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Ol IAI ITY FHI irATION- Tr^ni"9 of mind, body and spirit ^UrALI I I LL^UW-M I WIN. toqether in an ideal social dim
climate
Brigham Young University is unique. It ranks among the great universities of the world because it possesses a character, a personality, that certain some- thing. That is one of the ingredients of a great univen sity along with a well trained and dedicated faculty, adequate and comfortable campus with well equipped classrooms and laboratories, and a student body of high quality. Here, truly, one receives that extra — the training of mind, body and spirit together in an ideal social climate.
To meet the demands of education for the floods of students now seeking admission, the University has added faculty and expanded the campus. But it should operate only to capacity if it is to maintain that quality education. To maintain proper numbers and standards, the University recently announced earlier application dates and more selective regulations.
You can improve your chances of a quality educa- tion by keeping up your grades and meeting the dead- lines listed in the next column. It is worth working for.
VITAL DATES TO REMEMBER
April 24 — Next date for American College Test (necessary with application for admission). Regis- tration period for this test, Feb. 22 to April 3.
June 1 9 — The following ACT date. Registration period, April 26 to June 5. Check your local high school or college for arrangements.
May 1 — Application deadline for Summer School scholarships for new students.
May 31 — Application deadline for admission to first term of Summer School for new and former stu- dents.
June 30 — Application deadline for admission to sec- ond term of Summer School.
June 14-July 16 — First term, Summer School.
July 19-Aug. 20 — Second term, Summer School.
July 31 — Deadline for applications for admission to autumn semester.
Brigham Young UNIVERSITY
PROVO-UTAH
Exploring
the
Universe
By Dr. Franklin S. Harris Jr.
FAST JAPANESE TRAINS
The National Railroad of Japan is building a new rail line to connect Tokyo and Osaka. The three-hour schedule on the Tokaido line be- tween the cities 320 miles apart will have trains operating at 120 miles per hour. Test runs of 159 miles per hour have already been made.
IT'S A COLD WORLD
Fifty percent of the land area of Canada and the Soviet Union and twenty percent of the earth is located in climatic zones where the mean annual temperature is below freezing. A thin crust at the surface thaws during the summer months but underneath the soil or rocks remain permanently frozen, and this is called permafrost. In the normal arctic soil a layer of frozen organic material two to six inches thick at a depth of from sixteen to fifty-two inches below the surface, when dated by radiocarbon, indi- cates an age of warming 8,000 to 10,000 years ago. In permafrost country the water mains and sew- ers are carried above ground in insulated "utilidors."
SUBMERGENCE RATE OF COAST
The submergence of the New Jersey coast has been measured, with the help of radiocarbon dates, by study- ing the lagoon between the Brigan- tine City Barrier and the mainland. The rate of submergence was about ten feet per thousand years in the period between 6,000 and 2,600 years ago. The present rate is about four feet per thousand years.
President Smith has
Zions Bank's Oldest Account
When Joseph Fielding Smith, Jr. was three months old, his father, Church President Joseph F. Smith, opened savings account number 615 in his son's name.
Account 615 is still held by Joseph Fielding Smith (now President Smith). It is the bank's oldest continuously-held account. President Smith's confidence in Zions Bank is backed by 88 years of personal experience and over 50 years as a member of the Board of Directors.
For your principal bank account or for your "other bank account," checking or savings account, there's no better place than Zions Bank. Open your account by mail or in person.
te ZIONS FIRST NATIONAL BANK
FOUNDED BY BRIGHAM YOUNG — 1873
70 East South Temple 235 South Main 8th West & 21st South Cottonwood Mall 102 South Main 450 South 2nd West 7th East & 4th South Kearns Taylorsville
Send mail to 70 East South Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah
Member Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
The Improvement Era
The Voice of the Church
Official organ of the Priesthood Quorums, Mutual Improvement Associations, Home Teaching, Music Committee, Department of Education, and other agencies of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Contents for February 1965
Volume 68. Number 2
Church Features
The Editor's Page: Responsibilities of Those Who Enter the Temple,
President David O. McKay 92
Talks Given at the Dedication of the Oakland Temple
"In the Process of Time . . ." President David O. McKay 106
Appreciation, Delbert F. Wright 107
The Oakland Temple in the Making, O. Leslie Stone 109
Saviors on Mount Zion, President Joseph Fielding Smith Ill
The Way of the Lord Has Come, Henry D. Taylor 112
"The Dawning of a Brighter Day," Gordon B. Hinckley 113
The Second Coming, President Hugh B. Brown 114
The House of the Lord, Marion G. Romney 119
Preparing to Meet the Lord. Harold B. Lee 121
Seek out Your Dead, President N. Eldon Tanner 125
The Glory of Ancient Temples— and Modern, Sterling W. Sill 127
". . . That My People May Be Taught More Perfectly . . ."
EIRay L. Christiansen 130
"Seek First the Kingdom of God," Delbert L. Stapley 132
"Accept, O Lord, Our Offering of This House," Spencer W. Kimball 134
In This Holy House, Thomas S. Monson ,. 136
". . . The Lord Hath Spoken . . ." LeGrand Richards 138
The Oakland Temple— Culmination of History, Howard W. Hunter 140
The Temple in Terms of Family Life, George W. Romney 143
Eternal Assurances, Richard L. Evans 144
The Church Moves On, 84; Melchizedek Priesthood: The Father in the Family, 148;
Presiding Bishopric's Page, 150.
Special Features
Since Cumorah, New Voices from the Dust, Part 2, Hugh Nibley 100
Teaching: Inspired Revision of the Bible, Part 1, Robert J. Matthews 104
The Spoken Word from Temple Square, Richard L. Evans 157
Exploring the Universe, Franklin S. Harris, Jr., 81; These Times: The American Two-Party System, G. Homer Durham, 86; Letters and Reports, 90.
The Era of Youth: I Believe 161
The Last Word 176
Family and Home Features
The First Year after Marriage, Part 1, Harvey L. Taylor 96
Today's Family: Florence B. Pinnock, Editor
To Earn a Friend 152
For the Family Home Evening: Home, Sweet Home 155
Stories, Poetry
The Inheritance, Reginald J. Lowe, Sr 94
Poetry 88, 129, 137, 160
The Improvement Era Offices, 79 South State Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110
David O. McKay and Richard L. Evans, Editors; Doyle L. Green, Managing Editor; Marba C. Josephson, Associate Managing Editor- Albert L Zobell Tr
Research Editor; Carter E. Grant, Donna Higcins, Becki Davis, Darold Marlowe, Editorial Associates; Florence B. Pinnock, Today's Family Editor- Marion
D. Hanks, The Era of Youth Editor; Elaine Cannon, The Era of Youth Associate Editor; Art Direction: Ralph Reynolds Studio.
G. Homer Durham, Franklin S. Harris, Jr., Hugh Nibley, Sidney B. Sperry, Alma A. Gardiner, Contributing Editors.
G. Carlos Smith, Jr., General Manager; Florence S. Jacobsen, Associate General Manager; Verl F. Scott, Business Manager; A. Glen Snarr Subscription
Director; Thayer Evans, Advertising Director.
©General Superintendent, Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1965, and published by the Mutual Improvement Associations of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All rights reserved. Subscription price, $3.00 a year, in advance; multiple subscrip- tions, 2 years, $5.75; 3 years, $8.25; each succeeding year, $2.50 a year added to the three year price.
Entered at the Post Office, Salt Lake City, Utah as second-class matter. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in section 1103 act of October 1917, authorized July 2, 1918.
The Improvement Era is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts but welcomes contributions. Manuscripts are paid for on acceptance at the rate of 2c a word and must be accompanied by sufficient postage for delivery and return.
Thirty days' notice is required for change of address. When ordering a change, please include address slip from a recent issue of the magazine. Address changes cannot be made unless the old address as well as the new one is included.
ART AND PHOTO CREDITS
81 Art: Ed Maryon
94 Art: Dale Kilbourn 96-99 Art: Ted Nagata 106 Art: Ted Nagata 148 Photos: Maurice Scanlon 152-3 Photo: Robert Perine 161 Art: Ed Maryon, Dale Kilbourn 162-3 Photos: Gene Heil 168-9 Photos: Ramon Winegar 172-3 Art: Dave Burton 174 Art: Ed Maryon, Dale Kilbourn
All other art and photos: Ralph Reynolds Studio
NEW ADDRESS FOR ERA OFFICES
After March 1 The Improvement Era offices will be located on the 7th floor of the Beehive State Bank Building at 79 South State Street, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84110.
THE COVER
"Snow on Cottonwoods— Arizona" is the title given this lovely picture by Wayne Davis, St. Johns, Arizona, the photographer. Is it the chill of old winter hanging on? or an early spring snowstorm with the promise of better weather to come? or a mixture of the two seasons of winter and spring? Whatever it is, the beauty of such scenes makes one feel that it is indeed good to be alive.
Cover Lithographed in full color by Deseret News Press
THE IMPROVEMENT BRA
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A HERITAGE OF FAITH
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50
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(3) THE BEATITUDES
by L. Elmer Peterson A Latter-day Saint interpretation of these beloved capsules of divine wisdom . . . more than just platitudes they touch on the deeper doctrines of the Kingdom.
$J95
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THIS WAY BUT ONCE
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A book that offers stimulation for
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AARONIC PRIESTHOOD Through the Centuries
by Lee A. Palmer
An intriguing and scholarly history of the lesser priesthood from its inception to the present day. It gathers together a record of the authority and functions of the priest- hood, not only from sacred writings, ancient and modern, but also from scholarly commentaries and secular histories.
$395
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$995
L (6)
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CHARACTER AND LEADERSHIP
by Leland H. Monson and Clinton W. Barton
America, the world, and the Church needs men of Character and Leadership. Here, for Latter-day Saints, are thirteen success- ful ways of promoting and producing men of character. Written with clarity and pre- cision.
50
J2
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HAPPY HOURS
by Hazel West Lewis
Essential for all Family get-togethers where there are little children to be charmed and fascinated by these sprightly stories and sparkling illustrations.
$2
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The Church
Moves
On
DECEMBER 1964
Elder Henry G. Tempest was appointed to manage the office of the Presiding Bishopric in Frankfurt, Germany. He succeeds Elder David Thomas. This European office is caring for church supplies, records, and financial responsibilities in Europe.
The First Presidency announced that a new Church Procure- ment Committee has been set up to correlate all purchases for the Church with the various directors of the committees in charge of purchasing for each department. Presiding Bishop John H. Vanden- berg is the group's supervisor, with Gordon Affleck, church purchas- ing agent, as executive committeeman. Other members include Gilbert O. Nieman, church building committee; George Collins, church hospitals; Jerry J. Sargent, church supplies; and Ben E. Lewis, church schools.
Q Elder Russell M. Nelson and counselors Elders Albert R. Bo wen and Joseph B. Wirthlin sustained as the presidency of Bonneville (Salt Lake City) Stake, succeeding President Frank B. Bowers and counselors, Elders Ira B. Sharp and Ferdinand E. Peterson.
The "Faith in Action" program of the National Broadcasting Company's radio network featured the Polynesian clubs of
Brigham Young University, who presented, in word and song,
Christmas in the islands. /
This morning President David O. McKay officially cut the silver ribbon at the entrance of the new parking plaza behind the Church Office building, opening that three-story underground facility. It will accommodate approximately 1500 cars.
[Jl Giving a definite German flavor to Christmas, the "Faith in J Action" radio program of the National Broadcasting Company featured the LDS German Chorus in Salt Lake City. Elder Percy K. Fetzer, former president of the Berlin Mission, also spoke briefly.
[President David O. McKay, President Joseph Fielding Smith I of the Council of the Twelve, and President Marion D. Hanks of the First Council of the Seventy spoke at the annual meeting of church office employees, which honors both the Christmas season and the birth of the Prophet Joseph Smith.
The First Presidency announced the appointment of Elder Lamont F. Toronto as president of the Canadian Mission, succeed- ing President Frank H. Pitcher. President Toronto will retire as Utah Secretary of State in January. Long active in the Church, he is a former missionary to New Zealand, has served as a Sunday School teacher for a number of years, and is a former bishop of Duncan (Salt Lake City) Ward. Mrs. Toronto and their four chil- dren will accompany him to the field of labor.
"Children and Christmas," narrated by Elder Richard L. Evans and featuring the Salt Lake (Continued on page 86)
84
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
Many people claim this simple statement contains the secret of wealth. If it does not contain the entire secret of wealth, it does contain the secret of successful money management. When family expenditures are less than family income, the re- sult is happiness. When expenditures exceed in- come, the result is misery. To help families achieve financial happiness, A PENNY EARNED was written. This most useful new book gives LDS families a clear, understandable insight into the art of successful money management— an invalu- able guide for LDS family financial planning.
A PENNY EARNED
by Howard D. Lowe and Ruth Reeve Lowe
$3.00
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Ten centuries of the Lord's work rolls forth upon the shoulders of some of his most noble leaders. From 2,000 to 1,000 BC, the history of His servants unfolds — revealing such giants as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and many more. An outstanding sequel to the best seller, "The First 2,000 Years," THE THIRD THOUSAND YEARS continues with a clear explanation of the thundering drama of biblical events, commencing with the era of Abra- ham...making Bible reading an exciting adventure.
THE THIRD THOUSAND YEARS
by W. Cleon Skousen
$5.95
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Please send the book (books) as indicated for which I enclose check or money order for $
□ A Penny Earned □ The Third Thousand Years
ADDRESS CITY
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FEBRUARY 1865
88
The Church Moves On (Continued from page 84)
Tabernacle Choir, was a special presentation of the television net- work of the Columbia Broadcasting System this Christmas Eve.
The National Broadcasting Company's "Faith in Action" raido program was given to the Salt Lake Scots Bagpipe Band which honored President David O. McKay.
The British South Mission was organized from parts of the British and the Southwest British missions by Elder Mark E. Petersen of the Council of the Twelve and president of the West European Mission. Elder Don K. Archer has been called by the First Presidency to preside over the new mission. President Archer, who has been serving in the Southwest British Mission as a missionary since Au- gust, is a former bishop of the Holladay (Salt Lake County) Eleventh Ward. He had previously served as a bishop's counselor, a stake Aaronic Priesthood commit- teeman, and an Aaronic Priesthood adviser. Mrs. Archer and three of their four children will serve with President Archer in his new assign- ment. The British Mission has been functioning since 1837.
£f| Nearly one thousand persons visited the new Deseret Gym- nasium in Salt Lake City during the first of a two-day open-house period.
The year 1964 closed with the church members rejoicing be- cause of the blessings individually and collectively received. During the final days of 1964 each home was to have received a manual for the weekly family home evenings that are to begin with the begin- ning of 1965.
JANUARY 1965
President and Sister McKay celebrated their sixty-fourth
wedding anniversary at a family
reunion.
The American
Two- Party System
• The American political party, like Brigham Young's comment about the gospel net, brings together all kinds of "fish." Observers of the American two-party system have generally noted that differences within each of the major parties are as great, if not greater, than between them. Lord Bryce charac- terized our parties as tweedledum and tweedledee. From time to time arise individuals who attempt to modify this historic situation. Is it possible to "organize" all so-called "conservatives" in one party and all so-called "liberals" in another? Not in American politics, most long- time students of the subject believe. Some commentators have asked whether the Republican party can recover from a presidential contest in which the top of the ticket car- ried only Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Louisi- ana, and Arizona. Five of these states were the stronghold of "se- cession" from the American union a hundred years ago. In 1964 the same five also constituted the states in which fewer citizens voted than in most other states. While 77 percent of the eligible voters were casting ballots in Utah, 76.3 in Minnesota, and 75.6 in Idaho ( first, second, and third in turnout), only 39.4, 38.5, 34.1, and 33.2 were vot- ing in Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi in last place. Louisiana's 47.1 ranked 42nd. Arizona's reported 54.6 stood in 38th place.
THESE TIMES
By Dr. G. Homer Durham
President, Arizona State University, Tempe
What seems clear in the 1964 election is that the fundamental principles and forces which tra- ditionally influence and operate the American two-party system con- tinue in full operation. The two- party system's characteristics in American political life are probably stronger, more durable, and more pervading than any effort to con- strict or realign the system to any rigid, preconceived, philosophical point of view. In short, the flexible doctrines (plural) which go to make up the American two-party system carry greater force with the American electorate than any single doctrine. Thus, although only 52 electoral votes were garnered by Mr. Goldwater and Mr. Miller, long observation affords the view that the two-party system prevails and will continue to prevail.
Any effort to resculpture, re- mold, reshape, or realign the essential characteristics of this sys- tem must reckon with deep under- lying forces. Some of these forces are represented in the following considerations:
1. First, the American political party is a loose confederation of ever-changing local political organi- zations. Democrats and Republi- cans nationally, so far as their organization is concerned, are more confederate than federal. The parts of each party are self-moving and self-propelled. They may be at- tracted and persuaded towards national organization and national
86
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
organizational goals, but they can- not be compelled nor even drawn together by central authority. Those who want strict "party discipline" in the organizational sense are also foreign to the basic life of the major American parties. The Russian communist party is based on strict party "discipline." In contrast, mem- bers of American parties are nei- ther initiated, excommunicated, nor subjected to "discipline." The larg- est measure of freedom, freedom of action, freedom of political opinion, and freedom of political movement, characterize American party politics at the national level ( and gratefully at most others ) . As a result, each party tends to be inclusive rather than exclusive. Each wants nearly everybody to be included, and to exclude almost no available sup- porters.
