Can we become perfect? define "Perfect"

Men Must Become Perfect, Even As The Father Is Perfect
We should notice the important difference between the Nephi version and the Matthew version. To the Nephites he declared that they should be perfect even as I or your Father is perfect (see 3 Nephi 12:48). Although Jesus of Nazareth was the only sinless individual, when he delivered the Sermon on the Mount he had not yet been glorified and resurrected. For this reason, and for the sake of humility, he did not include himself as being perfect (see Matthew 5:48).

Whenever a discussion of perfection comes up, someone is always quick to point out that we cannot become perfect while in mortality. Yet, the Savior gives us a commandment that must somehow be fulfilled, for the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them (1 Nephi 3:7). Is perfection attainable in mortality? The answer is a qualified "yes."



James E. Talmage said, "Our Lord's admonition to men to become perfect, even as the Father is perfect (Matt. 5:48) cannot rationally be construed otherwise than as implying the possibility of such achievement. Plainly, however, man cannot become perfect in mortality in the sense in which God is perfect as a supremely glorified Being. It is possible, though, for man to be perfect in his sphere in a sense analogous to that in which superior intelligences are perfect in their several spheres; yet the relative perfection of the lower is infinitely inferior to that of the higher." (Jesus the Christ, p. 232)

A careful reading of the scriptures demonstrates that three individuals are referred to as "perfect": Seth (D&C 107:43), Noah (Genesis 6:9), and Job (Job 1:1). To be perfect in this scriptural sense means to be complete, finished, or fully developed. Seth, Noah, and Job (and probably scores of other prophets) had become perfect in the scriptural sense. They had learned to serve God with a perfect heart and with a willing mind (1 Chronicles 28:9). They had submitted their wills to the will of the Father. This was the quality the Savior wished for the Twelve, that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one (John 17:22-23).

Yet, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). But in Christ the sinner is perfected, the debt is paid, and the dirty are made clean. This is why the Savior prayed that the Twelve would be made perfect in one. Through Christ, we attain "scriptural" perfection when our will is the same as the will of the Father. This can occur prior to the resurrection, for Joseph Smith spoke of certain angels who are the spirits of just men made perfect, they who are not resurrected, but inherit the same glory (D&C 129:3). Our goal is to strive to perfect ourselves, carefully aligning our thoughts and desires with God's, that we may be made perfect in Christ and inherit the same glory.

Although it is good to read the scriptures; it is very important to search and study them out. The footnote meaning to 'perfect' means: 'complete, finished, fully developed.'

Bruce R. McConkie made this statement:

"Finite perfection may be gained by the righteous saints in this life. It consists in living a godfearing life of devotion to the truth, of walking in complete submission to the will of the Lord, and of putting first in one's life the things of the kingdom of God. Infinite perfection is reserved for those who overcome all things and inherit the fullness of the Father in the mansions hereafter. It consists in gaining eternal life, the kind of life which God has in the highest heaven within the celestial world." (Mormon Doctrine, p. 567)


http://guerreromarco.blogspot.com/2015/12/men-must-become-perfect-even-as-father.html

Secrets of the Melbourne Man

Secrets of the Melbourne Man
by Marion Albert Law

In 1947, I was a 21-year-old missionary Elder, for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My assignment was in Melbourne, Australia. My companion and I were going door-to-door in a quaint little section of the city. The lanes were narrow and wandered around, with no sense of plan at all.

Missionaries are not supposed to leave their companions for any reason. But here in this compact area, we decided to each take a side of the lane. Opportunities to teach anyone were so rare that we thought it wise to cover as much territory as possible. If a friendly reaction was received by one of us, the other would cross the street to share in the visit. Usually, we could see each other every minute and could almost touch hands across the lane. So the plan was working well, as we doubled our tracting efficiency.

At one door, a man answered and said yes, he would like to hear more about our beliefs. I looked for my companion, but he had disappeared. So I tried to stall until the Elder came back. He had obviously gone around one of the numerous meanderings and should reappear at any moment. I explained that my companion would be back in a minute or two. (Much later, I discovered that around the corner was a “milk bar”, where he had gone for a milk shake while he waited for me. The Elder assumed that since I was right behind him, I would soon show up there.)

After a few more minutes, the man became impatient and said, “I don’t talk standing in the lane. If you’re not interested, never mind.”

So I said, “Okay, I’ll come in.” My intention was to visit briefly, make an appointment, and return with my wandering companion.

As I began to explain our purpose, he interrupted, “Mr. Law, we have a better plan.” So I asked about his “better plan”.

The Melbourne man, as I call him, described how Plato, an ancient Greek philosopher, had designed a different kind of society. This man’s plan would follow similar lines. There would be three classes of people: the leaders, the workers, and the teachers. The teachers would be trained to condition a sinless society (“…as you call sin…”, he said) – there would be no hate, no greed, no jealousy, no envy, no lust, no malice – no sin. The workers would not be envious of the leaders. The leaders would not oppress the workers. The teachers would condition each class to willingly accept their assigned role in this “perfect” society.

The Melbourne man further described how breeders would be chosen, based on superior intelligence, physical perfection and longevity genes. Children would be taken from their mothers at birth and placed in communal nurseries, and through various tests, their classes would be determined. They would then receive specialized conditioning for that particular class. All defective babies had to be eliminated. The total number of births would need to be controlled to prevent overpopulation and depletion of natural resources. By this selective breeding, a master race of geniuses could be created.

Worker-scientists were assigned to research life extension techniques until future generations could “live forever”. Through space research, they would reach out into the universe to develop planets hospitable to human life. This perfect society then spreads throughout space in a never-ending cycle.

I asked, “How will you condition them?” He then explained, in detail, the basic conditioning tools. They included diet, drugs, music, movies, education, etc.

He described how diet (the basic elements of life, food and water) could be a major desensitizing and conditioning instrument. The Melbourne man said that by using additives and special formulas, by changing plants and animals, the diet of the people leaves them submissive and easily controlled.

When that man told me that the materials, systems and procedures were already in place in 1947, my farm-boy mentality refused to accept it. Especially when he explained drug addiction. He outlined how drug addiction changes personalities, making them so dependent that they will agree to anything to satisfy their needs. I protested that people will not allow themselves to be manipulated that way. He just laughed and said, “Mr. Law, you’re such a child. Wait and see.”

I did not see how music could be used. The man then described “melodic dissonance” for me, in detail. He told of the conditioning experiments of the Russian scientist Pavlov in communist Russia, using dogs and metronomes. Pavlov found that he could condition a dog to salivate when a metronome beat at 60 beats per minute. Then he learned that he could condition the same dog to never produce saliva when the metronome beat at 120 beats per minute.

In another experiment with the same dog, Pavlov had both metronomes beating at the same time, one at 60 beats, the other at 120 beats per minute. The conditioned dog was required to do two totally opposite functions at the same time. This produced nervous shock, and the dog collapsed, unconscious.

Next, with the same dog, Pavlov had the 60-beat metronome suddenly jump to 120 beats per minute. At the same instant, the 120-beat metronome dropped to 60 beats per minute. This produced a melodic dissonance. When the metronomes were switched back and forth rapidly, the dog became so distressed that it died. In communist Russia, these experiments were then extended to humans, with similar results.

Using variations of this melodic dissonance, a new music form was created. Musical scores and lyrics were developed. A team of musicians, called “the Beatles”, was trained in Europe and introduced to America on the popular Ed Sullivan Talent Show, on national television. They were an instant hit, and all other forms of music became “old-fashioned”.

