Conference reports of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-EIGHTH

ANNUAL

CONFERENCE

OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST
OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

HELD IN THE TABERNACLE
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

APRIL 5, 6, 7, 1968
WITH REPORT OF DISCOURSES

Published by

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Salt Lake City, Utah

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Conf. Report

OFFICIAL REPORT

of the

ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-EIGHTH
ANNUAL CONFERENCE

of

THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST
OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

held in the
Tabernacle on Temple Square

in

Salt Lake City, Utah
April 5, 6, 7, 1968

Published by
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The One Hundred Thirty-Eighth Annual
Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints

The One Hundred Thirty-eighth
Annual Conference of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints con-
vened in the Tabernacle on Temple
Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, Fri-
day, April 5, 1968, at 10:00 a.m.

The general sessions of the con-
ference were held at 10:00 a.m. and
2:00 p.m. Friday, April 5, Saturday,
April 6, and Sunday, April 7. The
General Priesthood meeting was held
Saturday, April 6, at 7:00 p.m.

President David O. McKay was
present in person at the opening ses-
sion on Friday morning and at the
10:00 a.m. session on Saturday, but
under orders of his doctors remained
at home during the other sessions,
where he listened to and witnessed
the other sessions by direct wire by
television. President McKay presided
at all sessions. Under his direction his
counselors, Presidents Hugh B. Brown,
N. Eldon Tanner, and Joseph Fielding
Smith, conducted the services assigned
to each of them.

Elder David Lawrence McKay, son
of President McKay, read the Presi-
dent's addresses to the conference in
the opening session, the General
Priesthood meeting on Saturday
evening, and in the closing session on
Sunday afternoon.

The proceedings of all sessions of
the conference were given extensive
coverage in the United States and
Canada over radio and television
stations, originating with KSL in Salt
Lake City. Countries in Europe, Asia,
Africa, and Latin America received
broadcasts of the conference over the
Church owned international short
wave radio station WNYW in New

York. Audio and film recordings of
the conference, translated into eleven
languages, were sent to Japan, France,
Germany, Italy, Scandinavia and Latin
American countries. Rebroadcasts of
all sessions of the conference were
sent over KSL, Salt Lake City, KIRO
at Seattle, KMBC at Kansas City, as
well as WRFM at New York, begin-
ning at midnight, Friday, and on Sun-
day and Monday to many parts of the
United States, and of the world, in-
cluding Alaska, Canada, Mexico, and
the islands of the Pacific.

The General Priesthood conference
Saturday evening was transmitted by
closed circuit direct wire from the Salt
Lake Tabernacle to approximately
95,000 men of the priesthood assembled
in 500 buildings throughout the
United States and Canada. In addi-
tion, the proceedings of the Priesthood
session were broadcast publicly through
KSL radio and television and were
received throughout a wide area of
Utah and adjacent states.

General Authorities of the Church
Present

The First Presidency: David O. Mc-
Kay (first and third sessions only),
Hugh B. Brown, Nathan Eldon Tan-
ner, Joseph Fielding Smith, Thorpe B.
Isaacson, and Alvin R. Dyer.*

The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:
Joseph Fielding Smith, Harold B. Lee,
Spencer W. Kimball, Ezra Taft Ben-
son, Mark E. Petersen, Delbert L.
Stapley, Marion G. Romney, LeGrand
Richards, Richard L. Evans, Howard
W. Hunter, Gordon B. Hinckley,
Thomas S. Monson.

Patriarch to the Church: Eldred G.
Smith.

2

GENERAL CONFERENCE

Assistants to the Twelve Apostles:
Alma Sonne, EIRay L. Christiansen,
John Longden, Sterling W. Sill, Henry
D. Taylor, William J. Critchlow, Jr.,
Franklin D. Richards, Theodore M.
Burton, Boyd K. Packer, Bernard P.
Brockbank, James A. Cullimore,
Marion D. Hanks.**

The First Council of the Seventy:
Seymour Dilworth Young, Milton R.
Hunter, Bruce R. McConkie, A. Theo-
dore Tuttle, Paul H. Dunn, Hartman
Rector, Jr., Loren C. Dunn.***

The Presiding Bishopric: John H.
Vandenberg, Robert L. Simpson, Victor
L. Brown.

General Officers and Other
Authorities Present

Church Historian and Recorder:
Joseph Fielding Smith, with A. Wil-

liam Lund and Earl E. Olson, assis-
tants.

Members of the Church Board of
Education, Church educational author-
ities and supervisors.

Presidents of Stakes and their
Counselors, Presidents of Temples,
Patriarchs, bishoprics of wards and
presidencies of branches, quorum
presidencies and members of the
Melchizedek and Aaronic Priesthood.

Auxiliary Officers, General, Stake
and Ward, from all parts of the
Church.

•Elder Alvin R. Dyer was sustained at this con-
ference as counselor in the First Presidency.
•♦Elder Mari»n D. Hanks was sustained at this
conference as an Assistant to the Twelve
Apostles.

••♦Elders Hartman Rector, Jr. and Loren C. Dunn
were sustained at this conference as members
of the First Council of the Seventy.

FIRST DAY
MORNING MEETING

FIRST SESSION

The opening session of the confer-
ence convened in the Tabernacle on
Temple Square in Salt Lake City on
Friday morning, April 5, 1968, at 10
o'clock a.m., with President David O.
McKay present and presiding. Presi-
dent Hugh B. Brown, first counselor
in the First Presidency, conducted the
services.

The Combined Brigham Young
University Choruses, under the direc-
tion of Ralph Woodward, furnished
the choral music for this session.
Robert Cundick was at the organ
console.

President Brown extended the fol-
lowing greeting to the conference:

President Hugh B. Brown

We extend to all a hearty and cor-
dial greeting as we assemble in the
opening session of the 138th Annual
Conference of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints. We are
convened in the historic Salt Lake
Tabernacle on Temple Square.

We are happy to announce that
President David O. McKay is with us
this morning, and he will preside at
all sessions of this conference. He has
asked me to conduct this session. We
are thankful that he has been blessed
with renewed health during the past
six months, and is still able to carry
on the heavy responsibilities of his
high office.

At this time we express deep sorrow
and shock at the news of the passing
of a man (Dr. Martin Luther King)
who dedicated his life to what he
believed to be the welfare of his people.
It is a shocking thing that in this age
such a thing could happen. We pray
God's blessings upon his family, his
friends, and those associated with him.

During the past two days, the officers
and teachers of the Primary Association
of the Church have been in conference.
We commend and congratulate these

sisters for their loyalty and devotion
to the children of the Church. May
God bless them in the great work they
are doing.

All of the General Authorities of
the Church are in attendance at this
conference.

We miss the presence of Elder
Antoine R. Ivins of the First Council
of Seventy, who passed away on Octo-
ber 18, 1967. He rendered a long and
faithful service to the Church.

We are pleased to announce that
the proceedings of this General Con-
ference will again be given extensive
coverage, originating with KSL Radio
and Television in Salt Lake City.
Through the generous cooperation of
their owners and managers, over 300
television and radio stations will carry
to practically every state in the Union,
and to many foreign countries, the
proceedings of some of the sessions of
this conference. The names of the
stations carrying the proceedings of
this session were announced to the
television and radio audience just
prior to the opening of this meeting.

For the second time, the sessions of
this conference are being televised in
color, and may be received by many
in the United States and in Canada
over most of the television stations
cooperating to provide the extensive
coverage of this conference.

Countries in Europe, Asia, Africa,
and Latin America, totaling nearly
two-thirds of the world, can receive
broadcasts of these proceedings over
the Church-owned international short-
wave radio station WNYW, with
studios in New York.

Audio tape and sound on film rec-
ords of the conference will be trans-
lated into eleven languages and sent
to Japan, France, Germany, Italy,
Scandinavian and Latin American
countries.

Re-broadcasts of all sessions of the
Conference will be received over KSL
Radio, KIRO Radio at Seattle, WRFM

4

Friday, April 5

in New York, and KMBC at Kansas
City, beginning at midnight tonight,
and on Sunday, and Monday, and can
be heard in many parts of the United
States and the world, including Alaska,
Canada, Mexico, and the islands of
the Pacific.

The General Priesthood Conference,
to be held Saturday night, will be
transmitted by closed-circuit wire
from the Salt Lake Tabernacle to over
95,000 men of the priesthood assembled
in approximately 500 buildings
throughout the United States and
Canada.

In addition, the proceedings of the
priesthood session will be broadcast
publicly over KSL Radio and Tele-
vision, and will be received by many
throughout a wide area of Utah and
in parts of other adjoining states.

We wish to express heartfelt thanks
and appreciation to the owners and
operators of the radio and television
stations for their cooperation in mak-
ing possible such an extensive coverage
of the proceedings of this conference.

To all assembled here in this historic
Tabernacle, and to the vast radio and
television audience, we extend a cor-
dial and hearty welcome.

We should like to express our
appreciation for the lovely flowers
which decorate the rostrum. The
Tacoma Stake made arrangements
with the Puyallup Valley Daffodil
Festival for 3,000 King Alfred daffodils.
The beautiful calla lilies were sent to
us by the Oakland-Berkeley Stake High
Priests quorum. This is a wonderful
contribution to the atmosphere of this
conference, and we express deep
appreciation to these brethren and
sisters for their kindness.

GENERAL CONFERENCE

First Day

We are pleased to welcome here this
morning the Combined Brigham
Young University Choruses. Ralph
Woodward will conduct these young
students, and Brother Robert Cundick
is at the organ.

We shall begin this session by the
chorus rendering, "The Morning
Breaks, the Shadows Flee," following
which the invocation will be offered
by Elder Wayne B. Hales, president
of the Brigham Young University
Sixth Stake.

As the opening musical number,
the Brigham Young University Com-
bined Choruses sang the anthem, "The
Morning Breaks, the Shadows Flee."

Elder Wayne B. Hales, president of
the Brigham Young University Sixth
Stake, offered the invocation.

President Hugh B. Brown

The Combined Choruses of the
Brigham Young University will now
sing, "Behold, the Lamb of God."

The Combined Choruses of the
Brigham Young University sang the
anthem, "Behold, the Lamb of God."

President Hugh B. Brown

We are all delighted with the pres-
ence here of President David O. Mc-
Kay. Upon the advice of his physicians,
he has asked his son, David Lawrence
McKay, to read the message which he
has for this conference and for the
world.

President David 0. McKay

(Read by his son, David Lawrence McKay)

My dear brethren and sisters, and
friends of the radio and television
audience: At this moment there is just
one supreme wish in my heart. It is
that the Spirit of the Lord and of this
great conference may be felt in every
home and in every heart in the Church,
as well as in the hearts and homes

of all peoples everywhere who may
come within the radius of the broad-
casts of the various sessions, which
will be carried worldwide.

Thanksgiving for blessings

I pray for the blessings of the Lord,
not only during this session, but

PRESIDENT DAVID O. McKAY

5

throughout all of the sessions of this
138th annual conference of the
Church.

My heart is filled with thanksgiving
for our blessings and for God's great
love for his children. The older I
grow, the more grateful and impressed
I am with the glorious truths and
great possibilities and opportunities of
the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I appreciate the loyalty, faith,
brotherly love, and prayers of the
membership of this Church. Realizing
the great responsibility that rests upon
me this morning in giving to the
Church a message at a general con-
ference, I earnestly pray for his guid-
ance and for your faith and prayers.

I extend a hearty welcome to all
present in this historic Tabernacle,
erected on Temple Square by our
pioneers 100 years ago, and to all who
may be listening in, and pray that
God's blessings may be with each of
you in rich abundance.

The greatest event of history

On April 14, there will be cele-
brated throughout Christendom the
greatest event of all history — the resur-
rection of Jesus Christ. In speaking of
that event, the Apostle Paul declared:
". . . if Christ be not risen, then is
our preaching vain. . . .

"Yea, and we are found false wit-
nesses of God; because we have testi-
fied of God that he raised up
Christ " (1 Cor. 15:14-15.)

He who can thus testify of the
living Redeemer has his soul anchored
in eternal truth. In our time, the
most direct confirmation that Jesus
rose from the grave is the appearance
of the Father and the Son to the
Prophet Joseph Smith, eighteen hun-
dred years after the event Christendom
will celebrate this Easter.

That the spirit of man passes
triumphantly through the portals of
death into everlasting life is one of
the glorious messages given by Christ,
our Redeemer. To him this earthly
career is but a day, and its closing but
the setting of life's sun; death, but a
sleep, is followed by a glorious awak-
ening in the morning of an eternal

realm. When Mary and Martha saw
their brother only as a corpse in
the dark and silent tomb, Christ saw
him still a living being. This fact
he expressed in just two words:
"Lazarus sleepeth." (See John 11:11.)

Reality of the resurrection

If everyone participating in Easter
services knew that the crucified Christ
actually rose on the third day from the
tomb, that after having greeted others
and mingled with others in the spirit
world his spirit did again reanimate
his pierced body, and after sojourning
among men for the space of 40 days
he ascended a glorified soul to his
Father, what benign peace would
come to souls now troubled with doubt
and uncertainty!

On the reality of the resurrection in
the minds of the apostles, the begin-
ning of early Christianity was founded.
For over four thousand years man had
looked into the grave and had seen
only the end of life. Of all the mil-
lions who had entered therein, not
one had ever returned.

It was, therefore, a new and glorious
message that the angel gave to the
woman who, fearfully and lovingly,
had approached the sepulcher in which
Jesus had been buried: ". . . Ye seek
Jesus of Nazareth, which was cruci-
fied: he is risen; he is not here. . . ."
(Mark 16:6.)

A stupendous miracle

If a miracle is a supernatural event
whose antecedent forces are beyond
man's finite wisdom, then the resur-
rection of Jesus Christ is the most
stupendous miracle of all time. In
it stand revealed the omnipotence of
God and the immortality of man.

The resurrection is a miracle, how-
ever, only in the sense that it is be-
yond man's comprehension and under-
standing. To all who accept it as a
fact, it is but a manifestation of a
uniform law of life. Because man
does not understand the law, he calls
it a miracle. Someday man's enlight-
enment may bring this momentous
event out of the dusk of mystery into
the broad day of understanding.

GENERAL CONFERENCE

6

Friday, April S

That the literal resurrection from
the grave was a reality to the disciples
who knew Christ intimately is a cer-
tainty. In their minds there was
absolutely no doubt. They were wit-
nesses of the fact. They knew, be-
cause their eyes beheld, their ears
heard, their hands felt the corporeal
presence of the risen Redeemer.

Gloom of death banished

At Jesus' death, the apostles were
stricken with gloom. When he lay
dead, their hopes all but died. Their
intense grief, the evident preparation
for a permanent burial, combined to
illustrate the prevalence of a fear that
the redemption of Israel had failed.

Notwithstanding the often-repeated
assurances of Christ that he would re-
turn to them after death, the apostles
did not seem fully to comprehend it.
At the crucifixion, they were frightened
and discouraged. For two and one-
half years they had been upheld and
inspired by Christ's presence. But now
he was gone. They were left alone, and
they seemed confused, fearful, helpless.

The world would never have been
stirred by men with such wavering,
doubting, despairing minds as the
apostles possessed on the day of the
crucifixion.

What was it that suddenly changed
these disciples to confident, fearless,
heroic preachers of the gospel of Jesus
Christ? It was the revelation that
Christ had risen from the grave. His
promises had been kept, his messianic
mission fulfilled. In the words of an
eminent writer, "The final and abso-
lute seal of genuineness has been put
on all his claims, and the indelible
stamp of a divine authority upon all
his teachings. The gloom of death had
been banished by the glorious light
of the presence of their Risen, Glori-
fied Lord and Savior."

Testimony of eyewitnesses

On the evidence and testimony of
these unprejudiced, unexpectant, in-
credulous eyewitnesses of the risen
Christ, faith in the resurrection has its
impregnable foundation.

The direct evidence that the tomb

First Day

did not hold Jesus is threefold: (1) the
marvelous transformation in the spirit
and work of his disciples; (2) the
practically universal belief of the early
Church, as recorded in the Gospels;
and (3) the direct testimony of Paul,
the earliest New Testament writer.

Latter-day witness

In the very beginning of this dis-
pensation of the fulness of times, the
14-year-old Joseph Smith said:

"... I saw two Personages, whose
brightness and glory defy all descrip-
tion 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
Himl" (Joseph Smith 2:17.)

Later, speaking of the reality of this
vision, he testifies as follows:

"... 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." (Joseph Smith 2:25.)

Confirming the irrefutable testimony
of Christ's early apostles, The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
proclaims the glorious vision of the
Prophet Joseph Smith:

"And now, after the many testi-
monies which have been given of him,
this is the testimony, last of all, which
we give of him: That he livesl

"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." (D&C 76:22-
23.)

In the light of such unimpeachable
testimony as given by the ancient
apostles' testimony, dating from a few
years subsequent to the event itself;
in the light of that most marvelous
revelation in this age of the living
Christ, it seems difficult indeed to
understand how men can still reject
him and can doubt the immortality of
man.

The way, the truth, and the life

"How can we know the way?"
asked Thomas, as he sat with his
fellow apostles and their Lord at the

PRESIDENT DAVID O. McKAY

7

table after the supper on the memo-
rable night of the betrayal; and
Christ's divine answer was: "I am the
way, the truth, and the life. . . ."
(John 14:5-6.) And so he is! He is the
source of our comfort, the inspiration
of our life, the author of our salva-
tion. If we want to know our relation-
ship to God, we go to Jesus Christ. If
we would know the truth of the im-
mortality of the soul, we have it
exemplified in the Savior's resurrection.

If we desire to learn the ideal life
to lead among our fellowmen, we can
find a perfect example in the life of
Jesus. Whatsoever our noble desires,
our lofty aspirations, our ideals in any
phase of life, we can look to Christ
and find perfection. So, in seeking a
standard for moral manhood, we need
only to go to the Man of Nazareth
and in him find embodied all virtues
that go to make the perfect man.

Virtues of perfect character

The virtues that combined to make
this perfect character are truth, justice,
wisdom, benevolence, and self-control.
His every thought, word, and deed
were in harmony with divine law and,
therefore, true. The channel of com-
munication between him and the
Father was constantly open, so that
truth, which rests upon revelation, was
always known to him.

His ideal of justice is summed up in
the admonition: "Do unto others as
you would have others do unto you."
(See Matt. 7:12.) His wisdom was so
broad and deep that it comprehended
the ways of men and the purposes of
God. The apostles could not always
comprehend the significance and
depth of some of his simplest sayings;
the lawyers could not entrap him, nor
get the better of him in a discussion or
argument; the greatest teachers were
but pupils in his presence. Every act
that is recorded of his short, though
eventful, life was one of benevolence
that comprehends charity and love.
His self-control, whether exemplified
in his power over his appetites and
passions or his dignity and poise when
before his persecutors, was perfect — it
was divine.

Now, what are the teachings of the
Church regarding these virtues and all
they comprehend? If the Church fails
to make men true, fails to foster moral
manhood, then there is no reason for
its existence, and its pretension to be
Christ's Church is a farce.

Love of truth

No man can be a true member of
this Church and not love truth. Being
true is a fundamental doctrine of the
Church. When we stop to consider
what this means, we begin to realize
what an important element in char-
acter building truth is. A man who
is true is upright, is conscientious, is
honorable in all his dealings; he is
faithful in fulfilling his obligations;
he is trustworthy and diligent in the
performance of duty; he is true to him-
self and, therefore, to his fellowmen
and to his God.

Justice

As for justice, all the teachings of
the Church cry out against injustice,
and its condemnation is most severe
upon him who oppresses his brother.
Members are admonished to use their
authority justly, for "the powers of
heaven cannot be controlled nor
handled only upon the principles of
righteousness." (D&C 121:36.) Justice
is rendering to every man his due. To
be just, one must of necessity be hon-
est, fair, and impartial. He will be
respectful and reverential. It is im-
possible for a man to be just and at the
same time be disrespectful or irrev-
erent, for when disrespectful or
irreverent, he is unjust in not giving
respect and reverence where they are
merited. True manhood possesses
justice and is an attribute of the divine
nature.

Honesty

Honesty, as included in justice, is the
first virtue mentioned in the Church's
thirteenth Article of Faith. It is impos-
sible to associate manhood with dis-
honesty. To be just with one's self,
one must be honest with one's self and
with others. This means honesty in
speech as well as in actions. It means
to avoid telling half-truths as well as

GENERAL CONFERENCE

8

Friday, April 5

untruths. It means that we are hon-
est in our dealings — in our buying as
well as in our selling. It means that
an honest debt can never be outlawed,
and that a man's word is better than
his bond. It means that we will be
honest in our dealings with the Lord,
for "true honesty takes into account
the claims of God as well as those of
man; it renders to God the things
that are God's, as well as to man the
things that are man's."

Wisdom

Wisdom: ". . . seek ye diligently and
teach one another words of wisdom;
yea, seek ye out of the best books words
of wisdom; seek learning, even by
study and also by faith." (D&C
88:118.) Such is the commandment of
the Lord given to this generation
through the Prophet Joseph Smith, and
the full significance of it may be more
fully realized when we know that
man's eternal salvation — God's great-
est gift to man — is dependent upon his
knowledge; for "it is impossible for a
man to be saved in ignorance." (D&C
131:6.) Wisdom is the right use of
knowledge and comprehends judgment,
discrimination, prudence, discretion,
and study. "To know is not to be
wise," says Spurgeon. "Many men
know a great deal and are all the
greater fools for it. There is no fool
so great a fool as a knowing fool. But
to know how to use knowledge is to
have wisdom."

Benevolence

Benevolence in its fullest sense is the
sum of moral excellence, and compre-
hends every other virtue. It is the
motive that prompts us to do good to
others and leads us to live our life
for Christ's sake. All acts of kindness,
of self-denial, of self-devotion, of for-
giveness, of charity, of love, spring
from this divine attribute. So when
we say "we believe in being benevo-
lent," we declare a belief in all the
virtues that go to make a Christ-like
character. A benevolent man is kind
and true to his family, is active for
good in his city and state, and is a
faithful worker in the Church.

First Day

Virtue of self-control

Great as are these virtues I have
named, they do not seem so practical
and applicable to daily life as the
virtue of self-control. It is as impos-
sible to think of moral manhood apart
from self-control as to separate sun-
light from the day. Self-control
means the government and regulation
of all our natural appetites, desires,
passions, and affections; and there is
nothing that gives a man such strength
of character as the sense of self-
conquest, the realization that he can
make his appetites and passions serve
him and that he is not a servant to
them. This virtue includes temperance,
abstinence, bravery, fortitude, hopeful-
ness, sobriety, chastity, independence,
tolerance, patience, submission, conti-
nence, purity.

One of the most practical teachings
of the Church regarding this principle
is the Word of Wisdom. It is true.
It deals principally with the appetite.
You show me a man who has com-
plete control over his appetite, who
can resist all temptations to indulge
in stimulants, liquor, tobacco, mari-
juana, and other vicious drugs, and I
will show you a youth or man who
has likewise developed power to con-
trol his passions and desires.

Loss Through Indulgence

As I have read recently of the
prevalent use of these drugs among
our high school and university stu-
dents and others, I have become
greatly alarmed. With all my heart
I warn the youth of our Church and
of this nation that they will lose their
manhood and womanhood if they
yield to this enticement of Satan. A
person who indulges his appetites,
either secretly or otherwise, has a
character that will not serve him when
he is tempted to indulge his passions.

The sexual impurity of the world
today is the result of the loss of true
manhood through indulgence. Un-
chaste thoughts have bred unchaste
words, and unchaste words, unchaste
acts. In the teachings of the Church,
next to the crime of murder comes that

PRESIDENT DAVID O. McKAY

9

of adultery, and sexual unchastity. If
the members of the Church will re-
main true to their belief in chastity,
and will develop true manhood
through practicing self-control in other
ways, they will stand as beacon lights
whose rays will penetrate a sin-stained
world.

A Troublous Age

We are indeed living in a trou-
blous age, and many people in the
Church, as well as millions in the
world, are stirred with anxiety; hearts
are heavy with feelings of foreboding.
At the crucifixion of Christ, a little
group of men faced a future that was
just as threatening and foreboding to
them as that which the world faces
today. Their future, so far as Christ's
triumph on earth was concerned,
seemed all but blighted. They had
been called and set apart to be "fishers"
of men, and to Peter had been given
the keys of the kingdom.

Notwithstanding all this, in that
hour of despondency, when the resur-
rected Christ said to Peter, the dis-
couraged leader of the Twelve, who
had turned to his old vocation of fish-
ing: "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou
me more than these?" Peter answered,
"Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love
thee." Said the Lord, "Feed my sheep."
(John 21:15-16.) On that occasion
Peter became conscious of his re-
sponsibility, not only as a fisher of
men, but also as a shepherd of the
flock. It was then that he sensed
finally and completely the full mean-
ing of the divine injunction, "Follow
me." (John 21:19.) With that never-
failing light, those 12 humble men
succeeded in changing the course of
human relations.
True guide to mankind

Jesus' teachings may be applied just
as efficaciously to social groups and
national problems as to individuals, if
men would only give them a trial. In
our efforts to develop true manhood,
we must accept Christ as the Way, the
Truth, and the Life. He is the Light
of Humanity. In that light man sees
his way clearly. When it is rejected,
the soul of man stumbles in darkness.

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 and his
goodness.

The gospel, the glad tidings of great
joy, is the true guide to mankind; and
that man or woman is happiest and
most content who lives nearest to its
teachings, which are the antitheses of
hatred, persecution, tyranny, domina-
tion, injustice — things which foster
tribulation, destruction, and death
throughout the world. What the sun
in the heavenly blue is to the earth
struggling to get free from winter's
grip, so the gospel of Jesus Christ is
to the sorrowing souls yearning for
something higher and better than man-
kind has yet found on earth.

What a glorious condition will be in
this old world when it can truthfully
be said to Christ, the Redeemer of
mankind, "All men seek for thee."
(Mark 1:37.) Selfishness, envy, ha-
tred, lying, stealing, cheating, dis-
obedience, quarreling, and fighting
among nations will then be no more!

Testimony of risen Lord

Brethren and sisters, I have cher-
ished from childhood the truth that
God is a personal being and is, indeed,
our Father whom we can approach in
prayer and receive answers thereto.
My testimony of the risen Lord is just
as real as Thomas', who said to the
resurrected Christ when he appeared
to his disciples: "My Lord and my
God." (John 20:28.) I know that he
lives. He is God made manifest in the
flesh; and I know that "there is none
other name under heaven given among
men, whereby we must be saved."
(Acts 4:12.)

I know that he will confer with his
servants who seek him in humility and
in righteousness. I know because I
have heard his voice, and I have re-
ceived his guidance in matters per-
taining to his kingdom here on earth.

Divinity of restored church

I know that his Father, our Creator,

10

Friday, April 5

lives. I know that they appeared to
the Prophet Joseph Smith and revealed
to him the revelations which we now
have recorded in the Doctrine and
Covenants and in other Church works.
This knowledge is as real to me as
that which occurs in our daily lives.
When we lay our bodies down at
night, we know — we have an assur-
ance— that the sun will rise in the
morning and shed its glory over all
the earth. So near to me is the knowl-
edge of Christ's existence and divinity
of this restored Church.

Members of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints are under
obligation to make the sinless Son of
Man their ideal — the One Perfect
Being who ever walked the earth.

GENERAL CONFERENCE

First Day

God bless the Church, particularly
our young people who are going to
maintain its standards. God bless
fathers and mothers and teachers who
instill this faith in the hearts of the
youth and proclaim it throughout the
world, I pray in the name of Jesus
Christ. Amen.

President Hugh B. Brown

I am sure that the profound and
inspiring message from our President
will find an echo in the hearts of all
of us. It is a fitting and inspiring
keynote to this great conference.

President Joseph Fielding Smith,
president of the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles, will now address us.

President Joseph Fielding Smith

President of the Council of the Twelve and Counselor in the First Presidency

My dear brothers and sisters, it is a
pleasure to me to have the privilege
of being here with you in this con-
ference.

We as Latter-day Saints have a great
many duties to perform. I wonder if
we do not sometimes get a little care-
less, a little thoughtless, a little ne-
glectful; and we do not pay attention
to the simple things that belong to the
gospel.

Reasons for prayer

I wonder if we ever stop to think
why the Lord has asked us to pray.
Did he ask us to pray because he wants
us to bow down and worship him? Is
that the main reason? I don't think it
is. He is our Heavenly Father, and we
have been commanded to worship him
and pray to him in the name of his
Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. But the Lord
can get along without our prayers. His
work will go on just the same, whether
we pray or whether we do not. He
knows the end from the beginning.
There are many worlds that have
passed through the same experience
that we are going through. He has
had sons and daughters on other
earths, where they have had the same
privileges and the same opportunities

to serve him and the same command-
ments that we have had given to us.
Prayer is something that we need, not
that the Lord needs. He knows just
how to conduct his affairs and how to
take care of them without any help
from us. Our prayers are not for the
purpose of telling him how to run his
business. If we have any such idea as
that, then of course we have the wrong
idea. Our prayers are uttered more for
our sakes, to build us up and give us
strength and courage, and to increase
our faith in him.

Prayer is something that humbles
the soul. It broadens our comprehen-
sion; it quickens the mind. It draws
us nearer to our Father in heaven. We
need his help; there is no question
about that. We need the guidance of
his Holy Spirit. We need to know
what principles have been given to us
by which we may come back into his
presence. We need to have our minds
quickened by the inspiration that
comes from him; and for these reasons
we pray to him, that he may help us
to live so that we will know his truth
and be able to walk in its light, that
we may, through our faithfulness and
our obedience, come back again into
his presence.

PRESIDENT JOSEP1

Segregation after resurrection

If we will just be true and faithful
to every covenant, to every principle of
truth that he has given us, then after
the resurrection we will come back
into his presence and we will be just
like he is; we will have bodies that
will shine like the sun. Moreover, if
we are faithful and true while we are
here, we will be his sons and his
daughters.

But the Lord is going to make a
great segregation after the resurrection
of mankind, and many — in fact, the
greater part of the inhabitants of this
earth — will not be called the sons and
daughters of God, but they will go into
the next world to be servants. The
Lord said in that wonderful sermon
we call the Sermon on the Mount:

"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 nar-
row is the way, which leadeth unto
life, and few there be that find it."
(Matt. 7:13-14.)

Gift of eternal life

Eternal life is the great gift held in
reserve for all those who are willing
to keep the commandments of the
Lord. All will receive the resurrection.
Is that eternal life? No, not in the
words of our Father in heaven. We
call that immortality, the right to live
forever. But the Lord has put his own
interpretation upon eternal life. Eter-
nal life is to have the same kind of
life that our Father in heaven has, and
to be crowned with the same blessings
and glories and privileges that he pos-
sesses, that we might become sons and
daughters of God, members of his
household.

To become sons and daughters of
God, we have to keep all of the cove-
nants that belong to the gospel and be
true to them to the end of our lives.
Then we will inherit; we will be
called heirs. We will be joint heirs
with Jesus Christ — to inherit what?
Not that he is going to step down from
his throne that we may ascend. Not
that, but we will inherit the same

FIELDING SMITH 11

blessings and privileges, opportunities
of advancement that he possesses, so
that in course — I may say of time, but
I will say of eternity — we may become
like him, having ourselves kingdoms
and thrones.

Freedom to obey

If any of you who are here present
prefer, when you get on the other side,
to be a servant and perhaps go into
the terrestrial kingdom, you will have
that privilege. You do not have to keep
other commandments. You do not
need to pay your tithing; you do not
even have to be baptized for the remis-
sion of your sins, if you want to go
into those other kingdoms. But if you
want to go into the presence of God
and dwell in the celestial kingdom and
see the glories of exaltation, then you
must live by every word that proceeds
forth from the mouth of God. We
must pray to keep humble, to draw
nearer to our Father in heaven, that
we might be in closer communion
with him.

We must learn to be truthful,
obedient, sincere, having the willing-
ness to walk by every commandment
the Lord has given.

Habits easily formed

When a man confesses that it is
hard to keep the commandments of
the Lord, he is making a sad confes-
sion: that he is a violator of the
gospel law. Habits are easily formed.
It is just as easy to form good habits as
it is to form evil ones. Of course, it is
not easy to tell the truth if you have
been a confirmed liar. It is not easy
to be honest if you have formed habits
of dishonesty. A man finds it very
difficult to pray if he has never
prayed.

On the other hand, when a man has
always been truthful, it is a hard thing
for him to lie. If he has always been
honest and he does some dishonest
thing, his conscience protests very
loudly. He will find no peace, except
in repentance. If a man has the spirit
of prayer, he delights in prayer. It is
easy for him to approach the Lord with
assurance that his petitions will be

GENERAL CONFERENCE

12

Friday, April 3

answered. The paying of tithing is
not hard for the person fully con-
verted to the gospel, who pays his
tenth on all that he receives. The Lord
has given us a great truth: his yoke is
easy, his burden is light, if we love to
do his will! The Lord has said:

"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 blame-
less before God at the last day."
(D&G 4:2.)

If we will all serve him in this way,
we will have plenty to do. The Father
asks nothing inconsistent with reason
but that which is in harmony with his
law, and which he himself obeys. Can
you imagine our Eternal Father and
Savior doing nothing?

Work for man's benefit

So we see that the great work of the
Father, and of the Son, is not for self
alone. They work, as they have
worked hitherto, for the benefit of
man. When a man joins the Church,
it is on the principle of faith in the
Father and in the Son and in the Holy
Ghost. It is on the principle that he
accepts all that pertains to the gospel.
These requirements are made of all
men who seek repentance and a place
in the kingdom of God. If a man tries
to get in by some other way, he is
classed as a thief and a robber. Why?
Because he is trying to obtain eternal
life by fraud! He is trying to obtain
a reward of exaltation by counterfeit
coin, and this cannot be done.

Importance of service

Obedience to the gospel ordinances
is required of all men, and they can-
not enter into the kingdom without
complying with the law the Lord has
given.

Our Savior came into the world
to teach us love for each other, and
as that great lesson was made manifest
through his great suffering and death
that we might live, should we not
express our love for our fellowmen by
service rendered in their behalf?
Should we not show our appreciation

First Day

for the infinite service he rendered us,
by giving service in his cause?

The man who does only those things
in the Church which concern himself
alone will never reach exaltation. For
instance, the man who is willing to
pray, to pay his tithes and offerings,
and to attend to the ordinary duties
which concern his own personal life,
and nothing more, will never reach the
goal of perfection.

Service must be given in behalf of
others. We must extend the helping
hand to the unfortunate, to those who
have not heard the truth and are in
spiritual darkness, to the needy, the
oppressed. Are you failing? Let us
think of the words of the poet, Will L.
Thompson, as we think about being
saviors on Mount Zion. The poem
starts this way:

"Have I done any good in the world
today?

Have I helped anyone in need?
Have I cheered up the sad,
And made someone feel glad?
If not I have failed indeed."

(Hymns, 58.)

I hope and pray that none of us
fail in our service to our Father in
heaven. May the Lord continue to
bless us one and all and keep us in the
path of truth and righteousness, I
humbly pray, in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Amen.

President Hugh B. Brown

The chorus and congregation will
now join, upon an indication from the
chorister, in singing, "We Thank Thee,
O God, for a Prophet." After the sing-
ing, Elder Franklin D. Richards, Assis-
tant to the Twelve, will address us.

The Brigham Young University
Combined Choruses and the congrega-
tion joined in singing the hymn, "We
Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet."

After Elder Franklin D. Richards
speaks to us, we shall hear from Elder
Sterling W. Sill, also an Assistant to
the Twelve.

ELDER FRANKLIN D. RICHARDS

13

Elder Franklin D. Richards

Assistant to the Council of the Twelve

President McKay, my dear brothers
and sisters: President McKay, we
love you. We have been blessed and
inspired this morning as we have
received the great messages from you
and President Smith. And now, my
brothers and sisters, I pray that
the Lord will bless me with his Spirit
as I speak to you this morning.

As the foundations of the Church
were being laid in this dispensation,
many wonderful revelations were given
for the guidance of those engaged in
the great work.

Although some revelations were
given to particular persons, we know
that they were generally for the edifi-
cation and direction of all who would
heed them, whether at that time or at
a later date.

Qualities necessary for success

One of the great revelations was
given in February 1829 through the
Prophet Joseph Smith to his father,
and is recorded in Section 4 of the
Doctrine and Covenants.

The revelation commences with the
declaration that a marvelous work is
about to come forth among the chil-
dren of men.

Qualities necessary for success in his
service are then given and include:
". . . faith, virtue, knowledge, temper-
ance, patience. . . ." (D&C 4:6.)

In today's world of uncertainty,
pressures, strains, and tribulations, pa-
tience is a very essential virtue.

The dictionary definition of patience
is: to be undisturbed by obstacles,
delays, or failures, to be able to bear
strain and stress, to be persevering,
and the ability to exercise forbear-
ance under provocation.

The apostle Paul, in writing to the
Roman saints, said, ". . . we glory in
tribulations . . . knowing that tribula-
tion worketh patience; And patience,
experience; and experience, hope."
(Rom. 5:3-4.)

Experiences develop patience

And so our trials and tribulations,

as we meet them with patience, give
us valuable experiences and prepare us
for challenges that lie ahead.

Likewise, it is possible to glory in
health, prosperity, and happiness, as
well as in tribulations. All of life's
experiences provide us with oppor-
tunities to develop patience.

In periods of health, prosperity, and
well-being, we are inclined to over-
look the importance of patience and
are apt to become impatient. It is
well to remember, however, that there
are many hazards connected with im-
patience. One of the greatest is that
of overextending one's self — physi-
cally, mentally, financially, or in
many ways.

In 1828 the Lord, in a revelation to
the Prophet Joseph Smith, said, "Do
not run faster or labor more than you
have strength. . . ." (D&C 10:4.)

By exercising patience, we will not
be inclined to run faster or labor more
than our strength justifies.

In this regard, an adage that has
been particularly helpful and inspira-
tional to me is: "Survey large fields,
but cultivate small ones." Often we
want to cultivate large fields before we
are properly prepared and equipped to
do so.

Concentrating on an immediate
task while envisioning and planning
for extensive growth requires genuine
patience, and patience is very essen-
tial to sound growth and development.

A stabilizing influence

Some might construe patience to be
a negative force, resulting in resigna-
tion and discouragement. However,
patience is a great stabilizing influ-
ence in our lives, while impatience
frequently brings fear, tensions, dis-
couragement, and failure.

In a revelation given through the
Prophet Joseph Smith to his brother
Hyrum in May 1829, the Lord coun-
seled Hyrum in regard to his assign-
ment, saying, ". . . be patient until
you shall accomplish it." (D8tC 11:19.)

Here patience is identified as a posi-

14

Friday, April 5

tive force and as a requisite to accom-
plishment. It is important to realize
that patience can be a tremendous
positive force when combined with
prayer, faith, and works. In this light
let us further consider the great value
of patience and how it can be
developed.

Ways to develop patience

One way to develop patience and
to make it a positive force is to carefully
plan our activities and set realistic
objectives and goals. Sound planning
requires meditation, patience, and
prayer. President McKay has fre-
quently referred to the great benefits
to be derived from meditation.

Frequently, patience is developed
when coupled with repentance: a
changing of one's attitude, a control-
ling of one's temper, or some other
corrective action. But patience com-
bined with prayer, repentance, faith,
and works will overcome obstacles of
every nature.

Patience means persevering, and
persevering means work — mental and
physical.

President Grant used to quote Ralph
Waldo Emerson: "That which we per-
sist in doing becomes easy to do, not
that the nature of the thing has
changed, but that our power to do
it has increased."

It is not unusual for one to develop
the idea that the grass on the other
side of the fence is greener. But in
every aspect of life we should realize
that " a rolling stone gathers no moss."

Assuming that moss in this axiom
means the better things of life, then
patience or staying on the job or
magnifying one's calling will bring
these better things to us. Then to
develop patience, "don't expect too
much too soon." Make the most of
what you have.

Need for patient preparation

Exercise patience in the matter of
buying a new home, a new car, furni-
ture, or other important things. Get
out of debt and stay out of debt; here
patience will reward you with peace of
mind, happiness, and success.

GENERAL CONFERENCE

First Day

A young person should plan and
patiently prepare for a mission years
ahead of the time he leaves, providing
he wants to perform an outstanding
mission.

The planning and obtaining of one's
education is especially important in
this day and age, and, of course,
planning and preparing for one's vo-
cation become a significant part of
planning and obtaining one's educa-
tion. Faith and patience are vital
to accomplish these desired objectives.

Hasty courtships tend to create un-
happy marriages and often result in
divorce. Be patient in the selection of
a husband or wife. Be patient and
take sufficient time to prepare for a
temple marriage. Here is one place
where your patience will be rewarded
with eternal blessings.

Patience in family life

Our need for continual patience is
greatest with our loved ones, our fam-
ily. Here is where we may be the
most impatient, but here is where pa-
tience pays the greatest dividends.

Nothing is sweeter than to watch a
loving parent patiently teach his child
the right way. A father stood by his
small son in a swimming pool. The
boy wanted so much to learn to swim.
The father patiently showed him how.
Day after day they returned to the
pool, the father always evidencing
patience and appreciation for the boy's
efforts. This same method is used by
truly successful parents in teaching
their children the lessons of life — so-
cial, moral, intellectual, and spiritual
as well as physical: telling, showing,
over and over, until the lesson is
learned, always with patience, love,
and appreciation of every evidence of
progress, no matter how small.

Patience in church work

Patience and perseverance in Church
work also pay tremendous dividends,
as in all other areas of life's activities.

As early as 1831 the Lord, in a
revelation given to the Prophet Joseph
Smith, counseled the elders of the
Church to "be not weary in well-doing,
for ye are laying the foundation of a

ELDER STERLING W. SILL

15

great work. And out of small things
proceedeth that which is great."
(D&C 64:33.)

How important this counsel is to us
today: "Be not weary in well-doing."
Be patient in your home teaching and
other teaching assignments, in your
home evenings, and in all relationships
with one another.

I recall that in our stake mission our
missionaries called on one non-
member family at least once every
three months, covering a period of
two and a half years, but were never
invited into the home. Then on the
next visit they were invited in. This
family was then taught the gospel.
As they studied, prayed, and attended
Church, they received testimonies and
were baptized.

The reward of patiently persevering
in this case was the bringing of an
entire family into the kingdom of God.

A mighty virtue

As one reviews the various areas of
life's activities and appreciates the
many human inadequacies, the great
value of patience becomes more and
more evident.

Sometimes we are misunderstood,
even by those who are closest to us.
Under such circumstances, patience
will develop within us the capacity
to accept criticism and censure,
whether we feel such criticism is war-
ranted or not. This ability to exercise
forbearance under provocation means
that we are following the Savior's
teachings, to do good to those who
despitefully use us and to turn the
other cheek.

Patience is truly a mighty virtue,
and can be developed as we recognize
its importance and make up our minds
to be patient in our own life as well
as with others.

I encourage you to develop patience
in your daily lives and enjoy the
satisfaction of accomplishment, free
from many of the customary pressures
and strains incident to modern living.

Gospel incorporates patience

I am grateful for my knowledge of
the gospel and that the gospel in-
corporates the remarkable principle
of patience. I am most thankful for
the patience my Father in heaven has
evidenced with me in my life.

I am grateful for my testimony that
God lives and that Jesus Christ is our
Savior and Redeemer. I thank God
for the Prophet Joseph Smith and for
our present President and Prophet,
David O. McKay, both of whom have
exemplified in their lives this great
quality of patience.

And may I close with the words of
the apostle Paul to the Hebrew saints,
". . . let us run with patience the race
that is set before us." (Heb. 12:1.)

In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

President Hugh B. Brown

He to whom you have just listened
is Elder Franklin D. Richards.

Elder Sterling W. Sill, an Assistant
to the Twelve, will now address us.
He will be followed by Elder Bruce R.
McConkie, of the First Council of
Seventy.

Elder Sterling W. Sill

Assistant to the Council of the Twelve

My brothers and sisters, I would like
to recall to your minds one of the great
scenes of the holy scriptures. It has
been referred to as the Lord's tri-
umphal entry into Jerusalem. After a
long absence, Jesus and his disciples
were making their way toward the
temple for what was to be the last

three days of the Lord's public min-
istry. As he came near the historic
city, he wept because of the wickedness
of its people.

The feast of the passover was at
hand, and as he approached the city,
other travelers, Jerusalem bound,
merged with his party at the cross-

GENERAL CONFERENCE

16

Friday, April 5

roads. Soon there was an imposing
procession, with Jesus as the central
figure, riding upon a colt, in fulfill-
ment of an ancient prophecy. As they
entered the Holy City, the people cast
branches of palm trees in his path,
thus carpeting his way as for the pas-
sage of a king. And for the time being
he was their king, and the voices of
the multitude sounded in reverberating
harmony, saying, "Hosanna to the
son of David: Blessed is [the King of
Israel,] that cometh in the name of the

Lord " (Matt. 21:9.)

This picturesque scene might well
symbolize another coming, as the
scripture projects our minds ahead to
that time when with holy angels he
will appear in flaming fire to cleanse
the earth of sin and to inaugurate the
millennial era of a thousand years of
peace, during which he will reign per-
sonally as King of kings.

We would see Jesus

Among those attending this particu-
lar passover were certain Greeks who
sought a conference with the Master.
In making their request through Phil-
ip, they said, "Sir, we would see Jesus."
(John 12:21.) In these five words they
were also voicing an idea that has the
greatest significance for every age.
That is, what could be more helpful
in our own days of miracles, atheism,
and crime than for everyone to have
an unshakable testimony of, and an
inspiring personal relationship with,
the divine Ruler of this earth.

Since that long ago day, some nine-
teen wide centuries have come and
gone. And we now have the judgment
of time shining upon the life of Christ,
enabling us to see it in clearer perspec-
tive. We are now aware that he is
much more than a prophet from
Nazareth. He is also the Son of God,
the Savior of the world, the Author of
life, the Redeemer of men, and the
giver of all good things. By our ab-
sorbing the spirit of his life, under-
standing his doctrines, and following
his example, this ancient Grecian re-
quest to see Jesus might well be
granted in our own behalf. Certainly
this request should represent the uni-

First Day

versal desire of all people, for as the
sun is the center of the solar system,
so is the Redeemer the center of our
lives. Without the sun our solar sys-
tem would fly apart, and without God
the greatest values in our lives would
be lost. As the apostle Peter said,
"Neither is there salvation in any
other: for there is none other name
under heaven given among men,
whereby we must be saved." (Acts
4:12.)

This is life eternal

The prophets have looked forward
to his coming since time began, and
even as Jesus was being born, wise
men from the east were asking:
"Where is he [who] is born King of
the Jews? for we have seen his star in
the east, and are come to worship
him." (Matt. 2:2.) And that is what
wise men have been asking and doing
ever since. The Master himself said,
". . . this is life eternal, that they
might know thee the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast
sent." (John 17:3.)

After the people had listened to the
preaching of the gospel at Pentecost,
they were pricked in their hearts; and
desiring the better way of life that
had been recommended, they cried out
to the apostles: ". . . Men and breth-
ren, what shall we do?" And Peter
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." (Acts 2:37-38.)

Jesus found in different ways

People have found Jesus in differ-
ent ways. The Greeks found him
through Philip; the wise men from
the east were led to Bethlehem by his
star; Peter was taken to Jesus by his
brother Andrew; and Paul found him
through a miracle on the Damascus
road. Jesus gave his own formula for
discovery when he said, "If any man
will do his will, he shall know of the
doctrine. . . ." (John 7:17.) He said,
". . . seek me diligently and ye shall
find me. . . ." (D&C 88:63.) How-
ever, the greatest tragedy of our world

ELDER STERLING W. SILL

17

remains the fact that so many never
attain this all-important objective.
And yet only he who fails to seek
fails to find.

Emerson pointed out the conse-
quences of failure in this important
quest when he said, "On the brink of
an ocean of life and truth we are
miserably dying. Sometimes we are
furtherest away when we are closest
by." So frequently that is true. Think
how near they were who lived con-
temporaneously with Jesus. He walked
among them; they heard him speak;
they knew of his miracles; and yet
they were so far away that they said,
"His blood be on us, and on our
children" (Matt. 27:25), and so it has
been, and so it may be with us. We
are so near and yet we may be so
far away. We are standing on the
brink of an eternal life, and yet each
must take the steps that will bring
him there.

A well of living water

Jesus gave us the best approach for
this accomplishment when, on the
last day of the passover feast, he stood
up and cried, "If any man thirst, let
him come unto me, and drink. He
that believeth on me, . . . out of his
belly shall flow rivers of living water."
(John 7:37-38.) That is, our eternal
success is not like pouring water into
a cistern; rather it is like opening a
living spring within ourselves. Through
the Prophet Jeremiah the Lord said,
"For my people have committed two
evils; they have forsaken me the foun-
tain of living waters, and hewed them
out . . . broken cisterns, that can hold
no water." (Jer. 2:13.) And Jesus
elaborated upon this idea by saying,
". . . unto him that keepeth my
commandments I will give the mys-
teries of my kingdom, and the same
shall be in him a well of living water,
springing up unto everlasting life."
(D&C 63:23.) What a tremendous
possibility for us!

As Jesus was passing through
Samaria on his way to Jerusalem, he
stopped to rest at Jacob's well near
the ancient city of Sheckem and re-
quested a drink from the woman of

Sychar. He said to her, "If thou
knewest the gift of God, and who it
is that saith to thee, Give me a drink;
thou wouldst have asked of him, and
he would have given thee living water.

"But whosoever drinketh of the
water that I shall give him shall never
thirst; but [it] shall be in him a well
of living water springing up into ever-
lasting life." (John 4:10, 14.)

The greatest enrichment

Water is the universal element, and
it is the symbol of life. Jesus used it
to describe a personal testimony of his
divinity. Pure water will also be one
of the secrets of the earth's regenera-
tion in preparation for its millennium.
The Lord said, "And in the barren . . .
ground shall no longer be a thirsty
land." (D&C 133:29.) However, the
richest treasures do not come from
water breaking forth in the wastelands
of the desert.

The greatest enrichment comes when
we acquire a personal testimony of
the divine mission of the Savior of the
world and a firm determination to
make our lives productive in godli-
ness. Dr. Henry C. Link once said
that nothing puts so much order into
human life as to live by a good set of
sound principles. And the soundest
principles are the principles of the
gospel of Jesus Christ. Water is also
a symbol of cleanliness, and Jesus
indicated that after cleansing our-
selves with the soap and water of re-
pentance, we should be baptized and
have our sins washed away by his
atoning sacrifice.

Black night of apostasy

Five days after the Greeks sought
their interview, Jesus was crucified. In
the following years his apostles were
slain, his doctrines were changed, and
the long black night of apostasy set-
tled upon the world. In foretelling
this event, the Lord again used water
as a figure of speech about obtain-
ing the word of the Lord. Through
the Prophet Amos he said, "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

18 GENERAL C

Vriday, April 5

water, but of hearing the words of
the Lord:

"And [men] 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." And the Lord added, "In that
day shall [they] faint for thirst."
(Amos 8:11-13.)

Gospel shall be preached

But God always provides the remedy
before the plague. On the Tuesday
before his crucifixion on Friday, the
Lord sat on the Mount of Olives and
foretold the wars and troubles that
would immediately precede his glorious
second coming to the earth. And he
himself made a solemn promise, say-
ing, "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." (Matt. 24:14.)

In the early spring of 1820 in upper
New York State, in fulfillment of this
promise, God the Father and his Son
Jesus Christ reappeared upon this
earth to reestablish among men a be-
lief in the God of Genesis, the God of
Calvary, and the God of the latter
days. The eternal springs were re-
opened; divine revelation was again
established from heaven. And the gos-
pel of Jesus Christ was restored to the
earth in a fullness never known be-
fore in the world. The universal
thirst is now being relieved for all of
those who effectively seek their Re-
deemer. By divine order the world
has now been given three great vol-
umes of new scripture, outlining in
every detail those simple principles on
which the exaltation and eternal hap-
piness of every human life depend. On
every fundamental point of doctrine
we again have an authorative "Thus
saith the Lord." We also have the
testimony of many new witnesses sup-
porting those of old that God lives,
that the gospel is true, and that many
of the great events spoken of in the
scriptures are about to be fulfilled.

Testimony of modern prophet

In our own day another prophet has
known God as Moses did, face to face,

First Day

and in bearing his certain witness he
has said to us, "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 I

"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." (D8£C 76:22-24.)

The greatest opportunity of our lives
is found in following the spirit of this
ancient Grecian request, saying, "Sir,
we would see Jesus" (John 12:21);
and in consequence of our faithful,
righteous search, we may have an
inspiring personal testimony of his
divinity springing up in our own
hearts.

Unseen spiritual powers

Modern travelers to that ancient city
of Sheckem near the site of Jacob's
well tell us that there are rivers of
water flowing beneath the streets.
During the daylight hours they can-
not be heard. But when evening
comes and the clamor dies out of the
streets, when kindly sleep rests upon
the city, then quite audibly in the hush
of the night you can hear the music of
these buried streams.

God has provided our earth with
great underground reservoirs and
buried rivers that may be brought to
the surface to keep our earth produc-
tive and beautiful. Likewise, there
are some great unseen spiritual powers
that can be used to vitalize our spirits
and make our lives beautiful and
happy.

And in the quiet obedience of our
faith and love of righteousness, God
may touch these hidden abilities im-
planted in the depths of our souls
and release great spiritual strength to
purify our lives and bring about our
eternal exaltation in his presence.

As someone has said, "What cool
sparkling pure water is to the welfare

ELDER BRUCE R. McCONKIE

19

of the rose, so is the spirit of Christ President Hugh B. Brown
to my life." That we may drink freely

from those living waters that even Following Elder Bruce R. McConkie,

now are springing up unto eternal life Elder Gordon B. Hinckley of the

I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Council of the Twelve will be our

Christ. Amen. concluding speaker.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie

Of the First Council of the Seventy

We have a volume of sacred scrip-
ture known as the Book of Mormon,
which contains the mind and will
and voice of God to the world today.
Like the Bible, with which it is in
complete conformity, it contains a
record of God's dealings with a people
who had the fullness of the everlasting
gospel. Thus, both the Book of Mor-
mon and the Bible present a summary
of the doctrines of salvation, of the
truths men must accept and live by
to gain the celestial heaven, and both
record the wondrous blessings poured
out by Deity upon those in former
days who walked in the light of the
Lord and who kept his commandments.

The Book of Mormon is a record of
God's dealings with his ancient Ameri-
can saints; the Bible is a similar and
parallel record of his dealings with
the saints in the Old World. Both
shed forth a flood of light and knowl-
edge about those truths that must be
believed and obeyed to gain salvation,
to gain peace in this life and eternal
life in the world to come. And none
now living can gain that salvation,
which is the greatest of all the gifts of
God, without conforming to those
truths of which both books testify.

Salvation in Christ

But salvation is not found in a book,
any book, neither the Book of Mor-
mon nor the Bible. Salvation is in
Christ; it comes because of his aton-
ing sacrifice; his is the only name
given under heaven whereby man can
be saved. Salvation comes by the
grace of God, through the shedding of
the blood of his Son. As a Book of
Mormon prophet said, ". . . salvation
was, and is, and is to come, in and
through the atoning blood of Christ,

the Lord Omnipotent." (Mosiah 3:18.)

However, salvation is made available
to men because the Lord calls prophets
and apostles to testify of Christ and to
teach the true doctrines of his gospel.
Salvation is available only when there
are legal administrators who can teach
the truth and who have power to per-
form the ordinances of salvation so
they will be binding and will have
efficacy, virtue, and force on earth
and in heaven.

Record of American prophets

Now this book, the Book of Mormon,
was brought forth in our day by such
a legal administrator, one Joseph
Smith by name. This man was called
of God by his own voice and by angelic
ministration. To him was given the
ancient record whereon were inscribed
the words of prophets and seers who
dwelt on the American continent in
ages past, holy men who ministered
among the land's inhabitants in much
the same way that biblical prophets
represented the Lord in the lands of
their labors.

Having received the ancient record
from a heavenly messenger — from an
angel named Moroni, who himself was
one of the ancient American prophets
— Joseph Smith then translated the
book by the gift and power of God.
The translated account is the Book of
Mormon, a volume of holy writ of
some 522 pages. Thereafter Joseph
Smith, endowed with the spirit of
prophecy and acting pursuant to reve-
lation and at the direct command of
God, organized The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, sometimes
called the Mormon Church because of
its acceptance of this Book of Mormon.

