Blessings Pronounced upon the Church

PRESIDENT HEBER J. GRANT ¶

We have received many telegrams of congratulation on this occasion, but we shall not attempt to read any of them this morning. ¶

PREDECESSORS GREAT AND GOOD MEN ¶

It has fallen to my lot, although a very weak, humble instrument in the hands of the Lord, to succeed the wonderful men who have presided over this Church — the Prophet Joseph Smith, than whom no greater man I believe has ever graced the earth; that marvelous pioneer, Brigham Young; that mighty champion of liberty, John Taylor; that exceptional converter of men to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Wilford Woodruff; Lorenzo Snow, an extraordinary man at eighty-five years of age, who in three years lifted the Church from the slough of despond financially to a place of financial standing; and that man, beloved by all who knew him, one of the outstanding men of all the world, Joseph F. Smith, the greatest preacher of righteousness I have'ever known. ¶

BLESSINGS PRONOUNCED UPON GENERAL AUTHORITIES ¶

It is my right and privilege as the President of this Church to extend a blessing to the people, and with all my heart and soul I bless my counselors for their devotion to me and to the Church. I remember with gratitude my counselors who have passed away. I rejoice in the wonderful labors and the devotion of each and every one of the men who are members of the Council of the Twelve Apostles, also the Presiding Patriarch of the Church. I pray God to bless them for their integrity and their devotion, for their labors at home and abroad among the people. ¶

I pray God to bless the Seven Presidents of the Seventy, the men who stand at the head of that great body of priesthood, whose duty and obligation it is to carry the Gospel to the ends of the earth. ¶

I pray the blessings of the Lord upon the Presiding Bishopric of the Church, who preside over all the Lesser Priesthood — the Priests, Teachers and Deacons of the Church. ¶

BLESSES BRETHREN OF PRIESTHOOD ¶

I pray. God to bless this wonderful gathering of High Priests, such a gathering as I am sure cannot be found in any other part of the wide world. I pray God to bless the Seventies, and the Elders. I pray that he may bless all the members of the Lesser Priesthood; that he may richly pour out his blessing upon them in their youth, that there may be planted in their hearts a love of God and a desire to serve him as they grow to manhood; that they may feel to walk in the footsteps of their faithful parents. All of us who have been born in the Church, almost without exception, have been born of parents who have given their lives and the best that is in them for the work of God. ¶

One of the most earnest prayers of my heart all my life has been that I should be able to live to be worthy of such a father and such a mother as were given to me. ¶

I pray that the blessings of the Lord may attend all of the general officers of our Church, all of whom are devoted to this work. ¶

GRATITUDE FOR RELIEF SOCIETY ORGANIZATION ¶

I pray for the blessings of the Lord upon the officers and the General Board of the Relief Society. My heart goes out in gratitude and thanksgiving to God for the organization, through the Prophet Joseph Smith, of that wonderful society. ¶

I thank the Lord for my association with Eliza R. Snow, Zina D. Young, Sarah M. Kimball, Aunt Emmeline B. Wells, Bathsheba W. Smith, Clarissa S. Williams and Sister Robison, who have stood as officers of the Relief Society. I am thankful indeed for what they have accomplished, for their wonderful work and example, and I pray God's choicest blessings upon them. ¶

DEVOTION AND SACRIFICE OF THE MOTHERS ¶

It is our sisters who carry the burden of the work. We talk about the missionary work of the Elders who go forth to proclaim the Gospel; we talk about the great pioneer work of the early settlers of this country, but I wish to say here that it is the mothers at home who are making the sacrifice for the boys to go into the mission field. It is the mothers who stand the hardships far more than the men. Men are engaged in many activities, and without the devotion and absolute testimony of the living God in the hearts of our mothers this Church would die. May God bless the mothers of men, is my most humble prayer; and I do bless them in the name of God our Heavenly Father and in the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. ¶

INVOKES BLESSINGS UPON AUXILIARY WORKERS ¶

I pray for the same blessing upon the officers of the General ¶

Board of the Young Ladies'Mutual Improvement Association, and upon the Primary Association, the Sunday Schools and the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association. I also pray for the blessings of the Lord upon those devoted workers in the Genealogical Society. It is wonderful what is being accomplished in the temples through the energy of these people who are working along that line. ¶

