Brethren and Sisters: When Elder David O. McKay Was Speaking

Brethren and sisters: When Elder David O. McKay was speaking this morning of the two thousand young Lamanites and their splendid mothers, I was led to reflect that in the Southern States mission there are young men and women who have these same qualities, and their fathers and mothers have the same devotion, and give the same counsel as did those noble Lamanite mothers. Today our elders go forth to encounter dangers that are more fatal, in a way, than the sword. These mothers in Zion are giving their children wonderful and soulsaving counsel that enables them to battle, with faith and in the might of God, the evils in the world. ¶

One day during the summer, while attending a conference in the most southerly part of the mission, I offered the elders a week's rest because of the intense heat. I was a little surprised at the unwelcome spirit in which my offer was received. The district president spoke up and said : "Brother Callis, we would rather keep on working. We have the spirit of our work, and are afraid that we would lose it if we took a vacation." That is the spirit of the missionaries in the South. Deeply imbedded in their hearts is the glorious truth contained in the Book of Mormon, that when ye are in the service of your fellowmen, ye are in the service of your God. ¶

Through the kindness of the First Presidency an extensive building program is being carried on. We are going to build a new chapel for the Catawba Indians. Never among any people have I witnessed more faith than among these people. The president of the branch certainly does not believe in race suicide, because he is the father of twenty-one children. We have built a neat little chapel for the Choctaw Indians, and these people are receiving the gospel with joy. What a wonderful change is coming over the spirit of the people ! I suppose you will be inclined to wonder at the statement that fully 10 per cent of the missionaries in the South — and this is a conservative estimate — are the descendants of men and women who obeyed the gospel in the Southern states and migrated to the West. This is one proof of the vitality of "Mormonism." ¶

Only a few weeks ago we held a conference up in the mountains of East Tennessee. There were twenty-three members of the Church, including the elders, and from eight hundred to a thousand people, non-members, in attendance at our conference. There was not a note of discord — peace, good will, tolerance, prevailed. For this change I praise the Lord. I do not forget the labors of the elders in the early history of that mission, who suffered much tribulation to establish the foundation upon which we are now building. ¶

Consider the sterling qualities of these young men. It has been my sad duty to go to more than one of them and say: "My brother, I have received the sad news that your mother, or your father, is dead." These young men have wept, they have sorrowed, but the noble resolution in them to continue in their mission was unshaken, and in the strength of God they have gone ahead with their missionary labors. 1 Fathers and mothers have said: "Our crops are a partial failure, but we are willing to continue to sacrifice to keep our sons in the mission field." Where would you go to find nobler faith than this? And this faith comes from a belief in the Book of Mormon and the other ¶

standard Church works, and in the restored gospel. Surely such faith as that cannot be justly characterized as a base faith. I want to say to you parents that God will bless you for the sacrifice you are making to keep your sons and your daughters in the mission field. It is sacred in his sight, and you will share in the joy and the glory that comes to your sons and daughters through bringing souls unto God. I love the missionaries. It is an inspiration to be with them. I love their parents, the faith, and the Church which is the mother of men, for producing these fine characters and instilling in their hearts that unwavering faith that sends them into the mission field in the spirit of sacrifice and service, to proclaim the everlasting gospel to the world. ¶

I bear you my testimony that this gospel is the power of God unto salvation, that this Church is built upon the foundation of apostles and prophets; that it is being led today by divine revelation, and that these young men and young women in the mission field enjoy the spirit of inspiration to help them in the districts where they labor, and God is with them. This is my testimony, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. ¶