Some may question this charac- teristic of American party life. But in a still young, growing nation the politics of freedom warrant few, if any, alternatives.
2. Any happy band or indignant group that wants to "take over" any segment of one of the major parties, or a precinct, county, state, or national convention, has to reckon with the preceding fact— literally, the politics of freedom. Parlia- mentary skills, heavy contributors, powerful publishers, leaders of "disciplined" groups to the con- trary—when the "steamroller" is used, it has to be used in full knowledge of the reactions of which our free individuals and complicated systems are capable. At the bottom of each system, great or small, is the politics of freedom. Freedom of political as well as of religious conscience is at stake: freedom of choice. Conse- quently, no politician in American life can long, if ever, stand inside a self-drawn circle and declare to his fellows: "Come, come, stand with me inside my circle. See things as I see them." Rather, in the long run, no matter what his charm, military record, legislative experi- ence, or powers of personal per- suasion, he has to say: "You stand in your circle, and I'll stand in mine. Let's talk. Let's exchange opinions. Then let's see if together we can decide on a course of action and put our circles into associa- tion." And such association is only (Concluded on follotving page)
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FEBRUARY 1'965
87
EEmg
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Effective Mar. 1, 1965
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA OFFICE
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These Times
(Concluded from preceding page)
semi-permanent. In other words, an early lesson in American politics is similar to the lesson learned by the farm lad. You may lead the pony to water, but you can't make him drink.
3. The nature of the American two-party system is thus rooted in the nature of man, supported by the nature of the American consti- tutional system. The establishment of an elected magistracy, the Presi- dency, by the Constitution made the two-party system necessary. The reasons are elementary and simple. To win a majority in the electoral college requires the widest type of "inclusion," of organization and appeal. Organizations had be- gun to form around elected magis- tracies in each hamlet, in county and what are now state jurisdic- tions, before the Revolution. To elect a President, as now, required cooperation between these differ- ent "circles." To defeat and replace a President by an opposition re- quires a similar but even wider coalition. A narrower coalition, an "exclusive" approach, will not do the job. A narrow coalition will not elect a President in the first place. The American two-party system at the national level derives from such facts.
4. Finally and fourthly in this review follows the most pervasive consequence of all, looking at the nation as a whole and not at any of its parts. That consequence, following (1) the politics of free- dom, and (2) provision by the Constitution of the Presidency, is that the two-party system is a mod- erating element in American politi- cal life. The politics of moderation prevail in the long run in American life. In presidential elections the choice is often between person- alities. There is usually some agree- ment on fundamentals. Whether tweedledee or tweedledum is elected, the victor has to achieve office by maximum recognition of the right of each voter to his own God-given opinion and his own view of the world. This does not prevent tremendous effort to change and influence opinion!
It is difficult for some to accord all men the same political privileges
desired themselves, even to vote as others may. But the basic doctrine of American politics is that all may enjoy the franchise. In a land where individualism is still nourished, the doctrine of the individual rights of all and not of some, the politics of the two-party system will prevail. And probably the long-range in- fluence of the system tends toward moderation of currently held views, not radicalism, polarization, or ex- tremes.
Swings do and will occur. Each generation has its problems and adjustments. But the American two- party system, by its nature and its tasks, appears to function as a mod- erator of the political process. Like the governor on a steam locomo- tive's shaft, the system permits movement back and forth. Violent rupture is avoided. The engine does not explode.
Such a political system provides room for vegetarians, prohibition- ists, single-taxers, radicals, con- servatives, liberals, moderates, progressives, all sorts; for those who are most happy when wrapped and adorned in labels; for those who prefer detachment. The system operates on the premise that con- tinuing consensus, achieved by free discussion and persuasion on the part of free individuals, of what- ever persuasion, is preferable to force, "holy wars," violence, or the imposition of any single will. It is a great system. It works reasonably well. I believe it will continue to do so in these times. It is part of our constitutional inheritance.
MOONRISE ON THE DESERT
BY HALLIE HOLMES
Lingering bits of tinted skies Dim, and fade to twilight hues. Darkness creeps upon the desert Mingling streaks of sunset blues.
Nighttime creatures wake and
scurry; Cacti, mute, their watches stand. Crisp, clean desert breezes blowing, Covering night with silvery sand.
Quiet stillness seems to hover Till all raucous noises fade. Moonrise shining on the desert, Framing pictures God has made.
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
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ATTENDANCE RECORD RUNS TEN YEARS
When it's time to be in church, Wesley Stringer is there— al- ways. This nineteen- year-old from El Do- rado Branch in Ar- kansas has a ten-year 100 percent attend- ance record at Sun- day School and Sac- rament meeting. For seven years— since he was made a deacon— he has had per- fect attendance in priesthood meeting. Wesley has received six individual Aaronic Priesthood awards. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Ben Stringer.
ERA IS BELOW-EQUATOR MISSIONARY
Thank you for producing such a wonder- ful publication. Often do I let my non- member friends read it, and at all times their remarks have been very positive as to the standard and quality of the periodi- cal. Do continue in this great work! Thanks once more for your fine effort.
Olev Taim
Pretoria, Republic of
South Africa
GOLD MEDALLION PLUS TWO
LaNada Hancock, member of Downey Ward, Portneuf (Idaho) Stake, earned her Gold Medallion award for receiving seven individual awards in MIA work. Then she kept right on going, earning the eighth and ninth year awards and be- ginning work on the tenth, which was interrupted by a call to serve in the Cen- tral British Mission. She is shown with her bishop, J. Dale Criddle.
"THIS BAND
IS TOO SMALLI"
Most Beehive girls don't plan to out- grow their bands— the felt bands on which they proudly wear the awards they receive during the two-year Beehive program.
For Devona Gab- rys of Salt Lake City, this was almost a problem. Devona earned all 91 honor badges, every one offered, during her Beehive activity. Her rows of cell-shaped badges climbed over her shoulder and down the back of the band almost to the bottom.
She is a Worker Bee and an Honor Bee.
EXPLORERS WIN IN WATER
A small Post of eight Explorers in the North Platte Branch of the Western States Mission has made branch mem- bers proud by receiving the Buffalo Bill District Swim Meet Senior Division tro- phy for the third year in a row.
Winning team members for 1964 ate, 1 to r, Melbourne Poff, Robert Carter, Roland Chambers, and Gary Pell.
DILIGENCE IS HONORED
JP'lfe ||^^
UTAH DRAFTEES TOP IN FITNESS
Utah ranked first in the nation in 1963 in the fitness of its military draftees on the basis of pre-induction examinations, ac- cording to a study by the Army Surgeon General's office. The study showed 67.9% of Utah draftees were acceptable, com- pared to 67.2% for Nebraska, the second- ranked state, and 50% for the national average.
Sharel Lee Nef Eileen Clay
Beverly Unbedacht (not pictured)
Young women and their Mutual leaders in increasing numbers are earning the prized Gold Medallion medal for receiv- ing seven individual awards in Mutual work.
A leader who has set the example is Letha W. Hall, Annis Ward, Rigby Stake. She is the mother of seven, grandmother to two, and serves simultaneously as Sunday School teacher, Guide Patrol leader in Primary, and YWMIA sports and camp director.
Also in the Annis Ward is college stu- dent Lelia Hanson who has earned the award. She is attending Ricks College, is working on her Golden Gleaner award, and has earned eight individual awards.
Still in eastern Idaho, Sharel Lee Nef, daughter of Bishop Darrell J. Nef, of the Leadore Ward, Salmon River Stake, has earned the award. She is a Ricks College graduate.
Eileen Clay set a high goal for younger girls in the Spokane (Washington) Stake to aim at by receiving the medallion. She has been active in the Spokane Sixth Ward and is now a student at Brigham Young University.
Also in the Northwest, Beverly Un-' bedacht received the Gold Medallion award in the Renton (Washington) Third Ward, Seattle East Stake. Beverly has served as chorister on a stake and ward level, Sunday School and Primary teacher.
90
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
NEW AMERICAN TEMPERANCE PLAN
PAYS $100 WEEKLY.
even for life to Non-drinkers and Non-smokers!
At last — a new kind of hospitalization plan for you thousands who realize drinking and smok- ing are harmful. Rates are fantastically low because "poor risk" drinkers and smokers are excluded. Since your health is superior there is no age limit, no physical examination, no wait- ing period. Only you can cancel your policy. No salesman will ever call. Starting the first day you enter any hospital, you will be paid $14.28 a day.
You do not smoke or drink —
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Every day in your newspaper you see more evidence that drinking and smoking shorten life. They're now one of America's leading health problems — a prime cause of the high premium rates most hospitali- zation policies charge.
Our rates are based on your
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READ YOUR AMERICAN TEMPERANCE PLAN BENEFITS
1. You receive $100 cash weekly —
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IMPORTANT: Check table below and include year first premium with application. LOOK AT THESE AMERICAN TEMPERANCE LOW RATES Pay Monthly Pay Yearly |
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Each child 18 and under pays |
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Application to Pioneer Life Insurance Company, Rockford, Illinois
FOR AT-300
AMERICAN TEMPERANCE HOSPITALIZATION POLICY
Name (PLEASE PRINT)
Street or RD #
City
Age Date of Birth
Occupation
Beneficiary
Jone.
.County.
.State.
Month
.Height-
Day
Year
.Weights
.Relationship.
I also apply for coverage for the members of my family listed below:
NAME AGE HEIGHT WEIGHT BENEFICIARY
L
2.
4.
To the best of your knowledge and belief, are you and all members listed above in good health and free from any physical impairment, or disease? Yes Q No Q To the best of your knowledge, have you or any member above listed had medical advice or treatment, or have you or they been advised to have a surgical operation in the last five years? Yes G No Q If so, please give details stating person affected, cause, date, name and address of attending physician, and whether fully recovered.
Neither I nor any person listed above uses tobacco or alcoholic beverages, and I hereby apply for a policy based on the understanding that the policy does not cover conditions originating prior to its effective date, and that the policy is issued solely and entirely in reliance upon the written answers to the above questions.
Date: ■ Signed :X
AT-IAT
Mail this application with your first premium to 2187
AMERICAN TEMPERANCE ASSOCIATES, Inc., Box 131, Libertyville, Illinois
FEBRUARY 1965
91
THE EDITOR'S PAGE BY PRESIDENT DAVID O MCKAY
RESPONSIBILITIES
OF THOSE WHO ENTER
In place of the regular editorial this month we are presenting, with President McKay's approval, the ad- dress he delivered in the first dedicatory session of the Oakland Temple held Tuesday, November 17, 1964. Other addresses given at the dedicatory services begin on page 106 in this issue.
This has truly been an inspirational hour. Each heart is filled, I am sure, with thanksgiving and gratitude for the opportunity of sitting here in this sacred edifice and sensing the nearness of heavenly beings. Always on occasions such as this we feel nearer to him and to his Beloved Son than anywhere else, except in our private devotion and communion with the Almighty.
It is now the hour when we should unite in dedicat- ing this holy house to our Heavenly Father. I feel im- pressed to say just a few words preceding the offering of the dedicatory prayer.
Temples are erected for the blessing of the people through the covenants they make. Everybody who enters the temple will make certain covenants or take upon himself or herself certain responsibilities.
One great purpose carried out by those who come into the temple is the sealing of man and wife in the sacred bonds of matrimony. That purpose is based
upon the fact that man and woman truly love each other. That means that a couple coming to the altar should be sure that there is love in each heart. It would be a terrible thing to be bound for eternity to one whom you do not love, but it is a glorious thing to be sealed for time and all eternity to one whom you do love.
Let us ever remember that love is the divinest attri- bute of the human soul. God himself is love. Our hearts are really one with him in that eternal home, and so when a couple kneels at the altar and receives the privilege and blessing of that eternal sealing, one should be sure that love is binding those two hearts that will now be bound by the holy power of the priesthood for time and all eternity. Associated with that should be the realization that love must be fed; otherwise that binding, that sealing power, that cove- nant which is made, may not last forever. Love must be nourished; love can be starved to death just as literally as the body can be starved without daily sustenance. There is no one great protestation that anybody can make that will be sufficient to keep that love alive always. There are certain obligations taken by those who make covenants at the altar, and those obligations must be manifest after they go out of the
92
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
temple. One is kindness. There should be no un- kindness manifest in the homes occupied by couples who leave the house of God.
In one of the epistles that Paul wrote, there are some statements now known throughout the Christian world as the Psalm of Love (see 1 Cor. 13), the first of which is: "Love suffereth long and is kind." (See ibid., 13:4.) The word "suffereth" includes patience, tolerance, and consideration. We can visualize homes in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the great majority of which there is kindness on both parts because there is love there— a binding love which will not be separated by death. Love suffereth long and is always kind and gentle.
Men of the Church should remember and women of the Church should realize that kindness will foster love and that it should be a reciprocal act. There are men of courtesy, men who think of and give special thought to their wives, and wives who consider their husbands. Paul, in that same epistle, says, "Love seeketh not her own" (see ibid., 13:5) but the welfare and happiness of others. And another line in that same epistle says, "Love believeth all things." (See ibid., 13:7.) If that love is fed daily and monthly and yearly throughout a lifetime, the husband's attention will not be drawn to somebody else because there is trust in that binding power of the priesthood; neither will there be attraction or indulgence in any other way, because love trusts, "believeth all things" (see idem), and there must be foundation and cause for that trust the husband has in the wife and the trust which the wife has in her husband.
Mormonism, the principle element of it, is the ap- plication of religion to daily life. That is what you members have done in participating in the erecting of this edifice, what the Church has done bringing into the homes of the membership of the Church those elements which will make for happiness and peace here and now, and that is just what it will do. Our young people should be taught to choose mates who will feed, nourish, perpetuate that bond which brings them to the altar here in this temple— love. If your spirit lives after death, as it does, then that attribute of love will persist also, just as sympathy, just as rever- ence, and every other virtue that you have will persist.
What is the other obligation? It is the lesson of eternal life— the immortality of the soul.
The Apostle Paul asked this of the Corinthians: "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?" (ibid., 15:29)— an eternal question asked two thousand years ago and unan- swered today by any of the churches except The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Half the
priests are trying to answer it and writing articles in answer to it, but the answer to that question is found in this house which you have built.
A Chinese student was graduated from one of our leading colleges in the United States. He was return- ing to his native land, and while on the ship crossing the Pacific, he entered into conversation with a Prot- estant minister who rightfully explained that only through the name of Jesus Christ will mankind be saved, and that is why he was going over to the Chinese nation to preach Jesus Christ and him cruci- fied. The Chinese student, imbued with his love for his parents and the family relationship which to the Chinese is very real, listened to this minister say that only through Jesus Christ would people receive sal- vation, and said, "Then what about my ancestors?"— a question the whole world should ask. The minister replied, "They are lost!" Said the student, "I'll have nothing to do with a religion so unjust." So he faced the question: Either those thousands and millions who have gone before who have never heard the name of Jesus Christ will be saved differently from the rest of us who have had a chance to hear of him, or else God is a Being showing partiality.
As love is as eternal as life, so the principles of salvation are as eternal as life, and they apply to the first person who was born in mortality just as much as they apply to you and me here. That is just. And since millions have died without baptism (as baptism and all these other principles pertain to mortality), I should think, then, that these people should have an opportunity to hear that same gospel and come through the door of baptism as you and I had to come through that door. It is not an impossible mission to our Father in heaven, and this temple ordinance work is one means of accomplishing it— one means of open- ing the door.
So those who come in this house, you and I, now have the opportunity and responsibility of trying as far as we can to reach those of our ancestors so that we may open the door for those who wait.
Jesus went to preach to the spirits in prison who were once disobedient in the days of Noah when "the ark was a preparing." ( 1 Peter 3:20.) That is as simple as can be and may be understood by anybody who understands the language in which the passage is read. It means that thousands of years ago those people, men and women, died who once were disobedient in the days of Noah before the flood. Jesus preached to them while his body lay in the tomb three days, and opened the door to them, and sent men of the priesthood to let them hear the same gospel which you and I are now preaching. What principle is paramount in that? Why, those spirits were (Continued on page 145)
FEBRUARY 196S
93
T
H 'E
BY REGINALD J. LOWE. SR.
• Behold, two men having each received a lovely garden for an inheritance, sat them- selves down in the midst thereof to enjoy their possessions.
Janthea, the first, said unto himself: I love this garden, and I love the man who was so mindful of me that he gave it to me for an inheritance. I shall be happy all my days.
Straightway he fell asleep and dreamed of his treasure, and lo, when he awoke, a great drouth was upon the land, and the flowers were withered and dying.
And Janthea cried, "My garden, it is withered and will soon be no more. I am unhappy indeed! No more will I look upon it until the rains come." And he retreated to his closet to mourn his loss.
