Je suis très reconnaissant, mes frères, de...

Je am very grateful, my brethren, à have le privilege de speaking avec you shortly tonight. Je am very thankful pour ce glorious song ["Je Know que My Redeemer Lives" sung by Dennis Clancy, a Scotsman] nous have just heard. ¶

Je am sure it has made each one de us thrill avec le testimony que nous have de le divinity de le Savior et de our great love pour him. Je am sure, too, que you have been greatly delighted et benefited by these illuminating et stimulating addresses que have been given by Brother [Franklin D.] Richards et Brother [Gordon B.] Hinckley on our missionary program. ¶

I would like to talk with you for a few moments about another phase of this missionary program. I have in mind the responsibility we have of fellowshiping our new members. I have often thought that instruction in the Évangile without fellowship in the Church is as incomplete as baptism without confirmation. It is utter folly for us to avoid or ignore the responsibility we have of properly fellowshiping those who are brought into the Church. ¶

I have been impressed with one other thing, too, about our missionary program, and that is that conversion cannot be limited only to instruction in the Évangile doctrines. Conversion must include an acceptance of us as a people and an acceptance of our way of life and of our mode of worship. How can a person be fully converted to us and our work just by studying the Bible or any of the scriptures? The people must come into our meetings; they must become a part of us; they must see what we are doing. We must assimilate them. We must make them a part of us, and when we do that, then they really become converted and help to build the kingdom. ¶

You remember how Paul wrote à le Ephesians: "Now therefore ye sont no more strangers et foreigners, but fellow citizens avec le saints, et de le household de God." (Eph. 2:19.) They, very obviously, had a fellowship program dans que day. It was very necessary que le new converts Paul et his associates made should be fellowshiped avec le rest de le Saints, et it was all-important que le rest de le Saints be willing à fellowship them et take them into their arms et make them a part de them. ¶

Unfortunately, at times nous have missed out on que dans our day. Je have sometimes thought as Je have heard some de le stories Je have listened à que nous almost had established an Iron Curtain dans some areas. There can be no Iron Curtains dans ce Church. When le people sont brought into le Church, nous must receive them, et nous must do more than merely shake hands avec them et say, "How do you do." We must make them a part de our organizations. They must fit into our program. ¶

We must assign them activities. They must learn early à help build le kingdom. ¶

Now, as I see this fellowship program with respect to the missions, it begins with the missionaries. The missionaries themselves, whether pieu or full-time, must begin the fellowship program by bringing their new investigators into our Church meetings as early in the teaching process as is possible so that the new investigators may be introduced to the épiscopat, may be introduced to others in the paroisse, may see our way of conducting our worship, may see the class of people we have in our membership, may get the feel and the spirit of the Saints des Derniers Jours. That is a part of the conversion process, and as the missionaries do that, they will find that it will be easier to teach them. ¶

Then also, as early as possible dans le teaching process, it est all-important que le co-ordinator couples whom you have been asked à appoint be introduced à these investigators so que they may become "friends dans court," so à speak, et then when le time pour baptism arrives, que ce co-ordinator couple be present at le baptism et be there à help welcome them into le Church et à help them dans le process de further assimilation. ¶

The Première Présidence have told us that, whenever it is feasible, our new converts should be confirmed in the Fast meeting. If it is not feasible then the new convert being baptized should be confirmed, as we say, at the water's edge. But where it is possible to have it arranged for the Fast meeting, the confirmation act may become a beautiful act of assimilation. ¶

I have thought often that it would be wonderful if, when the time of confirmation arrived, and it was in the Fast meeting, the évêque would announce to the congregation, "Brothers and sisters, we have the missionaries with us here this afternoon. Yesterday, they baptized the family of Brother and Sister John Jones. We are now ready to welcome them into the Church by confirming them members of the Church. We would like to invite the missionaries to come forward now and join us in the circle." ¶

I have thought what a wonderful thing it would be if the three members of the épiscopat and the missionaries who were there would stand together in the circle and then call Brother John Jones to take the chair. The épiscopat and the elders jointly would lay their hands upon his head while one of the missionaries actually was voice in the confirmation. ¶

And I have thought what a wonderful thing it would be after that if the évêque would reach out his hand and welcome Brother Jones and extend him the hand of fellowship. Then the other members of the family would be confirmed and welcomed in the same way. ¶

I think it would be wonderful after the confirmation of a family of that kind for the missionaries to present to the évêque then and there, the certificate of baptism and confirmation for each and for the évêque to stand up in the Fast meeting, and say, "We have all now witnessed the confirmation of the family of Brother and Sister John Jones. ¶

