President Mckay My Brethren And Sisters I...

President McKay, my brethren and sisters, I sincerely trust that the Lord will give me the inspiration and the desire I have in my heart to bear testimony to you that I know Joseph Smith was indeed a prophet, that he actually saw the Father and the Son. There appeared to him an angel called Moroni, and through Moroni, he received the golden plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated and made available to the people of the world. ¶

The Book of Mormon in and of itself is important because we have the history that has to do with the people who lived upon this, the American continent. In it we find the prophets of old indicating that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, would be upon this, the American continent, which event took place when he appeared to the Nephites after his resurrection. He organized the Church, and gave them the same privileges and opportunities that existed among the people in Jerusalem. ¶

Through Joseph Smith, we received the priesthood, both the Aaronic and the Melchizedek. John the Baptist appeared to the Prophet and Oliver Cowdery and bestowed upon them the Aaronic Priesthood, the priesthood that he held at the time he baptized the Christ nearly two thousand years ago. ¶

Later Peter, James, and John appeared and bestowed upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery the Melchizedek Priesthood. ¶

The Prophet Joseph was visited by Elijah, the prophet of old, who gave him the authority and direction whereby he was to go forward with the work for the dead, that families would have the opportunity of being sealed for time and eternity in our marvelous temples. ¶

He was given many other revelations, those that had to do with the organization of the Church itself, the Church of Jesus Christ as it existed over two thousand years ago. It was called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by revelation. ¶

He received many other revelations. ¶

And I sincerely hope and trust, my brethren and sisters, that all of us will read these revelations and understand what they mean to us as individuals and what they can do for us in our families and particularly in contact with those not of our faith. ¶

One revelation in particular I am interested in. It is called the Word of Wisdom. It was given to the Prophet Joseph on February 27, 1833. This marvelous revelation had to do with the use of tobacco and alcohol, and also indicated what we should take into our bodies to keep them sweet, clean, and strong. ¶

Now, it has been a hundred and twenty-five years since the Prophet Joseph gave this marvelous revelation to the world. It has taken medical science a long time to discover that tobacco and alcohol are not good for the body. ¶

In section 89, the Doctrine and Covenants, verse 4 it reads: ¶

"Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you: In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation — " ¶

There are some individuals in the Church who feel that the Word of Wisdom did not come by revelation, but here we have it, in the words of the Lord. We have received it as revelation. ¶

When he said, ". . . In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days . . . ," surely these are the last days when great companies are endeavoring to sell to men and women over the country, regardless of age, alcohol and tobacco. ¶

In 1956, the American people spent $10,500,000,000 for alcohol. They spent for tobacco in 1956, $5,373,000,000, proving the truth of this statement made by the Prophet that in the last days conspiring men would endeavor to encourage and suggest to the people that they should use tobacco and alcohol. ¶

On the use of these two poisons, the American people spent approximately $16,000,000,000. I mention that to you because we have only spent $14,350,000,000 for education. We have been spending less for education than we have for the use of tobacco and alcohol. ¶

On a religious basis and for welfare purposes in the United States, we have spent $3,356,000,000— approximately one-fifth of the amount we have spent for the use of tobacco and alcohol. ¶

Now please keep in mind this wonderful revelation was given to us 125 years ago. At that time, medical science had not given any consideration to the use of tobacco and alcohol. So, we can come to but one conclusion: Joseph Smith received a revelation of the Lord whereby we are to protect ourselves against these individuals who are anxious that young men and young women over the country shall use alcohol and tobacco. ¶

There is another marvelous revelation given to the Prophet Joseph that has to do with the welfare program. This wonderful revelation is found in The Doctrine and Covenants, Section 78, Verse 3: ¶

"For verily I say unto you, the time has come, and is now at hand; and behold, and lo, it must needs be that there be an organization of my people, in regulating and establishing the affairs of the storehouse for the poor of my people, both in this place and in the land of Zion— " ¶

This was given to the Prophet in Hiram, Ohio, in March 1832. The Lord realized then as the Church was organized, there must be an organization of some kind whereby those who were in need could be helped. He said there should be an organization, ". . . regulating and establishing the affairs of the storehouse . . . both in this place and in the land of Zion — " ¶

The great welfare program was given first to the Prophet Joseph in the form of a revelation from our Heavenly Father. Now we find these storehouses all over Zion, and wherever you find stakes, you also find these wonderful storehouses for the benefit and the assistance of those who are in need. ¶

This brings us to the conclusion, in the final analysis, that Jesus Christ and the Father appeared to the Prophet Joseph and gave him the direction, inspiration, and the revelations that were necessary to organize the Church, not only to organize it, but to protect the people and guide and direct them against all that is evil and contrary to the mind and will of our Heavenly Father. ¶

In the Saturday Evening Post of October 11, 1958, there appeared a wonderful statement on the establishment of the welfare program. The world is beginning to recognize that the welfare program is necessary and essential in assisting those who are in need of help, be it food or clothing or whatnot. ¶

Joseph Smith actually received the revelation whereby the great welfare program came into existence. The Lord realized that the time would come when we would need it all over the land of Zion, wherever our people are to be found that we might be able to assist them and provide them with the necessities of life. ¶

Another marvelous revelation is one that is not encouraging, but nevertheless is true, and we must give it consideration. It is section 87 of the Doctrine and Covenants and it reads: ¶

