I Am Very Grateful My Brethren To...

I am very grateful, my brethren, to have the privilege of speaking with you shortly tonight. I am very thankful for this glorious song ["I Know that My Redeemer Lives" sung by Dennis Clancy, a Scotsman] we have just heard. ¶

I am sure it has made each one of us thrill with the testimony that we have of the divinity of the Savior and of our great love for him. I am sure, too, that you have been greatly delighted and benefited by these illuminating and stimulating addresses that have been given by Brother [Franklin D.] Richards and Brother [Gordon B.] Hinckley on our missionary program. ¶

I would like to talk with you for a few moments about another phase of this missionary program. I have in mind the responsibility we have of fellowshiping our new members. I have often thought that instruction in the gospel without fellowship in the Church is as incomplete as baptism without confirmation. It is utter folly for us to avoid or ignore the responsibility we have of properly fellowshiping those who are brought into the Church. ¶

I have been impressed with one other thing, too, about our missionary program, and that is that conversion cannot be limited only to instruction in the gospel doctrines. Conversion must include an acceptance of us as a people and an acceptance of our way of life and of our mode of worship. How can a person be fully converted to us and our work just by studying the Bible or any of the scriptures? The people must come into our meetings; they must become a part of us; they must see what we are doing. We must assimilate them. We must make them a part of us, and when we do that, then they really become converted and help to build the kingdom. ¶

You remember how Paul wrote to the Ephesians: "Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God." (Eph. 2:19.) They, very obviously, had a fellowship program in that day. It was very necessary that the new converts Paul and his associates made should be fellowshiped with the rest of the Saints, and it was all-important that the rest of the Saints be willing to fellowship them and take them into their arms and make them a part of them. ¶

Unfortunately, at times we have missed out on that in our day. I have sometimes thought as I have heard some of the stories I have listened to that we almost had established an Iron Curtain in some areas. There can be no Iron Curtains in this Church. When the people are brought into the Church, we must receive them, and we must do more than merely shake hands with them and say, "How do you do." We must make them a part of our organizations. They must fit into our program. ¶

We must assign them activities. They must learn early to help build the kingdom. ¶

Now, as I see this fellowship program with respect to the missions, it begins with the missionaries. The missionaries themselves, whether stake or full-time, must begin the fellowship program by bringing their new investigators into our Church meetings as early in the teaching process as is possible so that the new investigators may be introduced to the bishopric, may be introduced to others in the ward, may see our way of conducting our worship, may see the class of people we have in our membership, may get the feel and the spirit of the Latter-day Saints. That is a part of the conversion process, and as the missionaries do that, they will find that it will be easier to teach them. ¶

Then also, as early as possible in the teaching process, it is all-important that the co-ordinator couples whom you have been asked to appoint be introduced to these investigators so that they may become "friends in court," so to speak, and then when the time for baptism arrives, that this co-ordinator couple be present at the baptism and be there to help welcome them into the Church and to help them in the process of further assimilation. ¶

The First Presidency have told us that, whenever it is feasible, our new converts should be confirmed in the Fast meeting. If it is not feasible then the new convert being baptized should be confirmed, as we say, at the water's edge. But where it is possible to have it arranged for the Fast meeting, the confirmation act may become a beautiful act of assimilation. ¶

I have thought often that it would be wonderful if, when the time of confirmation arrived, and it was in the Fast meeting, the bishop would announce to the congregation, "Brothers and sisters, we have the missionaries with us here this afternoon. Yesterday, they baptized the family of Brother and Sister John Jones. We are now ready to welcome them into the Church by confirming them members of the Church. We would like to invite the missionaries to come forward now and join us in the circle." ¶

I have thought what a wonderful thing it would be if the three members of the bishopric and the missionaries who were there would stand together in the circle and then call Brother John Jones to take the chair. The bishopric and the elders jointly would lay their hands upon his head while one of the missionaries actually was voice in the confirmation. ¶

And I have thought what a wonderful thing it would be after that if the bishop would reach out his hand and welcome Brother Jones and extend him the hand of fellowship. Then the other members of the family would be confirmed and welcomed in the same way. ¶

I think it would be wonderful after the confirmation of a family of that kind for the missionaries to present to the bishop then and there, the certificate of baptism and confirmation for each and for the bishop to stand up in the Fast meeting, and say, "We have all now witnessed the confirmation of the family of Brother and Sister John Jones. ¶

