With My Dear Wife And Missionary Companion...

With my dear wife and missionary companion, we are most grateful for the privilege of being invited to return at this conference time to be refortified with the spirit and the strength of these wonderful gatherings. I want to say to the First Presidency of the Church that the inspiration of their direction that has come to us during the past nine months has been in large measure the reason for the expanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ among the people of Europe. We have been in almost constant contact by telephone, by letter, and by other means, with the inspiration and direction of the First Presidency of the Church. In standing here this afternoon, I do so for and in behalf of the thirteen mission presidents who are now laboring in Europe, and I bring to this conference their greetings, as well as to the parents of their missionaries, and to all who have served in these many missions of Europe. ¶

These mission leaders are President and Sister T. Bowring Woodbury of the British Mission; President and Sister Levi B. Thorup of the Danish Mission; President and Sister John D. Warner of the Finnish Mission; President and Sister Edgar B. Brossard of the French Mission; President and Sister J. Henry Volker of the Netherlands Mission; President and Sister Ray Engebretsen of the Norwegian Mission; President and Sister Bernard P. Brockbank of the North British Mission; President and Sister Percy K. Fetzer of the North German Mission; President and Sister A. Gideon Omer of the Swedish Mission; President and Sister William S. Erekson of the Swiss Mission; and the new mission recently organized, President and Sister W. Whitney Smith of the Austrian Mission; President and Sister T. Quentin Cannon of the South German Mission; and President and Sister Stephen C. Richards of the West German Mission. And with them also I bring the greetings of 1700 missionaries who are now laboring in Europe. I am happy to report that I have had the opportunity during these past months to look into their faces, to feel their spirit, and once again to say within my heart and to proclaim aloud that I have confidence in the youth of this Church. ¶

I am grateful to say that there is a unification in the programs of our missionary work in Europe. Each and every mission is pursuing the work of proselyting in the same manner, and the faith and the testimony of the missionaries who are carrying the gospel to the peoples of these ancient lands are in evidence. Presaged by the visits made to Europe by President McKay at the time of the temple dedications, followed by other visits by members of the Quorum of the Twelve and by President Moyle, the visit by Elder Harold B. Lee at the time of the organization of the Manchester Stake — these have presaged an awakening among the people of these ancient lands. ¶

In August 1959 all of the European missions combined were responsible for ten percent of the converts of that month. ¶

In the month of August of this year, the European missions were responsible for thirty-five percent of the converts of the Church for that month, and I only reecho the faith and the testimony of the mission presidents who are there when I say that we haven't even scratched the surface. God is touching the hearts of the people, they are listening, and are receiving answers to their desires and their prayers. I only wish that I had the time to tell of the many personal cases of conversion that have come to these thousands of people in the past year, and to reassure you, my brethren and sisters, that these people are converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ. They have answered a call that has come to them under the power and the influence of the Spirit of God. I have always felt in my heart that when the Holy Ghost bears record to anyone that he ought to do something about that, and we are encouraging our missionaries in all of these lands to be alert to the reaction of the power of the Spirit in the minds and the hearts of these people, and in that very moment to persuade, to encourage, to teach, to testify, and to challenge that they may be willing to accept the gospel message that has come to them. ¶

I would be insensible to what is taking place in these ancient lands if I did not say that we are witnessing the fulfilling of a prophecy — a prophecy made by President McKay at the time I was called to go into the lands of Europe, wherein he stated to me that the time had come for the gospel of Jesus Christ to be expanded in these lands. The people are ready for the gospel, and we are finding them responding to the efforts of the missionaries as they bear record by the power of faith and testimony of the truths of the gospel unto those with whom they make this contact. ¶

One of the instructions that the First Presidency gave to me was to go into all of the lands of Europe, to go into every mission, and I think it was President Moyle who said to me that I might well go to the French Mission first. We heeded this counsel, and with my good wife I went into the land of France and in association with President and Sister Brossard, spent some three weeks there last February — a land where ninety-two percent of the population belong to the Catholic Church. We found our splendid missionaries responsive to motivation and a new method of contacting the people and teaching them by the power of the Spirit and testimony. ¶

