lies about origins, lies about qualities, lies about reduced prices!
Recently, a New York newspaper printed many columns about unscrupulous persons on relief who had dishonestly requested and received more money than the law permits.
The revealed facts of employee and customer dishonesty are most startling. Chiseling a big impersonal company is not stealing at all, say some. A report of this was made in Look Magazine published the last week of September. A reputable citizen recently told proudly of returning a five dollar bill to a drugstore clerk who had given him too much change; but when he completed a long distance call from a pay booth and the operator returned his five quarters by mistake, he kept the money without any qualms. "The phone company is so big they won't miss it," he said.
The New Jersey Bell Telephone Company not long ago made a big fuss over a ten-year-old girl who had returned several dollars which she had found in the return slot of a public telephone. The company tried upon this occasion to impress the fact by having her picture placed in the paper that when a person faces a machine with a moral question, his answer should be the same as when he faces a human being.
During the first ten months at New York's new Americana Hotel, the well-meaning average guests stole among other things 38,000 demitasse spoons, 18,000 towels, 355 silver coffee pots, 1,500 silver finger bowls, and, believe it or not, 100 Bibles.
Supermarkets are especially vulnerable to the "amateur" thieves, eighty percent of whom are women. One example, 500,000 supermarket shopping carts disappeared last year, at an average cost of $30.00 each, this comes to $15,000,000.00. One expert estimates that fifteen percent of your food bill goes to cover what customers and employees take, salving their conscience with the thought that big companies can afford it. The question is: Can you afford it?
It is estimated that supermarket employees steal the equivalent of $300,000.00 every day. Across the country, employee thefts of money and merchandise are estimated to total two billion dollars a year. Three years ago this was estimated at one billion. Such pilferage has destroyed many companies. An organization has been formed in New York City not to investigate criminal rings, but to suggest methods to big business concerns on how to control employee dishonesty. Much of this is in such innocent quantities that it hardly appears evil at all. Secretaries go home with pencils and carbon paper. Employees use the telephone for personal calls that add up to big money. One executive in a big company said, "If you asked a girl to put down a dime for a phone call, she would think you were crazy."
The fact that moral dishonesty has settled like an evil blanket upon the peoples of all lands is told in an interesting story by Russell Kirk reporting in the National Review, having written the story from a country house in Fife, Scotland. "Once upon a time," he wrote, "a strict Calvinism, whatever its defects, did install a high degree of honesty in the typical Scot. But this week, at the raspberry picking here, the gardener remarked to me, that of the thirty or forty people who came to pick on shares, probably everyone would steal a basket or two of berries if he saw the chance."
These examples of moral dishonesty are not those of the hardened criminal, but rather the average everyday citizen we see go to and from work on the streets of our cities. Civilizations may not fall because of cheating raspberry pickers or dishonest supermarket employees, yet great states do come to an end of their tether when religious sanctions no longer govern the soul of the average citizen.
Well might we ask ourselves this question at this crucial time, "What is it that produces moral and physical dishonesty in the lives of people?" The facts that have been reported here refer to overt acts of moral dishonesty, in a supposedly noncriminal cross section of the people. Can we possibly believe that any act of such dishonesty is born as of that minute when the act is committed? This cannot be true, for it goes back even to childhood where little traits of dishonesty go undetected. I once heard a father jokingly tell of how his little son was always able to find loose change around the house. Perhaps the urge to take something that does not belong to an employee can be traced back to the lack of respect which adolescents have for the property of others, even members of their own families.
That child or adult who is unaccountable for his actions, disregarding repentance and restitution, weaves into his character the trait of dishonor. Here we see the need of righteousness an l kind discipline in the home.
The lack of realism on the part of parents in failing to detect and correct innocent acts of dishonesty in their children can lead to disaster later. The passing over of small amounts of money taken by children, the failure to correct stories told by children which are completely false, can lead to acts of a graver nature later. There are many ways in which the unsuspected seeds of moral dishonesty are planted and which will blossom forth in due time.
Generally speaking, moral dishonesty tends towards insincerity and hypocrisy. These three are evil companions and can destroy the majesty of the will, nullifying the power of agency. Nothing displeases the Master more than hypocrisy. His frequent denunciations of the Pharisees because of this trait are a matter of biblical record. Of those who are not what they profess to be, the Apostle James has said, "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways". Following this declaration with another: "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves".
An insincere person lives a strenuous life, says Anne Lindbergh. There must ever be restraints against "putting on" or assuming a superficial front to sway an impression or a credit in our direction. That leader or teacher who is not honest in heart lacks sincerity. Such a one does not live by what he teaches. The very word itself when traced to its origin means to be honest in our relations with others; a negative message will ever emit from an insincere and morally dishonest person. From my own experience in serving with thousands of missionaries, I have come to know that sincerity is the most necessary of all qualifications. Without it a missionary can't hope to succeed.
The Prophet Joseph Smith, while being held without cause in Liberty Jail, was inspired to say concerning those whose insincerity of purpose had led to dishonest membership:
"How much more dignified and noble are the thoughts of God than the vain, imaginations of the human heart! None but fools will trifle with the souls of men."
The Apostle Paul urged the Ephesians to serve God with sincerity of purpose honest intent. Said he:
"... Be obedient... with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;
"Not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;
"With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:
"Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
"... in the evil day, and having done all, to stand", italics added).
Someone has written a paraphrasing of this of those who take much from life but give little:
"He stands having his loins girt about with religiosity and having on the breastplate of respectability. His feet are shod with ostentatious philanthropy, his head is encased in the helmet of spread-eagle patriotism. Holding in his left hand the buckler of worldly power and in his right hand the sword of influence, and thus shall he stand in the evil day."
In conclusion, I quote the Thirteenth Article of Faith of our Church:
"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 endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things".
I have spoken of but one phase of this article:
"We believe in being honest!"
I bear testimony to the need of this attribute in our daily lives that we may not be deceived by the force of evil in hidden and unsuspecting ways. I bear testimony also of the vitality and truth of the message of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which we have for the world. In the words of Joseph Smith the Prophet:
"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 Christ is true; that the ministering angels sent forth from God are true, and that we know that we have an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, whose builder and maker is God ".
I testify of this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Alma Sonne
Alma Sonne, Conference Report, October 1963, pp. 52-54
My brethren and sisters, we have just listened to a stirring message sung by the Choir. "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who bringeth good tidings".
As I stand here, I feel that mankind today needs to be reassured. Atheism is asserting itself as never before. It is being organized to destroy religion, to dethrone God, and to undermine the standards by which progress in the past has been made. The leaders in all activities of life need much strength, much love, much endurance, and an unbounded courage, and certainly greater faith in God.
As a Church we accept without reservation the divine leadership of Jesus Christ the Lord. Faith in him is the foundation of righteous living. He is the cornerstone of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. To disregard and to ignore him is to extinguish the brightest light in human history.
A few weeks ago I attended a fast day service in a beautiful ward chapel. I was deeply impressed as I watched and listened to the proceedings. A youthful bishop presided. He made a few preliminary remarks, and the congregation sang a well-known hymn. The prayer that followed was short and to the point. Another hymn was sung, and the bishop arose and told the congregation it was their meeting. He urged the members present to bear their
What is man without an abiding faith in the true and living God? Colonel Ingersoll answered that question many years ago. "Man," he said, "is a stranger wandering hither and thither in a narrow vale between the barren peaks of two eternities," coming and going without guide, compass, or destination to guide him on his way.
But let me say, my brethren and sisters, those peaks about which Ingersoll spoke are not barren, for a man of faith sees beyond the peaks, and he sees a primeval existence. He also sees a land where there are no shadows and where there will be a glorious reunion with loved ones who have gone on before. Earth life is not the beginning of man, and death is not the end. For three years Jesus walked along the shores of the Sea of Galilee, through the towns, villages, and cities of Palestine, teaching and demonstrating the power of faith. But most of his followers remained cynical and doubtful, and when the crucial and testing moment arrived, they were not there. Without faith man is forever in the shadows of doubt and uncertainty. He has no future. He has no program to follow, and when death comes he leaps into the dark and there is no inclination in his heart to turn to God and worship.
Jesus was the greatest advocate of faith the world has known. He not only taught it but he exemplified it in his entire ministry. For many years I have read books on the life and character of Jesus the Christ. Most of them have been very interesting and well-written. The older I get, however, the more joy and satisfaction I receive from the four Gospels written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These four narratives are a challenge to the world. They are a work of art. They are a strong and irrefutable testimony of the divinity of the Lord Jesus. Whatever is said and done, and whatever is written about him, the fact remains that these writers of his life have pictured for us the greatest figure in universal history. They did not invent him. No one would be capable of doing that, for he was perfect and beyond the creation of man. They recorded what they saw and heard and found nothing to criticize. They accepted him, worshiped him, and some of them died for him. Their testimony is therefore strong, reliable, and trustworthy.
Religious teachers talk about theology, their doctrines of salvation-the resurrection, the virgin birth, and many other things. But without the personal Christ as he appeared among men, their teachings would be meaningless and without purpose, and the urge to worship the Almighty would be lost. He is the voice of authority, the fountain of all grace and truth and the mirror of all perfection for you and me to follow. He made that clear when he said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life". I believe that deep in the heart of humanity is a desire to believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ, for he gives humanity something to hope for, something to live for, and something to strive for.
Jesus lived with the poor. He appeared as one of them. He cast his lot with the lowly and dejected classes of society. You will recall when John the Baptist sent his disciples to be reassured, Jesus said, "Tell John the poor have the gospel preached to them". Can you think of any leader aspiring to greatness and recognition who ever thought of beginning with the poor? Please remember that the higher circles were open to him, but he never deserted the meek and the humble. He remained their friend. Was not this a manifestation of his great love?
The meek will someday inherit the earth. The honest and conscientious worker will be rewarded, and the idler and the schemer will have no place in the ideal commonwealth to be established.
Consider the Savior from any standpoint. He was always a leader. He possessed all the qualifications necessary to lead a world torn asunder by conflict, war, disruption, and contention. He looked ahead. He was prepared for eventualities. He knew, for instance that he would be put to death on the cross. He knew also the reception that would be accorded his disciples. He never wavered in the face of a ruthless and determined opposition. In adversity he was still the leader. A combination of forces assailed him. Strong and powerful they were, but he never lost sight of his appointed mission nor succumbed to the fallacies of men. His objective was before him. He never compromised nor did he sidestep his responsibilities. He was firm and immovable before his assailants, most of whom shriveled and withered in his presence. He could not be manipulated nor confused.
He was qualified, my brethren and sisters, to lead the children of men. He made a bid to do so: "... other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, that they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd". Jesus is the shepherd. He will succeed, for regardless of man's rebellion every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ. In a world of uncertainty, confusion, and chaos mankind must turn to him. It is inevitable.
And so we worship the Lord and Master. We meet together often to keep alive our faith and to worship him in spirit and in truth. Emerson said, "And what greater calamity can fall upon a nation than the loss of worship. Then all things go to decay. Genius leaves the temple to haunt the senate or the market. Literature becomes frivolous, science is cold."
I testify that Mormonism, so-called, is the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the power of God unto salvation. It embraces all truth and proclaims the divinity of Jesus Christ. People everywhere are urged to recognize and accept that truth and to introduce it into their daily lives. The angel whom John saw in vision said, "Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters".
May we do so, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder LeGrand Richards
LeGrand Richards, Conference Report, October 1963, pp. 56-60
Dear brothers and sisters and the listening audience:
I thought I would like to discuss with you today briefly what, to me, is the most important thing in a man's life.
Jesus said:
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you".
Where should one seek to find the kingdom of God today?
The Apostle Paul said:
"And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
"For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
"Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
"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".
Can the world claim that we have come to a unity of the faith?
In view of the hundreds of churches claiming to be the church of Christ and yet teaching conflicting doctrine, is it not clear that men are being tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine as the Apostle Paul stated, and is this not because the apostles and the prophets whom God placed in his Church to bring them to a unity of the faith were all put to death, except the Apostle John who was promised that he might tarry to bring souls unto Christ until he should come in his glory.
What became of the Church and kingdom of God after the Savior and his apostles were put to death?
The Apostle Paul warned the brethren of his day not to look for the coming of Christ until there should be a falling away first. These are Paul's words:
"Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
"That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, not by letter as from us, as that day of Christ is at hand.
"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition".
Could a more positive statement be made that there would be a falling away before men could look for the coming of Christ?
How universal was this apostate condition to be?
When the Apostle John was banished upon the isle of Patmos, the angel of the Lord showed him all things from the war in heaven when Satan was cast out with a third of the hosts of heaven until the final winding up scenes when we would have a new heaven and a new earth, for all former things would have passed away, and the angel said: "... Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter".
And the angel showed John the power that Satan would have in the world and said:
"And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations".
In light of these statements it is clear that the Lord permitted his apostles to see the time when his Church and kingdom would not be found upon the earth.
But he also let them see the time when his kingdom would again be restored to the earth.
After the Apostle John was shown by the angel the power given Satan to make war with the Saints and to overcome them and power was given him over all kindreds and tongues and nations, he was shown how the Lord would restore his kingdom to the earth. He 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: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters".
Thus the everlasting gospel was to be restored to the earth by an angel being sent from the heavens. It was to be preached to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, showing again how universal the departure from the truth had been or there would have been no need of an angel being sent from heaven to restore the everlasting gospel to the earth.
The Prophet Isaiah also saw the day when men would be teaching for doctrines the precepts of men, and he said:
"Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid".
Our message is to acquaint every lover of truth with this marvelous work and a wonder or the everlasting gospel brought back to this earth by holy messengers sent from heaven in our day.
The Prophet Amos tells us the need of a prophet in these words:
"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets".
Thus, he, who would be sent to prepare the way of the coming of the Lord in the latter days, could be none other than a prophet.
We bear solemn witness unto the world that the Lord has raised up a prophet in this dispensation to restore his everlasting gospel or his kingdom upon the earth, and that prophet was Joseph Smith.
When Jesus bore testimony to Nicodemus of what the Lord had done, 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".
And we testify that we do know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God who was visited by God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ when, following the admonition of the Apostle James, if any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. He went into the woods near his father's house, when only in his fifteenth year, to ask of God which of all the churches he should join, and the Savior of the world whose right it is to sit in judgment upon all men told him, he should join none of them, for they were all wrong and were teaching for doctrine the commandments of men, thus merely declaring the fulfillment of the prophecies we have already referred to.
Following this glorious vision, other heavenly messengers were sent to restore all things spoken by the mouths of all the holy prophets since the world began as declared by the Apostle Peter which would have to transpire before the Savior would come again.
Moroni, a prophet who lived upon this land of America about four hundred years after the birth of Christ and who had custody of the records that had been kept, of the hand dealings of the Lord with a people that he led to the land of America six hundred years before the birth of Christ, which record was recorded on gold plates, was delivered by Moroni to the Prophet Joseph Smith with the Urim and Thummim or interpreters by use of which he was able to translate these records which we now have as the Book of Mormon.
John the Baptist, who was beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, brought back the Aaronic Priesthood.
Peter, James, and John, apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ who were with him upon the mount of the transfiguration, restored the Melchizedek Priesthood with the holy apostleship. Thus men were again empowered by ordination to perform holy ordinances here upon the earth necessary for the salvation and exaltation of men so that such ordinances would be binding in the heavens, and again to establish the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth.
When Jesus, as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, told his disciples that the temple at Jerusalem would be destroyed so there would not be left one stone upon another, his disciples said unto him:
"Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?".
Then Jesus told his disciples of the judgments that would befall the nations, of wars and rumors of wars and pestilences and earthquakes and famines, and then he adds:
"Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake".
Then he adds:
"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".
This is the only gospel, through obedience, to which men can obtain membership in the Church and kingdom of God here upon this earth.
So, if we understand the scriptures, we would know that the truth, the everlasting gospel, the marvelous work and wonder Isaiah spoke of, would be found with a people who have been hated by all nations. Such has been the history of this people and this Church.
The Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were shot in cold blood by a wicked mob, and many of the Saints were killed for their testimonies, and the Saints were driven from their homes time and time again until they were driven beyond the borders of the United States.
Recently, I sent a copy of a book explaining the teachings of this Church to a distant relative in the East, an intelligent man. He wrote back indicating that it was the first book he had ever read in favor of the Mormons. He said, "I doubt if you have any conception of the erroneous ideas the people of New England have regarding the Mormon people. I sometimes wonder if they believe the tales they tell."
But though the Lord had said that his people would be hated of all nations, nevertheless, he promised the Prophet Joseph Smith and his associates:
"... 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 to the church collectively and not individually-".
It is gratifying to us to have lived long enough to see the realization of this promise.
Last year 115,000 new converts joined this Church because they believed through the power of the Holy Spirit in answer to their prayers that Joseph Smith truly was a Prophet of God.
On May 17 of this year the "Ten Commandments Award" of the Fraternal Order of Eagles of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was presented to President McKay. It was the third time in fifty-six years the award had been presented by the organization.
The award, an engraved copper scroll mounted on walnut, read:
"To President David O. McKay-for leadership and strengthening the moral and spiritual fabric of American life."
Then, Mr. Thacker, representing more than a million members in the United States said:
"We wish to express our appreciation for your leadership as head of one of the great religions and faiths of our country. We present it in honor to your church and faith, and to you personally. May you reign forever."
How appropriately he expresses our feelings toward our great prophet and leader of today.
On March 29, 1960, a youth conference was held in Washington, at the call of President Eisenhower. Some seven thousand delegates from all over the United States attended that conference. President Marion D. Hanks of the First Council of the Seventy of this Church was asked to give the keynote address at that conference, and as he sat down, the man conducting the same made this statement:
"As I sat here, I reflected that Mr. Hanks comes from people that were driven from our region of the country because of the things they believed and suffered bitter persecution for their ideals; that went finally to the far reaches of the country where they thought themselves away from all this.
"Now we have invited a leader of that people to come here to talk to us of the same ideals and principles for which we drove them away."
It takes truth a long time to travel.
In a book recently published by Marcus Bach entitled Strange Sects and Curious Cults he devotes one chapter to the Mormons. I quote the following therefrom.
"Mormonism has outlived its persecutors and outlasted most of its critics and with good reason. It is the most truly American of all America's religions. Its founders, its miracles, its holy books, its prophets, its martyrs, and its spirit grew out of American soil. Across America from coast to coast are the credentials of its faith, and it is in America that it has built its holy city and its sacred state."
During the summer of 1959, the president of the Deep Springs College near Bishop, California, a member of the Episcopal Church, taught at the Brigham Young University Summer School.
In an interview with a newspaper reporter, he said:
"It may well be that the Mormon people have the key that will eventually save this country."
We knew that, but we didn't know that he did. Then he adds:
"I am impressed with the extremely high level of intellect I encounter in the students here and even more important the character of the students."
And is this not the true test of true Christianity?
I have a son-in-law in Los Angeles who has interested a retired minister in the accomplishments of the Mormon Church. He said to my son-in-law a short time ago, "I would like to do something worthwhile before I die. I would like to write a book in favor of the Mormon Church." While my wife and I were there during our last summer's vacation, my son-in-law had fifty type-written pages prepared by this man under the title A Methodist Preacher Likes Some Things about the Mormon Religion. I was asked to read the fifty pages which I did, and there were many very complimentary things said about our Church. I quote just a few paragraphs taken at random from the fifty pages:
"The Mormons need to know that what has been good for the development and practice of the Welfare state in Utah has fundamental principles that God designed for the world at large as well as for the Mormon Church. If Mormon principles of the Welfare state have been good for the Mormon people-it is also a good thing to give it out to the whole world without stint or favor."
* * * * *
"... The despised Mormon Church has something in its makeup, the church world needs and no amount of dodging this fact will furnish escapement from our theological muddle of the present hour."
* * * * *
"... Joseph was irregular like all prophets of God, and I believe he was a prophet of God, in spite of any proven blunders that might be suggested on the part of his enemies."
* * * * *
"... The Mormon church has something that the world needs, and ignorance of Mormon truth will not help us solve the problems of our national life."
* * * * *
"... No two men in the religious history of America were hated like Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, but they had something the world needed in spite of any personal faults they might have had in life."
* * * * *
"... It is high time that some honest scribe wrote about the importance of the truth that Joseph Smith and Brigham Young preached while being the most brutally opposed men in American religious life."
* * * * *
It is wonderful to note how the Lord is fulfilling his promise that he would bring his work forth out of obscurity and out of darkness.
To all who are listening to me this day, I say unto you, that God the Eternal Father has restored his Church and kingdom to the earth, that he has built his Church again upon the foundation of apostles and prophets with Christ our Lord as the chief cornerstone; and no matter what your faith may be, I promise you that if you will investigate and join this Church with sincerity of heart, that it will enrich your lives beyond anything that you could purchase with the wealth of this world. Hence, I repeat, the greatest thing in this world is to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all other blessings will be added. I prize my membership in his Church and kingdom above all other things I have in this world, even to my life itself. May God bless you all, I pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Eldred G. Smith
Eldred G. Smith, Conference Report, October 1963, pp. 60-62
One morning on my way from the parking lot to my office in the Church Office Building I stopped momentarily at the large excavation behind the building. A young man stepped over by me and asked what was going on. I told him it was the excavation for a large multistory church administration building. He replied as he turned and went down the street, "That's too much to spend on religion." Obviously he didn't place much value on religion.
I've been thinking since then, how much is too much?
In this busy world, are we so concerned with other things that we have not time for God? We need to stop and ponder-Where are our values centered?
"There is something very remarkable about what we have to give under the gospel plan," said President J. Reuben Clark, Jr. "No matter how much we give of truth, of good example, of righteous living, our stores, our blessings increase, not decrease by that which we give away...
"We are expected to give out of our store all that we possibly can give away, and in proportion as we give unto others, we become thereby more and more enriched ourselves."
In serving our fellow men we are also serving God. As he has said, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me". The more we serve, the more we are blessed. King Benjamin in addressing his people said, "I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another-I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls, yet ye would be unprofitable servants.
"And behold all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you.
"And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him.
"And secondly, he doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to boast?".
Have you ever tried to get the Lord indebted to you? He has offered that challenge to you.
"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".
We are indebted to God for our very life: the air we breathe, our sight, speech, hearing.
Typical of many other such cases is the lady who was born blind. Through the goodness of the missionaries who provided her with the Braille and talking records necessary to teach her the gospel, she became converted to the Church. She told me she had two sisters who had their sight, but she wouldn't trade places with either one of them. They had their sight, but they didn't see. She had the gospel and a testimony of its divinity, but they did not.
Another typical example is the man who was grateful for the accident which caused him to be paralyzed from the waist down. He said if it had not been for the accident he would not have received the gospel. He had been too busy before to be interested in religion. After the accident he had plenty of time to think and set his values straight. Then the missionaries called on him. He accepted the gospel and now has been to the temple and had his wife and family sealed to him for time and all eternity, without which he wouldn't have his family after death. For this he was most grateful. What price is too great for the blessings of exaltation and eternal life, and what is there in this world that is more precious than the gospel of Jesus Christ?
In early days of the Church it was not uncommon for converts to be rejected by family and friends and forced to make a choice between loved ones and the gospel of Christ. They chose the gospel because it gave them a joy and security which could not be found in any other way. There are still some converts who are forced to make this choice. On the other hand, some of us who have been given blessings in such abundance have no time for God. Our search for wealth and riches means more to us, and we are sufficient unto ourselves. We no longer depend upon God.
The Lord has said in the section called the Word of Wisdom:
"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".
How can one set a price on the "hidden treasure" of knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ?
And again the Lord has declared:
"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".
What price is too high? Can you appreciate the blessing which belongs to you priesthood holders to take your child in your arms in the congregation of the Church and give it a name and blessing, or to baptize and confirm the members of your family, or others who may be worthy?
Count your many blessings, see what God has done.
Some one has said, "True faith is that which teaches that things which matter most, should not be at the mercy of things which matter least."
Let us not be like the man in the parable Christ gave who filled his storehouses with the riches of the world. When they were filled to overflowing he said, "I shall tear them down and build greater".
"But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee".
None of us knows when our soul may be required of us. It may be later than we think.
May we more fully appreciate the great and wonderful blessings which the gospel offers to us, and may we show that appreciation by righteous living and service to our fellow men and unto God, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Boyd K. Packer
Boyd K. Packer, Conference Report, October 1963, pp. 62-65
Between sessions I was speaking to Brother Alma Sonne, whom I affectionately call my "big brother." He was the concluding speaker at this morning's session, and sensing some apprehension on my part about this moment, he said: "Don't worry, little brother. I promise you this: There is a good spirit when you get up there." And I confess that I am totally dependent upon that good spirit and plead with the Lord for his blessings during the few moments allotted me here at this pulpit.
Some time ago I stood at the bedside of an aged little Danish woman. She was near the close of her life. There was a serenity and anticipation, even a beauty about her as she talked of what soon would be. There stood with us her middle-aged son, a pathetic figure. He had lost his wife and family through self-indulgence and for the past number of years had been living at home with his aged mother. Tearfully he pleaded, "Mama, you can't go. Mama, you've got to live. Mama, you can't die."
Now, as the last person who seemed to care much for him at all was about to go home, his pleadings became almost frantic as he demanded, "Mama, you can't go." And then he said with emphasis, "Mama, I won't let you go."
I shall not forget. The little mother looked up at her son, and in her broken Danish accent she said, "But vher iss yoa powah?" It is to her question, "Where Is Your Power?" that I would speak.
Her son had brought no honor to the family name. As a father he had failed. How sharper than a serpent's tooth is failure such as this! I address my remarks to every father who has a son-not to the exclusion of fathers who have daughters only, for much of what I say will suit them, too-but pointedly to every man who has a son to carry on his name.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a family-centered Church. I bear fervent, solemn witness that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was divinely instituted; that there stands at the head of this Church today a prophet of God, and that the program of the Church is ordered by revelation from on high. In the Church there is reverence for family relationships. Family relationships are sacred. The family is eternal.
I speak to the father simply in recognition of his place at the head of the home. Recently a priesthood home teaching program was inaugurated in the Church. It reaffirms to every father his responsibility. It brings to every father new opportunity.
The responsibilities of fatherhood cannot be delegated to social agencies, nor even to the Church, for a father may unwittingly erase all of the good effects of those outside the home who seek to build for him a worthy son.
Parents frequently call upon the General Authorities of the Church and anxiously argue that we are the last hope to rescue a wayward son or daughter. They seek a blessing we cannot always bestow, for often we find it is the parent and not the child that needs reproof. How wise was the prophet when he said:
"... The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge".
One cannot, I repeat, escape the obligation of fatherhood. The father who neglects his son may suffer the condemnation that the Lord placed upon the Prophet Eli when he said:
"For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not".
I would remind you that the father is first of all a husband, and essential to rearing or fine stalwart sons is proper regard for the wife and the mother of the family. O how important it is for a son to have a proper relationship with his father and with his mother, and for him to know that his father and his mother live together in love. There are some hideous things that can happen to a boy-ugly, abnormal, perverted things. A proper parental pattern is the greatest insurance against tragedy such as this.
The Prophet Jacob, in accusing wayward fathers of his day, said:
"Behold, ye have done greater iniquities than the Lamanites, our brethren. Ye have broken the hearts of your tender wives, and lost the confidence of your children, because of your bad examples before them; and the sobbings of their hearts ascend up to God against you".
If the father does not honor the priesthood he holds, rest assured that the son will do more than duplicate the inactivity. He will likely magnify the mischief he sees in you, father. Fortunately, the same may be true of your virtue and activity also.
Give careful, prayerful, conscious thought and consideration to your family. Do not bury your life in merely providing a living. Many men play the role of fatherhood just by ear. They only react to what is, rather than to strive with conscious, prayerful effort for what ought to be.
A necessary and important discovery with reference to a boy is that he is an individual. Boys must be taught to work, but boys are not miniature men, and the Lord has urged:
"And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord".
A boy is not born to know that his father loves him. He must be told and shown and shown and told a thousand times or more. A father must be wise and patient, but most of all he must be consistent, and his expectations must he reasonable. For as the poet said:
"What unjust judges fathers are, when in regard to us they hold That even in our boyish days we ought in conduct to be old. Nor taste at all the very things that youth and only youth requires; They rule us by their present wants, not by their past long-lost desires."
Recently in California a church leader described a lecture he had given his children. He had forcefully affirmed to them how he had been self-sufficient as a youth, how dependable he had been, how hard he worked. His tiny daughter brought him back to earth by saying, "Daddy, when you were a little baby, did you fix your own bottle?"
Where is your power to rear children to bring honor to your name? Each father would do well to recognize that he is himself a son. This is true in an eternal way. It is my testimony that the word "father" in the scriptures means father; that we have a child-parent relationship with God; that we were created in his image; that we are his children, and each one of us, particularly those who hold the priesthood, will one day have to answer to him.
The late President George Albert Smith once lay critically ill. Those close to him despaired of his life. He later recorded: "One day, under these conditions, I lost consciousness of my surroundings and thought I had passed to the other side. I found myself standing with my back to a large beautiful lake, facing a great forest of trees. There was no one in sight, and there was no boat upon the lake or any other visible means to indicate how I might have arrived there. I realized, or seemed to realize, that I had finished my work in mortality and had gone home. I began to look around, to see if I could not find someone...
"... soon I found a trail through the woods which seemed to have been used very little, and which was almost obscured by grass. I followed this trail, and after I had walked for some time and had traveled a considerable distance through the forest, I saw a man coming toward me. I became aware that he was a very large man, and I hurried my steps to reach him, because I recognized him as my grandfather..." President Smith continues: "I remember how happy I was to see him coming. I had been given his name and had always been proud of it.
"When grandfather came within a few feet of me, he stopped. His stopping was an invitation for me to stop. Then-and this I would like the... people never to forget-he looked at me very earnestly and said:
"'I would like to know what you have done with my name.'
"Everything I had ever done passed before me as though it were a flying picture on a screen-everything I had done. Quickly this vivid retrospect came down to the very time I was standing there. My whole life had passed before me. I smiled and looked at my grandfather and said:
"'I have never done anything with your name of which you need be ashamed.'
"He stepped forward and took me in his arms, and as he did so, I became conscious again of my earthly surroundings. My pillow was as wet as though water had been poured on it-wet with tears of gratitude that I could answer unashamed."
This vision or dream of President Smith reminds each of us of the responsibility we bear with reference to the name that has been given us. We have taken upon ourselves the name of Christ and have entered into a covenant to remember him always and to keep the commandments which he has given us, and in consequence of keeping the commandments there comes a promise that we shall have his Spirit to be with us.
Our measure will not depend on academic degrees or political preference or property or influence so much as simply how we lived at home. To be a worthy father is to be a faithful son. The formula for either is the same.
Where is your power? It is in the power of example. Where is your power to raise sons to do honor to your name? It is in the power of the priesthood.
In closing I quote a few lines from Jane Terry written to teachers, applicable to fathers who are the teachers of their sons:
"You are called to be true under-shepherds, To keep watch o'er the lambs of the fold; "And to point out the way to green pastures, Of more value than silver or gold.
"Unto you are entrusted the children Priceless treasures from heaven above, You're to teach them the truth of the Gospel Let them bask in the warmth of your love.
"Do you ask for the help of our father In teaching his children so dear? Do you put forth a true, honest effort? Is your message impressive and clear?
Are you living a worthy example? Is your character what it should be? When the children have gathered around you, Can you say, 'Come, follow me'?
"Earnest effort is always rewarded, Righteous lives are inspiring to all, You can render your thanks to our Savior, By making the most of your call."
In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Bernard P. Brockbank
Bernard P. Brockbank, Conference Report, October 1963, pp. 65-68
Brothers and sisters, it is always a joyful and honored occasion to look in the faces of so many priesthood bearers, to be in the presence of our prophet, twelve apostles, and so many fine people desiring to enjoy and know the spiritual things of life.
I would like to just mention that in the passing of President Henry D. Moyle, working so close with him in the mission field, I learned to appreciate his great strength and his power and his interest in taking the gospel to every soul. He knew no limit, and he always had an open door to everyone. He always had time for the right things. I have never experienced an individual like President Moyle, a man of leadership, capacity, and strength, and with so many varied interests.
Also working in the mission field with President Tanner, I used to marvel at how he could make so many interviews. I am sure that he tired the same as the rest of us, but it never seemed to show. Courage and strength-he has only one real desire and interest and that is to further the work of the Lord. It was good to share missionary blessings and to have friendship with these two great missionaries.
I enjoy reading the scriptures. You know, they seem to have quite a human touch. You remember Peter saying after the Savior's resurrection, and in his absence, "I go a fishing". That is just about as brief as you can put it. The Savior appeared while Peter and the disciples were fishing. After the Savior had shown them how to catch fish by casting their nets under his direction -casting the net under his counsel and his guidance-that is the way to fish. He taught them how to be fishers of men, to cast their nets under the direction of the Savior. I would like to take the next part of this great message that the Savior left with Peter on how to be an effective missionary. This was now the third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples after that he was risen from the dead. Jesus saith to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?"
These scriptures are well known to all. This is a very important question for each one of us. May I ask each of you, "Do you love the Lord?" The answer almost without exception would be, "Yes." Let us place ourselves in the position of Peter.
"... Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?... He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs." The Lord can tell if we love him.
"He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
"He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he saith unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.".
Can you picture this great scene of that powerful Peter being asked these simple questions? And the Lord had a way of knowing how deep the love was within Peter and how to teach him the way to show his love for Jesus Christ.
We show and prove our love by feeding the lambs and the sheep. There are over three billion people on the earth today, and at the present rate of teaching, over two and a half billion of God's children will never be taught the gospel of Jesus Christ. What if you were to live on this earth and never had a chance to hear and be taught the true way of life?
Our task is great. Teachers are needed. Every member of this Church that has a testimony and is converted is urgently needed. The lambs and the sheep are hungry for the bread of life, for the gospel of Jesus Christ. We can show our love by following the prophet of God, "by every member being a missionary" to bring one or more souls into the Church each year. It is great to have a prophet. Have you followed the prophet?
I find people occasionally worried and concerned about whether someone else's convert is fully converted. They are more concerned sometimes about this than about feeding and teaching their own friends and neighbors the gospel. I learned a lesson about this point in the mission field.
The missionaries baptized a little Scottish boy, very shabbily dressed, from a very poor home, family conditions almost as bad as you could find. I asked the missionary, "Why did you baptize this boy?" "Well, he is a good boy." The boy brought his entire family into the Church. His father was an alcoholic. He failed to bring his money home. Well, the story has a beautiful ending. Today the boy's father is the bishop. I learned not to judge the conversion of someone else. The Lord will hold the person that improperly brings someone into this Church, and him alone.
Now what have we to teach the people? You know, the Savior gives us this great message. We don't have to guess at what to teach. The Savior said, "... Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved". And then he gives us the key. Jesus said: "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you".
Our job is to teach the people to observe all things whatsoever Jesus Christ has commanded. We are to teach every nation, kindred, tongue, and people the commandments given by Christ.
The Prophet Ether in the Book of Mormon is an excellent example of a good effective missionary. "... he could not be restrained because of the Spirit of the Lord which was in him.
"For he did cry from the morning, even until the going down of the sun, exhorting the people to believe in God unto repentance lest they should be destroyed, saying unto them that by faith all things are fulfilled".
Here are some of the things that Jesus commanded:
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven".
Teach them to search the scriptures; they contain the program that God has provided for his children.
Teach your fellow man to have faith in the Living Personal God as found in the scriptures.
Teach your neighbors and friends that they were created in the image and likeness of God, their Heavenly Father.
Teach them to have faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Savior and Redeemer of the world.
Teach them to repent from sin and evil and to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
Teach them baptism-the same baptism that Jesus exemplified as he went down into the water at the river Jordan under the hands of God's authorized servant, John the Baptist.
Teach them that they must be born of the spirit and receive the Holy Ghost. Jesus said, "... Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God".
Teach them to love God and neighbor.
Teach them to pray from their hearts to a Living God and a Heavenly Father.
Teach them that revelation from God to man has never ceased if man desires to know and receive the heavenly blessings and witnesses.
Teach the people to pray to God and ask for his blessings through the Savior Jesus Christ.
Teach them to be kingdom builders. Remember the Lord's Prayer-"... When ye pray," the Lord said, "After this manner therefore pray ye...
"Thy kingdom come." Anyone praying after the manner of Jesus Christ prays to be a kingdom builder. "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven".
Teach them to have joy and happiness; long suffering, goodness, meekness, temperance, love, peace, and faith; these are the fruits of the Spirit.
Teach them the value and power of the priesthood of God, and that it has been restored to the earth.
When you teach, follow the Savior's counsel and "let your light shine". Pray always before you teach for faith, wisdom, and the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. What a marvelous experience to teach the gospel under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit! What great joy comes from feeding the lambs and the sheep.
I would like to just mention in closing a little about the World's Fair as a great missionary venture. I would like to mention that the Church of Jesus Christ's pavilion and exhibit at the New York World's Fair will help to show the world that we are Christians after the order of Jesus Christ's program and teachings, that we literally accept the living personal God of the Holy Bible, that we accept the living personal Jesus Christ as the Son of God and as the Redeemer and our Savior.
The church pavilion and exhibits will have the beauty and atmosphere of sacred Christian love and peace. The building, I am sure the architect was inspired by God. It has an atmosphere of peace and sacredness, the way the golden light enters the building, the way the extension of the building is designed. It is worth a trip to the fair just to see this marvelous building and the exhibits.
The church pavilion and exhibits will have the beauty and atmosphere of Christianity. The theme is "Man's Search for Happiness." We hope to show that happiness comes from Christian righteousness. We hope to show many of the fruits of the Church. Jesus said, "by their fruits ye shall know them". We will show the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ back to the earth again, the same as it was when Jesus lived upon this earth.
The fair will be for two years, 1964 and 1965. It is estimated that over seventy million people will attend. In my estimation it will be the finest World's Fair ever held because of the two-year period.
Our task is great as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but with two million full-time missionaries and Saints, we can teach the people, our neighbors, as Jesus said, "to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you".
May we all follow our prophet and be missionaries and show our love for God by feeding the lambs and the sheep, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Henry D. Taylor
Henry D. Taylor, Conference Report, October 1963, pp. 69-72
About two weeks ago a great and good man, who had completed his mission here on the earth, was called "home" by our Heavenly Father. Tributes were paid to President Moyle by his associates, recounting his many acts of devotion, generosity, and service to God and his fellow men. President McKay in his eulogy remarked: "Measured by the standards of true nobility, President Henry D. Moyle was truly a great man."
The scholar Carlyle once observed: "The history of this world is written in the lives of its great men." We pay honor and respect to men and women whom we consider to be great by observing the anniversaries of their birth, by erecting monuments and statues to their memory, by visiting their tombs and laying wreaths thereon, and by engraving their names on stones and sepulchers. But more important still is the manner in which they linger and live in our memories; how well we remember their teachings and the way they have influenced our lives for good.
Well might we ask the question: "What made these men or women great? What constitutes greatness?" The Greek philosopher Pericles, many centuries ago, pondered this problem and finally arrived at the conclusion that: "Men who are longest remembered, and whose memories are most highly revered, are not those who made the most money, but those whose hearts were gentle, whose sympathies were broad, and who best served humanity."
We are often prone to judge men hastily and to consider them great if they accumulate or amass a substantial amount of wealth. Ofttimes during this acquiring process such men become self-centered and lose sight of things spiritual and neglect opportunities to help others.
The Lord, who is aware of the weaknesses of men, sounded a note of warning against these tendencies when he questioned: "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?". Then later he proclaimed: "Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen". He then explained why they are not chosen, giving this reason: "Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world".
The possession of wealth and the things of this world are not objectionable if used for righteous purposes. The ancient Prophet Jacob made it clear when he gave this sage counsel on the proper use of wealth:
"But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God.
"And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if we seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good-to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted". In a word, to assist fellow men and to serve God.
While we realize that wealth cannot buy happiness nor eternal life, one has humorously suggested: "Money may not bring happiness, but it can surely make being in misery a lot more enjoyable." To work and to earn a comfortable living is important. Latter-day Saints are taught that everyone, insofar as possible, should be self-supporting, maintaining his own economic independence, and looking to no one but himself for assistance. A man also has the responsibility of providing for his family. To earn a livelihood and at the same time live within one's income become both a challenge and a goal.
But while doing these important things, does man have no responsibility to his neighbor or to God? Can he not provide for his family and at the same time serve his fellow men?
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is composed of lay members. The leaders and workers are called from the ranks. Every single member is a potential leader, and every day throughout the Church certain individuals are called and chosen to fill positions of importance. In accepting these callings they are recognizing the words of the Savior, when he said: "He that is greatest among you shall be your servant".
This attitude of humility was evidenced by a former Vice-President of the United States who rose to great heights of prominence, even aspiring to become President, although unsuccessfully. Later he was elected to a more humble office as a junior Senator from his home state. In accordance with Senate protocol, he took his seat on the rear row. His associates and fellow Senators, over whom he had presided, offered him, out of love and respect, a desk on the front row. He modestly declined, uttering this classic statement: "I am willing to be a junior and sit on the back row, for I had rather be a servant in the house of the Lord, than sit in the seats of the Mighty."
It is interesting to note the varying ways in which individuals respond to calls made of them. When the Lord told Moses that he was the one chosen to become the leader of Israel and was to lead his people out of captivity and bondage, Moses was startled and began to offer one alibi and excuse after another, stating that his people would not believe that he was the one that had been called to become their leader. The Lord gave him many assurances, but
During the Savior's ministry upon the earth, he thrilled and uplifted those who listened to his teachings. Many had a desire to follow and hear more of his inspired utterances. One disciple expressed his intention of following and gaining more information, but made the request: "... Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father." This would seem to be a reasonable request. But Jesus answered and said unto him: "Follow me... Let the dead bury their dead".
In contrast to these instances of hesitation and lukewarmness it is refreshing to note how some of the apostles responded to the calls Jesus made of them. The Savior, while "... walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
"And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
"And they straightway left their nets, and followed him". Here there were no questions asked, no alibis offered, no arguments given.
Going on a little farther, the Savior saw two other men, James and John, who were also fishermen. They were assisting their father Zebedee in mending their nets. When he called them, they immediately and without hesitation left their ship and their father and followed Jesus. Were they not filled with the spirit of obedience and service?
As calls come to us for church service by the Lord's representatives, it is natural for us to wonder why we have been selected. The Lord has made it plain that every individual has been blessed and endowed with certain gifts and talents. And while there are many gifts, yet "To some is given one, and to some is given another, that all may be profited thereby.
"And all these gifts come from God, for the benefit of the children of God".
Now it was intended that these gifts and talents should be shared with others, for the purpose of rendering service to fellow men and making their lives happier. Every week the Tabernacle Choir thrills, inspires, and uplifts us, their listeners, with beautiful music, just as this chorus today has thrilled us.
Many of us are not blessed with musical talents, but there are other gifts that we do possess, and other services that we can render. The poet, Edward Everett Hale, aptly expressed this thought:
"I am only one, But still I am one. I cannot do everything, But still I can do something; And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do."
There is a joy that comes from working and rendering service in the Church and in being a servant to our fellow men. King Benjamin taught: "... when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God".
To every faithful member of the Church will come opportunities to serve in some capacity, for the need for service in the fields of missionary work, temples, home teaching, instructing classes, choirs, and musical groups, work on welfare projects, administrative positions, and many other activities, still remains great.
If we would meet the Savior's standard for greatness, we will readily and humbly accept the callings that come and become servants in the house of the Lord, remembering that "He gives best who serves most." Then we may rest assured that if we do our best, the Lord will do the rest.
I testify from personal experience that joy and happiness have come to me through opportunities to serve in building up God's kingdom here upon the earth, and I humbly pray that this same joy and happiness can come to every member of the Church, all of which I humbly pray for in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Sterling W. Sill
Sterling W. Sill, Conference Report, October 1963, pp. 77-83
My brethren, I appreciate this privilege of having a part with you in the general priesthood conference of the Church. I have been greatly stimulated as I am sure you have by the messages of these fine young men who have talked to us so interestingly about the importance of controlling our own lives.
One of the most inspiring messages in all sacred scripture is the story of the sixth day of creation when God made man in his own image. He also endowed him with a set of his own attributes. Then, as the very climax of creation, God gave man dominion over everything upon the earth, including himself. The dictionary says that "dominion" means control or the power to govern. The most important part of the dominion given to man was self-dominion. In all of creation, it was only to man that God said, "... thou mayest choose for thyself".
On one occasion Joseph Smith was asked to explain the unusual harmony existing among his large group of church members, though they differed so greatly in background, nationality, and experience. The Prophet replied, "I teach the people correct principles and they govern themselves."
One of the most important parts of real religion is to qualify ourselves to govern our own lives effectively and righteously. Someone has said, "He that would move the world, must first move himself." We talk a great deal about the fact that we have been given the priesthood. The priesthood is the authority to act in the name of the Lord. But by itself that is not enough. We must also develop the "ability" to act in the name of the Lord. The authority can never be of very great consequence without the ability. That is, how much benefit would be derived from having the authority to make converts without the ability to make converts.
The most inspiring thing about the life of Jesus was not his ability to quiet the storm or control the tempest, but his absolute control of himself. The Master did not need to make a single mistake in order to find out that it was wrong. We have developed a fairly good control over some of our body members; for example, I have great authority over my finger. If I tell it to bend, it bends. If I tell it to unbend, it unbends. If I give my feet an order, they obey immediately, and we will have succeeded in our religious responsibility when we get that same kind of control over our thoughts, our emotions, our tongues, our industry, our faith, and our desire to serve God. Some of us have mistrained our appetites to a point where we tend to "think" with our stomachs; that is, our appetites frequently have more influence in directing our lives than our reason or even the commandments of God. This same misuse of our powers frequently gives our fears, our doubts, our prejudices, our hates, and our sex impulses the control of our lives. Before we can be successful in our God-given dominion, our emotions must be brought under the direction of the spirit.
St. Augustine said, "Wouldst thou have thy flesh obey thy spirit? Then have thy spirit obey thy God. Thou must be governed, if thou wouldst govern." And only when we properly govern ourselves according to what is right, can we escape the destructive rule of our moods and appetites.
Sir Walter Raleigh said, "A man must first govern himself, ere he be fit to govern a family; and his family, ere he is fit to bear the government in the commonwealth."
Each of us has been given a magnificent instrument called a brain, which was intended to play a much more prominent part in our religious life than it sometimes does. The brain, not the feelings or the passions, was designated by God to be the presiding officer of the personality. And when we honor the authority of the mind, we become masters instead of slaves.
A. Bertha Kleinman has written the following verse about self-mastery.
SELF-MASTERY
"What tho I conquer my enemies, And lay up store and pelf, I am a conqueror poor indeed, Till I subdue myself.
"What tho I read and learn by heart Whole books while I am young, I am a linguist in disgrace, Who cannot guard my tongue.
"What tho on campus I excel A champ in meet and fight If trained efficient still I can't Control an appetite.
"What tho exemptions write my name High on the honor roll Electives, solids fail me if I learn no self-control.
"And tho I graduate and soar And life is good to me, My heart shall write me failure till I learn self-mastery."
Our human nature is made up of an interesting duality, which Jesus referred to as the spirit and the flesh, and most of us permit a constant conflict to rage between the two. Plato refers to this duality as an upper soul and a lower soul. He describes the lower soul as the dwelling place of weakness, sin, and appetite, whereas the upper soul is the residence of the intellect; it is the headquarters of reason and the operational base of judgment and righteousness. On this battle ground the fate of each of us is being decided daily. Each individual is tending toward his natural status of king or slave. As we overcome the unworthy elements within ourselves, we become masters, capable of ruling our lives in wisdom with righteous power. As we surrender to our appetites, we become slaves. The alcoholic, the immoral, the dishonest, the profane, and the idle are losing the battle to the lower soul by allowing themselves too many lower soul experiences.
The one business of life is to succeed, and one of our greatest Christian duties is to organize and supervise ourselves for righteous accomplishment. We must be more successful in disciplining the mind and training the will. Someone has pointed out that "planning" is the place where man shows himself most like God. Who could be more Godlike than one who intelligently plans his own life? He is the one who blueprints accomplishment and builds the roadway of success. The highest paid man in the army is the general. He is the one who "thinks" and "plans" for the army. But each of us is the general of his own life, and each is also his own soldier. As generals, our job is to work out a better program for ourselves as soldiers, and the more skilful we are as generals, the more successful we will be as soldiers.
Sometime ago I spent a few hours with a group of missionaries. We were discussing missionary work under the two great headings of the "message" and the "messenger." We are halfway to success when we understand the tremendous importance of the message that the gospel of Jesus Christ has again been restored to the earth with the authority to officiate in all of the principles and ordinances of the gospel having to do with the celestial kingdom. But no great message is ever delivered without a great messenger. Inasmuch as the professional approach to any accomplishment is first to isolate the problem, I said to the missionaries, "Before I can be of much help to you, I need to know what your problems are. Will each of you tell me in one word why you're not ten times as effective as you are?"
As the answers were given, we wrote them on the blackboard. However, when we analyzed them we found that every single one of them had to do with the "messenger," none of them was about the message. I said to them, "I'm going back to church headquarters in the morning, and I would like to be able to report what's wrong with the message." But no one had any complaint with the message. Their only problems involved changing the messenger.
One missionary said, "I can't be a good missionary because I am not friendly."
I said, "What do you mean?"
He said, "Well, my companion loves everyone, and everyone loves him. Our contacts all gather around him, but because I am not that kind of a person I am left by myself."
I said, "Would you show me what you mean by going down this aisle and shaking hands with these people the way you ordinarily do it?"
In complying he did his usual unimpressive job. Then I said to him, "Now, will you go down this other aisle and shake hands with these other people the way your companion does it?"
Then he squared his shoulders, got a little different look in his eye and a little different tension in his muscles as he tried to demonstrate to me how his companion did it. He seemed to be an immediate success while following the example of his companion. I told him about the famous "As If" principle of William James. Mr. James said if you want to have a quality act "As If" you already had it. If you want to be friendly, act "As If" you are already friendly. How long does it take one to learn to be friendly? It takes just one-quarter of a second, just long enough to make up your mind to practice the "As If" principle. If you want to be brave, act "As If" you were already brave, don't go around telling everyone how scared and weak you are. It is the axiom of the theater that each actor should live his part.
On one occasion Theodore Roosevelt was decorating one of his generals for bravery. He said, "This is the bravest man that I have ever seen." He said, "He walked right behind me all the way up San Juan Hill." Theodore Roosevelt was a sickly child. He began life as a weakling, not expected to live; but he trained himself to think courage, strength, health, and vitality, and that is what he got. One of the things that frightens me most as I go about a little bit is to hear so many people talking weakness, failure, and sin. The most widespread disease in the world is the inferiority complex. And when we think inferiority, that is what we get. Another missionary described his problem by saying, "I can't concentrate." I said, "What do you plan doing about it?" He said, "There's nothing I can do; I just can't concentrate." One of our most unfortunate weaknesses is that we sometimes think we are under sentence to remain forever as we presently are. Yet one of the most exciting ideas in life is the possibility of changing ourselves for the better.
William James said, "The greatest discovery of my generation is that we can change our circumstances by changing our attitudes of mind." A lot of people want to change their circumstances, but few are willing to change themselves. It is very interesting, however, that the problem that these missionaries seemed to have the most difficulty with, was that of getting the beds off their backs in the morning. I brought away a mental picture timed at 6:00 am showing the missionaries pulling and struggling trying to get up, with the mattress being successful in holding them down. Isn't it ridiculous that we sometimes live through an entire lifetime and never learn to get up in the morning? The Church is now 133 years old, and some of us have barely made a start in living the "message" because we have exhausted our strength struggling with the messenger. So far as I know almost every problem that holds us back involves a misuse of this God-given dominion. Certainly we need a better mastery of the message, but we also have a lot more work to do on the messenger.
Solomon said, "With all thy getting get wisdom". And then someone that must have been much wiser than Solomon said, "With all thy getting, get going." George Bernard Shaw touched our problem when he said that the primary occupation of life is taking a mob of appetites, and organizing them into an army of purposes and ambitions.
It is a very significant point of view that every human being has been given two creators. One is God, and the other is himself. That is, 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. It is taking place today, and it took place last week, and it will take place next month, and you are the creator. That is, you are currently creating the enthusiasms and the industry and the courage and the faith that will determine what your lives will be throughout eternity. Someone has asked this interesting question: "How would you like to create your own mind?" But isn't that exactly what everyone does?
William James said, "The mind is made up by what it feeds upon." The mind becomes what God intended it should be, only when it is fed on enough upper soul experiences. It has been said that "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 if I hold in my mind and heart great ideas of honor, righteousness, industry, and the love of truth, my whole personality is colored accordingly. And our self-dominion is made more effective when we make love to the right kind of ideas, and refuse all lower soul experiences. While Cain was training himself to "... love Satan more than God", he was giving dominion to his lower soul. This is a process that many frequently follow. Sometime ago a young man discussed with me an improper marriage which he was contemplating. I asked him why. He said he was in love. But love alone is an insufficient basis for marriage. Anyone can fall in love with anything. Many people have fallen in love with idleness, profanity, adultery, and drunkenness. Cain fell in love with Satan.
A chain smoker was recently ordered by his doctor to give up smoking. He had fallen in love with cigarettes, and he felt very sorry for himself that he was now being forced to give up his bad habit. He said, "What good could it possibly do me to quit smoking when I have to stand over myself like a policeman with a club, ordering myself to do something that I don't want to do?" It is pretty difficult to force ourselves to be decent or successful while we are in love with sin and failure.
There is a lower soul psychology that says that the way to develop the personality is to give expression to our desires. It says that parents should not say "no" to their children because of the possibility of dwarfing their personalities. If a child feels like slamming the door, he should slam it. If he feels like sowing some wild oats, he should sow them. It says that desires should be expressed, otherwise the child's growth may be inhibited and his personality distorted. This philosophy has made a great contribution to our upsurge in juvenile and adult delinquency. We might bring some upper soul philosophy to bear on this point by a review of the Ten Commandments. Yet, a prominent minister recently said that the Ten Commandments should no longer be used as the basis for religious training. He said that the Ten Commandments gave young people the idea that the church was a wet blanket. He said the dictatorial "Thou shalt nots" were not in good taste any more. He said, "In my church I no longer refer to the Ten Commandments." He didn't say whether or not he thought chastity, honesty, and worship should be done away with, or whether God had changed his mind about these values, but only that he had convinced himself that the Ten Commandments were outmoded and no longer useful.
Another religious leader said that the stern command "Thou shalt not" was much too harsh for our present-day sensitivity, and he suggested that the form of the commandments should be modified and some softer word such as "advise" or "suggest" or "recommend" be used. We make one of our most serious mistakes when we become too soft to accept truth unless it is highly sugar coated. We settle too many of our problems by compromise, or how we feel, rather than by what is right. Frequently we would rather be ruined by praise than sawed by criticism. It is pretty serious business when we turn our backs on good merely because we don't like someone's tone of voice or because what is said doesn't quite suit our fancy.
The story is told of a father and a son riding down the highway. The son was explaining to the father what he didn't like about the Ten Commandments. He said they were negative and besides that he didn't like anyone telling him what not to do. Soon they came to an intersection in the highway. There was one signboard telling where the left-hand road led, and another signboard telling where the right-hand road led. The father took the wrong road. This greatly disturbed the son. He couldn't understand how the father could make such a ridiculous mistake. The father admitted that he had read the signboard, but he said, "I just don't want any signboard telling me where to go."
For our benefit God has erected some signboards of right and wrong, and we when are headed toward destruction the sign is flashed saying, "Thou shalt not." What we do from there on, however, is strictly up to us. Sometime ago I read one of Lincoln's anti-slavery debates. Lincoln's opponent had said, "You can't afford to free the southern slaves, because there are some four million of them. Each has a value to his owner of approximately $1,000. That is, if you free the slaves you will upset the economy of this little group of slave owners by some four billion dollars which they can't afford, but in addition who will take care of the
When Lincoln came to the platform, he brushed all of these considerations aside as immaterial. He said, "There is only one question that we need to answer about slavery, and that is this: Is slavery right or is it wrong? Is it right for some men to hold other men in bondage?" Now I hope that sometime when you have a problem that is causing you difficulty, you will remember Lincoln's formula of right and wrong.
Sometime ago it was reported that an engineer was discharged from his employment. He asked his employer for the reason. The employer said, "You allowed us to make a wrong decision which cost us considerable money." The engineer said, "But certainly you remember that I advised you against making that decision." The employer said, "Yes, I know that you did, but you didn't pound the table when you did it."
The Lord didn't make that mistake when he gave the Ten Commandments. He pounded the table and tried to make the occasion as memorable as possible, and he expects us to be equally forceful in carrying out his instructions. I would like to read to you a description of the setting in which the Ten Commandments were given. It gives us an atmosphere for shaping our own dominion.
The scripture says, "And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of a trumpet exceedingly loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.
"And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.
"And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly". I seriously doubt that the Lord has changed his mind since then.
God himself cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. He permits none of it in his presence. But he has said, "... nevertheless thou mayest choose for thyself". He has given us dominion that we might develop our own lives. Aristotle once told Alexander the Great that the most dangerous enemy that ever confronted an army was never in the ranks of the foe, but always in your own camp. And that is a good thing for us to remember. Suppose we ask ourselves who is the greatest enemy of America? It isn't Russia or China or Cuba; that is ridiculous. Who causes our strikes and brings about our racial strife? Who robs our banks and causes our many kinds of delinquency? Who is it that makes our political blunders, gives us a bad name abroad, and causes our weaknesses at home? Or who is responsible for our individual sins and keeps us ignorant, lethargic, and unsuccessful?
The Lord suggested the answer, when on September 22, 1832, he gave a great revelation in which he said in part, "And now I give unto you a commandment to beware concerning yourselves". Our own signs say, "Beware of the dog" or "Beware of the train" or "Beware of the communists," but the Lord gets nearer to our problem when he says "... beware concerning yourselves...." The chief characteristic of sin, and the chief characteristic of lack of success is our failure to manage our thoughts, our attitudes, and our ambitions. Pythagoras said, "No man is free who cannot command himself." And we might add that no man is capable of making the most and the best of his life who cannot command himself. We will have happiness in our homes, success in our work, righteousness in our personal lives, and eternal life in God's presence, only as we learn self-mastery and develop the will-power to put it in force. It is the responsibility of the priesthood to prepare the way before the glorious second coming of Christ. It is our personal responsibility to prepare our families and our individual lives for celestial glory, and we will fail or succeed in exact proportion as we get dominion over our own lives. The Lord has said, "... let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly;...
"The Holy Ghost shall he thy constant companion,... and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever".
Carl Erskine, the great former Dodger baseball pitcher, once said, "I never pray to win, I just pray to be in my best form." What a thrilling accomplishment if every bearer of the priesthood was always in his best form; for even one man can, if he will, change the morale of a whole community. Edward Everett Hale once said,
"I am only one, But still I am one. I cannot do everything, But still I can do something; And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do."
My brethren in the priesthood, that the Lord will help us to get dominion over our lives, is my prayer which I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Gordon B. Hinckley
Gordon B. Hinckley, Conference Report, October 1963, pp. 127-130
As I speak to you I am aware that I have come into your homes as your guest. I should like to talk with you about our homes. I am confident that you feel some concern, as do I, for the homes of America. Recently I thumbed through the summary of the FBI Uniform Crime Report for 1962. In a few words and with a few charts it told a disturbing story-a six percent increase in serious crimes in the period of a single year, a nine percent increase in auto thefts, arrests of young people under 18 up nine percent, with female arrests increasing at a faster rate than male arrests. The question that came to mind immediately was how long can we go on with a nine percent increase in youth arrests each year? One of our national magazines recently carried these words on the cover: "Morality U.S.A. Do we need a new code to solve our crisis of immorality? Have our churches failed? Has money become God? Is sexual morality gone?". I read this provocative article. I have read others of similar tone written by men of government, industry, and education who have expressed themselves with deep concern over the moral crisis that evidently is sweeping across the land. I am not one to believe that all was good in the long ago, and that all is bad today. I think this is the greatest age the world has known. But I am also confident that there is trouble in the land. The article referred to above states: "We are witnessing the death of the old morality... The established moral guidelines have been yanked from our hands. We are left floundering in a money-motivated, sex-obsessed, big city dominated society. We must figure out for ourselves how to apply the traditional moral principles to the problems of our times. Many find this burden too heavy". I should like to add that many of our youth will not and cannot figure out for themselves how to apply the traditional moral principles. They find this burden much too heavy. They must have help. They must have guidance. They must have example. Private and public morality are rooted in the homes of the people. No nation is stronger than its homes. It is in the home that examples of virtue are best caught and lessons of virtue are best taught. It was said of old, "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it". And so I welcome this opportunity to talk with you, and particularly you parents of the youth of America, on a theme on which I have expressed myself previously, and one which I feel is timely. All agree that we need a new emphasis on honesty, character and integrity. All agree that only as we build again into the fiber of our lives the virtues which are the essence of true civilization will the pattern of our times change. The question that confronts us is, Where shall we begin? I am satisfied that it must begin with recognition of God as our Eternal Father, of our relationship to Him as His children, with communication with Him in recognition of His sovereign position, and with daily supplication for His guidance in our affairs. I submit that a return to the old pattern of prayer, family prayer in the homes of the people, is one of the simple medicines that would check the dread disease that is eroding the fiber of our character. We could not expect a miracle in a day, but in a generation we would have a miracle. A generation or two ago family prayer in the homes of Christian people throughout the world was as much a part of the day's activity as were the meals. As that practice has diminished, our moral decay has ensued. I fear that as the quality of our housing has improved, the spirit of our homes has deteriorated. The discipline that is needed in our lives is the discipline that comes from within. Many are crying for more legislation and stricter law enforcement. I do not disparage these as expedients, but I fear they are only expedients. Virtue, integrity, honesty do not come of imposition from without. They are the fruits of good teaching and good example, and that teaching and that example are best followed when they are found in the home. Paul of old declared to Timothy: "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves... blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection... despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God". His words fit in a remarkable way the conditions described in the magazine article to which I have referred. Simple as it may sound, I think daily prayer in the homes of the nation would in a generation lift our heads above the flood that evidently is engulfing us. I feel satisfied that there is no adequate substitute for the morning and evening practice of kneeling together before the Lord-father, mother, and children. The very practice of kneeling together with thankful hearts evaporates some of those qualities described by Paul: "Disobedient to parents, without natural affection." There is something in the very posture of kneeling that contradicts some of the attitudes he noted: "Proud, heady, highminded." The inclination to be unholy, as Paul described it, to be unthankful, is erased as together the family thank the Lord for life and peace and all they have. And as they thank the Lord for one another there is developed within the family a new appreciation, a new respect, a new affection one for another. I know of nothing that will ease family tensions, that in a subtle way will bring about that respect for parents which leads to obedience, that will effect a spirit of repentance which will largely erase the blight of broken homes, than will praying together, verbally confessing our weaknesses before the Lord, and invoking the blessings of the Lord upon the home and those who dwell there. In remembering together before the Lord the poor, the needy, and the oppressed there is developed, unconsciously but realistically, a love for others above self, a respect for others, a desire to serve the needs of others. One cannot ask God to help a neighbor in distress, without feeling motivated to do something oneself. What miracles would happen in the lives of the children of America if they would lay aside their selfishness and lose themselves in the service of others. The seed from which this sheltering and fruitful tree may grow is best planted and nurtured in the daily supplications of the family. I know of no better way to inculcate love for country than for parents to pray before their children for the land in which we live, invoking the blessings of the Almighty upon it that it may be preserved in liberty and in peace. I know of no better way to build within the hearts of our children a much-needed respect for authority than remembering in the daily supplications of the family the President and the Congress and others who carry the burdens of government. On the route I travel daily is a signboard which reads: "A world at prayer is a world at peace." You have seen others like it. I believe it speaks a fundamental truth. I am satisfied that we shall not have peace unless and until we request it in the name of the Prince of Peace and then reform our lives to be worthy of it. The hall from which I speak, the great Mormon Tabernacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, was constructed by a people who loved freedom, who worshipped God, and who prayed in their simple pioneer homes, as did most of the pioneers who laid the foundations of all that we in America today enjoy. In 1872 Colonel Thomas L. Kane of Philadelphia visited Utah with his wife and two sons. They traveled by wagon some three hundred miles to the southern part of the state, stopping each night in the homes of the people in the little frontier settlements along the way. Mrs. Kane wrote a series of letters to her father in Philadelphia. In one of them she said: "At every one of the places we stayed on this journey we had prayers immediately after the dinner-supper, and prayers again before breakfast. No one was excused... The Mormons kneel at once. while the head of the household, or an honored guest prays aloud... They spend very little time in ascriptions, but ask for what they need, and thank Him for what He has given... take it for granted that God knows our familiar names and titles, and will ask a blessing on. I liked this when I became used to it." It was so in the pioneer homes across the land. With the faith that came of these daily invocations these people grubbed the sagebrush, led the waters to the parched soil, made the desert blossom as the rose, governed their families in love, lived in peace one with another and with the world, and made their names immortal as they lost themselves in the service of God. We cannot pray in our public schools, but we can pray in our homes, and in so doing we shall reweave into the character of our children the moral strength which will become the fiber of a better society. "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found". This simple practice, a return to family worship, spreading across the land and over the earth, would in a generation do much to lift the blight that is destroying us. It would restore integrity, mutual respect, and a spirit of thankfulness in the hearts of the people. We do not need a new moral standard in our modern society. The laws of God have not been abrogated. They were not given to one generation to be laid aside by another. Their disregard can result only in trouble, misery, and insecurity as witness the fruits of the erosion of morality among us. Their application is the way of life and peace and progress. And so to you, who sit in your homes in this great land, established and preserved under the hand of the Almighty, I plead for a return to recognition of Him, and daily supplication to Him. The Master declared, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you". I give you my testimony that you shall not go away unrewarded. The changes may not be readily apparent. They may be extremely subtle. But they will be real, for "God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him". As we change ourselves and our children, developing within them a new respect, a spirit of gratitude, a becoming humility, we shall reform our society. God bless us with the faith to call upon Him, at the altar of our homes, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
As I speak to you I am aware that I have come into your homes as your guest. I should like to talk with you about our homes. I am confident that you feel some concern, as do I, for the homes of America.
Recently I thumbed through the summary of the FBI Uniform Crime Report for 1962. In a few words and with a few charts it told a disturbing story-a six percent increase in serious crimes in the period of a single year, a nine percent increase in auto thefts, arrests of young people under 18 up nine percent, with female arrests increasing at a faster rate than male arrests. The question that came to mind immediately was how long can we go on with a nine percent increase in youth arrests each year?
One of our national magazines recently carried these words on the cover: "Morality U.S.A. Do we need a new code to solve our crisis of immorality? Have our churches failed? Has money become God? Is sexual morality gone?". I read this provocative article. I have read others of similar tone written by men of government, industry, and education who have expressed themselves with deep concern over the moral crisis that evidently is sweeping across the land.
I am not one to believe that all was good in the long ago, and that all is bad today. I think this is the greatest age the world has known. But I am also confident that there is trouble in the land.
The article referred to above states: "We are witnessing the death of the old morality... The established moral guidelines have been yanked from our hands. We are left floundering in a money-motivated, sex-obsessed, big city dominated society. We must figure out for ourselves how to apply the traditional moral principles to the problems of our times. Many find this burden too heavy".
I should like to add that many of our youth will not and cannot figure out for themselves how to apply the traditional moral principles. They find this burden much too heavy. They must have help. They must have guidance. They must have example.
Private and public morality are rooted in the homes of the people. No nation is stronger than its homes. It is in the home that examples of virtue are best caught and lessons of virtue are best taught.
It was said of old, "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it".
And so I welcome this opportunity to talk with you, and particularly you parents of the youth of America, on a theme on which I have expressed myself previously, and one which I feel is timely.
All agree that we need a new emphasis on honesty, character and integrity. All agree that only as we build again into the fiber of our lives the virtues which are the essence of true civilization will the pattern of our times change. The question that confronts us is, Where shall we begin?
I am satisfied that it must begin with recognition of God as our Eternal Father, of our relationship to Him as His children, with communication with Him in recognition of His sovereign position, and with daily supplication for His guidance in our affairs.
I submit that a return to the old pattern of prayer, family prayer in the homes of the people, is one of the simple medicines that would check the dread disease that is eroding the fiber of our character. We could not expect a miracle in a day, but in a generation we would have a miracle.
A generation or two ago family prayer in the homes of Christian people throughout the world was as much a part of the day's activity as were the meals. As that practice has diminished, our moral decay has ensued. I fear that as the quality of our housing has improved, the spirit of our homes has deteriorated.
The discipline that is needed in our lives is the discipline that comes from within. Many are crying for more legislation and stricter law enforcement. I do not disparage these as expedients, but I fear they are only expedients. Virtue, integrity, honesty do not come of imposition from without. They are the fruits of good teaching and good example, and that teaching and that example are best followed when they are found in the home.
Paul of old declared to Timothy: "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves... blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection... despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God".
His words fit in a remarkable way the conditions described in the magazine article to which I have referred. Simple as it may sound, I think daily prayer in the homes of the nation would in a generation lift our heads above the flood that evidently is engulfing us.
I feel satisfied that there is no adequate substitute for the morning and evening practice of kneeling together before the Lord-father, mother, and children. The very practice of kneeling together with thankful hearts evaporates some of those qualities described by Paul: "Disobedient to parents, without natural affection."
There is something in the very posture of kneeling that contradicts some of the attitudes he noted: "Proud, heady, highminded."
The inclination to be unholy, as Paul described it, to be unthankful, is erased as together the family thank the Lord for life and peace and all they have. And as they thank the Lord for one another there is developed within the family a new appreciation, a new respect, a new affection one for another.
I know of nothing that will ease family tensions, that in a subtle way will bring about that respect for parents which leads to obedience, that will effect a spirit of repentance which will largely erase the blight of broken homes, than will praying together, verbally confessing our weaknesses before the Lord, and invoking the blessings of the Lord upon the home and those who dwell there.
In remembering together before the Lord the poor, the needy, and the oppressed there is developed, unconsciously but realistically, a love for others above self, a respect for others, a desire to serve the needs of others.
One cannot ask God to help a neighbor in distress, without feeling motivated to do something oneself. What miracles would happen in the lives of the children of America if they would lay aside their selfishness and lose themselves in the service of others. The seed from which this sheltering and fruitful tree may grow is best planted and nurtured in the daily supplications of the family.
I know of no better way to inculcate love for country than for parents to pray before their children for the land in which we live, invoking the blessings of the Almighty upon it that it may be preserved in liberty and in peace. I know of no better way to build within the hearts of our children a much-needed respect for authority than remembering in the daily supplications of the family the President and the Congress and others who carry the burdens of government.
On the route I travel daily is a signboard which reads: "A world at prayer is a world at peace." You have seen others like it. I believe it speaks a fundamental truth. I am satisfied that we shall not have peace unless and until we request it in the name of the Prince of Peace and then reform our lives to be worthy of it.
The hall from which I speak, the great Mormon Tabernacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, was constructed by a people who loved freedom, who worshipped God, and who prayed in their simple pioneer homes, as did most of the pioneers who laid the foundations of all that we in America today enjoy.
In 1872 Colonel Thomas L. Kane of Philadelphia visited Utah with his wife and two sons. They traveled by wagon some three hundred miles to the southern part of the state, stopping each night in the homes of the people in the little frontier settlements along the way. Mrs. Kane wrote a series of letters to her father in Philadelphia. In one of them she said: "At every one of the places we stayed on this journey we had prayers immediately after the dinner-supper, and prayers again before breakfast. No one was excused... The Mormons kneel at once. while the head of the household, or an honored guest prays aloud... They spend very little time in ascriptions, but ask for what they need, and thank Him for what He has given... take it for granted that God knows our familiar names and titles, and will ask a blessing on. I liked this when I became used to it."
It was so in the pioneer homes across the land. With the faith that came of these daily invocations these people grubbed the sagebrush, led the waters to the parched soil, made the desert blossom as the rose, governed their families in love, lived in peace one with another and with the world, and made their names immortal as they lost themselves in the service of God.
We cannot pray in our public schools, but we can pray in our homes, and in so doing we shall reweave into the character of our children the moral strength which will become the fiber of a better society. "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found".
This simple practice, a return to family worship, spreading across the land and over the earth, would in a generation do much to lift the blight that is destroying us. It would restore integrity, mutual respect, and a spirit of thankfulness in the hearts of the people.
We do not need a new moral standard in our modern society. The laws of God have not been abrogated. They were not given to one generation to be laid aside by another. Their disregard can result only in trouble, misery, and insecurity as witness the fruits of the erosion of morality among us. Their application is the way of life and peace and progress.
And so to you, who sit in your homes in this great land, established and preserved under the hand of the Almighty, I plead for a return to recognition of Him, and daily supplication to Him. The Master declared, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you".
I give you my testimony that you shall not go away unrewarded. The changes may not be readily apparent. They may be extremely subtle. But they will be real, for "God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him".
As we change ourselves and our children, developing within them a new respect, a spirit of gratitude, a becoming humility, we shall reform our society.
God bless us with the faith to call upon Him, at the altar of our homes, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Hugh B. Brown
Hugh B. Brown, Conference Report, October 1963, pp. 91-95
As one beholds the thousands who are assembled here and is aware that hundreds of thousands are listening by means of radio and television, the responsibility of directing the thinking of so vast an audience would be overwhelming were it not for the knowledge that divine assistance is available through prayers of faith.
During recent months, both in Salt Lake City and across the nation, considerable interest has been expressed in the position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the matter of civil rights. We would like it to be known that there is in this Church no doctrine, belief, or practice that is intended to deny the enjoyment of full civil rights by any person regardless of race, color, or creed.
We say again, as we have said many times before, that we believe that all men are the children of the same God, and that it is a moral evil for any person or group of persons to deny any human being the right to gainful employment, to full educational opportunity, and to every privilege of citizenship, just as it is a moral evil to deny him the right to worship according to the dictates of his own conscience.
We have consistently and persistently upheld the Constitution of the United States, and as far as we are concerned this means upholding the constitutional rights of every citizen of the United States.
We call upon all men, everywhere, both within and outside the Church, to commit themselves to the establishment of full civil equality for all of God's children. Anything less than this defeats our high ideal of the brotherhood of man.
Attending a Mormon conference is, no doubt, to some a new experience. Perhaps some may wonder, as did Nathanael in the days of Christ regarding Nazareth, and ask, "Can any good thing come out of 'Mormondom'?" For the moment we reply in the words of Philip, who simply said to Nathanael, "Come and see". We welcome all of you and hope the time you spend with us will be enlightening and profitable.
In this fantastically changing world, where old methods, old models, and old ideas are being replaced by new and revolutionary substitutes, it is well that church leaders everywhere reexamine and reappraise their creeds and courageously seek for the causes of the waning interest in religion.
We are passing through a period of radical intellectual reconstruction and spiritual unrest. We must think about religion in order to formulate an intellectual understanding of it. And intellectual understanding is just as needful in religion as anywhere else. We must not permit the surface of the waters of religious life to become fixed and crystallized by the freezing of religious thought.
For a moment may we consider the divine and historic basis of the Church of Jesus Christ, its present status, and its prophetic destiny.
On biblical authority we affirm that a divine plan for man's salvation was formulated by God the Father before the foundations of the earth were laid when all the sons of God shouted for joy at the prospect of mortality.
At a time far antedating Eden, the spirits of all men had a primeval existence and were intelligences with spirit bodies of which God was universal Father. In the Bible we read, "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto the God who gave it".
The Lord told Jeremiah that he knew him before his body was formed and sanctified him and ordained him a prophet unto the nations. And the Apostle Paul testified:
"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?".
During this antemortal existence in a council in the heavens with God the Father on the throne, there was one who challenged God, desiring to usurp his power and force all men to do his bidding. He coveted Godhood and said to the Father, "Give me thy glory". He would have had a dictatorship in heaven ruled by tyrants with all spirit children bondmen.
Chief among that vast assembly was Jehovah, the same who would become the Christ Child, the Redeemer. He was the Firstborn among the spirits, and by birthright was both heir and leader. He opposed the plot to rob men of their freedom and espoused the counter proposition with free agency as the watchword.
All who favored the Messiah would be given mortal bodies with the seeds of death implanted in them. They would have the right to choose their course in life and accept responsibility for their conduct. Their bodies would return to the dust from which they came. Through the voluntary atonement of Christ, a member of the Godhead, resurrection from the dead was guaranteed to all. Another blessing of mortality would be the Godlike power of procreation.
Against this plan the proud, defiant Lucifer led a great rebellion, and one-third of all the spirits followed him. John tells us in the book of Revelation:
"... there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
"And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
"And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him".
The Prophet Isaiah knew of this when he wrote:
"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
"For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
"I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High".
Adam, because of disobedience, was evicted from the Garden of Eden; the door was closed behind him and his posterity, and the tree of life was guarded by a flaming sword as we read in Genesis . Mortal birth erases recollection of that spiritual preexistence and the memory of premortal life is as a feeble echo, and yet, as we sometimes sing, "a secret something whispers you're a stranger here, and we feel that we have wandered from a more exalted sphere."
The fate of all seemed hopeless when sin and death joined hands to shut them out forever, and Satan leered in triumph at what seemed to be Christ's failure. Men had no power to conquer death, and without divine assistance would sleep forever in their graves.
The atonement was foreshadowed when Adam offered sacrifice, and each prophet who succeeded him was told about Christ's mission. The scene of battle shifted, but the war between good and evil still continues among the sons of men.
Christ had power to conquer death by himself becoming mortal. He would reach across the valley and build a straight and narrow highway by which men could pass from death to life. He built a bridge, one end of which was anchored in mortality and the other fixed in heaven. "... no man cometh unto the Father, but by me," he said; and again, "I am the way and the life."
So Christ was born in Bethlehem and entered the world of mortal men which Beelzebub had thought belonged to him alone. The battle lines were drawn again with the Messiah and the loyal sons of God on one side and Lucifer and his cohorts on the other.
At the moment of Christ's birth, Satan plotted his destruction and tried by force to thwart his divine mission. But the rule of force, so far as his Son was concerned, had been vetoed by the Father. The devil has always had willing tools on earth, and at this time Herod was his agent. He was cruel and wily like his master; he sought to kill the Christ Child, and in his slaughter of the infants, he set a new low mark for even Satan.
But this Babe of mortal mother was also the Son of God the Father and could not be defeated by mortal men or devils. Satan, failing in his vile attempt, cunningly decided to bide his time until the Child had grown to manhood, and then he hoped to win by artifice where force had failed him.
But here again Satan blundered in thinking Christ was only mortal. He thought his own power would more than equal that of his young opponent.
After forty days of fasting, Jesus met this wily tempter who suggested that he satisfy his hunger by making bread of stones and thus manifest his power. He tried to sow seeds of pride and arrogance, two vices of his own. But Christ disclaimed dependence upon bread alone. He lived "by every word proceeding from the mouth of God."
Having failed to make appetite and pride a strong temptation, Lucifer thought promise of power would be appealing-love of power, the very rock on which he himself had foundered. But Christ disdained this offer, too, and refused to flaunt his matchless power. The third and last attempt to lure him was to offer worldly wealth in exchange for his allegiance. And Satan heard the final words:
"... Get thee behind me, Satan".
Satan found his next ally among those who followed Jesus. Judas thought, like many since, that worldly wealth is gain, no matter how procured. He sold his Master for a price and transferred his allegiance for which he received full pay in Satan's coin of misery and death.
The fight went on, and Christ was crucified, but he was not defeated, for he held power over death. He yielded to physical death of his own volition that, dying, he might conquer death and thereby open the door which Adam had closed in Eden. But in death Christ was victorious, for he achieved the purpose of his earth life, viz., to break the bonds of death, to come forth from the grave and insure man's resurrection.
His little band of loyal followers continued faithful unto death, and death it was for most of them, including the apostles. Apostasy became universal, and Satan reveled throughout
But special messengers were sent to earth to effect a reformation and prepare the way for the final scene and the promised restoration.
The message of Mormonism is that the plan of salvation of which we've spoken is the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was taught in every dispensation from Adam to Malachi and reached its climax in the Meridian of Time when Christ was resurrected from the dead. From the beginning he had been the central figure of salvation's plan. The Jews had looked forward through the centuries to the coming of Messiah, to a deliverer of the line of David sent of God, but despite the prophecies and the signs that were given them, they failed to recognize, and therefore they rejected him when he came.
The same prophets who so accurately foretold the earthly advent of Messiah were also given visions and revelations regarding his second coming. Their warning messages are recorded in the Holy Bible, and they are the signs by which the people of the latter days might be forewarned and guided.
For instance, in Psalms we read that fire should devour before him, while Joel saw as signs of his coming that the moon should be darkened and the stars withdraw their shining. To Zachariah it was revealed that his feet should stand upon the Mount of Olives, which should cleave in the midst thereof toward the East and the West, and Malachi predicted that he would suddenly come to his temple and that he should be like a refiner's fire and like fuller's soap. Job referred to our day when he said:
"For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth".
While these and many other prophecies were made prior to the birth of Christ in Bethlehem, certainly most of the events to which they refer did not occur before his birth, nor were they fulfilled during his lifetime.
Many men have tried to appraise Christ since his transcendent ministry began. Their estimates of him have ranged from blasphemous denunciation to self-sacrificing worship. Some ask whether such a man ever really lived or was he just a myth; was he an opportunist, sentimentalist, or social revolutionist; or possibly a man of genius, a wise man, a doer of wonderful works, or a great teacher? But if we consult the men who were closest to him, the men who followed him onto the Mount of Transfiguration, we shall learn that he was "... the Christ, the Son of the living God". We ask each and all who are listening today to make his own appraisal of Jesus of Nazareth and determine whether or not he is the Christ, the Son of God. For ourselves we humbly bear witness to this transcendent fact. In the gospel of John he is referred to as the Word, who was with God in the beginning, who was God, by whom all things were made. He was the life and the light of men who was made flesh and dwelt among us.
The Apostle Paul declared:
"God...
"Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds".
And in the eighth verse of the same chapter he said:
"But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom".
It is doubtful if his divinity, his power, and his leadership were ever challenged with such audacity and ferocity as they are being challenged now. Never in history have the common people of the world felt the need of divine leadership as they feel it in this bewildered world. There never was a time which needed him more, as false ideologies and scientific miracles are leading the world to the brink of annihilation.
There are men and nations today who are attempting to displace God, to ban religion, and to make this a godless world. The present war between Christ and anti-Christ is in fulfillment
We plead with all Christians everywhere to attest their faith in him by keeping his commandments. His work of redemption is not complete nor will it be until his gospel is written in the lives and hearts of men. The fact that he was resurrected from the dead-the best attested fact in history-assures us that he still lives. He has promised that he will come again. All who read the prophecies of scripture and note the signs of our own times must be convinced that we are living in the last days, that the great events foretold by the prophets have been and are being enacted on the stage of contemporary history. Let us recognize in current events the portents, or prognosis of the great finale.
John, while on the Isle of Patmos, saw in vision things to come; heard ten thousand angels singing praises to the Son of God. And they joined with every creature in earth and heaven-all with one accord were saying:
"... Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever"
And he saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, saw him bring to earth the gospel for every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. He saw the lake without a bottom, and the dragon bound with chains, saw one thousand years of concord, peace, and rest. And he saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, with his earthly kingdom to be joined.
Then he saw the small and great ones stand before the throne of God to be judged out of the records, each according to his merits. Death and hell released their captives, and the sea gave up its dead , while the angels sang hosannah to the Prince of Peace, their Lord.
We bear humble testimony that Jesus of Nazareth is the Savior and Redeemer of the world and that he will return and reign personally upon the earth. At that time the people on the earth will join with the hosts of heaven and sing: "The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ." "And He shall reign for ever and ever, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords ". This testimony we bear to all the world in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Thorpe B. Isaacson
Thorpe B. Isaacson, Conference Report, October 1963, pp. 95-99
President McKay, our beloved President and God's choice prophet, President Brown, President Tanner, brethren of the General Authorities, my dear brothers and sisters and friends everywhere. One cannot stand at this pulpit without feeling humble and very dependent upon the Spirit of the Lord. I can assure you that much fasting and much praying precedes a general conference. I sincerely pray that what I might say will be helpful and I trust encouraging.
This beautiful choir this morning and every Sunday morning is a great pride and a blessing to the people of the Church and for the people of the world. What a great missionary group of wonderful people-these choir members and their officers and their choristers and organists. I am sure we little sense the great good that they are doing.
We all recognize that there are three important institutions that greatly affect the life of a boy, and when I use the term boy I should like to also have it understood that I include the girl. The home, the church, and the school-all are important, but perhaps not all in that order.
We recognize, however, that the home should be in first place and directly responsible for the welfare, the training, and the future of a boy. But what if the home fails, and what if the parents cannot succeed?
True, the church plays an important part in the life of a boy. Yet, we must recognize that the church has the boy under its jurisdiction but a very small percentage of his time, while the teacher and the school have a very close association with him. Perhaps more of the boy's time is spent with the teacher than that he spends in the home. Therefore, it might be said that the teacher and the school will play a bigger part in the welfare and the training and the character and the future of a boy than perhaps the home or the church.
Parents have such little time to spend with their boy. Parents take too little time with their boy; therefore, we should be more concerned than ever that he is properly taught, supervised, and disciplined while we are with him.
Now, teacher and school, I wonder if you are willing to assume the welfare and the training of the character of the boy, remembering that you have him under your direction more of his awake time than anybody else. So much depends upon you-the teacher and the school. Yes, parents expect the teachers and the school to make sure that their boy is properly taught, not alone that he is taught to read and write and the arts and the sciences, but that he is taught the fundamentals of life and the building of character. Some would say, "Yes, Teacher, his future depends largely on you." I wonder if you are willing to accept this responsibility?
Of late years we have had much said about the teacher and the school. Regardless of what may have been said, the fact still remains that the teacher has the association and the responsibility for a greater portion of his time than anybody else. Parents are justified in being anxious about their boy, and they are anxious that the teacher and the school give him everything that he needs. They are anxious that he is properly taught because his future life and how he conducts himself will in a large measure be the result of some teacher and the school.
Teachers, do you realize that the boys today under your direction may be the doctors of tomorrow, they may be the businessmen of tomorrow, they may be the teachers to take your place tomorrow, the legislators of tomorrow, the public office-holders, church leaders. Yes, they may be the men who may go to the moon; some may be great artists and authors. Some may be great industrial tycoons, and some may be the leaders America will need so badly to survive in this puzzled world. Yes, teacher, you have their future in your hands. Don't let any boy fail because of you, his teacher.
Great teachers are always underpaid. Probably it can never be said that a great teacher is paid enough, but a poor teacher is paid too much, regardless of what he is paid. Teachers, you may be underpaid; yes, you may be unappreciated at times, and you may be overworked, but you will gain that pay in secret satisfaction and blessings of God in heaven, and many boys will rise up and call you blessed.
