Remarks by John H. Taylor

I am grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the testimony that has come to me of the truth of the same. In these days of doubt, in these days of wandering to and fro, searching after truth, I am grateful that we have in the gospel of Jesus Christ the truth, the thing that counts and makes it possible for us to go back into the kingdom of God, provided we live the lives we should live here upon the earth. ¶

These men who are telling us that there is no divinity in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ are trying to wreck the faith of the people of the earth. These men who go around telling us that the truths which are written in the holy scriptures are nothing but foolishness, and are so chi'dish that men of intelligence should pay no attention to them, are also trying to destroy faith in God's work and Church. I am glad that we have no apologies to make to anybody about the kingdom of God, the Church of Jesus Christ. We are not ashamed to accept the divinity of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We are not ashamed ¶

to accept the holy scriptures that were given to us by holy prophets through the inspiration of God. We are engaged in the great work of carrying this message to the people. Sometimes we rather feel that in the early days of the Church we had such glorious, powerful missionaries, which we did have, but sometimes, it seems to me, that we rather feel that the day of such missionary spirit and work are of the past. I want to bear testimony that the spirit of that kind of missionary work is still in the hearts of the boys and girls who are out preaching the gospel in the world today. It abides with them to the same extent that it did formerly and they are the same kind of faithful, humble men and women who are preaching the word today, as preached it in the early days of the Church. ¶

I am grateful for the auxiliaries of our Church. They may not always show the great results that we have anticipated, but I want to tell you that the auxiliaries of the Church are making and bringing into the hearts of the boys and girls a desire to be clean, a courage and a faith to accept the call of God to go out and preach his gospel unto the people, making them feel that they should give their time and their energy in carrying the glad tiding of great joy to the people, sowing into their hearts the precious seeds of truth. As they go out into the missionary world, those seeds grow and grow rapidly, and the missionaries stand bdfore the people bearing testimony of the truth of God's work. These men and women are finding God because they are seeking God ; they are knocking at the door, and the door is being opened ; they are searching and they are finding, and as we go to God, so God does answer our faith, and prayers, and permits us to know for ourselves the truth of this great and precious gospel of Jesus Christ. What wonderful testimony our boys and girls are finding out in the world. One boy, one humble boy, called at a home with some of his associates to administer to a woman who had a large swelling on her neck. After the administration the boy wrote to his mother and said: "Why, mother, when we took our hands from off her head, you could see the swelling going down. No one can tell me, in the future, that there are not miracles in these latter days." What a glorious testimony. Talk about the need of your boys and girls in the home ; it is not comparable with the things that the boys and girls are learning about God the eternal Father in the mission field. Let them remain as long as possible. Let them come into the field ; because of their humility God will fill their hearts with a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Not only are the boys and girls learning about God, but they are finding out about their fathers and mothers at home. When they are young, they some time go away from home for the night and they come back next day homesick, for their fathers and mothers. Sometimes now our boys and girls are homesick for their fathers and their mothers ; the first time perhaps that they have been homesick for you for a long while, homesick because you have again come into their life, you have a point of contact and they want their fathers and ¶

their mothers. As we talk to them in their little rooms, these boys and girls of yours tell us about their fathers and mothers at home, and they are grateful for such men and women as you. I hope that we will keep in close touch with our boys and girls, so that being far from us or near by, they shall always be anxious and homesick for us. For while they are in 'this condition, they will be safer and sweeter and cleaner in the sight of God. A young man was lying on his deathbed, with his father as his side. The father asked him if there was anything that he could do for him. The boy replying said, "Yes, after I am gone, I wish you would bury me in the field by that big tree." And the father asked him what he wanted to be buried in the field for, and the boy said: "Why, you know, father, you are down in the field most of the time, and I want to be near you." What a precious thing to have our boys and girls loving us so much that they are always wanting to be near us ! What a glorious privilege it is to send our boys and girls out as messengers of truth into the world ! ¶

May God bless us; may he help us; may we be faithful, retain a faithful testimony of his gospel in our hearts, and may we lead the lives we should, I humbly ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