Y Dear Brethren And Sisters...

My dear brethren and sisters: ¶

I thank the Lord for fellowship and association with you in this glorious conference opened by an inspiring message from the President of this great Church, and I think his spirit has penetrated our hearts and permeated all the sessions of this conference, as the Lord blessed him with his spirit and power. ¶

I have felt that this conference is marking a new epoch in the advancement of this the kingdom of God. I am sure there have been other conferences where splendid reports have come from various parts of the world, but there surely has been no other conference in the history of this Church where such events have been reported as have been reported in this conference — events which have thrilled our hearts, and there is no question in my mind but, with the temple dedication and choir tour in Europe, the advancement of the Church has been greatly accelerated, and we find ourselves in the midst of an advancement of this great cause spreading over the earth in a new way, under new conditions. ¶

Just about a hundred years ago this people were a driven, mobbed, outraged people, banished from one of the states of the Union, in the hope of those who banished them — after killing their two leaders, Joseph and Hyrum, prophets of God — that they would perish in the western wilderness. We did not perish. ¶

Now a hundred years or so later our President and our choir, with members of the Quorum of the Twelve, are made welcomed and honored visitors in the nations of the world, being accorded welcomes that were heartfelt and generous, such as are perhaps given to royalty and other people of distinction — and the Lord will bless those peoples. ¶

Why has this occurred? Because this is the kingdom of God. Daniel saw this day, and we should realize, and I hope our children realize, that we are taking part in events which prophets saw and described centuries ago that the Lord knew would take place; and in my judgment all that is going on in the world today, with our world wars and our great movements that seem to be shaking the earth — is being utilized for the consummation of his holy purposes as he has always done. So we are seeing the fulfilment of this prophecy of Daniel: ¶

And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. ¶

(Daniel 2:44.) How could we identify this kingdom? ¶

Well, there are many ways. Mark the advance of civilization, from the ancient, Asiatic powers, with whom God had dealings through his prophets, advancing westward over Asia, advancing westward through Europe, always westward, and then it was stopped for centuries. ¶

Thousands of miles of ocean formed an impediment to this advancement. Then in due time the Lord bridged that great gap, inspiring Columbus to discover this land, this the greatest of all continents and the choicest of all lands, which God had reserved for the setting up of his kingdom; on which he established this free government, giving this nation power over the mother country in the Revolutionary War. During these years in Europe before America was discovered, kingdoms were established all over the land and continued for centuries. ¶

It was in the time of these kings that this kingdom of God was to be established. It is interesting to note that in great movements, and the establishment of kingdoms and dominions, two things are very essential: transportation and communication. Without those, developments of that kind are not possible. The Lord has taken care of that, and now as his kingdom advances in power, we hear the spoken word around the world, and we are on the way, I think, even to be able to see around the world through television; and we are having planes built that will take us from here to our temple in Bern and to our other operations in Europe between sunrise and sunset. The Lord has provided the necessary means at the right time. ¶

Another identification: The Lord, through his prophets, and the Savior while he was with the Nephites, said that there would be a sign given when the Father would undertake to establish his kingdom for the last time among the nations. ¶

He said to them when the record of this people comes to your descendants then you may know that the work of the Father is being begun among the nations of the earth. ¶

Well, that Book of Mormon came to their descendants, and they have had it for a hundred years. The Lord also said that the time would come for the gathering of Israel — Israel to this nation, the land of Joseph, and the Jews to their land in Palestine. For a hundred years, the gospel has been preached. You or your fathers and mothers have been gathered from all the nations of the earth because you and they are of the blood of Israel. They heard the message of the gospel, and we have been gathered here to this nation. Significantly enough, the movement westward continued when this great land was opened, even in this land, when we were driven from the east we moved further west, until we have come to the last stand in the westward movement in the tops of these Rocky Mountains. ¶

There is no place further west to go and no further need of it, for God has now established his kingdom in the tops of these mountains, and Israel is gathering to it. ¶

The Jews, because of conditions growing out of World War I, are going back to Palestine, crowding back so rapidly that they can hardly be cared for. They do not understand why, but we do. ¶

They are building up their cities, planting their vineyards, developing industry, and they are beginning to believe in Jesus Christ as foretold. I was in touch with an association in New York City while I was there that was a mission to the Jews, to preach Christianity to the Jewish people, and singularly enough it was an organization of Jews who had been converted to Christianity — such as they were able to comprehend and believe. ¶

I went into their establishment, not knowing just who they were, to inquire about something, and then I saw the New Testament and other evidences that led me to ask them, "Are you Christians?" ¶

They said, "Yes, we are Christians." ¶

"Do you mean to tell me that you Jews believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ?" ¶

"Yes, we do." ¶

"You believe then that Jesus Christ was the Messiah, he whom your fathers crucified?" ¶

"Yes, we do." ¶

They had suffered hardship and trial and difficulty facing the enmity of their own people. I was present in one of their meetings where they sent away a young woman missionary, as we send our missionaries, in a way. And where do you suppose she was being sent? She was being sent to Jerusalem where their fathers crucified the Lord Jesus Christ, to bring them the message that this same Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. ¶

The Lord said when these things were happening we would know that he was at work among the nations, that he had set his hand to carry on his work. The Prophet Joseph Smith, just three years before the powers of evil finally so gathered around him that they took his life, made this prophecy. It is in the famous Wentworth letter of 1842, Mr. Wentworth having asked him to supply information and something of the doctrines that might be published concerning the history of our people. ¶

After he had outlined the history and persecution of the people, before setting forth our beliefs in what we now call our Articles of Faith, he prophesied: ¶

Our missionaries are going forth to different nations, and in Germany, Palestine, New Holland, Australia, the East Indies, and other places; the Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth, boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the Great Jehovah shall say, the work is done. (D. H. C. IV:540.) ¶

I bear my humble witness that that prophecy is of God and that this is the kingdom of God that Daniel saw the Lord set up, never to be given to other people; that angels have visited the earth and restored the Holy Priesthood, without which the kingdom of God has never been in the earth, and never can be in the earth; and God is carrying on this work; and the miraculous things referred to by Elder Petersen yesterday are part and parcel of the kingdom of God. Unless we can accept the supernatural, which means the power of God, we cannot accept salvation in the kingdom of God, and we do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. We do not believe that the gospel is the power of God, if when the power of God is manifest to bring it to us, we reject it and deny it. ¶

This is the Church and kingdom of God. I bear my humble witness to it. His power is here for the salvation of the world. Would to God they would believe and join with us in advancing this kingdom over the earth, for there is no power under heaven, or ever will be, except the gospel of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God, that will bring universal peace and happiness to the children of men, and that process is now in operation. May God further it and bless it. I bear witness to the divine calling of the Prophet Joseph Smith — a glorious Prophet, who has paid the price that prophets have paid in this world that enshrines the dead prophets and destroys the living ones. ¶

May God bless us and preserve us so that we will live the gospel and preach it. People may not believe it — I wish they would — but it is our business to declare it with all its marvelous works and wonders. The definition in the dictionary for "miraculous" is "marvelous, wonderful," and that is exactly how the Lord describes the work that he is to bring forth in the latter days, a "strange work," "a marvelous work and a wonder," because his power will be made manifest. ¶

May God bless us and help us to be true to every principle and doctrine and teaching of this Church, to live them, and to preach them to the world, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