GENERAL CONFERENCE

20

Friday, April 5

Restoration of gospel

With the setting up on earth of the
true Church, there came once again a
restoration of the fullness of the ever-
lasting gospel, a restoration of the
fullness of those truths, keys, powers,
and authorities which again enable
men to gain a fullness of salvation in
the heaven of God our Father.

Thus, the coming forth of the Book
of Mormon, the call of Joseph Smith
to represent God as a prophet on earth,
the restoration of the gospel of salva-
tion, and the setting up anew of the
earthly Church and kingdom of God —
all these are tied together; they are
all woven into one pattern; either all
of them are realities or none of them
are.

We testify that Joseph Smith re-
ceived the Book of Mormon record
from a resurrected personage and that
he translated it by the power of
revelation.

Confirms divinity of work

Now if the Book of Mormon is a
true account of God's dealings with
ancient inhabitants of the American
continent, if it contains, as we solemn-
ly affirm, the fullness of the everlasting
gospel, then Joseph Smith was a
prophet, a legal administrator, who
did in fact restore the gospel and set
up the true Church again on earth.
In other words, if the Book of Mormon
is true, The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints is God's kingdom on
earth, the only true and living Church
upon the face of the whole earth, the
only place where salvation may be
found.

It thus becomes a matter of tran-
scendent import for every truth seeker
to learn of the truth and divinity of
this volume of sacred scripture — this
volume which will open the door to
the knowledge of God and his laws;
this volume which will introduce the
truth seeker to those legal administra-
tors who can, for instance, perform
baptisms that will admit penitent per-
sons, not alone to any earthly organiza-
tion, but to that celestial realm which
is God's eternal kingdom.

In all dispensations past the Lord

First Day

has called prophets and commissioned
them to teach and testify to the people,
with the provision that all who be-
lieved and obeyed the heaven-sent
message would be saved, while those
who rejected it would be damned. He
has done precisely the same thing in
this final gospel dispensation. By his
own voice he appointed Joseph Smith
to be the first and foremost of his
latter-day prophets. Those who have
since built on the foundation revealed
to Joseph Smith have worn the same
prophetic mantle and have and do
stand as witnesses to the world of the
truth of God's great plan of salvation
in this day.

An added witness

But in his manifold grace and good-
ness, God has given an added witness
in this day of the eternal verity of his
work. Men in this day are as much
obligated as men have been in any
age to hearken to the voice of the
prophets, to lend a listening ear to their
sayings, to open their hearts to the
truths of heaven which fall from their
lips. But today we also have the Book
of Mormon to bear record of the truth
of the message that has come from a
loving Heavenly Father to us, his
erring earthly children.

Joseph Smith said that the Book of
Mormon was "the keystone of our
religion." (Documentary History of the
Church, Vol. 4, p. 461), meaning that
the whole structure of restored truth
stands or falls, depending on its truth
or falsity.

Joseph Smith also wrote, "by the
spirit of prophecy and revelation," that
the Book of Mormon came forth 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. . . ."
(D&C 20:11-12.)

In the Book of Mormon is found the
Lord's promise to all men that if they
will read the record and ponder it in
their hearts and then ask the Father in
the name of Christ if it is true — asking

ELDER GORDON B. HINCKLEY

21

with a sincere heart, with real intent,
having faith in Christ — he will mani-
fest the truth of it unto them by the
power of the Holy Ghost. (See Moro.
10:4.)

Book of Mormon is true

Now I am one who knows by the
power of the Spirit that this book is
true, and as a consequence I also know,
both by reason and by revelation from
the Spirit, of the truth and divinity of
all the great spiritual verities of this
dispensation. For instance:

I know that the Father and the Son
appeared to Joseph Smith — because the
Book of Mormon is true.

I know that the gospel has been
restored and that God has established
his Church again on earth — because
the Book of Mormon is true.

I know that Joseph Smith is a
prophet, that he communed with God,
entertained angels, received revela-
tions, saw visions, and has gone on to

eternal glory — because the Book of
Mormon is true.

I know that the Bible is the word
of God as far as it is translated cor-
rectly— because the Book of Mormon
is true.

I know that The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints is the king-
dom of God on earth, the one kingdom
with legal administrators who can seal
men up unto eternal life — because the
Book of Mormon is true.

To my testimony of the Book of
Mormon I add that of the Lord God
himself, who said Joseph Smith "has
translated the book, . . . and as your
Lord and your God liveth it is true."
(D&C 17:6.)

In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

President Hugh B. Brown

Elder Gordon B. Hinckley of the
Council of the Twelve will now
address us.

Elder Gordon B. Hinckley

Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles

My beloved brethren and sisters: My
heart was touched and my soul thrilled
by the stirring testimony of the risen
Lord given by President McKay this
morning. I hope that no man or
woman here will ever forget that testi-
mony of our Prophet.

I was grateful the choir sang as an
opening number the words of Parley
P. Pratt:

"The morning breaks; the shadows
flee;

Lo, Zion's standard is unfurled!
The dawning of a brighter day,
Majestic rises on the world."

(Hymns, 269.)

If the Lord will inspire me, I would
like to use that as something of a
theme.

War in Vietnam

I have spoken previously from this
pulpit about the war in Vietnam. With
your indulgence I should like again to

say a few words on this, because I
know that it is a subject on the minds
and in the hearts of thousands of our
people who have sons there. The wel-
fare of their loved ones is the constant
burden of their thoughts and prayers.
Even for those of other nations, the
war is a matter of deep concern.

One cannot have been to Vietnam
as I have on a number of occasions,
and felt in some small measure the
dreadful sorrow of the land, without
making a plea for peace a part of his
daily prayers. This war, like others,
is fraught with terrible evil and un-
speakable tragedy. I minimize none
of these.

But notwithstanding the evil and
the tragedy, I see a silver thread shin-
ing through the dark and bloody
tapestry of conflict. I see the finger
of the Lord plucking some good from
the evil designs of the adversary. I
see coming out of this conflict, as I
have witnessed in other conflicts in

GENERAL CONFERENCE

22

Friday, April 5

Asia, an enlargement of the Lord's
program.

Desire to teach gospel

Not long ago I was in Saigon. Our
tired little taxi took us down the
muddy street to the meeting place of
the Saigon Branch. It was night, the
power had failed in the city, as it fre-
quently does, and the darkness in the
heavy rain was oppressive.

The narrow lane leading to our
meeting place was a river of running
water. Skirting this on ground slightly
higher, I noticed a thin little figure
with an umbrella coming out to meet
us.

When we opened the taxi door,
I recognized Brother Minh, an elder in
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day Saints, the first Vietnamese to
receive the Melchizedek Priesthood.

We stood under the porch of the
building while he pleaded that he be
given opportunity to translate the Book
of Mormon into his native tongue. I
asked how he could find time to do
this work. He has a job that requires
long hours and tedious labor. He re-
plied that the gospel must someday
come to his people and that they will
need the testimony of the Book of
Mormon. He said that somehow he
would find time. He understands
English. He had read the Book of
Mormon. He had felt of its spirit,
and he knew that others would be
similarly touched as they read it in
their own tongue.

Like Brother Minh, I am convinced
that there are many and will be many
in that land who someday will respond
to the message of the restored gospel.
I do not know when that day will
come, but I am confident that it will
come, and that the efforts of your sons
who are there in military service will
make that day possible. Without
their presence, I would see small pros-
pect short of half a century.

Prayer of dedication

May I share with you something of
a sacred and inspiring experience? On
Sunday, October 30, 1966, more than
200 members of the Church gathered

F«t Day

on the roof of the Caravelle Hotel in
the heart of Saigon. We had an in-
spirational meeting, with talks by
Elder Marion D. Hanks, President
Keith E. Garner, and others. At the
conclusion of that service, while speak-
ing I felt impressed to dedicate the
land for the preaching of the gospel
under authorization previously given
by President McKay.

Since that prayer of dedication was
part of a public meeting, I feel it not
inappropriate to repeat here some of
the words I felt impressed to give on
that occasion. I quote:

"O God, our Eternal Father, with
humble hearts we meet before thee
this day in this land of South Vietnam,
a land which presently is torn by war,
destruction, and dissension. We meet
in the name of thy Son, the Lord,
Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, to
invoke thy special blessing. . . .

"We have seen in other parts of
Asia the manner in which thou hast
turned the hand and the work of the
adversary to the good and the blessing
of many of thy children. And now we
call upon thee at this time that thou
wilt similarly pour out thy spirit upon
this land. We plead with thee, our
Father and our God, that thou wilt
touch the hearts of the leaders of those
people who war one against another,
with a spirit of understanding, a recog-
nition of the fact that all men are sons
of thine and therefore brothers, and
implant in each a desire to labor for
a settlement of the great conflict which
rages over this land, a settlement which
will be honorable, and one which will
promote the cause of liberty and jus-
tice and which will guarantee the
agency of those who love freedom. . . .

"Holy Father, many good men hold-
ing thy priesthood have come to this
land incident to the war. While here
they have sought to establish thy di-
vine work in this part of the world.
They have shared the gospel of thy
Son with their associates, their fellow
Americans, and with the Vietnamese
people. With gratitude we have wit-
nessed the baptism of a number of
these people. And so we feel it ex-
pedient at this time, under the author-

ELDER GORDON B. HINCKLEY

23

ity given us by thy Prophet, he whom
thou hast anointed and appointed to
stand at the head of thy work in this
day, to dedicate this land and invoke
thy blessings upon it.

"We accordingly come before thee
in the exercise of the holy priesthood,
and in the authority of the holy apos-
tleship in us vested we dedicate and
consecrate this land of South Vietnam
for the preaching of the gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ as restored through
the Prophet Joseph Smith. May there
from this time forward, Father, come
upon this land an added measure of
thy Holy Spirit to touch the hearts of
the people and the rulers thereof. May
they open their hearts to the teaching
of the truth and be receptive to the
gospel of thy Son. May those who
have these blessings feel a new urge
in their hearts to share with others
the great gifts and powers and author-
ity which are theirs, which have come
from thee. . . .

"Open the way for the coming of
missionaries, and make their labors
fruitful of great and everlasting good in
the lives of the people.

"To this end we seek thy blessing
this holy day as we bow before thee
and acknowledge with thankful hearts
thy goodness unto us ... in the name
of our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen."

Church being established

We do not have regular missionaries
there yet. I do not know when we shall
be able to send them. But I am confi-
dent that day will come. In the
meantime there are those, both civilian
and military, who are sharing the gos-
pel, not in contravention of any offi-
cial regulations, not through regular
proselyting, but they have taught when
others have come seeking.

Through their efforts the work of the
Church is now established in a num-
ber of areas, including legal registra-
tion of the Church in Thailand. I
doubt that this would have been pos-
sible had there not been able and
devoted members of the Church there
incident to the war. The Lord bless
these men for their goodness in the

midst of evil. The Lord bless them
for their faith in the midst of over-
whelming obstacles. The Lord bless
them for their desires to share the
precious gifts of the gospel.

Houses of worship constructed

I have been impressed with the sacri-
fices of our people to construct houses
of worship in many parts of the world,
but I think I have never been so deeply
touched as in witnessing the response
to a suggestion made two years ago by
our Vietnam zone president, a military
officer. He suggested that our breth-
ren, who were already paying their
tithing, contribute their combat pay
differential to a building fund. This
represents the extra amount given men
for battle duty. More than $3,000 was
contributed by men of the Saigon
Branch on a single Sunday, and more
than $18,000 was given throughout
Vietnam in 30 days. Where in all
the world would you find a better ex-
pression of faith than that of these
soldiers, airmen, and marines, who
have given to the cause of peace that
money paid them for the risks of
battle?

They gave it for the construction
of buildings they will never use or
even see, but which will someday
bless the people whose liberty they
have fought to preserve.

The Lord bless them for their
generosity, and may the peace of the
Lord comfort the hearts of their wor-
ried fathers and anxious mothers, who
implanted and cultivated in their sons
a faith that today quietly shines in the
dark, embattled area in which they
find themselves.

Missionary labors of servicemen

I hope that some of you parents who
grieve over your sons who could not
go on missions because of the demands
of the draft will derive some small
measure of comfort from the assurance
that your sons may perform an effec-
tive missionary labor through their
examples, and that they may assist in
lifting the veil in lands of darkness
in which the gospel must someday be
taught.

GENERAL CONFERENCE

24

Vriday, April 5

I read for the first time this past
week an interesting statement by Brig-
ham Young. Said he:

"I shall be very happy when I can
know that the people of the East In-
dian archipelago [which I take to
mean the lands of Southeast Asia] and
the people of every island and conti-
nent, both the high and the low, the
ignorant and intelligent, have received
the words of eternal life, and have had
bestowed upon them the power of the
eternal Priesthood of the Son of
God. . . ." (Journal of Discourses, Vol.
8, p- 7.)

Silver thread in tapestry

I make no defense of the war from
this pulpit. There is no simple an-
swer. The problems are complex
almost beyond comprehension. I seek
only to call your attention to that
silver thread, small but radiant with
hope, shining through the dark tapes-
try of war — namely, the establishment
of a bridgehead, small and frail now;
but which somehow, under the mys-
terious ways of God, will be strength-
ened, and from which someday shall
spring forth a great work affecting for
good the lives of large numbers of our
Father's children who live in that
part of the world. Of that I have a
certain faith.

I have seen a prototype of what will
happen as I have witnessed the de-
velopment of this work in others of the
ancient nations of Asia — in Korea, in
Taiwan, in Okinawa, in the Philip-
pines, and in Japan, where altogether
we now have more than 25,000 Latter-
day Saints.

This marvelous membership is the
sweet fruit of seed once planted in
dark years of war and in the troubled
days immediately following, when
good men of the priesthood, both
civilian and military, through the
example of their lives and the inspira-
tion of their precepts, laid a foundation
on which a great work has been
established.

Letter from Vietnam

May I read from a letter just received
from one of our brethren in Vietnam:

First Day

"The other day in Phu Bai I saw a
young member of the Church reading
the paperback of A Marvelous Work
and a Wonder (so that he would be
qualified to teach any who might ask
about the Church). The book was
filthy, his hands were filthy, but he
didn't see the dirt because he was
reading so intently."

As I pictured that young infantry-
man in dirty battle dress, just returned
from a dangerous jungle patrol, study-
ing the gospel, two other pictures came
to mind— the first, of the home in
which he grew up, where there is con-
stant prayer for his safety; the second,
of the day when the clouds of war
shall have lifted, when peace shall be
in the land, and when there shall be
congregations of the Church built upon
foundations laid by such of our breth-
ren there now.

That day will come. Of that I am
confident.

"God moves in a mysterious way. . . .
His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower."

(William Cowper, Hymns, 48.)

May the Lord bless our faithful
brethren in Asia, and may he give us
the vision to look beyond this dark day
to a time when, because of their great
service, his latter-day kingdom shall
encompass many souls in that part of
the earth, I humbly pray in the name
of Jesus Christ. Amen.

President Hugh B. Brown

Elder Gordon B. Hinckley of the
Council of the Twelve has been our
concluding speaker.

The Combined Brigham Young
University Choruses will now favor us
with "I Know That My Redeemer
Lives," conducted by Ralph Wood-
ward, with Robert Cundick at the
organ.

Following the singing, the benedic-
tion will be offered by Elder Don Van
Slooten, formerly president of the
Netherlands Mission, after which this

FIRST DAY

25

conference will be adjourned until 2
o'clock this afternoon.

The Combined Brigham Young
University Choruses sang as the closing

number, "I Know That My Redeemer
Lives," following which Elder Don
Van Slooten offered the closing
prayer.

Conference adjourned until 2 p.m.

FIRST DAY
AFTERNOON MEETING

SECOND SESSION

The second session of the conference
convened at 2:00 p.m., Friday, April 5,
1968.

President N. Eldon Tanner, second
counselor in the First Presidency,
conducted the services.

The Combined Brigham Young
University Choruses furnished the
choral music for this session of the
conference. Roy M. Darley was at
the organ console.

President Tanner made the follow-
ing introductory remarks:

President N. Eldon Tanner

Members of the Church are con-
vened in the Tabernacle on Temple
Square in Salt Lake City in the second
general session of the One Hundred
and Thirty-eighth Annual Conference
of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints.

President McKay, on the advice of
his doctors is remaining home today.
He is watching the proceedings by
television. He is presiding at all of
the conference sessions. His spirit and
his blessings are with us.

We extend a hearty welcome to all
television and radio audiences, and to
all who are gathered in this historic
Tabernacle.

We are favored again this afternoon
by the presence of the Combined
Brigham Young University Choruses,
with Brother Ralph Woodward con-

ducting and Brother Roy M. Darley
at the organ.

We shall now begin these services
by the Chorus singing: "A Canticle of
Peace."

The invocation will be offered by
Elder Arthur H. Strong, formerly
president of the Argentine Mission.

The Combined Brigham Young Uni-
versity Choruses sang as the opening
number "A Canticle of Peace," follow-
ing which the opening prayer was
offered by Elder Arthur H. Strong.

President N. Eldon Tanner

The invocation was just offered by
Elder Arthur H. Strong, formerly
president of the Argentine Mission.

The Combined Choruses will now
favor us with "Guide Me to Thee,"
after which Elder Delbert L. Stapley
of the Council of the Twelve will
speak to us.

The Combined Choruses sang the
hymn, "Guide Me to Thee."

President N. Eldon Tanner

Elder Delbert L. Stapley of the
Council of the Twelve will be our
first speaker this afternoon. He will
be followed by Elder Henry D. Taylor,
Assistant to the Twelve.

26

Friday, April 5

GENERAL CONFERENCE

Elder Delbert L. Stapley

Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles

First Day

Quoting the apostle Paul, "Breth-
ren," and may I add sisters and friends,
"my heart's desire and prayer to God
for Israel is, that they might be saved.

"For I bear them record that they
have a zeal of God, but not according
to knowledge.

"For they being ignorant of God's
righteousness, and going about to
establish their own righteousness, have
not submitted themselves unto the
righteousness of God.

"For Christ is the end of the law for
righteousness to every one that be-
lieveth." (Rom. 10:1-4.)

Voice to all men

Many people profess a zeal for God,
but their lives do not always harmo-
nize fully with spiritual knowledge.
Those who sincerely believe will follow
and do the works of Christ; otherwise,
in their pursuit of eternal glory, they
will fall short of their heavenly goal.
In this dispensation of the gospel the
Lord gave this admonition: "Hearken,
O ye people of my church, . . . [and]
ye people from afar; and . . . 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. . . ." (D&C 1:1-3.)

Thus we see that the voice of the
Lord is to all men everywhere, and
none can escape the judgment for
violating his laws and commandments.

Light and truth forsake evil

Perhaps there is no better scripture
known and quoted by members of the
Church than this: "The glory of God
is intelligence " (D&C 93:36.)

We should also understand the
verse that follows this profound state-
ment: "The glory of God is intelli-
gence, or, in other words, light and
truth.

"Light and truth forsake that evil
one." (D&C 93:36-37.)

The glory of God being intelligence,
then the glory of man, the spirit off-
spring of Deity, must also be intelli-
gence, for man is God's greatest and
most important creation. Our Heav-
enly Father is concerned about the
eternal welfare and happiness of his
children. He has, however, given them
their free agency to choose for them-
selves.

President George Q. Cannon has
said: "I thank God for giving us our
[free] agency, because I think this
earth will be a furnace to cleanse me
and prepare me for a better condition
of affairs and a better life, and I be-
lieve this of all of us. . . . These bodies
of ours are naturally rebellious [and]
full of strange appetites. We are here
to conquer these desires. . . . [and]
bring this earthly substance in sub-
jection to the will of God.

". . . It is true that some have greater
power of resistance than others, but
everyone has the power to close his
heart against doubt, against darkness,
against unbelief, against depression,
against anger, against hatred, against
jealousy, against malice, against envy.
. . . Whenever darkness fills our minds,
we may know that we are not pos-
sessed of the Spirit of God, and we
must get rid of it. When we are filled
with the Spirit of God, we are
filled with joy, with peace and with
happiness. . . ." (Gospel Truths, Vol. 1,
pp. 15, 19-20.)

Teach children light and truth

When our God defines intelligence
as light and truth, he is not contem-
plating just secular and worldly
knowledge, but the spiritual and eter-
nal verities and realities of life.

The Lord has directed parents to
bring up their children in light and
truth. He accused some of the breth-
ren who failed in this responsibility
by admonishing them:

"You have not taught your children

ELDER DELBERT L. STAPLEY

27

light and truth, according to the com-
mandments; 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 he delivered
you shall set in order your own house,
for there are many things that are not
right in your house." (D&C 93:42-43.)

We cannot afford to permit our
sense of eternal values to become dis-
torted and corrupt our lives or those
of our loved ones, thus destroying
opportunities for eternal glory.

Example in life of Jesus

Since the cloak of glory is the mantle
of responsibility, it behooves us not
only to obtain all the light and truth
we can, but to use the intelligence we
have to alter our lives to conform more
closely to the example so beautifully
portrayed in the life of Jesus.

Christ is referred to by John the
Beloved as the "Word" and appropri-
ately so, because he was and is the
messenger of salvation to all nations
and peoples. (See John 1:1, 4, and
D&C 93:8-9.)

He is the light and life of men. No
one can come into the eternal presence
of God the Father except through his
beloved Son, our Savior, who is the
light and Redeemer of the world. To
define light and truth further, I quote
from another revelation wherein the
Lord commands his people "to give
diligent heed to the words of eternal
life," and to "live by every word that
proceedeth forth from the mouth of
God.

"For the word of the Lord is truth,
and whatsoever is truth is light, and
whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the
Spirit of Jesus Christ.

"And the Spirit giveth light to every
man that cometh into the world; and
the Spirit enlighteneth every man
through the world, that hearkeneth
to the voice of the Spirit.

"And every one that hearkeneth to
the voice of the Spirit cometh unto
God, even the Father." (D&C 84:43-
47.)

The bondage of sin

The Lord further adds: "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. . . ." (D&C
84:51-53.)

Hearkening unto the voice of the
Spirit is the key and the challenge
which leads to God's eternal mansions.
Hear this warning: "Every spirit of
man was innocent in the begin-
ning. . . .

"And that wicked one cometh and
taketh away light and truth, through
disobedience, from the children of
men " (D&C 93:38-39.)

It is through disobedience and man's
failure to hearken unto the voice of
the Spirit and the counsels of God
that Satan is able to come and take
away from man the light and truth
of the gospel. When the light within
us begins to dim, Satan moves in.
When the light within us goes out, we
are in his power and under his control.

When Saul, who failed to follow
the instructions of the Lord, tried to
justify his disobedience for doing so,
the ancient prophet Samuel said: ". . .
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
and to hearken than the fat of rams."
(1 Sam. 15:22.)

In latter-day scriptures the Lord uses
action words in the first sentence to
introduce many of his revelations. It
is interesting to note that "hearken"
was used 23 times. We are admon-
ished by the Lord through the Prophet
Joseph Smith to behold, to hearken,
to listen, and to hear, in over 60
revelations.

Obedience brings blessings

The following scriptural statements
represent warnings and counsel that
are significant guidelines to our be-
havior in this mortal existence: "There
is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven
before the foundations of this world,
upon which all blessings are predi-
cated—

"And when we obtain any blessing
from God, it is by obedience to that

GENERAL CONFERENCE

28

Friday, April 5

law upon which it is predicated."
(D&C 130:20-21.)

Also: "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." (D&C
132:5.)

". . . unto every law there are cer-
tain bounds also and conditions.

"All beings who abide not in those
conditions are not justified.

"For," said the Lord, "intelligence
cleaveth unto intelligence; wisdom re-
ceiveth wisdom; truth embraceth
truth; virtue loveth virtue; light cleav-
eth unto light; mercy hath compassion
on mercy and claimeth her own; jus-
tice continueth its course and claimeth
its own: judgment goeth before the
face of him who sitteth upon the
throne and governeth and executeth
all things." (D&C 88:38-40.)

These scriptural quotations teach us
the importance of bounds and limita-
tions, and also the conditions we must
meet to attain eternal peace and happi-
ness. Only obedience to God's com-
mandments will bring us, his children,
the blessings of heaven. If we will but
heed the words of eternal life and
put our "trust in that Spirit which
leadeth to do good — yea, to do justly,
to walk humbly, to judge righteously,"
our salvation and glory can be as-
sured. (See D&C 11:12.)

God is light

John the Beloved gave this witness
and testimony of the Christ and his
teachings: "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.

"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 sin." (1 John 1:5-7.)

As a people we must stand firm,
steadfast, and immovable in avoiding
the evils of the world, and sustain

First Day

with all the fervor of our being the
truths, standards, principles, and
ideals of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Satan is a formidable opponent, and
it will take extraordinary toughness
to subdue him and his agents.

The Lord has never promised that
the overcoming of evil would be easy,
but everyone can, if he wills, win the
battle against the power of Satan.

The gospel of Christ is a lamp in
our hands to guide us in righteous
paths. Light can always dissipate
darkness, but darkness can never re-
place light. It is only when the light
of the Spirit within us is dimmed or
goes out that the darkness of tempta-
tion and sin enters in, and Satan takes
over.

Unfruitful works of darkness

The apostle Paul, in his Epistles
to the Ephesians, admonished, ". . .
have no fellowship with the unfruitful
works of darkness, but rather reprove
them." (Eph. 5:11.)

Some of the unfruitful works of
darkness as enumerated by Paul are:

". . . walk not ... in the vanity of
their mind,

"Having the understanding dark-
ened, being alienated from the life of
God. . . .

"Who being past feeling have given
themselves over unto lasciviousness, to
work all uncleanness with greediness."
(Eph. 4:17-19.)

"[Put] away lying. . . ." (Eph.
4:25.)

"Let no corrupt communication pro-
ceed out of your mouth. . . .

". . . grieve not the holy Spirit of
God. . . .

"Let all bitterness, and wrath, and
anger, and clamour, and evil speaking,
be put away from you. . . ." (Eph.
4:29-31.)

"But fornication, and all unclean-
ness, or covetousness, let it not be once
named among you, as becometh
saints;

"Neither filthiness, nor foolish talk-
ing, nor jesting, which are not con-
venient. . . .

"For this ye know, that no whore-
monger, nor unclean person, nor

ELDER DELBERT L. STAPLEY

29

covetous man, who is an idolater,
hath any inheritance in the kingdom of
Christ and of God." (Eph. 5:3-5.)

The counsel of God is clear: avoid
these "unfruitful works of darkness" —
walk in light and truth.

"And be renewed in the spirit of
your mind;

". . . put on the new man, which
after God is created in righteousness
and true holiness.

". . . speak every man truth with his
neighbour. . . .

". . . let not the sun go down upon
your wrath:

"Neither give place to the devil."
(Eph. 4:23-27.)

Thus has the apostle Paul desig-
nated some of the things we must
avoid as the unfruitful works of dark-
ness and some of the positive things
we ought to do to walk in the light
of the gospel of Jesus Christ. There
are two powerful forces operative in the
world today: one is the powerful in-
fluence of God; the other emanates
from Satan. Even though evil is in
constant competition with the good, the
noble, and the beautiful in life, we
should remember Joshua's declara-
tion: ". . . but as for me and my house,
we will serve the Lord." (Josh. 24:15.)

Opposing forces in life

The opposing forces in life are essen-
tial for our growth and development.
It is required of us to recognize the
powers that lead us away from the
Spirit of the Lord, and to choose the
path of righteousness, which will lead
us back into the presence of God. As
we succeed in this "tug-of-war" be-
tween the opposing forces of good and
evil, we will bring joy into our lives
here and earn rewards and exaltation
in the life to come.

Perhaps never before in our history
has the need been greater for mem-
bers of the Church to understand the
opposing forces confronting them and
to muster sufficient strength to resist
the forces of evil and embrace the
forces of good. An ancient American
prophet said: "And to bring about his
eternal purposes in the end of man . . .
it must needs be that there was an

opposition. . . .

"Wherefore, the Lord God gave
unto man that he should act for him-
self. Wherefore, man could not act
for himself save it should be that he
was enticed by the one or the other."
(2 Ne. 2:15-16.)

Opposition seems to be as extensive
and pervasive as the familiar words
which signify it. It would be mani-
fest in all other basic ideas that come
in contrasting pairs: that is, good and
evil, life and death, war and peace,
pleasure and pain, necessity and con-
tingency, virtue and vice. There are
other terms that stand opposed one to
another, such as, chance to fate,
liberty to slavery, time to eternity,
knowledge to opinion, and matter to
form. Still other terms cannot be dis-
cussed without reference to their
opposites, such as, truth and falsehood,
love and hate, justice and injustice,
wealth and poverty.

Life made up of choices

The choice is up to us as we exer-
cise our free agency. Consider the
preacher who summed up this matter
of opposition when he stated his feel-
ings as follows: "There is an election
going on all the time. The Lord votes
for you, and the devil votes against
you, but you cast the deciding vote."

"Life is made up of choices. There
are two ways of doing things, the
right way and the wrong way. Every
responsible individual stands almost
daily at the crossroads and must
choose which way he will travel. He
can take the road that leads to the
heights where the good and great of
the earth assemble, or he can take the
road that leads to the depths where
the victims of remorse and despondency
go. Life calls for almost constant de-
cisions and the decisions which we
make reflect with accuracy our think-
ing and our tastes.

". . . it is the development of
ethical and spiritual standards which
will make the right choice clear and
easy. . . . What we are and what we
achieve is largely a result of what we
choose." (Bryant S. Hinckley, Not by
Bread Alone, p. 39.)

GENERAL CONFERENCE

30

Friday, April 5

King Benjamin's message

King Benjamin, a beloved Book of
Mormon prophet, exhorted his people
to "open your ears that ye may hear,
and your hearts that ye may under-
stand, and your minds that the
mysteries of God may be unfolded to
your view."

And then he reminded them of his
teachings, saying: "Neither have I
suffered . . . that ye should murder,
or plunder, or steal, or commit
adultery; nor even have I suffered that
ye should commit any manner of
wickedness, and have taught you that
ye should keep the commandments of
the Lord, in all things which he hath
commanded you." (Mosiah 2:9, 13.)

King Benjamin's message to his
people was given from a tower in con-
trast with today's worldwide com-
munication system, where many lis-
tening ears are tuned in to hear the
sermons of this conference.

Easier to walk in the light

The purpose of these messages is the
same now as it was then: to encourage
people to accept and live the gospel of
Jesus Christ as revealed by God for the
benefit and blessing of his children.
The sufferings and sorrows resulting
from disobedience are extremely diffi-
cult to bear. It is far easier to walk
in the paths of righteousness and the

First Day

light of gospel truths than to fall into
the sorrow of disobedience and evil
doing. If we walk in the light as
Christ is in the light, peace of mind,
happiness, and joy will be our lot
forever.

I close with another statement of the
Nephite prophet, King Benjamin:

"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. . . ." (Mosiah
2:41.)

My brothers and sisters, I bear hum-
ble witness to the truth of these
teachings. That we will all so live
that we may enjoy eternal happiness
and peace in our personal lives, I
humbly pray in the name of Jesus
Christ. Amen.

President N. Eldon Tanner

Elder Delbert L. Stapley of the
Council of the Twelve has just spoken
to us.

Elder Henry D. Taylor, Assistant to
the Twelve, will now address us. He
will be followed by Elder Boyd K.
Packer, Assistant to the Twelve.

Elder Henry D. Taylor

Assistant to the Council of the Twelve

As the psalmist contemplated with
awe the beauties of the Lord's creation,
with man as the crowning achieve-
ment, he exclaimed in wonderment:

"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 mind-
ful 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. . . .

"O Lord our Lord, how excellent is
thy name in all the earth 1" (Ps.
8:3-6, 9.)

Many have described man in glow-
ing terms. This is Shakespeare's
analysis: "What a piece of work is
man! how noble in reason! how in-
finite in faculty! in form and moving
how express and admirable! in action
how like an angel! in apprehension
how like a god! the beauty of the
world! the paragon of animals! . . ."
(Hamlet, Act 2.)

ELDER HENRY D. TAYLOR

31

What is man

Well might we ask the same ques-
tion, "What is man?" and well might
the answer be: Man is the spiritual
offspring of heavenly parents, privi-
leged through righteous living to come
to this world, to be born of earthly
parents, and to be blessed with a
mortal body.

The possession of this wonderful
body is a sacred trust. President
Joseph Fielding Smith has declared:
"The importance of these mortal tab-
ernacles is apparent from the knowl-
edge we have of eternal life. Spirits
cannot be made perfect without the
body of flesh and bones. This body
and its spirit are brought to immortal-
ity and blessings of salvation through
the resurrection. After the resurrection
there can be no separation again, body
and spirit become inseparably con-
nected that man may receive a fullness
of Joy. In no other way, other than
birth into this life and the resurrec-
tion, can spirits become like our eter-
nal Father." (Era, Vol. 34 [September
1931], p. 643.)

Mission of Adam and Eve

When Adam was placed here upon
the earth, our Heavenly Father indi-
cated that by himself, Adam never
could people the earth or subdue it.
"It is not good," the Lord said, "that
the man should be alone; I will make
him an help meet for him." (Gen.
2:18.) So Eve was created and given
to Adam in the bonds of eternal mar-
riage, to continue with him, and to be
his loving wife and companion.

This noble couple were given the
commandment to perpetuate them-
selves: "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."
(Gen. 1:28.) These objectives could not
be achieved without effort, and so the
Father further admonished Adam: "In
the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat
bread. . . ." (Gen. 3:19.) He was to
labor and struggle for a living. Then,

so that the man and wife would be
united in their journey through life,
the Lord added: "Therefore shall a
man leave his father and his mother,
and shall cleave unto his wife: and
they shall be one flesh." (Gen. 2:24.)
That is, one in unity, purpose, and
harmony, to bring to life in mortality
the spiritual offspring of Deity, to
furnish mortal bodies for others, and
to "replenish" or "fill" the earth. No
life's purpose such as this could ever
be devised by finite mind. It is truly
divine.

Ideal home environment

What a glorious thing it would be
if each child born into this world
could have the assurance of these
things:

1. To be born into a home where
parents enjoy a respected and honor-
able name. In other words, "to be born
of goodly parents."

2. To be born into homes where
they are wanted: a place in which they
are loved; a place where proper exam-
ples are manifest. One father said:
"I am not trying to be a model father.
All I am trying to do is to live so that
when someone says to my son, 'You
remind me of your father,' he can stick
out his chest and not his tongue."

3. A place where the children are
encouraged to prepare themselves for
life, both here and hereafter, to live up
to their full potential; a home where
they are instructed to stand on their
own feet, to be independent and self-
supporting; a home where they are
taught to prepare to establish homes
of their own through proper training
and securing an adequate education.

Security never granted

To "subdue the earth," a person
must look mainly to himself and not
to others, except as others might offer
good counsel or set a good example.
Most persons are striving to find what
they consider security. It has been
pointed out:

"People who look to government for
'security' are seeking that which has
never been granted to human kind.
Man was promised his living by the

32

Friday, April 5

sweat of his brow, and where he
wastes his substance he will want in
spite of all human devices to render
it otherwise. Nowhere in her system
does nature offer security to anyone
or anything. Nature's way is the law
of change and succession, or replace-
ment and fulfillment; but never the
unalterable, the fixed or the guaran-
teed. It is defeatism in the individuals
to seek security in living, a misunder-
standing of the function of life itself.
It was not so that the pioneers of this
land lived, when there were few gov-
ernments to do things for them. They
met the wilderness on its own terms,
and pushed it back. Men and women
worked together to found their homes,
raise their children, and wrest a
competence from what the land had
to offer them. They helped one an-
other. They had time for worship,
and they knew that over man there
was God. Our age is a pioneering
one, and to each are offered widening
chances of development. It is a neglect
of self-improvement to seek security
without having earned it, to attempt
to reap without having sown. No
government can produce what people
don't in themselves create." ("Security
—A Mirage!" Life Line, October 31,
1964.)

A prominent American, in contem-
plating the subject, gave this advice
to young people: "Don't dream about
security; make it for yourself, out of
yourself." He then concluded his
thoughts on self-reliance with these
words: "Dare to believe in yourself
. . . and act accordingly. If you do,
both your present and your future are
secure."

"Men are that they might have joy"

While man is struggling to achieve
security and independence, he should
also realize that happiness and joy can
be his. The Prophet Lehi, speaking
under the inspiration of the Lord,
taught his sons that "men are, that
they might have joy." (2 Ne. 2:25.)
This joy could come from performing
unselfish acts for others, a life filled
with love for fellowmen, the rewards
that come from honest toil, from a

GENERAL CONFERENCE

First Day

home where love and kindness abide,
the peace and tranquility that come
from observing the commandments of
the Lord.

There are many today who are seek-
ing for thrills and so-called pleasure.
These things are but momentary and
fleeting. Happiness and joy come
from more enduring and lasting acts.
The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that
"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, up-
rightness, faithfulness, holiness, and
keeping all the commandments of
God." (Joseph Fielding Smith, Teach-
ings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp.
255-56.)

Rewards of life

Even though this life is real and
earnest, it is possible to receive many
rewards and satisfactions. I have noted
serene joy in the face of a mother as
she gazed with tenderness at her newly
born child. I have viewed the pride,
happiness, and joy in the expressions of
parents as they watched and listened to
the report of their son or daughter who
had just returned from completing an
honorable and successful mission, or
other righteous achievements.

It is a humbling and warming ex-
perience to be present in the temple
with the parents, friends, and families
as a young couple is married and
sealed for time and for all eternity.
Certainly there is joy and happiness
there.

I am confident that each of us has
personally experienced the warm glow
of happiness that comes from perform-
ing an unselfish act or rendering a
service for someone else.

The Prophet Joseph Smith has said:
"If a man gets a fullness of the Priest-
hood of God he has to get it in the
same way that Jesus Christ obtained it,
and that was by keeping all the com-
mandments and obeying all the
ordinances of the House of the
Lord. . . ." (Ibid., page 308.)

Greater blessings promised

While joy and happiness are pos-

ELDER BOYD K. PACKER

33

sible in life here upon the earth,
greater rewards and blessings have
been promised and will come following
the time of the resurrection, after we
have left this frail existence. At that
time those who have been faithful
will not only be reunited with their
families and loved ones of mortality,
but they will also be privileged to
dwell in the glorious celestial world
where God the Father and Jesus Christ,
the Son, dwell.

Surely, this will be joy supreme. And

it is possible to every one of us if we
keep the faith and endure in righteous-
ness to the end.

For this I humbly pray, in the name
of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.

President N. Eldon Tanner

Elder Henry D. Taylor, Assistant to
the Twelve, has just spoken to us.

We shall now hear from Elder Boyd
K. Packer, Assistant to the Twelve, and
president of the New England Mission.

Elder Boyd K. Packer

Assistant to the Council of the Twelve

I feel subdued in spirit this after-
noon, my brethren and sisters, in
coming from the mission field again to
general conference, to hear the testi-
monies of our beloved Prophet and of
the brethren. Particularly was my
heart touched by the message of Elder
Gordon B. Hinckley as he spoke to our
servicemen, for in my life that silver
thread of testimony, drawn from the
dark tapestry of armed conflict, has
been a guiding beacon.

Call to military service

Many young men listening to the
conference are serving in the armed
forces, or they face a call to military
service. To answer the call, one must
suspend many things dear and sacred.
Military service requires a severance: —
hopefully a temporary one — from inti-
mate and sacred ties that bind a young
man to his family and from those
relationships to which young manhood
is so very responsive. Interruption
comes likewise to schooling, and life's
work is delayed. And, as always, it
carries with it the threat of jeopardy
to life and limb.

It is to you, our brethren in the
armed forces, that I speak. Nor is the
man who serves the only one con-
cerned. There are wives and there are
parents who never, never cease to love
their children or fear for them.

Repudiation of responsibilities

A man answering the call now is

not left in total comfort that all will
sustain him. There have emerged in
our society groups composed mostly of
restless, unchallenged young people.
In the name of peace and love and
brotherhood, they criticize those who,
obedient to the laws of the land, have
answered the call to military duty. It
is puzzling to see them renouncing
their obligation, repudiating their
citizenship responsibilities. They de-
clare on moral grounds, as an act of
virtue, that they will not serve. One
can be sensitive, even sympathetic, to
their feelings, for war is an ugly thing
— a heinous, hideous, ugly thing!
Strangely, it is a pursuit to which man-
kind has turned again and again and
again. The wicked have generated it,
and the innocent have ultimately been
provoked by it.

The Lord said: "Therefore, renounce
war and proclaim peace. . . ." (D&C
98:16.) I would that all men would
remain at peace.

"We love peace," said President
David O. McKay, "but not peace at
any price. There is a peace more
destructive of the manhood of living
man than war is destructive of the
body. 'Chains are worse than bayo-
nets.'" (The Improvement Era, June
1955, p. 395.)

Recently a college student about to
graduate, and under notice from the
selective service, came to my office.
Confused and worried, he told me of
the pressure from fellow students and

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34

Friday, April 5

from faculty members to refuse induc-
tion, to leave the country, if necessary.
When the issues are so confusing — and
they are confusing — what can a man
do? How can he know which way to
turn?

Nephites taught defense

First, the scriptures are not silent on
the subject. These are not new issues;
75 years B.C. , the Nephites faced
such a challenge. There encircled
them an ominous threat to liberty, the
home, the family, and their rights of
worship. While our present dilemma
is not quite like theirs, all too soon the
very circumstances they faced could
come upon us. We would do well at
least to ponder the words of their
prophets: "Behold," said Moroni,
"could ye suppose that ye could sit
upon your thrones, and because of the
exceeding goodness of God ye could
do nothing and he would deliver you?
Behold, if ye have supposed this ye
have supposed in vain." (Al. 60:11.)

The Book of Mormon records that
"the Nephites were taught to defend
themselves against their enemies, even
to the shedding of blood if it were
necessary; yea, and they were also
taught never to give an offense, yea,
and never to raise the sword except it
were against an enemy, except it were
to preserve their lives.

"And this was their faith ... if they
were faithful in keeping the command-
ments of God that he would prosper
them in the land; yea, warn them to
flee, or to prepare for war, according
to their danger;

"And also, that God would make
it known unto them whither they
should go to defend themselves against
their enemies and by so doing, the
Lord would deliver them. . . ." (Al.
48:14-16.)

These Nephites faced not only the
hostility of invading enemies, but also
indifference, dissension, and corrup-
tion in their own land. But the record
confirms that "they were doing that
which they felt was the duty which
they owed to their God; for the Lord
had said unto them and also unto their
fathers, that: Inasmuch as ye are not

First Day

guilty of the first offense, neither the
second, ye shall not suffer yourselves
to be slain by the hand of your
enemies.

"And again, the Lord had said that:
Ye shall defend your families even
unto bloodshed. Therefore for this
cause were the Nephites contending
with the Lamanites, to defend them-
selves, and their families, and their
lands, their country, and their rights,
and their religion." (Al. 43:46-47.)

Message of First Presidency

More was said anciently, but we
turn to modern prophets, for they have
spoken and touched on the deeper
issues involved. A message of the First
Presidency dated April 6, 1942, states:
". . . the Church is and must be against
war. ... It cannot regard war as a
righteous means of settling interna-
tional disputes; these should and could
be settled — the nations agreeing — by
peaceful negotiations and adjustments.

"But the Church membership are
citizens or subjects of sovereignties over
which the Church has no control. The
Lord himself has told us to 'befriend
that law which is the constitutional
law of the land': . . .

". . . When, therefore, constitutional
law, obedient to these principles, calls
the manhood of the Church into the
armed service of any country to which
they owe allegiance, their highest civic
duty requires that they meet that call.
If, harkening to that call and obeying
those in command over them, they
shall take the lives of those who
fight against them, that will not
make of them murderers, nor subject
them to the penalty that God has
prescribed for those who kill. . . ."

Surely no individual will be excused
for any wanton act of brutality,
wickedness, or destruction. Neverthe-
less, this statement confirms: ". . . He
will not hold the innocent instrumen-
talities of the war, our brethren in
arms, responsible for the conflict. This
is a major crisis in the world-life of
man. God is at the helm."

A man does not necessarily have to
volunteer. In fact, it would be hoped
that young members of the Church

ELDER BOYD K. PACKER

35

would have the strengthening, stabiliz-
ing development of missionary service,
and perhaps some schooling, before
they enter the service, if indeed they
are required to do so at all. And
sometimes they are required to serve. If
so, the brethren have said: ". . . the
members of the Church have always
felt under obligation to come to the
defense of their country when a call to
arms was made. . . ." (The Improve-
ment Era, May 1942, pp. 346, 348-49.)

Citizenship responsibility

Though all the issues of the con-
flict are anything but clear, the matter
of citizenship responsibility is perfectly
clear. Our brethren, we know some-
thing of what you face and sense,
something of what you feel.

I have worn the uniform of my na-
tive land in the time of total conflict.
I have smelled the stench of human
dead and wept tears for slaughtered
comrades. I have climbed amid the
rubble of ravaged cities and contem-
plated in horror the ashes of a civiliza-
tion sacrificed to Moloch; yet knowing
this, with the issues as they are, were I
called again to military service, I could
not conscientiously object!

To you who have answered that call,
we say: Serve honorably and well.
Keep your faith, your character, your
virtue.

Exemplars of righteousness

While war permits stomping out of
a man's heart the reverent and tender
virtues that exemplify true manhood,
military services does not require it.
You can serve and yet be exemplars of
righteousness.

"It is a disgraceful thought," said
President Joseph F. Smith, "that a
man to become a soldier should be-
come a rake and abandon himself to
crime and wickedness. Let the soldiers
that go out ... be and remain men of
honor. And when they are called,
obey the call, and manfully meet the
duty, the dangers, or the labor, that
may be required of them, or that they
may be set to do; but do it with an
eye single to the accomplishment of
the good that is aimed to be accom-

plished, and not with the blood-thirsty
desire to kill and to destroy." (Confer-
ence Report, April 1917, p. 4.)

Righteous not lost

In armed conflicts there are casual-
ties. Sometimes clean, worthy men,
innocent of any desire to kill, devoid
of any aggressive will to own that
which belongs to someone else, fall
victims of the confused, wicked ugli-
ness of war.

"For," the prophet Moroni said, "the
Lord suffereth the righteous to be
slain that his justice and judgment
may come upon the wicked; therefore,
ye need not suppose that the righteous
will be lost because they are slain;
but behold they do enter into the rest
of their God." (Al. 60:13.) There are
homes among us now where this
heartbreak is known.

I read somewhere some simple lines
of verse about a mother — and a tele-
gram. Deep within lies a seed of
strength and consolation — understood,
perhaps, only by those who have faith.
I can read but a few lines.

"'Killed in action ... in the line of
duty.'

Blind went her eyes with pain. . . .
A moan of mortal agony,
Then all became still again.

" 'Oh God! ... my God! . . . where

were you
When my son was being slain?'
And the scalding tears of bitterness
Drenched her cheeks like the summer

rain.

"But a soft voice seemed to whisper
In the twilight's afterglow,
'I had a son ... at Calvary . . .
Two thousand years ago.' "

Stay close to Church

God bless you, our brethren. We
love you. We sustain you. There is no
dishonor in your service.

Stay close to the Church, to the
branches and wards near your post, to
our chaplains and servicemen's groups.
Carry your servicemen's kit; read from
it. Live worthily.

36

Friday, April 5

We pray God that he will protect
you — that you will not fall a mortal
nor a moral casualty of war. I tes-
tify to you that "this is a major crisis
in the world-life of man. God is at
the helm." (The Improvement Era,
May 1942, p. 349.)

I bear witness that he lives and
that he guides the destiny of man and
of this Church, in the name of Jesus
Christ. Amen.

President N. Eldon Tanner

He to whom we have just listened
is Elder Boyd K. Packer, Assistant to
the Twelve.

GENERAL CONFERENCE

First Day

The congregation and chorus will
now join in singing: "O Say, What Is
Truth?", after which Elder James A.
Cullimore, Assistant to the Twelve,
will speak to us.

The congregation and the Combined
Choruses joined in singing the hymn,
"O Say, What Is Truth?".

President N. Eldon Tanner

Elder James A. Cullimore, Assistant
to the Twelve, will now address us,
and he will be followed by Elder Alma
Sonne, Assistant to the Twelve.

Eider James A. Cullimore

Assistant to the Council of the Twelve

Since next Sunday is Easter Sunday,
I want to direct my remarks to this
important day and the circumstances
surrounding it.

There are two great festal days in
the Christian year: one is Christmas
and the other is Easter. The first is
in honor of the Lord's coming into
the world. It is a glorious occasion.
Wherever there are a home and
children, in every quarter of the world,
there is joy on this great occasion. Old
grudges disappear, feuds are forgotten,
and love flows from heart to heart
at Christmastime.

The Lord is risen

Yet Christmas is less a day of victory
than Easter, for the story that begins
then is incomplete until it is crowned
by the announcement, "The Lord is
risen." Someone has so beautifully
said: "If the Savior, having breathed
his last on the cross, had never come
back to the world in life as he prom-
ised, then the Star of Bethlehem might
as well never have flamed, the angels
as well never have sung 'Glory to
God in the Highest' in the midnight
sky, and the wise men from the east
need not have taken their journey to
find the babe in the manger. We
might have wept over our crucified
king if he had never risen from the

dead, but we sound his praises now
because he lives and reigns forever
and ever." (Author unknown.)

The story is told of a man walking
down a street in Chicago who came to
a store window where there was dis-
played a beautiful picture of the
crucifixion. As he stood gazing spell-
bound at the vivid picture story, he
suddenly became conscious that at his
side stood a little boy. The boy too
was gazing at the picture, and his
tense expression made the man know
that the crucifixion had really gripped
the eager little soul. Touching the boy
on the shoulder, the man said, "Sonny,
what does it mean?"

"Don'cha know?" he answered, his
face full of the marvel of the man's
ignorance. "That there man is Jesus,
and them others is Roman soldiers,
and the woman crying is his mother,
and," he added, "they killed him."

The man was loath to leave the
window, but he could not tarry always
at the tragic scene, so he turned away
and walked down the street. In a
few moments he heard pattering foot-
steps, and there came rushing toward
him the little boy.

"Say, mister!" he exclaimed breath-
lessly. "I forgot to tell you, but he
rose again!"

ELDER JAMES A. CULLIMORE

37

The conquest of death

Yes, he rose again. The advent on
earth of the Redeemer is of less im-
portance than the conquest of death
and the grave, for it was only by
rising from the grave that he could
redeem the world. Hence, his resur-
rection signalizes the redemption of
mankind and becomes one of the
greatest of all occasions for every
child of God.

Our author continues: "It required
the resurrection to complete the work
of redemption. The marvel of the
manger birth attracted little atten-
tion from an ancient people, accus-
tomed to accept the marvelous. The
miracle of Galilee failed to astound a
world that treated miracles as a matter
of course. The martyrdom of Calvary
was not in itself sufficient to prove
that Jesus was the Savior of the world;
but when the angel of the resurrection
showed the weeping followers of Jesus
an empty tomb on the morning of the
first resurrection, no one who accepted
the story with a saving faith could
deny that the Nazarene was the
world's Savior and the conqueror of
death."

Yes, he rose again, for you and me —
for all the children of God — that we
might not be lost but that we might
live again and have immortality and
eternal life. Unto every man, woman,
and child he brought immortality. Lis-
ten to the words of Alma: "Now, there
is a death which is called a temporal
death; and the death of Christ shall
loose the bands of this temporal death,
that all shall be raised from this
temporal death.

"The spirit and the body shall be
reunited again in its perfect form. . . .

"Now, this restoration shall come
to all, both old and young, both bond
and free, both male and female, both
the wicked and the righteous. . . ."
(Al. 11:42-44.)

Paul said: "For since by man came
death, by man came also the resur-
rection of the dead.

"For as in Adam all die, even so in
Christ shall all be made alive." ( 1 Cor.
15:21-22.)

Gift of eternal life

All this comes without effort on our
part through the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Unto those who believe
on him, repent of their sins, and keep
his commandments and prove faithful
to the end shall come the greatest gift
of all in the atonement, not only im-
mortality, but eternal life also, for the
Lord has said, "And, if you keep my
commandments and endure to the end
you shall have eternal life, which gift
is the greatest of all the gifts of God."
(D&C 14:7.) In the words of Nephi:
". . . Wherefore, if ye shall press for-
ward, feasting upon the word of Christ,
and endure to the end, behold, thus
saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal
life." (2 Ne. 31:20.)

Died for men's sins

Yes, he rose again, for the Father
gave him to have "life in himself,"
because he had strength to suffer,
bleed, and die for our sins individually,
and for the transgression of Adam, that
we might not have to suffer ourselves
if we keep his commandments.

The Savior himself said: "For be-
hold, I, God, have suffered these things
for all, that they might not suffer if
they would repent;

"But if they would not repent they
must suffer even as I;

"Which suffering caused myself,
even God, the greatest of all, to tremble
because of pain, and to bleed at every
pore, and to suffer both body and
spirit — 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."
(D&C 19:16-19.)

Amulek understood this as he
prophesied of the coming of the
Savior: "And he shall come into the
world to redeem his people; and he
shall take upon him the transgressions
of those who believe on his name; and
these are they that shall have eternal
life, and salvation cometh to none
else.

"Therefore the wicked remain as
though there had been no redemption

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38

Friday, April 5

made, except it be the loosing of the
bands of death " (Al. 11:40-41.)

Story of the resurrection

Listen to the story of the resurrec-
tion as related by James E. Talmage:

"Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, had
passed, and the night preceding the
dawn of the most memorable Sunday
in history was well nigh spent, while
the Roman guard kept watch over
the sealed sepulchre wherein lay the
body of the Lord Jesus. While it was
yet dark, the earth began to quake;
an angel of the Lord descended in
glory, rolled back the massive stone
from the portal of the tomb, and sat
upon it. His countenance was bril-
liant as the lightning, and his raiment
was as the driven snow for whiteness.
The soldiers, paralyzed with fear, fell
to the earth as dead men. When they
partially recovered from their fright,
they fled from the place in terror. Even
the rigor of Roman discipline, which
decreed summary death to every
soldier who deserted his post, could not
deter them. Moreover, there was
nothing left for them to guard; the
seal of authority had been broken, the
sepulchre was open, and empty."
(James E. Talmage, Jesus the Christ,
p. 678.) The Lord had risen.

". . . Mary Magdalene, and Mary
the mother of James, and Salome had
bought sweet spices, that they might
come and anoint him.

"And very early in the morning the
first day of the week, they came unto
the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.

"And they said among themselves,
Who shall roll us away the stone
from the door of the sepulchre?

"And when they looked, they saw
that the stone was rolled away: . . .

"And entering into the sepulchre,
they saw a young man sitting on the
right side, clothed in a long white
garment; and they were affrighted.

"And he saith unto them, Be not
affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth,
which was crucified: he is risen; he is
not here: behold the place where they
laid him.

"But go your way, tell his disciples
and Peter that he goeth before you

First Day

into Galilee: there shall ye see him,
as he said unto you." (Mark 16:1-7.)

Actuality of resurrection

The actuality of the resurrection is
attested to by many unto whom the
resurrected Lord showed himself.

As some of the disciples went to
Emmaus, Jesus walked with them, but
their "eyes were holden that they
should not know him." After much
conversation and visiting, their eyes
were opened, and they knew him; and
he vanished out of their sight.

"And they said one to another, Did
not our heart burn within us, while he
talked with us by the way, and while
he opened to us the scriptures?

"And as they thus spake, Jesus him-
self stood in the midst of them, and
saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

"But they were terrified and af-
frighted, 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." (Luke 24:16, 32,
36-39.)

He then showed them his hands and
his feet, and asked them to bring meat,
and he took it and did eat it before
them.

Evidence of Christ's divinity

The miracle of the resurrection is
one of the greatest evidences of Christ's
divinity. No fact in ancient history
is better attested to than that Jesus
lived, that he was crucified, and that
he was resurrected from the dead and
administered in his immortal body to
his disciples.

Jesus proclaimed himself "the resur-
rection, and the life." (John 11:25.)
He declared that he would lay his
body down and take it up again, and
added, "I have power to lay it down,
and I have power to take it up again."
And this he did.

