Well Do They Intend To Succeed Or...

well. Do they intend to succeed, or are they going to fail?' The president said, 'We assume they intend to succeed.' And I said, 'Don't assume it; ask them. If they intend to succeed, I will take the job. If they are going to fail, I don't want anything to do with it. I am not about to get associated with an outfit that starts out to fail.' "Well," he said, "the president asked them and they said they intended to succeed, so I took the job. ¶

Now," he said, without the trace of a smile (and I think it was really a guileless statement, although all of us laughed a little), "I want to tell you that these are successful priesthood leaders. They are great, successful priesthood leaders, and the reason they are is me." ¶

Let me quickly tell you again, he wasn't being immodest or arrogant. ¶

The people responded. They knew him. They knew he meant it and how he meant it. ¶

In those days his assignment would make him chairman of a committee called "fact-finding," "statistical," or "reporting," as we came to say. I wonder how many of you would get the fire charged in your veins with that nomenclature. Somehow it did his. He really believed that his assignment was the most important in the Church. ¶

He knew that successful priesthood leaders can't really do their jobs unless they have a clear concept of where they are going and a foundation of facts upon which they may move. He supplied that. He knew more about the men in that quorum, I feel quite certain, than almost any other comparable officer in a quorum in the Church. And it expressed itself, this concern, with a quorum that had come alive almost like Nehemiah led Jerusalem to a rebirth long ago. ¶

Now I would like to bear a testimony of appreciation and deep respect for you wonderful brethren and sisters who serve in the Church, who have the courage and the faith to face up to circumstances that are often quite difficult, maybe even depressing, but you do it. God bless you to remember that while the results may not be as spectacular as in this choice quorum, it is a certainty that if you, with honesty and integrity and a sense of your commission, seek to do the job the Lord has called you to do, wonderful results will occur. I know that. I testify of it and pray God for you and all like you who do the work of the Church, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