Recently, I asked a beautiful little granddaughter, Becky, how she liked school, and she answered and said, "O Grandpa, it is the greatest! I love my teacher." I wonder what that is worth to a teacher. Certainly you teachers must be proud of your profession. Jesus was the greatest teacher of all, and what he taught lived long after him and still lives. May teachers teach those things that will live long after you! Yes, you should be proud of your profession. Many great men in America, many great men in this audience, men who are listening by television and radio, have been teachers. Our great prophet was a teacher; he has been a teacher; he is still a teacher. Certainly, teachers, you should be proud of your profession. Secretly, you must admit that you have the greatest job in all the world because you hold the history of the world in the palm of your hand-you are a teacher!
Many of us can and do constantly pay tribute to the teachers whom we were fortunate enough to have. As parents, taxpayers, and citizens, it might be well if we took a little more interest in our schools and in our boys and girls and extended greater appreciation for our teachers. It would be well if we never speak disparagingly about a teacher.
Teachers, make sure that you teach as you would like to mold. Teachers, be sure that you teach so that there will never be any justifiable reason to criticize your profession. Teachers, remember that there is a divine spark in every boy and girl that never goes out. You may help to kindle that spark. Children are like the flowers of God, and they must have time and room to bloom.
May I dedicate this to teachers, and when I speak of teachers I speak of them in the broadest sense because every one of us is a teacher-teachers by example and precept. I refer to parents, and I refer to teachers in the auxiliary organizations. I would like to include teachers in the elementary schools, high schools, public schools, colleges, and universities.
Teachers, into your hands we daily commit the dearest that we have. As you make our children, so shall future years see them, so be careful.
Teachers, may you have an abiding consciousness that you are co-workers with God, the great teacher of humanity, and that he has charged you with the great duty of bringing forth from the budding life of the young the mysterious stores of character and ability which he has hidden in them.
The miracles and teaching of the Man of Galilee are considered by many to be the brightest illumination of all that has come to bless man. He taught individual responsibility, and his parables concerned each person's fulfilling his own capacity.
In Proverbs 20, verse 27, I quote, "The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord". Teachers, remember to reverence the young lives, clean and plastic, which have newly come from God and to realize that generations still unborn will rue your sloth or rise to higher levels through your wisdom and faithfulness.
May God, the Father of us all, gird you for your work with his patience and tranquility, with great fatherly and motherly love for the young, and with special tenderness for the backward and the afflicted and the poor. Save them from trouble, from loneliness, and discouragement, from the numbness of routine, and from all bitterness of heart.
Here are some thoughts expressed to teachers, which might be said by all fathers and mothers to all teachers:
"To you the teacher and the school, my son will start school. It's all going to be so very strange and new to him for awhile, and I wish that you would sort of treat him gently.
"You see, up to now, my little boy has been the king of the roost. He's been boss of the back yard. His mother has always been around to repair his wounds, and I have always been handy to soothe his feelings. Now things are going to be different.
"This morning he is going to walk down the front steps, he is going to wave his hand to his mother, and he is going to start out on a great adventure. This is an adventure that will probably include much tragedy and sorrow and disappointment.
"Our boy will have to live his life with you and with the world that he now has to live in. It will require faith and love and courage. So teacher and school and world, I wish you would sort of take him by his young hand and teach him the things that he ought to know, but be careful with him.
"Please teach him, but gently, if you can. He will have to learn, I know, that all men are not just, and all men are not true, but please teach him that for every scoundrel there is a hero, and for every disloyal politician, there is a dedicated public leader. Let him understand, teacher, that you are one of those dedicated leaders. Teach him that for every enemy he may have, there will be wonderful friends, and teach him that you are that wonderful friend.
"It will take time, teacher, school, and world, I know, but teach him, if you can, that a nickel earned is far more valuable than a dollar found. Teach him to learn to lose but also teach him to enjoy winning. Steer him away from envy if you can, and teach him the secret of quiet laughter.
"Let him learn early that the bullies are the easiest people to lick. Teach him, if you can, the wonder and greatness of good books. But also give him quiet time to ponder the eternal mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun, and flowers on the green hill.
"In school-teacher and world-teach him it is far more honorable to fail than to cheat. Teach him to be honest. Teach him to have faith in his own ideas even if others tell him that his ideas are wrong. Teach him to be gentle with gentle people, but teach him to be tough with tough people.
"Try to give my son the strength not to follow the crowd just because everyone is getting on the band wagon. Teach him to listen to all men, and then teach him also to filter and separate all he hears on the screen of truth and take only the good part that comes through. Teach him to choose that which will be good.
"Teach him if you can how to laugh when he is sad. Teach him there is no shame in tears. There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, deep contrition, and unspeakable love, and when tears course down his cheek for any of these three causes, remember he is standing close in the presence of God.
"Teach him to work and study. Let him know that the price of success is high, but not nearly so high as the price of failure. Teach him there can be glory in failure, but also teach him there can be despair in success.
Teach him to scoff at cynics and to beware of too much sweetness. Teach him to sell his brawn and his brains to the highest bidder but never to put a price tag on his heart and his soul.
"Teach him to close his ears to the howling mob. Teach him to stand and fight if he thinks he is right. Treat him gently, teacher and world, but don't coddle him because only the test of fire makes fine steel. Abraham Lincoln once said, `to sin in silence when protest is good makes cowards out of men.'
"Let him have the courage to be impatient, but let him have the patience to be brave. Teach him always to have sublime faith in himself and complete faith in God. Do you mean to say this is teaching religion? Why, this is teaching truth, because then he will always have sublime faith in mankind. And teach him to love his fellow men.
"This is a big order, teacher and world, but see what you can do for my little boy. He is such a nice fellow-my son!"
God bless all teachers, that parents and sons and daughters will not be disappointed in you, and that you will be able to lift them to the highest level. Yes, even beyond their own natural abilities. That is real teaching. May God reward teachers with the glad sense of their eternal worth as teachers.
O Lord, in the heat of day, show them the spring by the wayside that flows from the eternal silence of God and gives new light to all who drink of it. May God give you teachers the brave heart to teach what is true, even to your own hurt, following in the footsteps of the great Creator of our life, Jesus Christ, the Savior.
I bear testimony to you that God is our Father, that we can partake of his Spirit, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that the gospel is the greatest power in the earth. This testimony I bear to all men everywhere regardless of your station in life. I pray that you can understand the restoration of the gospel because if it is made a part of your life, and if you can realize it and accept it, that God still governs in the affairs of men-I bear testimony to you that if you will accept that, you will have more peace and comfort from this source than from any other source in the world.
Yes, I love to bear testimony to you that President McKay is a prophet and that this Church is led by divine guidance by this great prophet. I bear testimony to you that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God, called of God as his mouthpiece to bring forth the restored gospel in this day and age. I plead with you, my friends, to accept the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I promise you in the name of the Lord that it will bring you more happiness, more satisfaction, and more peace of mind than you have ever known in your life. It will help you solve your problems. It will help you carry your burdens. It will help you make for you and your family a new and better life. I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Howard W. Hunter
Howard W. Hunter, Conference Report, October 1963, pp. 99-101
As one turns the pages of the Old Testament, there appear the writings of great men of ages past who are referred to as the prophets. The books of the New Testament contain, among other things, the writings, teachings, and history of men of a later dispensation, who have been designated as prophets. We also have the record of the prophets of the western part of the world, who raised their voices, proclaiming the word of the Lord, protesting unrighteousness, and teaching the principles of the gospel. All of these have left their witness.
A prophet is one who has been called and raised up by the Lord to further God's purposes among his children. He is one who has received the priesthood and speaks with authority. Prophets are teachers and defenders of the gospel. They bear witness of the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Prophets have foretold future happenings, but this is not the most important of their responsibilities, although it may be some evidence of prophetic power.
Righteous leadership has been needed in each dispensation of time, and God chose prophets for this purpose long before they came to this mortal existence. We remember the Lord spoke to Abraham and showed him the intelligences which existed before the earth was created and said: "... Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born".
In speaking to Jeremiah the Lord said: "... before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations".
After the formation of the earth and the creation of man, Adam became the patriarch to the human family and the first prophet. He previously sat in the council that planned the creation of the earth and participated under Christ in the execution of the prearrangement. According to the plan, the fall of Adam from immortality created the condition by which all men may be saved from mortal death and live again by reason of the atoning sacrifice of Christ. In spite of the teachings of Adam, people turned from righteousness.
In the seventh generation a dispensation was given to Enoch. God called him to prophesy unto the people and call them to repentance. He went forth in the land among the people and cried with a loud voice against their iniquities. Enoch understood the doctrine of the fall and the atonement and taught the gospel as it had been given to Adam. He gathered a great multitude of people into a city known as the City of Holiness, which, because of the righteousness of the people, was lifted from the earth.
Corruption soon filled the earth again and God raised up Noah as a prophet to teach the gospel.
"And it came to pass that Noah called upon the children of men that they should repent; but they hearkened not unto his words".
The Lord then caused the earth to be covered by water, destroying the wicked population except the family of Noah, and Noah became the prophet to a new generation, holding the keys of the priesthood.
As we continue to trace history, we come to another period when apostasy swept over the peoples of the earth. God spoke to Abraham, a follower of righteousness and revealed many things through him for the benefit of mankind-the order of the priesthood, a knowledge of the planets in the universe, a vision of the council in heaven before the creation of the earth, and the plan of salvation.
Again the people turned to darkness rather than light. Moses was chosen to lead the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. On Mt. Sinai, during the migration to the land of promise, he was given the Ten Commandments for the benefit of his people. In spite of his labors to teach them the gospel, they failed to take heed, so the Lord, through this great prophet, gave them what has been known as the Law of Moses or the Law of Carnal Commandments.
The western world was not without its prophets. From the writings of Ether in the Book of Mormon, we read of the appearance of the Lord to the brother of Jared. As this people ceased to serve the Lord and deteriorated into unfaithfulness, the prophet Lehi was instructed to bring his family to these shores, and a new gospel dispensation was established. The history of his descendants is a series of leadership under great prophets, but as the people ceased to obey their counsel, the Lord withdrew his Spirit from them, and the race was destroyed.
John the Baptist was the forerunner of Christ and proclaimed the same gospel ordinances which had been instituted for the salvation of man before the world n as created and which had been taught by the prophets. Then came the Master in the Meridian of Time, fulfilling that which had been spoken by Adam and each of the prophets since his time. The Son of God, the Savior of the world, was born into mortality. Jesus was "God manifest in the flesh". He taught by precept and lived the perfect life. He made the atonement for sin and gave his life that all mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel. The Twelve Apostles were the personal witnesses of Christ, but after the death of the last of them, there was a falling away. The priesthood was lost to the world, and there was total spiritual darkness. This condition had been foretold by the ancient prophets.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century there had been no revelation for seventeen hundred years. There had been no heavenly appearances or scripture during that time and the world was in a chaotic religious state. Many times the gospel had been given to the world through the prophets, and each time was lost because of disobedience. In the year 1820 the silence was broken, and the Lord again appeared to a prophet. This prophet, Joseph Smith, could testify of his own positive knowledge that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, a Resurrected Being, separate and distinct from the Father. He did not testify as to what he believed or what he or others thought or conjectured, but of what he knew. This knowledge came to him because God the Father and the Son appeared to him in person and spoke to him. Through him and by subsequent events the priesthood and the gospel in its fulness were once more restored to the earth, never again to be removed. The Church of Christ, the kingdom of God on earth, was reestablished and destined, according to scripture, to roll forth and fill the whole earth. Since the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith, each succeeding President of the Church has been sustained as a prophet of the Lord, and there is a living prophet on the earth today.
To peoples of past dispensations and ages, the most important prophet was the one then living, teaching, and revealing the will of the Lord in their time. In each of the past dispensations, prophets have been raised up by the Lord as his spokesmen to the people of that particular age and for the specific problems of that age.
It is the present living prophet who is our leader, our teacher. It is from him we take direction in the modern world. From all corners of the earth, we who sustain him as a prophet of the Lord, express our appreciation for this source of divine guidance. We are grateful for his life, his example, his teachings, his leadership. Ninety years of faith and devotion! His faith has not stood alone but has borne fruit all over the world. If he is tested by the fruits of faith as spelled out in the New Testament, we will find that his life is a manifestation of each of them and can be described by that chain of "linked graces" enumerated in the Second Epistle of the Apostle Peter.
To faith he added virtue. His life demonstrates manly strength, courage, and moral excellence, measured not by his extraordinary efforts, but by his everyday conduct.
To virtue he added knowledge. Since early boyhood he has been a student and a teacher, in both the formal pursuits of education and in the great school of life. His experience, practical skill, understanding, clear perception of truth, knowledge of God and the divine nature of man, distinguish him from other men of the world.
To knowledge he added temperance. He is the master of himself yet submissive to the will of God. He demonstrates self-control and moderation in all things.
And to temperance, patience! There are often occurrences which are apt to harass the temper, but in his sweet, kindly way, he regards them with calm endurance.
And to patience he added godliness. One who works closely with him has said, "There is a spirituality radiating from him that is ofttimes felt by even the stranger who visits him. He keeps himself spiritually tuned to heavenly things." His thoughts, his writings, his teaching, his very appearance indicate the presence of God in his life.
And to godliness he added brotherly kindness. The story is told of a conference concerning a difficult problem when he said, "Human hearts are very tender, and human lives are very precious. Let's solve this problem without hurting a very tender heart."
And to brotherly kindness he added charity. He has a Christian love for all men because they are the sons of God. He is kind, forgiving, and compassionate.
All these things are in him and abound and make him neither barren nor unfruitful. They distinguish him as a prophet of the Lord-our President, David O. McKay.
As the prophets from the beginning to the present day pass in review before our memory, we become aware of the great blessing which comes to us from the influence of a living prophet. History should teach us that unless we are willing to heed the warnings and follow the teachings of a prophet of the Lord, we will be subject to the judgments of God.
I bear witness that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that there is a living prophet of God on the earth today, whom I sustain with all my heart. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop Robert L. Simpson
Robert L. Simpson, Conference Report, October 1963, pp. 102-104
My brothers and sisters, true greatness has a habit of surviving the years. I am certain that every member of the Church has thrilled to the words of a stalwart young man of Aaronic Priesthood age who lived approximately twenty-six hundred years ago. When faced with a difficult situation, he said, "I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them".
This young man, destined to become a great prophet, had a most important quality. He had courage, courage to stand on his own two feet rather than follow the so-called easier way-the more popular way-the beckoning of the crowd, in this case his own brothers.
Let us quickly span twenty-six hundred years and review a story of Aaronic Priesthood courage in our day, 1963. My heart was touched just last month as I had the privilege of reading an excerpt from a serviceman's letter to his parents. Apparently, his training instructor had made it a habit of starting each day's discussion with a few off-color stories.
One morning, quite by surprise, the instructor asked if anyone objected to a couple of "good" stories before starting the day's instruction. This young Mormon boy said that almost as though he had been ejected from his seat by an unseen power, he shot up and said, "Yes, sir, I object."
After a long stony silence, the instructor said, "Are there any others?" You can imagine the feelings of this boy's heart as one by one another dozen or so young army recruits stood in defense of what they really believed. Those standing were invited to leave the class, and then halfway out, they were called back with a comment from the instructor, "I guess we can skip the stories this morning."
Wouldn't you like the privilege of shaking hands with that kind of Aaronic Priesthood courage? Isn't it gratifying to know that you don't have to turn the pages of history back twenty-six hundred years to find the courage of a Nephi or a Daniel in the lions' den or a David meeting Goliath? And isn't it also gratifying to know that for every courageous heart with a fortitude to stand up and be counted, there will be a host of others willing to rally to the cause of truth and right?
Perhaps there might be a high school student within sound of my voice who finds himself at the crossroads of decision today; whose circle of closest friends fail to live by the rules of conduct that he or she knows to be right. Might these so-called friends be urging you to take one more step away from all that you believe in, all that is sacred? Could these be the same first easy steps taken by a teenage boy recently who stated to a juvenile judge, "I just didn't realize it was happening-it was so gradual"; or the girl who pleaded, "I wanted so much to be popular with the others-and I was so wrong."
How grateful we can be that these young people had the courage to recognize their misdirection-and then even more courage to do what needed to be done in realigning their lives to correct standards.
Now, courage is an easy word to say. To be effective, there must be action-just like our serviceman a moment ago-positive action in the right direction which can only happen when that courage is inspired through positive, proper motivation.
Now, join with me, young people, through a thought sequence which should prove helpful to serious-minded church members as a basis for motivation in the right direction:
First, let us reconfirm in our minds that there is a Heavenly Father, that he is the Creator of heaven and earth and directs all that we survey.
Second, let us be assured that his house is a house of order, even to the extent that you and I have come to mortality now, in this day, by specific assignment for a real purpose.
Have you ever asked yourself the question, "Why wasn't I born two hundred years ago, or a thousand years ago?" There is only one reason, young people, because the Lord wanted you born now, in this important day.
Step No. 3, can we know for assurance that a young boy knelt in a grove of trees in the year 1820 and there received a personal visitation from God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ? Have you read the Joseph Smith story lately, with a real desire to know its truthfulness?
The fourth step: Why are you a member of this Church and kingdom? Could this be by chance? By your selection only? The Savior has this to say in the fifteenth chapter of John: "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you".
As surely as we meet in this historic tabernacle, I know that foreordination is a real part of the plan-we have a responsibility-a divine commission, if you please, conferred prior to mortal existence that can neither be disregarded nor taken lightly without far-reaching consequences.
The fifth and final point I suggest is that the Lord has given us a most precious gift that we call free agency. And after all is said and done, the final decision is ours with regard to our talents, our divine commission, our choice between left or right, right or wrong.
Youth of Zion, do you have the courage to do right? I sometimes wonder how we could have the courage to do anything but right if we really believe in the foregoing steps of logic. Let us just enumerate them again briefly:
1. God lives. 2. His house is a house of order. 3. The heavens have been opened and remain open today. 4. We are here by appointment, by foreordination. 5. And finally, the choice is ours as to what we do about it.
Now not only do we need courage in choosing our way, but we also need help. The best source of help is from those who love us. I would like to reconfirm a truth that has been spoken from this pulpit many times, that no one loves us like our parents, like our bishop, like our Heavenly Father. May we always seek our counsel and guidance from these three sources.
Youth is energetic; youth is aggressive. The mind of youth is inquisitive, sometimes beyond sound judgment which often leads us into dangerous territory. The Prophet Joseph Smith had this to say to Martin Harris in kindly reprimand: "When a man designedly provokes a serpent to bite him, the principle is the same as when a man drinks deadly poison, knowing it to be such. In that case, no man has any claim on the promises of God to be healed." By the same token, can we expect the protection we need when we knowingly step beyond the limits of good judgment? Moroni's reiteration of Mormon's teachings gives us the key for keeping a solid footing.
"For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.
"But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him", italics added).
Yes, youth of Zion, history is still being made, and whether you like it or not, you have a hand in it. You will need courage and lots of it. You will need the help of those who love you and the support of loyal friends, real friends, friends who would encourage you in "every thing which inviteth to do good," as stated by Moroni.
Now in conclusion, may I suggest that this Church is not idly named. We are The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These are the latter days; this is the final dispensation of time, and the programs of the Church are all moving toward a sort of finalization or culmination. There is an urgency as never before about what needs to be done; and be sure of this, what needs to be done will be done on schedule, we hope by those initially foreordained to the task. But just as surely as night follows the day, if we choose not to accept our station, or if we grow weary along the way, placing less important things first, there will be substitutes raised to take our place, that the Lord's time-plan and ultimate purposes will not be thwarted.
Youth of Zion, stand up and be counted, have the courage of your convictions, and whatever you do, don't allow someone else to be a substitute for you in the kingdom of your Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Harold B. Lee
Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, October 1963, pp. 104-108
I seek earnestly for the Spirit of the Lord by which, hopefully, my humble message might be carried by the power of the Holy Ghost into the hearts of those who may listen this morning.
A few years ago I was touring the North Central States Mission, and in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, a father and a daughter sought me for an interview following the conference sessions. He explained that in his younger years he had joined a church which did not baptize by immersion. Because of his certainty as he studied the scriptures that immersion was the only true mode of baptism, he later joined a church where he was baptized by immersion. And then he had an uncle who belonged to a church who taught that everything in all other churches was evil. He decided to join the church of his uncle.
Later a friend told him about a universal church. It had no organization, needed no authoritative priesthood, no rituals. They had no buildings, they had nebulous formula: "Believe and be saved." And so he joined with this friend.
Recently his daughter had gone to a Bible class, following her school years, and had been graduated just a few days before as an honor student. And in the concluding session the minister who had conducted the course had asked them for any expressions or questions. This bright young honor student began to ask some of the questions that two Latter-day Saint elders, who had been coming to their home, had been asking. The minister became confused and very angry, and in a rebuke he said if she had learned as she should have learned in the course she wouldn't be asking such foolish questions.
They were now being taught by two of our missionaries in the fundamental doctrines of the Church, and he said to me after this brief introduction: "This time, if I join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I don't want to make another mistake. How can I be sure?"
I explained the only way to a convincing assurance by quoting the words of Moroni: "... 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". Having quoted that, I then said, "Now I might enumerate some of the outward evidences by which one might recognize the divine Church."
The name of the Church itself is significant in one's search for the true Church. When the Master was asked by his disciples by that name his Church should be called, he answered: "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".
In our day, by revelation, the Lord has clearly declared the correct name, I told him: "For thus shall my church be called in the last days, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints", thus distinguishing this dispensation from former-day Saints, affixed to the name of the Church of Jesus Christ.
But then I reminded him that even though it bears the Master's name, there must be coupled with the name of the Savior, Jesus Christ, another vital essential in the true Church. After the Master had explained the name by which his Church should be named, he added, "... but if it he called in my name then it is my church, if it so be that they are built upon my gospel".
And then I asked him in turn, what is his gospel? The Lord has said in revelation: "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".
In modern revelation the true Church has been defined as the Church having the authority to confer the Holy Ghost, even the gift of the Holy Ghost which gives to those who make themselves worthy, the right to have all peaceable things of the kingdom revealed to them. This makes clear the meaning of the explanation made by the Prophet Joseph when asked by a President of the United States, "How is your church different from all the other churches?" The Prophet Joseph Smith answered in one significant statement, "We are different from all other churches because we have the Holy Ghost"; in other words, meaning that the principle of continuous revelation by the power of the Holy Ghost is a prime requisite for the true Church.
Paul the apostle I reminded him, made a clear observation in two statements relative to the essentials of the Church. "Know ye not," the Apostle Paul asked, "that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
"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.
"For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection".
And then he wrote to the Galatians: "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 bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
"And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise".
I told our friend that the true Church was to be patterned after the Master's organization, in the which the Apostle Paul has said we must not be "... strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints..." And the Church must be "... built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone".
There were other specific signs which the Master said would follow the believers in his Church. "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved...
"And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
"They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them: they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover".
I reminded him that there was a need for authority which cannot be just assumed, merely, but must be conferred in the Lord's own way as the Apostle Paul said, "And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron". This, the Prophet Joseph Smith made plainer when he said, "We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands, by those who are in authority to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof".
And then there was a never, never failing evidence, which might be shocking to him, which evidences the divinity of the true Church. The Master said, in almost his closing remarks to his disciples:
"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".
And the opposite of that the Master warned: "Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets".
Our missionaries are finding thousands each year who are in a state of inquiry and uncertainty as were our friend and his daughter in South Dakota. They bear witness that all these outward evidences of the true Church are readily discernible. They further point out the witness of the Holy Ghost by which all may know the truth of all things.
A short while ago in Philadelphia I was handed a clipping from a Philadelphia newspaper reporting a statement made by the Associate Secretary General of the State of Churches of the Assembly of National Churches representing thirty denominations. The article was entitled "Drift from God in Churches." I shall read but a few sentences:
"American churches in many cases were described today as being too 'public relations conscious'-more eager to please the crowd than to please God."
* * * * *
"Many churches, yielding to secular practice have become public relations conscious. There is as much if not more concern for the attractiveness of the package and the effectiveness of the marketing techniques than for the quality of the product."
* * * * *
"Modern churches too often have put the accent on secular yardsticks of success-size, statistics and outward attractiveness-rather than spiritual dedication."
* * * * *
"Many congregations would rather have a minister who is a 'good administrator and promoter' than one who is 'a loyal and humble disciple of Jesus Christ, a thinker and a fearless prophet of the sovereign and redeeming Lord.'"
* * * * *
"Too many people speak vaguely of the need of `faith and religion' rather than of the real need-of God, of a `return to the Father.'"
* * * * *
Then I picked up a clipping also while I was in Philadelphia about a year ago from Dr. Henry P. Van Dusen, president of the Union Theological Seminary, in which he said this, as quoted in the paper:
"A sharp and strange contrast between the upsurge of religion and a decline in morality was noted by Dr. Henry P. Van Dusen...
"It is a disturbing, confounding contradiction that the revival of religion has no parallel resurgence in morality. If the complex and illusive data could be plotted on a graph, it would show curves of religious vitality and of moral health moving in opposite directions.
"Thus far, the return to religion in our day has produced no corresponding moral fruitage. It raises the question as to the quality and worth of the religion.
"Either there will be moral revival flowering from religious revival, or the latter will fritter into futility. And our final state will be a religious sterility to match the moral anarchy.
"Interest in religion appears to be at an all-time high, with church membership over 100 million, but delinquency, immorality, and social confusion also are at peaks."
As I made note of those articles I thought to myself, it is time for us to make a critical self-analysis of ourselves to see how much of this applies to us as a Church and to us as individuals.
President Wilford Woodruff said something: "The trouble with the Latter-day Saints, we spend too much time confessing the other fellow's sins."
Nephi the prophet warned about this as he predicted about our day. "Wo unto them that turn aside the just for a thing of naught and revile against that which is good, and say that is of no worth!". Obviously this was intended for those in Zion or for the pure in heart of the Church.
"For behold, at that day," Nephi said, "shall he rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good.
"And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well-and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell".
And then he warns, "Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!".
"Cursed is he," Nephi again said, "that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men, save their precepts shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost".
Moroni finished the record of his father Mormon and then added some inspired observations of his own concerning "... things... which must shortly come ... when these things shall come forth among you." Now that means our day. This is what he said: He said, "Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing".
You remember what the Master said, the devil shall rage in the hearts of men even so much that if it were possible the very elect would be deceived. This is what Moroni said: "And I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and there are none save a few only who do not lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts, unto the wearing of very fine apparel, unto envying, and strifes, and malice, and persecutions, and all manner of iniquities; and your churches, yea, even every one, have become polluted because of the pride of your hearts.
"For behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted".
As I read that, I thanked the Lord that for a quarter of a century in our life-time the Church has, through the welfare program, sought to place the proper emphasis where the Lord has placed it, by putting foremost the love of the poor and the needy.
One of the first revelations the Lord said in our day: "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, and to be a messenger before my face to prepare the way before me".
"But" the Lord said, "there is a possibility that man may fall from grace and depart from the living God."
Mark that, you who come in as converts to the Church! "Therefore let the church take heed and pray always, lest they fall into temptation;
"Yea, and even let those who are sanctified take heed also".
The more complicated our lives and world conditions become, the more important it is for us to keep clear the purposes and principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is not the function of religion to answer all the questions about God's moral government of the universe, but to give one courage, through faith, to go on in the face of questions he never finds the answer to in his present status.
It was the wise counsel of a thinker who said: "If the time comes when you can no longer hold to your faith, then hold to it anyway. You cannot go into tomorrow's uncertainty and dangers without faith."
Let parents and leaders and church members generally, and hopefully our nonmember friends and relatives take heed of the counsels repeatedly given from our leaders. Allow time to meditate and ponder the things pertaining to our ministry. Live that we might be responsive to divine direction. Let me again, as I close, repeat what I have quoted before from a revelation of the Lord. "Search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good, if ye walk uprightly before the Lord and keep the covenant wherewith ye have covenanted one with another". This I pray humbly we may all do in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.
Elder Delbert L. Stapley
Delbert L. Stapley, Conference Report, October 1963, pp. 109-114
My brothers and sisters and friends:
Because of disturbing trends and alarming conditions in this country of ours which are of great concern to every loyal, patriotic citizen, I desire to draw related analogies between the nation of ancient Israel and our own nation in the light of the revelations of Almighty God concerning both nations.
To each nation, God gave promises of blessings or cursings, depending upon the faithfulness of the people. In all the recorded history of man upon the earth, the God of heaven has established only two nations with basic divine purposes. One is the nation of Israel which the Lord by his mighty power led out of Egypt under the guidance of his prophet Moses.
The other nation is the United States of America. Prophets in early times foretold the events leading to the establishment of this mighty gentile nation and its promised destiny among the nations of the earth-if its people are faithful in keeping the commandments of God.
Moses counseled the newborn nation of Israel to serve the Lord and to keep his laws and statutes. He informed them of God's plans and purposes concerning his chosen people and also outlined his promises for faithful obedience to his laws and commandments and the cursings which would befall them if they became disobedient and sinful.
From Deuteronomy, I quote the following teachings and admonitions of Moses to the children of Israel:
"Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse;
"A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God...
"And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out of the way... to go after other gods, which ye have not known".
"And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
"And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath".
Regardless of the many prophets, Israel was periodically blessed with following the death of the great lawgiver, Moses, the continued disobedience and the contentions among its tribes not only divided them as a people but also destroyed them as a nation; and true to his warning, God scattered Israel among all the nations of the earth.
With these few pronouncements of God to Israel in mind, I turn to the second nation of destiny, the United States of America-a nation established by God in these latter days in fulfillment of prophecy, with wonderful promises for obedience to the commandments of the Lord and cursing if it fails to keep his commandments.
There were two groups of people before the time of Christ who were led away from eastern lands by the Lord to the Americas, and they became, in time, quite numerous. Eventually, however, because of disobedience and wickedness, they were destroyed, except a remnant of the second group who are the progenitors of the American Indian. These two migrations of people to the Americas received knowledge by revelation through their prophets concerning a powerful gentile nation which was to be established in the latter days upon this land by the hand of God.
Now let us briefly examine the revelations and prophecies as recorded in the Book of Mormon, foretelling America's discovery, its peopling from the European gentile nations, the events leading to the break with Great Britain, the Revolutionary War which secured independence for the colonies from the tyranny of oppression of an unjust king and nation. An angel showed to Nephi, an American prophet who lived about six hundred years before Christ, the many waters which separated the gentile nations from the seed of his brethren. He recorded this vision as follows:
"And it came to pass that the angel said unto me: Behold the wrath of God is upon the seed of thy brethren.
"And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and... the Spirit of God... 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... I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the many waters.
"And... I beheld many multitudes of the Gentiles upon the land of promise...
"And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance...
"And... the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was with them.
"And I beheld that their mother Gentiles were gathered together upon the waters, and upon the land also, to battle against them.
"And I beheld that the power of God was with them, and also that the wrath of God was upon all those that were gathered together against them to battle.
"And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity were delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations.
"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that they did prosper in the land".
From your knowledge of early American history, you will recognize Columbus as the man who went forth upon the many waters and discovered the Americas. The other facts of this prophecy and its fulfillment are also known to you from America's recorded history. This same prophet, speaking of the house of Israel being scattered and confounded, predicted:
"... that the Lord God will raise up a mighty nation among the Gentiles, yea, even upon the face of this land".
Lehi, the father of Nephi, and himself a prophet, speaking to his descendants and followers, declared that the land of America is a land of promise, choice above all other lands.
"Wherefore, I, Lehi, prophesy according to the workings of the Spirit which is in me, that there shall none come into this land save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord.
"Wherefore, this land is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound cursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed forever".
Jacob, the brother of Nephi, in an inspirational discourse to his people, reaffirmed the Lord's promises to the gentiles upon this land. He declared:
"... the promises of the Lord are great unto the Gentiles...
"... 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".
During the Savior's visit to the Nephites in the Americas after his resurrection and ascension to glory, he, speaking of the gentiles upon this land, promised that he would pour out the Holy Ghost upon the gentiles, "which blessing upon the Gentiles shall make them mighty above all".
When God confounded the language of the people at the tower of Babel, he separated a group known as the Jaredites, and under the direction of a prophet, led them to the land of the Americas. He revealed to this ancient prophet:
"Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written".
The Lord also emphasized to this early prophet that whatsoever nation shall possess this land of promise shall serve God or they shall be swept off when the fulness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fulness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity. "This," said the prophet, "is an everlasting decree of God".
Thus, from ancient American prophets, we learn that this United States of America was established by God for a divine purpose, and that great blessings, which all must admit, as we review the history of this nation, have so far been literally fulfilled; yet the fulfillment of future promise of blessings is conditional upon the continued righteousness of its people. A great challenge is presented to the citizens of this land if God is to be on our side and give us power as a nation to overcome our enemies and not be brought down into captivity.
This nation did not come into being by chance. God declared that the gentiles who came here were to be brought out of captivity by his hand. The prophecies previously quoted concerning the establishment of this nation have been fulfilled to the letter. The people coming here in the beginning did so to find religious freedom. Nevertheless, they were subjected to tyrannical rule, unjust demands, and no representation. They had lost the opportunities, the privileges, the religious freedom and liberty which impelled them to settle in this new land. The colonists became an aroused group because of oppression; therefore, the time had arrived in the economy of God for the people to break off the yoke of domination which subjected them to these unjust and intolerable conditions. The Lord, knowing beforehand the events which would set the pattern for independence, raised up strong and valiant men to meet this hour of crisis and challenge. The Declaration of Independence came from a determined people. The successful Revolutionary War which followed united the colonies; and the gentile nation of destiny and of divine purpose, as foretold by the prophets, was born. A Constitution was needed to set forth the purposes, obligations, and the guide lines for the new nation. God was prepared and ready and did not neglect this newborn nation which he had ordained to be established thousands of years previously.
I now turn to latter-day scripture to substantiate this statement, which revelations are not only important for Latter-day Saints to know and understand, but also for the entire citizenry of this favored country. The Lord, through the Prophet Joseph Smith in December of 1833, counseled in the midst of their afflictions that "the Saints should continue to importune for redress, and redemption, by the hands of those who are placed as rulers and are in authority over you-
"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".
God gave the men chosen to formulate the Constitution the inspiration of heaven to guide them. It becomes, therefore, an enduring document for this nation. It is not the prerogative of man to change its basic and fundamental principles and concepts.
The dynamic statesman, Daniel Webster, in his last public address before the New, York Historical Society in 1852, said:
Unborn ages and visions of glory crowned upon my soul, the realization of all which, however, is in the hands good pleasure of Almighty God; but, under His divine blessing, it will be dependent on the character and the virtues of ourselves, and of our posterity.
"And let me say, gentlemen, that if we and our posterity shall be true to the Christian religion-if we and they shall live always in the fear of God, and shall respect His commandments-if we and they shall maintain just, moral sentiments, and such conscientious convictions of duty as shall control the heart and life-we may have the highest hopes of the future fortunes of our country, and if we maintain those institutions of government and that political union, exceeding all praise as much as it exceeds all former examples of political associations, we may be sure of one thing-that, while our country furnishes materials for a thousand masters of historic art, it will afford no topic for a Gibbon. It will have no decline and fall. It will go on prospering and to prosper.
"But if we and our posterity reject religious instruction and authority, violate the rules of eternal justice, trifle with the injunctions of morality, and recklessly destroy the political constitution which holds us together, no man can tell how sudden the catastrophe may overwhelm us, that shall bury all our glory in profound obscurity."
How applicable today are these splendid sentiments and warnings by this valiant statesman and patriot!
When God established the nation of Israel, he gave them the Ten Commandments, written on tablets of stone by his own finger. Man, through the centuries, has not altered or changed the Ten Commandments. The Constitution of this nation was not written on tablets of stone like unto Israel, but wise men were raised up and inspired for the important task of writing a constitution of government which guaranteed the God-given rights of free men.
In the revelation to Joseph Smith previously quoted, he was told that the Constitution should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles, that it is not right for man to be in bondage one to another. It guarantees what God has always bestowed upon his children-the rights, privileges, and honor of a free people. So important is this latter-day gentile nation established by God that he required the land to be redeemed by the shedding of blood. The blood of the Revolutionary patriots was freely spilled upon the field of battle to insure independence and to redeem the land and make it sacred to those who possessed it. When the North and South became divided over state rights which included slavery, it was most important in the plan for this nation that it remain united and strong. Only by so doing could the nation fulfil its destiny and God's purposes and work. The Civil War resulted in the death and misery of many souls, and thus for the second time the land was redeemed by the shedding of blood.
Truly, God rules in the affairs of men and nations. This nation has always been a beacon light to the world, exemplifying the principles of democracy, freedom, opportunity, achievement, and happiness. It now wields tremendous influence and power in the affairs of men and will continue to do so according to the promise of God as long as the people of the land serve the God of the land who is Jesus Christ.
The Constitution made provision for an expanded nation, but the founding fathers and God had no thought of changing or altering its basic principles, rules, and concepts.
President Woodrow Wilson defined the Constitution of the United States as "Not being a mere lawyer's document. It is," said he, "a vehicle of life, and its spirit is always the spirit of the age. The explicitly granted powers of the Constitution are what they always were; but the powers drawn from it by implication have grown and multiplied beyond all expectation."
To interpret this valued document understandingly, we need to remember the conditions and circumstances which confronted the founding fathers, who, under the inspiration of the Lord, brought this wonderful instrument of government into being. So important was God's will respecting this nation as revealed to Joseph Smith the Prophet, that in his prayer offered at the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, he included this appeal to Almighty 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".
With the knowledge of God's declaration that the Constitution of this land is inspired of him, it behooves every citizen to analyze the meaning, importance, and significance of this profound document and give loyal support to its spirit and purpose. We cannot afford to become complacent, forsake vigilance, and thus lose the benefits of the Lord's promise of blessings upon the people of this goodly land. Also, we must see to it that the principles, the standards, the ideals, the rights, the privileges, and the protection guaranteed by the Constitution are upheld by those who represent us in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.
A wise and understanding God had all this in mind when he gave the following revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith in August 1833:
"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.
"I, the Lord God, make you free, therefore ye are free indeed; and the law also maketh you free.
"Nevertheless, when the wicked rule the people mourn.
"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".
If wickedness prevails and wicked men rule, then we will be as other nations. We will stand alone without the guiding influence and power of God to sustain us in time of trouble and in meeting the challenge and threat of internal and external Satanic ideologies, also the evil designs and intrigues of men and nations.
I quote from a talk given by National Commander James E. Powers of the American Legion which appeared in the American Legion magazine of September 1963:
"America's deepest roots are spiritual. This is the most important historical fact of American life. To ignore it is to miss the essence of the heritage, the character, and the destiny of the American people. Today, with international and domestic tension tightening, I believe it is well that we see clearly the spiritual core of that creed... The American colonies and nation were established in turn by men and women who acknowledged openly their reliance upon almighty God."
Continued righteousness and dependence upon God therefore are the only guarantees we have for the constant enjoyment of his blessings upon us, for he has warned: "... my law shall be kept on this land".
The Constitution of the United States is to this gentile nation what the Ten Commandments were and still are to the nation of Israel.
What a strength and comfort it would be to the people of this land for God to fight for this nation if the need arises as he fought for Israel during their struggle to build and maintain a nation. However, Israel's persistence in disobedience and wickedness destroyed them as a nation. This fact stands as a warning to us. What happened to the nation of Israel can happen to this nation also if we as a people in this chosen land fail to obey the laws and the counsels of God. It will be profitable to all of us in the light of the promises and warnings to this nation to read again the biblical history of the nation of Israel. It will help us avoid the pitfalls which befell them.
I earnestly pray that we shall always stand firm and steadfast and immovable in upholding and sustaining the Constitution of this favored land. May we also selectively and wisely choose those who are equally valiant and patriotic to represent us in the top echelons of government-men who are upright, honest, and willing to keep the commandments of God in their personal lives.
These truths and considerations I bear humble witness and testimony to in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder ElRay L. Christiansen
ElRay L. Christiansen, Conference Report, October 1963, pp. 115-117
My beloved brethren and sisters, I have not forgotten the statement made in one of the recent general conferences by Elder Richard L. Evans, who reminded us that to know is not enough. As we draw near to the close of this great and uplifting conference, it seems to me that the thing that remains is for us to go to our homes and conform our lives to the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ as they have been expounded here, lacking not in determination and in moral courage to do it, for "to know is not enough."
One of the greatest demonstrations of moral courage ever shown in this day was when in the dead of winter, 1846, the first of the Saints, living in the city of Nauvoo, rolled their loaded wagons onto flatboats to be ferried across the broad, icy Mississippi River. That marked the beginning of the exodus of modern Israel. Later in the month, according to the historians, long caravans crossed the river on a solid floor of ice.
These people had been living in substantial and comfortable homes. They had fanned their fertile lands; they had completed the construction of the sacred Nauvoo Temple and had developed an attractive city, which they proudly referred to as "Nauvoo the Beautiful." All these they left behind to move their families, with what household goods and provisions that they could take with them, to make an almost superhuman trek thirteen hundred miles into an almost unknown western land.
With a background of culture and refinement, they were not accustomed to the hardships of improvised shelters erected against the wintry blasts of February winds; yet, because of their faith and their courage, they resolutely met the challenge, and turning their backs upon their beautiful homes and their faces toward the west, they met whatever was to come. These exiled people, with implicit trust in their leaders, chose to "... seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness". Their physical courage was equaled only by their moral courage.
In our day there is a crying need for this same quality in each of us, especially the moral courage to resist the ever-increasing pressures and insidious influences that are constantly at work, distorting the truth, tearing down the good and the decent, and attempting to substitute therefore the vain and shallow philosophies and practices of a carnal world. There is need for the moral courage to uphold correct principles in our personal lives and to defend right and truth and decency and honor, and above all, to have faith in and honor God our Father.
It seems to me that moral courage is made of a firm desire, coupled with determination to accept and to do what is right and to shun the wrong. It is the outgrowth of moral conviction. Moral courage may not be dramatically displayed. Seldom does it receive public acclaim, nevertheless, it is an indispensable attribute of noble character. It must be exercised if worthwhile principles and institutions are to be preserved and perpetuated.
He who stands steadfastly for that which is right must take the risk of becoming at times disapproved and unpopular, or even shunned by others-sometimes by his closest friends. Indeed, some have become martyrs. Knowing what is right and true and honorable, they have had the courage to do, not what is easy but what is right; not what is expedient but what is best.
I think of a young boy with whom I am acquainted, who, rather than join his companions one night in an escapade that was not in harmony with the training he had received in his home and in the Church, chose to walk more than six miles to his home while his companions in the car proceeded to carry out their plans. I imagine that boy, for more reasons than one, slept well when he finally arrived at home. And no doubt his parents were proud of him. Truly, "A wise son maketh a glad father".
It requires no moral courage to drift with the multitude or to run with the "pack," so to speak. The real test is in choosing and pursuing the right, even though it appears that in so doing, one is alone.
Jesus, the personification of this quality, disagreed with the powerful and influential Jewish governing body-the Sanhedrin. He referred to certain unrighteous Pharisees as "... hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones".
And Matthew records him saying plainly, "... for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation".
With righteous fervor he drove out the money changers, because he could not bear to see them desecrate the temple. He was fearless in defense of correct principles, and although he was falsely and maliciously accused-even though he was subjected to railings and mockery of the worst kind-he stood majestically and composed before Pilate and again before Herod, while the howling mob cried, "Crucify him, crucify him!".
He was not concerned with his own security nor with the indignities he suffered at the hands of foul men. His great desire has to do the will of the Father, even though it meant his crucifixion.
While we in our day may or may not be called upon to suffer unduly or to test our moral courage in the great issues of the world, there is, nevertheless, always need for each of us to exercise self-discipline and moral courage in our everyday living.
It was Lincoln that reminded us that, and I quote: "We must return to idealism-the idealism of character and truth; of integrity in private and public ... no people can ever become greater by lowering their standards, no society was ever improved by adopting a looser morality."
Someone has said our physical fitness program is wonderful and is needed, but we have also a need in our lives for a moral fitness program. It takes moral courage, for instance, to apologize, to put aside pride and say, "I was wrong," or to explain a misunderstanding which, if ignored, would hurt another person; or to defend a person when slighting remarks are made against his character. It takes courage to stand up and be counted when you may not agree with the crowd; for example, to plan, and to live, and to qualify to go to the house of the Lord when the time comes to be married even though some of our associates may do otherwise.
It requires moral courage to tell the truth regardless of the situation or the consequences, but it pays great dividends in peace of mind.
It takes courage to resist envy and hate and anger, the destroyers of happiness. The Bible says: "He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city".
Have we the moral courage to forgive or to ask forgiveness? Never is the human soul more noble and so courageous than when it forgives and then forgets. Jesus said in a revelation to Joseph Smith: "Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses, standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin.
"I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men".
And Matthew records: "For if ye forgive men their trespasses your heavenly Father will also forgive you".
The religious life of a Latter-day Saint should be based not upon obligation and duty alone, but upon a genuine desire to be honorable, to do good, to do what is right, to love God, and to love one another.
We ought to think right and do right simply because it is right. If there is to be any moral perfection for us in this life, it will come because we consistently and automatically do what is right.
I bear solemn testimony to the fact that Jesus is the Christ, that God our Father lives, that Joseph Smith was indeed the Prophet of this dispensation through whom the gospel, the divine pattern for living, was restored, and that President David O. McKay is presently the prophet, seer, and revelator of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us go from here with the determination and the moral courage to say as Job said, "... while my breath is in me...
"My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit.
"... till I die I will not remove... integrity from me".
I pray for this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Antoine R. Ivins
Antoine R. Ivins, Conference Report, October 1963, pp. 117-118
Brethren and sisters:
As I stand before you today, I seek an interest in your faith and prayers that, perhaps, I may say something that may be of help to some of us.
My life span covers nearly sixty-two percent of the lapsed time since the Church was re-established on the earth through the instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Jun. For nearly forty percent of my life I have had opportunity to observe the forward movement of the Church as a member of the First Council of the Seventy. Quite naturally, I have been able to check, in a way, the responses of the priesthood members of the Church to the programs instituted, from time to time, for their encouragement and aid. In this I have reached a conclusion that what we, the bearers of the priesthood, most need is faith.
We declare in the Articles of Faith, "We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost." Also, "We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are; first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost".
To me this means that we believe that God exists; that he is our Eternal Father and the Father of Jesus Christ; and we believe in the Holy Ghost. We believe also that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, took upon himself mortal life, accepted death, and rose from death to be the first evidence to man of the resurrection-"the first fruits of the resurrection". In so doing he overcame the effects of Adam's act which introduced mortality into the world. It was then possible, through death and the resurrection, for man to re-enter the presence of God in an exalted estate.
That man might be exalted, a plan of life was given him, and this we call the gospel.
Recurring to the Fourth Article of Faith we learn that the first principle of this plan is that man should have faith in God and in our Redeemer Jesus Christ.
Faith is defined in one biblical passage as follows: "... faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen". Faith gives our yearnings substance and evidences to us the possibility of actual accomplishment. With this possibility before us, we undertake things new to us, gaining strength and courage, both physical and spiritual. In other words, faith in its broadest sense prompts every act of our lives. We increase faith in ourselves by the exercise of our faculties; we gain faith in our neighbors when our mutual interchanges accord with the gospel plan. We gain faith in the gospel plan-which means faith in God-by doing the various things required by it, and this means service. The only way I have discovered to serve God is to help his work along among his children. As we serve, we gain greater power of understanding and appreciation. Man is that he may have joy, and the greatest joy I have experienced has come through serving others.
Service, then, becomes a measuring stick for faith. If men serve faithfully and willingly, it is an indication of faith.
If we apply this measure to the service of the many men who held the Melchizedek Priesthood, we discover that too many of us fail to measure to a high standard of service. Shall we call it a lack of faith?
I like to believe, and this comes from my experience and observation, that many men rail in their interest in the work of the priesthood from lack of responsible opportunity and application. How can a man enjoy doing a thing in which he is not experienced and familiar?
The program of the Church is sufficiently broad to offer opportunity for most men to serve in some interesting capacity-this must be in a friendly atmosphere, for most people respond to friendship.
The purpose of the program awaiting initiation at the beginning of the new year is to surround these inactive brethren and sisters with an atmosphere of friendship and sincere interest, finding opportunity for attractive and friendly fellowship and service.
There is in the Church a veritable army of men who hold only the Aaronic Priesthood, hold no priesthood at all, or who, holding the Melchizedek Priesthood, fail to honor it by active service. Many of these men are burdened with, and struggle to overcome, habits which make them feel out of harmony with the program of the Church. When this may be the case, we should give them every possible aid in their struggle. There are few things more powerful than habits. When they are good, they become a great safeguard; when they are not, they reduce their capacity according to the seriousness of the affliction. Our problem is to aid with as little embarrassment as possible. Many men of my acquaintance have made this battle with themselves successfully and attained to greater happiness.
Changing from a life of inactivity in the Church, or even opposition to the teachings and program of the Church, implies the need of repentance. It need not be offensive to suggest to a person that he change his ways to be more happy. That is what repentance means: a Godly sorrow for acts, improper or even just not wisely performed, and a change to a life filled with proper and correctly performed activities. This not only results in one's contentment and happiness but increases his interest in others and his service in their behalf. This change brings about a closer relationship with the Spirit of the Lord under whose influence one corrects his private life and his social relationships. Why should it be offensive to a person to be told that if he will, of his own volition, prove victor over his unfortunate habits, he will be happier and more useful?
This, brethren and sisters, is one of our major problems. Salvation is the objective of the Church. May God help us to realize this purpose. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop Victor L. Brown
Victor L. Brown, Conference Report, October 1963, pp. 119-121
I believe I have a clearer meaning of what it means to endure to the end than I did earlier.
Michael is now sixteen years of age. His parents were members of the Piute Indian tribe. Michael was born without his eyesight. On the Indian reservation, this was considered a terrible handicap. His family was very poor, and a blind boy was more than they could cope with. So, when Michael was about seven years old, he was left on the desert to die. Fortunately, some passing tourists found him and took him to a hospital. It took a year for the doctors and nurses to save his life and restore his health.
During this experience of being left on the desert all alone without food and water, unable to see, Michael's basic animal instincts for survival became so strong that he almost became an animal, fearing and hating everybody and everything. Eight years later, when I first met him, he told me he could remember the horror of being all alone-hungry, thirsty, and lost.
When he became well enough, Michael was sent to school. He was incorrigible. Because of his tragic experience, he destroyed everything he could get his hands on-paper, pencils, record player. Everything was his enemy. I suppose the school authorities despaired of ever reaching this boy. One day, they placed a call to a wonderful Latter-day Saint woman and asked her if she would mind taking an Indian boy into her home. She readily agreed.
Michael's nature had not changed. He still considered everyone his enemy. He continued to destroy almost everything that came in his way. One day one of the neighbor boys, a white boy by the name of Richard, became acquainted with Michael. Richard was about fifteen years old. He was a teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood. He took an interest in Michael and fast became his friend.
Richard came to the Presiding Bishopric's Office one day and asked about the cost of the Book of Mormon in Braille. He had been saving his money for a long time so that he might purchase a Book of Mormon in Braille as a birthday present for his blind Indian buddy. The cost was more than Richard had saved. However, a kind person made it possible for him to obtain the book. As Michael read with his fingers, Richard followed along in his own Book of Mormon reading out loud, thus helping Michael over the more difficult words. As I visited with Michael, he said he had never read such wonderful stories. He said that everything he had read in the past was kid stuff, but the Book of Mormon was different. I asked him what the greatest desire of his heart was. This fifteen-year-old Indian boy replied: "To become sixteen years old so I can be baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." He explained that he must wait until his sixteenth birthday because of the requirement of the agency responsible for him.
Michael had his sixteenth birthday just this August and was baptized by his buddy, Richard, who is now a priest. Just four weeks ago, Michael was ordained a deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood by his foster father.
Michael told his mother that as he was being confirmed a member of the Church, the brightest feeling went through his entire body. He said, "I know now what `white' looks like." This sixteen-year-old Indian boy who has never seen the light of day now knows what "white" looks like. The Holy Ghost has borne witness to him.
This last school year, Michael, the boy who was incorrigible, was honored for his excellence in school effort-excellence in deportment, scholarship, and progress-the only boy so honored by his school this year. He hopes someday to teach other blind children as he has been taught.
Bill is now fifteen. His parents are Navajo. When Bill was a child, he was stricken with polio, which left him without the use of his legs. Bill and Michael are brothers in this foster home. They are both Boy Scouts. A year ago, they needed money to go to Scout camp, so they decided to sell toothbrushes and toothpaste. They didn't have much luck in their own neighborhood, so Michael pushed Bill in his wheelchair seven miles to another community where they had some success. They said that the most interesting and funniest experience of the day was when they sold a toothbrush and some toothpaste to a man who didn't have any teeth.
Three weeks ago at a stake quarterly conference, I invited Bill to come to the front of the chapel and bear his testimony to over twelve hundred people. I wish you could have seen this fifteen-year-old Navajo Indian boy. Immaculate in his appearance and with all the dignity and majesty of a great chief, he sat in his wheelchair and humbly expressed his gratitude to his Heavenly Father for his many blessings, for his parents, his brothers and sisters, his membership in the Church and the blessing of holding the office of teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood. Bill is a fine artist and hopes someday to become a great architect.
Bill and Michael have two lovely, blond, fair-skinned sisters and a baby brother, Ronnie. Let me tell you about Ronnie. As far as we know, he is also a Navajo Indian boy. When the agency called this same good mother and asked if she would take a three-year-old Indian baby into her home, they said that the child was totally incapacitated. He could not walk; he could not talk. They explained the outlook for him as almost hopeless. Notwithstanding this, she accepted him into her home. When I met Ronnie the other day, he had a mischievous twinkle in his eye and a smile on his face as he ran and tried to escape from one of his sisters-as normal a four-year-old as I have ever seen.
A blind boy, a crippled boy, a child who was a complete invalid-each one destined to a life of misery and hopelessness, but for the love, compassion, charity, and understanding of a wonderful woman-a woman who had the support of a good and faithful husband-a woman who wanted children more than anything else in the world and who was not blessed with any of her own. She wanted them so badly it didn't matter what their handicaps nor that their skin was copper color. The love she gave them was the love she had missed so desperately during her childhood. The compassion she blessed these children with was the compassion she longed for and sought but failed to find as she was growing up. To me she typifies the saint as described by Felix Adler as he makes the distinction between a hero and a saint. Paraphrasing this statement:
"The hero is one who kindles a great light in the world, who sets up blazing torches in the dark streets of life for men to see by. The saint is the man who walks through the dark paths of the world, himself a 'light.'"
I suppose that most of the teachings of the Master can be gleaned from the lives of this family, also from Richard, the white boy, a priest in the Aaronic Priesthood, impervious to the taunts of the other boys as he held Michael's hand while they walked down the streets, a boy who so loved the Lord that he wanted to share the gospel with his friend. What a wonderful example of living the first two great commandments as found in the twelfth chapter of Mark, verses thirty and thirty-one:
"And 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: this is the first commandment.
"And the second is like, namely, this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these".
There is such a desperate need in the world today for this kind of love, for each mother to want her children, to want them so badly that her love transcends all else. A mother's love is one of the basic instincts God has implanted in a woman's heart. It is so basic that it exists in all animals that bear offspring, and yet there are those who fail to use this love wisely.
From studies made by social workers, they find that when children get into trouble it is altogether too often because:
1. Mother's social status is reflected through her child.
2. Mothers push their children into mature social experiences far beyond their age.
3. There is a feeling on the part of parents of getting the child out of the home so they can have more freedom, so they can be to themselves, and so they can travel and not be hampered by having children in the home.
4. All too often the child is not taught dependability and self-reliance. He is left on his own.
5. Another major contributing factor is that the parents are not home enough.
Mothers, you most of all have the destiny of this generation in your hands. Surely, we fathers have a part as do we leaders of youth, but nothing we can do will compare with a mother's love if it is wisely placed.
Now, may I just mention a group of mothers. I think there are about four thousand of them. These mothers have a special place in my heart. They are the mothers whose husbands are bishops in this great Church. The other day a lovely young mother, the wife of a bishop, wrote me a sweet letter. She expressed, among other things, a need for encouragement so she would always be an inspiration to her husband, so that she would have the strength to suppress the normal feelings of loneliness and discouragement, of being left alone so much of the time, of having to shoulder a great share of the responsibility of rearing her children than would otherwise be the case, and of being the last one to know what is going on in the ward. I suppose this runs contrary to the basic nature of most women.
We want you to know that you are not forgotten for a moment. We meet your husbands more often than we do you, and perhaps we talk about them more. We want you to know that we are fully aware that behind every good bishop in this Church is a good woman, a woman who, through sharing her strength, is instrumental in making a good man.
May God bless all good women everywhere that their love may bless mankind, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Mark E. Petersen
Mark E. Petersen, Conference Report, October 1963, pp. 121-122
President McKay is always so gracious and so wonderful. I love him with all my heart, as you do, and with all my soul I sustain him as our great prophet leader. I am grateful for his courtesy at this time.
I have been greatly stirred by this conference. I have been stirred more than normally, I suppose, because of the experiences my wife and I have had in the last eight or nine months. I now see the Church in a new perspective. I am a different man from what I was a year ago. I am a different kind of Latter-day Saint. I have come to realize that the great mission of this Church is that which President McKay has taught us so often in our council meetings-that we must bear testimony to the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It has taken me eight months now to realize how far the world has drifted away from belief in the Savior. It has taken newspaper articles and books and sermons, all from clergymen of various faiths, in which they deny the existence of God, in which they declare they no longer believe in the divinity of the Savior, in which they say they do not believe the Bible is the word of God any more.
It has taken newspaper articles telling of the iniquities of the world, the sins, the diseases from the sins that have come upon the people of the world, to make me realize how far the world has drifted away. And it has taken all of this to make me realize that there is only one cure for the world. It is not in political parties. It is not in the philosophies of men. There is only one cure for the evils of this world, and for the broken hearts of men and women, and that is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and the living of that faith by obedience to the commandments of the Lord our God. There is nothing that can compare with it. There is no other answer. It is obedience to Christ, or it is dissolution.
Now, as I have been stirred by these remarkable addresses that we have listened to, and as I have looked about over this great audience. I have come to realize more and more that there is only one voice in all the world that can bear testimony to these groping nations that Jesus is the Christ. I mean only one voice of authority, and that is the voice of the Latter-day Saints. We are the only authoritative voice declaring to the world that Jesus is the Christ.
We know that God lives because our prophets have seen him and talked with him. We know that Jesus is the Christ because our prophets have communed with him, and we know that he lives because of the testimony of the Holy Ghost that burns within us.
We, therefore, as a united people must declare to all mankind that he lives and that he is a power in the world and that he is our only salvation from the destruction that is sure to come upon this evil world unless they repent. We must raise the voice of testimony. We must raise the voice of repentance.
But how strong a voice can you raise? How strong a testimony can you bear? Your testimony is no stronger than your obedience. I wonder how much your testimony has been watered down by your disobedience even in little things here or there. But God expects that you will bear a mighty testimony to the world that he lives, that he has spoken in our day, that Jesus is the Christ, and that destruction will come upon the world unless we obey him and keep his commandments.
How strong is your testimony? I would have you know that your words alone are not enough. I would have you know that it is only your word supported by your righteous lives that can give testimony to the world in such sincere tones that men and women will pay attention to you.
Oh, how I admire your sons and your daughters who are traveling through the countries of Europe as well as the rest of the world, humbly bearing testimony of this great truth. How sincere they are! How many of our converts say, "The thing that impressed me was the sincerity of the missionaries," and that is the thing that is going to impress all the world from you.
So my brief message here today is, brothers and sisters, let us live the gospel so that our living will give meaning to our words, and that when we bear testimony that we know that he lives, that they will feel it by the sincerity of our words and our lives.
I bear you testimony that I know he lives, and I am raising my voice as loudly and as strongly as I know how to declare it to everyone who is willing to listen. Jesus lives. He is the Christ. He is the Son of God. He is the Divine Redeemer. He is the Creator of the worlds, and if we will but follow him, great will be our joy-salvation in this life and eternal life in the world to come.
This testimony I bear to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, October 1963, pp. 122-124
We are nearing the end of a great conference, as usual, the best ever.
I should like to say a word now about our responsibility to carry these great messages to which we have been listening since last Friday morning-carry them to our homes and not let it stop when we say "Amen" this afternoon.
We are told that God so loved the world that he gave his Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Let us, therefore, follow our Heavenly Father's example and bring up our own sons and daughters in the faith of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
There is a greater responsibility resting upon us now than perhaps ever before in the history of this country. The testimony to which we have just listened from Brother Petersen is reaching into the homes of millions throughout the world.
Last night we listened to two young men give sermons on the power of self-control. I am sure their parents are very proud of them, and so are we all. The tens of thousands of men holding the priesthood sat silently and almost breathlessly as they listened to the sermons of those two young men. I hope all who are within the sound of my voice will have the same pride as those parents have for those two boys-that your sons will bear the same testimony and accept the same ideals that a hundred thousand whom those two boys represented last night have in their hearts to attain.
There comes to my mind now a poem about a father who paid this tribute to his son, or rather felt pride in his boy and the responsibility of rearing him as these hundred thousand boys last night. It runs something like this-
"We've never seen the Father here, but we have known the Son, The finest type of manhood since the world was first begun, And summing up the works of God, I write with reverent pen. The greatest is the Son He sent to cheer the lives of men.
"Through Him we learned the ways of God, and found the Father's love; The Son it was who won us back To Him who reigns above. The Lord did not come down Himself to prove to men His worth, He sought our worship through the Child He placed upon the earth.
"How can I best express my life? Wherein does greatness lie? How can I long remembrance win, since I am born to die? Both fame and gold are selfish things; their charms may quickly flee, But I'm the father of a boy who came to speak for me.
"In him lies all I hope to be; his splendor shall be mine; I shall have done man's greatest work if only he is fine. If some day he shall help the world long after I am dead, In all that men shall say of him my praises shall be said.
"It matters not that I may win of fleeting gold or fame, My hope of joy depends alone on what my boy shall claim. My story must be told thru him; for him I work and plan, Man's greatest duty is to be the father of a man." -Edgar A. Guest "Thoughts of a Father"
One of our greatest duties as we leave this great conference is to have the spirit of the gospel in our homes. Fathers, set a proper example to your boys. And mothers, teach them in accordance with the Doctrine and Covenants, faith in God, repentance, and baptism.
One man, not in our Church, suggests this to his son:
That is the duty of every father in Israel-every man who has a son or daughter. Let us make our homes places in which the Spirit of God will be pleased to dwell. And may each boy who bears his father's name, live to honor it, not bring disgrace upon a mother who loves you and a father who has given you a name.
This has been a great conference, great messages and glorious singing have made it so. The responsibility with us now is to carry the spirit of the gospel of Jesus Christ in our homes. Do not break them up through divorce. Make good your promises in the temple, hold them sacred and be true to every covenant. This is every father's responsibility.
Our homes are the seedbeds of faith in Christ our Lord, who stands at the head, and who is God's Beloved Son. In his name I bless the members of the priesthood, the entire membership of the Church in all countries. God's peace and happiness be with you in your hearts and in your homes everywhere, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1964, pp. 3-7
"Blessed are they who do his commandments.".
Many years ago there was a story told in one of our early school books about some young people who were sailing down the river towards Niagara Falls. A man on the shore cried out to them: "Young men, Ahoy, the rapids are below you!"
But they heeded not his warning call until they realized too late that they were in the midst of the rapids. With all the power at their command they failed to turn their boat upstream, "So," said the man who tried to warn them "shrieking and cursing, over they went!"
The lesson left an indelible impression upon me, but today it seems incomplete. It is one thing to stand on the shore and cry, "Young men, Ahoy-there is danger ahead," and it is another thing to row into the stream, and, if possible, get into the boat with the young men, and by companionship, by persuasion, by legitimate force, when necessary, turn the boat from the rapids. Too many of us are satisfied to stand on the shore and cry, "There is danger ahead."
This morning, I have in mind giving a warning to all young people relating to three dangers threatening the success and happiness of Youth:
First, the pernicious habit of smoking cigarettes. Second, the increasing number of divorces. Third, the tendency to hold less sacred the moral standards.
The Habit of Smoking
One Hundred and thirty-one years ago the Prophet Joseph Smith received a revelation "showing forth the order and will of God in the temporal salvation of all saints in the last days". It relates to the physical, the intellectual, the moral, and the spiritual nature of man. It deals particularly with the relation of man's appetite to health and vigor. A person's reaction to his appetites and impulses when they are aroused gives the measure of that person's character. In such reactions are revealed the man's power to govern, or his forced servility to yield. That phase of the Word of Wisdom, therefore, which refers to intoxicants, drugs, and stimulants, goes deeper than the ill effects upon the body, and strikes at the very root of character building itself.
Strong Drinks and Tobacco are Not Good for Man
The revelation says that strong drinks and tobacco are not good for man. This is a clear, definite statement which has stood the test of well over a century. It was made by a man only twenty-seven years of age, who from the standpoint of human learning, knew but little about physiology, hygiene, or the relation of mind and body to character and spirituality. His knowledge came from inspiration. With a conviction unwavering, with an assurance that the statement would stand all tests and experiments, he declared that strong drinks and tobacco, excepting only when used externally, are not good for man.
During the last one hundred years, the marvelous advance of science has made it possible for man to determine by experiments the ill effect of intoxicants and drugs upon the nerves and tissues of the human body. Observation and experiment have demonstrated their effects upon character. All such experiments and observations have proved the truth of the young man's statement: "Strong drinks and tobacco are not good for man".
Respect for another's rights and property is fundamental in good government. It is a mark of refinement in any individual, it is a fundamental Christian virtue. Nicotine seems to dull, if not to kill completely this trait of true culture, and women unfortunately have become its pitiable victims, and the worst offenders in society. There are still a few public conveyances that carry non-smoking compartments; a few eating places with signs, "No Smoking." In violation of such placards, it is not infrequent, however, to see a woman with utter disregard for the feelings of her fellow-passengers, among the first in an airplane or on a train to light a cigarette.
Many public buildings are often littered with burnt-out matches and stubs of cigarettes and cigars. Many costly fires in hotels, apartment houses and homes are started by burning cigarettes carelessly dropped or thrown aside.
If men and women must smoke, and it seems that many are now slaves to that habit, then for the sake of cleanliness and neatness, as well as of consideration for others, let them refrain from marring furniture, carpets, etc., and from strewing ashes and cigarette stubs in buildings where people assemble either for pleasure or instruction.
But aside from all this, science has now proved that there is a far greater danger associated with cigarette smoking.
Dr. George James, Health Commissioner of New York City, said on March 17, 1964 that he "knows that within the next six months one thousand cigarette smokers in New York will die of lung cancer, throat cancer, and other diseases because of their tobacco habit."
On Saturday, January 11, 1964, newspapers throughout the country published the following statement:
"A special government scientific team Saturday linked cigarette smoking to five forms of cancer, and termed the habit a health hazard which needs 'appropriate remedial action.'" This long-awaited report by ten scientists and physicians declared that a series of studies showed that "the mortality ratio of cigarette smokers over nonsmokers was particularly high for a number of diseases."
I appeal to young men and women everywhere to refrain from this obnoxious habit, not only for the effect it has on their character, but also because of the alarming proofs from doctors and scientists that it is one of the chief causes of cancer.
Increasing Number of Divorces
Another threat to our society is the increasing number of divorces and the tendency to look upon marriage as a mere contract that may be severed at the first difficulty or misunderstanding that may arise.
One of our most precious possessions is our families. The domestic relations precede, and, in our present existence, are worth more than all other social ties. They give the first throb to the heart and unseal the deep fountains of its love. Home is the chief school of human virtues. Its responsibilities, joys, sorrows, smiles, tears, hopes, and solicitudes form the chief interests of human life.
"To make a happy fireside clime To weans and wife, That's the true pathos and sublime O' human life." -Robert Burns
When one puts business or pleasure above his home, he that moment starts on the downgrade to soul-weakness. When the club becomes more attractive to any man than his home, it is time for him to confess in bitter shame that he has failed to measure up to the supreme opportunity of his life and flunked in the final test of true manhood. No other success can compensate for failure in the home. The poorest shack in which love prevails over a united family is of greater value to God and future humanity than any other riches. In such a home God can work miracles and will work miracles.
Pure hearts in a pure home are always in whispering distance of heaven. In the light of scripture, ancient and modern we are justified in concluding that Christ's ideal pertaining to marriage is the unbroken home, and conditions that cause divorce are violations of his divine teaching.
Some of those conditions I name as unfaithfulness on the part of either the husband or wife, or both-habitual drunkenness, physical violence, long imprisonment that disgraces the wife and family, the union of an innocent girl to a reprobate. In these and perhaps other cases there may be circumstances which make the continuance of the marriage state a greater evil than divorce. But these are extreme cases-they are the mistakes, the calamities in the realm of marriage. If we could remove them, I would say there never should be a divorce. It is Christ's ideal that home and marriage should be perpetual-eternal.
Marriage is a sacred relationship entered into for purposes that are well recognized-primarily for the rearing of a family.
I know of no other place where happiness abides more securely than in the home. It is possible to make home a bit of heaven. Indeed, I picture heaven as a continuation of the ideal home. Some man has said: "Home filled with contentment is one of the highest hopes of this life."
An ever-decreasing birthrate, and an increasing divorce rate are ominous signs threatening the stability of the home and the perpetuity of any nation.
In order to lessen the breaking-up of homes, we should substitute the present tendency toward a low view of marriage by the lofty view which Jesus Christ gives it. Let us look upon marriage as a sacred obligation and a covenant that is eternal or that may be made eternal.
Young people of both sexes should be taught the responsibilities and ideals of marriage so that they may realize that marriage involves obligation and is not an arrangement to be terminated at pleasure. They should be taught that pure love between the sexes is one of the noblest things on earth and the hearing and rearing of children the highest of all human duties. In this regard, it is the duty of parents to set an example in the home that children may see and absorb the sacredness of family life and the responsibility associated therewith.
The number of broken marriages can he reduced if couples realize even before they approach the altar that marriage is a state of mutual service, a state of giving as well as of receiving, and that each must give of himself or herself to the utmost.
The most vicious enemy to home life is immorality.
Of this evil, Victor Hugo writes impressively:
"The holy law of Jesus Christ governs our civilization; but it does not yet permeate it; it is said that slavery has disappeared from European civilization. That is a mistake. It still exists; but it preys now only upon woman, and it is called prostitution."
This corroding evil is just as demoralizing to men as to women. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints there is no double standard of morality. The young man should approach the marriage altar just as fit for fatherhood as his sweetheart is worthy of motherhood.
Chastity, not indulgence during the pre-marital years, is the source of harmony and happiness in the home, and the chief contributing factor to the health and perpetuity of the race. Loyalty, dependability, confidence, trust, love of God, and fidelity to man are associated with this diadem in the crown of virtuous womanhood and virile manhood. The word of the Lord to his Church is: "Keep yourself unspotted from the sin of the world".
The foundation of a noble character is integrity. By this virtue the strength of a nation, as of an individual, may be judged. No nation will become great whose trusted officers will pass legislation for personal gain, who will take advantage of public office for personal preferment, or to gratify vain ambition, or who will, through forgery, chicanery, and fraud, rob the government, or be false in office to a public trust.
Honesty, sincerity of purpose, must be dominant traits of character in leaders of a nation that would be truly great.
"I hope," said George Washington, "that I may ever have virtue and firmness enough to maintain what I consider to be the most enviable of all titles-the character of an honest man."
It was Washington's character more than his brilliancy of intellect that made him the choice of all as their natural leader when the thirteen original colonies decided to sever their connection with the mother country. As one in eulogy to the father of our country truly said: "When he appeared among the eloquent orators, the ingenious thinkers the vehement patriots of the Revolution, his modesty and temperate profession could not conceal his superiority; he at once, by the very nature of his character, was felt to be their leader."
Let us in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as citizens of this beloved land, use our influence to see that men and women of upright character, of unimpeachable honor, are elected to office; that our homes are kept unpolluted and unbroken by infidelity; that children therein will be trained to keep the commandments of the Lord, to be honest, true, chaste, benevolent, and virtuous, and to do good to all men.
Cherishing such ideals, we can with all our hearts say with the poet Longfellow:
"Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State Sail on, O Union, strong and great! Humanity with all its fears, With all the hopes of future years, Is hanging breathless on thy fate!"
May members of the Church of Jesus Christ, preaching the restored gospel to the peoples of the earth, ever remember the Savior's injunction: "Ye are the light of the world...
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven". That we may sense this responsibility, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder A. Theodore Tuttle
A. Theodore Tuttle, Conference Report, April 1964, pp. 7-10
I want to testify, my brothers and sisters and friends, that he to whom we have just listened is indeed a prophet of the Living God, and if we can follow and comprehend this inspired message it will bring a solution to the evils that beset us in this day and age.
Greetings from 40,000 Members
Two years ago from this pulpit I brought you greetings from 20,000 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in South America. Today, because of the bounteous blessings of the Lord and the dedicated efforts of missionaries and members alike, I am privileged to bring you greetings from more than 40,000 members of the Church. Thirty-three years were required to convert the first 10,000 members in South America. Only two more years were required to convert the next 10,000. Since I reported two years ago, 21,000 more converts have found the truth in the seven missions of South America.
In an atmosphere unfriendly to the biblical doctrines of continued revelation, a Church founded on prophets and Apostles, belief in a Personal Father in heaven and Jesus Christ as the actual and divine Son of God, how can a Church that teaches these biblical doctrines grow so rapidly? What is it that brings people into the restored gospel in such unprecedented numbers in these South American countries?
Return with me to this great land to get some feeling of the people among whom the Spirit of the Lord is working.
We find ourselves on a plane flying between Porto Alegre, Brazil, and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Seated next to me is an executive of a large international corporation. Upon learning that I was a representative of the Mormon Church, he asked, "What would a man like me have to do to join the Mormon Church?"
Conversions in South America
Since he was smoking as he drank his cocktail, I commenced by suggesting that he would first have to give up both of these habits and abstain from the use of tea and coffee as well. I started to mention such other necessary requirements as faith, repentance, and baptism, when he interrupted by saying, "Under those restrictions, can you get anybody down here to join your church?" "Yes," I replied. "Thousands of people join the Church in these lands, in fact, in Uruguay the ratio of conversion to population is as great as any place in the world. In fact I know a member who has helped to bring ninety-three other persons into the Church since she joined a year ago. But you made a mistake by calling it my church. It is not my church, nor is it any man's church. In reality it is the actual Church of Jesus Christ and the only one on the earth of which he is the head. When you come to know that, my friend, and you can gain that certain knowledge, then, changing your life to conform to the revealed word of the Lord is not as difficult as at first it might seem."
He then asked, "If your church is growing so fast, what do you do with all the people?"
"The Church is a perfect organization," I explained, "founded upon prophets and apostles, and it expands in an orderly way under pressure of numbers.
"It does not require a professionally trained nor paid ministry to administer it. Ordinary people like yourself are called, instructed, and empowered to conduct the affairs of the Church, as in ancient times; for instance, I am an educator, our mission president in Buenos Aires is an automobile salesman by occupation, and our president in Brazil is a contractor. Men are ordained to the priesthood of God. They are endowed with the power of the Holy Ghost and led by personal revelation. A living prophet guides the Church today. It is the practice of the leaders in the Church to call people to work in a position suitable to their talents and capacities. Here in South America, for instance, we use new members in one of the organizations shortly after their baptism. Work in the Church is both a means to an end, as well as an end in itself. People are called to fill positions in order to grow and develop personally, as well as to make the organization function more effectively to bless others. This personal growth is the great benefit one receives through service."
I further explained to my friend that because of the increasing numbers in the Church in South America, we have in operation an extensive training program, the express purpose of which is to give specific training to every person newly called to a position in the Church. This is to make certain that each new officer knows his duty. It is our goal to fill every position in the church organization. This gives members opportunity to develop through an on-the-job training program. This training touches every facet of one's personality. He becomes not only more effective as a church official, but a better, more capable citizen as well.
"Therefore, with a steady stream of people joining the Church," I continued, "the organizations can expand in an orderly fashion. Leadership training can benefit and bless more and more of your fellow countrymen. I even have the temerity to suggest that this kind of people-people who have been trained to think, who have had experience in solving problems, who have accepted and discharged leadership responsibility-are the people you ought to be seeking to staff your corporation."
Promises Being Fulfilled
I bore testimony to this man that the Lord is now hastening the fulfillment of his promises and prophecies concerning this choice land and its people. They are receptive to the message that God lives and that he directs, through revelation, his perfectly organized Church.
Our next stop is at El Cuzco, the ancient capital city of the Incan empire, situated at 11,000 feet in the tops of the Andes Mountains. We are in a press conference, and a reporter asks, "What is the difference between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other churches?"
Authority by Direct Revelation
We quote from a living prophet to explain one of the major distinguishing features of the Church. President David O. McKay has said, "... we believe in divine authority by direct revelation rather than by descent." The power and authority came to this Church through the visitation of angelic messengers: Peter, James, and John, the Apostles of old who as resurrected beings, conferred their authority and power upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in this dispensation. We explained that this doctrine is both scriptural and logical, for the Bible itself is a compilation of revelations. They were given at different periods of time through various prophets over approximately 4,000 years. Just as each prophet in times past left scripture as evidence of the divinity of his calling, so we offer to the honest in heart today additional scriptures, both ancient and modern. These additional revelations form the scriptural basis for the doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Next, stand with me in Chile at the doorway to a school, recently opened by the Church. Bright-eyed youngsters march past into a new and marvelous world of learning that they have never known before, of books and methods that are the newest and finest. We see a skilled and experienced teacher willing to go at her own expense to teach these eager children and to lead them to a testimony that the glory of God is intelligence and that truth will make them free.
Journey next to a city nestled in the center of the Brazilian coffee plantations. We are here to attend a district conference. A fine-looking man, not a member of the Church two years ago is speaking: "The first time I entered the chapel I could actually feel a good spirit here-a spirit of warmth and friendliness, one of concern and love for one another, and of brotherhood. I also felt that I must clean up my life in order to associate with you people. You made me feel welcome and needed."
Like all those who visit our meetings, he was welcome and is needed. He is particularly needed today because he now presides as the president of the branch he once visited. He holds the authority and has the power to share with all men the same spirit that so influenced and blessed his life.
Brotherly Kindness
The feelings of fraternity in this Church and the functions of its priesthood quorums bind men together in a bond of brotherhood. It brings warmth of companionship that delights the soul and makes life worthwhile. Love of fellow men penetrates from heart to heart across national borders. It becomes the only effectual process that erases men's artificial boundaries and unites them in a cause greater than their own political nationalism.
Finally accompany me as we become junior companions to some of the missionaries over whom I preside. Recently, down in Argentina, my companion and I, at the invitation of a member, went to visit his friend. Evidently we entered the wrong apartment building because the man who responded to our knock was not the person whom we sought. My young companion, typical of today's energetic and dedicated youth, promptly introduced us as representatives "de la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimas Dias" and asked the man if he would like to know something about the Church. Our new-found friend said, "Yes," but after a short conversation when my companion offered to leave him a tract, he refused to take it saying, "My church forbids me to read anything of a religious nature like this."
Search for Truth Brings Freedom
How grateful I am, my friends, that the enlightened search for truth by this Church frees a man from fear and teaches him that life is to learn, that truth is to be sought and accepted from any source-scientific or revealed. It teaches that God is our Father and teacher, that we are son and pupil, and that we can actually become like him, this by learning and keeping his commandments and doing his revealed will. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that man's pursuit of truth is his eternal quest:
"And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent".
And now as we return from South America, I speak to all who can hear. Perhaps for the first time you have heard the glad message that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored. Perhaps you have had friends or neighbors who have recently joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You have probably wondered why their lives changed so much; why they seemed to be happier and busier, why they seemed to live more purposefully. Should you, too, not seek information about this marvelous and sacred message?
"Prove all things," Paul admonished, "hold fast that which is good".
You, father and husband, as head of your household, should you not find release from the sins of the world that beset you, through faith, sincere repentance, and baptism by immersion for the remission of sins? Should you not find the strength to complete the change in your life, for the strength will come through receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost? Should you not possess the priesthood and experience its power? Should you not have the joy of certain knowledge that Jesus is the Christ, that God lives? The Lord will not withhold this blessing from any who sincerely seek it.
Look at that sweet companion by your side. Should your wife not find an outlet for sharing her heaven-endowed gifts in unison with other good women? Would you deny her the influences which strengthen her as a wife and mother?
And your most priceless possessions, what of them? I see that teenager at your side. Should your teenager not have the opportunity to participate in a youth organization where youth mutually improve one another?
And your little ones, what of them? How pliable, how susceptible to all the influences of life? Should they not have the protection and the advantage of training in child-centered organizations which teach them: "I am a child of God. My Heavenly Father loves me."
Should your entire family not kneel night and morning and receive the additional strength that comes through a Wise and Loving Father? Should you and all members of your family not seek and find the supreme joy and the abundant life that the Savior taught in his Church restored again?
Search for Better Life
While men have been blinded by men and prejudiced by tradition in the lands of South America, nevertheless, when they hear explained the doctrines of this Church, when they understand its teachings, and when they see its programs in action, they are not antagonistic to its message. Rather, they respond to the opportunity to hold the priesthood, to give service freely, to exercise the power of leadership, to do something and be somebody, because the promises of the Lord and the prophecies of his servants concerning these lands and this people are now being fulfilled.
I bear my witness that this Church is indeed the restored Church of Jesus Christ, that he is at its head directing it today by direct and authoritative revelation to his living prophet, President David O. McKay. I know there is a great awakening among the people of South America and a yearning for a better life-not only a desire for the material blessings but a deep searching and longing for the spiritual heritage which they have been promised, to which they are entitled. The Lord has set his hand to bless this choice land and this people of promise and destiny. I invite all men everywhere to seek within this gospel the supreme joy that comes from the certainty of this testimony, and I do it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Sterling W. Sill
Sterling W. Sill, Conference Report, April 1964, p. 11-15
My brothers and sisters, I appreciate very much this privilege of having a part with you in this great general conference of the Church. This is one application of that interesting custom had among us, whereby we set aside special days to think about special things. That is, we set aside the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day. And on that day we let our minds reach up and try to understand the purpose for which that day is set apart. We set apart the third Sunday in June as Father's Day for the same reason.
Days Remembered
And someone has said that the human mind has some of the qualities of the tendrils of a climbing vine. It tends to attach itself and draw itself upward by what it is put in contact with.
Then we have some other wonderful days in which we put our minds in contact with other important ideas. We have Memorial Day, and Easter, and Christmas, and the Fourth of July. We set aside the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving, and on that day we try to build gratitude and appreciation into our lives. And as we recount our blessings, we increase them.
Suppose that at this special time we put our minds in contact with the wonderful days in our lives and single out those with the greatest significance to us personally. You may think that your most important day is the day of your birth. That is the day when an important new life came into being. Or it may be the day of your baptism. That was the day when you repented of your sins and made a covenant with God that you would live your life at its best. You may think that your most important day is the day of your marriage. That is when a new family was born. Certainly the day of your death will be a very interesting day.
Someone has said that the most important event in life is death. Death is the gateway to immortality. We live to die, and then we die to live. Ordinarily we don't like to think about death because it is associated with unpleasantness.
But death does not cease to exist merely because it is ignored. The ancient Egyptians had a much more logical procedure for handling this situation. On their important festive occasions they kept constantly on display before the revelers a great image of death. They wanted to remind themselves that someday they would die. Now I don't want to frighten anyone unduly here today, but I would just like to point out in passing that someday each one of us is going to die. Someone has said that judging from the past there will be very few of us get out of this world alive, and certainly one of the wisest ways to spend life is in an effective preparation for death.
Greatest Day
Branch Rickey, the famous baseball manager, was once asked to name his greatest day in baseball. He replied, "I haven't had it yet." And I would like to invite you to consider this important question. How could you employ your life more constructively than in getting ready for those exciting experiences that you haven't yet had?
H. G. Wells gave us some stimulating self-improvement help, when many years ago he wrote an interesting fantasy entitled The Time Machine. Out of his imagination he invented a machine that could carry people through time much as an airplane carries us through space. In his time machine Mr. Wells could go thousands of years back into the past in just a few minutes. Being a historian he took great delight in witnessing the important events of history while they were actually taking place.
He made a trip back to the year 1066 to verify personally some of the details of the Battle of Hastings. Then he went still farther back for a visit in the Golden Age of Greece, and he personally discussed philosophy with Socrates 400 years B.C. With his mission completed, his time machine would bring him back into the present. Then by pushing the lever in the other direction, this time scientist could with equal speed go up into the future to study civilizations and institutions as they would someday actually be. And his speedometer always indicated which year of time he was in.
Time in Mind
While this story is only a fantasy, it contains the germ of a great possibility. Actually our minds have been equipped with some significant time-traveling abilities. In thought, we can go backward or forward across time faster than any missile can travel through space. In President McKay's great book, Gospel Ideals, he has one paragraph in which he says, "Last night I dreamed about my mother." And then he said, "I would like to dream about my mother more often." In his dream he went back into his own past and relived those important days at his mother's knee, when he learned the lessons of life that brought him to the presidency of the Church. Upon awaking he found that his ideals had been renewed and his ambitions greatly strengthened. He had revitalized his life by reabsorbing the original good from the greatest experiences of his own past.
Past and Future
Whether we refer to this process as reflection, meditation, or assimilation, a great source of strength may be had from reliving the past. An even greater source of strength can come from pre-living the important events of our own futures. This ability to look ahead might be called vision or foresight or the utilization of that wonderful power of imagination, which is like a giant radar beam searching the skies of future years. Someone has said that one of the greatest gifts that God has ever given to man is an imagination.
When in our minds we pre-live our marriage, we help to determine the kind of person that we would like to be when that event arrives. As we pre-live our success, we develop the abilities necessary to bring it about. And with the information and direction given us in the Holy Scriptures we can even pre-live that important period that lies beyond the boundaries of this life.
"Time Travelling" by Prophets
In a very literal way, God has given important time-traveling abilities to the prophets; for example, Abraham was permitted to go back thousands of years into the past to review his own premortal existence and learn something about the purposes of God, even before this earth had been created. In telling of this experience Abraham said, "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... said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.
"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;
"And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;
"And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep 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".
Then when Abraham came back into his own present, he was more thoroughly fortified for his future adventure in life. On the other hand, Moses was permitted to preview the entire history of the earth from the beginning to the end thereof. On that memorable occasion when Moses met God face to face on the mount, he was given a great vision, in which he beheld all of the earth. The record says there was not a particle of it which he did not behold, discerning it by the Spirit of God:
"And he beheld also the inhabitants thereof, and there was not a soul which he beheld not".