More and more, men are doubting
that Jesus was resurrected and that he

ELDER JAMES

is now the living Christ, the Only Be-
gotten Son of God in the flesh.

But he proclaimed himself a God,
even the Son of God, and that all
things were created by him. "In the
beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word
was God.

"The same was in the beginning
with God.

"All things were made by him; and
without him was not anything made
that was made.

"In him was life; and the life was
the light of men." (John 1:1-4.)

"Destroy this temple," he said, "and
in three days I will raise it up." (John
2:19.) He spoke of the temple as his
body. Pilate also doubted Christ's
words, that he would rise again, and
he placed guards by the sepulcher.
Yet, Jesus came out of the tomb, the
conqueror of death, hell, and the
grave.

Witness of apostles

Many of the apostles of the Savior
witnessed his crucifixion and were also
witnesses of his resurrection. From
the testimony of many of them we
have some of the strongest assurances
of the reality of the resurrection. There
was no doubt in the mind of Peter as
to the reality of the resurrection when
he spoke to the very men who had
been witnesses to his death:

"Ye men of Israel, hear these words;
Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of
God among you by miracles and won-
ders and signs, which God did by him
in the midst of you, as ye yourselves
also know:

"Him, being delivered ... by wicked
hands have crucified and slain:

"Whom God hath raised up, having
loosed the pains of death. . . ." (Acts
2:22-24.)

Paul is one of the greatest witnesses
to the literal resurrection of the Lord:

"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:

. CULLIMORE 39

"And that he was seen of Cephas,
then of the twelve:

"After that, he was seen of about
five hundred brethren at once; of
whom the greater part remain unto
this present, but some are fallen
asleep.

"After that, he was seen of James;
then of all the apostles.

"And last of all he was seen of me
also, as of one born out of due time.

"For I am the least of the apostles,
that am not meet to be called an
apostle, because I persecuted the
church of God." (1 Cor. 15:3-9.)

Scriptures testify of immortality

The scriptures testify that, as Christ
was resurrected, so shall all be resur-
rected and have immortality.

The Savior said: "Verily, verily, I
say unto you, He that heareth my
word, and believeth on him that sent
me, hath everlasting life, and shall
not come into condemnation; but is
passed from death unto life.

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, The
hour is coming, and now is, when the
dead shall hear the voice of the Son of
God: and they that hear shall live.

"For as the father hath life in him-
self; so hath he given to the Son to
have life in himself;

"And hath given him authority to
execute judgment also, because he is
the Son of Man.

"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."
(John 5:24-29.)

Paul reasoned with the unbelievers
with sound logic as to the actuality of
the resurrection. "But if there be no
resurrection of the dead, then is Christ
not risen:

"And if Christ be not risen, then is
our preaching vain, and your faith
also vain. . . .

"If in this life only we have hope in
Christ, we are of all men most
miserable.

"But now is Christ risen from the-

40

Friday, April 5

dead, and become the firstfruits of
them that slept." (1 Cor. 15:13-14,
19-20.)

A fulness of joy

Yes, he rose again; and as he broke
the bands of death, he made it possible
for all to be resurrected and, if
obedient, to have eternal life. He made
it possible for us to have an immortal
body by which we could receive a
"fulness of joy."

The Lord revealed to the Prophet
Joseph Smith that only as the body
and spirit are inseparably connected
could we receive a "fulness of joy." He
said:

"For man is spirit. The elements
are eternal, and spirit and element, in-
separably connected, receive a fulness
of joy;

"And when separated, man cannot
receive a fulness of joy.

"The elements are the tabernacle of
God; yea, man is the tabernacle of
God, even temples; and whatsoever
temple is defiled, God shall destroy
that temple." (D&C 93:33-35.)

This inseparable union can only
come about through birth into mor-

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First Day

tality; death of the body, which is
separation of body and spirit; and the
resurrection, which is the reunion of
body and spirit. In the resurrected,
glorified, immortalized body we can
go on into eternal life with God.

The atonement of the Savior — his
death and resurrection — made possible
the fulfillment of the purpose of God
in the creation of man. Through
Moses he declared that purpose: "For
behold, this is my work and my glory
— to bring to pass the immortality and
eternal life of man." (Moses 1:39.)

I leave you my witness that this is
the work of the Lord, that Jesus lives,
that he came to earth and by his
atoning sacrifice all shall live again,
that he atoned for our individual sins
on condition of our repentance. By
virtue of our faithfulness we too can
have eternal life. In the name of
Jesus Christ. Amen.

President N. Eldon Tanner

We have just listened to Elder James
A. Cullimore, Assistant to the Twelve.

We shall now hear from Elder Alma
Sonne, also an Assistant to the Twelve.

Elder Alma Sonne

Assistant to the Council of the Twelve

My brethren and sisters, the gospel
of Jesus Christ has been restored in
its fullness. It has no substitute. It
is God's plan to save humanity and
to bring his children back to him. In
modern times it began to function on
the 6th day of April 1830, when the
Church was organized. Christ's Church
will grow and flourish in the future
as it has in the past; I quote from
modern revelation: ". . . the glory of
the Lord shall be upon her;

". . . and there shall come unto her
out of every nation under heaven."
(D&C 64:41-42.)

These prophetic words, given on
September 11, 1831, are being ful-
filled. The Church has reached a
juncture where it has an opportunity
to be heard. Many barriers and much
prejudice have been removed, and

prominent men in the world are mak-
ing their own investigations.

Formula for peace

The gospel message is before the
world. It is being studied and investi-
gated by thinkers and scholars. Books
and magazines dealing with the re-
vealed word are being read. Eventually,
wise men will come to know that the
only formula for peace is contained
in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Hatred, malice, and vindictiveness
must give way to the love advocated
and exemplified by the Lord Jesus
Christ. There is no other effective
way, for in his gospel is the power to
save.

Plan for man's redemption
Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles,

ELDER ALMA SONNE

41

realized that the gospel is the cove-
nant which the Lord has made with
men for their salvation and exalta-
tion. It embraces all the rights, power,
and authority to save and exalt the
human family. It is definite in all
of its commitments. It must not be
perverted or modified to suit the con-
venience, or to satisfy the whims and
the sophistries of false teachers and
others who seek to evade its respon-
sibilities.

I quote Paul's words to the Gala-
tians: "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 ac-
cursed." (Gal. 1:8.)

Jesus was similarly positive when
he said: ". . . strait is the gate, and
narrow is the way, which leadeth unto
life, and few there be that find it."
(Matt. 7:14.) He also cautioned his
followers to "beware of false prophets,"
who would come to them in sheep's
clothing. (Matt. 7:15.)

There was to be no deviation from
the outlined plan for the redemption
of mankind. It is definite and specific
in all of its requirements. Obedience
is the price of salvation.

Mission of the Church

The mission of the Church is to
establish God's kingdom upon the
earth, to safeguard it from error and
falsehood, and to promote righteous
living among its membership. To
carry forward its program, organiza-
tions have been perfected, missionary
work instituted, and foundations se-
curely laid.

The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints proclaims a restora-
tion of the gospel with all the gifts,
keys, powers, and authority. It func-
tions as it did anciently, with
"apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers,
evangelists, etc." (Article of Faith 6.)

"Ye must be born again," said Jesus
to Nicodemus, who had confessed his
faith and manifested his desire to in-
vestigate the teachings of the Master.
(See John 3:7.) In his interview with
the Jewish ruler, Jesus referred to the
Church as the kingdom of God, an

organization through which the work
of regeneration should be accom-
plished.

Nicodemus was impressed but not
converted, even though the first prin-
ciples of the gospel were explained to
him by the Master Teacher. "Many
are called but few are chosen." (See
D&C 121:34.)

The gospel plan

The restored gospel is identical in
all respects to the gospel taught by
the Savior and his apostles. The re-
quirements, the principles, and the
ordinances are the same. There is no
deviation in the fundamental teach-
ings, no departure from the high
standards demanded, and no modifica-
tions in the authorized procedures.

The law of health, for instance,
known as the Word of Wisdom, is a
part of the gospel plan. Its observance
makes for physical fitness, mental pro-
ficiency, moral soundness, and spiritual
development.

The law of tithing is the Lord's
method of providing the necessary
revenues for the operation of the
Church in its far-reaching ramifica-
tions. It too is a part of the restored
gospel.

Mission of the Holy Ghost

When the Prophet Joseph Smith
was asked to point out a distinctive
feature of the Church, he replied:
"We have the Holy Ghost."

The Holy Ghost, the third person-
age in the Godhead, is the spirit of
revelation upon which the true Church
is founded. He is the Comforter and
the "abiding witness" referred to by
the Lord Jesus, and he is conferred by
the laying on of hands.

He testifies to the repentant, bap-
tized believers that Jesus is the Christ
and clothes them with conviction that
toe restored gospel is true and divine
Bus conviction is a sacred and per-
sonal testimony that is the strength
of the Church and accounts for its
wonderful achievements and the stead-
fastness and loyalty of its members

It is the mission of the Holy Ghost
to inspire the Latter-day Saints in

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42

Friday, April 5

their efforts to build God's kingdom,
to enhance and strengthen the mis-
sionary system at home and abroad,
and to enlighten the minds of those
who are searching for the truth.

Man, a child of God

The restored gospel declares that
man is a child of God, and that he
lived before his advent upon the earth.
A human being is therefore more than
a physical creation; he is also a
spiritual being endowed with the
attributes of his Heavenly Father. He
moves toward perfection as he honors
and obeys divine commandments,
which is the only way to perfection.

Life is full of purpose. Man's
career on earth is an opportunity for
growth and development, an oppor-
tunity for him to acquire knowledge,
power, and experience, and to prepare
him for eternal life in God's kingdom.

No substitute for God's plan

Teaching the principles of truth is
an obligation resting upon the Church.
There is no substitute for the plan of
life taught by the Savior. This plan
did not originate with man. It came
from God through holy men, called
prophets. They were foreordained to
do their work. Their object was
to bring sinners to repentance and to
provide safeguards against the de-
structive influences rampant in their
day.

Jesus and his apostles assailed the
corruption and hypocrisy existing
among the scribes and Pharisees, and
rebuked sin in high places. His de-
nunciation of the religious hypocrites
has no parallel in the world's literature.

First Day

A modern prophet

God has spoken to the modern world
through Joseph Smith, a farmer's son.
Through him a new dispensation of
revealed knowledge has been ushered
in. Prophecies concerning the latter
days are being fulfilled, and man's
responsibility to God is clearly out-
lined.

The mission of this modern prophet
was to set in order the things which
pertain to God's kingdom. He was a
humble man and came from the com-
mon ranks. He had no worldly
background, no scholarly attainments,
and no social standing to justify his
selection. His mind was free from the
traditions, superstitions, and fallacies
of the past.

He had little to unlearn, few preju-
dices to overcome, and no man-made
theories to lay aside. He was pliable
in the hands of God and impression-
able to the Spirit's promptings.

He was chosen before he was born,
and came to the earth at the appointed
time. He was foreordained to do his
work. His capabilities had been de-
termined before his earthly advent.

He was the "chosen of God and the
friend of man." (John Taylor, "The
Seer, Joseph the Seer," Hymns, 296.)

I so testify in the name of Jesus
Christ. Amen.

President N. Eldon Tanner

We have just listened to Elder Alma
Sonne, Assistant to the Twelve.

Elder Eldred G. Smith, Patriarch to
the Church, will now address us. He
will be followed by Bishop John H.
Vandenberg, Presiding Bishop.

Elder Eldred G. Smith

Patriarch to the Church

During this coming week, Christians
throughout the world will be cele-
brating the death, crucifixion, and
resurrection of the Savior, Jesus Christ.
We in this Church at this conference
also gather in remembrance of his
birth.

Might we ask, "Who is he whom
we call Jesus the Christ, our Savior?"
Let's reflect for a moment on this
question, and together call to mind a
few known facts.

Moses called upon God and was
shown in vision "many lands; and

ELDER ELDRED G. SMITH

43

each land was called earth, and there
were inhabitants on the face thereof."
(Moses 1:29.)

Jesus Christ the creator

The word of God the Father, de-
clared to Moses: ". . . by the word of
my power, have I created them, which
is mine Only Begotten Son, who is
full of grace and truth.

"And worlds without number have
I created; and I also created them for
mine own purpose; and by the Son I
created them, which is mine Only
Begotten." (Moses 1:32-33.)

Some astronomers now say that in
this galaxy of which we are a part,
there are about one million worlds like
this one on which we live. President
J. Reuben Clark, Jr., put it this way:
". . . if you think of this galaxy of
ours having within it from the begin-
ning perhaps until now, one million
worlds, and multiply that by the num-
ber of millions of galaxies, one
hundred million galaxies, that sur-
round us, you will then get some view
of who this Man whom we worship
is." (Behold the Lamb of God, p. 17.)

He was no amateur, no novice in
the art and skill of a creator. "Worlds
without number" he has created.

Literal Son of God

In that great council in heaven
when the creation of this earth was
planned, it was he who answered to
the call of the Father: "Whom shall I
send? . . ." (Abr. 3:27.)

It was he then who came to this
earth, in the meridian of time, born
of the virgin Mary. He was the
literal Son of God the Father, "the
Only Begotten Son."

He declared who he was. Through-
out his life on earth, he repeatedly
declared that he was the Son of God.
At the age of 12, he was found in the
temple, conversing with the doctors.
In answer to his mother's reproof, he
said, ". . . wist ye not that I must be
about my Father's business?" (Luke
2:49.)

At the baptism of Jesus by John,
as also at the transfiguration of Jesus,
a voice from heaven declared: "This

is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased." (Matt 3:17; 17:5.)

Before Abraham was I Am

Jesus was talking with the Jews
about Abraham, and they said to him:
"Art thou greater than our father
Abraham, which is dead? and the
prophets are dead: whom makest thou
thyself?

"Jesus answered, If I honour myself,
my honour is nothing: it is my Father
that honoureth me; of whom ye say,
that he is your God:

"Yet ye have not known him; but
I know him: and if I should say, I
know him not, I shall be a liar like
unto you: but I know him, and keep
his saying.

"Your father Abraham rejoiced to
see my day: and he saw it, and was
glad.

"Then said the Jews unto him,
Thou art not yet fifty years old, and
hast thou seen Abraham?

"Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily,
I say unto you, Before Abraham was,
I am." (John 8:53-58.)

The resurrection and the life

When Jesus was about to raise
Lazarus from the dead, "Martha saith
unto him, I know that he shall rise
again in the resurrection at the last
day.

"Jesus said unto her, I am the resur-
rection, 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?

"She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I
believe that thou art the Christ, the
Son of God, which should come into
the world." (John 11:24-27.)

Jesus asked a Samaritan woman to
draw water for him, and a conversa-
tion followed. The Samaritan woman
at the well said to Jesus, "I know that
Messias cometh, which is called
Christ: when he is come, he will tell
us all things.

"Jesus saith unto her, I that speak
unto thee am he." (John 4:25-26.)

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Friday, April 5

Thou art the Christ

"When Jesus came into the coasts
of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his
disciples, saying, Whom do men say
that I the Son of man am?

"And they said, Some say that thou
art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and
others, Jeremias, or one of the
prophets.

"He saith unto them, But whom say
ye that I am?

"And Simon Peter answered and
said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of
the living God.

"And Jesus answered and said unto
him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona:
for flesh and blood hath not revealed
it unto thee, but my Father which is
in heaven." (Matt. 16:13-17.)

Dominion over creations

On numerous other occasions, he
declared that he was the Son of God,
the Christ. Is it any wonder then that
when the request came for him to
provide wine at the wedding feast,
he, the great Creator, changed water
to wine?

With a few loaves and fishes, he
fed five thousand plus women and
children on one occasion, and four
thousand plus women and children on
another. (See Matt. 14.) At his sug-
gestion, the nets were cast into the
sea where the disciples had had no
success, and the nets were filled to
overflowing.

In the midst of storm, he com-
manded the sea to be still, and there
was calm. (See Mark 4:37-41.)

He cursed the fig tree that did not
bear fruit, and it died. (See Matt.
21:19.)

He healed all manner of illness
and disease. At his command the evil
spirits departed, they too declaring
who he was. He made the blind to
see, the lame to walk. Yes, he even
controlled life itself, for he restored
to life Lazarus, who had been de-
clared dead for four days. There
were others too.

Yes, "the earth is the Lord's, and the
fulness thereof." (1 Cor. 10:26.) He
had dominion over all the kingdoms
of the earth — in the earth, on the

GENERAL CONFERENCE

First Day

earth, and in the heaven above the
earth. All he did was for others — a
life of service. There was not one
selfish act.

Christ's great mission

Approaching the finish of his mis-
sion here, he prayed to the Father: "I
have glorified thee on the earth: I
have finished the work which thou
gavest me to do.

"And now, O Father, glorify thou
me with thine own self with the glory
which I had with thee before the
world was." (John 17:4-5.)

He took upon himself the sins of
all who shall repent, and gave his
life that all might live. He brought
about the resurrection for all.

Finally, in preparation for the
restoration of his kingdom on the
earth in these the last days, he said:
"Therefore I command you to repent —
repent, lest I smite you by the rod of
my mouth, and by my wrath, and by
my anger, and your sufferings be sore —
how sore you know not, how exquisite
you know not, yea, how hard to bear
you know not.

"For behold, I, God, have suffered
these things for all, that they might
not suffer if they would repent;

"But if they would not repent they
must suffer even as I;

"Which suffering caused myself,
even God, the greatest of all, to
tremble because of pain, and to bleed
at every pore, and to suffer both body
and spirit — 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.

"Wherefore, I command you again
to repent, lest I humble you with my
almighty power. . . ." (D&C 19:15-20.)

Our Savior and Redeemer

Do you so think of him when par-
taking of the sacrament, and covenant
to keep his commandments? To know
him is to keep his commandments. Do
you know him who is called Jesus?

Yes, this is he whom we worship.
He is the Son of God, the Great

BISHOP ]OHN H. VANDENBERG

Creator. He is our Savior and Re-
deemer. He is our advocate with the
Father. It was he who made possible
universal resurrection. It was he,
with his Father, who appeared to
Joseph Smith in the Sacred Grove.

I testify that God lives and that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that it was under his direction
that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been
restored in this dispensation for the
last time, and that President David O.

McKay is his living Prophet today. I
so testify these truths in the name of
Jesus Christ. Amen.

President N. Eldon Tanner

We have just listened to Elder
Eldred G. Smith, Patriarch to the
Church.

Bishop John H. Vandenberg, Pre-
siding Bishop of the Church, will be
our concluding speaker.

Bishop John H. Vandenberg

Presiding Bishop of the Church

A few years ago I read a story of a
mother who was running and playing
with her three-year-old daughter. The
mother told her daughter that when
she was a little girl her mother had
played with her in a very similar
manner.

Upon hearing this, the little girl
looked up with inquisitive eyes and
said, "Mother, where was I when you
were a little girl?"

From the lips of this small girl
comes a question that reaches beyond
the understanding of most of mankind.
This touches on the questions of "Who
are we?" and "What are we doing
here?"

William Wordsworth presents to us
his inspiration in this excerpt from
his poem, "Intimations of Immor-
tality":

"Our birth is but a sleep and a for-
getting:

The soul that rises with us, our life's
star,

Hath had elsewhere its setting,

And eometh 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:

Heaven lies about us in our infancy!"

Pre-existence of man

These thoughts reiterate what the
prophets have told us in the scrip-
tures. The Lord told Jeremiah, "Be-
fore I formed thee in the belly I knew

thee; and before thou earnest forth out
of the womb I sanctified thee, and I
ordained thee a prophet unto the
nations." (Jer. 1:5.)

The testimony of Abraham sheds
further light on the questions, "Who
are we?" and "What are we doing
here?" He 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 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." (Abr. 3:22-24.)

This disclosure by the Lord gives
significant meaning and purpose to
life. Life, then, is not just a period
isolated between birth and death. The
Lord further disclosed to Abraham:

"And we will prove them herewith,
to see if they will do all things what-
soever the Lord their God shall com-
mand them;

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Friday, April 5

". . . and they who keep their sec-
ond estate shall have glory added upon
their heads for ever and ever." (Abr.
3:25-26.)

Divine purpose to life

For those who are not aware of this
divine purpose, life may seem to be a
mysterious journey with few land-
marks and with no real objectives.
They may seek only that which their
eyes can see. Their only objective
may be material wealth and the em-
bracing of worldly pleasures. Moral
standards may be applied only when
it is convenient. In a sense, they
worship and make gods of the physical,
whatever it may be.

It is the prophets who are burdened
with the charge of turning the hearts
of the people from the worship of
false gods. In the wisdom of God,
he has provided his children with
spiritual leadership to keep the true
and real purpose of life uppermost
in their minds and hearts, without
which the people soon dwindle in un-
belief and aimless living. "Where
there is no vision, the people per-
ish " (Prov. 29:18.)

Futility in false idols

The prophet Elijah found his
countrymen in just such a state, put-
ting their faith in various idolatrous
gods, or Baal. They had their false
priests, and each locality had its own
particular idol. Such idols were
worshiped through burnt offerings,
festivals, human sacrifice, and gross
sensuality. |

Upon finding this condition among
the people, Elijah took action. He
prevailed upon Ahab to gather all the
people, including the priests of Baal,
together unto Mount Carmel, and
then Elijah said to this assembly:
"How long halt ye between two opin-
ions? if the Lord be God, follow him:
but if Baal, then follow him. . . ."
(1 Kings 18:21.)

The failure of the priests of Baal,
as Elijah caused them to test their
gods, stands as a classic example of
the futility of following or pursuing

GENERAL CONFERENCE

First Day

false idols. But the charge given
by Elijah to the people, "If the Lord be
God, follow him," has stood. Not
in history has it ever failed mankind.
It stands even today.

It might be asked, "If the Lord be
God, why should we follow him?"
The most striking answer to this query
lies in the lives of those who have
"followed" him.

Followers of Christ

Christ the Lord said to Peter: "Fol-
low me, and I will make you fishers of
men." Peter "straightway left [his]
nets, and followed him." (Matt. 4:19-
20.) What happened? From a simple
fisherman, Peter was transformed into
a courageous leader. On one occasion
he was called before Jewish leaders
and warned not to "teach in the name
of Jesus." With great courage, Peter
defied the order, and rebuked the
rulers, saying: "Whether it be right in
the sight of God to hearken unto you
more than unto God, judge ye. For
we cannot but speak the things which
we have seen and heard." (Acts 4:18-
20.)

To the woman whom the scribes
and Pharisees had found in sin, Christ
opened a whole new life by admon-
ishing her to follow his counsel. To
her he said: "Go and sin no more."
No longer would her conscience be
burdened by her pursuing a life of
sin. She could face life anew — with a
purpose. Her whole life could now be
refocused upon that which is noble
and uplifting. All this could be hers
by "following him."

Christ said: "If any man serve me,
let him follow me; and where I am,
there shall also my servant be. . .
(John 12:26.) Following him is a
day-by-day process. It must be the
conscious objective of every hour. Even
today those who will serve the Master
and follow the directions of his
Prophet can taste the joy of service.

Appreciation for home teacher

Just the other day I received a written
testimony from a mother expressing
appreciation for a servant of the Lord.
This servant, a home teacher, was

BISHOP JOHN H.

simply following the Lord's assign-
ment to "watch over the Church
always, and be with and strengthen
them." (D&C 20:53.) She writes:

"My husband had taken some
Scouts to the Merit Badge Pow-Wow
at B.Y.U. It was a two-hundred mile
drive so they had left at 4 o'clock in
the morning. When I awakened, my
main concern was for their safety as
it was snowing and blowing. My
eight-year-old boy had already awak-
ened and left on his bicycle for the
corral, about a mile away, to do
the chores. Suddenly there he was
in the bedroom with a big tear in each
eye.

" 'Mama, we've got two little lambs
out to the farm and they are wet and
shaking, and I tried to call you from
the service station but you had to
have a dime, so I just wrapped my
coat around them and rode home as
fast as I could.'

"My husband had acquired a small
herd of ewes only last fall as a father-
son project, but my son and I
were completely inexperienced in the
process of 'lambing.' I knew that we
had to have help from someone. Whom
could we call? I don't recall which
one of us thought of it first but sud-
denly both of us knew it would be our
home teacher.

"Within twenty minutes he was at
the corral with his eight-year-old boy
and mine. He stayed for three hours,
working with the lambs every minute.
The sheep had not been sheared, as
the expected lambing date was still
a month away, but he understood and
did those things which needed to be
done. One lamb looked quite strong,
but there was not much hope for the
second. Just before dinner he returned
to the house with one of the lambs
in a box. Would I try to get it warm?
He was taking the other one to his
home to work with it. He would be
back within two hours to take them
both back to their mother for nursing.

"I am certain that he spent over six
hours that Saturday at our farm work-
ing with our sheep and our boy. As a
result we now have two healthy lambs
and an even more beloved home

VANDENBERG 47

teacher. I cannot tell you how much
our eight-year-old boy thinks of the
home teacher who worked side by
side with him through one entire day
teaching by example the love that is
our gospel."1

Follow the Lord

No better example could be given
of what it means to follow the Lord,
for God has commanded that we shall
"love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, and with all thy soul, and with
all thy mind," and "love thy neigh-
bour as thyself." (Matt. 22:37, 39.)

William George Jordan said: "Man
has two creators, his God and himself.
The first creator furnishes him the raw
materials for his life — the laws and
conformity with which he can make
that life what he will. The second
creator — himself — has marvelous pow-
ers he rarely realizes. It is what a
man makes of himself that counts."

To those who ask, Where was I
when . . . ?" the answer is, "With God
— waiting to come to earth to prove
yourself." The Lord is God; let us
follow him. I so testify in the name
of Jesus Christ. Amen.

President N. Eldon Tanner

Bishop John H. Vandenberg of the
Presiding Bishopric has been our con-
cluding speaker.

The Saturday morning session will
be broadcast direct by numerous radio
and television stations, and recorded
for transmission on Sunday morning
to many television stations in the
eastern and central parts of the United
States.

A video tape of Saturday morning's
session of Conference will be flown
from the mainland and broadcast
Sunday morning in Hawaii and to
Alaska, and broadcast at both Anchor-
age and Fairbanks.

Morning sessions of Saturday and
Sunday will be carried from the
Tabernacle over direct oceanic cables
to a large number of members and
friends assembled in many chapels
throughout Great Britain, Germany,

better from Mrs. Harl E. Judd, Cedar City, Utah.

48

Saturday, April 6

Austria, Holland, Sweden and Norway
on Sunday.

Both sessions of our conference
today, Saturday and Sunday, will be
rebroadcast over KSL, KIRO (at
Seattle), KMBC (at Kansas City), and
WRFM (New York City) the following
morning beginning at midnight, and
will be heard in many parts of the
United States and other countries.

Under the direction of the First
Presidency there will be a Welfare
Agricultural meeting held in the
Assembly Hall tomorrow, Saturday
morning, at 7:30 o'clock. Invited to
attend this special session are all stake
presidencies, high councilors, bishop-
rics, agricultural operating committees,
stake Relief Society presidents, and
others responsible for operating Wel-
fare production projects.

The singing for the sessions today
has been furnished by the Combined
Brigham Young University choruses
under the direction of Ralph Wood-
ward with Robert Cundick and Roy
M. Darley at the organ.

GENERAL CONFERENCE

Second Day

In behalf of all who have listened
to the singing during these sessions of
the General Conference, we express
appreciation and thanks to these young
students for their beautiful music. God
bless you for the service you have ren-
dered in these sessions.

The Combined Choruses will now
favor us with "Alleluia, Glorious Is
Thy Name."

The benediction will then be offered
by Elder J. Edwin Baird, formerly
president of the Southwest Indian Mis-
sion. The General Session of this
conference will then be adjourned
until 10:00 tomorrow morning.

The anthem, "Alleluia, Glorious Is
Thy Name," was sung by the Com-
bined Brigham Young University
Choruses.

The closing prayer was offered by
Elder J. Edwin Baird.

Conference adjourned until Saturday
morning, April 6, at 10 o'clock

SECOND DAY
MORNING MEETING

THIRD SESSION

Conference reconvened Saturday
morning, April 6, at 10 o'clock a.m.
President David O. McKay was in at-
tendance and presided at this session.
He asked President N. Eldon Tanner,
second counselor in the First Presi-
dency, to conduct the services.

The music for this session was fur-
nished by the Salt Lake Tabernacle
Choir. Elder Richard P. Condie direct-
ed the singing; Elder Alexander
Schreiner was at the organ. President
Tanner made the following intro-
ductory remarks:

President N. Eldon Tanner

President McKay, who is present
and presiding at this conference, has
asked me to conduct this meeting. He
joins in extending a hearty and cordial
welcome to all present this morning

in this historic Tabernacle and in the
Assembly Hall on Temple Square in
Salt Lake City, Utah, and also to the
vast television and radio audience
throughout the world in this, the third
session of the One Hundred Thirty-
eighth Annual Conference of The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints.

The Tabernacle Choir, under the
direction of Richard P. Condie, with
Alexander Schreiner at the organ, will
open these services by singing "Praise
to the Lord," following which the
invocation will be offered by Elder
Horace J. Ritchie, president of the San
Jose Stake.

The Tabernacle Choir sang as an
opening number "Praise to the Lord,"
following which the opening prayer
was offered by Elder Horace J. Ritchie.

ELDER EZRA TAFT BENSON

49

President N. Eldon Tanner

The Tabernacle Choir will now
favor us with "How Great the Wisdom
and the Love." Following the singing
Elder Ezra Taft Benson of the Council
of the Twelve will speak to us.

The Tabernacle Choir sang the
hymn, "How Great the Wisdom and
the Love."

President N. Eldon Tanner

Elder Ezra Taft Benson of the
Council of the Twelve will now speak
to us.

Elder Ezra

Of the Council of

We live in a time of crisis. Never
since the period of the Civil War has
this nation faced such critical days.
Americans are destroying America.

Members of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints — the Mor-
mon Church — 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."

— "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."

— "that all governments necessarily
require civil officers and magistrates
to enforce the laws of the same; and
that such as will administer the law
in equity and justice should be sought
for and upheld by the voice of the
people. . . ."

— "that all men are bound to sus-
tain and uphold the respective govern-
ments in which they reside, while
protected in their inherent and in-
alienable rights by the laws of such
governments; and that sedition and
rebellion are unbecoming every citi-
zen thus protected, and should be
punished accordingly. . . ." (D&C
134:1-3, 5.)

No people can maintain freedom
unless their political institutions are
founded upon faith in God and be-
lief in the existence of moral law. God
has endowed men with certain in-
alienable rights, and no legislature

Taft Benson

the Twelve Apostles

and no majority, however great, may
morally limit or destroy these. The
function of government is to protect
life, liberty, and property, and any-
thing more or less than this is usurpa-
tion and oppression.

Breakdown of law and order

The Constitution of the United
States was prepared and adopted by
courageous men acting under inspira-
tion from the Almighty. It is a
solemn contract between the peoples
of the states of this nation that all
officers of government are under duty
to obey. The eternal moral laws ex-
pressed therein must be adhered to or
individual liberty will perish. It is
the responsibility of government to
punish crime and provide for the ad-
ministration of justice and to protect
the right and control of property.

But today these basic principles and
concepts are being flaunted, disre-
garded, and challenged, even by men
in high places. Through the exercise
of political expediency, the govern-
ment is condoning the breakdown of
law and order.

Law enforcement in America is at
the point of crisis. A recent Life Line
broadcast warned that "in Chicago,
64 men quit the police force in one
month. Baltimore has 360 police
vacancies. Washington, DC, is 230
men short of its authorized comple-
ment. And cities all over the country
are desperately seeking recruits.

"Police aren't striking; they're quit-
ting, and it is understandable. They're
being demoralized by the hostile atti-
tudes of the politically minded

GENERAL CONFERENCE

50

Saturday, April 6

Supreme Court. They're being de-
moralized by a weird penal system
which frees hardened criminals almost
as fast as they're arrested. . . . Police-
men are demoralized by slanted news
reporting, distorted facts which show
police activities from the criminal's
side. And they're being demoralized
by an avalanche of new laws, which
are making it even harder to convict
the guilty.

"San Diego Police Chief Wesley B.
Sharp warns that: 'If there isn't a
change, the increase in crime will lead
to anarchy and criminals will control
the nation.' " (Life Line Freedom Talk
No. 53, February 22, 1968.)

Qualification for civil liberty

Edmund Burke, the great English
statesman, explained that "men are
qualified for civil liberty in exact pro-
portion to their disposition to put
moral chains upon their own appe-
tites,— in proportion as their love of
justice is above their rapacity, — in
proportion as their soundness and
sobriety of understanding is above
their vanity and presumption, — in pro-
portion as they are more disposed to
listen to the counsels of the wise and
good, in preference to the flattery of
knaves. Society cannot exist, unless a
controlling power upon will and ap-
petite be placed somewhere; and the
less of it there is within, the more
there must be without. It is ordained
in the eternal constitution of things,
that men of intemperate minds cannot
be free. Their passions forge their
fetters." (The Writings and Speeches
of Edmund Burke, Vol. 4, pp. 51-52.)

Greatest threat

I do not believe the greatest threat
to our future is from bombs or guided
missiles. I do not think our civiliza-
tion will die that way. I think it will
die when we no longer care, when the
spiritual forces that make us wish to
be right and noble die in the hearts
of men, when we disregard the im-
portance of law and order.

If American freedom is lost, if Amer-
ica is destroyed, if our blood-bought
freedom is surrendered, it will be be-

Second Day

cause of Americans. What's more, it
will probably not be only the work of
subversive and criminal Americans.
The Benedict Arnolds will not be the
only ones to forfeit our freedom.

"At what point, then, is the ap-
proach of danger to be expected?" asked
Abraham Lincoln, and he 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 fin-
isher; as a nation of freemen, we must
live through all time or die by
suicide." (Springfield, Illinois, Janu-
ary 27, 1837.)

If America is destroyed, it may be
by Americans who salute the flag, sing
the national anthem, march in patri-
otic parades, cheer Fourth of July
speakers — normally good Americans,
but Americans who fail to comprehend
what is required to keep our country
strong and free — Americans who have
been lulled away into a false security.

Erosion of national morality

Great nations are never conquered
from outside unless they are rotten
inside. Our greatest national problem
today is erosion, not the erosion of the
soil, but erosion of the national moral-
ity— erosion of traditional enforcement
of law and order.

Theodore Roosevelt said: "The
things that will destroy America are
prosperity at any price, peace at any
price, safety first instead of duty first,
and love of soft living and the get-
rich-quick theory of life." (Quoted in
The Red Carpet, p. 315.)

In this blessed land we have exalted
security, comfort, and ease above free-
dom. If we dwelled at length on the
many things that are disturbing in the
life of America today, we might well
become discouraged. I mention only
a few of the reported startling evi-
dences of our national illness, our
moral erosion.

— There is a decline of U.S. morals
and moral fiber, a turning to pleasure
and away from hard work and high
standards of the past.

— There is a growing worry in our

ELDER EZRA TAFT BENSON

51

universities over cheating in exam-
inations.

— Nationwide juvenile delinquen-
cies show an eight-fold increase since
1950.

— There is a 500-million dollar smut
industry in this country causing
youngsters to wrestle with standards
of value.

— America is the higgest market for
narcotics.

— Although we consider ourselves
a people who believe in law and order,
we have seen much evidence of the
passion of the mob.

— Riots have occurred in 137 differ-
ent cities and towns in 33 months,
resulting in 120 deaths, including 12
police officers slain; 3,623 other per-
sons injured; 28,932 arrested; and
hundreds of millions of dollars
property damage.

— Crime in the United States is up
88 percent in seven years, rising nearly
nine times faster than population, up
16 percent per year, according to the
FBI. Crime costs some $20 billion a
year, and less than 21 percent of re-
ported crimes result in arrests and less
than one-third of those in convictions.

— In the midst of a cold war and
preparation for a possible shooting
war of survival, we have faced 651
strikes at missile bases in six years.

— The United States government has
racked up a shameful record of 31
treasury deficits in the past 35 years.

— The sky-rocketing cost of the wel-
fare state increased in 8 years from 6.9
billion to 20.3 billion dollars in 1961
and stood at 87 billion 578 million
in 1966.

— There are over 7,700,000 people
on relief in federal, state, and local
programs.

— During the past 33 years our
budget has increased 20 times over,
and our national debt has increased
from $16 billion to an admitted $324
billion; adding accrued liabilities pay-
able in the future, our real indebted-
ness exceeds $1 trillion, or an average
indebtedness of $5,200 for every man,
woman, and child in the United
States.

— Our present federal debt is equal

to a first mortgage of $10,000 on all
owned homes in the country and is
reported to exceed the combined debt
of all countries of the world. Annual
interest on the soaring national debt
is over $15 billion — only defense and
welfare are higher.

— American currencies are weaker
than those of Germany and Japan,
who were defeated in World War II.

— Inflation has struck a serious blow
to the value of the American dollar.

— We continue to move in the direc-
tion of more federal intervention, more
concentration of power, more spending,
more taxing, more paternalism, more
state-ism.

The present shocking situation was
summed up succinctly by J. Edgar
Hoover in the April 1967 FBI Law En-
forcement Bulletin in these words:

"Morality, integrity, law and order
and other cherished principles of our
great heritage are battling for survival
in many communities today. They are
under constant attack from degrading
and corrupting influences which, if
not halted, will sweep away every
vestige of decency and order remain-
ing in our society."

Responsibility for chaos

A recent issue of the well-known and
highly respected Babson's Washington
Forecast Letter carried a four-page
special supplement, which concluded
as follows:

"Who are we to indict for sparking
this chaos in America? Are the prime
defendants the Stokely Carmichaels,
the H. Rap Browns, the hippies, the
draftcard burners, the peaceniks, the
juvenile delinquents, the rabble-
rousers, the Commies who have gained
respectability as honest dissenters?
Certainly, most of these could be
brought before the bar of justice to
answer charges of law violations . . .
and they should be.

"However, there is a stronger, truer
bill of indictment which may be
drawn against those who have invited
the bloody blackmail of America by
permitting, even encouraging, mount-
ing civil disobedience. . . ."

And then the article names names of

52

Saturday, April 6

men of national prominence and con-
tinues: "These men of power, prestige,
and great influence in the political
structure of America have permitted the
concept of 'freedom of speech' to be
expanded to include subversion, in-
timidation, sedition, and incitement to
riot; they have condoned the distor-
tion of 'academic freedom' to encom-
pass the adulteration of young minds
with Communist doctrine and the
disintegration of a well-disciplined
educational system; they have allowed
'freedom of assembly' to mushroom
into disruption of peaceful activity,
mob rule, riot, and insurrection.

"Unless those in authority in the
United States can be influenced to
abandon the suicidal course on which
they have embarked — or unless they
can be replaced by men who will — we
cannot hope to restore in our nation
the kind of domestic peace and order
which has made our many genera-
tions proud to be Americans . . . living
in a land of freedom, security, oppor-
tunity, and justice under law.

"The crisis we now face is the
most serious, the most dangerous, in
the history of our country. Each of
us must diligently employ our influ-
ence and our effort — in speech, letters,
and at the ballot box — to help set
straight the way."

Gradual encroachments

The facts are clear. Our problem
centers in Washington, D.C. And this
applies to the administration of both
political parties. In the words of
James Madison, "Since the general
civilization of mankind, I believe there
are more instances of the abridgment
of freedom of the people by gradual
and silent encroachments of those in
power, than by violent and sudden
usurpations." (Elliot's Debates, Vol. 3,
p. 87.)

If America is to withstand these in-
fluences and trends, there must be a
renewal of the spirit of our forefathers,
an appreciation of the American way
of life, a strengthening of muscle and
sinew and the character of the nation.
America needs guts as well as guns.
National character is the core of na-
tional defense.

GENERAL CONFERENCE

Second Day

Appreciation for American system

Could many of our ills today have
resulted from our failure to train a
strong citizenry from the only source
we have — the boys and girls of each
community? Have they grown up to
believe in politics without principle,
pleasure without conscience, knowl-
edge without effort, wealth without
work, business without morality, sci-
ence without humanity, worship with-
out sacrifice?

In recent months a nationwide sur-
vey of high school and college students
has been conducted. The U.S. Junior
Chamber of Commerce reveals that
41 percent believe that freedom of the
press should be cancelled; 53 percent
believe in government ownership of
banks, railroads, and steel companies;
62 percent said that the government
had the responsibility to provide jobs;
62 percent thought a worker should
not produce all that he can; 61 per-
cent rejected the profit incentive as
necessary to the survival of free enter-
prise; 84 percent denied that patriotism
is vital and plays an important part
in our lives. (Bookmailer News, Vol.
10, Nov. 1, 1965.)

Letters that come to my desk from
worried parents deeply concerned by
what is being taught to their children
in the schools are shocking, to say the
least.

We can never survive unless our
young people understand and appre-
ciate our American system, which has
given more of the good things of life
than any other system in the world
— unless they have a dedication that
exceeds the dedication of the enemy.
Character must become important in
this country again. The old essentials
of honesty, self-respect, loyalty, and
support for law and order must be
taught the younger generation.

Right to be uncommon

I appeal to people everywhere, young
and old, to heed these words of Dean
Alfange:

"I do not choose to be a common
man. It is my right to be uncommon.
I seek opportunity to develop whatever
talents God gave me — not security. I

ELDER EZRA TAFT BENSON

53

do not wish to be a kept citizen,
humbled and dulled by having the
state look after me. I want to take the
calculated risk; to dream and to build,
to fail and to succeed. I refuse to
barter incentive for a dole. I prefer
the challenges of life to the guaranteed
existence; the thrill of fulfillment to
the stale calm of Utopia. I will not
trade freedom for beneficence nor my
dignity for a handout. I will never
cower before any earthly master nor
bend to any threat. It is my heritage
to stand erect, proud and unafraid; to
think and act myself, enjoy the bene-
fit of my creations and to face the
world boldly and say — 'This, with
God's help, I have done.' All this is
what it means to be an American."

Those of us conscious of the serious-
ness of the situation must act, and act
now. It has been said that it takes
something spectacular to get folks ex-
cited, like a burning house. Nobody
notices one that is simply decaying.
But in America today we not only
have decaying but burning before our
very eyes. How much we need hearts
today who will respond to the inspir-
ing words of the poet, John Greenleaf
Whittier:

"Where's the manly spirit

Of the true-hearted and the un-
shackled gone?

Sons of old freemen, do we inherit
their name alone?

"Is the old Pilgrim spirit quenched

within us?
Stoops the proud manhood of our souls

so low,

That Mammon's lure or Party's wile
can win us to silence now?

"Now, when our land to ruin's brink is
verging,

In God's name let us speak while

there is time;
Now, when the padlocks for our lips

are forging,
Silence is crime."

Heritage threatened

Our priceless heritage is threatened
today as never before in our lifetime:

from without by the forces of Godless
Communism, and at home by our
complacency and by the insidious
forces of the Socialist-Communist con-
spiracy, with the help of those who
would abandon the ancient landmarks
set by our fathers and take us down the
road to destruction. It was Alexander
Hamilton who warned that "nothing
is more common than for a free people,
in times of heat and violence, to
gratify momentary passions, by letting
into the government, principles and
precedents which afterwards prove
fatal to themselves." (Alexander Ham-
ilton and the Founding of the Nation,
p. 462.)

Serious and concerned citizens
everywhere are asking, "Can we cope
with these threatening realities?" Yes,
we can; if we would allow the local
police to do their job, they could
handle the rioting and looting. Yes,
we can, if we have the courage and
wisdom to return to basic concepts, to
recall the spirit of the founding
fathers and accept wholeheartedly
these words of Thomas Paine, whose
writings helped so much to stir people
to action during the days of the Amer-
ican Revolution when he said:

"These are the times that try men's
souls. The summer soldier and the
sunshine patriot will in this crisis,
shrink from the service of his country;
but he that stands it NOW, deserves
the love and thanks of man and
woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not
easily conquered; yet we have this
consolation with us, that the harder
the conflict, the more glorious the
triumph. What we obtain too cheap,
we esteem too lightly; 'tis dearness
only that gives everything its value.
Heaven knows how to put a proper
price upon its goods; and it would be
strange indeed, if so celestial an article
as FREEDOM should not be highly
rated." (The Political Works of
Thomas Paine, p. 55.)

The way of safety

As American citizens who love
freedom, we must return to a respect
for national morality— respect for law
and order. There is no other way of

54

Saturday, April 6

safety for us and our posterity. The
hour is late; the time is short. We
must begin now, in earnest, and invite
God's blessings on our efforts.

The United States should be a
bastion of real freedom. We should
not support the world's greatest evil,
the Godless, Socialist-Communist con-
spiracy that seeks to destroy all we
hold dear as a great Christian nation
and to promote insidiously the break-
down of law and order and the erosion
of our morality.

With God's help we must return to
those basic concepts, those eternal
verities, the rule of law and order
upon which this nation was estab-
lished. With an aroused citizenry
and the help of Almighty God it can
be accomplished. God grant it may
be so, I humbly pray in the name of
Jesus Christ. Amen.

GENERAL CONFERENCE

Second Day

President N. Eldon Tanner

Elder Ezra Taft Benson of the
Council of the Twelve has just spoken
to us.

The Tabernacle Choir will sing
"God of Our Fathers." After the sing-
ing Elder Marion D. Hanks of the
First Council of the Seventy will speak
to us.

Selection by the Choir, "God of Our
Fathers."

President N. Eldon Tanner

To those who have just tuned in on
this conference, we wish to extend a
hearty welcome.

Elder Marion D. Hanks of the First
Council of the Seventy will now
address us.

Elder Marion D. Hanks

Assistant to the Council of the Twelve

Great emphasis is being given these
days to programs designed to preserve
and develop physical fitness. This
morning my wife read to me a quota-
tion that emphasizes other aspects of
fitness even more important: "There
is no exercise better for the heart than
reaching down and lifting people up."
I pray for that spirit of uplift in these
few moments.

Where are you in your world

In the writings of a great modern
religious figure is the story of a con-
versation between a persecuted saintly
rabbi of the late eighteenth century
and his jailer in Petersburg. The
jailer asked, "How are we to understand
that God, the all-knowing, said to
Adam: 'Where art thou?'"

Having obtained from the jailer his
assent that "the scriptures are eternal
and that every era, every generation
and every man is included in them,"
the rabbi said, ". . . in every era, God
calls to every man: 'Where are you in
your world? So many years and days
of those allotted to you have passed,

and how far have you gotten in your
world? . . . How far along are you?'"
(Buber, The Way of Man.)

Says Buber: "In so asking, God does
not expect to learn something he does
not know; what he wants is to produce
an effect in man which can only be
produced by just such a question,
provided that it reaches man's heart —
that man allows it to reach his heart."

We know that much that demeans
man and keeps him from finding him-
self and his place, and from develop-
ing his great potential, comes from his
efforts to hide himself from his Father
as Adam did, and from the love, the
relationships, the service, and the
vicissitudes that the Father has sent
him to this earth to experience.

Human potential elusive

A thoughtful editor has recently
written these words: "The human
potential is the most magical but also
the most elusive fact of life. Men
suffer less from hunger or dread than
from living under their moral capacity.
The atrophy of spirit that most men

ELDER MARION D. HANKS

55

know and all men fear is tied not so
much to deprivation or abuse as it is
to their inability to make real the
best that lies within them. Defeat
begins more with a blur in the vision
of what is humanly possible than with
the appearance of ogres in the path or
a hell beyond the next turning."
(Norman Cousins, Saturday Review,
February 6, 1965, p. 18.)

We know well that character is an
achievement, not a gift, yet all men
to some measure, most of us to some
considerable measure, and too many
of us to a tragic measure live below
our moral capacity, are willing to
accept a plausible lower view of man-
kind and of ourselves than we should
or need to, and fail to "make real the
best that lies within" us.

The Lord wants us to be our best;
he wants us to achieve our highest
possibilities. This is the purpose of
the gospel. He died to give us that
opportunity. What principles are
involved in our succeeding? What
problems keep us from it?

University survey results

Recently I read a brief newspaper
account of a survey made at a great
American university among many
thousands of students over a period
of several years. With access only
to the article and not to the study
itself, let me briefly paraphrase, to
some measure quote, and add some of
my own words to the four conclusions
that came out of that study, which
coincide with what I also have ob-
served and experienced in some years
of working with youth. While this
study dealt basically with college-age
students in our current generation,
what it notes is significantly appli-
cable to our culture in general:

1. They are looking for a faith, but
are skeptical of all faiths, being dis-
posed and encouraged to question
everything and to doubt the estab-
lished ways.

2. They are looking for a community
to which they can belong — for a fam-
ily, a group, a society — but they are
skeptical of all organization. They
see institutions as authoritarian,

threatening their identity and indi-
viduality. Many feel that the family
has failed them. Disorganization and
resistance give them a chance for
preservation as persons, so they some-
times favor chaos over order.

3. They know they need to think
beyond themselves and to give service,
but they are frightened by the com-
mitment service requires.

4. They want to love and be loved,
but their image of self is poor, and
they are not sure they are capable of
love or worthy of being loved.

In summary, the problems revealed
by the survey are in believing, belong-
ing, giving, and loving. These happen
to be the basic ingredients essential
in the development of the human po-
tential. They are pivotal principles
of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let me
speak of them briefly, primarily in
illustration.

Believing

What does it matter to our happiness
or to the development of our char-
acter whether or what we believe?

Before Joan of Arc was burned at
the stake, not yet 19 years of age,
having saved her country, she was
offered her freedom if she would re-
pudiate her vision and her faith.
Maxwell Anderson's great play Joan
of Lorraine has her answering:

"Every man gives his life for what
he believes. Every woman gives her
life for what she believes. Sometimes
people believe in little or nothing. . . .
One life is all we have, and we live it
as we believe in living it, and then
it's gone. But to surrender what you
are, and live without belief — that's
more terrible than dying — more ter-
rible than dying young."

The apostle Paul spoke of "faith un-
feigned." (1 Tim. 1:5.) It is not, of
course, lip service or eye pleasing of
which he spoke. It is not to know
everything, or to understand perfectly.
Recall the wonderful answer of a lov-
ing father who sought the help of the
Master for his afflicted son. Jesus
asked him if he believed, and the
agonized father, his son's life in the
balance, was supremely honest: "Lord,

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56

Saturday, April 6

I believe; help thou my unbelief."
(Mark 9:24.)

Motivation of faith

Faith is not rooted in perfect be-
havior, though it inspires us to desire
it, to seek for it. Consider the parable
of the Pharisee and the publican. The
Pharisee boasted of his righteousness;
the publican (who the Savior said
went down to his house justified, rather
than the other) "would not lift up so
much as his eyes unto heaven, but
smote upon his breast, saying, God
be merciful to me a sinner." (See Luke
18:10-14.)

Faith is to know that he will not
reject us. From the Book of Mormon:
"And now, my beloved brethren, seeing
that our merciful God has given us so
great knowledge ... let us remember
him, and lay aside our sins, and not
hang down our heads, for we are not
cast off." (2 Ne. 10:20.) From the
Bible: ". . . therefore will the Lord
wait, that he may be gracious unto
you, and therefore will he be exalted,

that he may have mercy upon you "

(Isa. 30:18.)

Faith motivates us to yield our hearts
to him, truly yield our hearts. It
motivates honesty to acknowledge limi-
tations and vulnerability, willingness
to learn, humility to seek help, cour-
age to act, simplicity to trust. It is to
have confidence in the presence of
God. Faith is, as it has been well said,
"... a condition born [of the Spirit]
in a mind that has looked at all of the
available evidence and discovered in
it a meaning with which the soul can
live at peace. It is not appalled by an
invitation to think. . . ." (Guy C.
Wilson.)

The need to believe

Recently in Vietnam I learned again
of the need for men to believe. A
choice friend was serving as the com-
mander of a helicopter gunship unit.
They had suffered many casualties and
much damage, but miraculously no
deaths in their highly dangerous work.
The morning before I talked with him
in Da Nang my friend, a wonderful
servant of the Lord, was standing by

Second Day

his ship preparing to lead his group
on another difficult mission. The
blades of the whirlybirds were rotating
when the major was approached some-
what hesitantly by a young enlisted
man from one of the aircraft. The
commander impatiently asked the boy
what he wanted.

"Some of us were wondering, sir,"
he said earnestly, "whether you've had
time to say your prayers this morning."

Humbled by the nature and spirit
of the question, the commanding offi-
cer replied that he had had time to
talk with the Lord.

"Thank you, sir," said the young
man, smiling, relieved. "The guys and
I didn't want to take off on this mis-
sion until you'd had time to pray."
(See Era of Youth, Improvement Era,
May 1968, p. 39.)

There had been no overt prayers be-
fore the group and no sermon or lesson
on the subject, but somehow the word
was out among the men that their
outfit had something special going for
them because their commanding officer
was a man who prayed.

Application of spiritual truths

The most urgent need of our time is
to understand spiritual truths and
apply them to our lives. It has been
said — and I think well said — that "our
age has tried sophistication and intel-
lectualism, but these have given no
peace. Psychology and sociology, hu-
manism and rationalism, have given
us not a fraction of the abiding joy
and calm our fathers knew through
their faith. For still, there is the
devastation of doubt and fear and envy
and greed and guilt." (Rev. Massey M.
Heltzel.)

We have learned again in this con-
ference that the most significant con-
frontation to be experienced in this
world is with Jesus Christ, and yet
many still turn from him without
knowing him or opening their hearts
to him.

A marine in Vietnam said it impres-
sively for his generation in a poem
published recently in the Era of Youth:

ELDER MARION D. HANKS

57

SOUL SURVIVOR

"Last night, on our perimeter,

A man fell in the barbed wire coils

And, in his delirium,

Sobbed these words;

'Oh, dear Christ!'

"I thought with him: the blood was
flowing;

Far away from homeland, injured,
Tired from the all-night guarding,
Weary from the sandbag filling;
Emptiness walked all around him,
Caused by missing many loved ones,
Caused by worried fears of dying,
Worrying more about worrying them.

"Yet, in his one time of trial,
Still, the mighty hope remained —
The faith in higher strength, in mercy;
Then I thought, 'Just how can I,
Even at my most contented,
Ever turn my back on Jesus?' "

(John Blosser, Era of Youth,

March 1968, p. 53.)

Importance of belonging

He who believes knows that he be-
longs. But he also needs to feel him-
self an important and accepted part
of a group. Young people want and
deserve parents and a family they
can be proud of. Their capacity to
become worthwhile persons is strongly
affected by the absence or presence of
such a family and by their own ac-
ceptance of the challenge to be a
contributing, responsible member of
it. The influence of a good family is
well-captured by this account from an
unknown source:

"It was a gorgeous October day. My
husband Art and I were down at the
boat landing helping our friend Don
drag his skiff up on the beach. Art
remarked wistfully that it would be
a long time before next summer, when
we could all start sailing again. 'You
folks ought to take up skiing like our
family and have fun the year round,'
Don said.

" 'Doesn't that get pretty expensive?'
I asked.

"Don straightened up and smiled.
'It's funny,' he said. 'We live in an
old-fashioned house — legs on the tub,

that sort of thing. For years we've
been saving up to have the bathroom
done over. But every winter we take
the money out of the bank and go on
a couple of family skiing trips. Our
oldest boy is in the army now, and he
often mentions in his letters what a
great time we had on those trips. You
know, I can't imagine his writing
home, "Boy, we really have a swell
bathroom, haven't we?"'"

Climate for growth

In the love of such a family is the
climate most suitable for the growth
of quality and character and moral
capacity. If there is added to this the
strengths of good companionships,
commitment in a truly living church,
involvement in a community of en-
lightened and mutually concerned
persons, responsible citizenship in a
great country, young people will have
the ideal atmosphere for growth. When
they do not have, or could have but do
not choose or appreciate these bless-
ings, they are suitable subjects for
small vision, inadequate self-discipline,
and a deteriorated sense of responsi-
bility.

The strengths and problems of our
youth were illustrated in an experi-
ence our teen-age daughter had re-
cently. Backing from a driveway onto
an unlighted street, she dented the
fender of an automobile parked across
the narrow road. Flustered and upset
by the incident, she yet took time to
leave a note on the car identifying
herself and accepting responsibility
for the damage. She then came home
and acquired a parent and the two
returned and knocked on the door of
the home of the owner of the car and
made arrangements with him. She
was praised for her direct and un-
compromising honesty.

