Lated And Discussed All Problems Pertaining To...

lated and discussed all problems pertaining to the priesthood. Here is a teaching opportunity for the bishop to train the leaders of each priesthood group in his ward. ¶

Greater emphasis on the teaching of the children in the home by the parents was brought forth in what we call the family home evening program. ¶

This was not new. Fifty years ago it was given emphasis; and as we went back into history, we found that in the last epistle written to the Church by President Brigham Young and his counselors, it was urged that parents bring their children together and teach them the gospel in the home frequently. So family home evening has been urged ever since the Church was established in this dispensation. Six hundred and fifty thousand family home evening manuals with lessons for each week have been prepared and placed in the hands of every parent throughout the Church. Each year's theme of the home evening lessons has been correlated with the Melchizcdek Priesthood and the Relief Society lessons, and this year the Sunday School general board has instituted a special class each week for parents to aid in their weekly family home evening and to help prepare the parents to be better teachers of their children. ¶

Plans were laid early in this dispensation to meet the challenge of anticipated growth as indicated by the scriptures and by prophetic utterances of presidents of the Church. President McKay gave us the key to our search for what we should do in these matters. ¶

In discussing a matter pertaining to the missions, he said this: "Now in changing our policy here, let us keep as near as we can to the revelations of the Lord, and we will never be wrong if we do that." That sounds like good logic, doesn't it? ¶

The place of the priesthood in the kingdom That injunction from the President took us into a study of all that the Lord has said about the place of the priesthood and how it should operate in the kingdom. We found what the Lord said about the work of the Twelve: ¶

The Twelve "The Twelve are a Traveling Presiding High Council, to officiate in the name of the Lord, under the direction of the Presidency of the Church, agreeable to the institution of heaven; to build up the church, and regulate all the affairs of the same in all nations, first unto the Gentiles, and secondly unto the Jews." (D&C 107:33.) The Seventy About the Seventy the Lord said: "It is the duty of the traveling high council to call upon the Seventy, when they need assistance, to fill the several calls for preaching and administering the gospel, instead of any others." (D&C 107:38.) I think you will see in what has gone forward in the last few years that now as never before in our recollection, the seventies have been given a major role in the missionary work of the Church. Perhaps the door has opened as widely as it has ever been for the work of the seventies, and we thank the Lord for the work of our leaders in the seventies quorums. ¶

Now to support what the First Presidency's message has already said about others who would be called as leaders: "Whereas other officers of the church, who belong not unto the Twelve, neither to the Seventy, are not under the responsibility to travel among all nations, but are to travel as their circumstances shall allow, notwithstanding they may hold as high and responsible offices in the church." ¶

(D&C 107:98.) That would allow, besides those mentioned, a place for the Assistants to the Twelve. ¶

Then we found another scripture that had significance. It has always been there, but we had never read this scripture as we saw it now. The Lord said in the 84th section of the Doctrine and Covenants (this is to the Twelve) : ¶

"Therefore, go ye into all the world; and unto whatsoever place ye cannot go ye shall send, that the testimony may go from you into all the world unto every creature. ¶

"And as I said unto mine apostles, even so I say unto you, for you are mine apostles, even God's high priests; ye are they whom my Father hath given me; ye are my friends." (D&C 84:62-63.) Where we couldn't go, then, the Lord has said, "Send," that the testimony, your testimony, might by those you send be brought to every creature throughout the world. ¶

Soon after the death of President Young, President John Taylor and the Twelve took over the presiding authority of the Church for approximately three years before President Taylor was sustained as the President of the Church. In a message to the Church at that time, two or three things were said to which I would like to call your attention: ¶

Keys of the Holy Priesthood and the Apostleship "The keys of the kingdom are still right here with the Church ... the holy Priesthood and Apostleship, which He restored to the earth, still remain to guide and govern, and to administer ordinances to the Church which He has established. Our beloved brother Brigham Young has gone from us to join the Prophet Joseph and the host of the holy and the pure who are behind the veil; but we do not therefore lose the benefit of his labors. He is now in a position to do more for that work which he loved so well, and for which he labored so ardently, than he could possibly do in the flesh; and that work will roll onward with increased power and accelerated speed." (Messages of the First Presidency, Vol. 2, p. 299.) And then they quoted from the Prophet Joseph Smith's instructions the following: ¶