I could not understand such a phenomenon in 1947. But years later, when I first heard “rock & roll”, everything flashed back to 1947; I realized that the Australian did know that it would be a powerful tool for their conditioning plan.

The Melbourne man said they had already begun “behavior modification conditioning” in government schools, using audio-visual programs. When they introduce their messages, beginning in preschool, the results are intense and permanent.

A monster was emerging, that I found sinister and all-controlling. I could not believe what I was hearing. But over and over, he said, “Wait and see. You will live to see our perfect plan in full operation. When we control all the conditioning processes, everything will fall neatly into place.”

I protested that they were forcing their will and control on people, taking away freedom of choice. His answer was, “No, they can still choose, but they will always choose exactly what they are conditioned to choose.”

“But that’s not right!” He laughed at my evident simplicity.

So I protested again, “But God won’t allow it.”

“Why not? How can a just God – there is no such being – keep these sinless souls out of heaven? That’s what you believe, isn’t it, Mr. Law?”

So he began a different tactic. “Who do you love, Mr. Law? You certainly don’t love the Australian people.”

“Oh yes, I do, that’s why I came on a mission.”

“So, how many have you saved?”

This was a hard mission. Few and far between were our welcomes. Fewer were our converts. I admitted grudgingly, “Not many.”

“And,” he said, “all the rest are consigned to hell.”

“Oh no, there are three degrees of glory, and…”

“We know all about your three degrees of glory. It means that many are called to be Mormons, but few are chosen to be gods. We know all about your church. We control every church in the world, except yours, and we will infiltrate that.”

“Mr. Law, you don’t love anybody, do you?”

“I love my mother.”

“No, you don’t. Under your plan, she can either choose to go to hell, or make a mistake and fall through the cracks into hell. If you really loved your mother, you’d be eager to guarantee that she would go to heaven. With our plan, it is guaranteed. In fact, no one will he lost; they will all go to heaven. Of course, we don’t believe in heaven or hell, anyway. But if you really love your fellow man, our plan is the only way to show it.”

I said, “I think I’ve heard this plan before.”

“Where could you have heard it?”

“It must have been in the Council in Heaven, before I was born.” He just laughed.

I was reeling under his attack, but I could not leave. There were no chains on me. But I felt as if I was bound, hand and foot, to the chair – as though I was paralyzed. So I asked, “Who are you? What do you call this plan?”

“I am one of three members of the central planning committee of the communist party for Australia.”

I said, “I’ve heard of communism.” But I knew very little about it.

The Melbourne man told me that the world understood economic, and political, and military communism. But the plan he was outlining to me, he called “spiritual communism”, that would evolve into a worldwide government. He said they were using the current governments until they controlled the world. Then those political, economic, and military leaders would need to be eliminated because they are violent men. Then the new world order would take over.

I asked how they could make the plan work, when there are so many people who are not prepared to accept it. He said, “We will have to annihilate all who cannot be conditioned to be either a worker or a teacher.”

“How many will you kill?”

“Hundreds of millions, maybe even you and me.”

“But that is murder.”

“That is a Christian term that has no meaning. It is really a part of cleansing. We need to reduce the population to a more manageable size, anyway. Only the inner corps of the elite leaders know about the plan. The present communist leaders don’t know it. Spiritual communism is not written or recorded anywhere. It is a secret plan.”

“Then why did you tell me?”

He was a bit perplexed, but he had an answer. “I don’t know. But we are looking for zealous young men who will join this work to help bring about this heaven on earth. Think about it, not one soul will be lost.”

I was not ready to give up yet. “You’ll never take over the world!”

He answered, “Mr. Law, we now control two-thirds of all world governments, politically or militarily or economically. Only the United States of America remains as the last major hurdle to world domination.”

So I boldly declared, “You’ll never take over the United States!”

But he said, “Mr. Law, let me tell you how it is!” He said they controlled all major conditioning instruments in America now: the entertainment industry, the news media, the education system, the courts, the financial system, political parties. Where they don’t have full control, they have infiltrated and have embedded their agents into all important decision-making bodies. He said they control every agency that affects daily living in America. Their agents were everywhere, doing their jobs.

But since I was a high school graduate, twelve years in an education system, I thought that made me an expert in education. Quite triumphantly, I said, “You don’t control the education system.”

Again, “Mr. Law, let me tell you how it is! When you get home, examine any textbook in any school, at any level, from preschool to university graduate school. You will find no mention of Jesus Christ or God or His plan. But you will find our plan being taught at every level. It’s written into every textbook.”

How right he was. I have spent almost 40 years of my life in education, as a teacher and an administrator, in public and private school systems. Satan’s plan is there; God’s plan is forbidden by law. God has even been declared unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court.

I asked when would all this take effect, and his spiritual plan be put into operation. He said, “We have a progressive agenda. We are prepared to take two steps forward, one step back, two forward, one back, until it is time. The American people won’t even know it is happening. When it is favorable, then everything will move swiftly to the purging, or cleansing stage. People will be stunned into immobility. We won’t want a time lag between take-over and full operation of our spiritual phase.”

Then he asked, “What do you think? Are you ready to join our forces?”

I fell back to the only sure ground I knew. “I believe in God, our Heavenly Father and in His Son, Jesus Christ. It’s their plan that I will follow.”

The Melbourne man became violently angry and shouted, “There are no such beings! They are myths created to enslave the minds of men. They don’t exist!”

I answered simply, “But I have felt the power of the Holy Ghost fill me with fire from the top of my head to the soles of my feet, and I have heard the voice of God testify to me that Jesus Christ is His Son. His plan is the truth, and that is what I teach.”

He lunged across the room and attacked me with his fists. Suddenly, I was free. I could move, and I ran outside into the lane. I found my companion wandering around, desperately looking for me. He didn’t dare leave, but had kept on searching for me. He had to help me on and off the tram. I was so exhausted that I was unable to get out of bed for a couple of days.

Elder Matthew Cowley, of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, was President of all the Pacific missions. He visited us often in Australia. In my interview with him, shortly after this experience, he sensed that something was disturbing me. He asked if I would like to tell him what was wrong.

So I outlined the Melbourne man’s spiritual communism to him. Elder Cowley told me why the man told me the plan. Now that I had been permitted to hear Satan’s plan, in detail, I could choose which I would follow, Satan or Christ.

Twenty-five years after this event, I was in Elder Ezra Taft Benson’s office and told him the account. He said that he had never heard Satan’s plan in this life. But he recognized the details that Satan used to persuade one-third of our brothers and sisters to follow him in the pre-existence. They were willing to trade their agency to choose, for Satan’s guaranteed salvation. Now, I could choose again which I would follow, Christ’s plan of agency, or Satan’s plan of total control. After sixty-three years, my choice is more firmly anchored than ever before.

I have watched spiritual communism eat its ghastly way into every country and into every government, including our own. It is everywhere. All 10 points of Karl Marx’s communist manifesto have been quietly incorporated into American life. They have been accepted as “social progress”.

The Book of Mormon tells how secret combinations destroyed two great civilizations, the Jaredites and the Nephites. The Prophet Moroni warns us:

“Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you.” Ether 8:24

Are we awake? Evidences of the secret combination – spiritual communism – are everywhere. What can we do about it? When the Jaredites and the Nephites followed the Prophets, they were protected. When they rejected the Prophets, they were destroyed. My only escape from the Melbourne man was my witness of Jesus Christ.

