Remarks

(President of the Canada Mission) ¶

My dear brethren and sisters, if there ever was a time in my life that I desired to be guided and directed by the light and power of God, the Eternal Father, it is the present. This is the largest congregation of people that I have ever stood in the presence of, and I assure you that I feel my weakness. Still, at the same time, with your faith and prayers I desire to leave with you my humble testimony concerning the divinity of this great and mighty work that has come to us in this day and time. ¶

There is a saying of the Prophet Joseph Smith that the things of God are of deep import, and only by careful and ponderous consideration and experience can we find them out. " Thou must commune with God." If ever a truth has come into my life, it has been this truth, during the last year or more since I have been engaged in missionary work in the world. I know that in order to be successful in the delivering of this great and mighty message, one must commune with God. One must come very near to him, must feel his power and his influence in unfolding this message of truth to the hearts of the children of men in the world; and, if I am any judge of conditions as they come under our supervision in the mission field, I am convinced that in order to convert mankind to this great message of truth, one must be endowed with the Spirit of God, which comes through humble and sincere prayer or communion with God. ¶

You know when Christ had had some dealings with the Pharisees and Sadducees, and he had asked his disciples concerning what men thought of him; some of them told him that the people around about thought he was John the Baptist, or Elias, or Jeremias or one of the Prophets. He turned to them and said: " But whom say ye that I am?" And you will recall that Peter answered the question by saying: " Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Observe how positive and direct this question is. I believe that in the question which Christ put to his disciples, is contained a power that brings home a relationship between us and God, our eternal Father, so much so that if the question were put to us in the same way as it was put to Peter, and the apostles, it would need the same quality of inspiration that Peter had when he told the Savior that he was the Christ, the Son of the living God, in order for us to know also that he is the Savior of mankind. ¶

You will recall that in addition to this question, Christ said to Peter: " Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood have not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. Upon this rock will I build my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."I desire to call your attention to the power there is in this statement of the Christ. So positive is it, that he told Peter that there was no question as to the origin of Peter's information regarding this definite truth concerning him. I feel, this afternoon, that not only we, who comprise the Church, are built upon this rock of revelation, but in order to know within our own selves the divinity of this work individually, we must be guided and prompted by that spirit of revelation that Peter enjoyed when he gave answer to the question put to him by the Christ. I know by experience that in order to have burning in our hearts a testimony of the Living God, we must build upon this principle of revelation which comes to us through our communion with God. ¶

I bear my testimony to you, this afternoon, that I know, as I know that I breathe the breath of life, that God lives, and that Jesus Christ is the Only Begotten Son of God in the flesh. I know as I know that I live that Joseph Smith is a prophet of the living God, and that through him has come to us this great and mighty work, this great scheme of life and salvation. I have found in the unfolding of this scheme of life to the nations of the earth that when I have been humble and prayerful, and have appreciated what it means to get close to God, the words which I have uttered have sunk into the hearts of men and women until they have become converted to this truth. ¶

I know, my brethren and sisters, that the power of revelation is in this Church. I know that President Grant is a Prophet of God. It has been made known to me, and I do pray God, my eternal Father, that he will bless us with inspiration, that we will unite ourselves together and pray as we have never prayed before, in our lives, that this work will be perpetuated; and when that time comes that we shall be ¶

called to meet our God, it will be said of us: " Well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of thy Lord." ¶

God bless the testimonies that have been given at this conference for our good and for the glory of God is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