Report on a Special Historical Mission to the United States

My beloved brethren, sisters and friends. Eleven months ago I left this beautiful city to take a special mission to Europe. I spent about six months in the city of Copenhagen, Denmark, engaged in literary labors, helping to publish a new edition of the Book of Mormon in the Danish-Norwegian language, it being the fourth edition of that book to be published in that language. After completing that labor, it became my privilege and duty to travel somewhat extensively throughout the British Isles, Holland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, in the interest of Church history, and also in visiting the different branches and conferences as they are organized in these different countries. ¶

I desire on this occasion, as I have just returned home, to bring a hearty greeting from the brethren and sisters over on the other side of the waters. We have some very faithful Saints in Europe. We have preached the Gospel in the British Isles since 1837. We have preached the Gospel in Germany since 1851, in Scandinavian countries since 1850. Thousands of Latter-day Saints have emigrated to these lands, and there are thousands of faithful Latter-day Saints living there at the present time, who, like us, are praying for the welfare of Zion, and who are listening to the voice of inspiration, though not altogether as we do. They have to be content, to a certain extent, with the written word. It is true, once in awhile one of the Twelve Apostles and others visit those lands; but the most they get of the words of our leaders is through the written word. But they read this written word. The proceedings of this conference will be translated to some extent into the German, the Dutch, the Swedish and the Danish-Norwegian languages, and thus the people on that side of the ocean will derive some benefit from what is being done here. ¶

I rejoice to have the privilege to return to you just in time to attend this conference; and while I am on my feet I desire to bring you a hearty greeting from President Francis M. Lyman, one of the Twelve Apostles, who at the present time presides over the European mission. The brethren and sisters over there respect him as a man of God, as he really is. He is a father in every sense of that word to the brethren who are laboring under his direction, and to the Saints whom he visits from time to time. Last July we had the pleasure of having him with us in Copenhagen, Denmark, on the occasion of dedicating the most beautiful house that has ever been built by the Latter-day Saints in Europe. It has a hall with a seating capacity of 600. We are just erecting a beautiful building in the city of Christiania, Norway: and we are taking steps to erect another beautiful building in the city of Stockholm, Sweden. We rejoice in the fact that the Lord is pouring out His Spirit upon His people in those lands, and I am a living witness and want to bear testimony to the fact that I know God is no respector of persons. It does not make any difference where we are born, nor the language we speak. The Lord can be found upon the islands of the sea, upon the continent of Europe, and the continents of Africa and Asia, where I have had the privilege of visiting, as well as upon this land of America. If we seek God, His blessings will follow us. If we obey the principles of the Gospel, it matters not where we do it, we will receive the same blessings. The Lord pours out His Spirit upon us, no matter where we are. Many are the wonderful testimonies that I have listened to during my late visit to Europe. When people have spoken even in foreign tongues, unknown to the majority of the people here, the Spirit of God has been poured out upon the speakers; and when they have defended the character of the Prophet Joseph Smith I have seen the power of God manifested in a manner that has made an impression upon me which I shall never forget. ¶

I am glad to come home to these mountains. I have been from here a number of times on missions. I do not know but I have been more blessed on this short special mission than I have on any of my former missions; at least, I have been blessed to as great an extent. I come home to you feeling thankful for the experience. I am thankful to God my Heavenly Father that He has indeed revealed himself in these the last days and has restored the fullness of His Gospel. I thank God for my home in these mountains, and I do not know that I ever returned to Salt Lake City from a foreign mission when I rejoiced so much in the fact of coming back home as I did on this occasion. There were reasons for this. We did not have a very pleasant journey home. We had sadness on the road. We lost two of our little company of Saints — something that has not happened for many years. Yet in this I see the hand of God. I know His will has been done in the matter, as it is continually being done wherever His sons and daughters put their trust in Him. ¶

I ask God to bless us as a people. This has indeed been a beautiful conference; at least, it has been so to me: and I hope that the spirit of this conference will go from here to all parts of the world, not only to the different stakes of Zion, but to the uttermost parts of the world where our brethren are laboring as dispensers of truth to a fallen world. God bless us all. I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