I Echo The Sentiments Of My Beloved...

I echo the sentiments of my beloved colleague, President Kimball, in welcoming into our circle of General Authorities our beloved associates, Brother Boyd K. Packer, Brother Joseph Anderson, Brother David B. Haight and Brother William H. Bennett. As you brethren and sisters come to know them as we know them, you will feel a great strength in their leadership. ¶

President David O. McKay

We cannot pass this moment without remembering our beloved President McKay, and likewise to you, Sister McKay, if you are listening in, and to the remarkable family that President McKay has, we extend our love and blessings as we pass now to another era in the history of the Church. ¶

Today The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opens a new chapter in its 140 years' history since its organization in this, the dispensation of the fulness of times, as it is spoken of in the scriptures. ¶

Another prophet, our noble President David O. McKay, has been called home to make a report of his stewardship as the earthly head of the Church. Always with the passing of a prophet-leader, there have been great happenings following thereafter, both in the Church and in the world. I have wondered if it could be that the report of the prophet to our Maker has had great significance in the affairs of men here on the earth. ¶

Change In Church Administration

The transition, in making the change of administration of the Church, is by a procedure unique and by an ordained plan that avoids, as Elder Kimball has said, the possibility of using political devices or revolutionary methods that could cause much confusion and frustration in the work of the Lord. ¶

President David O. McKay and all of his predecessors as Presidents of the Church have bequeathed to us rich treasures of wisdom and knowledge. In the passing of each President, the hearts of a grateful people were in a figurative sense taken up with each of them. ¶

The records of their lives and their works, their words, and their ministries are fortunately lesson books, documented in the written history of the Church and in the memories of those who have followed after them. May God bless that legacy to the faithful everywhere. After all, their greatest records will be written in the hearts of those whom they sought diligently to serve. ¶

It may be instructive and enlightening to many of the Church members and others who may be listening to these services to say something as it pertains to the reorganization of the Church following the death of the President. ¶

The President Of The Church

To those who ask the question: How is the President of the Church chosen or elected? the correct and simple answer should be a quotation of the fifth Article of Faith: "We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands, by those who are in authority to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof." ¶

The beginning of the call of one to be President of the Church actually begins when he is called, ordained, and set apart to become a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Such a call by prophecy, or in other words, by the inspiration of the Lord to the one holding the keys of presidency, and the subsequent ordination and setting apart by the laying on of hands by that same authority, places each apostle in a priesthood quorum of twelve men holding the apostleship. ¶

Each apostle so ordained under the hands of the President of the Church, who holds the keys of the kingdom of God in concert with all other ordained apostles, has given to him the priesthood authority necessary to hold every position in the Church, even to a position of presidency over the Church if he were called by the presiding authority and sustained by a vote of a constituent assembly of the membership of the Church. ¶

The Quorum Of The Twelve

The Prophet Joseph Smith declared that "where the president is not, there is no First Presidency." Immediately following the death of a President, the next ranking body, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, becomes the presiding authority, with the President of trie Twelve automatically becoming the acting President of the Church until a President of the Church is officially ordained and sustained in his office. ¶

Early in this dispensation, because of certain conditions, the Council of Twelve continued to preside as a body for as long as three years before the reorganization was effected. As conditions in the Church became more stabilized, the reorganization was effected promptly following the passing of the President of the Church. ¶

All members of the First Presidency and the Twelve are regularly sustained as "prophets, seers, and revelators," as you have done today. This means that any one of the apostles, so chosen and ordained, could preside over the Church if he were "chosen by the body [which has been interpreted to mean, the entire Quorum of the Twelve], appointed and ordained to that office, and upheld by the confidence, faith, and prayer of the church," ¶

to quote from a revelation on this subject, on one condition, and that being that he was the senior member, or the president, of that body. (See D&C 107:22.) ¶

