Conference Address

My dear brethren, sisters, and friends, here present and on the air, I greet you in affectionate fellowship as sons and daughters of God, which we are, and pray God's blessings upon you, that the light of Christ may direct you in the straight and narrow way that leads to life everlasting. ¶

Love of God ¶

When the hymn was announced in the afternoon meeting yesterday, "God So Loved the World," the thought occurred to me, that is the title of that which I desire to say when called upon to speak. ¶

Completing the quotation: ¶

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16.) ¶

This represents the love of the Father for us, his children. Then I thought of another scripture: ¶

... I lay down my life for the sheep. ¶

No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down myself. . . . (John 10:15, ¶

18.) ¶

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13.) ¶

Taking these two quotations together, we see the gift of the Father and of the Son to the world, of all that the atonement meant of mental and physical suffering in life, and in his death upon the cross, of which it can be said in truth, that as a gift to mankind it was the greatest ever given; a sacrifice, the greatest ever made; a service, the greatest ever rendered; a demonstration of love such as is possessed only by the Gods. ¶

Work of Christ Traced ¶

I would like, if possible, for us to become better acquainted with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and his life's work, that knowing him better, we might love him more, and loving him more, serve him better, and thereby obtain eternal life, God's greatest gift to man. ¶

Quoting from Isaiah, 53rd Chapter: ¶

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. ¶

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. ¶

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. ¶

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:3-6.) ¶

Under the direction of the Father, he created the heavens and the earth and all things existing thereon, as attested by scriptures. ¶

All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:3.) ¶

And worlds without number have I created; . . . and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten. (Moses 1:33.) ¶

Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, who created the heavens and the earth. (D. & C. 14:9.) ¶

Jesus Christ ministered as the God of this world from the beginning until he came to earth in the meridian of time. ¶

And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord; ¶

And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name Jehovah was I not known to them. (Exodus 6:2-3.) ¶

Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world. (Ill Nephi 1:13.) ¶

Physical Appearance of Christ ¶

The following is taken from "Conscript Fathers." I quote: ¶

In these our days appeared a man named Jesus Christ, who is yet living among us, and of the Gentiles is accepted as a Prophet of great truth; but his own disciples call him the Son of God. He hath raised the dead and cured all manner of diseases. He is a man of stature somewhat tall and comely, with a ruddy countenance, such as the beholder may both love and fear. His hair is the color of a filbert when fully ripe, plain to his ear, whence downward it is more of orient color, curling and waving on his shoulders; in the middle of his head is a seam of long hair, after the manner of the Nazarites. His forehead is plain and delicate, the face without spot or wrinkle, beautiful with a comely red; his nose and mouth are exactly formed; his beard is the color of his hair and thick, not of any length, but forked. In reproving he is terrible; in admonishing, courteous; in speaking, very modest and wise; in proportion of body, well-shaped. None has seen him laugh, many have seen him weep. A man, for his surpassing beauty, excelling the children of men. (Heart Throbs, Vol. 1, page 425.) ¶

The following pen picture of the Savior was written by J. A. Francis of Los Angeles and is just as true as if it had been spoken by one of the prophets: ¶

"Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another obscure village. He worked in a carpenter shop until he was thirty, and then for three years he was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never went to college. He never put his foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place where he was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompanies greatness. He had no credentials but himself. He had nothing to do with, in this world, except the naked power of his divine manhood. ¶

"While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied him; another betrayed him. He was turned over to his enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed on the cross between two thieves. His executioners gambled for the only piece of property he had on earth while he was yet dying, and that was his cloak. When he was dead, he was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. ¶

"Nineteen wide centuries have come and gone, and today he is the center of the human race and the leader of the column of progress. I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, and all the navies that were ever built, and all the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned put together have not affected the life of man upon this earth as profitably as has that one solitary man." ¶

Parallel in Lives of Savior and Joseph Smith ¶

In the life. and accomplishments of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, we see a strong resemblance to that of the Savior. When the Savior chose his twelve disciples, he chose them from the humble walks of life. It is the Lord's way. ¶

For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called; But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; ¶

And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, the things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: ¶

That no flesh should glory in his presence. (II Corinthians 1:26-29.) ¶

Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you, my servant Joseph Smith, I am well pleased with your offering and acknowledgements, which you have made; for unto this end have I raised you up, that I might show forth my wisdom through the weak things of the earth. (D. & C. 124:1.) ¶

Joseph Smith was born of humble parentage in an obscure village. He never went to college nor attended high school, but he accomplished in the short period of his life of thirty-eight and one-half years more than any other mortal man of his time, if not of all time. Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were martyrs to the truth. They were murdered in cold blood by a disguised and ruthless mob. ¶

During the short life of the Prophet Joseph Smith he was instrumental in the hands of the Lord in the establishment of the Church and kingdom of God on earth as seen in vision by the Prophet Daniel. Through him the everlasting gospel in its fulness was restored, with all its gifts, blessings, principles, and ordinances, and the power and authority of the priesthood to administer the ordinances of the gospel to the children of men, who, by repentance and obedience, are prepared to receive them. ¶

The works of Joseph Smith and the spirit that prompted them live on in the hearts and lives of his followers who are numbered by the hundreds of thousands now living and have influenced the lives of other hundreds of thousands who have gone to their reward. ¶

More than a century has passed since the martyrdom of the Prophet, but his works and the spirit which actuated them are increasing in the earth. Many have died for the religion established by the Prophet Joseph Smith, and there are many thousands today who would do likewise if necessary. He gave his life for the cause and, like the Savior, sealed his testimony with his blood. ¶

Personal Testimony ¶

As a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ, I bear you my testimony that God the Eternal Father lives, a glorified and exalted being, having a body of flesh, bones, and spirit as tangible as man's, and that he has revealed himself anew to the world through the instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph Smith, whom he raised up to be the mighty Prophet of the last days; that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer of the world; that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of the Living God; and that the work in which we, as Latter-day Saints, are engaged is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ which all men must receive if they would be saved in the kingdom of God. ¶

I bear this testimony to you and to all the world, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