Remarks

My dear brethren and sisters, I hope and pray that I may have an • interest in your faith and prayers, that the Spirit of the Lord will direct my remarks as it has done the remarks of Elder Adams. ¶

We will transfer our thoughts from the extreme tropical climate to a northern climate, in which I have been laboring. It was very difficult to get into Sweden on my recent last mission, owing to the fact that there were technicalities regarding the signing of passports. After being refused passport visas at Chicago, New York, and Washington, we decided to go on to England and try there. President McKay took us down to the office of the Swedish Consul, at which place, after no difficulty whatever, we received our passports and continued our journey to Sweden. After arriving in Sweden we felt that everything was all right and we would be permitted to fill our missions without further hindrance; but, to our surprize, after having been there only a few days we were politely informed that our passport visas had been cancelled and that not only we but all the elders in Sweden were to leave at once. How sad and heavy-hearted we felt at this news. But we had faith in our heavenly Father, and we believed that he would assist and help us in every way; so we used every means possible to obtain the proper signatures to our passports. It was of no avail. I personally petitioned three times to the King of Sweden in order to get a pass endorsed but the third time my pass was returned, and I was told by the chief of police, or rather his representative, that our presence was not wanted longer. Still we did not feel that we could give up, and we used every means possible to remain in that country. We employed the services of an attorney, and when we explained what we had done, he said, "Gentlemen, there is nothing else to do but for you to leave this country and go back to your homes." We were glad that we had used every means that even he could employ, though we still thought there was one more way, and that was to rely on the Lord. We called a fast. By this time two or three weeks had passed, and the word had gone to England and America that we were finding it difficult to remain in the Old country. I am sure that the prayers to the Lord from you people were answered in blessings to us. We felt your prayers and your faith. I bear testimony to you today that it was through the faith and prayers of our brethren and sisters, both at home and abroad, and through the blessings of our heavenly Father that the hearts of the officials of that government were softened to some extent, so that we were permitted to remain and complete our missions. ¶

This was in fulfilment of a prophecy and blessing pronounced upon our heads when we left for our mission field. President George F. Richards gave me a blessing in which it was promised that I should go to Sweden, perform an honorable mission, and after having completed that mission, return to my home. I never stressed the promise so much, until I had been in the mission field nearly two years. Then I thought of my blessing, and that part in particular which pertained to my staying there until my mission was completed and fulfilled. Truly I thanked God for a prophet and for prophets, whom we have in the Church to lead, guide, and direct us. ¶

The Swedish mission is in a flourishing condition, considering the shortage of missionaries. We had but nineteen missionaries in a country that has about six millions of people. The elders were united, they were good men of various occupations in life; men who had come into the field, leaving their homes, families, and their all to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. They found joy and pleasure in their labors. We found many friends in that good country; so many that we could not fill the appointments with the few elders at hand. We went into the Arctic Circle, the country of the midnight sun, where we were met with open arms by both Saints and non-members. Many opened their doors and asked us to be guests in their home. We were pleased to bear our testimonies to them and tell them of the revealed gospel of Jesus Christ. ' ¶

I am impressed to tell you of a letter I received. It contained, in brief, the following account. A certain man, who lived near the Arctic Circle, had been reading in Revelations, the 14th chapter, 6th and 7th verses, where it speaks of an angel that should come to the earth with the everlasting gospel. He had taken this to heart and was ready to receive the message of that angel. But where to find him or anything regarding the visitation of angels to the earth, he did not know. So he went to a neighboring town and visited every book store, asked the clerks of the book stores for any book that would tell him of the visitation of angels to the earth. Of course they could not, but he persisted: "I must find something that will give me light on this subject." In an old second-hand store he asked concerning the ministration of angels coming to earth in these days. Me was told that those days are past. But just as he was leaving the clerk said, "Just a moment; I believe I can give you some information regarding this. I have seen a book with the picture of an angel printed on its front page,"referring to the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants in which a representation of the Angel Moroni is found in the Swedish editions. After making some inquiries they finally obtained our headquarter's address at Stockholm. The letter of inquiry, in part, told this story: "Please send one of your representatives, a missionary, to my home as soon as possible, because I want to hear of this angel, I want to hear of the gospel of Jesus Christ, because I am sick both in body and mind but more concerned about my spiritual welfare than that of my body." You can imagine the thrill that came to us when we read this letter, and how we longed to get there and preach the gospel to this man. I sent President Mathias Erickson, who was on his third mission in Sweden, a noble man and a wonderful defender of the gospel of Jesus Christ, to visit this man. When he arrived he was received by the man and bis wife with open arms. Pie remained with them some days, and had the privilege of baptizing the man into the Church and confirming him a member. And today he is a happy man. ¶

