Remarks

Of the Presiding Bishopric ¶

This conference has been one of joy and pleasure to me, and I have listened with appreciation to the doctrines, teachings and instructions of my brethren. These meetings give us all new life, new vigor, a new outlook, new thoughts and new resolves; and I believe that we shall go home from this conference filled with the bread of life. ¶

When President Grant announced the great missionary movement and the call for one thousand mature men to go on missions for short terms, it filled my soul with gladness. I saw these vigorous, mature men, able defenders of the gospel, accepting this call, coming to Salt Lake, being set apart under the hands of the servants of God; I saw them arriving in the various fields of labor, receiving counsel and advice from their mission presidents; then going forth to the villages, hamlets, and the great cities of this land, and perhaps of other countries, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and crying repentance to all people. ¶

I saw these devoted men, and perhaps women, knocking at the doors of the people's homes, offering tracts, soliciting entertainment, sometimes being rebuffed and sometimes welcomed; delivering tracts which convey the gospel's message to those who will open their doors. I saw them on the street corners, addressing ever-shifting and changing congregations; in the civic centers, in the parks, upon steps of public buildings; and, in fact, wherever the police will permit them to preach. I saw these men, happy and thankful for the privilege of raising their warning voices once more to the inhabitants of this and other lands. ¶

As a result of this preaching and tracting the hearts of some will be truly touched by the message of the gospel; some will stop and listen; others will invite the missionaries to call; still others will hear the message through their friends. A few words will sink ¶

into the hearts of some of the listeners, and they will want to hear something more of this work. They will attend the little meeting places, sometimes a rented hall, sometimes a small chapel owned by the Church, and now and again a nice building. ¶

This work has been done by the bearers of the gospel thousands of times. Men will say to themselves and to one another: What shall we do? They will hear the message through the servants of the Lord, and some few will accept it and become valiant defenders of the truth in their own communities. They will receive the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, and this will drive out of their minds, if they will but permit it, all sectarianism and dogmatism from which the world is suffering today. ¶

Then I thought: It is probable that under the inspiration of the Lord our brethren have called this multitude of men to labor on these short missions so that our great nation may be once more warned. During the last few years there has been a slipping away from religious ideals and spirituality in the missions. Great controversies have been waging. Only recently this happened in Tennessee, and prominent men have shaken the people's faith in a living God and in the fundamental teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ and his atonement and the resurrection. Is the Lord sending out our brethren to warn these people to hold fast to the truth and to acknowledge the redemption and saving power of Jesus Christ? ¶

So, in my opinion, a great mission will be accomplished. It will stand out as an epoch in the history of this Church because of the mighty effort that will once more be made to call all the inhabitants of this nation and other nations to repentance. ¶

I had in mind this afternoon to say a few words concerning the poor, but time will not permit me to express all my thoughts. In Section 52 of the Doctrine and Covenants there is a statement given by the Lord, which startled me for a moment when I first read it: "And remember in all things the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted, for he that doeth not these things, the same is not my disciple." Is it possible that in our haste and hurry and in the rush of life we have not digested this thought? It may be that some have said to themselves that the poverty and misery people suffer is usually brought upon them by their own folly; but King Benjamin in giving his final message to the people of Nephi says this: "Perhaps thou shalt say: the man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just." But that good man said unto them: "Whosoever doeth this, the same hath great cause to repent." It is a common habit for us to express ourselves in that way. ¶

I will also quote you a favorite passage of Bishop Nibley's from the writings of the Apostle James in the New Testament: "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit ¶

the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." ¶

Then, our Lord and Savior, when talking to the lawyer, made two definite propositions: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself." ¶

I hope we shall all go home, thankful to the Lord for the abundant harvest, for the way the land has been blessed, for the opportunity that has come to the people of the Lord to get out of debt; and with all these blessings we shall not forget the poor, the sick, and the afflicted. If only our people could remember that even ten cents a day each month would do so much and if each church member would give this amount, the bishops would have in their hands each month $50,000. Then widows could be provided with homes and some of the comforts of life, and we could give more intelligent service to the sick, the afflicted, and all those who need our help. We are not doing enough of this. ¶

May the Lord bless us and help us to remember our responsibilities to live up to our privileges and to keep his commandments, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