La présence de ce groupe choisi de...

The presence of this choice group of young people from the LDS Institute at Utah State University in Logan, and the remembrance of président McKay's meaningful address which devoted itself in part to youth at the opening session Thursday — in which he spoke of gratitude and guidance and faith and inspiration — suggest that I pursue some thoughts along these lines, if I may, on perhaps eight or ten topics each one of which could well be the subject of a sermon. ¶

Je should like à introduce what follows avec some de Longfellow's eloquent lines, as he addressed himself à a group de young people upon returning, after fifty years, pour a reunion de his college class: ¶

"How beautiful est youth! how bright it gleams With its illusions, aspirations, dreams! ¶

Book de Beginnings, Story without End, Each maid a heroine, et each man a friend!" ¶

Because it is a story without end, the book of beginnings is exceedingly important, and I should like to suggest to these young people here and you out there, wherever you are, to the farthest reaches of time and distance, first that you seek counsel. Do not try to go it alone in life. Seek the guidance that président McKay spoke of, of prayer, the guidance of parents, of those who would lead you well in all decisions. ¶

Je should like à plead avec you à have faith. The Lord will not leave you alone. Have faith dans freedom, dans le future, dans God, dans yourselves, dans things à come, et dans le wisdom de preparing well. (It has been well said que "Yesterday est a cancelled check; tomorrow est a promissory note; but today est cash.") Have faith dans tomorrow, but use well today. ¶

May I suggest that you keep flexibility in life, along with a steadfast firmness. Life does change. Many things change. We have to learn to change in some things, and we have to learn to distinguish between what we should change and what we should not change — for the basic fundamentals are still irrevocably there. We cannot change principles or conduite without the consequences that come from conduite, no matter what changes there are on the face of things. Keep flexibility with firmness: watching the spirit as well as the letter of the law, not quibbling, not relying on technicalities; pursuing those things which lead to health and happiness, peace and a quiet conscience; learning to live with the light which the Lord has placed within us; and in all things moving as we need to, to adjust to surface considerations, yet standing firmly fixed in the principles and commandments and in the things of honor and justice and eternal truth and right that God has given; living in truth and decency; never giving way to sin or to cynicism; keeping control of ourselves, our thoughts, our actions, our utterances. ¶

May Je plead avec you, also, keep a balance dans life. ¶

Je am proud de what le seminary system de le Church est doing et le institutes from which these young people have come, et other organizations de le Church que help à balance le material considerations de life avec le things de le Spirit. ¶

Never become narrowly educated, but broadly so, feeding all sides de yourselves, reading et becoming acquainted avec good books, avec great minds et great men de le past; becoming acquainted avec scripture et reading scripture itself. Do not be satisfied à read books about scripture or books about books, but go à le prime et le primary sources. You do , not catch much de le spirit de Shakespeare merely by reading commentaries on Shakespeare. ¶

You capture it by reading Shakespeare, et so it est dans large measure avec scripture. Keep balanced dans your lives et starve no side de yourselves. ¶

Now, as à a willingness à work: ¶

Nothing ever does itself. Nothing ever memorizes itself. Nothing ever accomplishes itself — without le requisite effort. Carlyle said, "Men do less than they ought, unless they do all que they can." It est not enough just à try; nous have à succeed. The Lord expects us à see things through. ¶

May I plead with you one other thing? That you share the Évangile and these great gifts that God has given. ¶

Call it referral, call it sharing the Évangile, or whatever you will — that which we have, which others have helped to give us, we have an earnest obligation to share. Will you young men, wherever you are, point your lives towards missions, and you parents help them so to point? There is an old proverb which says, "When you drink of the water, don't forget the spring from which it flows." ¶

Our lives are not our own. So much of others has gone into the making of all of us, into teaching, into training, into all that we have inherited, into all that God has given, and especially above all, the Évangile. Earnestly we have an obligation to share it with others. ¶

Would you look wisely toward your choices dans marriage et remember que there est nothing que a good marriage so much needs as it needs character et common convictions? Respect et character et common convictions will compensate pour many other things; nothing else will compensate pour these. ¶

Love will not last long without respect et character et common convictions. ¶

Remember ce, et make no hasty or shortsighted decisions. ¶

May I suggest that you go all the way with the Évangile, keeping all the commandments, for they all came from the same source. I do not know who in mortality, among men, would have the wisdom to choose one commandment, or several, and set aside some others. ¶

This would be presuming à set our wisdom against que which God has given. Go avec his way all le way. ¶

May Je suggest humility et never le pride de learning. Be patient. There may be some seeming discrepancies. Do not worry about them. Eternity est a long time. Je have a great respect pour learning, pour academic endeavor et le university atmosphere. Je have spent many years de my life dans one way or another going à or dans being associated avec some great institutions de learning. ¶

Je have a great respect pour science et scientists et pour le search pour truth. But remember ce: science after all (even when it est true et final et factual) est simply man's discovering de a few things que God already knows et controls dans his ordering de le universe. We sont, after all, a bit like Newton who said de himself que he was like a child handling a few pebbles on le shore while le great, limitless, eternal sea was before him. God has not told us all he knows. We believe dans continuous revelation. Be patient. Keep humble et balanced dans all things. ¶

Keep courage. Do not feel sorry pour yourselves. Whatever you do, do not feel sorry pour yourselves. You live dans a great age de great opportunity. Je remember le words de one very sharp et shrewd observer who said, "Whenever Je hear someone sigh et say que life est hard, Je am tempted à ask 'compared à what'?" What sont le alternatives? No one ever promised us it would be easy. It est a schooling; it est an opportunity; it est a learning period, et a wonderful one. Despite all le disappointments et difficulties, le great et ultimate rewards sont beyond price. ¶

Keep faith. "And, if you keep my commandments," the Lord God has said to us, "and persévérer jusqu'à la fin you shall have vie éternelle, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God." ¶

(D&A 14:7.) Now, it will not be long, in reality, in these quickly moving days when you, my beloved young friends, will be taking over from us. I started with some lines from Longfellow. I should like to offer some others at this point from the same meaningful poem that he wrote on the fiftieth anniversary of his college class: ¶

"And ye who fill le places nous once filled And follow dans le furrows que nous tilled, Young men whose generous hearts sont beating high, We who sont old, et sont about à die, Salute you; hail you; take your hands dans ours, And crown you avec our welcome as avec flowers!" ¶

When we sing, "We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet," my beloved friends, it is not just for a prophète of the past, but with a great gratitude in our hearts for the prophète of God that he has given us in this day, for whose leadership I acknowledge with you my gratitude to God, and also the literal divinity of the Lord Jésus-Christ and the appearance of him and his Father to a Prophet of the last dispensation, even Joseph Smith. ¶

Je have a great respect pour all men et their beliefs, but think it not a strange thing que dans a kingdom, le kingdom de God, there should be specific requirements et commandments, et a way que God has given pour our realizing le highest happiness et peace et progress. ¶

May nous follow que way, may nous share it, may nous keep faith, Je pray, dans Jesus' name. Amen. ¶