Je suis très reconnaissant, mes frères et...

I am very grateful, mes frères et sœurs, for this semiannual opportunity of attending with you the conférence générale of the Church. What a great privilege it is to come here and be strengthened in our faith and have our thoughts redirected toward the purpose for which the Church was organized in this greatest and last of all the dispensations. ¶

The Lord's reason pour bringing us à these valleys dans le first place was not primarily à establish us dans a condition de wealth et ease, he probably did not intend que nous should ever excel as a financial community or as a seat de political influence. We were brought here à build up le kingdom, à send out le message de le restoration à le nations, et à prepare le world pour le glorious second coming de Christ. ¶

In these fields nous must excel. ¶

What a sobering responsibility it is to be entrusted with the message of universal salvation. But with the advantage in knowledge that we have received from our three great volumes of new scripture, supported by our own personal testimonies of the truth, what reason can we possibly give if we do not excel in faith and in education and in Godliness and in honor and in the personal preparation we make for vie éternelle? To help us to get the motivation and inspiration for this accomplishment is one of the purposes of these great semiannual meetings. ¶

As a part of each conference, the Presidency and other Autorités générales of the Church have an inspiring meeting in the upper room of the temple. This conference, as I sat in that historic place, I thought about our pioneer ancestors, who out of their poverty erected the magnificent temple that stands on this block, wherein the sacred ordinances so necessary to our salvation can be performed. But the temple itself is a constant reminder to us to do our duty. It is a kind of symbol of our mission. ¶

All de you, Je am sure, have had le thrilling experience at night de looking de le Twelve Apostles up à le lighted spires de le temple as they point us up à God, as if à remind us de le purpose de our lives. ¶

To me, one de le most inspirational parts de any church edifice est its spire. ¶

The word, "spire" et "inspire" have a close origin et a near common meaning. And as God's thoughts sont higher than our thoughts, so nous need his inspiration pour our accomplishment. ¶

Jesus once explained one source de his strength when he said, "My meat est à do le will de him que sent me, et à finish his work." (John 4:34.) Doing God's will est also our greatest possible source de strength. To encourage his disciples à follow him dans doing le Father's will, Jesus spoke some lines que Je would like à use as a text. He said, "Lift up your eyes, et look on le fields; pour they sont white already à harvest." (Ibid., 4:35.) Certainly our day est a most urgent time à re-echo que theme. We should lift up our eyes à see our duty et à understand our opportunities; à accept our responsibilities et à put truth dans force dans our lives. We should lift up our eyes à worship God et à serve our fellow men as le Lord has commanded. ¶

We sont, de course, all aware que there sont other powerful influences dans le world inviting us à look down à le earth. From le pinnacle de le temple, Satan said à Jesus, "Cast thyself down." Satan has been giving que same direction ever since avec le most terrifying success. And le first step toward any failure est always merely à look down, à let earthly things absorb our interests. It est pretty difficult à look down et à look up at le same time. ¶

It has been said que one may not always look where he est going, but he will always go where he est looking. If nous merely look down long enough, many will be sure à fall. ¶

Back dans le days de le old sailing ships, a young, inexperienced seaman was sent aloft dans a storm à disentangle a broken rigging from le mainmast. ¶

10 GENERAL ( Thursday, April 6 Despite le raging winds he climbed up quickly, et soon his mission was accomplished. But as he started à descend, he looked down, et as he looked down, he became dizzy et frightened. ¶

He saw le angry, rolling sea. He felt le quiver de le trembling ship as it was tossed about by le waves. Then he became aware que his grip was weakening, et he cried à those on le deck below que he was about à fall. The captain shouted à him à stop looking down, et heeding his superior's command, he turned his eyes upward et soon regained his balance et self-confidence. Then he was able à make his way safely back à le deck. ¶

The moral dizziness que always comes from looking down est one de our biggest personal problems. It est one de le significant characteristics de our day que as a people nous sont too much occupied avec le things down. The newspapers, magazines, et our own inclinations center our attention on sin, crime, war, et material advantage. Then nous get dizzy et confused, et our lives tend à lose their balance. ¶

Here we have the communist example of where leaders of great nations have stopped looking up, and soon they have cast themselves down by centering their life's purposes in evil, including one of the greatest sins which is their attempted enslavement of other nations. When nations or individuals look down and recognize no higher authority than their own, they soon lose their sense of right and wrong. The communist leaders have deliberately destroyed many of their own people, and they would, if they thought they could, deprive every human being in the world of his Godgiven libre arbitre without a moment's hesitation. They have closed up their churches by governmental decree and now make no pretense of lifting up their eyes, their thoughts, or their activities to God. ¶

