Central States Mission Testimony

(President of the Central States Mission) , ¶

I am very happy, my brethren and sisters, to have the privilege of attending this conference ; I feel that the Lord has greatly blessed all who have been here. The success which comes to this Church I think is largely the result of its members meeting together, in general conferences and in local gatherings, where they can receive instructions and counsel which they try to carry out in performing the work they have been sent into the world to do. ¶

A great responsibility rests upon the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: The gospel which our Savior gave to his apostles in the dispensation of time in which he lived has been revealed anew in this dispensation and the same Priesthood that has been in the earth always under his direction is here today in the valleys of the mountains in Israel, where Israel is gathered and centered to carry out the great plan which our Father in heaven made before the earth was. This people are a great people ; I feel that we owe a great debt to our Father in heaven for what he has done. We have assuredly been blessed. There isn't any doubt in the mind of any man or woman, I am sure, who has followed in his life the authority of the .Lord Jesus Christ but that he has seen the return of the Lord's blessings to latter-day Israel With greater force than they were bestowed in former days. I am sure that the Church of Christ in the earth is stronger today than it was yesterday, but that it will never be weaker than it has been in the past, but that it will grow ; and as the days come and go, the strength of the Almighty will be manifested in greater power upon the children of men than it has ever been before, until he comes. ¶

When I look into the faces of men and women who are not of this Church, I feel that I owe unto them a testimony, if it is within my power to give it. For they lived at a former time and they kept their first estate- I often tell this to our missionaries in the field — that when they look upon the face of any man or woman they must remember one thing, that that man or woman kept the first estate. They may not have kept their estate as well as others have, but the fact nevertheless remains that they lived and were advanced as a result of their obedience. They received the blessings of the Almighty which gave them the privilege of living here in the flesh and receiving the blessings of the flesh, for it is a blessing to be permitted to live in a body of flesh and bone. It is our duty to warn them, to warn ourselves, to receive admonition and to give it unto others ; for just so surely as the sun shines, as the Lord has said, there will come a time when men will be rewarded according to their works ; and when men and women find out what they have lost as a result of their disobedience, the Lord's word will be fulfilled, and' there will be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. ¶

it is the duty and labor of Latter-day' Saints to deliver unto the ¶

children of men the message which the Lord has revealed in these the last days. He spoke unto Joseph Smith. He said the things Joseph Smith declared he said. He delivered unto him the gospel, and the Prophet wrote and preached it. There isn't any doubt about it. I know as I stand here, and I say it to all the world : If there is an honest man, a man or a woman with a heart that desires to know the truth, that knowledge can come unto them. It is easy to receive, easy to understand. The gospel is not full of mysticisms or of things that cannot be understood, but it is a plain and simple plan which the children of men may follow and thereby go back into the presence of our Father in heaven. And unless they do this they cannot return where he is, worlds without end; so says the scripture given by the Prophet Joseph Smith. ¶

These things are given to the world and the words that he gave to the world have stood the test ever since they came into the earth. For nearly one hundred years the Book of Mormon has been before the people, and it has never been proved to be untrue; but, on the contrary, as every year comes and goes it is proved to be a truth by many hundreds of men and women. More witnesses are added to the divinity of that work. And so it is with the revelations of the Lord in this dispensation of time. This gathering itself is a witness — it is a witness unto any man or woman who might walk into this building with a desire in his heart to know whether this is the work of God — this great congregation and the Spirit and power of God felt here are witnesses and will stand for or against men at some future day. ¶

May the Lord give us the privilege to live faithfully unto the end of our lives, that we may return unto him, that we may send our sons, and daughters, and our message unto the world to bring as many souls unto Christ as is possible in the few short years we remain on the earth, I humbly pray, in the name of Christ. Amen. ¶