But when it was evening he came again to see if perchance it might all be a dream he had dreamed. And lo, while he had been away, cattle entered and trampled what was left into the earth.
Now Dathan sat also in his garden to en- joy it, and he said to himself: I love these flowers. I love the man who gave me this garden for an inheritance. God is good.
Now the drouth was in all the land, and Dathan's garden began to wither also, and he shook his head, saying, "When will the rains come?"
But the rains came not, and he was sore afraid his garden should soon be no more.
Now, being a righteous man, Dathan kneeled in the midst of his garden to pray that rains might come to his plants. And when it was evening, he looked into the heavens, and he saw no clouds. There was no rain, and the leaves fell and were blown about by the wind.
Then came cattle to break down and trample under foot that which was left.
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
Dathan rose up before them, driving them out to a place where there was much water flowing through the land; and he heard the river and he said, "Is it wisdom in God to put so much water in this river, and yet my garden is parched, and the earth is cracked with dryness?" Then a great shout went out from Dathan, and he hastened to his garden and brought tools with which to dig.
And when he was come to the river the second time, behold Janthea, his neighbor, sat on the bank, and his face was hid in his hands. Dathan inquired of him his troubles, and Janthea cried with the voice of great affliction, saying, "God has forsaken me, for he sent not the rain, and my garden withered, and cattle trod it into the earth."
And Dathan answered him, saying: "Be of good cheer, for I bring good tidings. Behold I prayed, and the Lord sent cattle to my garden, and when I drove them forth, they led me to the river. Come now, get thee up and help me, and together we will dig that the river may flow to our gardens and into the midst thereof, that once more the flowers may bloom and the vines flourish as before."
But Janthea would not, and he rose up and departed, saying as he went: "I loved my garden. I loved the man who gave it me for an inheritance. I loved God, but he has forsaken me in my need."
Now when he was gone, Dathan began to dig in the parched earth; and after many days water flowed into his garden, and it sprang forth and grew and was even more beautiful and more fruitful than before; and Dathan thanked God and went forth and tilled yet more ground, and planted vines and fig trees round about him; and many came from afar off to buy fruit of his trees and to look on the splendor he had wrought.
Now Janthea wandered up and down in the land, and his misery was great, for nowhere was his home, and rags were his only covering. But when he was old, Janthea remembered again the land of his in- heritance, and he said, "I will go up and see whether perchance the rains have returned and my garden
again flourisheth."
But when he came nigh unto the place, he saw no fence round about it anymore, and the earth was parched, and nothing grew thereon.
And Janthea cried aloud: "Oh, Lord, why hast thou dealt thus with me? Surely I loved this garden, and I loved him who gave it me for an inheritance. I loved thee and walked uprightly before thee, and notwith- standing this, thou hast forsaken me, and my field is laid waste."
Now when a man toiling in a nearby field heard the cry, he came quickly, saying, "Why dost thou lament in this manner?"
And Janthea said unto him, "Behold my garden which was given me for an inheritance. But the rains came not, and cattle entered and trampled into the earth even that which was left."
The one who was come to inquire answered him not, but put his arm about Janthea and led him to the shade of a fig tree; and when he had seated him, he said unto him, "Now I know thee. Thou are Janthea. Rememberest thou me?"
Janthea answered, saying: "Yea, I know thee, and I perceive that thou art prosperous, and thy vines and fig trees are heavy with fruit. I know also that thy beautiful flowers are blooming, for their perfume is in my nostrils. Truly God hath heaped all good things on one but taketh from another even all that he hath."
Dathan gazed out upon the hard earth of Janthea's garden and upon the man's ragged garments and wept. Janthea was astonished and said, "Thou art blest above all men; why weepest thou?"
Dathan answered, "I weep not for myself, but for the misery which is on thee, for even though I should give unto thee this, mine own garden, misery would be with thee still."
Janthea said: "Yea, it must needs be, for God hath forbidden me to prosper in the land. It were better had my head been dashed against a stone in my youth."
But Dathan pointed to the clear stream flowing in his garden, and spoke, (Continued on page 159)
FEBRUARY 196S
95
The Firstffear \f fcer Marriage
BY HARVEY L. TAYLOR
VICE CHANCELLOR UNIFIED CHURCH SCHOOL SYSTEM
PART 1
One of our fine writers on the subject of courtship and engagement has said:
"Engagement, ideally, is the understanding reached when the exploration of courtship has brought the dis- covery that a couple have enough in common in their ideas, ideals, tastes, interests, and emotions to be reasonably sure they are in love.
"When courtship has reached this stage, many of the uncertainties and perplexities of earlier phases belong to the past. Jim no longer is in doubt about whether Beth really enjoys a good football game or feels the way he does about his ambitions to be a physician. Beth is no longer uncertain about how Jim likes her to arrange her hair or whether he would expect her to ask him for spending money if they were married. And both of them are at the comfortable stage where they can be themselves and act natural without fear of creating friction or misunderstanding.
"This understanding is the basis of the feeling of comradeship that is one of the signs of love. There is a peculiar satisfaction in agreeing so completely. Being together is a delight because of the many things they have in common. The feeling of comradeship even though apart is vastly satisfying, yet one that makes it impossible to be content if long separated. It is something one can be sure about, for there is no mistaking the satisfactions arising from this feeling of 'togetherness' in essential ideals, interests, and tastes.
"Closely associated with the intense satisfactions of
comradeship, there is another distinctive mark of love. It is the sense of being lifted to higher levels of living. A person who is actually in love is involved in deep thinking and feeling regarding many things of the utmost meaning in life. The words sweetheart, wife, husband, mother, father, child, and home have gath- ered about them some of the most significant ideas in human thinking. What is more likely to involve greater thoughtfulness, tenderness, and self-subordi- nation of finer and more gripping aspirations than thoughts of the home-sharing experiences upon which every genuine lover is intent? When one's thoughts are much occupied with such matters, life is quite natu- rally lifted and energized. A lover aspires to finer things, is more conscious than ever before of short- comings, and finds fresh courage and strength to realize fine ambitions.
"When a couple have tested and proved this com- radeship and its lifting power, they can properly con- clude that they are in love, and engagement may rightly follow that conclusion." (Roy E. Dickerson, "When a Couple Is Engaged.")
You will discover that the first year after marriage is a period of great adjustment, and you will find it unlike any other experience you have ever had. If you are not prepared to recognize and make these adjust- ments, your married life could easily begin with mis- understanding and frustration.
It is well to remember that each will bring to this
96
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
new life a concept of how best to make an ideal begin- ning as married partners. Each will be strongly in- fluenced by the patterns of family life in the home in which he or she was reared and by examples of suc- cessful married couples which have been known to him or her.
If you have already anticipated possible differences and have discussed these during your courtship, the difficulty of adjustment the first year after marriage should not be too much of a problem.
I believe there are about eight basic adjustments you will need to make during your first year— I am sure no one would want to say which, if any, are most im- portant, so we may as well begin with economic adjustment.
[economic fl
Up until the time of marriage each has had his own income from what he or she has earned, possibly sup- plemented by amounts provided by parents or others. Each has more or less become economically inde- pendent and has been accustomed to making his or her own budget and spending the money according to his or her own particular desires. After marriage this should change. Now it should be not "my money" but "our money." In recorded statements regarding dissatisfactions that arise in married life, you will find the one most often mentioned is the inability of married couples properly to resolve their financial dif- ficulties. Therefore, I strongly urge that you begin by making a budget and then living by it. You will find that your budget will have to be changed frequently because the times and circumstances under which you live change, your likes and dislikes change, your wants change, your associations change, all of which have marked effect upon your budget. Nevertheless, one of the best ways to work out your money differences is to agree on a budget. Be sure to give consideration to the following:
(1) A certain amount each payday should be put aside as savings. Whether this amount is 10c, $10, or $100, this should be consistently done.
(2) Another amount should be set aside to meet current expenses.
( 3 ) It is very important that both husband and wite have an allowance and that there be no accounting to each other as to how this allowance is spent. It should be understood, however, that there are certain things which should be covered from the allowance.
(4) From the very beginning plan to pay your tithing— a full tithing. Our Heavenly Father will bless the home that makes an effort to do those financial things which help to carry on his great work here upon this earth.
Let us be warned of the dangers of overspending and of instalment buying. It is only natural when young people marry that the husband would like to obtain everything for his wife that she could want or desire in the way of a home, furniture, appliances, automobiles, and clothes. Many things today can be purchased without any money down. This is a great temptation to the newly married. As a result it is not uncommon for young people to go in debt far beyond their ability to pay. In many cases this creates un- happiness and discontent, and very often the first misunderstandings that develop between young mar- ried couples are over the matter of money as it relates to paying instalment commitments. I there- fore strongly urge that you begin at the level of your ability to pay. If necessary, be content with used furni- ture set up in a very modest home, which may be rented. Drive a car that is not beyond your means.
Plan to own your own home as soon as possible. To begin with, let this be a modest home. The average young person who is just beginning would not be able to afford a house that costs $20,000 to $30,000.
Further, make all money matters as automatic as possible so you never have to argue. There is nothing that destroys marital happiness any more quickly than to have to argue over things which should resolve themselves automatically. In money matters, as in all others, be very frank with each other. I have always felt that it was an advantage if you maintained a small account from which to pay for items that come up unexpectedly. But before either one of you draws on this account it is my judgment that the matter should be discussed and agreement reached as to what the money should be spent for.
It is unfortunate that money has to play such an important part in the lives of people, but this is the way it is, and regardless of how you feel about it, you must be realistic at all times. If you approach this subject intelligently, conservatively, with an idea that
FEBRUARY 1965
97
you are not going to overspend regardless of your tastes, you will be able to meet the issues as they come up, resolve the differences as they arise, and be able to realize the goals you set for yourselves even though it may take several years to do so.
A high school home economics teacher told of taking a group of her young high school girls to visit a very lovely new home, tastefully decorated and furnished. As one of the girls said good-bye to the hostess, she turned to her and said, "Mrs. Blank, when I get married I am going to have a home just like this." Mrs. Blank smiled and held the youngster's hand for a moment and said, "I hope you might, my dear. It took us over thirty years to get it."
Now let's talk about personal adjustments. Prior to your marriage each of you had developed ways of doing and thinking which were peculiar to you. Since you were responsible pretty much to yourself, it did not make too much difference just what these were so long as they conformed with the general social, re- ligious, and economic patterns of the environment in which you lived. Now, it may be to the best interest of your combined happiness if some adjustments are made. Some of these might be as follows:
1. Your choice of foods
2. How foods are prepared
3. Time for meals
4. Where meals are eaten
5. Kinds of foods served at different meals
6. The kind of clothes to buy
7. The care that should be taken of clothes
You will find that very often you have differences of opinion regarding radio and TV programs. You will have differences of opinion as to the kind of books and magazines that should be bought. I cannot feel that it is fair fqr the husband to insist on having just the books and magazines he wants to read. There should be a compromise so that both are satisfied.
There may also be differences of opinion regarding
the use of language in the home, frequency of enter- taining guests, whether or not there should be read- ing in bed and the playing of music after retiring. The question also should be settled regarding opening each other's mail. It is not uncommon for members of a family to feel that they should be informed as to what goes on in private telephone conversations. Many do not approve this. Privacy is very important in the lives of married people and should be respected. I also be- lieve that it is very wrong to talk about old love affairs.
It is important, too, that the man not constantly re- mind his wife about his mother's wonderful cooking. There are ways of handling matters of this kind if they are done tactfully and with love, and they need never offend.
It is very important that you respect each other's personal belongings, belongings of all kinds. One or the other of you may have come from a home where it is very common to have no particular privacy, that which belongs to one, belongs to all. I have no par- ticular brief against this concept, if both agree. How- ever, one of the partners may have come from a home where this sort of thing is not tolerated. This difference of opinion as with other matters should be talked over, and there should be an effort to compromise in such a way that the interests and activities of each other will have an opportunity to develop to the fullest and not at the expense of the other.
May we now say something about physical adjust- ment? Two people living so closely together need to make many very delicate physical adjustments. Every attention should be given to the care of your person. Great personal cleanliness is absolutely a must. You may have to make adjustments to such things as hay fever and allergies. The menstrual period will also need to be understood by both.
The question of your sex life and relations is one which should be treated with the greatest delicacy and understanding. To many this is thought of as only a
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THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
physical experience. In my judgment it is much more than this. It can become a very beautiful spiritual ex- perience which, if properly understood, can result in bringing young married couples close together in love and appreciation for one another. The proper under- standing and righteous approach to this particular part of your physical adjustment can result in a type of marital happiness which will be of the highest order and which will create love and understanding and appreciation for one another of a type that nothing else can. On the other hand, the opposite can be true and very often is, and results, if not in divorce, in much unhappiness, distrust, and often physical and emotional illness. It is well to remember in all your physical relationships pertaining to your sex life that you are children of our Heavenly Father, and in you are the highest endowments of any living creature on the earth, and therefore you should keep this rela- tionship sweet and holy. Never reduce it to the level of the animal.
Now may we turn to some important problems per- taining to your emotional adjustment. It is well for the man to remember there is often a very strong desire for his wife to want to return to her home occasionally and be with her mother. This is natural. Your new wife feels very keenly her responsibility as a home builder, and it gives her a great deal of satisfaction to talk at great lengths about things not of interest to her hus- band and understood only by her mother. It is not that she is running home to her mother as a tale bearer, but it is more to have the assurance that what she is doing is right and that she is succeeding in her re- sponsibilities as a new wife.
Likewise, the man will often want to spend an evening with his old gang. There is no reason why he shouldn't at times go out with the boys with whom he associated before he was married. But on the other hand, if it means leaving his wife home alone too often, this is something that should be avoided. What might have been fine relationships between husband and
wife have been strained because the husband in- sisted that he must spend several nights a week with his old cronies, doing things which they like to do and in which they feel women should not be interested. During pregnancy a man . should not leave his wife alone any more than he has to if it is her desire that he stay home with her.
A girl also often has the fear that she won't be able to make the kind of home that her husband wants. This causes her great concern. The man often worries that he won't be able to make a living for his wife and family on the scale that he knows she would like and which, of course, he would like. He is also afraid that he can't give his wife all the things that he would like her to have. There isn't a man who really loves his wife who wouldn't like her to have the finest clothes in the shops, the finest furniture that artisans can make, and the most beautiful home that builders can build. Few young men can provide such things. However, the most important things that any woman wants or that any man wants after marriage are love, understanding, and appreciation. If they have these things, money, homes, cars, furniture, and all the other things will be of small importance.
Let me urge you to respect each other's opinions and ideas. There isn't such a thing as one being all right and one being all wrong. Do not argue about things, but hear each other out. Ofttimes it isn't even necessary that it be established whether one is right and one is wrong, but it is desirable that each have an opportunity to "speak his mind." If, however, the time arrives— and it often does— when a decision has to be made and there is a division of opinion as to what should be done, it is often a good idea for each to express how he feels about it and then wait several days and see how things come out. More often than not, one or the other will come over to the opinion of the other so that there will be no problem.
I urge you to try to find a way to eliminate moods, temper, crying, and feelings of jealousy. These all undermine the high spiritual life of individuals and make for discontent and for misunderstanding. Self- ishness is a great destroyer of home life. Of course there are a large number of other personal adjustments which we don't mention here. However, you will find that most of the ones we have discussed are those that you will have to meet the first year after your marriage and are, therefore, important to you now.
(To be continued)
FEBRUARY 1963
99
SINCE CUMORAH
BY HUGH N1BLEY. PH.D.
PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AND RELIGION, BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY
The Search for the Original Scriptures
• A conspicuous aspect of most of an extensive daily dissembling to the recently discovered Christian keep unqualified outsiders from writings, as well as of the early meddling with things they would Apocrypha in general, is the fre- not understand or appreciate. Both quent insistence in them on secrecy, types of reticence are conspicuous At present anthropologists are be- in the early Jewish and Christian coming increasingly aware that the literature. In the Dead Sea Scrolls deliberate suppression of informa- the people of the community are tion by the native peoples among instructed not to discuss their doc- whom they work is far more gen- trines and doings with "the people eral, far-reaching, and significant of the pit," i.e., the outside world;2 than they hitherto have been will- but aside from that they are put ing to admit. As a recent study under specific oaths of secrecy re- points out, there are two main kinds garding certain specific things.3 of reticence: "... a whole body of When Jesus instructed Peter, material was secret in the sense James, and John to tell no man of
that it was to be kept from the out- sider . . . the non-Aborigine. There was also secret information which
what they had seen on the Mount of the Transfiguration, he was withholding sacred things from the
V
Ojt> kt^lmMAJu kfiAUU&fs iidLujkJh^t,
was to be kept from the uninitiated. ... I refer to the former as dis- sembled culture."1
Latter-day Saint missionaries laboring among native peoples have long noted the existence among them of both genuine secrets, that is, things too sacred to be men- tioned to anybody outside of a par- ticular time, place, and religious occasion, and on the other hand of
uninitiated;4 when on the other hand he parried tricky questions of the Pharisees by asking them coun- ter questions and then telling them that if they could not answer him he would not answer them, he was simply evading them.5 In the Clementine Recognitions, when Peter refuses to tell Clement about salvation for the dead until Clement himself has received certain ordi-
100
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
nances, he is withholding secret teachings,6 but when he refuses to discuss the nature of the Godhead with Simon Magus, he explains that he is deliberately evading the man because he has no real desire to learn about the Godhead and only wants to cause trouble.7
Recently Professor Goodenough of Yale, after long years of search- ing among the earliest archaeologi- cal remains of Judaism, has been able to show that there has existed through the centuries not one but two distinct types of Judaism, the one following what he calls "the horizontal path," the other "the vertical path."8 The former type, variously designated as rabbinic, halachic, normative, or Talmudic Judaism, is the only Judaism known to our histories today. This is be- cause its representatives have, by years of determined struggle, either stamped its rival out entirely where they could, or forced it under- ground. "The final victory of rab- binic Judaism over its ancient mys- tic rival," writes Goodenough, "makes it hard to convince modern Jews of the reality of Jewish mys- tical tradition."9
The old submerged Judaism has been called Hasidic, cabbalistic, mdasimic, and Karaitic, but none of these terms is very satisfactory since each designates only some particular underground movement
of triumph, blessed meals with the Messiah. . . ."10 This preliminary glimpse should suffice to indicate that what all "vertical" Jews had in common was secrecy and emphasis on Messianic and prophetic teach- ings—teachings which the doctors of the schools (the "horizontal" tradition) disliked intensely and opposed with all their might.