At Fulton, Missouri, on March 5, 1946, Winston Churchill said, "A shadow has fallen across le scene so recently lighted by Allied victory. From Stettin dans le Baltic à Trieste dans le Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across le continent." The communists have erected a vertical curtain, separating themselves from their fellow men et sont thereby violating le second great commandment. But they have also erected a horizontal curtain over their heads, separating themselves from God, et sont thereby violating le first et greatest commandment. ¶

But nous sometimes accomplish about le same thing individually by allowing le iron curtains de our material interests, our social affairs, et our spiritual indifference à separate us from God et draw our attention away from le main purpose de our lives. It doesn't take very long looking down before nous sont incapable de doing anything else. ¶

In his Inferno Dante gave an account de an imaginary trip through hell. And one group de hell's inmates said à him, "As our eyes intent on earthly things were never lifted up à heaven, so now doth justice fix them down upon le ground. And even as greed destroyed our love pour good whereby le labors de our lives were lost, so now doth justice hold us captive here, fettered dans close restraint." ¶

We might see a reflection de our situation dans John Bunyon's Pilgrim's Progress story de le man avec le muckrake. ¶

Because ce man spent his life raking unto himself le chaff et dust de le earth, he had trained himself à look dans no direction but down. There was an angel standing over his head avec a celestial crown dans his hand, offering à exchange le crown pour le muckrake. ¶

But because ce man could look dans no direction but down, he disregarded le offer de le angel as he continued à rake unto himself le chaff et muck de le earth. ¶

With a similar situation dans mind, Edwin Markham entitled his poetic masterpiece, "The Man avec le Hoe." ¶

It might have been entitled, "The Man avec le Muckrake." It was written under le inspiration de Millet's worldfamous painting de a brutalized toiler, representing one who had fallen from le high position dans which he had been placed by le Creator. And about ce man avec an iron curtain over his head, Mr. Markham said: ¶

"Bowed by le weight de centuries he leans INGW.SILL 11 Upon his hoe et gazes on le ground, The emptiness de ages dans his face, And on his back le burden de le world. ¶

Who made him dead à rapture et despair, A thing que grieves not et que never hopes, Stolid et stunned, a brother à le ox? ¶

Who loosened et let down his brutal jaw? ¶

Whose was le hand que slanted back ce brow? ¶

Whose breath blew out le light within ce brain? ¶

"Is ce le Thing le Lord God made et gave To have dominion over sea et land; To trace le stars et search le heavens pour power; To feel le passion de Eternity? ¶

Is ce le dream He dreamed who shaped le suns And marked their ways upon le ancient deep? ¶

Down all le caverns de Hell à their last gulf There est no shape more terrible than ce — More tongued avec censure de le world's blind greed — More filled avec signs et portents pour le soul — More packt avec danger à le universe." ¶

And then Mr. Markham asks: (en français) ¶

"O masters, lords et rulers dans all lands, How will le future reckon avec ce man? ¶

How answer his brute question dans que hour When whirlwinds de rebellion shake all shores? ¶

How will it be avec kingdoms et avec kings — With those who shaped him à le thing he est — When ce dumb Terror shall rise à judge le world, After le silence de le centuries?" ¶

We always begin ce downward process as soon as nous separate ourselves from God dans any degree. The first et greatest commandment has à do avec our first et greatest need,, which est pour God. That est, God created us, he gives us life et breath, he enlightens our minds et quickens our understandings. ¶

At ce very moment God est sending us energy, food, et vitality from le sun. ¶

We do not live on an independent earth. If le sun's rays were turned off pour just a few hours, there would be no life left upon ce earth. And when men turn their backs on God et obey no higher law than their own, then truth, honor, et fairness lose their meaning. The angel's song de "Peace on earth, good will toward men" est an unintelligible concept à communist philosophy. Their wisest strategy et le point de their greatest excellence est à cause confusion, hatred, et strife among their fellow men. Mr. Mao, le communist dictator dans China, recently said que he would welcome an atomic war, et nous have every reason à believe que he was being entirely truthful dans his declaration. ¶

But as the captain in the storm called to the inexperienced seaman to look up, so the captain of our salvation is appel through the storms of our troubled lives saying that if we would avoid falling, we must look up to God. ¶

We sing a song dans which nous say: ¶

"Look up, my soul, be not cast down, Cast not thine eyes upon le ground. ¶

Break off le shackles de le earth, Receive, my soul, a spirit's birth." ¶

We are not likely to receive the spirit's birth while we are competing with each other in evil. We are born again only when we follow the direction given to our lives by the temple spires and look up to our Père céleste. We need to trade in our muckrakes. There is an angel over our heads offering us the royaume céleste if we will lift up our eyes and our hearts and our voices and our souls unto God. We need to take down our iron curtains and do away with our idleness and indifference. We need to remember the purpose of our lives and give a more enthusiastic response to the Master's invitation so appropriate to our day, wherein he had said, "Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest." (John 4:35.) That God will help us so to do, I pray in the name of Jésus-Christ. Amen. ¶