Evidences of Faith and Devotion

I rejoice with you in the attendance of this Conference. I cannot recall, in my recollection, at least, where there has been held a conference of the Church when there has been such a uniform spirit of cooperation and good will. It seems to me that there has not been a jar of any kind, there has not been anything that was not compatible with the spirit of our Heavenly Father. I am sure we will go away from this Conference built up in our faith and strengthened and renewed. ¶

It was said here last night, by Brother Joseph F. Smith, the patriarch, that we have had evidence of the divinity of this work in the testimonies that have been borne and the things that have been said. That is true. ¶

Many Evidences of Divinity of Work

There are other things, however, that bear witness of the divinity of this work. We who come from pioneer parents have been and are appreciative of the faith of those who made possible the settlement of these valleys. As was suggested here yesterday, we point with pride to some of the monuments that have been erected: the Nauvoo Temple, the Kirtland Temple, the great temple on this block, this building, all of these the products of poverty and hardship, and yet the products of a great faith and devotion to the Church and to the work of the Lord. ¶

As we think about these things, we are inclined to hold them perhaps a little above other evidences that we may have had. We sometimes like to live in the past; we like to think of the past, and in so doing, we magnify the past, sometimes to the disadvantage of the present. ¶

It is not my purpose, nor I would not, for the world, say anything that would in any way detract from the magnificent work of those who have gone before. There is no one, I am sure, that has any deeper appreciation of a faith that has come down through a pioneer parentage than have I, but I have been made conscious, my brethren, of the magnificent work that is being done in our day. ¶

It has been my privilege -- and I regard it as a rare privilege -- to travel in some of the.stakes of Zion, and I have seen evidences which to ¶

me are just as great, which reflect just as strong a faith, as any evidences of the past. It is true that the conditions of a generation ago were different from what they are now. There was not the wealth, the material wealth, but there was a great faith. There were not the same kind of temptations and the same kind of allurements that are had today, but there were hardships, there was necessity, and there was poverty. There was persecution, and sometimes men and women had to give their lives for the testimonies that they bore, and all of these we appreciate and value, and we thank the Lord for them. ¶

A Monument to Faith

So I repeat, there are evidences today that are just as great. May I, just for a moment, recall some of the things that have tremendously impressed me? ' ¶

Two weeks ago I had the privilege of attending conference in the Farmington Ward in the Young Stake. We participated in the dedication of a meetinghouse, a lovely little chapel that was begun six years ago, when the ward only had a membership of fewer than one hundred souls, when the families there were largely in debt, and the economic conditions were not good. ¶

Two weeks ago that chapel was dedicated, having cost $40,000. There are now three hundred and fifty members in the ward, and the little chapel stands there as a monument to the thrift and the industry and, above all, to the faith of those people. ¶

A Real Service

In that same stake it was my good fortune to meet with a little group of some of the Lamanite brethren who live down there and who are being directed by President Ralph Evans -- one couple in particular, a Brother and Sister Palaca, faithful, and true, and devoted. Sister Palaca goes out with a little pressure cooker that has been provided for her, and among the Lamanite women she teaches them how to can their vegetables and their fruit, and how to make quilts, according to the Relief Society way. ¶

As I saw this, and as I felt the spirit of it, and as I caught the spirit that was back of the erection of this little chapel, I could not help feeling here again is an evidence of the things that have been so potent in this work since the beginning. ¶

Commendation of Welfare Projects

Then again I thought of the various activities that are going forward throughout the Church, inspired as they are by the desire to carry out the great Welfare program of the Church. ¶

I had the privilege of visiting and inspecting the plant at Cedar City, a credit to the Church, standing out as an emblem of sacrifice and devotion. It is a lovely building. The bricks in it were made by the adult members of the Aaronic Priesthood, and they are a credit to any build- ¶

ing. It is not so much what the building cost, but it is what is back of it; and as I went through that building with President Palmer and his associates, I thought: "Here again is reflected the spirit and devotion that have been a part of the Church from the beginning." ¶

As I listened to Brother Kimball here Friday, I thought of the achievements down in the Arizona region, when a few years ago the little wards of Virden and Duncan, Mt. Graham Stake, were virtually wiped out by flood. Promptly the brethren of the Arizona region, the stake presidents, were called together, and through a magnificent cooperative effort they did that which our fathers and our grandfathers used to do, that we hold up today as a sacred heritage. ¶

These examples, my brethren, are but a few of hundreds of such that are going on all over the Church. There is evidence everywhere of that faith and devotion, and it is not only in the spoken word, but it is evidenced in the doing, and I thank the Lord that the Church today has in it that same wholesome attitude of faith and devotion and consecration. ¶

As our children look back, they will see in the achievements of today in the stakes and wards of Zion the same thing that you and I see in the achievements of a generation ago. And after all, are they not the things that really give power and strength to this great latter-day work? ¶

Enduring Blessings to Be Sought

We sometimes measure our blessings by a temporal standard. We frequently hear it said that we are blessed in these days more greatly than ever before, measuring our blessings by the temporal things that we have -- wages are up, crops are bringing high prices, and there is plenty of money, seemingly, everywhere -- but I am not sure that those are the blessings we want to emphasize. I am not sure but what in these blessings there may be great danger. If we, however, can preserve the spirit of sacrifice and the spirit of devotion that have characterized our people, then we need have no fear, because those are the attributes that endure. ¶

I was tremendously impressed with a statement that was made by Eddie Rickenbacker, in making a report in Washington on his return. In describing his harrowing experience with his associates in the Pacific, he explained how, as they became conscious of the fact that they would have to make a crash landing that might prove fatal, in their hope they could so guide the ship that time would be given for them to get into the lifeboats, and how, he said, they threw overboard everything. They had many valuables, registered mail, much of great value as far as this world's goods are concerned, and yet, he said, 'We threw over everything, because, gentlemen, we learned then and there that things have no value." ¶

So, my brethren, "things" have little value to you and me; because these heritages, these evidences of devotion, these evidences of faith that we see everywhere in the stakes of Zion, these monuments builded by our forebears, these are the things that stimulate us, that give us encouragement, that build us up, and make us realize that God our Father is back of this work, to sanctify to the good of His cause the efforts that are put forth in sacrifice and in devotion, that we see in evidence in all the stakes and wards of the Church. ¶

May God help us that we may appreciate these things, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.r ¶