Conference Address

I sincerely trust, my brethren and sisters, that what I may say may be prompted by the inspiration of the Lord. I repeat again what I have said sometimes before, it is always an overwhelming thing for me to stand before you, and yet we Latter-day Saints have so much in common that, because of the vastness of our assembly, we should not unnecessarily be disturbed; but somehow or other as one stands here, it is impossible to overcome this feeling. ¶

I read something the other day that is encouraging. Someone said that a person's brain was a most marvelous mechanism, that it begins to work at one's birth and never stops until one stands up and attempts to speak in public. ¶

Practical Religion ¶

I appreciate very much the remarks of Brother Widtsoe. There is something about our theology, our religion, that is so practical, and of course it necessarily must be so. Mormonism is a practical religion. Indeed no religion is of much value unless it has a practical application. ¶

Last winter some of us had a rather unusual experience. We were coming from the East on a train of luxury. We had left Chicago in the afternoon, having all the comforts that one could desire, in fact more than one needed — warmth, plenty of food; the train was almost a palace, and we were riding at ease, feeling so secure. The next morning we found ourselves in the throes of a blizzard, snowbound. That night the heat was off in the train, and by the next morning there was no food. For some time it was too cold to leave the train because of the intense blizzard. Later we found shelter in some railroad houses where we had some heat. The blizzard continued until the third day when it eased enough so that the railroad company could procure planes from Fort Warren, the military base near Cheyenne, and food could be brought in by airplanes. Even then we did not get much of it because the gale was so severe that the food was scattered to the four winds. But it brought home this realization: we may be secure today and yet suddenly be placed in a position of want. These things can happen so suddenly that it behooves us to be on our guard constantly, to be always in a position to follow those who counsel us as to what we should do in these important matters. ¶

We have been told of the great growth of the welfare plan, and we are proud of it. As one views the welfare films which depict the marvelous growth of this agency in the Church, one cannot help sensing a deep feeling of pride, gratitude for the blessings that we enjoy as Latter-day Saints; that we belong to a Church that is practical; that when we pray for the needy and those who may be in want, we not only pray but we also do something about it. Our people are a praying people. We should be a praying people, but we cannot accomplish much, my brothers and sisters, at least that has been my experience, by just sitting or kneeling down and praying, and then doing nothing about it. The Lord never intended that. ¶

Work Accomplished ¶

In the very beginning of the Church, the Prophet Joseph had to work. The Lord gave him a task that was seemingly insurmountable. He revealed the sacred record, the Book of Mormon, and instructed him to translate it. When you recall the fact that here was an unlearned youth with no schooling, no education in the light of what we today call education, who was given a sacred record and told to translate it and that God would help him, it becomes one of the most challenging things that we have in Church history. Consider the fact that the Book of Mormon contains a vocabulary of over five thousand different words (the Bible has a little over four thousand.) Think of the magnitude of the task! The Lord expects his servants to work. He expects us to work, and here he was teaching the Prophet Joseph something fundamental in this Church. When the Pioneers came out here, these valleys were not made to blossom as the rose by the people's merely kneeling down and praying. They had to do something about it. The Lord expected it, and they did do something about it. ¶

I remember reading a statement of Emerson Hough, made after he had visited southern Utah. When he saw what had been accomplished in the building of a canal on the Rio Virgin through the solid rock, it was a challenge to him. The desert was made literally to blossom as the rose. And when he saw it and learned that the men had been called on the job through an announcement of the bishop in a ¶

Sabbath day meeting — a request for men and teams with their scrapers and wagons — they had no mechanized machinery in those days — and those men responded and for their pay received shares in the irrigation canal — when Emerson Hough saw all this and learned the story, he said, "Only a Mormon bishop could accomplish such a thing." ¶

