My Dear Brothers And Sisters It Is...

My dear brothers and sisters, it is a great pleasure again to be with you, and to participate in that which has taken place this day. I pledge anew my loyalty to the First Presidency and to the Quorum of the Twelve, and tell you that I know in my heart these men are called of God as prophets, seers, and revelators. I am grateful for their leadership, and I am grateful for my associates among the General Authorities. These are wonderful men, and I am very, very grateful for the privilege I have of working together with them. ¶

Last Sunday I talked by telephone with all the mission presidents in the European Mission and received their reports. I am happy to tell you that the missionaries are well; they are happy; they are enjoying their work; and we are having great success in the European Mission. ¶

Usually in summer we have quite a drop in converts during the time the Europeans take their summer holidays, for they take them very seriously. This year, just as the holidays were beginning, we had a wonderful visit from President [Henry D.] Moyle and from Elder [Gordon] Hinckley. These two wonderful men, devoting themselves to the work of the Lord, came over to help us. I just can't express to you our gratitude for the help they gave us. As a result of their visit our August conversions were twenty-eight percent above our conversions for July. Our September conversions were thirty-seven percent above our August conversions. ¶

These new converts are good people. ¶

They are excellent people. We were instructed to emphasize group instruction, and we were told — in fact, these brethren insisted — that we strive for true conversions. We are only interested in those people whose hearts had been broken and whose spirits are contrite. ¶

These are the people who have come into the Church. We have some wonderful, strong, new converts. ¶

These are dedicated converts, villing to sacrifice and willing to work. There was nothing new in what these brethren told us. We can summarize it in just about four simple statements, but they are fundamental principles; for instance, there is happiness in work, and we all know that. There is joy in dedication, and that we know, too. There is success in spirituality, and achievement comes only through sacrifice. By using these magical keys we have had our present success, and things look very wonderful for the future. ¶

This success is represented by a recent meeting held in the city of Berlin. When President EIRay L. Christiansen came to visit the temples, President Percy K. ¶

Fetzer wanted to hold a special group meeting in Berlin and take full advantage of that wonderful man and his ability to sway and move people. So a special evening conference session for investigators was called. Usually people are pretty tired after they have been in meetings since eight o'clock in the morning. However, an evening meeting was called, and the people who came exceeded their wildest expectations. ¶

There were 687 people in that investigator meeting to hear the testimonies that were given, and to hear the wonderful address that Elder Christiansen gave. ¶

From that meeting we had 460 good referrals that the elders in Berlin are working on. Is it any wonder that the month just past established a new record in the number of conversions in the Berlin Mission? They are looking forward to the future with great enthusiasm. The missionaries are on fire, so is the mission president, and I am walking up in the clouds, too. ¶

You know, there is no blessing without sacrifice, but it isn't a sacrifice unless it hurts. I like President Tanner's definition of sacrifice. "Sacrifice means going without or giving up something which is good for something which is better." Now, our missionaries are willing to make such sacrifice, and truly they give up many good things. They sacrifice from two to two and a half years of their lives. They put aside schooling, employment, cars and sports, vacations, and dancing, swimming and friends, families and sweethearts for a time, to work harder than most of them have ever worked before in their whole lives. ¶

Why do they do it? As we were coming home, we talked to a sweet little girl on the plane, a stewardess of Norwegian birth. We talked to her about our religion and asked her the Golden Questions of course. She said that she was very satisfied with her present religion. She said that she was a member of the state church, and so I congratulated her on her activity. I said, "It pleases us to know that people believe what they profess." She said, "Oh yes, I am very active in our church. We attend church regularly." ¶

I said, "That is wonderful. I am happy to hear that." ¶

"Yes," she said, "we go every Christmas and every Easter." ¶

"I am happy to know that," I answered, and she went on to say, "My father thinks we can worship God in free nature." ¶

I said, "Indeed we can, too, but is that what Jesus Christ told us to do?" ¶

"Well," she said, "I don't know." ¶

Then I told her about the sacrifices that were made by our people who believed from the bottom of their hearts that the work they were doing is true, and I said to her, "Would you give up your present job as a stewardess, paying your own way on a mission for two or two and a half years to proclaim the divinity of the faith that you profess?" ¶

She shook her head. I said, "Would you make such sacrifices as our people make?" And then I told her some of the things done in our Church by our people. I said, "Would you willingly pay ten percent of your income to back up your belief? Would you fast monthly and give a fast offering the way we do in our Church as a demonstration of your belief?" ¶