We labored in that land, and under the inspiration of God the hearts of the missionaries were touched, and I shall never forget a meeting held in Brussels at the close of the tour of that mission with the missionary leaders, who went from that meeting with such faith that it engendered itself into the hearts of every one of the missionaries. We said to them, "We want you to go back to the people you have been meeting with, and where they have not listened to you before, to bear your testimony to them, and to do it with all the strength and the power that you have." From that day to this in that mission the Lord has awakened in the hearts of many hundreds the desire to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ. For here in a land rich with great cathedrals have come over 600 converts to the Church already this year, to meet in rented halls, but who now are looking forward to the time when they can associate with their brethren and sisters in the erecting of beautiful chapels to better serve the needs of old and new members alike. ¶

As of today there is not a single LDS chapel in all of France, and anyone who would question the faith of these people who have come into the Church would need only to be there and see the transition that they have made from cathedrals of worship to halls on second and third floors, and who now are laboring as stated with our other Saints to help in the erection of our own chapels. This has been true in all of the missions of Europe. ¶

I think one of the greatest testimonies that has come to me in these past months has been the responsiveness of the local members of the Church in Europe, where we have nearly 60,000. ¶

We transferred Church leadership to these local members. While in February of this year there were nearly 600 of our full time missionaries engaged in branch, district, and auxiliary activity, today there are fewer than a hundred, and it is the avowed determination of these wonderful mission presidents to see to it that local leaders be called in these also. This accomplished two things: It has relieved the missionaries that they can do more proselyting, and it has strengthened the branches of the Church in these countries. ¶

Let me tell you of one example which is typical. In the tour of the French Mission, when we visited the city of Nice, we had several missionaries there all engaged in branch work. One was the branch president, one was a counselor, another a superintendent of Sunday School, all were engaged. The thought had been that local brethren were not worthy or capable, but we sought out and called the best man we had. That afternoon we interviewed four or five of the local elders, and with Brother Brossard selected the one to be president of the branch. We called in his wife and asked her to support him. That night we set him apart and others of the local brethren into other positions thus relieving missionaries, and in the very next month these missionaries baptized twenty-one people, two of whom were doctors, one an attorney, and the other a schoolteacher. ¶

The Nice Branch today is strong, and since that meeting there have been approximately sixty people come into the Church in that one branch, and they are attending their meetings. ¶

I stood on the street at Trondheim in Norway where Elder John A. Widtsoe lived and played as a boy, and who later said that the day would come when many of the people of that land would accept the gospel, and we are witnessing the continuing of this prophecy in that land. We are seeing again the surge of conversions in Great Britain — a land that has seen more than 160,000 converts to the Church. Why would it be incredible that under the inspiration of God there could be more of these wonderful people accept the gospel and come into the Church? ¶

And in all of the lands of Europe there have been men and women of great strength and character that have added to the stability of this Church, and how grateful now to be there in the midst of this new time of awakening that will see more than ten thousand converts come into the Church in these lands this year; and in consultation with my brethren, these mission presidents, we feel that there is no end to where we can go under the impetus of the power of God as he reaches and touches the hearts of the people. ¶

These new converts are telling their neighbors about the gospel. They are letting their friends know about it. Let me tell you of one typical case. When I was in Denmark, I shook hands with a good sister by the name of Dagmar Petersen, who had been baptized a month previously. She had heard the gospel, but she said, "I am too old. All of my family would turn against me. I know Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God, but I do not think I'd better take the step." ¶

But thank the Lord for a missionary who had the courage to go to her one day when there was a baptismal service and say to her, "Sister Petersen, today is the day of your baptism. The font is filled. Will you come with me?" She hesitated for a moment, then went with the missionaries, walking the six or seven blocks to our beautiful little chapel and was there baptized. ¶

