Tribute to President Ivins and the Spirit of Christ

A TRIBUTE TO PRESIDENT IVINS ¶

The Apostle Paul revealed the secret of the grandeur of his life when he said : "Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." President Anthony W. ¶

Ivins with equal truth could bear the same testimony. We who have listened to the counsel and the words of wisdom that flowed from that great man's heart have felt that we were in the presence of the spirit of Christ. ¶

His life was gentle, and the elements So mixed in him, that nature might stand up And say to all the world, "This was a man!" ¶

All that has been said of the late President Charles H. Hart and Judge Franklin S. Richards I indorse with all my heart. ¶

INSPIRED APPOINTMENTS ¶

President David O. McKay has been elevated to the high position of second counselor in the First Presidency. His remarkable training in the Church indicates "there's a divinity that shapes our ends." One of the best things that can be said about him is that his religion made him. David O. McKay is a chivalrous Christian gentleman. ¶

When I think of the selection of President Alonzo A. Hinckley to the office of an Apostle, the words of the Lord come to me : "Behold an Israelite indeed in whom is no guile." I have labored with this fine man in the mission field. I know his worth. His aim in life, wherever he is, is to work for the glory of God. And let me say in public what is in my heart, that President Grant was certainly inspired in appointing these men, and also in appointing that good and able man, President LeGrand Richards, to succeed me as President of the Southern States Mission. ¶

THE VALUE OF THE SCRIPTURES ¶

The Lord said : "Search the scriptures, for they are they which testify of me." In some of the current literature there is manifested a spirit to make light of, belittle and even ridicule the holy scriptures. The Bible is undervalued. Slurs are cast upon the inspiration of the word of God. But it is heartening to know that the eclipse of faith is not total. The people generally are not underestimating or undervaluing the scriptures— those true riches given to mankind. God has not left himself without witness. ¶

The British Museum recently purchased for over half a million dollars a fourth century manuscript of the Bible, one of the only two of that era known to exist. This is the greatest price ever paid for a book. It is one of the most notable events of history. The purchase of this precious biblical treasure shows a rare sense of value that the English people place on the Bible. It is a never-dying book. It is read by more people every year. Books may come and books may go, but the Bible goes on forever. ¶

ORIGIN OF ANESTHETICS ¶

Dr. Crawford W. Long, of Georgia, was the first man in history, as far as known, to make use of the anesthetic in ether. He was one of Georgia's most distinguished citizens and one of the world's greatest ¶

benefactors. The idea of producing insensibility to pain by surgical anesthesia by the inhalation of ether was first put into practice by this physician March 30, 1842. ¶

In Statuary Hall, beneath the great dome of the Capitol in Washington, stands the statue of Dr. Long. On the base of it a quotation from the reverent physician reads as follows : "I regard my profession as a ministry from God." ¶

In Genesis 2 :21 we read that "The Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept : and he took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh instead thereof." A skeptic compared this verse and the succeeding one to a fairy tale, but Dr. Crawford W. Long declared that it was while reading this very passage in Genesis that the idea of the anesthetic ether occurred to him. Could such a boon to humanity come from a fairy tale ? ¶

THE SAVIORS SPOKEN WORD ¶

Dr. John Watson in "The Life of the Master" says : "Were a parchment discovered in an Egyptian mound, six inches square, containing fifty words which were certainly spoken by Jesus, this utterance would count more than all the books which have been published since the first century." In fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah and also other prophets, the ancient record of nations long since dead, who dwelt on this the American continent, was taken from the hill Cumorah by angelic direction Sept. 22, 1827. The contents of this, record were translated by the prophet Joseph Smith by the power of God and the aid of the Urim and Thummim, and the Book of Mormon is the fruit of this translation. The history of the men and women on this continent ages ago was shrouded in seemingly impenetrable darkness, but God said: "Let there be light," and there was light. ¶