The Prophet Nephi warned his people:

“…nothing can save this people save it be repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ…Yea, how long will ye suffer yourselves to be led by foolish and blind guides?…” Helaman 13:6, 29

There is a wonderful lesson to be learned from the Jaredites and the Nephites. There is safety in following the Prophets. I encourage all of us to follow the temporal and spiritual counsel of the latter-day Prophets, Seers and Revelators!

(Note: This is a corrected and updated recount of the real-life events described by Marion Law in a previously titled transcript, The Brother Law Fireside)

(Source: Copyright 2010 Marion Albert Law.)

we all have flawed parts

thought this had some great insights.

Recently I was wrestling with the pain of persistent faults in my character. Sometimes I question if I’m just fundamentally flawed; maybe there is no hope that I can become like Jesus. Maybe I’m just too broken to reach the level of discipleship I long for.

In the midst of despairing thoughts, I wondered if my electronics lab had some parallels to mortal life. Maybe when Heavenly Father hands us fallen mortality, He deliberately includes some faulty parts in our character kits.

Jesus surprises us when He says: “I give unto men weakness” (Ether 12:27). We hardly expect that the Father of holiness would fill His cherished charges with faults, weaknesses, and inadequacies. But He has a plan: “I give unto men weakness that they may be humble.” Apparently it is terribly important to Him that we be humble. Allowing us to wrestle with weaknesses is His way of aiding us in achieving humility. If we were not challenged by our weaknesses, our human natures would likely be tempted towards pride and self-sufficiency. Wrestling with our faults and frailties makes it more likely we will recognize our dependence upon Him.

All of us share at least one weakness. All of us listen too much to the flesh and not enough to the Spirit. Our happiness and progress depend on learning to privilege the quiet voice of the Spirit.

I suspect that we all have customized weaknesses as well. Many times those customized weaknesses are connected to our individual strengths. For example, I have a dear friend who possesses a keen mind and the ability to think through situations with insight. Generally a keen mind is a great blessing. However, the flip side of that strength is that she frequently over-analyzes life decisions which results in her struggling to make important choices necessary for her well-being and progression. Heavenly Father granted her a customized strength, yet at the same time, it can become a weakness which reminds her to continually turn to Him as she ponders important life choices.

Some of our customized faults and frailties are not tied to our strengths. But they can certainly counterbalance our strengths and cause us to realize we do not “work perfectly” if left to our own devices.

Options for Dealing with Our Weaknesses

So how do we react to our weaknesses and flaws?

One option is to ignore them and do nothing. We might resist pondering or acknowledging our own shortcomings. We might offer excuses to ourselves—“I’m only doing the best I can!” or “There were reasons why I acted that way!” We might blame our weaknesses on our backgrounds, life circumstances or other people. But to return to the radio analogy, this option will cause us to continue operating through life with “flawed parts” and we will never become what we were designed to become.

A second option is to go to the opposite extreme. We work as hard as we can to try to fix our weaknesses and flaws. But then, as we continue to struggle with those same or new-found weaknesses over time, we can become discouraged and hopeless. We can end up feeling broken due to our “flawed parts”.

But there is a better way. The best option is to notice our weaknesses and draw on the power of Heaven to make us whole.

The Great Discovery

Growing up and as a younger adult, I was very hard on myself and sometimes despaired that I would never become the person and disciple I wanted to be. There was a key lesson for spiritual progress that was so obvious that I entirely missed it through childhood and most of adulthood. Whenever I failed, I resolved to try harder and be better. That’s a good strategy for improving one’s manners but not for changing one’s heart.

Only after decades of failure did I start to discover the great truth: Jesus is the one who changes our natures. He is the one who gives us a new heart and renews within us a right spirit. When I lean on my own character for improvement, my progress is wholly inadequate. When I throw myself on the merits, mercy, and grace of Him who is mighty to save, I start to make real progress.

So, I learned to declare with Ammon: “Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things;” (Alma 26:12).

I learned to cry out with Alma: “O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me” (Alma 36:18).

I studied the Psalm of Nephi (2 Nephi 4), King Benjamin’s great, final instructions (Mosiah 3-4), Alma’s great sermon (Alma 5), Lehi’s benedictory (2 Nephi 2), and the amazing atonement chapters in latter-day revelation (2 Nephi 9, Alma 34, 42, 3 Nephi 27, Ether 3, D&C 19).

I look for opportunities to invite God and His Son into my everyday life to help me in the process of exchanging my flawed parts for holier ones. Rather than let my mind wander during the sacrament, I have a face-to-face conversation with Jesus.. Instead of excusing myself when I am less than I should be, I beg for heavenly help. I apply my best effort, but when I fall short, I draw upon the Atonement and accept the testimony of Elder Boyd K. Packer: “there is no habit, no addiction, no rebellion, no transgression, no apostasy, no crime exempted from the promise of complete forgiveness. That is the promise of the atonement of Christ” (October 1995, The Brilliant Morning of Forgiveness).

I am grateful for the continuing gifts of repentance. I throw myself on His mercy and He changes my heart little by little.

“Although it seems counterintuitive, weakness is given to help us become strong in the only way that matters in time and eternity; that is, through the Savior and His Atonement. The Savior’s grace—His enabling power—will flow to us only to the degree we are humble before Him and exercise faith in Him… If we hold to that humility and exercise faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, He will make us strong.” (Marcus B. Nash)

http://ldsmag.com/we-all-have-flawed-parts/

Gaining Knowledge

A man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge, for if he does not get knowledge, he will be brought into captivity by some evil power in the other world, as evil spirits will have more knowledge, and consequently more power than many men who are on the earth. Hence it needs revelation to assist us, and give us knowledge of the things of God.”¹⁵

Developing a Personal Relationship with the Savior

Developing a Personal Relationship with the Savior
George Pace, 1975

George W. Pace was assistant professor of religion at BYU when
this devotional address was given on 15 July 1975.
Brigham Young University. All rights reserved.

Complete volumes of Speeches are available wherever LDS books are sold.

For further information contact:
Speeches, 218 University Press Building, Provo, Utah 84602.
(801) 422-2299 / E-mail: speeches@byu.edu / Speeches Home Page

Brother and sisters, this is a delightful experience for me today. I don’t know when I’ve been more terrified and frightened. I feel a little like the cowboy who rode into town and shot up the place and jumped on his horse and rode off in all directions. But I hope with all my heart that I might have that presence of mind and that presence of Spirit which will allow me to share with you some of the feelings and the ideas I have relative to developing a personal relationship with the Lord.

I appreciated the introduction this morning. There happen to be on the stand two men who have been the two most effective teachers in my life. I wouldn’t want to embarrass them by calling them by name, and so I won’t mention President Robert K. Thomas and Dean Chauncey C. Riddle. As a young freshman at BYU, I took my English class from Brother Thomas. He touched my heart, set my spirit on fire, and I determined in my heart I was going to do everything I could to measure up to the kinds of things he suggested we could measure up to. As the years have slipped by, I have had the opportunity of being continually fed by Brother Riddle and stimulated by his insight into the gospel.

I’m also grateful that I can have my wife here today. I appreciate her so much. Brother Thomas indicated that we anticipate the coming forth of our tenth child, which will make our third son. (Should he be a girl, it’s because you laughed.) On the basis of the number of children we have, I have concluded that to offset the power of women in our household I’d have to have another 113 sons.

