When I was a high councilor many years ago, I used to have
the practice of putting my three children right in front.
We had the signs of the monkeys to
guide me in my talk.
If I wasn't standing straight, eyes over the eyes.
If I was speaking too loud, hands over the ears.
When it was time to sit down, hand over the mouth.
Rachel, will you do that for me tonight?
You watch and see how I accomplish this.
It's an honor to be with you, President, again.
He was my boss, up until they called him to be
president of BYU.
I was the adviser.
An adviser is the lowest one on the possible pedestal of
any organization.
And he was the Executive Director of the Priesthood
department.
My, we had some wonderful times together.
And I miss him, but they were kind.
They gave me Elder Bateman to replace him.
Paul, it's always good to be with you.
Please give your mother my best, one of my dear high
school friends.
I find myself continually feeling the inspiration of the
last general conference.
[INAUDIBLE]
about 17 minutes of the whole proceedings.
I felt the power of the messages, especially the
doctrinal presentations on the restored gospel.
Fortunately, we can continue to study these messages.
Sessions are replayed on television and over the
Internet, and the printed text is available in the Church
magazines in a remarkably short period of time.
And just one month after the final session, we have both
the Ensign and the Liahona ready for distribution.
I think that's a marvelous accomplishment.
It is now possible to study these messages by topic for
use in our personal study, for our family home evenings,
and source material for our teaching the gospel in
assignments that emphasize the words of the prophet.
As I reviewed the sermons, I've been impressed with the
doctrinal foundation taught, how the Lord has blessed us
with additional truths to enforce the holy
scriptures in our lives.
From the beginning of time, the Lord has instructed His
servants to make a record of His dealings with them.
For example, in the days of Adam, a Book of Remembrance
was kept in the which was recorded in the language of
Adam, for it was given unto as many as called upon God to
write by the spirit of inspiration.
Abraham reported that "the records of the fathers, even
the patriarchs, concerning the rights of the priesthood, the
Lord my God preserved in mine own hands.
Therefore our knowledge of the beginning of the creation, and
also of the planets and the stars as they were made known
unto the fathers, have been kept even until this day.
And I shall endeavor to write some of the things upon this
record for the benefit of my posterity that shall come
after me." And Moses in his great vision concerning the
Lord's work was commanded, "And now, Moses, my son, I
will speak unto thee concerning this Earth upon
which thou standest. And thou shalt write these things which
I shall speak."
Throughout almost all periods of time, there's been a
longing for the people to know the scriptures.
In about 458 B.C., Ezra the Scribe, after bringing the
people of Judah back to their land in Judea from their 75
years of captivity in Babylon, gathered them together so he
could read the scriptures to them.
"And the people gathered themselves together as one man
into the street, which was before the water gate, and
they spake unto Ezra the Scribe to bring the book of
the law of Moses which the Lord had commanded to Israel.
And Ezra the Priest brought the law before the
congregation, before both men and women, and all they could
hear with understanding upon the first day
of the seventh month.
And he read therein, before the street that was before the
water gate, from morning until midday." You see, they've had
a block plan for a long time.
"Before the men and women and those who could understand,
and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book,
the law."
During the time of the New Testament, too, missionaries
such as Paul and Silas found the people who received the
word with all readiness of mind and searched the
scriptures daily.
Even so, the Savior's Church had not been organized very
long before the Apostasy began to enter in among the
organized body of the Church.
It compelled Paul to write to the early Saints, "I marvel
that you are so soon removed from him that called you into
the grace of Christ unto another gospel, which is not
another but there be some that trouble you and would pervert
the gospel of Christ. But though we or an angel from
heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that which we
have preached unto you, let him be accursed."
The early Christians suffered much persecution.
However, by the first quarter of the fourth century, there
was a great change and a general increasing in attitude
towards Christianity.
It was marked by the conversion of Constantine the
Great, under whose patronage the Christian profession grew
in favor and in fact became a state religion.
But instead of humbly following the Savior, who
established the Church, people began to seek Church offices
for social honor and for wealth that accompanied them.
