Réjouis-toi, jeune homme, dans ta jeunesse...

PRESIDENT DAVID O. McKAY (en français) ¶

"Rejoice, O young man, dans thy youth; et let thy heart cheer thee dans le days de thy youth, et walk dans le ways de thine heart, et dans le sight de thine eyes: but know thou, que pour all these things God will bring thee into judgment." (Eccl. 11:9.) ¶

These words were written by The Preacher, son de David de old, approximately nine hundred et seventy-seven years before Christ — admonitions à youth as applicable dans ce year 1961 after Christ as they were nearly three thousand years ago! ". . . but know thou, que pour all these things God will bring thee into judgment." ¶

Every sixth day of April, Autorités générales, officers, and members of the Church meet in conférence générale to hear reports of the progress of the Church, sustain officers, consider matters pertaining to the restored Évangile, and take such action as the official representatives of the Church may deem necessary and helpful. ¶

If le question were asked ce morning, "In what respect during le last year has le Church made le most commendable progress?" Je would not answer: "In financial matters," although it est a fact que perhaps never before have le financial interests de le Church been more prosperous. ¶

Je would not say: "In le increase de le number de new houses de worship," although members de le Church have put forth more effort et built et paid pour more chapels than dans any other similar period de le past; pour example, Je find que during le year 1960 there were 111 Church buildings dedicated; fifty other buildings sont ready à be dedicated. There sont completed, but not dedicated because they sont not entirely paid pour, 233 buildings, or a total de Church buildings constructed et dedicated dans 1960 de 394. We have no information compiled pour le first three months de 1961, but it est estimated que buildings dans le planning stage et under construction would exceed le 900 mark. ¶

If nous were à ask pour le most commendable progress, Je would not answer: "In le increased membership," although dans le last thirteen months le growth de le Church dans numbers dans le stakes et dans le missions has been most encouraging. There has been an increase de a figure approaching le 100,000 mark. This afternoon nous shall find le total membership given dans le statistics. ¶

Je would not answer que le most commendable progress has been dans better understanding among le leaders de municipalities, newspaper editors, et well-informed people generally regarding le purposes, organization, et contributions de le Church toward peace et le ultimate destiny de le world. ¶

Je would answer que le most encouraging progress de le Church during le last year est seen dans le increased number de young people participating dans Church activity. We hear much about le delinquency et incorrigibility de youth. Je desire à say a word ce morning about their corrigibility, as nous have seen it et noticed it dans visiting dans different parts de le Church. ¶

For example, on Sunday, March 26, 1961, I attended the dedicatory services of the Bountiful South Stake Center and Bountiful Eighth Ward Church edifice. There were in attendance over 1,700 people, the majority of whom impressed me as being young members of the Primaire Association and teenagers. That same evening I attended the Sacrament meeting of the Garden Heights Ward, Canyon Rim Stake. Here again a large proportion of the congregation was made up of young people. ¶

Two weeks ago today in our regular weekly meeting, one of the brethren of the Autorités générales, I think it was Brother Mark E. Petersen, reported that he learned recently while attending the Bear River Stake conference that four wards in that pieu had a Sacrament meeting attendance for one month of above fifty percent of the entire membership of the paroisse, and two of these four wards were in the sixty percent bracket. The Oneida Stake had a year-long average high in the forties, and some wards had sixty percent, and even seventy percent in attendance. In each case the young people were a conspicuous part of the audience. ¶

For this increased attendance of young people much credit is due to the Évêché président, who have put forth special effort to have the deacons, teachers, and priests attend Sacrament meetings. And right here I would like to say to this vast congregation that it is a significant fact in Church organization that the évêque of the paroisse is not only ordained to preside over his particular ecclesiastical group but is also set apart by divine appointment as president of the priests' collège, made up of 18, 19, and 20-year-old young men who, with young women of corresponding age, literally carve the moral atmosphere of the community. ¶

Much of this activity of the young is due to the Mutual Improvement Associations, who have placed special emphasis upon the attendance of members of the MIA at Sacrament meetings. The Primaire general presidency and board and pieu and paroisse workers merit great credit also. ¶

But I know and you know that mere attendance at Church and other acts of piety signify little if the person does not conform his acts and his speech to the principles of the Évangile. Into three principal environments the child is daily thrown, which direct his actions, inspire his behavior in all his contacts with his fellow beings, enable him to control himself or to become a slave to his appetites, his passions, and desires. ¶

