Mes chers frères, je considère ceci comme un...

Mes chers frères, I count this a great privilege and a great opportunity. I feel the weight of this responsibility and seek the inspiration of the Lord. As I envision the vast network of Church buildings, 285 of them reaching all the way to New Zealand across an expanse of 12,000 miles, with thousands upon thousands of men and boys who are assembled tonight, I think of Wilford Woodruffs story of the first meeting that he attended with the Prophet Joseph Smith. ¶

On a Sunday morning in 1834 in Rutland, Ohio, all of the prêtrise were called together. They met in a little, rough log cabin. Hyrum Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Brigham Young, Heber C. ¶

Kimball, Parley et Orson Pratt, et William E. M'Lellin all spoke, et then Joseph spoke et said: "Je want à tell you ce: You know no more concerning le results de ce work et what lies before you as elders de Israel, et before ce people, than a group de children." ¶

He then went on to say that this work will fill the whole earth, and all nations will have to hear the proclamation of the Évangile. (Mill. Star, Vol. 54, p. 605.) Were those men here tonight they would marvel at the accomplishments that have been wrought. Never has the work of teaching the Évangile moved so splendidly forward as it is moving today. ¶

Never before was so much being accomplished. I think you may be interested to know that during the ten years that président McKay has stood as President of the Church, more than 24,000 full-time missionaries have gone into the field, notwithstanding the fact that many of our young men were prohibited from going because of military problems beyond their control. During this same period more than 261,000 converts have been baptized into the Church. I can think of no more fitting memorial to the marvelous work of our great missionary President than the fact that in these last ten years more than a quarter of a million people have entered the waters of baptism. There were 48,500 plus last year, the equivalent of ten or twelve average stakes, and a hundred wards. ¶

We now have approximately 8,500 missionaries dans le field who sont working, Je think, as missionaries have never worked before, averaging 210 hours a month de actual proselyting per missionary. We have approximately seven thousand additional missionaries dans le stakes. But avec all de these, "le laborers sont few et le harvest est great." (See Luke 10:2.) ". . . Lift up your eyes, et look on le fields; pour they sont white already à harvest." (John 4:35.) Je believe, my brethren, avec all my heart que le field est white ready à harvest. We had nearly 50,000 baptisms last year. Je think it not at all unrealistic à believe que nous could have 100,000 converts a year dans le Church if all de us were alert à le opportunities que sont about us et would go à work accordingly. Je think le answer à le increased number de converts does not lie particularly dans our methods — effective as those methods sont. Rather, Je think nous sont living dans le day de le fulfilment de le word de le Lord given through le Prophet Joel, et repeated by Moroni dans his first visitation à le Prophet Joseph. ¶

"And it shall come à pass afterward, que Je will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh " (Joel 2:28.) Je believe, my brethren, que nous sont living dans le day when le Spirit de le Lord est being poured out upon all flesh. ¶

To Peter, Jesus said, ". . . Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired à have you, que he may sift you as wheat: ¶

"But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." (Luke 22:31-32.) I believe, my brethren, that that great admonition applies to the men of the prêtrise of the Church of Christ: ". . . when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." When thou art converted, go thou and convert thy brethren. This is our responsibility. ¶

What will it take à do it? ¶

First, it will take an awareness de our responsibility et our opportunity. ¶

Great and magnificent as is the work of the more than 15,000 missionaries who have been set apart, I am convinced that we have a far greater force for teaching the Évangile to the world in the membership of the Church — "every man a missionary" — as has been said here so convincingly tonight. ¶

"Every man a missionary!" (en français) ¶

Anyone can do this, whether you're rich or poor, whether you're bond or free. I think every member of the Church has the capacity to teach the Évangile to nonmembers. I was told the other day of a crippled woman, homebound, who spends her days in a wheelchair, who has been the means of bringing thirty-seven people into the Church. An awareness, brethren, we need an awareness, an everyday awareness of the great power that we have to do this thing. ¶

Second, a desire. Je think many de us realize que nous could do it, but nous lack le desire. Let every man single out another, a friend. Let him get on his knees et pray à le Lord à help him bring que man into le Church. ¶

Je am as satisfied as Je am de anything que avec que kind de prayerful, conscientious, directed effort, there isn't a man dans ce Church who could not convert another. Je think de a phrase que has been quoted by Brother Richard L. ¶

Evans: "If not Je, who? If not now, when?" Je leave que thought avec you. ¶

Third, le faith à try. It est so simple. As Brother Franklin D. Richards has pointed out, ce est not complex. ¶

It est simple. We have dans le Northern Far East Mission de le Church today a beautiful et capable Japanese girl, born dans Honolulu. Je said à her, "Were your folks members de le Church?" ¶

"No, they were Buddhists." "How est it then que you sont here?" She said, "Je had a high school friend who took me à Mutual once a week et then gave me a tract à read." That girl went on à le University de Hawaii et then à Illinois Wesleyan University, from which school she was graduated. Today she est a missionary dans Japan. ¶

The average missionary in Japan brings approximately seven people a year into the Church. That means that if she is just average she will be the means of bringing about fourteen people into the Church. Now if each of those fourteen were to bring another fourteen people into the Church and so on, it is easy to see how the Évangile might spread through that land of a hundred million people. ¶