That very night while leaving the
public library she and a friend saw a
fur-coated lady in an expensive car
seriously damage a parked automobile
and then speed away without a glance
or effort to make the thing right
Feeling at home in a society including
this kind of experience is understand-
ably difficult for some young people.

58

Saturday, April 6

GENERAL CONFERENCE

Second Day

Giving and serving

With believing and belonging, we
need to learn to give and to serve if
we are to live up to our moral capacity.

I have referred before to the de-
velopment of "breeder reactors" — a
variety of machine that will produce
vast amounts of power at a low cost,
and in the process will actually create
more nuclear fuel than it burns. A
life patterned on the way of Christ
would be like that, and every life
should be. It is our blessing to use,
thoughtfully and thankfully, all that
is provided for us from the past, and to
leave behind us more and better
materials with which the generations
ahead can work. In faith, freedom,
wisdom, beauty, in material blessings,
we should add to and not consume our
heritage.

Recently I learned of a meeting at
the University of Pittsburgh where
2,500 senior honor students from the
high schools of Pennsylvania gathered.
At the podium was a man who stood
in braces, on crutches. He was a
medical researcher who had worked on
the polio vaccine project. He left
many of those bright shining faces
wet with tears when he said to them,
"Our generation couldn't find the an-
swers in time to save itself. Thank
God we found them in time to save
you."

What a significant challenge to
youth to make real the best that lies
within them I Yet someone has called
ours the "age of the shrug." I hope and
believe this is not so. Do you recall the
words of Marshal Petain after the fall
of France? Sobering words:

"Our spirit of enjoyment was
stronger than our spirit of sacrifice.
We wanted to have more than we
wanted to give. We tried to spare
effort and we met disaster."

Contrasting this is the statement of
a noble man near the end of a rich
life of contribution. Asked how he
could account for his wide acquaint-
ance with and memory of the poets,
the philosophers, and the prophets, he
smiled and said, "Well, I had to work
hard to learn it, and then I gave it and
gave it and gave it until it was mine."

(Attributed to Dr. Howard R. Driggs.)
Loving and being loved

What of loving and being loved?
Perhaps the most serious problem of
many young people and of their adult
generation is their poor self-image, a
conviction that they are worthless. To
be able to truly love God and his
neighbor, one must esteem himself.
Everyone needs to love and to have
the assurance that he is worth loving
and that he is loved, beyond "de-
mand or reciprocity, praise or blame."
No mere tolerance or indulgence can
take the place of such love, which
does not come from sermons or resolu-
tions, but only from persons who can
give it, and from God.

It is written: "You cannot love an-
other person — that is, behave toward
him so as to foster his happiness and
growth unless you know what he
needs. And you cannot know what he
needs unless he tells you — and you
hear him."

Evidences of love

So much that is spurious and coun-
terfeit is spoken and done in the name
of love. Hear the word of the Lord:

"By this we know that we love the
children of God, when we love God,
and keep his commandments." ( 1 John
5:2.) That charity which is defined
by the prophet as "the pure love of
Christ" (Mora. 7:47) is described
clearly by the Apostle Paul: It "suf-
fereth long, and is kind; . . . envieth
not; . . . vaunteth not itself, is not
puffed up.

"Doth not behave itself unseemly,
seeketh not her own, is not easily
provoked, thinketh no evil;

"Rejoiceth not in iniquity, . . . re-
joiceth in the truth."

Such love, said the apostle, "never
faileth." (See 1 Cor. 13:4-6, 8.)

The major source of our self-image
should be our Heavenly Father, whose
children we are, in whose image we
are made, whose attributes and quali-
ties we have within us in embryo. He
it is who loved us so much that he
sent his Only Begotten Son to show
us the way and to die for us. We are

ELDER MARK E. PETERSEN

59

his children, worthy of love, and we
have in us the capacity to love. We
must learn to love even as we are
loved by him.

Let me conclude with this prayer
and earnest hope: God help us, and
help us to help younger generations,
to make the choices that will qualify
us as worthwhile people, to make real
the best that lies within us, to live
up to our moral capacity, and to ac-
complish what is humanly possible,
through believing, belonging, serving,
and loving, even as the Son of God
has taught us. God help us to be
able to answer in good conscience
when he asks: "Where art thou?"

In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Tabernacle Choir sang, "Lovely
Appear."

President N. Eldon Tanner

Elder Marion D. Hanks of the First
Council of Seventy has just spoken to

us. He was followed by the singing,
"Lovely Appear."

We shall now have a brief interlude
with the Tabernacle Choir singing,
"Father Omnipotent." The congrega-
tion and Choir will then join in sing-
ing, "Come, Come, Ye Saints."

The Tabernacle Choir sang the
anthem, "Father Omnipotent."

The Choir and the congregation
then joined in singing the hymn,
"Come, Come, Ye Saints."

President N. Eldon Tanner

We wish to welcome the television
and radio audiences who have just
joined us, and again we announce that
we are gathered in the historic Taber-
nacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake
City, Utah, in the third session of the
One Hundred Thirty-eighth Annual
Conference of the Church.

Elder Mark E. Petersen of the
Council of the Twelve will now
address us.

Elder Mark E. Petersen

Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles

I would like to talk with you today
about the United States and its rela-
tionship to God.

Most people do not realize it, but
this nation is different from all other
nations. It has a divine destiny not
shared by other countries, and was set
up as an independent power by a de-
liberate act of God to fulfill that
destiny.

America's divine destiny

Because our nation is a creation of
heaven, and because it has a divine
destiny, we Americans must learn that
it can continue to exist only as it
aligns itself with the powers of heaven.
If we turn our back upon the Al-
mighty, even by ignoring him, we jeop-
ardize our national future. If we
deliberately oppose his purposes, we
place ourselves in danger of destruction.

These stern facts have been taught

to Americans from the beginning of
our national history, starting with our
first President, George Washington.
He realized and he publicly announced
that we obtained our independence
through an act of Providence, since we
were far too weak to gain it by
ourselves. Knowing this, he warned
that if we are to survive as a free and
independent nation, we must obey the
Almighty God who brought us into
being.

Abraham Lincoln, another inspired
President, said virtually the same
thing, warning that if we fail to obey
the commandments of God, we shall
go down to ruin.

A crucial time

We have reached a point in our
national history as crucial as the time
of the Civil War. Our present dangers
are quite as great Threats to our

GENERAL CONFERENCE

60

Saturday, April 6

future seem even greater. And yet,
as a people, we have failed to turn
to the divine power that created us.

It is true that public surveys indicate
an increase in church membership
and attendance, but that is no measure
of the depth of conversion necessary
to bring the principles of Christ into
our daily lives.

Because of our love of wealth and
prestige and our insatiable passion for
ease and pleasure, we fail to take the
essential spiritual steps which could
and would preserve us.

Everyone — every man on the street —
knows that we cannot continue with
present conditions as they are, and
yet we seem not to have the desire
or the courage to alter our course.

Need divine help

Whether we are willing to admit it
or not, our one great need is to turn
to God. Our human efforts have failed
and seem almost to lead us into ever
more difficult entanglements. We
need more than human wisdom. We
need divine help. We need to be saved
from war and criminal elements, from
anarchy and from riots. We need a
shield against the devious schemes of
enemies abroad. We need to be saved
from corrosion within — from the
ravages of immorality, dishonesty,
drunkenness, broken homes, delinquent
parents, and undisciplined children.
We need protection from atheism, for
it can destroy our way of life.

Do you doubt that atheism is a
threat to America?

Threat of atheism

Atheism is the cause of most of our
ills. If we were realistic about our
present plight, we would admit that
atheism in its many forms is our great-
est enemy, whether it be in abandon-
ing God for pleasure and money, or
in yielding to philosophical meander-
ings, or in surrendering to those forces
which break down family life, destroy
free government, seduce the masses,
and spawn hate and war.

Are we not intelligent enough to
perceive that shocking fact?

Are we not sufficiently alert to see

Second Day

our desperate need of an infinite power
who can rescue us in this present hour?

Are we forever to be so obtuse that
we confine God to a remote past and
an uncertain hereafter?

Can we never learn that he is a
God of the present day— of the here
and now?

In the midst of the Civil War, Abra-
ham Lincoln said something that
should frighten present-day Americans.
He was very realistic when our coun-
try was being split asunder by the war
between the states. He knew very well
that the preservation of the nation
could be achieved in only one way. It
was not through our frowning battle-
ments nor our bristling seacoasts, as
he expressed it.

Lincoln said that if we as a people
do not turn to God and serve him, our
nation will drift into destruction. He
expressed his meaning in these words:
"If we do not do right, God will let
us go our own way to ruin. If we do
right, he will lead us safely out of
this wilderness and crown our arms
with victory." Thereupon he sum-
moned America to turn to God as the
only means of survival.

J. Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI,
stated it this way: "What we need in
America is a return to the God of our
Fathers and a most vigorous defense
against the minions of Godlessness
and atheism."

Warning of wise men

Why do we not heed these warnings?

Similar counsel has been given by
nearly every President of the United
States in his time, and by economists,
educators, jurists, and statesmen.

Let us consider a few of their warn-
ings:

As we have indicated, George Wash-
ington said that this nation cannot
endure apart from the God of heaven.

Woodrow Wilson said: "The sum of
the whole matter is this: Our civiliza-
tion cannot survive materially unless
it be redeemed spiritually. It can be
saved only by becoming permeated
with the Spirit of Christ"

Calvin Coolidge said: "The strength

ELDER MARK E. PETERSEN

61

of our country is the strength of its
religious convictions."

Franklin D. Roosevelt said: "No
greater thing could come to our land
than a revival of the spirit of religion —
to stir the hearts of men and women
of all faiths to a reassertion of their
belief in God and their dedication to
his will. I doubt if there is any prob-
lem— social, political, or economic —
that would not melt away before the
fire of such a spiritual reawakening."

President Eisenhower constantly re-
minded us of our spiritual obligation.

Roger W. Babson, great economist
of his day, said: "In the last analysis,
our national future depends upon
whether it is spiritually or materially
minded. Only the Golden Rule will
save this country — not the rule of
gold."

James Rowland Angell, former
president of Yale University, said: "It
is my considered conviction that there
can be no enduring alleviation of the
social and political ills which plague
us unless and until there is an essential
change in the ethical and spiritual
attitude of the rank and file of men."

Editorial urges action

But as mentioned in an editorial
in the U. S. News and World Report,
"With so many champions of the
doctrine, why are there so few ready
to practice the preachment?

"Large numbers of people faithfully
follow their creeds, and yet in the grim
business of everyday life, do we per-
ceive a fundamental change? Do we
see men on every side ready to sur-
render their enormous power or their
possessions or even their pride, to the
service of God?

"A spiritual revival would waken
America and purify her whole national
life. It is not, however, to be attained
by mere expression of purpose," the
editorial continues.

"It requires action throughout our
waking hours. Not until each and
every one of us feels the impact of
spiritual achievement, not until the
eagerness to serve God is stronger than
the eagerness to serve ourselves, not
until we are ready to make sacrifices

of time and money and power and
pride for the sake of others who need
our help and our guidance will we
begin to understand the elemental
transformation which is prerequisite to
the spiritual re-birth of the nation."

Means for survival

Our situation in America is not
merely a case of fighting the encroach-
ments of seditious influences. It is
not only a matter of legislating against
crime. Neither is it one of changing
our Constitution because some mis-
guided individuals think it is obsolete;
nor is it a case of sending more men
to the Orient to fight an enemy who
has trapped us into a different kind of
war.

We are confronted with the choice
of whether or not we as a nation will
return to God in spirit and in truth
as a means of actual survival. We
must choose whether we will become
fully converted to him or not. To put
it plainly, it is largely a case of obedi-
ence versus lip service.

The Almighty is a God of war as
well as of peace. The Bible clearly
teaches that. And he is a power to be
dealt with in this present crisis. He
can be our literal Savior here and
now. He can protect and preserve our
nation. He has done it in the past;
he can do it again today. He can end
the war in Vietnam and give us an
honorable peace. He can save us from
criminality and from all the other
inhumanities which now impale us
on a cross of suicidal selfishness.

God can solve problems

It is no imaginary ruin that faces
our nation if we reject Jesus Christ,
as Lincoln pointed out so dramatically.
And it is possible that our greatness
can be buried in profound obscurity if
we refuse to turn to God, as Daniel
Webster expressed it.

Already there is talk of a new civil
war and of riots that will totally
eclipse those of last summer. Insurrec-
tion is now on the lips of thousands
of agitators. The basic concepts of
our free government are being chal-
lenged. Overnight this nation could

62

Saturday, April 6

be paralyzed through the devious
efforts of some of our treacherous citi-
zens. And if widespread insurrection
comes, do you suppose for one moment
that our enemies from without will sit
idly by? All our efforts to save our-
selves thus far have failed. But God
can solve our problems — and he will
do so if we turn to him in humility and
faith. However, let us not suppose
that a few feeble prayers will be
sufficient to call down his aid. It will
take more than halfhearted supplica-
tions to save us.

Obedience required

Prayer is powerful indeed when ac-
companied by works of righteousness,
but prayer alone is but lip service. The
Almighty spurns lip service. Empty
words are but symptoms of hypocrisy
to him. He is a God of action — a
God of works as well as of faith. He
demands obedience to him if we are
to receive help from him. Are we ready
to thus obey him? We cannot deal in
half-way measures — not with God —
and neither can we serve two masters.

I ask you: Is every one of us willing
to do unto others as we would be done
by? Are we willing to be merciful,
kind, and pure in heart; to turn the
other cheek; to go the extra mile? Is
every one of us willing to be suffi-
ciently Christlike to accept his precept
that says: "Blessed are the peace-
makers: for they shall be called the
children of God"? (Matt. 5:9.)

Our great need of repentance is
clearly evident. The solution to our
problem is not in violence nor in new
legislation. Neither is it in training
our police in the latest anti-riot
methods. Our answer can be found
only in obedience to Christ on the part
of everybody.

Evil cannot bring good

Jesus said that an evil tree cannot
bring forth good fruit. A crime-ridden
society cannot bring forth a new
generation of upright citizens, nor can
a nation of drinkers produce sober
offspring. Can people who condone
immorality provide a chaste and suc-
cessful beginning for babies born

GENERAL CONFERENCE

Second Day

illicitly in a new generation?

Can we escape the diseases so in-
separably connected with immorality?
Can people who knowingly undermine
good character expect to reap anything
but the whirlwind?

For every practical reason we must
change our course and turn away from
the selfishness and corruption now
growing among us like a gigantic
malignancy. For every practical rea-
son we must turn to the Christ and
live his teachings!

Put trust in God

Said Lincoln in his first inaugural
address: "Intelligence, patriotism,
Christianity, and a reliance on him
who has never yet forsaken this favored
land are still competent to adjust in
the best way, all our difficulties."

In ancient times an inspired prophet
who lived in this western hemisphere
said that God "doth not command us
that we shall subject ourselves to our
enemies, but that we should put our
trust in him, and he will deliver us."
(Al. 61:13.)

Serve the God of the land

Another ancient prophet spoke di-
rectly to modern America, foretelling
the assistance God will give us if we
serve him. Said he: ". . . 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. . . ." (Eth. 2:12.)

And that prophet also said, even as
did Lincoln, that if we in America
fail to serve Jesus Christ, we will face
certain destruction. This is a divine
warning, first from the prophet of
old and then from the inspired Presi-
dent of Civil War days.

Oh, America, turn to God. But do
not give him mere lip service. Obey
him with all your hearts, might, mind,
and strength.

Let us save ourselves from the
present crisis in the only certain way,
remembering that "man shall not live
by bread alone, but by every word
that proceedeth out of the mouth of

ELDER HOWARD W. HUNTER

63

God." (Matt. 4:4.) And for this I
earnestly pray in the sacred name of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

President N. Eldon Tanner

He to whom you have just listened
is Elder Mark E. Petersen of the Coun-
cil of the Twelve.

The Tabernacle Choir will now sing
"The Heavens Are Telling," with a
trio consisting of Kay Welch, Wallace
McCloy and Merrill Wilson, following
which there will be a brief organ

interlude, and then Elder Howard W.
Hunter of the Council of the Twelve
will speak to us.

Selection by the Choir, "The Heav-
ens Are Telling," followed by a brief
organ interlude.

President N. Eldon Tanner

Elder Howard W. Hunter of the
Council of the Twelve will now speak
to us.

Elder Howard W. Hunter

Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles

In the world there are more than
three and a half billion people. They
are divided into groups, each under
the domination of systems whereby
they become subject to the supreme
power of the land in which they live.
In some countries this supreme power
is vested in one person, the sovereign.
Other countries have republican forms
of government in which sovereignty
resides in the people, and the supreme
power is usually expressed by the
legislative body. Regardless of whether
sovereignty is administered by an in-
dividual or by the people, citizens
become subject to that supreme power.
They have the rights and privileges
afforded them under the law, and they
have the duty to comply with the pro-
visions of the law. This is essential
for the good of society, for the protec-
tion of life and liberty, and for the
promotion and preservation of the
happiness of man.

Law must be sustained

In a republic, the government has
the sovereign right as well as the duty
to protect the rights of the individual
and to settle civil disputes or disorders
by peaceful means. Citizens do not
have the right to take the law into
their own hands or exercise physical
force. The sovereign laws of the state
must be sustained, and persons living
under those laws must obey them for
the good of the whole. In this regard

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day Saints takes a strong position. One
of the fundamental tenets of its faith
is clearly stated in these words: "We
believe in being subject to kings, presi-
dents, rulers, and magistrates, in obey-
ing, honoring, and sustaining the law."
(Article of Faith 12.)

Those in the world who have a be-
lief in God live under the unusual cir-
cumstances of a dual sovereignty. In
addition to being subject to the su-
preme power of the state, they have a
fealty to God and a solemn duty to
keep the commandments given by him.
This idea of divine kingship and a
sovereignty runs through all of the
Old Testament and all of the New
Testament.

The kingdom of God

In describing the commencement of
the ministry of Jesus, Mark uses these
words: "Now after that John was put
in prison, Jesus came into Galilee,
preaching the gospel of the kingdom of
God,

"And saying, the time is fulfilled,
and the kingdom of God is at hand:
repent ye, and believe the gospel."
(Mark 1:14-15.) Throughout his en-
tire ministry, one of the main subjects
of the teachings of the Master was
"the kingdom of God is at hand."
Some scholars interpret the words "is
at hand" as describing something to
take place in the near future. It is

GENERAL CONFERENCE

64

Saturday, April 6

their contention that the kingdom was
not established on earth until the day
of Pentecost, when the Spirit was
poured out upon the multitude. They
label this event as the beginning of
the Christian Church. The facts, how-
ever, give basis for a different con-
clusion. There is ample evidence that
the kingdom of God was established in
the days of Adam, the first man, and
has continued to the present day. The
peoples of the earth, from the begin-
ning, have had a duty to God as their
king.

Dual sovereignty

Is it repugnant to the theory of
sovereignty for a person or group of
persons to owe fealty to two separate
monarchs? — to have an allegiance to
two separate and distinct sovereign
powers? At first blush dual sovereignty
would seem inconsistent, yet this has
been the situation throughout man's
earthly existence. Such circumstances
give rise to this query: If a conflict
should arise with respect to allegiance,
which should take precedence? A re-
view of the history of mankind answers
the further question as to whether or
not there is a real conflict.

Bearing on this very point, an inter-
esting occurrence took place during the
ministry of the Master. It is recorded
in three separate books of the New
Testament, Matthew, Mark, and Luke,
and concerns a controversy over a tax
assessment. Judea was under Roman
mandate, and the authority of the
Sanhedrin, the supreme Jewish council,
had been curtailed under the Roman
rule. The council was charged with
the levy of taxes, but it did not have
the power to decree capital punish-
ment. This power was vested in the
Roman procurator of Judea, Pontius
Pilate. Because the Sanhedrin was
without authority as to capital pun-
ishment, those who were conspiring
against Jesus conceived a plot to en-
trap him to give an answer that would
constitute grounds to deliver him to
Pilate on a charge of treason, a capital
crime.

Question of allegiance

A tax had been levied on all persons

Second Day

living under Roman rule. This was
probably the Roman capitation tax, or
a poll tax as we would know it. The
tax was not large, but a question of
principle was involved. The Jews
considered themselves as living under
a theocracy, with Jehovah as king.
They refused to recognize the Roman
mandate. The question involved,
therefore, was this: Can a Jew in good
conscience pay the tax to the Romans,
or must he fight for independence on
the ground that God alone is the King
of Israel? It became a question of
allegiance to sovereignty.

The Pharisees who conceived the
plan were anxious to take Jesus by
surprise, so they stayed in the back-
ground and sent some of their young
disciples and some Herodians to carry
out the plot. The Herodians were not
a religious sect but a political party.
They were the followers of Herod
Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee, and
supporters of the Roman domination.
The Pharisees, of course, were resist-
ing the Roman occupation of Judea.
The design of these schemers seems to
be that they would give the impression
that a dispute had arisen between the
young Pharisee scholars and the
Herodians and they were coming to
the Master for his opinion, to settle
their differences.

Answer to Pharisees' question

They approached Jesus respectfully
and courteously and said to him, "Mas-
ter, we know that thou art true, and
teachest the way of God in truth,
neither carest thou for any man: for
thou regardest not the person of men."
(Matt. 22:16.) It would appear that
these honeyed words were spoken to
disarm his suspicions, so he would give
them his confidential opinion for
their guidance in a moral issue. Then
followed the carefully worded question:
"Is it lawful to give tribute unto
Caesar, or not?" The question was
maliciously framed so as to require an
answer of "yes" or "no," either of
which would give them the basis to
destroy him. If he had said, "Yes,
pay the tax," he would have been
called a traitor. It would have driven

ELDER HOWARD W. HUNTER

65

a wedge between him and his followers
and created rebellion. If his answer
had been, "No, it is not lawful to pay
the tax," they would have delivered
him into the hands of Rome on the
charge of treason.

His adversaries intended that Jesus
would be gored on whichever horn of
dilemma he might choose. The inter-
esting thing about his answer is that
he did not evade the question, but he
answered it clearly and positively
without being caught on either horn.
He said, "Why tempt ye me, ye hypo-
crites? Shew me the tribute money.
And they brought unto him a penny."
(Matt. 22:18-19.) What is referred to
as a penny was no doubt the current
Roman denarius with the image of
Tiberius or possibly Augustus. He
wanted to point out to them the image
of Caesar and the inscription that
gave his name and titles. There was
a common maxim that the one who
causes his image and titles to be
stamped on the coin is the owner of
the coin and acknowledged as the
sovereign. "And he saith unto them,
Whose is this image and superscrip-
tion? They say unto him, Caesar's "

(Matt. 22:20-21.) They had acknowl-
edged that the coin belonged to the
Roman Emperor, and it being the
current coin for the payment of tax,
it showed the country to be under the
rule of Rome. ". . . Then saith he
unto them, Render therefore unto
Caesar the things which are Caesar's;
and unto God the things that are
God's." (Matt. 22:21.) In other words,
"Don't be unjust: give to Caesar the
things that are his; and at the same
time don't be impious: give to God the
things that belong to God."

Jurisdiction defined

The wisdom of this answer defines
the limitations of dual sovereigns and
defines the jurisdiction of the two
empires of heaven and earth. The
image of monarchs stamped on coins
denotes that temporal things belong
to the temporal sovereign. The image
of God stamped on the heart and soul
of a man denotes that all its facilities

and powers belong to God and should
be employed in his service.

The lesson taught by the Master is
so clear that elaboration is not neces-
sary, nor will I labor the point. The
test to be applied in weighing alle-
giance to sovereignty, where dual
sovereigns are involved, is a matter
of wisdom. I submit that there is no
real conflict which creates a serious
question as to allegiance.

In the present day of unrest, the
question might appropriately be asked,
what do we owe to Caesar? To the
country in which we live? We owe
allegiance, respect, and honor. Laws
enacted to promote the welfare of the
whole and suppress evil doing are to
be strictly obeyed. We must pay
tribute to sustain the government in
the necessary expense incurred in the
protection of life, liberty, property, and
in promoting the welfare of all persons.

Church belief on governments
and laws

In the year 1835, 133 years ago, a
declaration of belief of The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
regarding governments and laws was
drafted and adopted by unanimous
vote. It is incorporated as Section 134
of the Doctrine and Covenants of the
Church. Although more than a
century has passed, no changes or
modifications have been made, and
the statement stands as applicable to-
day as the day it was written. If you
will permit me to do so, I would like
to recall a portion of this statement.

"We believe that governments were
instituted of God for the benefit of
man; and that he holds men account-
able 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 se-
cure 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

GENERAL CONFERENCE

66

Saturday, April 6

same; and that such as will administer
the law in equity and justice should
be sought for and upheld by the voice
of the people if a republic, or the will
of the sovereign.

"We believe that religion is insti-
tuted of God; and that men are
amenable to him, and to him only, for
the exercise of it, unless their religious
opinions prompt them to infringe
upon the rights and liberties of others;
but we do not believe that human law
has a right to interfere in prescribing
rules of worship to bind the consciences
of men, nor dictate forms for public or
private devotion; that the civil magis-
trate 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 citi-
zen 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 con-
science." (D&C 134:1-5.)

Allegiance to sovereignty

The statement continues, but I will
not read further. These words point
up the solemn obligation of govern-
ment and the solemn obligation of
those who owe allegiance. This is a
day when civil disobedience seems to
be prevalent and even advocated from
some pulpits, but the position of this
Church and its teachings is clear.

I know that God lives, that he is the
supreme power of heaven and earth. I
bear witness of the divinity of Jesus
Christ, the Savior of all mankind. My
knowledge of these truths moves me
to allegiance to divine sovereignty,
also to sustain the law of the land.
There is no conflict between that
which is owed to Caesar and the obli-

Second Day

gation to God. May the God of
heaven give inspiration and guidance
to those leaders in the world who
formulate the policies of earthly
sovereignty, and also to those of us
who are governed by those powers. May
righteousness be placed in proper
perspective for the good of every man.
The statement of the Master should
be our guide: "But seek ye first the
kingdom of God, and his righteousness;
and all these things shall be added
unto you." (Matt. 6:33.) The honest
search for righteousness and submis-
sion to the sovereignty of God
answers the problems of Caesar. May
the Lord bless us is my humble prayer,
in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

President N. Eldon Tanner

Elder Howard W. Hunter of the
Council of the Twelve has just spoken
to us.

We are most grateful this morning
for the wonderful cooperation given
by the managers and operators of over
300 television and radio stations in
offering their facilities as a public ser-
vice to make the proceedings of this
conference available to millions
throughout many areas of the world.

We appreciate the attendance here
of educators, national and local gov-
ernment officials, stake and ward
officers, and all members and visitors
who have attended the service this
morning.

We shall conclude this session of
the conference with the Tabernacle
Choir singing "All Hail the Power of
Jesus' Name." Following the singing
the benediction will be pronounced by
Elder Thomas R. Stone, formerly
president of the French Polynesian
Mission. This conference will then be
adjourned until 2:00 this afternoon.

The Choir sang "All Hail the Power
of Jesus' Name."

The closing prayer was offered by
Elder Thomas R. Stone.

Conference adjourned until 2:00
o'clock p.m.

SECOND DAY

67

SECOND DAY
AFTERNOON MEETING

FOURTH SESSION

Conference reconvened at 2:00 p.m.,
Saturday, April 6, with President
Joseph Fielding Smith, counselor in
the First Presidency, conducting the
services.

The Logan LDS Institute Choir, with
James L. Bradley, conducting, fur-
nished the music for this session of
the conference. Elder Roy M. Darley
was at the organ.

President Smith made the following
introductory remarks:

President Joseph Fielding Smith

President McKay is listening in
his apartment. He has asked me to
conduct this service, and to extend his
greetings to all present, and to all
those who are listening in.

For the information of those who
are tuned in by radio or television, we
are pleased to announce that we are
assembled in the historic Tabernacle
on Temple Square in Salt Lake City
in the fourth session of the 138th An-
nual Conference of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

This morning's session, in addition
to being broadcast direct, was video
taped for release to many television
stations tomorrow morning to the
eastern and central parts of the United
States, and also in Hawaii and Alaska.

Also, by special arrangement, Armed
Forces television will carry this morn-
ing's session to a large number of
servicemen on Sunday (tomorrow)
headquartered at Guam and other
bases of the Pacific.

Both of the sessions today will be
re-broadcast over KSL Radio, KIRO
Radio at Seattle, KMBC at Kansas
City, and WRFM at New York City,
Sunday morning starting at midnight.

The singing for this afternoon's ses-
sion will be furnished by the Logan
LDS Institute Choir, conducted by
James L. Bradley, with Roy M. Darley
at the organ.

We are exceedingly pleased to have
these young students with us this
afternoon, and extend a hearty wel-
come to them.

We shall begin this service by the
chorus singing, "Unfold, Ye Portals,"
following which the invocation will be
offered by Elder Ronald V. Stone,
formerly president of the North Argen-
tine Mission.

The Institute Choir sang the anthem,
"Unfold, Ye Portals."

The opening prayer was offered by
Elder Ronald V. Stone.

President Joseph Fielding Smith

The invocation was just offered by
Elder Ronald V. Stone, formerly presi-
dent of the North Argentine Mission.

The Chorus will now favor us with,
"Still, Still with Thee."

The anthem, "Still, Still with
Thee," was rendered by the chorus.

President Joseph Fielding Smith

As has been the custom since
the organization of the Church, we
shall now sustain the General Author-
ities of the Church. A few brief
statistical and financial reports will be
given just prior to the sustaining of the
General Authorities.

Elder Joseph Anderson, Clerk of the
Conference, will read for your infor-
mation some important statistical data
concerning the Church.

Following this, Elder Harold H.
Bennett will read a statement by the
Church Finance Committee.

President Hugh B. Brown of the
First Presidency will then present the
General Authorities, General Officers,
and General Auxiliary Officers of the
Church for the sustaining vote of this
General Conference.

68 GENERAL CONFERENCE

Saturday, April 6 Second Day

STATISTICAL REPORT 1967

Elder Joseph Anderson, Clerk of the Conference, read for the information
of the members of the Church, the following statistical report concerning the
membership of the Church at the end of the year 1967:

Number of Stakes of Zion at close of 1967 448

Number of Wards 3,544

Number of Independent Branches in Stakes 622

Total Wards and Independent Branches in Stakes at close of year 4,166

Number of Mission Branches at close of year 1,987

Number of Full-time Missons at end of year 79

Church Membership, December 31, 1967:

In the Stakes 2,144,766

In the Missions 469,574

Total Membership 2,614,340

Church Growth During 1967:

Children Blessed in Stakes and Missions 56,387

Children of Record Baptized in Stakes and Missions 53,591

Converts Baptized in Stakes and Missions - 62,280

Social Statistics:

(Based on 1967 data from the Stakes)

Birth Rate per thousand 27.55

Number of persons married per thousand - 16.11

Death Rate per thousand 5.05

Priesthood:

Members holding the Aaronic Priesthood, December 31, 1967

Deacons - 118,149

Teachers 83,583

Priests 121,842

Total number holding Aaronic Priesthood - 323,574

Members holding the Melchizedek Priesthood, December 31, 1967

Elders 216,354

Seventies 22,962

High Priests 72,150

Total number holding Melchizedek Priesthood 310,466

Grand Total, members holding Aaronic or Melchizedek Priesthood 634,040

An increase of 36,360 during the year

Auxiliary Organizations:

Relief Society (Membership) 298,825

Deseret Sunday School Union (average attendance) 777,354

Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association (enrollment) 313,956

Young Women's Mutual Improvement Association (enrollment) 326,795

Primary (children enrolled) 473,480

Welfare Plan:

Number of persons assisted during the year 112,055

Number placed in remunerative employment 6,809

Man-days of work donated to the Welfare Plan 130,966

Unit-days of equipment use donated 7,300

Genealogical Society:

Names cleared in 1967 for temple ordinances 1,986,335

STATISTICAL REPORT

69

Genealogical records microfilmed in 16 countries during the year brought
the total to 699,587 one hundred foot rolls of microfilm for use of the
Church which are the equivalent of over 3,000,000 printed volumes of
300 pages each.

Temples:

Number of ordinances performed during 1967 in the 13 operating temples:

For the living 54,826

For the dead 4,510,940

Total number of ordinances 4,565,766

Church School System:

Total 1967 cumulative enrollments in Church schools, including

Institutes and Seminaries 186,323

THOSE WHO HAVE PASSED AWAY

PRESIDENT ANTOINE R. IVINS, senior president of the First Council of Seventy
MINERVA YOUNG BENNION, widow of Adam S. Bennion, former member of the

Council of the Twelve
ALT A HANSEN TAYLOR, wife of Elder Henry D. Taylor, Assistant to the Twelve
NADA RICH BROCKBANK, wife of Elder Bernard P. Brockbank, Assistant to the

Twelve

ADELAIDE ELDREDGE HARDY, widow of Elder Rufus K. Hardy, former member

of the First Council of Seventy
FRANK W. OTTERSTROM, Official Church Reporter for many years
RICHARD E. FOLLAND, General Secretary of the Deseret Sunday School Union

General Board

HILDA ANDERSON ERICKSON, sole survivor of the 80,000 Mormon pioneers who

came to Utah before the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869
WALLACE F. TORONTO, president of the Czechoslovakian Mission
HEBER E. PETERSON, president of the Olympus Stake
ROBERT L. BRIDGE, president of the Riverside Stake
HOWARD B. STONE, president of the Oahu Stake

Elder Harold H. Bennett read the
following statement by the Church
Finance Committee:

March 15, 1968

The First Presidency

47 East South Temple Street

Salt Lake City, Utah

Dear Brethren:

We have reviewed the report of the
financial operations of the Corporation
of the President of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well as
of auxiliaries and other organizations
for which accounts are maintained in
the Financial Department of the
Church for the fiscal period January 1
to August 31, 1967. Attention was given
particularly to the accounting and
auditing procedures followed as to
funds received and to the manner in

which expenditures are controlled. We
have determined that the expenditures
of such funds are authorized by the
First Presidency and by budgetary
procedures. The budget is authorized
by the Council on Disposition of the
Tithes comprised of the First Presi-
dency, the Council of the Twelve, and
the Presiding Bishopric.

A continuous audit of the financial
records of the Church is conducted by
the Church Auditing Department,
which is completely independent of all
other departments. Businesses owned
or controlled by the Church, for which
accounts are not maintained in the
Financial Department, are audited by
professional auditing firms.

Based upon our review of the finan-
cial reports of the Corporation of the
President of The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints and explanations

70 GENERAL CONFERENCE

Saturday, April 6 Second Day

made by the personnel of the Finan- Respectfully submitted,

cial and Auditing Departments of the r'tniDPo ctat a tmv-t?

Church, we are of the opinion that ^URCH FINANCE

the expenditures of funds during the COMMITTEE

fiscal period January 1, to August 31, Orval W. Adams

1967 were made in accordance with Harold H. Bennett

the established procedures outlined Glenn E. Nielson

herein. Wilford G. Edling

We congratulate the General Author- Weston E. Hamilton
ities and their associates for the

sound manner in which the finances General Authorities and

of the Church are administered, and General Officers of the Church

we commend the Church Financial

Department and the Church Auditing President Hugh B. Brown presented

Department for the expert and careful the General Authorities and General

manner in which all financial records Officers of the Church and they were

are maintained and audited. sustained as follows:

The First Presidency

David O. McKay, Prophet, Seer and Revelator, and President of The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Hugh B. Brown, First Counselor in the First Presidency
Nathan Eldon Tanner, Second Counselor in the First Presidency

Counselors in the First Presidency

Joseph Fielding Smith
Thorpe B. Isaacson
Alvin R. Dyer

President of the Council of the Twelve Apostles

Joseph Fielding Smith

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Joseph Fielding Smith Marion G. Romney

Harold B. Lee LeGrand Richards

Spencer W. Kimball Richard L. Evans

Ezra Taft Benson Howard W. Hunter

Mark E. Petersen Gordon B. Hinckley

Delbert L. Stapley Thomas S. Monson

Patriarch to the Church
Eldred G. Smith

The Counselors in the First Presidency, the Twelve Apostles and the
Patriarch to the Church as Prophets, Seers, and Revelators.

Assistants to the Twelve

Alma Sonne Franklin D. Richards

EIRay L. Christiansen Theodore M. Burton

John Longden Boyd K. Packer

Sterling W. Sill Bernard P. Brockbank

Henry D. Taylor James A. Cullimore

Wm. J. Critchlow, Jr. Marion D. Hanks

GENERAL OFFICERS OF THE CHURCH

71

Trustee-in-Trust
David O. McKay

as Trustee-in-Trust for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The First Council of the Seventy

The Presiding Bishopric

John H. Vandenberg, Presiding Bishop
Robert L. Simpson, First Counselor
Victor L. Brown, Second Counselor

Church Historian and Recorder
Joseph Fielding Smith, with A. William Lund and Earl E. Olson as Assistants

Priesthood Welfare Committee

John H. Vandenberg, Chairman
Henry D. Taylor, Managing Director

Priesthood Home Teaching Committee

Marion G. Romney, Chairman
John H. Vandenberg, Vice Chairman
Alvin R. Dyer, Managing Director

Priesthood Missionary Committee

Spencer W. Kimball, Chairman of Executive Committee
Gordon B. Hinckley and Thomas S. Monson, Vice Chairmen
Bruce R. McConkie, Managing Director

Priesthood Genealogical Committee

Howard W. Hunter, Chairman
Theodore M. Burton, Managing Director

Church Board of Education

Seymour Dilworth Young
Milton R. Hunter
Bruce R. McConkie

Albert Theodore Turtle
Paul H. Dunn
Hartman Rector, Jr.
Loren Charles Dunn

David O. McKay
Hugh B. Brown
Nathan Eldon Tanner
Joseph Fielding Smith
Thorpe B. Isaacson
Alvin R. Dyer
Harold B. Lee
Spencer W. Kimball
Ezra Taft Benson
Mark E. Petersen
Delbert L. Stapley

Marion G. Romney
LeGrand Richards
Richard L. Evans
Howard W. Hunter
Gordon B. Hinckley
Thomas S. Monson
Boyd K. Packer
Marion D. Hanks
Albert Theodore Tuttle
Paul H. Dunn
John H. Vandenberg

GENERAL CONFERENCE

Second Day

Church Finance Committee

Orval W. Adams
Harold H. Bennett
Wilford G. Edling
Glenn E. Nielson
Weston E. Hamilton

Senior Church Auditors

Harold L. Davis
Charles Schmidt

GENERAL AUXILIARY OFFICERS OF THE CHURCH

Relief Society

Belle Smith Spafford, President
Marianne Clark Sharp, First Counselor
Louise Wallace Madsen, Second Counselor
with all members of the Board as at present constituted.

Deseret Sunday School Union

David Lawrence McKay, General Superintendent
Lynn S. Richards, First Assistant Superintendent
Royden G. Derrick, Second Assistant Superintendent
with all members of the Board as at present constituted.

Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association
G. Carlos Smith, Jr., General Superintendent
Marvin J. Ashton, First Assistant Superintendent
George R. Hill III, Second Assistant Superintendent
with all members of the Board as at present constituted.

Young Women's Mutual Improvement Association

Florence Smith Jacobsen, President
Margaret Romney Jackson, First Counselor
Dorothy Porter Holt, Second Counselor
with all members of the Board as at present constituted.

Primary Association

LaVern Watts Parmley, President
Leone Watson Doxey, First Counselor
Lucile Cardon Reading, Second Counselor
with all members of the Board as at present constituted.

Tabernacle Choir
Isaac M. Stewart, President
Richard P. Condie, Conductor
Jay E. Welch, Assistant Conductor

Tabernacle Organists

Alexander Schreiner, Chief Organist
Robert N. Cundick
Roy M. Darley

Frank W. Asper, Organist Emeritus

72

Saturday, April 6

ELDER SPENCER W. KIMBALL

73

President Joseph Fielding Smith Elder Spencer W. Kimball of the

Council of the Twelve will be our first
We thank you good brethren and speaker this afternoon. He will be fol-
sisters for this sustaining vote. lowed by Elder Alvin R. Dyer.

Elder Spencer W. Kimball

Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles

President McKay, my brothers and
sisters, and friends: I would like to
congratulate Brother Dyer, Brother
Hanks, Brother Rector, and Brother
Dunn on their new appointments, and
pray the Lord to bless them in their
new responsibilities.

The Pharisees, ever trying to en-
tangle and trick the Savior, again set
their traps:

". . . Is it lawful to give tribute
unto Caesar? . . .

"But Jesus perceived their wicked-
ness, . . .

". . . Then saith he unto them,
Render therefore unto Caesar the things
which are Caesar's; and unto God the
things that are God's." (Matt. 22:17-
18, 21.)

All this is mine

One day, a friend took me to his
ranch. He unlocked the door of a
large new automobile, slid under the
wheel, and said proudly, "How do you
like my new car?" We rode in lux-
urious comfort into the rural areas to
a beautiful new landscaped home, and
he said with no little pride, "This is
my home."

He drove to a grassy knoll. The sun
was retiring behind the distant hills.
He surveyed his vast domain. Pointing
to the north, he asked, "Do you see
that clump of trees yonder?" I could
plainly discern them in the fading day.

He pointed to the east. "Do you
see the lake shimmering in the sunset?"
It too was visible.

"Now, the bluff that's on the south."
We turned about to scan the distance.
He identified barns, silos, the ranch
house to the west. With a wide sweep-
ing gesture, he boasted, "From the
clump of trees, to the lake, to the
bluff, and to the ranch buildings and
all between — all this is mine. And the

dark specks in the meadow — those
cattle also are mine."

And then I asked from whom he ob-
tained it. The chain of title of his
abstract went back to land grants from
governments. His attorney had as-
sured him he had an unencumbered
title.

"From whom did the government get
it?" I asked. 'What was paid for it?"

There came into my mind the bold
statement of Paul: "For the earth is
the Lord's, and the fulness thereof."
(1 Cor. 10:26.)

And then the psalmist who declared:
"The words of the Lord are pure
words: as silver tried in a furnace of
earth, purified seven times." (Ps. 12:6.)

And then I asked, "Did title come
from God, Creator of the earth and
the owner thereof? Did he get paid?
Was it sold or leased or given to you?
If gift, from whom? If sale, with what
exchange or currency? If lease, do
you make proper accounting?"

And then I asked, "What was the
price? With what treasures did you
buy this farm?"

"Money!"

"Where did you get the money?"

"My toil, my sweat, my labor, and
my strength."

And then I asked, "Where did you
get your strength to toil, your power
to labor, your glands to sweat?"

He spoke of food.

"Where did the food originate?"

"From sun and atmosphere and soil
and water."

"And who brought those elements
here?"

I quoted the psalmist: "Thou, O God,
didst send a plentiful rain, whereby
thou didst confirm thine inheritance,
when it was weary." (Ps. 68:9.)

"If the land is not yours, then what
accounting do you make to your

74

Saturday, April 6

landlord for his bounties? The scrip-
ture says: 'Render unto Caesar that
which is Caesar's and to God that
which is God's.' What percentage of
your increase do you pay Caesar? And
what percent to God?

"Do you believe the Bible? Do you
accept the command of the Lord
through the prophet Malachi? It

"Will a man rob God? Yet ye
have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein
have we robbed thee? In tithes and
offerings

"'Bring ye all the tithes into the
storehouse, . . . 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.' (Mai. 3:8, 10.)

"And in the latter days, the Lord
said again:

" 'And if ye seek the riches which it
is the will of the Father to give unto
you, ye shall be the richest of all
people, for ye shall have the riches of
eternity; and it must needs be that
the riches of the earth are mine to
give ' (D&C 38:39.)

"And Moses confirmed to Pharaoh
regarding the plagues: '. . . that thou
mayest know now that the earth is
the Lord's.'" (Exod. 9:29.)

I said again: "I seem to find no
place in holy writ where God has said,
'I give you title to this land uncondi-
tionally. It is not yours to give, to
have, to hold, to sell, despoil, exploit
as you see fit.'

"I cannot find such scripture, but I
do find this from Psalms: '. . . those
that wait upon the Lord, . . . shall
inherit the earth.' (Ps. 37:9.)

"And I remember that our Creator
covenanted in the council in heaven
with us all: '[And] 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.' (Abr. 3:24.)

"It seems more of a lease on which
a rental is exacted than of a fee sim-
ple title.

"Modern scripture says that if you
live the commandments, 'the fulness of

GENERAL CONFERENCE

Second Day

the earth is yours, the beasts of . . .
field and the fowls of the air, . . .

" 'Yea, all things which come of the
earth, ... are made for the benefit
and the use of man. . . .' (D&C 59:16,
18.)

"This promise does not seem to
convey the earth but only the use and
contents which are given to men on
condition that they live all of the
commandments of God."

But my friend continued to mumble,
"Mine — mine," as if to convince him-
self against the surer knowledge that
he was at best a recreant renter.

That was long years ago. I saw him
lying in his death among luxurious
furnishings in a palatial home. His
had been a vast estate. And I folded
his arms upon his breast, and drew
down the little curtains over his eyes.
I spoke at his funeral, and I followed
the cortege from the good piece of
earth he had claimed to his grave, a
tiny, oblong area the length of a tall
man, the width of a heavy one.

Yesterday I saw that same estate,
yellow in grain, green in lucerne,
white in cotton, seemingly unmindful
of him who had claimed it. Oh, puny
man, see the busy ant moving the
sands of the sea.

Would you rob God?

I stopped on the highway to buy
some fruit. The little vending shop
was in the edge of the orchard. And
I asked the seller, "Are these trees
yours?"

He said, "From the highway to the
hill — all these are mine, and all the
fruit we pick and sell. All this is
mine."

And I asked, "Do you have no part-
ner who contributes capital?"

"I earned the funds with which to
buy. It is mine."

I said: "You bought the land? You
bought the seedlings? But who put
chemicals into the soil to make them
grow? Who sent the living sap
a-climbing all the limbs? Who made
them bloom and scent the air with
sweet perfume? Did you make rain?
Can you command the sun? Do you

ELDER SPENCER W. KIMBALL

75

put intelligence in trees to produce
buds and blossoms, fruit in ripeness,
taste and food value? He who made
the land, the trees, the elements has
land-lien on it all. Have you settled
your lease payment?

"I know you pay to Caesar his full
portion, never failing. But do you
calculate and pay the part to God?

"Are these trees yours and yours
alone? There is no partner's claim
upon the fruit?" He winced.

"Have you integrity? Would you
rob God, your partner? Remembering
that the earth is the Lord's and the
fullness thereof?"

When God had created man and
woman he placed them upon the earth
to "dress it and to keep it and subdue
it." (See Gen. 2:15.) It seems this
landlord-tenant relationship is fair —
the Lord, the owner, furnishes the
land, the air, the water, the sunshine,
and all the elements to make it fruit-
ful. The tenant gives his labor.

The Lord promised after the deluge:
"While the earth remaineth, seedtime
and harvest, and cold and heat, and
summer and winter, and day and night
shall not cease." (Gen. 8:22.)

And the psalmist sang again: "Thou
visitest the earth, and waterest it;
thou greatly enrichest it with the
river of God, . . .

"Thou waterest the ridges thereof
abundantly: thou settlest the furrows
thereof: thou makest it soft with
showers. . . .

"The pastures are clothed with
flocks: . . . they shout for joy, they
also sing." (Ps. 65:9-10, 13.)

". . . the earth is full of the good-
ness of the Lord." (Ps. 33:5.)

A month later, a car accident took
the life of this horticulturist. He had
not paid his keep, nor did he take his
orchard with him. Each spring its
trees still bloom; each fall the luscious
fruit is picked.

* * *

The earth is the Lord's

I saw a lovely house upon a beach.
The occupant boastfully pointed to it.
"This is my house with its impreg-
nable foundation, its solid walls, its

luxurious appointments, its surpassing
view."

One day a warning came. A tidal
wave rushed in to shore. All occupants
were saved, but as the great sea hurried
to its place, only a concrete floor
marked the place where his prized
possession had stood. The stones were
out at sea; the lumber ground to
toothpicks, floating in the water. And
I remembered again what the psalmist
said:

"The earth is the Lord's, and the
fulness thereof; the world, and they
that dwell therein." (Ps. 24:1.)
* * *

Do you pay tithes?

Another day I accompanied a friend
to his bank. He checked the contents
of his safety deposit box, and lifting
out a handful of papers, he proudly
said to me, "All these are mine. These
stocks and bonds are mine." It was
evident that his holdings represented
wealth. There was possessive pride in
his voice.

And I pondered: "How you have
prospered! How did you do so well?
Where did you get your talents, your
abilities? Did you make sight and
voice and memory and ability to
think?" He hesitated to make
answer.

I asked him: "Do you pay tithes?
I'm sure you pay your taxes. Do you
render unto God that which already
was his own? I'm sure that Caesar
never fails to get his portion. What of
God? You accepted your earthly op-
portunities on condition. You rented
his land, his equipment, used his ele-
ments, you know.

"Does puny man possess, appro-
priate, bequeath, and give as though
he made the earth and heaven? And
this without report or settling ac-
counts?"

I met a man upon the campus of a
great university, well-trained and
brilliant, holding high degrees. We
talked of income. Though very large,
he felt his all too small to meet his
needs. I asked of him: "Do you pay
tithes?"

He looked at me with questions in

GENERAL CONFERENCE

76

Saturday, April 6

his eyes. Why should he pay? He
earned it — every cent. I told him of
the psalmist's theme:

"The earth is the Lord's, and the
fulness thereof; the world, and they
that dwell therein."

And he countered, "I claim no earth
— I reside in an apartment. I use no
elements — I train the minds of men.
I owe no debts to anyone. I earn my
income."

And then I asked, "By what great
power do you earn?"

"My brains," he said.

And then I asked: "Where did your
brains find birth? Did you create
them? Build them in a factory, buy
them in a store? Did you add element
to element, fashioning them so intri-
cately and giving them such power?
Where did you get your strength, your
vision, power, and health? Where
did you get your breath, your con-
tinuity? Do you make brains, build
bodies, create souls?"

Again, I asked, "Do you pay tithes?
You do account to Ceesar. Do you pay
the Lord for all his bounteous gifts?"

This man was arrogant and proud.
He lived no laws, worshiped no God,
was selfish and self-centered. He
needed the admonition given the re-
bellious Israelites:

"Beware that thou forget not the
Lord thy God ... his commandments
. . . and his statutes. . . .

"And when thy herds . . . thy flocks
. . . thy silver and thy gold . . . and
all . . . thou hast is multiplied;

"Then thine heart be lifted up, and
thou forget the Lord thy God, . . .

"Who led thee through . . . drought,
where there was no water; who
brought thee forth water out of the
rock of flint; . . .

"And thou say in thine heart, My
power and the might of mine hand
hath gotten me this wealth.

"But thou shalt remember the Lord
thy God: for it is he that giveth thee
power to get wealth. . . ." (Deut. 8:11,
13-15, 17-18.)

For long years he had been misusing
funds — appropriating the tenth which
belonged to his Creator. What right
had he to use without permission the

Second Day

Lord's lease funds? and without ac-
counting and without the commen-
surate worthiness and faithfulness on
which his nine-tenths was promised?
He had forgotten Malachi's question:
"Will a man rob God? . . ." (Mai.
3:8.) He had forgotten the covenant
we all had made in the council in
heaven, when our Lord proffered:

". . . We will go down . . . and we
will make an earth whereon these may
dwell;

"And we will prove them herewith,
to see if they will do all things what-
soever the Lord their God shall com-
mand them." (Abr. 3:24-25.)

"And did you say you made no
such rash promise? The answer is: Your
very presence on the earth is evidence
you accepted this challenge in the
preexistent assembly."

I outlived this man too. It was a
sad affair when his time came. The
strong was weak, the powerful in-
animate. His brains still encased in
his bone cranium would work no
more. He breathed no air, he taught
no youth, commanded no more hearers,
no more salary, occupied no apartment,
but did occupy a little plot of earth
on a grassy hillside. But now, I hope
he knows: ". . . the earth's the Lord's,
and all that therein is. . . ."

He owed not any man. He earned
it all, he said.

* * *

Tithing is not for God

I asked another man if he paid tithes.
He blushed his answer. "We cannot
afford to tithe."

"What? Cannot afford integrity?
Cannot afford to return to the Great
Provider's program that which was al-
ready his?"

He said, "My schooling was expen-
sive. Our little ones have cost us
much, and there is still another one
to come. The doctor and the hospital
will take their toll. Our car was
wrecked and cost us that much more.
Vacation, illness, living costs go up
and leave us none to give the Church!"

"Do you believe in God?"

"Of course," he said.

"You do?" I asked. "Would God

ELDER SPENCER W. KIMBALL

77

make promises he would not fulfill?
You have no confidence in God, else
why do you doubt his glorious prom-
ises? Your faith is in yourself. God
promised he would open heaven's
windows and pour you out rich gifts
beyond your comprehension, promised
on your faithfulness. Do you not need
those blessings? For that one tenth,
he'll compensate with blessings — little
dreamed-of blessings. 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.' (1 Cor. 2:9.)

"And again:

"'. . . seek ye first the kingdom of
God, and his righteousness; and all
these things shall be added unto you.'
(Matt. 6:33.)

"You don't believe that God will
measure up? No, you do not trust your
Lord. You keep all funds you have
collected and use them according to
your own judgment. You fear he
would not make good his promises.

"Your very debts, your many
troubles show incompetence to handle
your affairs. You've partly failed in
your rich stewardship. Can you con-
trol your business better than the Lord?
Would you do well to use this manager
in whom you have no trust? We know
he will not fail."

Tithing is not for God. It is we
who clip the coupons and collect the
dividends.

* * *

The things that are God's

The salaried man complained: "My
neighbor has a farm. His family lives
upon it. We buy our living from a
store with cash. They kill a beef, a
pork, and feed themselves from their
deep freeze. Their garden loads the
table with vegetables; the field feeds
the cows that furnish milk products;
their farm grows wheat for the poultry
for the table; and the hens furnish
meat and eggs. Do you pay tithes on
your farm land production?"

The answer is: "Of course, you pay
if you are true to your commitments.
No honest man would rob his Lord
of tidies and offerings."

We ask again: "Do you feel gener-
ous when you pay your tithes? Boast-
ful when the amount is large? Has
the child been generous to his parents
when he washes the car, makes his
bed? Are you liberal when you pay
your rent, or pay off notes at banks?
You are not generous, liberal, but
merely honest when you pay your
tithes."

"I have made the earth, and created
man upon it," says the Lord. "I, even
my hands, have stretched out the
heavens, and all their host have I
commanded." (Isa. 45:12.)

Perhaps your attitudes are the
product of your misconceptions.

Would you steal a dollar from your
friend? a tire from your neighbor's car?
Would you borrow a widow's insurance
money with no intent to pay? Do you
rob banks? You are shocked at such
suggestions. Then, would you rob
your God, your Lord, who has made
such generous arrangements with you?

Do you have a right to appropriate
the funds of your employer with which
to pay your debts, to buy a car, to
clothe your family, to feed your chil-
dren, to build your home?

Would you take from your neigh-
bor's funds to send your children to
college, or on a mission? Would you
help relatives or friends with funds
not your own? Some people get
their standards mixed, their ideals
out of line. Would you take tithes to
pay your building fund, or ward
maintenance? Would you supply gifts
to the poor with someone else's money?
The Lord's money?

The Lord continues to ask: "Will a
man rob God? Yet ye have robbed
me.

There echo again and again the
words of the Master: "Render unto
Csesar that which is Caesar's." And he
has said, "Today is a day for the
tithing of my people." (See D&C
64:23.)

Does not the law of tithing apply to
all the children of men, regardless of
church or creed? All who believe the
Bible really must believe that this is a
law of God.

GENERAL CONFERENCE

78

Saturday, April 6

There echo again and again the
words of the Master, "Render there-
fore unto Caesar the things which are
Caasar's and unto God the things that
are God's."

The Lord will bless all those who
love and live his laws. This I know,
in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Second Day

President Joseph Fielding Smith

We have just listened to Elder Spen-
cer W. Kimball of the Council of the
Twelve.

Our next speaker will be President
Alvin R. Dyer, whom we have just
sustained as a counselor in the First
Presidency.

