Swiss and German Mission Testimony

My beloved brethren and sisters: I say "beloved brethren and sisters" because we are all here born into the kingdom of God through baptism, by faith and by a knowledge which we have received from heaven of this great work that has been restored in our day, and therefore I say, we are all brothers and sisters, children of our heavenly Father. I am grateful from the very bottom of my heart that I have a standing in the Church and Kingdom of God. I thank the Lord for the knowledge of the gospel which I have received, and I know beyond all question of doubt that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true. ¶

As intimated by President Grant, I have spent a great deal of time in the mission field. Since 1890, I have devoted a great part of my time to missionary work. I have traveled in all the provinces of Germany, of Austria, Hungary, Switzerland and France. I have borne my testimony before the authorities of those lands; I have borne my testimony before kings; and I can say to you, my brethren and sisters, that I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know it is the power of God unto salvation, to all those who hear and render obedience unto its principles. ¶

I feel to say this morning, as the Savior said when he was talking to his people and one of his servants said: ¶

Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. ¶

But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? ¶

And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! ¶

For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven the same is my brother, and sister, and mother. ¶

I feel today that those who are keeping the commandments of God, they are my brethren, they are my sisters in very deed. ¶

While I was laboring in my last mission, I never will forget the time when a great conference was called in Berne, the capital of Switzerland, and the president of this Church -- the prophet, seer and revelator, Joseph F. Smith -- met with us in that conference. In speaking to that people, he held out his hand and said: "The time will come when this land will be dotted with temples, where you can go and redeem your dead." I thank God from the bottom of my heart that I have been called again to go into that land, I want to do my mite to bring about the fulfilment of the prophecy by President Joseph F. Smith in the capital of Switzerland. I believe it with all my heart, that soon the time will come when there will be temples erected in that land of Switzerland, and I also believe, my brethren and sisters, that there is no greater mission in all the world today than the mission of preaching the gospel in continental Europe. I have traveled in all the provinces of Germany. I know the meek and lowly of Germany; and notwithstanding the great troubles, and the great bloodshed in those lands, during the last few years, I want to say to you that you will find the blood of Israel among the people in those provinces. I say that there will be a great and a mighty work accomplished in that land. I wish to say, also, that I go to Germany to represent you, and I want to represent you honorably and nobly. In turn, I want you, as my brethren and sisters, to support me in that land, that I may be faithful, that I may keep the commandments of God, that I may set an example that will be worthy of emulation; that I can say to those people: "The people of Utah are serving God and keeping his commandments." That is the greatest testimony that I can give. I wish to say to that people ¶

that we are observing the Word of Wisdom, the word of God, that we are paying our tithes and our offerings. I want to say to them that we are laboring in the temples of God to redeem our dead. I want to say to those people that there is love and harmony among the Latter-day Saints; that they are a unit; that they support, with all their might, mind and strength, the authorities of this Church, from the head to the very last ordained member; that the spirit of love, the spirit of peace, the spirit of harmony is found among the Saints in Zion, and not the spirit of criticism or fault-finding, but that they are a united people. We are all laboring for one common purpose, and that is to establish the Kingdom of God, here upon the earth. ¶

One more thing I want to say. When the Savior was preaching and ministering among his people, the sick were healed, the lame walked, the blind were made to see under his hands; and when he called his twelve apostles he set them apart and ordained them; he gave them power to heal the sick and to accomplish the mission that he had begun; and he said: "I send you out without money, without price. Freely you have received, freely you shall impart." When you send your young men into the mission field, I want to ask you, my brethren and sisters, to instil into their souls the principles of the gospel, which will be worth more to them than unlimited means; and by so doing you will help to build them up in their testimonies and knowledge, that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world, and that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. I do not care whether they have a dollar in their pockets or not; if they have only that spirit burning in their bosom, God will open the way before them. There will be friends raised up to them; they will accomplish a great and a mighty work, and the people in those lands will receive them with open arms. While, on the other hand, if you send them out there with their pockets filled with money, you know what they will do; I do not need to tell you. With all my soul I believe in preaching the gospel without money and without price. The laborer is worthy of his hire, and I am willing to put my trust in the Lord. I will promise you, my brethren and sisters, that I never will ask one of your boys, in the mission field, to do one thing that I will not do myself, with them, with the help of the Lord. God bless the Latter-day Saints. May we be united in keeping his commandments is my prayer, and I ask it, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