1 Humbly Pray That I May Have...

I humbly pray that I may have the liberty which comes from the possession of the Holy Spirit and that your prayers and mine may be effective to that end. ¶

As mentioned, we have just returned from a tour of the missions in the South Pacific, and we are sure that you parents, friends, and relatives of the missionaries who are laboring there will be interested in knowing that they are well, happy, and doing a wonderful work. They send to you and to all members of the Church their love, greetings, and gratitude. We met 575 of them while there, held meetings with them, listened to their testimonies, discussed with them some of their problems, and were inspired by their faith and devotion. ¶

Everywhere we went the people were living in the afterglow of the recent visit of President David O. and Sister McKay. ¶

To thousands it marked the pinnacle of their spiritual experiences. We wish publicly to thank him and his counselors for the priceless privilege of visiting the wonderful people of those islands and for the honor of attending the ceremony of the laying the cornerstone of the New Zealand Temple. ¶

Two other names are immortal among the Polynesians. Their love for Elder and Sister Matthew Cowley borders on devotion. They mention their names in hushed tones and sing special hymns written in remembrance of their years of loving and devoted service. ¶

In addition to these regular missionaries, there are another 500 local labor missionaries and 120 Zion labor supervisors working there under the inspired and able leadership of President Wendell B. Mendenhall. ¶

There are now forty-one chapels under construction, five major college projects, four mission homes, and another thirty chapels will be under construction within the year. I think in all the history of the Church we have never had a more inspiring example of voluntary co-operative effort than we saw in the college and temple projects in New Zealand and Hawaii. Not only do the missionaries and supervisors work on these projects without pay — often singing as they work — but most of them are also housed and fed by the local members of the Church. A representative of the press, after visiting the New Zealand project, expressed amazement and said, "A more completely unselfish work has never come to my attention." ¶

There are now over 59,000 members of the Church in the South Pacific, and as we traveled among them we were reminded of the early missionaries who were there when conditions were quite different. We thought of President Joseph F. Smith, President George Q. ¶

Cannon, of my own grandfather, James S. Brown, and others, who endured hardship and privation under those primitive conditions. In fact, some of them were in danger at times of becoming the chief ingredient for an old-fashioned stew. They were mercifully preserved from that. We hope that they who planted those early seeds are sharing with us the joy of a wonderful harvest. ¶

We bring you then, from the dignified, humble, faithful Polynesians and others in the South Pacific, who covered us with love and leis, their "Aloha — Kiaora Koutou Katoa," or in other words, "Greetings, and God bless you." ¶

During our tour, many questions were asked concerning the Church and its activities. The one most frequently asked was, "Are the Mormons Christians, and if so, how does the Church differ from other Christian churches?" ¶

Now, if to be a Christian means to believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world, and to follow his teachings; if being a Christian means to live or try to live the Christian life as he directed, then we answer the first part of that question with a categorical, "Yes, we are Christians." ¶

The answer to the second part of the question is a complex one and cannot be given in a short address. However, perhaps some of our nonmember friends who have honored us with their presence here or in the radio and television audiences would be interested in a brief reference to some of those differences. ¶

The thirteen Articles of Faith, published by the Church in 1842, are roughly the equivalent of creeds in other religious organizations. Therein is set forth a concise and authoritative statement on the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Of course, to point out the differences between these "teachings and others would require an analysis and discussion far beyond the time limits of this occasion and the ability of the speaker. We may, however, refer in passing to some of them. It is worthy of note and doubtless surprising to some that everything we teach or practise is based upon and is in strict harmony with the King James Version of the Holy Bible, which we accept as the word of God. ¶

We believe in other scriptures in addition to the Holy Bible; scriptures that were produced as scriptures have always been produced, by, as Peter said, "holy men of God, [who] spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." (II Peter 1:21.) There is meticulous agreement between the Book of Mormon and the Holy Bible, agreement not only on basic doctrine, but each also has the same central theme, viz: predicting the event, recording the advent, and bearing witness to the import of the life and mission of Jesus the Christ. The fact that these sacred volumes were written on different hemispheres, at times when there was no intercommunication, is not only evidence of divine purpose but also indicates inspired authorship. ¶

