The Priesthood and the Missionary Cause

Brethren, this is a great privilege and indeed a great responsibility. I ask very humbly and sincerely for an interest in your faith and prayers. ¶

Victor Hugo once wrote, "There is nothing in the world so powerful as an idea whose time has come." I say the time to strike is here. The foundation for a new era in proselyting throughout the world has been laid for these many years past. This work involves all of us — Priesthood, Auxiliary organizations, and newly converted members. Through united action the revealed gospel of Jesus Christ can be presented to the world. ¶

We are indeed preparing for the Second Coming of Christ. This is the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. ¶

We have the task of representing our Heavenly Father in this preparation. We have as tools all that has gone before in all generations of time, including the revelation given to Enos. (Enos 10.) In Section 27 of the Doctrine and Covenants we read, speaking of the Priesthood of the Church, what the Lord has said: ¶

"Unto whom I have committed the keys of my kingdom, and a dispensation of the gospel for the last times; and for the fulness of times, in the which I will gather together in one all things, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth." (D&C 27:13.) And in the 124th Section we read: ¶

"For I deign to reveal unto my church things which have been kept hid from before the foundation of the world, things that pertain to the dispensation of the fulness of times." (D&C 124:41.) President John Taylor once said, "Where the Kingdom of God is not, there is nothing." Let me paraphrase this statement of Victor Hugo's which I read in the beginning: "There is nothing in the world so powerful as truth whose time has come," and that is exactly the position in which we find ourselves in the Church today. I do not know where we can find a more wonderful description of the world today and the need for the work and the power, loyalty and devotion of the Priesthood, than we do in the 84th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants: ¶

"And the whole world lieth in sin, and groaneth under darkness and under the bondage of sin. ¶

"And by this you may know they are under the bondage of sin, because they come not unto me. ¶

"For whoso cometh not unto me is under the bondage of sin. ¶

"And whoso receiveth not my voice is not acquainted with my voice, and is not of me. ¶

"And by this you may know the righteous from the wicked, and that the whole world groaneth under sin and darkness even now." (D&C 84:49-53.) It is our responsibility as brethren holding the Priesthood of God to bring light and knowledge and understanding into the lives of people who thus live in darkness. They are literally our brothers and sisters, the children of our Heavenly Father. And especially is it our task not alone to call the world to repentance, but to seek out those who are striving after light and after knowledge and after understanding, and to give to them the gospel of Jesus Christ and instill in their hearts a courage to accept the same and lend obedience thereto. ¶

This thought has come to me: That in the very act of calling those in darkness to repentance, we may perform a service which will not wholly mature in mortality. I think that this quotation from the 76th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants explains clearly what I mean. ¶

"And also they who are the spirits of men kept in prison, whom the Son visited, and preached the gospel unto them, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh; "Who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it. ¶

"These are they who are honorable men of the earth, who were blinded by the craftiness of men. ¶

"These are they who receive of his glory, but not of his fulness." (D&C 76:73-76.) I remember that President Ivins once preached the gospel to a very good man — good in his own way — and I heard this good man say more than once before he passed away that President Ivins had converted him to all of the principles of the Church save one — the principle of tithing. Except for that principle he would have joined the Church. I believe he was one of those who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh. He was - an honorable man, but he was blinded by the craftiness, and I might add, the pride of men. ¶

And so as we go about in our missionary work with the living, there is at least the possibility that we might make it easier for those who have passed into the Spirit World to accept the benefits of that which we do for them vicariously in the temples of the Lord, whereas without that experience that might not be the case. So we need not always despair if every contact we make is not immediately successful, but certainly we have an added reason to utilize every facility and every opportunity we have to bear witness to the testimony which we have in our hearts that God lives and that Jesus is the Christ, and that the gospel of Jesus Christ in its purity has been restored once again to the earth through the instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph Smith. ¶

We read in the Pearl of Great Price, in the Book of Abraham: "And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them." (Abraham 3:25.) If we do that in this life, then, the Apostle John says, that He will give us power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. And this thought contained in the gospel of John is repeated in the Doctrine and Covenants in the 39th Section: ¶

"But to as many as received me, gave I power to become my sons; and even so will I give unto as many as will receive me, power to become my sons. ¶

"And verily, verily, I say unto you, he that receiveth my gospel receiveth me; and he that receiveth not my gospel receiveth not me. ¶

"And this is my gospel — repentance and baptism by water, and then cometh the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost, even the Comforter, which showeth all things, and teacheth the peaceable things of the kingdom." (D&C 39:4-6.) The Prophet Joseph Smith, on one occasion, said: "Now I will give my testimony. I care for no man. I speak boldly and faithfully and with authority. How is it with the Kingdom of God? Where did the Kingdom of God begin? Where there is no Kingdom of God there is no salvation. What constitutes the Kingdom of God? Where there is a prophet, a priest, or a righteous man unto whom God gives his oracles, there is the Kingdom of God, and where the oracles of God are not, there the Kingdom of God is not." ¶