Just as Goodenough distinguishes between two conflicting traditions of Judaism on the basis of recent archaeological findings, so H. J. Schoeps, on the basis of new manu- script discoveries, distinguishes between two like levels of Chris- tianity and even goes so far as to suggest that the old original Chris- tianity was actually stamped out by the latter type,11 which was intel- lectually orientated and strongly opposed to the old Messianic- millennialist tradition.12 The resem- blance between the corresponding schools of Jewish and Christian thought is not accidental.
The Christian doctors got their doctrine and philosophy from the same Alexandrian fount from which the Jewish doctors got theirs, both being dedicated to the alle- gorical interpretation of the scrip- tures and the basic proposition that revelation and prophecy had for- ever ceased. Students have long been aware that primitive Chris- tianity was a carrying forward of
wholly bereft of the apocalyptic wing which had passed over into Christianity."14 It was because it represented that other tradition, as Professor Torrey has shown, that early Christianity was so intensely unpopular with the Jewish scribes and Pharisees; everything in the Christian teaching suggested to their minds the old vertical Mes- sianic Judaism— Justin Martyr in- sists on bringing the identity of the two to the attention of the resentful Jew Trypho again and again.
"If we had only the traditions of the Jews themselves," Goodenough assures us, "we should hardly have suspected the existence of the whole body of apocryphal and pseudepigraphical literature, for these, I repeat, have survived thanks only to Christian copyists."15 But these writings which the Jewish doctors had rejected and the early Christians accepted were in time rejected by the Christian doctors also,16 and so were lost both to the Jewish and the Christian worlds, their very existence denied by "of- ficial" Judaism and Christianity, and sank out of sight until their rediscovery in our own day.
The recognition of the "under- ground" nature of vertical Judaism and Jewish Christianity supplies the student with valuable clues to un- derstanding the real background of the Bible, of which one begins
OJbtMSA d^JL3^*iy) hwH^t^jtw {MA^~uubQeMMh^
I)
1 NEPHI 13-26
in Judaism. Seeking an over-all term, Goodenough refers to the "vertical" tradition (i.e., seeking direct as against historical contact with heav- en), and cautiously uses the word "mystic" to describe it. It is not surprising that, in order to survive, "later teachers of this tradition de- veloped a 'secret teaching' (I dare not say Mystery) . . . characterized by a succession of heavens, thrones
the old "vertical" Jewish tradition, from which it inherited the apocry- phal writings which were so despised by the Jewish and Chris- tian doctors alike.13 "Legalistic Pharisaism," wrote R. H. Charles many years ago, "in time drove out almost wholly the apocalyptic, i. e., prophetic, element . . . and became the parent of Talmudic Judaism," whereupon Judaism became "almost
to think now more than ever in terms of hidden treasures. Only consider the illusive nature of the Bible through the ages: why has it ever been a subject of the widest disagreement, as St. Augustine notes with sorrow, among even the most pious, devout, and learned men? If such men cannot agree, Origen pointed out in the third century, lesser men such as our-
FEBRUARY 1965
lOt
selves can never be perfectly sure of what the Bible means.17 If we are to approach certainty at all, the first step must be to ask what in our day has become the all-engrossing ques- tion of biblical scholarship, namely: What was the original form in which the message was conveyed? What did the original Testaments look like?
In Joseph Smith's day it was generally assumed that the Old Testament had always been a single book, written without error by the very finger of God. A hundred years later, in the heyday of higher criticism, it had become a thing of shreds and patches; but in our own time the essential unity of the writ- ings is again being recognized, though the broad picture of the original state of the record is just beginning to take outline. The picture that is beginning to emerge is remarkably like that which con- fronts us in the pages of the Book of Mormon, There Nephi, looking far into the future, is shown a vision of the gentiles bringing "a book" to the remote descendants of his father in the New World and is told, "The book that thou beholdest is a record of the Jews, which con- tains the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; and . . . also . . . many of the prophecies of the holy proph- ets; .. "(1 Nephi 13:23.) '
The only scriptures Nephi knew were a collection of writings, more extensive indeed than what is con- tained in our Old Testament, but not conflicting with it.
When Lehi eagerly examined the plates which his sons had brought down from Jerusalem, he dis- covered that they contained (1) ". . . the five books of Moses, . . ." (2) ". . . the prophecies of the holy prophets, from the beginning, even down to the commencement of the reign of Zedekiah; . . ." (3) "And also a record of the Jews from the beginning, . . ." including a gene- alogy of the whole line of Joseph, embracing Lehi's own forefathers. (Ibid., 5:11-14.) These writings are designated in modern Jewish terminology as the Tanach, i.e., the Torah, the Prophets, and the His- toric and other writings.
These are the elements of Nephi's Bible, and of ours, which, he as- sures us, contains an authentic rec- ord as far as it goes, and "many of the prophecies of the holy proph- ets," but by no means all. As we have seen, Jewish scholars today emphatically insist that the early Jews made no distinction between a canon and noncanonical writings, that is, the scriptures of Nephi's day did indeed embrace far more ma- terial than is recognized as canoni- cal today and included in our Old Testament. To make up for the
Bible and in the Qumran manu- script, a thousand years older."19 So Nephi is right on both scores: the record is indeed true and "of great worth," though it is far from com- plete.
Towards the close of his book, Nephi quotes two chapters of Isaiah (48 and 49) in full. This would indeed be a daring thing for a forger to do— to include whole pages of the Bible in a work de- signed to fool the Bible-reading public. Still worse, the language is, without any attempt at disguise, that of the King James version. If the author of the Book of Mor- mon were an impostor, his attempts to deceive are prodigiously artless. Isn't the Book of Mormon supposed to be an original translation? Why does it simply copy the King James? For the very good reason, as we have shown elsewhere,20 that it has always been the practice for in- spired prophets to quote early scriptures not in some lost archaic version but always in the Bible language current with their hearers.
When the Apostles, the Angel Gabriel, and the Lord himself quote the ancient prophets in the New Testament, it is usually the text of the Septuagint that they quote. Why? Because that was the origi- nal language of the prophets or the angels? No, but because it was the official scripture of the persons
II
4&CMUQJL tyf^ittM^klMJUJ mwU &aJL7U$W^(^M^M v^ofc&b
This is our Old Testament, but such a book was quite strange to Nephi, and the angel explains that "... it is a record like unto the engravings which are upon the plates of brass, save there are not so many; nevertheless, they con- tain the covenants of the Lord . . . unto the house of Israel; wherefore, they are of great worth unto the Gentiles." (Idem. Italics added.)
disturbing awareness of losses from the Old Testament, we have the comforting assurance of the Dead Sea Scrolls that our Old Testament texts are older and more valuable than anyone had heretofore dared hope, that, for example, "the text of Isaiah preserved in the Masora (our Old Testament) was based on an extremely early textual type, which is almost identical in our
being addressed. The Lord speaks to all people not in the language of heaven or proto-Hebraic or Adamic, but ". . . after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding." (D&C 1:24. Italics added.) The English Book of Mormon when it quotes the Bible follows the English of the King James version wherever pos- sible, because that happened to be
102
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
the one official version of the scrip- tures known to the people for whom the Book of Mormon was translated. In short, today, as in ancient times, people are always preached to from their own Bible.
But the Book of Mormon follows the language of the King James Bible only as far as the latter con- veys the correct meaning of the original. So far is Nephi's transla- tion of Isaiah from being a slavish repetition of our Bible that there is hardly a single verse that is identical in the two translations! Granting that Nephi was reading a text of Isaiah barely a hundred years old, one would naturally ex- pect some discrepancies between it and the manuscripts available to us. But how would they differ? Here a forger would be on danger- ous ground indeed, and one ap- proaches the Book of Mormon demonstration with considerable interest.
If we underline in red every word in the Book of Mormon text of Isaiah 48 and 49 that is not found in the King James Bible and vice versa we get a surprising dis- play of color, especially in the Book of Mormon. Most of the differences are quite minor ones, such as an extra "nevertheless," "yea," "but," "behold," etc., but there are four passages that stand out spectacu- larly in almost solid red. They are
tion is based.21 Unfortunately both the Dead Sea (Cave I) text of Isaiah and the Septuagint text happen to be inferior articles, the former "rather an anticlimax" to the hopes of scholars, and the latter "among the poorest [texts] in the Greek Bible."22
But even if we do not find the clear-cut contrasts that so gratify the student who compares other books of the Old Testament in the Qumran, Septuagint, and Masoretic versions, the case is far from hopeless, for we do find significant variations when we com- pare chapters 48 and 49 of Isaiah in the King James (Masorete) Bible and the Septuagint. Again we compare the red markings, and again just four passages stand out, to wit, 48:1, 14, and 49:1, 13, the same passages in which the Book of Mormon conflicts with the King James! Of course a very sly and thorough operator even a hundred years ago could discover the dis- crepancies, since both texts were available at that time, and exploit them. But there was no exploita- tion. Aside from the fact that such a clever person would not run the risk of competing with the Bible in the first place, one must recog- nize that the coincidence was never pointed out or apparently even noticed by anybody. Moreover, in these four verses the Book of Mor-
and it does. Here is how they com- pare:
Isaiah 48:1
King James (Masoretic):
Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness.
Septuagint:
Hear these things, house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel and who came forth out of Judah, who swear by the name of [the] Lord God of Israel, remem- bering [him] neither in truth nor in justice.
Book of Mormon:
Hearken and hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, or out of the waters of baptism, who swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, yet they swear not in truth nor in righteousness.
Isaiah 48:14
King James: All ye, assemble yourselves, and
facftSb f&Ajb pW}^ Q^UMdju^ (^d^maAm clo />fe0iiAi-
48:1, 14, and 49:1, 13. Now one of the important results of recent Dead Sea Scrolls investigations is the recognition that the text of the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament done in the third century BC opens the door to very old and valuable texts of the Old Testament that differ quite markedly from the Masoretic text on which our King James transla-
mon does not follow either the King James or the Septuagint. This too is significant, since both manu- scripts are far removed from the original,23 their disagreements show- ing not what the original said, but only that in these particular verses something is seriously wrong.24 If Nephi's version ( 1 Nephi 20-21 ) is correct, it should differ from both the King James and the Septuagint
hear; which among them hath de- clared these things? The Lord hath loved him: he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans.
Septuagint:
And they shall all be gathered together and shall hear. Who an- nounced these things to them? Lov- ( Continued on page 146 )
FEBRUARY 1365
103
The Inspired
Ttgvision of
BY ROBERT J. MATTHEWS
EDITOR, LDS DEPT. OF EDUCATION
• The Prophet Joseph Smith explained the condition of existing texts of the Bible when he said: "I believe the Bible as it read when it came from the pen of the original writers. Ignorant translators, careless transcribers, or design- ing and corrupt priests have committed many errors." {Teach- ings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, comp. Joseph Fielding Smith, p. 327.)
"From sundry revelations which had been received, it was apparent that many important points touching the salvation of men, had been taken from the Bible, or lost before it was compiled." (Ibid., pp. 9-11.)
teachinq
CONDUCTED BY THE UNIFIED CHURCH SCHOOL SYSTEM
Likewise, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, while believing the Bible "to be the word of God," is com- mitted to an acceptance of it only insofar "as it is translated correctly." (Eighth article of faith.)
These forthright statements by the Prophet were said at a time when most Christians (scholars excepted) considered the Bible so perfect and correct that any suggestion of change was regarded as blasphemy. Yet, in the past century it has been the non-LDS students and scholars who have been the most active in searching and comparing the ancient manu- scripts in an effort to determine what the original text really said.
Interest in revising and translating the Bible is continuing at the present time with greater vigor than ever before. It would seem that never have as many people been so anxious to know and so willing to receive a new translation of the Bible as is currently being manifested by both Jewish and Christian peoples.
The task of determining the original meaning and fulness of the text of the Bible is complicated by the fact that not one of the original documents is available. However, new manuscript discoveries and continued language study are bringing additional evidences to light with the result that scholars' viewpoints and interpretations are being modified almost daily. As a consequence, there are many versions and revisions of the Bible available today, each differing some- what from all of the others, according to the particular manuscript used and the viewpoint of the translator.
This intense activity and multiplication of versions simply illustrates the spirit of the eighth article of faith, that is: an entirely accurate and reliable translation of the Bible is not available.
Joseph Smith the Prophet also made a Bible revision or, as he termed it, a "new translation," using a copy of the King James Version as a text. This "new translation," although not complete, contains thousands of variations from any other Bible known. The style is biblical, but the text presents much information not to be found in other versions.
Members of the Church are aware that the Prophet made this revision, but since it has had but scant use by them, its content and value are only slightly appreciated. Yet, a knowledge of Joseph Smith's labors with the Bible is quite desirable, for one cannot intelligently discuss the eighth article of faith without it.
This series of articles concerning the Inspired Revision deals with some of Joseph Smith's great contributions toward understanding and interpreting the Bible, and it attempts to give appreciation for this particular phase of the Prophet's mission.
ARTICLES OF FAITH
8. ccWe believe the Bible to be the word of
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THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
PART ONE: THE MAKING OF THE INSPIRED REVISION
Why Joseph Smith made the revision. The Prophet learned from Moroni's first visit (Joseph Smith 2:36-39) and from the Book of Mormon (1 Nephi 13:21-32; Mormon 8:33) that there were errors and omissions in the Bible. As early as 1829 he knew that at least part of the missing scripture would be restored and errors corrected. (1 Nephi 13:32-40; D&C 6:26-27; 8:11; 9:1-2.)
In June 1830 the "Visions of Moses" were revealed to Joseph Smith. From this revelation he learned that, although some of Moses' writings— as found in the Bible— had been altered, they would be restored to their original sense. (See Moses 1:40-41.)
In December 1830 Sidney Rigdon came to the Prophet, desiring to learn of the Lord's will concern- ing his calling and activities in the Church. Joseph inquired of the Lord for him and received the fol- lowing: ". . . a commandment I give unto thee [Sidney] —that thou shalt write for him [Joseph]; and the scriptures shall be given, even as they are in mine own bosom, to the salvation of mine own elect." (D&C 35:20.)
A few weeks later further information was given to the Prophet concerning the scriptures :
"Thou shalt ask, and my scriptures shall be given as I have appointed, and they shall be preserved in safety;
"And it is expedient that thou shouldest hold thy peace concerning them, and not teach them until ye have received them in full." (Ibid., 42:56-57.)
It is to be noted that these allusions to new and additional scripture were given after the Book of Mormon was published and therefore had reference to something in addition to that volume. The Book of Mormon speaks of itself as helping to restore many of the "plain and precious things" that had been taken out of the "records of the twelve apostles of the Lamb" (see 1 Nephi 13:34-38), but it also speaks of "other books" that also would assist in bringing
again much of the knowledge that had been "taken out" of the Jewish record. (See ibid., 13:39-40.)
Evidently the Prophet did not take it upon himself to attempt a revision or correction of the Bible but declared that he was appointed and assigned by the Lord to do the work. It was noted above that Sidney Rigdon was counseled by revelation to assist in this undertaking.
The work was started with the Old Testament, but on March 7, 1831, Joseph was instructed by the Lord to devote his efforts to the translation of the New Testament:
"And now, behold, I say unto you, it shall not be given unto you to know any further concerning this chapter, until the New Testament be translated, and in it all these things shall be made known;
"Wherefore, I give unto you that ye may now trans- late it, that ye may be prepared for the things to come." (D&C 45:60-61. Italics added.)
