Brothers And Sisters, Humbly I Stand...

Brothers and sisters, humbly I stand before you here this day, grateful in my heart for the privilege that I enjoy with you of being present at this great conference. I have enjoyed the messages of my brethren, commencing with the wonderful message sent to us by our noble President and read so beautifully by his son Robert. We have been thrilled with the messages that have been given and thank the Lord for our leaders. I thought of the words of the song, "Come, listen to a prophet's voice, And hear the word of God, And in the way of truth rejoice, And sing for joy aloud." (Hymns, 46.) Now we feel like singing for joy when we listen to the words of these prophets and know how much the Lord has given us in our day that is not understood by the world. ¶

He That Cometh to God

I had a conversation with a relative of mine a short time ago. He made this statement which has remained with me and which I have thought a lot about. He said, "No one believes the Lord." I have thought of that, and I thought, wouldn't it be wonderful if all of our Father's children believed him as he talks to us through his prophets. Suppose that he were with us, and we could sit down with him and could be instructed by him personally, as was the Prophet Joseph, and he would tell us the reason for our being here upon this earth and what our mission is to be. Would it make any more difference in our devotion and our willingness to serve him than it does when he speaks to us through his prophets? ¶

You remember what the Apostle Paul said: ". . . he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (Heb. 11:6.) And through the Prophet Joseph, the Lord said, "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." (D&C 82:10.) ¶

Commandments and Promised Blessings

As I have studied the gospel, and not only through my study but in my observation in the years of experience I have had in this Church, I haven't found any commandment from the Lord without a promised blessing far greater in value than the thing that the Lord asks of us. He puts us to the test to see if we believe him. ¶

Remember when this earth was formed, or ready for forming, the Lord looked down, saw there was space, and said, ". . . we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell; . . ." referring to the sons and daughters of God in the spirit world. ¶

"And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them." (Abraham 3:24-25.) Wouldn't it be wonderful if we all believed the Lord enough so that we would be willing to obey his commandments that he gives us? ¶

Action Without Questions

Over fifty years ago I heard Elder James E. Talmage tell this story. It has remained with me all these years. He told about a group of tourists or travelers in the Alps who were snowbound. The Lord sent an angel to a monk and told him about these people, asking him to go and rescue them. The answer was, "Why?" And the minute he said, "Why," the angel disappeared. He went to the second monk and delivered the same message, and the answer was, "How?" And the angel disappeared. He went to the third and delivered the same message, and the monk said, "When?" And the angel remained and delivered his message. ¶

It shouldn't be for us to say, when the call of the Lord comes or when we understand a command that is given to us through the prophets of God, "How can we do it?" or "Why does he ask us to do it?" but "When, oh, God the Eternal Father, as thy son or daughter, wouldst thou have me do the thing that thou hast commanded?" ¶

Commandments and a Way to Keep Them

And then I thought of the words of Nephi. You remember when he was commanded to go back and get the plates from Laban. He said, "I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." (1 Nephi 3:7.) That is my faith, and that is the faith we all should have. ¶

Speaking now of the promises of the Lord to those who keep his commandments (and there isn't time, of course, in a meeting like this to discuss many of them), you remember what Jesus said: "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." (Matt. 5:8.) What a promise! I believe that. I believe every man or woman who lives here in mortality in purity before God will stand in his presence and have his benediction, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." We have been told in this conference that no unclean thing shall ever enter his presence. I believe that with all my heart. ¶

Examples

Jesus said, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." (Ibid., 5:6.) No man ever hungers and thirsts after righteousness and asks God the Eternal Father in great humility and in faith, that the Lord doesn't grant the righteous desires of his heart. We have been told that here in this conference by a number of the speakers who have already spoken to us. ¶

Repentance and Baptism

And so you can go through the rest of the commandments. Take the one on the law of tithing as an illustration — how the Lord calls us back, saying that Israel had robbed him in the withholding of their tithes and their offerings! Then he said, "Return unto me, and I will return unto you. . . ." What an invitation! ¶

". . . and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." (Mal. 3:7, 10.) ¶

What if we just believed the Lord and could accept his word as it comes to us from his prophets? There wouldn't be any argument about "how" or "why," but it would be, "When, oh, Lord, would you have me do the thing that you have commanded through your servants the prophets?" ¶

