Thank you for your generous introduction.
My thanks to all who are here today. I am deeply honored by your presence.
This is a very large gathering and it is somewhat intimidating, particularly
since I know who you are and what you do.
I have chosen to speak on the Church, giving a sampling of its operations.
We now have more members overseas than we have in the United States and
the percentage overseas is growing, although we are growing significantly
also in the United States. I believe that no other church which has risen
from the soil of America has grown so large or spread so widely.
It was not many years ago that we were largely a Utah Church. Now our
people are found everywhere across this nation and Canada, and beyond
the seas around the world. We are now operating in more than 160 nations.
Our worldwide membership is approaching 11 million.
Of these, approximately four million are women who belong to what we
call the Relief Society of the Church. I think it is the oldest women's
organization in the world, and perhaps the largest. It has its own officers
and board and these officers also sit on other boards and committees of
the Church. People wonder what we do for our women. I will tell you what
we do. We get out of their way and look with wonder at what they are accomplishing.
I think I might capsulize what we are doing across the world by telling
you of an experience I had. I was in Mexico City to speak to the graduating
class of the school which we operate in that area. I was introduced to
one of the graduates, a young woman. Her mother and her grandmother had
come for the exercises.
The grandmother had lived in the bush. She had never learned to read
or write. She was totally illiterate. Her daughter had received a little
schooling, not very much. She could read a newspaper headline or something
of that kind. Now came this beautiful young woman. She was in the graduating
class. I asked her, "What are you going to do now?"
She replied, "I have received a scholarship to the medical school
of the National University."
That to me was a miracle. From the bush and total illiteracy, to refinement
and medical school in three generations. She spoke not only her native
Spanish, but English as well. She gave full credit to the Church and its
programs for what had happened to her.
We all know that education unlocks the door of opportunity for the young.
And so we pour large resources into educating our youth. Brigham Young
University in Provo, Utah, is our crown jewel. It is the largest church-sponsored
private university in America, with an enrollment of more than 28,000.
Its graduates are now found across this nation and even across the world.
They serve on the faculties of nearly every large university in America.
They are in business, the professions, and in almost every honorable vocation.
A substantial number are here in Washington, including 17 members of the
Congress, some of whom are here today. We operate other schools. But we
cannot accommodate all who might wish to attend these Church-sponsored
institutions. And so we operate institutes of religion contiguous to the
campuses of colleges and universities throughout the land. Here our youth
are involved in religious studies and have a wonderful time socializing
together.
In the early days of the Church, when our people were gathering from
the British Isles and Europe, our leaders set up what was known as the
Perpetual Emigration Fund. The Church loaned money to those who did not
have sufficient so that they might gather to Utah. As they were employed,
they repaid the loan, and this became a revolving fund for so long as
it was needed.
We face a new challenge today. In the underdeveloped countries we have
young men and women, many of them of capacity, but without opportunity
to improve themselves. They cannot do so without help. We are now assisting
some and are working on plans to assist many more to acquire education
in their own lands. We are providing a ladder by which they can climb
out of the impoverishment that surrounds them to make something better
of their lives, to occupy places of honor and respect in society, and
to make a contribution of significance to the nation of which they are
a part.
We are already engaged in micro-credit undertakings, whereby small amounts
are loaned to those for whom a hundred or two or three hundred dollars
can spell an actual change in their future. When given such credit these
people become entrepreneurs, taking pride in what they are doing and lifting
themselves out of the bondage that has shackled their forebears for generations.
From a bread shop in Ghana to a woodworking business in Honduras, we are
making it possible for people to learn skills they never dreamed of acquiring
and to raise their standard of living to a level of which they previously
had little hope.
As the Church moves out across the world and into the future, we face
two very serious problems. The first is the training of local leadership.
All of our local congregations are headed by local people, volunteers
who work at their regular vocations and carry on as they are called to
serve, as bishops for instance, with local congregations.
I have just been down in Mexico, and I am amazed at the quality of leaders
we are developing. These are men and women of strength and capacity. They
are quick learners. They are devoted and faithful. They have become better
husbands and fathers and wives and mothers under the family-strengthening
programs of the Church. They are an asset to the society of which they
are a part, as will be the generations who come after them. That is the
beauty of this work. When you touch the life of a man of this generation,
that influence is felt through generations yet to come.
The second problem we face is providing places of worship as we grow
so rapidly in these areas. We are constructing nearly 400 new houses of
worship each year. It is a huge task. It is a tremendous responsibility.