Soon pomp and ceremony became a part of the Church.
The ordinance of baptism was perverted.
The sacrament was altered.
Public worship became an exhibition of art.
Men without authority exercised the prerogative of
the Church in leading the people.
The age of darkness was upon the earth.
And a period of the Great Apostasy reigned over man.
And they were in a condition similar to the Sadducees that
sought to entrap the Savior concerning the marriage issue.
The Savior told them, "Ye do err in knowing the Scriptures,
nor the power of God."
I guess all of us find ourselves in positions at
times when we try to answer the perplexities of life
without having a foundation and a knowledge of the truth
that will lead us in the right direction.
It seems that there was a longing in some of the people
to have the words of the Lord to guide them in their lives.
As we move through the period commonly called the Dark Ages,
we see an awakening and a desire of mankind to have the
holy scriptures.
In AD 385, the Pope recognized the need for making the
scriptures available for the priests to use.
He commissioned Jerome to work on a revised version that
would be used by the Catholic priests.
Jerome worked for 23 years to create the Vulgate Latin
translation of the Bible.
Almost 1,000 years later, 1,000 years later, John
Wycliffe translated the Latin Bible into English.
Very few men had the opportunity to have their own
copy of the Bible, because it had to be handwritten.
It took a copyist about 10 months to make a copy.
Some people would borrow the scriptures for a day, or even
for an hour, because they could not afford to buy them.
It was said that a load of hay was the going price to use the
Bible for an hour, because the scriptures were not readily
available and accessible to most of the people.
They were at the mercy of the teachers of religion for the
knowledge of their content.
Before the restoration of the gospel could occur, the
scriptures needed to be available in a form that could
be used by the common man.
Between 1450 and 1455, Johann Gutenberg of Germany took the
important step in that direction and published the
Latin Vulgate Bible, the first book ever printed in the
movable press.
It was early in the 1500s that William Tyndale saw the need
to make an English translation of the Bible directly from the
Hebrew and Greek text rather than from the Latin Vulgate.
As a scholar trained in Latin, Hebrew, and Greek, Tyndale was
able to identify many errors in the Latin translation and
would often turn to the Greek and Hebrew
texts in his teaching.
But his work of translation was interrupted by church
leaders who were opposed to having the people have a
knowledge of the scriptures.
Tyndale was pursued and eventually imprisoned.
He suffered mental and physical torment for 18
months, until October 6th of 1536, when he was taken from
his cell, tied to a stake.
There he uttered a loud prayer.
"Lord, open the King of England's eyes." Tyndale was
strangled and burned at the stake for heresy.
Since then Tyndale has become known as the father of our
present English Bible.
About 92% of Tyndale's translation survived in the
English King James Version.
The version prepared by a committee of scholars was
printed in 1611, and it was widely used.
The King James Version of the Bible is recognized worldwide
for its beauty of expression and general accuracy, given
the limitations of the manuscript from which it was
translated.
Now the scriptures were generally available to man.
But there arose also a great conflict among religionists
about which of the doctrines were to be followed and which
were correct.
Revelations received by the Prophet Joseph Smith have made
it clear that the King James Version, as great as it was,
did not contain all of the ancient manuscripts.
Many plain and precious parts have been lost. There needed
to be a clarification of the language in the scriptures,
not made by scholars but by a prophet of God.
I am intrigued with the Lord's timing to bring forth His
gospel again.
It shows that He understands His children.
The simplicity of life in the early 1800s was a good seedbed
for the Restoration.
Technology had been asleep for centuries.
Communication almost had to be face to face.
If you wanted to travel, you had to rely on the winds or
the strength of man to move vessels over
rivers, lakes, or seas.
And by land, you had to travel by beast of burden or just
plain walk.
A half a century later may have been too late to find the
humble, hardworking, rugged pioneers necessary to
establish His Church.
At the time of the Prophet Joseph Smith's birth, the
world's population was about 1 billion.
Since that time, we've seen a population explosion.
