In Just Five Days It Will Have...

In just five days it will have been ten years since I was called to become an assistant to the Council of the Twelve. ¶

This is the twentieth time that I have appeared in the Tabernacle in this position, and I assure you it does not get any easier. It has been a decade of joy and pleasure in visiting throughout the Church in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, and the Islands of the South Pacific — Tahiti, Tonga, Samoa, Cook Islands, Australia, and New Zealand. ¶

I am so grateful for the rich privileges and blessings which have been mine in association with members of the Church who are striving to effect in their lives the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ, members coming, I presume, from all the churches that are organized in the world. Some not having claim to any church have been willing to listen to the missionaries and in so doing catch the spirit of the great message which they have. ¶

I think of the words of Brigham Young, the leader of modern-day Israel. ¶

What a leader he was in taking the reins after the Prophet Joseph's martyrdom! He made this declaration: "Truth is our text, the gospel of salvation our subject, and the world our circuit." ¶

This Church embodies all truth. ¶

Faithful members in this Church know that all truth emanates from God our Eternal Father. He is the fountain source of truth. There is no half-truth or untruth in this Church. I remember hearing President George Albert Smith, another mouthpiece and prophet of the Lord, declare on several occasions, as he was making an appeal to others who might not yet have accepted the full truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ that they not give up the truths that they had espoused but further investigate and study and search for themselves, and they would find that which we proclaim is all truth, and that they would receive a witness of this. ¶

That is the appeal that I have felt has emanated from the sessions of this conference thus far. I know in every fiber of my being that this Church embodies all truth. My, how the world needs this truth today in order to put down error, in order to do away with the things which Brother Stapley has called to our attention. ¶

It is truth to believe that God lives. ¶

It is truth to believe that Jesus is his Divine Son, the Savior of the world. It is truth to believe that they, both of them, appeared to the boy, Joseph Smith, in the Sacred Grove. It is truth to believe that after he was proved and tested and tried he had the responsibility of re-establishing the Church of Jesus Christ again in the earth. It is truth to believe that all the powers of the Holy Ghost and the priesthood have been restored. ¶

Yes, I testify that truth is our text in very deed. And I also testify that we have the gospel of salvation, and not only salvation but also exaltation for all our Heavenly Father's children who will accept these truths and live in obedience to them. It is marvelous to see the gospel work in the lives of individuals. About six weeks ago today, I had the opportunity of being on the Island of Tahiti, where I witnessed there a few days before, the construction of a little Fall or chapel with a thatched roof, where the members had been willing to go out and cut down the coconut trees for the posts of that chapel and then tie the palms together for the roof, and then braiding the palms to make the sides so that if it stormed they would have protection from the wind and the rain. Otherwise, the sides would be open. ¶

There was a sand floor. Benches had been made at a cost of probably ten or fifteen dollars, the total cost of the little chapel about twenty to twenty-five dollars. As is the case all over the Church, those people were willing to put in their time and their effort, and in ten days the chapel was constructed. I had the privilege of dedicating that little building, with 134 people assembled — more than it could hold. Some were on the outside. The Spirit of the Lord was there. They were people willing to learn about salvation and exaltation. ¶

They were hungry for truth. ¶

Just a week ago tonight it was my opportunity and privilege to dedicate the Pesega chapel in Upolu, Western Samoa. The prime minister of Western Samoa was in attendance and spoke at the services, commending our people because he saw lives that had been changed into something worthwhile as they put away the material things of life, put away the pitfalls and the snares of the adversary, and were willing to cling to truth, having a vision which this Church offers to all the world of their possibilities and the development of their potential. ¶

About five weeks ago in New Zealand, in Christchurch, we went into a lovely building that is being constructed, entirely different from the one I have referred to at Faaoue in Tahiti. ¶

That is a glorious spot. Here was a young woman — many working — but one young woman all wrapped up, it seemed, with two or three sweaters because Christchurch can be very cold in winter and early spring, and there is nothing colder than a new building under construction without any heat, as you workmen know. Upon being introduced to her I learned that she had come all the way from Auckland at her own expense. She had a week's holiday, and she was willing to serve that time in painting inside the Church because she also has a witness of the truth of the gospel of salvation and exaltation. ¶

Many all over the world are gaining this witness that this is truth and that it offers something here in mortality to live by and also that glorious hope and promise of the Master that we shall have the privilege of dwelling with him and his father — his literal Father and the Father of our spirits eternally. ¶

Yes, this is a gospel of salvation — salvation from the clutches of Satan, salvation from the powers of men, salvation which gives us strength to live by here, and a goal to work toward. ¶

Brigham Young stated that the world was our circuit. I have not had the privilege of going around the world, but half of it at least, and as I say, I have met with hundreds of missionaries who are willing to leave their homes and their loved ones, their families, their personal pursuits, to go out and serve. I am so grateful for this privilege to mingle with the youth, to feel of their spirit, and to give them encouragement of what their possibilities are if they will continue to follow truth. ¶

I bring many greetings to all friends and loved ones from missionaries I have visited within the last six weeks in New Zealand, in Tahiti, and in Samoa. ¶

These missionaries are willing to teach the world that this is the gospel of truth, the gospel of salvation and exaltation, for the world is our circuit, just as Brigham Young said, and it applies more than ever today. ¶

"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world . . . and then shall the end come." (Matt. ¶

24:14.) This gospel of the kingdom is truly going forth to all mankind. Some nations today do not allow our missionaries to come in, but that is not the fault of the prophet of the Lord, President David O. McKay, who has the vision and the inspiration to guide and direct this great missionary labor. All who heard President McKay this morning in his stirring appeal for all to accept and follow truth must be impressed with the sincerity of his message. ¶

However, in many nations the gospel is being preached. ¶

So I pray that each one of us may be missionaries in very deed, living and teaching by that power of example and then following the exhortations that have been given to us in these sessions to read and study the scriptures and be so advised that we will be able to teach others by the spirit that they may feel it, receiving the same witness, or a like witness that we have. I bear you my testimony that these things are true and pray for his blessings upon us in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