I Think I Have Never Stood Before...

I think I have, never stood before a conference congregation when I have felt so utterly dependent upon the Spirit of the Lord and upon your sustaining faith and prayers. I lean heavily upon you and ask for an interest in your prayers. ¶

Before you and my Heavenly Father I confess my weaknesses, my shortcomings, and ask for his pardon, that I might be in such a condition as to have the direction of the Holy Spirit, not only as I shall occupy these few moments, but also as I go forward and attempt to undertake the great responsibilities that devolve upon one called to serve in this great Church. ¶

An Abiding Testimony

I have searched my soul, and I feel that I can say to you that I count by far the most valuable of all the things which I possess today an abiding testimony in the divinity of this work. I know that my Redeemer lives. The certainty and conviction that I feel in my soul today is as certain as that night follows day. ¶

I have been grateful that I have found myself in full harmony with that inspiring message of our leader, President McKay, this morning. His remarks and the prayer that was offered at the commencement of this service by Patriarch Gaskell Romney have led my mind into a train of thinking, which, if the spirit will bless me, I desire to follow. ¶

Parable of the Ten Virgins

Patriarch Romney, in his prayer, said that the greatest weakness among us today was from within. The Master taught a great truth in a lesson which has been given to us for generations since that time to prepare us and to teach us in things that pertain to our day, and the events which are to come. This is the message, the words of which are not new to any of you who listen: ¶

Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. ¶

And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. ¶

They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: ¶

But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. ¶

While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. ¶

And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom Cometh; go ye out to meet him. ¶

Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. ¶

And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. ¶

But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. ¶

And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. ¶

Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. ¶

But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. ¶

Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour, wherein the Son of man cometh. (Matt. 25:1-13.) This was a parable, as with many of the Master's teachings, based upon customs with which the people, his hearers, were already familiar. ¶

The purpose of this lesson was to impress upon those called to the ministry and upon his followers and upon the world that there should be an unceasing watchfulness and preparation for the day which he had predicted when the Lord would come again in judgment upon the earth. ¶

The bridegroom of the parable was the Master, the Savior of mankind. The marriage feast symbolized the second coming of the Savior to receive his Church unto himself. The virgins were those who were professed believers in Christ, because they were expectantly waiting for the coming of the bridegroom to the marriage feast, or they were connected with the Church and the events which were to transpire with reference to it. ¶

Modern Reference

That this parable did refer particularly to the believers in Christ with a warning to them is further indicated by what the Lord has told us in modern revelation in which he said: ¶

These are the things that ye must look for; . . . even in the day of the coming of the Son of Man. ¶

And until that hour there will be foolish virgins among the wise; and at that hour cometh an entire separation of the righteous and the wicked. ¶

(D. & C. 63:53-54.) undoubtedly meaning a separation of the wicked from the righteous among the professing believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. ¶

The Lord defines the wise virgins of his parable in still another revelation in which he said, For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived — verily I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the lire, but shall abide the day. (Ibid., 45:57.) Here is clearly indicated a truth we must all recognize, that among the people of God, the believers in the Savior of the world, there are those who are wise and keep the commandments, and yet there are those who are foolish, who are disobedient, and who neglect their duties. ¶

Process of Preparation

President Brigham Young corrected an error with respect to the preparation necessary for the enjoyment of the presence of the Lord when he comes, in this statement: ¶

Tradition has taught us that the great purpose of religion is to prepare people to die, that when they have passed through a change of heart, become converted, they are ready for glory at any moment, and to dwell with the Father and the Son in the heavens to all eternity. This is a mistake, for they have to improve, become substantially changed from bad to good, from sin to holiness, here or somewhere else, before they are prepared for the society they anticipate enjoying. [Discourses of Brigham Young, 1943 ed, p. 16.) Preparation for that achievement is a process. For that very purpose the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored in its fulness in this dispensation. So the Prophet Joseph Smith was told by the Angel Moroni, as the Prophet has recorded in his history: ¶

This messenger, proclaimed himself to be an angel of God, sent to bring the joyful tidings that the covenant which God made with ancient Israel was at hand to be fulfilled; that the preparatory work {or the second coming of the Messiah was speedily to commence; that the time was at hand for the gospel in all its fulness to be preached in power, unto all nations, that a people might be prepared for the millennial reign. (Read Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith, 2.) ¶

A Voice of Warning

The responsibilities of the prophets in every dispensation have been to sound a warning for the nations to repent and to come unto the Lord and avoid the judgments that otherwise will be sent upon mankind. ¶

President Wilford Woodruff, in a sermon delivered to temple workers in Brigham City in June 1894, made a remarkable prediction and a statement with regard to these matters. A part of his sermon is as follows: ¶

We cannot draw a veil over the events that await this generation. No man that is inspired by the spirit and power of God can close his ears and his eyes or his lips to these things. When I have the vision of night open continually before my eyes and can see the mighty judgments that are about to be poured out upon this world; when I know these things are true, and are at the door of the Jew and Gentile; while I know they are true, while I am holding this position before God and this world, can I withhold my voice from lifting up a warning to this people and to the nations of the earth? . . . And from this very day they shall be poured out. Calamities and troubles are increasing in the earth, and there is a meaning to these things. . . . Read the scriptures and the revelations. ¶

They will tell you about these things. Great changes are at our doors. ¶

The next twenty years will see mighty changes among the nations of the earth. You will live to see these things whether I do or not. I have felt oppressed with the weight of these matters, and I have felt that I must speak of them here; it is by the power of the gospel we shall escape. ¶