Technology has similarly advanced, with the invention
of steam power, electric power, the telegraph, the
telephone, the radio, the internal combustion engine,
air flights, television, and the computer, and on and on.
Even to our day, it continues to expand and grow as we see
new technologies coming.
It seems as if the Lord has been opening the minds of man
to prepare them for an age when the gospel would be
preached in its fulness.
This restoration has come at a time when a large number of
God's children can have ready access to His word as
revealed through His chosen prophets.
The Lord needed someone who was teachable, who would be an
instrument through which He would restore the gospel.
He needed someone He could mold into a leader.
Out of the weak things of the earth, the Lord raised up a
prophet with power and with strength.
The one foreordained for this great assignment was the
Prophet Joseph Smith.
Few prophets have come from more humble beginnings than
the Prophet Joseph did.
He had little opportunity for education.
He was not quite 15 years of age when the Lord touched him
and brought forth a marvelous vision, through which mankind
would again know the true nature of God, His
relationship to His Son, and Their relationship to the Holy
Ghost. It is interesting that the Lord chose to reveal
Himself to such a very young man.
I think there are probably two reasons.
Joseph had not been educated in the ways of the world.
Therefore he could be more easily taught the pure
doctrine by visitations and establishing his understanding
of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Second, Joseph would teach
what he had learned from others in simplified words
that could be understood by all mankind.
Through Joseph, the simplicity of the gospel of Jesus Christ
was restored to the earth.
An essential part of the Restoration was the coming
forth of the Book of Mormon.
The Book of Mormon clears up the misconceptions about the
gospel as presented in the Bible.
It stands as tangible evidence of the reality of the First
Vision and of Joseph Smith's divine calling.
It teaches about faith in God.
It strongly urges obedience to His will and testifies of the
divinity of Jesus of Nazareth, that He is the Son of God, the
Savior of the world.
It declares the truth of the divine origin of the Bible and
corroborates its truths.
It teaches of a purity of thought, word, and deed, and
sets heaven as the highest goal of life.
As in previous dispensations, the doctrinal base provided in
the scriptures--
in this case, the Bible and the Book of Mormon--
make possible the establishment of the Savior's
Church again on earth.
My special interest in the words of the prophet came at a
very impressionable age in my life.
My father was the bishop of our ward.
Each year he would plan a trip that would help impress on our
minds the significant events that happened near our home in
Logan, Utah.
When I was 12 years of age, he planned a trip to Clarkston,
Utah, for the Aaronic Priesthood
holders of our ward.
Arriving in Clarkston, we were driven to the town cemetery,
where we were asked to gather around a tall granite marker.
The marker was engraved with the name Martin Harris, one of
the three witnesses to the authenticity
of the Book of Mormon.
Not only were we to see Martin Harris's grave, but also to
hear Martin Harris's testimony by one who knew him.
I'd like you to relive that event with me tonight, for
I've been very bold.
I've invited William Pilkington, the man that we
met there, to come and meet with you and
give you that testimony.
Of course, that's alias Lael Woodbury.
William, will you come forth please and
give me that witness?
I thank you, young man, for introducing me.
And I thank you, Bishop [UNINTELLIGIBLE], for bringing
these young men to this Clarkston Cemetery, for I want
them to know, I want the whole world to know that what I am
about to say is the absolute truth.
We had been in our new home a few days, one dark night, when
a knock came on the door.
Our family was gathered at home and we were all singing
the songs of Zion.
We stopped singing and Father opened the door.
A strange man walked in.
He was given a chair and he sat down.
He said, "What is your name, sir?" And Father promptly told
him our name was Pilkington, and he said, "Are you
immigrants?" He was told that we had just
immigrated from England.
He said he wanted to hire a boy to go and live with him
for one year.
My brother Richard and I were sitting together on the right
of the stranger.
He looked at us and said, "I think this one will do." And
that one was Willie.
Me.
He then asked if I would like to go and live
with him for a year.
