La terre est au Seigneur et la...

"The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." (Psalm 24:1.) As Saints des Derniers Jours we believe literally these words of the Psalmist. We are the Lord's as are all our fellow men. ¶

This makes us all brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of God, with his only Begotten Son Jésus-Christ, our ancien brother. This is a much closer relationship than most of us realize. It gives ample justification for "The Golden Rule" and all that Christ taught the world in his Sermon on the Mount. In fact, this relationship forms the basis for all of Christ's teachings. ¶

Whatever le Lord has pour his children here on earth, he has pour all de us. ¶

He est no respecter de persons. Underlying all de God's dealings avec his children dans all generations de time est le responsibility which attaches à any gift which nous receive from God. ¶

In the lives of those of us who are the recipients of his great blessings, our duty is well understood, and we do not shirk it. Herein lies the reason for and the foundation of all of our great missionary work, both at home and abroad. Having received a knowledge of the restoration of the Évangile, we are impelled by a power far greater than any earthly power or earthly influence to teach the Évangile to others that they might enjoy the fulness of life in full fellowship with our Father in heaven and in communion with us. ¶

The importance of our missionary labors is emphasized in the Évangile as written by John: "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jésus-Christ, whom thou hast sent." (John 17:3.) We have often been asked why we do not limit our missionary labors to the heathens, why do we bother Christian nations. The answer to this important question is best found in the fact that the missionary work which we perform is the same all over the world, whether it be here at home in the United States or in some remote nation of the earth. ¶

Our responsibility is to take the restored Évangile of Jésus-Christ to all our fellow men. Following Christ's ministry, his Évangile was carried to the great centers of culture by his apostles and their associates— Jerusalem, Corinth, Ephesus, Athens, Rome, Carthage, to mention only a few. ¶

We are not left in doubt as to what we should do. At the end of the Évangile, according to John, we read: ¶

". . . Peter was grieved because he said unto him le third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest que Je love thee. Jesus saith unto him, [pour le third time] Feed my sheep." ¶

(Ibid., 21:17.) Were there any doubt in our minds as to the meaning of this parable, the doubt should be removed when we read the closing sentences of the Évangile according to Matthew. ¶

"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Saint-Esprit: ¶

"Teaching them à observe all things whatsoever Je have commanded you: . . ." ¶

(Matt. 28:19-20.) With the passing of time our relationship to one another and to God has not changed. We are now no less constrained to teach others the ways of God than were his disciples of old. We are, in fact, under greater stress so to do because God has given us sufficient temporal resources and also unlimited means of transmitting to all mankind the eternal truths of the Évangile of Jésus-Christ which have once again been given to man through his prophets in these latter days to the convincing of the souls of men that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that a plan for the salvation and exaltation of man was given by God himself before the foundations of the earth were laid, which, if followed, will bring all his children back into his divine presence, there to dwell eternally in a state of eternal happiness and progression; that we through the gift and power of the Saint-Esprit can know and understand and follow this way of life which was also laid down for us by our Lord and Savior Jésus-Christ, while he walked here among men upon the earth in the Meridian of Time. ¶

Indeed, this course which God intends his children to follow in mortality was given to Adam and has been revealed to all the prophets of God in every Évangile dispensation for the enlightenment of mankind down to the present time. ¶

Paul said, "That in the dispensation de la plénitude des temps he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; . . ." (Eph. 1:10.) This is the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times of which Paul spoke to the Ephesians. ¶

Inasmuch as le Fulness de Times has now been revealed à man, nous have all que has gone before dans all former dispensations de time, à now present et teach à men. ¶

It est de course avec le present time que nous sont immediately concerned. ¶

This again demonstrates how great is our responsibility and how wonderful our opportunity for service. It is the purpose of the Almighty that all mankind shall sooner or later receive the message of the restoration of the Évangile in its fulness. ¶

