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Show A Desire Was Born To Be Of Service To His Fellow Men ('unturned from Page 8 of the ministiy, for the edifying of the body of Christ. And so it is right to have the Home Teacher carry the responsibility of looking after the welfare of each individual. Assignments can properly be made so that eveiy man who holds authority, which comes by direct revelation, may recognize his ecclesiastical duties by exercising the authority which he holds. Our Priesthood should be honored no matter in what situation or circumstance we find out selves. Our hearts and thoughts go out to our Servicemen throughout the world, and especially to those w ho are in the active combat zones. Recently, I received a report from Elder Marion D. Hanks telling of the high caliber and behavior of servicemen in Vietnam, which gives assurance of the Gospel in their lives and that they are honoring their Priesthood. From that report I quote the f blowing: Everywhere our men were highly spoken of. Every one of the generals to whom I talked went out of his way to commend the Mormon servicemen with W'hom he had trooped. They were most affirmative and strong In their enuui semeiils. One fine Marine Major, who, in the middle of battle daily, expressed his strong testimony and asked that I carry to the missionaries the message that he is happy to be in Vietnam fighting to preserve the right of our missionaries to do their more important work. We can only hope and pray that hostilities in that grief stricken area, and all over the w orld, will soon end. I am going to tell you boys of the Aaro-ni- c Priestnood that a voice has been heard in this Dispensation, giving assurance that the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the Head of this Church and guiding it, as He directed it in ancient days, and has guided it since He and His Father appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith. am going to tell you what happened to me as a boy upon the hillside near my home in Huntsville. I was yearning, just as you boys are yearning, to know that the vision given to the Prophet Joseph Smith was true, and that this Church W'as really founded by revelation as he claimed. I thought that the only way a person could get to know the truth w'as by having a revelation or experiencing some miraculous event, just as came to the Prophet Joseph. One day 1 was hunting cattle. While climbing a steep hill, I stopped to let my horse rest, and there, once again, an intease desire came over me to receive a manifestation of Ihe truth of the Restored Gospel. I dismounted, threw my reins over my horse's head, and there under a serviceherry bu'-l- i I prayed that God would declai e to nie the truth of his revelation to Joseph Smith. I am sure that I prayed fenently and sincerely and with as 'much f.iitii as a young boy could muster. At the conclusion of the prayer, I arose from my knees, threw the reins over my faithful pony's head, and got into the saddle. As I started along the trail again, I remember saying to myself: No spiritual manilostalion has come lo me. If I am true to myself, 1 must say I am just the same 'old boy ' that I was before I played." 1 pinjed again when I crossed I Spiing Cteek. near Huntsville, in the eve lung to milk our cows. Lord did not see fit to give me an on that occasion, but in 1899, after I had been appointed president of the Scottish Conference, the spiiitual manifestation for which I had prayed as a boy in my teens came as a natural sequence to the performance of duty. For, as the Apostle John declared, If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. (John 7.17) Following a series of meetings at the conference held in Glasgow, Scotland, wras a most remarkable Priesthood meeting. I remember as if it were yesterday, the intensity of the inspiration of uiat occasion. Everybody felt the rich outpouring of the Spirit of the Loid. All present were truly of one heart and one mind. Never before had I experienced such an emotion. It was a manilestation for which as a doubting youth I had secretly prayed most earnestly on hillside and in meadow. It was an assurance to me that sincere prayer is answered sometime, soi ; where. During the progress of the meeting, an elder on his own initiative arose and said, Brethren, there are angels in this room. Strange as it may seem, the announcement was not startling; indeed, it seemed wholly proper; though it had not occurred to me there were divine beings present. I only knew that I was overflowing with gratitude for the presence of the Holy The answer Spirit. I was profoundly impressed, however, when Pres. James J. McMurrin, president of the European Mission, arose and confirmed that