Not long ago I was with my wife in Carson’s Market, we were getting some groceries, and I was negotiating with a local banker so we could swing the deal. Truman Madsen came up behind us, we got to chatting, and I said, “Have you ever met my wife?”

He said, “No, I don’t believe I have, but I would like to,” so I introduced them. Then he said, “How many children do you two have?”

I said, “We have nine.”

The next thing I heard, and I think everyone in the store heard it, was Truman saying, “Eighty-one months of pregnancy!” My wife and I have never viewed it in quite that perspective; consequently we collapsed. But we are delighted with the beautiful experience of having a family.

Testimonies of the Savior

Having this opportunity today brings back a lot of fond memories. My heart has really been touched over the years as I’ve had the opportunity of hearing men speak at BYU devotionals. I’ll never forget, as a young man, listening to the great prophet David O. McKay as he gave a stirring sermon on the bread of life. How it touched my heart. How stimulated I was by what he had to say about the Savior. How I hoped with all of my heart that somehow the Savior might become my bread of life, that somehow I might be able to partake of his divine nature, that somehow I might be able to take advantage of my membership in the Church and ultimately put on the nature of Christ and become like him. In fact, over the years, of all the ideas and all the concepts I have been exposed to, none has touched my heart, none has stirred me with such great determination to try to do the things that I felt the Lord would have me do as much as those ideas that pertain directly to the living reality of the Savior.

I remember one occasion at Salt Lake City in old Barrett Hall. I was going on a mission. There were about 250 of us listening to different Brethren speak. Finally, at a particular hour, one stood and spoke. I had a testimony at that time. I knew that Jesus was the Christ. I knew that the Church was true, that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and that this Church was headed by prophets. But on that occasion, without fanfare, without visual aids, quietly and powerfully, he shared with us his feelings about the Lord. I vowed in my heart that someday I too would know the Lord even as he. As a result of that one talk I set out on a quest to know the Lord and to know him well–a quest which has changed my life more than any other effort.

I think of a beautiful experience of Elder Melvin J. Ballard which occurred while he was serving as a mission president in the northwestern states. He had gone over to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation to take care of mission business. He and his counselors had fasted that they might solve some problems that had come into existence on the reservation. After much fasting and prayer, and after making the best decisions they could, Brother Ballard then got on the train to go back to Portland, Oregon. In the dreams of the night, he found himself in what I would assume to be the Salt Lake Temple. He was in conversation with a group of men. After a period of time an individual came over to him and said that it had been requested of him to go to an adjoining room to meet another individual. Brother Ballard said he opened the door to this adjoining room, and as he looked into the room, he saw seated upon a raised platform the most glorious person he had ever seen. As he entered the room this individual arose and smiled and softly spoke his name. Brother Ballard said that this individual came right up to him and put his arms around him and embraced him and kissed him. Brother Ballard at that moment felt a love so intense that he thought the very marrow of his bones would melt. He said he then fell at the feet of this individual, and, seeing the wounds, he knew he was in the presence of Jesus Christ. Throughout the rest of his life he bore powerful witness to the effect that he would be pleased to give all he had and all he could ever hope to have if he could have the privilege of dwelling in the presence of Christ forever. Brothers and sisters, how that touched my heart.

I was standing in a beet field on another occasion in Idaho, doing some irrigating. I pulled out of my pocket a crumpled piece of paper and read the account of Lorenzo Snow having the opportunity of being visited by the Master in the Salt Lake Temple. As I read that account, there came to me an assurance that that indeed did occur, that Lorenzo Snow did see the living Christ, that he did converse with him, that he obtained knowledge and power and understanding from him. Again, how my heart was touched with that particular experience.

As I have attempted to understand what the role of the Church is, my feeling is that the fundamental message of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is to declare that Jesus Christ lives, that he is indeed the Son of God, that he has appeared in our day, that men and women today can know him, that they can know him better than they know anyone else on the face of the earth, that he can have a greater impact on their lives than the combined influence of anybody else. I believe with all of my heart that this is the fundamental message: that in the Master strength can come, that in him men and women can become all that they were potentially created to become–that is, very gods. But it’s through a personal relationship with the Savior that that’s accomplished.

I love Joseph Smith. I’m grateful for his mission. I revere his name. Oh, I would some day that I might be sufficiently faithful to be able to walk up to him and shake his hand and express appreciation for what he has done. That appreciation would be housed in the framework, “Joseph, through you, through the Restoration, through the grace of our Heavenly Father and his Christ in raising you up, you placed me in a position where I might know who the Master is. Oh, I rejoice for your mission, for your calling, for the role that you performed so marvelously as a prophet.” I feel the spirit of Joseph Smith moving to and fro in our day, in effect tapping men and women on the shoulder and saying, “Would you, too, discover who he is? Would you, too, learn how to communicate with him as I did and do? Would you feel his power? Would you become filled with his love as I have? Would you know that in all I did, the reason I did it is so that I might be a living witness that he lives?” In fact, Joseph summed it up so beautifully: “This is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!” (D&C 76:26). The purpose of the programs of the Church, the purpose of the ordinances and the principles, and everything that is done in the church and kingdom of God, will only find its creative fulfillment if members somehow will accept the challenges that they can know who the Lord is and that they can have a marvelous relationship with him.

The Savior’s Example

Many people have had a great influence in my life, for which I am grateful. I can’t help but think of President Joseph Fielding Smith. On one occasion he was asked, “Who, President Smith, has had the greatest influence in your life of anyone?” Very quickly President Smith came back with, “Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has had the greatest influence in my life.” Oh, again, brothers and sisters, what a delight to belong to a church and a kingdom that testify so vividly and so powerfully of the possibility of a personal relationship with the Creator of this earth, a relationship that will give us the power and the ability to accomplish everything that the Lord would have us accomplish. I don’t know that we could ever adequately express the gratitude that ought to be in our hearts for that restored knowledge, for that available power, for that available relationship with the Lord.

Brigham Young once said:

The greatest and most important of all requirements of our Father in heaven and of his Son Jesus Christ, is . . . to believe in Jesus Christ, confess him, seek to him, cling to him, make friends with him. Take a course to open and to keep open communication with your Elder Brother or file-leader–our Savior.[Journal of Discourses, 8:339]

Then I think, brothers and sisters, of the great apostle Paul, about the mightiest missionary that the world has ever seen. He was a man trained in the ways of the world, having been taught by great teachers–a man who had a marvelous mind but who was touched by the finger of the Lord and as a result of that experience summed up his feelings about life. In speaking to the Corinthians, he said, “I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

I’m sure I echo your feelings when I share with you the feelings that came to me as I read with real intent for the first time the Book of Mormon. Oh, how Nephi came alive! It was as though Nephi were telling me in person, “George, I want you to know that I’ve seen the Lord. I want you to know that I’ve talked with him, that my spirit has been carried away on high mountains, that I have been filled with his power, that it was through him I’ve been able to accomplish the things I’ve been able to accomplish.” Along with that witness I felt so strongly coming from him, I also felt I could hear him say, “George, I want you to know that you, too, can know him as I do. I want you to know that the reason I have written and testified of these things is so that you might determine to your heart that ultimately your relationship with the Master will be even as mine. That is the purpose of my intent, to testify of the God of Israel, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Brothers and sisters, how touched I have been by Nephi’s testimony.

In the Book of Mormon, Moroni, after speaking about the mansions that are prepared on high and the great love of the Lord, wants to emphasize to us that he knows whereof he speaks, and he attempts to do that by speaking of judgment day and his personal relationship with the Lord:

Then shall ye know that I have seen Jesus, and that he hath talked with me face to face, and that he told me in plain humility, even as a man telleth another . . . concerning these things . . . .