Senior Member Of Twelve

Occasionally the question is asked as to whether or not one other than the senior member of the Twelve could become President. Some thought on this matter would suggest that any other than the senior member could become President of the Church only if the Lord reveals to that President of the Twelve that someone other than himself could be selected. ¶

Orderly Plan Revealed

The Lord revealed to the first prophet of this dispensation the orderly plan for the Church leadership by a predetermined organization of the earthly kingdom of God. He gave these specific guidelines, as we might speak of them: ¶

"Of the Melchizedek Priesthood, three Presiding High Priests, chosen by the body, appointed and ordained to that office, and upheld by the confidence, faith, and prayer of the church, form a quorum of the [First] Presidency of the Church. ¶

"The twelve traveling councilors are called to be the Twelve Apostles, or special witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world — thus differing from other officers in the Church in the duties of their calling. ¶

"And they form a quorum, equal in authority and power to the three presidents previously mentioned." (D&C 107:22-24.) ¶

Wilford Woodruff's Letter

With reference to this subject, the fourth President of the Church, Wilford Woodruff, made a few observations in a letter to President Heber J. Grant, then a member of the Twelve, under date of March 28, 1887. I quote from that letter: ". . . when the President of the Church dies, who then is the Presiding Authority of the Church? It is the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (ordained and organized by the revelations of God and none else). Then while these Twelve Apostles preside over the Church, who is the President of the Church [?] It is the President of the Twelve Apostles. And he is virtually as much the President of the Church while presiding over Twelve men as he is when organized as the Presidency of the Church, and presiding over two men." And this principle has been carried out now for 140 years — ever since the organization of the Church. Then President Woodruff continued: ¶

"As far as I am concerned it would require ... a revelation from the same God who had organized the church and guided it by inspiration in the channel in which it has travelled for 57 years, before I could give my vote or influence to depart from the paths followed by the Apostles since the organization of the Church and followed by the inspiration of Almighty God, for the past 57 years, by the apostles, as recorded in the history of the Church." ¶

Revelation Concerning Hyrum Smith

This calling of Joseph Fielding Smith to become President of the Church has a special significance: In a revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith in reference to Hyrum Smith, the grandfather of Joseph Fielding Smith, the Lord said this: ¶

"And again, verily I say unto you . . . that my servant Hyrum may take the office of Priesthood and Patriarch, which was appointed unto him by his father, by blessing and also by right; "That from henceforth he shall hold the keys of the patriarchal blessings upon the heads of all my people. ¶

"That whoever he blesses shall be blessed, and whoever he curses shall be cursed; that whatsoever he shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever he shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (D&C 124:91-93.) But in addition to this office, he was given another endowment which has never been given to any other patriarch to the Church who has succeeded him in this additional calling: ¶

"And from this time forth I appoint unto him that he may be a prophet, and a seer, and a revelator unto my church, as well as my servant Joseph; "That he may act in concert also with my servant Joseph; and that he shall receive counsel from my servant Joseph, who shall show unto him the keys whereby he may ask and receive, and be crowned with the same blessing, and glory, and honor, and priesthood, and gifts of the priesthood, that once were put upon him that was my servant Oliver Cowdery; "That my servant Hyrum may bear record of the things which I shall show unto him, that his name may be had in honorable remembrance from generation to generation, forever and ever." ¶

(D&C 124:94-96.) ¶

President Joseph F. Smith

His son Joseph F. Smith served as the sixth President of the Church from 1901 to 1918. President Joseph F. ¶

Smith, as a child, passed through the trying scenes of Missouri and Illinois. ¶

After his father, Hyrum Smith, was martyred by a mob at Carthage along with his uncle, Joseph Smith the Prophet, young Joseph F., although but a boy of nine years of age, drove an ox team across the plains from Missouri River, arriving in Salt Lake Valley in 1848. In 1852 his mother died, and two years thereafter he left for a mission to the Hawaiian Islands when but 15 years of age. ¶