But we must accomplish it and we are doing so. Some of these houses of
worship are relatively small, and many of them are large. They are all
attractive. They are well kept. They have beautiful landscaping. They
are a credit to every community where they are found. And they become
a wonderful example to the people.
Thirty years ago I had responsibility for our work in South America.
I recall the first time I went to Santiago, Chile. There were perhaps
a hundred members of the Church in the entire nation. We had a little
school of about ten students who met in a tiny building that was little
more than a shed. A short time ago I was back in Santiago and spoke to
a congregation assembled in a large football stadium with 57,500 in attendance.
I could scarcely believe what I saw.
They were well dressed, clean, and attractive. They did not smoke, not
one of them. They did not drink, not one of them. They were there as families
for the most part, fathers and mothers and children. There is no generation
gap among such people. There is love and honor and respect in the family
circle. This is the result of Church teaching and Church family programs.
Every good citizen adds to the strength of a nation. With that assumption
I do not hesitate to say that the nation of Chile is better for our presence,
and the same thing is happening in every other nation where we are operating.
It is my philosophy that everyone who comes into this Church should immediately
have a friend who can help him make the adjustment and also a responsibility
in the Church under which he can grow.
The genius of our work is that we expect things of our people. They grow
as they serve, and there are numerous opportunities to challenge them.
We do not have a professional priesthood. None of us who serve as officers
of this Church was ever trained in a religious seminary. We may not have
the polish of those who have been, but we bring to our service an enthusiasm
for the work and a love for the people that are wonderful to witness and
inspiring to experience.
We believe in the old adage that many hands make light work. We have
a lay priesthood and every worthy man is eligible to receive this priesthood.
Each bishop of the Church has two counselors, devoted and able men, to
assist him. None is a professional, but all are dedicated. Bishops serve
for a period of about five years; then they are released and others take
their place. The result is a constant development of leadership and a
renewing strength of direction. Those who are released as bishops go on
to other responsibilities. There is opportunity for everyone to serve
according to his or her capacity.
Our tremendous missionary program builds leaders while men and women
are still young. We now have nearly 60,000 missionaries serving throughout
the world, every one on a volunteer basis. Most of them are young men,
some are young women, and we have a few retired couples. They serve from
18 to 24 months.
I met two young women recently. They are both from Mongolia, and they
are missionaries of this Church serving in Salt Lake City. We send missionaries
from Salt Lake and elsewhere in the states to Mongolia and other places,
and some come here from such places and partake of the culture which we
have here. They learn English. They see the Church at its strongest. They
will return to their native lands greatly transformed from what they were
when they came here.
As you know, the Winter Olympics are coming to Salt Lake City in 2002.
If requested, we shall have no trouble in offering capable translators
and interpreters for the many languages that will be represented.
I can walk down the streets of Salt Lake City and meet people who speak
a score or more of languages—Spanish, Portuguese, German, French,
Italian, Danish, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Russian, Albanian,
Czech, Slovak, Serbian, Japanese, Chinese–both Mandarin and Cantonese,
Mongolian, Estonian, various dialects of the Philippines, and what have
you. I think it is a tremendous phenomenon. All have learned these languages
while serving as missionaries. And as they have learned the language of
the land in which they have served, they have had companions in missionary
service who are natives of those lands and who in turn have learned English
from them. This cross-fertilization of languages and cultures is a tremendous
thing. Conflict grows out of ignorance and suspicion. As we learn to know
and appreciate those of various cultures, we come to love them. The cause
of peace is strengthened in a very real sense by this tremendous program
which we foster.
We now have 333 missions across the world. Each becomes a bridge to better
understanding among people, to greater appreciation for other cultures.
Now another thing. For a long time we have tried to take care of our
own who find themselves in distress. We operate large farming projects,
not only in the United States, but in other nations as well, to insure
against times of economic distress and catastrophes of one kind or another.
In our Church welfare program we have dairies, bakeries, canneries, meat
packing plants, and other facilities, modern in every respect, to meet
the needs of those in distress. We have bishops’ storehouses that
resemble supermarkets, but they have no cash registers. They are to serve
the poor. We also are trying to reach out to those who find themselves
in terrible trouble because of war, earthquake, flood, drought, and other
disasters. Human suffering anywhere and among any people is a matter of
urgent concern for us. We have our own Latter-day Saint Charities organization,
and we have worked with other non-governmental agencies in extending humanitarian
aid. These include Catholic Relief Services, Mercy Corps International,
the American Red Cross, the Red Crescent, the Salvation Army, Habitat
for Humanity, and other groups across the world.