"The Twelve are not subject to any other than the First Presidency, viz: ¶

myself, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams, who are now my counselors (and where I am not there is no First Presidency over the Twelve)." ¶

After the death of the Prophet Joseph, President Young, in speaking to the Saints, said: ". . . Here are the Twelve, appointed by the finger of God, who hold the keys of the Priesthood, and the authority to set in order and regulate the Church in all the world." {Ibid.) Then there followed a statement which indicated that there was some tendency to look back to the previous administration and think what the Prophet Joseph might have done had he been there. President Brigham Young and his counselors wrote this in their closing epistle to the Church: ¶

"Here is Elder Amasa Lyman and elder Sidney Rigdon; they were councillors in the first presidency, and they are councillors to the Twelve still; if they keep their places; but if either wishes to act as 'spokesman' for the prophet Joseph, he must go behind the veil where Joseph is." (Times and Seasons, Vol. 5, p. 638.) Now that was a rather interesting observation. ¶

May I now say this: Those keys of the kingdom are still here with the Church today. As President Taylor declared, ". . . the holy Priesthood and Apostleship, which He restored to the earth, still remain to guide and govern, and to administer ordinances to the Church which He has established." ¶

President David O. McKay is the one man today who holds those keys, as did the Prophet Joseph Smith, as did President Brigham Young, as did President John Taylor, and so on down to President McKay, who presides today. ¶

Then President John Taylor added this final statement, which indicates something in which you will be interested: ¶

Stake conferences "That there may be a correct understanding among all the Stakes of Zion respecting the time for holding the quarterly Conferences in the different Stakes, and the Presidents be enabled to make preparations therefor, we have deemed it best to make the following appointments for the conferences during the next half year. [This was in 1877.] It will be seen that in most ¶

instances they will be held in two stakes upon the same days. This is unavoidable, in consequence of the great number of stakes." (Messages of the First Presidency, Vol. 2, p. 301.) And then I counted the "great" number of stakes: Salt Lake, Davis and Utah, Weber and Juab, Tooele and Box Elder, Wasatch and Cache, Summit and Bear Lake, Morgan and Sanpete, Sevier and Millard, Panguitch and Beaver, Kanab and Iron [Parowan], and St. George — 20 stakes, a great number of stakes. There were nine missions — nine organized missions — at that time. Well, as we think about that now, and as they closed that epistle after making that profound statement about the great number of stakes, the Twelve then added: ¶

"And now, brethren and sisters, we exhort you to arouse yourselves and seek unto the Lord in fervent faith and prayer. We know that our Father in heaven is a God of Revelation. He is ready and willing to pour out his blessings and gifts upon those who seek unto Him for them. We need them as individuals and as a people to qualify us for the duties which devolve upon us. We should remember and carry into practical effect the counsels and instructions we have so liberally received from our departed President. He has gone from us; but the flock is not left without a shepherd. Latter-day Saints should so live that they will know the voice of the True Shepherd, and not be deceived by pretenders. . . . ¶

The Latter-day Saint who does not live so as to have the revelations of Jesus constantly with him, stands in great danger of being deceived and falling away. ... All the signs which the Lord promised to send in the last days are making their appearance. They show that the day of the Lord is near. ¶

A great work has to be done, and there is but little time in which to accomplish it; great diligence is, therefore, required. . . . Let us not slacken our diligence, or give way to doubt, unbelief or hardness of heart; but be strong in the Lord, and cry unto Him unceasingly to give us the power to build up His Zion on the earth, and to help establish a reign of righteousness, peace, and truth." (Messages of the First Presidency, Vol. 2, pp. 302-303.) And so ended that remarkable epistle to the Church. ¶

