Christ's Resurrection

I read from the twenty-fourth chapter of Luke, beginning at the first verse: ¶

Christ's Resurrection

"Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. ¶

"And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. ¶

"And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. ¶

"And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: ¶

"And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? ¶

"He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, ¶

"Saying, the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. ¶

And they remembered his words." ¶

Double Assurance of the Risen Lord

Throughout the Christian world today this event is celebrated, the theme discussed, the thought memorized, and appropriate words are spoken upon this and kindred scripture concerning the resurrection of our Lord. Our flowers here, these Easter lilies, symbolize that thought, and we, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, believe every word of the scripture which I have read. We accept it literally. We believe that the same body which the Lord Jesus had in his mortal life was resurrected and became a glorified body of flesh and bone. We have evidence of this in addition to that contained in the New Testament; for as Latter-day Saints we believe that this same Jesus, who was crucified and who rose from the dead, did in these latter days appear and reveal himself to the Prophet Joseph Smith, and taught him how to lay the foundation of this great Latter-day work. ¶

So we have a double assurance, not only the assurance of the scriptures which Christians generally accept, but the further assurance that the same Jesus has come to earth in these latter times and has established the same Church, the same doctrines, the same principles of salvation, with the same power and authority which he instituted in the meridian of time, before his crucifixion and after. ¶

Principles and Doctrines the Same as Christ Taught

He has given to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in these days the same authority and principles and has empowered it to perform the same work which he instructed his apostles and disciples to perform in former times, namely, to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. It is the same doctrine, without any change. The Savior commanded his disciples to go forth and depend not upon themselves, but upon the Lord, and he promised that he would feed and clothe them and take care of them. In other words, they were not to ask: "Is there a salary connected with it? How much are we going to get?" In the olden time, as you read in the scriptures, he said nothing of salary, but on the contrary, his instructions were that they should go without purse or scrip, and depend upon the Lord. ¶

The Same Doctrine

The same doctrine is preached today by the Church of Jesus Christ; and as we heard from President Grant this morning, over 2,500 of our missionaries are out in the world today, doing that very work and doing it in the very same way. They maintain themselves, they depend upon their own efforts. The Church does not hire them. There is no hiring in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in that sense. It is true that when a man is asked to devote the whole of his time to Church work, he must be supplied with sufficient to live on. The people among whom the elders labor in the missions of the world usually take care of them where they can. If they cannot, and converts or friends cannot assist them, then these men are expected to furnish the means themselves and make that much of a sacrifice for preaching and teaching and delivering this wonderful message to the world. ¶

The Work Is Done Without Pay

Here at home our bishops are called to act as fathers to the people in their wards. Are they paid any salaries? No. It is true that they are allowed a little, the general average of which amounts to 50 cents a day, for taking care of the tithes and for being responsible for the money, but not for presiding over the ward, and not for administering in the authority of the priesthood. It is given for the special work he performs as bishop -- that of taking in the tithes, looking after the hay, the butter, the eggs, or whatever is turned in on tithing. For this particular work a meagre allowance is made which amounts to about 50 cents a day per bishop; but no salary is paid to our bishops. ¶

Then there are others, such as the men on this stand, and mission presidents also, who are called to devote their entire time to the Church. They have no time to look after temporal affairs of their own; they must work and go where they are sent. They are liable to be called to go to this mission or the other mission, even to the ends of the earth, any day, any hour, and they are expected to comply, and do comply. So they have no time to provide means for their families, or to speculate in this or the other. It is necessary, therefore, for the Church to provide for them. But even they do not receive "salaries," because a salary is what a man receives when he hires himself out. Over there in the office of the Short Line Railroad company, or in any of the big offices or stores, men are hired for certain amounts, and if they do well, the salary is increased. A man may go from one job to another, and do the best he can for his family and for himself, and that is all right; he is entitled to do it. That is working for hire, or for a salary. But could you get one of the mission presidents to leave the Church work and hire himself out for money? No. Could you hire any of these seventies, the presiding bishopric, the apostles, the presidency of the Church? Not one, not one. Of necessity, when a ¶

man has not the means to support himself, the Church must support him, so that he can continue his work. ¶