In this conference meeting she sat with one neighbor on one side and two neighbors on the other side of her. The one on the one side already had been baptized, and the other two were to be baptized the following Saturday, and she said, "I will never be happy until all my friends and all my neighbors have been baptized," and this wonderful soul left the chapel and then came back. She said, after entering the chapel again, "I cannot leave, the spirit is so great in this building. I must shake hands again," and then she went off down the street with her friends. ¶

Every Latter-day Saint desires to be a missionary. I think that this is in the heart of almost every member; but why is it, my brethren and my sisters, that we are so afraid to bear our testimonies to our neighbors? I think it was the Apostle Paul who said this: ¶

"For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!" (1 Cor. 9:16.) Then another great prophet of Israel has said this: "So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. ¶

"When I say unto the wicked . . . ¶

thou shalt surely die; and if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy hand. ¶

"Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul." (Ezek. 33:7-9.) I have often said to the Latter-day Saints, "If you cannot be a missionary, then at least be a Latter-day Saint, that you will not stand in the way by your manner of living, of those who will want to come into the Church." ¶

Now there are many wonderful things going on in Europe. Under the inspiration of the Lord we have called thirtyfour translators in the various countries. ¶

I wish I could tell you the story of each one, like Sister Charrier down in a little village in France. She heard the gospel, accepted it. We learned that she had a class of pupils whom she was teaching English. Her preparations have enabled her to help us with the translations into the French language. ¶

And she now is working diligently. ¶

I am thinking of Immo Luschin Ebengreuth of Graz, Austria, a man who heard the gospel message from two missionaries, and said to them before they got into a lengthy discussion on the gospel, "I would ask you only five questions before you go further." He was a confirmed member of the Catholic Church, and these are his questions: ¶

"1. Does this Church believe in marriage for all eternity? ¶

"2. Does this Church believe in the punishment for infants who are not baptized? ¶

"3. Do, in this Church, the rich and the poor have equal opportunity? ¶

"4. In this Church, do you baptize by immersion for the remission of sin? ¶

"5. In this Church do you lay on hands for the receiving of the Holy Ghost?" ¶

This man had never met the missionaries before, and we inquired as to where he got such questions. His answer was, "We have not been satisfied with our faith. My wife and I determined that through prayer and the desire to know that we would find out the true Church." ¶

The missionaries said, "Why, these are our teachings," and thus Brother Ebengreuth was baptized with his wife. This brother is a skilled interpreter. He speaks English, I am confident, better than I do, and he now will become a translator for the Church of the German language. ¶

This has been how the Lord has opened the way for us, so that by the end of this year nearly one hundred textbooks and manuals combined in six languages will have been translated. ¶

This has been a tremendous task and could not have been done without the help of the Lord. ¶

There is a wide program of microfilming going on in Europe. This is better known by others than myself, although I have kept an eye on it, and have had some indirect connection with it. I have seen the advantages to this work from heeding the counsel of the brethren. They instructed me to meet the ambassadors, the leaders of nations, and this has been my purpose, and in each and every country have I taken the time to meet these men when I could. ¶

In Norway when the head bishop of the state church carried a personal campaign to the press and elsewhere to prevent us from microfilming in that land, and succeeded also in getting it before the Parliament and when it appeared as though we might lose these privileges, the Minister of Education of the country of Norway, who is also the Minister of Religious Instruction, rose to his feet and said, "You cannot stop the Mormon people from doing this work." ¶

He said, "I have been to Salt Lake City. I have met these people. I know what they do with these films," and he made a defense for us largely because of the association that had been had with him here and in the land of Norway, and even the head bishop of the state church had to acknowledge defeat in his effort to prevent us from continuing with this work. ¶

And so the Lord is watching over the things that are being done. I am most grateful, my brethren and sisters, to report to you that these wonderful members in the lands of Europe are substantially true to the gospel of Jesus Christ. ¶