Now to point up our challenge of the present growth and to prepare for the fulfillment of the hastening of the Lord's work, which he promised he would do in his own time: If one were to paint a picture in broad strokes of just a few features of the future, here are some things that will challenge the Church in the years that lie ahead: ¶

Organization for the growth of the Church When I came into the Council of the Twelve we had 35 missions. I helped to organize, along with President Joseph Fielding Smith, the 138th stake. We now have 443 stakes. ¶

During the 70 years from 1830 to 1900, the Church grew by 258,000 members. Today, a quarter of a million expansion in membership takes not 70 years, but in only two or three years, we expand by a quarter of a million. ¶

Our Church membership is increasing at about three times the growth rate of the population of the United States. But, just as significantly, the regional distribution of Church membership is also following some clear trends that we must recognize, not only intellectually, but also administratively. ¶

In 1910, Utah and Idaho contained approximately 75 percent of all Church membership. Today, only 40 percent of the Church's members live in these two states. Utah once held two-thirds of all members. Today, even though the number of members in Utah has now risen from 224,000 in 1910 to 714,000, only one-third of all members now live in Utah. Brazil now has 23,000 Latter-day Saints; Australia, 21,000; and Mexico, 50,000. ¶

During the last ten years, membership in the southern states has risen from 72,000 to 170,000; in South America from 6,000 to 67,000; and in Asia from 1,500 to 21,000. ¶

We have no choice but to think regionally. Research has been done by the department of statistics at the Brigham Young University by Dr. Howard Nielsen, and he estimates the Church membership by 1985, just 17 years from now, will total from 5,700,000 to 7,700,000, depending on the rate of conversions. ¶

By the year 2000 A. D., which means that our children now eight years of age will then be 41 years old, we could have a total membership of over ten million people. Though this may sound very distant to some of us, it is the year, I repeat, when these eightyear-olds will become 41, if you get that clearly. ¶

In 1985 there will be more than one million members in Utah, but they will represent only 21 percent of all Church membership. California will have almost a million members by then, and the southern states one-half million. Canada will host 160,000 members, with more than 200,000 in the British Isles, and over one-quarter million in Central and South America. ¶

Today, there are approximately 443 stakes and nearly 4,000 wards and branches. By 1985, depending on our effectiveness and external events, we should have 1,000 stakes and nearly 10,000 wards. ¶

In the calendar year 1985, about 200 new stake presidents will be appointed to new or existing stakes, and General Authorities will need to direct five stake reorganizations each week. The brethren will then need to clear between 50 and 60 names for the office of bishop each week. ¶

Well, you begin to see something about the growth, and so we could go on with auxiliary organizations. ¶

Now just a word about the missions: It is estimated that in the missions within that 17-year period, in contrast to 77 or 78 missions we have today, we could have as many as 185 missions by then, with probably as many as 30,000 missionaries instead of our 13,000 as of today. ¶

Perhaps this is enough, then, to indicate the great challenge that demands an extended authoritative supervisory ministry. Assistants to the Twelve When the first five Assistants to the Twelve were called in 1941, the Presidency said: "The rapid growth of the Church in recent times, the constantly increasing establishment of wards and stakes, ... all have built up an apostolic service of the greatest magnitude. ¶

The First Presidency and Twelve feel that to meet adequately their great responsibilities and to carry on efficiently this service for the Lord, they should have some help." (The Improvement Era, May 1941, p. 269.) That was said when we had 137 stakes. ¶

Now, when we have 443 stakes and twice as many missions, you begin to see what we are talking about. All of this is sobering to think about, even superficially. It is awesome to contemplate, at any length. How can we best provide the necessary leadership with enough worthy, able leaders in the right places at the right time? How can we best finance a kingdom of this scope and dimension? How can we best absorb, fellowship, and teach this many souls? ¶

While sacrament meeting attendance rose from 21 percent in 1921 to 36 percent in 1965, we appear to have hit a plateau. We are not advancing from that 36 percent. Effective preaching of the gospel and showing how it relates directly to the lives of people today are partial but needed answers to this challenge. ¶