Such men as I have mentioned, therefore, who are devoting their entire time to the Church, receive an allowance, though a very meagre one in comparison to what is usually allowed men of that kind in other walks of life. There are men on this stand, and throughout the Church, who, by devoting their entire time to their own affairs, could double or treble or quadruple the small allowance that is given them by the Church for their support. ¶

So I can safely say that in this Church, as in the primitive church, there is no hireling service. The same spirit of sacrifice that the Lord then required obtains now in his Church. Our parents sacrificed for this work in coming to this land and redeeming it from the desert it was. Our missionaries go out now and sacrifice. It is essentially a work of sacrifice. They give the best years of their lives for the work of the Lord without any thought of compensation. There is a continual stream of missionaries coming and going. What for? To deliver this message to the world, namely: that the Lord God of heaven -- this same Jesus Christ of whom I have read who was crucified and put to death, and who obtained through the keys of the resurrection power over death and the grave; for he said: "I am the resurrection and the life" -- has established the same kind of a Church in this day, and has restored the same gospel as was preached in his day; and he expects us to deliver that most important message. ¶

The Most Important Thing for the World to Know

Now let me tell you, my brethren and sisters, the most important thing for the world to know today is that God lives, and that Jesus is indeed the Christ, the Son of the living God, and that he has restored his work to the earth through the instrumentality of Joseph Smith the Prophet. The same doctrine of faith is here today that was in the primitive church. The same doctrine of repentance is here. The same doctrine of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins is here. The same doctrine of the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost is here. The same power of the Holy Priesthood is here. The power of God unto salvation is here today in this Church as strong, as powerful, and as potent as it was in the days of Jesus Christ, when he dwelt here in the flesh. The same principles are advanced -- love, patience, integrity, sacrifice, everything that makes for righteousness and the well-being of mankind. Every principle, every ideal, every thought that makes for the betterment and the salvation of mankind is here in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today, as it was nineteen hundred years ago in the primitive church. And the beauty of it all is that you know it! You are not deceived. ¶

The Church Built Upon the Rock of Revelation

We would be foolish to try to deceive ourselves. We know by the same power that Peter knew; and what was that? "Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?" the Savior asked. And they said: "Some say thou art John the Baptist; some Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets." The Savior said: "But whom say ye that I am?" Peter answered and said unto him: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God." And the Savior answered, "Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: [as much as to say, it is a fine thing to have that testimony, that knowledge] for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven * * * and upon this rock [this rock of revelation] I will build my Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." ¶

We are built upon the same rock of revelation. We have the knowledge of God. The key to the knowledge of God is in this Church. The power of the Priesthood is here, the same power as formerly, to lead the people, and the people know it. It is written here in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants that it shall come to pass that God's people shall come to know who are the servants of the Lord, and who are not, and they shall judge all things, and so forth. ¶

This individual testimony, this positive assurance which is given to every Latter-day Saint through revelation, by the power of the Holy Ghost, is the same testimony and spirit that our fathers and mothers received when they joined the Church in the old countries. And every man and woman in all the world may receive it if they only will. There is a challenge here in the last chapter of the Book of Mormon, which is to all people, that any man who, with real intent, not half believing, but believing fully, shall say in his heart: "Oh, God, show me thy way, thy truth, thy light, the right path, and I will follow it, no matter what its name is or how discredited it may be by the world," will receive in his heart a testimony, if he so ask of God. ¶

For a Testimony, Go to the Lord

So all we say to our friends, our neighbors, our brethren and sisters everywhere, is: Take it to the Lord. You need not take our word; go to the Lord in prayer, but in the true spirit of faith, for no other spirit will avail, and you have my word for it, and the word of ten thousand Latter-day Saints here assembled, that you will receive the same testimony, for the Lord does not fail. ¶

My brethren and sisters, I rejoice in being permitted to labor in this great cause. I have been at it for more than sixty years, and more and more I see the splendor of it, the glory of it, the power of it, the strength, the salvation that is in it. I know it is true, it is of God. You cannot fail, my brethren and sisters, if you but put your trust in him. And if we have erred or done ought amiss, that blessed principle of repentance which he has implanted in his Church is here to save us if we will but correct our error, forsake evil, and cleave to that which is good. ¶