Today, this very day, as they have been during previous days, two helicopters
have been flying rescue and mercy missions over the flood waters of Mozambique
and Zimbabwe. When governments in that part of the world said they could
do no more, we rented two helicopters at great expense to fly rescue missions.
Additionally, we have sent cash, and food, clothing, and medicine are
on their way to these suffering people. Those helped are not our members.
Our humanitarian efforts reach far beyond our own to bless the victims
of war and natural disaster wherever they may occur.
Last year alone we sent humanitarian aid to assist with 829 projects
in 101 countries, giving 11.2 million dollars in cash and 44 million in
material resources for a total $55.2 million. I would like to suggest
that this is no small effort. And the costs would have been much higher
had it not been for the voluntary service of the very many who packed
the goods in Salt Lake City and to those who unpacked them at the points
of distribution.
We have dug wells in African villages, fed people, and supplied them
with clothing and shelter. We have given aid in the Mexico fire of 1990,
in the Bangladesh cyclone of 1991, in the China earthquake of 1991, in
the Bosnia civil conflict of 1992, in Rwanda in 1994, in North Korea in
1996-98, in Central America in 1998, and in Kosovo in 1999, and today
we are assisting substantially in Venezuela, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe.
Time will not permit me to speak of the many efforts we have made to
assist those of this nation who find themselves in difficulty. Suffice
it to say that we have been pleased to reach out to many Americans who
have been victimized by flood, hurricane, and tornado.
One more item. Our Family History archives in Salt Lake City are now
the largest in the world. Satellite libraries are found in this land and
others. They are open to everyone regardless of faith or religious affiliation.
More than half of the people who use them are not of our faith. People
everywhere desire to learn of their roots. Our Family History web site
receives about eight million hits per day. I think we would have genealogical
information on every man and woman in this hall. We invite you to visit
our Family History resources right here in the Washington area. They are
found in the chapel near our temple in Kensington and in other locations.
You will be made to feel welcome.
As you look into the microfilm reader you may be surprised to find the
names of your parents, of your grandparents, of your great-grandparents,
and of your great-great-grandparents, those who have bequeathed to you
all you are of body and mind. You will feel a special connection to those
who have gone before you and an increased responsibility to those who
will follow.
We are now completing in Salt Lake City a great new conference center.
Brigham Young built the famed Tabernacle on Temple Square. It was a bold
undertaking to construct so large a hall in that remote pioneer community.
But now it has become inadequate to our needs. For the first time our
world conference in April will be held in a magnificent new hall which
seats 21,000. I know of nothing to compare with it as a house of worship
and a place for cultural presentations. It is beautiful and it is magnificent,
and from its pulpit our message will be carried by satellite around the
earth.
Now, I have had time to touch on only a few of the very many things we
are trying to do, but I hope that I have given some small indication of
our activities as we move this work across the world. Our desire everywhere
is to make bad men good and good men better. Wherever we go, we go in
the front door. Our representatives honor the laws of the nations to which
they go and teach the people to be good citizens. We teach, we train,
we build, we educate, we provide opportunity for growth and development.
We give hope to those without hope, and there is nothing greater you can
give a man or a woman than hope.
You ask how all of this has been accomplished. It takes money, you say.
Where does it come from?
It comes from observance of the ancient law of the tithe. Just as Abraham
paid tithes to Melchizedek, the great high priest of the Old Testament,
so do our people contribute their tithes to the work of the Lord. They
do so cheerfully with faith in the promise of Malachi that God will open
the windows of heaven and shower down blessings upon them. We do not pass
the plate. We do not play bingo. We pay our tithing and can testify to
the goodness of the Lord.
This law is set forth in 35 words in our scripture. Compare that with
the rules and regulations of the IRS.
We are a church, a church in whose name is the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ. We bear witness of Him and it is His example and His teachings
we try to follow. We give love. We bring peace. We do not seek to tear
down any other church. We recognize the good they do. We have worked with
them on many undertakings. We will continue to do so. We stand as His
servants. We acknowledge that we could not accomplish what we do without
the help of the Almighty. We look to Him as our Father and our God and
our ever-present helper, as we seek to improve the world by changing the
hearts of individuals.
Thank you very much, my dear friends. And now if you have questions we
would be happy to entertain them.