Obedient to this injunction, the Prophet and Sid- ney labored with the translation of the New Testa- ment; and almost a year later, while working with the Gospel of John, they were given an extraordinary vision of conditions in and after the resurrection of the dead. A comment made by these two brethren in connection with this vision is highly instructive in relation to their reason for attempting to make a Bible translation. Said they: "For while we were doing the work of translation, which the Lord had appointed unto us, we came to the twenty-ninth verse of the fifth chapter of John. . . ." (Ibid., 76:15. Italics added.) Thus the reason is clearly stated in the language of revelation.
It was in this light that Elder Orson Pratt accepted the Prophet's work with the text of the Bible. In dis- coursing upon the subject of Bibles in general, Elder Pratt stated that the Lord commanded Joseph Smith to make a new translation of the Old and New Testa- ments. He likewise declared that it was an "inspired translation." (Journal of Discourses 15, 247, 263; 1, 56-57.)
Such statements as these by the Prophet and by Elder Pratt give evidence (Continued on page 156)
God as far as it is translated correctly; we also
FEBRUARY 196S
lOS
TALKS GIVEN AT THE DEDICATION OF THE
OAKLAND TEMPLE
"IN THE
PROCESS OF TIME..."
• Brethren and sisters, this is a holy hour, and I appreciate the oppor- tunity to meet with you in this beautiful new temple.
Before bidding you welcome, I feel impressed to express a few words of gratitude and apprecia- tion—first, gratitude to our Heav- enly Father that the prophecy con- tained in an epistle that President Brigham Young and Dr. Willard Richards had written to the faints in California who had tcome around Cape Horn under the presidency of Samuel Brannan, that' in the process of time, the shores df the Pacific may yet be overlooked from the
PRESIDENT DAVID O. McKAY
Temple of the Lord," literally has been fulfilled. We are grateful that Elder George Albert Smith, then a member of the Twelve, when visit- ing in San Francisco, while looking eastward from his hotel room, en- visioned a temple would one day surmount the East Bay hills— one that would be visible as a beacon to ships as they entered the Golden Gate from the far-flung nations of the earth.
Ten years later, in 1934, we are grateful that a committee of three men— Elder Eugene Hilton, chair- man, and Elder Delbert F. Wright, who is now president of this tem-
ple, and Elder A. B. Graham— were moved upon by the Spirit to select this site. We are grateful that al- though two other sites were offered free to the committee, their desire to obtain this particular spot never left them, even though at the time this property was not for sale. However, in 1941 came the war with Japan, and Brother Graham, who was a realtor, reported to the committee that because of the war, the owner of the site they desired above all else was unable to carry forward his plans for a subdivision and had offered to sell to him the entire fourteen and one-half acres
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THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
for $18,000. Brother Graham, who has long since gone to his eternal reward, was asked if he intended to buy the property for his own use, and he replied, "I want the Church to have the first chance, but we shall liave to act fast." President Hilton said, "We shall not wait for the mails; I shall go directly to Salt Lake City."
In 1942, President Heber J. Grant appointed me to go to San Fran- cisco to look over the site. I was thrilled with what I saw and re- turned and recommended to him that the land now known as "Tem- ple Hill" be purchased. After some difficulty in obtaining two addi- tional acres which were absolutely necessary to provide the proper entrance to the tract itself, and some other fringe areas, the Oak- land Temple site, consisting of 18.3 acres, was finally acquired.
On January 23, 1961, I met with the stake presidencies of nineteen stakes of the bay area, and the presidency of the Northern Cali- fornia Mission, and announced that the First Presidency and the Twelve were united in their decision that a temple should be built in this area on Temple Hill. The enthusiastic response and expressions of support from these brethren impressed me deeply.
On Saturday, May 26, 1962, I returned to Oakland and officially broke ground for the temple.
On May 25, 1963, President Joseph Fielding Smith laid the cornerstone of this magnificent building.
And now, this day, the prophecy that "in the process of time, the shores of the Pacific may yet be
overlooked from the Temple of the Lord" has been literally fulfilled.
Our hearts go out in gratitude and thanksgiving, first to those three men who were appointed in the beginning to locate. ji site for a temple, and secondly to these stake presidencies who were organized into the Oakland Temple Dis- trict and who by unanimous de- cision selected President O. Leslie Stone, then of the Oakland-Berke- ley Stake, as chairman and Presi- dent David B. Haight of the Palo Alto Stake as vice-chairman, with President Carroll William Smith of the Klamath Stake and President Dallas A. Tueller of the Fresno Stake as members of the executive committee, and to all others who served with them in setting in mo- tion the plans for the building of this great temple. We are grate- ful, also, for the devotion and response of the people toward the building of the temple. Children have given of their pennies and widows of their mites. In some stakes, during the time that they were raising the money for the temple, the tithing increased ten percent over the previous year. Brother O. Leslie Stone, chairman of the Oakland Temple District, re- ported in a letter dated February 5, 1963, that "we have now raised in cash a sum slightly in excess of the $500,000 quota which was set as the local share toward the cost of the Oakland Temple. These funds are now on deposit with the Presiding Bishopric's Office. . . . Before the temple is completed, we expect to be able to turn in sub- stantially more than the amount allocated to us."
One of the most appreciative feelings I shall ever associate with this temple is the faith, the loyalty, and the devotion of the people of this district in their voluntary con- tributions. We wish to express appreciation for all those who have labored so earnestly, so conscien- tiously to erect this edifice and to have it finished on time— the archi- tects, the contractors, the workers, who have labored long and faith- fully to have the temple completed for dedication.
We welcome all who are present at this session of the dedicatory services. It is a memorable event, and everyone present this morning is favored by having the oppor- tunity of attending this opening session.
I welcome, also, an unseen, but I believe a real, audience, among whom are former Presidents and Apostles of the Church, headed by the Prophet Joseph, to whom was revealed the essential ordinance of baptism for those who have died without having heard the gospel, President Young, President Tay- lor, President Woodruff, President Snow, President Joseph F. Smith, President Grant, and President George Albert Smith. With those distinguished leaders, we welcome our departed loved ones whom we cannot see, but whose presence we keenly feel.
We extend gratitude to our Father in heaven for all members of the Church everywhere and those outside of the Church who have put forth effort to bring about the consummation of this glorious house of the Lord.
APPRECIATION
BY DELBERT F. WRIGHT
PRESIDENT, OAKLAND TEMPLE
President McKay, Counselors in the grateful we are for your presence frustrations, our hearts are filled
First Presidency, members of the here this morning. After a number this morning.
Quorum of the Twelve, and all of months of preparation with their If one word could be expressed
those associated with you. How usual problems and sometimes that could convey to you our inner -
FEBRUARY 1965
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i
V ,
most feelings, I think it would be the word "appreciation." I remem- ber as a young man in Ogden, Superintendent of Schools John M. Mills once said, "True wisdom is to know how to act, but above all to appreciate." So we are extremely grateful for all those who have had a part in this wonderful building— the erection of it, the inspiration that conceived it, the creative genius that developed the plans, and the many skilled hands that erected this house of the Lord.
With the completion of this building, a new dimension has come into the moral and spiritual lives of the people in this area. I know because I have talked to many of them. I find them, having visited this house in great numbers, over 345,000 of them, asking me and others something about salva- tion. What is it? And for the first time in many of their lives they have begun to think about it. They were given some basic facts as they came to see this beautiful edifice, and many of them were obviously deeply impressed.
I wish I could tell you of the many letters we have had, the many phone calls. Many people as they left the building would try to ex- press themselves and would choke up and couldn't do it. And I mean many not of our faith, because I suppose by far the majority of those who came were not of our faith. And I think many for the first time began to get the understanding of what Paul meant when he told the Corinthian Saints, "There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terres- trial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terres- trial is another.
"There is one glory of the sun, and another of the moon, and an- other glory of the stars : for one star differeth from another star in glory.
"So also is the resurrection of the dead." (1 Cor. 15:40-42.)
The world thinks it's cute to sin a little, for after all, they reason, we may receive a few stripes, and then we are all equal. They've rather cynically criticized our con- ception of the need for virtuous conduct and disciplining of man that we might achieve and do something beyond attaining the mediocrity that the world seems to think lies in store for God's great creation, man.
As the old proverb reads: "There is none so blind as they that won't see." (Swift, Polite Conversation.) We had one fine Protestant minis- ter in this community who advised his people not to go to the Mormon temple, for it was simply a proselyt- ing gimmick: "They'll get your names, and then they'll send mis- sionaries." But after the first week, his congregation found that he had misled them a little, and he then found it necessary to give a sermon on the subject, "How Do We Meet the Mormon Challenge."
Because of our understanding of the great purposes of God and of the fact that men will inherit what they earn, we have been accused of saying that no one will be saved except the Mormons. And these visitors have found it now to be quite a different story as they look into it and read- the pamphlets we have sent them. We know that those who live according to the law will know that God lives and that this is truth. It is those who are weak in the faith who fail to keep the commandments. One must be free of sin to have a real, burning testimony, and this is what the new dimension begins to let these people glimpse.
We feel to thank with all our hearts those who have made this possible. I'm thinking of these fine people on the building committee, whom I have come to love. I'm thinking of all those of you who have given us help and counsel. Sometimes maybe we haven't shown we appreciated it enough, but we have felt it deeply. I'm thinking of the fine sisters in these stakes who have contributed so much in many ways during the public viewing when we had to clean up every night. They would come here in great numbers and offer their services to help us. And the men, too, accompanied them. I think of the sisters who developed a little booklet with poetry and
music in it. I'm going to read one little piece. This was written by Virginia Brown of the Oakland Ward.
A Temple is Built
"A Temple does not rise alone; Human hands must lay the stone. Human hands must touch the soil, And labor with unceasing toil. Gradually the stones rise high And golden spires reach toward the
sky. The workers finally stand aside And gaze upon their work with ■^: pride. What once mere rock and stone
concealed, A place of beauty stands revealed. The stones are laid, the work is
done. Within, God's work has just begun."
And then another was written by two fine women, one the wife of one of our wonderful workers who had a great part in the interior work of the temple, Sister Phelps, who died just over a week ago. Here is what she thought about her hus- band's work:
"From far and wide the builders
came, Not seeking personal acclaim, But rather with an inner flame, To build so all who see proclaim A fitting house of God. The very finest craftsmanship, A sense of real stewardship, The dedicated leadership Joined hands in true companionship To build this house of God."
As individuals we aren't so im- portant; the work to be done here is of vital importance. We pray that we may do it properly, that our workers will have the spirit of Elijah and learn to do their work properly, that you will support us, and that our Heavenly Father will bless us in this effort, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
THE OAKLAND
TEMPLE IN THE MAKING
• President McKay has indicated that I should say a few words to you at this time, and I humbly pray for an interest in your faith and prayers that I may be inspired to say something that will be beneficial on this occasion. I am indeed grate- ful to President Eugene Hilton, who headed the three that President McKay has told you about. He is here with us this morning. He cele- brated his 75th birthday last week, but it was through his vision and his tenacity that we have this beautiful site and this fine building. President Delbert F. Wright was a member of the three as was Presi- dent W. Glenn Harmon, who is unable to be with us this morning.
You know, I think I should tell you something about Eugene Hil- ton. I believe he is the most suc- cessful man I have met, but not in worldly goods. He's raised seven sons and one daughter. They all have a college education. They've all been married in the temple. They've all fulfilled missions in the Church, and they're all active mem- bers of the Church today. What a glorious future this man has built with his good wife in the celestial kingdom.
The erection of this temple is a dream that we have been dream- ing in this area for over thirty years. "After this site was purchased, Berkeley Stake was trying to find a site for a stake center, Oakland Stake was likewise trying to find a site, and President Stephen L Rich- ards was sent here by the First Presidency to check into the matter. He spent two or three days looking over the entire area, and finally he called the brethren together and said, "Brethren, the place we should have a site is right here on the temple grounds, and we should build a multistake center that will serve many stakes."
At that time we didn't have any roads into this area, and some of us wondered about the location for
O. LESLIE STONE
CHAIRMAN, OAKLAND TEMPLE DISTRICT
an interstake center. But the week the interstake center was opened, the freeway was opened right by our property. And as it now stands, when the freeway, which is under construction, is finished between here and Hayward, all of our peo- ple from Hayward, San Lorenzo, San Leandro, Walnut Creek, Con- cord, and Oakland-Berkeley can come to the stake center in fifteen minutes. Isn't it wonderful! If we had built the city around the center, i acquired it when Oakland was first started, and then gradually built the city in the area, we couldn't have done a better job. We are sure that our Heavenly Father has been instrumental in all of this.
President McKay told you what we paid for the first not quite fifteen acres; I can tell you what we paid for the last quarter of an acre, which was $25,000. Six purchases were made. We thought at one time we might lose the property. The school board wanted to take it for a school site. We called President Richards on the phone and explained it to him, and he said, "Brethren, don't worry about it; the Lord wants that for a temple site." Within forty-eight hours they came to us and told us that they were no longer interested in the property for a school site.
In January 1959 President Rich- ards came and met with us in our interstake center, and we held a thanksgiving service. We didn't have the building paid for. Over 5,000 were in attendance at that meeting. Then, on September 25, 1960, President McKay came to dedicate the building. I remember meeting him in San Francisco. Sister Stone and I went over to meet him. His plane was late. We phoned and asked them to go ahead with the meeting in the interstake center. On the way back I couldn't resist asking President McKay if he could give us some indication of
that day when we might expect a temple to be built. I think he was ready for that question because he didn't answer; he just smiled, chuckled a little bit, and that was } all that was said at that time.
I didn't have the courage to bring it up again until after the services, which incidentally 7,000 attended. On the way back to the airport, I said, "President McKay, did you realize that we have 75,000 members of the Church in what would be the Oakland Temple District?"
And he said, "No, President Stone, I didn't realize that." He said, "I had thought that there was one other place we should build a temple before Oakland, but now this matter must be reconsidered."
I heard nothing further until in December, and on about the nine- teenth of December that year, President McKay called me from Salt Lake and said, "President Stone, I have just come from meet- ing with the Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve, and it has been decided to proceed with the construction of the Oakland Tem- ple." He said, "I wanted you to be the first to know about it." How thoughtful of him!
That was the finest Christmas I think we've ever had, with the news that we were going to build a temple. Then he came in January and met with all the nineteen stake presidencies and the president of the Northern California Mission. The committee was organized.
We asked President McKay that day what he thougjit we should raise as our local share of the cost of the temple. After thinking about it he said, "I think maybe you should raise whatever you feel is right."
We thought perhaps that wasn't quite definite enough, so we pressed him, "Could you name a figure, President McKay?"
He said, "Well, maybe. $400,-
FEBRUARY !'965
109
000.00 would be fair and equitable." And the stake presidents all had a brief caucus.
We came back into the room, and we said, "President McKay, we don't think you've asked us for enough; we want to raise you $100,000. We'll guarantee to raise not less than $500,000." I'm happy to report to you this morning we have collected and sent in and have on deposit with the Presiding Bish- opric over $625,000 that the Saints in this area have contributed, and money is still coming in. So we expect more before everyone has fulfilled his obligations and taken advantage of the opportunity of contributing to this structure.
President Paul E. Warnick, who was executive secretary of our Oak- land committee, was the chairman of the finance committee. He is with us this morning, and much of the credit for the success of our financial drive goes to President Warnick.
Our people responded wonder- fully. The San Jose Stake raised all the money in one day. They sent the priesthood out, and they raised either the money or the pledges in just one day. And then the Gridley Stake was the first to go over the top; they have gone substantially over the top in their allocation.
President Joseph Fielding Smith visited us on May 25, 1962, accom- panied by Elder Richard L. Evans for the laying of the cornerstone. Again it was a glorious meeting. Our people turned out in great numbers. This morning, as you know, this service is being broad- cast to our interstake center and ward buildings. We believe, with those who are in the temple this morning and those who are in the interstake center, that we have be- tween five and six thousand people present at this service. I believe it is the first time in the history of the Church that the dedication of a temple has been televised to adjacent buildings.
In June of this year with the approval of the First Presidency, we were permitted to invite thirteen additional stakes in the Northwest to come into our temple district, from Willamette on the south to Seattle on the north, so that we now have forty stakes of Zion in the temple district and an estimated 185,000 members. The territory is
from Seattle to Fresno on the south and Reno on the east.
We've been grateful for our asso- ciation with President Hugh B. Brown, Elder Howard W. Hunter, and Elder EIRay L. Christiansen, who were assigned by the First Presidency to work with us on mat- ters pertaining to the public preview and preparation for the dedicatory services. These brethren have visited us often and rendered coun- sel and advice that have been most valuable to us in making our plans. I would feel that I was remiss this morning if I didn't express our great appreciation to the architect, Brother Harold W. Burton, who is here with us this morning. It is through his vision, his wonderful ability, and his tenacity that we have the most beautiful site in all the world. He's lived with it from the start; he held out for only the best when some of the rest of us wanted to settle for a little less, and I will always be thankful to him. I love him, he is a man who has worked diligently, and we do ex- press appreciation to him. And to Brother Arthur Price, who came out and represented the building com- mittee, we love him. He's here this morning. He says he's not quite as old as President McKay; he's three months younger. He was from the bottom to the top of this temple every day during the time it was being constructed to inspect every- thing that went into this building.