We have their certificates of baptism and confirmation. All who are willing to receive them now as members of our paroisse and full-fledged members of our Church, will you signify?" ¶

I would like to see them actually vote to bring them in just as if they were new members moving in from another paroisse or another pieu. It is a part of the assimilation process. It makes these people feel more a part of things. ¶

Then I would like to see the brother in charge of the Senior Prêtrise d'Aaron work in the paroisse approach this newly baptized and confirmed brother at the close of the Fast meeting and say, "Brother Jones, I am Brother Smith, and I have charge of the senior work for the Prêtrise d'Aaron in this paroisse. Now that you are a member of the Church you become automatically eligible to join the work for the senior brethren in the Prêtrise d'Aaron. Our meeting will be held next Sunday morning at 9:30. I would like to come for you next Sunday about 9:15 and bring you to this first meeting and introduce you there to the rest of the members so that you can begin to feel a part of our group." ¶

I believe that as soon as feasible, that man should be ordained a deacon in the Prêtrise d'Aaron so that he will have the sense of belonging, so that he will feel a part of the prêtrise. If he is worthy to be baptized, surely he should be worthy to be ordained to the prêtrise. ¶

All of this is part of the assimilation process. I believe, if I may go back a few steps, that it would be a wonderful thing for the Société de secours people to be brought into the assimilation program even before baptism. Is there any reason why Sister Jones, the investigator, could not be invited to come to Société de secours and be escorted there by one of the class leaders, or by one of the officers in the Société de secours? And then as she is baptized, she is already in the habit of coming to Société de secours. ¶

She will just continue on. It eases the process of transition. She is already in the Société de secours. She will now continue to be in the Société de secours. ¶

The same thing is true with the École du Dimanche and with the Sacrament meeting. The missionaries and the coordinating couple will introduce these people to the École du Dimanche and to the Sacrament meeting even before baptism. ¶

They will begin to get them into the habit of coming. The transition is made easy because they continue doing the things they have already been doing. And likewise with the Primaire and the MIA. ¶

They sont some de le finest missionary organizations nous have dans le whole Church et have brought thousands de people into le Church. Their contacts may well begin before baptism. ¶

If nous all work together, not only on le conversion process but also on le fellowship process, nous will hold on à our converts. But would it not be a terrible tragedy if nous were à bring thousands into le Church et then lose a number de them because nous failed à do our work dans fellowshiping these new people as they come dans? ¶

Brethren of the prêtrise, I appeal to you. Fellowship these new people. Let them feel a part of us. Let them fit into our organizations. As they grow in faith, they will want to grow in works. ¶

We must all remember que faith without works est dead. It est so true de our assimilation or fellowship program. ¶

These people may be full de faith as they come into le Church, but if they sont left without works or activity will their faith not die? ¶

I talked with one couple one time who complained because they had been told by the évêque that they could not be assigned to any work for six months after baptism, and I thought what a tragedy. Faith without works is dead, and faith without activity can die in new converts. Therefore we need to give them work. We need to give them activity. ¶

Now, if Je may take just a moment or two more, Je would like à talk about another phase de ce fellowship program. The fellowship program has been marvelously successful avec respect à new converts through le missionary program. Brethren, it can be equally successful avec respect à le reactivation program. As people sont being reactivated into le Church, again nous must learn à fellowship them, just as nous will fellowship new converts. The reactivated sont just as much dans need de feeling a part de things as le new convert, et there sont many reactivated people who will feel just as strange dans le Church surroundings as will a new convert. Some de them may feel more strange because they have a past record que would make them feel ill at ease as they come into le meetings. ¶

And as they sont reactivated, sont they going à be left cold, off à themselves? ¶

If we are going to erect an Iron Curtain against a man just because he happens to smell of cigarets, are we going to convert him to the Évangile? We must fellowship the reactivated ones just as much as we need to fellowship the newly converted ones. ¶

So Je invite your attention, brethren, à a twofold fellowship program dans le Church: first, a sincere effort à fellowship all these new converts who sont coming dans; et second, a sincere effort à fellowship le reactivated ones as nous bring them dans. Fellowship means salvation. Without it nous may lose these reactivated ones, et nous may lose our new converts. ¶

So brethren, let us organize into a great fellowship movement. Let us hold out le hand de fellowship à every one de these reactivated ones, et le new converts. Let us fellowship them through le organizations et make them a part de us because le Lord so directs. They sont à be ". . . fellow citizens avec le saints, et de le household de God." ¶

That we may accomplish this is my humble and earnest desire in the name of the Lord Jésus-Christ. Amen. ¶