Beloved Brethren And Sisters It Is A...

Beloved brethren and sisters, it is a joy to be back in this part of Zion. As the other brethren have mentioned their tours in foreign lands, my very recent memories were stirred. I bring to you also the greetings of the thousands of members of the Church of all nationalities in South America. ¶

Last Saturday and Sunday I was in Peru with various gatherings of Saints. ¶

I have enjoyed greatly the touring of the missions in those countries. They are like giants just yawning and stretching and ready to go to work. There are great agricultural empires, mines, cattle and industries, and a great people made up of immigrants from all over the world, particularly Europe, and much influenced by European immigration and culture. They are a great people. ¶

It was inspiring to me to note the thousands of Italians in the Church and the thousands of members with Spanish and Portuguese backgrounds and from these places where we have not yet established regular missions. But our work is telling and the leaven is leavening the lump. There are four hundred missionaries in those six countries in which we are proselyting in South America, your sons and daughters of whom you can well be proud. ¶

The work is progressing and accelerating in speed. It took twenty-four years to get the first thousand converts in Argentina. It took only eight years for the second thousand, a year and seven months for the third thousand, and they expect from now on to get a thousand plus each year. The other countries, likewise, are inspiring, and it was a joyous experience. In most of the many branch chapels there hangs the picture of the prophet of the Lord with his counselors, and the prayers of the Saints are constantly for them. ¶

We were received well by the countries, by their officials, and by the press. I was interested in a comment made by a representative of one of the largest papers in Brazil. She had heard my sermon the day before, on Sunday, in which I had spoken rather strongly about the restoration of the gospel. ¶

She said to me, "Why was Joseph Smith persecuted and martyred?" I replied, "Well, very much for the same reason that the Christ was crucified." ¶

And she asked, "Why was that?" I answered: "Because he said, 'I am the Son of God.' " And her next remark shocked me: "He should not have said it, should he? He really was not, was he?" ¶

I thought she was joking. I looked into her eyes for a moment and thought she was going to smile. But she did not. And I said firmly: "He said he was the Son of God because he was the Son of God." ¶

Last Sunday I read the Easter paper of one of the largest cities in South America. The author was a minister with letters after his name. I read the entire article and in the half a page given front page notice, he never mentioned the Lord of heaven and earth, the Redeemer, the Savior. He always spoke of "Jesus." He quoted two or three scriptures which mentioned Jesus of Nazareth as being more than the carpenter's son, but never in his writing did he ever give any other title to the Christ who shed his precious blood for him. ¶

I asked four hundred missionaries, "What think ye of Christ and the claims that are made?" And I heard four hundred inspiring testimonies from youth — sure testimonies, ringing with conviction. ¶

I am reminded of what Paul said: ¶

"And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. ¶

"For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified." (I Cor. 2:1-2.) I could not see how we could really celebrate an Easter without discussing the Lord Jesus Christ. Why even the devils know that Jesus is the Christ. On one occasion the devils came crying out and saying, ". . . Thou art Christ, the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was the Christ." (Luke 4:41.) On another occasion ". . . the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?" (Acts 19:15.) And another time, ". . . they cried out saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God, art thou come hither to torment us before the time?" (Matt. 8:29.) As was suggested this morning, I believe that there was a considerable conviction in the heart of Pilate, who was constrained by his conscience to let the Savior go free, but because of political ambitions and other reasons, in spite of his wife's importuning, he delivered him to be crucified. But even after that, he wrote on the cross in three languages, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, this famous statement: ". . . Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews." The Jews offended came and said, ". . . Write not, The King of the Jews but that he said I am King of the Jews. ¶

"Pilate answered, What I have written, I have written." (See John 19:1922.) I think there was more than casualness in Herod's taking the lives of numerous little boys. I think he really believed that this could be and might be the promised and prophesied Redeemer who might take his kingdom from him. ¶

You have read of Nathanael, the man without guile, who said, as he saw the the Christ: ". . . Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel." (Ibid., 1:49.) Paul had hardly made his transformation, he had just barely received back his sight from his unusual experience and he went straightway into the synagogues and preached Christ, "that he is the Son of God." ¶