Regional Representatives assist the Twelve Now the plan that has been announced is for the appointment of Regional Representatives of the Twelve. Many of you heard the announcement by the First Presidency yesterday. This was the official announcement: ¶

"As many of you will remember, in 1941, it became necessary for the First Presidency and the Twelve to provide for additional brethren to help with the work of overseeing and setting in order an ever-growing, world-wide Church. Thus in the General Conference of April, 1941, Assistants to the ¶

have had good attendance in the morning, while many have stayed away from the afternoon session. That is happening not in one stake but in many stakes. Now, in order to see that there is a place in every stake for every member to attend, we are asking that there be a sacrament meeting in every ward in every stake on the day of stake conference. ¶

Stake conferences under direction of General Authorities, stake presidents with assistance At the conferences where no General Authority is in attendance, we are asking our stake presidents not to have an imported speaker to take the place of a General Authority, or to expect their Regional Representative to come. ¶

He will only go there as he may indicate he would desire for some special purpose or may be assigned by the First Presidency or the Twelve. This will be the opportunity for the stake president with his staff, meaning his auxiliary and priesthood leaders, to instruct his people as the leaders have been instructed in their previous regional meetings. And so our quarterly conferences will be more intensive training in leadership by General Authorities, and we are now trying to gear ourselves to do a better job than we have been doing in the past. ¶

We will have in addition some specialists or, as we will now call them, priesthood aides, in genealogy, welfare, missionary and home teaching, who may be brought into service as necessary to meet the needs of our Regional Representatives or individual stakes needing specialized attention. ¶

Now then, I conclude with just one or two observations. Again and again has been repeated the statement that the home is the basis of a righteous life. With new and badly needed emphasis on the "how," we must not lose sight of the "why" we are so engaged. The priesthood programs operate in support of the home; the auxiliary programs render valuable assistance. Wise regional leadership can help us to do our share in attaining God's overarching purpose, "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." (Moses 1:39.) Both the revelations of God and the learning of men tell us how crucial the home is in shaping the individual's total life experience. You must have been impressed that running through all that has been said in this conference has been the urgency of impressing the importance of better teaching and greater parental responsibility in the home. Much of what we do organizationally, then, is scaffolding, as we seek to build the individual, and we must not mistake the scaffolding for the soul. ¶

Now may I just say this: I was with one of the brethren who formerly presided over the Swedish Mission. He told me about being on a ship that was going out among the various islands into the open sea. As the ship was being steered near one particularly unimpressive island, he wondered why it wasn't steered past another island. ¶

Finally he noticed ahead what appeared to be broomsticks sticking up; these sticks were attached to buoys, to guide the ship through safe channels. ¶

Engineers had discovered the safe places. ¶

God's engineers have charted the course ahead of us. Now our critics (and we expect we will have some; usually they are those without knowledge or with little or no vision) will wonder why we didn't take some other course to meet the problem. This reminds me of the saying: "A man is usually down on what he ain't up on." ¶

We suppose we will have more and more of that. ¶

The Lord's chosen leaders have signaled us now to move forward. When Moses went to lead the children of Israel out into the desert, it was not the Moses who had fled for his life; it was not the Moses who had climbed the mount with fear; but it was the Moses endowed by the power of Almighty God. When he lifted his staff and signaled, the whole company moved forward. We must not lose ourselves in the mechanics of leadership and neglect the spiritual. ". . . if your eye be single to my glory," the Lord said, "your whole body shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you " (D&G 88:67.) Evidence of improved leadership will bring more consistent study of the scriptures, greater concern of the holders of the priesthood in watching over the Church, more devotion to family duties, more of our young people married worthily in the temple, greater faith and righteous exercise of the priesthood, and so on. ¶

The Prophet Joseph Smith said as he wrote from Liberty Jail: ¶

"Let no man count them as small things; for there is much which lieth in futurity, pertaining to the saints, which depends upon these things. ¶

"You know, brethren, that a very large ship is benefited very much by a very small helm in the time of a storm, by being kept workways with the wind and the waves. ¶

"Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed." (D&C 123:15-17.) To which I bear humble testimony, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. ¶

Amen. ¶