My Brothers And Sisters I Rejoice In...

My brothers and sisters, I rejoice in being with you in this conference today. I feel very weak and humble in this position, and I do earnestly pray for an interest in your faith and prayers. ¶

I wish to extend my appreciation and gratitude to the great number of you who received me so kindly in this appointment. I appreciate the many prayers that have gone up in my behalf. With you, I feel a keen loss in our beloved President George Albert Smith. ¶

Coming from an outside stake, I feel in a measure that I represent the good people who live on the fringe of the Church, who do not always have opportunity to express the love that is in their hearts for these great leaders who depart from among us. ¶

Loved by All

President George Albert Smith was close to me, he always seemed to be around for some of the important events of my life. ¶

I appreciated sincerely his confidence and love, and I rejoice that it was he who called me to this present assignment. As a boy, I remember his coming into my father's and mother's home to attend quarterly conferences representing the General Authorities of the Church. And as I relive those occasions, I rejoice in the goodly effect that he had upon my life. He was loved by all good members of the Church everywhere. He radiated a kindly and lovable spirit. ¶

Wherever he went, he brought good will to the Church and its people. As has been said, he was a man without guile. I think he has left with us a gem of counsel as so many times in his talks he has advised us to stay on the Lord's side of the line. That counsel will live throughout eternity in our hearts. A very simple statement, yet one that will produce great good in the lives of individuals if they will but follow it. ¶

The eighth chapter in the leadership of this Church has been closed in the departing of this good man. As I reflect back over the eight spiritual leaders of this people, in my heart I feel that God wanted each of them to lead his people, and that each was specially fitted and endowed for the work of his time and generation. The chapter now closed in the book of the life and activities of President George Albert Smith is a glorious one of great attainment on the part of the Church. He built ably upon the foundation laid, so now this people can continue to go ahead in the accomplishment of the great purposes that God has for his people to accomplish. ¶

God at the Helm

As I have thought about the past three days and all that has taken place, my testimony has increased in relation to the work we are engaged in. All plans have gone forward for this great general conference of the Church. And almost on the eve of the conference meetings, the Lord took from us our beloved President. At first there was a great feeling of loss, but I don't think ever a feeling of frustration, for the Quorum of the Twelve realized that vested within them were all the powers, authorities, and keys necessary to carry forward the important work of this great Church. Committees were appointed to plan the services that would honor and recognize our beloved prophet-leader. Everything seemed to fit into a proper pattern, the services were held, and our hearts were touched by the beautiful thoughts expressed, the consolation given to members of the family and to all of us who mourn the passing of our President. ¶

Yet the 121st annual conference went on as scheduled and there was a feeling that God was at the helm; that the affairs of his Church, even at such a critical time, were being properly handled. And so we come here today, not disturbed in our faith, not disturbed in the leadership now handling the affairs of the Church. Everything has fit into a pattern, for God established the pattern, and the people know where the authority of leadership is vested when the President prophet-leader is taken. There has hardly been a ripple in the scene of our work or activities, and yet we have paused properly to honor and recognize our great spiritual leader. ¶

Brothers and sisters, this is to me a testimony of the strength and divinity of this work. In my heart, I feel that God is with us and directing his work, that as we go from this conference to our homes, we will not be confused, nor will we feel in our hearts that this work will stop; there will be unity in our faith, we will go away in confidence, knowing that the work of the Lord will continue to go forward and fulfil its destiny in the earth. And as I reflect upon these things, I remember what the Lord said to the Prophet Joseph Smith before the Prophet had been endowed with the priesthood and before the Church itself had been organized. He said that "a great and a marvelous work is about to come forth unto the children of men"; and surely this is a great and marvelous work which we represent. Very shortly after the organization of the Church, less than a year and a half, the Lord speaking to the elders of the Church said: ¶

Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great. (D. & C. 64:33.) According to the law that God had revealed, and in keeping with the law of the land, this Church was established with only six members. Yet the early rise of the Church from that humble beginning was great and marvelous, the Lord was pleased, and the brethren engaged in the work of the ministry had been very diligent and devoted. The Lord didn't want them to be weary in well-doing because they were laying the foundations of a great work. In the preface to the book of Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord said: ¶