He said he had just sold his property in Smithfield and was
going to a place across the valley called Clarkston.
Father asked him how much I would get if I
went for the year.
He thought a little while, and then he said, "Well, I will
give Willie a two-year-old heifer, and his board and
clothes if he will work for me." I asked Father what he
thought about the proposition.
He said it was all right.
I could go and work for him a year, and for me
to be a good boy.
So I put on my hat and my coat and kissed Mother and Father
and all the rest of the family and went with him.
It was a very dark night, and the country being strange to
me, he took hold of my hand.
We walked for about 10 minutes and entered a log house, the
first log house I was ever in.
The rest of the family had all retired to bed, or
so at least I thought.
I thought it very strange the man did not tell me
what his name was.
He gave me a chair and sat me down close by a
little round table.
He then asked me if I'd had my supper, and I said, "Yes."
And he said, "Well, maybe you can eat a little more." So he
got a pan of milk, some bread, a bowl and spoon, and told me
to eat all I wanted.
He told me the folks had all gone to bed, and said, "Now I
will go to bed, but before going, I will show you where
you will sleep on the floor." And then he went to bed.
Well, I was enjoying the bread and milk when my attention was
attracted to an object over in the northwest
corner of the room.
As the oil lamp gives very light, I was puzzled as to
what it could be, so I ate a little faster so
I could go to bed.
I was obliged to go between the table and this object, and
in going around the table, I discovered a form of a man.
He made a motion with his hand, as if he wanted me.
Rather timidly, I went over to him and he told me to pull up
a chair and sit down close to him.
I still felt a rather crawly sensation creeping over me,
but I pulled up the chair alongside the chair he was
sitting on and sat down.
He asked me what my name was.
And I promptly told him my name was William Pilkington.
He asked me if we were immigrants.
I told him our family had immigrated from England.
He then asked me if I was going to live with them.
I told him I thought I would live with
them for about a year.
Up to this time, neither one of them had told me what their
name was, and it rather puzzled me.
But then he asked me if I was a Mormon.
Well, I told him my whole family were Mormons.
He told me he was going to call me Willie.
I told him that Mother called me Willie too.
Then he said, "Willie, tomorrow night after the
chores are done and we have had supper and all the folks
have gone to bed, I want you to sit down in this chair
close to mine, for I have lots to tell you." Well, I told him
I would do that, and then I retired to bed on the floor.
Between the floor being hard and what the old man had told
me, I did not sleep very much, and arose very early the next
morning not feeling very much refreshed, as that was the
first time I had ever slept on the floor, and that with only
one quilt under and one over me.
When I arose the next morning, I looked for the man who'd
talked to me last night.
I knew that I could recognize him, as in the darkness of the
room he resembled a picture I had once
seen of Rip van Winkle.
When I found him, however, I found a very old man, and he
walked with a cane.
He greeted me with, "Good morning, Willie," and shook my
hand, and told me not to forget tonight.
Well, I told him I wouldn't forget.
I was wondering all day long what that old man wanted me
for, an old decrepit man who wanted to talk to a boy he had
found out was a Mormon boy.
At last, night came.
Supper was over, and after having family prayer, they all
retired to bed.
The old gentleman then sat down in his armchair, put his
elbow on the arm of the chair, and he crooked his finger as
he did scores of times afterwards.
And that was a signal for me to bring my
chair alongside his.
He again asked me what my name was.
I told him.
"Oh, yes.
I am to call you Willie." He then said, "Wille, Willie, did
you ever go to Sunday School?"
I promptly told him, "Yes, sir."
"What class where you in?"
I promptly told him, "The Book of Mormon class."
His eyes sparkled, and his whole body seemed to vibrate.
He seemed like a changed being.
He was very excited, trembling as I gazed into his eyes.
He said, "Did you ever read the Book of Mormon?"
"Yes, sir," was the reply.
"Well, if you have read the Book of Mormon, what is the
first reading that we find in the preface of the book?"
