Remarks

Presiding Patriarch of the Church ¶

I desire very much to enjoy that same sweet spirit which has attended the remarks of my brethren. It is a very important privilege to associate with these men whom the Lord has called in this important day and time to proclaim and defend his work. In humility I wish to express my appreciation for the privilege that ¶

has come to me as one of the youths of Zion to take part in this important work, in the manner in which I have been called. ¶

I have made some very remarkable observations, in my brief ministry as a worker in the Church. I have observed that we have some of the best people in all the world from the young men and women to the aged fathers and mothers, and grandfathers and grandmothers in the Church. I have observed also that we are living in just a little different time from that of our greatgrandfathers, and perhaps the obstacles which were before them were not the same kind that are before us as young people today. While our grandfathers and grandmothers had their responsibilities, their trials and their struggles, I am sure we, as young people, today, have ours. But in my anxiety to discover the greatest support, the greatest help to battle with these trials, responsibilities and obstacles, I know of no other that compares in any way with the privileges and possibilities that come to us as young people to work in the Church of Christ. There are constantly being taught to us the principles of defense, the principles and powers that will aid and assist us to more fully enjoy our privileges and blessings in the great time and day in which we are living. It is true that we are living very near to the world. There was a time, perhaps, more than there is today when people could observe that we as so-called "Mormons"could be recognized by our attitude and our very appearance, but today we are so near to the world that sometimes it is almost impossible to tell by our physical appearance whether we are of the world or not. ¶

As one of the youth of Zion called to stand upon her watch towers, I desire to express my faith and my belief in the fact that the Lord has not forgotten us, that his preserving and protecting care will continue to be with us, if we will only hearken unto the teachings and counsels which we have received. If we as young people will only observe the teachings of our parents in righteousness, to keep ourselves worthy of the great blessings which the Lord, for generations, has prepared to be administered unto the children of Israel in these the last days, we need not be disappointed. ¶

I have observed this very important lesson. You have just heard Elder Widtsoe, one of our great students in the Church, declare that under certain conditions the crude charcoal could be made into the lustrous diamond. Under natural conditions oil and water will not mix. To make them mix they have to be treated by heat and other agents, but just as soon as you come back to natural and normal conditions again, the oil separates from the water and the water separates from the oil. While this is a crude example, I wish to bring it to you for this purpose. It is the best example I think of at the present time to explain the thought I have in view, that it is impossible under normal conditions for us, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ¶

whether old or young, to enjoy the blessings of the Church, as they are designated to us through the teachings of the Church, and live in the world, as the people of the world live. If you or I desire to enjoy those precious blessings which the Lord, through his holy prophets, has been declaring from the early ages up to the present time, we must obey the principles, and the laws, which govern those blessings. We may go through the form of receiving them but unless our hearts are in tune with them, through obedience to the laws that govern them, we will not receive the blessings. Just as soon as we come to our normal condition in our conduct in life, we will be just like the oil and water when they are in their normal condition. They do not naturally combine. So let me urge upon you, my brethren and sisters, to be careful in your conduct, in your ways of living. Do not deceive yourselves that you can break the Word of Wisdom, known among us as members of the Church as the "law of health"and the word of God to us as a people. You cannot break those commandments and those laws and expect to get the blessings that are enjoyed by those who do not break the laws. The Lord is kind and merciful, but like any other parent, he cannot give us the blessings that he would like to give us unless we prepare to be worthy of them. ¶

Through observations which have come to me, day by day and year by year, I am impressed more fully with that humble testimony that this is God's work and that he is ever blessing those who are laboring under his tuition and spirit to carry out his work, that he has been very mindful of his people. He has blessed us in our homes, in our fields and flocks and herds. I don't know when I have ever seen a more blessed year than this has been to the people of this intermountain country, and I do pray that the Lord will inspire, within the hearts of the people, a true devotion to the Giver of these blessings, that he will not be forgotten. ¶

Already men are responding to the great call that has been made by the President of the Church. Men in business, men in the professions, are already beginning to arrange their affairs, and I am sure there will be a response of willingness and gratitude, in the midst of the Church, to go forth and express in work, and make a great defense of this work, that men of the world may discover that there is an important period in their lives in which the Lord has been mindful of his children, and that the Spirit of the Lord will be poured out in mighty power upon those who express themselves in willingness to turn unto God's work, and take part in it, to proclaim it, and defend it, both at home and abroad. ¶

I pray that the Spirit of the Lord may be upon the members of the Church wherever they live, that they may express that appreciation of their blessings in right living, that they remember the Lord in gratitude and in thanksgiving and in proper conduct; and not be deceived by their carelessness and their indifference. Nephi,. ¶

the great character of old, taught his people in his time that those who thought they could do a little here and a little there, telling a lie here and a lie there, or steal a little today and steal a little tomorrow, that they could forget the Lord today and remember him tomorrow, procrastinate and put off, that they would be deceived in the end, that the adversary who was lying in wait to destroy the faith of the people then, that adversary still lives and is still in wait to take advantage of the follies of the people, and to place barriers in their pathway. But I want to promise you, my brethren and sisters, that though he is alive and in waiting for the weaknesses and follies of the people, that if you will observe the teachings of your faithful parents, that if you will observe the teachings of the elders in Israel, if you will observe the laws of nature and the words of wisdom, as they have been taught unto you from the beginning of this Church, since they were revealed to us, that the God of heaven will give you power every day of your lives to defend yourselves, that you may keep yourselves worthy of the blessings that the Lord has in store for you, and that you will have power to triumph over these barriers, to live and enjoy this happy, wonderful testimony that God lives, that he is the giver of life, that he forgives sins, that he gives you power to "overcome weaknesses, that he will spare your lives in usefulness, that he will bless the labor of your hands temporally and spiritually, that he will give you understanding through the quickening of your minds and your desires and your ability to see and to understand. I have faith that the God of heaven will hear your prayers and answer you, he will remember you in mercy and bless you beyond your power to appreciate your blessings. ¶

I desire to express my appreciation for the blessings that the Lord has granted unto me, for my faith in and my knowledge of God and his works, for I know that God lives, that he does hear and answer prayers, that he does forgive sins unto those who honestly repent of their sins, forsake them and live in obedience to the teachings of Christ. ¶

I pray God to bless the officers and members of the Church throughout its entire organization. May faith, knowledge and obedience increase among the people to the glory of the Lord and his work, through Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