statement by pointing to one brother sitting just in front of me and Yes, brethren, there are angels saying, in this room, and one of them is the guardian angel of that young man sitting there, and he designated one who afterwards became a pa'riarch in the Woodruff Stake of the Church. (John Young) to another elder, he said, And the guardian angel of that Pointing is joung man there, and he singled out one whom I had known from childhood (David Eccl"s). Tears were rolling down the cheeks of both or these missionaries, not in sorrow or grief, but as an expression of the overflowing Spirit; indeed, we were all weeping. Such was the setting in which James L. MeMuriin gave what has since proved to be a prophecy. I had learned by intimate association with him that James McMur-ri- n was pure gold, his faith in the Gospel implicit; that no truer man, no more loyal man to what Iip thought was rigid ever lived; so when he turned to me and gave what I thought then was more of a caution than a promise, his words made an i..uel-ibl- e impression upon me. Paraphrasing the words of the Savior to Peter, Brother McMurrin said: "Let me say to you, Brother David, Satan hath desired vou tl at he may sift you as v heat, Then be but God is mindful of you. added, If you will keep the faith, you will yet sit in the leading councils of the Chinch. At that moment thete flashed in my mind lempte'ions that had beset my path, and I realized even better than Pres. MeMuriin, or any other man, how truly he had spoken when lie said, "Satan hath desired thee. Combined Singing Mothers chorus from six stakes in Las Vegas area provide music for opening session. put him back in the field. He learned even to pash open the gate. Though his depredations were provoking and sometimes expensive, I admired his intelligence and ingenuity. But his curiosity and desire to explore the neighborhood led him and me into trouble. Once on the highway he was bit by an automobile, resulting in a demolished machine, injury to the horse, and slight, though not serious, injury to the driver. from that, and still Recovering impelled with a feeling of wanderlust he inspected the fence throughout the entire boundary. He even found the gates wired. we had So, for awhile wc thought secure in the pasture. One day, however, somebody left the gate unwired. Detecting this, unlatched it, took Nig," his companion, with him, and together they visited the neighbors field. They went to an old house used for storage. curiosity prompted him to push open the door. Just as he had surmised. there was a sack of grain. What a find! Yes, and what a tragedy! The grain was poision bait for rodents! In a few minutes and Nig were in spasmodic pain, and shortly both were the resolve then and there to Withdesire keep the faith, there was born a to be of service to my fellow men, and with it a realization, a glimpse at least, of what I owed to the elder who first carried the message of the Restored Gospel to my grandfather and grandmother who had accepted the message years before in the north of Scotland, and in South Wales. I ask God to continue to bless you that you will keep true to the Priesthood that you hold, for it comes directly from John the Baptist, who received it from his Lord and Savior. In jour youth, do not let temptation lead you astray. Be true to the ideals of your parents. Now, to conclude, I shall tell you boys a story about a horse I once owned and bad gioat pleasure in training. He had a eve, good disposition, clean, was well proportioned, and all in all, a choice equine possession. Under the saddle he was as willing, responsive, and as a horse could be. He and my dog Scotty were real companions. I liked Ihe way he would go up to something of which he was afraid, lie had confidence that if he would do as I bade him he would not be injured. d Bui xesentod restraint. He when tied and would was e nibble at the until he was free. He would not run away, jast wanted to be free. Thinking other horses felt the same, he would proceed to untie their ropes. He hatpd to be confined in the pastuie, and if he could find a place in the fence where there was only smooth wire, he would paw the wire carefully w ith his feet until he Mone than could step wfp to once my neighbors were kind enough to dead. are many of our jouth! They are not bad; they do not even intend to do wrong, but they are impulsive, full of life, full of curiosity, and long to do something. They, too, are restive under restraint, but if they aie kept busy, guided carefully and rightly, they prove to be responsive and capable; but if left, la wavwlej'.unguidQd, tljey a,U too tie-rop- f WEEK Fy ow like on Continued t ' 'j J j ENDING OCTOBER 12, 196S S . lage ' jl U CHURCH- -9 t l'J |