We Have Received from the Lord a Divine Commission

We have received from the Lord a divine commission to carry his message of salvation to the nations and peoples of the earth. ¶

We announce that God has restored to us in this day the fullness of his everlasting gospel. ¶

We have received anew the same priesthood, the same keys, the same doctrines, the same organization, the same plan of salvation that Jesus gave the saints in his day. And we are now commanded to offer this restored religion to all men everywhere as rapidly as our strength and ability permit. ¶

Restoration of the Gospel

Our Lord's beloved disciple John saw in vision the restoration of the gospel in our day and recorded in the Bible this testimony: "... I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth." ¶

Then, as guided by the spirit of inspiration, he recorded that this restored gospel was to be preached "to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people" before the hour of God's judgment, before the second coming of the Son of Man. (See Rev. 14:6-7.) ¶

The restoration of gospel knowledge commenced in modern times in the spring of 1820. The promised angel began the process of revealing gospel truths and powers in September of 1823. By November of 1831 the restoration was sufficiently advanced for the Lord to say to the world through Joseph Smith: "O inhabitants of the earth, I have sent forth mine angel flying through the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel, who hath appeared unto some and hath committed it unto man, who shall appear unto many that dwell on the earth. "And this gospel shall be preached unto every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people." (D&C 133:36-37.) ¶

Commandment to Preach Gospel

We are thus commanded to preach the restored gospel in all the world. ¶

We are to carry its saving truths to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people. ¶

We are to raise the warning voice and testify of the mighty things which God hath wrought in our day. ¶

We are to gather the lost sheep of Israel into the fold of their true Shepherd. ¶

We are to take the message of salvation to the ends of the earth. ¶

Now what have we done to fulfill the divine decree, and what must we yet do? ¶

From the day of the organization of the Church in April 1830 to the present moment, faithful members of the Church have taught the gospel and testified of its divinity. With unwearying diligence we have offered the saving truths to as many of our Father's children as our strength and circumstances have permitted. ¶

The restored gospel was preached in the United States and Canada, in Great Britain, western Europe, and Scandinavia. Soon missionaries were in the islands of the Pacific, in Mexico and South America, and in a host of nations. ¶

Missionary Service

Ten times ten thousand missionaries and more have left farm and factory, shop and store, and the halls of higher learning — voluntarily and at their own expense — to devote three hundred thousand man years of service in preaching the gospel. ¶

Ten times a hundred thousand and more have believed their message. ¶

Ten times ten million and more have heard the warning voice. ¶

But with it all, we have scarce commenced the assigned labor. We have yet to preach the gospel to the ten times two hundred million people in Russia, China, India, Asia, Malasia, Indonesia, and so on. ¶

But this we shall assuredly do, for we are on the Lord's errand; we are engaged in his work; he has decreed its over-all success and triumph; and none can stay his hand. ¶

We have done as much, or nearly so, in days past and present, as our numbers and means allowed. At our present rate of growth, the Church is doubling in membership every 20 or 25 years. Will it be long, at this rate, before we have 25,000 missionaries serving at one time? Or 50,000? Or 100,000? Or as many as the needs of the ministry require to fulfill the divine command to the uttermost? ¶

Furthermore, our means of travel and teaching are improving. Today we have jet planes and radio and television. Who knows what we shall have tomorrow? Whatever the scientific advances may be, they shall be used for the furtherance of the Lord's work and for the spread of truth in the earth. ¶

With it all, however, the face-to-face and voice-to-ear testimony of the elders of Israel will always be required in teaching the gospel. One elder will always have to stand with one believing soul in the waters of baptism to perform that ordinance without which no accountable man can be saved. ¶

Future Growth of Church

What then of the future growth of the Church? Eventually, in a millennial day, the knowledge of God shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea, meaning that every living soul on earth shall be converted to the truth, for truth shall prevail. ¶

In the meantime, we shall go forward according to the divine timetable, a timetable under which the Lord will prepare the way for us to teach the gospel in one nation after another as rapidly as our strength and means are sufficient for us to do the work. ¶

Nephi foresaw that we shall establish congregations of the saints in all nations and among all peoples and kindreds before the promised unity of the faith. Speaking of this dispensation, he said: "... I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers were few, because of the wickedness and abominations of the whore who sat upon many waters; nevertheless, I beheld that the church of the Lamb, who were the saints of God, were also upon all the face of the earth; and their dominions upon the face of the earth were small, because of the wickedness of the great whore whom I saw." (1 Ne. 14:12.) ¶

Ordinances of Exaltation

And John the Revel ator recorded that the faithful in latter days would praise the Lord by saying: "Thou art worthy ... for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; "And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth." (Rev. 5:9-10.) ¶

That is, before the millennial era, before the time when Christ shall reign personally upon the earth, the elect of God among every kindred, the saints who speak every tongue, the converts among all peoples and nations, having first believed the restored gospel, will go to the temples of God and receive the ordinances of exaltation whereby they qualify to become kings and priests. ¶

A Witness to All Nations

Truly did the Lord Jesus say of our day: ". . . this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come. . . ." (Joseph Smith 1:31.) ¶

And truly did Joseph Smith prophesy: ". . . the Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the great Jehovah shall say the work is done." (Documentary History of the Church, Vol. 4, p. 540.) ¶

In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