I have witnessed in their youth conferences their adherence to our Church customs and patterns and how they revere the ideals and the standards which have been set for them by our general youth organizations. I have been near to their Relief Society meetings and have seen how the influence of our Relief Society organization finds its way into their thinking, and they have a desire to do the will of the Lord. I do not know to what extent we may go in these lands when they have the instrumentation and the facility of proper buildings which they do not have now. ¶

I want to say to President McKay and President Clark and President Moyle and the brethren how grateful these people are for the coming building program that will see many chapels go up in places where they are so sorely needed to further the Church program and which also will provide greater tools of missionary work to carry on this great responsibility given to us as a Church to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ unto the people. ¶

Let me tell you just briefly of my two visits behind the Iron Curtain to be in attendance with the Saints at Leipzig where other of our brethren have been. ¶

These members live under hardened conditions. I said to one brother, "How do you stand it here?" He said, "We learn to follow the paths and the trails that are laid out for us. We learn to do what we are told, then we have no difficulty. Our children are picked up in the morning by bus at 8 a.m. and are delivered home at night. We have no control over their schooling nor over what is taught them: referred to by Brother Buehner in the morning session. ¶

I was greatly moved to hear the testimonies of our members there. ¶

One of the district presidents testified what to me is the greatest testimony I have heard in Europe: Under such conditions "no man," said he, "can tell me how to worship God in my own heart. ¶

Although there are nearly five thousand members in some thirty-nine branches we keep in contact with them as much as we can." I thought as we enjoyed this wonderful presentation of music here today, that but a few weeks ago, I listened to a combined chorus of the Leipzig and Dresden districts sing, "Shall the Youth of Zion Falter." The look on the faces of these young people was most stirring. All that day in our priesthood and leadership meetings, we gave encouragement to safeguard to the fullest extent possible our youth to cause them to remain true to the gospel because there are inroads being made. ¶

How grateful Sister Dyer and I have been to be associated with these people and with our wonderful missionaries, who with clear faces are bearing their testimonies to the peoples of Europe, and who are receiving these wonderful responses, and I know with all my heart that all this is but the fulfilment of prophecy. ¶

I bear you my testimony in all humility that this is the work of God. I have seen it in the lives of people. I have witnessed it as it causes men and women to change their lives, I have seen it become a motivating force for good, and I bear record that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world, the Mediator — not as it is preached by these predominant countries of the lands of Europe. And do you know that this is the message we declare when we go to the doors of the people the first time? ¶

It is through the testimony of our missionaries that the veneer of false concepts and the antiquities of these people are being laid aside for the acceptance of the gospel. It is more powerful than all other things that we do in our missionary work as we look into their faces and bear record that God has raised up a prophet, and they are listening to this message. ¶

We had a family of seven visited recently by the missionaries where the woman was about to close the door when the elder said, "I can see you are going to close the door. I am very sorry. ¶

We have such a wonderful message," ¶

and we have told them, "Before any door is closed, you bear your testimony." He said, "Before you close that door I want to bear my testimony to you of these brief things we have stated today," and he bore his testimony. The door closed, and the missionaries started for their home to their room, and it was raining. ¶

They had reached about a half a block when they heard a voice, it was the young boy of the home, fourteen-yearsold, who said, "Dad wants you to come back," and they went back and the father said, "I listened to your message at the door on the other side as you spoke to my wife, and I did not think much of it until that young man bore his testimony, and then something came over me that I have never experienced before, and now I have to know what this is." ¶

I had the privilege of shaking hands with this family of seven and hearing them testify that God had made known to them that these things are true. This is the reason why so many are accepting the gospel in the lands of Europe. We are proclaiming the message by testimony and through the Spirit. ¶

I ask the blessings of our Heavenly Father upon the great missionary work and upon our beloved brethren who lead us, without whose inspiration and direction we could not go forward in these lands and throughout the world, I pray in Jesus' name. Amen. ¶