My Brethren We Do Not Know Now...

My brethren: We do not know now how many there are attending this great Priesthood meeting, twenty thousand, twenty-five, thirty thousand. I do not know how many, but there are enough of us to be the leaven that would leaven the lump if each of us will come here tomorrow morning, if each of us who are listening in, will go to our respective places of worship, tomorrow, if each of us will show the reverence about which we have heard tonight, if each of us will not visit, will not talk, will not discuss business, it will not be many Sundays until I think, brethren, we shall have the reverence that has been talked about. ¶

I wonder if we cannot try it, tomorrow, just to see what will happen. ¶

I have listened to this music, tonight, President McKay, and I have listened to it on the other days of this Conference, we have had a new singing organization each day, we will have another tomorrow, when I think that these will be drawn primarily from this particular area, and when I think that out of this area, perhaps has been drawn for the Tabernacle Choir, which is largely absent, the whole choir that went to Europe, and then when I think of all the Church organizations, all over this western country, equally proficient, I am prepared to declare that this people of ours, have a culture in music that is more excellent, more universal, than any other group of people in the world. I firmly believe that. And our culture is not only in music. Our culture is in literature. Our culture is manifested in our public speaking. Our culture is manifested in the training which our young people have and which they demonstrate, as it is reported to us, to the astonishment of the leaders of the Army and of the Navy. We have a culture in art. This people of ours is a highly cultured people. We have a few rough edges to grind down, but our courtesy, our kindness, our affection one for the other, passes far beyond that which is found among other peoples. ¶

One reason, I think, for that is, among many other reasons, that the Gospel teaches us to be respectful one of another. You know, in this Church of ours, as I have often said before, every man who is worthy has a chance to direct and a chance to serve, and when the man directs he will have in mind the time when he served and when he serves, he will recall when he directed. It builds for a mutual consideration, a mutual affection, a mutual regard, a mutual fellowship, a mutual brotherhood. ¶

I thought I might say a word tonight on two fundamentals. Who are we? Well, we are Joneses and Smiths and Clarks and all the rest. Yes, but after all, who are they? And my mind always runs back to the beginning, for this earth and for us, and the Grand Council, when the Father came down among the intelligences that were organized, and held this great Council. I think we were all there. We are the sons of our Heavenly Father, tabernacled in the flesh through his divine plan, but that does not rob us of our divine origin. It emphasizes that origin because, save for the plan which our Heavenly Father put into effect, we had not been here, we had not taken on bodies, we would still remain, so far as I can see, in the state in which we were before the Grand Council and its plan, and that would have left us without the destiny which God marked out for us. We are the real children of our Heavenly Father. ¶

And what are we? We bear the Priesthood. What is the Priesthood? Through it we exercise certain authorities and powers of Godhood, itself. He has not given us all of the powers, and we are not living up to the requirements sometimes, some of us, that entitle us to exercise the powers which he has given, — we would be a mightier people if we did. ¶

I have always been impressed with the fact that Adam received his priesthood in the Creation, so said the Prophet, before the world was. The Prophet also said that any man who had the responsibility of administering to the inhabitants of this earth likewise was ordained in the Council of Heaven; and he further said, "I suppose that I was ordained to this very office in that Council." ¶

What are we? We are the agents of God, himself, through the Holy Order of the Priesthood of the Son of God. I wonder if we think of that. I wonder if that is on our minds when we deal with one another, when we deal with our families, with our neighbors, and with our friends. We hold these powers with which out of his abundance God has endowed us, that we might be able to carry on the mission with which we were charged when we came here. ¶

Brethren, may the Lord bless me and bless you, give you and me abundantly of his spirit, that will enable us, first, to recognize what we are, the representatives of God on earth, endowed with certain of his powers. Never forget that. And next, help us so to live that we may enjoy those powers and exercise them, and then we shall rear our families as they should be reared. We will heal them when they are sick. We will be protected from harm and accident and disease. We will have more happiness than any of us can now imagine, all subject to the will of the Lord. ¶

May God give us all of the blessings that we need to help us to magnify our Priesthood, which is the power and the authority to exercise some of the powers that God, himself, possesses, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