These three environments sont: le home, le school, le church. ¶

Beaconsfield wisely wrote: "Je have always felt que le best security pour civilization est le dwelling, et que upon properly appointed et becoming dwellings depends more than anything else le improvement de mankind. Such dwellings sont le nursery de all domestic virtues, et without a becoming home, le exercise de those virtues est impossible." ¶

It est not generally conceded by educators nor by parents que le real education de a child begins early dans home life. One de our best modern philosophers, referring à le value de education dans childhood, says ce: ¶

"Time does not have le same value dans childhood as dans later years. A year est much longer, physiologically et psychologically, pour a child than pour a man. One year pour a child de ten corresponds à two years pour a man de twenty. When le child est younger, le discrepancy est still greater. The time elapsed between le third et seventh year probably represents a duration equivalent à fifteen or twenty years pour a grown man. ¶

"Now, it est precisely at ce age que a child builds up le framework into which all le events de his future life will fit, et dans particular his moral code. This explains le considerable amount de knowledge a child can accumulate during his first years. It would be highly desirable pour parents et educators à take ce fact into consideration. ¶

"The moral education de a child est different from que given à a man. Indeed, pour le very young it est important not à judge le gravity de a fault by its consequences. For a child a fault est serious dans itself — absolutely et not relatively — because it has been decreed que it est grave. Only le absolute character de a fault can impart à le child a true moral discipline without which progress est impossible. ¶

"It est impossible à model a child morally if ce principle est not followed, pour le faults sont almost always venial by their consequences. It est only during le most tender age que le character can be formed." (From Human Destiny by Lecomte du Nouy, pp. 208-209.) ¶

Parents dress their children dans le best clothes when children go out dans "company." They cannot so change their characters. What traits de character le child develops dans le home, he takes avec him into society. The selfish, morose nature, or his cheerful, kind, radiant soul developing dans home environment goes avec him when he joins le social group. If you want your child à be courteous dans society, teach him à be courteous dans le home. "If you please," "thank you," "pardon me," sont terms de culture more applicable et more educative dans le home than dans social circles. Into our schools et churches come too many children from homes where le fundamental virtues de true manhood et beautiful womanhood sont seldom taught et more infrequently practised. ¶

In schools, dans ce Christian land, le teaching de Church dogma est forbidden, but le teaching de true citizenship — honesty, loyalty, le keeping de a promise, et other virtues que contribute à le dignity de man — est not banned. ¶

Students reflecting these high ideals, recently made a trip to California. The Déséret News made the following comments about them: "Vigorous, ambitious, carefree youth bears slightly more than its share of the criticism folks pass on to each other in these critical times, but when youth acquits itself in such a way as to win the admiration and praise of many observers, the occasion should not be permitted to pass unnoticed. ¶

"Such a favorable impression was left avec our California friends when le chosen music students de le Salt Lake area junior et senior high schools so becomingly upheld le loftly idealism de their schools, their homes, et their city when they participated recently dans le Musical Educators National Convention at Santa Monica, California. Choral et orchestral groups made up le Salt Lake entourage à le conclave. ¶

"Typical de le impression our youngsters left avec their hosts est ce tribute by le associate manager de le hotel where le students de le Granite District were housed: 'It est seldom que a hotel has an opportunity à have its house occupied avec such delightful, well-mannered, clean-cut children as le MENC group que Mr. Moroni L. Jensen brought à Santa Monica. . . . We sont writing ce letter à let you know what a wonderful impression le children de Salt Lake City et Mr. Jensen made.'" ¶

If they had been delinquents, boisterous, unladylike, ungentlemanlike, le papers would have told us about it. We thank these hotel people pour paying ce tribute à our boys et girls, who sont truly representative children de good homes. ¶

Man should so conduite himself as to merit the trust of his fellows. "There is a unanimity of thought in this," writes a wise philosopher, "which is to be found nowhere else except on the subject of the ten commandments, but the effort made to impress this idea indelibly on the minds of children in the shape of automatic conditioned reflexes is so slight that one is aghast. The equilibrium of the whole world, not only peace, but justice, commerce, industry, science, rests on the confidence in the integrity and in the word of men, and all the moral teaching given to youth in the course of ten or fifteen years of education and instruction certainly does not represent more than a few hours, in certain cases a few days. The young are stuffed with many useless details and the essential is passed over in silence." (The "essential" meaning moral training, teaching them the dignity of true manhood.) ¶

