Remarks

I was delighted this morning listening to the opening songs in the Tabernacle, to find that the theme suggested was along the line of the mission of Joseph the Prophet. Our opening hymn " Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah, Jesus anointed that Prophet and seer," etc., thrilled my soul, and if it may be the will of the Lord, I should like to dwell for a few moments along this line of thought. ¶

During my lifetime I have been impressed with the mission of Joseph who was sold into Egypt, with the great work that Nephi performed, with the mission of Joseph Smith the Prophet, and I note in considering these characters that, to my mind, they have performed a most wonderful work, yet in each instance they were called in their youth; and herein I wish to emphasize the thought that the youth of Zion have a mission to perform. ¶

You will recall the scriptural story of how Joseph was taken into Egypt, and it is not my purpose to dwell upon how, particularly, he was taken there, but the mission he performed after abiding there some length of time. You are reminded by the story, that his brothers, and later his father, came to him, and he was instrumental in temporarily saving them from destruction by providing corn for them and other foods necessary that they were not raising in their own lands at that time. When I think of the fact that Joseph was driven from his home, was expelled from the association of his brothers and of his parents, when but a youth, it touches my heart. ¶

Then we take Nephi as the next instance. His father was warned in a dream to leave Jerusalem, for the city was going to be destroyed. This evidently was no easy task for Lehi and his family, and those who were later associated with him, because they were going to a wilderness, so to speak. They were not invited to civilization, they were not asked to remain among friends and loved ones, but the Lord said to this man, " Go out into the wilderness and I will lead you whither ye shall go." As I recall some of the incidents connected with this most wonderful trip: after a few years travel and experience, Nephi, the son of Lehi, and the younger son at the time, assumed the reins of government among his people and, in fact, did so legitimately; yet in the eyes of his older brethren he assumed this position much to their dissatisfaction. They complained of him, but nevertheless he performed his part. On one occasion only, I believe, was this young man ever deprived of at least a few friends to console, encourage, and help him, during his administration among the people. On one occasion not only did Laman and Lemuel complain, not only his mother, but even his father complained, when Nephi was unable, because of the breaking of his bow, to provide food for them. He was bound upon the ship; he was persecuted by his own loved ones, yet he never faltered. And I believe that one of the chief reasons for it was that early in life he obtained a testimony of the divinity of the work of the Lord. ¶

You recall that when he returned to Jerusalem to obtain the plates his brethren severely criticized him and abused him, and finally it became necessary for an angel of the Lord to appear and rebuke them for their deeds. Now, this was a difficult experience, it is true, but at the same time Nephi obtained a testimony that the Lord lives. He learned that there were angels in heaven, who administered to mortal men upon the earth. And he was enriching his life with a testimony of the gospel, although he was undergoing great persecution. By referring back you will see that this was also true to Joseph who was sold into Egypt. He became the interpreter of dreams, he became a mouthpiece to those people in Egypt; yet he was but a boy. ¶

In this dispensation we find a like character, to my mind, starting out to find the truth. He read the scriptures in James, that if any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God. This boy put it to the test, a thing, by the way, that we are all invited to do, and he also learned in the beginning of his life's mission that there were not only angels in heaven, but that God the Father and Jesus the Son, whom these very scriptures in which he was reading testified of, exist. By a visible view of them, he learned that they lived. And early in his life he said to a minister of religion, so-called, that he had seen the Father. Then to his own friends, and particularly to himself, he said, I cannot deny it; I know that I have seen God and his Son, and the Lord knows that I know it; I am conscious of it. ¶

Now, my brethren and sisters, the question may be asked by those not of our faith, " What has this to do with this great latter-day work? What has this to do with 'Mormonism?' And whence do you derive your name? My brethren and sisters, as I see it, it has this much to do with it. It is only another epoch in which the Lord has made himself manifest to the children of men. He did it to these other youths; he assisted them, he gave them strength to carry on their work, ¶

And it seems to me it is a source of great encouragement to the youth of Zion to learn as much in detail as possible the history of these three young men. They have been a source of inspiration to me; they have strengthened me in time of trouble; they have been a means of causing me to investigate the truth and to gain hope and courage in furthering the work of the Lord. And so, when I hear these songs sung, my heart rejoices and I feel to praise the Lord for the lives of these young men: ¶

" Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah! Jesus anointed 'that Prophet and Seer' -- Blessed to open the last dispensation; Kings shall extol him, and nations revere." ¶

My brethren and sisters, this ought to be inspiring to us. We have sung for a long time the words given in the days of the Savior: ¶

" Far, far away, on Judea's plains, ¶

Shepherds of old heard the joyous strains: ¶

Glory to God, glory to God, glory to God in the highest." ¶

And they, too, have inspiration in them. But I love to connect up these things, bring them together as an evidence that the Lord is working with his children and particularly to bring it to bear upon our existence and work at the present time. A writer of our day has composed a song in which he vividly portrays a condition that existed when Joseph went out to pray. He describes the morning: ¶

"O how lovely was the morning! Radiant beamed the sun above, Bees were humming, sweet birds singing, Music ringing through the grove, When within the shady woodland, Joseph sought the God of love." ¶

I ask you, my brethren and sisters, to read that song: in the closing of the song, instead of saying, " Joseph sought the God of love," he said, ¶

" Joseph saw the God of love." ¶

I am grateful, my brethren and sisters, for the privilege of living in this dispensation. I am grateful for the lives of these men. I cannot step forth on these grounds in front of those pieces of statuary that we have here of Joseph and Hyrum without feeling that my life is enriched thereby; because those men, those boys, as they were, did for humanity and particularly for all those who accepted the message of life and salvation, that which is beyond price. ¶

I recall when going into the mission field a few years ago that it had been customary, apparently, from the council that we received from our mission president, for a good many elders to teach only faith in God, repentance, and baptism, etc., and that the bearing witness that the work of the Lord is re-established, that an angel has ¶

come to earth, seemingly was held in the background; and I recalled that Brother James G. Duffin, who was our president at that time, said, " Brethren, I want you to go out and testify that the Lord has sent an angel to earth, that he sent him to Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and that message we are now bearing to the children of men." My companion and I did that. We went from city to city, from community to community; we held cottage meetings on every hand, and in every instance we found that by bearing testimony to the fact that God had sent an angel to earth to Joseph the Prophet, we obtained and secured friends everywhere, that people were interested in our message. And to me the greatest satisfaction came in the fact that it strengthened and built up my testimony. And I bear my testimony here, brethren and sisters, to the effect that, while I claim not particular miraculous manifestations, little by little faith has come to me by doing the works, and I can truthfully say today that I know nothing else of this work but truth. I cannot conceive of its being anything but truth. I have not in me any conception of anything else that I desire in preference to the work of the Lord that we are engaged in as a people. My brethren and sisters, to me it is the truth, and it is all the truth, and it is the means, it is the way, by which the children of men will get back to God, and in no other way. May his Spirit be with us. May it be carried to the children of men everywhere, that those who know us not and know not the truth may hear and accept this glad message and be saved and celestialized in the kingdom of God, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. ¶