Realizing My Limited Knowledge and Ability, I Feel

Realizing my limited knowledge and ability, I feel very keenly, my brothers and sisters, the responsibility that rests upon me at this moment, and I humbly desire that the prayer that was offered by our brother at the beginning may be made manifest in my behalf, that I may be able to say something to encourage you along the pathway of life. Like Paul of old, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for I realize and know that it is the power of God unto salvation. I have been taught the principles of "Mormonism" from my youth up and have been taught to honor and sustain those who are in authority over me, and as I come to these conferences and gaze into the faces of the brethren who preside over this Church, I go home with a renewed determination and desire to press on in this great latter-day work. It seems to me that there never was a time in the history of our Church when the Lord has fortified us with men to lead and guide us as he has at the present time. Coming yesterday morning, as I read the Tribune and saw on the front page a picture of the First Presidency of the Church as they were taken just before entering the tabernacle, I thought, what a wonderful team of men — well fitted and qualified for the great responsibility of leaders of this people ! With the other brethren, I thank God that I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for I realize that this is God's work. Though we may fall by the wayside, this work will go on, for it is God's. "Mormonism," so called, is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. To me it is the grandest, noblest, broadest religion in all the world, for it not only accepts the truth that we have, but accepts the truth, the virtues and the praiseworthy things that we find in men, in churches, and in associations wherever they may be found. We are told to seek after the things that are elevating, that are uplifting and praiseworthy. ¶

I come from the Palmyra stake, situated in the southern part of Utah county. We are there a common people. I thank God that I am among the common people, for I realize that if we are humble and willing to let the Spirit of God work upon us and actuate our lives, we shall be fitted and prepared to enjoy our offices and callings as members of the Church. ¶

Much has been said during this conference relative to law and order. It seems to me that the Latter-day Saints have been taught from their youth that the Constitution of the United States, and that great document of human (rights, the Declaration of Independence, were written by men inspired of our heavenly father. Mr. Babson said recently, "The United States of America at the present time 'is blessed with everything except religion." I feel that not only as a nation, but sometimes as a people, the thing we need most is a return to simple faith in God our Father. We need in our home-lives more of the Spirit of God to lead and guide us. We need to have more family prayer. We need to pray in the spirit and meaning of the word. ¶

I remember a little poem I learned a number of years ago. It went something like this: ¶

I often say my prayers, ¶

But do I ever pray? And do the wishes of my heart Go with the words I say? • ¶

I may as well kneel down ¶

And worship gods of stone, As offer to the living God ¶

A prayer of words alone. ¶

Prayer without the faith ¶

The Lord will never hear, Nor will he to those lips attend ¶

Whose prayers are not sincere. ¶

If we go back to the beginning of this Church, we find that the Prophet Joseph Smith went out to the lonely grove that he might offer up a simple, earnest prayer to his heavenly Father, desiring to know which of all the churches then existing upon the earth was the true church of God ; for they were saying, "Lo, Christ is here," and "Lo, Christ is there." It was that simple, earnest prayer that reached the throne of glory, and God our Father condescended to come and visit him on the earth. What glorious news to the children of men, to know that God lives, has spoken again, and has revealed in this day and age his Son Jesus Christ unto the world. How thankful we as a people ought to be ! We ought to be willing, my brethren and sisters, to sing the song with the full meaning of the word, "We thank thee, O God, for a prophet, to guide us in these latter days." And when we are thinking and speaking of this great Church of ours, I sometimes wonder, my brothers and sisters, if there is not too large a difference between the prayer that we speak or utter and the lives we lead. Everywhere we go, up and down in this state and other states, we find the urgent need of the application of the ideals and principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ which we believe and teach, more earnestly, adopted in our daily lives. We need the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ preached not only from the pulpit but taught and preached by the example of the lives that we live. I want to tell you as a servant of God that I believe he is not pleased with us as a people unless we do our duty. He is willing, I believe, to draw near unto us if we will give him the opportunity, if we draw near unto him. Not everyone who saith unto him, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of the Father, which is in heaven. We talk about Latter-day Saints and our Church, and I grant you it is a wonderful Church, for me it is the Church of God ; but, I sometimes wonder, and I wondered this morning as Brother Daynes read to us some of the statistics regarding our own fair state — the tremendous amount of money expended for those things that the Lord tells us in a simple way are detrimental to our health — I wonder if we are really and truly living up to the principles that are taught to us? Do those statistics indicate to us that "Mormonism" is not functioning as it should function, that we have not the faith to live the gospel as we believe it? Or does it simply show, my brethren and sisters, that we are not able to reach the goal that is set for us? ¶