President Alvin R. Dyer

Counselor in the First Presidency

I feel standing by my side this day
my dear wife. She, with my family,
has been a great support to me in every
effort to serve the Lord.

The way to eternal life

Many years ago a noted lawyer
sought out Jesus of Nazareth to inquire
of him the requirements that man
must adhere to in seeking for the way
to eternal life. The answer which
the Lord gave, though simple, was not
easily understood by this man schooled
in the wisdom of men.

The Lord gave him this answer: that
man must be "born again" if he is to
enter the kingdom of heaven and dwell
eternally in the enlightened presence
of God the Father and his Son Jesus
Christ. (See John 3:1-5.)

Being born again is an essential part
of conversion to the gospel, as Jesus
instructed Nicodemus. Men, in a
similar way, perhaps with less portent,
have many rebirths in different ways
in the course of a mortal lifetime.
Usually these are associated with im-
portant events or near tragedies. But
being born again is part of regenera-
tion in the changing vicissitudes of
life.

Experiences bring new birth

I recall now being near unto death
upon two occasions, once as a boy of
deacon age when I foolishly placed a
small-headed hat pin about two and
a half inches long into my mouth. I
was seated on a couch by the window
in our home when a tremendous clap
of thunder so startled me that I swal-
lowed the hat pin. When I realized

what I had done, I shook all over with
fear. I fell to my knees praying that
this accident would not take my life.
I promised the Lord then and there as
a boy that I would serve him all my
days. I believe that in that com-
munication with God, I had a new
birth.

Upon another occasion, with my
wife and two children, I arrived at the
beach in Santa Monica, California,
after a hot drive over the desert in a car
that was not air-conditioned. We
were soon in our bathing suits and
found our way to the beach. My
wife and the children stopped to play
in the sand and enjoy the cool breeze.
But this was not enough for me. I
plunged into the ocean, swimming out
farther than I realized, and when I
attempted to swim back, I found my-
self held by a swirling undertow. I
struggled with all my strength but to
no avail. Then I realized my plight
and that I faced drowning and would
never see my loved ones again in this
life. In a few seconds reflected events
in my life raced through my mind.
Again I sought by intense supplication
that I be rescued from a condition I
had thrust myself into by failing to
heed the beach warning of a posted
red flag.

I shouted at the top of my voice
for help, and in spite of the roar
of the surf and foggy atmosphere, my
cry for help was heard by a lifeguard,
who reached me in a rowboat as my
strength was nearly exhausted.

We reached shore, and after ex-
pressing my gratitude for the alertness
of the guard, I sat down on the sand

PRESIDENT ALVIN R. DYER

79

to meditate and give thanks to my
Heavenly Father. I believe I had a
new birth that day of what it meant
to be alive, with a compelling inward
feeling to try to live a worthwhile life.

Calls bring renewal of effort

Perhaps to be born again means to
have another chance, to renew one's
effort to measure up. I have felt this
way many times in life as calls have
come to serve the Lord. I felt this
way when I was called to the apostle-
ship at the October conference of last
year. Once again, this day, I feel
as though a new birth is in the offing.

I often feel a remorse in the thought
that I might not have thought well of
men — and also perchance they have
not thought well of me. There are
some issues that men pursue to which
I am opposed, but I try not to have
adverse feelings toward the men who
pursue them.

If my life should end now, or if I
should fail in the regeneration of being
born again, I would be grateful for
what I have had of it.

Gratitude for President McKay

I am grateful beyond measure for
the understanding heart of President
McKay, whom I dearly love. Our
affection and relationship go back
many years.

As I reflect upon this now, and I
know he will be watching and listen-
ing, I remember his unsolicited visit
to a ward sacrament meeting when I
was serving as a bishop many years
ago. He said he had come of his own
will because he had learned of the
success we had had in holding our
young people. His visit to those who
were there will never be forgotten,
and to me it was the real beginning of
an appreciation for a great man, truly
a prophet of God who is inspired and
is still at the helm of this Church.

I recall now with great feeling his
telephone calls and letters that came
to me while I was presiding over the
European Mission, always evidencing
a deep interest and always conveying
assurances. One such call came to me
at two o'clock in the morning in far-

off Norway, as I lay sleepless on my
bed and when I needed some kind of
assurance because of something that
had transpired to which I could not
reconcile myself in the affairs of the
overall mission. The voice of Presi-
dent McKay at that very hour was
like a light from heaven.

And more recently, I am deeply
grateful for his assignment that he has
given to me personally to be a "watch-
man on the tower" with regard to the
consecrated land of Missouri, a des-
tined, consecrated place in the great
latter-day work of our Heavenly
Father.

I have had a sense of closeness with
President McKay many times. Only
recently, as he listened to his son,
Dr. [Edward R.] McKay, relate the
experiences of his childhood at the
time the manhood award was pre-
sented to President McKay at Brig-
ham Young University, I noted
that tears were streaming down his
face as his son recalled the events of
his father's life with his brother
Thomas. And I couldn't resist placing
my arms about him and placing my
cheek against his, which was wet with
tears. I am most grateful for his con-
fidence and will never betray it.

I appreciate the confidence of my
brethren so manifested to me. I have
unbounded respect for their devotion
and courage in the administrative
affairs of the Church.

This is the Lord's work

This is the Lord's work, my brethren
and sisters, and we have no need to
fear its triumphant outcome. There
is a prophet of God presiding, through
whom God is speaking, as I have wit-
nessed upon so many occasions.

I called to mind, as I contemplated
what I might say upon this occasion,
the words of the Lord unto the Prophet
Joseph Smith at a time of frustration.
And what was true then is equally
true today, for we truly are living in
times of frustration. Here are the
words of the Lord's counsel:

"The works, and the designs, and
the purposes of God cannot be frus-

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80

Saturday, April 6

trated, neither can they come to
naught.

"For God doth not walk in crooked
paths, neither doth he turn to the right
hand nor to the left, neither doth he
vary from that which he hath said,
therefore his paths are straight, and
his course is one eternal round.

"Remember, remember that it is not
the work of God that is frustrated, but
the work of men." (D&G 3:1-3.)

Assurance in time of trouble

There is another declaration from
the Lord giving assurance that came at
a time of great trouble, when the
Saints were forced to leave the conse-
crated land of Jackson County, Mis-
souri, which had been designated by
the Lord as a place of refuge where
they were to receive their inheritances,
and where the Lord in his time so
announced that the city of the New
Jerusalem will be built. The Prophet
Joseph Smith fervently prayed to the
Lord for the reasons for this setback,
and he also sent a letter to the be-
wildered and grief-stricken Saints, in
which he recognized the great suffer-
ing of the Saints in Missouri at that
time and how the innocent were
paying for the sins of the guilty within
the ranks of the members.

I quote from that letter:

". . . it is with difficulty that I can
restrain my feelings when I know
that you, my brethren, with whom I
have had so many happy hours —
sitting, as it were, in heavenly places
in Christ Jesus; and also, having the
witness which I feel, and ever have
felt, of the purity of your motives —
are cast out, and are as strangers and
pilgrims on the earth, exposed to hun-
ger, cold, nakedness, peril, sword — I
say when I contemplate this, it is with
difficulty that I can keep from com-
plaining and murmuring against this
dispensation; but I am sensible that
this is not right, and may God grant

Second Day

that notwithstanding your great afflic-
tions and sufferings, there may not be
anything separate us from love of
Christ." (DHC, Vol. 1, p. 454.)

Be still and know that I am God

It is from the answer that the Lord
gave to the Prophet Joseph Smith
at that time that I often find words of
consolation and assurance that can
be used in many sequences, for this
is what the Lord said to the Prophet
in the midst of these difficulties:

"Therefore, let your hearts be com-
forted concerning Zion; for all flesh
is in mine hands; be still and know
that I am God.

"Zion shall not be moved out of
her place, notwithstanding her children
are scattered.

"They that remain, and are pure in
heart, shall return, and come to their
inheritances, they and their children,
with songs of everlasting joy, to build
up the waste places of Zion." (D&C
101:16-18.)

The particular declaration of the
Lord here is this: "All flesh is in my
hands; be still and know that I am
God."

This is God's work, my brethren
and sisters. It will not fail. Of this
I testify, in the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.

President Joseph Fielding Smith

We have just listened to President
Alvin R. Dyer.

The congregation and chorus will
now join in singing, "Redeemer of
Israel."

After the singing, Elder Victor L.
Brown of the Presiding Bishopric will
be our speaker.

The congregation and chorus sang
the hymn, "Redeemer of Israel."

BISHOP VICTOR L. BROWN

81

Bishop Victor L. Brown

Of the Presiding Bishopric

In the center section of this historic
Tabernacle sits a group of men from
many parts of the world. Each one
has responsibilities that set him apart
from others not of his group. Almost
every weekend it is our opportunity to
meet the bishops of the Church in
their own stakes. Today we are privi-
leged to meet them in general con-
ference. We have the greatest of
love and respect for them and are
grateful for the great work they are
doing.

Importance of bishops

Before I became a bishop, I knew
little about the responsibilities of the
office. I have thought perhaps that
other members of the Church may be
as uninformed as I was. The bishop
is, or should be, one of the most im-
portant persons in the life of every
member of the Church. If he is im-
portant to us, then we must be impor-
tant to him. I pray that I may be able
to say something that will draw the
bishops closer to their members, but
even more so, the members closer to
their bishops.

To understand the bishop, we must
know something of his responsibilities.
They are many. Time is limited, so
we will discuss only a few. First, we
will review two of his temporal re-
sponsibilities— care of the needy and
finances.

The welfare program

Frequently we hear the statement,
in connection with the Welfare Pro-
gram, that the Church takes care of
its own. The bishop plays the key
role in administering the Welfare
Program. He, and he alone, deter-
mines who will receive assistance, in
what form it will be, and, with the
help of the Relief Society president,
how much.

The bishop approaches this assign-
ment in a spirit of love, kindness, and
understanding. One of his prime goals
is to help the people maintain their

self-respect and dignity. He has cer-
tain principles upon which he admin-
isters the program.

The first principle is that we as
members of the Church are expected
to be self-reliant and independent. We
are taught to have a year's supply in
reserve in case of serious difficulty.
Should circumstances, such as a serious
accident or illness, result in our need-
ing help, we should look to our fami-
lies. If they cannot help, only then
do we look to the bishop.

After a very careful, personal investi-
gation, the bishop decides whether the
Church should render assistance. If
he decides it should, the assistance
will be limited to the necessities of
life, and only as long as it takes to get
the family back on its feet. The bishop
is not expected to bail us out of finan-
cial difficulty caused by poor man-
agement of our affairs.

If he gives assistance, he will expect
us to work for it if we are physically
able. His motive here is to help us
maintain our self-respect by not accept-
ing a dole. Frankly, many times it
would be much easier for him to give
a dole. But he recognizes the dole as
an evil, and it is his desire to bless us
with the program, not weaken us.

There are many other facets of the
program, such as fast offering, wel-
fare projects, budgets, and bishops
storehouses. As members of the Church
we are expected to respond to the call
of the bishop and his welfare commit-
tee in each phase of the program. In
some areas of the world the Welfare
Program is conducted on a limited
basis. In these cases, we are still
expected to support the bishop within
the established policies.

Finances

Now as to finances: The bishop
must look to the members of his ward
for the financial support necessary to
carry on the affairs of the ward.

One of the worrisome problems
some bishops have is collecting funds

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82

Saturday, April 6

for the ward budget. These are the
fiinds that are needed to operate the
ward organizations and to share in the
costs of maintaining the chapel. We,
as members of the ward, can offer
great assistance to the bishop if we
will be responsive to his requests for
financial assistance. The Lord said
he would open the windows of heaven
and pour out blessings that there
would hardly be room enough to re-
ceive, if we would pay our tithes and
offerings.

The bishop realizes that all funds
collected by him are sacred, and that
they come as a free-will offering.
Through our willingness to sustain
him in financial matters, we help
lighten his load.

Spiritual responsibilities

So far we have discussed only tem-
poral matters. Now let us review some
of his spiritual responsibilities.

The bishop, by revelation from the
Lord, is the president of the priests
quorum. He and his counselors con-
stitute the presidency of the Aaronic
Priesthood in his ward. He is the
cornerstone in all matters pertaining
to the youth, both boys and girls. He
receives help from his counselors, home
teachers, general secretaries, advisers,
auxiliary officers and teachers; but he
is still the keystone in all that is
done.

To the young people may I say:
the bishop has been called through
the inspiration of our Heavenly Father
to be your spiritual counselor. He is
designated as a common judge by the
Lord. He has a special blessing, giv-
ing him the power of discernment and
understanding. He is the one to
whom we should go to confess our
sins. This must be done if we are to
fully repent. The bishop recognizes
that it is through the blessings of the
Lord that he is a judge, and unless he
is a righteous judge, he is liable to
condemnation, for in the scriptures
we read: "That the rights of the
priesthood are inseparably connected
with the powers of heaven, and that
the powers of heaven cannot be con-
trolled nor handled only upon the

Second Day

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 exer-
cise control or dominion or compul-
sion upon the souls of the children of
men, in any degree of unrighteousness,
behold, the heavens withdraw them-
selves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved;
and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the
priesthood or the authority of that
man." (D&C 121:36-37.)

Wisdom of bishops

The bishop is unalterably opposed
to sin in any guise; at the same time,
he has great understanding and for-
giveness for the sinner. He recognizes
many problems of life and is anxious
to lend a helping hand, particularly
when the going is difficult. He can
help you in many ways if you will
just let him. Anything you disclose to
your bishop is expected to be kept as
a sacred trust. May I encourage you to
let your bishop bless you with his
wisdom. Get close to him. He will
never be too busy to help you.

There is another basic spiritual re-
sponsibility that may be interpreted
as encompassing all others. The bishop
is the spiritual father of the ward, the
presiding high priest. This responsi-
bility spreads his umbrella wide
enough to cover us all.

Helpers to bishop

He has a host of helpers to assist
him in this. They are the home
teachers. This is a responsibility of
the priesthood holder, which, if car-
ried out devotedly, will lift a great
load from the bishop's shoulders. The
home teacher is in reality an assistant
to the bishop. He is the major con-
tact with the family. One bishop
made the comment that one of the
highest compliments he had been paid
was to have a family call their home
teacher first in the case of sickness.
President McKay has said that if the
home teachers do their duty, in the
case of a death in the family the home
teachers would be called first, not the
bishop. May I encourage each home

BISHOP VIC1

teacher to sense his responsibility and
carry out his duty as an assistant to
the bishop.

As the father of the ward, the bishop
has many other helpers. Each officer
and teacher of the ward assists him.
We, as ward members, have a respon-
sibility to respond to calls from the
bishop. He should be able to depend
on us to carry out our assignments.
He needs the help of all of us. With
that help, not only does the work of
the Lord progress, but we individually
are also blessed with a kind of happi-
ness that comes from no other source,
because we show evidence of our love
for our Heavenly Father; for the scrip-
tures say, ". . . when ye are in the
service of your fellow beings ye are
only in the service of your God."
(Mosiah 2:17.)

Who is the bishop?

Who is this bishop we have been
talking about? He may be the neigh-
bor next door; he may be the son of
your close friends; he may be that
noisy boy you had in your Sunday
School class just a few years ago —
you remember, the one you were ready
to send out, never to come back.

He almost always is a husband,
generally a father, always a bread-
winner. He is faced with all of the
problems you and I have. He has his
human frailties and weaknesses, his
likes and dislikes, maybe even some
idiosyncrasies. Yes, he is a human
being — a special human being because
of a special calling with a special
blessing. Here is what the Lord said
he must be: "A bishop then must be
blameless, the husband of one wife,
vigilant, sober, of good behaviour,
given to hospitality, apt to teach;

"Not given to wine, no striker, not
greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not
a brawler, not covetous;

"One that ruleth well his own house,
having his children in subjection with
all gravity;

"(For if a man know not how to

)R L. BROWN 83

rule his own house, how shall he
take care of the church of God?)

"Not a novice, lest being lifted up
with pride he fall into the condem-
nation of the devil." (1 Tim. 3:2-6.)

Family shares responsibility

This man, your bishop, did not ask
for this position; he did not even vol-
unteer. He most likely accepted the
calling with fear and trembling, yet
with the faith and desire to perfect
himself so as to measure up to that
which the Lord expects of him.

His loyal, loving wife and his chil-
dren have also agreed to share in his
responsibility with him, by not com-
plaining when he is away from home
so much of the time, by being cheer-
ful when the telephone always rings
at dinner time or three o'clock in the
morning, and by being willing to
carry some of the responsibility that
normally belongs to the husband and
father.

May the Lord's choicest blessings be
showered upon the heads of these won-
derful, devoted bishops, their wives,
and their children; and may we, the
members of their wards, respond to
their leadership, even when some of
them seem so young, and though some
we would not have chosen ourselves.
The Lord will bless us for sustaining
the servants he has called to preside
over us. I bear you my witness that this
is the Church of Jesus Christ, that the
bishops of this Church have been
called by our Heavenly Father through
the inspiration extended to those who
preside over us, in the name of Jesus
Christ. Amen.

President Joseph Fielding Smith

We have just listened to Elder Victor
L. Brown of the Presiding Bishopric.

Elder S. Dilworth Young of the First
Council of Seventy will now speak to
us. He will be followed by Elder Rich-
ard L. Evans of the Council of the
Twelve, who will be our concluding
speaker for this session.

84

Saturday, April 6

GENERAL CONFERENCE

Elder S. Dilworth Young

Of the First Council of the Seventy

Second Day

Even though time is short, I cannot
forbear a brief word concerning An-
toine R. Ivins, our deceased senior
president. I cannot forget his gentle
manners, his courteous and kindly way
of directing us, or his constant ad-
herence to the law of leadership just
mentioned by Brother Brown con-
cerning persuasion, long-suffering,
gentleness, meekness, love unfeigned
by kindness, and pure knowledge. His
was an older generation than mine,
and he should have been marked by
the conservatism that comes with age.
Yet he was constantly eager to meet the
present day with new approaches. He
urged those of us who were younger to
think new thoughts and to try new
methods. We have missed him.

Stirring times for seventies

Many testimonies have been borne
of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I
direct my remarks to those — the seven-
ties— who are expected to gain and
bear a special witness of him.

These are stirring times for the
seventies of the Church. In every
stake they are expected by virtue of
their ordinations to seek out the hon-
est in heart, to teach the glad tidings,
to declare the restoration of the power
of God in the earth to bring salvation
to all and exaltation to those whose
will it is to completely obey him.

Each quorum should be alert to its
opportunities. All about us are those
who, while living among us, know
very little about us. They see us
leave for work and come home. They
see our lights go out as we retire to rest,
but they do not comprehend our deep
abiding joy in the restoration, as the
spirit whispers to us peace. We have
an obligation to live in such a manner
that they will see. And we have a
further obligation to open our doors,
our windows, and our hearts to them
so that if they are at all willing, they
cannot fail to see and, in addition, to
hear and accept.

Call to preach the gospel

There will be many seventies who
will obey the formal call to preach the
gospel, which comes by prophecy and
by the laying on of hands by those in
authority. And they will go forth as
missionaries filled with the spirit of
their calling. There will be many
others who will be appointed to go
forth and make friends of those who
live near them but who do not know
vis. Some of these neighbors have been
prejudiced by false stories; some have
observed with negative feelings the
actions of those who do not act as
Saints should; and some are in ig-
norance of us as a united people and
of the teachings that lift us to greater
hope and higher ideals.

You seventies, all of you, are now
invited to make friends with at least
two families this year — now! Let them
see you at home, at prayer, at work.
Let them catch the gentleness of the
spirit of Christ the Lord within you.
Bring them — the whole family — to
your homes. Let them break bread
with you. Bring them into the social
activity of the ward. Let them see the
portrayal of our beliefs at the visitors
centers. Even as the home teacher
fellowships the newly baptized mem-
bers, in like manner you should bring
those who are not of us under the
wings of love to your bosoms.

Work to be orderly

But let it be done in an orderly
manner. The seventies group leader
in the ward will assist, suggesting
available families. Once you have
agreed to reach out to them, these will
be your families. No one else will go
to them while you are assigned to
work with them. If you do not go
to them, they will not hear. You
will decide when they are ready to be
taught the doctrines of salvation. Paul
said: "For whosoever shall call upon
the name of the Lord shall be saved.

"How then shall they call on him

ELDER RICHARD L. EVANS

85

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? . . ." (Rom. 10:13-15.)

We hope the seventies will make it
possible for them to hear.

Accomplishments through faith

Paul also called to the attention of
the Hebrews the great work that had
been accomplished by faith by those
who had lived in former times. After
reviewing these great acts of faith,
beginning with righteous Abel and
extending throughout Hebrew history,
he then said: "Wherefore seeing we
also are compassed about with so
great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay
aside every weight, and the sin which
doth so easily beset us, and let us run
with patience the race that is set be-
fore us." (Heb. 12:1.)

Should we as seventies do less? Do
we not have a greater cloud of wit-
nesses than did Paul? We have his
witnesses, and in addition we also
have the witnesses of modern times.
We have the witness of Joseph Smith,
who saw and talked with God the
Father and his exalted Son. We have
the witness of Brigham Young, of John
Taylor, of Wilford Woodruff, and of
the remainder of the Prophets of the
Lord unto President David O. McKay
in our day. We have the witness of
the more than 80 apostles, who have
done mighty works since the day of
Joseph Smith. We have the witness
of those who faced the hostile hosts in
Missouri and Illinois; and of those,
too, who walked with faith into these
mountain valleys, offering up their

daily prayers for help and strength
and succor. We have the witness of
the Church grown strong, and of its
hundreds of thousands of happy
members.

Witness of living testimony

But most of all we have the witness
which enters into the heart of each
of us, the living testimony given by
the power of the Holy Ghost. Let us
not fail to bear that witness. And,
too, let us not fail to make it possible
for the witness to be borne through
the warming love of friendship.

There have been times when we
thought that if we approached a man
and he, hostile because of stories he
had heard about us, or suspicious be-
cause we were strangers, rebuffed us,
then we had done our duty by shaking
off the dust of our feet against him.
We have not done that duty until we
have given him a fair chance to learn
that his prejudices are unfounded. To
find families and show them by our
love that we are truly followers of
Jesus Christ is our manifest duty. Let
us not shirk or falter, but let us carry
the message to these worthy and good
people in our midst.

I bear my witness that the gospel
is once again on the earth brought by
angels, as John on Patmos declared
it would be; that Joseph Smith was its
first restoring Prophet; and that Presi-
dent McKay is its present living
Prophet. The Lord Jesus Christ lives
and is the author of our salvation and
our exaltation. We need but to be-
lieve and follow his teachings to gain
a place in his kingdom. May we do
so I pray in his name. Amen.

Elder Richard L. Evans

Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles

May I first cite some lines written
for a recent purpose:

Young people sometimes seem to de-
cide to go it alone in life. They learn
a little and feel they have learned
much more, and often fail to seek

counsel because they think they al-
ready know the answer — or at least
the one they want. But none of us —
at any age — is ever so old or so young,
so knowledgeable or so self-assured,
that he doesn't need counsel.

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86

Saturday, April 6

When a person of much experience
and much responsibility fails to seek
or accept counsel, he has arrived at a
precarious place. When a person of in-
experience feels he doesn't need to lis-
ten, doesn't need to learn, he too has
arrived at a precarious place.

"They that will not be counselled,"
said Benjamin Franklin, "cannot be
helped. If you do not hear reason,
she will rap you on the knuckles."

Safety in counsel

No one is knowledgeable enough or
has perspective enough to think of
everything at once, to see all possible
meanings in a clause or contract or
commitment, or to be aware of all the
hazards, or to see all sides of a subject.

No one should write a letter of
serious commitment, put anything into
print, or make a decision of con-
sequence— in matters of marriage,
money, career — or be enticed to sign
or say yes to any plausible proposition,
or make any quick or substantial com-
mitment of any kind without con-
sidering, reconsidering, and seeking
adequate counsel.

Successful people need counsel. Un-
successful people need counsel.

The hasty impulse, the know-it-all
attitude, the pride that keeps us from
asking — these are dangerous approaches
to any problem. From the youngest
in years to the oldest of age, there is
no one who can be always sure he is
right, no one who has learned so
much of life that he doesn't need the
counsel of others and a prayerful ap-
proach to all problems. "Counsel
with the Lord in all thy doings," said
Alma, "and he will direct thee for
good. . . ." (Al. 37:37.)

There is safety in counsel, no safety
without it. "They that will not be
counselled, cannot be helped." ("The
Spoken Word," February 25, 1968.)

All need counsel

Now to turn to some other facets of
the subject:

All of us have decisions to make.
All of us need help. All of us would
be in trouble if we didn't counsel
with others. We need the judgment

Second Day

and experience of others. We need to
consult competent counsel when we
have an illness. We need counsel
when we have a problem — and, some-
times more important, before we have
a bigger problem.

We cannot emphasize too much the
importance of sincerely seeking coun-
sel, and not trying to go it alone in
life.

Counsel in church assignments

The First Presidency sit in counsel.
We have a Council of the Twelve, the
Council of the Seventy. We counsel
with each other — continually — long
hours each week. We try earnestly,
prayerfully, searchingly to consider all
sides of the policies, the procedures,
the problems that come before us. We
counsel with the President, whom we
sustain in the weighty obligations and
decisions that come with his calling.
All, or any one of us, would be in
difficulty, and so would the work be,
if we were to venture out as indi-
viduals with new programs, new
policies, in supposed self-sufficiency.

Virtually all presiding positions in
all the quorums and organizations of
the Church call for counselors. This
is not by chance, and it is significant
that it should be so. Presidents, bishops,
quorum presidents, you who head up
all the organizations: Use your coun-
selors. They are there to function, and
not merely for form.

You may remember President Mc-
Kay's counsel at the October confer-
ence:

"Let us, too, recognize the local
authority," he said. "The bishop may
be a humble man. Some of you may
think you are superior to him, and
you may be, but he is given authority
direct from our Father in heaven.
Recognize it. Seek his advice and the
advice of your stake president. If they
cannot answer your difficulties or your
problems, they will write to the Gen-
eral Authorities and get the advice
needed. Recognition of authority is
an important principle." (The Im-
provement Era, Vol. 70 [December
1967], p. 34.)

ELDER RICHARD L. EVANS

87

Counsel from the past

We ought to seek counsel also from
the prophets of the past, and the
counsel God has given, by searching
the scriptures, thoughtfully, prayer-
fully. Often the answers we are seek-
ing are already there.

We ought also to counsel with con-
science, and listen to the promptings
of the Spirit. Our Father has not left
us alone, and when we go against the
counsel of the still, small voice of
conscience, we have reason to regret.

An interesting sentence recently
read has lodged in my mind: "What's
the use of running when you're on
the wrong road?" We had better do
our best to be sure we are on the
right road before we run in any
direction.

The accumulated experience of the
ages is a source of counsel and a very
precious part of the heritage we have.

We can't go back and begin at the
beginning. Trial and error, what
others have gone through, history, have
told us much. We know what hap-
pens when nations and people per-
sonally ignore moral standards, virtues,
honesty. The counsel of the past is
not to be ignored.

The source of security

To you, beloved and respected young
people of the Church, and all others
also: The commandments are still in
force. Preparation, character, compe-
tence are still the source of security.
Proceed with your preparation; keep
your mental and physical and spiritual
faculties in balance and at their best.
Don't acquire harmful habits or use
things that would distort or dull your
senses.

Have faith. Work, study, prepare.
Don't let yourself drift into the kind
of company where the counsels are
evil, or be misled by influences that
would downgrade manners and morals.
Live so as to have peace and self-
respect. Don't give way to the per-
missive looseness that leads to the
quicksand of life.

Common ground for
parents and children

Now, may I recall some words writ-

ten as a plea for parents and children
to come to common ground:

It is an odd thing, in a way, how
each generation seems to feel that each
preceding generation is somewhat old-
fashioned — how each generation lis-
tens impatiently to the lessons of the
last. Youth is so sure the rules have
changed. Age is sure they haven't.
Youth feels it knows how far it can
go. Age is deeply aware of the dan-
ger. Youth feels it can always apply
the brakes in time to save itself. Age
knows it isn't always so. And so
parents frequently find themselves
groping, reaching, pleading, trying to
say what should be said, in a way that
will not be misunderstood, in a way
that will not seem meddlesome. And
always there is need for parents and
children to come to common ground,
and to say to one another what should
so much be said. And so we would
plead this day with parents and with
children to be more understanding
with one another.

To you as parents, remember when
you were young; remember why you
wanted to do some things you wanted
to do; remember how eager you were
for social acceptance, how sensitive you
were to ill-timed criticism, and how
easily your hearts could be hurt, and
how some things, which now seem less
important, once mattered very much.
All this as parents we ask you to
remember.

Basic rules unchanged

And now to you, our children, to
you in your youth: Why should you
suppose that the basic rules have
really changed in the few short years
since your parents were as young as
you? The road seems new to you. It
isn't new to them. They've been over
it. They are still traveling it, and it
is still essentially the same. We have
more; we move faster; we have ac-
quired some things and lost others —
but it is still true that causes are
always followed by consequences.

And as you ask your parents to re-
member this of you, will you also re-
member this of them: that they were
young, not very long ago, as you are

GENERAL CONFERENCE

Saturday, April 6

young today — that they once thought
your thoughts; that they once felt
they too had found new ways, and
felt your longings for flight and free-
dom— and since have learned the wis-
dom of restraint.

Counsel with parents

Remember, too, that parents have
hearts that can be hurt; that they, like
you, are sensitive to ill-timed criticism
and to misunderstanding of their mo-
tives. Remember that there is nothing,
in righteousness, they would not do
for you. They are yours and you are
theirs, and you and they together have
the privilege, the right, the duty, to
sit down and share your thoughts and
consider your decisions with one an-
other, that both of you together may be
listened to and respected — and work,
and pray and plan together for the
wholeness of your happiness — always
and forever. ("The Spoken Word,"
April 17, 1966.)

Those who have given you life, who
have reared you in love, deserve your
confidence, your consideration. They
deserve to sit with you in counsel —
for your own sake and for theirs.

May our Father help us to come
together in the spirit of love and
understanding, working out the prob-
lems and the great possibilities, and to
keep close in counsel.

Live by God's light

This is God's work. We are his
children. He sent his Only Begotten
Son to redeem us from death and show
us the way to eternal life. His gos-
pel is restored. Its power and purpose
are with us, and the way is plain, if
we will only seek and accept counsel
in love and reverence and respect,
and live by the light God has given.

To this end may we seek and accept
his help, I pray in the name of Jesus
Christ. Amen.

President Joseph Fielding Smith

Elder Richard L. Evans of the Coun-
cil of the Twelve has been our con-
cluding speaker.

I hold in my hand a Western Union
telegram from Paris, France, in which

Second Day

this statement is made: "We here in
the French Mission thank you. Every
session coming through clearly. How
grateful we are."

I am almost tempted to say that we
are living in a wonderful age, when
brethren as far off say as France know
what is going on here in the Salt Lake
Tabernacle.

This evening at 7 o'clock the Gen-
eral meeting of the priesthood of the
Church will be held in the Salt Lake
Tabernacle. Priesthood members only
are invited to be present

In addition to the overflow meeting
in the Assembly Hall, the proceedings
of the priesthood meeting this evening
will be relayed by closed-circuit broad-
cast, originating in the Tabernacle, to
members of the Aaronic and Melchize-
dek Priesthood assembled in approxi-
mately 500 separate locations in all
parts of the United States and Canada.
It is estimated that approximately
ten thousand holders of the priesthood
will be on Temple Square, and approx-
imately ninety-five thousand others
will gather in the other locations from
coast to coast and in Canada.

Proceedings of the priesthood meet-
ing also will be broadcast publicly over
KSL Radio and Television, and will be
received by many throughout Utah
and in parts of other adjoining states.

The Sunday morning session will be
broadcast by many radio and television
stations in the west; and by short-wave
in English over Station WNYW to
Europe, South America, Central Amer-
ica, Mexico, Africa, and parts of Asia.

Again, 30 radio stations will broad-
cast the translated conference sessions
on Sunday morning in major cities of
Mexico and Central America, together
with Spanish programming stations in
this country, to a potential Latin
American audience of three million
people.

This morning's and tomorrow morn-
ing's sessions will be carried by direct
wire from the Tabernacle over oceanic
cables to a large number of members
and friends assembled in chapels
throughout Great Britain, Germany,
Austria, Holland, Sweden, and Nor-
way.

The CBS Radio Network Tabernacle
Choir Broadcast tomorrow morning

GENERAL PRIESTHOOD MEETING

89

will be from 9:35 to 10:00 a.m. Those
desiring to attend this broadcast must
be in their seats not later than 9:15 a.m.

The singing of this session has been
furnished by the Logan LDS Institute
Choir, with James L. Bradley conduct-
ing, and Roy M. Darley at the organ.

I am sure this great gathering in the
Tabernacle and our radio and tele-
vision audience would wish me to ex-
press for them our heartfelt apprecia-
tion for the excellent singing of this
group of students. We thank them for
their contribution to the meeting.

The chorus will now favor us with

"Almighty God of Our Fathers."

The benediction will be offered by
Elder Maurice J. Taylor, President of
the Temple View Stake, after which
this conference will be adjourned until
seven o'clock this evening.

The chorus sang, "Almighty God
of Our Fathers."

The closing prayer was offered by
President Maurice J. Taylor of the
Temple View Stake.

Conference adjourned until 7:00 p.m.

GENERAL PRIESTHOOD MEETING

FIFTH SESSION

The General Priesthood meeting of
the Church convened at 7:00 p.m.,
Saturday, April 6, 1968, with President
N. Eldon Tanner, second counselor in
the First Presidency, conducting.

The men of the Tabernacle Choir
furnished the singing for this session,
with Richard P. Condie conducting.
Robert Cundick was at the organ.

President Tanner made the follow-
ing introductory remarks:

President N. Eldon Tanner

This is the General Priesthood Ses-
sion of the 138th Annual Conference
of The Church of Jesus Christ of Lat-
ter-day Saints.

President McKay had hoped to be
with us this evening, but his doctors
have urged that he not attempt to do
so. He will be watching these pro-
ceedings by television. He sends his
love and greetings to all the priesthood
members assembled in the various
buildings throughout the Church.
However, he does have a message for
us to be given to us later.

It may be of interest to you to know
that these services are being relayed by
closed-circuit wire to members of the
priesthood gathered in the Assembly
Hall and in approximately 500 other
separate locations from coast to coast,
and in Canada. It is estimated that
approximately one hundred thousand
will participate in this meeting by
direct wire. In addition, the proceed-

ings of this priesthood session are being
broadcast publicly over KSL Radio and
Television, and can be received by
many throughout a wide area of Utah
and in parts of other adjoining states.

The singing during this session will
be furnished by the men of the Taber-
nacle Choir, with Richard P. Condie
conducting, and Robert Cundick at the
organ.

We shall begin this service by the
chorus singing, "Prayer at Evening,"
after which Elder Grant I. Clove, presi-
dent of the Uvada Stake, will offer the
invocation.

The chorus sang the hymn, "Prayer
at Evening."

President Grant I. Clove of the
Uvada Stake offered the invocation.

The men of the Tabernacle Choir
will now favor us with, "Seek Him
That Maketh the Seven Stars and
Orion," with Albert Fallows as soloist.

Selection by the chorus, "Seek Him
That Maketh the Seven Stars and
Orion."

President N. Eldon Tanner

We shall now hear the message of
President David O. McKay, which will
be read by his son, David Lawrence
McKay, General Superintendent of the
Deseret Sunday School Union General
Board.

90

Saturday, April 6

GENERAL CONFERENCE

President David 0. McKay

(Read by his son, David Lawrence McKay)

Second Day

The Prophet Joseph Smith and
President Brigham Young both saw in
vision the place in the Rocky Moun-
tains to which the Saints would even-
tually be driven. I am wondering
whether they also saw in vision such
a gathering of priesthood as we have
here in this Tabernacle and in the
more than 400 other buildings tonight.
I think the Prophet must have seen it,
for he said: ". . . the Saints [will]
become [a great and] a mighty
people." (Documentary History of the
Church, Vol. 5, p. 85.)

Impression made by guide

I am impressed not only with the
power that you radiate, but also with
the responsibility that each one of you
carries. I am reminded of an inci-
dent I have related on other occasions.
Some years ago, a dinner was given in
honor of Mr. Gordon Rentschler, who
was then chairman of the board of the
National City Bank of New York.
When that gentleman expressed his
appreciation for the honor bestowed
upon him, he said, among other things:

"One of my first experiences —
twenty-odd years ago — Orville Wright
and I came here one day with four or
five others. We went over to the
temple grounds. We were taken
around by some man — we never
learned his name. Here was an extra-
ordinary individual telling the story —
I think it was at noontime. Orville
Wright and I came back to this hotel
[the Utah], and Orville said: 'You
know, that fellow has got something
that we are all missing, and that is
the reason these fellows are a great
people.' We spent one of the most
interesting hours I have ever spent in
my life."

Authority given from on high

Now, we do not arrogate to ourselves
the thought that we merit these adjec-
tives. I am referring to it only because
there was something which impressed
those men as being peculiar to our

people. Well, if they only could have
known it, that something is represented
here tonight by this large gathering of
the priesthood. That something is the
priesthood, the divine authority, the
authority given from on high for each
one to represent God in the particular
field in which that one is assigned
to labor.

I tell you, brethren, it is a wonder-
ful thing to have the privilege of being
one of this group and being considered
worthy to be a representative of the
Most High. I said I was conscious of a
great responsibility, too. The instance
that I related — the remark made by
the renowned inventor of the airplane
— brings home to us the responsibility
of maintaining that something dis-
tinctive which has impressed other
renowned visitors who have been in
our midst, and which in the future
should continue to impress them.

Youth need religion

We shall be privileged during this
meeting to witness a filmstrip on the
timely subject "After High School,
What?" with a narration by Presi-
dent Brown.

Education, as this presentation will
portray, has always been an essential
part of the gospel plan. Members of
the priesthood, especially, should seek
constantly for that upliftment which
will qualify them for the good life
and service in the cause of the Master.
Well might we ask, "After ordination
to the priesthood, what?"

Education to be complete must in-
clude spiritual growth. In this sense,
youth need religion.

Religion stabilizes society

I shall offer only three reasons this
evening for giving proper religious
training to youth.

First: Youth should have religion in
order to stabilize society. Goethe has
rightly said that "the destiny of any
nation at any given time depends on

PRESIDENT DAVID O. McKAY

91

the opinions of its young men under
five and twenty."

On this same thought, Roger W.
Babson many years ago had the fore-
sight to comment as follows:

"Although the airplane opens up
boundless opportunities, it also threat-
ens limitless perils. All depends upon
whether we can match this flood of
new material powers with an equal
gain in spiritual forces. The coming
generation can see in a minute more
than the former generation could see
in a week. The coming generation
can out-hear and out-travel the former
generation. Horse-power has expanded
beyond all dreams. But what about
man power? What about spiritual
power, and the power of judgment,
discretion, and self-control? Unless
there is a development of character
equal to this enlargement of physical
forces, there is sure trouble ahead.
Twenty-five years ago, an intoxicated
man might tip the buggy over, but
commonly the old horse would bring
him home. Today, a driver under the
influence of liquor, maims and kills.
Tomorrow, therefore, is something to
ponder over. Without moral progress,
in pace with physical progress, the
airplane will merely make dissipa-
tion more disastrous, immorality more
widespread, and crime more efficient.
As one result of the automobile has
been to put hell on wheels, the air-
plane will put hell on wings unless
righteousness, too, is speeded up. On
the development of character depends
whether the airplane shall bring
prosperity or calamity." (Forum,
April 1931.)

"Science," says Millikan, "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."

Hayden gives a similar warning, as
follows: "Today, as seldom if ever
before, human society is threatened
with disintegration, if not complete
chaos." Why? "All the ancient evils
of human relationships, injustice, self-
ishness, abuse of strength, become

sinister and terrible when reinforced
by the vast increase of material power.
The soul of man cowers, starved and
fearful, in the midst of a civilization
grown too complex for any mind to
visualize or to control. Joy and beauty
fade from human living. Yet life —
abundant, beauteous, laughing life —
has been our age-long labor's end.
What other conceivable worth has the
mastery of the material world, the ex-
ploitation of the resources of nature
and the creation of wealth, except as
a basis for the release of the life of
the spirit?" And then he adds: "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."

So much for the relation of religion
to the stabilizing of society.

Religion satisfies the soul

Second: Youth need religion to sat-
isfy the innate longing of the soul.
Man 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 physi-
cal object 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 that urges him to rise
above himself, to control his environ-
ment, to master the body and all things
physical, and to live in a higher and
more beautiful world.

James Russell Lowell, in his tribute
to spring, says:

"Every clod feels a stir of might,
An instinct within it that reaches and
towers,

And groping blindly above it for light,
Climbs to a soul in grass and flowers."

So there is in man not only an in-
stinct, but also a divinity that strives
to push him onward and upward. The
sense is universal, and at some time in
his life every man is conscious of pos-
sessing it.

GENERAL CONFERENCE

92

Saturday, April 6

Three great needs

Associated with this spiritual urge
are three great needs that remain un-
changed 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 answers to these
longings of the human soul, you must
come to the Church to get it. Only
true religion can satisfy the yearning
soul. At this point, we approach the
border line between science and re-
ligion. The line between the cold
facts of science and the revelation of
the spirit is so fine that students need
to contact a mind that can and will
lead them from the real, the practical,
into that realm which satisfies the
soul.

Religion gives purpose to life

Third: Youth need religion to comply
properly with the purposes of creation.
There is a purposeful design permeat-
ing all nature, the crowning event of
which is man. Here, on this thought,
science again leads the student up to
a certain point, and sometimes leaves
him with his soul unanchored. For
example, evolution's theory of the
creation of the world offers many per-
plexing problems to the inquiring
mind. Inevitably, a teacher who de-
nies divine agency in creation, who
insists that there is no intelligent
purpose in it, undoubtedly impresses
the student with the thought that all
may be chance.

I say that no youth should be left
without a counterbalancing thought.
Even the skeptical teacher should be
fair enough to say that Charles Darwin
himself, when he faced the great ques-
tions of eventual annihilation, if crea-
tion is dominated only by chance,
wrote: "It is an intolerable thought
that man and all other sentient things
are doomed to complete annihilation,

Second Day

after such long-continued, slow
progress."

And another good authority, Ray-
mond F. West, lecturing on immor-
tality, said: "Why this vast expenditure
of time and pain and blood? Why
should man come so far if he is des-
tined to go no farther? A creature
which has traveled such distances and
fought such battles and won such
victories deserves, one is compelled to
say, to conquer death and rob the grave
of its victory."

Immortality and eternal life

The facts are, and the student
should so understand, that all the
preparation of earth is but an antici-
pation of the crowning glory of crea-
tion. Fosdick says: "The perpetuation
of personality is the highest thing in
creation." This great thinker has come
by reasoning to what Joseph Smith
received by revelation, which is one
of the most sublime utterances in mod-
ern scripture: "For behold, this is my
work and my glory — to bring to pass
the immortality and eternal life of
man." (Moses 1:39.) God's plan, God's
purpose, is the perfection of humanity.
He does care; he does love his children.
He is not merely a blind force, not an
abstract power, but a living, personal
God.

God a personal being

Charles A. Dinsmore, formerly of
Yale University, made the following
statement concerning God as a per-
sonal being:

"It is the eye of faith that sees
the broad horizons, the color and the
gleam. 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. [And that
is the declaration of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that
Jesus is not less personal than we, and
that his Father, the Eternal Father,
is a personal God.] This leap of
faith is justified because God cannot
be less than the greatest of His works;

PRESIDENT DAVID O. McKAY

93

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 be-
tween a personal God and something
lower, but between a personal God
and something higher.' " (Christianity
and Modern Thought, Yale University
Press, 1924.)

Stand on true education

We of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints take our stand on
true education from what has been
given to us in the scriptures. In the
Doctrine and Covenants it was re-
vealed that: "Whatever principle of
intelligence we attain unto in this life,
it will rise with us in the resurrection.

"And if a person gains more knowl-
edge and intelligence in this life
through his diligence and obedience
than another, he will have so much
the advantage in the world to come."
(D&C 130:18-19.)

And also:

"It is impossible for a man to be
saved in ignorance." (D&C 131:6.)

Southey tells us that on his walk one
stormy day, he met an old woman to
whom, by way of greeting, he made
the rather obvious remark that it was
dreadful weather. She answered philo-
sophically that, in her opinion, "Any
weather is better than none!" Likewise,
any education is undoubtedly better
than none, but a free people, to remain
free, must ever strive for the highest
and best.

The role of religion

Courses required of all students in
our public schools should include the
important areas of study that directly
or indirectly provide the student with
opportunities for spiritual growth and
religious inspiration. From such study
it is reasonable to expect that our
students will better understand how
vital has been the role of religion at
critical moments in history; how im-

portant spiritual insights in religious
faith can be in the lives of men and
women; how closely related are human
greatness and such qualities as honesty,
integrity, humility, generosity, and
compassion.

We may expect in our students
more idealism and less cynicism, more
wholesome courage and faith in the
future, and less pessimism and fore-
boding fear. We may hope for in-
creased tolerance of racial and religious
differences, increased respect for those
of opposite political views or for those
of lower social and economic levels;
increased awareness of the basic and
inviolable dignity of the individual
man or woman. We may contribute to
the development of a more sensitive
social conscience — a greater sense of
responsibility for the less fortunate in
our society. We may even, perhaps,
without knowing it, bring a boy or
girl closer to God.

I am repeating what we all know
and feel when I say that our country's
greatest asset is its manhood and its
womanhood. Upon that depends not
only the survival of the individual
freedom vouchsafed by the Constitu-
tion and Bill of Rights and all other
ideals for which the founders of the
Republic fought and died, but also
the survival of the best that we cher-
ish in present-day civilization through-
out the world. The preservation of
these must come through education.

Promulgation of truth

The Church stands for education.
The very purpose of its organization is
to promulgate truth among men. Mem-
bers of the Church are admonished to
acquire learning by study, and also by
faith and prayer; to seek after every-
thing that is virtuous, lovely, of good
report, or praiseworthy. In this seek-
ing after, they are not confined to nar-
row limits of dogma or creed, but are
free to launch into the realm of the
infinite.

But gaining knowledge is one thing,
and applying it, quite another. Wis-
dom is the right application of
knowledge, and true education — the
education for which the Church stands

94

Saturday, April 6

— is the application of knowledge to
the development of a noble and God-
like character.

Development of moral
and spiritual values

A great and continuing purpose of
education has been the development of
moral and spiritual values. To ful-
fill this purpose, society calls upon its
institutions. Special claims are made
on the home and the school because
of the central role of these two institu-
tions in the nurture of the young.

By moral and spiritual values, we
mean those values which, when applied
in human behavior, exalt and refine
life and bring it into accord with the
standards of conduct that are approved
in our democratic culture.

Youth need religion. The world
needs it. It is the world's greatest
need I

God help us to teach the true religion
as revealed in this dispensation by the
Lord Jesus Christ to Joseph Smith.
God bless you teachers in the Church
schools, institutes, and seminaries, that
you may have the spirit of this great
latter-day work and lead the children
to the realm of immortality and peace
here as well as happiness throughout
eternity.

Responsibility of priesthood

God bless you brethren. With all
my heart I pray God to bless you, that

GENERAL CONFERENCE

Second Day

every member of the Church, as well
as everyone who holds the priesthood,
may sense the responsibility of mem-
bership in the Church of Christ. If
we can only maintain the standards
of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the fu-
ture of the Church is secure. Truly,
men and women will see a light that
is not hidden under a bushel, but one
that is set upon a hill, and they will
be attracted by it, and will be led to
seek the truth more by our acts and
deeds and by what we radiate in
virtue and integrity, rather than by
what we say.

I pray God to bless us in this great
work in the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.

President N. Eldon Tanner

The men's chorus will now sing,
"O My Father."

The men of the Tabernacle Choir
sang the hymn, "O My Father."

President N. Eldon Tanner

We are fortunate indeed to have
such a lovely chorus.

Dr. Lowell L. Bennion, Associate
Dean of Students at the University of
Utah, who is a leading educator and
has contributed much in the field of
education, and given a lifetime of
service to the Church, will now speak
to us.

Elder Lowell L. Bennion

Member of the Youth Correlation Planning Committee

My dear brethren and friends: Presi-
dent McKay has asked me to talk to
the youth of the Church about educa-
tion. I am not particularly grateful
for this task, but I am thankful for
his trust and faith in me. I am also
grateful for the example which he has
set for us in the field of education.
President McKay loves the Lord with
all his mind, as well as with his heart
and soul. I know this from personal
.experience.

On several occasions when I have

dared to impose upon him with prob-
lems that were very critical to me, I
have always come away satisfied in my
mind as well as in my heart. One
thing he taught me when I first began
to teach in the Church has been ex-
tremely helpful. He said, "Brother
Bennion, remember, words do not
convey meanings; they call them
forth." I speak out of the context of
my experience, and you listen out of
the context of yours, and that is why
communication is difficult. I don't

ELDER LOWELL L. BENNION

95

expect to be fully understood tonight
nor that you will agree with everything
that is said, and I certainly invite
President Brown to qualify and correct
anything that he feels he should.

It is also inspiring to me that Presi-
dent McKay in his ninety-fifth year
should be thinking of the future and
putting himself in the place of youth
as he planned the theme of this
meeting.

Joseph Smith sought wisdom

If we take a look at Church history,
we find that education has played an
important, proud role. The process of
education began even before the Church
was organized. We usually think of the
beginning of the Latter-day Saint
movement as having taken place in the
Sacred Grove in that glorious First
Vision of the Father and the Son. To
me this is not entirely accurate. The
initial beginning of our faith took
place, I believe, in the mind of a youth.
The boy Joseph in his fifteenth year
had questions; he was searching; he
was eager to know. You should read
again the familiar story, his own story,
in the Pearl of Great Price. I was
struck this week to notice what an
emphasis he placed on learning, on
asking. At a time of considerable
controversy and great emotional ex-
citement, he said in retrospect, "My
mind was called up to serious reflec-
tion." And the biblical passage which
stirred him the most was that famous
verse from James, "If any of you lack
wisdom, let him ask of God. . . ."
(James 1:5.) "Never," he wrote, "did
any passage of scripture come with
more power to the heart of man than
this did at this time to mine. ... I
reflected on it again and again, know-
ing that if any person needed wisdom
from God, I did. . . ." (Joseph Smith
2:12.)

Unknowingly, and unconsciously
perhaps, the boy Joseph carried out the
admonition of the Savior, "Ask, and
it shall be given you; seek, and ye
shall find; knock, and it shall be
opened unto you." (Matt. 7:7.)

Continued search for truth

There is no finer symbol or char-

acterization of the Mormon movement
to me than to think of the boy Joseph
going to the woods, in his own words,
"on the morning of a beautiful, clear
day, early in the spring," kneeling,
offering a prayer, asking questions of
the God in heaven. Joseph's search
did not end there. The gospel and
Church of Christ were not revealed
from heaven in their entirety like the
blueprints of an architect's building
plans. Rather, Joseph continued to
ask questions. He had searching ques-
tions that he was asking to find solu-
tions to his problems, and he received
"line upon line, precept upon precept;
here a little, and there a little. . . ."
(D&C 128:21.) Only in response to
hungry minds, to earnest questions of
the boy Prophet and of his associates,
did the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
it seems to me, reveal their mind.

Very soon after the First Vision,
Joseph not only prayed, but he also
studied, as has already been indicated
in President McKay's remarks.

Education encouraged

The first temple built by the Latter-
day Saints in Kirtland, Ohio, the most
sacred of all buildings in the Church,
was also used for the School of the
Prophets. There they studied not only
scripture and theology, but also
Hebrew and German; and they were
taught to learn by study and also by
faith, and to seek wisdom out of the
best books.

It is remarkable to me too, brethren,
that when the Saints came to the
West, struggling to conquer the desert
under the leadership of that very
practical leader, Brigham Young, that
he, a man without formal education,
talked about education a great deal.
He was always encouraging the Saints
to study science and all things. In
fact, he said that Mormonism embraces
all truth; even if the infidel has it, it
belongs to us.

We have a proud history of educa-
tion in the Church that includes the
development of auxiliary organizations,
academies, colleges, Brigham Young
University, institutes and seminaries.
Generations of Latter-day Saints have

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96

Saturday, April 6

been inspired by this philosophy and
by the beginnings of our faith to go
on in higher education. Our fathers,
grandfathers, and great-grandfathers
have gone east and west in this coun-
try, with faith that any knowledge
they could gain was consistent and in
harmony with the gospel of Jesus
Christ.

Education today

What about our education today in
the Church? Are you and I as hun-
gry to know? Are we aware of our
lack of wisdom? Are our minds burning
and hungering and thirsting for knowl-
edge, as I think Joseph's was, and
Brigham Young's, and my father's, and
others? We inherit land and money
and debts and other things, but edu-
cation is not inherited any more than
character is. The German poet Goethe
said, "What from your father's heritage
is lent, earn it anew to really possess
it." We inherit only the opportunity,
the tradition, and I hope the motiva-
tion to seek learning and wisdom and
education.

I think there are several reasons why
you young people should be earnestly
engaged in all kinds of education, in-
cluding secular training. The first
reason I would give is that we live in
a technological age. Unskilled labor
is fast diminishing, going by the
boards. Unskilled jobs are decreasing.
They are poorly paid. One is expend-
able if one's only talent is common,
untrained physical work. On the other
hand, there has never been such a de-
mand for trained people, both technical
and professional. Back in depression
years engineers came out of the uni-
versities and were glad to take a job
at a filling station or any other kind
of work. Today, anybody who is
trained as a teacher, social worker,
nurse, doctor, lawyer, dentist — name
what you will — is in great demand, is
well paid, and I think, generally
speaking, his work is more interesting
than that of common labor, though
not always.

Training needed

The frontiers which Mormons have

Second Day

known in the past — the desert, the
plains, the prairies, rugged mountain
passes, "hole in the rock" — are no
longer there. Today's frontiers are
human and social, spiritual and moral.
They were mentioned in this morning's
meeting by several of our speakers —
air pollution, water pollution, crime,
delinquency, family disorganization,
war, racial strife. The resolution of
these problems calls for training, for
understanding, for knowledge, as well
as for character and faith.

Education fulfills life

Secondly, I believe that we should
seek education for education's sake. I
would not spend my time encouraging
young people to get more education
simply to make more money, or to live
a life of ease, or to gain status in this
world. My chief reason for encourag-
ing education is that I believe that
the essence of man is his brain, his
mind, his spirit; and I think a person
who does not cultivate his mind will
not fulfill his life. His life will end
in frustration and disappointment.

Let me illustrate concretely, if I can.
Last summer I was in the mountains
with some young boys, and one day
they found a nest of robins, just ready
to leave their mother's nest. The boys
wanted to take these robins and put
them in a cage. I suggested that the
robins would die if they did but let
them do it; and sure enough, the boys
put these little robins in a cage, gave
them water, grain, and grass, and in
two or three days they were dead. The
reason they died is that birds do not
belong in cages. Birds were made by
the Creator to scratch in the earth and
to soar in the sky. Birds have wings
to fly. Put a bird in a cage and you
destroy his nature.

Cages we make

Now you and I also find ourselves
sometimes in cages, cages of our own
making, and though we don't always
die in these cages, we sometimes die a
moral and spiritual death; and we find
life shallow and meaningless. I
haven't time tonight to do any more
than mention the kinds of things that

ELDER LOWELL L. BENNION

97

get us in these cages, but in my ex-
perience alcohol does (I should have
said "in my observation"). In my ob-
servation, these mind-expanding drugs
do also. I have talked with a number
of students and young people who
have been caught up in this latest
effort to find the meaning of life by
running away from it, and what I
observe is nothing but tragedy.

You and I don't indulge in alcohol,
LSD, or marijuana, but we find our-
selves in other cages. One of them is
sitting as a spectator of life watching
TV day and night It is wonderful to
watch a show occasionally, to refresh
oneself and get away from the cares of
the day, but to spend hour upon hour
watching the trivia that comes across
our movie house screens and TV
screens sometimes is, I believe, a great
disservice to one's life. Another tragic
aspect of the life of contemporary man,
in my judgment, is our hunger and
thirst and lust for material things. We
want new clothes, cars, homes, furni-
ture, and drapes, and we spend most
of our time, many of us, trying to
achieve these material things with
which we can identify. I think people
who spend most of their life trying to
make money and accumulate material
goods will wake up with a taste of
ashes in their mouths by and by.