The Latter-day Saints, like the formerday Saints, believe in the gifts of the Spirit as enumerated by the Apostle Paul: tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healings, interpretation of tongues, etc. (See I Cor. 12:7-10.) We believe that these gifts as enjoyed now are part of the blessings that have come through the restoration of the gospel. We realize that when we say they have been restored to the Church it implies they were taken away or were no longer enjoyed. History, both profane and sacred, confirms that fact. ¶

Many candid and devout Christian writers assert and deplore the loss of these gifts and agree with John Wesley that they were not enjoyed beyond the second or third century and were seldom known after "that fatal period when the emperor, Constantine, claimed to be a Christian." ¶

Our observance of the Word of Wisdom, God's law of health, is distinctive and is a physical and spiritual blessing to the people. Reference has been made in this conference to the awful price the world is paying for the use of things which God has said are not good for man. ¶

We practise the law of tithing as it was taught and practised anciently, and, being the Lord's financial law, we find it superior to any man-made economic system. Fast offerings, the welfare program as administered by the priesthood, the Relief Society, and other agencies are an extension of the Church's economic policy, always having in mind the physical as well as the spiritual well-being of the people. ¶

Some complain that we are too materialistic, that our teachings lack spiritual emphasis; they say we should keep the spiritual life free from contamination with the material, which, according to them, is gross and evil. But we are reminded that man's body was made in the image of God, from the dust of the earth. That the Savior did not consider earthly substances as evil is evidenced by the fact that he was baptized in the earthly element of water and pointed to such baptism as the gateway to his kingdom to all who would follow him. ¶

Furthermore, he taught the deepest truths about the human spirit by reference to common material things, such as the birds of the air, the lilies of the field, sheep and shepherds, and farmers sowing seed. He chose humble fishermen for his disciples and not only taught them to become fishers of men but also gave them a lesson in fishing for fish. He and his apostles spent much of their time ministering to the poor, healing the sick, moving among the common people as they were engaged in the mundane affairs of life, mending the bodies as well as the souls of men. ¶

We believe that religion should touch the lives of men redemptively here and now, at every point of human experience, that matter is not essentially evil but that its purpose is to serve spirit, while spirit controls and glorifies matter. There is a beneficent and eternal relationship between spirit and element. ¶

The Lord, speaking through the Prophet Joseph Smith, declared, For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy; And when separated, man cannot receive a fulness of joy. ¶

The elements are the tabernacle of God; Yea, man is the tabernacle of God, even temples; . . . (D & C 93:33-35.) We believe the gospel of Jesus Christ must be preached to all the world, and to this end we have a great and unique missionary system. Young men and women are called, thousands of them each year, to spend two or three years of their life in missionary service, at their own expense. They are willing to interrupt their education, postpone their marriage, or give up their employment in order to perform this service. ¶

As we heard yesterday, there are now 13,000 of them at home and abroad, in various phases of missionary activity. ¶

These young people are instructed that they are not to attack or cast any aspersions on other churches but to respect every man's right to worship God as he may see fit. ¶

The organization, government, and discipline of the Church have attracted wide and favorable attention. The Church bestows the priesthood upon all worthy male members over twelve years of age. With a total membership of fewer than a million and a half, we have 372,530 men and boys who hold some office in the priesthood. This means a sharing of authority and responsibility and results in widespread interest and activity. Last night, for instance, a general priesthood meeting of the Church was held in this tabernacle and the proceedings carried by closed circuit radio to groups in ninety-six chapels in surrounding cities and states, where a total of 37,180 men holding the priesthood received instructions from the leaders of the Church. ¶

So we might go on, far beyond the limits of time here, in simply listing the distinctive teachings of the Church. But there is one basic and fundamental difference to which we call attention for a moment, namely, the doctrine of Deity. On this transcendently important subject we take sharp but friendly issue with the creeds of men, and we are willing to rest our case upon biblical precedents and divine revelation. We worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Jehovah of the Old Testament. We believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God and the Messiah who was expected through the centuries but rejected when he came. / We believe that the Godhead consists of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, generally known as the Holy Trinity, but we believe that they are separate and distinct Personages, that the Father and the Son are personal and material and increasingly comprehensible as men progress and gain understanding; that the Father and Son have bodies composed of parts and possessed of feelings; that the Holy Ghost is a Personage of Spirit. ¶