In large part the Holy Scriptures are made up of great revelations which God has caused to be written down for our use in preparation for those great days which we haven't yet had. For what advantage it may give us, just suppose that we practice pre-living our own resurrection. A recent newspaper article told of some Russian prisoners of war returning to their families after a twenty-year absence. We can imagine the pleasure of being reunited with loved ones after a long separation, but what a thrilling experience it will be to be reunited with ourselves.
We do not like to think about our spirits and bodies being even temporarily separated at death. But in the resurrection what will be the joy of the faithful when the spirit and the body will be inseparably joined together in celestial glory. Next to the human spirit, the human body is the greatest of all God's creations, without which we could never have a fullness of joy. Our spirits were begotten of God in heaven, and one of the most important purposes of our mortal lives is to be "added upon" with a body of flesh and bones.
This was also one of the important purposes of the earth life of Jesus. It has always been something of a mystery to me why some people are so insistent in depriving God, the greatest of all, of his body. This is especially hard to understand when we know that it was a part of the punishment for Lucifer's sin that he could never progress beyond the status of a spirit. If a body of flesh and bones were not necessary, it never would have been created in the first place. If it were not necessary for eternity, the resurrection never would have been instituted. If a body were not necessary for God the Father, then there would have been no point in God the Son being resurrected. Certainly a glorious resurrection day will be one of our most thrilling days.
Day of Judgment
One of the most important days of World War II was D Day. D Day was a term used to indicate an unspecified day on which some crucial military operation was to take place. D Day in World War II was on June 6, 1944. That was the day on which the Allied Invasion Forces swarmed onto the beaches of Normandy to reestablish their foothold in western Europe. D Day was the beginning of the end of the World War II. August 15, 1945 was called "VJ Day" or Victory in Japan Day. But the day that will probably be the most exciting of all of our days will also be a "J Day" or Judgment Day.
This is a term frequently used in the scripture to indicate another unspecified day on which the most crucial operation of our existence will take place. This is the world's "settling-up day." It is the day when the books are going to be balanced. This is the day that the prophets have looked forward to and talked about since the world began. In the scripture this day has been called by various names including "The Day of Reckoning," "The Day of the Lord", "The Great and Terrible Day". For some it will be doomsday, but many scriptural passages mention this day as though it needed no qualifying phrase. They merely call it "The Great Day". It is very interesting that at any important race the spectators usually congregate at the finish line. And what could be more exciting than to be at the finish line in the race of life. This is another interesting reason why we should be ready for "J Day." In our own time the Lord has said "Therefore... labor diligently... to bind up the law and seal up the testimony, and to prepare the saints for the hour of judgment which is to come".
We know quite a lot about "J Day," and apparently it is going to be quite a day. We know the purpose of Judgment Day. We know what action is contemplated. We know who will be in court. We know that God will be there. We know that all of us will be there. We know that all of the members of the Church will be there, and that all of the nonmembers of the Church will be there. Even Satan, and all of his angels will be there. The Prophet Jude said, "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".
Revelation of John
In an interesting "time-machine experience," John the Apostle was permitted actually to preview the judgment. This revelation was of such great consequence that thereafter he has been called John the Revelator. However, this revelation was not given for John's benefit alone. The Lord specifically instructed him to write down what he saw so that we might see it also. John says that while he was in the spirit on the Lord's day, he heard a voice behind him. It was a great voice as of a trumpet "Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book".
John says that he turned to see who spoke to him and he saw "... one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about... with a golden girdle.
"His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
"And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sounds of many waters".
The Redeemer Lives
This was such a glorious personage that John said, "And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
"I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive forevermore... and have the keys of hell and of death".
What a tremendous point to have clearly in mind, that the Redeemer is alive. And that he is alive forevermore. During the last few hundred years, the world has been flooded with the crucifix. It pictures a dead Christ upon a cross of pain. But Christ did not remain upon the cross. Neither is the tomb his dwelling place. He is alive, and he has the keys of death and hell. He also has the keys of eternal life and celestial glory. To make sure that we should understand, this glorious being said to John, "Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter".
Pictures Communicate
Anciently men communicated with each other by means of pictures. Now we usually use words to express thought, but we still think in pictures. If someone tells us his experience, we can understand it best when in our mind's eye we can actually see him doing it. The movie film and television have become popular because pictures are one of the best ways to get ideas into our minds. John didn't just get the facts about the judgment, he actually saw it as it will someday take place. Then he transmitted these ideas to us in words, so that we could reconstruct the picture in our own minds. How well we develop this mental picturing power will largely determine our future.
Former Prime Minister Disraeli once said, "Genius is the power to visualize the objective." This is especially true of eternal objectives. If we lack this ability, we will certainly have trouble. Recently a friend said to me, "I just can't see myself being active in the Church." Neither can he see himself getting down on his knees before God. There are some people who can't see the advantages of honesty or morality or complying with the other commandments of God. This is not because they lack eyes. What they lack is the picturing power of a great faith. It will help us to live more effectively if we project John's words upon the screen of our minds so that we will be able to see the picture of our greatest day as we will someday actually experience it.
John said, "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.
"And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works".
Even hell will be emptied for judgment day. The problem that troubles our civil courts is that those involved cannot frequently agree as to the facts. But probably no one will be disposed to argue on J Day. If God could show Abraham a rerun of his experience before the earth was created and if he could show Moses the entire history of the world before it happened, we can be sure that he can show us every detail of our lives exactly as they took place, with nothing left out.
An ancient American prophet asks this important question. He said, "... can ye imagine yourselves brought before the tribunal of God with your souls filled with guilt and remorse, having a remembrance of all of your wickedness, yea, a perfect remembrance of all your wickedness, yea, a remembrance that ye have set at defiance the commandments of God?".
Imagine Judgment Day
That calls for an important ability, and the best way to avoid possible tragedy is to focus our imagination upon J Day before we actually get there. We can be absolutely certain that we will all want to be a faithful, devoted, hard-working, enthusiastic, full tithe-paying member of God's kingdom when we stand before the judgment bar. But we must get the impulse to faithfulness ahead of time; as someone has said that hell is "truth seen too late."
Concerning those who fail to pass the final test on J Day, John says, "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire". What an experience that is going to be!
"New Heaven and New Earth"
Then for the benefit of the faithful, John says, "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
"And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
"And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
"And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
"He that overcometh shall inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he shall be my son".
My brothers and sisters, what a lot of thrilling experiences we haven't yet had! May God help us to be prepared for them when they arrive, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Mark E. Petersen
Mark E. Petersen, Conference Report, April 1964, pp. 16-19
Living in the great city of London, Sister Petersen and I feel as if we are in the middle of the stage of the world watching a tremendous drama move forward. We are living in a most interesting period of the world's history. Sweeping changes are taking place, and events are moving forward with tremendous speed.
Revolution
Actually we are passing through a worldwide revolution in thought, education, politics, science, and religion. Values have changed; aims and objectives are widely different.
In no area is there a more interesting adjustment going on than in the field of religion. We are passing through a modern reformation, literally. In many respects it is similar to that of the sixteenth century, and yet it is totally different in other ways.
The most astonishing thing about it is that both Catholics and the major Protestant groups want it and agree that it is needed. Both are working to bring it about, each group trying to reform its own rituals and dogmas at first, with serious intentions toward a union of some of the denominations afterward.
Modern Reformation
It is significant and encouraging that in this modern reformation both Catholics and Protestants have in mind one great goal: to remodel their creeds and practices in order to bring them back to the teachings of Christ and the Bible.
That Christendom needs such a change, no one will deny. The churches themselves are the first to admit it, and are more vocal than any other group in calling for whatever steps are necessary to bring spirituality back to the people and the people back to the churches. But even some of the clergy have contributed to the weakened Christian position, which now makes this reformation necessary.
Clergy-weakened Religion
An archbishop in one great church recently challenged the miracles of Christ. A bishop wrote a book in which he repudiated the Christian concept of Deity and earned for himself the title: A Bishop without God. Another preacher warned his parish not to believe the book of Genesis, and certainly not to accept the story of Adam and Eve.
A Brooklyn pastor read to his congregation and recommended as good literature, excerpts from a book which was pronounced obscene by the New York State Supreme Court. Another pastor refused a request to read the 23rd Psalm at the funeral service of a mother because it was not in the printed liturgy. A group of divinity students at Oxford University told newspapers in England that the dominant church needed a "shock treatment," and they proceeded to provide it with a book entitled Objections to Christian Belief. As this sort of thing has grown in the world, it has become more than ever apparent to the leaders of Christendom that a change is urgently needed to save their crumbling structure.
Reformation, How Accomplished
The puzzling question is: How shall it be accomplished? Among the proposals are:
First-consolidate the denominations so that the strong will bolster the weak.
Second-Make the scriptures more readable. This point has resulted in a rash of new translations of both Protestant and Catholic versions of the Bible in modern English.
Third-Reform and modernize the teachings and rituals originating in the Middle Ages, which are ineffectual now in holding the interest of space-age worshipers.
One of the great Roman Catholic cardinals, taking a leading part in promoting this movement, publicly announced that a reformation of his own church is definitely required to meet the modern challenge.
His Eminence Julius Cardinal Dopfner, who governs the powerful See of Munich in Germany, was one of the four prelates chosen by Pope Paul VI to guide the debates in the last session of the Vatican Council. He recently voiced the most direct statement yet made by any high Catholic official on the necessity of extensive reforms in that church. In fact, he asserted, the reformation has already begun, for that is the principle aim of the Vatican Council.
Speaking in Munich's Congress Hall, following his return from the meetings in Rome, he told an audience of 2,800 people that the time has come for the church to change, and that the adjustment must be both a reformation and a renovation.
He said that many church members have been lost to Catholicism because in their eyes the church appeared to be a "superannuated souvenir of a past age" which opposes the principle of human freedom.
The church speaks to its members in an ancient tongue through incomprehensible rituals, he explained, adding that its preaching has little relation to present-day life. And then he said: "The reformation of the church must be based on the teachings of Christ and the Holy Scripture."
You may read a detailed account of his address in the Atlantic edition of Time magazine for February 7, 1964.
Newsweek magazine for March 30, 1964, reports that twenty-seven priests of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States have joined in writing a new book about the failure of the churches. They point to what they call "worn-out practices and attitudes" and call for a reformation "from top to bottom."
Revisions of Doctrines at Variance with the Bible
The Church of England recently published a book called This Church of England. It is intensely interesting and illuminating. After asserting that extensive reforms are urgently needed, it cites specific instances where doctrines and practices of the church are at variance with the Bible; for instance, it points out that the baptism of infants is not taught in the scripture. It says further that baptism in the days of Jesus was performed by immersion, usually in a river, and that it was symbolic of the burial and resurrection of Christ.
A modern interpretation of the Ten Commandments is called for, as well as a revision of the prayer book, which is the basic liturgy of the church. As it now stands the prayer book is regarded as being too characteristic of the sixteenth century.
Phases of the reformation of that church are being debated currently in Parliament which has the last word on changes in the form of worship.
The Central Advisory Council of the Anglican Church is presently attempting to reform the parish system which it says is "quaint" since it dates back to the seventh century.
Infant Baptism
The attitude of some of the clergy in regard to returning to Bible practices, especially with respect to infant baptism, is shown in the publication of the Woodford Parish magazine in England for February 1964. In this issue the rector of that church said:
"Generations of English babies have been nurtured on this hypocrisy. Their first contact with Christ and his church, through infant baptism, is an unreal mixture of humbug and nonsense. As one vicar said to me, 'I have no desire to increase the number of baptized pagans walking about in this parish.'"
And then the rector continues: "It is high time honesty began again in the House of God. And where better than in the service of Christian initiation, baptism? Why not keep it for grownups as in New Testament times, and have some simpler, more genuine service for babies?
"We never read in the New Testament of our Lord baptizing babies. But we do read of him blessing them.
Blessing of Babes
"Why then don't we adopt this New Testament practice, the practice of the Lord himself, and bring children to church for blessing?
"In my church at Woodford we have just such a service. I call it an order of infant naming and blessing, with thanksgiving of parents."
And then the good rector continues:
"Do we cling to infant baptism because we are too superstitious? Let us never forget that God is as sweetly reasonable as we are. If we think that a dying baby must be baptized, we must look carefully to see whether we have not gone over the border of true religion into the realm of superstition and magic."
Products of Dark Ages
When the doctrines of Christendom are studied carefully, it is seen that much of our present-day worship is a product of the Middle and Dark Ages, with relatively little of it going back to the time of Christ.
As a result, any return to Jesus and the Bible will be revolutionary in its effect because most of the liturgies of today originated long after Christ and centuries after the Bible was compiled.
They would, therefore, have to be discarded if a literal return to the early Christian Church is seriously considered. When today's religious scholars speak of returning to Christ and the Bible we are inclined to ask:
Return to Bible?
Will the church membership respond to the radical adjustment that will be required to return to Bible practices, steeped as they are in tradition?
Does the Bible contain enough detail to instruct them fully regarding the original Christian Church and its doctrines, so that they really may accomplish this return?
On this latter point, the clerics say that the Bible is sufficient, for it contains all of God's word. And yet the Bible itself admits that it is an incomplete record and does not contain all of God's word. It mentions other books of scripture which are not within its covers and therefore are not available for study by anyone seeking the full truth of the gospel.
Missing Books
Moses spoke of the "Book of the Covenant," which we do not have. He also mentions the "Book of the Wars of Israel," which has never been found.
We might not miss reading about their wars, but it would be most helpful in a return to God if mankind had the book of the sacred covenants which the Almighty made with his people.
The "Book of Jasher," referred to by Joshua, is not in the Bible. The same is true of the "Book of the Acts of Solomon," referred to in First Kings.
The books of Nathan and Gad, both of whom were prophets and seers, are missing. As inspired men, their writings would be an enlightening guide on the way of truth.
Ahijah and Iddo were prophets and seers likewise. Would their works not inspire modern people if they were available? But where are they? Can we say that our Bible is actually complete without them?
The "Book of Jehu" is mentioned in the Old Testament but is not included in it. Isaiah wrote a second book known as the "Acts of Uzziah", but where is it? Will anyone say that Isaiah's writings are not inspirational? His second book might prove to be most invaluable if we had it.
"The Sayings of the Seers", another book of sacred writings, is referred to in the Bible. Where is it now? Would it not be good for today's Christians in their spiritual meanderings?
Paul wrote letters, in addition to those we have in our Bible, and speaks of them. He wrote a third letter to the Corinthians, and at least another one to the Ephesians. Where are they? He also wrote an Epistle to the Laodiceans, but it is not in our possession. Is the Bible then complete? Does it contain all of God's word?
Jude wrote another Epistle in addition to the one in the New Testament. He also mentions a volume of scripture known as the "Prophecies of Enoch" to which he evidently had access, but which we do not have today.
The Savior's Teachings
Then there is the matter of the Savior's teachings. He lived an intensive and full life during the three years of his public ministry. He preached to multitudes repeatedly. He conversed with individuals almost constantly, and gave many intimate instructions to the Twelve.
Can anyone say that his three years of instruction are contained in the Bible? May they be read in the few hours it takes to peruse what he said in the four Gospels? Can three years of the Savior's eloquent teachings be condensed into three hours of reading material? The Apostle John says twice in his Gospel that not a fraction of the Savior's ministry is recorded.
Much as we love it, sincerely as we believe it, can we in all truth say that the Bible is complete, that it contains all of God's word, or even the full text of the Savior's instructions?
Obviously the Lord gave other revelations anciently. He had prophets in addition to those usually mentioned in the Bible. They spoke for him. They gave enlightenment to ancient men, and they would give us light, too, if only we had their writings.
Since men have strayed so far in the past with the Bible in their possession, is it likely that this same Bible by itself can bring them back to Christ?
The reformers of the sixteenth century had the Bible, but it did not keep them from drifting in different directions and disputing violently among themselves as to which way was right.
Can the reformers of today do any better?
Revelation Needed
Have they any more light and understanding? If so, where did they get it?
Further enlightenment, dependable enough to guide men back to God, must come from God. That means revelation-prophecy-today.
If our learned men really believe their Bibles to which they now hope to return, they will also believe that modern revelation must come to rescue them from the morass into which they have fallen, for that is what the Bible teaches.
When they seek a return to Christ and the Bible, they publicly and honestly admit that they have strayed from him and his teachings, and that the doctrines which they have taught all these years differ from the revealed word.
The scriptures predicted this departure from early Christianity; and when men return to the Bible, we hope they will read those predictions in it, for they are many.
But the Bible also foretells a new revelation in latter days-the actual revelation which is so greatly needed now to lead men back to Christ. A reformation cannot lead them back, but this new revelation can!
New Revelation
We Latter-day Saints have that new revelation. We have a new prophet and new scriptures also, which, added to the Bible, now point the way. This new revelation brought with it the true understanding of the nature of God and a restoration of primitive Christianity. That restoration is Mormonism. It came about through the ministry of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Jun. He saw God and communed with him, even as did Moses. He received revelations from heaven, as did Isaiah. Angelic ministers commissioned him for the work, giving him divine authority.
Through him the Church of Jesus Christ, as it was originally organized on the earth, has been restored in our day, with all its powers and blessings. And it is true. It is the beginning of a modern ministry of Jesus the Christ, whom we declare to be the Divine Son of God; that he lives, and that he has been seen of modern men in modern times in modern America. And this is the testimony which we bear in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Harold B. Lee
Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, April 1964, pp. 21-25
For the next few minutes I should like to direct your thinking upon one of the great quotations from our Lord and Master, a quotation which has been the text for many a discourse throughout the years. The Master said:
"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
"Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
"Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
"A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
"Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
"Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them".
I pray that what I may say about that quotation may be in harmony with the great keynote address, inspired as it was and delivered to us so masterfully by our beloved President.
Sometimes those who have discoursed upon this text have interpreted this parable or figure of speech, as you may call it, as the fruits by which a people or a person might be judged, applied primarily to temporal growth or to material gain. This concept is well illustrated by a recent article about the Church which appeared in a national magazine known as the Christian Century. This is what the article said:
"Looking at the phenomenal growth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in recent years other churches which view many Mormon beliefs and some Mormon practices as unbiblical and bizarre ask, 'What does it have that we don't?' "
The "Fruits"
Then the article goes on to enumerate the membership growth, the number of missionaries, the number of missions, the new congregations, the number of hospitals, the educational programs, church members occupying high posts in government. Then they go on to explain that while proclaiming disbelief in many teachings and disciplines they suggest a reappraisal of methods and programs such as house-to-house evangelism, relief programs for the poor, education, recreation, and employment for those who cannot provide for themselves, the requiring of two years of missionary service without compensation, and the extensive use of laymen to keep to a minimum the number of professional church leaders as possible explanations of the growth of the Church.
True "Fruits"
The article then concludes with this very significant statement from a book written by Frank S. Meads entitled Handbook of Denominations in the United States, who declared that the Mormons' "missionary experience strengthens both them and their Church, and offers a model of church service and zeal equaled in very few of the other larger churches in America."
This last comment suggests the true fruits by which the Church and its disciples may best be judged.
"He, the Omnipotent Guide"
This last quotation recalls something that was written by Dr. Mosheim in his Ecclesiastical History relative to the mark of the true disciples of the period following the crucifixion of the Savior. He said, "Historians testify that even after the Master's death, he was still their omnipotent protector and their benevolent guide." Dr. Mosheim speaks of the fulfillment of the Master's promise that he would send to them the gift of the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, who would "teach them all things, bring all things to their remembrance and show them things to come. He would guide them into all truth and would testify of him".
Then the doctor explains that this fulfillment came on the day of Pentecost. He records a remarkable change noticeable in the disciples after this great event in these words: "The consequences of this grand event were surprising and glorious, infinitely honourable to the Christian religion, and the divine mission of its triumphant author. For no sooner had the apostles received this precious gift, this celestial guide, than their ignorance was turned into light, their doubts into certainty, their fears into a firm and invincible fortitude, and their former backwardness into an ardent and inextinguishable zeal, which led them to undertake their sacred office with the utmost intrepidity and alacrity of mind. This marvelous event was attended with a variety of gifts; particularly the gift of tongues, so indispensably necessary to qualify the apostles to preach the gospel to the different nations. These holy apostles were also filled with a perfect persuasion, founded on Christ's express promise, that the divine presence would perpetually accompany them, and show itself by miraculous interpositions as often as the success of their ministry should render this necessary. And, indeed, there were undoubted marks of a celestial power perpetually attending their ministry. There was in their very language an incredible energy, an amazing power of sending light into the understanding, and conviction into the heart."
The Greatest Strength of the Church
Today, as it was then, it might well be said that the greatest miracles we see are not the healings of sick bodies, but the miraculous changes that come into the lives of those who become members of the Church, as all missionaries will testify. The greatest strength of the Church is not the number of units we have, not the amount of tithing that is paid, nor the congregations, but the greatest strength is the united and fervent testimonies that are in the hearts of church members. And by that same token, we might say that the greatest weapon against all untruth, whether it be in science, so-called, or in the philosophies of the world, or in communism, or what not, the greatest weapon is the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which preached in power will be a bulwark against these false ideas in the world today.
The Master made some applications of the meaning of these spiritual gifts as "fruit" or "fruits." He said, "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you".
Speaking of these same gifts, the Prophet Alma says: "Yea, after having been such a highly favored people of the Lord; yea, after having been favored above every other nation...
"Having been visited by the Spirit of God; having conversed with angels, and having been spoken unto by the voice of the Lord; and having the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and also many gifts, the gift of speaking with tongues, and the gift of preaching, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the gift of translation".
From the beginning, our prophet-leaders have declared, as did the Apostle Paul, "... that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you", and then he said, "If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are".
And again in a revelation in our day, the Lord said, "For if you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fulness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace".
In other words, these scriptures are repeating what the Master had declared: If we would have the good fruits of these spiritual gifts, we must make sure that we keep the tree good.
An interesting distinction between those who bring forth good fruit and those who do not is well illustrated in the parable of the sower, as you recall, where the Master described the three categories of presumably church members-those who brought forth fruit-"some an hundredfold," he said, "some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold".
And in the interpretation of Lehi's dream in the Book of Mormon, he has four categories: those who partook of the fruit, you will recall, and remained steadfast; those who did partake and then were blinded by mists of darkness which arose from the river and lost their way; those who went so far as to taste the fruit and then fell away because they were ridiculed by those living in spacious dwellings, representing the riches of the world; and finally those who refused to partake of the delicious fruit of the tree.
"Almost, but not quite..."
We were back East a short time ago, and a good bishop made an interesting comment about what he called the saddest words that he knows of a man in high station. He read from the words in the days of the Apostle Paul when Paul before King Agrippa had borne his powerful testimony of his conversion. King Agrippa's reply was, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian". Then the bishop said, "The king knew the truth but he lacked the courage to do that which would be required; and he could only say then, 'Almost thou persuadest,' almost persuaded under certain circumstances to do the thing the Lord would want him to do."
And then he characterized some things that he discovered in his own ward in a short but powerful sermon. "In response to the Master, 'Come... follow me', some members almost," he said, "but not quite, say, 'thou persuadest me almost to be honest but I need extra help to pass a test.'"
You young people in the choir might think of that.
"Almost thou persuadest me to keep the Sabbath day holy, but it's fun to play ball on Sunday.
"Almost thou persuadest me to love my neighbor, but he is a rascal; to be tolerant of others' views, but they are dead wrong; to be kind to sister, but she hit me first; to go home teaching, but it's so cold and damp outside tonight; to pay tithes and offerings, but we do need a new color TV set; to find the owner of a lost watch, but no one returned the watch I lost; to pass the Sacrament, but I've graduated from the deacons now, almost thou persuadest me to be reverent, but I had to tell my pal about my date last night; almost thou persuadest me to attend stake leadership meeting, but I know more than the leader on that subject, so why should I go. Thou persuadest me almost to go to Sacrament meeting, but there is going to be such an uninteresting speaker tonight. Almost! Almost! Almost! but not quite, not able quite to reach."
How to Cultivate Good "Fruit"
There are incidents which illustrate how good fruit can be developed by proper cultivation of the seeds of faith through keeping fully the commandments, and I want to cite just two very briefly, even though at first the quality of the fruits of the Spirit was not so.
I have on my desk a letter, and I shall not tell the name, of course, and no one excepting her will know of whom I speak, a mother of four who has gone through illness, pain that was alleviated by what was discovered later to be habit-forming pills, and then came the fight to overcome these devastating drugs until she almost despaired of life. Then she went to visit a friend, and to her surprise she found that her friend was paralyzed by some cancerous affliction and the severe medical treatments which had followed. After visiting this faithful, devoted friend, she went home. She said, "I had a long talk with the Lord, and I started to count my blessings instead of thinking that the Lord was persecuting me personally. Now I go to Sacrament meeting. Now I go to Relief Society. I am visiting the sick, and I am taking something that I have cooked when I visit. I am taking church books to friends from whom I had previously been estranged." Then she wrote, "I have now climbed from the dark depths of despair to the brink where I can now see the sun. I am trying to follow the counsel, 'Keep your eyes fixed on the stars.'"
A short while ago, Elder Franklin D. Richards and I late at night were asked by a fine young bishop and his stake leaders if we would participate in administering to him. He was facing the possibility of an operation for a fatal malady. They had in obedience to the Lord's command sought in the Lord's way for help. He was giving all the service he could as a bishop. He and his wife had been married in the temple, and with his wife they had been faithful in having a little family; and now he had come asking the Lord for help. We heard no more about it until this last week there came a letter from his wife that said this:
Rededication
"They operated and while they found masses of what had appeared by X-ray to be malignant tumors in the chest cavity, amazingly they were all found to be benign. As for my husband and me, one word describes our feelings now-rededication-to each other, to the Lord, and to our part in building up his kingdom upon this earth. My husband asked me to mention in this letter to you that the bishop who returns to the people of his ward is a more humble, compassionate, and dedicated servant than ever before. It has taken this experience, though frightening as it has been, to bring me to the full realization of how precious life itself is and how glorious is this gospel which unites a love like ours for all time and eternity."
Through their surmounting sickness, heartaches, and disappointments, their experiences had resulted in better fruit. They had proved their fruit by their works. By their fruits, the Lord has proved them. Life and service have taken on an altogether different meaning.
Development of Spiritual Qualities-The True Fruits
On a missionary program that I read the other night, words of President McKay were quoted that seem appropriate to what I am talking about. President McKay was quoted as having said: "Man's earthly existence is but a test as to whether he will concentrate his efforts, his mind, his soul, upon things that will contribute to the comfort and gratification of his physical nature, or whether he will make as his life's pursuit the acquisition of spiritual qualities."
In short, the President has said to us, the development of one's spiritual qualities will determine whether or not his has been a good tree, and that to be determined only by the quality of the fruit, or the spiritual gifts which come therefrom.
Mortality: Always Pain
A young mother went through the trying experience of having a little child who was killed in an accident, and she came and sought a blessing for comfort. She asked through her tears, "Must there always be pain in this life?" I thought a few minutes, and then said, "The Apostle Paul said of the Master, the Lord and Savior, 'Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered'. I suppose that the answer is yes; there must always be pain in this life of travail and sorrow, and there is a purpose in it all."
"The road is rough, I said Dear Lord, there are stones that hurt me so. And he said, Dear child, I understand, I walked it long ago.
"But there is a cool green path, I said Let me walk there for a time. No child, He gently answered me, The green road does not climb.
"My burden, I said, is far too great, How can I bear it so? My child, said he, I remember its weight, I carried my cross, you know.
"But, I said, I wish there were friends with me Who would make my way their own. Ah, yes, he said, Gethsemane Was hard to face alone.
"And so I climbed the stony path, Content at last to know That where my Master had not gone, I would not need to go.
"And strangely then I found new friends The burden grew less sore As I remembered-long ago He went that way before."
God help us to understand how we shall develop sometimes through heartache, sorrow, and tears those spiritual qualities except for which none of us can achieve to the place of kinship to him who suffered more than any of us may understand, and this I pray and bear you my solemn witness in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie
Bruce R. McConkie, Conference Report, April 1964, pp. 25-28
To all who love the Lord and desire salvation in his kingdom, I pose this question: Was Joseph Smith called of God? In every age the great question is whether the prophet of that day was sent of God. Those who faced the peril of a world-destroying flood were required to answer this question: Was Noah called of God? Those seeking escape from slavery in Egypt were forced to decide: Was Moses called of God? Those among whom our Lord himself ministered had to decide at the peril of their own eternal salvation whether Jesus of Nazareth was the promised Messiah, the very Son of God.
And so it is today. In an age when some people assume that Deity no longer speaks through prophets as he did anciently, the great question facing honest truth seekers is: Was Joseph Smith called of God? If Joseph Smith was called of God, the gospel plan restored through his instrumentality is the mind and will of the Lord and the only way whereby men can gain full salvation in the kingdom of heaven.
God has Spoken Again
Accordingly, we announce that God has spoken again in our day; that the heavens are no longer sealed; that revelation has commenced anew; that the promised era of restoration and gathering has begun. We teach and testify that God has restored the fullness of his everlasting gospel; that the Church of Jesus Christ-in all its glory, beauty, and perfection-has again been set up on earth; that the very kingdom of God is again here among men.
He has Conferred Power from "On High"
We speak with surety of angels coming to earth to confer priesthood, to bestow keys, to minister to men. We proclaim that an unchangeable God, in whose sight a soul is just as precious today as it ever was, has again poured out upon his Saints the same signs, the same gifts of the Spirit, the same miracles enjoyed of old. We are witnesses that the plan of salvation is revealed anew, and we are doing all in our power to teach its terms and conditions to our Father's children everywhere, so that they can gain peace in this life and eternal life in the world to come.
If all this is true-and we so testify -there neither is nor can be any message to compare with it. If the voice of God is heard again; if angels are descending again from the courts on high; if the gift of the Holy Ghost is again poured out upon men-what is there in all the earth to compare in importance with it?
And it all began, for our day, with Joseph Smith and other faithful souls associated with him. In the spring of 1820 a spirit of religious revivalism swept the frontier areas of America. Contending professors of religion were crying, "Lo, here is Christ," or "Lo, there".
Finding himself "In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions," Joseph Smith was led by the Spirit to ask: "Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?".
He read in the Epistle 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".
Guided by the Spirit, he did ask of God. And since the time had come for the opening of this final great gospel dispensation, and because he was the one chosen from eternity to commence the work, he received a transcendent heavenly manifestation.
The First Vision
"... I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun," he says, "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!".
Then from the lips of the Resurrected Lord, the young Prophet received the command to join none of the sects of the day, and also the promise that if he remained true and faithful he would be the instrument in the Lord's hands to restore again to earth the fullness of the everlasting gospel.
In due course, amid testings and trials, other revelations came. The Book of Mormon was revealed, translated, and published as a new witness of Christ and his gospel-an inspired record of God's dealings with the ancient inhabitants of America. Angels restored the priesthood and keys so essential to the work of the Lord on earth. The doctrines of salvation, as preserved in the Bible, were confirmed and clarified by modern revelation. New light and knowledge, new revelation, to meet all the challenges of a modern world, were added to the canon of scripture.
The Church Organized
On April 6, 1830, by revelation and commandment, the Church of Jesus Christ, the same organization set up and perfected by Jesus and his Apostles of old, was again established among men. In it the Lord placed Apostles and prophets, revelation and visions, signs and miracles, the gift of the Holy Ghost, the true doctrines of salvation-indeed, all that was enjoyed by those of old who wrought righteousness, obtained promises, and gained eternal life.
To this newly set-up kingdom of our Lord, the command came to carry the restored message of salvation to all men. With this commission came the revealed promise that the gospel would roll forth, as the stone cut from the mountain without hands, until it filled the whole earth. The present Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with its millions of members and tens of thousands of missionaries, is continuing the work which will some day see the fulfillment of this divine promise.
Now, what of all these things? Are they true or false? In the very nature of things there is no middle ground. Our position is not like that of other organizations or churches. We are a peculiar people.
Covenants and Commandments
We say God has spoken from heaven giving us covenants and commandments.
We say angels have come from the presence of the Lord giving the same priesthood possessed by prophets of old.
We say Joseph Smith was called of God to commence the promised restitution of all things and the latter-day gathering of Israel.
We say there are on earth today Apostles and prophets in the same literal sense in which such men graced this globe in generations gone.
We say The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the kingdom of God on earth and that in and through it men may gain the kingdom of heaven hereafter.
Now, these things are either true or false. Either God has spoken again or the silence of centuries remains unbroken. Either angels have come or they have not. Either the gospel has been restored or the diverse and variant forms of a waning Christianity remain the best hope of the world. Either Joseph Smith was called of God or he was not.
If Joseph Smith was a Prophet, our professions are true. From that spring day in 1820 to the present moment, Joseph Smith's name has increasingly been the center of religious inquiry. Hosts of men have sought to learn about his prophetic calling.
Once when he was in dire and perilous circumstances the voice of God comforted him with this assurance: "The ends of the earth shall inquire after thy name, and fools shall have thee in derision, and hell shall rage against thee;
"While the pure in heart, and the wise, and the noble, and the virtuous, shall seek counsel, and authority, and blessings constantly from under thy hand".
His Atoning Sacrifice
Certainly salvation centers in and comes because of Christ and his atoning sacrifice. He is the Lord God Omnipotent, the Creator, the Redeemer, the Savior of the World. But Christ is known by and revealed through his prophets. Joseph Smith was the revealer of Christ and his gospel to the world for this age. When the ends of the earth inquire after the name of Joseph Smith, it is because they seek the knowledge of Christ and of salvation that was revealed through him. Indeed, the revealed decree of Christ to Joseph Smith is: "... this generation shall have my word through you".
Further: To the newly established Church in this dispensation the Lord said, speaking of Joseph Smith: "... 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".
The Divine Mission of Joseph Smith
Thus when we bear record of the divine mission of Joseph Smith, we are also certifying to the divine Sonship of him whose servant the Prophet was. And when men of sobriety and sense testify, in all humility and with deep conviction, that they know by personal revelation that Joseph Smith was a Prophet, an obligation rests upon all who hear to investigate and learn for themselves whether that testimony is true.
When Philip learned for himself that Jesus was the promised Messiah, he sought out Nathanael and bore this testimony: "We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth..." Nathanael was skeptical. "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" he asked.
"Philip saith unto him, Come and see."
Nathanael came, investigated, learned for himself, and, speaking directly to Jesus, bore this testimony: "... thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel".
Restitution of All Things
Similarly, we say to all men everywhere: "We have found the mighty prophet of the latter days, the one called of God to bring to pass the promised restitution of all things spoken by the mouths of all his holy prophets since the world began".
We know some will be skeptical. They will say: "Can it be that there are actually prophets of God on earth again? Is it possible that God gives revelation today?" To which we say: "Come and see. Inquire. Investigate. Learn for yourself. Ask God. Remember the promise: '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'".
In issuing this invitation we know full well that "the pure in heart, and the wise, and the noble, and the virtuous," among all nations will gain personal testimonies of the divinity of this great latter-day work. They will know as we know that Joseph Smith was called of God, for the Spirit will bear record to them, as it has to us, and as it did to the modern Apostle who, in announcing for the Church the martyrdom of the Prophet, wrote these words: "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".
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder William J. Critchlow, Jr.
William J. Critchlow, Jr., Conference Report, April 1964, pp. 29-32
Once, as my wife and I were observing our wedding anniversary quietly at home I called across a room to her facetiously: "Mama, where will we be one million years from now?"
"Oh, pshaw," she said-just like that, without as much as a glance in my direction. She was busy frosting a cake. Then, all of a sudden, she startled me. Laying down her spatula, she turned and came toward me, and, grasping the lapels of my coat, she pulled herself up on her toes and with her lips close to mine, she said tenderly: "I only know I want to be with you, one million years from now. And may I have the boys home for breakfast every Tuesday, just as we do now? And may I have all of the grandchildren home for Thanksgiving? And may I have a big Christmas tree and logs in the fireplace and all of the family home for Christmas-just as we do now? And may I have a big home with lots of rooms in it? And will you keep saving up for it-just as you are now? Promise me, promise me, say yes, say yes, right now say yes."
So, I said "yes." I was trapped-and I promised, and I sealed the promise with a kiss. Well, she fairly pounded the promise out of me with her fists, still clenching the lapels of my coat. Besides, a promise with a million years to make it good didn't seem to bother me at that moment and, thinking out loud, I said, "If I save only one dollar a year over a million years, I could save a million dollars and that should buy a mansion."
"That's what I want;" she said, "a mansion. Jesus said 'In my Father's house are many mansions' and we'll need one-a big one for our spirit children. I hope we have many of them. Daddy, your family may not all be raised-one million years from now. You see, dear,"-she was still talking, and now there was no trace of facetiousness in her speech-"my love for you is eternal, as is my love for our children-those with us now and those to come hereafter. I want an eternal family. I want to share with you eternal life. Please build for all of us a 'mansion in the sky.' Save up for it please."
Eternal Life
Those last three short sentences:-
My love for you is eternal... I want an eternal family... I want to share with you eternal life-
comprise the prettiest speech my wife ever meant to make. Factually she didn't speak them-save in her heart, but she did inspire them. The melody was hers; I added the lyrics. What a melody of love for couples contemplating marriage vows-husbands and wives-others-who will pause to ponder on what eternity may hold for them, future-wise.
President McKay must have pondered on eternity, else why did he write: "love is as eternal as the spirit of man... if earthly things are typical of heavenly things, in the spirit world we shall recognize our loved ones and know them as we loved them here....Why should death separate you when love will continue after death?"
The Prophet Joseph Smith, pondering eternity, said he expected "to take his relatives and friends by the hand, and embrace them. Father, son, mother, daughter, brother, sister, wife, children-these all would be as dear in the Hereafter as here."
Parley P. Pratt, also pondering eternity, wrote: "The order of God's government, both in time and in eternity, is patriarchal; that is, it is a fatherly government. Each father who is raised from the dead and made a partaker of the celestial glory in its fullness will hold lawful jurisdiction over his own children and over all the families which sprang of them to all generations, forever and ever."
President McKay, Joseph Smith, and Parley P. Pratt were obviously speaking of souls who faithfully observe the laws and ordinances of the gospel.
My bride and I, pondering eternity, decided, of course, on a temple marriage. Our children came to us under that marriage covenant. The plans for building a "mansion in the sky" we found in the gospel plan-and in that plan we learned how to build, also how to save to insure eternal love and eternal life.
My wife, in her pretended pretty speech, pleasingly disclosed what the gospel may do for faithful, covenanted children hereafter, or future-wise.
Pertinent to that future state, the Apostle Paul made this cheerful comment: "... God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began", "... in the hope of eternal life" things that "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of men, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him".
Suppose we now come down out of the "clouds of heaven" and pull our thoughts away from "mansions in the sky" and focus them for a minute or two on the blessings which the gospel holds for us present-wise, right here and now.
Blessings of the Present
First on my list I've placed:
The privilege of associating and fellowshipping with good friends and you great leaders. This is a blessing we usually take for granted. I have found such leaders and friends in every stake and mission in which I've visited. And how I have enjoyed them.
Opportunities for service is another very special privilege and blessing.
Happiness, a by-product of service, naturally follows opportunity for service. Only those who have served will appreciate this blessing. Returned missionaries attest this enthusiastically.
Health through obedience to the gospel's law of health, the Word of Wisdom-is a blessing sometimes lightly appreciated.
Ministrations of the Holy Ghost, to acquaint me with truth and to comfort me in trials and sorrows, are blessings I wish I had time to explore with you.
Peace of mind is another blessing which I must explore briefly.
Once when Dr. Joshua Loth Liebman was a young man, he "undertook to draw up a catalogue of the acknowledged 'goods' of life... I set down," he said, "my inventory of earthly desirables: health, love, beauty, talent, power, riches, and fame.... When my inventory was complete I proudly showed it to a wise elder...
"'An excellent list,' he said, 'and set down in not-unreasonable order. But... you have omitted the most important element of all... lacking which... your list an intolerable burden.'
"With a pencil stub he crossed out my entire schedule. Then... he wrote down three syllables: peace of mind.
Peace of Mind
"'This is the gift that God reserved for His special protégés,' he said. 'Talent and health He gives to many. Wealth is commonplace, fame not rare. But peace of mind... He bestows it charily.'
"'This is no private opinion of mine,' he explained. 'I am merely paraphrasing from the Psalmist... God, Lord of the Universe... heap worldly gifts at the feet of foolish men... Give me the gift of the Untroubled Mind.'"
Dr. Liebman may yet discover that the gift of an untroubled mind, like happiness, is a by-product of gospel living. I do sincerely believe the gospel of Jesus Christ is a certain, a sure, and a true source of peace of mind.
Our Heavenly Father wants his children to be happy, to have joy and untroubled minds. He didn't send us to earth to be rid of us. He loves us. He doesn't always love the things we do, but he does love us, and he has provided for us a program, a recipe, if you please, for our happiness and peace of mind. We call it the gospel of Jesus Christ, a few clear, concise, simple laws which if observed will provide the joy he intended for us.
"... men are, that they might have joy," said an ancient prophet.
Fullness of Joy
Jesus said, "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full".
The great American prophet Joseph Smith wrote: "Happiness is the object and design of our existence, and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it".
Trodding that gospel path I have found happiness and peace of mind. I commend that path to Dr. Liebman and to others as a "sure fire" remedy for troubled minds.
The gospel answers satisfactorily for me problems which have piqued man's curiosity and peace of mind throughout the ages, such as why I am here, from whence I came, and my status after death. The gospel has resolved these problems for me-it will for all who accept it.
Blessings of the Priesthood
The opportunity to have the priesthood is, in my humble opinion, perhaps the greatest blessing to accrue to me by virtue of the gospel and my membership in the Church. Appraising this blessing our Lord and Savior said:
"... all they who receive this priesthood receive 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 him".
Obviously, all that the Father hath will not accrue to men here in this mortal sphere of everlasting life, but when did our Father ever place a limit on the number of blessings mortal men might receive in time and place of need provided they honor their priesthood?
To Jesus was given the assignment of organizing or creating the world. He was also given the responsibility of carrying out his Father's program here on earth. To assist him in his administrative duties he has chosen administrative assistants and made them officers in his kingdom. These are they who hold the priesthood. He has also provided, all through the ages, direct lines of communication to his prophets, the higher officers in his kingdom, for conveying instructions in matters concerning his kingdom. He has also set up transmission lines and service leads through which the power of God may flow to all of his officers.
The power of priesthood is not in his officers but through them just as the power of electricity is not in the wire but through it. Carelessness around electric power lines can be suddenly lethal. Carelessness around priesthood power lines can be slowly lethal, producing a lingering, withering, spiritual death.
The genius of man, employing the great power called electricity, has made possible the transmission and reception of sound and sight all over and around the world-perhaps beyond-who knows. The sets employed are the telegraph, the telephone, radio, and TV. But the genius of man is dwarfed by the omnipotence of God, who, employing that great power of God-priesthood, has created sets that are truly "out of this world," for out of this world and far beyond, even nigh unto Kolob where God dwells, their messages are beamed. We call these marvelous sets, mortal bodies, my body, your bodies.
These souls can dial God in anytime, anyplace, in any circumstances by merely saying, "Our Father who art in heaven". And there will never be a busy line, never any interference, never a line out of order. God always hears and answers the prayers of the faithful.
His messages to his children usually come by inspiration or revelation. Oral messages are not always exclusively for his prophets.
When these human receiving sets are energized with priesthood, by the laying on of authoritative hands, the communication lines are activated and the transmission lines are opened to permit the flow of priesthood power. And by that power the sick are blessed, the sorrowful are comforted, the abilities of officers to serve are strengthened. Men are thus empowered and magnified in their callings.
The gospel and my church membership afford me the opportunity to have the priesthood. It is a very choice blessing.
My list of gospel blessings is not exhausted-far from it. Time, however, forbids exploring them.
I began this talk with a fanciful little speech by my wife on what the gospel may hold for her future-wise. I added a few things, but only a few, to show what the gospel has done for me and may do for you present-wise. May I conclude with a word or two about what the gospel teaches about our blessings, past-wise, pre-natal, or pre-earth. A comment by Father Abraham, uttered nearly 4,000 years ago, should suffice:
Intelligence Before the World Was
"Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham the intelligences that were organized before the world was, and among all these 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.
"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;
"And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;
"And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep 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.
"And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first.
"And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate, and, at that day, many followed after him.
"And then the Lord said: Let us go down, And they went down at the beginning, and they, that is the Gods, organized and formed the heavens and the earth".
The Prophet Joseph Smith has supplemented Abraham's comment with this informative sentence:
"Every man who has a calling to minister to the inhabitants of the world was ordained to that purpose in the Great Council of heaven before the world was"
"Minister to the Inhabitants of the World"
These comments by Abraham and Joseph Smith give unspeakable joy to my soul, and they firm up my peace of mind no end because they give assurance that: I, along with you, was judged worthy to come to earth in the flesh. We were reserved to come in the greatest dispensation of them all-the "Dispensation of the Fullness of Times."
We who bear the priesthood were ordained in the Great Council of Heaven "to minister to the inhabitants of the world." Thus the gospel has taught me about great blessings which accrued to me before I came to earth-pre-natal, pre-mortal, pre-earth or past-wise as I have already called it
So past-wise, present-wise, future-wise or any-wise or way I look at it, the gospel is very dear to me. It truly is a program for happiness and peace of mind. It is the Great Physician's unfailing prescription for troubled souls. It's precious. I love it. I love its author, and I bear my solemn witness that he is the Son of God, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Howard W. Hunter
Howard W. Hunter, Conference Report, April 1964, pp. 33-36
In the twenty-fourth chapter of Second Samuel is an interesting story which contains a great lesson. King David had caused a census to be taken of all the people under his rule. The principle reason for taking the census was his pride in military strength and power. Because of this sin of pride, the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel and 70,000 men perished from Dan to Beersheba. The Prophet Gad came to David and said to him:
"Go up, rear an altar unto the Lord in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite.
"And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as the Lord commanded".
When Araunah saw King David coming with his servants, he went to meet them and bowed down to the ground.
"And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the Lord, that the plague may be stayed from the people".
In a great display of generosity, Araunah offered to give the threshingfloor to the king so that he might erect the altar. He also offered him oxen for the burnt sacrifice, the threshing instruments, and the yoke of the oxen for wood. All of these things Araunah offered to give to the king without any cost. David refused the gift and we read his classic reply:
"And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
"And David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord was entreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel".
Gift of No Value, No Gift
David would not make an offering unto the Lord of that which cost him nothing. He no doubt reasoned that unless the gift cost the giver something of value, it was not fit or appropriate to be an offering for the Lord.
Christ said it is more blessed to give than to receive, yet there are some who will give only if it costs them nothing. This is not according to the teachings of the Master who said: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself".
There are some who will not live the law of tithing because of the cost. This is in contrast to the reasoning of David who would not make an offering unto the Lord unless it cost him something. The great moral principles encompassed in the law of tithing are overlooked by those who are not tithepayers, and the lack the understanding of the law and the reasons for it.
"Tithe," for Sacred Uses
The word "tithe" is derived from the Anglo-Saxon meaning "a tenth." It may be defined as a tenth of property or income which is paid over or dedicated for sacred uses or purposes. The history of the word, as traced through biblical and extra-biblical history, focuses our attention upon some very interesting information.
The "Tithe" of Abraham
The first distinct mention of the word "tithe" in the Bible is in the very first book of the Old Testament. Abram, returning from the slaughter of the four kings, was met by Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of the Most High God. Melchizedek blessed him, and Abram "gave him tithes of all".
Of Jacob
A few chapters later in the same book, Jacob, at Bethel made a vow in these words:
"If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
"So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God:
"And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee".
The third mention is in connection with the Levitical law. The Lord spoke through Moses:
"And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's: it is holy unto the Lord".
Of the Levites
Under this Levitical law the tithes were given to the Levites for their maintenance, and they in turn were charged with the paying of tithes on that which they received as shown by the words of the Lord as he instructed Moses:
"Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave offering of it for the Lord, even a tenth part of the tithe".
This clearly indicates that the law of tithing was a part of the Levitical law and paid by all people-even the Levites themselves who were directed to pay tithing on the tithes which were received by them.
A Universal Law
There are some who take the position that the law of the tithe was only a Levitical institution, but history confirms the fact that it has been and is a universal law. It was basic in the Mosaic law. It had existed from the beginning and is found in the ancient Egyptian law, in Babylonia, and can be traced throughout biblical history. It was mentioned by the Prophet Amos and by Nehemiah who was charged with the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. Shortly thereafter Malachi began an even greater task of rebuilding the faith and the morale of a nation. In his supreme effort to strike out against the covetousness of those who were religious only in name, he lashed them with the accusation of a crime against God.
"Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
"Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
"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".
Malachi's Charge
The words of Malachi in which he accused the people of robbing God bring back to my mind the memories of my class in crimes in law school. Larceny is the unlawful taking and carrying away of things personal with intent to deprive the owner of the same. Embezzlement is defined as the fraudulent appropriation of another's personal property by one to whom it has been entrusted. The distinction between larceny and embezzlement lies in the character of acquiring the possession of the property or money. In larceny there is an unlawful acquisition of the property, while in embezzlement the property which belongs to another is acquired lawfully and then fraudulently converted to the possessor's use.
In order to memorize these distinctions, I pictured in my mind, to represent larceny, a masked burglar, sneaking about under the cover of darkness, taking that which was not his. To represent the theory of embezzlement I thought of a non-tithepayer. The Lord's share came into his hands lawfully, but he misappropriated it to his own use. This seems to be the accusation of Malachi.
Universal Law Reiterated
The words of Malachi close the Old Testament with a reiteration of the law of tithing, indicating there had been no abrogation of this law which had existed from the beginning. The New Testament dispensation, therefore, commenced under this admonition which continued in effect unless denounced by the Savior. He said in his Sermon on the Mount: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
"For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled".
There are some who make the assertion that Jesus denounced tithing in his last public discourse in the temple court when he struck out against the practices and teachings of the Pharisees. He said:
"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone".
This is not a denunciation of tithing, but a rebuke of the Pharisees and their legalisms. They were paying a tithing of their herbs and vegetables, while overlooking the great gospel principles of judgment, mercy, and faith.
The Law for the Latter-day Saints
Not long after the gospel was restored in this dispensation, the Lord gave a revelation to his people through a latter-day prophet defining the law and requiring that surplus property be put into the hands of the bishop:
"And after that, those who have thus been tithed shall pay one tenth of all their interest annually; and this shall be a standing law unto them forever, for my holy priesthood, saith the Lord".
The law is simply stated as "one-tenth of all their interest." Interest means profit, compensation, increase. It is the wage of one employed, the profit from the operation of a business, the increase of one who grows or produces, or the income to a person from any other source. The Lord said it is a standing law "forever" as it has been in the past.
Obedience Voluntary
The tithe is God's law for his children, yet the payment is entirely voluntary. In this respect it does not differ from the law of the Sabbath or from any other of his laws. We may refuse to obey any or all of them. Our obedience is voluntary, but our refusal to pay does not abrogate or repeal the law.
If tithing is a voluntary matter, is it a gift or a payment of an obligation? There is a substantial difference between the two. A gift is a voluntary transfer of money or property without consideration. It is gratuitous. No one owes the obligation to make a gift. If tithing is a gift, we could give whatever we please, when we please, or make no gift at all. It would place our Heavenly Father in the very same category as the street beggar to whom we might toss a coin in passing.
Tithing and Debt
The Lord has established the law of tithing, and because it is his law, it becomes our obligation to observe it if we love him and have a desire to keep his commandments and receive his blessings. In this way it becomes a debt. The man who doesn't pay his tithing because he is in debt should ask himself if he is not also in debt to the Lord. The Master said: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness: and all these things shall be added unto you".
We can't walk east and west at the same time. We can't serve both God and mammon. The man who rejects the law of the tithe is the man who has not given it a fair try. Of course it costs something. It takes work and thought and effort to live any of the laws of the gospel or any of its principles.
The Gift of Value
Are we willing to keep God's commandments even though it costs us something? King David refused the gift of the threshing-floor and the oxen for the burnt offering because it cost him nothing. He wanted to be in the position of having made the gift, the sacrifice, himself. Even tithing is not sufficient if it costs nothing for the giver.
It may be that we make a gift and also pay an obligation with our tithes. The payment of the obligation is to the Lord. The gift is to our fellow men for the upbuilding of God's kingdom. If one thoughtfully observes the proselyting done by the missionaries, the teaching program of the Church, the great educational system, and the building program to erect houses of worship, there will come a realization that it is not a burden to pay tithing, but a great privilege. The blessings of the gospel are shared with many through our tithes.
The Gift, With Love
The principle of tithing should be more than a mathematical, mechanical compliance with the law. The Lord condemned the Pharisees for mechanically tithing herbs without coming into the circumference of spirituality. If we pay our tithes because of our love for the Lord, in complete freedom and faith, we narrow our distance from him and our relationship to him becomes intimate. We are released from the bondage of legalism, and we are touched by the spirit and feel a oneness with God.
The Gift, With Faith
The payment of tithing strengthens faith, increases spirituality and spiritual capacity, and solidifies testimony. It gives the satisfaction of knowing one is complying with the will of the Lord. It brings the blessings that come from sharing with others through the purposes for which tithing is used. We cannot afford to deny ourselves these blessings. We cannot afford not to pay our tithing. We have a definite relationship to the future as well as to the present. What we give, and how we give, and the way we meet our obligations to the Lord has eternal significance.
Giving, Receiving a Testimony
A testimony of the law of tithing comes from living it. Like all other of God's laws, when we live them we receive the blessings. I know God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, and that blessings do come to us by living the law of the tithe. In the name of the Savior. Amen.
Elder Gordon B. Hinckley
Gordon B. Hinckley, Conference Report, April 1964, pp. 36-39
My beloved associates in the work of the Lord: I seek the inspiration of the Spirit. My heart has been warmed, and my testimony has been strengthened by the things to which we have listened.
I would be remiss in my duty if before I get into my text I do not say a word in behalf of my faithful associates in the distant missions of the Far East. I was delighted with the reports of President Tuttle and of Elder Petersen concerning the work in South America, the Isles of Britain, and the lands of Europe.
The Gospel to Ancient Asia
I should like to add that a great work is going on among the people of the ancient lands of Asia. I have an appointment in the next few days in Hong Kong, where we shall meet in a conference of the Chinese Saints. There will be approximately a thousand of them gather in that city, and as I look into their faces, there will come into my mind renewed faith and increased testimony in the power of God to touch men's hearts everywhere.
My heart skipped a beat this morning when I looked into this group and saw a man from Korea, one of my beloved brethren. The Lord is pouring out his Spirit upon that part of the world, and I thank him for that manifestation. Now to my text.
Faith in Revelation
I believe all that God has revealed, all that he does now reveal, and I believe that he will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the kingdom of God.
This paraphrase of a statement from the Prophet Joseph Smith is the creed and the guide of my life. It is the foundation of the faith of all members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The "Fount" of Inspiration
God is the one sure source of truth. He is the fount of all inspiration. It from him that the world must receive direction if peace is to come to the earth and if goodwill is to prevail among men. This earth is his creation. We are his children. Out of the love he bears for us, he will guide us if we will seek, listen, and obey. "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secrets unto his servants the prophets".
Our world is changing. We live in an age of great material progress. Can religion remain static when all else is moving forward?
It is true that man's essential nature does not change, and that principles laid down centuries ago by the prophets are as applicable today as they were when they were first enunciated; but the world evidently knows not how to apply them. Today that application needs the direction of the Almighty as certainly as when Jehovah spoke to Enoch and Moses and Isaiah and Elijah.
"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". And prophecy, which is revelation, comes not now, nor will it come in the future, by the will of man, but only as men of God speak as they are moved upon by that same spirit.
How poverty-ridden is our world in the wisdom of living one with another. The stresses, the strains, the tensions in human relationships, the wars and rumors of wars that constantly afflict us all become evidence that "... the wisdom of the wise has failed and the understanding of the prudent is hid". Religion, to be effective, must be a vital and timely force in the lives of men.
The people today need a prophet as surely as Israel needed a prophet when it groaned in the toils of Egypt, and Moses was called to lead it from bondage.
Channels of Communication Open
Israel today has a prophet, and we give our witness to the world that the channel of communication is open between God and his appointed servant.
We would not take from men of goodwill anywhere the standards of truth by which they live. But we say to all, "Come, feast upon that which the Lord has offered in our day. To that which you have and cherish, we invite you to add that which your Father has further offered, for there is a prophet in the land today as certainly as there was in ancient Israel."
There are those who have declared that the canon of scripture is full, that revelation ceased with the ancient Apostles, that the heavens are sealed. Well might we ask such, "Why, then, do you pray? If God is unwilling to speak, is unwilling to guide, if there can be no revelation, why seek him?" The fallacy of this position is evident; yet the world would deny the possibility of modern revelation.
Opening of Mission in the Philippines
Three years ago I had the opportunity of participating in the opening of our mission in the Philippines. It was an inspirational experience. We gathered at dawn in the American military cemetery on the outskirts of the city of Manila. There before us stood "row on row" the crosses that mark the graves of more than 17,000 American dead, and inscribed on marble tablets we saw the names of some 36,000 more who died in the battles of the Pacific and whose remains were never found-a grim and solemn reminder of man's foolish inhumanity to man.
Among those who spoke on that sacred occasion was a young Filipino. He recounted the story of how, when he was a child, he had found an old magazine in a pile of trash. It contained an article on the history of our people. It spoke of Joseph Smith. It described him as a prophet. That word "prophet" caught in his consciousness. It impressed him. It raised questions in his young mind. "Could there really be a prophet in the earth in this time of the world?" he asked himself.
A Filipino Seeks a Prophet
Years passed. There came to his land the terrible tragedies of Corregidor and Bataan and the death march to Tarlac; the strafing and bombing of Clark Field near his home; the hunger and fear and oppression of the enemy occupation; and then, finally, the liberation of the Philippines and the re-establishment of Clark Field as an American air base. He secured employment there. One day he heard that one of the American officers for whom he worked was a Mormon. There flashed again into his mind the word "prophet." He found courage to ask the man if a prophet really stood at the head of his Church. Without equivocation the officer replied yes, and there followed an explanation, a recounting of the simple and beautiful story of the appearance of God the Eternal Father, and his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to a boy who had come in faith and prayer to find wisdom. That testimony touched this young Filipino's heart. His life has been changed by the conviction that revelation from God is available to man in our time. Today he holds the priesthood and walks in the dignity of that priesthood, a leader of the Church in his own land.
Can one doubt the need for revelation in this day of complex human problems? Some weeks ago news was broadcast over the country that at a particular hour on a particular day the surgeon general of the United States would issue a report on the effects of smoking. The release time was carefully planned, presumably to affect the stock market least seriously. Then, as President McKay indicated this morning, at the appointed hour radio, television, and the news services dramatically announced the finding of causal relationships between the smoking of cigarettes and lung cancer. Lengthy tables of statistics, page upon page of data, were enumerated to produce the conclusion that cigarette smoking is harmful to health.
"Tobacco Is Not Good for Man"
I thumbed through that 387-page report, and then I turned to the revelation of the Lord given through the Prophet Joseph Smith wherein he said simply but unequivocally, "... tobacco... is not good for man".
I am grateful for the work of those scientists who made the report on smoking. I am confident that their discoveries will save untold suffering and add untold years of useful living to those who will heed their counsel. But how much suffering, how many deaths upon which their conclusions were based, might have been avoided had those who became statistics for a government report listened to the word of revelation given by a prophet of God.
As I reflected on that situation-the months of research by able men of science, the vast calculations of electronic computers, the great fanfare of announcements, the background stories, the editorials, the debates, all of this and more, in contrast with the simple, revealed word of the Lord-there came to mind the experience of Elijah on Mt. Horeb, as sung so beautifully by this chorus at the opening of this meeting: "... and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:
"And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice".
Such almost invariably has been the word of God as it has come to us, not with trumpets, not from the council halls of the learned but in the still small voice of revelation. Listening to those who seek in vain to find wisdom and who declaim loudly their nostrums for the ills of the world, one is prone to reply with the Psalmist, "Be still, and know that I am God" and with the Savior, "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear".
Wisdom by Revelation
I wish to make it clear that I do not disparage education, research, study, counsel. I believe most strongly in these. But I believe more so that this troubled world would do well to listen to the source of all true wisdom, to accept all that God has revealed, all that he does now reveal, and to believe that he will yet reveal many great and important things.
Let it be remembered that "the things of God are understood by the Spirit of God", and that revelation is fruitless unless it be listened to and obeyed.
We have a simple and marvelous hymn among us. It came from the pen of an English convert, an orphan boy, a man of Sheffield, a cutler in the steel mills, who more than a century ago wrote out of the testimony of his soul this great song of gratitude, "We thank thee, O God, for a Prophet to guide us in these latter days."
Revelation for the Atomic Age
To the world we give our witness that there is revelation of the word of God as certainly in the atomic age as there was in the age of Jeremiah. It is just that simple and just that true.
Joseph Smith was the anointed of the Lord to this dispensation. Well might we repeat the words of the Lord: "...What power shall 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". Knowledge has been and is being revealed. Those who accept is and obey it find that peace which passeth understanding and that growth which leads to eternal life.
As surely as Joseph was a Prophet, so also is his successor in office, President David O. McKay, who has stood before us this day. Who, seeing this man of God this morning standing at this pulpit and speaking to the world words that would save them, could doubt that God is manifesting his will through him?
God help us to be obedient to his counsel.
Of these truths we testify and invite men of goodwill everywhere to listen and learn and partake of that peace and that growth which our Father would have us enjoy, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop John H. Vandenberg
John H. Vandenberg, Conference Report, April 1964, pp. 46-50
Two weeks ago I was flying over the Hoover Dam as a passenger in a jet airliner. The person sitting next to me peered out of the window, viewing the vast reaches auld expanse of Lake Mead below, and then narrowing his attention to the Hoover Dam, exclaimed, "It seems incredible that such a small dam could control and hold in check such a vast supply of water."
Marvels of Men, How Achieved
We marvel at the works of man, but sometimes fail to remember the planning, the engineering, and the designing which is necessary to build a structure such as the Hoover Dam. Construction of such a work requires the careful placing of each bar of steel, the perfect mixing of each batch of concrete, the proper control of temperatures, and the exact performance of other manifold and critical details to achieve the necessary built-in strength to insure endurance and permanency to such a gigantic project. Now, just as it is necessary to carefully "build in" the needed strength to protect the safety of a material structure-so it is necessary to build into the souls of men the moral strength that helps mould character that will protect the safety of the individual.
Priesthood an Active Force for Character Building
Tonight, we have heard excellent addresses given by two young men holding the Aaronic Priesthood. They have shown evidence of having built moral strength into their character, as they have touched the hearts of this vast priesthood assemblage. The priesthood which we bear should be an active force to develop a more effective application of moral principles, thereby strengthening our powers to subdue the adversary.
The great Archimedes of Syracuse exclaimed to his king, "Give me a lever and a place on which to rest it, and I will move the world".
It is the Holy Priesthood, likened unto a lever, placed upon and entrusted to worthy men, that is bringing forth the mighty work of God.
"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". Thus spoke John the Baptist as he conferred the Lesser Priesthood upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery.
This was the beginning-as the Lord has said, "To prepare the weak those things which are coming earth, and for the Lord's errand in the day when the weak shall confound the wise, and the little one become a strong nation, and two shall put their tens of thousands to flight.
"And by the weak things of the earth the Lord shall thrash the nations by the power of his Spirit".
The Aaronic Priesthood, with its various offices of deacon, teacher, and priest, is conferred upon worthy men and boys in the Church over twelve years of age. It is expected that everyone thus ordained will officiate in his respective office and calling with dignity and devotion. The office of bishop is conferred by ordination to those especially called to administer all of the affairs of the Aaronic Priesthood in the ward.
The Office of Bishop
The office of a bishop is one of the great offices in the priesthood. It is highly important that every bishop in the Church recognize as a prime responsibility his calling and ordination in the Lesser Priesthood. The bishop is familiar with God's purposes, for God has said: "... this is my work and my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man", and the true bishop will resolve, "this is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of each boy and girl entrusted to my care." To do this requires not only dedication and singleness of purpose but also the necessity of being an example in his own personal conduct. Paul counseled Titus, "... a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;
"But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate;
"Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and convince the gainsayers".
Attitude of Bishop
The attitude of a bishop with respect to his calling may bring about the rise or fall of Aaronic Priesthood bearers in his ward. Advancement in this priesthood should warrant greater moral responsibility. Advancement to the office of a bishop means the greatest of moral responsibility not only to his own life but to the life of each boy and girl in his ward.
Assignments of Responsibility
I believe every boy looks forward to being ordained to the office of a deacon. He has prepared himself to the best of his youthful ability to receive the Aaronic Priesthood. From this point forward, if he fails to carry out the responsibilities involved, it is usually due to his own father's or to his bishop's neglect. This poses an awesome thought, but remember the boys must not stand alone, they "... need to have firm limits set for them as they grow," counseled Graham B. Blaine, Jr., "for only in this way can they learn to impose discipline upon themselves; without such limits they grow into irresponsible, selfish, and conscienceless adults."
A Testimony from Life
I believe every boy should feel as Elder James E. Talmage did when he was ordained a deacon. He said: "I was called and ordained one Sunday morning, without any previous notice; and that afternoon was placed as a sentinel at the door of the house in which the Saints had met for worship. As soon as I had been ordained, a feeling came to me such as I have never been able to fully describe. It seemed scarcely possible, that I, a little boy, could be so honored of God as to be called to the priesthood. I had read of the sons of Aaron and of Levi who were chosen for the sacred labors of the Lesser Priesthood, but that I should be called to do part of the service that had been required of them was more than my little mind could grasp. I was both frightened and happy. Then, when I was placed on duty at the door, I forgot that I was but an eleven-year-old lad; I felt strong in the thought that I belonged to the Lord, and that he would assist me in whatever was required of me. I could not resist the conviction that other sentinels, stronger by far than I, stood by me though invisible to human eyes.
"The effect of my ordination to the deaconship entered into all the affairs of my boyish life. I am afraid that sometimes I forgot what I was, but I have ever been thankful that ofttimes I did remember, and the recollection always served to make me better. When at play on the school grounds, and perhaps tempted to take unfair advantage in the game, when in the midst of a dispute with a playmate, I would remember, and the thought would be as effective as though spoken aloud-'I am a deacon; and it is not right that a deacon should act in this way.' On examination days, when it seemed easy for me to copy some other boy's work or to 'crib' from the book, I would remember again, 'I am a deacon, and must be honest and true.' When I saw other boys cheating in play or in school, I would say in my mind, 'It would be more wicked for me to do that than it is for them, because I am a deacon.'
"Nothing that was required of me in the duties of my office was irksome; the sense of the great honor of my ordination made all service welcome. I was the only deacon in the branch, and had abundant opportunity to work.
"The impression made upon my mind when I was made a deacon has never faded. The feeling that I was called to the special service of the Lord, as a bearer of the priesthood, has been a source of strength to me through all the years. When later I was ordained to higher offices in the Church, the same assurance has come to me, on every such occasion,-that I was in truth endowed with power from heaven, and that the Lord demanded of me that I honor his authority. I have been ordained in turn a teacher, an elder, a high priest, and lastly an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, and with every ordination there has come to me a new and soul-thrilling feeling which first I knew when I was called to be a deacon in the service of the Lord".
I am sure this testimony of Elder Talmage will make us appreciate more fully the great privilege it is to hold the priesthood.
Youth Wants to Be Strong
There is much evidence to indicate that young people want to learn and to be strong. A recent report in The British Journal of Educational Psychology said: "School children may be more eager to learn than teachers are to teach them. More than 800 British primary and secondary school children were given a list of qualities of good teachers that had been compiled from student essays. They were asked to grade these qualities in order of importance. The children rated the teacher's ability to teach above all other qualities and also put disciplinary skills above such personal skills as friendliness, patience, kindness, and good humor."
The Body a Sacred Blessing
Basically, the right and responsibility of teaching a boy or girl the sacredness of their bodies is an obligation of parents. Fathers should be so close to their sons that many discussions can be held on the subject. It is unfortunate when a boy holding the priesthood of God does not feel free to initiate such a discussion with his father and must satisfy his curiosity by listening to others.
Cooperation of Parents and Bishops
Bishops should encourage parents to learn the moral standards that have been established by God and urge them to teach such to their children when the children's comprehension level is such that it does not become suggestive. We have recommended to the bishops for a number of years, that they meet with the parents of every boy who is approaching twelve years of age to explain the programs, opportunities, and moral obligations of priesthood service.
This conference with parents is necessary to bring about greater parental encouragement to the boys. It would seem that a wise bishop might profitably explain to the parents at such a time the Lord's fiats on chastity and urge them to explain these things to their sons whenever their maturity level would justify.
In the book of Samuel there is an interesting account of the high priest Eli. Eli was a judge, a devoted servant of the Lord in ancient Israel. He was a descendant of Aaron through his younger son. Most often we think of Eli through his connection with the child Samuel in the temple. But the sons of Eli were evil and did not keep the commandments of the Lord. They, therefore, knew not the God of Israel but worshiped wickedness. The account reads: "Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel".
As a result of their evil acts, they were not privileged to administer the ordinances of the Lesser Priesthood. It would have been their right to continue in offering the outward ordinances of the Lesser Priesthood after their father's death. Instead, they lost not only the privileges of priesthood service but also eternal life.
The Lord condemned Eli, and he was no longer among the chosen because as a father he did not discipline and control his sons. "... I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth;" said the Lord, "because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not".
Someone has said: "There is no need of searching out your genealogy if you did not know where your children were last night." There is no calling in this Church that supersedes that of being a father. No assignment in the Church should ever be considered as an excuse to neglect the home. The home is the basic unit of the Church. Teach your sons by example to be loyal and faithful to the law, to the officers, to the priesthood, and to the authority of God. Your family needs your allegiance and fidelity to the Church which includes the home. Refrain from evil speech; your language should at all times be clean and elevating.
The late Elder Albert E. Bowen said: "... one of the marvelous things about the gospel is that when a command has been given, or otherwise to state it, a principle of progress is revealed, there is always incorporated a means for effecting its purpose".
Aaronic Priesthood, Effective Principle of Progress
Now to you boys, we want the Aaronic Priesthood to be an effective principle of progress in your lives to prepare you for leadership in the Church. This year we included some additional goals for you to achieve in the priesthood program. One of these is the memorization of specific scriptures. We chose them because we believe they will be helpful for you better to understand some basic tenets of the gospel. There is no doubt that you can learn them if you will just apply yourselves to the task.
The other evening, Sister Vandenberg and I were walking down Main Street. We were about fifteen feet behind two young men in their early teens. The smaller of the two was reciting with vigor part of Anthony's "oration over Caesar's body." I could not help but overhear-he did it so well. As I listened I thought how wonderful is the exuberance of youth with its ability to learn and absorb-I also thought of the goals we had set for the Aaronic Priesthood and felt good in the thought that if this youngster could recite literature on the street, certainly there would be no difficulty for the boys who bear the priesthood of God to memorize and recite the scriptures as assigned.
As I close, let us ponder the promise of the Lord: "Thou shalt take the things which thou hast received, which have been given unto thee in my scriptures for a law, to be my law to govern my church;
"And he that doeth according to these things shall be saved, and he that doeth them not shall be damned if he so continue.
"If thou shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things-that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal".
"Young Men, God Loves You"
Let me assure you young men that God loves you. You are a thousandfold more valuable than the works of men over which we frequently marvel. God, therefore, expects you to discipline yourselves and to build into your character virtues that will endure forever.
May God bless the Aaronic Priesthood of this Church is my humble prayer which I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Nathan Eldon Tanner
N. Eldon Tanner, Conference Report, April 1964, pp. 50-54
My brethren: To me it is a great privilege and blessing to be able to meet with the priesthood, and as President McKay said this evening, the largest body of priesthood that has ever met in the history of this Church.
"Seek ye first...."
What an inspiration it is to hear these young men bear their testimonies as to what the priesthood means to them and how they are determined to strive to live worthy of the priesthood which they hear. It makes me believe that they sincerely mean and understand that if they seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, all these things which will he for their good will be added unto them.
Bishop's, Father's, Advice and Example
As I look back over my life, I should like this evening to pay tribute to and thank my father and my bishop, who is the same man, for the direction and help and guidance and example he gave me all the time I was going through the Aaronic Priesthood quorums. He taught me all the time, "... seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness: and all these things, my boy, will be added unto you."
I remember when I was a deacon, we had no cars, no trucks. We had wagons and buggies-we usually had a democrat. When we went to priesthood meeting, we had to travel about eight miles, and we never missed the general stake priesthood meeting which was held once a month. My father used to try to make those meetings pay both ways; for instance, he would have a team and wagon full of wheat, and I would have a team and wagon full of wheat following him for about eight miles, which would take us just a little better than two hours to get to our priesthood meeting. And we would go early enough so that we could pick up a load of coal to bring back after priesthood meeting. But we never missed priesthood meeting.
As I think back over that experience I had with that wonderful man, I can't help giving him practically all the credit for directing me and teaching me to believe that if I would seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, all these things would be added unto me. That was a great lesson for me to learn.
I remember another thing he taught me which was very important. As a bishop he was not able to spend the time at home that some men can who are not bishops. He left us one afternoon while he was going out to look after his flock in the ward, and my brother and I were assigned to do certain things. He came back a little sooner than he had intended, or than we had expected him to come back anyway, and we hadn't accomplished what he had asked us to do. We had some calves in the corral we thought needed riding, and so we went about to accommodate those calves.
I will never forget the whipping my father gave me when he came in and found we had not done the work which we had been assigned. He called me over to him and he said, "My boy, I thought I could depend upon you." That is all he said.
"I Could Depend Upon You"
I made up my mind at that moment that father could never say that to me again as long as I lived and as long as he lived. And I was happy that he gave me that experience. A trouncing wouldn't have done the good that "My boy, I thought I could depend upon you" did. I made up my mind then that no one would ever be able to say, "I thought I could depend upon you."
I thought as these young men were talking here tonight, they should make it a matter in their lives that no one could ever say, "I thought I could depend on you," but could always say, "There is a boy that I can depend on." And we brethren who hold the priesthood should be the kind of men on whom the Lord knows he can depend.
It is an interesting thing that neighbors expect one another to keep their covenants and to keep their agreements, and if a neighbor makes an agreement with another neighbor and he doesn't live up to that agreement, his neighbor immediately rates him way down. But this same neighbor might be and very possibly is not keeping his covenants with his Heavenly Father. And I wonder if his Heavenly Father is saying to him, "Son, I thought I could depend on you."
Again I wish to say, if you seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, all these things will be added unto you.
I was pleased with this young man when he was telling what his goals are. Now he has set those goals with a certain class of persons with whom he wishes to associate. There will be some young people who will listen to that who will sneer. But I want to tell those young people that only as they live the way they should will they enjoy life. Never has any person at any time found joy in sin or doing that which is wrong.
"Have a Good Time"
I have a little story that I have told all over the Church; probably most of you have heard it. My daughter and her girl friend were at our house, and they were going to a party; then two young men came and called for them. I sat and talked to them. I love young people. As I was talking to them, talking about different things, I enjoyed my visit with them, and just before they were ready to go, I said, "Now, have a good time, kids." But just as they were going out of the door, I stepped over to my daughter and said, "Now, behave yourself."
And she said, "Well, Dad, make up your mind."
And I said to those young people so they could all hear me, "Have a good time, kids, the best time you will ever have in your lives, really have a good time tonight, but have the kind of time, such a good time, that tomorrow, next week, a month from now or a year from now, ten years from now, you can look back on tonight and say, 'I had a good time,' and have nothing to regret or be sorry about."
And I think they went and had a good time.
And that was my slogan for our missionaries in the West European Mission-to have a good time. One young man, after I had been talking to a group of missionaries over in Germany, came up to me and said, "President Tanner, I don't think it's right for you to tell these missionaries to have a good time because the only way they can do it is to do their work."
I said, "Go, and have a good time." He was right.
The story is told of another missionary over there who was discussing the gospel with one of the reverends, and the reverend wasn't making the progress that he thought he should, and finally he turned to the missionary and said, "Well, at least you will agree that we are both trying to serve the Lord." The missionary looked at him for a moment and said, "Yes, I think I would-you in your way, and I in his." Now, brethren, that might sound impudent, and maybe it was, if the story is true. But right there is a real lesson to me.
"Serve the Lord in His Way"
If I can serve the Lord in his way, and I am saying this to all the boys who can hear me wherever they may be tonight, then I am going along the path where I will have the greatest success and the greatest joy, if I can serve him in his way.
Too many of us, probably some sitting here tonight, would like to change the rules, and would like to serve him in our way, not his way. Some of us wonder why we have to go to church and keep the Sabbath day holy. Some of us wonder about paying a full tithing. Some of us wonder about the Word of Wisdom. Some of us wonder about other things-moral living. In fact a young woman came to me the other day and said, "President Tanner, I have tried to live the gospel just as nearly as I could possibly live it, as I understand it. I am a little older now. I am a teacher. I am still single. But I think you should know that too many of our young men today are saying, 'Oh what's the difference? What does it matter? That is a lot of nonsense.' And I know young men who are returned missionaries, I know young men who come from some of the best families who are saying the same thing."
I would like to say to you young people tonight that such an attitude is just as far from right as it can possibly be. You cannot do those things and enjoy the Spirit of the Lord and make progress and be the kind of person who will have joy in your future life, and the Spirit of the Lord cannot be with you, as it is if you are clean-living young people.
"The Power of God"
Let us never be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation, and let us never hesitate to call upon the Lord as these young men told us tonight that we should do. Stay close to the Lord, show your appreciation of the priesthood that you hold. Honor that priesthood and thank God that you have the priesthood. Imagine the priesthood being taken away from you tonight, any young man or any older man, because you are not prepared to live in the Lord's way, because you won't honor and respect and magnify your priesthood.
Brethren, it is a great privilege to magnify the priesthood, and to do the things that the Lord has asked us to do, and as you do them, you will find joy as you live here, and you will be working out your salvation and eternal life.
A Boy Taught by Heavenly Beings
As I think of that young boy, fourteen years of age, I would like you to imagine yourself being that young boy, when he went into the grove and prayed to his Heavenly Father, and imagine how he felt when God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ appeared to him and God said, "Joseph, this is my beloved Son, hear him". Now that young man after he left that grove was left alone for three years. He had no bishop, and he had no teacher. He had no Sunday School; he had no one except his family, who believed in him, to help him live according to the knowledge that he had. He remained true to the faith, he tried to serve God, and because he did, he proved true and worthy to accept the other blessings that the Lord had in store for him.
This young man referred tonight to John the Baptist appearing, and I wonder how those two young men, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, felt then, as he who baptized the Savior came and placed his hands upon their heads and gave them the priesthood; and then as Peter, James, and John, Christ's senior Apostles, came to them. Brethren, it was because they lived close to the Lord. They asked the Lord for guidance and sought first the kingdom of God and determined to keep his commandments.
Then, as I see that same young man standing up there, twenty-four years of age, saying to those who were associated with him, his friends and neighbors, "The Lord has chosen me and ordained me an apostle, a prophet, a seer, a revelator, and president of His Church here upon the earth."
Brethren, he could not have said that if the Lord had not chosen him. To that point he had received the priesthood, the Aaronic and the Melchizedek; he had been visited by the Angel Moroni; he had had the privilege of translating the Book of Mormon under direct revelation, and he gave us the priesthood that the Lord gave to him, and he, as you read in the twentieth and twenty-first sections of the Doctrine and Covenants, told the people what the responsibilities of the different quorums of the priesthood were, how transgression should be dealt with, how to administer the Sacrament, how to baptize, and he gave the prayers.
Brethren, he was inspired of the Lord. There is no question about it. And when we think of his receiving the revelation regarding the Word of Wisdom, and how many young people have ridiculed that Word of Wisdom and said, "You are old-fashioned; everybody is using tobacco." And now one hundred years later, scientists have proved beyond any doubt that tobacco is not good for man. It is harmful and is taking the lives of thousands of people.
"Be Obedient"
Brethren, let us be obedient to the Lord; let us be obedient to the priesthood. Let us magnify our calling so that it can magnify us. Let us not cheat as we go along and try to do it halfway, serve in our way; but let us serve in his.
The Folly of Cheating
As I think of the young men and the older men who do this part way, I think they are cheating. And I wonder "how can we think to earn a great reward if we now shun the fight?" How many of you would like to have a doctor diagnose your case, if it were a serious case, and then operate on you, if he were one who cheated his way through school? How many of you would like to have a pilot who got his flying license by cheating take you in one of these big jets today? How many of you would like to have a pharmacist who cheated prepare your prescription, given by a doctor, when your life depended on it?
How many of us can feel that we are safe if we now shun the fight and fail to honor our priesthood and magnify the calling that is given to us?
"Honest with Yourself"
Brethren, we have to live with ourselves. I have a little poem that I would like to read to you. Keep this in mind:
"I have to live with myself, and so I want to be fit for myself to know, I want to be able, as days go by, Always to look myself straight in the eye; I don't want to stand, with the setting sun, And hate myself for the things I've done.
I don't want to keep on a closet shelf, A lot of secrets about myself, And fool myself, as I come and go, Into thinking that nobody else will know The kind of man that I really am; I don't want to dress up myself in sham.
"I want to go out with my head erect, I want to deserve all men's respect; But here in the struggle for fame and pelf, I want to be able to like myself. I don't want to look at myself and know That I'm bluster and bluff and empty show.
"I never can hide myself from me; I see what others can never see; I know what others may never know; I never can fool myself, and so, Whatever happens, I want to be Self-respecting and conscience free." "Myself"-Edgar A. Guest
Brethren, it is a great privilege to hold the priesthood of God. You are the only people in all the world who are given the privilege to speak in the name of the Lord, who have been given that authority. I plead with you young men to live so that you can enjoy your own self-respect, the respect of others, and so that the Lord will be able to say, "There is a young man that I can depend on. He is a man who can hold any office in the Church and be a leader."
Let us go forward this night and always, seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, knowing that it will bring joy, success, and all things for our good. This is my prayer for you, as I bear my testimony to you that this is the Church of Jesus Christ, that the priesthood has been restored, and we are privileged to hold it, which is the power of God delegated to man to act in his stead. May we all be worthy of it and magnify our calling that it may magnify us, I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Hugh B. Brown, Conference Report, April 1964, pp. 54-57
Brethren, I feel as weak and humble as did Brother Plumb when he looked out at this vast congregation and imagined all of you out there who are listening in. I would like to say to these young men by way of encouragement that if they will continue, as they have started, to respond to every call made of them to stand before congregations for the next sixty years, as I have been doing, at the end of that time they will still be scared to death.
These young men have instructed young men of their age in certain activities and held up to them certain ideals, but they have in fact been talking to all of us. Whatever our age, whatever priesthood we hold, whatever position in the Church we may occupy, these simple rules of conduct apply to us.
Did you ever wonder what men think when they think of you. Of what do you think when I say the words, "George Washington"? You think of leadership and honesty and honor. Of what do you think when I say, "Abraham Lincoln"? You think of courage, of humility, of leadership. Of what do you think when I say, "Winston Churchill"? You think of one gifted with oratory which enables him to weld a nation into a fighting machine. You think of one with an underslung jaw and a big cigar, but you get an idea, and you think of something when these men's names are mentioned.
I ask you tonight, "What do your friends think when they think of you?" If they do not think accurately, if they know something that would cause them to be ashamed of your acquaintanceship, you can change it. Whatever a man is at any time in his life is a result of all the past thoughts and words and deeds that have come into his life. I am thinking tonight in terms of one of the problems which confronts all of us, deacon, teacher, priest, elder, seventy, high priest. I am thinking of one of the problems that confronts the world and is being introduced among us at an alarming rate. I am thinking of a certain course of conduct which is malignant, dangerous, death-dealing, and contrary to the law of God. I am thinking of chastity, or its opposite.
Let us get a vision of consecrated manliness and then conform our lives to that manliness in such a way that we will never yield to the temptations that would lead us away from virtue and honor and honesty and manliness. "He who profanes the source of life," someone has said, "sins against that which is indispensable to the very existence of life." Let us then never forget the sanctity of life. With every gift of power that comes to us, there comes a temptation to dishonor it, abuse it. You remember when Christ was on the earth the adversary tempted him, tried to get him to yield to the temptation to use his power to get bread when he had been fasting for such a long time, and the Savior reminded him that man does not live by bread alone. Satan took Christ then to a height on the pinnacle of the temple and tempted him to show his power and authority by casting himself down and said the angels would hold him up. Jesus resisted that temptation to abuse his power. Then Satan took him onto a high mountain and showed him all the wealth of the world and said, "All this I will give to thee if you will fall down and worship me," and Christ said, "Get thee behind me, Satan".
I repeat, with every gift of power comes the temptation to abuse it. Each man has within himself the power that can destroy him, and that is a fact that each man under the sound of my voice tonight should keep in mind. Each man or boy, whatever his age or his station in life, is subject to the temptation to destroy himself by reason of a God-given power which all of us have. All of us who know good sometimes feel within ourselves the possibility of evil, and while we may condemn sincerely and without any hypocrisy the evil in us, we are conscious that at times we ourselves are tempted to do the very thing we hate, and in doing it we hate ourselves as well as the thing we do. I think this caused Paul to admit, "... the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do".
Real character is formed in the midst of the battles for the soul. Christ offered peace, not in the sense of freedom from disturbance, but in the midst of disturbance. What we need is to develop within ourselves the kind of self-control that will enable us, in the midst of disturbance, to find the peace that comes into the soul of a man who is living as he knows he ought to live.
Charles Wagner said, "Why shrink from responsibility? Can we buy this great honour at too dear a price...? Do you know what degradation means to a soldier? It is to see his rank, his decorations, his epaulets, torn from him; to see these signs of his former value thrown at his feet! What is death in comparison with this dishonour? It is true that in the future this unfortunate soldier can sleep; he will never again mount guard; he will no longer cry, 'to arms; here is the enemy!' he will never again make an assault nor hear the bullets whistling round him... Very well; to declare that a man is irresponsible is to degrade him! Death were better".
And so I repeat, my plea to the men of the priesthood of the Church is to keep yourselves clean. Older men are yielding to temptation, to sin. Younger men are struggling with themselves. It is difficult sometimes for them to understand themselves because this God-given power of procreation carries with it a power of destruction. But it has, because of its life-giving nature, the possibilities of the greatest glory and joy that can come to a living soul. I believe that every man who is tempted to sin, to commit adultery, to become unclean in his habits, should examine himself and see whether he is harboring things that will destroy him.