"Verily, thus saith the Lord concerning the wars that will shortly come to pass, beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina, which will eventually terminate in the death and misery of many souls; "And the time will come that war will be poured out upon all nations, beginning at this place." He could only have known this through the revelations that were given to him by the Lord. Then also He said, "For behold, the Southern States shall be divided against the Northern States, and the Southern States will call on other nations, even the nation of Great Britain, as it is called, and they shall also call upon other nations, in order to defend themselves against other nations; and then war shall be poured out upon all nations. ¶

"And it shall come to pass, after many days, slaves shall rise up against their masters, who shall be marshaled and disciplined for war." (D & C 87:1-4.) In many cases I am quite sure we all think this has to do particularly with the slaves in the Southern States, but I believe, brethren and sisters, that it was intended that this referred to slaves all over the world, and I think of those, particularly in the land of Russia and other countries wherein they have been taken over by that great nation and where the people are actually the slaves of those individuals who guide and direct the affairs of Russia and China, and where the rights and the privilege to worship God and to come to a knowledge that Jesus Christ is his Son is denied them. ¶

He also said, "And it shall come to pass also that the remnants who are left of the land will marshal themselves, and shall become exceedingly angry, and shall vex the Gentiles with a sore vexation. ¶

"And thus, with the sword and by bloodshed the inhabitants of the earth shall mourn; and with famine, and plague, and earthquake, and the thunder of heaven, and the fierce and vivid lightning also, shall the inhabitants of the earth be made to feel the wrath, and indignation, and chastening hand of an Almighty God, until the consumption decreed hath made a full end of all nations;" (Idem, 5-6.) In the matter of famine and plague and earthquakes, we can go back to World War I, where 40,000,000 individuals lost their lives either through the war or through famine or plague. ¶

And in the world war just passed wherein our own nation was involved, we lost 408,789 of our men. In Korea, we lost 33,629. ¶

The Prophet Joseph gave us this marvelous revelation in 1832. The Civil War came in 1861; the war between Denmark and Prussia in 1864; Italy and Austria in 1865 and 1866; Austria and Prussia in 1866; Russia and Turkey in 1877; China and Japan in 1894 and 1895; Spanish-American in 1898; Japan and Russia in 1904 and 1905; World War I in 1914-1918; then the next war was a comparatively small one, Ethiopia and Italy, when the people in that land of Ethiopia were taken over and controlled by Italy. I am grateful to the Lord that they now have their freedom. Then, the World War just passed and, of course, the Korean War. ¶

These nations of Russia, China, Korea, Syria, Israel, Egypt, Arabia, Lebanon — all of these nations are now in an attitude of war of some kind. Just what the results are going to be, I do not know. Of course, from the revelations we can and do know that some day there will be one great war in a certain area, that area possibly may be in and around some of these countries I have mentioned, probably around Israel. ¶

In thinking of these nations, there is another marvelous revelation given by one of the prophets over three thousand years ago, from Proverbs, Chapter 6, Verses 16, 17, 18, and 19, wherein Solomon said: ¶

"These six things doth the Lord hate: ¶

yea, seven are an abomination unto him: ¶

"A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, "An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief. ¶

"A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren." ¶

This statement by Solomon, thousands of years ago, was given for the information that in the last days some of these individuals who lead and guide and direct nations would have in their hearts, "A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood." ¶

As we think of the events that have taken place in the last years, we wonder whether or not these are the individuals who are going to cause the great world war which sometime will come before the Christ appears. ¶

What is going to be our position? ¶

What is yours and what is mine? What is that of the membership of the world? ¶

What is that of the membership of all of those who believe in Jesus as the Son of God? In the marvelous revelation given to the Prophet Joseph in the Doctrine & Covenants, section 88, verse 126, he said this: ¶

"Pray always, that ye may not faint, until I come, behold, and lo, I will come quickly, and receive you unto myself. Amen." ¶

So, if we are loyal and devoted to Jesus Christ, if we live the gospel as we should, if we are sweet and clean, and if war and difficulties come, as he said, "Pray always," for if we will pray to God and to his Son Jesus Christ, there is no question but that the Lord will help us solve our problems and give us the guidance and the direction that we need. ¶

Then, finally, he said this, "Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come; for behold, it cometh quickly, saith the Lord. Amen." (Ibid., 87:8.) ¶

As I think of this statement, "stand ye in holy places," I wonder what these holy places are. I am sure these holy places, one of which, brethren and sisters, could be our own homes if we are prayerful, if we are teaching our sons and daughters to know that God lives, to know that Jesus Christ is his Son, to know that Joseph Smith actually saw the Father and the Son, if we have our prayers day and night, if the whole family has the knowledge and the testimony that God actually lives, and the Lord will help us solve our problems and overcome them. Our homes should be a holy place. There is the holy place where we may go once a week and partake of the Sacrament and be taught the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ by those who are assigned to teach us and give us more knowledge about the gospel. ¶

Another holy place, of course, is the temple — these wonderful buildings of the Lord Jesus Christ wherein we can go and be sealed together, father and mother, sons and daughters, for time and eternity. In this holy place, we can do the work for the dead who did not have the same privileges and opportunities that you and I have had. ¶

I do testify to you that Joseph Smith was a prophet who saw the Father and the Son and other heavenly beings in establishing the priesthood and organizing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. May all the world accept this testimony, I pray humbly, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