Where can we find anything like it? Where else in all the world is there such an organization. There is within it that power, that impelling force that brings you and me and Latter-day Saints everywhere, in joy, in gladness, in pleasure, to serve the Lord. It brings us to respect the Priesthood -- the apostles, the bishops of the wards, the presidencies of stakes, each in his order and in his place, because the Lord has called them, by that same power and spirit that I have spoken of, namely, by the power of revelation. How are we to acquire that? If you will read the eighth section of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord tells you this, if you will pray about it: ¶

"Behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart. ¶

"Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation; behold, this is the spirit by which Moses brought the children of Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground." ¶

This is the spirit that he gave to all his ancient prophets and apostles. ¶

I testify that this is the same spirit and influence that he gave to President Young in his ministry, and to every succeeding president. It is the spirit that he gives to President Grant today in his ministry, and he receives it in the same way, by prayer, by faith, by righteous living, by being worthy to receive it. That counts for a lot, I want to tell you. "Worthy art thou, O Lord," it was said of him, "to sit on high." ¶

The Spirit of Sacrifice Is the Spirit of This Work

The president of the Church today gives us, by counsel, by advice, by the inspiration of the spirit, that admonition which is for our salvation. After the president talked this forenoon and after President Ivins' splendid discourse, I was going over all these items in my mind and I thought: "What sane man -- I don't care what his religion is, or if he has no religion -- what sane man anywhere could object to the teachings of these brethren?" Now put that question to yourselves, my brethren and sisters and friends. Were they not good, were they not wholesome, were they not for the betterment of mankind for the best that is in men, for good government, for good order, for good citizenship? The gospel of Jesus Christ is intended to make me a better husband, a better father, a better citizen, if I will only obey its laws. ¶

Let us, my brethren and sisters be willing to sacrifice for the Lord, for his work. There is a great work yet to perform in all the world. As we have heard from the president, missionaries are called for from every quarter. We have had volunteers, and many who have been called, who have gone and have done a splendid work. I recall now one of them, and I am going to mention his name: Brother A. A. Hinckley. He wrote to the presidency sometime ago and said: "I see that there has been a call for missionaries to go out for six months." And he further said: "The Lord has blessed me very much, I ought to be very grateful, and I am very grateful;" and he went on to mention the blessings, for the spirit of gratitude was in his heart. "Now I am willing to go, I am willing to stay, I am willing to do whatever you want me to do." With tears in my eyes, I listened as the president read that letter, and I thought, "God bless such a man." ¶

The Spirit of Sacrifice

There is the spirit of this work, there is the spirit that makes this thing go, that holds me and holds you -- the real spirit of sacrifice. Willing to go on missions? Yes, anxious to go, to let everybody know that God has spoken, that we have the knowledge of God, the testimony of it, the same Christ our Lord that was crucified, whose resurrection the people in all the world are celebrating today. He has put into our hearts the knowledge that the greatest thing that we have to do and that his Church will forever have to do, so far as I know, is to proclaim this gospel, to spread this truth, to bring people into the same way of thinking, the same spirit and power that is in the priesthood and in the Church, the same happiness, the same joy, the same blessing, the same salvation. That is the greatest work that is before you and me, and we ought to be anxiously engaged in such a work, and not wait until we are commanded in all things; for he that waits until he is commanded, and does nothing until he is commanded, the same is a slothful servant and unworthy. ¶

May the Lord Glorify His Work

I pray, my brethren and sisters, that the Lord will magnify and glorify his work. We can't do it; but he will do it through us, -- through you, through me, and men and women like you and me; for it is his work. It is by his power, as President Grant read to you, in that greeting this morning. It is the Lord we say who has done it. As stated in the Holy Bible (Psalm 100): "It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves," so it is he that hath made this work and brought it to pass, and put the power and the spirit in it, which no man can do; but with that spirit in us we can conquer the world for righteousness, for peace on earth, good will toward all men, which I humbly pray he will hasten, in his time, through Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