Things of the Spirit

Jesus said, ". . . for a man's life
consisteth not in the abundance of the
things which he possesseth." (Luke
12:15.) And he also said, "Be not
anxious about the morrow, what ye
shall eat and what ye shall drink, and
wherewithal ye shall be clothed, but
seek ye first the kingdom of God." (See
Matt. 6:34.) And I think he meant by
that, seek ye first humility and re-
pentance, meekness and integrity,
mercy and peaceableness, purity of
heart and sacrifice for fellowmen, and
love — things of the spirit.

Buddha said, "In eating, fearing and
sleeping, men and beasts are alike. Man
excelleth the beast by engaging in re-
ligious practices; so why should a man,
if he be without religion, not be equal
to the beast."

When I first read this, it struck
home. In eating, fearing, and sleep-
ing, men and beasts are alike. Man
excelleth the beast by being human,
by engaging in things of the spirit, of
the mind, of the heart.

Qualities of the mind

Brethren, how often do you con-
template the wonderful qualities and
aspects of your mind? Imagination is
one of the qualities of a human mind
that I cherish deeply; it is the ability to
take single images and to put them into
a new image that has never existed
before. Only a human being can
reorganize life around him after his
own image. Only the human mind, so
far as we know, enjoys memory and
can transcend time and space. Only
human beings can keep the entire past
with them. You and I can live with
Jesus, Beethoven, Socrates, and our
grandfathers. Animals only live in
the present, driven by instinct. Only
human beings have language, the
power to symbolize feelings and ideas
and to communicate. Imagination,
memory, language — these are wonder-
ful gifts of the human spirit.

Until a year or two ago I kept a pig.
My pig never got his eyes above the
trough, except when I came to feed
him; and, brethren, when I went out
to feed my pig, I thrilled at the color
on Mt. Olympus, and I pondered its
geology, and I worshiped at the foot
of the mountain. I sang "O Ye Moun-
tains High" to myself alone, and "For
the Strength of the Hills." I like ani-
mals, but believe me, I am grateful
for those qualities which are distinctly
human and which are divine.

You and I were not only created in
the physical image of our Father in
heaven; we were also created in his
spiritual image. And if the glory of
God is intelligence, then the glory of
man is also intelligence. If God is
Creator, man must be creative to sat-
isfy his soul. If God is love, man must
be loving. If God is a person of in-
tegrity, then we must also be honest,
to be true to our own nature, which
we have inherited in part from him.

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Saturday, April 6

Gospel must be understood

Another reason why I believe in
education is that it is not enough to
believe the gospel; it must also be
understood, if we wish to live it. An-
cient Israel lived their religion after a
fashion, but were rejected by God for
lack of knowledge. Hear the words
of the prophet Hosea: "Hear the word
of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for
the Lord hath a controversy with the
inhabitants of the land, because there
is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge
of God in the land.

"My people are destroyed for lack of
knowledge: because thou hast rejected
knowledge, I will also reject thee . . .
seeing thou hast forgotten the law of
thy God

"For I desired mercy, and not sacri-
fice; and the knowledge of God more
than burnt offerings." (Hos. 4:1, 6;
6:6.)

Brethren, the gospel is to be under-
stood, as well as believed. The gos-
pel has a beautiful structure about it.
It has form. It is something like a
beautiful Greek edifice, if you will.
The Ten Commandments are related
to each other; they hang together
beautifully. They strengthen each
other. The Beatitudes form, in the
words of a scholar, a map of life, each
one building on the preceding one. The
wonderful attributes of God re-
inforce one another and give us a
marvelous basis for a relationship with
him. It seems to me that we need to
reflect deeply upon the gospel of Jesus
Christ in terms of its great funda-
mentals, and then we need to relate
these fundamentals to the issues of
the day.

How many of us apply the Golden
Rule in business, in race relations in
our country today, in relations be-
tween nations? Do we always remem-
ber free agency, as we deal with our
co-workers, with our children, with
our wives?

Faith and education

Just one more thought, brethren. By
encouraging its youth to gain an
education, to study at universities, the
Church is encouraging our young

Second Day

people to think, and to think critically.
Parents, church leaders, and even some
of our students are afraid that in the
process of learning, and of learning to
think critically, some of our students
will lose their faith. I must confess
that some Latter-day Saints, college
youth, do lose their religious faith as
they encounter secular learning. How-
ever, I believe that this is not due
primarily to their thinking. Some of
our youth who do not go to college
also lose their faith.

There are a hundred and one rea-
sons why young people lose faith. Some
who do go to college leave their re-
ligion behind at a very shallow level
while they proceed to work on their
PhD's. Some discard religion before
they have ever known it, before it has
taken root in their lives. Others lose
faith because they cease to practice
religion and study it and live it. Still
others lose faith because we their par-
ents and teachers and leaders have
not listened to their questions, have
been too quick to condemn, have not
respected their free agency and their
honest thinking. Some lose faith be-
cause they do not distinguish between
gospel principles and the actions of
men. I recall a girl who lost her faith
because a returned missionary asked
that his engagement ring be returned.
People live lives as a whole, and many
factors influence their faith.

Committed to God and learning

I dislike very much to see a wedge
driven betweeen faith and reason, be-
tween secular learning and religious
living. It has been my great privilege
to have known thousands of college
youth who are bright, eager students
in every field — in philosophy, in the
social sciences, and in every other sci-
ence. Thousands have kept the faith
and are truly committed to both God
and learning. But these people walk
with humility, both in religion and in
secular thought.

Last Sunday I was privileged to at-
tend a priesthood meeting and Sunday
School in Madison, Wisconsin. In
these meetings graduate students, pro-
fessors, businessmen, and intelligent

ELDER LOWELL L. BENNION

99

wives were enriching each other's
thinking immeasurably. This is a
beautiful thing to behold, and it is
happening in many areas of the
Church. In the life of every Latter-
day Saint faith and morality, bom
of religion, should be wedded to all
the knowledge and learning we can get
from every source. It is not an easy
marriage — faith and reason — and one
will have to treat the other partner
with great respect. Like marriages
between men and women, there will
be ongoing adjustments; mistakes will
be made; forgiveness will be required;
and some divorces will occur. But
much of the conflict between faith
and reason lies in the person, just as
failures in marriage are usually due to
limitations in husband or wife, or
both, and not in the institution of
marriage.

I repeat, let us not drive a wedge
between faith and knowledge. We
need both. I love my bishop, who is a
businessman, and I have sought his
counsel in spiritual and family affairs,
but should the need arise, I shall not
ask him to remove my appendix. The
great problems facing us in the world
today are far more intricate than an
appendectomy. We need to unite all
the faith and idealism the gospel can
provide and to combine it with all the
wisdom of human experience, no mat-
ter who has it.

Light a candle

Not all education is found in text-
books or in university halls. I have
time to mention only one illustration
in closing. I know a little lady listen-
ing in tonight who is nearly 94 years
of age. When she was approximately
ninety, she began to practice the organ.
Last year the power went off in her
home, in her apartment where she

lives alone, and her daughter phoned
and said, "Mother, is the power off?"
"Yes."

"I will come and bring you home to
dinner."

And her mother said, "No, thank
you."

"What will you do if the power
doesn't come on?"

She answered, "I will light a candle
and play my guitar."

I had a wonderful father who was
an educator, but I have learned, I
think, as much from this little woman
who is my mother as I have from my
father.

My message to you in closing is this:
Light a candle. Light the candle that
is within you, the candle that is your
own eternal intelligence, which has
also received the imprint of divinity
in the spiritual creation of our Father
in heaven.

I pray that we Latter-day Saints liv-
ing today may learn to love the Lord
our God with all our mind, as well
as with our hearts and with our souls;
I pray that we may hunger and thirst
after righteousness, and after truth, and
I ask it humbly, in the name of Jesus
Christ. Amen.

President N. Eldon Tanner

Brother Condie will now lead the
congregation and the chorus in sing-
ing: "Do What Is Right."

The congregation and chorus sang
the hymn, "Do What Is Right."

President N. Eldon Tanner

President Hugh B. Brown, first
counselor in the First Presidency of the
Church, will now speak to us.

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100 GENERAL CONFERENCE

Saturday, April 6

President Hugh B. Brown

First Counselor in the First Presidency

(During the delivery of President Brown's address, colored slide pictures
were shown on a screen illustrating the theme of his message.)

Brethren of the priesthood, we are
assembled this evening in this famous
Tabernacle and in hundreds of chapels
and other meeting places throughout
the United States and Canada in what
undoubtedly is the largest priesthood
gathering in this dispensation, aug-
mented by a large audience who have
joined us on a TV broadcast.

We meet reverently in the name of
the founder and head of the Church,
our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, of
whose divinity we humbly bear
witness.

Cultivate appetite for learning

Under the direction of his Prophet,
President David O. McKay, the First
Presidency of the Church issues an
admonition and a charge that is di-
rected to youth and adults alike — in
short, to all members of the Church
and to our fellowmen everywhere. But
our appeal is primarily to you who are
in that interesting but difficult period
between childhood and adulthood,
sometimes called adolescence, when
you no longer yield to the strict control
of childhood but are not ready to
accept the full responsibilities of
adulthood.

Keep in mind the challenging fact
that your aim is not to get ahead of
others but to surpass yourself; to begin
today to be the person you want to be;
to immortalize today and all the to-
morrows that lie ahead, in order that
your life may have eternal signifi-
cance. Cultivate an unquenchable
appetite for learning.

Each of you is the heir of the ages.
They who have gone ahead of you
have partially discovered and revealed
a world of wonder with limitless un-
charted fields ahead.

Incidentally, we have often urged
our young people to carry their laugh-
ter over into their mature years. A
wholesome sense of humor will be a

safety valve that will enable you to
apply the lighter touch to heavy
problems and to learn some lessons in
problem solving that "sweat and tears"
often fail to dissolve. A line from
Proverbs advises us that "a merry
heart doeth good like a medicine: but
a broken spirit drieth the bones."
(Prov. 17:22.)

Be prepared

We live in a fast-moving and rapidly
changing society whose challenges are
awesome in scope and baffling in com-
plexity. Ours is an atomic age, when
motion, action, and revolutionary
change are constants. A new world is
bursting upon us with startling sudden-
ness and irresistible force — a world
which is at once auspicious and
ominous. The times require that we
prepare to meet the demands of the
future, make the required sacrifices,
enjoy its rewards and priceless privi-
leges, and accommodate ourselves to
the universal law of change.

To that end, then, our first charge
to you is "be prepared." Constantly
prepare and continue to prepare for the
future — your future — to which you are
expected to make significant contribu-
tions. Man's flight through life is
sustained by the power of his knowl-
edge.

The preparation which we admon-
ish is but another word for education,
with its attendant discipline, whether
imposed or voluntary.

Each one of you must face and
solve the problem of what you are to
do after you graduate from high
school. This is one of life's pivotal
questions that must be answered by
you with resolution and enthusiasm.
Your answer, if buttressed by courage
and stamina, will determine in large
measure how you will spend the bal-
ance of your lives. It is, therefore, of
transcendent importance.

PRESIDENT HUGH B. BROWN

101

Dangerous detours

But there will be temptations and
down-drag along the way — subtle
whisperings intended to induce you to
forsake your quest for knowledge and
be led into dangerous detours. Be-
ware that you do not yield to the
sometimes enticing but always false
and soul-destroying temptations to
partake of things that God has said
are not good for man.

I quote Mr. [Robert G.] Ingersoll,
who certainly was not prompted by a
religious motive, but who used his
marvelous rhetoric to strike at this
common enemy, alcohol: "I believe,
gentlemen, that alcohol, . . . demoral-
izes those who make it, those who sell
it, and those who drink it. I believe
that from the time it issues from the
coiled and poisonous worm of the
distillery until it empties into the hell
of crime, death, and dishonor, it de-
moralizes everybody that touches it.
I do not believe that anybody can
contemplate the subject without be-
coming prejudiced against this liquid
crime. All you have to do, gentlemen,
is to think of the wrecks upon either
bank of this stream of death — of the
suicides, of the insanity, of the poverty,
of the ignorance, of the distress, of the
little children tugging at the faded
dresses of weeping and despairing
wives, asking for bread; of the men of
genius it has wrecked, of the millions
who have struggled with imaginary
serpents produced by this devilish
thing. And when you think of the
jails, of the almshouses, of the prisons,
and of the scaffolds upon either bank —
I do not wonder that every thoughtful
man is prejudiced against the damned
stuff called alcohol."

Let no one persuade you that the
improper use of narcotics, which is
becoming somewhat common on some
campuses, can in any way be bene-
ficial.

Some may tell you that certain
drugs expand the soul, but as Al Capp
told us in one of his comic strips:
"Marijuana and LSD expand the soul
in the same way that the atomic
bomb expanded Hiroshima." I hope
you will remember that whenever you

are tempted to partake of narcotics.
As Robert M. Hutchins of the Univer-
sity of Chicago said: "I am not worried
about the economic future; I am wor-
ried about your morals. . . . The most
insidious, the most paralyzing danger
you will face in life is the danger of
corruption."

"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."

Remember, the law of the harvest
is inexorable. "As ye sow, so shall ye
reap." The use of any harmful sub-
stance will impede your progress to-
ward your goal.

Education our first obligation

Education has always been recog-
nized by the Church as the number one
obligation of each generation to its
successor and of each individual to
himself. Each one of us is a divinely
endowed, eternal, and intelligent being.
It is incumbent upon us, therefore, to
encourage and keep alive the questing
spirit, to learn and continue to learn
everything possible about ourselves, our
fellowmen, our universe, and our God,
who is our Father.

The Prophet Joseph Smith said, "To
be saved a man must rise above all
his enemies, not the least of which is
ignorance." (See Documentary His-
tory of the Church, Vol. 5, p. 392.)
His deep and abiding interest in educa-
tion is shown by the fact that he
founded the first adult education pro-
gram in America — the School of the
Prophets.

Although the refugee Saints were
busy erecting a temple and preaching
the newly restored gospel, they never-
theless were admonished by the Lord
through the Prophet to teach one an-
other "of things both in heaven and
in the earth, and under the earth
[general knowledge]; things which
have been [history], things which are

102

Saturday, April 6

[current events], things which must
shortly come to pass [prophecy];
things which are at home, things
which are abroad; the wars and the
perplexities of the nations, and the
judgments which are on the land;
and a knowledge also of countries and
of kingdoms." (D&C 88:79.) In
short, a general and comprehensive
education.

Devotion to learning

The early Mormon pioneers, despite
constant persecution, the continual up-
rooting of their homes, and the toil of
subduing a hostile desert, kept educa-
tion paramount in their thinking and
teaching. They brought books, charts,
and textbooks on many subjects across
the desert plains with them.

As proof of their devotion to learn-
ing, the early colonists, soon after
their arrival in Utah, founded the
University of Deseret — later to become
the University of Utah. Shortly there-
after, they founded Brigham Young
Academy, Ricks College, and 30 addi-
tional Church-sponsored academies,
each guided by Brigham Young's
charge to Professor Karl G. Maeser
that nothing be taught, not even the
alphabet or the multiplication table,
without the Spirit of God!

Recently the First Presidency issued
a statement on the subject of educa-
tion. In it they said, among other
things, "The Church has long en-
couraged its members, and especially
its youth, either to obtain a college
education or to become well-trained in
some vocation."

Education a necessity

In our fast-growing industrial so-
ciety, education has become a neces-
sity, for unless our young people are
well trained, they will not be able to
obtain dignified and profitable em-
ployment in the future.

"The positions that do not require
education or training are decreasing
from year to year and soon will be
non-existent. We therefore strongly
urge all young people to engage and
continue in formal study of some kind
beyond high school. Of equal im-

GENERAL CONFERENCE

Second Day

portance is the selection of an educa-
tional program that takes into account
each individual's interests, talents, and
goals."

Need for guidance

In choosing the best academic pro-
gram for the future, you will need
help and guidance. First, go to your
parents for advice. They have known
you longer than anyone else and have
a mature insight into what it takes to
succeed in life. They are deeply in-
terested in your future; they love you
with a self-sacrificing devotion that
makes your well-being paramount to
their own. Also, most of you are de-
pendent upon them for financial help.

Next, you should turn for help to
your Church leaders. Many of them
have had experience in various fields.
They will be glad to counsel with you
and will join with you in seeking di-
vine guidance.

I was very glad this splendid chorus
sang tonight "O My Father," and as
they sang, I visualized a boy on his
knees, calling out to his Maker:

"O my Father, thou that dwellest
In the high and glorious place,
When shall I regain thy presence,
And again behold thy face?"

(Eliza R. Snow, Hymns, 138.)

Your high school counselor will help
you with special personal information.
He has access to your academic file
and can discuss with you your
strengths and weaknesses, your inter-
ests and aptitudes.

His guidance library will also have
information that will prove to be of
real assistance in helping you make
important decisions.

The seminary and institute teachers
also will be able to help you to under-
stand and apply the educational pro-
gram of the Church. Other teachers
with specialized training will be glad
to inform you about their own fields
of interest.

Also available to you are the services
of the Educational Information and
Guidance Center. Its mission is to
assist all Latter-day Saint students in

PRESIDENT HUGH B. BROWN

103

making their educational decisions. We
encourage you to contact the center
through any of the educational agen-
cies of the Church. Representatives of
the center can give you information
and guidance that will help you to
see more clearly the challenges and
promises facing you.

The final decision, however, is up
to you. You may consult with other
people, examine your tests and grade-
point averages, and get a better under-
standing of yourself and your possi-
bilities, but you must evaluate all that
is available, create an appetite for the
best, and then with ambition on fire
and with undiscourageable pluck, con-
tinue to make the final irrevocable
decision. Remember, the most im-
portant thing is not what you do but
that you qualify to do it with excel-
lence as you progressively find the
activity which provides a continuing
challenge and inspiration.

Technical training

You may decide to go to a technical
college or training school and prepare
for a trade. Here, too, this age of tech-
nology demands thorough preparation.

Brigham Young, himself a painter
and glazier, said: "I believe in educa-
tion, but I want to see the boys and
girls come out with an education at
their finger's ends as well as in their
brains. . . ." (M. Lynn Bennion, Mor-
monism and Education [Salt Lake
City: LDS Church, 1939], p. 105.)

At a technical college you may re-
ceive training in drafting, electronics,
farm technology, secretarial and office
skills, photography, computer pro-
gramming, and many other subjects.
These courses vary in length from a
few months to a few years, with
diplomas and certificates offered at
their conclusion.

Training in your chosen field while
you are in military service is another
possibility. The United States Armed
Forces Institute and similar military
educational agencies make credit
courses available in many branches of
education.

Many specialized schools offer train-
ing in art, music, drama, electronics,

business — even heavy equipment oper-
ation. Most of this training is bona
fide, but the student must be dis-
criminating and selective and be sure
that what he chooses will move him
toward his goal of an educated person
in the field of his interest and aptitude.

Some businesses and firms will ac-
cept a person immediately upon gradu-
ation from high school and provide
on-the-job training with a beginning
salary, but this in most cases should
be merely a stepping-stone.

We strongly urge all who have the
aptitude, ambition, and gumption to
continue their education on the college
level and beyond. No young person
should aim lower than his capacities
justify. The world of tomorrow will
make way for the specialist who is
trained to work mathematical formulas,
plead a case in court, discover a cure
for a dread disease, develop new and
better agricultural techniques, and so
forth.

Combine training with
spiritual growth

For those of you who decide to pur-
sue a college education, the Church
has developed a variety of programs
to help in combining high academic
training with spiritual growth.

And that to me was the center of
the President's remarks tonight: to add
religious training to all your other
seeking for knowledge, and then on
your knees to ask God for guidance.

The Latter-day Saint Student Asso-
ciation has been established to bring
into correlated relationship all phases
of Church activity. We desire to en-
courage and assist students in achiev-
ing a more significant academic,
religious, and social education. We
seek to identify and meet the needs of
our students on specific campuses.
Under the direction of the priesthood,
we try to develop Church programs
that will help our college students to
cope with challenges they meet on
college campuses as well as in life
generally.

The Brigham Young University

The largest Church-related program

104

Saturday, April 6

GENERAL CONFERENCE

Second Day

is offered through Brigham Young
University in Provo, Utah. This is the
mother institution of the Church
School System, with a student enroll-
ment of more than 20,000. Here you
are invited to obtain a degree in one
of 13 colleges or in the graduate
school.

The central concern at Brigham
Young University, next to confirming
your faith in God, is gaining and im-
parting knowledge. BYU is receiving
wide recognition for achievement in
many fields of study and research.
This academic excellence is made pos-
sible by a professional, dedicated fac-
ulty, where serious-minded students
will realize that the world today is
looking for the educated mind and the
skilled hand.

Religious activity is an integral part
of all Latter-day Saint education and
is available to all students. Many
wards and stakes are organized on
various campuses, with students assum-
ing nearly all of the leadership
positions.

Church colleges

Ricks College, a comprehensive
junior college in Rexburg, Idaho, was
founded in 1888 and is the oldest edu-
cational institution now engaged in
higher education in Idaho.

The several thousand students who
attend Ricks College may obtain an
associate degree for transfer to a four-
year institution, or may complete a
one or two-year terminal program in
technical, business, secretarial, or nurs-
ing fields.

The Church College of Hawaii is
located on the island of Oahu. Its
buildings were erected by Church
building missionaries, and are the con-
tribution of dedicated young men from
New Zealand, Tonga, and Samoa.

This college is intended for the
blessing of the Church members in
the Pacific, giving them a fully ac-
credited four-year course of study.

Institutes of religion

Obviously, not all Latter-day Saint
students who desire a college educa-

tion can enroll in one of the Church-
related schools. Therefore, a program
of religious education in the institutes
of religion has been set up near many
college campuses throughout the
country.

"We strongly urge students to enroll
in classes at the institutes so they can
augment their secular learning with a
religious education and spiritual ex-
perience." (Statement of the First
Presidency.)

We now have 185 institutes of re-
ligion where advanced courses, suited
to the college environment, are
available.

At the institutes, students may
participate in well-directed social pro-
grams, enjoy many inspiring devo-
tionals, and benefit from a counseling
program headed by trained personnel.

At many universities and colleges
where there is no institute, Deseret
Clubs have been formed. Their
major purpose is to bring together the
youth of the Church and to provide
social and cultural experiences in
harmony with the highest ideals and
standards.

Other educational programs

At the Latter-day Saint Business Col-
lege, located in Salt Lake City, stu-
dents may take a variety of business
courses leading to a three-month cer-
tificate, a one-year diploma, or a two-
year associate degree. Here, too, an
institute program provides religious
training in conjunction with regular
class work.

Another Church-sponsored program
of education is that of continuing edu-
cation courses available to those living
away from the university. These
courses can be counted toward a
degree.

In the many educational programs
developed by the Church, there is a
place for you. Whether you desire
a two-year, four-year, master's, or
doctor's degree, whether you desire
pre-professional training for any of a
variety of careers, technical training,
business training, home study, or re-
ligious training on campuses not affili-

PRESIDENT HUGH B. BROWN

105

ated with the Church, there is a
program set up that will help you at-
tain your educational goals.

The key to a wise, happy choice lies
in choosing what will be best for you
as an individual. In that way you
will find the satisfaction of becoming
a productive, contributing, and inde-
pendent member of the Church and
of society. The writer of the Proverbs
said, "Wisdom is the principal thing;
therefore get wisdom: and with all thy
getting get understanding." (Prov. 4:7.)

Aim of true education

President McKay has said, "Char-
acter is the aim of true education. . . .
True education seeks to make men and
women not only good mathematicians,
proficient linguists, profound scientists,
or brilliant literary lights, but also
honest men, with virtue, temperance,
and brotherly love. It seeks to make
men and women who prize truth, jus-
tice, wisdom, benevolence, and self-
control as the choicest acquisitions of a
successful life." (Era, Vol. 70 [Septem-
ber 1967], p. 3.)

We urge all members, young and
old, to keep in mind always that the
true purpose of life, both here and
hereafter, is to seek the joy of eternal
progression. As the glory of God is
intelligence, man can only share that
glory through continuing education of
the whole man. As the Lord himself
told Joseph Smith: "Whatever prin-
ciple of intelligence we attain unto
in this life, it will rise with us in the
resurrection.

"And if a person gains more knowl-
edge and intelligence in this life
through his diligence and obedience
than another, he will have so much
the advantage in the world to come."
(D&C 130:18-19.)

Provision to excel

We charge you then, brethren and
sisters, to be prepared — physically,
mentally, spiritually, morally, aestheti-
cally, and in every other way prepare
for what the glorious future holds. The
Church is making every possible pro-
vision for all of its members to excel.

We commend to you some verses

that have inspired some to believe in
themselves and to continue the quest
for knowledge:

"You may be what you will to be;
Let cowards find their false content
In that poor word environment,
But spirit scorns it and is free.

"It conquers time; it masters space;
It cows the boastful trickster chance,
And bids the tyrant circumstance
Uncrown and fill a servant's place.

"The human will — that force unseen,
The offspring of a deathless soul —
Can hew its way to any goal,
Though walls of granite intervene."

We repeat, you may be what you
will to be, if you are willing to pay
the price.

Strive to be disciples of Christ

May God bless and inspire you to
believe that because he is your Father
there is inevitably something of him
in you, and therefore, just as an acorn
may become an oak, so you, each one
possessing a divine spark, may de-
velop into something like that from
which you came.

Modern technology has eliminated
all the barriers of time and space
which formerly lay between the citi-
zens of our world. Moscow and Wash-
ington, D.C., are closer together today
than Salt Lake City and Ogden were
100 years ago. We have become
literally one human family, living in
the same territory if not in the same
house. Former classifications of man-
kind are no longer valid, for we are
neither strangers nor foreigners any
more. God grant that Latter-day
Saints may strive to be disciples of the
Lord Jesus Christ and will be found
in the forefront of those who recog-
nize the inherent dignity and worth of
every human being who walks this
earth, regardless of his race, color, or
creed.

May he bless and inspire you to
believe in yourselves and in the
availability of divine guidance. As
one young man in Vietnam was heard

106

Saturday, April 6

GENERAL CONFERENCE

Second Day

to say as he was going out and not
expecting to come back:

"I thank thee, God, that come what
may,

I may stop along the way
At any time of night or day
And talk to thee."

A call to be prepared

The war which began in heaven
and has been going on ever since — a
war in which the immortal souls of
the children of men are at stake — is
about to reach a climactic point. This
appeal, therefore, is in a very real
sense a call to arms.

The call to be prepared is sent to
each one of you by and from the
President of the Church, the Prophet
of God. It is vital and of paramount
importance. The preparation must
begin at the center of your hearts and
extend to the end of your fingers and
toes. Each one of you may become
the master of his fate, the captain of
his soul.

As David Sarnoff, the best-informed
man in his field today, said to a class
of students: "You face the new powers
conferred by science to wreck or rebuild
the world, and the degree to which you
carry faith in God, in your fellowman
and in yourselves, together with a sense
of responsibility and continuing self-
discipline, by this you will be able to
determine whether these tremendous
forces, now coming into your hands,
will be used to build a better world
or be responsible for its destruction. . . .
The world needs the upsurge of
spiritual vitality to resist the current
cynicism and materialism. The grad-
ual elimination of physical hungers
will deepen the more elemental hunger
for faith and salvation, for age-old
values beyond the material and the
temporal, they will gnaw at the spirit
and the heart of man."

Confidence to wax strong

We need stout hearts to meet the
future, a future pregnant with unborn
events and big with possibilities. We
need faith to try, hope to inspire, and

courage to endure. ". . . 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 con-
stant 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." (D&C 121:
45-46.)

Return again to that beautiful hymn,
"O My Father," and think of that boy
on his knees, saying:

"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."

That prayer will be progressively an-
swered upon your heads as you
qualify yourselves by getting and con-
tinuing an education in all fields to
which you may be led; and wherever
you may be led, remember that God,
your Father, is hovering over you,
pleading for you, saying unto you,
"Come unto me. . . ." (Matt. 11:28.)

May his peace and blessing be with
us all. May we be inspired, each one
of us, as we leave this building to-
night, to make something of ourselves,
to be better than we are, more
knowledgeable, more understanding,
more sympathetic, more inclined to
reach out for the underprivileged, and
to those who need help. I pray for
his blessing and peace to be with all
of us, humbly, in the name of Jesus
Christ. Amen.

President N. Eldon Tanner

At the close of this meeting, I wish
to announce that many television and
radio stations will carry conference
proceedings Sunday morning to a
nationwide audience, including Hawaii
and Alaska.

For the second time, sessions of this
conference are being televised in color,
and will be received by many in the
United States and Canada over most
of those television stations cooperating
to provide the extensive coverage of
this conference.

The international short-wave radio
station WNYW will broadcast the
Sunday morning session to all parts of
Europe, parts of Asia, Africa, South
America, Central America, Mexico and
the Caribbean area.

Thirty radio stations will broadcast
the translated Sunday morning con-
ference session in major cities of
Mexico and Central America, together
with Spanish programming stations in
this country, to a potential Latin
American audience of three million
people.

The CBS Radio Tabernacle Choir
Broadcast will be from 9:35 to 10
o'clock Sunday morning. Those desir-
ing to attend must be in their seats
before 9:15 a.m.

There will be large crowds attending
the services on Sunday. Please be con-
siderate and courteous, and avoid
pushing and crowding.

As thousands leave this great priest-
hood meeting tonight, wherever you
are, let us keep in mind the admoni-

DAY 107

tion that is constantly being given us
to drive carefully. Please obey traffic
rules. Courtesy and patience must be
shown by drivers in the city and on
the highways.

The music for this priesthood session
has been furnished by the men of the
Tabernacle Choir, with Richard P.
Condie conducting, and Robert Cun-
dick at the organ. We express apprecia-
tion to them for their inspiring music.

We shall now close this meeting
with the men's chorus singing "The
Teacher's Work Is Done." This hymn
was written to the memory of Karl G.
Maeser, "Come, lay his books and
papers by, He shall not need them
more."

Following the chorus singing "The
Teacher's Work Is Done," Elder Isaac
William Lee, president of the Burley
Stake, will offer the benediction. This
conference will then be adjourned
until 10 o'clock tomorrow morning.

Singing by the men of the Choir,
"The Teacher's Work Is Done."

Elder Isaac William Lee, president
of the Burley Stake, offered the closing
prayer.

Conference adjourned until Sunday
morning, April 7, 1968, at 10 o'clock.

THIRD DAY

MORNING MEETING

SIXTH SESSION

Sunday morning, April 7.

Conference reconvened at 10:00 a.m.
following the conclusion of the Salt
Lake Tabernacle Choir and Organ
Broadcast, which was presented at 9:35
a.m. and concluded at 10:00. A com-
plete report of this broadcast may be
found on pages 148 and 149 of this
report.

The Salt Lake Tabernacle Choir
furnished the choral music for this
session, with Richard P. Condie con-
ducting. Elder Alexander Schreiner
was at the console of the organ. The
men's chorus of the Tabernacle Choir

sang as a prelude selection, "The
Year's at the Spring."

President Hugh B. Brown, first
counselor in the First Presidency, con-
ducted this session and made the
following preliminary statement:

President Hugh B. Brown

President McKay is listening in his
apartment, acting on the advice of his
physicians, and is not present but he
is presiding at this session of the con-
ference and has asked me to conduct.

It is a great pleasure for us to wel-
come those present this morning in the
historic Tabernacle in Salt Lake City,

108

Sunday, April 7

together with the radio and television
audience. We welcome also special
guests — U. S. Congressmen, state and
educational and civic leaders — together
with the vast television and radio
audience, in this, the sixth session of
the One Hundred Thirty-eighth An-
nual Conference of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Tabernacle Choir, under the
direction of Richard P. Condie, with
Alexander Schreiner at the organ, will
open this service by singing, "And the
Glory of the Lord," following which
Elder George W. Poulsen, Jr., formerly
president of the Hawaii Mission, will
offer the invocation.

GENERAL CONFERENCE

Third Day

And the

Selection by the Choir,
Glory of the Lord."

Elder George W. Poulsen, Jr., of-
fered the opening prayer.

President Hugh B. Brown

The Tabernacle Choir will now
sing, "The King of Love, My Shep-
herd Is," after which President Nathan
Eldon Tanner of the First Presidency
will speak to us.

Singing by the Choir, "The King of
Love My Shepherd Is."

President N. Eldon Tanner

Second Counselor in the First Presidency

One hundred thirty-five years ago
a prophet of God gave us a revelation
that still applies to every man, woman,
and child today, and that we should
heed. "A Word of Wisdom. . . . 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.

"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 fore-
warn you, by giving unto you this
word of wisdom by revelation." (D&C
89:1-4.)

Among other things, he warns
against the use of tobacco and strong
drinks. And then he gives us this
promise: "And all saints who remember
to keep and do these sayings, walking
in obedience to the commandments,
shall receive health in their navel and
marrow to their bones;

"And shall find wisdom and great
treasures of knowledge, even hidden
treasures;

"And shall run and not be weary,
and shall walk and not faint.

"And I, the Lord, give unto them a
promise, that the destroying angel
shall pass by them, as the children of

Israel, and not slay them." (D&C
89:18-21.)

We, as members of the Church,
have considered the Word of Wisdom
as a direction from the Lord himself,
with a warning and a promise. Today
the whole world, with the scientific
evidence now available to everyone,
should, regardless of religion or race,
observe this scientific warning.

Evils of alcohol, drugs
and tobacco

We read daily in newspapers and
magazines such startling headlines as:
"Cigarette Blamed in Apartment Fire
and Death," "Youth Drug Craze Rises,
Ending in Despair " "300 Pilot Deaths
Laid to Alcohol."

These point up clearly the dangers
of tobacco, drugs, and alcohol. Be-
cause of these great dangers, because
of my own experiences and observa-
tions, and because of the real concern
we have for our youth, who will de-
termine the future of this great coun-
try and the world, I have chosen to
discuss the evils of alcohol, drugs, and
tobacco.

Before doing so, however, I should
like to make it abundantly clear that
throughout my life some of my close
business associates have been men who

PRESIDENT N. 1

used tobacco and alcohol. Many of
them were very able and successful
in business; they were community-
minded and highly regarded, and I
certainly do not wish to criticize or
question the character of these or other
users of tobacco and alcohol. I do
most emphatically register my great
concern about the dangers connected
with their use. Many men have said:
"I wish I had never touched the weed,
or drink. They are really a curse."

Dangers of tobacco

So much has been said lately about
the dangers of tobacco that it might
seem redundant for me to spend time
reviewing these dangers and statistics
regarding smoking. However, I do
wish to give a few facts and figures
regarding the evils of cigarettes.

The British Royal College of Physi-
cians reported that 400 Britons per
week, or 20,000 persons, died last
year in Great Britain from lung cancer
caused by cigarette smoking. Right
here in Utah it is estimated that 20
million dollars were spent in 1966 for
cigarettes, or $21.68 for every man,
woman, and child in the state, and
this is below the national average.

The American Public Health Asso-
ciation has stated that one million
school age children today are expected
to die of lung cancer before they reach
the age of 70. These startling predic-
tions should help us to realize that we
must redouble our efforts to educate
young people on the evil effects of
smoking so that they will be better pre-
pared to cope with this problem.

Having had a very close friend and
relative die of lung cancer caused by
smoking cigarettes, I feel a strong
desire and determination to do what I
can to save other youth from this
heinous habit. There is a big question
as to how effective any such campaign
will be when our youth are continu-
ally confronted with adults, including
many in the teaching and medical pro-
fessions, as well as their parents, going
around with cigarettes in their mouths.

Case of drug addict

Now, turning our attention to drugs,

.DON TANNER 109

I wish to share with you just two of
my experiences since the October con-
ference. Just before conference, a
bishop called me from California to
make an appointment to bring in a
young man from his ward who was
involved with hippies. He felt I might
be able to help him. They came in
just after conference. His long hair,
dress, and general appearance left no
doubt that he was a hippie. I asked
him to tell me his story. Briefly, this
is what he said:

"I am a returned missionary, a mar-
ried man, and I have a child; and
here I am, a hippie, a drug addict, and
I am guilty of many misdemeanors
and even felonies. I am most un-
happy. This is not what I want."

I asked him how it was that a man
with his background ever got mixed
up with these people. He said that
one day when he was feeling despon-
dent and discouraged, he decided that
he wanted to be free, that he did not
want to be bound by any traditions or
Church restrictions in any way. He
went out with some of these fellows in
a spirit of rebellion, and then he said,
"Here I am. Instead of being free,
I'm a slave. In a way I am a fugitive.
I wish you could help me. I just don't
know what to do."

Before he left, he assured me that
he would cut his hair and clean up and
break away from these people, and
that he would turn himself over to the
law and do all he could to repent
and live as he should. The following
is from a letter written by him and
dated March 22, 1968:

"Dear President Tanner, I pray that
you will know the true feelings of my
heart at this time. I now live my life
inside prison walls. It is my desire
that others do not fall into the hands
of Satan, as I did. If relating my ex-
periences to other young people like
myself can be of some worth in their
lives, this is my hope. . . . I'm thank-
ful that I was blessed with a bishop
who has been my closest friend
through all my trials. I'm grateful for
your interest, President Tanner."

The reason I use this young man as
an example is that his background

GENERAL CONFERENCE

Third Day

110

Sunday, April 7

should have given him the strength to
resist or overcome, and it shows how
dangerous it is for a man like him, let
alone a youth who has no such ties or
responsibilities, to even associate with
those who tamper with drugs. His
was a very sad case, and it touched
my heart.

Experience of young woman

The next case I wish to share with
you is similar to hundreds and hun-
dreds of others. I have talked to the
girl involved and to her parents; and
though they know that many might
recognize them as the ones about whom
I am talking, they said if it will help
someone they would be glad to have
me use their story.

She comes from a very fine family.
The father is a successful doctor, and
the family has been active in the
Church and in the community. They
have one son who has filled a mis-
sion, and another in the field now.
They have an older daughter who is
very highly regarded, active in the
Church, and who was married in the
temple. The girl about whom I am
speaking is a fine, bright young girl,
but she started chasing around with
other girls and boys, some of whom
were using cigarettes, alcohol, and
drugs; and rather than be considered
a "square," she began to indulge, find-
ing it easier than resisting the pres-
sure. In fact, she had no fear that
she would ever become an addict.

Through lack of communication and
failing to stay close to their daughter,
and under the false assumption that
all was well, her parents were not
aware of her actions until they finally
learned, to their great horror and
sorrow, that she was using tobacco,
alcohol, and drugs. Of course, they
were heartbroken, and terribly embar-
rassed, as they realized there was
nothing they could do but place her
in an institution where they felt she
could best be helped. She is there
today; but through determination and
a real struggle and with the help of
the institution, she has progressed to
the point where she can come home
weekends and be with her parents.

As I talked to her, her big concern,
and the concern of her parents, is what
she will do when she is released. Will
she be free and feel secure? How will
people accept her? She does feel deter-
mined and sure, and we hope she is
right, that she will be completely
cured. When I asked her if she would
have the courage and strength to keep
free of her former associates, she as-
sured me she could, and sorrowfully
said that several of them are either
in institutions or prison. She also
told me of some very sad cases in the
institution — one, a 19-year-old boy,
who is entirely helpless. We read also
of others threatening and committing
suicide.

Such experiences should help par-
ents and youth to understand the
problems and great dangers confront-
ing them. Parents, be alert and on
guard. One of these could be your
own son or daughter.

The alcohol problem

Now I should like to direct our think-
ing to the alcohol problem, which is
so serious wherever we turn. May I
tell you as accurately as I can the story
told me by a man whom I knew very
well. He used to be one of the most
successful oil well drillers in the
province of Alberta, a man who was
well-respected, highly regarded, and a
good citizen, but who, as many others,
through social drinking, became an
alcoholic. He was one of the fortunate
ones who, with the help of Alcoholics
Anonymous and, as he said, with the
help of the Lord, was able to overcome
this dread disease.

One day, as I invited him to speak
to a group of young people, his quick
response was, "If I can help any youth
to understand the evil of alcohol and
what it will do to him, I am anxious
to do it." This was his story:

"When I was in business, I used to
drink with the boys at cocktail parties
and at receptions, never thinking it
was doing me any harm. In fact, I
never worried about it at all. Even
when I found myself taking a third or
fourth drink, and wanting a drink dur-
ing the day when I knew I should not

PRESIDENT N. ELDON TANNER

111

be drinking, I had no idea that I was
really becoming an alcoholic. I re-
fused to accept the fact until I found
myself literally in the gutter.

"The result was that my partner,
my business associates, and all who
knew me and even my wife and family
found that they could not depend on
me, and lost respect for me. As a
result, I lost my wife. After pleading
and working with me, she divorced
me, and I found that I was alone. I
had lost respect for myself, and had
lost my home, family, and everything.

"When I found myself in the gut-
ter, helpless and alone, I was persuaded
to go to Alcoholics Anonymous. With
their help and my determination I was
able to overcome the habit after
months and months of severe struggle."
Then he pointed out that only about
one out of five is able to overcome this
pernicious habit.

As he concluded, he said: "No man
knows when he takes a single drink
whether or not he will become an
alcoholic. Therefore, no man, regard-
less of his wealth or his position, can
afford to take one single drink of
liquor."

He pled with every one of them not
to touch it, and then emphasized that
one out of every 15 who drink will
become an alcoholic, and often the
brightest and most capable one, who
least expects it, is the unfortunate one.

Tragedy from drinking

Now here is another story I tell with
the permission of the parents, who
likewise expressed a real desire to do
everything they can to help other
youth to avert a tragedy such as that
which happened to their son.

In a file they handed me was a
newspaper clipping, written before his
tragedy, showing the picture of a fine-
looking young lad, who had just been
elected president of the junior class
in high school. The article said:
"Wherever activity is bubbling or
leadership is needed, that's where
you'll find Jim. As a leading figure in
school plays, student government, and
class activities, his leadership abilities
have always been outstanding."

Here was a boy with the promise of
a happy and successful life. But one
night, he did not come home as usual
after closing up a service station where
he worked. His worried parents
started a search, which ended in the
early morning hours with the father
finding his son's beaten and bruised
body in the back seat of a parked
car. He had been dead for sometime.
Just imagine the shock and sorrow of
his parents!

At the inquest the brokenhearted
parents learned that Jim had joined a
couple of the hometown boys and a
couple from a neighboring town. After
they had purchased and consumed
liquor, a fight ensued between the local
boys and the out-of-towners. Appar-
ently someone knocked Jim down,
ran into him with a car, and then
placed his body in the back seat of
the car where it was later found. The
parents also learned that this was only
the third time he had ever been drink-
ing. He never dreamed that taking
his first drink would lead to his un-
timely death.

Widespread use of liquor

We could talk on and on and give
statistics, facts, and figures to show that
experiences similar to those I have re-
lated are happening by the hundreds
and thousands. It is estimated that
60 percent of our adult population in
the United States today consumes
some quantity of liquor. There are
some outstanding executives, business
and professional men, who are very
successful and highly regarded, and
for whom I have great respect, who
indulge in the use of liquor in some
degree.

I know too that their using alcohol
will influence many of our youth to
become social drinkers. It saddens me,
however, to know that out of every 15
of them, one will become an alcoholic.
One's heart always goes out to a
neighbor or friend and his family who
have to endure the miseries of alco-
holism.

I am convinced that our youth do
not want to be bad. They do not set
out to be alcoholics, nor to be drug

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Sunday, April 7

addicts, nor to suffer and die with
cancer of the lungs or some other
pulmonary disease.

However, they see people drinking
all around them — men and women
who are leading citizens. They see it
in their homes with no evident ill
effects. They see it advertised in all
the popular magazines, in the daily
press, on every television set, in
many movies, and on the billboards;
and they hear it over radio. Yes, and
these advertisements are shown with
well-dressed, healthy-looking, success-
ful businessmen, with big cars and fine
offices, with young men and women
engaged in all kinds of sports, attend-
ing socials where people are standing
around with a cigarette in one hand
and a glass in the other, all seeming
to have a good time.

How can our youth resist without
our help? These high-power adver-
tising media never show a man or
woman nursing a bad headache the
morning after, nor do they show the
crumpled cars, the mangled bodies, or
the broken homes, or men lying in the
gutter. Nor do they show a man fac-
ing a doctor who has just told him that
he has cancer of the throat or lungs, or
patients in a hospital being fed with a
tube through the nostril because they
cannot swallow.

I am sure that many will say, "Why
all this gory stuff?" No, I have omitted
much of the gory stuff, the many, many
really sad and heartbreaking experi-
ences happening to families every day.
We must face the facts; we must do
our part.

Avoidance of alcoholism

I have read with interest Dr. Wil-
liam Terhune's ten commandments on
how to lessen the chance that we will
become alcoholics. The last two of
them are:

"Never take a drink to escape dis-
comfort, either physical or mental,"
and "never take a drink in the morning,
thinking it will offset a hangover."

I should like to submit one com-
mandment as a substitute for his ten
which would be much more effective,
and that is: "Never take a drink."

GENERAL CONFERENCE

Third Day

Alcoholism is one disease which no
one needs to have. The only sure way
to be free of it is to never take a drink.

Keep the Word of Wisdom

On behalf of the First Presidency,
and with their approval, 1 appeal to
every member of the Church to keep
the Word of Wisdom strictly, and to
all responsible citizens to accept their
responsibilities, to guard and protect
our youth against the evils and designs
of conspiring men who are deter-
mined by every available means to
lead them to destruction. We cannot
stand by and let our youth be destroyed
because of our neglect. We must lead
them not into temptation, but deliver
them from evil.

Protection of youth

There are those who argue that in
the interests of tourism, liquor should
be made more easily available. Surely
every mother, father, and worthy citi-
zen can see the folly of this and what
it would do to our youth. We must
not sell our heritage for a mess of
pottage. There are better ways to
encourage tourists.

I cannot imagine any father or neigh-
bor wanting to contribute in any way
to his or his neighbor's boy's becoming
an alcoholic in order to get tourists
into our area. Example is the greatest
of all teachers. In the interests of our
youth, I pray that we may all heed
the warning of the Lord that alcohol
is not good for man. We must take
a stand against liquor by the drink
and any and every other move that
would make liquor more easily avail-
able.

It is the responsibility of every
citizen and in the best interests of
our youth and our future to see that
enforceable restrictive legislation is
enacted and enforced to keep our youth
from this pernicious practice.

Testimony

It is my testimony to all that those
who heed the words of the Lord spoken
through a prophet, and who keep his
commandments, "shall find wisdom
and great treasures of knowledge, even

ELDER MARION G. ROMNEY

113

hidden treasures; And shall run and
not be weary, and shall walk and not
faint." And the Lord has promised
"that the destroying angel shall pass
by them, as the children of Israel, and
not slay them." (D&C 89:19-21.)

With the testimony I have that God
lives and that Jesus is the Christ, the
Savior of us all, and that they are
interested in our welfare, I humbly
pray that the Spirit and blessings of
the Lord will help us to do all in our
power to protect our youth against the
evils and designs that do and will exist
in the hearts of conspiring men, that
we may lead them not into temptation
but deliver them from evil, for his
is the kingdom, and the power, and the
glory forever. Amen.

President Hugh B. Brown

He to whom you have just listened
is President Nathan Eldon Tanner of
the First Presidency.

The Tabernacle Choir will now
sing, "The Lord Is My Shepherd."
After the singing Elder Marion G.
Romney of the Council of the Twelve
will speak to us.

The Tabernacle Choir sang the
hymn, "The Lord Is My Shepherd."

Many stations have just tuned in on
this conference, and we wish to extend
to them a hearty welcome.

Elder Marion G. Romney of the
Council of the Twelve will now
address us.

Elder Mario

Of the Council of

My beloved brothers and sisters and
friends, I have chosen to speak a few
words this morning about the Lord's
way to temporal salvation. I pray that
you will join with me in a prayer, par-
ticularly you who do not belong to
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day Saints, because what I say will not
mean anything to you unless you have
the Spirit of the Lord or desire it; but
heard and obeyed, these words will
bring you peace in this life and eternal
life in the world to come.

Permanence of God's power

Recently, after reviewing the frustra-
tions encountered in our search for
permanent peace, an editorial in the
U.S. News and World Report con-
cluded with these words: "Basically,
there is only one permanence we can
all accept. It is the permanence of a
God-governed world. For the power of
God is alone permanent. Obedience to
His laws is the road to a lasting solu-
tion of man's problems." (David Law-
rence, U.S. News and World Report,
March 18, 1968, p. 116.)

This is a true and commendable
statement as far as it goes. It would be

n G. Romney

the Twelve Apostles

more enlightening, however, if it con-
tained a definitive statement of the
specific laws of God which, if obeyed,
would bring "a lasting solution of
man's problems" and thereby estab-
lish permanent peace.

In these remarks I shall identify the
first of these laws and consider with
you the importance of understanding
and obeying them.

I can think of no more important
theme, because if men are not speedily
brought to understand these basic laws
and obey them, our civilization will
terminate in ruin. The scriptures, his-
tory, and current events all testify to
this lamentable conclusion.

Prophecies envisioning our day

I call your attention to the following
quotations from the scriptures: Isaiah,
envisioning our day, declared: "The
land shall be utterly emptied, and
utterly spoiled. . . ." And then, as if
in retrospect, he lamented: "Therefore
hath the curse devoured the earth, and
they that dwell therein are desolate:
therefore the inhabitants of the earth
are burned, and few men left." (Isa.
24:3, 6.)

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Sunday, April 7

The resurrected Savior himself said:
". . . it shall come to pass, saith the
Father, that . . . whosoever will not
repent and come unto my Beloved
Son, them will I cut off from among
my people. . . .

"And I will execute vengeance and
fury upon them, . . . such as they have
not heard." (3 Ne. 21:20-21.)

As late as 1832, the Lord declared
through the Prophet Joseph Smith:
". . . I, the Almighty, have laid my
hands upon the nations, to scourge
them for their wickedness.

"And plagues shall go forth, and
they shall not be taken from the earth

". . . Until all shall know me, who
remain, even from the least unto the
greatest. . . ." (D&C 84:96-98.)

President George Albert Smith,
speaking from this stand in 1950, said:
"It will not be long until calamities
will overtake the human family unless
there is speedy repentance. It will not
be long before those who are scattered
over the face of the earth by millions
will die like flies because of what will
come." (Era, Vol. 53 [May 1950], p.
412.)

President McKay, in October con-
ference 1964, added: "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." (Era, Vol. 67
[December 1964], p. 1042.)

Teachings of history

As to the teachings of history, Dr.
John Lord says: "The world has wit-
nessed many powerful empires, em-
pires which have passed away, and
left 'not a rack behind'. What remains
of the antediluvian world? not even a
spike of Noah's Ark. . . . What re-
mains of Nineveh, of Babylon, of
Thebes, of Tyre, of Carthage, — those
great centers of wealth and power?
What remains of Roman greatness. . . .
What is the simple story of all the
ages?" Then he answers: " — industry,
wealth, corruption, decay, and ruin.
What conservative power has been
strong enough to arrest the ruin of the
nations of antiquity?" he concludes.
(Beacon Lights of History [New York:

Third Day

William H. Wise Co., 1921], Vol. 3,
pp. 128-29.)

The answer is obvious. No con-
servative power, which the nations of
antiquity would apply, was strong
enough to arrest their ruin.

Our path today

I am persuaded that today we are
treading the path those nations trod.
We have been industrious. We have
become wealthy. We are going through
a period of corruption and decay.
Around the corner we shall encounter
ruin if we continue our present course.

Admittedly, this is not an inspiring
forecast. I make it not because I like
it but because I know that it is true,
that it is imperative that we face it and
do something about it. I make it also
for the reason that I know that there
is something we can do about it. I
further know that for us there is, as
there was for the nations of antiquity,
but one way in which we can obtain
the wisdom to solve our problems and
avert the impending ruin. And that
way is to learn and implement the
laws which the Lord himself has
prescribed to guide men through to an
inspired solution of their problems, to
permanent peace. This way he has
revealed.

Inspired solution

He revealed it first to Adam. He
taught and exemplified it while he
was in the flesh. Peter announced the
cornerstone of it when to the rulers
of the Jews, who demanded of him
and John to know "by what power, or
by what name" they had healed the
lame man, he said:

". . . by the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth, . . . doth this man stand
here before you whole.

"Neither is there salvation in any
other: for there is none other name
under heaven given among men,
whereby we must be saved." (Acts
4:7, 10, 12.)

Believers associate this scripture
with salvation beyond the grave, and
properly so. My message to you to-
day, however, is that it applies with
equal force to men's temporal affairs.

ELDER MARION G. ROMNEY

115

The first step in that way is faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ.

". . . if ye believe not that I am he
[that is, the Son of God], ye shall die
in your sins," he said. (John 8:24.)

But, it is said, "If belief in Christ is
the way, why is peace so elusive in the
western world where people profess
belief in Christ?" The answer is sim-
ple: Professing is not enough. Men
must accept him for what he in fact is
— the very Son of God, man's Re-
deemer. They must have sufficient
faith in him to take upon themselves
his name in the manner he prescribed.
Specifically, the believer must (1) re-
pent of his sins — that is, bring his
conduct in harmony with Christ's
teachings; (2) enter into a covenant
with God, that he is willing to take
upon himself the name of Jesus Christ
and always remember him and keep
his commandments at all times and in
all things and in all places. This
covenant he must solemnize by being
baptized.

All who, through faith in Christ,
conform with these requirements re-
ceive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Way to permanent peace

The foregoing — faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism by
immersion for the remission of sins,
and the laying on of hands for the
gift of the Holy Ghost — are the laws
of God which men must obey in order
to obtain permanent peace.

When men do obey them, they re-
ceive two things that enable them to
solve their problems: (1) a change of
heart, and (2) divine guidance. To
receive the Holy Ghost is to be born
of the Spirit in the context of Christ's
statement to Nicodemus that except a
man be born of the spirit as well as
of the water, he cannot see the king-
dom of God.

The function of the Holy Ghost is
to guide men in the way of truth and
peace. Jesus referred to him as "the
Spirit of truth" when he said to his
disciples: "Howbeit when he, the Spirit
of truth, is come, he will guide you
into all truth: . . . and he will shew
you things to come." (John 16:13.)

The Holy Ghost is a personage of
spirit, the third member of the Trinity.
His wisdom, like God's, is infinite. To
receive his companionship is to be
led "into all truth." People who walk
in the light of his guidance act with an
unerring certitude; they do not get into
the troubles the world is in today.

Followed in apostolic church

The above outlined procedure was
well-known and followed in the apos-
tolic church. When the Pentacostal
crowd, moved by the apostles' power-
ful witness, cried out, "Men and
brethren, what shall we do?" Peter's
ready answer was, "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." (Acts 2:37-38.)

And when Paul found certain bap-
tized disciples who had not heard
about the Holy Ghost, he taught them
the true doctrine of Christ, and then
he baptized them again, this time "in
the name of the Lord Jesus.

"And when Paul had laid his hands
upon them, the Holy Ghost came on
them; and they spake with tongues,
and prophesied." (Acts 19:5-6.)

Because men, during the dark ages,
strayed from these ordinances and
broke their covenants, they lost the
gift of the Holy Ghost. In doing so
they lost the true understanding of
these plain and simple teachings of the
gospel of Christ, including the guid-
ance of the Holy Ghost. Since then
men have been and now are walking
in darkness of their own wisdom.

True gospel restored

This they need not do any longer,
because the true gospel with all its
pristine simplicity and power has been
restored.

". . . knowing the calamity which
should come upon the inhabitants of
the earth. . ." (D&C 1:17), the Lord,
beginning in 1820, again revealed it.
In 1830 he organized his Church,
which he later named The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He
endowed it with his priesthood and
charged the bearers thereof to teach

116

Sunday, April 7

his gospel and administer its saving
ordinances, including baptizing by im-
mersion for the remission of sins and
the laying on of hands for the gift of
the Holy Ghost.

During the restoration, the Lord re-
vealed the principles and procedures
which, if implemented, would solve
all the problems which so disturb the
peoples of the earth today — economic
problems, moral problems, social prob-
lems, and political problems.

