My Brethren and Sisters, I Am Very Happy

Y BRETHREN AND SISTERS: I am very happy about the appointment of Elder George Q. Morris as a member of the Council of the Twelve. It has been a great joy and certainly a great pleasure for me to have been closely associated with him during the past few years. ¶

He is a man of faith, a man of splendid leadership, who is solid and sound in the doctrines of the Church, and who will be of inestimable help to the brethren who devise the policy of this great Church of which we are members. ¶

God bless him in this great responsibility and give him the strength to do the work which will be required at his hands. ¶

I have been abundantly blessed, as you have, by the spiritual uplift which has come to the Latter-day Saints during this conference. This uplift has emanated from the singing of the various choirs, from the fervent testimonies of the Lord's servants who have spoken, through the timely admonitions, and through the clarifying demonstrations of activities particularly as they have pertained to the missionary work of the Church. I believe that the paramount obligation resting upon the Church today is to proclaim the divine mission of Jesus Christ. His Church, while standing practically alone amongst all the Christian churches, is boldly declaring that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of mankind. ¶

We must not fail in this very definite responsibility. There are many among the religious teachers of the world who are making compromises in this respect. ¶

It is not long since Colonel Ingersoll, the gifted agnostic, said, "For the man Jesus I have the highest admiration. ¶

I gladly pay to him the homage of my tears. But for Jesus as the Son of God, I will have nothing to do with him." ¶

I regret to say that many of the modern religious teachers have adopted the view expressed by this well-known unbeliever. ¶

Not long since I read again the Book of Mormon and found that on almost every page Jesus is declared to be the Son of God and the Redeemer and Savior of the world. This may also be said of the revelations given to the Church through the Prophet Joseph Smith as recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants. ¶

What is there left, my brethren and sisters, if you eliminate Jesus as the Son of God? It is the foundation of our faith. Surely, no Church that is instrumental in destroying Christ's divinity has any right to be called a Christian church. ¶

A few years ago, H. G. Wells was invited to write down the names of six men who stood, as it were, on the corners of history. He did not hesitate in writing the first name, which was Jesus of Nazareth, and then as if he wanted to apologize, he quickly remarked, "I am not a Christian. I am a writer of history," implying no doubt, that he had not accepted the deityship of Jesus Christ. ¶

So the mission is resting upon you and me and the missionaries of the Church to proclaim in our messages that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and that he did in reality rise from the dead and appeared to his friends and disciples, and proved beyond any question of a doubt, that death is not the end, and that we are expected to obey his commandments which he has given through holy men, called prophets. ¶

May we be qualified and anxious to discharge this important responsibility, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, the Lord. Amen. ¶