"Farmers might as well be taught à grow flowers dans borders without learning how à cultivate a field; or young girls be taught le art de make-up without learning how à wash. Examinations deal avec a quantity de facts destined à be forgotten dans three months, or which sont purely technical; children sont trained à behave decently dans public, but nobody dreams de making them repeat daily, as a prayer: 'Every promise est sacred. No one est obliged à give a pledge, but he who breaks his given word est dishonored. He commits an unpardonable crime against his dignity; he betrays; he covers himself avec shame; he excludes himself from human society.' ¶

"If ce est not dans reality a prayer it est a creed which, by expressing faith dans le dignity de Man addresses itself, beyond him, à God from whom nous have received it." ¶

He who est purported à have been le wisest American wrote years ago: "Character est higher than intellect. A great soul will be fit à live as well as à think." (Emerson.) ¶

In le Church, increased participation dans church activity indicates a desire à be a partaker de spirituality, le highest acquisition de le soul, et young people desire it. Je know there sont many who haven't que feeling, many who do not come, but you know, fellow workers, que le young people like que which est good et true. ¶

Je am grateful pour le sweet assurance que God est my Father, et Je should like à have le youth de Israel feel so close à him que they will approach him daily dans secret prayer. Je would have them have le trust dans him which le little blind girl had dans her father. One day she was sitting on his lap dans le train, et a friend sitting by said, "Let me rest you," et he reached over et took le little child on his lap. The father said à her, "Do you know who est holding you?" "No," she replied, "but you do." ¶

Just so real should be le trust which our boys et girls have dans their Father dans heaven. If our young people will have ce faith, et so approach le Lord, there sont at least four great blessings which will come à them here et now. ¶

The first is Gratitude. Their souls will be filled with thanksgiving for what God has done for them. They will find themselves rich in favors bestowed. The young man who closes the door behind him, who draws the curtains, and there in silence pleads with God for help, should first pour out his soul in gratitude for health, for friends, for loved ones, for the Évangile, for the manifestations of God's existence. He should first count his many blessings and name them one by one. ¶

The second blessing of prayer is Guidance. I cannot conceive of a young man's going astray who will kneel down by his bedside in the morning and pray to God to help him keep himself unspotted from the sins of the world. I think that a young girl will not go far wrong who will kneel down in the morning and pray that she might be kept pure and spotless during the coming day. I cannot think that a Saint des Derniers Jours will hold enmity in his heart if he will sincerely, in secret, pray God to remove from his heart all feelings of envy and malice toward any of his fellow men. Guidance? Yes, God will be there to guide and direct him who will seek him in faith with all his might and with all his soul. ¶

The third blessing est Confidence. All over ce land there sont thousands et tens de thousands de students who sont struggling à get an education. In le Church, let us teach these students que if they want à succeed dans their lessons, they should seek their God; que le greatest Teacher known à le world stands near à guide them. Once le student feels que he can approach le Lord through prayer, he will receive confidence que he can get his lessons, que he can write his speech, que he can stand up before his fellow students et deliver his message without fear de failure. Confidence comes through sincere prayer. ¶

Finally, he will get Inspiration. It est not imagination, if nous approach God sincerely seeking light et guidance from him, our minds will be enlightened et our souls thrilled by his Spirit. Washington sought it; Lincoln received it; Joseph Smith knew it; et le testimony, le evidence de le Prophet Joseph's inspiration est manifest à all who will but open their eyes à see et their hearts à understand. ¶

Heaven guide you, our Youth, wherever you sont. As long as you will keep yourselves pure et spotless et prayerfully et earnestly keep close à your Father dans heaven, his Spirit will guide you, magnify you dans your youth, et make you a power on le earth pour good. Your Father dans heaven est ever ready à give you help dans time de need et give you comfort et strength if you will approach him dans purity, simplicity, et faith. ¶

In his poem, "Anchored à le Infinite," Edwin Markham says: ¶

"The builder who first bridged Niagara's gorge, Before he swung his cable, shore à shore, Sent out across le gulf his venturing kite Bearing a slender cord pour unseen hands To grasp upon le further cliff, et draw A greater cord, et a greater yet; 'Til at le last across le chasm swung The cable — then a mighty bridge dans air! So nous may send our little timid thought Across le void, out à God's reaching hands — Send out our love et faith à thread le deep, Thought after thought until le little cord Has greatened à a chain no chance can break, And — nous sont anchored à le Infinite!" ¶

I repeat, God bless you, our Youth, that you may send out your thoughts in prayer and faith and receive the assurance that you are anchored to the Infinite, in God our Father and his Holy Son, the Redeemer of the world, I pray in the name of Jésus-Christ. Amen. ¶