Brethren and sisters, the people are strong, stalwart, kind and ¶

good-hearted. Every one of us missionaries are more than grateful for the kindnesses shown to us. Among them are many of the blood of Israel, and I am proud to have been born in that country, and thankful to God that the elders visited my parents and that they received the gospel. The gospel is being extensively preached everywhere in that country. I had the privilege of filling a mission there in 1907-8-9, and the interest is greater now than then. A wave of spirituality has come over the people, and they are longing to hear more of religion. New sects are arising and new churches are springing up. But we need not go astray, for we have a prophet to lead and guide us aright. ¶

While in Sweden I read a pamphlet published by a certain association, telling of a meeting held in Gothenburg, at which about 300 Lutheran priests attended, and the substance of this pamphlet was that one of the Lutheran priests got up and said, "Ladies and gentlemen (for there were a few ladies present also, as guests of these men), we are assembled to discuss the vital things of our religion, but I want to tell you that we are each and every one of us hypocrites. We cannot follow Christ if we follow the rituals of our Church." And then he went on to enumerate what they had to teach, what they had to pray for, whether they wished to do so or not. He said, "No matter how obnoxious we may seem to the public and the people, no matter how much they hate our doctrine or what we teach, we cannot change it, nor can we change our positions as did the Savior of mankind. If the people did not treat him kindly in one place, he would move to another and teach the people there. But we are planted down in one parish and cannot move, even if we want to. The religion that we are teaching is inadequate." ¶

One of the leading ministers of that country stood openly in a meeting and said that he did not believe in God. "There is no living God,"he said. And his ideas conform to the modern ideas of today that Jesus Christ is not the Son of God but the son of Joseph. That was his thought, and he expressed it openly, and yet on Sunday he preached the doctrines and creed of the Church. ¶

I attended a meeting where an atheist spoke. "Can religion save the world? Religion has not made any progress in the last two thousand years; it has not made people better." A discussion was held after, and I had the privilege of saying a few words. I said, "Yes, religion can save the world, if it is a religion revealed from God our heavenly Father, founded upon truth, founded upon revelation. It can save the world both spiritually and materially. I related the message of the restored gospel to the Latter-day Saints and I was proud to bear my testimony that this message had brought people from all over the world in unity together; and that though from different nations, and different tongues, they were welded together in one Church, where unity existed. A majority of these people own their own homes, and spiritually, financially and materially the gospel of Jesus Christ is saving them. We are blessed with all of these things. ¶

We know that the gospel of Jesus Christ will persist. I fully agree with President Grant in what he said in his opening speech, that a marvelous work and a wonder has been brought to the world. It is a saving gospel — the true Church of Christ. ¶

I have often thought and wondered, brethren and sisters, how Job felt when the Lord spoke to him from the whirlwind; and John the Revelator, on the Isle of Patmos, when he heard the voice of the Savior. It pierced him, through body and soul, you might say. I had a thrilling experience yesterday, standing in the store in which I am employed, listening to the conference sermons through the radio. All at once I heard a prophet's voice, one that we all know, President Heber J. Grant call out my name, saying that if Elder Isaac P. Thunnell and Elder A., William Lund are in the audience, they will please come to the stand. There was a thrill went through me, and it made me think, and I have thought a great deal about that ever since. We have been told, brethren and sisters, that a still small voice will dictate to us what we should do and what we should not do; we have been told that if we live perfectly, this voice will not fail us. Sometimes we do not live as perfectly as we should do, and therefore we lose the spirit and communication with this voice. We must place ourselves in harmony with the Lord, because he can and will give us inspiration if we seek for it. ¶

This is a marvelous work and a wonder that the Lord has begun upon the earth, and I am willing with you, brethren and sisters, to work with all my might for the furtherance of this great work in the earth. I have often thought about the vision of Isaiah, who saw in vision the tops of the mountains, the everlasting hills, where the Llouse of the Lord should be established. I have said to myself, how wonderful it must have been for him to look into the future! I have come to the conclusion that the Lord kept this spot of earth for the Latter-day Saints, that they might here in peace and plenty rejoice together with one another over the blessings that he had prepared for them. For centuries the Lord has caused the rains and snows to fall in the mountains so that the most precious soil from the hills would be washed down into the valleys. Our cities are built in the shadow of the hills, whence the rich soil has been washed down for centuries. The Lord knew where to send us. He prepared this land for centuries before we came here. Let us appreciate our blessings to the full. ¶

I bear my testimony that I know the restored gospel is true. I have had many testimonies through the Spirit of the Lord of its divinity. I am willing with you to go forward from this day on to help to further the work of the Lord in the world. I ask the blessings of the Lord upon each and every one of us, that we may live by the inspiration of his Spirit and enjoy its blessings at home even as we did in the mission field, and we shall, if we live for it, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