"No," she said. "I am amazed at the faithfulness and the devotion of your people." I said to her, "Then why do we do it?" I ask you that question, and I ask people all over the world why such things are done in this Church. Well, they are done simply because people are convinced in their hearts that these things are true, and that is the only reason, just as Paul said: ¶

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." ¶

(Rom. 1:16.) Furthermore, Christ said, beginning at the sixteenth chapter and twentyfourth verse of Matthew: ". . . If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. ¶

"For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. ¶

"For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:2426.) Truly, these young Mormon missionaries are obtaining the greatest thing in this whole life, a testimony of the divinity of Jesus Christ. Do you wonder, then, that when they come back home at the close of their missions they are strong and stalwart, courageous and unafraid, and that they fit well into life again to take up their positions rightfully as leaders? We have had timid young girls come to us in the mission field so frightened when they first came, that they would cry when you would look at them. When they get through with their missions, they are not afraid of anything. They are full of courage and determination, willing to sacrifice because of the testimony which is within their hearts. ¶

There is another missionary endeavor which I would like to mention just briefly. It is not well understood in the Church, for it is too new. To me it represents something which proves definitely that this Church is led by a prophet. I am referring to a new revolutionary concept which we call our labor-missionary or better, our building missionary program. It began very quietly in the far reaches of the Pacific Ocean but has now spread to all parts of the world, where skilled and successful men like many of you sitting right here today have responded to a missionary call to serve without salary, and have taken their families into foreign lands and foreign places to build beautiful church buildings. We are having so many converts come into the Church that it is all we can do to provide places for them to worship. Most churches are having a hard time to get congregations. We are having a hard time to provide meetinghouses for our congregations to meet in. ¶

Think of the sacrifice that this requires, taking a family with you into foreign lands, where the children have their schooling partially interrupted, living under difficult conditions, leaving business connections, devoting themselves to the faith. Yet I have never heard one of them complain, nor express any regret for the course they have taken. They are converted, and they are accomplishing a great work. ¶

Young people can come into the Church now and almost immediately respond to a call to serve. By sacrificing they become strong, capable people. ¶

Let me just give you a couple of quick illustrations. ¶

One young man in southern Germany came into the Church. He had only been in the Church a very short while. ¶

He was a printer by trade. Some of the missionaries talked to him about their farewells, since he was being called as a building missionary. So, being a printer, he designed and printed his own mission program just the way our young people have their programs printed here. He went to his father, who was not a member of the Church, and asked him if he would speak on his farewell program. ¶

His father said, "Why, no, I am not going to have anything to do with those Mormons." The boy said, "Father, you can't shame me before my people. They expect that my father will come to my farewell program and say something kind about me." ¶

Well, the father was put in a delicate situation, and so he said, "Well I'll do it." He went to the farewell very unwillingly, but when he came to the meeting hall and saw the love of those people for his son, when he saw how they respected him, when he saw what his son was actually going to do, he understood the program for the first time. When he was called upon to speak, he stood up in the meeting and talked himself right into the Church. ¶

We had a little widow sister in Berlin whose son was called on a building mission. At first the brethren were unwilling to call him because they said it would mean too great a sacrifice. When his mother heard about it, she said, "I want my son to go on that mission," ¶

and he went. She has taken a job to support him while he is on his labor mission. ¶

Our young people, even our new converts, will sacrifice, because of the strong testimony they have of the truthfulness of this work. Miracles are happening, therefore, right in front of our eyes, for this is God's work. Like the builders of Solomon's temple, these young men and women are erecting buildings and houses for the children of God to honor and worship the Father. They are building holy houses of prayer and worship, beautiful beyond anything we used to dream of. ¶

And what does this do to the people? ¶

Well, you see, under this wonderful new program we are not just building buildings. We are building men and women, and when they return they are going to be instructed in the Church, its principles, and in righteousness and be able to fill any position we ask them to. I will venture to say that in years to come, as we begin to establish more and more stakes and wards in foreign areas, that those building missionaries will be some of those who will show the necessary leadership to fill such positions as bishops and high councilmen and stake presidents of those foreign stakes. ¶

This is a wonderful work. I am grateful to be part of it. I am grateful for prophets to lead us, for faith to accomplish these modern miracles, but all this is only possible because of the knowledge in the hearts of the people that Jesus is indeed the Living Christ. ¶

The hearts of our people are placed upon the altar, a living testimony to the divinity of this work. This testimony I also leave with you, for I know that this work is true, and I say it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