And now, I would commend you to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written.[Ether 12:39, 41]

Christ the Center of the Church

Now, brothers and sisters, recognizing that the Savior is the center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and that everything points to him, I should like to share with you a scripture that has triggered many insights in my life. Nephi says, “Behold, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ; for, for this end hath the law of Moses been given; and all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him” (2 Nephi 11:4). In other words, brother and sisters, as we take a look at the scriptures, every major experience that God has had transpire between him and us is to typify or point to Jesus Christ.

Let me refer first to the law of sacrifice that was given to Adam. Everything in the law of sacrifice was to point the minds of the children of God to the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ, to help them appreciate and realize that somehow (and we don’t totally understand how) there is no remission of sins, there is no breaking of the bands of death, there is no possible way men and women can overcome the effects of the Fall and become clean and filled with his Spirit save it be through the shedding of blood. The sacrificing of all of those animals from the time of Adam to the time of Christ was to help men and women realize that ultimately in a person, in a man, in a divine being, would come the source of redemption as he, even Christ, shed his blood.

I think of the experience of Abraham, commanded to offer up his son, Isaac. On many occasions I have gathered one at a time my young sons on my lap. As I held them, in my mind I recounted the experience of Abraham offering up his son. I have felt deeply the personal implications of Abraham having been commanded to do that. I have felt, by the quiet witnessings of the Holy Ghost, the overwhelming impact of what it meant for the Father to send his Son. Much of that impact has come as I have studied and reflected and prayed on that great experience of Abraham offering up his son Isaac.

I think, brothers and sisters, of Moses standing on a mountain (actually an elevated piece of land) high enough that everyone could see him. Poisonous serpents had gone among the children of Israel; many were losing their lives because of the bite of those poisonous serpents. Moses, standing on this piece of elevated land somewhat parallel to the piece of elevated land where the Master would hang on the cross, spoke for and in behalf of Jehovah. He invited everybody to look at him, to listen to his words spoken under the inspiration of the Lord. He asked them to look at the rod and the brazen serpent that was on the rod, and he promised that if they would look they would be saved. Again, the lesson that incident teaches is that only in the Master, only in looking to him, only in being respectful of his anointed, only in recognizing that his prophets speak in his behalf and being respectful of what they have to say and doing it, can we through Christ be saved.

I think of the manna coming down from heaven, typifying the ultimate bread of life which would come in the form of Christ. Our manna today can be seen in the form of the sacrament. Oh, the power that will flow from the Master, the divine nature that will come from him into our lives, the changes that will come through that simple ordinance, the sacrament, if we can catch the significance of the life and the mission of the sacrifice of one Jesus Christ.

Church Ordinances to Lead to Christ

Now, brothers and sisters, in the Doctrine and Covenants is a particularly significant scriptures relative to the goal of the Church which I would like to share with you. I, like you, am appreciative of the good lives of men and women across the width and breadth of the earth. I’m grateful for their feelings for the Lord, grateful for their willingness to live and abide by the light that they have. But, brothers and sisters, our witness to the world concerning an understanding and comprehension of the life and the mission of Christ, compared to the understanding that the world has, is the difference between the brightness of the sun and the moon. This is why the Church was restored. Again, with all due respect and feeling for what the Christian world has, I know how much more comprehension and power could be theirs if people would accept the message of the Restoration. I think this message is beautifully portrayed in the following verses:

And this greater priesthood [speaking of the Melchizedek Priesthood] administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God.

Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest. [D&C 84:1920]

The Church today says that through the instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the restoration of the priesthood the very key to the knowledge of God has been brought back to the earth. Once again men and women can know who the Lord is and can relate with him in a total and complete kind of way, but they can’t relate with him save they obtain through the ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ the power of godliness. It’s for this reason, brothers and sisters, that we go forth teaching the world that no one–be he ever so good–will ever know fully the hands of one who has divine authority, save he enters the waters of baptism through the hands of one who has divine authority, save he searches the scriptures and humbles himself and seeks mightily for a revealed knowledge and understanding of the Lord so that he might exercise faith in him.

Every ordinance in the gospel is a channel of power to us if, as we function in those ordinances, we develop in an ever-increasing way a personal relationship with the Lord. But those ordinances won’t change our lives unless we know who he is. They can’t touch us in the manner they ought to do unless somewhere along the line he really comes alive. The power of redemption isn’t in the ordinances per se; the power of redemption isn’t in the Church per se. The ordinances and the Church are a means to an end, channeling the power that can flow from the Master. The degree to which you and I know him and relate with him and give our lives to him is the degree to which that power will flow through the ordinances and principles. Oh, brothers and sisters, I know that’s true. I know we’re finally saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, but we must have the ordinances.

We have a divine organization, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. If we’ll see the Church as a means to and end and simultaneously look to the Lord with all of our hearts, then every ordinance that we participate in will be a blessing, will lift us, will change us, will qualify us to become more and more like the Lord. However, some of the time we find ourselves getting caught up in the machinery of the Church. Some of the time we get caught up in the theology of the Church, in the programs. Some of the time, because we get caught up in those things, we fail to realize that, unless somewhere along the line the image of the Savior becomes emblazoned on everything we see and everything we do, then the great purpose for that divine organization and its divine principles will be nullified.

Let me liken membership in the Church to the possession of a beautiful, powerful car. In fact, it’s the finest car money can buy. We love to get in it and drive around; there is a great deal of satisfaction in just owning it. We obtain so much satisfaction in possessing the car that we fail to realize the car was given to us as a means to an end, not an end in itself. It was given to us to make the most important journey in our lives. SO it is with the Church. It’s a beautiful, successful organization capable of bringing many blessings into our lives, but the main reason we were given the Church is so that we might make the journey from where we are to where the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is, that we might learn who he is and exercise a mighty faith in him!

What a challenge to make sure we realize the Church must be a divine launching pad to Christ, that the Church is a means to an end, that it may be possible to be converted to the Church without being converted to the Lord, but it’s never possible to be converted to the Lord without being converted to the Church. If you go all the way to the Lord, you’ll see the Church is the only means whereby ultimate redemption will come to the world–the only means.

Spiritual Rebirth

The fundamental process by which the Lord and his divine church can accomplish their destined purpose is through the scriptural doctrine of being born again. If an individual will enter the waters of baptism and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and then with all his heart search the scriptures and serve in building the kingdom–recognizing his dependency on the Lord even to the point of having a broken heart and contrite spirit–then the heavenly element of the Holy Ghost will cleanse him of his sins and free him from ignorance. His body will be clean and a veritable temple for the Spirit to dwell in constantly. As the full experience of being “born again” transpires, one becomes a son or daughter of Christ, having been spiritually begotten of him. In fact, brothers and sisters, that’s the time when the Lord really becomes personal, because marvelously enough, amazingly enough, through the ordinances and the principles and this experience of being born again, you and I can partake of the divine nature of Christ. We can have his image engraved upon our countenances. Through that process we then stand in a position to solve our problems, to free ourselves from our personality idiosyncrasies, to discover who we really are. We can pick up a sense of destiny. Through that experience, brothers and sisters, there will be no question in our minds that in Christ we can find the solutions to every problem that comes into our lives and that in him we can do everything he asks us to do. In that experience we will see the Lord as the fountain of all righteousness.

