Surely We All Owe A Debt Of...

Surely we all owe a debt of gratitude to this marvelous choir. Brother Condie and the choir have won our hearts this morning. There are many individuals in the Church and out of the Church all over the world who greatly appreciate their beautiful music and the selections of their renditions. ¶

While standing before you today, I pray that the Lord may sustain me and direct me, and I shall be grateful to each of you for an interest in. your faith and prayers. Truly, this is a humbling experience. I am sure it would be a humbling experience for you, too, but probably that is as it should be because we are here this morning— this beautiful Sabbath Easter morning — in true worship. We acknowledge God as our Heavenly Father. We accept Jesus Christ as the Savior and the Redeemer of the world. We teach his birth in Bethlehem, his life in Galilee, and his sojourn in Jerusalem. We accept the mission of Jesus as the Savior of the world. We recount that mission, his contribution, the trial of Jesus that President Clark so beautifully told us about yesterday, and finally the crucifixion of the Savior on the hill of Calvary in Old Jerusalem. ¶

A few years ago as I stood by the side of that tomb in Old Jerusalem I think I loved Jesus more then than I have ever done before in my life. ¶

We accept the resurrection of Jesus as true, and we know he came forth from the tomb as the Resurrected Christ, thereby giving eternal life, probably God's greatest gift to man. ¶

We teach and we recognize the appearance of God, the Father, and his Son, Jesus Christ, to the Prophet Joseph in the Sacred Grove. There are some of our friends who can hardly accept that as truth, but we would plead with them to study and pray, and that testimony will come to them. We acknowledge Joseph Smith as a prophet of God. He was raised up, preserved, and divinely called. We teach and we believe in the revelations received by the Prophet Joseph. These revelations are true, and this chosen prophet left to the world more doctrines of life and salvation than any other person who ever lived, save Christ himself. He was truly a divinely called and inspired prophet, and sealed his testimony with his life and blood along with his wonderful brother, Hyrum, who was also martyred at Carthage Jail in Illinois. ¶

Yes, we accept these things as factual, and we know without a doubt that they are true; that the Lord revealed his will to this prophet, and after the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith another great prophet was raised up, preserved, and divinely called — the prophet and President Brigham Young, who had a great mission to perform in leading this people on that unknown journey. After the death of the Prophet Brigham Young, other prophets were raised up and divinely called to lead the Church, each one in his time a true prophet of the Lord. At the present time one stands at the head of this Church and is the mouthpiece of God, our Eternal Father. President David O. McKay is a prophet of the Lord, just as were the prophets of old. I bear testimony to you that I know this to be true, and I know it by the power and gift of the Holy Ghost. The Spirit of the Lord testifies to our spirits and we believe. ¶

I would like to address some of my remarks to a very large group of brethren whom I regard as fine men and of great potential power and strength and in whom I have great interest, the senior members of the Aaronic Priesthood. I know many of them, and I want to express to them our love and our friendship. We have only one desire, that we can share with them some of the joys and blessings that we are privileged to enjoy. When you stop to think of this large group of men, if it were possible to assemble them, we would fill this tabernacle ten times as it is filled this morning. ¶

Where are they today, and what have we done about it? We want to tell them that we love them, and we welcome them back into activity in the Church. We want to assure them of our interest in their welfare. We have been greatly impressed with the progress made by these wonderful men, and we would plead with all of our brethren of this group and other groups that if for any reason you may have become inactive in the Church, we want you back because it will bring you greater joys and blessings than have ever come to you any other way in your life. We can promise you that the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ changes the pattern and the attitude and the personality and the personal spiritual strength of men who will accept Christ and the teachings of the gospel. ¶

May I give you a quotation from Alma to express to you how we feel: ¶

Behold, O Lord, their souls are precious, and many of them are our brethren; therefore, give unto us, O Lord, power and wisdom that we may bring these, our brethren, again unto thee. (Alma 31:35.) In a recently completed survey, with 224 stakes reporting regarding the activity of their schools for senior members of the Aaronic Priesthood, we are pleasantly encouraged and grateful to see what is taking place. We have, for instance, at the present time, approximately 367 schools now in session for the senior members of the Aaronic Priesthood and their wives, some of them on a ward and some on a stake basis. ¶

We have had enrolled in these schools in the last year more than 17,000 of these wonderful men and their wives, and we are learning of some glorious experiences that have come into the lives of these brethren. ¶

Just yesterday I shook hands with a former senior member of the Aaronic Priesthood who now is a stake president. ¶

It is not uncommon for us to shake hands with some who are now bishops. ¶

May I give you a few excerpts from some of the special survey sheets regarding these schools, the comments of which are from the senior members of the Aaronic Priesthood? ¶

Perhaps the greatest benefit that I received from the school was the feeling that my Church was still very much interested in me in spite of my inactivity for so many years, and that I was still needed and wanted in the Church; that I still had a chance to make up in a way for years of absence; that there was still time left, but that I must not procrastinate longer. ¶

Another: ¶

I have completed the first school, and I recommend that all the senior members of the Aaronic Priesthood attend these schools. ¶

It is a great feeling to feel yourself grow as you get interested again in the Church. ¶

This school seems to give us the spark that we need for most of us to get started again, and I would recommend to every senior member of the Aaronic Priesthood that you attend these schools. ¶

