L Y Beloved Brethren Of The Priesthood...

My beloved brethren of the Priesthood, I can assure you that it is an awesome task to stand before you this evening, in the presence of the Lord's anointed, and of you my brethren, and attempt to discuss the subject of obtaining and maintaining reverence in the Church. Were it not for the sympathy and the love of my presiding brethren, and for the prayers which I feel are in your hearts for me, I should shrink from this great responsibility. ¶

When I consider the number of brethren who are gathered here this evening, and those who will listen to the proceedings of this session of this Conference, I am grateful to my Father in Heaven that, through the medium of the great inventions that have been brought to us for our benefit, through the inspiration of our Father in Heaven, the messages of this great Conference may be heard by our brethren and sisters throughout the length and breadth of the Church. ¶

Someone has said that "reverence is the mark of a divine testimony and of sincere worship." I should like to agree, my brethren, with that definition, for without a divine testimony burning in our hearts that God lives and that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the World, we should find it difficult to worship them in spirit and in truth. ¶

That is what we have met for in this great Conference of the Church. We have been invited to meet here where we may hear the messages of the Lord's anointed and where we, under the influence of the Spirit of the Lord, may resolve to correct and better our lives, that we may more fully live in keeping with the commandments and the desires of our Father in Heaven. ¶

I believe this matter of reverence is a personal matter with each one of us and as we come to love our Heavenly Father more dearly, and as we bring into our lives the realization of the great mission of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we become more reverent in our thoughts concerning them and in the actions of our lives. ¶

I believe among other things that the matter of reverence resolves itself into responsibilities which you and I have. First I shall name an acceptance of our responsibility to worship and to adore God our Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. I am sure that no people upon the face of the earth have a better understanding of the attributes and nature of God our Father, and our Lord, Jesus Christ, than have we. ¶

We who have a testimony of the Gospel believe that in that Sacred Grove, on that beautiful spring morning, the Father and Son actually appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith, and this is the basis of every testimony and belief which we have, and were it not that we believe implicitly and without doubt in this testimony of the First Vision, we should not be led to believe any of the other principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ which have been revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith. ¶

Because of this testimony which we have, and this feeling which is within our hearts, our minds, and our souls, we are led to the conclusion that our great responsibility is to honor and reverence God our Father, and his Son, Jesus Christ. ¶

Then I think another conclusion we must come to is that an acceptance of this belief brings to us the great responsibility that no blasphemy shall pass our lips, that our lives shall be wholly in keeping with that which we know to be the truth, that we shall not be found telling rude or lewd stories, but that our language in all that we say must be in accordance with that which we believe. ¶

Then I think we have the great responsibility to honor and revere and reverence those who have been chosen, set apart, and ordained as the divine servants of our Father in Heaven, and they should know that we of the Priesthood have in our hearts a desire to sustain and support them in the great responsibilities that are theirs. ¶

Then I believe that we have the great responsibility of honoring the Sabbath Day and keeping it holy. Coupled with that is the obligation to visit the House of the Lord on the Sabbath Day and then conduct ourselves within the sacred edifices which have been dedicated to the worship of Almighty God to the end that we may have the Holy Spirit of our Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, to be with us. ¶

Now, what is our problem, my brethren of the Priesthood? I believe that you all know that as Latter-day Saints we are a friendly people. We usually attend Sacrament Service with our neighbors, those with whom we are well acquainted, and throughout the Church it has become a habit with us to meet with them and talk to them, prior to the convening of our Sacrament Services and sometimes during those Sacrament Services, to the annoyance of some and to an exhibition of a lack of reverence on our part. ¶

I know that most of you have had within your hearing criticism levelled at you by investigators and others who are not members of the Church, that we are not a reverent people. I believe that we shall have to accept this indictment of our friends. I believe that the time has now come within the Church that we should weigh this important matter within our minds and see if our Sacrament Services, and the other services which we hold in the name of our Father in Heaven, cannot come more closely to that which we desire. ¶

Now, I know the power and influence of the Priesthood of this Church is great and that each one of us, individually, accepting the responsibility to teach and persuade others to live in a spirit of reverence would accomplish wonders within our Church. I believe that each of us who hold the Priesthood has a responsibility to bring to the attention of our families the condition which exists. ¶

I believe the brethren of the Church who are the patriarchs of their own homes have the greatest influence, or at least should have, with their families of any who might talk to them. I believe that we, as fathers in Israel, have the responsibility of calling our children and our wives into counsel with us and there we should explain to them the great necessity of our conforming our lives to this great principle of reverence. ¶

I would like to say that I believe that those who are in charge of the Aaronic Priesthood of the Church, as advisors, as bishops of wards, should explain this great principle of reverence to our young men. I believe that the auxiliary organizations of the Church, through their officers and teachers, should explain that which is required and that which is desired, that our services may be more beautiful and in keeping with that which our Prophet desires. ¶

I would like to say something, too, about the physical conditions in our Houses of Worship. I believe that when we invite the Spirit of our Heavenly Father to meet with us there, that his house should be immaculate. When our Father told us that we should keep our bodies clean, I believe that he also meant that we should keep our Houses of Worship in the same way. You are all aware that at our Sacrament Services the central and most important feature is the administration and passing of the Sacrament to the membership of the Church. I should like to see the day when every Sacrament table in the Church would be graced with the finest and most immaculate linen that is possible to place upon that table. I believe that there are those within our wards who would be happy to receive that assignment. ¶

I believe there are many things that would especially contribute to the solemnity of our Sacrament Services, and one of those is this: That we be more punctual in our attendance at those meetings. My brethren, I have attended meetings where there were so many who entered the chapel late, and the disturbance so great, that I felt the Spirit of the Lord had been offended. Someone has said that "Punctuality is a stern virtue and a graceful courtesy." I say when we are invited to meet in the House of the Lord with the Spirit of our Father in Heaven, that we should be there on time and that we should not destroy the spirit, the solemnity, nor the beauty of the meeting by our arriving late. ¶

I believe that we might enlist the services of the Ward Teachers and our Relief Society Teachers of the Church as they visit in the homes of the Saints to carry this message of reverence into their homes. If our brethren who are called to this great responsibility of Ward Teaching have the influence they should have in the homes of the Saints, they could carry this message and be a great instrument in changing the lives of many of our people in their conduct in our meetings. ¶

I am sure that you are all aware of the interest President David O. McKay has had in this matter. I am sure that most of you have read his message in the October issue of The Improvement Era. If you have not done so, will you go home and read that message, that you may know his desires in this important matter. ¶

Then I am happy that the Primary Association of the Church has instituted a project of teaching reverence to the children of the Primary Association and each month of this year they have brought a message of reverence to the young people who attend this organization. ¶

Since the invitation by President McKay to speak to you tonight I have been thinking of two lines of one of our beautiful hymns which I believe express this spirit of reverence which should be in the hearts and minds of each one of us: ¶

Jesus, the very thought of thee with sweetness fills my breast. ¶

My brethren of the Priesthood, this is the very spirit of reverence. In conclusion I should like to bear witness to you, my brethren, of my testimony, of the truth of this great work in which we are engaged. I believe with all my heart that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and our Heavenly Father, appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith in that Sacred Grove. I believe that every commandment and every revelation that has been given to us to accomplish the fullness of the Gospel is indeed the Word of the Lord unto his servants. ¶

Now, may our Father's choicest blessings be with us, and as we go back into our homes in the stakes and the missions, in the wards and the branches of the Church, may we seek more reverently to serve our Father in Heaven. ¶

This I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Amen. ¶