Dear Brothers And Sisters And The Listening...

Dear brothers and sisters and the listening audience: ¶

I thought I would like to discuss with you today briefly what, to me, is the most important thing in a man's life. ¶

Jesus said: ¶

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." ¶

(Matt. 6:33.) Where should one seek to find the kingdom of God today? ¶

The Apostle Paul said: ¶

"And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; "For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: ¶

"Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: ¶

"That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive." (Eph. 4:11-14.) Can the world claim that we have come to a unity of the faith? ¶

In view of the hundreds of churches claiming to be the church of Christ and yet teaching conflicting doctrine, is it not clear that men are being tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine as the Apostle Paul stated, and is this not because the apostles and the prophets whom God placed in his Church to bring them to a unity of the faith were all put to death, except the Apostle John who was promised that he might tarry to bring souls unto Christ until he should come in his glory. ¶

What became of the Church and kingdom of God after the Savior and his apostles were put to death? ¶

The Apostle Paul warned the brethren of his day not to look for the coming of Christ until there should be a falling away first. These are Paul's words: ¶

"Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, "That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, not by letter as from us, as that day of Christ is at hand. ¶

"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition"; (2 Thess. 2:1-3.) Could a more positive statement be made that there would be a falling away before men could look for the coming of Christ? ¶

Flow universal was this apostate condition to be? ¶

When the Apostle John was banished upon the isle of Patmos, the angel of the Lord showed him all things from the war in heaven when Satan was cast out with a third of the hosts of heaven until the final winding up scenes when we would have a new heaven and a new earth, for all former things would have passed away, and the angel said: ¶

". . . Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter." ¶

(Rev. 4:1.) And the angel showed John the power that Satan would have in the world and said: ¶

"And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, (the members of his church) and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations." (Ibid., 13:7.) In light of these statements it is clear that the Lord permitted his apostles to see the time when his Church and kingdom would not be found upon the earth. ¶

But he also let them see the time when his kingdom would again be restored to the earth. ¶

After the Apostle John was shown by the angel the power given Satan to make war with the Saints and to overcome them and power was given him over all kindreds and tongues and nations (see idem), he was shown how the Lord would restore his kingdom to the earth. He said: ¶

"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, "Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." ¶

(Ibid., 14:6-7.) Thus the everlasting gospel was to be restored to the earth by an angel being sent from the heavens. It was to be preached to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, showing again how universal the departure from the truth had been or there would have been no need of an angel being sent from heaven to restore the everlasting gospel to the earth. ¶

The Prophet Isaiah also saw the day when men would be teaching for doctrines the precepts of men, and he said: ¶

"Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder: ¶

for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid." (Isa. 29:14.) Our message is to acquaint every lover of truth with this marvelous work and a wonder or the everlasting gospel brought back to this earth by holy messengers sent from heaven in our day. ¶

The Prophet Amos tells us the need of a prophet in these words: ¶

"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." (Amos 3:7.) Thus, he, who would be sent to prepare the way of the coming of the Lord in the latter days, could be none other than a prophet. ¶

We bear solemn witness unto the world that the Lord has raised up a prophet in this dispensation to restore his everlasting gospel or his kingdom upon the earth, and that prophet was Joseph Smith. ¶

When Jesus bore testimony to Nicodemus of what the Lord had done, he said: ¶

"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness." (John 3:11.) And we testify that we do know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God who was visited by God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ when, following the admonition of the Apostle James, if any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. (See James 1:5.) He went into the woods near his father's house, when only in his fifteenth year, to ask of God which of all the churches he should join, and the Savior of the world whose right it is to sit in judgment upon all men told him, he should join none of them, for they were all wrong and were teaching for doctrine the commandments of men, thus merely declaring the fulfilment of the prophecies we have already referred to. ¶

Following this glorious vision, other heavenly messengers were sent to restore all things spoken by the mouths of all the holy prophets since the world began as declared by the Apostle Peter which would have to transpire before the Savior would come again. (See Acts 3:19-21.) Moroni, a prophet who lived upon this land of America about four hundred years after the birth of Christ and who had custody of the records that had been kept, of the hand dealings of the Lord with a people that he led to the land of America six hundred years before the birth of Christ, which record was recorded on gold plates, was delivered by Moroni to the Prophet Joseph Smith with the Urim and Thummim or interpreters by use of which he was able to translate these records which we now have as the Book of Mormon. ¶

John the Baptist, who was beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, brought back the Aaronic Priesthood. ¶

Peter, James, and John, apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ who were with him upon the mount of the transfiguration, restored the Melchizedek Priesthood with the holy apostleship. Thus men were again empowered by ordination to perform holy ordinances here upon the earth necessary for the salvation and exaltation of men so that such ordinances would be binding in the heavens, and again to establish the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth. ¶

When Jesus, as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, told his disciples that the temple at Jerusalem would be destroyed so there would not be left one stone upon another, his disciples said unto him: ¶

"Tell us, when shall these things be? ¶

and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" ¶

(Matt. 24:3.) Then Jesus told his disciples of the judgments that would befall the nations, of wars and rumors of wars and pestilences and earthquakes and famines, and then he adds: ¶

"Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake." (Ibid., 24:9.) Then he adds: ¶

"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." (Ibid., 24:14.) This is the only gospel, through obedience, to which men can obtain membership in the Church and kingdom of God here upon this earth. ¶

So, if we understand the scriptures, we would know that the truth, the everlasting gospel, the marvelous work and wonder Isaiah spoke of, would be found with a people who have been hated by all nations. Such has been the history of this people and this Church. ¶

The Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were shot in cold blood by a wicked mob, and many of the Saints were killed for their testimonies, and the Saints were driven from their homes time and time again until they were driven beyond the borders of the United States. ¶

Recently, I sent a copy of a book explaining the teachings of this Church to a distant relative in the East, an intelligent man. He wrote back indicating that it was the first book he had ever read in favor of the Mormons. He said, "I doubt if you have any conception of the erroneous ideas the people of New England have regarding the Mormon people. I sometimes wonder if they believe the tales they tell." ¶

But though the Lord had said that his people would be hated of all nations, nevertheless, he promised the Prophet Joseph Smith and his associates: ¶

". . . power to lay the foundation of this church, and to bring it forth out of obscurity and out of darkness, the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which I, the Lord, am well pleased, speaking unto the church collectively and not individually—" (D&C 1:30.) It is gratifying to us to have lived long enough to see the realization of this promise. ¶

Last year 115,000 new converts joined this Church because they believed through the power of the Holy Spirit in answer to their prayers that Joseph Smith truly was a Prophet of God. ¶

On May 17 of this year (1963) the "Ten Commandments Award" of the Fraternal Order of Eagles of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was presented to President McKay. It was the third time in fiftysix years the award had been presented by the organization. ¶

The award, an engraved copper scroll mounted on walnut, read: ¶

"To President David O. McKay— for leadership and strengthening the moral and spiritual fabric of American life." ¶

Then, Mr. Thacker, representing more than a million members in the United States said: ¶

"We wish to express our appreciation for your leadership as head of one of the great religions and faiths of our country. We present it in honor to your church and faith, and to you personally. May you reign forever." ¶

How appropriately he expresses our feelings toward our great prophet and leader of today. ¶

On March 29, 1960, a youth conference was held in Washington, at the call of President Eisenhower. Some seven thousand delegates from all over the United States attended that conference. President Marion D. Hanks of the First Council of the Seventy of this Church was asked to give the keynote address at that conference, and as he sat down, the man conducting the same made this statement: ¶

"As I sat here, I reflected that Mr. ¶

Hanks comes from people that were driven from our region of the country because of the things they believed and suffered bitter persecution for their ideals; that went finally to the far reaches of the country where they thought themselves away from all this. ¶

"Now we have invited a leader of that people to come here to talk to us of the same ideals and principles for which we drove them away." ¶

It takes truth a long time to travel. ¶

In a book recently published by Marcus Bach entitled Strange Sects and Curious Cults he devotes one chapter to the Mormons. I quote the following therefrom. ¶

"Mormonism has outlived its persecutors and outlasted most of its critics and with good reason. It is the most truly American of all America's religions. Its founders, its miracles, its holy books, its prophets, its martyrs, and its spirit grew out of American soil. Across America from coast to coast are the credentials of its faith, and it is in America that it has built its holy city and its sacred state," ¶

During the summer of 1959, the president of the Deep Springs College near Bishop, California, a member of the Episcopal Church, taught at the Brigham Young University Summer School. ¶

In an interview with a newspaper reporter, he said: ¶

"It may well be that the Mormon people have the key that will eventually save this country." ¶

We knew that, but we didn't know that he did. Then he adds: ¶

"I am impressed with the extremely high level of intellect I encounter in the students here and even more important the character of the students." ¶

And is this not the true test of true Christianity? ¶

I have a son-in-law in Los Angeles who has interested a retired minister in the accomplishments of the Mormon Church. He said to my son-in-law a short time ago, "I would like to do something worthwhile before I die. I would like to write a book in favor of the Mormon Church." While my wife and I were there during our last summer's vacation, my son-in-law had fifty typewritten pages prepared by this man under the title A Methodist Preacher Likes Some Things about the Mormon Religion. I was asked to read the fifty pages which I did, and there were many very complimentary things said about our Church. I quote just a few paragraphs taken at random from the fifty pages: ¶

"The Mormons need to know that what has been good for the development and practice of the Welfare state in Utah has fundamental principles that God designed for the world at large as well as for the Mormon Church. If Mormon principles of the Welfare state have been good for the Mormon people — it is also a good thing to give it out to the whole world without stint or favor." ¶

***** ". . . The despised Mormon Church has something in its makeup, the church world needs and no amount of dodging this fact will furnish escapement from our theological muddle of the present hour." ¶

***** ". . . Joseph was irregular like all prophets of God, and I believe he was a prophet of God, in spite of any proven blunders that might be suggested on the part of his enemies." ¶

***** ". . . The Mormon church has something that the world needs, and ignorance of Mormon truth will not help us solve the problems of our national life." ¶

***** ". . . No two men in the religious history of America were hated like Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, but they had something the world needed in spite of any personal faults they might have had in life." ¶

***** ". . . It is high time that some honest scribe wrote about the importance of the truth that Joseph Smith and Brigham Young preached while being the most brutally opposed men in American religious life." ¶

It is wonderful to note how the Lord is fulfilling his promise that he would bring his work forth out of obscurity and out of darkness. ¶

To all who are listening to me this day, I say unto you, that God the Eternal Father has restored his Church and kingdom to the earth, that he has built his Church again upon the foundation of apostles and prophets with Christ our Lord as the chief cornerstone; and no matter what your faith may be, I promise you that if you will investigate and join this Church with sincerity of heart, that it will enrich your lives beyond anything that you could purchase with the wealth of this world. Hence, I repeat, the greatest thing in this world is to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all other blessings will be added. I prize my membership in his Church and kingdom above all other things I have in this world, even to my life itself. May God bless you all, I pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