The gospel, in a sense, is composed of two different kinds of truth. There is what we refer to as the doctrine of Christ, that is, those principles and ordinances we need to know and participate in to become clean from sin and to partake of the special powers of the Atonement. It is the doctrine of Christ that is distinctive to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The second dimension of truth in the gospel is the moral and ethical truths, which truths are found essentially in every great and good system of thought on earth. When the prophets speak of the “power of godliness” that’s available in the gospel, they are referring to the doctrine of Christ. If we, having obtained testimonies of the gospel, will immerse ourselves in the doctrine of Christ–that is, resolve to comprehend by revelation the meaning of the first principles and their relationship to Christ–then we will acquire, as an endowment from the Spirit, a celestial dimension of moral and ethical character. However, if after acquiring our testimonies we then spend endless hours in a humanistic, secular approach to living the good life we can never–worlds without end–go above or beyond the development of a terrestrial character.

Some of the time I am deeply troubled in my heart when I see members of the Church approach the gospel as though it were simply a moral and ethical system. True, it is a moral and ethical system, but it’s also much more than that. As President J. Reuben Clark put it powerfully in 1938 in Aspen Grove:

We use the tithes of the Church to carry on the Church school system, and these are impressed with a holy trust. . . . The tithing represents too much toil, too much self-denial, too much sacrifice, too much faith, to be used for colorless instruction of the youth of the Church in elementary ethics. . . . Students fully sense the hollowness of teachings which would make the gospel plan a mere system of ethics, they know that Christ’s teachings are in the highest degree ethical, but they also know they are more than this. [The Charted Course of the Church Education, 8 August 1938]

Years ago President McKay, as a young member of the Sunday School general board, was going over to the islands. The evening before arriving he stood on the deck of the ship and marveled at the beauty of God’s handiwork. The clouds overhead were tinged in pink, and the islands in the distance were like velvety diamonds. He said, “Is there anything more beautiful than this?” As he thought about it, he said, “Yes, there is something more beautiful than this. The character of men and women who know who Christ is is more beautiful than this. The innocence that you see in children’s eyes is more beautiful than this.” That night, after he retired, he saw in the dreams of the night what he referred to as the eternal city. He said he saw people dressed in long, white, flowing robes, moving along through a gate into that heavenly city. Off to one side he saw the Master, even Christ. He was some distance away, but he couldn’t see the Savior’s features clearly and wondered who these people were who were moving in through the gate. As though his mind were being read by the Lord, the Lord raised his hand and drew his attention to the writing of the gate: “These are they who have overcome the world–who have truly been born again.”

President McKay in general conference in 1960–speaking to members of the Church, those who had gone down into the waters of baptism and had had hands laid on their heads but who perhaps for one reason or another hadn’t persisted in paying the price to grow and develop in the endowments of the Spirit so that it could be said of them that they were truly born again–said:

May God grant that . . . members of the Church everywhere resist temptations that weaken the body, that destroy the soul, that we may be born again; that our souls might bask in the light of the Holy Spirit, and go on as true members of the Church of Jesus Christ until our mission on earth is completed.[Conference Report, April 1960, p. 29]

What a challenge! From my perspective, brothers and sisters, just from what I see, I think the greatest need in the Church is for the members of the Church to be truly born again, to be quickened by that heavenly element of the Holy Ghost, to grow in the stature of Christ, to acquire his qualities and his characteristics–as Peter put it, to partake of his divine nature.

In that setting, then, could I share with you a quote of Brigham Young’s about what would happen if we tried with all of our hearts to live under the influence and power of the Holy Ghost? (I remember hearing President McConkie say it ought to be the goal of all members of the Church to so live as to have the Spirit with us at all times.) President Young made a statement that I would like to read because of the simplicity of the message. (Jacob 4 says that the Jews tended to look beyond the mark and therefore had the simplicity of the gospel taken away from them, and they stumbled.) Brigham recorded a dream in which he went to visit Joseph Smith, who said:

Tell the people to be humble and faithful, and be sure to keep the spirit of the Lord and it will lead them right. Be careful and not turn away the small still voice; it will teach them what to do and where to go; it will yield the fruits of the Kingdom. Tell the brethren to keep their hearts open to conviction, so that when the Holy Ghost comes to them their hearts will be ready to receive it. They can tell the spirit of the Lord from all spirits; it will whisper peace and joy to their souls; it will take malice, hatred, strife and all evil from their hearts; and their whole desire will be to do good, bring forth righteousness and build up the kingdom of God. Tell the brethren if they will follow the spirit of the Lord, they will go right. Be sure to tell the people to keep the spirit of the Lord; and if they will, they will find themselves just as they were organized by our Father in Heaven before they came into the world. Our Father in Heaven organized the human family, but they are all disorganized and in great confusion. [“Journal History,” 23 February 1847]

What a beautiful experience, brothers and sisters, testifying again that the fundamental process by which human nature is changed is really quite simple. This process consists of having faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, forsaking our sins, keeping the commandments, being filled with the Spirit, partaking of the divine nature of Christ, really becoming like him–the greatest personality of all. If we want to change our personalities, if we want to come alive, if we want to get excited about who we are, why not touch home base with the greatest personality of all, even the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? Finally, it’s only he who can change human nature. Oh, it’s true we can change human behavior, but changing human behavior is a lot different form changing human nature. Only the blood of Christ can place us in a position to have our nature changed.

Personal Knowledge of the Savior

Brothers and sisters, for several years I have read this particular verse: “Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall se my face and know that I am” (D&C 93:1). I’ve heard the Brethren bear witness to the truths of that particular statement. I’ve pondered in my mind what it meant. I know how careful one needs to be in seeking for certain experiences, but as I read that scripture, and as I look at my involvement in the Church and the involvement of those that I have great respect for, I see men and women who in their minds and in their hearts are convinced that ultimately they can know the Lord fully and totally. Ultimately they can see him. They know that he lives by the whisperings of the Spirit.

Because they know that he lives, they’re pleased to forsake their sins, to come to him, to obey his voice, to do all of the things that he would have them do, but there’s a lively hope in their hearts and ultimately they will see him. Brothers and sisters, I believe in the ideal with all of my heart. I believe that there’s something lifting, something tremendously soul-transforming that occurs to us when we determine in our hearts that someday we’re going to know the Lord, that we’re going to see him, that sometime we’re going to have a total and complete relationship with him, and that someday we’ll be able to stand up and say we have a perfect knowledge that he lives. By the time that we can bear that testimony, we can rest assured that he has worked a mighty work in us, that he has changed us, that we will have been transformed into his image.

In conclusion, I’m convinced in my own mind that the great key by which we can obtain the power and develop the relationship with the Lord that he would have us have is prayer. Some years ago I read this inspiring statement of Joseph Smith’s: “It is the first principle of the gospel to know for a certainty the character of God, and to know that we may converse with Him as one man converses with another” (Documentary History of the Church, 6:305). One that occasion there came a witness to my soul that it is possible to converse with the Lord as one man converses with another. We can call upon the Father through Christ and have a marvelous relationship with the Lord. Knowing Joseph couldn’t lie, I determined in my heart that I would try to develop that kind of communication.