The Book of Mormon contains more than fifty words which were certainly spoken by the resurrected Lord, for after his ascension into heaven he appeared to his people on this continent and gave them the true points of his doctrine. He established his Church on American soil and placed within the Church organization prophets, apostles, pastors, teachers, etc. He brought peace to the laboring conscience, eyesight to the blind, and granted the prisoners of sin sweet relief through repentance. The Redeemer healed the sick. He restored unto the people the joy of his salvation and blessed them with the precious gift of the Holy Ghost. ¶

The Latter-day Saints most surely believe, and know for a certainty that the Book of Mormon contains words certainly spoken by the Son of God. ¶

If any man will do the will of the Father he shall know that the Book of Mormon is true. Moroni gives this promise to all men : "And if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things." ¶

DIVINITY OF CHRIST APPARENT ¶

When men speak disparagingly of the divinity of Christ there is a great deal of affectation in what they say, because they cannot help but see the nobility, godliness and sacredness of the Savior's life. Sooner or later these scoffers will come to themselves. Without Jesus Christ there would be no hospitals, paintings, sculpture, or any of the arts or real science. For all those who have contributed to the culture, happiness and instruction of mankind have received their inspiration from the Redeemer. And when modernists have sought to bury the divine Christ beneath a mountain of modernistic chaff, behold, the cry is heard throughout the land "Christ is risen." ¶

Only a few months ago many of the leading journals in the world paid a fabulous price for the right to publish "The Life Of Our Lord," by the celebrated Charles Dickens. God has not and never will leave himself without witness. Dust storms of criticism may arise and meteors may fall about us, but the grand constellations in God's heavens, displaying his power, still burn there, a perpetual witness to every soul beneath the spangled heavens that Jesus is divine. In the lives of men whom we love for their uprightness, the ideals of the Savior are finding expression. More men and women, and they would be the best of Adam's race, would die for the Son of God, who gave all for us, than for any other cause under the spacious firmament. ¶

RAYS OF LIGHT HARNESSED ¶

In Job 38 :32, 33, we read : "Canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?" Arcturus is a far-off star, of the first magnitude, one of the brightest in the entire heavens. It supplied the current to start the illumination of the grounds of the Century of Progress Exposition. Well, over a year ago science accepted this God-given challenge, — and throughout the scriptures God is challenging science to come up higher and devise ways and means for the amelioration of the state of mankind. Science, true science, is nobly responding to this challenge. ¶

More than forty years ago, according to astronomers, Arcturus threw off a beam of light which has been on its way ever since, arriving in time to start the World's Fair in Chicago. Think of that light beam which has been traveling through millions of miles of space for the last forty years. Scientists, so we are told, constructed "delicate electrical mechanisms and installed them in astronomical observatories which transformed the beam of light into current to be transmitted over special wires to Chicago to throw the master switch and illuminate the grounds of the Century of Progress Exposition." Thus scientists harnessed and used this ray of light, one of the sons of Arcturus, to put the grounds of the World's Fair in a blaze of glory. The works of God are wonderful. ¶

RAYS OF LIVING LIGHT ¶

I testify to you, my brethren and sisters, that rays of living light have come down out of heaven — rays of pre-existence, which throw a ¶

flood of light upon the origin of mankind; rays of a glorious resurrection, and the eternity of the marriage covenant, which destroy the sting of death and the victory of the grave. Moreover, there have come the rays of faith in the true and living God and his Son; repentance, which means a change of heart; baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, which baptism foreshadows the glorious truth that we shall rise from the dead "in the likeness of his resurrection", the gift of the Holy Ghost which angels enjoy, which enables us to say "so nigh is grandeur to our dust, so near to God is man." Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost. ¶

The Almighty created an instrument in the world to receive these rays of living light, and Joseph Smith was the foreordained instrument placed on the earth by divine wisdom to receive this glorious light. Through the Priesthood, by the preaching of the plan of salvation, these beams of light have been transmitted to the uttermost parts of the earth and the hearts of men and women are ablaze with the light of the everlasting Gospel. ¶

The mission of the Church is to prepare the world for the second coming of the Son of God. With countless millions who, with streaming eyes, are praying for his glorious advent, I pray: "Surely I come quickly. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." Amen. ¶