In the Thirteenth Chapter of First Nephi...

In the thirteenth chapter of First Nephi, we have the words of the Prophet who writes: ¶

And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land. ¶

And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the many waters. . . . ¶

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was with them. (1 Nephi 13:11-12, 16.) I have always recalled with joy in reading these words that they referred to Christopher Columbus and the Pilgrim fathers. When Columbus stepped upon this western land in 1492, he uttered these words in prayer: ¶

O God, our Father, eternal and omnipotent, creator of heaven and earth and sea, we glorify Thy Holy name, praise Thy majesty, whom we serve in all humility, we give unto Thy Holy protection this new part of the world. (Quoted by Washington Irving in his Life of Columbus) We are told that Edward Winslow, the third signer of the Mayflower Compact, recorded the following parting words of Pastor Robinson, as the Pilgrim fathers left the shores of Holland on their long journey into the unknown West. He said: ¶

Brethren, we are now quickly to part from one another, and whether I may ever live to see your face, on earth any more, the God of Heaven only knows; but whether the Lord hath appointed that or not, I charge you before God and His blessed angels that you follow me no farther than you have seen me follow the Lord Jesus Christ. If God reveal anything to you, by any other instrument of his, be as ready to receive it as ever you were to receive truth, by my ministry; for I am fully persuaded, I am very confident, that the Lord has more truth yet to break forth out of his holy word. ¶

Columbus was inspired and led by the power of God to these shores of America, and the Pilgrim fathers and others likewise, for we believe that the time had come for the American Indians to be found, for they are the remnants of Joseph. It is interesting to note that many of the early adherents to the gospel of Jesus Christ, as received in the early part of the nineteenth century, were descendants of the old Puritan stock who came from England. Such men were the Prophet Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and many others of that early day. And thus began the great work of occupying the whole country of America by different peoples of the world. We have become a rich and powerful nation, potentially the richest and the most powerful upon the earth. ¶

As President Richards spoke about the building of this Tabernacle in which we are worshiping God, I recalled that it is just one hundred years ago that President Brigham Young stood before the two thousand people and more who had assembled for the same reason that you and I have done, to worship God and Jesus Christ our Redeemer. ¶

They had a Tabernacle which had just been built of adobes and could seat two thousand people. The seats were mostly of logs, although a few chairs had been made for the brethren who sat in front. People came from all parts of the territory, some by ox team and in wagons drawn by horses. Many of them walked long distances to attend the conference. At the close of the last meeting on Sunday afternoon President Young arose and announced that he had called approximately one hundred of the brethren to go on missions to different parts of the world. The nations mentioned were those of Europe, and China, India, Persia, and Siam in Asia, and then the Islands of the Pacific. ¶

One cannot conceive what this meant in those days when the missionaries walked to the Pacific Coast to take a boat to the countries of the Pacific. ¶

Then think of the long journey by way of the Atlantic Ocean as they set out for India, Siam, and Persia. The history of these men will be written some day by a master historian, and the world will stand amazed at their courage and faith in God. Many of the journals of those missionaries have been preserved. President Lorenzo Snow was already in Italy, and President John Taylor was president of the French Mission. We have heard during the conference much about the subject of teaching which the missionaries experienced, and in a few words, I should like to add a thought concerning the teaching of the gospel to the people of the world. ¶

It has been said in many different ways that "In our children lies the future of our world." If we believe this, and we do, then the education of our children deserves our foremost careful attention. Every father and mother, every mature person in our land should be profoundly interested in the education of our youth. Our honored President, David O. McKay, has during the last year given to us and our nation more than one great talk on the aims and ideals and the far-reaching importance of education. He has told us that it flourishes on character, and without character it lacks any strength. There must be character and goodness as its chief obligation — goodness is its real power. True affection in those taught and in those who are teachers must never be wanting. In all good teaching there are things that survive, and have survived, strong and unshaken, from the earliest times. The master Teacher who lived two thousand years ago said love is the foundation on which to build all growth, all progress, all faith — love of God, love of neighbor. ¶

Teaching is an art, and an art has to be learned. Our missionaries must be taught better how to teach the gospel. Our seventies at home must be taught how to teach the gospel, remembering always that we can teach only that which we know. We are admonished to seek, to knock, to ask, to search diligently with faith unwavering, and we shall be rewarded. ¶

We are told by the Prophet Joseph Smith to "Seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom." (D. & C. 88:118.) If our schools and colleges teach the things that are really important, the mind is required to do hard work, to attack a difficult problem and think to a correct answer. One of our wellknown writers has said, There are only a very few youthful years in every human life when the mind is fresh and plastic, and the memory able to retain. These years should be used to teach the best and most beautiful things man can know — power over language, a mastery of pure science, exposure to great literature and art, a basic knowledge of history, philosophy, and religion. No matter what a young man or woman does to earn his living, his education will have been worthless unless he has learned to know and to use the first-rate in whatever line he pursues— and also learned to love it. ¶