Could I, brothers and sisters, bear witness to you that I know that if every day with great fervor and great determination we will go to the Lord in mighty prayer, lifting up our voice, pleading with him that we might be filled with his Spirit and that we might be instruments in his hands to bless and to strengthen and to build his kingdom, if we will go to him with the kind of intensity that will suggest that we want that more than anything in life–then gradually, beautifully, quietly, the Holy Ghost will distill upon our hearts that strength, that peace, those qualities and characteristics that will enable us to do his work. Oh, I know that is true! I know it with all of my heart. I know even as I know that God lives, that Heavenly Father hears and answers prayer, that personal revelation is real, that the veil can become thin so that you and I can see mighty things, that he’s pleased to bare his arm, even Jehovah, so that we might know he is a god of power and that in him we can accomplish all of the things he would have us do. Oh, I know that with all of my heart.

Joseph Smith, on one occasion while he was away from home and away from his wife, wrote in a letter to Emma:

My situation is a very unpleasant one although I will endeavor to be contented the Lord assisting me. I have visited a grove which is just back of the town almost every day where I can be secluded from the eyes of any mortal and there give vent to all the feelings of my heart in meditation and prayer. I have called to mind all the past moments of my life and am left to mourn and shed tears of sorrow for my folly in suffering the adversary of my soul to have so much power over me as he has had in times past, but God is merciful and has forgiven my sins and I rejoice that he sendeth forth the Comforter unto as many as believe and humble themselves before him. I was grieved to hear that Hiram had lost his little child. I think we can in some degree sympathize with him but we all must be reconciled to our lots and say the will of the Lord be done. Sister Whitney wrote a letter to her husband which was very cheery and being unwell at the time and filled with much anxiety it would have been very consoling to me to have received a few lines from you. But as you did not take the trouble I will try to be contented with my lot knowing that God is my friend. In him I shall find comfort. I have given my life into his hands. I am prepared to go at his call. I desire to be with Christ. I count not my life dear to me only to do his will. [6 June 1832, Chicago Historical Society]

In a sense, brothers and sisters, there’s really only one principle of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and that’s faith in Jesus Christ. In a sense there’s only one law, and that’s obedience to Jesus Christ. And in a sense, there’s really only one endowment, and that’s charity, the pure love of Christ. I know with all my heart that–if we will take advantage of our membership in the Church and will search the doctrine of Christ, serving the Lord with all of our hearts, carrying a heavy load of responsibility as we try to climb the mountain of spirituality–as time goes on the living reality of the Savior will be the greatest reality in our lives, and we will see him as the center of all things. He will be the home of our heart, and in him we will have the ability to help Zion put on her lovely garments. As the Savior said, “Therefore, hold up your light that it may shine to the world. Behold I am the light which ye shall hold up” (3 Nephi 18:24). May we do that in his power. May the Lord bless you that you might grow and increase in the knowledge and stature of him after whom this Church is named and through whom we can have the power ultimately to become sanctified and perfected. I say this humbly and express appreciation for being with you today in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Cardston Temple Vision - World War III