After a little thinking, I said, "The first reading the
Book of Mormon is the testimony of the three men
testifying to the whole world that they saw an angel come
down from heaven, that they saw the gold plates from which
the Book of Mormon was translated, and the angel told
them that the translation was correct.
And they bear record that Joseph Smith is a true prophet
of God, and that their names will go forever before the
world testifying that the Book of Mormon is true."
He then said, "I know now, Willie, that you have read
that glorious book.
Willie, I'm going to ask you one more question.
What were those three men's names?" I told him they were
Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris.
And then this little old man, then 92 years of age, of whom
in my mind I had likened to Rip van Winkle, whose whole
being at this time was wonderful to behold, all lit
up with the Spirit of God, whose eyes now were sparkling,
whose whole being was transformed, stood up before
me on that memorable occasion and, putting his walking cane
in his left hand, he straightened up and, striking
his breast with his right hand, exclaimed, "I am Martin
Harris, one of the three witnesses to the authenticity
of the Book of Mormon, a man who had the privilege of
standing before angels, a man whose eyes beheld the golden
plates, a man whose ears heard the voice of God declare that
the book was translated.
He heard the voice of God declare that the book was
translated correctly, and commanded him, that voice, to
testify to all the world that it was correct."
From that time on until his death, he never tired of
telling me of the beauties of the gospel, and especially
about the early rise of the church, and of the
tribulations that beset the Prophet
Joseph Smith and himself.
Thank you, William Pilkington for
that witness and testimony.
This experience electrified me.
I realized that there stood a man who had actually heard the
testimony of one of the three witnesses
to the Book of Mormon.
Now I was having the privilege of hearing his witness on that
hillside in Clarkston, Utah.
There's real power in the scriptures.
I'm amazed how much it has given to us, to be beneficial
to us in every age and in every time.
As I study and review and comprehend the scriptures, I
find a fundamental, basic plan.
There's a value to each generation, from the very
beginning of time.
The greatest fear I have in this information age is that
we will have so much clutter descending upon us that we
will find it difficult to keep our lives in balance.
I believe the scriptures provide insight into patterns
that will help us prepare for the future.
Present Theodore Roosevelt stated, "Every thinking man,
when he thinks, realizes that the teachings of the Bible are
so interwoven and so intertwined with our whole
civic and social life that it would be literally impossible
for us to figure out for ourselves what that life would
be if these standards were removed.
We would lose almost all the standards by which we judge
both public and private morals, all of the standards
towards which we strive to raise ourselves."
Through the scriptures, the gospel of Jesus Christ is
revealed to us.
It is the ultimate good news.
There is no news that even approaches the good news of
the gospel and its beauty, its insight, its
fulness, and its depth.
Our love of the scriptures should be a paramount part of
our faith and have it firmly anchored to the gospel of
Jesus Christ. We should not look upon reading the
scriptures and our study of the scriptures as an
inconvenience or something we must endure.
In the word of God, there is power and
nourishment and life.
It is interesting to me how many promises the Lord has
extended to those who read His words.
The words can heal a wounded soul.
The words of Christ will tell us all things we should do.
There are other promises for those who turn to the word of
God and trust in it fully.
Let's examine a few.
Joshua was told, "Meditate upon the words of the law day
and night, for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and
they shall have good success." Good success.
The psalms said, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a
light unto my path." A light to lead and
guide and direct us.
Surely one of the promises of the Lord is the gospel will
lead us out of darkness and [INAUDIBLE]
the path that we should follow.
In the New Testament, there is additional insight and power
of the scriptures.
In Luke, we read of the Savior appearing to two of His
disciples following His Resurrection.
After He departed from them, they said, "Did not our hearts
burn within us while he talked with us by the way, and while
he opened to us the scriptures?" There's a
wonderful promise for you.
I encourage you to find the real meaning of that promise,
by having your heart burn within you as you study the
words of the Lord.
What will such study do for us?
It will strengthen our testimony of the Savior, for
He testifies Himself of Him.
"Search the scriptures, for in them you think you have
eternal life, and they are they which testify of me."