I would like to leave with you tonight an appeal-especially to you stake presidents, high councilmen, bishops and counselors, heads of quorums, all in presiding positions-I would like to leave a plea that you get closer to your young people-and older people-under your jurisdiction and teach them the beauty of purity and let them know that purity is power. Sometimes some of us get the idea that certain people are not worth our attention. They have gone beneath and beyond what we thought to be worth saving. I would like to give you one little story to illustrate how sometimes we misjudge one another, and sometimes we are guilty of assuming that the one we are thinking of is not as good as we.
It was during World War I. We had a man in our regiment who was as tough as any man in the regiment; he was known as the unsentimental cuss; he was the kind of man that nobody liked. We thought he had no sense of emotion or of sympathy or of understanding. He could see his comrades shot down by his side and never bat an eye, and we didn't think he had in him anything that would indicate that he had any sentiment at all. I was guilty of saying in my heart, though I think I didn't speak it out loud, "I thank thee, God, that I am not like that man". There was another Pharisee once who said that, and this time I was the Pharisee.
We were in France. This man was called on duty to examine the mail, incoming and outgoing mail.
Well this unsentimental cuss was on duty reading mail, and he read a certain letter, a letter from a Mrs. Jock Anderson out in London, Ontario, Canada. She was writing to her beloved Jock, and she said to him, "We are getting on all right, my dear. The ten little bairns are coming along. I have had to wean the baby because I have to work to support the others, but we are mighty proud of you and proud of where you are. But, Jock, dear, our neighbor three months ago received word that her husband was missing. She said she had rather heard he was dead-she said she could hardly stand the uncertainty of it." And then she added, "Jock, my dear, join with me and pray God that I may never get word that you are missing."
This unsentimental officer read that letter but said nothing about it. That night there was paraded before him a sergeant and six men who were going out into no-man's land. They called the roll; the officer heard the name of Jock Anderson among those who were going out. They went out, and in the morning the sergeant and three men came back. Again they called the roll, and Jock Anderson did not answer. The officer said to the sergeant, "Do you know where Jock Anderson fell?"
The sergeant replied, "Yes, sir, he fell on an elevation on which is trained the enemy's machine gun."
The officer asked, "Do you think a man could go out to that body and get the identification disc off his neck?"
To which the sergeant answered, "Sir, it would be absolute suicide, but if you say so I will try."
Then the officer said, "I didn't mean that. I just wanted to know."
You know in World War I you could not declare a man dead unless you could produce his body or his identification disc. That night that unsentimental officer was missing, and the next morning there came up to the front lines a large regimental envelope. When it was opened, there fell out an identification disc with the name of Jock Anderson on it and a short note said, "Dear Major: I am enclosing the identification disc of Jock Anderson. Please write to Mrs. Anderson in London, Ontario, Canada, and tell her God heard her prayer-her husband is not missing."
That was the man of whom I had said, "I thank thee, God, that I am not like him." He had the courage which I never had to crawl out on his stomach in the face of almost certain death in order to bring to a woman he had never seen, 3000 miles away, the poor comfort that her husband was not missing.
And on the bottom of his letter he wrote, as though it didn't amount to much, "As for me, I am off for blighty in the morning. The doctor says it is an amputation case and may prove fatal. Cheerio."
Since that experience I have tried to believe that every man has something in him worth saving. Let us go out and help the boys and the men who are not active. Let us find the good in them and bring them into activity, and in the course of all that we do, let us keep ourselves pure and unspotted from the sins of the world. I leave you my testimony and my blessing and ask God to be with all who are in this building and you other thousands out there tonight. Make a resolution as these young men have pleaded for us to do, "... as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord". God bless you, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1964, pp. 57-58
We have the following telegram from Eugene K. Mangum, first counselor in the Phoenix West Stake: "At Phoenix, Arizona, 590 priesthood holders thrilled at messages over direct wire." Thousands can say the same.
I had in mind saying a word suggested by a visit to two fathers in this room-the two fathers of these two boys who have done so well tonight, and the pride in their sons which they had, the pride which every father has in his sons. My object in doing this was to make boys feel the responsibility of sonship.
Instead of referring to that, however, I am going to follow the thought mentioned by Brother Brown of keeping your manhood clean and unsullied. I do not know whether I can remember the lines or not, but I shall just refer to them and leave the reason of it to each of you.
I said I would have my fling, And do what a young man may: And I didn't believe a thing That the parsons had to say. I didn't believe in a God That gives us blood like fire, Then flings us into hell because We answer the call of desire.
And I said "religion is rot," And the laws of the world are nil; For the bad man is he who is caught And cannot foot his bill. And there is no place called hell: And heaven is only a truth, When a man has his way with a maid, In the fresh keen hour of youth.
And the money can buy us grace, If it rings on the plate of the church; And money can neatly erase, Each sign of a sinful smirch. For I saw men everywhere, Hot-footing the road of vice! And women and preachers smiled on them As long as they paid the price.
So I had my joy of life: I went the pace of the town: And then I took me a wife, And started to settle down. I had gold enough and to spare For all of the simple joys That belong with a house and a home And a brood of girls and boys.
I married a girl with health And virtue and spotless fame I gave in exchange my wealth And a proud old family name. And I gave her the love of a heart Grown sated and sick of sin. My deal with the devil was all cleaned up. And the last bill handed in.
She was going to bring me a child, And when in anguish she cried, With love and fear I was wild- But now I wish she had died. For the son she bore me was blind And crippled and weak and sore! And mother was left a wreck. It was so she had settled my score.
I said I must have my fling, And they knew the path I would go; But no one told me a thing Of what I needed to know. Folks talk too much of a soul From heavenly joys debarred- But not enough of the babes unborn, By the sins of their father scarred.
Men and boys of the priesthood, every member, the admonition of the Lord is "... be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord".
President Nathan Eldon Tanner
N. Eldon Tanner, Conference Report, April 1964, p. 59-64
My dear brethren and sisters, it is a blessed privilege to be able to participate with you this beautiful Sabbath morning in this inspirational conference, where yesterday we heard the stirring message of our beloved President, which was an inspiration to all of us, and where we were edified by other General Authorities.
In this historic building we have held these inspiring conferences for nearly one hundred years, where the Saints have been instructed in the ways of the Lord and inspired to better living; and here this famous Salt Lake Tabernacle Choir has sung for over sixty years its songs of glory, influencing the lives of people throughout the whole of this continent and in many countries of the world. We all enjoy their beautiful singing and acknowledge with gratitude the great contribution they make to our conferences.
All of us assembled here today wish to welcome you who are listening in We send you greetings and pray God's choicest blessings to attend you. In all humility and with a feeling of love I should like to address my remarks to you this morning. I should like to quote and enlarge on two or three of our Articles of Faith and explain what we believe and particularly what sets us apart from the rest of the world.
Before doing so, however, I should like to refer briefly to that holy event, the greatest event in the history of mankind, the crucifixion and resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ, who willingly gave his life for you and me, and which event was commemorated last week in song, prayer, and worship throughout the Christian world.
It reminds us that "... God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life".
And as he said: "For behold, this is my work and my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man".
He invited us to pray to him in these words by 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".
And he left us with this commitment:
"I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise".
The Articles of Faith which I wish to discuss briefly are:
"We believe..."
1. We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
3. We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
8. We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly, we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.
9. We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
The God we believe in is a Living God with body, parts, and passions, in whose image we were made, who is the Father of the spirits of all mankind and under whose direction the world was created and all things therein. He is a Loving Father, who is interested in us and our welfare and who stands ready to answer our call if we will but go to him.
We believe that Jesus Christ is literally the Son of God, the Only Begotten in the flesh; that he was born of mortal mother; that he dwelt among men; that he gave man the plan of life and salvation; that he was crucified, and that he had power over death and willingly gave his life and was literally resurrected so that man might be saved and resurrected from the dead and enjoy eternal life.
"For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive".
And, "We believe that through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may he saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel".
Belief in Christ is not sufficient, but obedience to his laws is essential to salvation and exaltation, for, as recorded in Matthew 7:21, Christ himself 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".
And again: "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God".
And then, as recorded in Revelation: "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God...
"And they were judged every man according to their works".
Also, we believe the Bible and the Book of Mormon to be the word of God, and we believe that they contain records of revelations which God gave directly to his prophets in the different dispensations of the gospel. In fact, as stated in our Ninth Article of Faith: "We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God".
It is this belief more than any other that sets us apart from the rest of the world. Protestant churches, as you all know, were formed at the beginning of, and during the period of, the Reformation and resulted from the fact that many people were dissatisfied with the teachings and practices of the dominant church, which they claimed had transgressed the laws, changed the ordinances, and broken the everlasting covenant, and therefore had apostatized.
The Protestant churches, therefore, were established by men who were courageous enough to take a stand and risk their lives, and some of them even gave their lives, in an endeavor to correct the malpractices with which you are all so well-acquainted.
I have not the time nor the inclination to go into any details about the malpractices or the Reformation. I do say, however, that these Protestant churches were formed and organized by men who were dissatisfied with and protested against these malpractices. Though they were good men with high ideals and the best of intent, they did not claim any divine revelation or direct authority from God to organize their different sects. In fact, they claimed that there were no such things as visions or revelations in these days: that all such things had ceased with the Apostles, and that there would never be any more of them. On the other hand, Joseph Smith the founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, claimed that he was called by revelation and given divine authority direct from God and Jesus Christ and had received the keys of the priesthood under the hands of Peter, James, and John.
Throughout the history of mankind, from Adam down to the present time, God has revealed his will to his chosen prophets; for, as Amos the Prophet taught: "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets".
As we look back over the history of God's dealings with his people and read the revelations which he gave to his prophets to guide and direct them and prepare them for the future, we cannot help marveling at the continued interest he has shown in his people and the patience he has shown and the care that he has taken to see that they were continually directed in the paths of truth and righteousness, if they would but listen to his holy prophet through whom he was speaking.
As we read the Old Testament we realize that he revealed his will to Adam, to Seth, to Enoch, to Noah, to Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and Isaiah, and all the prophets down to Zechariah and Malachi, as they are recorded therein.
The Bible testifies that revelation began with Adam and Eve, who heard the voice of the Lord God while walking in the garden. God revealed to Adam his origin, the purpose of mortality, his future destiny, and the requirements for exaltation. He also gave direction in solving the special problems of his dispensation. Though the gospel plan has remained the same from the beginning, important truths have been abandoned and forgotten, and therefore it has been necessary from time to time for God to raise up prophets to restore the gospel truths, to testify to the people, and to instruct them in righteousness. Also, each dispensation faced different problems, and therefore continuous revelation was necessary to cope with them.
I have always been impressed with the way Moses was protected and preserved by the Lord, who had chosen him and through direct revelation prepared and directed him day by day as to what he should do and how he should prepare to lead the children of Israel out of bondage and out of Egypt; how the Lord personally instructed Moses how to deal with Pharaoh and how, through God's commands, plagues were imposed and withdrawn by the Lord; how the Lord protected them as they crossed the Red Sea; and how he continued to lead and guide and direct them as long as they were prepared to listen to the prophet and follow his instruction.
It was Moses to whom the Lord, by direct revelation, gave the Ten Commandments as a set of rules by which the people should govern their lives. These remain today as much the word of the Lord as at any other time and apply equally to the people in these, the latter days. Yet, while he was receiving these commandments directly from the Lord, the people, whom he had led out of bondage and whom the Lord had taught through him, turned away from the true God and began to worship idols.
The Bible is replete in both the Old and New Testaments, with records of revelations given by God to his chosen prophets. God has always stood ready to lead and direct his people if they would but listen to his word.
As recorded in the Book of Mormon, Lehi was warned that Jerusalem would be destroyed, and he was advised to take his family and leave. As he listened to the voice of the Lord and followed his instructions, he and his family were led out of the city to safety and into the new world, later to be known as America, while they who remained were destroyed or taken into captivity.
While the prophets in the old land were receiving revelations from God, the people of Lehi on this, the American continent, were not left without guidance. Prophets were raised up through whom God spoke and directed his people in all their doings as they would listen. He revealed to them also, 600 years before Christ's coming, that he would come, that he was the Savior of the world, that he would be persecuted and crucified, and that he would be resurrected.
This was foretold clearly by Lehi, Nephi, Alma, and others, including Samuel, to whom it had been revealed the exact time that Jesus Christ would be born. They were told of the signs which would be shown on this, the American continent, at the time of Christ's birth and crucifixion. Every word which had been revealed to them regarding these events was fulfilled. Following his crucifixion Christ appeared personally to the people on this, the American continent, and taught them the truths of the gospel.
Many of the revelations recorded in the Old and New Testaments, as well as in the Book of Mormon, refer most clearly to these, the latter days. Some of these are not generally understood by the world and can only be understood through revelations which were received in these the latter days, by the Prophet Joseph Smith. One example of these is that of John the Revelator who, when looking into the future, 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: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters".
This revelation was fulfilled and clearly understood when the Angel Moroni did fly in the midst of heaven and appeared to Joseph Smith and told him of the plates which contained the gospel in its fullness. Joseph said that as the Angel Moroni appeared to him, he called him by name and told him that "... there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang. He also said that the fullness of the everlasting Gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants".
Thus we know that the angel, as predicted or prophesied by John the Revelator has flown, that this great and glorious gospel has been restored in its fullness by the Lord through the Prophet Joseph Smith to be preached to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.
Another revelation recorded in the Old Testament which refers to these, the latter days, and has reference to the Book of Mormon, is that received by Ezekiel wherein he says:
"The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying,
"Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:
"And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand".
As I read this, I went to the Interpreter's Bible, which is written in twelve volumes, and is a commentary on all of the Old and New Testaments. This commentary was prepared by thirty-six consulting editors with over one hundred recognized, capable contributors, and deals with all quotations from the Bible, taking them verse by verse and explaining their meaning and application. When I came to Ezekiel 37th chapter, verses 15 through 17, which I have just read, no feasible explanation was given, but conjectures only were made. This is no reflection on the editors or contributors to this great commentary, as they knew of no way to get the meaning.
Here again, by direct revelation and by direct revelation only, do we understand clearly what Ezekiel meant. Here, the stick of Judah as referred to is the Bible, and the stick of Ephraim, which is written for Joseph and all the house of Israel his companions, is the Book of Mormon. Through the power of God and by direct revelation, this Book of Mormon, which contains the gospel in its fullness, was translated, and it with the Bible, became "one in thine hand." How clear and simple the words of Ezekiel become if we will but listen to the prophet's voice!
Then again, Malachi records a revelation which refers to these, the latter days, wherein the Lord said: "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 then 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".
Again I went to the Interpreter's Bible to see what they had to say about this passage, and though it had been in the Jewish scriptures for centuries, they did not understand it, and therefore were unable to explain its meaning.
I do not mention this to belittle in any way this very complete and thought-provoking commentary, but to point out that the full meaning and impact of this prophecy and promise could in no wise be understood until Elijah himself actually appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in 1836.
Joseph records four revelations which he and Oliver Cowdery received in the Kirtland Temple. First the Lord Jesus Christ himself appeared and talked to them; then Moses, and then Elias appeared and revealed certain things unto them. And then Joseph said:
"After this vision had closed, another great and glorious vision burst upon us; for Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us, and said:
"Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi-testifying that he should be sent, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come-
"To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse-
"Therefore, the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands; and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors".
How enlightening, encouraging, and consoling it is to be able to read this revelation and know that Elijah has actually appeared.
The prophecies contained in the three revelations to which I have referred and as recorded in the Bible, wherein John the Revelator 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 Ezekiel, where it was revealed to him that the stick of Judah and the stick of Ephraim should become "one in thine hand", and Malachi, wherein the Lord said, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord", have all been fulfilled and point up clearly the need of direct revelation in these, the latter days, for the guidance of the people, and that they might know the will of the Lord.
Without modern revelation the world would be left in complete darkness regarding first, the Book of Mormon, which is a new witness for Christ and contains the gospel in its fullness; second, the purpose and importance of temple work; third, vicarious work for the dead; and many other things pertaining to the kingdom of God.
It is my testimony to you that God truly lives, that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world, who gave his life for you and me; that the priesthood of God has been restored; that the Church of Jesus Christ has been re-established in these the latter days with the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, all by direct revelation; that by direct revelation and the power of God we have the Book of Mormon which contains the gospel in its fulness; that the heavens are as open today as they were in the days of Moses, Abraham, Peter, James, and John, and Paul; God still answers the prayers of the righteous and still reveals his mind and will through his ordained prophets; that David O. McKay is a prophet of God through whom the Lord speaks to his people today.
From the very time that the young boy Joseph at the age of fourteen, went into the grove to ask God which church he should join until today, he and those who have followed him as presidents of this Church have been led by revelation in all things pertaining to the kingdom of God.
May we all hold fast to the iron rod, which is the word of God, and listen to the prophet's voice and serve God and keep his commandments that he may continue to lead us in the paths of righteousness to immortality and eternal life, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Franklin D. Richards
Franklin D. Richards, Conference Report, April 1964, pp. 64-68
My dear brothers and sisters, I am happy to be with you this Sabbath morning in this great conference, and I pray that I may be guided by the Spirit of the Lord in speaking to you.
I have been greatly inspired by the presence and words of our beloved prophet David O. McKay and of President N. Eldon Tanner. I bring you the love and greetings of the missionaries and of the Saints of the nine eastern American missions, and I am pleased to report to you that there is great growth and development in the kingdom in that part of our Lord's vineyard.
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we call one another Brother and Sister because we recognize that all mankind are sons and daughters of our Father in heaven therefore, we are all brothers and sisters.
This spirit of brotherhood is greatly needed in the world today. We are living in a period when one crisis follows another. Faith in mankind is being disturbed and destroyed, and men's hearts are troubled and seem to be failing them. Yet there is a disposition even in Christian countries to rule out of life the mission of Jesus Christ.
The first statement in the declaration of belief of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is: "We believe in God, the Eternal Father and in His son Jesus Christ and in the Holy Ghost". This belief in God is the life-giving element of the Church. Our conception of God is personal. God in this dispensation has revealed himself to mankind as he has in former dispensations. Through faith and prayer Joseph Smith as a young man gained the great blessing of beholding God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ.
In his own words, Joseph Smith said, "... 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!".
I bear witness that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh, our Savior and Redeemer. Also that Joseph Smith, in fulfillment of prophecy, was a great prophet of God, an instrument in his hands to restore the gospel of Jesus Christ in its fullness as well as the true knowledge of God and to restore the Church of Jesus Christ in these latter days. The Church has been restored here on the earth with the power to act in the name of God and has been led by prophets since its restoration. A great prophet, David O. McKay, now leads and directs through revelation from God.
Through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel. The Savior said, "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
"I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me". Jesus taught that all the law and the prophets rested upon the principle of loving God with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength and our neighbors as ourselves.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is the plan of life that will restore peace to the world-remove inner tensions and troubles and bring happiness and contentment-the greatest philosophy of life ever given to man. It is founded upon the basic principles of love of God and man and showing this love in service to our fellow men. All mankind must shape their lives upon the simple principles he taught and lived to comprehend him in his power and majesty.
King Benjamin, a great prophet, stated: "And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God".
Jesus said, "... seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness".
"... the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
"... the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
"Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it".
President Lorenzo Snow, one of the prophets of this dispensation, in speaking to the Saints in 1898 had this to say: "We have found the treasure in the field, we have found the Pearl of Great Price-and now we have got to give all that we have for it-at one time or another. The Lord has said that he will prove us even unto death to see whether we will stand by the covenant we have made with him".
A distinguishing feature of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the opportunity for every member to serve in some capacity. Recently while traveling on a plane in the East I asked the man sitting next to me what he knew about the Church. He replied that he had lived in Salt Lake City for a few months some years ago, and became acquainted with several members of the Church. The thing that impressed him most was that every member was given a chance to serve by working in the Church. We are told plainly and unequivocally that our greatest opportunity and responsibility here is building the kingdom of God, Christ's Church on earth. I know this to be true.
In 1894 Elder Francis M. Lyman, one of the leaders of the Church, gave this counsel: "It will be profitable to all Latter-day Saints to make this Church first in their hearts and affections. Why? Because the Lord has told us to seek first the kingdom of God. We have sought the kingdom and have found it-and now that should have our attention before farming, before merchandising, and before literary pursuits and the like.
"The welfare of the Church of Christ in the earth and the spreading abroad of the gospel should be our primary object. "But is this the case with us? If it is not, then we have need of reformation. If the Church of Christ and the principles of righteousness are not foremost in our hearts, then I say all Israel so far as they lack, have need of reformation.
"If we have set our hearts upon property, whether it be little or much, then we are idolaters, and God has forbidden us to be idolaters. He has commanded us not to bow down to worship anything on earth." This counsel is as important and applicable today as it was when it was given seventy years ago, perhaps more so.
The Savior said, "... unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required".
As I travel throughout the Church I am told by the leaders that the most pressing need today is "Greater dedication on the part of everyone in building the kingdom." In the parables referred to, the price of possession of the hidden treasure and of the pearl of great price is one's all-complete dedication. We might ask, "How does the Lord interpret 'giving our all' or 'complete dedication,' and how will he prove us even unto death as President Snow stated?"
Giving our all or complete dedication means-putting the Church first in our lives. It means to accept every opportunity to serve. As you accept each call, recognize the tremendous opportunity even though the assignment does not appear to be too important, or you may feel your inadequacy.
I heard of a young man who in presenting a diamond to his fiancée remarked, "it isn't very large," whereupon she replied, "it's as big as we make it." So it is with every call to serve that we accept-it's as big as we make it.
Opportunities to serve in building the kingdom are varied and many. Some require giving of our time, others require giving of our talents, others require giving of our means. When we accept any assignment to serve "giving our all" means giving all of the time, talents, and means necessary to accomplish the righteous objective. In being asked to give of our time, few are asked to lay down their lives in building the kingdom, but if this were to be required, we should be willing to do so. In many respects it is better to live for the Church than to die for it. Living for the Church can mean accepting a call as a teacher, a quorum or auxiliary leader, a bishop, a stake officer, a temple or welfare worker, a home teacher, a missionary, or in performing any service for our fellow men.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has no paid ministry. As an example: The bishops of the wards throughout the Church are laymen and arrange their time and affairs so that they can provide and care for their families and still shepherd the flocks over which they are placed. This type of service is truly giving one's all.
Jesus told his disciples in the Meridian of Time that they should, "Go... 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".
The Savior has given us this same charge in this dispensation through the Prophet Joseph Smith and the prophets that have followed him. The Church of Jesus Christ has always been a missionary Church. At the present time there are approximately 16,000 full time and stake missionaries working throughout the world. Every member of the Church has been charged with the responsibility of giving the gospel message to his friends and neighbors.
There is no greater evidence of giving your all than that shown by dedicated missionaries. We ask that you give heed to their message as you have an opportunity to hear it. The message is-that the heavens have been opened and the gospel of Jesus Christ in its fullness has been restored. It is indeed a message of glad tidings, "... the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth".
Some opportunities to serve require the giving of our talents as well as of our time. The Lord has told us, "... 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...
"... Thou shalt not idle away thy time, neither shalt thou bury thy talent that it may not be known".
Giving our all through the use of our talents is exemplified beautifully by the members of the Salt Lake Tabernacle Choir. These dedicated people spend untold hours rehearsing and preparing for and presenting their regular Sunday morning program and their many special appearances throughout the world. The choir is the means of opening the hearts and doors of millions of people to the gospel message. Their only remuneration comes from the joy they receive in serving the Lord.
Giving our all as applied to our means involves contributing financially to the growth and development of the kingdom. He who pays an honest tithe and makes his other offerings as required is giving his all as far as these matters are concerned. The widow's mite is as acceptable as the rich man's abundance.
Taking care of the poor and needy through welfare projects and in many other ways requires the giving of our means, and each one of these instances is impressive evidence of one's dedication. Building the kingdom also requires the building of chapels, temples, schools, hospitals, and other church buildings in order to take care of the spiritual and physical needs of God's children.
Many throughout the world have left their homes, much the same as the missionaries, to serve in the vast building program of the Church, furnishing much of the supervision and labor needed. Substantial financial contributions as well as time are required to carry on the worldwide building operation. When these buildings are dedicated to the Lord, they are entirely free from debt.
Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven, and in this respect financial sacrifice means opportunities for great and varied blessings. Certainly the sacrifices entailed in contributing to the building program of the Church, both of time and means, are outstanding examples of giving one's all
The Apostle Paul in writing to the Corinthian Saints emphasized the importance of our attitude in giving when he said:
"But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
"Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver".
Jesus in teaching his disciples counseled, "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".
The message of Christianity is to love and to serve, and we truly show our love by our good works. To attain real greatness, the Savior tells us, one must be the servant of all.
The question is frequently asked, are people as dedicated today in building the kingdom as they were in former times. I feel that generally they are Giving our all today may in some respects be different from heretofore, but I see evidences every day where men women, and children are showing their love of God and their fellow men by their complete dedication. They are gladly giving their all in time, talents, and means. I commend them for it. I counsel all others to put the Church first in their lives and reap the peace happiness, and contentment that come from giving their all through complete dedication.
My brothers and sisters, we are engaged in the Lord's work. God lives, and Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. I know this to be true. The heavens have been opened, and prophets have been raised up. Joseph Smith was indeed a great prophet raised up to perform a mighty work in establishing God's kingdom in this dispensation. And we have a great prophet at the head of the Church today, our beloved President David O. McKay. All mankind would do well to heed his counsel and advice. I bear this testimony to you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop Robert L. Simpson
Robert L. Simpson, Conference Report, April 1964, pp. 68-71
I am a father. I share this popular title with millions. I would like to do some thinking with all of the fathers within range of my voice this morning, and we sincerely invite the rest of the family to listen in. Dads, do you realize that we have had one of the truly great compliments of the ages bestowed upon us? It has been wisely stated that "to be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved."
As choice young spirits have been sent into our charge, the sacred trust that I refer to has been bestowed by Heavenly Father. I would like to have all fathers join me this morning as we contemplate the obligations associated with this great blessing of fatherhood.
Who among us fathers would not thrill at the prospects of our son recording of us as a boy prophet recorded more than 2500 years ago: "... having been born of goodly parents", or perhaps this recording from the pen of our modern-day Prophet, Joseph Smith, Jun., as he said, "... I love my father and his memory; and the memory of his noble deeds rests with ponderous weight upon my mind, and many of his kind and parental words to me are written on the tablet of my heart...
"Words and language are inadequate to express the gratitude that I owe to God for having given me so honorable a parentage".
Such an expression of gratitude from one of our sons could hardly be expected, much less appreciated, without some real effort on our part in order to merit it.
So how about it, dads? Let's put our heads together for just a few minutes and determine some ways to improve our contribution to the partnership we have with God the Eternal Father in guiding the destiny of human souls, in this case, our sons.
Let us place first things first and mention love as the prime ingredient. I rather think that Heavenly Father would like the idea of love heading our list, for his Only Begotten, the Savior of the world, had unlimited capacity for love. This single trait of love was most typical of his brief mortal ministry.
In this day the Lord has revealed his will to us concerning our approach to one another, and I cannot think of a single reason why it should not apply especially to the father-son relationship. He speaks of using our power and influence, "... 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-".
In acknowledging God's patience with the children of Israel, Nehemiah described God as "... ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness".
The Savior became upset and overwrought on at least one very trying occasion. Do you remember the episode in the temple as he drove out the money changers? This is compatible with his continued advice as he justifies you and me: "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".
All boys seem to have a favorite game. They play it most of the time without even realizing it. It is called "Follow the Leader" and, dads, whether we like it or not, this is the way it is. So maybe we had better decide right here and now to lead right. Can we constantly break promises and teach our sons integrity? Speak an occasional falsehood and expect undeviating truth from them?
When was the last time you found your son looking up at you with that look of complete admiration and confidence? To them, dad is perfection, and we should do nothing to betray the trust and faith that is theirs in us.
We now find ourselves in a great age of acceleration, a turn to the left or right, however slight, can be of great consequence. Surely a five degree deviation traveling down the road behind old dobbin was not a serious miscalculation, and there was plenty of time to pull the reins and set things right. Traveling down the modern highway of life calls for strict attention to detail, for a slight deviation of our course can spell disaster in the fraction of a second. Ours is the most volatile age in the history of the world. How important it is that we train well to follow the white line, to hold fast to the iron rod spoken of by President Tanner.
Our sons are sent to us from our Heavenly Father's presence as free agents to be taught and persuaded-yes, to be forced and driven like cattle-never! It was established even before the foundations of the earth what the pattern should be. In that great council attended by you and me along with the hosts of heaven, we are told that Satan's plan of force and dictatorial power was rejected. Instead a plan of freedom and personal choice was decided upon, and so it must be in all of our human relationships. We have often heard, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink."
No, dads, let's face it. The methods of compulsion and dictatorship are not compatible with the Lord's plan, but rather kindly persuasion through love and patience as expressed by the poet:
"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." -William C. Gregg
Now getting back to the horse that wouldn't drink, someone has said, "Well, he just didn't know he was thirsty," so we had to convince him. Here we get into the area of communication. If there is one major problem in the world today, it is a lack of proper communication. It is not only the cause of international unrest, but also family disunity.
At this very moment, communication satellites circle the globe, and experimental testing goes on at a feverish rate so that nations will be able to talk to nations both audibly and visually in our day. To eliminate gross misunderstanding that might trigger an atomic bomb without true cause, we read of a hot line from Moscow to Washington, and you can be sure that understanding would be checked very thoroughly before anyone pushes a button that would send the world reeling into an atomic war.
Are we taking as much pain to see that our family communications are unrestricted and static free? Have you ever had the experience of a hurried word that was misunderstood only to find out later that feelings resulted due to a misinterpretation of the true meaning?
I heard of a father who decided to leave the car home on Sunday morning so he and his boy could enjoy a brisk walk to church. Even more stimulating than the exercise which they both needed very much was the opportunity for casual conversation and the resulting understanding that grew between them. A new warm father-son relationship that had been slipping away rather rapidly was firmly reestablished. Are we too busy for a Pack meeting dads? Too little time for a few minutes of ball throwing before dinner perhaps? Is it inconvenient for you to rough it for just one night at a Fathers' and Sons' outing? Maybe we are just too busy-yes, even with church work-sometimes we might become too busy.
Any red-blooded father would throw back his shoulders and say, "I'd give my life for my family," but, dads, are we willing to give up our favorite TV show in the meantime? How about it, dads, are we just a little selfish sometimes when it comes to putting first things first? Let's think in terms of the little day-to-day niceties and not so much about the spectacular gesture "some day." Just as surely as night follows the day, no man will ever make the big sacrifice without first the little sacrifices along the way.
From the beginning of time, dad has been designated as the head of the family. This is further amplified in the teachings of the priesthood. The father who holds the priesthood becomes the president or the head of his family unit as long as he maintains himself worthy of that sacred trust. As president of this most important corporation in the eyes of the Lord, all fathers must find time to give to it.
Time is always so precious. Can we ever find all the hours necessary to earn a living, do our church work, and be a good father? The answer is yes, but not without some organization and planning. As we seek for every available minute to accomplish our important responsibilities, may I pass on just one idea given me by a father who utilizes the dinner hour as a time for better family communications, not in a direct businesslike way but rather in an indirect but preplanned way. The dinner table discussion is guided skillfully into those areas thought most important by mother and dad. The children are not even aware of what is happening, and with proper forethought on some subjects that would be of interest to all, plus perhaps a thought-provoking question to get things moving, this family found itself deeply engrossed in interesting, stimulating conversation with a greater feeling of unity than ever before. It is interesting to note that the mother of this family reports a wonderful by-product of the plan. Conversation became so engrossing and so involved that it completely eliminated the bickering and contention that was usually a part of the dinner hour.
Now in all of our talking during these past few moments, most has been said about father and son. Practically everything expressed could also be said about mother and daughter or father and daughter, and as far as that goes, mother and son. As a bishopric, we are always impressed with President McKay's kindly admonition. As we find ourselves at times carried away with the boys' programs of the Church, he leans forward with that twinkle in his eye and in a very kindly way reminds us, "And, brethren, girls of corresponding ages," and so we would remind all of the brethren not to forget girls of corresponding ages.
Today is a wonderful day, made possible through thousands of intelligent people with proper attitudes. The world today is the product of mothers and dads of yesterday. Our thinking, our judgment, our spirituality are largely the product of their good example. Now on the horizon we see tomorrow sparkling and bright, offering a challenge to our sons and our daughters, a challenge that exceeds anything the world has ever known. The attitudes, the leadership, the spirituality of that day will be in direct measure a reflection of the effectiveness of the parental guidance we offer today.
Boys, "Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee". Dads, let's not wait for the more convenient time that never seems to come. Give that boy the guidance that only you can give as Heavenly Father intended it. Don't think about the great day way off in eternity sometime when you will give your life. That boy will settle for a few minutes here, and an hour there, and every once in a while perhaps a full day. An unknown poet has said it better than I:
"What is this gift you will give your boy? A glamorous game, a tinseled toy, A whittling knife, a puzzle pack, A train that runs on a curving track? A Boy Scout book, a real live pet? No, there's plenty of time for such things yet. Give him a day for his very own- Just your boy and his dad alone: A walk in the woods, a game in the park, A fishing trip from dawn to dark; Give him the gift to thrill any lad The total companionship of his very own dad. Games are outgrown, and toys decay, But he'll never forget if you give him a day!"
May we provide this time as our Heavenly Father would have us, I pray in the name of his Son Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Theodore M. Burton
Theodore M. Burton, Conference Report, April 1964, pp. 71-74
Few things in this world of ideas and men have been so thoroughly accepted and so implicitly believed as was the literal resurrection of Jesus Christ by his disciples. Their belief in the actual resurrection of Jesus Christ led his disciples, rather than to deny him, to give up their very lives. Men do not give up their lives for an idea or concept unless they know in their hearts that the idea is true and worth such sacrifice. The disciples believed and were convinced of the literal resurrection of Jesus Christ. They understood this resurrection to be a reuniting of body and spirit to form an eternal soul, never again to be separated by death.
A question might well be asked: "What happened to the Spirit of Jesus Christ during the period when his dead body lay in the tomb awaiting its resurrection?" Though his body was confined to the tomb, his Spirit was free. What did Jesus do from Friday afternoon until Sunday morning when the two Marys came to the tomb and found it empty?
The great Apostle Peter, who later became the leader and spokesman for the Church, gave a very clear statement of what happened as he wrote:
"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 long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water ".
Tradition tells us that Noah preached the gospel of repentance and salvation for 120 years among his people, but those wicked ones would not listen to his warning. In the mercy of God, following the death of Jesus Christ, those spirits who had been confined because of their wickedness on earth were given a chance to hear and accept the gospel in the spirit world. It is doubtful that Noah's preaching could have been heard by all the multitude of people then living on the earth. God does love his children and desires that all will accept his plan of salvation so they might be numbered among his children and live as resurrected beings in his presence.
Jesus, therefore, preached to these and other spirits in the spirit world and organized the work of the ministry there. The scriptures are clear on this point that the promise given to David and cited by Luke in Acts 1:17 was literally fulfilled. We might well ask: "Why?" Why was it necessary for Jesus to give the spirits in prison a chance to accept the gospel of salvation? Peter answers the question this way:
"That they might be judged"
"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".
Men will be judged by what they do in this life. We will be rewarded for the good we do on this earth, and we must pay dearly for the sins we commit. There is altogether too much disobedience and sin in the world. Sin is a weakness of the flesh. This weakness to some is an excuse to justify their sins, but to the strong it is a challenge to overcome this weakness of the flesh. This is possible by exercising the faith inherent in all men to conquer temptation and live as God intended we should.
Jesus invited all men everywhere to change from carnal thoughts and actions to a life of righteousness. We call this change of thought and action "repentance." This repentance must make such a mighty change in our hearts that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually. Such faith and repentance will lead us to make a formal covenant with God to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, our Redeemer, our Lord, and our Father. This covenant we call baptism and is so necessary that Jesus told his disciples:
"... 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".
The gospel of Jesus Christ has been in the world from the time of Adam. It was preached and taught and practiced by the patriarchs and the prophets. Baptism in water was also practiced as a token of this covenant from earliest times. However you and I realize that there are many in this world who lived and died without ever having an opportunity to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. We know that there are many men and women who die unbaptized, because some teacher, missionary, or leader who should have taught them was so poorly trained, so lacking in faith and so unprepared to bear personal witness of Jesus Christ that the hearer never understood the message as he should have done. Should such people be damned forever for lack of proper instruction, because of an accident of birth, or because of the inadequacies of others? I say: "No!" God is a God of justice and love and mercy. Every man is entitled to a just chance to know and accept Jesus Christ or to reject him if he feels the price of acceptance is too high.
Thus either in this life or in the spirit world each man and woman who has lived upon this earth is given an opportunity to covenant with God through baptism to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Father. However, just as Jesus taught that there is no marrying in heaven, so there can be no baptism in heaven. Both baptism and marriage are earthly ordinances which must be performed here. Jesus gave Peter and the other Apostles power to seal on earth with the promise that this sealing would then be recognized in heaven. This same power to seal on earth and in heaven has been given us through the laying on of hands by those in authority. Thus baptisms and marriages on earth, sealed by men given such divine authority, are recognized in heaven as valid and are accepted there.
Ordinances Performed Vicariously
For those who are deceased, such ordinances must be performed by the living for and in behalf of those who are dead. This vicarious work of the redemption of others was cited by Paul as another justification for belief in the literal resurrection of Jesus Christ. As Paul explained:
"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?".
The reasoning is clear. All men can escape damnation by making such covenants with God to accept Jesus Christ with all that action requires of us by way of sacrifice and devotion. That all would not achieve the same degree of exaltation was made very clear by Paul as he taught of the various heavens prepared for man in accordance with the diligence man shows in earning such glory. Even as one star differs from another in brightness, so shall one man's heaven differ from another's according to the service he renders. But the chance to receive the highest glory which Paul typified by the brightness of the sun must be given to every man and every woman.
People not fully acquainted with this concept cannot understand the concern of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with genealogy. Our expenditure of time, money, and effort in gathering and organizing the names and vital statistics of our ancestors is done to identify them properly. We only gather and correlate these genealogies for one purpose, so that we can do the necessary ordinance work for our kindred dead in the temples of God erected for that purpose. If our ancestors and kinfolk have the desire to accept the gospel of Jesus Christ even beyond the grave, they are free to accept these redeeming ordinances made in their behalf. There is neither force nor compulsion in the gospel of Jesus Christ, only love, mercy, and opportunity.
The greatness of Jesus Christ was his selfless sacrifice to assist us who are powerless to assist ourselves. By his sacrifice, he opened to us the door to life everlasting and made it possible for us to resurrect our bodies and so regain the presence of Almighty God, provided, of course, that we live righteous lives to merit this privilege. What Jesus did was done as an example to show us how we too could serve others through our own work and sacrifice. In our vicarious work for the salvation of our dead we do follow our Lord and Savior and become ourselves saviors for those who cannot save themselves. It is a beautiful principle and one which helps to establish this Church as the true Church of Jesus Christ. I know of no other church which understands this principle and which practices those early Christian ordinances taught in the Bible. It did require revelation from God, however, to show us the logic of these practices. With this key of knowledge we presently wonder why those passages which appear so clear to us now should have been so long covered in darkness.
This work is a work of love and sacrifice and illustrates the finest of Christian virtues in serving others where no thanks is either possible or expected in this earthly life. We invite all men everywhere to join us in this Church as we strive toward Christian perfection. In serving others we save ourselves, for we cannot be saved or be happy without our kindred dead. This is a reward which Jesus promised as he taught:
"... Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me".
My brothers and sisters and my friends who are watching and listening to this program on the air, I bear you my solemn witness that God lives, that Jesus Christ is his Son who rose from the dead and heads this Church today. I bear my witness to you in love that these same principles of salvation apply not only to us, but to those who are dead, which testimony I bear in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Alvin R. Dyer
Alvin R. Dyer, Conference Report, April 1964, pp. 74-78
I most humbly give respect and love to President McKay and all the General Authorities and to the Saints here and abroad and to all who are hearing and viewing this service.
While we are witnessing the turbulences of nature, as predicted, wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes in divers places, the sea leaping beyond its bounds, it is nevertheless in the simple walks of life that the nobility of man or a lack of it is found.
One of the great needs of our modern civilization, perhaps the most important of all, is a sense of conviction-conviction in a cause motivated by divine truth; a conviction that is greater than the mere physical knowledge it may contain.
Through conviction, God can speak to the soul of every individual, giving direction in all phases of life with spiritual and moral courage to meet any situation without surrendering ideals and objectives. Any other type of religion will be cluttered with the apathy and misconcepts of human wisdom. Here is a power that can lead to the highest pinnacle of achievement in mortality and to exaltation in immortality.
The world gropes today for that direction which the Apostle Paul called:
"... not... the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind".
Our civilization today is often referred to as a godless one, primarily because of the ascendancy of worldly learning and the diminishing influence of faith or conviction; but it is not a total loss of faith that we need fear, but rather a weakening of conviction, the watering down of devotion which is taking place.
"Philip E. Jacob, Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania and author of `Changing Values in College,' says: 'The vast majority of today's college students profess belief in God. But there is a "ghostly quality" to their religion. It is divorced from present-day concerns, lacking in social responsibility.' Another survey, the Cornell University Values Study, found: '... little or no evidence of "absolute conviction or adherence" and ended by calling student belief 'secular religion.'"
In February of 1833, the Prophet Joseph Smith made a statement to the world which we believe was inspired of God. That statement concerned the harmful effects in the use of tobacco on the human body. His declaration was not made with any malice toward anyone but simply as a benefit to mankind. Now, after 130 years, we in our present civilization have progressively reached a verdict concerning the deadly effect of this narcotic.
As a Prophet of God, Joseph Smith was led by divine inspiration and heavenly direction to make other statements, many of which are more far-reaching than the one referred to. All have been for the benefit of mankind.
One in particular, which is closely related with faith and conviction, he reiterated many times, as recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants of the Church. In June of 1829, nearly four years before he made the statement concerning the deadly effect of tobacco, he proclaimed these words as they had been revealed to him from the Lord: "... the thing which will be of the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance".
This is the need of America! This is the need of the world! In the face of such urgency, it is timely to ask, how shall we face this problem? First, there is necessity for a changed attitude in recognizing the difference between right and wrong. If we cannot recognize this difference, then we cannot know what to repent of. To live in a society that does not recognize the volitional right of choice in two opposites, of choosing right over wrong, can only bring the masses to a state of decay. There seems no question that it is the will of the "evil one" that our choices in life or the exercise of agency shall be in behalf of one of two evils, rather than in right over wrong. I quote from a challenging editorial of a leading weekly magazine:
"... one of the leading newspapers in London-published on August 8 a remarkable editorial entitled 'The New Morality.' It was prompted by the sex and spy scandals which have stirred the indignation not only of the people of Great Britain, but also of the people of other countries.
"What is significant, however, is the manner in which 'The Telegraph' questions the attitude among so many intellectuals toward right and wrong.
"In America today, for instance, we are being told that, if the end sought is good, it is not unmoral to break the law."
But Thomas Aquinas wrote that a good intention does not justify an evil. He said: "A man cannot rightly steal because he intends to use the money for a good purpose-to help the poor."
Exemplifying the modern trend, Canon Rhymes of England calls explicitly for a "new moral code" based upon sympathy for the different needs of individuals. These needs may require that individuals "may need to break all Ten Commandments." In turn, the old morality, as it is now being spoken of, would have condemned such needs; the new morality, says he, must respect in them its own essence.
From the classroom, from some Christian pulpits, and from the politician's platform we are hearing today-"all is right" or rather whatever is done must be right. We see the manifest evidence of this tirelessly endorsing whatever actually occurs. Lord Silkin, for instance, apparently distressed at the number of "Irregular marriages," recently sought to remedy the situation by calling them regular. A Ministry of Education's medical officer describes unchastity as not in his view "unchaste."
Thus this supposedly new-found morality in our modern day destroys the efficacy of good over bad or of right over wrong. The immutable law of God that man becomes like unto him in knowing the difference between right and wrong or good and evil is lost in the subterfuge of man's unwillingness to repent.
In this regard, William Hard writes of a "split personality" in America. I quote:
"Clearly we have achieved a split personality. We are having a religious revival and a moral decline.
"I think it clear that we have not succeeded adequately in fusing 'worship' and 'the world.' We have not succeeded adequately in fusing ritual and righteousness.
"If a nation would achieve righteousness," challenges William Hard, "let it first achieve repentance." In a washed-down type of conviction, we see the image of the unrepentant church member spoken of by Samuel Miller, Dean of the Harvard Divinity School:
"Men who want to be sure that their goodness pays or that there will be a newspaper notice of their heroism, or that there is some profit in believing in God, simply do not know what faith is."
What then is the greatest need of our present day? Is it not what a prophet of God has proclaimed it to be, that the thing that will be of the greatest worth unto us in this modern day is to recognize and appropriate the principle of repentance?
In the areas of mental illness, O. Hobart Mowrer of the University of Illinois makes this statement concerning the benefit derived from repentance on persons that are emotionally frustrated. He says when a person "begins to accept his guilt and his sinfulness, the possibility of radical reformation opens up; and with this, the individual may legitimately, though not without pain and effort, pass from deep, pervasive self-rejection and self-torture to a new freedom, of self-respect and peace."
One of our Articles of Faith, the content of which establishes the first principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ, reads as follows:
"We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost".
May we concern ourselves briefly with that phase of this article which the Prophet Joseph Smith has declared repeatedly to be of the most worth unto us, that of repentance, which is the forerunner of conviction.
The agency of man is not a power to be left dormant or itself to be moved upon solely by exterior forces for good or evil. Man, if we understand the true meaning and purpose of agency, is to be an agent unto himself, assuming the prerogative of acting as a result of his own volition. Speaking of this the Lord has said:
"For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled... the same is... not a wise servant...
"Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will...
"For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves".
For man to know good and evil, which characterizes him as being in the way to become like unto God, and then by virtue of choice or agency choose the good rather than the evil, he experiences the crowning achievement of inward mastery. In the exercise of true repentance, we vindicate unto ourselves the calling and work of Jesus Christ, for without repentance there is no real purpose to his mission. Here lies the measuring stick of achievement in earth life probation.
Repentance, therefore, is a basic principle of our Christian faith; for, if a man has a desire in his heart to know the truth, the normal and positive reaction causes him to know that he has participated in acts that are wrong and therefore sinful. In this respect, all are in need of repentance. The Apostle James says that if we say we have no need of repentance, we are liars, and the truth is not in us. It can be our misfortune if we fail to recognize the difference between right and wrong.
Repentance leads to conviction, but is also unalterably connected with forgiveness; and when forgiveness flows into our consciousness, we experience a feeling of great joy, a release of tension and frustration. The Lord has supplied the simple panacea to happiness through repentance. "By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins-behold, he will confess them and forsake them".
There should be no discrimination against that man or woman who may have done wrong in his or her life. Wrong as it may be, unless it is the unpardonable sin, is not always the tragedy. The real tragedy is when one fails to rise above a weakness-to expose that weakness to the light so that emotional stress and the dishonor of sin may be banished forever. The unhappiest people in the world are those who try to hide their sins and then stubbornly will not repent and forsake their ways of wrong.
I recall several years ago, in line with my responsibilities as a bishop of the Church, of counseling with a middle-aged married couple. Their lives were not happy ones. They wanted to go forward in the Church, but something seemed to mar the way. I finally concluded to talk with each one separately. After a short while, with great difficulty, the wife told me of a transgression in her life which took place during the first week of her marriage. After this terrible mistake, she resolutely tried to save her marriage by hiding her sin, and these many years had not told a soul of this single instance. She succeeded in keeping their marriage, largely because of the sterling worth of her fine husband; but there had built up inside of her, because of the sin she had kept hidden, such an emotional stress that she could not find happiness.
Here then, I determined, was the cause for the lack of complete happiness. What was she to do? I said to her that when she felt up to it she should confide completely in her husband and seek his forgiveness. At first she exclaimed, "I could never do that!" But somehow she got up the courage to do it after biding her time. The husband, of course, was shocked; but he forgave her; and this brought peace and happiness to that home.
Later this woman sought me out to express her gratitude. She said, as I recall, "I have never been so peaceful and happy in my life." And the husband, how did he feel? Well, I do not know fully; but I do recall his words to me upon a later occasion, when he said:
"The thing that provokes me is that she did not tell me this years ago. I would have forgiven her then, just the same as I do now."
I have always been impressed with the fine sensitivity of right that existed in a man that I knew, who, upon his deathbed, sought not to face his Maker with a lie on his lips even though that falsehood which he had perpetrated against a friend was in his youth. This wrong had stayed with him all his life.
When sins are committed, emotional stress is the result. The inward machinery is thrown out of calibration. There is only one way to get a release from it-and this is through repentance. True repentance, may I repeat, is "When a man repenteth... behold, he will confess, and forsake them.".
"I will remember them no more"
Under these circumstances, where the forsaking element is positive and sure, the Lord has said: "Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more".
To conclude my remarks let me say, what men need today is conviction-yes, conviction in a cause of truth. This we can attain through the doorway of repentance, which leads to the noble life. That person who cannot recognize right over wrong and then by agency choose the right will not see the face of God our Heavenly Father.
Edward Martin wrote a poem which could help us to make the decision. He called it, "My Name Is Legion."
"Within my earthly temple there's a crowd; There's one of us that's humble, one that's proud, There's one that's broken-hearted for his sins, There's one that unrepentant sits and grins; There's one that loves his neighbor as himself, And one that cares for naught but fame and pelf. From much corroding care I should be free If I could once determine which is me."
Walter Malone in speaking of hope, which could be the ever-present opportunity of knowing the difference between good and evil and then to seek with positive desire to choose the good, has said:
"They do me wrong who say I come no more When once I knock and fail to find you in; ... Each night I burn the records of the day, At sunrise every soul is born again!"
This is a message which The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has for the world. Our missionaries from the earliest time, following the sacred consultation which God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ had with Joseph Smith the Prophet in the Sacred Grove near Palmyra, New York, have proclaimed the need of repentance. This they have done and are doing today in nearly every country in the world by the power of conviction and the voice of testimony.
It is to be hoped and prayed for that civilization today will heed this call, and that 130 years more will not be needed to render a verdict in its behalf.
I have spoken today of but one phase of the Fourth Article of Faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"We believe... in repentance..." as it is associated with faith and baptism by immersion for the remission of sins and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
I bear my testimony of the need of strong convictions and of positive action in forsaking ways of error, of recognizing the issue of right and wrong, and then, through repentance, of choosing the right. And I do this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Hugh B. Brown
Hugh B. Brown, Conference Report, April 1964, pp. 80-84
Humbly I seek divine guidance.
The Savior said: "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent".
The remarks of yesterday of President Mark E. Petersen and today of President Tanner and others, calling our attention to conditions as they exist in the world, were very challenging.
Leaders in both scientific and religious fields are calling for new light. From a sermon which was recently preached in England by an eminent professor of theology and published to the world by Dean Inge, we read:
"How great is the need in Britain today for a man to arise among us to lead a mighty crusade for the revival of our religion. For years all Christendom has prayed that that revival might be near, and according as the need is great, so great is the opportunity. From end to end of the land, north and south and west and east, the feeling is arising that something more is required today than the advice, however good, of our statesmen, and the ability, however great, of our businessmen, that there are problems to be solved more urgent and more fundamental than those of economics and elections."
And then he adds: "The organized churches offer no solution to these problems... Men and women look for an interpreter of their emotions, for someone who will give expression to their spiritual convictions and beliefs, submerged too long in a materialistic age. The seed has been sown. It has sprung up under showers and sunshine. The grain is swollen inside the husk. Now the field lies golden and ready for the harvest. Where is the man who will go in and reap?"
In the midst of national and international unrest, confusion, and stress, the questions of theology have acquired a new importance and urgency. Throughout the Judaeo-Christian world, in fact the entire world, there is a soul-stirring search for new meanings in religion upon which men may ground their lives and establish their personal and social values.
In recent months an intense theological debate has been waged around a volume entitled Honest to God, in which Dr. Robinson, the Bishop of Woolwich of the Anglican Church, asks the question whether it is possible for modern men to accept traditional Christian faith, to believe in the established conception of God, and to accept Christ as their Savior. He questions whether Christianity carries with it the trappings of an ancient world and culture, and whether it can be made relevant to the thought and character of modern scientific man, living in a rapidly shrinking technological world.
The bishop says, "Our image of God must go," and the Church Times comments: "It is not every day that a bishop goes on public record as apparently denying almost every Christian doctrine of the Church in which he holds office".
Dr. Alasdair MacIntyre of the University College of Oxford says, "Dr. Robinson's book needs not only to be understood as a symptom of our condition, but to be sympathized with as a desperate attempt that cannot succeed," and he adds, somewhat cynically, "The creed of the English is there is no God and it is wise to pray to him from time to time." This book of which I speak is not just the voice of an individual, but it "testifies to the existence of a whole group of theologies which have retained a theistic vocabulary but acquired an atheistic substance" and one wonders whether they can continue to co-exist.
The Archbishop of Canterbury says, "... if Dr. Robinson's argument is right the traditional views of God are not outmoded, they are simply false".
The argument that has ensued around these and other questions has engaged the leading minds in both Europe and America recently, and they indicate a sense of loss, frustration, and failure that are so much a part of modern life. The hope is expressed that there will be a new birth in our time that will restore something of the meaning and value of human existence.
We have all felt the impact of war and economic depression, the dehumanizing influence of industrialization, the overcrowding of our cities, the ever-present and ominous threat of nuclear war with its total destruction, and the myriad social forces that complicate our lives and affect our values. We share the conscience of a world in which mass murder has been real and in which millions go to bed hungry every night in the presence of abundance.
While we look forward hopefully to the help we may get from science and technology in our attempts to solve our problems, we rely with absolute confidence upon the theology and religion of the Church of Jesus Christ for the inspiration and faith to sustain us in this endeavor, and to this end our spiritual strength is grounded firmly on the foundation of revealed religion and the biblical conviction of the reality of the Living God.
Unlike those whose religious faith is uneasy and precarious in the modern world of expanding scientific knowledge, we are at home with the most advanced truths discovered by scientists and with all competent philosophic thought-with truth wherever found-because our religion enjoins in us a love of knowledge and education, encourages us to seek understanding through the broadening of our vision and the deepening of our insight. This is an eternal quest.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints accepts newly revealed truth, whether it comes through direct revelation or from study and research. We deny the common conception of reality that distinguishes radically between the natural and the supernatural, between the temporal and the eternal, between the sacred and the secular. For us, there is no order of reality that is utterly different in character from the world of which we are a part, that is separated from us by an impassable gulf. We do not separate our daily mundane tasks and interests from the meaning and substance of religion. We recognize the spiritual in all phases and aspects of living and realize that this life is an important part of eternal life. We aspire to the best of which we are intrinsically capable and will think our thoughts, fashion our ideals, and pursue every task firm in the faith that in a very real sense we are living in the presence of God here and now.
We accept the testimony of the sacred scriptures that the purposes of God are enacted in human history, that he is primarily interested in man's condition and welfare though he will never trammel our free agency. His work and his glory is, as the prophets have said, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
Our doctrine of man is positive and life affirming. We declare unequivocally that by his very nature every man has the freedom to do good as well as evil, that God has endowed him with a free moral will and given him the power to discern good from evil, right from wrong, and to choose the good and the right. We refuse to believe, with some churches of Christendom, that the biblical account of the fall of man records the corruption of human nature or to accept the doctrine of original sin. We do not believe that man is incapable of doing the will of God or is unable to merit the rewards of Divine approval; that he is therefore totally estranged from God and that whatever salvation comes to him must come as a free and undeserved gift. We never tire of proclaiming the inspiring truth of the gospel that man is that he might have joy. For us the so-called fall of man placed the human spirit in a world of experience and adventure where evils are real but can be overcome, where free moral decision is a constant requirement, and where choices, freely made, determine the quality of life and the eventual condition of the soul.
This does not mean that we are oblivious to the evils of the world, the sins of men, and the immeasurable suffering that is daily endured by millions. Ours is not a superficial faith that sees only the bright side of life and denies the fact of human tragedy. Our conscience is wounded by the massive evils that men have perpetrated in our own time, by sins that are unspeakable in the depth of their horror. But we have the positive faith that places the responsibility of these sins squarely upon the individuals and societies who commit them.
In our theology, God did not bring the world into being from nothing. He organized it from existing materials. We accept the scriptural statement that God created man in his own image. "... in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them". He is engaged in a constant struggle with the evils of the world, to overcome whatever brings pain and suffering, frustration and failure, and he asks that we cooperate with him by keeping his commandments, by obeying the laws upon which all blessings are predicated. This is the meaning of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, that man as a child of God is not alone in the world, for God shares our suffering and delights in our joys. In this community with him we can overcome the world, achieving the abundant life here, and immortality and eternal life hereafter.
We shall overcome any seeming contradictions between science and religion if and as we learn to adhere to the teachings of the restored Church which have always been dedicated to the search for knowledge and intelligence, which is the glory of God.
To the question raised by the Bishop of Woolwich, "Is Christianity relevant to the modern world?" we find positive and affirmative answers in the unequivocal declarations of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel does not belong to an antiquated world that has passed away but is a real and powerful force in our world here and now. It invests our individual lives with meaning and purpose and will yet transform the course of human history.
When we speak of the unity of the Godhead, we refer to the attributes, powers, and purposes of its members. Jesus testified to the unity existing between himself and his Father on many occasions as is recorded in the Holy Bible and other revealed documents. He referred to this unity in his memorable prayer recorded in the seventeenth chapter of John, where he prayed that he and his followers might be one even as he and his Father are one.
It will become clear to any unbiased reader of the scriptures that the Father is a personal being, possessing a definite form with bodily parts and spiritual passions. The Son, who was in the express image of the Father, is a separate identity by whom the worlds were made and without whom was not anything made that was made. He was, in fact, a revelation of God.
We see everywhere in nature evidence of cause and effect, of means adapted to an end, which indicate a given purpose. This is evidence of intelligence, and intelligence is an attribute of mind. We must therefore conclude that it was an intelligent mind that built the stupendous universe of God.
Human reason may not of itself lead its possessor to convincing knowledge of God, yet if properly exercised will confirm his inherited instinct toward his maker. Truly "the fool hath said in his heart, There is no God".
We know him to be a living being with every essential property and attribute of personality-that he thinks wills, feels that he is a moral being who demands righteousness and justice-but that in his love he is compassionate, merciful, and longsuffering.
For us God is not an abstraction, he is not just an idea, a metaphysical principle, an impersonal force or power. He is not identical with the totality of the world, with the sum of all reality. He is not an "absolute" that in some way embraces the whole of reality in his being. Like us, he exists in a world of space and time. Like us, he has ends to be achieved, and he fashions a cosmic plan for realizing them. He is a concrete, living person, and though in our finite state we cannot fully comprehend him, we know that we are akin to him, for he is revealed to us in the divine personality of his Son Jesus Christ.
There has been a marked change in the teachings of many of the churches concerning God, and many thinking men and scholars now believe him to be a personal being and not an abstract essence. This is shown in the book A Century's Change in Religion, wherein the author, after telling the beliefs of the churches in America at the beginning of the nineteenth century, says, "It is within the last fifty years that this mighty change or extension of belief has come about. The new thought is the kingdom of God on earth in the Christian society. The church is now dominated by this idea. The gospel of the kingdom on earth is the latest, the newest, the oldest, and the truest gospel."
He further adds, "There has been a change in our thought of God from the conception of sovereignty to this conception of Fatherhood. The center of doctrine has shifted from sovereignty to Fatherhood.
"God is a person; He is intelligence, and that is purpose, plan, He is will, and that is realizing purpose; He is love, that is, He is person related to person. Whatever more than personality, as we know it, He may be, He is that in perfect degree which our best is in imperfect degree."
For ourselves, we reaffirm our conviction that God is real and personal, that Jesus the Christ is his Only Begotten Son. We rejoice to proclaim to the world that he is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. Our answer, then, to the Bishop of Woolwich is that God is real and personal, and we are not concerned as he seems to be as to whether he is "up there" or "out there" or whether this is a three-storied universe. We know that he lives, that he can and does appear to men. In fact, the whole structure of Mormonism is based on revelation. The Father and the Son were revealed to a young man in the state of New York in 1820, and since that time many glorious revelations have come to reassure us in our faith that he lives. He declared it to be his work and his glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. This is our answer, then, to the question whether it is possible for modern men to accept the true Christian faith. It was established by Jesus Christ in the Meridian of Time and restored by him in the Fullness of Times. Hence, we do not share the fear, uncertainty, and confusion mentioned by Dean Inge or the Bishop of Woolwich. We call attention to the biblical image of God in which he is identified as personal, eternal, unchangeable, and everlasting, to which we humbly bear witness in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Boyd K. Packer
Boyd K. Packer, Conference Report, April 1964, pp. 84-86
There has lingered in my mind since yesterday morning a sentence from the inspired voice of President David O. McKay. "Pure hearts," he said, "in a pure home are always within whispering distance of heaven." This touched my heart. From it, and from the whispered prayer of a little youngster this morning, I took assurance and found an unexpected preface for the subject, "Suffer the little children to come unto me".
An associate of mine had a little girl undergo surgery. They arranged for one of the parents to stay with the little youngster during the period of recuperation-for a hospital can be a strange and a frightening place for a little youngster who is injured or ill.
Coincidentally she shared a room at the hospital with another little girl just the same age who had also undergone surgery. During the long, painful hours following the operation, this little girl struggled almost convulsively against the pain, pleading incessantly for her parents. "Mister," she would beg, "will you please go find my mommy?" My friend, and in turn his wife, found themselves more at the bed of this little girl than of their own child, for she seemed to need them more.
Finally in the evening hours her parents appeared. They hurriedly visited for a few minutes in a casual way and then nervously observed that they had a social engagement and left the little youngster to face her agony alone.
How well they had taught the lesson-how enduringly they had impressed upon the pliable little mind that she was an intrusion into their lives. How unfortunately typical they are of many parents who unwittingly, unconsciously, merely endure their children.
It has been my privilege in the past to speak to young people and to fathers. Today I address my remarks to mothers of little children and recall for their contemplation these words from the Gospel of St. Mark:
"And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them.
"But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God".
While the responsibility to guide little children belongs to both parents, motherhood carries with it a special sacred influence. The program of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will not preempt your privileges, Mother. It is structured to strengthen you as a mother. None of it is calculated to diminish your influence in the home. But since there are good mothers-and better mothers-it is patterned to strengthen the very quality of your motherhood. There is a "Home Partnership" spirit in all that is done. How important it is that every mother be enthroned as a queen in her home, teaching the principles of life and salvation to her little ones.
It is a common practice for parents to purchase insurance policies and open savings accounts that the children may attend college or fulfil missions. It is generally a good thing to do. But, mothers, in all of your looking into the future, you may do well to look to the present. For premiums must be paid on character, too, not just monthly or quarterly or semiannually, but moment by moment, day by day, year in, year out. Character must be built little by little "... giving line upon line, precept upon precept; here a little, and there a little".
It is not always a solemn and sobering obligation, this teaching of the gospel to the little children; they have a way of making it pleasant. One mother in South Carolina told me of her youngster who was contesting with a neighbor child over the question, Which is the only true church? Her child finally said, "Well, we have a prophet at the head of our Church." The other child conceded finally with the thought, "I guess ours is a non-profit organization."
There is a trend in the world today-and unfortunately in the Church-for women to want to be emancipated. And we wonder at times-emancipated from what? From domesticity? From motherhood? From happiness? And to what are you in slavery? Your children? It is neither necessary nor desirable for the mother of little children to become a drudge or to be relegated to a position of servitude. It is not, however, uncommon to see women-interestingly enough many in the financially well-to-do category-over-surfeiting themselves with activities outside of the home at the expense of their little children.
I have never known a mother to regret in the closing years of her life a sacrifice made for her children or to begrudge the cost of guiding them to fine Christian citizenship.
On the other hand, we find almost universal remorse for neglect of family in the growing years or for overindulging children, which is symptomatic of the most serious type of neglect.
Mothers, do not abandon your responsibilities! Be reverently grateful for your little children.
I speak a word to mothers who have little children who are handicapped, children whose little bodies were born incompletely formed or whose little minds are limited. No one knows the depth of agony that you have suffered. By way of consolation, I read from the Doctrine and Covenants:
"Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation.
"For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand".
I recall the inspiring words of Elder Lee's message yesterday on this subject and suggest that blessings will be extended to mothers such as you who have given tender and affectionate love to handicapped children. Trials such as these bring a reverence for life, a new depth of compassion and motherhood.
There are lovely mothers, also, who have fostered children born by other women. To such the privilege of motherhood is twicefold more precious. And there are many mothers whose love extends beyond their own family. In elementary school I learned a great lesson in this regard. There were in that school several youngsters from a family which was not blessed with an attentive mother at home.
During the school year they were afflicted with impetigo, a common disease of the skin which is now very easily cured. Because they were not bathed and because their clothing was not clean, it quickly spread across their bodies.
The principal of the school asked that my mother, who was the room mother for our class, visit the home in the hope that she could encourage the type of care that these children so badly needed. "The woman's touch," he said, "may be most helpful here."
Although she responded to the request, she failed in her mission, for she found circumstances in that home were pitiable. Well I remember the invitation to bring these little youngsters home from school with us. And, I remember that they were bathed; medication was applied to their little bodies; they were dressed in our clothing; and in the early evening sent to their own home, the next day to return for the same treatment. Night after night after night I remember my mother scrubbing endlessly with a bottle of disinfectant and then boiling clothing against the possibility that her own family might become infected. But her mother's heart would not turn them away, for these were little children, and they were suffering.
The demands made upon mothers, the weariness, the worry, the endless vigil, all take their toll. But there comes to you a special beauty transcending even that of the blushing bride. Such beauty is alluded to in these lines by an unknown poet entitled simply "Beauty."
"Two pines were born on a hillside grove. One protected, grew straight and tall. It bore no time or weather marks. Its figure was slim and virginal.
"The second showed clearly that time had passed, For it stood where the winds stormed by. Its arms knew the tortuous weight of snow. Its face knew the sting of the sleet filled sky.
"The first tree, so youthfully beautiful Was a picture the world could all see. But the artist who climbed to the hillside grove Always painted the other tree."
This morning I was compulsively drawn to turn and look over my shoulder to see Sister McKay sitting, her face almost framed by the white orchids that had been set there next to her chair. And to the credit of those who sent those flowers I say that they came near to being as lovely as Sister McKay.
Mothers, teach your children in the home the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Sustain your husband in his presidency of the home. Draw from the Priesthood Home Teaching program, from the Relief Society, and the other auxiliary agencies of the Church the assistance to bless your family.
Teach your daughters the essentials of homemaking. Teach them to be virtuous. Train your sons for service in the mission field. Teach them to be worthy. Teach them to know that the President of the Church is a prophet of God.
It is easy, mothers, for us to love you, because you see the Lord loves you. Earn, mothers of little children, the witness that Jesus is the Christ, for he lives. The gospel of Jesus Christ is true. In testimony of this, I give you my witness, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Eldred G. Smith
Eldred G. Smith, Conference Report, April 1964, pp. 86-88
I bear testimony to you, my brothers and sisters, that I, like others who have talked in this conference, know that this is the kingdom of God, that this is his Church. I have confidence in this work and in the missionaries who are teaching the gospel, for they are teaching the truth.
I know that God lives and that he is a Loving Father, and that Jesus Christ is his Son. I know he has patience with me as with all because he is a Loving Father, that he has gone through such experiences previously. Otherwise I would think prayers would be useless if he weren't a Living, Loving Father who could answer them.
I know that Jesus Christ is his Son both in the spirit and on the earth, for Christ himself testified that God was his Father. I know the two both appeared to Joseph Smith, two separate Personages and the Father said to Joseph, "This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!", putting in their proper order of organization which has always been since the time Adam was driven out of the Garden of Eden. Unto Adam was said as he left that he should learn obedience by his own experience. By partaking of the fruit he was shut out of the presence of the Father, but all that he should receive from then on should come through his Son Jesus Christ.
And so we, as children of Adam, receive our instructions from our Father through his Son Jesus Christ and are here to learn obedience by our own experience. The Lord gives us opportunity here for trials through difficulties. Many of us think we have a most difficult row to hoe; what comes to us seems to be the hardest; but it helps us because we need that training probably. That's what it takes for us to attain perfection, for we must be able to go through all the trials and difficulties in this life which are necessary to attain perfection.
So the Lord, as a Kind, Loving Father, gives us experiences, stumbling blocks to stumble on by which we may be strengthened; problems to overcome by which we may be strengthened; trials by which we may grow bigger, stronger; so we may attain the perfection he has planned for us through this life in mortality.
I would invite all those who are not members of the Church who have a desire to seek God, to seek God through prayer because he will answer their prayers. He is a True and Living God. He will answer their prayers. He may not answer them as you think he may, for our Father has many languages, but he will choose the language which is best for you. It may come to you through experiences. Some may be difficult, yet they will be a lesson to you which will answer your prayers. He may answer your prayer in a way which will make you stronger, help you to progress, and give you the burning in your heart that this is the gospel of Jesus Christ restored in these the latter days.
I testify to you that this knowledge has come to me, not from just one little experience but over a lifetime. I have often said to myself in my younger days, as trials and difficulties came along, "The Lord's way is the best way." As long as conditions are beyond my control, then I leave them up to the Lord. I worry only about those things that are in my control, and those things I try to make better and ask the Lord to help me.
Through those experiences through life with that as my guide and wherein the Lord is my guide, I have learned to know without a doubt that the Father and the Son did appear to Joseph Smith; that these truths which have been referred to by others in this conference were given to the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery; that the kingdom of God is now established upon the earth in this the last Dispensation of the Fullness of Times, in the Saturday evening of time, never again to be taken from the earth; and that this is the time of preparation for the ushering in of the millennium when Christ himself will come and reign on the earth.
I bear you my testimony that I know this to be true, I know this is the gospel of Jesus Christ, and do so in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Henry D. Taylor
Henry D. Taylor, Conference Report, April 1964, pp. 88-90
In the year 1842, the Prophet Joseph Smith was invited to submit a statement setting forth the beliefs of the newly organized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In response to that invitation, he directed a communication now known as the "Wentworth Letter." This inspired document contained among other things, thirteen concise comprehensive declarations of belief, familiarly called, "The Articles of Faith."
The first of these Articles of Faith states: "We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost".
Now, if we believe in God with all our hearts and seek to know him as he would have us know him, then he will be an anchor to our lives, giving meaning and purpose to them. The Savior once said, emphasizing this point: "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent".
What do we know about God, our Heavenly Father?
First. We are actually his children. He is the Father of our spirits. In our prayers, we properly address him as our Father in heaven.
Second. We are created in his image and after his likeness.
Third. He is a glorified, immortal, resurrected being, possessing a body of flesh, bones, and spirit.
And fourth. We once dwelt in his presence and may return to be again with him, provided we do the things required to achieve and merit this blessed privilege.
To these truths the scriptures have attested, and inspired men have testified.
We have been admonished to "Love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, might, mind and strength". And with this love also goes a deep respect and reverence for him. Jesus recognized this truth when he taught his disciples how to pray. As he addressed the Father in prayer, he said: "... Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name". When Jesus regarded the name of the Lord as "hallowed," can we do less? Should we in any manner profane that hallowed name?
When the Prophet Moses received the Ten Commandments midst the thunderings and lightnings of Mt. Sinai, the Lord proclaimed: "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".
Moses, too, knew by revelation that the name of God is hallowed. And yet, everyday, we hear thoughtless, uncouth, irreverent persons violate this commandment as they blaspheme the name of our Heavenly Father in profane oaths.
In ancient times, the Higher Priesthood was called, "The Holy Priesthood after the order of the Son of God." Out of respect and reverence for the name of the Supreme Being and to avoid the too frequent repetition of his name, they, the Church, called that priesthood after Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of the Most High God, to whom Abraham paid tithes. Is it not a striking fact that in all periods of the world good men have held the name of God in highest reverence?
Too often today individuals in fits of rage and uncontrollable anger profane the name of Deity, and too frequently they do it in ordinary conversation. The Lord, through one of his prophets, warned that: "... the tongue... is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison". However, through the exercise of self-control and by engaging in earnest prayer, it is possible to learn to govern one's speech or utterances.
In addition to taking the name of God in vain, profanity, cursing, and oath taking are also displeasing to the Lord. We have been counseled to keep our speech clean and simple. The Lord loves a clean mouth as well as a pure heart. This is evidenced by one of the Master's own powerful statements in which he said: "But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:
"Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
"Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
"But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil".
A modern-day writer, Frank Crane, has made an interesting observation on the objectionable habit of swearing in these words, which I quote:
"The trouble with profanity is not so much that it is wicked, as that it is just plain dirty.
"It is not so much that you shock religious people, as that you disgust decent people...
"Swearers are behind the times. They are holdovers from a former century.
"Nowadays anybody who swears is set down at once as being coarse and vulgar.
"The young man who wants to succeed needs to take advantage of everything that may help him on. And swearing will be a black mark against him in any job he may have. And if he wants to associate with the right sort of girl, he must keep his talk clean.
"Nobody wants a swearer in the office, nor in the workshop, nor on the train, nor in the hotel. The only place swearing fits is in the saloon.
"Swearing means you don't know how to talk. Your vocabulary is limited. It is a sign of ignorance.
"Swearing means weakness. You will notice that forceful men, whose words carry weight, use simple plain words.
"When you swear it shows your impotence. It is the petty refuge of the helpless. If you can help a thing, help it; if not, keep still; anyway, do not swear.
"Swearing has bad kin. It goes with ignorance, brutality, cruelty, drunkenness, licentiousness, viciousness, and anger. And you can tell a habit by the company it keeps...
"To abstain from swearing does not mean you are a sissy, it simply means you are decent.
"To show you are manly, you don't have to have a dirty face, nor black fingernails, nor greasy clothes, nor tousled hair. You can be manly though clean, and you are not showing any manliness by filthy talk...
"Altogether, swearing is a useless, unclean, and offensive habit.
"Quit it!"
It is difficult to imagine such men as Abraham, Moses, Lincoln, Joseph Smith, or President McKay profaning the name of God. How would you regard them or what kind of opinion would you form concerning them, if they were guilty of such blasphemy?
Try to form in your minds a picture of the mother of the human race, or the mother of the Savior, or your own mother sprinkling vile oaths through her speech. You shudder to think of such a thing, but by the very laws of decency, it is no worse for them to do it than for you.
The writer of Proverbs in referring to man declares: "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he". What is in our hearts and minds is reflected in our speech.
A person who is striving to pattern his or her life after that of the Savior will be pure in thought and action. His or her speech will then be clean, dignified, and worshipful. Jesus said- "... out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh". And "... thy speech betrayeth thee," declared someone to Peter, one of the Savior's Apostles . And a heart that is full of goodness, will utter good and kind thoughts through well chosen words, the symbols that represent one's thoughts.
Now a word of encouragement to you, my young friends of the Church and the world: Make your speech pure and warm and dignified, devoid of vileness and profanity. Let it be of such a nature and character that the world will be attracted to you because of it. Make the Lord Jesus Christ your ideal and pattern after his speech and his ways. And as surely as you do this, he will magnify you and make you mighty before your fellow men, which I promise you, and I testify unto you that God lives, that the gospel is true, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, April 1964, pp. 93-99
My brothers and sisters and friends the world over, we bring you greeting:
As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we declare in all solemnity the reality of God the Eternal Father and his Son Jesus Christ, as like as any father and son, yet distinct individuals. On more than one occasion the Christ has made known that a knowledge and acquaintance with God is basic to exaltation.
"This is eternal lives-to know the only wise and true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent. I am he." And then his command: "Receive ye, therefore, my law".
Neither the Father Elohim nor the Son Jehovah would alienate himself from the children of men. It is they, the men, who cut themselves off if there be estrangement. Both the Father and the Son would gladly commune and associate with men. But men must be Godlike, pure, and perfected to attain such stature. Even with this high degree of worthiness, men must still be protected from the brilliance and glory of the heavenly personages.
If I were to tell you that in your own back yard you could find an acre of diamonds, would you ignore the suggestion and take no trouble to search? Today, I am telling you that in easy reach there is a prize of inestimable worth. Diamonds can buy one food and shelter. Diamonds can sparkle and glitter. Diamonds can embellish and decorate. But the prize which is within your grasp is more brilliant than jewels. It will not tarnish nor be subject to market trends. I speak of the greatest gift-the gift of eternal life. It may not be obtained through mere wishing; it cannot be purchased with money; hopeful wishing will not bring it, but it is available to men and women the world over. There have been long periods of history when the total truth was not immediately available to the inhabitants of the earth. But in our day, the whole eternal program is here and can carry men to exaltation and eternal life all the way to Godhood.
Jeremiah declared:
"For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water".
And Amos predicted:
"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:
"And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it".
After centuries of spiritual darkness, described by Amos and Jeremiah, we solemnly announce to all the world that the spiritual famine is ended, the spiritual drought is spent, the word of the Lord in its purity and totalness is available to all men. One needs not wander from sea to sea nor from the north to the east, seeking the true gospel as Amos predicted, for the everlasting truth is available.
Jeremiah the prophet again asked the question: "Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods?" In spite of all the gods which men make for themselves and the confusion incident thereto, the Living and True God is in his heaven and is available to his children.
The Master himself gave the basic truth that eternal life is available to those people only who have a knowledge of the Father and the Son.
The most important question one can ask himself is this: Do I really know God the Father and Jesus Christ his Son? And in the answer is the difference between floundering through indecision or having sureness and certainty.
The Lord promised:
"... every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am.".
The Beatitudes of Christ add: "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God".
Celestial life may be had by every soul who will fulfil the requirements. To know is not enough. One must do. Righteousness is vital and ordinances are necessary.
Jehovah proclaims:
"But no man is possessor of all things except he be purified and cleansed from all sin.".
And the Redeemer continues: "And surely every man must repent or suffer".
"... 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".
"I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was crucified for the sins of the world".
There are three Gods: the Eternal Father, Elohim, to whom we pray; Christ or Jehovah; and the Holy Ghost who testifies of the others and witnesses to us the truth of all things.
Many seem to delight in confusing the matter with their rationalizations and human calculations. The Father and the Son, in whose image we are created, separate and distinct beings, have identified themselves through the ages.
The Christ declared himself to be the Lord God Almighty, Christ the Lord, the beginning and the end the Redeemer of the world, Jesus the Christ, the mighty one of Israel, the Creator, the Son of the Living God Jehovah.
The Father Elohim declares Jesus to be Mine only Begotten Son, the word of my power. And twice, at least, at the Jordan baptism and then on the Mount of Transfiguration, he declared:
"This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased" and stated that "the worlds were made by him: Men were made by him: All things were made by him, and through him and of him."
The Bible gives much secular and religious history and much in glorious teachings. But even with the scriptures, confusion continues in the Christian world.
To know God, one must be aware of the person and attributes, power, and glory of God the Father and God the Christ. Moses declares he "... saw God face to face, and he talked with him". This experience of Moses is in harmony with the scripture, which says:
"For no man has seen God at any time in the flesh, except quickened by the Spirit of God. Neither can any natural man abide the presence of God, neither after the carnal mind.".
It must be obvious then that to endure the glory of the Father or of the glorified Christ, a mortal being must be translated or other vise fortified. Moses, a prophet of God, held the protecting Holy Priesthood: "... and the glory of God was upon Moses; therefore Moses could endure his presence".
Grease on the swimmer's body or a heavy rubber skin diver's suit may protect one from cold and wet; an asbestos suit might protect a fire-fighter from flames; a bullet-proof vest may save the policeman from assassin's bullets; one's heated home may protect from winter's chilling blasts; deep shade or smoked glass can modify the withering heat and burning rays of the midday sun. There is a protective force which God brings into play when he exposes his human servants to the glories of his person and his works.
Moses explained that he could endure the divine presence because "... the glory of God", was upon him.
Jehovah said: "Wherefore, no man can behold all my works, except he behold all my glory; and no man can behold all my glory, and afterwards remain in the flesh on the earth".
In heavenly glorious vision, Moses "... beheld the world... and all the children of men". It is significant to note that when the protection from such transcendent glory was relaxed, that Moses was left weak and near helpless.
The scripture says: "And the presence of God withdrew from Moses, that his glory was not upon Moses; and Moses was left unto himself. And... he fell unto the earth". Many hours elapsed before he could regain his natural strength. He exclaimed: "... mine own eyes have beheld God... my spiritual eyes, for my natural eyes could not have beheld; for I should have withered and died in his presence; but his glory was upon me; and I beheld his face, for I was transfigured before him".
There is another power in this world forceful and vicious. In the wilderness of Judaea, on the temple's pinnacles and on the high mountain, a momentous contest took place between two brothers, Jehovah and Lucifer, sons of Elohim.
When physically weak from fasting, Christ was tempted by Lucifer: "If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread".
On the temple's pinnacles, the Evil One taunted again, suggesting the unwarranted use of power: "... Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God".
On a high mountain the devil tantalized the Christ, offering kingdoms, thrones, powers, dominions, satisfactions of urges, desires, passions, the glory of wealth, ease, comfort-all to possess on condition that he worship Lucifer.
The Lord in his mortality was tempted but resisted: "Get thee hence, Satan" he said.
Abraham was tempted; Moses and all men must prove themselves.
Now came Satan, contending for the subservience of Moses. Satan, also a son of God, had rebelled and had been cast out of heaven and not permitted an earthly body as had his brother Jehovah. Much depended upon the outcome of this spectacular duel.
And again, could the mastermind, Lucifer, control and dominate this Prophet Moses who had learned much directly from his Lord? "Moses, son of man, worship me," the devil tempted, with promise of worlds and luxuries and power. But, he courageously:
"... looked upon Satan and said, 'Who art thou? For behold, I am a son of God, in the similitude of his Only Begotten'. And Moses knew well his role and was prepared for this mastermind:
"... where is thy glory, that I should worship thee?
"For behold, I could not look upon God, except his glory should come upon me, and I were strengthened before him. But I can look upon thee in the natural man. Is it not so surely?" he taunted.
"Blessed be the name of my God, for his Spirit hath not altogether withdrawn from me, or else where is thy glory, for it is darkness unto me?
"And I can judge between thee and God". The contrast was compelling. Moses the priesthood bearer must be protected to see Jehovah but could face this impostor with his natural eyes and without discomfort. What a contrast!
And with full knowledge now and with great fortitude the prophet demanded: "Get thee hence, Satan".
The liar, the tempter, the devil unwilling to give up this possible victim, now in rage and fury: "... cried with a loud voice, and rent upon the earth, and commanded, saying, I am the Only Begotten, worship me".
Moses recognized the deception and saw the power of darkness and the "bitterness of hell". Here was a force not easily reckoned with nor evicted. Terrified, he called upon God, then commanded with new power: "I will not cease to call upon God... for his glory has been upon me, wherefore I can judge between him and thee".
"... In the name of the Only Begotten, depart hence, Satan".
Not even Lucifer, the Star of the Morning, the arch-enemy of mankind can withstand the power of the priesthood of God. Trembling, quaking, cursing, weeping, wailing, gnashing his teeth, he departed from the victorious Moses.
When properly protected with the glory of God, and when sufficiently perfected, man can see God.
Again, the glory of the Lord was upon him and he heard the promise: "... thou shalt deliver my people from bondage".
"... and thou shalt be made stronger than many waters; for they shall obey thy command as if thou wert God".
What a promise. What power! As one hears this promise from the God of heaven, one can envision water coming from the rock, manna from the sky, quails from the bushes, and the waters of the sea rolling back to provide dry crossing for the refugee children of Israel.
A heavenly visitor identified himself to Abraham: "I am the Lord, thy God; I dwell in heaven...
"My name is Jehovah".
And Abraham: "... talked with the Lord, face to face, as one man talketh with another...
"And he said unto me: My son, my son... And he put his hand upon mine eyes, and I saw those things which his hands had made... and I could not see the end thereof".
Abraham was protected so that he not only could withstand the glory of the Lord, but he could see and comprehend. The visions which Abraham saw at this time before his sojourn in Egypt were beyond all description. Perhaps no soul even with the strongest telescopes has ever seen the thousandth part of what Abraham saw as to this universe with all its limitless parts and functions. He also saw the creation of this earth, and the Father is quoted:
"And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son created them, which is mine Only Begotten Son".
How great the power of God, the majesty of God, the glory of God! Again, when Jehovah came to call Saul of Tarsus to his mission, the vision was given to him only.
"And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man".
But Saul of Tarsus saw Jehovah, the glorified Christ, and heard his voice and conversed with him. Even partially protected as he was, the brilliance of the light from heaven in which he centered-greater than the noonday sun-Paul collapsed to the earth, trembling, shocked. The voice said: "I am Jesus whom thou persecutest".
So intense and brilliant was the light that even with such protection, he was blinded. He said: "And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus".
A priesthood miracle restored sight to Paul after three days of total darkness. The glory of the Lord! How great and magnificent!
Paul told Timothy: "... Christ...
"... is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords,
"Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see".
Enoch also needed protection, for the Lord, speaking to Enoch, said:
"Anoint thine eyes with clay, and wash them, and thou shalt see...
And he beheld the spirits that God had created, and he beheld also things which were not visible to the natural eye".
The godless dared not touch him "... for fear came on all of them that heard him; for he walked with God".
Daniel was worried so much so that he mourned for three weeks and took no pleasant bread nor meat nor wine. Then came his vision which he alone saw:
"... I retained no strength," he said,
"Yet heard I the voice of his words:... then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground.
"And behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands.
"And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb".
There is another world with which we mortals are little acquainted. It may not be far from us. Peter, James, and John, the Presidency of the Church, came to know the power of God. These three central figures climbed the high mountain with the Lord Jehovah, while he was yet in the mortal world before his crucifixion. In the high mountain was solitude, apartness, and privacy.
What a glorious experience! The Son of God, their Master, "was transfigured before them, and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light" and heavenly beings Moses and Elias appeared to them. "... a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; Hear ye him.".
The glory of the contact was more than they could bear and they collapsed, falling on their faces. While in this state unprintable, unspeakable, unutterable things were said and done. The three mortals thus protected survived even this withering fiery experience.
Realizing that death by martyrdom was imminent and that a verbal witness could be forgotten and that his important knowledge must be perpetuated down through the ages, Peter bore his solemn witness in writing. No fable was this, no conjuring of the imagination was this, no imagination of human minds was this... it was real and certain:
"... were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
"For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
"And which voice came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.".
The pattern was established, the chart made, the blueprint drawn. Under special need, at special times, under proper circumstances, God reveals himself to men who are prepared for such manifestations. And since God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, the heavens cannot be closed except as men lock them against themselves with disbelief.
In our own dispensation came another similar grandiose experience. The need was imperative; an apostasy had covered the earth and gross darkness the people, and the minds of men were clouded, and light had been obscured in darkness. The time had come. Religious liberty would protect the seed until it could germinate and grow. And the individual was prepared in the person of a youth, clean and open-minded, who had such implicit faith in the response of God that the heavens could not remain as iron and the earth as brass as they had been for many centuries.