And then to our builders. Brother Jack Wheatley represented the con- tractors on this job, and he was outstanding. He's a loyal, faithful Latter-day Saint with a strong testimony of the gospel. And he has two fine assistants, Brother Bob Loder, Brother Chick Faulkner, who I am sure are in some of these buildings today.
You know we found ourselves rolling out the grass at 2 am on the morning we opened for the public preview, so you can tell what a tight schedule we had. We weren't completely ready, but we were presentable, and the people started to line up. We had thousands come each day. One day we had twenty- four thousand. During the entire month we had in excess of 347,000 visitors. President Wright men- tioned they were reverent on the property. No incidents happened that were unfavorable to the
temple. During that time we sold 100,000 copies of the special issue of The Improvement Era dealing with the temples in the Church. Forty-three hundred copies of the Book of Mormon were purchased. Some of them were purchased by Catholic nuns who visited the temple. We sold two thousand copies of the Mormon Story, and over 400,000 tracts were distributed.
I checked many times with the people who were at the head of the line and asked them how long they had been waiting. An hour and a half to two and a half hours the crowd had been waiting to get up to the line where they could start the tour of the temple, and yet they were orderly and happy. We had beautiful Salt Lake Taber- nacle Choir music playing on the grounds, and the people seemed to enjoy just being on the temple grounds.
Now we give appreciation to the First Presidency— to all the General Authorities— for approving every- thing that we asked for to beautify the temple and the grounds.
Irving Stone said, "Give me men to match these mountains." And if you pardon it, another Stone now says, "Give us members to match the beauty and sturdiness of these buildings and the grounds."
The eyes of the public are on us. We've created a wonderful image during this public preview. Much is expected of us. People are now looking at us to see whether we are living the gospel as we preach it. It's a great opportunity for every one of us to carry out President McKay's wishes, "Every member a missionary," first by living the gos- pel and second by sharing it with others.
I feel sure the Lord is pleased with this beautiful temple. You will recall he told Moses, "For behold, this is my work and my glory— to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." (Moses 1:39.) In building this temple I feel we are helping our Heavenly Father to fulfil this scripture. However, let us not forget it is more difficult to make proper use of the temple and other church buildings than it is to build them. Our next step is to fulfil our responsibilities in doing our genealogy work and our ordin- ance work in the temple.
We're thrilled with the appoint-
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THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
merit of President Wright. He's loved by all the people in this area. He has been a stake president for many years and was a counselor in the stake presidency previous to that before he was called to Minne- sota by his company. I had a diffi- cult time in attempting to fill his shoes in the stake presidency; We're glad he has returned to be temple president.
Now, in doing the genealogy work it will be a real test of our willingness to carry out the wishes of our Heavenly Father. Giving of ourselves, our time, is more diffi- cult than giving money. We are privileged through the gift of free agency from our Heavenly Father in bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. The Lord will force no one. He has left the decision to us whether we follow good or evil. In Abraham we read:
"And we will prove them here- with, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;
"And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever." (Abraham 3:25-26.)
The Lord has provided us with this beautiful plan of salvation for all his children, and we as Latter- day Saints are blessed with the knowledge of this plan. We know that we come to earth to obtain a body, to gain experiences, and to see if we can remain true and faithful to our Heavenly Father and be sufficiently diligent and obedi- ent to his commandments to be worthy to return to his presence.
Today as I contemplate the many blessings that have been given us, I recall the words of King Benja- min in the Book of Mormon who, after enumerating the blessings which had been poured down upon his people by the Lord, said this, "And behold, all that he requires df you is to keep his command- ments; . . ." (Mosiah 2:22.)
Yes, the only thing the Lord re- quires of us is to keep his com- mandments. This sounds relatively simple, doesn't it? But it isn't. We all know that it isn't simple, nor was it intended to be. Where much is given much is required, and the Lord requires of those who dwell with him the ability to over- come weaknesses and imperfections. He requires self-denial and self- discipline. No, it isn't simple, but the Lord has given us certain sug- gestions, instructjdns and com- mandments to help us accomplish our goal.
Some of us may feel from time to time that some of these command- ments are an impediment, to happi- ness in this life, but this isn't so. Deep down in our hearts we know that as long as we adhere to these commandments, just as surely as night follows day, we will reap the blessings that are promised to the faithful. The Lord has told us that he is bound when we do what he says, but when we do not what he says, we have no promise. (See D&C 82:10.) Sometimes the way of fulfilment may not be a path to uSj but the actuality of it is assured.
In Proverbs we find a favorite scripture of Elder Harold B. Lee. I have heard him repeat it on numerous occasions, and it has be- come a favorite of mine.
"Trust in the Lord with all thine
heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
"In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." (PrOv. 3:5-6.)
How many of us on judgment day would like to be told that we failed to do our part* that we failed to do our genealogy and our ordi- nance work in the temple, that we have been unworthy servants of the Lord because oxir own lives have been poor examples.
In Matthew the Lord has given us a very important message: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matt. 5:16,)
In 1 Corinthians we read, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nei- ther have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." (1 Cor. 2:9.)
And in Matthew, again we find this statement, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." ( Matt. 7:21.)
And finally, there is the great promise given to us by our Savior, "And, if you keep my command- ments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God." (D&C 14:7.)
May we be diligent in taking care of and making proper use of these beautiful buildings that are ours. May we keep the commandments of the Lord and thus be eligible to secure his blessings in this life and gain exaltation in the celestial kingdom is my humble prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
SAVIORS ON MOUNT ZION
BY PRESIDENT JOSEPH FIELDING SMITH
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE
• My beloved brethren and sisters, where the members of the Church Heavenly Father, but they will
my heart has been touched. This who love the truth, who abide in it, come into this building to perform
is a solemn occasion. This is a house may come to worship— not only to a great labor: first, to themselves,
of the Lord, the holiest spot, a place pour out their own souls to our the benefit that will endure forever,
FEBRUARY I9S5
lit
but likewise to perform labor for those who are honest and sincere who have gone beyond— those who were unfortunate when they lived upon the face of the earth when the truth of the gospel and its ordi- nances could not be found. Through many generations of time men walked in darkness, and Satan ap- parently had the upper hand; and yet upon the face of earth there were many who were honest and true and faithful to the best of their understanding.
The light of the gospel was not here, and yetwe have ancestors, all of us, who were honest, sincere, worthy, who did the best they knew in the age of spiritual darkness, led astray by Satan who found a place in the hearts of the children of men. And the light of truth, the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ, had gone out. And so our fathers and our mothers in times past were forced to walk in spiritual darkness. The Lord has not forgotten them, and many of them are just as devout and sincere with the little knowl-
edge and understanding that they had as we are. The Lord has not forgotten them, and so in the Dis- pensation of the Fulness of Times, we, their offspring, are blessed with the great privilege of perform- ing the sacred ordinances in holy places for our fathers and our moth- ers of the various generations when spiritual darkness reigned upon the face of the earth. The Lord has not forgotten them, and many of them are just as devout and sincere in what they did and the way they lived as perhaps we are.
Today we have a responsibility placed upon us. We owe a debt to those who have gone on before. That debt we must pay. Therefore we shall be grateful unto our Heavenly Father for the privileges which are ours to come into a holy place and vicariously do for them that which they could not do for themselves, that they might go on to the exaltation, to the fulness in the kingdom of our Father. We have a mission to perform that is great as saviors on Mount Zion,
saviors in the temples of the Lord. We must do the work for those who have gone on for these many years and who have been looking for- ward, no doubt, for the time to come when the light of truth and the ordinances of exaltation might be given unto them, although they come to them by proxy.
How grateful we ought to be for these temples of the Lord— holy places. No unclean thing should be permitted to enter into this build- ing; and when we can move through the doors, we should come in the spirit of faith, humility, and deter- mination, not only to benefit our- selves, but also to bless and present the blessings of exaltation to our loved ones who have gone on be- fore. Brethren and sisters, make use of your time. Come to this holy place, but come worthy to perform the labors that are essential for exaltation, not just for yourselves, but for those who have gone on before. They're waiting for us to act. I bless you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
THE WAY
OF THE LORD
HAS COME
HENRY D. TAYLOR
ASSISTANT TO THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE
• Brethren and sisters, I would like to join the chorus in that beautiful song they have just sung, "I Know That My Redeemer Lives," for I, too, do know and bear witness that my Redeemer lives.
Temple dedications are solemn and thrilling occasions. This morn- ing our hearts were lifted— we were thrilled as President David O. McKay dedicated this house of the Lord.
As President O. Leslie Stone was giving a report of the activities in connection with raising money for the temple, the construction of this building, and other activities that have taken place, I thought, Well, that's the way it has always been in the Church from its very beginning.
When the word of the Lord has come that a house of worship
should be erected, regardless of the financial condition of the people, they have responded to that call without hesitation; they have gone ahead and raised the money, and the buildings have been con- structed.
Temple building is an activity of the Church that has existed from the beginning of this dispensation. The Saints at Kirtland, then in the depths of poverty, responded when the word of the Lord came. With- out hesitation they built that temple. Later, after they were driven out of Kirtland to other parts of the country, when the word of the Lord came for a temple in Nauvoo, without hesitation they proceeded to build it. We know the story.
Once again they were driven out
into the vast wilderness, across the plains, and into the Salt Lake Val- ley. Within just four days after the pioneers arrived in the valley, the Prophet Brigham Young announced that a temple was to be built to the Lord. He had seen the temple in vision, and there was no question in his mind as to what it would look like.
The Salt Lake Temple was com- menced in April 1853, less than six years after the Saints arrived in the valley. There were many inter- ruptions; the builders were slowed by the crude tools they had to use, the arrival of Johnston's Army, and the construction of the railroad, which employed many men. But they pursued the work as fast as they could with the means they had, and thirty-nine years after con-
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THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
struction commenced, the time came for the laying of the capstone on the temple. This was done in connection with the general con- ference of April 6, 1892.
The laying of the capstone was a great event for the Saints. On Tem- ple Square a speakers' stand was erected, and the Saints assembled. The account says forty thousand members of the Church and their friends assembled on Temple Square and the surrounding area, probably the largest assemblage of people in the state. It was a won- derful occasion. On completion of the laying of the capstone, one of the Church Authorities made the motion that the Saints should at- tempt to complete the building and have it ready for dedication one year later. This seemed a tre- mendous undertaking because there was much to be done and a con- siderable amount of money to raise. The Church Authorities also felt it wise to select a person to superin- tend the construction. John R. Winder, Second Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, and who later served in the First Presidency, was named general superintendent of construction.
The Saints responded willingly to the challenge, and the year was almost up when the First Presi- dency sent out an epistle to the Saints suggesting that they pre- pare themselves for the dedication. In this letter they expressed their gratitude for the devotion of the people and suggested that if the people would cleanse their hearts, they would be prepared. The Saints' hearts should be filled with love and charity for one another; they should be at peace with each other and .with God. They warned that sin unrepented still casts its odor about the sinner. They also
said that bitterness and unforgiving coolness still existed in the hearts of many. There had just concluded an intense eighteen-month long political campaign which had en- gendered much friction and hate. The brethren mentioned this in their epistle and said, "We feel now that a time for reconciliation has come; that before entering into the Temple to present ourselves before the Lord in solemn assembly, we shall divest ourselves of every harsh and unkind feeling against each other, . . .
"If there is a single member of the Church who has feelings against us, we do not wish to cross the threshold of the Temple until we have satisfied him and have removed from him all cause of feel- ing, either by explanation or by making proper amends and atone- ment; . . ." (James E. Talmage, The House of the Lord, p. 157. ) They desired all officers of the Church to follow their example.
Well, the results were wonder- ful. Again, the account states that "Throughout the length and breadth of Zion there was a general cleansing of mind and soul; enmity was buried; bickering ceased; dif- ferences between brethren were adjusted; offenses were atoned and forgiven; a veritable jubilee was celebrated." (Ibid., p. 158.) The building was completed and on April 6, 1893 was dedicated by President Wilford Woodruff.
Brethren and sisters, I am con- fident that all who have come to the temple and will come to the temple for these dedication services have prepared themselves in their hearts, because when we come to the house of the Lord we should come with such a feeling. It would be my prayer that as we enter the
house of the Lord that there may be a feeling of love and kindness and charity, one toward another. If there is any place in the world where the warm feelings of rever- ence, love, and kindness should exist, it should be here in the house of the Lord.
I also would pray that you good people in this area will come to the temple often and, as you come to work for your kindred dead, that you will personalize the endow- ment ceremony and recall to your minds the time when you received your endowments and all the bless- ings that were promised.
This temple has been built on a beautiful site. Here on the side of a hill, it is visible from all over the area, from out at sea, as you cross the bay bridges, and as you come along the freeway. Surely it is like a city that is set on a hill that can- not be hid. (See Matt. 5:14.) I think the same thing is true of us, brethren and sisters. If we remem- ber the covenants we have made in this house and other houses of the Lord that have been dedicated and are true to those covenants, we too may become beacons on a hill, for our lives cannot easily be hid.
I am grateful to be here today. We are so grateful to have Presi- dent and Sister McKay. I am sure the President has been blessed.
I bear witness, brethren and sisters, that God lives, that the gos- pel is true. I am grateful to live in a day and age of the world when the gospel has been restored and is upon the earth in its fulness and we have all the blessings that come to us, all the promises that come through having temples. I bear this witness and pray for our Heavenly Father's blessings to be with us, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
" THE DAWNING OF A BRIGHTER DAY"
GORDON B. HINCKLEY
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE
• My beloved brethren and sisters, lives, and I know that he, watching the Swiss Temple where there
with you my heart has been over Israel, slumbers not nor sleeps, gathered the Saints from over Eu-
touched by the Spirit of the Lord Mine has been the privilege of rope, in London where came the
this day. I know that my Redeemer participating in the dedication of people of the British Isles, in New
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Zealand where assembled the the Saints of the Pacific, and in Los Angeles where gathered thou- sands from across this nation. I have known the inspiration of these marvelous occasions. I felt this morning that same inspiration and also that we witnessed a miracle as the mantle of the prophet rested so unmistakably upon him who has been ordained to lead us. I am satisfied that our Father in heaven buoyed up and directed and in- spired our President, our leader, and our prophet.
I was touched as the choir sang this morning that great hymn of the restoration: "The morning breaks; the shadows
flee, Lo, Zion's standard is unfurled! The dawning of a brighter day Majestic rises on the world."
-Parley P. Pratt, Hymns, 269.
I believe these words with all my heart. I believe that the dedication of this sacred house bespeaks the dawning of a brighter day upon the people of the world as well as upon those in the prison house.
Somehow this magnificent struc- ture, which looks out across the Pacific toward the gentile nations of Asia, seems to indicate to me a brighter day for the people of those ancient lands.
I was in the Hawaii Temple yesterday working on preparation of the temple ceremony in the Japanese language, and tomorrow I shall be in Japan to assist in the anticipation of the day next sum- mer when some of the Japanese
Saints for the first time shall come to the Lord's house to receive their endowments, to be sealed as fami- lies, and to do work for their dead, in their own language.
Last night as we looked at this magnificent building, there came to my mind the struggle of those who have gone before us. I thought of the building of the Kirtland Temple, when, as Mother Smith recorded, the brethren slept on the floor in old ragged quilts and consecrated their time and their means to the construction of that sacred house.; There also came to my mind, as we looked at this magnificent building last night, these words from the prayer of dedication uttered at the Kirtland Temple:
"Remember. . . , O Lord, . . . that the kingdom, which thou hast set up without hands, may become a great mountain and fill the whole earth;
"That thy church may come forth out of the wilderness of darkness, and shine forth fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners;
"And be adorned as a bride for that day when thou shalt unveil the heavens, . . . that thy glory may fill the earth." (D&C 109:72-74.)
We are witnessing the day of the fulfillment of that prayer. Three hundred and forty-five thousand people have been through this sacred house prior to today. Think of the compliments, the reverent compliments, that have come and the reverent compliments that will
continue to come in the years that lie ahead.
I talked to a stewardess on the plane yesterday who said, "I have been to your temple in Oakland, and I experienced a feeling there that I have never felt before. I want to come and learn more."
I want to say that this temple is not only a thing of beauty and a joy to those who see it. It is a living expression of a testimony that God our Eternal Father lives, the ruler of the universe; that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior and Re- deemer of the world, the only name given among men whereby we must be saved; that Joseph Smith was a prophet who was fore- ordained to this dispensation, spoken to by God the Father and the Resurrected Lord; that an angel has flown through the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gos- pel to preach to them that dwell upon the earth and to every nation and kindred and tongue and people; that a veritable "cloud of wtinesses" has come to earth with keys and authority— John the Baptist, Peter, James, and John, Moses, Elias, and Elijah; that life is eternal, that love is eternal, that the family may be eternal; that we are our Father's children to whom he has offered that which he would have us have for" our blessing, our happiness, our salvation, and our exaltation. Of these things I testify before you this day in gratitude and appreciation in the name of him whom we serve, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
THE SECOND COMING
PRESIDENT HUGH B. BROWN
FIRST COUNSELOR IN THE FIRST PRESIDENCY
• This is a solemn, sacred, and monies may be performed pertain- Lord and, in common with other
momentous hour, when we meet to ing to salvation and exaltation in similar structures, is a place where
dedicate a holy sanctuary wherein the kingdom of God. the Lord may dwell ancl his Spirit
sacred ordinances, rites, and cere- This is verily the house of the may be manifested, where his mes-
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sengers may confer the priesthood and keys and receive revelations for the Church.