In restoring the gift of the Holy
Ghost, he made available the power
which so transforms the nature of
men that they desire to and do imple-
ment these revealed principles and
practices.

I testify to you that this power is in
the earth, that the authority to confer
it upon all who will qualify for it is
here.

Urgency of message

I plead with you, every one of you,
not to dismiss lightly this message.
That it be known, understood, and
accepted is of such urgency that God
himself, with his divine Son, made a
visit to this earth in this dispensation,
and sent other heavenly beings, to
reveal it for our temporal as well as for
our spiritual salvation.

And so I repeat and testify to you
that the "road to a lasting solution
of men's problems" is for men to take
upon themselves the name of Christ,
in the manner prescribed by him. And
I further testify that the way one can
do this is to have faith in Christ, re-
pent and be baptized by immersion,
and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost
at the hands of a duly authorized
member of The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints.

I am aware that to some this may
appear to be a presumptuous state-
ment, but it must be made because it
is true, and we who know that it is
true are under obligation to declare it.

"The earth is the Lord's, and the

GENERAL CONFERENCE

Third Day

fulness thereof; the world, and they
that dwell therein." (Ps. 24:1.)

Glorious day approaches

He purposes that the earth shall
rest and that its inhabitants shall
dwell in peace. Such a glorious day
approaches. It is even now at our doors.
The righteousness which will bring
it in and sustain it shall come in one
of two ways: as a result of the pre-
dicted destruction of the wicked, or by
men's repenting and taking upon
themselves in the prescribed manner
the name of Jesus Christ, "the only
name which shall be given under
heaven, whereby salvation shall come
unto the children of men. . . ." (Moses
6:52.)

God grant men repentance, and give
to us who bear this witness strength to
match our responsibility, I humbly
pray in the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.

President Hugh B. Brown

The choir and congregation will
now join in singing: "I Need Thee
Every Hour," following which we
shall have a brief organ interlude.

The choir and congregation sang the
hymn, "I Need Thee Every Hour."
This was followed by a brief organ
interlude.

President Hugh B. Brown

For the benefit of the television and
radio audience who have just joined
us, we again announce that we are
gathered in the historic Tabernacle on
Temple Square in Salt Lake City, con-
tinuing our conference.

We shall now hear from Elder
Robert L. Simpson, first counselor in
the Presiding Bishopric, and he will be
followed by Elder LeGrand Richards
of the Council of the Twelve.

BISHOP ROBERT L. SIMPSON

117

Bishop Robert L. Simpson

Of the Presiding Bishopric

One evening recently a faithful and
wonderful Mutual teacher of high
school age girls stood to present a care-
fully prepared lesson when suddenly
she was prompted to forego the regular
lesson and discuss the tragedy of im-
morality. About halfway through the
lesson, impatient horn-honking was
heard from the church parking lot.
Finally it stopped, and the car with
its youthful male occupant sped away.
Following the inspirational discussion
in the classroom, one tearful but grate-
ful young lady lingered after the others
had departed to confide in her leader
that the honking had been for her.
Then she said: "I had decided that
tonight was going to be the biggest
night of my life, and that horn toot
was the signal that all of the arrange-
ments were complete, and he was wait-
ing. What you said and how you
said it has saved me from the most
serious mistake of my life, and I shall
never forget it."

Concern for girls

Just six and one-half years ago,
Bishop Brown and I listened intently
as President McKay issued a most
vital challenge to a new Presiding
Bishop of the Church. Among other
things, Bishop Vandenberg was told
about his prime responsibility for thou-
sands of young men throughout the
world. Then came a most explicit
direction from the lips of a living
prophet: "Bishop," he said, "your con-
cern must be just as great for the girls
of corresponding ages."

In the spirit of this firm but kindly
direction of six and one-half years
ago, I choose to talk frankly with the
girls — those young women who listen
today, with stars in their eyes, great
hope in their hearts, but in far too
many cases, uncertain minds in a fast-
moving, impatient, and ever-changing
society. I approach my subject with a
fervent prayer in my heart, a prayer
that you girls will consider my intru-
sion into your private world of hopes,

dreams, and aspirations in a kindly
way, that you will welcome me as a
friend, deeply concerned for your
happiness, anxious for your well-being.
Yes, I also have concern for that
eternal but elusive hope of fulfillment
that floods the heart of every normal
young woman as her thoughts turn to
things tender, things loving, and things
spiritual; yes, tender thoughts about
possible motherhood, loving thoughts
about loyal and eternal companion-
ship, spiritual thoughts about a sacred
commission given only to the daugh-
ters of a kind and loving Heavenly
Father. You received this commission
personally from Heavenly Father upon
leaving his presence not too many
years ago.

Here by divine assignment

Once I heard a girl say, "What's
the use? What am I good for?" Well,
one mighty important point would be
that you are here by assignment from
your Heavenly Father to prove your-
self worthy of his ultimate blessing.
In his own words: ". . . we will prove
them herewith, to see if they will do
all things whatsoever the Lord their
God shall command them." In this
passage of scripture, Heavenly Father
talks about passing a test in order to
come to this earth. This you have
done. You have already demonstrated
your ability to excel. Then, in referring
to our performance in this life, he
makes the wonderful promise that all
who prove obedient "shall have glory
added upon their heads for ever and
ever." (Abr. 3:25-26.)

God's house is a house of order, and
you exist by personal and direct com-
mission as part of that order and plan.
Is it important to you that you are
created in his image? ". . . God created
man in his own image, in the image
of God created he him; male and
female created he them." (Gen. 1:27.)
How fortunate you are to know and
understand this simple truth. Rela-
tively few in the world accept it. Your

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Sunday, April 7

every thought and action should be on
a higher plane just in the knowledge
that you are a part of him, that God
personally fathered your spirit, that
in you is a spark of divinity; and with
it comes the power to reason and to
think, to achieve dominion and eternal
glory, but it can only happen on his
terms, on his terms of righteousness.

"What's the use?" "What am I good
for?" Why, young lady, without you
and others like you, life would stop,
and the very foundation of God's
master plan would be frustrated.

Can any young woman remain un-
moved in the thought that within her
is the potential of creation, of provid-
ing earthly bodies for spirits previously
created by him? No mortal has honor
greater than this. Yours is a possible
partnership with Heavenly Father in
perpetuating the process of life. The
very thought is overwhelming. The
decision to participate with him de-
mands the best that is in you. It must
be premeditated, planned, never by
impulse. This sacred process requires
worthiness.

Instructions to be followed

Just the other day our family pur-
chased a new radio. We were all
anxious to try it out when a member
of the family called attention to the
bold print on the attached booklet,
which read: "Before playing your radio,
read this instruction book carefully."
The first thing we found out was that
if it had been plugged into an im-
proper power source, costly damages
would have resulted. Several other
facts were revealed that proved im-
portant to the successful operation,
preservation, and enjoyment of the
instrument.

Vital instructions pertaining to your
life have been given through a long
line of prophets. These instructions
must be understood and carried out if
you are to enjoy happiness and success.
Is human life less important than a
$40.00 radio? You must know the
rules if you are going to play the
game. If you want a particular bless-
ing, you must be willing to abide the
law upon which that blessing is

GENERAL CONFERENCE

Third Day

predicated. (See D&C 130:20-21.)
Guidelines in scriptures

It was never intended that we spend
our time groping in the dark. The
prophets have provided us with the
greatest handbook of instructions ever
published. In the scriptures we find
the guidelines, the rules of life, the
answer to every problem. It is re-
corded that "where there is no vision,
the people perish. . . ." (Prov. 29:18.)

How is your vision, girls? Is vision
possible without knowledge? Can you
really expect to do well in any game
without knowing the rules of that
game and then following those rules
to the best of your ability? May I
invite you to know God's will con-
cerning you.

Personal health habits

If you are to be faced with the sacred
obligation of someday providing bodies
for God's spirit children, it seems to
me that your personal health habits
should be just as perfect as you can
make them. Liquor and tobacco have
been forbidden by the Lord. President
Tanner made that very clear to us
this morning. We are all expected to
eat proper food, to rest adequately, to
work vigorously. Partaking of those
barriers to good health and a sound
mind just for the sake of social ac-
ceptance, while turning your back on
an obligation to be physically pre-
pared for a divine partnership, is to
my way of thinking inexcusable.

Allow me to share with you just one
brief example of how important it is.
Did you know, young ladies, that a
recent survey revealed that the incident
of stillborn children among premature
births is 400 percent higher among
smoking mothers? That is right, girls —
400 percent higher. No wonder God has
declared: "Know ye not that ye are
the temple of God, and that the Spirit
of God dwelleth in you?

"If any man defile the temple of
God, him shall God destroy; for the
temple of God is holy, which temple
ye are." (1 Cor. 3:16-17.) In reality,
it is we who destroy ourselves by ig-
noring his counsel.

BISHOP ROBERT L. SIMPSON

119

"Nevertheless neither is the man
without the woman, neither the woman
without the man, in the Lord." (1 Cor.
11:11.) This is God's equation for
exaltation. It is just as true as
2 + 2 = 4. It is an eternal truth. It
is unchangeable.

Moral code unchanged

Everyone talks about the new moral-
ity. Any departure from God's moral
code is unapproved in his sight. He
is the same yesterday, today, and for-
ever. His plan for our happiness is no
different. It too is unchangeable. On
this premise, there may be a new im-
morality advocated by deceitful men,
but there can never be a new morality.
Only the adversary has a vacillating,
ever-changing program always geared
to trap the uninformed, the misled,
those who choose to run the risk of
questionable company.

Oh, youth of the noble birthright,
don't give yourselves to the father of
all lies — that deceitful one who would
consider your downfall as a major
victory. Don't be impatient.

Wait for temple marriage

Speaking of impatience, a faithful
young lady in Southern California had
this perplexing problem just last year.
Jim was leaving for Vietnam imme-
diately. He was pushing for marriage
before his departure but had to over-
come a particular problem before he
could offer her the kind of marriage
she had always dreamed of. She did
love him. She did want to marry him,
but her wonderful parents were in-
sistent that the three-month courtship
had scarcely been long enough to
really know. Finally, the decision was
made to wait.

Their correspondence during the en-
suing 12 months while he was in
Vietnam was on a very high plane.
Their love grew. Each discovered an
ability to discuss things in letters that
had found no place in their lighter
conversation during a date. Now he
has returned. I am happy to report
their love for one another has been
sealed in the House of the Lord, and

before this year is finished, their first
little one will be a reality, and another
wonderful family unit is well on its
way to exaltation and eternal life.

Urged to stay sweet

Young ladies, the highway of disil-
lusionment is teeming with girls who
said, "Just this once," or "Everybody
else does it." Do these phrases sound
familiar? Another favorite trap sounds
like this: "You would if you really
loved me." Just imagine the irony of
giving up all that is good, all that is
truth, all that is sacred, including the
trust and faith of loved ones and
Church leaders, plus your own good
name and personal dignity, just on the
basis of a smooth talker who feigns
love with his lips but wants only to
use you for a few minutes of selfish
lust and animal gratification. Girls,
you stay sweet. If you've made a mis-
take, correct it. It will be about the
best decision that you will ever make.
The Lord stands ready to help, for we
have his word: "Behold, I stand at the
door, and knock: if any . . . hear my
voice, and open the door, I will come
in to him, and will sup with him, and
he with me." (Rev. 3:20.)

Partnership with God

But please remember, you must make
the first move. It is you who must
open the door. He will be there and
very likely in the form of a faithful
teacher who feels prompted to change
her prepared lesson. It could be you
who will say in return, "Thanks.
What you said and how you said it has
saved me from the most serious mis-
take of my life, and I shall never for-
get it." God loves you wonderful girls.
Don't you let him down. You have a
special function to perform with God
as your partner. Be worthy of that
privilege. And this final thought, girls:
the priesthood cannot achieve its ulti-
mate destiny without a faithful female
companion. No girl will ever achieve
her ultimate destiny without a worthy
priesthood companion at the head of
her home. May this be your undeviat-
ing goal, I pray in the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

120

Sunday, April 7

GENERAL CONFERENCE

Elder LeGrand Richards

Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles

Third Day

Brethren and sisters, I rejoice in the
privilege of attending this great con-
ference with you and listening to the
testimonies of my brethren and hearing
the counsel and the advice they have
given. I would that all of our Father's
children the world over would not only
listen in but would also obey their
counsel and their advice; this then
would be a better world in which to
live. In your presence this morning
I want to express my love for my
Father in heaven and for his Son
Jesus Christ, and for his great atoning
sacrifice, and for the great honor that
is mine to be one of his witnesses in
the earth, and I thank you Latter-day
Saints for your love and your kindness
to me.

Know God other than by hearsay

The story is told that there was a
new minister who moved into the com-
munity where Thomas Carlisle lived,
and he went to the office of Carlisle
and asked this question: "What do the
people of this community need more
than anything else?" And Carlisle's
answer was: "They need a man who
knows God other than by hearsay."

You know, I have thought a lot
about that. I think what this world
needs today more than anything else
is to know God other than by hearsay,
to know why he created this earth and
why we are here, where we are going,
and how to get there, so that we will
know what life is really for. I have
come to feel that one of the greatest
necessities even in this Church is that
we have a strong testimony, the power
of conviction. As I read the holy
scriptures, it seems to me they make
it very plain that we, his children,
through obedience can know God
other than by hearsay. Jesus said:

". . . My doctrine is not mine, but
his that sent me.

"If any man will do his will, he
shall know of the doctrine, whether it
be of God, or whether I speak of my-
self." (John 7:16-17.)

This is a promise to all men, and
this promise is just as binding today
as when Jesus spoke it: if we will do
the will of the Father, we may know
other than by hearsay that his message
is from God, the Eternal Father.

Then, you will remember, he said:

"And this is life eternal, that they
might know thee the only true Goa,
and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast
sent." (John 17:3.)

This is a promise that we might
know him, or at least it infers that
we might know him other than by
hearsay.

We speak that we do know

You remember that when Nicodemus
came to Jesus by night, he indicated
that he knew he was a prophet sent of
God, for no man did the things that
he did save God was with him. Then
after he had explained to Nicodemus,
as Brother [Marion G.] Romney made
plain today, the message of baptism —
to take upon him the name of Christ —
Nicodemus could not understand him,
and Jesus said, after repeating it: "Art
thou a master of Israel, and knowest
not these things?" He said: "We speak
that we do know, and testify that we
have seen; and ye receive not our wit-
ness." (John 3:10-11.) Every true
servant of God who is sent in his
name to administer the holy ordi-
nances of the gospel speaks that he
does know, and testifies that he has
seen, as our brethren here in this
conference have done during the past
two days.

Now, that is the strength of this
Church. Years ago, when our mis-
sionaries were being severely perse-
cuted in England, the English
government sent a representative to
Utah to study our people. They wanted
to know what it was that caused the
Church to keep sending its mission-
aries there when they were being so
persecuted. After that individual had
spent some time in our midst, he re-
turned to his native land and told

ELDER LEGRAND RICHARDS

121

them that the black secret of Mormon-
ism was the fact that each member
knew he had the truth. Now, isn't
that what we ought to have? Isn't that
just what Jesus promised — that if you
will do the will of the Father, you
"shall know of the doctrine, whether
it be of God, or whether I speak of
myself"? (John 7:17.)

God's eternal truth

A few years ago a group of ministers
were passing through Salt Lake en
route to Los Angeles to attend a
ministerial convention. They stopped
over in Salt Lake City. They wanted
to ask some questions about our teach-
ings, and arrangements were made for
them to meet one of the Twelve in
the conference room in the Church
Office Building. After that member
had answered their questions, he bore
his solemn witness that he knew that
Jesus was the Christ, that Joseph Smith
was his prophet, that the Book of
Mormon was true. He knew it other
than by hearsay. Then, when he
closed his testimony, he turned to
those ministers and said, "Which one
of you can testify that you know that
you have the truth?" After a brief
pause, the leader of the group said,
"Well, we hope we are right."

When I was a missionary over in
Holland, in the city of Utrecht, there
was a seminary where young men were
trained for the ministry. They used
to come and attend our meetings, and
then they would remain afterwards
and discuss religious principles with
us. I haven't time to go into detail,
but one night I proved to one of those
young men that they were not teach-
ing the principles of the gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ, and he turned to
me and said: "Do you think the Lord
will hold us responsible for teaching
things that we know are not fully in
accord with the scriptures?"

I said that I would rather let the
apostle Paul answer that question, for
Paul said, ". . . though we, or an angel
from heaven, preach any other gospel
unto you than that which we have
preached unto you, let him be ac-
cursed." (Gal. 1:8.) Brothers and

sisters, we have God's eternal truth,
and I thank him for it.

Experience of the Apostle Paul

I would just like to remind you now
of the experience of the apostle Paul.
You will remember how he persecuted
the saints, and then on the way to
Damascus for the same purpose, a light
appeared brighter than the noonday
sun, and those who were with him all
fell to the earth, and a voice from
heaven said, "Saul, Saul, why perse-
cutest thou me? it is hard ... to kick
against the pricks." And Saul said,
"Who art thou, Lord?" "I am Jesus
whom thou persecutest." (Acts 26:14-
15.) Then we follow Paul's great
ministry, as described by the Savior,
and he was persecuted as no others of
the brethren were. He was flayed and
stoned; then he stood before the great
governor Festus and King Agrippa, in
bonds, and they desired to hear from
Paul.

There Paul related his marvelous
experience, for he knew other than by
hearsay that Jesus was the Christ.
When he had finished his testimony,
Festus said: "Paul, thou art beside
thyself; much learning doth make thee
mad," to which Paul replied: "I am
not mad, most noble Festus; but speak
forth the words of truth and sober-
ness." And then Agrippa replied:
"Almost thou persuadest me to be a
Christian." (Acts 26:24-25, 28.) And
then you remember that 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." (Acts
26:29.)

Story of Joseph Smith

There is another great story that
all the world ought to know that is
comparable to the one I have just
related of the apostle Paul, and that
is the story of Joseph Smith, who in
his youth saw the confusion in his
community and knew not which
church he should join. Then he read
the words of James:

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him
ask of God, that giveth to all men

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122

Sunday, April 7

liberally, and upbraideth not; and it
shall be given him." (Jas. 1:5.)

Joseph said that he realized that if
any man needed wisdom, he did, and
he went into the woods to pray. And
just like that glorious light that shone
over Paul, brighter than the noonday
sun, after Joseph had had the powers
of darkness fall upon him until he
felt like his very life would be
crushed from his body, a light ap-
peared to him brighter than the noon-
day sun. God was repeating in
substance an experience such as Paul
had to usher in this, the dispensation
of the fulness of times. He saw in that
light two glorious messengers, the
Father and his Son. He was told by
Jesus that he should join none of the
churches, because they all taught for
doctrine the commandments of men.
Later he bore his testimony, and he
said he felt like Paul of old. He could
not understand why people would
persecute him for telling the truth.
You know, he was in prison some
thirty times, and he finally sealed his
testimony with his blood. He said
he knew that he had seen a vision; he
knew that God knew it; and he dared
not deny it, because he knew that by
so doing he would offend God and
come under his condemnation. (See
Joseph Smith 2:25.)

Testimony worth more
than all else

I would like to say to all those who
are within the sound of my voice this
day, and who are not members of this
Church and do not know the truth of
this testimony other than by hearsay:
I promise you, as one of his apostles
of this dispensation, that if you will
study his message and ask God, the
Eternal Father, he will manifest the
truth of this unto you, and it will be
worth more to you than all else in this
world.

I was back in Washington, D.C.,
holding a conference a few years ago,
and we had over 2,000 present in that
building. We heard from the stake
president, a multi-millionaire. He
stood before those people and told them
that the greatest thing he had and

Third Day

owned in all this world was his wit-
ness that this is the truth and that
Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.
The next man we called may be
sitting in this audience. He was the
head of one of the government
organizations in Washington. He bore
the same testimony.

Then we called a president of a
great university, and he bore the same
testimony.

Then we called a new convert, a
young mother with two children, and
she stood there and told them that
when the missionaries came to her
home, they read to her the promise in
the Book of Mormon that if she would
read it and ask God, the Eternal
Father, in the name of Christ the
Lord, he would manifest the truth of
that book unto her by the power of
the Holy Ghost. She said she got
down on her knees and asked God if
it were true, and then she read it, and
she said her whole soul was illumined.

Then we called on a returned mis-
sionary who had just spent three years
in the mission field at his own expense
or that of his family. I had talked
with him before the meeting and said,
"Did you feel like the time you spent
in the mission field was a waste of
time, that you should have been home
getting your schooling and getting
ready to marry?" "Oh," he said,
"Bishop, if the brethren want to make
me happy, just let them load me on a
plane in the morning and send me
back to the Argentine."

Readiness to testify

Then I said to that great audience
of over 2,000: "Which one of you, if
called upon, could come and occupy
this pulpit and testify that you know
beyond any shadow of doubt that this
work is divine, that it is the work of
God, the Eternal Father, that Jesus
is the Christ, and that Joseph Smith
was his prophet?" As far as I could
tell, there wasn't one hand that didn't
go up.

If I were to ask that same question
here today, there wouldn't be a hand
in these 10,000 present that wouldn't
go up and bear witness that God has

ELDER THOMAS S. MONSON

123

manifest the truth of this work unto
them other than by hearsay, just as
when Jesus said to his disciples:
"Whom do men say that I the Son of
man am?

"And they said, some say that thou
art . . . one of the prophets.

". . . But whom say ye that I am?"

And Peter answered, "Thou art the
Christ, the Son of the living God."

And then Jesus said, "Blessed art
thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and
blood hath not revealed it unto thee,
but my Father which is in heaven."
(Matt. 16:13-17.)

By that same power we know other
than by hearsay that this work is

divine, and that is my witness to you
this day in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Amen.

President Hugh B. Brown

The Tabernacle Choir will now sing
"America the Beautiful," after which
Elder Thomas S. Monson of the Coun-
cil of the Twelve will be our conclud-
ing speaker.

Selection by the choir: "America
the Beautiful."

President Hugh B. Brown

Elder Thomas S. Monson of the
Council of the Twelve will speak to us.

Elder Thomas S. Monson

Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles

Two thousand years ago the Son of
Man was born into a world like ours —
asunder. Sixty-three years had passed
since Roman legions under Pompey
had conquered Palestine and taken
Jerusalem. The helmets, broadswords,
and eagles of the Roman legionary
were everywhere to be seen. The op-
pressive yoke of the Caesars was uni-
versally felt.

Advent of promised Messiah

Deep in the depths of human hearts
there dwelt a longing, even a yearn-
ing, for the advent of the promised
Messiah. When will he come? This
was the unanswered question on the
lips of the righteous.

Generations had lived and died since
the Prophet Isaiah had declared: "Be-
hold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear
a son. . . ." (Isa. 7:14.) ". . . the gov-
ernment shall be upon his shoulder:
and his name shall be called Won-
derful, Counsellor, The mighty God,
The everlasting Father, The Prince of
Peace." (Isa. 9:6.)

With such a promise ringing in his
ears, can you and I appreciate the
supreme joy and overwhelming exulta-
tion that coursed through one called
Philip when he heard the Savior of

the world speak unto him those im-
mortal words, that divine injunction,
"Follow me"? The dawn of promise
had dispelled the night of despair. The
King of kings, the Lord of lords had
come.

Such knowledge could not be hid-
den, nor could Philip of Bethsaida
keep to himself such glad tidings.
"Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith
unto him, We have found him, of
whom Moses in the law, and the
prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth,
the son of Joseph.

"And Nathanael said unto him, Can
there any good thing come out of
Nazareth? Philip saith unto him,
Come and (John 1:45-46.)

Shall we, too, join Nathanael? Come
and see.

Can any good come out of
Nazareth?

Could Nazareth be so honored?
Nazareth, the most disregarded valley
in a despised province of a conquered
land?

Nazareth, just 80 miles from Jeru-
salem, was situated on the main trade
route that ran from Damascus through
the Galilean cities to the Mediter-
ranean coast at Acre. This, however,

124

Sunday, April 7

was not to be the village's claim to
fame. Nor was its glory to be found
in the beauty of its environs. Nazareth
was the scene of more lasting events
and profound consequence than routes
of trade or landscapes of beauty.

To a city of Galilee, called Nazareth,
came the Angel Gabriel, sent from
God. To a virgin whose name was
Mary, he declared, "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 called the Son of
. . . God." (Luke 1:30-32.)

After the birth of the Christ Child,
and following the flight into Egypt,
the sacred record reveals, "And he
came and dwelt in a city called
Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by the prophets, He
shall be called a Nazarene." (Matt.
2:23.)

In Nazareth, the boy Jesus grew
"in wisdom and stature, and in favour
with God and man." (Luke 2:52.)

From Nazareth came he who made
blind men see, lame beggars walk —
even the dead live. He set before us
an example to emulate. He lived the
perfect life. He taught the glad tid-
ings which changed the world. Let
us examine more closely and indi-
vidually these epochal events, that we
may know for ourselves if any good
thing came out of Nazareth.

From Nazareth came the
Perfect One

First let us turn to him of whom
Jesus himself spoke: "Verily I say unto
you, among them that are born of
women there hath not risen a greater
than John the Baptist. . . ." (Matt.
11:11.) John, "the Baptist," stands
forth like a colossus from the bleakness
and confusion — the "wilderness" of his
own age. Knowing that one "mightier
than he" was coming, he threw him-
self with superhuman fervor into the
task of "making straight the way." His
was the agony, and the distinction, of
being both an end and a beginning.

Astride the watershed of time, he
could look back on a long line of

GENERAL CONFERENCE

Third Day

prophets — his spiritual forebears. Let-
ting his eye range over the fertile
plains ahead, he was the first to see
that Light to which he would bear
witness.

"And it came to pass in those days,
that Jesus came from Nazareth of
Galilee, and was baptized of John in
Jordan." (Mark 1:9.)

"And John bare record, saying, I
saw the Spirit descending from heaven
like a dove, and it abode upon him.

". . . he that sent me to baptize with
water, the same said unto me, Upon
whom thou shalt see the Spirit de-
scending, and remaining on him, the
same is he which baptizeth with the
Holy Ghost.

"And I saw, and bare record that
this is the Son of God." (John 1:32-
34.)

From Nazareth came the perfect one
to be baptized — an example for all.

From Nazareth came sight

Second, let us turn to Judea and ex-
amine the testimony of one who was
born blind — him for whom it was
always night. No day — just night. But
let him provide his own account —
how darkness was turned to light.
Astonished neighbors, noting his newly
acquired vision, asked: "Is not this
he that sat and begged? . . .

". . . others said, He is like him:
but he said, I am he.

"Therefore said they unto him, How
were thine eyes opened?

"... 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." (John
9:8-11.)

■When the disbelievers urged, "Give
God the praise: we know that this man
is a sinner," he rejoined: "Whether he
be a sinner or no, I know not: one
thing I know, that, whereas I was
blind, now I see." (John 9:24-25.)

From Nazareth came sight.

From Nazareth came strength

Next, let us journey to Bethesda to
inquire of him who now walks, but who
for 38 long years walked not. 'When

ELDER THOMAS S. MONSON

125

Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he
had been now a long time in that
case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou
be made whole?" The impotent man's
reply of frustration, mingled with
hope, was met with the gentle, yet
divine command, "Rise, take up thy
bed, and walk." (John 5:6, 8.)

From Nazareth to a withered body
came new strength.

From Nazareth came life

Jesus of Nazareth restored sight, re-
moved lameness, but could it be true
that he raised the dead to life?

In Capernaum, Jairus, a ruler of the
synagogue, came to the Master, saying,
"My little daughter lieth at the point
of death: I pray thee, come and lay
thy hands on her, that she may be
healed; and she shall live." Then
came the news from the ruler's house,
"Thy daughter is dead," to which the
Christ replied: "Be not afraid, only
believe." He came to the house,
passed by the mourners and said to
them, "Why make ye this ado, and
weep? the damsel is not dead, but
sleepeth."

And they laughed him to scorn,
knowing that she was dead. And he
put them all out, and took her by the
hand, and called, saying, "Maid, arise."

"And straightway the damsel arose,
and walked. . . . And they were aston-
ished. . . ." (Mark 5:23, 35-42.)

From Nazareth came life where once
there was death. And with that mir-
acle came the perfect pattern whereby
our own lives may be made fruitful:
"Be not afraid, only believe." (Mark
5:36.)

From Nazareth came divine deeds

Out of Nazareth and down through
the generations of time come his ex-
cellent example, his welcome words,
his divine deeds.

They inspire patience to endure af-
fliction, strength to bear grief, courage
to face death, and confidence to meet
life. In this world of chaos, of trial,
of uncertainty, never has our need for
such divine guidance been more
desperate.

Lessons from Nazareth, Capernaum,

Jerusalem, and Galilee transcend the
barriers of distance, the passage of
time, the limits of understanding, and
bring to troubled hearts a light and a
way.

From Nazareth came peace

With sorrow we read each day of
young men and those not so young
who bravely die, who give their all
upon the altar of freedom.

In a hurried moment, one such took
in hand a stubby pencil, a scrap of
paper, and wrote to anxious love,
"Soon we go into battle. The enemy is
well fortified; loss of life will be heavy.
Mom, I hope I live, but I'm not afraid
to die, for I'm square with God."

Mother received the precious note.
On the same day another message
arrived. "We regret to inform you
that your son has been killed in
action."

Friends visited, loved ones com-
forted, but peace came only from him
who called Nazareth his home.

All battles are not fought in far-
away places with strange sounding
names. Nor do the participants bear
arms, hurl grenades, or drop bombs.

From Nazareth came courage

A few months past I witnessed such
a conflict — not in the steaming jungles
of Vietnam, but on the fourth floor of
the Los Angeles Orthopedic Hospital.
There were no shrill sounds of mortar
fire to be heard, no disarray of men
and equipment to be seen. Yet a life
or death struggle was in progress.
Happy, handsome Paul Van Dusen,
age 15, had just lost the first skirmish
with the dreaded foe called cancer.

Paul loved life. He excelled in
sports. He and his parents hoped,
then prayed, that the doctors' fears
would not be confirmed — that his
precious right leg would not be ampu-
tated. Shattered and stunned, they
accepted the sad news. To save his
life, he must lose his leg.

The surgery completed, Paul rested.

Entering the room, I was attracted
immediately by his cheerful and in-
fectious grin. He breathed hope. He
emanated goodness.

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126

Sunday, April 7

The crisp, white sheet lay noticeably
flat where once there was a leg.
Flowers from friends bedecked his
bedside. Parents, grateful for his life,
stood close by.

I noticed a cord strung along the
exercise bar stretching the length of
the bed. Gaily colored cards covered
the entire span. Paul invited me to
read them. One carried the message:
"We love you, Paul. We're praying for
you." It was signed by members of
his Sunday School class. Another ex-
pressed the wish, "May you get well
soon. We think you're great." This
from his schoolmates at high school.
Still another from home teachers had
the inscription, "May God bless you.
Tomorrow we'll visit you again."

What did the Carpenter from
Nazareth say of such? "Inasmuch as ye
have done it unto one of the least of
these my brethren, ye have done it
unto me." (Matt. 25:40.)

The spirit of prayer came easy that
day. A perfect peace filled the room.
Smiles of confidence crept across lips
moist with tears. From distant
Capernaum we seemed to hear the
echo, "Be not afraid, only believe."
Then Paul said, "I'll be all right."

Today Paul Van Dusen is in at-
tendance at this session of conference
in this historic Tabernacle. Today he
walks, runs, hikes, and swims. An
artificial limb makes this possible.
But behind it all one sees a faith-filled
heart and a countenance that reflects
gratitude. Faith in whom? Gratitude
for what?

From Nazareth Came Christ

"Jesus of Nazareth, Savior and King!
Triumphant over death, Life thou

didst bring.
Leaving thy Father's throne, On earth

to live,

Thy work to do alone, Thy life to
give."

(Hugh W. Dougall, Hymns, 86.)

Can any good thing come out of
Nazareth?
From Nazareth came example.
From Nazareth came sight.
From Nazareth came strength.
From Nazareth came life.

Third Day

From Nazareth came faith.

From Nazareth came peace.

From Nazareth came courage.

From Nazareth came Christ.

To him Nathanael declared, ". . .
thou art the Son of God; thou art the
King of Israel." (John 1:49.) To you
I testify, he is Lord of lords, King of
kings, Precious Savior, Dear Redeemer
— Jesus Christ of Nazareth. There is
none other name under heaven given
among men whereby we must be
saved. May we live his teachings, may
we emulate his example, may we fol-
low in his footsteps to life eternal, I
pray humbly, in the sacred name of
Jesus Christ, the Lord. Amen.

President Hugh B. Brown

We express our thanks and appre-
ciation to the Tabernacle Choir for
their inspirational music. Some of us
are aware of the many hours they
spend in practice in the devoted ser-
vice they render to the Church and
to the world.

This session has been broadcast by
many radio and television stations in
the west; and by shortwave in English
over Station WNYW to Europe, South
America, Central America, Mexico,
Africa, and parts of Asia.

Translations of this session have
been broadcast over thirty radio sta-
tions in major cities of Mexico and
Central America, together with Span-
ish programming stations in this
country, to a potential Latin American
audience of three million people.

This session has also been carried by
direct wire from the Tabernacle over
oceanic cables to a large number of
members and friends assembled in
chapels throughout Great Britain,
Germany, Austria, Holland, Sweden,
and Norway.

We shall conclude this session of
our conference with the choir singing
"Praise Ye the Lord," after which the
benediction will be pronounced by
Elder Marlon S. Bateman, president
of the Sandy Stake, and this conference
will then be adjourned until 2:00 this
afternoon.

The choir sang the anthem, "Praise
Ye the Lord," after which the benedic-

THIRD DAY 127

tion was pronounced by President Conference adjourned until 2:00
Marlon S. Bateman of the Sandy Stake. p.m.

THIRD DAY
AFTERNOON MEETING

SEVENTH SESSION

The concluding session of the con-
ference convened Sunday afternoon,
April 7, with President N. Eldon
Tanner, second counselor in the First
Presidency, conducting the service.

The Salt Lake Tabernacle Choir
furnished the music for this session,
with Richard P. Condie and Jay E.
Welch conducting. Robert Cundick
was at the organ.

President Tanner made the follow-
ing opening remarks:

President N. Eldon Tanner

President McKay is with us in spirit
and is watching the proceedings of this
session of the conference by television,
and is presiding at this session. He
has asked me to conduct the meeting,
and to extend to all his heartfelt greet-
ings.

Members of the Church are con-
vened in the Tabernacle on Temple
Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the
seventh and concluding session of the
138th Annual Conference of The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints.

This afternoon many television and
radio stations throughout the western
part of the United States will carry the
proceedings of this concluding session
of the conference.

Sessions of this conference have
been televised in color and received by
many in the United States and Canada
over most of those stations cooperating
to provide the extensive coverage of
this conference.

The full proceedings of both ses-
sions today will be re-broadcast to far-
distant places by radio stations KSL,
KIRO (at Seattle), KMBC at Kansas
City, and WRFM at New York City
on Monday, April 8, 1968, beginning
at midnight

Saturday evening an inspirational
meeting of the priesthood of the
Church was held in the Tabernacle.
The proceedings of this meeting were
relayed by closed-circuit broadcast,
originating in the Tabernacle, to
members of the priesthood assembled
in approximately 500 separate loca-
tions in all parts of the United States
and in Canada. Approximately one
hundred thousand holders of the
priesthood participated in this meeting
by direct wire, in addition to those
who received the broadcast over KSL
Radio and Television.

We extend a cordial welcome to all
present this afternoon — special guests,
educational leaders, our stake presi-
dencies from near and far, temple
presidencies, bishoprics, members of
the general auxiliary boards, members
of the Church, and many friends
everywhere who are listening in by
radio and television.

The music for this session will be
rendered by the Tabernacle Choir,
with Richard P. Condie and Jay E.
Welch conducting. Robert Cundick is
at the organ.

We shall begin this service by the
choir singing, "Lo, My Shepherd Is
Divine," conducted by Jay E. Welch,
Assistant Director.

The invocation will be offered by
Elder Lyle R. Cooley, president of the
Smithfield Stake.

The choir sang, "Lo, My Shepherd
Is Divine."

The invocation was offered by Elder
Lyle R. Cooley, president of the
Smithfield Stake.

President N. Eldon Tanner

The Tabernacle Choir, under the
direction of Richard P. Condie, will

128

Sunday, April 7

now sing, "Behold, God, the Lord,
Passed By."

After the singing, Elder Harold B.
Lee of the Council of the Twelve will
address us.

GENERAL CONFERENCE

The choir sang,
Lord, Passed By."

'Behold, God, the

Third Day

President N. Eldon Tanner

Elder Harold B. Lee of the Council
of the Twelve will be our first speaker
this afternoon. He will be followed by
Elder EIRay L. Christiansen, Assistant
to the Twelve.

Elder Harold B. Lee

Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles

For some reason I have had occasion
to recall an experience I had in this
Tabernacle several years ago when I
presided over an afternoon session of
the Pioneer Stake conference. Our
visitor was President Brigham H.
Roberts of the First Council of the
Seventy. Brother Roberts had just
come out of the hospital, where he
had undergone a severe and painful
operation that resulted in the amputa-
tion of part of his foot. When I asked
him if he felt up to speaking in the
Tabernacle, which is always an extra
pressure, as 40 or more of us here today
can testify, he said after some thought,
"I understand there is an official
Church stenographer to take down the
sermons delivered there. I have a feel-
ing that some of our members are
following the philosophies of the world
and are in danger of slipping from
their moorings in the fundamental
doctrines as taught by our early lead-
ers. I have felt that there are a few
things I would like to speak where they
can be recorded, things which might
be read after I am gone."

Address of Brigham H. Roberts

Now you can understand how I felt
about that stake conference session, to
listen to this message that he was
addressing to me and to all of my
generation to be read after he had
gone. Somehow what he said on that
occasion has come back to me again
and again recently, and the Lord will-
ing, I should like to introduce a part
of what he said and then add to it
some of my own reflections.

He began with a recital of the state-
ments of scientists which indicated a

marked trend of so-called knowledge
away from a belief in God and to
deny the continuance of the universe;
and with that, of course, would fall all
hope of immortality and eternal life,
promised in the revelations of God.

He spoke for about half of the ses-
sion, and his strength was waning. He
turned to the Tabernacle Choir mem-
bers who were there and asked if they
would sing while he recovered some of
his strength. After a few moment's
rest he then addressed himself to the
most glorious part of his whole sermon.
He spoke of the restoration of the gos-
pel of Jesus Christ as not merely
sweeping away the rubbish of past
ages, such as disputations as to the
mode of baptism, or how one's sins are
remitted, or the various forms of
church government. But he impressed
the fact that a new dispensation of the
gospel had been ushered in, built upon
a strong "foundation of the apostles
and prophets, Jesus Christ himself as
the chief corner stone." (Eph. 2:20.)

Those called to the ministry re-
ceived two significant instructions by
revelation as to how they should be
prepared for the ministry to which they
were called in this restored Church of
Jesus Christ. The doctrines of the king-
dom and the ordinances of the temple
were instituted, the Lord said, that
they might be "instructed more per-
fectly in theory, in principle, in doc-
trine, in the law of the gospel, in all
things that pertain unto the kingdom
of God, that are expedient for you. . . ."
(D&C 88:78.)

Then President Roberts read that
oft-repeated passage which has been

ELDER HAROLD B. LEE

129

mentioned two or three times in this
conference, that teachers of the gospel
were to interest themselves in secular
learning in all fields. After he had
said this, he then quoted another pro-
found statement addressed to all others
who "hath not faith." Possibly this
meant, in its broadest sense, those who
had not yet matured in their religious
convictions. This is what the Lord
said: "And as all have not faith, seek
ye diligently and teach one another
words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of
the best books words of wisdom; seek
learning, even by study and also by
faith." (D&C 88:118.)

A call to higher wisdom

Now, with that as the introductory
part of what I would wish to say, I
would like to address myself to that
last thought, "seek learning, even by
study and also by faith." This was a
call to higher wisdom that had been
trumpeted through all the ages by the
prophets. The apostle Paul asked this
soul-searching question: "For what
man knoweth the things of a man,
save the spirit of man which is in
him?" and then he declared that most
profound statement to all those who
would drink more deeply of inspired
wisdom than merely the teachings of
men: "But God hath revealed them
unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit
searcheth all things, yea, the deep
things of God."

Said he, "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." (See 1 Cor. 2:9-11.)

It was a wise prophet who warned
his brethren about being content with
the teachings of vain men who
hearken not unto the counsels of God.
"O that cunning plan of the evil onel
O the vainness, and the frailties, and
the foolishness of menl 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 this great prophet-teacher put
the learning of men and the wisdom of
God in their proper relationship when
he declared, "But to be learned is good
if they hearken unto the counsels of
God." (2 Ne. 9:28-29.)

Fortunately there are great men
schooled in worldly learning who attest
to the need of a kind of learning that
comes beyond secular knowledge. May
I illustrate a few.

Faith of space scientist

A letter from Colonel Edward H.
White, a national hero who eventually
gave his life while engaging in an
experiment designed for exploration of
outer space, was printed in the local
press a few years ago. In answer to
an inquiry as to his beliefs in law and
order in the universe, he answered in
this rather unusual way: "I believe
that law and order exist in God's crea-
tions, and that God has surely given
life to others outside our earth. In
our vast universe there are no fewer
than billions and billions of solar
systems comparable to our own — in
dimension and magnitude far beyond
the ability of the finite mind to
comprehend. 'Out there' could be
places where life, similar to our own,
perhaps superior or perhaps inferior,
may be a reality. We would be rather
egotistical to believe that ours is the
only life among all those possible
sources."

How accurately this man's learning
by faith has brought him into full
accord with what the Lord declared in
a great revelation to his prophet
Moses: "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.

"And the first man of all men have
I called Adam, which is many." (Moses
1:33-34.)

Moses was not an astronomer. He
tells us that he "beheld the earth, yea,
even all of it; and there was not a
particle of it which he did not behold,
discerning it by the spirit of God."
(Moses 1:27.)

Colonel White concluded with this

GENERAL CONFERENCE

130

Sunday, April 7

declaration of his own personal faith:
"As to evidence of God's presence dur-
ing our journey in space and during
the short period that 'I walked in
space,' I did not feel any nearer to
him there than here, but I do know
that his sure hand guided us all the
way during that four-day mission."

Presumably he is telling us that he
was guided by faith in God, which
transcended his scientific knowledge.

Supreme intelligence
designed universe

One of our own great scientists, Dr.
Henry Eyring, in the field of physical
chemistry, a few years ago wrote an
article for one of our Church periodi-
cals under the heading "Myriads of
Worlds."

He quotes from a professor-emeritus
of astronomy at Harvard University
[Harlow Shapley], in which the pro-
fessor declares that out of the millions
of suns, at least one sun in a
thousand would have acquired planets,
and that of those with planets at least
one in a thousand has a planet the
right distance for life. And then Dr.
Eyring wrote: "Thus one concludes that
there should be at the very minimum
one hundred million planets in space
which could support life, and the
number is probably many times more.
Thus, from the scientific point of
view, it is hard to doubt that there are
myriads of worlds suitable for human
habitation. . . .

"The mysteries of the universe lead
most men to worship the Supreme
Intelligence who designed it all."

Then mark you this next statement
from Dr. Eyring: "However, the great
blessing of the Gospel is the additional
avenues it opens up for developing this
faith into a perfect knowledge. Now,
as always, sure knowledge of spiritual
matters can only come by faith, by
prayer, and by living in such a way
as to have the companionship of the
Holy Ghost as is promised to all the
faithful." (The Instructor, November
1961, p. 373.)

The principle of revelation

The great volume of American his-

Third Day

tory known as the Book of Mormon,
we are told by the Lord, was trans-
lated by the Prophet "through the
mercy of God, by the power of God"
(D&C 1:29), and "the interpretation
thereof by the gift of God." (Title
page of Book of Mormon.)

The Prophet Joseph Smith tells us
something of the process by which
knowledge by faith may come: "A
person may profit by noticing the first
intimation of the spirit of revelation;
for instance, when you feel pure in-
telligence 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; (i.e.)
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 unto the principle of
revelation, until you become perfect
in Christ Jesus." (Joseph Fielding
Smith, Teachings of the Prophet
Joseph Smith, p. 151.)

Scientific discoveries inspired

A similar comment will illustrate
the working of the Spirit of God or the
light which lightens every person who
comes into the world, as a man of sci-
ence not of the Church would define
it. Some years ago in a class of
seminary teachers at Brigham Young
University, Dr. Edwin D. Starbuck, a
University of Iowa professor, remarked
that "every great scientific discovery
came as an intuition to the mind of
the discoverer." When he explained
what he meant by intuition, his stu-
dents said they called it inspiration.

The professor said that a careful
search of the records and a contact
with great living scientific discoverers
made by him "explained that the
scientist studies his problem, saturates
his mind with it, puzzles over it,
dreams about it, but seems to find
progress impossible, blocked, as it were,
by a black impenetrable wall. Then
at last and suddenly as if 'out of the
nowhere' comes a flash of light, the
answer to his quest. His mind is now
illumined by a great discovery." The
professor was positive that no great

ELDER HAROLD B. LEE

131

discovery had been made by pure
reasoning. Reason would lead to the
borderland of the unknown, but it
could not tell what was within.

No easy road to knowledge

Certainly learning by faith is not
an easy road or a lazy means to knowl-
edge. For instance, a prophet tells
us there are times when no miracles
can be found among the people: "And
the reason why he ceaseth to do mira-
cles among the children of men is
because that they dwindle in unbelief,
and depart from the right way, and
know not the God in whom they
should trust." (Morm. 9:20.)

And then concerning directly the
working of miracles, which of course is
an evidence of the wisdom of God
working through men, the prophet
Nephi declared: "And now it came to
pass that according to our record, and
we know our record to be true, for
behold, it was a just man who did
keep the record — for he truly did many
miracles in the name of Jesus; and
there was not any man who could do
a miracle in the name of Jesus save he
were cleansed every whit from his
iniquity." (3 Ne. 8:1.)

Gifts of Spirit enjoyed by faithful

Thus, you see, such heavenly gifts of
the Spirit are only to be enjoyed by
those who have learned by faith and
living worthily to receive the right to
exercise these divine powers. To one
who would be so taught, remember the
Lord's command: "Search diligently,
pray always, and be believing, and
all things shall work together for your
good, if ye walk uprightly and remem-
ber the covenant wherewith ye have
covenanted one with another." (D&C
90:24.)

Our own Prophet who gave us the
first revelations of this dispensation
said, "We would say to the brethren,
seek to know God in your closets, call
upon him in the fields. Follow the di-
rections of the Book of Mormon, and
pray over, and for your families, your
cattle, your flocks, your herds, your
corn, and all things that you possess;
ask the blessings of God upon all your

labors, and everything that you engage
in. Be virtuous and pure; be men of
integrity and truth; keep the com-
mandments of God; and then you will
be able more perfectly to understand
the difference between right and wrong
— between the things of God and the
things of men; and your path will be
like that of the just, which shineth
brighter and brighter unto the perfect
day." (Teachings of the Prophet
Joseph Smith, p. 247.)

God in the still small voice

Yes, as our great Tabernacle Choir
has just sung, God isn't in the earth-
quake; he isn't in the whirlwind; he
isn't in the fire; but he is in the still,
small voice. Always we won't have
him in sight, but if we are living as
we ought to live, we can always be sure
he is there. Some of the most severe
taskmasters that the world can know
are sometimes beating us into a shape
so we can pass such tests as necessary
to gain that divine privilege.

I bear you my testimony that the
Master, as the apostle Paul spoke of
him, "Though he were a Son, yet
learned he obedience by the things
which he suffered;

"And being made perfect, he be-
came the author of eternal salvation
unto all them that obey him." (Heb.
5:8-9.)

I know this through the refining
processes of some severity. May I not
fail whatever test the Lord may have to
qualify me for the place which I am
now occupying. With all my soul
and conviction, and knowing the seri-
ousness and import of that testimony,
I tell you that I know that he lives.
I am conscious of his presence much
of the time when I have needed him
most; I have known it out of the
whisperings of the night, the impres-
sions of the daytime when there were
things for which I was responsible and
on which I could receive guidance. So
I testify to you and tell you that he
is closer to the leaders of this Church
than you have any idea. Listen to the
leaders of this Church and follow
their footsteps in righteousness, if you
would learn not only by study but also

132

GENERAL CONFERENCE

Sunday, April 7

by faith, which testimony I bear most
humbly and sincerely in the name of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

President N. Eldon Tanner

He to whom we have just listened

Third Day

is Elder Harold B. Lee of the Council
of the Twelve.

Elder EIRay L. Christiansen, Assis-
tant to the Twelve, will be our next
speaker. He will be followed by Elder
A. Theodore Turtle of the First Coun-
cil of Seventy.

Elder EIRay L. Christiansen

Assistant to the Council of the Twelve

Seventy-five years ago yesterday, the
magnificent Salt Lake Temple, which
stands on this block, was dedicated to
the Lord. An indispensable part of
the Lord's work and purposes is car-
ried on in holy temples.

Why temples

Today, it seems to me, more and
more people are interested in the tem-
ples erected by the Latter-day Saints.
Invariably, interested persons ask this
question: "Why do you people build
these temples?" The answer is, "The
Lord commanded that they be built."

There is ample evidence that when-
ever the higher priesthood has been
upon the earth, and when his people
have proven their allegiance to his
laws and commandments, the Lord has
required them to build temples. These
temples are dedicated to him and are
sacred precincts wherein the Lord may
reveal important knowledge essential
to the full salvation of his children.

In the words of the Lord, temples
are built so "that I may reveal mine
ordinances therein unto my people."
(D&C 124:40.)

Even while the children of Israel
traveled through the wilderness, they
were commanded to build a portable
tabernacle (which served temporarily
as a temple). In it sacred ordi-
nances were administered for the
benefit and blessing of the people.

Ancient temples

While it is true that ancient Israel
did not have the fullness of ordinances
as we have today, their similarity,
nevertheless, is striking. The mag-

nificent structure built by King Solo-
mon about 1000 B.C., and later the
temple known as Jerubabal, and the
temple built during the reign of King
Herod the Great were erected by great
numbers of dedicated people. It is
said that after the heavy labor and
enormous personal sacrifices involved,
the people wept and rejoiced at the
completion of these structures.

Throughout their history, the Ne-
phites were a temple-building people.
The record states:

"And I, Nephi, did build a temple;
and I did construct it after the manner
of the temple of Solomon save it were
not built of so many precious things;
for they were not to be found upon
the land " (2 Ne. 5:16.)

The Kirtland Temple

Following the pattern of biblical
times, the Lord has commanded the
Saints of the latter days to erect tem-
ples to his name. (See D&C 57:3.) The
first to be completed in this dispensa-
tion was dedicated in 1836 at Kirt-
land, Ohio. (See D&C 95 and 97.)

Even though money was scarce,
members were few, and persecution
was unrelenting, in building the Kirt-
land Temple the people had the cour-
age to match their faith! Seldom has a
people shown greater unity and made
greater sacrifices for a common cause
than was shown in completing that
temple.

Edward Tullidge wrote in 1877:
"With very little capital except
brains, bone, and sinue combined with
unwavering trust in God, men and
women and even children worked with

ELDER ELRAY L. CHRISTIANSEN

133

their might ... all living as ab-
stemiously as possible so every cent
might be appropriated to the grand
object, while their energies were stimu-
lated by the prospect of participating
in the blessing of a house built under
the direction of the Most High and
accepted by Him." (Women of Mor-
monism [1877 Edition], p. 82.)

Evidently the Kirtland Temple was
not designed structurally for such ordi-
nances as baptisms or endowments
for the dead, but rather as an ap-
propriate place in which certain of
those chosen for the work in the
ministry were endowed with essential
blessings, keys, and power from on
high. In it the Savior appeared in
person to the Prophet Joseph Smith
and Oliver Cowdery, and he accepted
it as his house. This glorious vision
was followed by personal visitations of
Moses, Elias, and Elijah, who appeared
in succession, and each one of them
committed the keys of this dispensa-
tion, which he rightfully held, into the
hands of the Prophet Joseph Smith,
saying: "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." (D&C
110:16.)

Can we realize fully the significance
of these personal visitations and of
having the keys of this dispensation
committed into the hands of those
chosen men? But think of it: These
same keys, all of them, are vested in
the prophet of this day — our beloved
President David O. McKay!

The Nauvoo Temple

Less than two years after the tem-
ple was completed, the Saints were
forced to leave Kirtland, and only
three years later the Lord called upon
his people to build in Nauvoo a
temple for "The Most High to dwell
therein," for he said:

". . . there is not a place found on
earth that he may come to and restore
again that which was lost unto you,
or which he hath taken away, even
the fulness of the priesthood.

"For a baptismal font there is not

upon the earth, that they, my saints,
may be baptized for those who are
dead —

"For this ordinance belongeth to my
house, and cannot be acceptable to
me, only in the days of your poverty
wherein ye are not able to build a
house unto me.

"And verily I say unto you, let this
house be built unto my name, that I
may reveal mine ordinances therein
unto my people;

"For I deign to reveal unto my
church things which have been kept
hid from them before the foundation
of the world, things that pertain to the
dispensation of the fulness of times."
(D&C 124:27-30, 40-41.)

Temple work increasing

Since the restoration of the gospel,
the Church has erected 15 temples, 13
of which are now in operation days
and evenings, with the volume of work
done in them constantly increasing.
In fact, in endowments and sealings
alone, there were in 1967 nearly one-
half million more ordinances admin-
istered than in the previous year.

As you know, the sites for two new
temples have been selected and the
plans are nearing completion. Inci-
dentally, I have learned that without
any personal contacts being made, the
members of one ward in one of these
new temple areas provided in one
week more than 130 percent of their
share of the suggested financial
contribution.

Priesthood ordinances
administered

The Latter-day Saints do not build
temples merely to be admired for their
architectural and structural beauty;
neither are they built as places for
ordinary worship. Temples are erected
and specially dedicated for the express
purpose of administering the ordi-
nances of the holy priesthood — all for
the edification and endowment of the
faithful sons and daughters of God.

Many people, even some in the
Church, do not realize that these
temple ordinances have come to us
by revelation from the Lord, who said:

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134

Sunday, April 7

"And I will show unto my servant
Joseph all things pertaining to this
house, and the priesthood thereof, and
the place whereon it shall be built."
(D&C 124:42.)

These ordinances of the priesthood
are administered, and their purpose
taught, in what might be termed
"closed revelation," that is, they are
not revealed to the unprepared world
in the ordinary way. Those who enter
the temple "hungering and thirsting,"
as it were, have revealed to them
knowledge and understanding of their
relationship to God, and they learn
what they need to do to gain the
greatest gift of God — eternal life and
exaltation with their loved ones. Thus,
one might in reverence refer to the
temple as the "university of the Lord."
And because God is just, the temple
ordinances are administered not only
for the living but also by proxy for
their deceased relatives.

Promise of eternal growth

All who live or who have lived in
mortality will, through the power of
the Redeemer, be resurrected in due

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time. All will live foreverl All will
receive some degree of salvation, if the
right to it has not been forfeited. But
those who receive the ordinances of
the endowment and are properly sealed
or married and who keep the covenants
they made with the Lord are promised
by him that "these are they who shall
have part in the first resurrection.

"These are they who shall come
forth in the resurrection of the just.

"These are they whose bodies are
celestial, whose glory is that of the
sun, even the glory of God, the highest
of all. . . ." (D&C 76:64-65, 70.)

Thus, the temple ordinances give
the promise of eternal intellectual
growth and development, of endless
blessings, and of continued association
with those we love.

I testify that the ordinances admin-
istered in the temple are divinely given,
in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

President N. Eldon Tanner

Elder A. Theodore Tuttle of the First
Council of Seventy will now address
us.

Elder A. Theodore Tuttle

Of the First Council of the Seventy

My dear brethren and sisters:
An English teacher at Ricks College
returned a composition to a young man
with this comment, "This is poetic
and lovely — largely because of evident
sincerity. Please give it to your dad."
While it has more value for young
people, its message is helpful to par-
ents as well. May I share his thought-
ful reflections with you?