This budding prophet had no preconceived false notions and beliefs. He was not steeped in the traditions and legends and superstitions and fables of the centuries. He had nothing to unlearn. He prayed for knowledge and direction. The powers of darkness preceded the light. When he knelt in solitude in the silent forest, his earnest prayer brought on a battle royal which threatened his destruction. For centuries, Lucifer with unlimited dominion had fettered men's minds. He could ill-afford to lose his satanic hold. This threatened his unlimited dominion. Let Joseph Smith tell his own story:
"... I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me... to bind my tongue... Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction.
"... at the very moment when I was ready to... abandon myself to destruction-not to an imaginary ruin but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world... I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun.
"... 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!".
Young Joseph finally recovered his voice and asked the pertinent questions for which he had come and a conversation ensued, most of which was forbidden him to write. He continues: "... When I came to myself again, I found myself lying on my back, looking up into heaven".
Joseph had had the same general experience of Abraham and Moses and Enoch who had seen the Lord and heard his voice. In addition, he heard the Father, bearing witness of the Son, as had Peter, James, and John on Transfiguration's Mount. He had seen the person of Elohim. He had fought a desperate battle with the powers of darkness as had Moses and Abraham. And like them all, he was protected by the glory of the Lord. This young man gave a new concept to the world. Now at least one person knew God without question, for he had seen and heard.
Again the Prophet reports the veil was lifted from their minds and the eyes of their understandings were opened and he and Oliver Cowdery in the temple saw the Lord Jehovah who said unto them:
"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".
"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... great waters".
And on another occasion, the prophet speaks of the Only Begotten Son:
"We... being in the spirit...
" see and understand the things of God-
" Only Begotten Son...
"Of whom we bear record... whom we saw and with whom we conversed in the heavenly vision".
"... 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!
"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".
"And this we saw also and bear record, that an angel of God who was in authority in the presence of God, who rebelled against the Only Begotten Son whom the Father loved and who was in the bosom of the Father, was thrust down from the presence of God and the Son,
"And was called Perdition, for the heavens wept over him-he was Lucifer, a son of the morning".
And eternal life again was made available to men in the earth, for does not the scripture say: "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent". And so we return to the promise made on the hill in Palestine. "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God".
Men who know God and love him and live his commandments and obey his true ordinances may yet in this life, or the life to come, see his face and know that he lives and will commune with them.
Our friends, I invite further inquiry. I testify to these truths, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, April 1964, pp. 107-109
My beloved brethren and sisters: I have chosen a vital subject, that of chastity, if you will give me your attention.
According to the dictionary, chastity means, "The state or quality of being chaste, free from sexual impurity, free in thought, modest and free from vulgarity."
When our Redeemer was with the Nephites on this continent after his resurrection, he emphasized this principle by saying to them: "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.
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do;
"Therefore, if ye do these things blessed are ye, for ye shall be lifted up at the last day".
From what we see as we travel from city to city and from what we read in the public press, we are forced to the conclusion that repentance from sin is extremely essential throughout the entire world. In fact, there is seldom a time in the known history of mankind when sexual sin was not prevalent and the violation of the divine commandments was almost universal. It was not long after Adam and Eve had children who began to pair off and establish families that the influence of Satan was felt, and the sons and daughters forgot the teachings of their parents. We read that Satan came among them saying: "I am also a son of God", and he commanded them to believe not the teachings of their parents, and the record informs us that from that time forth men became, "... carnal, sensual, and devilish".
Very frequently I have this question asked of me: "When Lucifer, or the devil, was cast out of heaven, why did the Lord permit him to come to this earth to tempt and torment us, rather than to have been sent with his followers to an isolated place?" My answer to this question has been that it seems clear that the Father permitted Lucifer to come here to tempt us and test our faith. The fact is clear that Adam and his posterity were not left without divine commandments and guidance. Angels visited them and instructed them and commanded them to raise their children in light and truth. Moreover, the fall was not the terrible mistake which so many have been led to believe. It is customary in the religious world to speak of the fall as "man's shameful fall," leaving the impression that had Adam refused to partake of the fruit, he and Eve and their posterity would have lived in eternal bliss and harmony. The fact is clear, however, had Adam not partaken he and Eve would have lived alone without posterity. Therefore the fall was a necessity, and this was clearly stated by Mother Eve when she said: "Were it not for our transgression w e 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".
This mortal life is just an essential part of our eternal existence. We came here to be tested and proved by coming in contact with evil as well as the good. It is necessary that we be tempted and tried, but the Eternal Father did not leave us helpless in the midst of evil. From the very beginning the plan of salvation was presented to our first parents. They taught these principles to their children. It is necessary, however, that we have trials and temptations, as well as the divine commandments. Therefore the Father has permitted Satan and his hosts to tempt us, but by the guidance of the Spirit of the Lord and the commandments given through revelation, we are prepared to make our choice. If we do evil, we have been promised that we will be punished, if we do good, we will receive the eternal reward of righteousness. Every soul has been given the gift of free agency. It is essential that we learn both good and evil and thus resist and overcome the evil. If we live righteously there will come eternal salvation and exaltation in the kingdom of God.
Cleanliness of life will bring the reward of exaltation and an eternal existence in the kingdom of God. If we choose the evil, the reward will be in punishment. Eventually every sin will have to be righted. Our Savior paid the price of our transgressions if we do not sin a sin worthy of eternal death and humbly keep his commandments; otherwise he has said, we must suffer even as did he.
When the children of Israel came out of Egypt, the Lord gave them many commandments. Among these commandments he taught the Israelites that their bodies were sacred and that they should not be improperly exposed. Among these instructions we find this necessary commandment:
"The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God".
Today it is a common sight, even on the streets of the cities of the Latter-day Saints, to see women dressed in pants and suits similar to those worn by men. We are forced to declare that this is not a lovely sight. Moreover, it is also frequently the case at parties and places of entertainment that women are arrayed in what I think they call full or party dress, thus exposing a part of the body which should be sacred and not exposed.
The Prophet Isaiah without question saw our day, for he speaks of the daughters of Zion who, in the latter days, would be guilty of all kinds of improprieties in their dress. I w-ill not quote what he said, but if any are curious enough and wish to read it you will find it in the third chapter of Isaiah, verses sixteen to the end.
Now, my good brethren and sisters, I am making a plea for modesty and chastity and for the members of the Church, male and female alike, to be chaste, clean in their lives, and obedient to the covenants and commandments the Lord has given us.
I would like to quote a few paragraphs taken from a discourse by President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.:
"Our very civilization itself is based upon chastity, the sanctity of marriage, and the holiness of the home. Destroy these and Christian man becomes a brute.
"Chastity is fundamental to our life and to our civilization. If the race becomes unchaste, it will perish. Immorality has been basic to the destruction of mighty nations of the past; it will bring to dust the mighty nations of the present. Every one of us who instructs our youth in whatever place or position, and in whatever capacity, must teach the young people of today to abstain from unchastity."
The following counsel is given by President David O. McKay:
"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.
"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."
Again from President McKay:
"'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 relationship 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 has been preceded by selfish desires or unattained ambition."
In the name of Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
Elder Bernard P. Brockbank
Bernard p. Brockbank, Conference Report, April 1964, pp. 109-111
Brethren and sisters: I am thankful for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and I pray for the inspiration of this great comforter. Isn't it humbling and glorious to be an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? I find it a great joy and blessing to visit the Saints in many parts of the world. It is a privilege to shake their hands and to call them brother and sister. I like the warmth and the joy that come from this great family tie. Happiness truly comes from God and his righteousness.
The first great goal of this life was given by Jesus Christ our Savior, leader, and example, when he said, "... seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness". There is no other goal ahead of this first goal.
I would like to speak briefly about the scriptures and missionary work. No one ever needs to make excuses or apologize for the scriptures. The Apostle Paul said, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for Instruction in righteousness:
"That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works".
I repeat, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God." Anyone changing or placing a personal interpretation that changes the true meaning of the scriptures is placing himself and his abilities above the God-inspired scriptures.
When the gospel and Church of Jesus Christ were restored to this earth in 1830 by a Prophet of God, the scriptures were again restored to their true light and meaning. Immediately after the restoration, the great missionary program of the Church was commenced. The Savior said in a revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith, "... behold the field is white already to harvest". Christ said when he lived upon the earth that there were many people to be brought into the Church "but the laborers are few".
Today, 1964, the field is still white and ready to harvest. There are millions waiting today for the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, but the laborers are few. We must find ways to reach and teach every creature. I sometimes wonder if we have actually taught one percent of God's children. That would be over thirty million. I know that millions have heard about the Church, but there is no substitute for the teacher.
Under the inspiration and direction of our Prophet David O. McKay, we have undertaken a great and far-reaching missionary program in the New York World's Fair. Millions of people will have the opportunity to hear testimonies and see fruits of the gospel in the restored Church of Jesus Christ Jesus said, "... by their fruits ye shall know them". The fruits through the exhibits based upon the scriptures will be shown and taught.
Our pavilion and exhibits are built and designed to give a sacred atmosphere and a spirit of rest and peace. Our theme is "Man's Search for Happiness." We want to show and impress upon all who attend, that happiness comes from seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
As people enter the pavilion, they will see an Adam and Eve statue and the masterful painting of the ancient prophets. The scriptural messages which will be written in text will show our acceptance of the Old Testament scriptures.
The heroic-sized marble statue of Jesus Christ and the inspired painting of the Twelve Apostles will show that we accept Jesus Christ, the Twelve Apostles, and the scriptures of the New Testament. The one-hundred-ten foot mural, picturing the teachings of Jesus Christ, will touch the hearts of the true Christians. Jesus Christ is shown coming up out of the waters of the River Jordan after being baptized by John the Baptist. The Holy Ghost is represented in the form of a dove, and the voice of God the Eternal Father saying, "... This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" -a picture that even touches the heart of the unbeliever. This is one of the great examples and messages of the New Testament, and the artist under inspiration has created and pictured this glorious occasion when God expressed from heaven that he was pleased with his Son.
The mural continues with Jesus calling the fishermen, Peter and Andrew. Another picture shows the calling and ordaining of the Twelve Apostles; Jesus is also pictured teaching the multitudes in Jerusalem; Jesus praying at Gethsemane while the apostles slept; Judas and the betrayal kiss; the crucifixion; the meeting of the Resurrected Christ and the apostles after his resurrection; the ascension of Jesus Christ and the two men in white apparel saying, "... this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner" -a most impressive mural. The golden-rayed room, built around Jesus Christ, is inspiring, soul-searching, and magnificent. Many will receive their first inspiration of this Church as they enter this pavilion.
We will briefly show the apostasy from the teaching of Jesus Christ, that man in many cases substituted his own doctrines and programs; men did away with the Twelve Apostles, changed the baptism, and substituted an incorporeal and incomprehensible God for our Living, Personal Heavenly Father.
The mural continues to show John the Revelator on the Isle of Patmos. John in vision saw an angel and 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,"- often quoted and unique to this Church. Our message to the world is that this angel came to the Prophet Joseph Smith and restored the everlasting gospel, and that it is going forward today to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.
As we walk into the first vision diorama, we see the boy-Prophet, Joseph Smith, kneeling in humble prayer in the Sacred Grove, and we feel as if we are in that grove of trees witnessing his first vision.
Millions accept Moses, Abraham, Jacob, Isaiah, and all of the ancient prophets of God as prophets of God, and heavenly messengers appeared unto them many times. Millions accept the Apostle Peter, John the Revelator, Paul, and the other Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ, and they all had heavenly visitations and manifestations. If we stay with the God-given scriptures, heavenly manifestations are part of God's earth program, and the Prophet Joseph Smith's first vision is in harmony with the scriptures.
A twin diorama showing Jesus Christ teaching in and around Jerusalem on the Eastern Hemisphere and in the Americas on the Western Hemisphere is impressive and brings to light his statement that he had other sheep which he must visit.
The Bible contains the God-inspired scriptures of the Eastern Hemisphere. The Book of Mormon contains the God-inspired scriptures of the Western Hemisphere. Today men are looking for evidence of divine power; it can be found in the Holy Bible and in the Book of Mormon, and among the prophets and Apostles of the Lord.
A statue showing the restoration of the priesthood by Peter, James, and John, messengers sent from heaven, upon the head of the Prophet, will portray the restoration of this great power. One hundred back-lighted transparencies have been created and taken from all parts of the world to show the fruits of the Church.
A diorama showing eternal life has been created around the words of Jesus that have been quoted here several times at this conference "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" An inspired moving picture on eternal life has also been created to inspire and touch the hearts of the truth-seeker.
The Tabernacle Choir, a great missionary, will be at the fair also. Three hundred Singing Mothers will be there.
I heard several fine sermons on Easter from prominent ecclesiastical scholars encouraging the people to return to religion. We already have an abundance of varied religions on this earth, but all of God's children should turn to the God-inspired scriptures and to the gospel teachings of Jesus Christ. They should seek first the kingdom of God.
Brothers and sisters, we sincerely and humbly ask for your prayers for the success of the Lord's work at the World's Fair and for the great missionary program of the Church, that we may more fully teach the gospel of Jesus Christ to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, and I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Thorpe B. Isaacson
Thorpe B. Isaacson, Conference Report, April 1964, pp. 112-115
President McKay, President Brown, President Tanner, President Smith, my beloved brethren of the General Authorities, my dear brothers and sisters: I would like to testify to you that these brethren are servants and prophets of God our Eternal Father. I know today we miss Elder LeGrand Richards, Apostle LeGrand Richards. I say "apostle" intentionally because truly he is an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have missed his sitting here by the side of Brother Romney for these three days. I visited with him this morning. He is home and looks very fine. He sends his love to the people, the Saints, and thanks you for your prayers. He does love the Saints, and I can say to him, "We love you, too, LeGrand. You are a great soul."
The first and great commandment is:
"Thou shalt 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".
Now, just who is your neighbor? We are living in a somewhat complex society, when things sometimes are not quite as they seem. And now as we are facing a state and national election, perhaps we should conduct ourselves and our public statements and accusations a little differently than we have done in the past.
The Lord has said:
"Judge not, that ye be not judged.
"For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
"And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?".
We have two great American political parties in this country-the Republican Party and the Democratic Party-and I believe that most citizens believe in the two-party system and desire to preserve it. Sometimes we speak about the opposition candidate as if we would like to destroy one or the other political party. Recently, I heard two men speaking about a certain candidate of the opposite party to which they belonged. One of the men said, "If he runs, before he is through, we will ruin him." Some of us can recall where men have been practically ruined because of treacherous political campaigns. I wonder if any political office is worth that price. Certainly, we can talk principles and policies without degrading the integrity and even the good name and the family reputation of any candidate of either party.
As citizens of this great country and members of both major political parties, we can be thankful for belonging to a nation under God and for a faith which, if practiced, can see us through any hour of trouble. The atmosphere of hate and intolerance will likely be partly responsible for sad events occurring in this choice country-a choice land!
We should all be thankful and grateful that this government is an inspired form of government and our personal rights and liberties will continue unabated. Ours is a free country, and freedom requires people to think for themselves and develop their own abilities. Tolerance and respect for the opinion of others should be cherished and practiced. Each of us could learn to distinguish between men and their ideas, to disagree without being disagreeable, and to take no pleasure in ruining any man or his good name or his future because most of us, if not all of us, have guilt enough-each in his own way.
Perhaps there is a great lack of tolerance. We should not debase and deprive those with whom we may differ by character or custom but realize that there is a time and place for everything. The courage to defend the right does not give one the right to destroy those who disagree. The world is in constant conspiracy against brave men. Moral courage has been to a greater or less extent missing or lacking in the American life.
Competition in America is keen but that does not justify the attempt to ruin a man's good name in order to achieve, nor does it justify short cuts in our taking advantage of the other fellow.
Should Americans set themselves one against another in bitterness and suspicion? Are we developing tolerance, moral courage, patience, etc., or have these virtues become de-emphasized in American life? To what degree would we go to defeat another?
Some years ago an article written by President David O. McKay was published, entitled "Protecting One Another's Honor." It might be well for each one of us to adapt this article to ourselves. Today that should be emphasized and practiced. Yes, it should even become part of our own life. May I quote some statements from that article. President McKay states, and I quote:
"To defend one's country is a worthy deed! Patriotism is a virtue. In protecting the good name and holding inviolate the word of their country, men in the service of their country may rise to the heights of true nobility...
"The same virtue is possessed by him who with unwavering integrity protects the honor and good name of his friends and associates. It is the best within him expressing itself.
"In upholding the good in others he makes better his own soul. He that looks for the good shall find it; and he who protects another's good name makes bright his own.
"But the opposite is true as well. If every man is the keeper of his brother's good name, he who proves false to his trust weakens his own good character, stains his own soul. There is a mean element in human nature which 'feeds fat' upon seeing weaknesses and faults in others-which secretly gloats upon others' failures. The more one yields to this meanness, the meaner one becomes...
"It is from this base side of humanity that spring slander and backbiting... gross evils in society that produce discord, distrust, and devilishness-that cause... sorrow and broken hearts... Families are broken up because of distrust aroused by faults magnified and virtues overlooked. Ties of friendship are broken, societies and organizations weakened by dissension and ill will, and even governments undermined because men fail to defend the honor and good name of their colleagues and governing officials. Much of this is the result of the failure to look for the good and not for the bad in others.
"Looking for the good does not mean being blind to the bad. Human nature is full of weaknesses and frailties... But in organized society... there are means established whereby weaknesses may be corrected and evils overcome. They are only made worse when magnified and multiplied by gossip's idle tongue. It is a deplorable fact that the eye of the gossip and the slanderer sees not only no good in others, but sees 'evil where no evil exists.' Ofttimes, many evil, vicious things that are circulated exist only in the imagination of... evil-thinking minds. How sordid must be that person's soul who would defame the honor and good name of an innocent friend or neighbor!
"True religion as exemplified in the gospel of Jesus Christ teaches that every man should be the defender of his brother's good name. It goes even further by requiring everyone to overlook another's trespasses:
"'... ye ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin'.
"To pray for power to see things as they are, not as others imagine them to be; to cherish charity in our hearts for our fellow men; to realize that, next to love, sympathy is the divinest attribute of the human soul, and to manifest it for all things, both great and small; to strive by righteous endeavor to hasten the day when men of all nations shall live as brothers-these are some of the ideals of life which should be emphasized by all men everywhere"
Most men have plenty of trouble anyway. Why should we add to the humiliation, embarrassment, sorrow, and worry of another? Yes, most men are already carrying a heavy load. Why should any one of us wish to add to that already heavy cross? May we put aside bitterness, hate, jealousy, and quit judging the other fellow! If we could have courage to come to the rescue of the man who is being attacked when he is not present to defend himself, we could save the heartbreaks of one another.
May I quote from William George Jordan:
"The second most deadly instrument of destruction is the gun-the first is the human tongue. The gun merely kills bodies; the tongue kills reputations and ofttimes ruins characters. Each gun works alone; each loaded tongue has a hundred accomplices.
"The havoc of the gun is visible at once, the full evil of the tongue lives through all the years....
"The crimes of the tongue are words of unkindness, anger, malice, envy, bitterness, harsh criticism, gossip, lying and scandal. Theft and murder are awful crimes, yet in any single year the aggregate sorrow, pain and suffering they cause in a nation is microscopic when compared with the sorrows that come from the crimes of the tongue.
"At the hands of a thief or a murderer few of us suffer, even indirectly. But from the careless tongue of friend, the cruel tongue of enemy, who is free? No human being can live a life so true, so fair, so pure as to be beyond the reach of malice or immune from the poisonous emanations of envy. The insidious attacks against one's reputation, the loathsome innuendoes, slurs, half-lies by which jealous mediocrity seeks to ruin its superiors, are like those insect parasites that kill the heart and life of a mighty oak.
"Scandal is one of the crimes of the tongue, but it is only one. Every individual who breathes a word of scandal is an active stockholder in a society for the spread of moral contagion. He is instantly punished by nature by having his mental eyes dimmed to sweetness and purity, and his mind deadened to the sunlight and glow of charity.
"A few words lightly spoken by the tongue of slander, a significant expression of the eyes, a cruel shrug of the shoulders, with a pursing of the lips-and then friendly hands grow cold, the accustomed smile is displaced by a sneer, and one stands alone and aloof with a dazed feeling of wonder at the vague, intangible something that has caused it all.
"For this craze for scandal, sensational newspapers of today are largely responsible. Each newspaper is not one tongue, but a thousand or a million tongues, telling the same foul story to as many pairs of listening ears. The vultures of sensationalism scent the carcass of immorality afar off. From the uttermost part of the earth they collect the sin, disgrace and folly of humanity, and show them bare to the world.
"They do not even require facts, for morbid memories and fertile imaginations make even the worst of the world's happenings seem tame when compared with their monstrosities of invention. These stories, and the discussions they excite, develop in readers a cheap, shrewd power of distortion of the acts of all around them."
When we look at other men, we may think they have no problems, that they have no worries, no sadness; but someone said, "Do not judge another man until you have walked in his shoes for a while!"
"Nay speak no ill; a kindly word Can never leave a sting behind; And, oh, to breathe each tale we've heard Is far beneath a noble mind. Full oft a better seed is sown By choosing thus the kinder plan, For, if but little good is known, Still let us speak the best we can.
"Give me the heart that fain would hide, Would fain another's faults efface. How can it please the human pride, To prove humanity but base? No, let us reach a higher mood A nobler estimate of man Be earnest in the search for good And speak of all the best we can.
"Then speak no ill, but lenient be To other's failings as your own. If you're the first a fault to see Be not the first to make it known, For life is but a passing day; No lip may tell how brief its span; Then, O the little time we stay, Let's speak all the best we can." -Anon. Hymns, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, page 116
May God bless us that we may do so, and that we shall never add to the worries of a friend or a brother, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder John Longden
John Longden, Conference Report, April 1964, pp. 115-117
Much has been said about the resurrection of Jesus Christ during this conference, and for several weeks past by many peoples of the Christian faith as the Easter season has been commemorated. The resurrection, we testify, is a reality. Every testimony-bearing member of this Church gives this witness.
Today, I should like to speak about a reality yet to come-the second coming of Jesus Christ. The signs and events preceding his second coming are clearly taught in the scriptures and furthermore are being fulfilled now.
By way of review, while the Savior was upon the earth on one occasion he met with:
"The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.
"He answered and 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 to day: 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?".
I well remember as a boy in England hearing this statement many times, "Red sky at night, sailors take delight. Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning."
Later, the Savior sat upon the Mount of Olives; the disciples came unto him privately, saying: "... Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
"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.
"And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
"And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
"And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
"And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
"But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
"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".
Think of the signs and events of the past several weeks-worldwide, bearing on these predictions. We note, then, as the time approached for the Savior's departure from his disciples, he gave them instructions as to their mission, to carry the gospel to all the world. He also instructed them in relation to conditions which would prevail on the earth preceding his second coming. Peoples of the earth would reject him and his mission.
False doctrines would arise and there would be wars and rumors of wars because of the difficulties that would arise in the hearts of men. Nation would rise against nation. Peace would be taken from the earth, but his disciples should endeavor to remain faithful and true to their covenants to the end.
As we review the happenings of the past few years, we realize the most dreadful wars of all time have been fought in this dispensation, and the end is not yet. There are uprisings in many, many countries today. We have signs in the heavens and in the earth. Have they become so common we fail to recognize them? In recent years, around the world, we have had some of the most destructive earthquakes of history. Distress in and among nations is increasing daily. Will anyone say that men's hearts are not failing them? Today, millions of people sit and tremble in fear of what may happen. The wickedness of the world increases. Nations are preparing more earnestly than ever before for the final great struggle.
Among the wonderful signs which would be given to indicate the near approach of his advent, there would not only be wars but also earthquakes in divers places, distress among nations, elements in commotion in tornados and hurricanes, the sea heaving itself beyond its bounds. There would be signs in the heavens as well as in the earth of unusual proportions. To impress his disciples that these events would surely come, the Savior said:
"Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
"But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only".
Today weapons are being made more dreadful than ever known before, and fear enters into the hearts of all people. Is it so that we are able to see that the sky is red in the morning or in the evening and yet fail to see the signs in the heavens or in the earth? Surely there will be signs among the heavenly bodies before the end shall come. The earth will reel, the sun be darkened, the moon not give its light.
Is the airplane flying in the skies from one country to another a sign? The heavens are filled with them, and people are fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 60:8. "Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?".
Moreover are not the missiles which are shot into the outer space and which revolve around the earth signs? Will anyone say that these do not, in a large measure, come under the prediction made by the Lord on the Mount of Olives almost 2000 years ago? Surely they are signs in the heavens, and there will yet come other signs as the Lord has promised.
It appears that the trouble brewing in this world in which the hearts of men are failing them is here, and other even greater manifestations of the near approach of the Lord are yet to come. Will we be in a category of the people in the days of Noah as recorded in Luke? "And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
"They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
"Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;
"But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
"Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed".
Or as Peter predicted in 2 Peter 3:3-4: "Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
"And saying, Where is the promise of his coming?".
True, the precise time of Christ's coming has not been made known to man. Yet I have no fear in my heart. Neither has anyone with a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. By learning to comprehend the signs of the times, by watching the development of the work of God among the nations, and by noting the rapid fulfillment of significant prophecies, we may perceive the progressive evidence of the approaching event; but the hour or the day, no man knoweth, neither the angels in heaven nor shall they know until he comes. His coming will be a surprise to those who have ignored his warnings and who have failed to watch. Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
Likewise, Peter predicted the Saints also shall hardly escape. Nevertheless I, the Lord, am with them. This is a great promise to those who will keep their covenants. Another sure sign to take place before his second coming was the restoration of the gospel and kingdom here on earth of the Lord Jesus Christ. This we testify took place 134 years ago.
The scriptures are replete with testimonies pertaining to the second coming of Jesus Christ. I would have you note Job and the Prophet Daniel, also the words of the Apostles after the crucifixion of Jesus: "... 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".
Timothy had this to say: "... and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time". Likewise the Apostle Paul had this firm conviction when he said: "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God".
But the crowning testimony of all is from the Savior of the world himself: "... I am Jesus Christ, who cometh quickly, in an hour you think not", given by revelation from the Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith in May 1831.
May we be in the category predicted by the Savior: "But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
"Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh".
I bear witness that the messages of this conference have been to warn, advise, counsel, and encourage everyone to prepare and be ready to meet the Master, whether we are still living in mortality or have completed our missions here.
May we then observe the signs which are so evident and have the desire to labor and watch and so live as if the Savior were going to come today, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Ezra Taft Benson
Ezra Taft Benson, Conference Report, April 1964, pp. 118-122
Humbly and gratefully I approach this sacred assignment.
As the ancient Apostle declared on the Mount of Transfiguration: "... it is good for us to be here".
I am grateful to President David O. McKay, whom I sustain as a prophet of God, for inviting Sister Benson and me to attend this great conference, even though we had not expected it, and even though it is not easy to leave the mission field.
Have you ever attended a mission-wide conference of more than two hundred devoted, enthusiastic, wonderful missionaries? We were in the midst of a series of such inspiring meetings when President McKay's cablegram arrived. In fact, we concluded one of these missionary conferences in Dusseldorf, Germany, only Wednesday, April 1. It was, I believe, the best April First Day I have ever spent.
We bring you the love and greetings of 2100 of some of the finest young men and women to be found anywhere, your sons and daughters. They are not perfect, but I say to you, they are a credit to their loved ones, their communities, and the Church. I know the Lord loves them and is magnifying them, at times even beyond their natural abilities, which is one of the most soul-satisfying experiences that can come to man.
We bring you warm greetings from twelve dedicated mission presidents and their devoted companions.
We also bring you the love and fellowship of tens of thousands of faithful members-many of them new in the Church-from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, and Germany, who love the Lord and his work and rejoice in the brotherhood they enjoy in the Church.
It is a high and sacred honor to bear witness to the divine mission of Jesus Christ; to represent his great Church; to be an ambassador of truth to our Father's children; to be called by a prophet of the Lord to go into the world and proclaim the glad tidings that God has again spoken from the heavens: that the heavens are not sealed, that God still communicates with men on the earth, and that the pure gospel of Jesus Christ has again been restored to the earth in its fullness.
I rejoice in this glorious privilege, thank the Lord for this rich opportunity and blessing, and bear solemn witness to the truth of these things.
We meet here in this great conference with a prayer of gratitude in our hearts and on our lips for the privilege of living in this choice period when the light of truth has burst forth. We meet in a great Christian nation-a nation with a solid spiritual foundation-a nation departing from its basic concepts.
As a people we have just joined with others of the Christian world in the celebration of Easter. Today flags are at half mast as we mourn the passing of a great patriot, General Douglas MacArthur, and the sweet wife of our beloved Brother S. Dilworth Young. It is, therefore, most fitting that we consider together that most glorious event, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I bear witness to you that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of the world-the very Son of God.
He was born the babe of Bethlehem.
He lived and ministered among men.
He was crucified on Calvary.
His friends deserted him.
His closest associates did not fully understand his mission, and they doubted. One of the most trusted denied knowing him.
A pagan governor, struggling with his conscience after consenting to Jesus' death, caused a sign to be erected over the cross proclaiming him "JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS".
He asked forgiveness for his tormentors and then willingly gave up his life.
His body was laid in a borrowed tomb.
An immense stone was placed over the opening.
In the minds of his stunned followers over and over echoed some of his last words, "... be of good cheer; I have overcome the world".
On the third day there was a great earthquake. The stone was rolled back from the door of the tomb. Some of the women, among the most devoted of his followers, came to the place with spices "and found not the body of the Lord Jesus".
Angels appeared and said simply, "Why seek ye the living among the dead?
"He is not here, but is risen".
There is nothing in history to equal that dramatic announcement: "He is not here, but is risen."
The greatest events of history are those which affect the greatest number for the longest periods. By this standard, no event could be more important to individuals or nations than the resurrection of the Master. The eventual resurrection of every soul who has lived and died on earth is a scriptural certainty, and surely there is no event for which one should make more careful preparation. Nothing is more absolutely universal than the resurrection. Every living being will be resurrected. "... as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive".
There are those, however, who act as though they do not believe in eternity or a resurrection. They cower at the thought of nuclear war, and to save their own bodies they would have peace at any price. Yet the best assurance of peace and life is to be strong morally and militarily. But they want life at the sacrifice of principles. Rather than choose liberty or death, they prefer life with slavery. But they overlook a crucial scripture "... 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". The Lord could, I suppose, have avoided the war in heaven over free agency. All he needed to do was to compromise with the devil, but had he done so he would have ceased to be God.
While it is more difficult to live the truth, such as standing for free agency, some of us may in the not-too-distant future be required to die for the truth. But the best preparation for eternal life is to be prepared at all times to die-fully prepared by a valiant fight for right.
Let us act like men, men who are sons of God, men with a sure knowledge that there will be a resurrection and a final judgment.
Yes, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is a glorious reality. He became the firstfruits of them that slept. He truly rose from the tomb the third day, as he and his prophets foretold, and became in very deed "the resurrection and the life". He broke the bonds of death for all of us. We, too, will be resurrected. Our spirits will be reunited with our bodies.
Later the Risen Lord appeared to other women, to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, to Peter, to the Apostles, and "after that," as reported by Paul, "he was seen of about five hundred brethren at once."
"And last of all," continued Paul, "he was seen of me also".
Yes, Christ's resurrection was abundantly verified. The witnesses are many. Throughout the forty days following his resurrection the Lord manifested himself at intervals and gave instructions in the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. Much that he said and did is not written, but such things as are of record, John assures us, "... are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name".
He had told his followers that he must soon ascend unto his Father in heaven. And as the time of his ascension drew nigh, the Lord in that last solemn interview gave his parting instructions to his disciples.
And when Christ and the disciples had gone, "as far as to Bethany" where Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived, the Lord lifted his hands and blessed them. And while he yet spoke he rose from their midst until a cloud received him from out of their sight. As the Apostles stood gazing steadfastly upward, two personages clothed in white apparel appeared by them. They spoke unto the eleven saying, "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".
Worshipfully, and with great joy the Apostles returned to Jerusalem. The Lord's ascension was accomplished. It was truly a literal departure of a material being, as his resurrection had been an actual return of his spirit to his own physical body. Now the disciples began to comprehend more fully that he had truly overcome the world. Not that he had displaced Caesar or even Pilate who ruled over Judea. The great majority of the world's people had still not even heard of him. Not that man's inhumanity to man was suddenly wiped out. But there was victory over the grave, always, until then, the final conqueror of all men.
Then the realization began to dawn on his faithful followers that his kingdom was not of this world. He had overcome the world of hate, envy, greed, and lust. He had shown the way for man to break the chains of selfishness and vengeance which had bound him, doomed him to mediocrity, a prisoner of his own misconceptions. His disciples were quickened with a realization that this was what he had been teaching them. This was what his life had spelled out to them. More clear became his ringing words, "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
"But I say unto you, 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".
Yes, the Lord Jesus Christ liberated man from the world by the pure gospel of love. He demonstrated that man through the love of God and through kindness and charity to his fellows could achieve his highest potential. He lived the plain and sure doctrine of service, of doing good to all men, friends and enemies alike. His charge to return good for evil is still the greatest challenge to the mind of man. At the same time it is man's greatest weapon.
No other single influence has had so great an impact on this earth as the life of Jesus the Christ. We cannot conceive of our lives without his teachings. Without him we would be lost in a mirage of beliefs and worships, born in fear and darkness where the sensual and materialistic hold sway. We are far short of the goal he set for us, but we must never lose sight of it; nor must we forget that our great climb toward the light, toward perfection, would not be possible except for his teachings, his life, his death, and his resurrection.
May God hasten the day when people everywhere will accept his teachings, his example, and his divinity, yes, when they will accept as a reality his glorious resurrection which broke the bonds of death for all of us.
Yes, we must learn and learn again that only through accepting and living the gospel of love as taught by the Master, and only through doing his will can we break the bonds of ignorance and doubt that bind us. We must learn this simple, glorious truth so that we can experience the sweet joys of the spirit now and eternally. We must lose ourselves in doing his will. We must place him first in our lives. Yes, our blessings multiply as we share his love with our neighbor.
To the extent that we stray from the path marked out for us by the Man of Galilee, to that extent we are failing in our individual battles to overcome our worlds. But we are not without his help. Again and again he told his disciples, and all of us, "Let not your heart be troubled".
"If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it".
"I will not leave you comfortless".
"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you".
We feel his comforting spirit in the sweet prayer of a child and the quiet abiding faith of all who have let his gospel permeate their lives. What a priceless gift it is that we can know him through our own prayers and through the sacred and solemn testimonies of those that have seen him, known him, felt his presence.
On this spring day more than 1900 years after his resurrection, I give you my solemn witness and testimony that I know that Jesus the Christ lives. He was in very deed raised from the dead as we shall be. He is "the resurrection and the life". He appeared unto many in the Old World after his resurrection and according to modern scriptures, sacred to me and to Latter-day Saints everywhere, he spent three glorious days before his final ascension with his "other sheep" here in America, the new world.
By him and through him and his gospel, God the Father has made it possible for you and me to overcome the world.
Yes, my friends, Jesus is the Christ. He lives. He did break the bonds of death. He is more than "a great moral teacher." He is our Savior and Redeemer, the very Son of God. And he will come again. "... 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".
Yes, this same Jesus has already come to earth in our day. The Resurrected Christ-glorified, exalted, the God of this world under the Father-appeared to the boy Joseph Smith in 1820. This same Jesus who was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of Moses, the Creator of this earth, has come in our day. He was introduced by the Father to Joseph Smith in these words:
The appearance of God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ to the boy Prophet is the greatest event that has occurred in this world since the resurrection of the Master. As the restored Church of Jesus Christ we humbly and gratefully bear this witness to all men. This message is a world message. It is the truth. More than two million members of the Church throughout the world bear this solemn testimony.
Today thousands of faithful missionaries at home and abroad freely carry this all-important message to the world. Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of mankind, the Redeemer of the world, the very Son of God. He is the God of this world, our advocate with the Father.
Today 16,000 missionary-messengers of truth, and the more than two million members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints-the Mormon Church-bear witness that God has again spoken from the heavens, that Jesus Christ has appeared again unto man, that the resurrection is a reality.
Today I testify to the truth of the message which they bear and add my solemn witness, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Marion G. Romney
Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, April 1964, pp. 122-126
I would like to say a few things this afternoon about revelation, which underlies all that God has done in the earth with his children. I invite you to join your prayers with mine that while I speak, you and I may both enjoy the spirit of inspiration. That we do so is imperative, because to talk about revelation without the spirit of inspiration would be futile.
First, as to the Principle:
Prayer is the means by which men communicate with God. Revelation is the means by which God communicates with men. Revelation is indispensable to an understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The very nature of the gospel is such that without the active and constant operation of the principle of revelation, it could not be understood nor could it be had.
The gospel deals with total truth-"... knowledge of things as they are, as they were, and as they are to come". Such truth is not to be had through man's ordinary learning processes. His sensory powers are calculated and adapted to deal only with the things of this earth. Without revelation, man's intellect is wholly inadequate for the discovery of the ultimate truth with which the gospel deals.
Paul spoke of this to the Corinthians when he said:
"... my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
"... your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power 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".
The principle of revelation is the key which opens the mind and spirit of man to an understanding of the gospel. There is no other key to such knowledge. Thinkers have philosophized; poets have dreamed; and scientists have experimented; but only God speaks with a sure knowledge of all truth.
Some years ago I listened to a lecturer who argued long and deviously and came to the conclusion that there was no such thing as religious knowledge. Within his premises, he was right. He had no religious knowledge, and he could not obtain any because he had ruled out revelation.
It is my witness to you, however, that by the power of God, truth concerning the eternal verities with which the gospel deals has been in the past, is now being, and will in the future continue to be communicated to men from heaven by revelation. "Revelation" is the "governing law of conduct"-the age-old established rule of action or principle by which God communes with men.
Now a word as to the Nature of Revelation:
Since revelation is by nature spiritual man, to receive it, must be spiritually born again. You will recall how earnestly Jesus sought to put this point over to Nicodemus, repeatedly telling him that except a man be born again, he could neither see nor enter the kingdom of God.
Man is a dual being. He is composed of a spirit and a body. His body came into being with his entrance into this world of mortality. His spirit as an individual person was begotten unto God in the spirit world. Through a long period of growth and development, each person's spirit came to know God and spiritual things, including the gospel, obedience to which is a prerequisite to attaining eternal life. Men, however, enter mortality spiritually blind. Never in this life do they recover memory of pre-mortal spiritual things. What they here learn of them must be revealed anew.
"To see if they will do..."
One of God's purposes in granting men mortal life is that they might be tested "... to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them... they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever".
Since attaining this glory is conditioned upon obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel, and since men come into life ignorant of these principles and ordinances, justice demands that they be given opportunity to learn about them. God, being not only just but merciful, provided revelation as the means by which man might be so advised.
The Lord also saw to it that men were so constituted that by the proper exercise of their moral agency with which he also endowed them, it would be natural for them to respond to revelation. Otherwise, it would not be just to hold them accountable for their failure to respond thereto.
I know the scriptures say that "the natural man is an enemy to God". And so he is when he rejects the promptings of the Spirit and follows the lusts of the flesh. But he is not an enemy to God when he follows the promptings of the Spirit.
I firmly believe that notwithstanding the fact that men, as an incident to mortality, are cast out from the presence of God and deprived of past memories, there still persists in the spirit of every human soul a residuum from his preexistent spiritual life which instinctively responds to the voice of the Spirit of Christ until and unless inhibited by the free agency of the individual. If I had time, I could cite many authorities on this point.
Now, as to the Manifestations of Revelation:
Revelation comes to men in an unlimited number of ways. Three separate mediums are mentioned in the first recorded account of revelation-the spoken word, the visitation of angels, and the power of the Holy Ghost. As a consequence of his transgression Adam was cast out from God's presence. But he was not forsaken. As he and Eve toiled and prayed, "... they heard the voice of the Lord from the way toward the Garden of Eden".
"And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam".
"And in that day the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam, which beareth record of the Father and the Son".
The spoken word has been heard on many occasions. Moses heard it from the burning bush; Samuel in the temple. The Nephites heard the voice of the unseen Jesus.
As to the visitation of angels, we have many examples. One which moves me as much as any is the record in the third chapter of Ether of the appearance of Jesus in his spirit body to the brother of Jared.
You will remember how, as Alma was traveling from Ammonihah to Aaron, an angel appeared to him and said, referring to the time of Alma's conversion, "I am the same angel that appeared to you before".
We read in the 110th section of the Doctrine and Covenants about the visitation to the Prophet and Oliver of Moses, Elias, and Elijah.
Another manifestation of revelation is the unspoken word, a good illustration of which is given us by Enos. He says: "... while I was thus struggling in the spirit, behold, the voice of the Lord came into my mind again, saying". Then he tells us what the voice of the Lord put in his mind. This is a very common means of revelation. It comes into one's mind in words and sentences. With this medium of revelation I am personally well acquainted.
Another medium is an impelling impulse of the nature received by the Prophet when he read James 1:5. "Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart".
Another means is dreams-Jacob's ladder, for example, Joseph's dream of the sheaves, Pharaoh's dream of the lean and fat years. There were Nebuchadnezzar's dream, Daniel's dream, Lehi's dream. Joseph, the husband of Mary, was warned in a dream to take Mary and Jesus into Egypt.
Another medium of revelation is visions. You know about Nephi's vision, the Prophet's great vision recorded in the 76th section of the Doctrine and Covenants, and President Joseph F. Smith's vision of work for the dead in the spirit world.
Flashes of ideas that come into one's mind represent another type or manifestation of revelation. Listen to this statement of the Prophet Joseph:
"A person may profit by noticing the first intimation of the spirit of revelation; for instance, when you feel pure intelligence flowing into you, it may give you sudden strokes of ideas, so that by noticing it, you may find it fulfilled the same day or soon; those things that were presented unto your minds by the Spirit of God, will come to pass; and thus by learning the Spirit of God and understanding it, you may grow into the principle of revelation, until you become perfect in Christ Jesus."
One of the most familiar types of revelation is the one which the Lord took so much pains to teach to Oliver Cowdery. The lesson begins in the 6th and 8th sections of the Doctrine and Covenants and concludes it in the 9th section. Oliver wanted to translate, and the Lord finally gave his consent. But Oliver didn't translate because he didn't work hard enough. When he complained about it, the Lord said:
"Do not murmur, my son, for it is wisdom in me that I have dealt with you after this manner.
"Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me.
"Ask if it be right..."
"But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.
"But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought".
This is the kind of revelation we can all live by. One need not make serious mistakes in life. Such can be avoided by following this formula. It will guide us in all our activities if we will become sensitive to it.
The foregoing are but some of the means of revelation.
In connection with this principle of revelation, the Prophet Joseph Smith further said:
"We consider that God has created man with a mind capable of instruction, and a faculty which may be enlarged in proportion to the heed and diligence given to the light communicated from heaven to the intellect... the nearer man approaches perfection, the clearer are his views, and the greater his enjoyments, till he has overcome the evils of his life and lost every desire for sin; and like the ancients, arrives at that point of faith where he is wrapped in the power and glory of his maker, and is caught up to dwell with Him"
In qualifying to receive revelation, as in all righteousness, Jesus is our great exemplar. He so qualified himself that he received through revelation "a fullness of the glory of the Father".
With respect to this point, John the Beloved bore this witness:
"... I beheld his glory, as the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father...
"And I, John, saw that he received not of the fullness at the first...
"... but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fullness...
"And I, John, bear record that he received a fullness of the glory of the Father".
To me, among the most inspiring passages of all scripture is the comment of Jesus on this testimony of John's, which, as you will remember, was dictated to the Prophet by the Savior. After quoting John's testimony, Jesus said to the Prophet Joseph Smith:
"I give unto you these sayings that you may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fullness.
"For if you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fullness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace".
Now this is Christ's promise to the Prophet, and it is his promise to us.
"... 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".
We receive a little revelation; we obey it; we receive a little more, obey it, and repeat the cycle over and over again.
This is the pattern by which the promise of the first paragraph of this great revelation may be obtained. As you now listen to this promise, let your souls be filled with hope.
"Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am".
In these remarks I have, as you of course have noted, omitted any reference to revelation in connection with the great advances of science in our age. This I have done deliberately. I know that all men live and learn by the light of the Spirit of Christ; I know that all progress in science and other fields of secular learning is made possible by the light of Christ. I do not, however, think that our distinctive message about revelation lies in such fields of learning but rather in the field of religion.
Our message is that we are living in the great and last dispensation of the gospel of Jesus Christ; that God has opened the heavens anew; that by direct revelation through the means we have been considering, he has revealed himself, restored his gospel, set up his Church with power and authority to preach the gospel and administer the saving ordinances thereof; and that he is now, today, continuing to direct by revelation his great program for the blessing and the salvation of the human race.
Our great mission is to declare this message with such simple clarity and inspired conviction that men of all lands will hearken, investigate, and prayerfully seek until, through personal revelation to themselves, they obtain a saving witness for themselves. That we may successfully discharge this mission, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Richard L. Evans
Richard L. Evans, Conference Report, April 1964, pp. 126-129
President McKay and my beloved brethren and sisters:
From the time of President McKay's opening address until this moment, we have been strengthened and refreshed in spirit. We have heard our President's appeal against pernicious, enslaving habits and for preserving the integrity of the home and maintaining moral standards. Last night late, I reread the President's opening address, which I feel was one of his finest. These sentences I have taken from his text:
"... that our homes are kept unpolluted and unbroken by infidelity; that children therein will be trained to keep the commandments of the Lord, to be honest, true, chaste, benevolent, and virtuous, and to do good to all men."
"... the Word of Wisdom... goes deeper than the ill effects upon the body and strikes at the very root of character..."
"No other success can compensate for failure in the home."
"The most vicious enemy to home life is immorality.
"The word of the Lord to his Church is: 'Keep yourself unspotted from the sins of the world!'" ).
We have heard Brother Lee's appeal not to be "almost" only but altogether what we ought to be.
And we have heard Brother Hunter's most interesting analysis of the obligation and privilege of tithing. I recall in this connection a quotation from President Moyle, given in the Manti Temple not many months before he left us, in which he was quoting as I recall partly himself and partly President McKay. He said, "Tithing is as much a law as is baptism itself. We are no more compelled to keep the one than the other." And then quoting President McKay: "We have been praying for this day for a hundred years, and if we have the faith to meet the needs of the growth of the Church, the Lord will provide a way for us to do so. The Lord sets the times and seasons of this great growth."
Each of the brethren who has spoken, in his own way and in his own time, has added to our reminder of the fundamental position of the Church and its mission among men and has reminded us of our obligations and opportunities.
We have been reminded of the principles that will solve mankind's problems and that will lead us to everlasting life.
Now, why all this effort and exhortation? Because time moves swiftly and is short, and because people are of everlasting importance, and because there never comes a time when we do not need to be taught! There never comes a time when we do not need to know that repentance is the great principle of progress and that there is room for all of us to improve.
And since these things are so, what a person believes becomes exceedingly important, because what he believes determines how he lives. A person will prepare much differently for a short journey than he will for a long one, and he will prepare much differently for an everlasting journey than he will for one that ends after a short season.
Now since eternity is forever, and since life is going to be lived one way or another everlastingly, and since what we do here has its effect on our eternal opportunities, we ought frequently to do some self-searching-auld that is what we have been doing these past three days.
One of life's greatest lessons is to learn that there are causes and consequences. God has given us our free agency and will not violate it, but everything we do has its effect on our everlasting life. As Samuel Johnson said it: "The future is bought with the present."
President McKay and several others have mentioned the surgeon general's report on tobacco and its adverse effects on human health and length of life. We may now expect to see much maneuvering to set aside the effects of these findings.
When the evil of an unrestrained indulgence is under attack, there will be a plea for moderation, for half steps, as if to say that a little of something that isn't right is all right. It comes down in another sense to this "almost" that Brother Lee spoke of. To quote some words from Nephi: "And there shall also be many which shall say:... there is no harm in this". This is in error. If it isn't good-let it alone. If it isn't right-avoid it, not "almost," but altogether.
It has been over 130 years since the answer was given on this subject and on many other subjects. Why do we so long wander in the wilderness?
Now there are those who would ask what all this has to do with religion. In the Church and kingdom of God, the practical and the physical are intermingled with the spiritual. We are a practical Church. Life is a practical matter. So is eternal life. There are laws and commandments and physical facts that pertain to peace and progress and health and happiness, and I cannot conceive of a Loving Father's not being interested in everything that pertains to his children-what they do, what they eat, what they think, what they learn, how they live, their health, their happiness, their character, their conduct. Conscientious fathers are interested in all these things, or should be, and so is our Father in heaven. This is part of the gospel. It is part of life. It is part of religion-to give us peace and health and happiness and to qualify us for the highest opportunities of everlasting life.
In all of life, as Phillips Brooks put it, there are the "fulfillers" and the "destroyers"-those who build up and those who pull down, and the measure of what is good for man is what it does for him. What isn't good isn't good. What is good is good. And why should we vacillate between the two?
I heard President Brown ask this question not long ago. I can't recall the occasion, but I remember the words. I hope he will pardon me for using them from him. "Do you want to repent or rationalize? Repenting means pulling yourself up to a set of standards, and rationalizing means letting your conduct down to your appetites and to a less worthy inclination."
We ought to turn our attention to those things that enlarge and fulfil life and not those things which enslave and destroy.
"Man's success or failure, happiness or misery," President McKay has said, "depend upon what he seeks and what he chooses."
Last June in St. Louis at a Rotary International Convention, Willy Brandt, Mayor of Berlin, came to speak there at our invitation, and in a significant and challenging talk made this among other observations: "Nobody, no system, no ideology can prevail over the future unless the central interest is humanity. The world is not to be won by disregarding people."
What he was saying, in his own way, was, in speaking of communism as he was, that unless it changes to serve the highest possibilities of mankind, it cannot survive, and if it changes to do this, it would not be communism.
What this says to me is that, here and hereafter, what is good for man is the measure of what is good and the ultimate in our Father's plans and purposes, and we must have the wisdom, the strength, the discernment to shape our lives toward this end and to choose between what is and isn't good.
At our World s Fair site in New York a few days ago, with Brothers Lee and Stapley and Brockbank and others, we saw raised atop the center tower of the temple a beautiful gold-leafed replica of the Angel Moroni. Earnestly we asked for a variance of the World's Fair building code so that our temple spires could reach to a height that would be symbolic and significant and would appear in proportion-and as we saw the angel put in place and contemplated our exhibit with all its planning, we could not help recall these words from the book of Revelation, already more than once quoted at this conference:
"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,
"Saving 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".
To the literal fulfillment of this event, we bear witness, and we have an obligation to live according to the witness that we bear.
Some days ago I was searching in an autobiography of Dr. John A. Widtsoe, one of my beloved mission presidents many years ago-scientist, scholar, educator, and Apostle. And in this book called In a Sunlit Land, published shortly before his death, he reviews his beginnings in a far country, on a rocky island off the North Sea coast of Norway; his birth into another church; the coming of the missionaries; the conversion of his mother and later his own conversion; his going to Harvard as an immigrant lad; his going later to Germany to acquire his doctor's degree in chemistry; his study of the sciences and of the religions and philosophies of men; his serving as president of two universities. And then on about the last page of that book he says:
"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."
Joseph Smith did tell the truth. This is the witness that I would leave with you, my beloved brothers and sisters, my beloved family and friends, along with the witness that Jesus is the Christ and that God our Father did make us in his own image and that it is his purpose to bring to pass our immortality and eternal life, and this I do in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Thomas S. Monson
Thomas S. Monson, Conference Report, April 1964, pp. 129-132
"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
"In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths". So spoke the wise Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel.
On this the American continent, Jacob, the brother of Nephi, declared: "... Look unto God with firmness of mind, and pray unto him with exceeding faith".
In this dispensation in a revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord said, "Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not".
This divinely inspired counsel comes to us today as crystal clear water to a parched earth.
We live in troubled times. Doctors' offices throughout the land are filled with individuals who are beset with emotional problems as well as physical distress. Our divorce courts are doing a land office business because people have unsolved problems. Personnel workers and grievance committees in modern industry work long hours in an effort to assist people with their problems. One personnel officer assigned to handle petty grievances concluded an unusually hectic day by placing facetiously a little sign on his desk for those with unsolved problems to read. It read, "Have you tried prayer?"
What that personnel director did not know when he placed such a sign upon his desk was that he was providing counsel and direction which would solve more problems, alleviate more suffering, prevent more transgression, and bring about greater peace and contentment in the human soul than could be obtained in any other way.
A prominent American judge was asked what we as citizens of the countries of the world could do to reduce crime and disobedience to law and to bring peace and contentment into our lives and into our nations. He carefully replied, "I would suggest a return to the old-fashioned practice of family prayer."
As a people, aren't we grateful that family prayer is not an out-of-date practice with us? There is no more beautiful sight in all this world than to see a family praying together. The oft-repeated phrase is ever true, "The family that prays together stays together."
The Lord directed that we have family prayer when he said, "Pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed".
Will you join me as we look in on a typical Latter-day Saint family offering prayers unto the Lord? Father, mother, and each of the children kneel, bow their heads and close their eyes. A sweet spirit of love, unity, peace fills the home. As father hears his tiny son pray unto God that his dad will do the right things and be obedient to the Lord's bidding, do you think that such a father would find it difficult to honor the prayer of this precious son? As a teenage daughter hears her sweet mother plead unto the Lord that her daughter will be inspired in the selection of her companions, that she will prepare herself for temple marriage, don't you believe that such a daughter will seek to honor this humble, pleading petition of her mother whom she so dearly loves? When father, mother, and each of the children earnestly pray that these fine sons in the family will live worthy that they may, in due time, receive a call to serve as ambassadors of the Lord in the mission fields of the Church, don't we begin to see how such sons grow to young manhood with an overwhelming desire to serve as missionaries?
I am sure that family prayer prompted a letter written by a young Latter-day Saint girl attending a Denver, Colorado, high school. The students had been asked to prepare a letter to be written to a great man of their choice. Many addressed their letters to Mickey Mantle, the New York Yankee star of baseball; John Glenn, America's first astronaut; the President of the United States; and other celebrities. This young lady, however, addressed her letter to her father, and in the letter she stated, "I have decided to write this letter to you, Dad, because you are the greatest man that I have ever known. The overwhelming desire of my heart is that I might so live that I might have the privilege of being beside you and mother and other members of the family in the celestial kingdom." That father has never received a more cherished letter.
As we offer unto the Lord our family and our personal prayers, let us do so with faith and trust in him. Let us remember the injunction of Paul to the Hebrews: "... for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him". If any of us has been slow to hearken to the counsel to pray always, there is no finer hour to begin than now. William Cowper declared, "Satan trembles when he sees the weakest Saint upon his knees." Those who feel that prayer might denote a physical weakness, remember that a man never stands taller than when he is upon his knees.
We cannot know what faith is if we have never had it, and we cannot obtain it as long as we deny it. Faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for one will dispel the other.
If our desire is to discard all doubt and to substitute therefore an abiding faith, we have but to accept the invitation extended to you and to me in the Epistle 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".
This promise motivated the young man Joseph Smith to seek God in prayer. He declared to us in his own words,
"At length I came to the conclusion that 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 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".
Now if we have hesitated in supplicating God our Eternal Father simply because we have not as yet made the attempt to pray, we certainly can take courage from the example of the Prophet Joseph. But let us remember, as did the Prophet, our prayer must be offered in faith, nothing wavering.
It was by faith, nothing wavering, that the Brother of Jared saw the finger of God touch the stones in response to his plea.
It was by faith, nothing wavering, that Noah erected an ark in obedience to the command from God.
It was by faith, nothing wavering, that Abraham was willing to offer up his beloved Isaac as a sacrifice.
It was by faith, nothing wavering, that Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt and through the Red Sea.
It was by faith, nothing wavering, that Joshua and his followers brought the walls of Jericho tumbling down.
It was by faith, nothing wavering, that Joseph saw God our Eternal Father and Jesus Christ his Son.
Now the skeptic may say that these mighty accounts of faith occurred long ago, that times have changed.
Source of Spiritual Power
Have times really changed? Don't we today, as always, love our children and want them to live righteously? Don't we today, as always, need God's divine, protecting care? Don't we today, as always, continue to be at his mercy and in his debt for the very life he has given us?
Times have not really changed. Prayer continues to provide power-spiritual power. Prayer continues to provide peace-spiritual peace.
Wherever we may be, our Heavenly Father can hear and answer the prayer offered in faith. This is especially true in the mission fields throughout the world. While presiding under the direction of President McKay over the Canadian Mission, Sister Monson and I had the opportunity of serving with the finest young men and women in all this world-your missionary sons and daughters. Their very lives exemplified faith and prayer.
There sat in my office one day a newly arrived missionary. He was bright, strong, filled with enthusiasm and a desire to serve, happy and grateful to be a missionary. As I spoke with him I said, "Elder, I imagine that your father and mother wholeheartedly support you in your mission call." He lowered his head and replied, "Well, not quite. You see, President, my father is not a member of the Church. He doesn't believe as we believe, so he cannot fully appreciate the importance of my assignment." Without hesitating and prompted by a source not my own, I said to him, "Elder, if you will honestly and diligently serve God in proclaiming his message, your father will join the Church before your mission is concluded." He clasped my hand in a vise-like grip, the tears welled up in his eyes and began to roll forth down his cheeks, and he declared, "To see my father accept the truth would be the greatest blessing that could come into my life."
This young man did not sit idly by, hoping and wishing that the promise would be fulfilled, but rather he followed the example of Abraham Lincoln, of whom it has been said, "When he prayed, he prayed as though everything depended upon God, and then he worked as though everything depended upon him." Such was the missionary service of this young man.
At every missionary conference I would seek him out before the meetings would ever commence and ask, "Elder, how's dad progressing?"
His reply would invariably be, "No progress, President, but I know the Lord will fulfil the promise given to me through you as my mission president." The days turned to weeks and the weeks to months and finally, just two weeks before we ourselves left the mission field to return home, I received a letter from the father of this missionary. I would like to share it with you today.
"Dear Brother Monson:
"I wish to thank you so much for taking such good care of my son who recently completed a mission in Canada.
"He has been an inspiration to us.
"My son was promised when he left on his mission that I would become a member of the Church before his return. This promise was, I believe, made to him by you, unknown to me.
"I am happy to report that I was baptized into the Church one week before he completed his mission and am at present time Athletic Director of the MIA and have a teaching assignment.
"My son is now attending BYU and his younger brother was also recently baptized and confirmed a member of the Church.
"May I again thank you for all the kindness and love bestowed upon my son by his brothers in the mission field during the past two years.
"Yours very truly,
"A grateful father."
The humble prayer of faith had once again been answered.
There is a golden thread that runs through every account of faith from the beginning of the world to the present time. Abraham, Noah, the Brother of Jared, the Prophet Joseph, and countless others were obedient to the will of God They had ears that could hear, eyes that could see, and hearts that could know and feel.
They never doubted. They trusted.
Through personal prayer, through family prayer, by trusting in God with faith, nothing wavering, we can call down to our rescue his mighty power. His call to us is as it has ever been, "Come unto me".
In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Delbert L. Stapley
Delbert L. Stapley, Conference Report, April 1964, pp. 132-136
My brethren and sisters and friends: This has been a glorious conference. The messages have been fitting for this particular day and time in which we live. I have been uplifted, benefitted spiritually, and encouraged to go forward in the progress of the great work of our Lord.
When Jesus uttered the words: "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent", he expressed a truth at once profound and eternal.
But truth must be sought and understood and lived-otherwise, it is useless. It does not impose itself; it waits to be discovered. It waits to be acted upon by intelligence, wise judgment; but when discovered and utilized, it places one on the road to God-to enjoy a life like unto that of God, which is eternal life. When truth is known in its entirety, it makes one more Godlike, for God knows and understands all things. This blessed condition is what God wants for all his children, for he has declared: "For behold, this is my work and my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man".
Now, where shall we go to discover the truth, that, when utilized, will bring eternal life? Shall we go to the world's halls of learning, the laboratories of the sciences, the studios of art the dens of metaphysical speculation? Was it from such institutions that Jesus derived his wisdom respecting mortal life, his understanding of eternal life? No, indeed! Although he did not condemn these interests of men, he never used them. He never even referred to them as essential to life everlasting. He did refer often to the kingdom of God as the repository of that truth which makes men free, that provides one with means of well-being, perhaps important, yet incidental to the greater matters of the kingdom of God.
Jesus declared: "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free". Did he mean philosophy or the scientific theories propounded by man? Surely he was not opposed to truth no matter from what source derived, but his source of truth was divine-and it belongs to the kingdom of God. This, no doubt is the reason for his great admonition, "... seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you".
The Master places great significance upon the "kingdom of God." And properly so. Was he not responsible for establishing it, with its divine character, here among men-for their good, for their glory and their final exaltation? He surely knew how ineffectual the institutions of men are when compared with that divine institution, the kingdom of God, as the means of ultimately perfecting mankind.
Reading the four Gospels, one is led to marvel at Jesus' numerous references to the kingdom of God. It was ever in his mind. He was constantly anxious that God's children should know of it and its significance. He is just as anxious to have his disciples and all others everywhere know and understand it in this last Dispensation of the Fullness of Times.
Truly, then, the kingdom of God is most important for all mankind to seek after. "But what is that kingdom?" one may ask.
In the Holy Scriptures, both ancient and modern, the terms "kingdom of God," "kingdom of Christ," "kingdom of heaven," are frequently used interchangeably. Yet, specifically, there are distinctions for each. It is well to be acquainted with these distinctions.
From the writings of Elder James E. Talmage we read:
"In this prospective ministration among His gathered saints, Jesus Christ is to be at once their God and their King. His government is to be that of a perfect theocracy; the laws of righteousness will be the code, and control will be administered under one authority, undisputed because indisputable."
Commenting upon verse 55 of section 10 of the Doctrine and Covenants: "Therefore, whosoever belongeth to my church need not fear, for such shall inherit the kingdom of heaven", the Prophet Joseph Smith had this to say:
"The Kingdom of Heaven is the Church. Sometimes the 'Kingdom of Heaven' means the entire domain in which the government of God has been established-the kingdom in which God is acknowledged to be the Supreme Ruler. This kingdom is, and has always been, in 'heaven.' It is now on Earth in the Church and will be extended over the whole Earth during the Millennium, and during its glorified state. But in this passage the Church especially seems to be meant. The Prophet Joseph uses the term in that sense, when he says, 'The Kingdom of heaven is like unto a mustard seed. Behold, then, is not this the Kingdom of heaven that is raising its head in the last days in the majesty of its God, even the Church of the Latter-day Saints?' "
President Brigham Young, discussing verse 11 of section 29 of the Doctrine and Covenants: "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", says:
"It may be asked what I mean by the Kingdom of God. The Church of Jesus Christ has been established now for many years, and the Kingdom of God has got to be established, even that Kingdom which will circumscribe all the kingdoms of this world. It will yet give laws to every nation that exists upon the Earth. This is the kingdom that Daniel, the Prophet, saw should be set up in the last days."
The late President Joseph F. Smith, defining the kingdom of God, says:
"What I mean by the kingdom of God is the organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, over which the Son of God presides, and not man. That is what I mean. I mean the kingdom of which Christ is the King and not man".
These great authorities make clear and dear to us the nature of the kingdom of God.
Now, what should God's children on earth expect to find in this kingdom to recognize it as his kingdom with proper authority to act?
Since Jesus has been chosen king to rule and reign in the kingdom of God, we may do well to note the character of that kingdom established by him while dwelling here among men. Having prepared the way by teaching principles necessary to man's advancement toward God-likeness, accompanied by a few simple, yet necessary, ordinances, he effected an organization devoid of pomp and pageantry, of appeal to passions, of images, idols, or prelates motivated by selfish interests or desire for the plaudits of men. He chose twelve disciples, called Apostles, with himself at the head. In due time other officials were chosen, set apart, and given authority to act in the name of the Savior, in his kingdom.
During his ministry, the Savior indicated that Peter was to give leadership in the kingdom after he no longer would be personally in their midst. Peter was endowed by Christ with power and authority to act for and in his name, which he did courageously and effectively. This divine organization endured until the so-called "great apostasy" when the Lord found it necessary to remove his Church from the earth.
We may expect to find in the kingdom of God today the same type of organization that Christ established when he was here among men with like officers possessing the same divine authority that those original officers received. With such an organization the kingdom of God was surely destined to prosper. The organization alone, however, was the outward manifestation of the kingdom. In the kingdom of God there must always be found the principles, doctrines, and ordinances which belong to the kingdom established by the Savior and which must be fully accepted for citizenship therein. Without attempting to list all the principles, doctrines, and ordinances, here are a few by way of illustration:
1. All people should have an adequate understanding of God and his Son Jesus Christ, who stands at the head of his kingdom on earth.
2. They must have faith in the actuality of both God and Christ, as distinct and separate individuals but united in purpose.
3. They must recognize their own status, that, having the right of choice in this finite life, they will err in judgment. To rectify such erring, it is important everyone practice the principle of repentance-that profound principle of progression and the one which, when fully achieved, guarantees God's forgiveness.
4. Willingness to submit to the divine ordinance of baptism.
5. Seek the guidance and direction of the Holy Ghost in order that harmony with God's will and purposes might be established and preserved in the personal life of every soul.
6. An ardent desire to love God and his Beloved Son with all one's heart and soul and to love one's neighbor as one's self.
7. In divine authority bestowed by the kingdom of God one must find divinely authorized agents, otherwise, the kingdom is one of men, not of God.
Stemming from these essentials are other principles and ordinances, simple in application, yet divine, of unchangeable character, and ever-enduring. Unbiased attention to and consideration of them will disclose convincing evidence of their divine origin-their belonging to the kingdom of God.
What, now, is the function and power of that kingdom?
The kingdom of God may not be regarded as an end in itself. It is rather a means in the hands of God and Christ to help bring about "the immortality and eternal life of man".
Since we testify that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the kingdom of God on earth, we understand that the function of one is also the function of the other, and that which is the power of one is also the power of the other.
President David O. McKay, discussing the function of the Church or kingdom of God, said:
"The mission of the Church is to establish the kingdom of God upon the earth, which, in the words of Thomas Nixon Carver, 'is not a mythical but a real kingdom.' It is a body of people dominated by ideals of productivity, which is mutual service. We do not strive for the things which satisfy but for the moment and then leave a bad taste. We strive for the things which build us up and enable us and our children to be strong, to flourish, and to conquer. We strive to make ourselves worthy to receive the world by fitting ourselves to use the world more productively than others. 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".
And again, President McKay has said:
"There are those in the world who say that jealousy, enmity, selfishness in men's hearts will always preclude the establishing of the ideal society known as the kingdom of God. No matter what doubters and scoffers say, the mission of the Church of Jesus Christ is to eliminate sin and wickedness from the hearts of men, and so to transform society that peace and good will will prevail on this earth."
President Brigham Young, speaking upon the same subject, says:
"As this Kingdom of God grows, spreads, increases, and prospers in its course, it will cleanse, thoroughly purge, and purify the world from wickedness...
"When the Kingdom of God is fully set up and established on the face of the earth, and takes the preeminence over all other nations and kingdoms, it will protect the people in the enjoyment of all their rights, no matter what they believe, what they profess, or what they worship. If they wish to worship a god of their own workmanship, instead of the true and living God, all right, if they will mind their own business and let other people alone."
The late President Joseph F. Smith following in the same channel of thought, remarked as follows:
"Our mission is to save, to preserve from evil, to exalt mankind, to bring light and truth into the world, to prevail upon the people of the earth to walk righteously before God, and to honor Him in their lives and with the firstfruits of all their substance and increase that their barns may be filled with plenty, and, figuratively speaking, that 'their presses may burst out with new wine '".
On another occasion, with the kingdom of God in mind, he said:
"We carry to the world the olive branch of peace. We present to the world the love of God, the word of the Lord, the Truth, as it has been revealed in the latter day for the redemption of the dead and for the salvation of the living. We bear no malice or evil towards the children of men. The spirit of forgiveness pervades the hearts of the Saints of God, and they do not cherish a desire or feeling of revenge toward their enemies or those who hurt or molest them or seek to make them afraid; but, on the contrary, the Spirit of the Lord has possession of their spirits, of their souls and of their thoughts; they forgive all men, and they carry no malice in their hearts toward any, no matter what they have done".
Examples of such messages could be multiplied many times, illustrating the function of God's kingdom in the earth.
Making authoritative and mighty, beyond the power of evil to hinder or frustrate, is the divine authority of the priesthood inherent in the kingdom. It is so organized as to induce unity of purpose and when righteously used by those who possess it, guarantees the safety of the kingdom against all incursions of the adversary.
The present-day world is threatened by agencies of destruction. Darkness of mind, hearts shaken by impulses of selfishness, the prevalence of error, evil, ignorance of that which is the right and the wrong, corruption, sin, and wickedness, all these and more, now, as in the historic past, constitute the means by which human society could destroy itself. That such may not come to pass is the ardent hope of all who seek righteousness as their way of life. Their seeking will not be in vain if they turn to "... the kingdom of God and his righteousness" for a realization of their aspirations. All that the kingdom represents is opposed to the destructive forces which I have enumerated. The righteous, we are told, will inherit the earth. That condition will only be attained when the kingdom of God, through its saving power will triumph over evil and wickedness.
Truly everyone desiring salvation and exaltation are obligated sincerely to seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
Christ in his time of mortal existence did not select the churches of the Pharisees or Sadducees nor the Sanhedrin or any other contemporary church or organization as a basis or framework to set up the kingdom of God on earth. He referred to such religious bodies with scathing denunciation for having so far departed the right way that only a dead form of worship remained.
Christ's church is distinctive and apart from man-made religious institutions. In all ages his work has been established by revelation and the opening of the heavens from which source angels descended to instruct the prophets and to confer the keys and authority of priesthood unto leaders chosen of God.
The restoration of his Church and gospel in this last dispensation is no exception as thousands of faithful men and women can and do testify.
The Gospel "for every nation, kindred,..."
Many thousands have testified that the kingdom of God, with its inclusion of the laws and principles provided for guidance of life towards salvation and exaltation, is that pearl of great price of which Jesus spoke in his story of the man who sold all his possessions to purchase it.
This thought suggests the value of the kingdom to every living soul. In it is nothing to sadden, to lead astray, or to degrade the children of men. Rather, therein is everything to gladden, to guide aright, to uplift the lives of all who accept it. It provides for satisfactions and joys of group and individual life alike. And that is the destined end of life, for a prophet of the Lord has said, "... men are, that they might have joy". Possessed of that joy furnished by observing the laws, principles, and ordinances of the kingdom, everyone belonging to it may experience, unhindered, an enlargement of soul, a development which will be its own evidence and witness of life growing toward Godlikeness. Is this not a consummation devoutly to be wished? This surely must be the value of God's kingdom in the lives of all people.
Brothers and sisters and friends, I bear humble witness that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is God's kingdom on earth. It is here for a purpose, and in this last dispensation of time that purpose is a tremendous one. The obligation upon us as members of the restored Church of Jesus Christ is to see to it that this gospel is preached to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, that they may be left without excuse in the day of judgment. I bear you this witness in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 4-6
My dear brethren and sisters:
Only at the last moment have I given in to the pleas of the doctors and members of the family not to put the added strain on my heart by attempting to go over to the Tabernacle to meet with you in this conference. However, I am with you in spirit and watching the proceedings of the meeting over television.
It is over fifty-eight years ago that I stood at the pulpit in the Tabernacle for the first time as one of the General Authorities of the Church. I remember well then my trembling and humility at facing such an audience and accepting a position as one of the General Authorities. The passing of over one half a century has made it no easier to discharge the responsibility that one holds as a General Authority. This morning, as then and during the intervening years, I ask for your sympathy and prayers.
Evidences of progress in the Church give us true cause for rejoicing. The Lord has blessed us with eventful and prosperous years during the past decade. The loyalty of the members to the ideals and teachings of the Man of Galilee has been evidenced in many ways: by the response of tens of thousands to the message of the restored gospel as proclaimed by messengers at home and abroad; by ready and willing response to "calls" and "assignments"; and by increased tithes and offerings. Surely with these and other equally meritorious services the Lord is pleased, for he has said, "... this is my work and my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man".
But let us ever remember that peace and progress are attained only at the price of eternal vigilance and constant righteous efforts. The forces of evil and misery are still rampant in the world and must be resisted. The powers of darkness have increased in accordance with the spread of the gospel. Whole nations are declaring atheism to be the law of the land. Atheism has become the greatest weapon Satan has to use, and its evil influence is bringing degradation to millions throughout the world. Even at this moment as the sun throws warm, genial rays on snowcapped summits and frost-covered valleys of this western land, the public press tells of increasing activity on the part of the evil one. Warlike activities and international misunderstandings prevent the establishing of peace and divert man's inventive genius from the paths of science, art, and literature, and apply it to human retardation and the holocaust of war.
The rising sun can dispel the darkness of night, but it cannot banish the blackness of malice, hatred, bigotry, and selfishness from the hearts of humanity. Happiness and peace will come to earth only as the light of love and human compassion enter the souls of men.
It was for this purpose that Christ, the Son of righteousness, "with healing in his wings", came in the Meridian of Time. Through him wickedness shall be overcome, hatred, enmity, strife, poverty, and war abolished. This will be accomplished only by a slow but never-failing process of changing men's mental and spiritual attitude. The ways and habits of the world depend upon the thoughts and soul-convictions of men and women. If, therefore, we would change the world, we must first change people's thoughts. Only to the extent that men desire peace and brotherhood can the world be made better. No peace, even though temporarily obtained, will be permanent, whether to individuals or nations, unless it is built upon the solid foundation of eternal principles.
Men may yearn for peace, cry for peace, and work for peace, but there will be no peace until they follow the path pointed out by the Living Christ. He is the true light of men's lives.
The mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is to establish peace. The Living Christ is its head. Under him tens of thousands of men in the Church are divinely authorized to represent him in variously assigned positions. It is the duty of these representatives to manifest brotherly love, first toward one another, then toward all mankind; to seek unity, harmony, and peace in organizations within the Church, and then by precept and example extend these virtues throughout the world.
I pray that each day may find members of the Church truer, purer, nobler than the last, that they, with intellect and hearts united, may hasten the day when "... the Lord will bless his people with peace" that they may "... lift up an ensign of peace, and make a proclamation of peace unto the ends of the earth".
I invoke upon the righteous everywhere our Father's blessings that peace may be in their hearts and in their homes, that unity may strengthen their ranks, that they may be blessed with the desire and means to teach others, that goodness may come into the lives of men throughout the earth, that our Father's kingdom may be enlarged and magnified, that his sons and daughters in all the world may find fellowship with the Saints, that the designs of the wicked may be frustrated and the purposes of the sinful come to naught, that unrighteous dominion shall be broken, and that truth shall govern the earth, that God's people-those who keep his commandments-may become as a light set upon a hill, an ensign to the nations, in anticipation of the long-awaited day when the Prince of Peace shall reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 6-9
I am very grateful for the message from President McKay and pray that the blessings of the Spirit of the Lord may continue with him that he may be raised and be able to meet with us again.
When I was a small boy, too young to hold the Aaronic Priesthood, my father placed a copy of the Book of Mormon in my hands with the request that I read it. I received this Nephite record with thanksgiving and applied myself to the task which had been assigned to me. There are certain passages that have been stamped upon my mind, and I have never forgotten them. One of these is in the 27th chapter of 3rd Nephi, verses 19 and 20. It is the word of our Redeemer to the Nephites as he taught them after his resurrection. It is as follows:
"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".
The other passage is in the 10th verse of chapter 41 in the book of Alma and is as follows:
"Do not suppose, because it has been spoken concerning restoration, that ye shall be restored from sin to happiness. Behold, I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness".
These two passages I have tried to follow all the days of my life, and I have felt to thank the Lord for this counsel and guidance, and I have endeavored to stamp these sayings on the minds of many others. What a wonderful guide these teachings can be to us if we can get them firmly fixed in our minds! These thoughts are of course not peculiar to the Book of Mormon. They are fundamental teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ and have been expressed many times by the prophets of old and our Redeemer when they were upon the earth. It is a fact beyond successful dispute that no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of God and obtain what is known as eternal life. This is to say that the Redeemer of this world, through the great sacrifice which he made, opened the graves and restored all mortal things, both mankind, fowls of the air, fishes of the sea, and every creature that partook of death through the "fall" of Adam. In the 5th chapter of John, verses 28 and 29, we have the definite statement of our Redeemer proclaiming this truth as follows:
"Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
"And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation".
Permit me to quote some other passages of scripture from the revelations that have come to us by divine decree in this dispensation. This is from the Doctrine and Covenants, section 29, verses 22 to 25:
"And again verily, verily, I say unto you that when the thousand years are ended, and men again begin to deny their God, then will I spare the earth but for a little season;
"And the end shall come, and the heaven and the earth shall be consumed and pass away, and there shall be a new heaven and a new earth.
"For all old things shall pass away, and all things shall become new, even the heaven and the earth, and all the fulness thereof, both men and beasts, the fowls of the air, and the fishes of the sea;
"And not one hair, neither mote, shall be lost, for it is the workmanship of mine hand".
Again the Lord spoke to the Prophet Joseph Smith in a revelation in answer to the question:
"Q. What are we to understand by the four beasts, spoken of in the same verse?
"A. They are figurative expressions, used by the Revelator, John, in describing heaven, the paradise of God, the happiness of man, and of beasts, and of creeping things, and of the fowls of the air; that which is spiritual being in the likeness of that which is temporal; and that which is temporal in the likeness of that which is spiritual; the spirit of man in the likeness of his person, as also the spirit of the beast, and every other creature which God has created".
There is a strange doctrine in the world concerning the resurrection even among those who believe there will be a reuniting of the spirit and body, which is to the effect that only the righteous will come forth to receive rewards of exaltation. This, however, is a misunderstanding. Through the atonement wrought by the Son of God, our Savior, the resurrection is a complete restoration of all things mortal, even of this earth itself on which we stand. The earth is to be purified and become the abode of the righteous. Peter understood this doctrine and in his second epistle made the following statement:
"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
"Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
"Looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
"Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness".
Let us not misunderstand this expression. The new heaven and new earth will be the same heaven and the same earth on which we now sojourn, for this earth is to receive the resurrection after this day of mortality and be the abode of the righteous in eternity. Without the revelations of the Lord given to men, this truth would not be made known. Neither would we have knowledge of the final glory to which this earth will be assigned. Even now, where men are without divine guidance and revelation, this truth is unknown.
I am very grateful to my Father in heaven for the privilege that has been granted to me to come into this world in this dispensation when once again the fulness of the gospel has been revealed. I have been grateful and have thanked the Lord many times for the privilege which came to me to live in the present dispensation and that I was not born two or three hundred years ago during the great period when the fulness of the gospel was not had among men and they were running, as the scriptures say, "to and fro" seeking for the truth which could not be found because of the deep spiritual darkness which covered the entire earth. This condition was not the fault of the Lord but the fault of mankind, for they had been offered the fulness of the gospel, but in course of time they refused to have it, and their teachers turned away and caused to enter into the Church false doctrines and false ordinances and, worse than all, a false conception in relation to God our Eternal Father and his Son Jesus Christ.
It was a day when there was not one left in mortality with the divine power to officiate in the vital and saving ordinances of the gospel-a day when false teachings, false ordinances, and false instructors came upon the scene. This condition left the entire Christian world in a state of confusion, without divine inspiration, so that the notion prevailed universally that the heavens were closed. Contact with the Father and his Beloved Son had ceased, and the angels for a long, long past had ceased to visit mortal man on the face of the earth. Under such conditions it was a natural thought encouraged by clergy that our Eternal Father had ceased to commune with his children on the earth. Moreover, the false notion became prevalent that mortal man was left with the teachings of the Bible and that it contained all of the revelation that mankind needed to insure his salvation in the kingdom of God. Under such conditions and practice no doubt Satan rejoiced; false teachers arose, and the people, no matter how devout they were, found themselves in spiritual darkness. Moreover, for a long time the edict went forth that mortal men who had not been prepared for the clergy should not seek for knowledge or search the scriptures, for this was the sole responsibility of the clergy. Therefore I am exceedingly grateful for the Prophet Joseph Smith and the coming of the Father and the Son to him and their directing him in the course he should take. Moreover, I am thankful that the time came for the restoration of divine truth and the power of the Holy Priesthood so that the inhabitants of the world could find the path to eternal life, and the ordinances of the Holy Priesthood could again be exercised in behalf of the salvation of all mankind.
On January 22, 1834, the Prophet Joseph Smith said:
"The great plan of salvation is a theme which ought to occupy our strict attention, and be regarded as one of heaven's best gifts to mankind. No consideration whatever ought to deter us from showing ourselves approved in the sight of God, according to His divine requirement. Men not infrequently forget that they are dependent upon heaven for every blessing which they are permitted to enjoy, and that for every opportunity granted them they are to give an account. You know, brethren, that when the Master in the Savior's parable of the stewards called his servants before him he gave them several talents to improve on while he should tarry abroad for a little season, and when he returned he called for an accounting. So it is now. Our Master is absent only for a little season, and at the end of it He will call each to render an account; and where the five talents were bestowed, ten will be required; and he that has made no improvement will be cast out as an unprofitable servant, while the faithful will enjoy everlasting honors. Therefore we earnestly implore the grace of our Father to rest upon you, through Jesus Christ His Son, that you may not faint in the hour of temptation, nor be overcome in the time of persecution."
I would like to quote a few remarks of divine truth from the lips of President David O. McKay, taken from Gospel Ideals, p. 383.
"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 it being known by any who would scandalize you; yet you cannot escape the judgment that follows such transgression. The lie is lodged in the recesses of your mind, an impairment of your character that will reflect sometime, somehow in your countenance or bearing. Your moral turpitude, though only you, your accomplice, and God may ever know it, will canker your soul."
I will close my remarks by reading a poem which I think is very appropriate, entitled "The Guy in the Mirror."
When you get what you want in your struggle for self, And the world makes you king for a day, Then go to the mirror and look at yourself And see what that guy has to say.
For it isn't a man's father, or mother, or wife, Whose judgment upon him must pass; The feller whose verdict counts most in his life Is the guy staring back from the glass.
He's the feller to please, never mind all the rest For he's with you clear up to the end. And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test, If the guy in the glass is your friend.
You may be like Jack Horner and 'chisel' a plum, And think you're a wonderful guy, But the man in the glass says you're only a bum, If you can't look him straight in the eye.
You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years, And get pats on the back as you pass, But your final reward will be heartaches or tears If you've cheated the guy in the glass.
May the Lord bless you, my good brethren and sisters, and all, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Eldred G. Smith
Eldred G. Smith, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 9-11
One of the outstanding characteristics of members of this Church is testimony bearing. Nearly all church speeches include the bearing of testimony. This is our mission, as members of the Church, to testify of the truthfulness of the gospel to our fellow men.
What is a testimony? We speak of it as a valued possession, which it truly is. Webster says it is evidence, proof, a solemn declaration. Then a testimony of the gospel is your solemn declaration of the truthfulness of the gospel according to your knowledge thereof.
To have a testimony of God and his Son Jesus Christ can bring about the greatest blessing you can attain in this mortal existence. Each blessing is obtained by fulfilling the law upon which that blessing is predicated. The law upon which this blessing is predicated is given extensively throughout the scriptures.
In Matthew we read: "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".
Moroni also promises: "... 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.
"And whatsoever thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he is.
"And ye may know that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever".
What does it mean to knock or seek? This is a way of saying, "It requires effort on your part." Study, pray, act-do something about it! Knowledge alone saves no one. Lucifer knows, and it is this knowledge which is to his damnation. Without proper action, it can be the same to anyone else.
Moroni said: "... by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things". One may ask, "How does one receive a message from the Holy Ghost?"
The Holy Ghost is a Personage of Spirit. We also have a spirit body as well as a mortal body. We were personages of spirit before we came upon this earth.
The Lord said to Job: "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
"Who hath laid the measure thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
"Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof:
"When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?".
Are we not the sons of God who at that time shouted for joy?
Abraham also tells us the following: "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".
Before we came on the earth, we were all spirits. What is a spirit? We use the word "spirit" to describe anything and everything, all elements that are not mortal-so we had a non-earthly body. We were nevertheless individuals. We had the power and ability to see, think, act, make decisions. We even took part in that great war in heaven, as a result of which Lucifer was cast out of heaven.
Our spirit body has the same shape and form as the physical body. The spirit body then has arms, legs, a head, and a mind.
When we came to earth, we took upon us a physical or mortal body of flesh and bones. The separation of these two bodies we call death. Through the atonement of Christ these two bodies will be reunited again. This we call the resurrection.
In coming into mortality we forget all from the previous life for a wise purpose in the Lord. In effect, a barrier or veil is placed between the spirit mind and the mortal mind.
Now, I think if we will apply some of the laws of electronics, that is, radio and television, we will be aided in a possible understanding of how we can receive a message from the Holy Ghost. We have a spirit mind and a mortal mind. Our spirit mind can receive messages from the Holy Ghost, who is a spirit.
In this room now there are many waves going by of sound, of pictures, and even of colored pictures. We cannot detect them with our mortal eyes or ears, but if we set up a receiving set and put it in tune, then we pick up the sound or pictures by the mortal ears or eyes. Similarly, the Holy Ghost may be constantly sending out messages like a broadcasting station. If you put yourself in tune, that is, knock or ask or seek, you may receive the message. It may be as if you were to open an imaginary window or door between your spirit mind and your physical mind and permit the message to come through. Spirit can talk to spirit, and you are part spirit-just open that imaginary door and let the mortal mind receive. To open it requires study, prayer, action or works, or knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
There is no salvation with just knowledge alone-for "... the devils also believe, and tremble," says James, then adds, "But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?".
Get that knowledge that you may have a testimony. Knowledge from the Holy Ghost is sure. When it comes to you, you know and cannot deny it. Moroni said: "And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things".
It is the primary function of the Holy Ghost to testify of the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. Therefore, we bear testimony that we know, and so I testify that I know that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that God is literally my Father in heaven. I testify that by divine revelation through the Prophet Joseph Smith, the gospel has been restored on the earth in this the last dispensation or the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times.
I testify that this same authority to hold the keys of the priesthood of God has been continued on to the present prophet, seer, and revelator, and President of the Church, President David O. McKay, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Bernard P. Brockbank
Bernard p. Brockbank, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 11-13
Brothers and sisters: It is a wonderful blessing and privilege to be present at this great general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and I am thankful that the Lord placed the "The" in the name of his Church. It is not the Church of some nation or some normal outstanding individual, but it is the Church of Jesus Christ.