It is in the realm of religion that most of us teach. We want our children to know the gospel, and to live it to the very best of their ability. We want righteousness to be made practical in every phase of life. We hope to direct our youth into a pattern of life that is eternal, founded on a sure and firm belief and faith in the teachings of the Savior, and the prophets of old and of the new and restored gospel. Our aim is to teach our children to carry forward the purposes of God. In doing this we follow the words in Section 4 of the Doctrine and Covenants, ... ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind, and strength. (D. & C. ¶

4:2.) We must begin to teach our children while they are very young, for it is written, "The things that thou hast not gathered in thy youth, how shalt thou find them in thy old age?" ¶

And Jethro counseled, "And thou shalt teach them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do. They must be patiently, gradually taught. Being God's people, they must live his laws, they must worship in his ways." (See Ex. 18:20.) Man needs a long vision in life that he may fulfil a pattern of eternal progression and salvation although the strains and tenseness of daily living favor short sight. Perhaps both are necessary, but the one should not crowd out the other more realistic and basic one. The man who is trying earnestly and with all his strength to catch sight of the vision of a better world, and to incorporate what he can see in the life of himself and his society, helps us to do what we could not do without his help. We can raise ourselves on the shoulders of those who have walked on higher levels. There is a profound wisdom in the saying, "Let us now praise famous men." This is what is meant by the warning of the prophets, "Lift up your hearts." Learn of the greatness and goodness of prophets and leaders in trying to follow their teachings. ¶

Religion holds up to us all the noblest examples of living. Disraeli said, "Nurture your minds with great thoughts: To believe in the heroic makes heroes." ¶

Read the Bible to get not only great truths of living but also great feeling and enlarged vision. Read it to get the depths of life. Make it your companion through life so that you may not live only on the surface, but on permanent effect. Do likewise with the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. Religion is the greatest instrument for raising us to the best of the highest life. ¶

We have had great teachers in our day. I think of one: Dr. Karl G. ¶

Maeser, who came to America from Germany as a convert to the Church, and who was for many years a teacher in Brigham Young University in the early days of that institution. It is only recently that Dr. Joel Francis Paschal of Princeton University has written the Life of Justice George Sutherland, who first was elected congressman and then senator from the state of Utah. Dr. ¶

Paschal tells about the influence that Dr. Maeser had on the life of Senator Sutherland, and says: ¶

Dr. Maeser's knowledge seemed to reach into every field. Of course there were limits; but they were not revealed to me during my course at the Academy. That he was an accomplished scholar I knew from the first. But the extent of his learning so grew before my vision as time went on that my constant emotion was one of amazement. I think there were days when I would have taken my oath that if the Rosetta Stone had never been found, nevertheless he could have easily revealed the meaning of the Egyptian hieroglyphics. He spoke with a decided accent; but his mastery of the English language, of English literature, and of the English way of thought, was superb. ¶

Maeser's influence was not merely that of an instructor. Says Sutherland, He was a man of such transparent and natural goodness that his students gained not only knowledge, but character which is better than knowledge. ¶

I like to remind myself of the saying of Emerson, God offers to every mind its choice between truth and repose: take which you please, you can never have both. ¶

The mothers of Zion begin the teaching of their children when they are in the cradle. They remember always that "Love grants in a moment what toil can hardly achieve in an age." ¶

The very first thing every child should be taught (and as always example, not precept, is the best teacher) is respect for every human being. We should learn to have a great and good opinion of human life, for all are made in the image of God and have a dignity and a destiny. This will lead naturally to the principle of the Golden Rule, "Do unto others what I would that others should do unto me." ¶

It is extraordinary how many kinds of men and women make desirable teachers because the pupils display a variety of human traits and cannot all be moved and reached by the same teaching. Remember, too, that a mastered subject, and a person committed heart and soul to teaching it, with the spirit of God, will be near to the discourse of men and angels. ¶

We need not be graduated of schools and colleges to know these truths of religion and teach them to our children. ¶

The Savior has told us that if we ask it shall be given to us: If we knock, it shall be opened unto us, and we need only to pray and work earnestly and with faith to receive the blessings we desire to become teachers of the gospel. ¶

Sir Richard Livingston, an educator and classicist, and president of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, tells us in a lecture at Springfield, Massachusetts, "It is amazing that a person not intellectually bright, perhaps not even educated, is capable of grasping and living by something so advanced as the principles of Christianity." ¶

The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. ¶

For he hath founded it upon the sea, and established it upon the floods. (Psalm 24.) May our faith be strengthened and may we have power to teach our children the truth and the beauty of the gospel, I humbly pray in Jesus' name. ¶

Amen. ¶