Remarks by Edward W. Croft

(President of the Bighorn Stake of Zion) ¶

I have been coming to the general conferences of the Church, my brethren and sisters, for over thirty years. I feel today that I am honored, and that it is a privilege granted me this day to look into the faces of so many of my brethren and sisters. I am thankful above all other things in the world that this day, my brethren and ¶

sisters, I find my soul in tune with this great and marvelous work that has been established by our heavenly Father. I was impressed with the statement of President Grant this morning that there were only a very few of the general authorities now left who were present at the dedication of the wonderful temple. I remembered that I had been listening to a great many of the brethren, and I was thankful in my heart that I could say truthfully that in all I have ever heard or ever read from them, I have been able to find myself in harmony with them. I am glad this day that I have a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that I retain it as delivered to me from my mother and father who received the gospel in England many years ago. I am proud of the fact that I can, in humility, be counted worthy to assist, in my humble, feeble way, in the great and wonderful work of the Lord. I am laboring in the Big Horn stake of Zion. You remember that some twenty-two^ years ago, the people were called to colonize that country, and I am certain that there are brethren and sisters here who will be glad to know of the success of the work of God in that country, because of the fact that we were called there, a great many of us. With some of the other brethren who spoke this morning, I can say that we are somewhat in bondage, in debt, because we failed to follow the counsels of the authorities of this great organization; and while our lands, some of them, are mortgaged and boggy, I would like to bring to the Church the message from our stake that we have very few people who have mortgages on their faith in God, and their confidence in the leaders of this Church, and in the Priesthood of Almighty God. Two weeks ago last Sunday we held a little district conference over in a district of our stake, and the bishop and ward clerk announced that there were one hundred percent of the Latter-day Saints present in that meeting, within a radius of ten miles of the meetinghouse. It has been a pleasure to me, my brethren and sisters, to labor in that stake of Zion. ¶

I am also thankful, today, that from the little study I have made of the science in which I am practicing, that of a practicing physician, I have not found anything in the healing arts that begins to compare with the healing power of the Priesthood, and the prayer of faith, following the anointing with oil. I would like to testify to you this afternoon, my brethren and sisters, that with all the ability that I have been able to acquire in the diagnosis of disease, I have found, in the wonderful faith of our people, that the promised blessings do follow the believer! in Jesus Christ, in the wonderful things that he said would follow the believer ; and that notwithstanding the fact that I spend a good many more hours in the practice of medicine than I spend in the preaching of the gospel, and in my labors in the Big Horn stake of Zion, I find that all of the diseases, irrespective of the fact that they are produced by germs, many of them specifically, give way before the prayer of faith, and that in pneumonia and heart trouble, in fractured bones and in all these things that the human body is heir to, I • 2 ¶

have found the prayer of faith accomplishing all and more, yes a thousand times more, than we have heen able to accomplish, in many respects, as a profession. ¶

My brethren and sisters, I know that this is the work of God. I know that my acquaintance with all of the leaders since President Brigham Young has taught me that they have been men of God. I have been personally acquainted, slightly, with each of them, and I can testify to you this day that I have not been able to see anything else than success following all of our people who believe and follow the instructions of the authorities of this Church. Once more I say that I am more than thankful this day that in all the journeys I have made to the general conferences, I have been able to find myself in harmony with everything that has been taught and advocated by the brethren, and where I have put it into practice, success has followed my efforts. I testify to you that God lives. I know that he is my Father ; I know that he is the Father of our spirits, I know that Jesus Christ is his Son, his Only Begotten Son in the flesh, and I thank God this day that I do know that he is my Redeemer. I testify to you that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God, chosen and selected to do a marvelous work and a wonder, and I am thankful, that I can find myself in touch and in tune with the teachings that he gave the Latter-day Saints. It is our privilege to follow his direction, and the direction of those whom God has chosen to succeed him, even unto the present day, and thereby be saved in the celestial kingdom of God. I thank my Father for this privilege, for this blessing of meeting in this conference. I am very thankful that my part of it is over with ; but it is an honor to any man to face a congregation of Latter-day Saints such as this. I love the people of God. My professional work has taken me into their homes. I can testify to all the world that the Latter-day Saint home, guided and directed by the Spirit of God, is the most wonderful place in all the world. It makes men and women good, pure, and holy, and prepares them to do the wonderful work that God has revealed through his servants. May the Spirit of God be with us, and bless us and strengthen us, that we might receive it with open hearts and with thanksgiving unto him, and with gratitude for all the blessings that this conference may be the greatest conference we ever attended, I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