We are overjoyed that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is represented with other churches at the New York World's Fair. The comparison has aroused a great deal of interest and comment.
As you know, the Mormon Pavilion is one of the greatest and most effective missionary opportunities the Church has undertaken. The entire image and acceptance of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have greatly improved in the eastern part of the United States and throughout the world. Millions have been impressed and spiritually uplifted by the exhibits, the missionaries, and their testimonies.
The exhibits and program at the Mormon Pavilion are built around the God-inspired teachings of the ancient prophets, around Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God, around the Apostles, and around eternal life as given in the scriptures. Great emphasis is placed on the restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ through a Prophet of God, Joseph Smith.
Great emphasis is also placed on the passage of scripture given by the Apostle John in the book of Revelation, wherein he said, "... I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth".
We are bearing witness that the Angel Moroni came and restored the everlasting gospel again to the earth through the Prophet Joseph Smith. God and heavenly messengers appeared to Adam, Moses, Abraham, Jacob, and all of the ancient prophets. Heavenly messengers appeared to the Apostles Peter, John, and Paul. At the pavilion we teach and emphasize that heavenly messengers, appearing to God's chosen prophets, are part of God's earth program.
I would like to read a few of the comments written by visitors to the pavilion:
"Very impressive, very beautiful, so inspiring to see such dedicated young missionaries."
"I enjoyed my visit to the Mormon Pavilion second to no other exhibit."
"Like an oasis in a desert."
"Interesting and makes more sense than any other religion."
"After seeing your movie on eternal life, I no longer have a fear of death."
"The paintings of the teachings, experiences, and examples of Jesus Christ are revealing and inspiring."
"Beautiful pavilion and a religion I would like to know more about."
"Enjoyable pavilion, and it shows to me that there is still a strong belief in God among the people of the earth."
"A moving Christian tribute; such a pity more people are not exposed to your doctrines and missionaries."
"This is a splendid witness to the message of God."
"The missionaries do great credit to your Church."
"This was a beautiful experience for our entire family. Even the children enjoyed it."
"The scriptural truths are simply beautiful."
"I am awed at the beauty of life and eternity through the teachings of Jesus Christ."
"I came in as a skeptic, but my desire to know more has been stimulated."
"Inspiring, magnificent, dignified, and sublime, truly witnessing to the Jesus Christ of the Bible."
"I think this pavilion is breathtaking."
"Your exhibit and missionaries show the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Apostles as they taught and exemplified them and as they are found in the Holy Bible."
Mr. Robert Moses, president of the New York World's Fair, said, "You have brought to us from across the mountains a breath of the pioneering spirit and fresh air of the West. Your temple facade dominates the main entrance to the Fair and is the cynosure of all eyes, and gives a noble first impression to visitors. We thank you for your contribution, congratulate you on your success, and hope you will remain permanently in our midst."
Mr. Charles L. Petze, III, of Maryville College said in a letter, "I would like to congratulate you on having what I feel was the best-organized pavilion at the New York World's Fair. It was truly a pleasure to find someone who had something to say and knew how to say it."
Norman Vincent Peale wrote this in the Philadelphia Inquirer: "I will defy anyone, however callous, to come unmoved out of the Mormon exhibit. They show a marvelous motion picture done by top-flight actors that depicts the journey of the human soul from birth to immortality. So glorious is it that the viewer comes out with tears in his eyes, but walking on air."
The New York World's Fair will have over 33,000,000 attendance in 1964, and we will have over 3,000,000 attend our pavilion. Approximately ten percent of all the people attending the World's Fair have attended the Mormon Pavilion. Our attendance has been with the upper ten percent of all the exhibits. This we feel has been a remarkable achievement for the Church. We have had over 255,000 referrals and registrations to send to the missions of the Church. We have distributed over 2,000,000 pamphlets to interested people. Over 1,000,000 have seen the eternal life film on Man's Search for Happiness. We have distributed over 36,000 copies of the Book of Mormon, and we have had over 40,000 inches of favorable newspaper and magazine publicity. It is estimated that over 160,000 pictures and movies have been taken by visitors of the exterior and the interior of the pavilion.
With millions coming to the Mormon Pavilion we have found many who are hungry for the pure, unchanged teachings of Jesus Christ. Many are enthusiastic and happy to hear about a church that has Twelve Apostles, a church that has a living prophet, a church that has the same baptism practiced by John the Baptist and administered to Jesus Christ at the River Jordan.
Many are anxious to know more about a Living God who created man in his own image and after his own likeness. Many desire to know more about the living, resurrected, immortal Jesus Christ and not a God of mystery. Many desire to know more about the heavenly messengers who appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith.
We have found many who are seeking for evidence of divine power and eternal purpose. Many are now wondering about the private interpretations men have placed on the God-inspired scriptures wherein they discontinued the Twelve Apostles, changed the water baptism. They have discontinued the Bible teaching of laying on of hands to bestow the Holy Ghost. The law of tithing was discontinued by many, and there are many other changes made by men.
Fellow Saints and missionaries, the Church needs teachers who will literally live Christianity as exemplified and taught by Jesus Christ. We need to teach and love people into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There are millions awaiting our witness and testimony.
As a tribute to our beloved prophet, David O. McKay, the greatest missionary of our time, let us follow his prophetic counsel and bring one or more souls into the Church each year. With love and righteousness in our hearts and the help of God, we can achieve this kingdom-building goal.
May this be our great blessing and privilege, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Paul H. Dunn
Paul H. Dunn, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 13-16
My brothers and sisters, this is indeed humbling. I am grateful for this opportunity to stand in your presence, to feel of your spirit, and to partake of the sweet message from our living prophet this morning. For many, many years I have listened with you to the counsel and inspiration of these brethren who sit before us, and particularly to our living prophet, as they have sought an interest in our faith and prayers and have asked that our Heavenly Father give them the guidance and direction that is needed. Now I know in a small way why this is so significant as I attempt to relate to you a few of the inner feelings of my heart concerning this great gospel of Jesus Christ. I was deeply touched by the message of our prophet this morning as he conveyed to us the inner feelings of his heart, acquired through not only many years of experience but also knowing and loving people and being in constant tune with the living God.
Have you ever noticed that whenever a person seems out of sorts or somewhat cantankerous, we often say, "He got up on the wrong side of the bed." Were you ever accused of having such an attitude? A few months ago I was close to having "one of those days." It came about in this way:
About midnight I received a telephone call from one of the teachers in our Institute of Religion program, which I was coordinating at the time, and he reported that he couldn't possibly teach his early morning class the next day because of ill health. He wondered if I would teach it for him. I assured him I would and told him not to worry, though I wondered how adequately the material could be prepared in the time left that night to meet the challenge of the group. After hanging up, I immediately started to prepare my lesson and finally at 2 am, not being able to see the words on the page, I went to bed. Needless to say I was tired and in need of a good night's sleep. I didn't stand much chance of getting it, however, since the class next morning met at 7 am and was thirty miles from home, all of which required that I get up at five o'clock. This meant only three hours of sleep at the most.
Shortly after going to bed, and not having quite fallen asleep, I was brought back to reality by my four-year-old youngster who insisted that she have a drink of water-she simply could not get along without it until morning. So, after a hard struggle, I pulled myself together, secured the drink of water, and went back to bed only to be awakened a few moments later by another daughter who had just experienced a horrible nightmare. Her anxious summons brought me to my feet in a hurry, and in my excitement to answer her call, I failed to turn on the hall light. As I made my way in the dark, I was suddenly stopped in my journey by a door that had been left ajar. After a few seconds and with a newly acquired bump, I hastened to her side and gave the comfort that was needed.
Once again I crawled back between the warm covers with a hope that the remaining hours would give peace and rest, only to be brought slyly and slowly back to life by my wife who had been awakened by the previous interruptions. She had just remembered that she needed the car the next morning for her church assignment and was wondering what arrangements could be made in order that we both might meet our appointments. When the problem was finally solved, it was three o'clock, and when, shortly after, the alarm rang at five, you can imagine how I felt. After such a night I was getting up on the wrong side of the bed, and my attitude was not the kind that should be taken into a class of religion.
And then it happened-the little thing that changed the gloom of the night into the brightness of a beautiful day. As I was leaving the house, the four-year-old who had started the series of events the night before, appeared at the door, pulled on my coattail and then, with my help, climbed into my arms, took hold of both of my ears with her little hands and without any warning kissed me as hard as she could right on the nose and said, "Daddy, I sure do love you. You are sure a good sport." "A good sport, eh!" and I tried to smile away the frown that had settled throughout my whole system. "Yep! you're the best daddy in the whole world," and planting another kiss on my neck, she slid to the floor and ran back to her bed.
What was about to be a bad morning for me turned out to be one of my best. As I drove to my assignment with a song in my heart, I thought of my many blessings: my lovely, dedicated wife and family, the fact that I belong to Christ's Church in reality, that I am a member of this great country of ours, a citizen indeed, that I enjoy the freedoms that we all so often take for granted. And it was all brought back to my remembrance by a simple kiss on the nose. This little four-year-old with tender love and appreciation had restored my perspective of life and brought to my attention once again the real values we all seek.
Then I began to think how easy it had been for me to let such a little thing as a sleepless night make me forget for a moment these same values and how everything I would have done that day might have been affected by my resulting attitude. Luckily I was brought back to reality, but how often do all of us let the "get up on the wrong side of the bed" attitude become a habit that dominates our everyday thoughts and lets problems or the desire for instant and usually temporary satisfactions become so important that long-range goals and objectives are forgotten. While certain problems must be worried about and temporal satisfactions must be met, these things are only important to us as a means to an end-as the means of getting where we eventually want to go. Ultimate happiness, the kind we all want, does not come from continuously being temporarily satisfied, continuously seeking the physical and emotional comforts of life and being so dissatisfied with anything else that we permit ourselves to forget our blessings and responsibilities, to forget the Lord and his love for us and his willingness to help us in our pursuit of life and happiness. "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?".
Someone has said, "Life is of value only when it has something valuable as its objective." What objective? The Lord through the Prophet Joseph Smith told David Whitmer, one of the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon, that eternal life was the greatest of all the gifts of God. What better objective is there than this for our lives? Knowing this to be true as I do through personal testimony, I would like to speak especially to you young people who are in the vital planning stage of your lives, and to those parents and teachers who guide you, about the importance of properly focusing your values. We all, as well as you, yourselves, want the best for you now and forever. The best is a knowledge of and love for our Heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ and a life of happiness here on earth that will eventually lead you to the desired objective of eternal life. How do we determine the values that will accomplish this? Through religion which encompasses all the principles that give us strength, determination, and faith to push forward. Living as we do today in a world that seems to be becoming more godless by the moment, an occasional or even weekly visit to church is not often enough to gain us the knowledge we need. Religion must be a daily affair, entering into every phase of our existence. It was to provide this daily education and exposure to religion that the seminaries, institutes of religion, and church colleges were established, and this is why they should play such an important role in the lives of you young people today.
Today more than ever before our youth need religion. Some years ago our beloved Prophet David O. McKay in an editorial gave a number of reasons for giving proper religious training to our youth. I'd like to refer to three of his points:
First, he said, "Youth need religion to maintain a proper equilibrium during the formative period of their lives". Young people tend to be impetuous and sometimes, in trying to formulate their conclusions, have a tendency to look upon parents as old-fashioned, but they give confidence to others who seem to be leading them into new realms and higher planes. Now when, under these conditions, the young person receives something which seems to conflict with his previous notions of religion and right, he is likely to be swayed beyond his proper equilibrium. Youth today are thinking more than ever before, and they need to have a daily influence which will keep them in proper balance.
Second, President McKay said, "Youth should have religion in order to stabilize our society." It was Goethe who observed that "The destiny of any nation at any given time depends on the opinion of its young men under five and twenty." Speaking of the need of stability in our society makes me remember, thinking as a soldier during World War II what a tragedy that so much destruction, pain, and suffering had to exist in a world that had achieved such brilliance in so many fields, for instance, the sciences. I can't help recalling the magnificent M-1 rifle that was placed into my hands when I was an infantryman and how grateful I was for the protection it gave me. The brilliance that went into creating this weapon of war is outstanding, and yet its utilization was a sad commentary on life, for many times I was required in the defense of this country to pull the trigger to take the life of a fellow human being because of this very thing that our beloved prophet has indicated to us in his editorial.
Robert A. Millikan, himself a renowned scientist, has said this about his own field: "Science without religion obviously may become a curse rather than a blessing to mankind. But science dominated by the spirit of religion is the key to progress and the hope of the future." This suggests that scientific leaders of the future, as well as leaders in all fields, will need spiritual understanding and training.
Third, youth need religion to satisfy the innate longing of the soul. "Man," President McKay has said, "is a spiritual being, and sometime or another every man is possessed with a longing, an irresistible desire to know his relationship to the infinite. He realizes that he is not just a physical object that is to be tossed for just a short time from bank to bank, only to be submerged finally in the ever-flowing stream of life. There is something within him which urges him to rise above himself, to control his environment, to master the body and all things physical and live in a higher and more beautiful world."
He goes on to give three great needs associated with the spiritual urge which have been felt throughout the centuries: "1. Every normal person yearns to know something of God. What is he like? Is he interested in the human family or does he disregard it entirely? 2. What is the best life to live in this world in order to be most successful and to get the most happiness? 3. What is that inevitable thing called death? What is beyond it? If you want your answer to these longings of the human soul, you must come to the Church and come often to get it."
Youth need religion. The world needs it-in fact, it is the world's greatest need. It is my humble prayer that you young people everywhere, along with your parents, will see the need for constant, daily exposure to religious education and that you will support it with interest and enthusiasm. By keeping your energies and values properly focused, you, as well as we, can in reality inherit eternal life.
How grateful I am this morning for the testimony I have of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the meaning and understanding that this gives me that God really lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that the Prophet Joseph Smith was called and ordained of God to establish again his Church in these latter days, and to have the full assurance and knowledge that David O. McKay is a living prophet of the Lord. And while I have been a member of this Church all my life, I have had that glorious opportunity of standing in his presence and having spirit touch spirit, giving me the complete verification that these things are true. I bear you my witness humbly and gratefully in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Thomas S. Monson
Thomas S. Monson, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 17-19
My brothers and sisters, the responsibility of standing before you humbles me, and I sincerely seek an interest in your prayers that I might have the help of the Lord.
This morning as Sister Monson and I drove down here to this beautiful Tabernacle, I heard a familiar sound. I heard a school bell ring, and I saw scores of boys and girls of every age hurry this way and scurry that way to the classrooms of learning. They were in search of truth. This is the season of the year, too, when the colleges and universities throughout the land open wide their doors that eager students might continue this search for truth. Their teachers and scientists of all fields pursue their constant labor of studying, experimenting-ever continuing this same search.
Is the search for truth really this important? Is it so vital? Must it span the ages of time, encompass every field of endeavor, and penetrate every human heart? President David O. McKay has said, "Fortunately, there is a natural feeling which urges men and women toward truth. It is a responsibility placed upon mankind."
Even the law of the land jealously safeguards the principle of truth. In our courts of law, before a witness takes the stand to testify, he is placed under solemn oath "... the testimony you are about to give... is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth..."
The poet captured the real significance of the search for truth when he wrote these immortal lines:
"... say, what is truth? 'Tis the brightest prize To which mortals or Gods can aspire; Go search in the depths where it glittering lies Or ascend in pursuit to the loftiest skies. 'Tis an aim for the noblest desire.
"Then say, what is truth? 'Tis the last and the first, For the limits of time it steps o'er. Though the heavens depart and the earth's fountains burst, Truth, the sum of existence, will weather the worst, Eternal, unchanged, evermore."
The Prophet Joseph Smith received the definition of truth in a revelation from the Lord at Kirtland, Ohio, May 6, 1833. "... truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come".
Preceding almost every declaration of eternal truth has been a universal question; for instance, what man has not asked himself as did Job of old, "If a man die, shall he live again?". And what man has not found comfort in the answer which the angel gave to Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James, when they approached the tomb to care for the body of the Master. He said, "Why seek ye the living among the dead?
"He is not here, but is risen".
Thousands of honest, searching souls continue to be confronted by that penetrating question which coursed through the mind of Joseph Smith as he surveyed the declarations made by the churches of his community concerning who was right and who was wrong. Joseph said: "In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often said to myself... Who of all these parties are right... If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?
"... I at length came to the determination to 'ask of God'". He prayed. The results of that prayer are best described in Joseph's own words:
"... 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!". Joseph listened. Joseph learned. His question, "What is truth?" was answered.
Perhaps one of the most significant exchanges of question and answer occurred when Jesus was taken before Pilate. Pilate asked the Master, "Art thou a king...? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice".
Is the voice of the Lord heard today? How does it come to man? Can your search for truth be guided by his voice? Can mine? Today as always when the true Church of Christ is on the earth, there stands at its head a prophet. And just as the voice of the Lord came to Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Isaiah, it has likewise come to latter-day prophets.
"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets".
Do we need a prophet today? Does God regard his children today as dearly as he did when Amos, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel were on the earth? One of the foremost educators in America, Dr. Robert Gordon Sproul, described the need in these words: "We have the peculiar spectacle of a nation, which to a limited extent, practices Christianity without actively believing in Christianity. We are asked to turn to the church for enlightenment, but when we do we find that the voice of the church is not inspired. The voice of the church today is the echo of our own voices. And the result of this experience already manifest is disillusionment. The way out is the sound of a voice, not our voice, but a voice coming from somewhere not ourselves in the existence of which we cannot disbelieve. It is the task of the pastors to hear this voice, cause us to hear it and tell us what it says. If they cannot hear it or if they fail to tell us what it says, we as laymen are wholly lost. Without it we are no more capable of saving the earth than we were capable of creating it in the first place."
From still another field of endeavor, Sir Winston Churchill described the need: "I have lived perhaps longer experience than almost anyone and I have never brooded over a situation which demanded more patience, composure, courage and perseverance than that which unfolds itself before us today-the need of a prophet."
How grateful we should be that revelation, the clear and uncluttered channel of truth, is still open. Our Heavenly Father continues to inspire his prophets. This inspiration can serve as a sure guide in making life's decisions. It will lead us to truth.
You do not find truth groveling through error. Truth is found by searching, studying, and living the revealed word of God. We learn truth when we associate with truth. We adopt error when we mingle with error.
The Lord instructed us concerning how we might distinguish between truth and error when he said: "... that which doth not edify is not of God, and is darkness.
Recently, I attended a large youth conference at Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. A part of the conference was a testimony meeting where the young men and young women could express the feelings of the heart.
A shy boy from Saskatchewan, standing before such an imposing audience for the first time, said, "Before I attended this youth conference I could say, 'I think the gospel is true.' Then I received instruction, participated in the activities, and felt of the spirit of all of you. Today, at the conclusion of these inspired events, I proudly, yet humbly, declare 'I know the gospel is true.'" He had been edified. He had been enlightened. He had found the truth.
In July I visited the World's Fair at New York City. I found the fair most interesting and took special note of the religious exhibits. At the Mormon Pavilion I sat by an alert young man of perhaps thirty-five years. We spoke about the other exhibits at the fair. Then the lights dimmed. The picture, "Man's Search for Happiness," commenced. At the conclusion of this portrayal of the plan of salvation, the lights again brought the present to our view. The crowd silently filed out, some stopping to wipe a tear from a moist eye. Others were visibly impressed. My visitor did not arise. I asked if he enjoyed the film. He answered, "This is the truth." One man's search for truth had just ended.
For those who humbly seek, there is no need to stumble or falter along the pathway leading to truth. It is well marked by our Heavenly Father. We must first have a desire to know for ourselves. We must study. We must pray. We must do the will of the Father. And then we will know the truth, and the truth will make us free. Divine favor will attend those who humbly seek it.
One week ago last Wednesday I was privileged to set apart William Agnew for his mission. I reviewed with him his conversion and that of his family, some five years ago in eastern Canada. The family had been seeking truth. The missionaries called and presented the teachings of the gospel. The members of the family studied. They loved what they learned. They were approaching the decision to be baptized. One Sunday morning the family, by previous appointment, were preparing to attend the "Mormon" Sunday School. Mother and the children readied themselves but were disappointed when Dad concluded not to attend. They even argued somewhat about the decision. Then Mother and the children went to Sunday School, and Dad angrily stayed at home. He first attempted to forget the misunderstanding by reading the newspaper, but to no avail. Then he went to his daughter Isabelle's room and turned on the radio which occupied her night stand, hoping to hear the news. He didn't hear the news. Rather, he heard the Tabernacle Choir. Elder Evans' message, it seemed, was directed personally to him. Brother Agnew realized the futility of his anger. He was now overpowered by a feeling of gratitude for the message he had just received. When his wife and family returned home, they found him pleasant and happy. His children asked how this change had come about. He told them how he had turned on the radio, hoping to get the news, only to be humbled by the message of the choir in word and song. His daughter said, "Which radio did you use, Dad?" He answered, "The one on your night stand." She replied, "That radio is broken. It hasn't played for weeks." He led them to the room to prove that this radio did indeed function. Hadn't he just heard the choir and a message that had inspired and humbled him? He turned the proper dial. But that radio didn't play. Yet when an honest seeker after truth needed the help of God, that radio did play. The message which led to conversion was received. Needless to say, the family became stalwart members of the Church.
There will be those who doubt, who scoff, who ridicule, who scorn. They will turn from the pathway leading to eternal truth and rather travel the slippery slopes of error and disillusionment.
But to those who honestly seek, those to whom so much has been given, to the faithful, the Lord our God has promised:
"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 abide the day".
May we be wise; may we persevere in search of truth and always take the Holy Spirit for our guide, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 24-29
A Parable
May I preface my talk with a parable. "Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto a certain man...".
John and Mary were married by their bishop in his palatial home, and the ceremony included the phrase, "so long as you both shall live." Relatives and friends exclaimed, "What a handsome, promising couple!" Life seemed to offer everything two delightful people could hope for.
It was a civil ceremony, but they promised themselves that they would soon get their house in order and go to the Lord's temple to have their marriage eternalized. They loved each other intensely. They had some knowledge of and faith in the principle of eternal marriage, but carelessness in their pattern of living and bad habits precluded their conscientiously asking the bishop for a recommend to enter the sacred precincts of the temple.
Time passed. Children came. John was active in community life. His pleasing personality made him many friends. Mary grew more lovely as the children came, and sweet motherhood and wifehood expanded her vision and enlarged her soul. The love she bore for her husband grew constantly, and as their lives grew together, she came to realize how she wanted him forever. She came to sense her predicament. Shadows gathered. He was not religiously inclined, he said; some day he would move toward the temple.
She took some part in church activity but when there came conflict between church service and his Sabbath interests, she felt that she should be with her husband-she loved him so very much. The children grew and were happy in the Church until teenage activities brought carefree, leisurely Sabbaths-rides, dates, skiing-and they also began to bypass their religious duties.
One day the clouds lowered, and trouble came. It was on one of those Sunday canyon picnics. An excellent driver, John was not at fault for the crash when a drinking driver left both cars junk and two loved ones mangled and lifeless.
When the bodies of his beloved Mary and sweet little Alice had been buried with all solemnity and every tender affection, John found his life lonely indeed. The nights were so long, the house so empty, the days so barren, life so vain and desolate. He devoted himself to his work and to his other children, but his world seemed to have been buried in a hillside grave.
At the table the circle was incomplete. There were two vacant places. Social life had no interest for him. No one knew how he suffered. No one knew how his heart ached. His thoughts were constantly of Mary, his companion, his beloved, the mother of his children. When he returned from his work, it seemed she should be there to slip into his arms; when he awakened in the morning, it seemed he could not get over expecting to find her by his side. His first and last conscious thoughts were of Mary.
Then this night came the dream, or was it a dream, for he seemed to be so much awake. Unlike hundreds of his other dreams which had faded into oblivion with the coming of the dawn, this impressive one lingered all the day.
It seemed he was in a world where he had never been before. He was looking through a wide, heavy, open gate leading into a beautiful area in which the central figures were a woman and a little girl. Gradually, he became conscious of their identity, and he felt a warm glow as he recognized little Alice with her mother. Mary was more lovely than ever; her charm and beauty had been accentuated. She was captivating, heavenly, and as both his loved ones smiled and beckoned to him, he wanted, oh, how he wanted, to go to them. They seemed anxious that he join them. He tried to go to them, but he could not seem to move, and as he struggled it appeared that the great gates were closing. Mary and Alice seemed conscious of this also and beckoned frantically, but he was powerless to do that which at this moment he wanted so much to do. The movement of the gates was almost imperceptible, but the aperture was definitely narrowing. He tried desperately but futilely to reach them. If he could but join them! They, too, were eager for reunion. He caught a final glimpse and saw terror registered on Mary's face as she, too, must have realized that the door was nearly closed. As the lock clicked, it was like thunder in his sensitive ears, and he felt he would give anything, everything, even life itself to see her again, to be with her again, to have her always with him.
The alarm clock clanged. He was back in the world. Ah! It was only a dream! Or was it? Had he missed the mark? Had the great door really slammed shut? Had he lost his loved companion forever because he had failed to meet requirements?
And, we sadly recall the couplet, "... of all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest are these, 'It might have been!'".
May I address my remarks to the numerous happily married couples who were united for the relatively short period of time as stated by the bishop, "so long as you both shall live," and to those millions of well-adjusted couples in the world who were united by their ministers, priests, rabbis, or other prelates for the period stated "until death do you part."
I plead with you peace-loving, sincere, but uninformed couples who love you companions and children, but who, in your vaunted false security, permit the days to pass, and the months and the years without protecting your precious marriages against sure dissolution, when certain efforts and activities could preserve through eternity your warm and pleasant family relationships.
A few of you know the requirements but have ignored or rejected them. The great majority of you have never known the facts, so veiled in mystery they have been, and so long absent from the earth, and so little understood even by Bible students.
These are absolute facts:
Life is eternal. Death does not terminate the existence of man. He lives on and on. Man will be resurrected whether good or evil. His spirit will be reunited with his body from the grave, and if he has perfected his life and magnified his God-given opportunities, that spirit and body will be brought together in a new, fresh, never-ending immortality.
The greatest joys of true married life can be continued. The most beautiful relationships of parents and children can be made permanent. The holy association of families can be never-ending if husband and wife have been sealed in the holy bonds of eternal matrimony. Their joys and progress will never end, but this will never fall into place of its own accord.
The way is well-defined and clear. Eternal marriage was known to Adam and others of the prophets, but the knowledge was lost from the earth for many centuries. God has restored the truths and has provided the way. With the restoration of the gospel came also the genuine priesthood, and God has given to his prophet all keys, powers, and authorities held by Adam and Abraham and Moses and the early-day Apostles.
God has restored the knowledge of temples and their purposes. On the earth this day are thirteen holy structures built to this special work of the Lord, and each is the "House of the Lord." In these temples, by duly constituted authority, are men who may seal for all eternity, husbands and wives and their children. This is a fact even though unknown to the masses, and it is available as folks acquaint themselves with the need. This is one of the mysteries spoken of by the Redeemer, who taught the multitude in parables, saying:
"... I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world".
These priceless truths are not understood by the casual reader of the scriptures:
"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".
"But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned".
It is inconceivable that otherwise intelligent, astute, and highly educated people should ignore or wilfully disregard this great privilege. The doors can be unlocked. The gap can be bridged. And men can walk safely, securely to never-ending happiness, making their marriages timeless and eternal.
Explaining the use of parables, the Savior said:
"Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given".
"For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them".
And then speaking to those disciples who were near him and who understood, he said:
"But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
"For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them".
The Lord knew that those who were sincere in heart and who really wished to know the mysteries of the kingdom would seek and search prayerfully until they informed themselves.
It will be remembered how the Lord answered the hypocritical Sadducees who, trying to trap him, propounded this difficult problem:
The husband died leaving no posterity, and the wife married his brother who also died without seed. She in turn married a third brother, a fourth, a fifth, a sixth, and a seventh, all in accordance with the law of Moses, and then the woman of the seven husbands died also. Now the frustrating question is:
"In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife". The Redeemer's answer was clear and concise and unmistakable:
"Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God".
And now, we ask you, what does this mean? The Sadducees were discussing matters about which they knew little or nothing. Was there accusation in his voice? Was he saying to the Sadducees, "Open your blind eyes and see? Open your stony hearts and understand?"
My friends, do you understand the implications and truth of this statement of the Lord? Though somewhat veiled in scripture, it is clear and understandable when supported by modern revelation.
Dr. James E. Talmage writes: "The Lord's meaning was clear, that in the resurrected state there can be no question among the seven brothers as to whose wife for eternity the woman shall be, since all except the first had married her for the duration of mortal life only... In the resurrection, there will be no marrying nor giving in marriage; for all questions of marital status must be settled before that time, under the authority of the Holy Priesthood, which holds the power to seal in marriage for both time and eternity".
Undoubtedly, the first husband married the woman for eternity by a ceremony which was not limited by time. She became a widow at his demise until she should also die and join her husband. Now, she married brother number two, "until death do you part," and it definitely parted them even before posterity and he went into the spirit world through the veil and with no wife, for their contract also had been terminated by death. And brothers number three and four and five and six and finally number seven in turn-all married her in temporary marriage, in which ceremonies were the limitations, "so long as you both shall live." And death terminated what happiness they had had and their promise of future bliss.
How sad! How gloomy!
I knew of one young couple whose promising marriage was ended by a car crash one hour after the ceremony which included those perilous words, "till death do you part."
Civil marriage is an earthly contract, completed in the death of either party. Eternal celestial marriage is a sacred covenant between man and woman, consecrated in the holy temple by servants of God who hold authoritative keys. It bridges death; it includes both time and eternity.
The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians:
"If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable".
And we could paraphrase it to say:
"If in this life only our marriages are firm, our marital bliss real, and our family life happy, we are of all men most miserable."
Paul continues, "There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
"There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.
"So also is the resurrection of the dead".
Paul understood, as undoubtedly did many of the Saints, but millions of Christians today do not understand these vital truths which have been veiled in parabolic language. Heaven is not a single place nor one single condition. It is as diverse as men's behavior patterns are different, for men will be judged "according to their deeds done in the flesh"; Alma 5:15; D&C; 76:).
In our modern revelation, the Lord said: "Therefore, prepare thy heart to receive and obey the instructions which I am about to give unto you; for all those who have this law revealed unto them must obey the same.
"For behold, I reveal unto you a new and an everlasting covenant".
Though relatively few people in this understand it, the new and everlasting covenant is the marriage ordinance in the holy temple by the properly constituted leaders who hold the genuine, authoritative keys. This glorious blessing is available to men and women on this earth. The deep underlying purpose is clarified by the Redeemer himself:
"And as pertaining to the new and everlasting covenant, it was instituted for the fulness of my glory; and he that receiveth a fulness thereof must and shall abide the law, or he shall be damned, saith the Lord God".
Paul spoke of telestial, terrestrial, and celestial areas, and people are assigned in accordance with their righteousness and their compliance with eternal laws. Even this celestial kingdom has three heavens or degrees. We quote our Lord further:
"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".
The Lord then further clarifies the eternal marriage:
"All covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, oaths, vows, performances, connections, associations, or expectations, that are not made and entered into and sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, of him who is anointed, both as well for time and for all eternity,... are of no efficacy, virtue, or force in and after the resurrection from the dead; for all contracts that are not made unto this end have an end when men are dead".
The marriages then which are made only "so long as you both shall live" or "until death do you part" are sadly terminated when the last mortal breath is gasped.
The Lord is merciful, but mercy cannot rob justice. His mercy extended to us when he died for us. His justice prevails when he judges us and gives us the blessings which we have duly earned.
"... no one can reject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory," says the Lord.
"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".
A civil marriage may be performed by any of the numerous people approved by laws of the respective countries, but the eternal marriage must be solemnized by one of the few properly authorized. Christ says:
"Will I accept of an offering, saith the Lord, that is not made in my name?
"Or will I receive at your hands that which I have not appointed?".
It is the Redeemer who postulates:
"Therefore, if a man marry him a wife in the world, and he marry her not by me nor by my word, and he covenant with her so long as he is in the world and she with him, their covenant and marriage are not of force when they are dead, and when they are out of the world; therefore, they are not bound by any law when they are out of the world".
"I am the Lord thy God; and I give unto you this commandment-that no man shall come unto the Father but by me or by my word, which is my law, saith the Lord".
He then reiterates that: "... everything that is in the world, whether it be ordained of men, by thrones, or principalities, or powers, or things of name, whatsoever they may be, that are not by me or by my word, saith the Lord, shall be thrown down, and shall not remain after men are dead, neither in nor after the resurrection, saith the Lord your God".
How final! How frightening! Since we know well that mortal death does not terminate our existence, since we know that we live on and on, how devastating to realize that marriage and family life, so sweet and happy in so many homes, will end with death because we fail to follow God's instructions or because we reject his word when we understand it.
It is clear in the Lord's announcement that righteous men and women will receive the due rewards of their deeds. They will not be damned in the commonly accepted terminology but will suffer many limitations and deprivations and fail to reach the highest kingdom, if they do not comply. They become ministering servants to those who complied with all laws and lived all commandments.
He then continues concerning these excellent people who lived worthily but failed to make their contracts binding:
"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".
How conclusive! How bounded! How limiting! And we come to realize again as it bears heavily upon us that this time, this life, this mortality is the time to prepare to meet God. How lonely and barren will be the so-called single blessedness throughout eternity! How sad to be separate and single and apart through countless ages when one could, by meeting requirements, have happy marriage for eternity in the temple by proper authority and continue on in ever-increasing joy and happiness, growth and development toward Godhood.
Listen to the Lord again:
"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.
"But if ye receive me in the world, then shall ye know me, and shall receive your exaltation; that where I am ye shall be also.
"This is eternal lives-to know the only wise and true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent. I am he. Receive ye, therefore, my law.
"Broad is the gate, and wide the way that leadeth to the deaths; and many there are that go in thereat, because they receive me not, neither do they abide in my law".
If a man receives the Lord, he believes in him, lives his commandments, and performs the ordinances which he has required.
And now, we return to John and Mary and all the Johns and all the Marys who live together in peace and joy, who love each other, who appreciate spouses and love their children.
Brothers and sisters and friends, are you willing to jeopardize your eternities, your great continuing happiness, your privilege to see God and dwell in his presence? For the want of investigation and study and contemplation; because of prejudice, misunderstanding, or lack of knowledge, are you willing to forego these great blessings and privileges? Are you willing to make yourself a widow for eternity or a widower for endless ages-a single, separate individual to live alone and serve others? Are you willing to give up your children when they die or when you expire, and make them orphans? Are you willing to go through eternity alone and solitary when all of the greatest joys you have ever experienced in life could be "added upon" and accentuated, multiplied, and eternalized? Are you willing, with the Sadducees, to ignore and reject these great truths? I sincerely pray you stop today and weigh and measure and then prayerfully proceed to make your happy marriage an eternal one. Our friends, please do not ignore this call. I beg of you, open your eyes and see; unstop your ears and hear.
An eternal marriage plus a worthy continuing consecrated life will bring limitless happiness and exaltation.
May I conclude with the words of the Lord of Hosts:
"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".
In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder A. Theodore Tuttle
A. Theodore Tuttle, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 30-32
My dear brothers and sisters, the beautiful singing of this lovely chorus both this morning and this afternoon has called to mind a statement about music which the Lord made in section 25 of the Doctrine and Covenants. He said: "For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads". I pray that we all might be the "righteous" and receive the promised blessing of the Lord.
For the past three years the fabric of our lives has been interwoven with the life and culture of the peoples of South America. These are great countries with tremendous potential for bringing the abundant life to their people. The people are indeed a people of promise and destiny, and "their day" is near at hand.
We return at this conference time with a firmer conviction that God lives and rules in the affairs of men and nations and that he has not forsaken the promise he has made concerning Zion and its people and its protection.
During our sojourn in South America we have witnessed some significant changes among both men and nations. But of all of the changes that occur in the lives of the people whom the gospel touches, perhaps the greatest change occurs in the life and experience of the family-the basic unit in the Church and society.
A recent convert expressed it this way: "Prior to the visit of the missionaries to my home, I lived what I considered to be the normal role of a husband. I held a job and provided for my wife and children. When I came home from work, I considered myself free from further responsibility to them. If I wanted to stay home, I did. If I did not want to stay home, I did not. Usually it was the latter. Much of my time was spent outside of the home. I considered it my wife's responsibility to rear the children. She was to see to it that they were fed and clothed and cared for. Occasionally she would take them to her church, but I felt that they should be completely free to make up their own minds about religion, as I had been. While I did not openly oppose their religious activity, I gave them no encouragement whatsoever.
"My wife and I must have loved each other, but I confess, I gave little evidence of it. I really considered that ours were two separate worlds; I had mine and she and the children had theirs. I thought that when the boys were older, they could join me in my activities. But until then they belonged in their mother's world. It was her duty to administer what discipline was necessary. I did not meddle in her affairs, except occasionally when the situation needed my husbandly authority, and it usually did not take me very long to settle that. Well," he concluded, "that was what I called my 'family life.' As I look back on it now, it seems as though I were almost a stranger in my own house and a part-time husband to my wife."
After such an admission, I pressed him for a description of the changes that had lately occurred in his life. He gladly explained it this way: "While I was being taught the restored gospel, I did not think that I could or would or even wanted to change my way of life. Only after I began to study and pray did I realize that a change would shortly be inevitable.
"At length I received a testimony that the gospel of Jesus Christ had indeed been restored and that there is a living prophet on the earth today. This was the turning point. It was after my baptism that the changes really began to occur in my, or more properly said, in our lives. For somehow, now, the oneness that we were supposed to have in our life and marriage actually became a reality. I think the reason was that I began to understand the sacredness of marriage and the need of honoring my marriage vows. In church I was taught the importance and joy of being faithful to my wife and honorable and worthy before my children. You know," he said, "no one ever told me before that I would find joy in everyday living merely by keeping the commandments of the Lord. I had been taught that our lot in this life was sorrow and pain and poverty, that only in the next life would we find the joy we longed for here.
"As we continued to attend the meetings of the Church, we learned the practical application of active church membership and how the principles of theology actually find their expression in everyday life. And now," he added, "we have plenty of opportunity to practice all of the virtues we were being taught by accepting calls of service in the Church.
"For the first time," he continued, "I realized what my sons could become. I realized that they could be reared in the kind of atmosphere that produced the missionaries who brought the gospel to my home. So I set about to teach my sons moral principles. I taught them that it was wrong to lie, to swear, to steal, to break any of the Ten Commandments. I taught them love of neighbor, because now I understood its application. I taught them reverence for sacred places and things. I now encouraged them in their church activity. I taught them that religion was not just for women, that character and faith in God were the hallmarks of a real man. We began to have fun together. I became a part of their world. I'm even beginning to speak and understand their language.
"I cannot begin to tell you," he said, "all of the new things I have learned about life since becoming a member of this Church. I now know the purpose of life. I know the way to eternal life-the teachings of the Church, even in a short time, have taught me that.
"But it has been in our home that the major changes occurred. I go to work, as usual, but now I always come home. I am not only an active participant in our family life, but I also preside by right of holding the priesthood. And I think I am learning something about exercising authority in love and patience and understanding.
"And you won't believe this," he continued, "but even though I am busier than I ever was, I seem to have more time than ever before. Why, I even find myself occasionally helping my wife in the kitchen, and that's something I thought I'd never do. Knowing that the family unit is to be eternal has given me a completely new view of the importance and purpose of family life.
"Well," he concluded, and his eyes were moist with tears of gratitude, "perhaps you can understand now why I am willing to serve the Lord, work in the Church, help my fellow man, and share the message that has brought such happiness to my life."
We have seen this change occur not in just this one family but in literally hundreds of families. In fact, the missionaries have told me that it is a common experience for them to notice that the homes of the people they visit get cleaner each time they call to teach them more about the gospel, and yet, they have said nothing about cleaning the house. This is one of the miracles of Mormonism. This and similar manifestations occur continually.
In Job we read: "... there is a spirit in man; and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding". What the light of the sun is to the flower, causing it to unfold from within and turn to the source of light, so the gospel light is to the soul of man. It touches the inner life of man and without compulsion turns him to the source of light and truth.
And yet, one cannot find the cause for this by looking at the unfolding of the flower; rather one must look to the source of light which works the miracle of growth and change. Indeed, it is the refulgence of the First Vision, the belief and acceptance of which touches the spirit of man, and he responds to the inspiration of the Almighty.
Family life changes, not because of any outward conditions, but because of inner convictions. And those who look for the reason for this change in outward evidences look in vain. It is not to be found there. It lies not in the new buildings being erected. It is not in the schools we have built throughout the world. It is not found in the church organization, perfect as it is. It is not in the youth program, the Primary, or Relief Society where social and cultural programs without peer are carried on. Nor does it lie in the fraternity of the priesthood quorums. Whoever looks for the key to change in the exterior manifestations looks in vain, as did Elijah. He heard the voice of the Lord not in the wind, nor in the earthquake, nor in the fire, but in the still, small voice.
The power that changes a man's heart is inherent in the testimony that distills upon the souls of men, witnessing to them that the First Vision of the boy Prophet Joseph Smith was indeed a divine reality. I quote a part of the Prophet's marvelous vision. He 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.
"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!".
Herein lies the key to improvement of the family. Herein lies the reason for expectation of success. Herein lies the contribution of this Church to the world-the ideal family.
I bear humble witness that God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ actually appeared to Joseph Smith the Prophet. I bear testimony that they live, that Jesus Christ is the actual Son of God, that he is the head of this Church, that he directs it through his chosen prophet and mouthpiece, President David O. McKay. I bear this witness humbly in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Theodore M. Burton
Theodore M. Burton, Conference Report, October 1964, p. 32-36
Near the beginning of the ministry of Jesus Christ, he came one day to the city of Nazareth where he had grown up as a lad. As was his custom on the Sabbath day he went to the local synagogue to worship. As he stood up to read, he was given the book of Isaiah from which he read as follows:
"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; "To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord".
Then he closed the book and sat down to speak. As all eyes were fastened upon him to see what interpretation he would give to these words, he said:
"This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
"And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth".
I am interested in the words of Isaiah, or as Jesus gave them as quoted by Luke:
"... he hath sent me... to preach deliverance to the captives, and... to set at liberty them that are bruised".
Bible interpreters have said that the original words from Isaiah have reference to the release of the Jewish captives from Babylon, but that Jesus applied them to the release of sinners from the guilt and bondage of sin, through his ministry. But was this Jesus' intent, and what sinners were held prisoners through the guilt and bondage of their sins?
I claim that Isaiah and Jesus were speaking of specific prisoners as given in the following quotations from Isaiah:
"And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
"And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited".
"I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
"To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house"
There is no question but that Jesus was to be the Deliverer and that they that sit in this prison were to be in the bonds of darkness, which must refer to spiritual darkness rather than to political prisoners here upon the earth. The work of Jesus definitely was not confined solely to those of his own earthly generation who heard his voice in person as on this occasion when he spoke in the synagogue at Nazareth. His work was a greater work, a universal work, and applied not only to the whole wide world of those then living, but also to all who ever lived or ever would live upon this earth.
One of the mistakes of Christendom today is thinking that Christ's ministry began at the Meridian of Time following his birth upon the earth. At the Meridian of Time he began his earth ministry as he was born among men as the Only Begotten Son of God in the flesh. It is not generally understood that Jesus was the Firstborn of the spirit children of God and that as Jehovah, the Creator, he was the God of this earth before he became manifest in the flesh as Jesus Christ. He is the Eternal God of this earth who gave his laws and commandments to the prophets of old before he came to earth as the Son of Man.
The principles of the gospel which Jesus taught were eternal. They were given and taught to the prophets and seers of old. They in turn preached and taught them to the people of their day. Did they not understand that the Redeemer would come? Wasn't Isaiah, for example, a witness of the coming Lord as he proclaimed:
"Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
"For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
"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.
"Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
"But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
"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.
"He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth".
Dare we say that the prophets did not know all about Jesus and his coming? Did they not testify, often with their lives, of the divinity of God and urge their hearers to turn to him and live?
Just as authority in the priesthood had been given to Adam and his sons, the patriarchs, so also were they given the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ and participated in the blessings and ordinances and covenants that pertain to exaltation in the acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and King. Only when the people refused to accept this higher priesthood and higher law at the time of Moses were they given the lesser priesthood and the lesser law which was to be a taskmaster to lead them eventually to accept Jesus Christ and the higher law which he had given to the prophets of old and which he gave again in his earthly ministry.
Failure to understand the eternal and universal nature of the ministry of Jesus Christ has caused considerable consternation among students of divinity. With the study of the mystery religions came the knowledge that a virgin birth of a Redeemer and a death and resurrection of the same was claimed by several such religions hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus Christ. Baptism by immersion was a fairly common ritual long before the coming of Jesus. The discovery of the manuscript rolls from the caves at Qumran near Jerusalem brought to light teachings and practice, later used in Christianity two hundred years, before the birth of Jesus Christ. This has led certain students of Christian religion to deny the divinity of Jesus Christ. They have regarded him only as a great and gifted teacher who simply adopted and adapted these thoughts and practices of the Essenes priests. So they claim he established a new philosophy of the brotherhood of man based on these concepts and in defense of which he even gave his life as a martyr.
Such denial of Jesus Christ as a divine being is the result of not understanding the eternal nature of the gospel Jesus taught. If one understands that the gospel was taught and practiced from the very beginning, one can understand how its doctrines and practices can be found in apostate forms in the mystery religions of Greece and Egypt and can account for the knowledge of Christian teachings before the birth of Jesus Christ.
Knowing then that the gospel was preached by the prophets of old in anticipation of the coming of the Savior and that it is now preached in confirmation of his atonement, we can ask a pertinent question. What happened to those who heard the gospel and rejected it, or, perhaps better said, who failed to accept it while on the earth? What happened to those who lived on the earth when through apostasy and wickedness they never had a chance to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ preached? What happens to those we call heathens who never heard of Jesus Christ?
At the death of these people, who never made a covenant to become the sons and daughters of Jesus Christ, their spirits went to a spirit prison where they were forced to wait until they could be released. This Peter explained when he told how Jesus went to minister among those who were dead, for, as the scriptures inform us, Peter taught:
"And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.
"To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins".
That this salvation through belief in Christ is open to the dead as well as to the living is evident as Peter taught:
"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".
The reason for this Peter explained as follows:
"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".
Thus, the redeeming power of Jesus Christ is made possible to every person who ever lived or will live upon the face of the earth. In view of the scriptural confirmation of this doctrine that Christ did visit and minister among the spirits who had been disobedient and who because of unpardoned sin were held in a spirit prison, we may well ask, what was the scope and purpose of our Lord's ministry among them? His preaching was purposeful and positive, not to further condemn, but to bring relief and mercy. To them came the Redeemer to open the way that leads to life. He came not to intensify their darkness and their grief, but to bring relief from despair and suffering.
The most significant sacrifice of all, the greatest work ever done for mankind and the turning point in the history of man, is the atonement of Christ, which was a vicarious offering made by Jesus for us who were estranged from God. He gave his life voluntarily as a foreordained sacrifice that we might live eternally. This God accepted as a propitiation for broken law and it is the means whereby we as God's children may obtain salvation.
Through the ministrations of Jesus for us, we may pass by the angels and regain the presence of God the Eternal Father but only as we obey the ordinances of the gospel. Paul taught:
"For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living".
How it is possible to save the dead already departed from this earth is explained by Paul as he spoke of baptism for the dead:
"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?".
It is evident that the gospel must be preached in the spirit world and that provisions for vicarious work for those who are dead must have been provided for. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only organization on earth which confirms by actual practice the necessity of administering baptism for the dead and which claims divine authority therefore.
Thus, the responsibility rests upon every one of us to seek after and identify our deceased ancestors who had no opportunity of hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ. After we have identified them, it is our privilege to go into the temples of God and perform vicariously these ordinances for them which they cannot perform for themselves. By these sacrifices we participate in small part in the redeeming power of Jesus Christ and share with him the joy of doing something for others to prepare the way for them also to reach the presence of God the Eternal Father.
So important is this work that Malachi the prophet testified:
"Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
"... And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming".
I pray that we may not waste our inheritance on the earth by neglecting this privilege of participating in the work of redemption. As we are grateful for the redeeming grace of Jesus Christ our Savior, let us assist him by showing grace and mercy to those who sit in spiritual darkness waiting for us to turn the key in the lock of their prison door to bring them out into the light of spiritual day. Whether this work is opening the door for the living or for the dead, let us bear our witness by the actions we perform in testifying with our lives that God lives and that Jesus is his Son who rose from the dead and lives today. This testimony I bear to you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie
Bruce R. McConkie, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 36-38
We invite all men everywhere to come unto Christ, to accept him as the Son of God, to obey the laws he has revealed, thereby gaining peace in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come.
We Believe in Christ; His Divine Sonship
We believe in Christ. We testify of his divine Sonship. President McKay, in the inspiring message which opened the conference, testified that "Christ the Son of Righteousness came with healing in his wings in the Meridian of Time," that "he is the true Light of men's lives", and that as "the Prince of Peace" he "shall reign as King of kings and Lord of lords".
We believe as the Book of Mormon says, "... that there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent".
We believe again in the language of the Book of Mormon, "... that salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent".
We believe as John the Baptist said: "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him".
We believe in the language of Paul, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved".
Belief in Christ is basic and fundamental to the Christian faith. He is the one sure foundation. By him all things are, and upon him all things rest. As Paul said: "... other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ".
But we deplore and are saddened by the lack of unity among professing Christians, lack of unity as to his divine sonship, his atonement and mission and the gospel plan which bears his name. One group of sincere and devout persons believes one thing and another group something else.
We look forward with hope, however, to an eventual day when honest men among all nations shall know who Christ is, what his laws are, and what they must do to be saved in his kingdom.
To aid these sincere seekers after spiritual certainty, may we testify to the world of those things which have been revealed to us concerning this greatest of all men-Jesus, our Lord and Master. May we begin by taking this statement of Paul about confessing Christ, believing in his resurrection, and consequently gaining salvation.
Here is a man who says he has a message for "all that be in Rome." He announces: I am "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle." I bring you "the gospel of God," which gospel is that "Jesus Christ our Lord" was both "the seed of David according to the flesh," and also "the Son of God".
This man Paul, who speaks for God, then says: "... my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved". He then reveals his fears that they may not gain salvation, for he says: "... they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge"; that is, they had a system of religion and sought in their way to worship God, but their course was not based on a knowledge of the truth.
And so, to chart the course which they and all men must follow to gain salvation, Paul gave this glorious statement: "... if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved".
Now, if we are to believe in Christ, we must know who he is and what it means to believe in him. True worship presupposes that men know whom they worship and know how to worship.
Is he, as the Mohammedans say, one of the prophets, but not the Son of God?
Is he, as some professors of religion assert, a great moral teacher, but not the Savior and Redeemer?
Is he, as some of old claimed, the carpenter's son, but not the promised Messiah?
Is he, as some creeds recite, an incomprehensible, incorporeal, uncreated spirit which fills immensity, but not the literal offspring of that God in whose image man is created?
Or is he, as we testify, the Son of God, the Firstborn in pre-existence, the Only Begotten in the flesh, the Creator and promised Messiah, the Redeemer and Savior who has manifested himself in our day, and who will soon return in glory to reign on earth a thousand years?
How shall we know who or what Christ actually is?
Paul answers this to the Romans by first saying: "... whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" and by then asking four questions which grow out of this plea for men to approach their God:
First: "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?". Believe in God, that holy Being in whose image man is created.
Second: "... how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?". The knowledge of God must be revealed, the gospel taught.
Third: "... how shall they hear without a preacher?". Preachers, Apostles, prophets, teachers, representatives of the Lord must do the teaching.
Fourth: "... how shall they preach, except they be sent?". Only those can preach and teach who are actually called of God and sent forth by him.
In other words, if we "call upon the name of the Lord," if we confess the Lord Jesus with the mouth, if we believe in our hearts "that God hath raised him from the dead", it is because we first believe and accept the testimony of the Apostle or prophet who is sent of God to give us the knowledge of salvation. It is not the Lord's program to appear personally to every man and tell him what to believe and how to act to be saved. In this, our second estate, we are to walk by faith, not by sight.
But it is the Lord's program to send legal administrators endowed with power from on high, to send prophets and Apostles to teach his truths and perform the ordinances of salvation.
Paul was one of these. Since he was sent to the Romans, that nation was required to accept him as an Apostle in order to accept Christ as the Savior. If they believed in Paul's divine commission, they could then believe his testimony about Christ and the saving truths of his gospel. If they believed in Christ and accepted him as the Son of God, they of necessity had to believe that Paul was an Apostle, for he was the preacher sent to them to reveal the truth about Christ and the gospel.
Thus, Christ and his prophets go together. They cannot be separated. It is utterly and completely impossible to believe in Christ without also believing in and accepting the divine commission of the prophets sent to reveal him and to carry his saving truths to the world.
No one today would say: "I will believe in Christ, but will not believe in Peter, James, and John and their testimony of him." In the very nature of things belief in Christ is more than accepting him as a single person standing alone, as one person independent of any other. Belief in Christ presupposes and includes within it the acceptance of the prophets who reveal him to the world.
Jesus said: "He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me". Also: "He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me".
To believe in Christ we must not only accept the prophets who reveal him but we must also believe the scriptural accounts recorded by those prophets. Jesus said to a Book of Mormon prophet: "... he that will not believe my words will not believe me-that I am", meaning that he will not believe that I exist and am the Son of God.
Nephi, another Book of Mormon prophet invited all men to "believe in Christ... And if ye shall believe in Christ," he said, "ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me".
But even the very scriptures themselves can only be interpreted with surety when the spirit of prophecy is present, as Peter said: "... 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".
Prophets gave the scripture, and prophets must interpret it. Holy men of old received revelation from the Holy Ghost, which they recorded as scripture; now men must have the same Holy Spirit to reveal what is meant by the scripture-otherwise there will be a host of private interpretations and consequently many different and disagreeing churches, which is precisely the condition in the religious world today.
And finally, to believe in Christ in the full and perfect and saving sense, we must heed the testimony and accept the teachings of the Lord's prophets so that we too may enjoy the promptings of the Holy Spirit and feel the spirit of revelation in our own souls. The Comforter is given to the Saints to bear record of the Father and the Son. "... no man," Paul says, "can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost".
The world needs prophets today as much as it ever did-prophets who are the Lord's agents, who stand as legal administrators with power like Peter's to bind on earth and have their acts sealed eternally in the heavens; prophets who speak for God, who reveal his mind and his will to the people; prophets who reveal and interpret the truth about Christ our Lord and his gospel.
And thanks be to God, for through his grace and goodness, prophets have again been called to reveal anew, with power and conviction, the truths about Christ and salvation. As foretold and promised by the prophets of old, the great era of restoration has commenced. Christ has again revealed himself from heaven; priesthood and keys have again been conferred upon living Apostles; revelations, visions, miracles, and all the gifts and graces enjoyed by the faithful of old are again offered to those who will come unto Christ, confess his holy name before men, and believe in their hearts that God has raised him from the dead and made him both Lord and King.
And so, as legal administrators authorized so to speak, we invite all men everywhere to come unto Christ and be perfected in him, to deny themselves of all ungodliness, to accept him as the Son of God, and to gain for themselves peace in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop John H. Vandenberg
John H. Vandenberg, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 39-42
"The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways" is a proverb credited to the ancient King Solomon, who the Bible records was "... wiser than all men". It is assumed that Solomon in this proverb referred to those who had retrogressed in their allegiance to God by failing to give heed to his counsel. Frequently God has sent his prophets to counsel his children in an attempt to arrest them from their wrongdoing, their backsliding, and to point the way to happiness and salvation. The task of persuading man from his carnal ways has always been an arduous struggle, as evidenced by history. The inhabitants of the earth seem eager to be filled with their own ways. Because of this the prophets have, from time to time, suffered much tribulation.
Jeremiah was such a prophet. In his day he faced almost continuous opposition and insult as he tried to stem the tide of idolatry and immorality among the people. During his lifetime he tried to teach the multitude that true worship of Jehovah required more than devotion to external forms of worship. His message was: One must live and dedicate oneself to keeping all of God's commandments. At last, many, too blind to see that they were heading for destruction and captivity and no longer of a mind to listen to Jeremiah, were the cause of his being stoned to death. His tragic death, however, did not nullify or stay his decreed counsel, for soon the people passed through all of the adversity that he foretold would transpire if they did not repent of their evil ways.
In contrast, in this same period we learn of a refreshing episode wherein the Lord told the Prophet Jeremiah to go into the house of certain men called Rechabites and to invite them into the house of the Lord and give them wine to drink. When wine was placed before them, however, they refused to drink because their father had counseled them never to drink wine. "Thus have we obeyed the voice of... our father in all that he hath charged us", they said. After these young men had reaffirmed their steadfastness in following the counsel of their father, the Lord through his prophet pronounced upon them a special blessing. He decreed that members of this family and their seed would always be numbered among the righteous.
The determination to follow good counsel, to obey divine law, is paramount for true success and happiness in life. In the era in which we live, as anciently, the Lord has sent us his prophets and has reaffirmed the need to adhere to his precepts. The Prophet Joseph Smith, on April 2, 1843, said, "There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated-
"And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated". Paralleling this revealed truth is the admonition:
"... 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... shows himself not approved".
It seems that one of the great weaknesses in man's character is the tendency to shun good counsel and instruction. Men do, in fact, set up barriers for themselves, for they seem to want to become laws unto themselves. Jacob understood this when he warned, "... 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...
"But to be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God".
Some years ago the MIA theme was, "... seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand. For behold, ye yourselves know that he counseleth in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his works".
There have been some noble men who unwittingly sought to counsel the Lord. One such man was Hezekiah, king of Judah, who began to reign when he was twenty-five years old. The scriptures tell us that during his reign "... he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord...
"He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent... for... the children of Israel did burn incense to it...
"He trusted in the Lord God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him.
"For he clave to the Lord, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the Lord commanded Moses".
It is recorded that in about the fifteenth year of Hezekiah's reign, "... Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah... came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.
"Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, saying,
"I beseech thee, O Lord, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight".
The Lord then spoke to Isaiah the Prophet and said to him, "... tell Hezekiah... Thus saith the Lord... I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee...
"And I will add unto thy days fifteen years".
Thus the Lord granted Hezekiah's request to extend his life. This, no doubt, was enjoyed by Hezekiah, for during these additional years he did many things. But there was one unforeseen occurrence that destroyed much of the good he had accomplished. Hezekiah sired a son who was twelve years of age when his father passed away. This son, whose name was Manasseh, became king and "... did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, after the abominations of the heathen...
"... he reared up altars for Baal...
"... used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger.
"... Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much... filled Jerusalem... in doing that which was evil in the sight of the Lord".
As one reviews this account, one wonders, would it not have been better for Hezekiah to have submissively accepted the Lord's first decree, "... Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die".
Father Adam set us a splendid example of following counsel. After Adam and Eve were driven out from the Garden of Eden, the Lord "... 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.
"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".
Our attitude should be one of submissiveness to all of God's commandments. We need not indulge in self-sophisticated reasoning to justify our compliance with God's counsel. Our motivation should be based upon a desire to serve.
The late President Joseph F. Smith said if the President of the Church "... or somebody else gives counsel to some of our brethren, if it does not suit them exactly, they will begin to whine about it, and shed great crocodile tears, perhaps. I have heard of men shedding tears because they had received counsel from their brethren! And what is more, the men that shed tears and mourn over having received a little counsel, are the kind that do not carry it out; or, if they do, they tell why they did it-making somebody else responsible for their acts".
I believe that God wants his children to be happy and has charted the course through prophets for its attainment. I believe that true happiness will only come in this life by following his counsel. As someone has said, "Doing the will of God leaves no time for disputing about his plan."
We can learn another lesson from an incident in the Old Testament concerning a captain in the Syrian army whose name was Naaman. Syria's armies had attacked ancient Israel, and Naaman had brought as a captive an Israelite maid who waited on his wife.
Naaman was a great soldier, but he was afflicted with leprosy. The little Israelite girl told her mistress about the Prophet Elisha who could heal her husband. So Naaman went to the Prophet Elisha, expecting a ceremonious reception. He was bitterly disappointed. Elisha didn't even go to the door to greet him; instead, he sent a servant with a message saying: "... Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean"
This made Naaman very angry. He was disappointed; he expected Elisha to satisfy his vanity with some ritual in calling upon the Lord. He then questioned indignantly: Why the river Jordan? Are not there other rivers that are better? He turned to go away sullenly. Whereupon his servant spoke to him and said, "... if the prophet had bid thee to do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it?". This question cleared Naaman's thinking, and he resolved to follow the prophet's advice, and he went down and dipped himself seven times in the river Jordan. His flesh came again like unto a little child, and he was clean. Naaman went back to the Prophet Elisha, filled with gratitude, and offered to pay him for making him whole. But Elisha knew it was by the power of God that Naaman was made well and declined the gift.
You can imagine the joy that Naaman and his family experienced as a result of following the counsel and direction of the prophet.
A few years ago, a bishop from a small agricultural town visited my office to arrange for the dedication of the meetinghouse in his ward. During our conversation he told me that when he was advised by the brethren to build a meetinghouse, he had many doubts, since it was a small community with modest resources. He said, "I didn't have the slightest idea where the money was coming from, but following counsel, we started, and the funds came and now we are ready to dedicate, having all bills paid." Then he added, "And do you know, the tithing paid by those good Saints has increased over 600% during the three-year period!" I have never seen a person filled with more joy and satisfaction than this good bishop, who simply followed counsel.
Recently a member of the church building committee told me about a visit he had made to a new building project. This particular project had been completed with such efficiency and order that everyone viewed the achievement as an unbelievable feat. I was told that they did nothing dramatic to bring about the accomplishment; they simply followed the counsel given through the program. He said further that "on this project, as on many others, the Lord's hand has been plainly manifested in procuring materials and performing the work. These fine people can testify that the building program is inspired of God. The workmanship is excellent, the people have grown spiritually, and there is a unity and oneness in the group, resulting from the united desire to follow direction."
Likewise, all of us should be eager to adopt and follow the suggested programs of the Church, for in this respect we demonstrate our willingness to heed counsel.
I pray that we will continue to cultivate a firm resolve, as demonstrated by Nephi when he declared, "... I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them".
In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Nathan Eldon Tanner
N. Eldon Tanner, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 43-48
On behalf of the First Presidency of the Church I bring greetings and best wishes to all assembled here in this great Tabernacle, to the vast listening audience, and to all the world, and bear witness to you that "... God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life"; that the gospel of Christ "is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth"; and that Christ's work and his glory, in his own words, is "... to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man".
Today I should like to address myself especially to the young people of the Church, and to any others who may be listening in, and humbly pray that the Spirit of the Lord will enlighten our minds and touch our hearts, that we may understand the truthfulness and the meaning of the statement, "For I know that my redeemer liveth".
Because of the great doubt that exists throughout the world and which has been expressed in many places, even by influential men, including ministers of the gospel, regarding the real existence of God the Eternal Father and his Son Jesus Christ, some of our youth are experiencing doubt and are asking such questions as: "Was Jesus Christ actually the Son of God?" "Was he crucified and literally resurrected?" "Is the gospel any more than just a moral code of ethics?"
Before dealing with these questions I should like to emphasize this one fact, that those who are questioning the existence and power of God and his Son Jesus Christ and the purpose of Christ's mission here upon the earth readily accept the fact that man with his finite mind can put inanimate things into space and keep in touch with them, receive messages from and send messages to them and control them, and that he has directed their courses even to the point of hitting the moon. Yet they doubt that God the Creator of all can speak to man, that man's prayers can be and truly are answered regularly.
The scriptures have much to say about the coming of Jesus Christ, his mission, his crucifixion and resurrection, the message of peace and love, and the plan of life and salvation which he brought. All of the scriptures which we have are not accepted by all of the people in the world today. The Old Testament is accepted by the Jewish people as the word of God. The Old Testament and the New Testament are accepted by the Catholics and Protestants as the word of God.
We as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly called Mormons, accept the Old Testament and the New Testament and also the Book of Mormon as the word of God, as well as the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price. These are accepted as the standard works of our Church.
There is no conflict between the teachings of the Old and New Testament or between the Bible and the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price, all of which contain the gospel message as given by God through his prophets from Adam down to Joseph Smith, and by Jesus Christ himself as he visited the Old and the New World. It is my intention to refer to all of these scriptures which provide us with irrefutable documented evidence and testimony that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and the Savior of the world.
One of the greatest evidences that he is the Son of God and that he was chosen by God as the Savior of the world is the fact that his coming was foretold centuries before his birth and mission here upon the earth. His coming was seen in vision and foretold by Adam, Enoch, Moses, Job, David, Zechariah, Isaiah, Micah, Lehi, Nephi, Jacob, King Benjamin, Alma, Abinadi, Samuel, and many others, including Mary, the mother of Jesus.
Moses tells us that after they had been turned out of the Garden of Eden into the lone and dreary world, Adam and Eve, his wife, called upon the name of the Lord and offered sacrifice unto 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.
"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.
"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 thus the Gospel began to be preached, from the beginning".
Ever since that time this information has been handed down from father to son, and therefore the human family, whether pagans or Christians, have continued to look toward some kind of God and rely upon a Savior to redeem them from the evils of mortality. Because of apostasies and false teachings, men have had distorted views and beliefs regarding Jesus the Christ. However, because of God's interest in the immortality and eternal life of man, he has seen fit to inform his people through his chosen prophets in the different dispensations that Jesus is the Christ and that their salvation can come only in and through him.
Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, even in the flesh, and he beheld the Son of Man lifted up on the cross, after the manner of men, and then Enoch beheld the Son of Man ascend up unto the Father.
It is impossible for me today to refer to or quote from more than a few of the visions and prophecies foretelling the coming of Christ. However, seven hundred years before Christ was born, Isaiah made this prophecy:
"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace".
He also predicted that Christ would be born of a virgin, that he would be despised and rejected of men, and that he would go like a lamb to the slaughter and make intercession for the transgressors, and said, "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted".
In the Book of Mormon we find that from six hundred years before Christ until the time of his coming many American prophets from Lehi to the Lamanite prophet Samuel had foretold that he would be born of a virgin, that he was the Only Begotten Son of God in the flesh, that he would heal the sick and bless the poor, that he would minister among the people in power and glory, but that he would be judged and crucified by man; and they predicted that whosoever shall believe in the Son of God, the same shall have everlasting life. "And if ye believe on his name ye will repent of all your sins, that thereby ye may have a remission of them through his merits".
And we all know, as recorded in Luke, the angel said unto Mary:
"... thou shalt... bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.
"He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
"And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end".
I am sure that many of you young people wonder how it was that the shepherds and the wise men were looking for and recognized the sign that would tell of the birth of the Savior. They expected a new star. This was because ancient prophets had foretold the signs that would appear. Those who had read of the prophecies were prepared for these signs when they came, and what a thrilling thing it is to know, as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, that the wise men from the east followed the star to the place of his birth, and as they came to Jerusalem they asked: "... Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him". They were instructed to go to Bethlehem, where he would be born, as prophesied by Micah the prophet. When they arrived at Bethlehem, they saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and fell down and worshiped him.
All the scriptures to which I have referred are testimonies of those who were told by angels or by God himself, many years before the birth of Christ, that he is the Son of God; that he would come and dwell among men; that he would be crucified and resurrected; and that all of this was done that all mankind may be saved.
We also have the testimonies of many of those who walked and talked with him while he was here on the earth among men, who testify that he is the Son of God. In fact, the New Testament gives its readers a beautiful and enlightening story of Jesus while in mortality and of his message of love and salvation and of his crucifixion and resurrection.
We have Peter's testimony as recorded in Matthew, when Christ, speaking to his disciples,
"... 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".
Then imagine Paul, who without fear, but with conviction, pleaded for himself as he stood in chains for trial before Agrippa, saying that he had persecuted the Christians, and when they were put to death he gave his voice against them. He then recited the vision which he received while he was on his way to Damascus to persecute the Saints, saying:
"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".
Paul then bore testimony that he was directed to tell the people that Christ had appeared to him, that they were to repent and turn to God and do the works meet for repentance, and said:
"For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple, and went about to kill me".
As he proceeded to plead for himself he said:
"King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest.
"Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.
"And Paul 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".
Paul, when released, continued to bear testimony to the Romans, the Corinthians, the Ephesians, and many others that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world, and that he did appear to and instruct him.
Now let me refer to Christ's own beautiful Sermon on the Mount, in which he admonished mankind:
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you".
Then he went on to say:
"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".
Another touching testimony of the reality and love of Christ, even as he suffered on the cross, is found in these words: "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do".
And when one of the thieves said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom," Jesus replied, "Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise".
Finally, he said: "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost".
On the early morning of the Sabbath following his crucifixion the devoted Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to the tomb, and the angel who had rolled away the stone said unto the women:
"... Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
"He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
"And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead".
Following his resurrection, the disciples were discussing the message that the Lord had risen indeed and had appeared to Simon.
"And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and said unto them, Peace be unto you.
"But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
"And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
"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.
"And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet".
Thomas, who was not present, did not believe that Jesus had come to them, but after eight days Jesus appeared again to the disciples, and Thomas was with them.
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.
"And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
"But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name".
When Jesus had spoken to his Apostles, and 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".
In the Book of Mormon also we have the testimony that Christ appeared to the multitude on the American continent following his crucifixion, and the multitude heard a voice which said unto them:
"Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name-hear ye him.
"... 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 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 he invited them to come forth and thrust their hands into his side and to feel the prints of the nails in his hands and feet.
All of these testimonies to which I have referred were made by men of integrity who had no reason to lie or deceive or mislead in any way, but who in spite of all threats and danger continued to testify that they had seen Jesus Christ before, at the time of, and following his crucifixion and resurrection. These testimonies then are of the resurrected Lord, not Jesus, the Teacher, nor Jesus of Nazareth, but Jesus the Lord, the Redeemer of mankind.
Why do men doubt the truthfulness of these irrefutable testimonies of these great men and deprive themselves and their families of the guidance of his Spirit? I urge those who have any doubt to do as Moroni admonishes us to do, that is, "... 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".
One of the most outstanding testimonies of all time regarding the divinity of Jesus Christ is that borne by that young boy Joseph Smith in our dispensation just over a century ago, when he, only fourteen years of age, went into the grove alone to ask God in all humility which church he should join. From his own written record we read the experience of this young man:
"... I kneeled down and began to offer up the desire of my heart to God...
"... I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun...
"... 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!
"... I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right-and which I should join.
"I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong".
As he left that grove he knew as he knew he lived that God and Jesus Christ live and that in answer to his prayer they had appeared and spoken to him. As he told ministers and others of his experience and the vision that he had seen, though he was an obscure boy of only fourteen years of age, he was persecuted by the great ones of the most popular sects of the day, and ridiculed and tormented. In spite of all this persecution he continued to bear testimony that he had seen a vision; that God knew he had seen it and that he could not deny it.
Another vision to which I should like to refer is that given to Joseph Smith the Prophet and Sidney Rigdon over a year after the Church was organized, which bears further witness that Jesus is the Christ in these words:
"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.
"By the power of the Spirit our eyes were opened and our understandings were enlightened, so as to see and understand the things of God-
"And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!
"For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father-
"That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God".
And to you young people today I should like to bear my own personal testimony that by the power of the Holy Ghost I know as I know I live that God lives; that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world; that he came and dwelt among men; that he willingly gave his life for you and me; that he was literally resurrected; that he and God the Eternal Father did actually appear to Joseph Smith in answer to his prayer.
If people throughout the world would accept Jesus Christ as the Son of God and keep his commandments, there would be no more war but peace and good will in the world, and we would be assured of immortality and eternal life.
I further bear testimony that David O. McKay is a prophet of God, as were the prophets who preceded him and that he is led and directed by the Lord himself.
It is our responsibility as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who have this testimony to bear it to the world and to keep the commandments of God so that we might all enjoy eternal life, which is God's greatest gift to man. May God bless us all to this end, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Marion G. Romney
Marion G. Romney, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 48-52
My beloved brethren and sisters, seen and unseen-for I include you all in this salutation. I hope the Spirit will bear witness that I mean it, for I know that we are all brothers and sisters.
Under the title "The Living and True God", I purpose this morning to set forth the concept of God as known and taught by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The fact that one's understanding of God is the basis of his religion tends to make the subject itself somewhat controversial. This fact will, I hope, to your satisfaction account for any seeming intolerance in what I say. I don't want to be intolerant, and I don't think that I am. I do, however, earnestly desire to convey to you a clear explanation of the "Living and True God." And, although I remember reading of the furor raised by Paul when he attempted to do this same thing in Athens, and that they charged him with being "... a setter forth of strange gods", still I feel somewhat as did Peter and John when they were commanded by the rulers of the Jews not to preach or teach any more in the name of Jesus. You will remember that they answered and said unto them "... 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".
I have sought, and I now seek and invite each of you to join with me in a prayer for guidance and for communion between the living and true God and you and me that we may all be edified.
The church's doctrine of the living and true God is based upon the experiences and teaching of its prophet founder, Joseph Smith, Jun. Speaking on this most important subject he once said:
"... we know that there is a God in heaven, who is infinite and eternal, from everlasting to everlasting the same unchangeable God, the framer of heaven and earth, and all things which are in them;
"And that he created man, male and female, after his own image and in his own likeness...
"And gave unto them commandments that they should love and serve him, the only living and true God, and that he should be the only being whom they should worship".
This scripture was given in 1830. It is, therefore, modern scripture. However, the teachings in it are not new. That there is a God in heaven who created the heaven and the earth is taught in the first verse of the first chapter of the first book in the Bible. That he created man, male and female, in his own image is taught in the same chapter. That men should love and serve him and that he should be the only being whom they should worship is the substance of the first of the Ten Commandments. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me".
What is new and distinctive in this modern scripture is the knowledge claimed by Joseph Smith for himself and for them for whom he spoke. "... we know," said he, "that there is a God in heaven". In making this declaration the Prophet spoke from personal experience.
Jesus had described God when he said to Philip, "... he that hath seen me hath seen the Father", and Paul confirmed this truth when he wrote to the Hebrews that Jesus was the express image of his Father's person. The voice of God had been heard at the baptism of Jesus. It had also been heard by Peter, James, and John on the Mount of Transfiguration. But it remained for the boy Prophet Joseph Smith to both see and hear him at the same time. This he did in the great vision which opened this last dispensation.
About the living and true God whom he saw and heard in that vision he wrote:
"... 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!".
Later the Prophet said of these two personages: "The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; the Son also".
The Prophet Joseph Smith learned that the Father, whom he saw in the Sacred Grove at Palmyra, New York, in the spring of 1820, and of whom he claimed such certain knowledge in 1830, is the Father of the spirits of all men. This was made known to him in a revelation in which the Lord said that the inhabitants of the worlds, including this earth, "... are begotten sons and daughters unto God". Through this and other modern revelation Joseph came to fully comprehend what Paul was talking about when he said to the Hebrews: "... 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?".
This knowledge of God opened up to Joseph Smith, as it does to all of us, a vision with infinite promise. We all know that like begets like and that for the offspring to grow to the stature of his parent is a process infinitely repeated in nature. We can therefore understand that for a son of God to grow to the likeness of his Father in heaven is in harmony with natural law. We see this law demonstrated every few years in our own experience. Sons born to mortal fathers grow up to be like their fathers in the flesh. This is the way it will be with spirit sons of God. They will grow up to be like their Father in heaven. Joseph taught this obvious truth. As a matter of fact, he taught that through this process God himself attained perfection. From President Snow's understanding of the teachings of the Prophet on this doctrinal point, he coined the familiar couplet: "As man is, God once was; as God is, man may become." This teaching is peculiar to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Prophet Joseph considered a knowledge of God to be of such importance that in setting forth the beliefs of the Church, he placed it at the head of the list-"We believe in God, the Eternal Father".
One with such a knowledge is in the way of eternal life, for, according to the teachings of Jesus, "... this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent". Having such knowledge, one is assured that God, although infinite and eternal, the framer of heavens and the earth and all things that in them are, being the possessor of all power, all wisdom, and all understanding, being more intelligent than all other beings, is, nevertheless, an individual-an understanding, kind, and loving parent ready to hear and minister to the needs of his children-that he is not merely some unthinkable, unknowable, indefinable, far-off, distant force. When one with such a knowledge prays, he knows that he is praying to some one and not just to some thing.
For want of a knowledge of the true and living God, this world is today dying. And please do not be deceived. Such a knowledge is not widespread. It is true that, in their great concern about world conditions, men are almost frantically proclaiming from the pulpit, the platform, over the air, and through the press that a return to God is the only way out of our difficulties. The tragedy is their cries, like Paul's trumpet of uncertain sound, are unheeded. Now the obvious reason is that neither the trumpeters nor the hearers know the God to whom we must return. They use the familiar term with which we are all so well acquainted. But when they attempt to define the God to whom they would have us return, they reveal a woeful lack of knowledge concerning the living and true God. Frequently they actually deny him.
The present world situation is not unlike that which prevailed in Athens, as portrayed in Paul's great sermon preached on Mars' hill. As he stood there, his spirit stirring within him as he beheld the city given wholly to idolatry, he cried:
"... Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.
"For as I passed by, and beheld your devotion, I found an altar with this inscription, To the Unknown God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you".
Following this poignant but deserved thrust, Paul declared that God had made the world and all things therein and was therefore Lord of heaven and earth, that both he and his hearers were the offspring of God, in whom they lived and moved and had their being.
To us it seems almost incredible that in Paul's day men could have believed that graven images of gold or silver or stone fashioned by men's device were gods. And yet, the evidence indicates that many today are as far afield in their concepts and belief in God as were the Athenian philosophers and populace in that day so long ago when Paul chided them on Mars' hill about worshiping a god whom they admittedly did not know; for instance, in a modern book an eminent scientist, whose purpose is altogether commendable, wrote the book to prove that there is a God and in that book appears this statement:
"Any effort to visualize God reveals a surprising childishness. We can no more conceive Him than we can conceive an electron".
And then to account for the birth and development of moral man, the author says that he was forced, and I quote, to admit "that the only possible logical interpretation of the facts coincided with that which recognized the existence of God... We therefore," I continue to quote, "used the consecrated name, but avoided as much as possible any anthropomorphic idea".
Another writer says this: "Man makes God in his own image... When man believes that God is personal," he says, "he believes rightly. to say that God is 'a person' is no doubt an error."
These statements indicate that their authors and those who hold their views neither know nor believe in the living and true God preached by Paul and Joseph Smith. Is it not a great tragedy for men today to be walking in such darkness when they might be walking in the light if they would but look and see? This situation brings to mind the Savior's statement: "The light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not".
In connection with this statement the Lord adds another phrase which I love. "... nevertheless," he says, "the day shall come when you shall comprehend even God, being quickened in him and by him".
This world would be, comparatively, a heaven if men could be brought to understand and know the living and true God. They who are able to receive and who do receive the restored truth concerning God are literally transformed by their knowledge of, and faith in, him. They are drawn upward from the carnal state of fallen man, as it were, and brought back, to a degree at least, into the presence of God. They develop unshakable faith in him. They seek him with certain confidence. They put their trust in him, and he never fails them. In him are their hope and their strength. Envy, greed, hate, lust, and unrighteous ambition flee from them. They grow in virtue, patience, brotherly kindness, charity, and love, and their eyes are single to the glory of God. The principal objective in their lives becomes to keep the commandments of God, thus ridding themselves of sin, for they realize that no unclean thing can enter into his presence; and to return into that presence becomes the supreme faith and hope of their existence.
Into their hearts comes a great concern for the welfare of their fellow men. They set about not to conquer them, not to take advantage of them, not to gain temporal and worldly power at their expense, but to take to them the glorious knowledge of the living and true God which they themselves possess. This they do that their fellows may experience and enjoy the transformation which has come into their lives.
There is nothing other than a knowledge of the living and true God which will give men incentives strong enough to induce them to root out of their lives the wickedness which has brought us to the brink of the cataclysm on which we totter.
Earnest attention to God's revelations of himself is of first importance to every human being. To disbelieve in him, in the light of the plain and certain knowledge he has revealed of himself and which is available to us, is a great evil for which men will be held accountable. Full acceptance of him would work in every man the same transformation it worked in the people of Enoch, in Saul of Tarsus, in Alma, in Joseph Smith and his followers-a transformation which will eventually come and which will establish peace on the earth.
Now, in conclusion, as a special witness, I want to leave my testimony with each of you, and I have in mind all of you who are present and you who are beyond the confines of this building. I personally know "... that there is a God in heaven, who is infinite and eternal... that he created man, male and female, after his own image and in his own likeness... "; that in these latter days he has revealed himself anew; and that he is "... the only living and true God".
I have obtained this knowledge and testimony through the same means that Peter, Paul, Joseph Smith, and tens of thousands of others have received it-by the witness of the Holy Spirit to my soul. I testify to each of you that you can obtain like knowledge and testimony for your individual selves if you will but humble yourselves and in faith and sincere prayer seek it.
We are all the children of our Father in heaven. It is inherent in our beings to have faith in him, to believe that he is. It was this kind of faith that prompted Joseph Smith, acting upon the assurance 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". It was this that led the Prophet to seek wisdom in prayer. As a result he received a revelation in which the living and true God appeared to him. He received that revelation not just for himself alone but for you and for me and for every living soul in this earth.
God has not left us to grope in darkness. His words do not fail. If we will but ask him in sincerity and faith, he will make known to each of us the reality of himself. We can, if we will submit to his spirit, know for a certainty that he is the true and living God.
As one of the least of his humble servants, I bear this witness to you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Thorpe B. Isaacson
Thorpe B. Isaacson, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 52-56
My dear brothers and sisters and friends as always I deeply need the blessings of the Lord, and may I please plead with you to have a silent prayer in your heart for me.
This great choir always touches us and lifts us up-a great credit to the Church. Many millions every weekend enjoy their beautiful music. It would be difficult to tell how many lives they have truly affected.
We miss President McKay very much, but I know we have his blessings and his prayers and his support. He has taught us very well. Those of us here assembled and those following the conference by radio and television greatly appreciate his leadership and his example. Yes, we recognize him as a prophet of God. Truly, there is a prophet on the earth. There is a prophet in our midst, and we pray for his well-being.
I ask each of you now to consider with me for a few moments one of our most precious possessions-our citizenship in the United States of America, this nation under God.
A very fine man who came to the United States a few years ago from a foreign country and who now has his citizenship papers remarked to me that next to God and his loved ones, he considered his citizenship in the United States as his most precious and priceless possession. Yes, his most precious and priceless possession! He said he loved the United States and was grateful for the freedom that it afforded him, because, you see, he had lived in a country where he did not know that freedom. When he said that he loved the United States and that he thanked God for his citizenship in this country, he said it with every fiber of his soul. He said he would fight for this country and this freedom, even if it meant his own life. He said that every citizen of the United States ought to feel that way; and if he did feel that way, talked that way, and loved that way, we would have no problem from within and no fear from without. Yes, this nation under God means exactly what it says.
Let me quote from the Doctrine and Covenants:
"Let no man break the laws of the land, for he that keepeth the laws of God hath no need to break the laws of the land".
The Constitution of the United States is a document from inspired men. On August 6, 1833, the Church received a revelation that has gone far to establish a fixed attitude toward the Constitution and laws of the United States. Then came 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".
On December 16 of the same year the Lord again made it known to his people that the law should not be taken into their own hands, and that "... it is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another".
Man could not so act save he live in a land of law, for only in a land of law can there be freedom as we know it.
"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".
This revelation has a powerful influence in shaping the views of Latter-day Saints toward the Constitution of the United States, and it should also have a great influence on every citizen, for the Lord suffered it to be by the hands of wise men.
Section 134 of the Doctrine and Covenants declares the need for civil governments and the necessity that we honor and uphold such governments.
"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...
"We believe that religion is instituted of God; and that men are amenable to him, and to him only, for the exercise of it... but we do not believe that human law has a right to interfere in prescribing rules of worship to bind the consciences of men, nor dictate forms for public or private devotion; that the civil magistrate should restrain crime, but never control conscience; should punish guilt, but never suppress the freedom of the soul.
"We believe that all men are bound to sustain and uphold the respective governments in which they reside, while protected in their inherent and inalienable rights by the laws of such governments; and that sedition and rebellion are unbecoming every citizen thus protected, and should be punished accordingly; and that all governments have a right to enact such laws as in their own judgments are best calculated to secure the public interest; at the same time, however, holding sacred the freedom of conscience".
One of our great United States Senators had this to say regarding the laws of the land:
"It is a form of anarchy to say that a person need not comply with a particular statute with which he disagrees. Ours is a government of laws, not men, and our system cannot tolerate the philosophy that obedience to law rests on the personal likes or dislikes of any individual citizen whether he supports or opposes the statute in question."
Now quoting from the Doctrine and Covenants again: "I, the Lord God, make you free, therefore ye are free indeed; and the law also maketh you free". Note the stress constantly placed on the word free.
"Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold".
This nation under God cannot condone communism in the least degree. There is not such a thing as "a little communism." It is the greatest threat to America today. Belief in God is the foundation of America. Oh, how proud we should be of our Pilgrims, Puritans, and pioneers. It was their belief in God that drove them forward, for without that faith and that belief they could not have continued.
One great man recently dreamed of a country where there would be no north, no south, no east, and no west, but where all would be united in the country, where the principles would be for the benefit of all the people.
Recently, there was published the following editorial in the Deseret News, and I quote:
"This nation's reliance on a Supreme Being has been acknowledged in such historical documents as the Mayflower Compact and the Declaration of Independence. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, our National Anthem, and the constitutions of 49 of our 50 states all included direct reference to God.
"More recently the words 'under God' have been added to our Pledge of Allegiance.
"Now there is a proposal before Congress to acknowledge the divine guidance of our nation's Constitution by adding these same words-'under God'-to its preamble. This would be a proper change.
"Lately there has been altogether too much talk about eliminating any reference to deity from our public life. Those who support this notion have received considerable encouragement from the recent United States Supreme Court rulings against Bible reading and the use of the Lord's Prayer in public schools.
"But this must not be allowed to make us forget that we are a nation under God and a nation founded on vital Christian principles. Indeed some 2500 years ago a prophet declared that America will remain free and prosperous only so long as its people are righteous...
"Adding 'under God' to the preamble to the Constitution would be a fitting reminder of the need of spirituality in our public affairs."
Communism does not so agree, and therefore we cannot accept communism in any degree. This is no doubt the feeling of representatives and candidates of both major political parties in this country. They feel the same way. Communism has caused us a great deal of anxiety and concern, and today it is the greatest threat facing the world. We cannot accept or uphold communism in any degree, shape, way, or form.
"Our nation was founded by bold and brave men who were unafraid to speak out." We should not forget that those men were raised up by God himself at that time to perform this great service, which has proved to be such a bulwark of strength to this country." We should not forget that those men who signed the Declaration of Independence were by that act endangering their property and even their lives...