Whenever the Lord has had a people on the earth, temples and temple ordinances have been the crowning feature of their worship. His people are always commanded to build temples for the glory, honor, and endowment of the Saints. They are usually eostiy and elaborate, consistent with the abili- ties and the devotion of the people who build them.
Here and in succeeding dedica- tory services and later in ordinance sessions, we shall have the oppor- tunity under the most favorable physical and spiritual surroundings to reappraise our concepts, to re- examine the basis of our faith, and to rededicate our lives to the work of establishing the kingdom of God.
Here we may ponder the mean- ing, purpose, and destiny of life and endeavor progressively to bring our lives into harmony with the laws of our existence, which are the laws of God. Here we are re- minded that this life is but pre- parative to continuing life— in a spiritual sense it is a prenatal exist- ence preparatory to birth into a celestialized realm of eternally be- coming, unfolding, progressing into something ever more about to be.
Parley P. Pratt, an Apostle of this dispensation, wrote some profound and inspiring thoughts on what he called the science of life. He said:
"The great science of life consists in the knowledge of ourselves, the laws of our existence, the relations we sustain to each other, to things and beings around us, to our an- cestry, to our posterity, to time,- to eternity, to our Heavenly Father and to the universe. To under- stand these laws, and regulate our actions by them, is the whole duty of intelligences. It should therefore comprise our whole study.
"This science comprises the foun- tain of wisdom, the well-springs of life, the boundless ocean of knowl- edge, the infinitude of light, the truth, and love. It penetrates the depths, soars to the heights, and circumscribes the broad expanse of eternity.
"Its pursuit leads to exaltation, glory, immortality and to an eter- nity of life, light, purity and unity of fellowship with kindred spirits.
". . . remember that this present
probation is the world of prepara- the midst of his people. He it was
tion for joys eternal. This is the who in the presence of his disciples,
place where family organization is ". . . while they beheld, . . . was
first formed for eternity, and where taken up; and a cloud received him
the kindred sympathies, relation- out of their sight,
ships and affections take root, "And while they looked sted-
spring forth, shoot upward, bud, fastly toward heaven as he went up,
blossom and bear fruit to ripen and behold, two men stood by them in
mature in eternal ages. white apparel;
"Here, in the holy temples and "Which also said, Ye men of
sanctuaries of our God, must the Galilee, why stand ye gazing up
everlasting covenants be revealed, into heaven? this same Jesus, which
ratified, sealed, bound and recorded is taken up from you into heaven,
in the holy records, and guarded shall so come in like manner as ye
and preserved in the archives of have seen him go into heaven."
God's Kingdom, by those who hold (Acts 1:9-11.)
the keys of eternal apostleship, who When we speak of the second
have power to bind on earth that coming of Christ, we refer to the
which shall be bound in heaven, same Personal Being who minis-
and to record on earth that which tered in mortality among men. His
shall be recorded in the archives of second coming will be in power
heaven, in the Lamb's book of life." and great glory, with the hosts of
(Key to the Science of Theology, heaven attending. As Isaiah said:
pp. 159, 162. ) "And the glory of the Lord shall be
The central figure in this fore- revealed, and all flesh shall see it
ordained plan is the one who was together. . . ." (Isa. 40:5.)
chosen and ordained before the foundations of the earth were laid, who was with God in the begin- ning, the Firstborn of all the spirit
The prophets of the Old Testa- ment and those of the Book of Mor- mon who lived and wrote before the birth of Christ left some ex-
sons of God, he who was the chief plicit predictions concerning his executive of the Father, by whom second advent. We find the Psalm- all things were made— pre-eminent ist singing:
above all others stands the Savior "Our God shall come, and shall
and Redeemer of mankind, even not keep silence: afire shall devour
Jesus Christ the Lord. before him, and it shall be very
He was born in Bethlehem of the tempestuous around about him."
virgin Mary, lived and ministered (Psalm 50:3.)
among men, bore witness of his Isaiah said, "Say to them that are
Father, called and ordained Twelve of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear
Apostles, laid the foundation for the not: behold, your God will come
establishment of his Church, was with vengeance, even God with a
crucified, and his body lay in the recompence; he will come and save
tomb three days. He appeared to you." (Isa. 35:4. )
his disciples as a tangible, living Again Isaiah speaks: "Behold, the
being of flesh and bones, which Lord God will come with strong
they attested by feeling of the hand, and his arm shall rule for
prints in his hands and side, pur- him: behold, his reward is with
suant to his invitation to ". . . handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have." (Luke 24:39.)
him, and his work before him." (Ibid., 40:10.)
As these conditions did not at- tend the coming of the Babe of
In our Articles of Faith, we de- Bethlehem, their fulfilment must
clare our belief that Christ will be yet future,
come again and reign personally The Prophet Enoch leaves a re-
upon the earth. The scriptures refer cord in the book of Moses which
to two different appearances of the is unequivocal:
Lord among men. One came in the "And the Lord said unto Enoch:
Meridian of Time when he de- As I live, even so will I come in the
scended below all things and last days, in the days of wickedness
worked out the infinite, universal, and vengeance, to fulfil the oath
and eternal atonement. The other is which I have made unto you con-
promised for the last days, when, having ascended above all things, he will return in glory to reign in
cerning the children of Noah"; (Moses 7:60.) In the 21st chapter of Luke,
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verses 7-20, 27 we read:
"And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass?
"And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.
"But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by.
"Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and king- dom against kingdom:
"And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
"But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and perse- cute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake.
"And it shall turn to you for a testimony.
"Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer:
"For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.
"And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kins- folks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.
"And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake.
"But there shall not an hair of your head perish.
"In your patience possess ye your souls.
"And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. . . . And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory."
And Matthew records him as say- ing, "And this gospel of the king- dom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." (Matt. 24:14.)
In the Book of Mormon the Savior assured his followers that he would come again, and according to the record he explained many matters, ". . . even from the beginning until
the time that he should come in his glory " (3Nephi26:3.)
In promising the three disciples the desire of their hearts, which was that they might be spared in the flesh to continue the work of the ministry, the Lord said, ". . . ye shall live to behold all the doings of the Father unto the children of men, even until all things shall be fulfilled according to the will of the Father, when I shall come in my glory with the powers of heaven." (Ibid., 28:7.)
Before the second coming, then, certain signs and wonders are to take place, and these, sometimes known as the signs of the times, will give those who worthily await his coming some assurance of the approximate time of his return. Let us briefly examine some predicted events:
No man knoweth the day nor the hour of his return, not even the angels in heaven (see Matt. 24:36), but the righteous will be able to read the signs.
According to the scriptures, there was to be a universal apostasy, when false Christs and false teach- ers would attempt to deceive the unwary, and, if possible, the very elect. (See ibid., 24:24.) The Apostle Paul, writing to the Thes- salonians, said to them: ". . . for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
"Who opposeth and exalteth him- self above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." (2Thess.2:3-4.)
The scriptures also tell of the restoration of all things in the last days, which was referred to as the times of refreshing, when ". . . he shall send Jesus Christ, which be- fore was preached unto you:
"Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began." (Acts 3: 20-21. )
This era of restoration was to be known as the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, in which the Lord would gather together in one all things in Christ. (See Eph. 1:10.)
As part of the restoration of all
things, the fulness of the gospel, with the saving powers of the Holy Priesthood, was to be returned to earth shortly before the great and dreadful day of the Lord, which John beheld in his vision when he proclaimed the flying of another angel and announced the hour of his judgment had come. (See Rev. 14:6-7.)
The Lord bore witness of this as is recorded in the 133rd section of the Doctrine and Covenants:
"And now, verily saith the Lord, that these things might be known among you, O inhabitants of the earth, I have sent forth mine angel flying through the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel, who hath appeared unto some and hath committed it unto man, who shall appear unto many that dwell on the earth.
"And this gospel shall be preached unto every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people." (D&C 133:36-37.)
We now have about 12,000 mes- sengers—many more to go. "And the servants of God shall go forth, saying with a loud voice: Fear God and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is come;
"And worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters—
"Calling upon the name of the Lord day and night, saying: O that thou wouldst rend the heavens, that thou wouldst come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence." (Ibid., 133:38-40.)
That the coming forth of the Book of Mormon was to be a part of the restoration is evidenced by the writings of Isaiah, Ezekiel, and others, and also by Book of .Mor- mon prophets to whom the Lord declared that the coming forth of this record to the descendants of the Nephites would be one of the great signs of the fulfilling of the covenant in the last days.
The Lord said, "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: . . . even the messenger of the cove- nant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. . . . the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his tem- ple, . . ." (See Mai. 3:1.)
When Elijah came to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery on the 3rd of April, 1836, in the Kirtland
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Temple, in fulfilment of this prom- ise, that ancient prophet concluded the bestowal of the keys of the sealing power with this assurance, ". . . by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors." (D&C 110:16.)
Many revelations summarize the signs to be noted before the coming of the Master. There will be wars, commotions, calamities, plagues, pestilence, famine, and disease such as have not been known before, wars, carnage, bloodshed, and des- olation which will overshadow any- thing of past ages.
Frequent visits to the temple will encourage us to watch and be ready for his coming as the day and hour are not known to anyone, but they who do watch and prepare for that day will be able to read the signs of the times and approximate the time of the second coming. All we certainly know is that it is 133 years nearer than when these reve- lations were given.
To the wicked, the second com- ing will be a great and dreadful day, a day of sorrow and desola- tion, of burning and vengeance and judgment.
For the presence of the Lord shall be as the melting fire that burneth and as the fire which caus- eth the waters to boil.
But to the righteous who have waited faithfully and kept his laws, the second coming will be a day devoutly to be desired, when in- justice will cease and wickedness be banished.
The Lord will undoubtedly make many successive appearances in various parts of the earth, and Malachi asks: ". . . who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? . . . (Mai. 3:2.)
While the precise time of his coming is not known, he warns us to watch the developments of the work of God among nations and note the rapid fulfilment of signifi- cant prophecies by which we may perceive the evidence of the ap- proaching event, but the hour and the day no man knoweth, neither the angels in heaven, nor shall they know until he comes. (See Matt. 24:36.) His coming will be a sur- prise to those who have ignored his warnings and have failed to watch. To them he will come as a
thief in the night, and he admon- ishes, "Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh." (Ibid., 25:13.)
We note from ancient and mod- ern prophets he is to come in a literal sense and manifest himself in person in the last days.
Daniel interpreted the dream of Nebuchadnezzar and spoke of many kingdoms and divisions of king- doms that were to be established, and then he added, "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever." (Dan, 2:44.) And emphasizing the extent of the kingdom, he declared, "And the kingdom and dominion, and greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an ever- lasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him." (Ibid., 7:27.)
When the angels announced the birth of the Savior, they said, "He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end." ( Luke 1:33. ) John on the Isle of Patmos saw the glori- ous consummation and the univer- sal recognition of the Eternal King, and he said, "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The king- doms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever." (Rev. 11:15.)
And in our own time, he has said through the Prophet, "And also the Lord shall have power over his saints, and shall reign in their midst," for in my own due time will I come upon the earth in judgment, when my people shall be redeemed and shall reign with me on earth. (See D&C 1:36.)
Now, in the holy scriptures we read frequently of the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God. In modern revelations the expres- sions "kingdom of God" and "king- dom of heaven" are sometimes used with distinctive meanings and sometimes interchangeably. The kingdom of God, however, has been set up; its beginning in the present
dispensation was the establishment of the Church on its latter-day per- manent foundation. The powers and authority committed to the Church are the keys of the kingdom as is evidenced by the following revelation: "The keys of the king- dom of God are committed unto man on the earth, and from thence shall the gospel roll forth unto the ends of the earth, as the stone which is cut out of the mountain without hands shall roll forth, until it has filled the whole earth. ...
"Call upon the Lord, that his kingdom may go forth upon the earth, that the inhabitants thereof may receive it, and be prepared for the days to come, in the which the Son of Man shall come down in heaven, clothed in the brightness of his glory, to meet the kingdom of God which is set up on the earth.
"Wherefore, may the kingdom of God go forth, that the kingdom of heaven may come, that thou, O God, may est be glorified in heaven so on earth, that thine enemies may be subdued; for thine is the honor, power and glory, forever and ever. Amen." (D&C 65:2, 5-6.)
Hence we pray, "Thy kingdom come." (Matt. 6:10.)
The question is often asked, "Is the kingdom already set up on earth or are we to wait for its establishment until the advent of the Christ, the King?" The kingdom of God, as identical with the Church, has been established. Its history is that of the Church in these last days, whose officers are divinely commissioned. Their power is that of the Holy Priesthood; their authority is spiritual. They make no attempt, nor do they assert the right, to assail, modify, or in any way interfere with existing govern- ments, far less to subdue nations or set up rival systems of control. The kingdom of heaven, including the Church and comprising all nations'; will be set up with power and great glory when the triumphant King comes with his heavenly hosts per- sonally to rule and reign on earth, which he redeemed at the sacrifice of his own life.
In connection with scriptural mention of Christ's reign on earth, the duration of one thousand years is frequently specified. While we cannot regard this as indicating a time limit to the kingdom's exist- ence or a measure of the Savior's
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administration and power, we are justified in the belief that the thou- sand years immediately following the establishment of the kingdom are to be specifically characterized and shall be different from both preceding and succeeding times. The gathering of Israel and the establishment of an earthly king- dom are to be effected preparatory to his coming. His advent will be marked by a destruction of the wicked and by the inauguration of an era of peace.
It is evident, then, that in speak- ing of the millennium we have to consider a definite period, with important events marking its be- ginning and its close, and conditions of unusual blessedness extending throughout. It will be a sabbatical era, a thousand years of peace; en- mity between man and beast shall cease; the fierceness and venom of the brute creation shall be done away; and love shall rule. The Lord said to Isaiah: "For, behold, I cre- ate new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remem- bered, nor come into mind. . . .
"They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord,, and their offspring with them. . . .
"The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and the dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain saith the Lord." (Isa. 65:17,23,25.)
And in the 63rd section of the Doctrine and Covenants, we read: "Yea, and blessed are the dead that die in the Lord, from henceforth, when the Lord shall come, and old things shall pass away, and all things shall become new, they shall rise from the dead and shall not die after, and shall receive an inherit- ance before the Lord in the holy city.
"And he that liveth when the Lord shall come, and hath kept the faith, blessed is he; nevertheless,
The gospel was revealed for the benefit of the world; it is in the interests of humanity; and it is to be proclaimed to every nation, kindred, people, and tongue, by men commissioned of God to do so. —President John Taylor
it is appointed to him to die at the and his final doom will speedily fol-
age of man. low, and with him will go to the
"Wherefore, children shall grow punishment that is everlasting all
up until they become old; old who are his. Then the earth will
men shall die; but they shall not become a celestial kingdom, a fit
sleep in the dust, but they shall abode for the glorified sons and
be changed in the twinkling of an daughters of God.
eye." (D&C 63:49-51.) "And there shall be silence in
And every corruptible thing, heaven for the space of half an
both of man or of the beasts of the field, or of the fowls of the heavens or of the fish of the sea, that dwells
hour; and immediately after shall the curtain of heaven be unfolded, as a scroll is unfolded after it is
upon all the face of the earth, shall rolled up, and the face of the Lord
be consumed; shall be unveiled;
"And also that of element shall "And the saints that are upon the melt with fervent heat; and all earth, who are alive, shall be quick- things shall become new, that my ened and be caught up to meet him. knowledge and glory may dwell "And they who have slept in their upon all the earth. graves shall come forth, for their
"And in that day the enmity of graves shall be opened; and they
man, and the enmity of beasts, yea, also shall be caught up to meet him
the enmity of all flesh, shall cease in the midst of the pillar of heaven—
from before my face. "They are Christ's, the first fruits,
"And in that day whatsoever any they who shall descend with him
man shall ask, it shall be given first, and they who are on the earth
unto him. and in their graves, who are first
"And in that day Satan shall not caught up to meet him, and all this
have power to tempt any man. by the voice of the sounding of
"And there shall be no sorrow be- the trump of the angel of God.
cause there is no death.
"In that day an infant shall not die until he is old; and his life shall be as the age of a tree;
"And when he dies he shall not
And after this another angel shall sound, which is the second trump; and then cometh the re- demption of those who are Christ's at his coming; who have received
sleep, that is to say in the earth, their part in that prison which is
but shall be changed in the twin- prepared for them, that they might
kling of an eye, and shall be caught receive the gospel, and be judged
up, and his rest shall be glorious." according to men in the flesh."
(Ibid., 101:24-31.) (Ibid., 88:95-99.)