In the Doctrine and Covenants in the 5th Section we read: "And their testimony shall also go forth unto the condemnation of this generation if they harden their hearts against them; "For a desolating scourge shall go forth among the inhabitants of the earth, and shall continue to be poured out from time to time, if they repent not, until the earth is empty, and the inhabitants thereof are consumed away and utterly destroyed by the brightness of my coming." (D&C 5:18-19.) Now the execution of our duty is to call the world to repentance, and to do so effectively we must follow a plan. ¶

Our present procedure throughout the missions of the world and in the stakes is inspired. It comes to us as the result of a hundred and thirty years of inspired work, and it is not to be set aside or changed or altered by anyone lightly. We plead with you, my brethren, that in all of your Church work that has the remotest bearing upon missionary work that you seek to learn and understand, and then to teach the plan which has the approval of the General Authorities of the Church for use throughout the world in the preaching of this precious gospel, in order that every minute, every hour of devoted service on the part of our Priesthood may bear the maximum fruit. ¶

Now for a moment I should like to discuss some of the phases of this program which can bring such wonderful blessings into the lives of men, a promise that we will be saved and exalted in the Kingdom of our Heavenly Father as his sons. We have the further promise that step by step, through our faithfulness we may receive all of the blessings that the Lord has in store for those who serve him. ¶

First of all, I should like to say without any equivocation that the preaching of the gospel is the obligation of the Priesthood. It is one of those primary obligations. Every man who holds the priesthood can consider himself a part of the work. He meets the requirements of our Fifth Article of Faith, because he has the power and the authority given him by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority to preach the gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof. When we either shirk or shrink from this responsibility we are not doing justice to ourselves, and we are certainly depriving ourselves of the blessings which we should cherish above life itself. ¶

In every activity of the Church, there is no reason why we should not have uppermost in our minds the fact that the Lord has told us that, "this is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." ¶

We cannot accomplish this if we do not open our lips and exert ourselves to bear that testimony with which the Lord has blessed us. ¶

There is a dual blessing which attends every missionary effort, direct and indirect. First a blessing to the one who preaches the gospel, and second to the one who listens and is affected and converted thereby. There is nothing which strengthens men in their priesthood, develops the power of the priesthood within them, more than exercising their priesthood in behalf of others. ¶

We should be alert to every opportunity. We have some indirect methods as well as direct methods. We have a great program which is spreading rapidly through the Church, and should be encouraged at every turn of sharing the gospel with others. Sometimes we call it the "referral" program. It is really a program of sharing the gospel, and when circumstances may be such that you cannot accomplish this purpose alone, you need only utilize one of these cards which we are so happy to supply to you throughout the Church to give us the data by which we may send our missionaries — those who are directly engaged in this work — to call upon your friends and associates, and to supplement and to augment the work which you have started. ¶

It is not enough to send this card alone. Let us make use of our own homes. What is more wonderful than to invite a neighbor and his family into our home, and have our own family join with them in hearing these lessons that are given so ably by the missionaries. Teach the gospel to your family in the most direct way, as well as give to your friends a knowledge of the gospel. This will be satisfying to you and give you the feeling that you have done your duty in large measure toward these friends and neighbors who might otherwise live and die in our midst without the benefit of having heard the gospel. ¶

Let me say that the Lord in his wisdom, I am sure, has brought these multitudes of people to our door. Many times we have a receptive person in our next door neighbor. It is just as important, if not more so, to bless him than to go out into the world and seek someone whom the Lord may not have specially prepared for this message. I think we should strengthen the feeling within us that people who come in our midst have not come blindly. They may not have known why, but I am sure our Father in Heaven has had a purpose in directing their lives into our midst. We should never let one of them come and go without hearing in an effective manner our message. ¶

We have been told that in one mission 40 percent of these referrals result in baptisms, whereas in that same mission only three percent of those contacted directly by tracting from door to door are converted. We have something over 6000 missionaries in the Church today, and brethren, we need 12,000. I would not be satisfied with 10,000 because I am sure the Church needs 12,000 and the Lord expects us to produce. I believe this is our challenge today. ¶

President McKay has it in his mind that other missions should be opened up in other parts of the world in which we have done little or no missionary work. There are tremendous fields of opportunity, but we have not enough missionaries today to properly man the missions that are already organized. ¶

One mission president this week in our conferences with them said that he was short 30 missionaries, and others need comparable numbers. ¶