"I often wonder what has become of the great voices of our Judeo-Christian tradition-voices like those of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Daniel and Micah, who fearlessly assailed national evils-and specifically, not in generalities. Voices like that of Nathan, who condemned a king's wrongdoing to his face. Voices like that of John the Baptist, who denounced the immorality and corruption of a royal court, even though he knew it might cost him his head.
"Christianity grew because its adherents were not silent..."
Perhaps we as Americans might ask ourselves whether we are displaying moral courage equal to the crying condition of today. "The world is changed by those like Martin Luther, who cried, 'Here I stand. I can do no other.'
"The power to speak out is ours for the taking. The same Simon Peter who cringed before the servant girl's accusations that he was one of Christ's disciples later became one of those who, the record says, 'turned the world upside down '".
Now quoting from the Book of Mormon:
"For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God. And it is not until the fulness of iniquity among the children of the land, that they are swept off.
"Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written".
"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".
Take note of that promise. That is why we cannot accept communism.
Quoting again from the Book of Mormon:
"And he that fighteth against Zion shall perish, saith God.
"For he that raiseth up a king against me shall perish, for I, the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king, and I will be a light unto them forever, that hear my words".
In the Declaration of Independence our founding fathers deliberately specified why we as individuals have rights:
"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, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
Based on the concept that rights of every individual man, woman, and child on the face of the earth come from God, not from the state, they enunciated that the purpose of government is to protect the God-given rights of the human being.
Shortly after the Constitution was signed in Independence Hall, Philadelphia, September 17, 1787, a woman asked Benjamin Franklin:
"What have we got, Dr. Franklin?"
He replied, "Madam, we have a republic." Then he hesitated and said, "If we can keep it."
We speak of peace. "Peace is God on both sides of the table in a conference. It is putting the power of good will to work. It is sanity, maturity, and common sense in human relationships. It is patience. It means keeping our tempers and rising above petty irritations... It is a mighty faith in the goodness of God and the potential greatness of man".
Here is a creed that perhaps every one of us might adopt.
We believe in the United States of America without reservations. This nation under God is my home, my country, my hope, and my concern. Here I work and rest and pray, and here I build and dream. Here my toil is rewarded by an unmatched abundance for my well-being. Here I have freedom to live, to think, to worship. That freedom is mine yet, guaranteed by the law in this nation under God. Here I am a part of the government, able to vote, to serve, and to carry my share of the common load.
God grant us wisdom and strength to safeguard our country's welfare and to develop a devotion to measure up to this country's greatness.
God bless America. May we live in such a way that next to God and our loved ones, as my good friend said to me, this country, this nation under God, will be nearer and dearer to us, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Ezra Taft Benson
Ezra Taft Benson, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 56-60
Some years ago President Joseph F. Smith, a prophet of the Lord, warned that "There are at least three dangers that threaten the Church within". He also counseled the Authorities of the Church to warn the people unceasingly against them.
These dangers are:
Flattery of prominent men in the world, False educational ideas, Sexual impurity.
I should like to comment briefly on these three dangers.
First, the flattery of prominent men in the world:
The Master warned, "Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you!".
As Latter-day Saints we have been driven, mobbed, misunderstood, and maligned. We have been a peculiar people. Now we are faced with world applause. It has been a welcome change, but can we stand acceptance? Can we meet the danger of applause? In the hour of a man's success applause can be his greatest danger.
There is, of course, nothing wrong with being honored by men, if one is being honored for a good thing, if one comes to these honors through righteous living, and if, while holding these honors, one lives honorably. One should strive to have wide influence for good.
However, virtue is not the only basis for being singled out and promoted. As the world gets more wicked, a possible way to attain worldly success may be to join the wicked. The time is fast approaching when it will require great courage for Latter-day Saints to stand up for their peculiar standards and doctrine-all of their doctrine, including the more weighty principles such as the principle of freedom. Opposition to this weighty principle of freedom caused many of our brothers and sisters in the pre-existence to lose their first estate in the war in heaven.
We are far removed from the days of our forefathers who were persecuted for their peculiar beliefs. Some of us seem to want to share their reward but are ofttimes afraid to stand up for principles that are controversial in our generation. We need not solicit persecution, but neither should we remain silent in the presence of overwhelming evils, for this makes cowards of men. We should not go out of the path of duty to pick up a cross there is no need to bear, but neither should we sidestep a cross that clearly lies within the path of duty.
We are in the world, and I fear some of us are getting too much like the world. Rather than continue a peculiar people, some are priding themselves on how much they are like everybody else, when the world is getting more wicked. The Lord, as he prayed for his Apostles, said, "... the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world". As Latter-day Saints, we too have been called out of the world.
Some things are changeless-priceless. We must anchor ourselves to the eternal verities of life, for life is eternal. The honors of men more often than not are fleeting. Anxious to run after the honors of office or succumb to the pressures of public glamour and worldly acclaim, some of us are no longer willing to stand up for all the principles of the gospel. We seek to justify our unrighteousness by claiming that if only we can get title or position, then think of the good we can do. Hence we lose our salvation en route to those honors. We sometimes look among our numbers to find one to whom we can point who agrees with us, so we can have company to justify our apostasy. We rationalize by saying that some day the church doctrine will catch up with our way of thinking.
Seeking the applause of the world, we like to be honored by the men the world honors. But therein lies real danger, for ofttimes, in order to receive those honors, we must join forces with and follow those same devilish influences and policies which brought some of those men to positions of prominence.
More and more the honors of this world are being promoted by the wicked for the wicked. We see this in publicity and awards that are given to movies, literature, art, journalism, etc. We see in our own newspapers widely read columnists carried who advocate one world socialism who have been consistently caught in falsehoods, and who continually parrot the communist line. Less and less we see the virtuous rewarded by the world, and when they are, ofttimes it almost seems to be done insidiously in order to get us to swallow the many evils for which the wicked are even more profusely honored.
Yes, President Joseph F. Smith was right. Today we are being plagued within by the flattery of prominent men in the world.
Second, false educational ideas:
During the past several years many of our institutions of learning have been turning out an increasing number of students schooled in amorality, relativity, and atheism-students divested of a belief in God, without fixed moral principles or an understanding of our constitutional republic and our capitalistic, free enterprise economic system. This follows a pattern which was established years ago at some of our key colleges that produced many of the teachers and leaders in the educational field across the country today.
The fruits of this kind of teaching have been tragic, not only to the souls of the individuals involved but also to the parents and even to our country. We saw these tragic fruits with some of our boys in Korea.
When a survey was recently made among students asking which they would prefer, nuclear war or surrender to the communists, those campuses scored highest for surrender who had been most permeated by these cowardly teachings of false economic principles, atheism, and amorality. On one very liberal college campus over 90 percent favored surrender. Other surveys on moral standards are equally alarming. More disturbing is the fact that the more college courses the students take on these campuses, the worse their thinking seems to become. Freshmen who have just left home or work do not seem as fully permeated with the brainwashing as the seniors.
Some alumni of various schools have expressed concern. One alumnus from Yale wrote a book a few years ago entitled God and Man at Yale. Another group from Harvard University established the Veritas Foundation and wrote a book, Keynes at Harvard, explaining the degree to which the destructive Fabian economic philosophy has permeated educational institutions and government. Concerned educators have begun to write books. Professor E. Merrill Root authored Collectivism on the Campus and Brainwashing in the High Schools. Dr. Max Rafferty, now state superintendent of schools in California, wrote Suffer Little Children and What They Are Doing to Your Children.
In the school history textbooks of recent years, some of the greatest phrases in American history have been dropped. This Week Magazine recently surveyed history books issued before 1920 and since 1920. Patrick Henry's famous words, "Give me liberty or give me death," appeared in twelve out of the fourteen earlier texts, but in only two out of the forty-five recent texts. Perhaps this might help explain the percentage of students who are willing to surrender to communism.
The whole process can be quite insidious. Young people know that the best jobs are available to college graduates. They want to do well at school. When exam time comes, they must give back to the teacher what the teacher wants. Now under the guise of academic freedom-which some apparently feel is freedom to destroy freedom-some teachers reserve to themselves the privilege of teaching error, destroying faith in God, debunking morality, and depreciating our free economic system. If questions reflecting the teacher's false teachings appear on the exam, how will the student answer who believes in God and morality and our Constitution? One student put on his exam paper what he knew the professor wanted to see, but then the student added a little p.s. which said, "Dear Professor So and So: I just want you to know I don't believe one word of what I just wrote above."
These kinds of professors are not concerned about the truth or even giving both sides of a question that only has one right answer. They weight the scales on the side of falsehood. If they can see there is another side, it usually gets but passing and belittling reference. To give the impression that they are objective, these professors often invite someone to present a different point of view in one lecture, while the professor spends the whole semester pointing out the other side.
Now truth, if given as much time and emphasis as error, will invariably prove itself. And if our young students could have as much time studying the truth as they and some of their professors have had time studying error, then there would be no question of the outcome. The problem arises when under the pressure of a heavy course of study and the necessity of parroting back what certain professors have said, the student does not have the time or take the time to learn the truth. If he does not learn the truth, some day he will suffer the consequences. Many an honest student, after graduation, has had to do some unlearning and then fresh learning of basic principles which never change and which he should have been taught initially.
Now these false educational ideas are prevalent in the world, and we have not entirely escaped them among teachers in our own system. There are a few teachers within the Church who while courting apostasy still want to remain members in the Church, for being members makes them more effective in misleading the Saints. But their day of judgment is coming, and when it does come, for some of them it would have been better, as the Savior said, that a millstone had been put around their necks and they had drowned in the depths of the sea, than to have led away any of the youth of the Church.
The Lord has stated that his Church will never again be taken from the earth because of apostasy. But he has also stated that some members of his Church will fall away. There has been individual apostasy in the past, it is going on now, and there will be an even increasing amount in the future. While we cannot save all the flock from being deceived, we should, without compromising our doctrine, strive to save as many as we can. For as President Clark said, "We are in the midst of the greatest exhibition of propaganda that the world has ever seen."
Parents, stay close to your children; you cannot delegate your responsibility to the educators no matter how competent they may be. Parents have a duty to train their children, to talk over their problems with them, to discuss what they are learning at school. And it is neither wise nor safe, as President Stephen L Richards stated, to leave the determination of our educational system and policies exclusively to the professional educators.
Students, study the writings of the prophets. Fortunately, the consistent position taken over the years by the prophets of the Church on vital issues facing this nation have recently been compiled in an excellent book entitled Prophets, Principles and National Survival.
Students, pray for inspiration and knowledge. Counsel with your parents. Let Sunday be the day to fill up your spiritual batteries for the week by reading good church books, particularly the Book of Mormon. Take time to meditate. Don't let the philosophies and falsehoods of men throw you. Hold on to the iron rod. Learn to sift. Learn to discern error through the promptings of the Spirit and your study of the truth.
Yes, false educational ideas are a serious threat today.
Third, sexual immorality:
Sexual immorality is a viper that is striking not only in the world, but in the Church today. Not to admit it is to be dangerously complacent or is like putting one's head in the sand. In the category of crimes, only murder and denying the Holy Ghost come ahead of illicit sexual relations, which we call fornication when it involves an unmarried person, or the graver sin of adultery when it involves one who is married. I know the laws of the land do not consider unchastity as serious as God does, nor punish as severely as God does, but that does not change its abominableness. In the eyes of God there is but one moral standard for men and women. In the eyes of God chastity will never be out of date.
The natural desire for men and women to be together is from God. But such association is bounded by his laws. Those things properly reserved for marriage, when taken within the bonds of marriage, are right and pleasing before God and fulfil the commandment to multiply and replenish the earth. But those same things when taken outside the bonds of marriage are a curse.
No sin is causing the loss of the Spirit of the Lord among our people more today than sexual promiscuity. It is causing our people to stumble, damning their growth, darkening their spiritual powers, and making them subject to other sins.
Recently, a young man commented that if he quit reading books, watching TV, seeing movies, reading newspapers and magazines, and going to school, there was a chance he might live a clean life. And this explains, in large part, the extent to which this insidious evil has spread, for the world treats this sin flippantly. These evil forces build up your lust and then fail to tell of the tragic consequences. In so many movies the hero is permitted to get away with crime so long as he can joke about it, or explain he was powerless to do anything, or else at the close of the movie show forth one minimal virtue that is supposed to cover over the grossest of sin. Many of our prominent national magazines pander to the baser side, but then try to cover for themselves by including other articles, too.
So garbled in values have our morals become that some youth would not dare touch a cigarette but freely engage in petting. Both are wrong, but one is infinitely more serious than the other.
Parents should give their children specific instructions on chastity at an early age, both for their physical and moral protection. Years ago President David O. McKay, God bless him, read a statement written by Mrs. Wesley to her famous son John. I commend it to you as a basis for judgment pertaining to the matter of chastity. "Would you judge of the lawfulness or unlawfulness of pleasure? Take this rule: Now note, whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, takes off your relish for spiritual things, whatever increases the authority of the body over the mind, that thing is sin to you, however innocent it may seem in itself."
May I suggest some steps to avoid the pitfalls of immorality:
Avoid late hours and weariness. The Lord said retire to your bed early, and there are good reasons for that. Some of the worst sins are committed after midnight by tired heads. Officers in the wards and stakes, branches and missions should not keep our people, especially our youth, up late at night even for wholesome recreation.
Keep your dress modest. Short skirts are not pleasing to the Lord, but modesty is. Girls, do not be an enticement for your downfall because of your immodest and tight-fitting clothes.
Have good associates or don't associate at all. Be careful in the selection of your friends. If in the presence of certain persons you are lifted to nobler heights, you are in good company. But if your friends or associates encourage base thoughts, then you had best leave them.
Avoid necking and petting like a plague, for necking and petting is the concession which precedes the complete loss of virtue.
Have a good physical outlet of some sport or exercise. Overcome evil with good. You can overcome many evil inclinations through good physical exertion and healthful activities. A healthy soul, free of the body-and-spirit-dulling influences of alcohol and tobacco, is in better condition to overthrow the devil.
Think clean thoughts. Those who think clean thoughts do not do dirty deeds. You are not only responsible before God for your acts but also for controlling your thoughts. So live that you would not blush with shame if your thoughts and acts could be flashed on a screen in your church. The old adage is still true that you sow thoughts and you reap acts, you sow acts and you reap habits, you sow habits and you reap a character, and your character determines your eternal destiny. "As a man thinketh, so is he".
Pray. There is no temptation placed before you which you cannot shun. Do not allow yourself to get in positions where it is easy to fall. Listen to the promptings of the Spirit. If you are engaged in things where you do not feel you can pray and ask the Lord's blessings on what you are doing, then you are engaged in the wrong kind of activity.
Yes-avoid late hours; dress modestly; seek good associates; avoid necking and petting; have a good physical outlet; think good thoughts; pray.
May the Lord bless us as a people. We have taken upon us sacred covenants. We must be faithful. We are in the world, it is true, but we must not partake of the evils of the world. Let us be ever on guard against the flattery of prominent men in the world, false educational ideas, and sexual impurity, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Delbert L. Stapley
Delbert L. Stapley, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 61-65
After Jesus began his earthly mission and acquired a faithful following of devoted disciples, he went up into a mountain and there taught many important principles and truths which touch upon varied but vital matters pertaining to man's temporal and spiritual welfare and happiness.
I desire to discuss with you just one admonition taken from our Lord's renowned Sermon upon the Mount.
Said Jesus to his disciples: "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men".
For what purpose does Christ refer to his disciples as the "salt of the earth"? This scripture is not an idle nor insignificant statement, but to the contrary is profound and most meaningful. We are all acquainted with the savoring effect salt has in the seasoning of foods to make them more palatable to the taste, therefore, desirable and satisfying to eat.
Is the Savior suggesting to his disciples in this declaration that, abiding fully by the gospel plan of life and salvation, they can acquire a savoring spiritual influence for good in the lives of all with whom they associate and labor?
I have heard men explain this teaching of our Lord by saying that in olden times salt, not refined as we have it today, but acquired in its natural state, was washed out and used to season food. When only the worthless tailings or residue remained, it was tossed upon the walkways to be trodden down by the feet of men.
I have searched the scriptures for a more complete understanding of Christ classifying his disciples as the "salt of the earth" and share with you the essential facts of my study and prayerful meditation.
The Gospel according to Mark contributes this additional thought by Jesus: "... Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another". And Luke, the physician, records this same teaching, then cites this further admonition by our Lord: "... He that hath ears to hear, let him hear".
Salt symbolized to the Hebrews purity and fidelity, also an unbreakable league of friendship. It was no doubt with this knowledge that Christ used the metaphor to drive home a doctrinal point his disciples could understand.
The Apostle Paul writing to the Colossian Saints counseled, "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man".
The Book of Mormon record of Christ's visit to the Nephites reveals little more concerning the "salt of the earth" status of his disciples. It does, however, confirm the biblical statement and contributes this thought, "but if the salt shall lose its savor wherewith shall the earth be salted?".
The scriptures which I have quoted or referred to furnish but a glimpse of the meaning of this significant and profound statement of our Lord, but not a fulness of understanding. The fulness of that knowledge was reserved for the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, or the era in which we live. It is found in a revelation of the Lord given to the Prophet Joseph Smith on December 16, 1833, at Kirtland, Ohio. In this important doctrinal disclosure the Lord said:
"When men are called unto mine everlasting gospel, and covenant with an everlasting covenant, they are accounted as the salt of the earth and the savor of men;
"They are called to be the savor of men; therefore, if that salt of the earth lose its savor, behold, it is thenceforth good for nothing only to be cast out and trodden under the feet of men".
This revelation is most enlightening. It is worthy of careful and prayerful study. It is a clear explanation and interpretation of Christ's statement which can be understood and which people accept as a correct guide to improve their personal lives and thus qualify them as the savor of men.
Now let us carefully analyze the important elements of this revelation and briefly outline the course man must follow to achieve the spiritual strength and personal influence which prepare him to become "the savor of men."
"When men are called," said Jesus, "unto mine everlasting gospel", which gospel, the Apostle Paul declared, "... is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth".
The everlasting gospel, then, is God's saving plan and way of life for all his children upon the earth.
The Lord, through personal visits and by the ministration of angels, also by inspiration and revelation of the Holy Spirit, restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith the true and everlasting gospel of our Redeemer.
When an individual truly repents and is baptized by an authorized servant of God into the true Church of Christ and receives the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands by those possessing the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood, he has entered into the everlasting gospel and becomes a member of God's Church and kingdom. By accepting the covenant of baptism, each convert obligates himself or herself to serve the Lord, to do his will, and to keep his commandments. This is the first qualifying step for the application of "the salt of the earth" status.
The second step is to "... covenant with an everlasting covenant". As we gain knowledge of the revelations, we learn that the gospel contains many covenants vital to the eternal welfare of man. This statement, therefore, has a plural connotation which I will explain.
But again, let me restate, every baptized person into the true Church of Christ enters into an everlasting covenant to serve the Lord, to do his will, and to keep his commandments. Repentance and baptism by water and the receiving of the Holy Ghost afford entrance into the kingdom of God, and the convert, now a disciple of Christ, has entered through the gate into the straight and narrow way which leads to life eternal.
"... yea," said Nephi, an early Nephite prophet, "ye have done according to the commandments of the Father and the Son; and ye have received the Holy Ghost, which witnesses of the Father and the Son, unto the fulfilling of the promise which he hath made, that if ye entered in by the way ye should receive."
Then Nephi continues with this warning and counsel:
"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.
"And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end".
Therefore, my beloved brethren and sisters and friends, after baptism and confirmation into the kingdom of God, according to Nephi, we must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ and endure to the end to gain eternal life. For by these first steps of repentance, baptism, and the receiving of the Holy Ghost, all requirements are not completed to obtain a fulness of glory in the eternal mansions of our Heavenly Father. Baptism alone does not fully prepare a person for eternal glory as many people are wont to believe.
There are other important covenants of an everlasting nature included in the fulness of the gospel of Christ which vitally concern man's future well-being and happiness. These covenants are eternal in nature. However, they are to be received and accepted in mortal life by all mankind possessing such knowledge and desiring eternal glory. It is also necessary for them to meet all the conditions and requirements and to fulfil every obligation appertaining to each gospel covenant to find joy and happiness both here and hereafter.
The Lord, through Moses, admonished the children of Israel "... to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant" with their Israel.
The Ten Commandments given to Moses on Mt. Sinai are referred to in scripture as a covenant with the house of Israel.
Every son of God who receives by ordination the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood is bound by an oath and covenant to keep faithfully all the commandments of God and to magnify his calling in the priesthood, which calling is a personal gift of God's power to him to officiate according to the spirit of his office and calling.
Every worthy church member privileged to enter the temples of the Lord for his or her endowment blessings accepts covenants and obligations of the most sacred nature, revealed of God for the glory of his children.
Every couple kneeling across the altar from each other in the temples of God for holy marriage enters into a covenant of the highest order, which is God's order, and which sealing and covenant is for time and for all eternity.
There are other covenants and obligations growing out of the endowment as well as the marriage contract which are binding upon the individuals concerned, and their obedience thereto assures the sanctifying influence and power of the Spirit and the spiritual renewing of their bodies in preparation for the blessings and glories which are to come.
The Lord Jesus Christ, just before his crucifixion upon the cross, gave the sacred ordinance of the Sacrament, which, in its very nature and purpose, is a covenant. It is an ordinance in which all faithful members of the Church can participate. In partaking of the sacramental emblems, all partakers witness unto God the Father and also unto each other that they will take upon them the name of his Son. They also covenant to always remember him and to keep the commandments which he has given them, and in so doing they have the blessed promise that his Spirit will always be with them.
Covenants Bind to a Course of Righteous Living
I hope these few scriptural quotes and statements, also the following teachings and observations from the revelations, will help us understand more perfectly what the Lord means to covenant with an everlasting covenant. We must keep in mind, however, as I have mentioned before, that in connection with all covenants there are conditions, requirements, and obligations which bind us to a course of righteous living and doing. It is in the meeting and fulfilling of these conditions, requirements, and obligations which build Christlike character in an individual and make possible a savoring effect for good and righteousness in the lives of people. When this sanctified state and spiritual motivation are achieved, we are then accounted, as Jesus said, "... the salt of the earth and the savor of men".
Christ applied this metaphorical teaching to his disciples to convey a spiritual idea and ideal. "... to be trodden under the feet of men" means to trample divine things underfoot by failure to live according to revealed truth and the light which God has given for the temporal welfare as well as the eternal well-being, joy, and happiness of his people.
Jesus followed the statement to his disciples regarding their being designated "the salt of the earth" by an analogous and associated statement which gives significance and emphasis to the "salt of the earth" status.
Said the Lord: "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".
Those then who are the "salt of the earth" are also the light of the world, and the radiance of that light, shining through their good works to mankind, glorifies our Eternal Father and strengthens his work and kingdom on the earth.
One of the best compliments an individual can say of another is that he or she is the "salt of the earth." It is most meaningful and suggests unquestioned Christlike character and conduct, uprightness, honesty, spirituality, sincerity of purpose, dignity, and other noble character virtues and qualities patterned after the divine nature of our Heavenly Father.
In another revelation given through the Prophet Joseph Smith at Kirtland, Ohio, on February 24, 1834, the Lord had this to say in admonition and counsel to his people:
"And that those who call themselves after my name might be chastened for a little season with a sore and grievous chastisement, because they did not hearken altogether unto the precepts and commandments which I gave unto them.
"But verily I say unto you, that I have decreed a decree which my people shall realize, inasmuch as they hearken from this very hour unto the counsel which I, the Lord their God, shall give unto them.
"And by hearkening to observe all the words which I, the Lord their God, shall speak unto them, they shall never cease to prevail until the kingdoms of the world are subdued under my feet, and the earth is given unto the saints, to possess it forever and ever.
"But inasmuch as they keep not my commandments, and hearken not to observe all my words, the kingdoms of the world shall prevail against them.
"For they were set to be a light unto the world, and to be the saviors of men;
"And inasmuch as they are not the saviors of men, they are as salt that has lost its savor, and is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men".
In the light of this revelation, as we view conditions among men and nations today, we realize the world needs more "salting." Who, then, or which group can help guide the people of the world to freedom and peace? The way to peace, brotherhood, and happiness is for the Saints of the Most High God to set an example in spiritual living and doing as to savor the souls of men in righteousness, truth, and brotherhood. Therefore, we who have membership in the Church of Christ and possess the gospel of peace and salvation have this privilege, responsibility, and challenge.
Let us, therefore, become more faithful, obedient, and exemplary in all our obligations and duties to God and our fellow men, and thus fully qualify to be considered "the salt of the earth" to savor the souls of men everywhere.
I bear witness, my brothers and sisters and friends, to the truthfulness of the work in which we are engaged, to the need the world has for the message of the gospel as we teach it. I pray that we may always be found faithful, true, and obedient in our devotions to our God, and I ask it humbly in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder LeGrand Richards
LeGrand Richards, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 66-69
Brothers and sisters, humbly I stand before you here this day, grateful in my heart for the privilege that I enjoy with you of being present at this great conference. I have enjoyed the messages of my brethren, commencing with the wonderful message sent to us by our noble President and read so beautifully by his son Robert. We have been thrilled with the messages that have been given and thank the Lord for our leaders. I thought of the words of the song, "Come, listen to a prophet's voice, And hear the word of God, "And in the way of truth rejoice, And sing for joy aloud." Now we feel like singing for joy when we listen to the words of these prophets and know how much the Lord has given us in our day that is not understood by the world.
I had a conversation with a relative of mine a short time ago. He made this statement which has remained with me and which I have thought a lot about. He said, "No one believes the Lord." I have thought of that, and I thought, wouldn't it be wonderful if all of our Father's children believed him as he talks to us through his prophets. Suppose that he were with us, and we could sit down with him and could be instructed by him personally, as was the Prophet Joseph, and he would tell us the reason for our being here upon this earth and what our mission is to be. Would it make any more difference in our devotion and our willingness to serve him than it does when he speaks to us through his prophets?
You remember what the Apostle Paul said: "... he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him". And through the Prophet Joseph, the Lord said, "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise".
As I have studied the gospel, and not only through my study but in my observation in the years of experience I have had in this Church, I haven't found any commandment from the Lord without a promised blessing far greater in value than the thing that the Lord asks of us. He puts us to the test to see if we believe him.
Remember when this earth was formed, or ready for forming, the Lord looked down, saw there was space, and said, "... we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell..." referring to the sons and daughters of God in the spirit world.
"And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them". Wouldn't it be wonderful if we all believed the Lord enough so that we would be willing to obey his commandments that he gives us?
Over fifty years ago I heard Elder James E. Talmage tell this story. It has remained with me all these years. He told about a group of tourists or travelers in the Alps who were snowbound. The Lord sent an angel to a monk and told him about these people, asking him to go and rescue them. The answer was, "Why?" And the minute he said, "Why," the angel disappeared. He went to the second monk and delivered the same message, and the answer was, "How?" And the angel disappeared. He went to the third and delivered the same message, and the monk said, "When?" And the angel remained and delivered his message.
It shouldn't be for us to say, when the call of the Lord comes or when we understand a command that is given to us through the prophets of God, "How can we do it?" or "Why does he ask us to do it?" but "When, oh, God the Eternal Father, as thy son or daughter, wouldst thou have me do the thing that thou hast commanded?"
And then I thought of the words of Nephi. You remember when he was commanded to go back and get the plates from Laban. He said, "I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them". That is my faith, and that is the faith we all should have.
Speaking now of the promises of the Lord to those who keep his commandments, you remember what Jesus said: "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God". What a promise! I believe that. I believe every man or woman who lives here in mortality in purity before God will stand in his presence and have his benediction, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant". We have been told in this conference that no unclean thing shall ever enter his presence. I believe that with all my heart.
Jesus said, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled". No man ever hungers and thirsts after righteousness and asks God the Eternal Father in great humility and in faith, that the Lord doesn't grant the righteous desires of his heart. We have been told that here in this conference by a number of the speakers who have already spoken to us.
And so you can go through the rest of the commandments. Take the one on the law of tithing as an illustration-how the Lord calls us back, saying that Israel had robbed him in the withholding of their tithes and their offerings! Then he said, "Return unto me, and I will return unto you..." What an invitation!
"... 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".
What if we just believed the Lord and could accept his word as it comes to us from his prophets? There wouldn't be any argument about "how" or "why," but it would be, "When, oh, Lord, would you have me do the thing that you have commanded through your servants the prophets?"
And so you can go through the list. Take, for instance, the day of Pentecost when Peter stood before the multitude and bore witness that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. And what happened to the multitude on the day of Pentecost? They were pricked in their hearts, and they cried out, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" And you remember the answer.
Peter 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".
Now, we as Latter-day Saints know the meaning of this promise. We have been baptized in Christ's name. We have received the Holy Ghost, and the evidence of that is in the great sacrifices that are being made all over this Church to carry on this great work of the Father to build his kingdom, to prepare for his coming, to help to make possible the fulfillment of the prayer he taught his disciples: "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven". And there is no sacrifice that can be asked of the faithful Latter-day Saints that they are not willing to make in order to fulfil the promises of the Lord and to show their faith in him. Wouldn't it be wonderful if all of us believed the Lord?
I will refer briefly to the Word of Wisdom. We read in the magazines and in the newspapers today statements by great scientists telling us that tobacco is the cause of lung cancer and other diseases, and yet less than three years after this Church was organized, the Lord in February 1833 gave a Word of Wisdom unto his people for their guidance. He said that it was the mind and will of the Lord. Does anybody need to argue about whether it is to be observed or not when the Lord himself says it is the mind and the will of the Lord? And then he said it is "... adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all saints, who are or can be called saints". And I always say if there are any of the Latter-day Saints any weaker than that, we ought not to ask them to keep the Word of Wisdom. But think of the promises of the Lord through keeping the Word of Wisdom! And he tells us that "... tobacco is not for the body, neither for the belly, and is not good for man, but is an herb for bruises and all sick cattle, to be used with judgment and skill"
Then consider the rest of the Word of Wisdom. There isn't time to discuss it in detail, but we are not to use strong drinks. Strong drink has caused more misery and broken homes and unhappiness than all the wars that have ever been fought, and yet we can't believe the Lord and know that we shouldn't touch these things. If you take the first glass, you never know how soon you will take the second; and if you never take the first one, particularly our young people, you will never need to worry about the second.
Then the Lord indicates that if we keep this Word of Wisdom, we shall run and not be weary and walk and not faint, and the destroying angel shall pass us by and not slay us as the children of Israel. And then he tells us that we shall have knowledge, yea, even hidden treasures of knowledge, and I think that is one of the greatest promises the Lord has made to his people in this dispensation.
You find boys and girls who keep the Word of Wisdom and remember their prayers, and you will find that they have the companionship of the Holy Ghost, that they have power given them to resist the evils and the temptations of this world, as demonstrated in their lives.
Some of us have had the privilege of attending these youth conferences. A short time ago I was at one back in Carthage where the Prophet Joseph and his brother Hyrum were martyred. We had over five hundred young people there from that mission. Some of them had come a thousand miles to be there, and for three hours there wasn't a minute lost between their testimonies. They took their turns bearing testimony, and with tears in their eyes, most of them testified that they knew that God lives, that they knew that Jesus is the Christ, that they knew that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God; and no reasonable person could have listened to the testimonies of those boys and girls and questioned their sincerity.
Talk about hidden treasures of knowledge! What more could you ask? Is there a father or mother is Israel who wouldn't want his or her boys and girls to make themselves worthy of the blessings that the Lord has promised through observing and keeping the Word of Wisdom? Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all believe the Lord?
There are many other evidences in this Church of how the Lord is fulfilling his promise. Take the 12,000 missionaries in the field-young men and women giving their time without remuneration. I visited with the vice-president of Brigham Young University last night. They have fifty-six wards and six stakes of Zion. He said it is a thrill on fast Sunday to hear these young people bear their testimonies-hidden treasures of knowledge.
Brothers and sisters, with all my heart and soul I testify that I know this work is true; and I know no man or woman or boy or girl can keep the commandments of the Living God, have faith in him, and be prayerful who will not be blessed with blessings which are more valuable than the wealth of this world. I bear my witness of the truth of this work and ask God to bless you Latter-day Saints everywhere and our friends throughout the world, and above all to preserve the youth of Zion from the pitfalls and evils of this world that can mar their lives. I leave my blessing upon you all, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Alma Sonne
Alma Sonne, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 71-73
My brethren and sisters, I feel that the word of God has come to us in rich measure in every session of this conference. We have been reassured; we have been strengthened; we have been edified; and we are happy in our knowledge of the truth.
I want to read to you a sentence written by Charles A. Lindbergh. He said: "It should now be branded on our conscience that unless science is controlled by a greater moral force, it will become the anti-Christ prophesied by the early Christians." He also refers to great spiritual truths which emanate from God. "Unless the actions of a people are guided by these truths," he points out, "it is only a matter of time before their walls will collapse as they did at Berlin, Munich, and Nuremberg."
The spiritual truths referred to by Colonel Lindbergh are contained in the fulness of the restored gospel and are itemized and emphasized in the Holy Bible. We invite people everywhere to search the scriptures. "We believe the Bible to be the word of God" said the Prophet Joseph Smith. There is and has been much controversy about the Bible. What the world needs today are fewer people to argue and more people to read and think. There are many interpretations and a diversity of opinion, and as a result there is much confusion and division in the religious world. I am sure one of our major difficulties is that mankind has lost guidance and wanders about from place to place and from theory to theory without either guide or compass. Without guidance man lives in a vacuum with no road to the future.
Like many of you, I believe in the Bible. It is the word of God. It is reliable and trustworthy. It contains the wisdom of the ages and is the source of all that is best in our modern life. It is an outline of history covering a period about which people generally are not well informed. From the standpoint of literature it ranks among the best, and I have found that among many writers and public speakers are those who are indebted to the Holy Bible for the effectiveness and renown of their literary production. I often think of Abraham Lincoln's appraisal of the Bible and his acknowledgment of its value. It was not an offhand opinion given by him of this sacred volume. Lincoln was qualified to speak on this subject. He said, "This great book... is the best gift God has given to man. All the good Savior gave to the world was communicated through that book. But for it we should not know right from wrong. It seems to me that nothing short of infinite wisdom could by any possibility have devised this excellent and perfect moral code."
Lincoln's quotations from the Old and New Testaments are numerous. These quotations appear not only in his speeches but also in his private correspondence. In his second inaugural address, which is noted for its eloquence and its masterful presentation, scriptural quotations abound, and the name of Deity is frequently used, and religious sentiment runs through the entire speech. President Lincoln, as you know, was a religious man without any church affiliation. He was often on his knees in prayer. Passages like the following are used by him:
"Judge not, that ye be not judged".
"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!".
"... the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether".
Lincoln appeared to have unlimited confidence in scriptural teachings. He used them in private correspondence and in his daily conversations. In one of his letters he quotes from the third chapter and the 19th verse of Genesis: "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread". In the same letter he quotes the golden rule and alludes to the temptations of Jesus. When asked to repeat his stand on a certain matter, he refused by quoting from the 16th chapter of Luke: "... If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead".
There can be no question about Lincoln's familiarity with the Bible, or that he read it frequently, and that he memorized large portions of it. His greatest speeches, like his farewell talk on leaving Springfield, his second inaugural, and his masterful oration at Gettysburg, furnish irrefutable evidence of the debt he owes the English Bible. Most people will agree that from the standpoint of greatness and wise statesmanship Lincoln tops the list.
I have spoken as I have about our great American because I believe he is a product of the truths contained in the Holy Bible. These truths were part of him. They entered into his decisions, his philosophy his contacts with his fellow men, his literary style, and his success as a leader of the nation. And so I urge the reading of the Bible. It is a powerful book and contains treasures of truth which are vital to man's development. It is a strong testimony of the existence of God and the divine mission of Jesus Christ.
May I suggest that you turn to the book itself instead of reading the commentaries of scholars and pretenders of religion. The latter will not satisfy, for the things of God are understood by the Spirit of God. But the Bible should be read searchingly as admonished by Jesus. It is and has been a source of comfort and strength in times of sorrow and disappointment. Its pages are filled with quotable passages concerning the conduct of man and his spiritual and moral well-being.
The influence of the Bible reaches into the laws and the governments of nations, into the art, literature, and folklore of races and communities. No book has wielded a wider influence.
I need not tell you that there is a peculiar sanctity and force about its words. In it are the messages of mighty prophets who "... spake as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost". History has proved that the Bible has altered the lives of men and nations. It has touched deeply the heart of humanity. Public men who have attained to eminence in our own country have been equipped with a knowledge of its contents. It is a converter of souls to a better life, to a belief in God and a wholesome respect for his laws and commandments.
Green, in his A Short History of the English People, gives a marvelous testimony to the effect of the printed Bible during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. He writes: "No greater moral change ever passed over a nation than passed over England during the years which parted the middle of Elizabeth's reign from the meeting of the long Parliament. England became the people of a book, and that book was the Bible. Its literary and social effects were great, but far greater was the effect of the Bible on the character of the people at large. Its influence called on human action. The whole temper of the nation felt the change. A new conception of life, a moral and religious impulse spread through every class."
It was the Bible that led the Prophet Joseph Smith into the presence of the Father and the Son and opened the door to a new gospel dispensation. Thousands of people have been brought into the Church because of their familiarity with scriptural teachings. It validates the Book of Mormon and establishes its divine origin. It is a bulwark against the tyranny of infidelity and atheism.
Desperate attempts have been made by its enemies to minimize and discredit its influence. Fortunately, they have failed, and they will continue to fail. "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away," said the Savior. The Bible will survive the onslaughts of the adversary.
The time-honored volume is a pillar of freedom. From its pages come the doctrines of equal rights; the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man; patience, tolerance, and love; the dignity and worth of the human soul; and the right and obligation to worship God and to account to him for all that we do, what we say, and what we think.
I believe most people are searching for standards and beliefs which will sustain them through life, which is not always sunshine and flowers. For some it is hard and cruel, and the burden is heavy. Many of these people believe in God, but they do not have the firm and resolute conviction to carry on. Where shall we go for guidance and inspiration? Where can we find God and spirituality? It cannot be found in the current literature of the day. It cannot be found in statistics or on the financial page of the daily newspaper. Seldom can we find it in the colleges and the universities of the land or in the lecture hall. There is only one source-one only-and that is in the revelations of God to his servants, the prophets. The biblical characters are men who walked and talked with God. There is much to learn from them and the distant past. Five thousand years of human experience should offer a good guideline for the modern world. May we search the Bible diligently, eagerly, and prayerfully, I pray in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.
Elder Franklin D. Richards
Franklin D. Richards, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 75-78
My dear brothers and sisters, I appear before you today with a humble heart and rejoice with you in the spirit and proceedings of this great conference. I have recently returned from an assignment to the stakes and missions in Samoa, Fiji, New Zealand, and Australia, and I bring you the greetings and the love of the Saints and missionaries in these wonderful areas.
I am grateful for the privilege I have had of meeting with the people of the South Pacific and bearing to them, as I do to you today, my testimony that God lives and is mindful of all of his children; that Jesus is the Christ, our Redeemer and Savior, the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh; that Joseph Smith was a prophet, commissioned to be the instrument through which the fulness of the gospel and authority to act for God has been restored to the earth in this dispensation. I always rejoice in bearing witness that we are led and guided by a great prophet today, our beloved President David O. McKay; and may the Lord bless and sustain him and strengthen him.
The work of the Lord is progressing in the South Pacific areas at an accelerated rate. I found the same wonderful spirit and the same problems facing the people and the Church there as elsewhere. We can be grateful, however, that throughout the ages God has counseled his people and helped them to solve their problems.
It is interesting to note that as God has admonished his people through his prophets, two words have frequently appeared-order and diligence.
King Benjamin, in concluding a great address to his people, said, "And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength... it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order".
In this dispensation through the Prophet Joseph Smith the Lord has told us that his "... house is a house of order... and not a house of confusion", and that every man should learn his duty, and "... act in the office in which he is appointed, in all diligence".
When called upon to accept an assignment in the Church which is an important part of building the kingdom of God, many people wonder how they can give the time and attention necessary to fulfil the assignment properly and also meet their family obligations.
Today there are so many things to do so many things crowding us. In this environment the words order and diligence are key words to success and happiness regardless of the activity we are engaged in.
In meeting with stake and mission leaders and other individuals, I frequently ask them what their greatest needs are. Almost invariably they reply that among their greatest needs is "better organization of their time and work"-or in effect more order and diligence.
And it is not infrequent that many ask the question, "How does one develop the traits of order and diligence?" President McKay has given us some good advice in this connection. He said, "Don't be too busy to meditate, and when the answer comes have the courage to execute it."
Order commences with meditation; and meditation includes thinking, analyzing, prayer, fasting if needs be, and always planning. Meditating requires that time be regularly set aside to consider the things that you think you have to do. Many times you find you have more to do than you can do in the time available.
To develop an orderly pattern you must consider the things facing you, analyze their importance, and list them in the order of their importance. After the things of prime importance are selected, develop a plan to accomplish these more important matters.
Planning involves further analysis and developing of effective ways which will save time and simplify the operation involved. Prayer is always desirable in planning the effective use of time.
Many are prone to do the easy things and give those matters attention that seem to be the most pressing regardless of whether they are the most important or not, but through meditation, prayer, and planning you can select what might be called the first things to do and work out effective ways to do them.
Undoubtedly the two most important first things for us to do in this life are to provide for our families and to assist in building the kingdom of God. As we select first things and put them in preferred positions and work out a plan to accomplish them, we are developing orderly habits which will make it possible to serve in the Church and properly care for our families.
In building the kingdom of God the Lord has said that we should first learn our duty. He has counseled us to seek out of the best books words of wisdom and to seek learning even by study and by faith. Study should be rated among those things of first importance. In organizing our time and work, time should be regularly allotted for personal study as well as study with our families.
In any successful endeavor we learn our duty by having a clear understanding of our responsibilities. Moses in speaking to his people charged them, "And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly". In this manner Israel could learn its duties. Instructions from leaders should be, as Moses said, plain, in order that those affected might easily learn their duties. Plainness generally incorporates simplicity. Simple things are readily understood. The gospel is simple and was taught by the Savior in a simple and beautiful way. Simplification brings better understanding and provides more time by eliminating unessentials.
We must provide time to be with our families and to do things together. In planning the use of your time, I counsel you to spend as much time as possible regularly with your families-say at least two nights each week. As parents our obligation to our families not only includes seeing that they are fed, clothed, and educated, but that their spiritual needs are taken care of as well. Certainly a good part of this must be done personally, such as having a weekly family night, taking vacations together, and going to Sacrament meeting as a family.
By selecting first things to do and working out a plan to do them first, we have taken an important step toward accomplishing them. This is where diligence plays a big part. When the Lord counseled us to perform our assignments in all diligence, he meant whether it was convenient or not.
The Prophet Joseph Smith said, "that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all earthly things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation".
To perform our assignments diligently, sacrifice of our time, talents, and means is frequently required, but we know that sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven. We are entitled to the blessings which are predicated upon obedience to this principle of sacrifice. 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".
To be diligent in our work also means to be effective and not just busy. The Lord recognized this difference between just being busy and being effective when in 1831 the elders were traveling down the Missouri River in canoes. The Lord said at that time, "... it is not needful for this whole company of mine elders to be moving swiftly upon the waters, whilst the inhabitants on either side are perishing in unbelief". Just as it was unnecessary for all of the elders to be moving swiftly upon the waters, so it is with us-it is not necessary to do many unessential things that keep us busy but result in little or no real benefit to anyone.
Being diligent also requires faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and in ourselves, and making up our minds to be orderly and diligent is a good part of having faith in ourselves. Even though our assignments seem difficult, as we develop our faith and persevere, we are able to achieve our righteous objectives.
President Heber J. Grant frequently quoted from Emerson: "That which we persist in doing becomes easy to do, not that the nature of the thing has changed but that our power to do has increased."
To be diligent one must learn to persevere-yes, to endure to the end. But we might ask, to the end of what? Can we endure to the end of a day with the same dedication and enthusiasm we had at the beginning of the day even though faced with frustrations and problems. Each year has 365 days, and each day has twenty-four hours, each requiring enduring to the end. However, remember what King Benjamin said: "... it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength". He undoubtedly meant mental, physical, financial, or spiritual strength, or all combined.
In all phases of my personal experience I have found it wise to survey large fields but cultivate small ones. In surveying large fields one in effect makes a master plan which he later develops in orderly stages. This is a sound way to build and avoid many disappointments which can result from overextending oneself. Surveying large fields and cultivating small ones involves the principles of order and diligence and results in growth and development. These are basic principles of eternal progression.
As we increase our personal effectiveness, we increase our effectiveness in our church assignments, and one of the great needs today in building the kingdom of God is effective leaders. The Savior has told us that "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". Note the words "... doeth the will of my Father."
Finally, again I cite the words of King Benjamin, "... it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order".
I bear witness, and I know that the witness I bear is true, that through order and diligence we can work in the Church and properly take care of our families and win the prize of eternal life-of peace, happiness, and success through eternal progress.
May we this day resolve to apply these basic principles of order and diligence in our lives and win the most worthwhile prize of all-eternal life-I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Harold B. Lee
Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 80-87
A week ago this afternoon I spent a glorious hour in President McKay's apartment office considering the subject about which he wished me to talk: the presentation of what he said our leaders have been talking about for fifty years-the importance of teaching the gospel in the home. He indicated that this would be something of a theme in this general priesthood meeting tonight.
With that much of a lead or a guide to what I might say, I thought it wise to take a look backward to pick up the thread of thinking of our leaders over this fifty-year period and glean from the wisdom of the past a guide to our plans for the present as well as the future.
I thought to begin that review most properly we should give to you again what you have heard and read in some of our official handbooks, the letter from the First Presidency a few years ago which actually laid the foundation and indicated the direction that the correlation program should take. And so I thought that probably I should read again one or two paragraphs by which you can follow the plan by which the correlation is being developed. I quote from that letter:
"Home the Basis of the Righteous Life"
"The home is the basis of a righteous life and no other instrumentality can take its place nor fulfil its essential functions; the utmost the auxiliaries can do is to aid the home in its problems, giving special aid and succor where such is necessary, that in aiding the home the auxiliaries may well consider thinking of the home-life of the people as having three periods, the first, from birth to twelve years of age or the childhood period; then the youth period from twelve years up to the early twenties; and then adulthood, from the early twenties on to the end of life.
"... We feel assured that if the whole Church curricula were viewed from the vantage point of what we might term the total purpose of each and all of these, it would bring about such a collation and limitation of subjects and subject matters elaborated in various Auxiliary courses as would tend to the building of efficiency in the Auxiliaries themselves in the matter of carrying out the purposes lying behind their creation and function.
"We would therefore commend to you Brethren of the General Priesthood Committee the beginning of an exhaustive, prayerful study and consideration of this entire subject, with the cooperative assistance of the Auxiliaries themselves so that the Church might reap the maximum harvest from the devotion of the faith, intelligence, skill and knowledge of our various Auxiliary Organizations and Priesthood Committees."
That's the end of the quotation.
In those instructions there were four important factors named in developing effective correlation. First, we must see that the whole effort of correlation is to strengthen the home and to give aid to the home in its problems, giving it special aid and succor as needed.
Second, the strength of the priesthood must be fully employed within the total responsibility of priesthood quorums as clearly set forth in the revelations.
Third, we must survey the purposes lying behind the creation and purpose of each auxiliary organization.
And fourth, the prime and ultimate objective of all that is done is the building up of a knowledge of the gospel, a power to promulgate the same, a promotion of the faith, growth, and stronger testimony of the principles of the gospel among the members of the Church.
Now, to give you just a quick statement as to the progress that has been made up until now. We have endeavored to proceed as a Correlation Committee in an orderly and logical manner: first, by placing the priesthood quorums as the Lord has directed us in his revelations; second, by giving strength to the home in ways that I will presently outline as they have been approved by the First Presidency and the Twelve; and third, by a total correlation of the curricula and activities of all the organizations, priesthood, auxiliaries, institutes, and seminaries. This last phase is now in its final stages of development looking toward full implementation.
One of the musts in this fully coordinated church program is to get our leaders-the General Authorities, general boards, stake, mission, ward, and branch authorities-to "think" correlation through these three heaven-ordained institutions instead of diverting to a fringe committee of some sort for a certain activity or instruction which might well have been encompassed within the boundaries of the completely correlated priesthood, home, and auxiliary responsibilities.
We have witnessed a tendency to use in some cases the correlation program of home teaching, for example, as the "whipping boy" for any deficiencies in the performance of the various organizations as compared to its previous figures, and some would have us believe that it is the home teaching program that has caused that downgrading of comparative statistical figures.
Every auxiliary and priesthood leader in the Church is given a voice in the functioning of each organization with the home teachers to see that every church member is given attention as needed.
The real fault in many cases is with the leader who in the monthly ward council meeting should have aided in perfecting the most effective correlation of his particular organization with home teaching. We would like those things kept in mind by all of you leaders as you move these programs forward.
In all this we recognize that we must teach and reteach with patience and long-suffering until the basic fundamentals of correlation are fully understood and applied in every ward, priesthood quorum, and auxiliary organization, to the end that, hopefully, every General Authority, and stake, and mission authority will catch the vision of the possibilities of a concentrated effort of church organization in a mighty answer to the problems afflicting the world in which we live.
Now, we should make a restatement and recitation of those fundamentals which are essential always to our learning in the Lord's work. In defining the fields in which the priesthood quorums must take precedence: First, by a careful reading of the revelations we have found this:
"The duty of the elders, priests, teachers, deacons, and members of the church of Christ-An apostle is an elder, and it is his calling to baptize...
"And to teach, expound, exhort, baptize, and watch over the church...
"The priest's duty is to preach, teach, expound, exhort, and baptize, and administer the sacrament,
"And visit the house of each member, and exhort them to pray vocally and in secret and attend to all family duties...
"The teacher's duty is to watch over the church always, and be with and strengthen them...
"And is to be assisted always, in all his duties in the church, by the deacons, if occasion requires".
After the Lord had given these plain instructions, one of the great revelations on priesthood closed with this great admonition with which you should be familiar.
"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".
Home teaching then means "watching over the Church" as the scriptures have defined it. Missionary work is but home teaching to those who are not now members of the Church, and home teaching is nothing more or less than missionary work to church members.
The major responsibility in missionary work has been given to the seventies quorums, aided by the Aaronic Priesthood. Quorums of seventy, we have heard during our entire lifetime, are one day to be called out as quorums to preach the gospel, and some of us thought that meant to some faraway country. The day is here when seventies are being called as quorums, where every member of the seventies quorum can engage in some phase of missionary work. We remember again what the Lord said, that the Council of the Twelve should call upon the seventies when in need of assistance to fill the various calls for preaching and administering the gospel instead of any others. This is not to be construed to lessen the feeling of every member of the Church to be a missionary. The missionary plan calls for the Saints to cooperate fully as requested and led by their leaders. In stakes which presently have few seventies, other priesthood holders must be assigned to these prime missionary duties.
First, before I pass this subject, I should call attention to the fact that our Aaronic Priesthood was given a very vital place in the revelations where the Lord told us:
"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".
And that becomes now the Aaronic Priesthood youth missionary committee-a priest, a teacher, and a deacon, with the bishopric heading up the Aaronic Priesthood, aided by the girls of comparable ages. They now are to enlist and to, shall I say, proselyte their friends and bring them into church activity programs.
In the genealogical work, we recall the words of the Prophet Joseph: "The greatest responsibility in this world that God has laid upon us is to seek after our dead" And then in a great revelation the Lord said:
"Now the great and grand secret of the whole matter, 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".
To provide an effective relationship with the priesthood, the high priests group leader in each ward has been designated as an adviser to the genealogical work. While all quorums have responsibility in genealogical work, the leadership and coordination in the ward rest with the bishop and the high priests group leader. Melchizedek Priesthood quorums are right now engaged in studying their place in the genealogical program in their Melchizedek Priesthood quorum classes.
A scripture quoting King Benjamin has long been quoted describing our welfare program. Now we apply it to the priesthood quorums: "... I would that ye should impart of your substance to the poor," he said, "every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants".
Here again, while all quorums are to participate, the great strength of the elders quorums of the Church are specifically charged with advisory coordination of church welfare under the direction of the bishop.
Moving now to a correlated curriculum and the activities of the priesthood quorums, the fundamentals of this program, as I have told you, have already been predetermined; what will be taught, subjects taught from three-year-olds up to the oldest adult, and the general plan have already been approved. Our committees are now working on a fully coordinated program to present to the First Presidency. We are hopeful that this will be accomplished within the next year or so.
In all of these studies we have never had absent from our minds the responsibilities the Lord has placed upon the parents in the home in the teaching of our children. You recall what the Lord said:
"And again, inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, or in any, of her stakes which are organized, that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents.
"For this shall be a law unto the inhabitants of Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized.
"And their children shall be baptized for the remission of their sins when eight years old, and receive the laying on of the hands.
"And they shall also teach their children to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord.
"And the inhabitants of Zion shall also observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
"And the inhabitants of Zion also shall remember their labors, inasmuch as they are appointed to labor, in all faithfulness; for the idler shall be had in remembrance before the Lord".
The instructions to which I have made reference and about which President McKay spoke were given about fifty years ago. I read from a letter sent out to the Church in 1915 over the signature of President Joseph F. Smith, Anthon H. Lund, and Charles W. Penrose. But I suppose it is something like Mark Twain said about the weather: "We talk a lot about the weather, but we don't seem to do anything about it." Now we have talked a lot about family home evenings, and this is the announcement which was made. After I have given you this I will make a few comments and then outline the program by which we are now to give strength to the teaching of the family by the parents in the home. This is a quote from the letter.
"We advise and urge the inauguration of a 'Home Evening' throughout the Church, at which time father and mother may gather their boys and girls about them in the home, and teach them the word of the Lord... This 'Home Evening' should be devoted to prayer, singing hymns, songs, instrumental music, scripture reading, family topics, and specific instructions on the principles of the gospel, and on the ethical problems of life, as well as the duties and obligations of children to parents, the home, the Church, society, and the nation."
Then to those who would put this family home hour or evening into practice the Presidency made this promise:
"If the Saints obey this counsel, we promise that great blessings will result. Love at home and obedience to parents will increase. Faith will be developed in the hearts of the youth of Israel, and they will gain power to combat the evil influences and temptations which beset them."
Our Sunday School organization has been helping to emphasize this important responsibility by articles in The Instructor and by a program which they have entitled, "Gospel Living in the Home."
Assignment to Primary Association
Our Primary organization has had what they have called a Primary Home Partnership, by which the lessons taught in Primary are carried into the home, hopefully to become a part of the family home evening.
President Joseph F. Smith, in commenting about the responsibility of parents in teaching their children, said this:
Counsel of the Prophets on Teaching Children
"Do not let your children out to specialists in these things, but teach them by your own precept and example by your own fireside. Be a specialist yourself in the truth. Let our meetings, schools and organizations, instead of being our only or leading teachers, be supplements to our teachings and training in the home. Not one child in a hundred would go astray, if the home environment, example and training, were in harmony with the truth in the gospel of Christ, as revealed and taught to the Latter-day Saints."
About this same matter President Wilford Woodruff said:
"It is one of the greatest blessings that God ever bestowed upon children that they have had parents who were in possession of true principles in relation to their Heavenly Father, salvation, eternal life, and were qualified and capable of teaching and traditionating their children in the same that they may be qualified to fulfil the object of their creation... Ninety-nine out of every hundred children who are taught by their parents the principles of honesty and integrity, truth and virtue, will observe them through life".
And then from President Heber J. Grant:
"I have heard men and women say that they were going to let their sons and daughters grow to maturity before they sought to teach them the principles of the gospel, that they were not going to cram the gospel down them in their childhood, before they were able to comprehend it. When I hear men and women say this, I think they are lacking faith in the principles of the gospel and do not comprehend it as they should. The Lord has said it is our duty to teach our children in their youth, and I prefer to take His word for it rather than the words of those who are not obeying His commandments. It is folly to imagine that our children will grow up with a knowledge of the gospel without teaching... I may know that the gospel is true, and so may my wife, but I want to tell you that our children will not know that the gospel is true, unless they study it and gain a testimony for themselves. Parents are deceiving themselves in imagining that their children will be born with a knowledge of the gospel."
This next year will see some definite steps taken to strengthen the hands of the parents in carrying out these great God-given admonitions in placing stress upon the teaching of the gospel in the home. The first step will be to give every parent a set of lessons, one for each week throughout the coming year, for them to teach the gospel to their family in the home. As we have talked about the frequency of this, we are not sure whether one for every week, or three for a month, or two for a month, or one a month may be the desirable, but we call your attention to this. I have studied the proposed lessons which we are going to have studied by the priesthood quorums on the subject of what the father's responsibility is in teaching the gospel in the home. The Relief Society will teach a similar lesson once a month in the Relief Society for the mothers. As I read these proposed lessons, the more of these weekly home lessons we can have taught in the home, the better we will be able to correlate with the priesthood instruction and the Relief Society lessons.
There will be, we suppose, some optional activity. We are asking auxiliary heads to publish month by month next year suggestions for suitable activities for each age group represented-the Primary for little children, the Era for teenage children, the Sunday School for both old and young, and the Relief Society for mothers primarily. The time has now come when the General Authorities have decided to correlate and coordinate all of these efforts under the direction of the priesthood, and we announce, then, a new program to assist parents in the teaching of the gospel in the home. This program, "Teaching and Living the Gospel in the Home," is to be inaugurated throughout the Church in January 1965. As an example, the first four lessons for Primary children are as follows:
"I Am a Child of My Heavenly Father." "I Am a Child of My Heavenly Father with Special Gifts from Him." "I Am a Child of My Heavenly Father -His Heir." "As a Child of My Heavenly Father I Have the Right to Pray to Him."
The Melchizedek Priesthood lessons, as I have said, will be given throughout the entire year of 1965 designed to help the fathers and every priesthood holder become better fathers and husbands. The general theme of these lessons is "Magnifying the Priesthood in the Home." As an example, the first ten lessons are as follows:
"Why the Church Has Initiated a Family Home Evening Program." "Studying the Scriptures." "Carrying Out the Challenge Relating to the Program Given in Priesthood Meeting." "Activities Outlined in Home Program." "The Eternal Family Is One of the Most Important Ways to Obtain Lasting Joy." "The Family and the Patriarchal Order." "Providing Opportunities and a Proper Environment for the Spirit Children of Our Heavenly Father to Come to this Earth." "Teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Children." "A Basic Unit of Society." "Making Satisfactory Adjustments in Marriage."
I came across one of the lessons for the Relief Society to teach mothers what their role is in teaching the gospel in the home, and I found this rather interesting observation, "How often in past years have we heard a Latter-day Saint mother say, 'I wish my husband could have heard the discussion today. Had he done so, I am sure he would feel differently about a particular problem we have in our home.'" It is a realistic observation that with widely divergent points of view the efforts of one parent often may nullify the efforts of the other parent, sometimes with great detriment to the persons involved and to the problems which need to be resolved. The first Relief Society lesson is entitled "Introduction for Teaching the Gospel in the Home"; the second one, "The Eternal Family."
Simultaneously fathers and mothers will be taught, and the home teachers in their visits to the homes of members in December 1964 will explain the new program and will present the parents with the Home Evening Manual. Additional instructions and suggestions will be given to the home teachers during 1965 so that they can be of assistance to the parents in strengthening home relationships.
In order to introduce this program, it is proposed that at one of the first priesthood meetings after this general conference there be a program carried out to introduce to the priesthood in each stake in the Church the family home evening program. We have now material which will be sent to you to give you suggestions on that program.
In introducing the program in each ward we have prepared a filmstrip on the family home evening program which may be available to every stake and through the stake to every ward. The major objectives of the filmstrip are to explain the family home evening program, to interest and motivate parents in implementing the program, and to demonstrate to parents methods by which they can carry out the program in their own families.
These lessons can be adapted, and suggestions will be made in order to fit every age child in the home.
With that much having been said, we would like to call your attention to what the Lord has said:
"How long can rolling waters remain impure? What power shall 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".
We have discovered an interesting fact at our Mormon Pavilion at the World's Fair in New York: that the great strength of our pavilion as a missionary project is not in the paintings, not in the sculpture work, not in the film, but in the presentation of the missionaries who have the priesthood of God and in the wonderful spirit which our missionaries have.
As you go out tomorrow look to the east, just underneath the west towers of the great Salt Lake Temple, and see a depiction of the dipper pointing toward the North Star, which Truman O. Angell said in an article in the Millennial Star was to symbolize to the Church "that through the priesthood of God, the lost might find their way." May every priesthood holder remember that responsibility.
I was at Boston Stake conference a few weeks ago. We installed a young pilot who had served in the Air Force, a fighter pilot, as a counselor in the stake presidency. I was very much impressed by his feeling of responsibility. He said something which I want to impress upon you leaders throughout the entire Church. He said, "I am very fearful of this responsibility now as a member of the stake presidency, because I have come to know that the most dangerous of all traffic aids is a fallen lighthouse, since so many people depend upon it for guidance and for safety."
To have a leader that fails, a "fallen lighthouse" upon whom God depends in a ward or stake or in a general capacity, is the most dangerous thing in the world, because so many are depending on the functioning of that particular man. And so we propose to give out to the Church now these plans which we ask you as stake leaders to be prepared to announce in your stakes as soon as you can after this conference. We will give you materials to help train your ward people and home teachers in order that we may get off at the beginning of the year in this great project of the Lord, that for fifty years has been waged and now is to be strengthened by a set of planned lessons for the parents in the home, actually outlined for the parents to teach their children and to carry out appropriate activities to aid in the strengthening of the home. As I have thought of home night, I have thought of my own family, and I suppose all of you have as you have been listening. When our oldest daughter was to be married to a fine Latter-day Saint boy the two mothers were in the corner of the room talking to each other, and the mother of our oldest daughter said, "You know, from the time my little girl was born, I have been praying all my life that somewhere a mother would be preparing a son worthy to marry my daughter." And this other mother smiled and said, "Isn't that strange? This is my only son who is being married to your daughter, and ever since he was born, I, too, have been praying that somewhere there would be a mother preparing a daughter worthy to meet and to marry my son."
It is that kind of home attention-mothers preparing daughters, fathers and mothers, sons-that will make us and our homes stronger today.
One of the hopes we have in this program is that the four standard works will be in the possession of every boy and girl deacons age and older and that on Easter, on birthdays, on Christmas, on New Year's, you make this a part of your family giving to your children, so they may have the joy of personally owning the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price, and from these precious pages begin to be instructed in the ways of the Lord.
As I thought of what we are doing now and its possible impact, the words of the Prophet Micah came, "But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.
"And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem".
I say to you Latter-day Saint mothers and fathers, if you will rise to the responsibility of teaching your children in the home-priesthood quorums preparing the fathers, the Relief Society the mothers-the day will soon be dawning when the whole world will come to our doors and will say, "Show us your way that we may walk in your path."
May the Lord bless us all. We thank the Lord tonight for a prophet leader who has the vision and courage to continue to guide us and to point the way to the strengthening of the Church through the priesthood of Almighty God which I bear testimony in his power and in his authority for the salvation of all mankind within the limitations as indicated by each setting apart by the laying on of hands. To that I bear humble testimony in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay
David O. McKay, Conference Report, October 1964, p. 91-93
Charge to the Priesthood
To the seventy thousand or more priesthood members assembled tonight, I should like to quote the truth and the admonition given by Peter the chief Apostle to the members of the priesthood over nineteen hundred years ago. That chief Apostle wrote these lines and addressed them to the elders of that time:
"... I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:
"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;
"Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.
"And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
"Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
"Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
"Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world".
These instructions are nineteen-hundred-years old, yet new today, and just as applicable as then to the elders of this Church. Peter said they should be "ensamples to the flock." I should just like to ask if that example starts at home. What better place to exercise the lofty ideals of the priesthood?
The older I grow, the more grateful I am for my parents, for what they did in that old country home. They lived the gospel. Father used to preach it, particularly to visitors who came, more than to us boys and girls; but both Father and Mother lived the gospel. I realize more than ever before that my testimony of the reality of the existence of God dates back to that home when I was a child, and it was through their teachings and their examples that I received, even as a child, the absolute knowledge that God is my Father, that I received then the knowledge of the reality of the spiritual world, and I testify to you tonight that that is a reality.
It is easy for me to accept as a divine truth the fact that Christ preached to the spirits in prison while his body lay in the tomb. It is true. And it is just as easy for me to realize that one may so live that he may receive impressions and direct messages through the Holy Ghost. The veil is thin between those who hold the priesthood and those on the other side of the veil.
That testimony began, was borne in that home, because of the example of a man who lived the priesthood and a wife who sustained him and lived it in the home. I do not know that Peter had that in mind, particularly, when he mentioned "being ensamples to the flock", but I do know that each home is a part of that flock. The influence you spread in your home will go throughout the ward, the stake, and then will go throughout the city, the state, the country, and the world.
The most precious thing in the world is a testimony of the truth. Truth never grows old, and the truth is that God is the source of your priesthood and mine, that he lives, that Jesus Christ stands at the head of this Church, and that every man who holds the priesthood, if he lives properly, soberly, industriously, humbly, and prayerfully, is entitled to the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit. I know that it is true!
God help us to defend the truth-better than that, to live it, to exemplify it in our homes. What we owe to our parents we cannot express. Are you going to have that same influence on your children, you parents-fathers and mothers? Never set an improper example before 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, 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.
To hold the priesthood of God by divine authority is one of the greatest gifts that can come to a man, and worthiness is of first importance. The very essence of priesthood is eternal. He is greatly blessed who feels the responsibility of representing Deity. He should feel it to such an extent that he would he conscious of his actions and words under all conditions. No man who holds the Holy Priesthood should treat his wife disrespectfully. No man who holds that priesthood should fail to ask the blessings on his food or to kneel with his wife and children and ask for God's guidance. A home is transformed because a man holds and honors the priesthood. We are not to use it dictatorially, for the Lord has said that "... 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". That revelation given by the Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith is one of the most beautiful lessons in pedagogy or psychology and government ever given, and we should read it over and over again in the 121st section of the Doctrine and Covenants.
Let us realize that we are members of the greatest fraternity, the greatest brotherhood-the brotherhood of Christ-in all the world, and do our best each day, all day, to maintain the standards of the priesthood.
Let us live honest, sincere lives. Let us be honest with ourselves, honest with our brethren, honest with our family, honest with men with whom we deal, always honest, for eyes are upon us, and the foundation of all character rests upon the principles of honesty and sincerity.
God is guiding this Church. Be true to it. Be true to your families, loyal to them. Protect your children. Guide them, not arbitrarily, but through the kind example of a father, a loving mother, and so contribute to the strength of the Church by exercising your priesthood in your home and in your lives, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Bishop Robert L. Simpson
Robert L. Simpson, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 93-96
My dear brethren, I feel great strength in the presence of the priesthood. How thrilling it has been to listen to these young men.
The Lord must be very pleased about the prospects for his Church in the future, and, of course, the most gratifying aspect of all is the fact that there are hundreds and hundreds of young men-deacons, teachers, and priests-from all over the Church who could have represented their quorums here tonight with sincerity, with ability, and with a fervent testimony that God lives.
What causes a boy to think this way? What is it that gives spiritual dimension during teenage years? Certainly, in the eyes of the world, this type of thinking should come much later in life, but we Mormons seem to be different. These two young men have been obviously well-trained. The academic quality of their talks has been superior. How grateful we are to the public schools and to church activity that have made this excellence possible.
However, the thing that has made these talks truly outstanding is their rich spiritual dimension and sincerity. Truly, this has enabled their messages through the Spirit of the Lord to sink deeply into the hearts and minds of those of us who have been privileged to listen.
This is the same sincerity and spirit of testimony that makes a Mormon missionary successful in his field of labor. His discussion, his testimony is not a mere communication of words. It is much more than that. It is a transmittal of the Spirit of God into the hearts of those receptive to his message.
Speaking of this spiritual dimension, may we acknowledge the hand of the Primary teachers, the Sunday School, the MIA, priesthood advisers, seminary instructors, and bishops in helping to mold this spiritual image which is such a vital factor among our youth. But may we, most of all, pay tribute to loving and devoted parents who are not too busy, not too preoccupied to teach their children to pray, to worship, to be unselfish, and to study not only the academic requirements but also those things called spiritual.
When should parents start teaching spirituality? Spirituality is taught in the first hour of the first day of a babe's mortal existence, for the deepest expression of spirituality is love; and when love is expressed as only a parent can express love, there is a real and definite registration made in the heart and mind of the tiniest babe. Everyone here has seen a babe in a high chair, closing his eyes and bowing his head as the blessing is said on the food, even before he is able to walk. We can't start too soon, brethren. We must start on the very first day of life.
What must we do to give this spiritual dimension to our children? Where do we find time? Is ten minutes a day too much? Few stories from the scriptures would take more than ten minutes to retell in the vocabulary of your children, whatever the age might be. Yes, these stories are told and retold in the auxiliaries of the Church but never with quite the same impact that is found as a parent tells the story in the environment of the home and the fireside.
Just this week a fine bishop who has traveled 8,000 miles to this conference, all the way from New Zealand, told of how he had recently read a Book of Mormon story to his children before bedtime. It was the touching story of Nephi as he suffered persecution at the hands of his own brothers. Bishop Palmer described the tears of sympathy streaming down the cheeks of his young son as the story unfolded.
Yes, brethren, our children have an amazing capacity for spiritual teaching at a most tender age, and somehow it becomes extra special when taught by the parents in the home.
Now, may I divert momentarily to tell you of the great spiritual strength Sister Simpson and I felt from two teenage youngsters who stood at the base of the stairs leading to the glistening New Zealand Temple on the eve before its dedication in 1958. Because it was after dark, the temple appeared to be suspended in space as large floodlights bathed it in a fluorescent, bluish glow. It was beautiful to behold.
The youngsters had just completed a long tedious journey in an open truck, and as they arrived, they ran directly from the truck to the temple steps. This was a dream come true. They were looking at a temple of the Lord for the first time in their young lives. After a moment of silence, one of them finally spoke and said, "Let us go up where we can touch it." After a few short moments the other one said, "Do you really think we should?"
Then following a short discussion, both agreed that it would be better to wait until morning after they had had a chance to clean up and put on their finest Sunday clothes before going up to touch the house of the Lord.
As Sister Simpson and I stood there unnoticed by these two young people, our hearts were overjoyed at the thought of parental teaching that had given this spiritual dimension to the youth of Zion, way down in the South Pacific.
On another occasion in far-off New Zealand, a young Maori boy, who was a teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood, came to our elders' quarters, arousing us in the middle of the night. In his hand was a piece of paper, and in his eyes there were tears. "Elder Simpson, will you please keep my teacher's certificate for me for a few days? Will you keep it for me until I can make myself worthy of it once again?"
I am pleased to say that the infraction was not too serious, and things were all right in a very short time, but I was grateful once more for parental teachings that gave this boy a conscience. To him, the privilege of holding the priesthood was sacred and was incompatible with his fleeting moment of weakness during the past day or so.
Incidentally, I might report that he found during this episode that it was not possible to lay aside the priesthood for a few days by simply handing over his certificate. I am certain there are many who wish it were this easy.
Oh, what a sad thing it is to see young men compromise their priesthood obligation through the dangerous practice of rationalization. The adversary is quick to help anyone develop the knack of convincing himself that almost anything is okay under certain conditions.
We listened to a good illustration here tonight about the difference between black and white and all the shadings of gray. Sometimes the adversary is sitting there on our shoulder trying to take us into that area of gray just a little farther.
I shall never forget the prime example of rationalization. It was an experience I had during a visit to a prison at the request of the warden. He wanted someone to give a word of encouragement to three boys claiming to be Latter-day Saints. I met these three young men, and found out right away that although they had been baptized, they had not had the benefit of parental teaching. They knew very little about the Church, but they did know they were Latter-day Saints.
An arrangement was made that I might talk to each of them privately. During our discussions, I found out that the first two young men were in prison for stealing. As I turned my attention to the third young man, I said, "I suppose you are in here for stealing?" He stood up to his full stature, and he said, "Elder, I wouldn't steal. My mother taught me never to steal anything from anyone. I wouldn't go into a house or store and take anything that wasn't mine. I'm not in here for stealing. I'm in here for forgery."
Well, now, brethren of the priesthood, how about this gray area? That was pretty dark gray I would say. I think he was over in the black. But I want to tell you we have to be on constant guard for this thing called rationalization.
I see hundreds of fathers in the Tabernacle tonight with their sons. What a glorious sight this is. The Lord must be very pleased, for there are scores of meetinghouses all over this continent with other dads sitting in this priesthood meeting with their sons. Do you realize that there are probably more father-son combinations in this meeting tonight than in any meeting ever held in the history of the world? President McKay has suggested that 70,000 men and boys are assembled all holding the priesthood of our Heavenly Father. Find me the equal to it. It just doesn't exist, for this is his Church, and this meeting tonight is an evidence of it.
We are showing the way to the world, brethren. What more common ground could a father and a son have to start a heart-to-heart talk? You both hold the priesthood of God. You have everything worth having in common so long as you honor it and magnify it.
As we preside over the affairs of our homes, dads, it becomes largely a matter of motivating members of the family in the proper direction. I understand from the experts that there are five basic methods of motivation: love, duty, reward, fear, and force. Now fear and force are tools of the adversary and typify organizations of his making. No parent has ever been able to secure a real and long-lasting objective with a child using either of these methods. While the immediate purpose is almost always guaranteed; in terms of eternity, they always fail.
Due to the human element in all of us, there is often merit in the reward incentive program. A desire for a Certificate of Achievement, an Individual Award, or a Duty to God recognition has paid handsome dividends through the years in encouraging young people to greater church activity. On the other hand, we see frequent examples of selfishness being built up in the hearts of children as the reward program is carried to excess by unthinking parents who give too freely to their children and keep giving and giving and giving.
All should be sensitive to duty. We are a part of society, a social organization or a religious group, and as such we have an obligation to the group, not always at our personal convenience. We are sometimes moved to good works simply because it is our duty to do so, and a God-given conscience will not let us rest until our duty is done. We should feel very sorry for people without conscience. It is a manifestation of selfishness, in my opinion.
But first and foremost, at the top of the list, second to none, brethren, is that motivation which is love. "If ye love me, keep my commandments". Obedience will always be the result of love. It is an eternal principle. More love in our hearts increases our capacity for love and, consequently, greater devotion and an even greater degree of obedience. And after we are more obedient, we have greater capacity for love and on it goes like an endless spiral upward, terminating in the presence of our Heavenly Father.
My final plea tonight is to all youth of the Aaronic Priesthood and concerns one of the most important of God's commandments. It was given to the children of Israel and has never been set aside nor altered through the ages. "Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee". This is our duty. Our spiritual Father has spoken out of his love for us. And as we do our duty and keep this commandment the very process of honoring our parents will promote a love and affection that will eventually replace the duty aspect and bring an eternal love into the family circle.
An unkind word of disrespect to a parent is incompatible with the priesthood. If such has been the case, we must seek help from the Lord in fervent prayer to overcome a tendency that, if continued, will assuredly stand between us and the ultimate presence of the Lord.
Now, what about the promise associated with this commandment, "... that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee"? This is not only a promise of a maximum mortal span but an eternal promise as well. President Joseph Fielding Smith made it very clear yesterday morning that this earth upon which we live will be celestialized. May we not then logically conclude, brethren, that as we honor our mothers and our fathers, we can also think in terms of living on this goodly land forever and ever, provided the other areas of our lives are worthy of a celestial reward. That we might stay long upon the land that God has given us, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Hugh B. Brown
Hugh B. Brown, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 99-101
I commend to all what has been said by the various speakers. I have appreciated so much what these young boys have said tonight, the wonderful message of the President, Brother Simpson's timely instruction, and Brother Lee's part of the program which was so very important to all of us. We commend it to you. We trust that all will undertake to profit by what Brother Lee has told us.
"Every man," James M. Barrie said, "is a diary in which he means to write one story and writes another, and his humblest hour is when he compares the volume as it is with what he vowed to make it."
I think it important as we think of life, its opportunities, its possibilities, its challenges, its inspirations, that we undertake to qualify ourselves to receive from the Holy Spirit the instruction and direction from day to day that will keep us in the path of duty.
May I make a suggestion, and I thought of it after I came into the building tonight. I wish the head of every house would get a large cardboard and print on it by hand in letters large enough to be seen across the room the twentieth chapter of Exodus, the third through the seventeenth verses. Will you put that on the wall where you and other members of the family will see it every day. Read it, assimilate its meaning, profit by its instruction.
And then get another cardboard the same size and write on that one the fifth chapter of Matthew, from the third through the twelfth verses. If you will put these side by side and read them every morning-you can read them while you are shaving or washing or getting ready to go to work or to school-they will remind you of who you are and what is expected of you.
I am going to take just a moment to read quickly what I want to recommend that you put in your rooms.
"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.
"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.
"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 thy stranger that is within thy gates:
"For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
"Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
"Thou shalt not kill.
"Thou shalt not commit adultery.
"Thou shalt not steal.
"Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's".
Resolve to Honor Them
Let each one of us read that every day and then pray to the Lord before going to school or to work and say to him, "For today I am going to keep the Ten Commandments."
And then turn to the other, which is more of the positive than negative approach. To the Israelites it was largely "Thou shalt not," but Jesus when he came to serve said: "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you". And all through he says, "... it hath been said.... But I say unto you...." And then he gives us a list of those who are to be counted among the blessed.
"And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
"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....
"Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you".
Let the Inspired Word of God Fix Your Daily Attitude
I wanted to leave this as a challenge, for I am persuaded that if I can start my day right by reading some appropriate scripture and then kneel and ask God to help me to remember it, and then if through the day I can remember that I am going to talk to him again that night and report on what I have been doing and how well I have kept my covenant, I believe it would help me to be a better man.
God bless you, my brethren, you who are present in this great auditorium and you other thousands out there, to whom the President of the Church has addressed such a moving appeal. I pray that God will bless the head of every family that it may be like these two men here sitting by their boys, preparing them for the calls that are to come to them. Many of you have your sons with you tonight. I want to tell you that no boy needs to have a board and a chalk to tell how big he is if there is the kind of man around that he would like to be. That is the way boys react to the actions of their elders.
God bless the young people. God bless Israel, and may his peace and blessing be with all of us now and forevermore. I leave my testimony and my blessing with you humbly in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Thomas S. Monson
Thomas S. Monson, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 140-142
Recently I was a passenger on a flight which took me from the Pacific across the continent to the Atlantic Ocean. At many points along the way, serenely seen through white, billowy clouds were the fertile patchwork fields and majestic mountains of this great land. The words of Katherine Lee Bates, author of "America the Beautiful," coursed through my mind and found lodgment within my soul.
"Oh beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties Above the fruited plain! America! America! God shed his grace on thee And crown thy good with brotherhood From sea to shining sea."
The Lord Himself gave a divine promise to the ancient inhabitants of this favored country. He said:
"Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ".
Are we today serving the God of the land, even the Lord Jesus Christ? Do our lives conform with His teachings? Are we entitled to His divine blessings?
Headlines from America's leading newspapers depicting the events of the past year pass silently in review that you and I may judge.
"President Kennedy Assassinated." "Alleged Assassin Murdered While In Custody of the Law." "Serious Crime Registers 10% Increase In Past Year." "Violence Rocks South." "Racial Strife Hits East."
Murder, rape, arson, burglary, assault, narcotics violations are all on the increase in the America of today. These are the headlines of our newspapers.
One cannot help but compare the situation of today with conditions at the time of Belshazzar the King of the Chaldeans.
The prophet Daniel rebuked Belshazzar: "And thou... O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart... But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified".
He then interpreted the writing on the wall. "... God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it... Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting".
Too many Americans have been screaming ever louder for more and more of the things we cannot take with us and paying less and less attention to the real sources of the very happiness we seek. We have been measuring our fellowmen more by balance sheets and less by moral standards. We have developed frightening physical power and fallen into pathetic spiritual weakness. We have become so concerned over the growth of our earning capacity that we have neglected the growth of our character.
As we view the disillusionment that engulfs countless thousands today, we are learning the hard way what an ancient prophet wrote out for us 3,000 years ago. "He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase".
The revered Abraham Lincoln accurately described our plight. "We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown; but we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us. 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 succession, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of preserving and redeeming grace, too proud to pray to God that made us."
Can we extricate ourselves from this frightful condition? Is there a way out? If so, what is the way? We can solve this perplexing dilemma by adopting the counsel given by Jesus to the inquiring lawyer who asked, "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".
First, then I would suggest that each American love the Lord, our God, and with our families serve Him in righteousness.
The road back to God is not nearly so steep nor is it so difficult as some would have us believe. The gentle invitation of Jesus yet beckons, "... Come unto me." Paul advised that, "... he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him".
The channel by which we seek Him and find Him is personal and family prayer. The recognition of a power higher than man himself does not in any sense debase him, rather it exalts him. Divine favor will attend those who humbly seek it. If we will but realize that we have been created in the image of God, we will not find Him difficult to approach. God did create "... man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them". You cannot sincerely hold this conviction without experiencing a profound new sense of strength.
By seeking God in personal and family prayer we and our loved ones will acquire what the great English statesman, William H. Gladstone, described as the world's greatest need-"A living faith in a personal God."
Who can evaluate the real worth of such a blessing? This faith will light the pathway for any honest seeker of divine truth. Wives will draw closer to their husbands and husbands will the more appreciate their wives and children will be happy children as children are meant to be. Children in the homes blessed by prayer will not find themselves in that dreaded never never land. Never the object of concern, never the recipient of proper parental guidance. Our children will be taught integrity which is primarily a matter of early training. To teach the young to love the truth above personal convenience is the basis of it. They will be taught true courage which becomes a living and attractive virtue when it is regarded not as a willingness to die manfully but as the determination to live decently. They will be taught honesty by habit and as a matter of course. Our children will be taught this way of living by parents who will not ask the child, "What will people think," but rather, "What will you think of yourself." Our children will grow physically from childhood to adulthood, and mentally from ignorance to knowledge, emotionally from insecurity to stability and spirituality to an abiding faith in God. Such is the power gained from loving the Lord, our God, and serving Him in righteousness.
Second, I would suggest that each American love his neighbor as himself. Before we can really love our neighbor we must get the proper perspective of him.
One man said, "I looked at my brother with the microscope of criticism and I said, 'How coarse my brother is.' I looked at my brother with the telescope of scorn and I said, 'How small my brother is.' Then I looked into the mirror of truth and I said, 'How like me my brother is.'"
Paul counseled us, "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ". No burden is heavier to bear than is sin. When we show our brother, our neighbor, the way back to God through applying the divine principle of repentance, we help him to build a new and better life.
If we are not careful, our thoughts and plans to aid others in making this a better world in which to live will remain just that-thoughts and plans. As humans we cannot really see very far ahead and need, therefore, to take each step with all the wisdom we can muster. While sensing what lies dimly ahead, we must do confidently what lies clearly at hand. Decision is of little account unless it is followed by action. If we procrastinate our lofty ambitions too long, we well might suffer the lament spoken by Jacob Marley's ghost in Dickens' immortal "A Christmas Carol." Speaking of Ebenezer Scrooge he said, "Not to know that any Christian Spirit working kindly in its little sphere, whatever it may be will find its life too short for its vast means of usefulness. Not to know that no space of regret can make amends for one life's opportunities misused. Such was I, oh such was I."
One of the finest examples I know of helping one's neighbors is that of a prominent businessman who at the height of his success, generously gave his prosperous business to his faithful employees and determined to devote the balance of his life in charitable service. He withdrew from the world of gold and silver and each day can now be found at a large welfare distribution center doing his part to relieve the suffering and need of human souls and make America a better place in which to live. He is fulfilling the responsibility to "... succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees". He humbly declares: "This is the happiest period of my life."
The rich satisfactions which come from loving our neighbor as ourselves are not ushered in at any age to the sound of drums and trumpets but rather the satisfaction grows upon us year by year, little by little, until at last we realize that we have it.
One of the most famous enlistment posters of World War II was one depicting Uncle Sam pointing his long finger and directing his piercing eyes at the viewer. The words read, "America Needs You." America truly does need you and me to lead out in a mighty crusade of righteousness. We can help when we love the Lord, our God, and with our families serve him, and when we love our neighbors as ourselves.
The frightening trend toward crime, lawlessness, and violence will then be arrested. God will continue to shed His grace on thee, America, and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea. I pray for this needed blessing in the name of Jesus Christ, the God of this choice land of liberty, Amen.
President Hugh B. Brown
Hugh B. Brown, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 102-106
My brothers and sisters, these great semi-annual conferences of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provide an opportunity for communication and better understanding, also an opportunity to discuss some of the tenets of our faith with our friends who are interested. We appreciate your interest, and we invite your consideration with us of some of the principles in which we believe.
We believe that as a philosophy, Mormonism is the most profound and the most hopeful in the world today. But it is more than a philosophy. To us it is the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, unadulterated by the speculations of men. The basic idea of our religion is the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, with the love of God and the love of fellow men as basic principles. This philosophy was partially envisioned, of course, by Plato, Aristotle, and others, but it was proclaimed with inspiring clarity by Jesus the Christ as a religion. After the crucifixion of Christ and the death of his Apostles, it became watered down almost to the point of insipidity during the attempt to Christianize the pagans, which resulted largely in paganizing Christianity. Hence there was a need for a restoration and for continued revelation, and that in essence is our message to you this morning.
Millions have believed in this message and have borne witness that it is true, and that witness has come as they believe and as we know from the Holy Spirit. If it is true, it is of transcendent importance as it involves the salvation of the human family. If it is false, it will, of course, come to naught.
President John Taylor, in his definition of Mormonism, said: "The everlasting Gospel, made known in the last days, is nothing more nor less than the ancient religion restored. It is the commencement of the 'restitution of all things' spoken of by all the holy prophets since the world was".
Many who hear this message are startled by its seeming audacity. And I suppose it would be audacious, in fact it would be entirely inane, to declare a restoration of the gospel if there had not been an apostasy from and of the Church.
Prophecy and history predict and record a great and universal apostasy which was to be followed by a restoration as predicted by John in Revelation. The fact of the great apostasy is attested by both sacred and secular writ, and history bears witness that it became universal. We proclaim this fact of history not as an attack on any church. We do not assume any position of "holier than thou" or "wiser than thou," but we announce this historic fact of the apostasy as a vindication of the claim that there has been in fact a restoration of the gospel.
The careful student is inevitably confronted with the question: Has the simple but inspired gospel of Christ been preserved, together with divine authority to administer its ordinances?
It is a matter of history that the Church established in the Meridian of Time was built upon the foundation of apostles and prophets with Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone. He said, "... I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me", and he taught the Apostles what the Father had taught him. He sent them forth as his witnesses with a promise that both they and all who accepted their message would receive the divine testimony of the Holy Ghost as to the truth of that message. But the Savior was crucified, his Apostles were martyred, and confusion reigned in the world.