Cardston, Alberta Canada December 14, 1933 Robert W. Smith, Esq. Salt Lake City, Utah Dear Brother Smith: I am pleased to answer your letter of December 1st-first as to the letter of a non-member who wrote of "impressions" received while going through the Temple before it was dedicated, the truth of which letter you ask me to verify and which I am pleased to do. It was a Quaker lady who was a magazine writer from eastern Canada. She has some relatives in Lethbridge, about 60 miles from Cardston; and being so deeply impressed on her first visit, she had them bring her a second time -this time I was acting as guide. She would sit in each room and never said a word to any in the company, but seemed to be in deep meditation all the time. When she reached her own home several weeks after, she wrote this letter which has caused so much comment all over the Church. We have never been able to understand how she seemed to know so much about our faith and our belief in our future life and works after death. I never learned her real name. She visited us along in 1921. I have never heard from her since that time, but the letter is genuine, and of her own "impressions!" received while in the Temple while on the two visits she mentions. Sincerely your Brother, 0/S Elder J. Wood, Pres. Alberta Stake This is her actual letter of her visions: We have been to the Temple erected by your church wherein are to be performed the sacred rites in accordance with your faith. The first time I was strongly impelled to describe to you my impressions. I did so but before the completion of the letter, I received some news that so affected me that acting upon the spur of the moment, I destroyed the document in its entirety. The continued feeling within me of dissatisfaction as to something left undone, coupled with the desire upon the part of the members of my household who had not visited the temple, led to our second visit to Cardston, in which you so kindly consented to accompany us, notwithstanding the inclement weather and personal inconvenience to yourself which the journey entailed. It was because of this and many other evidences of your friendship that has given me the privilege to presume to bother you with what after all may be foolish fantacies of a too impressionable mentality. To me it does seem so, for never before in my life have such powerful impressions been infringed upon my inner consciousness as during my visit thru the Temple. Especially was this true at our second visit. The impressions of our first visit were repeated with such overwhelming intensity and variety of detail that I must positively inform you of my experience. It seems to me it were a sacred duty upon my part to do this, and knowing as I do that your friends will lightly ridicule what to me is a personal matter, I am going to give you in detail my experience in the hope, that if it is well, maybe it is something more than imagination, that you and others of your faith may wisely analyze and correctly use whatever may be gleaned from this letter. A fortress in time of storm, was the first thought that shaped itself in my mind with my first view of this ancient, yet modern temple; mellowed with the spiritual usage of ancient civilization and customs, yet alert, virile, and watchful. A grand, solemn, strong, beautiful, useful house of spiritual progression which seemed to be the embodiment of architectural expression of ancient civilization and glories suddenly re-incarnated and for a future and higher civilization than our own. Strength and beauty exaggerated the more flimsy houses and buildings of the town and gave a painfully obvious example of how the soul within is expressed thru the material body, either in the individual or nation, or a race, either in the man or his architecture. Try how I would I could not get away from the feeling that the town itself was inferior to the latest building, so new and yet so old. Even the electric lights failed to change this thought, that the Temple and the town represented two different epochs of humanity’s spiritual development expressed in architecture. The town embodied the present epoch, science, art, invention harnessed purely for trade or commerce, irrespective of past or future development. The Temple embodies the accumulated knowledge of the ancient world combined with the modern inventions of science and inspiration as the road to a higher future development so near at hand. Let me put it down even another way. There is a place called Cardston. A Temple linking the past with the present has been built at Cardston and the town has become a collection of flimsy huts nestling at the foot of the Temple which will continue to function for the spiritual purposes for which it is raised. Just as the exterior impressions compared with the present and future epochs so did the interior also reflect comparison. Of the beautiful and artistic effects I need not dwell; abler pens can describe the interior from this viewpoint. Sufficient for me to say that the shape of the Temple is a cross, that each apartment is symbolical in artistic and structural effects of some stage of humanity's progress thru the ages. In fact, everything physical is a stepping stone to spiritual progress as such is typified in these ceremonies. All this was kindly and intelligently explained to us by Mr. Duce on one occasion and by Mr. Wood on the second visit; but I am afraid I was very indifferent and inattentive upon both occasions, for which I tender them my sincere apologies. I had no intentions of being rude or discourteous, but from the moment of entering the Temple until leaving, I was placed in the position of having, as it were, to listen to and grasp a dual narrative all the time, with the result that so engrossed was I at times that I am afraid I was so absent-minded as to appear inattentive if not positively stupid. I have stated that my impression of the exterior of the building was that of a place of waiting for a higher civilization than our present one. This would suggest a condition of emptiness, but that is not what I mean. An ordinary newly erected building has no atmosphere at all until it has been inhabited some time; after which, it has, as it were, a living atmosphere. What kind of an atmosphere this is, is largely determined by the spiritual development and thought of the persons using and inhabiting the building. This applies especially to places of worship or consecration, and is very noticeable to a sensitive person. Sometimes such an atmosphere is agreeable, exalting, etc.; sometimes very much the reverse, depending upon the spiritual harmony or otherwise of the persons under this atmospheric rule; but was not so as far as it was concerned while outside the Temple. I could not understand the overwhelming scene of ancient atmosphere which the building actually possessed in its very granite blocks in spite of the fact that I know a few months previous these stones had been laid, yet the feeling of age predominated. I dismissed the feeling as well as I could by thinking that the place of the structure was responsible for the suggestion of age, but when I entered the Temple, how quickly I found there was nothing to suggest to me that present atmosphere of which I have spoken, but was it empty? Emphatically no! Time and again as I listened to the speaker explaining some phase of the building or its meaning, I would be seeing beyond him some illustration of kaleidoscopic nature, depicting what he was describing, only more completely and vividly. The characters were so plain to me that I required all my self control to keep silent from room to room. This continued and only ceased when we were out in the frost and snow once more. There was no set plan for presenting these pictures to me. It seemed as if when I thought something mental, a picture instantly presented itself in explanation of some word of the conductor, which would have the same effect. I was not afraid, only awed by the wonder of it all and the fearful impressive feeling that I received which seemed to imbed every little detailed scene into my brain, from which it will ever remember and record; and vivid as all of it was, these incidents herein related are the ones upon which I received instructions. The scenes which I observed of an historical character seemed chiefly to verify and amplify the speaker's outline of past history, and so I do not feel impressed to record such, except to state that the same patriarchal characters whom I observed directing and influencing the early movements of the Church, were the same down through every age and epoch, and as the scenes advanced to more modern times, I saw among these spiritual characters and counselors, persons whose features I had previously observed as being in the material body on other historical occasions. It seemed as though the temple was filled with the actual spiritual bodies of these previous leaders of your church, each seeming to have the work that person was engaged in whilst in the flesh. In that temple I saw persons who were leaders of your church, during its march across the American desert now engaged in helping these higher patriarchs under whose orders they seemed to be working. It was these latter spiritual leaders, if I may use that term, who seemed to be instructed to show me the scenes here recorded. I can give no time as to the happening, except that the impressions I received were of actual present or immediate future. I saw first a brief but comprehensive sketch of the present state of the world, or as you would term it, the Gentile Kingdoms. Each country in turn was shown, its anarchy, hunger, ambitions, distrusts and warlike activities, etc., and in my mind was formed from some source the words, "As it is today with the Gentiles." I saw international war again break out with its center upon the Pacific Ocean, but sweeping and encircling the whole globe. I saw that the opposing forces were roughly divided by so-called Christianity on the one side, and by the so-called followers of Mohammed and Buddha on the other. I saw that the great driving power within these so-called Christian nations, was the Great Apostasy of Rome, in all its political, social and religious aspects. I saw the worldwide dislocation and devastation of production and slaughter of people occur more swiftly and upon a larger scale than ever before. I saw an antagonism begin to express itself from those so-cal1ed Christian nations against your people. I saw those with a similar faith to yours in the far east begin to look toward Palestine for safety. I saw the international world war automatically break down, and national revolution occur in every country, and complete the work of chaos and desolation. I saw geological disturbances occur, which helped in this work as if it were intended to do so. I saw the Cardston Temple preserved from all of this geological upheaval. I saw the international boundary line disappear as these two governments broke up and dissolved into chaos. I saw race rioting upon the American continent on a vast scale. I saw hunger and starvation in this world; I saw disease produced by hunger, strife and chaos complete the end of this present order or epoch. How long these events were in reaching this consummation I do not know, but my impression was from the outbreak of the international war these things developed into a continuous procession, and almost ran concurrently, as it is with a sickness, the various symptoms are all in evidence at one and the same time, but in different stages of development. My intensified thought was "What of the Church," if such is to become of the Kingdoms of the earth? Was immediately answered by a subconscious statement. "As it is in the church today," and I saw these higher spiritual beings throughout the length and breadth of the air, marshalling their spiritual forces, and concentrating them upon the high officials of your church upon earth. I saw the spiritual forces working upon those officers, impressing and moving them, influencing and warning them. I saw the spiritual forces begin to unfold these things into the minds of your elders and other high officials, especially during their spiritual devotions and official duties, and those activities which exalt the mind of the individual or groups. I saw the impressions take hold and inspire the more receptive and spiritual men, until it was all clearly revealed to them in the way the spiritual patriarch desired. Again I seemed to hear the words, "As it will be." I saw the high officials in council, and under inspired guidance issue instructions to your people to re-consecrate their lives and energies to their faith, to voluntarily discipline themselves, by abstaining from all those forms of indulgence which weaken the body, sap the mentality and deaden the spirit, or waste the income. I saw further on, instructions given whereby places of refuge were prepared quietly but efficiently by inspired elders. I saw Cardston and the surrounding foothills, especially north and west, for miles, being prepared as a refuge for your people quietly but quickly. I saw elders still under divine guidance, counseling and encouraging the planting of every available acre of soil in this district, so that large supplies would be near the refuge. I saw the church property under cultivation of an intensified character, not for sale or profit, but for the use of the people. I saw artesian wells and other wells dug all over that territory so that when the open waters were polluted and poisoned that the people of the church and their cattle should be provided for. I saw the fuel resources of the district develop in many places and vast piles of coal and timber stored for future use and building. I saw the territory carefully surveyed and mapped out, for the camping of a great body of the people of the church. I saw provision also made for a big influx of people who will not at first belong to the church, but who will gather in their tribulation. I saw vast quantities of surgical appliances, medicines, disinfectants, etc., stored in the temple basement. I saw inspiration given the elders whereby the quantity, quality and kind of things to be stored were judged, which might not be attainable in this territory in time of chaos. I saw defensive preparations working out the organizations of the camps on maps. I saw the mining corridors used as places of storage underground: I saw the hills surveyed and corrals built in sequestered places for cattle, sheep, etc., quietly and quickly. I saw the plans for the organization of the single men and their duties, the scouts, the guards, the nurses, the cooks, the messengers, the children, the herders, the temple guards, etc.. I saw these things going on practically unknown to the Gentile world, except the Great Apostasy, whose knowledge and hatred is far reaching, in this day of its temporary power. This was going on piece by piece as the Elders were instructed so to do. I saw the other officials obeying the inspired instructions, carrying their message and exhorting the people to carry out, from time to time the revelation given them, whilst all around throughout the Gentile world the chaos developed in its varying stages, faction against faction, nation against nation, but all in open or secret hostility to your people and their faith. I saw your people draw closer and closer together, as this became more tense and as the spiritual forces warned them through the mouth of your elders and your other officers. I saw the spiritual forces influencing those members who had drifted away, to re-enter the fold. I saw a greater tithing than ever before. I saw vast quantities of necessaries supplied by members whose spiritual eyes had been opened. I saw a liquidation of properties and effects disposed of quietly but quickly by members of the church, as the spiritual influences directed them. I saw the inspired call sent forth to all the church, to gather to the refuges of Zion. I saw the stream of your people quietly moving in the direction of their refuge. I saw your people moving more quickly and in larger numbers until all the stragglers were housed. I saw the wireless message flashed from Zion's refuge to Zion's refuge in their several places that all was well with them, and then the darkness of chaos closed around the boundaries of your people, and the last days of tribulation had begun. Sols Caurdisto