We have their certificates of baptism and confirmation. All who are willing to receive them now as members of our ward and full-fledged members of our Church, will you signify?" ¶

I would like to see them actually vote to bring them in just as if they were new members moving in from another ward or another stake. It is a part of the assimilation process. It makes these people feel more a part of things. ¶

Then I would like to see the brother in charge of the Senior Aaronic Priesthood work in the ward approach this newly baptized and confirmed brother at the close of the Fast meeting and say, "Brother Jones, I am Brother Smith, and I have charge of the senior work for the Aaronic Priesthood in this ward. Now that you are a member of the Church you become automatically eligible to join the work for the senior brethren in the Aaronic Priesthood. Our meeting will be held next Sunday morning at 9:30. I would like to come for you next Sunday about 9:15 and bring you to this first meeting and introduce you there to the rest of the members so that you can begin to feel a part of our group." ¶

I believe that as soon as feasible, that man should be ordained a deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood so that he will have the sense of belonging, so that he will feel a part of the priesthood. If he is worthy to be baptized, surely he should be worthy to be ordained to the priesthood. ¶

All of this is part of the assimilation process. I believe, if I may go back a few steps, that it would be a wonderful thing for the Relief Society people to be brought into the assimilation program even before baptism. Is there any reason why Sister Jones, the investigator, could not be invited to come to Relief Society and be escorted there by one of the class leaders, or by one of the officers in the Relief Society? And then as she is baptized, she is already in the habit of coming to Relief Society. ¶

She will just continue on. It eases the process of transition. She is already in the Relief Society. She will now continue to be in the Relief Society. ¶

The same thing is true with the Sunday School and with the Sacrament meeting. The missionaries and the coordinating couple will introduce these people to the Sunday School and to the Sacrament meeting even before baptism. ¶

They will begin to get them into the habit of coming. The transition is made easy because they continue doing the things they have already been doing. And likewise with the Primary and the MIA. ¶

They are some of the finest missionary organizations we have in the whole Church and have brought thousands of people into the Church. Their contacts may well begin before baptism. ¶

If we all work together, not only on the conversion process but also on the fellowship process, we will hold on to our converts. But would it not be a terrible tragedy if we were to bring thousands into the Church and then lose a number of them because we failed to do our work in fellowshiping these new people as they come in? ¶

Brethren of the priesthood, I appeal to you. Fellowship these new people. Let them feel a part of us. Let them fit into our organizations. As they grow in faith, they will want to grow in works. ¶

We must all remember that faith without works is dead. It is so true of our assimilation or fellowship program. ¶

These people may be full of faith as they come into the Church, but if they are left without works or activity will their faith not die? ¶

I talked with one couple one time who complained because they had been told by the bishop that they could not be assigned to any work for six months after baptism, and I thought what a tragedy. Faith without works is dead, and faith without activity can die in new converts. Therefore we need to give them work. We need to give them activity. ¶

Now, if I may take just a moment or two more, I would like to talk about another phase of this fellowship program. The fellowship program has been marvelously successful with respect to new converts through the missionary program. Brethren, it can be equally successful with respect to the reactivation program. As people are being reactivated into the Church, again we must learn to fellowship them, just as we will fellowship new converts. The reactivated are just as much in need of feeling a part of things as the new convert, and there are many reactivated people who will feel just as strange in the Church surroundings as will a new convert. Some of them may feel more strange because they have a past record that would make them feel ill at ease as they come into the meetings. ¶

And as they are reactivated, are they going to be left cold, off to themselves? ¶

If we are going to erect an Iron Curtain against a man just because he happens to smell of cigarets, are we going to convert him to the gospel? We must fellowship the reactivated ones just as much as we need to fellowship the newly converted ones. ¶

So I invite your attention, brethren, to a twofold fellowship program in the Church: first, a sincere effort to fellowship all these new converts who are coming in; and second, a sincere effort to fellowship the reactivated ones as we bring them in. Fellowship means salvation. Without it we may lose these reactivated ones, and we may lose our new converts. ¶

So brethren, let us organize into a great fellowship movement. Let us hold out the hand of fellowship to every one of these reactivated ones, and the new converts. Let us fellowship them through the organizations and make them a part of us because the Lord so directs. They are to be ". . . fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God." ¶

That we may accomplish this is my humble and earnest desire in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