In a conférence générale of the Church held in Nauvoo in October 1840, Joseph Smith said: "Now the purpose in Himself in the winding up scene of the last dispensation is that all things pertaining to that dispensation shall be conducted precisely in accordance with the preceding dispensations." (DHC, Vol. IV, p. 208.) We see that the Évangile today is the Évangile of yesterday. Therefore the revelations of God to man through his prophets in the past, as found in the Holy Bible, are of immediate importance and application in our lives today. To us they are in no wise antiquated or outmoded. The revelations of the past and the present reveal God the Father and Jésus-Christ his Son to those who will read with a will to understand. ¶

God's laws sont eternal. Our relationship à God est both unchanging et everlasting. ¶

Parenthetically, let me say that new editions of the Bible, no matter how modern, cannot help us any unless they present to us a more accurate interpretation of the original source material still available. Our attention is particularly called in this respect to the importance of the translation of the Bible. Our Eighth Article of Faith reads: "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Livre de Mormon to be the word of God." ¶

Paul gave the Corinthians the spiritual attainment necessary to our understanding of God, for he said: ". . . no man can say [know] that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Saint-Esprit." (1 Cor. ¶

12:3.) Our understanding de le scriptures et our conversion à le truth today must follow le same pattern as was set pour Paul's conversion et followed by Paul dans his ministry dans le conversion de others. Paul once said: "Je have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave le increase." (Ibid., 3:6.) Where there est no increase given, de such as Paul spoke, there est no conversion. ¶

Job's declaration est all-enlightening. ¶

"But there is a spirit in man: and the 100 GENERAL O Sunday, April 9 inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding." (Job 32:8.) Therefore, when we come to fulfil all righteousness by delivering the message of the Évangile as it has been revealed to us, to our fellow men, we must teach by the Spirit. The Spirit must bear witness of the truthfulness of our message to the world. No one need fear to hear our message. If we speak of ourselves, our work will come to naught. Paul declared to the Corinthians: ¶

"And Je, brethren, when Je came à you, came not avec excellency de speech or de wisdom, declaring unto you le testimony de God. ¶

"For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jésus-Christ, and him crucified. ¶

"And Je was avec you dans weakness, et dans fear, et dans much trembling. ¶

"And my speech et my preaching was not avec enticing words de man's wisdom, but dans demonstration de le Spirit et power: ¶

"That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." (1 Cor. 2:1-5.) Paul wrote to the Ephesians: "For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father." (Eph. 2:18.) "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your appel; "One Lord, one faith, one baptism, "One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." (Ibid., 4:4-6.) We bear solemn witness to the world that God has revealed himself and his Son Jésus-Christ to the world through his Prophet Joseph Smith; that he has restored his prêtrise, his prophets, and his apostles as of old upon this earth. ¶

They sont avec his people here et now. ¶

We as recipients of the Holy Prêtrise are empowered and authorized to preach the Évangile of Jésus-Christ to mankind today, and to administer in all the ordinances of the Évangile given to man from the time of Adam to the present day. All our elders called on missions at home, and those who are in the various nations of the earth, have been ordained to the prêtrise of God and set apart to teach the world the saving principles of the Évangile, to call the world to repentance, to warn the world of impending dangers which can be met successfully only by living lives of righteousness, adhering to the principles of truth which emanate from the throne of God, obedience to which results in peace on earth and in exaltation eternally in the kingdom of our Père céleste. ¶

The Lord once said, "For behold, this is my work and my glory — to bring to pass the immortality and vie éternelle of man." (Moses 1:39.) Every ancien of l'Église de Jésus-Christ des Saints des Derniers Jours called into the service of the Master as a missionary goes forth to proclaim these duties, with this admonition from the Lord — to do his work, to establish his glory, to turn the hearts and spirits of men to their Maker. We have received a very positive and definite commission from on high. The Lord has spoken, and these are his words: ¶

". . . Ye are not sent forth to be taught, but to teach the children of men the things which I have put into your hands by the power of my Spirit; "And ye are to be taught from on high. Sanctify yourselves and ye shall be endowed with power, that ye may give even as I have spoken." (D&A 43:15-16.) "And again, the elders, priests and teachers of this church shall teach the principles of my Évangile, which are in the Bible and the Livre de Mormon, in the which is the fulness of the Évangile." ¶