During the millennium Satan's "Watch ye therefore, and pray
power will be restrained, and men, always, that ye may be accounted
relieved at least in some degree worthy to escape all these things
from temptation, will be zealous that shall come to pass, and to
in the service of the reigning Lord, stand before the Son of man."
Both mortal and immortal beings (Luke 21:36.)
will tenant the earth, and commu- And so from this lofty hill over-
nion with heavenly powers will be looking great cities and from
common. During the millennium this holy sanctuary we renew the
the Latter-day Saints believe it warning that the second coming of
will be their privilege to continue Messiah is at hand. We call upon
the vicarious work for the dead, all men everywhere to prepare to
which constitutes so important a part of the restored gospel. At that time facilities for direct communi- cation with the heavens will enable
meet him and to enjoy the blessings of the millennium. And in his words we say, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as
them to carry on their labor of love the world giveth, give I unto you.
without hindrance.
When the thousand years have passed, Satan will again be permit- ted to assert his power, and those who are not then numbered among
Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (Tohn 14: 27.)
I pray that the Lord will bless and inspire all members of this
the pure in heart will yield to his temple district and all of us to be
influence, but the liberty thus re- true to ourselves and to him and to
covered by the prince of the power prepare for his second coming, in
of the air will be of short duration, the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
THE
HOUSE OF THE
LORD
• President McKay, President Brown, President Tanner, President Smith, and my beloved brothers and sisters all. I'm very grateful to be here this morning, honored to be asked to say a few words. These two great songs have thrilled me. I don't know anything which better typifies our place in the world, the things we stand for, than, ". . . For he saw the living God" and "The Morning Breaks, the Shadows Flee." I hope the Lord will let his Spirit accompany us while I speak.
I'm glad to be here in this house because it is not an ordinary house; it is the Lord's house. We have built many tabernacles for general assemblies. We have built meeting- houses all over the earth in which to worship, but this house is dif- ferent. This is a temple, which by definition means "the house of the Lord."
The Lord has not always had for his temple or house an edifice like this.
"The groves were God's first temple, Ere man learned
To hue the shaft, and lay the archi- trave, And spread the roof above them, Ere he framed the lofty vault, to
gather and roll back The sound of anthems; in the dark- ling wood, Amidst the cool and silence, he
knelt down And offered to the Mightiest, sol- emn thanks And supplication." —William Cullen Bryant, "A Forest Hymn."
Jacob, for one, found God in the out-of-doors. As he journeyed to Haran to seek a wife among his mother's people, ". . . he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.
"And he dreamed, and behold a
MARION G. ROMNEY
OF THE COUNCIL. OF THE TWELVE
ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
"And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;
"And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south; and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. . . .
"And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. "And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." (Gen. 28:11-14, 16-17.)
You see, the place where Jacob met the Lord was to him the house of the Lord and the gate of heaven. To commemorate the event, Jacob ". . . took the stone he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.
"And he called the name of that place Bethel: . . ." (Ibid., 28:18- 19.) Bethel is a contraction of the word "Beth-Elohim" which literally is "the house of the Lord."
As he did to Jacob, so the Lord in the days of Israel's poverty ap- peared to and taught Moses in the out-of-doors, first in the burning bush on Mount Horeb. Later, Sinai became a temporary sanctuary from which he taught Moses. Shortly thereafter, however, the Lord in- structed the Israelites through Moses to build a "tabernacle of the congregation" to which he could come and make his will known unto them. From then until now, one of the peculiar practices of God's people has been the building of temples. The word "temple" de- notes to a Latter-day Saint a struc-
ture, a building, erected and dedicated to the Lord as his house. The purpose of a temple is two- fold: (1) to serve as a dwelling place on earth for the Lord, and (2) to provide a place in which the ordinances of the priesthood can be properly administered to the Saints of God. In the Tabernacle built by Israel there was an addi- tional facility— a place for a general assembly; but the dwelling place for the Lord, the Holy of Holies, no man went into except t|ie high priest of the Aaronic Priesthood. He went there to attend the solemn ordinances of the Aaronic Priest- hood. In the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the Covenant, and on the Ark of the Covenant was the mercy seat from above which the Lord himself gave instructions to the priest.
David, the great king of Israel, disturbed by the fact that the Tabernacle was still serving as the house of God, while he himself dwelt in a great house built of cedars, had it in ". . . mind to build an house unto the name of the Lord [his] . . . God:
"But the word of the Lord came to [him] . , . saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, ..." (1 Chron. 22:7-8.)
David was, however, permitted to gather materials which were used by his son Solomon in build- ing the great temple which bore his name. This temple served the children of Israel for five hundred years. Later, other temples were built— the Temple of Zerubbabel, for exampje, and the Temple of Herod. The Savior himself honored the Temple of Herod even though it was built by an unworthy man, who did not build to the glory of God, but in his own interest. Herod's purpose was to placate the Jews over whom he ruled as an appointee of the Roman Empire. However, because the Jews used
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Herod's Temple for the perfor- mance of Aaronic Priesthood ordi- nances, the Savior honored it. He referred to it as his Father's house. When he saw the people using it as a place of merchandise, he rose up in righteous anger and drove out the money changers.
With the exception of the temple referred to in the Book of Mormon, we have no record of a temple's being built between the death of Jesus and the restoration of the gospel in these latter days.
The great significance of tem- ples is indicated by the fact that, before the restored Church was a year old, the Lord in the revela- tions to the Prophet Joseph Smith began to talk about temples to be built in this the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times.
In 1831 the Prophet Joseph Smith and other brethren went from Kirt- land to Jackson County, Missouri, and dedicated the spot designated by the Lord as a temple site. Some- day we will go back and build the temple there.
You know how the early Saints built the temple in Kirtland and how they built the Nauvoo Temple. We have built, as President McKay said, fifteen temples in these latter days— all houses of God, in which the holy ordinances of the priest- hood are administered and places from which the Lord teaches his people.
Not all temples have been pro- vided with facilities to administer the ordinances which will be ad- ministered in this temple. Temples have been built to fit the need of the particular times in which they were built. In the olden days the ordinances of the Aaronic Priest- hood were administered in them.
The Kirtland Temple was not built for the full endowment, but as a place where the keys of the priest- hood were to be restored. On the 3rd of April, 1836, the Sunday fol- lowing the dedication, Jesus himself appeared to the Prophet Joseph and Oliver Cowdery as they knelt in prayer in the Kirtland Temple and accepted the temple and the labors of those who had built it. After this vision closed, Moses appeared and committed unto them the keys of the gathering of Israel and the restora- tion of the ten tribes. Elias appeared and committed the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham, ". . . Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before [them] . . . and said:
"Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi— testifying that he [Eli- jah] should be sent, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come—
"To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse—
"Therefore, the keys of this dis- pensation are committed into your hands; and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors." (D&C 110:13-16.)
Since the time Elijah came and restored the keys for the salvation of the dead, all our temples have been built to perform the highest ordinances of the Melchizedek Priesthood. To this temple we will come and receive our ordinances and our blessings, blessings to be had only in the house of the Lord.
I feel this morning that we are in the presence of the Lord, and I know that to be in his presence is
to be in a most holy place. I re- member that, as Moses approached the burning bush, ". . . God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses, . , .
"Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." (Exod. 3:4-5.)
The awful solemnity of being in the presence of the Lord has been further impressed upon my mind by a passage in the 121st section of the Doctrine and Covenants, written by the Prophet Joseph Smith while he was in Liberty Jail. The passage to which I refer is the one in which the Lord says, ". . . let virtue garnish thy thoughts un- ceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; . . ." (D&C 121:45.) •
I have thought about this state- ment, ". . . then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; . . ," many times. I've tried to envision the time when I shall stand before him to be judged of the deeds I have done in the flesh. I understand that when I do I shall have a bright recollection of all my iniquities and that they shall also be known by the Savior who will be my judge. I often wonder if I shall have confidence then as I stand in his presence.
God grant that we may be worthy to stand in his presence when we come here. To come un- worthily into this temple and re- ceive our endowments will not prove to be a blessing to us. Every soul when he comes here should be at peace in his own heart; his feel- ings should be at peace toward every other person in the world; he should have no hard feelings to- ward anyone. There should be no feelings of competition, no feelings of jealousy, nothing but the Spirit of the Living God and love toward our fellow men and toward each other, for here in his house we literally stand in the presence of the Lord. God grant that we may do so worthily.
I feel certain that the Lord will accept this house, as he accepted the Tabernacle in the wilderness, the Temple of Solomon, the Kirt- land Temple, the Salt Lake Tem- ple, and other temples built by the sacrifice of his people. That it may be so, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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PREPARING TO
MEET THE LORD
• I have sought desperately to put myself in tune with the Spirit that should be here io a dedicatory ser- vice. I have pondered about that which I know takes place in a dedicated temple— in other words, what is the significance of a tem- ple? I have gloried in this review of the history of temples which Elder Marion G. Romney has so excellently presented to us.
I listened as intently as I could with my understanding to what the President has said, and it seemed to me that he was repeating over and over again that which the prophets from the beginning have said in their efforts to prepare their people to be worthy to receive the blessings of the Lord.
I read from the Book of Mormon from that great address of King Benjamin wherein he said, "And now, I say unto you, my brethren, that after ye have known and have been taught all these things, if ye should transgress and go contrary to that which has been spoken, that ye do withdraw yourselves from the Spirit of the Lord, that it may have no place in you to guide you in wisdom's paths that ye may be blessed, prospered, and preserved—
"I say unto you, that the man that doeth this, the same cometh out in open rebellion against God; therefore he listeth to obey the evil spirit, and becometh an enemy to all righteousness; therefore, the Lord has ho place in him, for he dwelleth not in unholy temples.
"Therefore if that man repenteth not, and remaineth and dieth an enemy to God, the demands of di- vine justice do awaken his immortal soul to a lively sense of his own guilt, which doth cause him to shrink from the presence of the
HAROLD B. LEE
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE
Lord, and doth fill his breast with guilt, and pain, and anguish, which is like an unquenchable fire, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever.
"And now I say unto you, that mercy hath no claim on that man; therefore his final doom is to endure a never-ending torment." (Mosiah 2:36-39.)
When I say I have sought to pre- pare myself for this occasion, I suppose I was thinking of the very thing that President McKay men- tioned. How it must have im- pressed all of those here with what he said yesterday! He extended a welcome not only to those of us who are here visibly or visually present, but he also extended a welcome to all of the former Presi- dents of the Church and all the former Apostles; and then the third welcome was a thing that struck right to the center of my soul: to all those others of our loved ones who are in the spirit world, he ex- tended a welcome. I was certain that it would be so, that I would be close to those beyond our sight, those whom we have loved most dearly, whose passing was like the burying of a part of our own soul— to feel that here I would be closer to them today than ever before and that those of our leaders would be here from the Prophet Joseph on down to all the former Presidents and the Apostles of this dispensa- tion. With a feeling that I was one of the least of them, I desired to be worthy to be here in the midst of such a company today, I suppose I have come with anxiety lest I be not approved this day.
If the Spirit is willing, then I should like to give vent to some things that have been running
through my mind, and I've made some notes on what the brethren have said. When a company of mis- sionaries goes through the temple, if I'm available, I am assigned to meet with them and attempt to answer their questions. One of the most often asked questions is, "Where did the Church get the ordinances that are given us here in the house of the Lord?" I have read to every company of mission- aries what the Lord said in a revelation: ". . . I deign to reveal unto my church things which have been kept hid from before the foundation of the world, things that pertain to the dispensation of the fulness of times.
"And I will show unto my ser- vant Joseph all things pertaining to this house [he was talking of the temple], and the priesthood there- of, and the place whereon it shall be built." (D&C 124:41-42.)
It is no wonder to me that it was shown to those whose right it was to have such things given them, where this temple was to be, as it has been related to us. It wasn't an accident. And the ordi- nances to be performed herein came by revelation. We have two classes of revelation: There are revela- tions which might be said to be open revelations like those written in the Doctrine and Covenants and elsewhere which may be given to the world. And then we have what we might speak of as closed revela- tions. These are to be divulged and given only in sacred places which are prepared for the revealing of the highest ordinances which be- long to the Aaronic and to the Melchizedek Priesthoods, and those ordinances are in the house of the Lord.
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There is a vital responsibility given to him who holds the keys, all the keys, that pertain to the kingdom, even the President of the Church in each dispensation. The Lord said that in a great revela- tion. To Peter, the Master said, "And 1 will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matt. 16:19.) He also said that the gates of hell should not prevail against Christ's Church. (See ibid., 16:18.) Now, the gates of hell would have prevailed against the Lord's work if there hadn't been given the ordinances pertaining to the salvation of those who are dead. During those periods when the priesthood to perform the saving ordinances of the gospel was not upon the earth, there were millions who lived, many of whom were faithful souls. If there hadn't been a way by which the saving ordi- nances of the gospel could be per- formed for those who thus died without the knowledge of the gos- pel, the gates of hell would have prevailed against our Feather's plan of salvation.
That which was said to Peter was in substance said to the Prophet Joseph Smith. If you will compare these two statements and the significance and meaning there- of—they convey exactly the same meaning. This is what the Lord said to the Prophet Joseph: "Now the great and grand secret of the whole matter, and the summum bonum of the whole subject that is lying before us, consists in ob- taining the powers of the Holy Priesthood. For him to whom these keys are given there is no difficulty in obtaining a knowledge of facts in relation to the salvation of the children of men, both as well for the dead as for the living." (D&C 128:11.)
Now keep in mind, this doesn't mean just to the Prophet Joseph Smith, to whom this revelation came. The same is true of President David O. McKay, who has just as much right to receive revelations pertaining to all things in this day, 1964, that pertain to the salvation of the dead as well as to the living.
From the beginning of time there have been various methods by
which the endowment has been presented to those who would re- ceive it The first endowments ap- parently were not given in the temple. We find from the Prophet's own journal this significant state- ment: "I spent the day in the upper part of the store, that is in my private office . . . in council with General James Adams, . . . Patriarch Hyrum Smith, Bishops Newel K. Whitney and George Miller, and President Brigham Young and Elders Heber C. Kimball and Wil- lard Richards, instructing them in the principles and order of the Priesthood, [now if you will notice these next words, you'll have an excellent definition of what the holy endowment is] attending to washings, anointings, endowments and the communication of keys per- taining to the Aaronic Priesthood, and so on to the highest order of the Melchizedek, . . . setting forth the order pertaining to the Ancient of Days, and all those plans and principles by which any one is enabled to secure the fulness of those blessings which have been prepared for the Church of the First Born, and come up and abide in the presence of the Eloheim in the eternal worlds" (DHC, 5, 1-2) and gain your exaltation in spite of earth and hell.
Now I submit that therein is probably one of the most complete definitions of the endowment that one can read.
In the upper room over the store which was the Prophet's office were performed, keep in mind, washings and anointings. He in- structed as to keys of the priest- hood. There was no difference between that instruction and that which was later given in temples except as to the method, which was later developed, in which we have part dramatization, part lecture, question and answer, and various methods of presentation or, in the more recent development under inspiration to our President, in which visual methods are used to present the teachings of the holy endowment.
Sometimes we forget that we are living in the day of living prophets. We believe in "living" prophets and not "dead" prophets only. Some are willing to accept what the Prophet Joseph said, or what Brigham Young said, or what King Benjamin
or what Moses said, but they hesi- tate to follow the living prophet of our present day.
There was a pattern for the first temple to be built. The Lord in revelation said, "I say unto you, that it is my will that a house should be built unto me in the land of Zion, [note] like unto the pat- tern which I have given you." ( D&C 97: 10. ) There was a revealed pattern of the building of the first temple, where it was to be built, and also apparently the blueprints. That could have been inspired, I suppose, through an architect, or it could have come directly from the President of the Church; I don't know. But he says the build- ing was "like unto the pattern which I have given you." And then he tells about how they should gather the most beautiful things of the earth to put into that temple. In other words, he wants these holy temples, we would say, not to be extravagant, but certainly of the best that, we could afford, with the workmanship of the finest, so that it would be a place in which we could be proud to receive our Lord or to which he would be pleased to come.
The purpose of the building was declared. He said it would be "... a place of thanksgiving for all saints," and that's what we have been doing here today, feeling grateful and thankful in all our expressions ". . . for a place of instruction for all those who are called to the work of the ministry in all their several callings and offices;
"That they may be perfected in. the understanding of their ministry, in theory, in principle, and in doc- trine, in all things pertaining to the kingdom of God on the earth, the keys of which kingdom have been conferred upon you." (Ibid., 97:13-14.)
Why was a building necessary? Brother Romney has given us some excellent explanations as to why a building. The Lord said it in one or two revelations to which I will make but brief reference. He said:
"And inasmuch as my people build a house unto me in the name of the Lord, and do not suffer any unclean thing to come into it, that it be not defiled, my glory shall rest upon it"; (Ibid., 97:15.)
Then he added something if we do permit it to be defiled by
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permitting those who are unclean to come into it, ". . . my glory shall not be there; for I will not come into unholy temples." (Ibid., 97: 17.) Now he was talking of the building.