Now, time will not permit more than a brief reference, but we hope some of our listeners will be prompted by this introduction to search the scriptures for prophecies concerning the apostasy and become acquainted with secular and ecclesiastical history. History records the development of the apostasy, which had already begun in the days of the Apostles as is noted by Paul in his letter to the Galatians. Note also Paul's declaration to Timothy recorded in 2 Timothy, chapter 3. He said:
"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
"For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
"Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
"Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
"Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away".
And Paul, in writing to the Thessalonians said:
"Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him.
"That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
"Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God".
As Dr. Talmage, Dr. Barker, and others have noted, the historian, Eusebius, cites the testimony of earlier writers who inform us that when the sacred choir of Apostles became extinct, and the generation of those that had been privileged to hear their inspired wisdom had passed away, then also the combinations of impious error arose by the fraud and delusions of false teachers. These also, as there were none of the Apostles left, henceforth attempted without shame to preach their false doctrine against the gospel of truth.
And in Mosheim's Institutes of Ecclesiastical History we read of the schisms and dissensions by which the Church was rent in the latter part of the first century-the period immediately following that of the apostolic ministry.
"It will easily be imagined," Mosheim says, "that unity and peace could not reign long in the Church since it was composed of Jews and Gentiles who regarded each other with the bitterest aversion... Thus the seeds of discord and controversy were easily sown and could not fail to spring up soon into animosities and dissensions which accordingly broke out and divided the Church."
In the second century many unnecessary rites and ceremonies were added to the Christian worship, the introduction of which was, according to Mosheim, "... extremely offensive to wise and good men. Both Jews and heathens were accustomed to a vast variety of pompous and magnificent ceremonies in their religious service, and as they considered these rites as an essential part of religion, it was but natural that they should behold with indifference and even with contempt the simplicity... which was destitute of those idle ceremonies that rendered their service so specious and striking."
John Wesley, one of the founders of Methodism, comments as follows on the early decline of spiritual power and the cessation of divine gifts and graces within the Church:
"It does not appear that these extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit were common in the church for more than two or three centuries. We seldom hear of them after that fatal period when the Emperor Constantine called himself a Christian and from a vain imagination of promoting the Christian cause, thereby heaped riches and power and honor upon the Christians in general but in particular upon the Christian clergy. From this time, the gifts of the spirit almost totally ceased, very few instances of the kind being found. The cause of this was not, as has been supposed, because there was no more occasion for them, because all the world was become Christian. This is a miserable mistake. Not a twentieth part of it was then nominally Christian. The real cause of it was that the love of many was waxed cold. The Christians had no more of the spirit of Christ than the other heathens."
The Church of England and other Protestant churches frankly admit the fact of the apostasy. Our question is, if the "Mother Church" was without divine authority or spiritual power, how could her children derive from her the right to officiate in the things of God? Can man originate for himself a priesthood which God will honor and respect? Granted, men may create among themselves societies, associations, sects, etc. They may formulate laws, prescribe rules, and construct elaborate plans of organization and government. But, we ask you, from whence can such human creations derive the authority or stamp of the Holy Priesthood without which, and I emphasize this, without which there can be no Church of Christ.
It is claimed that a line of succession of the priesthood has been maintained from the beginning of the apostolic age to the present. We believe this claim to be wholly untenable in the light of a rational interpretation of history. All dissenting churches are, by their own admission and by the circumstances of their origin, man-made institutions.
The fact of the great apostasy is admitted by theologians the world over who profess a belief in Christianity. Thus we read in Smith's Bible Dictionary: "We must not expect to see the Church of Christ existing in its perfection on the earth. It is not to be found thus perfect, either in the collected fragments of Christendom or still less in any one of those fragments."
Martin Luther's notable revolt against the Papal Church spread throughout Europe and assumed such proportions as to be designated as the great Reformation. Such men as Melanchthon, Zwingli, Calvin, Knox, Wycliffe, and others, although they disagreed among themselves, all became reformers and were collectively known as Protestants. On every side the cry was heard, "Lo, here is Christ", and "Lo, there."
Now, the sequel to the great apostasy is the restoration of the gospel, which we proclaim. It marks the inauguration of the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. This glorious event occurred in the early part of the nineteenth century when the Father and the Son manifested themselves unto man, when the Holy Priesthood with all its powers and authority was again brought to earth.
The restoration of the gospel is at once the consummation of the work of God throughout the ages and the final preparation for the second advent of Jesus the Christ. The Church affirms that after a long night of spiritual darkness, the dawning of a brighter day was heralded by divine messengers and the Church of Christ was authoritatively established. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the Mormon Church, stands on the declaration that the Holy Priesthood is operative upon the earth, not as an inheritance through earthly continuation from the apostolic age, but as the endowment of a new dispensation, brought to earth by heavenly ministration. This restoration, divinely predicted and divinely achieved, has been witnessed as a realization of the revelation given to John on the Isle of Patmos when he 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: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters".
In the light of these historical facts, which were in fulfillment of the prophetic utterances of the prophets and Apostles of old, we declare that the God of heaven has, pursuant to promise, restored the everlasting gospel, and all people who will may hear its message and partake of its blessings.
The revealed gospel answers certain basic questions vital to the happiness of man. No man can escape the questions as to his origin, the purpose of his existence, and his future. The correct answer to these questions gives a feeling of security and a sense of values that lead to joyous living. They are questions which our ordinary experience cannot answer. Science makes no attempt to answer them. Philosophers have speculated but have arrived at various conclusions, none of which satisfies the longings of the soul. They query: Who am I? Why am I here? What comes after this life? Is there a God and is he personally interested in me? Will the family relationships which give us joy in this life be continued or will they cease with death?
To these questions and many others we have answers revealed from heaven. If the gospel is the "good news," if it is the gospel of joy, then certainly the answers to these and other vital questions will be given, and we declare they have been given! Man is a spirit child of God. Man is here to gain strength in choosing between right and wrong, to obey the command, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect". After this life comes further growth and joy. There is a God, and he is personally interested in man.
The Church reconciles the principles of authority and individual liberty and has all the advantages, both of an authoritative government and of a democratic government, and none of their weaknesses. It is the divine solution of a vital problem.
The corroborative evidences in favor of the restored gospel and the reestablished Church are so striking that it is difficult to escape the absolute intellectual conviction of their divinity.
But a testimony of its truth can be had only by the witness of the Holy Ghost. The Apostles said:
"And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him".
And the Savior himself added:
"If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself".
This the Lord has authorized his servants to promise to all those who obey. This is the mark of the divine Church, that all who do his will shall know of the doctrine.
When truth meets error, error must finally give way. Even though the churches were to modify their creeds so as to approximate the revealed truths, there would still be the question of accepting the source of the truth and the question of authority. Man can organize a church and choose an earthly head, but he cannot secure recognition of his work-he cannot place the Savior at the head of his human church. The administration of the ordinances in such a church has no validity.
Some have questioned whether the Mormons are Christians. We answer emphatically, yes. We repeat what we have reverently declared since the organization of the Church, that Jesus the Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world and that his is the only "... name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" . This has been the solemn testimony of millions who have died and other millions now living. We proclaim his divinity. He is the Son of the Living God, the Redeemer and Savior of the human race, in short, the Christ. How do ye know this? Our knowledge comes from the same source as did the Apostle Peter's. Jesus said to him
"... flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven".
Humbly and reverently, but without equivocation, we solemnly bear this testimony to the divinity of the Christ and the restoration of the gospel, and promise that the Holy Ghost will also bear witness of its truth to anyone who prayerfully seeks divine guidance.
We make this declaration, bear this testimony, and leave with you our love, our blessings, and our invitation to become better acquainted with this remarkable message that the simple gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored again to the earth, for we announce it humbly in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Howard W. Hunter
Howard W. Hunter, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 106-110
I would like to invite you to turn back the pages of history nearly two thousand years and walk with me down Damascus Road. This ancient way commences at one of the gates through the north wall of the city of Jerusalem; winds through the hills of Judea; crosses the Jordan River, the plains of the Decapolis east of Galilee; and goes over the plateau to the city of Damascus, the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. It was on this road, two or three years after the crucifixion and resurrection of the Savior, that a marvelous event took place which changed the course of a man's life and in turn has had an effect upon the lives of millions of persons.
In the city of Tarsus, the Hellenistic capital city of Cilicia which was rival to Alexandria and Athens, was born a Jewish boy who was given the name of Saul. By birth he was a Roman citizen because Cilicia had become a Roman province under the great Roman general and statesman, Pompey. History has not recorded much of his early childhood, and we have very little information concerning his father and mother, but it is assumed by most scholars that they were people of means and position. His father was a Pharisee, one of the two major religious and political divisions of Judaism. The Pharisees were the leading sect and held most of the political offices in the state as well as the high priestly offices. They believed in a resurrection and in a future life where men would be rewarded or punished according to their deeds in this life. The Sadducees, on the other hand, denied a resurrection. The Pharisees observed the law of the Sabbath, tithing, and ceremonial purity. They were known for their comprehensive knowledge of the law and their strict observance of it. Saul followed in the footsteps of his father and was a devoted Pharisee.
At Tarsus he learned the trade of working with his hands in weaving goat's-hair cloth and in fabricating it into tents. This is not inconsistent with the assumption that he was a student of the law because Jewish students were taught a trade so that they might provide for themselves by their own hands.
While in his youth, Saul went to Jerusalem to be educated as a rabbi at the feet of Gamaliel, who was considered the most outstanding teacher of his time. This great rabbi and doctor of the law taught the doctrine of strict compliance with the law, which was fundamental with the Pharisees, yet he was liberal in some respects, and his teachings were tempered with moderation. As a member of the Sanhedrin, he argued a course of tolerance and took a firm stand against the prosecution of Peter and the other apostles after the death of the Master.
Under the teaching of Gamaliel, Saul became a zealot for God, a serious and a pious man. He hungered and thirsted after righteousness and sought diligently to keep the law in every respect as a devout Pharisee. In spite of the fact he had been a pupil of Gamaliel who taught tolerance, Saul became an extreme persecutor of those who did not comply strictly with Pharisaic Judaism.
After the crucifixion of Jesus, widespread persecution was soon commenced upon those who followed his teachings. The activity of Stephen, a Hellenistic Jew, in this new cause brought him into conflict with the Jews of Jerusalem, who, being angered by his eloquent presentation of the new faith, brought him to trial before the Sanhedrin on the charge of blasphemy. The age-old traditions of Judaism and the doctrines of Christianity, the two opposing orders, were brought into sharp focus.
Stephen's statements before the Sanhedrin concerning his faith in Christ so maddened his accusers that they dragged him from the tribunal and stoned him to death. Saul was present at the trial. He stood by and held the garments of the chief witnesses while they killed Stephen. Following this, Saul began to participate actively in the campaign against the Christians. This is the usual course of a man's life as he turns toward evil. First, he is a silent observer, then he becomes a consenting spectator, and finally he is an active participant.
To this time there had not been a separation of the Christians from the synagogues of the Jews, but the hour had come when the gospel of Christ should take the place of the law of sacrifice, and the rupture with Judaism was imminent.
The persecutions which followed suppressed and dispersed the followers of Christ from Jerusalem and scattered them throughout Judea and Samaria, thus aiding the spread of Christianity. Like the tiny mustard seeds which grew into large plants, mentioned by the Lord in the parable, the seeds of Christianity were scattered to the wind and fell upon fertile soil. As the plants began to grow, Saul was determined to stamp them out. His zeal as a defender of the faith was unloosed against the followers of Jesus. A Christian man's house was no longer his castle, for Saul entered into every house and dragged both men and women before the magistrates, who in turn committed them to prison.
Apparently Saul, one of the main instigators of the persecutions, feared the spread of the gospel of Christ to more distant places. He went to the high priest in Jerusalem and secured a commission in writing to the synagogues in Damascus, authorizing him to take into custody the Jews of that city who had become followers of Jesus and return them to Jerusalem in chains. This authority was issued, and Saul commenced his journey down Damascus Road. The record gives no information as to the other persons in the company, the number of days it took to make the long journey, the conversation that may have taken place, or any of the happenings along the way, until the day they came near Damascus about noon "... and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven. And he fell to the earth". This Pharisee who had come on an errand of persecution and those who were with him heard a voice from the midst of the light saying: "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" Saul answered: "Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks". This proverbial expression of kicking against the pricks usually refers to the ox goad which was a piece of pointed iron stuck in the end of a stick used to urge the ox while drawing the plow. Sometimes a stubborn ox will kick back against the goad only to receive its sharpness more severely. It has become a proverb to signify the absurdity of rebelling against lawful authority.
Saul had been kicking against the goad, and now he was humbled to the dust. "And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
"And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man".
Saul stood upright, but he could not see; his eyesight had been taken from him, and he was as blinded physically as he had been spiritually. Those who were with him led him by the hand into the city and to the house of Judas in the street called Straight. For three days he neither ate nor drank but waited for the Lord to reveal to him what he must do as he had been instructed by the voice.
On the third day the Lord appeared in a vision to a Jewish Christian named Ananias and told him to go to Saul. Ananias demurred, for he had heard of the evil done by this man to the Saints in Jerusalem and knew of the authority he had received to arrest the believers in Christ in Damascus, but he did as the Lord instructed. When he came to the house of Judas, he found Saul and laid his hands on him and administered to him saying, "... brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost". Saul had been instantly blinded on Damascus Road, and his sight was instantly restored when Ananias laid his hands on him. To make his conversion complete he was baptized. Paul's life was changed. It is remarkable that the man who held the garments of Stephen's executioners thereafter became the chief exponent of the principles for which Stephen died. Soon there was commenced the great ministry of which the Christian world is so familiar, by the one whose name became romanized and known as Apostle Paul.
These are the facts from the record of one of the most important encounters in history. There are those who are skeptics and cannot reconcile the events which might be classified as supernatural. Appearances of Deity and voices and visions are often looked upon with suspicion. Some are inclined to explain away the marvelous experience of Paul by saying it was merely the imaginative culmination of an inner conflict of a man who had taken a strong position in defense of the law, who had resolved to stamp out the threat to Judaism, but who had a deep feeling that he was doing wrong. It doesn't seem likely that the whole course of a man's life upon which he was so urgently set would be changed so suddenly and drastically by an inner conflict. Men who are as determined as Paul are not quickly changed although there may have been a spark which had smoldered for a long time before bursting into flame that day on Damascus Road.
Some have said it was the long journey from Jerusalem to Damascus which gave him time to think and contemplate during the days of travel upon the recent events of the persecution. Paul had been present at the stoning of Stephen and had seen him die. He heard him ask in his last words that those who had dragged him from the Sanhedrin and stoned him in defiance of the law might be forgiven for their acts. This must have made a lasting impression on the mind of Paul. He had personally gone from house to house and brought men and women before the tribunals which condemned them to prison or imposed the sentence of death. Because of him, many had left their homes and fled. Now he had traveled to Damascus with further threats to inflict persecution upon those who followed Christ. Could it be that these things commenced to weigh heavily upon his conscience?
Paul testified on many occasions concerning his conversion, that he had seen Jesus our Lord and that the vision was a reality. In the book of the Acts of the Apostles there are three accounts of the conversion. The first is the record of Luke in which the conversation between the Lord and Paul is set forth. In the second account Paul personally relates the facts of the conversion in his speech to the angry crowd on the steps of the temple in Jerusalem, and the third is his defense before King Agrippa, the nephew of Herod, who had tried the Savior just a few years before. Standing in the elegant surroundings of the court of the king, Paul spoke in his own defense, recalling his youth, his beliefs as a Pharisee, his part in the persecutions, and the marvelous vision on Damascus Road. After bearing witness of Jesus he said: "Whereupon, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision".
Paul's life had been bisected by Damascus Road. Before, he was an aggressive persecutor of Christianity, but after Damascus Road he was one of its most fervent propagators.
There are many men in the world who could be like Paul, men who could be changed in the twinkling of an eye if willing to change the object of their lives as did Paul. There are some who see but do not believe. One needs to be only a bystander to see, but to believe, one must accept wholeheartedly and commit himself to his belief. This requires faith and repentance of old ways. Paul had been raised in the belief his family had held for generations. He had been trained in that faith, and it is fair to say that he understood it, but it was not until that day on Damascus Road when Jesus spoke to him that the object of his life was changed. There are persons in every church who see, but some do not believe. Because they have been raised in the beliefs of their fathers, their minds are closed, and they are satisfied to continue. We wonder why it took Paul so long to see the light and why he so vigorously opposed the teachings of the Savior. The answer is apparent. He was born into a certain belief and followed it until it became a habit. He had a preconceived idea of the law which closed his mind to the truth until that event on Damascus Road.
Nearly two thousand years have passed. Many of the problems and questions of Paul's day are with us yet because of tradition and preconceived ideas. The prophets of old foretold of the coming of the Savior and the establishment of his Church. They also foretold that the gospel would be taken from the earth because of the corruptions of men and again established before Christ's second coming. The fulfillment of these prophecies has been confirmed by history. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints declares to the world that the true gospel of Jesus Christ was taken from the earth and that it has been restored in our day. A young man who had been pondering and questioning the established faith of his fathers had the simple faith to seek his Heavenly Father in humble prayer. In response, a glorious vision burst upon this young man, a Prophet of the Lord, in a manner similar to that given to Paul. God the Eternal Father and his Son Jesus Christ, two separate and distinct Personages, appeared to him and instructed him. By reason of this event and the subsequent events by which God revealed his mind and will to men, the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored in its fulness for the benefit of all mankind.
It is startling to many in the world to learn that there is a prophet of God on the earth at the present time who speaks to us the will of the Lord, and of this fact I bear witness. There are hundreds of thousands who also so testify, yet today as in Paul's day there are others who see but do not believe because of old traditions, closed minds, and preconceived ideas. For this reason I invited you to walk with me down Damascus Road. If you are willing to do so with a prayer in your heart for the truth, the Lord will shed his light upon you as he did Paul, and the truth will be made manifest to you.
I further testify that God does live and that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of all mankind. He will bring light to those who honestly seek it. May the Spirit of God be with you, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Sterling W. Sill
Sterling W. Sill, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 110-113
There is an ancient Greek myth about a giant race called Titans that once plotted an assault on heaven. Armed with missiles and firebrands, they hurled themselves against the gods, seeking their overthrow. But the thunderbolts of Zeus and the arrows of Hercules were too much for the attackers, and the Titans were finally destroyed.
From this story we get the word titanism. This is a word intended to represent our unfortunate human inclination to fight against righteousness. Following the example of the ancient giants, our world is presently conducting an all-out war against God and his purposes.
Jesus prayed, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven". And from the very beginning Deity has been trying to raise our standards to this level for which the Redeemer prayed. He has failed only because of the opposition of those he has been trying to help. Our human history is made up of a long unpleasant record of antagonism toward God.
Disobedience brought about the expulsion from Eden. The spirit that caused Cain to murder his brother Abel in order to possess his flocks spread quickly over the earth. Human society was not very old before it was necessary for God to invoke the flood in order to cleanse the earth of its sin. This watery devastation was closely followed by the confusion of tongues and the dispersion of the sinners of Babel. In the Meridian of Time rebellion against God led to the rejection and crucifixion of the Savior of the world, and this tragedy was followed by that long black night of apostasy that we call the Dark Ages.
The scripture reminds us that Satan himself became what he is because of his sin of titanism. In the great antemortal council described in the scriptures, Satan sought the overthrow of God himself and succeeded in drawing away from God one third of all of the heavenly host. Since that time, Satan's fight has continued with increasing power to reach its pinnacle of evil in our own day.
Certainly the greatest problem of our generation is its titanism, as shown by our enmity toward the Almighty. Every unrighteous act, no matter how small, tends to put evil upon the throne of the universe. The Apostle John says that sin is the transgression of law, and that is the distinguishing characteristic of our day.
Jesus made his own appraisal of our situation when nineteen hundred years ago he looked down to our day and compared it to the time immediately preceding the flood. In spite of the fact that in fighting against God we are sinning against ourselves, yet we have been completely unable to stop the great upsurge in crime and delinquency that each year reaches a new high in devastating our lives. We are training ourselves to love sin. We pay money to see it being committed on the screen; we read about it in books, magazines, and newspapers; and quite naturally we absorb it into our lives.
Against the direct command of God, we sin against our health; we sin against our happiness; we sin against our success; and we sin against Deity himself. But no one can practice evil with impunity. The incidence of psychiatric disease is increasing among us with giant strides. The rate of bankruptcy is growing by leaps and bounds. Business organizations are reporting unheard-of increases in theft and other evidences of moral breakdown. Every day the newspapers report new occupational scandals as well as scandals in government itself. The Kinsey report of a few years ago is a personal testimony of a widespread decadence in morality that is strangely reminiscent of Sodom and Gomorrah.
When we build bars in our homes instead of altars, we are fighting against God. In our violations of the Sabbath day we are motivating a greater interest in horse races and baseball games than in the celestial kingdom. We employ some of our best advertising brains and use our finest communication media to persuade ourselves and others to take a greater part in the very evils that God has specifically forbidden. As a result of our titanism, our great enlightened Christian nation is noted for its drunkenness, lung cancer, immorality, and the violation of its own laws.
So far as all practical purposes are concerned, we have largely excluded God from our lives. Recently a nationwide religious poll asked whether or not those being interviewed believed in God; ninety-five percent answered yes. When asked whether or not they tried to lead a good life as a result, only twenty-five percent seemed to think that there was any connection between the two, and fifty-four percent said that religion did not influence their conduct in politics or business affairs. Because we seem to keep our creeds and our deeds in separate compartments, one is powerless to help the other. Church membership in the United States is now at an all-time high, and so are our indicators of crime and sin.
One of the reasons for our problem is that so many people have depersonalized God and think of him only in impersonal terms. We call him by such names as "the first great cause," or we refer to him as "an eternal principle." Then because an eternal principle can neither love nor punish us, we feel an increased liberty to indulge our titanism.
But our time is growing short; and if we do not give up the assault, we must surely share the fate of the titans and the antediluvians in losing the war. In his vision of the judgment, John the Revelator says, "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
"And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him...
"And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more". And certainly those who continue to follow Satan must share his fate.
Because sin is the basic problem of our world, repentance has been made one of the first and one of the most important of the principles of the gospel of Christ. A universal, genuine, and permanent repentance would close up our jails, do away with our reform schools, prevent our nervous breakdowns, fill our churches, redeem our souls, and restore harmony, peace, and happiness to the world. From any point of view, repentance is one of the most praiseworthy actions in life. Through it we abandon unworthy objectives and turn our lives upward toward more worthwhile things. The dispensation of Jesus opened with the declaration of John the Baptist, "Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand". And in our own day the Lord has said, "Say nothing but repentance unto this generation".
Repentance is God's cure for every disease that plagues our lives. As repentance is postponed, the sinner becomes more willful, and any upward change becomes more difficult. If this Godly gift is not used, it may lapse into impotence, and the soul may be lost.
Through Noah the Lord said, "My spirit shall not always strive with man". And someday when it may be too late, we may discover that repentance is the most thrilling, exciting, uplifting of all possible activities.
Some time ago while visiting the Northern States Mission I found myself one sultry August afternoon in southern Illinois in what was probably the most unpleasant weather I have ever experienced. It was very hot and humid, and I was sweaty, sticky, dirty, and generally uncomfortable. But after the day's work had been finished, I went to my room in an air-conditioned hotel. I took a hot, soapy bath and put on fresh, clean clothing. A little later I got into a bed between cool, white, clean sheets. And for a few minutes before dropping off to sleep, I lay there and thought about repentance. And I thought that if it were this pleasant to cleanse the body of a little sticky perspiration, what a delight it would be to cleanse the mind and soul of guilt and stand clean and free before God.
Even as late as the cross, repentance is good. One of the thieves crucified with Jesus was sorry for what he had done. When he acknowledged his sins, Jesus gave him credit. Certainly he was far ahead of his dishonest companion who remained bitter and rebellious to the very end. But the repentance of the thief came too late to undo the evil that his life had caused.
There is an old fable about a horse that once ran away from his master. Finally the horse repented and returned to his master and said, "I have come back." The master said. "Yes, you have come back, but the field is unplowed." How can one repent of unplowed ground or of lessons unlearned or of character qualities undeveloped? The governor can pardon the murderer, but who can restore life to the victim or the father to his orphaned children.
Repentance is one of the greatest of all ideas, but we should understand that it also has some serious limitations. To begin with it takes time to reform one's life and make restitution for his wrongs, and sometimes an atonement must be made through the personal suffering of the wrongdoer.
But there is one kind of repentance that has no limitations, that is a kind of repentance in advance, which someone has called "prepentance." Prepentance is a repentance that takes place before the offense is committed. Prepentance is the equivalent of prevention. It is a repentance that requires no restitution and demands no payment of penalties. We know that in God's eyes prevention is greatly superior to cure, as he has said, "For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance;
"Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven".
To live a life of prepentance requires us to develop the kind of faith that destroys sin before it is indulged. This was "the way of life" of Jesus. The scriptures say that Christ, "was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin". Repentance for him was unnecessary because he lived the higher law of prevention.
The greatest miracle ever performed by Jesus was not in controlling the angry sea but in disciplining his own will. His sinless life is the highest manifestation of excellence ever known in the world. Jesus did not need to do a single evil thing in order to find out that it was wrong. The life of Christ was pure, good. His ledger showed all gains and no losses. There were no destructive injuries to be repaired and no restitutions to be made.
What a tremendous benefit we could bestow upon ourselves by calling off the war and learning to live at peace with God, not only in obeying him but also in agreeing with him. If we fully followed him, we could eliminate all of the tragic casualties that are presently strewing themselves along the highway of life.
Recently a man came to see me who felt that he needed to talk to someone about his problems. He was very sorry about his dishonesties, his cheating, and his immoralities. He bitterly regretted the unkindnesses that had caused his wife to die of a broken heart. But although he had repented a thousand times, yet he was powerless to undo his evil. He was unemployed because his past weaknesses had made future confidence impossible. His children were still suffering the disgrace of his bad example, and after having set all of these evils in motion, he could only say, "I wish I could live my life over again." But how ridiculous can we be. No one can live his life over again. There are no rehearsals in life. We can't rehearse birth or life or death. To feel sorry for our sins does not erase the injuries or heal up the wounds. And how can one repent of a bad example or a damaged soul? Sin is the most dangerous and the most destructive of all human experiences, and God has commanded that it should be avoided. "When we are hungry, sin offers us only poisoned bread; when we are thirsty, it invites us to drink at a deadly fountain." It causes all of the trouble, pain, and unhappiness in the world.
Certainly we should never think of sin as a plaything, but as our most deadly enemy. God hates sin, and the Psalmist speaks of our hating evil with a perfect hatred. Prepentance is God's highest law. And what a thrilling and profitable way of life is the religion of doing good, of worshiping God, of hungering and thirsting after righteousness. Jesus demonstrated life's perfect pattern and then said, "Follow me". And every individual life must finally be judged by how well it carries out that single directive.
May God help us to follow him with our whole souls, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Marion D. Hanks
Marion D. Hanks, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 113-115
It is a wonderful blessing to be in this beloved building on these cherished and sacred grounds again. It is glorious to sing with you and to respond to the inspiration of this choir. It is good to be home.
As I walked out of the Church Office Building yesterday morning, I heard a man say to his companion, "If I keep up this schedule I'm going to end up in the grave." My immediate reaction was to feel that whatever schedule he followed his chances of that were pretty good. But the second thought came, a thought expressed by a fine but leaden-footed youngster interrupted in the middle of a drag race by a somewhat stem officer. The boy was asked what he was doing, and he said, "I didn't want to get left in the dust." Well, he won't. No one will, and no one will end up in a grave.
The spirit of every child of God goes on living as we experience mortal death-the temporary separation of the body and spirit-and through the atonement of Christ there will be a universal resurrection. The body and spirit will be joined together again as the eternally living soul. The circumstances under which we shall live eternally, in whose presence, with what companions, and in what condition of opportunity and creative service, we are now deciding by the choices we make.
The great messages of this conference and the stirring and solemn assurances that have come have brought to our hearts renewed assurance that this is the truth. We have been teaching that truth in Europe in the past several years with many of your choice sons and daughters and their older companions. It has been a wonderful experience to see the transforming Spirit of the Lord work upon them as it worked anciently when the Savior called his Apostles from the counting place and the fishing nets and bade them become fishers of men. It is an experience that we wouldn't miss nor trade for anything.
Some years ago a wonderful, successful man, who knew nothing of the Church, spent a few days with his son at a boys' camp where several of these missionaries were serving as counselors. A little time later he wrote a note to one of them. Let me read it:
"It's hard for a person untrained in writing to say what I want to and not sound a bit overboard. I think you know me well enough, though, to know that I mean just what I say. I want to tell you and the others how I feel. There is very little that I know about the Mormon religion, but this I see from my contact with you men during this camp period. In some way it has made itself so vital to young men like you that you found yourself answering a call. You've had to do something personally because your religion is so very personal and important to you. This is a living religion.
"I am a ruling elder in a Protestant church, and I covet for my own church, more than I can tell you, the sort of teaching, leadership, and conviction that breathes such a vital force into its young men. We have our missionaries, of course, but this thing which you do is a different thing. It reaches out within your church in a different way, I judge, and in my humble judgment it is one of the grandest ways I have yet heard of for a fellow to repay in some measure to his God the great debt we all owe. I know that God will richly bless your mission and you. I want you to know that through you and the other men I have had a glimpse of something which to me has the possibility of being an answer to many of the problems that beset my own church and the whole world in these troubled times."
Well, I agree with Mr. Cary's generous and challenging words, his sincere words of commendation and expectation. And I agree with the wonderful implications in them for the missionary, and his younger brother and sister and his parents, for me and you, for all of us. They are to me a sobering portrait of our possibilities and our responsibilities.
As we worked with the missionaries, we worked also with wonderful members of the Church and met multitudes of choice young and older people. I see them in my mind's eye this morning in Frankfurt and Orleans and Berchtesgaden, in London and Bristol and Glasgow, and in a lot of other places. Last Sunday night at a fireside gathering in the Brigham Young University field house there were more youngsters gathered than are congregated on these grounds today. A night or two later at Utah State University I met another great group. I feel in my heart for them and their generation the strongest commendation and confidence. But they have a mighty burden to bear and a great challenge to face.
I have been thinking the last few days of the statement of the Psalmist who sang the sweet strains of heaven: "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies". Our young people have a table prepared all right, and it is a table laden with the gifts that can make this life meaningful and happy and that can fill them in the eternal sense. But the table is in truth, as the Psalmist said, set in the presence of their enemies.
Who are their enemies? Some of them have been spoken of this morning: men who dig gold out of dirt; certain ones who manufacture and market filth; they who, whether misguided or designing, put before our young people a picture of life as some live it but emphasizing the least affirmative and least Godly aspects of man's divine nature. The young have a table prepared for them in the presence of many enemies. One of the enemies is, in every individual case, our own accumulated sinfulness and bad memory. We are constrained to excuse ourselves because of the failings and faults of others. We are constrained to feel that since everybody is doing it, it is all right for us to do it, and this is persuasively propounded by people in various fields who rely on the statistical method and suggest that since large numbers are doing it, then it must be all right for everybody to do it, just so long as you don't go too far.
Well, a tendency in man to excuse himself has ever been with us. Saul was sent on a great mission. Saul failed and then blamed it on his people when he was confronted by the Prophet Samuel. Saul told a falsehood, and Samuel said, "Then what is this bleating I hear in my ear", and then Saul blamed his defection on his people.
In the day of the restoration a great young prophet had to learn the lesson, too. Many of you are acquainted with the third section of the Doctrine and Covenants, this "handbook of the restoration." May I read from it a verse or two which the Lord gave to Joseph Smith after a misfortune in which he had succumbed to the pressure to do something he knew wasn't exactly right. His benefactor and friend who was helping him, providing for him, working with him, wanted some assurance for his wife and family that there really was a prophet at work, and so Joseph Smith reluctantly surrendered to him the manuscript of the then translated portion of the Book of Mormon. This came in response:
"And behold, how oft you have transgressed the commandments and the laws of God, and have gone on in the persuasions of men.
"For, behold, you should not have feared man more than God. Although men set at naught the counsels of God, and despise his words-
"Yet you should have been faithful; and he would have extended his arm and supported you against all the fiery darts of the adversary; and he would have been with you in every time of trouble.
"Behold, thou art Joseph".
"Thou Art You"
Could there be any more sublime or sweet or perceptive answer to the suggestion, this siren song of foolishness, that "everyone is doing it"? Behold, thou art you. And God has given you a table, bounteously laden with the good things of eternity. Will you give it up because others are giving up? Will you surrender the sweet and sound and strong principles of this "vital force" and "living religion"?
Why is it a vital force and whence are its roots? It is a vital force because this is a vital religion. God lives. He is a living, revealing, communicating Father. Christ lives. He is the living Head of this Church. There is a living prophet on the earth to whom the Father communicates and reveals his will. Man was in the beginning with God, and we are always going to live.
God bless us to choose to live in his presence with our loved ones, creatively, actively, effectively serving and loving and learning, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Gordon B. Hinckley
Gordon B. Hinckley, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 116-119
My dear brethren and sisters: It is so great a privilege and so serious a responsibility to speak from this pulpit that I earnestly seek the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
The other day I strolled about the campus of one of our great universities. I was impressed with the splendor of the buildings, the immaculate laboratories, the teaching theaters, the magnificent library, the dormitories, the gymnasiums. But I was more impressed with the students. There were some 17,000 of them-handsome young men and beautiful young women, serious and intent and earnest.
These are a few of the hundreds of thousands who have returned to college life this fall. I am awed by the great forces of knowledge which they represent. Never before have so many been educated in the learning of the world.
What a marvelous thing this is-the intensive schooling of a large percentage of the youth of the land, who meet daily at the feet of able instructors to garner knowledge from all of the ages of man. The extent of that knowledge is staggering. It encompasses the stars of the universe, the geology of the earth, the history of nations, the culture of peoples, the languages they speak, the operation of governments, the laws of commerce, the behavior of the atom, the functions of the body, and the wonders of the mind.
With so much available knowledge one would think that the world might well be near a state of perfection. And yet we are constantly made aware of the other side of the coin-of the sickness of our society, of the contentions and troubles that bring misery into the lives of millions.
Each day we are made increasingly aware of the fact that life is more than science and mathematics, more than history and literature. There is need for another education, without which the substance of our secular learning may lead only to our destruction. I refer to the education of the heart, of the conscience, of the character, of the spirit-these indefinable aspects of our personalities which determine so certainly what we are and what we do in our relationships one with another.
And so I would like to talk briefly with our young people, those in the Church and those out of the Church-with the youth of America and of other good lands.
Thirty years ago while living in England I belonged to the London Central YMCA. I suppose that old building has long since gone, but I can never forget the words that faced us in the foyer each time we entered. They were the words of Solomon: "... with all thy getting get understanding".
I commend them to you.
Understanding of what? Understanding of ourselves, of the purposes of life, of our relationship to God who is our Father, of the great divinely given principles which for centuries have provided the sinew of man's real progress!
I cannot discuss them all, but I would like to suggest three. I offer them not in a spirit of preachment but in a spirit of invitation. Let these be added to your vast store of secular knowledge to become cornerstones on which to establish lives that will be fruitful, productive, and happy.
The first I mention is gratitude, the second is virtue, the third is faith. Others might be named, but I believe these are fundamental to the full development of every child of God.
Gratitude is a divine principle. The Lord has declared through revelation: "Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things..."
"And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things".
Our society is afflicted by a spirit of thoughtless arrogance unbecoming those who have been so magnificently blessed. How grateful we ought to be for the bounties we enjoy. Absence of gratitude is the mark of the narrow, uneducated mind. It bespeaks a lack of knowledge and the ignorance of self-sufficiency. It expresses itself in ugly egotism and frequently in wanton mischief. We have recently seen our beaches, our parks, our forests littered with ugly refuse by young men-many of them college men-who evidently have no appreciation for their beauty. Only the other day I rode through thousands of acres of blackened land scourged by a fire evidently set by a careless smoker whose only concern had been the selfish pleasure gained from a cigarette.
Where there is appreciation, there is courtesy, there is concern for the rights and property of others. Without it there is arrogance and evil.
Where there is gratitude, there is humility, as opposed to pride.
How magnificently we are blessed. How thankful we ought to be. A recent bulletin of the Royal Bank of Canada dealt with underprivileged people of the world. It said among other things:
"It is difficult for North Americans to understand the plight of people in underdeveloped countries, because we have never been hungry. No one dies here of starvation. Elsewhere more than 1,500 million people go to bed hungry every night... The fact is that not more than one in a hundred of the people in underdeveloped countries will ever, in all his life, have what a North American family would consider a good, square meal."
Reflect on that, my dear young friends, and then get on your knees and thank the Lord for his bounties. Cultivate a spirit of thanksgiving for the blessing of life and for the marvelous gifts and privileges you enjoy. The Lord has said, "The meek shall inherit the earth". I cannot escape the interpretation that meekness implies a spirit of gratitude as opposed to an attitude of self-sufficiency, an acknowledgment of a greater power beyond oneself, a recognition of God and an acceptance of his commandments. This is the beginning of wisdom.
"Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers".
Walk with gratitude before him who is the giver of life and every good gift.
Associated with gratitude is virtue. I think they are related because he who is disposed to shun virtue lacks appreciation of life, its purposes, and the happiness and the well-being of others.
One of our great national magazines recently stated the following: "We are witnessing the death of the old morality. The established moral guidelines have been yanked from our hands... We are left floundering in a money-motivated, sex-obsessed, big-city dominated society. We must figure out for ourselves how to apply the traditional moral principles to the problems of our times. Many find this burden too heavy."
Heavy though it be, there is a way to apply traditional moral principles in our day. For some unknown reason there is constantly appearing the false rationalization that at one time in the long-ago, virtue was easy and that now it is difficult. I would like to remind you that there has never been a time since the creation when the same forces were not at work which are at work today. The proposal made by Potiphar's wife to Joseph in Egypt is not essentially different from that faced by many a young man and woman in our day.
The influences today may be more apparent and more seductive, but they are no more compelling. You cannot be shielded entirely from these influences. They are all about us. Our culture is saturated with them. But the same kind of self-discipline exercised by Joseph will yield the same beneficial result. Notwithstanding the so-called "new morality," notwithstanding the much-discussed changes in our moral standard, there is no adequate substitute for virtue. The old standard is challenged on every campus in America as it is in Europe. But God has not abrogated his commandments.
The violation of these commandments in this, as in any other age, brings only regret, sorrow, loss of self-respect, and in many cases tragedy. Rationalization and equivocation will not erase the cankering scar that blights the self-respect of a young man who takes that virtue which he can never replace. Self-justification will never mend the heart of a young woman who has drifted into moral tragedy.
In April of 1942, the First Presidency of the Church issued a message which was read from this pulpit. It has the tone of scripture. I commend it to you:
"To the youth of the Church... above all we plead with you to live clean, for the unclean life leads only to suffering, misery, and woe physically,-and spiritually it is the path to destruction. How glorious and near to the angels is youth that is clean; this youth has joy unspeakable here and eternal happiness hereafter."
I thought of this as I observed these thousands of handsome young men and beautiful young women on the university campus the other day. And I thought of a wise statement from the scripture: "... the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light".
You of marvelous promise, you young men and women of great ability, do not mock God. Do not flout his law. Let virtue be a cornerstone on which to build your lives.
I turn next to faith. I do not mean it in an abstract sense. I mean it as a living, vital force with recognition of God as our Father and Jesus Christ as our Savior. When we accept this basic premise, there will come an acceptance of their teachings and an obedience which will bring peace and joy in this life and exaltation in the life to come.
I do not regard this as a theological platitude. I regard it as a fact of life. It can become the very wellspring of purposeful living. Can you imagine a more compelling motivation to worthwhile endeavor than the knowledge that you are a child of God, the Creator of the universe, our all-wise Heavenly Father who expects you to do something with your life and who will give help when help is sought for?
These wonderful college years are years of learning. Jesus said: "... learn of me...
"For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light".
I should like to suggest that you follow that injunction given by the Son of God. With all of your learning, learn of him. With all of your study, seek knowledge of the Master. That knowledge will complement in a wonderful way the secular training you receive and give a fulness to your life and character that can come in no other way.
We were aboard a plane some years ago flying between Honolulu and Los Angeles. It was in the days when only propeller-driven aircraft were available. About midway in our journey one of the motors stopped. There was a decrease in speed, a lowering in altitude, and a certain amount of nervousness among those aboard. The simple fact of the matter was that much of the power was missing and the hazards were increased accordingly. Without that power we could not fly high, fast, and safely.
It is so with our lives when we discount the need for faith and disregard knowledge of the Lord.
Passive acceptance is not enough. Vibrant testimony comes of anxious seeking. Strength comes of active service in the Master's cause. "... learn of me", was Jesus' injunction. He further declared that he that doeth the will of the Father "... shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself".
And so, while you read math and physics and chemistry, read also the Gospels of the New Testament. And read the testament of the New World, the Book of Mormon, which was brought forth by the power of God "... to the convincing of the Jew and the gentile that Jesus is the Christ".
I should like to pass on to you the words of a wise old man who had traveled far and suffered much and grown ripe in wisdom. I speak of him of whom Brother Hunter has spoken so eloquently today. These words were written by Paul to Timothy while Paul was a prisoner of Nero in Rome. To his beloved young friend he said,
"God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
"Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord".
To every young man and woman I commend this stirring injunction. This is the spirit that will reform the world.
I have been impressed with a statement from Charles Malik, former president of the General Assembly of the United Nations. He said this:
"In this fearful age it is not enough to be happy and prosperous and secure yourselves; it is not enough to tell others: look at us, how happy we are; just copy our system, our know-how, and you will be happy yourselves. In this fearful age you must transcend your system; you must have a message to proclaim to others; you must mean something in terms of ideas and attitudes and fundamental outlook on life; and this something must vibrate with relevance to all conditions of men."
To every young man and woman within the sound of my voice I should like to say, take upon yourself the name of the Lord and then with faith go forth to teach with relevance that which will affect the lives of men and bring peace and joy to the world. The need of the world is a generation of men of learning and influence who can and will stand up and in sincerity and without equivocation declare that God lives and that Jesus is the Christ.
And so, my dear young friends, I suggest to you with all earnestness that as you pursue your secular studies you add another dimension to your life, the cultivation of the spirit. God bless you with that peace which comes from him alone, and that growth which comes of sharing with others that which is most precious, your faith, I pray as I give you my witness of the divinity of this work, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Mark E. Petersen
Mark E. Petersen, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 120-124
Sister Petersen and I bring to you the love and greetings of the many thousands of faithful Saints and missionaries in the West European Mission area. They look forward to these conferences quite as much as we do here. They look forward with much anticipation to the messages given here. They receive them sometimes in printed word and by radio and otherwise. They are uplifted by the conference. Their hearts are with us here today together with their faith and prayers.
We bring special greetings to you, President and Sister McKay, as you look in on this conference. The many wonderful Saints, the lovely people of Europe, love you and honor you; and they would have us bring their greeting to you. And in the words of one of our loveliest songs they would have us say:
"We ever pray for thee, our Prophet dear, That God will give to thee comfort and cheer; As the advancing years furrow thy brow, Still may the light within shine bright as now." -Evan Stephens, Hymns, 386.
We give you, President and Sister McKay, our love and blessing from the West European Mission.
I would like to talk with you today about a subject which is very important to the missionaries of the Church as well as to ourselves and address my remarks very largely to those who are investigating our great Church and studying with our missionaries.
We Latter-day Saints believe the Bible to be the word of God. We love it, and we use it continuously. We also believe the Book of Mormon and other modern scriptures to be the word of God. Some people who study the gospel with us are concerned by this latter fact because they are of the opinion that the Bible contains all of the word of God and that there can be no more scripture. They turn to the last chapter of the book of Revelation, which is also the concluding part of the Bible, and say that it proves that there should be no scripture other than the Bible. The words of John the Revelator to which they refer read as follows:
"For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book".
Of course a careful reading of this text shows very clearly that John the Revelator was speaking only of the book of Revelation and not of any collection of other sacred writings. Moses used a similar expression in speaking to ancient Israel when he said: "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it..." This is found in the fourth chapter of the book of Deuteronomy, verse 2. In the 12th chapter of the same book, verse 32, Moses said this: "What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it".
Can anyone suppose that in these words Moses laid down a prohibition against all subsequent revelations and against all books which might be called scripture in years to come? Did he have the power to silence all future prophets and forbid them to speak or write as God intended that they should? Of course not, or we would be without most of the Old Testament and would have none of the New Testament at all.
It was the same with John the Revelator. In warning against additions to the book of Revelation he spoke of that book only, insisting that no one attempt to change or corrupt what he had said. The Bible was not compiled when John wrote the book of Revelation, so he could not possibly have referred to it. Furthermore, scholars tell us that the Gospel of John was written after the book of Revelation, and if this be true it becomes another indication that John had no thought of precluding other writings but only of protecting this particular book of Revelation from change or corruption.
Then what about subsequent revelation? What about additional scripture? Should earnest readers of the Bible look for additional scriptures? Or should they be content with what they now have? All students of Holy Writ know that the Bible itself refers to a number of other books which the compilers did not include in it, either because they did not have access to them or because they did not consider them to be canonical.
No one who understands the facts believes that the Bible contains all that God has ever revealed to human beings, and the Bible itself confirms this stand. It is interesting to ask ourselves how we obtained the Bible, how it was written originally, and by what means it was handed on down to us.
The Bible is a record of the work and writings of the prophets of God throughout the ages, together with a history of their time. It begins with the writings of the Prophet Moses, who is the accepted author of the first five books of the Old Testament. When Joshua was called to lead Israel, he received revelations also, and they were recorded with the history of his time. This record became known as the book of Joshua. It was new scripture for that day and was placed with the writings of Moses. The book of Judges came next. It was new scripture also and was added to the existing volume. Then came the Prophet Samuel. He received many revelations and wrote much history. His record was new scripture for his day and was added to the existing and now fast-growing volume of God's word.
Who among us would discard the writings of Samuel because in earlier years Moses had said, "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you"? It is obvious that Moses spoke only of his own writings and not of anything written in subsequent times by men called to be prophets like unto himself.
When Ezra and Nehemiah came on the scene, they received revelations which were recorded as scripture and placed with what Moses, Joshua, and Samuel had written. This became a pattern by which we obtained the entire Old Testament. Whenever God had a people on the earth, he raised up prophets who spoke in his name. Their writings became our scriptures. New scripture came with each new prophet, and each of these new books was included with the scripture already in hand.
This pattern held true for the New Testament also. As the sacred word of the Christian era was written, it became scripture. Even the letters of Peter, James, John, Paul, and little-known Jude became scripture, new scripture. And they were so accepted by the people of that day and added to the final volume of scripture as it was at last compiled.
That is the way in which the Bible was prepared originally. It came out of a well-ordered procedure of the Lord. It was always the purpose of God to guide his people and not let them drift, but that guidance constituted new revelation every time it was given. Prophets were there to receive it, and as they wrote, their record became new scripture.
Don't you see that one of the greatest marks of identification of the true Church of God in all the ages has been that it constantly produced new scripture? When there was no new scripture, it was a sign that there was no new revelation, and when there was no new revelation, there was no divine guidance. And when there was no divine guidance, the people drifted into error and darkness. Continuous revelation was essential to the life and survival of the true Church. So were the records of those new revelations, and each new record became new scripture.
The true Church must always produce new scripture according to this pattern. If it does not, we must admit that it has drifted from the path of truth and right. It was Isaiah who explained such a situation which existed anciently when he said:
"... the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
"For your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and you sins have hid his face from you".
To say that there can be no new scripture is itself unscriptural and contrary to the teachings of the Bible. If we truly believe the Bible, we must expect additional scripture from time to time, and to do so we must look for living prophets to receive the revelations which are to become that new scripture. We cannot escape this conclusion. It is a well-established pattern of God's hand-dealings with men all down through the ages.
The Latter-day Saints offer to the world three new volumes of scripture: the Book of Mormon, which is a sacred record of the ancient Americans, the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price, which contain many of the revelations to the Prophet Joseph Smith. They are books of priceless value. They sustain the truthfulness of the Bible and give testimony of the divinity of Mormonism. They declare in no uncertain terms that God has spoken in our day and has made many of his gospel principles clear and understandable through these modern revelations.
Would you like to hear a message from God as given in our day? What would you give to hear his word as revealed in modern times, fully supporting and sustaining what was given anciently? It is here. We have it. We offer it freely to all mankind, and what we offer is fully authentic as were the writings of Joshua and the other prophets when added to those of Moses, and as was the New Testament when added to the Old. The teachings of these new scriptures will bring you divine strength and heavenly light. They will dissipate the doubts and fears that have arisen in honest minds for centuries and will answer gospel questions which have caused many misunderstandings about God's word.
Some have wondered, for example, about the necessity of baptism. Is baptism really essential to salvation, and if so, how should it be administered? If the Bible leaves you in doubt on these points let the modern scriptures help you. A Book of Mormon prophet, in discussing baptism, said at one time:
"... if the Lamb of God, he being holy, should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfil all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water!
"... he showeth unto the children of men that, according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments".
After hearing these words can anyone doubt the necessity of baptism? And would you like to know how baptism should be performed? By what method? In the Book of Mormon the Savior himself explained this as he instructed the men whom he authorized to perform baptisms in ancient America. Said he:
"... ye shall go down and stand in the water, and in my name shall ye baptize them.
"And now behold, these are the words which ye shall say, calling them by name, saying:
"Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
"And then shall ye immerse them in the water, and come forth again out of the water.
"... On this wise shall ye baptize; and there shall be no disputations among you".
How unmistakably clear this is!
Do you ever doubt the actual existence of the Lord Jesus Christ? Would you like some modern assurance that he really lives? Modern revelation provides it. Listen to this testimony given by Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery after a personal visitation of the Savior in a sacred temple built by the Mormon people in Kirtland, Ohio. They said:
"The veil was taken from our minds, and the eyes of our understanding were opened.
"We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit, before us; and under his feet was a paved work of pure gold, in color like amber.
"His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying:
"I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father".
Or listen to the testimony given by Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon when they said:
"... 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".
Modern Revelation Beckons You
Isn't that thrilling? Modern revelation beckons you. It can enlighten your mind and revitalize your whole soul. It will bring you the pure and simple gospel taught by Paul and Peter. It will give you the power to know for yourselves that God really lives, that Jesus is the Christ, and that he has a modern ministry.
We Latter-day Saints are the custodians of that modern ministry. We humbly announce to the world that we are the ordained servants of Jesus Christ. We labor for him and in his name. We have living prophets among us now. They speak, they write, they testify in a great new revelation of God.
We do not teach the commandments or the doctrines of men. We have fully in mind the warning of the Apostle Paul that if anyone preach any other gospel than that which he preached such a one shall be accursed. And we remember too the teachings of the Savior when he said that we shall be judged by every word that we speak, even every idle word. Knowing all of this, we bear solemn and earnest testimony to you that what we teach is God's own truth.
The Almighty has reopened the heavens. He has appeared to modern men and spoken to them personally, face to face, even as he did unto Moses. He has reestablished his true Church on the earth, even as it was in ancient times. He has raised up new prophets on the earth and speaks through them. He has sent to the earth heavenly messengers who ordained these modern prophets to the Holy Priesthood and gave them the divine power to officiate in the ordinances of the gospel and make them valid.
These are facts. They are true, and we lie not. We do not ask you to take our word alone. We urge you to go to the Lord in humble prayer and seek his guidance. He will not lead you astray. He loves you. He is your Father. He has taught us that he will give us enlightenment and give it generously.
But he sets up one condition. We must "... ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed". And yet if our search is honest and our desire sincere, he promises us rich rewards. He invites us to come to him and says: "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you".
We testify to you of the truth of these things, and we do it in the name of the Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder John Longden
John Longden, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 124-126
It is a source of strength to my testimony to witness the evidence of inspiration during these conference sessions. To my knowledge, none of the brethren are instructed in these general sessions to speak upon a particular subject; each selects his own. To me it is interesting and inspirational to see how all of these talks correlate in every session, likewise the music furnished by the various choral groups. As evidence, the opening number this afternoon by the Tabernacle Choir entitled, "In My Father's House Are Many Mansions," expresses this thought: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you".
Two weeks or so ago, I selected as my subject, "Peace."
In the words of the Prophet Isaiah as he prophesied about the coming of Jesus: "for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace".
Peace is a word about which we hear much today. Is it being used loosely for personal gain by individuals or groups?
Peace is not to be trifled with. May I give you and share with you some thoughts on this subject as related by Wilferd Petersen, entitled "Peace Is More than a Word."
"The word peace has been printed billions of times, uttered in billions of prayers, spoken millions of times over the radio and television and voiced thousands of times by every member of the human race in all the languages of earth, and still we have wars.
"It is high time to consider that peace is more than a word. It is more than a spot of ink on a piece of paper, or a sound on our lips.
"Peace is everything that makes life worth living.
"Peace is God on both sides of the table in a conference.
"Peace is good will in action.
"Peace is worldwide neighborliness.
"Peace is cooperation and team work; it is pulling with people instead of pushing them around.
"Peace is sanity and common sense in human relations.
"Peace is open-mindedness. It is a willingness to listen as well as to talk. It is looking at both sides of a situation objectively.
"Peace is patience. It means keeping our tempers, rising above petty irritations, taking the long look. It means keeping our shirts on and giving time a chance to work its magic.
"Peace is having the courage and humility to admit mistakes and take the blame when we are wrong.
"Peace is international courtesy. It is good sportsmanship in world affairs.
"Peace is tact, and tact has been defined as the ability to pull the stinger of a bee without getting stung.
"Peace is vision. It is being big enough to give up small individual advantages for the universal advantage of a warless world.
"Peace is using the Golden Rule as a measuring stick in solving the problems of the world.
"Peace is the open hand instead of the clenched fist. It is tolerance and understanding toward men of every class, creed, and color.
"Peace is a mighty faith. It is a radiant belief in the potential goodness and greatness of men. It is a dynamic confidence that war can be abolished forever.
"Peace is a thing of the heart as well as the head. It is a warmth, an enthusiasm, a magnetism, that reaches out and draws people together in a common purpose.
"Peace is top level thinking, feeling, acting. It is rising high above tanks, planes, and atom bombs as a way of settling disputes.
"Peace is a way of living."
May we build peace in the little spheres of our daily lives, our homes, our industries, our communities, cities, states, and the world.
The Lord gave a revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith, as recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants, section 105, verses 38 to 41. This was given June 22, 1834, when members of the Church were being persecuted and driven from place to place.
"And again, I say unto you, sue for peace, not only to the people that have smitten you, but also to all people;
"And lift up an ensign of peace, and make a proclamation of peace unto the ends of the earth;
"And make proposals for peace unto those who have smitten you, according to the voice of the Spirit which is in you, and all things shall work together for your good.
"Therefore, be faithful; and behold, and lo, I am with you even unto the end. Even so".
The message of peace is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Embodied in the gospel is a complete way of life.
Today, in fulfillment of this scripture to establish an ensign, there are seventy-four missions throughout the world, approximately 12,000 missionaries going out to the four corners of the earth, delivering a message which will bring peace to the hearts of men. This will come to all who will listen, study, pray, accept, and live the teachings of the Master.
We need to be reminded of the prayer offered at the dedication of the temple at Kirtland, Ohio, March 27, 1836. This prayer was given to the Prophet by revelation, according to his written statement in the History of the Church, 2, 410-428:
"... that thy servants may go forth from this house armed with thy power, and that thy name may be upon them, and thy glory be round about them...
"And from this place they may bear exceedingly great and glorious tidings, in truth, unto the ends of the earth, that they may know that this is thy work, and that thou hast put forth thy hand, to fulfil that which thou hast spoken by the mouths of the prophets, concerning the last days...
"That no weapon formed against them shall prosper; that he who diggeth a pit for them shall fall into the same himself;
"That no combination of wickedness shall have power to rise up and prevail over thy people upon whom thy name shall be put in this house ...
"We ask thee, Holy Father, to confound, and astonish, and bring to shame and confusion, all those who have spread lying reports abroad, over the world, against thy servant or servants, if they will not repent, when the everlasting gospel shall be proclaimed in their ears...
"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".
The Savior is the Author of Peace, the Price of Peace. He said: Come, follow me, "... for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light".
The application of his gospel in our daily lives will bring peace and contentment to the soul, for his promise unto us is: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you".
May I quote from the memorable sermon given by President David O. McKay last October conference, to be exact, October 4, 1963:
"Let us ever keep in mind that life is largely what we make it, and that the Savior of men has marked clearly and plainly just how joy and peace may be obtained. It is in the gospel of Jesus Christ and adherence thereto."
Also let us remember his opening remarks of this conference read by his son Robert McKay, "Path to Peace."
May we realize, then, that peace is more than a spot of ink on a piece of paper or a sound upon our lips. It is the application of the teachings of the Prince of Peace in our daily lives. The prophets have been and are speaking. May we follow them. May all we think, say, and do be in accord with the teachings of Jesus, and I assure you we will have peace.
For this I pray humbly, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.
Elder Boyd K. Packer
Boyd K. Packer, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 126-129
Some time ago a representative of the Church on a plane bound for a large west coast city was drawn into conversation with a young attorney. Their conversation centered on the front page of a newspaper, a large city tabloid with the sordid, the ugly, the tragic openly displayed.
The attorney said the newspaper was typical of humanity and typical of life-miserable, meaningless, and in all ways useless and futile. The elder protested, holding that life was purposeful, and that there lives a God who loves his children, and that life is good indeed.
When the attorney learned that he was speaking to a minister of the gospel, he said with some emphasis, "All right! We have one hour and twenty-eight minutes left on this flight, and I want you to tell me what business you or anyone else has traipsing about the earth saying that there is a God or that life has any substantial meaning."
He then confessed himself to be an atheist and pressed his disbelief so urgently that finally he was told, "You are wrong, my friend. There is a God. He lives. I know he lives." And he heard the elder proclaim with fervor his witness that Jesus is the Christ.
But the testimony fell on doubtful ears. "You don't know," he said. "Nobody knows that! You can't know it."
The elder would not yield and the attorney finally said condescendingly, "All right. You say you know. Then tell me how you know."
The elder had been faced with questions before, in written and oral examinations attendant to receiving advanced degrees, but never had a question come which seemed to be so monumentally significant.
I mention this incident, for it illustrates the challenge that members of the Church face-all of them. This challenge particularly becomes a stumbling block to our youth. They face a dilemma when the cynic and the skeptic treat them with academic contempt because they hold to a simple child-like faith. Before such a challenge many of them turn away, embarrassed and ashamed that they cannot answer the question.
As our friend attempted to answer this question, he found himself helpless to communicate with the attorney, for when he said, "The Holy Ghost has borne witness to my soul," the attorney said, "I don't know what you are talking about."
The words "prayer" and "discernment" and "faith" were meaningless to the attorney, for they were outside the realm of his experience.
"You see," said the attorney, "you don't really know. If you did, you would be able to tell me how you know." The implication was that anything we know we readily can explain in words alone.
But Paul said:
"Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
"Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
"But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned".
The elder felt that he might have borne his testimony unwisely and prayed in his heart that if the young attorney could not understand the words, he could at least feel the sincerity of the declaration.
"All knowledge is not conveyed in words alone," he said. And then he asked the attorney, "Do you know what salt tastes like?"
"Of course I do," was the reply.
"When did you taste salt last?"
"Why, just as we had dinner on the plane."
"You just think you know what salt tastes like," said the elder.
"I know what salt tastes like as well as I know anything," said the attorney.
"If I gave you a cup of salt and a cup of sugar and let you taste them both, could you tell the salt from the sugar?"
"Now you are getting juvenile," was his reply. "Of course I could tell the difference. I know what salt tastes like. It is an everyday experience; I know it as well as I know anything."
"Then," said the elder, "may I ask you one further question? Assuming that I had never tasted salt, could you explain to me, in words, just what it tastes like?"
After some thought the attorney ventured, "Well... I... it is not sweet, and it is not sour."
"You have told me what it isn't," was the answer, "not what it is."
After several attempts he admitted failure in the little exercise of conveying in words knowledge so commonplace as that. He found himself quite as helpless as the elder had been to answer his question.
As they parted in the terminal the elder bore testimony once again, saying, "I claim to know there is a God. You ridiculed that testimony and said that if I did know I would be able to tell you exactly how I know.
"My friend, spiritually speaking, I have tasted salt. I am no more able to convey to you in words how this knowledge has come than you are to perform the simple exercise of telling me what salt tastes like. But I say to you again, there is a God. He does live. And just because you don't know, don't try to tell me that I don't know, for I do."
Young people, do not apologize or be ashamed because you cannot frame into words that which you know in your heart to be true. Do not repudiate your testimony merely because you have no marvelous manifestations to discuss.
Lehi saw in his dream those who "tasted the fruit," and "were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them; and they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost".
We sympathize with you and know how difficult it is to hold to the truth, particularly when professors of worldly knowledge-some of them counterfeit Christians-debunk and scoff. We know from personal experience that you may have some doubts. You may wonder at times, "Can I ever really know for sure?" You may even wonder, "Does anyone really know for sure?"
President David O. McKay once told of his search for a testimony as a youth. "I realized in youth," he said, "that the most precious thing that a man could obtain in this life was a testimony of the divinity of this work. I hungered for it."
He indicated that he had somehow received the impression that the testimony would come as a great spiritual manifestation.
"I remember," he said, "riding over the hills one afternoon thinking of these things and concluded that there in the silence of the hills was the best place to get that testimony.
"I stopped my horse and threw the reins over his head... I knelt down and with all of the fervor of my heart poured out my soul to God and asked him for a testimony of this gospel. I had in mind that there would be some manifestation, that I should receive some transformation that would leave me without doubt.
"I arose, mounted my horse, and as I started over the trail I remember rather introspectively searching myself, and involuntarily shaking my head, saying to myself, 'No, sir, there is no change; I am just the same boy I was before I knelt down.'"
President McKay continues, "The anticipated manifestation had not come. Nor was that the only occasion. However, it did come, but not in the way that I had anticipated. Even the manifestation of God's power and the presence of his angels came, but when it did come, it was simply a confirmation; it was not the testimony."
In answer to your question, "Can I ever really know for sure?" we answer, just as certainly as you fill the requirements, that testimony will come. The Lord has never said, nor was it ever pretended, that this testimony yields itself to scientific investigation, to mere curiosity, or to academic inquiry.
In answer to your question, "Does anybody really know?" Yes, tens of thousands know. The brethren know. Your parents know.
I have respect for the truth. It is wrong to fabricate, to invent, to mislead.
There is another dimension also. When one has received that witness, and is called to testify, for him to dilute, to minimize, to withhold would be grossly wrong. It is in the face of this that I feel the urgency to bear witness. And I bear my solemn witness that Jesus is the Christ. I say that I know Jesus is the Christ, that the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored to Joseph Smith, a prophet of God, that David O. McKay who presides over this Church is a prophet of God. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder ElRay L. Christiansen
ElRay L. Christiansen, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 129-131
My brothers and sisters, I have been greatly edified by the proceedings of this great conference, and I am thankful.
We live in a wonderful world and no doubt in the most wonderful era. There are so many lovely and desirable things to do, to enjoy, and to accomplish. There are so many people who help to make life meaningful and purposeful and worthwhile. But, at the same time, this is a day in which there is much anxiety, confusion, mistrust, and fear. This is a time when, as prophesied, many are "... walking in darkness at noon-day".
In attempting to understand the perplexities of these days, many good people seem to be running to and fro, here and there, seeking to find security in order that they may have peace of mind.
Some, seemingly, depend upon fleeting pleasures to satisfy the longings of their souls. Often these attempt to drown the realities of life in unrestrained living. They seem to be among those who are "... lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God".
As a result they find their course is shallow and unproductive of contentment and happiness.
The questionable value of mere pleasures is well described by the poet Robert Burns, who wrote in part:
"But pleasures are like poppies spread: You seize the flow'r, its bloom is shed; Or like the snow falls in the river, A moment white-then melts for ever."
Some people attempt to find solace in esoteric intellectual pursuits, while still others seek a haven of security in untried ideologies and man-made formulas. Rather than chart the course for themselves, they seem to be willing to place their lives, their fortunes, their all-even their posterity-in the hands of "benevolent" agencies which formulate and prescribe a way of life for them.
This misplaced trust is contributing to the chaotic conditions of our day. Truly it may be said that these last days are exhibiting more than ever the blatant power and force of Satan.
"O that cunning plan of the evil one," exclaimed Jacob. "O the vainness, and the frailties... 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".
In this day of debauchery and crime when a man or woman or a boy or a girl can sink to greater depths than ever before, we can be grateful that even in the midst of these opposing forces, it is possible through following the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for each of us to learn and to progress and to reach the greatest heights in less time than ever before.
How may we in our short lifetime prepare to reach the greatest heights? Is it by placing our trust in the wisdom and power and the abilities of man? No! For "Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord".
And from the Book of Mormon we could add, "... or shall hearken unto the precepts of men, save their precepts shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost".
This is not to minimize the almost unbelievable accomplishments which man has made in conquering his environment and in subduing the earth. But to conquer and subdue the earth is futile if we fail to conquer and subdue ourselves and to place our trust in the Lord.
In one of our hymns we sing, "The fight with sin is real...", and it really is! It began in our pre-existent life, and "... to bring about his eternal purposes in the end of man..." we are told the fight with sin will continue in order that man may be free to choose between the captivity and power of the devil and liberty and eternal life through Jesus Christ the Lord.
In that pre-earth life Lucifer offered to "save" mankind and to bring all back. But he would have done it by deceit and by force, thereby destroying the agency of man. He demanded as his price that God give him all the honor and the glory that belongs to our Heavenly Father. Jesus, when he heard Lucifer's selfish plan, offered himself as the Savior of mankind and in so doing said: "Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever".
We must have witnessed that tragic scene when Lucifer with a third of the hosts of heaven arose in hateful rebellion against God, for it is recorded that there were many led away captive by him, "... even as many as would not hearken unto my voice". That one third of the hosts of heaven placed their trust in Lucifer and followed after him. What a tragic event! And yet, even in that pre-existent state, the right of choice was theirs and ours, and that right continues with us today. We then chose the right. We placed our trust in God.
Now what of today? We have been told by our living prophet that "... Never before... were there so many insidious influences at work among our people as today... never before have dangers been so threatening to our youth... some think the standards of morality have changed. The standard of morals of a Latter-day Saint... will never change."
This is a day of sifting, when the Lord determines "who's who," when the "goats" will separate themselves from the "sheep"; actually this is the day when we must determine and prove whether we are Latter-day Saints or whether we are "Latter-day Saints."
The Latter-day Saints are without excuse. We are well taught, we are well directed. We have both ancient and modern scripture to guide us. We have the priesthood. We have living prophets, and I testify to you that President David O. McKay is just that. We have the Church with its supporting organizations. We have the saving and exalting ordinances which are administered by proper authority in holy temples. We have the Holy Ghost to guide us, to warn us, and to impress us. But still we must learn that except through Jesus of Nazareth, "... there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved".
In whom then shall we place our trust? Men may scheme and plan, they may devise programs, and they may legislate changes, but contentment and peace will come only when we trust in God and admit our sins and forsake them and then with determination "... live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God".
To you who are sorrowing, to you who are discouraged, to you who are in doubt, to you who need help-Jesus gave the answer to the question, where shall I place my trust? as he closed his sermon to the multitude and voiced his great message to the rest of the down-trodden:
"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".
Yes, "Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is". May we all place our trust in the Lord and heed such counsel as we have been given in this conference, I pray humbly in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Alvin R. Dyer
Alvin R. Dyer, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 131-134
My brethren and sisters, if varied experiences enrich the soul, then I would hope for every one of you that you could be assigned to be one of the last speakers in a general conference of the Church. It reminds me of a story that Brother Adam S. Bennion told once. He was a great storyteller as you remember.
He said that there was a man who was disturbed by the howling dog of his neighbor. He stood it as long as he could, and then at 3 am in the morning put on his bathrobe and slippers and walked across the intervening lawn to his neighbor's home. He pounded on the door until he finally roused the neighbor, who came to the door sleepy-eyed, and he said to him, "Say, mister, your howling dog has kept me awake all night."
Strangely enough, the neighbor never said a word. He just closed the door and went back to bed. But the next morning at precisely the same hour he went across the same lawn in the other direction and pounded on his neighbor's door and finally got him up. And when he came to the door, he said, "Say, mister, I haven't got a dog."
Well, that's the way I feel right now, brothers and sisters, I haven't got a subject. They have all been spoken on.
But realistically, the breadth and the depth of the subjects of the gospel is so great that I suppose every speaker, succeeding one after another, could well speak on the same subject.
In the days of ancient Israel, "the feast," which was similar to our present-day "conference," was a time of gathering, a time of harvest, a time of rejoicing, and, what is more particularly significant, "the feast" was designated by the Lord as a time of remembrance. I cannot help feeling that here should be the re-enactment of this ancient admonition of the Lord, that we should remember the things that we have heard at this great conference of the Church.
That we have met under the peaceful influence of President McKay, who is nearby, at this conference brings to all of us a comforting reassurance.
With due respect to Brother Petersen in the excellent treatment of the subject of revelation I would like to offer one or two thoughts which go in a different direction, treating perhaps another aspect of it.
Our Ninth Article of Faith states: "We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God".
From this we declare that the salvation of mankind is dependent upon communication from God.
In this age of space exploration science is probing deeper and deeper into the universe. A landing upon the moon is planned. Contact with Venus, Mars, and other planets is also under consideration. That other beings will be found to exist "out there" in the depths of space is a matter of scientific concern.
Suppose this proved to be true and contact with people of other planets were permitted by the Lord; it would be ironic indeed if they were found to have the same lack of response or "no concern" attitude as do the people of the planet Earth, generally, toward the visits and contacts made by persons from outer space who have already come to the earth.
Since 1830 we have proclaimed to the world that visitors on divine missions have been sent to this planet to reveal the purpose of this life and the needed preparation for life after mortal death. Concerning other occupied planets, God made this known unto Moses, as revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith:
"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". As to his purpose, he said to Moses: "For behold, this is my work and my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man".
Men dream of finding somewhere "out there" super beings whose intelligence is superior to that found upon the earth. But this concept could have a two-way application in that visitors from outer space with superior intelligence and understanding could come to the planet Earth with vital truths of salvation.
Speakers at this conference have testified of the appearance of God our Heavenly Father and his Beloved Son, who is the Lord and Redeemer of mankind, unto the Prophet Joseph Smith. Contacts have also been made by other messengers sent to the earth from the presence of God. We are now firmly in possession of the knowledge of the way back from mortality into immortality, there to dwell in the presence of our Heavenly Father, who in his holy purposes desires his children back with him.
Revelation may be regarded as incredible to many. Its reality may also be taken for granted by our own members, producing a danger of forsaking the very will of God.
I testify, as others have done here today, that God revealed his mind and will unto Joseph Smith, the first prophet in our modern times, and that since his day there have been other prophets who have presided over this work and who have been directed by the Lord. I testify that President David O. McKay is the chosen leader of God's work here upon the earth today, unto whom he has given revelation for the guidance and direction of the work which our Heavenly Father desires carried out upon the earth to accomplish his purposes.
We are frequently asked the questions by those who are not of our faith, "When was the last time that your prophet received a revelation?" and "How is it made known to your people?" In answer to these questions may I cite two most recent evidences of divine instruction and revelation from God which are for the guidance of the Church.
The first of these concerns the message of President McKay at the beginning of this conference, the substance of which he also gave to the stake presidencies of the Oakland Temple District not long ago. Upon both of these occasions he told of the great love of Jesus Christ and charged the assembly to reflect this love in their acts and deeds toward their fellow men. He also told of the increase of the powers of darkness in accordance with the spread of the restored gospel.
He proclaimed a warning unto those of the Church who might compromise their way of life and lose the power and understanding of the gospel that "Atheism is the greatest weapon Satan has to use, and its evil influence is bringing degradation to millions throughout the world." And then, what is singularly important as a divine inspiration from a prophet of God, he said, "Only the declaration of the divinity of Jesus Christ to all the people of the world can counteract this evil."
The second concerns the remarks of Elder Harold B. Lee last night in the general priesthood meeting unfolding the outline of the family home evening program, concerning which you will hear a great deal in the weeks ahead. He premised his remarks by referring to the statements made by the prophets of God in this dispensation, emphasizing the importance of parents teaching their children the gospel. These statements made by the President of our Church are actually revelations from God concerning the importance of the family unit in the plan of the gospel.
Our high resolve should be to bring ourselves in harmony with this instruction, thereby obeying the mind and will of God as it is revealed unto his servants. In contemplation of this divine information and these instructions, I would say unto those who have asked the question, "When was a revelation last given?" that they might profitably take note of the nature of and the manner by which these revelations referred to have been given.
From the Doctrine and Covenants I quote the following: "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".
The commandments given by revelations from God provide the laws and ordinances of the gospel, and obedience thereto will exalt man in the presence of our Heavenly Father. They contain "pure knowledge" which man cannot find out in and of himself, thereby necessitating their divine communication.
The Prophet Joseph Smith once described the manner in which such direct inspiration comes, for said he: "Yea, thus saith the still small voice, which whispereth through and pierceth all things, and often times it maketh my bones to quake while it maketh manifest".
Speaking to those who would deny the revelations of God, I would conclude with the remarks of the Prophet Moroni, the same who made contact with Joseph Smith as a visitor sent from the presence of God, as recorded in the Book of Mormon:
"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.
"For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variableness neither shadow of changing?".
About six weeks before the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith, as he had been harassed by many concerning the revelations which God had given unto him, he bore publicly, at that very important meeting held in Nauvoo on May 12, 1844, perhaps one of his last testimonies concerning the revelations of God, wherein he said:
"Oh! I beseech you go forward... and make your calling and your election sure.
"When did I ever teach anything wrong from this stand? When was I ever confounded? I want to triumph in Israel before I depart hence and am no more seen. I never told you I was perfect; but there is no error in the revelations which I have taught."
The challenge to the members of the Church in these closing minutes of this great conference is to adhere to the revelations from God that we may make our election sure. The challenge to those not of the Church who are watching and listening is to be concerned, to investigate, and to find out for themselves the truth of revelations from God, as they have been given by divine messengers who have visited the earth, that they may come to know the ways of the Lord and then courageously accept and live by them.
I bear you my testimony to be added to those already borne that this is the work of our Heavenly Father. I am grateful, my brothers and sisters, to be associated with you and pray that the work may go forward as the Lord has ordained that it should, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Richard L. Evans
Richard L. Evans, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 134-137
Somewhere I have read or heard of this remark by a woman who was observing a clean and manly and admirable young man. "I would give twenty years of my life," she said, "to have a son like that." The mother of the boy, standing nearby, overheard the comment and replied: "That is what I have given-twenty years of my life."
My mind keeps going back to a sentence from the April conference address of President McKay, in which he said: "No other success can compensate for failure in the home."
There is no easy way to rear a family. There is no way, really, to be part-time parents. There are other necessary interests and activities and obligations, but the responsibility of being a parent is ever-present and lifelong. And there is nothing more rewarding than the sacred assignment of parenthood, faithfully followed through.
With the home and family in mind, as emphasized so effectively last evening in the messages from President McKay and Presidents Brown and Tanner and by Brother Lee and Bishop Simpson, the counsel comes to us to teach our children, to draw near to them in love, in patience, in respect, and in righteous example.
The counsel comes to us to re-emphasize the home-the first and most effective place for teaching the values and virtues and the lessons of life. This counsel has been given by a long succession of prophets and Presidents of the Church and by our Father in heaven over all the ages.
Of Abraham it was said: "For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord".
And through Moses: "... I give unto you a commandment, to teach these things freely unto your children".
From King Benjamin in the Book of Mormon: "And ye will not suffer your children that they go hungry, or naked; neither will ye suffer that they transgress the laws of God, and fight and quarrel one with another, and serve the devil, who is the master of sin...
"But ye will teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness; ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another".
And from the Doctrine and Covenants, oft-quoted: "And they shall also teach their children to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord".
"... I have commanded you to bring up your children in light and truth".
"... set in order your own house".
"... see that are more diligent and concerned at home, and pray always, or they shall be removed out of their place".
"We have been so eager to give our children what we didn't have," said one observer, "that we have neglected to give them what they should have."
"Ought we not to begin," said another spiritual teacher, "by offering our children those things that we did have? In our childhood we received maximum religious instruction. In our childhood we beheld examples of persevering frugality, hard work, and the spirit of pioneering on every frontier of life. Things were not just handed to us."
"It is in youth," said Benjamin Franklin, "that we plant our chief habits and prejudices... in youth the private and public character is determined..."
The idea that we can leave to children entirely to choose as to the essentials of life is an altogether unsafe idea.
What agency or institution would be qualified to supersede the home? Where else would we go for the first seeds of faith? Where else is example so close, so constant?
There never was a tonic that would cure more social ailments than a healthy, happy home. There never was a greater source of social stability than an affectionate and understanding family. There never was a better way of helping children to happiness than the close confidence of wise and loving and responsible parents.
Of course there are some who haven't homes. But if all the homes we have were doing what they could or ought to do, there would be less need for many agencies and institutions that are bravely attempting to do what the home should do. And before we create more and more complex social machinery, we ought to put the emphasis back where it belongs, on the oldest social institution in existence-the family, the home. And if more and ever more emphasis is placed outside the home, we shall have less and less influence with our families and more and more public problems.
Among the most important privileges of parents is the making of a happy home, a place of understanding, of love and loyalty, not marred by quarreling and contention, a place wherever they are and however old they are, they will remember with warm and wonderful memories.
The question comes at times as to whether or not mothers should work. Certainly circumstances would vary the answer. This comment from Dr. Elton Trueblood is of interest:
"We know that the Communist philosophy of Russia has a clear answer to this question: that women should be employed exactly as men are, the state caring for the children doing the mother's hours of employment outside the home. because our philosophy includes other values, especially those of the home as a creative center, we cannot subscribe to this... doctrine... Many women engage in work outside the home. But often they do it at the wrong time in their lives. There is a period when a woman who makes a home what it ought to be necessarily finds it occupying all the time, energy and imagination she possesses."
How can we expect other people to teach and to build character in our children if we don't?
How can we expect others to take their time and to inconvenience themselves for our children if we don't?
Sometimes some parents mistakenly feel that they can relax a little as to conduct and conformity or take perhaps a so called liberal view of basic and fundamental things-thinking that a little laxness or indulgence won't matter-or they may fail to teach or to attend Church, or may voice critical views. Some parents sometimes seem to feel that they can ease up a little on the fundamentals without affecting their family or their family's future. But if a parent goes a little off course, the children are likely to exceed the parent's example.
"He who imitates an evil example," said Francisco Guicciardini, "generally goes beyond it; he who imitates a good example generally falls short of it."
There must be standards and examples that are sure and safe to follow. To lead our children away from faithfulness, away from conformity, away from basic and bedrock belief is too much responsibility to take.
Sometimes, later in life, these same parents turn and come closer to the Church, only to find to their sorrow that their children, having been encouraged in a different direction, don't turn back so easily-if ever.
"Whatever you would have your children become, strive to exhibit in your own lives and conversation," said Lydia Sigourney.
"We can do more good by being good, than in any other way."
Mahatma Ghandi said: "My life is my message." Every parent could say it also, and every parent's life will be his message to the latest generation.
One of the first essentials is for parents to be united in their objectives, of one faith and one purpose. "Do you expect, forsooth," asked an ancient Roman poet, do you really expect "that a mother will hand down to her children principles which differ from her own?" Any young man who thinks that a girl who doesn't believe as he believes will teach his children as he would teach them simply isn't facing facts. In marrying we choose the parents of our children, and we have an obligation to ourselves and to our children to marry those with whom there can be a oneness of purpose and conviction.
We often read and quote from the Doctrine and Covenants: "And if it so be that you should labor all your days... and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!".
Now if it is a thing of such exceeding joy to bring one soul to our Father, how great a joy it must be to keep and bring back to him those whom he has given us. It is wonderful and essential to send missionaries to far places, but how could we justify not keeping our own?
If it is important to be our brother's keeper, how very important it must be to be our children's keeper, the keeper of our families, those whom God has given us. When does a parent's responsibility cease? Legally we can define it, but is it over-ever?
The family circle is everlasting, and so are its responsibilities and blessings.
And so it is that the Presidents of the Church from far back have emphasized the home and have waged a weekly home evening. We have come to the time when it is well and strongly felt that there must be a re-emphasis on the home, and for this coming year there will be provided a gospel course of instruction for some of these home evenings for parents to teach their children.
It is an act of greatness and heroism to hold a family together, to set before them an example, to teach them in ways of truth, to live a life of consistency, to provide necessities, to nurse and serve in sickness, to wash, to cook, to clean, to make, to mend, to counsel, to love, to understand, to pray, to be patient, and to do the thousand other unnamed things that it takes to rear a family, to make a house a home-and to do it every day, sometimes without seeming gratitude-and to lead a family righteously unto eternal life. And since it is our Father's purpose to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of his children, what could better be our purpose as parents?
And what if it does take twenty years-or forty-or forever? What can life better be used for?
There keep coming back to me the words of President McKay: "No other success can compensate for failure in the home."
Keeping a home, a family, going and together, is heroic. Thank God for faithful parents.
To those who have somewhat withdrawn themselves, I would plead with you to turn again to know the peace and blessings of the faith of your fathers. To those who have never known, I would plead with you to open your hearts and your minds to the search for truth.
In the words of the song the choir has sung I would plead, with you, that the King of kings may come and be mindful of us. In the words of another song, so dear to all of us, I would remember, with you, our President, in thanking God for a prophet, to guide us in these latter days.
And, with you, I would bear witness of our literal relationship to God our Father, who made us in his own image, and to the divinity of his Beloved Son, our Savior, and to the gospel plan and purpose for bringing us back into their presence, for the wonderful association and limitless opportunities of everlasting life.
And, with you, I pray and plead that we may so live and teach our children that we may have them with us, not one missing-always and forever-and I do it in the name of our beloved divine Redeemer, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Harold B. Lee
Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, October 1964, pp. 137-139
I suppose it is unnecessary to say that this is unscheduled, unprogrammed, unrehearsed, and, as you will soon observe, unprepared.
My mind has been filled with the realization that in 1964 and the year just preceding, we have been receiving as pertinent and important divine direction as has ever been given to the Church in any similar period in its history through the prophet and leader who now presides as the President of this Church. You may recognize it in some of the developments we know as the correlation program. You have seen it being unraveled bit by bit, and you will see and hear more of it.
One of the first assignments that was given to President Elmer G. Peterson of the Utah State University who served in the church welfare program, he being a member of our agricultural committee with Dr. John A. Widtsoe as the chairman, was some agricultural assignment. After he had made his report of this assignment, he made this significant statement: "Brethren, I have discovered again something that I have always known. The members of this Church are like soldiers in the ranks, and all they need is for someone to give them marching orders."
Now that is exactly what is being done. You may not be aware of the fact that there are approximately five hundred specially called, specially trained specialists in four great priesthood fields and in the auxiliary organizations who go out by regular assignments to stake conferences and to regional meetings throughout the entire Church to give specific and definite directions as to the carrying out of the great program which is intended to concentrate the forces of the Lord to meet the challenging opposition of the onslaughts of evil that are so apparent among us.
A week ago yesterday I had a glorious hour with President McKay, as keen and alert and as assured as to this matter of renewing our determination to have a weekly family home night as I have ever seen President McKay. And he said, "We have talked about this thing for fifty years. Now it is time we were doing something about it."
Now that something is to be done in for different ways. In the first place there have been prepared a full year's lessons for parents to guide them in the teaching of the gospel in the home. These lesson manuals will be brought into the home by the home teachers, who will then as their part of the program give helpful suggestions and directions to homes which may need that direction.
Priesthood quorums for the next year will study, every weekly class period, the place of the father in the teaching of the gospel to his own children in the home. And once a month the mothers will have a similar lesson.
As I have read and studied these lessons, I have become aware that the more nearly we have a weekly home gospel discussion lesson with appropriate activity, the more nearly we will be able to coordinate with the Relief Society and Melchizedek Priesthood lessons. There will be optional lessons suggested for optional home nights on other things that some may care to have to augment the gospel lesson instruction.
As I have thought of home night, I have thought of my own family, and I suppose all of you have as you have been listening. When our eldest daughter was to be married to a fine Latter-day Saint boy, the two mothers were in the corner of the room talking to each other. The mother of our eldest daughter said, "You know, from the time my little girl was born I have been praying that somewhere a mother would be preparing a son worthy to marry my daughter." And this other mother smiled and said, "Isn't that strange. This is my only son, who is being married to your daughter, and ever since he was born, I too have been praying that somewhere there would be a mother preparing a daughter worthy to meet and to marry my son."
It is that kind of home attention-fathers and mothers preparing daughters and sons who will make us and our homes stronger today.
We said last night to priesthood leaders that we propose to send out for a stake introductory program at one of your stake priesthood meetings shortly after this conference a program to be carried out, and then a film strip of probably seventy frames or more to give specific instructions in the ward where every family may have the chance to be called together and to be given instruction as to the way to carry out the family home night. Now these will be sent out to you and will be your instruction to start the indoctrination period at once so that by January 1 we may be in full gear so far as the weekly home night.
One of the hopes we have is that in this program every boy and girl of deacon age and older will have the four standard works in their private possession, and that on Easter, on birthdays, on Christmas, on New Year's, you make this a part of your family giving to your children, so they may have the joy of personally owning the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price, and from these precious pages begin to be instructed in the ways of the Lord.
As I thought of what we are doing now and its possible impact, the words of the Prophet Micah came, "But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.
"And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem".
I say to you Latter-day Saint mothers and fathers that if you will rise to the responsibility of teaching your children in the home-priesthood quorums preparing the fathers, the Relief Society the mothers-the day will soon be dawning when the whole world will come to our doors and will say, "Show us your way that we may walk in your path."
And so in final summation as I have been thinking of what has been said, and in carrying out what our noble leader wishes, my prayer is that his heart will have been thrilled, inasmuch as he, perhaps more than any other living individual, past or present, has given the urge to this matter of teaching and living the gospel in the home. And perhaps this is the scripture we should all remember as an admonition from the Lord that strikes to the heart of what we are talking about, "Search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good, if ye walk uprightly and remember the covenant wherewith ye have covenanted one with another".
I bear you my solemn testimony that I know with all my soul that God today, as well as in times past, is revealing his mind and will to his people, and if we will search diligently, pray always, and be believing, all things shall work to the good of him who remembers the covenants with which he has covenanted one with the other. And so I bear testimony and leave you my blessing in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.