(The Improvement Era, 17:1164-65.) He enumerated a number of the calamities which he had foreseen, and then stated: "They are at our very doors, and not even this people will escape them entirely." ¶

Twenty years later, as he had predicted, lacking one month, the great world war of July 1914 broke in all its fury. Many of you here have been witnesses of the fulfilment of what President Woodruff said, and from that time to the present time there has been an increasing intensity of the troubles and difficulties upon the earth. ¶

He sounded a note of comfort and blessing, however, in his closing statement. ¶

Remember this, and reflect upon these matters, he said, If you do your duty, and I do mine, we shall have protection, and shall pass through the afflictions in peace and safety. ¶

Warning of President Smith

Shortly after the general conference a year ago last April, I met a man on the street who was inclined to be critical of the fact, he said, that the Church was not receiving revelations, and why was it that the Lord wasn't revealing his mind and will to his leaders. I happened to have in my pocket a clipping from President George Albert Smith's last address, and I took it out and read this to him: ¶

Said President Smith at the April conference just one year before his death: ¶

Brethren and sisters, let us go to our homes; and if our houses are not in order, let us set them in order. Let us renew our determination to honor God and keep his commandments, to love one another, to make our homes the abiding place of peace. Each of us can contribute to that in the homes in which we live. ¶

It will not be long until calamities will overtake the human family unless they seek speedy repentance. It will not be long before those who are scattered over the face of the earth by millions will die like flies because of what will come. ¶

Our Heavenly Father has told us how it can be avoided, and that is our mission, in part, to go into the world and explain to the people how it may be avoided. (Ibid.. 53:410.) President Smith could not have made that statement except as the Lord revealed it to him. ¶

Obligation to Follow Counsel

The Lord in a revelation has told us that it is the obligation of the Latter-day Saints to listen to the counsel of their leaders. ¶

In the preface to the Book of Doctrine and Covenants the Lord has said this in plainness. ¶

And the arm of the Lord shall be revealed; and the day cometh that they who will not hear the voice of the Lord, neither the voice of his servants, neither give heed to the words of the prophets and apostles shall be cut off from among the people. ¶

For they have strayed from mine ordinances, and have broken mine everlasting covenant. (D. & C. 1:14-15.) Could it be that these who will be cut off, of which the Lord spoke are the foolish virgins in the parable of the Master? As I thought back over the admonitions of our present leaders, President McKay, President Richards, and President Clark, I have wondered how much the Latter-day Saints have tried to recall and keep in their minds and hearts the admonitions of these, the Lord's appointed servants. May I merely mention but a few of the admonitions of our present leaders to impress the importance of heeding the counsel of the prophets of our day: ¶

Did you listen carefully to hear President McKay re-echo what he has said on past occasions, that we should use the divine gift of agency to put to flight the degenerate tendencies in men and nations, and thereby find the way to eternal life? And did you hear him say that what you sincerely think of Christ in your heart will determine what you are, and will largely determine what your actions will be? Have you heard President Richards plead with us to keep the commandments of God; and to preserve the sacredness of the home; and heard him say that one of the greatest deterrents to wrong doing has been the fear of losing a place in the eternal family circle? Those are messages that we should not have forgotten and should have sought to apply in our daily conduct. ¶

President Clark's admonitions and pleas for the unity of the Saints by following the leadership of the President of the Church; his warnings against false heresies, and his efforts to arouse the people to protect our liberties as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States, certainly are messages which we could not well afford to overlook in this day of stern judgment if we would escape the calamities of which the prophets have warned. ¶

"A Lamp to Your Feet"

Every baptized member of the Church may become a virgin of purity through baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, through the atoning power of the Lord Jesus Christ. At our baptism we had hands laid upon our heads, and we were told by the officiating elders words that went something like this, Receive the Holy Ghost, which will be a lamp to your feet, a guide to your path, which will bring all things to your remembrance, which will show you things to come, and will even reveal by its power the Lord Jesus Christ himself. ¶

All of those promises, of course, are conditioned upon obedience and faithfulness in keeping the commandments of God. ¶

The Lord gives us, each one, a lamp to carry, but whether or not we shall have oil in our lamps depends solely upon each one of us. Whether or not we keep the commandments and supply the needed oil to light our way and to guide us on our way depends upon each of us individually. We cannot borrow from our Church membership. We cannot borrow from an illustrious ancestry. ¶

Whether or not we have oil in our lamps, I repeat, depends solely upon each one of us, it is determined by our faithfulness in keeping the commandments of the Living God. ¶

We must buy from the only source from which we can obtain this kind of oil referred to by the Master- — from the fountain of eternal supply. ¶

God grant that we won't forget these admonitions, and that the parable of the ten virgins will have a meaning to us, to all leaders throughout the Church, to go out seeking in the highways and byways of the Lord's kingdom to prepare the people, that except they repent and turn unto the Lord these things which have been predicted will surely come. May all Church members remember that in the day when the Lord said peace would be taken from the earth and the devil would have power over his dominion, he also said that he, the Lord, would reign in the midst of his Saints when he would come down in judgment upon Idumea, or the world. ¶

So he is reigning in the midst of his Saints, revealing himself to his leaders, that through them to this people we might never be left in doubt but might know of a certainty that he will do nothing save he reveals himself to his servants, the prophets. ¶

I bear you my humble witness that I know these things are true, and the Lord has spoken and is speaking to us today in a way that he has talked to his people in every dispensation, and I bear it humbly in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