Paul made this statement:
"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction and righteousness, that a man of God may be
perfect, thoroughly finished unto all good works."
Nephi saw the rod of iron in his father's dream,
representing the word of God, and then he made this promise
about the word of God:
"Those who will harken unto the word of God and hold fast
unto it, they would never perish.
Neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the
adversary overpower them." Can you imagine a more wonderful
promise than that?
Through our study of the word of God, we will find the power
to resist temptation.
Listen to this promise extended to those who
diligently study the scriptures and
obey the word of God.
Perhaps it's the most marvelous of them all.
The prophet Mormon wrote, "Yea, we see that whosoever
will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick
and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning
and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man
of Christ in a straight and narrow course across that
everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf
the wicked, and land their souls, yea, their immortal
souls, at the right hand of God in the kingdom of Heaven."
In light of these great promises, my encouragement to
you tonight is to not leave your study of the
scriptures to chance.
Do not trust in the things in the world that will prevent
you from finding eternal values.
Turn to the scriptures.
In them is the plan of happiness.
Through them, we can grow in knowledge and understanding of
what the Lord has revealed to His prophets through all ages.
Do not become so busy that you reduce the power that comes by
reading the scriptures, because you're overtly
involved in things of the world.
Have faith and confidence in the Lord's dealings with His
children here on earth.
Build your faith strong by trusting what the Lord has
given to us through His holy scriptures.
Surely, here is a foundation we need to gain the
fundamental witness of the saving grace of
our Lord and Savior.
We also have an opportunity of reviewing the messages of
general conference.
Please focus on applying the lessons we have been taught,
so they will have an effect on each of our individual lives.
For the Doctrine and Covenants tells us, "Wherefore, meaning
the church, thou shalt give heed unto all his words and
commandments, which he shall give unto you as he, the
prophet, receiveth them, walking in all
holiness before me.
For his words, you shall receive as if from mine own
mouth, in all patience and faith."
President Hinckley has been strong in his desire to
separate us from worldly involvement, which is
penetrating even the sanctity of our own homes.
It was last year that he announced that we were going
to raise the standard of full-time missionary service.
Listen to what he has to say.
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]
-The time has come, brethren, when we must raise the
standards of those who are called to serve as ambassadors
of the Lord Jesus Christ to the world.
I remind you that missionary work is not a rite of passage
in the Church.
It is a call, extended by the President of the Church to
those who are worthy and able to accomplish it.
I am confident that raising the bar on eligibility will
cause our young people, particularly our young men, to
practice in a greater measure self-discipline, to live above
the low standards of the world, and to avoid
transgression and take the high road in all of their
activities.
[END VIDEO PLAYBACK]
Now that message not only applies to those preparing for
missionary service.
It has a rippling effect that extends to every member of the
Church, and to those who must qualify to join the Church.
To raise the standard of missionaries requires raising
the standard of devotion in our own homes.
The Church organizations that support the family, the
Primary, the Aaronic Priesthood quorums, the Young
Women, the Melchizedek Priesthood quorums, the Relief
Society, the Sunday School, and so forth, must also have
higher standards of performance.
The charge has been given to us.
Now, to obtain the promised blessings, we must respond by
increasing our understanding of the doctrine and
religiously applying the doctrine to our lives.
Now in closing, I remind you the promise of the Lord which
he gave to us when he said, "Angels speak by the power of
the Holy Ghost, wherefore they speak the words of Christ,
wherefore I say unto you, feast upon the words of
Christ, for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all
things what you should do." May the Lord bless each of us
with the desire to study, to know, and grow in a knowledge
of the scriptures.
May you find them to be a guide and a
source of power to you.
May they direct you to the eternal good that we're all
seeking here, in mortality and in the worlds to come.
I promise you that the scriptures will lead you to
life eternal.
God lives.
Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world.
We have an opportunity of being part
of His great kingdom.
Let us do it with all of the enthusiasm, with all of the
power our souls can muster, in the name of
Jesus Christ, amen.