A Noble Son And Grandson

This is the fibre of the Hyrum Smith ancestry from which our President Joseph Fielding Smith has come. I am confident that heaven is pleased today, and I doubt not but during the ministry of this noble son and grandson, those who have gone on before will be permitted to draw near to their descendant, whom the Lord has now honored with this challenging responsibility, despite his great age. I would not at all be surprised if they were with us on this occasion. ¶

I have said to members of Hyrum Smith's posterity, after I have quoted the prophecy to which I have made reference, that it is for them to strive with all their souls to be loyal to the royal blood of the prophets of this dispensation that flows through their veins. ¶

Dependence Upon God

Today's happenings have brought to me some of the most sobering reflections of my whole life. During the last ten weeks that have elapsed since the momentous spiritual experience, in company with 13 of my brethren holding the holy apostleship, in an upper room of the temple, where members of the new Presidency of the Church were chosen and ordained, I have lived my whole life in restrospect and the days ahead in prospect, to some extent. ¶

Throughout these weeks, I have recognized my limitations and have realized more than ever before my utter dependence upon Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, for strength beyond my natural strength and wisdom beyond man's wisdom and spiritual insight into problems that might be my responsibilities now. Only with God's help can I begin to fill the position to which I have been chosen by the President of the Church and the Quorum of the Twelve, and now sustained by the vast body of the priesthood of the Church and by the membership of the Church in this Tabernacle and by the many faithful beyond our sight, who have participated in the proceedings of this solemn assembly. ¶

I find myself almost trembling with a sense of my own inadequacy when I recall the great leaders of this dispensation who have preceded us in leadership positions. As I have thought of this, through long hours of meditation and prayer, I sense the reality of the fact that one, such as I, does not take the place of those who have gone on before. ¶

We who are called to occupy these positions merely fill the vacancies created by the passing of time. Those who have gone on before still hold their places in the eternal worlds and in the hearts of the hundreds of thousands whom they have served. ¶

"Led By The Spirit"

More than ever before, I understand what the ancient prophet Nephi felt when he had been given the seemingly insurmountable task by his father, Lehi, to gain possession of the brass plates in which were contained the scriptures of the prophets of the Old Testament, as we now know them. ¶

Nephi had written of this experience: ". . . I, Nephi, crept into the city and went forth towards the house of Laban. ¶

"And I was led by the Spirit; not knowing beforehand the things which I should do." (INe. 4:5-6.) I understand now more than ever before the poignant prayer of the suppliant: ¶

"Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom; Lead thou me on! ¶

The night is dark, and I am far from home; Lead thou me on! ¶

Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see The distant scene — one step enough for me." ¶

— Hymns, No. 112 That, I too now sense very deeply. ¶

I must go on many occasions, as did Nephi of old, being "led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do." Yes, though the night be dark, "I do not ask to see the distant scene — one step [is] enough for me." ¶

Pledge To Serve

With all my soul I pledge to you faithful saints all my strength of body and mind and spirit, realizing full well, as the faithful King Benjamin taught, that though I spend my days in your service, "I do not desire to boast, for I have only been in the service of God." (Mosiah 2:16.) I pray fervently that I too may learn that when I am in the service of you, my faithful brothers and sisters, saints of the most high God, I am "only in the service of your God," and my God. ¶

I bear you my witness, as the Spirit has before, and does now bear witness to my soul, that there has been entrusted to this, the true Church of Jesus Christ in these latter days the true doctrines of salvation by which mankind may be redeemed, through the atonement of our Lord and Master, the Savior of the world. The Lord Jesus Christ does live and presides from his holy dwelling place, over this, his kingdom of God on this earth, through him who has been sustained this day as your President, a prophet, seer, and revelator. ¶

I bear this testimony humbly and beseech of you your faith, your loyal support to put to flight all the conditions in the Church that could cause disturbance. May we continue to have the support of your faith and your prayers. And we pledge ourselves, anew, to sustain you as faithful saints to the most high God. This I do humbly, and bear solemn witness this day, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. ¶

Amen. ¶