I hope and pray that we shall remember the counsel and advice given to us by the leaders of this Church, that we may be fitted and prepared for the great responsibility that rests upon us as members of this Church in carrying the great message of peace on earth and good will to the sorrowing hearts of mankind. Jesus Christ did for us the thing that we are not able to do for ourselves, and made it possible for us to have the glorious privilege and opportunity of worshiping God according to the dictates of our own conscience and carrying this great message to the sorrowing world, that they too may enjoy the glorious principles of Salvation and life that we possess. Everywhere we go we find the urgent need of the principles of truth, honesty, and integrity that we believe in, to be practiced and applied in the lives of the people. We are told in the Book of Mormon that the people of this land shall prosper as long as they believe and obey the will of the God of the land — meaning that if we do not obey the principles of truth and righteousness, even this fair country of ours, the grand old United States, may see perilous times. ¶

I sometimes feel that unless we believe the principles of the gospel in our daily lives we may stumble by the wayside. Only recently I had a conversation with a brother who said to me, "Brother Gardner, that which I used to know, I do not believe now." And I said to him, "I wish that you would come back again, when I have a few moments, that we may have a heart-toheart talk together." And, as he enumerated to me some of the things that had happened in his life — for I knew that at one time he was a faithful brother in the Church ; I had listened to him bear ¶

testimony of the divinity of this work, and had been inspired and touched by the sincere words that he had uttered — I found out that perhaps some time or other in his life he had been disappointed, had failed to reach some particular office, or that some brother in authority had failed to show him the proper recognition, or had hurt his feelings, and that because of such action he had become dark and gloomy and had drifted away from the Church. It seems to me that there can be no sadder picture painted than that of a man who has been instrumental in instilling in others the principles of the gospel and in showing others the pathway of life, who has planted faith and determination in the souls of men and women to serve God and keep his commandments, and at the closing days of his life comes and says to a young man whom he has inspired, "That which I used to know, I do not believe now." ¶

Oh, I want to tell you there is no greater joy in this world that can come to any man living than the joy of rendering service in the Church of God. Oftentimes I feel my weakness and am very humble in trying to go about to inspire and teach others to do their duty in this Church, but I want to acknowledge to you that I know this is the gospel of Jesus Christ. I feel it in every fiber of my soul that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the true and living God. I feel, my brethren and sisters, that it is your responsibility and mine, in order that we may fulfil the great destiny that God our Father intended that we should. ¶

I do want to say to you, let us be watchmen upon the towers. Let us remember who we are. Let us remember that as fathers and mothers it is our responsibility to see that our children are taught, that we do have family prayer, that we do pray with earnestness and sincerity, that we may enjoy God's blessings, and that we may be watchmen for our children and our neighbors' children, that we may be indeed our brother's keeper. But above all, may we keep ourselves clean and unspotted from the world, that the Spirit of Christ may be in our hearts and homes. For if we have a contented home, we are a contented people; and if we keep the commandments of God, we shall have joy in this world and in the world to come. ¶

May the Lord bless us with the power of appreciation, that we may have in our hearts a love for the truth. May we have a desire to acknowledge the hand of God in our many blessings, and be willing to bear testimony of the divinity of this work, not only abroad but to the rising generation. I want to tell you that there are hundreds and thousands, not only of the older brothers and sisters but of the younger brothers and sisters, who are hungering and thirsting for the Word of God. We need to teach them the simple truths of "Mormonism." We need to implant in their hearts and lives a testimony not only of the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith but of the divinity of Jesus the Christ, and that this is his work. May we be equal to the responsibility that rests upon us, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