BLESSINGS INVOKED UPON THE CHOIRS ¶

I pray for the blessings of the Lord upon our choir and its officers, and upon the music committee. I pray for the blessings of the Lord upon the choirs throughout the Church. There are no other people in the world in proportion to their numbers who have so many who pray to the Lord in beautiful songs. ¶

PRESIDENTS OF MISSIONS ACCOMPLISHING MARVELOUS WORK ¶

God bless the Presidents of Missions, one and all. They are marvelous men, those who are active today and those who have served in the past. It is pleasing to contemplate the love and the confidence they have inspired and the inspiration that they have given to those over whom they preside. ¶

PRESIDENCIES OF STAKES AND BISHOPRICS OF WARDS ¶

I pray God to bless the wonderful men who have given so much of their time as Presidencies of the Stakes of Zion. Many of the men occupying these positions give nearly as much time to their Church work as they do to their ordinary affairs in life. ¶

I pray for that same blessing upon the wonderful men who are Bishops and Bishops'Counselors. I ask for the blessing of the Lord upon those who preside over the quorums of priesthood throughout the Church. ¶

THE MISIONARIES AND THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS ¶

I pray for the blessings of the Lord to be abundantly with those who have been sent forth to proclaim the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, to lift up their voices in testimony that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world, the Savior of mankind, and to bear witness that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the true and the living God, inspired of God to restore again to the earth the plan of life and salvation. ¶

Oh, how my heart goes out to those young men and young women who go forth with this testimony burning in their very hearts for the spread of the truth. And I thank God that they have brought honest souls from all over the wide world, from every denomination under heaven, to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. May God bless them and bless their parents who are making sacrifices to send them forth to proclaim the Gospel. Oh, how I do rejoice that I do not know of one son or one daughter in all Israel who has gone out into the world to proclaim ¶

the truth, that has come home to announce the truth is in some other land. Thank God for the truth and the power that goes with these young men and young women as they go forth to proclaim the restoration again to the earth of the plan of life and salvation, the Gospel of Jesus Christ that you and I have received. ¶

PRAYER FOR AND APPRECIATION OF PATRIARCHS ¶

God bless the Patriarchs. I thank the Lord for Patriarch Perkins, a noble man in St. George, who gave me a patriarchal blessing as a little child, foretelling my life in one small page of longhand writing, which has been fulfilled to the very letter. I thank God for John Rowberry, who gave me a blessing to the effect that I should be taken from Tooele and be made one of the leading officials of this Church; and who promised Francis M. Lyman that his name should be chronicled among the Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ in these last days. God bless our Patriarchs and inspire them in their splendid work. ¶

A PRAYER FOR THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES ¶

I echo the prayer that was offered in the opening of this meeting, that God will bless the President of the United States and his cabinet, and all the officers of our great country. How I do rejoice in that'statement contained in the Book of Mormon to the effect that this is a land choice above all other lands and that no king shall reign here. Let us be true and loyal to this land of liberty. In no land in all the wide world could the Gospel of Jesus Christ have been established except in this beloved America of ours. ¶

BLESSES GREAT BRITAIN AND OTHER NATIONS ¶

God bless that liberty-loving country, Great Britain. May he bless Canada, our neighbor on the north, which is like one of our own family. May the blessings of the Lord attend our people on the south, in Mexico, who are struggling for their rights and their liberty. May peace dwell in that land. ¶

BLESSINGS INVOKED UPON HONEST-HEARTED EVERYWHERE ¶

I pray that the blessings of Almighty God may be and abide with all the members of this Church, every faithful, diligent Latter-day Saint. May we be able to preach the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ by the honesty, the uprightness and the truthfulness of our lives. If we do this, then we are sure of a final triumph. ¶

I rejoice in all that we have heard here today. I rejoice and I am sure that the Prophet and the Patriarch of the living God who sealed their testimonies with their blood will rejoice at this wonderful gathering. Oh, how I did pray, how I did supplicate the Lord, that Joseph F. Smith, the son of the martyred Patriarch, might live to occupy today this position that I am occupying. Never until the night before he passed away did I give up the hope that he should ¶

have that privilege. But it has fallen to my lot without my seeking to occupy this position. By that spirit of blessing which he possessed, I bless you one and all, and all Israel, and every honest-hearted soul in all the world who is trying to do good, and I do it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of the world, and by the authority of the living God, the priesthood that I hold. Amen. ¶