(Ibid., 42:12.) Now to those who hear will be given to know and to understand the teachings of our elders, if their hearts and minds are open, and they have a sincere desire to know the truth. The Lord will answer the prayers of those who seek to know the truth. Did not the Master admonish us all to "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:" (en français) ¶

(Matt. 7:7.) People by the thousands can be heard all over the earth to testify that the message of the missionaries of the Church is true. They do not rely upon the word of the elders of the Church alone. They receive a testimony of their PRESIDENT HE1 RY D. MOYLE 101 own which is bom of the Spirit. This is the greatest gift which comes to man from on high. He immediately sees himself in true perspective with his fellow men and with his God. He knows what he should know. He is responsive to the Évangile plan. He seeks baptism by immersion for the remission of his sins. ¶

Christ sought John le Baptist dans le wilderness à be baptized de him dans le River Jordan. Christ at once recognized le authority à baptize held by John. Christ declared que he was baptized à "fulfil all righteousness." ¶

Following his baptism, et as he came straightway out de le water, having been immersed therein, le heavens opened et God le Father declared: ¶

"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." The Saint-Esprit, the other member of the Divinité, descended from heaven and rested upon the Savior. Thus the Savior was baptized both by water and by the Spirit. ¶

In all generations of time those who have been baptized according to the plan laid down by the Father, justified by the Son and recognized and approved by both the Father and the Saint-Esprit, have, after baptism, received the Saint-Esprit through the laying on of hands by those who are in authority — the Saint-Esprit, the Comforter, which Christ promised his disciples would be sent to them by the Father upon his ascension on high. Those who seek after the Comforter can be assured, through obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Évangile, never to be left alone, but always to have the influence, power, and inspiration of a member of the Divinité ever present. ¶

Christ says, as recorded dans John: ¶

"But when le Comforter est come, whom Je will send unto you from le Father, even le Spirit de truth, which proceedeth from le Father, he shall testify de me: ¶

"And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning." (John 15:26-27.) For you it is left to decide whether our message is like the seed in the parable of the sower, some falling by the wayside into stony places, or among the thorns, or into the good ground, and is heard and understood and beareth fruit and bringeth forth "some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold." (See Matt. 13:3-8.) Our preaching of the Évangile today is no different from the days of Pentecost in Jerusalem when Peter preached to the multitude. We read: ¶

"And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as de a rushing mighty wind, et it filled all le house where they were sitting. ¶

"And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as de fire, et it sat upon each de them. ¶

"And they were all filled with the Saint-Esprit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. ¶

"And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven." (Acts 2:2-5.) Finally Peter testified unto them in the power and majesty of his prêtrise: ¶

"Therefore let all le house de Israel know assuredly, que God hath made que same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord et Christ. ¶

"Now when they heard ce, they were pricked dans their heart, et said unto Peter et à le rest de le apostles, Men et brethren, what shall nous do? ¶

"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jésus-Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Saint-Esprit." (Ibid., 2:36-38.) With président McKay to direct us in our effort to do our duty in promulgating the Évangile at home and abroad, we always know the proper course to pursue. The Lord has raised him up to be his prophète, voyant et révélateur and to give to his Church a revelation pertaining to our duties as members of the Church in the world today. We are all becoming more and more aware of our responsibility, our privilege, our power, and our opportunity. On every hand we are beckoned by the world to divulge, as it were, the secret of our unity and success and happiness. No one lacks opportunity. ¶

Some may ask the question as to how we convert others to the truth. The answer is, we do not. Conversion comes from above. Our part in this work is to plant the seeds of truth. These seeds are born of our conviction when we testify of the divine mission of Jésus-Christ, the Son of the Living God, who offered himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. We rely upon the gift and power of the Saint-Esprit to carry our message into the hearts of our listeners and witness unto them the truthfulness of our stated conviction. ¶

"And now, after le many testimonies which have been given de him, ce est le testimony, last de all, which nous give de him: That he lives!" declared Joseph Smith et Sidney Rigdon dans 1832. ¶

"For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father — "That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God." (D&A 76:22-24.) God help us all as his children that we may wend our way back to him by obedience to the laws and commandments set forth in his Évangile, I humbly pray in the name of the Lord Jésus-Christ. Amen. ¶