It was through this school that my wife and I received the spark of hope, and now we are working our way to the temple. ¶

It is wonderful to see how the lives of individuals may be changed, and the lives of sons and daughters likewise are changed, because they are happy when their fathers and mothers make adjustments in their own lives. To sons and daughters who come from a divided family — the father a member of the Church or the mother a member of the Church — you can do so much for your mother and your father. A girl, a while ago, sent this letter to her father and mother in answer to a letter that she had received. ¶

Dear Mother and Daddy: I received your letter, and I have never had such a pleasant and wonderful surprise in my life as when I read it, telling me that Dad was now going to join the Church. I started to cry, and I cry every time I think of it because really, I have never been so happy. This is the blessing that I have been praying for ever since I was big enough to know how to pray. ¶

Young people, you, too, can do that for your fathers and your mothers. ¶

Dad, I know you will now be greatly blessed, and if you will live the commandments our Heavenly Father has given us, you will soon have the Holy Priesthood which will give you the power to do the things that you have never dreamed of doing before. I think it will be so wonderful if you will both live worthy of being married in the temple some day. ¶

I cannot think of a more glorious wedding gift for me than to be sealed to both my mother and father and my sweetheart, Jim, on the same day. Another great thing will be that now, Daddy, you will be able to assist in many ordinances of the Church, and someday assist in the blessings of my babies. That will mean so much to me. ¶

Nothing could have ever made me happier than this has made me. ¶

I love you, and as your daughter, I am very proud of both of you. You have made me so happy, and I will always be what you expect me to be. ¶

We are humble and truly grateful for our membership in this Church. We do not wish to appear arrogant or haughty, because we realize that we are not as good as we should be, but we are thankful we are as good as we are, and are grateful to God for what we can yet become. ¶

The Church offers us the opportunity to worship God and a chance to come into an awareness of him. With him there is healing of sorrows, strength for the day, and peace at the last. If we have been at odds with ourselves or with God, our Father, and the universe, reconciliation with the Master, with our fellows, and our soul can come. That change will come about if we are humble, repentant, and seek the assistance of our Heavenly Father, but it can never take place without communion with the Lord and a spiritual religious belief and faith. ¶

The understanding of God's goodness enables man to meet everyday needs, problems, and troubles. We can come to a reconciliation with God, with people, and with ourselves. Despair and discouragement can be transformed to confidence, guilt to forgiveness; cross purposes and uncertain goals can be changed to spiritual strength. Yes, one's real personality heretofore utterly alone can take on a new character with true humility. True religion gives one strength to ask forgiveness of one's fellow men. If that be difficult, and sometimes it is, all we need to do is to become humble, and it gives us spiritual strength to ask for God's forgiveness. If we can only accept and thoroughly recognize that God is our Father, if we will listen to his words, we will not be troubled. ¶

The gospel as taught by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will lift one higher than any other philosophy on earth. It will give one a higher knowledge, more to live for and more to die for than any other church on the earth, because it is the true Church of Jesus Christ. The truths of the gospel are beautiful. As a church and as a people, we are particularly blessed with the scriptures of the Book of Mormon, and I would like to say to my friends who may be inactive, or those not of the Church, the Lord has made all of us a very definite promise in the Book of Mormon (see Moroni 10:3-5), and I hope that every man within the sound of my voice who has never done so will read the following. The Lord said: ¶

Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts. ¶

And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. ¶

And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things. (Moroni 10:3-5.) Elder Orson F. Whitney has written the following concerning Mormonism: ¶

Mormonism's magnanimity — And yet "Mormonism" is said to be narrow, small and illiberal. Narrow, forsooth! Then where will you find breadth? Where find justice, mercy, magnanimity, if not in a religion that saves the living, redeems the dead . . . , and glories all who repent? ¶

"Mormonism" a small thing? It's the biggest thing in the universe! It is the Everlasting Gospel, the mighty soul-ship of the dispensations, launched in the days of Adam upon the heaving ocean of the ages, and now on its last voyage over the stormy billows of Time to the beaconing coast of Eternity! (Saturday Night Thoughts.) God can win strange victories in the hearts and lives of those who believe in him. Too many people have been trying to do without God, perhaps that is the reason for some of their failures. ¶

Too many people are trying to give irreligion the garb of respectability. ¶

They have acted as if we could acquire education without acquiring a knowledge of religion, and wisdom without the experience and practice of religion. ¶

Perhaps we have not found peace within ourselves. The lack of peace usually goes with the lack of belief in the Almighty God and a knowledge of the availability to us of his guidance. ¶

We have not been able to establish peace among the nations of the world. ¶

With all our knowledge, we yet urgently need to gain sufficient understanding completely to recognize that there is an inescapable cause and effect relationship between these mounting failures and our diminishing faith. Unless we are willing to prepare for a new dark age, we must soon acknowledge that as good as we think we are, we are not good enough to get along without the God our forefathers found indispensable. ¶

Every person might follow the admonition of Alma: ¶

Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down into the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God. ¶

(Alma 37:37.) May I close with this thought: ¶

We expect to pass through this world but once; therefore, any good that we can do or any kindness that we can show to any living person, let us do it now. Let us not defer it or neglect it, for we shall not pass this way again. ¶

May God favor us by granting to each of us the companionship and the association of his sweet, holy Spirit, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. ¶

Amen. ¶