. . . those to whom these commandments were given, might have power to lay the foundation of this church, and to bring it forth out of obscurity and out of darkness, the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth. (Ibid., 1 :30.) And then again, a little later the Lord said: ¶

For Zion must increase in beauty, and in holiness; her borders must be enlarged; her stakes must be strengthened; yea, verily I say unto you, Zion must arise and put on her beautiful garments. (Ibid., 82:14.) ¶

Men of Strength

We know the Church passed through many trials and many tribulations, that brethren along the way deserted the Prophet, and the Saints suffered mobbings and all types of hardships and privations, but there were in the Church men of strength and character, men who believed in this great latter-day work; and the power of the Lord rested with them. They were undaunted in the face of these difficulties. But the work of the Lord went on, and our people were led here to the valleys of the mountains by President Brigham Young. He had the vision of enlarging the borders of Zion and sent out groups to colonize and settle the fertile valleys of these mountains, both north and south and east and west. Thus the great work of the Church has continued to grow, even until the present time, and each of our prophet leaders took his place, gave of himself and of the talents that God had blessed him with to establish firmly the foundations of this work. And as surely as we are here today, it has been brought forth out of obscurity and out of darkness, and stands as a beacon of light upon the hill to all peoples and nations of the earth. We have witnessed in the progress of the Church, a great enlarged program to take care of our people. This program encircles the entire life of the Church membership and gives them every opportunity for growth, for development, and for training. Surely in this work, the Lord has been with his people; so today with pride in our progress we claim almost sixteen hundred wards and branches of the Church, 184 stakes, scattered up and down this western area with some to the east of us. We also have many missions established throughout the world, and with all our program and activity, the Church itself is known far and wide and assuming its place of leadership and of power in shaping the lives of men and of nations. ¶

Proselyting in Stakes

And it seems to me, my brothers and sisters, that the Lord in this enlargement of our borders has been with this people, and has so arranged it that we are now established in the population centers of this western area. We have built our places of worship, our places of recreation, and in all this building, and in all this planning, and in all this preparation, the leadership of the Church under the inspiration of God have not had in mind only that we should take care of our own, but that the facilities we have provided should be made available to our friends. We have been counseled to warn our neighbors, not to hide our light under a bushel, but to place it where it can be seen of men, that they may have the opportunities and the blessings this Church affords and that you and I enjoy. ¶

And it does seem to me, brothers and sisters, in this present critical situation where it is impossible to send all the missionaries into foreign fields we need to send, that we must take advantage of the proselyting opportunity that is ours in the branches, wards, and stakes of the Church; and through our stake missionary program make available to those who are investigating, the facilities of our Church, that the children of our friends and investigators can come to Primary, to Sunday School, the young men and women to Mutual, the mothers to Relief Society, and all to our sacrament meetings. If we as God's people would warn our neighbors, and if we would be friends with our neighbors, we will invite them to come with us and investigate this thing we know to be true and of God. ¶

Invitation to Come and See

I think it was only a year ago that President George Albert Smith from this pulpit said that we should invite our friends and our associates to come and see. There is much in the Church for people to come and see, and if we who are members of the Church would live as we should live, we would never be ashamed of that which our friends and our associates do see. Not so long ago in attending a conference, I heard a young lady missionary in making her report say that in her missionary experience she felt the Spirit of the Lord working with her. And I thought what a grand thing it would be if all people of the Church felt that in their callings and appointments the Spirit of the Lord was working with them. I am just as confident as I can be that regardless of our calling and appointments or holding the priesthood, we who are the men of the Church, that unless we have the Holy Spirit of the Lord abiding with us in our work and ministry, we will never accomplish the purposes of God. We need the Holy Spirit; we need its power and its gifts and its influences with us in our callings and offices, if we carry out successfully the responsibility associated with those callings and appointments. ¶

I have a testimony of this work; I know it is true. I hope and pray, brothers and sisters, that we will devote ourselves to its high responsibilities. It is the most important thing we have at hand to do. May we be appreciative of the Church, of its leadership, of its doctrines, and all the blessings we enjoy, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