If Jesus of Nazareth was and is God, as John the Beloved and others declared him to be (See John 1:1-3), then God must be personal and material. It was not an incomprehensible, immaterial essence that came forth from the tomb, but the glorified, resurrected body of Jesus the Christ; it was a body of flesh and bone, as he himself declared, and as Thomas was called upon to verify by touch as well as sight. It was this body which ascended into heaven in the presence of the amazed disciples. ¶

It was this body which the attending angels declared should come again when they said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. (Acts 1:11.) When Jesus came and revealed God to men, he held up to them a personal, living ideal and exhorted them to become perfect, even as his Father is perfect. The value of having an ideal is that it inspires emulation. We seek to become like that which we adore. ¶

Surely no one aspires to become diffused, immaterial essence, devoid of body, parts, or feeling and without center or circumference. Faith that a living, personal God is the Father of the human spirit encourages men to push back their horizons, to look up instead of down for their source. It enlarges their vista and life takes on new interest and new meaning. It encourages men to live more abundantly, and he said this was one purpose of his coming. ¶

Because the Father called us sons and the Savior called us brothers, we posit for man an exalted Godlike status with almost limitless possibilities. This Godimage quality in man, which is the root of his dignity, gives deeper meaning and a higher purpose to life, establishes faith and fortitude, and supplies the necessary valor to realize the vision without which people perish. It renews man's determination to pursue the eternal quest for answers to the whence and why and whither of life. ¶

Again, if God is not comprehensible, then man's salvation is impossible, for Jesus said, And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. (John 17:3.) If, therefore, we cannot know him, then we cannot have life eternal, and if this be so, then the whole plan of salvation fails, the doctrine of the atonement is false and meaningless, and men are left in Dante's deepest hell, "desiring without hope." We agree with Milton that "the end of all learning is to know God and out of that knowledge to love and emulate Him." ¶

Unfortunately, in the minds of many religious people the term God is ambiguous. But there was nothing ambiguous about the Hebrew prophets' concept of Jehovah. To them he was a living God with whom Moses and others talked. Certainly there was nothing mysterious or hard to understand in Christ's revelation of his Father. He said, "he who hath seen me hath seen the Father." We believe in a living God, a conscious, sentient, intelligent Being with whom we associate the highest attributes of personality in their fullest development. ¶

If this claim of a restoration be true, then we should expect the pristine Church to be a prototype of the restored Church, for not only he but also his teachings are the same, yesterday, today, and forever. It follows then that to outline and delineate the difference between the restored Church and other churches, one needs only to become familiar with the Church as it was organized by Christ and his apostles in the Meridian of Time and then compare the churches of modern times with that pristine Church. Whatever differences appear they are the differences between the churches of men and the restored Church of Jesus Christ. ¶

Also, our faith in the materiality and separate individualities of the Father and the Son sustains faith in the doctrine of the second coming of Christ, when he shall reign during the millennium and we shall have a thousand years of peace. The prophets of old predicted his second coming in no uncertain or mystical terms. We refer to Job, Psalms, Isaiah, Joel, Zachariah, Malachi, and others. He himself promised that he would come in the glory of the Father with his angels. We read in Matthew, When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: ¶

And before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: (Matt. 25:31-32.) Paul, in writing to the Thessalonians, said, For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: ¶

and the dead in Christ shall rise first: ¶

(I Thess. 4:16.) We bear witness to the restoration of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We bear witness that the Church has been organized and that it like its prototype, the primitive Church, is built upon the foundation of apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. Through this restoration men have been given the right to speak and act in the name of God as anciently, and through the endowment and employment of these gifts among men, the truth has been restored, and we humbly proclaim it. ¶

Time will not permit even the mention of other, and there are many other, differences, but we repeat, we are Christians; we believe in the Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, in the holy scriptures, ancient and modern; we believe in the doctrine of the second coming of the Christ, and we believe that when he comes he will be as the Bible has promised, a glorified, resurrected Being, whose feet shall stand upon the Mount of Olives. We look forward to that coming and pray that God will help us and all men to prepare for it, in the name of Jesus Christ. ¶

Amen. ¶