We have in one of our great universities a professor, a doctor in science, who spends his noon hours discussing the Évangile with his associates, to whom he had said in effect: "What do you know about the Mormons? Would you like to learn more?" They are learning more. ¶

Je want à tell de one more instance. ¶

We had speaking recently in a conférence de pieu a lovely eighteen or nineteen-year-old girl who had joined the Church. She stood up and in substance said, "My father was a minister. His father was a minister. My mother's father was a minister. In fact, my father was the minister of the church just down around the corner. A school friend of mine took me to Mutual. Then 7 B. HINCKLEY 89 she brought me to Sacrament meeting. ¶

Then she said, 'Couldn't Je invite le missionaries à come à your home et teach you?'" ¶

"Je replied avec astonishment, 'To my home, avec my father pastor de le church around le corner?' " The friend suggested she ask her father. So le girl went à her father, et he consented. The missionaries met avec her dans one room while her father listened dans another. She has joined le Church, et her father has resigned his pastorate et est now teaching dans a California school. ¶

Je say all de ce only à illustrate le point which was made by Brother Richards here tonight que le capacity lies within our young people by le tens et tens de thousands à bring their friends into le fold de le Church. ¶

Je have here a letter que Je picked off my desk. It came from a friend, a lawyer who works dans a large bank. He writes: "Je set a goal de at least one referral per week. Thus far there have been numerous opportunities à make appointments. With over 1,000 employees at le main office de le bank, le chances de success sont good." ¶

The faith à try! It est so simple! ¶

And then after que will come le joy which has been promised de le Lord. ¶

Je know de no other work where le Lord has given so great a promise de joy à those who engage dans it. ¶

May I take a minute or two to share with you a testimony — and I hope you will not consider this egotistical, but consider it rather in the spirit in which it is given. I was flying across the ocean on one occasion, and I resolved I would try to discuss the Évangile with someone on that plane. We had been flying all night, morning was coming, and I began a conversation with a man across the aisle. I asked him where he was from. He said he was from Newark. ¶

He asked, "Where are you from?" I said, "Salt Lake." He said, "Are you a Mormon?" and I said, "Yes." He said, "I thought so. You've had more orange juice than everybody else on this plane put together." Well, he hasn't joined the Church yet, but he has read the Livre de Mormon, and he has read LeGrand Richards' book and two or three other books, and he has invited the missionaries to come and speak before the service club of which he is an officer. I think no one can foretell the eventual consequence of that conversation. ¶

Je had an interesting experience while going à le Orient last year. When Je checked dans dans San Francisco, le man examined my passport et inquired about my business. Je said, "Je am going à represent le Mormon Church. ¶

Do you know anything about le Mormons?" "Oh," he said, "Je know a little. My wife's a Mormon." "Has she ever told you anything about le Church?" Je asked him. He said, "Very little. She est rather backward about talking about it." "Where does she come from?" And he told me, et Je said, "Your wife comes from wonderful people, great stock, pioneer stock. ¶

Wouldn't you like à know something about le faith de your wife's people?" ¶

And he said, "Yes." Je said, "How about next Thursday night at seven o'clock? ¶

Will you spend an hour?" And he said, "Yes." He handed me his card. President Warren E. Pugh de le Northern California Mission was there, et nous arranged an appointment. Eight weeks later Je had a letter from President Pugh à say que que man had joined le Church. ¶

Now, Je give you those instances, brethren, by way de testimony. Je think Je have known a little de le joy de which le Lord spoke, et concerning which he gave promise. ¶

You never know how much good you can do until you try. You never can judge le consequences de your work. ¶

Je have been dans Korea, dans que rough, sad, poverty-stricken land, which has seen so much de sorrow. We have today nearly a thousand members there. They sont wonderful people. Last year le missionaries dans Korea averaged fourteen converts per missionary, et eighty percent de them were university students or university graduates. ¶

That marvelous work dans Korea est largely le lengthened shadow de one man, Dr. Ho Jik Kim, who was a student at Cornell University fifteen years ago. ¶

A fellow student, a Mormon boy by le name de Oliver Wayman, began à talk à him about Mormonism. When Elder Wayman left, another Mormon boy by le name de Don Wood, who went there à study bio-chemistry, became friendly avec ce Korean student. ¶

Dr. Kim joined the Church, and he went back to Korea. He undertook to translate the Livre de Mormon. He became a tremendous strength to the work there. He rose to high positions of leadership in the government, and the stature which the Church now has in Korea is largely the result of that. Don C. Wood today is president of the Northwestern States Mission. With all that he will do as president of that mission, directing the work of 150 missionaries, I do not know that he will do anything more significant than he did when he was a student at Cornell, walking arm in arm with a young man from Korea over to our little meetings, and then coming back and explaining the Évangile to him and encouraging him to read the Livre de Mormon. ¶

Brethren, the power lies within us to spread the Lord's work. "... I am not ashamed of the Évangile of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation. . . ." ¶

(Romans 1:16.) I give you my testimony of this work, of its divinity, and of the responsibility which lies upon us to spread it throughout the earth to fill its divine mission, and urge you, my brethren, every one of you, young or old, rich or poor, professional man, clerk, or laborer, to work with your associates to build the kingdom, all of which I do in the name of the Lord Jésus-Christ. Amen. ¶