I Feel Humble And Also I Feel...

I feel humble, and also I feel the loss of our beloved President, just as you who are assembled here feel that loss. With the help of the Lord, I shall bear my testimony. I am very grateful to the Lord for the knowledge that I have of the truth of this divine work. I was baptized when I was eight years old. It was impressed upon me at that time that through baptism I had received the remission of sins and stood pure, clean, before the Lord. I had a sister who was very kind, as all my sisters were, who impressed upon my mind the need of keeping myself unspotted from the world. Her teachings to me the day I was baptized have stayed with me all the days of my life, and I honor her memory. ¶

Divine Mission of Prophet

I have a perfect knowledge of the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith. There is no doubt in my mind that the Lord raised him up and gave him revelation, commandment, opened the heavens to him, and called upon him to stand at the head of this glorious dispensation. I am just as satisfied in my mind that in his youth when he went out to pray he beheld the actual presence, stood in the actual presence, of God the Father and his son, Jesus Christ; in my mind there is no doubt; I know this to be true. I know that he received later the visitations from Moroni, the Aaronic Priesthood under the hands of John the Baptist, the Melchizedek Priesthood under the hands of Peter, James, and John, and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized on the sixth day of April 1830 by divine command. These things I know. The Lord has revealed them to me, and this knowledge I have had since the day I was baptized. I know that the power of the Almighty is guiding this people, that we are under covenant to keep his commandments, to walk in light and truth. It is my firm conviction that every member of this Church should be able to bear witness and declare by words of soberness that these things are true, that the Book of Mormon is true, that the revelations given to the Prophet Joseph Smith are true, that the destiny of this latter-day work is true, and, according to the revelations, must and will be fulfilled. ¶

Second Coming

I believe that the coming of the Son of God is not far away, how far I do not know, but I do know that it is over one hundred years nearer than it was when Elijah the prophet came to the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple on the third day of April, 1836. Elijah's words point to the fact that we are that much nearer. And this ancient prophet declared that by the restoration of those keys we should know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at our doors. I have opened these scriptures to the seventh chapter of Matthew, and I want to read the seventh and eighth verses: ¶

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: ¶

For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. (Matt. 7:7-8.) ¶

All May Know the Truth

Is there any good reason why every living soul cannot know the truth and where it can be found? Is there any reason that any members of this Church can give why he does not know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God, and that this is his work? If we lack that understanding, we have no one to blame but ourselves. I had perfect confidence in the sayings of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ; and when he says, "Ask and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For everyone that asketh receiveth," I am just as sure that every member of this Church may know within himself or herself that God lives, Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that this is his work which he has established. We have no excuse whatever for not knowing and having the absolute faith and confidence in this restored gospel of Jesus Christ. It is our duty to know. In a revelation given to the Church many years ago, that is, in the days of the Prophet, he warned the members of the Church against false prophets, false spirits, against those who lie in wait to deceive. He gave us a key then by which we may know, but I repeat, this key, given by our Savior in his Sermon on the Mount is just as true today as it was nearly two thousand years ago. It's his word and can be accepted, can be proved today just as well as it could by his disciples as he spoke to them in this Sermon on the Mount. In interviewing missionaries I frequently ask them, nearly always do, if they have a testimony of the truth. Some of them say, "No, I do not. ¶

I think it is true, but I do not know, but I have the assurance that if I go on this mission I will learn that it is true." Down in their hearts they give an honest answer, but I think they know better than they say. However, it is the right of every baptized member in this Church to know for himself by the revelations of the Spirit of the Lord that all that I have said in regard to the establishment of this work is absolutely true. There is no reason in the world why any soul should not know where to find the truth. If he will only humble himself and seek in the spirit of humility and faith, going to the Lord just as the Prophet Joseph Smith went to the Lord to find the truth, he will find it. There's no doubt about it. There is no reason in the world, if men would only harken to the whisperings of the Spirit of the Lord and seek as he would have them seek for the knowledge and understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for them not to find it — no reason, except the hardness of their hearts and their love of the world. "Knock, and it shall be opened unto you." This is my testimony, I know it is true. I know that just as well as I know I stand here. The Lord has revealed it to me as he has to my brethren. The Lord bless you all, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