It is our feeling, brethren, that every auxiliary organization of the Church should put aside many other objectives for the moment at least, and concentrate in their auxiliary work in building up the desires of our people, certainly our parents, to have their sons and daughters go on missions. The auxiliary organizations cannot do this alone. They need the help of the home. ¶

I told the Primary conference Friday that I thought their slogan ought to be, "Every member baptized at eight, and a missionary at twenty." Now we are getting not more than one out of four, 25 percent. We need 50 percent. We should have a hundred percent. But to get this 12,000 we need 50 percent of the young men when they become 20 years of age, and not 25 percent. ¶

This responsibility falls directly upon every home, every father, every mother, and every bishop, and I say every auxiliary organization. None of the auxiliary organizations of the Church, none of the Priesthood quorums of the Church, can feel that they have accomplished their purpose unless we can so train and inspire our young people that they will answer these missionary calls. ¶

We have another need for missionary work. We have called the high priests quorums of the Church into action, and they have performed a marvelous work, but have only scratched the surface. ¶

Since 1957 they have distributed 114,000 copies of the Book of Mormon, and sold 56,000, making a total of 170,000 copies of the Book of Mormon. ¶

We ask every bishop and every high priest quorum president, if you do not already have in your file the memorandum of May 25, 1956 sent out by Brother Spencer W. Kimball's Committee on the distribution of the Book of Mormon, to please get a copy. ¶

Out of the meetings we have held this week with these wonderfully inspired mission presidents, we have learned that it is doubly effective to distribute marked copies of the Book of Mormon. Brother Kimball is ready to give you the list of passages which should be marked. He suggests, with the Missionary Committee's approval, that it would be a wonderful undertaking for the Senior Aaronic Priesthood, under the direction of the high priests quorums, to so mark the Book of Mormon. ¶

Do you see what it would do? They could not mark many without reading the marked passages themselves. It is also the practice in some of our missions to have converts recently baptized render this service, and thus insure their familiarity with these wonderful passages of scripture contained in the Book of Mormon. ¶

So I say, brethren, let us speed up this program, and through the instrumentality of the high priests quorums to redouble these sales, and to do so in keeping once again with this inspired program which has come to these inspired Brethren, and not undertake to deviate too far from the program. As long as you will go as far as the program goes, we will encourage you to go as much farther as your wisdom and inspiration will lead you, but do not stop short of that which we have found so effective by those who have followed the plan of presenting the gospel implicitly. ¶

Now the next and final subject that I would like to call to your attention in reference to this missionary work is the fellowshipping of converts. It is one thing to convert to the point of baptism. ¶

We do not expect every convert to have a perfect knowledge and understanding of the gospel at that time of baptism. ¶

They need only to have received the witness in their hearts that the message which they have heard is true. ¶

They are prepared, even though it be for the moment, to put aside the things of the world and to humble themselves, to be baptized in the waters of baptism, and to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost through the laying of hands. ¶

They can receive thereby an added force, and power, to assist them in carrying out the covenants they make with the Lord in the waters or baptism. I am sure the Lord intends us to be right on hand — every one of us — to give them a helping hand, and to teach them day by day the principles of the gospel that they might grow in strength and in knowledge and in understanding. ¶

We have areas in the Church where large numbers are being baptized, and at the same time 80 percent or more of them are remaining true to the Church year after year. It is this 20, or this 30 percent, that somehow or other we neglect. We fail to take hold properly just at the right moment. Sometimes there is a little difficulty, or a little time lapse between baptism by the full time missionaries on the one hand and integrating them into the ward or stake in which they live. We are all one Church. We are not worrying about statistics or who gets credit for a baptism. The thing we are concerned about is that when a person is baptized and accepted into the Church, that we fellowship him wholeheartedly and see to it that he is given every opportunity to progress. ¶

Here again is an individual opportunity for service — an opportunity to call others to a simple service — so that every convert can have not only some specific individual or committee on hand to take care of his needs, but every member of the ward can make it a point to fellowship them in the meeting house; to visit and to know them in the community; and to encourage them in endless ways to do as we should do. ¶

It is wonderful, my brethren, to have the opportunity to work in the service of the Lord. I think sometimes it is even more wonderful than that, to think that every worthy man in the Church has the same opportunity for service. ¶

It makes no difference whether you ar working in the ward or as a General Authority, you are in the same service. ¶

Those of you who hold the Higher Priesthood hold the same Priesthood, and those of you brethren who are holders of the Aaronic Priesthood may soon hold the Melchizedek Priesthood if you desire and but live for it. ¶

May God bless us to so live day by day that we may be worthy to be his mouthpieces in declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ as it has been restored in these latter days through the Prophet Joseph Smith, I pray humbly in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