Love Lost

"Thinking back on things I thought

I used to hate,
I at last realize they were the things

I loved:

The days I earned my pay at a hundred

twenty in the shade,
And smelled the diesel of a tractor

through rising waves of heat;

"Saving newborn calves

Wet and freezing from the January

wind of an open country,
Then watching them frisk when finally

they struggled through for good.

"I wish I could go back to change
those things

Which robbed me of a parent's pride,

To love those things I once de-
spised. . . .

I'd love school and church and idle
moments.

. . . But most of all I'd love my dad."
Joy in home experiences

I wanted to share this especially
with the youth of the Church — you
who are struggling to find yourselves;
you who want to love your dad and
give expression to this yearning but

ELDER A. THEODORE TUTTLE

135

who do not quite know how; you who
are a bit rebellious when counseled
or restrained.

Can you learn a lesson from one of
your peers in the thoughts just quoted?
Are you missing the opportunity of
bringing joy to your parents? Are
you robbing yourselves "of a parent's
pride"?

Can you who are still at home
doing the chores and meeting responsi-
bility and keeping the faith — can you
find joy in these experiences and see a
little more clearly how fortunate you
really are?

The Lord has semaphored from
Sinai a great commandment: "Honour
thy father and thy mother," and then
the Lord included a unique promise,
"that thy days may be long upon the
land which the Lord thy God giveth
thee." (Exod. 20:12.)

Questions for young men

Young man, what are your answers
to these questions:

1. Is there honor in your home for
those who bore you and reared you?

2. Do you show respect and cour-
tesy to your mother by never speaking
a disrespectful word?

3. Do you see anything wrong with
being obedient to your parents, who
are more wise and experienced than
you?

4. Are you maintaining the stan-
dards of virtue, honesty, and service
that you have been taught?

5. Do you willingly accept the
necessity of chores you have to do, and
realize that by the very nature of
chores strength of character and self-
discipline develop in you?

6. Do you ever take the initiative
to do the obviously necessary jobs
around the home?

7. Are you learning to study for
yourself (not for the teacher or your
folks) and to strive for excellence in
your learning?

Questions for young ladies

Young lady, how do you measure up
to these questions:

1. Do you carry your share of the
household duties?

2. Do you have really good visits
with your mother about life and love
and things?

3. Do you do something special for
your father just to show your love?

4. Do you honor your parents by
your modesty of dress and the purity
of your life?

5. Are you learning how to man-
age and care for a home?

6. Are you developing your talents
by practice and by sharing?

7. Are you living the laws that will
lengthen your days on the land the
Lord gave you?

Questions for parents

We have been talking about chil-
dren honoring their parents. I wonder
if there is another dimension to this —
parents honoring their children. Can
you as parents respond to these
questions:

1. Can you rise to meet the chal-
lenge of teaching and guiding your
own?

2. Are you examples of the be-
lievers, practicing the virtues of ideal
Latter-day Saint parents?

3. Are you overly permissive, and
do you allow your children too much
freedom for their years?

4. Do you indulge them excessively
as to their physical wants and then
expect them to be completely circum-
spect morally? Is there not a great
lesson in the wise counsel General
Robert E. Lee is said to have given
to a mother regarding her son, "Teach
him to deny himself"?

5. Do you ask instead of tell your
children to do something?

6. When discipline and correction
are necessary, do you reaffirm your
love by "showing forth afterwards an
increase of love toward him whom thou
hast reproved. . . ."? (D&C 121:43.)

7. Do you teach your children "to
pray and walk uprightly before the
Lord," and also to observe "the sab-
bath day to keep it holy"?

8. Do you read the scriptures in your
home and reaffirm the authority of
the scriptures in the lives of your
children?

9. Do you teach that the foundation

136

Sunday, April 7

of a happy home is laid during pre-
marital days in the virtue and purity
of youthful lives?

10. Parents, do you know where
your children are each night at ten?

11. Do you teach by example and
precept that marriage is a sacred and
eternal covenant that should be per-
formed in the temple of the Lord?

12. Do you frequently tell your
children, individually, that you love
them?

Your parents love you

Young people, do you know that
your parents love you very much?
Many of you remember a story told
in the first Family Home Evening
Manual. It concerned a little girl
named Kathy, who asked: "Mother,
why am I so stupid? I got lower
marks than any of my friends, and I
missed more spelling words than any-
one else. I am the dumbest girl in
the third grade."

When her mother heard this, she
put her arm around Kathy, led her
to the couch, drew her down beside
her, and said, "Kathy, we will help
you more at home with your lessons
so that you can do better in school.
But there are things you can do very
well. The fact that you cannot spell
means only that you take after your
father, but you are not stupid. Re-
member when you came home and
helped me with the children, how they
enjoyed having you tend them!"

Kathy said, "Yes, that is because
they are my brothers and sisters."

"Yes, but you do it for other children
too." And her mother went on to
tell Kathy how well she succeeded and
helped in the home. Then her mother
said, "Kathy, you are very special to
us."

"Why am I special, Mother?"
"You are special because you are
ours."

Why God loves us

As I was relating this story to a
group of missionaries, I received an
additional insight — I finally under-
stood why God loves us. He loves us
because we are Tits.

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Third Day

He desires that we show the same
honor to him that we show to our
earthly parents — respect and obedience.

Some years ago I heard an emi-
nent child psychologist speak to a
group of parents. She discussed how
to establish the proper relationship
between parent and child and gave
many helpful and practical sugges-
tions. At the close of the lecture she
invited questions from the floor. A
young mother, evidently bewildered
by all she was supposed to do and
remember, said, "I have not done
many of the things you have suggested,
and I am afraid I cannot remember or
do all the things that you have said."
This master teacher's reply was most
comforting. She said, "Do not worry,
my dear; if you really love your chil-
dren, you cannot do anything that will
seriously impair their growth and
development."

Family to be perfected

It is one of the salient teachings of
this Church that the family is to be
perpetuated and perfected in the
eternities to come, and that we will
enjoy our family relationships there
as we do here, if we follow the Lord's
plan.

Youth, remember the counsel of the
Lord. "Honour thy father and thy
mother: that thy days may be long
upon the land which the Lord thy
God giveth thee." (Exod. 20:12.)

Perhaps we as parents must come
to understand and appreciate that the
mantle of leadership is not the cloak
of comfort but the robe of responsi-
bility. Perhaps we too will come to
look back on our entire life as this
boy looked on his youthful experiences,
and come to know that his composi-
tion has meaning for us. I conclude
with his words:

"I wish I could go back to change those
things

Which robbed me of a parent's pride,
To love those things I once de-
spised. . . .
I'd love school and church and idle
moments.

. . . But most of all I'd love my dad."

ELDER JOHN LONGDEN

137

I bear you my witness that we have
a Father in heaven, that he is our
Father, that we are his children, and
that he loves us very much. I bear
you my witness that his Only Begotten
Son was sent to this earth to teach us
the plan of salvation; that he was to
live, to die, to resurrect; that through
our repentance and acceptance of the
plan of salvation, as taught by this
Church, we could come back into the
presence of our Father in heaven, in
the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

President N. Eldon Tanner

Elder A. Theodore Turtle of the First
Council of Seventy has just spoken to
us.

The congregation and choir will
now join in singing, "Now Let Us
Rejoice in the Day of Salvation," con-
ducted by Jay E. Welch.

After the singing, Elder John Long-
den, Assistant to the Twelve, will
address us.

The choir and congregation joined
in singing the hymn, "Now Let Us
Rejoice."

President N. Eldon Tanner

Elder John Longden, Assistant to the
Twelve, will now speak to us. He will
be followed by Elder Paul H. Dunn
of the First Council of Seventy.

Elder John Longden

Assistant to the Council of the Twelve

In President David O. McKay's key-
note address at the commencement of
this conference, this statement was
made: "One supreme wish in my heart
is that the spirit of this conference
could be felt in every home in this
world." I pray for that same influence
to permeate the homes of the world.

During this conference, we have
again raised our hands to sustain our
Prophet, the First Presidency, and
other General Authorities of the
Church. We have welcomed into this
group some new young men, and
others have been reassigned, but all
for one purpose and with one over-
riding call — to be personal representa-
tives of Jesus Christ on the earth
today.

It's a fair guess to say that through-
out the Church today there will be
several thousand people, young and
old, called to positions of leadership
and service in their respective branches,
wards, stakes, and missions.

May I suggest that there is a solemn
duty upon both groups to bring beauti-
ful, spiritual peace to the earth.

Prepare ye

The Lord, speaking to the Prophet
Joseph Smith, said: "Prepare ye,

prepare ye for that which is to come,
for the Lord is nigh." (D&C 1:12.)

The scriptures are replete with ad-
monitions to "prepare ourselves and
our fellowmen for the good life here
and hereafter."

"Hearken, and lo, a voice as of one
sent down from on high, who is
mighty and powerful, whose going
forth is unto the ends of the earth,
yea, whose voice is unto men — Pre-
pare ye the way of the Lord, make his
paths straight." (D&C 65:1.)

The preamble to the 65th section to
the Doctrine and Covenants states:

"Revelation given through Joseph
Smith the Prophet, . . . 1831. The
Prophet designates this revelation as a
prayer. — Commitment of the keys of
the kingdom of God unto man — The
kingdom of God and the kingdom of
Heaven named separately — Supplica-
tion that the kingdom of God, already
on earth, may go forth that the king-
dom of Heaven may come."

This is scripture and is for all in-
habitants of the world.

Keys of the kingdom

The Lord further states in this same
section of the Doctrine and Covenants:
"The keys of the kingdom of God

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138

Sunday, April 7

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 moun-
tain without hands shall roll forth,
until it has filled the whole earth.

"Yea, a voice crying — Prepare ye
the way of the Lord, prepare ye the
supper of the Lamb, make ready for
the Bridegroom.

"Pray unto the Lord, call upon his
holy name, make known his wonder-
ful works among the people.

"Call upon the Lord, that his king-
dom may go forth upon the earth, that
the inhabitants thereof may receive
it, and be prepared for the days to
come, in the which the Son of Man
shall come down in heaven, clothed in
the brightness of his glory, to meet the
kingdom of God which is set up on
the earth.

"Wherefore, may the kingdom
of God go forth, that the kingdom of
heaven may come, that thou, O God,
mayest be glorified in heaven so on
earth, that thine enemies may be sub-
dued; for thine is the honor, power and
glory, forever and ever. Amen."
(D&C 65:2-6.)

Most powerful weapon

Former President Eisenhower one
evening had a few close friends at the
White House in Washington, D. C.
They were discussing world problems.
For a long while, the President lis-
tened; then he said:

"My friends, the biggest, most power-
ful weapon in the world is not the
atomic bomb, or even the fighting
ability of men. It is their moral and
spiritual strength. Nothing can ever
conquer that strength. Remember this,
gentlemen, because that is the weapon
our enemies really fear."

Our message to the world is that
moral and spiritual courage are needed
to prepare the way.

Meaning of preparedness

Preparedness has many connota-
tions, and perhaps each of us thinks
of it differently, at the same time
agreeing on its basic principle.

Preparedness means to get ready for

Third Day

a given event; if we are entertaining
friends in our homes, we make ready
the home and the refreshments, and so
forth.

Unexpectedly I visited a home some-
time ago. In this home was a young
lady afflicted with a dreadful disease.
The mother answered the door and
said, "Oh, Brother Longden, come in.
I wondered why I was cleaning the
house so well this morning. I didn't
know a servant of God would be
calling."

In this home they are already pre-
pared and doing their bit to help others
prepare the way. The gospel of Jesus
Christ is their way of life, and it is
that simple.

If we are holding a meeting, we pre-
pare for that. Planning for a trip or
a vacation, we prepare well in advance.

A few months ago I visited a
mortuary in respect to a choice lady
whom I had known for many years.
In visiting with some of her children,
one of the daughters said, "Mother was
prepared to die, but Mother was pre-
pared to live all her life." Knowing
this lady, I concurred in this sincere
tribute. Because of this one woman,
many lives were better prepared to
live.

Constant preparation needed

The Lord, speaking to the Prophet
Joseph Smith in 1832, said:

"And all things shall be in commo-
tion; and surely, men's hearts shall
fail them; for fear shall come upon
all people.

"And angels shall fly through the
midst of heaven, crying with a loud
voice, sounding the trump of God,
saying: Prepare ye, prepare ye, O in-
habitants of the earth; for the judgment
of our God is come. Behold, and lo, the
bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet
him." (D&C 88:91-92.)

We can be prepared to meet him,
either if we should be called to leave
here, or if we should still be here at
his second coming.

Three or four years ago, two young
high school students were driving on
Wasatch Boulevard in Salt Lake City.
It was reported a man under the influ-

ELDER JOHN LONGDEN

139

ence of liquor, driving the car coming
in the opposite direction, came over
the center line and rammed into their
small car. They were killed instantly.

Each of them was a fine young man,
not only holding the office of priest
in the Aaronic Priesthood but honoring
that priesthood by the way he lived. I
attended the funeral service of one of
them. Never have I attended one like
it. The chapel and cultural hall were
filled to overflowing, mostly by young
people.

The remarks of a young student
speaker impressed upon me the need
for constant preparation, the need to be
constantly prepared.

He said, addressing his remarks to
the bereaved parents, "I have never
seen your son say or do anything you
would be ashamed of."

Prepared to live eternally

Thirty-nine years ago, we buried
our firstborn. Elder Adam S. Ben-
nion spoke these words at our
daughter's service:

"There are out beyond today for
this young couple two gates. They
will choose to open one of them. The
first one swings to the touch of grief.
It will open quickly and easily. It
leads out into doubt and despair, even
to bitterness. The other gate opens
more slowly, isn't so promising to look
at. It yields to the push of patience.
I'm not sure that it doesn't swing better
to a pull, but if it may be pulled
through patience, it opens to hope and
faith and confidence in God, consola-
tion and mutual benediction. I know
these two young people well enough
to know which gate they will enter."

May I say now, after nearly forty
years, this is true: pulling on that gate
brings a deep sense of spiritual peace;
come what may, it has helped us to
ride over several stormy parts of our
lives. Someone helped prepare the
way for us. What have we done to
help others? There may be sorrow,
tragedy, commotion, frustration, ten-
sion, pressures, strife, troubles, and
problems in this fast-moving world.
Yet, in the gospel of Jesus Christ is
the pattern which will extend comfort,

hope, and peace to the world. Living
by its tenets, we are prepared to die;
but more important, to live eternally.

The parables of Jesus, the scriptures,
old and new, are rilled with admoni-
tions to prepare ourselves and help to
prepare the way for others.

Example of being prepared

It was my privilege this morning,
just before the commencement of this
conference, to shake hands with a
former missionary companion. Forty-
six years ago was our first meeting, as
he indoctrinated me into the missionary
service. Our paths have crossed many
times. To me he is a living example
of constantly being prepared. He now
holds the high office of patriarch in
the Hunter Stake.

I am reminded of a series of talks
given from this podium by a prophet
of the Lord several years ago; his
name: Elder Albert E. Bowen. I would
remind each of us of the title of these
discourses, "Constancy Amid Change."

In the first prayer opening this con-
ference, this statement was uttered:
"May we get a stimulation to great
action."

And now in conclusion, may I give
you a thought from President David
O. McKay: "Most earnestly do I hope
that we shall never lose the great con-
viction that the world is our field of ac-
tivity. Can you think of anything more
potent in moving a people to action?

"But what a responsibility this en-
tails of leading good men and good
women all over the world to know
God, and to know what their mission
is on earth!" (Instructions to Regional
Representatives of the Twelve, Septem-
ber 27-28, 1967.)

I pray that we will constantly be
prepared and know our mission on
earth, and pray for his blessings upon
us in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Amen.

President N. Eldon Tanner

We have just listened to Elder John
Longden, Assistant to the Twelve.

We shall now hear from Elder Paul
H. Dunn of the First Council of Sev-
enty.

140 GENERAL CONFERENCE

Sunday, April 7 Third Day

Elder Paul H. Dunn

Of the First Council of the Seventy

I am grateful once again, my breth-
ren and sisters, to be in this great
historic Tabernacle and to enjoy the
spirit of the conference. I greet all
who are listening, both seen and
unseen.

I have reflected with great interest
and personal satisfaction upon the
messages of this conference, particu-
larly the keynote address by the Presi-
dent, as he brought to our attention
very forcefully the conditions of the
world and of this nation.

School thy feelings

One of the things that impressed me
deeply was the comment that President
McKay made concerning the need for
self-conquest. He indicated that in
the life of our Savior self-control was
divine. I have reflected upon that.
My mind was brought quickly to the
hymn that we often sing, penned by
Charles W. Penrose, which suggests
that we school our feelings. Let me
just refer to the first verse as perhaps
a text that I would like to develop:

"School thy feelings, O my brother;
Train thy warm impulsive soul;
Do not its emotions smother,
But let wisdom's voice control.
School thy feelings; there is power
In the cool, collected mind;
Passion shatters reason's tower,
Makes the clearest vision blind."

(Hymns, 340.)

I thought about that as we listened
to the comments of others concerning
the condition of our nation, the riots,
pestilence in the land, some of the
concerns that we all have today. It
is interesting to note that these condi-
tions start in such small ways, with
the individual, in the home. Our
nation and our communities are no
stronger than the individual or the
home and its basic make-up.

Personal experience

I hope my wonderful partner will
forgive me if I share a little experi-

ence that occurred during our adjust-
ment period shortly after we were
married. I recall that one day as I
was at my work I felt ill, a little blue,
and sensing the need for added physi-
cal comfort and attention, I left my
office a little early to go home. The
heavy traffic of the Los Angeles free-
way did nothing but add to my
anxieties. When I arrived home, I
found that my wife was not there.
Here I was, expecting tender love, care,
and understanding, and of all days she
could have picked, this was the one
she decided not to be at home. I
couldn't imagine why she couldn't read
my mind.

When I arrived home, I settled my-
self on the couch, actually growing a
little more angry with each moment
that she was absent. And then finally,
after about an hour of anxious waiting,
she appeared on the scene. Can you
imagine what she had been doing?
Shopping! I looked at her somewhat
wonderingly and asked where she had
been. "Couldn't you be more thought-
ful of your husband?" I said.

She responded, "I couldn't know
that you were coming home early."

I was still a bit upset.

She wanted to show me the treasures
she had just purchased, and I wasn't
particularly interested. One by one
she unwrapped the various purchases,
and finally getting to the last she had
saved for the big surprise, she said,
"Just wait until you see the material
that I finally found to cover the
couch." And she showed it to me.
She said, "What do you think?"

I said, "It is terrible."

She was hurt, and with her emotions
showing she left the room. I was still
upset, so I let her go. An hour passed.
And you know women sometimes have
an interesting way of striking back. It
was one of my first lessons on this
subject. Without saying a word, she
just did not fix my supper.

Well, one act begets another, and I
thought, "Two can play this game."

ELDER PAUL H. DUNN

141

So in my moment of real concern, I
started to play the mature adult game
that sometimes goes on in the homes
of people — it is known as the silent
treatment. I didn't talk to her for
the rest of the evening, and she re-
sponded by not answering.

I am sorry to confess to you that
we retired to our beds that night
without saying a word, and I was still
unfed. That night as I tried to find
comfort and solace in the night, I
failed to go to sleep. It was a month
later before I discovered that the two
of us were having a like experience.
All night I lay clinging to my side of
the mattress, being fearful that I
might roll over and touch her.

The next day added more to our
anxieties, and it was not until the
following night that I gained control
of my compassion and feeling and
took her by the hand into the living
room, where we knelt down together
and sought our Heavenly Father. The
impression of the great discovery was
that I was able in part to school my
feelings. I had remembered an oath
and a covenant that I had taken in
the temple before my Heavenly Father
as a husband and as a father-to-be.

These are great challenges in our
lives, brethren and sisters, and I see
in this a direct relationship to a con-
dition of our nation and of the world,
that to understand why is to discover
the great eternal truths.

Things that cause anger

Not long ago, in fact it was just on
last New Year's eve, a very interesting
experience unfolded before me that
brought to my mind again this great
verse and the comment of our Presi-
dent. One of my very close associates
made a promise concerning his new
year's resolution that I thought was
very interesting. He swore on that
occasion that he would not commit
another sin as long as he lived. He
said he had made a lot of mistakes in
the past, but from that time on he was
going to exercise perfect self-control.
And then when another acquaintance
who was standing nearby commenced
to make fun of him and his resolution,

the first man became so angry that he
wanted to fight.

Someone has said that "the measure
of a man is the things that make him
angry." And I believe that we have
plenty of confirmation of this state-
ment in the life and teachings of Jesus,
as well as in the experiences of other
noble souls who have lived since his
time.

Jesus' anger against evil practices

We note that, although Jesus
warned his disciples against the evil
results of uncontrolled temper, he be-
came angry himself, and on at least
one occasion he prepared to use force,
if necessary, in driving evil practices
from the halls of the temple. (See
John 2:15.) But think, if you will, of
the size of the things that aroused his
anger. Men called him the prince of
devils, and he paid little attention to
their criticism. They had said that he
was ignorant, but this had not caused
him to lose his temper. They had
spit in his face, mocked him, hit him,
and later even hanged him to the cross,
but he did not lose control of his
feelings.

It was quite different, however, when
they criticized him for doing good on
the Sabbath. Realizing that the Sab-
bath was made for man, and not man
for the Sabbath, he started to heal a
poor fellow on the sacred day. And
when he found the crowd in a critical
mood, he "looked round about on them
with anger " (Mark 3:5.)

So long as men held him up per-
sonally to ridicule, he paid little at-
tention. But in the presence of
injustice, when men would be unfair
and unkind toward each other, he
threw the influence of his great,
tempered personality against their evil
practices. No one could hurt him by
attempting to punish him as an indi-
vidual, but they touched his heart
when they were cruel to each other.

Let us not confuse the well-
controlled use of unselfish enthusiasm
with the harsh roaring of a weak,
tempestuous spirit. In the teachings
of Jesus there is a definite place for
the former; there is neither time nor

GENERAL CONFERENCE

142

Sunday, April 7

place for the latter. "Ye have heard
that it was said to them of old time,
Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever
shall kill shall be in danger of the
judgment:

"But I say unto you, That whosoever
is angry with his brother . . . shall be
in danger of the judgment. . . ." (Matt.
5:21-22.)

Self-control requires
determined effort

Coming back to my friend who
became angry, after making the new
year's resolution that he was going to
exercise perfect self-control, I guess the
poor fellow did not realize that such a
goal required determination and a
plan of accomplishment. Sometimes
one has to work all kinds of tricks on
himself to hold his emotions in check.
He had set for himself a desirable
goal that would be meaningful in the
lives of all of us.

An energetic person works hard and
studies several hours a day sometimes
to develop other types of abilities. Is
it not worth some practice to gain con-
trol over one's emotions? I believe
that it is, but from my own experience
I am quite sure that it is no easy job.
It is a happy and successful person who
can gain control of his emotions and
use them to improve his relationships
with others and bring into his own
life greater peace, joy, and serenity that
are so desperately needed in our world
today. Suppose we look for a moment
at some of the plans that others have
found helpful in controlling temper as
well as developing other desirable
habits and characteristics.

Lindbergh's plan for
character growth

When Colonel Charles Lindbergh
was asked what method he used, he
said that he came to the conclusion
that if he knew the difference between
the right way to do a thing and the
wrong way to do it, it was up to him
to train himself to do the right thing
at all times. So he drew up a list of
characteristics that he wished to de-
velop and wrote them, one under the
other, on the left side of a sheet of

Third Day

paper. Then each evening he would
read off this entire list of characteris-
tics. After those that he felt he had
developed to some extent during the
day, he would place a red check, and
after those character factors that he
felt he had violated, he would draw a
black check. Those that he had not
been called upon to demonstrate that
day would receive no mark.

After checking himself in this way
over a definite period of time, he
would compare the number of red and
black checks to see whether or not he
was getting any better. He said that
he was generally glad to note im-
provement as he grew older. He had
altogether developed 58 character
factors, among which were altruism,
calmness in temper, clean speech,
justice, modesty, no sarcasm, and
punctuality.

Others have noticed considerable
development in character by picking
one person who has achieved an extra-
ordinary degree of moral strength and
then by judging all his own actions by
the life of this ideal. Have I been as
good and kind in all of my own deal-
ings this day as he would have been?
If not, then I need to be more careful
tomorrow. Do I have as perfect con-
trol of my temper, am I as sympa-
thetic, do I go out of my way as much
as he does to help someone in trouble?
Only when we can say yes to such
questions dealing with the whole field
of moral endeavor may we be satisfied
with our accomplishment of self-
control. And if we pick some person-
ality that is sufficiently perfect, we
shall no doubt be struggling upward
to the end of our lives.

Christ as an ideal

Sheldon's book In His Steps laid
emphasis on the value of picking Jesus
Christ as an ideal for every activity of
the day, to do as he would do if he
were here today. Reaching back over
a period of nearly two thousand years,
to a time when conditions were quite
different from those of the present
day, one senses the difficulty of
knowing in every case what Jesus
would do. Yet in the face of this ob-

ELDER PAL

stacle, I have a feeling that our very
attempt to catch his spirit and follow
his example, the example of the great-
est personality of all time, will prove
a constant stimulus to higher living in
the present day.

It was Jean Paul Richter who said:
"He is the mightiest among the holy
and the holiest among the mighty. He
has, with his pierced hands, lifted
empires off their hinges, turned the
stream of centuries out of its channels,
and still rules the ages."

In the words of a great modern re-
ligious leader, David O. McKay,
"Christ's life was a life of unselfish
service — always helping those who
were living incompletely to live com-
pletely— his mission was to give them
life. In his life and death, Christ not
only fulfilled the law of sacrifice but
he fulfilled every conceivable condi-
tion necessary for man to know in
order to rise or progress from earthly
life to eternal life."

I am convinced, my friends, my
brethren and sisters, that regardless of
the technique that we may employ,
there are as many techniques as there
are individuals hearing my voice; that
if we will apply a method, using Jesus
Christ as our ideal, we will come to
know that he is the Christ; and that
there is waiting for us, not only in this
life but in the life to come, peace, joy,
and eternal happiness.

May I too leave my witness in this
conference that I know that Jesus is
the Christ, that God lives, that he is
real, that we have a living prophet
to direct us. I give you my solemn wit-
ness and testimony in the name of
Jesus Christ. Amen.

President N. Eldon Tanner

Elder Paul H. Dunn of the First
Council of Seventy has just spoken to
us.

We have a wire from the South
African Mission: "Thrilled by clear
and inspirational messages of the first
session of conference. Anticipating
others."

President McKay has asked me to
express our deep appreciation to the
following who have furnished the
singing for this conference:

, H. DUNN 143

The Tabernacle Choir, for their
excellent singing on Saturday morning
and Sunday morning, and again this
afternoon; and the men of the Taber-
nacle Choir, who furnished the music
for the Saturday evening priesthood
meeting.

The Combined Brigham Young
University Choruses, who furnished
the music for the sessions on Friday;
and the Logan LDS Institute Choir,
who furnished the music for the Satur-
day afternoon session.

We also express thanks and deep
appreciation to the conductors and
organists.

President McKay also has asked me
to express his appreciation to all who
have in any way contributed to the
success and inspiration of this great
conference:

He is especially grateful to his
beloved associates, the General Author-
ities, who have thrilled us with their
inspiring and uplifting addresses.

We appreciate the cooperation of
the local and national press represen-
tatives, and the representatives of radio
and television in reporting the sessions
of this conference.

We deeply appreciate the efficient,
helpful service of the city officials, the
city traffic officers handling carefully
and ably the increased traffic; the Fire
Department and Red Cross, who have
been on hand to render assistance and
service whenever and wherever needed.

We thank the Tabernacle ushers for
the courteous service they have ren-
dered in seating the great audiences
of these conference sessions.

As heretofore mentioned, v/e are
most grateful to the owners and man-
agers of the many radio and television
stations throughout the nation and in
other countries, who have carried the
sessions of this conference from coast
to coast in the United States, to
Hawaii, Alaska, Mexico, Guatemala,
and Canada; and, by short-wave, to
listeners in many countries of the
world.

We thank the translators for their
untiring efforts in translating the mes-
sages of conference for the peoples of
the world.

We again express our gratitude and
thanks for the lovely flowers on the

144

Sunday, April 7

rostrum. The Tacoma Stake made ar-
rangements with the Puyallup Valley
Daffodil Festival for these 3,000 King
Alfred Daffodils, and the calla lilies
were sent to us by the Oakland-
Berkeley Stake High Priests quorum.

Tonight, the Deseret Sunday School
Union conference will convene in this
building at 7 o'clock. All Sunday
School workers will wish to be in at-
tendance. The public is cordially
invited. This meeting will be televised
for the first time over Station KBYU
(Channel 11).

It is understood that ward sacrament
meetings will be held, where practi-
cable, this evening in the various wards.

We do remind you again about
driving in the city and on the high-

GENERAL CONFERENCE

Third Day

ways. Please obey the traffic rules.
Good manners, patience, and alertness
are necessary if we are to reduce the
number of automobile accidents.

President David O. McKay has
asked his son, David Lawrence McKay,
General Superintendent of the Deseret
Sunday School Union, to read his
closing message, after which the Ta-
bernacle Choir will favor us with "Of
the Father's Love Begotten," and then
"Sing We Now at Parting," conducted
by Richard P. Condie.

The benediction will be offered by
Elder Delmont H. White, formerly
president of the Central Atlantic
States Mission, after which this con-
ference will stand adjourned for six
months.

President David 0. McKay

(Read by his son, David Lawrence McKay)

With all my heart I rejoice with
you, my brethren and sisters, for the
blessings of the Lord during the in-
spirational sessions of the past few
days. His Spirit has been with us in
rich abundance I

During these closing moments of
this great conference, I pray that the
Lord will guide and direct me in
giving you the thoughts that are in
my heart.

Instructions of conference

I am grateful and thankful for the
admonitions and specific instructions
that have been given by the General
Authorities of the Church. As you
can testify, they have been guided and
inspired by the Holy Spirit in their
messages.

With all my soul, I plead with
members of the Church, and with
people everywhere, to think more about
the gospel; more about the develop-
ing of the spirit within; to devote
more time to the real things in life,
and less time to those things which
will perish.

I am in hearty accord with the ad-
monitions given during this conference
to resist the various temptations in our
midst. If members of the Church

would adopt these suggestions, that
alone would be sufficient to make this
people a "light" upon a hill, a light
that could not be hidden. We refer
to such teachings sometimes as "little
things," but indeed they are the
greatest things in this life. If we were
to pay more attention to such advice,
and devote more study to the modern
revelations as contained in the Doc-
trine and Covenants, we would grow
in appreciation of the magnitude of
the great work that has been estab-
lished in this dispensation.

It is often said that the Church is
the greatest thing in the world, and
it is! The more attention we give to
it — realizing how well adapted it is to
our individual life, to our home life,
and to our social life — the more we
study it from the standpoint of scien-
tific discoveries, from the standpoint
of man's destiny, the more our hearts
are made to rejoice for God's goodness
to us in giving us the privilege of
knowing the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Faith in Christ

What we need today is faith in
the living Christ, which is more than
a mere feeling, but a power that moves
us to action — a faith that will put

PRESIDENT DAVID O. McKAY

145

purpose into life and courage into the
heart. We need the gospel of appli-
cation— a gospel that is preached by
noble acts that command the atten-
tion and respect even of enemies. A
mere belief in Jesus as a great teacher,
or even as the greatest man who ever
lived, has proved inadequate in com-
bating the ills of society and the world.

Manifestly, the need of the world —
and particularly in the light of present
conditions that surround us on every
side — is more than a mere acceptance
of the Man of Galilee as the greatest
of all men. What is really essential
is faith in him as a divine being — as
our Lord and Savior! It is such faith
as the apostle Peter experienced when
he declared: "Thou art the Christ,
the Son of the living God." (Matt.
16:16.)

Acquire truth and virtue

Members of the Church are admon-
ished to acquire truth by study, by
faith and prayer, and to seek after
everything that is "virtuous, lovely,
or of good report or praiseworthy."
(Article of Faith 13.)

Schools and churches should radiate
the fact that there are in life certain
fundamentals that never change,
which are essential to the happiness of
every human soul. Parents and offi-
cers in the Church must teach more
earnestly and diligently the principles
of life and salvation to the youth of
Zion and to the world in order to help
youth keep in proper balance through
the formative period of their lives.

Government by priesthood

I remind you men who bear the
Holy Priesthood to study again that
divine revelation, so simply but power-
fully expressed, with regard to gov-
ernment by the priesthood:

"No power or influence can or ought
to be maintained by virtue of the
priesthood, only by persuasion, by
long-suffering, by gentleness and
meekness, and by love unfeigned;

"By kindness, and pure knowledge,
which shall greatly enlarge the soul
without hypocrisy, and without guile —

"Reproving betimes with sharpness,

when moved upon by the Holy Ghost;
and then showing forth afterwards an
increase of love toward him whom
thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee
to be his enemy." (D&C 121:41-43.)

This is a wonderful admonition and
lesson in regard to government, not
only in quorums of the priesthood, but
also in our home life, and indeed in
all phases of association in society.

Gospel our anchor

Brethren and sisters, the gospel is
our anchor. We know what it stands
for. If we live it and feel it, if we
speak well of it, of the priesthood, of
our families, of our neighbors, we
shall feel happier, and in reality we
shall be preaching the gospel of Jesus
Christ. The responsibility has been
given to us to convey the gospel to our
fellowmen. Some of us wait until
some special opportunity is given to
us to proclaim the gospel of Jesus
Christ, and yet the duty devolves upon
each of us to proclaim that good news
every day of our lives. We proclaim
it in our acts — in the home, in busi-
ness, in social circles, in politics; in-
deed, everywhere that we mingle with
men we have the responsibility resting
upon us to give the good news to the
people of the world.

Let us guard our thoughts and our
tongues. One of the best ways of
building up our home, be it a domicile,
a city, a state, or a nation, is always to
speak well of that home, city, state,
or nation. Let the tongue be under
control at all times.

God bless the members of this
Church for their devotion and loyalty,
and for their sustaining prayers in
behalf of all the General Authorities
and officers. You may know, and I
wish to assure you, that these prayers
are effective.

Divine protection real

I testify to you, and to all the world,
that the inspiration and protecting
care of a kind Father in heaven are
real! He is close to the Church, and I
know with my whole soul that he is
not just an absent, far-away source,
as some may think. He is a kind

GENERAL CONFERENCE

Third Day

146

Sunday, April 7

Father, solicitous of the welfare of his
children, and ready and willing to
hear and answer their call. The
answer may be negative, as sometimes
a wise parent gives a negative answer
to the pleadings of a child, but he is
ever ready to hear and to answer at a
time when it is best for the one
concerned.

Gratitude for missionaries

God bless our missionaries who are
in the 78 worldwide missions of the
Church. They are splendid young
men and women, with strong testi-
monies of the gospel, who are rich in
faith and who are excellent repre-
sentatives of the Lord and his Church.
We are proud of them. We are
grateful to our mission presidents and
to these missionaries for their willing
and able service. We are grateful also
for the fathers and mothers and others
who support these missionaries.

Loyalty of servicemen

Words cannot express the heartache
and the sorrow that we feel for the
sufferings that have come to some
homes because of the casualties of
war. Our prayers are ever with our
young men who are offering their
all for human freedom and other
inherent rights of man. My heart is
filled with thankfulness and gratitude
as I listen to reports that have been
brought directly to me of their faith
in God, of their loyalty, and of the
long distances they travel to attend
Church meetings. Think what an as-
surance in Christ, their Redeemer,
means to them while they are endur-
ing the temptations, hardships, and
horrors of warl It gives them comfort
in the hour of homesickness or dis-
couragement; it makes more effective
their determination to keep morally
clean and fit for service; it gives them
courage in the performance of duty;
it awakens hope when they are ill or
wounded; and if and when they might
face the inevitable, it fills their souls
with the peaceful confidence that as
Christ lived after death so shall theyl
May God bless and protect these men
in the armed forces.

Blessing for officers and members

God bless you Regional Representa-
tives, stake presidents, bishops, and all
officers in the Church who are serving
and giving of your time and means for
the upbuilding of God's kingdom.

May you fathers and mothers be
blessed in your homes; may you seek
for wisdom and understanding to give
to your children health and char-
acter, spotless and unstained. The
greatest duty that fathers and mothers
have to perform is the religious train-
ing and development of their child's
character.

May God be with each of you and
all people everywhere. May we turn
to him and seek for the better and
more spiritual values of life. He is
our Father; he knows our desires and
our hopes; and he will help us if we
will but seek him and learn of his
ways.

My prayerful blessings go with you
as you return to your homes. God help
us all to discharge our responsibilities
by making an environment in home,
in school, in Church, and in our com-
munities that will be uplifting, whole-
some, and faith-inspiring, I pray in the
name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Salt Lake Tabernacle Choir
sang the anthem, "Of the Father's
Love Begotten," and then sang the
hymn, "Sing We Now at Parting."

Elder Delmont H. White pro-
nounced the benediction.

Conference adjourned for six months.

The Salt Lake Tabernacle Choir
furnished the musical numbers for the
Saturday morning and Sunday morn-
ing and afternoon sessions of the con-
ference; Richard P. Condie, conductor,
and Jay E. Welch, assistant conductor.

The men of the Tabernacle Choir
furnished the choral music for the
General Priesthood meeting on Satur-
day evening, with Richard P. Condie
conducting.

The choral music for the Friday
morning and afternoon sessions was
furnished by the Brigham Young

THIRD DAY

147

University Combined Choruses, with
Ralph Woodward conducting.

The Logan LDS Institute Choir fur-
nished the music for the Saturday
afternoon meeting, under the direction
of James L. Bradley.

Richard P. Condie directed the
singing of the Salt Lake Tabernacle

Choir on the Tabernacle Choir and
Organ broadcast Sunday morning.

Accompaniments on the organ were
played by Alexander Schreiner, Robert
N. Cundick and Roy M. Darley,
Tabernacle organists.

JOSEPH ANDERSON
Clerk of the Conference

148

GENERAL CONFERENCE

SALT LAKE TABERNACLE CHOIR AND ORGAN BROADCAST

The following broadcast, written and
announced by Richard L. Evans, and
originating with Station KSL, Salt
Lake City, Utah, was presented from
9:35 to 10:00 a.m. Sunday, April 7,
1968, through the courtesy of Columbia
Broadcasting System's network,
throughout the United States, parts of
Canada, and through other facilities
to several points overseas.

(Organ begins playing "As the Dew"
on signal at 9:34:00 continuing until
9:34:50)

(At 9:35:10 on signal Organ and Choir
break into "Gently Raise" singing
words to end of second line, and hum-
ming to end of verse for announcer's
background)

Announcer: Once more we welcome
you within these walls with Music and
the Spoken Word from the Crossroads
of the West.

CBS and its affiliated stations bring
you at this hour another presentation
from Temple Square in Salt Lake City,
with Richard Condie conducting the
Tabernacle Choir, Alexander Schreiner,
Tabernacle Organist, and the spoken
word by Richard Evans.

(Pause)

Announcer: The Tabernacle Choir
turns to a traditional song of a trium-
phant scene — suggested by a New Tes-
tament text: "Green wave the palms
along the path today; Blossoms of gold
and purple greet the King. Jesus, our
Lord, in triumph leads the way; O, dry
your tears and joyful homage bringl"

(Choir: "The Palms"— Faure, arr.
Ringwald)

(Organ background)

Announcer: Alexander Schreiner
moves to the music of Edvard Grieg,
with a thoughtful mood of the quiet
hours of evening: "Nocturne."

(Organ: "Nocturne"— Grieg)

(Organ background)

Announcer: The Tabernacle Choir
sings a traditional song from the 12th
century: "Beautiful Savior, Lord of the
nations, Son of God and Son of Man;
Glory and honor, praise, adoration;

now and forever more be thine."

(Choir: "Beautiful Savior" — arr.
Christiansen)

(Organ background)

THE SPOKEN WORD

Announcer: There were scenes of
light and triumph, overcoming scenes
of darkness, death, and despair. We
often see people bereaved and wonder
how they face the irrevocable fact. But
they face it because life goes on, and
because the fact is there to face. They
face it with an awareness that all of
us shall face this ultimate eventuality.
We all one day leave life and loved
ones, or our loved ones leave us, and
we go on, calmly as we can, as we
must, because we must. "In every . . .
age the thoughts of men have traveled
. . . beyond the narrow bounds of
mortal life," wrote a distinguished
writer, "and, while the mystery of
death has been deeply and often
tragically felt, it has never been ac-
cepted as a finality in human experi-
ence. . . . The tide of vitality in the
heart and soul of man . . . sweeps past
the mystery of death . . . into the un-
discovered world beyond."1 "How
[then] shall we think of the dead?
... I can tell you how I think of . . .
[them]. I think that there are no
dead; I think that there is no death;
. . . that life goes on unbroken by what
we call death. ... I think of death
as a glad awakening from this . . . life;
... as a graduation from this primary
department into some higher rank . . .
of learning. I think of the dead as
possessing a more splendid equipment
for a larger life . . . than was possible
to them on earth — a life in which I
shall in due time join them if I am
counted worthy of their fellowship in
the life eternal."2 It is this that sus-
tains us as our loved ones leave — not
the immortality of memory only, but
the immortality of a literal personal
continuance. And so we come again
to a reaffirmation of faith — faith in
the eternal continuance of truth, of
intelligence, of personality, of progress

TABERNACLE CHOIR AND ORGAN BROADCAST

149

— faith in the eternal plan and pur-
pose of our Father, who made us in
His own image, and whose intent it is
that we should have everlasting life
with our loved ones, with family and
friends. As Henry de LaFayette Web-
ster said, "There is a future, O thank
God!"3 — a future where our loved ones
wait.

(Organ: Without Announcement —
"More Holiness Give Me" — Bliss) As
time permits

(Organ background)

Announcer: Alexander Schreiner has
presented a hymn melody by Phillip P.
Bliss: "More Holiness Give Me." The
Tabernacle Choir brings now to this
hour, Joseph Holbrook's setting for
these words of Charles Wesley: "Jesus,
Lover of My Soul, Let me to thy bosom
fly, while the nearer waters roll, While
the tempest still is high. Hide me, O
my Savior, hide, till the storm of life
is past; Safe into the haven guide;
Oh, receive my soul at last."

(Choir: "Jesus, Lover of My Soul"
— Holbrook)

(Organ background)

Announcer: With the music of
Campbell-Tipton we hear from the
Tabernacle Choir, the moving, thank-
ful, fervent words from the 9th Psalm.
"I will give thanks unto the Lord; with

my whole heart will I praise thee, O
God. . . . For thou hast not forsaken
them that love thee."

(Choir: "I Will Give Thanks Unto
the Lord" — Campbell-Tipton)

(As the Dew)

Announcer: Again we leave you
within the shadows of the everlasting
hills. May peace be with you, this day
— and always.

This concludes the two-thousand
and sixteenth presentation, continuing
the 39th year of this traditional broad-
cast from the Mormon Tabernacle on
Temple Square, brought to you by
CBS and its affiliated stations, origi-
nating with KSL in Salt Lake City.

Richard Condie conducted the
Tabernacle Choir. Alexander Schreiner
was at the organ. The spoken word
by Richard Evans.

In another seven days, at this same
hour, Music and the Spoken Word will
be heard again from die Crossroads of
the West.

This is the CBS Radio Network.

Editorial, The Outlook, March 29,
1902

2Dr. Lyman Abbott, How Shall We
Think of the Dead? January 4, 1902
'Henry de Lafayette Webster, Lorena

Index

Anderson, Elder Joseph 68, 147

Clerk of the Conference

Authorities Present 1, 2

Auxiliary Officers Sustained 72

B

Bennett, Elder Harold H 69

Bennion, Elder Lowell L 94

Joseph Smith sought wisdom, 95; Continued search for truth, 95;
Education encouraged, 95; Education today, 96; Training needed, 96;
Education fulfills life, 96; Cages we make, 96; Things of the spirit,
97; Qualities of the mind, 97; Gospel must be understood, 98; Faith
and education, 98; Committed to God and learning, 98; Light a
candle, 99.

Benson, Elder Ezra Taft 49

Breakdown of law and order, 49; Qualification for civil liberty, 50;
Greatest threat, 50; Erosion of national morality, 50; Responsibility
for chaos, 51; Gradual encroachments, 52; Appreciation for American
system, 50; Right to be uncommon, 52; Heritage threatened, 53; The
way of safety, 53.

Brown, President Hugh B 3, 4, 10, 12, 15, 19, 21, 24, 69,

107, 108, 113, 116, 123, 126

Brown, President Hugh B 100

Cultivate appetite for learning, 100; Be prepared, 100; Dangerous
detours, 101; Education our first obligation, 101; Devotion to learning,
102; Education a necessity, 102; Need for guidance, 102; Technical
training, 103; Combine training with spiritual growth, 103; Brigham
Young University, 103; Church colleges, 104; Institutes of Religion,
104; Other educational programs, 104; Aim of true education, 105;
Provision to excel, 105; Strive to be disciples of Christ, 105; A call to
be prepared, 106; Confidence to wax strong, 106.

Brown, Bishop Victor L 81

Importance of bishops, 81; The Welfare program, 81; Finances, 81;
Spiritual responsibilities, 82; Wisdom of bishops, 82; Helpers to
bishop, 82; Who is the bishop? 83; Family shares responsibility, 83.

C

Christiansen, Elder EIRay L 132

Why temples, 132; Ancient temples, 132; The Kirtland Temple, 132;
The Nauvoo Temple, 133; Temple work increasing, 133; Priesthood
ordinances administered, 133; Promise of eternal growth, 134.

Cullimore, Elder James A 36

The Lord is risen, 36; The conquest of death, 36; Gift of eternal
life, 37; Died for men's sins, 37; Story of the resurrection, 38;
Actuality of the resurrection, 38; Evidence of Christ's divinity, 38;
Witness of apostles, 39; Scriptures testify of immortality, 39; A ful-
ness of joy, 40.

152

INDEX

D

Dunn, Elder Paul H 140

School thy feelings, 140; Personal experience, 140; Things that cause
anger, 141; Jesus' anger against evil practices, 141; Self-control
requires determined effort, 142; Lindbergh's plan for character growth,
142; Christ as an ideal, 142.

Dyer, President Alvin R 78

The way to eternal life, 78; Experiences bring new birth, 78; Calls
bring renewal of effort, 79; Gratitude for President McKay, 79;
This is the Lord's work, 79; Assurance in time of trouble, 80; Be still
and know that I am God, 80.

E

Evans, Elder Richard L 85

Safety in counsel, 86; All need counsel, 86; Counsel in church assign-
ments, 86; Counsel from the past, 87; The source of security, 87;
Common ground for parents and children, 87; Basic rules unchanged,
87; Counsel with parents, 88; Live by God's light, 88.

Evans, Elder Richard L 148

F

Fifth Session 89

Finance Committee Report 69

First Day — Afternoon Meeting 25

First Day — Morning Meeting 3

Fourth Session 67

G

General Authorities and Officers Present 1, 2

General Authorities and Officers Sustained 70

General Priesthood Meeting 89

H

Hanks, Elder Marion D 54

Where are you in your world, 54; Human potential elusive, 54;
University survey results, 55; Believing, 55; Motivation of faith,
56; The need to believe, 56; Application of spiritual truths, 56; Im-
portance of belonging, 57; Climate for growth, 57; Giving and serv-
ing, 58; Loving and being loved, 58; Evidences of love, 58.

Hinckley, Elder Gordon B 21

War in Vietnam, 21; Desire to teach gospel, 22; Prayer of dedication,
22; Church being established, 23; Houses of worship constructed,
23; Missionary labors of servicemen, 23; Silver thread in tapestry, 24;
Letter from Vietnam, 24.

Hunter, Elder Howard W 63

Law must be sustained, 63; The kingdom of God, 63; Dual sov-
ereignty, 64; Question of allegiance, 64; Answer to Pharisees question,
64; Jurisdiction defined, 65; Church belief on governments and laws,
65; Allegiance to sovereignty, 66.

INDEX

153

K

Kimball, Elder Spencer W

All this is mine, 73; Would you rob God? 74; The earth is the
Lord's, 75; Do you pay tithes? 75; Tithing is not for God, 76; The
things that are God's, 77.

73

L

Lee, Elder Harold B.

128

Address of Brigham H. Roberts, 128; A call to higher wisdom, 129;
Faith of space scientist, 129; Supreme intelligence designed universe,
130; The principle of revelation, 130; Scientific discoveries inspired,
130; No easy road to knowledge, 131; Gifts of Spirit enjoyed by faith-
ful, 131; God in the still small voice, 131.

Longden, Elder John 137

Most powerful weapon, 138; Meaning of preparedness, 138; Constant
preparation needed, 138; Prepared to live eternally, 139; Example
of being prepared.

Advent of promised Messiah, 123; Can any good come out of Nazareth,
123; From Nazareth came the Perfect One, 124; From Nazareth came
sight, 124; From Nazareth came strength, 124; From Nazareth came
life, 125; From Nazareth came divine deeds, 125; From Nazareth
came peace, 125; From Nazareth came courage, 125; From Nazareth
came Christ, 126.

McConkie, Elder Bruce R 19

Salvation in Christ, 19; Record of American prophets, 19; Restoration
of gospel, 20; Confirms divinity of work, 20; An added witness,
20; Book of Mormon is true, 21.

McKay, Elder David Lawrence 4, 90, 143

McKay, President David 0 4

Thanksgiving for blessings, 4; The greatest event of history, 5; Reality
of the resurrection, 5; A stupendous miracle, 5; Gloom of death ban-
ished, 6; Testimony of eyewitnesses, 6; Latter-day witness, 6; The way,
the truth and the life, 6; Virtues of perfect character, 7; Love of truth,
7; Justice, 7; Honesty, 7; Wisdom, 8; Benevolence, 8; Virtue of self-
control, 8; Loss through indulgence, 8; A troublous age, 9; True guide
to mankind, 9; Testimony of risen Lord, 9; Divinity of restored
church, 9.

McKay, President David 0 90

Impression made by guide, 90; Authority given from on high, 90;
Youth need religion, 90; Religion stabilizes society, 90; Religion
satisfies the soul, 91; Three great needs, 92; Religion gives purpose
to life, 92; Immortality and eternal life, 92; God a personal being,
92; Stand on true education, 93; The role of religion, 93; Promulga-
tion of truth, 93; Development of moral and spiritual values, 94;
Responsibility of priesthood, 94.

McKay, President David 0 143

Instructions of conference, 144; Faith in Christ, 144; Acquire truth
and virtue, 145; Government by priesthood, 145; Gospel our anchor,
145; Divine protection real, 145; Gratitude for missionaries, 146;
Loyalty of servicemen, 146; Blessings for officers and members,
146.

M

Monson, Elder Thomas S.

123

154

INDEX

P

Packer, Elder Boyd K 33

Call to military service, 33; Repudiation of responsibilities, 33;
Nephites taught defense, 34; Message of First Presidency, 34; Citizen-
ship responsibility, 35; Exemplars of righteousness, 35; Righteous not
lost, 35; Stay close to Church, 35.
Passed Away, Those Who Have 69

Petersen, Elder Mark E 59

America's divine destiny, 59; A crucial time, 59; Need divine help,
60; Threat of atheism, 60; Warning of wise men, 60; Editorial urges
action, 61; Means for survival, 61; God can solve problems, 61;
Obedience required, 62; Evil cannot bring good, 62; Put trust in God,
62; Serve the God of the land, 62.

Priesthood Meeting, General 89

R

Richards, Elder Franklin D 13

Qualities necessary for success, 13; Experiences develop patience, 13;
A stabilizing influence, 13; Ways to develop patience, 14; Need for
patient preparation, l4; Patience in family life, 14; Patience in
church work, 14; A mighty virtue, 15; Gospel incorporates patience, 15.

Richards, Elder LeGrand 120

Know God other than by hearsay, 120; We speak that we do know,
120; God's eternal truth, 121; Experience of the Apostle Paul, 121;
Story of Joseph Smith, 121; Testimony worth more than all else, 122;
Readiness to testify, 122.

Romney, Elder Marion G 113

Permanence of God's power, 113; Prophecies envisioning our day,
113; Teachings of history, 1 14; Our path today, 114; Inspired solu-
tion, 114; Ways to permanent peace, 115; Followed in apostolic
church, 115; True gospel restored, 115; Urgency of message, 116;
Glorious day approaches, 116.

S

Salt Lake Tabernacle Choir and Organ Broadcast 148

Second Day — Afternoon Meeting 67

Second Day — Morning Meeting 48

Second Session 25

Seventh Session .....127

Sill, Elder Sterling W 15

We would see Jesus, 16; This is life eternal, 16; Jesus found in dif-
ferent ways, 16; A well of living water, 17; The greatest enrichment,
17; Black night of apostasy, 17; Gospel shall be preached, 18;
Testimony of modern prophet, 18; Unseen spiritual powers, 18.

Simpson, Bishop Robert L 117

Concern for girls, 117; Here by divine assignment, 117; Instructions
to be followed, 118; Guidelines in scriptures, 118; Personal health
habits, 118; Moral code unchanged, 119; Wait for temple marriage,
119; Urged to stay sweet, 119; Partnership with God, 119.

INDEX 155

Sixth Session 107

Smith, Elder Eldred G 42

Jesus Christ the creator, 43; Literal Son of God, 43; Before Abraham
was I Am, 43; The resurrection and the life, 43; Thou art the Christ,
44; Dominion over creations, 44; Christ's great mission, 44; Our
Savior and Redeemer, 44.

Smith, President Joseph Fielding 67, 73, 78, 80, 83, 88

Smith, President Joseph Fielding 10

Reasons for prayer, 10; Segregation after resurrection, 11; Gift of
eternal life, 11; Freedom to obey, 11; Habits easily formed, 11; Work
for man's benefit, 12; Importance of service, 12.

Sonne, Elder Alma 40

Formula for peace, 40; Plan for man's redemption, 40; Mission of the
Church, 41; The gospel plan, 41; Mission of the Holy Ghost, 41; Man
a child of God, 42; No substitute for God's plan, 42; A modern
prophet, 42.

Spoken Word, The 148

Stapley, Elder Delbert L 26

Voice to all men, 26; Light and truth forsake evil, 26; Teach children
light and truth, 26; Fxample in life of Jesus, 27; The bondage of sin,
27; Obedience brings blessings, 27; God is light, 28; Unfruitful works
of darkness, 28; Opposing forces in life, 29; Life made up of choices,
29; King Benjamin's message, 30; Easier to walk in the light, 30.

Statistical Report 1967 68

Sustaining of General Authorities and Officers 70

T

Tabernacle Choir and Organ Broadcast 148

Tanner, President N. Eldon 25, 30, 33, 36, 40, 42, 45, 47, 48, 49, 54,

59, 63, 66, 89, 94, 99, 105, 127, 128, 132, 134, 137, 139, 143

Tanner, President N. Eldon 108

Evils of alcohol, drugs and tobacco, 108; Dangers of tobacco, 109;
Case of drug addict, 109; Experience of young woman, 110; The alco-
hol problem, 110; Tragedy from drinking, 111; Widespread use of
liquor, 111; Avoidance of alcoholism, 112; Keep the Word of Wisdom,
112; Protection of youth, 112; Testimony, 112.

Taylor, Elder Henry D 30

What is man, 31; Mission of Adam and Eve, 31; Ideal home environ-
ment, 31; Security never granted, 31; "Men are that they might have
joy," 32; Rewards of life, 32; Greater blessings promised, 32.

Third Day— Afternoon Meeting 127

Third Day— Morning Meeting 107

Third Session 48

Turtle, Elder A. Theodore ...134

Love Lost, 134; Joy in home experiences, 134; Questions for young
men, 135; Questions for young ladies, 135; Questions for parents, 135;

Your parents love you, 136; Why God loves us, 136; Family to be
perfected, 136.

156

INDEX

V

Vandenberg, Bishop John H 45

Preexistence of man, 45; Divine purpose to life, 46; Futility in false
idols, 46; Followers of Christ, 46; Appreciation of home teacher, 46;
Follow the Lord, 47.

Y

Young, Elder S. Dilworth 84

Stirring times for seventies, 84; Call to preach the gospel, 84; Work
to be orderly, 84; Accomplishments through faith, 85; Witness of
living testimony, 85.

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