Why will the divines of the day purposely avoid the names of the Deity whom they would choose to call only Jesus. There are tens of thousands of Jesuses in the world. In all the Spanish-speaking countries you find them on every hand. They call it Jesus (Ha-siis), but it is Jesus. But there was only one Jesus who became the Prince of light, the Author of our salvation. ¶

Joseph Smith said: "... I had actually seen a light, and in the midst of that light I saw two Personages, and they did in reality speak to me; and though I was hated and persecuted for saying that I had seen a vision, yet it was true; and while they were persecuting me. ¶

reviling me, and speaking all manner of evil against me falsely for so saying, I was led to say in my heart: Why persecute me for telling the truth? I have actually seen a vision; and who am I that I can withstand God, or why does the world think to make me deny what I have actually seen? For I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it, neither dared I do it; at least I knew that by so doing I would offend God, and come under condemnation." ¶

(Joseph Smith 2:25.) Almost every time a man of the press approached me in South America, his first question was: "What are you doing and what is your objective in South America?" And I said to him: "Do you remember in the Acts of the Apostles, of the travels of Paul, where he went into Asia Minor, to Greece, and to Rome, and possibly even farther west? That is what we are doing. One of my colleagues is just returning from the South Seas; another has just returned from South Africa, another from Europe. We are doing what the Lord said, '. . . Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. ¶

" 'He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.'" (Mark 16:15-16.) "And you mean to say that you are doing the work that Paul did?" ¶

And then I said, "No. I never could do the work of a Paul, but I am covering the world with my brethren as did Paul and Peter, only that Paul covered a small part of the earth. Today we are going to the ends of the earth and this is one of the four corners." ¶

The Lord testified of himself in addition to the numerous testimonies of him. ¶

He said to his Father in that glorious prayer: "Father, glorify thy name. ¶

Then came a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." (John 12:28.) There is a very interesting distinction between the introduction of our Father in heaven of his Son on the waters of Jordan, the one on the Mount of Transfiguration, and a little later in the Nephite country. He said to John at Jordan, and those others who may have heard it, perhaps those who became the apostles of the Lord, ". . . This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matt. 3:17.) He said on the Mount of Transfiguration, as reported by Peter, ". . . This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him." (Ibid., 17:5.) To the Nephites, after some transcendently glorious things had happened, he said a little more. Introducing his Son, Jesus Christ, his words were: "Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name — hear ye him." (3 Nephi 11:7.) There had been a glorification program since, there had been a death, a resurrection, an ascension, and now he had returned to the earth again. ¶

As he went into the clouds and was received and absorbed by them after his forty days upon the earth, there were many standing looking up into heaven, and the angels stood by and 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.) After his appearance to the Nephites, it was a long time before he returned. ¶

He could not well return to a people who did not believe in him. He needed somebody who had a great, consuming faith, who would receive him as Jesus Christ, Redeemer, Savior, Son of God. ¶

That happened in a grove in New York State in the early part of the nineteenth century, and the same words were said again by a Loving Father, who had already delegated this particular work to a Glorified Son, and he said again to a young boy, ". . . This is my Beloved Son. Hear Him!" (Joseph Smith 2:17.) You remember what Peter said when the disciples were asked, ". . . Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am?" ¶

They spoke up and said men thought him to be Elias or one of the other prophets, and then the Lord said again, and I can imagine his piercing eyes, wondering and expectant eyes, ". . . But whom say ye that I am?" And the answer was one of the most stirring and glorious of all statements made, ". . . ¶

Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." And the next statement followed which must never be overlooked: ". . . flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." (See Matt. 16:1317.) In other words, man has not told you this, but my Father has revealed it unto thee, a great revelation has come unto thee, and ye know it. ¶

I asked four hundred missionaries the Lord's question which faces every man, woman, and child on this earth: ¶

"Whom do ye say that I the Son of man am?" And I was gratified at the hundreds of replies from your sons and daughters, saying "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." ¶

And that is my testimony to you, my brothers and sisters, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