And so you can go through the list. Take, for instance, the day of Pentecost when Peter stood before the multitude and bore witness that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. (What marvelous testimonies we have had here in this conference to that effect, particularly from President Tanner this morning.) And what happened to the multitude on the day of Pentecost? They were pricked in their hearts, and they cried out, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" And you remember the answer. ¶

Peter said, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. ¶

"For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." (Acts 2:37-39.) ¶

Now, we as Latter-day Saints know the meaning of this promise. We have been baptized in Christ's name. We have received the Holy Ghost, and the evidence of that is in the great sacrifices that are being made all over this Church to carry on this great work of the Father to build his kingdom, to prepare for his coming, to help to make possible the fulfilment of the prayer he taught his disciples: "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." (Matt. 6:10.) And there is no sacrifice that can be asked of the faithful Latter-day Saints that they are not willing to make in order to fulfil the promises of the Lord and to show their faith in him. Wouldn't it be wonderful if all of us believed the Lord? ¶

The Word of Wisdom

I will refer briefly to the Word of Wisdom. We read in the magazines and in the newspapers today statements by great scientists telling us that tobacco is the cause of lung cancer and other diseases, and yet less than three years after this Church was organized, the Lord in February 1833 gave a Word of Wisdom unto his people for their guidance. He said that it was the mind and will of the Lord. Does anybody need to argue about whether it is to be observed or not when the Lord himself says it is the mind and the will of the Lord? And then he said it is ". . . adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all saints, who are or can be called saints." (D&C 89:3.) And I always say if there are any of the Latter-day Saints any weaker than that, we ought not to ask them to keep the Word of Wisdom. But think of the promises of the Lord through keeping the Word of Wisdom! And he tells us that ". . . tobacco is not [good] for the body, neither for the belly, and is not good for man, but is an herb for bruises and all sick cattle, to be used with judgment and skill." (Ibid., 89:8.) ¶

Then consider the rest of the Word of Wisdom. There isn't time to discuss it in detail, but we are not to use strong drinks. Strong drink has caused more misery and broken homes and unhappiness than all the wars that have ever been fought, and yet we can't believe the Lord and know that we shouldn't touch these things. If you take the first glass, you never know how soon you will take the second; and if you never take the first one, particularly our young people, you will never need to worry about the second. ¶

Then the Lord indicates that if we keep this Word of Wisdom, we shall run and not be weary and walk and not faint, and the destroying angel shall pass us by and not slay us as the children of Israel. And then he tells us that we shall have knowledge, yea, even hidden treasures of knowledge, and I think that is one of the greatest promises the Lord has made to his people in this dispensation. (See ibid., 89:19-21.) ¶

Companionship of the Holy Ghost

You find boys and girls who keep the Word of Wisdom and remember their prayers, and you will find that they have the companionship of the Holy Ghost, that they have power given them to resist the evils and the temptations of this world, as demonstrated in their lives. ¶

Some of us have had the privilege of attending these youth conferences. A short time ago I was at one back in Carthage where the Prophet Joseph and his brother Hyrum were martyred. We had over five hundred young people there from that mission. Some of them had come a thousand miles to be there, and for three hours there wasn't a minute lost between their testimonies. They took their turns bearing testimony, and with tears in their eyes, most of them testified that they knew that God lives, that they knew that Jesus is the Christ, that they knew that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God; and no reasonable person could have listened to the testimonies of those boys and girls and questioned their sincerity. ¶

Hidden Treasures of Knowledge

Talk about hidden treasures of knowledge! What more could you ask? Is there a father or mother in Israel who wouldn't want his or her boys and girls to make themselves worthy of the blessings that the Lord has promised through observing and keeping the Word of Wisdom? Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all believe the Lord? ¶

There are many other evidences in this Church of how the Lord is fulfilling his promise. Take the 12,000 missionaries in the field — young men and women giving their time without remuneration. I visited with the vice-president of Brigham Young University last night. They have fifty-six wards and six stakes of Zion. He said it is a thrill on fast Sunday to hear these young people bear their testimonies — hidden treasures of knowledge. ¶

Brothers and sisters, with all my heart and soul I testify that I know this work is true; and I know no man or woman or boy or girl can keep the commandments of the Living God, have faith in him, and be prayerful who will not be blessed with blessings which are more valuable than the wealth of this world. I bear my witness of the truth of this work and ask God to bless you Latter-day Saints everywhere and our friends throughout the world, and above all to preserve the youth of Zion from the pitfalls and evils of this world that can mar their lives. I leave my blessing upon you all, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