Y Dear Brethren And Sisters I Have...

My dear brethren and sisters: I have enjoyed thoroughly these wonderful conference sessions, and now in this position I sincerely pray that the beautiful spirit that has pervaded every session may lead me to say that which is true and what the Lord would have me say. ¶

I had thought I might say something about the atonement. I was just freshening up on it this morning a few minutes before eight, but I wanted to tune in and hear President Smith's talk, and as I tuned in I thought to myself, "I am sure that President Smith is going to talk about the atonement," which he did. So I refer you to his beautiful talk this morning, concise and authoritative, and I say "amen" to it. ¶

I should like to mention in the few moments that I shall be here, something with relation to the atonement, and that it might be fresh in your mind, I wish to read that beautiful statement of Lehi, the great prophet, referring to certain aspects of the atonement: ¶

And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. ¶

And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end. ¶

And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin. ¶

But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things. ¶

Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy. (2 Nephi 2:22-25.) What a wonderful statement that is. ¶

So it was the design of our Father in heaven that man should have an earth experience and that Adam should fall and that transgression and sin should come into the world which called for the atonement. ¶

Now, I think the principle question before us is not do we comprehend the atonement, but do we accept it and know that it is true. Many things about us we do not comprehend; as one speaker said, with respect to electricity, the scientific men say they do not know all about it, do not know much about it, they do not know what it is. They know how it acts, but they do not know why it acts, and yet we all avail ourselves of the blessing of electricity without comprehending it. ¶

I think it is exactly the same with the glorious principle of atonement. If electricity in our highly developed civilization were taken out of our lives, our civilization would stop, it is so integrated into our activities. And if the principle of the atonement were taken away, what would be the result? We would have no Jewish scriptures, we would have no Jewish people. There would have been no covenant with Abraham. We would have no New Testament. We would have no gospel of Jesus Christ, for the atonement is the foundation of it all. ¶

And what would spirit world existence mean, what objective would it have, if there were nothing beyond our existence in the spirit world, because God found it necessary for us to come to the earth to get our experience, to gain a body, to pass through death, to be raised an immortalized and glorified being so that we might go on to perfection. Without the atonement there would have been no creation of an earth because that would have meant that we would have all come to the earth as is stated by Lehi, and after transgression had occurred, death would follow, and the earth would be merely the eternal graveyard of the sons and daughters of God. ¶

That would have been the end. ¶

The Lord would not undertake to create an earth for that end. An earth life would never have been planned except for this glorious principle of the atonement. And would we have an heaven without the principle of the atonement, would we ever have had an existence in heaven as spirit children of God without the atonement, for God the Eternal Father is a being, a Glorified Being of flesh and bone, exalted and celestialized, and that comes through death and the resurrection by means of the atonement. Unless spirit and matter are inseparably connected, we cannot have a fulness of joy. And if they are so connected, we may have joy in its fullest degree, which I would say means attainment, achievement, exaltation. We must come to the earth; we must have earth life; we must go through death; and we must be exalted and glorified through the power of God and through the gospel and the resurrection. ¶

None of these things would have been possible or contemplated or planned or carried out without this glorious principle of atonement, the Son of God dying for all the children of men. We may not be able to comprehend it, in its fulness, but we can know it, and we can understand how the Son of God, the Firstborn among all the children of God, dying for all the rest, would gain power and influence over the children of men, and we can understand what their love should be for him and their devotion should be towards him because his suffering was such that no human being could endure it. He accepted it. It was so terrible that he almost wished that he might not have to endure it. But he accepted it and glorified his Father in heaven and made possible our earth life, our resurrection, our exaltation, and the blessings of eternal life. ¶

It is impossible for me to understand why so-called Christian men and men of intelligence try to rob the Lord Jesus Christ of his Messiahship. It can only be because of their darkness. Scholarship, barren and cold, does not comprehend life and does not give us the key to this life. ¶

Our relationship with God our Eternal Father is a relationship of our hearts, and a pure heart is wiser and more intelligent than a barren intellect. ¶

We are called upon to love God with all our hearts and our fellow men as ourselves; and by this glorious principle of the atonement, we are here today through the mercy and blessings of God. ¶

May we always remember that we are the children of God; may we live like the children of God. Thank God for the truth, the most glorious, the strongest, most wonderful thing in the world or in the eternities. Thank God for the restored truth. I bear my witness that the truth is here in this Church and kingdom of God, and the power of God is here unto our salvation. Jesus Christ is our Messiah; he said those who would not accept his Messiahship would die in their sins, and I bear witness this is true, and that those who will accept his Messiahship may be redeemed and exalted. ¶

I bear my humble witness that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of the Living God, through whom the Lord restored these glorious truths for the salvation of the human family. I thank God for him and his successors, and I bear witness that all the keys and powers that the Lord gave to Peter, James, and John are here resident now in those who are in our midst. May God help us to be true in all things, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