Prayer and Works ¶

We are proud, my brothers and sisters, that the Lord has established this practice among us, and it is a glorious privilege and a blessing for all of us that when we pray for those who are in need, we have something with which we can help the Lord to answer our prayers. I do not want to be misunderstood in this. I know that the Lord can hear and answer our prayers, but he does not always answer them in the way we would like to have them answered. He answers them in his way, and in a way that gives strength and character to his people, gives faith to them. ¶

My father was a physician. I recall one time going with him to administer to someone who was very ill, and I remember his counsel. After father had administered to this brother, he gave him some advice saying: "Now, you do these things, and they will help you to get well," and the brother said: "Well, Brother Young, can't the Lord heal me?" Father said: "Of course the Lord can heal you, but the Lord has given us ways and means that will help us to be healed, and he expects us to use them." ¶

Faith of Dr. Middleton ¶

I recall another occasion that came into the experience of Sister Young and me when our only boy was seriously ill. At that time peritonitis was generally fatal. This boy had had it for several days, and it appeared to be a hopeless case. The surgeon, the late Dr. George W. Middleton, who operated on the boy, removed what little of his appendix he could. He remained with us all night, and the next morning told us that we should prepare for the worst. I pay tribute to Dr. Middleton. He was a man of great faith. Those who knew him knew that he had faith. Sometimes he was regarded as too liberal in his thinking, but he did have faith in the providence and the priesthood of the Almighty. Finally he said: "Let us administer to this boy." I anointed him, and I recall the substance of Dr. Middleton's sealing prayer. "Father," he said, "we have done all that we can for this boy. We ask thee now with thy divine power to touch him and to heal him and to sanctify to his good the things that we in our weak way have done." That prayer stimulated faith. The Lord healed our boy. ¶

Necessity of Work ¶

It is a glorious privilege, my brethren and sisters, to belong to this Church, a Church that is practical. We have great spiritual powers. These practical things have the elements of spirituality about them. ¶

Anyone who knew anything about the Prophet Brigham Young knew that he was spiritual, that he had unlimited faith, but with it all he realized that his people had to work and had to struggle for what they received, and he inspired the people to provide for themselves. It is said on one occasion that President Young was in a meeting where the brethren were discussing some theological subjects, a meeting that had been called in Nauvoo while the temple was being built. President Young arose and said: "If you will excuse me, I should like to go and work on the temple." It is a striking example of work where work is necessary. ¶

Now we are faced today with some rather serious problems, and I say to you that we will be grateful before we are through that we have within this Church those elements that teach us to provide and to help the Lord to provide for the things for which we pray, and when we pray for those who are in need, we are prepared to help the Lord in answering those prayers. ¶

Spiritual Needs ¶

Now, there is another phase of it. We frequently pray for those who mourn and who are bowed down with sorrow, and that is as it should be, but we have the same elements of comfort in the operation of the Holy Priesthood. We are constantly urging our brethren and sisters to visit our people and to administer to them in their spiritual needs. That is another practical way of carrying out some of the teachings that we hold dear. Our ward teachers and our Relief Society teachers have a charge to bring comfort to those who are less fortunate than we and who may be spiritually bowed down, who may be lacking in the things that feed the soul. We can bring comfort to them and help them in their problems. ¶

I repeat that I am not unmindful that sometimes the Lord does not always answer the prayers the way we would like to have them, but he does answer them the way they should be. At times we may need physical blessings, and we do not always receive them, but we receive spiritual blessings and those spiritual blessings help us to make adjustments and to feel that no matter what is, it will be right if we are in tune with the Holy Spirit. The Lord does not expect us to be selfish about it. He expects us to acknowledge his hand, and then we shall be prepared for whatever comes. That is the spirit of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and may God help us that we may always have it. I am grateful to you, my brethren and sisters, for your association, for the strength that I feel as I visit among you in your stakes. I am grateful for my brethren with whom I am associated, for their loving kindness and for their faith. I am grateful to the Lord for his goodness to me. I pray that we may never fail in acknowledging him and in doing the things that we should do to further his work temporally and spiritually, and I humbly ask it in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. ¶